A Beginner's Guide to Roleplaying
Posted: March 22nd, 2013, 7:44:32 pm
A Beginner's Guide to Roleplaying
For those who want to learn more about roleplays
or who wandered into this part of the forums accidentally
NOTE: Threads in this forum are set to be deleted after six months of inactivity, so if you are concerned about finished roleplays being removed, please save your posts in a separate form such as a word document, or contact PKGriffin about other options. We usually can not retrieve old roleplays once they are gone from this forum.
This is a guide for anyone who has wandered into this forum and thought, What the heck is a "roleplay stage," and how does it fit into my computer? Feel free to browse through this page to acquaint yourself with the meager roleplay, if you have never met before. If you are a novice who understands the essence of a roleplay, I hope that the further posts might be of use to you in creating and posting in roleplays. Otherwise, simply sit back and feel free to amuse yourself with my silly examples.
Let us start with the basics, shall we?
The Basics
Roleplay [rohl-pley]
v.
1. To assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), especially in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction.
2. To experiment with or experience (a situation or viewpoint) by playing a role.
Thank you dictionary.com. This is the technical definition of the verb "roleplay," but here in the online world, it can also be a noun. A roleplay is a circumstance where different users take on the role of characters in a story and write out the actions, thoughts, and words of those characters. A basic example might look like this:
Player One: Willy Wonka presses a button in the elevator.
Player Two: Charlie's mouth drops open as the elevator flies through the roof.
Player One: Willy Wonka laughs at the look on Charlie's face.
As you can see, a roleplay can include characters that other authors have created, such as those from a book, movie, or game. However, most players are welcome and encouraged to create their own unique characters for a roleplay, much as they might create a character for a fictional story or book. Roleplays work in a similar manner to books, games, and other storytelling media, but with a key difference: in the roleplay, you get to become the character and decide exactly what they do. Roleplaying is not as free-form as writing your own solitary story because a roleplay character must respond to the actions of other characters. However, this is often a good thing, as it allows the story to progress and provides unique interactions between characters.
But perhaps you have already heard this word before. Perhaps you have seen roleplays on other websites and thought, That sounds overly complicated. I thought roleplays were sort of games. Well, imaginary person, you would be partly right; a roleplay is similar to a written version of Dungeons and Dragons or World of Warcraft, and the most common roleplays consist of only a few snippets of dialogue or action. Many roleplays consist of posts no longer than those in the example above, though the length and quality of the writing depends on the preference of the roleplayer. They can be a few words long, or they can be a few pages long; either is fine to create.
The length of the posts in a roleplay do not necessarily equate to the maturity or experience of the players. Beginners tend to participate in roleplays with one-line posts and some eventually grow to prefer long paragraphs, while others prefer the fast-paced nature of short posts. Again, this is primarily a matter of opinion, though it is important to consider the preferences of others; a lengthy writer would not take kindly to two-word responses in their carefully crafted roleplays, and likewise fast-moving roleplays do not often appreciate the slow response of long-winded writers.
Before I get too far into the concept of literacy, I will provide you with the basic information to join or start your own roleplay. The style of roleplays varies, but roleplays on Magistream tend to have a few main parts:
1. A Summary
2. Rules
3. Character Forms
4. Characters
If you have further questions, PM me or post here. Magistream has a friendly, helpful roleplaying community, and I hope that you have luck and joy in your endeavors. Long live pie roleplays!
*Keep in mind that this thread is simply here to give you advice on roleplaying. You may follow or ignore this advice as you wish. However, always follow the Magistream Rules of Conduct when roleplaying. Thank you.
For those who want to learn more about roleplays
or who wandered into this part of the forums accidentally
NOTE: Threads in this forum are set to be deleted after six months of inactivity, so if you are concerned about finished roleplays being removed, please save your posts in a separate form such as a word document, or contact PKGriffin about other options. We usually can not retrieve old roleplays once they are gone from this forum.
This is a guide for anyone who has wandered into this forum and thought, What the heck is a "roleplay stage," and how does it fit into my computer? Feel free to browse through this page to acquaint yourself with the meager roleplay, if you have never met before. If you are a novice who understands the essence of a roleplay, I hope that the further posts might be of use to you in creating and posting in roleplays. Otherwise, simply sit back and feel free to amuse yourself with my silly examples.
Let us start with the basics, shall we?
The Basics
Roleplay [rohl-pley]
v.
1. To assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), especially in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction.
2. To experiment with or experience (a situation or viewpoint) by playing a role.
Thank you dictionary.com. This is the technical definition of the verb "roleplay," but here in the online world, it can also be a noun. A roleplay is a circumstance where different users take on the role of characters in a story and write out the actions, thoughts, and words of those characters. A basic example might look like this:
Player One: Willy Wonka presses a button in the elevator.
Player Two: Charlie's mouth drops open as the elevator flies through the roof.
Player One: Willy Wonka laughs at the look on Charlie's face.
