Rules for Living

Character's Rules for Living

Bevan's player started this thread in the Thoughts on Roleplaying folder and I really enjoyed reading people's responses. I didn't see the thread until it was way past, so mine weren't posted, but the thread did make me put some thought into it so I added rules for my primary characters at the bottom.

It's an interesting and fun roleplaying exercise. Give it a try!

Bevan's Rules For Living · on 6/2/2005 7:15:22 AM

A modest exercise, whim even, but I had this mental image of Bevan as an advice columnist, and this is what came out of my computer:

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1) Passion is the defining force behind everything. Without passion, there is no point. Live your life with it or else go pick out your winding sheet. I fancy the proverb that runs "dance as if no one is watching, love like you have never been hurt, work as if you do not need the silver;" I wish I had invented it.

2) Racism is a tool used by weak-minded people to declare themselves superior to someone. I believe in the aristocracy of the mind, of skill, of deportment and of the heart. There are no others that really count, and a half-kral can have them just as much as the son of an emperor.

3) Following that, however, I am superior. It is just true. I neither deny nor apologize for it, and while I consider elves a proper and attractive package for it all, the skin I wear does not have too much to do with it.

4) I am also an elitist. The Dhe?nari take things a good bit too far, and too many of them substitute pride, arrogance, whips and catchphrases for actual accomplishment, but they possess a kernel of wisdom. We should strive towards excellence and achievement, and we should neither be smugly satisfied with mediocrity nor indulge in the treacly fantasy that mediocrity is somehow praiseworthy.

5) Romance ... ah, romance is ephemeral, for so many reasons. Things will end, and you may get hurt; in fact you probably will. Accept this and move on. There is little so desperately pathetic as bitter grasping jealousy trying to hold on to the charred remains of something that no longer exists. Except possibly those who refuse to reach out because they fear being alone again someday. What is the distinction, exactly?

6) Convention is society?s way of telling you how to live your life. Acknowledge it, respect it, even, but set the light of reason to it. Does a particular convention suit you? Does it make sense? Is it a building block suitable to a decent life for you, or is it a restrictive shibboleth adopted by a herd of sheep who know no better, nor wish to do so? Question everything.

7) Allow yourself to be silly once in a while. This makes you feel good inside, and it badly disconcerts those who are used to you as a preternaturally grave fellow ... the shock is likely good for them. I recommend the occasional striptease during bardic competitions, myself.

8) Pay it forward. I am the sum of the people I have known, the repository of their teachings. Wanton and Kali still live because I do. If in some way or another, you neither teach those who came after you, aid those who have less than you, nor contribute anything to the commonweal, you are a drone, and you might as well be dead. The very air you breathe and the food you eat come at the expense of better men and women than you.

9) No one a decade hence will care how many creatures you killed, how many magical swords or ballgowns you own, how many merchants you?ve visited or where you hunted. The legends of the land of whom people still speak are not remembered for these things. Look in the mirror every now and then and ask what your legacy will be. You have time to change things if you do not like your answer.

10) Beauty strips away the dross of our souls and lives, and leaves behind the elemental grandeur of the world. This is why I love music, the sea, the stillness of a winter snow in the high pines, and the soft gasp of a lady in my arms. It is when I can stop thinking ... a cherished rarity.

I generally hate posting sets of stuff like this for each character, but my two primaries are so very distinct, in this case I can't help it.

Avidleigh's rules for living:

1. Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.
2. Life is also joy. To tend soley toward one extreme or the other is to deprive yourself of an invaluable wealth of sentient experience.
3. Active balance in all things. Do not tread the middle road of mediocrity - fall to abysmal depths and rise to glorious heights. Each helps accomplish the other.
4. Take the wider view. There is more to any issue than just yourself, or your foe. Observe all and achieve as true an understanding as you are capable of.
5. Beauty in all things, in all shapes and forms, is to be appreciated.
6. Silence is often the best manner of communication. Excessive babble is distracting and often detrimental. Corrolary: Do not use five words where one will do. Be concise, but be thorough.
7. One is only as good as one's word. If an oath must be broken, you better have a damned good reason.

