Post by Seniade Hawthorne on Aug 3, 2009 0:26:40 GMT -5
Basic Guide to RPing!
Roleplaying (RP) is pretty easy to do once you get started but here are some basic hints and tips for successful RP-ing.
Write your post clearly and use full sentences or paragraphs. You dont have to post an epic every time, sometimes one line is enough if it conveys the point, alternately an epic post may be appropriate.
On this site the preferred perspective is ‘third person’ and tense is ‘past’. Keeping all posts from the same perspective across the board makes things easier and it is much clearer when trying to decipher actions.
Example of dodgy RP:
*jumps left and kicks, smiles at hot girl* “Hello Gorgeous.” *bows and smirked as bad guy dies*
Good RP:
Tom jumped to the left and kicked,at the same time flashing a smile at the hot girl over his shoulder.
“Hello gorgeous.” He smirked as he bowed, the bad guys around him dying as he did so.
Which would you prefer to read? Seems pretty straightforward doesn’t it?
Now, note that the tips that follow aren’t exactly hard and fast rules and most of them are up to a player’s discretion. I’m not saying that if you do any of this you’re a horrible player, in fact almost everyone makes mistakes like these from time to time. But just being aware of them can often help you avoid problems in the game.
They are the various pitfalls that a new or inexperienced player might not be aware of instead of the obvious problems of things like godgaming or metagaming.
IS YOUR CHARRIE LIKEABLE?
Consider any action you take that other characters wouldn’t look kindly upon as “kicking the dog”. An action with a positive effect is “petting the dog”.
Pet: Helping a friend out
Kick: Kicking someone while they are down
Characters tend to have varying ratios of kick vs. pet depending on their character concept and that’s fine. But you should always be careful about kicking the dog just a bit too much without giving your characters any pet the dog moments to redeem their behavior.
Why?
Because in real life, no one likes a jackass. And if someone doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, players may have trouble coming up with reasons why their character just doesn’t avoid your character. And in a game where you have to socialize and talk with characters quite a bit, this means you won’t have very much to do.
And that can get boring pretty quickly.
ASK YOURSELF: “Would anyone actually want to hang out with this guy?”
Players should work together.
They shouldn’t consider each other rivals or enemies, leave that for your characters. The whole point of the game isn’t to show off you character’s awesomeness, but to work with everyone to create an interesting and compelling story with nuanced characters and exciting drama.
So just be aware. Work with the other players. Talk with them about how they want to see a scene going. Just a little planning with other people can avoid a lot of ill feelings.
And for the love of god, your character should never be the best at everything.
**Don’t just interject your charrie in a thread that is halfway through if there is no reason they were there in the first place. (UNLESS INVITED ie. They need a healer to arrive.) Its just common courtesy, if you suddenly post the fact that your charrie was lurking nearby and overhears a secret then it can cause player problems. In all likelihood the charrie wouldn’t have revealed the secret if they knew you were there.
Roleplaying should flow organically and your characters actions should have actual thought behind it. Even someone who’s pure balls to the wall insane doesn’t usually get violent for no reason.
**Double Posting. Don’t do it. Posting directly after your own post in order to draw attention or bump up the thread? No. Just annoying. If you think the thread has been forgotten PM the other players. Easy.
A Note to Other species.
Every now and then several little annoyances seem to crop up that makes people bang their heads against a wall when it comes to non-humans.
1) "My senses allow me to know what you did/are doing/are going to do."
Ah, heightened senses. Usually a mainstay of the package. It's a neat idea, being able to gain more information through your characters enhanced sense of smell or hearing.
But you should be aware that using it to explain away why your character has OOC knowledge is really rude. Yes, it probably makes sense that your character would be able to smell what another character had for lunch. But when you do so without consulting your fellow players, you come off as just a metagamer with an excuse for your poor RP.
2) "I...can't control THE BEAST"
Yes, werewolves can have trouble controlling their baser instincts. A common plot. But when it gets overused, you get the feeling that the character is just using it as an excuse for Wangst or Crazy Punches. Besides, it's kind of overdone.
Don't get me wrong, there are ways that this sort of thing can be used and used well. But you should always make sure it's being used in moderation and as part of your character development, not just as an excuse.
3) "Raised by wolves!"
Feral shifters have a tendency to act as if they never have had any contact with human society. Sometimes, this makes sense given their backstory.
