This is a subject that is sure to spark controversy, but one that is close to my heart: what are the archetypes of male roles played on Gor? And why?

Here, I’m not talking in terms of function, profession, or caste, but in terms of personalities: the bad guy, the protector, the brute, the dandy, etc. In other words, the ways of embodying a male character in Gor and bringing him to life.

In doing so, I distinguish between two main types of roles: those that encourage social interaction with other players, and those that destroy it. This is not a personal opinion, but a long-standing experience, the result of years of observation and analysis of the different major player personalities in role-playing media, whether TTRPG, MMORPG and, of course, Second Life and role-playing in the world of Gor.

One of the observations about Gor Second Life is that male players tend to favor the role of villains. This is not at all exclusive to this narrative context, mind you! But Gor Second Life, because it is inspired by the Gor novels, but very few people have read them, or have read more than one or two, favors this model, excluding all other role models, which are just as numerous—and dominant in most of the main characters in the novels.

This is because the morality of Gor is not at all that of 21st-century Westerners, but is very poorly understood and interpreted in its most caricatured form: since Gorean men are sexist, brutal machos in a violent, slave-owning world, they are therefore, logically, all villains. And, to paraphrase a historian friend: it’s much more complicated (i.e., nuanced and varied) than that. Here are two articles about the mentality of the men of Gor, if that helps:

https://www.psychee.org/gorpedia/25-differences-between-humans-goreans/

https://www.psychee.org/gorpedia/the-goreans/

That’s why I’ve classified the types of roles and personalities of Gorean characters into negative and positive categories.

Of course, this classification is archetypal. Fortunately, there are many nuances. But it will give you some information about the good and bad sides of these roles, and maybe some ideas for playing something other than caricatures of evil brutes?

1- Negative roles

I consider these to be negative roles because these “bad guy” roles tend to destroy interaction and roleplay rather than create it. Yeah, because evil characters, in a narrative setting, are the antagonists, not the heroes. Bad guys aren’t positive, and in the context of roleplay on Second Life and how it works, the main consequence of their influence is to scare other players away, possibly generating a lot of OOC drama as a result of the tensions and conflicts their role and behavior create.

The bad guy

Or the “dark sasuke”, an expression that comes from the world of manga and refers to a very dark (and somewhat stupid) antihero from the Naruto universe. He’s the archetype of the guy who wants to come across as mean, dark, dangerous, sinister, sadistic, etc.

And it’s one of the most common archetypes in bad roles for men. Apparently, men like to think of themselves as dark sasukes. They like to feel like they’re making an impression by instilling fear, and thus gaining a dark and attractive charisma. But here’s the thing: it doesn’t work, and it’s often even ridiculed. Because it’s a type of role that doesn’t encourage any meaningful interaction and just makes you want to run away, not hang out with them. To be charismatic, you have to go way beyond that.

The dark (and charismatic) antihero is a complex role that requires great subtlety and a delicate balance between repulsive behavior and a more appealing nature, i.e., between a negative exterior and a positive interior. Good antiheroes all have more or less a good heart and strong human values, but these are hidden behind a thick layer of cynicism, mistrust, misanthropy, or even cunning or coldness. They are therefore worthy of interest, as this nature can shine through and be felt, creating a very interesting attraction.

But in the case of the bad guy played on Gor SL, this depth between behavior and nature is most often non-existent. The character is dark and evil because it’s cool to be dark and good to be evil, and that’s all there is to it. But what’s fun for the player is only occasionally fun for their interlocutors, who are forced to rub shoulders with an individual who, logically, deserves only to be shunned like the plague.

The brute

While the bad guy more or less respects the laws and codes of honor in Gor, the brute respects only one thing: strength. And above all, his own. Because a fairly common characteristic of players who play brutes is that they don’t like to acknowledge strength in others, even when they’ve lost.

The brute is just a role designed to compensate for an insecure ego by trying to make others believe that they are the strongest in a competition that does not exist—role-playing, even on Gor SL, has no winners or losers, but the player who embodies the brute does not understand this. Above all, it’s an excellent excuse for not respecting the codes and laws of Gor, especially hierarchy, authority, and honor. The brute respects only himself and his own code, which is, of course, variable, and which he will impose on others, who will have the choice between submitting or leaving. This type of role is only there to create antagonism, humiliation, conflict, and OOC drama, often with a total lack of fair play and respect for other players. The brute wants to win, and if they can’t win IC, they will try to win OOC.

