Your character Randy is chilling with friends at his house. They’re chatting, having fun, and then Randy has a suggestion.

“Hey guys. You wanna go hang out at the beach?

The other players reply, and their characters say, “Sure, that would be awesome. Let’s go!”

But no one moves. Until Randy says, “I’m going!” and walks out the door.

What happened here? Why didn’t anyone move until Randy did?

Leading and Following

In a roleplaying game, a leader is someone who keeps the scene going. A follower always waits to see what the leader does before moving his or her characters. Leadership should flow from player to player as each takes a turn.

But very often, that’s not what happens. A player finds himself in the leader role, and somehow never quite gets out of it. It ends up feeling like his job is to make something happen all the time just to encourage other characters to move.

Should it be this way? No. The game becomes work. It takes the fun right out of it.

Someone always has to lead a scene, of course, but when someone is always the leader, that leader can’t have fun because there’s no unexpected action to respond to from the other characters. The leader is the only one causing action.

Leaders are rarely surprised, and game play isn’t impromptu.

Followers don’t really help. Someone who always follows and never leads affects the high of game play a great deal. If you’re a follower, what fun is it to always sit back and never get scenes moving where you want them to go? You’re always wait for the other player to do something so that you can follow along.

Your character could end up sitting around waiting for a long time.

Also, being a follower sometimes holds the game up. You aren’t sure what your character should do, so you wait and do nothing at all. That means the scene and the story won’t move forward without someone causing some kind of action. This gets tiring. Everyone starts to get bored with the scene.

Where’s that leader when you need him?

Evening Out the Lead-Follow Balance

You don’t have to suddenly become a leader if you prefer to follow, and you don’t have to stop leading if you enjoy taking charge. But there are ways for each type of person, both leader and follower, to even out the balance between the two extremes. Here are some tips to get started:

If you really aren’t sure what to do with your character, have your character ask others. “Hey, are we leaving now? Cause I’m ready to go.”  That signals you’re ready for action – and that you’re about to take it.

Tell other characters what you’re doing. Don’t wait to be asked. “Naw, man. I think I’m gonna sit this one out.” Then your character is free to move on to another scene and other players are free to move their characters on as well.

Be active and proactive. Change up the scene.  Have your character cause some trouble or do something off the wall for the hell of it. Don’t wait for something to happen. Be the one who makes things fun for you and everyone else.

Want more quick tips? Hurt your character. Have him fall or bang his head. Get angry and shove someone. Start a fight. Laugh out loud. Do something unexpected and different, just because you can. Take a chance. Play the game. Don’t let others always tell you what your character should be doing.

Think about give and take. Give something to other players to play with, and take what’s fun out of their posts to make more happen. All you need to do is step out of your usual role.

About the Author: When not industriously studying towards her degree in web design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Tracy Bradshaw steps out of her player role to write about RPG.

Storytellers create a world for us to play in – but they certainly don’t expect players to know everything about their world or their game. That’s why they tend to have information on their site to help, like posts at the top of the main page that answer most questions players might have. They offer setting information, story and character information and the main rules of the game.

Storytellers try to cover all the bases, but they also know they can’t. They don’t expect every question you might have has a posted answer… so that means you have get your answers from them.

You have to ask questions.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

Storytellers are there to help. They’re there for players and are willing to listen and assist when needed. But too many players don’t ask questions, because they’re afraid – of what, I’m not sure, but I do know many questions never get asked.

If there is a place on the site or a thread in your game forum specifically intended for player questions, then that’s a great place to start. Storytellers watch these locations, see new posts go up and are able to view your questions there. You may even see some other questions from other players that spark your interest or give you the answers you need.

If you’re too shy or feel you can’t ask questions in public or on the boards, then send Storytellers a private message. It’s just between you and them, and they’re more than happy to reply. Most Storytellers will be able to get back to you within 24 hours, too, but if not, they always do their best to get back to you as soon as they can.

Your Fellow Players Are There to Help

Other players are there to have fun with the game just as you are. They often have great advice they could share, they may have been around longer, and some have experiences in gaming you could learn from.

They want to write with you as much as you want to write with them. Having more players participating makes the game interesting, and characters have more people to interact with. More experienced players also want you to know the answers so that the game proceeds more smoothly – not just for them, but for everyone. .

