Whats Role Playing?

[Josh]

Role-playing is getting together with some friends to write a story. It's joining around a campfire or a dining room to spin some tall tales. Role-playing is being creative and having fun with friends.

Role-playing games are stories. You create one of the main characters, and you create a story around your character. The rest of the players also create stories around their characters. And there's a Game Master/Mistress who brings those stories together.

In most role-playing games, one person plays the "referee," who can be thought of as the "Editor" of the story. The Editor will, with input from you if you desire to give any, describe a world or setting. You and your friends, as Players, will take a character and protagonist in this world. You will guide your character through the story that you and your friends are creating.

Each player takes a different character, and each character interacts with each other character. Role-playing, in this sense, is very much play-acting in the mind. You imagine what the Editor describes. Then, you imagine your character's response to this situation, and describe that to the Editor and the other Players. They, in turn, each do the same with their characters.

In most games--board games, card games, and dice games--there is a clearly defined way to win, and a clearly defined way to lose, and winning is the goal of the game. In role-playing games, the concepts of "winning" and "losing" do not exist. Your goal as a Player is to help create a story and to have fun. You may give your character other goals, but the success of your character does not determine any sense of "winning" or "losing." Like life, it's not so much whether you win or lose, but how you play the game.

That's all well and good, you say, but what actually goes on? What do these "characters" do?

Most of the time, characters are involved in adventures, adventures of the type that are immortalized in adventure movies and serial novels. In one game, the characters might be a group of secret agents trying to save the world from nuclear destruction. In another, you might play a rebel force, trying to overthrow an evil star-spanning empire. You might play a group of warriors in elleventh century Europe, or King Arthur's knights, or Superman, or Batman, or an original character you create, in any world you choose.

Ok, you've got a character, you have a storyteller, you're ready to rock. But before you go out into the realms and proceed to kick arse there are a couple of rules that you need to know. These are not, to our knowledge, written anywhere but we decided to put them here so here they be.

1. Be nice to newcomers. You were one once and remember how difficult it was to start out on your own.

2. Relax, and have fun. We all have enough stress in life and there's no need to bring it into the game.

3. If someone is away from the game, DO NOT attack or do anything to their character until they are back.

4. Talk to other members of your group, good communication after the game let others know how you/they feel.

5. Play fair. Simple rule of the game. Don't try to boss your way around, if it's not IC.

6. Don't cheat. Don't tell someone you've got a higher/ lower amount of a trait/weapon/anything than you really have, unless it's IC.

7. REMEMBER! THIS IS JUST A GAME!

Small Glossary of Role-Playing Terms

LARP: Live Action Role-Play, this type of roleplaying is accomplished when you are actually acting out scenes from the game or storyline.
Tabletop: Tabletop gaming refers to individuals who gather around a table to throw down the dice and rely mainly on chance to lead the storylines with the storyteller.

Online RP: This refers to the newest generation of Roleplayers. These individuals use profiles to create a persona that others can view. By using the following terms they weave storylines, usually without the help of a storyteller. Different games call for different rules and regulations, just as with Tabletop.

IC: In character, when you state this, it usually means that you are going to role-play your character at this point in time, or that this is what would happen, IC.

:: ::- action signs. These are how you tell the others in the game what your character is doing.
Example>>::walks cautiously in the bar, eyes darting from person to person with a paranoid note to the gaze::

OOC: out of character. Use this when you want to time out the game for a while and talk real life, or clarify things that your character is doing.

(( ))- out of character speech. used to talk real life with out disrupting the pace of the game ... Too much.
Example>>((uhhhh you roll d20 in chat room spats!!! ))

Newbie: someone who is new to role playing. Sometimes used as a derogatory statement.
Example>>((YOU ARE SUCH A NEWBIE! ::slaps him with ignore ray)

Moder: Someone who doesn't, or can't role-play and is not bothering to learn.
Example>>He rolled 200d999 for assassin dice What a moder!

OMG: Oh My God.

IMO: In My Opinion.

TY: Thank You.

LOL: Laughing Out Loud.

ROFL: Rolling on Floor Laughing

ROFLMAO: Rolling on Floor Laughing I disagree Off

weg: shortcut for ::wicked, evil grin::

sw: ::soft whisper::

sv:::soft voice::

wess::whispers ever so softly::

botch: to mess up on a dice roll.
Example>>AHHHH !!! ALL ONES ON 4D80 there's a botch and a half!

