Role-Playing can be related to writing, in the way that it can be seen as storytelling by a group of people. It's where a group of persons gather together and expand, explore and flesh out the story in various ways. Each participant contributes to the story in their very own way, creating twists here and there and throwing out surprises to the others. To those that prefer something more diverse and entertaining, role-playing is something that offers that.

Role-Playing is basically defined as assuming or acting a role of another character. Here, we do this via writing as that particular character. Role-Playing is similar to writing, however you are telling the tale of your own character instead of all the characters that are involved in the story (this may not apply to the creator of the RP). In role-playing, the stage/setting is already set and the basic storyline on which other people play off on are already planned. However this does not restrain participants in following that storyline exactly, in fact it's common to find people morphing the story and changing it completely so that some may not even know what's going on. You, as the role-player, take on the role of a character and mature them in this set environment, and even mature the world around them. One aspect of role-playing that certainly does stand out and usually attracts many, is that you, controlling that character, are able to interact with others in that role-play.



1. God-Mode. In basic terms, this refers to one taking control over another’s character and literally assuming that person’s role. This act could include killing off one’s character (without their permission), controlling their character’s movements, actions and speech and whatnot. Another aspect is when you make your character the center of attention, often by making he/she become invincible and invulnerable to any attack, and ignoring any limitations. Hence the term ‘god-mode’. A lot of role-players discourage this sort of actions and it can lead to the ruining of a role-play or story.
2. Respect. It’s something that doesn’t apply to role-playing only. It’s a vital thing when role-playing and should be taken into deep consideration. You should respect other role-players along with the dungeon master (explained below). Role-Plays run on its participants, and to have those people abusing and disrespecting one another is the equation for disaster, flame wars and spam.
3. Ignoring others is a big no. This gives off the impression of you being rude and repels others from role-playing with you in the future. Just because someone does something that doesn’t fit in with what you’re intending to do with your character, doesn’t give you any right to ignore them and carry on with your plans. That’s the beauty of role-playing! Everything is improvised. Things change and you have to adapt and conform to those changes! What’s worse is ignoring others can lead to them, in turn, ignoring you – something that you wouldn’t enjoy much.
4. Grammar! Like all types of writing, grammar is a vital element to the success and enjoyment of a role-play. No-one enjoys seeing people filling their posts with the so-called ‘1337-talk’. Practice spell-checking your posts. It's much easier to understand the story when it's easy to read.
5. Consistency! In all role-plays, your character and you must be consistent with the running plot and other characters doings. Try not to have your character intruding on something they wouldn’t even have any reason to be involved in.
6. Have Fun!



Now that you’ve gotten the general gist of role-playing as such, and understand what it’s all about, you can finally join a role-play. There’s a great variety of role-plays around the forum and you should pick one with a plot and/or theme (what the role-plays based on, eg: a game, television show etc), that you’re familiar with. Joining a Naruto role-play when you have no knowledge of the series at all is a bad idea. Once you’ve picked a role-play, get to reading its plot, examine other people’s applications and, if applicable, read the role-play posts in the thread.



In every role-play, there will be an application sheet which you will have to fill out. Think of it as a brief overview of your character that will aid others in seeing who he or she is all about. Below you'll find some fields that might be included in the application sheet of a role-play.

Name: Here you’ll fill in your characters full name. This includes the first, (if any) middle and last name. There also might be an ‘Alias’ section in which you fill in the name that he or she goes by, think of an identity.
Age: The age of him or her.
Appearance: This is a section in which you should give readers a basic image of what your character looks like. Providing a picture can be good or you can give a description of your character.
Paraphernalia: This section involves you describing and explaining what equipment your character/s have. It might be split into separate sections or just all combined into one. It might include weapons, armour, gadgets etc.
Personality: The character’s personality describes their inner appearance. It can, in some cases, allow a reader to imagine how they can interact with your character and, perhaps, how your character might react to them. Try and include their traits, weaknesses, general mood, how they react to others. Friendly? Brave? Arrogant?
Race: Some role-plays might have this section, some might not. Basically you fill out what race your character is. There might be a select group of races you can choose from, or you might have to just stick with the common ‘Human’ answer.
History: One of the hardest or easiest sections of the application. The character’s background can often be key in his/her involvement in the role-play. Describe their past and what they’re doing now.

