The Roleplay Forum is a place for you to practice the dragon language by participating in one of the ongoing roleplays (RP’s). In an RP, each player takes on the role of a character and takes turns progressing a cooperative story. A game master (GM) guides the RP and may determine consequences and non-player character actions throughout the story.

Joining an RP

If you find an open RP you’re interested in joining, post your character details to the thread for the GM to review. See the Player Character Guidelines section below for more on characters.
A GM may decline your request to join or ask you to alter your character to better fit their RP. If this occurs, please respect their wishes and find another RP to participate in if it isn’t the right fit for you. Contact a moderator if you have any questions or concerns regarding RP conduct.

Participating in an RP

Each player takes a turn in an order specified by the GM. When it is your turn, advance the story with your own character’s actions and dialogue. Please follow these rules for all RP posts:

• All posts advancing the RP should be 1 paragraph minimum (3-4 sentences). A GM may choose to set a longer minimum post length.
• Character actions should be in third person and in complete, prose-form sentences. For example, post “Ralof hacked at the dragon” rather than “I hacked at the dragon” or “*hacks at dragon*”.
• Post out-of-character (OOC) comments in parenthesis.
• Take your turn in a timely fashion. The GM should designate how much time players are allowed to spend on their turn. If you will be absent for a time and unable to participate, let your GM know so they can plan accordingly.
• Do not advance the RP when it’s not your turn. You may post OOC outside of your turn to collaborate with other players.
• Do not take control of other players’ characters (godmodding) or determine the consequences of your character’s actions unless allowed by the GM.
• Do not derail, sabotage, or disrupt an RP. This includes player versus player actions that aren’t previously agreed upon, deliberately undermining the story, or posting non sequitor or spam.
• Do not harass other players.
• Do not post graphic sex or violence. Exercise good judgment and consider content that would be appropriate in Skyrim. If you’re unsure about something, check with your GM and fellow players.
• Acknowledge that your character may experience hardships or setbacks. RP’ing is collaborative storytelling, and a good story will give your character challenges to overcome. If you disagree with the direction an RP takes, please discuss it in a respectful manner.
• Acknowledge that a character’s actions or feelings don’t always reflect those of the player. If you disagree with a character’s actions, please discuss them in a respectful manner.
• Respect the GM’s instructions regarding character actions and story direction. A GM may choose to alter the story or the player characters at any time. Remember that a GM’s goal is to provide an engaging story and a fun learning experience, so any changes they make are for the RP’s benefit.
• Remember that roleplaying is a cooperative experience, and everyone in the group is there to help each other learn and have fun.

Player Character Guidelines

Consider the following traits when describing your character:

• Name
• Race
• Gender
• Age
• Backstory
• Personality
• Skills/Abilities
• Possessions
• Goals

When creating a character, keep these guidelines in mind:

• Respect any character rules the GM has set regarding character race, background, power levels, etc.. It’s within the GM’s right to request changes if your character doesn’t comply with the rules they’ve established.
• Give your character a goal with clear obstacles to overcome. This will give the GM and other players something to build on as the RP progresses.
• Give your character flaws and weaknesses. If your character is an invincible void dragon who’s stronger than Alduin, for example, you aren’t leaving much opportunity for a story to develop.
• Consider a character who compliments other characters in the group. Avoid a character that conflicts with or overshadows another player’s character. For example, if an RP follows a band of Nordic elf hunters, don’t choose an elf character unless the group agrees that’s a story arc they’re interested in playing out. As another example, if the group features a powerful wizard, don’t just make an even more powerful wizard.
• Create a character that has the capacity to participate in the RP and use the dragon language. For example, in an RP about political intrigue in the Imperial City, you probably shouldn’t roleplay a Mudcrab (without some well considered story reasons).
• Try to keep your character’s abilities and possessions consistent. If the group ends up imprisoned, it would be unfair to the story for your character to pull a lockpick out of thin air. Likewise, if your character finds themselves poisoned, it would be unfair to suddenly declare that your character is part-Argonian and thus immune to poison.

