Guide 5

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Revision as of 07:16, 16 April 2008

[color=green][b]Version:[/b] 1.0 [b]Status:[/b] Incomplete[/color]

Chapter 9 of "A Guide to Good Roleplaying" discusses how to take a backseat to other characters. In a roleplay such as Survival of the Fittest, where there are dozens upon dozens of characters and they all have their own unique stories, it can be difficult to make your character fall into a supporting role. However, not everyone can be the main hero or villain all the time. Here, we will discuss the when, where, and how of putting your characters into a backseat-type roll.

[b]I. When should my character be a "support" character?[/b] This is a tricky question, and the answer all depends on circumstance. The world generally won't stop and stare if your character enters a new location, so when entering a new area with new characters, try not to automatically make your character the main focal point. Oftentimes, the storyline is already unwrapping, and things won't change just because your character shows up.

However, in the same instance, say you're playing a villain character who suddenly appears on the scene to attack a group of characters. Suddenly, your character BECOMES the focal point, as (s)he is doing something to directly emerse him/herself in the storyline. That being said, it brings me to my next topic.

[b]II. What exactly IS a support character? How do I tell the difference?[/b] Basically, a "support" character is one who is not directly pushing the storyline forward with their presence. To better illustrate my point, there are several examples in the pre-game RP of both support and leading characters. In Franklyn Senior High's A Lone Soul at the Bar and Grill characters such as Andie Colvin, Marimar Perez, Danielle Tysl and Vesa Turunen are examples of support, or backseat, characters. They have made their presence known without directly affecting the storyline. In this thread, characters such as Matthias Kovalenko and Eric Silvstedt take on the leading roles.

[b]III. My character is just as important as the other characters, why should I have to take a backseat?[/b] In short, because if everyone in a thread tries to be the leading character, mass chaos and confusion ensues. When you get several different characters trying to drive the storyline in multiple directions, things get confusing and the story goes nowhere because none of the characters are on the same page. Every character has a time and place in the spotlight, but when they all try to force themselves into the limelight at once, things get hectic.

[b]IV. Should I have to take a backseat to other people's characters just because they're "more skilled" than I am?[/b] Sometimes, people feel like their character isn't as important to a storyline as other characters because perhaps the other people they're roleplaying with write bigger, longer, more impressive posts than they do. This isn't true. Just because someone is a "more skilled" (and I use that term very loosely) writer does not entitle them to being in the spotlight in every topic they enter. Regardless of your writing style, your ability, or how long you have been in the roleplay, you are just as entitled to having your time in the spotlight as everyone else. Don't think that just because someone with a "more important" character enters the thread, that you have to automatically take a lesser role.

[b]V. When is it bad to take a backseat to another character?[/b] Lots of times, people find themselves roleplaying with a character who takes a leadership type roll within the group. This is most often when other characters back down and fall into sort of supporting roles, and that's bad. You shouldn't sacrifice your character's presence just so another character can step up to the plate and make all the decisions. This doesn't mean that you have to have a leadership squabble or something, but make sure your characters are involved. It wouldn't be a group with only one person.

Another time characters tend to take a backseat is during romantic relationships. All too often, we see a character lose all sense of self and confine themselves to thoughts and actions revolving around their significant other. It's rare that we see this in real life, but it often happens in RPs, and then the love-sick character automatically takes a backseat, making the other character seem more important. There's no point in this, and there's no warrant doing it. It just takes away from your character and your writing ability. In love or not, they're still human beings. Remember that.

More to come...

(([i]Feel free to PM any suggestions/questions/comments to Megami![/i]))

