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 Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:07 pm
Welcome to Rayan and Seyla’s Roleplaying Dojo!
The Dojo was founded as a way to help the roleplayers of Ria High, new and old, improve their skills as writers. Through the use of small prompts and character essays that
are supplemented with lessons, we hope to help everyone improve their roleplaying abilities. Even we veterans have something to learn from this (In fact, we’ll be doing
the exercises too), so it’s not just limited to newbies. We have also been granted the power to award stars (only your first star though) and credits. In case you’re
confused about that, please check this thread (LINK). After we hand out stars, we are allowed to give out credits to those who submit exemplary prompts. The idea
of banking credits is new to Ria High; now you can trade in every 100 credits for a star! Please see this thread (LINK HERE) for more details.
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:08 pm
This Week's Prompt (Due Friday January 16th @ Midnight EST) Quote: Another important part of roleplay is understanding the importance of setting. For this prompt, choose one of the following, and describe it to the best of your ability. Try to be as thorough as possible, and leave “no rock unturned” as they say. What is the weather like? Are you even outside? What kind of objects are around you? Etc etc. Feel free to do this in your character’s point of view and incorporate their thoughts and feelings.
A haunted house on a cold, spooky Halloween night.
An alien planet
Your character’s room
The beach
A location of your choice
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:09 pm
Previous Prompts and Lessons
All Previous Prompts and Lessons will be posted here for your reference. You are welcome to complete them. However, any prompts or lessons submitted after the due date are ineligible for stars or credits.
Prompt 1Quote: Jot down everything you know about your character – EVERYTHING, and make no judgments. Then let him answer any or all of the following questions about himself. Freewrite in 1st person, tricking your mind to believe that the character really is speaking to you in his own voice. If he feels cranky, weepy, or recalcitrant about some answers, let that show. Let him explain why he feels that way. Write his memories, if they apply. Remember, no judgments! Let him ramble. The questions are triggers, that’s all. Let them take you wherever your character wants to go.
What do you look like? Height, weight, hair color? What do you like/dislike about how you look?
How old are you? How do you feel about being your current age?
How do you spend most of your days? If you work, what is your job? How do you feel about it? If in school, what’s school like?
What do you do for fun?
Lesson 1
Role-playing is like writing a story with multiple authors; it can be a very fun and rewarding experience, but it can also get messy trying to figure out how to interact with so many different characters. Many roleplayers will find that they have a knack for getting their characters to interact with others, but for those who are having trouble getting past the 2 line mark in their posts, this will be very useful.
One thing that many roleplayers forget is the importance of describing things as they happen. For example, some of you have posted a photo instead of describing your character’s appearance in threads, which is a huge NO NO! Adding in descriptions of the surroundings, especially in your first post in an area, is a great way to lengthen your posts while retaining quality. Everything you describe should be done so with purpose; what details you focus on with your writing affect how other people will respond to your post and also what your character is focusing on. For example, if your character is in a fight, it probably wouldn’t be fitting to describe the bird perched in the distant tree. In this instance your character’s mind is generally elsewhere, i.e., the fight.
Many people also concentrate purely on dialogue, leaving out narration completely. As you write your posts, imagine what your character is doing as he listens to someone speak, or as he talks. Is your character someone who constantly talks with their hands? If so, describe it! People don’t stand like statues and simply spew out dialogue; many people shuffle from side to side, look directly at the person they are talking to, look at something besides the other person, cross their arms, etc. Adding in these little details brings your characters to life, and also allows for better interaction.
Another tip: add in your character’s thoughts. As they participate in a conversation, what are they thinking? Do they size up the other person? Is there something about the other person that reminds them of something else? Don’t be afraid to include these thoughts in your posts. Just be sure to tag them appropriately (through use of italics or by other means).
Summing it all up:
Quote:
Good posts contain more than just dialogue
Don’t forget to describe your surroundings and other details that may figure into your roleplay
Narration is extremely important. What is your character doing?
Stream of Consciousness is a great tool to bettering your posts. Your character has thoughts and opinions, let them be heard!
Lesson Activity:
Rayan and I want to give you guys the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned here one on one. Please select one of our examples and reply to it here in the thread. Remember to try and incorporate description, narration, and stream of consciousness within your response. Also, don’t be afraid to use dialogue. We want you guys to try really hard here, and as always, we’ll be rewarding stars and credits at the end of the week. You’re welcome to continue beyond your first post by contacting Rayan or I via PM to do so -- that way we don’t clog up the thread!
Note: Each participant’s response should be to either Rayan’s or Seyla’s post; you aren’t interacting with each other in this exercise. Pretend your interaction is the only one happening.
Also, you only need to reply to one of them, so pick whichever scenario you like better, or the one that fits your character better. If too many people pick the same person, we may ask some of you to reply to a different scenario so that the one person is not overwhelmed, though we expect that will probably not need to happen.
Our character descriptions might be a little overboard because we are assuming you have never seen our characters before, and we wanted to make sure your characters could comment/observe any particular detail you choose.
