Roleplay Guide

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tornadocondoc
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Roleplay Guide

Postby tornadocondoc » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:22 pm

Presented here is a list of various roleplay tips and guides compiled years ago by myself.

We'll start with definitions, then move on to a general roleplay guide.

Definitions

Mary-Sue - A perfect female character.

Gary-Stu - A perfect male character.

ooc - out of character. Always denote when you are speaking in ooc! Whether it is with (( )) or as ooc: !

RP - role play. That should be obvious to anyone.

npc - non-playable character, A character that is existent in the Roleplay but is not played by any specific character.

God-moding - playing your character as though he or she can never die, never get hurt, manages to save or destroy something every time, has all knowledge, etc. You must realize that you are in a role play, not creating your own short story. Thus, each member of the role play must be allowed to be the hero/heroine, or villain/villainess at times as well

Auto-hits - An auto-hit is where when two or more characters are fighting, the attacking character doesn't give the other character a chance to block, or strike back. More specifically, I could state: || Athaele swung low while Drualt was distracted and cut off his legs.|| Unless Drault is your character, you cannot state the fate of the other character, (cutting off his legs). If the blow is deserved, and if the other role player is literate, they will recognize your swing and take injury, but the extent of the injury is up to them. (I hope this isn't confusing.)

Chat speak - Things such as "Omg" "Pwned" "u" "Ur" "Lol" And ect.
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Re: Roleplay Guide

Postby tornadocondoc » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:47 pm

PART ONE: GENERAL LEVELS

Note: The 'levels' in this guide are breakdowns of Beginner [Level One-Four], Semi-Lit [Level Five & Six], Literate [Level Seven], and Advanced-Literate [Level Eight]

Roleplaying isn't that much different from story writing. In fact, some stories are actually based off of roleplays. In order to be a good role player, basic skills are needed. This includes; basic typing skills [learning the setup of the keyboard can drastically change your abilities, as can constant practice], grammar skills [learn how to use abbreviations properly, and remember that spelling, unfortunately, does count], and a positive attitude [don't bring yourself down and compare your skills to others, EVERYONE can get better, no one is perfect]

And now I proudly present: THE ROLEPLAYING SCALE

Level One: Basic role playing, simple, not very detailed, minimal information used, stars for actions. EX:

*runs in and says hi*

Level Two: Stars still used, though writing might be a bit more complex with grammatical correctness.

*walks into the room, looks around, smiling at everyone present* Hello

Level Three: No stars used for actions, however, lax spelling, no punctuation, small, "one-liners". EX:


suzie walks into the room and looks at all the people there. "hi guys!"

Level Four: Slightly more complex, involves grammar input, and proper spelling. However, posts are still within "One liner range". EX:

Suzie enters the room, and looks around. "Hey everyone!" She says smiling.

Level Five: One liners are gone, the beginning of full paragraphs starts. Third to last level. Classification: Short Story. EX:

Laura walks into the room. Her hair is tied back and her dress is ironed, the picture of perfection. She smiles at Kate and walks over to her friend. "Hey Kate!" She says, smiling brightly. Lately, whenever she set eyes on her friend, she felt this strange fluttery feeling in her chest. It was difficult to identify and quickly brushed off.


Level Six: No more single paragraphs, proper punctuation, uses smaller font, fills up at least two paragraphs worth of information. Classification: Story. DETAILS!!!!! EX:

Artemis found himself amused at the actions of his twin brothers. He had to admit, their behavior could be endearing at times. Still, their cognitive development was far from complete. Hence why he had created flashcards and a few easy-to-learn games for the boys to further their intellect. They were Fowls after all, and he wasn't about to permit them to fall behind.

He had accepted all possibility that they would not be as intelligent as himself. That they could end up average. The idea didn't irk him as much as it would have before the time jump. No, Artemis was comfortable enough to admit that he would be just fine if they weren't as intelligent as he was. As long as his brothers found some form of happiness, he knew they would be just fine.

Unfortunately, most of Beckett's happiness involved making massive messes.


