[quote=@Captain Jordan]
Honestly, I've never seen an 18+ Roleplay that has actually been too mature for a high school student. 

I temper this with several caveats: 
-I'm not saying that the 18+ restriction doesn't exist for some legal reasons (as weak as they are). It does. They should be respected for that, for reasons stated above. 
-I'm talking about 18+ roleplays that don't actually venture into X-rated territory. Graphic sex, abuse, torture, rape, I'm sure those exist in roleplays somewhere. On the whole, R-rated/18+ roleplays don't usually involve those subjects, and I am speaking about those roleplays in particular. 

[...]
And that's the key here. Consent. Legally, a minor cannot consent to a whole host of actions which s/he would otherwise be mature enough to handle. Not because there's some conspiracy against them, but because the law was designed that way. For some, it sucks. For most, it's just right. For a few, it's not enough. 

Could you join an 18+ roleplay, act mature enough and avoid detection? Yep, probably.

Should you? No. If, and it's a big if but the if still exists, the Guild was ever discovered to have minors participating in mature situations, Mahz and the Guild would probably come under legal suspicion. It can cause problems. RPG is probably not as big of a target as the old Neopets once was, or other big boards like that, but the threat still exists. The best way to avoid this and keep the Guild away from that kind of trouble is to respect the 18+ restriction and wait a few years. 
[/quote]

Not only Mahz and the Guild, but also the person you were RPing with. There are so many things that [i]could[/i] happen - though they likely won't - that the people who are posting the 18+ interest checks need to cover their rear.

Like Mahz said, though, the main thing is trust. Be honest with the people you want to RP with. And I've seen many interest checks without the adult content warning - which on here often doesn't mean blood/gore/violence/language, but rather bedroom activities.

To answer the question in the subject, though: No, I don't think 12 is too young to RP in general. It is great for expanding your imagination and improving your writing skills. Keeping it appropriate for all parties involved is key, though.