Quote: Rayan’s Post:Area: Rayan is in the training hall after hours (nighttime), after most of the other people have left. He is currently in a training room all by himself; the room has a wooden floor with training mats lined against a far wall. Rayan has set up wooden logs all over the room, on which he is testing his sword fighting abilities. Note: Your character can come in at any point during or after this post, meaning he/she can witness Rayan’s actions, or can come in afterwards. Also, your character can talk with Rayan or challenge him to a fight. All rp battles will be held to the Ria High standards described elsewhere – even though it’s not an actual role play, no powerplaying or godmodding! --- An indigo-haired man named Rayan stood in the middle of a large wooden floor, which was covered with upright wooden logs shaped to look like a faceless human. Four large overhead lights lit the room, and the small rectangular windows that lined the walls were black as space – as it was after the regular hours, Rayan had the training room all to himself. Rayan held a flat, black cane with his right hand near the top and his left hand near the middle; the cane rested against his left hip. His posture was completely still, as if he had become one of the wooden dummies, except that his chest expanded with the rhythm of his breathing, as well as an occasional blink. His trench coat – the same shade of ebon as his boots and pants – cascaded down his figure, the hem ending at his heels; underneath the trench coat, Rayan wore a white open-necked shirt. Around his neck hung a beautiful cerulean scarf, the tail end parallel with his left arm. Rayan trained his plasma green eyes on the dummy that his right foot, which was in front of Rayan’s left, was pointed towards. He saw all the vital points on the wooden figure in a single moment: neck, head, heart, gut, groin. He imagined the figure had flesh and wore a blood-drenched robe, as well. Rayan gave the figure two blood-colored eyes, long black hair, and a graceless scowl. The man’s hands rested on the hilt of the katana blade that hung at his left side. When he stared at this figure of wood, Rayan saw Gai Himora: Rayan’s hated enemy, who had slain Rayan’s comrade. In a flash, Rayan pulled on the cane, which separated near the top to reveal a dark-shaded blade. He lunged forward, moving so fast that his body blurred, appearing as black streaks. His sword arm dealt countless blows in motions too quick for the human eye. Rayan landed behind the dummy, his coat tail flowing, and kneeled down onto one knee. He slid his blade into its sheath, then stood and turned around. With a twist of his fingers, Rayan spun the cane around and then slammed the butt of it into the floor. All at once, the wooden bodies fell apart where they had been cut; heads, limbs and slabs of torso dropped to the floor all in unison. Rayan looked only upon the wooden corpse of his nemesis. He spat upon his foe’s head. “I’ll achieve vengeance yet,” he said, still imagining his foe. “Mark me.” The face of Gai grinned devilishly as the saliva turned to blood. With his tongue, Gai licked at the drops running down his cheek. “Fool. You will never challenge me with such pathetic abilities,” Gai said. “I will enjoy breaking you as I did your friend.” And with that, Gai’s features melted away, leaving only a wooden block on the training room floor. Rayan kicked it away, causing it to roll into the base of its body. He then walked towards the edge of the room, where a water bottle and towel waited for him. Rayan reached for the bottle, removed the cap, raised the bottle and leaned his head back. Crystal-smooth liquid slid down his throat. Rayan then placed the bottle back down and wiped his face dry with the towel before tossing it over his shoulder and walking towards the door. He still wore the same dagger-visioned look he had given Gai. Quote: Seyla’s Post:Seyla glanced around, noting her surroundings. She sat at the teacher’s desk by the open window with a bright smile. It was rather nice out today and the sun warmed her cool skin. Judging by the sun’s position it was about 9am or so and many of the students were beginning to pop in and out of the classroom she had secured for tutoring today. Normally, she would be in the training hall, but it was early on in the year, so she liked to stick to the basics before encouraging her students to actually use their abilities. Those who were more advanced, or were upper classmen, had appointments with her in the training hall later in the day. The classroom was smaller, with about 15 desks or so arranged in 3 neat and orderly rows. In the front were the teacher’s desk and a large white board for lesson use. There was also a projector screen that could be pulled down if videos needed to be shown. Along the east side, windows lined the wall letting the light beams hit the tile floor in striped patterns of golden yellow. On the west wall were a few cabinets, and some counter space, for general supplies for the room. Seyla glanced towards the back of the room. The bulletin boards were now empty, but within a few weeks they would be filled with the work of students, just like many other rooms in the school. Idly she played with her hair, twirling the soft ringlets between her fingers like strands of pasta as she let her mind wander. Seyla herself also served as a liaison between the elemental teachers and the students. Many found it easier to come to her before going to their professors. Seyla looked more approachable, thanks in part to her younger age. She stood at about 5 foot 7 and her deep brown hair fell in loose ringlets like an intricate bird’s nest. Her golden-grey eyes beamed brightly in the sun’s light, the golden specks seeming to glitter like little gems. Students generally complimented her fashion sense as well. Seyla was a big fan of accessorizing as evidenced by her mint gloves and scarf. The rest of her outfit was a chocolate brown with hints of mint. It would have been easy to picture a chocolate mint when looking at her thigh high boots and low cut bustier. This fact that students came to her made Seyla smile, although when need be, she wasn’t afraid to refer special cases to Mother Aili. ‘Hmmm I wonder where everyone is? Normally I have a pretty sizeable group right before Mother Aili’s 10am lecture.' Seyla wondered. However, she then remembered it was the start of the year. She probably wouldn’t be seeing too many students today. Either