URP University Archives

Ahh... Ye Olde URP University halls. AGAIN being dusted off... :rolleyes:

Here is a look back at our past. Please. Feel free to add things now. I can and will be editing this to update.

Rensha:
*cough* We're open for business again, and he cobwebs miraculously are gone! We've added a couple new wings to the school as well. The Workshop will handle questions from readers, the box outside the Dean's door, that would be mine, labeled "Questions to the Profs" will be used.

Select a class which you wish to take, and you will be selected a teacher, or one will select YOU. Ahem, maybe I should mention I'm the Dean.

Our Instructors are:
-Legoexpo
-GoldenEyes
-Belfucious
-Byelotsar
-Rensha
-Archmage
-SoHee
-Oreo
-Crystopher
-Lizzardbreath/Mireldeyn (trial basis, I'm skeptical of her spelling bee first place award... ^_-)
-Fleshmelter
-Ferran
-Geco
-Saoirse

Our departments are listed below, with the writer beside the title. We have 6 open for discussion. They are in this order:

-Introduction to: Writing (Rensha)
-Terminology of Utopia Role Play (Rensha)
-How Not to Act (Rensha)
-Introduction to: Battle (Rensha)
-Introduction to: Narrative (Ferran)
-Introduction to: Colloquial Speech In Character (Ferran)
-Separation of Player and Character: OOC Knowledge (Rensha)
-Separation of Player and Character: Emotional Protection Complex (Rensha)
-Introduction to: Running Your Own Thread (Byelotsar)
-Introduction to: Realism (Open)
-Introduction to: Character Creation (Geco)

Advanced Courses:

-Magic Usage (Belfucious)
-Detail and Description (Open)
-Summary for Interest (Open)
-Compromising For the Sake of the Thread (Open)
-Plot & Sub-Plot (Open)
-Battle Theory (Open)
-Research (very neglected, but very important; Partially 'Open', if memory serves.)
-Limits of Realism: Fantasy (Belfucious)
-Limits of Realism: Sci-Fi (Open)
-Advanced GM'n For the Bold (GoldenEyes Exclusive Class!)
-------------------------------------------------

More Classes will be available as time goes on and Instructors are hired. Classes are very reasonably rated, and are of the best quality known to mankind at this time.

Also, there is a suggestion box of sorts, write on the message in the thread you leave: "Question for the Profs". An FAQ section may be implemented in future incarnations of the University.

Now to explain how I intend to do things. Instructors are more like tutors. People you can contact who will give you their experience on a subject, preferably, I'd like to have people I know can write well. Basically just Vets I'd like for instructors, and even then, perhaps not some of them... Sorry to those Vets.

While that instructor is helping you you'll perhaps have little mini-stories between the two of you for the purpose of a working example, a live critique. A short story, also, could turn into a thread, so brainstorm! The classes system is simply a way to make a focal point on what you want to work on, and gear the teaching to that point. Hopefully this will accomplish two things, draw the gap between 'newb' and 'vet' closer, end the cliques on the board and make them widen out. Hopefully, also a third: creativity of new threads might increase, as short stories eventually lead to posting them on the boards.

Now, to get writing that paper...

Fleshmelter:
These essays are and should only be taking as a guideline not laws, roleplay is in itself an extension of one's own particular style, and imagination amongst other things inherent to the writer/creator.

So in truth there really can be no laws to govern it, but there is a unified collective mindset on what people would expect or tolerate which this thread points out for URP.

Everything here is place here to HELP others that seem to find it difficult to roleplay here, it brings no cause to argue.

Ferran:
OO BTW EVERYONE!!!

***** MS Word Post-Writing-Related-Post *****

Did you know...
-If you write a post in MS-Word and save it as "MS-DOS Text" (NOT with line breaks! For the love of MEL!") then the new saved file is a completely postable txt that you just have to copy from and paste onto the boards w/o having to worry about those damning invalid characters. It's so simple!

Just go file>save as... and set the "save as type" (at the bottom of the window) to MS-DOS Text. It's That Easy(c) .

***** END OF IMPORTANT MS-WORD INFO *****

You're welcome.



Rensha:
***----Introduction To: Writing----***

Writing. The prospect of being able to create your own world with its own boundries and own rules, or lack of them, is a fine one. However, putting it on paper, or, more prefferably, the electronic media, can be a difficult task; colossal even. Thusly there are very few basics that are needed to sound at least competant, and that is what we're going to focus on today.

----------

First off, lets talk about basic grammar, since we have non-English speakers, and middle-schoolers and such. They seem to have the hardest time out of everyone.

Grammar, simply put is very easy. If it doesn't 'flow' it isn't right. Say it in your head, say it out loud, whatever. Just say it somehow. If you don't think it sounds right, then it just isn't, boys and girls, that's the crux of it.

Now for you non-English speakers, this may be more difficult, because you're probably translating literally, instead of the idea. English is a very limiting language as far as articles, nouns, verbs, and adverbs. Spanish, Latin more notably, Greek, Japanese (eek) and other older languages tend to have several words for what English would equate to one. However, they have several different levels of emotion or stress emphasizing them; English does not. It's a very dead language, I admit. However it is easily adaptable to new terms, thus its wide usage. That and America's unwillingness to actually force upon their children the learning of other languages to interact with the rest of the world. Instead forcing the rest of the world to conform to them. Sorry, lets not get into politics. This isn't the Politics board.

To counter-act this, translate the meaning, check if you used the right prefix and suffix (things at the end of words like 'predating', pre-date-ing. The word Date is modified by pre- before, and -ing a suffix that describes that something is continuing to happen. Typically, it's on verbs. It's an action suffix, sort of like an adverb, but attached to a normal word as a modifier. If you foreigners don't get it, email me and I'll try to explain it better to you personally. After class.

Check the tense(past, present, or future), for all words, not just the sentence. If you are in doubt, check it with Microsoft Word for grammar mistakes. However, because of the uniqueness of the forums we use, don't copy and paste, just write it the way it says. If it is a lot of text, then use the mitglied invalid character translator:

http://mitglied.lycos.de/upinvalids/conv.php

-------------
Now to articles. But, and, it(in its various forms), a, an.
-------------
How many times I've heard 'and this and that, and this'... Not acceptable. 'This, that, and this' is the proper form; one 'and' a sentence. There are exceptions but this is basic writing. I'll just say that's what an ampersand is for, the '&' key. It associates things like this: Hamlet and Romeo & Juliet. Romeo &(and) Juliet is a separate entity, called a clause, but I'm not going to really get into that, and can therefore have its own 'and' without breaking the one 'and' per sentence rule. In the last sentence, I used several 'and's and that was because I used it as a noun, don't bother me about it please.

Also, never start a sentence, EVER with 'and'.

Now second, with articles 'a' and 'an'. ALSO very commonly misused and abused. How many times I'll have to repeat that 'a' is for use wherever there is a consonant coming after the article (a connective word) and 'an' coming before a vowel (in the next word) I don't know. I suspect it to happen a lot, though.

Now to 'But.' Never start a sentence with 'But'. Instead, use 'Rather' or 'however'. If you don't want to use however a bunch of times, for variation and non-redundancy, write the sentence without 'but' or 'however' or 'rather' and see if at the end you can use another word like 'though'. Maybe you can even start the sentence with 'though'.

The only time you would use 'but' at the beginning of a sentence is if you are speaking as the character. For instance:

Red turned away in disgust, "But... that's impossible...!"

It's just the way we say things. We don't speak proper English, just write it in narrative, so neither should our characters, unless they are perfectionists like Zarn used to be. I swear she takes the bill for perfect writing in grammar, spelling, and preciseness. However, her writing was focusing more on accuracy and less on creativity, don't fall into that caveat, it's okay to sacrifice PERFECT grammar for creativity. A balance is needed. Grammar is a guideline anyway.

Now, onto 'it'. This is possibly the hardest thing for most people to understand, because it breaks all logic of the rest of the words with an apostrophe.

ITS = POSSESSIVE form (Its mine!)
IT'S = Contracted NON-POSSESSIVE form (It's on the horizon)

They are both describing an object, idea, etc. However, the possessive form has no apostrophe. Unlike 'the Jones's' or 'the Sword's'. Also unique to this, you don't need the word 'the' in front of it like most others. So never use 'the its'. Believe me, I wouldn't of mentioned it if I hadn't ever seen it, but I have.

----------
Use of Ellipses (an Ellipse (singular))(...)
----------

The Ellipse (...) is one of the trickiest things. You can string them all together, ... ... ... ... for a long long pause, or just one ... for a short pause. Typically done in this manner:

"So, young man, what do you have to say for yourself?" said Red's commanding and condescending mother.

"..."

"That's what I thought..."

Notice there that at the end of "That's what I thought...", there is an Ellipse! Yes that's right! You can use them at the ends of words to soften the ending into the assumption that someone is using a solemn, sober, sad, or simply just elongating the word slightly! It's an emotive punctuation mark, like '!' When ... is used in a sentence, such as "Ha... never thought that'd happen..." you don't need to capitalize the next word's first letter. It acts as an elongated pause, effectively, look at it as two commas. ',,'

It is used to abbreviate quotations "That was the most ridiculous... annoying thing I've ever heard!" instead of "That was the most ridiculous, heinous, stupid, annoying thing I've ever heard!" get it?

