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Roleplaying Guides & Resources


Whether you're a beginner wondering what all the fuss is about, a roleplayer who desperately wants to improve their skills, or a very experienced roleplayer who wants to share their expertise, this is the thread for you. Below you'll find a number of roleplaying guides and resources to help you on your way - for information on how to contribute, please see the last post.


Navigation:
  1. Introduction
  2. Guides & Resources Index
  3. How to Contribute
  4. Wanted! Desired Guide Topics
  5. Guide Format Template
  6. Need More Training?

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Guides & Resources Index

Beginners/Setting Up


Character Building


World/Concept Building

Roleplay Technique

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How To Contribute

We need you! Gaia has an amazing roleplaying community with plenty of experienced roleplayers; if you want to contribute to this little stockpile of information, whether you want to write for beginners or even more experienced roleplayers, please read on!

I want to write a guide!

That's awesome <3 Take a gander at the list of desired topics or have a go at your own idea (try not to duplicate any current guides though, or your guide may be rejected sad ). Once you know what you want to write about, please use the Guide Format Template so that the formatting is consistent with our other guides. Make sure that you spell-check and proof-read your work before submitting it to us; if mistakes make it too difficult to read, we may not be able to accept it without a little more polish.

Once you're done, drop a private message with your guide to a Barton OOC moderator for review!

I want to add something to an existing resource!

Some of our resources, such as the Weapon List, can more than likely be expanded. If you have anything to add to them, send your proposed additions to a Barton OOC moderator, with a clear note or link explaining which guide you want to add something to.

I have a thread or guild on Gaia that might be useful to add to the Guides and Resources list!

If you currently have a guild or thread which exists to help people with their roleplaying skills (such as a 'critique my character' thread, or a roleplay practice guild), send the following information to a Barton OOC moderator for review: The link, the name of your guild/thread, and a short description of one or two sentences explaining how it can help with roleplay training. You should not submit links to threads/guilds you don't own (unless you have permission from the owner), as the extra attention may be unwanted, and all links should be within Gaia.

I found a cool guide on a different website. Can I just use that and send it to you if I format it with the template?

I'm afraid not - all guide content submitted to the Roleplay Guides and Resources thread should be original. If you want to use the offsite information you've found to write your own guide, that's fine - just remember not to copy anything directly, and to link to the guide as a reference at the very bottom so that it is compliant with copyright law :3

I'm having trouble with a particular aspect of roleplaying - I'd like to see a guide written about <insert topic here>!

Drop a private message to a Barton OOC moderator, and we'll add it to the Wanted! list.

Thanks for all your contributions!
A list of Barton OOC moderators can be found here.

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Wanted! Desired Guide/Resource Topics

Please note that these are not guide titles, but themes that we would love to see covered in new guides/resources/exercises. Some of the topics listed here may be very broad and be suitable for division into multiple guides.

Beginners/Setting Up
  • Genres in roleplay/different types of roleplay
  • Roleplay literacy levels in roleplay
  • Planning ahead, plotting events as a GM
  • Roleplay thread/post formatting ideas/guides
  • Strategies for resurrecting a dying/stale roleplay


Character Building
  • Character design
  • Playing characters of a different gender to yourself
  • Common character stereotypes
  • Heroes vs villains, breaking cliches


World/Concept Building
  • Designing a world
  • Designing a species
  • Systems of magic
  • Science fiction technologies
  • Combat systems



Roleplay Technique
  • Common grammatical/spelling errors to avoid
  • Writing good description
  • General good writing practice
  • Dialogue in roleplay
  • Making effective use of other roleplayers' posts


Other
  • Exercises for roleplay practice

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Guide Format Template

Guide Title

Author: Your username!


Introduction goes here! Describe the goal/purpose of the guide, what someone can achieve by reading it. Don't be afraid to really sell your guide!

Main Header

Text goes here!

Subheading

Text goes here!

Main Header

Text goes here!

Subheading

Text goes here!

Main Header

Text goes here!

Subheading

Text goes here!


References



[size=18][b][color=Darkred]Guide Title[/color][/b][/size]

[b][color=Darkred]Author:[/color] Your username![/b]


[size=14]Introduction goes here! Describe the goal/purpose of the guide, what someone can achieve by reading it. Don't be afraid to really sell your guide![/size]

[size=16][b][color=Darkred]Main Header[/color][/b][/size]

Text goes here!

[size=14][b][color=Darkred]Subheading[/color][/b][/size]

Text goes here!

[size=16][b][color=Darkred]Main Header[/color][/b][/size]

Text goes here!

[size=14][b][color=Darkred]Subheading[/color][/b][/size]

Text goes here!

[size=16][b][color=Darkred]Main Header[/color][/b][/size]

Text goes here!

[size=14][b][color=Darkred]Subheading[/color][/b][/size]

Text goes here!


[size=11][b][color=Darkred]References[/color][/b]

[list][*][url=link]Link to any reference used to create your guide[/url]

[*][url=link]Link to any reference used to create your guide[/url][/list][/size]

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Need More Training?

The following links are places within Gaia that can help you become a great roleplayer! For information on submitting links to this list, please review the How to Contribute post.

