How To Role-Play(By Flarnex; Posted by Lucas)

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Welcome ladies and gentle men to the wonderful world of Roleplaying. You are here because you wish to interact with others in a deeper level. This sort of level could be, friendship both in character, out of character, showing skill within the art of writing, and just to pursue the wonderful creation expanding the mind where your imagination runs wild and free. What you will read further on is the how to. These are guidelines for most places so try to remember this whenever Roleplaying at other places. This means that you can take almost all of these rules and apply it into almost any other site unless it is stated otherwise. With that saying, remember to read all rules for any site before moving around. Remember to read all fighting rules as well because there can always be changes here and there.

Now since you are taking the time to read this you are taking the time to improve yourself in skill, you are taking the time to enjoy the world of Roleplaying in the Purest sense. You are taking the time to just figure out how Roleplaying works and how to do this fun little game.

There are two things you must always remember, and please try to take these two things into heart. Even the veterans forget these, the most experienced Roleplayers forget these types of notions. That is why these two things will be stated.


One: Do not take anything serious. What does this mean? Do not take anything serious. Why? Because this is the internet. No one can touch you. No one can harm you in any way, so don't take anything serious. So be good, don't start fights, and please do your best to try and not take anything serious.


Two: Try to have fun. Do your best to have fun, this is a type of creation to allow someone to relax and do what they wish in the world of Roleplay. If someone gets upset with you, try to have fun with your character. If someone attacks you, hey try to make another character, or just try to survive with your character. If someone does something that you do not like, ask them out of character by sending them a PM. Tell them, hey I have something else planned with my character. Just remember to try and have fun.

Now allow me to first introduce you to my little friend here . He is going to help us out from time to time asking certain questions if needed and well this little tutorial will better him as well. So everyone say hi to Hulk Buster .


Now that we taken care of that lets get down to business. First a quick overview of what is Roleplaying, then we will take it off from there. There is multiple sections within this guide here, so please you can skip certain parts to get to the parts that you want. These Parts are Listed Below here, all you have to do is either A) Look for the part that you want, or B) Ctrl-F and put in the coding that you want to find. Remember, to try to have fun, don't let things bring you down to where you become depressed because Roleplaying and the Internet should not be taken serious. This is the first advise that anyone should give to any Roleplayer.

~~Table of Content~~

• Roleplaying - Basics - [RP1]
  
• Role Playing Terms - [RP2]
  
• Role Playing Threads - [RP3]
  
• How to Interact - [RP4]
  
• How to Battle - [RP5]
  

:::Roleplaying - Basics - [RP1]:::



RPing, or RolePlaying is basically when the user (That is You) takes the time to create character, plays the character that you have created in a world of Make Believe. You the user will be bringing your character to life through crazy styles of actions and words, by creating interaction with other users (Other People) characters.

RP or RPG is an abbreviation for Role Play or Role Playing Game. There are many variations of what a Role Playing Game May be. In many cases Role Play is done in a real life situation, with a group of friends. The most popular of these types of Roleplays are the creations of what is known as Dungeons and Dragons where you play as Orcs, Elves, Dwarfs, Halflings, or any other monster that is capable of being created. There is also Vampire the Masquerade where you are capable of becoming an epic vampire, going around harming or helping others to your own content. This is the type of Role Playing Game that we Play. A Type of game that enables people to interact by written action, and not in verbal action.

Online Roleplay has a wide variety as well when it comes to interactions. There are variations where there are picture based games, Nexus and others, that would use different types of graphis such as Nintendo style graphics, and there is also what most sites are known for, which is called Text Based.

Varieties of Role-Play
Internet forums are the most common medium for Play-by-Post gaming. Some online forums provide benefits such as online dice rolling, character profiling and game history. Others, such as Alleria in the fantasy genre, Gaia Online, and New Worlds Project in the science-fiction genre emphasise the use of free-hand and the absence of dice and chance. Thanks to online forums, players can easily keep track of all aspects of the game, can see what is happening elsewhere and can re-read anything they have previously written. Many online services provide free game hosting for gamemasters.

