| Greyhawk's Guide to Roleplaying (By Greyhawk et
al.) 1. Player and Character ------------------------ Two quick definitions: in most games, a player is someone on earth sitting at a computer; a character is someone that walks around the lands of Incarnation or has a friendly chat with Callie. Note that Callie is also a character in Incarnation. It's fun to figure out which players play the roles of which characters, but some people like to live very distinct and private lives outside Incarnation. Respect their boundaries. It's sometimes okay for your character to insult or attack a character or ask about their secrets, but it's rude and could lead to a removal of your game rights to attack the other player personally. ***IMPORTANT*** Remember also that Incarnation has rules that you as a player need to follow. These rules also apply to your character. It is not acceptable to create a character that swears every other word, nor is it acceptable to create another character that would violate the rules that govern the game. Keep this is mind when creating your character. Keeping player and character separate in your own mind will also allow you to sharpen your roleplaying skills. You can make your character do things that you, as a player, would never do in real life. You can play someone of the opposite gender. You can play an evil despot (this is my personal favorite) if you're normally a nice person, or vice versa. 2. In and Out of Character --------------------------- Imagine being in the head of your character. Imagine that the Earth didn't exist, that there was no Internet, no phones, no email, and that you the player weren't alive. Imagine that the entire universe was the world of Incarnation. Being "in character" (or IC) means that you play your character as if that were true. Your character doesn't know what a WebPage is. Your character doesn't know that Callie is really an NPC, a grouping of different pixels on a computer screen, and that she doesn't have feelings that can be hurt (come on, you know that you've cracked jokes about Callie's weight*). Your character assumes that Callie really walks from one forest to another when you're not looking, that she occassionaly leaves her stand in 1,1. Some of the challenge of being totally "in character" is pushing that to the limit. Your character doesn't know what a Health Point is, or where a screen/level/zone/area begins or ends. (Example: How hard did you get hit? [Rather than 24 hp...] Pretty tough, I'm halfway dead!) (Example: How far is it to the Croe's butchery? [Rather than x screens...] Well, another couple minutes through the jungle, then north over the chasm, then past the hut, then some forests!) 3. What's My Motivation? ------------------------- Every character is different, because every player is different. Beyond that, you can devise exactly who your character will be, and how you can be even more different. Building up your character is the first time you face the fact that player and character can be quite similar, or very different. Even if you're a happily married man in your fifties, you can play a vivacious young single woman. You can choose a cute name or a name that gives the strong impression that you're a force to be reckoned with. When interacting with different characters, your character will have their own feelings. You can decide what those are. Does that other character annoy you? What will you do about it? Does that character amuse you? Make your heart sing? Act that way. Let others know it, too. Use the 'emote' command or say things that express the feelings that your character would have. Drama is created whenever someone knows there's a conflict between two or more people or groups. Incarnation is (or will eventually be) the perfect setting for creating all sorts of drama, based on how you interact with your fellow citizens. Everything's your choice, but the game itself should have some differences programmed into it (magic users vs warriors for example). Take into account the things that other characters have said or done to yours in the past. Build up a history with people and they will interact with you more. Introduce yourself if your character is friendly, or be gruff with people if not. Try to express things in a way that let other people know that you have fun when you're roleplaying. It's contagious. 4. How the Heck Did I Get Here? -------------------------------- Now that you know that you have a character, you need to decide what put that character into the world. This is called 'writing your backstory.' It's a vital part of every believable character in every movie, play, skit, or roleplaying adventure. Start with where you were born, and who your parents were. Consider the tough times your character had before entering the lands of Incarnation. Who are you looking for, and why? Some people develop extremely detailed backstories. If you write a backstory, consider typing it up as a story written by your own character. An autobiography, if you will. If there is enough interest, a new message board could be set up just for these stories. Besides being a good exercise for you to develop a convincing character, it's a great opportunity to get creative while you're not online. 