How to Roleplay Online

Roleplaying online is a fun thing to do. If you don't know how, here's how!

Steps:

1. Think of a character. This character can be anyone and anything, depending on the roleplay you're getting involved with, for example if you're in a medieval roleplay, your character could be a mage or a king or a knight. Give them a name, an appearance, some special trait or ability, possibly even more frivolous things like their favorite food. Keep in mind that your character must be able to play a role in the story, hence the term "roleplay." Some sites and roleplays will require a "character sheet," or a list of fields that each need to be filled out prior to inserting your character in the roleplay.

2. Think of the setting and time period they're in. If it's a fantasy
roleplay, you can even create your own setting. However, if your roleplay is based on a series or book, you might want to stick to a familiar area

3. Know the lingo. When the roleplay is literate, don't use ** == [] -- <> for actions! Use narration to describe actions, like this -> Ken walked to his house and sighed, "I wish I ate my bagel this morning." There are sites with full lists of the terms, so look into those.

4. An intro can mean everything. Try to include who your character is, what they're doing, what they look like, and perhaps a bit about their past if that's needed.

5. Within a few in-character (IC) entries, you should have established some sort of connection between your characters and the others, to where your actions affect the story in some way that the others are able to react to. You risk your character becoming disconnected, otherwise.

6. Never kill someone unless you have the permission of the person who created the roleplay and/or the person who's character you are thinking of killing.

7. Similarly, never take control of anyone else's characters without either their permission or the permission of the 'boss' of the roleplay. Generally, the most you are allowed to control in other characters is dialogue, and even then, you typically won't be allowed to make them say too much.

8. When you are talking regularly (as in not roleplaying), always use some form of brackets to denote being out of character such as ((text)) or [ text ]. You can also use abbreviations like 'OoC'.

9. Think of things you wouldn't say so you can roleplay more fun. never give your name or phone number out to anyone online.

Tips

The "boss" of the roleplay is the creator. They have created the rules, forum, and (possibly) the scenario. If you don't like their rules, then you may have to leave.

Basic roleplaying keywords are:

RP: Roleplay

OOC: Out of Character (You may also use parenthesis to show that it is you who are speaking, not your character.)

IC: In Character

bic: Back in Character

pp: Powerplaying (Which refers to trying to control other people's characters.)

gm: Godmodling (Which refers to trying to have a "perfect character".)