A butterfly beats it's wings in one corner of the earth. In the other corner, a tornado wipes out a city.
As has been stated multiple times, this roleplay features a dynamic world, meaning, what you do will affect it. Unlike video games such as Skyrim and Runescape, your actions are not limited to a set amount of rules and guides, neither are the responses and effects you will have as a result of these actions.
Now before you get overwhelmed with "Oh my gosh, this is too big for me to handle! I have a real life to focus on, I can't manage all this!", just take a deep breath. Everything is micromanaged by the insane owner who took on this endeavor (me). All you have to do is sit back, read this page, and just get an understanding of how everything works. No work, memorizing, managing, hair pulling, or nail biting required.
Now before you get overwhelmed with "Oh my gosh, this is too big for me to handle! I have a real life to focus on, I can't manage all this!", just take a deep breath. Everything is micromanaged by the insane owner who took on this endeavor (me). All you have to do is sit back, read this page, and just get an understanding of how everything works. No work, memorizing, managing, hair pulling, or nail biting required.
contents
Initiating Roleplay
Interacting with the Scene
Engaging with Others
Character Development
Developing Relationships
Questing
Infamy and Fame
Different Angles
Trolling
Religion
Fighting Dynamics
Interacting with the Scene
Engaging with Others
Character Development
Developing Relationships
Questing
Infamy and Fame
Different Angles
Trolling
Religion
Fighting Dynamics
INITIATING ROLEPLAY
getting something started
Lozo Braveheart pushed open the creaky inn door and found himself in his kind of place. Men in armor, women in low cut dresses, scarred warriors with swords on their backs, hearty bards belting epic tales of death in a corner: these were the kinds of people Lozo liked to find himself surrounded by. He went right up to the counter and looked the pretty bartender in the eye. "Your finest ale. A nice big pint of it."
Tala Thera sat on a bench by the fire, war axe strapped across his back, mug of Dwarven Rum in hand, and fully suited in iron armor. He looked like a big, loud brute, but he wasn't. He was perfectly content to just sit, drink, and listen to the musician pluck away at his lute. At the sound of Lozo's voice from behind him, he stole a glance over his shoulder at the newcomer, then went back to staring into the flames.
When he had his drink, Lozo sat down on the bench near the fire, a few spaces from where Tala sat. He listened to the music and drank his drink, his spirits mightily cheered up. When the song ended, he clapped and cheered with the rest of the patrons. A quick glance at the quiet Tala, and he felt somewhat intrigued. The man seemed rather brooding and cold-eyed. "Don't you like music?" Lozo asked.
Tala glanced back at Lozo, then shook his head. "Hate the stuff. It gets into your ears and down into your very soul. Like the sirens at the bay down south. I'll never forget those cries..."
Initiating roleplay has nothing to do with "Hey, you wanna roleplay with my character?" or even the first post of the roleplay between two characters, it has everything to do with the back and forth of the characters, what they bring to the table, and what they do to launch the roleplay forward.
Roleplay, when done wrong, is played out like a video game or like a book being read, with each roleplayer waiting for someone to make things happen for them, or for someone to tell them what is going on so that they can go along for the ride. Unfortunately, everyone ends up waiting around for this mysterious 'someone else' who is never going to come and make things happen for them, and as a result, nothing ever happens. Sure, perhaps characters fall in love or talk on the street or sit and brood on playground swings, but the roleplay sputters out and dies, all because no one is willing to do anything relatively interesting or driving.
I don't want to bore you all with a big history lecture, but I do want to make this short statement about the deterioration of roleplay and why we have so much trouble initiating intense and gripping roleplay sessions.
In the old days, we never had this problem. People were constantly starting wars, creating love triangles, killing each other off, inventing intense plot lines, and so much more. Coming onto the website was less of a routine and more of the best part of the day where one was always anticipating what could have possibly been happening while they were gone. Unfortunately, things would often get out of hand. The rp noob would go off on tangents and start their own drama that did not follow the site's course, making a lot of contraversial arguments and problems when it came to cleaning up their messes, such as making a cat have superpowers in a warrior's site (coming back from the dead was always a big issue back then). So to fix that problem, we all began making rules and guidelines, and we became so paranoid of having those issues again, that we became nit-picky with every ounce of creativity that did not fit our perfectly constructed plan. And thus, roleplay is now dull, lifeless, and way too far inside the box that thinking outside of it is a distant dream.
But it's time to break that viscous, downward spiraling circle! Time to shake free and go back to the fun and adventure that rp was before! And the best way to go about that, is to begin initiating.
