|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Aug 28, 2010 9:17 pm
 |
|
|
 |
A Casual RolePlay Guide
Author: Poyudi Hytori
A Guide about Role Playing...
Started out as...
This guide started out as a small guide about Casual Roleplaying in Non-RP threads for the members of this guild, but I couldn't help myself, and kept going until I got to where it is now. This guide was written based on my experience as a Role Player, and I hope everyone who reads this find it helpful in one way or another.
My Experience
I've been Role Playing for years, first over on Neopets, and then for a while through Email, and Instant Messengers. After I joined up with gaia, and have Role Played in many places all over the site. A year or two after, I joined a site called RPOL. Which had a lot of Serious Role Players, and a lot of Role Plays. I had a lot of fun over the years, been in tons of Role Plays, and have made quite a few of my own as well. (None that are up and running atm.)
I've had so much fun over the years, that writing this guide was actually very fun as well. I enjoyed doing it. ^.^
The Sections.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 4:45 pm
|
|
|
|
What is Role Playing? And How Do I Role Play?
Author:Poyudi Hytori
In this section I'll tell you what Role Playing is, a little about the different ways it is done.
Role Play Means...
RolePlaying is basically playing the role of someone else. You could play as a lawyer from a large law firm, a witch from a forest, a demon from long ago, or a shy girl. The ideas are endless. Of course there is more to it then this, as this means a much larger range then what we use on GaiaOnline.
Role Playing online.
The online version of Role Playing is very much Text based. So knowing the English language is a large Boon. Most people prefer you to be literate when Role Playing, but more about that later on.
There are two different ways to Type when role playing that I know of.
Non-Literate/The easy way out.
*Walks up to a big Black board, and points at it.* See this here! This is how you do this!
Basically, any actions you make are inside "*" symbols, and any words your speaking go outside those marks. This is normally how many Role Players begin learning, and are perfectly fine for the Casual type of Role Playing we do in this guild. Usually this is for during normal conversations as well, ones where your mostly just talking, or for when your just messing around and having fun. Though many people who Role Play a lot, or have for a long time, tend to dislike this style, I recommend that you start out by using this style when first starting out Role Playing. In our guild I mean of course.
Literate/The Better Way.
"Just because the title says it's better doesn't make it so, this style is more work to do, which is why it's not often used in Casual Role Plays, however it's fine to use it for Casual Role Playing." Poyudi said while pacing back and forth in-front of the chalk board. He then looks up at the chalk board. I wonder if people will understand this? He sighs.
As you can see above, in this style, anything you SAY goes in-between Quotations. ("") Anything your doing is typed normally, but in third person writing style, and your thoughts are Italic. This is normally used for more serious Role Plays, but you can use it in Casual type Role Plays. Most Role Players prefer this style to the Non-literate version.
OOC/Out Of Character.
OOC is a part of Role Playing as well, whenever you talk out of your character, it's OOC. In Casual Role Play you can just talk normally when talking in OOC. (Depending on your style, Inside of Quotation or outside of them). However, in all other Role Plays; it's normally very rude to do that.
The normal way to do OOC is to put them between two sets of () ((So it's like this.)) or even adding in the OOC itself. ((OOC: Like this.)) However, this is completely unneeded in the Casual kind of Role Play we do here.
Wrap up.
So this section should have given you a basic idea of what Role Playing is, and showed you how to Role Play, both in and out of the Casual kind of Role Plays. Now all that's left is to try it out right? Well hang on, there is much more about Casual Role Playing in the following posts if you want more. However at this point you could go and jump into a Casual Role Play. The following posts are just to help you become better at it. So go ahead and get some practice in first.
Where to Role Play?
Any Sticky marked [Chat Thread] or [Event Thread] or even [OOC Thread]. These Stickys are great places to jump into a role play conversation. Of course this type of Role Play can be pretty much done anywhere BUT inside other kinds of Role Plays.
See also...
For more on what Role Playing is, see these links.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 5:36 pm
|
|
|
|
The Different types of Role Plays.
Author: Poyudi Hytori
In this section we'll be taking a look at the different kinds of Role Plays. This will help you to know if Your looking at a Casual Role Play, or at something else altogether.
Casual Role Play.
Casual Role Plays Rarely ever have an actual plot to them, the world rarely makes prefect sense, and the characters aren't always from the same world/genre/type of role play. Anything can, and will usually happen during these role plays. It doesn't matter if someone leaves or joins in, as we aren't sticking to anything really, someone can disappear and we can ignore that they were there. lol.
Pretty much, it's very laid back and relaxed on any kind of rule. Actually, the only rules you have to follow are the ones set forth for all posts. (The Site and Guild wide rules.) This style can also lead to a lot of spam, which is okay, if it's funny and doesn't bother anyone that is. ^.^
For Casual Role Plays (As said above.) there are two different levels.
Non-Literate
This is the first style from the last section, and pretty much as long as we can understand you. Your prefect. Incomplete sentences are another trait of this style, that were not talked about in the last section. (More of this style explained below.)
Semi-Literate
Basically, the second style in the last section. This one however is more about complete sentences, and is done in third person. A better understanding of the English Language is needed for this, better grammar skills, and such. Don't worry, after you start, it won't take long for you to get to here. (More about this one below as well.)
Serious Role Plays.
Serious RolePlays have rules, a plot, a world, a setting, and all of that. Everything has to go together and make sense together. If a character doesn't belong in the world the Role Play takes place in, and there isn't a good reason for them to be in there, then they aren't there.
