Good Role Play

I. Free Form Role Playing.

This elusive creature of Online Role playing the Free Former, the Gamer that uses no dice, the highest evolution in Role Playing, beyond Randomness to pure Story lines. You might have heard the term, or you might have seen it in Action. But this is an in depth look at it.

Role Playing a Fight Without Dice

There are generally two beliefs to this. Either it can't be done, or it is the only way to fight. I myself have Fought Free Form (which will be called FF. From here on in.) style, and I may tell you that it is the greatest fighting I have ever seen or done. Some say that this is impossible, because there is no randomness. But that is the point, the muns must throw *in* randomness, must make it more flowing. A Fighter could break a sword or slip in the mud, I have had characters nearly die because of a fluke, and yes, I have had Characters die in FF Fights. There are a Few Basic rules to Fighting without dice. These are known as the Golden Rules, because they are the most valuable and breaking of them will get you ignored by any true FF'er (Unless they are trying to teach it to you):

1) You *never* call a hit, Ie. You never say what damage the attack does, nor where it hits. That is for the mun of the Character you are attacking to decide.

2) Your character is not a God, do not make him suddenly stand from a blow to the head as if it hadn't happened. Accept hits and the penalties. When someone is stabbed in a lung it is incredibly hard to breath, don't do anything but wheeze when you move.

3) Accept hits, your character is not invulnerable. Nor can avoid all blows, Unless it is a Master Teaching an apprentice, or a master fighting an apprentice there will always be a hit given at one point or another, even if it isn't that bad.

4) Describe your attack, and the point where you *want* to hit, not the effects nor where it hits, just what you are attempting to do. Example : ::he thrusts forward with his sabre, to drive into his rib cage if it connects, while his secondary hand is slipped into his pouch to retrieve his blinding dust:: That Shows the Attack and sets up a SECOND attack for the next round.

5) Use Common Sense, that is the biggest factor in Free Form Fighting, You can't pick up an inn and beat someone with it.

6) You *Always* talk to the mun OOC in IM's to discuss the fight. Discuss a Characters past, and their histories. How much fighting they have done, and who they trained with To see who would win the fight *logically*

Role Playing Natural abilities without Dice

Role playing a Character with natural abilities is Tricky in Free Form role Playing, because there is no "limit" persay to the abilities other then that which the player puts on them. Which must be strict, or players might over use their abilities, or change their characters almost daily.

1) Natural abilities must be explained, an Elf doesn't suddenly get an ability to throw a fire ball without a Story Line behind it. Just as a Dwarf can *not* use magic other then priestly, there must be Stories and a good reason for a character to be able to do something. A character can never just *do* something without training and/or inherited Talents.

2) A character can not just *will* something powerful, there always must be focus, concenration, and/or ritual involved. Example : A drow can cause lights to shine in a persons eyes, but it takes Focus and they can't do anything *but* that.

3) Do not use a Natural ability WITH another ability/Skill unless they are very similar. Example : A man climbing a mountain and uses a natural ability to leap farther distances. That is alright, and is not God Moding (The Violation of any of these rules. which makes the character "seem" like a God AKA slipping into God Mode) Example : A character throws a dagger, and shoots a bolt of flame after them. Not good unless the Character is *Specialized* in Fire abilities AKA Only has those abilities.

4) Your character can't have *all* talents, you have to be realistic, if your character is a fighter, most likely he wont' be able to use magic unless he has studied both (and has the SL to back it up) and a Magic user most likely won't be able to pick up a sword and use it with skill. They focus in the Arcane, not the "violent barbaric" ways of the fighters.

5) Vampires, Vampires have been over done in Rhy'Din, but if you still wish to play one, here are some ground rules.

A) Vampires can not walk in sunlight.

B) Vampires do not flash their fangs unless they are going to feed.

C) Vampires do *not* go around telling people they are Vampires.

D) Vampires can change into *three* forms. Mist, wolf, and Bat. No others

E) Vampires Drink blood, bloodwine is like a snack before a meal, not an entire meal unto itself.