As you can see, a roleplay can include characters that other authors have created, such as those from a book, movie, or game. However, most players are welcome and encouraged to create their own unique characters for a roleplay, much as they might create a character for a fictional story or book. Roleplays work in a similar manner to books, games, and other storytelling media, but with a key difference: in the roleplay, you get to become the character and decide exactly what they do. Roleplaying is not as free-form as writing your own solitary story because a roleplay character must respond to the actions of other characters. However, this is often a good thing, as it allows the story to progress and provides unique interactions between characters.
But perhaps you have already heard this word before. Perhaps you have seen roleplays on other websites and thought, That sounds overly complicated. I thought roleplays were sort of games. Well, imaginary person, you would be partly right; a roleplay is similar to a written version of Dungeons and Dragons or World of Warcraft, and the most common roleplays consist of only a few snippets of dialogue or action. Many roleplays consist of posts no longer than those in the example above, though the length and quality of the writing depends on the preference of the roleplayer. They can be a few words long, or they can be a few pages long; either is fine to create.
The length of the posts in a roleplay do not necessarily equate to the maturity or experience of the players. Beginners tend to participate in roleplays with one-line posts and some eventually grow to prefer long paragraphs, while others prefer the fast-paced nature of short posts. Again, this is primarily a matter of opinion, though it is important to consider the preferences of others; a lengthy writer would not take kindly to two-word responses in their carefully crafted roleplays, and likewise fast-moving roleplays do not often appreciate the slow response of long-winded writers.
Before I get too far into the concept of literacy, I will provide you with the basic information to join or start your own roleplay. The style of roleplays varies, but roleplays on Magistream tend to have a few main parts:
1. A Summary
Spoiler
This is, as the name suggests, a summary of the roleplay's plot or theme. Players have to know what type of game they are playing before they join, otherwise you will end up with a big pile of noodly confusion topped with unhappy roleplayers! The summary can include the style of the roleplay, the genre, the background story, the book/movie/game it is based on (assuming the roleplay is based on another medium), or whatever else you want to fit in there. The length of the summary is up to the thread creator, but often reflects the detail and description the creator expects of the players. A thread which gives a multiple-paragraphs summary will often (but not always) expect its players to be a little more literate than those of a rolelplay that only says, "This is a roleplay about horses!"
Spoiler
All roleplays on magistream.com must adhere to the roleplay rules of conduct. However, some users will also write up a series of rules specific to their roleplay (for example, how many characters a user may have). These rules cannot contradict any of the rules on the site. Creating rules in excess of the Roleplay Stage's default rules is not mandatory; following rules that are put up by the roleplay creator, however, is mandatory. Failure to follow rules with lead to death by plunger/eggbeater.
Rules are generally self-explanatory, but if you would like more information about them, please read the above paragraph again.
Rules are generally self-explanatory, but if you would like more information about them, please read the above paragraph again.
Spoiler
Character forms are necessary for establishing a user's character. Imagine one of those cheat guides for a video game which has all of the heroes and villains written up with their pictures, personalities, attacks, weaknesses, ect. This is much like a character guide for a roleplay, if you understand what I am talking about. If you do not, then here is a character form example:
Character Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
Personality:
The character form will vary from roleplay to roleplay and user to user, but it almost always contains these five categories. A character form may also include a backstory, tools, weapons, powers, spells, skills, weaknesses, gear, or anything else a character has. The character form should give a general overview of who you are playing, and provide a reference for you or anyone else if needed.
Here is how to use a character form:
Step One - Copy form.
Step Two - Fill form out.
Step Three - Post form where relevant.
Step Four (optional) - Dance party!
Character Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
Personality:
The character form will vary from roleplay to roleplay and user to user, but it almost always contains these five categories. A character form may also include a backstory, tools, weapons, powers, spells, skills, weaknesses, gear, or anything else a character has. The character form should give a general overview of who you are playing, and provide a reference for you or anyone else if needed.
Here is how to use a character form:
Step One - Copy form.
Step Two - Fill form out.
Step Three - Post form where relevant.
Step Four (optional) - Dance party!
Spoiler
Characters are everywhere; some are real, some are fictional, some are believable, and some are among the fantastic. A roleplay character can be a pre-existing character (such as one from a franchise or series), or it can be one created entirely by the user playing them. You are free to do what you wish when creating most characters; they can be humans, animals, vampires, were-creatures, mythical beasts, aliens, magicians, narwhals (potentially; I have not yet seen a narwhal roleplay character), faeries, bankers, high school students, hobbits, elves, warriors, nerds (the coolest characters, obviously), one-eyed-one-horned-flying-purple-people-eaters, or anything else your mind can think up. Remember that characters are only bound by the rules and plot of the roleplay. If you have questions about whether you can have a character with certain traits, you would do well to PM the thread creator.
*Keep in mind that this thread is simply here to give you advice on roleplaying. You may follow or ignore this advice as you wish. However, always follow the Magistream Rules of Conduct when roleplaying. Thank you.