Roleplaying: The Ultimate Guide

This guide was created to help you in your Roleplaying experience, making it easier to play your character. This guide is in no way meant to tell you how to Roleplay; everyone has their own style. It is just meant for those who are new to Roleplaying, or those who seek to enhance their own Roleplaying capabilities. If you are new to Roleplaying, and you don’t want to walk in every hole there is, read this guide. This guide will help you see your Roleplaying style in another light, helping to enhance it.
Any suggestions, (constructive) criticism and questions are always welcome.


Basics-
Creating your character-
-Appearance
-Race
-Class
-Age
-History
-Preferences etc.
-Future

Experienced-
Growth from experiences-
-Mental
-Physical
-Interaction
-Combat
-Thoughts and Actions
-Being a Dungeon Master
-Creating a quest
-The plot
-Pointers
-How to write
-Tips from the more experienced RPers

What you need to know (definitions)-
-Metagaming
-Powergaming
-Roleplaying
-Pen and Paper
-Player vs. Player
-DMing (Dungeon Mastering)

Used Abbreviations-
-RP; Roleplaying
-RPG; Roleplaying Game
-PnP; Pen and Paper
-PvP; Player vs. Player
-MG; Metagaming
-PG; Powergaming
-DM; Dungeon Master
-Char; Character
-PC; Playing character
-NPC; Non-playing character
-IC; In-character
-OOC; Out-of-character

Note; for the meaning of each term, look at their respective chapters, under ‘What you need to know’.

-Race:

When you decide to join an RPG first step is to make a character. Before you rush into things and pick the coolest race available, you should take the following into consideration:
Every race has its flaws, no race is perfect. Why is no race perfect? Simply because it’s too boring that way. Take the elves for example. We know them as immortal beings, which gives them an edge over the human race. However, elves are also arrogant, they don’t easily make friends because of their (to mortals) cold attitude and they are reluctant to offer help to “outsiders”. When you pick a race, you have to take all its advantages and disadvantages with you. These prerequisites will determine how your character will react to different situations.

-Class

The class of the character is what he or she has for profession, if any. The class rules differ from RPG to RPG (some will have classes, others not), but they will be a consistent fact in the RP experience. When considering the class of your character, you must take a few things into account. For example, how you want your character to live. Rangers will mostly be found in the woods and with a caring for all animals and plants, mages will more commonly seen studying ancient tomes and the like, trying to gain knowledge. Although multi-classing is an option, it will also make the RP more difficult. With multi-classing I mean that your character is for example both a ranger and a mage, therefore he or she must also act accordingly to his or her class (for example a wizard who loves nature).

-Age

Age of a character can mean a lot to nothing. It all depends on how you perceive it. If you take a human and make him or her 40 years old, something’s bound to have happened in the character’s past years. Age can give you the perfect opportunity to expand your character’s history. It can also be used to indicate that this character is just on the very beginning of life and will grow accordingly. Also take into account that someone who is 18 years old will respond differently at certain situations then a 40 year old. For example, a teen would rush into combat, where the more experienced would wait and come up with some kind of plan.

This is the most significant part in creating your character. You can make this as simple or as elaborate as you want. Making it simple will mean your character will have a shallow basis and therefore must grow from experiences to come to its full potential. Having an elaborate history has significant impact on the character’s attitude, actions and thoughts in certain situations. For example, having your characters family killed can result in a feeling of hopelessness, anger, revenge or sadness. Always check back with your character’s history to see how he or she would react. Another example, say your character’s wife was murdered by an elf, this will mean that in the future he could have an immense hatred for all elves and will act accordingly when he meets one. History is decisive for a character. You cannot separate it from him or her. The character’s history has shaped him or her, given form to its state of thought as it is at the moment.

History is also important for another thing; it makes you explain his or her actions. When attacking someone you must explain why. You can’t just walk up to someone and wallop him on the head without looking shallow, RP wise. When in the character’s history a reason can be found for his or her action at that moment, always mention it in one way or another.


Example;

instead of:

John walks over to the elf and kills him.

Say:

John walks over to the elf, remembering what happened to his family. How he had found his mother dead on the floor and his father hanged, how he’d jumped out of the window only to find nothing. Finally he had heard some elf was responsible for the murder, and now another elf dares to defy him? Without a second thought John stabbed the elf in the stomach.

Note; the above description can also be written in a different format.

With preferences I mean for example weapon of choice. Does the character fight with a sword or with a bow? And why does he do this? Thinking about this not only develops your character, but it also expands the character’s depth.




