Semblance
↣↣↠◇↞↢↢
hey! i was wondering what you think the maximum number of characters should be for a group roleplay? and would this number also be the same for the maximum number of roleplayers? 
How to Roleplay!
- Thread starter CloudyBlueDay
- Start date
CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
It all depends on your opinions and your RP. I, usually, don't put a limit on characters. I just say, one character per person, or two. For roleplays, I'll usually just wait until it feels right, OR have a select number of spots. But there are many other ways to do it and that's just my opinion.Semblance said:hey! i was wondering what you think the maximum number of characters should be for a group roleplay? and would this number also be the same for the maximum number of roleplayers?
Semblance
↣↣↠◇↞↢↢
okay so right now i'm making a high school roleplay corresponding to 9 different personality types - so i can either have 9 characters (1 per type) or 18 characters (2 per type), which would you recommend?CloudyBlueDay said:
CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
Again, all depends on your preferences. I, personally, find a smaller group easier to manage and more intimate, so I would pick the 9 characters. But if you want it to be a big group, with lots of interaction and maybe with lots of characters, go for 18.Semblance said:
A Murder Of Corviknight
one sheep two sheep three sheep four sheep
Great post! ovo Thank you for making such a helpful guide~
Fukushima Akira
オーダーののサンクタム & RPN's Resident Suit Gang Leader
Thought I'd add a little to it, Cloudy-san~ 
---------
The common rules of role-play are the essential rules that all public role-playing groups employ to keep things in order. These include things like godmodding, metagaming, and autohitting. One of the fundamental skills that every good role-player has is the ability to follow and abide by these rules. Even though everybody has the occasional slip-up, disregarding for these common rules is frowned upon amongst the community.
To follow is the list of common role-play rules that every role-player should understand and follow.
Do Not God-mode
Godmodding is when a character features god-like abilities, such as invincibility or mind control, or other unrealistic powers that don't fit with lore. It's also considered godmodding to refuse death in fights or ignore role-players in scenarios in which said role-players are attempting to attack you. Nobody's good at everything; try and keep yourself in check.
Do Not Overpower Yourself or Others
Being "overpowered" is more or less what it sounds like: giving something or someone an unreasonable, unfair, unrealistic, or unbalanced amount of power, especially when it interferes with the ability of players around you to have fun. This can apply in the obvious ways, like having a character who is invincible or can summon the wrath of a zombie army with a flick of his fingers, but it can also be more subtle. For example, a character who is physically average but has skill mastery of over 70% of all main skills with ease can also be overpowered and put a damper on the ability of those around him to create engaging and challenging roleplay scenarios. I have done this with the character in my own RP, but that's because I need him to progress plots. When engaging in combat, my character has the downside of subconsciously matching his power to his opponent's.
Do Not Metagame
Metagaming is when a player applies OOC-retrieved information to their IC character, such as participating in a war that you only saw was stated to be happening on a clan's thread on the forums, or hearing whispering because you saw the text, and knowing a character's name because you saw their username. This is the most commonly broken rule of role-play and most infuriating for many.
Do Not Mix IC and OOC
Related to metagaming, it is considered taboo to "mix ic and ooc." That is, players are generally encouraged not to associate information and events that occurred between active, playing characters and events that occur between the role-players themselves. Most often, when players associate OOC information with their IC behavior, whether it be how they percieve another character or actually acting on information they wouldn't otherwise have, it's called metagaming.
However, it's also considered poor form to take IC information and apply it OOC. That is, if character A insults character B, and player B takes character A's insult as a personal attack from player A rather than exclusively an IC attack on character B, that is mixing IC and OOC. Any instance of holding against a player what his/her character said or did violates this rule (not to be confused with holding against the player any rule violations he made while controlling his character).
Another instance which is less inflammatory but still technically a violation of this rule is if character A says something, character B doesn't understand or takes it the wrong way, and player A deigns to explain himself OOC to player B. This is especially the case when player B already understood but was intentionally allowing his character to mis-react for the sake of adding interest to the game or being true to character B's nature. This cramps the flow of role-play and can sometimes be insulting to a player, since it suggests that player B's character is a Mary-Sue who player B can't separate himself from.
The part of explaining yourself can be ignored if either A) The player has no idea what you meant, or B) It's crucial that the player knows.
Do Not Auto (Autohit, Autowalk, etc)
Autohitting is when a player performs an action without giving the affected players a chance to respond. For example, running up to somebody and saying *Stabs in the heart* then running off would be autohitting. Auto also applies to non-combative actions to which another player might have a reaction. Saying, *The black knight slips past the guards and into the castle,* while white knights are guarding the entrance to the white knight's castle would be autowalking on the premise that, in all likelihood, those knights would stop you before you got past them. This can easily be fixed with a simple rewording. Add "tries to" or "attempts to" to clarify that your character intends to perform said action, but his success depends on the responses of those around him. More advanced role-players will go into detail with their actions and emphasize their attempts. This is a frequently broken rule by newer role-players, however this is not an all important rule, as it is mainly harmless. When in combat, it is NEVER okay to autohit and kill another player's character.
