A Thesis on the Etiquettes and Development of Role-playing.

Hello there! This post aims to act as a quick guide on etiquette and good behaviour in role-playing, as well as some general tips to further your role-playing skills.

So what is role-playing?

Role-playing, according to wikipedia, is the changing of an individual's behaviour in order to assume a role. Aside from those who we call role-players, actors are a brilliant example. If you take any film, no matter whether you hate it or love it, any actor playing a character in any scene in that film is role-playing that character through the medium of acting. However, most role-players on the internet (such as those you see on this forum) use the medium of creative writing to role-play; a medium that is similar in almost every way to any books you may have read except for the changing of certain behaviours to better fit co-operative/collaborative writing. 

So how do I role-play?

Almost all role-playing begins and ends with a character. A character is a fictional role you step into and through whose eyes you experience and interactive with the story. Character creation can be as complex or as simple as the rules of a given role-play allow and usually (but not always) involves the writing down of information about your character to establish who she or he is. Some information you might want to provide include name, age, gender, species/race, appearance, personality, history, skills/abilities and equipment/clothing. 

Here is an example of a very quick character written down in the form of a character sheet/character skeleton:



A general rule in role-playing is not to have a 'perfect' character who is the best at everything and amazingly good looking. Try to balance a character out with personality flaws, fears and a weakness for every strength.

Once you have your character, you can begin writing with other players. Similar to writing a book, your goal is to use the written English language to communicate your character's actions in order to provide a clear picture to your fellow role-players as to what your character is actually doing. This way, they can react accordingly and the story of the role-play can be moved forward in a turn-based manner. 

Remember that role-playing and creative writing in this medium are extremely similar. A good grasp of the English language, writing and prose will go a long way to help you. What helped me when I first started out was to read more fiction, then using the same writing skills I had been reading in those books to help increase my own role-playing skills. 

The Rules.

Many role-plays have rules, including this one. They can be extremely strict or complex, or extremely simple and forgiving. Almost all role-plays, however, share a unanimous set of 'ultimate' rules. Almost all role-players and all good role-players abide by them. They are:

• No Godmodding: godmodding (also known as godmoding) is when the author of one character controls the actions of a second character without the second author's permission. However, it is sometimes used as an umbrella term for 'cheating' in role-playing, or giving your character a completely unfair advantage that does not make sense in the scope of the role-play (though many of the broad types of cheats and unfair advantages are listed under other names). 
• No Autohitting: somewhat similar to godmodding, autohitting is a term used in fighting scenes to refer to when a writer has his character's attack automatically connect (autohit) with another character without the author of that character's approval. The autohitting rule may or may not extend to NPCs (non-player characters). All role-playing should be a collaborative endeavour and you should never force actions upon someone else's character without giving them a chance to react. 
• No Power-playing: power-playing refers, quite simply, to 'playing for power'. Someone is a power-player when they try to write their character as having levels of power above others in order to win, or be better than everyone else, in a scope that does not make sense/is not fair in the established setting. An extreme example would be having Super Saiyan levels of power in a moderately powerful fantasy setting. Power-playing is sometimes seen as a form of godmodding. 
• No Metagaming: metagaming is when an author has their character act as though they have the same knowledge as their author. Remember, your character and you are different people. If someone tells you on a chat an interesting fact about their character, your own character does not know that fact. The only information that can be used is information your character obtained during the role-play. 
• No Retconning: retconning is a term used when an author tries to change the past through OOC means by having their character react as though a certain past scene happened differently or not at all. For instance, if a character has their arm cut off and then the next day their arm is back and they are pretending it never happened, they are likely retconning. 

Hopefully you now know some basics about what role-playing is, what a character is and the absolute don't's of role-playing. However, role-playing is as vast and complex as creative writing itself, so here are some tips and tricks to help you out:

• Try to write in third-person as opposed to first-person when you are role-playing. Not only is it easier to read, but it helps keep a steady flow of immersion and the majority of role-playing is done in third-person tense. Third-person tense would be writing your character's actions like this: "Britney made her way down the street, shivering from the cold", rather than like this: "I made my way down the street, shivering from the cold." As you can see, third-person has the advantage of increased information and immersion. The reader can immediately see that it is Britney walking down the street and not just 'I'. In addition, it's a very good way to get into the habit of playing another character as opposed to yourself. 
• Make sure to get to know your fellow role-players and discuss things with them! Role-playing is primarily a collaborative endeavour, so the role-players should be working with each other rather than against each other! 
• Don't be afraid of breaking a few rules or making a few mistakes. It happens to the best of us sometime or another, especially when we were new. Though it's always a good idea to try and keep them in mind and not break them, you can always apologize and set things right if you do!
• Get to know English grammar and the rules of writing. Since role-playing is creative writing, skills in writing are a hugely important factor for helping to keep things running smoothly. Squashing out grammar errors, spelling mistakes and making sure that what you have written is smooth and easy to read are all good ways to improve your skills. 
• Don't be afraid to ask questions! People are friendlier than you think.
• Try and carefully read other people's posts. Not only will this help clear up any confusion and avoid any mistakes, but by reading other people's posts and examining their style of writing, you will develop one of your own and further increase your role-playing skills!
• Get into the habit of reading through your posts before you submit them. Proof-reading helps avoid needing to go back and edit after other people have already seen them.