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You know,with this kind of guide,you will surely get a Roleplay license for sure,Lol Anyways,it was an amazing Guide,hope the new Roleplayers can get a new fresh start!
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I was expecting some snarky superiority tones in this (Like another RP guide I remember reading before...), but this was actually really well written. I really liked the battle tips, those are the thi
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Can you elaborate on this? This just might warrant a new section to the guide, suggesting players to remember that the roleplay isn't always about them. The theme part has also piqued my curiosity
Update Log:
7/12/14: Updated Character creation/backstory influence section by vague referencing established characters and basic punctual/grammar fix. Also added new subsection. Roleplay: The basics.
7/15: Edited Using Character Backstory example to avoid redundancy of using parents. Too cliche... Edited NPCs to factor in visiting shops in worlds. Edited Player interaction with reality example.
7/23: Added Crash course section directly below intro paragraph. Also: Frozen song reference "Do you wanna build a snowman" in section. Updated basic rules to promote consistent posting by everyone involved. Added title "Roleplay Mechanics" for organization.
7/27: Modified Character Creation post to accommodate "Superior" and "Crippling" stats. Added Player NPCs vs. Player NPCs in battle section.
8/28: Thanks to authorization granted by DChiuch for post limit, added "Developing Characters" section and edited grammar mistakes. Updated contacting by posting instead of PM. Need to update Combat System soon.
9/2: Merged Player Interactions: Basics into Dialogue to avoid redundancy. Will add Basics later.
9/6: Must add in section on limiting players from giving themselves story breaking stuff within themselves. Added on 9/25 in Developing Characters section.
10/6: Updated Plot Railroading definition
11/2: updated OC image. Need to add Character Death Section.
12/20: Added Character Death section. Updated "Using character backstory to influence plot" section. Separated NPC Shopkeepers into own section.
1/18/15: Complete overhaul of Combat Section. incorporated "Making a good post."
WIll add in "Combat Roles and Advanced Combat Posts in the future.2/3/15: Updated Sections by giving sub-section titles for quick referencing. Will add in "Self-insert" character for RP break-in soon.
2/5/15: Added 'self insert character' section to 'character creation' section.
2/24/15: Topics 'Combat: Roles and 'Combat: Posting', "Villains" planned for future editing.
5/11/15: Merged "Char creation: Heroes" and "Villains' into one section, separated 'characteristics' into own section. Added char, skills, need to mention 'specialization trees', unsure if merge with skills+char or separate. Update Char Creation section.
9/22/15: Separated Combat Basic for easy access to modifier, now Etiquette, and damage assessment.
3/10/16: Started Advanced Combat Section thanks to DC increasing text cap.
Ongoing grammar editing, example editing, avoidance of 1st person style writing.
>>>As of 1/6/15 at 1:40am Central US Time, this page has surpassed 1,500 views!!! But I'm pretty sure 1,499 of those are from me
Thank you for the views!<<<>>>As of 2/5/15, the view counter was reset! On the bright side, at least now it gives a realistic view of how many people frequent this page.
-This RP Guide has been mentioned on the Timeline! Yay!
-Fast Link to Roleplay Character Repository Thread here
If you want to see the basic rules for forum interactions/Roleplaying, click here!
Need to rant and want your voice to be heard? Or, want to find out how not to RP? Want to find out why this guide is here in the first place? Head on over to this other guide to find out!!!!
This post‘s intention is to serve as a very generic and basic assisting reference guide to text-based roleplays [Whether or not this will be on the same level as GURPS (Generic Universal Role-Playing System), well I hope it doesn't reach that level...] and is not, by any means, a hard-line 'rule book' that should be followed to a tee... With this in mind however, this post does intend to address many common issues found in text based, online roleplaying in a manner so as to not piss off both established and new-coming roleplayers here on the site [otherwise, I would have done this in that other thread...]
Text-based online roleplays can be a fun and exciting way to not only burn time [anything to take your mind of that math homework right in front of you, amirite?], but also make new friends, develop your writing techniques [by being critical of your own handiwork and/or analyzing other people’s writing style] and gives you an opportunity to add your own twists and plot-points into an ever expanding story. This guide is not just about giving new roleplayers an idea on how RPs work, but can also be used by veteran roleplayers to help refine their techniques and can also give everyone involved new ideas and facets for RP development that will help contribute to the overall story.
Now I know what you’re all thinking: Who the kupo does this guy think he is for making a guide for roleplaying? I can roleplay better than this nutjob! Well… Hear me out on this. I've been involved with several roleplays here on this site and in reality. Yes, I’m talking Dungeons and Dragons, and I've been playing many different types of it, including: Star Wars RPG [Pilot; Edge of the Empire], a classic medieval RPG [Paladin; Dungeon World], and Warhammer 40k [Heavy Gunner, Only War] just to name a few. Mind you, this user doesn't necessarily have that vaunted ‘holier than thou’ mindset [ok maybe a little...], but rather wanted to share the knowledge of basic RPing that isn't covered by THE grand-mack-daddy-master site administrator DChiuch, former roleplayer Kaiso, and veteran roleplayer Silver Kuroi, and wants a little more direction on how to roleplay without having to pay like $59.99 for a general rule book and needing several 20 sided dices to determine what happens next.
General Rules for Online, text-based Forum Thread Roleplays:
Subscribe to the thread. This allows everyone to be notified when there’s a new post in the RP, and reminds players that they’re involved in that roleplay to begin with.
Not a hard rule, but really handy: Have the initial sign-ups thread also be the out-of-character/roleplay thread [OOC Thread]. This prevents players from filling up the main roleplay with garbage posts and allows discussions of the RP in another dedicated thread instead of within the main one. Create the actual RP as a separate, new thread.
Not exactly a rule but a suggestion: Type out your posts in third person. Afterall, an RP is like weaving a story, but with more people involved.
Always be involved within the roleplay! A surefire way to sink a good roleplay is by having either the players or the host not post within the RP. If some players are no longer interested in participating or cannot post for any variety of circumstances, kindly let everyone in the RP know so the creator of the RP can off the characters and continue the story. If the creator no longer wishes to participate in their own roleplay
say what now?, then sorry to say but the RP is as good as dead.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do You Want to Make A Roleplay?
♫♪C’mon in just type and poooooosssttt!
Remember to have a storyline
And you’ll be fine
You even get to be the hooooossssttt!!
Just add in some roleplayers!
Then wait and see
When they go on a killing spreeeeeeeeeee!
Do you want to make a roleplay?
It doesn’t have to be a roleplay!
Shaddup Javelin!
Ok, byyyyeeeee….♪♫
So... When creating a roleplay, it's a little more complex than throwing a synopsis, character admission criteria, posting the rules and then say "YEEEAAAAAA! ROLEPALY!" Like the GameMaster in the real-world equivalent, those who want to create a roleplay should have a general idea of how they want the story to play out. This includes the possible settings/worlds the players will encounter and an in depth backstory for the RP for starters. They should also have an idea on who/what the bad guys will be [from a humble chicken to a love-child between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris... May god have mercy on us all.], and other 'memorable moments' sorta planned out [like making the players eventually walk into a town square where a blue British Police Box is sitting in the dead center with a finely-clothed man saying "Allons-y!" off in the distance...]. This way, the roleplay won't fizzle and die off because of the ever persistent threat of the "I never planned this far" phrase being muttered by the creator of the RP. Once a bare-bones, "ok I have a good, ultra-vague idea on how this Roleplay is gonna play out" plan is set out, then go for it! Post the roleplay sign-ups thread and have fun!
When assembling the RP sign-ups thread, there are some basic components to keep in mind:
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RolePlay Mechanics (I know what you're thinking... No, not those hot hunks with monkey wrenches and blue overalls that's looking at you seductively. Sorry to disappoint you.)
[Please note that you don't have to read it all. It's divided into sub-sections for a raison. Stop yelling at me! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ ]
The Fundamentals:
Section Topics:
General Player Roles
General Host Roles
Yeah, basically it’s like that…
The Player: Bound by the rules and the limitations set by the RP host, players essentially become a pawn in the host's grand scheme of the roleplay story. However, just because players are not the supreme overlord of the roleplay mean that they can’t derail the plot the Host had in mind and end up having a jolly good time. Unless the host has something against the player, there’s absolutely nothing holding them back from riding a mine cart filled with tamed shadows and moogles into the final boss’ lair armed with nothing but basic clothing, a +5 damage toothpick, 3 rubber bands, a pack of +5 health regeneration 10 usage gum, a starbucks card, a copy of Kingdom Kuties monthly, Aqua’s wayfinder and end up defeating the big bad and laughing all the way until the conclusion of the story, where their actions and OC are now the stuff of legends among the other RPers. Impractical? Yes. Probable? Absolutely. Will they win? Depends on how flabbergasted the host was…
Aside from being bound by the rules, players are more than free to navigate the world the RP Host has constructed around their characters [if it is logical]. Players are free to do basic moves like interact with Host created NPCs, other player characters, and the environment around them. Just remember the possible repercussions from each choice, but then again the consequences of the player’s action is what makes RPs so fun and exciting!
