How to Do Literate Roleplay

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Learn what roleplay is: Roleplaying is when a person takes the role of a character and acts it out with a partner taking the role of another character.

   Roleplaying gives you a chance to create your own story or to alter the story of your favorite character.
   
   It can be done throughout all genres, from everything to Harry Potter to Warrior Cats.
   
   Or you could make up your own genre.
   
   You could create your own world or take My Little Pony and set it in Medieval Times.
   
   The sky is the limit here.
   
   Also, it is a wonderful and fun way to improve your writing skills
2. 2

   Step 2: Decide which category you fall into: Beginner: A type of roleplayer that is new to the process.

   They generally type anywhere from a one liner to a paragraph, but not much more than that.
   
   There is nothing wrong with being a beginner as well all must start somewhere.
   
   Remember that being a beginner does not mean you lack literacy! Semi-Literate:
   A type of roleplayer that types generally one paragraph to four paragraphs at most.
   
   This is generally where most people are on the spectrum and it is a very good place to be.
   
   There is good quality here as well as a good bit of quantity, but is not as intense as advanced literate.
   
   Advanced-Literate:
   A type of roleplayer who generates novel-length posts, which are four paragraphs minimum for the most part.
   
   There is a lot of pressure here because advanced-literates often expect a great amount of quantity as well as quality. ,, If you have a concise and clear picture of your character, it is easier to make him or her come alive for the other players. , I’ll strip off and rephrase things to remove their focus on creating villains, though do keep in mind that original purpose they created it for.
   
   You don’t have to do all these steps or do them in the order they’re presented.
   
   They’re just meant to give you some ideas for things to look at and hopefully make it easier to define your character and make him or her come alive.
   
   For example, personally I tend to begin with name, race, class and gender (which aren’t even listed).
   
   Occupation Objective Motive Personality Attitudes and behaviors Tastes and preferences Surroundings History Network Appearance Abilities and Alignment Occupation:
   One of the questions to make your character more believable, and oddly enough one that’s often not really answered, is: what does your character do for a living? For WAR that is when your character is not fighting in a war. , What is your character’s ultimate goal? What would your character answer when asked, in the larger sense, “what do you want”? This does not necessarily have to be an achievable or realistic goal.
   
   For example, certain power-hungry characters might have a secret ambition to try to become a god.
   
   Of course, it should be a goal the character could work towards, something that’s meaningful even if probably not achievable.
   
   If you know where your character is trying to get then that helps with what steps the character takes to get there, and that can definitely give your character more depth. , The harder the objective is to accomplish, the better it is to roleplay.
   
   The secret to all drama is difficulty.
   
   Difficulty is the fuel that lights the fires of our roleplaying.
   
   The greater the struggle, the more the excitement; the larger the risk, the greater the suspense.
   
   But the objective must also be something you can do something about; if it is just philosophical then it can’t drive your character’s actions.
   
   The purpose of the objective is to get you away from thinking of yourself and stay fixed on what your character is thinking. ,, What drives your character, why does he/she do the things he/she does? A motive is a persistent concern for some goal.
   
   In other words, a motive is a need.
   
   Your character has a need for something (or some things) and that drives them to their actions, whether they realize it or not.
   
   What creates the intentions behind the actions? There is a variety of needs that can motivate people, some of which include (numbered to make randomization easier): , This person might maintain high standard and work towards distant goals.
   
   They might enjoy competition and are generally willing to put forth more effort to attain excellence. , This person would make efforts to win friendships and maintain associations with people. , This person is easily annoyed and willing to hurt people getting in their way.
   
   They might seek to “get even”. , They enjoy being unattached, free from people, places, or obligations, and may be rebellious when faced with restraints. , This person enjoys having an audience and engages in behavior that wins the notice of others.
   
   They may enjoy being dramatic or witty. , They avoid risk of bodily harm and seek to maximize personal safety. , They’re interested in caring for children, the disabled, or the infirm, and offer a “helping hand” to those in need.
   
   This person readily performs favors for others. , They dislike clutter, confusion, and lack of organization.
   
   They are also interested in developing methods for keeping materials methodically organized. , This person expresses opinions forcefully and tends to enjoy the role of leader, which they may assume spontaneously. , They might feel insecure or helpless without such support and confide difficulties readily to a receptive person. , This person often has a strong intellectual curiosity and values the synthesis of ideas and logical thought. , For example, it might make sense to give a Bright Wizard a need for understanding, wanting to understand (bright) magic and perhaps the universe at large.
   
   But what if, instead, he had a need for nurturing? What kind of bright wizard would that make? Maybe one who seeks to use his powers over fire to help people.
   
   An interesting question there is also what would’ve made the person with that need choose the path of a Bright Wizard? Also, in general I tend to pick two motives for my character to give them a bit more depth; a character with a single driving motivation quickly becomes one-dimensional. , You might describe someone as cocky and perceptive, or as kind and shy.
   
   As such it might be a good idea to pick two or more dominant personality traits which serve as a first impression of the character.
   
   These traits should be consistent and reinforce one another.
   
   But what might add extra interest to your character, make them more memorable, is giving them a seemingly contradictory trait.
   
   This added contrast can serve to add more depth to your character, making them more than just ruthless killing machines, but also having a soft spot. , I find this table very useful myself, but of course you don’t have to limit yourself to those; any character traits are usable.
   
