Jendai Squad SWTOR

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Jendai Squad is a Non-Force sensitive Guild that supports the Brotherhood of Swordmasters.


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    How to Roleplay

    Caelin
    Caelin


    Posts : 86
    Join date : 2010-06-22
    Age : 28
    Location : Fairchild AFB WA

    How to Roleplay Empty How to Roleplay

    Post  Caelin Fri Nov 12, 2010 4:36 pm

    Just to clear up some things, not everyone who wants to RP, actualy knows how to. Here are some tips to clear things up!


    There are several key points to good roleplaying. The most obvious of these is that you should never God Mode. Exactly what may be considered God Moding will be explained at greater length later on. The second key point I would have you consider is originality. If it’s been done a lot of times before, think twice before doing it again. Finally, the last of the key points is to know your character. If he would rather die than kill in anger, stay with that, but also remember that he can develop.

    Those are the key points, and I’ll go through each in more detail below. Also there are some minor points that won’t necessarily improve your roleplaying, but will improve your posts. I’ll go through these first.



    1. Spelling, Punctuation, Grammar – Not too important, but something you should think about. Let me ask you which of these two paragraphs is easier to read:

    ‘i entered the bar and went up to the barkeeper ordring a drink when he put it down on the bar i payed him took the drink and went over to one of the tables what was overlooking the place where people were playeing sabacc i saw a table with an open seat and took my drink over to play a few hands’

    OR

    ‘I entered the bar and went up to the barkeeper to order a drink. When he put it down on the bar I paid him, took the drink and went over to one of the tables overlooking the Sabacc playing area. I saw a table with an open seat and took my drink over to play a few hands.’

    If you don’t say the second one please DON'T RP!!!!

    Now I don’t agree with the idiots who get picky about spelling (to the point of complaining about the presence/lack of ‘u’s in colour, honour, etc) or grammar, but there’s absolutely NO excuse for ignoring it. By the way, if you are one of the picky people, please do the aforementioned suggestion....

    Remember that it is not a sin to use a ‘dictionary’ or to type it out in a program with a SPELL CHECKER and then copy it across.

    If English isn’t your first language, don’t worry about it!

    2. Layout – I have a tendency to break paragraphs often and leave a space between them. It may not be the best way to do it, but it’s clear and easy to read. Also remember that EVERY time a new person speaks (either a new person speaking or a person other than the one whose actions you have been describing) they should get a NEW paragraph and SPEECH MARKS. And if you break paragraphs while the same person is speaking the new paragraph gets a new set of speech marks but you DON’T close them on the old paragraph.



    I think that covers improving your posts, so we’ll move onto the key roleplaying points.



    3. Read What Has Gone Before – Yeah, I know I missed this one above, but it’s really important. If you are making a reply then you must always, ALWAYS read what has gone on before thoroughly. If any discrepancies come up then you should clear them up with an OOC query and come to an agreement before continuing. I don’t mean you should post ‘OOC: Hey idiot, I wasn’t anywhere near the door you say you just opened into my face, so don’t Godmode!’ and then keep going with what you want. A post stating politely that you weren’t near the door and asking for clarification of his point or a revision of his post would be better, then continue IC after, AND ONLY AFTER, the matter has been resolved. Ignoring other people’s posts is bad RP AND bad manners.



    4. Originality – I’m sure we all know the plot of the Matrix, Highlander, Blade Runner, etc, so don’t make a post that starts one of these stories in your current Universe, don’t use characters from another story and don’t adapt some ‘special ability’ that a character in another story has to your own. Some of the more experienced among you are probably laughing that I’d even mention this. The most experienced will be nodding in sad agreement because they’ve seen it done.

    Also on originality it applies to your actions, ideas, weapons, dress, etc. If you’re going to suggest a breakout from an Imperial detention centre through the sewer, the rest of your RPing party will be forming an orderly queue behind the nearest gunsights to shoot you, I’m sure...

    The long black leather jacket and shades approach has been done to death (and I admit I’m guilty of it MYSELF, but I’ve been doing for years and that’s the excuse I’m sticking with) but some guy in a pinstripe suit with an umbrella is not something you see often.

    Think for yourself, do something that’s not been done before or, worst case scenario, do something from a reference that’s OBSCURE.



    5. Know Your Character – Your character is individual and only you know him (or her) and can predict how they will react. They could be the most evil individual to walk the planet since I left or they could be so sweet and kind they don’t like swatting houseflies. It doesn’t matter which they are, but YOU have to KNOW which it is. Decide what your character is like. They might be like you, they might not, and again it doesn’t matter. Then make all of your characters actions true to this. I know it’s a simple point, but if you master this one, you’re more than half way to being a good roleplayer.



    6. God Moding (also known as God Modeing, God Modeling, etc) – Last and definitely NOT least, we come to the main offence committed by most bad roleplayers. Let me just restate that God Moding is something you should NOT do. Ever. Under ANY circumstances. At all.

    Okay, let’s define God Moding. To put it most simply, God Moding is to perform any action that is beyond your characters normal abilities. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? As a normal human you can’t fly or punch holes in steel walls. If you have no medical skills you can’t suddenly perform CPR. You also cannot act for another person unless that person is a Non Player Character that either YOU created or that has been placed under your control, such as a barkeeper. Now someone might come in later and order a drink from the same barkeeper. That’s fine, they don’t need the person who brought the barkeep into the rps permission to do so. The barkeeper is a NPC that performs a function that anyone can have performing that function. If someone creates a sidekick character, that NPC is theirs only unless you split up and they give the sidekick to someone. Again, nice and easy.

    A lot of people seem to think that God Moding JUST means not controlling another person’s character. But let’s take it a little further. Not only can you not control another person’s character, you also cannot do anything to them without their permission. So I could swing my sword at (for example) Kee’s character in a battle, but I can’t say I cut Kee’s character. In Kee’s next post, he can then say whether or not he gets hit. If I’m attacking from 3 metres away, he’ll probably say I miss, which is fair enough. If I sneak up right behind him and swing, he better get hit or come up with a damn good excuse. If my blade is all-but buried in his back and he says he doesn’t cut, he’s God Moding, because there’s no way his character could dodge that.

    So, to do anything that your character should NOT be able to do is God Moding. A slow donkey can’t outrun a group of horses without jumping off a cliff. You can’t carry 3 swords, 6 clubs and a dozen magic runes and still run a 10 minute mile. You can’t fall off a 30 story building and not get hurt without some way to break your fall.

    You don’t have to be useless, clumsy, slow and weak (unless you want to be!), because that’s not the point of playing a character in an RP. We’re all supposed to be exceptional individuals, but that’s not a license to defy the laws of probability. It’s a good rule to say ‘If in doubt, don’t.’




    Source: http://www.bleachflame.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3002
    RayKoun
    RayKoun
    Admin


    Posts : 12
    Join date : 2010-06-15
    Age : 29

    How to Roleplay Empty Re: How to Roleplay

    Post  RayKoun Sun Nov 14, 2010 10:13 am

    Very nice Post Very Happy

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