IntroductionUntil a few days ago, I did not know that this section of the site existed. Now that I have explored it a bit, I can see that there is a lot of room for improvement.
I would really love it if everyone followed
this link and read all the suggestion there, but because I know not everyone wants to read that topic, which I admit is rather lengthy, I have written a shorter, condensed version of it below that points out specific issues of this section of the board. Please read with an open mind and a willingness to improve.
Types of RoleplaysBeginner ~ Recommended only for a person who has never created a roleplay before. Mentioning that you are new to AS roleplaying will allow members to help point some little things out to you and also not to flare older members' tempers if you are not following every single rule. IE.
War Of DestinyNormal ~ Recommended for most members. This allows for a flexible amount of sentences per post and perfect for roleplays with simple, straightforward plots. IE.
Beauty In The CountrySemi-Advanced ~ Recommended for members who are comfortable roleplaying and seek a more complex plot line. The minimum sentences for this type of rp should be five or six. In other words, one paragraph per post. This rp also implies that all members involved have nearly perfect grammar and spelling, can handle more than one character, and can respond within two or three days. IE.
Cops And ConvictsAdvanced ~ Recommended only for members who are very comfortable in roleplays and have participated in many other roleplays before. This plot can be very complex and even confusing. The minimum post is several paragraphs long. Members involved should be able to handle many characters, check their grammar and spelling with a spell check, and can respond within a week. IE.
Hide And SeekInvite Only ~ Recommended for semi-advanced and advanced members who do not want any beginners to join their roleplay. The creator will have to PM invitations to members who they would like to join. No one can join who is not invited and those invited can decline the offer. IE.
PowerThe PlotThis is the most important part of your roleplay, so take your time! If you start out with a poorly thought-out plot, the entire roleplay will be uninteresting and boring. Even if it takes you a whole day, take all the time you need to write out your plot to the best of your abilities.
For these examples, I will be using this roleplay:
The Wolfdog's WishWhen you do write your plot, make sure every element is clear. If you reread it and find something that might be confusing, clear it up and rewrite it right away! If it's a little confusing to you, it will be very confusing to other members who might want to join. To make sure your plot is well-organized and not confusing, split it into three parts.
The Past ~ the back-story of the entire plot, but not necessarily the history of the main character. IE. Marie is a wolfdog on the streets, who has the fur of a wolf but the heart of a sled dog. All she wants is the chance to race and prove herself. She has heard that a team recently had to retire they're lead dog, and are now in need of a team dog, since their previous one took the position of lead dog. Unfortunately, the team doesn't like wolfdogs and chases her out of town.
The Present ~ where the character(s) find themselves at the start of the roleplay and the planned out part of the story, this is where you can mention some characters that other members can join as. IE. Out in the snow by herself, Marie heads to a frozen lake. She wishes to her reflection that she looked like the dog she was in her heart. Instantly, an angel disguised as a doe finds her and grants her wish. Marie transforms into a beautiful Mackenzie River Husky. She returns to the sled team and gives her new breed as her name; Mackenzie. She is given the spot of team dog after only one run. But Marie soon finds out that the old lead dog of the team was her father, but he was the one who taught his team mates the horrors of wolves and their offspring. She is devastated to watch the team pick on a wolfdog puppy and his/her older brother and sister. In times like these, she turns back into her old, wolfdog self.
The Future ~ hope for a resolution to the conflict or the possibility for a conflict, you can end with a question or an ominous sentence. EI. Soon, Marie finds herself living two lives where Marie is falling for the brother wolfdog and Mackenzie is falling for the new lead dog. And in all this, Marie tries to uncover the past of her parents through her father. What she finds is not what she expects....
If you aren't sure if you have a good plot on your hands, use this checklist.
1. There is a solid reason for the conflict, and not something random or silly.
Example Of Plot Without Reason: Marie the wolfdog joins a sled team desperate for a new team dog, but these huskies hate wolves. (Notice how a wolfdog randomly gets on a dog sled team. It makes no sense and will cause confusion later.)
2. There is a general direction for the story. It is not completely planned out but it is also no totally open ended. Ideal is a basic story with some "wiggle room."
Example Of Plot Without Direction: Marie the husky joins a new sled dog team. Will they like her or will they kick her off? (Way to open ended and there is basically no story there.)
3. A relationship is NOT the center of the story. Romance is fine and progresses a story, but a plot just about finding love is boring and predictable.
Example Of Plot With Relationship As The Main Story: Marie the husky joins a sled dog team who hates wolves. She falls for a street dog that is part wolf but also really likes the lead dog of the sled team. Who will she choose? (Notice how this element was in the original plot, but the story itself wasn't just about a love triangle. It was also about Marie finding out who she is and who she wants to be)
Here is a plot with no checks on the checklist: Marie is a beautiful husky who just moved to a new town. She has spent who life traveling the world and just wants to settle down and find a nice male husky to fall in love with. Who will the lucky male be? (This is just a plot fail and should be discarded from your brain to make room for some actual story ideas.)
