Welcome to Gaia! ::

These are a few basic tips to increase your RP Skills and hopefully stop you from looking like a complete newbie.

:: Use More Words ::

Okay, I would think that most of you KNOW by now that you CANNOT post one-worded threads/replies by now, unless you want to look like a complete moron. A decent RP Post should be AT LEAST 10 words for actions... How many words you choose to use for actually talking is up to you, though. Here's a decent example of a ten-worded post:

* Raven makes his way into the club, looking around quietly *

And after you've gotten a simple 10-worded post down, try and fit more words into your posts from then on. Build up your posts 10 or 5 words at a time... So soon, you'll start getting posts that are at least 30 words each, like so:

* Raven slowly opens the door to the raving club, stepping inside from the cold winter winds outside. His emerald eyes dart from left to right, gazing at his surrounding area *

It isn't that hard to put more words into your posts... I'm not saying you HAVE to have 30-worded posts like that, just try and use AT LEAST 10-worded posts.

:: Use Better Grammar ::

Ok, this is mostly for you people who talk in L337 or CAPS, or basically anything that's really annoying along those lines. A few of you are probably reading this and saying "0l-l l>l_ll>3, /\/0 \/\/4j, L337 RoXx0rz j00"... Well, I'm here to tell you "No. Shut Up."

Basically, I want you to TALK RIGHT, I want you to CUT OFF CAPS LOCK, and I want you to stop using words like "u" for "you", or "b" for "be". Stop being lazy, and type a few more damn letters. It isn't going to kill you, and it sure as hell isn't going to make you look like any more of a fool than you are when you type like that.

:: Use Action Symbols ::

Ok, have you ever seen a post that says something like this...? :

he walks over to her hey whats up

Ok, that basically looks like he's saying "he walks over to her" while he's saying "hey whats up". DO NOT DO THAT. It's not only confusing at times, but it can really get annoying to other people who are trying to figure out if you just said something or if you just did something. Try using action symbols to seperate what you say! Like so... :

*he walks over to her* hey whats up

...The guy who's posting may not have a good RP Post there, but at least we can understand if he's talking or if he's doing something, eh? A good list of action symbols to use is here:

* Action * (Most used)
:: Action :: (Most annoying)
- Action - (Sometimes Confusing)
~ Action ~
^ Action ^
< Action >

Basically, anything like that. Oh, and this doesn't mean you HAVE to use action symbols, either... You can use BBCode -OR- Quotes to your advantage to seperate actions from words. (Using BBCode To Your Advantage, and Quoting are topics explained later)

:: Seperate IC from OOC ::

Ok, this is simple ; When you're talking IC (In Character), you're not really supposed to know anything about being OOC (Out Of Character)... So, when you're IC, you don't talk to people about PMs, Signatures, Avatar Clothing, or anything like that. If you want to comment on OOC things, all you have to do is use something to seperate OOC posts from IC posts, like so:

* Raven coughs lightly, his cold having finally caught up to him from earlier * ((Raven caught a cold from being out in the snow too long, just so you all know. ))

See... The brackets "(( ))" seperated the OOC post from the rest of the post, so you could tell what was IC and what was OOC.

:: Stay In Topic ::

Ok, this should be a simple thing for you all to do ; Stay in Topic with the thread. This meaning... If you're in something like a thread with vampires, disgusting ghouls, rotting corpses, and horrid zombies, you don't do something random like spread pixie dust everywhere. That's just stupid.

That should be self-explanitory, anyway.

:: Don't Use Smilies ::

This one should be short and simple to understand ; Don't use Smilies during RP. OOC Posting? Sure, you can use Smilies while talking in OOC Posts... But a really good Roleplayer doesn't need Smilies/Hearts/Domos to express how they're feeling... They should be able to express it in words.

I've gotten a lot of complaints saying that "Smilies help to liven up a post" or "Smilies help me show my character's face"... Well, for the last time, I'll say it: A really GOOD roleplayer does NOT need Smilies/Hearts/Domos to express how they're feeling, OR what their face looks like. My opinion is "If you think using smilies is a good thing, that's probably because you can't describe what your character's face looks like in words".

Once again, self-explanitory.

