The Titan's Guide of Role Playing

WARNING: This Guide explains how to Role Play in Internet Chatrooms!

To those here, Are you as sickened as I am by of all these noobs floating around? Storyliners, God Moders, Idiots and other such petty lifeforms that try to play the game.

Everyone new to the game seeks to cling to some god awful GM wannabe (I will allow the guilty to remain "Anonymous".). In reality they are clay ready to be molded.

Role play was great so many years ago all because when in the right place, anything could happen. You could have a Trade Federation Battle Droid from Star Wars wander into a Tavern and get smashed to hell by a Dwarf who is drunk off his ass! With just a dash of logic in any old situation the game became fun because the results would be unexpected or down right asinine.

Too many morons and cowards are around here. Everywhere you go they will shit talk and then boot and ban if you so much as retaliate or god forbid if attacked you fight back! No that is not how the game was made and I refuse to sit by idly. Now is our time to return to the glorified yesteryear and start dragging every last one of those buffoons with us to make them see the light.

Noobs claim that they play their way because OUR RP has too many rules. They are hypocritical idiots who need a wake up call.

You want TOO many rules? I will admit that there is ONE good concept (kb

limitations), but the majority are just horrendous.

NOOBS are infamous for the following, several redundant (Marked with R): No Kill Zone (R) No Combat Zone (R) No Fighting Zone (R) Respect All (R) Don't sit in thrones No weapons(R) Ask before doing ANYTHING Introduce yourself upon entering Obey Rulers (R) Obey Guards (R) Comply with Group Demands(R) Bow to the Queen or King(R) Must Join Group to play(R) Address rulers by their titles(R) ...guys this list goes on, do I really need to say more?

None of these immediately above, apply to us in our rooms. To be here means you recognize that the role playing world is as unpredictable as the real world.

What follows is the guide, as it was written in the Golden Era of Online Chatroom RP (Or to those of us still alive that means the mid-to-late-90's..).

What is Role Play?

A simple question to answer but with so man answers, which is best suited? I say let's stick with Websters...

roleplay Pronunciation: \rol-pla\ Function: verb transitive verb

1 : to act out the role of 2 : to represent in action <students were asked to roleplay the thoughts and feelings of each character>

intransitive verb : to play a role

And commonly abbreviated to: RP

The secret of role playing though...an answer so many seek and so few know: Role Playing is a harmonious balance of Art and Science. A beautiful blend of the two that keeps one another in check and giving each other limitless opportunities and potentials to expand and live within our own Society, to further the Role Playing Community.

That is all there was to it back when AOL, AIM and YAHOO made the entirety of the Role Playing Community. Notice that I do not include things like Everquest or Ultima Online...these are RPG's and by no means the same as Chatroom or Forum based RP.

So I will leave it at this, role playing in chatrooms and forums is simply a person filling playing a role in an imaginary world.

How to play?

Another hard question as many have rather...unique (but mostly WRONG) ideas about how things ought be. in truth it is all very simple.

Create a Character- This is one of the hardest parts of role playing. Creating a character means dozens if not hundreds of things to most Role Players (or RPer, for short.).

The process of making a character is long and difficult. Some characters are simply based off of games, comics or movies. Some from books and art, some even just pulled out of thin air. There is only ONE right way to make a character but there are dozens of wrong ways. To create a character ONE very easy template is available:

Name - Your characters name. PLEASE avoid using your real name. Gender - This is an easy one, Male or Female? Guy or Girl. It doesn't matter what the characters gender is, but try to be accurate in anatomy. Race - Elf, Human, Dragon, Dwarf, Slug, Crayon (Yes as in the thing you color with...), Ghost, Tree Stump,...the characters Race is what makes a character complete.

That is all there is to it. A characters information is typically placed within a profile for easy reference and convenience of other RPers as well as yourself. The above template is there for you to create the simplest form of a role playing character that one could have. There are major restrictions on characters however.

NOTE: There are little to no Gods or Goddesses allowed in most RP environments. Even if the RP is about such, it does not matter ANYONE AT ANYTIME CAN BE HARMED OR KILLED NO MATTER WHAT THE CHARACTER IS.