Do Not Lorebreak
Lorebreaking is when a character breaks lore, which is anything that likely affects a character or scenario. The basis for these commonalities is origin, culture, and known historical events. For example, a vampire that is unaffected when crossing into Holy ground is a lorebreak because vampires are weakened inside holy ground due to the demonic nature. Lorebending, a similar term, is when existing lore is lightly modified (Hence the term lorebending), but not significantly or in a way that detracts from the role-playing experience. Often this has to do with ideas that are neither supported nor contradicted by existing lore; for example, one never comes across a Vampire who excells within the underworld, but it is never explicitly stated that this can't ever be done - only that you rarely come across it.
Do Not Powerplay
Powerplaying occurs when a player operates someone else's character without the other player's consent. The most blatant example of this would be a player writing, "Your character falls off the cliff when he walks up to it." As you can see, you take active control of what the other character does. Not only is this not fair to the other player, but it's also discouraged because often players will misconstrue the behaviors and personalities of characters they didn't design. Powerplaying goes into more subtle situations, however. Saying, "Sally charges Jack so fast that he wouldn't be able to react enough to avoid it," can also be considered a violation of this rule since Sally's player has controlled Jack's abilities, possibly in a way that doesn't accurately represent his character. The appropriate way to word Sally's attack would be, "Sally charges Jack so fast that it's unlikely he could totally dodge it without equally inhuman speed." This leaves it up to Jack's player whether or not Jack is actually capable of avoiding Sally. Of course, if your character is truly more powerful than your opponent's character, and you both agree on it, then this rule can be bypassed.
Do Not Play Mary-Sues
A Mary-Sue is a specific kind of character that is usually considered literarily reprehensible and otherwise unpleasant for others to play alongside. A Mary-Sue is any character (of any gender, age, race, or species) who fits one or more of these descriptions:
Exceptions
Role-play is about creativity and while these rules are not just needed they can at times during very deep and important role-play points be a bit constricting. That being said, like many things in life, the rules of role-play are not the be-all and end-all. It takes skill and knowledge to know when one can bend one of the above rules to affect a role-play in a positive manner, this is usually done in small groups where the people involved know what they are getting into and are okay with it. This takes a long time to understand and should only be attempted by advanced role-players.
Always keep in mind that the purpose of role-playing online is to have fun. So get out there and enjoy yourselves!
---------
The common rules of role-play are the essential rules that all public role-playing groups employ to keep things in order. These include things like godmodding, metagaming, and autohitting. One of the fundamental skills that every good role-player has is the ability to follow and abide by these rules. Even though everybody has the occasional slip-up, disregarding for these common rules is frowned upon amongst the community.
To follow is the list of common role-play rules that every role-player should understand and follow.
Do Not God-mode
Godmodding is when a character features god-like abilities, such as invincibility or mind control, or other unrealistic powers that don't fit with lore. It's also considered godmodding to refuse death in fights or ignore role-players in scenarios in which said role-players are attempting to attack you. Nobody's good at everything; try and keep yourself in check.
- Non-Example: "I can kill you with a single touch." *She reaches to touch his skin, and if she succeeds, his flesh will fall off of his bones.*
Do Not Overpower Yourself or Others
Being "overpowered" is more or less what it sounds like: giving something or someone an unreasonable, unfair, unrealistic, or unbalanced amount of power, especially when it interferes with the ability of players around you to have fun. This can apply in the obvious ways, like having a character who is invincible or can summon the wrath of a zombie army with a flick of his fingers, but it can also be more subtle. For example, a character who is physically average but has skill mastery of over 70% of all main skills with ease can also be overpowered and put a damper on the ability of those around him to create engaging and challenging roleplay scenarios. I have done this with the character in my own RP, but that's because I need him to progress plots. When engaging in combat, my character has the downside of subconsciously matching his power to his opponent's.
Do Not Metagame
Metagaming is when a player applies OOC-retrieved information to their IC character, such as participating in a war that you only saw was stated to be happening on a clan's thread on the forums, or hearing whispering because you saw the text, and knowing a character's name because you saw their username. This is the most commonly broken rule of role-play and most infuriating for many.
- Non-Example: ((after being sent a PM from Chad)) *Jeremy the necromancer teleports into the scene immediately and rushes to the corpse of his buddy Chad, just moments after the arrow pierced his heart.*
Do Not Mix IC and OOC
Related to metagaming, it is considered taboo to "mix ic and ooc." That is, players are generally encouraged not to associate information and events that occurred between active, playing characters and events that occur between the role-players themselves. Most often, when players associate OOC information with their IC behavior, whether it be how they percieve another character or actually acting on information they wouldn't otherwise have, it's called metagaming.
