Frost's Roleplay Guide- WIP

[Frostdragon]

Dear moderators and admins- If this is not the correct place, please move this.

MAJOR WIP
My first guide c: Tell me what you think and feel free to ask questions.

Index

Do's and Don'ts
-Things you should do
-Things you should not do
Creating a Character
-Introduction
-Tips
-Personality
-How NOT to make a character
-Form
Illiterate VS Literate
-Which is better?
-Differences
-How to get better
Vocabulary
-Why do I need good vocabulary?
-How does it help me get better?
-Time for replacing ~♥
Role-play slang
-RP/RPG
-GM,GP,PP
-Charries/Chars
-OOC
-IC
-Semi-lit
-Literate/Literary/Lit
-Mary/Gary
-Auto-mating
-Dead-Ends
Fancying Posts
-Adding color
-Adding pictures
-Other techniques
Creating a Roleplay
-Plot
-Rules: What is necessary?
-How to set a setting
-First post/Intro

[Frostdragon]

Do's And Don'ts

Do be descriptive and add details
Do take time on posts
Do interact with your surroundings
Do include senses [Sight, Hearing, Smell, Touch,Taste]
Do create unique characters
Do give characters a background
Do give your characters flaws
Do explore and include your character's thoughts and feelings
Do reveal thoughts/feelings in posts
Do use good grammar and spelling
Do try and make your posts easy to read
Do try and make your posts clean
Do be polite to those you are rping with
Do stick to the plot

Do not reply with one word/one sentence
Do not create dead-end posts [I'll explain that term]
Do not write a scarce, no detail post
Do not ignore the setting
Do not create characters with no background or personality
Do not make your characters perfect
Do not kill other people's characters
Do not role play other people's characters for them
Do not go into a role play knowing nothing about your character except his/her name
Do not use chat/text speak when rping
Do not wander too much from what is happening
Do not spam the topic
Do not ignore other players' posts unless they create dead end posts.

[Frostdragon]

Creating a Character

Introduction: Why are characters important? Well, for one thing, characters are the thing you can control in an RP. Its best to make a good one. Definition: A character is the representation of a being in a narrative or dramatic work of art. So...what do you do? Throw colors together, throw a background story together? Do you consider different breeds or species, trying new things?

Tips
When making a character, try to make a interesting one to keep the RP going.
I usually think of the breed/species first.
Think of personality traits. Remember, just a brief summary, not in-depth. That can come later. Is your character pompous? angry? quiet?
What is your character good at? Maybe its good at fighting, decent at hunting, but terrible at strategy?
Remember, balance your character's skills! There has to be weak points and strong points!
-Think of colors to suit both name and/or personality.
-Build on the personality by RPing or imagining situations.
-Give a name to your character at some point. I wouldn't name my character something like "midnight" because it is very common.

Personality
Personality is also important. Its what makes your characters react to certain situations. Try to make different personalities for each character instead of similar ones.

If you have an evil, cruel, and controlling character, don't make your character a little puppy or kitten. No one is going to take you seriously. Make the species go according to the personality.

Of course, sometimes its fun to make the character's personality not go with the breed. For instance, if you have a huge, mutilated looking great dane with the personality of a big softie...Eh, that's okay to have a bit of a twist. Just be warned that other characters may be intimidated by him at first.

How not to make a Character
The most complained about, looked down-upon character is the mary-sue. A Mary-Sue is a girl or female who has amazing beauty that seems to blind, and attract everyone. Everyone tends to fall for her or wants to become her friend. Shes the most gorgeous, and popular girl around. Yet, she has a sweet, wonderful personality. She is strong-willed and has skills at almost anything. From chores, to beauty, to sports.

No one is perfect, which is how a Mary Sue is made. Also, they're boring. Its the same with a male, Gary-Stu. These characters are no fun. In fact, it will probably either cause too much drama in the RP, thus making it fail, or because some perfect characters are boring and don't cause drama, making the RP die.

Usually, Gary-Stus are not as common as Mary-Sues. The majority of bad male characters are either emo or bigshot. Other stereotypical characters often used is the "dorky but smart" "atheletic but stupid" "the brave guy", and many more. Sometimes, they may be fun to create a personality based on stereotypes, but unique is the best.