  • The School of Dedicated RolePlayers - The SDRP is a guild where RPers help each other improve. Here you can ask/answer questions, tutor, write up tutorials, and, of course, RP. Each new RP is moved to either the Beginners, Intermediate, or Advanced RP subforums by the crew to help members judge their own skill level and join the appropriate RP(s). There's no application to get in, so come for help or come for experience!

  • Think You Can RP? Prove It! - Have you ever been rejected from an RP based on your sample RP post? Are you a GM who uses a player's past RPs or RP samples to judge whether or not to let them join? Come here to post and/or critique sample RP posts.

  • Momo's Guide to Starting Your Own RP - Not sure where to start in making your own roleplay? This thread has plenty of advice to set you on the right track.

  • How NOT to Roleplay - The Anti-Guide was created to be pure satire. Each post in the guide suggests exactly what you should NOT do when creating/participating in a roleplay. Originally inspired by Alea Facta Est's anti-writing guide.

  • The Character Creation Thread - Our mission here is to come up with a general list of guidelines and principles to help with creating a new character. No, I'm not talking about making complete lists of acceptible skills, equipment, races, and the ilk. No. Rather, some loose guidelines to help guide through the common pitfalls of character creation, and how to make your profile/bio stand out in the crowd.

  • So You Wanna Take it Outside Huh? (Combat Roleplaying Guide) - This thread is a guide to all of those nasty little situations that our characters seem to get themselves into. No I'm not talking about messy love triangles. I'm talking about the act of two characters beating each other into a bloody pulp, or at least attempting to do so. This friendly (or not) little guide will show you the ropes of roleplaying a combat situation.

  • Let's (Role) Play! - Join forces with other roleplayers-in-training to take part in 'practice' roleplays, while senior roleplayers observe and critique your work to help you improve.

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What is Roleplaying?

Author: Original by Bartjj, editing and additional content by Kilarra


If you're hearing about roleplaying for the first time, it can be a bit confusing. What exactly does roleplaying involve? Is it something you would enjoy? Fear not; all these questions and more are answered in this short guide.

  1. What is Roleplaying?

    Roleplaying is you playing a different person. Maybe you are a shy boy in real life, but in the game you are a brave knight who slays dragons and saves towns from dangerous monsters. It's easy, even very easy, as long as you got good imagination. But taking the first steps into the world of roleplaying can be hard sometimes, and that's where this guide can be helpful.

    Roleplaying can take place across a variety of mediums - instant messages, emails, private messages, or open threads in the Gaia roleplaying forums. There are many different ways to roleplay, but the fundamental idea is that you create a character you are going to 'play' as, and along with other people and their own characters, write a kind of collaborative story. It's an interactive, exciting way to 'play pretend' through writing - you never know how other characters are going to behave, you can enjoy epic battles and dramatic scenes and explore worlds that only exist in your imagination.

    Maybe you and your friends want to play a group of superheroes or battle-hardy warriors in a struggle of good versus evil. Maybe you want to play a regular person in an extraordinary setting. Maybe you want to act out a fun, anime-style romance with your invented character.

    Video games are restricted by their programming, and you can't influence what happens in your favourite novels or movies or cartoons. Even if you've ever played games like Dungeons and Dragons, you will have been restricted by rules and gameplay mechanics.

    Writing-based roleplaying gives you a freedom that isn't available in these other areas - and has the added benefit of letting you meet new people or have creative fun with your friends.


  2. Are there any rules?

    Roleplaying techniques and rules will vary from roleplay to roleplay, but don't let that put you off. There are huge freedoms in writing-based roleplay, and what's more, if you're making your own roleplay, you can make up the rules yourself!

    In most cases, what you're "allowed" to do will only be restricted by things like the setting of the roleplay, and your character's own limitations. For example, if you're in a Lord of the Rings-type roleplay surrounded by orcs, your fellow roleplayers won't be happy if your character suddenly escapes on a modern jumbo jet. It's also important to be aware of roleplaying etiquette, but there are other, more detailed guides available on these subjects. Just remember to be courteous, and have fun!

  3. What do I need in order to be able to roleplay?

    A basic grasp of writing and a whole lot of imagination are all you need. Roleplaying is just like writing a book, except other people will be taking part, and there isn't often a set plan of what will happen. You may encounter roleplays that use tools like dice throws to determine whether or not that punch your character threw actually landed in the enemy's face, but for the most part, you will be given responsibility in writing out what your character does and doesn't do.

    If this is your first time roleplaying, it's best to take a look in the Barton Town forums at the roleplays currently taking place. Pay attention to how they're set up, and see how other roleplayers are using threads to enact these mini-epic sagas. When you feel confident enough, try joining one!


References

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Joining a Roleplay

Author: Original by Eileen, editing by Kilarra


Want to join a roleplay, but aren't sure where to start? This guide will help you out!


  1. Looking for a Roleplay to Join

    When looking for an RP thread to join, I take in several factors:

    The Obvious:
    -Is the theme something I've wanted to play?
    -Does the thread look active?
    -Does the scenario in the thread sound interesting?
    -Are all the things mentioned in the first post agreeable to me?
    -Are any of the players munchkins?

    The Not-So-Obvious
    -Are there already too many players?
    -Is this part of a guild that I'll have to join?
    -Is the thread actively recruiting?
    -Do I have the time for another RP thread?

