I want to open up the discussion of role playing in our fine game. Based on a previous poll the vast majority of people are interested in the role playing elements.

The degree of role playing is not mandated by the rules -- it will be up to us as players to influence how the roleplaying will be integrated into the other components. The structure of the individual factions can be very much tied into the roleplaying aspects of this game.

It is here I wish to start the discussion on what our expectations are for the role playing elements. The following is the basic ideas of what I think would go into the manifesto.

Manifesto
We, the Third Civilization IV Democracy Game, have the mutual understanding that this Manifesto is not hard fast rules, but a shared vision of role playing in this game. No hard rules will foster creativity, yet we must be responsible enough to govern eachother and ourselves to maintain a positive community.

Historical Context
As factions are an attempt to simulate the historical situations of civics, our roleplaying must follow suit. The terms of some of this, such as no stock exchanges before a given tech, can be decided before the game starts. People who look forward to a particular aspect may wish to start the discussion on when their activity should take place. For unforeseen events we must discuss them on a case by case basis.

Formal Structure
Factions are a formal element. The best way for factions to incorporate the other aspects of roleplaying we too must provide structures. Guilds are the first proposition for this -- but not limited to.

Give and Take
In theory the Prime Faction's Constitution can dictate every element of role play. While not mentioned in the rules, Factions are advised to respect the devices the role playing elements generate. Some cases, like a Communist Government, will probably dictate the dissolving of private property which can lead to very interesting role playing adventure. Yet if we decide that individual players control individual units as avatars of themselves, we ask all factions to respect this and not abolish it with a national office which directly controls units.

I think having some basic guidelines for roleplay would be nice, but I really do not see the purpose in this ;).

I think having some basic guidelines for roleplay would be nice, but I really do not see the purpose in this ;).
Agreed. Good guidelines, but I don't think having/not having them is going to make much of a difference in how much roleplay we have. Those who don't want to roleplay won't (or won't join the game at all) and those who do, will.

This wasn't a mandate on forcing people to roleplay, but the guidlines for those who do and a direction for the interactions with the other elements of this game.

Now that most of the rules seem to be out of the way, I have a few ideas to air here.

I propose 10 guidelines for the roleplaying part:

Fait de Accompli or "Write yourself bigger than you should be"
1. There should be no Fait de Accompli, that people write themselves to aggrandizement through writing away other players performances in order to come relatively better off. If there is a roleplay dispute between two characters, the outcome of the dispute will be voted over..

Location
2. Each player adopt an in-game location where the roleplay takes place, and the players story sticks to that particular location between two separate turnsets. The roleplay can thus not impact a long distance location before next turnchat. If the in-game character (the main player one) is travelling with the exploration party of a scout unit, the same player cannot impact city management, area planning, technology choices and so on, if there is to be a clear link of roleplay to gameplay.


Naming conventions
3. Each player adopt a in-game character name for particular roles they play, which fits with a sort of naming convention of the nation.


Legitimacy of in-character interests within the gameworld
4. A player may decide to take in-game decisions on behalf of in-game character interests, even at the expense of game-strategy considerations, and should not be judged for that in the metagame as long as the player has shown this in character.

Differentiate posting format
5. To differentiate roleplay postings from metagame postings, I suggest to use fonts actively and to upload appropriate postings.

Historically in-character
6. Each player is responsible for being true to the state of the civilization, happiness, religion, military size, technologies available, relative advancement to other civilizations, knowledge of the map, Prime Faction or Faction status and true to the civic conflict positions.

Within the forum rules, but outside the box
7. Each player is responsible for of course following the forum rules, but not to the extent it becomes wooden "acting" or wishywashy centrist behavior out of touch with prehistorical times or extreme savage behavior within a Universal Suffrage/Emancipation/Ecology/Pacifism society. Playing the role of a savage hunter, cannibal, womanizer and a police state war criminal should be as legitimate as a herbalist, shepherd, family patriarch and a civil rights attorney.
Forum rules are good, eternal political correctness is not necessarily as good.

True to the saga
8 Each player is responsible to act within the framework of our nations history, and has no right to invent event horizon breaking pre-history later into the game. What is considered our history is hammered out in stone, and should not be tampered with, or we lose the value of cumulative roleplay, history and common framework of understanding.

True to the Faction
9. Each player has only the right to play characters from the faction they represent/belong to, as the roleplay impacts elections throughout the game.
This is an insurance for players building up a good story to not having it ruined by a third person.

Life and death
10. Each player can only roleplay a person for the time the person can reasonably be alive. For the early game, we only play snapshots of ongoing characters events, as each turn is 20 years, where historians, sages and builders can recollect what happened in written works. When a family tree appears, we should keep the integrity of this, and make the ages, marriages, births, deaths, descendants and other biographic details consistent with the roleplaying game itself, as well as within the contect of the gameworld itself.

Fait de Accompli
1. There should be no Fait de Accompli, that people write themselves to aggrandizement through writing away other players performances in order to come relatively better off. If there is a roleplay dispute between two characters, the outcome of the dispute will be voted over..

I'm not picking on you, but please translate to a simpler form of English.

Here's an oldie but goodie... My mentioning it is not aimed at any particular individual -- instead I'm suggesting that some of the items posted above boil down to this:

Behave as you would in a public location.
This forum is no different than a public place. Behave yourself and act like a decent human being.

I'm not picking on you, but please translate to a simpler form of English.


I had some slang in there.

Good roleplaying needs no rules, no manifestos and no constitutions, it will only come about freely

We will see about what is good roleplay or not, I just came up with ideas for a shortlist for at least what I would like to see in a roleplay game.

Good roleplaying needs no rules, no manifestos and no constitutions, it will only come about freely

Totally agree. It comes from the soul. Although it grows organically, more fertilizer is not the answer.:lol:

Good roleplaying needs no rules, no manifestos and no constitutions, it will only come about freely

Concur.

-- Ravensfire

Good roleplaying needs no rules, no manifestos and no constitutions, it will only come about freely
I agree. Especially since I am not too keen on the "Life and Death" part.

Good roleplaying needs no rules, no manifestos and no constitutions, it will only come about freely

Agree, no need to make rules, it will happen only if it is given space to happen without any restricting rules.

I would love to see sub-forums, similar to the Philosopher's rock thread, which were RP-centric, and location-driven. I would also like to see other sub-forums that are not RP-centric and focus on turn chats or community rulings on specific matters, etc...

RP is driven by example also, in my experience. If the community has great examples from which to emulate themselves, then RP improves and evolves to be quite fantastic. Maturity and mutual respect are also key, much like all social encounters. You wouldn't invite someone back to your party who became a raving lunatic would you?

I would love to see sub-forums, similar to the Philosopher's rock thread, which were RP-centric, and location-driven. I would also like to see other sub-forums that are not RP-centric and focus on turn chats or community rulings on specific matters, etc...

RP is driven by example also, in my experience. If the community has great examples from which to emulate themselves, then RP improves and evolves to be quite fantastic. Maturity and mutual respect are also key, much like all social encounters. You wouldn't invite someone back to your party who became a raving lunatic would you?
Good points, I agree. However, we already have a couple of forums that cover turn chats and legal mumbo jumbo in the Gameplay and Laws, Rules, and Regulations (I'm referring to this as LRR because it's too long :) ) forums. This is the forum meant for faction/guild organization and other RP "things."

I see them, and understand them. Perhaps I am just looking for too much organization, lol.