h o w - t o - r o l e p l a y

Off Topic-ish Thanks and stuff

2007-07-11T09:20:00.000-04:00

I've noticed that there's been a bit of an increase in traffic recently to this website so I just want to thank those of you that have been linking here and taking the time to read all this. I really hope it's even a little useful to you. Those of you that are linking to this website, if you could (not obligated to, of course) send me an email at howtoroleplay[at]gmail[dot]com and let me

Action vs. Speaking

2006-06-10T10:55:00.000-04:00

In roleplay, whether it is conducted through a chatroom, email, or any other number of roleplay mediums there will most usually, action/description and speech in each post. This means that part of your post will be descriptive, detailing what your character looks like, their thoughts, or their surroundings, etc. And the other part of your post would consist of your character speaking. What

Roleplay Mediums

2006-02-22T19:27:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd introduce the different type of mediums that are used for roleplaying on the internet. There are several mediums to roleplay with. I'll try to cover all the ones I have been involved in and ones that I have some knowledge about. The medium I am most familiar with is chatroom roleplay. I believe this is the most common form of roleplay. What happens is that, in the chatroom,

RP Taboo: Multi-Posting

2004-01-18T19:46:00.000-05:00

Try not to multi-post. This is when you post more than one post in your turn. For example:Mary: she emerges from her building wearing a nice soft pink jacket, skirt and a cute hat. She heads down the street towards the coffee shop.Joe: He caught sight of the girl, his mouth watered.Joe: He silently moved towards her, sneaking up behind.Joe: He grabs her from behind and pulls her into the alley

Presentation Part 2

2003-12-09T17:27:00.000-05:00

This is related to rp like the presentation entry. This is just a little help you tip for html coding since most rooms deal with html now. Lets start with the basics.example: will bold your text: exampleexample: will italicize your text: exampleexample: will change the size of your text. Sizes ranges from 1-7 (7 is the largest): size 7 size 5 size 3 size

Playing a Character of the Opposite Sex

2003-12-07T19:46:00.000-05:00

I'm going to touch on a topic that is still relatively new to me: playing a character of the opposite sex. Most of the time now, many people are alright with playing characters of the opposite sex but for those of you who aren't .. read on. Let me start by saying I definately recommend each and everyone of you to try creating a character of the opposite sex. If you don't want to play them,

Paying Attention to Other Posts

2003-11-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

Pay attention to other people's posts even if they aren't directing it to you. You don't have to read them thoroughly but you should skim them over. Reason being that while they may not be addressing events directly to you, what they do may affect your character. How much is mostly left up to you. Because in real life you are often aware of your surroundings and you would be aware of events

Watching Others Roleplay is Helpful

2003-09-28T01:11:00.000-04:00

When you are beginning roleplay, there are some players who can be crude, insensitive, impatient people who aren't willing to give you the time of day just because you don't know the rules. Ignore those people. They forget that they were new at roleplaying once and if they met people like themselves when they first started, they probably wouldn't have continued to roleplay. Everyone has to

The Goal of Roleplaying

2003-09-05T22:23:00.000-04:00

Let me remind all of you that roleplaying is a game that it has no "winners" and no "losers" and, well, no "ending" in that 'live happily ever after' sense. The purpose of roleplay is so that you, the typist, have a way of 'losing' yourself in another world that you can interact in instead of sitting back and watching it (eg. movies, tv, etc.). It is meant to be fun, if you are not having fun

Presentation

2003-08-12T11:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, let me stray off topic a little bit now. The subject is still related to roleplaying, albeit not directly like the other topics I've touched upon. Presentation. That's right. The presentation of your posts. Now, before you tell me that "what's inside the post is what counts" .. I know that. I know that this isn't one of the most important points of roleplaying. But here's a question:

Character Limitations

2003-05-28T17:14:00.000-04:00

I found that sometimes people do not realize and keep in mind the limitations of their characters in a real world setting. Say, for example, a disrespectful theif sneaks into a party. It is understandable that, were someone looking right at the entrance at that time, and happened to know the guests invited to the party to notice that the theif wasn’t on the guest list and to alert an guard

RP Taboo: Mixing RT and VT

2003-04-15T19:04:00.000-04:00

Now onto a big point: mixing r/t with v/t (ooc with ic). This is probably one of the biggest problems that exist in the world of roleplay. Most seasoned roleplayers are able to seperate themselves from their characters, but I also know that when you're just starting out roleplay that it could be pretty difficult. When I started out roleplay I managed to mix the two up at some points (which I

Character Personality Part 2

2003-04-14T12:58:00.000-04:00

Alright, let me just do a reminder post about playing your character right. I know I've already talked about this one time before, so this I'll be brief, but I -cannot- stress this enough. Basically you can choose: to create a character that easily could've been another person you met on the street Or to simply type words on a screen and not really expand yourself. Since you're reading this,

Communication in Roleplay

2003-03-21T22:45:00.000-05:00

What would an inhuman character be without their abilities? ^^ Unfortunately with the mix of free form and pre-written characters, so are the abilities that each character possesses. This is where most fights break from IC fun to RT fights. Best way to avoid this (aside from being descriptive in your moves) would be to keep conversation open in PM or some messenger program. This way, it will

Being Descriptive in Your Posts

2003-03-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

Next point. Playing a character is not simply typing out words onto a screen. One should be descriptive in their actions/posts. Anyone could slap on a name and type in any sort of actions such as: ::appears suddenly:: to me this simply conjurs up the image of 'poOf' the character apears fairy-god-motheresque though without the glamour and sparkles. It leaves the post empy and lacking as

Character Personalities and Abilities

2003-02-24T18:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, now you've got your character. Great, woot! ^^ First, a few things to consider when you're playing them. like 'Ric said, you need to keep in mind how the character acts, speaks, thinks, their personality, their quirks, strengths and weaknesses. You need to be consistent with your character; if you wrote your character to be cool and aloof, then don't have them buddy buddying up with a

General Information - Rulebooks vs Free Form

2003-02-23T18:13:00.000-05:00

Onto business... lets start with general information. roleplay online has two main branches: free form and rule books (ranges from white wolf to dungeons and dragons). Both are great systems, both have their ups and downs. Personally, I have tried WW briefly but I found it not to my liking but you may find that it suits your style better. Prewritten rules are good in that it's a set standard

Some common RP terms - Transferred

2003-02-23T18:12:00.000-05:00

Role Play:(aka. rp; roleplay) this is taking on a part, much like you would in a play but instead a chatroom replaces the formal stage; you don't have a script of lines to memorize; there isn't a director telling you where to stand and what to do. In essence, you've stepped into another person's shoes and you're pretending to be that person/being/creature/whatever. Play out childhood fantasies,

Introduction 2 - SylverSpoon

2003-02-23T11:57:00.000-05:00

Erk...Also, most of these no-no's are mostly collected from my ooc (out of character) ventures. They also may be drawn from my own experiences, as I can admit, I've probably made quite a few mistakes myself. Anyhoo, enjoy!

Introduction - SylverSpoon

2003-02-23T11:50:00.000-05:00

alrighty, first things first. I do not rp seriously anymore. I don't know if I will be in the future but I might. If any of you ever -do- catch me in character, the rp I'm involved in (if any) isn't serious. In any case, this is here to help you roleplayers out there. I've been roleplaying online for seven, eight years now and while that does not make me an expert nor the best rper out there (I