God Characters are a different sort as they only have their powers when in their home domain and significantly weaker powers when in a shrine or temple while away from their home domain. Otherwise, Gods are essentially powerless when they are not within a temple of their devotion or within their home domain (Noted 9 times of 10 being an entirely different plane of existence.)

Some people play characters who are ruthless killing machines, some people play zealots who will slaughter those who would oppose their ways, some just like to shed blood because it's the only thing that makes them feel good.

There will be a time in many if not all RPer's life, when a character is killed. It is a hard thing to accept but people MUST go on and make a new character. When it comes down to it, the other Role PLayers you met are going to be your friends, not the characters that they play.

NOTE: There are very few limits on WHAT race you can be. (NO GODS/GODDESSES, NO MEGA HYBRIDS RACE, NO CONTRADICTING HYBRIDS. If you know a character race that you like but it is unique to only ONE person ever in existence (Like Blade, being a daywalker as his mother was bit by a vampire while going into labor), then please try to pick something else.

Also, if you make a character that is based on ONE platform (eg Dungeons and Dragons, Vampires the Masquerade, or Warhammer) then you may NOT have any influences from other platforms (the more guilty ones acquire skills heavily influenced by Anime, real world martial arts and weaponry that they by all logic shouldn't have access too and blend those into distinctly fantasy based characters.).

You MAY create your own race but in order to do that there is a slew of work to undertake. The following is a basic template for such events.

Name: ...the name of the race you're making... Place of Origin: Where they came from.

Anatomy: What they're made of and what their insides are like. General Sizes: Height and Weight (Also includes width and length for some sorts) Immediate Weaknesses/Inherit Flaws: Everything that is wrong with them, be it psychologically or physically. (This includes being short (5' and under, tall (6' and over). fat. scrawny, etc...) Abilities: This is what makes this race so special in comparison to others. Disposition: What those of this race are generally like when out socializing. (If Applicable) ORIGIN OF SPECIES: What currently existing race you are either editing or diverging from in order to create this new race.

After creation of the race, post it and ask for community review, leave it posted for two weeks for best results. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU FIGHT USING THE RACE UNTIL IT HAS BEEN DEEMED ACCEPTABLE BY THE COMMUNITY.

!Do's and Don't's of RP!

These are obviously things you SHOULD be doing or should NOT be doing. It has been an unwritten codes of conduct for sometime, then written and rewritten again and again and again. Personally I am quite sick of those who would defy these base principles, which are what made Chatroom and Forum based RP into the glorious community it was in the mid-1990's.

DO: Have fun! Respect other players opinions Keep Person to Person comments in parenthises () or similar [], {}, (()) Keep what happens In Character, IN Character. Keep everything that happens Out of Character, OUT of Character!!! Remeber the Laws of Physics!

Be prepared to back up anything you say or claim. Be aware of those who are renound combatants. Use your brain! Type coherently, with as little abbreviation as possible and as accuratly as you can manage. (No "txt" talk like "u", "r", "n", "cuz", etc....)

DONT: Disregard others around you. Even if they maybe inexperienced or alck the same level of experience as you do...if they are RPing they are entitled to an opinion. Whine and cry about getting into a fight. If you mess with a bull, expect the horns to follow. Ever let In Character or Out of Character feelings, thoughts or desires to blend even for one second...it can easily become the most regretable thing you've ever done while Role Playing. Ever disobey any of the DO list.

The Chatroom:

This is your immediate environment, the chatroom. Some companies allow up to 30 or more people in a chatroom (AOL, AIM and Yahoo for example.) , some (like IMVU...) allow a meager 10 participants in any given room. Needless to say this makes things difficult for interactions be there only one other person or fifteen of them. In this part we will break down room etiquette into manageable quips.

The Entry-

You are in a chatroom either in conversation (hopefully IC conversation...) with those occupants prior there, suddenly you see this:

Online Host: xXGenericNameXx has entered the room.

If that looks familiar to you people then by all means have fun with the feelings of nostalgia but ultimately all of you, keep reading because this is important stuff. It looks like the room just got one new participant, that's great! For some of us it means a new chance to make a friend, for others it looks like a potential punching bag, though for others this means little to nothing or perhaps even everything. Don't get too excited, it IS just another person walking into a room after all! Then you see this....

