Roleplaying is the total assumption of a role separate from that of your own. This implies that you become the person you are playing. When entering the virtual world of Sundering Shadows you become the character you are playing completely, assuming their attributes, including intelligence, age, etc. You should also completely leave the real world behind. Forget who you are IRL and become Conan or Grimsaddle or Fletch. Conversely, when you log out of the MUD you should leave it behind. Don't take the mud to real life (RL) just as you don't take RL to the MUD. Two different worlds, two different people.

Attributes
When rolling your character you are given ample opportunity to affect attributes of the character. When a character is completed we assume that you will take on all the attributes you have. These encompasses stats, skills, age, weight and height, which should all be taken into consideration when roleplaying (RPing). For example, if Fletch the archer rolled a 3 charisma, we expect that his description and personality should reflect this (note we don't use comeliness so charisma encompasses appearance).

Alignment
Alignment is an important part of your character. When you choose an alignment on Sundering Shadows, you are declaring the way your character thinks morally and politically. It declares the nature of your thought and actions upto the point of your creation (note that you could have had 8 to 500 years of life before entering the realms of adventure) Alignments should guide your character's thoughts. It should guide your character's actions. This isn't to say that a Evil person can't do something good, but the reason for doing that good should be clear.

Interactions
Interactions on SuS are what make the RP. Your interactions should be driven by your personality. Remember to leave RL in RL, assume the other person will do the same. Interactions are real to THIS world. That means that any type of interaction possible in the REAL world could theoretically be done in THIS world. When interacting with people, remember its your character and their character. There is no connection to the real world and your person.

Emotes
We roleplay through the use of <say>, <emote> and <emoteat>, as well as <souls>. When using these tools, remember that you can only control your own character and their extensions (your horse, animal companion, follower, etc.) Please avoid power poses (imposing your actions upon another creature) and meta poses (writing what you think instead of what you do). For clarifications, please see our <emoteat guide>.

Consent
Interactions of any sort that are within the bounds of RP are legal. However, some types of RP may make people feel uncomfortable and take the fun of the game away. That person can at that point, through any means necessary, invoke the Fade to Black rule (see <fade to black>). The other people involved should at this point STOP, immediately and forthwith, and resolve the situation as per the Fade to Black guidelines. Additionally, please keep in mind that scenes that are sexual in nature require the OOC consent of everyone involved. It is everyone's prerogative to abstain from this line of RP and consent may be withdrawn at any time, without question.

If you do not STOP when a Fade to Black request is voiced, you will be in violation of our rules and subject to multiple forms of punishment. If someone else does not stop, please send the complaint to <lawmail> and contact an admin or log off.

We truly feel that fun is achieved when you play a single character to the maximum of the mud's capabilities. The more the mud becomes a community the more the mud will feel real and the more fun it will be. All your MUD experiences should shape your character. This means playing through bad ones as well as good ones. If you were to RP yourself into a bad situation and then give up on the character, what have you accomplished? How will your character grow?

Finally, we are always looking for ways to improve the role play on the mud. Always feel free to make constructive suggestions to the immortals.