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guide:roleplaying [2013/10/15 08:12] wesguide:roleplaying [2024/02/10 13:32] (current) – [Conflicts] wes
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 ====== Roleplaying ====== ====== Roleplaying ======
-Roleplaying is what Star Army is all about! You you have the power to control your character's words and actions and make difference in the universe.+Star Army is a play-by-post roleplaying game. It could also be described as collaborative fiction.
  
-This SARP thrives around play-by-post roleplaying, which is a fun and creative solution to our collective geographic separation. So get out there, mingle, and play with your fellow players! 
- 
-==== Roleplaying ==== 
 Once you're in a plot, start role-playing! If it's a single-post plot you can start right away (or as soon as it makes sense in the plot). If it's a [[#joint_posting|Joint Post]] plot, then find out when the next chat session is (most plots have a scheduling thread in their forum). Once you're in a plot, start role-playing! If it's a single-post plot you can start right away (or as soon as it makes sense in the plot). If it's a [[#joint_posting|Joint Post]] plot, then find out when the next chat session is (most plots have a scheduling thread in their forum).
  
-=== Basic Rules === +Star Army is a community, so get the most out of this site by being proactive; get (and stay) involvedMake friends of your fellow roleplayers by showing them you're fun to write with! It doesn'matter how long you've been site member: what matters is what you're doing.
-  * Respect other players' [[:player_rights]] +
-    * Do not control other people's characters. +
-  * Write well. Your posts should be easy to read. Please use proper spelling and grammar and post in third person. +
-  * Communicate with other players and with your [[:game_master]]. +
-  * Don'disappear on us. Don't vanish and leave people waiting on post that will never come. +
-    * Absences are fine as long as you give advance warning in your plot's OOC thread. +
-    * If you need to leave a plot, follow the instructions here: [[guide:leaving]]+
  
-=== Format and Use of Forum Code === +===== Basic Rules ===== 
-The following formatting is standard for in-character posts:+  - **In Star Army RPs, we usually write in third-person past tense**, the way most novels do. For example: //A scowl of disgust appeared on Sayuri's face as she watched the lizard creatures eagerly gnawing on the abandoned corpses.// 
 +  - Posts on Star Army, in general, do not have a word count, meaning they can be as long or as short as you need them to be. 
 +    - Game Masters and thread OPs may make exceptions to this based on their preferences, but it's their duty to make it clear at the start of the RP. 
 +  - It's usually the GM or thread OP's role to post what is happening and what NPCs are saying and doing. 
 +  - Respect other players' [[player_rights]].  
 +    - Do not control other people's characters or "auto" them without permission. 
 +    ExampleYou can shoot //at// them, but you can't just //shoot// them, unless you're the GM.
  
-  Bold text is used for announcements (such as the ship's intercom) and emphasis. +===== Play by Post Roleplaying ===== 
-  * Italics are used for wireless communication and telepathy (using quotation marks) and thoughts (without quotation marks). +**Star Army** is a play-by-post roleplaying community, which means we operate by posting text on the forumUnlike tabletop roleplaying games, Star Army is mostly just writing and does not use complex game mechanics (math). Most story plots have a **Game Master** (GM) assigned whose job is to guide the story, describe the setting, and write the actions of background characters (NPCs). In the Open Roleplay forum, the creator of the RP thread may act as GM.
-  * Quote boxes should be used for any content from previous post and for in-character quotes of things like electronic mail, dinner menus, etc. +
-  Parenthesis are used to signify OOC (Out Of CharactercommentsPlease don't make off-topic OOC comments during JPsand keep the OOC to minimum in IC posts.+
  
-=== Communicate! === +See also: [[guide:game master]]
-There are several available methods of Communication available to RP Members. Yahoo! Messenger, E-mail, private messages, and the forums themselves are some examples. Sub-plots, problems, questions, concerns, suggestions, and many, many other things have to be worked out between members, and these are the best ways to do it. Please respect the decisions of your Game Master.+
  