To enter this type, you normally need to fill out a character sheet, and sign up, once approved by the person running the Role Play; THEN you can Role Play in it. So it would be fairly hard to mistake this for a Casual Role Play.
There are also different levels of required Role Playing Skill needed for this type of Role Play. Unlike Casual Role Plays, you can't just Role Play any old way. I'll list and explain these different levels now.
Non-Literate.
This is the lowest level of skill needed, basically, know the basics. You don't need complete sentences, you can do actions inside of (*) marks, so on and so forth.
It's Rare for a serious Role Play to use this level, and this is the only level the (*) marks are used. Normally when one is beginning to Role Play, or wants to help beginners learn, then this is the level they start out at.
Semi-Literate.
This style uses complete sentences, and the Quotation style of posting. Post length doesn't really matter here, but a decent level of grammar skills are needed. You'll find a lot of Role Plays in this level of skill, and this is a fairly beginner level, or when you don't want to have to work too hard on a Role Play.
Literate.
This style uses the Quotation style posts, is in complete sentences, and while it doesn't mean your grammar needs to be prefect, you need to be pretty damn good, with few mistakes. Your also assumed to know the normal Rules and etiquettes for Role Plays, and to follow them. Post length normally has to be one to three paragraphs long, which makes this a little more challenging then Semi or Non-Literate.This is the most common level of Role Play.
Advance Literate.
This level requires better grammar skills then the Literate level, and it's post length is at least three or four paragraphs. In this level your expected to be able to add to the Plot, have interesting and in-depth characters, and make little to no mistakes in the Role Play, or with your Character. These Role Plays aren't that common, but you might see some here and there.
Elite.
This is the highest level, any mistakes in grammar or style are unforgivable in this level. The post lengths are normally pages, not paragraphs, and far more is expected from you then in the advance level. People of this level are known to be "Extremely Serious" Role Players, and if your reading this guide, I recommend that you avoid these. This type of Role Play however is extremely rare, so don't worry about it. There aren't that many people in all of gaia that can even do these anymore.
One-on-One.
The title should say it all, but One-On-One Role Plays are done with only Two people. There normally a mix, of some kind, of a Casual and Serious Role Play; they also follow the same skill guide-lines as Serious Role Plays. These are normally done in PMs, on Interest Messagers, or in Emails. Though you will sometimes see these in threads.
Wrap Up.
You learned in this section the different kinds of Role Plays, and the Different levels of skills for them, and hopefully now can spot Casual Role Plays a lot easier.
See also...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:13 pm
|
|
|
|
Roleplay Etiquette
Author: Poyudi Hytori
Basic Rules and Guide-lines all Role Players Follow.
No Cheating!!!
This first area here is all about common ways people cheat, it's normal Etiquette to NOT do these things.
GodModing.
Perhaps the most HATED offense someone can commit while Role Playing. This is basically Role Playing as you can do anything, are far better then anyone else, can't be beaten in anything, and can do whatever you want to. There are Limits people! The name comes from people basically acting like a f**ken GOD. Do this, and it's likely you'll piss us all off.... Moving on....
Puppeteering.
This is basically controlling other people's characters, and is frowned upon almost as much as Godmoding. Unless given permission by the character's owner, you should never control the character like it's yours. Interaction is fine, but controlling isn't.
Your not Psychic...
One of the things I find most annoying, is when a character suddenly knows something he/she has NO WAY of knowing. You don't know what people think, you don't know about their past unless they tell you, or their weaknesses for that matter.
Dumb Luck....
I call this one the "Dumb Luck Rule." sure people have dumb luck, but not all the time. This is actually used to get around the fact that your character doesn't knows something. In this your character somehow find out by mistake, or stumbles across it. While this does sometimes actually happen, and doing this isn't always a bad thing. Doing it too much, or to By Pass the "Your not Psychic" thing. Then it is bad.
Stick too your story.
This section is about not derailing a Role Play by taking it off the beaten path.
Your character.
This might be okay in Casual Role Plays, but in others, Once you've made your character, or written something about it. Don't change it! This messes up a lot of role plays. Also, don't make something new that contradicts something else about your character. Once you've gotten more experience, then you'll know more about the complexitys of this rule. But for now, just don't go even borderline with it.
The World.
Every Role Play has a world, and you don't want to do anything that contradicts the rules or history of that world.
Be Realistic.
This one is actually very simple, be realistic. Every world/genre/etc has rules too it, and you want to stay inside those rules. Basically "If this world was Real, what by it's natural laws would be Realistic?"
Offline Characters?
If during a Serious RolePlay someone goes offline, it's normal for you to stop RolePlaying if your in a middle of a scene with them. Basically, if you need their character to continue the Role Play, then wait for them. Of course this does have limits, but those limits are left up to the person running the Role Play.
(Such as if someone doesn't show up for over a week, and it causes the Role Play to be at a stand still, it's alright to let someone else control that character, or have something happen that removes them from the story.)
Wrap Up.
Does this one really need this area? You learned basic rules of Role Playing. Remember those, all of these apply to Serious Role Plays, and may not always apply to Casual Ones.
See also...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:37 pm
|
|
|
|
Character Building.
Author: Poyudi Hytori
This Section is all about Character building, how to make a character, how to build a character through out a Role Play, and all of those such things.
