I will be editing this post based off of what people post.

How to RP Well

1. Be your character, not yourself. -- Daganev, Aison
--1a. From your character's perspective, this is life, not a game. -- Laysus
2. Consider how different events may shape your character's personality. A character that never changes at all seems less real. -- Myrkr
3. Define who your character is via various things, such as likes, dislikes, personality quirks, favorite words to use, etc. -- Kiriwe
4. Custom Emotes (emote dances in a circle.) and Custom Says (say (Curiously) What the Nil are you talking about??) are your friend. -- Kiriwe, Aison
5. Keep track of your character's interactions so that you can keep your character consistent, especially if you're new to the character. -- Kiriwe
6. Treat NPCs like they're people, not objects. -- Serella
7. Experience as much as possible, and learn from those experiences. -- Kiradawea, Laysus
--7a. Talk to random people for a broader range of interaction. -- Serella
8. Consistency is good, but if your character never grows or changes, it becomes boring. -- Jigan
9. When starting a new character, start with a general idea opposed to having everything set in stone. This allows your character to grow into something new and interesting -- Jigan
10. Don't let your character control who you are. -- Jigan
11. You RP best when you're not actively looking for RP. -- Salvation, Laysus
12. Do your research. Not everything in game is as you may think it is. For example, crossbreeding, chocolate, so on and so forth. -- Greleag
13. Use "Say to Person" so that someone who just walks into a room doesn't get too confused or think you're talking to them. (say to razenth (exasperated) I'm telling you, I don't LIKE cookies, so stop giving them to me!!) -- Aison
--13a. Use tones when doing says. (Say (in a quiet voice) I've heard Razenth likes to give out cookies.) -- Aoife
--13b. Use the various types of says. (Whine, scream, look at HELP SAYS) -- Aoife
14. Use emotes with giving. (give cookie to aison (with a snicker and a sly grin) -- Aison
15. While emotes are nice, if they have no meaning, then they're worthless. -- Othero
16. Do not try too hard. RP is fluid, not scripted. -- Kiradawea
17. Work towards goals, even if they don't seem feasible. -- Kiradawea
18. Develop passions for your characters. While it may be RP to be dull and flat, it's hard to spot it as RP. -- Kiradawea
19. Make sure your role flows through everything you do, instead of being limited to a few key interactions. (ie, if you RP you're pregnant, you shouldn't be getting drunk and going out hunting) -- mitbulls
20. Focus on how you act and what you do in general. Tully was a great example of this - he didn't just go around and TELL everyone that he was a janitor. He started ACTING like one, and people caught on. -- mitbulls




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What do you think it takes to RP well? What pointers would you give to someone who wants to get into the RP scene? What would you avoid?

Can I help teach this class?

>:D

Edit: Ok, I was being unhelpful

Um, let's see.

I like to come up with a list of likes and dislikes, personality quirks, favorite words and such for my characters, something that distinguishes them from me, and from other players as well.

Keeping track of your character's interactions, via logs (hehe) or notes helps to keep your character consistant, so you can refer back to prior happenings.

Emotes are good, especially if you consistantly use certain ones for certain situations. Custom emotes are nice, too, because you can makes something uniquely for your character, something that people will associate with you when they see it. It also helps with consistancy

the say (stuff) is really awesome, because you can throw in little things that add to your characters portrayal. I don't reccomend doing it constantly, because it can get annoying if you do the same thng over and over again. But using it for emphasis is pretty cool.

Also, the little emoticons you put at the end of says help add inflection, which can help add depth.

Depends on what you post, and if others agree/disagree.

Be your charachter, not yourself

That is all you need to know/do.

I added yours, Daganev. Anyone agree, disagree? More ideas?

How about ... hmm

Play your role? I'm so helpful today!

That's... redundant, isn't it?

Kiriwe, added yours, too.

C'mon, people, you know you have thoughts on this stuff!

Uhm, I'd say that roleplay can come from little things. Just taking the time to interact with your environment, or talking to NPCs as if they're actual people instead of objects. Small RP interactions always make me happy ^^

Also, talk to random people! You can have some interesting conversations that way.

Consistancy is nice, but sometimes do things a little different than normal. Sometimes, I don't want to deal with that damned duck.

