Friendly, Basic RP Suvival Guide

A Friendly, Basic RP Survival Guide  Roleplay Basics and Etiquette
 * - by Sullivan

Version 2.5 - July 2006

Disclaimer: This is a guide to help with those interested in roleplaying on a RP Server. I hope this will be a helpful guide for those wanting to "blend" in more into roleplay and into the Roleplaying community. To many of this looks like extra "work", but it's a nice finishing touch to your character, and for many, a prime requisite to playing on a rp server.

Preface

RP isn't rocket science, nor is it some mystical ritual of migraine intensity. Chances are if you ever as a kid played cops and robbers, cowboys and indians, had tea parties, or played pen and paper rpg's - this is not too far from the tree, just a mature extension of acting, being the hero, or heroine - or just plain townsfolk in a fantasy setting.

While none of this is set in stone - hard core rules - it's not meant to be. It is merely a hopefully helpful guide for any who have interest. Take what you can from this to have fun.

You may, and will make mistakes, but do your best and try. Hopefully those you rp with understand and will help, and play along. Have some flexiblity in your roleplay, and give people a chance. As always, respect others' roleplaying, and those that try to fit in, better yet, join in and have fun.

Just making the attempt makes a difference.

For those that try, I salute you and hope you are having a good time out there. Hopefully, people will try to get along. Find good folk and friends to rp and game with, and have fun.

While this is a RP server, rp'ers and non-rp'ers can co-exist. I have friends that RP and those that don't. The thing to remember for us all is that we are all people here behind the "masks" we share. Mutual respect, maturity, and heart helps make any community grow. Make note of that, as well as the fact we are all human, and make mistakes.

This goes for both the RP and Non-RP folk here.

/hugs to all

Until next all, stay safe.

-- The Guy That Plays Sullivan --

Also, guilds are free to copy this, but please give me credit, and do not edit. Thanks in advance.

=Introduction to RP: RP 101=

The following are to help with the social and roleplaying community on RP (roleplaying servers) in World of Warcraft.

So Sullivan, what's the difference between this and a normal server? (or Dood? wth? [for some of you.] *grin*)

What is a Roleplay (RP) Server?
RP Servers are for those who like the role of a character that resides in the world. It can be a great departure from the normal servers and a good outlet for your imagination.

Yes, you will find a mature crowd here for the most part, as with any server, you'll find some bad apples. And yes, we have some additional rules here - make note of them. Seriously, a RP server and playing with rp'ers can be a wonderful addition to your gameplay. Please respect the server's rules and policies (links below) - and have fun.

Still not sure about what a RP server is? Blizzard's handy-dandy explaination is half-way down this page via this link: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/realmtypes.html

"If you enjoy role-playing (RP) and would like to imagine that you are an inhabitant of a fantasy-based world, then a role-playing realm may be for you. Please read our Role-Playing Policy before you start playing on an RP realm. Players who choose to play on an RP realm should abide by the Role-Playing realm policies and remain in-character at all times. Role-Playing realms give players the chance to develop characters with a backstory who do not go blindly from quest to quest, but instead assist or hamper the efforts of others for reasons of their own. As far as game mechanics are concerned, there is no difference between a Role-Playing realm and any other realm. You don't get special benefits or special hindrances other than the behavioral rules you agreed to when joining a Role-Playing realm.

Role-Playing realms can either be Normal realms or Player vs. Player realms. When a Role-Playing realm is Normal it is called RP; all game mechanics are the same as on a Normal realm. When a Role-Playing realm is a Player vs. Player realm also it is called RP PvP, and again, all game mechanics are the same as on a Player vs. Player realm (for example, on an RP PvP realm you still can not attack members of you own faction even if it would sometimes make sense from a role-playing point of view).

Pros: If you want to create a "real life" for your character, a Role-Playing realm gives you the best opportunity to do that. You can count on many other players to support you by role-playing their characters too.

Cons: There are no automatic game rewards for role-playing, and no game mechanics are altered (if you give a rose to a felhound it will still try to eat you). Not everyone will act as you would like and the experience can sometimes be frustrating.

Sentence to remember: If I choose to play on a Role-Playing realm, I will act and speak as my character should in the World of Warcraft setting."

But I like to PvP and Raid - You know - Kill stuff! You can Raid, PvP, PvE and -still- RP. Light to Heavy, it can work. It's up to you, the guilds/groups you are with, and what works for your playstyle.

