GETTING STARTED

The following guide is required knowledge for participation. It’s a fairly quick read and will help you get started in the unpredictable and exciting world of role-play in Dead End.

If you have any questions about this guide, IM author Nadir Taov. Special thanks to the sims current RP leaders for helping to revise this guide. Let's start with basic rules before getting into the Roleplay Guide. More Rules can be found at deadend.sl/rules

General Sim Rules

• AGEPLAY IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED – All characters must be 18 and over
• NO guns or projectile weapons (taser guns, bow & arrows, etc) allowed on sim unless you have Admin approval. Melees weapons only. Be prepared for IC consequences for any large and/or unconcealed weapons.
• No Kevlar/armor or military/police grade weapons unless admin approved or character is an on-duty officer. DEPD Officers may use taser guns
• Hospital is a safe zone (No combat). There are security cameras, NPC personnel and guards on staff at all times.
• Human avatars only (furry avs only allowed as IC costumes), exception being animal avatars for 100% animal/pet characters. Non-domestic animals must have admin approval.
• Unofficial "DE" titles/roles prohibited – No personal factions or groups which have “DE” preceding in the titles are allowed unless approved by admins. No factions will be recognized until a group proposal has been submitted and approved.

WHAT IS ROLE-PLAY?

Role-play (RP) is a social activity in which players assume roles of their own fictional characters and interact with one another. There are community rules and the city background to consider while participating (read Welcome Rules note + info below!).

IN-CHARACTER (IC) vs. OUT-OF-CHARACTER (OOC)

This is the most important concept to understand for role-play:

IN-CHARACTER (IC) describes the state of acting through the eyes, ears, and body of your fictional character. Basically, all physical actions and conversations would be based as if you are really the character, through the emoting and writing guidelines detailed below.

OUT-OF-CHARACTER (OOC) describes responses and interactions with others as your real-self, in out-of-story context. Basically, being OOC means you are not role-playing and are restricted to communicating in IMs and group chats. If you need to break character temporarily, you may do so by surrounding your text in brackets, for example: (( I need to use the restroom, I’ll brb ))

CONSENT

Though role-play is meant to be spontaneous and unpredictable, all players are still entitled to personal limits. Since the nature of role-play is primarily forced fantasy, consent may already be established. If you are uncomfortable with certain actions being imposed on your character, IM the other player and inform them immediately.

If you are in the middle of a scene and find yourself unable to continue playing, you should IM the other player and indicate you want to “void” (never happened) the scene or “fade to black” (agree to skip details and jump to conclusion). Voiding a scene is generally bad practice, especially if there are multiple players involved and time spent is wasted.

Remember, this community is dedicated to adult/forced themes such as kidnap and BDSM. If your character is alone in a secluded area, a predator nearby may already be stalking and ready to attack.

Above all, use common sense!

EMOTE / COMMUNICATION

To communicate and interact with other players in role-play, you should emote. In Second Life, this means to use the /me command as you portray yourself in the third person, followed by the physical actions, thoughts, feelings, and/or speech (in quotations) of your character.The following examples are responses you could type if you were playing this female character:

Simple Example:

/me sits upright as she notices the cop enter the lobby. “Oh hey,
Officer. Is there anything I can help you with?”

Erotic Example:

/me feels the cold damp bricks on her back as she remains trapped
against the wall while feeling his hand slide under her skirt. “Please...” she whimpers.

Remember, gestures and chat abbreviations (ie. lol, omg, etc.) are not allowed in role-play. Try to emote and be descriptive in your posts.

TAKING TURNS

Role-play is a turn-based activity. When someone posts (like the example above), you should respond with a single post, then wait for your turn to respond again.

If there are multiple players involved, take your turn in order. This allows everyone a fair chance to respond to a situation before it is your turn to post again. Keep in mind that scenes at busy locations such as restaurants and bars may have a more lax posting order to allow workers to better serve and private conversations to ensue.

More on emote etiquette can be found at:  deadend.sl/guide

PLAY FAIR

As emphasized above, role-play is consensual. If your character is interacting physically with another, every action you post must always be an attempt, or what you are trying to do to the other player. This gives the other player flexibility and chances to either accept or deflect what you are trying to do to them. Combat and forced fantasy scenes are especially handled this way.

POWERGAMING

If one attacks without any social interaction, use excessive force, or post the result of an attack on another character, then they are powergaming. Besides losing respect from other players, if reported, the offenders may find themselves ejected from groups and banned.

Good Example:

/me snarls angrily, draws his pipe back, and then charges towards
the hobo in hopes to strike him. “I’ll show you!” he screams.

Bad Example (Powergaming!):

/me snarls angrily, draws his pipe back and jumps on the hobo. He
then swings his pipe at his head and knocks him out cold.

METAGAMING

A form of powergaming, it means to take story or character information obtained through OOC means, and use it in role-play. A common example of this violation is to read an avatar name and use in-character to address someone. Unless your character actually met this other character or had knowledge of them through role-play, there is no possible way your character would have known their name.

CREATING YOUR CHARACTER

Establishing a backstory is the foundation to your character’s appearance, mindset, and history. Think about where he/she grew up, any traumatic or major events that help define character, and the events that lead to their arrival in the city. Create a profile pick of Dead End and put a summary of your character’s backstory in the description.