NOTE: Some role-plays may require you to complete a 'Sample Post' section. This section will need you to write up a sample post or sample role-play of your character. Length varies from role-play to role-play but a good, solid one/two paragraphs should get you through. Some role-players choose to use this Sample Post section as a 'prologue' or 'prelude' to their first, official IC Post. In some cases, the dungeon master may state that the Sample Post may be a piece of work written earlier on and may not have to be about the character one is applying for. If this is the case, he or she will no doubt state it in their first post.

Usually, an application will include some of the fields stated above.



There are some things you can take into consideration when role-playing, think of them as basic tips.

Third Person View
Some role-plays uses this type of view. Third Person View is basically having you somewhat looking down and narrating what your character does. This is different from a First Person View as it’s not you doing that. Nor is it in Second Person View seeing as you’re not some voice in the character’s head, nothing like a conscience. For example:



Tense
This draws into the use of tense when role-playing. Past Tense is more commonly used in role-playing, but there are some role-plays that use the present tense.

Talking and Thinking
When talking, you should use quotation / talking marks (“this”). It helps distinguish when someone is talking. Another thing that also helps do that is spacing your talking areas. You could enter a gap (use the Enter button twice – or when indenting, once), every time a new person begins to speak. For example:



That displays the use of quotation marks, and spacing when a new character enters the conversation. It’s also possible to add an extra space (creating a gap) between the first speech section and the second.

Now when thinking, it’s very similar to the rules of talking. Some prefer to italicize their characters thoughts and put - these ‘’, in the stead of quotation marks. Some people choose not to put them, but instead just italicize their thoughts. Others choose to portray their characters thoughts differently, involving it in the narration itself and making it very much focused on the character. For example:



…or



... or even





Starting your own role-play can be both an enjoyable and yet stressful job. Despite that, it's worth all the trouble and who knows, your role-play might become one of the top notch ones in the Room. Now to start off, there are three things you might focus on when creating a role-play of your own.

Plot - Setting - Goal

Plot Plots can be one of, if not the, most important aspects to role-plays. Plots can be part of the driving force as such of a role-play. Plots should both limit your characters to what they do, but also give them a certain degree of freedom too.

Setting Just as important as the plot is, the setting is also. You could try and make it seem like the setting is alive with all sorts of things and you should try and make the setting something in which all characters can respond to. Give them something to work with. Implementing mystery, horror, peace and whatnot can be a good idea.

Goal Role-Plays might have some sort of aim or goal that the characters involved are heading towards throughout the story. They might be rescuing a prisoner, capturing a stolen treasure or perhaps trying to discover themselves or the secrets behind the world? However not all role-plays have a goal as such in the beginning, the role-players involved may create a goal for themselves and soon find that their goal has been twisted and conformed throughout the course of the story.



Role-Playing itself can often seem like a daunting task when you look at others posts. But remember that role-playing is meant to be an entertaining, flexible and diverse art. Below are just some general notes that may be of advice to you.

OOC / OoC: It means out of character, which is when you type something outside of the story.

IC: It means in character, which is when you type something in the story. If your post only consists of IC actions, you won't need these tags.

RP: This is the standard abbreviation for role-play.

NPC: A non-player character, meaning it is a character role-players cannot choose to role-play. DM's may choose certain people to play as the NPC when needed, or the DM's might play them themselves.

Dungeon Master: DM's are usually the creators and leaders of the role-play. They accept applicants, keep the role-play under control and generally moderate the whole thing. Some role-plays may choose not to have dungeon masters, some may not.

Effort: Try and put time and effort into all of your posts! Write naturally and don't force yourself. Find a time where you are at ease and can write without stress. Put on music, get a snack. Once that's achieved - you can unleash your imagination.

Leaving A Lead: You should try and leave something for the next role-player to act on. Give them something that they can reply to! A question, a threat, an action.

Show, Don't Tell: There's a well known rule in fiction writing that goes: Show, Don't Tell. What this basically is saying is that you should describe your character's body language to convey their mood and feelings. There's more than one way to express what a character is thinking or feeling at the moment. If your character is meant to be a wild and vicious man, show it. Don't have them say: "I'm a wild and vicious man!". It's boring and really, if you have to say that he's wild and vicious - he probably isn't. So prove it through actions (they speak louder than words don't they?)!

Research: Make sure that if you're intending to do or play something that you're not entirely familiar with, that you research it! If your character has a psychological disorder, research on it if you have no idea of what it is. If he or she works a job that you have no clue about - research it! The one thing that's worse than not researching is being embarrassed because what you're posting is entirely false.

