Post by Aeon The Phoenix on Dec 27, 2011 11:48:30 GMT -5
- What Is Roleplaying?
- How Do I Join A Roleplay?
- Can I Create My Own Roleplay?
- What Is A Good Idea?
- When Do I Start My Roleplay?
- How Do I Get My Players To Post?
- I'm a Player - What Do I Post About?
- What Useful Things Do I Need To Remember?
- What's an Epic Roleplay?
What Is Roleplaying?
Roleplaying is basically a group of people coming together and pooling their talents to write a story. Instead of every character being under everyone's control, characters are typically divided up between participants in a first come first serve manner. Each player is then considered responsible for the actions of their characters.
Some roleplays allow or even insist on original characters made up by each player at the discretion of the roleplay's creator, known as the Game Master (GM) or Story Teller (ST).
How Do I Join A Roleplay?
Once you find a role-play that you wish to join, either you will need to simply post that you want "Character X" or fill in a character application, depending on the requirements of the GM.
Character Applications are generally for original characters, and typically consist of Name, Age, Gender, Appearance, Personality and Back-story, all of which are usually fairly straightforward to fill in.
Being accepted is at the discretion of the roleplay's GM, who is free to request a sample roleplay post from you as a means of judging your writing skills and how your character acts. If you have not yet been accepted in a Sign Up, please refrain from posting in the respective RP thread.
Can I Create My Own Roleplay?
If you think you have a good idea, yes you can. Just create a new thread in Roleplay Sign Up called "(insert title here) [Sign Up]". Your title should reflect the idea and setting of your role-play.
Inside the thread itself, it is a good idea to start with a paragraph or two detailing what your roleplay's plot or premise is. For example, if your roleplay is Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Buffy, you may want to explain why and what events have been altered from the show that would bring about this change. A paragraph on what is currently happening at the time your roleplay starts is also a good idea.
Once this is done, a list of what characters are currently available to be played is the next step. You may wish to be generous and allow characters that haven't been listed already or even original characters (at your own discretion). You will need to respond to applications and requests promptly to let people know that you have given or denied them what they are asking for. Giving a reason in the case of denial is often a good idea.
What Is A Good Idea?
Roleplays are generally easier to create when based on a popular concept that already exists, such as a television series, anime, book, film, video game, etc. This way, a lot of material is already available for you to draw upon.
A good simple way of coming up with an idea is considering What Ifs. What if this person was in charge instead of that person? What if an event happened to someone else, or never happened at all? What If someone never existed, or joined the other side? More experienced GMs can come up with plot-lines that never even happened in established canon.
Roleplay ideas that you should however avoid are things like "I play this original character who is in love with this character from an established canon." and "My character is the centre of the universe and you all interact with them."
When Do I Start My Roleplay?
Once you have your main cast filled or you think you have enough players to be going on with for now, you can start the roleplay by creating a thread in the Roleplay Zone called "(insert title here) RP". If you want somewhere your members can discuss the roleplay, it is a good idea to rename your Sign Up thread to "(insert title here) OOC", which stands for Out Of Character.
The RP thread is where you will actually play the roleplay itself. When you create this thread you will want to post the opening of your roleplay so that everyone else has a starting point to respond to.
The OOC thread is for you and your players to discuss events and problems/situations or ask questions as needed. It is also a good idea to include the player's applications/cast list and any other relevant information as part of the OOC's first post for easy reference.
It is also a good idea to PM each of your players to let them know the roleplay in question has started.
How Do I Get My Players To Post?
By keeping the plot flowing smoothly, most players will keep responding to each other. This in turn creates more actions to be responded to in kind. If it looks like posts are coming too slowly for your liking, it is often a good idea to post a cut-scene or throw in a plot twist in order to get things moving again.
I'm a Player - What Do I Post About?
Your GM will ideally have started the roleplay with a open-ended plot heavy post that dictates where your characters are, what they are doing at the start of the roleplay and what is going on that leaves you with several actions you could take.
If you do find yourself unable to come up with anything to write, consider the following in relation to your character.
- What is going on?
- Who is with them?
- Where are they?
- What can they see, feel, taste, hear and smell around them?
- What are they thinking? (Use sparingly)
Remember that players need actions to respond to, not thoughts. Remember that your characters are not invincible. Even Superman has his vulnerabilities, including emotional and psychological ones.
Considering all these options, it is easy to convert from one line to several.
Zack fired at the zombies killing them both with his gun.
can easily become
Zack stood at the mouth of the alleyway [location] looking highly concerned for his team-mates [emotion] as the mass of zombies ahead of them [sight] staggered forward. The cold butt of his gun in his hands [touch] reminded him what needed to be done, even as the foul rotting odour [smell] of the approaching undead washed over him, nearly making him gag in reflex [taste].
Behind him he could hear the panicked gasps [sound] of the children they had rescued not half an hour ago. Raising his rifle he pulled the trigger, the gunshot's noise echoing too loudly for his liking [sound]. One of the zombies pitched forwards as the bullet buried itself in its brain [reaction].
Seconds later a second bullet was fired [sound] followed by a third as another zombie joined its companion face down in the dirt [sight]. However there were still more of the rotting meatbags advancing slowly but surely towards the survivors [sight].
"I think we may want to consider a tactical retreat." Zack voiced his concerns to the living people around him.
Behind him he could hear the panicked gasps [sound] of the children they had rescued not half an hour ago. Raising his rifle he pulled the trigger, the gunshot's noise echoing too loudly for his liking [sound]. One of the zombies pitched forwards as the bullet buried itself in its brain [reaction].
Seconds later a second bullet was fired [sound] followed by a third as another zombie joined its companion face down in the dirt [sight]. However there were still more of the rotting meatbags advancing slowly but surely towards the survivors [sight].