Using the Dragon Language

The Roleplay Forum is meant to be a place where you can use and learn the dragon language with other members. There are a couple rules to follow to make sure you learn the most from your RP:

1. Follow the GM’s rules for where and how to use the dragon language in your posts. Some RP’s may be more demanding than others, so you may wish to choose an RP that fits your experience level.
2. You can use the Translator as a teaching tool or a reference, but don’t use it to produce the content of your posts. This is especially true for RP’s that use the legacy dictionary; writing generated from the Legacy Translator is very obvious to those experienced with the language, and is often incorrect. Generating your post content from the Translator is low effort and may result in your removal from an RP if you do so regularly. For GM’s, monitor your players’ posts and help guide someone if they are dependent on the Translator.
3. In RP’s that use the legacy dictionary, legacy vocabulary should be supplementary to canon. In other words, canon vocabulary should be favored over legacy vocabulary where applicable. For example, consider using the canon kogaan ‘blessing’ to express gratitude in place of the non-canon nox ‘thanks’. Because this requires a deeper knowledge of the language, beginners should consider canon-only RP’s first. For GM’s running legacy RP’s, help suggest canon alternatives where applicable.
4. Above all, don’t be afraid to make mistakes! It’s okay if you use a wrong word or conjugate something incorrectly. What matters most is that you’re making an effort to learn. If you’re unsure about how to say something, express as much as you can with what you know and don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Creating an RP & Becoming a GM

If you would like to start a new RP, post in the RP Request thread. All RP’s must be approved by a moderator before they can be posted to the Roleplay Forum. Any RP’s posted without approval will be removed.

All RP’s must:

1. Involve the dragon language in some shape or form. This can range from writing dialogue in the dragon language, to writing entire posts in the dragon language, to using dragon puzzles and riddles that the players must solve. It should be featured in a significant enough way that participating in your RP will help players learn.
2. Take place in The Elder Scrolls setting. RP’s taking place in other settings or universes are not allowed. (This includes Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, My Little Pony, etc.) Crossovers are also not allowed.
3. Use lore-friendly dragons if dragons are featured. For example, Elder Scrolls dragons do not hatch or mate. This and the above rule are to help facilitate the dragon language; a lore-friendly story will help your players learn the language and the culture that it’s built around.
4. Facilitate teamwork and collaboration. Ideally, all player characters are working toward a common goal.

At this time, only approved members can start their own RP’s and act as a GM. RP’s are a group learning experience, so being a GM requires experience with the language, willingness to teach, and discipline to moderate your own RP’s to meet the standards listed here.
To be considered for a GM, you should meet the following requirements:

• Be a site member for at least 1 month.
• Have intermediate experience with the dragon language, with a focus on experience with the canon language. You should know enough to tutor others in your RP. RP’s that make use of the Legacy dictionary must be run by GM’s with advanced knowledge of the language due to the extra moderating and tutoring challenges that the Legacy dictionary adds. (See the Using the Dragon Language section for more on the Legacy dictionary in RP’s.)
• Have participated in at least one other RP on the site.
• Have maturity and patience to help learning players and run your RP in a respectful manner.

These requirements may be relaxed or tightened depending on the number of current GM’s and players looking for an RP.
When you start an RP, you should provide the following information in your thread’s opening post:

• Premise (a short blurb on what your RP story will be about)
• Setting (location, time/era)
• Tone (indicate whether your RP is serious, funny, dark, etc., you can also use this to describe what kind of mature content your RP may contain)
• Character rules
• Posting rules (how much time players can expect to have to take their turns, how they should use the dragon language in their posts, how much control they can exercise over the world and NPCs, etc.)
• Any additional house rules you’d like to establish for your RP
• A starting post to kick off the story for the next player to add onto, should be at least 1 or 2 paragraphs in length

GM’s are allowed to run up to 3 RP’s at a time. If you have 3 running RP’s and would like to start a new one, please ask a moderator to close one of your RP’s.

GM Guidelines

Follow these guidelines to help keep your RP running smoothly and to make sure your players are having fun:

• Write your story open-ended enough that players have opportunity to expand on it.
• Respectfully handle player thoughts and feedback. Don’t resort to personal attacks if someone disagrees with the vision you have for the story.
• Give players ample time to take their turns. Consider giving at least a day or more.
• Provide guidance with respect and patience even if someone has a question that seems obvious.
• Do not pit players against each other unless previously agreed upon.
• Do not kill, disable, or severely harm player characters for the purpose of punishing a player. If a player is being disruptive, simply consider removing them from the RP.
• If player character death is a possibility in your RP, outline this in your opening post so players have clear expectations about the kinds of consequences their characters may face.
• When considering consequences for player character actions, avoid consequences that would restrict a player’s ability to participate in your RP.
• Avoid splitting the party when possible. If a group will be separated for a long time, consider starting a separate RP.
• Avoid assuming control of player characters even if there are story reasons (mind control, etc.). Just as players trust you to provide an engaging story, trust your players to build upon what you provide.
• Avoid undermining your players’ actions and efforts. Have flexibility to take your story in a different direction if the players come up with something better.
• When you have to make retcons or story changes, clearly explain why so your players understand why you think the RP will be better as a result.