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#Post#: 6699--------------------------------------------------
Roleplaying Rules and Guidelines to Remember
By: FloatingInSpace Date: December 11, 2015, 1:33 pm
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[font=arial]Welcome to Roleplaying![/font]
Roleplaying is a creative pastime where groups of people can
come together and create creative stories, based in original
worlds or ones that have already been established. It is an
opportunity for people to join together and let inspiration
flow. It's useful for developing new characters, rounding out
old-ones, or just letting the ones on the back-burner stretch
their legs! It's a way to stretch your mind and imagination and
let you be the one that makes the world turn.
However, there are some things one should keep in mind about
roleplaying. As in all things, there are general rules that are
observed by the community in order to keep the peace and more
often than not, keep roleplaying fun for everyone involved.
[size=4]General Rules
[list]
[*]No god-modding.power-playing
[list]
[li]What this essentially means is that you should not control
another person's character. While the line may grow fuzzy
sometimes, the general rule is that if your character is doing
something to another character without the other player's
permission, it is god-modding/power-playing.
For example, if your character punches another character, you
cannot say that the other character got a broken nose or fell
down on the ground. Only the other player may dictate what
happens to their character. However, just because another player
cannot dictate what happens to your character does not mean you
are allowed to make your character invincible.
A character that seemingly cannot be harmed by any of the other
characters or manages to escape doomed situations through the
power of Deus ex Machina
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DeusExMachina
is not
a fun character to play with. If other characters cannot affect
your character for whatever reason, than the RP slows to a
crawl, mostly because there is no room for character
development. If the creator can simply snap their fingers and
give their character powers that were not established before, it
renders all other characters moot.[/li]
[/list]
[*]No metagaming
[list]
[li]Sometimes, in a character application, a creator will reveal
something about the character, such as a fear or weakness that
isn't as obvious as one might expect. Other characters would
have no way of knowing this information, unless it was revealed
during roleplaying. When players use this information in-game
when it has not been made common knowledge to the characters is
frowned upon because this means that your character has an
unfair advantage. Knowledge is power, after all.[/li]
[/list]
[*]Mary Sues/ Gary Stus
[list]
[li]This is a rather controversial subject within the world of
RPing, but I will do my best to explain them as best as
possible.
Mary Sues began as a somewhat sexist term in the early years of
fanfiction. Basically, they were characters that were beloved by
all others, had some strange power that set them above everyone
else, usually had unspeakably tragic backstories, and were
generally considered the star of the show. Tropes that were
commonly associated with them included always being a beauty and
Too Good for This Sinful Earth
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth.<br
/>However, in recent years it has come to light that the term Ma
ry
Sue originated to target powerful female characters that, if
they were adjusted to be male, looked an awfully lot like the
heroes fawned over by the media and society.
However, this term is occasionally used to describe characters
that are too perfect. A tragic backstory is fine, Good Scars,
Evil Scars
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodScarsEvilScars<br
/>are generally accepted, and a character that is somewhat
powerful, perhaps more so than others, is alright in the proper
context. When a character is supposedly flawless and unable to
be weakened at all, or has an obscure weakness, then things
begin to drift towards god-modding/power-playing.[/li]
[/list]
[*]Stay active.
[list]
[li]Not so much a rule as a general courtesy, but it is usually
in good favor to stay as active as possible. Work a schedule out
with your partner or tell them a rough idea of when you can
post, like once a week, once a day, a few times a day, etc.
Whatever the case may be, leaving someone high and dry is not a
polite thing to do (unless they've really got it coming).
If you are busy or know that you are becoming busy, it is in
good sense to tell them that you will be busy and to expect a
delay. No word for weeks at a time might make your partner less
inclined to pick up the RP when you do respond.
