The RPG Rules and Guidelines- MUST READ FIRST!

[oO Lorelei Oo]

Welcome to Crazy Character Convos!
The RPG Sub-Forum

Here are the rules:

1. Be courteous towards others you play with.
2. No Gawd/God Modding. It gets very annoying.
3. Please obey the rules set forth for this Guild as well as the rules set for game play by the RPG Creators.
4. You may post Out Of Character (OOC) Threads within here to post profiles and whatnot, please in the tittle use this format; (OOC- Name of RPG here-)


So now that that is out of the way, on to the fun stuff!


For those who may be new or regulars of this thread, heads up, this place is getting a makeover! The following posts will be basic aids and help guides for new and experienced role players. In addition there will also be a post for updates.

As I begin helping the Captain with the housekeeping of this Sub-Forum, some of the dead RPGs may be deleted. Before people worry and freak out, I will send a PM to the game runners before doing so in a last chance to resurrect this Sub-Forum to the light of storytelling. Now, onto the next posts..  

[oO Lorelei Oo]

~News and Updates~

01/02/2011:
~ Happy New Year! And with the new year comes a fresh start, meaning cleaning of this Sub-Forum. To start, over the week I will be sending PMs to the OWNERS/ CREATORS of currently dead RPGs in attempts to see if they wish it archived or just deleted for inactivity. Not all will be deleted, mind you; if there is even a hint of current activity, it will be spared. In which case, I will be reading through them over the next couple weeks in between work schedules and other duties and will post updates for stories and such currently being played. This should help for new and current players looking to see what's going on, or a catch up for current players that haven't been on in a while.

~The goal by doing this is so that this Sub-Forum can boom with creativity once more. So check back with this thread often as once all story updates are done, they'll be updated on a weekly to daily basis as needed per RPG activity.  

[oO Lorelei Oo]

~Basics For the RPG Genres~

Welcome to Genre basics. These are merely simple things to show what could fit into a Genre category.

~ Horror: Anything with gory goodness, such as zombies, things that go bump in the night, vampires, anything scary really. They tend to have either lots of action and internittent lulls in action, the lulls are merely for the survivors to get that special sense of hope restored that they could make it out of their predicaments alive... I mean.. It could be possible...

~ Science Fiction (Sci-Fi): Got technology? We do, as far as the eye can see. Metal cities, man-made machines of war and creation, where there is nothing that can't be rebuilt, even people. Other worlds, space travel, and anything that can be tinkered with would do nicely here and always find its place.

~ Romance: The realm for lovers and love itself. Anything related to dating, marriage, hanging out and those special tender moments would find their home in the loving embrace of romance. Love can bloom for anyone. The best romances also leave room for all to enjoy its gifts. But beware, these forums and all of Gaia is PG-13!

~ Fantasy: From princes turned to toads, princesses with abnormally long hair trapped in towers, mythical creatures and mages out of every little nook and cranny. Whether you're an evil sorceress or Merlin himself, this is the place for you.

~ Mystery: Got a problem that needs to be solved? Perhaps a strange happening about a town or a village? Who you going to call? Perhaps a young but dashing sleuth? A private PI or a team of teens and a talking dog? All is possible and clues are at every inch of everywhere, but only the brightest know what to look for.

~ Fan Based: This is for anything based off of something else. A favorite anime or show, book or movie. There are games and so much more, perhaps a favorite club or band. Possibilities are endless as you get into or under the skin of your favorite characters and live out as if you were them.

~Mix 'N' Match: This, my dear players, is the mish-mash pile up of all or some of the things listed above. Combining of worlds that are not usually together to create your own unique universe among the forum and see where it leads and the turns it will take.


Now, these are just very brief overviews to help you learn what may fit your particular style. By no means do you have to follow this guide as a 'standard' but more as a reference to help boost the already creative juices flowing to your brains.  

[oO Lorelei Oo]

~Basics of Beginner to Full Literary Style Posting~

Basics of beginner to full literary is your styles of posting. These are some examples that will define for those who may be curious as to what can qualify as what. Not everyone likes to play at all levels, and it helps players if Owner/ Creators list at least somewhere in their start up what kind of posting they would like to see, or want for their RPGs.

~ Beginner: Beginner is for those who are just starting out and are learning how to play. Some like this style because it leaves a lot usually open for creative thinking, though can also become random if one isn't careful. Most beginner posts are short. Anywhere from 1-3 sentences typically.

