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BOARDS - As I've wondered around the Role-play boards, I've often noticed many
people start their role-play with a list of rules. These lists can be quite
lengthy, detailing every writing flaw known to Neopia, or quite short. The more
simple, straightforward lists usually consist of something like, "No chat speak,
one-liners, or despies - LITERATES ONLY!"
When I first began role-playing, I could only guess what these terms and restrictions
could mean. I had a vague understanding of what 'chatspeak' was, but it took
me several months to figure out what a despie was (I know, I'm slow). I even
created another account on NeoPets so I could ask questions without gaining
the "Newbie" reputation on my main account (even though I was one). I also did
research online using search engines to try and figure out what in Neopia these
unique words meant.
The result of my research and experience can be found here. I've eventually
come to have a pretty good understanding of what most role-play terms mean.
The following is my attempt to provide a guide of sorts – a dictionary - to
give assistance to new role-players who are as clueless as I was when I first
started role-playing, as well as provide them with a few role-play tips and
suggestions to avoid being left out or scolded because they may break a rule
or two. It should be noted there are sometimes various meanings for the exact
same term, such as 'God-moding'. In these situations, I have used the most common
definition for the entry.
It is my hope that this dictionary will help those new to role-playing learn
and understand terms native to the role-play world much faster than I did. If
you've never role-played before, but would like to, some helpful information
on the subject may be found in Sedus88's article (issue 88). If you're new and
as confused as I was about these terms and abbreviations, then let's go straight
to the guide, shall we?
Let’s start with several commonly used abbreviations:
R.P./R.P.G.: Role-play or Role-play Game An RP/RPG is a form
of writing in which a group of two or more individuals each create one or more
characters and have them interact with each other in a particular setting to
form a story.
C Desc: See Description Some role-players write this along with
their first post. It means they want you to visit their user-lookup or petpage
and read something they’ve written about their character before moving forward
in the role-play.
NOTE: Some role-players find “c desc” annoying. They do
not want to interrupt their role-play in order to read someone else’s description.
In order to be considerate of these individuals, I do not refer role-players
to my character’s personal description. I consider the usage of “c desc” to
be a matter of personal preference on the part of the role-player. If you use
this, please be aware not everyone will read your character’s description.
O.O.C.: Out of Character “O.O.C.” is a very common abbreviation
role-players put before text or responses that are not part of the role-play
itself. The O.O.C. post or part of a post may be about absolutely anything (though
it usually relates to something going on in the role-play), because it is the
role-player himself/herself speaking.
ALTERNATIVES: Though many individuals write “O.O.C.” before an out-of-character
post, others contain their non-character remarks between double parentheses,
like ((this)). Both methods are widely accepted as correct. Whichever you choose
to use is simply a matter of personal preference.
I.C.: In Character “IC” is an abbreviation sometimes used
before a post or portion of a post which is part of the role-play. Usually this
abbreviation is only used when coming back in character after making an Out-Of-Character
comment.
B.I.C.: Back in Character “B.I.C.” Is only used when coming
back into the role-play after making an Out-Of-Character comment.
Here is an example of how the above three abbreviations may be used in a role-play:
IC: The striped Gelert, Lou, picked up the slushie and began gulping it down.
O.O.C.: Heh, I wonder how many slushies my Gelert can really eat!
B.I.C.: The Gelert finished the slushie in less than a minute and asked the
salesuni for another.
Believe it or not, out of all the terms I researched, O.O.C., IC, and B.I.C.
are what took me the longest time to figure out! I actually waited until someone
braver than me asked and a more experienced role-player told them. Now, aren’t
you glad I made this dictionary so you don’t have to go around suffering with
the thirst of knowledge like I did?
The following is a list of commonly used words and terms used on the role-playing
boards to describe traits a character may exhibit and helpful tips on how to
avoid the less desirable traits.
Desperate (or “Despies”): A character (usually female) in a desperate
state, a character desperate for love. Desperates are probably the
least liked characters on the role-play boards. Almost every role-play board
that’s not “Teen Cruise” bans desperates from the board. This is because desperates
are unrealistic characters. They are perfect in every way, incredibly beautiful
(or handsome), extremely talented in anything and everything you can imagine,
and, unfortunately, always looking for a cheesy form of romance.
HOW TO AVOID THIS: Character flaws are wonderful things! Nobody is perfect,
so why should your character be? How about making an overweight or ugly character?
What about a character who isn’t smart, talented, or desiring a romantic relationship?
Romance is not a wise thing to role-play on Neopets. You could get frozen if
you cross the line between a clean, innocent romance and a questionable romance.
If you want your character to have a close relationship, that’s great! Friendships
are wonderful things, too! I could go on and on for ages on how wonderful an
alternative friendship can be to romance, but I won’t. While some forms
of romance might be okay, if you have it stuck in your head that romance
is the only way to have a great role-play, then do your role-playing on a site
that isn’t Neopets. More information on creating unusual, non-desperate characters,
please refer to _insanity’s article (issue 102)
Mary Sue/Gary Sue: A perfect character, often related to the Role-player’s
favorite book or movie character. Often, no distinction is made between
a Mary Sue and a desperate. The only real difference is a Mary Sue may not always
be in love, but they’re still perfect in almost every way. If used in a book/movie
role-play, the character is usually related to somebody in the book/movie. If
the role-play isn’t based on a book or movie, then the Mary Sue is likely to
be royalty or related to an individual of high importance. Mary Sues typically
have a very tragic childhood and life. They love attention, and often push to
be in the center of the role-play.
HOW TO AVOID THIS: First, determine for sure if your character is a Mary Sue/Gary
Sue. This can be a very hard thing to do. Not all highly talented characters
are Mary Sues, even though this is a trait Mary Sues almost always have. If
your character has most of the elements of a desperate and a Mary Sue/Gary
Sue, then it probably is. My first suggestion would be to take away the lineage
you have for the character. It’s okay to have a favorite character in a book,
but to role-play a son or daughter of theirs is very cliché and under-creative.
You may even want to have your character be enemies with your beloved book or
movie hero! Give your character an average childhood, like the rest of us. Those
are very, very simple ways to stay away from the kingdom of Mary Sues/Gary Sues.
For a more in-depth look at creating good characters, I once again refer you
to _insanity’s article (issue 103) as well as wubba_tha_lop_minion’s article
(issue 112).
The above are the two biggest character types that are commonly banned from
the role-play boards. The next section of this guide will detail types of posts
and methods of role-playing that are not desirable.
One-liner: A whole post only one line in length. If you look
above to my example for O.O.C., IC, and B.I.C., those are all One-liners. Why?
Because they’re only one line long. One-liners are frustratingly short posts
often associated with new role-players. One-liners lack description, depth,
and pretty much everything except the bare minimum required to make a post.
HOW TO AVOID THIS: Describe, describe, describe! What’s the weather like?
What you’re your character look like? What’s the surrounding like? Making a
one-liner into an in-depth post is a whole other topic, and two in-depth articles
(that I know of) have been done on the subject. To learn more about description
and the finer points of eloquent role-playing, you can read my article on the
subject (issue 113) or, for a slightly different approach, please refer
to apparent’s article (issue 84).
Power-Play: To Role-play with excessive resources or powers
Power-Playing is simply when your character is too powerful, has unlimited resources
(this often takes form in unlimited money resources or a bag with absolutely
the character will ever need), or is invincible. If your character is so strong
it could defeat Balthazaar, Meuka, Edna, and the Space Faerie in the battle
dome at the same time without getting a scratch, has indestructible armor or
weapons, then you’re Power-Playing.
HOW TO AVOID THIS: Give your character limits. It’s that simple. No one wants
to role-play with someone who has the magic spell for everything in Neopia.
Part of what makes role-playing fun is working through problems!
God-Mode: To take control of a character other than your own
God-Moding can be done with or without the other person’s consent. When done
without the other person’s consent, God-Moding is the rudest offense you can
pay to a fellow role-player. It is extremely frustrating and annoying to have
to go back, tell the person what they did, and tell everybody else (if it’s
a group role-play) what that person did really didn’t happen because you didn’t
give the person permission to do something to your character.
NOTE: Some consider God-Moding to be everything Power-Playing is as well as
what is above defined. If you see a board that says, “No God-Moding,” they probably
mean no Power-Playing as well.
HOW TO AVOID THIS: It is very easy to unintentionally God-Mode. Posts such
as, “Lou the striped Gelert bit the ugly Grarrl’s leg,” are considered a form
of God-Moding. This is because the person who role-plays Lou is not letting
the Grarrl creator have a choice of whether to allow Lou to bite him. This form
of God-Moding can easily be remedied by writing the same post in such a way
that it still allows room for the Grarrl’s role-player to accept or reject the
bite. Try this instead, “Lou snapped at the Grarrl in a well-aimed attempt at
his leg.” This is very easy, it just requires a bit of thought.
The following definitions are neither good nor bad. They are used by role-players
to refer to certain aspects of a post or role-playing in general.
Setting: The place in which a role-play happens Many people
consider the setting to be one of the most important aspects to a good post.
After all, if you don’t specifically say your role-play is set in a city, you
may have another character staring at you through the boughs of a tree!
HOW TO DO THIS: Describe the scenery. This is a very, very easy thing to do
if you are willing to take the time to do it. For more information on describing
things, I once again refer you to my lovely little article (issue 113) and apparent’s
article (issue 84).
Scenario: The specific kind of role-play A scenario is the sort
of role-play you’re involved in. There are many scenarios to role-play, such
as Medieval/Fantasy, Wild Horse, Alley Cat, NeoPets, etc. The fun is picking
which one is right for you! Sedus88 has a bit more information in her article
(issue 88) on different role-play scenarios.
Description: The description of a character, the depiction of objects,
people, settings, etc. Descriptions of a character are most often made
as a supplement to the role-play. Many people have pre-made copy-and-paste descriptions
for their character which they simply post along with their introduction. Others
simply describe their characters as the role-play progresses.
NOTE: “Description” is also a blanket term for all detailed depiction in a
role-play, such as a description of the setting, characters, weather, etc. A
role-player’s ability to describe things often determines what level role-player
they are.
Character: A person, being, or thing that the role-player controls
Sometimes a character is fictional, and sometimes it is non-fictional. If you’re
doing a historical role-play, then you may choose to be a real-life person.
A character can be anything from a human to a Moehog to a talking can of Neocola.
It all depends on who you want to be!
Sometimes a board will have a title like, “Experienced Wild Horse RP” or “Literate
Neopets Role-play”. Many people (including role-players) have no idea what the
difference is between an ‘experienced’ role-play and an ‘advance’ role-play.
I have listed below what is expected of those who participate in the three most
commonly referred to skill levels in role-playing.
Experienced Role-play: A role-play in which the role-players have been
role-playing long enough to know the basics Very few people really
know how long it takes to learn how to role-play in a way that other people
can understand. I myself caught on fairly quickly, but I know of others who
stayed the same for quite a long time. Experienced role-players usually are
past one-liners and can use description in a way other people can understand.
Advance Role-play: A role-play in which the role-players not only know
the basics, but are decent spellers and use proper grammar No one wants
to ‘decode’ a message that is full of misspellings and lousy grammar. Advance
role-players are descriptive, pay attention to spelling, and try not to use
bad grammar.
Literate Role-play: A role-play in which the role-players have mastered
spelling and grammar, have large vocabularies (and use them), and ideas
Literate Role-players (commonly known as ‘literates’) usually make description
their first priority along with character development. They rarely misspell
words or use improper grammar. They have ideas as to how they want the role-play
to go, and either suggest them or try them out in the role-play. Usually,
you can understand them quite well.
NOTE: Remember, there’s a fine line between being a literate role-player,
and a overly wordy one. Description is great, but don’t over do it. Using unusual
words that add to the post is desirable, but don’t use words that are so uncommon
that people have to look them up. That’s not artistic, it’s just annoying.
I hope this dictionary has been a help to those of you who are new to role-playing
and are as confused as I was when I began. If you’re an old hand at role-playing,
then I hope I provided new insight on some things, and confirmed your convictions
about others. Whatever the case, happy role-playing!
Author’s Notes: Please accept my apologies this guide is not in alphabetical
order. I felt it would be simpler to define in groups of ‘type’ (i.e. abbreviations,
character traits, role-play methods, terms, and levels, rather than go strictly
by what is normally expected of a dictionary.
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