Guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 [align=center]IndexGeneral RulesThreads and RoleplaysPG-MarkingClub-Specific RoleplaysGod ModingApplicationPost ValueBribaryAdvanced clauseNEW! OOC only posts General RulesThe roleplaying forum is a part of the Yugioh Card Maker community. Henceforth, all rules specified by the Moderators are applied here as well. It is a given that if anyone breaks any rule stated by Moderators or any of the rules below, you are to REPORT them and they will be promptly dealt with. Threads and RoleplaysAn RP does not need more than one thread. You don't need to post a new thread every time your RP reaches a new "part" or equivalent. However, if you have finished your RP - usually fulfilling some sort of goal - and want to continue with the same characters in a different story, such matters require a different thread. As long as the new story has little relevance to the old, it is treated as a different Roleplay. Any single RP must contain the most important things, firstly a synopsis and application form in the first post, any posts that have OUT OF CHARACTER (Commonly abbreviated as OoC or OOC) comments must also include IN CHARACTER (IC) posting as well, however more specific talk regarding questions or applications can be sent in an IM to the RP host. All applications which must work in a "accept" and "decline" basis if Non-Club Related. If you wish to provide an explanation to your choice, feel free to do so. A member can host any number of Roleplays at the same time, but be reasonable. Don't host more than you can handle. PG-MarkingNot all roleplays are appropriate for all members here on YCM. Therefore, when posting a roleplay aimed at a specific group, put the appropriate tag in the title: [PG-13]If your roleplay includes mild swearing, a degree of graphical violence, or mild sexual content, it is better placed as a PG-13. [PG-16]If your roleplay includes harsh language, strong graphical violence, or a higher degree of sexual content, it is classified as PG-16. [M]M-Rated roleplays, including gore, graphical violence or extreme sexual content, are not allowed at the Yugioh Card Maker Forum. A large part of our members are eighteen or under: Having an M-rated roleplay here wouldn't make any sense. Club-Specific RoleplaysClub-Specific Roleplays, where only members of a certain club can join and play, are allowed on this forum. Apart from all the other rules, Club-Specific Roleplays have one special rule: A club can only host one Club-Specific Roleplay at any one time. This is to promote open roleplays. God ModingGod Moding is, for short, when a player does something she isn't allowed to do. This might include: Controlling other player's characters, given that they don't have a permission.Controlling NPC's, characters normally controlled by the host.Controlling battle, rendering yourself invulnerable and one-shotting all your opponents.Have amazing luck.Creating NPCs to improve your own character's strength. Late ApplicationsIf you wish to join a roleplay after it has started, contact the host via PM. Do not post in the thread; this tends to annoy people. Post ValueTo improve the overall feeling around the roleplay you are in, try to make you post worth as much as possible. Add more content by describing how the world moves around you as you walk by. (without conflicting with Rule 6) Write so that anyone can understand you when they read and elaborate on your post. BribaryRoleplay hosts may not advertise their roleplays by means of bribary. This includes paying reputations, points, or other things to roleplayers for joining their roleplays. Signatures however may be used to advertise your roleplay instead, this is because many members will take when things are given. By the way, if you feel the need to ask anything regarding these rules don't hesitate to post here or drop either of us an IM, best to ask than act and get in trouble for things you didn't ask before hand. Advanced Roleplaying While not rules per se, the Advanced Roleplaying clause includes a various selection of Rules that can be used to improve the overall quality of your Roleplay.[/align] Minimum post quality A good, lengthy post in a role-play should consist of at least four lines with proper English grammar and spelling. However, as a general rule, one to two paragraphs should be included in every post, by the least. A good post should be able to elaborate from, to take material from and use it on your own post. Don't make a post that doesn't move forward the story at some point. (Warning! Be careful when doing this - elaborating too much may be on the brink of Godmoding) Proper dialogue Dialogue / dialog in an RP should be presented either by quotation marks or by speech lines. Script format and/or other means is strictly prohibited. Using script format, por ejemplo, gives lesser room for character evolution and makes overall conversation dull. Copy-paste characters Characters used in different roleplays, with only minor details altered to fit the plot, is strictly prohibited. They completely halt character evolution by not evolving as characters - not in a true way. Sure, this particular incarnation might change, but the overall idea will always be the same. [align=center]OOC Only posts There is one thing more that members here have been doing that I do not believe should done, under the clause or not. What is this, you may ask? This is the usage of RP threads to hold conversations that are completely irrelevant to the task at hand. It completely defeats the point of the Advanced Clause, which would lead to