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Nov 26, 2009, 4:03pm

The Red Meadow :: General :: Rules :: Improving Your RPing Skills

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Topic: Improving Your RPing Skills (Read 560 times)

Luxor
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Improving Your RPing Skills
« Thread Started on May 28, 2006, 9:31pm »

This is © to Falstaf. Minor edits made by Luath for spelling, grammar, punctuation, understandability... if that's a word.

Is there anyone out there wondering how to improve their roleplaying skills? Are you stuck on what to write and wish you could think of more? Well, if any of these thoughts have ever drifted across your mind, be prepared to read the valuable information given inside this thread!

Firstly, what is a roleplay? I know many of you out there think you know, but do you truly know...? A roleplay is a story made up by the many people who post; an interaction of adventure or sorrow between two or more characters. Many hardly write anything. I mean, would you want to read a story, a story destined for greatness, but dragged down by short, incomplete sentences? No, I didn't think so.

When you read a novel, it is not only the character's actions. There are thoughts and emotions, setting, landscapes, and many other aspects.

If you have agreed with all of this and truly want to improve, then continue reading.

The Appearance

When roleplaying, do others know what your character looks like? Have you ever described the creature's features or appearance? How would others know if you never described and used detailed adjectives? For example:

The large tawny wolf padded through the forest with agility. He had confidence and seemed to hold his head high. His ebon eyes gleamed with a cunning intelligence as his sides heaved with the effort of travel. However, his vision wasn't quite as good; he had lost an eye, resulting in a large scar. He lifted his maw to the wind suddenly and the strange resonance echoed around the bare landscape.

His bird, an eagle, soared up high amongst the clouds. The sun shone through his dark mahogany wingtips and he viewed the landscape with his large and powerful golden eyes. His hooked beak opened and he let out a shrill cry. He angled his wings to come in lower as he became a swift blur of white, brown, and gray feathers.

See? You can say what your character does, but still add his/her appearance. Perhaps the appearance is how others think of him/her. Always pay attention to detail. Use a thesaurus if you have to. TIP: Imagine the scene in your mind and analyze it, thinking of each part.

Personality and Emotion

What does your character say to reflect its mood or personality? Do you find yourself roleplaying your character with a seemingly false outlook?

Develop an in-depth personality and use that to dictate how your character acts and what he/she does. Every living creature is unique. And, of course, your wolf's history might affect it all as well.
Now, emotion. Added to the personality, you need emotion. Just think of this as building a creature and filling it with all the details. Have your character think to him/herself often, reflecting on what others had said. Like before, you cannot create a story without thoughts and feelings. In front of others, does the character feel hate, love, or sorrow?

Landscape and Setting

Now, not everything is all about your character. What about the landscape around him/her? Is it night? Is the sun blaring down upon the hard, cool ground? That is why there are separate boards for roleplaying. Each has a different setting. For example:

Slowly, the silver hued she-wolf made her way up the mountain side. It was littered with broken rock and gravel. Perhaps the fault of landslides and the formations of the land. Then she gazed slowly below her as she noted a gully filled with lush greens, hidden away in the mountain's nook. The alpine trees swayed in the breeze as the grasses below seemed to leap forward and back. She was filled with astonishment at the beauty of the valley as the scene seemed to wash over her....

See? That wasn't hard! After you can add in what happens more to your character and conflicts and that.

Dialogue and Actions

This should be in every post. It is what does your character does. Use actions while the wolf or bird is speaking to give it depth. Think of yourself in the character's place when speaking and know that everything you say or do will affect others.

Ties to History

Make sure to include history within your character. Did the history affect how he/she lives today? Has his/her past made all the difference? History affects everything - from the personality to the history, and even where he/she travels. Or perhaps your character has a dark past, better left buried....

Abilities

Abilities also affect the character. Does he/she have a wound, a physical impossibility, or strength beyond what is normal? What ties does your character have to its species? Is the wolf weak or strong?

Although, with this, be realistic about what happens. Don't say that your character can avoid every move within battle and can still have energy after that. First off, that's against the rules.

The Five Senses

This is the most important of all! Be sure to include these as much as possible. If you are not sure what they are, here you go:
- touch
- taste
- hearing
- sight
- smell
When roleplaying these make up everything! Here is another example:

The large male wolf got up slowly from his meal. It tasted delicious as the blood was fresh upon his tongue. But he had to leave the body for scavengers behind. It was no use to stuff himself when he didn't need it. As he looked out upon the landscape, he could hear the crickets and the lonely calls from unknown sources. The grass beneath his swift paws felt soft and springy. He lifted his snout to the forest and smelt the sweet wood spice scent as he breathed them heavily.

Inspiration and Language

This is important. Often, I find that mental pictures help. Has a past experience inspired you? Or a certain book that had wonderful scenes and characters? Use that a base and build upon it to make up your own ideas. This is essential in roleplays, seeing as you have to want to write in the first place.

Language is also important. Using different adjectives or more descriptive words helps greatly. Instead of said, use yelped, whispered, howled, snarled, chuckled, and so on.

Now, I hope that you have learned a lot from this tutorial and realized that a lot of work went into creating it. Thank you for reading.

« Last Edit: May 28, 2006, 9:33pm by Luxor »

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