Here are some general guidelines and places to start if you're new to role-playing or you simply would like to refresh your memory! The topics of this section include: What if I'm new to role-play? How do I role-play? How do I make a believable character? And finally, a brief guide to role-play.
What if I'm new to role-play?
If you're new to roleplay or if you're a bit out of practice, there's no need to worry!
While Twilight Empire is a heavy RP guild, we do not consider ourselves to be elitists. We're a group of people who love to roleplay and we're looking to spreading roleplay around the Ravenholdt community. Thus, we're more than willing to work with anyone who simply wants to roleplay.
The Empire has a broad range of skill when it comes to roleplaying ability. We work with each other to develop storylines (trying to stay consistent with WoW lore), conduct RP events, and generally promote an RP environment in WoW.
We ask that those who are new to roleplay be willing to learn and to accept constructive criticism. It is never our intention to hurt anyone's feelings. At the same time, in order to foster the environment the guild seeks, sometimes a little helpful hinting is necessary (like a friendly remind that guildchat is IC). Please feel free to ask questions about roleplay in The Tavern (our OOC forum) or in-game. You'll find that we're more than willing to help one another develop in this aspect.
How do I role-play?
Some basic terminology:
- OOC = Out Of Character. This means that you are speaking as yourself, in real life terms.
- IC = In Character. This means that you are speaking as the character you are playing.
- RP = Role-play.
Twilight Empire is a Role-Playing guild on the Ravenholdt Server. As such, our main focus in Role-playing. We consider ourselves to be medium-heavy/heavy role-players. Everyone may not have the same background in role-play, so this thread is designed to give some basic hints and resources for those of you that might be new to it. Because, while we're Heavy RP, we're always glad to take in people who are new to RP - That's the only way to make Ravenholdt a more Role-play friendly server!
Some basic Twilight expectations:
Guild-Chat is completely IC. This means that when you're talking in guild-chat, you should be speaking as your character would speak.
We encourage all members to RP not only in guild-chat, but generally as well. This means that when you speak in /say or /yell, you speak IC. Please note that others may also RP in the general channels or in /w.
While a little imagination is good, please ensure that your character's RP is believable and in line with WoW Lore. Here's the Lore Page - I encourage everyone to read it!
Basic RP Guidelines:
Please use parenthesis to denote when you're speaking OOC in an IC channel, i.e. ((Ding!))
Please refrain from using words such as: Lol, level, omg, character, etc., when speaking IC. You wouldn't apply for a job by saying "I'm a 42nd level accountant."
Please try to use correct spelling. This includes avoiding internet shorthand - u, ur, lvl, etc.,
Understand that everyone has an RP and your RP does not trump everything else. Much of the fun comes from spontaneous RP. We're all writing separate stories and trying to weave them together to form an epic tale.
Aerana gathers her powers and casts a frostbolt at %T, instantly killing him.
In this example, I assume a lot of things. I assume that the frostbolt hits the person and that it kills them. It leaves the other character very little room to maneuver. A better way to write this action would have been like this:
Aerana gathers her powers and casts a frostbolt at %T, hoping to freeze him in place.
In this sentence, I don't assume anything about the other character. I only control what my own character does. Also, please do not make your characters invincible or unrealistically strong/smart/etc. You cannot just stand up and keep fighting after having been beaten unconscious by 40 people or perform other such feats. Again, the fun thing about RP is writing stories with others. Make sure that you're open to their ideas and you'll find that it's a lot more fun!
Please refrain from "God-moding." This can be difficult to do, but it is a big RP "no-no." This is when you assume something, or write something, that dictates another person's actions. Example:
Don't assume that people who are mean IC are mean OOC. If I play a warlock who is mean and nasty IC, I can still be a nice person OOC. Make sure that you are able to draw that distinguishing line. Aerana may hate someone IC, but OOC this person and I may talk all the time and be great friends. The mark of a great RPer is someone who can keep IC things IC and not drag OOC around.
These are just a couple of examples. If you need more help or have questions, please post them or ask someone in game - and remember to use (( )) if you're talking in an IC channel!
How do I make a believable character?
While a lot of people might formulate their characters through a different process, I thought I would share some of my ideas with those of you who might be new to RP or who might not quite know where to start.
So, let's begin!
1) Read up on WoW Lore and the history of your race.
