Role playing guide
I have seen too many people who have never been taught on how to role play correctly. So a friend and I put this together. (I also have this posted as a sticky in one of the guilds I am in.)
Roleplaying is a beautiful art, an art that most people brutally butcher.
~It is UGLY to roleplay using first person. Third person is the correct way.
~There are two ways to do it: Script and narrative.
Script is like how you would read a script for a play.
Example: (sheathes his sword and approaches the large fonstone) So this is where it is being held afterall...
The actions go in parenthesis while speech is written without quotation marks.
Narrative is like when you are reading or writing a book.
Example: "I have been waiting for you," Shikura said as he stood up and stepped down from the stage. "What took you so long?" He had his hand over the pocket on his torso garment to hide the disc he had found.
Notice how it is in third person and the speech is in quotation marks. Thoughts that are not said out loud should be italic.
DO NOT use first person. You are not doing anything to me; it is the character and the other character.
*I run up to you and throw a shuriken at your head.* --- EPIC FAIL!
He ran up to Shikura and pulled out a shuriken, then threw it, aiming for the boy's vital point. -OR- (runs up to Shikura, pulling out a shuriken and throws it, aiming for the boy's vital point.) --- EPIC WIN!
~Also, PARA RPers...
They say they can write one or more paragraphs in a roleplay, yet they are too lazy to spell out the word "paragraph" and abbreviate it with "para"? What the hell? I just don't get that.
But aside from that, there's another thing that "para" Roleplayers don't understand.
They usually make their paragraphs by putting in WAY TO MUCH description, which overwhelms the reader. You don't have to describe EACH AND EVERY detail of the scenery and stuff of that sort. Just say what's there, and get to the point. Don't overuse your adjectives.
Another thing: A lot of paragraph roleplayers say if someone does a "one liner" then they'll not reply to them ever again, or they'll block them. Sometimes a paragraph is not ALWAYS needed to continue a story. Sometimes it's just a simple sentence. If they didn't write a whole paragraph, maybe it's not because they're not creative or are lazy. Maybe it's because a paragraph was just simply not needed at the moment.
Professional roleplayers like me do not call themselves "Para" or paragraph roleplayers. We just call ourselves roleplayers. Most paragraph roleplayers call other roleplayers who don't always use paragraphs "noobs". But the fact that they call themselves a "para" or paragraph roleplayer and have that typical "para" mentality makes them a noob their self.
~Roleplaying as copyrighted, non original characters: Do not distort the character. Keep their traits and personality consistent with how they were made by the real creator. This includes, how they act, what they do, the way they do things, and things they DON'T do should never be done.
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Also more pointers that a friend made:
Speech: When talking to anyone it is always best to speak in past tense like the way you would write a story. It makes it much easier to read and the other role player can get a better understanding. Talking entirely in present tense sounds sloppy and can get confusing, it also sounds rushed. Here is an example of how you should choose to describe what your character is doing : "She she smiled, reaching out, she shook his hand." Past tense, rather than : "Reaches out shakes your hand." That sounds improper and rushed, almost like you share no interest in talking to that person. It's ok to talk in present tense for short words such as "Laughs." "Slugs you in the arm", but when you're actually taking part in some form of SL (that means Story Line by the way, but if you are a good role player you would know that already.) then always use past tense and remember, detail is everything. Without detail the story gets very boring, very fast. Think of it as reading a book, you wouldn't find JK Rowling using no detail what so ever would you? Detail gives the other role player something to go on, receiving really short detail-lacking comments doesn't leave the other person with much to respond to, so try and be as graphic as you can, although not too graphic, no one needs to sit and read a whole novel in one post. Also, if you are taking part in a SL then only post the one time, if you don't get a reply instantly don't post again with something else as it messes up the SL and people get confused. In RP it always best to refer to yourself as "he" or "she", same applies to referring to the other role player, rather than "I", "me" or "you".
