Roleplaying 101

[xxkarachan]

An Introduction to Roleplaying 101


Hello everyone, and welcome to Roleplaying 101~ My name's Kara, and I'll be your guide for today.

If you're already familiar with the ins and outs of roleplaying, you probably don't need to read this thread. This is mostly for the sake of those of us who are less familiar with the art. However, there's nothing wrong with a little bit of review every now and then, right?

At the end I've also begun a glossary of roleplaying terminology. Everyone might as well take a peek at that, since who knows? You might learn something new. <3 If you feel there are any words or phrases used by the roleplaying community that belong there, feel free to drop me a message. In fact, if there's anything you feel should be added to this guide, go ahead and let me know! <3 After all, this guide is still kind of a work in progress.

As is mentioned in the roleplaying rules of Dastardly Deeds, this board will primarily follow "story-style" writing. Typically speaking, story-style writing is done in third person, meaning that it uses he/she/it, him/her/it, and his/hers/its instead of I, me, and my. It is also done using past tense.

Remember! The purpose of roleplaying is to take up a new role, which may or may not be anything like the person you really are. For that reason, try not to get offended if someone else's character is mean to yours or doesn’t like your character. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the other person doesn't like you. At the very least, the basis of this roleplay is Rocket-Police conflict, so it's not like everyone can be friends anyway. But outside of the roleplay, let's all be friends, okay? <3

[xxkarachan]

Roleplaying and You


Now, the idea of roleplaying is fairly simple. Say your character happens to find a burning house. What would they do? Would your character run away to avoid being blamed for starting the fire or would they stand around and watch? Would your character rush inside to make sure no one was inside or would they stand around outside, worrying but not acting? Your job as a roleplayer is to get into the mind of your character and respond to the situation not as yourself, but as your character.

In story-style roleplays, speech is always bordered by double quotes ("). Some people will also bold the spoken part to help it stand out further. Thoughts are either bordered by single quotes ('), italicized, or both.

Replies to a roleplay can be a variety of lengths. Some people can type up pages upon pages worth of replies to the smallest details, filled with (sometimes unnecessary) description and literary fluff, while other people will type the bare minimum necessary to respond to the situation. While you don't necessarily have to match what your partner(s) has written, it is common courtesy to give enough of a response that your partner(s) has something they can reply to. For example, say someone just asked what your character what his or her name is.

"My name is Jack," he said. would be a poor reply, as it gives nothing for your partner to respond to.

He offered his most charming smile. "My name is Jack," he answered with a short bow. "And your name is?" would be a better reply. Rather than just answering the question and leaving things at that, you give the other person something they can reply to.

Of course, your partner doesn't have to be a social butterfly to offer things for a person to reply to. For example: Jack turned away from John. "Jack," he answered after a moment of hesitation. While John's roleplayer isn't given a question to answer, he or she can respond to the way Jack hesitates before answering or the fact that Jack has turned away from John.

Of course, the above examples are extremely short. In a longer reply, there will be a lot more to react to. However, that doesn't mean that a long reply is immune to being pointless fluff with nothing worth responding to.

[xxkarachan]

Grammar and Such


A thesaurus is a great friend to any roleplayer. However, it takes away from your post when your partner has to consult a dictionary for every other word. It's one thing to use words like scalding, sweltering, or steaming instead of hot. It's another thing to use words like recalescent or decalescent just because a thesaurus gives them as synonyms for hot. Also, if using a word you are unfamiliar with, make sure to look it up in a dictionary as well. While recalescent and decalescent are given as synonyms for hot, they are actually terms used when working metals.

As Tara has already mentioned, proper spelling and grammar usage is important to a roleplay. If you are prone to typos, it would be common courtesy to hit the spell check button before submitting your replies. As for grammar, I don't want to type up a grammar lesson. However, below are some common grammatical troubles. As they come up, more things may be added.

There, Their, and They're
There is a location word. If something is not here, it is there.
Their is a word to denote possession by multiple people. The Johnson family lives next door. That is their house.
They're is a contraction of they and are. John and Jack went to the store. They're not here anymore.

Its and It's
Its is a word to denote possession by it. My dog has a doghouse. Its house is blue.
It's is a contraction of it and is. The weather outside is nice. It's a sunny day.