I could go on lecturing on what to do and not to do, but the truth is that you have to just go out and DO IT.
Well that was a bit unfair, just letting you hang like that. Here are some tips to assist you in going out and DOING IT:
Put yourself in your character's shoes. Try and see things through their eyes. Lozo walks into the pub. What does he see? Well, how about a bard playing. How about a cat snoozing in a corner. Maybe throw some candles here and there, add a spot of drunkards to this table, place a dash of lusty beauties with low cut tops flirting with a gruff guy at the bar. Now you see a guy sitting next you. Talk to him. Be curious. Be aloof. Ask questions. Clam up when he asks you things. Talk about the weather, his sword, the music, the lusty beauties in low cut tops by the big guy at the bar.
Or really go out of your comfort zone! This was how rps back then were so fascinating: everyone was willing to step out of their comfort zones. Well, step out is the wrong phrase, more like dash out, bounce off a springboard, hurtle through the air, do a backflip, jetpack off into oblivion, and land on another foreign body that never even heard of the word comfort zone.
Roleplay, when done wrong, is played out like a video game or like a book being read, with each roleplayer waiting for someone to make things happen for them, or for someone to tell them what is going on so that they can go along for the ride. Unfortunately, everyone ends up waiting around for this mysterious 'someone else' who is never going to come and make things happen for them, and as a result, nothing ever happens. Sure, perhaps characters fall in love or talk on the street or sit and brood on playground swings, but the roleplay sputters out and dies, all because no one is willing to do anything relatively interesting or driving.
I don't want to bore you all with a big history lecture, but I do want to make this short statement about the deterioration of roleplay and why we have so much trouble initiating intense and gripping roleplay sessions.
In the old days, we never had this problem. People were constantly starting wars, creating love triangles, killing each other off, inventing intense plot lines, and so much more. Coming onto the website was less of a routine and more of the best part of the day where one was always anticipating what could have possibly been happening while they were gone. Unfortunately, things would often get out of hand. The rp noob would go off on tangents and start their own drama that did not follow the site's course, making a lot of contraversial arguments and problems when it came to cleaning up their messes, such as making a cat have superpowers in a warrior's site (coming back from the dead was always a big issue back then). So to fix that problem, we all began making rules and guidelines, and we became so paranoid of having those issues again, that we became nit-picky with every ounce of creativity that did not fit our perfectly constructed plan. And thus, roleplay is now dull, lifeless, and way too far inside the box that thinking outside of it is a distant dream.
But it's time to break that viscous, downward spiraling circle! Time to shake free and go back to the fun and adventure that rp was before! And the best way to go about that, is to begin initiating.
I could go on lecturing on what to do and not to do, but the truth is that you have to just go out and DO IT.
Well that was a bit unfair, just letting you hang like that. Here are some tips to assist you in going out and DOING IT:
Put yourself in your character's shoes. Try and see things through their eyes. Lozo walks into the pub. What does he see? Well, how about a bard playing. How about a cat snoozing in a corner. Maybe throw some candles here and there, add a spot of drunkards to this table, place a dash of lusty beauties with low cut tops flirting with a gruff guy at the bar. Now you see a guy sitting next you. Talk to him. Be curious. Be aloof. Ask questions. Clam up when he asks you things. Talk about the weather, his sword, the music, the lusty beauties in low cut tops by the big guy at the bar.
Or really go out of your comfort zone! This was how rps back then were so fascinating: everyone was willing to step out of their comfort zones. Well, step out is the wrong phrase, more like dash out, bounce off a springboard, hurtle through the air, do a backflip, jetpack off into oblivion, and land on another foreign body that never even heard of the word comfort zone.
When he had his drink, Lozo sat down on the bench near the fire, a few spaces from where Tala sat. He listened to the music and drank his drink, but as he brohis spirits mightily cheered up. He was about to take another sip of beer, when he turned slightly in his seat and saw Tala, as in, actually recognized the other man. "Tala? That you? It's been years! How have you been?"
Tala glanced over at Lozo, and for a moment, was rather worried as to who this person was and why he was addressing him in such a way. Then he recognized Lozo as well. Still, the cold man did hardly anything to show his acknowledgement, rather he said, "Fine, as usual."
Lozo slid down the bench closer to his long unseen friend. "Don't be like that Tala," he said, elbowing him lightly in the side. "Really, how has it been? I heard about dragons up North and knew you usually hang in the area. Did you kill any?"