"I think we may want to consider a tactical retreat." Zack voiced his concerns to the living people around him.
Now just by concentrating on a few simple ideas, one line has become a fleshed out post AND left many points for people to react from: Bullets being fired, Personal fear and panic, More zombies advancing, The smell, The children, etc. It is easier than you think to be descriptive and create a decent sized post within a few short minutes by considering your character's surroundings.
What Useful Things Do I Need To Remember?
- HAVE FUN!
- Before you post, read everything that has happened prior to your last post.
- Keep a mental (or written) track of who is doing what, why and where.
- Read the player's applications periodically to remind yourself of their characters.
- Try to stick to proper spelling and grammar to make your post easier to read.
- Interact with other players and leave your posts open ended.
- If you are not in control of a character, do not post their actions.
- If you are the last person to post, modify your existing post instead of making a new one.
- HAVE FUN!
What's an Epic Roleplay?
When we started RPC some people had roleplay ideas that a simple thread alone was insufficient for. We coined the term "Epic Roleplay" to mean any roleplay that required several threads in order to adequately set itself up.
Once your rank advances from "Member" to the next level up at 100 posts, you are permitted to apply for an Epic Roleplay.
You do this by PM'ing myself with the name of your epic roleplay, a detailed description of the plot and a few lines that you want to be used as your board's description. If your Epic Roleplay is approved, it will be set-up post-haste. Below is an example of the sort of detail your request should contain:
Epic Roleplay Request - Slayer Trials
Board Description: An original roleplay set 50 years after the events of Buffy and Angel. The fate of the world lies in the hands of a small bunch of Resistance members as they attempt to take on the First and Its Armies of Darkness.
Plot: The year is 2050. 'Chosen' has failed-Willow's spell did not activate the Potentials and the Scooby Gang was defeated. Some survived- who will be revealed later-and founded the Resistance, a mixture of the Watchers Council and the Scooby Gang. The First became all powerful and coerced most of society into following its ways. Slayer Trials is mainly about struggling through dark times, and the strength of people working together to overcome those dark times.
America has become a war zone as it faced the brunt of the First's victory, though overseas is not much better. The Watcher's Council was reformed although it no longer held the prestige it once enjoyed, operating mainly undercover to train Watchers and Slayers.It's important to realize that the Watcher's Council now mostly consists of a bare fifty individuals who meet in secret, for little pay. The SiTs in America have not had Watchers because the Watcher's Council had their hands full training up new field operatives to go overseas.
In America, people who refused to bow to the First have regrouped have formed a Resistance for normal people and Potentials alike, who are banding together for protection with the Watcher's Council. All of the girls are being hunted because the First is eliminating the competition. They realize that somewhere out there, there's someone who very nearly defeated them. They now pursue every female to the death.
When we say war zone and Season Seven Buffy x10 - thats what we mean. The populace at large has no idea whats causing the current conditions-they blame gang turf fights, they blame youth violence, they blame political mind games, its your general he said-she said about whats happened.
The Resistance and the Watcher's Council alone know the truth. The Slayers Buffy and Faith fell - The First's minions overran the Earth. The areas it wanted, anyway. There are no legions of Bringers marching in Times Square at noon. There are no PTA meetings about how the vampires are leaving blood stains in the playgrounds.
The First is smart - the Bringers execute swift elimination of whomever threatens the Firsts plans. Teen aged girls, the Resistance, and Watchers Council falls under that description. Children still attend school-think of those bad schools in urban cities riddled with gang violence and you'll have the condition of Slayer Trials in Durham Springs. For the most part, life goes on as it always has. Evil just has nothing to stop it. That's where the Resistance comes in.
Board Description: An original roleplay set 50 years after the events of Buffy and Angel. The fate of the world lies in the hands of a small bunch of Resistance members as they attempt to take on the First and Its Armies of Darkness.
Plot: The year is 2050. 'Chosen' has failed-Willow's spell did not activate the Potentials and the Scooby Gang was defeated. Some survived- who will be revealed later-and founded the Resistance, a mixture of the Watchers Council and the Scooby Gang. The First became all powerful and coerced most of society into following its ways. Slayer Trials is mainly about struggling through dark times, and the strength of people working together to overcome those dark times.
America has become a war zone as it faced the brunt of the First's victory, though overseas is not much better. The Watcher's Council was reformed although it no longer held the prestige it once enjoyed, operating mainly undercover to train Watchers and Slayers.It's important to realize that the Watcher's Council now mostly consists of a bare fifty individuals who meet in secret, for little pay. The SiTs in America have not had Watchers because the Watcher's Council had their hands full training up new field operatives to go overseas.
In America, people who refused to bow to the First have regrouped have formed a Resistance for normal people and Potentials alike, who are banding together for protection with the Watcher's Council. All of the girls are being hunted because the First is eliminating the competition. They realize that somewhere out there, there's someone who very nearly defeated them. They now pursue every female to the death.
When we say war zone and Season Seven Buffy x10 - thats what we mean. The populace at large has no idea whats causing the current conditions-they blame gang turf fights, they blame youth violence, they blame political mind games, its your general he said-she said about whats happened.
The Resistance and the Watcher's Council alone know the truth. The Slayers Buffy and Faith fell - The First's minions overran the Earth. The areas it wanted, anyway. There are no legions of Bringers marching in Times Square at noon. There are no PTA meetings about how the vampires are leaving blood stains in the playgrounds.
The First is smart - the Bringers execute swift elimination of whomever threatens the Firsts plans. Teen aged girls, the Resistance, and Watchers Council falls under that description. Children still attend school-think of those bad schools in urban cities riddled with gang violence and you'll have the condition of Slayer Trials in Durham Springs. For the most part, life goes on as it always has. Evil just has nothing to stop it. That's where the Resistance comes in.