-Literate/Semi Literate/Non literate roleplaying: So for me, I do big replies that most people think are a bit too big! I normally do a lot of details because then people can imagine what is going on and see through your characters eyes.

-Group Roleplaying manners: Make sure you let everyone have some attention and don't be a huge mary sue, a way you can do that is make an idea of what you want to happen to your OC if something knocks you off course then keep low or you can put a huge twist to get you back on course.

-General OC roleplaying tips: make sure its an oc you love so you don't get bored

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From Sweeny Todd (#87500) "all i can say from my short time playing d&d is not to think about it too hard, if you think about it to hard itll never sound or feel right"

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For semi-literate to literate roleplays i typically go into detail for whats happening(because its semi lit+) but for non-literate roleplays i would say not to worry about the detail and instead try to describe more of the actions(if you are in a roleplay that has a max word count) to make it stay :)

Group roleplaying manners? Dont favour a certain persons character because you like their oc the best, attempt to interact with everyone to keep the horizon wide and not clutter a specific in rp relationship

General Oc tips: like Greenapple said, make an oc you /love/ this way you wont get bored with them and will be able to drag their story as long as you had originally planned :) also, try avoid making them the most powerful being in the roleplay unless given permission or the roleplay is calling(with actual statements) that you can have a v v powerful character :)

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-Literate/Semi Literate/Non literate roleplaying: All I can say about this is write as long as you feel you can. If you can only write a few sentences at a time, maybe you should try writing a bit more each time What I've found helps is being in a roleplay that you're genuinely interested in being in, because it helps with reply length

-Group Roleplaying manners: You always want to keep the OC and the person playing the OC as two completely different people. Someone can be playing a character who's completely evil, a murderer, a theif, the whole ten yards and be completely different IRL. You never get angry (for real) with other people for something their character did.

Also, try to get along with everyone in the group. If you don't like someone for whatever reason, don't bring it to the thread, please. Everyone there is there to roleplay, not witness a soap opera. If you absolutely have to speak to this person about their actions, just take it to PM.

-General OC roleplaying tips: Always have proper grammar and puncuation. It's always a big let down when someone wants to rp with me and then when I send them at least a paragraph and they send me something like "hank punched lee in the face and then turned away "thatll teach him" he thought as he laughed haha" The occasional error is fine, but at least try. It shows that you don't really care about the quality of the rp.

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Tip 1:
When rping, add detail! It's easier to show rather then tell.
Instead of saying: She walked to the lake, relaxed.
Say this: A breeze would tug gently at her auburn coat as she weaved through the thick undergrowth. She stepped confidently and quietly, as if she knew were every root and fern was placed. A smile would graced her lips as the trees became fewer and far between and as the lap of the waves lulled her into a calmer state. Her jaws would part slightly in a relaxed pant as she reached the bank. She didn't seem to notice the icy touch of the water as it pulled at her paws, or the biting wind.

Think of it as making a movie. The person/animal doesn't walk robotically to the lake within 3.2 seconds without feeling a single thought or emotion. In order to improve your movie, you have to give them surroundings, thoughts, and a good personality!

Tip 2:
Love doesn't form overnight.
I personally am not a fan of romantic rps, but I just thought I'd put this out there. Also, many people describe falling in love as the same: blushing, smiling, complementing the love interest. That's not always how it works out in real life. They may crack jokes, playfully insult the love interest, or literally forget how to talk around them. Try to avoid stereotypes like this!

Tip 3:
Have an interesting, original character!
Okay, having an original character is hard. But there are a lot of stereotypes to fall into and a lot of them aren't good.. Instead of the leader of the organisation being brave, selfless, noble,impulsive, blah blah blah, change it up a bit - one I'm guilty of using quite often is quiet, reserved, but wise and cunning. Also, try to avoid having a sad backstory.It really doesn't make the character interesting if 5/6 people in the group are orphans or whatever. I'm not saying avoid them completely - they can be useful for character development. But if you must, make them learn from this. If they grew up without parents, perhaps they're really independent and a fatherly/motherly figure to someone younger then them, such as a sibling, but maybe they're also really emotional and sensitive.