What is Roleplaying?
Roleplay in general is impromptu acting, or pretending to be what your character is. Just have fun and enjoy the server. You may find some great people, some not-so-great, but that is the nature of the beast, so to speak. When roleplaying, you are improvising a persona, or character, in the game. This character can be as close as or not to your actual personality, the choice is basically yours in that regard.

I would suggest thinking about that before fleshing out details on your character. It's best to find a "flavor" that is stress free on your part, unless you like the challenge of playing someone you aren't. Just remember your gaming actions and interaction with others may or may be appreciated or not. As in real life, there are all kinds - so think before you say or do something that you may regret. But most of all, have fun!

Please remember, even if playing a "bad" guy, please be respectful of others boundries, and have tact and use common sense. Establish your own boundries in rp to help. If being excessive, whisper to the person and give then a head's up in a RP situation - it does help. Know when to say when... :)

Blizzard's Roleplaying Policy: http://www.blizzard.com/support/wowgm/?id=agm01725p

Roleplay, Griefing and Harrassment
For rp'ers, or ones wanting to try, please remember the fine line between grief and roleplay, and that harrassment and griefing is a bad thing, not matter how you dress it up. Just because you have opportunities to hurt others, or be a grifer - doesn't mean you should. Let maturity, common sense, and forethough be a guide. While some drama is good, some is bad - please know the difference.

The Golden Rule: Treat others as you want to be treated.

Some RP Terminology
IC and OOC: IC is "In Character", OOC is "Out Of Character". These terms are used to separate real world and game speech. You can use ((ooc text)) or [occ - text] to separate your text if you need to use ooc communication via whisper and such. For chat channels, /say and /yell should always be in character. You can extend that to the other channels, check with your guild if they require it, and/or if they have a separate ooc channel set up. General is almost always ooc - so no is required, as is -sometimes- Trade and LFG, but it never hurts to throw in a bit of IC as long as it doesn't interfere with the chat or your intent. As always, remember the policies and adhere to them for the server.

Think before you type, and understand that IC chat in /say and /yell is what your character would say or yell out. This applies to emotes as well.

Despite what you may hear in Ironforge or Goldshire! :P

Channel Note: Make sure what channel you are speaking to, and do not "spam" emotes, or messages.

Gamespeak: The gamer's language used in chatrooms and in server based games, like Halo and such. Also used as shorthand in online games. ("l33t" and aolspeak) Please avoid this and use caps and complete sentences. Shying away from most gamespeak is good also in yells and in open chat - basically any IC communication.

Note: If you must use gamespeak terms, please use [ ] or to denote ooc info. Example: "wh3r is teh AH" Revised: "Where is the auction house?" (Yes - it's more words, but it makes sense.)

Example: "can any1 give meh +15 agility" Revised: "Can anyone enchant my ((+15 agility))?"

Metagaming: Try not to use OOC information to influence your IC roleplay, This goes for Lore and other information. Just use common sense and good judgement on what your character knows or doesn't know about the world. Know your boundries and respect others.

Examples of Metagaming: Guild Tags from guilds you have not officially "met" or know the tabard/guild Names of people - knowing strangers without even seeing them before. Lore and "spoiler" info/history Using ooc info to influence/break ic actions and roleplay.

Scene: A Scene is where a group may be rping/interacting. Some are freeform, so you can include yourself - others are more private in nature, as in the real world. If you are not sure, send a ooc whisper to one of the people and find out if it's ok. But by all means, be respectful.

Backstory: A Backstory is your character's history and traits - the little pieces that make up your character's personality. This can be as extensive or as simple as you feel needed, just use common sense, and your imagination. Make your own identity, and have fun with it. Typical things to avoid are placing yourself in the major story/history as a relative/relation of a major character. While you cannot -be- Arthas, you may have had some interaction in his presence or seen the person, but a basic rule is to try to avoid such and forge your own path in the world.

Bunnying/Godmodding: Bunnying is manipulating another's character, making decisions for them at an event or storyline with little or no debate. Godmodding, or Powergaming, is when a player is over-stepping game/player boundries to sway the event/scene/storyline in your favor. This includes killing characters, player actions, "impossible" acts that break rules, and controlling actions of npcs, which the player has no permission to. Give players a chance, don't force RP.