6) Any Character trait or ability you pick you *stick* with, you can't just choose to change your character at any time without an SL to back it up. Example : I have Role Played with a Fellow who changed his Character from a WereWolf, to a Vampire, to a Dragon, then back to a WereWolf. No Story Line to back it up, this is what we call God Moding, or switching a character to Godly Status.

7) When using an ability it Drains a person, some not that much, some alot. Either way, you must Role Play out this Drain that the character took, if not you are opening the gate for your Character to be able to do anything over and over again, which is not good Role Playing.

8) Gods can give followers powers, followers of Eilistraee get Magic Missles if they are priestesses. Followers of Lugh get the ability of Fairy Fire, so on and so forth, all dealing if they are *priests* or Holy warriors, a fighter that prays to a Fighter god is not a priest of the Fighter god, but a Holy Warrior of the fighter god is.

9) Gods give powers to the Devoted followers who have done much in their name, not a 19 year old kid, but a 40 year old Priest, so on and so forth, those that *are* 19 or so, will have had to have done an act of greatness (such as saving a village by sacrificing something of your own for a priest of healing, a priest of death could've aided the dying in a plague infested City. etc. etc.)

10) Healing is a tricky ability, there are two schools of thought on it.

A) The first school of thought is the "Empathic" healers, ones who heal Via taking the wound into themself and healing it, this causes great pain and a great drain in the user of this ability. Usually used by non-holy or ones who do not follow a god or goddess.

B) The second school of thought is the "God(dess) Granted" Healers, ones who heal via gathering holy energy into themself and healing another person, which is drainning also due to the strain of bringing the "God(desse)s power through them" to heal another. Whatever you pick, it must drain the person, ressurecting is one of the most over used abilities in the game, and you must not fall into it. A ressurection would drain the healer to the point ot sickness, and comatose no matter who the deity or ability.

Using Common Sense.

One of the biggest things I tell Players who come to me to teach them, is use common sense, Free Form Role playing can either be the simplist style of RP, or the hardest depending on the kind of common sense you have, or if you have any at all.

1) Killing moves are banned, if a move would kill a character (Unless agreed upon OOC in an IM) then most likely it will be ignored. Thus, any attack to the spine/heart/throw/temples that would kill a character will be ignored or downplayed.

2) A character might be able to cast magic & use a sword. *but* not at the same time, nor abilities. Both Magic/abilities take concentration, as does using a sword for any of you that actually have you know what I am saying. A Character might be able to tap an ability through a magical sword, but not their own without concentration, maybe a distracting attack, but nothing that would cause much damage.

3) Melodrama, such as attempted suicides and/or rapes are usually ignored by Veteran Role Players, why do you ask? Because most likely they are ploys to get the attention of others and not true Role playing tactics. Use common sense and be very careful with these things, they are usually better off not being done at all due to the negative light it sheds on the mun who *decides* to RP out these very disgusting subjects.

4) Strength of a Character is always an issue, a 4'5 woman will *never* be as strong as a 9ft Ogre, unless there are magical items (which are most likely and better off being stated in the profile and not suddenly "popped" into existance in room) If an Ogre is pushing a smaller woman or man, they will usually win.

II. Character Looks/Appearance.

We all have Characters, whom we have to describe, their appearance and their mannerisms, how they act, that is the basis of Role Playing, taking on a role that is fully "alive" if you will and acting out what they would do in certain situations with certain people. This area is devoted to A Characters Looks and/or appearance and the use of common sense with that.

Perfection, and muscles, too much of a good thing. Now, we've all seen movies like Connan the barbarian, and Beast Master, where the leading role was Blonde, muscles like nobodies business, and killing machines. Pretty much perfect in all ways, right? This section is dedicated to "Perfection"

1) Anyone who has Role Played for more then 2 years will notice an astounding change in how characters look. 2 years ago or so, Not all characters were above 6ft tall. There are Elves (Normal height of 5'7) who are 6ft tall, which is extremely poor Role Playing. (Unless the Elf is Athasian, which is a D&D Term.) Please be more realistic then having a perfect handsome/beautiful dashing character who wants to get laid all the time. We are here to Role Play out an entire world.

