So, how do you RP? Well, the first thing you need to do is to make a character and post it in the character thread. That's one of the four rules of RPing we have here. They are:
1. Player characters must be posted in the character thread before being used in a thread.
2. You can not take control of another player's character without their permission.
3. Two players cannot have the same character. For example, if Jimmy decides he wants to be Spike Spiegal, and puts up a character post for him, Suzie cannot also be Spike.
4. You must have fun.
And that's all! Individual RPs may or may not have extra rules above this. Dragon Lords, for example, has quite a few other rules, whereas an RPG like (insert opening RPG here) may have no extra ones.
Step 1: Make a Character
So! You're ready to make a character. So, you go to the character thread, and start writing. But, oh dear, you don't know how much to write. Or whether your character is even any good! Maybe you can get some ideas from the mods! You scroll up and click one of the spoilers on DJ's poOH MY GOSH THIS IS LIKE A NOVEL! I CAN'T WRITE THAT MUCH!
Don't worry! You don't have to. Look at the example below. This is all you really need to jump right into an RPG:
Name: Sakura
Bio: Sakura is a female shinobi. She is good at sword-fighting and throwing shuriken. Also she is really stealthy. She wants to become the best ninja in the world!
With that, you're fine to jump right into something! But say that, either now, or later, you want to expand on your character. You still don't think you can write something as long as DJ or Selena, but you think you can do more than four sentences. Well, let's look at some things you can expand on:
History - The story of your character up to the point where it entered the RPG
Goals and Dreams - Things your character wants to achieve, inside or outside of the scope of the RPG
Strengths - The abilities and positive attributes of your character
Weaknesses - The negative attributes of your character
Vital Statistics - Height, weight, cup size, measurements, etc.
Appearance - Typical clothing, hair color, eye color, facial structure, equipment, etc.
Personality - Is your character extroverted or introverted? Do they have a sarcastic sense of humor or a slapstick sense of humor? etc.
These are the building blocks of every character. You can pick as many or as few of those to expand upon as you wish. Just remember, the important thing is not how long your entry is, it's whether you have a good grasp of what your character is like. So let's see. What have we already said about Sakura? Well, we know her Goal is to become the best Shinobi in the world. Her Strengths seem to be fighting with a sword, sneaking around, and throwing shuriken. And we know she's a Shinobi, which obviously has something to do with her History. Any one of these could be expanded upon, but for now let's go with History.
So, what can we do with History? Well, the best thing is to look at the aspects of a characters history that have influenced their character the most. You don't have to write their entire life story, (Though if you want to, you certainly can!) but what I (as someone looking at your character's profile) would be most interested in is what in Sakura's history has most affected how she is now. Now obviously, that's something only you (as your character creator) can decide, but let's have a look at what that might look like:
History: Sakura was born in a small mountain village of ninja. She didn't know who her parents were, since the ninja kept that information a secret from the children, thinking it would weaken them. Thus, Sakura learned to rely on her fellow ninja children as her brothers and sisters, and all the adults of the clan as her parents. As she grew, it became apparent that she was destined for greatness. She was twice as good as the next best ninja child throughout her training, and was made a full ninja (genin rank) at the young age of 8. She did missions for two years, but then, one day, she returned to find her village burned to the ground, and most of her "family" dead! She vowed on that day she would become the greatest ninja ever in their honor, and then hunt down and kill the one who killed them. For the next six years she wandered around the country, doing ninja jobs for whoever would hire her, and continuing her training, but not too long before the present she discovered information on the one who may have killed her clan . . .
And there you have it! Notice that this history establishes -why- Sakura has the goals she does, adds an additional goal of killing the one who killed her clan, and gives you several starting points for figuring out her personality. You've also taken care of her goals and dreams without even realizing it!But next, let's look at the most obvious part of the bio: Appearance.
Appearance (and Vital Statistics)
Appearance and Vital statistics are usually tied together fairly closely, since one affects the other. This is probably the easiest part of the whole thing, since you usually have an idea of what your character looks like from the beginning. Remember, you can put as much or as little information in here as you want, but if I was reading your bio, I'd probably want to see something like this:
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 100 lbs, mostly muscle mass
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Light green
Skin Tone: Pale due to fairly nocturnal sleeping patterns
Clothing: Sakura usually wears a typical black ninja costume. If necessary she will don whatever she has to to disguise herself.
Weaponry: Shuriken, dagger, throwing knife, poison, ninja sword, bow.
See? Easy. And with that, the only thing we have left to examine is her Personality.
This part can be one of the hardest, especially since you often find out about a character's personality and make subtle adjustments to it as you write about them. With that in mind, it's often best to just try and get a general idea of their personality, using broad words that you can narrow down later. For example:
Personality: Since the death of her clan, Sakura is very moody and quiet, often prone to bursts of anger if she feels someone is disrespecting her, her clan, or ninjas in general. She does have a softer side though, she loves snakes and reptiles of all sorts and will coo to them and pet them if she sees one and has time.
Now, that was very short, because all you're trying to do here is provide yourself with a framework to move around and make adjustments in. Characters' personalities can change over the course of a story as well, so don't feel like you have to stay in the framework if it doesn't feel like later on. Now, the section could've just been left at "moody and quiet". That would've been fine. But what I've done by including the other two ideas, that of her having a temper under certain circumstances, and liking certain things, has given you just a hint of an insight into Sakura's mind, the things she likes and doesn't like, and what affects her. Remember, you can write as much or as little as you want, and edit as you go along. If you're interested in psychology and want to do an in-depth study of your character's psyche, by all means, go ahead. Or, if you really just someone you can fight-rp with, skip this section altogether!
Well, that concludes the first and second parts of our introduction to Role Playing at LA, Basic Rules and Character Creation. Future chapters (should they substantiate) will discuss things like fighting, character interaction, and Role Playing etiquette. But remember, if you have any questions whatsoever, feel free to contact myself or any of the other Role Playing mods.
Edited by Steel Samurai, 14 May 2010 - 11:43 AM.