Punctuation marks, I see quite frequently, are either used poorly, or in the wrong instances. For instance, "HA!!!!!!!"

Yes... we only need one or at most two !!'s... The same usually goes for ...'s.

You can, though combine ... and ! to make ...! for a surprised, quiet assumption. Such as, "Gasp...!" It wouldn't be a loud gasp, just as "Gasp!" would be, rather it would be hushed.

"" - use that for quotes, if you are in quotes already, and someone is quoting someone, use ''. so, "And then he said, 'I told you not to go', and I was like, 'HA! Yeah right you bum!'"
---------

Spelling, please check your spelling. It's not so important for words that are fancy like Hypothalamus, because a lot of people may not even know how to spell it. The smaller words are the ones that really matter. If, though, you don't want to sound like an idiot who doesn't really know the words you're using, make sure the spelling on the advanced vocabulary is correct.

------------------------
------------------------
************************

Write me - j.r.darkly@gmail.com - if you have questions, or need more explanation on a point, or if I didn't cover anything.

You don't have to be perfect unless you're going to make a living as an editor, but if you know the rules, then you can bend them, or break them in certain situations, to suit your purposes. However, if you don't know them and you break them constantly you'll just look like an illiterate and/or inconsiderate fool.

Remember; tune in next week, maybe tomorrow if I feel very inclined to do so, for another paper. It might come sooner than next week, I had fun remembering all these things that are just second nature to me now. Lol!

Rensha:
What Not to Do & Terminology of URP
---------------------

I'm going to combine these two subjects together for their length. They're both short subjects.

First let's start with Terminology of URP.
------------

Char- this refers simply to Character, not very widely used anymore. There was a time that it was.

OOC: or Out of Character, is a tag used to denote speech out of character, such as an explaination, side note, or other reason.

IC: In Character, the game is in progress.

Powerplay - Taking control of another player's character without their consent. Just because you see someone else do it doesn't mean you can, the two players may have made an agreement for temporary mututal control.

Godplay - some call this also Powerplay, but don't confuse it. This is when you play as if you are a god. Take no damage, kill in a single blow, be an almighty mage/warrior what have you. Just don't do it, this and powerplaying are the touchiest things you could possibly imagine, on par with insulting the GM.

GM/DM - GameMaster/DungeonMaster. The owner of the thread/plot.

Mod - Moderated thread, not very widely used anymore, nowadays it's a psuedo-freeform, which I tend to hate to see. Since Alex, it's been a lost art in my opinion.

Freeform - The players decide where the thread goes, mostly used for experienced players, who know what is mutually wanted in the thread. However, this is now the standard format, something I don't really like to see, as few can effectively play along.

Vet- Veteran, someone who's been around URP for a while.

Newb- Newbie, new guy, you most probably, who have no experience here and need to yet find a niche to nestle into.

Character Sheet: Sheet that most GM/DMs have to organize and approve their players. Please fill one out, if there is one present, to the best of your abilities.

URP- quite simply, Utopia Roleplay.
------------

Now to: How Not to Act

Don't be a wiseass. Take criticism well when it's due. Respect your elders. Don't just bust into a thread and disrespectfully make posts without being approved by the DM/GM.

Make your Character Sheet, wait for it, and then post when you are approved.

Don't make threads that are not stories, or off topic unless it is important. If you want to make an announcement, there is a RPer's Message Board for that. If you are looking for threads, use the Threads That Need Players topic. These are tools that will be around for a long while, and are rather useful.

Don't powerplay, don't godplay. They are serious no-no's that could get you excommunicated by the community. Don't be holier than thou about it either.

Basically, be courteous to your fellow players, and especially your GM/DM. They are god as long as you are playing under them, and you are nothing but an ant for him to squash. They have a direction they want to go, and it is under their grace you are allowed to play at all in their story, so respect them and do what they tell you, gosh darnit.

------------

If anyone wants to add to this, please do. The next thread, I'm going to compile some things, hopefully.

Look for another series of topics coming soon.


Rensha:
------------------
Introduction to: Battle
------------------

Battle is something that few understand. I think I would take more damage if I could justify the logic of someone's attack.

If you have seen DragonBall or DB:Z or DB:GT, you'll get what I'm going to say next. Anyone ever wonder why they never just sidestep the blasts instead of try and run from them or block them? Sounds stupid to me. So don't do it. Sidestep it instead. Let it blast into something else, who the hell cares what it hits as long as it isn't vital to the character, like another person.

The same with a fist, or a leg. Rarely will you see an experienced fighter block a hit by taking it directly. What you'll usually see is deflection. What do I mean by that? Observe:

Ike threw a right hook for Tim's face. Tim immediately moved his right foot foreward, spun on the ball of his left foot, angled his left elbow upward with his forearm up in the air. Tim threw his right elbow up with the momentum of his movement foreward and spin, and accentuated the strength with a quick upward motion for Ike's jaw.

The movement of the left elbow upward with the forearm would make certain, if the twist and motion foreward came to pass, that the right hook would slide behind and above Tim's head without entangling Tim's arm. If Ike wanted to counterattack, I doubt he could. All his weight is foreward and he'd have to bear the hit. Sorry, but its going to happen, which takes me to the point of accepting damage.

I can't tell you the countless times I've pinned someone like Tim in the example, where there is no move that someone could make without getting injured. That is the beauty of Player to Player (P2P) combat, it's chess between two people. As long as you know how the body moves, take into account your weight shifts, the position your body is in, and the position your enemy's is in, it is an enjoyable thing. However, when someone keeps being cornered like Ike in the example and miraculously 'throw's head back' or 'whips head back and stumbles backward without getting hit' it wears quickly on the patience of the other fighter.

1) Courtesy
2) Think
3) Research
4) Mind your environment
5) Mind your weapon
6) Mind your opponent

=======
1) Courtesy - Know when you're down. When you lose the fight, or even get put into a position that you should get hit, and there is an unlikely exit, or impossible exit, just concede that you are hit, or defeated. Don't pull a godplay or powerplay cop out. Also, as opponents, don't do something that is fatal to the enemy when he is down, or in a weak position. In other words, don't mortally wound your fellow player, you could ruin a plot or kill his character, and without his consent that is a huge no-no. If its okay with him, then do it.

2) Think - If you don't think, you'll quickly be overcome. If you follow rule 1) you'll lose. Or be wounded severely. Battle is a thinking man's game, and takes people lifetimes to master in the real world. We don't have that luxury typically.

3) Research - Watch martial arts movies like Jackie Chan, he doesn't use wires all too often. Jet Li can be good. Read books on weapons, they give hints to how they were used. If you want to get hardcore, get a fencing book. A sword play book, something along those lines. I used to have a book for fencing, I don't know where it is now, that showed positions, beginning and ending, with description of the motion. What it all boils down to is observation, and taking into account how the mechanics of fighting go.

4) Mind Your Environment - Your fighting style will change dramatically if you are fighting in/on a volcano, field, stone wall of a castle. You can use objects around you, though don't just invent them out of thin air, or features of the landscape. For instance, in one thread, my character ran up a hill at full speed, jumped from the apex of the hill and somersaulted over them with guns blazing. Granted, he was an enhanced life form with exceptional speed and strength, so was the case with the Thread though.

5)Mind your Weapon - Or lack thereof. Use it effectively, and pick one that you know you can handle. Don't pick something you don't know how to use, even if that means simply the body of your character. This requires point three, research. Also mind the weapon of your opponent.

6) Mind your Opponent - If he is a player or just an NPC, don't worry about it. If the Player's character is supposed to be a master swordsman, and you're a farmer who just picked up a sword, don't expect the farmer to be a genius savant who magically is a great swordsman. Example? Chronicles of Narnia. My god what a horrific movie. I sat there with nothing but mockery and insult for it while I watched it. One of the characters was a fool who was given a sword by none other than Santa Clause and then after he killed a wolf with difficulty and was named Sir Jack-off-a-lot the Wolfsbane was able to slay minotaur, orc, wolf, tiger, polar bear, and at least hold his own against a sword master witch with no problem.

Don't follow Sir Jack-off-a-lot... It pisses people off. Take the skill level of your character, NOT YOURSELF, and go with it. Along with that, don't pick a warrior with great skill if you suck at player to player battle. As your own skill increases, increase the skill of your character.

----------------------

Thats all for this session, please feel free to add to it your knowledge and wisdom, oh instructors, but remember, these are supposed to be simple and a quick read. Yet they are also supposed to be informative to make even the most inexperienced wise in many things. Again, my email is j.r.darkly@gmail.com, please email me with any questions, or post your question here, an instructor will help you. (Rensha)

Rensha:
I'm already adding to it:

Write your moves descriptively, down to how your weight is shifted, the position of your feet, or if you're in the air form a jump, the position of your body. The position of your arms, torso, and head. If you are squatting, ducking, weaving, juking, etc. Put if it is a weak blow, or a powerful one.

If it is powerful, you wind back further, its just nature. If it is weak, it's quick. Therefore, timing is also involved. It isn't instant action and shouldn't be treated as such. Accuracy of a hit is something that is hard to accomplish for a novice, so don't expect a farmer who just picked up traveling to be able to throw a punch directly to someone's liver at will.

Dark Oreo:
Sorry Rensha I gotta add a little more


If you have taken physics or any class that has to do with motion like a health or first aid class, then you will have a better understanding of what he is saying.

