Drawing Back the Curtains

There was a call for a role-playing forum and, so, now we have one. If you're an old hand at the RP or just want to try it out, you can do so here.

A few general guidelines, though:
Roleplaying is an activity, not an art form. We all have different ways and styles of doing it. Don't get upset or angry at people because they're not doing things the way *you* want, instead work together and build a story. That's what roleplaying is all about. Be accepting, be inclusive, and above all be tolerant. When roleplaying you're controlling your character, not anyone else's. It's bad form and a little annoying to have other people telling you what your character's done so don't do it to anyone else. For example, "Sausaletus pointed and Spooky left the room." is not the way to go about things. It's better to say "Sausaletus pointed and gestured for Spooky to leave." That way Spooky can make a post of his own to say he's left or he's decided to stay. The point is to leave that choice, that decision, in the hands of the other person, not to tell them what they've done. Small actions and common sense things are alright to describe other people doing but avoid writing their characters for them. Be descriptive. Provide details, provide reasons, provide hooks for other people and characters to hang their own details on. That builds a setting or a character up and lets people immerse themselves into the flow of things much better. Be clear about when you're speaking "in character" and "out of character" (or OOC). For the most part, you should avoid going OOC as much as possible. Keep in character and keep the roleplaying moving, although the occassional OOC character comment or tangent can help things move along just as much.
If anyone's got any more tips or advice for those looking to roleplay, feel free to post them here.

I do have one question. Is this just general roleplay, or should we try to keep it within the Guild Wars world?

Well, this is a GW forum. So, yeah, things her should be based around that world with which we're all hopefully familiar. I'm not going to say a flat no because if anyone ever wants to start up a session that's somewhat different or do Play by Post RIFTS or something, I don't want to preclude that. Such things can be set up, I think, as long as you're clear about what world they're taking part in. Otherwise, yes, we're in Tyria and that means we can expect to see Tyrian things. Use your creativity, use your imagination, but base it all on the world you'll see when you log onto things. That means things like Elves and dinosaurs and the rest simply don't exist as far as we know. It's Dwarves and Charr and Grawl and so on...

That's good to hear, actually. I just wanted to get an official word on it. If I roleplay here, it'll be with my GW character and I'd like to be certain he's not going to be running into any robots or ninja.

Would teh mods get annoyed at 20 paged roleplays?
when I modded Eternal Lands and Kal-Online, I found any thread over 10 pages annoying.
But when i RP, they tend to go around 50 O.o

I don't think we'll get annoyed at threads that long. Long as they're acceptable under our guildelines, of course, and aren't just one single huge post. We'd love it, I think, if this board got that active.

lol, average users online is near 100, and was about 50 during the BWE, this forum is kicking hard!

Okay, so question:

Anyone actually wanna Role-Play in Guild Wars the game, and not the forum?

EDIT: See I'm interested in finding a guild, or gather some people who are into that.

I'd be intersted in Rping in the actual game

Suggest you visit the Guild Auditorium and ask for a guild that RPs

Here's a few more guidelines for new and veteran role players alike.

Grammar and Spelling

One will quickly find that a pet peeve of many role players is when people don't bother using correct grammar and spelling. This doesn't mean you have to write a college grade essay every time you post something; however, taking time to capitilize the first letter of your sentance and putting a form of punctuation at the end is an important element if you want others to be able to read and absorb what you've written without having to decipher something that looks like it was thrown together by a drunk first grader.

Example:

"u want 2 go hunting w/ me and my friendz" - Wrong.

"Do you want to go hunting with me and my friends?" - Correct.

Simple enough.

God Mode

For those of you who are unfamilier with this term, God moding refers to those who... well, roleplay themselves to be like a god, or take control of things that they shouldn't normally be able to control (for example, another person's character). Don't do it. You will find yourself quickly outside of the roleplaying community with nothing but the door hitting your back as a farewell.

Example:

Ray Strife swung his sword in a large arc, cleaving Inde's head off. - Wrong. (Sorry, Inde)

Ray Strife swung his sword in a large arc in an attempt to cleave Inde's head off. - Correct.

Creativity

As mentioned before, be creative. One of the joys of roleplaying is the chance to break the mold and make something new, such as a unique character background, or a special talent your character may have. Just keep in mind that it should follow the Guild War storyline, as this is a Guild Wars forum.

Be Curtious

You will find that roleplayers tend to be lenient towards newcomers, as long as the newcomers aren't just little children attempting to ruin their roleplaying. If you're new, make it known. More experienced roleplayers are generally very helpful, and will give you tips if you're stuck. We're a small community, so we tend to be a little more close knit than others.

On the same note, if a problem arrises between you and another roleplayer or a group of roleplayers, take it off the boards. Resolve it via PMs or some form of instant messenger. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen a great roleplaying community destroyed because two people had a vendetta against one another and let it filter into their roleplaying.

Combat

Probably one of the most invigorating types of roleplaying revolves around combat. Guild Wars is no exception; the game is based on conflict. The only advice I can offer on this subject is to be creative. Simply saying, "Ray Strife shot his arrow into the Charr's chest. The Charr died," is boring. Spicen it up a little bit.

When roleplaying combat with other characters involved fighting along your side, remember that they're going to want to fight as well. Don't slay the entire army in one post before anyone else gets a chance to have some fun. When fighting against another person, remember to never roleplay the opposing character without their consent. Sometimes, one might have to move both characters in order to allow the thread to progress, but keep it reasonable. Also, remember that you're character isn't God. He's going to have to take a hit or two eventually.

Have Fun!

It may seem like the rules are strict, but they really are just common sense. If you're not having fun, then something's wrong. If there's a thread that's open for roleplayers to jump in, then jump in. You have to get your feet wet before you learn how to swim.

Ask for Help

Even if the roleplaying community is small, ask for help. As mentioned before, generally roleplayers will be more than happy to lend advice. As long as you're willing to give it a shot, you'll find that roleplaying can be a lot of fun.

-Ray Strife