Form Examples

Name: (Your character's name. If someone else has the same name in the RP don't use it. Also, try not to choose common names.)
Age: (Just put your character's age. I prefer using years, but some people prefer using "teen" "young adult" "adult")
Gender: (Your character's sex. Male or female?
Sexuality: (Most forms don't have this. Is your character homosexual? Or is your character heterosexual? Perhaps bisexual and liking both genders?)
Description: (Base color, Markings, Eye Color, Accessories, Build)
Personality: (Personality is much the most important part of the RP character. Put the keypoints and whats interesting. No one cares if your character likes eating apples and likes to do the laundry, unless it fits in with the RP somehow.)
History: (Try to put something down. If you are unsure, then right a brief history and start to develop around it.)
Other: (Anything else you think you should add)

[Frostdragon]

Illiterate VS Literate

Illiterate; a class of a large, and growing, number of people, particularly children, who are unable to read and/or write well. Unfortunately, many RPers are illiterate.

Literate; if you see a thread with "Literate RP" in the subject line, it means they only accept people who have good grammar. This is the same for semi-lit.

The differences

Illiterate

Rox was hungry so he decided to get something to eat, he found a rat and killed it.

Literate

Roxriel's eyelids descended over his pupils in a wince as the onslaught of angry auras seemed to assault him. It seems he had angered the stranger pack. The dalmatian huffed his exasperation and sent his paws running away from the "mall group" as he referred to them. He assumed night would start to encroach on the sky in a few hours and Rox glimpsed the clouds line the horizon. He dove around a rusty, overturned trash can and rounded the corner, where the mall group would last see his spots on achromatic pelt. A soft laugh slipped from the male's maw. His blurred form was surprisingly swift, rhythmical paws briefly touched the ebony asphalt, stray pebbles exploded from his pads. An elongated ear swiveled outward as Rox came to a stop, beaded sweat starting to form under his epidermis.

It had only been a short sprint, but nevertheless he had covered some distance; At least the mall wasn't in his vision anymore. His brown irises caught the glimmer of a rat shifting among garbage. Rox flexed his toes into the pavement. How good it would be to feel tall grass again, if only for a short time. But, that was the price to pay for deciding to visit what used to be down town. The quiet atmosphere stirred at his chest as he began to move forward and on the other side the rat vanished. Narrowing his eyes and frowning hard, he padded after the rodent, past experience telling him that it may be worth looking into. He emerged boldly from behind, a cool grin etched on his face and his cool eyes swept the alley with the note-taking studiousness of a predator...and then he glimpsed the rat, with it's hostile eyes and matted, greasy fur. Teeth glittered briefly for a moment, before it scurried along the sides of the building with surprising speed. "You're not getting away!" He snarled as his tight muscles loosened and exploded after it, flashing his pallid teeth. He stretched forward, soaking up distance, gathering momentum into his lean muscles until his teeth grasped flesh and a cut-off squeal trumpeted, and one more roar tore from his esophagus before gorging the Muridae, its pulse elaborating when its crimson blood hit his maw.

His posture regained, Roxriel felt a wave of hunger hit him, and the trophy remained limp in his jaws.

See the difference? No? I'll explain. Besides from obviously being longer, a lot more time and effort had been put into the literate post. Unless its just me, the literate post is a lot more interesting. Perhaps not as interesting as it could have been, but at least its not as blunt as one line. Anyone can write a sentence, but what about a decent paragraph or two? It can take a while to get literate enough. Just add detail, and its possible. Comparing these two posts, which is better? One line, or 397 words?

How to get better

Despite what I said, theres really no right or wrong way to roleplay. Yeah, one-liners are discouraged, but theres no law against it if you prefer that way. My advice to you all is to hang out on semi-lit (usually many sentences) or literary RPs.(100+ words) Thats how I got the skills I have today, and I still have alot to learn. Look what words they use. How do they describe their posts? Do they use the seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching factors?

Another thing I suggest is thesaurus.com. Instead of using the word "black" why don't you use ebony or obsidian? The only thing to watch out for on there is to make sure that the replacing word makes sense. "You are cheerful" and "you are laughing" are different things with similar meanings, enough to come up together in thesaurus.com.

Read books. Gain knowledge. Instead of just scanning through the pages, actually look at every word.

[Frostdragon]

Why do I need good vocabulary?
Whether you're writing a book, doing an essay for school, or just roleplaying, adjust your vocabulary accordingly.
It is worthwhile to constantly work at improving your knowledge of words. No, you don't have to use words that nobody but you understands.