And most other times it's just bizarre.
Let me put it plainly, a guy that's been raised in polite society by normal parents isn't going to just start acting like they've been raised by wolves just because they turn into a half-rabbit/half-human monster. And when you do act this way, your character comes off as annoying rather then interesting.
Bottom line is, playing a vamp/fey/wolf is hard because it's so popular. You need a unique character portrayal that doesn't fall into the annoying traps a lot of people do. So put some thought into it. Your fellow RP'ers will thank you for it.
Your character is controlled by you. And it’s up to you to work within your characters logic to game with other players. Other players shouldn’t have to bend over backwards to accommodate you because you’re sitting there going “My character wouldn’t do that”. If it’s absolutely against your characters values or whatever, by all means feel free to RP it. But don’t pointlessly stall or add unneeded drama to a scene just because you’re being stubborn with your character concept.
Sometimes you just have to take a step back and think of a reason they would participate rather than just derailing the damn game so you can whine a bit. Maybe they want to help out their friends and comrades who are involved. Maybe they’re bored. Just think of something.
REMEMBER:
Drama is good within reason. Everyone loves a good fight, dramatic moment, or scene of character development.
Tragedy is fine. Almost everyone likes to work a bit of tragedy into their character on some level or another.
Angst is acceptable in moderation. A depressed character who's been brought low as the result of events is realistic and can make for some gread character development.
And then you have wangst.
Wangst is when a character is angsty and tragic and dramatic and WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT. All they talk about is how horrible their lot in life is and constantly whine about the terrible things that happen to them. God just get over it already.
A big indicator of wangst is that the character will complain about the horrible things in their past, but never take any action to resolve or work through these issues. They seem content to sit around bemoaning their terribly tragic lives without accepting help from others in any form.
If your character has a tragic background, you should spend some time working on the arc. Decide in advance how they'll work through it and remember to include other players with the story arc. Collaboration may be necessary, but the harsh reality is that most people just aren't that interested in your character. They're interested in how THEIR character interacts with your character.
So, don't wangst. It may seem attractive and deep, but it's really just shallow and silly. No one likes it.
Credit goes to Flyte Morticroft for this guide
Roleplaying (RP) is pretty easy to do once you get started but here are some basic hints and tips for successful RP-ing.
Write your post clearly and use full sentences or paragraphs. You dont have to post an epic every time, sometimes one line is enough if it conveys the point, alternately an epic post may be appropriate.
On this site the preferred perspective is ‘third person’ and tense is ‘past’. Keeping all posts from the same perspective across the board makes things easier and it is much clearer when trying to decipher actions.
Example of dodgy RP:
*jumps left and kicks, smiles at hot girl* “Hello Gorgeous.” *bows and smirked as bad guy dies*
Good RP:
Tom jumped to the left and kicked,at the same time flashing a smile at the hot girl over his shoulder.
“Hello gorgeous.” He smirked as he bowed, the bad guys around him dying as he did so.
Which would you prefer to read? Seems pretty straightforward doesn’t it?
Now, note that the tips that follow aren’t exactly hard and fast rules and most of them are up to a player’s discretion. I’m not saying that if you do any of this you’re a horrible player, in fact almost everyone makes mistakes like these from time to time. But just being aware of them can often help you avoid problems in the game.
They are the various pitfalls that a new or inexperienced player might not be aware of instead of the obvious problems of things like godgaming or metagaming.
IS YOUR CHARRIE LIKEABLE?
Consider any action you take that other characters wouldn’t look kindly upon as “kicking the dog”. An action with a positive effect is “petting the dog”.
Pet: Helping a friend out
Kick: Kicking someone while they are down
Characters tend to have varying ratios of kick vs. pet depending on their character concept and that’s fine. But you should always be careful about kicking the dog just a bit too much without giving your characters any pet the dog moments to redeem their behavior.
Why?
Because in real life, no one likes a jackass. And if someone doesn’t have any redeeming qualities, players may have trouble coming up with reasons why their character just doesn’t avoid your character. And in a game where you have to socialize and talk with characters quite a bit, this means you won’t have very much to do.
And that can get boring pretty quickly.
ASK YOURSELF: “Would anyone actually want to hang out with this guy?”
Players should work together.
