Short RP 101 - Quick and Easy

dragoness10 · March 2014

I tried to get through the long guide myself, and ended up having my eyes go crossed trying to get to the end of postings. SO, here's a quick, short, one post guide on RP.

ABBREVIATIONS :

RP - role play
IC - in character, what your character does in action and personality
OOC - what you do in knowledge and decisions to guide your character in RP
PC - player of character ( the actual person behind the screen)
NPC - not player of character (computer generated with set actions/ dialogue)
AFK - away from keyboard (not actively there)

DEFINITIONS :

Scene - the setting and actions taken over a period of time spent in IC
God Moding - using powers of self or items as if you have godly powers so "always win no matter what" being the hero/villian
Anti-God Moding - ignoring current powers or items so you can "always lose no matter what" being the permanent victim
Mutt - Being of more than two races
Emote - the words used to describe a physical action, and/ or "tone of voice" of words spoken IC
Breaking Character - having your PC enter into OOC, or suddenly act in a way that is just not themselves
Mary Sue - a "perfect in every way most attractive" character that god modes with only "KEWL COOL" flaws like a tiny scar, or a weakness for chocolate (also called Gary Sue sometimes for male characters)

RECCOMENDATIONS FOR CHANNELS IN RP -

Zone - OOC
Party - OOC primarily/ IC occasion when in a closed RP scene with others IC
Guild - OOC
Tells - OOC / IC IF you are excluding others and keeping it a PRIVATE RP
Say - IC

If you want to switch from IC to OOC an indicator like /// or ooc can be used. A lot of IC is "said" to indicate it's not merely OOC commentary.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Your handy dandy accessory for typing emotes is the ; key. You can set the color for emotes in Chat Options. I keep mine orange as it is a distinctive color. Try it!

Typing

; smiles happy.

BECOMES

Character Name smiles happy.

Seven simple recommendations for "How do I start RPing?"

1) Make your character with a brief biography included on the character page. This can be as simple as "large female orc fighter". Keep in mind MORE detail doesn't make an attractive biography. Try to not include your own opinion of your character describing it like "beautiful hair that screams your name, and an alluring sense of wicked humor". People will form their own opinion of your character IC and OOC through your RP. Stick with something simple like "flame hair with green eyes on a willowy frame."

2) Keep it believable enough. You can have weird and random races/ RP by all means, but base it on some understandable lore. Reading Monstrous Manuals from AD&D can be a good starter. If you invent your own race/ lore though accept that not everyone is going to go along with it. Do not be the Mary Sue whom insists she/he never needs to read a reference book, but everyone else needs to know the 1000 exact tiny details on their newly invented mutt character.

3) Go somewhere, and say hi! Seriously. Emote emote emote so people know you are not AFK. Even if you stand there for five minutes describing how your character is snorting in their sleep whilst twitching a leg you will engage somebody with RP. They may want to wake you up to start RP. Keep trying.

4) Don't do the same old boring things everyone else does to get attention like "dance seductively on the bar", or "we are recruiting for our guild of sexy bards". Don't whine in tells to others OOC asking them to RP with you. Be creative in RP. If the emote stands out then people will notice it.

5) If it's an RP area (like the Moonstone Mask) try to leave all the emoticons, abbreviations, and discussion of other games outside the doorway. It can destroy the immersion into RP.

6) Participate, and be willing to accept others actions as affecting your RP. A fight may spill into your conversation where your leg is broken, or you are confused for that mean gambler that left his buddy in debt. Nothing makes others want to NOT RP you faster than you trying to direct everyone else around you like they are your personal NPCs.

7) Have fun, and ensure everyone else is having fun with the RP. If you are not, or somebody says so then try to adjust it so people do, or just leave/ let them leave for awhile.

dragoness10 · April 2014

Replying with another quick note : Advice on Class/ Race modifications in RP

Replying in two sections -

1) Class modifications.

If treated as a "life changing event" where a character would switch from say Fighter to Cleric because RP has shaped their beliefs and opinions on their pathway in life to warrant such a change to fit the NEW pathway of the character then it most certainly can be done.

