STAR CHAMBER
by FreyaA
Basic Guide to Free Form Role-play
Free Form Role-play, or
FFRP, is - as its name suggests - a natural, open-ended
style of role-playing. There is no fixed list of skills,
no character sheet, no rules on combat, no casting or
system-based character creation. By-the-book gamers look
on in horrified fascination at such a lawless realm, but
then again, role-playing by-the-book involves a lot of
ROLL-playing and very little ROLE-playing. FFRP is the
art of spinning tales, story telling with independent
characters played by different people in an environment
pre-defined by the founder.
A lot of role-playing
is based on something most people tend to leave behind
when they switch on the computer and log into the
Internet - courtesy and common sense. Remember to take
those with you the next time you role-play, and the rest
should be easy.
1. There is a
difference between IC and OOC.
IC stands for In Character, this is you as your In Game
Persona; thinking and speaking and acting as the
character you have created. Call it role-playing in
progress. Or lights, camera, action. OOC means the
opposite, Out Of Character, where you can relax, be
yourself, and talk about what's on TV tonight. In Fed II
the Sol Coms are OOC in general. The XT channels allow
players to create custom channels for a vast range of
role-playing. Of course, role-playing is far better
played "in person" directly in a location. The
two styles are best when separated; few things break the
suspension of disbelief more then peppering the role-play
with OOC comments.
A thing I often see is
people taking things that happen IC personally, as an
attack to the player and not the character. Most of the
time, this assumption is not true. Strife well-executed
between two characters can contribute to good role-play,
story, and character development. If someone suddenly
decides to hate your character, it does not necessarily
mean he hates you. It happens sometimes, but that kind of
behaviour is just a display of immaturity.
Similarly, OOC should
not be taken into IC. You role-play with the IC persona
not the person behind the curtain, even if you know the
OOC person very well in real life.
2. You don't know me
until someone introduces us.
The way Fed II is designed requires us to have a name
to identify us by. The game displays the names of
players, their rank and game information, but the problem
with that is that some people think role-play works along
the same lines as a chat room. Although it's perfectly
fine to say "Hi Jacob" to a player named Jacob
who just entered a the Sol comms, it is a different thing
altogether in a role-playing environment either on a
channel or in a location. Rule of the thumb: if we have
never met, you don't know me, I don't know you. Referring
to a stranger by name in an action (eg Alice smiles at
Jacob) is fine. Calling them by name is a role-playing
boo-boo. If you don't know someone well IC, don't behave
like they are your best friend or partner.
3. Language.
Remember what period/species you are playing in and
speak the lingo accordingly. This includes but is not
limited to:
- If you are
role-playing a medieval-fantasy character, you
may want to speak with formal courtesy and
courtly phrases. Avoid using out of period
phrases like "What's up?" or
"Cool!"
- If you are an
animal or alien, do you really speak English? If
so, you will need to figure out a way to maintain
the illusion of being an animal or other
creature.
- Using vulgar
language. Regardless of what your persona is, Sol
Coms are kept PG. If you create your own
role-playing XT channel or gather in a location
to roleplay you have more leeway but it's always
safer to stay PG in language use. You can always
invent your own swearwords to use.
4. Actions are in
the third person.
Some perfectly good sentences get spoilt by confusing
the third person and the first person (narrative). Things
like "Jacob slips down the path quietly, my hand on
the hilt of my sword." Or "Alice walks over to
Jacob and puts my hand on your shoulder."
Role-playing actions are always in the third person.
"Jacob slips down the path quietly, his hand on the
hilt of his sword." "Alice walks over to Jacob
and puts her hand on his shoulder." Also, remember
that actions are in present tense or present continuous
tense. This is very difficult to convey on communication
channels. Role-playing is much easier in person, in a
location.
5. Assume makes an
ass out of u and me.
Inevitably, you will walk into a channel or room where
the action is already happening. As there is no way of
reviewing a log of a room you weren't in before, the only
way you can find out the current situation is to ask OOC.