    If the answer to all these is agreeable to me, I'll usually have a look. Take in all these factors before you jump in, and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble. In particular, the first post in the thread is vital. There you should find everything you need to know, including recruitment status, rules you need to obey, and the opinions of the thread starter. I also recommend reading through the first 3 pages of the thread, and the last 3 (at least) to give yourself a feel for what they had intended it to be, and what it had evolved into.

  2. After Choosing a Roleplay

    Make sure you understand any rules the roleplay might have! If you're required to send a profile in BEFORE you post, make sure you do so.

    Within the RP, when you introduce yourself, do something non-obstructive to their current thread, but something that will hopefully interest them into interacting with you (Maybe your character accidentally bumped into a precariously balanced statue, caught the heavy thing, and is now striving with all her might to keep it from hitting the ground.).

    If you did all this, and posted, and posted, and you were utterly ignored, you have one final thing you can do: PM the player who seems most in charge (and active), and very nicely and politely ask what you can do to get into the thread. Share your concerns about being ignored, and then wait for a reply. If he/she responds, you'll likely have your answer one way or another. If he/she doesn't respond, and is still posting, you may want to consider leaving.

    After all, if they display such rudeness, is it really worth RPing there?


References

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Common Roleplay Etiquette

Author: Original by Seth Darkheart, edited by Kilarra


Depending on the type of roleplay that you are taking part in (futuristic, present, medieval etc) there will be different rules. Most roleplay threads will outline any rules that they in particular wish you to abide by, but the majority of roleplaying rules are common sense.


  1. Don't Cheat

    This is arguably the most important rule. There are many different ways to cheat whilst roleplaying (sometimes referred to as 'munching' or 'Godmoding'), too many for me to go into here, but I recommend that you read the Anti-Munch Project. If you're new to roleplay then it outlines several things that you should avoid. Think of the AMP as a list of roleplaying guidelines. In certain situations it's ok to break them, but I wouldn't recommend it until you've been roleplaying for a while and know how to recognise these situations.

    As well as being a term interchangable with munching, Godmoding also refers to a particular type of munching. Godmoders are arguably the worst form of munchers, because their characters have powers akin to Gods. They can dodge bullets, fly, run incredibly fast, do martial arts... Basically, a Godmoder can do anything. It should be easy to see why this can get annoying.

  2. Be Realistic

    In some roleplays you might be able to get away with bending the laws of physics, but in 'realistic' roleplays in particular you will have to bear what can and can't be done in mind.

  3. Stick to your Story

    It can get increasingly annoying if somebody that you are roleplaying with keeps changing their character, saying that they grew up with their parents on a farm one day, then claiming that they watched their parents die at the age of 1. Once you've got a story going in a roleplay, stick to it.

  4. Only Control Yourself

    There's nothing wrong with interacting with another user's character when roleplay (in fact, it's encouraged ) but don't control them. For example, it's fine to say that you offer another character a beer or that you throw a knife at them, but it is not ok to assume that the character takes the beer or that the knife hits him. I'll go into battles themselves in more detail later on, but the basic idea is that you let people control their own characters. After all, you wouldn't like it if somebody was controlling your character, would you?

  5. Offline? Leave Them Alone!

    If somebody says that they are going offline but you wish to continue roleplaying, then the best way to do it is to pretend that the character started to ignore you or went off to do something else. Just because somebody has gone offline without making excuses IC does not mean that you can attack them, kill them, draw funny faces on them with pen, or anything like that.


References

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Roleplaying Terminology

Author: Original by Serael, editing and additional content by Kilarra


If you're new to roleplaying, some of the words more experienced roleplayers use might be very confusing! Below is a summary of the most common terms, and what they mean.


  1. Roleplaying Terms

    • Roleplay : To assume the role of. Example: I am roleplaying a knight. I am pretending to be a knight.
    • RP : An abbreviation of the word Roleplay. Example: I'm going to RP for a bit.

    • Profile : A character sheet depicting the qualities and information about a certain character such as name, gender, inventory, powers, etc. Example: Name: --- / Age: --- / Appearance: --- ...

    • Out-Of-Character : Commonly abbreviated as OOC. Means to talk outside of one's role; to talk as yourself rather than the character/role that is being roleplayed. Commonly is surrounded by symbols such as (()), []. Example: ((Drat, my keyboard is a mess.))

    • In-Character : Commonly abbreviated as IC. Means to talk/post as the character/role you are roleplaying (i.e. To resume the role I was roleplaying as.)

    • God Moding : Roleplaying in-character but ignoring all rules of roleplay, dictating what happens to other roleplayers' characters, making their own character a super-being who can't die. Generally used to describe a character being roleplayed in battle situations (e.g. every attack they perform hits, they dodge every attack directed at them, they are unfairly powerful compared to other characters).

    • Non-Playable Character : Commonly abbreviated as NPC, also referred to as Non-Player Characters. A character that isn't controlled by just one roleplayer, such as an innkeeper in a tavern or a guard at a gate. An NPC may be controlled strictly by the person in control of the roleplay, or the roleplay creator may let anyone control them. Example: The following are non-playable characters: Billy, Bob, the goblins, and the guards.

    • Puppeteering : If a roleplayer has to leave for an extended period of time, sometimes they may permit their character to be 'puppeteered', or controlled by other roleplayers, so that everyone else can continue with the story without waiting.
      Example: ((I'm off on holiday for a week now, guys! Feel free to puppeteer my character if you need to))

    • Storyline : Every roleplay has a story in it...read the first page of every RP you're going to participate in before jumping in. Also called the plot.