Guide 5

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-[u][b]Playing the Hero: Section 4[/b][/u]
+[color=green][b]Version:[/b] 1.0
+[b]Status:[/b] Incomplete[/color]
-Good afternoon, morning, evening, or whatever time of day that it so happens to be while you’re reading this little section of the SOTF Roleplaying Guide. My name is Adam Dodd, better known as the forum co-admin, d0ddi0slave. Today, I’m going to be writing about how all of you prospective RPers out there can better enhance your skills if you’re thinking about trying to play the hero.
+-----
-Now before I get into it, I’m sure a lot of you are probably wondering – what makes you so qualified to tell us about playing a hero? Now, I’m not going to tell you that I am more or less qualified than anyone – the simple fact is that nobody’s a perfect roleplayer, and everyone – the staff, the long-timers, and the newbies, every single person here can afford to try and improve themselves. What I CAN tell you is that I’m responsible for playing my namesake character in SOTF v1, and through some way or another, he’s turned into this ridiculous cult hero kind of figure. So while what I’m saying in this guide might have worked for me, there’s always the possibility that it might not work for you. I understand that, and keep in mind that these are just pointers; guidelines if you will, and hopefully they’ll help each and every one of us improve. Hell, I’m hoping the other guides will help me out a lot!
+Chapter 9 of "A Guide to Good Roleplaying" discusses how to take a backseat to other characters. In a roleplay such as Survival of the Fittest, where there are dozens upon dozens of characters and they all have their own unique stories, it can be difficult to make your character fall into a supporting role. However, not everyone can be the main hero or villain all the time. Here, we will discuss the when, where, and how of putting your characters into a backseat-type roll.
-Throughout my guides, I’ll be referring to characters through literature, movies, television, and V1 as ways to explain and understand my points. I’d like to point out that any characters that I reference from anywhere are all property of the domain from whenst they came. So with that little ‘please don’t sue my copy write-infringing-ass’ warning out of the way, we can now begin!
+[b]I. When should my character be a "support" character?[/b]
+This is a tricky question, and the answer all depends on circumstance. The world generally won't stop and stare if your character enters a new location, so when entering a new area with new characters, try not to automatically make your character the main focal point. Oftentimes, the storyline is already unwrapping, and things won't change just because your character shows up.
-[b]Section One: The Definition of a Hero[/b]
+However, in the same instance, say you're playing a villain character who suddenly appears on the scene to attack a group of characters. Suddenly, your character BECOMES the focal point, as (s)he is doing something to directly emerse him/herself in the storyline. That being said, it brings me to my next topic.
-To be a hero is such a broad term. I mean, really, when you think about it, it is. It’s a word that gets tossed around far too often these days, and I’m not even sure that people have a clear definition as to what it means. Immediately when someone brings up heroes, often, people will think about comic books. Hell, I know that I do. But is that the most appropriate definition for the word? My guess – definitely not. I love comics as much as the next guy, but it’s gotta be more than that. So to clear the confusion, we’ll go to dictionary.com. The word hero has four different definitions. They are:
+[b]II. What exactly IS a support character? How do I tell the difference?[/b]
+Basically, a "support" character is one who is not directly pushing the storyline forward with their presence. To better illustrate my point, there are several examples in the pre-game RP of both support and leading characters. In Franklyn Senior High's A Lone Soul at the Bar and Grill characters such as Andie Colvin, Marimar Perez, Danielle Tysl and Vesa Turunen are examples of support, or backseat, characters. They have made their presence known without directly affecting the storyline. In this thread, characters such as Matthias Kovalenko and Eric Silvstedt take on the leading roles.
-a) In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
+[b]III. My character is just as important as the other characters, why should I have to take a backseat?[/b]
+In short, because if everyone in a thread tries to be the leading character, mass chaos and confusion ensues. When you get several different characters trying to drive the storyline in multiple directions, things get confusing and the story goes nowhere because none of the characters are on the same page. Every character has a time and place in the spotlight, but when they all try to force themselves into the limelight at once, things get hectic.
- A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.
+[b]IV. Should I have to take a backseat to other people's characters just because they're "more skilled" than I am?[/b]
+Sometimes, people feel like their character isn't as important to a storyline as other characters because perhaps the other people they're roleplaying with write bigger, longer, more impressive posts than they do. This isn't true. Just because someone is a "more skilled" (and I use that term very loosely) writer does not entitle them to being in the spotlight in every topic they enter. Regardless of your writing style, your ability, or how long you have been in the roleplay, you are just as entitled to having your time in the spotlight as everyone else. Don't think that just because someone with a "more important" character enters the thread, that you have to automatically take a lesser role.
-c) A person noted for special achievement in a particular field.
+[b]V. When is it bad to take a backseat to another character?[/b]
+Lots of times, people find themselves roleplaying with a character who takes a leadership type roll within the group. This is most often when other characters back down and fall into sort of supporting roles, and that's bad. You shouldn't sacrifice your character's presence just so another character can step up to the plate and make all the decisions. This doesn't mean that you have to have a leadership squabble or something, but make sure your characters are involved. It wouldn't be a group with only one person.
-d) The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.
+Another time characters tend to take a backseat is during romantic relationships. All too often, we see a character lose all sense of self and confine themselves to thoughts and actions revolving around their significant other. It's rare that we see this in real life, but it often happens in RPs, and then the love-sick character automatically takes a backseat, making the other character seem more important. There's no point in this, and there's no warrant doing it. It just takes away from your character and your writing ability. In love or not, they're still human beings. Remember that.
-So when you look at it from a purely roleplaying perspective, some of these definitions quite evidently and obviously do not apply. Most glaring here is the third definition. This definition is more or less directed towards people who are viewed as ‘heroes’ as far as excelling and setting examples in their field. It can also be directed at someone who is looked up to by others.
+More to come...
-For example: My hero is Tom Cruise because he’s setting a great example for Scientologists everywhere.
+(([i]Feel free to PM any suggestions/questions/comments to Megami![/i]))
-For the record – I am not a Scientologist. Anyways, looking at the above example, we can see that for RPing, this is just not the kind of hero that we’re looking for. The fourth definition for a hero definitely has some form of merit as far as the fact that we are creating a type of media. Roleplaying IS indeed a dramatic presentation of sorts, so we’re good there.
-The real definition that I’m looking for is in fact the second one. So listen up – you want to play a hero? Well, a hero is, for RPing, defined as ‘A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life’. This’ll be quite common in SOTF v2, as it was quite a bit in v1. What’s that you say? You want to play a hero that doesn’t get forgotten a month after they die? Well, follow me over to section two.
-[b]Section Two – The Types of Hero[/b]