An example (following as stated above) could be a fighter whom lost his leg in a battle with a lich. Maybe the lich needed "a good rekilling", but in the process his whole party and half a village got killed. Unable to fight as before he was treated for the loss of the leg. This inspired him to defend through healing now, and to help others not with a sword but instead with spells as he feels such a penance is fitting for all the deaths he's caused.

If you want to try out characters with random different classes keep a main one for RP, and the alts for the class experiments. It makes it easier to keep one consistant storyline for RP.

2) Race Modifications.

Even classic AD&D has "templates" for race modifications. Modifications can be added/ subtracted through a set pathway of RP. These should follow SOME set logic in the RP, and 99% are always "cureable" for the sake of good RP.

I'm going with an example of "werewolf" here. Bob is a werewolf, and now is terrorizing a village by eating all the pigs. Bob could have been bitten by a werewolf, posses a Belt of Change which allows him to do it at will, could have been affected by a Curse of Lycanthropy, or he used an Unlimited Wish to achieve it. Any of the above methods have numerous ways of reversing the template of "werewolf" on the character of Bob. The quest of curing Bob in RP can be a good adventure.

Unrealistic changes in race to a character do not make sense (and put people off RPing with you) such as one week Daisy is a Drow, the next she's a Nymph, and the following week the player decided Daisy is a half dragon half human whom died by a stab from a demon so now is cursed to be a lich teifling. It makes it far more difficult to figure out how any character IC reacts to Daisy as the race changes are OOC motivated by the player of Daisy.

Consistancy in class or race makes it easier to get on with the RP rather than waste time debating/arguing OOC over it.

xdamned4life · April 2014

Not to bad of a short guide that you had made there, summarizing some of the important points for roleplay, however you may find that the official guide which you may find here which covers a large bulk of important information regarding roleplaying in small easy to read sections with an intractable table of contents which upon clicking the respective section that you wish to visit to open another page up taking you directly to that section.

By all means feel free for to submit suggestions on the thread for potential content for me to cover, however I feel that it may be best for to archive all this important information in one thread rather than have it scattered across the forum.

I hope for to see you around and wish you happy roleplaying!

Sincerely yours,
xdamned4life.

dragoness10 · April 2014

I tried the other guide which, if you prefer minute details in a long description for advanced and experienced RPers, is okay.

This guide here I found I can access without logging in to forums so it's convenient if you save a link in your Favorites to it.

tlucean · April 2014

PC - player character ( the actual person behind the screen)

Since nobody else seems to notice ... I find this notion very strange.
You even spelled it out player character. The person behind the screen is no character, it is the player. Thus the character each person is playing is the player character.

dragoness10 · April 2014

tlucean wrote: »

Since nobody else seems to notice ... I find this notion very strange.
You even spelled it out player character. The person behind the screen is no character, it is the player. Thus the character each person is playing is the player character.

A misunderstood nuance of shorthand. Being an RPer of many years since Gary Gygax appeared on the radar I am used to the shorthand writing of some explanations. Perhaps a more "correct" way of stating that is "PC = Player of Character"? Grammar oops noted. Post corrected.

dragoness10 · April 2014

Addendum - What is Jacklogging?

Definition : Starting a scene with another player, and then proceeding to log off when the exciting/ intense/ important part comes up. Scene can be of any nature of RP. The word is a combination of "hijack" and "logging".

EXAMPLE : Mike the human sees Ja'na the elven lady. Ja'na and he chat awhile, and then suddenly she starts an argument with another female, a Drow. Mike tries to calm them both down, and just as the Drow woman goes to punch Ja'na the player of Ja'na logs off. Ja'na doesn't return until the next day. This is not the first time Ja'na has avoided an IC fight she started either.

This is NOT to be confused with an agreed to "fade to black" to complete a scene. Granted, some people can have a bad crash due to lag, or internet service. However, jackloggers make a habit of logging off at vital moments which would directly affect their character.

Side augment - JackAFKer

This is a person whom will AFK at vital moments just to hold a person in RP "hostage" to a scene. (This is far less common in NWN Online due to the automatic log out after 15 minutes, but still happens sometimes.) Person can AFK right after scene starts, or again just at the vital moment. This is done to the point the scene goes so excrutiatingly slow that something that should have taken 10 minutes ends up taking 3 hours. The JackAFKer will NOT excuse themselves to log out, or give up the scene to be continued later on.