2) Not all hero's are Perfect, Beowulf is a perfect example of a Hero not being perfect, or strong like a god. As Role Players of a more serious nature, Free Forming is about writing a Story with others to influence it, not about the continual breeding of a certain character (CyberSexFiends) nor the utter and total destruction of all people. (DiceModer) There are usually four to five classes of Role Players, those that Cyber constantly, those that fight constantly, those that cyber and fight constantly, those that mask Cyber in semi-good RP and then those who Write stories online. Yes, It does sound like I am being harsh, but if we look around Rhy'Din we will see what is happening and that this is true.

3) Women are not all 5'10" with large breasts, beautiful features, smooth silky legs, long lashes, or pouty soft lips. There has to be *some* difference between women in a Role Playing realm, or else we won't be able to tell them apart IC. (Which is already happening in Rhy'Din) A Character doesn't see a Screen name, they see features of a person. (To be discussed later in "OOC and IC")

Realism in a Character.

Characters are people, Not all are hero's and more often then not in this Role Playing environment, they are Darker characters, so we must be realistic, this section is devoted to thoughts on Realism.

1) Characters can not all be rich, Characters can not all be beautiful. Yes, this is fantasy, but it is also a Role Playing environment without much structure. We as players must use common sense, and thought to have fun with characters. Its not fun to have a "beautiful" character walk into a Tavern every other 4 minutes.

2) A character that is set in medieval era's are not going to know about Guns, nor Cars, characters have to have limited knowledge, or they all become "Sages". Characters who have studied or do study often *can* learn more often, and learn more. But those that are fighters and warriors are less likely to know about philosophy and more likely to know about war strategy, as a mun you must remember this, and you yourself learn about what your character might know.

3) The Average height for a human in the 13th century was 5'7 for a man and 5'4 for a woman, the Averge height now is 5'10 for a man 5'8 for a woman. Remember this before you make a character 6'5" and fall into the "little john" Syndrome, which is where your character is huge, and perfect in everyway, No human is perfect, just like no other "mortal" creature is, constructs of magic are made to be perfect.

4) Dark or Evil? That is a question that many Ask, a Dark Character is not the same as an Evil character, in the same light that a Justice obsessed character is not the same as a Good Character. Dark is showing that they are either greedy, or lust for power, neither which are evil persay. They do things to gain something for themself, or for their cause, a no holds bars kind of character. While an Evil character wants to destroy, or to kill, maim, so on and so forth for no reason other then the thrill, and/or to serve a god.

5) Chaotic good or Dark? Chaotic good is one who will go about any route to get their thoughts of good done, it might not actually be the good of the whole, but in their eyes it is good and thats what they do. while dark was explained earlier.

6) Good and Saintly? Not all Good Characters are saints, Take Sir Lancelot from the Arthurian legends. He had an affair with Gwenyvere but yet, is still considered a good character. A good character is just that, a character who does not kill without reason, nor hurt, nor frighten. Someone who tries to make things better for the whole. While saints on the other hand do no wrong, ever. (and if they do its covered up good and tight)

III. Age and Time.

We as muns must decide the age and how fast our characters age, it is a responsibility most don't even think about, when in fact it is one of the most crucial parts of Role Playing, how fast a Character grows old and dies. This Section is devoted to Age and how fast Time Passes.

The Immortal Characters, To much of a good thing.

Immortals and immortality are things even veteran Role Players are unsure how to Role Play as. Some Role Play Immortals as "innocents" or with a child like quaity, some Role Play them as a darker unhappy person. There are even immortal 7 year olds. It is unfortunate that players who have not had alot of experience take on these roles, because it is hard for new players to Role Play someone who has had eternity or has eternity ahead of them.

1) Immortals are of four kinds:

A) The Damned/Depressed immortal, the one who has "seen to much" and experienced it all. It is a difficult role to play due to the "emotions" portrayed. Often times, the Immortal will find something to brighten their life, and most likely lose it to time, but they are happy for a time.

B) The new immortal, or fun loving immortal. Most "Immortals" of this sort are always doing something, playing jokes, or doing things that are "fun" that require alot of time to do. They are the ones bedding the women/men, Trying new things, because they have an "Eternity" To do it in.