Quote:

She sat there looking towards the others. "I'm not sure about this" she said wondering why they were going to the party.

~ Semi-Lit: Semi-Lit is the step up from Beginner, but not quite to full literary standard. There is often more into the post as far as the character and actions than that of a beginner's level. Most RPGs are set up as a Semi-Literary because of the way it conveys the story without getting too deep into things. These style posts are anywhere from 3-5 minimum per posts but could be longer given situations and storyline.

Quote:

She sat there looking towards the others as they walked along the path leading to the driveway. Before reaching the door she would pause turning towards the others. "I'm not sure about this. We weren't invited." She watched them as they exchanged glances, shrugged and continued on.

~Literary: Literary is like writing a story. Here is where you can be as descriptive as you want, allowing others to visualize what you're seeing. Most players at this level expect the same as what they do, at least in some cases. They go into depth of feelings, appearances, what they're thinking, saying and doing. Almost always minimum of 1 paragraph, though it can span as long as needed depending on the style, and is always Spelling and Grammar correct.

Quote:

She kicked the dirt of the road as she walked, mud splashing the bottoms of her new jeans. Hands in pockets as she went sulking knowing she really didn't want to go to this party. They hadn't been invited, and her parents would kill her if they knew she was even in this neighborhood. Her gray eyes would look up seeing the paved driveway to a Tudor style home, cars filling the side of the road leading to it. She looked to her friends knowing they really wished to go but had to voice her protests. "I'm not sure about this guys. I mean, we weren't invited, and Jamie, the person organizing it, to this day persists in giving you swirlies. You guys sure you still want to go?" She watched as they would exchange glances and nod. She sighed nodding in defeat allowing the others to lead the way into the home.

As you can see, there are some distinct differences in the levels. And to each their own. But in addition to that, here are some other things that could help with making posts.... Like how to make them!

~ Writing Style: As it says, use punctuation and quotation marks to emphasize between speaking and actions.

Quote:

See the above posts

~ Other Styles: Other styles is a way of defining between actions and speech using symbols. Most common ones are the following...

:
::
*
~
<>

It depends on your comfort level for such things as to what style you would use. Arrow symbols are most typically used to express mind speech, but can work for regular posts as well. In the following example, the symbols can be changed to any of the above, but try to stay consistent and not mix symbols because it will start getting confusing to other players.

Quote:

*She sat there looking towards the others.* I'm not sure about this. *She said wondering why they were going to the party.*

~Italics and Bolds: I see these used mostly to show inner thinking or telepathy. Most common is Italics because it stands out without screaming it out. They can also do this with the arrow symbols in connection but it's up to a player's comfort.

Quote:

She viewed the scene before her and called to her twin's mind, hoping to find him. Aden, please, tell me you are well and trouble hasn't found you yet? She waited patiently, hoping her thoughts had reached him, unsure if the wars had gone as far as his home.

So there you go, the basics of the game. That wasn't so hard, now, was it?  

[oO Lorelei Oo]

~Basics of a Profile~

The Basics of creating a profile are easy. The actual thought and creation is the tricky part. Now, every RPG is different on what they will require for play, so here's an overview of a lot of things that could be asked before you can start the game.

Basic-Basics:

Character name: This is what your character's name is. Or nickname if they have one.
Age: How old is the character? Are they a kid or a crone?
Appearance: This can be anything from a picture, to a full on description of what they look like. Depends on the requirements of the RPG.
Character History/ Background: What has happened to your character in the past, does it effect their futures?


Those are the main basics in almost every RPG. On to the rest...

Personality: How is your character, how do they interact with others, their typical mood, basically all that makes them who they are that isn't history.
Home Town: Where did/ does the character live? What planet or dimension are they from?
Special Abilities: What powers do they possess? Magic, a tinkerer's mind, or do they just know things?
Ability names: Spell names, created things names- things of this nature.
Race: Are they human or other?
Likes: What are some things they like?
Dislikes: What are some of the things they hate or loathe?
Sexual orientation: Typically for the romance stuff, but is your character gay, straight, bi or any combination there-in?


There are more, I'm sure, as every RPG is different. If anyone feels something should be added to this post or any post previous, feel free to PM me and I'll see about adding it for you. Just title the PM with some reference to this thread so I know what it's about roughly.