Gathering Ingredients
Okay, So, an RP needs Several Ingredients before you can even start to put it together. I'll go over each of these in turn in this section. The Basics most RPs need are:
♥ Setting (where the action takes place)
♥ Storyline/Concept (what's the story about?)
♥ Rules (letting people know what is and isn't okay in your RP.)
♥ Characters (whether made by you or your RP members.)
Now, these basics are going to be different for each RP. I know, that no matter what I type here, there will probably be an exception to the rule. So please, keep in mind, these suggestions and guidelines are for MOST RPs; not every single one. Please don't PM me telling me I'm wrong.
Setting
Okay, so you have a vague idea of the kind of story you want your RP to be. You do have an idea, right? Or at least a genre.
Okay, so take your idea, and think about where you want it to happen. Try to make it a setting you're familiar enough with to write about. However, if you want to make it happen someplace exotic, or even someplace you made up, never fear! That's what the internet is for. Wikipedia is a good enough source for informal roleplays, and if you really want to do some good research, I'm sure the librarians at your local library can help. This sub-section will now be further divded into Real Place Settings and Made-up Settings.
Real Place Settings:
These are settings that are somewhere on Planet Earth, even if you made up the specific city/country you are using. For example, Hollowtown, Iowa doesn't really exist (as far as I know), but Iowa does. So, I should look up a little about Iowa to see what kind of land is there. Is it flat? Are there Mountains? What major rivers/lakes are in Iowa? I know it's not near the ocean, which is different from my own home in Houston. Now, you don't have to get too specific with Real Place Settings, since most people have some preconcieved notions about them. Iowa for example, would probably prompt ideas about cornfields and cow pastures. I know there's more to Iowa than that, but that's what most people are going to think of.
Okay, now that you have a cursory knowledge of your general area (enough so that you don't claim there's a huge mountain in East Texas, or that people living in Nebraska regularly go to the beach), you need to define the specific settings your RP is taking place in. Draw a map (mentally, at least) of any major buildings. If the Characters have seperate houses, think about the street layout. How far do they live from each other? Would it be realistic for them to walk to each other's houses, or do they have to drive?
With a few tweaks, your setting can go from:
Average GM
In a small town in Iowa, called Hollowtown...
to
Awsome GM
Hollowtown, Iowa. Small. Rural. Backwater. Exactly the kind of place any sane, city-loving person would avoid. The entire 'town' is made up of Main st., Elm Ave., and Braeswood Blvd. and the collected houses of the local yokels. They don't even have a Mall. They don't even have a Wal-Mart.
See? Just a few more details, and you can turn the setting from being 'just a backdrop' to being alive and vivid to your RPers.
Made-Up Settings:
Okay, so, a Made-Up Setting is any place that is not on the Planet Earth, whether it's another planet, dimension, plane or universe. This mostly applies to Sci-Fi and Fantasy RPs. Most other Genre's take place in an Earth setting of some kind (Excluding some Fan-Fictions, but then, the setting's done for you). A Made-Up Setting will require more work than a Real Setting, because people will have little or no preconcieved notions about what's normal there. There are two main ways to do this; Big Picture first, or Specifics First. I usually use the former.
The first thing to ask, if you're doing the big picture first, is what is the physical layout of the planet/country/world of your Made-Up Setting. Is it based on Eath-type geology? If so, then make sure that everything makes sense, and that the rivers flow downhill and everything. If not, you'll have to explain why (at least, a little). If the Made-Up Setting is a large place, like a country or even a planet, maps are in order. You don't have to get fancy, but it should give people a general idea of what you were thinking. For example: which towns are to be found in the West of your country, and which to the East? Which rivers are there, and how do they flow? Are there mountains? Deserts? Swamps? Forests? Seas? Where are these located in reference to each other?
This is the map of a country I use for one of my own RPs. It took maybe half an hour in MSPaint. It's imperfect, messy, and not to scale. However, it lets my players know that if they want to go from Treblad to Billet, they have to go Notheast, around the swamp (or through it), and cross at least two rivers. Now, once you have the counrty at least loosely thought out, think of which city you'll be starting at. Is it a coastal town? Perhaps a desert oaisis? An island village? In the mountains? On a plain? These will affect the town. You can hardly have a story about sea-faring pirates that takes place in a landlocked plain or desert. Conversely, a RP about desert caravans should probably not include the ocean.
