All Newbie RPers, PLEASE READ! (Guide to RPing)

[Ender]

Back at the "old" website, we had a guide for all the newbie RPers. It seems remiss to not have one here, so...HERE IT IS! Right now, I'm going to lay out a few basic rules that you should keep in mind as you enter into the roleplaying world. I hope that the veteran roleplayers will add their little tidbits of advice here also.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF ROLEPLAYING!

1-USE YOUR OWN CHARACTER, NO ONE ELSE'S! Quite possibly the most annoying thing for any RPer is having another person take control of their character without asking. You should never take control of another person's character. You don't know what they wanted to do. By taking control of their character, you may have messed up a plot they were planning. THIS WILL SERIOUSLY PISS PEOPLE OFF. DON'T DO IT. THIS IS ARGUABLY THE NUMBER ONE SIN IN THE ROLEPLAYING WORLD.

2-PLEASE USE PROPER GRAMMAR. Run-on sentences and lack of punctuation can cause huge breaches of plot/story-line. It can also cause misunderstandings between players, which lead to arguments and spam. Maybe even run your posts through word to check the spelling.

3-SPEAKING OF SPAM...DON'T. This includes doubling posting. No one likes it, it takes up space, and is quite annoying.

4-DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP! The veteran roleplayers around here are a veritable goldmine of information and experience. Use them.

5-OBEY THE RULES OF THE RP CREATOR. He sets some rules, some boundaries, don't cross them.

6-OBEY THE BASIC FORUM RULES. Be polite, be courteous. Don't flame. If you get flamed, ignore it. Take some things in stride. There will undoubtedly be some people around here that you DON'T get along with. Get over it, it happens.

7-ACTUALLY READ ALL OF AN RPG. Don't just come in and say, "Woo! I'm playing too!" and then make a post that makes it look like you didn't read the last several posts or a post somewhere back.

8-DON'T GOD-MOD. Don't make a player that is indestructable or immortal. Don't kill off other players without giving them a chance to fight back (if you're even allowed to kill other players, killing of players may change from thread to thread). For instance don't run into a village and kill everyone in it, no character could do that.

9-ROMANCE = DANGER ZONE. Romance is good in a story, but purposely trying to make another's character love your character, having your character do something valiant to save them, repeatedly, when that character does not respond to it, gets annoying and makes your character undesireable.

10-DO NOT MAKE ONE LINER REPLIES. Do not go like, "I pulled out my sword and blocked his attack." Put more discription and more action into your posts.

This is a RP for Dummies Guide, courtesy of Blackhawk.
This is a guide I wrote up a while ago for Fenguin Forums, but it can work for all RPG forums:

Character Creation:

Anyway, we’ll start off with the first thing of Role-Playing, that is your character. Now it’s best to consentrate on your character as the first thing, mainly because he or she will be the person you are ‘stuck’ with for the rest of whatever RPG you join. It’s best to make them both enjoyable to play, but sometimes also a challenge to play.

For instanse, some of you characters you can base entirely on yourself, therefore it is fairly easy to play them as you just think of what you would do in a certain scenario. The challenge is when you make your character the exact opposite of yourself. But this can be fun as you have to take on a new mindset.

Put some effort into your character! This sometimes is an issue with new Rpers, they don’t put to much effort into their character and it can really hurt them. Firstly the GM may think they aren’t that great an Rper and therefore may not want them in the RPG, because he doesn’t think it will be enjoyable with them. So if you want to make a good first impression, put some thought and effort into your character.

Role-Playing:

Now that the whole character creation part has been covered, I’ll move onto the actual Role-Playing. To role-play you do not need to be some crazy story teller with uber writing skills. All you need is some imagination, knowledge on the english language (how to write, punctuation, grammer etc.) and maybe a few other things.

Firstly some imagination is great. Mainly because it can be the difference between an enjoyable role-playing experience and boring tedious one. For some imagination, you can look to anything, your dreams, great books/movies, your community etc. Anything will do, just make it inventive.

Now for some of you it may be hard to put images into writing, therefore one thing you can do (as well as when your just going through an RPG) is to just imagine the place your character is in, in your mind. Then once you have this mental image in your head you can try and describe it to the best of your ability and usually this can make the posts good, and help you write the posts.

From here you can advance, and like all skills you will get better with practice. I myself have noticed it, before I used to write bad, and my skills were appaling, now I’m not so bad, but still not the best. But at least my skills are fairly good and I can RP with pride.