further encouragement of bad posting habits. Therefore, any posts that are purely OOC can be reported, and the poster will receive a 20% warning. Threads with these in excess will be locked. That's the same as under the Advanced Clause, so no complaining there. The only things that are excusable are:RP applications. Posts notifying an accepted application by the RP master. Anything else does not fly, and can easily be handled over PM. [/align] ~Shadius and Rinne - 09 Credit for an extension of Rule 2: Threads and Roleplays goes to Deadlycremepuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 3, 2009 Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 Seeing that a few of the stickies could be merged together this thread of guides has added the Post Example sticky and the Roleplaying Resources sticky to its contents. The other threads are now gone and this one locked so it won't have a bunch of off topic posts. Any questions can be directed to Rinne or I. Beginner's guide to role playing Table of Contents Section 1 - Post Length Section 2 - Godmodded Posts and Powerplaying Section 3 - Detailed Posts Section 1 - Post Length Chaos_Remix's Words Lately I've noticed that some users in are dear Role Play section post 1 or 2 line posts, theses posts keep the other Role Players in the thread from building off posts. A decent post should have four to seven lines, that gives people a idea on what they should post at and also allows them to build off the post and set up the post for the next person. Now if you think that four to seven lines are too much for you, just practice them, you will get used to it. Umbra's Words When you post, make sure that your posts have content. We don't want you to post stuff like "I go ther" and then end it. When you post, you tell us everything your character does. If you only tells us he goes there... Well, anything could happen. You could accidentally fall into a convinient snakepit. Section 2 - Godmodded Posts and Powerplaying Chaos_Remix's words Now alot of us have seen a god modded post, yet alot of roleplayers don't notice that their godmodding unless told then they deny it and come up with some bizard reason to why they aren't godmodding. Now a godmodded post is one that allows the poster to counter anything, defeat anyone, and/or having the abillity not to be countered. A example of godmodding is "Kai-I activate Wicked Soul Tourture you lose 800 life points for every spell card you'v activated. 1600 damage to you. Painful Curse activate, I pay 3000 life points to destroy all card that are face down. Now I activate Consuming Shadow ritual, now I discard 2 monster who's level eguals 9 stars. I summon Shadow Eater. Now I activate Shadow Eaters special ability to destroy 1 dark monster on the field. Chaos Emporor is destroyed Shadow Eater attack Darkness Blast 2500 damage. The Evil Kai quickly desposed Yoshe in only 1 turn." Posts like that ruin rp's because of the fact that it ends duel/fightstoo soon, which doesn't allow character development. Powerplaying is when someone posts something that makes there character too powerful but isn't powerful enough to be consider godmodding, these posts are just as bad as godmodding even though they aren't as rp destroying as godmodding posts, most examples of powerplayingis when someone controls someone elses character without permission. Umbra's Words Make sure that if you intervene with another character, regardless who controls it, you have that character's owner's permission to do so. I have seen several RPs and RPGs with consisted only in lines in the likes of "I kill you, counter me" or "I counter your move. I win".Whatever you may think, this is not what people want from a roleplayer. We don't want you to "win". We don't want you to only join because of your desire to defeat the rest. Section 3 - Detailed Posts Chaos_Remix's Words * a knock on the door * Ryoushi answer it * it was Zero This is a example of a post with no detail, people post like this thinking that it won't bother anyone but really it makes hard for people to post and build off of. Details support character developmentand also help the next poster, with detailed posts a user would get used to posting bigger which is good for any role play. Hell to tell the truth a detailed post can just have air circling around someone, or a person looking around a room, but most people just post "bob walked there" then end their post, posts like that are intensely hard to build off. Zetsumei and the gang walked down into the enterance of the crypt, they came to a opening that had a door with 5 slots, around the room was mold and flowers, a weird combo, he took out 4 gems from a pouch on his side, the 4 gems were perfect fits and spun in a 180 degree motion. "Damn Gil, he only got 4 of the gems needed and he didn't write how to get the last one, sometimes I really hate that kid" Zetsumei said as he took a seat infront of the door, "Got any ideas guys?" That is a example of a detailed post, some might think it is PPing but if you read the posts before it you will see that the post fits the story. Umbra's Words Posting without details is like giving christmas presents stuffed with sand. We want more and interesting content. Even if your character just walks across the street, there are hundreds of things you could write. Does his hair move in the wind? Does he see someone he recognizes? Does he hear something interesting? Is the ground uncomfortable? Sky's the limit.This part, the Dungeon Master Guide, will cover the most important things you need to create an RP/-G. If you wish to contribute to this guide, or comment it, feel free to send me a PM. 4. Plot buildingsChaos Remix' words: In rps the plot needs to be built on, these are plot building posts.These posts can contain a evil plan coming to light, people dying, couples forming. Pretty much anything that would effect the story in a major way. Without posts like these a story of a rp would never move and resulting in a slow and painful death unless action was taken. Whether a new villain or hero is introduced or a death of a main character occurs, these posts keep rps alive. Umbra's words: We've all encountered RPs set in either Duelist Kingdom or Duel Academy. We've all sat through dialogue with Yugi, Joey, Jaden and the others. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes you just get enough. This chapter is here to describe how to build better and more unique plots. There are three stages to every plot, which are described below. SynopsisThis is what should be in the first post, describing the plot as the characters first encounter it. It should be between eight and ten lines long. DevelopmentThe main part of the RP/-G, which is where the characters discover their purpose in the world and what they are supposed to do. During this part of the RP/-G, we meet new characters, new villains, and perhaps we lose a few. The Grand FinaleThe conclusion of the RP/-G. in which the plot resolves. Either the main characters die, or the villain is defeated. Or perhaps something in between, this is all dependant on the RP/-G itself. However, unless you plan a sequel, this is also where all plot hooks should resolve. 5. NPC's Chaos Remix' words: In a role play or role playing game there are characters you cannot control, these are NPC's. NPC's help with the story and are needed in any basic rp. NPC's can be for a example Judai or Yugi in a yugioh rp/rpg. NPC's are usually controlled by their creator or the topic starter unless told otherwise, if other wise the person who is allowed control is the only one allowed besides the one that gave the permission, someone who got premission cannot give it to another.NPC's are like a second backbone for rper, if you don't see a NPC in a rp ask if its ok to make one to help the rp along. Umbra's words: NPC's are characters controlled by the owner of the RP/-G, which interact with the characters in different ways. They might be introducing the characters to the world, developing the plot by revealing the lair of the enemies, or even giving the characters different skills and professions. There are a few archetype-NPC's that are common among RP/-Gs, which I will list below: The GuideThe Guide is the first NPC the characters meet, which gives them their mission. The Guide is generally friendly towards the characters. The RivalA rivaling team of NPC's, which fight for the same goal but with different means than the characters, speeds up the plot of any RP/-G. The VillainWhat the characters fight. Can be a single person, can be an entire organization. Hostile towards the characters. The Chosen OneA person with special powers. Can be either hostile or friendly towards the characters. 6. Statistics-based RPG's Chaos Remix' words: RPG's run off 2 systems, stories and statistic's.Statistics-based RPGs use a level system where you gain a certain amount points that you can put into stats and you may get to get a new skill or spell or 2. Dice rolls are a part of Statistic-based RPGs, they determine what happens,how much damage you do, how much damage you take, and more. The good thing about this system is that it keeps away really powerful characters until later on in the story, this keeps the balance and makes a rpg fun for everyone. When most people think of Statistics-based RPGs they think of one of the most famous ones: Dungeons and Dragons.RPG's don't have to be that fancy, they can be simple or even fancier if you want, just remember dice is used, ALOT. Umbra's words: You might think "Dungeons and Dragons" when you read this topic. Well, you're right. D&D is a statistics-based RPG. But it's also among the most complex. Statistics-based RPGs can be far easier than that. Even though they might include such things as dice-rolls and Hit Points, this is nothing to be afraid of. Behind all large RPGs hides tons and tons of dice. Things that define Statistics-based RPGs are often Races and Classes, which provides modifiers to the Skills and Professions the character might have. Statistics-based RPGs are actually too big to cover on a single guide, but you don't need all the information. Simply know that Statistics-based RPGs are more in control of your character than regular RPGs are.Section 7: What is Roleplaying? Snitch's RP-related ramblings The easiest way to describe a roleplay, or as many members refer to it, RP, is basically a story or tale written by many people. However, that is only the blueprints of our hypothetical RP-house; there is much more to a roleplay than simply people banding together and writing a story. One of the key differences between a roleplay and a collabaration, which is a story written by many people, is that with a roleplay you will never know what is coming next. Perhaps, in your Pokémon Roleplay, you are just wanting a simple journey story. Someone could come along and join, and you start posting, with simple things such as: ---Christina drew up her backpack and the three Pokéballs she had received for her journey; today was the day that she set off for her new beginning as a Pokémon Trainer. Almost forgetting the most important things she needed, her Pikachu and Pokédex, she made a quick grab for them and set