RP techniques

[Davairus]

[Quiet Wanderer]

Here is the technique, if you can call it that, that I use. Before I ever roll my character. I sit down and think of these thing (order does not indicate importance):

1. what is his race known for being/doing?

2. what is his class known for being/doing?

3. what ways does his alignment hamper or go with the above?

4. what ways does his ethos hamper or go with the above?

5. If I can find an angle I like, I pick that, if not, I make up my own angle
with the following as guides:
-what cabal(if any) am I going for?
-what would his race absolutely not be able to do.
- same as above, but for ethoes and align
- whats something i've NOT seen done that would be interesting

6. I also normally think of, in advance, what special speech patterns or mannerisms he would have.

7. After i've made his personality, I generally do the description. I try to not describe too much weaponry or armor, unless nessecary or it shows who he is. For instance, if I made an invoker I wouldn't worry about describing his weapons, i'd describe his robes more, indicate mystic symbols on them, maybe give him a rune-scribed staff or something to indicate what he is.

8. after i've made the description, I plan my background. For a guy who looks and acts the way he does, whats the reasoning why a 17 year old would act this way? What happened? Always try to avoid sterotypes here.

9. I also do something which I think adds a very nice edge to my RP.. My chars change over time... Which really makes sense... No one is going to be the same at 24 as they were at 17, or same at 30 or 40 as they were at 24. If, using Aldacer as an example, he has had a lot of friends die, stress that. Add a sort of tragically wise aura about him, make his speech melodramatic and sad, make him reminsecent of the past. If they are a warrior who seems to be down on his luck, even if temporary, reflect it.

The main advice I have for anyone trying to RP on AR is that, at the end of your chars life, your chars should NOT be the same as when they were born. Attitudes should have changed, increase of 'em, decrease, dissapearance, whatever.. a 51 year old char shouldn't talk, act, and think the way a 17 yr old one...

I realize this stresses the more extreme side of things as far as RP dedication, but it makes the chars more interesting. Descriptions that change with the char are also a nice bit of flair. Just a warning, keep your personal emotions and ideals seperate , perhaps even against, from those of you character, or you tend to take IC things personally.

[Sethronu]

it first begins with an idea of what kind of char i want to play pk-style wise, and then i build my roleplay idea around it.

- then i choose the perfect name for my purposes, whether i want it to sound a certain way or whether i want it to look a certain way (since after all we read names not hear them on this game)

- i usually think up a description around rank 1 to 15 that helps establish the char's identity

- around 1 to 20 i usually have a collection of around 5 to 10 personalized emotes and a unique manner of action, speech, demeanor, expression, or some form of character flaw.

- background ideas grow throughout the course of the char's life and usually gets full form by around rank 30 to 35.

- around 35 to 40 i usually either practice or pk to get my name out or both. i may or may not also join a cabal to further pronounce my pk goals and profess my rp goals.

- from 40 to 50 i usually end up power ranking.

- at 50 its usually just a matter of continuing, editting, and developing an already established rp line.

[Phostan]

First, you think of something that hasn't been done yet. This is the hard part. Gnome bent on world domination, been done, ladykiller gnome, been done. Pacifistic healer who won't kill anything? Been done. Retarded fire giant, has been done and done. Think of the new.

Next, you have to envision it. You have to feel the characters attitude, the nuances, it has be like you have multiple personality disorder and this character is your outlet for that buried personality, for a time, you are that person. My character is happy, I am happy. Someone just attacked my character, my character is angry, I'm angry. I'm content, as is my character. The game is an outlet. Pk'ing might be enough for some, but a character the embodies them is even better. If you can't connect with the character, then it's just a speedbump on the way to a character that actually means something, don't invest too much time in a character you don't empathize with.

Roll the character. At level 1, write a beautiful description, write a background thats original, indicate how the past mentioned in the background affects how they are now. If you're impatient and don't want to do it all at level 1, maybe that's fine, but the best roleplayed characters are all about taking time and doing things right, so if you stop and do it right away, because you want to, and you go over and over your description and background until you feel satisfied, that's the workings of a character that people are going to remember.

Start roleplaying at level 1. Sure, sometimes groups of newbies dont want to put up with RP, or they make their own attempt at RP, and they suck, and it kills the mood for you, but work with it anyways. If your character takes a week to level to 10, because groups ditch you over RP that gets in the way, that's fine. It's your character, trials of patience is part of that.

Find a group of players that appreciate your roleplaying, stick with them, but include others, expand. You're encouraging others to RP too, so dont shut out people just because they're low level, as far as your character knows, they're just adventurers too. Being a snob produces bad karma.

Decide the lifespan of the character. Your character is a story, you're telling it, and it will have to end sometime, or it will become dry and stale, and by the time you've dragged it to death, it's something you regret. Have an objective, go with it.

[crazyhorse]

[The_Dark_Paladin]

me I pick a race and class first, then I think of somethat hasnt been done or very rarely seen in the class or the race, write a description, rank and throw in rp whenever I can or when I rest, I talk to other and rp with them, then write a background that I have been brainstorming for weeks, then apply to a cabal (mabye) get in I roleplay with that if not then mass killing spree (just joking......sometimes) everything that happens to a charcter like getting married, killed by a single person a million times or something that would change you, like if you got married, or beat up alot wouldnt your outlook on life differ? thats the main question I ask myself when playing the charcter, If this happened to me would I change? even if it is alittle it still changes thats what makes a charcter special