way, she decided to be productive and began to tidy up the classroom. If a student came in to see her, then she would be prepared, and the classroom would be clean! She was sure the custodial staff would appreciate her efforts, even if the room would be dirty again by the afternoon. She began by pulling a feather duster from the teacher’s desk. Most of the classrooms had basic cleaning supplies in the desks or cabinets. She made her way over towards the last row of desks, the heels of her thigh high boots clicking as she walked, and began to dust. All was going well until some dust particles gathered under her nose. She felt a strange tickling sensation within her nasal cavities and quickly let out a boisterous sneeze. “ACHOOOOOOO!” There was a rather loud, high pitch squeak that followed and Seyla quickly blushed, running to the other side of the room where she couldn’t be seen from the doorway. Maybe dusting wasn’t such a great idea… She decided to give up on cleaning and put the feather duster away. Instead she took up a dry erase marker and wrote her name and office hours upon the white board and large, slanted letters. She took a step back and admired her handwriting. While it wasn’t amazing, it had its own unique look. The tails of her y’s and g’s looped at the bottom, and her k’s extended artistically below the ledger line, giving her penmanship a more flowing look. Finally she settled back in the chair at the teacher’s desk. It was comfy, if not a bit warm and sticky from the sun. Bringing her hands out in front of her, she formed a small cup with her palms and summoned two small dancing flames. She watched as they twirled and spun about each other. As her mind wandered, she let the flames change colors, flashing streaks of purple, and red, and even the most dangerous of blues. She sighed; Seyla very much missed the training hall. The first week of classes was so dull. She couldn’t wait to teach students hands on and get some sparring in. Prompt 2 Quote: It is crucial to know what matters most to your character; for the purposes of this prompt, we will call this pinnacle desire “obsession.” Character obsessions are often the driving forces of their motivations and of the plot, so it is a launching pad for ideas. People obsess over all sorts of things: ego, looks, love, lust, looking good in front of other people, power, knowledge, entertainment, careers, enemies, success. So, writing in first or third person:
Describe your character’s obsession or greatest desire. (You may discuss more than one if your character is driven by more than one very strong desire.)
If you have one, explain the back story of how your character came to care so much about whatever it is.
What is he/she willing to do in order to achieve that desire? What has he NOT done or tried yet to fulfill his yearning? Is his desire increasing or waning?
Lastly, how does this desire manifest itself?
Weekly Star and Credit Awards
November 22:
Rayan's nomination goes to Celestial Lullaby. You did a spectacular job with not only describing your character, but with engaging with the text I wrote, as well as giving the other rper plenty of material to respond to. Very nice!
Seyla's nomination goes to Rain (secretflyer9) for her recent improvement and for following the prompt requirements.
BOTH will be given credits once the credit system is hammered out.
Previous Prompts and Lessons
Credits are temporarily on hold until the Credits System is FINALIZED!
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:10 pm
FAQs
Why Rayan and Seyla?
Both Rayan and Seyla volunteered for this project. Seyla is studying English at her university and hopes to become a teacher one day, and so she sees this as a great opportunity to hone her skills and to help others. Rayan is a Communications and English double major, and he also works as a writing tutor in his spare time.
Prompts? Lessons? How will this all work?
On the first and third week of each month, Rayan and Seyla will post a prompt for you to complete. When you finish, send it to either Rayan or Seyla by private message (PM). Prompts are due at the end of the week! Once Rayan and Seyla have received the prompts, they will split them up evenly between themselves. You’ll receive feedback and critique via PM (as well as praise! Everybody loves praise!). This way, emphasis is on the progress of the individual and not the group. Not everyone is at the same level, and thus we would like to treat it as a level playing field.
On the second and 4th week of each month, Rayan and Seyla will post a lesson. After they have covered the basics of grammar and roleplaying, lessons will be decided based upon the areas we feel there is the most room for the community to grow in. If they feel that the majority of the group would develop from a lesson in some basic narrative theory, then they would conduct a lesson on narrative theory. The lessons are to be completed within the thread itself, almost like a classroom setting. Oftentimes we’ll post examples, and we’d like you to try some of your own. The best way to get better at writing is to keep practicing!
Rayan and Seyla will also offer one-on-one roleplay “tutoring sessions.” If you are having trouble with something, they will certainly volunteer to help you out. Even Rayan and Seyla started out somewhere, but it was through the help of others that they became better roleplayers, and so they want to support the growth of the Ria community by offering this service outside of the prompts and lessons. More tutors may be assigned in the future if need be (As appointed by Rayan or Seyla).
How do we get a Star? What about Credits?
Rayan and Seyla are only allowed to award you a star if you don’t have one already. With that said, 2 stars will be handed out on prompt weeks, one from Rayan, and one from Seyla. Don’t be discouraged if you are not at the same level as others, or if you feel that you displayed a lot of skill but were overlooked. Rayan and Seyla take into consideration each individual’s abilities and improvement when awarding stars and credits.
For example, you may not have written the most brilliant prompt ever, but
if you’ve shown significant improvement in usage of grammar and other techniques, Rayan and Seyla will definitely take note of this. Of course, it doesn’t hurt if you have an awesome prompt, too! Credits will be awarded in a similar manner; however, Rayan and Seyla have no limit on these, so they will award them on an “as-deserved” basis.
