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 Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:26 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"How to Roleplay" Guide: Introduction ❥ Greetings, and welcome to the official "How to Roleplay" Guide. As the Roleplay Moderator, I will provide you the basic fundamentals of roleplaying and, hopefully, these tools will help you. If you have any questions or concerns about this guide, please private message me and I will respond. (Just so that you know, I am less likely to respond if there is either "no subject" or if you post it here.) All credit goes to the users: Lieutenant Sarach Hawkeye and Bluebeltcat. Introduction | Terminology | Categories/Examples | Applying for a Roleplay | Creating your own Roleplay | Resources | F.A.Q
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:27 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"How to Roleplay" Guide: Terminology ❥ Before you learn how to roleplay, you must first understand what the term "roleplaying" is as well as other terms regarding to roleplaying:1. Roleplaying: The act of role playing, for all intensive purposes, is acting out the actions of another. It is what the name implies- you are playing the role of another. If you have ever played through a video game in story mode, you have role played. If you have ever dressed up as a character from a series on Halloween or for a convention, you have role played in real life.
What we do here is forum role playing, which is commonly shortened to 'RP'. Someone creates a story, and the members of that thread create their own characters. Then everyone starts posting, telling what their character does and says. Key is the character interaction and progression of the story. 2. Status: the current position of a roleplay using the terms: Open, Accepting, Under Construction, or Closed. 3. Open: one of the terms used to explain a status. It means that the roleplay has started.4. Accepting: one of the terms used to explain a status. It means that the roleplay is accepting Gaians to join.5. Under Construction: one of the terms used to explain a status. It means that the roleplay is currently either editing things or it is unfinished with its layout. 6. Closed: one of the terms used to explain a status. It means that the roleplay is closed or unactive, nothing more to it.7. Profile Skeleton: A filled out profile skeleton of a character. These commonly include the character's name, age, appearance, bio and race. Sometimes Weapon, height, weight, and affiliation are also asked for. 7. OOC: Means 'out of character'. When someone types 'OOC' before whatever it is they have typed, it means that what they are about to say is not what their character is saying or doing. This is usually to ask and answer plot questions or the need for clarification on what is happening in the thread. These are commonly surrounded by parentheses or brackets to differentiate it from their character's action text. 8. Bio: Short for biography. In general terms, this means the profile skeleton you have to fill out and return to the thread owner. If it is listed in the things you need to answer in your profile skeleton, it means your character's story.9. Character: The person being played. In a role play, each person should have one or more characters. 10. Cybering: when one or more characters are doing sexually explicit things. Gaia is a PG-13 site; this is not allowed on the the site or in the guild. 11. Godmodding: this is controlling any other character, the weather, the plot, or surroundings. Your characters aren't all powerful- don't make it so they can hit every shot they're aiming at, or can never be hit by someone. EVERY character has a weakness. Introduction | Terminology | Categories/Examples | Applying for a Roleplay | Creating your own Roleplay | Resources | F.A.Q
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:28 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"How to Roleplay" Guide: Categories/Examples 1. Illiterate: This is where someone posts a simple, one to three lined amount that has little description, uses --, **, etc to surround the posts or the character's actions. These post usually have little thought put into them and have mistakes. Sometimes, if the case is really bad, parts of the posts will be in different tenses, using "ed" at the end of verbs, the switching to putting "s", and vice-versa. These Roleplayers are considered annoying due to their tiny contributions to the storyline.
Example: -Enters the room, hands full of things- Ah there you are I've been looking for you -Sits down on a chair-2. Semi-Literate: Semi-literacy has a wide range of roleplayers that lay in this category. It is pretty self-explanatory, since it is mainly everything in between being Illiterate and being Literate.
Example: (Again, this is self-explanatory. Use your imagination.)3. Literate: Proper paragraphing, grammar, and spelling is essential for the act of obtaining this rank. This means that the Roleplayer is advanced, or at least takes pride in their work. The description flows well, complementing each movement that the character executes. This is the highest rank that there is among roleplayers, and it takes someone determined (or naturally talented at creative writing), to achieve this rank. Not only is the writer telling what the character does and says, they state how they feel about the situation as well. Of course, this does not mean that the post needs to be abnormally long, it just means that a lot of attention is directed into editing and perfecting the post.
Example: Blue entered the room, struggling under the weight of the books that burdened his arms. The stale smell of wood still tainted the air, but it was a rather comforting aroma, as opposed to some others that easily could have been there. He hobbled his way over to a table, abruptly dumping his pile in front of Lissa, spreading them out for her to get a good look, and quickly trying to smooth the newly formed wrinkles from his blazer.
"There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere..." He muttered, scratching the back of his neck as he pulled up a chair.
"This is all that I could find about roleplaying in the short time limit that I was given... I'm sorry if it isn't enough for you..." He added, folding his arms on the smooth, wooden table top and examining the room with his alert, red eyes.
The table sat near a long, tall window, giving a clear view of the waterfront, a short ways from the school. Sun shimmered off of the water's transfixing surface, the occasional duck's wings cutting gracefully through the humid summer air. Blue admired the scenery, wishing that he was outside, rather then in this cramped classroom. That didn't mean that he was going to leave Lissa to study alone, though. He gave her a sweet smile as he turned his distracted attention back to her.
