The RPG Manual

Index:
Chapter 1… What is RPG and Roleplaying?
Chapter 2… Character Creation
Chapter 3… Roleplaying
Chapter 4… Frequently Used Terms
Chapter 5… Tips and Links

Chapter 1… What is RPG and Roleplaying?
What is Role-play?
In its most basic form, roleplaying is simply acting. Regardless of the genre, this acting is within the constraints of a character profile and probably also those of a given scenario. Namely, the roleplayer acts in a way that they believe their character should act. Often this has little (or nothing) to do with how the out of character person would behave.

Lyran Tal wrote:

Roleplaying, in general, is when a gamer sets aside their own identity
and plays out the actions, thoughts, and dialogue of a fictional
character. There are many games available on the markets which make use
of this concept, but all of these use fairly detailed rules and some
form of random chance (dice, cards, or simply the game master's whim)
to decide the character's attributes, abilities, knowledge, combat
outcomes, etc.

Free form roleplaying takes this a step beyond.
In FFRP, the player has complete control over the character they
portray. There are no dice, no random elements other than characters'
actions. No one can force actions on someone else's character. It's
essentially text-based improvisational acting and cooperative writing.

The key element that keeps FFRP from becoming a free-for-all amongst ultra
powerful characters is RESPECT. Foremost, respect for other players;
and equally important, respect for the setting in which the character
is played. Disrespectful gamers usually find themselves ignored.

Chapter 2… Character Creation

What is a character?
A character is an imaginary being that you create. You are the player of the game, while your character is the thing in the game.

Lantis wrote:

Characters are who we are when it comes to roleplay. Characters are the personas we take on to game, or the people we create in our mind when writing. Having a strong character is the basis for role-playing well. 'Strong character' doesn't necessarily mean a hulking barbarian with rippling biceps that can tear trees from the ground and destroy universes. A strong character is one that is realistic and well-balanced-- that is, he/she has weaknesses, fears, and goals as all of us in the real world do. Characters can also already be pre-defined. If you want to play Heero Yuy from Gundam wing, that's fine. But remember, even the perfect soldier, has fears and weaknesses, he just doesn't outwardly show them.

Character Creation

Creating a character is the first step in any roleplaying game.

A free-form character is both easy and difficult to create; free-form means that you can do whatever you wish with the character's abilities, personality, traits, etc. The difficult part comes when you try to make the character interesting, both for you as the player, and for the players who will interact with you and your character. Sure, an all-powerful wizard would be fun and interesting for you to play, but not for the people playing the characters around him. And eventually, such a character wouldn't be challenging to play; just wave a hand and all his problems poof away. How much fun is that? Make him intriguing, give him a weakness, or a quirk, and don't make him The Most Powerful 'Mancer to Walk the Planes.

Here's some questions you might ask yourself when you're creating a character: 1) Who is s/he? What are the basic personality traits to this character? 2) What is s/he? Human, elf, dwarf, female, male, native, Outlander, 'mancer, noble, thief, etc. The list is endless! 3) When is s/he arriving in Lyran Tal? What's their background up to that point? Age? Upbringing? Is it a character you intend to play long-term, or a throwaway character for just an evening or two? 4) Where will you be playing this character? "Live" play in the tavern, or in written stories posted on the message boards? Will they be confined to a single region in Lyran Tal, or will they roam the continent? 5) Why tell this character's story? Why do they behave as they do? What drives them and makes them interesting?

It's not at all necessary to create an in-depth history and personality profile for your character, but many players find it helpful to know the answers to some of these questions as they start to play a new character.

Lantis wrote:

Here are a few things you should consider when you're rping a character. Remember now this is only advice... here to guide you in maintaining a well-balanced, realistic portrayal of the character. You don't have to follow all (or any) of them, but simply use them as a reference.

Who is your character? Where was he/she born? What kind of family life and background did they have?

Did your character's upbringing as a child influence their beliefs today?

Did something traumatic happen to your character in the past? Are they haunted by memories of it? Does it affect how they act/what they do today?

