Playact ability

The PLAYACT ability allows a skilled Bard to embellish or otherwise enhance a story, play or performance with custom third-person messaging. It is very similar in function to the ACTION verb, but without the parentheses around the messaging.

Playacting is taught at 20th circle by any guildleader and can be used in bars, taverns and other worthy performance spaces. At 40th circle, the Bard is taught more advanced techniques that allow them to use the PLAYACT verb in any room regardless of it suitability for performance.

Playacting taps into the Bardic Mojo pool so a Bard may find the need to rest for awhile to replenish their mojo after a taxing performance.

Usage

PLAYACT

 SYNTAX:   PLAYACT START        Starts your performance.
           PLAYACT STOP         Ends your performance.
           PLAYACT <message>    Acts out your performance.

** NOTE: THIS IS A TOOL TO AUGMENT PLAYS, ACTS, STORYTELLING, OR  **
** PERFORMANCES.  USAGE IN ANY OTHER WAY IS ABUSE AND WILL RESULT **
** IN IT BEING TAKEN AWAY!                                        **

Abuse

Because of the high potential for abuse with this ability, there are some strict guidelines regarding its use in the Prime and Platinum instances of the game. These guidelines were outlined by GM Deryka in the following post from the Bard folders on the DR forums.

Playacting Guidelines (from the Bard Guild FAQ folder) [1]:

"The general guidelines for playacting are simple: If it's not something your character could do, were you in a real-life setting, then it's not something you should be playacting. However a great deal of leeway is given when it comes to performances, especially plays, because of the limited nature of our environment. Appending the name of your 'role' to your own name, using flourishes and theatrical techniques (such as producing a dagger from thin air) that a trained performer would be able to do are all perfectly fine.

Less tolerance is given to someone 'fooling around' by transforming themselves into a troll, flying around the room, or doing normally impossible feats for no other reason than to just do them. For this you likely wouldn't receive a warning, but rather a nudge via SEND to keep things on track. We all have a fun-loving nature and need to stretch our wings sometime, but we'll let you know if you're taking it too far.

There is only one true thing we have no tolerance on at all, and that is using PLAYACT to abuse, scam, or otherwise harass someone. Depending upon the severity of what occured, you can lose your ability to playact for any length of time, and/or rack up warnings and time out of the game. There are no second chances on this score, since you are warned by typing PLAYACT by itself that it is meant as a performance tool, nothing more" (-GM Deryka).