pinned Roleplaying Guide: RP101

First, a disclaimer:




Though I've been an avid roleplayer for over a decade, I am by no means an expert. I frequently fall prey to RP pitfalls and situations where my characters just don't 'click'. I'm hoping that by making this thread I will be able to help new (and possibly veteran) Roleplayers avoid the same situations.


Some things that I hope to address in this thread are:

Character Creation: Tropes & Cliches

Introductions: How to Win Friends and Make (IC) Enemies

Metagaming and It's Effects

Roleplaying Etiquette

Character Creation: Tropes & Cliches

It is very common, when building a new character, to give your brand new personality something special. Something that makes them really stand out. Here is where the use of a trope or cliche often comes into play.

A literary trope is defined by the use of figurative language for artistic effect. For example, a figure of speech. Trope also applies to the use of a plot device or character archetype when writing creative fiction (read: Roleplaying). It is this second definition we will be focusing on. Now, there is nothing wrong with using a trope or a cliche in the creative process. They exist because they resonate with readers and when used correctly, make darn good characters!

For an extremely extensive list of tropes, check out this site: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage.

Example of a Trope:

"Action Genre Hero Guy": A very specific example of the Action Hero trope. From Tvtropes.com http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ActionGenreHeroGuy.

Something to avoid, however, is making your character TOO cliched. A cliche is boring, overused and trite. You may be able to get away with one or two, but pack too many into your character and pretty soon you'll find yourself having problems connecting to others in meaningful RP. The following article link is a good read and has many hints on how to avoid making your characters too blah and predictable.

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2014/04/killed-4-cliched-characters/ is a helpful article by Becca Puglisi, who has written many articles on helping other writers avoid pitfalls in their fiction.

I apologize for the random order of these posts. I will edit them and fix the layout as more get written up.

Introductions: How to Win Friends and Make (IC) Enemies

After character creation, the first thing you'll want to do is get involved. Meet people, make friends, become part of the story. But how? Showing up to a guild event or gathering can be intimidating! All the characters seem to know each other and have history together. You feel excluded from the in-jokes and understand none of the references.

Introductions are extremely hard. Just like in real life, getting to know people or inserting yourself into a new social circle can be a monumental task. And, just like in real life, some personality types have an easier time of it than others. Bold, gregarious, and impulsive characters would not be wrong to insert themselves without shame, regardless of the consequences. Shy, reclusive, or abrasive characters can become a challenge even for an experienced roleplayer and often require more patience, but are often worth the extra work.

If the character that you have chosen to roleplay is a bold personality, don't be afraid to stick their nose right in the middle of the action in a way that compliments the RP and follows good roleplaying etiquette (which will be covered in a future post). Even if your character gets told to go away, you have still accomplished the goal of getting noticed. Walk up to strangers and introduce yourself. Smile. All of the social cues that make friends in the real world apply in roleplaying, too.

Example of an Extroverted Introduction:

Jake the Snake is new to this RP group. The night he joins, there is an RP event happening just as he arrives. Two characters, Cat'jo and Imperius lunge at each other in a vicious fight.

Jake the Snake:leaps in between the combatants, attempting to restrain Imperius. "Stop!" he shouts, "There's no need to fight!"

Imperius:is held back and struggles against Jake's grip. "Let go of me, you idiot! This is a duel!"

Cat'jo:laughs at Imperius. "Cat'jo wins this round, shaveskin!"

Jake the Snake: now notices the spectators and is embarrassed. "Sorry," he mumbles, letting go of Imperius.

Cat'jo says: "You are quite strong, Cat'jo's new friend. Have you ever considered being a gladiator?"


Jake the Snake could have stood back and watched the event unfold. But his player knows that Jake is impulsive and bold. It fits his character to jump into the middle of a situation without looking. Imperius may or may not forgive the interruption, but Jake will still be remembered. By being bold and staying true to character, Jake got noticed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shy characters are the opposite extreme of the bold extroverts. Rarely speaking, they rely on other players to come to them to play. These characters sometimes have a hard time finding a niche where they belong in an RP group. Sometimes they feel left out, ignored, or marginalized. Very often, those shy characters are deep, well developed personalities that are a joy to RP with...if you can crack the shell.

A pitfall that often happens with characters that are "wallflowers", is that the player props their character against a wall or sits them down and simply leaves them there. Waiting patiently for someone to come over and acknowledge their existence. If your character is reserved, introverted, shy, or abrasive, there is nothing wrong with sitting them up against a wall or a table to observe the events around them. As a player of a shy character, you will have to be more descriptive about what your character /does/ versus what they /say/.

Example of an Introverted Introduction:

Not every character is as brash and impulsive as Jake. Philemina is much more reserved, preferring to watch and listen to a new group for a while before interacting. While Jake is making a fool of himself, she is leaning up against a nearby tree, watching. Instead of speaking, her player describes what she is doing, encouraging other players to come interact with her.