-=== Conflicts ===+===== Plots & Subforums ===== 
 +Most RP occurs in ongoing RP plots. After their second RP thread starts, they can get their own subforum. A //plot// in this case refers to an ongoing role playing story and its group of players. In the Star Army RP, these are often based on starships.  Before you make your character, if possible, do a little background reading on the role-play and get an idea of which plot you want to join. 
 + 
 +See: [[:plots]] 
 + 
 +===== Communicate! ===== 
 +Communicate with other players and with your [[game_master]]. 
 + 
 +Sub-plots, problems, questions, concerns, suggestions, and many, many other things have to be worked out between members, and these are the best ways to do it. 
 + 
 +Ways to communicate: 
 + 
 +  * OOC threads 
 +  * Conversations (sometimes called PMs) 
 +  * Discord 
 + 
 +===== Conflicts =====
 Any major event, situation, condition, action, etc. which directly involves another Player's character must be discussed with said Player beforehand, if possible. The Player reserves the right to have any post deleted that directly involves their character and was not discussed beforehand, unless that post was made by the GM. The post will be deleted or moved and sent to the offending Player for editing. Any major event, situation, condition, action, etc. which directly involves another Player's character must be discussed with said Player beforehand, if possible. The Player reserves the right to have any post deleted that directly involves their character and was not discussed beforehand, unless that post was made by the GM. The post will be deleted or moved and sent to the offending Player for editing.
  
 In the case that someone has used your character in some way, or done something that went against one of your plots, sort it out politely and quickly. Attempt to work it out with the offending Player first. If this fails, take it to the Plot GM. In an RP as large as this one to become, it is nearly impossible to avoid all problems, but if we can sort them out smoothly, politely and quickly, there will be minimal difficulties. In the case that someone has used your character in some way, or done something that went against one of your plots, sort it out politely and quickly. Attempt to work it out with the offending Player first. If this fails, take it to the Plot GM. In an RP as large as this one to become, it is nearly impossible to avoid all problems, but if we can sort them out smoothly, politely and quickly, there will be minimal difficulties.
  
-=== Metagaming ===+See also: [[guide:effective_resolution|]] 
 + 
 +===== Metagaming =====
 Let's all remember to keep OOC knowledge separate from IC knowledge. Don't direct your character to stuff if he/she wouldn't find it by themselves. That includes sniffing at a random moment when a character has no reason to do so and then find someone stalking them that way. If something is hidden, let it be hidden until there is a plausible reason for it to not be. Just because you know a player character is plotting to kill yours, etc. does not mean you can have your character act like he's especially alert for some reason. Keep it realistic. Let's all remember to keep OOC knowledge separate from IC knowledge. Don't direct your character to stuff if he/she wouldn't find it by themselves. That includes sniffing at a random moment when a character has no reason to do so and then find someone stalking them that way. If something is hidden, let it be hidden until there is a plausible reason for it to not be. Just because you know a player character is plotting to kill yours, etc. does not mean you can have your character act like he's especially alert for some reason. Keep it realistic.
  
-=== Breaking the Fourth Wall ===+==== Breaking the Fourth Wall ====
 **Q:** Is it possible, every once in a while (Like only once or twice in a plot arc) to do this in the name of comic relief? **Q:** Is it possible, every once in a while (Like only once or twice in a plot arc) to do this in the name of comic relief?
  
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   * John: "Luca, turn the game console off right now. Cut the power!"   * John: "Luca, turn the game console off right now. Cut the power!"
  
-**A:** Only the GM of a plot is okay with it.+**A:** Only if the GM of a plot is okay with it.
  
-=== Keeping Up === +===== Keeping Up ===== 
-Try your hardest to read each and every new post in your roleplay. This cuts down on confusion and prevents conflicts in the storyline from arising. If you don’t have time, at least read the ones involving your ship. Print them if you need to. You are expected to post regularly (at least one RP post a week). If you can’t for some reason, let people know why and kindly excuse your character or arrange for someone else to play her in the meantime.+Try your hardest to read each and every new post in the threads your character is involved in. This cuts down on confusion and prevents conflicts in the storyline from arising. Print them if you need to. You are expected to post regularly (each plot has its own pacing guidelines). If you can’t for some reason, let your RP partners know in the plot's OOC thread and excuse your character from the "scene" or arrange for someone else to play her in the meantime.
  
