Want to know how to survive the FPP RP? Look no further! This thread is a guide to everything and anything you would need to know to get started. It might be a bit of a lengthy read, but I assure you, it'll help you a lot!  If you have any questions, feel free to PM Dark_Kokiri or another staff member involved in the Role Play, we'd be more than happy to help you~


Updates

6-10-10 Adding splitting up everything to make it easier to read. Also adding in a few more sections!

12-23-09: I changed some information on threads that are in the RP, because we have the new storyline. More updates will come soon as we start to get the new storyline into play!

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Table of Contents
1. Updates/Table of Contents
2. What is Forum Role Playing?
3. Role Playing Terms
4. "Rules" / Advice

What is Forum Role Playing?



For those of you who are new to this sort of thing, basically Forum Role Play can be summarized as writing with other people. What you do is you take turns writing about your characters back and forth to create a story. Your characters can go on adventures across the land, defeat giant monsters about to eat your tribe, or just sing random songs at the local Inn. Anything and everything can happen so long as you have the imagination to muster it up!

Here at Faded Paw Prints, we are not super restricted as to what kind of characters and what sort of adventures are to be had, in fact, we're pretty loose on it. Just about any species of creature is allowed in here, both within the Science Fiction genre and in the Fantasy genre. From Centaurs and Elves to Droids and Aliens, we accept just about everything here within moderation. You are welcome to bring your Original Characters, Personas/Avatars, or make your own new ones! We love to see a wide variety of characters and how they react, which makes the RP all the better and more fun.

So what are you waiting for!? Get over to the forums and begin Role Playing! (That is, of course, after you read this thread, it's rather informative. ;D )

Role Playing Terms

RPG- It means "Role Playing Game." Of course, this is simple. A lot of times we just abbreviate it to RP, which is just "Role Play"

Posted (in the shoutbox)- (Since we have a new shoutbox that tells us when we post, this no longer really happens. But just for your information or in case we loose this feature, here it is.)
You'll see this a lot when there are members chatting in the shoutbox. Generally what we do is post in the RP and then go into the shoutbox to talk with other members. When we've finished our post for another member that is online, we say "Posted in the _____ thread", and in turn, they go and post back of at all possible. It’s not required by any means, but it’s a good way to get the RP moving.


Strikeouts- This is for when you want your character to speak a language not commonly used by the rest of the RP group. This is generally used when you want to only speak with one other character or when you want your character to talk to themselves. It should look something like this….


Be sure to specify what language you want them speaking so other RPers know what you are doing.

Ooc:- Out of Character. This is used when you want to add in something as the author of the post, not as the character. When you do this, be sure it looks something like this....


Lame example, I know, but that's how it should be used. For something you don't want to include in the RP but want to keep as a note to your fellow RPers.

"Rules" and Advice

Rule #1- No God-modding!

No one likes an undefeatable character, give your character some depth and believability! Everyone has a weakness; it's fact, so breathe a little more life into your character and give them something that they cannot oppose. Do they have a handicap? Are they greatly damaged by a specific attack and/or element? Is there someone that they couldn't stand to loose and would give up everything for? Make your character interesting! Other characters will be willing to hug it out with your character if they ever felt emo about their weakness. c:

Here is 100 questions to ask your character. This helps you in figuring out what you character is like!
100 Character Development Questions


Rule #2- The longer the post, the better!

This applies especially to introduction posts. Whenever you introduce your character to the RP for the first time, give them an elaborate introduction! Talk about what they are doing in a specific area and why. What do they see around them? Are they watching the other characters doing something? What are they thinking? These are all things that can be asked when trying to make a good intro post. You should also do this when you make a new thread, have the very first post be elaborate and an interesting read!

Of course, we would love to see people doing this in all their role play posts. If you make long posts, it'll encourage other members to make long posts as well, thus adding more content and meaning to the RP.

Here is an article on deviantART.com that would greatly help people when coming up with ideas on writing emotions. Be sure to check it out!
The Non-Verbal Thesaurus


Rule #3- One thread at a time!

Hold your horses! I know you’re excited to use your character, but you can’t just go having your character in all the threads! After all, no one can be in two places as once. Keep it real and make sure your character is in only one thread at a time. When you want to move to another thread, make your character leave in your post then go onto a new thread. Of course, if you have more than one character, you can always have them in different threads, but unless your characters has some sort of weird clones (Hur hur hur hur, Moloch and his infinite selves) your character should generally stay in one place at a time.


Rule #4- Don’t be afraid to jump in!

The people in the RP are constantly going on some sort of daring adventure but with its complexity, you may feel hesitant to jump in all of a sudden. Don’t be! We love to have random people come in and add something interesting to the mix. You can attack the group, you can offer aid, strike up a conversation, do whatever you want! Be sure to actually have your character talk to someone else’s though, we don’t want a random sack of potatoes sitting in the middle of the thread that has nothing to do. If you’re still unsure about what exactly how you want to join in, feel free to PM or ask a someone in the shoutbox involved in that thread, I’m more than sure that they’d be happy to help you.


Rule #5- Put yourself in the center of activity!

A lot of times, we get new members and they go and make their own thread, that’s all fine and dandy. Sad thing is, a lot of times those threads get little to no attention, sometimes because they lack interesting content. If you really want a good response to your character, jump into an active thread! Normally, an Inn or some other place like that (a pub, a popular store, organizations, etc.) will be basically the center of activity, and it is the best place I can think of for your character to make friends (Or foes!).

We do not discourage making your own thread; in fact, it’s encouraged! But when you do, be sure to add some sort of purpose to it. Don’t just make a thread about how your one character is thinking to his/herself and not leaving it open to anyone else reply. If you really want to have a character thinking by themselves, you can at the very end of your post, say something similar to this…


By doing this, you leave it open for other people to reply to your post, thus increasing the chance of activity in your thread. It is very important to leave your post replyable by other members, otherwise you’re just going to hit a dead end when it comes to your posting.