The Academy For Mythical Creatures discussion

    

A GUIDE TO ROLEPLAYING — LEARNING THE BASICS
By HowlerPlayz

Table of Contents:

-Guide Introduction
-What is Rolelaying?
-Start Off With These Things
-The Beginning Steps of Roleplay
-Do’s and Don’ts
-Classic Roleplay
-Advanced Roleplay
-Examples
-Try Roleplaying Yourself

	Welcome to A Guide of Roleplaying! This is where if you’re stuck and don’t quite really understand how to roleplay just yet, you can come and take a peek here for what to do. As a starter, it may seem difficult and tiring, but once you understand the basics you’ll find yourself roleplaying on a daily basis. Many people even use it to pass the time. 
When you get into roleplay—or ‘RP’ for slang if you're that kind of person—you get involved in a world you never knew existed beforehand. It’s like entering a new universe….and that brings us to our first step. But of course, I must explain what roleplay actually is itself. What kind of person doesn’t describe what they’re talking about beforehand? Not me! You can count on that. This, reader, is what roleplaying is.

What Is Roleplaying?

	Roleplaying is a thing you can do with anyone and any thing. Whether it be online or in real life—this case over the internet—you can roleplay. It’s a free-for-all game kind of. You get to create characters and play as them. Heck, you could even play as your favorite characters from movies or shows you watched. 
Roleplaying means you include your characters actions, thoughts, speeches, and much more into one to several message(s). 
Everything you do has a consequence in roleplay, no matter the actions you take. If you’ve ever played Dungeons & Dragons, you know what I’m talking about. But don’t skip ahead just yet! This kind of roleplay is a little different then what you may be used to. So, that being said, onward!

Start off With These Things

	It’s all about selecting a world. Maybe you want your roleplay to take place in a mythological universe. Or perhaps you want to dive into the world of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. The possibilities are endless. All you need is your imagination and a keyboard—well, yes, you obviously need a keyboard. What’d you expect to type with? An apple?

Research is another thing you may want to do. Here you are! You’re already on task, because you’re researching! However there’s a lot more research you have to do then that. You have to look up general research about the roleplay you are about to join. If you created it, then you have to look up research about how to set things together. 

I’ve been talking about characters this whole time because that’s just one of the many things you need in order to roleplay. It’s practically the most important thing. I won’t explain character creation here, as there is already a guide for that which you can find. But yes, characters are by far one of the most important subjects in roleplaying. Without them, what is there to roleplay about? I don’t think anyone wants to roleplay about the landscape unless there’s a reason for it being there, or if a character is there.

Those are the main starters you’ll want to keep in mind.
Review: Universes—Researching—Character Creation

The Beginning Steps of Roleplay

	With the main things out of the way, you should learn the rest. Aka, the beginning steps. You’re getting closer to being a great roleplayer!
So, the Beginning Steps of Roleplay….they aren’t the worst. They’ll help you while you’re roleplaying. Now, what are they, you may ask? That, my friend, is where your character comes in…..with someone else’s character! If you want a good roleplay, you can’t single-handedly play it out all the time. Well, okay—you could, but that gets pretty lonesome eventually. You’ll need a pal. That’s what relationship request, collab request, and roleplay request is for! Those three are where you’ll find great people you can roleplay with. Again, review: Universe—Research—Character. Research and Character are the ones you’ll want to focus on here. Research your companions OC (Original Character)! Once you do so, you’ll be able to know more about who your pal will be using and what you can do during roleplay with their character and yours. It’s a win-win.

Do’s and Don’ts

	I can’t explain to you enough how important it is to follow this list of what to do and what not to do. So, here’s a list below.

DO’S
-Include others.
-Check your companions roleplaying preference (advanced, one-line, etc).
-Be the Nice Guy/Girl (I don’t mean roleplay. I mean: don’t take things said in roleplay personally. Try get along with everyone).
-Ask before fighting/killing, etc etc…someone’s character.
-Put TW before the post and put the post in spoilers if viewer discretion is advised in your roleplaying comment.
-Respect your companions choices and ships.
-Use correct spelling + grammar

DON’TS
-Don’t make your character a Mary-Sue/Gary-Sue (Overpowered OC).
-Don’t One-Line (Use at least a paragraph unless it’s a preference).
-Don’t cyberbully/bully unless it’s necessary for roleplay purposes only.
-Avoid sock puppeteering/making several accounts and modding them for your own beneficial purposes.
-Don’t steal layouts, storylines, characters, templates, etc.

Classic Roleplay

	I know what this looks like. I seem crazy. Like, what the flip flop blippity bleep is a classic roleplay? Well, a classic roleplay is something basic like what most people do. It’s also not advanced (as in descriptive or deep into the lore). Classic roleplays are really meant for beginners unless you wish to take the long strive.
Classic roleplayers often only write a few words to two sentences. It’s never much and it’s basic. That’s why it’s called ‘classic roleplay’.
They also don’t mold and shape their characters very much, nor their posts. They’re all short and never really bold. They don’t, per say, stick out in the open like a hangnail would. Why did I say that?
So, if you’re still confused on roleplaying, a classic roleplay would be the best decision for you to pick from. They’re simple and never complex. OR…you could go with…

Advanced Roleplay

	Advanced roleplay is much more complex then classic roleplay. Not only do you have to make your characters pop and have personality and history, but you have to make your roleplay have it as well. Advanced roleplayers use a paragraph+ in their posts and use descriptive, well written sentences. They use correct punctuation and what-not. They also make sure to fix their mistakes and double check their posts before submitting them.
Advanced roleplay isn’t necessarily for beginners. It could even take you years to get to the point of advanced roleplay. Or, you could be a natural and you understand it straight away.

Examples

	Still don’t get it? That’s okay! Nobody gets anything straight away unless you’re a mini Albert Einstein, and even he never knew certain things that others did. That’s what these examples are for!
If you’re someone who learns not from listening, but from doing the task, then so be it. Here are some examples you could follow and understand from both classic and advanced roleplays.

CLASSIC ROLEPLAY EXAMPLE

“hi”
He sighed.
She nodded her head.
“okay”

ADVANCED ROLEPLAY EXAMPLE

The boy took a leaping jump like a frog crossing over to the next lily pad. But as he landed, a sharp pain erupted in his left ankle. With a gasp, the ginger boy with freckles crumbled to the ground and cried for help. His foot had twisted into an awful angle—for he had broken it.

	Just like that! Those are both examples (from what I have seen) of the two roleplay types you could choose from. Or now that you’ve seen them both, perhaps you’re in the middle of it all. You can only do half of an advanced roleplay. Your posts may be short but descriptive, or they could be the opposite way around.

Try Roleplaying Yourself

	Congratulations if you’ve made it this far! It’s time for you to spread your wings and take flight, or in this case, grab your keyboard and start typing! I hope this guide has helped you understand more about roleplaying and how it works. Hope to see you and your wonderful characters going on a crazy adventure soon! Thanks for reading!