How to have fun:

Now some people think the whole point of an RPG is to win, now yes, for some this is the whole objective, and the main reason anybody actually bothers to sign up for it. But for most, it is just a pass-time like modelling, painting, sports, etc. And in all of these it is just for fun, and that’s what Rping is all about, fun! So do not ruin it for everybody else in the RPG by going all out to win, they are apart of it as well.

One way you can have fun in an RPG is to not play like your character (or you personally) is/are a god. Because you are not (unless it is written in which case…you are a god) and it just ruins the RPG by having one person dodge all the bullets, kill all the enemies, get all the wins. Being ‘godly’ also applies to your personallity while playing. Nobody likes to play with somebody who constantly says stuff like “Oh, man that post sucked, you should try and RP like me, I’m so much better yadda, yadda, yadda” because that gets extremely annoying. It’s like when you loose in something, you don’t like it when somebody rubs it in your face, so why do it to others?

The second step in having fun in an RPG, is to be friendly, this is sort of like the way previous, but more defined. Try to be friendly to your fellow Role-Players, even if they are your enemy, give them encouragement, say their post was good, or say something you liked about it, or give constructive critisism so that they can improve their Rping. Now constructive criticism is not saying “Man, that sucked” it’s more like “That wasn’t too bad, but you lack imagination, try not to be cliché and invent some of your own stuff.” It’s about helping them improve, not putting them down.
A note about category shorthand
Categories are used to describe the status of a RP. When viewing the main forum, they are shown with two letters, next to the description of what kind it is (i.e. fantasy, futuristic, etc.) These shorthand notations are as follows:
Pl - Planning
Si - Signups
St - Started
En - Ended

[Holjfie]

7. Holjfie is God!

[Valjean]

/me smites Holjfie for disobeying RPG commandment #3. ;) :p

7.) Actualy read all of an RPG. Don't just come in and say, "Woo! I'm playing too!" and then make a post that makes it look like you didn't read the last several posts or a post somewhere back. -_-

[BlackHawk]

Ender! You forgot one of the most important:

8. Don't "God Mod". Don't make a player that is indestructable or immortal. Don't kill off other players without giving them a chance to fight back (if you're even allowed to kill other players, killing of players may change from thread to thread). For instance don't run into a village and kill everyone in it, no character could do that.

I just sort of summed that up, if you wanted someone (or I) could go into further detail if need be, I'll think of some more later...Good idea btw Ender.

[Holjfie]

In accordance to number 7, Holjfie smites werewolf because only gods can smite and as number 7 states, Holjfie is God.

9. ROMANCE = DANGER ZONE! Romance is good in a story, but purposely trying to make another's character love your character, having your character do something valiant to save them, repeatedly, when that character does not respond to it, gets annoying and makes your character undesireable.

[Valjean]

In accordance to number 7, Holjfie smites werewolf because only gods can smite and as number 7 states, Holjfie is God.
Yes, but in accordance to number 8, you are not god, therefor, I can smite you and I smited you first. :p

10.) Do not make one liner replies. Do not go like, "I pulled out my sword and blocked his attack." Put more discription and more action into your posts.

[Holjfie]

In accordance to number 7 and the meaning of number 8 (god-MODING, but I am god, so therefore all I can do is be God), werewolf can't smite, but Holjfie can, and he did, smiting werewolf into oblivion.

[Valjean]

yes, but I changed the meaning of 7 so you aren't god. :p

[Ender]

And you BOTH have disobeyed number 3, which sets a REALLY bad example for the newbies.

[Subjukator]

Misc. Note:

Write what you know.

It says a lot in only a few words.

[Valjean]

And you BOTH have disobeyed number 3, which sets a REALLY bad example for the newbies.
Ahh, we was just kiddin' around ender. :)

To N00blars: You n00blars better not copy our example! Holjfie and I are bad. If you copy our example, you'll be shunned from the whole community. T.T

[Holjfie]

Note: Werewolf taunted me, so I had to respond. Noobs, one thing you have to realize is that if you insult me like werewolf, I'm coming for you.

[FeceMan]

(OOC: Ironically, you spelled "grammar" incorrectly.)

[Valjean]

Note: Werewolf taunted me, so I had to respond. Noobs, one thing you have to realize is that if you insult me like werewolf, I'm coming for you.
Insult isn't really the word...;)

[Ender]

Thank you for pointing that out Fece. I changed it back.