[Josh]

Examples of the Archetypes

The following examples offer the most commonly found illustrations of these specific archetypes. We recommend that you break free from the mold of what is provided for you, as they tend to be considered the stereotypical staple of roleplaying. Look for our next article on breaking stereotypes in roleplaying. These four types are broken down into the specifics.
The Scholar: The scholar is perhaps the most underestimated type of individual that exists in character building. He can be extremely calculating, highly intelligent, rational, an excellent strategist, and extraordinarily... vain. After all, he has all this excess intelligence, why not spend a little on himself? Scholars are guided by the pursuit of knowledge and the usage and implimentation thereof. This can range from the trivial, to the extensive knowledge and inner workings of political culture, computer design, or magic lore. Of course, like the rest of the archetypes, he comes in many forms. Usually the stereotypical scholar spends 10 years in hermitville studying on his choosen craft, he wears the scholarly glasses, the slightly balding head with a bit of wildly unmanagable tufts of hair sticking out, the plain and unassuming clothes of someone living on the edge of financial existance, however, as roleplaying of this character becomes divergent from the typical Hollywood influences, many new types are becomming apparent. Jesters and technology or weapons gurus also fit into this catergory. Jesters for their high levels of intelligence and strong usage of, and technology or weapons gurus for the same reasons.

The Soldier: Strong, willful, and looking for a fight, whether it be for profit, or to avenge the death of a loved one. One type of soldier encompasses those who seek to do justice in an evil and dark world: The rugged heroes who are strong in arm and wit, but have some fatal character flaw (dealing with the death of a loved one, pride or vanity, a weakness for damsels in distress...) that will be the end of them if they don't figure out how to solve it. Another type refers to those who always use sheer force to solve any problem. Big, hairy, and usually extraordinarily stupid, these individuals are almost always hopeless at accomplishing complex tasks. Still others might seek to cause destruction or chaos to appease a higher entity or leader. Persons of action, and extreme calculation, these people tend to make fantastic villains. Overall, the soldier class of characters seek to force their will on the world, directly, or indirectly.

The Politician: The politician archetype usually encompasses the most diverse groupings of individuals: Poets, Rogues, and of course, Politicians. The Poet is the hopeless romantic that is usually more skilled with his instrument of choice, rather than sheer brute force. The instrument can range from musical lyres, lutes, and the like, to the musical sound an axe or gun makes when going through flesh. They are socially capable of holding conversations, but most people tend to view them as lost or dreamy souls. They tend to be stereotyped with the thin, wiry, tall, and dreamy; however, the jovial, heavy-set drunkard leaning on a wall with his mug of ale is just as susceptible to being a Poet. A Rogue is the strongly misunderstood man of the moment. Usually an attention getter striving to better himself at his trade or skill, the rogue is a drifter, never really settling down with someone or something. This could be caused by profession, reputation, or self-inflicted torture. Impulsive activity mixes with the common traits of exceptionally specialized skills in one or more areas, high levels of reflex, agility, and intelligence. They could potentially be very dangerous given the right circumstances, or alignment, for example, the Great Rogue himself-Robin Hood. Politicians are exactly as their name implies-great talkers who love to listen to the sound of their own voice. Rather than facing conflict, they seek to beguile, distract, and utilize words to walk around it. Usually they are highly intelligent with strong social skills, specifically dominate, persuade, or manipulate.

The Priest: Priests, Clerics, Necromancers, Fortune-tellers, Mediums, and anything else dealing with the spiritual and supernatural world fall into this genre. These types of characters usually come in the most unlimited range of styles, body types, and personalities, as the effects of dealing with the spiritual or supernatural may have odd effects on someone's psyche and physical appearence. Your average neighborhood Catholic Priest heavy in the midsection, could mingle with your thin teenage punk kid who has more than a few run-ins with walking zombies-and won. These individuals are either guided, aided, cursed, or replused by an driving force in their lives, and a sense that something bigger than them exists. Hunters that seek out supernatural creatures to kill for their own means portray aspects of the priest as well, as they seek to impose a vision of the world without those creatures. The priest is above all a visionary-he can see something that no one else can, and through his faith-in himself, or something higher-everything he sees will be accomplished.

Combinations: To some extent, gypsies fit all of these profiles and work as a good combination. Very intelligent jesters at heart(Scholar), without a sense of the limits of their own physical property, mixed with a bit of old world swindling, story-telling, and pan-handling(Politician), perhaps guided by an overwhelming guiding force that lets them see the words, "I'm naive, steal from me." in bold letters on someone's forehead(Priest), and take advantage of the situation for their own ends(Soldier).

Campaign Settings

While setting up a proper storyline, the setting is one of the most important aspects of the whole game. It is the thing that sets up where, when, and what is around during your storyline. Settings are also important for drawing in both players and characters. Certain individuals will have a preference to play in futuristic space settings, and others may prefer the dark and gloomy mysticism of the Dark Ages. It is up to the storyteller, or the game-if you choose to play a prepared setting-to establish a certain feel, and a certain look to your game. Settings must have three things: Location, Time, and Surroundings, these three will be discussed in the following table.