He hated talking about killing and such things. Tala was much less the brutish warrior than he looked. "Did you?" he replied coldly, taking another drink before staring into his mug.
In this case, Lozo steps out of the comfort zone and initiates rp by TELLING Tala that he is Tala's friend. Then he TELLS Tala that he 'usually hangs out up North'. This is a prime example of stepping out of the comfort zone because the characters are TELLING rather than asking and quietly moseying around the subject. This does not mean, however, that you HAVE to do everything a character tells you. Tala could simply say to Lozo "No, I don't hang out up North that much" or even "I think you're thinking of the wrong person; I've never even been up North" and so on. Subsequently, there is always room for error and correction. Say Lozo, like in this post, went out of his way and TOLD Tala that they were friends. Tala's roleplayer could easily tell Lozo's roleplayer that they don't want the two to know each other. Then Lozo's can repost to fix that and do something different.
Can you make errors initiating roleplay? Yes. But there's never a point where the initiating is so bad that you will be yelled at and beaten down into tomorrow. Unless, or course, you are stupid enough to have Lozo walk in, kill everyone, and resurrect them as zombies and self-declare himself the new tyrant king. If you're really that dumb, well, I really don't know how to help you.
The main point here is that you need to put enough into your posts that people can respond. It is all about driving the roleplay like one driving a car. If you don't put your foot on the accelerator and crank that wheel, you sure as hell are not going anywhere. Expand, indulge, divulge, and be as creative as you can.
Can you make errors initiating roleplay? Yes. But there's never a point where the initiating is so bad that you will be yelled at and beaten down into tomorrow. Unless, or course, you are stupid enough to have Lozo walk in, kill everyone, and resurrect them as zombies and self-declare himself the new tyrant king. If you're really that dumb, well, I really don't know how to help you.
The main point here is that you need to put enough into your posts that people can respond. It is all about driving the roleplay like one driving a car. If you don't put your foot on the accelerator and crank that wheel, you sure as hell are not going anywhere. Expand, indulge, divulge, and be as creative as you can.
INTERACTING WITH THE SCENE
In a cave, far underground, where a great break in the roof lets in one beam of light, a tree, old and decked in pink blossoms, stands and sighs in a nonexistent wind, filling the cave with its sweet scent and its soft song. This is a sacred place, a place where they say lost souls gather to seek peace of mind. They also say that these lost souls hate to be disturbed. Under the boughs of the great Tree, they are calm, serene, and kind, but all around are the leering, malevolent spirits who cannot quite get within reach of the tree's powerful aura. This is all that they say of the stories of the Tree, but very few have ever witnessed these marvels or spread these stories. Perhaps it takes a certain, special someone to truly see what is there.
Too many times, a site owner will put time and thought into building an astounding or interesting location and the average roleplayer will post their character as: Jeff walked in and sat down. It matters not that right behind him are the great, stone lions erected as a monument to the ancient king who fought and died on the battlefield after slaying the God-Tyrant who had consumed half of the planet in his hellish jaws, it really, really doesn't matter, because Jeff is walking in and sitting down, and you all better pay attention to that phenomenon. Heck, even Jeff's sitting down is so important, Jeff doesn't even care where he's sitting or what he's sitting near or on, just so long as he's bloody well sitting down.
Admit it, you are all guilty of this. I have been on occasion as well, but this is no excuse for continuing on in this manner.
To interact with the scene, you need to constantly bring the scene into play. No matter what the circumstances of the scene are, they are always playing a major part on what happens around you. You are in a living, breathing world, and the world will not simply stop revolving around you so that you may say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done.
Admit it, you are all guilty of this. I have been on occasion as well, but this is no excuse for continuing on in this manner.
To interact with the scene, you need to constantly bring the scene into play. No matter what the circumstances of the scene are, they are always playing a major part on what happens around you. You are in a living, breathing world, and the world will not simply stop revolving around you so that you may say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done.
Drakel looked up at the tree and sat himself down on one of its roots. With a sigh, he uncorked the bottle of ale he carried with him, and took a long drink. Afterwards, he wiped his mouth with the back of his gloved hand, and pointed at the Tree. "Good resting place for the night, don't you guys think?"
Breida shook her head. "My mum told me that spirits stalked this cave." She looked back over her shoulder, as if expecting some dark specter to tap her on the shoulder at any moment and yell 'boo'.
