How To Roleplay

Introduction
One of the topics that keeps coming up in SL's Doctor Who roleplaying group is the issue of how to roleplay.  The problem crops up because many newcomers to the game come from a computer gaming background, where "roleplaying" means something very different to what it means in the Doctor Who group. Here, our view of roleplaying comes from the tabeltop gaming definition. So let's start by explaining what "roleplaying" means to us:

Roleplaying is a game involving freeform (scriptless) acting in a shared environment. Each roleplayer takes on the persona of a character (either a character they have created or one assigned by the Referee) and plays that character's role for the duration of the game. 

The scenario is set by the Referee (who is also responsible for sorting out any disputes that arise during the course of the game) but the players' actions determine how the story plays out.

As you can see, this is in stark contrast to the computer game version of roleplaying, where you are assigned a role and then play through a story that you can't deviate from. As a result, some players find themselves daunted by the lack of structure and don't feel like the know what to do, while others let the lack of restraint go to their heads.

How to Roleplay
The first thing to do when joining a long-running roleplaying game like SL's Doctor Who RP is to introduce yourself to the other players. You can do this either by coming along to where players hang out (right now it tends to be Olyesti Mall, and sometimes the Panopticon on New Gallifrey) and chat with them, or by joining the RP groups ("New Gallifrey" and "Citizens of Olyesti" - both are found in SL group searches, or by visiting the Panopticon and Three Minute City, respectively) and introducing yourself there.

Next, you should familiarise yourself with the rules. All roleplaying games have rules - it stops people simply turning the game into their own personal fanfiction (well okay, it doesn't stop that entirely, but it does prevent most of the worst of it). The main rules for the SL Doctor Who RP are:

1. You cannot play as a character from the TV show, books, audio plays, etc (so no, you can't be The Doctor, The Master, President Rassilon, Romana, etc)
2. Time Lord society is structured into Chapterhouses, with the head of each of the 6 houses having a seat on the High Council (it's very unlikely that you will be able to play as one of the High Council members right from the start, but it's not unheard of for capable newcomers to get such a position when it becomes vacant).
3. The President and the High Council have the right to speak at High Council meetings. Everyone else needs to ask for the indulgence of the Council to make a statement (this is basic manners, represents how councils work in real life, and keeps the regular council meetings - to which all are invited to observe - running smoothly).
4. The SL Doctor Who roleplaying game takes place inside "SL Space", a pocket universe we all found ourselves cast into after The Doctor used The Moment on the last day of the Time War. We don't have access to our original universe, and we don't get information from it (so we don't know what's going on in the TV series).

Rule number 1 is very important. It stops a lot of people squabbling over who is the "real" Doctor and thus makes the game run a lot smoother. There are other rules as well (called "The Laws of Time") and a copy of them can be picked up from the Panopticon.

Making A Character
Now you're familiar with the basic rules, you're going to need to make a character. Some people do this by choosing a name, deciding on which Chapterhouse they want to be part of, and putting a costume together. Other people develop a rich backstory that charts the entire life of their character right up to the point where they enter the game. Either method is fine, go with whatever works for you.

There are some basic guidelines you'll want to keep in mind while developing your character, however:

1. Your character is not you

I cannot stress strongly enough how important this is. Do not make your character a version of you inside the game. If you do this, you will not be able to separate things that go badly for your character with personal insults and attacks against you.

Playing yourself in the game leads to anger, heartbreak and a lot of hurt feelings all 'round. Save yourself the hurt and play a character, not yourself. The same goes for playing an idealised version of yourself, because it winds up with the same problems.

That's not to say you can't put something of yourself into your characters - you should. Just make sure there's always something in there that you either don't like about the character or is just simply something you wouldn't normally associate with you. It helps to reinforce the separation between you and the character, and it also gives you something to console yourself over when something goes wrong for them or they eventually die.

"Yeah, I don't like that Lord Carl was shot while trying to rescue those orphans but he did eat live puppies every weekend so he kind of had it coming. Oh well, on to the next character!" - A player consoling their self  over the death of their character.

2. If your character dies, it doesn't mean you have to leave the game

This is a game. Characters can live, grow, wither and die during the course of

3. There are no victory conditions

You can't win this game. There are personal objectives and fleeting goals, of course. There are mission objectives to be achieved, especially during some of our short-run adventures. These are all victory conditions of a sort but the game as a whole will go on after they are achieved (or not achieved, as the case may be).

So don't come in expecting to win, you can't. This is not a computer game. Set your own goals and work toward those. What goals should you set? That will depend entirely on the kind of character you are creating.