out the door, quickly pausing and yelling back in to tell her mother she was leaving. She stepped out of the door, the humid air of Pallet Town brushing the thread of hair that had fallen over her eye out of her face. With a smile she set off, hoisting her backpack over one arm only. Now, whilst that is good and all, it's not very original, is it? Now, say the person who joined your roleplay made that same sort of post, it would be kind of dull, even with all the description and decent post size. However, one of the brilliant aspects of a roleplay is that Person B, our joiner, can make a post like this: ---Johnny came dashing out of the door, everything he needed barely packed and a piece of egg tuck against his left cheek. A split-lip smile was pasted on his face, looking odd with his large nose and devilish red eyes. As he ran, he shut his eyes, letting the warm air brush against his own face, when suddenly he felt himself bump into something and fall over, screaming out by instinct. He opened his eyes to find himself on top of a girl, chest-to-chest, and her face coated in steaming rage. Feeling his cheeks tinting red, he stood up slowly, trying to back away. See there? Now, Person A, the topic creator, most probably wasn't expecting said event to occur, which adds a whole other element rather than a story. Plot expanding is so simple with RP that it can become anything and far more fun than just writing stories, as it opens up a whole new world; more improved roleplayers will choose to bring in twists like this every other post, or even every post, to keep the RP flooding with ideas and everyone going. However, one point to remember with RPs is: You can always use description. Now, a point to make about description is Purple Prose. Go look it up on Google. Go ahead, I'll wait five minutes, or ten for you slow broadband people. So, did you find anything out? If you were too lazy and just carried on reading - Purple Prose is the term for someone who is overly-descriptive. Now, yes, it's always good to have description, but not to over-do it. Describing every little detail of every little detail of every little detail is not necessary. Now, I would give an example of this, but I can't, considering my writing style is perhaps close but still far off from Purple Prose. But go look it up, as said, and I'm sure you'll find some examples. Well, hope you learned something in this wall of text. If you didn't, well, yeah. I don't care. -Snitch Section 8: What a average post should look like and what posts shouldn't be made. Ok since the advance clause and other things are now in place, it's time I make the return that has been needed to help you guys and girls improve or to GTFO. Now then, the basis of this section is for the expanding of post knowledge along with what should never be found in any RP. An example of a good but average level post: After a grueling gym class filled with running around the tormenting wheel of concrete known as the school's track, Anya, who wasn't the best athelete around, had been drenched in her own sweat. A short sigh had escaped her full lips as her hand met her forehead and proceeded to wipe away more of the sweat. Why is this considered a average post: The post above shows a good example of post detail while keeping decent quality, grammar and structure. A average RP post should contain theses things along with keeping from the tempting power plays and god modding that is found in the writing of an inexperienced writer. The post also describes the character in mention, giving other RPers a idea of what your person looks like, while giving a small idea of what is going on around them. Theses help the other RPers build off your post for the result of a good responce. An example of a post that should never be posted and would be considered a horrible post. Charlie: I challenge you to a duel *Activates his duel disk*Matt: You can't win *Activates his duel disk*Charlie: I have Exodia in my hand so I win too badMatt: Well I have 10 Exodias in my hand so I win first Why is this a example of a horrible post: It should be easy to tell why this is a horrible post, not only does it invole godmodding but it could also be a example of power playing and it is in a script format which is horrible for writing outside a play. (Trust me RPing is NOT a play.) But at the same time it also lacks good grammar and even shows that effort was not put into the post, hell it makes it harder for the next person to build off for their post along with killing any possible fun from the RP itself. Section 9: Roleplaying Resources from Deucalion GrammarGrammarBook.com - an online source for English grammar.Guide to Grammar and Writing - another good resource for grammar help. There is also basic writing help from sentence variation to help with tenses.English Club - another useful guide to grammar aimed at those learning it as a second language. Still very useful for native speakers as well.English Grammar 101 - This is also a really useful site for individual study. WritingCreative Writing Tips - This website has a lot of tips and useful advice in regards to creative writing as well as writing in general, from plot to characterization.Fiction Factor - Another great writing help website. Contains editorials as well as courses on fantasy writing.Writing World - This covers everything from the basics to the more advanced forms of creative writing. Characterization/Mary Sues ~Articles: Mary Sue~Wikipedia : Mary Sue - The wikipedia article on Mary Sues and their subtypes. A very helpful article on what they are while also containing litmus tests to test your characters.TVTropes : Mary Sue - A more in-depth article on Mary Sues and their subtypes.Mary Sue, Who Are You? - A humorous article about Mary Sues and why they're not something you want in your story.