Roleplay is interactive storytelling. While easy to get into, it can take awhile to learn its intricacies. This guide is comprised not of rules, but of what we hope are some helpful guidelines to help you make the most of your experience.
CREATION
When creating a character, we always suggest looking at a relatively realistic, balanced personality. Sure, we often have a character in mind based on a particular trait, but leaving a character rotating around only that one trait tends to leave them one-dimensional, with little room for development. When creating your character, think about what sorts of likes and dislikes, talents, strengths and weaknesses, phobias and quirks they might have.
This search link should bring you to a list of helpful click-generators for random likes and dislikes
DEVELOPMENT
Character development can be defined as anything that challenges and changes a character--just like your experiences change you! All characters should be open to this sort of adaptation: their encounters should allow them to learn new perspectives, change their viewpoints, and alter their attitudes and beliefs, for good
or ill.
001. Children
Remember, as per Origin's rules, that characters start off
as juveniles. We do not allow characters to begin their roleplay lives acting like full, mature adults--and beginning as a child allows your character a lot of room to grow. While it's perfectly fine to have an end personality in mind (and filling out that Personality section certainly requires some planning), be flexible as they go through their lives. A fierce assassin could turn out to be a friendly teddy bear, or vice versa, depending on what they encounter! Don't preplan it too far.
002. Pre-Planning vs Freeform
Generally speaking, freeform roleplay (with no pre-determined outcome to the encounters) allows more room for open character development. Naturally, it's a little harder to do this in a forum than on a roleplaying game, so players will often arrange threads between characters in advance. However, this should, at a limit,
generally only preplan the encounter itself--for example, Character X meets Character Y with the potential to train magic. After that, whether they get along, break into a fight, and so forth is best left to interaction! Or if you wish two characters to fight, the outcome really should not be predetermined. Good planning: "Would you like X and Y to investigate the new quest together?" Bad planning: "Can your X meet my Y in order to tell them about Z and take them to A, so that they can B?" There will of course be times when you want to make an exception to this, but for good roleplay and development, these times
should be the exception.
003. Natural Flow
If events take a sudden turn, don't fret! Unexpected story is still story. Try not to see it as a bad thing, no matter what the twist might be: instead, think about how fun the new character development can be. If you imagined that your character would wind up with one outcome, but instead becomes ex. lost, is defeated, or something along those lines, remember that it can truly cause the character to blossom. So go with the flow, and don't be too rigid about what you
want to happen!
004. Numbers
There's no limit to the number of characters a player can have on Origin. Some of us have
quite a few! But some of us fall into the trap of creating a whole lot of characters that we end up abandoning. This isn't great for the people who interact with them, since any development then grinds to a halt; and it certainly doesn't do the characters justice. When making a new character, consider the following: a) How is this character distinct from my others? Is it different enough to justify a new character altogether? b) Have I, or will I, develop my existing characters, or is this new character their replacement? c) Does this new character have enough varied personality sketched out for it to continue to exist and develop if my primary trait doesn't pan out how I expected? Asking yourself these questions may help you fall into the "abandoned heap of characters" trap! It's good practice to ensure each character is different enough from the others, and well-rounded enough at least to start with, that they can stand on their own no matter what. Of course, there's nothing wrong with halting play on a character you lose interest in, but it certainly shouldn't become a habit!
IT TAKES TWO (OR MORE)
001. Give and Take
Always try, no matter how long or short your post may be, to give your roleplay partner something to respond to in your posts. Remember, the thread, and the
story, is not just about your character, but about your partner's character, too! Keep their own development in mind, their interests, their likes, dislikes, fears, where you can; bear in mind what your character can offer theirs in terms of progression. Remember: your character is
not the protagonist, the main character in the story; instead, they
all are!
002. Writing an Exit
When exiting a thread, try not to abruptly exit once
you feel finished with it, if the thread hasn't wound down to a natural conclusion. Your roleplay partner's character may have more to say, or do! No matter the in-character excuse, this can seem rude at worst, or awkward at best. Instead, wait for it to trail off naturally, and if you aren't sure, ask your roleplay partner or wait until their character begins an exit. Of course, if something in the thread prompts an exit, then by all means, write one! An example of a sudden, awkward thread exit is when one character (whose player perhaps knows that their character has now heard what they needed to hear) abruptly makes an excuse and leaves. A better, natural exit comes when both characters have started running out of things to say, and are already starting to edge away. When in doubt, have your character ask, in your next post, if it would be considered rude to leave!