The CharacterRemember when I said the most important part of a roleplay is the plot? Well, I am taking that back. The most important part of ANY story is its characters. No matter how good of a story you have, if your characters a "perfect" characters or are just plain cliché or contradictory, then your roleplay will be just plain bad.
When making your character, you must keep in mind that in order for them to be interesting, they must have flaws. Everyone does. Perfect characters are boring and no one enjoys reading a story about a girl or a boy who is always right and never makes mistakes and always wins.
I think that best way to help with this issue is to create some examples. I will compare three different cliché characters with three unique characters.
Mary Sue VS Marie Sweet
Mary Sue is a good friend to everyone and everyone wants to be her friend. It is no wonder why! She is very pretty and all the boys she meets want to impress her. She is out going and never afraid to say her opinion. She is brave and selfless and would easily sacrifice herself for a perfect stranger. She is also very smart but also a wonderful athlete. Not everyone knows it, but Mary is also a very talented singer and artist. Not to mention that she also plays five instruments! She picks up on new things very easily. She is always in a good mood and never gets angry.
Marie Sweet is quite confident in herself and the decisions she makes, which is why she is a very loyal friend. She is kind to strangers and only a little wary of them because she is entirely too trusting and always sees the good in people. She is a wonderful listener and gives good though naive advice. She can be brave when pushed to be, especially if her friends are in danger. She doesn't care much for her wellbeing and would give up her life to save a friend. She is very easily hurt, mostly when she trusts someone who later betrays her. Although she is forgiving most of the time, if someone completely loses her trust, they will probably never gain it back. She can be rather clever and figures things out more easily than her friends // She is very artsy and is often caught sketching scenery on the corners of desks // She is a talented athlete and doesn't physically tire easily.
I really hope that everyone can see the difference between these two and I don't have to explain to much. As you can see, Mary is unrealistic and boring while Marie is interesting and could be an actual person. Also, at the end of Marie's bio, those are three different endings. You should never have your character be smart, artistic, and athletic. Pick one to focus on or have them okay at two of them. Never pull a Mary Sue and say they are amazing at all three.
Gary Stu VS Larry Chill
Gary Stu is incredibly good-looking and unknowingly breaks hearts wherever her goes. He isn't a flirt. Well, maybe a little, but mostly he is just a gentlemen doing the chivalrous thing. He is a very sweet and caring guy, and when he falls in love, he only has eyes for that one special girl. He is very funny and his charm makes him very popular, though he doesn't really notice his admirers or care about his status. He is very protective of his friends and family, and would sacrifice himself for any of them. He is amazingly brave, but he isn't all brawn. He is, in fact, rather smart and clever. He can usually think himself out of a situation if he needs to. He is also secretly a poet and often writes poems, which he makes into love songs with the help of his guitar.
Larry Chill is a laid back guy who often lets the daily dramas of life just roll off his shoulders. He is fiercely loyal to his friends and is a good listener. He can make anyone cheer up with his clever jokes and crooked grin. He acts like a gentleman, opening doors and letting the lady go first, but he can be trouble. He is flirty and mischievous, but his friends know how to deal with him. Despite his careless nature, Larry is very untrusting of the world and always holds a stranger at an arm's length. He doesn't like taking risks and isn't the bravest unless his friends are in immediate danger. He doesn't take a chance on love either, and can seem rather stone cold when it comes to serious romance. He is also an athlete and uses more muscle than brain most of the time // He is also very smart but he lacks common sense and often gets caught in bad situations// He is also very artsy and clever, often using his drawing skills to riddle out a problem.
Again, this shouldn't need to much explanation. Gary Stu is a poorly made character and Larry Chill is a thought out character. See the difference?
The Psycho Villain VS The Real Villain
Psycho is never friendly to anyone and is always mean and violent, even to his cohorts. He enjoys other's pain and often inflicts it whenever he has the chance. He dominates his victims and his minions. He hates feeling inferior. He is fearless because he knows no one can best him in brain or brawn. He is ruthless and merciless, unafraid to end a life at a whim.
Real is ambitious and will do what she must to gain what she desires. She is unafraid to use violence and threats against not only her enemies but also her friends. Although she is merciless towards her enemies, she trusts her friends almost to the point of recklessness. Her greatest fear is that she will meet someone stronger and wiser then her that will be able to defeat her.
This should be the clearest example of all. Psycho should not exist while Real is a good villain who is actually believable.
The biggest thing you must keep in mind when writing a personality is that history affects personality. If someone is an only child who always got what they wanted, they are not going to cope well with rejection and will most likely be a spoiled brat. If someone grew up with a big family, they are not going to be antisocial and will probably fight for what is theirs. If someone comes from an abusive home, they are not going to be bubbly and happy and will have some trust issues.
Another big problem you want to always avoid is a contradicting personality. What I mean by this is things in a personality like these:
~ Is mostly quiet, but outgoing at times too.
~ Doesn't trust anyone but a few certain people for unknown reasons.
~ Is kind for the most part, but suddenly becomes angry because it's in his/her blood.
~ Doesn’t get involved in drama but talks to everyone.
~ Is sweet but can also be mean.
~ Is wild and crazy but can easily be calmed down.
