Forum rp Guide
From SW:TOR-RP-Wiki
Note: This article was originally posted by SithariRog on the official Boards in the FanFiction section, here. It is a very good article which is why I decided to copy it over here. Obviously, it may be expanded as the site and community grows! Cheers to Sithari for coming up with this in the first place!!!
Greeting my fellow Star Wars, Star Wars: The Old Republic and Role Playing fans!
The launch of the Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR) forums was a great day for Star Wars fans across the world (or dare I say galaxy…including those far, far away?). Many of us had been waiting on news regarding this much rumored Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) Game and were elated with its official announcement. There are many benefits that come with official forums which I won’t list here save for one…and that is the development of Role-playing threads that take us on an exciting foray into the world of Star Wars that we so love.
I have been involved in role-playing for quite some time and have been privileged to write with some of the best. I’ve browsed these forums and have decided to compile a general consensus regarding the art of role-playing along with giving some basic definitions and writing suggestions. I have brought some information from other RP communities as well as have used some of what has been posted on the SWTOR forums. This thread is a work in progress and will be updated as we evolve our role-playing community.
My hope is to give some insight and basic rules for those who are interested in role-playing short story writing and to help them get started without too many blunders.
First let me begin by defining Role-playing. Some people are familiar with role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, and many others that include just about all sci-fi and fantasy genres. Basically, these games were designed to allow the players to create their own fun, often in a story-telling format. The players of these games would often get into character and physically act out their roles. The more hard-core role-players would even dress in costumes and speak in various accents to heighten the experience of their fantasy. These role-playing games have taken on a whole new experience with the development of MMOs or MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role playing games) where people, through computer based games, can log into a server, create an avatar and almost literally live in a fantasy world.
Role-playing has evolved from the earlier forums of RP games and has found a niche in online communities where role-playing can now be experienced through writing stories. Many of the more popular genres (Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, Star Wars and others) have communities of people who develop their own fun by writing short stories using characters they’ve developed throughout their gaming or RPing experiences. Star Wars: The Old Republic is no different and we can see that, within only a few days of the official forums being launched, many quality stories are being told.
What I offer next will act as guidelines for those who need a little help in getting started in the art of Role-playing.
Again, all of this is a work in progress. Please post your comments and suggestions and I will update the information component to these threads as needed.
Sincerely,
SithariRog
Guidelines for writing in a [Closed] Role-playing Story.
Two important definitions (thanks to Oslek):
[Closed RP], a designation in the title of a Role-playing story indicating this particular thread has been started by a small group of writers who have (likely) developed a defined plot or direction for their story. These writers often do not want anyone except the designated authors participating in the story. Anyone wanting to join a [Closed RP] should send a private message to one of the authors expressing a desire to participate. Do not feel insulted if you are denied participation. There are many examples of these stories throughout the Fan Fiction Forums.
[Open RP], a designation in the title of a Role-playing story indicating this particular thread is free for anyone to participate. The writing style is brief and action oriented, and is meant to foster socialization. Often times there isn’t a story (in the true sense off the word) taking place and therefore there is no defined plot or direction to the action. You will find an excellent example of this in the [Open RP] The Cantina thread seen here: The only true rule for an [Open RP] is that you can only control the actions of your character.
1. Please do not post in an active [Closed RP] story (unless you’re one of the writers), as this will upset the flow of writing and contaminate the story thus detracting from the enjoyment of reading. Such closed RP stories should have [Closed RP] in their title. If you have a comment, be it positive or negative, or you just feel the urge to blab, please be courteous of the writers by sending them a private message [PM]. If you make an inappropriate post in a closed RP you will likely be asked to delete your comment. If you are a repeat offender, you could even find yourself reported to a forum moderator.
2. Ask to be invited. Do not jump into a story and start writing, unless the thread is an open RP. The authors of a [Closed RP] might have a defined plot or direction to their story and your character might not be a good fit for their adventure. Do not be offended if you are denied access to writing in a given [Closed RP].
3. Use of Out of Character [OOC] posts should be avoided because [OOC] posting disrupts a story-line and throws of its rhythm. Use [PM] or email to discuss story matters (character detail, story plot, etc.), rather than the distracting use of [OOC] within the story.
4. Limit the number of RPers or writers per story. More than five or six writers in a given story can get confusing and make it difficult to maintain proper cohesion and advancement of a story.
5. Write well and strive to increase your writing skills. Each post should advance the story, which cannot be accomplished with one sentence. Be mindful of sentence and paragraph structure and the use of appropriate punctuation. Strive to write several paragraphs (with an adequate number of sentences) and/or lines of dialogue. Practice makes perfect. There are no hard and fast rules as to how many sentences a paragraph should have or how many paragraphs or lines of dialogue should be in a “section” or chapter. Descriptions of a player’s surroundings (terrain, weather), what a player is thinking or even flashbacks that help explain a personality trait are good places to start when trying to “fill out” a paragraph or chapter. If it’s not interesting, people won’t read it. Finally, having someone proofread or edit your section is sometimes helpful.
6. Use spell and grammar checks. Bad spelling and/or grammar throws off the rhythm of a story. Write your story section in a word processor and use the spell/grammar checks. These tools are remarkably accurate and useful. Surprisingly, you will find that the use of a word processor will help improve your writing skills, as you learn from your mistakes. Finally, writing in a word processor allows the writer to save his/her work outside the forums.
7. Embellish with punctuation. Be sure to use punctuation for, not only grammar, but for emphasis in your writing. Use quotations properly to denote spoken words and use spaces between paragraphs. The use of bold type and italics is also helpful in emphasizing words, phrases or thought. If you’re unsure how to punctuate dialog, then get out your favorite novel, turn to a section with dialog and…do it like that!