They shouldn’t consider each other rivals or enemies, leave that for your characters. The whole point of the game isn’t to show off you character’s awesomeness, but to work with everyone to create an interesting and compelling story with nuanced characters and exciting drama.
So just be aware. Work with the other players. Talk with them about how they want to see a scene going. Just a little planning with other people can avoid a lot of ill feelings.
And for the love of god, your character should never be the best at everything.
**Don’t just interject your charrie in a thread that is halfway through if there is no reason they were there in the first place. (UNLESS INVITED ie. They need a healer to arrive.) Its just common courtesy, if you suddenly post the fact that your charrie was lurking nearby and overhears a secret then it can cause player problems. In all likelihood the charrie wouldn’t have revealed the secret if they knew you were there.
Roleplaying should flow organically and your characters actions should have actual thought behind it. Even someone who’s pure balls to the wall insane doesn’t usually get violent for no reason.
**Double Posting. Don’t do it. Posting directly after your own post in order to draw attention or bump up the thread? No. Just annoying. If you think the thread has been forgotten PM the other players. Easy.
A Note to Other species.
Every now and then several little annoyances seem to crop up that makes people bang their heads against a wall when it comes to non-humans.
1) "My senses allow me to know what you did/are doing/are going to do."
Ah, heightened senses. Usually a mainstay of the package. It's a neat idea, being able to gain more information through your characters enhanced sense of smell or hearing.
But you should be aware that using it to explain away why your character has OOC knowledge is really rude. Yes, it probably makes sense that your character would be able to smell what another character had for lunch. But when you do so without consulting your fellow players, you come off as just a metagamer with an excuse for your poor RP.
2) "I...can't control THE BEAST"
Yes, werewolves can have trouble controlling their baser instincts. A common plot. But when it gets overused, you get the feeling that the character is just using it as an excuse for Wangst or Crazy Punches. Besides, it's kind of overdone.
Don't get me wrong, there are ways that this sort of thing can be used and used well. But you should always make sure it's being used in moderation and as part of your character development, not just as an excuse.
3) "Raised by wolves!"
Feral shifters have a tendency to act as if they never have had any contact with human society. Sometimes, this makes sense given their backstory.
And most other times it's just bizarre.
Let me put it plainly, a guy that's been raised in polite society by normal parents isn't going to just start acting like they've been raised by wolves just because they turn into a half-rabbit/half-human monster. And when you do act this way, your character comes off as annoying rather then interesting.
Bottom line is, playing a vamp/fey/wolf is hard because it's so popular. You need a unique character portrayal that doesn't fall into the annoying traps a lot of people do. So put some thought into it. Your fellow RP'ers will thank you for it.
Your character is controlled by you. And it’s up to you to work within your characters logic to game with other players. Other players shouldn’t have to bend over backwards to accommodate you because you’re sitting there going “My character wouldn’t do that”. If it’s absolutely against your characters values or whatever, by all means feel free to RP it. But don’t pointlessly stall or add unneeded drama to a scene just because you’re being stubborn with your character concept.
Sometimes you just have to take a step back and think of a reason they would participate rather than just derailing the damn game so you can whine a bit. Maybe they want to help out their friends and comrades who are involved. Maybe they’re bored. Just think of something.
REMEMBER:
Drama is good within reason. Everyone loves a good fight, dramatic moment, or scene of character development.
Tragedy is fine. Almost everyone likes to work a bit of tragedy into their character on some level or another.
Angst is acceptable in moderation. A depressed character who's been brought low as the result of events is realistic and can make for some gread character development.
And then you have wangst.
Wangst is when a character is angsty and tragic and dramatic and WON'T SHUT UP ABOUT IT. All they talk about is how horrible their lot in life is and constantly whine about the terrible things that happen to them. God just get over it already.
A big indicator of wangst is that the character will complain about the horrible things in their past, but never take any action to resolve or work through these issues. They seem content to sit around bemoaning their terribly tragic lives without accepting help from others in any form.
If your character has a tragic background, you should spend some time working on the arc. Decide in advance how they'll work through it and remember to include other players with the story arc. Collaboration may be necessary, but the harsh reality is that most people just aren't that interested in your character. They're interested in how THEIR character interacts with your character.
So, don't wangst. It may seem attractive and deep, but it's really just shallow and silly. No one likes it.
Credit goes to Flyte Morticroft for this guide
