Roleplaying Tips.
First thing to do for an RP is create a character profile. This is the most important thing, even if it is only for you. LESSON ONE: This is an RP. So called because you ROLEPLAY. That means you need a character with mannerisms, habits, a personality, quirks, flaws and assets. The standard character sheet format looks something like this. Players Name: Your forum name, obviously. Put it here so that if your sheet is copied away from your post, it can still be tracked. Name: Your character's name. LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE'S PROFILES AND ADDRESS THEM BY THIS. Race & Gender: Race and gender. Keep it to two or three words. 'Dark Elf male' is fine. 'Half wood elf one quarter dark elf one quarter vampire with swords male as far as you know' is not. If in doubt, choose the race your character most LOOKS like. Age, Actual and Apparent: Two numbers. Bear in mind the average age of death of the Warhammer human is no older than the real world. Height & Build: An X' Y" number or single word for height, a single word for build. 'Lithe', for example. 'Wasted'. 'Malnourished'. 'Atrophied'. 'Obese'. 'Average'. 'Slender'. Compare it to an ordinary human's build, not to an ordinary Elf's or an ordinary Dwarf's. Hair & Eyes: Two colours. Don't make them hideously bizarre without a reason. Physical Description: This should include more information on build, hair, eyes and apparent age, as well as detail about facial features and typical mode of dress. Also, this should include any common mannerisms or expressions, accent, that sort of thing. A sample would be: 'A young boy, he stands slightly hunched over, as if to make him look smaller. He has a certain grace about him as he moves, a sense of flowing, each move joining to the last. He looks like he would make an excellent dancer. His arms are long and thin, with no bulging muscles under his clothes, and a pair of dextrous hands on the end of them, with thin fingers, no curl of age on them. He is slender and light, with a round, boyishly handsome face, unmarred by age or weather. His voice is clear and intense, with a musical lilt, which sounds like he would make a treble in a choir. His eyes are a faded green, with swirls of blue, like a sea under the sun, washing on the dark sand of the shore of his pupils. His dark hair is worn long, but tied back by a leather thong into a ponytail that hangs between his shoulder blades. A leather riding jacket is buttoned halfway up his torso, the blue fabric clean and new, over an embroidered shirt of the same blue-green as his eyes. The contrast between the smart shirt and the less formal jacket is striking. He wears a pair of deep blue pants, tight around his legs, with a seam up the side, that flex with his stride, the thinness of the cloth obvious. His outfit is obviously not designed for the cold of between, and probably not for a cold winter. He seems comfortable in it, as if he was used to the style. He is also wearing a pair of calf boots, again in blue, finely made.' This is long, but also detailed. Even a few lines is enough, but make sure they're GOOD few lines. If in doubt, put more in, not less. Career & General Skills: This is a summary of your background. 'Assassin' is not going to cut it. 'Trained as an assassin in Naggaroth. Competent with his chosen weapon, twin short blades, and skilled in the use of poisons. Excellent at stealth.' is. Bear in mind that your character must have had time in his life to learn all of these skills. Weapons: KEEP IT SMALL. The WORST thing you can do is overload with every weapon you think you might like. Pick a favourite for your character. Maybe a couple of backups. Remember that you can't carry infinite weapons. Pick two or three from the following list. Knife sheathe locations: Small of back, arms, belt, boots, legs. Sword scabbard locations: Belt, back. Throwing weapons: Belt pouches, wrists. Great weapons: Back. Belt if not Dwarf. Pistols: Belt, under left or right arm. Rifles: Back on sling. Heavy Weapons: Hands or big back-sling. This is not comprehensive, but one weapon to a location is a pretty hard and fast rule. If in doubt, imagine yourself carrying a kilo bag of sugar for every pistol, a broomstick for every rifle, great or heavy weapon, a tree-saw or similar for a sword and a butter-knife for everything else. If you couldn't lift it or fit it on your body, don't give it to your character. And remember that you can't carry your weapons out all the time. Armor: A few words. Also, the more weapons you have concealed, the less armour you can wear, so obvious weapons are the only way to get power armour or full plate. Bear in mind the weight. Equipment: Everything else. Grenades for the belt or bandoliers, musical instruments, hoofpicks, whatever your character uses for his profession. Again, keep it as short as possible. Your character doesn't have to carry a house with him. Food and water are taken as read, so don't list them here. Personality Description: A REAL description, not 'psychotic and insane'. 