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guide:roleplaying [2018/01/14 15:45] – [Roleplaying] wesguide:roleplaying [2024/02/10 13:32] (current) – [Conflicts] wes
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 Star Army is a community, so get the most out of this site by being proactive; get (and stay) involved. Make friends of your fellow roleplayers by showing them you're fun to write with! It doesn't matter how long you've been a site member: what matters is what you're doing. Star Army is a community, so get the most out of this site by being proactive; get (and stay) involved. Make friends of your fellow roleplayers by showing them you're fun to write with! It doesn't matter how long you've been a site member: what matters is what you're doing.
 +
 ===== Basic Rules ===== ===== Basic Rules =====
 +  - **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.   - 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.     - 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.
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     - Do not control other people's characters or "auto" them without permission.     - Do not control other people's characters or "auto" them without permission.
     - Example: You can shoot //at// them, but you can't just //shoot// them, unless you're the GM.     - Example: You can shoot //at// them, but you can't just //shoot// them, unless you're the GM.
-  - Please post in third-person, past tense, like a novel. "Andrew reached for his weapon." 
  
-===== Format and Use of Forum Code ===== +===== Play by Post Roleplaying ===== 
-The following formatting is standard for in-character posts:+**Star Army** is a play-by-post roleplaying community, which means we operate by posting text on the forum. Unlike 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 a GM. 
 + 
 +See also: [[guide:game master]]
  
-  * **Bold** text is used for announcements (such as the ship's intercom) and emphasis. +===== Plots & Subforums ===== 
-  * //Italics// are used for: +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. 
-    * wireless communication and telepathy (using quotation marks) + 
-      * Example: //"Don't fall,"// the neko warned him. +See: [[:plots]]
-    * thoughts (with or without quotation marks) +
-      * Example: //Ten seconds to get this 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).+
  
 ===== Communicate! ===== ===== Communicate! =====
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   * OOC threads   * OOC threads
   * Conversations (sometimes called PMs)   * Conversations (sometimes called PMs)
-  * The [[https://stararmy.com/roleplay-forum/index.php?chat/|chat room]]+  * Discord
  
 ===== Conflicts ===== ===== Conflicts =====
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 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.
 +
 +See also: [[guide:effective_resolution|]]
  
 ===== Metagaming ===== ===== Metagaming =====
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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 =====
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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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   * Etherpads   * Etherpads
-    * [[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   * Chatrooms
 +    * Discord Servers
     * IRC     * IRC
  
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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 === === JP Tips ===
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 ===== Flexible Timeline ===== ===== Flexible Timeline =====
-At a site-wide level, a year in real life is equivalent to a year in the Star Army universe. However, you are not required to stay aligned with the actual dates throughout the year. To help keep track of space and time, please include the location, date, and time at the start of your posts as needed. +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.
- +
-See also: [[calendar:Yamatai]]+
  
 +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 ===== ===== Scene =====
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 ===== Subject ===== ===== 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, [[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.+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]].
  
  

guide/roleplaying.1515973512.txt.gz · Last modified: 2023/12/20 15:53 (external edit)

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