How to: Roleplay (WIP)

So, some of you might be new here or some of you might even be new at roleplaying (also known as RP or RPing), and, with being new, comes the fact that you might not know how to, so I'll be here to explain it to you.


For me, roleplaying is like writing a story; you have a plot, you have a character, and you need to have it flow through. You also need to make it interesting and exciting or else it'll get boring and probably lose public interest (or 'die' in our case). All the while, you can't have everything going on in one post because you're not controlling the other people. So, it's like a collaboration, although it's different for everyone, so others might have their own variation. Everyone's roleplaying style is a bit different, so find a style that's comfortable for you!




Now, before you can even start anything, you have to think of a character. Now, here in The Beyond (TB for short), you can be absolutely anything you want to be, from real to fake, from fact to fiction, or just something you came up with. Who's ever heard of a dancing wolf or a sort of robotic owl?

Now, with that, you want to make your character interesting and you can do so in a variety of ways; personality, powers, background, species, etc. If your character has a fun personality to RP with, that can help. If your character has cool fighting or even non-fighting powers, people will want to see them and have their characters express their amazement... or 'meh-ment'. Someone with a deep or just overall interesting background will also be fun to RP with, so that you can relate with them or just be interested in it. Then there's species; humans are always easy to RP with other people, but they are usually unspecial to look at or can be uninteresting if a character didn't already know them, (to fix: give them something cool to wear or like... a robotic arm). If your character has an interesting look or is just something no one's ever seen before, they'll want their characters to come and see you or even possibly study you... If that's what their character would do.

So, yeah, be creative with what you want to make into a character. Don't be afraid to give it some cool looks or make something brand new! Just keep in mind that it shouldn't be overwhelmingly powerful (overpowered or OP).




If you've ever written a story in English, you've probably been told about point of views or POV. If not, then this is the perspective of which you are writing in. This is essential in how your story is going to go.

First-Person: First person is coming from you, meaning you are the one who's telling the story. When using first person you use words such as "I", "me", and "myself" to write. You tend to express your character more than what's going around and allows you to reveal your thoughts directly.

Ex: I walked through the forest, thinking I was alone and no one was watching me. And if anyone was, I could easily take them down. Of course, I was underestimating myself, I hadn't eaten in weeks and haven't slept in three days, so I was terribly tired. The terrain was rough and unforgiving but it was enough to keep going. I spotted some red berries up ahead and heard... voices? I approached slowly, and what I saw was heaven, a civilization.

So, that was a totally random plot, but it uses the keywords stated above, allowing you to know that it's in first-person. The way you can almost feel like the character and how you can ask yourself what you can do in this situation is the reason why I like to use it, but most people don't.

Second Person: Second person is more questioning and tends to use you when writing. It tells how one should feel in the situation, and also describes how one feels. It helps with layout and gives a spookier feel but I feel like it might be hard to move your character around and have thoughts and speech be pronounced, then again I don't usually use second person so let's see.

Ex: You are wandering through the forest and come upon a large lake. In the distance you are be able to make out the form of a grey figure, roughly the size of a small bear. Being in the forest you just automatically assume it was a bear and leave it alone, until you saw it walking towards you. The trees around don't have any low branches and backtracking could get you lost. You think, Maybe he's not coming after me, but you know that he is. You suddenly hear him speak, "Do not worry, I won't hurt you." But then again how can you trust that his words are true?

With second person it seems that it would be a lot easier to powerplay the other person's character, so you'd have to be very careful with it. Maybe leave them more options or say 'you might' think or do this or that.

Third Person: Now, third person is usually the most common one.

WIP

I have another example of second person!
You're walking in the woods. There's no one around, and your phone is dead. Out of the corner of your eye you spot him, Shia Labeouf. He's following you about 30 feet back. He gets down on all fours and breaks into a sprint. He's gaining on you. Shia Labeouf. You're looking for your car, but you're all turned around. He's almost upon you now and you can see there's blood on his face! My god, there's blood everywhere! Running for your life from Shia Labeouf. He's brandishing a knife. It's Shia Labeouf. Lurking in the shadows Hollywood superstar Shia Labeouf. Living in the woods, Shia Labeouf. Killing for sport, Shia Labeouf. Eating all the bodies...actual, cannibal Shia Labeouf. Now it's dark and you seem to have lost him, but you're hopelessly lost yourself. Stranded with a murderer, you creep silently through the underbrush. A-ha! In the distance, a small cottage with a light on. Hope! You move stealthily toward it, but your leg! AH! It's caught in a bear trap! Gnawing off your leg. Quiet, quiet. Limping toward the cottage. Quiet, quiet. Now you're on the doorstep. Sitting inside, Shia Labeouf. Sharpening an ax, Shia Labeouf. But he doesn't hear you enter, Shia Labeouf. You're sneaking up behind him. Strangling superstar Shia Labeouf. Fighting for your life with Shia Labeouf. Wrestling a knife from Shia Labeouf. Stab it in his kidney. Safe at last from Shia Labeouf. You limp into the dark woods, blood oozing from your stump leg. But you have won. You have beaten Shia Labeouf. Wait! He isn't dead! Shia Surprise! There's a gun to your head, and death in his eyes. But you can do Jiu Jitsu... body Slam superstar Shia LaBeouf Legendary fight with Shia LaBeouf! Normal Tuesday night for Shia LaBeouf! You try to swing an axe at Shia LaBeouf, but blood is draining fast from your stump leg. He's dodging every swipe, he parries to the left. You counter to the right, you catch him in the neck. You're chopping off his head now. You have just decapitated Shia LaBeouf! His head topples to the floor, expressionless. You fall to your knees and catch your breath. You're finally safe from Shia LaBeouf.
I just had to do that. I couldn't pass up the opportunity.