kaykay975Join Date: 2009-07-25
Post Count: 1048 |
Welcome to Kaykay's Tips & Guides to Role-playing!
Here I will be showing you the 'basics' of how to roleplay here in the roblox forums. I am not very well known within this roleplaying forum but I do hope to be someday. I love writing fantasy roleplays, as well as some science. I hope you newer role-players read over my guide and learn from it, so that mistakes will not be made.
Good luck!
P.S.
Beware of WoW references!
-- INDEX
{1} What is Role-playing?
{2} Making a Character/Role-play Tips.
{3} The Genres of Role-play/Overall Genre.
{4} Organization.
{5} Writing a Story.
{6} Flaming & Trolling.
-- GLOSSARY
Rp - Role-play
Rper - Role-player
Rps - Role-plays
Ooc - Out of character/Non-roleplay chat
CS - Character Sheet
CS's - Plural form of Character Sheet
OP - Original Poster/AKA the creator of the thread
RPF - Role-Playing Forum
ISRP/IRSP - In Response Single Player
SPFC - Single Player Free Choice
Newbie/Newb - New Role-player/New Person
Troll - A person who is rude/hateful/insulting in an attempt to anger someone else.
{1} What is Role-playing?
Role-playing refers to the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the Oxford English Dictionaryoffers a definition of role-playing as "the changing of one's behaviour to fulfill a social role", in the field of psychology, the term is used more loosely in four senses:
To refer to the playing of roles generally such as in a theatre, or educational setting;
To refer to taking a role of an existing character or person and acting it out with a partner taking someone else's role, often involving different genres of practice;
To refer to a wide range of games including role-playing video game, play-by-mail games and more;
To refer specifically to role-playing games.
Contents
1 Amusement
2 Entertainment
2.1 Role-playing games
Amusement
Many children participate in a form of role-playing known as make believe, wherein they adopt certain roles such as doctor and act out those roles in character. Sometimes make believe adopts an oppositional nature, resulting in games such as cops and robbers.
Entertainment
Historical re-enactment has been practised by adults for millennia. The ancient Romans, Han Chinese, and medieval Europeans all enjoyed occasionally organising events in which everyone pretended to be from an earlier age, and entertainment appears to have been the primary purpose of these activities. Within the 20th century historical re-enactment has often been pursued as ahobby.
Improvisational theatre dates back to the Commedia dell'Arte tradition of the 16th century. Modern improvisational theatre began in the classroom with the "theatre games" of Viola Spolin andKeith Johnstone in the 1950s. Viola Spolin, who was one of the founders the famous comedy troupe Second City, insisted that her exercises were games, and that they involved role-playing as early as 1946. She accurately judged role-playing in the theatre as rehearsal and actor training, or the playing of the role of actor versus theatre roles, but many now use her games for fun in their own right.
Role-playing games
A role-playing game is a game in which the participants assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, they may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.
Role-playing can also be done online in the form of group story creation, involving anywhere from two to several hundred people, utilizing public forums, private message boards, mailing lists, chatrooms, and instant-messaging chat clients (e.g., MSN, Yahoo!, ICQ) to build worlds and characters that may last a few hours, or several years. Message boards such as ProBoards and InvisionFree are popularly used for role-playing. Often on forum-based roleplays, rules, and standards are set up, such as a minimum word count, character applications, and "plotting" boards to increase complexity and depth of story.
There are different genres of which one can choose while role-playing, including, but not limited to, fantasy, modern, medieval, steam punk, and historical. Books, movies, or games can be, and often are, used as a basis for role-plays (which in such cases may be deemed "collaborative fan-fiction"), with players either assuming the roles of established canon characters or using those the players themselves create ("Original Characters") to replace—or exist alongside—characters from the book, movie, or game, playing through well-trodden plots as alternative characters, or expanding upon the setting and story outside of its established canon.
{2} Making a Character/Role-play Tips.
Whether you're using a simple addon or going all out with Total RP 2, the description is pretty much the key to making your character your own. One of the most common mistakes that people make with character descriptions is that they confuse them with character histories. Both are used to describe your character, that part is true, but your character description should never detail parts of your character's life. That's what most addons have a history tab for.
When you're trying to put together a description, think of it this way: If you were a random stranger who happened upon your character while walking down the street, what would you see? What would your character look like? How would he or she be acting? A character description is basically a verbal description of a snapshot of your character. It's a physical description, not an in-depth description. You can't tell a person's life story by simply looking at them; the same applies to the character that you play.
There are plenty of things that can be included within a description, however.