The RP Host/GameMaster[GM]: Essentially the god of the RP world. As such, everything they say [detailed in the rules of the RP or in the story] is absolute, and the RP players must respect those words. With this in mind however, hosts have the responsibility to accommodate players in respect to their character actions within their RP. A useful statement can be found below:
However, being a Host is more than about “Rocks fall, everyone dies” and battles. Hosts are also responsible for painting and constructing the world around the players, as well as describing the consequences of the player’s actions should they decide to interact with the world in any way. As such, Hosts are also solely responsible for the NPCs and enemy actions, as well as environmental actions and incidentals that occur within the RP world.
The RP Host is required to roleplay the NPCs [Non-Player Characters] in their own RP. As a Host controlled character, the characters and NPCs in the roleplay will allow them to directly interact with the players, which is a great way to maintain the plotline and act as a catalyst for everything that happens around them and the player’s characters should they interact with the Host character in some form.
Character Creation: Heroes and Villains
Section Topics:
Overview
The Basics
Villains
Breaking In an RPer: Self-Insert Characters
"Me want BLOOOOOOOOOODDDDDDD!!!" ~Cookie Monster. Probably.
Creating a player character is a rather simple approach. This is roleplaying after all, where the rules of reality are thrown into the wind and players create and become a fantastical being who are limited only by their imaginations [and writing skills for that matter]. However, a PC is more than just their weapons and ability to kick fantastical butt. They’re people too [or droids, half-elves, orcs, narwhals, etc...] complete with their own emotions, personalities, backstories, strengths and weaknesses, and it’s up to the players to construct them from the ground up. Just remember to keep them balanced and interesting so everyone can have fun.
[special thanks to Yuffie Kisaragi and Oathkeeper136 for allowing vague references to their primary characters.]
Using Kingdom Hearts roleplays for example, there can be a character who is a girl assassin with a grudge against all those who wields the magical weapons known as keyblade and wants to see the world burn. Or, a character that is an orphaned keyblade wielding girl who eventually became a goddess who transcends space and time and will faithfully protects her friends and those she cares about, but is weak in terms of HP and awkward around strangers. OR, a character that is a soldier/guardian who has sworn an oath of secrecy to protect a Princess of Light at night at all costs and give up their heart if necessary to ensure the safety of her and everything in between.
The possibilities are endless, and we haven’t even mentioned their backstories. Maybe the orphaned keyblade goddess became who she is because she wants to see her loved ones again, or maybe the assassin hates the keyblade because that was the weapon used to kill her parents, or maybe the secret guardian is so dedicated to his oath that disobeying it whatsoever will destroy his sense of purpose, setting him up to start his path to darkness and chaos...
Whatever the character’s backstory is, it only adds to their depth, their complexity, and who knows? Maybe the RP Host will bring it up in the roleplay, adding yet another interesting facet to an already outstanding plotline. More on this in section "Using Character Descriptors to Influence the Plot."
The Basics
Is this sub-section really necessary? Well according to this:
Lets take that as a yes. Ok, now onto the main section. Usually during the Sign-Ups phase of an RP, the RP host will detail all the parameters needed for establishing a character. At the core of this usually specialized list are some common parameters: Name, age, gender, Preferred Weapon, Personality, and Backstory. For this section, the main focus will be on preferred weaponry, personality, and backstory [for obvious reasons.]
Character Preferred Weaponry: Implied Proficiency
Mostly self-explanatory: This parameter establishes a character’s ‘main’ weapon they will be using in the RP, and how the character became proficient in that weapon should be thoroughly explained in the character bios. It also means that, in a way, the character will also be proficient in any weapon that is in the same weapons-tree of said weapon. For example, having a character’s main weapon be an assault rifle will also mean they can operate hunting rifles, carbines, snipers, and sub-compact rifles for instance. This implied ‘weapons-tree proficiency’ will come in handy during the RP if their main weapon is unusable or lost, and will have to find a new weapon. The main reason for detailing this is for those times when a character has to operate a weapon outside the tree, in which case the character should suffer a major setback for using such weapons.
Unless stated in the backstory that the character decides to double specialize in two weapons, this implied specialization helps limit what players can do with their characters with weapons presented in an RP. For the most part, a rifleman shouldn’t be able to properly use a katana. Conversely, a master swordsman shouldn’t be able to even operate a rifle. Ignoring this is a very bad move on the player’s part since it would be Out-of-Character, and is highly frowned upon in the RPing world.
Character Personality
Here’s where most get lazy with the details and decide to use general, blanket wording to describe something crucial for fleshing out a character. Using single words such as “honest, cunning, mischievous, etc” is decent for getting the point across, but fails to entirely capture a character’s personality when trying to communicate it to others, the most crucial of which is the RP host. Instead, try opting for at least a paragraph for describing the character’s personality. This allows for a better interpretation of the character and establishes boundaries for character actions, allowing both hosts and other players to know when someone is roleplaying Out-of-Character, which is very bad.
Consider the following: “Protective, dedicated, duty-bound, quiet, and cunning” vs. “Ingrained with a sense of duty, [character] is fiercely dedicated to protecting those they love and will stop at nothing to ensure their security. As such, [character] is highly suspicious of all strangers, and will have at least thirteen ways of killing anyone s/he come across by the end of the first ‘hello.’ Naturally, because of this suspicion, s/he tends to avoid conversations, and will quickly try to terminate one if forced to do so.”
Backstory
The bread and butter of character creation, the biography of an RP OC is where the player can really flesh out their characters and establish them within the universe. It is in this section that players explain how their characters came to be, along with other bits of information including family history, weapons training, skill development, and individual history just to name a few parameters. However, just because the section is fully dedicated to explaining the character doesn’t mean that everything is declassified about them. Every character has a dark past of some sort that they would rather have hidden, either to conceal a dark ability or history. With this being the case, during the biography section, players are strongly encouraged to at the very least make vague mentionings about it in the section. Not only does it add an aura of mystery to the character to the viewers who bother reading the darn thing, but will also allow some justification and reasoning for what can be interpreted as ‘Out-of-Character’ actions during the RP.
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Character Creation: Villains
Tragic backstory? Check. Overpowered powers? Check. Can actually kill the hero(in)es? Check. Signature menacing weapon? Check. Optional drop-dead sexy looks that can make one question their sexual orientation? Checkaroo…
[A special thanks to grand poo-bah Dave for giving information about this topic...]
Creating a big bad main villain for an RP is not that different from creating a hero character. The primary differences between them [other than the obvious moral aspects] is what their purpose is for the RP. Where heroes are there to achieve a happily ever after [or as close to it as anyone can get] and go against the RP host, villains exist not only to get in the way, but to also serve as the main threat against the heroes. Villain RPers also get the privileges to collaborate with the RP host to further their plans for the RP, giving them intimate knowledge about how the RP is supposed to be played out. With this in mind however, villains are supposed to be more than just mustache tweezing [ditto for what girls do, so we'll give them a mustache too...], cat stroking, ever watching threat that only say “hahaha! You FEWLS! You fell right into my plans for WORLD CONQUEST!!!!1!11!!! Now I shall explain my plans in full detail for the next five minutes, leaving me vulnerable to any reasonable first strike attack!”
Fortunately for my lazy butt, someone has already addressed this issue located on the other thread, so I’ll just copy-pasta that info here for easier references.
Too long; didn't read summary: just because someone decides to RP as a villain doesn't give them the right to become an undefeatable boss. They follow the same rules and guidelines as players, with the notable exception of going against the majority of them.
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Self-Insert Characters
Ok, so maybe all this stuff about creating some fantastical character and RPing them properly is a bit much for some. This is understandable, since not everyone can RP a wildly different persona with different ideals that they’re unfamiliar with right off the bat [psychopathic killer who invented a 'DNA Bomb' for fun just because they couldn’t open an ice cream shop of their dreams… Don’t ask.] So what’s a roleplayer supposed to do? A common way to break new RPers into the realm of RPs or to break anyone into a new role is for them to create a ‘self-insert character.’ It’s self explanatory: The player imagines him/herself as a fantastical character in the RP. As such, this player character should almost reflect the player personally in terms of personality, thought processing, speech pattern, etc. with some notable exceptions of course, such as weapon finesse [unless you are proficient with a weapon], magic powers, etc. [if a character’s backstory is depressing and the player admits that it is a reflection of their life, please get them help if suspected that they’re about to break.]