Character Development: No doubt, throughout any role-play you participate in, your character will undergo growth. As the role-play progresses along with your character, he or she will conform and change from its experiences and who they meet along the way. These changes can be large and evident, or quite small and hidden. These changes can mirror the ones happening/happened in your own life. How have you changed through life experiences? You can use them and implement them into your character making he or she more realistic.



It takes an awful lot of time to become a great intermediate/advanced writer and role-player, so don't expect these changes to just happen over night. Take to learning from other role-players and writers, also make it a habit to start reading books more and pieces of writing on the internet. StoryWrite, FanFiction and DeviantART are all great places to go to if you want to check out some writing pieces. Sure reading guides can help, but when you look at other great writers and take to applying the techniques, methods and tips they use, you'll certainly excel at writing much more than reading tens of thousands of guides. So keep at it and never stop writing or role-playing. If someone criticizes you, don't be offended, be excited and thankful that someone is taking the time to post and tell you where to improve and what you're not doing right. It may sound and seem to be harsh, but put that aside and just take what you can, absorb the tips and help offered to you. Remember that not everyone is perfect and a master writer, every writer makes mistakes and every writer still has a lot to learn. And that's the magic of writing and role-playing. So get out there and do your best.

Excelsior!

I never really portray my characters thoughts directly as you have in the guide.

Normally, I turn something like this:



Into something like this:



You could maybe add that to the guide. It makes my narration seem more omniscient, and focused on the character, since the narration is directly affected by the character's mindset.



You've so greatly portrayed that in your last IC in DFO, Life. And by doing so, you add a greater sense of malice to your character.

Found a good quote:






Also, it'd be wise to add something extending to the god-mode rule: Why the hell do characters struggle to have the last word in an argument? When someone says something uber manly, the other instantly has a reply. Same thing in combat, and it's always even greater and makes the other character look like a fool.

Example: I imprison Leo Crimson in a block of ice, and cut off his toes. When I leave, Leo Crimson smiles, grabs a toe, and uses it to lock-pick a toe.

I am going to disagree strongly with the first section of the guide (the thing quoted below).



Perhaps it is just me, but I do not get that indepth with the story.

I view Role-Playing as a group story telling, where one writer "takes lead" (the DM), and the others follow, fleshing the story out in new and unique ways. Also, there are no "people" in the story. There are characters certainly, but (and again, perhaps this is only me, but I like to think there are others, and from what I have seen, there are) all they are our things we designed. They are not real. There is no "Role-Playing" (atleast not on this forum, others I have seen take this type of thing as seriously as you seem to make it) as you defined it here.

And again, I will disagree. It is exactly like writing a normal, one writer story. Except you confine yourself to writing about one character (unless you are the person who started the Role-Play), and not the entire story, complete with all the characters. Which removes the huge time constraint that writing a story by yourself gives you. And that, is why I think that this Role-Playing forum continues to remain fun... We do not take it seriously. People who like to write but cannot make an entire story up on their own can still enjoy writing, but they can do it in a way that fits with their time-limit.

In closeing, it is an okay "guide", but I think you missed the mark pretty far on many of your points. For other forums, I think this guide would be exact, but not for here (and that is why so many of us are here, because this is a "writers club", and not a "Role-Players" forum, no matter what the name says ).

~John

I don't think that the section is correct. This is because Roleplaying isn't preplanned, only some of it is. A roleplayer can always change the action of the Roleplay. For example, In The Land of Habok, I doubt even Leo knew what was going to happen this far.

I know I'm supposed to robotically sticky this and then saunter off into duller climes to play seasonal games with my reindeer friends , but I actually agree with John and Fake - this guide focuses too much on specific ways to roleplay. Roleplaying is a diverse and flexible art, and you assume too many things, IMO, in your description of how one should act/post. Sure, some of those things should be standarized, but not all of them. Leave some more flexibility open to the beginning roleplayer!

I'm not asking you to rewrite the whole thing, or indeed at all, but listen to the comments you get - I think many of their points are well worth considering.

When you say Fake, you mean myself, correct?

Nope; you're Aliath/Jake. Everybody knows that.

The rule have fun annoys me.

You know, it isn't like being forced to write two pages a day at Grammer class. If you don't want it to be fun, then why play?

Having fun in roleplaying is an unspoken and pretty much something written in stone.

I view roleplaying as a gate to freedom from the stress of education; gives me something to look forward to and think about. A lot better than English class too.

???

Ayanami is four months old.

Its just annoying to see it.