InsaneJournal

Role Playing Games for the Beginner

RPGs can be daunting for people who aren't yet a part of a game and would like to be. To help you get started, RP Tutorials has plenty of guides for you to check out. This overview covers the following topics, with further reading listed below: [What Exactly Is Role Play?] · [Before You Start Your Game Hunt] · [Hunting For Your Game] [Creating Your Character] · [How to Play Nicely With Others] · [Further Reading] · What Exactly Is Role Play? In its simplest description, role playing is pretending to be a character who isn't you. There are many kinds of games, characters, and ways to play, but essentially people who play in role playing games develop characters and play as these characters, interacting with the rest of the game. It's a bit like acting, without a set script. Anyone can play in these games, there are no special skills or tools you'll need, but creativity, dedication, and in some cases an appreciation for writing can help you out. Individual games will likely have a few things they ask you to bring to the table or commit to, but most are also happy to help players new to RPGs get started. There are many rewards that come from playing; lasting friendships, the feeling of accomplishment when your character gain points or levels, and the fun that comes from playing a really neat plot with really nice people. The hardest step is often the first one, so if you think RPG might be something that you'd enjoy, don't be afraid to give it a try! Before You Start Your Game Hunt Role play is a fun hobby, but it's usually more fun if you also put some thought into it. There's a lot of different kinds of games out there, so just the same way someone might rather take up basketball than tennis, there is probably one kind of RPG that will appeal to you the most. There's nothing to say you can't pull a Michael Jordan and take on every sport out there, but finding the right fit to start with will help you get a good feeling about whether you want to branch out to different kinds of games later. Firstly, there are lots of different ways to roleplay. There are live action games, which are played in person with other people; they can be at someone's house around a table or out on a weekend getaway event, with costumes or without, and players become their characters, acting out and playing with the other players. There are table top games (aka pen and paper games), which are also played in person with others; they're statistics oriented (powers, points, status, etc.), and the characters follow a storyline along with the use of dice to decide outcomes of chance. There are MMORPG's, which is an acronym for "Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game"; and these often rely upon you completing tasks, gaining items or skills, and challenging others to get points that make your character stronger. These types of games most often all have a Gamemaster (GM); the GM is responsible for presenting the setting, arbitrating the outcome of character actions, and creating a narrative that involves all of the characters' individual stories. They're generally more common for games where the characters work together, rather than battle each other. I've heard about chat based games, which take place exclusively on instant messaging clients, where you're chatting as a character. I know nothing about them, so, if someone does, feel free to comment and I'll add it in here! There are games which focus on interactive and collaborative writing, called PBP (short for play-by-post), where players also participate in moving the narrative forward. Play is done by characters replying to each other through comments/replies/posts. Forum-site games, which are based on sites that use formats similar to Invision Power Boards, are usually are set up with a series of forums and sub-forums divided by location, and players make an account for each character, starting a thread wherever they are wanting to play, and replying to each others replies. For the purpose of this little chat however, we're going to focus mostly on journal-site games, which are based on sites such as LiveJournal, InsaneJournal, Scribbld, Inksome, and Dreamwidth. There will usually be one journal dedicated to a game's moderator(s), which houses all of the information for the game. Most commonly, a player will need to create a journal for the character they want to apply with, and (once accepted) will use this journal to reply to the other characters. These games usually have a Moderator (Mod), who sets up and maintains the game's premise, resources, information, and sometimes also the key narrative events. Once we narrow down our spectrum of focus to journal-site games, we can break things down a little further. Fandom games are based around already established fictional works, such as Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, Buffy, Final Fantasy, Star Trek, Star Wars, Jane Austen, House M.D., Merlin, Disney, etc. The games can be described as canon (meaning they've kept the plots and histories from their original source material mostly in tact) or AU (short for alternate universe, which means there are dramatic changes, such as putting the characters from the original source material on a spaceship or a dude ranch, or, altering major plot points that result in a "What if..." situation). Played By (aka PB) games don't revolve around existing storylines or characters, though they may take some basic ideas, such as fairy tales or magic. Similar to casting directors working on a movie, players and mods will often describe the characters