Disclaimer: These are guidelines only, not I and nor one any else can force these ideas upon you.
Role play has been around since man danced around a fire in a cave making animal sounds to illustrate what he hunted way back when. It’s a practice that has evolved, but is always recognized for what it is, the most popular form being plays and movies where actors assume the role of a character for the audiences’ enjoyment. Today however we are discussing an updated version of role play, one which is dominated by the glorious internet we covet so dearly.
But rather than there being a limited cast of characters for the audience to watch, the role play here consists of everyone participating and contributing to it, much like a collaboration for a project. But some role plays are more popular than others, and some role plays die out rather quickly and their creators can’t find the reason.
To understand this we are going to take a look at what goes into a role play, how they are conducted, and what makes a successful role play. I realize that not all role plays are the same as some can be lighthearted and not to be taken seriously, but this is for those wanting to make something more in-depth.
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Role play etiquette
In any role play, or RP, it is always a good idea to treat your fellow RPers with the same respect you want to receive, and yes this includes the less experienced to all you veteran RPers out there. The last thing you want to do is spark unwanted arguments that disrupt the RP and make it less fun for anyone, its easiest to avoid that by following the rules set by the creator. Before we get into the rules however we should discuss the relationship between the two types of people in an RP: role players, and GMs
GM
A GM, or Game Master, is as the name suggests, they are the master of the game and the ruling authority in its proceedings. Unless given a legitimate reason to do otherwise you as an RPer should always respect their ruling weather you agree with them or not. They make the rules, they provide the world for your character to exist in, and their final decision is law. It should be noted however that not all GMs are the creators of the RPs they run, sometimes the creator must leave and a trusted successor is picked.
Now obviously this is a great position of power, but you know what they say about having absolute power… As a GM it is your responsibility to conduct you RP with INTEGRITY AND FAIRNESS, NO ONE WANTS TO RP WITH A POWER CRAZY LUINATIC.
You should remember that while you are the authority of the RP you must also be flexible, take in consideration what others have to offer and their input, they may think of something you didn’t.
Role Player
The GM may provide the muscles, organs, skeleton and brain into an RP, but RPers themselves provide the pulse, the lifeblood. If a GM was playing by himself obviously it would be a single work of fiction and not an RP at all, so your position is just as important. I’ve already made a thread on how to create characters so if you’re wondering about that go and take a look, what we’re focusing on now what it means to be an RPer.
While you’re generally not allowed to add anything significant to the universe already set up, you can at least describe the experience of your characters as they interact with the environment. Also don’t be afraid to make suggestions to the GM about additions to the world, or provide an alternative scenario for him to consider. He just may listen.
Most every RP has them, and for good reason: to prevent things from getting chaotic. However they are only as strong as the people who enforce them, if you write down a rule be prepared to defend it because someone at some point will come along and break it weather it was intentional or not. For the less experienced however there are terms that RPs use, such as god-modding and meta-gaming, that they may not be familiar with. They may read the rules and not bother to look up those terms, get accepted into the RP and step out of line without realizing what they did wrong, which can prompt them into saying that the RP has “unfair rules”.
So for those of you who have trouble with these common RP terms, I’ll spell them out for you.
God-modding
Lets take a look at the word shall we? The word “god” often refers to an entity that is completely invincible and endowed with limitless power. In our imaginations we are not tethered by the laws of physics and what is socially acceptable, we can create a world where we can do whatever we want and be whatever we want without any sort of consequence; it’s when you try to bring that mentality to an RP that people get mad.
The word mod, is short for modification, or in other words to add or change something that isn’t naturally there like say the many mods people make for Minecraft. So to god-mod, is to add or change something that isn’t naturally there to give a character a powerful advantage through unrealistic or under explained means.
For instance:
Wizard Joe is being chased by a hundred goblins. He throws fireballs at them but only takes a few out. Wizard Joe summons a machine gun and mows down all of the goblins and says, “Yipekiyay dirtbags.”
Now if when the RPer submitted Wizard Joe stating he could do this power and there was no rule against it set up by the GM and the character was accepted, then this would not be god-modding. However if this ability was never mentioned before, then Wizard Joe might as well have pulled that machine gun out of his ass, because that’s exactly what the RPer did.
Moral of the story: don’t be a Wizard Joe.