[BlackHawk]

This is a guide I wrote up a while ago for Fenguin Forums, but it can work for all RPG forums:

Well, I’m very proud to be the moderator of this here RPG forum. Anyway, I’ll just make this post to give those of you new to Role-Playing some idea on how it’s done, and some rules of the forum.

Character Creation:

Anyway, we’ll start off with the first thing of Role-Playing, that is your character. Now it’s best to consentrate on your character as the first thing, mainly because he or she will be the person you are ‘stuck’ with for the rest of whatever RPG you join. It’s best to make them both enjoyable to play, but sometimes also a challenge to play.

For instanse, some of you characters you can base entirely on yourself, therefore it is fairly easy to play them as you just think of what you would do in a certain scenario. The challenge is when you make your character the exact opposite of yourself. But this can be fun as you have to take on a new mindset.

Put some effort into your character! This sometimes is an issue with new Rpers, they don’t put to much effort into their character and it can really hurt them. Firstly the GM may think they aren’t that great an Rper and therefore may not want them in the RPG, because he doesn’t think it will be enjoyable with them. So if you want to make a good first impression, put some thought and effort into your character.

Role-Playing:

Now that the whole character creation part has been covered, I’ll move onto the actual Role-Playing. To role-play you do not need to be some crazy story teller with uber writing skills. All you need is some imagination, knowledge on the english language (how to write, punctuation, grammer etc.) and maybe a few other things.

Firstly some imagination is great. Mainly because it can be the difference between an enjoyable role-playing experience and boring tedious one. For some imagination, you can look to anything, your dreams, great books/movies, your community etc. Anything will do, just make it inventive.

Now for some of you it may be hard to put images into writing, therefore one thing you can do (as well as when your just going through an RPG) is to just imagine the place your character is in, in your mind. Then once you have this mental image in your head you can try and describe it to the best of your ability and usually this can make the posts good, and help you write the posts.

From here you can advance, and like all skills you will get better with practice. I myself have noticed it, before I used to write bad, and my skills were appaling, now I’m not so bad, but still not the best. But at least my skills are fairly good and I can RP with pride.

How to have fun:

Now some people think the whole point of an RPG is to win, now yes, for some this is the whole objective, and the main reason anybody actually bothers to sign up for it. But for most, it is just a pass-time like modelling, painting, sports, etc. And in all of these it is just for fun, and that’s what Rping is all about, fun! So do not ruin it for everybody else in the RPG by going all out to win, they are apart of it as well.

One way you can have fun in an RPG is to not play like your character (or you personally) is/are a god. Because you are not (unless it is written in which case…you are a god) and it just ruins the RPG by having one person dodge all the bullets, kill all the enemies, get all the wins. Being ‘godly’ also applies to your personallity while playing. Nobody likes to play with somebody who constantly says stuff like “Oh, man that post sucked, you should try and RP like me, I’m so much better yadda, yadda, yadda” because that gets extremely annoying. It’s like when you loose in something, you don’t like it when somebody rubs it in your face, so why do it to others?

The second step in having fun in an RPG, is to be friendly, this is sort of like the way previous, but more defined. Try to be friendly to your fellow Role-Players, even if they are your enemy, give them encouragement, say their post was good, or say something you liked about it, or give constructive critisism so that they can improve their Rping. Now constructive criticism is not saying “Man, that sucked” it’s more like “That wasn’t too bad, but you lack imagination, try not to be cliché and invent some of your own stuff.” It’s about helping them improve, not putting them down.

Feel free to add it to your first post Ender.

[Ender]

I'm going to update my first post tomorrow. Thanks a bunch, Blackhawk.

[BlackHawk]

No problem.

And thanks AJ for the stickage :). (I PMed him).

[Protosschick99]

I guess I'll add a few remarks myself :D

For all you newb pplz--Please don't come in an RP saying that you're gonna join right in the middle of it without asking (From what I've read I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet)

I see this alot. Newbs come in and say, "I'm in!" And they automatically make a post that makes no sense and throws everybody off. First, like my fellow RP'ers have been saying, read the whole story! Or at least read enough so that you know what is going on. Secondly--Ask the RP Maker person. They run the RP, let them decide.

