Role Play Guide--(Role Playing and Starting a Role Play)

[Raizen357]

Are you confused?
Are you intimidated?
Do you look around the Guild and think, "I dont know what I should do?"
Well, you have come to the right thread.

In this thread, we hope, in five easy steps, to teach you what you can do to become a productive member of this Guild and just jump right into the RPing and the storyline with minimum confusion and suffering.

So come and follow along as we visit the "Five Easy Steps to SUCCESS!"

[Note:Created By Death_Curer. Thanks Death]  

[Raizen357]

Step 1: Your first post

Post in 'Introduce Yourself' Thread so other members will get to know you. That will be probably be your first post.

{Note:Created By Death_Curer. Thanks Death}  

[Raizen357]

Step 2: Understanding the Guild and Rules

Go to the thread 'Rules' And read over the rules so that you will know as a member what you should and shouldn't do. You might want to visit the FAQ and read over questions that other members have asked me.If you have a question yourself, please feel free to PM the captain, the crew members, or me.

{Note:Created By Death_Curer. Thanks Death}  

[Raizen357]

Step 3: Making Your Character

So by now you should have read the rules of the guild. Now your ready to make your role play character.


To do so, go to the Character Registration Center and follow the "Steps to Registration" in the first post. To make the going easier, here are some helpful tips:

Be unique. Try not to copy the clichéd story of forgetting where you are from.
Follow your races description. If you come from a race who has a short lifespan, don't say you are thousands of years old.
If you cant figure out what you character looks like, use a picture. Just make sure its behind a link.
Dont overdue those special powers and abilities. Try to keep it to one element or type that your character is attributed with.
The [under construction] add on is your friend. Too tired to finish that super long history you want to have? Finish it later. As long as the core info is in the profile, it will be accepted.


Once you selected a race, filled out the form and sent in your character, you are ready to make your first RP post.

-{Note:Created By Death_Curer. Thanks Death}-  

[Raizen357]

Step 4: Your first RP post

Now that you have created your character you can make your first RP post in the guild.

Theres a variety of role plays ranging from:
Beginners role playing
Advanced role playing

If you are not sure how to RP and want to learn post in the beginners RP and if you make a mistake I will help you out.
If you are new to the guild, it doesn't mean you have to start in the beginners role playing.

Here are the basics to how to role play :

1. Write in 3rd person

Incorrect: I ate the ice cream.
Correct: Bob ate the ice cream.

2. Use Novel Format

Incorrect: *Runs through woods*
Runs
Correct: Bob ran through the woods.

3. Use correct grammar in the past tense

Incorrect: bob runs inside.
Correct: Bob ran inside.

4. Use quotes to separate speech from action

Incorrect: This is easy said Bob.
Correct: "This is easy!" Said Bob.

Please always keep those simple things in mind when role playing.  

[Raizen357]

Step 5: Out of Character Chatting

You don't feel like roleplaying and don't know what to do?
No worries! Theres OOC chatting.

You can post in the chatterbox or go into the subforum Humans Only- OOC.
The good part of OOC is...the word games!

You can also OCC in a roleplay but not too much. When you have questions or something to say about the roleplay, you may use OCC. You may OCC using brackets "[ ]"or parentheses "( )". Or you may just use the most obvious form, "OCC:".

Also jump right in on the contests. :]

Any questions/comments? PM me.

{Note:All 5 Steps Created By Death_Curer}  

[Raizen357]

Creating a Roleplay:

Your roleplays should ALWAYS BE ORIGINAL. You should never steal another person's roleplay and claim it as your own. Of course, it doesn't have to original original, you can have fanfics roleplays.

Needeth Storyline
First let's start with the storyline and background information. If you're going to start a roleplay, you should have the storyline and background information to build your roleplay's base and start it off. For example, if you just start posting your character application and start roleplaying, who knows what you're talking about! If you give some information like: this roleplay is going to be about vampires and werewolves, it's not good enough.

Thanks for the storyline (below) goes to Numbah1Sakura for letting us use this storyline from her journal.

Here's the example of the storyline: Sometime in the past, a great war erupted around the land. People of each town always wanted more, more land to call their own so they could expand. People argued how their land was to small, and how others were to big. But when the war started, none was so sinister, so evil, and so determined to win as Summerset Isle. The scientists their came to the conclusion that with inferior humans fighting inferior humans, the outcome would be horrable for Summerset because they would lose many, and the war would be long. But the people of Summerset wanted to win, no matter what the price. So, the scientists who worked their decided to make a...."super being" if you will. An artificial human. What the humans were made of is unknown along with the secret of how to make them. All any lucky outsider would see was a developing human in a huge tube with somthing that looked like glowing green water.