However, it's also considered poor form to take IC information and apply it OOC. That is, if character A insults character B, and player B takes character A's insult as a personal attack from player A rather than exclusively an IC attack on character B, that is mixing IC and OOC. Any instance of holding against a player what his/her character said or did violates this rule (not to be confused with holding against the player any rule violations he made while controlling his character).
Another instance which is less inflammatory but still technically a violation of this rule is if character A says something, character B doesn't understand or takes it the wrong way, and player A deigns to explain himself OOC to player B. This is especially the case when player B already understood but was intentionally allowing his character to mis-react for the sake of adding interest to the game or being true to character B's nature. This cramps the flow of role-play and can sometimes be insulting to a player, since it suggests that player B's character is a Mary-Sue who player B can't separate himself from.
The part of explaining yourself can be ignored if either A) The player has no idea what you meant, or B) It's crucial that the player knows.
Do Not Auto (Autohit, Autowalk, etc)
Autohitting is when a player performs an action without giving the affected players a chance to respond. For example, running up to somebody and saying *Stabs in the heart* then running off would be autohitting. Auto also applies to non-combative actions to which another player might have a reaction. Saying, *The black knight slips past the guards and into the castle,* while white knights are guarding the entrance to the white knight's castle would be autowalking on the premise that, in all likelihood, those knights would stop you before you got past them. This can easily be fixed with a simple rewording. Add "tries to" or "attempts to" to clarify that your character intends to perform said action, but his success depends on the responses of those around him. More advanced role-players will go into detail with their actions and emphasize their attempts. This is a frequently broken rule by newer role-players, however this is not an all important rule, as it is mainly harmless. When in combat, it is NEVER okay to autohit and kill another player's character.
- Non-Example: *Melissa throws a lit match onto the bed of her unfaithful lover and his mistress, then watches spitefully as his hair quickly catches fire and the two begin to burn.*
Do Not Lorebreak
Lorebreaking is when a character breaks lore, which is anything that likely affects a character or scenario. The basis for these commonalities is origin, culture, and known historical events. For example, a vampire that is unaffected when crossing into Holy ground is a lorebreak because vampires are weakened inside holy ground due to the demonic nature. Lorebending, a similar term, is when existing lore is lightly modified (Hence the term lorebending), but not significantly or in a way that detracts from the role-playing experience. Often this has to do with ideas that are neither supported nor contradicted by existing lore; for example, one never comes across a Vampire who excells within the underworld, but it is never explicitly stated that this can't ever be done - only that you rarely come across it.
- Non-Example: *Broaven the Rellekan Vampire is an established vampire and heads into the settlement to meet up with his other clan members and use his magic to help them on their next trip.*
Do Not Powerplay
Powerplaying occurs when a player operates someone else's character without the other player's consent. The most blatant example of this would be a player writing, "Your character falls off the cliff when he walks up to it." As you can see, you take active control of what the other character does. Not only is this not fair to the other player, but it's also discouraged because often players will misconstrue the behaviors and personalities of characters they didn't design. Powerplaying goes into more subtle situations, however. Saying, "Sally charges Jack so fast that he wouldn't be able to react enough to avoid it," can also be considered a violation of this rule since Sally's player has controlled Jack's abilities, possibly in a way that doesn't accurately represent his character. The appropriate way to word Sally's attack would be, "Sally charges Jack so fast that it's unlikely he could totally dodge it without equally inhuman speed." This leaves it up to Jack's player whether or not Jack is actually capable of avoiding Sally. Of course, if your character is truly more powerful than your opponent's character, and you both agree on it, then this rule can be bypassed.
- Non-Example: *Rex walks up to Jewel and moves to plant a kiss on her. Rex's rich, masculine musk overcomes Jewel so powerfully that she has no control over herself and kisses back.*
Do Not Play Mary-Sues
A Mary-Sue is a specific kind of character that is usually considered literarily reprehensible and otherwise unpleasant for others to play alongside. A Mary-Sue is any character (of any gender, age, race, or species) who fits one or more of these descriptions:
- A character who’s too perfect, lacking realistic or logical flaws, or whose flaws do not affect them in real ways.
- A character who’s exactly like their creator, except idealized or made “better”. (E.g. more attractive, smarter, given skills, abilities & powers the creator wishes they could have.) Essentially, the creator is inserting themselves into the story, but without the flaws, quirks & limits that make them interesting and real. Users are often discouraged from creating characters who would be described as, "He's based off me," especially since that comes with the extra risk of violating the avoid mixing IC and OOC rule.
- A character who’s far too powerful, especially whose abilities exceed that which is possible for his/her race in the setting of the story. Particularly if said character has abilities that do not exist within the boundaries of the story’s world. Often these characters are technically legitimate, but are very, "Look at how unique and cool I am!"
- A character who’s cliched, having qualities or characteristics that are overused by people trying to have a powerful/perfect/cool character. This includes but is not limited to the traits listed as Popular Roleplay Trends.