-=== Starting a Side Plot ===+===== Starting a Side Plot =====
 In each adventure there are two types of plots: The Backbone Plot, and the various Sub-plots. The Backbone Plot takes precedence over sub-plots. Sub-plots must be worked in and around the Backbone Plot in order for the RP to function correctly. This is not to say that because a sub-plot goes against the Backbone Plot it can't be used. It simply means that you must either rework, or put off the sub plot until such a time as it can be used. In each adventure there are two types of plots: The Backbone Plot, and the various Sub-plots. The Backbone Plot takes precedence over sub-plots. Sub-plots must be worked in and around the Backbone Plot in order for the RP to function correctly. This is not to say that because a sub-plot goes against the Backbone Plot it can't be used. It simply means that you must either rework, or put off the sub plot until such a time as it can be used.
  
-=== Quality Of Writing ===+===== Quality Of Writing =====
 Writing is the means with which we interact with one another. It is vital that you write well, so that others can understand you and so they aren't distracted from the RP by errors. Don't bother posting a sentence if you can't be bothered to capitalize it or put a period at the end. The clearer your post, the less the likelihood it will be overlooked or misunderstood.  Writing is the means with which we interact with one another. It is vital that you write well, so that others can understand you and so they aren't distracted from the RP by errors. Don't bother posting a sentence if you can't be bothered to capitalize it or put a period at the end. The clearer your post, the less the likelihood it will be overlooked or misunderstood. 
  
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 ==== Single Posts ==== ==== Single Posts ====
-Most Star Army roleplay is done by posting directly onto a thread (or start a new one), which is called a Single Post or just a post. Sometimes single posts are consolidated into compilations.+This is your standard play-by-post RP. Most Star Army roleplay is done by posting directly onto a thread (or start a new one), which is called a Single Post or just a post. Sometimes single posts are consolidated into compilations.
  
 Single posting is fairly easy: just post your characters speech and actions into the appropriate role-play thread. Single posting is fairly easy: just post your characters speech and actions into the appropriate role-play thread.
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 ==== Joint Posts  ==== ==== Joint Posts  ====
-Two more more players can collaborate on an in-character post. This is referred to as joint posting (JP). Joint posting saves time and can feel more exciting because it's done in real time. For JPs, we usually arrange a meeting time or just spontaneously start role-playing with whoever is online that fits into a plot. These RP sessions usually last about an hour or two and when we're done, one of the people in the RP session saves, edits, and posts the transcript (the joint post) onto the boards. The above methods of RP are why some parts of the board tend to have big, long posts with multiple characters and few replies--so don't let them intimidate you, they're just giant edited transcripts.+Two or more players can collaborate on an in-character post. This is referred to as joint posting (JP). Joint posting saves time and can feel more exciting because it's done in real time. For JPs, we usually arrange a meeting time or just spontaneously start role-playing with whoever is online that fits into a plot. These RP sessions usually last about an hour or two and when we're done, one of the people in the RP session saves, edits, and posts the transcript (the joint post) onto the boards. The above methods of RP are why some parts of the board tend to have big, long posts with multiple characters and few replies--so don't let them intimidate you, they're just giant edited transcripts.
  
 These accomplish several things, including: These accomplish several things, including:
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 Yahoo messenger and IRC were once the most common JP tools but Etherpad type sites have become the most favored and used. They're real-time multi-user document editors that allow roleplayers to write a group RP post simultaneously. Yahoo messenger and IRC were once the most common JP tools but Etherpad type sites have become the most favored and used. They're real-time multi-user document editors that allow roleplayers to write a group RP post simultaneously.
  
