A Guide to RP'ing at PW

[Riza Hawkeye]

RPG GUIDE: How to be a Good RPG Player

I've got an idea, and I've seen a few people and I suspect some in the future will have some trouble with RP'ing here, so I decided to make a guide.

I will do my best to explain how to be a good RPG player through tips, tricks, and strategies.

How do you be a good RPG player?

Again, there is no easy answer. To be a good RPG player you must have imagination, grammar skills, and communication skills. Read on… I hope you find this information helpful!

Part 1: Building your Reputation

So, you’re a new member of Pocket Watch, and can’t wait to start RPing! Well, in order to be a successful RPG Player you will need a good reputation. Naturally new RPG players are unknown, it’s important to not make too many mistakes early on.

First, try the Cbox or PM another member and see if they are willing to start a thread with you. This'll give you a first hand experience, and other players and see what style of RP'ing you do, and maybe they will ask you next time to RP with them.

Once you have a known reputation of being a good RPG player, you’re really all set. However, there are lots of blank spots that I need to fill in here. Read on to get more in-depth information on how to achieve getting this reputation.

Part 2: Joining an RPG

First impressions matter! When you want to join an RPG, read through everything the poster has to say, including the plot/overture, rules, and join template.

Now for the signing it up itself. Read the template carefully and get an idea of what you want your character to be. Be sure your character is not a Mary-Sue (see below). Review the sign-up template the RPG creator has posted, and be sure to fill in ALL fields. There’s nothing more annoying to an RPG creator than a person not filling in all of the join fields… this gives a bad first impression and also lessens your chances of getting admitted into Pocket Watch.

Hawkeyes's Hints: Try not to do anything offensive to any of your fellow RP'ers. If they do so to you, you can calmly link any staff member to the problem, and we'll decide what will happen before things get out of control.
What’s also important: Good grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization. If your English teacher wouldn’t accept the sign-up template you are about to send in, you need to go back and rework it. Take a look at the two sample templates… which do you think is more likely to be accepted?

Name: BiLbO
Likes: candy color red seashells steak
Dislikes: elefants bad hair dayz color green

Name: Bilbo
Likes: Candy, the color red, seashells, and steak
Dislikes: Elephants, bad hair days, the color green

Do you see how much of a difference it makes? The second template is much easier on the eyes and would probably get accepted. The first? Not so much.

Mary-Sues: What are they? They are characters that seem to “take control” of the RPG or are “perfect”. Here’s an example:

Jupiter is a mystic warrior who has the ability to freeze time, control the weather, and create fire. He possesses super-strength and he has an army of several thousand armed warriors always at his disposal.

That sounds like a Mary-Sue because “Jupiter” is perfect and seems to have no faults. DO NOT join as a Mary-Sue, as other players will be annoyed with you and your character (if you get accepted at all). Here’s a few simple edits that makes Jupiter much less of a Mary-Sue, but still a cool character:

Jupiter is a mystic warrior who has the ability control the weather. He’s pretty strong and has two armed companions at his disposal.

Part 3: Posting in an RPG

Posting in the RPG is the most important part to get right. Your posts in the main RPG thread should ONLY be your contribution – not any extra comments; and if there are any needed, try discussing through PM or do so in a ooc: format.

Like in everything else, always post with good grammar, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and the like. Make your post look attractive with occasional breaks for a paragraph – don’t type a huge long post that’s all in one block. It gets very confusing and frustrating to read as well as being cluttered. Nice, neat paragraphs are the way to go.

Hawkeye's hint: While you want to make your new contribution look attractive, don’t go “overboard”. Meaning, don’t feel the need to change the font size or color (ESPECIALLY bright colors). And of course, avoid chat “lingo” such as lol, afk, brb, etc.

There are also other things to consider when posting. Take a look at the questions below.

Does my post make a contribution to the story?

Is my post biased?

Does my post follow all of the RPG Forum Guidelines?

Let’s address each question.

Does my post make a contribution the story? Well, of course you need to read it over. Does your post enhance or push along the plotline, or is it unnecessary material? If the former is true, move on to the next question. If the latter is true, rearrange or rewrite your post so that it actually helps the story along.

Is my post biased? This goes along with Mary-Sue’s. If your post is basically being biased (that is, favoring) towards your character, you have some work to do. No one likes Mary-Sue’s, and you don’t want the reputation of one. Treat all characters equally and realistically. If you still don’t get the idea, check out the examples below.

Before Ruby could do anything Crystal slashed at the incoming warrior skeletons with her enormous staff, destroying them all to bits. However, she missed a giant condor which flew in and carried Ruby off. On the bright side Crystal received a golden medal for a job well done.

Well, that was pretty biased. “Crystal” aimed everything at herself – she had her amazingly defeat an army of warrior skeletons with no help from Ruby, who was then also kidnapped by an enormous condor. PLUS, Crystal received a nice reward while Ruby got nothing. Now let’s look at the revised version that removes the bias.

The warrior skeletons were coming in fast at Ruby, who was no match for them alone. Suddenly, Crystal burst in and the pair destroyed the skeletons with teamwork. They also managed to destroy a large condor that was flying at them – as a reward for a job well done they both received golden medals.

This post is MUCH less biased. Notice how the two work TOGETHER, and the events aren’t slanted towards the well-being of a certain character. You want your posts to be more like this paragraph then the first.

Does my post all of the RPG Forum Guidelines? Well, as you know, There can be no gore, extreme violence, drug use, suggestive themes, over the top romance, or any of that jazz in your posts. Doing so can get your post deleted (along with warnings or infractions) and may also affect the entire thread! Always check over your post for things that may not follow the rules.

Hawkeye's Hint: There’s often confusion between the difference of “okay violence” and “extreme violence”. Let’s put it this way – you can describe one character attacking another and causing harm to that person (for example, cutting off his arm), but don’t go overboard and go on to explain the specific wounds, blood, etc. It just gets messy and a bit gross.

Part 4: Getting along with other RPGers

So you’re posting in an RPG and things are going pretty well – that is, until someone starts to get out of line. Let’s review some ways to deal with rule breakers, Mary-Sue’s, or just plain rotten eggs. To avoid becoming any of these, follow the guidelines above and be friendly and encouraging to everyone (don’t shoot down other people’s writing)!

Rule Breakers
The most important thing to remember here is that you are not a moderator – don’t backseat moderate (which is also against the rules). If you see someone breaking the rules of the forum, PM an available RPG forum moderator or admin. Even if the offender is your best friend, you need to do the right thing (your friend should thank you).

Mary-Sue’s
Sometimes people can be Mary-Sue’s without realizing. If this is the case, address the person kindly in the ooc: format or private message. Don’t be rude in any circumstance, even if the person in question is rude in response. If the person continues to be mean and be a Mary-Sue, try PMing Alphonse, I or any of the admins.

Rotten Eggs
If someone is just being plain mean, you need to PM a moderator (because we don't want to kill the admins with every little problem happening.) Don’t try to address the person via PM or post – this will just cause a flame war and lots of unnecessary fighting.

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Well, there you have it folks. Follow these guidelines and you should be in good shape. Have fun RPGing!

- Moderator Riza Hawkeye