Basic RPing

Here you find a set of ground rules with regard to writing roleplays. It is very important that you try to incorporate these as it will greatly help staff to put on great shows.

Formatting

In order to let the RPs to look nice you (and the same throughout the show) it is necessary that we all use on simple style sheet.

The way I do my RPs, I only need three basic commands. italics, bold and color

Colors that are not to be used in RPs:
- yellow and cyan (can't be read on the show, due to white background)
- NPC colors (will be announced later)

Remember, you can (more or less) use the whole spectrum, using the hex color code. For example 003366 is sort of blue, 000000 is white, etc.

In order to use it in RPs use the following tag {color=#000000} but replace {} with [ ].
And don't forget to put a closing tag as well {/color} again with [ ] instead of {}.

A link to a color chart can be found here. The png-file was so huge I didn't want to post it here. (Just in case: I do not claim any rights concerning the content of that link, nor I am I responsible for any changes and possibly resulting violations.)

Remember we have a white background so don't use too bright colors, please. If your RPs can't be read due to coloring, your GM/VGMs will have even more work, so please rember this. Thanks!

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There are basically two ways to get them into your RP.

First is to make the text you want to format, and click the right button in the wysiwyg menu. I know that this is not really too much of a surprise.

Second way, and also the one I do my formatting, is that I write my RPs in MS Word or OpenOffice or whatever text software you use and afterwards copy&paste it to the forum. This screenshot is from an old RP I put up in another fed.

Another advantage is that your text editors can already help out with spelling and partially grammar.

Then, before you send, always 'Preview' your RP. You'll directly see if something went wrong. Notice the problem in the following shot.


IMPORTANT! Basic rules:
- all actions go in italics and are not colored
- all speakers must have their names written in front of the speech and the name should be put in bold
- each speaker gets an own color
- colors that are restricted to the NPCs are not to be used for anybody else
- yellow and cyan can't be used either as our show will be on a white background and these colors just can't be seen.


Give a catchy title to your RP, so that it will look interesting on the card. AND please ALWAYS put the date for your RP into the title. It will make it easier to sort things when preparing the show.

If you want to make comments to other readers/contributors within your RP which are NOT meant to be put on the show, like:

"This is my RP. Waiting for XYZ to reply."

Please put it in using this format:

{[This is my RP. Waiting for XYZ to reply.]}

You might also want to put in something like {[finished]} when your RP is completely done and no additions by anyone else and neither you are to be included. So then we know that we can start spellchecking them and put them on the show, without having to do that over and over again, because someone changed three words or so.

So much for the formatting now.


Acutal RPing

Golden Rule: NO GOD-MODDING! That means do not play a character that is not your own (NPCs excluded). And if you do, make sure they post they post their approval.

1. Think about setting and people to be involved. Do you want a in-ring promo? Or rather a backstage interview? Or a video segment? or whatever you can think of...

2. The first couple of sentences should always be devoted to the setting. Of course, these are put in italics ;)

3. Central part of the RP: If you want to do a monologue, do it. Want to do a coversation, do it. Whatever you like, BUT remember to drop a line of action here and there. For example: crowd reaction, describe facial expressions, just do something. Even if you just want to drop two or three lines add actions. People who read the shows just can't know what happens if we don't tell them.

In case of conversations with someone you don't play yourself, leave something like Ferox: ??? for them to answer.

I know that RPing can take some time, but it's worth it. In order to meet TWG quality standards should have at least 10 lines of written text unless the context/content allows otherwise.

Also think about the climax of your RP and how to get there. And, if you're involved in a story line, think about how your RP fits into the bigger picture.

4. Fade out your RP. Sometimes some kind of a 'cliff-hanger' is good, but usually RPs don't end out of a sudden.


Oh, and with all role playing games, it's easier to do good RPs if you actually know your own character. So also invest some time (and some lines) in your gimmick description. You'll see, it helps.