!Roleplaying 101!

[Sivoncé™]

Roleplaying 101

What is roleplaying?

Urban Dictionary defines an rpg as this:

Short for "Role-Playing Game"; a game in which the player takes on the persona of a fictional character and has adventures with other characters in a world created by the Game-master, a sort of referee. Can be played with other people ("Face-to-Face" or "table-top"; also called "Pen-and-Paper"), or over the Internet ("Play-by-E-mail" or "Play-by-Post" games; this category also includes games played on IRC or via a chat site)

Not to be confused with computer RPGs, which are a different kettle of fish altogether.

Wolves of the Mist is an example of a play-by-post roleplay game. Here at WotM, we create our stories or "adventures", as the definition puts it, by making a post through the third-person view-point of a character. From there, someone will post with their character, and the story continues.
Roleplaying is a unique, but beneficial pasttime. All the emotion, drama, or action of a movie or novel can be read and written within the seperate "threads" (a series of posts put together to make up part of our ongoing story) of WotM. People of different personas who partake in roleplaying offer a sense of community through common interest. As you form a bond with your teammates on the basketball team, you can find a sense of warmth and similar interest here at WotM with your writing "team".
However, the real benefit of taking up roleplaying is all in the writing and creative processing. Roleplaying is a simple, everyday way to grow in confidence, strength, and skill with writing. The growth seems natural and almost subconscious, but when you look back to your first post after a few months, there is always some form of visible improvement. Writing skills are useful in a variety of professions and in most high school and college courses. Perhaps it is not your dream to be an author, but experience and comfort with it may make that on-demand English essay a little less stressful.
Whatever your skill level may be coming into this, you will see yourself grow as a writer. And perhaps, you'll find roleplaying to be as entertaining and enjoyable as I have

I have divided the rest of this informational thread into sections so it is easier to get to what you need to know. You may click on each link or simply scroll down to the section of interest. If you have any questions or would like to make a practice rp thread, post your wishes in the main section and a member will help you out

Contents

Navigating the Website

How to Roleplay

How to Make a Character

Powerplay & Godmodding

Out of Character

[Sivoncé™]

Navigating WotM

For those who have never roleplayed or never used a forum-style website before, getting around can be a bit difficult. So, here are the basics for operating here at WotM.

Becoming a Member
In order to roleplay at WotM, it is necessary to become a member. To become a member, follow these simple steps:

• Scroll to the top of the screen and click the "register" button located on the toolbar under the website banner.
  
• Fill out the requested information. Please do not use your real name as your username.
  
• Click "Sumbit" when you have finished filling out your form.
  
• Open your e-mail. You should have received an email containing a "verification code" for your account. Click the link in the email to verify your account.
  
• You are now an official member of Wolves of the Mist! Welcome
  

Moving Around the Site
At WotM, the different places to roleplay are separated into categories, boards, threads, and occasionally subboards. To a firsttime user, this can be quite confusing. A bit of explanation:

Categories are represented by tabs that are located beneath the banner and toolbar. They say things like "General, Characters, Siverians, etc." Each of these tabs represents a main region of the website. For examply, the category "General" is a place where information, advertisments, and places to talk are found. In the "Yozorans" Category, you will find the main camp area and territories of the Yozoran wolf pack.

Under each category, there are several boards. Boards are the horizontal strips that appear on the screen beneath the category tabs when you select a specific tab. Each category has different boards. For example, the "General" category contains the board titled Roleplay School, where you can learn the how-tos of roleplay, make practice threads, and hone in on your writing. Each boards has a description beneath its title that explains what can be found/done inside the board. On roleplay boards, the description may summarize the kind of place or pack the board is meant to represent. All you have to do is click on the board you want, and then you're in

Within the boards, there are topics or threads. Threads are the titles strips that appear on the screen when you click on a specific board. The threads within the board typically revolve around the board's description. For instance, this board is called "Roleplay School". Right now, you are reading a thread about how to roleplay. In a board like "Mountains of Endless Winter", you will find roleplay threads that deal with wolves who are in the mountains. Threads are a series of posts put together to make a story sequence, or in this instance, to provide information. To begin a thread or start your own piece of the story, there is an icon located near the top right of your screen labled "new thread". Click on this icon, and a screen will pop up for you to begin roleplaying or sharing your thoughts. Threads do not last forever -- they are only small pieces, acts, or chapters in the larger story. In general, after you write something in a thread, you must wait for someone else to write something in return before you can continue writing there.