If you want to drop an RP, tell the person. It might seem rude
and mean, but if you are uninterested, the general idea is that
you should inform the other person that you will no longer be
responding. That way, they're not sitting around waiting for
something that'll never show up. Plus, you may be able to try
something new if you're so inclined.[/li]
[/list]
[*]OOC talk
[list]
[li]OOC talk is usually done in double parenthesis ((like this))
before or after the bulk of the true RPing. It can also be
dictated with OOC: in front of it. However, some people like to
keep threads clean and therefore have an OOC thread, especially
if there are a lot of people involved or PM future plans.[/li]
[/list]
[*]Be respectful (and remember what is in-character)
[list]
[li]Sometimes, things get heated. When this happens, it is
important to differentiate what is in-character and what is out
of character. You should never say something directly to the
creator that is rude or disrespectful. However, if your
characters are conceited asses, then perhaps it is in their
nature to say such things. This leads into another part of being
respectful;
Put down ground rules. What can or cannot be said, what triggers
and squicks you, etc. You cannot read each other's minds; if
something comes up that makes one of you uncomfortable it is
your duty to state this and it is the responsibility of the
other to change so that the incident doesn't come up again.[/li]
[/list][/list]
#Post#: 6721--------------------------------------------------
Re: Roleplaying Rules and Guidelines to Remember
By: FloatingInSpace Date: December 11, 2015, 2:48 pm
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How to Create a Character
Creating a character might seem intimidating. As started
previously, the term Mary Sues and Gary Stus have fallen out of
favor with the general community, but there is still much to be
learned and said about creating a character. As in most things,
this is a learning curve. No one starts out a great writer, like
no one starts out as a great artist or a fantastic chemist or a
stunning pianist. It takes time to develop those skills. Here
are a few pointers about creating characters that might be
useful to you.
[list]
[*]Know what the limits are.
[list]
[li]The creator or GM (game master) that began the RP and
therefore has a rough idea of the plot/world should set limits
on what characters can and cannot do and what is reasonable in
the RP. If there are supernatural creatures, what creatures are
playable? Gods, vampire, werewolves, faes, kelpies? If you want
to make a superhero, what is the upper limit? Is someone like
Doomsday
HTML http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Doomsday_(New_Earth)
(a total
power-player, not going to lie) acceptable? (My money is on no.
No one likes Doomsday. I will fight you over this.)
If you have questions or doubts, ask. It is the role of the GM
to answer questions if they are not clear or listed in the
information dump they should be providing you. Try to be as
polite as possible (aka do nothing Space would normally say
about anything) and remember that they are as human as you.
If they are unnecessarily rude, however, you might be better off
finding another RP.[/li]
[/list]
[*]Well-rounded characters are not perfect.
[list]
[li]No one is perfect. No one.
This sort of goes hand-in-hand with god-modding/power-playing.
Give your character weaknesses. Flesh them out. Give them
undesirable traits because we all have them. Allow them to make
mistakes, get defeated, find themselves in tough situations
where they need help. You character is no fun if they're a
metaphorical angel.[/li]
[/list]
[*]Diversity counts, diversity matters.
[list]
[li]We have enough white, cishet males on television, in movies,
standing in front of us day in and day out. This is not to say
that they can't be interesting characters; they certainty can
be! And a character's gender/race/sexual/gender orientation does
not dictate their worth or should be their whole character. My
point is that if all of your characters have this same baseline,
well... You're not being very creative in a way.
In the modern era, people who are not heterosexual face
different obstacles to their heterosexual counterparts. People
who are cis male have different expectations that people who are
cis female or neither. People who are black face different
obstacles than people who are Asian or Latino or Hispanic or
white or any combination of those and all the other ones I
failed to name.
Once again, I'd like to state that your characters'
gender/race/sexual/gender orientation should NOT be their whole
personality (see Stereotypes and Tropes bulletpoint). But when
you have a loaves of white bread for breakfast every day, don't
you want something new? Representation is startling absent in
our mainstream media. Don't let it be absent in a pastime that
is important to all those groups as well.