I’m a veteran roleplayer who’s already literate. How does this benefit me?
Ahh — good question. The best roleplayers are strong communicators; they write clearly, they work well with others, and they understand the importance of plot and narrative discourse. Many of the prompts we will put up are heavily character driven. These help you to get to know your character, and also allow you to improve your writing. While you may feel like you are always in-character and have what it takes to be a “roleplay master”, true “roleplay masters” never stop learning! So don’t look at
this as a “School for Newbies.” This is for everyone and Rayan and Seyla will cover topics both advanced and basic to cover all audiences.
I’m a newbie roleplayer who’s never roleplayed before. What do I do?
Go through the lessons. If you’ve missed a lesson on the week it was assigned, feel free to PM Rayan or Seyla. We’re always welcome to helping you catch up! The prompts themselves can be done at any time. However, in order to be eligible for stars, you must complete the prompt on the week it is assigned! Therefore, it is in your best interest to keep up. Also, check into one-on-one tutoring. This will allow you to work individually with Rayan, Seyla, or another experience role-player to improve your skills through mock roleplays and other exercises.
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:11 pm
Roleplaying Etiquette
There are a few common rules that all roleplayers should follow. Think of these as “common courtesy”; just as you should be respectful and polite of others in real life, you should exhibit the proper behavior in roleplay.
1.) Treat other players with respect and courtesy! If you have a disagreement with someone, please take it to PMs. Squabbling in front of the entire community is not only disrespectful and rude, it’s just plain annoying! Plus, it’s a really good way to get yourself banned… and we wouldn’t want that, now would we?
2.) Do not barge into someone’s roleplay. It’s okay if your character happens to be in the area and overhears what is going on across the room, but don’t try to make yourself the center of attention. If you are unsure whether you are intruding upon somebody else’s roleplay, shoot them a PM asking if you can join in.
3.) Refrain from quoting in the roleplays. It’s okay to quote in the OOC, but try to keep it to a minimum as it takes up space on the page.
4.) Keep all of your posts in character. The only place where OOC chatter is acceptable is in the boards designated as OOC!
5.) Please use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling to the best of your ability. We understand that everyone makes mistakes, but we expect you to make a diligent effort in all of your posts. This includes keeping your posts in the proper 3rd person perspective format!
6.) Try not to create characters that are all powerful. If your character ends up being too powerful, you should modify them appropriately.
7.) Do not godmod/powerplay. This means you cannot control any characters but the ones you created yourself, as well as various NPCs (Non-Player Characters) that everybody gets to use. Also, when your character fights with another character, you cannot say your attacks hit the person without their permission. (More details on this in the glossary.)
8.) When a crew member or captain warns you, please do not take their criticism as a personal offense. The crew is there to enforce the rules and help you become a better roleplayer. If you are confused about why you received a warning, feel free to PM the crew member who warned you. In most cases, not only will they explain why they warned you, but they’ll be happy to help you fix the problem.
9.) If you and another member of Ria High agree to it, you may control one another’s character(s). However, this very rarely happens and is only allowed if both parties agree to it. If you want to experiment and try this, be sure to PM the other person. If they agree, then at the start of a post where you control another person’s character, put a message [in brackets] saying that the person is fine with this.
10.) No flaming/hate messaging allowed. Arguments are one thing (and they should still be kept to PMs), but insulting people purposefully is strictly forbidden. Also, the views of peoples’ characters do not necessarily reflect upon the writer. If you dislike a character’s point of view, don’t take it out on the writer – they are two different entities.
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:14 pm
Roleplaying Glossary
These are some terms you might come across in roleplays. It’s important that you know these, but if you ever forget, this thread is here for your reference!
RP: Simply an abbreviation for “Roleplay.”
OOC: “Out of Character.” This refers to anything said on the forum that is not related to the actual story, such as the general chat board.
IC: “In Character.” This involves writing about your character and having him or her interact with other characters.
Literate (Lit): In no terms does writing an extensively long post mean you are a literate roleplayer. Literate roleplayers correctly use grammar, punctuation, spelling etc. However, unlike semi-literate players, their writing skills have improved to the point that they are more advanced. It takes a lot of work to get to this level. Think of a literate roleplayer as a professional author. They understand the craft and the exhibit it flawlessly or with great skill.
Semi- Literate (Semi Lit): Semi-Literate roleplayers have a decent grasp on grammar, spelling, and punctuation. They still make mistakes, and often do not have the polish that literate roleplayers have. Most of the crew and captains consider themselves semi-literate roleplayers who occasionally cross into the line of literate.
Illiterate: Illiterate roleplayers do not use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Their posts are often short, and use the first person perspective. Many illiterate roleplayers will also use tags to denote actions.
An example of this would be:
Quote: *crawls into a hole and cries*. A semi lit or lit roleplayer would say something along the lines of: “Seyla crawled into the cold, dark hole. She felt like she wanted to world to close its doors on her, she no longer wanted to be social. In despair over her tragedy, she began to cry.”