NOTE: From this point on in the guide, there is nothing about Casual Role Playing. From here on out, it's all about Serious Role Plays.
Your Profile/Character Sheet.
Your Character Sheet is the first step, some Role Plays provide Character Sheets (Which you can add on too), to fill out, others don't. This section is an in-depth look into the Character Sheet and how to fill them out. First things First, this is a standard Fantasy Role Play Character Sheet. (I choose this one because it has more sections then most other Genres have).
Name :
Age :
Gender :
Race :
Appearance :
Powers :
Skills :
Strength(s) :
Weakness(es) :
Weapon(s) :
Relationships :
History :
Personality :
Character Name:
This might also be split up into "Name, Full Name, and/or Nick Name(s)"
This is basically what your character's name is. This can be simple, complex, hard, easy, and everything in-between. However, at the very least, you should have a First name and a Last name.
Character Age:
This can be "Age" or "Birthdate" or both. Basically, how old your character is. Now, it is normally looked down on to leave this blank or as "Unknown". Actually, it's only in Fantasy/Sci-fi Role Plays that you can get away with that. However, at the VERY least, you should put down the age they look like.
Character Gender:
Is the character Male or Female. This says a lot about what they look like, what they act like, and their abilitys.
Character Race:
This could be "Race" or "Species".
This is something to put a lot of thought into, your Species can limit a lot about your character, and reveal a lot about them. So chose wisely....
Character Appearance:
This maybe farther expanded by "Hair" , "Eyes" , "Height" , "Weight" , "Build" , "Body Type", "Clothes" , "Picture Reference" , "etc" (You get the idea.)
This is your chance to fill out every last little detail about how your character looks! Don't forget about the color of their hair or eyes, the length of hair, or nails, you height, or anything else.
Character Powers:
Powers or Abilitys are normally every power your character was born with, Healing, Magic, anything of that area. Don't forget to think of the power's weaknesses and strengths, as well as, if they fit into the natural laws of that world.
Character Skills:
Basically, anything your character learned how to do during their life.
Character Strengths:
Every Character should have things their good at! Some people may want you spell them out in a section like this.
Character Weaknesses:
Every Character has weaknesses. This is VERY important in my opinion, it's too easy for people to GodMod if they don't have spelled out weaknesses. Weaknesses also help to keep your character balanced. Normally this section, like Strength is something you have information about here and there throughout the character sheet, but some people prefer you spell it out.
Character Weapons:
Now, when filling this out, think about your character, a character that travels around the world on foot would only have as many weapons as their willing to carry with them. Were as a character who stays in a certain area may have a stash of weapons.
Character Relationships:
Now, this won't always be here, as many assume you to add any of these to the History section. However I'm adding it here as it's own section, as it is important. Your character didn't go through their life without meeting anyone! If your going to add a relationship with an existing character in a Role Play, get the permission of that character's owner, and of the person running the Role Play.
Character History:
This maybe expanded as "Relationships" , "Childhood" , "Origin" , "Language" , "Beliefs/Realigns" , "Careers/Past Careers" , "etc"
Your Character didn't just drop out of no where! and saying they don't remember is a lame excuse. Despite if they remember or not, or if anyone else knows or not, you should fill this out with as many details as possible. This basically is what has shaped your character into what he/she is today, what lead them to this point, so on and so forth.
Character Personality:
Expanded as "Hobbies" , "Likes" , "Loves" , "Dislikes" , "Loathes" , "Fears" , "Good Qualities" , "Bad Habits" , "Turn Ons" , "Turn Offs" , "Temperament" , "Etc"
This is the most important part of your Character Sheet. This is all about the Character's Habits, Personality, how they interact with others, their views, beliefs, everything that involves how your character will act during the Role Play.
Character Building.
Now you have a base for your character, but did you stop to think about what he'll/she'll be like in the future? About what will change about them? You should keep this in mind that through out a Role Play; it's common for a character to develop and change. New experiences may effect their personalty, they may find out new things out about themselves, they may make new long lasting relationships, they may gain new skills or powers, they may change drastically, or not very much at all. Heck, even what they wear or look like could change, or their weapons for that matter. So remember to let your character change naturally over the course of the Role Play, based on what happens to them in the role play. You might even want to keep Two character Sheets, the one you began with, and one you change when your character has new experiences and such.
Wrap Up
In this section, you learned a lot about what goes into building a character.
See also...
References
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:38 pm
|
|
|
|
World Building.
Author: Poyudi Hytori
This section is all about building a world for your Role Play to take place in. and is pretty much just for people who run Role Plays, or are thinking about running Role Plays. However reading this may give you ideas for your character(s); to better fit them into the world.
The World, a little bit at a time.
No I don't mean you should plan it out slowly, though that's not a bad idea. I mean, look at the smaller parts of your world. This section will go over the smaller things that make up your world.
The People
The people are the base of any world, without them, the world would be an empty boring place. So think about them, what races of people are in your world, what classes are there "Low, Middle, High, Noble, etc...." What are they like in their daily lives, what are their traditions, what do they eat, where do they live, what animals do they use as pets, do they fight, what things do they learn, on and on and on. There is a lot to think about in this area.
The Towns/Villages/Citys
This is the next level, these are based off not only what the land is like, but what the people living there are like. Where are these places, what are they like, how is one different from the other, what is the landscape around these places, what's the history behind each one, why did these people settle here, and other such things.