    • Closed RP : A closed RP means that it is restricted to ONLY the users that were invited. It's best not to disrupt other RPs that you're not involved with.

    • Open RP : An open RP means it's open to anyone who wants to join.

    • RP Rules : Every RP made by different users has their own set of RP rules, please follow them to avoid embarassment.

    • Quest RP/Long-term RP : These RPs are very committed. If you're not the 'serious' role player than this isn't recommended for you. The reason is a Quest RP can go on for a long time, with a very carefully crafted story. These RPs are often organized by "serious" roleplayers who know their stuff.

    • School RP : A place for those that would enjoy a good educational RP. Class is in session! The University/School subforum has plenty of these!

    • Anime/Manga/Game RP : These RPs are mainly based on the series itself. For example: A thread was created called "Final Fantasy RP" and that means the RPers on that thread may RP in character as Cloud or Tidus or be original characters that they have made up RP with the FF characters.

    • Original Characters (OCs) : Often used in roleplays based on existing book, cartoon, game or movie series. Just because you choose to roleplay in the world of Final Fantasy VII doesn't mean that you have to play one of the game's main cast, like Cloud or Sephiroth. You could make up your own character within the Final Fantasy VII world e.g. a shopowner who works in Midgar called Claude. Claude would be an OC, or original character.

    • Canon Characters : 'Canon' characters are those which already exist in an existing series. If you play Cloud in a Final Fantasy, he would count as a canon character. The word 'canon' can also be used to describe anything already established within a game, book, movie or cartoon world. For example, Squall and Rinoa's relationship in Final Fantasy VIII is considered 'canon' because it happens in the game. Sometimes people will want to roleplay scenarios which are not canon - for example, roleplaying a romance between Squall and Selphie instead.

    • Symbols : Sometimes you will see those asterisks * used during an RP. Those often times by most users are used to describe motion/action. But not everyone uses it like that. Some may use color on the text and others will use slashes / or make it to italic or small text or :: or ~.



References

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Anime Roleplaying Terminology

Author: Original by Final Nova, Red, Kimi, & ~Alechsa~, editing by Kilarra


Anime is an extremely popular form of entertainment, and it can often be seen to inspire roleplaying escapades. Below is a list of common language and terms from Japanese anime which can be found in anime-based roleplaying.


  1. Anime Terms

    Some of the terms below signify particular anime concepts, while others are simply the Japanese words for common English words. Remember that using random Japanese may not be the best way to create a convincing character!

    • Ecchi : 'Pervert' in Japanese. This is more meant to be in use with low class perverts, those who gape at girls in underwear or leer at them when they wear short skirts or low cut/tight shirts.

    • Hai : 'Yes' in Japanese.

    • Hentai : 'Pervert' in Japanese, or Japanese Animation porn.
      This is for severe 'dirty perverts', who stare at naked girls and tend to like kinky things. Hentai stuff isn't allowed on Gaia AT ALL. Any roleplay based on hentai should be reported.

    • Iie : 'No' in Japanese.

    • Inu : 'Dog' in Japanese.

    • Itai : 'Ow', 'Ouch', in Japanese.

    • Kitsune : Foxes and/or demon/anthropomorphic foxes, sometimes referred as 'Fox People'.

    • Kyuubi : Nine tailed fox in Japanese. This is a word ONLY for nine-tailed foxes.

    • Nani : 'What?' In Japanese.

    • Neko : 'Cat' in Japanese.

    • Nekojin : Cat people.

    • Oni : 'Demon' or 'Ogre' in Japanese.

    • Shoujo/Shojo Ai : Literally 'girl' love, these are fluffy romance animations or stories involving pretty lesbian girls.

    • Shounen/Shonen Ai : Literally 'boy' love, these are mostly fluffy gay animation or story romances with sexy men or boys.

    • Yatta : 'Yay' in Japanese.

    • Yaoi : Officially refers to sexual Male x Male relationships, which are not allowed on Gaia. However, the word 'yaoi' is commonly used simply to refer to non-sexual male homosexual romance as well. If you come across a sexual yaoi roleplay, please report it!

    • Youkai : 'Demon' in Japanese.

    • Yuri : Officially refers to sexual Female x Female relationships, which are not allowed on Gaia. However, the word 'yuri' is commonly used simply to refer to non-sexual female homosexual romance as well. If you come across a sexual yuri roleplay, please report it!


References

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Weapons List

Author: Original list by Final Nova, Red, and Kimi, some editing by Kilarra


Plenty of roleplays involve battle scenes, and what's a good battle without some awesome weaponry? If you're designing a new character, browse the list below and see what kind of weapon might suit them and their backstory. The weapon you pick will greatly affect the fights they find themselves in, so choose wisely!


The List

The weapons below are organised into categories and accompanied by a brief description.

