Role Playing Guide

This is a guide not just for new role players but for existing ones who perhaps want to know tips on how to improve. Though it should be noted that the number of ways a person can role play is about as diverse as the number of people who could be role playing.

What is role playing? / What are role playing games?

A role playing game has a lot of different definitions and is widely used, occasionally misused. In the world of computer / console gaming a role playing game (also called an RPG) is found in games like Wold of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls Online, Planescape Torment, etc.. These games don't really describe what we do here on this server and thus can be a bit misleading as these are narrow in field and scope compared to where the term came from.

RPG Origin

A role playing game has its origin in the idea of adult make believe. Games like Dungeons and Dragons are a lot closer to what we do here on this server than things like World of Warcraft. In these the game takes place largely in ones imagination, much like a book. You have characters and you react and play in that role for the purposes of the game. This is a little difficult for novices to understand, I know that is was for me when I started (back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and cell phones didn't have text messaging).

What does Role Playing mean here?

Here, it means collaborative writing. This server focuses heavily on stories and plot, that means we're not so much about battles or sex as we are about what is going on, building characters, having them interact, and providing storylines in which they can grow and evolve according to where we'd like them to go. Since we use a format called FFRP (Free Form Role Play), we do not use dice except when it is necessary to do so. We would much prefer, overall, to trust our players to react in appropriate ways without using dice to enforce it.

Dice are usually used to ensure things are fare, you roll, random chance decides what happens and this means that (in theory) everyone gets a chance at success. In reality, it seldom feels that way, but dice an provide a good amount of unexpected elements to game play. So we have a dice bot that we use when it might be nice to have random chance decide things. Overall though, this isn't about the dice (or the random number generator) it is about the writing and having fun.

Here, you write chunks of text which describe how your character interacts with the world around them.

How to Write

Before coming here a person should at least be somewhat familiar with the act (art) of creative writing. If one is not terribly familiar with creative writing, I suggest reading a few writing guides.

• Creative Writing 101
• Fiction Writing from Purdue OWL
• Another Creative Writing 101

There are also hundreds of books on the subject. For our purposes we will assume that the players have some idea of what creative writing is and how to do it (even if they don't think they do it well at all).

Perspective

We use a 3rd Person narrative. That means generally speaking one should write as if they are narrating someone else's events and refrain from using personal pronouns like I or me in the narrative text. This allows us to do a few things, for one, a consistent format makes it easier for everyone to read, and secondly it allows more variations as multiple points of view can be expressed easily. Rather than saying "I thought about picking the flower." and have no one know who "I" is referring to, it is better to say, "Joe thought about picking the flower." Now everyone knows who is thinking about picking a flower.

Text and Context

In any chunk of text there should be two primary elements when something is being said. There should be text and context for the text. That is to say, when you're reading a book you don't usually just see characters blurt things out without something about what they are thinking, doing, feeling, as they are speaking. So when typing, on average, a good role player with have some way to differentiate the two parts. This is sometimes called emoting.

Lance was thinking about heading back to his room, it had been a long day today but he didn't want to end the conversation too early, "Oh, no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to." he responded, the smile hiding how tired he was.

That is in opposition to:

Oh no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to.

See how much information is left out? With the first one we have a context, he's tired. We can imagine that his eyes have a bit of a tired look, we can think perhaps his attention or body language shows he's a bit tired and wanting to head back. The smile might appear forced. This gives the other players so much more to work with in coming up witht heir own responses.

Ways to Differentiate

We are not very strict, so any player is going to see a mix of ways to separate what is being said and the context. A lot of people use italics.

Lance was thinking about heading back to his room, it had been a long day today but he didn't want to end the conversation too early Oh, no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to. he responded, the smile hiding how tired he was.

It is a little bit clunky, but it does in fact work. Other methods such as bold text are also used, but less frequently.

What we'd like to stay away from is the multi-line approach:

Lance was thinking about heading back to his room, it had been a long day today but he didn't want to end the conversation too early
Oh, no I appreciate the thought, I'd love to
he responded, the smile hiding how tired he was.

Where each lines is on its own, that can get confusing and ping people multiple times for one action.

Multiple Characters

Writing in the 3rd person also facilitates writing for multiple characters at the same time.

Lance walks into the bar and slides into his seat, Finny comes over and asks him what he wants.  "Oh, just a beer today Finny." Lance says with a smile, Finny responds, "You got it boss." and goes to get him a cold beer.

In this example, we know who is saying what and to whom. It should be noted in this case that both Finny and Lance would be being played by the same person, one should not automate someone else's character by posting actions for their character without permission.

Another example is playing two characters separately:

Finny smiles at Alouette and slides over a plate of fresh tacos, "Enjoy Captain."
Lance nods at Scott, "That's a good point, I'm not sure the difference in how it works."

Now we have two characters being played by the same person, but both of them are in separate conversations, by specifying the name of who is saying what to who, it is clear to everyone who is talking and who they are talking to.

Inserting a Character

We have a guide on Character Introduction already, but that is more centered on how to assist someone introducing a character. However, even after a character is introduced there is a period of time where they are not really part of the existing role play. Players have to be outgoing enough to insert their characters into the play. Have characters walk over and respond, become part of the conversation. In other instances, a player can ask another player if they mind their character joining. The two players can then work out and communicate about what is going on and what should happen.

This is why we have OOC (out of character) channels where communication can take place easily. Never be afraid to ask to join a role play (RP). When trying to join an RP it is impossible to do so when just expecting someone to follow your character, that will end in disappointment. Players must communicate what they want to do, not everyone is going to want a new character in an active plot, but that doesn't mean that additional plots can't be developed.

This is part of the server rule (see Site Rules) about speaking up for yourself.

Player Communication

Communication between players is key! I cannot stress this enough, when trying to join into the game, if a player wants to do something with their character, talking about it is necessary. To be part of a plot, one has to talk to the player(s) in that plot. To come up with a new plot between characters, again, talking about it is required.

Players should always be respectful of each other, but should also realize that players don't owe each other anything. There is no obligation to play, there are some players who are busy, who cannot come on often, or who have anxiety about new situations. It doesn't matter, if a player isn't into a role play, don't hold it against them just, try to find a new role play.