If you don’t ask questions, then you get lost and confused come time to play. For example, how will you know where to place your character if you aren’t sure which threads are available to play in? Other players are willing to help you figure out the best place to start playing. They just need you to ask them for it, so you can bring your character on board and join the fun.

Remember, also, that other players have probably asked the same questions you have and already know the answer, so they’re able to help you out quickly and easily. This comes in handy whenever a Storyteller isn’t available and they are.

And If They Don’t Know, They May Want To

The question you have might be one that another player was wondering about as well. Or, that person might not have thought of asking your question and realizes it’s a good one – he wants the answer too. Even players who’ve been around for a while don’t know everything.

So use that “ask a question” section. Help yourself, and help others out too. If your game board doesn’t have an “ask a question” section, why not contact the Storytellers and ask for one? It’s in their interest to create one, as an “ask a question” section helps them out by letting other players answer questions or informing many players of an answer all at once.

Who knows? Maybe you can answer a question or two that gets posted. Or maybe someone else’s question and the answer gives you a great idea for your character. Maybe you get some helpful advice and become a better player. Maybe you make new friends, even.

Everyone in a game is there to help keep the fun going and make it a better game to play. The other players and the Storytellers are always there to help as long as the game is going. So don’t be afraid to ask. You’re there to play and have fun, and there to participate with other people who want to have just as much fun as you. There is no such thing as a bad, or stupid, or silly question.

Asking questions is how we learn, and it’s great when we learn from each other. So tell me – what question are you going to ask today?

About the Author: When not asking questions of the Storytellers (yes, you can have a cabin; no, we don’t care which one) or writing her character’s reactions, Tracy Bradshaw industriously studies towards her degree in web design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh – and yes, asks plenty of questions.

This guest post comes to us from gamer and writer, Marc Pieniazek. Enjoy!

The bad guy. We hate him and yet we all want to play one. And why not? Bad guys get to say cool lines, they have vast amounts of power and they stir up a whole load of trouble.

Now, I’m not talking about the stereotypical baddie here – no evil aliens intent on wiping out the human race, no robots gone haywire or any two-dimensional villain from a cheap B movie.

I’m talking real baddies, villains including famous great ones like Darth Vader, Gollum, Mrs. Danvers, and Count Dracula. (Béla Lugosi anyone?) Those kinds of bad guys.

So how do you roleplay one, and how do you create the kind of bad guy that everyone loves to hate?

The Secret to Being a Good Villain

A good villain has one defining characteristic that all the above bad guys listed share. It’s rather straightforward and a common trait, too: The best villains are convinced that what they do is for the greater good.

In fact, for many villains, it’s the literal corruption of their innate ‘goodness’ that makes them such wonderful antagonists. Would Anakin Skywalker have become Darth Vader if he didn’t love his wife so much? Maybe. And then again, maybe not.

When you roleplay an evil character, don’t be evil for the sake of being evil. Be evil for the sake of ‘doing the right thing’. Ask yourself questions about why your character is the way he is. Why is he evil? What kind of person was she before she turned to the darkness? What corrupted his beliefs? What beliefs does he hold now?

Despite the existence of truly evil characters in literature, a person is never born evil. Events shape each of us into the people we are today, and that goes double for villains. Be sure to explore those events and maybe even write them out. Nothing makes for a good story more than a character’s fall from grace.

The Villain Pitfalls to Avoid

If you decide to play a villain, there are certain pitfalls to avoid. Falling into them quickly ruins your character’s credibility, and it ruins the fun of playing for other people as well.

Power-gaming

This is the biggest and easiest trap to fall into headfirst when playing a villain. Power-gaming is the process of building an overly-powerful character, like Superman without Kryptonite. The villain has to have the strength and resources to rival the hero, to be the person that provides a challenge, but he can’t be invincible, else the game’s balance between good and evil skews and becomes no fun at all.

Power-gaming also refers to violating roleplay etiquette, such as taking control of other characters. Abusing the control of characters that aren’t yours is a strict no-no. Find other ways to take control, such as seeking your fellow players’ approval and co-operation behind the scenes before roleplaying an action that might remove ability to react.

Meta-gaming

A baddie is all-powerful, right? And they say knowledge is power, so it stands to reason that the villain knows things that other characters aren’t privy to. Meta-gaming is applying the knowledge that you, as a player, have access to but that your character doesn’t.