This brings us to posts. A post is simply the creation or a response to a thread. A post is an individual segement of a thread; the beginning of the thread alone is a post. To post in a thread, you may hit the reply button located on the previous post. The first post, combined with the posts that follow, are really what makes up a thread. Posts are divided by margins that attach usernames -- so you know who wrote/posted what. In roleplay, this means you begin a thread with a scene that involves your character. Someone else replies and adds their character to the scene, and in the following posts, they interact to form the story.

It may seem intimidating at first glance, but Wolves of the Mist is really just a big old nesting doll

Private Messages
At Wolves of the Mist, there is a private messaging system in which you may have private conversations with other members -- sort of like an e-mail on the website. You can check these messages by clicking on the X messages link beneath the banner at the top of the page. The link will always tell you how many private messages, or PMs you have altogether. The white writing next to it will tell you how many new messages you have. To read a PM once you click the link, run your mouse over the one you want to read and click on it. You can tell what messages have not been read or replied to by the symbols on the side of each PM: closed envelope means unread, opened envelope means read, envelope with an arrow means replied to.

Side Tables
You've probably already noticed the side boxes to the left of the screen. These boxes contain vital information about site updates and plot and are updated regularly. I won't insult your reading skills by going over each, but the ones you should be checking regularly are Updates and Pack Stats. The chat box, where you may talk with other members while you're on the site, is avaliable for your enjoyment as well. Also, at the top of the site, beneath the banner is the news fader. Every month, when we vote for the monthly awards Wolf of the Month, Wolf Couple of the Month, and Member of the Month, the results are placed in the news fader. Check near the beginning of every month to see the winners! (Can be voted for in the awards board once polls have been posted).

Member Profile
Member profiles display simple information about the particular member such as how many posts they have, gender, their birthdate, and their most recent posts. If you are uncomfortable with personal information such as your gender being displayed, you can click "modify profile" on your own member profile and change your setting so your gender is hidden. It is recommended that you also keep your age hidden as well. However, information such as post count and most recent posts can be helpful to your fellow RPers. Member Profiles can be viewed by clicking on the member's name anywhere on the site (outside of the chatbox and sidetables) or looking their name up on the members list. From their profile, it is also very easy to send them a private message without having to know their username, or the name they originally registered with. You may also put a picture (please no real life pictures) in the section of your profile called a signature. This can be edited my clicking "modify profile" on your own profile. The words/graphics you place in the signature box will appear under every post you make. Members tend to place pictures of their characters or character lists in signatures, but there is room for creative liscense.

[Sivoncé™]

How to Roleplay

So now that you know what it is, you're ready to give roleplaying a try. However, there are a few more things to do before you can jump into the action. First, you have to make a character to roleplay with. For information on how to do so, scroll down to the next post. During the character creation process, you will also have to read over the rules and story thus far so you understand how this website operates and have some grasp on the plot. And then, at last, you can take your first steps into roleplay.

Making a Post
So, now you're ready to make your very first post! But where do you start?

A good first step is picking a place to post. There are various categories of roleplay boards to choose from, but a good starting point may be to post in the territory of your character's pack. For example, if I made a Siverian wolf, I may want to make my first post somewhere in the Siverian camp or territories. In reality, any wolf can be roleplayed anywhere, but it may be a bit strange to the Yozoran wolves to see a Siverian sleeping in their camp! So, this is a good place to start. (And if your wolf is an outsider, the outlands would be a good place to start as well). As you build and play your character and develop their stories, they may be led all over the valley -- even into enemy territory.

