RP for dummies (RP Guide Lines)

[Seshuyin]

0- Table of Contents

0- ToC
1- Intro
2- Rules and Regulations
3- Character Outlines
4- Storylines
5- Parenthesis
6- Quotation Marks
7- Italicized
8- Puncuation
9- Grammar
10- Spelling
11- Bold
12- Font Colors
13- Font Size
14- Post Style
15- Pictures in Posts
16- God Modding

Note: I shall constantly update  

[Seshuyin]

1- Intro

Welcome one and all...again. You see I say again because my last one got deleted by DVD for no apparrent reason. He doesn't know how much time he is making me waste doing this again. So anyways, this thread will help teach those who do not know how to rp...how to rp. I am doing this because I am one of the best RPer's in the guild...technically the best right now but I don't see anyone better than me at the moment sweatdrop . I will keep udating everyday with one post, this is just to start things off. We got lots of stuff to cover.  

[Seshuyin]

2- Rules and Regulations

Now, every rp needs a set of rules to follow by along with a reason for that rule so that people can understand how you feel on it. I have a list of important rules that every rp must include:
1. No God Modding (no one likes a god modder)
2. PM me your character outline labled as *insert whatever they say (I will get to this later)
3. PG-13 Romance (See Gaia's ToA)
4. No Spamming (no one likes spammers, it gets really annoying)
5. No Double Posting (only the creator of the rp may double post when making an anouncement or something concerning the rp)
6. Minimal Profanity (keep swearing to a minimum)
7. PM me when you will be away for a while (this will help some confusions like where are you? They will know that you are on vacation or something)
8. Literacy (this will also be explained later)
9. What I say goes (this shows that they are god in the rp and that they can do whatever they want with it and your character, so it would be a good idea to stay on their good side.)
10. Do not kill any characters (you must talk to the character's owners first and work something out)
11. No auto-hitting (people hate cheap shots)
12. No text speak (like lol, or omfg, or stfu. Just type the full words)

That is pretty much the important rules to follow by. The main rule in this thread is that no one but Seshuyin and Roxort may post here. This means that only I can post here. This thread is not a chatting thread where you may commute with other fellow guild members, you can do that in the General Conversation subforums located below the RP subforums.  

[Seshuyin]

3- Character Outlines

Character Outlines are the things you would have to pm to whoever made the rp you want to join. They are data that you put in for your rp character. If you don't have a character outline then your rp is bound to fail. Here is a list on some of the things that you should put in:

Basics
Gaian Username: Tells who made who (i love that acdc song smile ))
Name: This is your Role Play name
Age: Tells your characters age, ??? are also accepted
Appearance: If your character is immortal, then you must put down the age they look like.
Hair: Put down what color/size/style of hair your character has
Eyes: Put down what color(s) eyes your character has
Gender: Is your character male, or female?

RP Character
Clothing: What shirt is your character seen with wearing
Leggings: What pants/skirt is your character wearing
Footwear: What shoes is your character wearing
Accessories: Any additional clothing your character wears
Notable Features: Something that makes your character stand out, whether it be carrying large weapons or scars or whatever
Weapon(s): Not all rp's is a love story, there are rp's where you fight. Put down the weapon(s) that your character has.

RP Character Details
Abilities: What can your Rp Character do
Personality: How does your character act like
Moral: Your characters way of life
Bio: Please provide a little background story of your character
Picture: The easiest way to show what your character pretty much looks like

That is the character outline. Till next time.  

[Seshuyin]

4- Storylines

Every RP needs a storyline (except gakuen *cough cough). It's the basis for what your doing, what the goal is. A storyline must have a prologue in it, which will lead into the rp, and finishes with the ending. There are different kinds of Role Plays, like adventure, slave, school, fantasy, magic, war, job. They all have to have at least some story in them or a summary what its about. Basically what a storyline must include would be how things started out (beginning), how things turned for the worst (climax), and how things are now (ending) which will then introduce the rp maker's character. Remember when making an rp, do make a storyline and for those who want to join an rp, make sure the storyline is good or interesting in your view to really have fun.  

[Roxort]

5- Parenthesis

Parenthesis in an RP is for when you are out of character. Here is what they look like (()). Out of character means that you are not your rp character, but you are yourself chatting to others while doing the rp. Whether it be random comments or just throwing up ideas for the rp, make sure you use parenthesis.  

