Post by Lord Kensman Oron the Wolf on Apr 2, 2006 13:22:30 GMT -5
RP 101 “Role Playing for Beginners”
Alright, here is a small online tutorial for those who wish to RP (role play, ie. write in-character). This article is mostly concerning RP in story threads, I shall save the discussions for on the field RP for another day…
First: “What is RP, and How Do I Get Started?”
Well, simply put RP (for our purposes) is simply writing in-charcter, usually to
tell a story, or add a reply in an RP thread (an on-going story told by several people ). Typically, one would start by creating a character (personna), writing some form of backstory to give depth/dimension to said character. Fortunately, most of you have already done this as a part of bieng in Dagorhir… This story can be simple or complex, that choice is entirely yours. If you only have a few sentances, and a vague idea of where our personna came from, that is a good start. Often our personnas grow as we spend more time in game, meet other people, and learn more about ourselves, and the game.
Next, you would either insert him/her into an RP thread, or try to write a short story from your personnas point of view (perhaps some great battle that you fought bravely in, or just some silly quest you went on). I encourage both of these, because it adds extra dimension to our game learning to be this fictitious person you have created. It is often helpful to start small (say a few posts in an on-going Tavern Thread, where you walk in, sit down, order some food, and strike up a conversation with other patrons). Once you feel like you are getting the hang of trying to speak (or in our case type) in-character, then you may wish to jump into a full blown RP thread. Some of these can be like long-term D&D campaings, and last months, and sometimes longer, and have hundreds of posts.
Second: “Learning the Lingo”
IC (In Character) used to denote that all comments, etc. following are in character. This is typically used after someone has felt the need to post a question Out Of Character (OOC). A good example may be that you feel inclined to ask what the heck the last post was supposed to mean (heavy typos, or unclear meaning). Beast posts “ I grab the narb rood and swing it open, suprising the goblins hiding inside… Ronvaldr replies “(OOC: hunh??) (IC) I follow on the heels of Beast, spear at the ready.” Needless to say, IC boards you don't usaully use leet, netspeak, or any sorda online lingo (ex: stuff like lol, brb, u, etc.).
OOC ( Out Of Character) Occasionally you may find the need to post inside of an RP thread something that is Out Of Character. This may be anything from a clarifiaction (as in the previous example), or perhaps a comment on the last post, or some inside jest that all may enjoy. These can be amusing, and are certainly usefull, but try to keep them to a minimum. After all, the point of an RP thread is to tell a story IC , right?
Third: “A Standard Post”
The standard post in an RP thready (your reply, if you will) should have a bit of length to it, while it need not be epic, ou should do more than say “I agree with Tomas…” and leave it like that. The rule of thumb (and by no means a hard-and-fast rule) is a 50 word minimum. Four or five sentances, or the equivalent to your basic paragraph is often an excellent length for a good post. Your post, typically should contain your reaction/ actions based on the previous post, any dialouge or comments you wish to make along with those actions. Finally, as a finish to you post, typiucally there is a “pass”. This is an action, or a comment, that tells somebody else that you wish them to post next. A “pass” may be as simple as “What do you think Beast?” or as subtle as, “Hey Nilfrod, You have first watch… I am going to sack out. Wake me if you hear anything, alright?” Without a pass, or even with a poor pass, often an RP thread parks, for no one is sure who is supposed to post next. Most posts should (from a basic writing stand point have a beginning (your thoughts or actions from the previous post), a middle (your actions and thoughts that are the basis of your post), and an end (the pass).
Fourth: “Adding Length to our Posts”
Adding length to our posts is not as difficult , nor as duanting as it may at first seem. Simply consider what your personna is seeing, hearing, smelling, or thinking about as they do whatever actions you wish to preform in the post. Example: “ I draw my sword, and prepare to fight”, better: “I look into my opponent’s eyes as I slowly draw my long sword . He has no idea the loathing I have for him and all his clan, but soon enough, he will…” Both posts say the say thing, but the latter paints a better mental image of the scene. Simple actions, like lighting ones pipe, or brewing tea can be treated in much the same manner. The post “I take the kettle out of my pack, and make some tea…” is OK, but “ I sift through my saddle bags and pull out my travel-worn copper kettle. In no time at all, the aroma if sweet elven tea is wandering about the small camp. Thoughts of home and childhood wander through my mind, while I wait for in anticipation for it to finish brewing.” Is far better.