What 'career' has your character chosen? How did they learn it? What are his/her strengths as a result? What about weaknesses?

Are they afraid of something (fears aren't necessarily visible by all)? What caused this fear? Are they working to overcome it? Or are they mastered by it?

Wait, I'm not an adult...
It doesn't matter to me. I've seen 13 year olds who roleplay ten times as well as a 40 year old, simply because of experience. In my eyes, you're all 'adults' in terms of maturity, until you prove yourself otherwise.

This means that if you're typing in txt-tlk, godmodding, crossing IRPG and OORPG, or any other type of general immaturity, you will no longer be considered an adult, but will be treated as a child, unsuitable for viewing potentially graphic roleplay. Cease and desist, or you won't be allowed here.

Orthodox?
Orthodox roleplay is playing in a method that allows the other players to determine how your character's actions affect theirs. Orthodox roleplay is often the most widely accepted and safe form of roleplay, although it is very difficult for beginners to get used to.

Instead of:

Code:

 -= Punches Andy in the face. =-

You should use:

Code:

 -= Swings his fist towards Andy's face. =-

Actions should be implied, not stated.

Unorthodox?


Rule of thumbs for all types of roleplay:
[*]Never use first person in actions. Use the character's name instead of saying "I" or "you".
[*]Imply, do not do. If the roleplay is in a certain tense, maintain that tense through your posts. Tenses can be past, present, or future. This is very difficult to maintain throughout a roleplay, but it is important to be consistent.
Past:

Code:

 -= He swung his fist towards Andy's face. =-

Present:

Code:

 -= He swings his fist towards Andy's face. =-

Future:

Code:

-=He would swing his fist towards Andy's face. =-

Future tense allows a roleplayer to be slack about being orthodox. It may be permissible to do this, as long as there is an understanding with the opponent.
Example:

Code:

 -= He would slam his fist into Andy's face. =-

Fighting?!
Yes, you can fight using your characters! Fighting without an in character reason isn't exactly roleplay, though.

Often times characters have disagreements, much like in real life. Some people choose to avoid conflict, some like to start it. A good roleplayer will be able to maintain the personality of their character, and act accordingly to any situation that arises, including conflict.

Glossary of common FFRP/chat terms and abbreviations:

Backstory: The history (or any part of it) of a character prior to the point where it's put into play.

Blending - (IRPG/OORPG Confusion): Where a player mixes or "blends" realities between their character and themselves or uses OORPG knowledge that wouldn't otherwise be known to their character either in active RP or in written SLs. This is undesirable and considered bad form. Remember, You are Not your Character!

Character: The fictional persona that one takes on when they RP (roleplay) within the room.

Erasure: When all players involved in a scene agree to declare that a scene or IRPG event never took place.

Freeform Roleplaying: Roleplaying where complete freedom is given to the players to control their own characters within a setting.

Godmoder: A player who creates or plays an invincible character. These are not conducive to cooperative roleplaying. Godmoding is undesirable and considered bad form.

IRPG (In RPG): Anything that pertains to your character; their thoughts, actions, dialogue, etc. The part of roleplaying that maintains the illusion of the fictional reality where your character dwells.

Ignore: This is pretty self-explanatory; it's where a player either refuses to acknowledge the actions of another, or where a player actually uses the Ignore feature. It's usually a good idea to let your gaming partners know if you're ignoring a particular character.


OORPG (Out Of RPG): Anything that pertains to you, the player; punties, IMs, e-mail, chatrooms, internet, Hosts, etc.

NPC (Non-Player Character): This is usually a minor character (think "bit part") that does not have an actual screen name. It can sometimes refer to playing a second character while under another screen name. See below for an example of this:

Code:

Zharyka: [Ellie] ::the serving girl blinked, staring at the strange creature that’d walked thru the Northern Portal:: Goodness sakes, what kind of Outlander demon is THAT?

Powergaming: This is when a player insists on calling actions for someone else's character. Like "Godmoding", it's not conducive to cooperative roleplaying, and is considered bad form.