Essential Components of Settings

Location>> Where are you? Describe your exact location, name the universe, galaxy, solar system, planet, continent, area, and city, right down to the very block of space that you are on, at least as far as you can.

Time>> What time period are you in? What is the date? Does it matter? Can the characters in the story even tell? Were they magically teleported into another era? Do they constantly cross time?
Surroundings>> What are the emotional, physical, and social things that surround you? Most of this is determined by the location and the time period. How do you, as the character or storyteller, feel about this particular place, at this time? How do surrounding people in this same boat feel about it? What types of things decorate the landscape? Are there native or foreign plants, flowers, or animals? Is the world strangely devoid of water? What types of mechanical things exist in the world? Is there a form of transportation? Do buildings exist, what do they look like, and what purpose do they serve? What is the social climate? Is there great turmoil, impending gloom, or a renewed feeling of hope? How are the people treated? Is the government just, or corrupt? Does a government exist at all? What types of laws exist?

The Basics to Creating Storylines

A storyline is like a script for actors in a movie. A storyline functions as a guide to what you wish to accomplish during a session, or several hundred sessions of roleplaying. However, more times than not, certain parts will be edited, left out, or just plain changed to help move the plot along. Don't get frustrated if this happens to you! Be versatile, and learn to adapt to it.

[Josh]

Where do I start?

It's easy-first, you will need to determine if you want to have a main storyteller (usually for table-top roleplaying games like Vampire), or if you want to set a scene, and roleplay action from there (the method most commonly used for online gaming). If you choose to have a main storyteller, then you need to sit down with the storyteller, and establish what sorts of scenes, and conflicts you would like to have. This helps the storyteller create a world that is suitable to you, and your character, as well as helping you to enjoy the game. If you opt to set a scene, and determine the storyline yourself, ask yourself if you want the storyline to explain why your character is the way they are a historical or personal narrative storyline, or if you want the storyline to change who your character is, and will be a transformational storyline.
Secondly, look at the situation you want to create, based on the types of characters you want to be involved. If you wish to have gigantic hairy trolls learning how to ballet dance, that's fine, but consider the limitations that may create. Choose something that would be pertinent to the time, place, or character attributes. Also, always make sure to design the storyline to help characters change or grow by creating conflict, challenges, and even friendships. Ask yourself, what do I want to do or accomplish? Establish a basic plan, and begin to flesh it out by adding what you know has to be accomplished. Do you have to find a specific artifact, or thing? Do you have to meet someone who alters your life? Remember your high school English classes when you build the plot there must be conflict, climax, and resolution to make a full story.

Next, be wary of trying to devise too much or too little of the storyline. Usually you know when you have a good balance if you have to improvise and change parts of a storyline to fit the scene, but you do not constantly have to do so either. Another downfall is making the plot too big to handle. If you are new to the concept of roleplaying, don't get involved in a storyline that may take several years to act out fully. Instead, opt for smaller, less complex, and more flexible storylines that will allow you to explore the depths of your character. Understand that it is not the involvement in an excellent storyline that makes you a good roleplayer, but the extensiveness of the development behind the character.

This seems complicated, isn't there an easier way?

Of course there is an easier way to develop storylines. Another way type of storyline development is called free-form roleplay. Online gamers are infamous for free-form roleplay, as they use it by playing off one another without a set parameter of what is going to happen. While this is fun, it does have its downfalls. The deterioration of a plot is one of the worst problems in free-form roleplay. Certain individuals who are not part of the scene may barge in and start their own plot. While this is rude, and disruptive, the point is to not let this spoil the original intent, or to incorporate the newcomer into the plot. People may disappear for days on end, which causes gaps in the story. Individuals, who were major characters, may choose not to participate in the story any more. Another problem is the probability of a lack of resolution. Then again, it does have its benefits; free-form roleplay is the easiest type of roleplaying, it also has extensive improvisational opportunities, and it is the most dynamic it can change at any moment.

hey, this universe looks a lot like Harry Potter /X-Men / Song Of The Lioness / Star Wars / [insert popular media here].

me think... it was Mark Twain... who said "everyone plagerizes.... not occasionally... but every time they open their mouth."

he is right.... NO matter how original an idea is... it will bear striking resemblance to an "original" idea that came before it.

it has always been true... and always will be... deal with it.

Black Aura Member Jul 5th 2:28 AM

I dunno.............................. Are there any specific rules about the posts besides those in place by the forums?