Fifth: “Do’s and Don’ts of RP”
Well, the do’s have mostly been explained, with the exception of combat, which I will get into now… Unless the person, persons, or creatures you are fighting, are of your own creation (you introduced them into the RP thread) or you know that they are expendable (ie. the squad or orcs that have just suprised you and your companions on the road), do not kill them. This, is important, Never Kill Somebody’s Persona Without Their Expressed Permission!!! It is often considered bad form to kill off important bad guys/monsters without at least asking who ever created it (mostly because there is usually a point to said bad guy/monster, which will be difficult for him/them to do, if they are dead). This is best handled by asking the originator via PM or IM. Bad Guys/Monsters of importance to the story are best handled by attacking them, and allowing the originator to finish the attack as his reply, “I kill the Necromancer…”, is bad form. “I charge the accursed Necromancer, sword held high, seething with rage. I swing my great sword with all my might, hoping to loose his head from his shoulders…”, is much better. This allows the Necromancer to react to your attack, or not as the originator of the Necromancer sees fit.
As for the Don’ts… First off, none of us are super human, and your posts should reflect that. We all are better in our minds, than we are on the field, and that is fine, you posts should reflect the fighting, riding archery, etc, prowess you wish you had. It is after all roleplay… But, we all get wounded from time to time, we can not lift hobgoblins like rag dolls, and we can not fly, leap tall buildings in a single bound, move faster than a speeding bullet, etc… Try to make your posts believable, if you are an Elf, to say that you have exceptional hearing, is quite acceptable, to have improved vision, good, but to see through solid objects, or hear an orc fart a mile away, too much. Set some realistic boundaries for yourself, exceed them from time to time, when the moment is right, but do not over do it. Do not posts actions for other people in the thread, again, this is considered bad form. The exception to this, is if you have already spoken to this individual (outside of the thread) and he or she agrees to said actions. You do not want people posting your replies for you, and they in turn do not want you posting theirs.
Alright, that is all I have for now, the most important thing to remember is to have fun, that is the entire point to joining into RP threads, or writing tales and short stories in character. Do not worry if your posts are not as impressive as you would like, writing in character takes practice, and there is definitely a learning curve. But I highly recommend that you give it a try, you may just find that you enjoy it.
Alright, here is a small online tutorial for those who wish to RP (role play, ie. write in-character). This article is mostly concerning RP in story threads, I shall save the discussions for on the field RP for another day…
First: “What is RP, and How Do I Get Started?”
Well, simply put RP (for our purposes) is simply writing in-charcter, usually to
tell a story, or add a reply in an RP thread (an on-going story told by several people ). Typically, one would start by creating a character (personna), writing some form of backstory to give depth/dimension to said character. Fortunately, most of you have already done this as a part of bieng in Dagorhir… This story can be simple or complex, that choice is entirely yours. If you only have a few sentances, and a vague idea of where our personna came from, that is a good start. Often our personnas grow as we spend more time in game, meet other people, and learn more about ourselves, and the game.
Next, you would either insert him/her into an RP thread, or try to write a short story from your personnas point of view (perhaps some great battle that you fought bravely in, or just some silly quest you went on). I encourage both of these, because it adds extra dimension to our game learning to be this fictitious person you have created. It is often helpful to start small (say a few posts in an on-going Tavern Thread, where you walk in, sit down, order some food, and strike up a conversation with other patrons). Once you feel like you are getting the hang of trying to speak (or in our case type) in-character, then you may wish to jump into a full blown RP thread. Some of these can be like long-term D&D campaings, and last months, and sometimes longer, and have hundreds of posts.
Second: “Learning the Lingo”
IC (In Character) used to denote that all comments, etc. following are in character. This is typically used after someone has felt the need to post a question Out Of Character (OOC). A good example may be that you feel inclined to ask what the heck the last post was supposed to mean (heavy typos, or unclear meaning). Beast posts “ I grab the narb rood and swing it open, suprising the goblins hiding inside… Ronvaldr replies “(OOC: hunh??) (IC) I follow on the heels of Beast, spear at the ready.” Needless to say, IC boards you don't usaully use leet, netspeak, or any sorda online lingo (ex: stuff like lol, brb, u, etc.).
