Bestatte
Remember, your character doesn't speak in a monotone. Use punctuation.
If you are stating something, end your statement with a period. If you're
exclaiming something, use an exclamation mark. If you ask a question, use
a question mark.
In addition, separate ideas with commas or ... (depending on your
character's "speech habits." The triple periods are usually used to
separate connected ideas, or to pause between a single idea. A comma
will connect a string of *more than two* adjectives, or related, but
separate ideas. The word "and" would replace a comma, in most cases.
Some examples:
emote smiles and waves at ~susie.
or
emote smiles, waving at ~susie.
or
emote smiles broadly, her gold-capped teeth glinting in the lamplight, and waves at ~susie.
emote offers ~susie a warm friendly smile.
emote offers ~susie a warm, friendly, and jovial smile.
So often I'll see something like..
The dark girl says, "hey how are you"
And I have no idea if she's asking because she's concerned, or if she's just being polite, or if she is just saying it because the player feels a need to fill in empty space. I also wonder if the player even cares about the game, because I don't see any effort.
If, instead, I see,
The dark girl asks you, "Hey, how are you?" I can assume she's at the very least being just plain friendly.
If I see,
The dark girl exclaims, "Hey, how are you!" I can assume she's either
been worried about not seeing me for awhile and is relieved, or that she's
REALLY happy to see me, or she's just an excitable girl in the first place.
Your character's voice tells a LOT about him or her. HOW you present your character's voice and movements says a whole lot about the character him or herself,
and it also reflects on your interest in delving into the fantasy world.
The more you add even the smallest things such as punctuation and capitalization, the more believable your character will be to everyone who comes across him or her. And the more sincere the rest of us will believe you are about your game playing.
Ender
There are basically a few things that have worked for me helping with my RP and basically just having a good time in Armageddon:
A well rounded personality
When you create a character I recommend asking yourself these questions. (I used his, because it's easier than writing he/she)
- "How has he grown up?"
- "Did he have a happy/sad childhood?"
- "What myths might he believe/not believe?"
- "Does his like his status in life?"
- "What makes him laugh? What makes him happy, sad, amorous, agitated, nervous, comfortable?"
- "What kind of things does he take deadly serious? Like if someone makes an idle joke about his mom he snaps and pulls a knife on them."
- "What are his weaknesses? What are his strengths?"
- "What are his phobias?
- "Does he have any issues like resentment for his parents or an extreme hatred for people cracking their knuckles?"
There's a billion more ways you can round out your characters personality,
but remember the most important thing is that your character is a living
breathing complex character, even the simplest of people are still vastly
complicated balls of memories and emotions. People can be unpredictable,
they act differently around different people, they can be multi faced.
Speaking properly around a templar while throwing slang around his buddies.
Patience
One thing that Krrx once said really hit me hard in my early days of
Armageddon. Loosely quoting him he said that Armageddon is not always
exciting, but that's what makes the exciting times so, well, exciting! It's
the build up to the fruition of a plot or goal of your character that really
makes it so much more fun.
I never look at my characters as someone to be trained, but a character
to just play and have fun with. Looking at your character from the "I have
to get his skills better" outlook will just make me bored with the constant
training, and dissapointed with the long awaited results if there's no
substance behind the character's life and personality. Focus on his life,
what he wants right now, and what he wants in the future.
What Code? A.K.A. Mommy, I see twinky people!
I try to never look at the game as a game. I never try to look at people
as PCs played by a player, but as a real person I am interacting with. Everything
that happens to me I don't think of it as how was the code abused to disfavor
me, but stay in character and roll with any punches that come my way.
When you play remember you're playing for your enjoyment, don't let
yourself be worried with silly things like code and twinks. I generally
try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and RP as if they are
the best RPers in the world and deserve me to RP my best around them.
Hero or Anti-hero? Bad ass or yes man?
Many times people want to play people who go against the grain, the
exceptional people. This is not something that MUST be done, in fact most
people should be playing normal people who follow the social norms of their
respective homes. My most interesting PCs have all been disciplined rule followers.
the halfling
Fancy Emotes and good grammar are important, but do not make someone a good
roleplayer. But it still looks nice.
The most important thing to me, is making a consistant character. Meaning
that they are believable. That they have reasons for their actions. That
they do not stray from the design without reason.
Write these things down, it helps. Make a list of likes, beliefs, or
thoughts in their head. It is almost like writing a script for your
character. If A happens, character will do B because of C.
Basically I am trying to say:
Don't make the character be like you. Don't have them try to act "perfect".
The best way to stop this is give them a flaw, give them something to build
on that is just completly not you. Something that if someone found out, that
they could take advantage of them. Don't set out to make your character
invincible.
Instead of playing the game like you need to make the best character,
play the game as if you are a part of the game.
When I can spend a long time with someones character, and almost predict
some of their actions because of past ones, that player to me is a great
roleplayer.
Morninglight
I've been at Armageddon for about two years, give or take a month or
so, and I've learnt a lot from such veteran players as Ysania and good ol'
Ihsahn. I've never been one for 'fancy emoting' where you describe in detail
how you rub your face; ie: First and second fingers of the right hand are
raised by @me to brush along the jaw towards their chin.
I prefer: emote raises a couple of fingers to rub their jaw.