Keep in mind both types of Jacker MAY have an initial good reason for the logging, or the AFK, but they have become a Jacker once it is established this is a habit of RP with them that they may even enjoy doing for their own amusement, and "power" over another player.

verinbeardfist · April 2014

To the recommendations I would add this:

A character is more than just their appearance.

Anybody can describe their character as "a willowy blonde elf with sparkling green eyes" but why bother when their appearance is RIGHT THERE for everyone to see via the game engine? Put the time in to getting their appearance to your satisfaction, buy a resculpt if you want, and that's all you need to do: filling your bio with information that people can get just by looking at your character is a waste of effort.

Instead, use the character bio to establish their CHARACTER. "blonde" is not a character, nor is "elf."

A character might be "surly and introverted but fiercely loyal to his few friends, with a dry sense of humour." or "Sweet and apparently carefree, but can't be trusted to remember to return any money she borrows."

Describe how they stand: tall, hunched, relaxed, arms folded?
Describe how they smile: is it thin, broad, beaming, weak, toothy?
Describe how they walk: do they swagger, sway, march, stride, shuffle or limp?
Describe how they move when idle: Do they fidget, nod to some internal melody, adjust their equipment, fuss with their hair?
Describe how they look at people: With a shrewd gleam, a calculating appraisal, mistrust, welcome or seduction?
Describe how they look around: Are they at ease, on guard, evaluating the crowd for a mark or just ogling the courtesans?
Describe their gear: is it filthy, clean, worn, well-maintained, sturdy or patchwork?

People are physical and emotional beings: Your job when describing your character is to fill in the detail that the game engine can't convey, like whether their laugh is raucous, dirty, piercing, genuine or forced. The objective of your character bio should be to establish the character's personality, rather than repeat their appearance.

just my two copper.

verinbeardfist · April 2014

backstory: Keep it Simple

RP isn't a competition over who can have the most exotic backstory, nor is it a contest to be the most interesting and unique person present.

RP is a story we tell together. It can be a sprawling epic, or it can just be the ongoing soap-opera antics of the hedonistic patrons of the Moonstone Mask. Some days, you'll be the center of attention, other days it's only fair to be the supporting cast, and equally fun. Everyone gets their time in the spotlight, and the best RPers that are going to attract the most conversations and be most readily welcomed are the ones who are happy to step out of the limelight for a bit and indulge in somebody else's RP.

So. Let go of any ideas you had about having been kicked out of an order of wizards because you travelled back in time and became your own mother. You're not an illithid wearing an elaborate psionic disguise: You're an adventurer, in Neverwinter for your own reasons, be it to exploit these times of strife for profit and glory, or just to help the needy. What more do you need to be? your character is already <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> enough to take on a long sequence of nasties: undead ogres? No problem. Spellscarred orcs? Kill twelve as a side quest. Dragons? Been there, done that. You're awesome - you don't need to go OTT with some elaborate backstory about how one of the gods personally removed your spellscar or whatever.

In fact, people will relate to your character more if their backstory is relatively mundane. The most entertaining and interesting characters are the ones people can identify with. That doesn't mean your backstory has to be boring, just that it shouldn't be a flight of fancy which makes it look like all this business with a dracolich and an army of undead is just a typical Monday for you.

Think of Bilbo Baggins - the guy was a stay-at-home sort, landed gentry with a comfortable life and a fondness for cakes and tea. And then along comes a wizard and a posse of dwarves and a year later he's a seasoned adventurer who slew spiders and goblins, masterminded an escape from the Elf-king's dungeons, verbally sparred with a dragon and stole a king's heirloom.

Your character can probably get away with a SLIGHTLY more exciting history than that - after all, nobody learns how to fire six arrows at once, become invisible or freeze people solid with finger rays by sitting at home and eating eight meals a day - but remember: your greatest adventures are still ahead of you.

Grow up in waterdeep, the child of some successful merchants. Grow bored of a life tending a market stall full of chickens - "do you have any idea how dull chickens are?" - learn the art of the bow from a retired adventurer you slept with a couple of times at the inn. Head to Neverwinter to find your fortune.