that they have or want in terms of the actors who would play them, i.e., a shy, classical pianist played by Claire Danes, or a rude, snarky doctor played by Mark Strong. These characters can surely be inspired by existing ones, but shouldn't be identical to existing characters, or identical to real people. If you want to play a real person, you're looking for a Celeb game, where players pretend to be existing celebrities. They can be based in real life or AU (where these people are still themselves but not famous, or, they're all living in Tokyo, etc.), and often require players to have extensive knowledge of the celebrities they're playing. One more breakdown to go! You can do it! Thread Based games usually involve all of the character journals joining a community, where 'threads' are played. One character will make a post in the community that sets up the scene (time, place, characters, summary, warnings, etc.), another player will post a comment, and either the original poster or another character will reply to that. Play continues on, with characters replying to each others' comments. The most common format for this sort of play is third-person, past-tense, i.e. 'Harry drew his wand and quickly conjured a bouquet of flowers. "Happy Anniversary, Gin," he said with a sheepish grin.' Thread based gaming is often for people who are more interested in quality collaborative writing, as all the players work together to move plots along, discover new conflicts and connections between their characters, and generally create a story that has all the same elements of the more traditional story-telling formats; books, television, movies, theater. Journal Based games don't always have communities, because they use the premise of connected journals. These can be magically enchanted, online, using some sort of wired device - really, any way of linking them can be explained, but each character will have one, which they write in and the other characters can then read from. Players make a post in their own journal (some games allow for the assumption of special features to the journals, such as entries that are marked private, marking an entry as viewable only to select individual characters, strike outs are unreadable, etc.), and other players will respond by writing a comment to your entry, in their character's voice. The most common format for this sort of play is first-person, present tense, i.e. 'Ugh, I hate cleaning out the litter box too. I don't get why more people don't teach their cats to use the toilet.' Journal based gaming is often for people who like to make short, quick comments and generally interact with other people, and don't need to have the flow of traditional storyline to enjoy playing. PSL Based (short for Private Story Line) is a term that means very few characters will be represented. It can be just two players with one character each, or it can be a small group of players who have a few characters each - the latter is somewhat common when a game dies out, but there are players who still want to play things out. You probably won't find as many of these being actively advertised as games, but, some advertising communities allow for players to post PSL requests (usually something like 'I want to play Iceman in an Iceman/Kitty Pryde psl,' sometimes with a bit more info about what they want from Kitty, or from the storyline itself). These can be played in any format or style, in communities or in journals. Sometimes they're less daunting for new players who don't want to jump headfirst into the drama that can come with a game, but it should be noted that they don't offer as many interaction opportunities, so you'll really need to like writing with your psl partner a lot! Hunting For Your Game Hopefully the information above has helped you in your decision about what sort of game is best for you to try first. Once you're ready to look for a game, there's a few things you can try. Ask your friends - If you have any friends you know who role play, they may have games that interest you. It can be a comfort to have a familiar, friendly face when you're first starting out, though in all honesty it can sometimes also be a crutch that stops new players from reaching out to make new friends in a game, so consider carefully! Read the friends lists of your friends - Broadening the search never hurts! Check out advertising communities - If you're looking on journal-based sites, there are communities dedicated to mods who are looking for players for their games. They post little adverts about their games, which usually give you an idea of the premise and tone, as well as links to the game's key information. There are also ones where players can post what they're looking for (and bringing to) a game, and mods will respond to you if they have something that fits. By site: [InsaneJournal] [Livejournal] [Inksome] While you're searching, be sure to look at all the info the moderator has on the game. Read the premise, the rules, look at the character lists, etc. You don't want to write an application for a game only to realize that they had a list of character traits they didn't want, and your character embodies the whole of this list. You don't want to place a hold on a character with a Played-By that's already being used. You don't want to apply for a game that requires you to play a full thread once every week if you have a busy schedule. It's also a very good idea to nose around as much as you can. If it's been going for a while, reading (or at least skimming) the game itself will help you get a feel for the tone it sets and the characters in