Drem Yol Lok Thu'um.org !

First of all, I thank anyone who manages to read this and not die. This Guide is made not to dictate what should be done or not. It is only to serve as a guideline to follow to increase one's experience with Roleplaying. The Roleplaying community is very active on Thu'um, but I have yet to see regular RP conventions. Anyone who tries to contest this Guide and its author should note that :

• I have been actively roleplaying for 4 years now
• The quality of the roleplays here are close to mediocre
• I will use examples that have been found here to show ''what not to do'' without naming anyone. Do NOT take any offense in these examples if you recognise yourself. Think of it as a way to improve.
• Most important : I know Kung-fu haha

Here are the points I will cover :

1. The Basics
2. Descriptions
3. Overall Creation
4. Creating the World
5. The Player/Character link
6. Creating a Character

/!\ Stay alert to the messages between these symbols, they often contain VITAL information /!\

On that note, let's get started !

1.The Basics of Roleplaying.

In the written roleplaying world, there are basic rules to follow to achieve a successful and enjoyable experience. Rolepaying is like writing an interactive book. Let's begin by explaining the various roles of the participants in the roleplaying universe.

Let's start with the GM (DM and PM can sometimes be heard too), also known as the Game Master (Dungeon Master and Path Master for their respective abreviations). He/She is the leader of the active roleplay, he/she directs the story and the players.

/!\ Experienced roleplayers usually don't require the help of a GM since they are able to lead the story themselves /!\ 

/!\ It is important to comply to anything the GM says, since he's the one that knows what will happen /!\

Then there are the NPCs (Non-Playable Characters), they are created by the GM to fill in the universe and not make it look empty. They must be as developed, sometimes more, as any PCs. They are an essential part of any story ! The NPCs often serve to uncover plot information and be the ennemies in the story.

/!\ A lack of NPCs in a location can create a feeling of loneliness and sadness, which in some cases, is the effect desired. /!\

Finally, the PCs (Playable Characters) represent the characters that are controlled by real humans. They are commonly granted powers, items or trinkets that make them different than regular humans, because real life based roleplays are usually boring. I am not writing much here since it will be covered on points 5 and 6.

Next thing to know to get started is proper writing and spacing. When scribling, a draft copy of your post is highly recommended as it helps you find mistakes and rearrange your ideas clearly. Standard English is expected when being part of a roleplay, as it helps clear confusion and is understandable by anyone. ''lol'', ''xd'' and any abreviations as such are to be removed of any roleplay, even if it they are part of a sidenote or a message not related to said roleplay. Mistakes happen, and it's totally ok, but if your post looks like this : "i speek veri mucho inglish", it is hard to read. Some conventions are commonly used when it's time to write your final copy of your post. They go as such :

1. Italic for descriptions and actions
2. Bold for dialogue (Although this one is optional)
3. (Parenthesis for OOC messages.) OOC stands for out of context messages. These are usually found at the end of the posts.

Spacing your posts are an important point to consider, as it eases writing and reading. Remember that outside of the participants of the roleplay, some individuals might want to read what the users created. This Guide in itself is properly spaced and should be used as an example. There should always have a space between actions and dialogue. Let's have an example : 

''The young man was standing tall, sword in one hand, an apple-sized fireball in the other. He was known as The Warlock. An entire army composed of goblins, orcs and unameable creatures were standing at a distance of twenty-five meters. Even if they were greatly outnumbering the warrior, they exulted fear, as his prowesses had been known across the world. The Warlock twitched, creating a flow of movements coming from the army. The man, adressing the crowd, screamed at the top of his lungs : 

I will kill every single one of you !

The Warlock then charged the army, by himself.''

(Just realised this is a very good transition on the next topic. haha.)

/!\This is important to read : http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/viewFile/1971/4628/20078 /!\

2. Descriptions in Roleplaying.

It is important to have a flourishing imagination when roleplaying, but what's more important is being able to transfer it from your mind to your post. For the sake of this being a Guide, it is worth mentionning that repetitive uses of the same verbs and words gets boring really fast. Instead of saying ''punched'', one could say ''smashed his fist''. If you are really struggling to find vocabulary, I recommend doing a quick Google search that goes : ''(Repetitive word) Synonyms''. It helps developing vocabulary. A complete description should contain no less than at least 5 lines of text. Under than that, the description is considered unfinished and not appropriate. In a draft, less than 5 lines is acceptable, as the draft should only contain main ideas. Here are some directions your description could contain :

• What is the weather outside ?
• What is happenning around you ?
• What are your character's emotions at the moment ?
• What is around the character ?
• What does the environment look like ?

