Violet's Q&A Thread

[violet rose pearson]

On chat, I was asked a couple of back to back questions regarding my experiences with roleplaying. I'm creating a FAQ. Ask me a question about how to best do something, and I'll give you advice.

[caitlyn emily harrison]

Romantic sequences: how best to go about those when they get a little more touchy-touchy?

[violet rose pearson]

Dec 15, 2010 16:47:43 GMT -5 caitlyn emily harrison said:

Romantic sequences: how best to go about those when they get a little more touchy-touchy?

First off, ask permission before it gets touchy-touchy. (I love that phrase)

You don't need to ask permission on the thread. You can PM the person or catch them on chat. But get permission that it is alright to go that direction. Some people are uncomfortable with that kind of roleplay. Respect is your best tool.

Second, only ever post what you are doing. Remember, this is your character. You decide if it is making you feel good or uncomfortable. As such, don't ever describe how the other person reacts to your action.

Finally, if you want something to happen, but don't want to do all of the posts outlining the juicy details, fall back to what is known as a "black out". A black out is when you declare things happen, but you aren't describing what does happen because it is beyond your comfort level. For this, you should talk to the other person in PM or chat to make sure that they are on the same page as you with what did happen. But no one should ever be forced to do something they are uncomfortable with and this applies to both RP and real life.

[andrew jung oh]

What if I wanted to start a fight with someone? And what if I really, really want to win the fight?

[violet rose pearson]

Dec 15, 2010 16:55:27 GMT -5 andrew jung oh said:

What if I wanted to start a fight with someone? And what if I really, really want to win the fight?

Better hope you are fighting someone that really, really, wants to lose.

Combat is the biggest source of drama that will ever come up in a roleplay forum and yet it can prove to provide the most fun out of any type of roleplay. Here's why: People love the action, but rarely want to lose.

To do a fight and make it fun, talk to the person you are about to fight. Tell them that you want to do a fight and what you'd like the final outcome to be. Tell them what you are willing to have happen to your character. Once the two of you know what the outcome is going to be, it is time to make it super dramatic!

Treat the rest of the fight like they handle stunts in plays. You should post about your reaction to anything that just happened, your feelings inside, and your physical action that you are trying to take as well as the desired outcome of the action.

For a ridiculous example:

Ludvig pulled back his fist as the rage filled him. The student dressed as a frog had offended his honor, and he was not going to tolerate it any longer. He threw his fist forward, hoping to catch the frog boy in the face.

"You vill regret those vords!" the enraged doctor shouted!

Now, it is up to the person you are fighting with to determine if the punch hits and what happens from it.

Warning: Do not God mod. You, as always, should never change the events that impact another person's character without permission.

Here's a bad example of frog boy's response.

Frog boy pulled back in time to avoid the punch. The punch went wild and through Ludvig off balance. This left Frog boy the perfect chance to land his fatal blow. He pulled his knife and drove it upwards towards the doctor.

This is bad because it is basically Frog boy determining the outcome of Ludvig's attack beyond the reasonable. Frog boy is saying that Ludvig is off balance and in a perfect position to be killed. This is god mode.

Here's a good example:

Frog boy took the punch. It was easier this way, for it gave him a chance to pull out the knife he had tucked inside his cape for just such events. He smiled at Ludvig and raised his knife. Spitting blood from his mouth, he took a swing with his blade, hoping to catch the doctor in the stomach.

This is a good example because:
1. He let Ludvig get a blow in even if he made it seem like it was nothing.
2. He declared his next attack and has not made any assumptions about what Ludvig's condition was.

Ludvig could declare that his balance was off too much to avoid that attack, or he could have himself fall back and avoid the blow entirely. Who cares! You can watch people fight and eat popcorn in fun.

[zahra payami]

I have a question: What is the current date in this RPG? Is it September 15th, for example, or is the date concurrent to the date in real life?

I don't want certain events to happen that are in September when the whole rest of the RP is in December.

[violet rose pearson]

Dec 15, 2010 21:29:38 GMT -5 zahra payami said:

I have a question: What is the current date in this RPG? Is it September 15th, for example, or is the date concurrent to the date in real life?

I don't want certain events to happen that are in September when the whole rest of the RP is in December.

There is no date and Ash prefers it that way for good reason. The official date is listed in the statistics section on the side of the screen. As of this post the "date" is: Fall of the 2010 School Year. Now, right now, the general atmosphere on the forums is the start of the school year, but really, it is only specific. You are roleplaying a teacher, so play beginning of class or however you wish to do it. Seriously, if you want to have a class session that takes the game time of a day and in real world time of a year, that's fine. The less you think about the date, the easier it becomes.

And I know it is hard.

[aldys isabelle boucher]

I'm totally at a loss with my class topic. I mean - I don't actually want to play out the whole duration of the class, because let's face it; people are in this rp forum because they want to interact with other characters, not because they want to take a virtual course that's taught by an amateur teacher.

1. HOW do gracefully I end the mess I've gotten myself into?
2. How SHOULD classes actually be held?

[violet rose pearson]

Dec 15, 2010 23:20:14 GMT -5 aldys isabelle boucher said:

I'm totally at a loss with my class topic. I mean - I don't actually want to play out the whole duration of the class, because let's face it; people are in this rp forum because they want to interact with other characters, not because they want to take a virtual course that's taught by an amateur teacher.

1. HOW do gracefully I end the mess I've gotten myself into?
2. How SHOULD classes actually be held?

1. I admit I'm not sure how to answer the first question because I'm unfamiliar with the thread in question. A good fix for any mess is to have something change. A sudden, unexpected change can always bring new directions. I could look at the thread later if you like and come up with something.

2. As much as I try to avoid looking into this book for reference, look at Harry Potter. The movies avoided most of the classes, but in the books it was much more important. What made those classes a fun read? They typically did three things. They taught some spell or potion that was important to the story. They allowed characters to interact with each other. They were filled with mischief.

Playing a teacher is difficult. You want to have fun, interact with people, and still be a teacher. Don't be a real world teacher, or rather, assume that the real world classes where lessons are taught and students obey happen behind the scenes. Do the classes were you do strange things or encourage group lessons. If it is a literature class, ask them to rewrite a book. Force them into groups and have them work on an assignment together. Pick on someone and put them on the spot.

Think back to the last memorable class you had that wasn't this year. What made it memorable? Steal from that memory.

I hope that helps.

[aldys isabelle boucher]

Yes, thank you, I just hope I haven't scared and bored everyone off yet. I'll have to modify my last post to make it more interesting and less about Aldys blabbering.