Ideally, this will help the player flesh out what that character is in terms of roles and archetype as they identify notable traits that are being displayed, and from there, build off from that. Now that’s not to say that that is what the player should totally be in real life [with the way you roleplay, you should totally be a thief!!!!11!1!!], but rather it allows them to discover and learn what archetype that they are most comfortable/suitable for. Once the player is really familiar with a certain character archetype and traits, it’s time to expand the horizons and start adopting different archetypes, personality, dialogue styles, etc.
If a player is successful in becoming proficient at roleplaying completely different personas, then awesome! If not, that’s ok! There’s nothing wrong with specializing in a certain aspect and/or trait for a character, and this expertise might be the reason other players will turn to them for pointers and advice.
Character Creation: Characteristics, Skill Statistics, Specializations, and Morality [The Nitty-Gritty Stuff...]
Eeeeeeyup. This is what we have to deal with every time we generate a new character. Every. Single. Time.
Section Topics:
Character Balancing Concept: How Not to be Overpowered
General
Superior and Crippling Attributes
Characteristics
Skills
Specializations
Morality
Examples!
Character Balancing Concept
Although hard ‘stats’ for text based characters are unheard of for text-based RPs, a basic idea of it can nonetheless be generalized through careful interpretation of players explaining their characters or by seeing how they interact to a particular situation. If someone is fast and extraordinarily cunning, then chances are they aren’t the toughest people on the character role [Dexterity and Charisma at the expense of Strength and Constitution]. On the other hand, having a strong, ‘look at me I can juggle a sword the size of the Eiffel Tower and not break a sweat’ character with a lot of Constitution and Magic will almost invariably mean they’re not really much of a people’s person and aren’t the most agile of the group [Strength and Magic at the expense of Charisma and Agility]. Remember that these are extreme examples, and again, balancing the character is key. If a character seems to be naturally good at everything, then chances are the player never bothered trying to balance their character.
"So why can't I RP as a total bonafide bada$$ who is awesomely good at errything and have absolutely no flaws?!?!?!" many may ask. Well for starters, that's just wrong on so many levels, but at the core it all boils down to: It wouldn't be fun if everyone is good at everything. The main reason why there has to be strengths and weaknesses for characters is to make things interesting by having conflicts, tension and failures within the RP because of character shortcomings, and also helps build cohesion between player characters.
Most RPs usually have a group of player characters tagging along with each other to accomplish the main plotline goals. Playing a lone wolf character is never fun for online RPs, and those who do would be better off spending their time writing a story for their own OC since they are not interacting with anyone other than the host. Another reason, is once again being balance. Everyone wants to be an overpowered hero, but that is no fun. By having weaknesses and strengths, other players and host alike can play on the unique combination of stats and personalities for player characters to make every encounter an original one.
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Character Balancing: Superior and Crippling Attributes
Since this sub-section is on the topic of balancing, there is another aspect of character balancing that deserves special mentioning: Superior and Crippling characteristics. Lets say that being really good at something just isn't quite enough for the character a player had in mind. Lets say this player want their character to be so good it's scary. Like... they can dodge bullets and at the same time cook up a piping hot pancake to throw back at the enemy before they fire off the next bullet in an automatic rifle... good. if this is the case, then it's safe to assume that the characteristic for the character breaks the limitations on a traditional numerical scale. Should this ever be the case, the characteristic is considered 'superior.' However, because of this superiority, another characteristic must now adopt the 'cripplingly low' attribute, where they are so horrible at it that it's pathetic/laughable. Again, this is for the sake of balancing the character [and making them highly unique at the same time.] For example: Nerds. Superior intelligence because being awesomely smart and whatnot, but they have a cripplingly low charisma to the point that they would much rather sit at a computer all day and not venture to the scary place known as the 'outside' because there are other human beings out there and that means there is a chance of possibly having to interact with one of those nasty things. That sounds oddly familiar...
If having a cripplingly low characteristic to counteract a superior one isn't a fun idea [because we all want to be overpowered characters...], then an acceptable substitute would be having two characteristics be very low. So basically: 1 Superior Trait = 1 Crippling trait OR 2 very low traits. Now remember to be fair and remember the 'typical' balancing of two good characteristics, two average, and two bad. A fair way of distribute the negativity would be reducing the two average stats to low, or set the two low stats to the lowest and bring an average stat to the low tier.
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Characteristics
Now that the sections above have mentioned about a rudimentary 'stat' system, lets talk turkey. Characteristics are the very core of an RP character: They are a character's measure of raw potential, natural talents and aptitude. It is from these core attributes that every other skill imaginable is built on. Logically, having a high characteristic stat means that the character is 'naturally adept' in that particular area, along with whatever skills are associated with it. Conversely, having a low characteristic stat means that the character is 'naturally crippled' in that area, along with whatever skills are tied to it.
I DON'T PLAY DnD YOU NITWIT SO WHAT DO THOSE CHARACTERISTICS TRANSLATE TO?!
In other words:
Tying this particular section back to character balancing:
Neat huh? Translate that to character uh… characteristics, know that making them strong in one or several aspects should mean they are weak in another. Remember: It’s all about keeping a character 'balanced,' Even if the character is a god or if the character has been used many times in different RPs, the character should be balanced at the core. One handy way at attempting a 'general balance base stat' is as follows on a scale of one to five: 5, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1. Using the numbers, assign them to the six individual characteristics, and see where the numbers end up. Whatever stat the 5 and 4 are assigned to are the strongest characteristics, 2 and 1 being their weakest, with 3 being average. From there, build the backstory to justify their stats. Or, do the procedure backwards and think out the character's backstory first, and then from there assign the stats to reflect it.
For those who want a slightly more descriptive idea of what those numbers mean [if it hasn't been thrown out the window already...]
Characteristic Scale
5 = Outstanding capability / Blessed.
4 = Exceptional capability / Gifted.
3 = Normal capability / Talented.
2 = Average capability / Er... Average.
1 = Poor capability / Inept
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5 = Master: Unsurpassed knowledge and/or techniques.4 = Expert: Exceptional knowledge and/or techniques.
3 = Professional: Broad, detailed knowledge and/or techniques.
2 = Specialist: Average knowledge and/or techniques.
1 = Trained: Basic knowledge and/or techniques.
0 = Untrained: Little to no knowledge and/or techniques
Assembling and Maintaining the Storyline
Section Topics:
General Plot Assembly & Suggestions
Railroading
In order to have/make a good RP, there needs to be a plot of some sort. Afterall, a story without a plot is just gibberish and aimless and wouldn't really help all those involved in the RP, if it can even be called that since there is no direction for the story to advance towards. With this in mind, RP Hosts are encouraged to establish several RP “milestones” that should be reached throughout the course of an RP to help keep the plotline intact, rather than planning out every single storyline details. The 'milestones' concept would better serve the Host by acting as a general ‘goal’ or ‘objective’ that help keep the story on track, and also gives the Hosts a lot of flexibility in their plotline maintenance arsenal as they accommodate player actions, from the mundane to the wickedly awesome but totally plot-derailing. An example of a general plot milestone layout are as follows:
RP Start > Everyone meets in a jail cell > Reveal main enemy > Explore the different worlds > Everyone ends up in a jail cell again > fight the big bad > Cliffhanger...
Simple right? Well of course it is, silly! Again, it serves as a general guide for the host to follow, but is so open ended that the interpretation of how to get there is non-existent, allowing the hosts to do what they see as fit to achieve plot forwarding and mainly to, once again, accommodate the actions of the other players.
Since
those peskyplayers are usually unpredictable and most of the time their actions will not coincide with what the Host wants, establishing the milestones will not only help keep the Host from losing sight of the main point of the RP, but will also allow them to gauge how much the story has progressed in relation to the number of posts since the last major milestone. If it seems like nothing is getting done or progressing at a slow rate in the RP, the Host can and should exercise their powers and help move the plot along.Usual Weapons of Plot Guidance and Advancement include but are not limited to: Kidnapping one of the player’s love interest, revealing and fighting the big bad and have the players discover their base of operation in some far off location, throwing a horde of nigh-unbeatable enemies at the players while having a big neon sign that says “GO HERE TO ADVANCE THE PLOT”, having a random encounter of a Host NPC that ends up giving the players a quest/guidance [captured enemy works well, OR… encountering an orphaned, malnourished young girl with tattered clothing and scars on her arms who is being bullied by the local thugs… Totally up to the host to decide...], and so on.
However, as an RP Host, it is strongly advisable to avoid the dreaded “RAILROADING.” What is Railroading exactly? Simply put: it is forcing players into the plot by giving them no choice whatsoever, or by giving them the illusion of choice when in reality they don’t. Here is a visual example that also details how an RP host should maintain the plotline...
Plot derailment is when players choose to do something that the host has either not planned for, or is against what they wanted.