And another thing--I know this has been mentioned by BH and Ender and everyone else.....But please pplz--PLEASE use proper grammar and punctuation!! It is annoying when ppl start tping lkthis asf thy haad no spllng leesens @all . Ya get what I am trying to say?? Please please please check your spelling. Read your post over and check for spelling errors. Make sure it is spelled correctly, and if you don't know how to spell it, stick it in word and have word correct it for you. Because when ya'llz type like that, it is hard to follow the story.

Well, that's my two cents. If I think of anything else, I'll post again! :D

[Geno]

About character controlling, you my have noticed that a couple of times I have controlled Black_Hawk's character in our Medieval RPG, and it still flows. The reason, is that BH and I have RP'd a while now, and we know each other well enough that he can't get on often, and when I'm not on, he is. We can tell what each other is thinking in the RP 90% of the time, and being so, can post for each other. Expecially in RP's like that, where you have two characters together, you might have to give action. Notice, though, there is minimal speaking from my character when he talks, and responds. Also, he still is IN CHARACTER... and not flaying around like a moron. If you know the RP'er you're with, and you know their style, make sure they are fine with it first, then, if needed, go ahead and take a little control. BUT! Only do this if 1) You have permission, 2) You know what you're doing, and 3) You absolutely have to...

Also, there is no such thing as 'too much information' in RP's. Information is key. If you somehow see ACTUAL pictures in these threads other than maps and the like, I'm friggin' amazed. All of this is text based, and so, you have to use words to create mental images. Every detail counts!

Another thing, if you don't like an RP, but are in it already, and need to leave for some reason, do something classic. Die for your country, fall off a bridge, fly to the moon, SOMETHING that will get you out. Don't sit there and be like (OOC: PC! I need you to kill me! Do it!) or something to that nature... Do it yourself. If there is noone around, and... Let's say you're in the desert...

"Oh my gosh... Over the nearby dust hill, comes a swirling mass of a cloud and rock... A sand twister has come! I try to outrace it, but to no avail, as I'm picked up, thrown about, and killed within a matter of seconds from it's incredible force. I die, knowing that my objectives are not complete. When I am found later, all that is left of me is my pendant hanging from my neck that says 'Evlan the Swift'"

That's one way to kill yourself. Of course, not one of my better ones, but nonetheless, it's a good example.

Last thought for now, don't give your character skills they shouldn't have! I have seen this many times at other forums, and I'm surprised that it's so common. It's a smaller form of 'Godmod' but it goes like this.

Lethas is a giant barbarian. He knows everything about swords. He's the sterotype barbarian. He has the speed of a sloth. He knows nothing of how a bow works, nor any other weapon that requires a lot of dexterity. All of a sudden, creatures come from a hill. He grabs a stone and the pouch from his back. He makes a sling, and twirls it around his head. He aims, and hits a creature precicely in the forehead, killing him. He does this a number of times, and when the creatures get close enough, he hacks and slashes away, killing the rest of them.

Tell me what's wrong there... I mean, it's noticeable there, but really... You can do a number of less noticeable things...

I hope that helps anyone a bit, and I will post more later if I feel fit.

~Larry "Geno" Meyers

P.S. I want to start a new thread here, and are going to tonight. I want to do a little research on some aspects of our RP'ers, so sorry if you call it spam, but it's a legitimate thread. Will be back later!

[Protosschick99]

Dang Geno you covered what I remembered :p Geno's right, but this also ties in with what he's saying--You can't be "invinsible" and never die unless there are certain circumstances or something.It kinda kills the story if your character is invinsible.

Also another thing! Have your character get hurt a few times. Have them get stabbed or something, let them get smacked in the forehead, or even shot with an arrow. Nothing to kill them, but to at least show that your character is not perfect and show some realistic wounds. You can't be like,

"Bangon stood a few inches from the enemy. Since he was so close, he tossed a bomb right at them. After the smoke cleared, he stands there and looks down at the now lifeless corpse."

What the heck is that? He wouldda been killed too! lolz, ya'llz gotta be realistic, seriously :p

[Ender]

First post updated. Ten Commandments now in place. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

[Doombringer64]

Not to sound a little egotistical, but I have a qualm, which I feel needs to be settled.

Can we stop having guys playing girls! I am really tired of seeing people come in to an RP and saying, "We don't have enough girls I'll play one."

Long ago when I created my first, my only, and quite possibly my last female character I took quite a bit of consideration into it. I viewed it as a real challenge, a challenge that I failed. Many of you may not be aware of it but Brianne was bisexual it was the only way that I could play the character. So it really frustrates me to see guys just dropping down female characters with little consideration for how difficult it is to play a character of the opposite sex.