In short, the role of the brute is a role that a player takes on to let off steam at the expense of others and to show no respect for either the players or the principles of Gor, while of course claiming to be “a true Gorean”, thus proving that the player has never read the novels or simply hasn’t understood them… and doesn’t care. But brutes don’t care about others by definition, except those who approve of them, who are often other brutes, for that matter.

The misogynist

The misogynist is the brute , but only with women. And it’s a very common profile, because Gor SL attracts this type of particularly harmful player, who can assume this role while claiming to be a “true Gorean.”

What else can be said? That it’s often an even more violent and sadistic role than the brute, but above all a perfect excuse to discriminate against and humiliate female players and female roles. The role of the misogynist is therefore a smokescreen for saying “it’s just role-playing” while freely indulging their sexist and misogynistic (and more often than not, homophobic) tendencies.

I don’t think there’s much more to add. Goreans are sexist, meaning they consider there to be a real difference and hierarchy between men at the top and women at the bottom. But they are never misogynistic: they highly respect free women, and above all social ranks, codes of honor, and professional competence, which take precedence over gender issues. A free woman has many rights, including the right to raise her voice to a man and even slap him if he is obnoxious. And the law will rule in her favor (although her family may not appreciate it).

In short, misogyny is as Gorean as a horse. That tells you how absurd it is. But above all, it is a role specifically chosen by a player to give themselves the right to discriminate against, humiliate, and harass their targets, women, and thus destroy interaction and social cohesion between players. It is a role that cannot exist and should never be allowed or tolerated in Gor SL.

The charming manipulator

This is another role that is particularly harmful to group cohesion in Gor Second Life, and it is even a type of player behavior that I wrote an entire article about, which you can find here: https://www.psychee.org/gorpedia/accepting-the-consequences/

This is a type of role that actually hides a type of abusive and predatory player behavior. Their goal is to find a target whom they can monopolize and isolate socially in order to gain their affection and exclusive attention, and then abuse them to satisfy their own ego before discarding them once they are no longer of interest and moving on to the next one. Yes, they are predators, narcissistic perverts.

In general, these roles are recognizable by their marked tendency not to interact much with other players and to behave in an obnoxious, contemptuous, or provocative manner when forced to do so. Since they are not there to prove that they are the strongest or the meanest, their methods are usually lying, manipulation, slander, and denigration. They are very skilled at seducing selected targets in order to create a small circle of players, often deceived themselves, who allow them to validate their goal by using them as tools and thus as unwitting accomplices.

Manipulators are not necessarily easy to recognize. They often resemble dark seducers, whose charming, confident, and provocative side can appear to be a kind of social courage, when in fact it is only a tool they use deliberately to help them isolate their prey. Their great weakness is that they hate being contradicted or questioned directly, and react very violently and dramatically. Manipulators are there to hunt and trap their prey so they can consume them at their leisure; all other players are just tools or obstacles.

I don’t think it’s necessary to add that this type of role, which hides narcissistic and therefore harmful, dangerous, and despicable human behavior, should be anything but welcome on a sim once identified.

2- Positive roles

Positive roles are roles specifically chosen by players to try to generate positive, enriching, even friendly social interactions. These are roles intended to be those of characters who are socially considered acceptable and interesting, or even simply nice.

There can be a wide range of nuances: a protector or a dandy may have some darker aspects, or be closer to an anti-hero than a hero. But the ultimate goal of players embodying these roles is to get along well with other players and have rich and positive social interactions within the context of roleplay on Gor Second Life.

The indifferent

The indifferent is a fairly common role for a character whose player is not sure what to do with them from a purely social point of view. They are usually characters who are primarily devoted to their professional and/or caste function and who put all other forms of social interaction on the back burner.

So why do I call them indifferent? Because in the social context of Gor Second Life, they are characters who are never interested in seduction or interacting with free women and kajirae, except in a professional context. They have their job, their role, their own goals, and that’s all they care about. He will generally not reach out to others much, except in the context of his professional activities, but will always be inclined to talk about work and topics related to his work.

In short, this can be a friendly role, but one that is very distant from certain social concerns. This is a way of playing your character that allows for a certain amount of flexibility when the player is unsure how to navigate the complex codes and social relationships of Gor. It is therefore often a positive role chosen by beginners, because it allows them to get started and acclimatize to the world of Gor when they are unsure how to begin.

The dandy

The dandy is a role of a cheeky and sometimes marginal seducer who plays with the social and even sartorial codes of his time. What characterizes the dandy on Gor is less his appearance, which is often sophisticated and original, than his behavior, which is somewhat different from social norms. He will respect the main codes of Gor, including the codes of honor, but will somewhat mock common social norms. He will not pay much attention to taboos, rules of decorum, or established codes of behavior, and will sometimes play with them with finesse and derision.

