Tips on Role Playing

And Mun Opinions on RP for those who care to know

Some RP opinions

Death in RP:

In my opinion: Muns who state "Death Only with Mun's consent," are copping out. Interaction with another character IS consent. You don't want to risk your character? Check out webbies and decide whether or not to PLAY your character with another character. OOC death protection of characters is cheap. This is RP people!! If you don't want your char dying, Play smart, or learn the hard way. If your character interacts with my character, THAT IS consent. If you do not want to risk your char to another char, simply do not interact with them in the first place!

Magic Use:

Face it, MOST RP chat rooms have Magic-based characters. If you refuse a char's powers based on Magic, be sure your char is in a NON-magic based room/realm and that your character never interacts with magic-weilding characters. If you do not want to play with magic-slinging characters? Find, or start an SL where character have no magic, but do not make comments about magic-based chars when in a chat that allows arcane powers. Where did Role Playing start? AD&D. Why are their so MANY magic based characters? Because magic and RP are like movies and popcorn. If your char needs protection against magic? Have your chars seek some protection, it IS out there, and within your imagination as well! Play smart people and a mortal non-magical char CAN survive among magic-users, Demons, Vampires and Dragons. Name of the game? Play smart, learn (gain experience) and advance. If you think an action is unfair? Talk it over with other player in an IM. Remember, you control what your char is and how much they learn. When a char dies beyond resurrection? Bury them, say your fare wells, and make the next char smarter.

SL Conflicts:

There are times when two established characters just cannot make their SLs blend. If someone tells you, "Our SLs just cannot mix,' take their word for it. Most muns whose characters have been played in a long standing SL, KNOW what can, and cannot work in their SL. You could have 5 different versions of hell for example, and if the history of hell and its heirarchy is already laid down, along with who is who and who they are related to, some fool cannot just come along to some Demon and say, I am God's right hand man! Fight me to the death! A: An SL might already have established who consorts with who, and God may even be called something else completely, or the SL may have a slew of gods! B: If you want to join an SL, ASK, otherwise play characters that have no direct impact on the SL so you can observe and learn while playing. And by the way? It is not wise for a character to attack a demon they know nothing about. It is a good way to get a character killed.

OOC:

OOC is rude in Role Play Chats when not kept to a minimum, NECESSARY, and RP related, in this mun's opinion. I tend to eject so called 'lurkers' who DO NOT lurk but chit chat occ. People...to lurk is to observe QUIETLY, which means, no one knows you are there except for your SN in the chat list. CONSIDERATE people chat ooc in IMs, OOC chat rooms, or via e-mail. If someone you want to talk to is blocking? Kindly ask them in chat to let you IM them.

Verbosity:

Superfluous Byzantine loquacity becomes an infecund obloquy when in usance of Thespian Machinations. In other words... Are we role playing or playing Rogets Thesaurus version of Balderdash?? Why not just say? "Too much elaborate talk becomes a boring disgrace when used in Role Play." Them thar big words don't make you a better role player there Jim Bo. LOL. Descriptive words are great! But anything can be overdone. Calling eyes spheres, pools, mirrors, oracles occasionally is fine, but overuse is annoying. There is nothing wrong with calling eyes, eyes, and fingers, fingers. Army of five??? Give me a break!!

The 'ing Syndrome:

I have to admit, I was once a victim of this terrible habit!! But after reading a couple of logs, I was aghast at myself!! After seeing quite a few other players falling prey to the same habit, I decided to point it out to them. Try NOT to use too many words ending in 'ing' in succession. Example: Walking into a room he sat down, looking for his sister, waving to her, he called her over, and speaking to her he began telling her of the terrible day he was having. Seeing her was nice, but telling her about his news was dismaying. Look at all those ings!! A better way to write it would be: He walked into the room and seated himself to look around for his sister. The moment he saw her, he waved her over and began to tell her of the terrible day he'd had. It was nice to see her but telling her his news dismayed him.

Definition of Moding:

Role Play Cheating. Need anything more be said?

Modes:

Automatic Hits (not allowing for defense) Having a char die and making another to kill the last char's slayer IS A MODE!! New char should know NOTHING about last char's life because THEY DID NOT EXIST, plain and simple. Having a char that CANNOT DIE, is moding. Come ON people, what IS the sense. Hard to kill powerful chars with experienced RP muns, yes, as long as they CAN die. Even with hard to kill chars, give hints to make it fair. If there is only ONE way to kill your God or super Immortal char? Why not State or hint towards what it is on web page? Oh and taking OOC to IC is MODING. Taking IC to OOC is just stupid!!

Of Newbies:

We were ALL newbies once, though some are worse than others. Have patience with Newbies and try not to be rude, just politely point out errors, and you newbies out there? Don't get offended if someone hands you some well meant criticism, just learn from it. To rude newbies who refuse to learn anything?? GO AWAY!! LMAO.

If you read all of this so far, thanks for hearing me out.

Learning to Role Play

For those who are just learning or starting to learn to Role Play.

Pay Attention to Posts:

Everyone misses things in posts, but paying attention helps eliminate RP problems. Pay particular attention to those characters interacting with yours, and for characters approaching your character.