When you've picked your place, it's time to write your post. The beginning post of a thread sets the scene for the rest of the thread to play out; sort of like the set of a play. Include description of your character, their surroundings, and place your character in the given moment: what are they doing when the curtain rises? Here are some things to consider when writing your first post:
-Where; what are your character's surroundings?
-When; what is the weather like, what time of day is it?
-Who; who is with your character? Are they alone? What does your character look like? What do the other characters look like?
-What; what is your character doing, thinking, feeling, or saying?
-Why; why is your character in their situation?

Here's an example:

Oct 3, 2010 20:22:13 GMT -5 Sivoncé™ said:

The lands sparkled in the pale blue light of dusk. Night was descending swiftly across the valley territories. On the high perch of the Silentnight Rise, a lone she-wolf surveyed the scenery. She was tall in stature, slender in bodice, and her pelt was a mingle of silver-blue frost and dark midnight. Her ice-blue eyes wore a serene expression as she watched over the lands of her pack -- the Siverians. She took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air, and exhaled meditatively. A chilly, soft breeze ruffled her pelt. The weather's getting colder, she thought to herself. My time to get herbs is short. The first frost will come soon.
Suddenly, there was a loud rustle behind her in the surrounding woodlands. Annelise turned her head to look over her shoulder, frowning slightly. "Hello? Is someone out there?"

-Who: Annelise, the Siverian herb healer
-What: She is looking out over the Siverian territories thinking about how she has little time to gather herbs. She hears a noise in the brush behind her and turns to see who it is.
-Where: Silentnight Rise, a cliff located in the Siverian territories
-When: Autumn -- the weather is getting colder. The time is dusk.
-Why: No real purpose other than going somewhere to think or perhaps deciding where she should go to gather herbs.

As you can see, you can put these aspects in any order at all and use them in many different ways. So, go ahead and try it; it might be tricky at first, but you'll get the hang of it in no time!

Maintaining a Thread
So, let's say you see a thread that looks interesting and is open for posting in, or you want to make a response to a thread. The same rules that apply to making your first post apply to posting back, with a few minor differences. Not as much description of surroundings and the like is needed after you've already set the scene. Also, it is key to incorporate your wolf's reactions to whatever happened in the post before. For instance, if ExampleWolf started shouting angrily at DescriptionWolf, it wouldn't make much sense if DescriptionWolf simply ignored what was being said to them. Remember to react to what other characters hear, see, say, and do -- they're in the same scene as your character.
Also, it is important to build off of ideas that form when posting. For instance, if ExampleWolf is crying because she can't find her pups, it might make sense for DescriptionWolf to comfort her and help her look for them or do something about it. While searching, new concepts could be introduced by both rpers that make the story more unique and interesting -- maybe ExampleWolf's pups seem to have been taken by an evil kidnapper, judging by the signs left in the dirt, or maybe they're stuck in a hole that is extremely difficult to reach. The possibilities are virtually endless, but it is vital to remember that both writer's must build off of what the other has written and mix it with ideas of their own.

If you would like to see an example thread which incorporates many of these ideas, click the link below.

mysticsiv.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=practice&action=display&thread=6479&page=1

In the thread, Annelise starts out alone and is most likely going to gather herbs for her pack. She hears a rustling in the forest, which could've been anything from an enemy wolf to an angry bear. It turns out it was a harmless young, packless wolf who was in need of a gentle heart and guidance. As a result of their confrontation, Annelise decides to take the young wolf back to her pack's camp and request for the alpha to allow him to join the pack. A small rustle in the woods can set a lot of things into motion, wouldn't you say?

What Now?
As the example thread shows, a single thread can lead your wolves to a lot of places. When a thread takes a turn, sometimes it it necessary to end it and begin a new one in a different area of WotM. (Annelise and her nameless companion would be heading to the Siverian Camp fairly shortly). In other cases, there will be a natural point in which the thread comes to a close, and the story takes a pause for the time being. When your thread is finished, it does not mean the story is done; whatever happened in your thread may affect your character's future actions. Perhaps they learned a sinister secret in one thread -- this troublesome burden is not erased when you continue your story in a new thread. Every post serves to shape your character into who they are and who they are to become.
When one thread ends, another is just waiting begin -- like a continuous story.

