Mkay people! I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. xD Yeah right. I hope you came to read. I dont mean to be rude, but I think that a good portion of the RP'ers here on AT should probably take part, because alot of you have some ways to go. But worry not! I will make you all better RP'ers! Yazy! Now then, first and foremost, a big long shpeal about RPing as a whole.


Critical Terms you should be aware of!

GM: Game Master/Moderator. He or she who is in charge of that RPG. Anyone can become a GM. You just need to make your own RPG (ie: start your own thread). ^_~
OOC: Out of Character. Please put this in front of any comments you make in a RPG thread that are yourself saying it, and not your character.
IC: In Character. This should be used if you're posting as your character.

A RPG has several different types of posts within them. I label them as:

1. Development Posts: What you shall be doing now. These posts are heavily reliant on writing, creativity and development. Awareness and justification take on lesser roles since not much happens at these stage asides from setting the scene. These kinds of posts are for intros and exploring new areas. Often the GM will state when development posts should occur.
2. Sole Action Posts: Where perform actions which only involve yourself and no one else. These are heavily reliant on writing, and justification. Awareness is also important.
3. Interaction Posts: Where you perform actions which involve yourself interacting with other characters. In these posts you should be careful to not control any character except your own, and to leave the outcome of your actions open ended (so if you punch someone you do not specify if the punch hits, nor how much damage it does). All skills are vital in interaction posts.

I have left the description of the building that you are currently in deliberately open ended. I want you guys to focus on development, and writing to begin with, the two most basic aspects of roleplay.

The best roleplayers are typically the ones that can:

1. Write and describe well. Show and not tell the reader. But also be concise; there's no need to throw in words and description for the sake of it. If the scene is already set, then you do not need to set it once more, for instance.
2. Be inventive and creative. Make good use of what you have. Come up with intelligent and imaginative ideas.
3. Be able to develop both characters, help develop plot, and surroundings in a manner that benefits the roleplay.
4. Justify your actions, and be aware of other actions. You need to be realistic. Pulling absurdly powered attacks out of thin air would NOT be justified for example.
5. Respect the other roleplayer as a person, and not insult them OOC or bare grudges towards them. OOC flaming and insults are not tolerated. You should both be open minded, and try and resolve any arguments as quickly as possible if a GM is not present.

Writing and Description tips.

One key element to roleplaying is writing. To fully interact with the others you should be able to vividly describe the world, actions and your character in a competent and interesting manner. There are certain customs which are advisable to follow in good roleplaying...

Third person: A key element in RPing. It's all about the posts. Posting in third person greatly improves the quality and readability of a players post. Third person uses the prospective of an outsider, an omnipotent being that watches the events unfold as the writer sees fit. Example:

The sky was dimly overcastted. No breeze stirred the stale air as he walked forward, putting one foot in front of the other in an almost mechanical motion. Expressionless eyes stared straight ahead, unseeing of the barren wasteland around him.

First person posts, which use, 'I and me' in its descriptive language is very limiting and is often hard for the other players to act off of.

Past Tense: The traditional form of writing in roleplay is the past tense.
For example:
He picked up the axe. = Correct way to phrase it
He picks up the axe = Incorrect way to phrase it

Separating dialogue and action:

If you use, "speech marks to indicate that someone is speaking," then please ensure that you start a new a new paragraph for the beginning of that sentence. This makes it far easier to distinguish what is dialogue and what is action.
For example:

Xavier grasped the manhole cover and gasped as he struggled to remove it. "There is no way you can lift that," Snider smirked. He was going to enjoy watching this spectacle. = Incorrect way to phrase it

Xavier grasped the manhole cover and gasped as he struggled to remove it.

"There is no way you can lift that," Snider smirked. He was going to enjoy watching this spectacle = Correct way to phrase it

Try to show and not tell:

That is be descriptive in how you explain what happens to the reader. Try to paint a picture in their mind of the action, explaining how it feels, smells, looks and sounds rather than simply stating what's happening. This is often a flaw for a lot of writers and roleplayers and can take a long time and a lot of practice to master. However at the same time be careful you only include the description that is needed! Don't write out paragraphs about the color of the sky. If a post needs to be only three lines long (unusual case, but possible if you're waiting on another player to say reply to a piece of dialogue) then only make it three lines long!

