Post by Neon on May 13, 2011 14:15:49 GMT -5
Roleplaying Etiquette – A guide to good manners when the story isn’t exclusively yours
When you write a story, you have all of the creative license to do as you please with the plot. It is your fictionverse to manipulate as you see fit. Roleplay, however, is different. You share the plot with one or more partners. And that is indeed what they are; they are essentially equals when it comes to control of your plot. Even if one of you single-handedly created the fictionverse you will be using, it’s up to both of you to collaborate to put together a good story. I’ve worked out some basic pointers to make sure the process goes smoothly for all involved … and perhaps a way to avoid arguments or loss of interest down the road.
1) Your characters are yours to control. You cannot control another person’s character! They may have put a lot of work into coming up with this character and its personality, and ultimately only they know exactly how the character would react to something. Even if the reaction isn’t what you wanted or expected, there needs to be respect for their decision.
2) There is a common RP action out there that I personally call “autohitting”, though it doesn’t necessarily mean combat all of the time. If your character is going to do something to another character (combat, or otherwise), try to phrase it as an attempt. That way, the other player has a choice to avoid it or to allow it. This is especially crucial if it is something that maybe they don’t want to have happen to their character.
*One of the biggest examples of autohit that I see in Gt roleplay is when the big picks up the tiny and moves right on with the story. Perhaps that person would have their character avoid that at first? Usually it goes by without notice, but even so, it keeps the playing field equal if you leave them with a choice.
3) Revisionist History is a no-no! Essentially, revisionist history is contradicting something that has already happened earlier in the roleplay. Rather than try to explain it and get confusing, I have a simple example:
RPer "John" posts: George was walking through the park in the early hours of the morning. With a yawn, he turned to watch the sunrise. He loved mornings like this. He could go and be by himself. He'd been out for a couple of hours now, and no one had even passed by yet.
RPer "Paul" posts: Ringo was watching the whole time. He finally decided to talk to George.
The above is an example of revisionist history because of the bolded words. John specifically stated that no one was there, and Paul openly contradicted this. It makes for a choppy storyline and, in some cases, an annoyed RPer. Paul's post would have been okay if John had said something like "To George's knowledge, no one was around," because it leaves the situation more open to interpretation.
This is just one kind of example of many. Just don't let yourself fall into a pattern of this mistake, because it can be tough to beat.
4) Just because you know something about your partners’ characters, it doesn’t always follow that your character knows too. Your character didn’t read the bio! In many cases, they’ve just met this other character! So don’t play as if your character knows things they logically shouldn’t.
5) Try not to God-mode! That is, your character shouldn’t be perfect. Autohitting kind of falls into this category, really. Invincibility does as well, and honestly a character with a “perfect personality” does too (read: Mary Sue). Characters like that are really boring to interact with. I know a lot of people who would rather interact with a deeper character.
6) Respect the setting. It doesn’t matter who created it, there are rules to the way every fictionverse works. You can’t make up new rules for it just to suit your needs. That would take part of the fun of using that setting right out of the RP. This can be the case for a fanfiction-type roleplay, or a roleplay in which one or more of the partners created the fictionverse. Respect the established rules. If you are unsure about whether something fits in, it’s best to ask.
7) A roleplay is a roleplay. A chat is a chat. There are places for both. I think that’s enough on that subject.
8) .... More may be added if they come up!
Tutors make your additions as you see fit.
When you write a story, you have all of the creative license to do as you please with the plot. It is your fictionverse to manipulate as you see fit. Roleplay, however, is different. You share the plot with one or more partners. And that is indeed what they are; they are essentially equals when it comes to control of your plot. Even if one of you single-handedly created the fictionverse you will be using, it’s up to both of you to collaborate to put together a good story. I’ve worked out some basic pointers to make sure the process goes smoothly for all involved … and perhaps a way to avoid arguments or loss of interest down the road.
1) Your characters are yours to control. You cannot control another person’s character! They may have put a lot of work into coming up with this character and its personality, and ultimately only they know exactly how the character would react to something. Even if the reaction isn’t what you wanted or expected, there needs to be respect for their decision.
2) There is a common RP action out there that I personally call “autohitting”, though it doesn’t necessarily mean combat all of the time. If your character is going to do something to another character (combat, or otherwise), try to phrase it as an attempt. That way, the other player has a choice to avoid it or to allow it. This is especially crucial if it is something that maybe they don’t want to have happen to their character.
*One of the biggest examples of autohit that I see in Gt roleplay is when the big picks up the tiny and moves right on with the story. Perhaps that person would have their character avoid that at first? Usually it goes by without notice, but even so, it keeps the playing field equal if you leave them with a choice.
3) Revisionist History is a no-no! Essentially, revisionist history is contradicting something that has already happened earlier in the roleplay. Rather than try to explain it and get confusing, I have a simple example:
RPer "John" posts: George was walking through the park in the early hours of the morning. With a yawn, he turned to watch the sunrise. He loved mornings like this. He could go and be by himself. He'd been out for a couple of hours now, and no one had even passed by yet.
RPer "Paul" posts: Ringo was watching the whole time. He finally decided to talk to George.
The above is an example of revisionist history because of the bolded words. John specifically stated that no one was there, and Paul openly contradicted this. It makes for a choppy storyline and, in some cases, an annoyed RPer. Paul's post would have been okay if John had said something like "To George's knowledge, no one was around," because it leaves the situation more open to interpretation.
This is just one kind of example of many. Just don't let yourself fall into a pattern of this mistake, because it can be tough to beat.
4) Just because you know something about your partners’ characters, it doesn’t always follow that your character knows too. Your character didn’t read the bio! In many cases, they’ve just met this other character! So don’t play as if your character knows things they logically shouldn’t.
5) Try not to God-mode! That is, your character shouldn’t be perfect. Autohitting kind of falls into this category, really. Invincibility does as well, and honestly a character with a “perfect personality” does too (read: Mary Sue). Characters like that are really boring to interact with. I know a lot of people who would rather interact with a deeper character.
6) Respect the setting. It doesn’t matter who created it, there are rules to the way every fictionverse works. You can’t make up new rules for it just to suit your needs. That would take part of the fun of using that setting right out of the RP. This can be the case for a fanfiction-type roleplay, or a roleplay in which one or more of the partners created the fictionverse. Respect the established rules. If you are unsure about whether something fits in, it’s best to ask.
7) A roleplay is a roleplay. A chat is a chat. There are places for both. I think that’s enough on that subject.
8) .... More may be added if they come up!
Tutors make your additions as you see fit.