Nayolan's rules for living:

1. Rules are made to be broken.
2. If you're not having fun, you're not living.
3. There's always a bigger fish. But little fish have spines too.
4. Possession is nine-tenths of something or other.
5. It's amazing what you can learn if you stay out of sight and keep your ears open.
6. Get to know your enemy as best you can, so you know where to stick the knife when the opportunity arises.
7. Quick of mind, fleet of foot, long in life.
8. Watch, learn, adapt, survive.

- Jen et cetera.

Hm...Railien's rules..

1. Treat others as you wish yourself to be treated.
2. Protect and help those who cannot protect and help themselves.
3. People choose to do bad things.
4. Principles are worth dying for.
5. Anyone deserves a second chance if their desire is sincere.
6. Its okay to laugh.

Rail
~The Turamzzyrian Imperial Museum of History~

1. Rules are for other people's behaviour
2. um..

Sea Witch
Couturiere et Sorciere

1) Follow your heart, not your head. It's a painful path, but also the only path that will give you true fulfillment.
2) If your heart doesn't know what to do, do everything.
3) Hide, watch, and listen
4) Make someone feel good about themself. It's contagious.
5) Remember those that have screwed with you. Their time will come. This rule overides rule 4)
6) Saying 'I don't know.' can be the wisest thing to say.
7) Don't follow others rules that differ from mine, because the others are wrong
8) Honor is more important than life. Some things and people are worth dying for.

I think I've too many rules. Time to cut back.

Rules for living. One thing my character feels very strongly about is her general philosophy on life. This may or may not be a good thing. Nevertheless...

Raelee's Rules for Living:

1) Life is short. Use every moment as efficiently as possible. Maintain your priorities.
2) One should always strive to be better.
3) Work hard so that you may accomplish everything you can in the time you have.
4) Various frivolties, pleasures, and attachments often get in the way of what is truly important.
5) For every possible action and interaction, you should ask, "What can I gain from this?"
6) There is a difference between 'want' and 'need'.
7) Nothing is free.
8) One's actions should not be dictated by fear of what 'might' happen.
9) Your time on Elanthia is too valuable to cut short. Nothing is worth your life, for there is little to be gained in death.
10) Watch, listen, observe, and remember, for there is nothing we were not meant to know.

Who needs a well-balanced lifestyle?

Signed,
Raelee and her Strings

This is really neat, I'm not sure I can sum Charna up this way but I can try.

1) Freedom to be who you are is the most important freedom there is.
2) There is no such thing as good or evil, only people trying to live the only way they know how to.
3) There are too many things to know in the world, never be afraid to admit it.
4) If you can't understand them, then at least make them laugh.
5) If your love can not be with you, then be near someone you can silently love.
6) If they are bigger, stronger, and scarier then you, then endear yourself to them.
7) If you can not be loved and accepted by a people, then find a place to love.
8) Land knows no hatred.
9) When you are small, seems smaller and surprise them by being bigger.
10) If it hurts too much, give it to Zelia. When she's done with it, you wont remember why it hurt or what it was.

Nessu's rules:

1. Knowledge is Power
2-10. Vary depending on the eyesight, hearing, or general comprehension difficulty Nessu is experiencing today.
11. When yer a halfling this age, yer just happy to remember rule number one.

Neb

1. There is no good or evil. There is only power, and those too weak to seize it.
2. The ends shall always justify the means.
3. Everything is Knowledge. Knowledge is Power. Power is Everything.

Evarin and his Mis'ri

No rules, just two simple questions:

1. What do I want?
2. What am I willing to do to get it?

The rest is just details.