How does it help me get better?
I feel that paying attention to words used around you is the best way to increase your vocabulary.
If you are really serious about improving your vocabulary, then you can even find lessons I'm sure.

[/center]

Time for replacing ~♥
Words you could use alternatively.

Ate= consumed, chewed, scarfed
Dead= deceased,departed,lifeless
Funny=comical,humorous,entertaining
Curious=analytical, inquiring,nosy
Female=feminine,lady, lass
Tasty=delicious,scrumptious,palatable

[Frostdragon]

Roleplay Slang/Lingo/Terms

RP/RPG= A very common word, because it stands for Roleplay.

GM,GP,PP= Stands for God-modding, God-Play, and Power-Playing. These are all similar things. This is basically a essence when someone's character has the ability to do practically anything without limits or boundaries.

OOC= Stands for out of character. Usually in brackets, ([{}]) this is when someone makes a statement that is not coursed in the actualy RP itself.

IC= In-character, the actual roleplay.

Semi-lit= Better writing skills than illiterates when you RP in a guild or forum. You use punctuation and correct spelling, and you actually RP more than one sentence.

Literate/Literary/Lit=A good roleplayer. Specifically, a literate roleplayer does not use chatspeak, spells word correctly, and has proper usage and grammar. By being literate, you can actually use proper English and use it in paragraph forms.

Mary/Gary=A female/male character who is so perfect as to be annoying.

Auto-mating=A term when two characters become mates without even roleplaying, or at least not more than one or two posts. Person A: "Hey want to be mates?"Person B:"Sure!"

Dead-Ends= A dead-end post is when someone posts something like, "Suzy got bored so she went to the park by herself". It doesn't invite any other characters to go with her, thus making all the other characters make their own "dead ends" such as "Jake watches her go then runs around in circles" which kills a RP.

[Frostdragon]

Fancying Posts

Adding color
Add color to pretty up your posts. I recommend neutral colors, or some color that goes with your character. What you should avoid is bright colors like lime, because some people can't see it well. Also,bright colors that clash like bright orange and light blue. I highly encourage adding decoration to posts, because it just makes them look that much better.

Adding pictures
Adding pictures to your post. It shouldn't be too large, or too small. One idea is a small heading with a picture of your character, with your character's name on it. A more simple idea is sticking your picture at the top of your RP post. Remember not to have it too large or it will take attention away from your Roleplay text.

Techniques
Here are some examples on what you can do with your post.



x--Time is never time at all--x
x--You can never ever leave without leaving a piece of youth--x

A streak of fur flashed in the forest's hues, a sight whom one could seek out with just a simple glance. It sprinted in a swift movement indeed without a moment's hesitation. It's posture in run was rather layed back, and in no hurry to go anywhere. Kleinod was the canidae's name, his draping fur ruffled slightly in the morning breeze as he came to a stop in the middle of the pack's 'camp'. A bit of a morning's run never hurt. Thought the pastel colored wolf, eyes glittering animatedly. Kleinod had been awake even before the Alpha's call. Which, he blamed on splashes of dew falling onto his fur. Kleinod slipped past a few weeds, both irises flickered back and forth, until he had analyzed the day; His warm, brown gaze flitted towards his leader's direction, who seemed to be stirring inside their den. A few moments afterward he heard quiet murmurings, "Shall we go tell the rest of the pack that it is time to hunt?" He sat down, a ray of sunshine sending warmth down his back. So there would be a hunt today? Perfect.

Kleinod was, in fact, around five summers. He took nick-names but not many to where his mind was joggled at trying to keep of with such a minuscule importance. His somewhat majestic features were now resigned in his signature position, with both feet perched in front of him. His jaws parted into a gaping yawn, ivories flashing against their dark gums. He would wait here until he was needed perhaps. He could already spy many more of the pack rousing from their sleep, some of which he knew as his fellow hunters. Kleinod sniffed the air, tasting the scent's and filtering out the dawn's aromas. Nothing out of order. That was good, and he expected today should be very fruitful.
---