SToop1dNoo8: OMFG LOL WUT GENERIKNAME! LOLZZZZ!!! Hai!

If anyone here recognizes this, please feel free to bash your head against the wall...I'll wait here for you to calm down. ... .... .... ... All done? Good, now lets get on with this. Seems like StupidNoob decided to pipe up. This is THE WRONG WAY TO DO IT! Never (and I do mean NEVER EVER!!!), under any circumstances in ANY RP room do you simply announce someone by their screen name when they enter. This not only makes you look like an idiot but also a poser trying to fit in with a community that is probably of a higher thinking order but for some odd reason Newbs and Noobs alike insist that no matter what a Screen Name IS the character and no matter what there is only one character in a screen name. This is not only false but just proves how idiotic this generation of Role Players have become.

In turn, however, there are many, MANY services that allow users to act as moderators or similar, enabling users to boot, block and/or ban others for various reasons. It has become common practice to simply get rid of other Role Players who a mod dislikes, permanently removing them from an area. While this is to SOME extent acceptable, this is also a massive crime against the Role playing community.

The only times it is universally acceptable to remove users from chatrooms is if they are not going to Role Play or ruining the current environment they are in by disregarding room rules and harassing participants (Being obnoxious, loud and disruptive, aka Trolling/Griefing).

Art of War: An area of great debate and contradiction by so many who barely understand, remember or comprehend the concepts of warfare, base combat or similar.

The mainstream RPer utilizes several Formats in their fights. These formats are as follows:

Type 1: A method in which you write out posts to the best of your abilities and usually with as much detail as you can fit. T-1 is by far the single most flexible and harbors many variances to it's original format. Typo's present such as misspelling, grammar error and sentence fluency are typically expected to be fixed BEFORE any more posts are made by an party. Failure to do so may result in posts being null and void. In any standard T-1 match you have at your characters disposal, all of their natural abilities due to racial traits as well as skills they've picked up due to their class, profession or similar. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T-1 Variants~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~ T-1: Realistic Melee; a form in which characters spar or fight as though human with no special skills, racial traits or class perks.

Type 1.5 aka T-1 Out Posting: This format was given to award player persistence, writing skill and integrity. To do connect with a hit, block an incoming attack or counter. One must ALWAYS post a greater series of sentences or paragraphs in order to evade, parry, counter attack or simply launch a preemptive strike. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ Type 2: A method in which your typing speed is key in combat. You must post multiple sets of predetermined word series' in order to Initiate, Connect and Wound your opponent. This is a lesser chosen style by many RPers as that it is found to be outrageously unfair for many Role Players to lose to something like a Bot or a well trained chimpanzee. I am not saying those who fight this

style are themselves like this, however there have been instances where Bots have been found to be the culprits behind someones victory or loss.

Type 3: In ages past, T-4 was something of an Elitist Form of combat. T-3 demanded you fight in form of Poetry or an Essay, each swing a rhythm and rhyme of it's own, then your opponent has their chance to respond. T-3 was built as a way to purely award Writing Skill to players who exhibited it most eloquently.

Type 4: Dice based format, very old, very confusing, very discarded.

Type 5: An extremely lame format, it is SO lame that I can only describe it as the form of combat used by the most meek, uninteresting, uneducated and socially backwards Newbies and Noobs that the RP Community has to offer. Everything goes. No posting limits other than hitting, connecting and saying what damage is done. Simply THE WORST FORMAT KNOWN TO MAN!

These are the main styles most often encountered by RPer's from nearly every genre you can RP in and no, this guide will not teach you HOW to fight. To learn the art of combat you will need to do that on your own because I am not willing to just give away details, tricks and tips....that will come in another guide at a later time.

The prior mentioned is an excerpt from the on going project, The Titan's Guide of Role Playing. More may follow.

New Excerpt

There are several elements, lores and similar things to choose from and each

will explained a bit here.

Elements: The base forms of magics and substances in the world. This includes but is not limited to arcania, kenisis based abilities or literally the substances in question.

Fire: Heat-based, weak against water and earth and at rare times wind, typically strong against both wind and at times earth elements on top of being strong against nature and metal lores.

Water: Aqua-based element, weak against lightning but strong against fire and earth.