it, as well as an example of the format they're using. Getting familiar with the history of the game before you apply will help you get right into playing once you're accepted, rather than playing catch up for a week or two. Also, perusing character journals for applications can give insight into what the moderator(s) have accepted in the past, as well as who you would be playing with. Creating Your Character Once you've found a game (or, sometimes before!), you're going to need to create a character to play. The application process will help you develop your character for sure, but for people who haven't done this before - and let's face it, for some of us who have - there are a few tips to keep in mind. The Dreaded Mary Sue (aka Gary Stu) - A Mary Sue is perfect. So perfect that you want to stab them in the eye with a shrimp fork. How can you tell if this is you? Take [this] test. If you're playing in Harry Potter fandom, [this] one can't hurt either. Played By - We ought not judge a book by its cover... but let's face it, we do! Your character's face will say a lot about how you want to play them. Some faces may be banned by the mod(s), some will already be taken by other characters, and there may be other restrictions such as age proximity or style of icons. Think about these things, as well as what a PB brings to your character from their own personality, the parts they've played, and the style and variety of expressions in the icons you want to use. Different journal sites will have different comms for icons, but some handy ones I know of on InsaneJournal are [PB Updates] [Find A PB] [Find Icons] [Suggest A PB] and [Wikicon] Personality - Some applications have this section, some believe that the rest of the application ought to be ample opportunity to show this off. Either way, do consider what kind of a person they are, and how they would respond in both stressful and relaxing situations. If you want a questionnaire to follow in character (IC) as a guide, Inside the Actors Studio has a wonderful [10 Question] version, which is modeled after the original, longer, [Proust questionnaire]. Vanity Fair has their own [interactive version]. History - This doesn't have to mean how the character's grandparents met, especially if there's a separate section for family. If you're playing a fandom game and your character has lots of history outlined in the original source material, it's usually good to write about your canon generally and things not seen in the books/movie/show in more detail. Otherwise, it's good to give enough information to give a clear idea of who the character is, without being cumbersome to read. Writing Sample - This shows how you plan to play in the game, so it's an important bit of your application! Whether it is a journal entry or third person sample, be sure to present your character well. Consider what you're setting up, and if it's something that you would want to respond to. Even though the sample may never make it into the game itself, it's important to give something to work with because it shows the mods that you have something good to offer the game's current players. Before you send it in, consider having a friend beta read it, or at least run it through spell check in Word or Firefox. If you turn in an application to join a group of collaborative writers, and it's riddled with poor spelling and grammar, logically, your odds of being accepted get slimmer. Once you feel confident, put your application in with the mod(s). After that, it's really just up to you to try and stay patient. Sometimes there's one moderator who's online for hours every day, and can approve your application in a matter of hours. More often, there's more than one moderator who needs to check out the app and weigh in. Occasionally, the opinions of the game's current players are solicited as well. All of these people have lives, so, while you wait, take the opportunity to review... How to Play Nicely With Others Once you're accepted to a game, be sure to follow all instructions from the mods as far as how to get your journal set up to play. These can include joining communities, friending mod journals, posting your application or a character profile in your character journal, etc. After you're set up, if there is an Out of Character community, its a great idea to head over and introduce yourself. If you're shy, you might not have a lot to say, but it's this first interaction that can set up a lot of history for your character and other characters in the game, help you identify who would be some cool people to play with, etc. The first thing about playing, for me personally, would actually be to try and do as much as you can, without overloading yourself. Don't be shy to ask someone to play with you, and if someone asks you to play, don't turn them down! If you're playing in a journal-based game, you will likely be posting in your character's journal, so that the others can respond. You don't always need to post big news in your character's life, sometimes a simple observation or opinion on something will spark a huge slew of replies. In the same turn, check your character's friends list and reply to whatever you feel they would have some sort of commentary on. Roleplay gets a bit more complex when you're doing thread-based stuff. Be sure to post all new in character interactions in the In Character Community. The most common sort of formatting involves a header that includes the names of the characters involved, a location, a summary, if it's open to all characters or just a few, etc. The exact format is usually provided for you by the