RolePlay 101: The Importance of Words

So, it’s been some time since last I posted in the RolePlay 101 series. Far too long, I reckon. Well, previously we discussed what RolePlay is, but before we begin anything else, let us think on the importance of words.
It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.
André Gide says it pretty well here: [...]

Charsheets for Play-by-Post Roleplay

If my character is spontaneous or has the potential for spontaneity I will explain that potential via some event or sequence of events in their life. So when he risks his life to save a little girl, he will be thinking back to his sister’s death that no one risked their life to prevent. Or he will be going out of his way to impress a maiden, fooling himself and others that he is chivalrous.

Fleshing out a World Through Active Roleplaying

One mode of Active Roleplaying that involves only NPCs is what I call Conversation Topics. There is little description (of the scenery, at least) and there is almost no action (apart from “stood” or “sat”). If your world was Rome, there could be a Conversation Topic at the Forum or at the Senate. If you were following Aladdin in Agrabah, a good place for a Conversation Topic might be the local bazaar. In Alexandria, the Lighthouse Library would serve well. In the small town of Sleepy Grove a perfect Conversation Topic would be the Town Hall Meeting. In a college setting, an engaging discussion class would work. Given a corporation, a meeting of the Board of Directors. At a high school, the PTA meeting. In a Fraternity, a Regional or National Conference. Etc. For any setting except for the travels of a quest, there is likely some location where several NPCs are likely to meet.

RolePlay 101: What is Roleplaying?

This is the first in a series of articles designed to cover the basics of Roleplaying, and we will be covering what roleplaying actually is.
In its most basic form, roleplaying is just that: playing a role other than yourself. The most prevalent and well known form of this would be acting, where someone becomes a [...]

Building Mood Through Preconceptions

… the best way to convey information while giving a good image of the scene is by writing out the mood associated with the actions, while allowing for each reader to see the scene with their own details. Any details left out will be filled in by the readers’ imaginations, each one differently, based on their general preconceptions of the detail at hand and the scene surrounding that detail. This allows for the reader to do much of the work describing static elements, giving the author the freedom to describe only the necessary and relevant dynamic ones.

Flexible Collaborative Writing

Of the potential banes to collaborative writing, one in particular is lack of flexibility. What I mean by that is a story, or even environment as a whole, that is not conducive to player involvement, interaction, and retention. Many things may contribute to such, and some are often unavoidable, like the sheer volume of written [...]

Roleplay Dynamics – Metagaming and Advanced Control

This guide is an explanation of the meaning and uses (and misuses) of Metagaming. The advanced control techniques, namely “Pushing” and “Leading” were jointly developed by Pseudosyne and me (Alias) on RPGForumsOnline.com.

Metagaming is the act of over-reaching the bounds of the character. Past the introduction, given that a player controls only their own character, any [...]

Roleplay Dynamics – Revealing Details

This guide, alternatively titled “How Much Should They Know?” is a discussion of the give and take of keeping information hidden from, or sharing it with, other players.

Whether you create or you participate in an RP, there may be certain facts, concepts, plot points, etc, all of which you know and plan to employ, but [...]

Building NPCs

There is a model of diagramming the world of a game that I call the Starbust – it’s basically elements that could be put together to build a relationship map, but the individual bits can be a lot easier to present rather than doing up a map all at once. At it’s simplest, it’s an [...]

Make Your RP Successful: Part Two!

Make Your RP Successful! by drawing in the intimidated
This is part two in the series “Make Your RP Successful!,” not because I am actually exerting the copious effort of composing a series of loosely-related articles on role-playing, but because I figure this opening sentence seems energetic and reminiscent of those inspirational guides on improving life, [...]