Exceptions
Role-play is about creativity and while these rules are not just needed they can at times during very deep and important role-play points be a bit constricting. That being said, like many things in life, the rules of role-play are not the be-all and end-all. It takes skill and knowledge to know when one can bend one of the above rules to affect a role-play in a positive manner, this is usually done in small groups where the people involved know what they are getting into and are okay with it. This takes a long time to understand and should only be attempted by advanced role-players.
Always keep in mind that the purpose of role-playing online is to have fun. So get out there and enjoy yourselves!
Last edited by a moderator:
CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
[QUOTE="Fukushima Akira]
Thought I'd add a little to it, Cloudy-san~
---------
The common rules of role-play are the essential rules that all public role-playing groups employ to keep things in order. These include things like godmodding, metagaming, and autohitting. One of the fundamental skills that every good role-player has is the ability to follow and abide by these rules. Even though everybody has the occasional slip-up, disregarding for these common rules is frowned upon amongst the community.
To follow is the list of common role-play rules that every role-player should understand and follow.
Do Not God-mode
Godmodding is when a character features god-like abilities, such as invincibility or mind control, or other unrealistic powers that don't fit with lore. It's also considered godmodding to refuse death in fights or ignore role-players in scenarios in which said role-players are attempting to attack you. Nobody's good at everything; try and keep yourself in check.
Do Not Overpower Yourself or Others
Being "overpowered" is more or less what it sounds like: giving something or someone an unreasonable, unfair, unrealistic, or unbalanced amount of power, especially when it interferes with the ability of players around you to have fun. This can apply in the obvious ways, like having a character who is invincible or can summon the wrath of a zombie army with a flick of his fingers, but it can also be more subtle. For example, a character who is physically average but has skill mastery of over 70% of all main skills with ease can also be overpowered and put a damper on the ability of those around him to create engaging and challenging roleplay scenarios. I have done this with the character in my own RP, but that's because I need him to progress plots. When engaging in combat, my character has the downside of subconsciously matching his power to his opponent's.
Do Not Metagame
Metagaming is when a player applies OOC-retrieved information to their IC character, such as participating in a war that you only saw was stated to be happening on a clan's thread on the forums, or hearing whispering because you saw the text, and knowing a character's name because you saw their username. This is the most commonly broken rule of role-play and most infuriating for many.
Do Not Mix IC and OOC
Related to metagaming, it is considered taboo to "mix ic and ooc." That is, players are generally encouraged not to associate information and events that occurred between active, playing characters and events that occur between the role-players themselves. Most often, when players associate OOC information with their IC behavior, whether it be how they percieve another character or actually acting on information they wouldn't otherwise have, it's called metagaming.
However, it's also considered poor form to take IC information and apply it OOC. That is, if character A insults character B, and player B takes character A's insult as a personal attack from player A rather than exclusively an IC attack on character B, that is mixing IC and OOC. Any instance of holding against a player what his/her character said or did violates this rule (not to be confused with holding against the player any rule violations he made while controlling his character).
Another instance which is less inflammatory but still technically a violation of this rule is if character A says something, character B doesn't understand or takes it the wrong way, and player A deigns to explain himself OOC to player B. This is especially the case when player B already understood but was intentionally allowing his character to mis-react for the sake of adding interest to the game or being true to character B's nature. This cramps the flow of role-play and can sometimes be insulting to a player, since it suggests that player B's character is a Mary-Sue who player B can't separate himself from.
The part of explaining yourself can be ignored if either A) The player has no idea what you meant, or B) It's crucial that the player knows.
Do Not Auto (Autohit, Autowalk, etc)
Autohitting is when a player performs an action without giving the affected players a chance to respond. For example, running up to somebody and saying *Stabs in the heart* then running off would be autohitting. Auto also applies to non-combative actions to which another player might have a reaction. Saying, *The black knight slips past the guards and into the castle,* while white knights are guarding the entrance to the white knight's castle would be autowalking on the premise that, in all likelihood, those knights would stop you before you got past them. This can easily be fixed with a simple rewording. Add "tries to" or "attempts to" to clarify that your character intends to perform said action, but his success depends on the responses of those around him. More advanced role-players will go into detail with their actions and emphasize their attempts. This is a frequently broken rule by newer role-players, however this is not an all important rule, as it is mainly harmless. When in combat, it is NEVER okay to autohit and kill another player's character.
Do Not Lorebreak
Lorebreaking is when a character breaks lore, which is anything that likely affects a character or scenario. The basis for these commonalities is origin, culture, and known historical events. For example, a vampire that is unaffected when crossing into Holy ground is a lorebreak because vampires are weakened inside holy ground due to the demonic nature. Lorebending, a similar term, is when existing lore is lightly modified (Hence the term lorebending), but not significantly or in a way that detracts from the role-playing experience. Often this has to do with ideas that are neither supported nor contradicted by existing lore; for example, one never comes across a Vampire who excells within the underworld, but it is never explicitly stated that this can't ever be done - only that you rarely come across it.