On another note, When you are attacking another player's character, you should limit your attack to one per post. This mainly applies to PvP threads. For Example:

Jerry Throws a right handed straight forward punch towards Phil.

Here is something you shouldn't do:

Jerry throws a right handed straight forward punch towards Phil then brings his right leg up to kick him in the face.

Now unless you have some insane flexibility, cat-like reflexes, or some kind of hidden talent, you are not going to be able to pull that off... Especially without giving the other player time to react to the punch. Saying that in a post is more like you fighting a punching bag. It's lifeless, and it can't fight back.

I know this is kind of short and straight forward but here is my point.

Mireldeyn:
I have something to add to Ren's #6 statement in his last post...

Yes. You most definately want to keep your opponents abilities in mind. In some threads (the one that comes to mind right off hand is Baeraad's Hunter sets) the GM controls every blow that is hit- or not hit, in several cases- and what damage is done. In other cases the GM might give you a little room to play out your characters, deciding when you were hit and when you were able to dodge. This is how most threads are conducted that I have seen, and this is when we run into the problem of creating God-characters. If the only thing that your character can do is chant out a few spells, then no one expects him to do well when his concentration is thrown off by the sudden, enlarged view of a dagger going right towards your characters head. Yes, he can dodge, but that means that the spell is lost, and he will have to start all over again. And he would've lost strength form the first partial casting, the dodge (IF he dodged it), and the start of the second casting.

Also, your characters abilities. When you have a drunk Wolf-crossed, genetically designed human female with only teeth and claws for weapons, who ends up in a fight with a very angry and sober man who has a gun, the results are not going to be very...nice. (For those of you who were in Forgotten Ferality, you know that I am talking about...My character and the other one...hehe) The Wolf-woman, who is disoriented by the drink and is 9 times out of 10 genetically _weaker_ than a man, ESPICALLY when he has a gun and she doesn't, she is going to get hurt. Severely. In my case, she _was_ armed with a knife, but that is a close-ranged weapon. She had animal instincts that told her to attack, and she did. She ended up with three bullets in her right arm and shoulder, one in her left foot, and one in her left thigh if I am remembering them correctly. Plus, the man had pulled her dagger away, and ended up slashing the heck out of her back.

Of course, after she has been injured (Rensha's Comments: Though it isn't necessary to be hurt, adrenaline comes in when your body feels it is threatened), you do have a level of adrenaline that naturally runs through your body to help GET your body to safety. But once that runs out, just as it should be with your character, they had better damn well be hitting the ground from exhaustion and blood loss (Rensha's Comments: Adrenaline use doesn't mean instant after-battle incapacitation, depending on what happens, what factors are involved etc. determine that. As well, there is always adrenaline flows in a fight. If you have never fought a battle in your life you wouldn't know that, but the world around you gets pretty darn slow while you're fighting.). Characters need WEAKNESSES. Everyone has them. Your character should be no different.

--------------------

Tigerpaw:
Okay. Battle. Very enlightening post there, Rensha, so first off, thanks, prof. Honorable teacher Rensha. Vat Eva. As the geeku kid in the back of the class I'm going to have to ask you to elaborate... don't shoot me.

First off, PvP. How painful are injuries? Say Sir Bob pulls his 2-handed great axe high over his right shoulder with a roar to bring it crashing down on Sir Joe. Sir Joe posts and has his agile, on guard character step off to Bob's left and throw his shield up to cover his head and torso. He continues by declaring a short, quick, slash at Bob's exposed left arm.

Bob reads this post with trepidation. He's wearing heavy plate, he knows, but it's constructed so that the plates are on the top, and the bottom (triceps area) is covered only by chainmail. What does he do? For the sake of argument, he rationalizes a hit would be the lesser of two evils when compared to Master Rensha's wrath, so he posts "Sir Bob's eyes widen as Joe's short sword tears into his chain and through his tunic. He stumbles back with a jerk, but can't avoid the blow." Should Bob have said how much it hurt? Whether he still has the use of his left arm? Whether the chainmail now restricts his movement or what happens to his axe? Basically, if it's agreed by both a hit is scored, should it be the guy who swung the weapon or the guy who's getting hurt how much it should hurt?

Next, NPCs. Should you play your NPC opponents? What about if they're under the control of someone (guards, retainers, Joe's brother, Joe's nearby squire) or something depends on them (the messenger Joe gave his vital orders to, the prince, Joe's blacksmith)? If so to what extent, and if not, who should, the GM or the player associated with the NPC?

Last, battles in the larger sense. Commander Jim is storming Lord Harry's castle. He had previously bought them seige ladders, and now they're hiding in the woods. Jim wants to start the attack. Harry has bowmen, of course, and a ballista on a turret, and a few spearmen charged to shove the ladders off if they reach the walls. Jim also has a small party of 4 saboteurs inside the walls, and no-one knows they're there. The saboteurs are trying to set fire to the barracks roof with their flaming arrows. What does Jim write? Does he say "flaming arrows fly out of the night to instantly ignite the dry thatch roof of the barracks as the sea of men storm towards the walls and ladders fly upwards" or, leaving more chance for Harry to react, "he gives the order to move forwards. his men step out of the woods. elsewhere, a few men hiding in the shadow of the stables nock arrows to their bows as a small oil lamp is passed around"?

That's all I've got to ask today.... Happy writing. =P

Legoexpo:
If rensha doesn't mind, I'll post an answer for Tigerpaw.

On the subject of injuries received in battle is entirely up to you. It really is based on you and how realistic you choose to be. A cut to the underarm might sting at first and then grow into a more painful wound as Adrenaline fades away.

As for handicaps, it really matters on what you're wielding. Bob was using a 2-handed Great Axe, probably a pretty heavy weapon and with a weak arm, his effectiveness, strength, etc etc goes down.

NPC-wise however, is really based on the GM's preference. Some enjoy you being freeform, others prefer you listen to them.

If it's like a battle of a giant scale like LOTR style, you should write your posts in small chunks so that it isn't overpowering in a single blow. The second little bit would've been perfect IMO.

("he gives the order to move forwards. his men step out of the woods. elsewhere, a few men hiding in the shadow of the stables nock arrows to their bows as a small oil lamp is passed around")

That's my 2 cents

Tigerpaw:
Thanks, Lego! Oh and I thought of a new question. what about wounds that fester or aren't treated or stuff like that. or rips in your Armour: should these be fixed ASAP or just ignore them they have negligible affect on the game?

And I'll ask this again because Leg didn't address it (at least I think he didn't), which states how bad a hit is? The guy taking the hit, or the guy holding the sword?

Fleshmelter:
There is much that can be taking for granted, and really is not necessary for your overall RP experience.

It is entirely up to you to play out such minute facts, the bigger key in say combat situations is the overall effect of your RP with your opponent. Allowing him to react without you controlling too much of how he plays, give and take just look at it this way ( if you don't want you character to die, post it as a glancing blow....if you feel your character should lose a limb...well you know where I'm going...I hope )

Overall you control the damage your character mitigates, unless such actions are deemed unfair by the DM/GM which in most cases rarely happen. It's tic for tac when I play... I'll give someone a hit, and usually expect the return favor in their post... if it doesn't happen, I'll usually play it tougher for them next time around.

Of course I much rather do NPC fights ( less headaches )
Here's a snippet of one of my fav characters posting his death fight (this is still one of my favorite fights, course it's a little dated )

------------------------
The Master's rage was boundless, and the magic that coursed around him was a direct reflection of that. Asilanyth reveled in the fact that his quarry had become more deadly, Rilil was unsure as for the first time in her ascendance to godhood she felt... Fear.

Asilanyth" showing your teeth now, Promitian..urrk!" a bolt of black power struck the young god before he could finish his banter, The Master was engulfed in what appeared to be black flame. The necromatic energies of aeons past, yet Asilanyth was not to be outdone. A radiant glow of amber enshrouded the godling, as he regained his footing. The blackend flesh across his chest from The Master's assault was slightly visible, a telltale wound that would stay with his avatar.

Rilil freshly recovered from her stuper, again raised her weapon against The Master. Who caught notice of her, his glare caught Rilil square locking the muscles of her avatar in a deadlock match of willpower.

Asilanyth saw what was happening to Rilil, knowing The Master's will was forcing itself upon Rilil's. Asilanyth drew forth his divine blade, and leapt towards The Master. The lion centuar avatar was an massive beast, and The Master's was distracted enough for Asilanyth's attack to succeed. The godling pinned the dark lord underneath his massive body. The claws dug into the decayed flesh of the Undead Lord, The Master etherial magicks tore away at the godling's avatar. The mixture of the magical auras was tearing away at the very fabric that held together Darcadien.

Even as Rilil watch she was calling forth magic that she should not have, The Master's magic assaults were blasting away at the godling Asilanyth, yet he held The Master prone. Several of The Master's minions, came forth only to be crushed by debris falling from the collapsing stronghold.

The Etherial maelstrom was destroying much of Darcadien, and growing in size it would soon engulf the very plane it was destroying. The Master felt Rilil's intent on bringing forth The Void, his rage fueled even more of his own Etherial magicks, and he shattered Asilanyth's body. The Master regained his footing, and his etherial magciks were already working there way towards Rilil as he spoke.