These are some more helpful hints to becoming a smidge better than some of the other RP'ers in the board.

:: Be An Original Character ::

Be original with your RP style, or at least travel the path less walked upon... Or something like that. Instead of being some innocent, shy schoolgirl with unsure intentions... Or some dark vampire with a tragically morbid past... Try being something new and unthought-of. I've seen some of the best characters in Gaia who were originally-made-up, and their RP'ers were absolute pros. Try being a new race, a mixed breed, or a race that hasn't been used that often. Make up a past that hasn't been taken, or at least add your own twists to it.

Be imaginative, trust me... You'll really enjoy using that thing of yours that you call a 'brain'.

:: Seperate Actions And Speaking ::

Ok, tell me, which of these looks less scrunched-up and probably easier to read...? :

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

~ OR ~

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

The second one, of course, isn't as scrunched up, and (If you were actually using real RP and not a bunch of "Blah"s) would be a lot easier to read than the first. This is the idea of SEPERATING YOUR ACTIONS FROM YOUR WORDS. If you seperate your actions from your words, you can easily make your paragraphs and sentences easier to conceive and less strain on someone else's eyes... And people will probably like RP'ing with you more, too. Like so:

* Raven stands alone atop the large skyscraper, standing tall and silently while silhouetted by the moonlight. His emerald-hue'd eyes gaze down upon the city, piercing into the souls of all who pass*

...Something doesn't seem right... It's... Too quiet...

* Raven whispers to himself, his voice slightly muffled by the Nitemare Scarf that was wrapped neatly about his face and neck, keeping him warm from the cool winter breeze *

Isn't that easy on your eyes? I bet it is. Mwah.

:: Spell-Check and Punctuation ::

A big problem these days, even for advanced RP'ers and moderate RP'ers, is spellinga nd punctuation. Many don't even bother with punctuation at all, because they think nobody cares. BUT, if you want to be an ace Roleplayer, you're going to want to look like an ace... And aces are dealt with capitals, my friends, not lowercase. Now, WHICH of these two RP Posts looks better...? :

* he shifts a bit in his seat listning to the music and leting it cary him away his eyes closing starin into the darknes of his eyelids * im geting to old to be in places like thees...

~ OR ~

* He shifts a bit in his seat, listening to the music and letting it carry him away. His eyes closing, stareing into the darkness of his eyelids * I'm getting too old to be in places like this...

The second was is supposed to look a LOT better, because it has proper spelling and punctuation... Think about it, and let the thought stay in your head for a while ; The things that you learned in freaking 1st grade are things that you can use here, you know.

:: Run-On Sentencing = Bad ::

This should be pretty simple, since you learn about Run-On Sentences in... What? 5th Grade? 6th Grade?

Anyway, it looks really bad if you use Run-On Sentencing in Roleplay... Continuously saying the words "as I" and "and" during your RP posts is in NO way a sign of good RP'ing, and I think you should really learn to not do that. It's OK to use periods and commas! Trust me, this'll make your posts look better, and they'll be less annoying/easier to read.

:: Dealing With Bad Roleplayers ::

Okay, I was asked this a couple of times before, and I think it'd be important to put this here: "What do I do when someone (blanks) like a n00b?"

Okay, first of all, you need to ask them to stop what they're doing. If they don't stop, tell them how to correct themselves (Ex. If they're godmodingly dodging every attack, tell them to take a few hits)... And if that doesn't work, just ignore them. Period.

Trust me, if you ignore someone who's being a godmodder/annoying(er), then they'll eventially get tired of yelling at the wind, and leave. Problem solved right thurr, cap'n.

:: Use BBCode To Your Advantage ::

You might not really consider this an advanced technique, but it really does make your RP Posts look more well-organized, and adds a bit more spark to them as well, setting them ablaze with your own style of creativity.

Using the wonders of BBCode to your advantage can be helpful. Try using them, instead of action symbols, to tell your actions apart from your words... This is an example of one of my RP Posts, using some good ol' fashioned BBCode to spice it up a little...:

Raven appears in the shadowy corner of the room, looking over at his long-time friend... His lips were not forming a smile, though. Instead, he was frowning... He was not happy with what he was seeing, and he was deffinitely not pleased with the recent actions of his old friend.

