This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Both sides previous revisionPrevious revisionNext revision | Previous revisionNext revisionBoth sides next revision | ||
guide:roleplaying [2016/02/05 05:28] – [Communicate!] wes | guide:roleplaying [2018/01/14 15:54] – wes | ||
---|---|---|---|
Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
Once you're in a plot, start role-playing! If it's a single-post plot you can start right away (or as soon as it makes sense in the plot). If it's a [[# | Once you're in a plot, start role-playing! If it's a single-post plot you can start right away (or as soon as it makes sense in the plot). If it's a [[# | ||
+ | |||
+ | Star Army is a community, so get the most out of this site by being proactive; get (and stay) involved. Make friends of your fellow roleplayers by showing them you're fun to write with! It doesn' | ||
===== Basic Rules ===== | ===== Basic Rules ===== | ||
+ | - **In Star Army RPs, we usually write in third-person past tense**, the way most novels do. For example: //A scowl of disgust appeared on Sayuri' | ||
- Posts on Star Army, in general, do not have a word count, meaning they can be as long or as short as you need them to be. | - Posts on Star Army, in general, do not have a word count, meaning they can be as long or as short as you need them to be. | ||
- Game Masters and thread OPs may make exceptions to this based on their preferences, | - Game Masters and thread OPs may make exceptions to this based on their preferences, | ||
Line 11: | Line 14: | ||
- Do not control other people' | - Do not control other people' | ||
- Example: You can shoot //at// them, but you can't just //shoot// them, unless you're the GM. | - Example: You can shoot //at// them, but you can't just //shoot// them, unless you're the GM. | ||
- | | + | |
+ | ===== Play by Post Roleplaying ===== | ||
+ | **Star Army** is a play-by-post roleplaying community, which means we operate by posting text on the forum. Unlike tabletop roleplaying games, Star Army is mostly just writing and does not use complex game mechanics (math). Most story plots have a **Game Master** (GM) assigned whose job is to guide the story, describe the setting, and write the actions of background characters (NPCs). In the Open Roleplay forum, the creator of the RP thread may act as a GM. | ||
+ | |||
+ | See also: [[guide: | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Plots & Subforums ===== | ||
+ | Most RP occurs in ongoing RP plots. After their second RP thread starts, they can get their own subforum. A //plot// in this case refers to an ongoing role playing story and its group of players. In the Star Army RP, these are often based on starships. | ||
+ | |||
+ | See: [[guide: | ||
===== Format and Use of Forum Code ===== | ===== Format and Use of Forum Code ===== | ||
The following formatting is standard for in-character posts: | The following formatting is standard for in-character posts: | ||
- | * Bold text is used for announcements (such as the ship's intercom) and emphasis. | + | |
- | * Italics are used for wireless communication and telepathy (using quotation marks) | + | * //Italics// are used for: |
+ | * wireless communication and telepathy (using quotation marks) | ||
+ | * Example: //" | ||
+ | * thoughts (with or without quotation marks) | ||
+ | * Example: //Ten seconds to get this spacesuit sealed//, Mia thought. | ||
+ | * emphasis (for things like sarcasm, etc. | ||
+ | * Example: " | ||
* Quote boxes should be used for any content from a previous post and for in-character quotes of things like electronic mail, dinner menus, etc. | * Quote boxes should be used for any content from a previous post and for in-character quotes of things like electronic mail, dinner menus, etc. | ||
- | * Parenthesis | + | * Parenthesis |
+ | * Use caution with colored text, as it may not be readable on some styles (Star Army has blue, red, white, and black styles). | ||
===== Communicate! ===== | ===== Communicate! ===== | ||
- | Communicate with other players and with your [[gamemaster]]. | + | Communicate with other players and with your [[game_master]]. |
Sub-plots, problems, questions, concerns, suggestions, | Sub-plots, problems, questions, concerns, suggestions, | ||
Line 53: | Line 72: | ||
===== Keeping Up ===== | ===== Keeping Up ===== | ||
- | Try your hardest to read each and every new post in your roleplay. This cuts down on confusion and prevents conflicts in the storyline from arising. If you don’t have time, at least read the ones involving your ship. Print them if you need to. You are expected to post regularly (at least one RP post a week). If you can’t for some reason, let people | + | Try your hardest to read each and every new post in the threads |
===== Starting a Side Plot ===== | ===== Starting a Side Plot ===== | ||
Line 104: | Line 123: | ||
Yahoo messenger and IRC were once the most common JP tools but Etherpad type sites have become the most favored and used. They' | Yahoo messenger and IRC were once the most common JP tools but Etherpad type sites have become the most favored and used. They' | ||
- | * [[: | ||
- | * [[guide: | ||
* Etherpads | * Etherpads | ||
- | * [[http:// | ||
* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
* [[http:// | * [[http:// | ||
+ | * Chatrooms | ||
+ | * IRC | ||
=== Joining a Joint Post === | === Joining a Joint Post === | ||
Line 172: | Line 190: | ||
Most GMs even impose posting time limits in order to keep the pace up. If the game is lagging and you are able to post, do it. And don't just post to yourself! Try to interact with other characters to keep things exciting. | Most GMs even impose posting time limits in order to keep the pace up. If the game is lagging and you are able to post, do it. And don't just post to yourself! Try to interact with other characters to keep things exciting. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Posting speed and leave of absence policies are set by individual GMs. On a site-wide basis, threads are considered inactive if it has been a month since the last RP post. | ||
+ | |||
+ | ===== Flexible Timeline ===== | ||
+ | At a site-wide level, a year in real life is equivalent to a year in the Star Army universe. However, you are not required to stay aligned with the actual dates throughout the year. To help keep track of space and time, please include the location, date, and time at the start of your posts as needed. | ||
+ | |||
+ | See also: [[calendar: | ||
+ | |||
===== Scene ===== | ===== Scene ===== | ||
- | The scene is where the focus and action of the Joint Post takes place, usually, in a space where all the characters (and thus, an imaginary observer) can interact with one another. It is considered rude to post actions and speech which occur outside of the scene, because | + | The scene is where the focus and action of the Joint Post takes place, usually, in a space where all the characters (and thus, an imaginary observer) can interact with one another. It is considered rude to post actions and speech which occur outside of the scene, because |
+ | |||
+ | - It disrupts the scene and | ||
+ | - Characters | ||
+ | |||
+ | A scene is generally a room or area, such as a ship's bridge or a clearing in a forest; it is generally specified at the start of a roleplay (eg; ON: "YSS Sakura Wardroom" | ||
- | It is both the players and the GM's responsibility to keep things within a unifed | + | It is both the players and the GM's responsibility to keep things within a unified |
Players who post out-of-scene might have their posts removed from the edited transcript. | Players who post out-of-scene might have their posts removed from the edited transcript. |