Be wary, some god-modding is more subtle than others and can be overlooked at first glance.
Power-playing
It’s related to god-modding, but is more centered on peoples’ characters instead of the environment. Essentially it is controlling other peoples’ characters without their permission. Would you like it if someone took your characters and made them do something they wouldn’t? Even if the RPer who took possession of them represented the characters accurately it is still extremely rude.
Now say an RPer wasn’t able to post for a while or decides to leave the RP but would still like for the characters he made to remain there, he may leave them in the temporary or permanent care of a trusted fellow RPer or even the GM. In that case, permission is given and this is not considered power-play.
Meta-gaming
This is a bit of a tricky one, meta-gaming is a lesser form of god-modding, in which the player uses their knowledge to aid their characters. Though there is not audience other than your fellow RPers you must think of yourself as and audience member when playing your characters.
Say the Big Badset a trap for our heroes, your character can’t suddenly say “Stop! It’s a trap!” when there was no clue at any point there would be one, or that they could detect it through an unrealistic skill that was never mentioned before. The RPer didn’t want his character to fall for the trap, so he made it so that his character instantly know that there was one.
In a horror movie, no matter how many times you yell at the dumb character not to go into the basement, they can’t hear you and will likely go in anyway.
Player knowledge DOES NOT = character knowledge, they have to be treated as people of their own and must figure out how to deal with scenarios themselves. Ignoring this takes the immersion out of the RP and therefore decreases the fun.
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These three terms are the commonly used in RP rules to describe undesired activity; most other rules are customized for that specific RP so I need not try go into detail about those.
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RP style
There are two major categories: scripted, and sandbox.
Scripted
As the name suggests these RPs are rather linear usually following a premade script of what will occur though not always revealed to the RPer ahead of time. The benefit of a scripted RP is always having a direction for the characters to go, and often people choose comfortable familiar archetypes for these. They have a good sense of order and don’t let too many chaotic things fly so expect an organized experience. The drawback is that characters aren’t given too many options to explore and can leave little leg room for character interaction and development depending on how strict the script is.
Sandbox
Undoubtedly the more popular of the two, sandbox RPs follow the same philosophy as Minecraft; free roam. In these RPs whatever world they’re in the characters are usually allowed to do anything they want within the rules. Without a script to follow characters can take a longer time to get to know one another and have more options for what scenarios that may arise. Primarily these RPs rely on the characters to drive the story and give it direction as well as build the world around them in some cases. However because there is not plot to follow, eventually people will run out of ideas to do unless they are very creative, the RP slows down as people lose interest and eventually it dies.
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Many RPs however don’t fall into one or the other but are mixed, finding a balance between a general direction and an assortment of options for the characters. It’s what we like to call a flexible plot, and often these make for the best RPs.
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World Building
A great way to ensure successful RP is creating a fleshed out world or universe. Explore what kind of people live in this universe, their abilities, what kind of culture they live in, what lore precedes them. When a person looks at an RP they think “Hmm…what kind of character can I make for this? How will it fit in?” Having plenty of information about the world the RP is set in helps them form character in their mind, and lets them know how their character should interact with this world.
Lore
“A long time ago the Big Baddid some very bad things and was defeated by some powerful guys who aren’t around anymore, but now he’s back and you have to stop him.” Sound familiar? Obviously this hardly counts as lore, but creating good lore isn’t always easy. If you want good examples look at mythology. In Greek mythology the god Cronos tried to eat his children so that they wouldn’t usurp him, but he was defeated by his sons Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, after which Zeus became lord of the gods, Hades lord of the underworld, and Poseidon lord of the seas. Now I can’t ask you to create an entire mythology (though kudos if you do), but having some sort of reference in the world you’ve created adds to the immersion, like it’s a world that could have existed somewhere with its own history that affects what is happening in the present.
In addition it can explain how people have whatever powers they have, how certain cultures and races came to be adding even more to the story.
Lore begets lore, which is a wonderful thing.
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Character interaction
Weather it’s with other characters or the environment/scenario this makes up the meat of all posts. For people like me, I love to see good description of how a character reacts to a situation. When posting your character should acknowledge everything the others are doing and react accordingly, and when they do an action it should at least be lightly explained the reasoning why they did so, that way it is clarified and less confusion can arise.
