• News
• Intro
• Glossary
• What is Roleplaying?
• Types of Roleplaying
• Basic Rules
• Making a charrie
• Tips
• Credits

~~~News~~~
• July 28th, 2006- I just started writing and man theres a while lot to do! I don't know a scrap of HTML and am making this all from scratch. Hoping to get the intro done today
• July 29th, 2006- Ok, I'm getting the hang of basic HTML now and have gotten the bulk of text out of the way. Just Tips, glossary and FaQ to go! But if anyone requests anything else do tell
• July 31st, 2006- hitting my home stretch on the bulk. Most of the glossary is done and I start work on the FaQ today.

So, you want to learn to Roleplay? You've heard about it from your friends and how it consumes their lives, and yet here you are trying to learn the art of RPing. Roleplaying isn't something you can learn and master in one day, and many of the rules of roleplaying are unwritten and you gain the knowledge from experience. But what about the rules that ARE written? And how to do I start off RPing? Good questions. It's come to my attention that there really isn't a guide for newbie roleplayers, so I've come here to use my massive free time to help all you newbies out there. This tutorial will teach you everything you need to know to start, and even expereinced roleplayers may get some info. Just doing research I've learned a thing or to. But everything you need is here: Character making, basic plot making, common rules, a glossary for all our weird language, and a FaQ. So take a deep breath, relax, and welcome to the world of Roleplaying.

• Bic-- short for back in character, used after using an ooc
• Charrie-- RP term for character
• Despie-- a character that is desperate for attention.
• Godmoding-- roleplaying your character in a way that has no weaknesses and is all powerful.
• Gary sue--a typical male character, horriblely cliche, overused
• Illiterate-- a common term used to describe low level rping, see 'literacy levels'
• Literate-- The highest level of rping. See 'literacy levels' Also known as 'advanced'
• Mary sue-- a typical female character, horriblely cliche, overused
• Ooc-- short for out of character, used for phrases like 'I'll be right back' and stuff
• Powerplaying--Taking control of someone else's charrie
• Semi-lit/semi-literate-- a common term used to describe mid level rping and the rpers. see 'literacy levels'
• TS-- Short for Time skip. A Time skip is when there is a significant gap of time, used most commonly when traveling, eating, or sleeping.

Well, you can't start RPing without knowing what it is! In the simplest of words, it is writing a story but doing it with either one, or many people. Ofcourse, that is the simplest words. But it's actually quite complicated at the same time, simple. A good way to learn is to simply break it down peice by peice.

• The genre: the genre, or also known as the Topic, is the basic area of the RP. Some examples are Fantasy and anthro, and fanfics like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy. Seeing as how I'm familiar with these the most I will use these as examples.
• The plot: the plot is the storyline that you will be playing off of. These can vary alot, and thats what makes Roleplaying fun. Some examples for fantasy would be a dragon destroying a plain and you and your fellow rpers set out to help it. Fanfic rps I find don't have a variety of plots because they come from one already written. This however, does not stop the fun if you enjoy the genre.
• The literacy level: This is very important. There are basically three literary levels: newbie, semi-literate, and literate or advanced. As you are reading this, you most likely are on a newbie level. Newbies are best put in with fanfic genres, simply because it is a good place to start. Usually you will know the plot and have a character premade from the game. Unfortunately, fanfic genres have a low literacy level (although there ARE some in the higher levels, but I find that most are low literacy) you will soon grow out of it, finding it does not flow well and there aren't enough rules. This brings us to Semi literate. Semi literate is when you know the basic WRITTEN rules and are ready to make your own characters and join a plot made by someone. Semi literate is the longest stage, where you develop your technique and begin to learn the unwritten rules as you go along. When you think you're ready, look for a literate topic. It may be intimidating at first; these are the best of the best. But normally we're very nice and eager to find someone else on our level!

Before you start to learn how to Roleplay, you should know the two types of RPing. They are very different, and one might not be for you.

• One-on-One--- As the name suggests, one-on-one is a kind of roleplaying where the only people are you and one another, you're rp partner. One on One is a good way to develop your skills with someone on the same level. One on one is usually semi literate and up and its a good place for long term RPs. One on one is usually done in a messanger, such as Ai eye em, or em es en. I reccomend em es en.
• Group Rps--- The more common of the two, group rps are when you rp with around 4-7 people. This in turn makes the rp interesting with a variety of characters. This may make it confusing, however, if all characters are talking to just one. These are also usually a one time show, as its hard to round up the rpers a second time. The plot usually isn't long or too confuzing, but in one on one long term theres always room for plot twists. In Group RPs you often have but one charrie, whilst in one on ones you can double, or triple up, meaning you have more then one charrie. Group RPs are found on the Neoboards or other forums. Personally I think that Neopets is a bad place to rp because they have too many rules and I have gotten suspended for it without knowing what I did wrong, but enough about me.
