What is Collaborative Roleplay?
Roleplaying is the adoption of fictional characters and the collaborative writing of them through stories, scenes and events between writers. During a roleplaying scene, a writer describes actions and speech of their character(s), or their reactions to the environment around them. During one such "post", the writer may go in any level of depth regarding the character's actions, thoughts, ideas, and speech, to contribute to the immersion and development of the plot they are engaged in.
Important Terms
- IC: In Character. Actions, thoughts and information that addresses anything within the story itself. The feelings of a character towards another character, is an IC element.
- OOC: Out of Character. Anything concerning the real world. A player is an OOC entity. This is an important detail to remember: IC behavior concerns characters. OOC behavior concerns players. Regardless two characters' behavior or feelings for one another IC, the writers who write them must always remain civil and pursue a collaborative and positive atmosphere between them. Characters may fight for their lives. Writers are writing for fun. Never forget!
- OC: Original Character. As the term suggests, a character made by a player, that does not exist in any cinematic or otherwise official content. The opposite of OC is Canon, which is work by actual firms. A Star Wars character in a roleplaying forum is expected to be an OC. Han Solo and Darth Vader are canon characters. Blitz Banjacks the pink squirrel, which i just made up, is OC.
- NPC: Non-Player Character. Usually supportive elements in a Writer's plot, NPCs serve to add colour and depth in worldbuilding and storytelling, as well as agents of one's character(s) when it comes to grand engagements (captains, lieutenants and other commanders or extras that serve to deliver additional weight and plot depth in a post or story).
- Metagaming. The use of OOC knowledge in an IC capacity. Should a writer reveals something about their characters that is a secret, or at least not known to their writing partners and the latter uses that information during an IC interaction, or using information they have read in a thread their characters wouldn't be able to have access to, is to break immersion and perform an act known as Metagaming. This is a really low blow that nobody appreciates. In case something is questionably known to one's character, communicating the issue with the other side would be the best way to go, in case they plan on using it in their IC behavior.
- Powergaming. The use of highly powerful characters against more "grounded" characters meant to result in a one-sided affair. Although there could be arguements to support a character's advantage over another, due to a specific trait, accepting no flaws or weaknesses, results in an encounter not appealing to anyone besides the powerful character. Even if an interaction is between mighty and lesser characters, it is best to notify and discuss with the co-writer about the dynamic and potential plot hooks that could balance or establish the gap between the two. And remember: Even the strongest of characters have flaws. An invincible character is a character nobody would enjoy or be willing to interact with.
- Godmodding. If a character is written in a way that no external element can have impact on them, or there can be no negative affection towards them, then the Writer is doing what is called Godmodding. Basically, allowing nothing to harm or impact their characters. Such type of "cheating" is usually accompanied by writing in such a manner the impact of a character's actions are described as a one-way result, restrainning their partners from avoiding or writing anything but the exact result expected due to the Godmodder's post. Thats actually -the- worst thing a writer can induldge in, and the main reason writers should communicate when it comes to effects that have an impact, in order to avoid sliding to godmodding. Just like in Powergaming, Godmodding is also a distasteful tactic in writing and is considered a flag of bad sportsmanship.
- Warposting. The roleplaying posts that deal with a battle or war event. Some of the most complicated posts in Roleplaying, battle threads and combat encounters are heavily focused on almost continues character-on-character fighting be it in the form of armies and ships, or physical confrontations. Collaboration and communication between writers on these cases is essential, as it can easily lead to arguements over plot elements and combat resolution.
- Fleeting. The habbit of writers to add to their forces during a roleplaying engagement, on each of their posts or as the battle unfolds, in hopes of preserving numerical advantage over their foes. This practice is easy to break immersion and create chaos in the engagement. If either side is solid on numbers or reinforcements they wish to bring forth, it is highly recommended to have the "numbers" talk between competing sides to ensure a balanced engagement and avoid Fleeting. Of course, in the case neither side has an issue with continuously adding numbers, there is no need to worry about it.
Although it may vary from post to post, one could argue a "typical" Roleplaying post has certain characteristics that can be used as a guideline for new writers.
- Acknowledgement. The openning of a post is usually setting the stage for the developments that will follow. This means, events, actions and so on that have been described in previous post(s) are expected to be presented, with an added focus to the specific character's point of view. It is considered a basic courtesy to acknowledge each other's writing in a reply post, as it paves the way to the coming reply as well as serving as the bridge between posts.
- Internal Changes. At this point, any triggered emotion, behavioral or sentimental changes caused by the prior post's effects could be addressed. The how or how long the reference will be depends entirely on the writer's view, and the impact of the effects to the character themselves. Did the prior post(s) cause a memory to surface? A traumatic experience, or an emotion to emerge? This is where these first impressions, in essense, of the events are written, leading to the final stage.
- Reaction. This is the point in which the character, or side writing the post explores the reactions that were caused due to the events, words, or environmental alterations that were acknolwedged prior. This is when the writer's character or side (as some roleplays may be faction-on-faction oriented, and not simply character-to-character) truly develops the scene. Unlike the Internal Changes, the Reaction stage deals with the physical changes, such as speech, body language and visible alterations in the scene. During this stage, a writer can engage in actions or reactions that are aggressive in nature, such as perform an attack, defend, or even act in other harmful or ill-intent ways. It is always beneficial, when things go to blows especially, to communicate with the writing partner(s) in order to avoid any misunderstandings or step on barriers that may cause tension between writers (such as the extend of an attack's result, the ability of harming one's mind or delivering casualties). Writers are encouraged to describe or provide enough information in their posts to allow their partner(s) to grasp the full extend of the event in their acknolwedgement and also figure the impact it would yield.
