DarkWolf's Advice for a Good and Successful Roleplay~

[khdarkwolf]

DarkWolf's Advice for a Good and Successful Roleplay:

Hello, I have been in many a Roleplay, and have hosted/co-hosted a few as well. Let it be known that all good things come to and end, but why let the end come so soon? If you want your Roleplay to have a long and successful lifespan, I suggust follow these guidelines.

Number 1: Theme:
In order for someone to even consider joining the Roleplay, the theme must be interesting. If your theme is say, a Demon vs Angel war, that will draw in some people to check it out--though not all. The theme also will help you create a backstory, and will help the roleplayer know what to expect.

Number 2: Backstory
This may be one of the most important parts of the Roleplay. If your roleplay does not have backstory, how will the player knows the point of the role play. Going with the Theme of Demons vs Angels, let's say that the Backstory is as follows:

It was midday, people were just getting back to work from lunch. One young man had a rough week, his girlfriend dumped him, his sister was angry with him, his bestfriend didn't want to talk to him, and he got a cut in his pay. He didn't feel up to it anymore, he didn't see the point.
Unseen to this man though, was a raging battle. The Demon had knocked the Angel back, the Angel retailiated. Swords clashed, curses flew. The Angel was knocked down once more. The Demon came closer, and slit its throat. Now the victor, the Demon lead the man, to his suicide.
This was unacceptible, something had to be done. A war would begin, the Angels had to be the victor, lest lose every soul to the Demon Army.

Now this gives a better understanding of how the story will go, Angels fighting Demons, unseen by human eyes, inorder to keep the humans safe. The backstory will help your player know how work in the Roleplay, so they'll have an easier time coming up with their posts.

[khdarkwolf]

Number 3: Rules
Though not completely necessary--especially if forum rules cover everything for you-- it is nice to have, and keeps people from out of charracter arguements, like-"You're character can't do that!" "Who says it can't?"-it also makes sure the roleplay is fair, and fun for everyone.
One thing about rules is to make sure they are not too restricting though, or others will not want to join.
An example of basic rules are as follows:

1. No God-Modding - God-Modding is when a character does something it shouldn't be able to do. Whether it be using impossible powers or dodging every single hit, or never seeming to be able to get hurt. This upsets many people and can start arguements, so this rule is one that you will want to have.

2. No Cursing, Cussing, Swearing- Though this may be a rule in the forums, some people may think that it doesn't apply. If you don't want foul langauge, (or you don't want you're players getting in trouble) then make sure you have this rule.
2(.5) Or **** It Out- Ok, lets say you don't mind swearing, but it's still against the rules, starring out the words allow the players the freedom over their characters attitude, while still keeping from getting in trouble.

3. No Power-Plays or Auto-Hits- Power-playing is when one player takes control of another player's character. Auto-hits are when a player states that someone else's character has taken damage, with out letting the owner of the character have a chance to dodge/counter.

4. No Gary/Mary Sues(No Perfect Charracters)- Gary/Mary Sue is the nickname given to a character that is almost acting like a God-Mod, never getting hurt, never making mistakes, etc. These types of characters can get really annoying really fast, so it is best to have the players avoid them.

5. Character Limitation- Maybe you think your players should have less characters, or maytbe you want them to be able to keep up with what is going on with the characters. In order to avoid mass confusion amongst the roleplayers, limiting characters is one way to go.

6. Power Limitation- Maybe you don't want all the characters to be mind readers or to have the ability to walk through walls. Power limitations help keep arguements down, and give realiazation to the story.

7. Post Minimum - The minimum number of sentences per post. Just in case you are the kind of person who does not like one-liners and lazy posts.

8. Are you paying attention? - In case you're worried that people may not be reading your rules, a good trick rules is in order, and example of a trick rule is "If you have read the rules type -random word- in your form" The best place for a trick rule is in either the middle or the end of the rules.

These are just basic rules, you can add or remove rules in your own roleplay depending on how you want the RP to flow.

Number 4: Roleplay Writing Style
You might want the roleplay to be held in a certain format, so it looks good, or maybe you want the players to do whatever they want.