The wildlife
I mentioned Animals back with the people, but this is very important to think about. What animals, and wildlife are there in your world, why are they like they way they are, what in nature made them this way, are they friendly, or violet, how strong are they, what skills or powers do they have, and such.
The Outdoors
This is places like forests, lakes, woods, deserts, cliffs, or anything of that nature. Don't forget your dungeons or ruins as well. You might want to think about the history of each place, or if it even has a history, as well as who or what lives there, you get the idea by now right?
The Bigger World
Now that you've thought about the smaller parts, you probably have more ideas for the larger areas right? Well read on.
The nations/kingdoms/countrys/etc...
Now it's time to shape the larger areas of your world. Different Nations means different people, traditions, and such. As well as a possibly for war, peace, trade, and such things. Think about the history of each every nation, what lead them to here today, what makes that nation different from all the others, what makes them the same, what citys, towns, villages, landmarks, lakes, forests, and such are in that nation, what are the nations people like, how do these nations interact with one another? Starting to see how complex this can get?
The whole picture.
Now step back and look at EVERYTHING, altogether. Does it all fit nicely together into one world? What are the natural laws of this world, what are the hidden secrets, what is the world's history, is there anything you forgot about? Think things out.
Wrap up
You learned what goes into making a world. Of course you could just cheat and use a world that already exists, or one from a novel or Anime. Or take parts and pieces of your world from other things. It is a Role Play after all.
See also...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:39 pm
|
|
|
|
Running a Role Play.
Author: Poyudi Hytori
This section is all about making and running a Role Play. If you've kept up so far with this guild, this part shouldn't be too hard for you to understand.
Making a Role Play
Alright, the MOST IMPORTANT thing about your Role Play too remember, is that its YOUR Role Play. Have fun with it! That is the point of Role Plays after all. Don't let people ruin it for you. Your Role Play can be as small time or as big time as you want it to be. It can go on for as long as you want it too, you can do almost anything with it!
Note : A GM is the person who runs the Role Play. GM is a shorten version of Game Master.
Picking a Genre.
There are many different Genres to pick from, if this is your first one, I recommend picking your favorite one.
Anime : The Anime Genre is pretty much Role Plays based off of Animes. There isn't really any original Role Plays in this one, as Original ones are better suited to fit into a Drama , Fantasy, Sci-fi, pretty much any other Genre(s).
Drama : Role Plays centered around everyday life drama.
Fantasy : These Role Plays have Magic in them, are set in lands of myth and/or ancient times. They normally have low levels of technology, plenty of magical forces and mythical creatures. Basically a mystical fantasy world type deal.
Historical : These Role Plays take place in times and places in the past that existed in the real world.
Horror : These Role Plays are all about what goes bump in the night, the horrors of the worlds, and things that scare people. Sometimes, Humans are the scariest things that exist.
Real Life : Role Plays about Real Life situations.
School Life : Role Plays that mainly take place in a school. Most characters would be students or teachers of the school.
Sci-Fi : These Role Plays take place in the Future, with technology and science that doesn't exist in the present. A lot of times these are about our own vision of what the future might be like.
Sci-Fi Fantasy : These Role Plays are a mix of the Sci-Fi and Fantasy realms and contain themes from both.
Please note this isn't a complete list, there are other Genres out there, I just couldn't think of anymore right now.
You can also mix and match Genres, like Fantasy and School Life. To make something like...
A school for Magic users that would take place in the present era.
The World, NPCs, your Character(s).
I wrote how to build a character and world in the above sections. However it's important to say that this is part of the planing process, not only do you want to build a world, but you want to build several characters for that world. (Depending on how big the world or role play is.)
NPCs/Non-Player Characters
You'll want to think if you'll need these. Whether or not you make a character for yourself to play, you'll likely need some NPCs. Now they can be as important as a Prince of a whole kingdom, or as unimportant as a peasant you gives you directions when your lost. NPCs don't need Character Sheets, however for the more important ones that will interact with the players more then once or twice, it maybe a good to make a character sheet for him/her, to help keep yourself on track.
Making your Thread(s)
First step, is to decide what you want. There are five basic kinds of threads for Role Plays.
Main : Your main thread has the story, setting, world, plot, and all that good stuff in it. It should also have links to any other threads related to the Role Play, and all those threads should be at least linked back to this one.
Character Thread : Basically a thread that houses all of your character sheets for the Role Play.
Sign Up : A thread for people to sign up to play the Role Play. (Normally one and the same with the Character thread.)
OOC Thread : A thread for your Role Players to Chat out of character about the Role Play.
Setting Thread : In larger Role Plays it maybe a good idea to have more then one place for the Role Play to take place. In that case, you make a thread with a setting and link it to the main Role Play.
Keep in mind though that smaller Role Plays are unlikely to need this many threads, and will likely only need one or two threads. As the OOC, Sign up, and Character Threads could all be one thread.
What should go into your Main Thread?
The very first post of your Main thread should have the introduction, or rather, a summery of your Role Play, Followed by the information of how to join/who can join. You can also makes your list of links in the first post as well. (Links to all other threads related to your Role Play.) Also, this is the post to put the Rules for your Role Play in.
Literacy Level : (Non-Literate, Semi-Literate, Literate, etc...)
Genre : (The Genre of your Role Play.)
What you looking for in your Role Players : (It's a good idea to include more information then just the Literacy Level.)