Coming up alongside Drakel to snatch his ale away, Haleth guffawed. "Don't be silly, Breida." He took the bottle and drank deeply before continuing; "it's just a tree. We'll get a good sleep tonight, and continue on to the tombs in the morning."
Drakel snatched his ale back and corked it before stuffing it in his pack. "Yah, yah, easy on my goods. Now, speaking of those tombs, I think we should go in from the East entrance. The North one has too many barbarians."
The scenery does not have to be your entire focus for the whole session of the roleplay, but you should refer to it, especially if it is very important, such as the Tree in the examples. The Tree has a story around it, a scary one, one that mothers probably tell their children as a lesson, or grandmothers tell little ones as a warning, or bards write songs of to scare audiences. So if this tree is so well talked about, then shouldn't the characters talk about it to? Now, perhaps they don't notice it is the Tree of those stories until something happens that makes them remember, but even if it was a random, ordinary tree in a cave, it is pretty big and it's growing in a cave, so the characters should at least interact around that. Even if they are sitting around, have them sit on the roots, or complain that the roots are uncomfortable to sit on, or maybe they chop up the roots to light a fire that they can sit around.
The same goes for any other little or big thing within a scene, even if it is merely implied. If the area you are roleplaying at is a busy city street, mention your character being jostled in the crowd, or if they're with friends, maybe they get separated and lost. If your character is by a river, have them 'hear the sound of the rushing water' or 'see a fish jump'. You do not have to have every post mention something scenic in it, I would much rather it was filled with character detail and thought process and development, but every now and again, just mention something that will remind everyone they are actually in a scene with things around them going on, rather than in some sort of text box.
The same goes for any other little or big thing within a scene, even if it is merely implied. If the area you are roleplaying at is a busy city street, mention your character being jostled in the crowd, or if they're with friends, maybe they get separated and lost. If your character is by a river, have them 'hear the sound of the rushing water' or 'see a fish jump'. You do not have to have every post mention something scenic in it, I would much rather it was filled with character detail and thought process and development, but every now and again, just mention something that will remind everyone they are actually in a scene with things around them going on, rather than in some sort of text box.
ENGAGING WITH OTHERS
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT
"Hey, Rain, you okay?"
Rain looked up at Orion and nodded, a false gesture of course; he was anything but okay. He could still remember that tree... that tree that would always haunt his nightmares. The one from the swamp, the hanging tree with all those skeletons swinging from the branches on old rope, grinning forever from cracked skulls on twisted necks.
The majority of characters in a roleplay world are non-dynamic. Their bios are written down, they are roleplayed by that bio's standards, and no matter what they come across, they never adapt, change, or grow from those experiences.
We like to say that our characters develop. Since day one, our characters have gone on quests, made friends, made enemies, attended parties, fought battles, learned spells, fallen in love, been broken hearted, and adventured to the roleplayer's heart's content. But this is not what character development is.
As said in the top sentence, in order to develop as a character, the character needs to adapt, change, and grow from their experiences. They cannot come away from a battle the same as before. They cannot see a grisly image and not be disturbed. They cannot watch a terrible injustice and not be moved. There are exceptions, or maybe the characters don't show it, but they will still feel something. No one ever witnesses something and does not feel it.
Think of your own real life: how did the experiences in your past affect you? Did you watch too many horror movies when you were a kid, and now the dark terrifies you? Or did you watch so many horror movies that nothing seems to scare you anymore? Whenever you see a cute puppy, does it make you think of a pet dog of yours that died? Why is a certain food your favorite food? Why do you get bitter and resentful when you look at an object? If you were beaten as a child, would you perhaps be moved and aggravated when you see a child being beaten?
The same is with your characters, and that is why I strongly press on character backstory. More info on character backstory can be read HERE.
We like to say that our characters develop. Since day one, our characters have gone on quests, made friends, made enemies, attended parties, fought battles, learned spells, fallen in love, been broken hearted, and adventured to the roleplayer's heart's content. But this is not what character development is.
As said in the top sentence, in order to develop as a character, the character needs to adapt, change, and grow from their experiences. They cannot come away from a battle the same as before. They cannot see a grisly image and not be disturbed. They cannot watch a terrible injustice and not be moved. There are exceptions, or maybe the characters don't show it, but they will still feel something. No one ever witnesses something and does not feel it.
Think of your own real life: how did the experiences in your past affect you? Did you watch too many horror movies when you were a kid, and now the dark terrifies you? Or did you watch so many horror movies that nothing seems to scare you anymore? Whenever you see a cute puppy, does it make you think of a pet dog of yours that died? Why is a certain food your favorite food? Why do you get bitter and resentful when you look at an object? If you were beaten as a child, would you perhaps be moved and aggravated when you see a child being beaten?
