Role Playing Tutorial - Part I - What Not to Do

Okay, kids, it's that time once again. There has been an influx of new people to the server, and one thing is obvious - some of ya'll have no clue how to role play. That's fine, everyone has to start somewhere! But to be successful at it, you have to be willing to learn how to RP. Now, there's no one right way to RP, however, there are many wrong ways, and we'll cover that. So sit back, grab a snack, relax, and I'll tell you what you need to know to RP like you've been doing it for years...and how to keep people from thinking you're a total asshat.

P.S. If you're wondering what my credentials are...I have been RPing for the past thirteen years in various capacities and in various games. I began my RP hobby with the White Wolf game Vampire: the Masquerade (the live-action version, and the tabletop version as well), and branched out from there into other games, such as Werewolf: the Apocalypse, Hunter: the Reckoning, Shadowrun, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer RP game, as well as free-form RP environments (i.e. message board-type RPs). I have made almost every mistake I'm going to tell you about, and was lucky enough to be surrounded by other experienced RPers who were willing to tell me how to do it right.

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I know most of you are excited to get started with your RP, especially if you're a beginner. You've got your ideas, you know what you want to do. That's great, we love people who are excited to be here. And you're probably wanting to know how to create a great role play story line right away, which is also great. The thing is, there are some things you're going to need to know about what you shouldn't do before you begin to learn what you should do to craft an excellent story.

* Always treat other players respectfully. This is the best advice I can give any role player. While you may not be able to see the people you're playing with, there is a real person with real feelings behind that avatar, a person who has their own ideas about what they want for their character and their playing experience. As long as you respect that real person, you can never go wrong.

* DO NOT TAKE WHAT IS DONE IN A ROLE PLAYING SCENE PERSONALLY. This is the most-forgotten rule of roleplaying, and that's why it's written in capital letters. It should be obvious, but is sometimes difficult for even the most seasoned RPer to remember. Likewise, don't do anything in a role playing scene that is borne of any real-life anger or animosity you feel for another player. I want to stress how important this rule is. Dragging real-life into a game, and vice-versa, can create a bad enough situation in an online environment, but when getting into live action and tabletop role playing campaigns, not being able to separate the game from real life can completely destroy not only the entire campaign, but friendships as well - and I have seen it happen more than once. There is a huge, huge difference between being in character and acting in the real world. If someone's character is rude or mean to your character, don't get angry at that person in real life - perhaps their character had a bad day, or is a bad person. The character has no reflection on the real person playing the character. You have to think of it like a theater-type situation - after all, nobody really thinks that Hugh Jackman has titanium claws, or that Ewan McGregor can control The Force. Conversely, if you have a real-life fight with another player, that anger and argument needs to be left at the door when you get in character. If you feel so angry that you think you can't do that, take a break for the day until you think you can role play with that person without your character taking it out on theirs. No real-life situation should ever be brought up in a role play scene or storyline. Ever. No exceptions.

* Don't do anything that will change or possibly ruin another person's character or story line without consulting that character first and asking for permission. Most of us have worked hard to build our characters' personalities and stories. Some of us are very invested in our characters. If someone has worked hard to build build an army of ships, you don't go onto those ships and start messing with things or suddenly say that you have taken over the ships and they are now yours. I know this seems silly, but it's basic good manners. You wouldn't want someone to come in and attempt to destroy something you'd worked hard to build - don't do it to someone else.

* Do not use emotes (such as :-O etc.), IM speak (lol, rofl, lmao, etc.), or text speak (omg, wtf, r u, wat, etc.) when RPing. I really shouldn't have to include this, but it seems that a lot of that is going around on not only the Requiem server, but retail RP servers as well. A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn't normally say it in real life, or if you wouldn't use that kind of spelling in a paper you'd be turning in for school, then don't use it when you're RPing. You wouldn't phonetically say "lol, wtf" to someone you are interviewing with for a job, and you wouldn't type "omg, r u goin to give me a A or wat" in a research paper you're doing for History (at least, I hope you wouldn't do those things). When you do these things in an RP, it tells everyone that you don't take it even halfway seriously, and you don't respect the person or persons you're RPing with. Plus it's just annoying as all get out. Don't do it.

* Do not use information about a storyline that you have obtained outside of the game in an in-game situation. It sounds very odd, but you have to remember that just because you know something, it doesn't mean that your character knows it. As an example, when discussing an idea for a story line with the rest of the group, if you find out that someone's character is going to attack the village your character lives in, you cannot act on that information in-game to make a preemptive strike - after all, it was you who attended the planning meeting, not your character! This is VERY tough to do, but you need to learn how to do it in order to be a good role player, and that takes time, practice, and patience from all sides. If you slip up on this one, don't worry - just admit to your mistake, laugh it off as a learning experience, and we'll get on with the story.

* In a similar thread, don't walk your character up to a character you haven't yet been introduced to and call them by name or start speaking to them as if you already know them. I know it's tempting, being as their name is floating a few feet above their heads so obviously, but don't do it. In the RP setting, just as in real life, that name isn't really there, and your character doesn't know who this other person is until they start talking to each other. It's bad form that makes for a bad RP, and it should be avoided.

* If there is an RP situation going on and you need to say something out of character, put that text in double parentheses or brackets = ((Like this)). This helps everyone keep what your character is saying separate from what you are saying.

* DO NOT, under any circumstances, GOD MODE. If you are wondering what godmoding is, a good example is the one listed above of coming in to a person's house or fleet of ships and declaring them to be yours. More examples:
- Having an RP fight with someone and automatically saying that all of your hits land on them and none of their hits land on you, or that you have immediately killed them.
- Creating a character that you have declared to be a god or some other species not mentioned in the lore.
- Saying that you have killed a major NPC (Non-Player Character) in the game.
- Declaring all other characters to be your slaves.
...and so on ad nauseum. I'm sure you get the picture.
The above ideas, and others like them, are not bad in and of themselves, and it's okay to use such ideas if you first speak to the owner of the server and the other players about creating a storyline with those elements and implementing them in a way that makes everyone happy. But nothing that makes major changes to the server's or game's lore, or to the characters already on the server, should ever be done without the consensus of the players and the owner of the server.

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That's the basic idea for now. I will add more things as I think of them, and if any of you have any "what not to do" ideas that you think should be added to this list, send me a private message.

I hope this helps those of you who are just beginning! I'll be writing a few more tutorials in the future on how to craft a character and how to develop a storyline you can be proud of.

- Lillian