Since Text-based Roleplays are not conducted in real time, this gives both Host and players a lot of time to think out [and describe] their actions and reactions to elements in the RP. The host however, benefits the most from this by having plenty of time to plan and think out the consequences of a player’s action, and in turn guide the plot of their story and the RP in general. If the host wishes to direct players in a certain plot direction or steer them back to the main story they had intended, then as the illustration above suggests, subtly guide the players back to the main plot-line [or not...]
An addendum and clarification to this suggestion: There is a difference between 'railroading' and 'plot essential tasks': determine if the action restrictions imposed onto the players are because of the host directly intervening, or is it because of the plot?
Lets say that the host describes a room that a player is in. There are two doors that the player can choose from: One that is painted pink and smells like freshly plucked lavender flowers, and another that has skulls and cross-bones with giant bloody words "DONUT ENTUR" painted on the front. Pretty obvious on what the host wants the player to pick right? Well, lets say that there was a crazy player who picks the suicidal door because "Think of all the rare loot that could be hiding in there!" and details that their character approaches the bloody door. Railroading would be when the host directly intervenes to deny the player their choice by saying, "Suddenly the door you were approaching bursts into flames and turns into ashes. The other door is still standing."
Being forced to follow the plotline because of the circumstances detailed in the actual plot/RP story itself however, is not railroading, even though it may feel like it. For example: Lets say that there is this RP where everyone is on the last safe fortress in a mystical land that is now occupied by the invaders. The players are tasked [by host controlled NPC feeding plot relevant information] with taking over several crucial areas that would take up a good chunk of the RP [resupply depot, national armory, president's house, and then fight back the big bad]. Sounds like railroading right? Well, logically speaking, it would make sense to follow the plot and do the objectives, since failure to do so would imply certain doom for everyone involved. Players are forced to follow the plot, yes, BUT this is because of the nature of the plotline itself, rather than the host eloquently saying "No, you can't do that."
Using Character Descriptors to Influence the Plot
Section Topics:
Suggestions for Plot Variation by Using Character Descriptors
Hosts have the authority to utilize a player character’s bio, personality, backstory, obligations, pretty much anything unique about the character to affect the plot if they choose to do so. The usual way for Hosts to have some fun with player characters [and also help with character development] is to present them with some sort of dilemma that tests said character in a certain way [and it also determines how true a player RPs their character]. Lets face it: many characters will have some sort of emotional baggage in their backstory or have well defined personalities, so why not use those very same traits that make a character unique and turn it against them? If Hosts ever want to use a character's backstory against them, know that there are some limitations to this; a general rule of thumb is to avoid directly interacting/taking control of individuals in the character bio/backstory and instead focus on the vague aspects and the inevitable ‘holes’ in the bio that can be exploited. This vagueness allows hosts some 'wiggle room' for specifically when using important people in a character's backstory against them.
Another way for hosts to utilize character uniqueness is to have that defining trait affect the plot is a minor or major way. This not only allows more options and choices for how the story can progress, but will also have the added benefit of having the players become more involved with the story by opening up new interaction routes that would otherwise be 'unavailable' to the party..
Some examples:
World Building
Section Topics:
General Pointers for Host
Rules for World Exploration by a Player
Player Rules
Ah yes, the bread and butter of Roleplaying.
Roleplay Hosts carry the sole responsibility of constructing the worlds and environments around the RP Players. Typically, the first ever post in the official RP will be the Host describing the setting and scenery of wherever the players are. Details should not be skimped: The RP players will need all they can so they can properly interact with not only the world, but other players depending on their locations.
Once the world around the players have been fully described, Players are free to roam the immediate settings. If a player enters a new area not yet described, then it is the host's responsibility to construct the new setting. Players, whenever attempting to enter a new area, it would greatly help the host if the posts ends with detailing the character attempting to enter the new area, followed by ending the sentence with an ellipses.
That way, the host can seamlessly post what the character sees, streamlining the RP. As the story progresses and the players enter new settings, once again it is up to the Host to build and describe it, effectively shaping the story and guiding the players towards the supposed ‘conclusion’ of the RP, total plot-following optional...
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Players too, may choose construct their own settings and scenery given that the area they are entering is owned by them [ie: The player’s house, secret lair, personal yacht, apartment, etc.] If this is the case, then it is up to the player to fully describe the settings and scenery so any other players who wish to interact within the place know what’s available and what isn’t.
Getting to Know Your NPCs
Section Topics:
General Host Roles
Player Suggestions
RP Hosts are typically the only individuals to have the complete power of generating Non-Player Characters. This serves a variety of purposes: Giving more information about the current setting, quest-givers, and plot maintainers just to name a few roles NPCs can be used to accomplish. This allows the Host to indirectly interact with the players and have an active role throughout the RP aside from also being a player.
Players too can call upon and command their own NPCs if they wish. There is nothing stopping a player from essentially controlling their own army, although the scope of their power and capabilities of these Player-side NPCs must be both acceptable and must not interfere with other players and the main plot of the RP [unless authorized by the host]. In most cases, player NPCs are used as tools for the primary player character.
An example of general player NPC do’s and don'ts: Lets say a player [not the Host] is a commander of an army of troopers on a world [as detailed in the character sheet]. It is completely acceptable for the PC to be aware of the other players scattered throughout the area and stay up to date on their visible activities because of said troopers relaying messages. However, ordering the troopers to attack another player is completely unacceptable as it affects the integrity of the RP [indirect assault of another player, which is a power solely reserved for the Host]. However, having the player army go up against the Host army is acceptable, but only the host can describe and determine the outcome of the confrontation.
Getting to Know Your NPCs: The Shopkeepers: Acquiring Items and Other Stuff Within an RP
Section Topics:
General Pointers
Host Specific Roles Concerning Player Actions
Throughout the course of an RP, someone will eventually throw in a reality check and decide to visit a shop to buy some stuff [Potions, doggy biscuits, the latest Edition of Kingdom Kuties Monthly: Kuddle Kairi Edition... Oh, just me? Whoops...] If this is the case, Players are free to RP as the shopkeep and acquire their wanted goods, but only the basic items like health and magic potions, knick-knacks and other harmless stuff [unless you're MacGyver... In which case, nothing is harmless...].
If, for some reason, the player wants to get some really powerful weapons, spells, armor, items, etc. that may or may not haunt the Host in the future, then this is where it enters the Host's domain to decide if 1.) it's available and 2.) the price for such possible plot derailing item. A common way of trying to acquire these goods within an RP is for the player to say that they enter the shop and state that "they hope that this shop carries [items player is asking for]." In this way, the host can control the shopkeeper and respond appropriately with 1.) If the store carries said item and 2.) How much it costs [An arm and a leg is not uncommon...] in one post to help simplify matters.
Making Enemies/Random Encounters
Section Topics:
Host Roles
Player Roles Regarding Villains
In a typical roleplay, players will RP as heroes of the story, meaning every enemy and adversary is generated and controlled by the RP Host. If there are players in the RP who wish to be the villains, then the Host and player(s) should cooperate behind the scenes to fit with whatever the host had in mind for villains within the RP.
However, since those kind of roleplayers are few and far between, then it’s [for the most part] safe to assume that Hosts will be generating the bulk of enemies and adversaries. It is the Host’s responsibility to not only determine the correct enemies, but also the amount, their strength, and where the players will encounter them. Keeping these confrontations challenging, unexpected, yet balanced with the player’s level is a surefire way to grip the player’s attention and make for some very interesting ‘memorable moments’ depending on how players go about defeating their enemies...
But lets face it: Hosts are bound to throw in a boss fight sooner or later [proper setting and complimentary battle music optional]. In this case, the boss is essentially treated as a Host controlled Player Character [complete with their own ‘stats’, backstory optional], and obviously the host will directly dictate their actions and reactions to the other players moves.
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Roleplaying
Making a Good Roleplay Post: Length vs Quality and Character Immersion
Section Topics:
General Suggestion for Adequate Post Length
Post Quality: Suggestions for Post Materials
Actual RP Post Examples
[if you’re snickering, I applaud you for having the same mindset as me… you dirty pervert
]
Now here is where things get subjective. After all, everyone has their own writing styles and writing preferences, and what may be considered acceptable by one person’s standards could be considered ‘horrendous’ by another. This is the part where English teachers would be hammering out stuff like “show, don’t tell,” and “imagery,” and all that, but c’mon. This is a game forum. We come here to escape from those kinds of people [this user does at least]. Well unfortunately, their spirits shall continue to haunt Roleplayers and this sub-section in particular, mainly because constructing a post is akin to adding a paragraph for a novel, and would definitely fall under their domain. So, now that we have accepted and submitted to our overlords, it’s time to dive into the mechanics of post construction.