Do Not Powerplay
Powerplaying occurs when a player operates someone else's character without the other player's consent. The most blatant example of this would be a player writing, "Your character falls off the cliff when he walks up to it." As you can see, you take active control of what the other character does. Not only is this not fair to the other player, but it's also discouraged because often players will misconstrue the behaviors and personalities of characters they didn't design. Powerplaying goes into more subtle situations, however. Saying, "Sally charges Jack so fast that he wouldn't be able to react enough to avoid it," can also be considered a violation of this rule since Sally's player has controlled Jack's abilities, possibly in a way that doesn't accurately represent his character. The appropriate way to word Sally's attack would be, "Sally charges Jack so fast that it's unlikely he could totally dodge it without equally inhuman speed." This leaves it up to Jack's player whether or not Jack is actually capable of avoiding Sally. Of course, if your character is truly more powerful than your opponent's character, and you both agree on it, then this rule can be bypassed.
Do Not Play Mary-Sues
A Mary-Sue is a specific kind of character that is usually considered literarily reprehensible and otherwise unpleasant for others to play alongside. A Mary-Sue is any character (of any gender, age, race, or species) who fits one or more of these descriptions:
Exceptions
Role-play is about creativity and while these rules are not just needed they can at times during very deep and important role-play points be a bit constricting. That being said, like many things in life, the rules of role-play are not the be-all and end-all. It takes skill and knowledge to know when one can bend one of the above rules to affect a role-play in a positive manner, this is usually done in small groups where the people involved know what they are getting into and are okay with it. This takes a long time to understand and should only be attempted by advanced role-players.
Always keep in mind that the purpose of role-playing online is to have fun. So get out there and enjoy yourselves!
[/QUOTE]
Hi. Thanks for your input, but I'm not going to be adding someone else's work into my own tutorial. I would suggest making your own tutorial thread. Thanks.
Thought I'd add a little to it, Cloudy-san~
---------
The common rules of role-play are the essential rules that all public role-playing groups employ to keep things in order. These include things like godmodding, metagaming, and autohitting. One of the fundamental skills that every good role-player has is the ability to follow and abide by these rules. Even though everybody has the occasional slip-up, disregarding for these common rules is frowned upon amongst the community.
To follow is the list of common role-play rules that every role-player should understand and follow.
Do Not God-mode
Godmodding is when a character features god-like abilities, such as invincibility or mind control, or other unrealistic powers that don't fit with lore. It's also considered godmodding to refuse death in fights or ignore role-players in scenarios in which said role-players are attempting to attack you. Nobody's good at everything; try and keep yourself in check.
- Non-Example: "I can kill you with a single touch." *She reaches to touch his skin, and if she succeeds, his flesh will fall off of his bones.*
Do Not Overpower Yourself or Others
Being "overpowered" is more or less what it sounds like: giving something or someone an unreasonable, unfair, unrealistic, or unbalanced amount of power, especially when it interferes with the ability of players around you to have fun. This can apply in the obvious ways, like having a character who is invincible or can summon the wrath of a zombie army with a flick of his fingers, but it can also be more subtle. For example, a character who is physically average but has skill mastery of over 70% of all main skills with ease can also be overpowered and put a damper on the ability of those around him to create engaging and challenging roleplay scenarios. I have done this with the character in my own RP, but that's because I need him to progress plots. When engaging in combat, my character has the downside of subconsciously matching his power to his opponent's.
Do Not Metagame
Metagaming is when a player applies OOC-retrieved information to their IC character, such as participating in a war that you only saw was stated to be happening on a clan's thread on the forums, or hearing whispering because you saw the text, and knowing a character's name because you saw their username. This is the most commonly broken rule of role-play and most infuriating for many.
- Non-Example: ((after being sent a PM from Chad)) *Jeremy the necromancer teleports into the scene immediately and rushes to the corpse of his buddy Chad, just moments after the arrow pierced his heart.*
Do Not Mix IC and OOC
Related to metagaming, it is considered taboo to "mix ic and ooc." That is, players are generally encouraged not to associate information and events that occurred between active, playing characters and events that occur between the role-players themselves. Most often, when players associate OOC information with their IC behavior, whether it be how they percieve another character or actually acting on information they wouldn't otherwise have, it's called metagaming.
However, it's also considered poor form to take IC information and apply it OOC. That is, if character A insults character B, and player B takes character A's insult as a personal attack from player A rather than exclusively an IC attack on character B, that is mixing IC and OOC. Any instance of holding against a player what his/her character said or did violates this rule (not to be confused with holding against the player any rule violations he made while controlling his character).
Another instance which is less inflammatory but still technically a violation of this rule is if character A says something, character B doesn't understand or takes it the wrong way, and player A deigns to explain himself OOC to player B. This is especially the case when player B already understood but was intentionally allowing his character to mis-react for the sake of adding interest to the game or being true to character B's nature. This cramps the flow of role-play and can sometimes be insulting to a player, since it suggests that player B's character is a Mary-Sue who player B can't separate himself from.