Be a misfit of dwarfish society. Get thrown in prison for a "misunderstanding" involving a coronet, escape, flee to the Dragonmere and spend ten years as a pirate. Journey to Luskan after your captain was killed and then escape to Neverwinter after another "misunderstanding", this time over a card game.

Leave the planar journeys, heroic battles and mighty deeds to your character's future. Their past should be interesting and should explain how they learned their skills, but it should also be simple, believable, and leave room for your future accomplishments to actually BE accomplishments.

xdamned4life · April 2014

xdamned4life wrote: »

Not to bad of a short guide that you had made there, summarizing some of the important points for roleplay, however you may find that the official guide which you may find here which covers a large bulk of important information regarding roleplaying in small easy to read sections with an intractable table of contents which upon clicking the respective section that you wish to visit to open another page up taking you directly to that section.

By all means feel free for to submit suggestions on the thread for potential content for me to cover, however I feel that it may be best for to archive all this important information in one thread rather than have it scattered across the forum.

I hope for to see you around and wish you happy roleplaying!

Sincerely yours,
xdamned4life.

Once more I believe some of the information here on this thread is of great use however as explained before, there is an offical guide for roleplaying which has already been created and stickied to serve the purpose of helping other roleplayers with aspects which they may be inexperienced in or could do with refreshing their minds of.

As for what was said with the guide being for experienced roleplayers, If someone was a seasoned roleplayer then they shouldn't need a guide full stop as they would already have the proficient knowledge to carry out high quality roleplay.

That being said, the guide that was created and stickied by Perfect World was created for New comers to roleplay, for to help them become imersed in the experience, as said previously I believe that this resource though minor and prone to fall out of view, or dare I say off the forums completely still none of the less makes for good information that would be useful to new Roleplayers and would like for to host this thread on a section of the offical guide so that it can keep all of the important information essential to help newcoming roleplayers flurish kept concentrated all on one thread rather than having it scattered across the forum, with of course the ability to post Addendums in on the comment section of the offical guide for to keep the Quick fire guide to roleplay updated, or even add on to what is already there on the other sections of the guide.

Happy roleplaying!

Sincerely yours,
xdamned4life.

dragoness10 · April 2014

A Reply -

Biographies:

A bio is never a waste of an effort as people will look at the charecter page for the bio to get an idea how the presented pixel form is being interpreted by the player of THAT character. It gives a good window into the playstyle of that particular player.

Somebody whom puts a little effort into a bio is most likely going to RP better than somebody whom just leaves it blank. By the same token somebody with a long prattling bio going on how perfect they are with a gigantic backstory you'd only know if you'd RPed with them for years is ALSO probably not going to be a good RPer. Leetspeak and typos may or may not be indicative of a lazy RPer, or somebody whom does not speak that language as a first language.

Guides:

Simple solutions first. This is supposed to be an RP 101 guide, nothing complex. Keep further replies short perhaps?

There is also no "offical guide" for RP as there are never any specific set RULES for RP. There are many styles which are valid overall including VERY BAD RP. Some people like doing that to portray their character as inept, stupidly evil, introverted, disliked, as a parody, and overall avoidable.

Others - just give them a break especially if they are new to RP. Help teach them gently rather than condemn for not being "up to your experienced standards".

xdamned4life · April 2014

There are indeed different styles of Roleplaying that was mentioned in the sticky guide, such being public roleplay, where there are a set of rules and standards that one is expected to preform at for to keep its roleplay enjoyable for everyone, the term "public roleplay" refers to roleplaying in places in the world where it is accepted to drop in and contribute to creating one overarching story plot that is on-going in that area, such prime examples being at the Moonstone Mask where guilds and freelancers who are all strangers to one and other come forward and play out their characters.

To keep the scene fun for everyone however there are a set of expectations and rules that are to be met of the person which includes to try their best with presentation in grammar, to avoid breaking such terms and abbreviations which can be seen as "Roleplaying rules" such Metagaming, this mixing of In character and Out of character, god-emoting (Godmodding), Auto-emoting (Autohitting), Anti-god-emoting (Er- Anti-godmodding?), Power-emoting (Powerplaying) and so on, where as in Private or Sandbox these rules may be bent or not apply at all.