Swords
  • b*****d-sword: Straight blade, hand and a half sword- used with one or two hands.
  • Bokken: Wooden sword, used to train samurai in Japan.
  • Dao: Single edged Chinese sword, normally called "Broad Swords" in English.
  • Cutlass: A curved blade sword, sailors normally used these.
  • Flamberge: A wavy edged sword, typically long swords or rapiers or a large claymore.
  • Gladius: A Spanish sword used by roman legionnaires.
  • Katana: Japanese long sword.
  • Katar: Weapons that were known to sit just above the wielder's knuckles with a horizontal handgrip.
  • Kodachi: A small sword that should be considered a “dagger”.
  • Kris: Two kinds of Kris; one is a wavy blade used for piercing, the other is a asymmetrical heavy sword.
  • Long-sword: A sword used to increase armor protection.
  • Rapier: A fancy hilted weapon that is considerably thin and pointed at the end.
  • Sabre: A knuckle guarded curved weapon, originally used for cavalry.
  • Smallsword: A European dueling sword.
  • Claymore: A Scottish two handed weapon roughly 55 inches.
  • Greatsword: The largest versions of swords, typically straight and two handed.
  • Scimitar: A sword made for slashing, a very curved sword, Think Aladdin.
  • Tachi: More curved and a bit longer than the Japanese long sword, typically worn by cavalry.
  • Tano: Smaller version of the Katana.
  • Wakizashi: Normally worn with the Katana, it is similar but shorter to the Katana.
  • Zanbatou: "Horse-slaying sword" a pole arm with a large heavy blade at the end.


Knives
  • Bayonet: A knife usually attached to the end of a rifle, used mostly in the Civil War..
  • Bolo - a heavy bladed, ornate knife found in the Philippines
  • Bowie: A large sheath knife.
  • Butterfly, FrameLock, Lockback, Linerlock, Slip-Join, and Switch Blade: All are folding knives.
  • Dagger: A special type of knife, where the tang of the knife is place centerline of the blade.
  • Dirk: A Scottish dagger.
  • Ka-bar: Seven inch fighting and utility knife used by the US Marines in WW2.
  • Kunai: Flattened iron nail, it can be thrown like a shuriken.
  • Kukri: A heavy curved Nepalese Knife.
  • Leatherman: A little larger than a Swiss Army knife.
  • Machete: A long wide blade used to cut through plants.
  • Stiletto: A long sharp narrow knife.
  • Tano: Smaller version of the Katana.
  • Victorinox: Swiss Army Knife.


Staffs
  • Bo: Korean staff.
  • Hanbo: Martial art Quarter-Staff.
  • Long: Longer than the Quarter Staff, which is lighter as well.
  • Quarter: An English staff, normally made of hawthorn, oak, hazel, or ash.
  • Shakujou: A Buddhist's staff.


Polearms
  • Bayonet: When used on the end of a rifle; a Bayonet can be considered a spear.
  • Bill: A chopping blade with several spikes on the end, usually six to seven feet long.
  • Halberd: A two handed pole arm with an axe head.
  • Lance: Long heavy spear used in jousting matches.
  • Long Warhammer: A long spear with a hammer like head.
  • Pike: A spear about 10 to 14 feet long used by cavalry.
  • Pollaxe: A spear with an axe or hammer on the head.
  • Spear: A sharpened pole either wood or metal. Or may be fashioned with a "spear head"
  • Scythe: Typically used for a mowing tool, but can be used as a weapon.


Clubs
  • Club: A wooden object used to beat people with in battle.
  • Mace: A mace is a metal club or metal reinforced club.
  • Mere: A Maori war club, it has almost flat sides and a round top.
  • Morning Star: A mace with a curved head that has spikes surrounding it.
  • War Hammer: Close combat weapon resembling a hammer.


Flails
  • Cat o' Nine Tails: Multi tailed whip, used on ships as punishment.
  • Morning Star: A spiked metal ball attached to a handle with a chain.
  • Nunchacku: Two sticks connected with chain or a thong of fabric.
  • Whips: Leather bound weapons that have a handle and a flexible strip.


Missiles
  • Ballista: A giant "Cross Bow" that throws heavy bolts.
  • Cross Bow: A bow mounted on a stock and uses bolts or quarrels.
  • Long Bow: A common bow.
  • Miniature Cross Bow: Simply, a miniature version of a Cross Bow attaching to the wielder's arm.
  • Recurve Bow: A bow which ends curve away from the archer when in firing position.
  • Shuriken: A tactical weapon, Japanese throwing stars.
  • Yumi: A Japanese Long Bow, it is larger than its wielder.


Firearms
  • Cannon: A large, smooth-bored, muzzle loaded gun.
  • Hand Gun: A small gun used either with one or two hands which uses bullets rather than shot.
  • Shot Gun: A gun which shoots “shot”, tiny balls from the barrel in a large spread.
  • Rifle: Any long gun which uses a bullet, not to be mistaken as a 'Shot Gun'.
  • Submachine Gun: An automatic weapon which combines automatic fire and light weight ammunition of a pistol.


Other

  • Bolo: rope with a weighted ball at each end


References

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BBCode Colour List

Author: Kilarra


Need to jazz up your roleplay thread with some colourful formatting? Try using some of the colours below! Remember, people still need to be able to read it though gonk


Using Coloured Text

To make your text a different colour, you need to wrap it in BBCode tags:

[color=COLOURNAME]Your text[/color]
e.g.
[color=blue]Example text[/color]

gives you: Example text

You can also use the hexadecimal value instead of the colour name, like so:

[color=#HEXVALUE]Your text[/color]
e.g.
[color=#0000FF]Example text[/color]

Example text

Colour List

The format is as follows:
  • Colour name [hexadecimal value]

For very light colours you may need to highlight them in order to see them. Enjoy!