The part of explaining yourself can be ignored if either A) The player has no idea what you meant, or B) It's crucial that the player knows.
Do Not Auto (Autohit, Autowalk, etc)
Autohitting is when a player performs an action without giving the affected players a chance to respond. For example, running up to somebody and saying *Stabs in the heart* then running off would be autohitting. Auto also applies to non-combative actions to which another player might have a reaction. Saying, *The black knight slips past the guards and into the castle,* while white knights are guarding the entrance to the white knight's castle would be autowalking on the premise that, in all likelihood, those knights would stop you before you got past them. This can easily be fixed with a simple rewording. Add "tries to" or "attempts to" to clarify that your character intends to perform said action, but his success depends on the responses of those around him. More advanced role-players will go into detail with their actions and emphasize their attempts. This is a frequently broken rule by newer role-players, however this is not an all important rule, as it is mainly harmless. When in combat, it is NEVER okay to autohit and kill another player's character.
- Non-Example: *Melissa throws a lit match onto the bed of her unfaithful lover and his mistress, then watches spitefully as his hair quickly catches fire and the two begin to burn.*
Do Not Lorebreak
Lorebreaking is when a character breaks lore, which is anything that likely affects a character or scenario. The basis for these commonalities is origin, culture, and known historical events. For example, a vampire that is unaffected when crossing into Holy ground is a lorebreak because vampires are weakened inside holy ground due to the demonic nature. Lorebending, a similar term, is when existing lore is lightly modified (Hence the term lorebending), but not significantly or in a way that detracts from the role-playing experience. Often this has to do with ideas that are neither supported nor contradicted by existing lore; for example, one never comes across a Vampire who excells within the underworld, but it is never explicitly stated that this can't ever be done - only that you rarely come across it.
- Non-Example: *Broaven the Rellekan Vampire is an established vampire and heads into the settlement to meet up with his other clan members and use his magic to help them on their next trip.*
Do Not Powerplay
Powerplaying occurs when a player operates someone else's character without the other player's consent. The most blatant example of this would be a player writing, "Your character falls off the cliff when he walks up to it." As you can see, you take active control of what the other character does. Not only is this not fair to the other player, but it's also discouraged because often players will misconstrue the behaviors and personalities of characters they didn't design. Powerplaying goes into more subtle situations, however. Saying, "Sally charges Jack so fast that he wouldn't be able to react enough to avoid it," can also be considered a violation of this rule since Sally's player has controlled Jack's abilities, possibly in a way that doesn't accurately represent his character. The appropriate way to word Sally's attack would be, "Sally charges Jack so fast that it's unlikely he could totally dodge it without equally inhuman speed." This leaves it up to Jack's player whether or not Jack is actually capable of avoiding Sally. Of course, if your character is truly more powerful than your opponent's character, and you both agree on it, then this rule can be bypassed.
- Non-Example: *Rex walks up to Jewel and moves to plant a kiss on her. Rex's rich, masculine musk overcomes Jewel so powerfully that she has no control over herself and kisses back.*
Do Not Play Mary-Sues
A Mary-Sue is a specific kind of character that is usually considered literarily reprehensible and otherwise unpleasant for others to play alongside. A Mary-Sue is any character (of any gender, age, race, or species) who fits one or more of these descriptions:
- A character who’s too perfect, lacking realistic or logical flaws, or whose flaws do not affect them in real ways.
- A character who’s exactly like their creator, except idealized or made “better”. (E.g. more attractive, smarter, given skills, abilities & powers the creator wishes they could have.) Essentially, the creator is inserting themselves into the story, but without the flaws, quirks & limits that make them interesting and real. Users are often discouraged from creating characters who would be described as, "He's based off me," especially since that comes with the extra risk of violating the avoid mixing IC and OOC rule.
- A character who’s far too powerful, especially whose abilities exceed that which is possible for his/her race in the setting of the story. Particularly if said character has abilities that do not exist within the boundaries of the story’s world. Often these characters are technically legitimate, but are very, "Look at how unique and cool I am!"
- A character who’s cliched, having qualities or characteristics that are overused by people trying to have a powerful/perfect/cool character. This includes but is not limited to the traits listed as Popular Roleplay Trends.
Exceptions
Role-play is about creativity and while these rules are not just needed they can at times during very deep and important role-play points be a bit constricting. That being said, like many things in life, the rules of role-play are not the be-all and end-all. It takes skill and knowledge to know when one can bend one of the above rules to affect a role-play in a positive manner, this is usually done in small groups where the people involved know what they are getting into and are okay with it. This takes a long time to understand and should only be attempted by advanced role-players.
Always keep in mind that the purpose of role-playing online is to have fun. So get out there and enjoy yourselves!