The same is with your characters, and that is why I strongly press on character backstory. More info on character backstory can be read HERE.
His momma died. Rain remembered that. She had gone into the barn one day and didn't come out. Rain was four. He remembered that too. How the hell could he forget? He was a four year old boy, playing in the yard with his dog. He was hungry for lunch. He went looking for momma and that's when he found her in the barn.
That was what he saw in the hanging tree that day. Not the skeletons swinging in the breeze. At first, yes, yes he saw them. But then all he could see was momma, over and over again, her blonde head twisted back and to the right side, blue eyes wide and glassy, swinging back and forth and back and forth. Hundreds of mommas, all in the tree.
Change never has to be immense or permanent. Change can be subtle. Change can be internal rather than external, where a character experiences a change but does not show it. And change does not have to happen every time.
Small things may impact your character along with the big things: random tips from strangers, a helping hand from a creature/race/person the character long thought was evil or malevolent, an random act of kindness, a word of hate, a piece of artwork or poetry even.
These things will impact the character not just by the nature of the event, but by the connections the character will make to their past, previous changes, or other knowledge gained through experiences. Characters are just as dynamic as real people like yourself. We just have the power to control those changes and how they may affect the character.
Never be afraid to let your character take the reigns. If it ever feels as though your character would be devastated by an event that you personally could care less about, then let them be devastated. You may own and play them, but it is their life too, and sometimes, they know more about themselves than you do.
BRIEF EXAMPLE: A good example of character development and reaction to a situation is the character Javert from Les Miserables. For the longest time, Javert believed God was a fierce God who acted with a strong hand of justice. When Valjean proved to him that God was also merciful and forgiving, Javert could not handle this change. In a few years, his world was torn apart and flipped upside down in an irreversible form. So in the end, because of his experiences, past, and beliefs, he could not handle the change or find a way out, and he committed suicide.
What will all this mean for your character on a grand scale? Well, as every book likes to point out, there is a struggle inside of us between two opposing forces. We can give into one side or the other, or destroy one side or the other. Given the scenario with Rain, it could carry on in a number of ways. Perhaps this is the first step on his road to insanity. Maybe he will break down and tell his friends about what happened, and they will help or reject him. Or maybe he'll bottle it up inside and walk it off as if nothing had happened, only for it to resurface again and again later in his life.
What does this mean for your character bios? I believe a lot of people will be asking questions related to this. "Well, my character is dark and brooding. I don't want him to suddenly have a midlife crisis over an occurrence from his past! He needs to be dark and mysterious!"
Well don't fear, he can be. My only universal tip for you in this case is that those bios are only a guideline. It explains the stuff on your character that is set in stone: ie, mysterious, but it is only a fallback and a centralizing point for your character's manner and emotion. You can always play around with different emotions, reactions, and appearances without breaking the main aspects of your character. Think about it: maybe people describe you as serious and a little aloof, but do you ever get silly? Sad? Explosive? Depressed? Bubbly and hyper? Admit it, you have at least once. Do those moments alter you from your usual self? Most likely not. It's the same with your character.
The big point to take away from all this: think of your characters as real people and not one-dimensional creations from your brain.
Small things may impact your character along with the big things: random tips from strangers, a helping hand from a creature/race/person the character long thought was evil or malevolent, an random act of kindness, a word of hate, a piece of artwork or poetry even.
These things will impact the character not just by the nature of the event, but by the connections the character will make to their past, previous changes, or other knowledge gained through experiences. Characters are just as dynamic as real people like yourself. We just have the power to control those changes and how they may affect the character.
Never be afraid to let your character take the reigns. If it ever feels as though your character would be devastated by an event that you personally could care less about, then let them be devastated. You may own and play them, but it is their life too, and sometimes, they know more about themselves than you do.
BRIEF EXAMPLE: A good example of character development and reaction to a situation is the character Javert from Les Miserables. For the longest time, Javert believed God was a fierce God who acted with a strong hand of justice. When Valjean proved to him that God was also merciful and forgiving, Javert could not handle this change. In a few years, his world was torn apart and flipped upside down in an irreversible form. So in the end, because of his experiences, past, and beliefs, he could not handle the change or find a way out, and he committed suicide.
