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Plot is a skill term defined as the events that make up a story, particularly as they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence, through cause and effect, how the reader views the story, or simply by coincidence. One is generally interested in how well this pattern of events accomplishes some artistic or emotional effect.

Conflict in literature refers to the different drives of the characters or forces involved. Conflict may be internal or external—that is, it may occur within a character's mind or between a character and exterior forces. Conflict is most visible between two or more characters, usually a protagonist and an antagonist/enemy/villain, but can occur in many different forms. A character may as easily find himself or herself in conflict with a natural force, such as an animal or a weather event, like a hurricane. The literary purpose of conflict is to create tension in the story, making readers more interested by leaving them uncertain which of the characters or forces will prevail.

There may be multiple points of conflict in a single story, as characters may have more than one desire or may struggle against more than one opposing force. When a conflict is resolved and the reader discovers which force or character succeeds, it creates a sense of closure. Conflicts may resolve at any point in a story, particularly where more than one conflict exists, but stories do not always resolve every conflict. If a story ends without resolving the main or major conflict(s), it is said to have an "open" ending. Open endings, which can serve to ask the reader to consider the conflict more personally, may not satisfy them, but obvious conflict resolution may also leave readers disappointed in the story.

The basic types of conflict in fiction have been commonly codified as "man against man", "man against nature", and "man against self." In each case, "man" is the universal and refers to women as well.

"Man against man" conflict involves stories where characters are against each other. This is an external conflict. The conflict may be direct opposition, as in a gunfight or a robbery, or it may be a more subtle conflict between the desires of two or more characters, as in a romance or a family epic. This type of conflict is very common in traditional literature, fairy tales and myths.

Where man stands against a man-made institution (such as slavery or bullying), "man against man" conflict may shade into "man against society". In such stories, characters are forced to make moral choices or frustrated by social rules in meeting their own goals

"Man against nature" conflict is an external struggle positioning the hero against an animal or a force of nature, such as a storm or tornado or snow.

With "man against self" conflict, the struggle is internal. This is a conflict that is usually associated with an external conflict. A character must overcome his own nature or make a choice between two or more paths - good and evil; logic and emotion.

The common rules of role-play are the essential rules that all public role-playing groups employ to keep things in order. These include things like godmodding, metagaming, and autohitting. One of the fundamental skills that every good role-player has is the ability to follow and abide by these rules. Even though everybody has the occasional slip-up, disregarding for these common rules is frowned upon amongst the community.

To follow is the list of common role-play rules that every role-player should understand and follow:

Do Not God-mode

Godmodding is when a character features god-like abilities, such as invincibility or mind control, or other unrealistic powers that don't fit with lore. It's also considered godmodding to refuse death in fights or ignore role-players in scenarios in which said role-players are attempting to attack you. Nobody's good at everything; try and keep yourself in check.

Do Not Metagame

Metagaming is when a player applies OOC-retrieved information to their IC character, such as participating in a war that you only saw was stated to be happening on a clan's thread on the forums, or hearing whispering because you saw the text, and knowing a character's name because you saw their username. This is the most commonly broken rule of role-play and most infuriating for many.

Do Not Mix IC and OOC

Related to metagaming, it is considered taboo to "mix ic and ooc." That is, players are generally encouraged not to associate information and events that occurred between active, playing characters and events that occur between the role-players themselves. Most often, when players associate OOC information with their IC behavior, whether it be how they perceive another character or actually acting on information they wouldn't otherwise have, it's called metagaming.

However, it's also considered poor form to take IC information and apply it OOC. That is, if character A insults character B, and player B takes character A's insult as a personal attack from player A rather than exclusively an IC attack on character B, that is mixing IC and OOC. Any instance of holding against a player what his/her character said or did violates this rule (not to be confused with holding against the player any rule violations he made while controlling his character).

Another instance which is less inflammatory but still technically a violation of this rule is if character A says something, character B doesn't understand or takes it the wrong way, and player A deigns to explain himself OOC to player B. This is especially the case when player B already understood but was intentionally allowing his character to mis-react for the sake of adding interest to the game or being true to character B's nature. This cramps the flow of role-play and can sometimes be insulting to a player, since it suggests that player B's character is a Mary Sue who player B can't separate himself from.

