World of Warcraft®

If folks come up with adendums please add to this. As things grow and change in the realm of RP anything new or updated helps.

Index

-Overview
-Terms and more
-Chat/Text Roleplay

This is a guide we used in the previous RPG we played. The basics are still the same, but the application with WoW game mechanics is a bit different. Regardless for getting started it can help quite a bit.

So you want to know how to roleplay, huh? Well it isn't as simple as you might think. Many people think they know how to do it when the really only know how to emote and try to pass it off as roleplay. Here I will "try to explain how I roleplay whenever I go through an average day among the roleplaying community.

Names
Just because you see someone's name on screen DOES NOT mean that your character can automatically assume their name. If you do this, you will have to think up a nutsty reason off the top of your heas as to how you know who they are. What you want to do, overall, is wait for the character to introduce themselves to you. That is like giving you permission to call them by their name, and the same goes for any title they might have. Your character only knows WHAT HE/SHE HAS BEEN TOLD or realistically overheard, so keep that in mind.

Titles
The very same rules apply to character titles as well, you don't know unless you are told, so don't start assuming that about them as well. Also, DO NOT make some idea up like "I read so on your badge" because you read their TRP etc. or saw a title attached to their name above their head. You do not know if they are wearing a badge or not unless it is posted in their description. It is not only crude, but godmoding.

Metagaming
You are surrounded by bad guys, and you need help. Calling for help with a whisper or IM or using guild messages shouldn't and isn't a legit reason for help to come find you. You can try and have your character "scream" and then ask anyone in your local area if they "heard" your scream. Other than that, those are your only options. You want to do most of your roleplay in game. Also, you can not use OOC information with your character. So if someone warns you that the enemy is coming over whisper or IM/Guild Chat, your character can't start getting prepared IG, because they would have no way of knowing that.

Godmoding
Someone is horribly hurt and screaming in agony, you cannot just walk up to that person and "heals her/him and he/she feels better" and then just walk away. That is forcing actions upon another and taking control of situations that he cannot have control of. Godmoding, also, is failure to cooperate with fellow roleplayers and having your character do whatever they seem to please. Nobody is a god in this community, and if you want to have fun with roleplay you will respect your fellow roleplayers. If you respect them, they will respect you. Take this for example:

Viloche: *Stands behind you with a great sword to your neck.*
Tefnet: *Holds still, unmoving, and puts her hands in the air where he can see them*
Viloche: Good, now let us head to the prison for questioning.
Tefnet: *Eminates a chilling aura around her*
Viloche: *His palm is caught in it! Stunned, he drops his kryss to the ground*

This also falls into the scenarios where people claim to have arrived even before they enter a building. If you are on the second floor of a citadel and Ithaas blinks to the center of the screen. You cannot just have your character get up and say "Hey, Ithaas is here." You have no idea that they are approaching the location, with you in your secluded location.

Crisis
A little crisis plot around one person never hurts, but to have it happen a lot, tends to get on peoples nerves. If someone has a problem everyday, then others will not tend to care as much as if they were say to have a crisis, say onece every two months. Absence makes the heart grow fonder (please pardon the cliche).

PVP
If you must Roleplay out a confrontation, do so courteously. I would suggest a whisper to agree on terms before engaging in this type of RP and how attacks and counters may work, for example rolls or to just RP it out. Keep in mind that no one is infallable and to realistically engage in battle people will take hits et.c or be able to doge and so on. Keep it fair and if you are new it never hurts to ask about what the other player may find acceptable.

Dropping Guilds/RP's
If everyone threatened to quit a guild or RP if they did not get their own way, than we wouldn't have any guilds or RP. It is more respectable to go to an individual or leadership and explain why you are upset and attempt to work it out. Now, not all situations may be corrected, but hopefully an understanding can be made or people can agree to disagree. Sometimes it is best to walk away and others after discussion things get sorted out. The best thing to do is COMMUNICATE!

Some quick definitions:

RP – roleplaying. Acting out the part of a character who “lives” in Azeroth, rather than behaving as yourself.

ERP - Stands for erotic roleplay, not all players engage in this activity. However, it doesn't hurt to know what it means. An IC version of cybersex. Keep in mind doing this type of RP is a violation of the Terms of Use per Blizzard.

