`The Guide to Role-playing Humans `

Subject: `The Guide to Role-playing Humans ` Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:07 pm

` The Guide to Role-Playing Humans `
_{By: Rebecca}

You might have read the title and thought, 'Humans? But I am one! Why would I need a guide to tell me how to role-play them?'
Well, for one, I'm sorry to be the one to inform you this, but you are actually adopted and are an alien.
I know, I know, I freaked out too when I found out I'm actually a robot, but you'll get over it eventually.

This is just a collection of tips, hints, and other things that you might want to be aware of when you join a School, Fantasy, or Modern Role-Play here on RPC!

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Introduction

The first thing you need to know about being in a Humanoid Role-play is that even though these characters are like you, they are never exactly yourself. Think about how your live right now, sleeping in a warm bed each night, meals prepared for you, you have life pretty good. Now, think about what the premise of a role-play is; a set of characters thrown into a situation that they aren't used too, and don't know how to react. This can include being thrown into a boarding school full of monsters, or forced into a death-match with your friends; the point is, there is something wrong, some kind of climatic event that either has happened, or will happen over the course of a role-play, a events like this change a person, even a fictional person.

Now, think about some of your favorite books, TV shows, or movies, the main character is following some kind of plot too, they must do so and so, to stop so and so, from doing so and so. Now think about how the movie usually starts out. Depending on what it's about, the character could start in poverty and be thrust into stardom to overcome a tyrant Movie Producer, or they could start out a normal Joe and become a superhero through extreme circumstances. If you pay close attention, the person usually has a fairly normal reaction to the events. If someone gets hit by a car in front of them, the character's, and Your, first reaction is most likely to call the cops or make sure the person is okay. This can also be said for your role-play character, depending on their history and background, it depends on how they react to certain things.

In the end, this character you chose to make is a real person in the role-play, they walk, they talk, they eat, they breathe, they function; and you have to treat them as if you're their puppet-master, making sure they walk and talk how they should because of what has happened to them, or will.

Creating Your Character

Humans are quite different than role-playing animals, because for the simple fact they are able to do a lot more than an animal can. Humans aren't limited by not having thumbs, or the resources to get from one side of the world to the other in a few hours. This is a section to give you helpful tips for each section of your forms.

Description:
The description of your character is extremely based on where that character came from and what they are about to do. If you have a Warlock who is about to attend a school, then you don't want him dressing like an 18th century poet; just as if you have an Assassin who was trained by monks, you don't want her to wear dresses and wear impractical shoes. I'm going to break down some of the things that are in a description you need to mention;

- Are they dark-skinned or as pale as a vampire? Typically most characters have normal-toned skin, but if you're making a monster, you have the option to make their skin multi-colorful, or fur. Think about who your character is, then base this around that, and how you picture them in your head. Detail helps a lot.
- Eyes tell a lot about a person, and especially a character, do they have one blue and one green because they might be blind in one eye? Or maybe they have grey eyes that lightning strikes in whenever their mad. The eye shows most of a person's emotion, and this is always something you can focus on intently to make a character's personality shine; glaring, smirking, twinkling, eyes are very important.
- Body type is a must to think about, did they grow up on the street? Then they probably aren't over-weight and a body-builder. Think about where the person has lived, and what their life is like in the current situation; this has quite a lot to do with how they appear, especially when you think about how clothes would fit on the character. Clothes can cover up someone, or even further make the statement that the person doesn't like to be covered up, and it all has to do with how they are shaped. Full hips, or curvy? Your character probably wears a lot of clothes that flair out at the bottom of the leg to make them seem a tad bit smaller. Just as if your character is tiny, they don't walk around in an XL tee-shirt that swallows them whole.

Personality:
Your character's personality, like their description, is based quite an awful lot on what that character has been through. People who have grown up in a nice home might have an itch to adventure and go across the country because they are tired of the norm, while people who move a lot and don't stay in one place for long might wish they had somewhere to return to each night that stayed the same.

- This is also dependent on the world around them and what kind of situations they may have encountered. A boy who has grown up working in fields his entire life is going to be completely entranced at the thought of going to a larger city and just looking around. While, a girl who grew up in a city might wish to see the stars instead of celebrities outside of her window. Perspective is key. Try putting yourself into the character's shoes and getting a feel for how they relate to certain things.
- Most people aren't stoic all the time. They react to things quite differently depending on what it is. A guarded person's mechanism might be to retort sarcastically or curse in times of great emotion, while someone who is more timid might blush and stutter when they are uncomfortable with something happening. Then again, someone who parties often might have a double personality, when they are in a large group, they don't care who sees them and what they're doing, they are living in the moment, but when they are alone or with someone close, their emotions might get the best of them and everything might come pouring out. This is a much harder thing to nail with a character.
- Likewise, personalities are deep and complex things, it all is based on how you think a character who had been subjected to smoking by their guardians their entire life might react to being offered their own cigarette. Sometimes if it's been pushed in your face or you are subjected to it for longer periods of time, that thing may become a staple in the character's life and they might not think twice about doing something they have seen someone close to them do.