4. Do not play a child character

Some people will argue that this is a controversial statement, but it's borne out of the Terms of Service for Second Life, and Linden Labs' history of banning people. Child characters mean child avatars. Child avatars and "Second Life roleplaying" tends to conjure up unsavory images with people who aren't there to witness what kind of roleplaying is going on.

As a result, people are wary of roleplaying with child characters, especially in the Mature-rated sims that many of us roleplay on (Mature-rated sims keep out most trolls and griefers, which makes the RP run a lot smoother).

Furthermore, nobody wants a ban from SL because someone saw them roleplaying with a child avatar, sent in a malicious Abuse Report for "age play" and LL overreacted (which has happened in the past). It's much easier all 'round if you "age-up" your character to maturity before you enter the game.

5. Choose your Chapterhouse carefully

It's possible to switch between Chapterhouses, either by being assigned to another house by a superior (such as when a Chapter finds itself left with no leader and nobody in the house to replace them) or by defecting from one Chapter to another. The first method is all well and good - it's condoned by High Council and good for society as a whole. The second gets you a free set of enemies with every transfer, because your former Chapter will now view you as a traitor.

So which Chapter should you join? That all depends on the kind of character you want to play. Here are some basic descriptions of the Chapters (please note: they are very basic descriptions and don't even scratch the surface of the wide range of personalities of the people in each chapter):

• House Prydon - Aristocratic, arrogant, often rebellious and definitely plotting something. The most commonly-seen Chapter from the TV show. Rassilon, The Doctor and The Master are all Prydonian.
• House Arcalian - Scientists, explorers, researchers. They maintain the Looms all Time Lords are born from, and patrol the Time Lord-controlled areas of time & space to ensure safe passage for others.
• House Patrex - Engineers. They grow the TARDISes everyone else uses.
• House Cerulean - Sneaky, thieving buggers. They stole Zenobia station (and all its weaponry) from House Prydon. Ceruleans also play with their own DNA, so expect to see lots of humanoids, furries and hybrids amongst this house's number.
• House Dromeian - Cyberpunk builders. There are lots of artificial life forms in this Chapter.
• House Scendles - Bankrupts, according to the books. In the RP, they have become a more aggressive, corrupt group. Not necessarily evil, but a bit dangerous. More dangerous than the Prydonians? Who knows.

Once you've chosen a Chapterhouse, either visit the Three Minute City or search for that Chapter's RP group in SL group search and sign up. Introduce yourself to the other players and hey presto, you're now part of the game.

So, you're in the game. Now what?
The backbone of the game is the regular council meetings. These are the times when everyone gets brought up to speed with what's going on in the game. These are all conducted as formal meetings, so don't expect a lot of action here. Look at them as regular briefings on what's going on that you can get involved in, or not, as you choose.

Outside of the meetings, there are regular events planned by the people running each Chapterhouse. Some will be things you want to get involved in, some won't. Play along with whatever takes your fancy, and either leave others to do the ones you don't like or ask the person running the even if they need help "monstering" (where instead of playing your character, you play the part of a monster or other non-player character needed for the story - it's a great way to try roleplaying something you wouldn't normally play).

Getting involved with the Chapter events is the best way to really get into the game proper - you get to do some fun roleplaying and you also get to know new people. They are good ways to make friends, as well as excellent opportunities to develop your skills as an actor.

Running a roleplaying event
Sometimes playing in events isn't enough. Sometimes you want to craft your own story and have people play through it. That's great! There's an entire guide to how to do that coming soon, so stay tuned.

In the mean time, remember that this is a freeform acting game, not a linear computer game. You set the scene, define the goals of the story and arbitrate when there are disputes, but what you don't do is tell players how to play through the story, and you certainly don't have everyone sit around while you act out the whole thing. This is a game, not a stage play.

In Summary
This is a basic guide to getting into the Second Life Doctor Who roleplaying game. It is by no means a complete instruction book and work on it is ongoing, so maybe not everything is here right now. I hope it gives you a good grounding on where to start and how to get involved but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask on the New Gallifrey and Olyesti RP groups. Someone there will either know the answer, or will be able to direct you to who does.

About the Author
April Kohl is the Second Life persona of Zoe Kirk-Robinson, the former President of Durham University Treasure Trap (Live Action Roleplaying) Society; the world's oldest continuously-running live roleplaying group. She has played, Refereed, Dungeon Mastered and written a variety of roleplaying games for over twenty years.