The other Role Player: When role playing with another person you should only EVER talk for yourself, NEVER say on your own post what another character is doing before they have done it. It's called controlling the other character. It's rude and impolite. For example if you said this in your post : "Sees he is looking sleepy." Before the other character has mentioned being sleepy at all. The other person might not want their character to be sleepy. So the key is to never make assumptions. The only way it is fine to say what another character is doing is when they have already said it themselves, if the character had mentioned previously about being tired, then by all means state that in your post, but never say what they are doing before hand, otherwise it messes up the RP and doesn't give the other role player a chance to even say what their character is doing. It's not only sloppy, it's also rude and annoying. The same thing applies with another character's surroundings, IE the character has a house and is role playing as if they were in their own home. Don't just barge in there and control their own surroundings, you wouldn't do that IRL would you? If a role player wants you in their RP house then they will invite you inside, until then you ring the RP doorbell. Same applies with anything that belongs to that character within RP, IE. Pets, clothes, objects. Never assume what a character is wearing, if you are unsure then message them and ask first so that you don't mess up the SL.
Fighting and sparring: So this section may only apply to a select few of role players who role play the action side of things. Fighting isn't as easy as you may think in RP, and it can get very complicated when people don't follow the rules. Fighting or sparring should be and only ever be TURN BASED. Which means you do NOT force an attack on another role player, you take it in turns and never assume anything about the other character. RP fights should always be fair, you can't just kill someone or injure them without the other role player's permission. It is solely down to them if they want their character to take a hit or even die. This is an example of a forced hit : "Walks up to you and stabs you then watches as you bleed to death on the floor". That's not only forced but it's also rude and annoying and also controlling the other character, not giving them the chance to fight back. This is how a RP fight should be conducted: "He drew his blade and made a lunge toward her stomach." It's not saying you stabbed the person, it's saying you intended to, giving them the chance to reply back with whatever they chose to, for example. "Seeing the blade come toward her, she side stepped just in time as the blade grazed the leather armour that encased her body." It is up to the other role player whether they want to take the hit or not, not the one launching the attack. It is important to remember these rules to make a RP fight interesting and detailed. Otherwise it gets boring quickly. Having had a lot of experience with RP fights as I also RP in the Final Fantasy genre I know these rules like the back of my hand.
Changing your character(usually happens on Myspace): If you make a character then stick with it, if you don't like it then just make an entirely new profile rather than keep changing your character's bio and pictures. Spontaneously changing your character at will can not only mess up an entire SL but also confuses people on your friend's list when they suddenly see a face that wasn't there before. If you do plan on changing your character at any given time, it's advisable to post a bulletin specifying the changes etc. Think of it this way, if you were taking part in a SL and your character was pivotal to the plot line and then you changed your character entirely, think how the other role players will feel when the main character is no longer there. Same with role play marriages and children, if you suddenly are no longer the character you once were when you got married and had childrenWhat happens to the husband and the children? It gets confusing and messes things up a lot, so if you do fancy a change of character then do warn people before hand, or at least do something with your old character first, IE dieing so you can start a clean slate. It's much more advisable than just changing at will.
Violence and Bad language(for non adult sites): Will not be tolerate in RP. So it's alright to curse, everyone does it, but when you're saying f**k every other word, it really is un-called for and remember, there ARE young children able to view your posts and we'd all hate for [insert name of pg13 site here] to close down when some adult sues them for their children repeating fowl language on the site. That just applies to everyone, not just RP though. Violent SL's should always be conducted in a presentable manner, no one wants to read about someone getting raped. If you should need to go down a rape/sexual harassment SL then it's advised to do it in messages or away from comments, as this has and will still upset people to read. Those kind of SL's are nasty and really raw, and often touch nerves, so please keep them subtle or in private. Same applies with general sex SL's, RP sex is just as common as the next SL, it's not creepy and sick like cyber sex that random people have with strangers over web cams, as people in RP aren't getting off on it (Well I hope they aren't anyway!) and bringing sex into RP is just another way of bringing some realism into two character's lives. No one needs to see your graphic sex SL's splashed around your page, either get a scroll box to cover them up so people don't instantly see them when they view your page, or take them into messages.
Sony Playstation old Community Member 
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