RP Etiquette: From Dragons to Doornails

[Inkling]

After watching the RP on the forum, I feel compelled to offer a few reminders--guidelines, if you will, of things to avoid when you're RPing. And yes, over the past week I've seen pretty much all of these happening since we re-opened.

This is either: (A) Because it was a choice between writing a forum post or going to a one year old's birthday party tonight. (B) Because I secretly want to stifle all fun and creativity everywhere. I'm starting on the forum tonight, and tomorrow I plan to systematically get rid of all ice cream and chocolate chip cookies on the planet. (C) Because I really do care to help n00bs become newbs in short order and with the minimum of headdesking on my part.

Thus, I present to you, INKY'S LIST OF WHAT NOT TO DO (edited for humor)

1. THOU SHALT not autoplay. I know we all secretly want to rule the world, but seriously...you control ONLY your own characters. Show what they do and say, and let the other characters act as their players decide. You can push Humpty Dumpty off the wall, but Humpty's player gets to determine what Humpty does on the way down and what happens on landing.


2. THOU SHALT not strive for uniqueness over realism. Narnian life is exciting enough without, say, introducing Harry Potter into it. That may work for fanfic, but not RP. This also includes timing. Let day be day and night be night...don't try to speed up time, or it makes other conversations going on at the same time irrelevant. Think about your character. If you're a cat, what does your cat do during his day? I keep a journal, some people use timelines. Cats aren't going to, say, spend their time flying through the air trying to pick a silver apple.


3. THOU SHALT not submit rapid-fire posts one after the other. Talk about annoying! A player logs on to check for new RP posts while munching on fresh, warm chocolate chip cookies (without nuts, please). ACK! Five whole pages of posts to read and respond to! I know it's tempting, but patience is a virtue...cultivate it. Be reasonable about how many times you post while waiting for another character to respond. If there are only two of you using the thread, then by all means keep posting back and forth. Otherwise, you risk leaving people out of the conversation. They'd probably have something interesting to say if they were allowed.

4. THOU SHALT not try to be TEH MOST AWESOMEST RP CHARRIE EVER!!!!1!11!!!. *Inkling does battle with her spell-checker and is bruised severely for posting that*. Teh SQUEEEEE! Why wouldn't everyone want a character who can leap tall buildings, save the world from an army of sporks, and write the Great Narnian novel all before breakfast? Because perfection is, well, frankly boring. Again, /realistic/ is the goal. Let your character have flaws and grow.

5. THOU SHALT not try to follow a set plot. Dear Diary: Fiyero's going to ask me to marry him today. He just doesn't know it yet! Okay, here's what's wrong with that scenario-it leaves no room for RP to develop naturally. Characters should react to what happens without having a set agenda. We know the North won the Civil War, but RP is not history...that's what's so enjoyable about it.

6. THOU SHALT not be a self-aggrandizing spotlight hog. Symptoms include delusions of grandeur and being orbited by small satellite objects. While we all know that each character has their moment in the sun, RP is, or should be, a /group/ effort. Otherwise, why not write a story? Yes, other characters may be important too. Yes, other players may end up doing things that you don't like or that you wouldn't have chosen. Take two ego-deflation pills and deal. 'Nuh-UH! You can't do that because I'm doing THIS!' is cute...if you're four. Maybe.

 

[Copperfox]

Regarding Item Four above: a player in "Snow" has been allowed to be a "spectre." Is this creature going to be allowed to carry on like the Army of the Dead in the movie of Return of the King--mowing down everyone he wants to with unstoppable, unbeatable life-destroying power, with the victims utterly powerless to do anything about it, no matter what, no matter what, nyaah nyaah nyaah?

 

[Petraverd]

The convention here is that spectres are incorporeal - as such, they can't be harmed themselves, but nor can they be anything more than a nuisance in return. They have no substance, just a big smoky cloud with eyes, essentially - not exactly a great form to mow down anyone they want.

At least, that's what I'm guessing they're working under here, considering that's how I've seen them done in other Narnian RPGs.

 

[Copperfox]

That's a relief. But you do understand what I mean about ROTK, right? "The Dead" in that film got to have it both ways: immune themselves by being incorporeal (except of course that Aragorn had power over them)--and yet still able to do _something_ that caused living beings to die.

 

[Inkling]

I understand exactly what you mean, Copperfox, and Petraverd answered exactly how I would have...only probably more eloquently.

There you have your definition of 'specters' as it relates to this game.

 

[Admiral Halsey]

Whee. Well, it's a slow morning for me, so I'm going to join Inky on her quest to destroy all joy in the world, starting with this forum, and try to summerise the wisdom I have learnt from far to many years of roleplaying. (And indeed, running roleplays for other people.)


1) - You will Disagree -
There will allways be times in which you and other people you roleplay with will disagree. Maybe you percive a situation differently, belive a character is acting out of place, or simply have different goals for the story your telling. These disagreements are inevitable, the trick is to be prepared for them. Differences are after all, what makes life worth living. So you have to accept that your going to clash, and be prepared in advance to make compromises for others. Instead of arguing over your differences, settle down to find something that you can both agree on, so that you can write together better. Never insist upon anything. Roleplay is an equal experience between everyone, and no-one has any right more than another. If all else fails, simply gracefully bow out of the situation.

2) - It Matters -
Everyone feels differently about Roleplaying. To some people it's just a casual game, to others it's an intimate expression of their writing, and feelings. If someone writes a book, and you read it, you don't start by telling the other person all the plot flaws, silly characters, and how much you hated it, because that would hurt them. Comment as asked to, give gentle advise, but don't just smite them. For roleplaying is much the same. Often characters are a work of art, and carry deep personal meaning. To disrespect them is to disrepect the creator and causes a lot of hurt. Sure you might think such and such a character is overpowered for pwning six adversaries at a time before even getting hurt, but there are better ways to address such concerns than rubbing it directly into someone's face and telling them they are being stupid about things.

3) - Have fun -
Some people approch roleplaying in an incredibly serious fashion. Others allways approch it in a lighthearted and humorus fashion. But everyone should remember, that comedy or epic duels aside, everyone is just here to have a good time. If someone is playing a fairly lighthearted character, don't rage at them because there not being serious enough for you. Just relax and accept it, remember they are just here to gain some happiness, and you should spread it. Equally, if you are being lighthearted, try not to stamp all over someone's serious roleplay, in a mocking fashion. You character is your own, but the world and the setting are a join setting. There is room for happiness and tragidy in every place.



I could probably ramble forever on various roleplaying related subjects, but I think Inky really did cover the basics in a simple and effective fashion.

We're a team, writing together to create a world that gives happiness to it's readers and participants. Remember it's never about -you- it's about your characters. Be true to the world, the story, the person. Try not to let it get to you, or affect you, and allways consider other people's feelings.

Happy Writings!