PVE:Roleplay Standards

Introduction

In PVE, good roleplaying is an integral part of the experience. As a result, roleplay standards are higher than those seen on more action-oriented servers, such as CM-SS13 PVP. The following standards, though looser than full-fledged rules, are meant to describe what roleplay should typically look like in CM PvE rounds. Unless explicitly stated otherwise by the Game Master hosting a round, these are the standards you are expected to aspire to during a normal round.

If you are completely new to roleplaying, it is recommended to have a basic understanding of roleplay concepts before reading these standards; (Paradise Station’s Guide is a good starting point.) You are similarly recommended to engage with the PVE community on the discord if you are in need of clarification (especially members of the GM team,) or to ahelp whilst in-game if there is anything you are uncertain of.

Bear in mind, the roleplay standards are not here to intimidate you from roleplaying, and we will always try to advise on ways to improve roleplay before punishing you based on these standards. This is a roleplaying game and games are meant to be entertaining: enjoy it!

Please note: A number of the general standards below have collapsable sections containing further clarifying information

General RP standards

0. The hosting Game Master has final say over the roleplay standards in their rounds. No exceptions.

1. You should strive to play a character that would believably exist in the Aliens setting.

2. You should try to keep your character's roleplay readable.
Importantly, this standard pertains to the literal readability of text: roleplaying an accented character is more than acceptable. Even if a character's accented speech is not wholly comprehensible, it is acceptable so long as other forms of roleplay keep characters engaged (such as emotes.) A relevant focus on punctuation and capitalization is also encouraged.

3. Try to roleplay as your character, not as yourself.

That is to say, interesting roleplay rarely comes from solely pursuing gameplay and playing to 'win'. Put yourself in your character's shoes as best you can and think about their motivations and beliefs. For example, consider how your character would react if they were offered the chance to surrender in a hopeless situation: would they surrender willingly, trusting their captors to honor their offer; would they fake their surrender, only to go down in a blaze of glory; or would they refuse to surrender, being killed by the hostiles as a result? Another part of this is how, both emotionally & physically, your character feels at any given point: have they been wearing uncomfortable equipment for a long period of time; is it chafing them to the point of complaint; are they hungry and low on food? Things like this are worth thinking about during rounds to help add depth to your character and open up interactions with others. An example of this in a '/me' emote would be; PFC John Marine scratches at a scabbed-over cut, asking his squad leader, "Hey, we breaking out the MREs yet?"

4. Always look for chances to roleplay.

Good characters do not avoid interacting: contribute to the scene! Even if there are in-character reasons for your character to not interact much with others, that doesn't mean you should spend periods of downtime in the round completely silent. Engage, chat and emote! React to what's ongoing with other players, and build rapport with one another. It all serves to flesh out the characters and make them feel more than just two-dimensional caricatures. Engage with newer players even! Those first few rounds in PVE, and certainly SS13 as a whole, can be somewhat daunting. Help them get used to what roleplay interactions are like!

5. Your character should be sane and rational enough to serve in the military. Try to exercise reasonable self preservation.

Don't intentionally hurt or kill your character (or other players' characters) without good reasoning; causing other characters harm should have appropriate reasoning too. A (mostly) sane, well-rounded character would not engage in actions that are overly painful, or put themselves in harm's way, without consideration. Examples of this include: John intentionally stepping out of cover into a hostile sniper's line of fire for no reason, Jane repeatedly stabbing herself for a comedic bit, or Jill calmly walking toward someone with her knife drawn as they unload their pistol into her.

6. Try not to use information which breaks character (metaknowledge.) The same goes for competently using skills your character isn’t good at.

Restrict yourself to your character's knowledge. You, as a player, might know how the surgery system works in PVE, but that doesn't mean the rifleman you are playing could walk someone through a procedure in-character. If your character does not know how to perform a job, do not go and do it yourself anyway. Instead, request the assistance of a character who does. If you have to convey information your character wouldn't disclose or know, do so through LOOC instead.

