1- You should create 3 characters to play; see Guidelines below. You may play them all on the same avatar, which means that they will often be heard and not seen, or you may play them on different avatars and log them in simultaneously. You do not have to have actual bodies or "looks" for all of these characters; you may be "embodied" as any one of them in any given scene.
2- Join the group and pay the join fee of 10 linden. Now you see that, if you play all 3 characters on the same avi, you will only pay 10 linden to play; if you want to have 3 avatars registered to play on-site, it will cost you 30 linden.
3- Create at least one Profile Pick, on the avatar that joined the group, that names the characters you are playing on that avatar. You do not have to announce who is Mortal and who is Immortal, or who will die and who will not. All Immortals, should, however, announce themselves before the start of any scene. You may name all 3 characters in any one Pick, but you may use more than one Pick. You should prepare your Profile before you submit your Registration information, in step 4.
4- Send your Registration information to the admins. You should register 3 characters per avatar that is joined in the group. This registration information is available for the admins only, to help keep track of roleplays in order to reward points, and will not be shared with other players. Therefore, all characters must also be mentioned in your Profile Picks.
At the end of the 3 months, the avatar whose Immortal characters have contributed the most to the roleplay will split the registration cost pot with the avatar whose Mortal characters have contributed the most to the roleplay.
The point of our system is for you to create 3 characters that will allow you to progress each other's stories, even if there would be no other avatar present to roleplay with. And if there is one other avatar present, you can now write a scene with up to 6 characters. Two other avatars present, and your scene could have as many as 9 characters in it.
One of these characters, you should plan, will not die, for the entirety of the 3-month roleplay. You might change your mind later and still kill this one off; it is totally up to you. But you should enter into this thing being at least slightly more invested in keeping this character alive than the other two you will play.
A second character, however, you should PLAN to allow to die.
You may even know how this character will die. You may kill this character off with one of your other ones, to promote intrigue. You may allow this character to be killed by someone else's character, to plot revenge or justice. You still do not HAVE to have this character die, in any given scene; you might have a whole storyline for this character, before they die. But your ultimate intention should be that this character WILL die.
If you come through 3 months of roleplay without ever having had a character die, it should count badly on your story progression points. People HAVE to die -- There can be only one! --, and this system is created to minimize the attachment you have to characters that would normally be non-player characters in the first place. Recognize it for what it is and use the system to promote storytelling potential and be rewarded. The good news is that, when one of your characters dies, you get to make up a new character and re-evaluate all 3 characters again. At the time that you register your new replacement character, you may register a change of plans for the other two characters as well.
The third character is one that you should be WILLING to let die, under the right circumstances. If the dice fall a certain way, if the story would really progress if this character died... Again, if this character dies, you get to create a new one and reevaluate all 3 characters again, when you register the new change.
Every time that one of your characters dies, you should create a new character, and you may reevaluate your storyline and decisions at that time. Please do not remove the deceased character from your Picks until after their final roleplay is approved; then, change your Picks and register your new character and any changes to your plans about your old characters.
If you would like more suggestions about how to create 3 characters that might interact with each other in scenes to build story, click here to see how avatars might play the characters from the movies and TV series, three at a time. Read this with an understanding that canon characters will not be accepted for roleplay; make up your own names and backstories already
Why This Method?
Second Life is great for roleplayers. It's not great for getting large groups of people together, at the same time, in the same place. It has that potential, sure, and we all hope that potential is realized, but if it's not, we know that good roleplayers can overcome all kinds of obstacles. We also know that, when good roleplayers get together, more good roleplayers want to show up. It is hoped that this method will "grow" the roleplay.
We will be keeping track of avatars contributing to roleplay for points, rather than characters. This means that if your avatar plays characters that continue to die in the progression of roleplay, your avatar might still be rewarded your half of the pot at the end of the roleplay, even if your Immortal or Mortal living characters have not contributed enough to take it alone.
"The Gathering" has its own set of rewards that do not include the registration pot. (We will be looking for sponsors to donate prizes to those who excel in other particular ways, such as taking the most heads or roleplaying with the most other avatars.)
Examples, if characters from the Canon had been created on Avatars for this game.
The Highlander movie:
Part 1 of the movie.
1: Connor; MacLeod kinsman; Angus MacLeod.
2: Clan Fraser guy, The Kurgan, other mortal fighter.
For our RP, during this fight or shortly after, the kinsman would die, and Heather would be created for Avi 1. If Angus dies also, then Avi 1 could play Juan Ramirez next. Connor would remain the character who was chosen to live, Heather would die, and Juan Ramirez would be "chance."
Or if Avi 2 wanted to play a good Immortal, they could play Juan Ramirez and his third wife, Shakiko, or her father, who created the sword Ramirez uses, as well as The Kurgan. They would plan for Shakiko or her father to die, Juan Ramirez to be left to "chance," and The Kurgan to live.
