Role Play Rules

ABOUT THE BORDER MARCHES

The Border Marches in Second Life consist of three private island estates arranged from north to south, North March, Debatable Lands, and South March respectively.

North March

Debatable Lands

South March

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ROLE PLAY RULES, LAWS AND CUSTOMS

Role play rules apply to all sims in the Border Marches. Conflicts over role play rules should be rare. We encourage people to resolve differences and conflicts through role play where possible, and in OOC IMs with each other. If that should fail, contact the sim owners, Vivienne Daguerre and Maverick Schism, or others appointed by them to deal with these matters.

Role play rules differ from laws which are created in role play and administered in role play by the monarchs, or their appointed law makers and wardens. These will apply to individual marches and will likely be similar, but they could differ. If you have a legal complaint against another role player, such as theft of your sheep or extortion, complain to the Warden of the March you reside in. The complaint will be dealt with at court on the next truce day. Or you could address it directly by mounting a counter action to take revenge, or in true reiver style start a blood feud between your family and the family of the offender. This, of course, is not condoned by the law and could create legal problems for you.

Customs are not laws, but common and accepted practices. If you act against custom, social consequences would be applied in role play. If you appear in the street naked, for example, this would be against custom and you can expect jeers, thrown rocks, snide remarks and to be shunned. They are in formal and not written down. You will quickly find out if you have violated a custom. Others will let you know.

ROLE PLAY RULES

1. AVATARS

a) No child avatars are permitted.
The Border Marches are adult and mature rated regions. It is inappropriate to have child avatars in such environments. There may be some prim child NPCs in the regions, and it is assumed we have children, but all avatars must be fully and clearly adult in appearance. Ambiguity will not be accepted.

b) All avatars must be human.
The Border Marches are based on the history of the border region between Scotland and England in the 16th century with some deviations. From time to time, some fantasy elements, such as a dragon or a fairy from local folklore and religion, will be introduced or spotted. However, no avatar will play a fantasy creature all the time. If you wish to do so on occasion, you must first seek approval from the sim owners. There will be no elves, trolls, orcs, dragonkind, vampires, werewolves, or other creatures from Lord of the Rings or other fantasy stories.

c) Clothing should be appropriate to the late medieval and early renaissance era.

d) Avatar appearance, species, and dress rules apply to all parts of the region, including within role play residences.

2. METER

a) The meter in use is the Spell Fire 1 meter, and it is available at the dock areas. If you have an Omega meter from another sim, you may wear that meter for the two are compatible.

b) These sims are meter optional. We encourage meter use, but if you prefer not to particpate in metered combat, this is acceptable. We would ask that you do not put on the meter halfway into a combat scenario for that would change the expected balance of those who chose to start and engage in the scenario.

3. DEATH

a) Characters are dead only if they agree to be killed in role play, regardless of what a meter may say. At the worst, a character can be considered to be gravely and seriously injured, unless he or she chooses death.

b) If a character should choose death, that character has some further options. If in doubt or unsure whether or not your choice is acceptable, discuss it with the sim owners or their representatives.

– He or she may choose to start a new character with a new identity. This does not mean using a different avatar. He might choose to use a different display name or simply change his profile to reflect the change in character.

– He might choose to be a ghost for one to three days, observing and perhaps haunting, but not interacting directly with others or participating in role play. A ghost might seek help from a sensitive practicer of magic, herbalist, witch or scientist to return to the living.

4. CHAT AND VOICE

a) Public chat is for IC (In Character) role play only. OOC (Out of Character) discussions should be taken to IM if privacy is desired.

b) The Border Marches group can be used for OOC banter and to promote OOC friendship and fun between members if desired, in text or in group voice. This will permit those who do not wish any OOC communication to choose to click off the group and voice must be deliberately joined. The Border Marches group is free to join and has open enrollment. Cut and paste the link below into chat, and then click on the link that pops up in chat to join the group.
secondlife:///app/group/ae5157b3-f756-5c9c-4d9c-9fad72a4285b/about

5. SEX AND NUDITY

a) There may be public sex or nudity on rare occasion where they are appropriate to the role play, such as during raids or parading captives or prisoners from a successful raid through the streets. This should not be a common practice.

b) Slaves, serfs, or servants would not be commonly led around the sim naked or on a leash, and BDSM devices would not be displayed or used in public. These things may occur in private homes and in dungeon or cave areas around the sim. All such practices and clothing must be kept to a medieval theme, even in private areas (no latex catsuits for example).

6. WEAPONS

All weapons must be Spell Fire 1 compatible, and must be appropriate to the era. It is an era where cannons, matchlock rifles and pistols, swords, pikes, axes, spears, daggers, bows and crossbows would have been the common weapons.

7. VEHICLES

Ridable animals and vehicles must be appropriate to the era and non-fantasy. For example, you may ride a horse here, but not a unicorn. Wagons, carriages, and such drawn by horses, oxen, or donkeys are acceptable. If in doubt, ask the sim owners or their representatives.

8. RANK AND PROGRESSION

a) Those wishing to play the role of an aristocrat, noble or royalty should consult with the sim owners first. The number of such roles will be limited.

b) Key roles must be earned. You don’t start out at the top here. You must prove your ability, suitability for the role, and demonstrate regular participation on the sim to work your way up. Key roles and higher ranks are NOT given out on demand or on a first come, first served basis.

9. COURTESY AND TOLERANCE

Respect must be earned, but all are entitled to be treated with courtesy, even strangers. Abusive behaviour toward another will not be tolerated. We require tolerance for different lifestyle choices and sexual orientations.