Here’s a little snippet from an RP I’ve been in off-site as an example:
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Dara followed the other’s example by taking a bowlful for himself, though the meal wasn’t entirely a peaceful one as a few others displayed that they were the more enthusiastic of the bunch. This earned a small smile from him, at least someone was making the best of things. The girl whom called herself Bliss introduced herself in a rather bubbly out way, uncharacteristic in this kind of life. One of their healers mentioned something about company arriving but it was somewhat muttered under his breathe so Dara didn’t pay too much attention. The Nordic man introduced himself in an outburst that was laid think with a heavy accent which the dragonborn descendant recognized, shouting “Hollifield Tribe!” confirmed what language was his native one; a draconic dialect. Fortunately Dara had been taught some by his living ancestors.
The man rose, made his way to Sean and struggled a bit to find the right words, but eventually did so, “Uh, vi…vi…Vinult thurirl, dout astudr geou qe kashora.” Hail friend, your strength will be appreciated. Dara recognized right away that forming bonds now, as formal as they may be, was better than fighting alongside complete strangers who knew nothing of what the others would do. Speaking to the barbarian in his own tongue was probably a decisive move, fortunate that their culture has assimilated parts of the Dragonborns’ in centuries past.
He said to the rest, “Our friend here is a little…blunt, but he has the right idea, if we’re going to do anything together we should at least know our names and skills.” He then gestured to Bliss, “I believe you already introduced yourself Bliss.” Dara returned to a neutral stance and said, “As for me my full name is Darastrix Dastudr, but just call me Dara; I specialize in long swords and axes. Now none of you have to give their life story if you don’t want to, a name and skill set is fine.”
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Now it’s not the most vivid thing ever, but it gets the point across and explains the characters actions in a somewhat interesting way. Unfortunately for many RPs it’s only:
My Character: I run up the hill and attack the dragon
Or
-goes up to pretty girl to talk to her. i say “hi”-
Now that’s all very nice but why did they do those things? How does the character feel about doing them, did you ever consider that? Would your character with their personality do these things?
It’s important to remember that characters are more than your little avatar to do your bidding; they have minds of their own and should never do what YOU want, but what falls into their goals.
Friendships and Rivalries
One thing that you should avoid is making “insta-friends”. As with real life these things take time, and just because one character cooperates with your character it doesn’t necessarily make them friends, only at most colleagues and co-workers. It’s important to understand the difference in inter-character relationships, some will be your friends, some will be with you professionally, and others will be your enemies.
Not every character is going to be chummy with yours or think highly of them, and as the RP goes along yours and another’s character may become sworn enemies. In that case DON’T go out of your way to avoid it, unless that is what your character would do. Character conflict is always more interesting than “everybody works together against the Big Bad”, it makes things more dynamic and realistic, and therefore, adds to the immersion.
Romance
Quite obviously on these forums your not allowed to post anything of a sexual nature, so I need not touch on that. Like friendships though, any romance that takes place between characters, especially yours and someone else’s, should be a gradual thing, because despite popular belief, there is no such things as love at first sight. There is such a thing as LUST at first sight, and more often this is what prompts a character to “make a move” even if both characters have nothing in common. The player sees an attractive character and decides to have his character suddenly “fall in love” and then peruse the other’s affections.
Unless it’s within the character to have womanizer traits then no, just no, it’s unrealistic and you know it.
It can be also rather awkward for your character to suddenly be chummy with another that way when the other character wasn’t expecting it; they may not take in a positive way or think that having a romance isn’t worth their time. If you think that your character would have a romance with someone else’s the best way to learn weather or not its possible is to contact the other RPer via PM and discuss what it would take for it to happen. Don’t be surprised, or take it personally if they say no, more than likely it would be because doing so would be out of character, and they don’t feel like introducing a forced sub-plot.
Despite what you think RP’s aren’t just for fulfilling your fantasies, that’s what fanfiction is for.
Combat
If for any combat scenario all you wrote for your character to do is “I attack this” or “I blocked then dodged”
You’re doing it wrong.
Yes, in this case there is a right or wrong, and if you did the above, then you’re doing it wrong.
HOW did they attack? HOW did they block or dodge? And no we can’t just assume they did it with whatever weapon they had in their hands, for all we know attack means they farted in the other guy’s face. Combat is a lot more complex then that, and though you may not want to take the time to describe it in detail it IS important. The reason being is that vague and brief descriptions are a huge breeding ground for god-modding.
