Inevitably, the dilemma of how gameplay should be applied to roleplay has come up many times. There are some long-standing issues, such as the prevalence of rebirth classes, that often have split views by players as to just how much these things affect roleplay. The following lists the guidelines that the AeonRO community, and the staff, generally follow.

Gameplay should never be used as a justification for anything. That is to say, RP fights should not be settled by determining whether one’s Hit stat would overwhelm one’s Flee enough, or because Soul Strike never misses its mark, it is unevadable. The RO system is simply not a balanced, coherent format for roleplay (small wonder - it was never intended for it, after all). One’s levels, statistics, or equipment do not determine a particular element in a fight - roleplay does (and, to an extent, errata). That is to say that a player who has leveled intensely in a short period of time, surpassing others along the way, does not instantly prevail as such in the field of roleplay; indeed, a large fundamental of freeform roleplay - which is what AeonRO has, for the most part - depends on prestige. That is, the amount of roleplay you’ve accomplished (and to more people the better) and how much people respect said roleplay is what’s ultimately going to determine how seriously people take you, in the long run. A long-time player who has a well-known character throughout the entire world will generally be given far more credit in RP than a new one who has spent his days here grinding to an advanced class.

What gameplay can do is provide a baseline as to how to roleplay. Most people will agree that knights and crusaders are more durable than the other classes, that hunters are good with a bow, that a wizard’s spells can be devastating. Most people will agree that a lord knight is going to outclass a swordsman in combat; these are just “common sense” things that we all use as a guideline for sanity. A more detailed description of the classes’ strengths and weaknesses can be found in the standard class guidelines. The “exceptions” to these, as one could imagine, are defined in errata. The emphasis on having errata if you intend to play an above-normal-reach character cannot be stressed more; if you WANT to play a godly ten-time fistfighter who knows every martial art in the world, yes, you’re going to need errata. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Level 99 Champion.

Since this particular issue has cropped up often, the staff has taken the liberty of defining more closely the differences between rebirth classes and regular classes. There has been a mentality, in the past, which seems to imply that those possessing advanced characters are a huge step up on the power scale than the “normal” classes. It should be made clear at this point that this is not true. A lord knight is generally defined to be a knight of particular valor or achievement, perhaps with a title to his name; it is no more significant than, say, the captain of the guards as opposed to one of the men who serve him. At times, even this distinction isn’t necessary. As such, advanced classes are considered to have a marginal increase in ability over regular classes at best - and this presumes that both characters are matched in roleplay prestige. There is absolutely nothing unreasonable against a hunter outperforming a sniper, no more than it is unreasonable to see the underdog prevail against worse odds; and in roleplay, the realm of fantasy, such occurrences are quite often. Rebirth classes also tend to be addressed by their literal name (paladin, stalker, etc. as opposed to crusader, rogue) when in truth they really aren’t all that different. The same guidelines as the standard classes apply. You do not need an advanced character to roleplay a position of significance; far from it. That honor is reserved for those who have spent time and commitment to being active on this server (and more often than not, with well-done errata), regardless of what level or class their character is. The best way to stand out in roleplay isn’t to level; it’s to roleplay.