Amazon Role-Play Tips: To Touch Or Not To Touch? Power-Play In Your Role-Play

‘Power-Play’, you have probably heard it mentioned at some stage on your path to learning Role-Play, but what exactly does this mean you should or shouldn’t do?

The use of the word ‘power’ in the phrase might suggest that it is in some way about aggression or ‘forcing’ yourself in some way with your role-play. Well, yes, it can, but not always, and here is where some of the confusion that we see with newer players comes to play. Actually, any sort of contact, emoting emotions, bodily conditions or responses, that another player hasn’t allowed IC or OOC, is power-play.

Let me give you some examples:

(In each of the examples below, the two players have never met before IC, so they have no role-play history, and this is during a non-capture role-play.)

• Walks up to her and hugs her tight
  
• Smiles at the man and touches his arm in a friendly manner
• Looks at the woman and sees how she sweats from the hot jungle sun
• Punches the man in the face, breaking his nose
• Smiles at the man as he lays in the sun and slowly trickles strawberry juice on his belly, murmuring how she is going to lick it all off
• Whispers in the woman’s ear and watches as she grins at his suggestion

All of the above examples are power-play, even though no one was hurt or attacked. But why?

Role-Play has a set of rules or etiquette, much like RL, there are some things that you may well do at home or with good friends, that you wouldn’t do with strangers. 

I might slap the back-side of my wife playfully when I pass her in the kitchen. But I wouldn’t do it to a stranger as I pass her in the supermarket. It simply isn’t good manners! 

Role-Play works in exactly the same way, what I might do to a regular RP partner, I wouldn’t do to a player I don’t know so well.

But why can’t you touch someone nicely?

Two simple reasons: 

1. It is very bad RP etiquette to do so! 
2. You have no way of knowing if it suits either their character, or their personal preferences. You cannot assume, that another player wants to be touched, hugged or stroked, it is really quite selfish to assume that because you think it’s okay, that they will. So, much like not slapping a stranger’s ass in a supermarket, you don’t force any sort of action on another player.

Well damn it, how can I hug someone then?

How do you role-play things if I can’t touch people then? Well, it really isn’t so hard, you simply make your ‘actions’ an ‘attempt’ instead. Let’s look at the earlier examples of bad RP, and make them ‘correct’.

• Walks up to her and opens her arms to offer her a tight hug
• Smiles at the man and reaching to touch his arm in a friendly manner
• Looks at the woman and nods, “Do you find it hot?”
  
• Throws a punch at the man’s nose, hoping to break it
• Smiles at the man as he lays in the sun and tries to slowly trickle strawberry juice on his belly, murmuring how she is going to lick it all off
• Whispers a joke in the woman’s ear and waits for her reaction

Now, in each case, the other player can decide to allow or stop your attempts. 

So these are firm rules?

Nope, just an etiquette that you are expected to follow when role-playing with others until you know them better, and they are comfortable enough with you to allow it, but remember, the choice is always theirs, not yours, just as yours are with them.

Are there times when this etiquette changes?

Yes, two main ones. 

1. As discussed above, when you are in role-play with someone who you know well and is comfortable with you.
2. In a capture situation. For example, if you are captured and restrained in some way, players have a little more leeway with the rule. HOWEVER, they can emote punching you in the face, BUT, they cannot choose your reaction, any damage, or the result of the blow, that is still yours to emote.
   

Do these rules also apply in sexual Role-Play?

Definitely! 

Because of its very nature, if you are having ERP (Erotic Role-Play) with someone (especially for the first time), they get to choose what touches or actions they will allow, not you! 

So you make an attempt to do something, and then you wait to see how they respond. As before, over time, the more comfortable a player is with you, they may allow you to perform actions, but, the one thing you never, ever, do, is to decide how another player's body reacts to your actions. That always remains their choice to role-play. 

So, I'm sorry folks, the other player gets to decide when they are turned on, hard, wet, ready, or climaxes. You'll just have to make sure that your Role-Play is good enough to get them there! 

So, remember, no matter what type of RP you are having, remember that it is always the other player who chooses if you can touch them, unless you have them trussed up like a turkey as part of combat!