The dandy is the perfect role for players who don’t like the more compartmentalized and caricatured social aspects of Gor and Gorean men, and who don’t want to play a bad guy or a fighter. So while being very careful not to cross the boundaries of Gorean laws and codes, the dandy is eccentric, impertinent, a bit provocative, very often seductive, and likes to play at shaking up the social preconceptions of his milieu. But playing a somewhat marginal character does not mean playing a character who is above the law or outside society. The role of the dandy is precisely to be part of society and, through his somewhat original behavior, to push its boundaries and norms.

The dandy is a seducer, and he will take pleasure in playing in a refined and amusing way with the kajirae, in disturbing young free women with his talents as a smooth talker and his always well-measured impertinence. Basically, he is a very sociable character, even if he deliberately cultivates his difference in the form of apparent misanthropy. A dandy likes to shake things up and challenge the rules, but never to the point of putting himself in danger or risking the safety of others. This type of role should be seen as a gambler who likes to bet on how far he can go with his impertinence without crossing the line into what is unacceptable to others.

I’ve always enjoyed these roles: the dandy can take many forms, expressing his originality in a blatant way, or more discreetly, which can only be guessed at by spending time with him. He can be exuberant or more solitary in appearance. But above all, it’s often a role played by very friendly players who don’t feel constrained by any taboo against openly socializing with kajirae and free women.

The protector

Does the paladin exist on Gor? Well, in a world with such rigid and standardized social codes, but where, outside the cities, there is little law, yes, we can easily imagine him: he is the protector. The role of the protector is really to play the most archetypal aspect of the Gorian man, taking all the basics but in a positive way, and making this rule his own: “A violent man is a brute, an authoritarian man is a master.”

The protector is not necessarily a good guy, but above all, he is fair: his role is to protect those under his responsibility, and he does not consider his dominant position as a power he can abuse, but as a responsibility he has to fulfill. It would never occur to this type of character to inflict suffering or humiliation on anyone, except in cases of absolute necessity. Nor will he ever give in to the degradation of others, anger, or thoughtless violence. Before being a master of others, he is an individual who must master himself.

In short, take the best of a virile, masculine character, add a good dose of compassion, patience, respect and listening skills, self-discipline and moral rigor, a touch of paternalism, and you have a protector. To this, of course, you can add the aspect of the Gorian master, but in all his best qualities. A protector prefers obedience through intelligence, loyalty, and genuine devotion rather than through fear and coercion.

It is a very positive male role, particularly attractive to other players in general, especially women, but it is also a difficult role to master, as it clearly requires thoughtful, measured, and wise behavior. I have rarely seen this type of role, and when I have, it is most often played best by men who have real, positive, and respectful experience as BDSM dominants or… by women playing men in this role. Why in the latter case? Because it is, quite simply, probably the most sought-after and appreciated male role among women in Gor Second Life in general.

The good guy

The good guy is simply the nice man in the world of Gor Second Life. And it’s such a simple concept that it’s actually not that easy to define in detail. But to put it simply, regardless of his function, profession, or caste, he is a man who is motivated and guided by a moral compass that always leads him to do the right thing, with great sociability and compassionate and humanistic behavior.

But being compassionate and humanistic does not mean being pacifist or weak, especially not in the world of Gor. While some good guys will be, there will be just as many who are ready to take up arms and show no mercy in defending their moral compass, whether to defend themselves or others. A good guy warrior is not unlikely. He may clearly show himself to be ruthless with his enemies and in the face of any threat he must confront, but he will show himself to be much kinder and more conciliatory when the use of force is not necessary. Kind and humanistic does not mean effeminate or socially weak.

And of course, in Gor Second Life, this is the kind of role that tends to clash head-on with negative male roles, whose players will be the first to say that being kind means being weak. This is absurd and reflects a misunderstanding of both human nature and Gor. We have to accept it, it’s a constant. But in the novels, there are many men who are clearly good guys, while being self-assured Gor’s, whose decisions and actions make my blood run cold, but who are perfectly motivated and consistent with the world of Gor. And there are other good guys who accept their weakness and excessive kindness and compensate for it in other ways, by having influence or wealth rather than big muscles.

In short, the good guy is a socially very positive role, often very comfortable in their interactions with other players and who has the advantage of attracting positive attention in general—except from negative male roles, for whom they are somewhat despicable competition.