How to Join : (Link to your Sign Up thread, and information on how to join.)
After this it's time to start your more detailed posts. The second post will most often be the one were you talk about the world and the people in it in-depth. (And if any part of your world is in other RP threads, you can link em here as well as the official listing.)
Next Post would be the Story, or Stories of the World. Basically, what is happening in your world?
This makes your fourth post the one you place a listing of all the NPCs in your Role Play. (From the smallest to the largest if you like. With a mini Bio about them.)
And then the 5th post is the one you use to begin the Role Play, either by having your Character/NPC post, or by doing an Intro into the Story. This should note just were in your world your beginning your Role Play.
And last but not least, you may not need to go all out like this for every Role Play, Sometimes you may only need the first post, other times posts will be so large that you'll want to split them up. You can also add a Post that lists or links to all of the Character Sheets of Characters currently in your Role Play.
Sign Up/Character Sheet Threads.
These are more simple then your main one, (Most often your main is the most complex, and has the most information in it.) This should include a summery or Introduction to your Role Play, a Link to the Main thread for your Role Play, and information on how to sign up.
Usually you'll have people Sign up by posting their Character Sheet(s) in this thread, and then you'd look them over and review them, after-which you either approve or deny their Character Sheet(s). This is why most people have their Sign up Thread as their Character Sheet one as well. You could have a List of characters with links to the post that holds Their character's Sheets somewhere in the first few posts as well, to make looking up information easier.
OOC Thread.
Most Role Plays I've been apart of have always had an OOC thread. It's were all the people involved in your Role Play get together and Chat. This thread is rather simple, a summery/Intro to your Role Play, a Link to the Main Thread of your Role Play, and something saying that the thread is for OOC chatting.
Other Role Play Threads.
Sometimes you need more then one thread to role play in, sometimes you need a lot. In this case it's best to post a summery/Intro, a link to the Main Thread, and then in the Second Post, what area(s) of your world are to take place in this thread. (Try to explain the places, and the people in this thread as well.)
What Size?
You should stop to think about how BIG you want your Role Play, and unless you've done this a few times, you should really stick to smaller sized ones. The bigger a Role Play, the more people you need, the harder it is to run, the harder it is to plan, and the more that can go wrong. So yeah, start out small. If your Role Play Grows bigger over time, then that's great. But try to start out small until you have the hang of things.
Forum, Guild, Or Sub-Forum?
Next, where should you put your Role Play on Gaia? If it's small, and only two or three threads, you could do the Role Play in Barton Town (The Forum), or in our Role Play Sub-Forum. (Which isn't yet open.) or in another guild's Sub-Forum.
For ones with four or five threads, you could do in a guild Sub-Forum. And for ones larger then that, you should make a Guild for it.
Once your Role Play is up and running.
Once your Thread is all ready, the next step is to wait for people to sign up for the Role Play. When they do, make sure their what your looking for in a Role Player, and make sure their Character fits in with your Role Play. After you have enough people you can start.
Running a Plot
If you have a nice Plot all planned out, you maybe surprised when your Role Players do something that isn't in your plot. The real test of a GM is too keep the Plot moving along, while allowing for Sub-Plots, and freedom. Sometimes you may find yourself changing parts of your planned plot because your Role Players did something interesting, or outside what you planned. Though how much freedom you give is up to you, a Plot can be free-flowing (Make it up as you go), or as set in stone (All planned out), as you want it to be.
What to do when....
This next part is problem solving, things will happen, problems will come up, and you as the GM need to handle them.
An inactive person/Character
When someone disappears, stops posting, or leaves a Role Play, they can sometimes leave other people stuck because of what their Character was doing. In these cases it's best to take control of that character long enough to remove him/her from the story line. At least until it's owner returns, or forever. That is up to you, so is how long you'll wait for a character to do something.
Someone's changing the plot
This isn't always a bad thing, such as letting Sub-Plots play out. However if there doing something that is changes the main plot more then you'd like, or want them too. Then it becomes a problem. Try talking to the person OOC or in PMs first, in a lot of cases, that person will change course. But for those rare cases that they refuse too, you can kick them out and take over their character. And of course if they don't leave your Role Play alone after being kicked out, via Spam, Harassment, trying to play their character, you can add them to your Ignore List, or Report them (To the Crew in the Guild, and Mods outside the Guild).
Someone isn't as good as I'd like them to be
By this you mean their posts are too sort, have mistakes in them, or they just aren't getting the idea? Well your free to offer them advice on how to improve, and to tell them that they aren't doing as well as you'd like. Just make sure your Criticism is constructive. Some people sadly may see this as an insult. If it comes down to it, you can take the same steps as before.
Someone isn't following the Rules of my Role Play
Again, you can take the steps as above.
Wrap Up
With this section you should be ready to run your own Role Play. However before trying to do so; I recommend you play in a few Role Plays first and see how those GMs handle their Role Plays. Gain that experience first, and the experience of Role Playing.
See also...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:40 pm
|
|
|
|
How to Fight.
Author: Poyudi Hytori
One of the hardest parts of Role Playing. I know people who've Role Played for years who still don't quite have the hang of fighting in an RP. This section is an attempt to make a guide to fighting in Role Plays.
What is Role Play Fighting?