'Usually calm, her dispassionate demeanor hides a youthful exuberance. She is willful and more than a little prideful, which often causes friction with others' for example (note: the previous personality is the shortest one Anaris has ever written here). Not a detailed blow-by-blow account, but certainly more than a few words. Outer and inner feelings, too. Nobody can be truly without emotion. You will be RPing to this personality, so make it interesting for both you and others. Background: The shortest this should be is two paragraphs of four or five lines each. The first should detail your birth and raising, your home and your parents (please, no more orphans whose parents died in a raid!). The second should detail your career and training. A third should contain your current situation, if you have left your training and whatnot. This is OOC info, so reveal everything. Tell it as it REALLY was, not as other players will THINK it was. And, of course, actually TELL it, don't just leave it as 'nobody knows. He is amnesiac' or something equally bleedin' lazy. Religion: Name of god or none plus explanation. Nothing special here. If the god is one you made up, put a few words of detail. Like 'Manus, guardian god of the souls'. Goals: Imagination is the key, here. 'To get rich' is not a goal, unless your character is a miserly merchant. Be interesting. Link it to your background. It'll give you insight into the character and it will give you a reason to join RPs. Magical Ability: Generalities, not specific spells. A general indication of level of competency and a Lore, Psychic specialty or branch of magic. That will be the face you present to the world. Make it a good one. The second part of RP is the actual RP. There's no fixed way to do this, but there are a few conventions. 1 ) Type in sentences. And remember that it doesn't cost you anything to run it through a spellchecker. 2 ) Continuous prose: This means that you write in paragraphs and whatnot. Imagine a book, any book. Your character's actions for this post might be a single paragraph there, with maybe a bit of speech added. Don't type single sentences. If you've got nothing more to write, don't write. 3 ) Don't use other people's characters unless you know them very, very well. React wrongly with someone else's character and you can start a major feud. 4 ) For god's sakes, don't create random events without the RP originator's consent. That way lies madness and stupidity. NOT ALL RP IS ABOUT KILLING THINGS. 5 ) Never do the impossible. Your character may be superhuman, or amazing, although I would suggest you tone it down if it is. NOBODY can dodge a salvo from a machine gun whilst simultaneously sipping a drink and reading the paper, sitting down. Not even you. Unless you can go intangible. 6 ) Adjectives. Use them. Don't have your character 'sitting on a chair'. Have him 'lounging lazily in the high-backed armchair, one leg tossed over the arm. It appeared to be a languid pose, but a warrior's eye could pick out the balance, the set of the weight. Drelleth was ready and able to react instantly to a threat.' 7 ) If you're being subtle in speech or mannerisms, you might consider subtitling it. 'Aanor stood lazily. "It would be a pity if the Princess died. I should have to hunt the killer. Of course, if he were to escape, I could not be blamed, for I had made the effort." The Cairhienin clearly marked what he meant, to a keen ear. To assassinate the Princess Nessa would be a service to him, and the assassin would be allowed to escape.' 8 ) OOC IS OOC. The things on someone's character sheet or their guild page are NOT your knowledge. I am minded of Headin' Home, an RP which I was in for several months without anyone knowing that I was actually a hideously evil black-hearted Necromancer carrying ancient tomes of necromantic lore back to the Empire. 9 ) See that Italics button? Use it for thoughts, little insights into your character's mind, mental communication and whatnot. Thanks goes to Anaris (Warhammer Alliance Forums) for this.