5. Make Yourself Well-Known ---------------------------- There are some easy techniques to become known, as a character in Incarnation, and as a player for your roleplaying abilities. First off, a good unique name is a great way to get started. Many people pick the names of their favorite book's lead character, or the villain in a movie they've recently seen. These can be good names if you try to adapt another world's character to Incarnation, but GREAT names are those that you come up with on your own. Names that people will recognize, but that nobody else might also choose, work well. Other things to consider will be how hard your name is to abbreviate. Many roleplayers will want their name to be mentioned often, and will also want it to be convenient for someone to tell them things by name. (Names that begin with Lady or Sir will almost always be hard for someone to abbreviate, because there will be multiple people with such names.) Just as you need to choose an appearance for your character, there are many other unique attributes that people will recognize. There's an infinite range of choices of accents and dialects that your character can speak. Do you lisp (lithp) or stutter (st-stu-stutter)? Does your character have a hard time with people's names (Moonglow, Moonglitter, what's yer name agin?)? Consider other habits that your character can develop that people will come to recognize. Do you pick your fingernails with your dagger? Do you lean on the bar and tell the barkeep of your womanizing exploits (remember, if this is you, keep it clean and within the rules of the game)? Do you like to flirt, or giggle, or act coy? If you've developed a lawful persona, do you have a bone to pick with everyone who is outlawed, or just those that have done you and your guild wrong? 6. Lighten Up, It's Just a Game -------------------------------- If you try to keep in mind that you (the player) and you (the character) are two completely different people, you'll probably have more fun in a roleplaying world. If someone insults your character, you can take that as a real insult to you personally, or you can let it roll off and roleplay the indignation or bemusement that your character would feel instead. Which is more fun? Any persistent universe will have mistakes, and setbacks that aren't your fault. Did someone dent your car door this morning? Can you call up a god and have him 'correct' this problem? Probably not, and you should try to deal with setbacks in the game, as well. Sometimes the setback is motivated by actions of another player (hey, Swapmeister just swapped my orange axe that I paid 258K for!), and sometimes the setbacks are due to technical problems in the server or over the Internet (hey, I just got lagged out and [fill in your problem here]). In all of those cases, it's a test of your personal resolve to consider how you can deal with problems like this while remaining in character. Can you blame it on something in the Incarnation world (hey, Callie must be feeling ill again today) or find a way to correct it with other players (hey, let's form a posse to get even with Swapmeister)? The more you're self-sufficient, the more you'll enjoy the game for what it is. The worst setback in an on-line game, if you asked most people, would be getting "player-killed," where one player's character attacks your character until yours is dead. Still, you should try your best to deal with the circumstances in character. Use your limited mana to tell a friend the situation. Allow your character to loathe the murderous character, but don't let it go out of character. Don't start bad-mouthing the other player directly (hey, you school-aged dope!), for two reasons: one, it's bad roleplay form, and two, the other player just eats that sort of attention up, and will strike again. If you think that you're getting overly upset personally about something that's happened in the game, I recommend you take some time away from the computer. If it was because of another player, ask yourself if they intended for you to personally get hurt by what they did. If it was a mistake, consider what you can do to avoid that mistake, while still having fun with friends in Incarnation. If you feel the line blurring between you (the player) and you (the character), then you should take even more time away from the game to ground yourself. The game will be more fun when it's an escape from your real-world problems, and the real-world is an escape from your character's in-game problems. 