The scientists wanted the humans to have powers that no other human had, so they decided to base the humans powers on animals. For instance, one boy named Joseph was created and his power was based on the bear. Now, he looked like your regular 17 year old boy, except he had the strength of a bear, he could transform into one, and talk to bears. Of course, not every person could transform into their base animal or talk to them, that's just how it effected Joseph. Anyways, these artificial humans could be made to look any age the scientists wanted, but the day their considered a year older is when they were let out of the tubes. These artificial humans also had an amazing lifespan. Not one has died of old age so that suggests that they're immortal. But, the artificial humans were very obidient towards the scientists. Did anything they were told because well, they didn't know any better.

The artificial humans acted like any other human, except they didn't have to eat, sleep, or age. To scientists amazement as well, they could reproduce which of course, was an unsuspected factor. So, the scientists started to make the artificial humans in pairs, and they were expected for those two to be lovers and soul mates, though they made one the superior and the other the follower so the leader could keep the other in line while the scientists weren't there to watch. But one day, two of the artificial humans went wrong. From what a scientist believes, but isn't for sure, their creator wanted them to be somthing more than war weapons. So, while injecting them with snake DNA, he also injected them with somthing they call the "YS" or yellow substance. It was created to make the artificial humans free minded, but they decided against it since they might rebel against the scientists. When they took the two out of the tubes, they gave them names, like another human who was just "born", and documented the success of the snake human.

They noticed that the two had poisones fangs, snake eyes ((which could detect almost anything)), they had the power of invisability or camoflauge, they could talk in snake and to snakes, they could summon snakes of massive porportion, and that wasn't even half of it. The scientists didn't know why they had so many powers and why the others only had up to 3, but they knew that the two were their most prized possesions. They gave the girl a simple kimono to dress in and a tachi sword as a weapon. They made her the superior because she was first to come out of the tube. They gave the boy more clothes to dress in, mainly because he was shivering and the scientists didn't know the two were cold blooded, and a katana to fight with. They chose not to give the two guns because with their swiftness, they would do better with a sword in close battle, since they were fast enough to dodge bullets. Each of the scientists educated the girl and boy. Telling the girl how the boy was her follower, protector, and how she was supposed to watch and keep him in line. They also told the boy how he was the follower, the one to protect the girl, follow her orders, and do anything she needed of him.

Each scientist educated them, though it didn't take long seeing as the artficial humans were very inteligent, and told them their place in the world, to serve them and the people of Summerset Isle. But those words "to serve the humans" just sent the girls blood boiling. The boy could feel the intense anger coming from her, and soon he felt it too. Then, finally, the YS took it's effect. The girl unsheathed her sword and ran past two scientists, seeming like a blur, with her sword held out slicing them in the side. The two fell to the ground. Other scientists went to arrest the misfunctioning human, but the boy sweeped them with his right leg, making them fall. The girl and boy didn't want to kill anyone, seeing as how that was what the scientists wanted, so they took the documents the scientists had made, though they didn't know about the extra copies they make, and ran out of the laboratory and all the way to High Rock seeing as it was far away from Summerset.

They learned, while reading over the documents, how they were created, why they were created, who created them, etc. But most importantly, they learned their names. Delilah and Seth. Two years passed since the two escaped ((though they both still looked about 17-20 years of age)), and in that time they had learned how to fight better than anyone in the land, and they learned how to control their powers, as well as new ones. They often snuck back to the lab and stole documents, since they were gifted with the power of invisablility and speed. They mainly got documents about themselves, but sometimes they wanted to know if the creations had stopped.