When creating a character, I would recommend that you read up on the lore and history behind that character's race. This can give you a good starting point when you start to formulate a backstory.
The Official WoW Lore can be found here: WoW Lore. This is an important step so that you don't break WoW lore, make god-like characters that are unbelievable, etc.
Also, there is a wonderfully helpful site for looking into the psychology behind the races of Azeroth. Feel free to check it out Race Psychology, if you're interested.
2) Think of a suitable name for your character
Look at the history of your race and note the names of major heroes. See the kind of letters used, sounds, etc. When creating your character, think of believable names or perhaps names that have a meaning behind them. I also try to think of a last name for my character, just to help add depth to her past.
One thing that I've learned is that not everyone has a name that I would consider RP. However, when I talk to the person, they are able to explain to me where their name came from. For example, one person I know was named something like "Greensnake." Yet, when I asked him about it, he said it was a nickname his character had earned when doing time in such-and-such a place because of the poisons he applied to his blade. And that his character's real name was something that his character only told to people he trusted. So be open minded!
3) Explore a backstory for your character
The backstory is pretty important, since it explains why your character acts the way he does. You can write out the entire backstory, making it chapters long before you even start the character (I've had friends who do this). Or you can have a general outline of the backstory of your character and develop it more as the character progresses.
Make sure that your backstory falls in line with WoW lore. It's not usually accepted that you're actually the Prince of Stormwind, secreted away when you were a child by so-and-so. And no, I'm sorry, but you cannot be a vampire-werewolf, half-rabbit god who is also Arthas' brother. =(
4) Create a personality for your character
Your personality is something that makes your character unique. Why does your character act a certain way towards Gnomes? Does your character have an accent? Where does it come from? Is your character generally good? Or generally bad? Is he mean? Does she want to fight everyone who looks at her funny or does she talk her way out of bad situations? Does your character drink? Why?
There are some really fun things you can do with personality. Make sure that there are reasons behind your personality, even if no one knows them yet. And be faithful to that personality. Maybe your character doesn't like Dwarves and that makes it difficult to get along with your Dwarf guild master, but you can move past that slowly, as your character develops.
But if your character has a lasting personality trait, please try to stay true to that.
5) Physical traits of your character can be important
Does your character have scars? Is your character old or young? Think about the physical traits of your character. And remember, not all scars can make your character look dashing. Don't be afraid to make your character ugly. Or fat. Sometimes characters like that have the most interesting backstories!
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Hopefully that should give you a basic idea of what to think about when starting a character. And after the character is started, you have a whole new realm of possibilities that are opened up to you. Here are just a couple of things to keep in mind.
1) Allow your character to develop and change as time passes.
2) The experiences your character has while you're playing him may change his personality.
Good luck with your characters!
A Guide to Role-play
As many of you know, one of the goals of Twilight Empire is to promote roleplay on Ravenholdt. We do this by holding events, roleplaying with each other, and coordinating with other guilds in different instances. In doing this, it's important that we always seek to improve our own roleplay. To that end, I'm writing this as a guide and reminder for what we should strive to be doing. As our guild grows, we need to try to follow these examples in order to grow our RP skills and remain unified in our vision for RP.
There are several important guidelines for roleplay that you should keep in mind.
1) Role-play with other people. Remember that when you roleplay, you are inviting others to interact with your character. Keep in mind that these people also have ideas for their own characters. It's extremely important that you remain flexible, responding to situations and changing the dynamics of your character. Be open to stranger RP. We are a unified community - There should be no 'cliques' in the guild that always roleplay together and aren't open to new people joining their RP. Keep your RP open and you'll find that it's much more enjoyable!
But keep in mind that sometimes the number of people needs to be restricted (e.g. the Caer Darrow Mission) and if you aren't able to get into the RP, support those doing it!
2) Role-play isn't only about 'you.' As we weave stories for the guild and for our own characters, keep in mind that the roleplay cannot always focus on you. If you find yourself constantly interrupting meetings or roleplay events with IMPORTANT CRISESE for your character, you might find that people start to step away from roleplaying with you. It's like jumping up and down screaming "Me! Me! Me!" all the time. Sometimes it's okay to take a step back, to listen quietly to the event, to hold off on personal growth RP for a while in order to keep an event focused on what it should be.