[/QUOTE]
Hi. Thanks for your input, but I'm not going to be adding someone else's work into my own tutorial. I would suggest making your own tutorial thread. Thanks.
Fukushima Akira
オーダーののサンクタム & RPN's Resident Suit Gang Leader
Ah, okay~ I thought because there was already a thread that I didn't need to create one~CloudyBlueDay said:
InfiniteOtaku
a peasant
Thanks for all of this! I didn't exactly read it all but I read the parts that I found most helpful and interesting to me, thanks again for this guide on roleplaying here!
Somersault
New Member
Thanks for this guide! While I've read things a bit similar to that, I think it's fairly organized and comprehensive, and it's a pretty good guide!
Lunlop
Power is knowledge. We roleplay all day.
THANK you for this useful info! I am new here, got any other important links for me to read?
AngelofDebt
Gentleman
Hello. I just joined the forums, like, 5 minuets ago, and would have been lost without this guide. Read it all (not nearly as long as you stated in the beginning), and SUPER helpful. I just skimmed over the formatting stuff (I'm technologically challenged despite my peers not being so), I'll try to pick that up as I go along.
Anywho, I feel very nervous about actually beginning to be a player. Have a bunch of 'what-ifs?' What if I'm too busy? What if I have a falling out with another RPer. What if I'm 'that guy' who role plays horribly and brings the group down?
I'll have to pray on it...
P.S. by replying to this guide I think I now am following it. I think that all new forum users should automatically be following this guide, that way it's (almost used the wrong 'its', would have killed myself) really present to them
Anywho, I feel very nervous about actually beginning to be a player. Have a bunch of 'what-ifs?' What if I'm too busy? What if I have a falling out with another RPer. What if I'm 'that guy' who role plays horribly and brings the group down?
I'll have to pray on it...
P.S. by replying to this guide I think I now am following it. I think that all new forum users should automatically be following this guide, that way it's (almost used the wrong 'its', would have killed myself) really present to them
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CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
Well, if you've read the rules, FAQ, and another site important stuff (that will keep you from getting in troubleLunlop said:
) I can really say you're good to go. If you want to learn more though, browse the tutorial section! Lots of good info there. (Also, sorry for the late reply.)I'm super glad it helped you out.AngelofDebt said:
And nice to know it isn't dreadfully long, ehehe.Those what-ifs you got there, there are plenty of ways they could happen. Of course you can get too busy. Of course sometimes you can dislike a player. But I can assure you you'll never be 'that guy', because you aren't a mindless troll, you're a thoughtful and kind player, I can see that. You just got to remember you're here to have fun; if something gets in the way, you can simply step out. Every good roleplayer knows real life comes first. I am sure you'll do fine.
Haha, thanks again. Yes, by replying to it you are following it, but following it isn't exactly necessary since I don't update it with info in the comments section. :3 But since it is stickied in the tutorials forum (that means it's pinned to the top and won't move) I'm sure people who need a good guide will find it just fine.
AngelofDebt
Gentleman
Glad to hear all of thisCloudyBlueDay said:Well, if you've read the rules, FAQ, and another site important stuff (that will keep you from getting in trouble
I'm super glad it helped you out.
Those what-ifs you got there, there are plenty of ways they could happen. Of course you can get too busy. Of course sometimes you can dislike a player. But I can assure you you'll never be 'that guy', because you aren't a mindless troll, you're a thoughtful and kind player, I can see that. You just got to remember you're here to have fun; if something gets in the way, you can simply step out. Every good roleplayer knows real life comes first. I am sure you'll do fine.
Haha, thanks again. Yes, by replying to it you are following it, but following it isn't exactly necessary since I don't update it with info in the comments section. :3 But since it is stickied in the tutorials forum (that means it's pinned to the top and won't move) I'm sure people who need a good guide will find it just fine.
BuddhistDracula
Count
@Fukushima Akira 's rules are pretty good. Just a few things to say:
- Autohitting: I don't think that if your character hurts someone else's character and then runs away necessarily means that you don't give the other player a chance to react. This is a reaction that is seen pretty often in real life - hurting someone and then running away -, and in an RP, you most likely don't want the other player to be completely unable to react, since RPs consist on action and reaction. These things are often used to make your opponent think (for example on how he could follow you or how he could find you), and thus make the RP a bit more interesting. However, there are things that are annoying. That is the case when you, for example, write, "My character hurt yours, ran away and was never to be seen again." That, indeed, takes away the chance for your opponent to react (well - if you're not planning to make that character return, at least).
- Powerplaying: These 'subtle' forms of powerplaying are usually tolerated and actually can make an RP interesting, since they can be used to make the opponent think - but only if they aren't used too often.
- Lorebreaking: Sometimes it's good not to leave lores unbroken, especially when it comes to races that are often used, such as vampires. Here, lores can be good in some cases - but they can also be pretty annoying. Like everywhere you go, you read that vampires technically all look like Bela Lugosi's version of Count Dracula. At least, this makes me say, "Can't they think of something new?" Since the black cape etc. are cliches, and as Fukushima already said... characters with too many cliches are Mary-Sues. Which brings me to my next point.