Now, I do use details like : rakes her hand through wind-tousled tresses,
the strands wisping back about her high-boned face. But that's just a bit of
desc'ing detail, not intricate emotes about every little move you make in
one motion. Of course, it's each to their own, but I prefer detailed yet
not overdone emotes.
I also use () during says, talking and tells. The difference between
a friendly hello and a sour one can be defined that way, as well as
actions while speaking. When I eat, I often include swallowing as I
talk or nibbling on something.
Include your objects! I can't stress this enough! Those little ~ a
nd % are there for a reason! Taking the time to read the table of emote
symbols can really help. Until recently, I was still doing his and her
while emoting to someone else!
Make characters that also include facets of your personality. Not full-hog
you, but pick a trait about yourself and work from there. I usually include
stubbornness in my characters because I have that particular fault. I also
add one of my likes to a character, or dislike (a little hard sometimes
as I prefer to run commoners, and commoners can't read) but it can give you
something to relate to in your PC.
Basic things like grammar go down well with me too. I'm a bit of a
traditionalist with the adjective, adjective noun short descs, but I try to
use unique or rare keywords that aren't ridiculous or subjective, like
beautiful, handsome, etc... I have used words like drab, night, laugh-lined,
merry-faced... I also try to avoid eye colour, though I've broken this
taboo more than a few times, with unusual or striking eyecolours.
I don't make bed-me PCs that often. Most of my characters (all
female, I'm uncomfortable playing the opposite sex) have been striking,
even attractive, but they have flaws like asymmetrical features, callouses
and other common things. I've only made a couple of 'ugly' characters,
I must confess, but I prefer the attractive but not perfect type.
Pick a rp'ing style you're comfortable with. If you like exotic words and
emotes, hey, that's your choice. Also refer to your background constantly,
and keep tabs on any info you make up about your character. John's idea of
keeping a MS Word file was a good one.
Quirk
Fancy emotes do a lot to make the world more pleasant for those around
you - for example, who would not prefer:
:Shuffling forward with downcast eyes and hunched shoulders, @ bends in an awkward bow to ~templar.
to
bow templar ?
But the essence of good RP has nothing to do with grammar, and little
to do with the detail level of emotes, and everything to do with consistency.
Copious, descriptive emotes often are associated with good RPers, but staying
true to the character is what makes them good RPers, not their facility with
prose. Good RPers create characters who are obviously products of their culture,
with the usual prejudices and beliefs of that culture. To borrow a quote from
someone I know on this subject: "Making your character an exception does not
give you an exceptional character". Prejudice should be handled intelligently;
it is very unlikely that a normal Allanaki human would go into the Rinth to
hunt and kill random elves for sport, despite the feeling against them in
the city. Treating them as beneath notice, or being condescending, or snide
behind their back, or even contemptuous to their face are all much better ways
to demonstrate bigotry. Prejudice also is often mingled with a measure of fear -
this would be especially the case with magickers, and it seems unlikely to me
that many would go out of their way to offend them to the point where there
might be reprisals. Similarly, reverence for nobility and the Sorceror-Kings
would likely be ingrained in the majority of law-abiding commoners' psyches;
submission and respect should come naturally.
Doing things that have no OOC merit but ICly make sense is another
distinguishing mark of good RP, as is allowing your character a usual
allocation of flaws. A hunter who has a liking/respect for tregils and will
let them pass without attack in all but the most desperate circumstances. A
gambler who just can't keep a poker face. A House advisor who's a secret
alcoholic. All of these are believable characters with realistic quirks
and problems and are much more fun to RP than the stereotypical "perfect"
character.
It never hurts to use the "think" command to detail to yourself what
your character is thinking and feeling; I find it helps keep my character's
thought processes separate from my own. This is especially useful for characters
who are governed by opposing internal forces (half-elves are a good example).
Sessions of solo RP allow you to examine your character's motivations and
better define his or her personality. Coming up with emotes that react to
your environment helps you immerse yourself in the game world; adding detail
makes the immersion deeper and enables you to visualise your character more
clearly in your mind. Given the clumsiness of "look" echoes, I don't see
anything wrong with including aspects of your physical description not
echoed in your sdesc as well as the manner in which the movements are made,
as a courtesy to other players:
:A muscle in @'s gaunt cheek twitches momentarily, then his thin lips align into a nervous smile as he turns to face ~human.
It doesn't hurt to exaggerate your character's eccentricities, especially
in the first few days of play while you're getting under their skin and adjusting
to them. The more vague and amorphous your character's personality, the more
danger of them just becoming a clone of you as a Zalanthan. If this happens to
you often, it's a good idea almost to view your character backgrounds as
caricatures, where you sketch with stronger, bolder lines than normal in the
knowledge that some of the oddities will be eroded over time; hopefully enough
will stick to make your character a distinct, different personality from yourself.
Tedronai
The most important thing for me is just good grammar, correct spelling,
etc. I prefer detailed poses, but if someone sticks to one liners, then to
at least make them interesting, thoughtful one liners. Otherwise, I can get
bored easily...
I really like it when people are aware of the nuances in their environment
or appearance and incorporate that into their RP. Create the world around
you so to speak rather then making it into a glorified AOL chat room.
The most important thing probably is to as someone else said, decide on a
RP hook for your character and play up to it. You should know your character.
Witchman