The Master" damn you godling, if you bring forth The Void into being. The Etherial maelstrom will cause Darcadien to implode!!."

Rilil" we are fullfilling our place in the tapestry of the multiverse.."

The Master" Fool!! You will achieve nothing save for your own death..."

Rilil" Then so be it... goodbye Promitian!"

The Master"Noooo!!!..."

Rilil unleashes The Void into the realm of Darcadien, it's collision with The Etherial Magicks brought forth a cataclysmic Event Horizon.

There was silence... Darcadien was no more.

Byelotsar:
As the others have said, really. The character receiving the hit is generally the one who has the rights to determine how serious it was; obviously, this requires a degree of trust in the other person to RP it out in a fair way. A player whose character manages to always dance out of the way of attacks will probably find himself on the receiving end of some grief - without a very good explanation (and some explanations might be reasonable for such a thing), it's basically power RP. Generally, this is easier to adjudicate in a GMed thread, which is one of their clear advantages.

As for the condition of armor, I'd say that depends on how realistic the thread is meant to be. If the thread is heavy on realism, after a few battles one's armor is probably in bad shape and needs some work - further battles will only get harder as a result. But if it's not, one can assume that, hey, the character has some equipment on hand, or is just really clever and manages to keep his or her armor in good condition while still getting beaten.

Wounds follow the same pattern, I'd say. If the thread is keen on realism - yeah, that untended gash in the arm just might result in an appetizing case of gangrene. Fortunately, magic has the advantage of resolving the problem in both realistic and non-realistic threads. In a either type of thread, a simple potion or alchemic substance which the character has (and what kind of a moron would go adventuring without those? Well, the kinds of morons who go on the adventures in the threads, I guess...) can handle infection and speed healing, either explicitly or just behind the scenes.

"Jim unscrews the lid on the little bottle and applies some of the pungent jelly within to the long gash on his arm. Despite the unpleasant odor and the intense stinging sensation, he knows from experience that it is one of the most effective healing balms available."

vs.

"That evening, Jim sits with his companions around the campfire, exhausted from the battle but glad to be alive. 'Quite a battle, wasn't it?' he asks amiably."

Ferran:
Introduction to: Narrative
Prerequisite(s):
-Intro to Writing

Recommended Courses:
-Intro to: Battle
-Intro to: Colloquial speech In Character

Lesson One: I Spy... An introduction to the narrators.
---

If you're like me, you might be wondering, "what in the world do they mean by 'Narrative?' Isn't that one of those wacky words with multiple meanings?" To which I would reply, yes. But when you get right down to it, a narrative is that which a narrator delivers. In RP'ing terms, the narrative would be the IC posts we write.

Yes, that's a damningly broad topic, and it can't really be covered in a lesson since everyone develops their own way of narrating - their writer's voice, if you will - differently. But there are a few key things when it comes to narratives, so I'll cover them.

Person: The perspective from which something is being narrated. There are 3.

-1st person: This is telling a story from one's own eyes. IE: telling it as your character. "I ran to the grocery store to buy milk, when suddenly I was hit by a car." Whenever I think of what IC /should/ stand for, I think of 1st person narration. But that's not what it is; and in fact, 1st person narration is rarely used in posts.
-2nd person: This is when you're speaking *to* someone - IE a GM giving direction. "You walk through the hallway, when all of the sudden an axe swings in front of your face and imbeds it into the wall to your right." As far as posting goes, it's /never/ used by PC's. It's more of something that one would find in a good game of D&D. :)
-3rd Person: This is the viewpoint from which most posts are written. In 3rd person, events are seen unfolding but from neither your or my point of view. For example, "Having recovered from being suddenly hit by a car, Sue walked through the grocery store's abandoned milk aisle. All of the sudden, an axe went *thwump* and embedded itself into the wall to her right."

Now from the 3rd person Point of view, there are a few different variations.
-1. 3rd person omniscient. This is when you tell the story with EVERYTHING: thoughts, feelings, unseen details; basically a god's eye view. "Sue wet herself as she stared at the axe. 'Great, now I need to find the toilet paper aisle!' she thought to herself, unhappy at having to deal with whatever lurked there." Obviously, this is more intimate.
-2. 3rd person limited: When you tell the story by the book. You can't hear the characters' little voices in their heads; as such, their thoughts must be expressed through facial expressions, movement, speech patterns, or what have you. "Maniacal laughter echoed through the PA system. 'Clean up on Aisle seven,' a voice that sounded strikingly similar to Mark Hamil said with a hint of a smirk." One would want to use this form if they were being coy, or if one wants to keep a certain distance between the reader and the events unfolding for whatever dramatic effect they're going for.

Tense: When something's going on - either the past, present, or future. NOT whether a thread is medieval, modern, or futuristic.

Past tense: This is the main tense used for narration of anything. Events are narrated as if they have already happened. "John karate chopped the hot soviet spy for not putting out. He wasn't very good with women."
Present Tense: In my life, I've read a grand total of 2.3 books written entirely in present tense narration. It's easy to do, but impressively hard to do right. " 'Geeze, for the lack of clothes she wore, I thought she'd be skankier,' **John rants as he drags the body to his truck.**" (asterisks to separate narration from dialogue)
Future Tense: "John will eventually drive to the levy and dump the body."

*The* big rule when it comes to tenses is that they HAVE to match up in a post. Writing in past tense, and then writing suddenly in present tense is wrong, plain and simple.

Wrong: John walked to the levy's edge with the body over his shoulder. He dumps the body into the water, and laughed as it floated down toward New Brunswick. :(

Right: John walked to the levy's edge with the body over his shoulder. He chucked the body into the water and laughed as it floated down toward New Brunswick. :)

---

That's the barebones minimum as far as narrative goes... Other details (more for style than anything) would be that you want to double-space your paragraphs. Keep paragraphs more than a few sentences, but not so long that it's hard to keep track. When writing dialogue, you should start a new paragraph whenever the speaker changes. I don't know about anyone else, but it bugs the hell outta ME when someone does the whole "What's up, doc?" "I'm hunting wabbits!" "Good luck, pal!" I can understand the idea behind trying to save space, but it makes dialogue hard to track. And it's wrong. :) Besides, changing paragraphs looks nicer. The exception to that would be if, say, if you did the following:

There were murmurs throughout the crowd regarding the princes fate, each just as unbelievable as the next. Cries of "Burn him!" and "let's boil his feet!" intermingled with piteous cries of "he's entirely innocent!" and "be gentle with the groin area!" Obviously, opinions on the young master's fate were mixed.

---
I wholly expect EVERYONE ELSE to add to this topic, since no one person can do it justice. Get cracking, y'alls! :D

Ferran:
Fleshie--

How might I disconfound you the best? :) If it's in regards to the whole "write a post in the past tense," then I've a little activity. Go pick up a fictional book -- any old book will do -- and read a paragraph. You'll notice that the actions happened in the past tense; that is, he drove, she walked, they battled, the car zoomed, etc.

This doesn't hold when it comes to dialogue however, since people don't talk to each other only referencing things that happened in the past. IE:

"hey Rennie, when will you get your act together and pay me $80?" Ferran chirped as he floated around Rensha's head in his little UFO.

"When Hell freezes over, Ferran!" Rennie replied with a grin, then moved to smack the UFO.

Ferran expertly maneuvered his jerry-rigged pie tin to avoid the swat. "Alright! I'll be waiting, then! Say, did you read the news article on how the hairiness of one's palms is in fact INVERSELY related to one's visual acuity?"

Rennie blushed a pretty shade of scarlet. "I sure did; what a load of hogwash!"
---
All of the non-dialogue is in the past tense: Blushed, maneuvered, replied, chirped...

Legoexpo:
Ferran, just a bit about your 3rd Person POV.

3rd Person, as you said, can be split into two ways.

3rd Person Omniscient and

3rd Person Limited.

From what I learned, In 3rd Person Omniscient, ANYONE's thoughts can be heard/written. In 3rd person Limited, only the main character's thoughts can be heard.

In your post, it seemed to me that you made it look as if in 3rd PL, only actions and movements were able to be seen.

Could anyone else double check me on this?

Rensha:
Ferran- Lol man... thats hilarious. You seriously need to become a coke-addict comedian. lol.

lego- Yes you are correct, things brought out in narrative are only what the character could know. Basically GM's are omniscient, and players should be limited. First person is very fun to write in, and when I was getting bored with URP once, I had a spurt where I used it exclusively. I liked a lot of the posts, but there are times when it is difficult. However, yes, 3rd person limited is the character's own thoughts, sometimes perhaps not even that if the narration is not done by the character, and what he sees around him from his perspective. He wouldn't know for instance that character B has a stomach ache unless character B grabbed his hemorrhaging stomach, or said something about it, and neither would the narrator.