Message-board role-playing is faster than play-by-email, but as all players can see all the posts there can possibly be problems on forums that do not support private messages. Another benefit is that most of the forum software in widespread use today supports the editing of posts, so when an error is made it can be masked over.

• Play-by-email
  Play-by-email games are played as other play-by-mail games, using email as the postal medium. Players email their moves to the gamemaster, who collates them and replies to them, again via email. Play-by-email games are often slow, since the gamemaster must wait for each post before replying, but have the advantage that replies may be tailored to the players, allowing the gamemaster to keep information secret from the other players.
  
• Play-by-chat
  Using an Instant Messenger or a chatroom, two or more people role-play in third or first person. While technically the fastest method of play-by-post RPing, it can also be considered the most difficult,many people also consider it to be the most fun, it is often referred to as rping with CCs [custom characters] as it requires both the ability to type fast, and think quickly and in character. Sometimes it may require people to play multiple parts. It is also necessary that all players be online at the same time.
  
  It is possible to hide information from other players only if the chatroom has an option that allows chatters to send information only to certain people.
  
• Play-by-internet
  Play-by-internet (PBI) refers to fully automated games which take place using server-based software. Play-by-internet games differ from other play-by-post games in that, for most computerized multiplayer games, the players have to be online at the same time, and players can make their moves anytime independent of any other players in the game. The turn-time is usually fixed. A server updates the game after the turn-time has elapsed evaluating all the player's moves sent to the server. The turn-time duration can be hours, days, weeks or even months.
  
• Play-by-internet can be considered an enhanced version of play-by-mail and play-by-post because it doesn't require manual labor to send out moves, or as an enhanced version of message-board role-playing which allows information to be hidden from players.
  
• Play-by-wiki
  A play-by-wiki game is played using wiki software instead of a forum. Because players' previous posts are editable, plot holes can be avoided. For this reason, writing skills aren't as important for every writer. The gamemaster takes responsibity as the overall editor of the story.
  
  Wiki space provides not only a means of communication, but also a permanent archive and a designated off-topic discussion area for each page. Players can edit information freely because change records are automatically maintained and changes can be easily undone.
  
• Role-playing blog
  The role-playing blog (RPB) is a game which is played out online using posts within a blog. Unlike play-by-post gaming or message board role-playing, a role-playing blog is generally restricted to one gaming group, and the blog contains static files such as maps, archives, and character sheets specific for that group.
  

MUDs and MU*s
Precursor to the now-more popular MMORPGs of today are the branch of text-based games known as MUD, MOO, MUCK, MUSH, MUX, DUM and MUSE, a set of games on similar platforms collectively termed as MU*s within the community by players and aficionados. The main difference in the various platforms lies in their purpose; some, like the myriad codebases for MUDs, are employed in combat-intensive games (either player versus player or against mobs), while MUSH and MUCK are seen in games that focus more on player interaction and role-play. Although interest in these games has suffered from the popularity of MMORPGs, a large number of them still operate. For a more complete history of these games refer to the entry on MUDs.

Real-time human-moderated
Some games rely entirely upon human moderators to dictate events, and physical print books for rules sets. Such games may use code dice-rollers, to generate random results, and may include databases for the purposes of maintaining character records. Interaction between characters is controlled by communication between individual players (with each other) and with moderators (who portray non-player characters). Communication software and database options vary, from the DigiChat front-end / character database back-end pairing pioneered by Conrad Hubbard at White Wolf Publishing, to the numerous AOL and Yahoo chats with hosted character databases. Free-form games may even do away with database integration or dice-rollers entirely and rely upon individual players to keep their own records, with online community reputation dictating how other players react.