   Dominant Traits 1:
   Practical Dominant Trait 2:
   Perfectionist Contradictory Trait:
   Caring , A person’s attitudes are not always consistent with their behavior.
   
   Someone might treat everyone very nicely and actually pity them for not being as smart and gracious.
   
   And people often treat others differently depending on their relationship and the situation.
   
   Two important sets of attitudes and behavior to identify for a new character are:
   1. attitude towards others, and
   2. behavior towards others.
   
   Try to think of various groups of people and define these two for each; a knight likely has a different set of attitudes and behavior to his superiors than to common peasants. , Unusual tastes add color and intensity.
   
   Try to think of thinks like: what is your character’s favorite food, what is their favorite color, what kind of music does your character like, etc, etc.
   
   Unusual tastes definitely help your character stand out, but even normal tastes help to flesh out your character.
   
   A warrior, a priest and your character walk into a bar; what does your character order to drink? Having some simple questions like these answered beforehand can help smooth out roleplaying, though I've also found that at times just spur-of-the-moment decisions like this can help make your character feel like they’re growing (I once had a character who preferred to drink cinnamon tea just because when introducing her I decided on the spur of the moment to have her drinking that).
   
   No need to define your character in detail; just enough to get a good handle on him/her. , Where does your character live and, more importantly, how do they keep that place? Is it very cluttered, or neatly organized, or does your character keep his/her place of living very sparse? What kind of things does your character surround him/herself with? And most of all, why? Why does your character choose to do this? And if not actively busy where does your character spent his/her time? Where is your character when you're not logged in? Some might lock themselves up in their room, others might spend all their spare time in the local pub, or perhaps spend the time training, or perhaps frolicking through the forest or taking long walks on the beach. , For example, how can one call you literate if you write,"Shi w4ks tr00 d4 b3ch lukin fur da letle tirtle, etc." No matter how excessively you write you need to be great in all these.
   
   D01ng th1s w1ll n0t w0rk.
   
   Dis tuu. ,
3. 3

   Step 3: Design your character:  Make it your own

4. 4

   Step 4: While you can spend hours working up every aspect of a character’s life and personality

5. 5

   Step 5: you need know only enough to make the character believable to you.

6. 6

   Step 6: I’ll go through the process they present

7. 7

   Step 7: following the same steps they do and giving the same advice.

8. 8

   Step 8: Objective: Another important question to ask regarding your character

9. 9

   Step 9: one that’s also frequently overlooked

10. 10

    Step 10: is: what is your character trying to achieve in life?

11. 11

    Step 11: The objective must always be difficult to attain.

12. 12

    Step 12: Some categories of objectives (note that this list was originally intended for villains

13. 13

    Step 13: though I’ve extended it some) you could find a more specific objective in: Immortality Wealth Military Power Political Power Magical Power Divine Power Revenge Self-Aggrandizement Love Peace Security Family Patriotic

14. 14

    Step 14: Motive: Next to the question of what your character is trying to achieve is the question of why.

15. 15

    Step 15: Achievement - Someone with this need sets out to accomplish difficult tasks.

16. 16

    Step 16: Affiliation - Someone with the need for affiliation enjoys being around people

17. 17

    Step 17: enjoys being with friends and will accept people readily.

18. 18

    Step 18: Aggression - Someone who needs aggression enjoys combat and argument.

19. 19

    Step 19: Autonomy - Someone with the need for autonomy tries to break away from restraints

20. 20

    Step 20: confinement

21. 21

    Step 21: or restrictions of any kind.

22. 22

    Step 22: Exhibition - Someone with this need wants to be the center of attention.

23. 23

    Step 23: Safety - Someone who needs safety does not enjoy exciting activities

24. 24

    Step 24: especially if danger is involved.

25. 25

    Step 25: Nurturing - Someone with the need to nurture gives sympathy and comfort

26. 26

    Step 26: assisting others whenever possible.

27. 27

    Step 27: Order - Someone with this need is concerned with keeping their personal effects and surroundings neat and organized.

28. 28

    Step 28: Power - Someone with the need for power attempts to control the environment and influence or direct other people.

29. 29

    Step 29: Succor - Someone who needs succor frequently seeks the sympathy

30. 30

    Step 30: protection

31. 31

    Step 31: advice

32. 32

    Step 32: and reassurance of other people.

33. 33

    Step 33: Understanding - Someone with this need wants to understand many areas of knowledge.

34. 34

    Step 34: I’d like to make a note here and say that choosing the obvious motive for certain classes isn’t always the most interesting way to go.

35. 35

    Step 35: Personality: When we describe other people to one another we tend to do so by picking one or two particular traits.

36. 36

    Step 36: For this step in particular I tend to use a table listing a large number of general personality traits.

37. 37

    Step 37: Attitudes and Behaviors: Determining how your character regards and treats other people helps decide how to roleplay an encounter when other characters meet yours.

38. 38

    Step 38: Tastes and preferences: A character’s tastes and preferences make them more distinctive.

39. 39

    Step 39: Surroundings: Though much of your character’s surrounding will likely be determined by the game it might still help to give some thought to this.

40. 40

    Step 40: Grammar

41. 41

    Step 41: Punctuation and Grammatical Errors: Now in order to be literate you have to practice on these vital parts in literate role playing.

42. 42

    Step 42: Find a nice site & start role playing!

Detailed Guide

About the Author