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Trelyon Member Jul 5th 10:48 AM

1. be creative... write paragraphes instead of sentences to describe the scene

2. don't control other players character... "Joe [your] shoot his laser gun at Bob [another player] and Tom [Non Player Character - NPC]" don't post that you hit or miss Bob... that's call power playing... you are not allow to write for another character except your own.... but you can do whatever you like to Tom the NPC

4. the game master/mistress... aka GM... the thread creator... made the universe that you are enjoying... even if it's star wars... you are still a guest in his/her universe... it may be different than the star wars you read or watch... so whatever the GM sez goes... they are the judge, jury, and executioner

5. communicate, talk in OOC (out of character) if you have a question or problem, the other players and the GM will help you out, get their email addy or the instant messenger... the more you talk... the better the story... also to let you 'friends' know you won't be around for a few days

6. listen/read everything that was posted, take your time, this is not a Xbox game or an English exam... there is no time limit... this is a leisure hobby... go slow

7. have fun.

Under all the layers... role-playing is a game. It's suppose to be fun... fun for everyone, including YOU. Everyone has his or her own definitions of fun, of course, but if you're miserable every time you enter a thread, something is wrong.

In the early days, role-playing games pitted the gamemaster against players... or players vs. players. That adversarial relationship still continues in some groups. Things don't have to be this way, in the long run, constant conflict breeds animosity, not friendship.

The bottom line is that role-playing is a hobby. It's fun, builds friendships, allows exercise of creativity and teaches people about group accomplishments. But it can also become an outlet for misplaced hostility.

Creative people (ie. RPers) often lug around enormous egos. They are sharp, witty people and they usually know it. Consequently, they are also a volatile crowd to play with. Each and every person who comes into the thread brings baggage from the "real world". If a player has a rotten day, he/she may well take his/her anger out on you or against other players through his/her character or via ooc. So never hesitate to talk to a player if his/her real world problems ruin the game. You each have more at stake than one player's bad day; there's the enjoyment of the other players and the welfare of the chronicle to consider as well.

Gaming, like any hobby, can become an obsession. If it turns into a force that utterly controls people's lives, some self-reflection is probably in order. Even pie and ice-cream get boring after a while.

So if you're not enjoying yourself, talk to other players in ooc. Let them know what's bothering you. Chances are they simply aren't aware that they are driving you nuts and will probably change their habits once they understand the problem. If they ignore you or worst... antagonized you further... QUIT. That's always an option. You are not under any obligation to play a game with a bunch of losers. If a role-playing thread isn't fun, there's not much point in playing in it.

The Prime Directive: Have Fun!!!!

Role Playing Games Participants act out particular behavioral roles in order to expand their awareness of differing points of view.

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WHY ARE THE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES SO POPULAR?

They are popular because they are a great deal of fun. Ordinary people from all walks of life can use role-playing games to work off their everyday frustrations by vicariously becoming something they want to be. A player in a role-playing game can slay dragons, pilot a starship through space, save civilization, explore the unknown, or a thousand other things, from the safety of a comfortable chair.

[Josh]

WHY ARE THEY CRITICIZED?

The games get criticized for one basic reason: they are unfamiliar to the majority of parents and grandparents who suddenly find a game enthusiast in their family. Because these games have only been around since 1974, very few people who were out of high school or college at that time have played them. As a result, many adults have no understanding of this hobby that takes up a great deal of their child's time. All that is really necessary to combat the worry many parents feel is for them to sit down and share a gaming experience with their children.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ROLE-PLAYING GAMES?
* Role-playing games encourage reading skills. Even the most simple of the rule books require an 8th grade reading level to understand them and many require much more than that. In addition, many players go off and research the era in which a game is set, which develops library and research skills.
* Role-playing games encourage math skills. Rolling dice, totaling them, adding and modifying factors, subtracting them, multiplying and dividing them by something else are common occurrences in these games.

* Most importantly, role-playing games are a social activity. Having a group of friends to rely upon during the tough years of adolescence is invaluable, and role-playing games build friendships that can last a lifetime.

ARE THERE ANY DRAWBACKS?

As with any other activity, it is possible for a player to become obsessed with games. It is important for a parent to keep track of this sort of overindulgence and, if schoolwork begins to suffer or other undesirable behaviors arise, speak with the child. As role-playing games are build on communication, speaking with a player and learning about the game can relieve a lot of parental anxiety.

WHAT ARE ROLE-PLAYING GAMES?

Role-playing games are childhood games of "Let's Pretend" or "Cops and Robbers" all grown up and governed with rules. They are very much akin to improvisational theatre or "communal storytelling." They are generally a group activity in which one person -- usually called the Gamemaster -- serves the same function as a play director. He provides the background for the game, has devised a plot for the players to unravel and plays the role of any secondary characters the players encounter during their game.

Role-playing games are set against different backgrounds, some real, some fictitious, in the same way that movies and novels use real fictitious settings. The number of backgrounds is vast. There are even games where players can pretend to be animated cartoon characters!

The Gamemaster employs a set of rules that determines all sorts of things, from how far a player's character can leap to how much of an overheard conversation in Croatian a character can actually understand. Dice are used to inject an element of realistic uncertainty, so the players cannot be completely sure that they will succeed in any given task.