Ferran:
Introduction to: Colloquial Speech in Character
Prerequisite(s):
-Intro to Writing

Recommended Courses:
-Research

Lesson One: The Proper Accent for the Proper Scot!
---

*Jason walked along the garden path, when suddenly he found himself being assailed by an uneducated Scotsman. "Hark unto thee, foul son of Jay! I am Eric Idle, the most feared Scotsman of Yorktown and the surrounding villages. You will pay me tribute, or else I shall summon my mystical woad warriors to molest thee and thine family. What say you?"*

*Jason laughed at his assailant, and crossed his arms to really get across the idea that he wasn't at all afraid. "Oh, Mr. Idle, surely you don't expect me to believe THAT! You have no accent; therefore, the chances of you being Scottish are slim to nil! And besides, the IC description of you said you are uneducated; thus, your usage of yon anglo-tongue of olde is fallacious."*

And in fact, Jason is right. As an uneducated Scotsman, Eric Idle's speech should be understandable, but only just so. He should also be speaking in the appropriate manner for a Scotsman, as opposed to a 14th-or-so century Shakespearian actor. This is what we call "Colloquial Speech in Character;" that is, having your character talk like he or she should. For example:

*Jason walked along the garden path, when suddenly he found himself being assailed by an uneducated Celtic Scotsman. "ACH! Ah'm Er'c I'le, da mos' FEEEERED Celtic Sco'smin dis sieda' th'channel! Gimmeyer gould, els' Ah'll slay ye wher'ye stand an' feedjer famleh t'Nesseh o'd'great Loch!!"*

*Spittle showered the now-weeping Jason, who knew that Eric Idle, the most feared Celtic Scotsman in all of the Highlands wouldn't take "I bequeath you, good sir, spare me and my family, for we are naught but poor peasant folk!" as an answer. The only comfort that Jason had was that he'd left his wallet at home today, along with anything else that might've given away where his family resided.*

As you can see here, the Proper Accent for the Proper Scot makes all the difference in the world. Not only will you find that your characters will become more feared by NPC's created specifically for that reason; people will also be more open to read your posts. Nobody's quite sure why, but there is a certain appeal to accents and regional dialects. It works, and it makes a character more believable.

Another thing to consider when writing dialogue is who or what a character is. Let's take a few basic character types, shall we, and give them each a chunk of dialogue to compare. The character types are:

1. A paladin, "holier than thou art" type of guy.
2. A 14 foot tall transformer with an affinity for explosives and an overactive vocalizer.
3. An admiral of a starship who happens to be a telepath and half-irish

1. "Greetings, good sirs and madams! I am Sir Roy of Alsace, Holy Warrior of the Sacred Satchel and Defender of Good. It has come to my attention that some of the peasantry have mistakenly formed the notion that we of the Order of the Sacred Satchel are an unapproachable bunch with what some refer as 'a chip on their shoulder.' These members of the peasantry have been beheaded to prevent the spread of such rumors, and His Holiness himself has sent me here to remedy the situation." Roy took off his helmet scanned the crowd with adorably blue eyes, and then smiled as warmly as he could manage. Somewhere, a dragon hid its head in shame. "We really are quite sociable, you know! We must be after all, as we are chosen by He Whose Satchel is Forever Filled, yes? While we might appear at times to be unapproachable, the simple fact of the matter is that we can't help everyone. No; He whose Satchel is Forever Filled runs on a tight schedule, you see -- as such, we cannot always afford to pay any rent that we have accrued while passing through towns, nor can we take the time to distinguish between the savage men whom we smite in His name, and their women and children. It just can't be done every single time, but you may rest assured that He Whose Satchel is Forever Filled will have mercy on those who have left the mortal coil prematurely..."

2. "Oh, hi there!" He beamed. "I'm Ferran, and I'm an Autobot Demobot. Some other 'bots say that my obsession with explosives is dangerous, and they're right, I'll guess. After all, explosives are dangerous, apparently..." He shrugged, and stared off into a space for a moment, before refocusing on his Audience. "But really, there's nothing you have to worry about here. See, after you've been alive for as long as I have and have dealt with explosives ranging from nuclear warheads all the way to glassgas grenades, you learn a few handy-dandy tricks. Of course, it helps that I've been a Demobot since before I can remember -- literally! See, cuz back in the day there was this accident on Cybertron while my brother and I were destroying an old foundry, and I sort of got a little bit of damage to parts of my processor and memory core. Apparently, I was in stasis lock for 3 weeks!" He held up three out of four digits on his left hand to get the idea across while he spoke. "When I woke up, I couldn't remember who I was, where I was, or who anyone else was either. Fortunately, my explosive handling subroutines were still intact. Really, the only lasting damage that nobody's been able to repair aside from my memory up to that point is my faulty pain-receptor switch. Every now and then, it just sort of clicks off. Believe you me, that sure has led to some awkward situations!" He laughed heartily. "But I digress..."

3. "Evening!" The old man with the fiery red hair said, and gestured to a comfortable, low-to-the-ground couch. "Thanks for coming. Have a seat, I know you're pretty pooped from the trip here. I know I would be; warp two for 8 hours? Might as well get out and push!" he laughed at his own joke, but nobody else did. "Right... So! I'm Admiral Craig Tarr-O'Malley, commander of the 3rd Fleet, captain and Chief Medical Officer of the USS Alveary NX-131352. I've been in the service since, oh... 2350, I think? That puts me at about 75 years in Starfleet, I think... Hard to imagine, Eh? Now, I know what you're thinking; 'he doesn't look a day over 60!' But hey, what can I say? The average betazoid lives about 2.5 times longer than the average human, and me ma's family was known back on the homeworld for being annoyingly long-lived. Hmm... I graduated from Starfleet Academy with high marks in command and nanotechnology; after that, I went on to Starfleet Medical and specialized in surgery..." He arched his eyebrow for a moment, and then sighed. "Ah, but you didn't come here for my own personal history. I don't have to be a telepath to be able to tell that I'm putting you to sleep (but it helps every now and then!). Now, as for those fleet movements... Captain Barkeley -- can I call you Reginald? -- Reggie, I was looking over the fleet formations you sent me for review, and I have to confess... I'm a little... underwhelmed..."

---

From the way each of the characters talked, one can divine different snippets of information about each of them: whether it's something that they directly say ("I sort of got a little bit of damage to parts of my processor and memory core. Apparently, I was in stasis lock for 3 weeks!"), or something they don't say but is incredibly obvious (Ferran the Autobot is pissingly long-winded, maybe because his sentences aren't limited by the amount of air in his nonexistent lungs?), or even the way they act when they talk ('he [Craig] laughed at his own joke, but nobody else did.') -- language is never JUST verbal; nor should colloquy be.

That's about it for now! Join us next time, when we might even talk about Character Interaction! :D


Rensha:
-------------------------------------------------
Separation of Player and Character: OOC Knowledge
-------------------------------------------------

This is something I find players have a very serious time with. Just recently in Voyage of the Skies someone used a player's surname on accident because what he knew and what his character knew got confused. I don't think too much will come of it for a few reasons, but when I pointed it out to him he was flustered, nervous, and generally apologetic, but he shouldn't of apologized to me, it wasn't my character's name he used. (Bel, don't be too hard on him ^_^)

That is one example of how knowledge from OOC events and speech can interact with your IC play. Another more deliberate and malicious example goes as follows:

Tim is sneaking through the castle in the middle of night to the throne. Taking up the coushin in the King's throne, he placed a poisoned pin just long enough so that when the king sat and compressed the coushin, he's get pricked by this pin and be infected. It was a fast acting and deadly fatal poison. Once it was placed, Tim hurried out the way he had come, nearly being caught by a passing knight on night watch duty.

(next post)

Jon woke up unusually early, and brisk at that. Walking to the throne room with the King later that morning as his personal bodyguard he stopped the king before he sat down on his throne because he had a hunch. He picked up the coushin and turned it around. Immediately seeing the pin he pulled it out and threw the coushin to the ground. "My Majesty! There has just been an attempt on your life!" He placed the pin in front of the King for him to see.

----

Now you're probably saying "I'm never going to do that..." or "That's so fake, no one would do that. That's really out there," I wish it were true. It does happen though, and with less experienced folk, they do it unintentionally until someone says something about it.

What you can do to avoid those situations is store it away, and until you see it under the IC: tag, don't say anything about it. Almost everything in URP is common courtesy, this included. It ruins plots; it ruins the comradery.

---------------------
---------------------


-----------------------------------------------
Seperation of Player and Character: Emotional Protection Complex
-----------------------------------------------

This goes hand-in-hand with TigerPaw's question of how much damage should be done when one concedes to damage or loss of battle. It can be difficult to let go of a character you've worked hard to develop from a simple character sheet into a complex character with his own personality and tics. However, there are times you just have to let go of the "But, I don't want him to get hurt..." feeling and let him take the damage, die, get maimed, whatever. If you want even, if the GM allows, you can find a way to bring him back.

For example, my character in Voyage of the Skies, Kren Fhar has had many injuries, been on the brink of death several times, and even died once. The only thing that saved him, by the will of the GM, I was ready to discard him, was that his brother had been killed at his hand in a battle. His brother on his way to the netherworld in his own dimension learned a great many things about something (so as not to confuse you all) and decided to merge with his brother's spirit and do something similar to a defribillator (the heart zap thing in hospitals to get your heart moving again) and bring him back to life. He was weak for a while, a battle or two, but eventually got himself back into health over time. Only to get wiped out a second time by a demon lord, then to be brought back for this continuation of the thread for various reasons. (By the way, bel, did you get my email regarding vots and stuff?)

Let you character take damage, reasonable damage, and be willing to lose your character unless it is neccessary for the plot to keep him around for the others. If it is neccessary for him to die, let it happen. You can always make another one and tie him in somehow. ALWAYS. Wanderers are the best for that... believe me.