Making an entrance

There are two styles of RP form. One is "Story Form" the other is ::Stage or Action Mark Form:: The action marks used for Stage Posting IS the most common. The names vary, but the forms are the same. With Story form, the action is posted in open text, and the dialogue is posted with Quotation marks. " " With Stage form, the action is posted with colons :: :: and the dialogue is posted as open text. When you speak OOC-Out of Character, Use Mun Bubbles or parenthesis (like this) Below are two examples of basic entrances.

Story Form:

Gregory Turner: He entered the forest to peer about, expecting to see someone he was to meet. He smiled as he spied her and waved his hand. "Belinda!!" he called. "Over here, sweets."

Stage Form: :: He entered the forest to peer about, expecting to see someone he was to meet. He smiled as he spied her and waved his hand.:: Belinda! :: he called.:: Over here, sweets.

Role Play Expression: Now what we know from this entrance is that the char is a male and is expecting to meet or see someone. Such an entrance is acceptable but it is more fun and informative to let other players know more about your char. Below is an example of a more descriptive entrance, without getting too wordy.

Gregory Turner: :: He entered the forest to peer about, expecting to see someone he was to meet. He smiled as he spied her and waved his hand.:: Belinda!! ::he called.:: Over here. ::His thin lips curved in a smile, his gray eyes shining on his friend, his hand to sweep back his cloak to betray a glint of his broadsword. He was smiling now, but there was a cruel hardness to his face, that perhaps Belinda alone could soothe. He was not exceptionally handsome, but did have the kind of "roguish" character and charisma which attracted woman, his muscle of fit sinew.::

Improved Expression: Now this entrance tells us he is male, meeting someone, carries a sword thus is most likely a fighter, that he may have a cruel side to him, while he also has a civil if not charming side that makes him somewhat likable. His build is of one who is fairly strong as well.

Interaction: Get used to and comfortable with interaction before you start delving into fights with your char. Below is an example of two chars interacting.

Jeff: ::His sharp brown eyes dart on Pam as she walks in the room, and wasting no time at all, he leaps from his chair to rush over to her, his eyes burning angrily. He had given his heart to her, and she repaid him by sending a hit man after his own brother.::

Note: One action was posted involving Pam; He rushed at her, giving her time to react.

Pam: ::Spun around to see Jeff coming fast at her, she backed away, unsure of what he was going to do, but the look in his eyes turned her reluctance to fear, and she leapt behind a table to put it between them.::

Note: She both backed away and leapt behind a table, which IS acceptable, for there was distance between them and the two moves could have easily blended into one.

Jeff: ::Arrived at the table to grip its edges, glaring across at her.:: How could you? You had my BROTHER taken out?? How could you hire an assassin to kill my own brother and say you LOVE me?

Pam: ::Shook her head.:: I had to.. he was threatening to kill Armand.. and he meant it. He and his "Goones" had planned it all. And by taking Ryan out, his buddies were no threat to Armand. They are cowards without Ryan.

Fighting: We shall carry this scenario into a fight scene.

Jeff: ::Snarled and with sudden violence, fueled by his grief and rage, he Tipped the table upward and at her in one swift motion.:: (Note direction and strength of attack is given as well indication of speed.)

Pam: ::Leapt backward quickly, but his attack was unexpected and the table to large to dodge, the edge of the table catching her to scrape her chest and arms as she raised them in defense to push the table off.:: (Her defense, weak though it was.)

Pam: ::The table crashed to floor upside down and she glared at him, but she was no match for his strength or his skill, thus she made a dash for the door as swift as her legs would carry her, the overturned table between them.:: (Her turn to attack, but in this case she attempts fleeing, the table stated as an obstacle, as she knows she can not best him.)

Jeff: ::Skirted the table swiftly as he raced after her, and where he had her on strength, she had him on speed, he was five paces at a run behind when she met the door.:: (This gives Pam the option of escape, or facing him down.)

Pam: ::She grabbed the door knob, that quick turn seeming an eternity, to fling the door wide and sprint out to her car with all she had in her. She did not dare look back as she collided with her car, hand snapping out to grab the door handle.:: (This gives him one more chance to catch her, though that is a mun option, she could have escaped clean if she needed to go or just wanted her char to make a clean get away.)

Jeff: ::The door had slowed her just enough that he could gain on her, and he flew through that open doorway and outside to rush at her, the car her second obstacle, and as she reached that handle, he arrived at a charge to trap her between himself and the car, darting his hand out to grab her arm.:: (The chase was one action, trapping her letting her know her options, the darting hand ending the action, now Pam must defend.)

Pam: ::Recoiled her hand and dove left swiftly in an attempt to escape him.:: (Defense to grab and her next move)

Jeff: ::Slammed a palm braced with his strength and weight against her car to block her escape to the left.:: (His counter and attack in one move.)

Pam: ::Skifted her weight fast and plunged herself swiftly right trying desperately to escape through her last window OF escape.:: (Her counter and next move in one action.)

Jeff: ::His other palm slammed the car braced to block even before she flinched to plunge right, trapping her.::

Note: Now at this point, Pam could attempt kneeing his groin, punching him in the face, or begging for mercy, what have you, but chances are, he has her, and it would be wise of her to calm herself and try to reason with him, unless of course she thinks he is going to kill her and might as well get in a few good licks.

MODE FIGHT and BAD FORM examples below. Some Super Modes, others just unfair modes.