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RP Guide
Topic Started: Feb 5 2015, 09:46 PM (94 Views)
Ironside
Administrator
RP GUIDE

What is RP?

RP stands for Role Play, its why we're all here (OK....why I'm here). Role Play is best considered as collaborative story telling, essentially think of it as your favourite TV series, a team of writers creating charectors setting situations and telling the stories that go along with it. The big difference (other than the fact we're not getting paid for this) is that we're a whole range of TV programmes intertwined. As a result it's really important you remember your part of a community, no one wants you going Game of Thrones charector killing on their own creations.

How do I get started?

Your first task is to create some kind of identity for your nation. Consider it your staring character, so you need to give it some deep thought. So the main question is how do you deciede. Members in TIO have various methods.

1. Model yourself on an existing country. South Hills for example is essentially the USA and until recently the USR was Russia under Stalin. Most nations in TIO at the moment seem to be Western Europe/USA nations so if you fancied being different go for it.

2. Pick a culture and base your nation around that. The Union of Nordic People is, as the name suggests, based on Nordic Culture, meanwhile the United Amcin Emirates is based on Arab cultures. You can always go historical with your nations culture, for example East Moreland is well and truly based on Chivalric ideals from medieval Europe.

3. Pick a form of government / political ideology and develop your nation around that. A good example of the is Zachachevania which is a Communist nation where everything originated from that idea.

There are other ways but these are generally good ways to get started. Try and be different to other nations that already exist as this makes you unique and more people will want to interact.

What should I do before starting RP?

There are only two things I suggest you do before starting to get involved in Role Play.

1. Make a map claim. You won't be added to the map until you have six RP posts but once you have a map claim its considered that you'll get it so we all act like your already on. This now means everyone knows where you are.

2. Not compulsory but a good idea, make a factbook. For starters you might want to use this Template. You might also want to do a post on history, government style, geography, culture....you can easily get 6 RP posts through creating a factbook.

OK I'm Good to Go.....what should I do?

Role Play falls into four specific types, at least in my opinion, in each spoiler there is some advice on how to get going in them. Before you start though here are my Ironside Ten Commandments for RP.

1. Thou shalt not use another nations territory for your story. - In other words if you plan on doing any cross boarder antics PM the person first and ask permission. Most people are happy to co-operate but just check first, you may damage a story they are writing.

2. Thou shalt not launch a war without consent. - The best way I had it explained to me was "There are no winners and losers in RP, its about the story". War RP's are very popular, but also a pain to write at times. Always check with the other writer before starting a war RP, if they say no that means no. Before you start sort out who will win and how it'll be resolved. War RP can be very useful for bringing change to your nation.

3. Thou shalt not God Mod - God Modding is where you essentially just magically make stuff, people , damage etc appear in very unrealistic ways. For example your 2,500,000 genetically modified super soldiers suddenly appear in the other nations capital assassinate their King and have everyone in slavery. Its wrong for two reasons, 1) its awful story telling, 2) Its unrealistic.

4. Thou Shalt not steal other people's ideas without giving due credit Like the shiny new economic zone your neighbour has built, want one too? Fine have one, its what happens in the real world but should you use their sign up type thingy then at least credit them. After all we're a community.

5. Thou shalt not be unrealistic. Might sound common sense, but you'll be amazed, want your nation to expand its Navy, awesome go for it. Going to have seven air craft carriers delivered next Monday.....nope. RP time isn't the same as real life time, but be a little realistic. In non military stuff remember charectors age, characters are not perfect and bad stuff happens.

6. Thou Shalt Not Confuse Real Life and RP and vice versa. Its perfectly fine to have characters that aren't like you, in fact that's probably one reason your here, because you like creating new characters. Remember not everyone has to do what you would do, your perfectly able to have charactors who are racist, sexist , nasty pieces of work, but when you RP them be mindful of things like not using abusive language. Remember just because someone charactor may have said something you don't like it doesn't make the writer horrible, its a story after all.

7. Thou Shalt make good use of OOC - OOC = Out of Context. Every now and again you'll see people post "OOC- Hey I was wondering guys if someone could....." These are called Out of Context posts, they aren't part of the story and are ways of writers checking stuff or advising people on how to proceed. I suggest EVERY war RP has a separate OOC thread. If your unsure of something in a thread just whack and OOC in and someone will spot it and help.

8. The OP's word is Law. OP means Opening Post, in other words the person who started the thread. As far as anyone is concerned the RP is under their direction. If your not sure whether your allowed to join their RP just message them and ask. If they set ground rules stick to them.

9. Less Than Four Write Some More. One of my own personal rules. If a post has less than four sentences I add more. Anything less than four sentences usually doesn't progress a story very far. Look at the example below.