Godmodding: Roleplayers who godmod will take control of characters who don’t belong to them. Here’s an example:
Rayan and Seyla are roleplaying in the training hall. In Seyla’s post, she writes:
Quote: “Seyla entered the training hall early in the morning. The sun was just rising, broadcasting its beautiful golden rays to the world. When she walked into the room used for fire manipulation, she saw that Rayan was seated in the middle of the room. Seyla wanted the room to herself, and was very angry that Rayan was there. She quickly dismissed him, shooting a massive blue flame in his direction. It hit him in the back and he cried out in pain. Rayan then got up, looking at Seyla in fear he quickly dashed out of the training hall.” Note here how Seyla controls Rayan: “She quickly dismissed him, shooting a massive blue flame in his direction. It hit him in the back and he cried out in pain. Rayan then got up, looking at Seyla in fear he quickly dashed out of the training hall.”
In roleplaying, you can only control your own character. This is unacceptable because Rayan did not create his character so that he could be pushed around by other users. This is what we refer to as godmodding.
Power-playing: Power-players create characters who are overly powerful and can defeat even the strongest of opponents with the smallest of efforts, especially without having an adequate explanation for this power. It is important that your characters have flaws as this will help you avoid Power-playing. For example, Seyla should not be able to beat Rayan in battle. Rayan is older, more experienced, and ultimately more powerful than she is. You may be worried about if your character is too powerful or not, and it really depends on how you play your hand. The idea is that you cannot have your character strike your opponent without permission. This leaves you with a few options:
Quote: 1) Describe what your character does and then wait and see if the other person decides to take the hit or not. Note that under this practice it is discouraged or seen as "cheap" if you dodge everything and make your character seem like a god. See also; Aizen from Bleach. 2) Send a private message to the person and determine beforehand the rules you want to go by. You can decide which character will win and who will lose, or if it will be a stalemate, or if something else will interrupt part-way through. You can request that your character wins/loses and give your reasons for why this should happen ("my character is a few years older and is thus more experienced" or "something important will happen if my character wins"), or you can flip a coin or roll dice or play rock-paper-scissors to determine who will win. It's best if you could get a third part to witness the coin/dice toss so that there's a witness. Ideally, though, you don't want people observing the fight to know what will happen until you write it out, that way there is still suspense! 3) Integrate ideas from both methods. Decide what works for you and agree upon something with the other party. 4) Decide by logic based upon the characters' fighting experience, personalities, and health factors. As mentioned before, if one character is a magic teacher and the other is a cocky student trying to upstart the teacher, I would expect the experienced professional to win. Of course, that isn't always the case, so it's generally best to talk it out amongst yourselves. 5) You can also agree amongst yourselves if you can say what the other person's character does. If you say what the person does WITHOUT PERMISSION in ANY SETTING then this is power-playing/godmodding. But with permission it is absolutely fine, of course. You should probably say [in brackets at the start of the post] that the person is fine with you controlling his/her character.
Note: Power-playing and Godmodding are somewhat interchangeable terms. To simplify things, just remember that 1) controlling other peoples’ characters is a bad thing and 2) being too powerful in a battle against another user is frowned upon.
Bunnying: This term refers to jumping into a bunch of threads very rapidly without writing with any substance. The result is that people will get annoyed at you and want you to leave their thread because you have nothing to add to the role-play. While you can write about your character in a few threads at the same time, generally it’s best to limit how many threads you are writing in with the same character in a given amount of time.
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:17 pm
Proper Roleplay Format.
Here at Ria High, we ask that roleplayers be at least semi-literate and follow the 3rd person roleplay format. Are you confused yet? Don’t worry, it’s simple to catch on!
For our purposes we will outline the first 3 tenses of the English language. Of course there are more, and we encourage you to further your study of the syntax. However, we will simply be covering the basics for now.
The first person tense operates under the subject, “I.”
Therefore, anything written in first person uses the “I” voice. Here is an example:
Quote: “I went to the grocery store and bought some orange juice.”
The second tense operates under the subject, “you.” Here is an example:
Quote: “You went to the grocery store and bought some orange juice.”
Notice how the subject has changed in each sentence.
Lastly, we have the third person tense. This is the form we use in roleplay here at Ria High. The third person speaks neither in the ,“I” nor ,“you” voice; rather, it identifies its subject as if it were an outsider looking in. Here are a few examples:
Quote: “Rayan went to the grocery store and bought some orange juice.” “He/She went to the grocery store and bought some orange juice.” “They went to the grocery store and bought some orange juice.”
As stated before, the third person perspective is that of someone looking in. Imagine your character is on a stage, acting in a play, and it is your job to describe what they are doing.
Another part of the roleplay format is the use of proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. In many novice roleplays you will see people running around doing something like this:
Quote: *Strikes down with sword* Aha! I win!
Here at Ria, we look to see that you write out your actions in full sentences. Therefore we ask that you properly tag your posts with the use of punctuation. Here is an example:
Quote: Rayan felt the beads of sweat drip from his brow. With one final strike, he brought his sword down and cleaved the training dummy in two. “Aha! I win!” he exclaimed.
Take note that Rayan’s spoken words are properly tagged with quotations. His post is also grammatically correct, making it easy to read.
What about thoughts?
Thoughts can be denoted in many different ways. Many players use italics to show the thought of their character, others use : ‘ ’ (singular quotes). Both are acceptable, so long as the writer is consistent with their format.