Development tips.

Development can be split into three aspects:

1. Character Development.
2. Plot Development.
3. Background Development.

Character development has already been achieved somewhat through the creation of your characters. However this initial phrase presents an excellent opportunity to continue to fine tune your character's personality and appearance. Remember that tweaking of a character profile IS allowed at this stage, since this is only a test rpg after all. Remember also that this character you will be able to reuse in future rpgs. Really you should be looking to build a selection of characters which you can use for different styles of roleplay (with certain tweaks here and there).

Plot development is one crucial aspect of GMing. Later on in this rpg I shall be handing over the control of the plot direction to the best roleplayer. For now I shall retain this. Remember that you are encouraged to push things along through your character exploring and searching out for new things. Also this should include how you all interact as a group. One vital thing to remember is that you should wait for the GM to open further things up if there is a major change in your surrounds or situation.

Background development is what is necessary currently with regards to this world. What does the room you're in look like for instance? What does ruined London look like? These developments are vital to establishing a world which seems real. Remember that this is NOT the job of the GM, but of YOU, the roleplayer (unless the GM intervenes in certain circumstances). Also remember that once something has been established you must keep to it. Also note that you can always describe something in more detail if you feel a previous description was inadequate ( for instance someone describes a room but neglects to mention if there are any windows within it).

OTHER MINOR TIPS THAT WE WILL COVER IN MORE DEPTH LATER ON:

Awareness tips: Awareness is self explanatory.. you should make sure that you do your background research on this RPG. Make sure that when you interact with another character that you READ their character profile (see the other signup thread). Also ensure that you do not post something that contradicts what other folk have posted and ESPECIALLY what the GM has posted.

Note: Another aspect of awareness is being aware of situations which will affect how your character acts. For instance, this loss of memory SHOULD affect your character immensely in different ways depending on his or her personality. Typically I'd expect them to be a tad shocked though!

Justification Tips: Remember to fully justify your actions in terms of your personality, abilities and situation. Anything that's just highly unlikely IS god modding, which is basically cheating (also metagaming is included in this, which is where you use something you know OOC to assist your character IC). The GM will void your post, or ask you to change it if he deems that you are guilty of this. For attacks or actions on another player, we are using what is known as the 'open style' system of play.

The Open Style of roleplay or sparring revolves around as little modding, or use of your opponent's character, as possible. It involves your character throwing attacks or actions and your opponent deciding what damage they do and whether or not they connect. As an opponent, you should never dodge every attack or have no attack affect your character, which is bad sparring and falls into the category of god-modding. Note that a GM will typically assist in deciding if an attack or action connects or not if there is a dispute.

There are also what we call hybrid and closed styles, but these are slightly more advanced styles which we shall not be covering in this training.

Respect Tips: Remember that at the end of the day this is a GAME! While you may battle or argue with someone IC, KEEP this IC. Do not fall out with someone for real over this. If you feel something unfair has been done then complain to the GM.

PLEASE RESPECT ALL FELLOW RPERS!!! This is one of the most important things in RPing! Follow that old saying, treat others the way you want to be treated.

Creativity Tips: Remember to be creative, folks... Your imagination can and WILL assist you in everything you do.




Mkay, I want you all taking part in this to read through the above VERY carefully. I didn't spend countless hours gettiing that all together for nothing. READ IT!!!!

Now then, after reading that I want you all to complete your first assignment. Mkay? Yes, I know, frightening concept, but I really do have a purpose! So, we're going to start with the very basics. I want each of you to create a character bio. You can use a character you've RP'd in the past, or you can create one from scratch. It doesnt matter. Now then, I'm not going to tell you what to include, I first want to see what you guys think you need to include. But you'll all need a charie sheet. For those of you not knowing what one of those is, observe:

Name:

Age:

Gender:

etc....... Add as much or as little as you think you need, and then I'll go back and give comments. Mkay? Also, your bio will constitute you signing up for the "course". Now, I know for those of you who aren't completely bad at RPing, this may seem pretty "wtf?" But honestly, we all really need to START WITH THE BASICS!!!! I can't stress this enough. So then, I suggest well hop to it~! And thanks for putting up with me~! ::smooch::