~Articles: Characterization~Wikipedia: Characterization - A general article on characterization, ranging from character development to different forms of characterization.Literary Elements - A basic list of literary elements, which includes characterization.Story In Literary Fiction: Essays - Character in Literary Fiction Story - An in-depth look at different forms of characterization, ranging from good to bad.Writing Corner: Characterization - A useful guide on the different forms of characterization and how to present them.~Litmus Tests~The Writerium: Mary Sue Litmus Test - Not only does it feature information on Mary Sues, but you can also take their litmus test to help determine how Sueish your character is.Katfeete Mary Sue Litmus Test - Another litmus test for gauging Sueism.Sailor Pandora: MS Litmus Test - Yet another litmus test.The Fantasy Cliché Meter: The Bad Guys - A very useful litmus test for determining how cliché your villian is. In-Depth Writing Help ~Detail~BYU Writing Center: Writing with Detail - Has information from how to make better titles to how to improve the description in your writing.Authorlink: Build Strong Writing With Concrete Detail - A great editorial on the importance of knowing where to add detail and where to omit it.Judy Reeves: Truth is in the Details - Another great article on the how detail can improve writing.~Paragraphs and Dialogue~The Owl At Purdue: Paragraphs - Explains what a paragraph is, how long they should be, and when to make new ones.Writing Dialogue - Goes into the basic grammar rules related to dialogue as well as the paragraphing rules associated with dialogue.Suite101: Dialogue And Punctuation - An online lesson in dialogue, paragraphing, and punctuation. Online ToolsSpellchecker.net - An online spellchecker. Also checks grammar and can be used as a thesaurus.Dictionary.com- The online dictionary. Great place to go if you don't know/remember the meaning of a word.Thesaurus.com- Online thesaurus. Great tool if you need to find a synonym/antonym of a word.Orangoo: Spellchecker- Another online spellchecker. Can also spellcheck entire websites.jSpell- Yet another online spellchecker. A list of resources a friend and I compiled. Hopefully, it'll be useful to any budding young RPers out there. A section I'd advise everyone especially to look at is the Mary Sue litmus section - taking at least one of those tests before submitting a character would be something amazing to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bury the year Posted December 27, 2009 Report Share Posted December 27, 2009 I'm moving all of the rule-based threads together in an effort to slim down on the number of stickies. So, yeah. We have good news and bad news. Or maybe it's just plain news. I'm pretty sure 90% of you guys aren't going to like either of it, but this has been in the works for quite a while by the three active RP mods here, so if you wanna complain, please don't say that we're jumping up on you. So, I'm not gonna beat around the bush much longer. TAG SYSTEM OUT, MANDATORY ADVANCED CLAUSE IN First of all, if you were to post the literary equivalent of some of the RPs on here in Fanfic, you'd probably get bashed for it at one point or another. Why would we tolerate bad writing here when it isn't elsewhere? Secondly, some of the stuff dangerously approaches pure spam and off-topic-ness. RP has always been notorious for being somewhat of a post-whore forum, and sadly, I can't entirely disagree. I know that I've been policing for OOC-only the last few months, but it's getting difficult with the high rate of thread turnover in this forum. Therefore, it's time to definitively crack down. We thought that the tag system would help with that, but it obviously hasn't. You're supposed to improve somewhat here and become better writers, and it isn't evident. So, here's our lovely procedure for implementing this. 1) All RP threads that are currently tagged Basic must adopt some form of the Advanced Clause rulings (helpfully explained by Shadius here) by December 2, 2009. (This date is coincidentally my birthday.) That's a week, which should be plenty of time. 2) After this period has elapsed, any active "Basic" RP that was created before November 25, 2009 (today) will be locked, unless the creator can produce evidence that shows that they were unable to get to a computer during said period. (A post in the Leaving/Returning Thread would suffice.) 3) Any RPs that do not use the Advanced Clause and were created after the twenty-fifth will be posted on, requesting that they alter their RP rules to fit the clause. If they do not do so with in 12 hours from the request post time, the thread will be locked, depending on when the user logged off. 4) All converted RPs with content from before the twenty-fifth will be treated under Advanced Clause rules. Therefore, if you do not want to be locked for rules violations, just talk with your RP-mates and have them polish their apps up to snuff. Let's all hope for the best, shall we? [align=center]The above has been signed by and agreed on by: Umbra Déjà Cru XxShadiusxX[/align] PS: Sushi, if you see this and have a bone or six to pick, which I'm sure you will, please keep it over IM, PM, Mod Forum, etc. You know how to contact me. ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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