Age Don't include your character's exact age -- most people can't tell a person's age from a glance. But they can tell whether someone is young or old, usually ... unless there's a lot of magic or plastic surgery at work.
Height Again, an exact measurement isn't necessary, but you can definitely tell whether someone is short, tall, or average just by taking a look at them.
Weight Weight is one of those things that is subjective, depending on the person who is observing. Some people notice when someone is overly thin; some people don't take weight into account at all when they're talking to another person. Generally speaking, unless your character is incredibly thin or incredibly overweight, it's probably not worth mentioning here.
Eyes A lot of people take a great deal of time writing about their character's eyes. Is it necessary? Not especially. But the eyes are said to be the window to the soul -- and if your character is sad, or happy, or tired, or angry, their eyes will more often than not give that emotion away.
Demeanor This is probably the most tricky thing to add to a description. It's also something that you may want to change from time to time. Remember how I said you can't really tell a person's life story from simply looking at them? You can't -- but you can get a general impression of how they're feeling or what sort of attitude they have. Things like posture and stance, smiling or frowning, or even a neutral expression are all subtle hints at what's going on in your character's head, and they're all things that would be noticed by someone watching your character.
Scars and other features Does your character have noticeable scars on their face? You may want to mention that in their description. Does he have a tattoo of a Celestial Steed on his rear end? Unless he're walking around sans pants, it's probably not worth mentioning in the description. Does she have a visible piece of jewelry that she wears all the time, like a sparkling ring or an ornate necklace? That should be mentioned.
Smells Some people go out of their way to give a full experience and write about how their character smells. Is this really necessary? Probably not. Unless your character absolutely reeks of perfume, cologne, or unpleasant body odors, chances are that a random passerby really isn't going to take note of how they smell.
The general rule of thumb with descriptions is that if another character can see it or notice it, it should be mentioned. So things like hidden tattoos, scars, or piercings shouldn't be placed in your description. But things that another character would pick up on, like oddly colored eyes, a really strange set of armor, or your character's tendency to constantly recite limericks under their breath would definitely be on the list of stuff you should include.
Points to avoid
When you're writing a description for your character, there are a few common things that tend to raise people's eyebrows. While you can certainly add these in if you really feel it necessary, keep in mind that these are the sorts of things that upset people, and don't be surprised if someone calls you on it.
History Anything having to do with your character's history likely shouldn't be added to their description. By history, I mean a factual presentation of the events in their life. If your character is wearing something that is a family heirloom, you can always mention that, because it's a physical representation of their history. But talking about how many years they lived in Dolanaar is something that should be relegated to the history tab, not included in the character description.
Attributes Let's just use the delicate term here, all right? By attributes, I'm talking about things like bust size or how shapely or endowed your character happens to be. Is it something that people notice? Some do, some don't. What you should ask yourself before you write it down is this: Does it really add to what people need to know about your character? Is the fact that they are well endowed something that everyone needs to know? Do you wander around telling random strangers what your bust size is? If the answer is no, then maybe you should think about what including that information really says about your character -- because chances are, the first assumption that people are going to make with a descriptor like that is that your character spends their off nights working in the Goldshire Inn.
Godmodding Yes, roleplayers of the world, you can godmod via your character description, and there are an awful lot of players who go out of their way to do this. Sentences such as "You are frightened of this draenei," or "The moment you see this troll, you feel instantly attracted to her," or "The human turns toward you and winks, leaving you flustered and confused" can be considered godmodding. Godmodding is pretty much any time you as a player make a statement that can be construed as controlling another player's character. Maybe your character isn't as intimidating as you'd think, or maybe that character that is approaching yours isn't at all attracted to your character. The point is, it's up to them, not you, to decide.
Obscenities It's a fact of life -- there are roleplayers out there who are all about one thing, whether it's [Matin'] or being as blatantly rude as possible. Roleplaying is a creative experience, and some choose to express their creativity in ways that others don't care for. That's fine. However, this game is played by a multitude of people of varying ages, and these roleplay addons are downloadable by anyone of any age. Now think about this, and think about it really hard -- if you had a little brother or sister or a child who was playing this game and decided to try roleplaying, would you want them to read your description? Would you want them using the same language you used? If the answer is no, don't put it in your description.
You have to keep in mind that you aren't the only one reading the material you put out there. Other players look at descriptions for a quick clue on your character and how their character should react to yours. Players are free to choose who they do and do not wish to roleplay with, and if your description includes any of the above, there is a chance you could be missing out on roleplay.