[Roxort]

6- Quotation Marks

A Role Play is similar to writing a story somewhat. When you have your character speak, you would have to put in quotation marks " at the begining and end of your character's dialog. Now, I did quite a few role plays so I happened to encounter some problems. When I first started the RP Demon Sing I had this idiot called Killer Zetsu join. He is such a noob that he didn't use quotation marks at all for when his character spoke. Don't be like him, for he also had the tendency to ruin my story line. All I'm saying, is use " and " when your character speaks and don't mix it up with ( and ) for that is out of character.  

[Roxort]

7- Italicized

So now its time to talk about italicized writing. Italicize means your characters thoughts. To make it look like this first thing you would have to do is put in the left bracket [ and then press the letter i, finish it up with the right bracket ] and that is the start of your italicize monolouge. to end it use [ and then / with the letter i, and finish with ]. An easier way as to use italicized writing is to click on that slanted i right next to the bold B.  

[Seshuyin]

8- Punctuation

Just like writing a story or an essay, you need to use punctuation in RPs. See that? I just did it. Here is a few things you need to use: . , - ' /

Punctuation- Splitting of a sentence using punctuation marks.

Thus meaning, instead of one longass sentence, you could use something like a comma at intervals. This is also for your character's dialog and monologue as well.  

[Seshuyin]

9- Grammar

Sweet! Ok ok, so...you have to use grammar in an RP got it? (raised up on grammar) You cannot put in aint in an rp. That is not even a word. Use is not or isn't. You see, in an rp, it is best to use good grammar so that people can understand what you're saying. Like using text words like lmao...I don't even know what that means. I think it would be better if people would write the actual, complete word instead of taking shortcuts with it. It would really be easy for the people who don't understand (like me).  

[Seshuyin]

10- Spelling

Now, just like in writing, you would have to spell the words right. Now I know that there are people who have troubles with spelling and this is where I introduce the latest, greatest, invention of mankind....Spellcheck! You see, if you use Firefox 3 you already have spellcheck in the program, allowing you to see your mistakes and are able to pick what you really meant. As for those who don't have/use it, I would have to say use a dictionary to look up the words you wish to use. You see, in an rp spelling is everything. It is the actions we make, the words we speak. You want people to know what your character is doing, yes? Then make sure you put a good effort to spell the words right.  

[Seshuyin]

11- Bold

This is much like italicize but its not for your character's thoughts. I seen many ways of how people used bold letters, some used them for when their character speaks, others used when their character says something important. The way to make bold writing is the same way with the italicize except instead of using an i, use a b. If done right it should look like this. Now the easiest way to get bold text is by clicking the B up there next to the i, its the first one, you can't miss it.  

[Seshuyin]

12- Font Colors

Font colors can play a role in an rp. People use them just to be fancy and use it for their character. You see, there is a chance in an rp where you can get to play as more than one character (trust me, I am playing as multiple characters at the moment wink ). And if that's the case then you might use font colors to differentiate between who is who. Now you probably have noticed by now, yes, I am using different font colors as I type. Its to show the many colors Gaia has to offer. Now the trick to make you colored fonts work is to use [ followed by color= then insert the name of the color you want and finish with ]. If done right, you should get whatever I typed with, now to end it is [ /color ], so its basically the same thing with the bold and italicize. And as always, there is an easier method, there shall be a box labled color in the guild, click the down arrow and choose from the colors they got. In the normal forums, it would look like a small A but with color at the top next to the sizes. I am going to finish up after the next sentence, I want you to see all the colors so I am now wasting time. The colors you can use are dark red, red, orange, brown, yellow, green, olive, cyan, blue, dark blue, indigo, and lastly violet.  

[Seshuyin]

13- Font Size

Alright, I have also seen people use different font sizes when they role play. I normally stick to standard sizes, where as others use the size 9 font. For me, font sizes tells of a character's tone of voice with small fonts being like whispers and the larger ones be more like yelling. But that's just me. I don't really care on this subject as that people will use whatever the hell font size that they want.  

[Seshuyin]

14- Post Style

Ok, here is one mistake that newbies can make when it comes to rp's. Using different post styles for your characters dialogue/monologue/though/whatever. You see, you cannot just make some fancy post style like whisper or think and just have your character just whisper or think without quotation marks. Yes I have encountered some problems like that (same person). It is quite noobish if you do that. You see, when you use a post style, it should be because of how you like it. I normaly go with the say style because I am to lazy to actually take my time and change it. If you pick a post style, please follow the rules from beforehand.