CIRCADIANZEBRA

Kasia's "rules"

1) If you can't be good, be good at it.
2) Never cry
3) If rule two somehow gets forgotten, never do it where others can see and exploit it
4) Use what you've lost, to fuel what you gain
5) Always do what is honorable for YOU, no matter what other people think about the path
6) Everyone lies, just deal with it
7) Don't hide behind the mask so much that no one ever knows you... but
8) Keep the real Kasia hidden behind the big sword till you find someone worthy to lower it for

Yah she doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but I kinda like her that way.

Gody's rules (Though she's a bit too flighty to ever articulate these rules for herself, she still lives by them)

1. Life is all about aesthetics. Surround yourself with beauty, emulate it, create it.
2. Drama is necessary.
3. It's important to always look one's best.
4. Never take yourself - or anyone else for that matter - too seriously.

Apsu's rules

1. Lobster, good.
2. Clerk, ok
3. Lobster-kick clerk, bad.
4. Bucket-kick, bad
5. Snake race, good.
6. Many elf, bad.
7. Trille, ok very.
8. No touch. (No hug, no poke)
9. No steal. (or at least never admit to it)

Cute exercise. My girl's "10" are a bit wordy, but nonetheless:

1. Never waste your time with tears, regret, or sorrow.

2. Men and women are essentially equals in this world, as are the various races (though the elven races certainly have more class and better taste); it is individuals who are better than each other. You control how others perceive you.

3. Dying for love or honor is an absolutely, utterly, and completely ridiculous behavior.

4. If you have nothing worthwhile and intelligent to say, don't open your mouth. If you disobey this rule, do society a favor and quickly remove and dispose of your uselessly flapping tongue.

5. If someone decides that they are going to be "smart" and try to kill you for some boneheaded reason, remember that words are not only more sophisticated, but also more mature than swords. If said person only has the intelligence of a cockatrice, however, and is unable to comprehend how to behave like adult, at this time you may feel free to remove their limbs and leave them lying like a stump on the ground where they can have the time that is obviously much needed to ponder the ways of the world. Whenever possible, remember to leave them a compelling book.

6. Take full pleasure and enjoyment in others' suffering and pain when they have walked into exactly what they deserve. If they do not deserve it, it is best to remove their source of pain until they find a way, as they are certain to do, to earn it. Life is for learning through experience; trial and error; sour complementing sweet - getting what you deserve is but one of those experiences. Everyone goes through this. (Some are just better at repeating the process an inordinate number of times.)

7. Never stop taking in knowledge. Listen and learn wherever your travels may take you.

8. Good hygiene, including bathing, is essential to conversation and any desired physical contact.

9. High fashion does not include the colors orange, pea green, or fuschia, nor does it call for an overabundance of ruffles and fringe.

10. Passion and desire are for indulging in; take what you want while you can.

Morgause's rules:

1) Look after your loved ones, first, last and always. Whether they like it or not.
2) Rescue any dead bodies you happen to trip over and answer any Symbols of Need from areas you hunt in. You might need the favour returned some day.
3) Never bring the Art of Sorcery into disrepute. Those who are sure of their power do not need to assert it in common streetfighting.
4) Deal kindly with the young and the inexperienced but do not coddle them. Remember they have to make mistakes as part of learning and will value most what they earn by their own efforts.
5) A sorceress's word is her bond and should therefore be given sparingly, if at all.

Morgause

Makeius' rules:

1. If it's female, flirt with it. If there turns out to be a husband, run.
2. Pick first, ask questions later.
3. What, this pearl, stolen?
4. No, this was given to me by my grandfather.
5. No, I can't let go of it.
6. No, of course it's not cursed.
7. Well, maybe a little. He was a joker, that Grandfather.
8. Say, you've got beautiful eyes.
9. Why, what a large axe your husband you has.
10. Got to go.