A player may know that the villain murdered your character’s best friend, but your character can’t go making any accusations until he’s learned the facts himself. And while the rules can sometimes be bent when it comes to the villain’s knowledge, even a bad guy should have clear gaps in what he knows.

Bear in mind that the greatest baddies are the kind that are distinctly human. They have flaws, weaknesses, fears and emotions. That means the best tip to playing the ultimate villain is to maintain your evil character’s humanity.

Now go on. Create a villain and wreak some havoc!

Crushes happen to the best of us.

One day you’re Mr. or Ms. Independent, strutting your solitude and basking in the freedom of self-directed devotion, and then all of a sudden, you fall.

Hard.

Head over heels, drop-dead desperate, soul-suckingly in love. Not with the cute boy or girl next door or the stern-faced but gentle-souled meat slicer at the local deli. No, that’d be far too easy.

You fall in love with another player.

See, you’ve been living a double life all this time. You go from home to work to the grocery store and back in one world. In the other world, you fight bad guys at night, bully strangers, court characters and let your emotional writing rip.

RPGs provide people with a community of similarly double-lived folk. As comforting as it is to empathize with one another over the joys and hardships of your double life, the truth is that sometimes the lines between fantasy and reality blur.

That’s when things get sticky.

The Problem

He has devastating wit on the OOC boards, an avatar that could be a portrait of God, and characters that reek sex appeal without even trying. His writing is smooth, suave, sinuous; everything you could ever want in a lover – and with good grammar besides!

Or she’s the one. She has empathetic kindness and always makes people feel loved and safe. Her avatar is beautiful, her characters are inviting and comforting, and they’re warm and soft.

Don’t forget the good grammar.

You craft words, the other player crafts words. You love fiction, the other player loves fiction. You write stories, the other player writes stories.

And that player’s stories are always good.

Falling in love with someone on your RPG site is pretty common. People who are attracted to RPGing, especially the play-by-post kind, tend to have an affinity for the written word. When like-minded individuals gather, attraction is bound to follow.

So what do you do if you realize you’re falling in love with someone you’ve never even met?

Separate the Player from the Character

The first step to retain your sanity through that oh-so-common RPG crush is to remind yourself again and again that no matter how well a player writes, no character is a spitting image of the writer. It’s easy to forget, and when this happens, the separation between character and player lose definition. This is bad.

Ever read Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series? Stephen King himself makes an appearance in the latter part of the series. Although it hurts me to say this, knowing the character Stephen King doesn’t mean that I know Stephen King.

Try writing a story with yourself as the main character. I can guarantee that when you read over the story at the end, you’ll view the protagonist as an Other and not as yourself. It’s unavoidable when writing, and especially unavoidable when writing fiction in a world in which you haven’t really lived.

Also, keep in mind when RPGing with others that you are not your character. You automatically develop an opinion of the characters in the story. Remind yourself that even if you hate or love a character, you can (and should) form a different opinion about the writer.

Not convinced? Still feel a little flustered when someone you respect puts a smilie in her response to your comment? Still feel thrilled when someone you admire writes a post that makes your heart thump?

That’s okay. Crushes happen.

RPGing is for fun. It’s a game – but don’t make the mistake of telling yourself that games don’t matter. Be honest with yourself so that you can do what you need to do to keep yourself from feeling something you might regret.

Real Life Rules

Sometimes, RPGers are forced to make a choice between reality and fantasy. Truth is, if our real lives were as perfect as we want them to be, we wouldn’t be RPGing.

RPGing gives us a way to escape. By playing online, we can be the kind of person we want to be, living the kind of lives that we could never have in real life.

At the end of the day, you must remember that RPGing is a game. You are not your character. That special someone on your site is also not his or her character. Yes, that person is human, with feelings too, but the primary relationship he or she has with you is as a gamer.

You don’t have to be afraid of gaming, but you do need to be wise. There’s a reason for the boundary between OOC and IC. There’s also good reason for the wall between virtual friendships and real life ones. Don’t transfer them from an RPG to real life.