Hints & Tips
If you're having trouble with roleplaying or a certain aspect of it, or maybe you just can't come up with any ideas, try out a few of these tips:
-Make a practice thread with someone here, in the roleplay school, or post a question and members will give you their help, advice, and input
-If you can't think of ideas to start a thread, or write at all, take a pencil and piece of paper and try out a few brainstorming techniques. Sometimes it helps just to make list of things, or write down whatever words are on your mind. Something I have personally found helpful is something I call a thought train (aka brain purge). With a thought train, you write down the first word that comes to your mind and then write down the first thing you think of when you look at the first word, and so on. (ex: Wolf, snow, mountains, sky, halo, beyonce, diva, etc.)
-Google methods for breaking writer's block -- there's millions of help sites out there.
-Try doing a silly, not-so-serious thread in a place like OOC Village (a general board where we "roleplay" our characters when they are not "on duty" in a real legitamate thread. For example, in character, Death is a psycho megalomaniac. Out of character, he is a bartender at the WotM bar.)
-Take a short break to do other things you like. This may help you clear your head and stop you from overworking yourself.
-If you find your break has ended up longer and you need to get back into writing, make yourself sit down and journal for ten minutes, or make at least on post a day -- set aside some time to do nothing but write.
-Ask for help from any of our members or PM Sivvy or Wolfie for extra help

[Sivoncé™]

How to Make a Character

Stories and roleplay truly revolve around our characters -- what they're thinking, doing, saying, or feeling. Making a character to call your own is the first stepping stone to diving into the world of roleplaying. Here at WotM, and on many roleplaying websites, there is a separate category solely for keeping track of and creating characters. If you click on the Characters tab, the boards that will appear are Character Bios, Profile Board, Needs, and Adopt-A-Wolf. The Character Bios board is for the creation of characters, the Profile Board is where you can start a thread where you can keep track of your characters, what packs they are in, and any significant relationships they have. The Needs board is for those who are seeking mates, friends, enemies, etc. that their wolves have not found via roleplay. Adopt-A-Wolf is where you can put wolves you no longer want up for adoption. Other members may choose to take them on as their own characters. You may also make extra bios in this board for others to adopt.

Making a Character

I have previously written a guide to making a character that is located here if you wish to read through it. However, the version below is simplified and considerably more to the point.

Where do you start? Well, after clicking on the Characters tab, enter the Character Bios board. There is a thread called 'How to Make a Wolf' that contains all the information you need to include in your character's bio. The form inside the thread looks like this:

Name-

Gender-(Male/Female)

Rank- (alpha, beta,proxy, herb healer, herb healer neophyte, warrior, neophyte, senior. Some postitions of power may be taken, so I'll tell you if you need to change your rank.)

Pack-(Blood Mist, Sheeran Pack, Siverian Pack, Yozoran Pack, Destinian Pack, or None)

Appearence- (must be at least 5 sentences)

Personality- (must be at least six sentences)

History- (Must be at least 9 sentences)

Codeword- (The codeword can be found in the rules. Throughout the rules, there are letters that are underlined. These letters form a phrase. Your bio will no be accepted without a codeword. This is to make sure you read the rules.)

