Roleplay on Istaria
From Istaria Lexica
About Istarian roleplay, for new and returning roleplayers.
What is Roleplay?[edit]
To roleplay (RP) means making a fictional / virtual character interact with others, roleplayed by other players, like if several authors were writing a book, each writing their own characters' moves and thoughts.
This means social interaction, as roleplayers are interacting together (see the OoC details part) and through their characters (see the IC details part). A roleplayer can roleplay several characters, as long as there is another player's character interacting with them. It is, indeed, hard to roleplay alone.
The roleplayer is the one who decides what to do with his/her character(s), but to allow the roleplay to work, the roleplay style and choices should match the expectations of other roleplayers. It requires, then, discussions between the roleplayers themselves. If an agreement or a compromise can't be found between two or more roleplayers, it is better to drop the subject.
It is important to keep in mind that, when you roleplay, you do it to enjoy it yourself, of course, but more to let other roleplayers enjoy it, and the same thing applies for them.
IC and OoC?[edit]
Roleplay works with two different views.
When the player is roleplaying, he/she writes sentences In Character (IC). The roleplayer, then, acts in the roleplay like he/she thinks his/her character would act, react, and how the character would feel. The player enters his/her character's point of view, into the virtual world.
In order to make the In Character roleplay work properly, communication between the players themselves, in the real world, is very important. This is the OoC (Out of Character) point of view.
Players use it to discuss together, to get informations on their characters, to agree about what they will make the characters do, even more if the events affect their characters greatly. It is about ensuring everything the players do while roleplaying is acceptable for the other players, and it helps prevent conflict between roleplaying styles.
How to separate IC and OoC[edit]
To avoid confusion on the roleplay channels, or on the main local channel when someone might be roleplaying on it, it is better to write brackets or other signs to show when someone isn't roleplaying as a character, but talking as a real person. The * symbol is used to indicate an IC action.
For example, a IC post on a channel would be like:
- The black dragon bows his large head to greet the saris standing in front of him. Then, he asks: "What is bringing you there, biped?"
And an OoC post would be like:
(hello everyone)
It is very important to keep IC separated from OoC. Keep in mind that what a character does or thinks, doesn't mean the player would act or think the same way in real life (RL). Two characters that are hating each other in IC roleplay, doesn't prevent their respective players from being close friends and having fun in real life. The difficulty can occur when a roleplayer makes his/her character act and think like he/her (the player) would if he/she was in the characters place.
The roleplayers who want to make their characters think, act and react like they, themselves, would need to be careful with it, and not take any IC thing personally, as it isn't directed at them in the real world.
Some roleplayers choose to always speak In Character, but it is important to remember that nothing of what they could do In Character (even more if the character looks grumpy,...), then, is directed at a real player.
Roleplay Areas and Channels[edit]
In the game, roleplayers are roleplaying on many channels. The main local channel is normally intended to make the characters think and act in the area in which they are really in in the game. For example, if two characters are in New Trismus and roleplaying on the main local channel, they will likely be, in roleplay, located at this place.
The main Role-Play channel, like many other roleplay channels, is intended to allow the players to make their characters interact in an IC area, even if they aren't really near each others in the game itself. A player doesn't have to then bring his/her character into a specific area to roleplay, when using these roleplay channels.
Roleplay events can occur at different times, so we can consider, for example, that a character is resting in one roleplay channel's area, after having fought an enemy in another roleplay channel's area, while the player is roleplaying on both roleplay channels at once.
Outside of the main Role-Play channel, there are several themed roleplay channels, in which the players join into an area which is determined by the player(s) who created it, and can do there, roleplay things which are related to the channels themes. You can also discuss in OoC with other roleplayers, if you want to create new themed roleplay channels yourselves.
Generally the main Role-Play channel is considered an area in which is determined by the player group. The majority of the roleplayers consider this area as a valley, surrounded by trees and with rocks. A lake is also located here.
The roleplay area hasn't always taken place in a valley, but it tends to not change very often, as roleplayers prefer to have a rather stable roleplay area to join. If some players wish to change it, this will require important OoC discussions, in game, and maybe even on the community forum, to avoid annoyance and confusion.
It is important to remember that, in any roleplay channel, a character needs to be at another characters line of sight if another player wants to allow interaction between them. If two characters are interacting in a valley, they likely won't be able to notice, see, hear nor interact with a character who is, ICly, at New Trismus. To make characters act, on a single channel, in two different roleplay areas, who are far from each other would likely bring confusion.
Of course, there can be exceptions, for example if a character in a valley feels another one is in danger, or has a sort of mental link / discussion [such as a mind reading ability] then the character will be able to react to it. This may be limited to a single player or a group of players depending on the agreed roleplay. A distant mental discussion however, may not be received by other characters without such IC abilities. Using the /tell command is a good means to achieve this kind of roleplay.
Please be aware that some role play channels may have more mature conversations than others. For example dark or violent styles of roleplay would tend to take place in a private channel due to the subject content.
If a player walks into a heated roleplay. the best choice of action is to ask OOCly what's going on, who's involved, and can your character enter the scene? before just joining in, Or, if you're going to start a roleplay, take it up with the players you want involved OOCly, discuss your idea(s) of the characters you're involving, and make sure everyone ok with it. If someone doesn't like something about the roleplay, ask for advice, or get their point of view. They might have an idea to bring the roleplay to life in ways you've never expected.
Summary[edit]
A character should not be aware of what is happening on the real world. A dragon, for example, wouldn't be able to talk with a friend about the revamps, the bugs,... A character shouldn't be talking like this: "Hey, I am ADV LVL 10, now.", but rather "Hello... I have reached the tenth battle training season."
Leetspeak isn't really interpreted well by the bulk of the roleplaying community. Indeed, it would be like imagining, in a fantasy book like Eragon, Saphira saying to Eragon, through the mental link: "H3y th3r3!"
During roleplay, a roleplayer can't control another player's character (this is powerplaying). What a character will think and act is only the choice of his/her own character..
However, if, for example, a character is using something like a special spell or gives another character a potion, while the other roleplayer doesn't know what this spell or potion is like and what the effects are. Then the first roleplayer can still express In Character what it should be and do. The second roleplayer's agreement is still required in these cases.
Godmodding and overpowering (OP): These attributes aren't well seen by the roleplaying community. If a roleplayer makes his/her character invincible, like a god, or an overpowered being, other roleplayers will likely not be willing to make their characters interact with this one.
If a character has just been created in game, and is around level 1, then the player should remember that their character is of a low level and cannot match a high level character (to remain IC).
If a character has special powers, there should be weaknesses as well to balance it, and both parts should be explained, reasons and background given, If someone meets a roleplayer who appears to have an overpowered character, or is godmodding, then a quiet discussion should be started to find compromises and alternative ways. The roleplayers imagination, and the game's world are the only limits for this.
To conclude, keep in mind that we are not intending to list any rules, just posting how roleplay in Istaria tends to function. Roleplaying is as limited as a player's imagination, but please remember that the other players in the world must also accept a particular style of roleplay in order to interact.
