Post by Gravedust on Jun 11, 2010 23:42:13 GMT -8
FREE RP
Most of the game will (hopefully) be in Free RP. Free RP is meant to advance the story, and is sort of a sandbox for you to talk with the other players' Characters and interact, make plans and decisions, scout out and uncover plot devices, talk with NPCs etc.
Those of you who have done forum RP in the past will probably be familiar with this sort of play.
_____
The GM describes the current situation the characters are in.
The players write out how their character reacts to the situation (and to each other.)
The GM reads all these actions, decides what any NPCs will do in response to the character's actions, makes any rolls that are necessary, and writes up what happens in a narrative format, creating the new (updated) situation.
_____
Basically it is a simple, back-and-forth sort of storytelling. You are encouraged to be detailed and descriptive in your Free RP posts, ideally if you string all the posts in the game together, it should read like a story. You don't need to write War & Peace each time you make a post (in fact, please don't). But a little flavor goes a long way towards an entertaining game, and you'll be rewarded for expressive writing with some CP. One thing to remember though, if you only have control of YOUR character, and so you cannot make actions for other people, be they players or NPCs.
The most common things you'll probably be doing in Free RP are talking, or performing actions.
For talking, just include quotes around whatever it is your character says.
Alternately, you can self-narrate:
Likewise, actions can be handled in one of 2 ways, either with " * " marks, such as:
or, again, with self narration:
Basically it's just a matter of preference.
____________________
THINGS TO AVOID
Statements like:
If your Character is speaking, make sure it is in character, and in the actual words being spoken. Exact wording can sometimes be very important, and it makes for a better roleplay experience. ((In some cases I will allow statements to be made in *x tells Y* form, most often when recounting long stories, etc. But I'd still prefer it to be written out.))
Actions such as
Remember you only have control over your character, and so should not do emotes that assume control of another character.
Likewise:
Would be illegal.
A valid alternative would be:
((And the GM would do a few rolls to determine the outcome, then describe what happens.))
____________________
OOC: (Out of Character)
OOC is used to send messages to other players of the game, or to ask for the advice of a GM, and also a few other instances. statements of comments made in OOC do not "exist" in the game and are ignored by all characters. ((OOC statements are made in double captions, like this. There will also be a dedicated OOC thread for the story thread as well, if you have an involved question you should post it there to avoid cluttering up the story thread.))
____________________
If/Then (Conditional) Statements
In order to move the game along more quickly (And avoid having to stop the action to ask a lot of questions) you can make if/then statements using actions or speech. An if/then statement essentially dictates that if a certain criteria is met, then the character will perform a certain action, otherwise s/he will do another action, or nothing at all. For instance:
Or:
All if/then statements should be done in OOC form, since they are instructions to the GM.
_____________________
Things that require a GM Response
Certain actions require that a GM respond directly in order to determine the correct outcome.
• Talking to an NPC
• Starting a fight (or performing an action that may be resisted by someone else)
• Attempting to use a skill
• Moving to a new Scene (even if it is one that has been described before)
So if a Character does any of the above, the player should wait for the GM's response before making their character do anything else.
____________________
Things that do not require a GM response
• Talking to another player's character.
This can be done at will, and players are encouraged to discuss events in character.
• Moving around the current scene.
(in most cases) for the most part, once a scene has been described, you may move your character around to any part of it. I.E. Sit at the bar, walk to the door, pace around the room, etc.
____________________
Next section:
How To Play - Combat
Most of the game will (hopefully) be in Free RP. Free RP is meant to advance the story, and is sort of a sandbox for you to talk with the other players' Characters and interact, make plans and decisions, scout out and uncover plot devices, talk with NPCs etc.
Those of you who have done forum RP in the past will probably be familiar with this sort of play.
_____
The GM describes the current situation the characters are in.
The players write out how their character reacts to the situation (and to each other.)
The GM reads all these actions, decides what any NPCs will do in response to the character's actions, makes any rolls that are necessary, and writes up what happens in a narrative format, creating the new (updated) situation.
_____
Basically it is a simple, back-and-forth sort of storytelling. You are encouraged to be detailed and descriptive in your Free RP posts, ideally if you string all the posts in the game together, it should read like a story. You don't need to write War & Peace each time you make a post (in fact, please don't). But a little flavor goes a long way towards an entertaining game, and you'll be rewarded for expressive writing with some CP. One thing to remember though, if you only have control of YOUR character, and so you cannot make actions for other people, be they players or NPCs.
The most common things you'll probably be doing in Free RP are talking, or performing actions.
For talking, just include quotes around whatever it is your character says.
"Let's head outside to talk about this."
Alternately, you can self-narrate:
Alex says; "Let's head outside to talk about this."
Likewise, actions can be handled in one of 2 ways, either with " * " marks, such as:
*Walks outside, beckons for the group to follow*
or, again, with self narration:
Alex walks outside, beckoning for the group to follow him.
Basically it's just a matter of preference.
____________________
THINGS TO AVOID
Statements like:
*Alex compliments Robert on his sword technique.*
If your Character is speaking, make sure it is in character, and in the actual words being spoken. Exact wording can sometimes be very important, and it makes for a better roleplay experience. ((In some cases I will allow statements to be made in *x tells Y* form, most often when recounting long stories, etc. But I'd still prefer it to be written out.))
Actions such as
*Alex and Robert walk over to the bar*
Remember you only have control over your character, and so should not do emotes that assume control of another character.
Likewise:
*Alex smashes Robert's head over the bar*
Would be illegal.
A valid alternative would be:
*Alex tries to smash Robert's head over the bar*
((And the GM would do a few rolls to determine the outcome, then describe what happens.))
____________________
OOC: (Out of Character)
OOC is used to send messages to other players of the game, or to ask for the advice of a GM, and also a few other instances. statements of comments made in OOC do not "exist" in the game and are ignored by all characters. ((OOC statements are made in double captions, like this. There will also be a dedicated OOC thread for the story thread as well, if you have an involved question you should post it there to avoid cluttering up the story thread.))
____________________
If/Then (Conditional) Statements
In order to move the game along more quickly (And avoid having to stop the action to ask a lot of questions) you can make if/then statements using actions or speech. An if/then statement essentially dictates that if a certain criteria is met, then the character will perform a certain action, otherwise s/he will do another action, or nothing at all. For instance:
Alex slips back into the room, and quickly takes in his surroundings.
((If he sees a someone who looks like a pilot, then he will walk over and try to start a conversation, otherwise he will go over to a quiet corner and wait there.))
Or:
((If there is a bottle within reach on the counter, Alex will pick it up and attempt to smash it over Robert's head. If not, he will prepare to fight using his fists))
All if/then statements should be done in OOC form, since they are instructions to the GM.
_____________________
Things that require a GM Response
Certain actions require that a GM respond directly in order to determine the correct outcome.
• Talking to an NPC
• Starting a fight (or performing an action that may be resisted by someone else)
• Attempting to use a skill
• Moving to a new Scene (even if it is one that has been described before)
So if a Character does any of the above, the player should wait for the GM's response before making their character do anything else.
____________________
Things that do not require a GM response
• Talking to another player's character.
This can be done at will, and players are encouraged to discuss events in character.
• Moving around the current scene.
(in most cases) for the most part, once a scene has been described, you may move your character around to any part of it. I.E. Sit at the bar, walk to the door, pace around the room, etc.
____________________
Next section:
How To Play - Combat