The Development and Variety of AOL's Online Text-Based Role Playing Groups

The AOL Arts and Entertainment member-created chat room area was likely never intended to become a massive haven for online role players. For a decade or more, AOL users have been flocking to these chat rooms to participate in turn-based, play by post role play.

A new user might compare the art or hobby of role play to a healthy cross between Dungeons and Dragons and Vampire: the Masquerade-style live action role play. Players (or muns, short for 'mundanes') assume the role of a character. Muns write out the descriptions and actions of their characters, creating a story with other muns. Players post character information, web site links, and photographs in their AOL member profiles.

The variety of role play available in these rooms is magnificent. It is not uncommon to stumble across a player who complains that things aren't the way 'they used to be' in these chats. This leads many role players to wonder what changed.

In the Beginning

It all started with the Red Dragon Inn (RDI) and the (still in frequent existence) Medieval Tavern. These fictional settings, represented by respective chat rooms, existed in Rhy'Din, the name for the overall fantasy setting of role play. Players could portray werewolves, humans, vampires, historical figures, futuristic characters, animals, anime characters, fairies, elves, and more in Rhy'Din. Essentially, all time periods and types of individuals could exist in Rhy'Din, and the Red Dragon Inn existed to host this convergence of beings.

As the name of the room suggests, the inn included a tavern setting, or bar. This became the standard gathering place for most text-based role players on AOL, setting the stage for various groups to come.

Dice

Most individuals vaguely familiar with Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) know that D&D players use dice to determine the outcomes of their characters. In text-based role play, dice were originally standard. Players used AOL's dice roller (still active at keyword: dice) to roll dice in a chat room after describing their characters' attempted actions. The dice roll would determine the outcome of the attack.

Guilds

Dice were usually assigned by guilds and given based on rank. Guilds such as OCS (Order of the Crimson Star) gained very rapid popularity on AOL, being among the first groups to implement different divisions. Guilds, modeled after their historical counterparts, allowed characters to be protected by other characters within the guild. Characters sparred (fought for fun and practice) against one another for advancement. At times, guilds even went to war with each other.

Lexicon

Basic terms evolved, some of which are still utilized today. These include AA (assassination attempt), MS (mass spar), SM (slave match), DM (death match), IC (in character, not to be confused with World of Warcraft's IC meaning 'in combat'), OOC (out of character), and more. As time went on, users opted to include 'consent clauses' in their profiles and guild information, stating that nothing may be forcibly done to a character without the consent of the mun.

This occurred due to the emergence of slavery, rape, and violence in the game play. Other chat rooms, including slave markets, emerged. Players began 'adult' role play as well.

There still exists confusion over the term 'mature RP.' Some players use this to imply adult or explicit role play; others utilize the term to imply general maturity and responsibility in game play.

Guild and Group Rules

Inevitably, more groups began to emerge. Some started forming rules as simple as 'elves only' or 'geared toward Tolkien's Middle Earth role play,' made simply just to satisfy the common interests of players.

Cross-RP became and continues to be a major issue of contention among role players. To cross-RP is to take knowledge learned out of character only and apply it to in character play. Groups tend to state their displeasure with this unanimously, but many group moderators consistently and continually cross-RP.

SIMs (Simulations)

SIMs typically meet at a specific time in a specific private chat room. Generally, the term SIM only applies to Star Trek role play, which has been in existence for a decade or more, but may be also applied to a specific structure of role play taking place on Star Wars or other science-fiction ships.

Storylines (SLs)

Instead of guilds, most moderators run what are now referred to as SLs, or storylines. These are more like dramas, and plot is critical. Storylines usually have specific, guided plot points and many do not use dice. SLs can revolve around movies or television series, historical events and places, or may include various races and elements closer to the original Rhy'Din.

The Isle of Avalendor, a veteran and longstanding SL, has championed the storyline movement. Led with artistry and tact, Avalendor focuses on scenarios to which players can react in a fictional, historically-based place.

Other SLs, such as the Land of Free Ulsterand the now defunctKingdom of Orkney, seek to enrich players' lives with historical and cultural information (in this case Irish). This particular storyline stands out because many of the issues in question still pertain to Northern Ireland today. Patriotic themes presented in this SL are touching and understandable to the role playing audience, most of whom are American. The historical precedent has allowed Land of FreeUlster to absorb displaced Irish characters, including those from ValerianCounty. Recently, the group has also used the Irish cultural connection to expand to other regions of Ireland with the development of the town of Cobh, in the south.

Empire SLs and Conflict

There also exist empire storylines. Fictional or historical empires (such as Rome) are established as storylines. Empire SLs are noted for attempting to 'conquer' other groups, extreme violence, slave, and sexual content. While most players ultimately appreciate the graphic realism, empire SLs such as Alternia have earned a terrible reputation among storyline role players due to their cross-RP, methods of conquering, and lack of regard for player consent.

Turn Based Logic and Combat

As more players shy away from the use of dice, they find that a system is still needed to determine who wins a spar or fight. Many players subscribe to turn based logic. Turn based logic (TBL) mandates that players must play one after the other and react and strike in a logical fashion. Even muns with prearranged agreements, however, often find themselves disagreeing when using this method and is the culprit for much OOC drama within SLs today.

Romance and Adult Role Play

Anyone perusing the Arts and Entertainment chats will undoubtedly notice some rooms advertising explicit RP. Truthfully, many role players game solely for the purpose of sexual content and state such. Other role players exclude sexual relations in character by writing a 'fade to black' scene when the situation arises, but most role players will play out a violent or sexual sequence if it occurs (though they do not necessarily go looking for such scenes).

Romance is a driving force in most SLs, but without careful moderation, a storyline can easily turn into a character romance drama-fest. This is a recent problem and area of complaint amongst role players in SLs.

Videos

Many players now create videos and/or slideshows for their characters and storylines because most Windows-enabled PCs now come with Windows Movie Maker. Players collage clips of movies to represent their characters and stories and post their creations to YouTube. Video creation for SL trailers was popularized by groups such as Orkney, Avalendor, and Solurius.

Get Involved

Online text-based role play is extremely easy to learn. Generally, players have similar interests in movies, art, and culture, and some consider themselves writers.

To get involved, simply head to aol.com and download the America Online software. Subscription to the service is now free. To enter chat rooms, you will need to provide a credit card for age verification purposes, but you will not be charged.

Once connected, click on the 'community' menu on the top left of the screen. Click on 'chat room listings' and then the 'created by members' tab. Lastly, click on 'Arts and Entertainment' in the menu to the left. A variety of RP chat rooms will appear.