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Some terms I am familiar with... just trying to be helpful so you don't have to do all the brainstorming here. smile


AU: stands for alternate universe; the character has the same name/basic personality from the series but has an original, player-made background.

Godmod: Being invincible or describing the outcome of an attack on another character.

IC: stands for "in character", the opposite of OOC. Staying IC means not wandering out of your character's personality.

Mun: the player who controls a character.

Muse: your character in the RP.

OC: stands for original character, which is a character you created.

OOC: stands for "out of character". Add this note to comments that're made by you as a player rather than the character. Basically, it's anything out of your character's point of view.

OU: Original Universe. Your character is the same one from whatever series he/she's from with the same official background, etc.

RP: this stands for roleplay, a game where you take the viewpoint of a fictional character

Here are some basic rules I have actually written out and put online that are terribly relevant. I think that sharing them here will help out, so here we go!

Disclaimer: These rules are (a)General and (b)copypasta (That is, copied and pasted). The context might be a little off in places, and usually the OP (Original Poster) has the last word on their world.

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Abridged Content: Some things are better left unsaid
Every so often, a situation will arise that some people had really rather not read. This has been found to pertain mainly to situations of graphic sexual nature, although other situations that you may wish to omit could come up. This is my no means a limitation to the amount of detail you would like to add to a story, but more as an option to get out of writing something that might make you or your readers uncomfortable. I would provide my example from The Chosen Ones... Somebody remind me to put that up here, will ya?

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Combat: Boot camp
Fighting is not a rare occurance in action and adventure books. On the contrary, conflict is what moves the story along. Combat can be handled in a vareity of ways, but there are usually basic rules and procedures found therein.

Combat is traditionally turn-based. That is to say that each player-controlled party gets a chance do do something in the course of the moment, or before it 'happens'.

PVP Combat is especially 'pre-emptive' in the sense that one person launches the attack and the other decides whether or not it connects. This applies more to major strikes than a flurry of blows exchange. This rule tends to become less strict as more enemies are added, especially if those foes are not player characters. In that case, it is generally permissable and usually expected for some of the fodder to be destroyed.

An exception to the pre-emptive rule is a tit-for-tat guideline. That is to say that if you hit them, they will hit you in return so that the relative writing position remains unchanged. This keeps the playing field level in an equally-matched fight.

Of course, not all fights are not meant to be draws. The outcome of some battles materializes between combat posts, others are planned for storyline. In these situations, fights can be brought to a flashy and/or dramatic end with heavy attacks or special moves. When one party is severely damaged, destroyed, or otherwise taken out of combat, the winner moves on to do what he or she went there to do.

This is only a brief summary of combat. For more information, feel free to post your inquiry on the appropriate OOC or a general topic.

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God-Modding/Puppetting: Keep it in character
It goes without saying that it would not be right to move some one else's character(s) without permission, but there are times and degrees in which this may be permissable. Situational examples include combat with or against another PC (See Combat for more on that topic), continuing to walk with them, and other actions that do not change their writing position - that is to say, nothing that definitely changes their status, position, or other things that 'belong' to the character.

If a PC has been abandoned and is therefore blocking up the entire story, that person can be 'puppetted' in a manner consistant with their character in order to get them 'out of the way'. This should be a limited occurance. If you think that a PC has in fact been abandoned and would like to move on, feel free to post in the OOC if you are unsure about what to do about it.

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God Mode: Nobody's perfect
Many writers want their creations to be the best of the best without question. Sometimes, however, we can lose sight of reality (in a relative sense) in this quest to come out on top. Exor and Lore are notable for their displays of sheer power, and although they do not tend to lose, it is not impossible for the two of them or their characters to be defeated. For instance, the brothers fell at the hands of Mica and Jessie in early September '07. Nobody made it out of that fight by any stretch of the imagination, but still, the brothers did not win. The moral of the story: nobody's untouchable. Our characters, much like ourselves, make mistakes and have their weaknesses. This isn't to say that a man and a sword cannot slay an entire army... It's more to the point that he's going to get hurt while doing so. Heroic feats and one-sided battles are good for action and drama, but be aware that there is such a thing as going too far, especially when it comes to PVP.

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Language: What the %@!#
Torrent Oblivion is a nonrestrictive site. As such, people of all ages can post and read what is submitted to the boards. With this in mind, and also in the interest of good taste, excessive explicit language is not permitted. A character geting upset and going on a rant is one thing, but there is no instance in which every other word needs to be a four-letter word.


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Rule Zero: Your world, your rules
The creator of the instance of the world, e.g. original poster, has blanket authority over what can and cannot happen there. This pertains to time, place, technology, magic, and many other elements of the story to come. These guidelines usually come out in the initial post or the story's OOC. Rule Zero is not, however, license to micro-manage participants.

And a very nice one, too.
Your thread is getting some much deserved attention, I see. 3nodding

Thank you for putting this together ~ it's so helpful to those how either haven't RP'd before, or have forgotten things they once knew. heart

1,000 apologies for the double post, but considering that very few other people post in this particular thrtead, and even then it's pretty spaced out, I'm sure none will mind.

I just wanted to mention that I have indeed begun pulling together some stuff on my newest writing project regarding the running of an RP, but then I had a thought. So...

If you have a question that you want to see answered, or even a whole subject you want to see tackled and put into a submission hold in essay form, post it here. If it has to do with what I'm working on right now, then I'll probably include it. If it doesn't, then it gives me an excuse to write some more, so yeah!

So post your questinos in the thread here, and let's see what I can do them.

To anyone who is reading this thread for the first time, as a reminder, feel free to post questions here. Others and myself can try to answer them as best we can. And if it's a really good question (meaning pertinent) I can add the info into the main material so others can benefit.

I all depends on the style of the RP really. As you can see with Geezerville, in which everyone seems to have their own preferred style, that isn't the case.

But as to why there are a lot of RpPs that do go for what is often referred to as a more "literary" style, the reason is probably because play by post RPs tend to attract us would writers. Play by post RPs, by their very nature, tend to lend themselves very well to an "episodic" style of posting, and so many of us like to go about RPs as if we're actually writing a sort of cooperative story.