What will all this mean for your character on a grand scale? Well, as every book likes to point out, there is a struggle inside of us between two opposing forces. We can give into one side or the other, or destroy one side or the other. Given the scenario with Rain, it could carry on in a number of ways. Perhaps this is the first step on his road to insanity. Maybe he will break down and tell his friends about what happened, and they will help or reject him. Or maybe he'll bottle it up inside and walk it off as if nothing had happened, only for it to resurface again and again later in his life.
What does this mean for your character bios? I believe a lot of people will be asking questions related to this. "Well, my character is dark and brooding. I don't want him to suddenly have a midlife crisis over an occurrence from his past! He needs to be dark and mysterious!"
Well don't fear, he can be. My only universal tip for you in this case is that those bios are only a guideline. It explains the stuff on your character that is set in stone: ie, mysterious, but it is only a fallback and a centralizing point for your character's manner and emotion. You can always play around with different emotions, reactions, and appearances without breaking the main aspects of your character. Think about it: maybe people describe you as serious and a little aloof, but do you ever get silly? Sad? Explosive? Depressed? Bubbly and hyper? Admit it, you have at least once. Do those moments alter you from your usual self? Most likely not. It's the same with your character.
The big point to take away from all this: think of your characters as real people and not one-dimensional creations from your brain.
DEVELOPING RELATIONSHIPS
QUESTING
QUESTMASTER: You enter into a room, dimly lit, with fog rising from cracks in the floor. There is a chest in front of you, surrounded by lit candles that throw off a golden glow. Wooden beams support a stone roof, and every now and then, a little dust falls from the ceiling. The walls are also stone, covered in a mossy slime.
Marduke was tired and beaten down, weary from all the trials the dungeon had to offer. When he threw open the door and saw the chest before him, his heart leapt in his throat. "Could it really be..?" he murmured. He stepped into the room, forgetting he could be in danger and some creature might come out of the dark. All he cared about was getting the treasure and ending this maddening quest.
The details of questing are more explained on the How to Quest and Different Types of Quests pages, but here I wish to go through the actual interaction with the world in a questing scenario.
During questing, the roleplay is a little more restricted because it follows a set storyline, has a definitive beginning, and a definitive ending. Yes, the world is still dynamic, and the rules and twists and turns of the quest can be stretched and manipulated as you act, but there is a major difference between roleplaying and roleplaying during a quest, and that is the presence of the Questmaster.
The Questmaster is in charge of the quest, its inner functions and workings, and is basically god of the roleplay. They have the authority to make you injured or make you fall or make you win. The Questmaster is also a lot of different things in one. The Questmaster is the scenery, the treasure, the monsters, the enemies, the allies, the people you chance upon, the people you notice but never talk to. The Questmaster tells you what is there and tells you what happens next.
You need to engage your Questmaster and understand how to interact with them. Think of it as a video game mixed with a roleplay. The screen shows you a picture of a treasure chest in a dank, stony room lit with candlelight. Now you have to make your character go inside. The screen shows your questing ally go over and open the chest. Now you have to react to that.
But instead of just sitting there and watching as the screen shows you pictures and you move your little joysticks or press your WASD keys, you can actually make things happen in the roleplay that something like a structured video game would not allow because it was not written into the program. How far you want to take it depends solely on you. This is where it gets fun!
... and because I like labeling everything, let's label the different ways to go about this.
During questing, the roleplay is a little more restricted because it follows a set storyline, has a definitive beginning, and a definitive ending. Yes, the world is still dynamic, and the rules and twists and turns of the quest can be stretched and manipulated as you act, but there is a major difference between roleplaying and roleplaying during a quest, and that is the presence of the Questmaster.
The Questmaster is in charge of the quest, its inner functions and workings, and is basically god of the roleplay. They have the authority to make you injured or make you fall or make you win. The Questmaster is also a lot of different things in one. The Questmaster is the scenery, the treasure, the monsters, the enemies, the allies, the people you chance upon, the people you notice but never talk to. The Questmaster tells you what is there and tells you what happens next.
You need to engage your Questmaster and understand how to interact with them. Think of it as a video game mixed with a roleplay. The screen shows you a picture of a treasure chest in a dank, stony room lit with candlelight. Now you have to make your character go inside. The screen shows your questing ally go over and open the chest. Now you have to react to that.
But instead of just sitting there and watching as the screen shows you pictures and you move your little joysticks or press your WASD keys, you can actually make things happen in the roleplay that something like a structured video game would not allow because it was not written into the program. How far you want to take it depends solely on you. This is where it gets fun!
... and because I like labeling everything, let's label the different ways to go about this.