Rashi's rules for living:

1. Each man (or woman) gets a chance to be his (or her) own kind of hero.
2. Life isn't fair. That's not an excuse to ignore the plight of others.
3. Love like there is no tomorrow. There may not be.
4. Always be ready, willing, and able to defend yourself and others through whatever means necessary. Train hard.
5. Information is powerful. Information that others don't know you have, even more so.
6. Remember what is important. There are things worth fighting for, killing for, and dying for. However, there is usually a better way.
7. Have fun, everyone deserves that.
8. Don't shirk responsibility, but don't let others define your responsibilities for you.
9. Turn to friends in times of need, and be there for friends to turn to in their own times of need.
10. Remember that as a cleric, you are a servant, not a master.
11. Drink can be good and bad depending on the circumstances in which it is consumed. It can often be hard to tell when drinking is appropriate. When this is in doubt, have one and see what happens.

-mark

Whestra's Rules:

1) Politeness pays, so even if you destest someone, that's no reason to be rude.
2) An eye for an eye just means everyone is blind and toothless.
3) If something stops being fun, stop doing it.

Tazzah's Rules:

1) Treat every customer as if they were your only customer.
2) Everyone deserves a second chance. Maybe a third. But if they're still being stupid after the fourth, they're hopeless.

Jalea's Rules:

1) If someone annoys you, create a song about them and broadcast his or her stupidity.
2) Laughter is often your best weapon. But keep that axe sharpened just in case.

Carol and her minions
It's only a game...but a great game.

Aasterinian's rules for living:

1. You family, your House, and your race come first, all others are secondary.
2. Perfection in all things.
3. The cover of the book is just as important as the content.
4. Do not allow emotion to cloud your judgement.
5. Be efficient in word and action.
6. Be patient. Time is on YOUR side.
7. Be careful who you chose as a friend. Someday you may have to kill them.
8. Remain civil, regardless of your true feelings.
9. Never hesitate to use the tools at your disposal.
10. To withdraw in disgust is not cowardice.
11. The ends are inherent in the means.
12. You are only required to keep your word to the worthy.

-- Nick, Aasterinian's Taskmaster

13. None are worthy.

Danay's rules for living:

1. Without honor all else is hollow.
2. Keep your oaths. Do not give your oath lightly.
3. Keep true to the Amazon Way and Leya's teachings.
4. Good manners and courtesy are important, but not required when not offered in return.
5. Elves are the pinnacle of creation, but others should be given a fair chance.
6. Choose your friends wisely and then stand by them.
7. (The unspoken rule) Laughter is good for the soul and being silly from time to time never hurt anything.
7a. Pretend your silliness was an abberation, especially if alcohol was involved.
8. Always satisfy your curiosity.
9. Do all that is within your power to support a worthy cause.
10. Most causes are not worthy.
11. Love is power.
12. Always be truthful.
13. Don't break the rules.

It's worth noting that Danay has broken most of the rules she claims to live by. That's the flaw in setting (and expecting of others) extremely high standards.

The rogue's rules for living:

1. Don't get caught.
2. Don't trust others.
3. Everyone will leave you. Even if they tell you they never will.
3a. If you forget rule #3, you have only yourself to blame for the resulting pain.
4. Don't admit anything you don't have to.
5. Don't draw attention to yourself.
6. Lies are to be used when the truth won't help you.
7. Don't mess where you sleep.
8. Watch and listen. Information is useful.
9. Respect isn't useful.
10. Money is power.
11. Speed and stealth are the tools for survival.
12. Never be in anyone's debt.

The Nalfein's rules for living:

1. Loyalty and service to Ta'Nalfein and Queen Rhosyn before all else.
2. Do whatever needs doing in whatever manner gets it done best.
3. Don't get personal. Entanglements get in the way of duty.
4. Study hard and learn from your mistakes.
5. Never be so arrogant as to assume you can't learn something valuable from another.
6. Information is power.
7. Don't indulge in regret.
8. Always remember you are a Lady and conduct yourself accordingly.