Whilst also keeping the logic and realism of the roleplay universe you're living in, If you jump from the first level of the Moonstone mask on to the lower floor from a balcony you surely will sprain if not break a bone from the fall, If you do something to aggravate or provoke someone with an action your character is or perhaps has done in the past, to expect the consequences of what they had done to the severity of the situation, If someone kills another person's character, then of course those who were once close to that person will sought you out for to kill you, with that baring in mind if you want for to be the one to ultimately choose your character's death, be it from another roleplay plot you had or old age, use common sense and not do stupid things that will likely get you killed.

Though NPCS are a grey area with only important lore characters being acknowledged, or shopkeepers perhaps, there is also those who like for to integrate in-game mechanics into their roleplay, as such rather than sorting out a brawl that they got into with descriptive RP combat, they would rather use the Player versus Player mechanics of the game, leaving it up to levels and OOC skills in use of abilities to decide their character's fate, growing in their roleplay as they level up themselves, getting better gear, the term I had heard for roleplayers of this genre on an old community of mines was "themeplayers" and will get to writing a bit about them in another section of my guide.

The two others that I mentioned before are left being Private and Sandbox roleplay that you may find on the official guide sticked by Perfect World entertainment, however the whole overarching point of this message is to say that yes, there are different styles of roleplaying that others use, though in "public" roleplay there is one style that everyone tends for to use, with that a set standard for such which the guide goes into in great detail and helps others who may use different styles adapt theirs to suit the expectations that is required of public roleplaying to participate without otherwise getting ignored by others for lack of understanding in Roleplay, whilst also stating it is best to have all this great information concentrated in one place rather than have it scattered all over the forums in different threads that are prone to fall out of the notice of others or simply just vanish off the forum all together.

dragoness10 · April 2014

Grammar - Appreciated, but never held against any person especially if they are NOT a native speaker of a language. What is called IC Common is most often known as English OOC, but Common itself can refer to ANY native language of an OOC group that is not currently speaking a specific IC language such as Drow, Draconic, or Orcen.

Some characters will NOT have "good IC grammar" as it is part of that character such as a character that is envisioned to sound "Irish" or "Slavic". "Top of the morning hour to thee, sir" does not sound as "Irish" as "Top o' te mornin' te ye, serrah" might.

As long as an effort is made it's fine.

TYPOS are always excused as not everyone has perfect typing skills, and indeed they may be there as part of an IC accent.

As far as types of roleplay are concerned if it doesn't suit your IC around you then quietly adapt to what's presented, or leave an area.

REMEMBER, anyone introducing things into your IC that are completely out of place can be considered IC "crazy, or delusional" by your character. So, if you're in the middle of discussions between Drow and Elves when suddenly a human starts talking about how a laser ray gun and Kevlar vests can solve it all you might just shake your head at them, and then go on with a more IC suggestion.

"Obviously Mike there has had a few too many cups of mushroomed mead speaking of Lah Sers and Keff Lars vests. Perhaps we look at these plans for a catapult?"

Replies are appreciated, but please keep them short in future so this guide remains short as well. Thank you.

dragoness10 · April 2014

If possible could this get a Sticky please? Thank you.

xdamned4life · May 2014

As I have mentioned before in the past, there is already a Roleplay guide and help which has been approved by Perfect World Entertainment and made sticky by its staff, the guide of which covers almost all of the aspects in Roleplaying, though you make a fair point upon your own guide being tailored towards it being short, condensing most of the important variables of roleplaying so that those interested can jump straight into the Roleplay though the segments of my own capitalize upon this well with having short, well detailed segments.

My main concern is that this It would seem redundant where there is already a well detailed guide already out there and that it may seem pointless for to have two sticky Roleplaying guides where as it would have been more wise for to include this short guide within the main one so that all of this important information can be concentrated in one place rather than have it scattered throughout the forums.

dragoness10 · May 2014

Your emphatic point is noted, and your highly detailed guide can be just as valid as mine.