mods. After the header, you'll want to make a journal cut (<lj-cut text="YOUR TEXT HERE">) and then write the start of the thread. It's good to set up the location, including the time of day, the weather if you're outdoors, if it's crowded or empty, etc. It's also a good idea to establish what sort of mood your character is in, and to provide something for other characters to respond to. When it's you who's replying to a thread someone else started, some games consider it polite to ask first before jumping in; in others, nothing would ever happen if people didn't just respond to open threads. You can likely check with a mod the first time you want to reply to a thread that you haven't planned OOC, and they'll let you know what's standard. In my personal playing history though, I have found that if you want to join a thread that's already in progress and doesn't have your character listed in the heading, it's good to check with the player of the character who started the thread. One of the benefits to roleplaying on journal-based websites is that, when someone replies to your comment, you get an e-mail letting you know - so, you want to do just that ("reply to comment"), rather than replying to the entry itself (sometimes the link will say something like "post a new comment"). Once you reach the point where your comments are all squished over on the right side, some players like to start a new thread - the term comes from the links below each comment, one of which is 'thread'. As you're writing your replies (also called tags, posts, comments), there are a few key "no-no's" of roleplay to keep in mind. Godmodding is a term that refers to writing the thoughts, actions, or words of another character. It can be obvious or subtle, forced or implied, but unless you've already spoken to the character's player, don't attempt to describe what other characters are up to. If you have talked to the other player, godmodding can be perfectly acceptable. Powerplaying/Metagaming refers to using Out of Character knowledge in game play. Essentially, what you know as a player and what your character knows as a character are two different knowledge bases. You may have an instant messaging chat with a player where they tell you their character is in the closet; this does not mean your character knows they're gay. In a comment, a player may write their character thinking about how your character is a buttface, but actually being outwardly nice. Unless they write it in such a way that it's meant to be obvious, your character can't think about how the other is a jerk for thinking such things, because they don't know that they're thinking them. I really can't think of any occasion when this one's okay, other than if your character is actually a mind reader. Puppeting means very gently moving another character around. Most often it's establishing that a character is present at an event or mentioning that your party date walked with you over to the punch bowl, stuff like that. It's a gentler version of godmodding, and it's still good form to ask a player if they're okay with what you write. However, sometimes if you develop a relationship with another player so that you both feel that you each know the others' characters very well, sometimes this eventually becomes the norm. Also, if you're playing in a canon-based game and a character that isn't cast is supposed to be at a specific event, sometimes it's actually really nice to puppet them there, so that if they are later cast, they won't have to explain why they "weren't". In this case, check with a mod first. Cliques can appear in character and out of character, and it's just like high school; people who are super best friends and don't want to let new people play with them. This can kill a game as fast as the bubonic plague, but if you feel it's happening to you, don't just jump ship and bail. Make more effort to get involved, and if other players continue to shut you down, talk to a moderator about your experiences. The last point on playing I think is worth mentioning is that roleplay is a collaboration. It's more fun to play with people who have something to contribute, but don't feel the need to control everything, or be the center of attention all the time. A game should never really revolve around just one character, nor should one stand separate from the rest for any extended period of time, and the same is true for small groups of characters in really large games. If your character is consistently the hero, consistently the one being attacked, consistently ignored, consistently inventing new amazing things, it's up to you as a player to change this for the good of the game. Characters in RPGs need to grow, change, and develop in a way similar to characters in novels, television, and movies. If a character stays the same throughout the whole thing, they're nowhere near as interesting as the ones who, through new knowledge and experience, transform. Further Reading If that wasn't enough for you, rp_tutorials offers plenty of other reading for players - both new and old alike - that will help make games better. Check out these awesome posts, and whatever you do, don't forget that this is a game, so have fun! :D [RP Types] · [Dictionary of RP Terms] · [Godmodding] · [Powerplaying] · [Puppeting] [Common Courtesies] · [More on Applying] · [Etiquette Tips for Various RP Styles] [A Survey on Etiquette]

A temporary note:
If you guys feel like I've misrepresented something or have anything you think would be key for new players, I'm more than open to editing this! :D Hit me up with your suggestions in a comment. ♥