Highlight and copy this form with your mouse. Go back out into the Character Bios board and click the 'new thread' button in the corner. Now, you get to begin actually piecing your character together. Paste the character form into the post space and title the thread with the name of your character. If you need help coming up with a name, it may help to google names websites or look around you and try to come up with names from the objects you see. Once you have your name, plug it into the form. Decide if your wolf is a girl or boy, if they're in a pack, and their rank or age. Information on each pack and rank is found in the link at the beginning of this post, but here they are in short:

Packs

The Siverians - Clever, strategic, stubborn
The Sheerans - Compassionate, trusting, peaceful
The Destinians - Strong, passionate, prideful
The Yozorans - Sly, sarcastic, confident
Outsiders- Typically independent and solitary
Blood Mist - Violent, unpredictable, tenacious (Most others view them as "evil")

Ranks

Lupus Proeliator (Warrior)
A full-grown, adult wolf who serves their pack through hunting, fighting, and offering their skills to the young neophytes of the pack. The main force of the pack.

Bearer
A pregnant she-wolf or a she-wolf who has taken temporary leave of her regular proeliator duties to look after her pups.

Pup
A newborn or youngling who must stay close to its mother.

Neophyte
A young or adolescent wolf who aims to become a warrior when grown. They spend their days training and honing their skills. Herb healer neophytes train under the herb healer to become a healer themselves, but there can only be one of these in each pack at a time.

Senior
A retired warrior or elderly wolf who has lived in service of their pack and earned some peace and quiet.

Beta
Second-in-command in the pack; the alpha's advisor. Takes the alpha's place if the alpha dies, steps down, or deserts their position. Make sure there is an open beta spot in the side table before making a beta wolf.

Herb Healer
Mystical healers of the packs. They not only learn the secrets of herblore and healing, but study the past, present, and future. Make sure there is an open healer or healer neophyte spot open on the side tables before making a healer.

Alpha
Leader of the pack. Make sure you check the side tables or ask to see if any alpha positions are avaliable before you make an alpha.

Plug in the rank and pack. Next up is appearence and personality. Sometimes, people find it easier to start with one or the other; you may complete the bio form in any order you choose.

Appearence (5 sentence minimum)
Sometimes, especially when you're first starting out on a roleplay website, it's hard to come up with and appearence for your character. You have the option of describing your char's appearence in words, but if you choose, you may also use an image to show your wolf's appearence. Keep in mind that we are a considerably realistic rpg; we don't allow pink wolves or wolves with wings and horns and such. However, cute and scary wolves are acheivable by regular means If you choose to represent your wolf's appearence by describing it in words, take into consideration their size, build, fur length and color, eye color, and any interesting scars, birth marks, or attributes that are unique to your character.

Personality (6 sentence minimum)
The pack personas are not absolute; it is possible to have a compassionate, softer wolf in the Destinian pack and a tough bad-boy in the Sheeran pack; these personas are simply a general disposition that the pack takes on when interacting with other packs. When writing your character's personality, think about their strengths, weaknesses, their guilty pleasures, talents, and morals. Something to keep in mind is that, like in real life, no character is perfect. The flaws of a character set them apart and make them distinctively different from any other character, just as their talents make them special in their own way.

History (9 sentence minimum)
This leaves us with your character's history. This is the part where you can truly make your character your own and unlike anyone else's. Perhaps they are an average wolf who grew up in the pack just like anyone else, but yearn for adventure and something more? Or maybe something tragic happened when they were young and has caused them to be the silent and brooding wolf they have become? The possibilities are, quite literally, endless. If you're looking for some ideas to work with, browse through some threads on the site or take a look around you and see what you can put together. Some things to ask yourself that may help while writing this section are why the character has a certain personality trait, why they have a certain scar/characteristic, and how has their past influenced them into becoming the wolf they are now or the wolf they wish to be.

Codeword
The very last part of the bio form is the codeword. This is only necessary for new members making their first characters. The codeword is a series of underlined letters that are found within the rules thread and the story thus far thread. Altogether, the letters make make three rather simple words that serve as proof that you've read the rules and the plot. It is imperitive you read these threads so you know how to operate here on WotM and you can make the most of roleplaying experience, so to make sure you have, we've installed our codeword ^^ Begin with the rules thread, found in the board "Laws of the Lands" in the general category. The other thread in the mains section of that board is the story thus far, and contains the second portion of the codeword. The underlined letters will appear like this. Happy hunting!