Say for example your character is fighting someone else’s character and it goes down like this:
“I thrust forward with my blade at Whoseitwhatsit.”
“I quickly block it.”
“I throw a large fireball at him”
“I dodge, then stab Whatsitwhoseit”
The problem? Player Two is apparently so agile and strong that nothing can hit him, but the first time he gets at Player One it’s an automatic hit. The fight was completely unfair because Player Two used vagueness to get the upper hand, by not describing how he dodged and blocked there is no way for Player One to find any opening as there would be in reality, player two might as well be invincible and apparently can hurt anyone with complete ease.
F*ck you, you’re not Chuck Norris. So stop pretending.
It HAS to be a fair fight between players’ characters; this is why we have profiles so that everyone can be made aware of their strengths and weakness, that way they can call ******** on you if you try something like what’s above. An actually fair combat scenario between characters should be more like this:
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Whoseitwhatsit thrusted his blade at his opponent hoping to impale him.
Whatsitwhoseit parried the man’s blade with his own, and attempted to swing his fist at his opponents face.
Whoseitwhatsit didn’t prepare for such a quick response from Whatsitwhoseit, and the fist collided with his face and made his see stars. He staggers a bit as no doubt his opponent was coming in for the kill, so quickly summoning magical energy in his hands he semi blindly shoots a ball of flame in Whatsitwhoseit’s general direction.
Unprepared, Whatsitwhose it reacts by falling backward, though it was more of a reactionary stumble than a maneuver. He could feel the heat of the fireball as it whizzed above his head, had Whoseitwhatsit been using his full sight Whatsitwhoseit would surely be frying right now.
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As you can see it’s a give and take sort of deal, you have to allow your opponent some leeway and take a hit every once in a while, and if you do dodge or block something describe what happened in a plausible way. When attacking say what your attack is and what it’s intended to do, letting you opponent decide weather or not its successful, or better yet have it only be a minor success as that would still make it dynamic.
But what of NPC enemies? Can’t you just one-shot auto-hit them and be done with it? Yes, and no. In some cases, like with lower level enemies like say a frail goblin it’s generally accepted for one-shot auto hits, just don’t go overboard like say you take on 20 at once, that’s just stupid. For larger more powerful enemies however auto-hits aren’t allowed, and it takes longer to kill it spanning from two or more posts during the process. If you have a question weather or not you can quickly finish an enemy ask your GM. Note that in some cases the GM are in control of the NPC mobs, in which case they may tell you ahead of time, and usually they are fair with it the enemies responses.
Here is another post from an RP I was in off-site as an example of player-NPC combat.
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The draconic man was in fact the first to attempt rushing to Sean’s aid, only to be obstructed by their opponents. The filthy things circled around him and his comrades, but they did most of their sneering at him it seemed, eyeing him as their primary target. At first Dara didn’t understand why, but remembered the fine scales alluding to his heritage, they seemed to recognize that fact about him.
In a short distance the draconic man witnessed Sean dispatch lingering goblins quite well, though he did seem to suffer a minor injury that the barbarian failed to, or rather couldn’t notice. One of the buggers shouted something at Dara, probably some obscenity in their language and made an obvious charge at him. Dara had been making over handed swings with his chain the whole time, keeping the kinetic energy going, so when the goblin went for Dara he whipped at it with moderate ease, smacking its face in a brutal way, not lethal however as more than likely it would leave only a nasty bruise, in the least his target was disoriented. It was unfortunate that his peripheral vision did not catch its comrade leap into the air.
The goblin jumped to a rather impressive height for its race, as its dagger was on a direct course for the draconic man’s heart. Reacting barely in time Dara shifted so that the filthy thing’s weapon sunk into only his left shoulder.
It still hurt though, a lot.
Dara barred his teeth from the unprepared pain, as his golden eyes met the sickly yellow ones of the goblin. He did not think to remove the little ******* hanging on his shirt but instead pulled a more reckless move; Dara inhaled and a burst of fire escaped his lips, igniting the daring enemy. The others watched as their comrade screamed in burning agony as its flesh began peeling away. If they were to look closely into his eyes, they would see that the pupils weren’t quite as round as before. Dara released one more burst of flame at them, it made no contact for they promptly backed in the opposite direction, even the previously disoriented one, and such was the plan.