Don't be afraid for your character to change. Jigan started off as a somewhat emotionally broken Paladin who's entire world revolved around paperwork.

When starting a new character, don't worry too much about defining traits. Start with a few loose items, a few dots here and there, and let the character grow. It may surprise you where they go, or what they blossom into.

And, for the record and to understate Dag's notation: Don't let your character control you. It's nice to have a character that thinks for itself once in awhile, but it's awfully disturbing when Jigan is talking about brutally torturing someone and kicking puppies and I'm at my desk either with my shirt over my head, pretending I'm one of those spitting dinosaurs, or thinking about how hungry I am for chicken.

Just remember, you play a role, not get rolled by the played.



Note: I do not claim to be a great roleplayer.

RP is impossible here due to OOC clans/communication. You would have to do away with all that. Otherwise you can have small pockets of RP between players but on a large scale, its the ooc cliques vs the other ooc cliques.

That's not very encouraging, regardless of how true it may or may not be.

Note: I don't find it to be very true. I've RPed with many people of different cliques before without belonging to my own clique, per se.

What he said - Lusternia is not a roleplaying game, it is an events-based game where there are pockets of roleplay.

Furthermore, you roleplay well when you aren't actively going around trying to roleplay.

I do not think that "being yourself" necessarily makes for poor RP, depending in what ways you are yourself.

Just an addendum/revisal to #1: If you react like a player sitting at the computer playing a game would, then certainly you are not fulfilling your IC role. There is however nothing wrong with pretending that 'you' are apart of the fantasy world, rather than pretending that you are someone else. As long as you go on the premise that Lusternia is reality and immerse yourself in that reality, you are playing an in-character role. That character just happens to be you in a different existence, with in-game history and motivations.

@Romero: I see RP happen all the time (and I rarely interact). I've been told that Lusternia has an immense amount of metagaming, but that does not mean their isn't any roleplay going on, however manipulative it is. Personally though, I decline when offered to join OOC clans and would rather see them banned.

@Salvation: Lusternia is a verdant haven in comparison to most other MUDs I have played, and all other IRE games excluding Aetolia, which I know too little about to speak on. Regardless, taking that attitude doesn't help and generally worsens the environment because it discourages other players from even making the attempt. Can't we just go on the assumption that it is (according policy) a Roleplaying Game and behave/enforce accordingly?

Do your research.

This is pretty vital. Not doing research leads to people arguing that trill can crossbred with dracnari to make scaly fire-breathing flying people, that IC nihilism is the same thing as OOC nihilism, that angels should be allowed into Serenwilde because they are objectively good, that mercury is an element, that Lusternia orbits the Sun, magic is mysterious, that lusternia's Divine and allknowing and all-powerful, the Divine are inerringly correct, evolution exists and resulted in cats turning into aslarans, the Gods don't exist, viscanti are white with blond hair and blue eyes, technology is in the dark ages, chocolate is common etc.

^^ that post there wins.

And for ffs, stop reacting like you're a player at a computer (someone said this I think. but it deserves to be stressed). Start reacting by how your character would.

And if you can, start using SAY TO PERSON more often. It directs the conversation and people who walk into the room won't imagine you talking to empty air.

Unless you're addressing a group, of course.

edit: also, let's not forget using emotes before says i.e.: say to razenth (exasperated) I'm telling you, I don't LIKE cookies, so stop giving them to me!!

or, even better, emotes for giving:

give cookie to aison (with a snicker and a sly grin)

Hey what. I don't give cookies to anyone. It's undignified.

Lots of fancy emotes does not equal good RP. What you say, why you say it, and the reasons behind your actions are just important as having them read nice.

Did I phrase it alright, Othero?

Adding "tone" to your character's voice is nice and really very simple, whether you want to be dramatic or just make sure your cityleader knows you aren't mouthing off.

As in: Say (in a quiet voice) I've heard Razenth likes to give out cookies. In game this will show up as: In a quiet voice, you say, "I've heard Razenth likes to give out cookies."

Or: Say I've heard Razenth has cookies In game this will show up as: You smile and say, "I've heard Razenth has cookies."

See also, "HELP SAYS" and the list of alternative ways to say things (scream, etc).

PS. Shout and scream aren't the same thing; screaming will capitalize whatever you say.

Yeah.