Guide to Great Roleplaying

I've decided to type up a basic guide to roleplaying for the newer roleplayers on the forums. This guide will give you basic details on roleplaying and dos and dont's that are simplistic and easy to learn.

THE SYSTEM

As most forums' roleplay section is based on a text based system of roleplaying, it's better that all players use what is known as "book text" so that later if there is ever a need to compile an RP or us it as an example, the mods/admin have some sort of structure to it. The tense is optional, but, it's better to use third person, e.g.

As opposed to

GOD MODDING

God modding is when a player makes his/her chracter far more powerful than it is intended, in level based role plays, when your level isl ower than someone elses it is near impossible to destroy them.

An example of God modding is simple, you have a genuine civilian combatting against an elite general in the army. The general will clearly win the battle seeing as he's seen more battle, and has more expirience, regardless the civilians' past.

PREFERENCES

When role playing, use proper English, and not 1337 or "web-slang", this is to make it easier for everyone to read and so it does not cause confusion in the rp. Please refrain from repetitive use of "and" or "but", allow your creativity to flow.

One lined RP posts are inacceptable, this shows laziness and that the RPer doesn't care about what his/her character is doing. If it is an acknowledgement, such as

try to extend it to

Although there are fabulous emotes on a forus, they are NOT to be used in the RP apart from OOC (Out of Character), which should not be constantly initiated with every post.

Try to make the RP last don't give the entire plot away from the beginning. Let the story build up and develop through you're players' actions.

METHODS OF INACCEPTABLE PLAYING

There are many different forms of playing that most roleplayers disapprove of, these methods are highly inacceptable on major roleplaying forums and even in roleplaying chatrooms.

Powerplaying is the first innaceptable method of roleplaying, in powerplaying, you force another player into injury, etc. an example being,

You see, in this example, Zepher attacked Fell and expected the player to allow his character to be slugged in the first pl ac,e and to add on to, allowed him to be thrown through the wall.

This is major law number 1 in the ro leplaying realm.

Number 2, Characterplaying. Characterplaying is often a confusing subject. In character playing, a person takes the role of playing another players character, by causing them to do certain actions that the character wouldn't usually do, or to develop the character in some weird way. This is possibly the second-most broken law of roleplaying, and is highly annoying in the realm of roleplaying.

REVISION
Charcater playing is also widley known as bunny hopping.

RP TERMS TO BE FAMILIAR WITH

To put it plainly, OOC means out of character, this is what you need to type (or use an emote for when forums have one) to tel lthat you're not using your character at that exact moment. It's usually used to address issues or ask questions located in the RP or to see if the other players want you to move the game along. It is vital that you not use OOC for common chat.

Another easy term, which simply means "in character." This is the status you'll be in most of your roleplay, and you don't have to type IC until you've been in an OOC status. This status is what you use to control you're character, give details, etc. etc. etc.

T1 is a form of Roleplay fighting. It is often considered the most elite forum, and requires details and through knowledge of physics to win. The fighting style is often performed in Person A attacks, Person B defends and parries, Person A defends and attacks again. This continues until the other person cannot dodge, and it forced to take a blow. In this type of fighting, the idea is to get your foe into a postion they cannot physically get out of.

T2 is considered the fastest form of Roleplay figthing, and is usually performed only in chatrooms. T1 prevails in forums, where T2 is more common via-mIRC. To perform an attack, you must first state your attack (at least 7 words). The common forumla to remember is 7-7-10-12. 7 to attack, 7 to defend, 10 to parry, and 12 to kill. Often, there is a "score". Whoever hits the foe "x" amount of times can deliver a finishing blow then.

T3 is considered to be the most basic form of RP fighting. It is more commonly known as FreestyleFighting, or FsF. T3 has no real structure, so it is difficult to explain. This form permits everything. This ranges from godmodding, to playerhopping, and even insta-death. Most people perfer to stay away from this form of combat.

Heh. Meh guide to roleplaying survives

Wow im not sure how I Rp anymore feh i probably do a combo and dont think of it

lol. it took me hours to type this up.

LOL

One Liners-

One lining is a type of role play found commonly within chatrooms. Thus, it is not particularly common to see one lining in a forum unless it is performed by one whom is new at roleplaying. This form of roleplaying sacrfices detail and depth for speed. Oftenly, these posts are done on an impluse, and center mainly around conversation. Oftenly, this is a form insulted by more experienced RPers, and this should be avoided at all costs.

The following is an example of a one line post:

It is important to realize that one lining can be sucessful in a roleplay. However, to keep the intrest of your fellow RPer, you must vary your sentence structure. Posting with basic sentences is alright, however if you post compound sentences, dependant clauses, and other advanced literatary techniques then you will have a more sucessful roleplay experience. However, keeping such a basic style interesting takes a good mind, and a better writer.



Semi-

Semi is short for Semi-paragraphs. A paragraph is usually approximately 5 sentences, semipara reduces this amount to two or three sentences. In many experienced RPers eyes, if you must RP in a chatroom, this is the most efficent way. It is a hybrid of one lining and para (which we will cover more later). So, this is the easiest way to combine detail and speed in a single post. Many more "elite" RPers perfer para, but that will be explained later.

This is an example of a semipara post, the same situtation in the previous post:

Please note this about about twice--maybe even thrice--the size of a one line post. Thus, this has more detail than the previous post. Oftenly, these types of posts can be made on the spurr of the moment and just require a little more thought. However, by posting with a larger size, this shows you are more interested in the roleplay itself. So, this encourages others to perform with the same detail. This contributes to an overall better RP experience.



Para-

Para is an abbveriation for paragraph.As stated in semi, a paragraph is usually 5 sentences long. This is perhaps the most detailed form of RP you will find in a spontatnous chatroom. This style is often most seen on message boards and forums. Thus, this size of post is perfered in any situtation where the actions of the characters are not posted "instantly". Seeing this is on a forum, and you have time to think before you post, para is the perfered size of your post.

Here is another example of para:

This is what we mean by "detailed roleplay". By expanding your post, you are able to add more details about the situtation. Your character's emotions become included with your character's actions, which cannot be done efficently in semi or one lining. Sometimes, you are able to see para RPers in a chatroom, but para-chatrooming has been considered a lost art. So, this form is reserved primarly for message boards and forums.



Multipara-

If para--chatrooming is a lost art, multipara is a style they're attempting to breathe back to life. Multipara is oftenly only able to be done by the most elite of all RPers. In this form, posts are expected to have multiple paragraphs to describe a small action done by each character. Honestly, it is difficult to find someone whom is able to efficently perform a multipara post. This is primarly influenced because many people when they perform a multipara post ramble on over something.

Now, this is an example of multipara:

Now, as you see, it's quite more detailed than that of the orignal post. However, this forum requires much skill to perform constantly. If there's anything a dedicated RPer strives for, it's this type of posting. I wish you luck on learning the art of Multipara.

I typ'd up mosta it, man. Lmfao.