These are just a few examples of a growing issue. If your personality reads like this at any point in time (he/she can be _______ but can also be _________) than you most likely have a problem with your character. Decide which trait your character is and stick to it. You character can't be patient and short-tempered or sweet and mean. It's just not right to make your character every personality trait you can think of.
Your character should also always have a purpose, something to add to the story. Don't just add a character to be the future boyfriend/girlfriend of another character. Your character could be the best friend with a different opinion on the conflict or any enemy who might change sides. Whatever it is, make sure it is interesting!
If you are joining as two characters and want them to have an established relation, here are some tips:
Siblings/Cousin/Family? Yes! Playing two members of a family is always fun and it will help establish similar histories through two different perspectives.
Past Romance? Depending on how it is done, that could either be interesting or boring. Be careful with this!
Future Romance? No! That’s boring! There is nothing worse than creating a romance between two of your characters. That leads to random side-stories, that I will talk more about later.
Post LengthThere should never be any one line posts. The actual rules reads:
Posts need to be a minimum of 4 sentences or at least 2 lines of text on the normal forum window. This is reasonable enough, especially as this is not the rp shout box. Members not following this rule has become been an issue for the forums. If such activity is going on, a Mod will lock the topic on sight. If your topic gets locked, the creator can PM the mods and ask for their topic to be unlocked in the exchange that every future post made in the topic follows this rule. If the topic is lock for a second time because of this same issue, a Mod will lock on sight and there will not be any way to have it unlocked again. This rule isn't followed very often or enforced, but you should take it upon yourself to write a good post every time.
There are fewer expectations for private roleplays, and most do have one line posts. Even though no one expects amazing posts, you should expect it from yourself. Make it your personal goal to never write one line for any roleplay ever. It's amazing how after you do this for a while how easy it gets to write paragraph for every post.
Important InequalitiesImportant Inequalitieslong post =/= descriptive post
creative =/= random
members =/= characters
relationship =/= main goal
many pages =/= good story
dialogue =/= progress
rp game =/= rp story
new to AS =/= excuse
Fan RoleplayingFan roleplaying is what I personally call roleplaying with characters from a movie, book, play, ect... It's the same concept as Fanart and Fanfiction, but with Fanroleplaying, there are some things you need to keep in mind.
~ Even though you are roleplaying in an already created universe, you still need to have a plot. I have seen numerous roleplays that just say, "This takes place right after the last movie/book." Just because it is not your original idea, you still need to put some thought into it and have the same basic storyline that you would for a normal roleplay.
~ Once you have a plot, make sure that it makes sense. If Steele suddenly comes back to Nome and is somehow nice and friendly, and he and Balto go off on a flowery adventure, than you have a bad fanroleplay. Keeping that in mind, if you have a Balto roleplay where Steele comes back, than you can work with it. Just keep in mind that you do have to stay true to the original story.
~ The hardest part about a fanroleplay is keeping the canon characters in character. Authors who write fanfictions have the same difficulty, but I personally think it is harder to do in a roleplay because there are multiple members trying to play canon characters. If someone in your roleplay has a character doing something they would never do, like having Steele sacrifice himself for Balto without any character development or Balto telling Jenna he would rather her be with Steele, than let that member know that their character is out of character and to edit their post.
~ The best fanroleplays usually contain more than just the canon characters. Bringing in fancharacters is a great way to expand the story. That does not mean that you should be using your fan characters from the main site, but you can use them in a slightly round about way by creating a roleplay character with the same personality and appearance, but changing the history to fit in with the story.
~ For some reason, it seems that fanroleplays tend to have shorter posts than other roleplays. Remember that just because your roleplay is in the Balto Open Roleplay section does not mean that all the rules go done the drain, some for the private roleplays. Always keep in mind that all the roleplay rules apply everywhere, not on just a few rp threads.
Some Last WordsI hope that everyone who reads this can at least take one good piece of advice away with them. If you feel criticized by any part of this or have been criticized in the past or are criticized later on, please take into consideration what I and other members are trying to say. Don't get so defensive that you don't take the advice. Everyone here just wants to help others, I promise!
As you can see, roleplaying isn't as easy as you think, but it is also not very difficult either. Don't over think the process of roleplaying, but don't take it for granted either.
Thank you to everyone and anyone who has read this entire thing! I know it was long, but I hope it helped you!
P.S. All examples I have used are all my own. I used my own posts and my own roleplays as examples (except Wandering Through The Mountains, which I had permission to use from the creator, WolfCall). Any similarities to your own work or someone else's is completely by coincidence and not purposeful. If you were a member in one of my roleplays that I have placed links here of and you do not wish for your posts to be publically seen, shoot me a PM and I will change it to another roleplay. If you feel like I mentioned you specifically, that is also just by coincidence. I did not mean to attack any specific person or group of people in my words. Thank you.
(Note to the Mods: You can combine this will the other three Guides if you want or leave it as it's own topic. It really doesn't matter to me, so whatever you think is best.)
Maybe I can show it to the users who are in my RPs to help them improve their posting styles; after reading this, I also see how I can improve my own style of replying in RPs and making better Role Playing topics. Thank you again for posting this.
/rant over/ 