Roleplaying Hints, Tips, Dos and Don'ts

'''1. DO NOT MOVE OTHER PLAYERS' CHARACTERS. DO NOT ASSUME YOUR SLASH, SPELL, PUNCH, SHOVE, GRAB, KISS, OR OTHER PHYSICAL CONTACT WAS SUCCESSFUL. DO NOT SPEAK FOR OTHER PLAYERS CHARACTERS.'''

This is called god-modding or power-playing, and not doing it is harder than it sounds. If you find that you feel like you need the other person's reaction before you can go on, stop, and leave them time to respond. Every description says something about our characters, so don't speak or act for someone else! NPCs, (non-player-characters) are exceptions of course but don't overuse those either.

We play in a fighting world where the occasional attack is going to be aimed at the occasional fellow player or monster. When this occurs, you need to write your post in such a way that you are explaining what your character is doing, and what he/she hopes is the result of that, and then stop, giving the GM or other player time to decide the actual result. Remember, you can attempt to attack, but confirming that you hurt another character in a post is a sure way to get banned. Here's a hypothetical example here of two characters falling into such a situation:

''Nelson took careful aim directly at Deathwalker's head. That robot was an idiot and had taken advantage of him too many times! Not now! With the authority of an expert marksman and officer, he shot his luger at the steel brain.''

Now, the Nelson player would stop their post, to give the Deathwalker player or the GM time to decide how to respond. As the player being attacked, Deathwalker needs to think how he would react and be realistic. Take power levels, skills, techniques and other abilities into consideration before writing your post. Remember that you don't always have to "win", and sometimes writing the spectacular "loss" is just as fun and entertaining to roleplay, and challenging as a writer.

''Deathwalker stared down the old luger and lit up with delight. That puny little weakling wouldn't dare shoot him. Before he can even charge his phaser, the lead shot cracks straight through his armor. His circuits fail, servos freeze, and the man is left alone with his gun and the dead shell of a robot.''

Or whatever. Maybe Deathwalker would decide that he raises his gun in time and even shot at Nelson first, at which point he would need to stop and give Nelson time to decide how to respond... you get the point.

2. DO NOT JOIN AN ADVENTURE IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TIME TO KEEP UP.

Role play can be time consuming, and if you do not have the time to read and respond to the posts in the time specified for the adventure, please do not join. If you are going to be away for any length of time, please write your character temporarily out, so that the other characters can continue without you. Expeditions only require one post per day, so the average player has plenty of time.

3. PAY ATTENTION TO AND READ THE POSTS BEFORE YOU.

Your fellow role-players have taken the time to write out what their characters are doing/thinking/feeling/saying. They might have told you through body-language clues, where they are sitting or standing, what they are wearing, et cetera. Read the post you are responding to several times so you can 'see' the picture in your head, and respond to what they have said or done. If you ignore them and just do whatever you want, then you are disrespecting your fellow players, and you will find that people avoid interacting with your character or the GM comes up with a creative punishment for you.

4. RESTRICTED ADVENTURES.

Sometimes a GM may want to have an adventure that only allows specific people, and doesn't want the flow to be interrupted by additional characters, even if it's appropriate for them to be in the same place or time as they are. If this is the case, they will put in the ad for the adventure something about a limit on characters or a prerequisite for the participants. This is not being rude, it's making sure we don't embarrass ourselves by stepping in where they don't want us! Players can always request to enter any adventure, but that doesn't mean the GM will let them.

5. ASK THE GM BEFORE JOINING AN ADVENTURE IN PROGRESS

Even if it started out open to anyone, if the adventure has started and they are fairly far off, don't just butt in because it looks like fun. An additional character might disrupt the flow. Post in the ad for the adventure in either the nonstory or story related forums to ask the other players involved before stepping in.

6. DESCRIPTIONS ARE THE BEST!

Dialog is important, of course. But what makes roleplaying fun and fascinating to read and play is the 'behind the scenes' stuff. What is your character thinking? What is the environment surrounding them? What are they wearing? Facial expressions? You don't need to post a novel, nor even all the details of each and every action, but think about the things that are important at the time. If they are laying under a tree, please say something so that someone doesn't come along and say something about your nice house!

Also remember the rule of "Show, don't tell." Why tell us that you're fearless and deadly, when you can show us that by describing the way you walk, talk and the weapons you carry.

