Limelight Forums

Roleplay is the terminology used when one changes his or her behaviour to assume a role. It can be used as a fun activity to pass the time and can turn into quite a time-consuming hobby.  It has a lot of rules that must be followed in order to form a fun roleplay environment.
Every roleplay server has a different set of rules but this guide will explain the rules for the server Limelight.

Warning: Roleplay can become a time-consuming hobby. So be sure to take things into moderation.


Before we start doing anything, we’ll have to discuss the terms used by the staff team and other players. This is a very important element of roleplay. You’ll find these terms on most roleplay servers, and not only that of Limelight.

New Life Rule (NLR)

Perhaps the most misunderstood rule by newer players, even though it might be one of the easiest to understand: The New Life Rule or just NLR for short. When your character dies by any IC event, for example being shot or killed in a car crash, your character will forget everything that happened in his previous life. This means your character died completely.
For example, you are a rebel. You get killed by a Corleone. This means as followed: You respawn, you carry the same name, but you are a brand new rebel. One that just joined the rebels.

Why is this rule set in place?

The reason this rule was put in place is to stop revenge killing and using information to create an advantage for yourself. This is very logical as you wouldn’t be able to kill your murderer when you died.

Warning: You may NOT return to the place where your demise took place right after you respawn. You may revisit it after 10 minutes. You are however allowed to quickly cross the area with a car or by quick feet to go to another place.

Not following the NLR rule will result in a punishment!

Random Deathmatch (RDM)

Another rule which is quite the important one is Random Deathmatch or RDM for short. This rule forbids you from randomly hurting someone. You always have to have a reason to do so, much like in real life.

Tip: A good method to see if you’re allowed when to hurt someone is to ask yourself this question: 
“Would I harm him in real life for this reason?” Normally, the answer will be no. And in that case, you aren’t allowed to do it on the server.

FailRP

FailRP is a term everyone uses when you’re doing an action that you would otherwise not do in real life. A prime example of this is sleeping in a trash bin. You would never sleep inside of a trash bin in real life, so why would your character do this as well? He or she wouldn’t! So you don’t do it in roleplay. Other examples are: 

• Sleeping in the middle of the road.
  
• Raiding the president as a chef.
  
  

Tip: You must stick to the roleplay possibilities of your job.
Example: Citizens can’t mug people, thugs can.

FearRP

What does this mean?

This means you abide the rules the FearRP-initiator makes. When he makes a demand you have to follow the demand as you are scared. ( FearRP ) Just like in the real world you’d do anything not to get shot or hurt by the person standing in front of you with a weapon locked inside of his hands.

Warning: Breaking FearRP will result with a punishment!

When you’re under FearRP:

• In Line of sight of the visibly armed person;
  
• Within default mic range;
  
• Able to harm your character at that moment.
  

Tip: Tazers & melee weapons do NOT trigger FearRP when seated in a vehicle.  

What not to do while under FearRP?

•  You must follow orders;
  
•  You cannot draw weapons or attack them;
  
•  You may not run away while under FearRP;
   o   Unless ordered to do so.
  

When does FearRP break? 

• When you are visibly armed;
   o   You are not visibly armed in a vehicle;
  
• When you get attacked with intent to kill.
  

When are you allowed to press a panic button?

•  Out of line of sight;
  
• No visible effect;
  
•  Immediately break the initiator’s line of sight to you;
   o   E.g. shutters close.
  

Tip: FearRP does NOT break when switching to handcuffs/rope. This means you cannot move!

IC & OOC

This is the last important element. The difference between Out-Of-Character (OOC) and In-Character (IC).

Out-of-character are things that have nothing to do with the roleplay on the server.
In-character entails the communication between one person or a group of virtual characters.

The importance of keeping these two separated is very vital for the roleplay. You must know that the in-game world does not affect the real world, not even in the slightest. Every encounter you have in game should never affect your mood in the real world.
An example: 

Someone insults your character. This means that person insults your character and not you!

How do I best separate them both?

When you notice yourself getting agitated over a situation that happened In-character, it’s best to distance yourself for a short period of time until your nerves have calmed. Not to worry, getting affected by the in-game world happens to the best of us. 