First thing to do for an RP is create a character profile. This is the most important thing, even if it is only for you. LESSON ONE: This is an RP. So called because you ROLEPLAY. That means you need a character with mannerisms, habits, a personality, quirks, flaws and assets. The standard character sheet format looks something like this. Players Name: Your forum name, obviously. Put it here so that if your sheet is copied away from your post, it can still be tracked. Name: Your character's name. LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE'S PROFILES AND ADDRESS THEM BY THIS. Race & Gender: Race and gender. Keep it to two or three words. 'Dark Elf male' is fine. 'Half wood elf one quarter dark elf one quarter vampire with swords male as far as you know' is not. If in doubt, choose the race your character most LOOKS like. Age, Actual and Apparent: Two numbers. Bear in mind the average age of death of the Warhammer human is no older than the real world. Height & Build: An X' Y" number or single word for height, a single word for build. 'Lithe', for example. 'Wasted'. 'Malnourished'. 'Atrophied'. 'Obese'. 'Average'. 'Slender'. Compare it to an ordinary human's build, not to an ordinary Elf's or an ordinary Dwarf's. Hair & Eyes: Two colours. Don't make them hideously bizarre without a reason. Physical Description: This should include more information on build, hair, eyes and apparent age, as well as detail about facial features and typical mode of dress. Also, this should include any common mannerisms or expressions, accent, that sort of thing. A sample would be: 'A young boy, he stands slightly hunched over, as if to make him look smaller. He has a certain grace about him as he moves, a sense of flowing, each move joining to the last. He looks like he would make an excellent dancer. His arms are long and thin, with no bulging muscles under his clothes, and a pair of dextrous hands on the end of them, with thin fingers, no curl of age on them. He is slender and light, with a round, boyishly handsome face, unmarred by age or weather. His voice is clear and intense, with a musical lilt, which sounds like he would make a treble in a choir. His eyes are a faded green, with swirls of blue, like a sea under the sun, washing on the dark sand of the shore of his pupils. His dark hair is worn long, but tied back by a leather thong into a ponytail that hangs between his shoulder blades. A leather riding jacket is buttoned halfway up his torso, the blue fabric clean and new, over an embroidered shirt of the same blue-green as his eyes. The contrast between the smart shirt and the less formal jacket is striking. He wears a pair of deep blue pants, tight around his legs, with a seam up the side, that flex with his stride, the thinness of the cloth obvious. His outfit is obviously not designed for the cold of between, and probably not for a cold winter. He seems comfortable in it, as if he was used to the style. He is also wearing a pair of calf boots, again in blue, finely made.' This is long, but also detailed. Even a few lines is enough, but make sure they're GOOD few lines. If in doubt, put more in, not less. Career & General Skills: This is a summary of your background. 'Assassin' is not going to cut it. 'Trained as an assassin in Naggaroth. Competent with his chosen weapon, twin short blades, and skilled in the use of poisons. Excellent at stealth.' is. Bear in mind that your character must have had time in his life to learn all of these skills. Weapons: KEEP IT SMALL. The WORST thing you can do is overload with every weapon you think you might like. Pick a favourite for your character. Maybe a couple of backups. Remember that you can't carry infinite weapons. Pick two or three from the following list. Knife sheathe locations: Small of back, arms, belt, boots, legs. Sword scabbard locations: Belt, back. Throwing weapons: Belt pouches, wrists. Great weapons: Back. Belt if not Dwarf. Pistols: Belt, under left or right arm. Rifles: Back on sling. Heavy Weapons: Hands or big back-sling. This is not comprehensive, but one weapon to a location is a pretty hard and fast rule. If in doubt, imagine yourself carrying a kilo bag of sugar for every pistol, a broomstick for every rifle, great or heavy weapon, a tree-saw or similar for a sword and a butter-knife for everything else. If you couldn't lift it or fit it on your body, don't give it to your character. And remember that you can't carry your weapons out all the time. Armor: A few words. Also, the more weapons you have concealed, the less armour you can wear, so obvious weapons are the only way to get power armour or full plate. Bear in mind the weight. Equipment: Everything else. Grenades for the belt or bandoliers, musical instruments, hoofpicks, whatever your character uses for his profession. Again, keep it as short as possible. Your character doesn't have to carry a house with him. Food and water are taken as read, so don't list them here. Personality Description: A REAL description, not 'psychotic and insane'. 