One style of Roleplay writing is the Script-Screen Format. This format is similar to way a movie script is written.

Here is an example of a Script-Screen format:

Demon: So, the human-lover decided to show? *turns around* Come on, let's get this finished.

Angel: Hm. *runs up and slashes sword*

Demon: *blocks* Is that the best you've got?

Angel: Don't bet on it *slashes sword again*

Demon: Heh *grabs the sword* You're not strong enough to defeat me.

Another style of writing is the Paragraph Format. The Paragraph Format appears more like a story book.

Here is an example of the Paragraph Format:

The Angel held his breath when the Demon stopped his sword. He knew he wasn't strong enough. He couldn't just let the Demon destory more human lifes though. The Demon's hand was gripping the blade. The Angel pulled the sword down cutting the Demons palm. The Demon hissed and withdrew his hand.
"Why you litte-" The Demon grabbed the Angel's neck with his good hand. The Angel tried to pry out of his grip. "I told you, you are not strong enough." The Demon said, as the Angel's life waned away.

Roleplay writing style is not required, but it is nice if you want the story to flow.

Number 5: Application Form

An application form helps give the players an understanding of the characters, and their appearances.

Here is an example of an Application Form:

Name: Basic, the characters name
Age: The characters age
Gender: The characters gender
Appearance: The characters looks
Personality: How the character acts usually
History: The characters past
Other: Anything missed or the reply to the trick rule

Forms are very useful for figuring out who a character is comunicating with, and keep confusion down.


That is all. Thanks for reading. Any questions or concerns? Leave a comment. ^^

[Silverthorns]

I like this!

Very Helpful!

Now...I have to think if I have to make changes to my rules..

[khdarkwolf]

Thanks for reading! Rules are completely up to you, mine are basic ones that are good to consider. =)

[Silverthorns]

Got this Sticky'd for you Darkwolf!

[khdarkwolf]

Aw, thanks! ^^

[Auro67]

Thanks for the advice, Darkie!

This'll totally help me out with Wayvlia.

[themanofpokemon]

okay, so i have this idea running around in my head, and I can't tell whether it's a good one or not. The theme would be anim-morphs, or people who are part animal, part human. Now, the real question is, how am I going to create tension between characters? what is to be the divide between them? Or do I even need one?

[khdarkwolf]

Well, if you want tension, you could make it so there are two groups, say, one for the part animals, and one full human. You do not have to have that sort of tension in the RP though, just having a certain goal for the story and the characters could create their own conflicts.

[ashdawn504]

Hi I'd like to get into roll playing but I have no idea how it works I know how to role play I just kind of want to know where to rollplay and other infromation like that thanks

[khdarkwolf]

well, for an idea of how it works, you might want to consider reading a bit of a role play to see how a story comes together from multiple people and characters. Checking Number 4 in the guide can help with the writing aspect of role playing. Most sites with forums have a section specifically for Role Plays, where you could easily join.

Hope this helps, and if you need anything else, you could always send me a PM ^-^

[Auro67]

(Gonna give some advice as well... x3)

A good way for practicing RPing is to do 1x1-ing with another RPer. It's basically just RPing with only two people, you and your partner. Don't be afraid, you can always just ask someone, and I'm sure they'd want to do a 1x1 with you.

Until, I'd suggest reading either Sanctuary or Nightmare to be ready to start RPing, then I'd suggest reading Wayvlia after you join one of those (I'd say do Nightmare because Sanctuary is on hold. Block Chronicles is also an alright RP, but it's slow.), then join.

Hope this also helps you! :3

[ashdawn504]

I'd still like to know where to rollplay and where to read it

[khdarkwolf]

As you can see, this is the role play section, just choose an RP and read on :3

[AliatusAquilan]

You have good advice except for the idea of an 'application'. To me that's just not how role playing works. It should be spontaneous and wild for the most part. With an application one might be more prone to meta-gaming sub-consciously simply because you already know much more about the character than you should. Maybe cut back said application to just appearance and I'd agree to the idea of it. But otherwise your advice is pretty solid.

Also, ashdawn, if you need a hand getting into role playing let me know. I've helped a fair number of people get into it so I don't think you should be a problem either.