--------------------------------

As usual, if anyone wants to add, please do. Now that I have a ton of people here, that means a lot of brains, I don't have to make such long winded posts to explain a subject, you can get other viewpoints too. But not too many, I want to do all the essays before the thread turns over.

Ferran:
Re: Emotional Protection Complex.

If you find yourself REALLY liking a character that you have, and the thread is an appropriate universe (obviously this wouldn't work in, say, a politics game), and the GM approves, then you can always turn your character into a ghost. Now before you get all excited, just remember this: Ghosts are generally not all-powerful, and fairly weak. Sure, they might be impervious to physical damage... but a good exorcism or soul eating can finish 'em off.

So in exchange for keeping your character, you lose his or her abilities and take on a handicap or two. After all, ghosts are generally tormented souls, yeah? Play it up then. :)

Rensha:
He brings a good point up, you can possess beings and play as your former character if it is allowed, something like that was going to happen in VotS with Dr.3vil, but he had to leave utopia for personal reasons.

Protossassassin:
If you are playing a fantasy thread there are plenty of other options for character revival also. For instance if you character is a powerful mage perhaps they have a soul stone or your party could try and contact a cleric to resurrect them. With a willing GM the possibilities for character revival are only limited by your imagination. Plus its fun to kill off your character once in a while

Saoirse:
YES. Rensha's lecture is the best, if only because this board so sorely needs it. Failing to keep IC and OOC knowledge separate is one of the most common mistakes that people do, and vets are not immune to it. You have no idea how irritating it is when people presume that every single fact I mention in my post is known to their characters.

It's not a mortal sin if you occasionally slip up, mind you; we're all human and make mistakes. Besides, for convenience's sake a few lucky guesses and coincidences may be useful. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about people who deliberately /take advantage/ of information that would be impossible or unlikely for their character to know. They usually justify it with some sort of contrived, paper-thin excuse, such as being able to guess my character's thoughts with perfect accuracy from facial expression alone. Yes, and I can guess the winning lottery numbers by looking at the ticket. Idiots.

In one particularly amusing case, another player's character actually /grew/ psychic mind reading powers /on the spot/ so that he could read my character's thoughts, and immediately used that information to threaten my character in another desperate attempt to make himself look cool and dangerous. (This is also part of the much broader Invincible Archmage syndrome, where characters with ill-defined abilities sprout new powers or devices at will to solve whatever problem they are facing.) I made a point of ignoring that player as much as possible for the rest of the thread.

It's a pity, because there are so many occasions where keeping information from your character (even when this information is plainly obvious in an OOC sense) can make for a better story. It can be a superb way to build up suspense and tension. The dramatic irony in the play Oedipus Rex is one example. Unfortunately, few people are capable of pulling something like this off. They'd rather sacrifice a good story for a few scenes that let them stand in the spotlight and prove how "powerful" their character is.

This is bad enough in most threads, but doubly annoying when it happens in a game where who has access to what information really matters a lot, such as a war gaming thread, or one of those Political Warfare derivatives. When players with no concept of sportsmanship or common sense leverage OOC information to give themselves a military advantage, and the GM is too incompetent to do anything about it, the first thing you should be thinking is "bail".

The classic textbook example is a certain science-fiction war gaming thread from last year, where three players (all of who had no previous interaction with each other, and no knowledge even of each other's existence) launched a simultaneous attack on me. I couldn't even complain to the GM, because he was one of the three players in question. I KID YOU NOT. Predictably, the thread in question is long dead by now.

There, I'm done ranting.


Byelotsar:
----------------
Running Your Own Thread
----------------

The way to run a successful thread depends entirely on the nature of the thread. In the case of a free-formed thread, one does little to "run" it beyond creating the initial setting. In the case of a GMed thread, the GM is absolutely the centerpiece of the thread.

If you're trying to get a free-formed thread off the ground, have your setting provide characters with two things: the opportunity to be creative, and a reason to act. I tried to run a free-formed thread called Prison Of Nowhere on a couple of occasions in which the players unexpectedly found themselves magically teleported to a frozen wasteland, drawn from a fantasy setting.

The thread's single strong point was that it offered players flexibility in how they began: they could be just about anyone they wanted, who suddenly found themselves in an unfamiliar setting. Giving people freedom to create characters they will enjoy playing is crucial, and that was one thing this thread offered. Unfortunately, this came at the expense of the other facet I mentioned.

The thread had a lot of problems, chief among them being that there simply didn't exist any useful information in the setting that people could use to create plotlines. People would arrive, there would be some interaction, and then... nothing. Nowhere for them to go - no *reason* for them to go anywhere - and as a result, no interest in the thread. This thread would have worked much better as a GMed thread (see below), but I wasn't doing those at that point. They couldn't even bring plotlines from their character back story, because they were somewhere else (an extra-dimensional prison).

A couple of extremely creative players can save a free-formed thread from a horrible beginning, and we nearly had that good fortune. But this requires a lot of effort and is quite rare; don't count on it. So remember to put those characteristics into your setting! The freedom to be creative, and a reason for characters to be involved. Also, make sure that you say that the thread is going to be free-formed. If the players expect the thread to GMed and it's meant to be free-form, it is almost certain to fail.

A GMed thread can be far more difficult or far simpler to get running strongly. If you prepare appropriately, as long as you get a few mildly-creative players, you can carry the thread. And nothing attracts interest in a thread like activity. I said before that the GM is the centerpiece of the thread, and this is true. Note that I do not say it is the GM's characters who are - they can be extremely minor or extremely major as is appropriate for the thread. But the GM himself is the one who carries the thread, and as such, must conduct a tremendous amount of preparation.

As a GM, you need to know where the thread is going. You need to have a plotline (maybe even several plotlines) in your head. You need to understand how the characters fit into the world and how the world reacts to them. You need to have some degree of the recent history in mind, because you need to have an idea of what is going on in the greater world. Obviously, there is a lot to keep in mind as a GM, and I think it is largely because of this that GMed threads have largely disappeared. Only a few people have been able to run GMed threads well in my opinion. Two who come to mind are Trelyon and Moondragon. I've recently started one of my own; we'll see how that goes. If it flops, you know to ignore my advice. ;)

Anyway, the GM needs to be aware of all of this. But you also need to be careful about "railroading" your players. They need to have some freedom to choose what they'll do. Sure, Count Eastmoor told them to find and kill the goblin king or he'd have them all hanged for the crime of less-majesty. Strong incentive, so maybe the players will agree to do what the Count says. But he doesn't seem like a good guy - maybe the characters will choose to try to start a rebellion instead! So the GM needs to be alert for these kinds of things and able to adapt his plans for the plotline to tolerate these changes.

Something to keep in mind no matter what kind of thread you're running is that there is always the element of luck. You can do everything right and have the thread just not take off. It happens. Maybe a few of the players just get too busy with RL and can't continue. Maybe the players who would normally join your thread are in a few other threads. The other factor that is largely out of your control is how you yourself are viewed. If Trelyon came back today and started a thread, he'd have the best players this place has to offer lining up to play, because his reputation is extremely high. Someone without a reputation for running quality threads, or just without a reputation at all, isn't going to get the same response.

Keep trying, though. If your ideas are good, you'll start getting dedicated players. And along the way, you'll be able to learn first-hand the sorts of things that help make a thread strong and prosperous.


Geco:
Well, unless there are any objections, I'd like to take on the wide topic of Characters: Creation, Playing, and Separation. This topic will undoubtedly overlap with many others, especially in the playing section, so I will try to stick as closely to the issue as possible and allow other instructors to address issues such as magic, realism, battle and plots more in depth.


-oOo- Characters -oOo-
[Creating, Playing & Separating]

We see them everyday of our lives; characters that is. People that stand out, blend in, inspire us, enrage us, are simple, are complex, and everything in between. What defines persona and how can we translate people in real life to characters in these threads? Everything you need to create a "good" character is already inside your head.

------------------
Character Creation
------------------

Let's start right from the basics. Now, most of this will probably be common sense, but it is good to review. It is arguable that the most fun can come during the character creation process. As your mind works so does your imagination to produce something both unique and gratifying that is your character. Anticipation is a common feeling. Wanting to play your character immediately can get anyone very excited for the thread they just joined. Sadly, it is often a first and common pitfall.

While these forums are fictional (mostly fantasy and sci-fi based) roleplay, there are still guidelines one should follow when initially architecting a character. Because these are common sense, take them for what they are worth. These guidelines don't apply to every situation, they aren't golden rules, so don't treat them as such. Here are my basic principles when first joining a thread:

A. Read the OOC/Sign-Up thread. The GM will have often posted notes about the world, limits on characters, and foreshadowed the story in order to help you design a character, so take advantage of it! Also, other players may have asked questions that elaborate on those notes and questions you have may already be answered. Don't be lazy and try to read the posts.

B. Adhere to the context of the thread. Simply put, make the character for the thread you are joining (or customize a pre-developed character, but I'll talk about this in more depth later). Your venom-spitting alien with a cloaking shield might be great for Starcraft, but probably doesn't belong in Knights of the Round Table.

C. Don't be afraid to ask question. One of the toughest parts about participating in the forums is you can never be on the exact same level of thought as everyone you are rping with. If you are unsure about something, need some clarification, have an idea you want to propose, just ask. Unless you are just being a smart ass a GM won't chew you out (unless it has already been asked, see guideline A). By asking a questions and getting an answer it brings you, the GM and the rest of the players closer to that equal level of understanding.