Well, you already have the Basics of Role Playing down right? RP fighting isn't very different from normal Role Playing. You type out your Character's Attacks, and react to other Characters as they attack/protect/help you. In this it's very simple, and yet, it's still not easy to get the hang of. You'll very often see fights were both people are more or less GodModing, and in this section I'll be going in-depth about GodModing and it's many different forms. As learning all about GodModing, is really the easiest way to learn how to RP fighting. But that will be a little later.
Be Realistic.
Again, like I've said before in this guide, be realistic within the world you're Role Playing in. Your Character can't just pull a random weapon out of no where and begin fighting. He/she has to have that weapon on him/her already, or it has to be nearby, and in a place your Character can get too.
Quote: Poyudi shifts his right foot back, and lowers his body while laying a hand on the hilt of his sword. Looking around at his enemys, he draws his sword from it's sheath, and prepares himself to fight.
Quote: Poyudi moves his right hand to his waist, upon realizing that his sword was taken from him, he looks about for something he can fight with. Spotting a Iron bar laying upon the ground a few feet away, he decides to go for it. Sprinting over to it.
Don't forget, you can always fight with your fists in a tough spot as well.
Now as you saw in the above examples, it's good to give details. The more details, the better other people can respond to your moves. I actually made a mistake in the first example, I didn't note which hand drew the sword, or where the sword was drawn from. However in this case, it'll likely be assumed that I drew it with my Right hand, and that the Sword was on the left side of my waist. (Since it's part of what my character looks like, everyone should already know where my sword is, and since most people use their right hands for swords, you can assume that so did my character.)
Now, next would be how to display Magic or Skills when fighting. Look at these examples.
Quote: Poyudi, being surrounded by enemys, decides it's time to use a spell to shake them up a bit. He stands up straight, perfect in his stance, his feet are together, and his hands are holding one another at the level of his chest, but a little bit away from it. Poyudi closes his eyes, and feels out the energy in the air around him. After a moment passes, he begins to chat his spell, and the very wind around him begins to shift.
Quote: With his sword in hand, Poyudi slashes the sword in the air at the direction of an enemy, putting forth his energy through his sword, the cut in the air sends out a razor sharp wave of energy at his enemy.
Now these are both good, but the top one could easily lead to GodModing if your not careful. After all, whose to say that your enemy in a battle will simply stand still and let you do all that?
Okay, one more thing before going on about GodModing. How to take a hit.
Quote: The Werewolf finally got a hit in on Poyudi, slashing him across his chest, and cutting him pretty badly. He grabs onto his chest with his free hand, in reaction to the pain, and jumps backwards away from his enemy. Breathing heavily, he tries to focus on his enemy, and on not letting it get a second chance like it just got.
Quote: The Werewolf attacked Poyudi, however a moment before the attack landed, Poyudi pulls backwards, causing the Werewolf to only rip up his shirt, and cut just enough of him to cause bleeding. "Damn that was close." Poyudi said just before jumping back a couple of feet.
Two versions of the results from the same attack? Yep. I'll go over what I did here more in the GodModing section below. For now, this is more or less the idea of battling. Well, the basics of it anyway. Fyi, I used the Semi-Literate level of Role Playing for those examples. Encase you wanted to know that.
GodModing
Yes I know I talked about this in an earlier post, but that was a VERY basic, and somewhat extreme type of GodModing. There are many ways to God Mod, and many ways to tick people off for that matter. The hardest part of GodModing, is to spot when it's happening, or when YOUR the one doing it. And the more vast the levels of skill and power are in the world your Role Playing in, the more difficult it becomes to see GodModing for what it is. Because hey, sometimes, a person really doesn't stand a ******** chance, or a character is really just that good. (Which is also an argument many GodModers use.) In it's most basic form, Godmoding is doing anything outside of what your Character can actually do, outside of their limits so to speak. Yeah someone may have a lot of skill when it comes to fighting, but that skill can't come out of no where, and it has limitations.
Now keep in mind, that some people GodMod by mistake, while others don't. It's best that when you see it happening, that you say something. Because the person may not have realized it themselves. However if they continue to GodMod, or get really pissed off from you pointing it out. It's better to pass the matter along to your Role Play's GM [Game Master or the person who runs the Role Play.] and wait for them to deal with the situation before continuing the Role Play. Don't contact the Mods (Or Crew members in guilds.) Unless they have actually broken a Site (Or Guild) Rule. While in a guild, the Crew can and may help you, Site Mods however, can't do anything about it unless the person in question has actually broken a rule.
In our guild here however, the Crew members will likely help you. After all it's against the Guild Rules to GodMod in Serious Role Plays.
Casual Role Playing and GodModing...
GodModing isn't as frowned on in Casual Role Playing that it is in a more serious one. Actually, as long as your not an a*****e, and you don't kill people left and right, a lot of people don't really care. They'll still look down on you mind you, and many will get annoyed with you, but it's not as big of a deal in a Casual Role Play as it is in Serious ones. (This is mostly because characters limit are far more loose in a Casual Role Play then a Serious one).
Actually, Crew members, VCs, and Captains have been known to wield God-like power! And to wield the mighty BAN HAMMER! (A hammer that with one hit bans any member, it's a common joke among Gaians). So yes, fear the god-like powers the Crew wields, and FEAR THE BAN HAMMER!!!! lol.
The first Crime of GodModing. The One Hit Wonder!
This isn't a form of GodModing that can be done by mistake. I mean really, unless your not using your brain, of course you know this is only going piss people off in a Serious Role Play. However if used in the right way (BAN HAMMER!!!) it can be very funny in a Casual Role Play.
