Juryrigged > Works > RPGs > Guides > MasterHIM's Guide to Role Playing
First of all, if you are not willing to read Gaw's Laws (Which you will be taken to by the link below), please do not read this topic, because this topic will "Fine Tune" what was said in the Law's and will help you along the way to becoming a great like LeonG or Wolfgang.
Of course...abbreviations!
There are several abbreviations used in Role Playing and in this topic which may leave you confused if I just throw them at you, so here they are, some of the more used terms for Role Playing:
OOC: Out of Character, Out of Context, or Out Of Cream. In most cases Role-Playing, only the first one applies. You use an OOC when you want to say or ask something that either does not have to do with the role-playing Game, or has to do with something else in it that your character cant ask (Which is very weird, trust me).
RPG: Role-Playing Game: This is what you, with a lot of time, will do well. They are typed up stories involving more then one person, which usually involves someone trying to destroy the universe or what not. The most famous include Icefalls Observatory (IO will give you an idea of what exactly Role-Playing Games are) and the GameFAQs RPG, which have VERY longs posts (I will tell you more about long posts later on in this topic). The shorter form of this is RPing, which is short for Role-Playing.
Are You Really a Role-Player?
In my time Role-Playing, I have discovered that many people jump into it without knowing how to do it. This is why I insist (If you somehow have not already) read Gaw's Laws, since its the standard on all Role Playing Games (RPG's) that I know of, and not reading them and simply jumping into an RPG without a clue is not a smart idea because of two things; Getting flamed to death and destroying it. In the RPing world, ruining RPG's with bad role-playing will get you hated and make it hard for one of your RPG's to take off. And, even if you have read Gaw's Laws, you may not have an idea on how to put them into good RPing. That's why I highly suggest you read Icefall's Observatory:
Though I doubt that you will read all of it, it should still give you an idea of how to Role-Play. Now, before you jump into an RPG which will likely be around for days, weeks, months or almost a year like IO, you must ask yourself "Can I spend at least an hour a day on making my post?," "Can I stay with this RPG for as long as its going?" and, of course "Am I willing to read and write massive, gigantic posts, while knowing the whole time very few people will read more then three words of the topic I'm in?" If you cannot, then please do not start playing an RPG if you will not be able to make any posts in it or leave just after your first few post, which are generally the most important for getting an RPG off the ground, since it sets up a good chunk of the story. Now, if you saying you can join an RPG and stay with it, then please read on. If not, well, stop reading now; the rest isn't for you.
"Well, I've Joined an RPG. Now What?"
Well, that really depends on what the RPG's demands of you. If its one like mine (Which usually has a massive intro post), then a good idea would be to think up a character, give them a past or goal in the RPG, and then build a story around it (Actually, this is par for 90% of all RPG's). It is VERY important to know if it's a serious RPG or not, and this will almost always be told in the first post, and, if your still not sure, feel free to ask. It never hurts. As for "Status RPG's" in which you make a ton of stats telling about your character, then you must think about your characters appearance more then story (At least in your intro post). Of course, then theirs the silly RPG without a really solid story line you have to follow, which you can just jump right into and have fun with, which also rarely has huge posts. After you have done your intro post in either of these RPG types, you have to keep check with these topics and when someone makes contact with your character, you must respond to it. You can't ignore other people, in other words. Ever.
"I suck!"
I will tell you that many times during your early Role-Playing, you will think to yourself "I really, really suck," and, very honestly, you do. You don't have a year's worth of experience at it as others do, and time spent RPing equals skill. However, don't give up. You will get better. But, you must try. If you keep doing very simple, very short posts and never try anything bigger, you won't get better. I have seen people who have RP'd for as long as I have, and never get better at it because either they don't really care about what there doing, or think if they try to do a detailed post they'll bomb (Of course, it may also be the fact that very few people will read the topic or join. Sad truth is, 90% of all RPG's fail after the first few posts, so they don't do anything that takes lots of time). If you try, you'll get better. Just practice with others more experienced then yourself, and trust me, they WILL tell you if you make a mistake (Cheezing, ignoring, ETC). And, if anyone EVER tells you that you wont ever be a good RPer, ignore them. I, and several others I know, were told that we would never be anything, and guess what? We are considered some of the best Role Players to be on GameFAQs. Please, don't give up after your first few failures, keep going, several others and I will be there to help you since we don't want this great tradition of Random Insanity to die. And, yes, of course, detail. In the beginning, you will have relatively short posts, but the more you do it with people who generally have long posts, you will pick up the ability to think more about the environment your fighting in, and end up throwing that in. You may even go to a novelist's approach to Role-Playing, in which you would make huge posts, and make certain long post Role Players happy.
"What Are the Rules, Exactly?"
