Guide to Role-Playing – by Rishtack

The following are not rules, they are not required in any way shape or form. Not doing these things will not get you kicked from the guild, nor will anyone have hard feelings towards you. These are helpful tips from your peer, a person not superior to anyone in any way. So, with that out of the way, I encourage you to read my opinion, and make what I say your own, modify it to fit your own personal Roleplay needs, as I know everyone has. I am quite proud to say that I have Roleplayed at least one scene out with, or witnessed a scene played out, for every member of this fine guild, and am equally proud to say that all of you are fantastic, each great but separate in your own ways.

Tip #1-Separate but Equal.

My first suggestion, is probably the hardest for anyone to do. This is by no means required to be a fantastic Roleplayer, it is simply number one because following what I call my golden rule, can keep you, the person not the character, from getting hurt. Essentially, all that needs to be done is to split yourself into two, you need a different mindset for your character. You must act, feel, and think like them. That is the easy part. The difficult thing is keeping your own mind as well. When a character makes fun of your own, you cannot take the blow, you must think of it only as the person’s character, never as the person. Do not be offended of what some may think of your character, after all you can’t please everyone. Never resent someone for how there character treats yours. But, this is a double bladed sword, for if someone is a bad person OOCly, which I will discuss later, it is in your every right to get angry, just try to let it slide, and press on...without them.

Tip #2-Both Quirky and Fun

This next one is an aid in getting yourself noticed, and remembered. It is quite simple, character creation. It is simple as this, give your character a quirk, something that makes him/her stick out from all the rest. This could be something as subtle as a history of killing for a Priest, (Rishtack). Or something as odd and extravagant as a Paladin who doesn’t believe in the Light, drinks excessively, and curses like a sailor. (Arthur, my old character). But, since cursing is not allowed in this guild, two out of three is not that bad. Now, for Character personality, my favorite thing to do is insert a bit of myself into each character, things I say sometimes coming out of their mouths. So, place yourself into them, make them a bit of you. If you love pies and kittens, throw that in there. If you giggle a lot when nervous, and find yourself blushing in front of people you find attractive, throw that in too. I know that if I saw a giggling, blushing, guy or girl talking about how much they enjoyed kittens, I would stop and take some time to have a talk with them.

Tip #3-A Better Understanding.

Short but sweet, this is on exactly what Roleplaying is. Some people think that for it to be Roleplay, there must be killing, or attacking, or violence, for it to be Roleplaying. When, you would honestly have more fun and get more attention for when you want to spring a plot twist upon people if you just use your character to have In-character chats with the randoms. Instead of hiding in a corner, waiting for someone to make fun of you so you can pounce on them, approach people, get their attention by moving your character next to their’s and engaging in conversation. So, there is no need to only jump into an RP when people are fighting, or else you will find yourself terribly bored.

Tip #4-Oh the Drama!

Drama, what exactly is drama? Drama in a roleplaying environment is conflict, some greater event happening that affects more then one person. My best example of this would be the Rim storyline, he attacked many people, angered many more and so on and so forth. This is quite fun to both lead and participate in. But, as is so true with so many things, always in moderation. These are extremely fun to play out, but can get very repetitious and annoying quickly. So, my golden rule is to always keep it under two hours, so they can sometimes go all the way up to those two hours, and sometimes only end up running for about twenty minutes, all depending on what your character would do in those situations, since that is in fact the key. So, if people begin to IC walk out of the room while you are going about your drama, then the player themself is usually getting annoyed. That would probably be a good time to wrap it up. Make sure it’s not just one person leaving, as many others might be enjoying themselves, but if it reaches two or three, then you may not be as entertaining to them as you are to yourself. All of these, of course, are suggestions, and hold no significant study behind them.

Tip #5- Have fun!

This is the most important of them all. Keep asking yourself this question while roleplaying. "Am I having fun?" If the answer is no, then try to make it more enjoyable. Excuse yourself from a large group conversation to speak with a singular person that seems bored, or do something that will entertain you and hopefully your friends.

Now, as my finishing header I simply want to share with you my mindset, what I am thinking as I go about my Roleplaying. The thought going through my head is that I am an entertainer, on a stage, doing my act and hoping to get reactions from the crowd. But, the catch is that anyone from said crowd can jump up onto stage with me, and join in. If I want something to be noticed, I give it extreme attention to detail, something that will catch my audience by the senses and lead them to inquire as to why I call attention to such a thing. For example. (*Rishtack strolls into the guildhall, holding a book under his arm. He bows to everyone in attendance, smiling brightly* Greetings everyone.) I want to attract attention to the book, but some might in fact be attracted to the smile, which seems more interesting at the moment. But, if I were to say something along the lines of. (*Rishtack enters the guildhall, holding a strange and alien book under his arm. The very cover of said book seems to crawl as you look upon it, and a strange squealing sound can be heard from the strange reading texture, like the sound of a Rat being swallowed alive by a snake. He bows to everyone in attendance, smiling brightly* Greetings everyone.) I don’t know about you, but I really want to know why he has such an odd book.

Well, this is my insight, once again modify any of these to fit your own personal needs, everyone Roleplays differently, these are just the rules I live by, and I thought they might help.