There have been many times when someone walks into a room
and begins talking to everyone in it, whether they are
interrupting conversations or work on an intense
role-play scenario! This not only disrupts the flow of
RP, but it really annoys the other players as well.
6. Don't read minds.
Be careful when responding to someone. Respond to the
actual words you hear or actions they perform, not what
they are thinking. For instance, Jacob is thinking of
ordering ale but doesn't say so aloud. You see:
"Jacob scowls wondering if Diesel is still out of
Old Peculiar or if there was an early delivery this
morning." What do you do? Nothing. You can't read
minds, so you can't possibly know that Jacob wants ale.
Don't make a reference to his thoughts in your own
action, speech or thought. What goes on in someone else's
head is their business!
7. Too much
information.
Read this description: "Clara is tall for her age,
standing close to 6ft tall even though she is only 15.
Her hair is long and brown, her eyes are hazel. She is
wearing a pretty dress in her favourite colour blue. She
has a little dog named Barky who follows her around. She
lives in the forest nearby."
Let's assume you are
examining Clara (Ex Clara) for the first time. What is
wrong with her description? Descriptions commonly refer
to what you can see. Pick out the parts of Clara's
description that you should be able to see: the hair, the
eyes, the dress, the dog. And the rest of it? You won't
know what her favourite colour is, what her dog's name
is, or where she came from by just looking at her. Let's
rewrite Clara's description:
"Clara is tall for
her age, standing close to 6ft tall even though she is
only 15. Her hair is long and brown, her eyes are hazel.
She is wearing a pretty blue dress. A small dog follows
her wherever she goes."
8. There is no such
thing as an auto-response.
Combat and spells are tricky things to do in a FFRP
environment because of the lack of standard rules.
Power-gaming happens. You don't dictate what happens to
the other character, even if you are role-playing a
powerful wizard or a gorgeous princess who has never cast
a spell that didn't work. Always allow an opportunity for
the other character to respond. Never write "Alice
conjures up a fireball and throws it at Clara, killing
her immediately." That is plain unfair to Clara, and
Alice may soon find that no one wants to role-play with
her if she keeps that up. Writing "Alice conjures up
a fireball and throws it at Clara" leaves an opening
for Clara's choice of response. FFRP is a very poor place
to pick fights, or exercise any skill or actions that
would have a "forced" effect on someone else's
character. If your persona is Prince Charming, let the
other players decide if they are going to swoon with
delight. If you create a favourite drink, let your fellow
players decide what effect it has on them.
9. Historical
Accuracy.
Most people don't care about factual accuracy as long
as you don't stray too far from your theme or ask them to
accept grossly inaccurate situations. Rapiers have been
used in a medieval setting, coffee is easily available
because most of us can't live without it in real life,
and everybody seems to be literate. As long as you don't
bring lasers and M16s into a tavern in the middle ages,
you're fine. As far as highly technical role-playing is
concerned (eg you're tanning a deer hide and you plan to
role-play this in detail), it would be nice if you knew
what you're talking about, or if you can make a
reasonable judgement on how the process goes. The same
rules work on fantasy elements - if you have no clue how
magic works, don't go there. There's always a smartass
nearby who will laugh, dismiss you as a flake and
generally embarrass you by telling everyone in great
detail how wrong you are.
10. Be Courteous.
Role-players are people too. It's a nice gesture to
say "Thank you for the RP" or "It's been
nice RPing with you" when you're about to finish a
session. Or asking if you may join in on a session that
seems to be already in full swing. In many MUDs and chat
rooms, most people are only concerned with hopping to
anywhere they can become the main attraction and God's
gift to bore you all. I role-play with people who
actually say "thank you" and "that was
fun, thanks for letting me play". And you know what?
I enjoy being around people who respect the time and
creativity others put into making role-playing a fun
experience for all involved. I won't have it any other
way.
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