Lifestylers Don’t Role-Play

Role-players are hated by Lifestylers and they frequently complain that Role-players are bringing their lifestyle into disrepute, and causing it great harm. This is most puzzling to the uninitiated, because The Lifestylers seem to spend a great deal of time, sitting in chat rooms that they call Taverns. In these Taverns, the men, or “Masters” as they insist they are referred to talk to one another about matters Gorean. They will assure you that they are from the caste of warriors, or scribes or whatever particular caste they fancy emulating.

They will discuss a slave they have purchased or they will talk about something that happened in Ar that day. (Ar being a Gorean City).

They often describe their bodily functions. This is puzzling, because John Norman does not choose to describe his characters as belching and farting all the time, but obviously these “Gorean Masters” have decided that such descriptions are what real men are all about, so that is what they do. That and picking lint out of their navel and liberally insulting each other in a boysie sort of way. E.G. “What is that smell!” as soon as their friend’s name pops up on their notify list.

The slaves however, enter the taverns with elaborate descriptions of how they are kneeling and begging, and then they beg to serve. They describe how their delectable forms glide about the Tavern, and how they prepare and fetch the Masters various Gorean food and drinks. Each *serve* is liable to take many paragraphs. In a busy channel, where many slaves are *serving* each taking up many paragraphs. Everyone who enters or leaves, gives the traditional greetings and farewells. (A great deal is made of greeting. Every person greets everyone else, although the *Masters* frequently ignore the *slaves* and slaves have to get permission if they are serving before they greet) and as each person free or slave leaves, they wish everyone well.

So with you can see how anything of interest said in a channel easily gets lost as it scrolls by at a rate of knots and one has to be a very skilled user of chat programs in order to keep up. They are very skilled, it seems they spend vast amounts of time involved in this particular pass time. The initiated will greet each other with “Tal” for the Masters and “Greetings” for the slaves. They love to catch people out, who make mistakes and say “Tal” in the wrong place to the wrong person. Often a web page telling you the rules of a *Tavern* will explain harshly that if you are a Gamer, then you had best go else where and play, for this channel is for Goreans Lifestylers. They then go on to describe their *Tavern*. It’s servery and whipping post and sand pit. There will be the menu of all the delicious Gorean foods you can eat. Roast Bosk, Vulo eggs, Ta grapes. And the drinks, Ka la na, Paga, Black Wine. (never ask for Black Wine by its earth name, coffee) The most famous, (they would wish it to be infamous), Gorean Lifestylers have web pages, with elegant drawings that bear no resemblance to what they actually look like, and they make statements like:
“He no longer rides a tarn, preferring the speed of his Kaiila, and his long sword has been replaced with the feared weapon of the Tahari...the scimitar...of which he has become a Master.”

and similarly “She wears the robes of concealment and veils as befits her standing.

Those who make these statements educate and berate others who role-play. They fiercely inform others that it is a Lifestyle for them, and that they are the same when they turn their computer off as they are when they are online. They also are very proud of their honour and conduct and give no consideration to the contradictory statements to this that their websites clearly show. We must accept that this behaviour is not Gaming or Role-playing. The explanation you might be given, if you are not kicked and banned for saying it seems a bit like role-play to you, is that they are “Creating a Gorean Atmosphere.”