The draconic man took his right hand and grabbed the hilt of the dagger still lodged in his shoulder, he struggled to maintain a face imposing no pain as he pulled it out, looked at the goblins and bellowed, “Now I’m pissed!” It was too bad that was more bravado then promise behind those words, for at the moment his left arm was little less than inoperable excluding the pulsing pain, and that little fire show, while a few flames had been placed burning a few isolated weeds on the field that served as a thin barrier between them and his comrades, had dried his throat leaving a burning sensation. It was more bluff than bite meant to demoralize the enemy with the incineration of their comrade and display of his power over the flame. He could not risk puffing out more steam than that and be lucky enough not to receive internal injury.
“Any time now guys…” he said in a low, and somewhat hoarse voice. Although he had taken more burdens then he anticipated; Dara was still willing to continue, he could ignore the pain for now. In any case, as always winning the fight meant one step closer to his and his family’s freedom. He’d be damned if he would fail now.
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In this post, though individually the goblins aren’t more powerful than he is, the character is outnumbered, not well equipped and is proven not to be invincible. He got in some good blows, but still took significant damage, and we are aware of what the damage is. He displayed the power to breathe fire, but it has a drawback, he can’t use it forever as it apparently hurts his throat. The post is dynamic, and still leaves room for others to react, therefore a quality post concerning combat.
You don’t have to be content with only words to make up whatever world you create. Use art, music, or whatever you feel would help set the mood. If you’re an artist, maybe you can draw people’s characters or scenes from the RP. If you’re a musician, maybe you can write a song about it. If you’re not quite as talented…well that’s what google is for. Don’t think it doesn’t count for much, it does, and I encourage you to do so.
_________________________________________________________________ In conclusion I first like to say that I’m not a complete expert at this, and I’m still learning, and perhaps I forgot a few things in which case let me know so I can add them. Hopefully you learned something from this and will apply it to future projects. Also remember that there is no 100% successful formula for an RP, but the advice in this post should at least help.
Also could you make a point on convoluted character interaction?
If you're walking down the street/tavern/field/building it's completely illogical for you to select a random (player character) and attempt a conversation/friendship.
I remember an RP I was in where I was in a supermarket doing my shopping and one of the other players strode up to me and asked if I was on the quest for the secret Brotherhood. The hell...
Another work of Ironphoenix genius. Keep going on this way, and I'm gonna start suspecting that Absolete is dead, because you're channeling his spirit.
One thing though...
"""I and no one else cannot force these ideas upon you."""
"""I and no one else can force these ideas upon you."""
If this isn't a seize of the Moderaters power I don't know what is XD
subliminal messages? It's a conspiracy to brainwash us and oust the moderators!
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Yeah I'm just kidding, don't reply to this so we don't go too far off-topic.
subliminal messages? It's a conspiracy to brainwash us and oust the moderators!
...
...
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Yeah I'm just kidding, don't reply to this so we don't go too far off-topic.
Ignoring what is probably good advice Sonrov, but I don't get it. It just clearly states that I can't and no one else can force someone to use this set of guidlines. I think you're only misinterpreting the wording, but fine, if I must change it.
Very good guide and I have to completely agree. I especially think the fighting section should be required reading. I hate it when someone fights like that. Delivering instant kills/op moves (I'm looking at a certain angel player with magic flowers at the moment). Every time someone does that I rage ignore them. If they insist I ignore them and if the Gm does nothing I kill them in a less Op way. (Only had to do this once) And then continue RPing normally.
(Now if I could only figure out how to be descriptive in my actions. But seriously in a scripted RP how the heck do I go to a place in a descriptive manner. :/)
Combat is the most common place for someone to god-mod or be lazy, so naturally I had to make that section more extensive than the others.
As for your problem Jair, its easiest to give detail on what the character is thinking and feeling at the time, you don't nessisarily need to give sensory detail, though if none has already been given you could.
Role play has been around since man danced around a fire in a cave making animal sounds to illustrate what he hunted way back when. It’s a practice that has evolved, but is always recognized for what it is, the most popular form being plays and movies where actors assume the role of a character for the audiences’ enjoyment. Today however we are discussing an updated version of role play, one which is dominated by the glorious internet we covet so dearly.