[Geno]

I've done it before. Should I have an opposite sex RP? Trust me, you don't have to be gay, bisexual, or whatever for RP's. My female friend plays a guy all the time, and half of our friends THINK she's a guy. She plays a guy very well, I might add. If you want, I can play a girl. o.O

~Larry "Geno" Meyers

P.S. It just depends on your skill, again. If you've done it, then you'd be better off than someone who hasn't... o.O

[Protosschick99]

I've played a male before. But if I play a male I won't get into any romance or whatever. It'll be wierd o_0 lolz. :)

I've only been a male once though, and it was just a minor character anywayz.

[Doombringer64]

A guy on guy Romance wouldn't be that strange PC.

I don't have huge problem with the cross gender roles, I just feel it is getting a tad ridiculus of late.

No offense ment Geno but I have a feeling I take my characters father then you have. Let me give an example. Here is a character I have been working on for one of my RPs.

Name: Jean
Age: 26
Ethnicity: Caucasian

Jean comes from a dark past. As a child his father beat him up to the very moment he left Jean and his mother Karen. To add salt to the wound Jean was molested numerous times by his church’s priest. The priest lived in the neighborhood and was a friend to Karen, giving the priest easy access to Jean. Throughout the years Karen ignored what was going on and neglected Jean. Soon she became addicted to prescription drugs. Karen killed herself just three days after Jean’s 19th birthday.

Jean never got along with anyone during his school years. He became very isolated and depressed. Jean’s saving grace was through magic. It started out with simple spells from old Wiccan beliefs, but unlike many Jean had mild success with his spells. Soon another mage stumbled upon Jean his name was Maurice. Maurice saw Jean’s past and knew he could be great Euthanatos. Jean spent several hours everyday after school with Maurice learning the traditions powerful yet dangerous art of entropy. Alarm was sparked in Maurice when Jean started to meddle greatly in prime magiks. Jean learned not only to create chaos, but also to draw power from that very chaos. Many people including those in tradition Euthanatos feel Jean is on a very destructive path and constantly watch for him to accumulate enough Johr.

Several years have pasted, and Jean is now an adult. He made it through college with his use of magic. More importantly he has become a very potent death channeler drawing his power from chaos and destruction.

He currently works as Graphic Artist at Trial Graphix. In his spare time he likes to draw ink sketches.

Description

Jean is about 6’ 1” with long jet black hair and hazel eyes. He often dresses suavely, and in black. Every now and then one can catch him wearing lipstick and eyeliner. His most notable items are a long black leather jacket, and leather gloves.

Foci: Death/choas
Lesser Foci: chalk circles/writings, chants, and various herbs


Point I'm trying to make is that (for me at least) Role Playing is a chance to be someone else. Therefore it is not good enough just to play a woman I must be a woman. (I bet that sounded strange)

(BTW if anybody wants to give advice to improve my character feel free.)

[Geno]

No offense ment Geno but I have a feeling I take my characters father then you have. Let me give an example. Here is a character I have been working on for one of my RPs.

No offense taken. In an RP, it depends on how you regard yourself, not against each other, really. If you think you play your characters better, you probably do. It depends on what aspect you look at. I'm more of a description person in a story, myself. Background stories are usually a bit harder, because they have to tell you about 30 years in a few paragraphs. It's hard sometimes...

~Larry "Geno" Meyers

P.S. Nice char, but how old is Jean now? Also, where are we exactly with him? I mean, you stated a few places, but didn't give relative locations to one another. I always like to see where they came from, and how far they traveled. Just a pet peeve ;) I'm also a stickler, so don't take anything I say as a mess up, just my own personal comments.

[Doombringer64]

Jean is now 26. Yes, I did forget to mention locations, though I do give a hint by his workplace. He grew up in Joliet IL and now as an apartment in Chicago.

[Ender]

That is a very good point, Doombringer, but it still is possible. As PC and Geno said, experienced and talented RPers can cross-gender RP. I've done it myself to a certain extent, on another site (which was recently shut down), and people never even knew that I was guy until I told them. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is new, especially if they have done less than 3 RPs.

[Geno]

That is a very good point, Doombringer, but it still is possible. As PC and Geno said, experienced and talented RPers can cross-gender RP. I've done it myself to a certain extent, on another site (which was recently shut down), and people never even knew that I was guy until I told them. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for anyone who is new, especially if they have done less than 3 RPs.


