Hi RP newbie, or people looking for hints on how to RP. I'm Jonathon. I'm here to give you a little guide to starting, running, or being a part of RP's here on Gendou. So let's get started.
Note: If you still have questions about RP'ing or anything involving RP's then feel free to ask it here.
The Basics
First off, if you don't know already, RP stands for Role Playing. In this case it's a Role Playing Thread. Think of it as acting in an anime/manga/play but not actually being seen or heard (Perfect for people with stage fright, or shy people.). It's a lot of fun and has been going on here at Gendou for a while.
There are a lot of RP's around, but I'll put them into a few general types.
Novel RP's: These are RP's which usually have very long posts, very serious posters and are generally creating a novel like story. These kinds are usually for more serious people or those who like to write a lot. Probably not the best choice for beginner's.
Anime/Game RP's: These are based off of Anime/Video Games/Manga. They either use the ideas of the anime/game/manga that they are based from or sometime they are meant to be side stories or sequels to the anime/game/manga.
Random RP's: These borderline RP and chatting. They usually have no plot, character profiles or anything associated with stories. People normally join these just to make one or two posts or to go absolutely crazy. Most of them don't have rules either.
Progression RP's: These are like novel RP's except that they aren't as hardcore. They use short posts mostly and the story is usually created by all the members as the RP goes on by playing off of the posts of other members and linking it to the main plot.
RPG RP: This style can be any of the above styles but takes a different approach as far as fighting is concerned. Instead of the usual attacking and getting hit this form of RP takes the battle system approach of RPG's. Stats, HP, MP and Hit/Miss aspects are used. This kind of RP can be hard to both run and take part in as it requires almost constant attention to details and stats.
Starting an RP
There's a few things to think about and write down when trying to start your own RP. You need to make sure people know what it's all about and to get them asking as little questions as possible (If they ask a lot of major questions then it means you left out important things.). Here are a few base things you should provide.
Rules: This is one of the biggest things you should have when starting your RP, especially for story based RP's. If you don't have rules then things get chaotic quickly and people begin doing things that you may not have intended or want them to be able to do (as well as other members getting upset because of it). The rules which have become basically written in stone here at Gendou are godding and auto-hitting/killing. Godding is when you have your character never getting hurt or hit in any situation. In simple terms it's when you make your character invincible. Auto-hitting is as the name implies, saying or making it so that your attack automatically hits another member controlled character without giving them any chance to say or do anything about it. It gets rather annoying for everyone when you do things like that. Depending on which type of RP your starting, rules may or may not be needed.
Plot/Story: If your going to make an RP that has a story then you should make a basis for it. This includes things like setting, era it takes place in, whether it is reality, supernatural, fantasy, mecha or etc. Things that let all the members joining know just what kind of world their going to be RP'ing in.
Profile: You should give a profile format for the members to follow. It should always include things such as Name, Age and Gender. Other things you can add to the format could be things like Picture (An anime or other picture that gives an idea of what your character looks like) or a short Bio about the character.
Responsibilities: If you are starting your very own RP, then for the most part the members that join are looking to you for general direction and structure. That means it's up to you to keep the story moving, if your RP is even going to have a story of course. It also means that you have make sure the rules of the RP are being followed by reminding users of them if you notice them overstepping boundaries. This doesn't mean that you control everything though, you created this RP because you wanted other people to join and help make your story or idea come to life, not because you wanted others to write your fanfiction for you. Remember, you want to make sure everyone plays by the RP's rules, but you are still a member yourself. Dealing directly with problem users is the moderators/Gendou's job.
NOTE: One last thing. If you are going to be gone for an extended period of time or you are not sure if you will be able to post regularly, then please inform one of the people in your RP of this fact and ask them to keep the story moving while you are absent. In essence, you want to have a temporary leader in case you are tied up. Just ask them to do it, and if they are okay with it then give them a few details about the direction you want the story to stick to. That way the member who agreed can find something for the other RP'ers to do, because if you leave and members get stuck because they cannot move on without you then people will start to leave the RP. Just a word of warning so that you don't return to find your RP dead in the water with nobody posting.
Joining an RP
First things first, before you rush in to joining someone else's RP is to read their first post. The first post should always have the information you need to help you decide if you really want to join and just what the RP is all about. Make sure to read the rules over and check to see if there are any catches or things you should be aware of. Don't just rush in because the title of the RP catches your eye. You want to know what your getting into before you actually get into it.
If you have questions then don't be afraid to ask. Knowing is half the battle. If you don't want to ask right out because your shy or something, then PM the person who created the RP. They will be able to answer your questions and most of them time they will be polite about it. If their not polite at all, then that's an issue to take up with that person and the mods or admin.^^ Or you could just forget about joining.