Basic spelling, syntax, and sentence structuring aside, the main focus of this section would be giving advice for how to best portray and act for a character. Fortunately for this user [and their wrists], someone has already decided to do such a thing for me and can be found below: Note that the post has been edited to adhere to context.
[MLA citations ftw. My wrists are saved!!!!]
No idea on how to elaborate and expand on the details in the topics mentioned above without sounding like a total rip-off, but there are some points that need to be addressed.
Constructing an RP Post: Length
There are some who are may be upset about the suggestion of a post length of at least three sentences, since there are RPers who prefer posting shorter... er... posts. So, before lighting those pitchforks and grabbing the torches waitwut, please stop for a moment and hear us out. Why is it that the person referenced in the quote above and this mean-mother-hubbard suggests aiming for at least three to five sentences?
In the academic world, the most basic unit of thought is a paragraph, and the most basic paragraph is composed of three sentences at the minimum.
With this in mind, it would make sense to create a post so as to effectively communicate an RPer's most basic unit of thought, this 'thought' being communicating something about their player character and/or the RP storyline.
'Quality post' is basically the same as 'quality writing.' Unfortunately, the 'quality writing' criteria is different for every user out there. Fortunately for this guide, some basics for what makes something a 'quality writing' can be derived from fictional books. Using those as a guide, there is one universal trait that most of the best sellers out there accomplish, and this phrasing should be familiar to all readers out there: It sucks the reader into the story.
So, how is a roleplayer supposed to accomplish this task? It's rather simple actually: help the reader [mainly other players] imagine the scene in their head. Have the scene play in the reader's head as if they were there in that very moment, watching the scene unfold right before their very eyes for the roleplay. How? Here's a tip: when constructing the post, appeal to at least two of the five senses [touch, taste, smell, sight, or hearing]. This will help the readers visualize what the player character is experiencing from their point of view, and will keep them interested. As an added bonus, this will add meaningful fluff to the post to avoid the ever persistent threat of contributing only one sentence to the RP, but remember that the main goal of it should be to help immerse the reader into the story.
Examples of a 'Good' RP Post
The criteria for making this a good post?
-The post describes their character's feelings toward a specific event [in this case, a party.] This helps immerses readers into the mind of said character.
-The post also describes the environment as perceived by the character, further immersing the readers into the character.
-Unique dialogue with character specific speech patterns.
[More will be added when people want to add some of their posts to this]
Player Interactions: Dialogue and Control
Section Topics:
General Suggestions Regarding Dialogue Etiquette
Suggestions for Players and Host Quoting Other Players
Now here’s where things get… Tedious. After all, interacting with other roleplayers is a core component of RPs, but the practicality of such actions in a text-based RP is really… Limited for lack of a better word. Talking with another character is the main issue here. Think about it: A player says something, and then the other player responds, usually both exchanging a sentence or two. This is very inconvenient for the RP, as the barrage of one liners is a total waste of space, RP post and page count, and blows up the notifications inbox of all RPers subscribed to the thread. Not cool, dude/dudette… Not cool… There are limited ways around this, however. One common suggestion is to contact the other player via Private Messaging and work out the conversation there, then post the whole block of exchange on the RP. Another nifty way is to add more details accompanying the dialogue, anything to keep it interesting or even add more to the depth of the characters or to the storyline [More information in the "Making a Good Roleplay Post: Length vs. Quality and Character Immersion" Section]
Players, when initiating dialogue, only communicate what your character says. Under no circumstances should there be dialogue coming from the other character unless the dialogue exchange was worked out in private messaging or it is simply restating what a character said in a previous post. If this is the case, then it is ok.
Which leads to the main part of this sub-section. When it comes to roleplaying with others, it is imperative that a player must respect the boundaries of control of other players and the Host. What does this mean in terms of posting within an RP? Simply put, players can only dictate their current character and NPCs under their control, and nothing else.
Stuff that are within a player's own domain includes, but are not limited to:
Stuff that are not within a player's domain includes, but are not limited to:
For example: [And remember, each quote is a player post]
Everything that Player A has done in this example post is completely acceptable: It only dictated what their character was doing, and no one else's.
If another player would like to interact with this Character A, they may only act on the actions they can justifiably react to [The part in blue] and the basics such as:
Here is an acceptable player action in response to the first one:
That's it. Why? Because in-universe, the character must now wait for the other's response and/or reactions to their character's approach. All this player character could do was react and act on visible observations [notice the red-ish text in Player B's post above in comparison to Player A's blue text above.]
Here is an example of common mistakes found when responding to a player character:
In this example post by Player B, there are several errors made. First and foremost, Player B dictated the actions of Character A [as marked by the yellow text] Although it seems minor, it is in fact very problematic. It is essentially hijacking the other player's character, and is highly frowned upon. Only Player A can control Character A, and logically, only Player B can control Character B. Think about it: What if Player A wanted their character to rather not talk about his past and react negatively to that kind of question? Since Character A has technically replied as dictated in Player B's post, the opportunity for Player A to dictate their character's reaction is lost.
The other error involves the text in dark crimson: Inserting the character into another Player Character's backstory. Although Hosts have the ability to utilize a character backstory against them, they are restricted to the vague concepts of it, not the specifics like this. In this example, Player B basically altered Character A's backstory so their character can fit right in. Again, this is frowned upon and is controlling of another player's character.
The final error is the text in pink: Describing an environment that isn't owned by their character. In this example post in this example RP [example-ception!!!], since the current setting is within a gummi ship hanger, the need for the host to describe the outside wasn't necessary. However, just because the host left it vague doesn't mean that players are allowed to create whatever setting they want to fit the mood or what they want. Remember that creating the world around the players is a Host responsibility, and the authority must be respected.
A general rule of thumb to follow when determining what is allowed and what isn't for general interactions: Imagine how the scenario would work out in real life. When interacting with others, can one person dictate another person's actions/reactions/response/backstory, say it as true and then have it happen? Not really. [Otherwise, we'd all be billionaires by going up to a bank teller and say "You enter the number 12 billion for my deposit into the computer" and then they actually do it... On a personal note: I should try this and see what happens...]
Instead, one person initiates an action [like walking up towards someone] and waits for the other person's response/reaction. The same applies for Roleplay: When interacting with other players/characters, the only thing a person can do after initiating an action in their post is to wait for the response/reaction [in this case, a post made by the other player/Host responding to the action.]
Adding Character Depth through Actions or Thoughts
Actions taken by characters when interacting with others or their surroundings is a great way to help establish them and give others a first impression on who they are. Anything from eating a box of live kittens for a snack or rescuing a cat from a tree by cutting said tree with a chainsaw is bound to gain some attention from the others, and the resulting exchange between them is a sure-fire way to establish the characters, break the ice, or give the other characters a reason not to trust them [and you guessed it, since the cat is technically part of the scenery, Host determines if that cat lives...].
Character thoughts are another way to make things interesting, and are typically identified by italicized text in a text-based RP. This nifty feature helps paint a whole new level of perspective for the character, and gives the other RPers something fun to read when they read the post.
Character Development Arc: General
Section Topics:
Respecting Other Player Intentions
"Spotlighting" Player Characters
[A special thanks to Hargleblargleboo for suggesting this sub-section]
Throughout the course of an RP, there will be [or rather, should be...] many opportunities for players to advance their characters. Afterall, like a good story or a certain RPG video game that this forum is all about, developing a character throughout the RP helps to keep things interesting and shows progress for both the story and for the characters. Examples of these peculiar events include gaining new abilities, magic, techniques, relationship progression [Next sub-section], and personality improvements just to name a few. If it is pulled off correctly, these events can actually be a defining element within the RP itself.
With that being said however, under no circumstances should players attempt to hijack the RP plot in order to further their own character development agendas or make it so that their character
essentially become the 'main' characterof the RP with the other player characters merely being there for the ride or forced to take on a minor role. Afterall, behind that computer monitor that displays the player’s username is a real life person who also wants to develop their characters and have a moment in the spotlight. Players need to understand and respect that, and Hosts should try and give all players the chance for their moment to not only shine in the RP, but also give them chances to develop their characters, whether it be by circumstances [mainly having player characters interacting with them] or by down time between major ‘scenes.’The main grievance for players inadvertently taking on a 'minor' role within an RP typically revolve around the fact that a 'major' player will create their own mini-story for how their character(s) acquire new skills/techniques [by teacher, secret mentor, Tinkerbell...] The best way to circumvent this and still keep the focus of the RP on all players rather than just one self-centered special player character is by focusing on the idea of staying as/in a group. In other words, after a major scene that warrants acquiring new abilities, player characters in a group advance together all at once [but in their own ways]. This way, everyone develops together and no one is singled out as 'more special' or 'less special' than the others.