x--Orevø--Rubyridge--Wyvern--x

Rubyridge pulled his predatory gaze from the fire to scrutinize at the burrowing owl near Fate, and regarded their conversation with an under-the-breath chuckle. The red-hued dragon's demeanor had changed over the last few days, his actions more charitable in a steady flow. A resonant click sounded as his teeth snapped shut, his chiseled jaw clenched. He turned his broad head away from the burrowing owl's direction, appreciating the way the dark clouds cast contrasts on the roaring fire. His veiled gaze flicked over for a moment over the group of Genesø, and pondered the next prospect of another big event. He had been in quite a few in Sorerrø, and he counted on it that there would be another. He did recall that his last encounter with some large, monstrous animal had been the wyrm. And that was something that was a bit too much, even for such a strong brute like Rubyridge. His iridescent ruby-colored scales powering on his backside shimmered a tad as he shifted, getting to his feet.

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[Frostdragon]

Creating a Roleplay

Plots

Book or Movie

This is a plot based either in the same world as a book/movie, having the same characters as the book/movie, or having the same plot.

The world is set. People know the restrictions of that world without asking. However, only people interested in the media may want to join. Say if you have a Ginga Roleplay and people never watched Ginga, then they typically won't want to join. So, pick a topic that a lot of people know about.

Original

You invent everything in this type of plot. The setting, the series of events, etc.

Put an extra effort into describing things in simple terms so that people don't get confused. Make sure you get all of the important information and if someone does something that is not specifically mentioned, but goes against what you were thinking just let it be. Remember, if the plot is too complicated, people may become confused and not join.

Non-existent

There doesn't need to be a plot because the roleplayers invent their own. However, theres also the "what do we do now?" dilemma. You're finished talking, and now the roleplayers don't know what to do.

To make one successful, make sure you try to keep the characters together. Keep adding things you can do. The roleplayers may invent mini-plots on their own.

Basically a plot should allow for every person to be equally important.

Rules;What's necessary?

Not every RP may need rules. However, if you do want to put in certain rules in your RP, then that is acceptable. It may go on the lines of how much text you want each person to type or how you want the roleplayers to act. Try to keep the rules minimum, as too much can scare someone off. Some rules you could add are:

-When speaking Out of Character please use (([[{{}}]]))
-Use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation
-Censor all curse-words

//etc

How to set a Setting
Do you think a setting is just a minor detail? Just pick a setting and be done with it? The roleplayers need to know where, when and how in order to truly get involved in the roleplay. The first thing in creating a setting is to establish where it’s taking place. I don't mean just a line that says you're in the city. Know its streets, the way it smells, sounds and how hot, cold or humid it is. Describe the buildings and the streets. Are there any humans there?

Is your setting realistic or unrealistic? Are the people/creatures that live on the different sections of land different from real life? How does the climate differ? Is it sunny, or does it rain all the time?

You should always mention what season it is in your roleplay, otherwise people will just guess. What about ranking system? Are there alphas in your roleplay, or is it one big anarchy? Perhaps everybody are just stray animals roaming around a city and the characters can meet up.

When creating effective setting, you must know what you are talking about. If its a real place like New York City or Louisville, then you can't really say that "there are forests surrounding the whole city. In the middle theres a huge lake." If you want to dictate what kinds of people/animals exist and how they work then you need to do so.

Of course, in what I just posted, you don't have to write a lot about the setting. Just put the general information and the roleplayers will just go with it.

PS: A picture says a thousand words

First post/Intro
You should provide a description of your dog/cat in your first post. Even if you filled out a form, its still best to describe your dog in the roleplay. As the creator of the RP, you should include what season it is, and the weather. Is it balmy? Or is it cold and chilly? That gives information to the other roleplayers. Also, give the time of day. Its really awkward if a few people think its daytime and a few people think its night. Put yourself in your character's shoes and find out what you would do. Give people a chance to meet up with you, and not give dead-ends, because in a roleplay its the best if everyone meets up and stays together. Period. You can pretty much write anything you want in your first post/introduction

[Dutchess]

This is old, but I read through it and it's very helpful.

[Angely99]

This is really helpful. I am sort of noobish about rping since I don't do it as much as I used to because of some wierd bug/glitch/hack thingy on another game. I have been put off on that game because of that and have been afraid to go back on it ever since. But after reading this, I somehow have gained alittle bit of confidence. (still afraid though >.>)
Overall, awesome advice. Especially to those that want to create/join a rp.

(if there are any errors in my post then sorry. My keyboard is acting very wierd o.O)