When people break the rules
You can try to correct the player on what should be in a description if you like -- but outright attacking them for what they've written is the wrong way to go about it. Some players simply don't realize that descriptions are for descriptions only; some are beginning roleplayers who simply haven't figured things out yet. If you're polite and friendly, you're likely going to get a friendly and polite response in return -- and if you're rude, be prepared to end up on someone's ignore list.
But in the end, nobody can force you to roleplay. If you find someone's description offensive, don't roleplay with them. Don't bother reading their description, and don't bother interacting with them. If they ask you why you aren't roleplaying, you may want to gently let them know -- it could change their mind. Roleplay is a social activity, and as with any other, being rude or offensive will likely get you nowhere.
{3} Role-playing Genres/Overall Genre.
A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even (as in the case of fiction) length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. They also must not be confused with format, such as graphic novel or picture book. The distinctions between genres and categories are flexible and loosely defined, often with subgroups.
The most general genres in literature are (in loose chronological order) epic, tragedy,comedy, novel, short story, and creative nonfiction. They can all be in the genres prose or poetry, which shows best how loosely genres are defined. Additionally, a genre such as satire, allegory or pastoral might appear in any of the above, not only as a sub-genre , but as a mixture of genres. Finally, they are defined by the general cultural movement of the historical period in which they were composed. In popular fiction, which is especially divided by genres, genre fiction is the more usual term.
In literature, genre has been known as an intangible taxonomy. This taxonomy implies a concept of containment or that an idea will be stable forever.The earliest recorded systems of genre in Western history can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle. Gérard Genette, a French literary theorist and author of The Architext, describes Plato as creating three imitational genres: dramatic dialogue, pure narrative and epic (a mixture of dialogue and narrative). Lyric poetry, the fourth and final type of Greek literature, was excluded by Plato as a non-mimetic mode. Aristotle later revised Plato's system by eliminating the pure narrative as a viable mode and distinguishing by two additional criteria: the object to be imitated, as objects could be either superior or inferior, and the medium of presentation such as words, gestures or verse. Essentially, the three categories of mode, object, and medium can be visualized along an XYZ axis. Excluding the criteria of medium, Aristotle's system distinguished four types of classical genres: tragedy (superior-dramatic dialogue), epic (superior-mixed narrative), comedy (inferior-dramatic dialogue), and parody (inferior-mixed narrative). Genette continues by explaining the later integration of lyric poetry into the classical system during the romantic period, replacing the now removed pure narrative mode. Lyric poetry, once considered non-mimetic, was deemed to imitate feelings, becoming the third leg of a new tripartite system: lyrical, epical, and dramatic dialogue. This system, which came to "dominate all the literary theory of German romanticism (and therefore well beyond)…" , has seen numerous attempts at expansion or revision. However, more ambitious efforts to expand the tripartite system resulted in new taxonomic systems of increasing scope and complexity. Genette reflects upon these various systems, comparing them to the original tripartite arrangement: "its structure is somewhat superior to…those that have come after, fundamentally flawed as they are by their inclusive and hierarchical taxonomy, which each time immediately brings the whole game to a standstill and produces an impasse". Taxonomy allows for a structured classification system of genre, as opposed to a more contemporary rhetorical model of genre. The concept of "genre" has been criticized by Jacques Derrida.
{4} Organization.
When you are typing up the initial topic post of a role-play, be sure to type up a clear description of what it is. Don't just start off with a post that details your character in some area looking up at the sky or something. Other role-players need to know what kind of characters they can and cannot use for that specific role-play. Is it a closed role-play or is it open to anything? That is what you must clarify in your topic.
- A closed role-play is a role-play that is set around a specific setting/time/reality and nothing else. If you are going to be doing a closed role-play, then you must state whether or not it is closed. For example, let's say you were going to start a closed role-play in a medieval setting. Would there only be humans allowed? Would it have even more fantasy than that and allow character types such as elves, dwarves, and others? This is another thing that you must state in your topic.
- Another thing you must keep in mind when organizing your own role-play is character appearance. You could allow the people joining your role-play to just post a starter describing their character, or you could ask them to post a starter with a link to a picture of their character in the same post (this is done in brackets, outside the role-play itself). Sometimes character description in posts just isn't enough, and some role-players need an image to know who/what they are role-playing their characters with.
{5} Writing a story.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How can I write vivid descriptions?
How can I invent characters that feel like real people?
How can I create suspense?
How can I can I make readers care about my stories?
You will also find answers to some Infrequently Asked Questions::
What did one successful novelist do instead of murdering her ex-husband?