Even then... 3 RP's is still very, very new. RP'ing isn't just a thing you can pick up. No, it takes years on end to be good at it. I even think I'm still learning as I go, more about myself, and what I can do in an RP. Also, it takes learning. You need to learn new words, how to spell, correct grammar... The list can go on. You don't want to say 'John woke up. He was happy. He left for school. He got an 'A' on his test. He was even more happy.' or something like that. It's too BORING! Spruce it up! You know the deal, descriptions go a long way, because you can't overdescribe something (Of course, to an extent...)

~Larry "Geno" Meyers

[Ender]

Geno, I think we are ALL still learning. One is always a student, no matter how old they are, or how experienced. I never said that after 3 RPs you are going to be a god roleplayer. I'm just saying that three RPs is a pretty good introduction, and after that you should the at least the basic idea and concept of how it is done, what is acceptable, what makes a good story, etc etc. It doesn't mean that you will be a good roleplayer or anything, but I would cease to consider someone a newbie at that point.

[Subjukator]

Geno, I think we are ALL still learning. One is always a student, no matter how old they are, or how experienced. I never said that after 3 RPs you are going to be a god roleplayer. I'm just saying that three RPs is a pretty good introduction, and after that you should the at least the basic idea and concept of how it is done, what is acceptable, what makes a good story, etc etc. It doesn't mean that you will be a good roleplayer or anything, but I would cease to consider someone a newbie at that point.

"Hmmmm..." *places one elbow on knee and hand on chin thinking deep thoughts before coming to a satisfactory conclusion. He yells it out: *

"Naaah! :bug: I was born this 1337!" :bigsmile:

[tanain_hawkwing]

I consider myself a newbie still but I think im slowly but surely getting better with every post

[Ole-The-Murder]

I plan to be a good RP'er, I hope. Atleast I am known for me writin' skills, shouldn't be too hard to level up to a real good Roleplayer, huhmn?

Anyhow, the one-liner role I disagree with, since aslong as it makes sense, I think it's legitimate.
Heheheh! But the rule against "nonsense" sounds too subjective to me...it depends on what the admins thinks is "nonsense", at it's to differ to decide for one person, I think...heck, the rule itself is so loose that no-one can say what's truly nonsense, just say.."It's nonsense." Withouth argument...just because they don't understand what they're saying...it's non sense only if, uh, it just has no real meaning...but how to prove that?...hmmm...

[Seal]

I consider myself a good RPer, but timezones kill my dreams of a successful forum RP... usually.

I hereby request a special rule when there is people from different zones, on users' request, that there shouldn't be alot of rounds when one is offline. Messages from those users would make that easier.

Also, I hope that made sense -_-

[Subjukator]

That wont be neccessary Hylje. In all the RPG's being played now, there are no rounds and people just post haphazardly whenever they feel like it. It's very casual but you should at least keep up with the story and post at least every few days.

[Whiteknight]

Okay, this isn't in the top 10, and I'm pretty sure it's not in the body of it, although I sometimes (rarely) blank out when reading.

11. NEWBIES: DO NOT CREATE NEW RPGs! I'm sure anyone who was at Blizzforums is aware of a one infamous 'Book'. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure he created over 4 new RPGs in less than ...4 days? They were all horrible and the reason only one survived was because it was basically just a spamming thread where you fooled around and put whatever you wanted. It was funny, but extremely stupid.

Hm... to start another one? If so, I sure am not having my name on it >.<

[Seal]

That wont be neccessary Hylje. In all the RPG's being played now, there are no rounds and people just post haphazardly whenever they feel like it. It's very casual but you should at least keep up with the story and post at least every few days. Mostly the problem was that other RPers there were too active...I got to read at least a page (note:40 posts) of posts before I could get my own -_-
p.s. call me Seal

[OboeGuru]

I will hunt down anyone who posts randomly in RPs that they're not in.

I'm not saying joining in the middle, I'm saying posting a random, useless comment.

All RPers: Please report any such posts to the Mods, especially posts from repeat offenders.

[Mordecai2k]

I don't have the patience to role-play on a forums. Maybe a chat, but not a forum. ^_^

[Whiteknight]

What do you mean you dont' have the patience? Like, you can't wait the time it takes for someone to respond, or how long it takes you to write the post?)

[Ender]

Actually, chat-room RPs can pretty cool, but everyone has to be on, and you have to have a couple hours.