8. Have fun and plan ahead. Pay attention to character development and discuss any major changes in a storyline with your fellow authors before you post.
9. When starting a [Closed] or [Open] RP, give the reader some insight into what you’re doing. Introduce the story, the writers and/or the environment so everyone knows what you’re doing. If you’re starting an [Open RP] you’ll want to explain how people can participate.
10. The fate of a character is in the hand of the character’s creator. No one should kill another player’s character. You may kill your own character if you desire.
11. Have a mutual respect of other RPer’s characters. There will be times when you are writing for other player’s characters as their characters interacts with your character. Respect your fellow RPer’s character’s personality, mannerisms, speech, ethics and morals. Non-forum communication is a must in this situation AND submission of your posts to other RPer’s whose characters you are writing about for approval is an understood courtesy.
12. NPC are people too. Non-RPer characters or non-player characters[NPC] are plentiful and writers should strive to maintain the personality, mannerisms, speech, and morals of those characters.
13. Concentrating on one or a very few number of stories rather than spreading oneself over many stories. By concentrating on one (or no more than two or three) story allows one to more easily write well-written stories.
14. Be patient with your fellow writers (and the public should be patient with a story). Many people on these forums have real lives with real jobs and families. It takes some people longer to respond or to take their turn at writing. Most people are here to have fun. Those “other” people should be ignored….or run through with a red-bladed light saber! MWHAHahahaha. Ignore them.
Finally, Learn from Your Mistakes…AND graciously accept constructive criticism. We’re here to have fun but we’re also here to get better at writing so we can have…even more fun!
General Guidelines for Genre-based (Star Wars) RP Stories:
1. Know your genre. In our case, know your Star Wars. Also, know what is and what is not considered canon. There is over 25,000 years of history in the expanded universe (or genre) of Star Wars, but only six films and one (in progress) television series. Everyone here is a fan of Star Wars and most of us know our Star Wars history very well. If you write something that does not keep true to the Star Wars genre, you’ll likely be crucified…publically…and with great humility.
2. Know your time setting. We have a rich (and growing) Star Wars history that spans 25,000 years. Each time is exciting and worthy of many stories. Be sure to know what is happening in the time frame in which you set your story whether it be during the First Great Schism, the Great Sith War, the Mandalorian Wars or as recent as the New Sith Wars or the Clone Wars or even during the time of the New Jedi Order. Each time is different with different politics, alliances, races, characters, etc. Granted, many might want to create stories in or around the time setting for SWTOR, but remember, we don’t know a great deal about this time and only know that roughly 3,500 BBY was after the Old Sith Wars and during a time of cold war between the Sith and the Republic. When writing, get your facts straight and avoid using events or characters that belong to another time.
3. Do not interact with any known, established or famous characters. Yeah, it might be nice to arm-wrestle Darth Bane or sit down and have tea with Yoda…but…simply…don’t do it! Who is to say how Darth Vader or Luke or Han Solo would react to the events in your story? Certainly not you! These characters, especially those from the films and TV series, are very dear to us and we know them very well. Interacting with these characters should, simply, be avoided at all cost.
4. Develop believable characters. Your character should be lore appropriate and not have any special “uber” powers or abilities. As an example: those that move along the true path of the Light Side do not use Force Lightning. Your characters should also not be related to any of the known characters of Star Wars, so don’t presume to be the great-great-great grand uncle of Shmi Skywalker. Besides, not only would such a situation be implausible, but, most likely, would not have any bearing on your story. An example:
'"My Jedi lineage can be traced back to Florendyl,a Jedi Weapon Master who lived during a Time when Jedi and Sith fought for control of the galaxy. He was charismatic, powerful and a brilliant military leader"-Lokiandro Aveogra"
This is an example of what NOT to do. You do NOT describe yourself as a "charismatic, powerful and a brilliant leader" for a very simple reason: You are giving yourself more importance in lore than you deserve. You do not place your character in such an important role.'
5. Speak like a Wookiee. Be mindful of the races of Star Wars. Although there was a Wookiee (or two, maybe, if I remember correctly) that spoke Republic Basic in the KOTOR games, we’ve yet to hear any Wookiees speak anything but Shiriiwook…or maybe Thykarann or Xacik in the films or the TV series. Granted, Wookiees could understand Basic and non-wookies could understand one of the Wookiee languages, but it’s not acceptable for a Wookiee to go about blabbing in Basic. The point to make here extends to being mindful of the mannerisms of the various races of Star Wars as well as their interactions and politics and religions. Know the race you’re writing for.
6. Do NOT presume of knowing how a character feels, what a character does or how a character looks like. Unless explicitly written, you do NOT assume that another character is happy, sad, intimidated, running, crouching, shooting or fighting. For example:
"Eclipse Verdo, is a man like no other you will meet. Its not in his voice, or his armor that will intimidate you, or even the fact he is the leader of one the Mandalorians. It’s his sheer stances alone that will intimidate you."
This is an example of what NOT to write. Simply don't. You have no authority to tell others if they are afraid or not. Do not play other characters, but play your OWN. You may share the feelings of YOUR character, but do not make up the feelings of another.'
more to come?***
There are a few threads that I found had a good start to this discussion and/or had good links that accompany the development of the role-playing forums and I feel it is important to give credit where credit is due.
First, Kafyn had a good start in bringing about some discussion in developing some RP guidelines and this thread can be found here:
Second, Oslek wrote some basic rules and started some definitions for RPing. This thread can be found here:
