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A Practical guide to Roleplaying
A warrior is more than just one who fights. A warrior is a
noble defender -- Or, if you prefer, a hated villain. In the
world of Elanthia, your character is what you want it to
become. Nothing is hated more than a stereotype (evil dark
elven sorcerer, stupid giantman warrior, a lost ranger)...unless
you choose to add on to that stereotype to make a true
character.
Think of a story in a book and how the author takes care to
describe his/her character with the finest detail. By the end of
the book, you know exactly how that character feels, what
he/she wants/does, and what really ticks them off. Even
the most mundane personality (e.g. Bilbo Baggins) is able
to make a name for themselves. This is the goal that you,
as the player, want to accomplish. You want to let
everyone know you're of nobility or born of a scoundrel,
you want them to know you're not afraid to die, or that
you're absolutely terrified of broccoli. You need to do
this, however, without becoming disruptive. Remember that
there are other players like you out there!
Rule of thumb is that you should go visit the old warrior Thrak
in Wehnimer's (or his counter-part Trebor Dabbings in Icemule.)
Where can you find him? Well, in the Raging Thrak Inn of course!
It's located one northwest of the Town Center through the
curtain. He has some handy advice on etiquette that any new
player could use.
A Small Guide to Etiquette
GemStone III is NOT a chat room. Multiple forms of
punctuation put together in odd sequences do not belong
here (e.g. :), :P ). You do not want to use more than one
exclamation point or question mark at the end of your
sentences. Heck, most people don't use punctuation at all!
Typing in all caps is considered a VERY bad form of etiquette,
and is sometimes considered yelling. An occasional word in all
caps for emphasis, however, is usually acceptable.
Talking about OOC (out of character) events is a very big
no-no. This includes talking of your latest purchase on
eBay, how your car wouldn't start this morning, or
general "real life" stuff. If you really need
to talk this way, you should WHISPER it to other players.
Be careful who you whisper these to, though, because to
some people really don't appreciate any type of OOC
within the game. Consider getting AIM or a similar
program for this.
Character Personality
When you first get out of the character manager, or even
before you do, you should try to make up a basic personality
for this character. Are you playing male, or female? Do they lean
towards good, or evil? What would your character do in
the middle of a new town with new people? Would they aim
to make a few new friends, or would they rather go smash
the nearest thing they see? My suggestion: Go and
make some friends! That's the glory of being in this
game. You may be able to lean on each other later in
life...or even early in life, who knows? Decide how you
would play in different situations. At first it's even
helpful to play a character like yourself. Mundane, yes,
but you can always built that character to become
anything you want he/she to become.
Role-playing
A good role-player will take advantage of the SMILE and ACT verbs.
With SMILE, you can add any text you want to it. Be careful, though,
that your actions do not interfere with other players.
For example:
>smile and steals 100 silver from your pocket!
Other players would see:
Seredetia smiles and steals 100 silver from your pocket!
This is influencing the other players. Did you really steal 100 silvers from
EVERYONE in the room? Of course not. However, as a role-playing
character, they would consider it so. They have no option
to keep this from happening. A better way to do something
like this is:
>smile and casually walks up to Soandso. She looks them up and down
with an appraising glint in her eye.
Others would see:
Seredetia smiles and casually walks up to Soandso. She looks them up and
down with an appraising glint in her eye.
This would be suggesting that you were CONSIDERING stealing them blind. ;)
Though, I don't recommend either example...it's not nice to steal!
(e.g. if you want to steal, you should only steal if you KNOW you will not be
caught!) This is just an example on how SMILE works in the game. The same is
true for the ACT verb:
>act jumps up and down gleefully while stuffing another biscuit into her mouth.
Others would see:
(Seredetia jumps up and down gleefully while stuffing another biscuit into her
mouth.)
Notice the parentheses? That's the main difference. There are many verbs that
can accentuate your journey here. Of the main ones, you can: Smile, Grin,
Curtsy, Bow, Sneer, Jump, Bounce, Giggle, Laugh, and even
Raspberry someone! Of course, those are definitely not
the only ones you can use. The best thing is to
experiment with them...try Laughing happy, or Grinning
sheepish. These verbs can also be used to interact with
others. You can smile at people, grin at them, curtsy,
etc. Try these verbs on yourself, too...smiling at
yourself will do something different than grinning at
yourself, or even eating yourself (yes, eating
yourself...don't worry, it makes you bite your
fingernails). Basic rule is that if you can do it in the
real world, you can probably do it here! What if you
can't? Well...try using the ACT or SMILE verbs, that's
what they're here for!
Naming a Character
Another thing to mention is the name of
your character. It may not seem important at first, but
it can help in interaction. A positive reaction is always
a good thing. For example, you don't want to name your
character Bob. That's just not interesting -- it's a
fantasy game, after all. Take for example my own
character's name, Seredetia. Have you ever known a
Seredetia? Do you know how to pronounce it? Well...let me
tell you! It's Sarah-debt-she-uh. That's why some people
call her Sarah! See? I incorporated a simple name like
Sarah and made it into something interesting. You could
do that with Bob, too, I'm sure...just make sure it's
nothing like Bobalicious - that's weird. What about
something that at least sounds fantasy/medieval? Bobarian
is a fun name...almost like "barbarian", but
with Bob (yeah, I know...bad example, but it works)!
There are some name generators out on
the Web if you really get lazy, but you should avoid
names like: TechFiz, Roboman, Otterpop, PlopPlop
FizzFizz...you get the idea. A name should be unique and
in genre. Oh, and PLEASE make sure it's pronounceable! I
mean, what's a Wizjfrus, or a Dszbt? If you absolutely
feel the need to make it a random text name, at least be
able to explain how to pronounce it if someone asks. Use
vowels.
Also, you need to pick a last name. In
medieval times, surnames were used to explain ones
profession. So, what was your character's father's
profession? Was he a shoemaker? Naw...too boring, huh?
Perhaps he was giantman and a shoemaker. Now, we all know
giants have their own language and such, so maybe
"Ronandas" (Seredetia's family name) means
shoemaker? Well, in fact it doesn't. Ronandas means
"docile warrior". Her father was no where NEAR
the fiercest fighter in her homeland (check the history
section for more information...). So what's YOUR family
name mean? Are you a dwarf? Make it sound Dwarfish. Don't
know what Dwarfish sounds like? Read up, or make up!
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