[Ole-The-Murder]

Keep an eye on the "War Thread". There's alot of spamming going on in there...a real spam war, to be honest! And I accidently happened to be a part of it..

[Ender]

That was the POINT of that thread. Therefore, it is allowed. It is the perfect spam thread.

[Subjukator]

I plan on shutting that spam thread down once it hits 1000 posts. Something as vulgar as that doesn't deserve to live beyond the 1000th post.

[Weird-Templar]

Someone got any advice about getting people to join my RPG?

[BlackHawk]

Link it in your sig, get those in it to link it in their sig, that's really all you can do. It looks like it's going fine though...

[PhoenixNo13]

If there are RPG was start for a long time but not end yet. Can i join it?

[BlackHawk]

If there are RPG was start for a long time but not end yet. Can i join it?

As long as the GM gives you permission, yes you can. Usually they will as we are always happy to see new RP'ers. However I would say stick to those on the first page if you are going to join any as it would be best to only 'resurect' those on the later pages if you are apart of them.

[Geno]

Ok, I read the newbie guide, and i still have one unaswered question: Are there special regulations and things regarding ability to join rps, and what to when your new?

To join an RPG there are no special regulations (for those that are open that is), just the ability to RP (if it's open you don't have to be great, we all have to learn somewhere). However for those that are invites they are usually based on how long the GM has known you, if he has seen you RP (if he likes your style and thinks you contribute enough), etc.

When you're new I suggest getting started in open ones with great GM's that are active, and also maybe looking at how the others on this forum RP to get an idea of how it's done.

Here's a brief rundown of how to RP on a forum to save you some time: basically when you RP on a forum it's like RP'ing anywhere else; it's writing a story together in a group which usually makes it more fun because people will add different styles and ideas. It isn't that hard to pick up as long as you have some imagination, and it's especially easy if you read books because that gives you an idea of how to create a character, how to introduce one, how to keep the story flowing, and it gives you ideas.

Hope that helped!

Just cleaning up the master thread... Any and all questinos should go here, to keep that thread clean. Now that this is here... *Goes to find a mod to cleanup thread*

~Larry "Geno" Meyers

[BlackHawk]

Just cleaning up the master thread... Any and all questinos should go here, to keep that thread clean. Now that this is here... *Goes to find a mod to cleanup thread*

~Larry "Geno" Meyers

Sorry 'bout that. Already PM'ed Oboe.

[Protosschick99]

I just took this thread over to the RP forum in Noob Forums (http://bbfree.com/noobforums) :D

It is in dire need of this, lolz :p

[Geno]

I just took this thread over to the RP forum in Noob Forums (http://bbfree.com/noobforums) :D

It is in dire need of this, lolz :p

I've tried going there, and I've searched and searched, but to no avail. Where in heck is the 'Register' button?

~Larry "Geno" Meyers

[Protosschick99]

I just told them about it--Man that place really is noob forums, lolz.

[Smokey_Joe]

I don't mean to be noobish:

What is first person?
What is second person?
What is third person?

[Whiteknight]

I don't mean to be noobish:

What is first person?
What is second person?
What is third person?
First person: You are writing the story, it is taking place from your point of view. It usually uses I a lot.

EG:

I am going to the mall. I spot a friend down the street and I wave.

Second person is where the writer is addressing the reader. You and your is common, although it is possible to be used too much. Second person is sparsly used, although it is making a comeback.

EG:

You go to the mall and spot a friend down the street.

Third person is like you are watching a movie. The story is describing what happened.

EG: John goes to the mall and spots a friend down the street.

Get it now?

After that comes the subcategories (omniscient narrator, limited omniscient, etc), but that wasn't part of your question.

[Smokey_Joe]

Thanks. I'm a third person

[Sperate]

We need to clean this up so that new people don't stop reading after the ten commandments, because while they are the ten commandments, there's more to RPing then that.. perhaps we could do something like http://www.synthetic-reality.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=000003 that except not as long-winded.

[Doombringer64]

Doombringer64 says he is appalled no one mentioned the very obvious "Finish your damned RPs!"

[raybAn]

Yes, you should. Add that to the guide...when you start one, finish it. In time.

[Geno]

Yes, you should. Add that to the guide...when you start one, finish it. In time.

There is no need to repeat what was said above. It's concidered spam. Also, I would really like a moderator to close this thread, and de-sticky it. A newer, more improved guide will be on its way soon enough.

~Larry "Geno" Meyers