Roleplaying Tips and Resources

[Aix]

[hr]Scroll down to Yui's post for the RP Resources.
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Roleplaying Tips for Newbies and Veterans Alike

Rather than create a comprehensive guide about just about everything there is to know about RPing, I decided to just go with a list of tips and things to look out for when RPing to make the experience better for everyone. These tips pertain to roleplaying rather than writing in general, since there are tons of guides for writing out there. Long-time RPers would benefit from reading this just as much as newbies.

• Be aware of other characters during character conception and creation - A roleplay needs balance and diversity in its cast, also some characters have great synergy together. Try to look at other characters and create something that will work well with them.
• Always try to take the initiative to interact with others - I did a poll a while back and most of you seem to agree with me that character interactions are probably the most fun part of roleplaying. Keep looking out to interact with others and don't wait for others to interact with you. Even if your character isn't the outgoing type, it's still possible to seek out interactions. For example, you could accidentally bump into others.
• Try not to textwall - try not to write huge posts that make people want to tl;dr. They're not pleasant for others and people may just skim through it, even if your post is the greatest piece of writing to appear on the internet. Cut down on unnecessary description. This does not mean to make really short posts either. Look around to see the average post length and try to keep to that. Of course, there are times where long posts are necessary, but err on the shorter side for the sake of everyone else. This includes collabs, which can get to extreme lengths.
• Communicate with your fellow RPers - talk things out with the other people in the RP. Try to plan out things to do or your characters' future interactions and development with each other. Don't be afraid to ask someone if they could make their character do something. If some cool or amusing idea comes to mind, share it. The discussion starts even before IC is up, and don't make the RP only happen on the IC side of things. 
• Take note of what others are doing - we all want to be noticed. Have your character comment, verbally or mentally, on what one of the other characters did. This isn't only about IC. If someone did something cool in their post, go into the OOC or RP chat to tell them it was nice. If the plot took a cool turn, tell the host what you thought of it. Also, this feedback isn't limited to just compliments, go ahead and give constructive criticism as well. It's important for everyone to hear everyone else's opinions on things.
• Take things in IC slowly - RPs are very slow compared to reading or writing a fic. They also don't tend to live long. This can give RPers the tendency to rush character development and like. Doublecheck yourself to make sure you don't do this. Of course, catching yourself rushing can be hard to do, so just try to take things slowly so that things get properly developed. Think about the RP more and its pacing.
• Find a way to motivate yourself - now if we all could just magically motivate ourselves, we'd probably solve half the problems in the world. However, RPs are probably easier to motivate yourself for. Possible methods to do so is to talk about the RP to get you going, or maybe watch a relate TV show and anime to inspire you, otherwise you can listen to the RP's theme songs to bring you into the right mood. You can also ask for a collab, because they tend to be more fun than writing alone.
• Post whenever you can - if you have the opportunity to post, do so. In almost all cases, more posts is better. You posting can also encourage other people to post. Of course, make sure you aren't excluding someone by posting too much.
• Actively try to solve situations and challenges in the IC - by this I mean, when the host gives an open situation or a challenge for the RP characters to tackle, take initiative in making your character doing something about it. Put some effort into thinking your way through it, and discuss with your fellow RPers or host about what to do. If all else fails, just make your character try something.
• Take initiative in making things happen - start things in the RP, make things happen or help the host push the plot along. However, be sure to discuss things with the host when you are planning something, in case it interferes with something the host has in mind.

If there is anything else that comes to mind that you can add to this list, speak up in the comments below.

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[Maeriberii Haan]

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~In-Site Useful Links~

 

Phosphorus/Rinne's Character Creation Guide: A detailed, thorough guide on creating a good character for role plays. Even if the post itself is really old, all of the points will still apply today.

 

Zai's Out of Character/RP Planning Thread Guide:  A step-by-step approach in how to have a snazzy, interesting OOC thread that can get people's attention. A must read for any host-to-be.

 

Kyng's Roleplay Combat Guide: A to the point guide regarding handling combat in a play-by-post forum role play.

[Aix]

Something that I think it's needed in the opening post is regarding taking initiatives to do something or solving IC problems.

Also maybe something regarding acting/reacting to plot development, and even maybe something regarding fighting a railroading attempt.

On another note, once this thread is fully functional and all, can we just link the other tips/guide thread to this thread instead, to save room for stickies?

Not quite sure what you mean by IC problems exactly and fighting a railroading attempt.

[Maeriberii Haan]

I mean, when the host challenges the players in a RP by presenting a challenge, at times I see that not enough effort was done to figure out the way to beat the challenge in the pretense that the host will solve the problem anyway even if they don't.

Idk how to correctly word the second part, but basically, what I meant was taking the initiative on doing things so that you make something happen to the plot/make a plot happen even if you're not a host, rather than having the plot happen to your character.

Basically what to keep in mind regarding those scenarios, what not to do, among others. RP is not entirely the host's story after all, it's the story of everyone joining on it.

(Also can a host tips segment be up in the future?)

[Aix]

I mean, when the host challenges the players in a RP by presenting a challenge, at times I see that not enough effort was done to figure out the way to beat the challenge in the pretense that the host will solve the problem anyway even if they don't.

Idk how to correctly word the second part, but basically, what I meant was taking the initiative on doing things so that you make something happen to the plot/make a plot happen even if you're not a host, rather than having the plot happen to your character.