Char/Toon – abbreviation for character/reference to a character.

IG – in game, playing WoW.

RL – real life, also abbreviated IRL for in real life.

IC – in character. The act of RPing your char.

OOC – out of character. Not RPing your char, acting as your normal self

Metagaming – Using OOC knowledge that you personally have, but your char does not have IC, to take action IC. This is highly frowned upon. For example, if you are meeting a character IG for the first time, you do not know their name until introductions are made, you overhear someone speaking of them, or (like Tamz of Rangers of Alterac) because they are well known on the server. Your char can’t actually see their name floating over their head, nor can you tell what guild they are in unless they are wearing a uniform badge or have things in their TRP or MRP does not mean you know them, take the time to start conversation where introductions can be made.

Godmoding – Sometimes used as a synonym for meta-gaming, but it also means RPing in such a way that your char is invincible or invulnerable to check or attack. This is an extremely bad thing to do, and probably one of the worst mistakes one can make in RP. For example, you are not god-like, with all knowing, all seeing, and all powerful abilities. IF you RP this way, especially during a RP fight, this is how you will be perceived. So if someone "Charges at you with his blade" and you sidestep or avoid each time, it could be considered godmoding. A lot of people use rolls to avoid such. So keep that in mind.

Know Your Lore:
WoWPedia
WoWWiki
Dramatis Personae

All the above sites are your friend and a good resource, also pool the community, there is RPChatter on Horde and Alliance for RPers to communicate. When in doubt ask if you do not understand another person's RP.

There is also sistersofelune.net for Roleplayers as well to post stories and network.

Add Ons:
MRP
TRP2 (has integrated Gryphen Heart Items and other features)
Tounges
FlagRSP*
(*This works like MRP and TRP but may not have all the capabilities or share information the way the other two do). Those are just a few add on's that many roleplayers use to connect and identify each other as well as interact.

Add Ons can be found via Curse.com and WowMatrix.com, there are other sites but those two as far as I know are the most used.Basically, don’t act like a jerk and use common sense Again, just use common sense. *grin*

Chat/Text Roleplay

This area is where some people get stuck and chat RP's are different depending on the guild or channel used for them. Some may have a setting like a guild hall while others do via a type of communication device. Either way, all the basic RP rules/guides still apply. The big difference is you are not face to face in a sense but in an IC channel and doing more text based RP.

Some add-on's automatically differentiate an emote versus what is said in channels, if you do not have one that does this, a common way of depicting and emote would be something like: *Symeon rummages through his backpack looking for food for his comrades*

By adding the asterisks it separates the emote from normal text, thus getting your message across in the manner to which you intend. You do not have to use an asterisk, some people prefer dashes instead. Both accomplish the same thing. Using parentheses would also show an OOC comment as it would in game.

Here are some examples of chat based RP in a location setting:

Player One: Greeting everyone! *smiling at everyone present as they enter the guild hall* How do all of you fare this fine day.
Player Two: Doing well, it is nice to see you join us, what brings you here so early. *looks at Player One patiently awaiting a response*
Player One: I felt I would get an early start and see who was about to go adventuring with me. I was planning a venture to the Alterac Mountains.
Player Three: *walks in stretching and yawning* Did I overhear a trip to the Alterac Mountains?
Player Two: Yes, Player One was asking if some of us wanted to go. I'm in you should go too.

Here are some examples of chat based RP in a communication setting:

Player One: *taps gnomish com-link to test it* Is anyone out there?
Player Two: I am, are you en route to our rendezvous point?
Player One: Indeed I am. *the rumbling of their mechano-hog can be heard through the com-link* I should arrive shortly I just drove through the Crossroads.
Player Two: Very good, I will see you there all our preparations are already in place for our operation.
Player One: See you soon, let hope this goes smoothly. *turns off com-link as they drive to their destination*

Both of the above examples show how you can RP while questing etc. in a channel and enjoy the game more fully. If anyone else has tips to add please do. This is only a general and basic way to approach this form of RP.

I've been editing as I go but I will need to restart this thread all over again.