Shattered Kingdoms is a mud that emphasizes role playing. While you are here, you are expected to “get into” your character, to act and speak and dress as he or she would.
When you log into Shattered Kingdoms, you assume the life and personality of a unique character and immerse yourself into his fantasy world. While SK is a game for you, Pyrathia is your character’s reality. This should be conveyed in all of his actions and interactions, respecting things such as alignment race, and class.
There is an expectation on Shattered Kingdoms that your alignment is the MOST important aspect of your character. Religious convictions ALWAYS trump political matters, and personal relationships come last in this string of hierarchy. When in doubt, use this visual aid to determine whether your character’s roleplay is acceptable or not in the context of Shattered Kingdoms.
alignment > religion > faction > friendships
Alignment in Shattered Kingdoms is less of a concept and much more a reality. In the real world, it is hard to believe that anyone could truly be “good” or “evil,” but in Pyrathia, these are real and solid entities. The gods themselves govern good and evil through their spheres of influence. Ignoring auras and alignments is INAPPROPRIATE for players of both good and evil characters. While selfish characters might not place any importance on the condition of another’s heart, there must be some acknowledgment of the struggle between light and darkness by good and evil characters. While evil characters have more leeway with motives and outcomes, they are responsible for properly playing their alignment just as are good ones.
Please note that the immortals can and will judge you for the way you role play your character. You may receive rewards or penalties for the quality (or lack thereof) of your role play. However, the possible rewards are not the only reason that players should embrace their characters with gusto. When all characters are fully engaged in the world of Pyrathia, it creates a more satisfying gaming experience for all players.
Shattered Kingdoms offers many valid race and class combinations, and all players must adhere to these options in letter and spirit. Your imagination may be generously applied to these concepts. However, please remember that your character’s alignment, race, and even class take precedence over any plot you may dream up out of character. What you might do in a situation and what your character would do are often very different. You must choose the latter in ALL instances while playing Shattered Kingdoms.
A few examples of good and poor role playing follow. This is by no means an exhaustive list, especially as people’s views on role playing will differ, but this may give you an idea of some things to look for or to avoid.
Good RP:
- a principled character giving money or items to a beggar
- a cleric preaching the word of his/her Deity to others
- having debates with people of opposing views, rather than attacking on sight
- a diabolic character being as willing to hurt friends as enemies
- a barbarian being wary of (or even refusing) arcane and divine magics
Poor RP:
- using out-of-character (OOC) information for in-character (IC) purposes
- spending much time OOC …this is a role playing mud, not a chat channel
- power-levelling (spending all of your time training, rather than role playing with others)
- not behaving respectfully in the presence of -any- immortal, even one whose spheres of influence you may not agree with…they
are gods, after all - a paladin or hellion attacking without having issued a challenge
- placing the demands of your faction over the convictions of your alignment or god
- using modern colloquial conversation in the game world; this is inappropriate for the sake of immersive play