Role Play Tips

[Ryzihem Leo Dalco]

General Format

Roleplaying at this RPG is done from a third person, limited, past-tense point of view. It is limited because overstepping the boundaries between what a player knows OOC and what the character knows IC is a line that should never be crossed. Always keep that in mind.


Text Formatting

• Thoughts - Thoughts are written in italics, and should be followed up (or preceded) by some sort of cue in the context. (Example: I wonder what she's up to, he thought.)
  

• Emphasis - Normal emphasis on words is also done in italics, and just about anyone who knows how to read will pick up on this fact when viewing it in the context of the sentence. Heavier emphasis on words may be formatted in bold or underline. But please remember (both ICly, and OOCly), WHEN YOU TYPE IN ALL CAPS, YOU ARE SHOUTING. Period.
  

Increasing IC Post Content

As you have seen in the site rules, there is a minimum of 5 sentences on all in-character posts. In order to help you fluff up your posts when you're feeling uninspired, here are some tips and tricks.

• Actions - Be descriptive when it comes to portraying actions in a post. Remember, your audience cannot see you, nor can they see inside your imagination. As a writer, it is your duty to make the story clear as it pertains to your character. When tapped for extra details, don't hesitate to give us a glance around through the eyes of your character at other (NPC) figures that may be in the area. If your character is standing on a busy sidewalk, what are the other people in his scope of vision doing? As long as you don't try to describe things of this nature for another player character, you're safe to add content in this way.
  

• Emotions - Again, we can't actually see your character, so without your assistance in the context of your posts, it's impossible for us to determine his or her moods and feelings. Likewise, if your character isn't willing to openly admit how they're feeling, then depending on their reasons for it, it may be necessary to describe such things as body language, facial expressions, tone of voice, and any of the other small details that people can read when face to face. Conversely, if your characters wish to keep these things to themselves, then that, too, needs to be made clear in your post. Otherwise, it's wide open for other players to interpret for themselves.
  

• Thoughts - Thoughts can either be obvious and active (which are the kind you would format in italics), or they may be passive and subtle. Example: As he listened to her talk, he watched the way her expressions changed, the way her lips moved, and how the light danced in her eyes; and he thought about how lovely she would be immortalized in a painting. You see I didn't have to italicize that bit about his thoughts, because he wasn't actively thinking such a thing. More like musing, really. So, don't limit yourself to only that which could be considered 'active' when regarding your character's thoughts. And of course, keep in mind that things like questions, opinions, ideas, etc. don't always have to be voiced by your character without a bit of forethought in the content preceding it (or afterthought following it).
  

• Setting - This is another vital aspect of in-character posts where you can build up your content. Just because the scene may have been set at the very beginning of a thread doesn't mean you can't expound upon it later on in the thread. It is actually quite rare for any setting to remain fixed or static the entire time. The world is constantly in motion. Even an empty room is not always what it seems at first glance. Who knows what details you might find if your character were to simply turn his gaze to his left when evading a question, or what she might see if she were to glance down for a moment while she collected her thoughts.
  

When you find yourself hard-pressed to come up with even the minimum word count, it is always best to step back and look at the situation from different angles. In most cases, giving yourself a bit of time is all it takes to build up an idea for a reply, but when all else fails, keep in mind that you do have more than one facet of any given situation. Don't hesitate to draw from them when stumped for content for your post.

But whatever you do, do NOT resort to redundancy and plagiarism simply to make it look as if you put forth an effort. Doing so not only makes you look like an amateur (and a lazy one at that), it can also get you into trouble.

Mary Sue-ing
A Mary Sue (also known as Gary Stu for guys) is the most annoying type of character out there, and is the last kind of character we'd want to see here at this site. While most identify a Mary Sue as being unrealistic and perfect, there is also the opposite end of the spectrum, which can be just as annoying. Angst is all fine and well, but wangst is outright annoying.


Godmoding
Godmoding most often refers to taking control of another player's character. In forum RP, godmoding entails dictating the thoughts, actions, words, reactions, or emotions of a character that is owned by someone else. There's only one way to remedy this: Keep your hands OFF of what does not belong to you.

Godmoding may also refer to a situation wherein a character attempts to twist a (usually harried or sticky) plotline to their favor by ridiculous means, as well as 'power-tripping' ("I'll take 'Pulling Implausible Levels of Power and/or Means of Defense Out of My Arse' for a thousand, Alex!")

I have absolutely no tolerance for this kind of behavior.


Metagaming
In forum RP, metagaming may simply be defined as crossing the line between what a player knows out-of-character, and what his or her character knows in-character. This may lead to a player having his or her character act (or react) according to information that the character technically has no viable (or believable) access to. Because of the nature of Aventine, and the level of power that some characters have, there is a zero-tolerance policy for metagaming. Try to smear the lines, and you're going to be in big trouble.


Plagiarism
Besides the traditional definition, in this context, plagiarism also refers to two RP-related issues:

1. Copying post content from others to fluff up your own - Understand, we will cut you a little slack on this in threads where there are multiple characters present, because sometimes it's necessary to repeat something someone has said, simply for the purpose of indicating which point is being addressed. However, we will not allow you to resort to copy-catting in order to build up your post content. Don't be lazy. If you want to reiterate something that happened in someone else's post in order to portray it from your character's point of view, or if you need to repeat something they said in order to really drive home your character's reaction or response to it, then by all means go right ahead. But do it in your own words!

2. Copying ideas from other members - While some things cannot be considered original to any one person (or in this case, any one character), there is a point where it becomes obvious that ideas are being copied. When a complaint of this nature is issued to the admin, the accused WILL be expected to make adequate amendments to his/her character and their profile to make them less similar to the character belonging to the plaintiff. Failure to do so will result in suspension or banishment from the site. End of discussion.

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This guide has been used with permission of mimmy of RPG Underground. Further redistribution, recreation, or reuse in any capacity is prohibited.