Guidelines to A Successful RP

Guidelines for a Successful RP


Hi all,

There should be some guidelines on how a RP is to be run successfully.  (Note that I don’t use the word “rules” since it implies a stricter adherence.)

So hopefully, the following will help in having the RPs run smoother and if there are any questions, please feel free to send a PM.

1.  Use as much correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation when making RP posts.  Now we do realize that not everyone will be perfect when following the three but please try to make an effort to do so.  A lot of these mistakes can be very distracting to read for the other members participating in the RP and can cause some frustration.  Also, when it comes to dialogue for your RP character, try to write the dialogue in narrative form.  Here is an acceptable way to write such dialogue:

Elizabeth replied, “Hi Jane.  So you are going to the market today?  May I join you?”

Here is an unacceptable way (using the same dialogue as above):


Elizabeth: Hi Jane.  So you are going to the market today?  May I join you?

The above is unacceptable because this format is more suited to play form, like those that are performed in theater.  The RP is supposed to be a story so narrative form is preferred.

2.  No god-modding.  This is a really important rule so PAY ATTENTION.  God-modding means that your RP character never dies or gets injured, etc.  Why is there such a rule for RPs in general?  Well, to say the least, god-modding can be very annoying.  lol  So if another character attacks your character, then it’s best just to let the attack happen.  Please don’t try to cheat out of this by suddenly saying that your character has a new special power.  This can get highly irritating.  An exception can be is if another character comes to save the character that is attacked.  That is perfectly acceptable as long as that character doesn’t use any “sudden” new powers.

3.  Registering your RP character.  It is very important to clearly register your RP character and indicate early on what abilities/powers he/she has.  Don’t suddenly make up new powers for your character just because you don’t like the way the RP is going.  If your character happens to learn a new power, though, that is acceptable and doesn’t need to be listed in registering your character (although an update would be recommended).  

4.  Conflicts with other RP players.  We do realize that at times, there may be problems with other RP players regarding how their characters are affected.  If that is the case, the best solution is to send a PM to the parties involved and try to explain what the problem is exactly.  A lot of conflicts can be resolved that way and it doesn’t disrupt the flow of the RP.  However, if the conflict can’t be resolved, then a moderator should be contacted about this issue and in an extreme case, an administrator can be told.

5.  Wait for others to respond.  When you have your character speak or perform an action and there are multiple players involved, it is polite to wait for them to respond.  I have noticed at times that some players will make a lot of posts but not wait for others to respond and this can get highly annoying.  If a situation is involved where the others don’t need to respond, then that’s different. But in general, it’s polite to wait for other players to respond.  (Of course, if others are away because of vacation or other matters, then there’s no need to wait.  However, those away should indicate that this is going to be the case.)

6. Don’t take control of other players’ RP characters.  This is important as well.  Just because you may want another player’s character to die doesn’t mean that you should just do that.  This will annoy the player who has that character.  Only take control of your own RP characters and any NPCs.  (NPCs are fair game.)

7. If you are unsure of how another player will be affected by your RP character’s actions or words, then send a PM to that player. There are times when because you may feel that your character’s words or actions are
acceptable, that doesn’t mean that another player will feel the same.  Also, this allows for conflicts to be minimized.

8.  If you make a mistake, then edit your posts.  This is what the edit button is for.  It’s not just there for decoration purposes. lol  There are times when you may accidentally make a typo.  In that case, please correct it and then the RP will run more smoothly.

9.  If your character hasn’t interacted with another character, then don’t assume that he/she knows that character’s abilities.  This is something that I noticed recently.  And don’t make the excuse that your character is psychic unless it’s an ability already noted when you registered your RP character.

10.  Please keep the posts in the G to PG-13 rating.  Since this is a site friendly to members of all ages, please note that any content that goes towards the direction of an extremely violent or sexual nature must be avoided.  

What should you do if you see someone breaking any of these guidelines?

The best thing is to send a PM to those who are breaking the guidelines and inform them of it. Hopefully, they will take it upon themselves to improve.  There are those who are experienced RP players while others are new so some patience should be exercised.  However, if the problem persists and the player doesn’t make an effort to improve, then a moderator (or in an extreme case, an administrator) can be informed of the problem.

We want to be sure that all of the RPs here run smoothly and that any conflicts should be minimized. Following all of the above will ensure that all participants will have a good RP experience.

Note: Administrators and moderators may reserve the right to edit RP posts in an extreme case (if this is needed to ensure that the RPs run smoothly).