Now, Gaw's Laws will have told you what the basic rules are, but I will add to those rules and emphasize the biggies. Here goes...
Cheez Whizzing:
By far the worst thing you can do in an RPG, this one can ruin RPG's, and ruin your reputation by doing it. Cheez-Whizzing is cheating, such as killing people in one blow, or destroying planets using your pinky finger. To prevent accidentally Cheezing up an RPG, I suggest you "practice" by creating your own topic where you fight some other RPer's to gain skill and become generally better at it. A lesser form of this, as told in the Laws, is over-powering yourself to be better then the other players. Even old Role Players can fall to this, as it is very easy to just say "I'll just add in these Multi-Phasic shields and I'll beat 'em all!" and, if that fails, "I'll add in nukes!" I know at least one old timer who does this commonly, and if it doesn't get checked, I will become just as bad as Cheezing and makes the RPG boring, since everyone will have to counter the others gains and advances. Try to avoid over-powering yourself by keeping yourself on the same playing fields as the other players, not magically appearing with a Mobile Suit while the others are using swords.
Knowing All and Seeing All:
Another bad one, knowing everything that's going on in an enemy camp in an RPG is almost as bad as Cheez Wizzing, because you'll be able to magically appear with that Mobile Suit when there desperately trying to stop your already power army with little more then hopes and dreams. Again, as in the laws, what YOU know and what your character knows are two separate things. There will always be a certain amount of "Knowing" because you'll be able to keep up in the RPG that way, but there is a fine line between constructive knowing and knowing just to irritate other players. I remember (Yes, a story. Yay) when I made a RPG a while back that had a secret project that no one in the RPG should've known about because it wasn't actually vital to the out come of story at the time, but, suddenly, a few people who joined the RPG suddenly picked up the name of the Project through radio signals, though none were sent containing anything about the project. As you can see, it is VERY easy to "know" more then you should, kind-of like over-powering yourself. But, don't worry, as with everything concerning RPG's, practice makes perfect.
Evil and Good, All in One:
One of things which really makes me mad with RPG's is that the creator of an RPG has a habit of being both a hero and the bad guy. This is wrong, in my humble opinion. I believe that instead of being a good guy when you're also the ultimate bad guy, will not make the RPG strong on its own, since your controlling two of the most important roles in it. So, try to be just an evil guy or a good guy, if you didn't make it, or if your topic is about someone else being evil, then being evil isn't right, unless the flow of the RPG demands it.
Leaving, But Not Dead:
This is another big one. Actually, this one is VERY big. If for some reason you have to leave the RPG, want to leave, or in fact must leave, you do not, ever, EVER just stop posting. This can, and has, killed many, many RPG's because people are waiting on the actions of one people who just said to himself or herself they aren't going to post anymore (For ANY reason). To leave an RPG correctly, you should simply kill off your character, or have them move off into another place where they will no longer be in the story, so it doesn't stop the whole flow of the RPG.
Too Many Characters:
This one really only applies when you create characters who are involved with the main part of the RPG every single post. It gets annoying (As people must interact with these new characters), and its hard to control 10 different characters, even if they aren't in the part where the final battle takes place. I should know, because most of my RPG's involve many non-main parts of the RPG people, and it gets hard when you have them through 500 posts.
Short, Annoying Posts:
Now, having short posts doesn't mean you're a bad RPer, and its in fact a trademark of some of the legends, but you must get your point across. You must always respond to those who come in contact with your character, as said before, and you must do it, generally no matter how big it'll become. Ignoring people is very, very bad since it can very easily ruin the RPG you're in. Also, many Role Players enjoy adding in detail (Detail, as with all other good RPing traits, requires practice), such as Wolfgang, since you will commonly find his posts running very long (And enjoyable. Yes, long posts are enjoyable if you like to read).
Hints
Well, I have gone through the what needs to be done to become a master at Role Playing, now, here's some quick hints that pretty much sums up what I said above.
- Don't be afraid to try something. If you want to add something, do it unless it will change the whole RPG.
- If you suddenly get an idea for an RPG, try it. Don't be afraid of failure.
- Don't have your posts too short; people don't like being ignored or just left half in.
- Don't Wizz, that kills many hundreds of hours of work (Yes, you heard me. Hundreds). However, if someone rips off your idea for an RPG you have posted before (And does NOT ask for permission), and does it badly (Short posts, wizzing, just making a mockery of a previously respectable RPG) you may take it down using cheez and annoying posts.
- Don't be over-powered, though it may sometimes be needed (You're faced with ten million to one million, etc, it's fully possible, considering that you may be the bad guy).
- Find your own style. Go from idea to idea, and when you find the style you like, go with it.
- Mistakes follow you. If you make lots of bad posts or bad RPG's, that will haunt you for a very, very long time.
- And, most importantly, PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!