Do this:

Code:

Freon: ::an aura of bone-chilling cold emanates from him, fanning out into the entire room::

Rather than:

Code:

Freon: ::a flick of his fingers and a chill runs down the spine of everyone in the tavern::

The difference is subtle, but the first one does not dictate action for the others in the room whereas the second one does.

SL (Storyline): Usually, the tale of a character's life. SLs can intertwine between characters, and the term can also refer to just a portion of a story, either written and/or roleplayed. Sometimes you'll see some pretty intense scenes being played out in the chat. It's a good idea to PM one of the players first before you have your character jump in, to be sure you won't be upsetting a storyline by doing so.

Spectators?
RPG Roleplay is the ultimate fiction story: it just keeps coming, from any angle you want to read it at. Like a character? Follow them. Go anywhere, anytime. Your Way.


What are IRPG and OORPG?
IRPG and OORPG stand for In RPG and Out Of RPG, respectively.


What is Godmodding?
Godmodding is making your character invulnerable, ignoring the actions of other characters, or just otherwise cheating. This will get you ignored, kicked, and ultimately banned. Play by the rules, be a mature adult, and you're welcome here.

Chapter 6: Tips and Links.

A few last notes:
Typos:
Don't worry about correcting most typos. The other players will usually
know what you meant, and correcting them just disrupts the flow of
play. If you really feel it's necessary to correct it, do so within ((OORPG)).


Respect Copyright Laws: Don't infringe on other
players' creative rights. Get permission to use others' work.

Above all ... HAVE FUN!: Remember, this is a
game and if you're not having a good time, take a break and come play
some other time. The room will still be there.


What not to do:

I
thought that I would post a summary of what I thought each would be. It
might help voters make their decisions, as well as spawn some talk
about what is permissible and what is not.


Metagame.
Taking something that you as a player have knowledge of and allowing your character to know, without rational IRPG reason. Remember, you only know what your character knows.

Godmod.
Have an undefeatable weapon, an indomitable defense.

Argue.
Take it to PM. No need to argue at all, if RP is done correctly and respect is given to everyone.

Use unbalanced characters.
Your character has amazing abilities, but no weaknesses?

Use uninteresting characters.
Having no personality or definitive qualities to the character.

Use txt-tlk.
omg u hav a prblm wit txttalk?!!

Use a style inconsistent with the current play.
If someone is RPing in real time chat style, you post para style, or even essay style. And vice versa.

Mixing
your verb tenses also falls under this category. If play is currently
in past tense, do not use present or future tense in your writing. If
it is third person, do not use first, and in reverse, too.

Third person, past tense is the standard.

Use Mary Sue characters.
<BLOCKQUOTE>Wikipedia wrote:Mary
Sue (sometimes shortened simply to Sue) is a pejorative term for a
fictional character who is portrayed in an overly idealized way and
lacks noteworthy flaws, or has unreasonably romanticized flaws.
</BLOCKQUOTE>

Use stock characters.
Roleplay as a character from a series, in an otherwise diverse world of original characters.

Use stock storylines.
Use a storyline from a series, in an otherwise diverse world. If you must, try being creative.

Fail to play the character.
If your character is afraid of insects, fail to make them react appropriately to a cobweb that is found in a room she enters.

Fail to engage potential players.
Failure to roleplay in a way that provides an opportunity for other players to jump in.

Force actions upon other players.
Referred to as non-orthodox, roleplay in a manner where another player has no choice but to accept an action.

Ignore actions made by other players.
If someone is in the game, refuse to acknowledge someone's post without previous provocation.

Mix Out of RPG (OORPG) and In RPG (IRPG).
When
speaking IRPG, refer to things such as the forum, a chat, a room, an
instant messenger, in the OORPG sense. While OORPG, refer to your character
in the first person...

Talk OORPG in the roleplay.
Hold an OORPG conversation in the same place as the roleplay.

Need character names? http://www.fantasynames.net

Note: I didn't write this guide, I merely found it on RoleplayGateaway and thought it would be helpful. ;)