Philemina: casually leans up against a tree to watch the duel, her red hair pulled over one shoulder. She smirks as foolish Jake jumps into the middle of the duel. Pulling a narrow throwing dagger from the sheathe at her hip, she passes the time by flipping it, seeing how many revolutions she can get without catching the blade.

Imperius: lost the duel, and storms out of the dueling ring. He notices a striking red-head a short distance away and approaches her. "Hello, maiden."

Without saying a word, Philemina has been noticed and another player is interested in her character. They want to know more about her. Had she not been immediately noticed, Philemina's player would continue this seemingly one-sided roleplay, putting their character out there for other players to become interested in. It is similar to fishing; your bait is the quality of your character and your fish are the players around you. You may not get a bite every time, or even the first time. But keep at it, and soon you will have a cluster of characters seeking you out. Shy characters are a challenge, but one that I hope you will find enjoyable to play.

Also note that Philemina is not typing what her character is THINKING. Unless she is a projecting telepath, there is no way other characters would know what her personal thoughts are. Thought projecting of this kind is distracting at best and metagaming at worst. It risks influencing the players around you to change their character's actions and can be irritating for players to pick through what is really happening and what to ignore.

Metagaming and It's Effects

Defined in Milo's Roleplaying Combat Suggestions thread, Metagaming is the In-Character use of information gathered Out of Character (or through alternate characters of the same player).Usually used without permission, meta-game information can be pulled from Out of Character conversations, forum posts, guild chat, or anywhere that is not strictly In Character, on the particular character that is benefitting from that information. Whether intentional or not, metagaming has a negative effect on the RP experience and community by breaking down the trust between players.

If you feel as though another player is metagaming, the best and most direct way to resolve the issue is to politely message them. Communication is very important! More often than not, the incident is an honest mistake.

An example of metagaming in action: Knowing something a character shouldn't.

Jake the Snake and Philemina are rivals. Jake's player keeps a journal on the forums, detailing his thoughts about their rivalry. One evening, he writes in the journal that he obtained a rare artifact, and Philemina's player reads it. The next day, Philemina threatens Jake with her dagger, demanding he give her the artifact.

The right way to handle something like this is with a simple message. Jake, realizing the mistake, messages Philemina.

Jake the Snake: Are you sure that your character would know that Jake has the artifact? Jake hasn't told anyone about it.

Philemina: Oh! I'm sorry. I was reading your thread and forgot she wouldn't know about that.

Jake the Snake: Can we reset?

Philemina: Yes, please.


Sometimes, however, a player will intentionally use OOC info to change their character's actions or have their character know things that they wouldn't otherwise have any knowledge about.

Example #2: Changing a character's actions based on OOC knowledge.

Jake and Philemina are roleplaying again. Jake the Snake is being followed through a cave by Philemina. To capture his rival, Jake digs a pit trap across the path and disguises the pit with an illusion...

Jake the Snake: lies in wait behind a boulder, waiting for Philemina to walk through the tunnel.

Philemina: cast a wall-walking spell on herself in the last room, and avoids the pit by walking on the ceiling, easily bypassing the trap.

In this scenario, Philemina's player has changed her character's actions without a reasonable explanation as to why. For no discernable reason, Philemina is now walking on walls. Her character completely ignores the pitfall without ever interacting with it.

Situations like Scenario #2 are often difficult to resolve. It is hard for us as roleplayers to sometimes take a fall, a hit, or allow our characters to feel less than awesome. When confronting a situation like this, always RESPECT the other player. Treat them politely, never curse or be disrespectful. Every character is meaningful and awesome to his or her player. No one likes to feel as though their actions mean nothing.


When is it metagaming acceptable?

Our characters do not live in little bubbles or inside tiny information holes. There are times when it is perfectly acceptable to know of an event or thing, even if your character wasn't there. Rumors, gossip, old tomes, even an educated guess that proved true are all ways to have your character be aware of what's going on. The difference usually lies in HOW your character obtained that information. You're allowed to be creative! Just make sure it makes sense. Below are some general situations where it would be acceptable or not acceptable to use Out Of Character information in a roleplay.

Yes:
Anything published in a weekly guild announcement is considered public knowledge.
Overheard in the tavern/spying/eavesdropping (please see the Etiquette post on eavesdropping [coming soon!])
Anything in the Rumors section of a Character Sheet.
Information that the player expressly allowed you to use/know.
Informed by a third party that is not one of your own characters. (Obtained via RP of some kind)

No:
Anything in the Biography section of a Character Sheet.
Information read in Guild Chat.
Other character's thoughts (unless reading minds is an established ability your character has).
Read while lurking/not roleplaying/being an observer.
Forum threads that do not include your character.
Information obtained on another character played by you.