Then again, most players I know wouldn’t object to a gentle rebuke for being too irresistible…

When you hear the word ‘trigger,’ you probably start thinking about weapons. When triggers are pressed in a movie, baddies and expendable crewmen get shot. Big shiny buildings explode. Traps snap open and swallow heroes whole.

Triggers promise excitement. They make you sit up a little in your seat and pay more attention to the screen in front of you because triggers mean that Something is About to Happen.

So why should writing be any different? Be a player that puts explosive fun into each and every scene by learning how and when to use your literary guns.

Shoot ‘Em Up IC

Successful RPGing is based on a simple system of give and take. Act and react. Block and hit back. Take cover and return fire. Every time you write a post, you’re responding to your fellow players’ actions and making a move that lets them do the same.

Creative Writing teachers use the word “trigger” to mean something that gets a story started, but when it comes to RPGing, gamers use it to mean anything that sparks a change in a thread. When you get inspired with an idea for a scene, your imagination’s just handed you a weapon. Is it a handgun? A cell phone connected to a roomful of explosives?

When writing alone, you’re the one who determine what that weapon looks like. In an RPG, on the other hand, you have other players (and persnickety Storytellers) who set limits on what can and can’t be done. You may think it’d be wicked sweet for your characters to liven up a dull date by jumping onto the table and throwing food across the room, but think carefully before you pull a trigger like that. Not only would you have to make sure your fellow player is down for the plan, but if the Storytellers decide that that kind of behavior earns your character some time in jail, you have to be ready to deal with the consequences.

And always keep in mind that every other player has weapons of their own. Be ready for anything another player might throw at you. Think creatively, but limit your imagination to things that are realistic if not logical. And always remember that you can be dangerous as long as you’re ready to pull out your guns when the opportunity arises.

The Shot Heard ‘Round the World

It’s important to be thoughtful when deciding how to start a scene. The first post of a thread sets the stage for what’s to come, and though any character that joins has the power to change the mood, they can only build on the foundation that you lay out.

So why not start with an explosion?

There’s no law that says that players can’t be kept on their toes for the duration of a thread. It’s good for them! RPGing is only as fun as you make it, so don’t be timid about making the game exciting right from the get-go. Start the scene with your guns blazing and see what players will step up to the challenge.

The important thing about setting up a bold scene is to provide opportunities for players that follow to find triggers that they can use to continue the momentum. If your character is feeling a strong emotion when he enters the stage, the characters coming after you have something to grab onto right away.

Try to come up with an entrance for your character that’s more memorable than something like “He walked in and sat down and looked around for someone to talk to.” Challenge yourself to write aggressively, and be the one that makes others stop and blink.

Charging Into the Fray

Not to overcharge my metaphor card, but sometimes playing in a thread gets to be more like tetherball than a battle. Sure the scene started out fun, but after a while it seems like players are standing around in a circle, halfheartedly swinging their arm at the story when it comes their way and then simply watching as it winds itself around the pole.

Wouldn’t tetherball be a whole lot more fun if there were guns involved?

When a scene starts to drag, you shouldn’t look around for someone else to provide ammunition for entertainment. Fun scenes depend on the players involved being willing to draw their guns or take a bullet and Do Something.

It takes some risk to gain rewards. Maybe your character will be scorned if he asks the stranger next to him if he can borrow her chapstick. Maybe other players will think you’re a bad writer if you change the mood of the thread by doing something unexpected. Maybe your character’s friend will get angry at her if she tells the truth about what she’s thinking.

There are potentially bad outcomes for every decision, but there are a plethora of good possible outcomes as well. You’ll never know which one you’ll get until you try.

Smoking Gun

The toughest guns have reputations that sometimes get them into trouble. On an RPG, there’s nothing you should want more. Don’t be afraid to make bold moves and shake up the status quo. Be considerate of other players when you’re contemplating a twist, but make yourself a player others want to play with.

It’s challenges that make games interesting. Pull the trigger at your fellow players, and you’re guaranteed to get shot back.

Which, when RPing, is actually a lot more fun than it sounds.

Role-playing action scenes comes with an adrenaline rush that you can almost believe is akin to the one you’d have if you experienced the same fight in real life.

Thrilling as the associative thrill is, it’s essential to remember that you haven’t really been through the same experience your character has – and that fact might be compromising the integrity of your role playing.