Level Seven: Really hitting the nail on the head. Plenty of full paragraphs that paint a decent picture. Ex:

She stared.

For a moment that felt like an eternity frozen in time, she simply stared. She felt like a well had open beneath her feet. That she had fallen in and was just floating in space. She was aware of the sound that accompanied the arrival of Mokona, her dreams were full of nothing but that noise.

Because that sound meant he was coming home. Home to her. Home to where he truly belonged.

So in this moment, this brief instant in time when she finally saw him again, she could hardly believe she was waking. For a moment the Princess believed this was another dream. That her brother Touya would awaken her soon with a pillow to the face in a rather unceremonious [yet highly favored] method of sibling rousing. But no… for several slow glorious heartbeats it seemed this wasn’t a dream. This was no fantasy or illusion of the mind.

Finally drawing in breath she trembled for a moment, hands clenching at her sides before finally she burst from where she stood like a shot out of a cannon, racing toward the male and flinging herself in the air. Mid-jump her arms closed around him. Oh she didn’t care if these actions brought them both toppling to the ground, for this was a moment she had spent eons waiting for. Fresh tears fell from her eyes, hastily brushed away as she nuzzled his neck, taking in the familiar scent of the only one who made her feel complete.

When she spoke, her voice wavered. Perhaps in the back of her mind some fear lingered. A fear that this would all be torn away again. She had already lost her most precious person twice…

“Welcome home.”


Level Eight: Just look at all those paragraphs. YEAH BOI. EX:

There she was just walking down the hall. Oddly enough she was alone. Merlin’s beard if Lily Evans wasn’t the greatest mystery in the universe. She wasn’t some simple conquest. From the moment he met her on the Hogwarts Express, something had awakened in him. He knew that it was his destiny to be at her side, or get hexed into oblivion trying.

She wasn’t just any ol’ girl either. To James, she was absolutely perfect. Down to the way her nose crinkled when she told a fib.

Not that he could ever tell her how enchanting he found her. Whenever he opened his mouth around her his brain froze and his groin did most of the talking. That’s what James hated most. He knew he was conceited, but it was hard not to be when you were just so great.

Alright, she had knocked him down a few pegs last time they spoke, he was a bit more humble and hopefully she would see that. He also had a brilliant plan. Instead of looking right at her beautiful enchanting green eyes, he would look just above them. To the freckles that dotted her browline.

Maybe then he’d be able to concentrate enough to articulate what he really wanted to say.

"Oi. Evans." He called. Causing her to turn around. Her brow immediately creased, creating a downward slope right to her—

Her eyes. They had to have been crafted by Goblins because they were just flawless. Beautiful emeralds that glinted whenever she talked about something she was passionate about. Like that one muggle game… oh what was it called? Football?

As he thought this his mouth unfortunately went on autopilot.

"So when do you wanna ask me out? Is now a good time or should I pencil you in for half past?"

She unleashed a knockback jinx so fast he swore his head was spinning.

As he slumped against the corridor wall he heard the familiar laughter of his best friend. James sighed.

"Isn’t she just the most beautiful woman you’ve ever seen?"
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Re: Roleplay Guide

Postby tornadocondoc » Sat Feb 07, 2015 5:53 pm

Topic Tips

Introduction:

The word 'plot' comes to mind when one starts writing a story, a roleplay, a screenplay, a play, anything that involves story. But to many people who write, it normally only gives the idea of what is going to happen, the setting, the events and so forth. Many people forget that it is the characters that forward the plot, they are the things that set everything in motion.

Plot does not magically appear with the creation of a character; Frankenstein's monster might open his eyes, but until he gets up from the table and does something, there is little basis for a plot. Plot comes with your characters' taking action; with their interaction with others; with their traits being applied to imagined scenarios. This preparation was crucial, but unfortunately your task doesn't end there. On the contrary, it's just beginning. Now it's time to consider a whole new set of issues as you let your characters help you create your plot, as you begin to weave the endlessly rich and complicated tapestry of character interaction.