One day, when they got a document about themselves, they leanred that the scientists had still not given up looking for them. The artificial human project was strictily top secret so they couldn't put up wanted posters or tell citizens. But, they also leanred good news, followed by horrifying news. The good news was, the artificial human project had stopped and the war had ended. The horrifying news was, that the scientists weren't creating humans any more, but horrable, ugly beasts that didn't look like any animal before and it was specifically created to kill all the artificial humans. Of course, when that mission was carried out they would just trigger somthing in the new beasts that would disenigrate them. Now, these beasts would stand up to 8 to 12 feet tall, and would be either brown, black, or a very dark red. They had a body like a man but insanely muscular. Their hands would have huge claws and their feet would look like those of a T-rex's. They had heads shaped like bulls and every tooth was a fang and their eyes would glow red. But these beasts couldn't speak a word of english ((or any language for that matter)) and were only focused on killing artifical humans, so they were dumb in all areas except killing. They also didn't wear clothes cause their was no need. The scientest didn't give them reproductive orangs or parts cause they didn't want them to reproduce at all.

Anyways, when Delilah and Seth learned this horrable news they made it their mission, no, duty to slay these beasts and save their kind. They would also destroy the labratories and scientists who first decided to create these beasts. Though they wouldn't hurt the scientists who didn't know what was going and and were just doing their job. Delilah and Seth now travel the land fighting these beasts, trying to find their creator ((since he's the one who wanted to make them free minded and more than weapons)) to ask questions and help in any way possible, and to slay the supporters against the artificial humans.


Needeth Characters
Well, now next is your characters. Remember to follow the guild rules about roleplaying and no god modding with your characters. Depending on the type of your roleplay, whether it gives you the choice of manipulating NPC characters, don't manipulate them so much that there is a plot hole or that other people can't manipulate the NPCs. First, think, "How are the characters going to be set up?" The reason for this is because some RPs are made so that there are pre-made characters for you to choose. However, there's another way characters section can be set up. You can post the type of races that are allowed for your RP and wait for others to make their characters. Or, their can be something like clans where others can choose which "clan" they prefer to be in and make their character. Urg, I am not sure if that made sense.
Since most people know the basic character applying as in filling out a character application according to some information given, I won't give an example for that but instead I will give examples of two similar but different ways for a characters section.
[Note: This is a story line for two characters, but notice how literate, well thought out, descriptive, and formated it is.]

Examples:

Example one from The Race for the Claw of Devian, credits to DeathCurer:
Captain(s) [Me]
DeathCurer

Quartermaster [Its like an assistant captain]
Mini~soph

First Mate [In charge of deckhands.]
Senel 57

Navigator [Navigates]
Lulu Moon

Gaian name: DeathCurer
Roleplay Character name: Captain IceFire
Age: 24
Race: Elf
(If Any) Powers: N/A
Abilities: Can perform some elven magic but is not that well. Very well with the sword and bow and arrow. Hes quick on his feet.
Bio: He always wanted to sail the seas and after long years he finally obtained a ship.
Description: He treats his crew as family. He can be cold hearted at times and is straightfoward.He loves adventures and dares. His skin is light golden brown. His hair black and fairly short.Long enough to cover his eyes at times. His eyes blue, blue like the sea.
Position: Captain

Gaian name: Senel57
Roleplay Character name: Axion
Age: 2000 years
Race: Wraith
(If Any) Powers:
-Teleport (only a few yards)
Abilities:
-Can see the dead
Bio: After a few years in the underworld Axion finally decides to take a cruise. Too bad it's not a cruise.
Description: Always thinks before acting. Normally puts the team infront of himself. Has alot of wisdom being 2000 years old.
Position: 1st mate

Gaian name: LuluMoon
Roleplay Character name: Lindzi
Age: 22
Race: Human
(If Any) Powers: Manipulation of Wind
Abilities: Lindzi is a master of projectiles, and can use just about anything was a weapon. Her favortie however, is her pistol, (Which she built herself) and an daggers.
Bio: Born into a weathly merchant family, Lindzi was always by the sea, however, she was unable to go on it because of her controling family. After finding out that she was going to be married and shipped off, she ran away on her brother's boat. Using maps stolen from her fathers study, she navigated her away around the ocean until she met Captin IceFire.
Description: Lindzi is short, only reaching about 5'4, with dark brown hair that is usually pulled up into a high ponytail. She has friendly hazel eyes, and a golden skin tone. She has a rather curvy shape, but an athletic build.
Position: Navigator