Basically, This is when someone attacks, hits, and kills their target without a fight or anything. There are several ways this makes it into a GodModing action. First, an example.
Quote: (Random Character one): Readys himself for battle. (Random Character Two): Draws his weapon, attacks (Random Character one) and kills him with the blow.
Now, The rules this breaks, Controlling another person's Character, saying that an attack hits without any chance once so ever for the other people to dodge or block it, and killing someone's character without their permission. The example above also breaks basic Role Play literacy Rules, and grammar. Basically, Random Character Two was assuming WAY too much about what he could do, what the other person would do, and the results of those actions. You can see how annoying this is, and why so many people get really pissed off at GodModers. And we're only just begone! >.>'
The "You can't possibly win" Clause.
OMG!!! (And that's not something you'll normally EVER catch me saying). This is so F***en annoying!!!!
Now mind you, I've been guilty of this myself in the past, but it's no fun to have it happen to you, and it makes for a really boring Role Play. Someone who does this ends up chasing everyone away from the Role Play. They are Evil Evil people... Now for an explanation of what this is.
Basically, No matter what anyone does, Your character perfectly counters it, no matter what, and in many cases in impossible ways at impossible times. One of the worst offenses in this area, is when it's apart of the plot for the Players of the Role Play to loose a certain battle. Unless the GM does something to end the GodModing. It quickly becomes the GM VS. the Player at who is a bigger f***ing GodModer..... (And trust me, the GM always wins). Although, this is a way I've seen GMs deal with GodModers, after all, once everything is said an done in that match, the GodModing character is effectively removed from the RolePlay, and the person who was playing him/her is taught a valuable lesson about GodModing. Although, I don't Recommend this way, unless your Players already know you fairly well, they may see you as a GodModer yourself. >.>'
The GodModers Immortality.
This is the final of the obvious ways of GodModing, and can be just as annoying as the above two. I call it the GodModers Immortality, because it's pretty much when, that no matter how much a character gets hurt, or how they get hurt, they don't even slow down, they act like it never happen, their wounds are all healed the moment they get them, they NEVER EVER DIE! Or any of the above.
Yes there are Characters that aren't GodModing that are hard, or impossible to kill. But there is still always a way to WIN against them, wear them out, disable them, something. Maybe not Kill, but win. With the GodModer's Immortality, there is no way to win. At. All.
The "HE STARTED IT!!!" Argument.
Yes, this gets it's own section. I can not count the number of Role Plays where my character was one of the stronger characters in the Role Play. (And thus hard to win against.) and people begin GodModing against me, because well, "He started it first!"
Now, just because a character is strong, powerful, skillful, hard to beat. Doesn't mean the person playing that character is GodModing. This is an excuse of people who GodMod because they hate to loose. These arguments are usually on the level of
"Despite the fact that your character has been fighting for years, and mine just started fighting last month, they should be at the same level, and I should have a good chance at winning!"
Although, it can be more complex, and even at some points seem like a fair argument. But it rarely is. (Unless the other person really is GodModing, but then it's like saying Two Wrongs make a right.) I've even heard an Argument were someone said "I'm the Hero of the story, and he's the Villain, therefor I should always win." *Sighs.* Moving on.....
The more Subtle side of GodModing.
Now that you have a very good idea of GodModing, time to learn how to sneak it past people... I MEAN, How to spot people who tries to do it in a Subtle way. ninja and you'll never get me to admit anything else.
The above examples were all very obvious, but GodModing isn't always so, there are borderline cases, there are times when someone is almost GodModing. It's the Job of the GM to figure out if a person was, or was not, GodModing. Most people who fit in these cases tend to be fine with adjusting their Role Playing style just a little bit to move away from GodModing.
However, it is IMPORTANT to remember that just because a Character fits into a GodModing Rule, doesn't mean they are actually GodModing. Sometimes the difference in power or skill really is just that vast. If a demon whose been training and fighting as a SwordMaster for 1000s of years, faces someone whose only lived about 20 years; anyone could see that fight would end in mere seconds with the demon as the clear winner. (Well, Unless the Demon decides to Toy with that person, or not take that fight seriously.) Sometimes it can all be really over with one hit. Just look at Animes, Fantasy Novels, and those kinds of things. It can and does make stories more interesting when this happens, when it's done right of course. Just remember that it is very Rude to kill a Character off without the permission of the character's owner, or the GM. Although, Other Characters aren't all whom you can fight, there are NPCs, (Both small and big time.) and those types of things. As long as it's not a Character someone is playing as, or an NPC who is important to the Role Play. It's usually okay to just off them. But I would ask the GM of your Role Play to make sure, some GMs want you to seek permission for every kill, while others don't care.
Wrap Up
So you learned a lot about how to Fight, and a lot more about GodModing in it's many forms. However this isn't the end of this guide, or of your learning. A lot of things you can only learn from experiencing it yourself.
See also...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:44 pm
|
|
|
|
How to make your Role Play Interesting.
Author: Poyudi Hytori
Alright, so now you have everything you need for a good Role Play, you've begone your first Role Play. But now how to do make, and/or keep things interesting? This sections gives advice about making things more interesting, renewing interest, and keeping things interesting.
Conflict.
This is the most common, and one of the best ways for a Story or a Plot to be interesting. Infact, in many Genres, it's one of the basic building blocks of life. Peace is boring, war creates interesting events, changes the world, and provides motivation to do things the people of your world would never do otherwise.