'Usually calm, her dispassionate demeanor hides a youthful exuberance. She is willful and more than a little prideful, which often causes friction with others' for example (note: the previous personality is the shortest one Anaris has ever written here). Not a detailed blow-by-blow account, but certainly more than a few words. Outer and inner feelings, too. Nobody can be truly without emotion. You will be RPing to this personality, so make it interesting for both you and others. Background: The shortest this should be is two paragraphs of four or five lines each. The first should detail your birth and raising, your home and your parents (please, no more orphans whose parents died in a raid!). The second should detail your career and training. A third should contain your current situation, if you have left your training and whatnot. This is OOC info, so reveal everything. Tell it as it REALLY was, not as other players will THINK it was. And, of course, actually TELL it, don't just leave it as 'nobody knows. He is amnesiac' or something equally bleedin' lazy. Religion: Name of god or none plus explanation. Nothing special here. If the god is one you made up, put a few words of detail. Like 'Manus, guardian god of the souls'. Goals: Imagination is the key, here. 'To get rich' is not a goal, unless your character is a miserly merchant. Be interesting. Link it to your background. It'll give you insight into the character and it will give you a reason to join RPs. Magical Ability: Generalities, not specific spells. A general indication of level of competency and a Lore, Psychic specialty or branch of magic. That will be the face you present to the world. Make it a good one. The second part of RP is the actual RP. There's no fixed way to do this, but there are a few conventions. 1 ) Type in sentences. And remember that it doesn't cost you anything to run it through a spellchecker. 2 ) Continuous prose: This means that you write in paragraphs and whatnot. Imagine a book, any book. Your character's actions for this post might be a single paragraph there, with maybe a bit of speech added. Don't type single sentences. If you've got nothing more to write, don't write. 3 ) Don't use other people's characters unless you know them very, very well. React wrongly with someone else's character and you can start a major feud. 4 ) For god's sakes, don't create random events without the RP originator's consent. That way lies madness and stupidity. NOT ALL RP IS ABOUT KILLING THINGS. 5 ) Never do the impossible. Your character may be superhuman, or amazing, although I would suggest you tone it down if it is. NOBODY can dodge a salvo from a machine gun whilst simultaneously sipping a drink and reading the paper, sitting down. Not even you. Unless you can go intangible. 6 ) Adjectives. Use them. Don't have your character 'sitting on a chair'. Have him 'lounging lazily in the high-backed armchair, one leg tossed over the arm. It appeared to be a languid pose, but a warrior's eye could pick out the balance, the set of the weight. Drelleth was ready and able to react instantly to a threat.' 7 ) If you're being subtle in speech or mannerisms, you might consider subtitling it. 'Aanor stood lazily. "It would be a pity if the Princess died. I should have to hunt the killer. Of course, if he were to escape, I could not be blamed, for I had made the effort." The Cairhienin clearly marked what he meant, to a keen ear. To assassinate the Princess Nessa would be a service to him, and the assassin would be allowed to escape.' 8 ) OOC IS OOC. The things on someone's character sheet or their guild page are NOT your knowledge. I am minded of Headin' Home, an RP which I was in for several months without anyone knowing that I was actually a hideously evil black-hearted Necromancer carrying ancient tomes of necromantic lore back to the Empire. 9 ) See that Italics button? Use it for thoughts, little insights into your character's mind, mental communication and whatnot. Thanks goes to Anaris (Warhammer Alliance Forums) for this.