Post by mcgani on Mar 30, 2013 13:05:14 GMT -5
(May only be redistributed if this Copyright is attached. Feel free to use this guide, and modify Harry Potter terms to fit the theme of your own Roleplay, but please acknowledge that we took the time to write it! Thank you!)
Before you read our Roleplay Guide, everyone should know that good roleplaying is an acquired skill. The most advanced roleplayer you know had to start somewhere, you know! You will learn some basic roleplaying skills in this guide, but remember that you'll learn the most by observing your fellow roleplayers (just make sure you observe the good ones!).
LESSON ONE
Know your English!
You don’t have to be an English freak to roleplay…but perhaps you should know the basics.
Never…EVER…use netspeak (abbreviations such as ‘omg’ , ‘r u thr?’, and ‘lol’). Run-on sentences, net-speaking, and misspellings will make both your character and you look like a fool. Proofread your posts before you post them to make sure you didn't make any grammatical mistakes by accident.
When you are speaking, use quotations (“ ”). When you are talking about Hogwarts or Death Eaters, capitalize them! If you think you’ve misspelled something…you probably have. There is a spell checker available here on the forum (ctrl + s). Use it!
Which one of these would you rather read?
'john sat down at the gryffindor table ready to eat. he picked up his fork and banged it on the tabel scraeming IM HUNGRY (lol) and when the professer told him to quite down he turnd red'
- OR -
'John sat down at the Gryffindor table, famished and ready to eat. He picked up his fork and proceeded to bang it on the table. "I'm hungry!" he cried. However, when the professor told him to quiet down, John turned beet-red.'
LESSON TWO
Character Speech: It's Important!
When your character is speaking, we already know from rule #1 to use quotations.
But there are other essentials to speaking that maybe you should know.
But there are other essentials to speaking that maybe you should know.
For example, when your character is shouting. When your character is angry or just plain loud, you don’t have to over-emphasize by typing in all-caps or leaving a string of exclamation points at the end of every sentence.
For example:
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!?!!?!?” Barry exclaimed, “THAT WAS MY FAVORITE SHIRT YOU JUST RUINED!!!!!!!!”
Barry is angry, but yet this character looks like a fool. You can make your character yell without abusing the capslock key. For example, this is how Barry could have expressed his anger over the ruined shirt:
“What are you doing?!” Barry exclaimed furiously, “That was my favorite shirt you just ruined!”
Also, when your character speaks, stay IN CHARACTER. Don’t speak as you would; speak as they would! If your character has a thick accent (like Fleur or Hagrid), show it! If your character is very illiterate, make it obvious (this is the only time you’re encouraged to utilize bad grammar), if your character has a cold or a broken nose, let it be known (‘Stubefy’ instead of ‘Stupefy’)! Your character should come to life through your words; make it count!
NOTE: Please only speak in the third person. Use "he" and "she", not "I".
One last rule to speaking--er, thinking.
When your character thinks, it should be in apostrophe’s (‘ ’) and should be italicized.
When your character thinks, it should be in apostrophe’s (‘ ’) and should be italicized.
LESSON THREE
Your Entry
You have your entry typed in and you're ready to hit ‘reply.’ But is your entry ready to be sent out to the public?
One would be the length of your entry. If it’s a cheesy little one-liner like:
Raymond fired off the expelliarmus curse.
Your entry is not good enough. Try to make your entry at least three paragraphs long. You can achieve this through being descriptive.
You can turn one line into an entire paragraph if you try! Here's what Raymond did, but in much more detail:
Raymond unsheathed his wand. Being a first year, he knew next to nothing compared to this full-grown wizard; but he had to try. He had to live. The Death Eater’s lips parted as his wand raised, and Raymond shouted out the first spell that came to mind. “Expelliarmus!” he bellowed, his eyes tightly shut. He cracked them open to see a dumbfounded wizard scrambling to find his wand.
When you are descriptive, it is easier for other roleplayers to play off of you. It’s a win-win for everyone!
The only cases in which you do not have to be extremely descriptive is when you're engaged in a conversation with another person, and therefore to get a good dialogue going, the posts must be short. This is highly understandable, but do not take advantage of this, as I know the difference between dialogue and 'spam' posts (extremely short posts, usually consisting of less than ten words).
The only cases in which you do not have to be extremely descriptive is when you're engaged in a conversation with another person, and therefore to get a good dialogue going, the posts must be short. This is highly understandable, but do not take advantage of this, as I know the difference between dialogue and 'spam' posts (extremely short posts, usually consisting of less than ten words).
Also, make sure you are replying to whatever is going on. Do not make up your own thing right off the bat.