[Sivoncé™]

Powerplay & Godmodding

What is it?
One of the most cringe-worthy mistakes you can make in roleplay is powerplaying or godmodding. Powerplaying is commonly defined as an attempt to write as a character that is not yours or control somebody else's character. Godmodding is usually seen as a character who is depicted as invincible or largely better than the characters around them. It may seem to be easy enough to avoid -- and for the most part, it is. With powerplay, it's simply sticking to your own character, and letting the other roleplayer react and write as their character. Goddmodding seems no big deal, either; as with the character bios, every char has their strengths and weaknesses.

Why it is a Big Deal
Powerplay and godmodding like to sneak up on roleplayers, especially when they enter into roleplaying situations they've never rped before, such as battles, verbal arguements between characters, and things of such nature. I myself, along with at least four people I know, were caught in powerplay or godmodding in our first battle scenes. Like I said -- it's a sneaky one. Here's what I mean:
If your character and another character are engaged in a fight, there must be a balance of dodges and blows. It is not a requirement for you to count every time your character dodges a blow, hits their opponent, or gets hit, and there are no such things as 'hitpoints' on this particular rpg, but it is required for you to be realistic. Chances are, opponents are similar if not the same in skill. It is natural for them to have different strengths and weaknesses and to use these; for example, a slim and slender wolf fighting a larger, more muscular wolf may use battle tactics that have more to do with speed than strength, and may be able to use their skill in this area to inflict some serious wounds, but the opposite is also true.

Example; Click Here!

In this case, it would've been fine for Annelise to note the chance in the young wolf's features, but I do not have the power to make his reaction; if she noted anything changed about him, it would have to be because his rper wrote that something seemed or was changed about him. Furthermore, his description as an unusually large wolf was not powerplaying against Annelise because I described her as more of the long and lanky type. While she may have strength and did manage to outrun him, the tone in which this was written was rather belittling; this could've been presented softer and in a way that only highlights Annelise's features and is not meant to undermine the description of the young wolf.

Powerplay and godmodding can cause hurt feelings outside of rp, as members will be frustrated if they feel their character is not given adequete chance to react to what is being written. Overall, it hinders writing improvement, upsets members, and takes away from a healthy roleplay community.

Tips to Avoid/Fix Powerplay
-If you're afraid you may have powerplayed, look over your writing before you post, or go back and modify it after you've posted.
-Be aware of the give-and-take of battle roleplay. Do a practice thread in this rp board to work out potential kinks in your roleplay that may cause powerplay.
-Report powerplay to a moderator if you see it so we can help our fellow members imrpove and maintain a harmonious roleplay setting
-Ask a staff member for help
-Read over other battle threads or roleplays to help you avoid powerplay

[Sivoncé™]

Out of Character

While the main purpose of a website such as this is roleplaying itself, it is also necessary and entertaining to have boards and places on the site that are not for roleplay. For instance, this includes the rule boards, the character creation boards, and prettu much all boards insde the General, Characters and Authors' Corner categories. Some of these boards are just for pure fun, but there are some differences in conduct that should be noted before you go exploring in these areas of the site.

OOC Village
This board, located in the General category, is a fun, random, and overall silly board that is here for your enjoyment. This board is both in character and out of character; it is meant to answer the question of where our characters go when we're not using them in threads. In truth, it is a humorous sort of roleplay, in which our wolves are things such as bartenders and singing sensations, that does not at all affect real roleplay.

Chat Box
In the chatbox, we like everybody to use their member names. This is not at all supposed to be in roleplay format -- it's just a little place where you can update everybody on your postings and say hello while you browse WotM.

OOC is not IC
If you've been good, you've read this already in the rules The basic thing here is to understand that if, for examply, your character and another character are angry and in a fight with another, that doesn't mean you and the other member should be hostile to each other. If you feel, however, that there's a situation in character that is leaning towards out of character, or that another member has gone too far in some instance, then please send a private message to Wolfie or myself and we will do our best to help you take care of the situation.