Part 2 of the movie.
1: After Juan's and Heather's deaths, Avi 2 could create Brenda, the mortal reporter, to be left to "chance," and Sunda Kastagir to die; they would continue to play Connor to live.
2: After Shakiko's or her father's and Ramirez's deaths, Avi 2 would create Iman Fasil, to die, and perhaps the survivalist Kirk Matunas, to be "chance." They would continue to play The Kurgan to live.
Part 3 of the movie.
1. After Kastagir's death, Avi 1 would need to create Rachel, who will eventually die, and continues to play Connor to live and Brenda as "chance."
2. After Fasil's and Matunas's deaths, Avi 2 might create Candy or the priest to live by "chance," or maybe creates Darius to start a new storyline, and begins to play The Kurgan to die.
Or perhaps you can imagine better combinations. You can see that it does not matter if you play good or evil characters or a mix of them, or if you play all Mortal characters or all Immortal characters or a mix of them. Our stories will be created by the turnover of characters who are not our "heroes," and that is consistent with cinematic roleplay.
Also, you can see how 2 people could roleplay out all of the major parts of the movie in 3 extended scenes. If 3 avatars had been involved in the roleplay, they could easily have added incidental characters like police officers and bystanders, and more evenly distributed good and evil Morals and Immortals across the players, if that had been desired.
Looking at the TV show as an example: in episode 1, Avatar 1 could play the three characters of Duncan, the Immortal; Tessa, his mortal girlfriend; and Ritchie, their younger male friend, who is also assumed to be mortal. Avatar 2 could play Connor, the Immortal friend of Duncan; Slan Quince, an "evil" Immortal; and Sgt. Powell, a mortal policeman.
The system was created to be able to mimic the style and feel of the best of the movies and shows, with fewer players needed for advancement. Not all characters will have to be played in every scene, and we imagine that the more characters we have playing, the more complex the scenes and roleplays can get.
What Is NOT in the Rules so far.
What you look like. What you are. What your character does for a living. If you are a vampire. If you are a fairy. If you are a dog. If you are a toaster. Wait, you can't be a toaster, you have to have a head. Can you be just a head in a jar? Hmmmm.... Playtesting and group polling needed.
Avatar. How you log into Second Life.
Character. Personalities you play on that Avatar.
Characteristics / Stats (statistics). Normally the most important part of tabletop gaming, these are numbers that describe how well your character does something, relative to a normal person. Although not required for our Immortals game, a list of suggested characteristics, to use for dice rolls, can be found here (in progress).
Characteristics / Stats (statistics). Normally the most important part of tabletop gaming, these are numbers that describe how well your character does something, relative to a normal person. Although not required for our Immortals game, a list of suggested characteristics, to use for dice rolls, can be found here (in progress).
Come As You Are. No dress code. This is Second Life. We are what we are.
"Contributed the most to the roleplay." I have no idea what this means yet. We are starting to beta test now, and we welcome ideas and input.
Dice-Based vs. Dice-Suggestive RP. Dice-based means that you agree to let the dice determine the outcome of the rolls. That will NEVER be the case in this game. When a player rejects the dice roll, it merely means that they have other ideas for the scene, and they are encouraged to introduce those. If you do not like surprises, don't play with the person again who surprises you.
Freeform RP. Normally not based on dice, this kind of roleplay allows the players to freely determine, in story-telling fashion, what happens to their characters. We promote freeform and we offer a dice HUD for spice.
Immortal. One of a race that cannot die or be killed except by beheading. There are only 2 races in our game, Immortal and Mortal.
Mortal. One of a race that can be killed in any number of ways. There are only 2 races in our game, Immortal and Mortal.
Quickening. The life force of Immortals, being the total of everything they have experienced, learned, and done. It is transferred upon their beheading to another Immortal, only when that other Immortal was the one who beheaded them. If an Immortal is beheaded on Holy Ground, the beheaded Immortal's Quickening is absorbed into the ground.
Races. There are only 2 races in our game, Immortal and Mortal. If you are also playing a vampire, werewolf, magic user, or tiny pumpkin-head, that is on you. The only thing we care about is whether your characters will receive the Quickenings of others, if they behead one.
Quickening. The life force of Immortals, being the total of everything they have experienced, learned, and done. It is transferred upon their beheading to another Immortal, only when that other Immortal was the one who beheaded them. If an Immortal is beheaded on Holy Ground, the beheaded Immortal's Quickening is absorbed into the ground.
Races. There are only 2 races in our game, Immortal and Mortal. If you are also playing a vampire, werewolf, magic user, or tiny pumpkin-head, that is on you. The only thing we care about is whether your characters will receive the Quickenings of others, if they behead one.
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