OOC ( Out Of Character) Occasionally you may find the need to post inside of an RP thread something that is Out Of Character. This may be anything from a clarifiaction (as in the previous example), or perhaps a comment on the last post, or some inside jest that all may enjoy. These can be amusing, and are certainly usefull, but try to keep them to a minimum. After all, the point of an RP thread is to tell a story IC , right?
Third: “A Standard Post”
The standard post in an RP thready (your reply, if you will) should have a bit of length to it, while it need not be epic, ou should do more than say “I agree with Tomas…” and leave it like that. The rule of thumb (and by no means a hard-and-fast rule) is a 50 word minimum. Four or five sentances, or the equivalent to your basic paragraph is often an excellent length for a good post. Your post, typically should contain your reaction/ actions based on the previous post, any dialouge or comments you wish to make along with those actions. Finally, as a finish to you post, typiucally there is a “pass”. This is an action, or a comment, that tells somebody else that you wish them to post next. A “pass” may be as simple as “What do you think Beast?” or as subtle as, “Hey Nilfrod, You have first watch… I am going to sack out. Wake me if you hear anything, alright?” Without a pass, or even with a poor pass, often an RP thread parks, for no one is sure who is supposed to post next. Most posts should (from a basic writing stand point have a beginning (your thoughts or actions from the previous post), a middle (your actions and thoughts that are the basis of your post), and an end (the pass).
Fourth: “Adding Length to our Posts”
Adding length to our posts is not as difficult , nor as duanting as it may at first seem. Simply consider what your personna is seeing, hearing, smelling, or thinking about as they do whatever actions you wish to preform in the post. Example: “ I draw my sword, and prepare to fight”, better: “I look into my opponent’s eyes as I slowly draw my long sword . He has no idea the loathing I have for him and all his clan, but soon enough, he will…” Both posts say the say thing, but the latter paints a better mental image of the scene. Simple actions, like lighting ones pipe, or brewing tea can be treated in much the same manner. The post “I take the kettle out of my pack, and make some tea…” is OK, but “ I sift through my saddle bags and pull out my travel-worn copper kettle. In no time at all, the aroma if sweet elven tea is wandering about the small camp. Thoughts of home and childhood wander through my mind, while I wait for in anticipation for it to finish brewing.” Is far better.
Fifth: “Do’s and Don’ts of RP”
Well, the do’s have mostly been explained, with the exception of combat, which I will get into now… Unless the person, persons, or creatures you are fighting, are of your own creation (you introduced them into the RP thread) or you know that they are expendable (ie. the squad or orcs that have just suprised you and your companions on the road), do not kill them. This, is important, Never Kill Somebody’s Persona Without Their Expressed Permission!!! It is often considered bad form to kill off important bad guys/monsters without at least asking who ever created it (mostly because there is usually a point to said bad guy/monster, which will be difficult for him/them to do, if they are dead). This is best handled by asking the originator via PM or IM. Bad Guys/Monsters of importance to the story are best handled by attacking them, and allowing the originator to finish the attack as his reply, “I kill the Necromancer…”, is bad form. “I charge the accursed Necromancer, sword held high, seething with rage. I swing my great sword with all my might, hoping to loose his head from his shoulders…”, is much better. This allows the Necromancer to react to your attack, or not as the originator of the Necromancer sees fit.
As for the Don’ts… First off, none of us are super human, and your posts should reflect that. We all are better in our minds, than we are on the field, and that is fine, you posts should reflect the fighting, riding archery, etc, prowess you wish you had. It is after all roleplay… But, we all get wounded from time to time, we can not lift hobgoblins like rag dolls, and we can not fly, leap tall buildings in a single bound, move faster than a speeding bullet, etc… Try to make your posts believable, if you are an Elf, to say that you have exceptional hearing, is quite acceptable, to have improved vision, good, but to see through solid objects, or hear an orc fart a mile away, too much. Set some realistic boundaries for yourself, exceed them from time to time, when the moment is right, but do not over do it. Do not posts actions for other people in the thread, again, this is considered bad form. The exception to this, is if you have already spoken to this individual (outside of the thread) and he or she agrees to said actions. You do not want people posting your replies for you, and they in turn do not want you posting theirs.
Alright, that is all I have for now, the most important thing to remember is to have fun, that is the entire point to joining into RP threads, or writing tales and short stories in character. Do not worry if your posts are not as impressive as you would like, writing in character takes practice, and there is definitely a learning curve. But I highly recommend that you give it a try, you may just find that you enjoy it.