Reds

  • IndianRed [CD5C5C]
  • LightCoral [F08080]
  • Salmon [FA8072]
  • DarkSalmon [E9967A]
  • LightSalmon [FFA07A]
  • Crimson [DC143C]
  • Red [FF0000]
  • FireBrick [B22222]
  • DarkRed [8B0000]


Pinks

  • Pink [FFC0CB]
  • LightPink [FFB6C1]
  • HotPink [FF69B4]
  • DeepPink [FF1493]
  • MediumVioletRed [C71585]
  • PaleVioletRed [DB7093]


Oranges

  • Coral [FF7F50]
  • Tomato [FF6347]
  • OrangeRed [FF4500]
  • DarkOrange [FF8C00]
  • Orange [FFA500]


Yellows

  • Gold [FFD700]
  • Yellow [FFFF00]
  • LightYellow [FFFFE0]
  • LemonChiffon [FFFACD]
  • LightGoldenrodYellow [FAFAD2]
  • PapayaWhip [FFEFD5]
  • Moccasin [FFE4B5]
  • PeachPuff [FFDAB9]
  • PaleGoldenRod [EEE8AA]
  • Khaki [F0E68C]
  • DarkKhaki [BDB76B]


Purples

  • Lavender [E6E6FA]
  • Thistle [D8BFD8]
  • Plum [DDA0DD]
  • Violet [EE82EE]
  • Orchid [DA70D6]
  • Fuchsia [FF00FF]
  • Magenta [FF00FF]
  • MediumOrchid [BA55D3]
  • MediumPurple [9370DB]
  • BlueViolet [8A2BE2]
  • DarkViolet [9400D3]
  • DarkOrchid [9932CC]
  • DarkMagenta [8B008B]
  • Purple [800080]
  • Indigo [4B0082]
  • SlateBlue [6A5ACD]
  • DarkSlateBlue [483D8B]
  • MediumSlateBlue [7B68EE]


Greens

  • GreenYellow [ADFF2F]
  • Chartreuse [7FFF00]
  • LawnGreen [7CFC00]
  • Lime [00FF00]
  • LimeGreen [32CD32]
  • PaleGreen [98FB98]
  • LightGreen [90EE90]
  • MediumSpringGreen [00FA9A]
  • SpringGreen [00FF7F]
  • MediumSeaGreen [3CB371]
  • SeaGreen [2E8B57]
  • ForestGreen [228B22]
  • Green [008000]
  • DarkGreen [006400]
  • YellowGreen [9ACD32]
  • OliveDrab [6B8E23]
  • Olive [808000]
  • DarkOliveGreen [556B2F]
  • MediumAquamarine [66CDAA]
  • DarkSeaGreen [8FBC8F]
  • LightSeaGreen [20B2AA]
  • DarkCyan [008B8B]
  • Teal [008080]


Blues

  • Aqua [00FFFF]
  • Cyan [00FFFF]
  • LightCyan [E0FFFF]
  • PaleTurquoise [AFEEEE]
  • Aquamarine [7FFFD4]
  • Turquoise [40E0D0]
  • MediumTurquoise [48D1CC]
  • DarkTurquoise [00CED1]
  • CadetBlue [5F9EA0]
  • SteelBlue [4682B4]
  • LightSteelBlue [B0C4DE]
  • PurwaBlue [9BE1FF]
  • PowderBlue [B0E0E6]
  • LightBlue [ADD8E6]
  • SkyBlue [87CEEB]
  • LightSkyBlue [87CEFA]
  • DeepSkyBlue [00BFFF]
  • DodgerBlue [1E90FF]
  • CornflowerBlue [6495ED]
  • RoyalBlue [4169E1]
  • Blue [0000FF]
  • MediumBlue [0000CD]
  • DarkBlue [00008B]
  • Navy [000080]
  • MignightBlue [191970]


Browns

  • Cornsilk [FFF8DC]
  • BlanchedAlmond [FFEBCD]
  • Bisque [FFE4C4]
  • NavajoWhite [FFDEAD]
  • Wheat [F5DEB3]
  • BurlyWood [DEB887]
  • Tan [D2B48C]
  • RosyBrown [BC8F8F]
  • SandyBrown [F4A460]
  • Goldenrod [DAA520]
  • DarkGoldenrod [B8860B]
  • Peru [CD853F]
  • Chocolate [D2691E]
  • SaddleBrown [8B4513]
  • Sienna [A0522D]
  • Brown [A52A2A]
  • Maroon [800000]


Whites

  • White [FFFFFF]
  • Snow [FFFAFA]
  • Honeydew [F0FFF0]
  • Mintcream [F5FFFA]
  • Azure [F0FFFF]
  • AliceBlue [F0F8FF]
  • GhostWhite [F8F8FF]
  • WhiteSmoke [F5F5F5
  • Seashell [FFF5EE]
  • Beige [F5F5DC]
  • OldLace [FDF5E6]
  • FloralWhite [FFFAF0]
  • Ivory [FFFFF0]
  • AntiqueWhite [FAEBD7]
  • Linen [FAF0E6]
  • LavenderBlush [FFF0F5]
  • MistyRose [FFE4E1]


Greys

  • Gainsboro [DCDCDC]
  • LightGrey [D3D3D3]
  • Silver [C0C0C0]
  • DarkGray [A9A9A9]
  • Gray [808080]
  • DimGray [696969]
  • LightSlateGray [778899]
  • SlateGray [708090]
  • DarkSlateGray [2F4F4F]
  • Black [000000]


References

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Character Profiles

Author: Original by Leesa-Chan, edited by Seishin_No_Kibou and Penden, new editing by Kilarra


Many roleplays will require you to build a character profile in order to join. This guide summarises everything you need to know!