For instance, if there is a quarrel between two people and your character arrives on the scene, you probably should not post this:
For instance, if there is a quarrel between two people and your character arrives on the scene, you probably should not post this:
‘Marge strolled out onto the lawns, chomping merrily on an apple and re-playing a song by the Weird Sisters over and over in her head. She saw a nearby tree and decided that she'd love to climb it.’
Marge's entry has nothing to do with the aforementioned quarrel and it's not very easy to reply to. This entry focuses only on Marge and nobody else. Marge probably should have posted something like this:
‘Marge strolled out onto the lawns, chomping merrily on an apple and re-playing a song by the Weird Sisters over and over in her head. Gazing around her, she noticed two students were in a heated argument. Wanting to watch without getting involved, she climbed up into a nearby tree.’
This way, Marge is acknowledging the others in the area and at the same time is doing what she wants to do with her character. Also, those currently arguing can acknowledge her presence in return and not be upset that whoever is controlling Marge is just interrupting their scene with a senseless post. It makes everyone around you happy and it will make your entry longer. It's a win-win!
Before you post, check the basics:
*Does my entry fit in with what's going on?
*Is everything spelled correctly (especially HP terms)?
*Does my entry make sense?
*Am I leaving anything out?
*Is this entry long enough?
LESSON FOUR
Your Character and You
The most important part of RPG is the characters. The most common error in any character is what most call "Mary-Sue-Syndrome". We all know Mary Sue. He/she’s the most beautiful, popular, talented, perfect person you’ll ever meet. He/She never loses a fight or gets a bad grade. This person is also extremely dull.
When creating your character, flaws are a must. Nobody is perfect and those who are, are hated by everyone anyway.
It’s easy to make a flawless character; challenge yourself!
It’s easy to make a flawless character; challenge yourself!
How do you know if you’ve got a Sue? Well…
*If Ron, Harry, Draco and Neville all have crushes on your character…you might have a sue.
*If your character gets along with EVERYONE…you might have a sue.
*If there’s a problem and your character can fix/get rid of it without breaking a sweat…you might have a sue.
*If your character is a legillimens, animagus, metamorphagus, and seer…you might have a sue.
*If your character is graceful, beautiful, popular, strong, talented and smart…you definitely have a sue.
By the way, don’t feel obligated to give your character special powers. If you’re playing a student character, the odds of them being an animagus is EXTREMELY RARE. Your character can still be productive by having no other skill than good old-fashioned wizard skills.
Though few realize it, perfection is often what turns other players off from playing with you. Nobody wants to play with a Sue--he/she's boring.
The less-perfect your character is, the more fun it’ll be to play them.
Though few realize it, perfection is often what turns other players off from playing with you. Nobody wants to play with a Sue--he/she's boring.
The less-perfect your character is, the more fun it’ll be to play them.
LESSON FIVE
Metagaming/God-Modding
This is mainly an issue of common sense; but even the most experienced roleplayers make this error sometimes. It’s a very common error. It is the issue of playing YOUR character, and only your character.
A very common occurrence of this is when character #1 is thinking something, but saying something else. Wanting to be perceptive and awesome, character #2 will reply to what that character was thinking instead of what they said.
For example, if a character was thinking about the horrible mood they were in, but smiled brightly and said they were fine out loud, you shouldn't be responding as though you can tell something is wrong. That character didn't provide you with any telling body language. Therefore, you are to assume they ARE fine, and only when they give you something more, can you respond to their hidden feelings.
Another occurrence that is highly irritating to other players is when two characters are having a private conversation and are going out of their way to mention that they're whispering or are alone and can't be overheard. And then in comes Character #3, who can hear whispers through stone walls, or whatever the case may be, as they enter the scene. They somehow know what's going on, even though the other two characters expressed that it wasn't to be overheard.
That's unacceptable. If two characters aren't specifying that their conversation can't be overheard, or they aren't keeping their voices down, it's fair game. But this comes down to your respect of other players--if they don't want anyone else to hear it, respect them enough to have your character come into the situation blind. You aren't all-knowing.
For example, if a character was thinking about the horrible mood they were in, but smiled brightly and said they were fine out loud, you shouldn't be responding as though you can tell something is wrong. That character didn't provide you with any telling body language. Therefore, you are to assume they ARE fine, and only when they give you something more, can you respond to their hidden feelings.
Another occurrence that is highly irritating to other players is when two characters are having a private conversation and are going out of their way to mention that they're whispering or are alone and can't be overheard. And then in comes Character #3, who can hear whispers through stone walls, or whatever the case may be, as they enter the scene. They somehow know what's going on, even though the other two characters expressed that it wasn't to be overheard.
That's unacceptable. If two characters aren't specifying that their conversation can't be overheard, or they aren't keeping their voices down, it's fair game. But this comes down to your respect of other players--if they don't want anyone else to hear it, respect them enough to have your character come into the situation blind. You aren't all-knowing.