Other acceptable stylistic changes:
Some players will format dialogue of other characters within their post differently than that of their own. For example, if Seyla were to reply to Rayan’s previous post (above): Quote: Seyla grinned as she watched Rayan split the dummy. “Aha! I win!” he exclaimed. She then offered her hand for a high five. “Great job Rayan!” she congratulated.
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:20 pm
Writing Resources:
Here are a few resources you can use to further your writing outside of Ria High.
The Oxford English Dictionary: This is a great tool to expand your vocabulary. Forget Mirriam-Webster or dictionary.com. The OED not only gives you word meanings, but also supplies context. Ever wondered where the word "diaspora" came from? What are its different meanings? What language did it deviate from? What's its history? The OED answers all of these questions and more!
http://www.oed.com/
Thesaurus: A thesaurus is a resource that compiles words of similar
meanings. It's a good way to expand your vocabulary and better your
writing. Just be careful of over-abusing this. A good rule of thumb is to
cross check the definition of the word you find in the thesaurus just to make sure it really fits what you're trying to communicate.
http://thesaurus.reference.com/
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Owl: A great website to get help on your grammar, allowing you to do interactive exercises instead of sitting and reading a grammar book. It also has explanations of what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:50 pm
((writing resources, THE DICTIONARY, hahahahaha...i'm sorry))
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 8:52 pm
This seemed like an interesting literary exercise, so I went ahead and did it! I'm not very confident about it... I have a feeling it doesn't quite meet my standards of acceptance, but then again, I'm very critical over my own writing.
I'll post it here and let it marinate for a while before opening it back up, review and editing it. If you all have any suggestions for either the content or the writing itself, by all means point those flaws out! Use big, red markers and make them the size of Oklahoma!
Okay... I have no idea of how big that is... how about:
Make it bigger than Russia! scream
Aaanyhow, here it is:
Quote: •What do you look like? Height, weight, hair color? o Isn’t this an odd thing to ask somebody you’re interviewing? Well, then again, you could merely say it’s for the record. It all depends, really… my sub-specialty is Illusion, meaning I would often change my appearance if it would serve a greater purpose or scheme. When it’s not relevant, I’d rather not… I’ve grown rather proud of my appearance. It sets me apart from the rest of these maggot-minded creatures driven by such petty desires.
I’m six feet tall and weigh 130, to be precise; so my build can be described as gaunt- not so much that I seem to lack any flesh, but unnerving none-the-less. I’ve inherited my family’s prominent cheekbones and wilted hair. From a lifetime of studies and being locked up in dungeons, my skin has grown rather pale as well- too much so in other’s opinions. The necrotic energies in my body has produced several manifestations: the iris of my eyes has turned to a most peculiar shade of red- it’s somewhat dark, yet vivid; it seems to stand out and hold a penetrating and even sometimes petrifying gaze. The second symptom lies in the fleshy pink hue in my skin turned to a lifeless gray.•What do you like/dislike about how you look? o It keeps true to my own nature. I’ve long ago severed any connection to our foolish race. I’ve conquered my human limitations, which asks for a small price- namely pouring necrotic energies into my own body and gain control of its decay. The unnatural nature of these energies seemed to have slowly morphed my appearance into something closer to the very damned. This lends another hand to my advantage- the unsettling and intimidating appearance seems to have a profound effect on those whom I wish to torment. •How old are you? How do you feel about being your current age? oIf my estimates are correct, the length of time I’ve spent on this earth has crossed the 50-year mark only recently. Due to the changes I’ve made to my own body long ago, it is equivalent to a man in his early twenties. This is excellent, to be honest… the power I seek is not to be learned in the normal human lifetime, especially having to spend the pains to find the lost knowledge of the ancient liches.•How do you spend most of your days? o Since I am employed at the Ria Institution as a medical researcher, I spend a great deal of my time in the labs. I would venture out once the sun would set and occasionally scrounge the nearby areas for graves or tombs that might look promising. I have contact that smuggle in a corpse or two for my private goals, but you never know what you might find in a place like this. Whenever I’m not conducting research or robbing graves, I read necromantic tomes and expand my theoretical knowledge.•If you work, what is your job? o I perform medical research- particularly in testing effects of recent drugs on the human body. Because medical experiments on live human subjects violate international law, the very few necromancers that exist in these modern times find themselves the center of attention in the job and research markets. Pharmaceutical companies keep a low-profile team of necromancers to tests drugs on fresh corpses. Because their magic restores the functions of the body with the exception of the sentient mind and consciousness- merely animating the empty husks left behind after death, they are able to verify important side-effects or the overall potency of the drug. Neurological and psychological effects are impossible to detect, so they are still subject to more conventional means of testing.
People pay us very generously, so there’s not much to complain about… in fact many necromancers use this as a means to live a semi-normal livelihood, or at least what might be considered as such to them. Those who have the will to desecrate the sacred remain of the diseased are usually not among the fair-minded and usually operate outside human civilization to pursue their forbidden studies.•How do you feel about it? o Simply put, it is just a means to an end. I do not harbor any warm feelings over medical research- it allows me the resources to pursue my own investigations into more powerful necromantic spells that draw upon an even larger pool of subjects. It might make things a bit more complicated- but after all, there is no such thing as a free lunch… it’s the price I pay for the use of a well-funded laboratory and fresh supplies of donated corpses.•If in school, what’s school like? o I cannot say much for certain. I have only recently come under its employment, and I do not reside here as a student. Though I might find myself under the conditions of having to serve as a student teacher or oversee a campus event, it’s not something I have much to comment on.•What do you do for fun? o Fun? Desecrating corpses with dark magic and furthering my own means to achieve the power of the legendary liches of the ancient world, for one. If I were to encounter a particularly helpless soul, I take the opportunity to use my magical powers of necromancy and illusion to torment them past the point of insanity. Having grown up among the elite social class, I have a particular affinity and fondness for manipulation: often involving charming women and leading them down a path of deceptive illusions or blend into any background and dismantling their devices from the inside out.