RP'ing Styles
Script Style: This is a popular format and quite easy to grasp. You RP in the same way you would see it in a script.
(Example)
Jon: You know, I will improve this later on.
Bloodymoon: uh-huh. *watching tv and not paying attention at all*
Jon: Like you care. eh, whatever. *stretches out on the couch and watches TV as well*
(End Example)
As you can see, the name of the person speaking is given with a " : " after it. This separates your name from what your actually saying. The asterisks, *watching TV*, are used to show actions, like stage directions. They let others know what your character is doing or what is happening without actually having to have your character state it.
Novel Style: This is the longest way of doing things. It's not hard to do, but it is hard to do well. You need to have a knack for writing if you want to this to work out good (If you like English class and your good at it, then you've got a good start on this style). The posts are written like you would see them in a book or novel, everything except voice is given in descriptive detail. The words being spoken by characters are put in quotation marks " ". Everything not in quotation marks are describing what is happening, what people and/or characters are doing, or what things are going on around you.
(Example)
Looking out into the cold depths of space through the cracked monitors of the Dark Freedom, Jonathon taps the button on the console to open the cockpit of the suit. Static voices are heard in the cockpit coming from the damaged comms. "J~ whe~ you." Seeing a suit approaching him he ignores the distressed calls of Miranda and focuses on bringing the soulless machine back to life to meet the approaching suit.
(End Example)
As you can see this kind takes much longer than the Script Style of post. It requires more thought and more detail on the surroundings and actions of the character. This is the style seen mostly in the serious RP's except in much, much longer posts.
Tips and Pointers
These are a few things that you should try to avoid or do when RP'ing. Try and remember these things when you RP, it'll help make things more enjoyable.
-Teleporting: This little annoyance here is a big no-no. You should avoid this as much possible. Teleporting can be one of two thing. A) You dodge an attack or something by literally teleporting from place to place. This really annoys people because it means that you can never be hit. B) When you move your character to a place far or a distance away in a single post. Most of the time people do this because either their name is mentioned in a discussion between other characters or there is a topic that is being discussed that has to do with something your character knows about, or because you want to offer opinions on it. Even if there is an event going on or discussion, don't move your character there in a single post for no reason other than to be included.
-Fountain of knowledge: This is also a big NO when RP'ing. This little phenomena is when you make it so that your character seems to know everything that is going and exactly what everybody is talking about, like you've heard it before and your an expert on it (Even though this is the first time your character has ever heard it). This also includes another type that has to be avoided, when you do things like ask questions or take guesses getting everything right as you do so. It's like you know exactly what's going even though your character has nothing to do with it or never heard of it and you get it right.
-The all seeing eye: This is probably one of the most annoying things you can do in an RP. This is when your character knows everything that is going on everywhere else in the RP world while not actually being able to see them. It's similar to the Omniscient view in books, being able to see everyone and everything that's going on, like your god. This also ties in with teleporting, moving your character to a place because something is happening that interests you and you want to be a part, or going somewhere that another character is headed towards for no reason what so ever.
(Example)
~Northern Japan~
Jonathon: *fighting a demon* Damn, this thing is pretty tough. I'll have to watch myself. *attacks fiercely*
~Southern Japan~
Bloodymoon: I sense something wrong. *heads north*
(End Example)
Bottom line, if your character has no reason for going to an area where an event is taking place then there is no need to move them there. If you want to be a part of the event then at least have a viable reason for going to that area, such as you see smoke rising from the forest, hear an explosion, see police heading towards an area, etc.
Fighting Styles
Fighting styles will vary greatly depending on who is in charge of the RP. Free style fighting is what will vary most as there are no clear rules to it. Most RP's will tend to stick to Free style as there's no management required and there's nothing like HP, Hit, MP and things like that to disrupt the flow of the battle. Free style also removes the need for one person moderating the fighting system.
HP/Stats Style: This is the RPG style of battles. You have stats and Health Points like you would find in an RPG. I'm not entirely sure if there is someone who moderates hits and misses, someone will have to back me up here on this one. Anyway, this style requires a lot more attention and it's basically like playing a text based RPG. Your characters will attack one another usually once at a time and your health points decrease whenever you get hit.
Free Style: Basically your taking swings and such in no real order and under no real rules. It's like a real life battle. Someone swings a sword at your character or vice-versa and the other character either dodges it or gets hit, it depends on the other persons choice.