This is often referred to as "God-Modding" or Metagaming. Don't do it.
I REPEAT: DO NOT DO IT.
If you experience any Metagaming, ask that person to modify their post or PM this account and I'll ask them for you.
It is only okay to 'God-Mod' when you have the express permission of the person you're playing with.
I REPEAT: DO NOT DO IT.
If you experience any Metagaming, ask that person to modify their post or PM this account and I'll ask them for you.
It is only okay to 'God-Mod' when you have the express permission of the person you're playing with.
LESSON SIX
Private RPs
A private RP is simply role playing between a certain party of people who want to roleplay together with no outside interference. You can spot a private RP because it will have the character’s names in brackets and will sometimes include a title, such as:
In the Snow [Theresa, Leonard, Rob]
When you see this, DO NOT interfere with this thread. They don’t want you to jump in and if they do, they’ll ask. Just go about the RP without them, and if you really want to be a part of it, ask permission first.
If the thread does not have a bracketed list of names in it, or if it says [OPEN], it means anyone may reply. It's fair game!
LESSON SEVEN
Out of Character Chatting (OOC)
When you are role playing, sometimes it is necessary to need to speak out of character.
When this is necessary, simply write the words “OOC:” or ‘Out of Character’ and type your message. For example:
Leigh was making her way down the corridor when she bumped into Trey. “What are you doing down here?” she hissed, “This is my patrol route!”
-----------
OOC: Trey IS a prefect, right?
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OOC: Trey IS a prefect, right?
You use the Out-of-Character speak only to ask RP-related questions, or specify something RP-related. If you don’t have to use it, don’t. It clutters up the RP space and nobody cares what you have to say on the side. If you want to talk about something non-RP, you can PM them about it or visit the OOC threads located at the bottom of the forum.
LESSON EIGHT
Staying in Character
When you register, you are telling me everything you know about your character. This is for a reason: so I know what your character is like, and if I notice you going out of character, I can inform you.
Also, obviously, I'm making sure your character is right for this forum.
Also, obviously, I'm making sure your character is right for this forum.
If your character registers as a shy, soft-spoken person and they hit the boards only to make themselves the center of attention, you're being untrue to your character.
It is frustrating to see a contradictory character, especially when it's often times only so they can be the 'cool' one of the crowd. We're all nerds here; there's no need to try and be cool!
It is frustrating to see a contradictory character, especially when it's often times only so they can be the 'cool' one of the crowd. We're all nerds here; there's no need to try and be cool!
The best way to stay in character is to create someone with a personality much like your own. This way, you won't be tempted to react in a way that is opposite of your character's true personality. You should try this method of character creation when first starting out. Once you advance, maybe then you can move on to someone who you don't relate with as personally.
This is different than DEVELOPING your character.
When you register, you are asked to list aspirations/goals for your character.
You are encouraged to show development over time--just not all at once.
A character who starts off shy, but through the threads he's in and the relationships he forms, becomes more extroverted; 100% FINE.
A character who registers as shy and starts his first post as an extrovert; 0% FINE.
This is different than DEVELOPING your character.
When you register, you are asked to list aspirations/goals for your character.
You are encouraged to show development over time--just not all at once.
A character who starts off shy, but through the threads he's in and the relationships he forms, becomes more extroverted; 100% FINE.
A character who registers as shy and starts his first post as an extrovert; 0% FINE.
LESSON NINE
Simultaneous Responses
Okay, so now you have your entry all written out.
You've read over it to make sure your spelling and grammar is correct, and to make sure you've said all you've wanted to say. Needlessly said, it's perfect. So you hit that reply button.
You've read over it to make sure your spelling and grammar is correct, and to make sure you've said all you've wanted to say. Needlessly said, it's perfect. So you hit that reply button.
Now, sometimes when you hit reply, you'll notice that there is now a post there that you did not see before.
Sometimes, this post completely contradicts your perfect entry.
Sometimes, this post completely contradicts your perfect entry.
While this is unfortunate, you must be the one to edit your post to fit. In cases where two or more people post at the same time, the first one to post is always right. Anyone who posts after that is wrong, and must edit their entry or have everyone else ignore it. If someone fails to edit, their post will eventually be deleted.
LESSON TEN
Conclusions
Hopefully by now you know what a good role-play is and what a bad one is.
I hope you learned a lot from this guide, and if you still have some trouble understanding,
please Owl me or one of the other administrators of this site, and we will gladly help you!
I hope you learned a lot from this guide, and if you still have some trouble understanding,
please Owl me or one of the other administrators of this site, and we will gladly help you!
Also, watch your fellow roleplayers. They will help you the most; I cannot stress it enough!
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Have fun, and happy posting!
