🧙‍♂️ What Is Roleplaying (RP)? Roleplaying is the act of creating and acting out a character within a fictional world—like a fantasy realm in an MMORPG. You become your character and interact with other players’ characters as if your character were real.

You are not you. You are your character.

🔑 Key Elements: Name: Choose a name that fits the world’s lore.

Race/Class/Background: Use the game’s lore or invent something that fits it.

Personality: Is your character bold? Shy? Noble? Deceitful?

Goals: What drives them? Revenge? Justice? Wealth? Freedom?

📚 In-Character (IC) vs Out-of-Character (OOC) IC (In-Character): Everything your character says or does in the story.

OOC (Out-of-Character): Anything said as you, the player.

Use double parentheses or brackets: ¹⁾ or [OOC: comment].

💬 Emotes and Speech Use emotes and dialogue to express actions and speech.

Example (text-based RP):

*Alira narrows her eyes, scanning the treeline.* “Something's out there. Stay close.”

✅ Do: Respect other players' RP styles and preferences.

Communicate OOC if there’s confusion or planning needed.

Stay consistent with your character’s personality.

Serious conflict (injury, death, betrayal) should be in-depth role-play involvement and worked up to and built upon.

Help new RPers feel welcome.

❌ Don’t: Godmod: Controlling someone else’s character without permission.

Metagame: Using OOC knowledge IC. If your character didn’t see it, they don’t know it.

Powerplay: Making your character unrealistically strong or unstoppable.

Break immersion: Don’t interrupt RP with unrelated chat unless necessary (and use OOC markers).

In RP scenes with multiple players, taking turns keeps things fair and readable.

🔄 Turn-Based Roleplay Tips: Post Order: Establish a posting order if there are 3+ people.

Wait Your Turn: Don’t post out of turn unless someone gives the go-ahead.

Be Concise: Keep posts meaningful but not too long—leave space for others to react.

Time Gaps: If someone goes inactive, agree to skip their turn after a certain time.

🤝 Building the Story Together Good RP is a shared narrative, not a solo performance. You’re writing a living story with others.

Tips: Build tension and drama, but also offer others a chance to shine.

Use “yes, and…” thinking. Accept what happens and expand on it.

Plan big story beats OOC (like character arcs or dramatic events).

Encourage character relationships: allies, rivals, mentors, etc.

🧩 Hooks & Prompts Use open-ended actions or character hooks to invite responses:

“Alira hesitates at the old gate, her hand trembling. ‘I’ve been here before…’”

“Rogrim clenches his fists. ‘Unless someone stops me, I’m walking into that cave alone.’”

Character Sheets: Keep notes on your character’s history and development.

Lore Resources: Use wikis or guides to align with world-building.

🌟 Bonus: RP Style Options Casual RP: Light character interaction in-world; great for beginners.

Event RP: Planned RP around battles, festivals, politics.

Story Arc RP: Multi-session, deeply involved storytelling.

*🧾 TL;DR Checklist *✅ Create a character with depth *✅ Stay IC unless marked OOC *✅ Respect others’ characters and boundaries *✅ Take turns in group RP *✅ Collaborate to tell compelling stories *✅ Avoid godmodding, metagaming, and powerplaying *✅ Use prompts and hooks to involve others *✅ Communicate clearly and kindly