The Casual Suggestion
As his companion worked at the lock on the chest, Marduke looked about the dank room, searching for signs of life or perhaps a door or pile of ruins he could go investigate.
This sentence instigates something potentially happening. By casually suggesting that maybe there is something in the room for our character to do, the Questmaster can then create something on the spot or simply tell you about something being there that they were waiting for you to try and find. Although it is purely up to the Questmaster what happens next, by casually suggesting you want something else to happen, the Questmaster has room to either play along and, say, stick some rubble in the room for your character to dig through, or they simply respond with "there was nothing in the room".
The Blatant Statement
As his companion worked at the lock on the chest, Marduke walked casually about the room, searching for any other things that might peak his interest. Sure enough, he spotted a door on the far side of the room. He looked back at his companion, about to call out to him, but the man was far too absorbed in getting the lock open. So Marduke, deciding it was a solitary job, cranked open the latch on the door and pushed it open.
This is a prime example of taking initiative in roleplay, and it should really go both ways when two or more people are conversing back and forth and making things happen. But enough of that. Back to questing. This is a great thing to do when parts of your quest seem relatively dull and uneventful. Sure, you found the great and glorious treasure, but maybe you want to fight a troll one more time, or maybe you love hoarding more treasure and can't get enough. Or, if you're like me, you love to just explore and poke your curious nose in places it probably doesn't belong.
In this example, the roleplayer is TELLING the Questmaster what they see and what they do. It doesn't matter if there isn't supposed to be another door in the room, the roleplayer demands that there is. The roleplayer can also demand other things like piles of rubble, shady looking people following them down the street, or just any mundane things that they might see in an ordinary setting like children playing in the street or a bird fly overhead.
The Questmaster can then pick up on these things and alter or refuse to alter the course of the quest. It could just be a minor alteration. Maybe all the character in the above example finds behind that door is an old basket with some bones in it. Maybe behind the door is a shortcut out of the cave. Or maybe it's something big. Maybe behind that door is a troll or a jar with a demon trapped inside it and once opened, it will cause the character havoc.
Think of it like this: a family goes to the amusement park. The strict and orderly parent has a list, either a physical list or just a plan in their head, of how the day is going to plan out. They are going to go on THESE rides and eat at THIS time, etc. This is the Questmaster. But you are the little kid. The buggering buffoon who just wants to have fun. You follow your parent's structured list of events because they have some fun rides picked out for you, and the time they chose to eat at is good because you were feeling hungry then anyway. But as you go about this structured day, that giant, fluffy panda bear at the ring toss stall grabs your attention and won't let go. Your parents are still walking towards a ride. They don't see the panda bear or the ring toss game and therefore do not consider it. So you grab your parent's sleeve and say, "Hey! Can I go play that game? Can I? I really want to win the panda bear!"
Well now your parents will either say yes or no. Depending on what they say and what follows after will determine the mood of your day out at the park. Maybe they say yes and you win the bear, making you the happiest kid for the next few weeks. Maybe they say yes and you lose the bear, and your parents get mad at having wasted the money. Maybe your parents say no and you get really upset which spoils your day. Or maybe they say no and you decide that's okay, and you move on, forgetting the panda bear.
With this example of taking roleplay initiative, the big thing to remember is that the Questmaster ultimately decides, but at least with this sort of posting, you can also determine how it goes from there too.
In this example, the roleplayer is TELLING the Questmaster what they see and what they do. It doesn't matter if there isn't supposed to be another door in the room, the roleplayer demands that there is. The roleplayer can also demand other things like piles of rubble, shady looking people following them down the street, or just any mundane things that they might see in an ordinary setting like children playing in the street or a bird fly overhead.
The Questmaster can then pick up on these things and alter or refuse to alter the course of the quest. It could just be a minor alteration. Maybe all the character in the above example finds behind that door is an old basket with some bones in it. Maybe behind the door is a shortcut out of the cave. Or maybe it's something big. Maybe behind that door is a troll or a jar with a demon trapped inside it and once opened, it will cause the character havoc.
Think of it like this: a family goes to the amusement park. The strict and orderly parent has a list, either a physical list or just a plan in their head, of how the day is going to plan out. They are going to go on THESE rides and eat at THIS time, etc. This is the Questmaster. But you are the little kid. The buggering buffoon who just wants to have fun. You follow your parent's structured list of events because they have some fun rides picked out for you, and the time they chose to eat at is good because you were feeling hungry then anyway. But as you go about this structured day, that giant, fluffy panda bear at the ring toss stall grabs your attention and won't let go. Your parents are still walking towards a ride. They don't see the panda bear or the ring toss game and therefore do not consider it. So you grab your parent's sleeve and say, "Hey! Can I go play that game? Can I? I really want to win the panda bear!"