Before/During an RP (Tips)
[Originally by Bloodymoon)
When lost: When you joined an RP and is not sure where to start, as Jon said, PM the creator or ask for help. Don't simply start out of the blue and not knowing what's going on half of the time. Another suggestion is to read from the beginning to understand better. Sometimes the creators of the RP might give a summary to what is going on, but at times, they won't describe to you who are the characters or villains of the RP. If the RP has lots of pages (by lots i meant about 20 pages) simply read the last 5 to 10 pages to get fully updated to know who is who and their RP style.
When wanting to quit: So you decided to quit an RP due to pressing reasons like 'no internet access for a few weeks' or 'you were banned from Gendou.com', just drop the creator an email or PM them or you can post it up in the RP. If you simply quit without saying anything, other RPers might not know how to continue especially when you might be controlling one of the main characters/villains etc
No spamming: When you posted something and another person posted as well, don't reply right away! Wait for at least 10 minutes so that other RPers can post as well, unless that RP has only two RPers O_o.
Don't chat too much: What I meant by chatting is instead of replying to the RP to continue with the story, you use it as a to chat without RPing. If you RP and chat, there's not much of a problem. You can strike up a chat if you want to clarify something, but not to chat just for the sake of chatting
Try to give and take: Everybody has different ways of doing things. Just because you don't like losing doesn't mean you have to always win. When you fight another character, don't basically 'aim for the win'. It's better if you win some and lose some. If you keep on trying to make your own character always win, other RPers might start abandoning that RP (which happens many times)
Locations: Remember to put your character's current location at the beginning of the post so that other RPers knows where you are
When left behind: When you're left behind in an RP, don't simply 'appear' or 'finds' the other characters. Hey, it's illogical to be able to get to where the others are within seconds when you're at the other side of the earth.
(Added by Jonathon)
Read: One of the things that bugs others the most and leads to most mistakes being made is when you don't read previous posts. If you don't read the previous posts you won't know what has happened to your character, whether or not others are trying to interact or if someone is speaking to you. If you don't have time or patience to read through all of the posts, then just use the Find feature available in all browsers and search for keywords like your characters name to see if your mentioned. It's as easy as that, saves time, and keeps other members in the RP from ignoring you for ignoring them.
(Submitted by Riza[user:generalhawkeye])
Limit your powers/abilities: Try to limit the number and strength of your abilities (assuming the creator of the RP hasn't already done it in the rules). Starting your character out right away with powerful abilities or a large number of abilities can make your character seem overpowered, which will annoy others. If your in an RP where characters can use magic, then try starting out with a medium or low strength magical attack or ability, don't just give them the ability to summon a 100 foot tall tidal wave right off the bat. Having your character build up their power over time is fine, as long as you check with the creator and he/she says it's fine.
Romance: Very simple really. Gendou.com doesn't allow sexually explicit talk, pictures, video, et cetera. If two of your characters (or one of your characters and somebody elses character) want to be in a romantic relationship within the context of the RP, then that is perfectly acceptable, as long as you keep it PG. Hugging, kissing and suggestive talking is all fine and dandy as long as you don't go spouting off explicit descriptions or words. If two characters 'spent the night' together then there should be no need to say what that involved, older members (or those corrupted enough by media) will get the suggestion while the innocent children will not.
Just remember, keep it clean and keep it tasteful.
(Submitted by Riza[user:generalhawkeye])
Share the spotlight: Be an active member of the RP, but try not to take control of the plot or steal the limelight from your fellow members. Everyone gets their time in the sun, including you. For instance, try not to go creating main villain characters and introducing major plot elements, that's mostly the creators job.
(Added by Jonathon)
Take your time: Try not to get too far ahead of others in the RP. Most members that join your RP will not be online all day. Naturally, you don't control how quickly people reply in the thread, but if you and one other member of the RP are online at the same time and start replying one after the other then try to stop after about 3 posts. Other members will have an easier time catching up on what happened while they were gone with less replies to read.
In you are in a situation where your post only affects you or the person that is replying around the same time as you, then don't worry about this too much. Just be careful about how many times you reply when your post will affect multiple members.
(Submitted by Anke[user:generalhawkeye])
Keep to the pack: Try to avoid being a 'lone wolf' character that is always acting on their own. Your character can be reclusive or reserved, but if you don't join the group of other RP characters then the story doesn't really advance and it will probably get pretty boring for you. Staying in a group or with other characters in the RP increases the amount of dialog they share and keeps people interested in whats happening.
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on 2007-03-19 17:37:03 (edited 2011-02-20 15:21:13)
on 2007-03-19 18:09:01 
on 2007-03-19 18:28:03 (edited 2007-05-05 05:12:25)
Sagara Kazuya, One of the Legendary Rp Trio. 
on 2007-03-20 08:20:20 
"They can't catch me when im on fire!" 
on 2007-03-24 18:57:01 
on 2007-07-18 08:09:42 