  1. Overview

    A character profile is a description of your character that helps you remember things about them and, when you post them in an RPG you are going to join, tells the other players a lot about your character. A lot of people use the profile you submit to help them determine whether to let you into the RP or not.

    Sometimes, if your profile isn't long enough and you didn't put enough work into it, you will be rejected from an RP. There are also a lot of RPGs that don't really care about a character profile. Some roleplays like to find out information about characters from certain events, and not have it all listed in a profile. This is up to the Game Master.

    Profiles are usually a form that you fill out for your character. An example of what a profile might look like:
    Profile Example
    Name:
    Age:
    Race:
    Appearance:
    Personality:
    History:


    That's a pretty good opportunity to give your character a good start. However, a lot of roleplayers tend to give very little info that would be considered beneficial to the roleplay. Take a look at this profile example:

    Under Developed Profile
    Name: Van Helsing
    Age: 35
    Race: Human
    Appearance: Black hair and cloths. Coats with some weapons hidden.
    Job: Vampire Hunter
    Personality: Loner


    This example gives no valuable information besides your name, race, and age. Here are some tips on what you should try to add for the remaining profile:

    Appearance

    • Apperance is where people tend to make mistakes. You should not say "see avatar". If you do not put effort into describing a character, we may take that as you may be too lazy to stay and roleplay for extended periods of time. And then, of course, there are things that you can't show just by dressing your avatar. What if your character was missing an arm or had green skin? Your description can also help set the mood. For instance, you can say only that your character wears black clothes, or you can say why-- to blend in with the vampires, maybe? You should take the opportunity to describe your character yourself to show that you care about the roleplay and your character.

    • People tend to also paste in a picture for appearance. Usually these images are big and obnoxious. However, explaining how the character looks and giving a link to an image may help improve your description skills. Maybe you have trouble explaining what you want or think, or you know that most people don't know what a yumi is, so you get a picture instead. You should try to be original with your pictures and not use art or photos that you do not have the rights to. Also, try to keep the images sig worthy. Nothing hurts worse than a profile picture stretching the page.

    • Say you find a nice picture and want to base a character of that. Then do that! But don't let that be the end-all-be-all of your character: use your imagination! Change things around!

    • Maybe you have trouble saying all of it in a paragraph. Make subtitles then! I tend to do the same. It doesn't have to be amazing.

    • Also, people tend to do clothes for appearance. You could use up a whole paragraph just doing clothes, so be careful not to bore the reader. Mention clothes in a few sentences and only include what is most important. We don't care what they wear unless it tells us something about them.

    • While describing though never refer to something outside the roleplay. Don't say:
      -> She wore a battle suit like Lina from Slayers
      -> His hair was straight and black like Ross from Friends.


    Here is an example of the appearance section in a profile:

    Appearance

    Gender: Female
    Height: 5"2
    Weight: 45 - 50 kgs
    Eyes: A bright and cheerful blue! Always sparkling. During a fight though they tend to change to a colder colour.
    Hair: A long blonde, just short of her waist. Oddly enough, natural pink streaks are mixed through the golden blonde. Her fringe sits high, falling over her eyes.
    Build: Slim and slender
    Complexion: Smooth and creamy
    Civilian Appearance: While at school she wears the middle school Juuban high uniform (depending on which season) often accessorised with a scarf during the colder weather. Outside of school she often wears a pleated purple mini-skirt with a soft yellow blouse. Her clothes often have no labels and are very sophisticated but by the look of them they seem expensive.
    Accessories: With her school uniform it's her scarf during winter and her black book bag all through the year. A cloth hangs over her bag distinguishing it from others. It's a small character from the manga Wish. Lucinda also wears star like shaped purple earrings that dangle to about her mid-neck.
    Special Markings: N/A


    Listed out and easy to understand. Or you can use paragraph form:

    Quote:
    Appearance: Blue-black, as a hair-dye box would say, is the colour of her hair, which is thin and straight. It falls to just below the shoulder blades, and is cut in several angles and lengths, the shortest at her cheekbone. Her eyes are a midnight blue. In daylight they appear to be several shades lighter but at night they appear to be black and almost empty, looking straight through somebody's soul. She's tall, 5'9" in height, and slim. Unlike others she doesn't appear starved and is on the healthy scale of things. Long legs seem to have been obtained from her mother, only told from pictures though. Her only piercing is single in her ears.


    Whatever suits your own style.

    Personality

    • People tend makes mistakes here as well. You should try to avoid writing things like 'it depends on the situation'. If you would like to say something of this sort, use things such as certain situations make your character act differently then they normally would.


    The easiest way is to write it out 'novel' style or, in other words, the way a novelist would describe their character's personality.