Just remember, the setting should fit the story, be a part of it. Whether you make it up from scratch, or base it on your hometown, details are essential for your players. Unfortunately, the wonders of the Internet don't seem to include telepathy...yet.
Storyline/Concept
Okay, so, this is the real draw of your RP. Does your RP have a purpose or goal? Most RPs need some sort of plot/goal/storyline to be a catalyst for character interaction. Now, if you just have a nifty world/universe/what-have-you, and the point of the RP is to enjoy it, then most likely the RP won't live long. That's not to say it isn't enjoyable. I am a huge fan of 'open-ended' RPs. However, that format doesn't seem to work so well when your entire RP is contained in one thread. Open RPs are better suited to having whole boards, or at least whole sub-forums.
Alright, now that we've established the need for a goal/quest/plot, how do you come up with one? Hopefully, the idea for your RP will logically provide one. For example, a romance RP would probably have a goal of the charachters having romantic relationships, perhaps with a few obstacles in their way. An RP featuring magical powers might have the goal be the characters learning to use and control their powers, or perhaps have some villian for them to overcome.
Of course, once the players have acchieved whatever their goal is, you as GM can do one of two things:
1) Come up with a new plot or goal, perhaps something that is a result of having accheived the first goal
2) As sad as it may be, you can end the thread at this point. After all, all good thing come to an end.
Rules
Okay, so, I know that you're the GM and hence God, and you'll make up whatever rules you damn well please, but here are some guidlines concerning not just rules of what goes on in the RP, but how people join it. The section should really be called 'Structure' instead of 'Rules', but I'm not an architect.
Alright, so your RP needs a little structure, and by and large the first few post of an RP (occasionally the whole first page), are where you set everything up. There are two issues you want to adress with your structure: You want to be brief, but you also want to include all the information. I find it best to break the structure up between at least four or five posts. The things most RPs absolutely require, or at least are extremely useful are:
♥ An Intro or Hook that grabs attention (to drag people in)
♥ A more In-depth explanation of the plot. (explaining setting, the goal, etc.)
♥ Rules (make sure they follow the Gaia ToS)
♥ A Profile Skeleton
♥ A place for Accepted Profiles/Premades
Now, the Intro is pretty self-explainitory; basically it's the boiled-down version of your roleplay. I have seen a great many of these that were really good, but some of the other parts of the RP prep were lacking. The In-Depth Story is a bit more difficult. It should generally be at least two or three paragraphs long, and can be a synopsis, or a story, or I even had a GM once that set hers up as E-mails. In any case, it should explain both the setting and goal. If you have maps or location pictures, this is probably the best place to put them. Any Rules you make should adhere to the Gaia ToS, and should probably include procedure for applying. The two best ways (I've found), for applications are having them PMed to you, or setting up an OOC thread for your roleplay, and having them submitted there. It's distracting to have them submitted in the IC thread.
As for a profile skeleton, there are countless ways to set one up, and every RP requires different info, but here's a sample of the most basic skeleton I can think of:
Basic Profile
Username:
Character Name:
Character Age:
Character Description/Pic:
Character History:
Alright, now you've got the basics for your thread down, you can start with the frills. White & Black Lists, Song Lyrics, Fancy Coding, Pics, FAQ etc. But be careful! A little goes a long way. You don't want your RP to look cluttered. Also, avoid pale or bright colors, especially when combined with a small font. This makes it hard for anyone to read, especially those using laptops.
Characters
This is pretty easy, just make sure that the Characters people are submitting fit well with your RP, and with each other. Not everyone can be the Lone Wolf type. Otherwise, non of the characters would interact. As for the premades, you can control them more than the ones others make, but make sure that they too work well together. There are a great many Character Development Threads available, some of which I shall link here when I'm not so lazy. Also, just like Lone Wolves can kiil a RP, so too can Mary-Sues. Not everyone has to have a tragic past, and unexplainable powers. No one wants a brillant concept to be killed by bad characters.
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
Intro
>>Gathering Ingredients<<
Mix Well
Presentation
Enjoy!
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