  ~~Basic Rules~~ These are the basic rules and what they mean. The unwritten rules will be in the 'Tips' section
  1. No godmoding or powerplaying: godmoding is the act of making a charrie that is incincible and without a weakness. No powerplaying either, thats when you take control of someone elses charrie. See 'making a charrie' for more rules and Tips on the subject
  2. Use an ooc: What's an ooc? Ooc stands for Out of Character. So when do you use an ooc? Say you have to say 'I gotta go, see you later'. But you would either put 'ooc: I gotta go, see you later' or ((I gotta go see you later)). Either way is fine, but be sure to use one!
  3. No chatspeak: Chatspeak is saying things like 'r u thar' or 'I am l337 I pwn u'. Most rpers tolerate brb, g2g, and so on, but just as long as they are in an ooc.
  These are the three basic rules that most rpers live by. In the next section you will see some tips, usually paralell to the unwritten rules. Other rules you'll learn through time, like riding a bike.
  ~~Making a charrie~~ This is a basic step-by-step tutorial for making a charrie. Note that this is not telling you what your charrie should be, just how it should be made.
  1. skillz/powers/occupation: Usually the first thing that crosses yourmind when making a charrie is their powers, skills, or occupation. Let's say for instance, we have a female archer in our heads. Now keep in mind that looks is one of the least important, for it is only good for details later on. Now as mentioned earlier, it is a poor idea to make a charrie with all pros and no cons. A good guide for me is to the old +1 -1 method. This means that for every weakness there is a strength and vice versa. Take for example our archer. She's good at archer but poor ar short distance melee combat. Catch my drift? Good, because a godmoder is not a very good thing to be!
  2. Personality: A very large aspect of making a charrie is their personality. Roleplaying is about your charries interacting with each other. Therefore your charries personality will reflect not only you're RPing experience but the other RPers. Basically, a hateful personality may be intersting if you were a bad guy, and an outgoing one would be good for a good guy. THESE ARE NOT RESTRICTED but there are some personalities that aren't tolerated in our RPing community. One is the thoroughly hates 'despie' nature. Despie, or desperate, is a personality where you're charrie is needy or wants attention. Nobody likes this in real life, or in Rping either. Mary Sues, or cliche charries aren't liked either. Emo's are tending to be disliked, and my suggestiong is to only have one charrie like this, and this brings me to...
  3. Charrie's history. This is important as it is WHY you're charrie is how it is. Like if our archer had a good childhood then that's why she's outgoing. These can be as simple or complicated as you like.
     ~~Tips~~
     • When doing a one on one, get used to having more then one charrie. Also its a good idea to try rping both male and female charries. Nobody likes the 'I only do female' type.
     • When in a fight scene, it's okay to do one-liners. Make you're attacks 50/50 chance of hitting, that way you're opponent can decide if it hits. It is often that the victor is predetermined, and the loser will know when to make the attacks hit.
     • Don't control you're friends charries! Example: The dragon grabbed hold of the soldier and ate him.' clearly we see the dragon's creator is taking control of the soldier.
     • Listen to the hints of the other rpers charries! It's often that newbies are focused on their own charrie and miss the hints the other rper gives out. Example: 'the soldier sighed as he remember his kids and wife.' Correct response: 'are you okay?" the soldiers friend asked. Incorrect response: '"hey wanna get some food?" the soldiers friend asked.' Now it may seem like the soldier's creator wants attention but you too will have time to be the center of attention. My saying is 'what goes around comes around'. As you grow experienced a balance will automatically be learned.
     • Avoid food scenes!! For some reason, long eating scenes greatly slow down the RP, sometimes causing the rp to die! Also the charries are compelled to say 'this is really delicious, ect.' and then the RP goes on a tangent.
     • When doing a one-on-one don't do any fanfics unless you BOTH like the subject. Otherwise while one shows off their knowledge on the subject the other struggles to figure out whats going on.
     ~~Credits~~

     Writing and coding done by mua, Draikmastergirl

     Some inspiration and help with terms and stuff, coldfire323

     Some more help with coding nephele356

     and finally, my friend Eric, because he was the one who needed the help. And all you newbies out there!!

     ~~Final words~~ Now you know all you need to, but if you still have any questions feel free to neomail me. *new* I'm looking for someone who can make me some 'link to us' buttons. I'm no good at that.
  
  
  
  

  NEOPETS, characters, logos, names and all related indicia
  are trademarks of Neopets, Inc., © 1999-2009.
  ® denotes Reg. US Pat. & TM Office. All rights reserved.
  PRIVACY POLICY | Safety Tips | Contact Us | About Us | Press Kit
  Use of this site signifies your acceptance of the Terms and Conditions