When you take the time to accurately portray the physical and emotional scars your character will suffer in confrontations, you’ll find new facets in your character and bring out truly believable depths and details.

If, on the other hand, you’re prone to sloppiness when it comes to your character’s damage, you’re probably not telling the story as well as you should. That’s going to make your character seem less like a person, and more like a prototype. And that’s the last thing any role-playing enthusiast wants.

Let’s look at some of the common pitfalls gamers get into when their character suffers damage.

“It’s Only a Flesh Wound!”

For those of you who haven’t seen the skit (and if you haven’t, get to the nearest video rental store and rent Monty Python and the Holy Grail, stat – or just view the video clip below), there’s a scene where a knight gets his arm lopped off, only to enthusiastically return to the fray.

When his opponent protests that he is clearly defeated, the knight ripostes, “It’s only a flesh wound!”

This is a surprisingly common tendency among role-players.

With every conflict, your character will receive damage. How well your character rebounds from that damage depends partially on their stats, true. However, there’s no way your character cheerfully bounces back into battle after getting an arm lopped off, even if his strength and endurance stats are up to the task.

Sure, he’s still alive. But he’s not going to carry on as if nothing’s happened.

Using a Guide

After a combat scene, whoever’s in charge of running the game (your dungeon master, your Storyteller, whatever you’re calling it) deals out the character damage. There’s often a certain amount of leeway in these proclamations, which leads many players to think they can let their characters off easy so they can get right back to kicking ass and taking names. It’s too bad it’s such a poor strategy for your character’s integrity – not to mention your own.

Your Storyteller says, “Milo was picked up and thrown hard against a wall, landing in a heap on the pavement.”

Milo has some options. He can say that his character just got some bruised ribs if he wants to leap right back into the fray. He can also go a more realistic route and get himself a concussion and a sprained wrist. It’s on your honor to come up with something that doesn’t only serve your character’s interest in the game.

Remember: conflict is more interesting than the lack of it. If Milo can’t fight with one hand, the next fight’s going to be a LOT more interesting.

But it’s up to him. If he wants to go the easy route, he can do that. It’s sometimes braver to let your character have an obstacle so he can overcome it.

Incapacitating Your Character

The flip side of giving your character too few obstacles is giving them too many. Some players delight in an almost sadistic treatment of their characters. Given the above scenario, Milo might say he busted a few ribs, one of which punctured a lung, and he’s about to just plain die if he doesn’t get to a hospital.

Consider what that means for him. He’d be out of the game for the next few months of game-time while his character recovers in the hospital. What for? Obstacles are great, but bringing the gaming to a screeching halt isn’t productive either.

Unless the Storyteller specifically states that the injuries are this serious, don’t force your character out of play just because it seems more interesting that way. Be realistic without completely incapacitating your character for weeks on end. Remember that you wanted to play realistically – but above all, you want to play.

If your character’s out of commission, you’re not going to be able to.

Weren’t You Bleeding a Few Minutes Ago?

Players who fall into the trap of allowing their characters to sustain more damage than they intended also fall prey to this next problem: healing too quickly.

If your character had a concussion yesterday, he’s not going to be feeling just fine today. Even something as simple as sore muscles needs to be accounted for and worked into the story.

This is a common problem for inexperienced players who aren’t used to depicting a real-life reaction to an injury. Think about the last time you played an especially strenuous sports game, or if you’re one of those people who’s actually been punched in the face sometime, remember how that felt. Odds are you weren’t ready to go jump into the fray the next day.

Give your character the same courtesy. He probably feels like hell. Let him.

Letting your character feel real pain over a realistic period of time is part of the integrity of the game. Don’t let it overshadow the rest of your storytelling, but keep track of where your character’s injuries would be in the healing timeline and make sure you keep that in mind when you allow them to move around the world. If your guy has a shoulder injury and he reaches for a glass on a high shelf, he should feel a twinge.

Character Injury Checklist

Ask yourself these questions the next time your character sustains damage:

• Is my character’s damage within the suggested range suggested by the Storyteller?
• Is the recovery time reasonable? (Use Google to find out the approximate amount of time you’d need to recover from certain injuries, or ask a Storyteller)
• If medication or drugs were given, what are the effects/aftereffects? Consider how long the effects would last and how big of a dose your character received.
• Am I tracking game-time instead of real time? Sometimes it’s been three days in the real world but only a few hours in game. Your character heals in game time, so don’t get confused.
• Are other characters able to keep up with your injuries? If you’re not mentioning them, they won’t know that they should be observing them. A newcomer won’t comment on the huge black eye you have if you’re acting like you can see normally.