7. Roleplaying Player Killing ------------------------------ What if you're on the other side of the "player-killer" sword? There are many reasons to develop a player-vs-player conflict in the game, and it's quite a thrill to beat someone who's a worthy rival in the game. There are two things you should think about, so that your player killing will be the most enjoyable for everyone. First, if you're not roleplaying at all, and you're just finding the most disadvantaged, lopsided attack you can find, you're going to make Incarnation a bad place to play for everyone. Enough of that sort of bullying, and you'll have nobody to bully anymore. There are other games on the Internet for straight fulltime frenzied killing. Second, if you roleplay a killer with attitude, a righteous villain with a purpose, a scoundrel that has a reason to kill, other people will interact with you on the same level. You can turn that to your advantage, by crafting a good backstory and letting things slip about your reasons for killing. You can be a rogue that others will hunt down, will bring to justice, and will enjoy being around, even if sometimes you do get in the lucky shot and defile their holy corpse. There's a term that's developed in on-line gaming, "random player killer." There are a few totally psychotic, who cares who dies, have to feed, kill everyone killers. But playing that motivation is difficult. There's little to believe in that sort of backstory, and it doesn't give your opponents any way to interact with you. Pick a reason you need someone dead, and stick to that reason. People will change the way they play, and you'll know you're making your mark on the world. 8. Mechanisms of Intrigue -------------------------- Other than violence, the best drama there is has got to be intrigue. Anything that some people know, and other people don't know, is a source of intrigue. There's more to it, though. A secret is fun, but it's more fun if someone else knows they might figure it out. Even a five-year-old will tell you, "I've got a secret," hoping you'll be frustrated by not knowing what they know. The risk is the drama, not the actual information. What secrets does your guild keep, and how can you let it slip (believably) that you have the information they need? What can you charge for the information? How can you give them false information? Drawing out the suspense gets people interested. Putting people in jeopardy because you have the answers and won't let them out, that could get scary. 9. Challenges to Roleplaying ----------------------------- Try roleplaying two characters that don't know much about each other. Change your dialect, grammar, punctuation, typing style, and other attributes to hide the fact that both are played by the same player. Be careful to remember what each of your characters knows, and what they don't know. Can you be guildmaster for two enemy guilds, and be believable about it? Let it be known that your character hates the color blue for reasons explained in your backstory. Anyone wearing blue is fair game to incite your violent natures. People may adapt, they may hide their blue shields and wear their green clothes when you, the blue killer, are around. Or they may form blue-robed lynch posses to hunt you down. Play a blind or mute character. I've seen a character named "Silence" that never talked at all, but could sign or indicate or emote everything they needed to express, instead. 10. Help others Roleplay ------------------------ If someone in the game starts to roleplay, help them out whenever you can. If they give you a cue to act, consider how you can act out something that will get the ball rolling. Let them know you've got a roleplay idea, and they can help you build it into something bigger by organizing other interested players. When you're roleplaying, it's a conversation with the other players in the world. Give other people an opening to roleplay with you. Ask questions of other characters. Get their feedback. If you want to develop a plot line, ask them about it. In a private tell, say, "Out of character, I think it'd be more interesting if we disagreed about who should be the new guildmaster. Let's ham it up!" If you're doing 'emote' commands to involve other people, try not to step on other people's roleplaying choices very often. "/e makes you kiss her" would be presuming that the other character would be motivated to kiss your character. "/e wants you to kiss her" would give the other player (and character) more choices as to how to react. If someone else talks about out of character information (the Broncos won! check out ESPN!), don't draw attention to it. You can either ignore that it's happened, or you can appear confused, as in, "Are the Broncos a new guild?" In a dispute, it's rarely helpful to point fingers or say "You're being way out of character!" (Your character doesn't know it's a drama. There is no out of character in real life.) For a challenge, try weaning yourself off of the habit to abbreviate things. Spell things out. Imagine that you're writing the dialogue for a novel. How often does the main character say something like "wb,ltns. rofl, wtg!"? (You might become the one of the only people on the Internet that never uses LOL.) If you come across someone who's new to the game and new to roleplaying in general, you have a real opportunity to make more roleplaying possible. Train them in the ways of roleplaying. Help them decide what their backstory is. Most new people will appreciate your help, and you can probably add them to your growing list of on-line friends. Lastly, good roleplay worlds thrive on fresh blood. Get everyone involved. Tell new people about it, get new people to join Incarnation. Getting newcomers is essential to the world, because it creates new conflicts, new ideas, and new directions for everyone to play with.
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