"The soldier pulled out his rifle. He took careful aim and pulled the trigger. The enemy fell in a heap." .......nothing wrong with that but just a bit dull, add some description, names, speech etc. It makes your post more interesting and helps progress the story

Now check this out.

"The soldier slowly removed his rifle from its sling. Steadying it on a nearby rock he looked through the scope, in the distance he saw an enemy soldier moving. He squinted tracking his enemies movement back and forth as he patrolled the edge of the woodland. He made a mental note of the wind speed, a slight breeze, nothing to worry about. He slowly squeezed the trigger and felt the thud of the recoil in his shoulder. He kept looking through the scope as he saw the enemy fall in a heap, his job done he lowered his rifle."

Same story, just better.

10 - Thou shalt try RP, thou shalt improve and love it. Like anything practice makes perfect, no one expects JK Rowling style awesomeness, the best way to get good at RP is to do it, people you RP with will offer advice and will be happy to work with you. You can't really go wrong as if something doesn't work out you just all pretend it never happened....no harm done. Trust me, when I got to TIO I'd never RP'd before, now I've been here around a year and I'm writing the guide :)

11. Thou Shalt Remember the difference between PRIVATE and PUBLIC - For story purposes writers want you to know what is going on behind the scenes. Remember though your characters won't know. So for example if someone RP's a private letter between two leaders, your charactor doesn't know about it so you have to RP that way. News stuff is always public, telegrams private unless stated otherwise, statements public....you'll get the idea.

12. Hang on you said 10 commandments.......Thou Shalt Not follow the normal passage of Time. Don't feel obliged to age your charectors at the same rate as someone else. RP time is kind of variable.....take it at your pace for your storylines

GUIDES TO DIFFERENT STYLES OF RP
Edited by Ironside, Feb 5 2015, 10:12 PM.
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Ironside
Administrator
DIPLOMACY AND EVENTS

This is the general start point for most RP stuff. Like the name suggests it falls into one of two categories.

DIPLOMACY - Exactly what the name suggests, discussions or interactions between two nations designed to achieve some aim. This can be anything from clearing up a misunderstanding, a trade deal, forming an alliance to establishing embassies.

Starting Diplomacy

1. Pick a nation you want to speak to, usually a neighbour, someone culturally similar or involved in something you have an opinion on. I know we have lots of people who are RL friends here but actually being best buds in RP is sometimes a bit dull......speak to someone new.

2. What do you want from that nation. It can be anything, the simplest option is establishing embassies between you. If you want it can be talks on a diplomatic issue like trade, extradition, science discoveries....anything really.

3. PM them and ask....you don't have to do this but its the best way to make sure you'll get an RP going.

4. Make an Opening Post (OP) Most people do this in the form of a telegram. I've put a template I use below, feel free to use the code replacing it with your own stuff. The spoiler shows has the code. Experiment and create your own style. Many of us use tinypic to host images, make an account though.

This is an example of an OP Telegram

Spoiler: click to toggle


5. Wait for your reply. This is usually the other person accepting your invitation.

6. Organise the meeting, give the other person some details of where your meeting, the city, means of arrival etc.

7. Start the RP. They'll arrive, greet them, talk some, sort out what you want to sort out.

TOP IRONSIDE TIPS


  • If the other person doesn't respond straight away wait a few days, we all have real lives.....OK I don't but you get the idea.
  • Don't always have things go smoothly, real life negotiations don't.
  • Remember to try and get across characters personalities in your RP


EVENTS

These are everything from Royal Weddings, announcements of births, deaths etc, to invitation's to social occasions or cultural events. Essentially if its not a negotiation, a war or economic area this is the place for you. We even have sporting events in this section like the regions Olympics known as the IO Games (Don't worry one will be along shortly)

Starting an Event

1. Consider what you want to do, many of us base them on real life events.

2. Draft an Opening Post, this again is usually a telegram inviting people, it can also be the first part of a story, so for example if its a boat emergency describe the situation, in your story telling give things like a location, who is involved and hints at what you'd like to happen.

3. Wait for people to respond. You can advertise your RP in the shoutbox or by PMing people you might want to be specifically involved.

4. Read what people put and respond accordingly. If your stuck remember OOC or PM work well.

5. Have a clear idea how you want it to end.

TOP IRONSIDE TIPS

  • Look at some of the past events to get an idea of what has been done and what's unique. You can clearly repeat events, like royal weddings, but if it's been done recently you'll likely get little interest. Here are some good ones.

    Watch the UAE start a Human Rights out cry
    Have a terrorist incident caused by religious fanatics
    Go whaling and cause an international incident

  • Remember to try and get across characters personalities in your RP


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