If the player insists that their character must separate from the group to meet their super awesome senpai sensei because their character is too awesome to be bothered by the peasants that are the other player characters, then upon meeting said character development teacher/sensei/master/MacGuffin, the host has full authority to control the NPC [where subsequent "You suck so no upgrade for you!" dialogue can occur
]. This falls under the NPC: Shopkeepers sub-section up the page. If the player ignores this rule, then the host may use correctional measures to bring the player back in line with the RP if the upgrades/powers received might break the RP.
“Spotlighting” player characters doesn’t necessarily mean that for the next few posts it should only be about that certain player character. What it does mean however, is that Hosts should consider factoring in each character’s uniqueness and eventually within an RP, throw in a situation where [for the most part] that character specifically can accomplish the unique challenge and avoid having everyone else having to take the other ugly, not so optimal approach. This way, not only does the player feel like they can contribute something memorable and plot-defining to the RP, but the actions and the way said character accomplishes the task can be a good way to develop the character, or at least form the basis for it later on. However, do remember to add in other ways [read: Plan B, C, and D] to solve the ‘character specific’ scenario in case the player can’t post in a timely manner or fail.
For example: Let’s say that ninja keyblade assassin girl is assigned to a group of soldiers and is on their merry way down plot lane. Somewhere along the way, the host presents a unique situation for the group of characters: They discover that the simplest way to achieve the plot milestone objective of finding the Holy Monkey Wrench of Plot Advancement to screw in and seal the final Nut of Eternal Darkness requires eavesdropping on a target that is known to all of them. This gives the ninja assassin player their moment in the ‘spotlight’ as they can accomplish this unique objective since ninjas and stealth go together like peas and carrots. However, it is redundant enough so that if she fails or the player hasn’t posted yet and is holding back the plot a little, the players controlling the soldiers can go with “Plan B” and beat the crap out of said target and get the information. Plan C would be the host giving players the chance to find a parchment of paper saying “Found: Monkey Wrench. Contact Mr. Sexynort if this is yours” on the nearby pin-board...
When a player becomes the center of attention in a roleplay, it no longer becomes fun for the rest of the other players. Obviously, this will destroy the RP and leave both players and host fuming over that one player who thinks their character must be better than the rest or are so special as they develop throughout the roleplay that all other player characters are considered 'mundane' or 'minor.' It would be best in everyone's interest to avoid centering the whole RP around one character and instead, acknowledge and interact with the other players.
Character Development Arc: Relationships
Section Topics:
Suggestions for Proper Development in an RP
Host Roles
SEARCH YOUR FEELINGS. YOU KNOW IT TO BE TRUE.
For the sake of convenience, it isn’t uncommon for a single player to field multiple characters into an RP and have relationship development primarily accomplished by interactions between those characters. It helps avoid things going wrong because of another player [and/or host] throwing a monkey wrench into their carefully laid out plans [like ruining the scene by screaming “GET A ROOM YOU TWO!” for starters...]. Regardless of whether or not the player gets to act out the scene like they wanted to [green meadow with cherry blossom petals floating in the wind and complimentary love music optional... ], the controlling player needs to respect the fact that there are other players involved in the RP and have their own plans and agendas for developments and as such, give them their chance and their moment.
However, relationships being developed between one player character and another [or more. Not gonna judge...] are what makes RPs really interesting. Afterall, this tests both players [or more] in character advancement and is a goldmine of comedy should things go horribly wrong [or having other players poke fun at it.] RP hosts can also use the romance sub-plot to their advantage; messing with the relationship in any way is bound to create sparks for more interesting stuff to happen, whether it be starting a player character down the path of darkness to creating drama between the romantic partners.
Regardless of the type of relationship [between two characters controlled by one player, between two characters each controlled by a different players], remember that relationships take time to develop [like the real world... Mind = blown for this guy.] Throughout the course of the RP, having cutesy scenes between the two developing romantic partners is a great way to add some spice to an RP. Just remember to try not making those characters the complete center of attention [as advised in sub-section: Developing Characters in a Roleplay.]
Character Development Arc: Death lolwut?
Section Topics:
Host Initiated Character Deaths
Player Initiated Character Deaths
Pros and Cons of Different Types of Death
It’s bound to happen sooner or later: a player character is killed off for reasons specific to them, and said death is used to either drive home the point on just how powerful/lethal the adversary is, how bad a situation is, or how dumb said player character is because of poor choices. Gut-wrenching, or well deserved, or flat out hilarious, [like seriously, try not laughing at the idea of a supposed hero, who can slay armies like a lawnmower on a field of grass, die because of salmonella poisoning from eating an undercooked burger at a restaurant they visited several RP pages ago...] If pulled off successfully by the controlling player, a character’s death can easily become a memorable moment in an RP [if it isn’t overly cheesy]. There are two main types of character deaths, with the primary difference being who decides the character’s death.
Host-Initiated Character Death
As the title suggests, this is when the host declares the death of a player character. There comes a time in an RP where the Host will essentially say “this character dies” in an RP, and normally details the how, what, where, etc. Usually unexpected [to all other players. Hosts are strongly encouraged to warn the controlling player first before committing the act], it is generally frowned upon because of the fact that the player can’t do anything about it, and for the most part only allows them to detail out the very last seconds on their character’s downfall such as that final mistake or their last thoughts. This is not a common action; however, this is also not something that is off-limits to hosts.
The main advantage of this method of execution is the sheer suspense generated for the other players in the RP. Because of the shock value of someone other than the controlling player defining the demise of said character, this will give the impression that any other character can be next. Useful for drama, suspense, or tragedy based RPs.
Player-Initiated Character Death
Player initiated deaths gives the controlling player the… well… control on how to off their character(s). The major advantage to this is that the player gets to determine how their character dies. The downside to this is that the player gets to determine how their character dies. What does this mean?
Unfortunately for the host, the very last kind of death detailed above can have very bad consequences if the player has a knack of godmodding and story-breaking the RP. If the death of a certain player character would result in something akin to the phrase ‘opening a whole new can of worms,’ [Think “haha my character dies but now they reincarnate into an invincible Sephiroth 2.0 l337 Hax0rs Edition lulz], RP hosts have the absolute authority to negate whatever attempts the player does to intervene or complicate matters.
The main advantage to this obviously is to allow players continued control of their characters up to the bitter end, and to write the end on their own terms. This should be the default method of killing off characters in a RP.
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Battles
For Text-based, online roleplays, the focus should be more on the story-telling aspect of it, like painting the scenery, and hearing about the player character's struggles and triumphs over their challenges within the RP. But lets face it: Fights and all out battles are gonna happen sooner or later (it wouldn't be fun without it).
Special Note for RP Hosts Against Players
Hosts have the special privileges of actually declaring whether or not their generated enemies/bosses attacks hits when striking at players without needing to follow the basic battle rules. This serves the wonderful purpose of establishing the threat level of an enemy boss by showing just how lethal they are, and in turn how much trouble they are to the players. There is something frightening about the idea of fighting an enemy that can attack six different times for every time a player moves to attack, but then again, they are a boss to begin with. Do you really think fighting them would be that simple? This exception also applies to players who are roleplaying as the adversaries and are working closely with the Host. When detailing the declared attacks and outcomes, remember to keep it vague [as shown in crimson above] so players can interpret their hits as they see fit [from successfully blocking just in time to negate damage, to failing and taking the full force of the attack.]
Regardless on how scary awesome the boss is, remember to keep it balanced at the core [taking hits, acknowledging setbacks, etc], albeit somewhat disadvantageous to the hero players on the RP [shhhhhh… You didn’t hear this from me.]
Combat: The Basics
Section Topics:
General Battle Rules
Combat Talents
Different Actions of a Combat Turn
Attack
General
Miscellaneous
Reaction
Free
Battle Variations
PILOT NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO CHECK THE RULEBOOK FOR AIR-TO-AIR ENGAGEMENTS
If you REALLY have to boil it down to the essence, It’s as simple as this:
Determine initiative order > player declares actions (Half/Full) > determine combat turn outcome > enemy controller calculates damage [if inflicted], advantages/disadvantages > enemy gains the initiative
It’s pretty simple, once you get the hang of it. “Initiative” is essentially the start of a combat ‘turn’, and who gets the first strike when a battle breaks out is obviously determined in the RP [or whoever posts first]. Immediately afterwards is “declaring action.” It’s pretty obvious what this is: the attacking or reacting Players/Host will declare whatever action they want their character to take. If the player uses only a half-action, then another half-action can be taken after the first. During the entire combat turn of the player action phases, players must continually remember any previous actions taken by the enemy, the “modifiers,” in order to determine the outcome of the attacks. Once the actions phase is over, the opposing player/Host combat turn starts, where they will calculate the damage and determine any advantages/disadvantages of the player’s declared actions, and then declare their own actions. The cycle then repeats. If engaging multiple people, the initiative determines the order of players for the combat round. Unfortunately, since reliable posting by all RP players involved in the combat sequence are extremely rare, it usually defaults to who can post first... [Ok, maybe I lied about that simple part.]