IN-CHARACTER STAYS IN-CHARACTER
001. Characters' Actions Stay IC
This is one of the most important things to remember. Your character's wishes, goals, likes and dislikes should not be roleplayed that way simply because it's how
you feel. Instead, think of it as exploring the mindset of an entirely different person. When a player becomes invested in their character's wins, for example--bragging about how strong they are, or setting their ego on their character being the toughest, the undefeated, and so forth--it leads to a poor time for all. Other players face the possibility of making that player unhappy, even angry, and having to put up with their out-of-character reactions to in-character actions. Forming out-of-character grudges, taking out-of-character offense at an in-character action, or becoming resentful out-of-character about in-character occurrences is considered a serious breach of roleplay etiquette. Though it's true that it's hard to stay neutral when your favorite character is undergoing a bad time, we remind you to try and view it as a great potential for character development! In this way,
an IC loss can be a real OOC win.
002. Meta-Knowledge
Just as your character's wishes should be separate from your own, so should their
knowledge be. A character should not have any knowledge it did not acquire in-character. While on Origin, organic language development and some level of basic awareness of their surroundings is fine, a Gembound should not hatch with fully-developed language or any knowledge of the more detailed information regarding the caves. Nor should they ever be aware of information that you as a player know, without having heard it in-character first. This (known as meta-gaming) is one of the more unfair RP sins, since it allows your character unfair advantages in knowledge that they did not gain through in-character interaction.
003. Natural Flow (Revisited)
Again, this also ties into allowing threads to flow naturally. If a thread is progressing one way, but out-of-character you want a different outcome, do not try and force it through actions that your character would not normally take. Guiding the flow of roleplay is one thing; forcing it is another.
CONSEQUENCES
001. Actions have consequences
When your character takes in-character actions, it will effect other characters and their opinion of them, and it may change the world around them, and so on. While it's never good to take an IC action due to OOC reasons, it may be a good idea to discuss options and alternatives with your roleplay partner(s) if you think a situation might naturally lead somewhere you don't want it to.
Example: if a large, strong character is provoking your weaker one, and you fear they might react and wind up dead, you may wish to discuss a possible exit. However, once your character has reacted and attacked, you must be ready to take the consequences of that action. No one can force death on your character--a good option is to simply return them to their chrysalis--but nor do we allow, as per rules, untouchable characters. If your character has made threats in the past, resulting in them being cleverly trapped by characters they've threatened, this is not something that can or should be refused. Remember, this is an
interactive story; other characters are involved, they may see your character as the enemy, and have carefully taken steps to secure their
own goals. Refusing to face the consequences makes it un-fun for everyone else involved, and indicates a care for only one side of the storytelling process. In this vein, when
exiting during a confrontation, it is always a good idea to write "Exit, unless stopped" rather than simply "Exit," to indicate the possibility for other characters to attempt to prevent your character's exit.
002. Permission vs Planning
When engaging in particularly volatile roleplay, for example heavy combat, it's usually considered polite to ask a character's player before attempting a killing blow. While this is less of an issue on Origin, due to the chrysalis mechanic (unless the killing blow aims for the gemstone), it's still a good habit. If you're planning a heavy injury or attack and aren't quite sure if the other player will be all right with it, it may be a good idea to check. With that being said, it is also not good practice to pre-plan the death, particularly where it might not make sense; for example a small, weak Gembound pre-planned to kill a larger, stronger one despite all odds. It can be a delicate balance to maintain, but try to view this as a balance of what comes naturally to the characters, versus what your roleplay partners might be comfortable with. If there is ever a situation regarding in-character violence that you're having trouble resolving, don't escalate it yourself--come to a Game Master for mediation.
KEEP IT FUN
Remember, this is all about
interactive storytelling! We want to have fun throwing our characters together, seeing what happens, where they go, and what fantastic adventures result. While this guide aims to be helpful in keeping it fun, don't get too bogged down in the details. When in doubt, just check with your roleplay partner(s) and make sure all is well--and then get to it!