The characters have their own mind. Their mind is not your own, they are the figments of everything that you wish that you could be, but also the figments of everything you resent. Characters are reflections of your own heart, your own feelings. Everything that you could ever imagine could go to your characters.

Some people, may take that to the extreme and make everything they wish come true. Thus resulting in a character known to many-a-RPer as a "mary Sue". Some take it the other way and make it everything that they have always resented, thus making it a character that is challenging to RP and thus resulting in a very bad character.

Much of the time though, I see many a character with a short biography. Many times I see the "Not much is known." Line typed along the paragraphs known as the biography. If not that it is the lines of "_____ cannot remember anything about his/her past." _____ being the character name. Even if they cannot remember, it is possible that figments of the memories can be unearthed in the character's life before the Role Play has started. It would be crucial to know when that character's memory has stopped, thus they would not forever be in a constant state of amnesia. That would be a horror.

This guide is more questions than it is answers. It is a way for you to look deeper into the mind of your characters. Sit down to drink tea with them, and find out more about them. Your characters are alive, they are living breathing people, it is your job to make them known.


Characterization: The Outer Life

Your character, their life, what they do, where they live, how they interact with other people, all of these things are crucial to who your character is in the end. Are they a shoplifter living in a modern day busy urban city? Or are they a stealthy ninja of the ancient days. Any of these professions should fit the time and age of the plot.

The character is a person, someone who is living in the scene given to you in a roleplay. They reside in a world that is figmented from imagination and thus their actions are not real, but should be rational enough to be believable. For example, there should not be a samurai with say shuriken, that is orthodox to what the samurai code is. Ninjas are characters of stealth, thus the weapons that they carry and their style of life are completely different from any other person of a different social status.

One day, you should sit down with your character, learn the aspects of their lives, do they have a job? Are they beautiful? What makes them tick? Do they live in an apartment? A rundown shack? A handmade home? In a small village? Or perhaps in an urban city in a penthouse? Are they well liked in society? Or are they shunned by everyone that they know? Does your character constantly put on a proud air? Or do they seem to be down all the time.

The character's life is a story within itself and it is what supplies the plot twists in the story. Perhaps there is something in the character's normal mundane life that changed drastically so that they are now on a journey and search for the opposing force. Or perhaps something good happens in the character's life but the character has yet to find out what it is, thus suspense is applied.

In the end, it is the character and the mundane life that he or she leads that slowly advances the plot. Many little things happen over the time and soon lead over to bigger things. The young child who was born being blind who slowly learns how to read things in the environment but still stumbles one day is suddenly brought to the world of sight through some miracle from a lightning strike that corrected the ever dark cloud of the child's world. The young employee who has been diligently working since being hired is one day promoted.

Everything leads to one thing to another, without the little things in the outside life, the plot seems choppy. The character's bio should be a combination of the little things as well as the larger aspects of his/her life.

Appearance, one thing that many people take for granted. Many people do not expect a girl to dress up like a male, but perhaps there is something in the past that has made the female dress the way that she does. Appearance is sometimes overdone, and all the Roleplayer will rely on is the look of the character. Appearance is important, yes, but it is not the core of the character.

The looks of the character reflect the type of environment that a character has grown up in. Are they tanned from hard work outside? Or are they pale from being an aristocrat? Is the character a hard faced and gloomy character from being abused a a child? Or are they a quiet, quaint and innocent little girl who has been pampered all their life. Appearance is the mirror reflection of a character's personality.

Many times, I have seen a character who will not reveal the past in the biography section for the sake of the roleplay. I find this aspect slightly aggravating as the characters themselves do not know anything about the other characters. They have yet to meet the characters that populate the roleplay. They have always lived in the little circle of people that they have grown up around. Anything that the creator writes is information that they know alone, and just because other character players are able to read it, it does not necessarily mean that the characters themselves know the same information that the player knows.
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Re: Roleplay Guide

Postby Fatebringer the 2nd » Sun Feb 08, 2015 9:14 pm

Excellently made. Certainly better than what I read to introduce me to RPs
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(Clownpiece will make America great again, by the way.)


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