Every player will encounter a situation in which he is unable to keep up the fourth wall, but it is best not to break character in this particular situation. This means that if you roleplay a character that is always calm and collected, it doesn’t suddenly lose all his cool and yell at a person if you feel like yelling at them Out-of-character.

Fourth wall = term used to separate the roleplay world and the real world.
Often used when it comes to metagaming.

Chat commands
In-Character

(Includes /radio , /advert, /broadcast, /y and /w)

Explanation:

/y = yell: The radius of people able to hear it is significantly higher.
/w = whisper: the radius of people able to hear it is significantly lowered.

This can be used for example for:

• Buying food from a chef;
  
• Asking where another player is;
  
• Selling items as a shopkeeper;
  
• Shouting for a criminal to stop, when you are playing a cop;
  
• Giving orders to team members;
  
• Letting team members know where the base is;
  
• Anything your character would say if he/she was a real person.
  
  

Tip: Use the /vr menu to change your voice range!

/ me and /it

/ me and /it are used to describe the actions your character does. These are necessary to make ordinary RP situations a lot more realistic.  
/ me is used for the actions of your character whilst /it is used to give extra information about a situation or action. For example:

/ me takes a hold of a bottle.
/it the bottle feels cold upon touch.

• Make them as realistic as possible.
  

Let’s try to use /me and /it in a scenario.

You are a criminal and hold someone hostage. The hostage is called Bob. To make this situation feel more realistic for the person you hold hostage. You could do the following / me and /it and see for yourself how it enhances the realistic sense of the roleplay.

/ me holds the weapon against Bob’s head, holding the index finger on the trigger as he’s ready to fire, and certainly being quite trigger-happy today.
/it The metal of the gun feels ice cold upon touch.

Tip: Try to make your actions as detailed as possible.
[font=Calibri, sans-serif][font=Calibri, sans-serif]Tip: [/font][/font]It’s best not to use / me and /it in gunfights.

Out-of-Character
Out-of-Character
(Includes global OOC, and local OOC)

This can be used for example for:

● Asking someone what their steam name is;

● Talking about real life things (as yourself);

● Chatting with other players (when not as your character);

● Global OOC is accessed by typing // before your message. Everyone, across servers can see this message;

● Local OOC is shorter ranged, accessed by typing .// before your message.

Warning: Make sure you do not mix IC and OOC!

Metagaming

This term is used when you use OOC information for an IC advantage.

Character Basics

To begin roleplaying, you must think of creating a character first. This thinking process can be as long as you want it to be. You can start off with making a superficial character where interactions shape your character.  

Or you can start off make making a character with a full history already where interactions only build upon that content.
The begin is easy. You have to go to the ‘character’ tab in-game through the F1-menu. You will see a tab with some blank fields. You’ll have to fill those in.  

Questions about your character creation: 

• An in-game me?
  

As said before, it is best to separate IC & OOC at all costs. You are never your character and the other way around as well. It isn’t advised to create a mental link with your character, the more connection you have with your character, the more difficult it’ll be not to have a mental link with it.

• How far do I have to think outside the box?
  

A lot of creative thinking is needed to create the character of your dreams. What defines a character the most is their backstory. More sure it’s well-defined and quite detailed so your character can stand out. But make sure you don’t become a special snowflake because no one likes those. Make sure you stay well within the lines of being a generic player, and a special snowflake.

In-game name 

This name will be used in every single roleplay encounter, so it needs to be realistic. An example of a name could be “Gregory Edwards”. Your steam name will only be used for Out-of-character purposes. HOWEVER, it can be used as a nickname for your character.

[font=Calibri, sans-serif][font=Calibri, sans-serif]Tip: [/font][/font]It looks professional when you start your name with a capital letter.
Tip: At the beginning of joining the server you get a name, but be sure to create your own name!

Description

This is a summary of the description you created for your character. Don’t write too much in it, yet not too little either. This is usually what you see on first glance.

This is an example: “Tall | Athletic | Slicked black hair”

Tip: Most players use keywords, but sentences can also be put in the description.
Tip: You can make a forum post concerning your detailed character information: https://limelightgaming.net/forums/forum-279.html

Thank you for reading this!

Pro tip: Change to day theme.

thank you kimmy, very cool!