Roleplay Guidelines

[Orinoko Aridian]

ROLEPLAYING GUIDELINES

ALL ROLEPLAY IS VOLUNTARY, AND CONSENT IS REQUIRED
This means you can never be forced to do anything you don't want to do, or play in a scene you don't want to play in. Ever. If you become uncomfortable with a scene you're already participating in, IM the other participant(s) and let them know you no longer wish to continue. Usually, the best option is to "fade to black" and skip ahead.

If you plan on roleplaying a forced scene, make sure your partner is OK with that OOC. And if your partner wishes to stop, or vice versa, their request must be respected.

Note that IC "punishments" by teachers are an exception of sorts -- if you break an in-character rule you may refuse a specific sort of punishment, but you do have to submit to some kind of punishment eventually.

RESPECT THE ROLEPLAY
This is another common sense topic. By "respect," we mean "keep things realistic" (or at least as realistic as you can in a sim with magical creatures). Don't use SL's powers or OOC knowledge to metagame: that is, to know or do anything that would be impossible for your character to do, like listening through walls or to other people's thoughts (if they include them in emotes, just pretend you didn't see that chat).

And never, ever use OOC knowledge you learned from peoples titles or character sheets in RP if your character has no way of knowing them -- remember, there are no nametags floating above heads in-character.

This also means you shouldn't do things like swapping outfits instantly (roleplay it out by walking to a locker room or dorm and actually changing into the new clothes), or using any of the other abilities SL or your objects give you unless your character has them too (flying, dashing, etc.).

DON'T CATCH SUPERHERO SYNDROME
"Godmodding" or "powergaming" (roleplaying as being overly powerful or invulnerable, including other peoples' actions in your own emotes, or not giving other people a chance to respond to your actions) is never OK. Strengths must be balanced with weaknesses, and characters must be played within their limits. Staff and teachers are of course expected to be more experienced, skilled, and powerful, but nobody in the sim is invincible or truly superpowered.

This also means you can't pull items you wouldn't realistically have out of thin air. And, of course, any powers, abilities, or special items you do have must be listed and approved on your character sheet.

BE INCLUSIVE
If you're RP'ing a scene in a public sim like HH, there's a good chance someone else will come along at some point. And while you may understandably want privacy at times, please try to include others in your scenes if it's practical. Remember, you were new once too.

If you can't, be polite about it -- don't just yell at them to go away.

And do remember: this is a multiplayer game. If you don't want to play with other people at all, why are you here?

TAKE A MOMENT BEFORE JOINING A SCENE IN PROGRESS
While it's good to be as inclusive as possible if you're already in a scene, it's also to polite to pause and consider a few things if you're the one encountering a scene in progress. Where's it taking place, and what are people doing? Are they just talking or socializing out in the open, or are they somewhere less obvious having an intimate moment (e.g. sex)?

If they're doing something particularly private in a place that's not out in the open, don't just rush in and interrupt them -- think about whether you'd choose that moment to go up to them if the situation were real.

If not, and you decide you're good to join in, then by all means do -- just wait until you've seen a round of posts before adding your own. That way, you'll have an idea of both what's going on and the general order in which people are posting.

KEEP THINGS LIGHTHEARTED
Hentai High isn't a combat sim or a gritty city, and in contrast to many other roleplaying environments we try to maintain a fun, lighthearted atmosphere. This doesn't mean you have to be skip around and be happy all the time, but it does mean we don't want truly morbid scenes like permanent deaths, funerals, self-mutilation, execution, or suicide.

Note that this doesn't apply to roleplays where you intend to be healed or brought back to life by magic or our medical staff -- say, if your freshly brewed invisibility potion turns out to be explosive.

WHAT HAPPENS IN HH...
This is a simple one: your personal relationships are of no concern to us. We don't care if your girlfriend is getting raped or is cheating on you or if your submissive is doing something you don't like -- if they're roleplaying in our sim, you may not interrupt RP to break things up or "claim" them.