But rather than there being a limited cast of characters for the audience to watch, the role play here consists of everyone participating and contributing to it, much like a collaboration for a project. But some role plays are more popular than others, and some role plays die out rather quickly and their creators can’t find the reason.
To understand this we are going to take a look at what goes into a role play, how they are conducted, and what makes a successful role play. I realize that not all role plays are the same as some can be lighthearted and not to be taken seriously, but this is for those wanting to make something more in-depth.
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In any role play, or RP, it is always a good idea to treat your fellow RPers with the same respect you want to receive, and yes this includes the less experienced to all you veteran RPers out there. The last thing you want to do is spark unwanted arguments that disrupt the RP and make it less fun for anyone, its easiest to avoid that by following the rules set by the creator. Before we get into the rules however we should discuss the relationship between the two types of people in an RP: role players, and GMs
Now obviously this is a great position of power, but you know what they say about having absolute power… As a GM it is your responsibility to conduct you RP with INTEGRITY AND FAIRNESS, NO ONE WANTS TO RP WITH A POWER CRAZY LUINATIC.
You should remember that while you are the authority of the RP you must also be flexible, take in consideration what others have to offer and their input, they may think of something you didn’t.
While you’re generally not allowed to add anything significant to the universe already set up, you can at least describe the experience of your characters as they interact with the environment. Also don’t be afraid to make suggestions to the GM about additions to the world, or provide an alternative scenario for him to consider. He just may listen.
So for those of you who have trouble with these common RP terms, I’ll spell them out for you.
The word mod, is short for modification, or in other words to add or change something that isn’t naturally there like say the many mods people make for Minecraft. So to god-mod, is to add or change something that isn’t naturally there to give a character a powerful advantage through unrealistic or under explained means.
For instance:
Wizard Joe is being chased by a hundred goblins. He throws fireballs at them but only takes a few out. Wizard Joe summons a machine gun and mows down all of the goblins and says, “Yipekiyay dirtbags.”
Now if when the RPer submitted Wizard Joe stating he could do this power and there was no rule against it set up by the GM and the character was accepted, then this would not be god-modding. However if this ability was never mentioned before, then Wizard Joe might as well have pulled that machine gun out of his ass, because that’s exactly what the RPer did.
Moral of the story: don’t be a Wizard Joe.
Be wary, some god-modding is more subtle than others and can be overlooked at first glance.
Now say an RPer wasn’t able to post for a while or decides to leave the RP but would still like for the characters he made to remain there, he may leave them in the temporary or permanent care of a trusted fellow RPer or even the GM. In that case, permission is given and this is not considered power-play.
Say the Big Badset a trap for our heroes, your character can’t suddenly say “Stop! It’s a trap!” when there was no clue at any point there would be one, or that they could detect it through an unrealistic skill that was never mentioned before. The RPer didn’t want his character to fall for the trap, so he made it so that his character instantly know that there was one.
In a horror movie, no matter how many times you yell at the dumb character not to go into the basement, they can’t hear you and will likely go in anyway.
Player knowledge DOES NOT = character knowledge, they have to be treated as people of their own and must figure out how to deal with scenarios themselves. Ignoring this takes the immersion out of the RP and therefore decreases the fun.
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In addition it can explain how people have whatever powers they have, how certain cultures and races came to be adding even more to the story.
Lore begets lore, which is a wonderful thing.
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Here’s a little snippet from an RP I’ve been in off-site as an example:
The man rose, made his way to Sean and struggled a bit to find the right words, but eventually did so, “Uh, vi…vi…Vinult thurirl, dout astudr geou qe kashora.” Hail friend, your strength will be appreciated. Dara recognized right away that forming bonds now, as formal as they may be, was better than fighting alongside complete strangers who knew nothing of what the others would do. Speaking to the barbarian in his own tongue was probably a decisive move, fortunate that their culture has assimilated parts of the Dragonborns’ in centuries past.
He said to the rest, “Our friend here is a little…blunt, but he has the right idea, if we’re going to do anything together we should at least know our names and skills.” He then gestured to Bliss, “I believe you already introduced yourself Bliss.” Dara returned to a neutral stance and said, “As for me my full name is Darastrix Dastudr, but just call me Dara; I specialize in long swords and axes. Now none of you have to give their life story if you don’t want to, a name and skill set is fine.”