Damage is no fun for characters, but it can be a lot of fun to write. Don’t avoid conflict for fear of missing opportunities – damage is a huge opportunity to show the breadth of your character, your own creativity, and your writing. Engage in conflicts fully and above all, realistically.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhEw7nD9C4&feature=related[/youtube]

Picture this: You have a kick-ass scene happening. You’re on top of your game, you’re totally enjoying yourself, and posts are coming fast and furious. It’s great!

Then all of a sudden, your character has no place left to go. What happened?

My friend, you have just RPGed yourself into a corner. It happens even to the most experienced players. When you get caught up in a great scene, it’s very easy to stop thinking ahead to where your character might actually end up.

The next thing you know, you’re stuck. You’ve moved too far ahead. And everyone’s back there in the past.

When you game yourself into a corner, you’ve left yourself no options to move forward. The scene either stops and players don’t know what to do next or the scene comes to a logical conclusion and there’s nowhere to play.

The reason this happens is because managing time in a creative writing role-playing forum is one of the most difficult concepts for players to learn.

Are You Watching the Clock?

The passing of time in an RPG game very rarely, if ever, passes the same as it does in real life. You may spend a week playing out the passing of an hour in game, only to cover a whole day’s events in less than a few hours of real time the next.

This is why most games include pockets of time called “downtime”. Downtime is time your character spends away from the main storylines and threads. For example, if your character is in a scene that lasts from ten am until noon, and then doesn’t have a place to play until that evening, the six hours in between the two scenes is considered downtime.

Characters can go off and start personal threads or new adventures to cover the downtime, should players choose to do so. There’s no reason for players to sit idle and wait for main scenes to happen.

But using downtime causes problems in time management, too. Scenes may run faster or slower than main storylines, depending on the posting frequency of players involved.

If the downtime scene passes quickly, time can easily zip past other scenes happening in the game. Once players realize they’ve gone too far ahead, they have two choices:

Stop playing and wait for the rest to catch up, or keep playing and push themselves even farther ahead of other players.

If they stop playing, the players might end up sitting around for days or weeks waiting for time to catch up so they can play again. If they continue posting, they write themselves so far ahead of the others that they can’t come back – and end up stuck waiting around anyways.

When time issues happen, spark a discussion with Storytellers. Everyone has to figure out how to get players back into the game. STs might coordinate a new main thread that picks up in an appropriate period.

Too, slow posters might be holding the game back. In that case, STs might enforce a time jump for all characters, or they might nudge players to wrap up slower threads that aren’t going anywhere so they can move on or pick up the pace.

Also, pay attention and take note of what’s happening, from time to time. There are signs and warnings along the way that players can spot to let them know they need to speed up or slow down, all with the goal of giving all players somewhere to play.

Have you ever found yourself writing too far ahead or stuck in the past? How do you feel about managing time in a collaborative gaming environment? Share your thoughts – we’re interested!

Role-playing games come in many different genres. No matter the setting, one of the hardest things about role-playing is finding the balance between realistic game play and an escape from the ordinary.

Learning to play in a way that’s both realistic and interesting is essential to the serious role-player. It’s especially challenging for those playing in a modern day, real-life setting.

When playing in a world that’s a lot like our own, the most difficult element is remembering that no matter how similar the worlds may be, that game world isn’t our own. We have social conventions that we follow unthinkingly every day. It takes conscious effort to remember that the rules of the game aren’t the same as the rules of real life.

Role-players must be willing to play along with the fantasy, even if the elements being romanticized are things we’ve grown up assuming are true. Nothing in a role-playing world is guaranteed. Societal rules of etiquette, behavioral norms, even the boundaries of right and wrong are up for revamping.

It can be frustrating to navigate a world that’s based on your own but different in profoundly irritating ways. The only way a person truly engages in an RPG is allowing himself or herself to believe—even if only for a space of time—that the impossible is possible.

You’re not just writing for yourself. You’re working in a collaborative setting that requires interaction with fellow players. Sometimes characters have to go against the grain of what’s socially acceptable in the real world for the sake of the story.

