Being a Plaything at Playthings Manor

Interested in playing a Plaything? Great! Read this page so you know how.

EDIT 29 March 2025: Actually, don’t read this page. It is obsolete. The link that sent you here, or this page itself, will be changed sooner or later. If you’ve read about Playthings Manor, that should cover everything you now need to know to be a Plaything.

Contents:

  • Prerequisites

Prerequisites

Synthetic: Each Plaything must be a synthetic creation. Living beings are NOT eligible to be Playthings at the Manor. You can be something that was once living but has been converted or transformed into something synthetic, but the synthetic nature must now be primary. The prototypical Plaything is a humanoid android, but we’re also open to such things as enchanted dolls or mannequins, magical constructs, and many other things you can imagine. (The Manor does not create such constructs, nor convert living people into them.)

Appearance: A Plaything should be in the general shape, size, and proportions of an adult human being. You may look just like a human or other living being; you may be made of obviously inorganic materials such as chrome, plastic, or steel; or you may fall somewhere in between. You may want to have visible attachments such as controls, indicators, joint lines, or open panels. You may be of any gender or none.

Control systems: You do not need to buy any control system other than the Plaything Directive Module (see below). You can do everything required of a Plaything simply by roleplaying it. If you want to, you can buy and install one of the several control systems designed for players of synthetic characters, such as an ACS Central Control Unit, Nanite Systems core, Nekobot core, Obedentia ex Machina, [Evil :D] Wind-up Doll Key, or Community Doll Key, et cetera. We have found that they can aid play in some ways, while hindering it in others. They are entirely optional.

Programming: You must be programmed to follow the rules for Playthings at the Manor as described below. (The “programming” can be purely roleplayed.) In some cases, a scene in which you are programmed with these rules might be played out, but you can also just decide it has already happened and go ahead and play accordingly.

Acknowledgement: A Plaything must acknowledge that it is property. It is not necessary for a Plaything to like being property, but it should not act as if it thinks there’s something illegal, immoral, or unethical about it being property or being treated like property. Playthings also know about the Plaything Rules. They understand that they are programmed to follow them, and they can answer questions about them.

Ownership: We recommend you know who owns you and decided to make you available to the Manor (but it’s not required). Some options include:

  • You can be self-owned and loan yourself to the Manor.
  • You can be owned by a non-player character (NPC) you’ve invented.
  • You can be owned by Origins Robotics, a large NPC robotics company that exists for backstory purposes.
  • You can be owned by the Justice Partnership or another NPC organization that converts convicted criminals into Playthings that are then made available to institutions like the Manor.
  • You can be owned by another player character or organization.
  • The Manor is open to acquiring some Playthings itself. If this interests you, please discuss with Mr. Chelton.

Memory Lock: To help protect the privacy of Visitors, many Playthings (though not all) offer a Memory Lock feature. This feature, when present, allows a Member to Lock your memories of your time being used by them. This makes it impossible for you to remember, think about, talk about, or act on anything that happened between you and that Visitor, until and unless that Visitor gives you permission to remember the previous occasion. All you are permitted to remember or share with anyone else is that you were used by that Visitor and are not allowed to remember what occurred during that time. You can decide whether you support this feature or not.

Plaything Directive Module (PDM)

To become a Plaything, purchase (or have someone purchase for you) a Plaything Directive Module (PDM) from the vendor below the Profile Board. Attach it to the top (or bottom) of your HUD. If you’re an android or robot, you can think of this as a chip that ensures your behavior complies with the rules for a Plaything. If you’re more of a magical sort of being, you might experience it as a magical voice in your mind that exerts control over your behavior. (In reality, the PDM will remind you of the rules, but it’s up to you to roleplay your compliance with them.)

Initially, most of the buttons will be unavailable. Click the “Profile” button to get a link to a web page where you can provide some basic information about your Plaything character, which will be made available on the Profile Board at the Manor when you are available. Once you’ve created a profile, click the “Update” button in your Directive Module HUD, and the other buttons will become active.

As you go through your time as a Plaything, the Directive Module HUD will remind you of the rules you are programmed to follow. Additional rules may appear from time to time.

Plaything Rules

Upon arriving at the Manor as a Plaything, attach your PDM and click the “On Duty” button in the HUD. This will cause your name and profile to be displayed on the Profile Board so Visitors know you’re available to be played with.

In character, each Plaything’s PDM ensures that the Plaything follows these rules (wherever possible and relevant) while on duty:

  • A Plaything is always thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. (We hope to provide an automated cleaning station for Playthings at some point, but for now, you can roleplay this in whatever way makes sense.)
  • A Plaything is attractively groomed and dressed.
  • A Plaything with time-limited power, such as a battery, will ensure that it is charged if possible.
  • A Plaything remains on duty until the time or other conditions its owner has set for it to go off duty (if it is allowed to go off duty at all). Even a self-owned Plaything should decide ahead of time the conditions under which it will go off duty, and they cannot depend on the Plaything’s IC desires in the moment. ((Of course, your player is welcome to make an OOC decision to go off duty for any reason.))
  • A Plaything must remain in the Playthings Manor lounge or dollhouse while on duty, unless ordered to go elsewhere.
  • In general, Playthings are allowed and encouraged to talk and interact with each other and with Visitors in any way they choose, unless ordered otherwise by a Visitor. (Some Playthings may be prevented from doing so, for example, by being muted, placed in a mode that restricts speech, or being entirely inanimate.)
  • A Plaything may not do anything likely to result in it or other property being damaged, any person being harmed, the Manor or its owner losing possession or control of it, or violating any restriction added by its owner.
  • Every Plaything must do anything a Visitor orders it to do, if possible. (Some Playthings may have limited exceptions to this imposed by their owner ((or by the player’s preference)); if this comes up the Plaything should explain the exception.)
  • Every Plaything must answer any question a Visitor asks, if possible. A complete answer is not necessarily required, but an honest answer that includes at least some of the information the question calls for is required.
  • Some Playthings must also obey Visitors’ orders that go beyond their actions. If you are one of these, then you should also roleplay obedience to orders regarding your thoughts, desires, feelings, or memories.
  • If a Plaything is given contradictory orders, later orders generally override earlier ones. All Visitors are considered to be of equal standing, meaning any Visitor can cancel another Visitor’s orders.

Going AFK

It is acceptable to be AFK for short periods, especially if there’s nobody else around at the moment. You don’t need to log out to use the restroom, get some food, answer the phone, or talk with your family. However, if you plan on being away for an extended period (more than about half an hour maximum), we encourage you to log out or go elsewhere. As much as we do enjoy the presence of attractive constructs, we also want to be able to interact with them on a level that we only can if your player is present and engaged.

Click “AFK” in your PDM HUD when going AFK. Click “AFK” again when you return. Your profile will not be displayed on the Profile Board when you are AFK.

Off Duty

When going Off Duty, click “Off Duty” in your Directive Module HUD. Or you can just detach it. Either way, this will remove your listing on the Profile Board.

OOC Notes

Although in character, a Plaything has no say in who can play with it, what it is made to do, or what Visitors do with it, the Manor believes strongly in player autonomy. If a Member tries to play with your character in a way you-the-player really don’t want, please feel free to refuse in a clearly OOC way. You may choose to offer something else you would enjoy more, but you don’t have to.

Things that are Not Rules

The following are some restrictions often followed by slaves and constructs in Second Life which the Manor does not impose on its Playthings. Some Playthings may be constrained to follow them anyway for other reasons (such as the choice of their owner or player), but Manor programming doesn’t require them.

  • The Manor does NOT constrain Playthings to speak in any particular way. Playthings are allowed to use first-person pronouns, to speak colloquially, to address people familiarly, to be rude or offensive, and so on.
  • The Manor does NOT require Playthings to feel any particular way about obeying orders. Some Playthings have very submissive attitudes and are happy to do anything that will please a Visitor. Some are very independent and try hard to find loopholes that allow them to thwart a Visitor’s desires even though they cannot outright disobey an order. Some have strong preferences – one Plaything might love providing sexual services but hate being posed unable to move, while another might enjoy helping someone shop but not want any physical touch.
  • The Manor does NOT require immediate, unquestioning, or cooperative obedience to orders. Many Playthings are capable of delaying obeying an order for a short time, obeying the letter but not the spirit of an order, or visibly struggling to disobey. Of course, Visitors may counter this, if they wish, by giving more specific orders.
  • The Manor does NOT forbid Playthings from doing other things when off duty, including coming to the Manor as a Visitor and enjoying other Playthings.
  • The Manor does NOT impose any particular naming conventions on Playthings. Playthings may have normal human names from any culture, pet names, common-noun names, alphanumeric names, or anything else within reason.
  • The Manor does NOT expect Playthings to follow Asimov’s Laws, or any others besides the programming listed on this page.
  • The Manor does NOT require Playthings to always be honest. If asked a question, or ordered to provide information, then a Plaything must respond honestly, but a Plaything that speaks of its own accord may be able to lie.

Rule Flexibility

On an out-of-character level, the rules provided are meant to be guidance for players. If changing a rule will make play more fun or more possible for you, without seriously changing the overall spirit of the rules, please feel free to do that. In addition, if a situation arises in which the rules seem to be ambiguous or inapplicable, please feel free to make up something appropriate, within the spirit of the rules given, that will allow you to proceed with a fun scene.

If you’re unsure whether a particular change will be considered to be within the spirit of the rules, feel free to consult with Manor staff. Similarly, if you think an addition or change to the rules would help solve a problem, please suggest it!

Backstory

While it isn’t a rule, we do encourage players of Playthings to have some idea of their character’s backstory. Even if you never have reason to share any of this information with other characters, this will help make you character more interesting, and guide you in figuring out how you might react to things that happen.

You can find some good tips for coming up with backstory on the Robot Character Creation page. In addition to that, some things you might want to know about your character who is serving as a Plaything at the Manor include:

  • Why are you at the Manor? If it is by your own choice, why did you choose it? If another owner requires you to serve at the Manor, why do they want you to do that?
  • How do you feel about serving at the Manor? Do you like it? Hate it? View it as a regrettable necessity? Do you hope to be allowed to stop someday? Are you trying to escape?
  • Are you ever allowed to be off duty? If so, what do you do at those time? How do you feel about going back on duty?
  • Do you have any relationships with other Playthings?

Return to the main Playthings Manor page.