-  * [[:yahoo_instant_messenger]] 
-  * [[guide:irc|IRC]] 
   * Etherpads   * Etherpads
-    * [[http://titanpad.com/|Titanpad]] 
-    * [[http://piratepad.net/|Piratepad]] 
     * [[http://publishwith.me|PublishWith.Me]]     * [[http://publishwith.me|PublishWith.Me]]
-    * [[http://shamblespad.com/|Shamblespad]] 
     * [[http://write.roleplaygateway.com]]     * [[http://write.roleplaygateway.com]]
 +  * Chatrooms
 +    * Discord Servers
 +    * IRC
  
 === Joining a Joint Post === === Joining a Joint Post ===
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 To reiterate, a shorter post does not have to mean a bad post. To reiterate, a shorter post does not have to mean a bad post.
  
-=== Order ===+=== Posting Order ===
  
 As mentioned earlier, the order of posting will normally follow a logical order. For example: Between five players, the GM might begin with a post to set everyone in the JP. The character that most immediately needed to post will either do so, or be asked to by the GM in OOC. Then each player has their first post, and they continue in the same order unless a divergence is needed later. As mentioned earlier, the order of posting will normally follow a logical order. For example: Between five players, the GM might begin with a post to set everyone in the JP. The character that most immediately needed to post will either do so, or be asked to by the GM in OOC. Then each player has their first post, and they continue in the same order unless a divergence is needed later.
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 Alternatively, we can do a free-for-all method that relies on situational awareness on the part of the players involved. In that case, posts would be entered on an as-needed basis and some characters may be skipped if they're not doing anything notable. Alternatively, we can do a free-for-all method that relies on situational awareness on the part of the players involved. In that case, posts would be entered on an as-needed basis and some characters may be skipped if they're not doing anything notable.
  
- +=== JP Tips === 
-=== Scene === +    * Make sure you have the time to JP. If you're not sure, ask how long it's expected to take. If you have to leave early, or can't JP at all, be sure to inform your plot's GM.
-The scene is where the focus and action of the Joint Post takes place, usually, in a space where all the characters (and thus, an imaginary observer) can interact with one another. It is considered rude to post actions and speech which occur outside of the scene, because A) It disrupts the scene and B) characters can't react to it. A scene is generally a room or area, such as a ship's bridge or a clearing in a forest; it is generally specified at the start of a roleplay (eg; ON: "YSS Sakura Wardroom"). +
- +
-It is both the players and the GM's responsibility to keep things within a unifed scene. Think of the roleplay as an interactive movie. You have one camera--the reader. You can skip between scenes if it makes sense, but DO NOT just throw everything together, or things will get horribly confusing. +
- +
-Players who post out-of-scene might have their posts removed from the edited transcript.  +
- +
-The best way to avoid being Out-Of-Scene is to have your character join the others. +
- +
-=== Tips === +
-    * Always make sure you have the time to JP. If you're not sure, ask how long it's expected to take. If you have to leave early, or can't JP at all, be sure to inform your plot's GM.+
     * Don't GM anything unless asked to do so.     * Don't GM anything unless asked to do so.
     * If you have to go away from your computer a moment for whatever reason, be sure to let everyone know. This is OOC, of course. (Bathroom, be right back)     * If you have to go away from your computer a moment for whatever reason, be sure to let everyone know. This is OOC, of course. (Bathroom, be right back)
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 Most GMs even impose posting time limits in order to keep the pace up. If the game is lagging and you are able to post, do it. And don't just post to yourself! Try to interact with other characters to keep things exciting. Most GMs even impose posting time limits in order to keep the pace up. If the game is lagging and you are able to post, do it. And don't just post to yourself! Try to interact with other characters to keep things exciting.
  