Okay ladies and gentle men now that we have gone through the "Basics" of Roleplaying. We will go into something else. We will be going into the "Terms" of Roleplaying. The Roleplaying Terms is what is seen all over the place dealing with almost any type of Roleplay there is whether it may be Internet, Tabletop, or anything else within the form of Roleplaying. These terms are known throughout, and are very common. You may find a few terms here and there that are not found all over and just this site, but hey don't worry. Remember this is a guide, so try to enjoy.




IC Also known as In Character is a term used widely without spelling out the wording In Character. In Character is the action of which someone acts within their Character. This means in a simpler term that they make their character move within the Character Realm.

Example: Hulk Buster moves through the forest as the night cool breeze gently brushed by emitting the sweet scent of near by Violet flower petals that bloomed just before the night sky came by.

Within there. The Character Hulk Buster was moving through the forest. This is an In Character Action.




OOC Also known as Out of Character is a term used widely without spelling out the wording Out of Character. Out of Character is the action that does not deal with anything In Character. This is a statement where a person may talk to another user without their character interacting. This is usually used during a chat form, discussion form that does not deal with the actual RP.

Example: (OOC: I just want to say that I hope we enjoy Roleplaying with each other. I am joining in to help.)

Hulk Buster moves through the forest as the night cool breeze gently brushed by emitting the sweet scent of near by Violet flower petals that bloomed just before the night sky came by.

Within there. The Actual user controlling Hulk Buster is stating something out of character by first placing in OOC and stating that they are there to enjoy a Roleplay. This is an Out of Character Action








IIC A new term called Inactive In Character. This will be discussed better later on but Inactive In character is used to keep a thread alive. It is used so that when a person is unable to post within an amount of time that is state at the beginning of the thread, that person is capable of being skipped to allow other people to post ahead.

Example: Hulk Buster was in a thread that had an IIC for Two days. He had two days from the Last post to post something but was not able. So She Hulk Buster decided to skip the turn after the Two Days had expired.




GM - DM are two different types. Reasons why is because of the name difference. The meaning however is the same. GM is known as Game Master, while DM is known as Dungeon Master. A GM, or DM, are those who create interactive Roleplays. They put the other players before themselves. They create situations where other players may interact by creating a common problem. The player who guides the other players through adventures, describes the game world and plays all of the NPCs. GMs - DMs are used to create events for the site to better create story indepth and character interaction.








NPC Non-Player Character. In general, any character (human or otherwise) in a role-playing game that is not controlled by someone playing the game.

In a tabletop RPG, the game master or equivalent (the person running the game) will generally act/speak the parts of all NPCs. These NPCs can range anywhere from an innkeeper the players talk to in order to rent a room to the mysterious woman who follows your party along for her own unknown reasons only to backstab you right when you were starting to trust her. It's up to the GM.

In LARP, the people running the game will again play the NPC parts, and may enlist others to be NPCs. In an ongoing game, LARP NPCs tend to be the characters who are either too temporary or too important to be done by a given player.

In single-player video game RPGs, NPCs are anyone who isn't your party. They generally aren't referred to as such in this context because "the guy next to the weapon shop" works just as well. These NPCs have a set dialog, and most will repeat the same thing they say every time you try to talk to them. Several webcomics have poked fun at this.

And in a MMORPG, the NPCs are the characters controlled by the server. They often have some kind of distinguishing feature, such as listing their trade in their status window or their name being displayed in a different color of text. As with single-player RPGs, these NPCs will tend to have set patterns of behavior and often must be interacted with to achieve some objective or another.

Example:I need someone who's not playing a regular character to be a NPC today. or Talk to the NPC by the gates to start the item collecting quest.





PC Also known as Playable Character. Not really alot to explain other then, this is who your character is. This is who you play as.








Firewalling A Term hardly ever used, whether it is used in character, or out of character. This is a term that not to many people know, and actually practice. It is when a user is seperating a character's knowledge from the poster's knowledge. This should be practiced a lot more, but since every character, or every person who Roleplays wishes to be god, and have nothing happen to them, they don't practice this at all. Hence why it is rare. Every person has a character that can tell everything, what is going to happen to them, what will happen to them, what they can do, they can always defeat, and etc. This term is so rare, it is a godsend to actually see it being played. Every person wishes to magically know when something is going to happen, and that type of thing is frowned upon. So remember what Firewalling is and practice it, because you will be respected as a RPer, as well as a person.

