The Space Between
A Dark Supernatural Roleplay Experience in Second Life
Terminology & Vocabulary
Terminology commonly used in The Space Between, and across Roleplay communities everywhere
Basic Terms
The owner and writer of a given Character. A real-life individual looking to experience roleplay.
The fictional person written by given Player, frequently also that player's avatar. Characters are the intellectual property of their Players and typically not shared or free-to-use by others.
Actions taken and statements made by a Character through writing/roleplay. In-Character actions, beliefs, dialog, etc. are considered entirely character-based and may not reflect a Player's own beliefs or opinions in real-life.
- If someone says they are "IC", it means their Character is actively at their in-world location, and they are either currently roleplaying or looking for a roleplay to join.
Actions taken and statements made by a Player in the real world. Out-Of-Character actions, beliefs, and conversations should in no way impact IC activities, with the exception of limits.
- If someone says they are "OOC", it means their Character is not actively at their in-world location, and they are not currently roleplaying. They may be looking around the sim, changing their outfit, AFK, or otherwise.
OOC conversation is typically denoted through some form of bracket:
- (( Hey can we pause and pick up next time? ))
- [[ BRB I gotta get some water ]]
- {{ Sorry, I don't think your post went through. Can you re-send it? }}
An Emote is an amount of text that can contain dialog, descriptions, actions taken, and other narrative devices for a given Character. The Emote is written by the Player as a response to objects or other Characters, and is considered In-Character writing.
- Emote is synonymous with Post.
A Post is an amount of text that can contain dialog, descriptions, actions taken, and other narrative devices for a given Character. The Post is written by the Player as a response to objects or other Characters, and is considered In-Character writing.
- Post is synonymous with Emote.
If a Player needs to step away from a Scene and expects that action to take a significant amount of time, typically 5 minutes or longer, they may state they are going AFK. These instances may not take very long, but are frequently out of the Player's control due to real-life happenings.
- Players who are using an AFK titler or group tag in-world may also simply be idling OOC on-sim, and not available for roleplay.
- It is polite to let other Players know when you will be AFK, and to give them the time they need to return.
Characters who might exist in a scene, but are not Player Characters. NPCs can be freely utilized in roleplay
Fade-to-Black gets its name from Movies, TV shows, and plays wherein the screen or stage will fade out, implying some detail at the end of a Scene. Frequently in roleplay, it will be used to imply events such as death, gore, sex, or similar topics involving the Characters involved. E.g., if a Player does not want to write out a sex Scene, they may ask to Fade-to-Black and simply let it be known between parties involved that the Characters had intercourse.
- Fade-to-Black is often used in tandem with Limits.
A Scene is a series of multiple Posts between two or more Characters from beginning to end, starting with the involved Players begin to interact and ending when the Players decide, typically at time where the interaction can reasonably be considered over, before a time-skip to a new Scene, or before a Fading-to-Black.
- A Character enters a store, purchases something from another Character, and leaves.
- Two Characters get in a fight, one is victorious, and they part ways.
- Three Characters meet for a romantic get-together. They go on a walk, eat dinner, and end in the bedroom with a Fade-to-Black. The Players opt to start the next Scene, set the next morning, on another day.
Any Player can end a Scene at any time they wish, for whatever reason.
Complex Terms
Writing a Post that excessively relies on your Character's internal dialog, or their thoughts. Other Characters typically will have no idea what your Character is thinking (or feeling) at a given time. This leaves other Players with little interaction to respond to, and can make the roleplay more difficult, or lead to (even unintentional) Metagaming.
While sometimes it can difficult to convey the intent or mood of an action without internal dialog, it is always important to try and show a Character's thoughts through dialog, expression, actions, or body language, rather than writing their thoughts out directly.
Taking any knowledge you know or learned OOC and bringing it IC. Unless a Character has been told, can see or otherwise learn the information from their interactions with another Character, they shouldn’t know the information automatically. Examples of Metagaming include:
- Info in a Titler or Search Info. E.g, you cannot know just by looking at someone they are in a certain Kith, that they come from Earth, that they are proficient in Vismancy, or what their name is.
- Info learned through OOC Discord Chats.
- Info from IC Book Chat if the Character in question is using a pen name and has not shared their real identity
Avoid:
Bastian walked up to the stranger, eyes focused on the man. Before the other could say a word, he spat out, “What’re you doing here so far from The Covenant.”
Instead, Try:
Bastian walked towards the strangers, eyes focused on the man as he tried to figure out who exactly he was. “What are you doing here….I haven’t seen you before.” The man looked strange — the fleshy garb he wore billowing around him like it was alive. It reminded him of something. “Are you from The Covenant?”
Writing a Character that is indefinitely or exceptionally powerful, or exaggerating dice roll results beyond reasonable limits. While many Characters in The Space Between may reasonably be incredibly powerful or skilled, it is important to recognize what faults and weaknesses your Character does have, or not every interaction will end in a victory. Some examples of Powergaming include:
- Using a success role on a die to claim victory for an entire fight.