3) Role-play isn't always dramatic. This point kind of goes along with the point above. If your character is constantly having one crisis or another...slow down. Remember that having a crisis is like telling every one to focus on your character ALL the time. This can be tiring for other people and it can make them less likely to RP with you. Life has it's ups and downs - your character's life should be the same way. Instead of having one crisis after another, think about a good (single) plot line that you can really develop. Use the forums and other people to plan an interesting storyline and advance it. I think a good idea of this was the "Missing Captain Spracket" story line.
4) There is such a thing as too much role-play. Surprising, I know. But this was recently brought to my attention and I'm forced to agree. When the guild has a unified RP going on (e.g. the war with the Order of the Forsaken) and multiple characters are developing their own storylines and want a large part of the guild to be involved in those storylines, it can become a little overwhelming. While we want there to always be RP opportunities for people, don't overwhelm them with 20,000 RPs that they need to be involved in. If you notice that the guild is really busy with a lot of events and a lot of other characters are furthing their storylines and involving the guild, maybe consider holding back on your own story until things die down a little bit.
5) Remember: You are NOT your character. This rule is extremely important for roleplay. Remember that there is a difference between what someone says In Character and their Out of Character sentiments. A perfect example of this is the new Death Knight RP that is going on in the guild. While a lot of our citizens ICly are untrusting and perhaps even a little hostile towards DKs, this does not necessarily reflect their OOC feelings! We love having our Death Knights in the guild. If you feel that someone might not understand that you are acting ICly, please whisper them and give them a little reassurance. A little " (( Hey! Just wanted to say that my character's RP is a little hostile towards Death Knights but I love having you in the guild )) " can go a LONG way towards avoiding misunderstandings.
6) Remain true to your RP. This one can be a little difficult sometimes. But we encourage everyone to read the Lore behind your characters and try to remain as faithful as possible to it. Look up the history of your class, your race, etc. And feel free to ask some of our loremasters for help in crafting and remaining true to your RP. Remember that we're all here to help you grow as an RPer and all comments should be constructive.
7) Have a coherent storyline. This means that your character shouldn't be doing one thing the other day, die, you OOCly say "Oh woops," res your character, turn him evil, turn him good, kill him off again. "woops," bring him back, etc. You can see how this gets a little confusing. Make sure that your character's storyling is coherent. Large changes should NOT be made to your character without a lot of thought. And if you decide to kill your character off, make sure that you talk to others about it first. It's a big decision and you don't want to jump back and forth on it.
8) Stay In Character as much as possible. This is especially true during RP events. Try to keep the OOC chatter to a minimum. And remember that you wear the <Twilight Empire> guild tag. People see you as RPers so make sure that what you do upholds our reputation.
9) VERY IMPORTANT: Please do not meta-game/God-mod. This is one of the cornerstones of RP. Please remember that you can ONLY control what YOUR character does. This means that you cannot kill off another character, hurt them, etc unless they consent to it. When you have an IC confrontation, make sure you have an idea OOCly of how you want it to turn out. And you need to always leave the other character a way open for them to manuever in the RP. Additionally, in RP, you can only see what is before you. Thus, your character probably doesn't know how many PvP kills the other character has, etc. Many people even take this so far as to turn off name tags and guild tags in game (since we don't have little names floating above our heads).
Because this rule is SO important, let me give you some examples on god-modding and what can be done to avoid it. Let's say Aerana is in a fight.
What NOT to say:
Aereana casts a frostbolt at X, freezing him in place. Immediately she shoots fire from her fingertips, burning a hole in his chest.
What might be better:
Aerana casts a frostbolt towards X, hoping to freeze him in place.
And now, let's get a little creative. Remember that you are describing the actions of your character. Feel free to have a little fun with it!
Aerana closes her eyes, her lips moving silently as she murmurs a soft incantation. She opens her eyes, now a startling shade of sapphire, and focuses her attention on X. A slow smile spreads across her lips as the incantation finishes, frost gathering at the tips of her fingernails. Suddenly a lance of ice shoot out from her hand, heading towards X. Should it land, it would likely freeze him in place.
Remember, roleplay is a story that you create with other people. It can be a rewarding experience. These are not the only guidelines and as I think of more I will add them.
Thanks for taking the time to read this! If you need additional help or support in creating your character or understanding role-play, please don't hesitate to reach out!