[/li][/list]
[*]Stereotypes and Tropes
[list]
[li]You're going to use them. That's just how it is. Every last
idea has been used, every last character trait, every last
adventure, quest, theme, moral... There have been millions of
stories told throughout the years. Nothing will be totally
original. Embrace it.
But also don't embrace it.
Tropes such as the Chosen One(s)
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheChosenOne,<br
/>Friendly Enemies
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FriendlyEnemy?from=Main.Frenemy,<br
/>Rags to Riches
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RagsToRiches,<br
/>Intelligence Equals Isolation
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IntelligenceEqualsIsolation,<br
/>and more have been used a thousand times over by some of the
"best" authors around. Harry Potter had the Rule of Three
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfThree,
It Sucks
to Be the Chosen One
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ItSucksToBeTheChosenOne,<br
/>and Only I Can Kill Him
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OnlyICanKillHim,
to
name a few. There's tons of them in TV shows like Buffy the
Vampire Slayer (Action Girl
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActionGirl,
Ironic
Name,
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IronicName
to name
two of a ton), and so did Lord of the Rings,
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheLordOfTheRings<br
/>and even fanfiction occasionally dips into this (Lampshade
Hanging
HTML http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/LampshadeHanging
is
one of the ones I've seen that is most popular). These tropes
are pretty much harmless when executed in small doses and used
sparingly. When used a ton, they start to weigh down the plot
and the character and start to make things feel... eugh, for
lack of a better term.
But if you start having those token characters (the gay friend,
the bitchy blonde, the gangster black man), then you're running
into problems and harmful stereotypes. It's not to say that
those type of people don't exist, but if a character's entire
personality is being gay or being a blonde or if they are every
single gangster stereotype that is known to mankind and then
some...
You're not really fleshing them out. You're not making them
creative or making them enjoyable to play with. You're making
their entire personality one word in a way, and you're making
them something that can be borderline offensive.
[/list]
[*]Practice.
[list]
[li]I still make sh*t characters.
Really, I do.
I've been RPing for just over a year now and I consider myself
half-decent and while I try over and over to make interesting
characters, they sometimes fall flat.
There's no way in hell you're going to be good at creating
characters on the fly or no if you don't sit down and try over
and over and over again. It's the same with art, with math, with
science and any other talent you're aiming for. If you just give
up after the first attempt, nothing's getting done. This may
seem blunt and borderline rude but it's the truth. No one became
good overnight. Pump something out, sit back, relax. Re-read,
examine, re-do if need be. Get help from others. Read and watch
others. Get healthy criticism and give it as well. "Get gud" is
only applicable if you do it and "get gud" is at once the
shittiest and the best advice I have ever gotten in my life.
It'll probably be that way for you, too.[/list][/list]
This is an intro, with the bare basics. Obviously, creating a
character is a lot more complicated and lot harder than a simple
bulletpoints. You're going to end up making bad ones and good
ones and you're going to end up having to toss some that you
thought were great once before and remake ones that you still
love. So get out there and try and always keep in mind that
there's a lot more to creating characters than just a few traits
to try on.
#Post#: 6723--------------------------------------------------
Re: Roleplaying Rules and Guidelines to Remember
By: FloatingInSpace Date: December 11, 2015, 2:58 pm
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Terms
[list]
[*]Textspeak- Basically what it sounds like. Text that seems to
be what you would usually do when you IM or text someone and are
being lazy. (lol, omg, ttyl, brb, XD) Usually frowned upon
during RPing unless it is used in the context of a text message
or something similar. May or may not be accepted in OOC chat.
[*]Literacy- Grammar, spelling, punctuation. Literacy is
basically how easy a post can be read. Most experienced RPers
prefer literate partners as reading posts with "bad" writing can
be hard to understand and even frustrating, as it feels like
you're not getting back what you're investing into the work.
[*]GM- Game master, person who created the RP and is controlling
it.
[/list]
More to be added later
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