History:
The history of a character is where you can let your own creative abilities take you on a journey. It isn't influenced by what they've been through, because you're weaving that story now! In a post-apocalyptic setting, you might have someone who was there when the world ended and chaos erupted, and now they have been aged by what they have seen or experienced. While having someone who has always gotten what they wanted might be spoiled and have no idea how to deal with a sudden death in their family you have caused. History forms a person. You are breathing life and a back-story into your character, and it influences a lot of how they act and look because of that.

In short:

Do -
- Base personality and description on your character's history. Tie everything together into a nice package with a pretty bow on it.
- Form your history like you are writing a book. You can do whatever you want as long as it makes sense in the context of the RP. Go. Wild.
- Ask the RP creator questions! If you need weapons, ask if they can be laser guns. You never know unless you ask.

Don't -
- Make a perfect character. These are called 'Mary-Sues' and 'Gary-Stus', they are essentially perfect in every way, the fastest, strongest, most handsome being in the entire world, and they never do anything wrong. Always say the right thing, never show emotions (or show to many). This tends to make people mad if your character gets shot and they brush the wound off like it's nothing.
- Have a pirate who wears leather and is from Antarctica. It just doesn't make any sense. Like I said in the 'Do's tie everything together, make it work.
- Make a form then never role-play, usually this doesn't please the creator of the role-play. If you have a reason for starting later than the beginning, just tell them. They won't kill you.

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Role-Playing
When you are forming your post, usually it is either in first person or third, depending on what you are most comfortable with.

First Person:
This is what I am personally used too. First person gives you, and the reader, a chance to understand how the character thinks and to see what is happening around them through their eyes. The only draw-back to this is, if you have multiple characters, it is impossible to do one block post with all your characters. You will have to separate them into their own sections and clearly state when the point of view changes. A good thing about first-person is that you have less chance of accidentally taking over another person's character because you are so intent on what your own is thinking and feeling instead of trying to control your other characters or a friend's.

Third Person:
Third person, to me, is easier to write if you are more intent on the character's situation and not so much into how they think or feel. Yes, you are able to briefly show that in third person, but it isn't a main focus if you were writing as if you were in that character's head. This also gives you the ability to be omnipresent in the RP; say your good character was fighting in a battle yards away from your evil, you could zoom in on the evil without having to force your character to quite focusing on their battle and look around the field. This way is simpler if you don't include much detail in posts about your characters personally, and if you are interested in the over-all plot instead of character development.

Again, in short, here are some tips.

Do -
- Always use proper grammar and spelling. People will kill you if you chat-speak while role-playing.
- Choose which you are most comfortable with, whether it be first or third, if you aren't in your character's head, it is going to make it ten-times for difficult to write in first person than in third.
- Treat your posts as if you are writing a story, it doesn't have to be thousands of words each time, but a nice paragraph is much nicer to read than one sentence about your character eating an apple.

Don't -
- God-mod or power-play, by trying to control another person's characters. This might go against the other character's personalities, and make the owner of the character's extremely mad.
- Write like a four year-old; it is important to make your character come alive on the page, and not like you are stumbling over a half-formed thought. Run-on sentences, grammar, spelling; it should always show that you at least tried your best. Even if you do sometimes misspell something. If people correct you, it's because they are trying to be nice.
- Become angered if another person's character attacks your own, it is not a personal attack on you. Over-reacting in a Role-play, then bringing it out of the role-play will only blow something completely out of proportion. If you feel you are being targeted by everyone, then contact a Mod or Admin and we will sort it out.

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Oh, and most importantly:
Have fun! =D

(This might be periodically updated if people think there should be more hints and tips/Do's and Don'ts.)

Subject: Re: `The Guide to Role-playing Humans ` Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:27 pm

Ooh, a guide to role-playing humans! I totally needed this. Sometimes I have trouble coming up with characters.
I'll be referring back to this frequently. xD

Subject: Re: `The Guide to Role-playing Humans ` Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:30 pm

Really? =D
That makes me so happy! I hope it's helpful when you're making characters, and if you ever think of something that isn't up there, I'll edit and write up a section on it. This can be edited as many times as possible. =)
Thank you! =D

Subject: Re: `The Guide to Role-playing Humans ` Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:30 pm

Whoa! Becca you've been on the EPIC how to train!

Subject: Re: `The Guide to Role-playing Humans ` Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:32 pm

=D Aw, thank you Breyer! =) I hope it's helpful to you too!

Subject: Re: `The Guide to Role-playing Humans ` Fri Jul 29, 2011 4:56 pm

WHOO~
Bex is so smart. We needed this, like uber bad.

Subject: Re: `The Guide to Role-playing Humans ` Fri Jul 29, 2011 10:53 pm

This will be quite helpful - I don't normally roleplay humans willingly, but some RPs are too intriguing not to join. One I'm looking at somewhere else requires pretty long posts, so like I said I'll be referring back to this a lot!