Well now your parents will either say yes or no. Depending on what they say and what follows after will determine the mood of your day out at the park. Maybe they say yes and you win the bear, making you the happiest kid for the next few weeks. Maybe they say yes and you lose the bear, and your parents get mad at having wasted the money. Maybe your parents say no and you get really upset which spoils your day. Or maybe they say no and you decide that's okay, and you move on, forgetting the panda bear.
With this example of taking roleplay initiative, the big thing to remember is that the Questmaster ultimately decides, but at least with this sort of posting, you can also determine how it goes from there too.
The Careless Blunder - an example of what NOT to do
He looked back at his companion, about to call out to him, but the man was far too absorbed in getting the lock open. So Marduke, deciding it was a solitary job, cranked open the latch on the door and pushed it open. To his horror, Gray's corpse was lying on a pile of rubble. Gray had died in several rooms south of here. What was his body doing here now?
This is an example of people getting too overenthusiastic about initiating things to happen in the roleplay during a quest. In the case of ordinary roleplay, I could care less about what your character does. But when your character is questing, you cannot take hold of major events in the scene and do something out of control.
Say the Questmaster has not been on in a while and no other Questmasters have taken over in their absence. Yes, your character may divert a little just to keep you occupied. But the diversions should not be big and drastically important, such as finding the corpse of someone they know, or maybe find a strange artifact. What is acceptable, is if your character opened the door and maybe found a troll, or a horde of goblins, or a shortcut out of there. Think of simpler things if you are going to grab the reigns and charge onward into oblivion. Do not go for anything over the top. It always leads to chaos.
Think about it in this manner: if the Questmaster has not outright told you something or hinted to you that something big and impacting like a friend's corpse will possibly appear in the area, then don't have the friend's corpse appear in the area. If there had been trolls earlier in the cave during your adventure down here, then by all means, have a troll pop up.
I do not want to confuse you. I always push taking initiative and breaking certain boundaries in a mad attempt to get the best of the best out of your rp experience, but always set your own limits for yourself. Always second guess yourself. If ever you consider doing something, and once you second guess yourself find it to be maybe a little sketchy, settle for the second best thing and go with that.
And above all, never be afraid to ask questions. Don't let those sneaky little blunders ruin your fun. Ask the owner or the Questmaster in charge or other Questmasters about what to do next if the possibilities before you seem a bit daunting or implausible.
Say the Questmaster has not been on in a while and no other Questmasters have taken over in their absence. Yes, your character may divert a little just to keep you occupied. But the diversions should not be big and drastically important, such as finding the corpse of someone they know, or maybe find a strange artifact. What is acceptable, is if your character opened the door and maybe found a troll, or a horde of goblins, or a shortcut out of there. Think of simpler things if you are going to grab the reigns and charge onward into oblivion. Do not go for anything over the top. It always leads to chaos.
Think about it in this manner: if the Questmaster has not outright told you something or hinted to you that something big and impacting like a friend's corpse will possibly appear in the area, then don't have the friend's corpse appear in the area. If there had been trolls earlier in the cave during your adventure down here, then by all means, have a troll pop up.
I do not want to confuse you. I always push taking initiative and breaking certain boundaries in a mad attempt to get the best of the best out of your rp experience, but always set your own limits for yourself. Always second guess yourself. If ever you consider doing something, and once you second guess yourself find it to be maybe a little sketchy, settle for the second best thing and go with that.
And above all, never be afraid to ask questions. Don't let those sneaky little blunders ruin your fun. Ask the owner or the Questmaster in charge or other Questmasters about what to do next if the possibilities before you seem a bit daunting or implausible.
So it sounds fairly simple, and perhaps you are wondering why you bothered to read this. I merely wanted to show this here, so that during your quest, or during your simple perusing of the pages, that you are not daunted by the idea of a Questmaster or a structured questline. Just breeze through it like any other roleplay, keep these tips in mind, and you will do fine.
INFAMY AND FAME
He took his vorpal sword in hand, long time the monxome foe he sought
So rested he by the tum-tum tree, and stood a while in thought.
And as in uffish thought he stood, the local monk from the local plain
Did seethe and transpire the warrior's demise, and how to bring him pain