Earth: Ground-based element, weak against water and air, itself and at times fire. It can be very powerful against Nature and Lightning Lores.

Wind: Air-based element, weak towards fire typically. Can be powerful against earth.

Shadow: Anti-Magic, the opposite of Aether,rarely used.The strength various on how it's cast. Aether doesn't have any advantages or disadvantages against the other elements other than Aether in which case it is negated.

Aether: The base essence of magic called the fifth element, somewhat used in it's pure form of raw energy. The strength various on how it's cast. Aether doesn't have any advantages or disadvantages against the other elements other than Shadow in which case it is negated.

Lores: Combination's of elemental magics to a new form or even an upgrade

to elemental magics.

Nature: Plant/Creature-based lore, the strength varies by how and on what it's cast upon. Typically influences Beasts and Plants as well as Fungi and Insects.

Death: Toxin/Bateria-based lore, the strength varies by how and on what it is cast upon. Typically influences poisons, viruses, decay and fungi to a lesser extent. Does poorly against Fire and Earth elements as well as Lightning and Ice Lores.

Metal: Ore and mineral based lore, the strength varies by how it is cast and on what. Fares well against Wind, Earth elements and Nature lore. Fire and Water can cause great damage towards metals and minerals.

Lightning: Electricity-based, weak against earth element and Nature lore but VERY strong against water element and Ice Lore.

Ice: Cold-based, strong against Water and Wind Elements as well as the Nature Lore to an extent. Weak towards Earth and to a lesser extent Fire elements as well as Lightning Lore.

Spiritual and Extraplaner: Magics and abilities that can not be classified as a lore or element.

Holy*: can cancel out unholy, both strong and weak against unholy. Regular damage to everything else.

Unholy*: can cancel out holy, both strong and weak against holy. Regular

damage to everything else.

Psionic: Massively generalized as the collection of psychic and mental based powers, no weaknesses or strengths.

Fabrics of the Universe:

Time: Time-based element, the power to control time and use it to your advantage, this element kind of takes the fun away but can be quite handy in certain situations. It does not have any weaknesses or immediate strengths, simply.

Space: It doesn't have any advantages or disadvantages against the elements or lores. It simply is the fabric of all that is physical in this realm, consider it an unseen barrier between planes and the immediate environment of the universe.

Gravity: No advantages or disadvantages. The force of attraction between all masses in the universe.

Magnetism: No advantages or disadvantages. Associated with electric currents as well as magnets; characterized by fields of force.

Light: Particles and waves of light allow us to see and manipulate our respective environments. Light can be manipulated with illusionary arts and is typically affiliated with heat.

Darkness: Lack of Light, contributes to lowered temperatures and is typically

affiliated with space and cold.

* = The strength of Holy and Unholy can cancel each other out this means that its power will depend on the rank and experience of a character's race, example: A Seraphim Angel will always win versus a Zombie, however an Arch Lich will mostly win versus a Holy Cleric. In a situation where the ranks are almost or are equal such as top ranked creatures both characters will have to gain damage from each other.

(this was placed in topics of Interest some time ago....but I think its important and should have its own thread....Six)

What Is Free Form Role Playing?

Roleplaying, in general, is when a gamer sets aside their own identity and plays out the actions, thoughts, and dialogue of a fictional character. There are many games available on the market which make use of this concept, but all of these use fairly detailed rules and some form of random chance (dice, cards, or simply the game master's whim) to decide the character's attributes, abilities, knowledge, combat outcomes, etc.

Free form roleplaying takes this a step beyond. In FFRP, the player has complete control over the character they portray. There are no dice, no random elements other than characters' actions. No one can force actions on someone else's character. It's essentially text-based improvisational acting and cooperative writing.

The key element that keeps FFRP from becoming a free-for-all amongst ultrapowerful characters is RESPECT. Foremost, respect for other players; and equally important, respect for the setting in which the character is played. Disrespectful gamers usually find themselves ignored.

The easiest way for you to begin is by creating an average, non-magical (or very low level magical) character. Use him or her to help you learn the setting by becoming involved with other characters and their players. Once you are comfortable with the setting, you will be able to make a more powerful character, and help to drive storylines.

