Post by Madison Dominic on Mar 25, 2008 12:55:50 GMT -5
how to Roleplay
"a detailed guide to roleplaying"
"a detailed guide to roleplaying"
If you follow these and complement them with practice, you will see the results in no time.[/size]
Chapter 1: Characters
Knowing your Character is Being your Character
This is an important part of role playing, knowing your character means you will be able to role play your character as if you were him/her.
-Don't do things that a character wouldn't do unless certain conditions are met, which are rare to happen. A knight of justice and good will never harm an innocent, nor kill an opponent unless really necessary.
-All characters have weaknesses, even those who are almighty. A fire-breathing dragon that flies (and there are dragons that don't) will never get into a lake and swim as if it was the king of the sea.
-Express your character's personality rather than your own. If a character is the dead serious type that doesn't even laugh at jokes, don't RP him laughing at the lightest sign of somebody making stupid actions or saying a joke, no matter how funny it is.
-All characters need to love and hate something. Never ever will you see a lion eating vegetables. He was born to love meat and unless you train it so it will eat veggies, that lion will love its T-bone steak served raw and recently killed.
-Speak according to your character. Some people find it more appealing if the character demonstrated a certain tone of voice or a different form of speaking. Now what I mean is to go all, "I say, these crumpets are fabulously delicious!" or "Man, these cookies taste so awesome!". Try to imitate in verbal form the manner of speaking and accent of a person. This will add depth to a character and will complement its personality.
Chapter 2: The Setting
Knowing the 'W4'
The setting or also plot is what tells us the what, where, when and why of a story.
-"What is happening?" will tell the idea of the story/setting/plot and what has occurred. This is usually the biggest event yet and will lead to an important event since it will require your action in it.
-"Where does it takes place?" will tell you the location of the "What". This will define how a character looks, what he wears, how he lives.
-"When did it happen?" will define the time that it takes place. This is what defines the way a character feels about the world around him, and how he acts on it.
-"Why did it happen?" gives information about the reasons of this event. If there's no cause, there is no effect, and if there is no effect, there is no need for the character to be RPed or even for the character to exist at all.
If you follow these you will always keep in touch with those around you and the events which have occurred. This means that Crusader of the Middle Ages will not be living at NYC, because he will go on a rampage and get himself killed eventually.
Chapter 3: Writing
The Writing is very important when it comes to RP. If you want to be a good RPer, you must know how to write a good RP post.
-Spelling. This is the keystone to good RP. If you know how to spell correctly, you will at least have the base to build your castle. Good RPers always love to see someone with good spelling, but everyone makes mistakes so don't worry much.
-Grammar. This may be as important as spelling because the good RP post never has something like "i WILL gO pARk 2 banNanA get". It's often bad on the eyes and people will not consider a person with bad grammar as a good RPer, let alone RP with him at all. Using capitals where they should be and writing as correctly as possible will get you to RP heaven.
-Sense. If the person you are sending the message doesn't understand it, don't expect him to know what you were doing, much less expect him to be a psychic and be able to read your mind. The usual cause of this sequence is the actions taken. Try to set an order in your sequence. Write all of your character's actions into separate numbered sentences and then write them in the order you want them to be.
-Description. This is by far one of the most important aspects of RP, even more if it's a written one. Three hundred characters does NOT make a good RP post. Every time you are about to make a post, set yourself a goal. When you RP, always try to keep yourself within the five-line paragraph, giving as many details as possible about what your character is doing, his thoughts, his movements, his facial expressions, everything that may come into account. If one makes a long and descriptive enough post, everyone will clearly understand what your actions were and will not have to interpret them in their own way.
If you follow these, it is likely that you will definitely get better at roleplaying. Anything that you may be wondering about RPing or a suggestion that may be helpful... just post it and I'll see to it being added.