    Quote:
    Lucinda seems quite snobbish to people who don't know her very well since she's quite wealthy and lives in one of the best apartments in that area of Tokyo. When people get to know her she's actually quite a nice and generous person, not even hurting a fly. She's very confident with a high self-esteem so others say mean things about her and stab her in the back. She ignores it though. Hating confrontation she avoids arguments whenever she can and often will stop saying whatever she was going to so not hurt people's feelings. Lucinda rarely gets angry so if she's angry at you you've done something really wrong. She often gets distracted as well, even stopping midsentence. In three words: Fun, caring and unique.


    That covers a lot. In short:
    Appears snobbish, is actually quite friendly and generous, wouldn't harm a fly, confident, high self-esteem, rarely gets angry, sometimes flaky, fun, caring and unique.

    The last thing I'm going to say is history. Some roleplays will ask for a history. Try to think of different situations that your character has gone through. Try not to use these examples, as they are often used and very cliche.

    • Parents died when the character was very young.
    • The character has lost their memory, and is trying to find theirselves.
    • The character is searching for their love, who was kidnapped.


    That should help you in creating your own character! smile


References

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Game Master Responsibilities

Author: Original by Airez, editing by Kilarra


The Game Master, or GM, of a roleplay can have great responsibilities in terms of guiding and maintaining the roleplay. This guide will help you understand these responsibilities and advise you on how best to handle them.

  1. Overview

    The creator is usualy considered the GM of the game, and they do have unquestionable control in most cases. They are the referees in fights, they are the controllers of NPCs (unless they are created by others), and they are the controllers of the plot/storyline. But I'll do my best to address each case individually.

    Just how much control over the story does the creator have usually?

    Like I said, the creator usually has indefinite control over the story, though it really depends on the GM. There needs to be leniency, and there needs to be space for sub-plots to fall in. In essence, you really just need to trust in their judgement before doing anything about it. I myself was left with control over a guild at once point when the leader left for a bit, and I ended up moving the story along as I saw fit. How ever, the story was already in place and I just had to work the others through it. I did the best I could with the absence of the guild leader and ended up doing a pretty good job in the opinions of my comrades. The reason for that is because I allowed space for each of their characters, I took questions and answered them, and I took charge in a way that I deemed justifiable.

    The best you can do is trust the GM knows what they're doing, though don't be afraid to put a little of your on stuff in (within reason of course).

  2. What to do when:

    You have a lacklustre roleplayer?

    While I question the definition, I believe there are more than a few things to do here. If by lacklustre you mean he/she is illiterate by your standards, then there is something you can do. While it does tend to push them away from what I've seen, you could ask them to put more work into their writing and try to follow the story more so, as well as being more exuberant in their posting style. This isn't an actual insult so much as a constructive criticism in my opinion. I've had it done to be a long time ago, and I grew from it. I've told others that and they've bettered themselves as well. Problem is that most users see it as an insult and a stab at their own pride as a roleplayer.

    A roleplayer is going against the plot?

    If some one goes against the plot, it's not always a bad thing unless it's to an extravagant extent. If they change the entire storyline with what they're doing, then yes it is the GM's duty to step in. Before they can do that, they need to have permission from the GM first and THEN move into it.

    Now, I said it's not always a bad thing also. Sub-plots make for an interesting read also. If there is a romance brewing, then that's a sub-plot. If by chance the roleplayer found out his/her lost sister was still alive, then yes that's also a sub-plot. They go on and on, and they can improve upon the actual story itself.

    Someone isn't posting very often?

    There is a matter of how lenient the GM is in posting. More so, how active the actual thread itself is. I know a few roleplays where the GM only asks that the users post every week to every two weeks in very advanced roleplays. Also, there are roleplays that don't merely go into paragraphs, but dwell into short stories themselves. A rarity indeed in Barton Town, though there are a number of threads out there dedicated to that form of roleplaying. On the opposite of this is the threads that have posts every 10 minutes from different users. These are more likely to get the roleplayer reamed if they post one once a day or even every few days. Not only does it make the person look bad in the eyes of the others, but it also makes for a lack of story knowledge. Story is vital for all participants to know. For one thing, knowing the plot would help many to avoid these issues I'm discussing.

    Someone just doesn't give a flip?

    If they don't care then there is nothing you can do about it. Kindly ask them to leave, have the GM ask them to leave, and if that doesn't work, then you may report the user and have a site moderator step in. And don't be scared to use that 'Report this Post' button, but just use it wisely.

    Do we just inform a mod and let them handle it or should we try to get them back on track on our own?

    If the roleplayer has been repeatedly asked to change what ever it is they are doing wrong by the GM, and there is no reconciling on the defendant's side, then there is the chance of having to call a moderator to step in. This is, however, a last resort and you can only do it if he's breaking site rules. Harassment, however, is one of the rules that needs to be upheld, and if the person continues without care or regard of his actions, is actively hurting the plot or the other users' sub-plots and stories, all without the permission of the GM (and especially if in spite of the GM), then there is justification to report the user in question.

    This is, like I said, a last restort. More times than not, it's better that the people participating ask the user to control him/herself. If it's by PMs or even by OOC posting in the thread itself, the users are the first persons that the individuals in question must face. If you can do something to prevent mod interference, then it should be done. For more info on how to use the "Report this Post/Thread" button, click here: Link


References
Gaia Forums » GAIA Community » Barton Town (Role Play) » Barton OOC

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