The structure behind the story
These standards protect the distinction between characters and players while keeping Rorus active, welcoming and roleplay-focused.
Before entering
In-character events may be complex. The expectations governing players should not be. These practical rules support the roleplay without becoming part of it.
Remember
A meter or titler should never provide information that another character has not learned through roleplay.
Appendix A
The following are OOC community terms. They are not expressions used by characters in the Gor novels and should not be spoken as in-character classifications.
A Lifestyler is someone who adopts selected Gorean philosophies, relationship structures or customs as part of their real life rather than limiting them to fictional roleplay. The term has no single universally accepted definition, and a person may identify as both a Lifestyler and a Roleplayer. (The Gazette of Gor — Issue 28)
A Roleplayer creates and portrays a fictional character within the setting of Gor. The player and character remain separate: the character’s beliefs, status, actions and consequences do not define the player OOC. (GOR vs BDSM — Gorean Lifestyle)
GE means Gor Evolved. It describes roleplay that uses Gor as a starting point but freely adds, removes or changes elements without requiring close consistency with the novels. GE communities have often allowed customs, social structures, occupations, weapons or character types unsupported by—or inconsistent with—the books. (Psychee’s Gorean Archives)
Rorus is not a GE sim.
Creativity is encouraged, but it must remain plausible within the established world, cultures, laws and limitations presented in the novels.
BtB means By the Book. In Second Life Gor, it generally identifies roleplay that attempts to remain close to the novels in its setting, customs, laws, caste structure, vocabulary and character roles. (Psychee’s Gorean Archives)
However, BtB has never had one universally enforced standard. Different sims interpret the label differently, and rules commonly described as BtB may sometimes be community traditions or online inventions rather than material found in the books. (About Gor Evolved vs By the Books)
Rorus does not rely upon the BtB label alone because the label does not guarantee that every rule or term is supported by the novels.
Book Authentic is the standard adopted by Rorus.
A Book Authentic element must be:
Book Authentic does not mean that players must recreate a passage from the novels word for word. It means that new characters and stories may be created without contradicting the established cultures, laws, terminology, geography and social structure of Gor.
Something repeatedly used in Second Life Gor does not become Book Authentic merely because it is popular. Unsupported positions, titles, customs and building names remain onlineisms unless reliable book evidence can be produced. The Gorean Cave uses this same evidentiary sense of “book authentic” when separating demonstrated slave positions from invented ones. (The Gorean Cave — Slave Positions)
When questions arise, Rorus will use the following order:
Rorus is therefore best described as a Book Authentic Gorean roleplay sim: original roleplay built inside the world established by the novels, without presenting Second Life onlineisms as canon.
Appendix B
These quotations support the canon terminology and principles used throughout the Rorus information pages.
“Only the caste leader may call the council.”
Slave Girl of Gor, Book 11, page 228.
“The High Castes in a given city ... elect an administrator and council for stated terms.”
Tarnsman of Gor, Book 1, pages 40–41.
“His appointment was confirmed by Ar’s Council of High Castes.”
Tarnsman of Gor, Book 1, page 216.
“In virtue of my authority as Administrator of this City and in the presence of the Council of High Castes...”
Tarnsman of Gor, Book 1, pages 62–63.
“Merchant Law, the only common legal arrangements existing among the Gorean cities.”
Smugglers of Gor, Book 32, page 424.
“According to Merchant law an unclaimed slave, one legally subject to claimancy, may be claimed.”
Smugglers of Gor, Book 32, page 424.
“Economically, the base of the Gorean life was the free peasant.”
Tarnsman of Gor, Book 1, page 43.
“Low-caste women, in their work, not unoften do without veiling.”
Mariners of Gor, Book 30, page 151.
“Veiling in public is common, though not universal, amongst Gorean free women.”
Treasure of Gor, Book 38, page 153.
“I am a state slave. I am owned by the state of Ar!”
Conspirators of Gor, Book 31, page 266.
“Generally it is a male slave from the pens.”
Assassin of Gor, Book 5, page 258.
“When the two new girls ... grow weary of the kennels, and of the gruel of the iron pens.”
Smugglers of Gor, Book 32, page 243.
This supports using slave pens as the facility and kennels for confinement. It does not support treating ‘The Kennels’ as the proper name of a state-slave facility.
“The Slavers, incidentally, are of the Merchant Caste.”
Assassin of Gor, Book 5, page 208.
“The Slavers is a subcaste of the Merchants.”
Smugglers of Gor, Book 32, page 521.
“Some view the Slavers as a caste, others as a subcaste of the Merchants.”
Swordsmen of Gor, Book 29, page 25.