Do you have an ultimate goal for your character? Do you want him or her to accomplish anything, and if so, when do you want him or her to accomplish it? Also, what will happen to the character once he or she has accomplished a certain goal?

Always look further ahead. It not only opens new roads for the character to take, but it also gives a general idea as for the purpose of the character.

As I stressed before, always make your character grow from his experiences, in the past and the present. For example, if your current quest is to kill a band of thieves and he doesn’t kill one for some reason, make sure that you expand on that reason, right at that moment and in the future. Because if that reason was he fell in love with the girl he was supposed to kill, that will have effect on his life ahead.

A character also grows mentally with the years, just as we do. Make sure you take this into account when RPing.





Physical growth is inevitable. When a character gains year, you will see this in his appearance. Also, when a character fights a lot, or trains everyday, you will see this in his physique. Always remember that when making an entrance. You have to sketch a good image of how other people will see your character (note: not perceive, only see). It gives a good opening for a conversation. For example a knight walks in, he looks bruised and he walks difficult. It’s very likely another character will step up to him and ask him what happened. Thus by mentioning the knight was hurt, you have created an excellent opening for a conversation.

The most important asset of RPing is the interaction with other characters. From these interactions quests, hatreds and friendships are created. Therefore it is very important that you stick with your character and approach the other character as yours would do. This means that when you see someone walking over to you, you describe this process as it is perceived by your character. You let your character sketch an image of how the one approaching looks or perhaps how he or she will fight. You create a mental image, which, most of the time, will be adjusted the longer you know the other character. Also remember that every character has depth. There is always more going on then appears on the surface.
IMPORTANT: Never talk with the other character as if you know what is going on in his or her head. Although the author may describe several thoughts, your character does not know these. He or she only sees the exterior and although your character can make a wild guess as to the nature of a certain action of the other character, he or she can never be sure of this. Through mutual trust and friendship your character will discover more and more of the other character’s way of thought and his or her past and with that knowledge your character can more accurately guess what his or her (possible) friend is up to.

Also, when interacting with another character, keep in mind that the way you see him or her, not necessarily the same is as your character does. Another thing, when talking always notice the race of another character. It can explain his actions and can make your character respond different.





The part that most RPers like best, but also the part that is more difficult to RP right. I cannot tell you how you should make your character fight, but I can give you several tips to make it as realistic as possible. First, remember that your character is mortal. Wounds will hurt; therefore it is very unlikely that your character will just walk up to someone giving him an excellent opportunity to hurt your character. Second, your character isn’t god. Each opponent is a difficult one, and although it is very likely your character will be better skilled, the opponent still has the ability to harm you. Respect your opponent, just as you would do in real-life. Third, be dynamical. Don’t say: “John walks up to the guy and rips out his spinal cord.” Instead elaborate on the given action and make the fight fun to both read and to participate in. On a side note, the chance that your character will actually be able to rip out someone’s spinal cord will be slim to none. But even if he or she could, where’s the fun in that? It isn’t about the winning, it is about letting your character grow. To help this, let him or her lose a couple of times. From losing he or she will learn, which will make coming fight less difficult to win. It’s one giant process of error and success, where the character will learn more from the first than the latter.




These two always go together. When the character performs and action, he will have thought something explaining the action and vice versa (if the character thinks of something, there must be a reason to (action)).

Always keep in mind that the thoughts and actions of a character are unique for that character. If the character decides to murder a village, he will have thoughts as to why, perhaps something that has happened in the past (also see: history). The character will always have an unique way of dealing with certain situations, if it were to murder a village, he would leave clues (subconsciously or not) as to why he did it, or who did it. Although his thoughts (reasons) and actions may change throughout the “life” of the character, the basis will always remain the same. Take that into account when making your character do something.

There are several forms of writing. The two main forms are the active and the passive (descriptive form). The meta-form (a mix between active and passive) is also very popular. In the next paragraph I’ll explain the differences between the forms.

When using the active form, you are your character as it were. You write from his or her point of view. Thoughts written in this form are mostly in italic.


Example (Active form):

*picks up his keg of ale and downs it*
*wipes off his mouth on his sleeve*

“Ahh, that was a good drink.”

(optional) *he thought*

Now, where’s that cute waitress?

The passive form, also known as the descriptive form, describes the actions of the character. With this form it is easier to incorporate thoughts.


