Last year at MystiCon, I had the privilege of meeting a man named
Brian Rucker. He played in all three of the Traveller games I ran there
and was kind enough to purchase three of my books. My wife and I had
an opportunity to spend a little time with him and he was a great guy.
I
shared a few emails with him after the convention and then heard
nothing from him for a few weeks. I checked his FB page and was
saddened and horrified to find that he had died just a day or two after
the final email he had sent me.
Tonight, I ran across an
article written about Brian. He was known as "Oddjob" on several forums
and, apparently, in the MMORPG community. At any rate, within this
article, the author shared a list of rules on playing MMORPGs that I
think not only apply well to RPGs in general, but could be taken as good
advice for any activity.
Those rules are:
1)
My character belongs to me; your character belongs to you. We don't
have to RP together if our styles of RP or the narrative goals of our
characters don't mesh. We're not bad people or elitists if we recognize
this. It means we're smart people who recognize the best time to say
"no" is as soon as possible.
2) Never tolerate pressure to conform, especially if it violates the above rule.
3)
Know the setting and use the setting as an inspirational device to
create characters and situations that evoke the setting. Never use your
knowledge of the setting to make another player feel foolish because
odds are it only makes you look like a jerk. Be prepared to recognize
that other people may have distinct versions of the setting themselves
and that they could be right about some things or wrong to an
incompatible extent. If disparate visions create too much dissonance to
sustain suspension of disbelief, see rules 1 and 2.
4) Be
patient with new roleplayers and non-roleplayers. That's where we all
came from. However, we're under no obligation to entertain others if
we're not being entertained back. Some players are gifted with the
great compassion and patience to be wonderful helpers. Some aren't. Know
which you are, help if you can, but if not, avoid nasty comments and
get back to your own business. Catty asides reflect poorly on you, and
veteran RPers will assume you are insecure in your own abilities if you
appear compelled to trash less-experienced roleplayers.
5)
If you're not having fun, take a break. Maybe a long one. While we do
make friends and form longlasting communities here and in other MMOs,
ultimately, this is just a game. It's not real life. When people or
situations get you down or stressed or bored or irritable, maybe you
just need some quality time away from the game. It'll be here when you
come back, and people always seem happy to see someone who's returned
after a long absence.
6) Pay attention. If you can, use a
character's name, make reference to his past, or banter cleverly based
on something the other person's said to make people feel drawn into the
RP all the more. Ultimately, wealth in a roleplaying community isn't
based on items or credits but on connections and reputation both IC and
OOC. Each time you go out of your way to acknowledge someone, you're
giving him a tip -- the same when someone singles you out for some
comment or RP. Even when meeting new people, try to draw them out. Get
them interested in what's happening, and often, the best way to do that
is to ask them about them.