-oOo-

On to the actual creation process. Now I want to talk about types of characters and methods of character generation, because I think they go hand in hand almost. In my experience, there are really only two types of characters that are generated. The first we will call "simple" characters and the second we will call "complex" characters.

Simple Characters were made for basically one time only use. Players will have engineered an individual from scratch to roleplay as in a thread. Is it really from scratch every time? Probably not. I use this method and I find reoccurring motifs, if you will, in my characters, as well as names and attitudes, but they key here is it is always a different variation and they aren't being developed on an ongoing basis.

Complex Characters, on the other hand, usually have a lot of history surrounding them. These are characters that were created some time ago and have been saved and continually defined and detailed as time has progressed. Complex histories can often be associated with complex characters. But, again, even these identities are terra-formed to suit the specific thread they are being used in. What you tend to find is that players will really know the inner workings of a complex character, as it is something they have continuously been involved in creating, and it can make for a much more enhanced roleplay experience.

I suggest trying both methods and seeing which works best for you and your reality.

-oOo-

When you sit down to make a character there are a variety of approaches you can take, and again you have to decide what is best for you. I've tried to come up with a universal diagram for what that might look like, but I don't know everything (even though I pretend to ^_-)

Step 1 - Brainstorming - Some time should be allotted to simply imagining and thinking what type of character you want to roleplay. It can be elaborate or easy, but this is always a good starting point.

Step 2 - Selection - Once you have brainstormed ideas you need to select which you would prefer to follow and what might work best for the story. One thing I would like to mention is that one of the keys to roleplaying is having everybody's characters involved. This can be quite hard if there are multiple characters with the same basic skills (e.g. three healers in one thread). So, despite the fact that you might really want to roleplay as a certain job/class, look over what characters exist already and then decide what would be appropriate for the circumstances.

Step 3 - Detailing - After the second step you will most likely have the broad outline of a character: things like job, race, age, sex, name. Now it is time to make them really come alive. Most writers will tell you that it is the small details that will really bring your work to life. The big three aspects are appearance, history, & personality (a fourth might be skills/magic, thread dependent). Here is also where you will most likely balance your character. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses, so your character should be no different. Balance is key to good character creation.

Step 4 - Refinement - This step is optional, but a good idea. Before posting a character you might wanna take a second look at them. Make sure what you have for your character works within the GMs vision and general principles of the forum. And, again, double-check that your character is balanced.

Now that you have read all that again, I'd like to stress that this is a guideline and simply won't work for every situation, so use those brains and decide what and where you can apply this information.

-oOo-

That's it for now. I'll follow with Playing and Separation later. If anyone has additional questions don't hesitate to ask. Also, if I missed anything and people want to add in some other stuff, please do. But, I would ask that you refrain from simply rephrasing something I have already said (unless what I had said was very unclear). That's all for now.



Tigerpaw: "Okay, here's a question. What makes a *good* character? I don't mean it morally or anything, just what's good and what's not. A certain degree of realism? A long and tragic history? A "never speaks about past" history that leaves you free to come up with anything as the character develops? Negative physical traits (tall dark and handsome is completely out?) or character flaws (complete lack of loyalty, sticks his foot in his mouth often, ect)? And lastly, should you always make a huge effort to integrate the character into the group, or are loners and others that don't fit in (because of their race or moral stance or powers or whatever) okay?"

Rensha:
Tigerpaw, the quick answer to your question is balance. Weaknesses and Strengths, typically, no extremes. However we all have extremes. Make him as LIFELIKE as you can. In other words, not perfect. He'll make mistakes, and so will you. Basically, don't make a character beyond your ability to comprehend his limits, and definitely not smarter than you, the writer are. After all, your character can't be smarter than you are.

Limit a character to your own ability, the IC will really round him out. Be unique, but don't be afraid to use clich‚ tools either. Tools being descriptions or actions, or phrases, etc. Why? Because we are all essentially the same being as humans, and because of the mass number of us, originality is a moot point, someone has always done something you have, however it's the combination of traits you have that make you unique, not one trait in particular. Carry that to your character. Give him personality.

Tigerpaw:
hmm makes a certain degree of sense... what about playing characters with very strange intelligences (like someone is crazy)? Better to steer clear of them altogether, just tersely relate their actions (pop went here. pop turned on the tv. pop ducttaped the cat to the tv) or try to explain what is going on in pop's brain, how pop perceives the world, what the happy colors tell him and why duct taping the cat is really important and the only way he can change the channel?

and now for something completely different...:

should characters be "trained since childhood in martial arts, is master in hapkido, aikido, tae kwando, kendo, karate and ju-jitsu, mastery of fire magic, carries a gigantic black bow over his shoulder" or more... common characters, like "bob the blacksmith, who knows how to shoe a horse and knows what you use a hammer for and might be able to hit someone with it but has had no formal training and besides is a little bit of a coward too". Which would you rather play with? I've got a feeling that you're going to say, "Depends on the thread," but go ahead and elaborate, please.

Geco:
Alright, I'm going to try to answer you questions tiger, but keep it brief as well.

Basically you're right. The answer to almost all of your questions is it depends. Could depend on the thread, the players already involved, or you.

Rensha pretty much answered most of your first question, so look at his post, and I'll just add on, mostly from my own experiences. There is no one specific way to make a good character and I will stress this next point: Simply creating a well thought out and balanced character doesn't make them good, IT IS HOW YOU ROLEPLAY WITH THEM!!

You can have a character with a small or great amount of detail but in the end, it comes down to your roleplaying ability. So make them have a tragic history, make them happy go lucky, it doesn't matter because both can be good if they are roleplayed well.

One piece of additional advice I would also give is that you have to remember that your character is still an extension of you in some way. No matter if it is fictional and someone with a completely different personality, you are still the one doing the writing and therefore in some way it is still you. So, with that in mind, do what works for you. If you can't be the one in the group who is just a mean prick, then don't, and you'll enjoy the experience much more because of it.

In terms of the group involvement, again, it depends on circumstances. Personally, I think it is hard to play a loner. The reason being is you don't get that group interaction so it is basically you writing by yourself, and that's really not what this forum is here for. As a beginner I tried a few loner characters, but, quickly realized I was a loner. As cool as they may be in books (the bad ass that everyone is scared of or that doesn't say much but seems to know everything) it usually just doesn't work here.

Now, I currently do have a loner type in Tome of the Forbidden, but I have also matured since five years ago. I have managed to find a way to still interact and be a loner at the same time, so it works. Loners are great for stories, they can bring a lot, and you might even have it as a flaw that they are trying to work on, so that by the end of a thread they are fully interactive with the group. But it takes a lot of discipline and maturity to pull off IMHO.

Your next post of questions refers a lot to style of roleplay. The stuff you mentioned, how much description to give of what is going on in character x's brain is a lterary decision and depends what you want to achieve. Do you want your character to be a mystery? Do you want them fully out in the open and easy to understand? It can also be a literary device, using thoughts and such to reveal tid bits of history, create sub-plots, etc.

I think the crazy characters would have the same answer as the loners.

As to the last paragraph. One of the most common things you see is new players making god-persona characters. I don't think the mean to or realize it, but when you start you want to have that ultra sweet character you always dreamed of, and possibly dreamed of being yourself. Coicidingly you might try to have your character solve every obstacle for the group, never get injured, have no flaws, etc. The reason for not doing this is it basically makes the experience horrible for the other players.

An example. Again, from Tome of the Forbidden, player Vet (yes I am disguising names muahaha) had a character that had done not much, in terms of being the solution for a problem, since the thread started. When it finally became apparent that their character could be the solution they were happy... yay! ^_^

Player New however, used their character to intially solve the problem. Now, there was a lot of other issues that were also discussed, but basically I want to see the example. What happened? Vet posted their frustration in the OOC, a scafuffle ensued, and it was sorted out.

I hope you see the link I am trying to make. It is ok if your character is a master swordsmen or expert at martial arts, but they can't and shouldn't be master of everything. Leave room for other players to make chars to find their niche in the thread so everyone enjoys it. And do try to balance your character. It doesn't have to be big, but some weakness of some sort, and it doesn't necessarily have to pertain to combat situations.

Examples: an addiction, immaturity, inability to _________, hustler, player blah blah blah

Anyways, I'm tired, and kinda hungry, so I'm off. Let me know if there is anything else I can helps ya with 8)

Rensha:
Geco, great posts! I think you answered his questions well. *Gives him a gold star* Good job! Haha! What? It's school!

--------

Yes, I think I need to emphasize the point Geco made about newer players. Whether they mean to or not, they tend to try and be everywhere at once, fixing everything. We're all, or almost all, guilty of it, so don't feel too bad. Just remember your mistakes and move on. Don't get discouraged, and most of all, don't give up your quest in real life to be a good and well-versed writer!

I somehow believe that last paragraph with mention about Blade somehow applies to me in VotS with Kren? Hey, I'll have you know I was playing for a week or less when I joined that thread. ^_^

--------

We're available at least 5 days a week, come see us again soon!
---------

Belfucious:
Limits of Magic Useage

Ahh... yes. This is most people's favorite aspect of fantasy. LotR's puny little Gandalf magic isn't what we brew here in URP. We don't just shine the light and make narrow stone bridges collapse. You'll find a fair number of mages in most fantasy threads. Some GMs forbid them for plot reasons, but that's generally not the case. What most players have trouble with is the scale and power of their spells.