7. Inter-character relationships should be kept subtle, believable and not significantly disrupt the flow of a round.

Excessive fraternisation is frowned upon in most militaries and, between those involved in the chain of command, often a punishable offence. The less-regulated discipline of a patrol ship can allow for greater relationships than would be typically allowed in most militaries (see the relationship of Drake and Vasquez in Aliens,) but there is still a discipline that even a patrol ship would be expected to keep. Marriages amongst personnel in the same company, or aboard the same ship, are not permitted.

8. Unless permitted by the round’s Game Master, your character should be trying to perform their job to an acceptable standard.

This becomes more important if your character has a distinct role to perform in the unit, such as: medic, senior NCO, or the unit commander. Understandable or minor failures at your job may result in IC consequences, but constant, repeated failures without sense or reason can result in jobbans. Note that you are not expected to be a role-model member of the armed forces, but you are asked not to use your role in actions which may incite actual annoyance or anger. Honest mistakes, short of them being a constant occurence, will not see you punished.

Lore RP standards

9. Try to avoid using lore that directly contradicts the codebase or the in-round statements of the Game Master.

10. Unless retconned by the hosting Game Master, the events of previous rounds can be loosely recalled by your character in subsequent rounds. If the two contradict, the newer rounds events should override.
For example, if you’ve died previously but are alive now, you’re alive. A common example of a Game-Master retcon would be "first contact" operations, during which no player characters will have prior knowledge of the xenomorph threat.

11. As the Alien setting is a 'retro-future' of the late-1970s to mid-1980s, attempt to avoid slang, references, and real-life history past 1984.
The internet as we know it never developed in the Alien setting, so avoid using modern internet slang in-character. Things such as "lol", "skibidi", ":3" and similar should not be used.

12. Except in the cases specified within, what constitutes PVE canon is by the ranking of this Alien source list.

The list is mostly definitive, except that PVE ranks its homebrew lore and the Technical Manual as highest, with PVP lore just beneath. Some examples of this would be PVE changes to the Union of Progressive Peoples, or the TWE's Royal Marine Commandos forces, both of which differ a fair bit from how they're portrayed in the Alien TTRPG and by PVP. As per standard 0 and standard 9, it is also the case that Game Masters can modify, discard, or add lore in their rounds as they see fit.

Command RP standards

13. Attempt to play a character that could have reached that rank through adequate demonstration of command or leadership, theoretically or practically. Your character should not be solely incompetent, even Lieutenant Gorman had some redeemable qualities.

This pertains not just to the various commander roles, but the senior NCO and squad lead roles too. Don't create a leadership character that, behaviour-wise, wouldn't be given their position of authority. An example of such is; a section sergeant who undermines the orders of their lieutenant at all stages of an operation. If you are uncomfortable taking on leadership positions, avoid them until you get more experience seeing how others perform. Leadership roles are a unique blend of roleplay and gameplay focuses - a good roleplaying character can still make gameplay decisions that overall worsen the enjoyment of a round for others, and likewise a good gameplay focused character might not have any substance for other players to engage with. Look for and give serious consideration to feedback provided in post round discussions if you are open to it. Being in a leadership role means you have to be able to take on constructive criticism due to the higher load these positions require of players.

14. You should attempt to maintain some discipline under your command. Consequently, IC discipline is encouraged.

Be tough, but be fair. Senior command should afford you a level of respect from those underneath (to your face at least). For undisciplined player-characters, it's more than fair to require menial tasks such as push-ups or room cleanup. Just don't go overboard with it: prolonged disciplinary tasks should not be manifestly unfun, nor uninteresting, for the player being punished. Most players are fine with their undisciplined character getting what is due, but pushing them past a point might make it outright unenjoyable for them.

15. Even if believable, try to avoid 'collective punishment.'
Do not enforce needless punishment tasks on those who haven't earned them: things like making the whole unit do mandatory physical training; cleaning the entire ship; or inventorying every little thing in the storage rooms. Most egregiously, it often harms roleplay in the rolelplay-focused stage of the round.