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Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 11:24 pm
FlamingMoogles ((writing resources, THE DICTIONARY, hahahahaha...i'm sorry)) What, sometimes you don't know some words. I'd like to hear what you have to say mr lexicon? Eh? It goes hand in hand with a thesaurus. Remember you're supposed to CROSS-REFERENCE with a DICTIONARY. xD
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Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 12:23 am
I always keep Microsoft Word open and have the Dictionary/Thesaurus tab up for most of the time. =P Ha...
I really like being able to use both to find the more adequate expression... especially since I'm only able to retain the general 'feel' of the word's meaning and it's helpful to know a more specific definition.
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Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 3:39 pm
The following is the character interview I conducted with my character Aurora, who I did not know that much about before. I feel like I learned a lot from this. I changed the work/fun related questions because I did not really get much out of those. I should comment that you can change some of the questions if you'd like; the exercise is there to serve you, not the other way around. Note: Potential plot spoilers were removed from my exercise. BUT it is important to note that it was by doing this exercise that I got a lot of that crucial information in the first place. I'm just holding my cards closely for now... Quote: •What do you look like? Height, weight, hair color? I am 5’ 10” tall, or around 178 centimeters. I weigh around 120 lbs or 54 kilograms. My hair is a light violet hue, and my body is very slender. I have very bright emerald eyes, which is a trait that much of my family line shares. Sometimes I wonder if I have taken proper care of my appearance, but my husband always assures me that I look gorgeous.•What do you like/dislike about how you look? I am thankful to have been blessed with an aesthetic beauty. I do my best to stay beautiful for Zagur because he really likes how I look. He says that “there’s no woman alive who could captivate like you can.” I think I blush every time he says that… •How old are you? How do you feel about being your current age? I’m 25. I’m glad to be married at this young age, and I hope to grow old with my lover and best friend.•How do you spend most of your days? I spend as much of my time with Zagur as I can; that’s what makes both of us the most happy. I used to spend more time working in the lab…•What do people who know you think about you? What do people who don’t know you think about you? Everyone at Fyia respects and admires me. They think that I am gracious and kindhearted. But, would they think that if they found out why I’m here? I… I hope they never have to find out. They would probably hate me if they knew how responsible I am for everything horrible that happens in this world… I… start shaking when I think about it, and I start aching and feel so cold… If not for Zagur, I don’t know what I’d do…•Who is your best friend (if you have one)? What is your history together?My best friend is Zagur. We met as children and have been friends ever since. As we grew older, those feelings of friendship changed, and we gained with them feelings of love. I was so happy back then, just to be with him, try to make him smile, which he only did when he was with me.
Everything that happened after that... is classified, hehe!•What makes you ecstatically happy? What makes you unbearably sad? I’m happy whenever I get to be with Zagur, whenever I see him smile or experience his care. Though he acts mean and rough, I know that he really cares deep down.
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Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 4:17 pm
This is an interview I managed to snag off of my main character, Ginseku Shirokiba. Quote: •What do you look like? Height, weight, hair color? "Well, i'm 6'0, I have dirty-brown hair that HATES combs..Um, the last time I was on a scale, I think I was roughly 180 lbs.? I'm not sure, i'm not super absorbed in my appearance. Sorry, but this is my first time doing this..forgive my shyness."•What do you like/dislike about how you look? "Well, I don't have much to complain about; I've never heard any insults that stuck. I guess I'm pretty comfortable about my appearance, overall; What will be, will be." •How old are you? How do you feel about being your current age? "Well..if we're going by my true age, i should be about 126 now. But I'm 18, In human years."
A short pause seperates the two questions.
"I'm not sure, exactly." Ginseku shifts uncomfortably in his seat, seeming to take the question into consideration for a moment before answering.
"I guess, thinking about it, I'm glad i've made it this far; I've had some close calls before. In terms of personal accomplishment, I've never really had any other aim in life, besides starting up a family, once i've attained the resources to do so."•How do you spend most of your days? "Well, most of my time is consumed with training and research nowadays, but lately i've been hitting the club scene a bit. Every now and then i'll go out on a date, but none of them ever seem to lead anywhere meaningful, just to se-"
The interviewer coughs loudly, moving on to the next question.•What do people who know you think about you? What do people who don’t know you think about you? "..Um...hmm. It's hard to say without sounding conceited or superficial, but I believe my friends see me as warm, approachable, earnest, flirtatious and caring."
Another pause follows, then Ginseku answers the next question.
"..Well, I'm not sure. If someone can go only by outwards appearances and actions...I'm not sure how i'd be received. So i don't know." •Who is your best friend (if you have one)? What is your history together?"Oh. That'd be Austin, hands down. Or Vixie...hmm. No, I'd say Austin; He's been there...for what seems like my whole life."