Energy:
Consider this as your mage character's blood. The more you use, the less your body has to survive on. While using it all doesn't result in death, it will cause your mage to be useless. Conserver your energy. This isn't like console or PC RPGs where you can slam a potion and be all better. In all the threads I've played in, manna potions do not exist. In my opinion, many people exaggerate the cost of their spells, so I'm going to set up a table. I think it's reasonable.

Let's say all characters have base energy of 100.
Single-Target Spells: 10 energy. Fire balls, ice bolts, whatever.

Are of Effect Spells: 50 energy.

Simple as that. Whether that becomes the norm is up to the players here, and whether those spells kill their targets is up to the GM. Now, cataclysmic spells that make fire and magma burst from the ground are forbidden in all cases. This is known as godmoding and it's frowned upon here in URP. First-offense and sometimes second is usually excused with a short chiding from the GM. Continued godmoding will result in a mod deleting your post.

----------------

Ferran:
Small note regarding Limits of Magic Usage, if Master Almighty Bel doesn't mind so much :D

If you use magic that doesn't directly affect someone (IE creating a giant dragon from the corpses that litter a battlefield) then I'd say that would be 60 energy.

... Unless your character is part of the dragon, in which case, well.. tricky situation, that. Cuz a spell like that could easily be permanent, and once done have no drain on energy -- BUT! Don't expect anyone to be very happy if the dragon can still cast spells. Breathing fire (or the magical equivalent) is fine, but remember that when you revert to your former god-mage form that you will be pooped. After all, going from dragon size to human size would literally be tearing one's self apart.

...

But really, one should only deal with THAT kind of character 1) if the GM says it's alright, and 2) they know how NOT to cross the limits.

Archmage:
OoC: Good thread. One point I'd just make to like on character creation is this: it doesn't matter how original or imaginative your character is on paper (by this I'm referring to your character sheet). He or she could be a dragopegatuar with a dark and mysterious past clouded with intrigue and sorcery, but if you can't make it come to life in the actual thread, then your character will end up being flat and boring. In contrast, if your character is the traditional peasant from a humble village who one day finds a magical sword and slays the dragon, but you manage to make all his admittedly clich‚d feelings and adventures come alive for your readers, he'll be infinitely more interesting than the former.

This is based a lot on my previous experiences here. A lot of people will try to concoct this fabulous and original character in their minds in an effort to be unique, and while there is nothing wrong with that, if you can't pull it off in writing, then it's better to stick with tried and true archetypes so you can have your readers better relate with your character's trials and tribulations.

And while on the subject of archetypes, I'd just like to bring up something that a lot of posters, including myself, sometimes tend to forget, which is: Congruency. You must be careful to ensure that your character's actions and words are always congruent with his personality. For example, if you've envisioned your character as a rough and tumble hoodlum born in the backstreets of a major metropolitan city, it's a fair bet that he won't be speaking like Oscar Wilde anytime soon. I notice, however, that a lot of time when dialogue is concerned, whether internal or with other players, people go "out of character" a lot. I don't know why this happens, but it makes your character a lot less "real" in the imaginations of your readers, so try to maintain congruency at all times. Something I find that helps with this is what I believe Byelotsar mentioned earlier, which is RESEARCH. Sure this is a fantasy setting, but a farmer is a farmer, whether in the real world or on URP, and he (ie. YOU) should know at least something about agriculture so that he remains congruent with what he actually is. Same goes for swordsman (read about swordsmanship), captain of a ship (read about navigation), or even a wizard (make something up but remember to be consistent).

Sure, this may seem a lot more work than necessary, but it makes the roleplaying experience far more enjoyable if you do everything you can to actually imagine these adventures happening. After all, we don't come here to just read text, we come here to become immersed in the worlds and personalities of our creation.

=========

Archmage makes a great point. We don't come here to just read, we come to let our imaginations play and make motion pictures or still frames in our mind's eyes. I did mention a little bit about research, but there is also a point where you are far too detailed and become more like an encyclopedia. If your character was a farmer, he'd say something like: "Oh, hey! It's a turnip! They don't usually like to grow here... I wonder how it got here..."

Not (Note: skip past all the jargon for more notes): "Oh wow, a Turnip! They aren't supposed to grow here, after all turnips are a member of the mustard family and is therefore related to cabbage and cauliflower. Turnip is a biennial which generally forms seed the second year or even late in the fall in the first year if planted early in the spring. During the first or seeding year 8 to 12 erect leaves, 12 to 14 in. tall with leaf blades 3 to 5 in. wide are produced per plant. Turnip leaves are usually light green, thin and sparsely pubescent (hairy). In addition, a white-fleshed, large global or tapered root develops at the base of the leaf petioles. The storage root varies in size but usually is 3 to 4 in. wide and 6 to 8 in. long. The storage root consists mainly of the hypocotyl, the plant part that lies between the true root and the first seedling leaves (cotyledons). The storage mot generally has little or no neck and a distinct taproot. The storage root can overwinter in areas of mild winter or with adequate snow cover for insulation and produce 8 to 10 leaves from the crown in a broad, low-spreading growth habit the following spring. Branched flowering stems 12 to 36 in. tall are also produced. The flowers are clustered at the top of the raceme and are usually raised above the terminal buds. Turnip flowers are small and have four light-yellow petals."

Brassicas are both cold-hardy and drought-tolerant. They can be planted late-even as a second crop-and provide high-quality grazing late in the fall. Turnip planted in July will provide grazing from September to November. The most vigorous root growth takes place during periods of low temperature (40 to 60F) in the fall. The leaves maintain their nutritional quality even after repeated exposure to frost."

Like other Brassicas, turnip grows best in a moderately deep loam, fertile and slightly acid soil. Turnip does not do well in soils that are of high clay texture, wet or poorly drained. For good root growth turnip needs a loose, well aerated soil."

-------

Catch my drift? He wouldn't act like an encyclopedia. Chances are, he the player wouldn't need to say all that to understand why the turnip was growing there. He already knows the conditions with which it flourishes in and doesn't need to tell everyone those statistics. Also, since he already knows that, it wouldn't be anything special aside the fact that the turnip is growing in an unexpected place. He would just notice it, probably think someone dropped some seed, from a wagon or a cart or something, and didn't notice, and there we have an unusually hearty and lucky turnip growing there.

Again, catch my drift? Google is a great tool, use it for your own purposes, but you don't need to tell us every technical detail. Another good resource is dictionary.com, I would say that online encyclopedia, wikipedia (thanks Tigerpaw), but it is rather inaccurate at times.

Hmm, well the limits is pretty much up to the GM who is setting the original scene of the RPG. For example, in a more traditional fantasy scene the characters wouldn't be able to jump from tree top to tree top. Unless you were a squirrel or something. But in another type of fantasy setting, such as the feudal Japan for instance, it might be perfectly OK for a character to jump from tree top to tree top.

I suppose one important thing is to remember to be true to the setting. Just because it would be perfect if your character just suddenly could jump from one tree to another doesn't mean it would suit in this particular RPG. Be true to your character and be true to the setting.

Well I could go on and on, on several things that would be even more off topic. In hindsight I should have used another title :) But I have no more time to fix that now.. I need to get back to my thesis... so this will have to do for now :)
---------------------------------
And this is under no way to be interpreted as the "truth", but merely as how I personally see things :)


Goldeneyes:
*Steps into the lecture room, heavy mutton chops at the side of his face giving him a distinct, scolarly look, he surveys the room and coughs slightly. Finally he takes a stick and pokes Rensha in the eye.*

"Wake up and get ready for a specialty Lecture."

Ahem, now I will present my "lecture" on one of the topics not listed in the initial course offerings.


-----------------------------------------------------
Advanced GM'in for the bold, the daring, or the Stupid.
-----------------------------------------------------


First off running a thread is difficult. Running a good thread is hard. Running a thread that people will consistently want to post in is nigh impossible. As I believe I have pulled the last off at least once, I am now going to provide you with my thoughts on advanced thread creation.

First originality is Key, even if its "been done before" there is always something that you personally can bring to it to make it your own. I'm as much a fan as the classic elves dwarves and humans thread as anyone, but it gets old. After you've been in a few you sort of want something... different. Now while that in itself is not so difficult, making something that is different and workable, and FUN is exceedingly hard.

For instance, one of my original threads was one in which players were paired up in a magical relationship that provided one of them with utter dominance and made the other a puppet. While this is extremely interesting and fairly original, it did not prove workable as the thread did not even survive through the short period in which I had this situation planned to last.

I cannot tell you what is workable fun and original, but I can tell you some things that aren't:

-Threads where the GM has to provide everything because the world is too out there and the GM is too restrictive. You either have to let the players create the world right along with you whether you like what they do or not, or you have to write up everything you wanted them to know as an ooc post and let them choose what they know IC.

-Threads where players cannot grow, this includes starting out too weak, and too strong, as well as too far apart or whatever. Players need to be able to grow in power and in personality.

-Sub Plots and intercharacter intrigues are a must. Fostering these is largely your players' responsibilities, but give them an environment where they can form them. Not just battle battle battle, but don't let em sit for too long, players get bored easily.

*more later, class now.