Example: Hulk Buster's user knows that his character, Hulk Buster, is going to be attacked from behind, but because he is firewalling, Hulk Buster does not know he is going to be attacked from behind.





RL Real Life. Similiarly used as OOC.

Example: ((RL: Sorry that was so short; I'm at work.))








Flaming An online argument that becomes nasty or derisive, where insulting a party to the discussion takes precedence over the objective merits of one side or another.

Example: X was flaming Y over his religious beliefs.
Wow, look at that flaming queer.
omg j00 r t3h n00b!1!!1! pwnt




Baiting Flaming without using actual nasty or derisive language. Baiting is when someone posts speaking out trying to get someone to flame. An excuse a troll uses upon posting an idiotic thread or reply to a messageboard. Usually said after said troll is flamed and shown of ones idiocy.

Example: Neorah: Grunty you suck at life, give up.
Grunty: WTF, I'll kill you.
Saberwulf: Baited!







Trolling Being a prick on the internet because you can. Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander, because it's the internet and, hey, you can. Trolling is the act of purposefully antagonizing other people on the internet, generally on message boards.




Spamming - Spammers Spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message, in an attempt to force the message on people who would not otherwise choose to receive it. Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick schemes, or quasi-legal services. Spam costs the sender very little to send -- most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the carriers rather than by the sender. In the Forum it is when someone posts a useless post inside a thread, or someone who posts multiple times over and over causing trouble, not creating any type of intellectual dialog that may be used for the conversation within a forum. A Spammer is one who spams. Usually these types of people are the types that disregards rules, and does not listen to the administration. This is close, or is also known as trolling.

Example: Hulk Buster's Clone Hulk Bustera was posting in every post the word Boobie and random characteristics in the thread that did not follow along with the thread.







Newb Someone who is new to the activity that they are currently partaking in. Very often this term is used pertaining to computer games.

Example: Hulk Buster: Hey everyone I am new to this site, can anyone direct me to the rules around here?
Veteran: Sure thing Newbie, the rules are found at...

Newbie, a state of word insisting that someone is new to a type of game play. When first joining a site everyone is known as a Newbie until they become familiar with the site.




Noob, n00b, Nub A player who may or may not be new to a game, but insists on doing brainless things, especially things that hinder the team. Those who are defined as "n00bs" will also refuse to listen to words of wisdom or, even worse, berate those who try to help. An insult describing a person who is not only lacking in knowledge of something, but also blatantly refuses to learn about it and even berates those who would benefit him with experience. Often used in computer game circles. Often times those who call others the word noobs are known to be noobs themselves, those who disregard rules and understanding, stating the word noob to make themselves feel better.







Godmodding Mispelling of Godmoding & God Modding in rpg and forum settings, thus the meaning is the same. The term applies to "Godly-modification"; or "Godlike-modification" to a character, through skills such as evasion and the like, as well as the character's personality which usually consists of a superior "I know all, see all, and am all", et cetera. The singlemost annoying and obnoxious gamers on the planet. Tend to act like 7 year olds when they don't get their way during games of pretend, i.e. - Bang, you're dead! Yeah huh, I killed you and you can't play anymore! Those who believe they are gods never taking a hit. This is the most defiled form of Roleplaying. Don't do it.




Metagaming The act of using outside or previously gained knowledge within a gaming universe for personal gain or advantage. This is widely used when a person takes something in context that is known as Out of Character and putting it In Character. This type of thing is a result of knowing that someone is going to attack you, or steal from you, and your character automatically knows it or finds out without there being in character interaction first. This is another form of Roleplaying that is greatly frowned upon. Don't do it.