How is writing a novel too soon like getting married too young?
What's a really bad strategy for convincing people you're super-cool?
Do you hear voices in your head? If not, what should you do about it?
Since prehistoric times, when tales were told around fires and painted on cave walls, stories have been an essential part of our human experience. But what exactly is a story – and how can you write a great one?
A story is simply a tale of events that are linked by cause and effect. It can be true or it can be a work of fiction. We expect stories to have a beginning, middle and end; they involve at least two characters, and some events take place.
In this section, I’ll take you through three major contemporary types of written story:
The short story
The novel
The life story (biography or autobiography)
For each, I’ll explain what it is, and how to write it successfully. I’ll end with tips about story writing which will help you improve your writing, whether you’re a beginner or a published author.
Three Types of Story 1. Short Stories
A short story is a piece of fiction under 20,000 words. More typically, a short story will be 1,000 – 5,000 words. (Pieces under 1,000 words are “short short stories” or “flash fiction”, over 20,000 and they’re novellas.)
Short stories are published in magazines, newspapers and book anthologies. Short stories need:
A small cast of characters, with one main character
A compact time frame, with the story taking place over the course of a few days or weeks
A single plot without subplots, though longer short stories may have a subplot
The majority of writing competitions are for complete short stories, rather than novels or novel excerpts. If you do enter competitions, don’t be put off writing if you don’t win – judges have different likes and dislikes.
How to Write a Great Short Story
Like any story, your short story needs to have a beginning, middle and end:
The beginning is where we’re introduced to the characters, especially the main character and his/her problem
The middle is where the action and plot develops. The main character will face difficulties such as opposition from other people or a challenging environment.
The end is where the main character triumphs over his/her biggest challenge (or fails, in the case of a tragedy). The resolution should be satisfying and conclusive for the reader.
Even in literary and experimental short stories, it’s important that something should happen. Much of the action might take place inside the characters’ heads, but there should be a real change as a result.
By the end of your short story, your main character should have experienced an internal change. This means that they’ve grown and developed as a person – perhaps overcoming a fear, or recognizing an unacknowledged truth about himself or herself.
2. Novels
A novel is a piece of fiction that’s 60,000 words or longer (shorter books are novellas). The typical novel is around 80,000 – 150,000 words, depending on genre.
Novels and short stories share similar structural features, but novels give the author a much wider scope. A novel might have:
More than one main character (though attempt this with caution!)
A large cast of characters
A long time frame – potentially covering several centuries and several generations
Multiple subplots
Novels tend to be much more popular than short stories with the reading public, and almost all full-time authors are novelists rather than short story writers.
How To Write A Novel
A novel is a much bigger undertaking than a short story. Even if you are able to write short stories without much planning, you’ll need to plan out your novel in advance. There are a number of ways to do this, but whichever you choose, ensure:
You have enough plot to meet your word count target
Your main character (protagonist) is sympathetic – readers of short stories will put up with a dull or unlikeable character, but novel readers are stuck with the character’s viewpoint for much longer. As the writer, you’ll need to be able to become your characters.
You have an escalation of events throughout the plot. Things need to get worse and worse for your characters, until they finally overcome their problems or enemies.
3. Life Stories
A life story is a true story – though it shares features with fictional stories. Life stories are either “biography” (when you write about someone else) or “autobiography” (when you write about yourself).
Most biographies and autobiographies are book length, similar to a novel. Many writers draw on their own life experiences for newspaper columns and magazine articles, though. There is also a market for “true life” stories in magazines, which are told in a story-like way: writing about your own life is a simple way to write about what you know.
How To Write A Life Story
A life story needs to be engaging and interesting for the reader. Don’t include boring details just because they’re “true” – the reader doesn’t need to know everything that happened. In many cases, details of childhood or dull years can be summarized – or told through a few vividly-drawn incidents.
You will need to be careful when writing a biography or autobiography to:
Structure your piece as a story, focusing on interesting events and incidents.
Show the personality of the subject (yourself or the person you’re writing about), and making sure the reader will find them at least partly likeable.
Be conscious of the other people involved – try to be sensitive to how they might feel (and avoid getting sued for libel – make sure you’re certain of your facts).
There is often a fine line between life writing and fiction. If you are writing the story of your life, you will need to make decisions about whether you will alter or make up lines of dialogue, for instance.
General Story Writing Tips
Whatever type of story or stories you’re writing, and however experienced you are, there’s always room for improvement…
Share Your Story Writing Efforts
It’s hard to write in isolation, and sharing your work with other writers is a great way to get feedback and suggestions. Look for a local writers’ circle, or join an online forum. You want to find somewhere that’s supportive but where people aren’t afraid to offer advice about things that aren’t working in your story.