Gaian name: mini~soph
Roleplay Character name: Anne Bonny
Age: unknown (1698 – 1782)
Race: unknown
(If Any) Powers: none
Abilities: Anne Bonny put together a crew and would fight alongside men.
Bio: Anne Bonny, born in County Cork, Ireland, was a daughter of attorney William Cormac and his maidservant. Her mother was named either Mary or Peg Brennan. When the affair became public, Cormac, with his new wife and newborn child, left Ireland for Charleston, South Carolina, where he made a fortune and bought a large plantation. Legend tells that because of a superstition of the time that women aboard ships brought bad luck, Bonny was forced to disguise herself as a man in order to join Rackham's crew aboard the Revenge. Anne and Jack stole a ship at anchor in the harbor and set off to sea, putting together a crew and taking several prizes. She took part in combat alongside the males. Also according to legend, she stabbed another pirate through the heart when he discovered her true gender.
Description: Anne Bonny was an Irish pirate who plied her trade in the Caribbean.
Position: Quartermaster
[Sorry, I only chose three people because it was too long. But as you can see, DeathCurer gave people choices of the positions they want but lets them create their character.]

Example two:
Susan Smith- Susan's personality is stated as cranky and impolite. She hates music and loves to draw. A member of the DEC (Dumb Example Clan). Character taken by: Li!!yLa!!y

Maggie Loft- Maggie loves the arts and has a soft spot for sweets, chipmunks, and collector porcelain cups. She is a friend of Susan but is not a member of the DEC (Dumb Example Clan). Character taken by: No one yet

Stanley McDonald- Stanley dislikes Susan but likes Maggie. He is also a member of the DEC (Dumb Example Clan) and is the leader. Stanley, unfortunately, smokes and drinks. Character taken by: ((~Mr. Exampleperson~))

Edwin Henderson- Edwin works part time at a gas station and is the DEC's (Dumb Example Clan) treasurer. He is Stanley's best friend and also smokes and drinks. Character taken by: McBobby101
[In this example, that I poorly gave, it doesn't give people much choice on the characters but its easier so you don't have to worry about this or that. Though, if someone would want to change a thing or two about their pre-made character information, they would have to ask you to change it for them.]


Maybe Needeth Other Important Information
Well another thing you might want is other important information. For example, if you were doing a Naruto fanfic roleplay you let people know all the ninja ranks and the clans.

Example[From Signet City, credits to DeathCurer]:
Important Info:
The organizations have each staked a claim on part of the city, and it is known by all, except humans of course, what is there reasons there by their signs they wear.

The Bastets: An all-girl vampire gang that are determined to gain as much land as they can for unknown reasons. Their story shows that they once claimed of all Signet City when the leaders disappeared, but joined with the Rajens, and somehow a war between them ensued, causing them to spilt apart. The Bastets never regained the land that the Rajens took when they spilt and ever since....you know the rest. Only the older Bastets and Rajens know about this war and the reasons behind it.

The Rajens: An all-boy vampire gang that came into Signet City seemingly out of nowhere. They are trying to gain as much land as they can for different reasons. They want Signet City so the vampires can rule once again as is their right.

The Lotus: They want to Signet City so they could bring the ten leaders back they could rule once again. The belief in the old legends is strong within each of these members.

The Blaydons: These are the vampires that merely want to survive on there own; the ones that were secretly happy that the ten leaders had disappeared because now they had their own life. They don't want anything to do with the craziness, but they have to be if they want the world to stay the way it is.

Maybe Needeth Character Applications
Here comes the character applications. Be sure to pre-make the character application outline for others so everything is in order unless the type of roleplay you're creating does not require this option.

Here's an example of a VERY BASIC character application:

[b][i]Application[/i]
Username:
Character Name:
Race:
Gender:
Appearance:
Personality:
History:
Abilities:
Weapons:[/b]

Be sure to wait a while for everyone to send in their application before starting the roleplay on your own...

Maybe Needeth Exclusive Roleplay Rules
Although, this guild may already have its own rules plus the ToS to go with, but you may construct some of your own rules that only go with your particular roleplay. Like some extra rules about now manipulating NPCs too much or mere rules about editing your character.

Although, if you're a new member don't worry about all the complicated other stuff, just worry about getting the storyline down and characters down. It's really irritating when you start a roleplay without some background.

Also REMEMBER: For newer members, start out in the beginner roleplays to get used to things. However, if you're an experienced but a new member maybe try things out in the semi-literate roleplays before moving ahead but whenever you're ready you can move on to the extreme roleplays.

Yeah...It's kinda long. But a good basic roleplay should have most of these things. If you still don't get it you can ask any experienced roleplayer in this guild.

-{Created By Numbah1Sakura. Thanks Sakura}-