"I would be happy to help with any questions that you may have. It is what I'm known for, after all." He said kindly, giving a small nod, hoping to show that he'd be there to help if he was needed.
Introduction | Terminology | Categories/Examples | Applying for a Roleplay | Creating your own Roleplay | Resources | F.A.Q
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:30 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"How to Roleplay" Guide: Applying for a Roleplay 1. Step One: Read everything the front page of the thread has to offer- Rules, Story, Requirements, etc. EVERYTHING. 2. Step Two: Note what the thread owner wants- sometimes they want you to PM them your profile. Otherwise, you post it. Occasionally they will also require that you type something or include a particular emote. If their instructions are unclear, ask. Copy and paste their profile skeleton, then fill it out. 3. Step Three: Post your profile or send it to the thread owner according to their instructions.Filling out a Profile Skeleton: This seems to be really hard for people sometimes. I will cover all of the common ones and a few of the uncommon ones, as well as a few tips. On a role play, you should see something like this:Quote: Name: The name of your character Age: How old your character is Bio: The story of your character- what is his/her past like? Family, significant events, reasons why he/she is the way he/she is Appearance: This can be a description or a picture. Some Thread owners require one or the other.
Other ones that periodically show up:Quote: Gaia name: Your user name. The reason for this one is because your profile is going on a big list. Its a lot easier if you can quickly link a user to their profile, rather than having to dig through posts and link your character name to one of your posts. Height: how tall your character is standing up straight Weight: how heavy your character is Weapon: Pops up in threads that will have violence in them- if your character carries around a weapon, provide either a description of it or a picture. If your character does not have a weapon, put -no weapon- Affiliation: This usually comes up when there are two or more factions in a role play. Race/Species: Since we are dealing with fantasy, some people are going to be something not human. This is where you let people know if you are human or something else Gender: Pretty straight forward- If your character a boy or a girl? Personality: What is your character like? Put that here. Powers: Any special abilities your character has. Can he/she fly? Does he/she naturally heal quickly? Quote: Name: Rebecca O'Conner Age: 17 Appearance: Short dark red hair, blue eyes, tall. Wearing a pleated knee-length skirt, white peasant shirt, dark corset and a patched messenger bag Race: Tree Nymph Personality: Quiet, happy, dependable Powers: Hiding in trees, able to talk to animals and minor healing Introduction | Terminology | Categories/Examples | Applying for a Roleplay | Creating your own Roleplay | Resources | F.A.Q
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:31 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"How to Roleplay" Guide: Creating your own Roleplay If you can role play, you can make a role play. YES. It is that simple.
So? What do you need?
A couple of things. Quote: A title. A story. A statement. A skeleton for players to fill out. Rules. Your own profile.
You're probably going to want to type these sections up in a word document so you can tweak it how you want and make sure you have everything you need before you post. You don't want to look silly to your fellow role players!
So... Lets have a closer look at each of those sections.1. Title: This is your initial catch. Think of the role plays that have caught your attention in the past. What did you like about them? Remember, try to keep your title related to your story. 2. The Story: This is the premise to your whole role play. Here you will talk about the world you and your fellow role players will be in. What is it like? Why is it significant? Is there something happening there? Will something bad happen soon? Its like that paragraph or two on the back of a book that is supposed to capture your interest. 3. The Statement: Very important! This lets role players know what you want. If you want a certain amount of boys and girls, say so. If you want those profiles sent to you, say so. 4. The Skeleton: This is all of the information you want from the role players. Things like name, age, appearance and race are important to you and anyone else who is joining. 5. The Rules: Its usually pretty straight forward and restating forum rules isn't always necessary, but its common. This is a good place to put special rules if you want to make sure you avoid certain mishaps. BE SURE TO ENFORCE THEM.
6. Your Own Profile: You want to play too! So fill out the skeleton you provided and post your own profile in the thread. Introduction | Terminology | Categories/Examples | Applying for a Roleplay | Creating your own Roleplay | Resources | F.A.Q
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:33 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"How to Roleplay" Guide: Resources ❥ Here, I will list some resources and some helpful tips that I believe you should apply to your roleplaying.
To put a picture in your post, find a picture you like. Photobucket.com and Deviantart.com are good places. You can either paste the raw link, or you can post the picture itself. To do that, you need to host it on photobucket (so the link does not break or get deleted) and copy paste the IMG code it gives you. Alternate options are using tektek.org to create a gaia character that looks how your character looks, or you can draw one(This would require either a scanner or a really good shot with a camera. Posting it is the same as if it was a regular picture- photobucket to host).
Also note, that if the picture is bigger than the forum page, DON'T POST THE IMAGE. It stretches the page and is annoying. Post a link to it instead. To do that, copy the DIRECT LINK and post it in this code:[url=directurlhere]Image[/url] Don't go the DARK AND MYSTERIOUS route. Its not unique.
Do only what you're comfortable with. Its really irritating to have someone who can't stay in character because that's just outside of what they can do.
Click here to access other resources such as: color, symbols, etc. Introduction | Terminology | Categories/Examples | Applying for a Roleplay | Creating your own Roleplay | Resources | F.A.Q
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Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2011 6:34 pm
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"How to Roleplay" Guide: F.A.Q ❥ None yet. c: Introduction | Terminology | Categories/Examples | Applying for a Roleplay | Creating your own Roleplay | Resources | F.A.Q
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