An average description is 7-10 lines of text, excluding the actions the character is doing. It is important that the descriptions contain enough information to visually imagine the area, NPCs, PCs and objects in the post. Enumerations are to use as less as possible, they go over many points of the description without elaborating, which creates a vague environment. Even the simplest of items can give a lot of information. Let's have an example :

''The dining room was empty of any souls, a deathly silence was reigning inside the manor. The long oak table, designed to receive twelve guests, was dressed. The silver-lined plates had a small film of dust over them, indicating that the area was abandoned for a long time. The set of cutlery next to each plate was rusted, but encrusted in various carvings and gems. ''

Simple enough ? I managed to write two lines of text and you could still easily imagine what it looked like.

/!\ Practice is the key to describe any situation with ease /!\

3. Overall Creation

There are not a lot of things to say here, but there were a few points I wanted to talk about. It sure is fun to have characters that are powerful, with magic, weapons and armors, but it sure kills the fun when the GM has to deal with characters as such : 

• Immortal PCs that can't be killed (I never thought I had to say this)
• Characters that have OHK attacks (OHK stands for One Hit Kill)
• 583267038570298574 years old characters that have all the knowledge of the universe.
• Weapons that cannot be destroyed, removed from the user, lose its powers, etc.
• Idem for armors and trinkets.
• Magics that have enough power to destroy anything.
• Anything that is OP (Overpowered)

/!\ This also applies to NPCs /!\

I think that covers it, I will edit if I add anything, so keep coming back to see further changes. I will keep an Edit Log at the bottom to keep track.

4. Creating the Roleplaying World.

To first create an area, environment or location, ask yourself these questions :

• What feeling to you want to transfer to the readers ?
• What setting to you want ? (i.e. : Morbid, joyful, sad, etc.)
• What objects would you usually find in this kind of location ?

When creating a setting for your future roleplay, imagine what actions are possible and not possible in the area. There might be a rope hanging over a ravine, would it be solid enough to grip to it to traverse said obstacle ? If not, does it look like it can ?  If an adventurer uses it, what are the consequences ? This section is mostly directed to the GMs, since experienced roleplayers are able to create and judge if the environment is viable. Don't forget to read section 2. Descriptions in Roleplaying, as it might help you to create the world. Let's have an example of a location : 

''The thieves finally arrived at the temple after a long and muddy walk. The sky was odd, as it was clear blue and rain was falling. The temple seemed of religious origins, since it was easy to recognize Tah'Muk painted on the door. The deity was the God of the Earth, in which many legends say that he once buried all the gold in the world under his temple. Many treasure hunters and pillagers tried to retrieve the treasure. They were either lost or dead, since the temple contained numerous traps. As soon as the thieves entered, a chill went down their spines, the temperature suddenly lowering to ice cold. A few skeletons could be seen in the corners, serving as homes for rats, snakes and spiders.''

 

5. The Player/Character Link.

I think this is the most important point of all, as it clearly shows an important point that even experienced players often forget. Normally, a player has 1-2 characters. This saves up confusion and excessive creation for no reason. The same character can be used for many settings that have no link together. Minor tweaks might be required to suit him to any roleplay. Let's have an example with Samson Bonebreaker, my D&D Monk : 

Monks usually fight with their fists, channeling their ki to unleash amazing strength prowesses like destroying stone walls with their bare fists. Now let's take this to a super-futuristic universe : 

Samson Bonebreaker has a Type VI exoskeleton, designed for hand-to-hand combat. Heavy 60 milimeters' thick titanium covering the fists, allowing them to pack a punch. The exoskeleton is using the EMR-18 energy console, granting the user the ability to redirect electric and hydraulic current in the arms to create devastating blows.

I was able to transform a medieval fantasy character into a sci-fi character with almost no effort. That is called ''Character Attunement''. I have been using this character for so long that I know his reactions to almost every situations imaginable. Another point I want to mention is : Player/Character Knowledge. You as a person might know where the secret objects, what the other characters are feeling and the future of the Roleplay. But your character doesn't, this is really important to remember. Maybe the GM will direct your character to the secrets and inform you on the future, then said character now has that knowledge. Or even maybe the other PCs will demonstrate an emotion through non-verbal messages (Like frowning when angry, for instance)

/!\ It should be noted that participating in more than 5 roleplays at a time might create confusion /!\

6. Creating a Character in Rolepaying.

inventing a PC is a complex task. There is 3 things to keep in mind to create a complete character : Balance, Fun, Respect.

