Briarmont Roleplay Guidelines

Briarmont Roleplay Guidelines

These guidelines are intended to help community members communicate clearly, collaborate effectively, and create enjoyable scenes together. Unlike the Community Covenant, which defines enforceable behavior standards, these guidelines describe common roleplay conventions and best practices used throughout Briarmont.

Roleplay in Briarmont is intended to be collaborative, flexible, and welcoming. Different players bring different styles and experience levels, and these guidelines exist to help everyone find a shared rhythm.

The most important principle is simple:

Roleplay should be enjoyable for everyone involved.

When in doubt, communicate with your fellow roleplayers and prioritize mutual enjoyment and cooperation.

1. In-Character (IC) vs Out-of-Character (OOC)

Understanding the difference between in-character and out-of-character interaction is essential for smooth roleplay.

In-Character (IC) refers to actions, dialogue, and events occurring within the fictional world of Briarmont.

Out-of-Character (OOC) refers to communication between the real people behind the characters.

General guidance:

  • Keep IC dialogue and actions primarily in local chat so scenes remain visible and collaborative.
  • Use private messages or designated OOC channels for longer out-of-character discussions.
  • When OOC clarification is necessary in local chat, keep it brief and clearly marked.
  • Avoid using OOC knowledge to influence your character’s decisions in ways they would not realistically know.

Maintaining this distinction helps prevent misunderstandings and preserves immersion for everyone involved.

2. Emotes and Character Actions

Emotes describe what your character is doing within the scene.

Common approaches include:

/me walks into the café and glances around for an empty table.

or

*walks into the café and glances around for an empty table*

Dialogue is typically written in quotation marks.

Example:

"Good morning," she says, setting her coffee on the table.

Clarity is more important than strict formatting rules. Use whichever style communicates your character’s actions clearly to others in the scene.

3. Scene Flow and Turn Taking

Roleplay scenes work best when participants give each other room to respond.

General practices:

  • Try to limit each post to one major action or development.
  • Allow other participants time to respond before introducing additional major actions.
  • Be patient with slower typists.
  • In crowded scenes, shorter posts often keep the scene moving more smoothly.

Flexibility is important. Adapt to the pacing and style of the people you are roleplaying with.

4. Collaborative Storytelling

Briarmont scenes are shared stories rather than competitions.

Helpful practices include:

  • Leave room for other characters to react.
  • Avoid forcing outcomes for other characters.
  • Treat unexpected developments as opportunities rather than problems.

Roleplay tends to be more enjoyable when everyone contributes to shaping the scene.

5. Character Knowledge and Metagaming

Your character should only act on information they reasonably know within the story.

Examples of metagaming include:

  • Knowing another character’s name without being introduced.
  • Acting on conversations your character could not have overheard.
  • Using OOC information to gain advantage in IC situations.

When in doubt, err on the side of discovery within the story.

6. Godmodding and Powergaming

Godmodding and powergaming occur when a player attempts to control the actions or outcomes of another character without giving them a chance to respond.

Examples include:

  • Dictating another character’s reactions or injuries.
  • Forcing a scene outcome without allowing others to participate in determining the result.
  • Portraying a character as invulnerable or immune to reasonable consequences.

Instead, describe intentions or attempts, allowing the other player to decide how their character reacts.

Example:

/me attempts to grab the folder from the desk before anyone notices.

This leaves room for other participants to respond.

7. Playing With the World

Treat Briarmont as a living town, even when not every role is currently filled by a player.

For example:

  • Businesses may still be assumed to have employees.
  • Emergency services may exist even if no one is currently playing them.
  • Public spaces may have bystanders or background activity.

Using reasonable imagination helps keep the world feeling alive.

8. Accepting Consequences

Characters should respond realistically to the situations they create.

Examples:

  • If a character commits a crime, they should reasonably expect consequences.
  • If someone causes a public disturbance, others in the scene may react.
  • Risky behavior should carry believable outcomes.

Accepting consequences helps keep stories believable and engaging.

Sensitive themes such as crime, addiction, or drug-related storylines can exist in Briarmont, but community members should use good judgment about where and how they are portrayed. In a Moderate community setting, these themes are generally better handled through implication, consequence, or private scenes rather than open depiction in shared public areas.

9. Dice Rolls and the Briarmont HUD

The Briarmont HUD includes a d20 roll feature that community members may use to add uncertainty, spontaneity, or structure to a scene.

d20 rolls are optional unless everyone involved has agreed to use them for a particular scene. They are intended to support collaborative storytelling, not replace communication, consent, or good judgment.

The HUD may be used for simple ad-hoc rolls, such as determining whether a character stumbles, notices something, or succeeds at a minor task. It may also be used in challenge-style situations where the outcome of an action is uncertain or contested.

When using the HUD, treat rolls as a tool for resolving uncertainty, not as permission to force outcomes on other characters. Major consequences such as permanent injuries, severe character changes, sexual outcomes, or other sensitive results should still be handled through communication and consent.

For more serious scenes, it is good practice to agree in advance on how rolls will be used before the scene escalates.

Examples:

Self-targeted / ad-hoc

[14:42] .: Nikolina attempts to walk up the stairs. (( Challenge initiated: no counter-roll required. ))
[14:42] .: (( Nikolina rolled a 17 ))

Targeted / contested

[14:42] .: Nikolina attempts to snatch the folder from Willa. (( Challenge initiated: Willa may counter-roll. ))
[14:42] .: (( Nikolina rolled a 13 ))
[14:42] .: (( Willa rolled a 16 ))

10. Handling Mistakes

Roleplay is fast-moving and mistakes happen.

Common examples include:

  • Missing part of someone’s emote
  • Misreading a line of dialogue
  • Posting an action that conflicts with something already written

When mistakes occur:

  • Assume good intentions.
  • Clarify politely if needed.
  • Allow corrections and continue the scene.

Patience and flexibility keep scenes enjoyable for everyone.

11. Style Differences

Different roleplayers prefer different styles:

  • short conversational posts
  • detailed paragraph roleplay
  • descriptive narration

Try to adapt to the style of the scene and the people around you when possible.

There is no single “correct” style of roleplay in Briarmont.

12. When to Communicate OOC

Sometimes it helps to step briefly out of character.

Examples include:

  • clarifying consent
  • coordinating scene direction
  • resolving misunderstandings

Short OOC communication can prevent confusion and keep scenes running smoothly.

Final Thoughts

These guidelines exist to support cooperative storytelling and enjoyable roleplay for everyone.

Briarmont thrives when community members approach scenes with creativity, patience, and respect for their fellow roleplayers.

When in doubt, communicate, collaborate, and remember that every participant helps shape the shared story of the town.