Keep Learning
Writing is a craft that you can learn, like any other. There are hundreds of books on all aspects of writing, from the nuts and bolts of grammar andpunctuation to writing in specific genres. You can also find free advice on the Internet.
Keep Practicing
As well as learning about writing, you need to practice. That means writing regularly – ideally daily. As you write more, your stories will get better – your characters are more “real”, your plots are convincing, and your endings are deeply satisfying to readers. You’ll also find that writing itself becomes easier: you’ll spend less time struggling to find the right words, and more time enjoying seeing the story spill from your fingers.
Always Revise
All authors need to revise their work. Your first draft might have a lot of problems – inconsistent characterization, scenes which don’t really fit, holes in the plot, incorrect pacing or tension. Don’t worry if this is the case: most published authors have to extensively rewrite their first drafts too. Always allow time to revise your story, and if possible, do several rewrites. Most authors recommend letting your story sit unread for a few days or weeks when you complete a draft, so that you can come to it with fresh eyes.
Good luck with your story writing!
{6} Flaming & Trolling
The term 'flaming' is defined slightly differently depending on which site you're on, but generally it means the same thing wherever you go. h2g2 defines it thus:
Flaming means posting something that's angry and mean-spirited - the online equivalent of flying off the handle.
... whereas, according to the Jargon Dictionary, the term 'flaming' originates at MIT1 from the phrase 'flaming a.....e'. The definition of 'flame' on this site goes on to define flaming in the following four ways:
To post an email message intended to insult and provoke.
To speak incessantly and/or rabidly on some relatively uninteresting subject or with a patently ridiculous attitude.
Either of senses 1 or 2, directed with hostility at a particular person or people.
(n) An instance of flaming. When a discussion degenerates into useless controversy, one might tell the participants 'Now you're just flaming' or 'Stop all that flamage!' to try to get them to cool down (so to speak).
Interestingly, the Jargon Dictionary also goes on to speculate:
It is possible that the hackish sense of 'flame' is much older than that. The poet Chaucer was also what passed for a wizard hacker in his time; he wrote a treatise on the astrolabe, the most advanced computing device of the day. In Chaucer's Troilus and Cressida, Cressida laments her inability to grasp the proof of a particular mathematical theorem; her uncle Pandarus then observes that it's called 'the fleminge of wrecches'. This phrase seems to have been intended in context as 'that which puts the wretches to flight' but was probably just as ambiguous in Middle English as 'the flaming of wretches' would be today. One suspects that Chaucer would feel right at home on Usenet.Trolling
For many years, Usenet was the dominant form of online communication. It defined 'trolling' in three ways:
... a posting designed to attract predictable responses or 'flames'; or, the post itself. Derives from the phrase 'trolling for newbies' which in turn comes from mainstream 'trolling', a style of fishing in which one trails bait through a likely spot hoping for a bite. The well-constructed troll is a post that induces lots of newbies and flamers to make themselves look even more clueless than they already do, while subtly conveying to the more savvy and experienced that it is in fact a deliberate troll. If you don't fall for the joke, you get to be in on it.... an individual who chronically trolls in sense 1; regularly posts specious arguments, flames or personal attacks to a newsgroup, discussion list, or in email for no other purpose than to annoy someone or disrupt a discussion. Trolls are recognisable by the fact that the have no real interest in learning about the topic at hand - they simply want to utter flame-bait. Like the ugly creatures they are named after, they exhibit no redeeming characteristics, and as such, they are recognized as a lower form of life on the net, as in, 'Oh, ignore him, he's just a troll.'... [Berkeley] Computer lab monitor. A popular campus job for C[omputer] S[tudies] students. Duties include helping newbies and ensuring that lab policies are followed. Probably so-called because it involves lurking in dark, cave-like corners.
Trolling is generally recognised as being an occupation rather than an occurrence, ie while people can (and do) flame for the sake of flaming, flaming can often simply be a manifestation of someone's overreaction to something someone else said. It is for this reason that while flaming is, almost without exception, frowned upon, trolling is more looked upon with scorn than its erstwhile counterpart. The website Slashdot.org, mentioned above, even goes so far as to have a method of forum moderation which allows postings to be classified as 'troll' (as well as such other labels as 'interesting', 'funny', and 'irrelevant'). Users who troll in situations like this generally troll for bait, as mentioned in the definition above.
"Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time." - Chinese Proverb |