C) The Teacher or Guide immortal, one that has come to give "Mortals" the benifet of their "Knowledge" some are false messiah's of some sort, some are just plain insane.

D) The Final and most common Immortal. The Immortal for dice in Rhy'Din, Dice are the number one reasona Character is immortal in Rhy'Din, not SL's, nor anything else like that. Just plain and simple OOC manipulation for Power IC.

2) Immortals must be thought out very heavily, or you lose how special they are, in all stories Immortals are people who are either damned or ones who are large and/or key roles in the Story. Eternally 20? As many of us have seen, Almost all immortals are 20, or 19, and/or Vampires. Immortals, like Dragons and other mythical creatures come in all shapes, ages and sizes. This is devoted to thoughts on the "age" of immortals.

1) Immortals do not just pop out of thin air, usually immortals are granted immortality by some powerful force. (A Magical pond, a god, etc.) and are granted this "Gift" after doing a great service to a person or persons. Most Creatures are not born Immortal, or else they would never age. A common misconception are Dragons are immortal, when in fact they live to be the same age as Elves. 1200 at max.

2) One of the only times a character could be born an immortal, is if they were a "Magical" construct, or golem of sorts. They aren't truely born, but they have a date of creation.

3) one of the only creatures I know of to be totally immortal and to have children and growing up are Fairies. They grow to be 40 then stop aging all together until they die (Which has never been record IC wise)

Age and Wisdom

One of the hardest things to do is to play a Wise character, Why is that? Because the mun themself must be wise. A Person can not play a character that is wise unless they have experience giving advice in some field or another. One of the biggest hardships of long life/age in Role Playing is the fact that the Characters gain much wisdom and Knowledge and that is hard to Role Play out unless OOC there is something there. I, as a Role Playing -mun have seen many place "Ageless" Characters that had no wisdom, nor real instincts, they were like children, I give warning to those whom wish to Role Play ageless or aged characters. They are suppose to be wise and when a younger "Elder" Shows them up, the character loses respect.

1) Age and Wisdom, You don't have to have an old character to have the character be wise, just have them have *Many* experiences, and alot of will power. Because a Character is old, does not mean they are wise, but beware, many times they will be, at least in one way or another.

2) There are many "Elders" Of Role playing, people who have RP'd in Rhy'Din, and other AOL environments for over 5 years. (Myself included) But there are few who actually are people willing to teach, alot of the "Elders" Of Role Playing have fallen pray to the "Screw it and Join them" motto. Joinning up with the Guilds, and Dicers just because they were tired of not Role Playing, and I have seen *Many* role players lose skill, and alot lose that Edge of what Role playing used to be by doing this.

3) When playing an IC leader of any sort, you also become an OOC leader, do not take the role of a "Guild" Or "Family" Leader without great thought, once you do this you will lose "Role Playing" Time and have to deal with alot of OOC problems as well. I've learned this from experience, any positiont hat shows "Wisdom" IC draws muns who also want wisdom OOC, and this is a big responsibility, do not take it lightly.

Lineage, Kings and queens? Or peasants. One of the largest problems with Rhy'Din is the fact so many claim to be of power, or of royal lineage. how many would be kings and queens are in Rhy'Din? Or princesses and princes? That is a question that is answered simply. The same amount of Vampires. This section is devoted to Lineage and Role Playing hints on family.

1) A king or queen is nothing without a Court, if as a mun, you wish to claim "Royal blood" Make a court, nobles, and knights, some lands, get muns together and make it a large Story line. A king has no royalty unless he owns lands, that is one of the biggest problems in most Medieval Role Playing Realms on AOL. Is the want to be "The Biggest and baddest Character

2) Royalty is not common, from any realm. There is a Single family per kingdom/land, There are Dukes, duchesses, Knights, Lords and Ladies, but only one King or Queen. If you, OOC, wish to play a run away "Prince" or Princess. Remember this, If the kingdom doesn't exist, neither does its royalty.

3) Peasants and common folk are often over looked, but I myself have played Characters that were of common stock that became something great, actions make the man, not lineage. In almost *all* my years of Role Playing, the best role players are the ones who play the simple characters, because the characters struggle through things, through living, becoming something. Its not given to them.

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