What the Hell do you think you're doing...? I thought I told you never to come here anymore...

Raven gritted his teeth and simply growled under his breath, his eyes now glowing with a bloody crimson hue, instead of their usual emerald sparkle...

The red helps to represent Raven's speech/speaking... It's better than using action symbols, too, because it adds a little color to your post. You can also use Bold Text, Underlined Text, and Italic Text to represent your actions or your speech. It's all up to you, how you use the BBCode to your advantage.

:: Use More Description ::

Description is one of the main keys to having a great RP style. Hell, people... As a wise woman once said, "You gain more than half the tools you need to be a succesfull writer before you reach the age of 15." So if you're 13 or 14 (And older), you really have no excuse to be so lazy and not use descriptive wording. As you may have noticed by now, being descriptive has spiced up a few of my past posts, and made them more vivid... Use easy words, like:

Slowly
Quietly
Softly
Gently
Roughly
Powerfully
Easily
Quickly

Basically, anything with ' ly ' at the end can be used as a description for certain things. You can also be more descriptive when describing yourself... Don't just say 'green' or 'blue'... Use other words. Here are a few:

Aqua - Blue
Navy - Blue
Emerald - Green
Scarlet - Red
Crimson - Red
Midnight - Black

And try using larger words than usual, too. You know that big book that they call a "Dictionary"? It has a use. Like these:

Nonchalantly - Without Care
Vigorously - With Much Energy
Extensively - Very Thoroughly (Lots)
Morbidly - Dark, brooding

Things like that. You'll soon learn that, if you use larger words or more descriptive words, people may show you a bit more respect. Don't demand respect or kindness if you don't earn it, you know.

:: Roleplaying in 'Story Mode' ::

Okay, I was asked to put this up after a LOT of complaint posts/PMs, so I finally decided to give this a putter-upper in the Advanced Section... Because, well, mostly advanced RPers use it.

Roleplaying in Story Mode is mostly Quoting... Using " when speaking. I call it 'Story Mode', because that's what you write/type when you make a story. It's an alternative to using Action Symbols, and can actually be less stress on the eyes than action symbols... To some people, anyway. I suggest only using 'Story Mode' when you're in Serious RPs. Here's an example... Kind of:

Raven slowly lifted the Desert Eagle .50AE to Malen's head, cocking the barrel of the gun against the side of Malen's cranium. Raven narrowed his eyes, muttering "This is for all that pestering, py-unk." And then Raven pulled the trigger, releasing the bullet...

If you're Roleplaying in 'Story Mode', you should probably use Third-Person, too. Your character is a character, and thusly, should be treated as a seperate person... So, you talk about them in Third-Person, like an author does to his own characters.

And there you have it, Ladies 'n Gents.

:: 'Feeling' for a Paragraph Ending ::

Okay, this is a simple 'add-on' to the "Seperate Actions and Speaking" section of Moderate... And it'll help people understand the ideas of your Post. So listen up, meatbags!

When seperating paragraphs, you should really get a 'feel' for when to end them... Like, say, seperating your ideas / groups of actions. If, in one paragraph, you talk about walking into your room... And then you want to describe what your room looks like... Start a new paragrsph for the description, like so:

Raven's hand grips the handle of the large, wooden door, twisting it torwards the left and jerking it open to enter his bedroom. The room was laying in darkness, and Raven had to reach up and search along the wall for the lightswitch... Finally finding it and flipping it on.

The room was large, a little bit too big for just one person to live in... Yet it was mostly empty. In fact, the only things within the room were a large bed with black and red sheets, a small stand with a TV, and a dresser for the storage of his clothes. Very strange, indeed.

Which, if you look very closely, looks a heck of a lot better than this:

Raven's hand grips the handle of the large, wooden door, twisting it torwards the left and jerking it open to enter his bedroom. The room was laying in darkness, and Raven had to reach up and search along the wall for the lightswitch... Finally finding it and flipping it on. The room was large, a little bit too big for just one person to live in... Yet it was mostly empty.

In fact, the only things within the room were a large bed with black and red sheets, a small stand with a TV, and a dresser for the storage of his clothes. Very strange, indeed.

Once again, there you go, Ladies n' Gents.