[xxkarachan]

Glossary


Roleplaying is assuming the role of a character (or characters) and collaborating with others to create a story.
Story style roleplaying is one of the two primary formats of roleplays. In this format, replies are typed out with complete sentences, like in a story book. This format is also called "paragraph" or "novel" format, as replies are composed into paragraphs and are written out like a novel. Replies are often written in past tense.
Chat style roleplaying is the other primary format of roleplays. In this format, replies are cut down to the bare minimum. Actions are separated from speech in a variety of ways, though most commonly by the use of asterisks (*), parentheses, or hyphens (-). This format is also called "script" or "casual" format, as replies are written in a fashion similar to a script, with emphasis on dialogue rather than action, and it is often used for more casual roleplays, especially when the roleplay is considered OOC. Replies are often written in past or present tense.

OOC – out of character. A term used by roleplayers to denote a variety of things.
xxxAn OOC roleplay is one that is not considered official. These roleplays are often silly or just for fun, with little relevance to the plot of the story. OOC roleplays are often done in chat style.
xxxAn OOC comment is a comment by the player that is included into a post. Often, OOC comments are located before or after the reply itself and are either bounded in parentheses or otherwise denoted as out of character. As there are many places for people to chat in this community, OOC comments should be limited, as you can just send someone a PM or chat in a different thread.
IC – in character. This abbreviation is seen less often than OOC, though it is used by some people to denote that they are no longer speaking OOC and that what follows is their reply to the roleplay.

Use of IC and OOC in a roleplay

Person A
ooc:: Um, Jack is currently crouched behind a console, so John shouldn't be able to see him...

ic:: Jack felt his heart stop when he heard the door open. Hearing the officer call out, he froze in place and ignored the question of 'who' there?' in hopes that the officer hadn't actually seen him.

Person B
((Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that. My bad!))

John looked around the room. The only light in the room came from outside a single window. "I could have sworn I saw someone," he mumbled, taking a few more steps into the room and closing the door behind him. "It must have just been my imagination."

Godmoding –This basically means making your character immune to everything, as though they have activated a "god mode" cheat. This includes avoiding every attack that comes your way or, if you are hit, it only ever does an incredibly small amount of damage. The term is often used interchangeably with power playing. Godmoding is generally frowned upon and can earn you a warning.
Power playing – This is where you take control of another character's actions without the express permission of the player. For example: "John punched Jack, causing him to fall back onto the couch." In this example, the player of John decided for themselves that their punch connected and that Jack fell backwards, both of which are examples of power playing. Power playing is often used interchangeably with godmoding. It is also generally frowned upon and can earn you a warning.
Power playing involves a bit of grey area. For example, if John and Jack are standing facing each other, and John attempts to knock the books Jack is carrying out of his hands, one would generally assume that he was successful. In that case, saying "John knocked the books out of Jack's hands, sending them falling to the ground" is okay. However, if you have to question whether or not an action would be considered power playing, it's always best to leave the reply open-ended and let the other person respond to it.

Open Roleplays – Sometimes abbreviated as ORP. Exactly as they sound, these roleplays are open to anyone who would like to post... within reason, of course. Just because the roleplay in the Team Rocket Headquarters is labeled as [Open] doesn't mean that your police officer character can just waltz right in.
Private Roleplays – Sometimes abbreviated as PRP. Just like with open roleplays, these roleplays are exactly as they sound. Only people who have been invited to join the roleplay can post. For example, a private roleplay can be done with a Team meeting in one of its members' room. In this roleplay, only people who are a part of the team would be allowed to post. It’s always good to keep a list in the first post or in the thread title of who is welcome to post.
xxxOne x One Roleplays – Also written as 1 x 1, 1-on-1, or one-on-one. These are the most limited of Private roleplays, restricted to only two players. These might be done in a thread or elsewhere, such as via private messages, e-mail, or an instant messaging service. If you do a one x one roleplay somewhere outside of a thread, but you want it to count as official, make sure to save the roleplay and then copy it into a thread at some other time.

Private Messages – Often abbreviated as PMs. These are basically like e-mails. Private messages can be sent on the VDex forums or here in the proboards.
Instant Messages – Often abbreviated as IMs. AIM and MSN are common IM services.

[xxkarachan]

((Reserved Post, for just in case))