My Character: I run up the hill and attack the dragon
Or
-goes up to pretty girl to talk to her. i say “hi”-
Now that’s all very nice but why did they do those things? How does the character feel about doing them, did you ever consider that? Would your character with their personality do these things?
It’s important to remember that characters are more than your little avatar to do your bidding; they have minds of their own and should never do what YOU want, but what falls into their goals.
Not every character is going to be chummy with yours or think highly of them, and as the RP goes along yours and another’s character may become sworn enemies. In that case DON’T go out of your way to avoid it, unless that is what your character would do. Character conflict is always more interesting than “everybody works together against the Big Bad”, it makes things more dynamic and realistic, and therefore, adds to the immersion.
Unless it’s within the character to have womanizer traits then no, just no, it’s unrealistic and you know it.
It can be also rather awkward for your character to suddenly be chummy with another that way when the other character wasn’t expecting it; they may not take in a positive way or think that having a romance isn’t worth their time. If you think that your character would have a romance with someone else’s the best way to learn weather or not its possible is to contact the other RPer via PM and discuss what it would take for it to happen. Don’t be surprised, or take it personally if they say no, more than likely it would be because doing so would be out of character, and they don’t feel like introducing a forced sub-plot.
Despite what you think RP’s aren’t just for fulfilling your fantasies, that’s what fanfiction is for.
You’re doing it wrong.
Yes, in this case there is a right or wrong, and if you did the above, then you’re doing it wrong.
HOW did they attack? HOW did they block or dodge? And no we can’t just assume they did it with whatever weapon they had in their hands, for all we know attack means they farted in the other guy’s face. Combat is a lot more complex then that, and though you may not want to take the time to describe it in detail it IS important. The reason being is that vague and brief descriptions are a huge breeding ground for god-modding.
Say for example your character is fighting someone else’s character and it goes down like this:
“I thrust forward with my blade at Whoseitwhatsit.”
“I quickly block it.”
“I throw a large fireball at him”
“I dodge, then stab Whatsitwhoseit”
The problem? Player Two is apparently so agile and strong that nothing can hit him, but the first time he gets at Player One it’s an automatic hit. The fight was completely unfair because Player Two used vagueness to get the upper hand, by not describing how he dodged and blocked there is no way for Player One to find any opening as there would be in reality, player two might as well be invincible and apparently can hurt anyone with complete ease.
F*ck you, you’re not Chuck Norris. So stop pretending.
It HAS to be a fair fight between players’ characters; this is why we have profiles so that everyone can be made aware of their strengths and weakness, that way they can call ******** on you if you try something like what’s above. An actually fair combat scenario between characters should be more like this:
Whatsitwhoseit parried the man’s blade with his own, and attempted to swing his fist at his opponents face.
Whoseitwhatsit didn’t prepare for such a quick response from Whatsitwhoseit, and the fist collided with his face and made his see stars. He staggers a bit as no doubt his opponent was coming in for the kill, so quickly summoning magical energy in his hands he semi blindly shoots a ball of flame in Whatsitwhoseit’s general direction.
Unprepared, Whatsitwhose it reacts by falling backward, though it was more of a reactionary stumble than a maneuver. He could feel the heat of the fireball as it whizzed above his head, had Whoseitwhatsit been using his full sight Whatsitwhoseit would surely be frying right now.
But what of NPC enemies? Can’t you just one-shot auto-hit them and be done with it? Yes, and no. In some cases, like with lower level enemies like say a frail goblin it’s generally accepted for one-shot auto hits, just don’t go overboard like say you take on 20 at once, that’s just stupid. For larger more powerful enemies however auto-hits aren’t allowed, and it takes longer to kill it spanning from two or more posts during the process. If you have a question weather or not you can quickly finish an enemy ask your GM. Note that in some cases the GM are in control of the NPC mobs, in which case they may tell you ahead of time, and usually they are fair with it the enemies responses.
Here is another post from an RP I was in off-site as an example of player-NPC combat.
The draconic man was in fact the first to attempt rushing to Sean’s aid, only to be obstructed by their opponents. The filthy things circled around him and his comrades, but they did most of their sneering at him it seemed, eyeing him as their primary target. At first Dara didn’t understand why, but remembered the fine scales alluding to his heritage, they seemed to recognize that fact about him.
