Basics of Role-Play
Glossary -
Terms and phrases to help you understand Role-Playing.Role-Play
- Creating a character or two in which you write 'storylines' with other players who have created their own characters. In a sense, it is acting….only written.OOC- Short for 'Out Of Character'. Used when talking player to player behind the scenes.
BIC - Short for 'Back In Character'. Used when players are finished talking to each other behind the scenes and talking as their characters again.
Storylines - Stories that are written by the players using their characters. Sometimes, the player who started the storyline has a specific plot in mind, sometimes not.
BRB - Short for 'Be Right Back'
GTG - Short for 'Got To Go'
LOL - Short for 'Laughing Out Loud'
RL - Real Life
RP - Role-Play
Character - The made-up personality played by the player
Player - The person doing the typing
Types of RP
Forum -(a.k.a. ~ board or message board) This is generally a faster form of role-play (It could be slow too, depending on the board). There are a few different styles of forums, but they all have basically the same thing. Some terms that are connected to these forums are:
Posts - There is found (normally at the top of the page) a link called "post". When you click on this, it will take you to an area where you can fill out information such as "name, e-mail (optional), subject, and text." You type in your character's name and something for the subject line. Then type in what you want your character to do, and click on "Send".
Thread - A thread occurs when someone responds to your post. There are usually at least 2 posts in a row, one done right after the other. Most boards also put a date and a time in which your post was posted. This way, you'll know when someone had posted something.
Page - Some boards are set up so that after a certain number of posts are made, it will create another page to hold the older ones.
Mispost - A mispost occurs when two or more people post at nearly the exact same time. On some of the boards, when they have a mispost, it will not show one of the posts. Other boards may look like they show it, but when clicked on, the information inside the post will be some other characters information. Another term you will see that refers to this is that someone will say that your post was "eaten" by the other player.
Repost - You may have to repost your message if you find that it doesn't show up due to a mispost. You can retype it, or an easier way to do it is to click the "back" button on your browser until you get to the original posting page again. Your message should still be there. Click 'send' again.
Rules and Guidelines
- Each RP has their own rules. The following are general rules that almost all games have.Registering - Most Role-Play games ask that you register each character that you make up. The usual questions asked are your name and e-mail, and your character's name, age, gender, and any magic your character may have (not all boards accept magic. Some only limit the magic). This information is then kept track of so others in the game can reference it.
Controlling Characters Other Than Your Own - This is frowned upon on all games. This includes powergaming, godmoding, and blatant posting of a character that does not belong to you (with the one exception of getting permission to do so by that character's player).
Powergaming - A player is powergaming when they make their character stronger than is deemed necessary. People quickly tire of characters that always win
Godmoding - Godmoding is essentially the same as powergaming, only it focuses more on defense. A player is godmoding when they play that their character never gets hurt…or heals too quickly.
Balance - Just a note here on the balance of powers and strength. Strong or weak, good or evil, there must be a balance. What is the point of having heroes when there is no one around for them to be heroes for? A world cannot be made up entirely of heroes. There must also be a balance between good and evil. Evil characters cannot always escape, heroes cannot always win. That's what makes life, and storylines, more interesting.
Magic - If your character has magic, please keep in mind the following:
Limits - There should be limits to what your power is, and how it is used. Also, realize that using magic should tire your character out. You cannot use it over and over and over again, without feeling some sort of drain on your energy status. The stronger the magic, the more tired the character should become.
No changing of powers - If your character is registered for one type of magic, do not use another. If s/he is registered for no magic, do not suddenly make him/her magical.
Location - When you RP with other players, be aware of where they are. If you are talking to someone who is in one place, and some other characters walk over to a place farther off, it is not possible to have conversations with both groups, unless it is "role-played" that one of the groups walks over to the other.
Knowledge - Be aware that you, as a player, may have some knowledge of things that the character you play does not. Don't let your character have that knowledge until s/he has earned it (or Role-played it out).
Hurting/Killing - Do not kill another character unless it is your own, or you get the permission from that character's player. Be realistic about your own character's health. If your character is hit with a lot of damage, don't act as if s/he was barely scratched. On the flip side, don't make your character seem near death if s/he barely had a scratch.
Punctuation - In order to avoid confusion for what your character is saying, please use appropriate punctuation. There are basically two different ways to separate action from talking. The first is the same as what you see in a novel. You put quotes " " around what your character is saying, and no quotes around your actions. This style usually calls for more complete sentences. The other option is to put asterisks * * around your actions. This style is more relaxed.
Example -
"Who are you?" she asked, walking over to them.
*walks over to them* who are you?
Being Realistic - It is strongly suggested that you base your character and actions in realistic situations. For example, if a queen gets pregnant, have her go through all the steps of pregnancy. Have the kittens actually grow up. To have a queen become pregnant, give birth and have grown kittens within a few weeks is imposible. Even though people are encouraged to use thier imaginations, they must have at least some reality in it to make the storylines more enjoyable. Try to at least learn the basics about kittens and cats. This can help you along the way.