Glossary of Common FFRP/Chat Terms and Abbreviations

AFK: Abbreviation for "Away From Keyboard," OOC (Out of Character) information sent to other players when one leaves their computer. This information should be sent via IMs or email, never to the chatroom.

Backstory: The history (or any part of it) of a character prior to the point where it's put into play.

Blending - (IC/OOC Confusion): Where a player mixes or "blends" realities between their character and themselves or uses OOC (Out of Character)knowledge that wouldn't otherwise be known to their character either in active RolePlaying or in written Storylines. This is undesirable and considered bad form. Remember, you are not your character!

BRB: Abbreviation for "Be Right Back," OOC (Out of Character) information sent to other players for other reasons. This information should be sent via IMs or email, never to the chatroom.

Character: The fictional persona that one takes on when they RP (roleplay) within the room.

Erasure: When all players involved in a scene agree to declare that a scene or In-Character event never took place.

Freeform Roleplaying: Roleplaying where complete freedom is given to the players to control their own characters within a setting.

Godmoder: A player who creates or plays an invincible character. These are not conducive to cooperative roleplaying. Godmoding is undesirable and considered bad form. (See also: Powergaming)

Host: A volunteer Community Leader. "Host" is an OOC (Out of Character) term and should only be used via IMs or email. . IC (In Character): Anything that pertains to your character; their thoughts, actions, dialogue, etc. The part of roleplaying that maintains the illusion of the fictional reality where your character dwells.

Ignore: This is pretty self-explanatory; it's when a player either refuses to acknowledge the actions of another, or where a player actually uses the 'Ignore' feature available in AOL's chatrooms. It's usually a good idea to let your gaming partners know if you're ignoring a particular character, but do so in IMs or e-mail, not in the chat room.

Lurk: This is slang for when a player is in a chat room but not playing. Many experienced gamers will lurk in a room for a few minutes to get a feel for what's happening before they roleplay their character's entrance. We also encourage players new to the imvu setting to lurk an evening or two to get a feel for the setting and the characters.

NPC (Non-Player Character): This is usually a minor character (think "bit part") who does not have an actual screen name. It can sometimes refer to playing a second character while under another screen name. See below for an example of this:

Zharyka: [Ellie] ::The serving girl blinked, staring at the strange creature who'd walked thru the Northern Portal:: Goodness sakes, what kind of Outlander demon is THAT?

OOC (Out Of Character): Anything that pertains to you, the player (AOL, punties, IMs, e-mail, chatrooms, internet, Hosts, etc.). None of these, including you, the player, should be mentioned in the chatroom while playing your character. Doing so disrupts the illusion and repeated use of OOC chat is grounds for being asked to leave. Please respect other players and the illlusion of the game by keeping OOC chat to IMs (keep your IMs open during play!) and email. OOC chat is surrounded by (( )) to differentiate it from IC chat, and should only be used by a HOST when helping to moderate the chat. If you need to leave the computer, tell someone in IM or exit your character. We don't want to see "AFK" or "BAK" or anything like them in the room during roleplay! It is, as previously mentioned, distracting and annoying.

Powergaming: (See also: Godmoder) A term used to describe several gaming behaviors that are regarded as extremely offensive and not conducive to cooperative roleplaying. 1. Invincibility: Creating a character that is so powerful, fast, invulnerable, that it cannot be caught, hurt, hindered, lose, debilitated, hit, feel pain, etc. 2. Dictating play: A player describes an event or a series of events his or her character plays against another character or characters without their agreement. Freon: ::A flick of his fingers and a chill runs down the spine of everyone in the tavern.:: 3. Dictating responses: A player makes decisions for another's property or possessions. Tequin: ::Thumping his wooden staff once against the floor, the magical energy that had been building up in the crystal orb shot out like streaks of lightning that shattered the weapons of everyone in the tavern.:: 4. Dictating outcome: A player decides the results of such plays without giving the other player the freedom to respond on his or her own. Yarmet: ::He swung his cudgel at Hiral and broke his arm:: 5. Ignoring the actions of other players toward your character in favor of avoiding negative effects or taking the advantage. Yarmet: ::With a scream of rage, he drew his sword and launched himself at Hiral::