Let's start with Balance. A cool character is able to do amazing feats (i.e Flying, Super Strength, Regenerative Abilities, etc.) without over-exagerating them. Superman is a good example of an overpowered character, let me show you why :

• Unkillable
• Unlimited Strength
• Immortal
• Lazers from it's eyes
• Frost Breath
• Only one weakness : Kryptonite.

A Balanced PC would look like this :

• Superhuman regenerative abilities (Heal bullets and knife wounds in around 4-6 hours)
• Greater strength (Lifting boulders or cars)
• Frost Breath (At the expense of the user's health)

I don't think I really need to explain Fun and Respect. Maybe that usually, PCs are all on the same side (Good or Evil), this makes sure that there is no arguing on ''who is stronger than who''. Players shouldn't be allowed to openly insult eachother, although some PCs might not like eachother (A thief might not like an assassin because of his morals, thus creating hostile manners towards him.)

/!\ Remember that it's not because your characters don't like each other inside the roleplay world that you should hate each other IRL /!\

Here are the things you should cover when creating a character : 

• His/Her physical attributes
• His/Her psychological attributes
• His/Her goals, dreams, hopes and motives.
• His/Her powers and such.

A well described character shouldn't even need any image of any sort to be imaginable.

That should be it ! I am open to any form of critiscism, insults, comments, compliments and such !

Remember : Respect the GMs, invent cool stories and most important : Have FUN !

(01/11/2015 Edit 1 : Created The Grandmaster's Guide to Roleplaying)

(01/11/2015 Edit 2 : Changed NRP for OOC, thanks to Loniizrath)

I like this quite a bit. I shall try to use this guide :) Also, could you look over the comparison of clone weapons and armor to others in my Clone Wars/Oblivion crossover? Basically, certain magics are needed to destroy vehicles (I.E. electrical-based spells that can disable an LAAT/e gunship, knocking it out of the sky and sending it to the ground in a drash-landing, or a high-yield fireball spell that explodes on impact, acting as an effective AT spell) and certain metal types can resist blasterfire and pierce clone armor: Daedric and Ebony weapons, or anything enchanted with fire and lightning resistance/damage in mind.

*slow clap* Well I can try too use this but there will be no garuntee

This all depends if the GM thinks that it is balanced enough, it is a complex situation you have there. Mainly because it's a crossover universe, where some situations can be controversial. The magic system looks O.K in my opinions, since it's the only real strenght the ES characters have a real advantage over the Stars Wars PCs. Since the ES weapons are worse than the Star Wars weapons, I'd recommend giving maybe the ES characters an armor enchantement that protects against fire or light damage, to prevent them from dying in one hit from a blaster.

Meynag Volbur

This all depends if the GM thinks that it is balanced enough, it is a complex situation you have there. Mainly because it's a crossover universe, where some situations can be controversial. The magic system looks O.K in my opinions, since it's the only real strenght the ES characters have a real advantage over the Stars Wars PCs. Since the ES weapons are worse than the Star Wars weapons, I'd recommend giving maybe the ES characters an armor enchantement that protects against fire or light damage, to prevent them from dying in one hit from a blaster.

That's where fire/lightning resisting enchantments come in, as well as dragon, daedric, and ebony armor. Fire spells can melt trooper armor and fuse it with skin, while frost can cause the armor to stick onto the flesh like ice on skin (Something akin to freezer burn), and lightning acts like Force Lightning in the senses it negates armor and just roasts the person inside his/her armor. Dragon, daedric, ebony, and fire-enchanted weapons can pierce SW armor. This is how I measure things.

You should PM your GM about it, since he's the one leading the story.
He's the one to lead the story, after all.

These measurements/comparisons were created in my personal Clone Wars/Oblivion crossover, To be a Soldier.

Veyd Sahvoz

*slow clap* Well I can try too use this but there will be no garuntee

(*guarantee)

I like how you did it, but I do disagree on the dialogue and descriptions. Bold for dialogue and italics for actions? I prefer quotation marks and normal text for descriptions. Italics are internal thoughts. Parentheses are for out of context.

These are only guidelines, right? Not actual rules?

''This Guide is made not to dictate what should be done or not. It is only to serve as a guideline to follow to increase one's experience with Roleplaying.''

That answers your question ?

It does yes. Thank you.