Example (Passive form):

Picking up his ale, he downed it. After he had finished his drink, he wiped off his mouth on his sleeve. “Ahh, that was a good drink.” He said aloud. “Now, where’s that waitress?” He thought.

The meta-form is a mix between the active and passive form. It both allows you to give your post a more in-character feel, and to expand more on the character’s line of thought.


Example (Meta-form):

Picking up his ale, he downed it. After he had finished his drink, he wiped off his mouth on his sleeve. “Ahh, that was a good drink.” He said aloud.

Now, where’s that waitress?

*Note though that the Meta-form comes in all sorts of varieties. Every RPer uses his own style of writing, fitted to his or her personal preference of writing.

When you are ready to DM a quest, always start from scratch. Make a list containing the following:

- Number of players
- Goals
- Plots
- *NPCs (non-playing characters)

Always have the story, or at least the beginning, ready in advance (really experienced players may even start a thread without knowing what the end will be, or what the actual quest will entail etc. This is not recommended for the starting DMer). Make sure you know what you want to say, when to say it and to whom you want to say it. Be prepared for every possible thing that a character can do, as they are by definition unpredictable.

Also, think about introducing NPCs into the quest. NPCs are easy to use characters who you can introduce to make sure the party (players) don’t forget something that will prove valuable to the quest, a NPC is also very handy for giving hints or pointers that will help the PCs to further on the quest.

Note: NPCs are non-playing characters. This mean they don’t actually exist the way the PCs (playing characters) do. NPCs are always there for a purpose.
Note 2: PCs are the characters playing in the quest, controlled by people other than the DM.

The Plot:

Every quest has a plot. Whether it is for the PCs to gain an item, or to get them somewhere. Make sure the plot is fitting, if necessary, adapt it during the quest. When a quest hasn’t got a plot, it’s very easy to let it drag on until eventually no one will post anymore. Therefore, never begin something that you can’t end.

Following is a paragraph which consists only of tips other (experienced) RPers have for the beginner. It would be good to check this, as it can shed some more light on Roleplaying.

Note: The following may or may not be known. These tips are really intended for the beginning RPer, and can be good to read if you don’t want to browse through the whole Guide.

*When creating a char, do NOT think about powers, create the character and their personality and the rest will take care of itself.

*Whatever powers your char has should be balanced. Casting unlimited high power spells and then simply being tired afterwards is NOT balanced.

*Be creative. Don't be afraid to try something new/crazy.

*Know the rules, both written and unwritten where you RP. It'll save a lot of headaches later.

*For DMs; Do NOT try to make a RP go 'according to plan'. Often the best ones are the ones that bear absolutely no similarities with the original plan.

Metagaming: This is the term used when you play your character with knowledge he or she cannot possibly have. For example, if you walk into a bar and have your character say; “Hey Sara.” To a stranger. This happens when you know that the character’s name is Sara, but your character hasn’t met her yet. A more serious form of Metagaming is when you use knowledge that could end the quest, which you have obtained while OOC, in your character’s favour.

Another example is switching between characters and using your first character’s knowledge for the advantage of the second, when those two characters haven’t met and thus haven’t shared any knowledge with each other.

Powergaming: This is the term used when your character has godlike attributes and therefore has no difficulties whatsoever with the given missions. This does not only make the quest dull, it also sucks the Role out of Playing.

Roleplaying: For a better understanding of this term, read “Roleplaying; The Ultimate Guide”.

Pen and Paper: This term comes from the earlier days, when RP was still played at home with several friends, using sheets of paper for your characters etc. In general, this term refers to the earlier “era” of RP.

Player vs. Player: It says it all. This means that players can attack other players at will. Most on-line RPs will have this option.

DMing (Dungeon Mastering): This term is used when saying what the DMs are doing (controlling the quest).

AURP (Alternative Universe Roleplay): A RP set in a different world than the common (A)DnD dimensions, such as faerûn (sword coast) etc. An AURP can, for example, be made in Sigil (the city of doors), or can take place in the future. AURP is a term normally associated with a different type of setting and/or RPG than the one people are used to on a board.

Credits:

Roleplaying; The Ultimate Guide (Adapted for the On-Line Roleplaying Experience) was written by:

Wraith (Admin of Illusion Vale)

When you have any suggestions, (constructive) criticism and/or questions, feel free to PM me.

If you want to contribute to this Guide, PM me the part you want to contribute and I’ll PM you back. If your contribution will be used, your (nick)name appears in the credits.

Thanks to all the Roleplayers out there, who have given me one of the best experiences in my time on-line.