7. CHARACTER KNOWLEDGE VS PLAYER KNOWLEDGE.

This is a very hard concept for even advanced players to master. It is easy to forget if your character was actually there when you read something, or if you were just looking in. Know that as a player, you are getting to read background, history and things in each post that your character might not know or have access to.

Please be very cautious as you play that you are not jumping to conclusions based on what you, as a player, know, that your character would not have access to yet.

It is a fine line to walk, and takes some additional thought. It also takes a great deal of respect for your fellow players and willingness to nicely say to someone, "Hey, Renata, my journal entry about Princess Leiko's secret lust for Ted was a private entry in my journal, so Buttercup doesn't know that yet, would you edit your post please?"

If you receive that sort of friendly request from another player or the GM, please be courteous and edit the post in question in a timely fashion. It's an easy mistake to make, and also easy to repair if we're all friendly and communicative with each other.

8. CANONIZATION.

Please consider these points as you play your characters. Remember that our primary guide for this 'world' is the real world and the myths and other canon (That is, from other universes i.e. Marvel, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean) sources we take from. We aim to be realistic while still allowing for flexibility during play. Read up on a canon character you plan to use before you use such a character.

Don't play your canon characters as different than they are in canon unless you are specifically changing the character to be that way. Don't play your beholders as nice and friendly, your clumsy padowan as instantly graceful, your canon idiot as suddenly a genius. Try and keep canon characters as canon. Please do not play your original characters as harder/better/faster/stronger/smarter than a canon characters who is already known for that or a character that has a skill that enhances that trait. No one is going to be a better and more powerful wizard than Dumbledore.

9. FRIENDSHIPS AND OTHER RELATIONSHIPS.

Building all sorts of relationships in a roleplaying game is very fun. Don't neglect to build enemies as well as friends. Having people really, really hate your character is just as interesting and character-building as having tons of friends. Focusing on one aspect of a character makes them two dimensional and dull.

Don't presume that you know the relationship of another player's character in relation to yours without discussing it with the other party first. It is not necessary to play out every single interaction, and it is easier to be a newbie in a game if you can step in and say, "Hey, I'm from the same planet/town/city/kingdom as your character. Is it okay if we had this ongoing friendship/hatred/whatever?"

On the other hand, it is not cool to step in and say, "I'm a old vampire, and I was Grayell's first crush before he decided he liked that fae better..."

The universe is huge. Use the PM system to communicate with the players of characters whom your character would logically know or will meet, and discuss their mutual backstory as you settle in to your character's place in the world.

10. HEALING.

As we start tossing weapons and spells around, people are going to get hurt. Half the fun of this is then letting people like the resident doctor come and heal you. It's also great to have people come and visit you in the infirmary. On the other hand, it delves into the realm of comedy if a character overplays their injury. Then again, it's way too annoying when a character who gets massively injured hops right up, dusts himself off, and walks painlessly away.

Think of the injuries in terms of what you know about your own body. Would you really walk bravely away after a massive sprain to the ankle? Sometimes a minor injury is very incapacitating for a brief time. A hard land on the head will cause a person to see stars and be dizzy for several minutes afterward. Most superficial cuts and scrapes, however, would not be debilitating or cause excessive blood loss unless they were left untended for a long time.

11. STRETCHY TIME ISSUES AND CHALLENGES.

One of the ‘tricky’ things about running on ‘real-time’, where one day of game time equals one day of real time, is that it is hard to complete any given thread in one actual day. It is also sometimes necessary to jump ahead, even when past threads are not done, so that our character’s current plots can keep moving.

However, don't forget the threads which are still ‘behind’. If they get left for too long, they become irrelevant. It is quite frustrating to be a player in one of those ‘past’ threads, and feel ‘stuck’ because you aren’t sure how it will end, especially when you see another player bouncing on ahead as though the outcome of your thread with that person has no bearing on their own character.

When you come to the game with the time and intent to post, think first about the threads ‘behind’ you. Is it “your turn” to reply there? If so, it is courteous and beneficial for game-health for you to post in that past thread before posting in your current adventure.

If you are one of the ‘stuck’ players, please take this up with the individuals involved, first. Send an PM reminding the person that the thread is open and you need to know how it resolves in order to be able to move your own character forward. Much of this can often be done in behind the scenes communication, and a post or two will often resolve the thread satisfactorily for all parties. If your fellow player seems unable or unwilling to help you finish the thread, please bring the issue to an Admin or GM so we can help find a solution.