There are rules for this, however: [Yeah, I lied...]
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Combat Talents
From the 'Character Creation' section, a character would normally have some [usually a lot] of combat based talents that would justify their combat abilities during battle. For example, a character would need the combat talent 'ambidextrous' in order to justify their character being able to dual wield weapons. Other talents would be specialized for a very specific situation during a battle, but would no doubt give them a major advantage if the criteria for using it has been met. Some examples are shown below, and remember that talents are unique for every character, so feel free to make up your own!
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Attack Type Actions
Pretty straight forward. These type of actions require a player to focus and concentrate on one intention: to bring the hurt to someone other than them. In the realm of tabletop RPGs, attackers are only allowed one type of attack action, regardless of how many action slots they may have. Whether or not a player should go in depth on how their character goes about it, or simply state “They slash at the enemy,” it doesn’t matter. What does matter however, is that when declaring an attack, leave the action open-ended. Do not state [outright or implied] that the attack hits [Notice the bit in red]. The reason for this is that it allows the player on the receiving end of the attack to interpret the outcome and what it does to their character, whether it be a miss or a critical hit and everything in between. However, there are exceptions to this if a player wants to declare a successful hit. More can be found in the Variations sub-section.
Some examples of attack-based actions might include:
For all attack-based actions, the main distinguishing mark between a half and full attack-type action will mainly depend on the post made by the attacking player. If all the player does is describe their action and detail how they’re pouring everything they got into the attack, then yeah it’s safe to say it’s an all in, no-holding-back full on attack action. With this detail in mind, it also implies that their attack is modified [in the effect that rather than a usual attack, it’s a more powerful one]. More details in the modifier sub-section. For the sake of convenience, most attacks can be treated as a half-action so characters can take a movement based action.
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General Combat Type Actions
May also be known as movement actions. These kinds of actions are those that either require a player character to focus or concentrate on in order to carry them out, or take long enough to warrant using up an action slot. Despite these actions not being an attack, they still fall within the realm of combat. In a battle sequence, these type of actions are usually those that will help a character in some way or forms, or act as some sort of support.
Some examples of actions include:
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Miscellaneous Combat Actions
For the other kinds of actions that are related to combat in some way or form. It is because of this that they still take up a combat action slot.
Such actions might include:
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Reaction… Uh… Actions
As the word suggests, these actions are taken when reacting to something, which is usually another player character’s attack. It is the success/failure of these actions that makes fights interesting, and players are highly encouraged to not spam these kinds of actions. It wouldn’t be fair unless there’s a justifiable reason for it, like because the character is an enemy boss.
Examples of this kind of action include:
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Free Actions
These mundane types of actions are ones that characters can take without having to allocate an action ‘slot.’ With this in mind, player characters are free to do these kinds of actions in conjunction with their other actions without having to worry about overstepping their allowed ‘turn.’ These actions are ones that don’t really require much thinking or concentration by a character, or take up such a short amount that it doesn't warrant taking up an action slot. When it comes to these types of actions, logic will be the main determining factor for how long these actions can last. The only known free actions that characters can take are:
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Battle Variations
The mainstay of most RP battles revolve around the basic order of “I attack, you defend. Now I defend, you attack. The attack does damage.” Admittedly, it works [duh] but it doesn’t have to be that simple and boring. There are other patterns that can be adopted. Here are some of my personal favorites that I have encountered in other D&Ds and suggested by others:
Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!! [Full Movement Action]:
This is where a player’s RP post consist entirely of describing their action and not attacking [although the resulting movement done might be a technical attack...] Great for using something other than the player's weapons to assist in combat [Like moving to cut the rope off a dangling grand piano on the big bad, for example.]
Mainly, it is used for moving to a far off location [like climbing a tower in the distance] or to get a head start on things [mainly running away] or setting up for a really powerful attack. When using the full movement option, use logic on what the player can accomplish in that 'combat turn' so it stays fair [Running off to retrieve a magical weapon at the far side of town and then running back to confront the enemy is not logical, nor fair for that matter...]
Since the player invests two action slots into this, having others wanting to react to it [in this case, running away] will either be delayed, or because of the head start, the reacting player suffers a disadvantage of some sort if acting on the action.
Rrraaaagghhhh!!!! [Full Attack Action]:
This is my most favorite, and oddly enough the most fair that I have seen. Simply put:
"The player character attacks for a chance of above average damage, but in return it leaves them completely exposed to the enemy’s attack.”[No chance to defend and their next post has to completely accept the hit.]
In essence, the player’s post will only describe the attack and how the character is pouring everything they got into it with a total disregard for their own safety. Perfect for both players and GMs alike: Players can type out and describe their ultimate finishing move on their opponent [for example, against the Host controlled boss] and have the deed done, leaving the boss almost dead. But… just before the enemy kicks the bucket, they move to deal their own damage onto the player, making for one major plot twist if the player’s character was brutally injured and possibly result in death if their health was low enough. Perfect for the classic “Ha! Easy kill! Now di- Oh crap!” experience shared by both players and Host alike. Or, it can be used against a guarded character, where the two attack actions could mean a better chance of breaking the defense and expose the enemy to another attack by another player.
Just walk it off! [ignore damage inflicted, receive crippling debility instead]
Ok, lets say a player character is one solid blow away from dying/KO or just doesn’t want to take the damage. When they are attacked, Instead of taking the full damage, the player can choose to grit their teeth [or do something else] and ignore the damage, but in return suffer a very serious/highly crippling effect that cannot be healed until after the battle. The debility can be anything from:
A severe concussion that renders the character stunned to the point that their attacks take twice as long to execute. [spend a whole 'combat turn' to collect their bearings, then another turn to attack, forcing the player to use two whole turns for one attack.]
Damage: Strength. Because they poured so much of their energy bracing to taking the hit, the character is now weak to the point that their attacks aren’t as effective as it was before. [Their attack does minimal damage, and doing normal damage will require using both actions for attack, leaving them open for an easy counterattack.]
Damage: Dexterity. Being dizzy after the hit to the point that they're having trouble staying on their feet. [sacrifice a movement every turn to stay on their feet.]
Damage: Intelligence. Trauma to the point that the character can no longer discern friend from foe and attacks whoever/whatever. [On the bright side, this is a great excuse for being a jerk to your fellow teammates.]
Damage: Constitution. The character is so cripplingly injured that they are worse off than before even when healed [Max HP decreased]
Damage: Charisma. The character receives a horrendous physical scar, hampering their interactions with others. Also may mean damage to their voice, up to in including becoming mute, crippling their interactions with NPCs and other players. [unable to talk / negative modifiers for all charisma based actions.]
Auto-Successful hit [Cheap… Really cheap move there, man...]
In this instance, the attacking player [whether accidentally or purposely] declares their attack in their post and says that it hits. If this is the case, the receiving player has no choice but to accept the attack and determine the damage. However, should the receiving player decide to retaliate, they can choose to do so and their attack cannot be blocked, and their remaining full action can be used as they see fit.
Combat: Advanced
Section Topics:
The Three Basic Classes
Prestige Class: Multi-classing
Roles and Specializations
It’s a LOT more difficult than explained here, but this section will attempt to do something crazy: boil down the intricate relationships of combat classes into something slightly manageable. It’s simple at first; it’s when it gets to specializations that things go crazy [for better or for worse.] The most basic rock-paper-scissors question usually boils down to the following:
Fighters pummels the weak n' squishy rogue.
Rogues sneakily backstabs mages.
Mages blow up fighters at a distance with magic.
There. That’s all the knowledge that is needed. Wanna find out more? Read on!
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Class: Fighters
“If it doesn’t work, use a bigger weapon” is the mantra of fighter classes. Fighters are the ‘tanks’ out of the three classes, focusing on dealing damage and taking it too. Traditionally, fighters primary characteristics focuses on strength, allowing them to put the hurt on their enemies, and constitution, which allows them to weather through damage. This makes them effective against rogue classes since they can shrug off the particularly deadly first strike of a rogue and then soldier through their melee attacks. However, since the fighters usually rely on armor and beefy muscles to solve their problems, this makes them weak against mages, who will happily circumvent a fighter's defenses by spamming magic spells at a distance, blowing up the fighter before they get close enough to swing their sword [usually.]
Traditional Characteristic Mains: Strength and Constitution
Effective Against: Rogues
Weak Against: Mages
Fighter Prestige Classes
Fighter Main, Mage Subclass: Paladins/Dark Knights: Swords hurt, hurty magic hurts too, so why not combine both? This class focuses more on the fighter side of combat, meaning that their magic would not be as strong compared to the main mages. Typically, the magic used by this class is used to augment the fighter side; combat oriented spells and weapons magic [FLAMING SWORD MADE OUT OF PURE ICE!!!!] is a very common direction for it, but of course there will be exceptions.