This short guide is for those whom prefer to not read through 6-10 pages of intricate details, and would just like a starting point. Two different kinds of guides do not make either one redundant.

I think I can only repeat that so many times before it becomes redundant itself. Thank you for your concern, but it is not needed.

This short guide could also get a sticky to it, and I posted that request as it was asked of me to please get it stickied.

Let's not argue anymore, and just RP on please? Thank you.

branwentheraven · May 2014

Um....I know this probably sounds kind of dumb but can someone please explain the actual mechanics of rping in NW?
I read both guides and now feel more confused. I've been an rper for 10 years now but I've only ever done text-based rps (post-by-post forum style, I started on neopets' neoboards) and those are obviously not the type of rps that are being done around here (....right?). I'd be willing to try the new style out but I haven't a clue where to start.

dragoness10 · May 2014

"The only dumb question is one you needed to ask, but never did."

Roleplaying is to accentuate your immersion into the game itself. It's the same as managing to get yourself deep into a good book, or crying at a movie with the only exception being that YOU are doing and participating in the story telling.

You can go to Zone channel and say "LFG CN / MC / VT CW 12k+ GS" for a dungeon which is a very OOC manner to do so. It'll get you there.

However, you can start with more of a story to tell as a wizard whom has worked hard to aquire their gear, and now would like to go assist the efforts of Protector's Enclave to ensure the safety of the population at large. You see a large half-orc female being harassed by a male teifling. You step into her defence, and she is grateful for you shooing off the teifling. She's so grateful in fact she'd like to return the favor. Hefting a large axe on her shoulder you both go to find the entrance to Malabog's Castle.

So on and so forth to gather a party with a cleric, a hunter, and a rogue, and then the five of you hit up Malabog's Castle que, and run the dungeon.

Afterwards maybe the half-orc decides she just has to stay around you (so you add her to your Friends list). RP can continue even after the initial dungeon or adventure.

To borrow a movie line from Max Headroom - "I know why people like watching television so much. They figured out how boring it was to watch the radio."

This IS text based RP, but with multiple posts and pictures. What you type goes with what you see.

Again, where to start is just wander up to somebody, and say "Hi! *smiles* ". Be friendly. Put in a little effort, and you'll get effort put back to you.

If you see a silver half-dragoness in game say hi! It's me. :waves:

khatzhas · May 2014

dragoness10 wrote: »

A misunderstood nuance of shorthand. Being an RPer of many years since Gary Gygax appeared on the radar I am used to the shorthand writing of some explanations. Perhaps a more "correct" way of stating that is "PC = Player of Character"? Grammar oops noted. Post corrected.

I think it might be more correct to say that PC = Character of the player" as in the 'toon on the screen that interacts with other PCs, NPCs, kills monsters etc.

The player of the character (as in the person behind the screen/character sheet) is just the "Player".

NPC stands for "Non-Player Character" ie a 'toon that is run by the DM/computer as opposed to one that is controlled by a player.

Generally brackets are used to separate or distinguish OOC from IC text in chat. Where IC chat is the default, a single ( ) or double (( )) bracketing is used to enclose OOC text.

preygirl · May 2014

hi! in the description part where you describe urself. is it supposed to be just what others can see? or is it sposed to be a backstory? sorry, jus wonderin'. thx!

bioshrike · May 2014

preygirl wrote: »

hi! in the description part where you describe urself. is it supposed to be just what others can see? or is it sposed to be a backstory? sorry, jus wonderin'. thx!

The best thing to do is to put a little "OOC" or Out Of Character blurb for things that you want others to be able to know about your character without ever interacting with you - like maybe a piece of clothing or physical characteristic which cannot be properly portrayed by the character creator or via costume/gear options, (like a particular house's coat of arms on your tunic). You can then have an "IC" or In Character section, which is for people who just want to learn about your character, but should otherwise find out through interacting with you - like maybe you have some siblings, or you talk with a particular accent.

Beware of putting too much in character stuff in your bio, though, since some people may not make the distinction, and talk to you as though they already know these things. A safe bet can be to only put general stuff about your character there; things anyone should be able to see just by looking at you...

dragoness10 · June 2014

A few requests have been made to bump this up so I am.

Short RP 101 - Quick and Easy

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