-==== Subject ==== +Posting speed and leave of absence policies are set by individual GMs. On a site-wide basis, threads are considered inactive if it has been a month since the last RP post. 
-The subject is the person or thing taking action in a particular paragraph. If the subject changes, one should start a new paragraph. The subject (generally a PC) should always be mentioned in paragraphs, unless it is obvious (such as a verbal reply when only two characters are speaking). To avoid repetitiveness, you may want to vary the subject; for example, [[character:hanako|Ketsurui Hanako]] could be referred to as Hanako, the Shosho, Shosho Ketsurui, the Captain, the Blue-Haired Neko, the Golden-eyed girl, et cetera.+ 
 +===== Flexible Timeline ===== 
 +At a site-wide level, time in the Star Army universe the runs on the [[faction:yamatai:calendar]] and lines up with real life as described on the calendar page. Your RP threads are not required to line up with the site-wide time and can be set as your plot demands. Therefore, to help keep track of space and time for history and continuity purposes, always include the location, date, and time at the start of your posts. 
 + 
 +Characters can be in multiple RP threads at once as long as it makes sense in terms of the timeline/continuity, and is not used to give your character an unnatural advantage by metagaming (such as inappropriately using OOC knowledge of the future to influence IC actions of the past). 
 + 
 +===== Scene ===== 
 +The scene is where the focus and action of the Joint Post takes place, usually, in a space where all the characters (and thus, an imaginary observer) can interact with one another. It is considered rude to post actions and speech which occur outside of the scene, because 
 + 
 +  - It disrupts the scene and 
 +  - Characters can't react to it. 
 + 
 +A scene is generally a room or area, such as a ship's bridge or a clearing in a forest; it is generally specified at the start of a roleplay (eg; ON: "YSS Sakura Wardroom"). 
 + 
 +It is both the players and the GM's responsibility to keep things within a unified scene. Think of the roleplay as an interactive movie. You have one camera--the reader. You can skip between scenes if it makes sense, but DO NOT just throw everything together, or things will get horribly confusing. 
 + 
 +Players who post out-of-scene might have their posts removed from the edited transcript.  
 + 
 +The best way to avoid being Out-Of-Scene is to have your character join the others. 
 + 
 +===== Subject ===== 
 +The subject is the person or thing taking action in a particular paragraph. If the subject changes, one should start a new paragraph. The subject (generally a PC) should always be mentioned in paragraphs, unless it is obvious (such as a verbal reply when only two characters are speaking). To avoid repetitiveness, you may want to vary the subject; for example, [[characters:yamatai:hanako|Ketsurui Hanako]] could be referred to as Hanako, the Shosho, Shosho Ketsurui, the Captain, the Blue-Haired Neko, the Golden-eyed girl, et cetera. 
 + 
 +===== Format and Use of Forum Code ===== 
 +The following formatting is standard for in-character posts: 
 + 
 +  * **Bold** text is used for announcements (such as the ship's intercom) and emphasis. 
 +  * //Italics// are used for: 
 +    * wireless communication and telepathy (using quotation marks) 
 +      * Example: //"Don't fall,"// the neko warned him. 
 +    * thoughts (with or without quotation marks) 
 +      * Example: //Ten seconds to get this [[items:equipment:spacesuit]] sealed//, Mia thought. 
 +    * emphasis (for things like sarcasm, etc.  
 +      * Example: "I'm sure this will be an //entirely// eventful mission."
 +  * Quote boxes should be used for any content from a previous post and for in-character quotes of things like electronic mail, dinner menus, etc. 
 +  * Parenthesis can be used to signify OOC (Out Of Character) comments. You should start the OOC comment with **OOC:** so it's clear what it is. Please don't make off-topic OOC comments during JPs, and keep the OOC to a minimum in IC posts. 
 +  * Use caution with colored text, as it may not be readable on some styles (Star Army has blue, red, white, and black styles). 
 + 
 +===== Risks to Characters ===== 
 +See: [[guide:risk levels]]
  
 +===== Trigger Warnings =====
 +Trigger warnings are only used on SARP for NSFW subforums (where they appear on topics as a extra field the way RP Date and RP Location do) and NSFW thread tags are for sexual content. Trigger warnings are required for posts containing sexual violence or non-consent.
  
 +You're welcome to add your own warning into your posts if you like but it's not required for violence (e.g. war and fighting) generally.
 +===== Article Notes =====
 +This article is (mostly) written by [[members:wes]].
  
  

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