Fighter Main, Rogue Subclass: Rangers/Scouts: They’re fast and they can fight, but would really prefer not getting hit. This class focuses more on the fighter side of combat, so their aptitudes shouldn't be good as a main rogue. Typically, the rogue traits adopted by this class would augment their fighter side, so traits such as higher agility for scouting, stealth for setting up ambushes, and ranged combat are some of the more well known examples.
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Class: Mages
Traditional Characteristic Mains: Wisdom and Intelligence
For those who love magic and prefer dealing with their problems by by lifting a finger and blowing it up from a safe distance. Traditionally, Mages focus on wisdom since it was the main stat that magic in general was based off of, and intelligence primarily because from the lore of dungeons and dragons, mages had to be smart enough to decipher and read the ancient books needed to learn the spell that they want. Because of how awesome and useful magic can be, this makes them effective against fighters who rely on getting up close with their melee weapons and armor to survive a battle. Since the fighter class is usually the slowest of the three classes, this allows the mage enough time to conjure up and cast their spells at them. However, it is because of this time delay [and usual non-specialization in a traditional weapon] that the mage is weak against the rogue class, who can close the distance between them in the blink of an eye and unleash their melee attack.
Traditional Characteristic Mains: Wisdom and Intelligence
Effective Against: Fighters
Weak Against: Rogues
Mage Prestige Classes
Mage Main, Fighter Subclass: Cleric/Medic. This class can not only dish out some admirable magic spells, but can also hold out their own in a fight and stand along side their fighter counterparts, albeit not for very long. Focusing more on the magic side of combat, this class usually focuses on the supportive combat magic, such as healing, reviving severely wounded teammates, and casting support spells to other party members. That, or they are the ones with the most powerful offensive oriented magic spells.
Mage Main, Rogue Subclass: Saboteur/Spy. This class possess powerful magic as expected of a mage and has the shadowy attributes of a rogue, but won't be as skillful and are incredibly weak. Focusing more on the magic side of things, this class usually is the one that casts the negative affectors in combat such as poisons, deceptions, illusions, cloaking, and magic traps just to name a few.
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Class: Rogues
Traditional Characteristic Mains: Dexterity and Charisma
Being fast, hidden and cunning is the mantra for the Rogue class, sacrificing beefy muscly strength and brainiac magic usage in order to be uber fast and uber skillful. Obviously since they usually aren’t as strong as the fighters and really don’t wanna get hurt, dexterity is the rogue’s traditional main line characteristic. Charisma is an often overlooked characteristic, and although it doesn’t sound like it would fit in this class, traditionally it does: ninjas and assassins are the posterchild for this class, so actions such as information gathering, eavesdropping, seduction, and rapport building just to name a few build off the charisma stat and so, are not out of place for this class. Since speed and stealth is the traditional priority for this class, this makes them effective against mages, who are usually lightly armored and rely on casting magic from a distance in order to survive in combat. A rogue's first strike capability is unparalleled, capable of felling many opponents, but won't do much against a fighter class, who are usually heavily armed and armored. Once the surprise attack is over, the rogue will usually not last long against a fighter.
Traditional Characteristic Mains: Dexterity and Charisma
Effective Against: Mages
Weak Against: Fighters
Rogue Prestige Classes:
Rogue Main, Fighter Subclass: Assassin. Combining speed with lethality to a deadly degree, this class relies on skill in order to stand a chance in combat rather than raw power, so they won't be as heavy hitting or resilient as a fighter main. Typically, the fighter subclass is used to help them survive combat, such as weapons/armor knowledge for weak points, weapon and/or armor training [gotta use those dual daggers effectively ya know] and battle tactics just to name a few.
Rogue Main, Mage Subclass: Ninja. Speed. Stealth. Augment them with magic, and the results is awe-inspiring. Unchained from the restrictions of the physical world, the ninja relies on their magic to weaken their opponent before moving in for the final strike. The mage subclass allows the ninja to access spells to help in their battle tactics, such as poison, status debuffs, even cloaking if they want.
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Combat: Etiquette
The General Notion during RP Combat
Throughout a battle sequence, adversaries and players alike must not only factor in what the other player characters have done in terms of actions, but must also factor in how those actions affect the general combat. These combat modifiers, implied advantages/disadvantages that a player character gives/receives during combat, are usually what makes combat scenes interesting. These modifiers are not restricted to player actions; outside factors can also influence the tide of combat. For example:
An enemy character controlled by a player [A] is being attacked by two other player characters [b and C] during sunset. Because B and C were obvious with their intentions, A is able to react first and gets the first initiative, and afterwards B and C are able to attack. During the first combat turn, A goes after B and describes only concentrating on B, attacking them with a flurry type attack action. B takes a guarded stance, and C decides to spend their entire turn calling a shot, specifically at character A’s left arm. This ends the first 'turn.' With the second turn starting and character A being still focused on attacking B, character C’s previous action of focusing for a called shot will now pay off when they take the shot, and characters A and B will have determine what happens to their characters.
The implied advantages and disadvantages [Modifiers] here are as follows:
From here, it is up to the player of character A to determine if the attack made by character C hits. Because of the modifiers, unless they have a good justification for being able to negate the attack, then for the sake of fair play, the player should acknowledge the hit at the beginning of their next post.
For character B, it is up to the controlling player to determine the effectiveness of character A's attack on their character. Because they spent their first turn taking up a guarded stance, they can easily justify blocking character A's attack. However, since the attack was a flurry and the sun is blinding them, this would mean that the subsequent lightning fast slashes have a better chance of breaking their defense. In this example, fair play would be the player for char. B detailing a successful block on the first few slashes, and then getting hit on some of the subsequent slashes for that specific attack.
Combat: Damage
So the player has gloriously described how their overpowered character is about to do an overpowered move on your own overpowered character, so what happens next? Well those tiny, crucial bits of post information not only help spice up battle scenes, but if worst comes to worst, can mean the difference between life and death of a player character. The way a character's body was angled, whether or not they were wearing battle armor, even tensing themselves up to anticipate the hit, these details can help lessen damages inflicted onto the character.
When a player decides to allow their character to be injured, they can determine where their character is hit and the extent of the damage [the bit in red above]. Just remember that becoming injured [armor not helping for reasons] does carry the added disadvantage for certain actions. For example, if a character is hit in the leg, then it would make sense for the remainder of the combat encounter that the character can no longer run, or is even immobilized for a while. It helps keep things interesting, rather than saying the usual “Yeah, my character got hit. Now I'll hit you back. Take damage.”
Combat Scenario: Player vs. Player/Host
This is where the real fun stuff happens. But lets be honest here: No player wants to see their character die in an RP. If a battle breaks out, it will either end in a draw [which helps maintain the status quo but is no fun] or someone has to die [fun, but someone’s jimmies will definitely be rustled]. In this case, both players must respect the two action battle sequence, and their main focus should be on the advantages and disadvantages gained during the fight. Regardless if someone has to go down, both players must be fair throughout the battle sequence, accepting hits where it’s due and counters/disadvantages where it is applicable. Who falls once the battle is over, well it either depends on the plot or who is better at controlling their characters….
Combat Scenario: Player NPCs vs. Host/Player NPCs
Ok, so lets say that two players are commanders/generals of their own NPC armada, and during the final climatic battle against each other, they both send their NPCs to duke it out with each other while at the same time sending their main characters to fight each other. Should this happen, the players should follow the player vs. player suggestions. For what happens with the NPC armada duking it out, the host [unfortunately] will have to type out the battle sequence between the two NPC armadas and eventually come to an end with one armada still standing and the other being decimated. Because if left to the players, well... Neither will want to accept a defeat of their godly powerful all-awesome armada. It's easy to imagine how ugly it's gonna get... The controlling players are free to add dialogue and dictate specific actions of the NPCs, but the host will determine the outcome of the actions.
Remember, roleplaying is more than just about how descriptively awesome someone can destroy their enemy. It's about interacting with others in a fun, exciting way on a familiar realm as everyone involved weaves their own story into a much greater one. If pulled off correctly, the results is nothing short of spectacular, where everyone involved will walk away awestruck at the thought that they were involved, and participated in, a fantastical tale of possibly epic proportions. Or not, depending on how good of a story-writer the Host is…
Hope this guide helps!!! Again, if you have any ideas/suggestion to help improve this guide, or would like to suggest example posts by roleplayers here that would perfectly showcase some concepts, post on this thread and I’ll see what I can do!
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“I’ll see you on the other side.” ~ Roleplay Character: Zero-Four. Kairi's Nocturnal Guardian.
Edited by Javelin434
Remove strikethrough text error. Unsure how long that was there.