- Insisting your Character can see through any lie, or lie effortlessly without being found out
- Writing a Character that is entirely without flaws, or with only marginally inconvenient flaws such as 'Too Shy' or 'Speaks Too Loudly'
Due to the nature of the The Space Between's RP HUD, and dice systems in general, it is more difficult to Powergame when using the RP HUD than it might be with Freeform Dice rolling, or with no rolling in general. Still, because we accept all of these forms of roleplay on on-sim, it is important all aspects of your Character's strengths and weaknesses during creation, and when writing Posts.
In a Freeform encounter, Bastian attempts to create a fireball to hurl at Atticus. Rolling Evocation, he succeeds.
Avoid:
Bastian hurls a massive ball of flame. The fire immediately catches dozens and dozens of meters ablaze, engulfing the whole forest in flame and turning trees to cinder as escape becomes completely impossible for the other man. The clothes on Atticus back catch alit, and the stave he'd been using to fight with melting in his hand as the ground beneath his feet melt and make it impossible to move.
Instead, Try:
Bastian hurls a massive ball of fire. The fire spreads, catching leaves alit and heating the air painfully warm heat about Atticus. Cinders dance in the air, threatening to catch the man's clothes on fire if he remains too long. The earth beneath him grows hot through his shoes, tacky as though it's beginning to melt.
Taking control of another Player’s Character during roleplay without that Player's consent. Consent requires that you ask the other Player or, in the case of the Game System, agree with Conflict Initiation. Within roleplay, you can only ever directly control your own Character. Examples of Godmodding:
- Moving, grabbing, or otherwise controlling another Character’s body.
- Automatically deciding an action taken against another Character (attacking, lying, theft, etc.) is successful without prior agreement.
When writing a post which might include an attempt to control, touch or act upon another Player Character, it’s important to write your Post in a way which gives the other player some control in the outcome:
Avoid:
Bastian stormed up to Atticus, snatching the drink from his hand and throwing it to the ground.
Instead, Try:
Bastian stormed up to Atticus, moving to try and snatch the drink from him to throw it to the ground.
If both players are using Freeform rolling and have in advance agreed to it, the Post can also look like this:
Bastian rolls 3d6 Somatics against Atticus
If Success:
Basitan stormed up to Atticus, snatching the drink from his hand and throwing it to the ground.
If Failure:
Bastian stormed up to Atticus, snatching for the drink he held but missing the cup entirely.
Limits: Personal restrictions or boundaries that you're not willing to cross in roleplay. Every roleplay has the right to set their own limits. Limits can be anything from small, personal preferences to larger Character changing events that might happen in roleplay. If you don't have your limits outlined anywhere, it's important to communicate what they are to anyone you're roleplaying with.
- In Second Life, Limits are often listed in a Player's profile under 'Picks'.
Limits may be related purely to roleplay. Examples of this might include:
- No Permanent Character Death.
- No IC relationships.
Limits often also extend to NSFW/ERP boundaries. Examples of this might be:
- No ERP or sex of any kind (Will instead Fade-to-Black if something happens In Character).
- No ERP with nonhuman Characters.
Limits can also include OOC factors. Examples of this might include:
- Paragraph Style Roleplay Only
- No RP Posting in DMs
Styles of Roleplay
Action Style roleplay is simply taking actions with your avatar to show what you are doing. This typically involves only moving for combat and only using the HUD to determine what is happening in a scene. This type of roleplay involves an extremely minimal amount of writing and is usually quick because Posts coincide with the HUD so heavily.
Example:
No text, simply performing actions.
Script Style roleplay is freeform roleplay which only includes dialog in each post. Script Style does not include much, if any, description outside of dialog. This style of roleplay is often very good for extremely rapid-fire events, and often doesn’t require a Posting order even outside of events.
Example:
Bastian: "What exactly do you mean the boat sank?"
Atticus: "What do you think I mean? The boat is underwater."
Freeform Style roleplay is casual, text based, and turn-style roleplay. This style of roleplay has a Posting order and allows for individuals to have the free will to do whatever they want In-Character. Players Emote their Character's actions, speech, and interaction with objects or other Characters. Once a Player has Posted, the next Player has the chance to Post a response before the first Player can continue. If there are more than two Players or Characters in a scene, then a Post order is established based on the introduction of Characters.
Example:
Bastian hissed out a cold breath, glaring at the other man as he stalked towards him. “What exactly do you mean the boat sank?”
“What do you think I mean?” Atticus stumbled back, catching himself before he slipped on the wet sand, a look of fear on his face. “The boat is underwater.
Para-Roleplay or Paragraph Style Roleplay is the same as Freeform Style Roleplay, though typically involves longer Posts. Posts made by Players may take upwards of five to ten minutes to write and are typically a good deal longer — usually a short paragraph.
Example:
Bastian tried to swallow back the building rage as he watched the other man fidgeting with the broken paddle. Stepping towards Atticus, he hissed a cold breath through clenched teeth, “What exactly do you mean the boat sank?” it came out edged in rage and by the time he finished speaking, the boy was all but pressed to the other man, glaring through narrowed eyes.
“What do you think I mean?” Atticus tried lamely, scrambling back. The dress shoes he wore sank into the wet sand and he flailed one arm out — paddle thrust into soggy earth like a stake — to try and keep from falling. The man gulped, looking anywhere but the kid infront of him, eyes instead drifting to the few inches of tattery white sail still peaking above the waves. He gulped, “The boat is underwater.”