In a short distance the draconic man witnessed Sean dispatch lingering goblins quite well, though he did seem to suffer a minor injury that the barbarian failed to, or rather couldn’t notice. One of the buggers shouted something at Dara, probably some obscenity in their language and made an obvious charge at him. Dara had been making over handed swings with his chain the whole time, keeping the kinetic energy going, so when the goblin went for Dara he whipped at it with moderate ease, smacking its face in a brutal way, not lethal however as more than likely it would leave only a nasty bruise, in the least his target was disoriented. It was unfortunate that his peripheral vision did not catch its comrade leap into the air.
The goblin jumped to a rather impressive height for its race, as its dagger was on a direct course for the draconic man’s heart. Reacting barely in time Dara shifted so that the filthy thing’s weapon sunk into only his left shoulder.
It still hurt though, a lot.
Dara barred his teeth from the unprepared pain, as his golden eyes met the sickly yellow ones of the goblin. He did not think to remove the little ******* hanging on his shirt but instead pulled a more reckless move; Dara inhaled and a burst of fire escaped his lips, igniting the daring enemy. The others watched as their comrade screamed in burning agony as its flesh began peeling away. If they were to look closely into his eyes, they would see that the pupils weren’t quite as round as before. Dara released one more burst of flame at them, it made no contact for they promptly backed in the opposite direction, even the previously disoriented one, and such was the plan.
The draconic man took his right hand and grabbed the hilt of the dagger still lodged in his shoulder, he struggled to maintain a face imposing no pain as he pulled it out, looked at the goblins and bellowed, “Now I’m pissed!” It was too bad that was more bravado then promise behind those words, for at the moment his left arm was little less than inoperable excluding the pulsing pain, and that little fire show, while a few flames had been placed burning a few isolated weeds on the field that served as a thin barrier between them and his comrades, had dried his throat leaving a burning sensation. It was more bluff than bite meant to demoralize the enemy with the incineration of their comrade and display of his power over the flame. He could not risk puffing out more steam than that and be lucky enough not to receive internal injury.
“Any time now guys…” he said in a low, and somewhat hoarse voice. Although he had taken more burdens then he anticipated; Dara was still willing to continue, he could ignore the pain for now. In any case, as always winning the fight meant one step closer to his and his family’s freedom. He’d be damned if he would fail now.
In this post, though individually the goblins aren’t more powerful than he is, the character is outnumbered, not well equipped and is proven not to be invincible. He got in some good blows, but still took significant damage, and we are aware of what the damage is. He displayed the power to breathe fire, but it has a drawback, he can’t use it forever as it apparently hurts his throat. The post is dynamic, and still leaves room for others to react, therefore a quality post concerning combat.
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In conclusion I first like to say that I’m not a complete expert at this, and I’m still learning, and perhaps I forgot a few things in which case let me know so I can add them. Hopefully you learned something from this and will apply it to future projects. Also remember that there is no 100% successful formula for an RP, but the advice in this post should at least help.
Also here is the link to my Characterization in RPs if you want tips in character creation.
Also could you make a point on convoluted character interaction?
If you're walking down the street/tavern/field/building it's completely illogical for you to select a random (player character) and attempt a conversation/friendship.
I remember an RP I was in where I was in a supermarket doing my shopping and one of the other players strode up to me and asked if I was on the quest for the secret Brotherhood. The hell...
One thing though...
"""I and no one else cannot force these ideas upon you."""
Reread that... Hilarious typo :wink.gif:
Oh, good job man. I think you are on guide spree. Don't let it go down though.
"""I and no one else can force these ideas upon you."""
If this isn't a seize of the Moderaters power I don't know what is XD
subliminal messages? It's a conspiracy to brainwash us and oust the moderators!
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Yeah I'm just kidding, don't reply to this so we don't go too far off-topic.
Ignoring what is probably good advice Sonrov, but I don't get it. It just clearly states that I can't and no one else can force someone to use this set of guidlines. I think you're only misinterpreting the wording, but fine, if I must change it.
(Now if I could only figure out how to be descriptive in my actions. But seriously in a scripted RP how the heck do I go to a place in a descriptive manner. :/)
As for your problem Jair, its easiest to give detail on what the character is thinking and feeling at the time, you don't nessisarily need to give sensory detail, though if none has already been given you could.