Ginseku scratches his head oddly for a moment, blushing slightly.
"But anyway, I pretty much just bumped into Austin at a river during one of my travels. He noticed that my movements were strangely similar to those used in Ninjutsu, and asked about it, and we pretty much just started hangin' out."•What makes you ecstatically happy? What makes you unbearably sad? "Well.."
Ginseku looks off for a moment, considering the question.
"To be honest.."
Ginseku leans in slightly, as if this is a secret of some sorts.
"Ryuka Navali."
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Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:32 pm
Filled out for Kira Pierce. <3 Quote:
What do you look like? Height, weight, hair color?
"I'm average height I guess, but compared to my family I'm pretty short. I'm 5'5", a nice.. repetitive number. Weight? You're.. getting a little personal, don't you think? But.. I guess I'm a little too skinny, for.. reasons I don't want to tell you. I don't have to tell you, right? ...okay. Um, my hair is.. about shoulder length, with a light wave I can't get out. It's black, but I keep it in a ponytail usually. It gets in my face and it's just too annoying. My skin is.. too pale, I think, but I'd rather not worry about fixing that. Not much of a swimmer, and I don't like the idea of tanning salons. Those little spaces..? Yeah, no thanks. What else... my eyes are blue. A kind of.. deep blue. Nothing special? I'm pretty ordinary, most of the time. Oh yeah, this locket... I never take it off. It's silver and heart shaped, with a thin silver chain. It... breaks often, and I'm terrified of losing it, yet... I really can't bare to part with it."
What do you like/dislike about how you look?
"I guess I'm okay, overall. I mean... I wouldn't mind gaining a little more weight. I kinda like my eyes, and my hair's pretty manageable at least. But what I really hate is this stupid tail! And.. and these ears! I hate them! Ugh, and.. it's the worse when just one ear appears and not the other. And my normal ears are here, so I'm like some human.. cat freak! I mean, what the hell causes this sort of thing?! Not only the ears and tail, but... but claws! I get claws, but only on some fingers! I can't control it at all! I-I mean, if it was orderly and... and regulated or something, so it was all or nothing, then maybe... but three ears? Five claws between both hands? God! It's caused me so much trouble! You don't know how to make it stop, do you..?"
How old are you? How do you feel about being your current age?
"I'm... what, nineteen now? It feels strange. I can't believe so much time has passed since.. then. ...anyway, it's not like it's too different. I can drive, but I don't have a car. I can see R rated movies, but I don't like crowded places. I'm just getting ever closer to having to enter the real world and.. I can't say I'm too excited about it."
How do you spend most of your days?
"...way to make me feel horrible. I don't do much, I guess. Most of my time is spent worrying, and that's not a great thing to be made to think about. You should throw this question out! Um, what else... I.. listen to music to pass the time, and really.. I don't much like to leave my room. It's.. it's safe in there, and I don't have to worry about running into people or... anything else unwanted happening. I'll stay home and clean up, or get things ready for dinner whether it's my night to cook or not. Better than doing nothing, right? Other times I... I guess I just think about things and how they used to be, before all of this stupid cat weirdness began."
If you work, what is your job?
"I don't work. I really should, because my dad's single, and he's supporting me and my brother, who is in college now. I know it's tough on him, but we're getting by."
How do you feel about it?
"Honestly, the whole idea of working just... scares me. Sure, there are the normal nerves of entering a new place and being put to work, worrying over if you'll be able to do everything you're asked correctly or if you'll screw up and make a fool of yourself and ultimately get fired. I kind of think I would. But, there are.. other reasons. I just can't. I'm not the only one worried about it either. Whenever I go out, my dad just... I can tell. I can tell he's stressing himself out, and his focus slips, and I can't do that to him. I've put him through so much already. Maybe I can find a job that'll... let me work from home someday."
If in school, what’s school like?
"School sucked. I hated it. Everyone's heard stories of bullies, and how cruel high schoolers are. But when you... have a 'curse', let's say, it just becomes torture. Every time an unwanted ear pops up on your head, you have to dart out of the room to hide it. You can't let secrets like that get out! Imagine the nicknames! The scientists! The research people would try to figure out what I am..! ...m-my most used excuse was that I was about to get sick. Of course, that has its own consequences... I'd rather not get into it. Let's just say, it was difficult to make friends when I had such an unstable 'condition' and everyone thought I was sick all the time."
What do you do for fun?
"Isn't this... similar to the days question? You guys just love making me feel horrible about myself, don't you? Fun, fun... Does the music thing count? I listen to all types from places all over. Let's see... it's horrible, but I don't know. Normal people love swimming, but I've always been terrible at it, and since this cat freak stuff started happening, I've only gotten worse. I hate parties 'cause crowds freak me out, but I do like renting movies from the safety of my own home. We don't have money for a lot of vacations and stuff though, so I haven't really traveled. I'd like to someday... But I guess.. I'm trying to learn to control it, the changes. I'm not making great progress, but I'm trying my best, and I hope that soon I'll be able to properly meet someone, without giving the first impression of being a three-eared freak. Then maybe I can start going to the movies, or other public places with.. crowds, and not have to worry about terrorizing anyone."
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