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2022-01-21, 01:51 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Jun 2012
- Location
- Next to the Mandolinist
Depiction of alcohol in roleplaying
Since "meeting in a tavern" is such a common trope in roleplaying (and "minors drinking alcohol" shows up frequently in media, but that's beside the point), some of my friends and I were wondering about how that intersects with forum rules and roleplaying
Specifically, the fact that when it comes to determining what counts as "illegal drugs" this forum appears to use US federal laws, and alcohol (even though it's not considered an illegal drug, is considered an age-restricted drug and so could fall afoul of the "no illegal activity" rule even if it doesn't break the "no illegal drug discussion") has a federal US law against the sale and public consumption of alcohol for those under 21* (*with certain exceptions)
In other words, to ask a specific question,
In roleplaying in a fantasy/1800s/British/scifi/other setting, and if someone has a 19-year-old character, is it against forum rules for them to go into a tavern and order a beer, because it would be illegal in current federal US laws? Likewise, if a party member bought it and they drank in private, would that be acceptable, forum rules-wise, because it would be legal (but that specific situation would be against the forum rules if the character were a minor instead)? Or would it be against the rules anyway because it would be too difficult to moderate according to specific legal exceptions? Or would it all be acceptable, rules-wise, because alcohol isn't an illegal drug but just a restricted drug, and so that forum rule doesn't apply to it? And, for that matter, how does it apply to fictional long-lived races like elves and dwarves, or short-lived races like kobolds etc, especially because, although gaming books sometimes say when some races reach adulthood, adulthood would match up better with 18 and not 21? Should we just use our best judgment? Or is there some specific policy that has already decided on?
I'm sorry that this question is so complicated; I tried searching for if this question has been asked before, but apparently I'm not good enough at searching to find something.Favorite sports:
Fencing
Football (Soccer)
Figure Skating
(and basically everything else that starts with 'f')ALSO! Come roleplay FFRPG in the Nexus!Nexus Characters.
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2022-01-21, 03:04 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Nov 2019
Re: Depiction of alcohol in roleplaying
I don't think what a character does in a game is typically in issue, whether it breaks the law or not. Otherwise, I imagine there would be a lot more serious issues than with drinking. What adventurers call dungeon crawling, courts usually calls trespassing and manslaughter.
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2022-01-21, 08:24 PM (ISO 8601)
- Join Date
- Sep 2005
- Gender
Re: Depiction of alcohol in roleplaying
Sheriff: Here are my tips to keep it Rules-compliant:
- Keep it inside the fiction (don't discuss it in the OOC thread)
- Don't fetishize or get excessively graphic about illegal content
- Don't explain how to violate the law or avoid enforcement
- Fade to black at any time you are concerned that it isn't appropriate
As for this issue specifically, it probably isn't an issue.