Do Not Auto (Autohit, Autowalk, etc)

Autohitting is when a player performs an action without giving the affected players a chance to respond. For example, running up to somebody and saying *Stabs in the heart* then running off would be autohitting. Auto also applies to non-combative actions to which another player might have a reaction. Saying, *The black knight slips past the guards and into the castle,* while white knights are guarding the entrance to the white knight's castle would be autowalking on the premise that, in all likelihood, those knights would stop you before you got past them. This can easily be fixed with a simple rewording. Add "tries to" or "attempts to" to clarify that your character intends to perform said action, but his success depends on the responses of those around him. More advanced role-players will go into detail with their actions and emphasize their attempts. This is a frequently broken rule by newer role-players.

Do Not Lorebreak

Lorebreaking is when a character breaks lore, which is anything that likely affects a character or scenario. The basis for these commonalities is origin, culture, and known historical events. For example, a vampyre that is unaffected when crossing the holy salve barrier is a lorebreak because vampyres are weakened outside of Morytania where the sun shines. Lorebending, a similar term, is when existing lore is lightly modified (Hence the term lorebending), but not significantly or in a way that detracts from the role-playing experience. Often this has to do with ideas that are neither supported nor contradicted by existing lore; for example, one never comes across a goblin who excells with traditional magic in-game, but it is never explicitly stated that this can't ever be done - only that you rarely come across it.

Do Not Powerplay

Powerplaying occurs when a player operates someone else's character without the other player's consent. The most blatant example of this would be a player writing, "Your character falls off the cliff when he walks up to it." As you can see, you take active control of what the other character does. Not only is this not fair to the other player, but it's also discouraged because often players will misconstrue the behaviors and personalities of characters they didn't design. Powerplaying goes into more subtle situations, however. Saying, "Sally charges Jack so fast that he wouldn't be able to react enough to avoid it," can also be considered a violation of this rule since Sally's player has controlled Jack's abilities, possibly in a way that doesn't accurately represent his character. The appropriate way to word Sally's attack would be, "Sally charges Jack so fast that it's unlikely he could totally dodge it without equally inhuman speed." This leaves it up to Jack's player whether or not Jack is actually capable of avoiding Sally.

Avoid Mary-Sues

A Mary-Sue is a specific kind of character that is usually considered literarily reprehensible and otherwise unpleasant for others to play alongside. A Mary-Sue is any character (of any gender, age, race, or species) who fits one or more of these descriptions:

A character who’s too perfect, lacking realistic or logical flaws, or whose flaws do not affect them in real ways.

A character who’s exactly like their creator, except idealized or made “better”. (E.g. more attractive, smarter, given skills, abilities & powers the creator wishes they could have.)

Essentially, the creator is inserting themselves into the story, but without the flaws, quirks & limits that make them interesting and real. Users are often discouraged from creating characters who would be described as, "He's based off me," especially since that comes with the extra risk of violating the avoid mixing ic and ooc rule.

A character who’s far too powerful, especially whose abilities exceed that which is possible for his/her race in the setting of the story. Particularly if said character has abilities that do not exist within the boundaries of the story’s world. Often these characters are technically legitimate, but are very, "Look at how unique and cool I am!"

A character who’s cliched, having qualities or characteristics that are overused by people trying to have a powerful/perfect/cool character. This includes but is not limited to the traits listed as Popular Role-Play Trends.

One way to test if you character is Mary Sue is by taking this test.

Exceptions

Role-play is about creativity and while these rules are not just needed they can at times during very deep and important role-play points be a bit constricting. That being said, like many things in life the rules of role-play are not the be-all and end-all. It takes skill and knowledge to know when one can bend one of the above rules to affect a role-play in a positive manner, this is usually done in small groups where the people involved know what they are getting into and are okay with it. This takes a long time to understand and should only be attempted by advanced role-players.

Always keep in mind that the purpose of role-playing online is to have fun.