Basically what to keep in mind regarding those scenarios, what not to do, among others. RP is not entirely the host's story after all, it's the story of everyone joining on it.

(Also can a host tips segment be up in the future?)

Will eventually make a whole RP creation and hosting guide because that actually warrants one. We also need to figure out more and better strategies to keep RPs alive.

[Maeriberii Haan]

Rather than keeping RPs alive, why don't we try to make that goal more concrete.

Something like ''How to keep people interested in the RP'', and ''How to have people keep on posting''.

At times, I see things like ''If you don't post after x time period you're getting kicked/something similar'', but I really doubt that's effective in actually keeping people interested in the RP. As we all know, reinforcements will always work better than punishment, after all.

[Maeriberii Haan]

That might work as an additional incentive for people, but definitely shouldn't be the only one. Personally, I'm seeing a host that integrates everyone's characters into the plot, instead of just making it happen to the characters, would have a better chance in keeping the interest up. Since, hey, no matter how much you care for the plot, playing your characters would be one of your biggest incentive to keep playing the RP. Having small bits of them or their story in the big picture, or heck, just acknowledging each other's characters tbh, that could be a nice way for things to go.

Also, tbh I think actual talk in OOC is pretty important to keep an RP afloat. Not everyone uses skype, after all, and OOC talks are easier to keep track of/being more on topic. Not to mention that an alive OOC will make new people be more likely to join an ongoing RP, if they're not too intimidated, that is.

[Aix]

That might work as an additional incentive for people, but definitely shouldn't be the only one. Personally, I'm seeing a host that integrates everyone's characters into the plot, instead of just making it happen to the characters, would have a better chance in keeping the interest up. Since, hey, no matter how much you care for the plot, playing your characters would be one of your biggest incentive to keep playing the RP. Having small bits of them or their story in the big picture, or heck, just acknowledging each other's characters tbh, that could be a nice way for things to go.

This sort of thing was the reason why I wanted to try creating an RP with the characters first, and then discuss what sort of role each character would have in the plot. That would have the greatest amount of character integration.

Though, Merciful did integrate people's backstory into the plot and he does pretty well (as in he actually is the best currently) at keeping RPs alive.

On the other hand, I don't feel that's quite enough. It certainly helps though. Personally, it would not be much of an incentive for me, since I don't place a great deal of importance in the backstory and roles in the plot tend to be flexible.

Ultimately, the goal is to always have something interesting for each character to do, and give each character a chance to be important at least regularly, which what you mentioned does help.

Also, tbh I think actual talk in OOC is pretty important to keep an RP afloat. Not everyone uses skype, after all, and OOC talks are easier to keep track of/being more on topic. Not to mention that an alive OOC will make new people be more likely to join an ongoing RP, if they're not too intimidated, that is.

Yup, this is true.

[Maeriberii Haan]

It's not everything, but it helps, yes.

Also, regarding the ''have something interesting'' point, please make it a point that this sometimes could end badly, especially when the delivery's really forced/sudden/something similar. While the ''have someone with a gun knock on the door'' plot development can be necessary, this kind of thing shouldn't be used too often. This kind of thing when forced can make people lose interest really quick, and would generally overwhelm the RPers, especially when it's a regular thing that happened, not only reserved for major twists.

Lastly, an interesting read would be this: http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule

It was regarding creating challenges/mysteries for the RPers to solve.

[bury the year]

I'll link to my character inspiration and scenery inspiration folders on dA to help out. (Aix, I suggest you link to your imgur album for all your scenery stuff as well.)

However, I'd also like to see a warning about linking to stuff on dA/Pixiv without checking for "no distribution" requests. YCMers have gotten in trouble in the past for using dA art without proper sourcing, so I wouldn't want to see that again.

[Maeriberii Haan]

Boorus are usually a safe bet for images since most of them are uploaded there with the consent of their artists.

By the way, Rinne, or anyone, is there any need to update/add something to the current Character creation guide? Also opinions on linking it/merging it into this thread?

[Maeriberii Haan]

Made a preliminary In-site guide link section.

[Yui]

Dropping this post to say the female gallery is gonna be shut down at about 6:00PM CST (GMT -8 iirc) and its images downloaded & deleted so that I can renovate and reorganize the thing. Simply put, it's too damn big, to the point where navigating it is becoming a hassle. The plan is to divide it up into smaller galleries to make navigation a little easier. If you're an RPer that's been using the female gallery, please back up any images you're using for current RPs that you got from the gallery. I'll be posting here again after everything is done to notify everyone that it's back up again.

[Yui]

Updated the resources post. The female gallery is now fully functional again, hooray! And I pulled it off only three days after the shutdown too!

 

...on Easter...

 

Am I RP Jesus? :O

[Yui]

This post is a warning that the male gallery will be shut down at 12:00AM CST (that's GMT -6 right?). I'm finally renovating it like I should have done a long time ago, but it should be up much faster than the female gallery since it has less than a thousand images compared to the female gallery having some 3,300 before the renovations. As with the female gallery renovations, I'll be updating my post and posting here again once the new male gallery is fully set up.

[Yui]

Male gallery is back in business, and is sorted in a spoiler in a similar fashion to the obviously superior female gallery.