- Mary-Sues: Sometimes, players use those characters that are like them, despite having things the players want to have, to get along with their own lives. In my case, it is like that: Count Dracula's personality is pretty much like mine, but he's got everything I want. This helps me to cope with my psychological issues. So, if you see a character that is like its creator - don't judge it, even if you find it annoying.
- Autohitting: I don't think that if your character hurts someone else's character and then runs away necessarily means that you don't give the other player a chance to react. This is a reaction that is seen pretty often in real life - hurting someone and then running away -, and in an RP, you most likely don't want the other player to be completely unable to react, since RPs consist on action and reaction. These things are often used to make your opponent think (for example on how he could follow you or how he could find you), and thus make the RP a bit more interesting. However, there are things that are annoying. That is the case when you, for example, write, "My character hurt yours, ran away and was never to be seen again." That, indeed, takes away the chance for your opponent to react (well - if you're not planning to make that character return, at least).
- Powerplaying: These 'subtle' forms of powerplaying are usually tolerated and actually can make an RP interesting, since they can be used to make the opponent think - but only if they aren't used too often.
- Lorebreaking: Sometimes it's good not to leave lores unbroken, especially when it comes to races that are often used, such as vampires. Here, lores can be good in some cases - but they can also be pretty annoying. Like everywhere you go, you read that vampires technically all look like Bela Lugosi's version of Count Dracula. At least, this makes me say, "Can't they think of something new?" Since the black cape etc. are cliches, and as Fukushima already said... characters with too many cliches are Mary-Sues. Which brings me to my next point.
- Mary-Sues: Sometimes, players use those characters that are like them, despite having things the players want to have, to get along with their own lives. In my case, it is like that: Count Dracula's personality is pretty much like mine, but he's got everything I want. This helps me to cope with my psychological issues. So, if you see a character that is like its creator - don't judge it, even if you find it annoying.
CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
Dracula, I would really prefer if you didn't make rules on my own tutorial. Just like I told Fukushima. Thanks.CountDracula said:
AngelofDebt
Gentleman
As described in the original post, Auto-hitting as you described is still bad, and when doing something you described above, you still have to give the other player a change to decide whether their character has fast enough reactions to dodge.CountDracula said:
Power-playing is inherently bad because it blurs the lines between player and character actions.
The way you described Lorebreaking is not the type of Lorebreaking described in the post. Each RP has its own lore, and these can by all means break any other conventions, but characters need to obey the rules of their particular universe. Breaking the lore set up by the GM is just plain disrespectful
That is not the only definition of Mary Sue, and that isn't even the complete version of hte definition you chose. Ultimately, everything you create is somewhat based on yourself/your own experiences, the issue is creating an "ideal" version of yourself to RP as. This character (and ultimatly their player) never has to make a tough decisions because they are perfect
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BuddhistDracula
Count
@CloudyBlueDay I'm sorry for trying to help others. I'll never do this again...
CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
You obviously know that's not what I meant.CountDracula said:
If you want to make your own tutorial with that info, please do. But my tutorial is my own, and I won't be adding other user's info. Like, I just said to the person above you. That's all I ask.
BuddhistDracula
Count
@CloudyBlueDay Elsewhere, people tell users not to open new threads if it's not necessary... that causes the site to need more space than necessary, and space is money. That's why it's better to write answers to threads that already exist.
And I didn't ask you to add anything. I never said that you should integrate this in your own post, and neither did Fukushima. We wrote this as comments to your post, and if they stay comments... we'd be perfectly okay with it.
And I didn't ask you to add anything. I never said that you should integrate this in your own post, and neither did Fukushima. We wrote this as comments to your post, and if they stay comments... we'd be perfectly okay with it.
CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
That's really not the case with tutorials. At least, maybe not for everyone, but for me, I am asking you not too write replies with things that should or could be added. Fukushima actually specifically said he had something to add. And I told you that I preferred if you didn't make rules and edits to my tutorial. That's all.CountDracula said:
I'm glad you're alright with them staying comments. I suggested you make your own tutorial. There is nothing wrong with using some 'space' to make a tutorial, and while it isn't necessary, right above you someone else did the same exact thing you did, and I asked them not too.
Have a good day~
Zenobia
Queen Of Assassins
Thanks This was really helpful since I'm new and everything.
This was really helpful since I'm new and everything.CloudyBlueDay
made up of opposites
What says you can't? I'll need a bit more info to help you out. Are you trying to create a thread and it won't create it, or..?Copperkirin21 said:
TheGrandPygmy
A Cosmic Goat
Ooops sorry wrong person. xD But might as well. I'm trying to mke a thread but it says i can't. It says (You have insufficient privileges to post here.)CloudyBlueDay said:
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counterculturist
Allergic to love
thank you so much!