Hiral: ::Grabbing up the nearest bar stool, he held it up in front of himself defensively, intent on blocking Yarmet's blade:: Yarmet: ::The sword slashed violently and viciously at Hiral's throat:: Punt: Involuntary loss of connection to internet. RP/Roleplay: The situation in which one places oneself in the role of a character and collaborates to create a story. SN/Screen Name: User or character name. SL (Storyline): Usually, the tale of a character's life. SLs can intertwine between characters, and the term can also refer to just a portion of a story, either written and/or roleplayed. Sometimes you'll see some pretty intense scenes being played out in the Carrendar roleplay. It's a good idea to IM one of the players first before you have your character jump in, to be sure you won't be upsetting a storyline by doing so. Vapor Game: To move a story forward by OOC (Out of Character) discussion rather than by roleplaying.

[www.lyrantalpress.com]

Character Creation

Creating a character is the first step in any roleplaying game. Role-playing is all about stepping outside of yourself to play a part. You are, in essence, an actor. The great fun of free-form role-playing is that you have no script. You're wingin' it! You're suddenly a hero of improv! First thing you're going to need in order to participate in any action is a character, eh? You'll want to create a 'character concept' -- a one-line description of who or what your character is. It might include his/her race, temperament, fundamental ideals... Expand on that. Create a 'profile' -- a brief summary that answers the question, 'What is the character like?' Gender, age, appearance, profession, fighting style, mannerisms, social attitude...

From there we go to abilities, and this involves a modicum of self-control. You

want to avoid trying to make your 'perfect' character. We all know about our own real life inadequacies and imperfections -- don't try to overcome them by creating a flawless character! Character strengths need to be balanced by character weaknesses. This can be interpreted both physically (Bob the Brawny has huge muscles, but he's not quick or agile) and mentally (a street rat isn't going to have the social finesse of a noble). Sure, an all-powerful wizard would be fun and interesting for you to play, but not for the people playing the characters around him! And eventually, such a character wouldn't be challenging to play; just wave a hand and all his problems poof away. How much fun is that? In no time at all, you will soon discover that no one wants to play alongside a perfect character. Inevitably, they'll inherit an inferior role. Not even the badguys want to play opposite someone they can't possibly defeat. Most of the challenge in RPing is dealing with those flaws and watching the character grow.

There are, unfortunately, no hard and fast rules for Character Creation, but you'll want to make your character believable. Real people (and we'll use that term loosely!) are a mixed bag of good and bad traits. Give your character a weakness, a quirk, a bad habit! Don't cheat your character by letting RP situations impose characteristics. Here are some questions you might want to ask yourself when you're in the midst of your creating: Who is s/he? What are the basic personality traits to this character? What is s/he? Human, elf, dwarf, female, male, native, 'mancer, noble, thief, etc. The list is endless! When does s/he arrive in Lyran Tal? What's their background up to that point? Age? Upbringing? Is it a character you intend to play long-term, or a throwaway character for just an evening or two? (Throwaway characters are great for practicing, and sometimes they start to grow on you!)

Where will you be playing this character? 'Live' play in the tavern, or in written stories posted on the message boards? Will they be confined to a single region in the Empire, or will they roam the continent?

Why tell this character's story? Why do they behave as they do? What drives them and makes them interesting?

There is no requirement to start out with a fully-developed character. While it's not at all necessary to create an in-depth history and personality profile for your character, many players find it helpful to know the answers to some of these questions as they start to play a new character. The more you know, the better you are able to portray depth-of-character. As a result, you'll have a character that is interesting and engaging -- not just to you, but to other gamers.

Ready to go a little deeper? Consider the various aspects of these points: Social Background Environment Beliefs Peer Influence

Remember, too, that 'class' will have a major influence on all four of the previous points: A poor or lower-class family isn't going to have the same advantages as a middle-class family, nor will the middle-class family have the life of ease of an upper-class or noble family. While you're planning, remember to include high AND low points in your character's life. And here's something to bake your noodle: It's a mistake to think that having a laundry list of your character's traits and habits is going to make him either believable or playable. It takes a while of hanging out in your character's skin to really get comfortable with him. So pull some of those notions out of the back corners of your mental closet, shake the dust off them, and come play!