Group roleplay tips:
DON'T POWERPLAY. Some view powerplaying as not killing someone first hit, but I view powerplaying as not landing a single blow without the other person's consent. For example, instead of this:
He dodged then bit them.
Do this:
A huff escaped from his jaw as he pulled back, their teeth snapping shut with an agonizing click just beside his ear. As they pulled back to prepare themselves for another attack, he'd use this time as an advantage. He aimed low, jaws open wide as he aimed to sink his jaws into their paw. If this succeeded, he'd hang on tight.

Some people may use this to advantage, so I advise putting in rules like only a 25% chance of landing a fatal blow per battle - maybe you could roll a dice. Another rule is only 3 dodges/blocks/misses her battle.

Hope this helps! c:

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So, I haven't roleplayed in a few years, but prior to that had been doing it regularly since prior to 2004.

-Literate/Semi Literate/Non literate roleplaying

A thesaurus is NOT your friend unless you are trying to make a joke. Seriously. A good writer can communicate the same information without whipping out that thesaurus. If you feel like you're being too repetitive, then try looking at sentence structure first, or find a different way to describe what you're talking about. But don't just use complicated words because you feel like they'll make you look good.

Hard rules:
"Orbs" are never an acceptable replacement for "Eyes". Neither are "occulae," or really anything else that sounds Latin-esque, unless you are roleplaying a douche-y doctor, I suppose. Or an alien scientist studying someone. Otherwise, don't--it's one of the quickest way to make most experienced writers/readers cringe.


Detail is good! But you can go overboard. Extra sentences for the sake of adding length because you feel like you have to hit some arbitrary goal is ridiculous and adds nothing. Some good ways to lengthen your posts WITHOUT it being pointless length:

- What does your character see? Describe it briefly. ("She walked into the old, dusty bar and glanced around; there weren't many people in this time of day, just a few old men at the bar already halfway drunk, the bored bartender halfheartedly 'cleaning' behind the bar with most of his attention on a book he was trying to keep hidden below the bartop, and a woman in the far corner, dressed suspiciously well for a run-down place like this.")

- What does your character experience in other ways? Smell, taste, sound, ESP, etc. Describe it briefly. ("The bar smelled of stale beer and a sort of must that made her suspect it'd been a while since the bar had been aired out--or cleaned, probably, based on the sticky sensation of the bartop when she rested her hands on it.")

- How does your character FEEL about the things it is observing and experiencing? Describe this in as much or little detail as you like. ("Grimacing, she was quick to remove her hands from the bartop, worried about catching something. What a disgusting place, she thought, nose wrinkling very slightly as she swept her gaze around once more. The people here didn't seem to mind the state the bar was in, but then again, she thought, observing their hunched posture and the way they avoided eye contact, they probably weren't here for the ambiance.")

- What does your character DO? Describe in as much or little detail as you like. ("It didn't take long to catch the bartender's attention, given how slow business was this time of day. Meeting his eyes and inclining her head was enough for him to set his broom down and walk over, leaning on the bar. "What can I get you?" he asked, and she smiled. "I have some questions, actually."")

Obviously, you can do this in any combination you like, as many times as you like in a post. But when you put my whole post together there, you can get a pretty good sense of what the setting is like (when, where, what it looks like, how it smells, who occupies it, what their states of mind are....) as well as a good sense of how the character feels about the situation, people, and place, without me needing to throw in any particularly advanced vocabulary or unnecessary description. We don't need to know every tiny detail about the bar--does it matter how many windows there are, or where each speck of dust is? No, because we can already tell that the whole place is dusty and a little dirty and that the bar itself hasn't been cleaned much.


Hope this helps!

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Thank you for all of your tips! You will all be credited in the Roleplay Guide!

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A little add-on from me regarding OC's is again, make sure you love your character. I try and whittle out OCs by taking personality tests from their perspective or finding questionnaires online and answering them. This helps flesh out major parts of their histories while also giving me chances for inspiration. These questionnaires making me think just what is the favourite dessert of my broody, over-achieving warrior type really helps create a connection believe it or not.

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UPDATE: The guide is now out!

Thank you all for your help! Without you, this guide would have been impossible!

Jinx's Roleplay Guide

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