Basic Roleplay Tutorials

Roleplay Plot

Like any fan fiction, you have to have an idea before you can make the story, and this is exactly what a plot is. A plot is a sort of idea given to the members so as they can build on it. Without a plot you cannot produce an RP. For example, at the start of a game or some stories, you normally have a Prologue or summary of what the game or book is about, this is a plot.

Three main things are needed in a plot:

Originality: Which will draw members to the RP, the last thing you want to do is a have a plot about a bunch of trainers going on a journey as you would see in the Pokemon Anime, no, you want a good story with a few plot twists. We are not stopping you from starting a Trainer RP, but it would be an idea to add a few plot twists and some adventure, this is what draws members to your RP.

Detail: Description, History and emotions all come into the detail of a Plot; with out detail the plot will have no feel and therefore not attract members. Were not saying it has to be a 14 page essay, but make it more than 4 lines and add some description into it to allow members to have the idea of what the plot is about.

Interest: Originality and Detail all come into the interest of the plot. You want to draw members to the RP so make it interesting by adding a few plot twists and furthermore, just making up your own story.

Depth: Unfortunately, we are not accepting Plots that are less then 5 or 6 lines, and that is absolute bare minimum, and only if you managed to fit every little detail into those 5-6 lines. You should have enough so that the roleplayers in your RP are not wandering around trying to find something to do. Some RPer's like long novel-like plots that describe a story that took place before the actual roleplay- That counts as a plot. But other RPer's like plots that are straight to the point, and simply describe what will happen in the plot.

So that's pretty much what a plot needs, but this is only the beginning.

Sign-up Sheets

Sign up sheets are just as important as RP posts and plots, without a good sign up sheet other members do not have a clear image of how your character acts, looks and feels. In order to know this, your sign up must meet good standards, this means plenty of description so that members know how to act around your character.

We don't ask much, just around four or five lines with proper grammar and good description. Now don't get me wrong, I am not putting the entire blame on the members who sign up, some of the blame also goes to the RP creator who accepts such sign ups, so it works both ways really.

We ask that the member who signs up give a proper sign up, not four words long for each section.

For more on this, please read Alter Ego's Guide to Sign-Up Writing

Now, as for the RP creators, the mods cannot stop you from accepting these sign ups, but it would much benefit your RP if you ask them to add more and even complete a RP sample. RP samples are quick and easy, and they also show the members capability in RP's. If they do not meet standards in the sample, then it is more than likely that they will not meet standards in the actual RP either.