Of course War isn't the only way to make conflict, there are many different ways this can happen. Such as something as simple as a fight between two people who love the same person, to see who gets to claim rights over them. (Love triangles.)
It could be a struggle to survive, maybe some natural or magical event has happened, and it's changing the world, making survival near impossible for the avg person. The sudden appearance of Monsters, Beasts, and other killers. An actual mass murderer on the loose. Perhaps even a age old struggle between the Gods themselves, played out by their minions.
Truly, there are as many different kinds of conflicts out there, are there are people. Try to come up with something creative. You can even have a new Conflict pop up in the middle of a Role Play, or near the end of it. Any time, any place, anyway, Conflict can always find a way to happen.
Sub-Plots
Now, as the GM your only expected to keep the main plot moving, however, some of the most interesting plots I've been apart of, have been those little Sub-Plots. Someone discovers something mysterious about their past. Someone falls in love. People become enemys despite having been friends for years. Someone dies, and some characters go on a quest to bring them back. Or maybe just someone takes a quest for more power. Sub-Plots can be very interesting, and can add A LOT to the main plot.
Say for example that a Character who was adopted as a child, and trained to fight all her life, one day finally meets the princess of the kingdom, only to find out that there twins.
There are plenty of ways to make a Role Play far more interesting and fun outside of the Main Plot. Just keep that in mind. ^.^
So the day is saved, and peace is restored... Now What?
When your Role Play ends, it doesn't have to "End". What about the future? Are there any loose ends someone forgot? are the Sub-Plots all finished as well? Then start the Role Play again, only in 5-20 years or more in the future. You may find that it's extremely fun to see how your actions in the Role Play changed the world and everyone's Characters. You can also start a brand new Conflict, maybe something that happened in the last Role Play is the direct cause of this conflict, maybe the big hero of the past turns evil and tries to take over the world. There are many things you could do.
Actually, you don't even have to wait until the end of a Role Play to speed time up. I had a Role Play before were after everyone had been Role Playing for a while, I skip three years, and in that time the problems of that world got A LOT worse, the monsters got a lot stronger, and not all the Characters could handle them anymore.
Infact, a Time Skip isn't the only way to sudden have a massive change in the Role Play. Natural, or non-natural events can do that too. Hell, you could even discover a whole new kingdom that no one knew even existed. You can do a lot, just let you imagination go wild.
Wrap Up
I gave you some tips and advice on making things more interesting after you've began your Role Play. Hopefully your now full of ideas, and ready to add a shot of interesting into your Role Play.
See also...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:49 pm
|
|
|
|
Common Pitfalls, Mistakes, and Cliches.
Author: Poyudi Hytori
This is the last Section of this guide, and is all about common ways people mess up Role Plays, or in them... Well, besides GodModing....
Pitfalls
The biggest pitfall I've seen is in-activeness. For whatever reasons, it happens, someone will go inactive, you'll go inactive, the GM will go inactive. The TRUE Pitfall happens when nothing is done about it, or when the GM takes too long to do something about it. Other people will forget about the Role Play, or give up on it, and that means even more inactive Characters.
If your the GM, and your going to be inactive for any reason, it's normally a good idea to hand over the Role Play to someone else who can keep the Role Playing while your gone. If your a player, and your going to be inactive for any reason, it's normally a good idea to either give your character to someone else for a while (Or forever), or to remove your Character from the story so that no one else is stuck.
Another Pitfall is Character Creation. Too many powerful fighters, and no one else in the story makes it rather boring and fast. You need to have a balanced mix of characters in your Role Play to keep things from being boring. If you already have one too many Assassins, don't let another one join in!
I suppose the final Pitfall (That I can think of right now.) is forgetting where you were in the Role Play, what you were doing, or what was going on in the story. For GMs this would be forgetting the damn Plot. If you need to, write everything down before hand, or during, You don't want to end up having to go through 100s of pages of posts just to figure out what you forgot.....
Mistakes...
Mistakes are far more simpler, as odd as it is, one of the things I see people making mistakes on, is not planning ahead, or not thinking things through. For Example, if a water attack and a fire attack hits, there will be a lot of steam, if the water wins it could be boiling hot, or even if the fire wins, it could fade out from the effort long before making contact with it's target. There are a lot of possiblys that I see people simply not accounting for.
Oh and trust me, you don't want to do a Role Play Plot without some idea of where it's going. Get your main story points down on paper before beginning your Role Play. You don't want to wing it, and then get writer's block in the middle of your Role Play, and be unable to move it forward for weeks because you didn't plan ahead on the Plot.
Cliches...
There are too mistakes people make with Cliches or stereotypes. They either use them without thinking about it, and thus make things rather boring, and unoriginal. The other mistake I see people making is avoiding Cliches or stereotypes at all costs. These things have their places, and when used in the right way, add so much to the Role Play, however, if used in the wrong way, they can take away so much from the plot.
Anyway, that's all I wanted to note on that. I'm not going to go over every Cliche or Stereotype. There are A LOT of them, and after a few Role Plays, you should get the feel of Cliches.
Wrap Up
That's everything, so was this guide helpful, did you learn things, and if you did, what did you learn? Think over the lessons taught in this guide, and enjoy Role Playing for what it is, a way to have Fun with friends, and a way to meet new friends.
See also...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:50 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 8:05 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