Putting the “In” into Interaction

No role-playing site works without suspension of disbelief. A huge part of the game’s appeal is that so many key elements of a role-playing site don’t exist in the real world.

You’re responsible for maintaining integrity of the realism, but you’re also responsible for doing your part to keep the story in motion, even if that means doing differently than you would in real life.

One of the most common problems new players suffer is a fear of rocking the social boat. Seldom do their characters poke their nose into a conversation between two strangers, even if one of those strangers drops a hook the size of a harpoon.

This inertia happens for a variety of reasons. For some, the threat of a negative backlash keeps them silent. Some just don’t like being contrary and assume that other players don’t like it either. Some people simply don’t have the creativity to think up an interesting way for their character to be a part of a scene.

Any reason to stay uninvolved kills a role-playing hobby. Boldness, initiative, and the capacity to handle conflict are essential.

Imagine your character sips coffee in a café. A couple sits at the table nearby, and your character overhears one mention a strange event that just happened to her.

Your character thinks, “Hey, that happened to me too!”

Pause for a second.

In the real world, you may break into a private conversation. That’d be nosy and intrusive. You might simply listen, ponder the coincidence and go on about your day.

That would be realistic.

But in a role-playing game, that’s boring. Even if the players didn’t set that hook on purpose, part of being a good role-player is learning how to find ins to interaction—whether they were intended or not.

Of course, it’s always possible that other characters react in a “realistic” way. They might frown and tell your character to mind his business. They might change the subject and give him the silent treatment.

But your responsibility ends where your post does. You’re only responsible for the actions of your character. If they’re smart players, they might invite the character to join the conversation, though.

And who knows what could happen from there?

Leave Polite At The Door

If you’re going to get the most out of role-playing, you’re going to have to leave real life manners at the door. Running roughshod over fellow players isn’t good game play, and there’s always basic etiquette involved with interaction.

But when it comes to your character, try to find ways around realistic politeness to make a scene interesting.

This doesn’t mean that your character has to be a socially inept moron. What it does mean is that you may have to break what is considered polite behavior and sacrifice a little dignity in favor of a stronger scene.

At the heart of any story, role-playing or otherwise, is interaction. Without it, there’s no point in writing—whether in a collaborative setting or not. What makes a scene interesting is conflict.

Finding an In for the Introverted

Let’s go back to our example of the conversation at the table.

Say your character’s the shy type who can barely summon the courage to talk to the cashier at McDonalds. It would be completely out of character for him to approach a stranger. This is a dangerous character concept in RPGing in general, but for the skilled RPer, a quiet character can be just as interactive as an extroverted one.

The trick is figuring out how to break social conventions while staying true to your character. Maybe he wouldn’t be so bold as to overtly poke his nose into the conversation. Fine. But a straightforward approach isn’t the only option available.

What if the overheard information rattles the character so much that he fumbles his mug and spills coffee all over his pants?

An action like that is definitely enough to catch the attention of characters at the next table. Once you have their attention, anything is possible.

Part of the joy in playing is doing things you wouldn’t have the guts to do in real life. On a role-playing site, you don’t have to wait for a Storyteller to invite you into a scene. You don’t have to stand quietly until a lull in conversation.

Go ahead, step out there! Throw off manners and bare your butt—I mean, dare to butt—into conversation. See where it takes your character.

Part of the joy of role-playing is the challenge of reacting to situations we would never have to deal with in real life. The situations may be out of this world – facing a dragon in the deepest, darkest dungeon or meeting a werewolf in a modern-day setting – but the base of your character’s reactions come from a very real emotional response.

If a friend of yours missed a meeting the night before, you’d be worried, right? And what would you say if you met that person on the street? Probably something like, “What happened to you last night?”

What would your response be if the person replied, “Oh, I almost got eaten by the thing living at the bottom of my pool. What’s for lunch?”

You’d probably blink and think the guy was off his rocker.

Your character can’t express such a blasé response in a role-playing game, no matter how difficult you find it to relate to the situation he or she faced. You need to have a realistic reaction for your character, even if the encounter seemed crazy.

With any in-game encounter, reactions occur during three distinct phases. These phases are no different from the prelude, climax and aftermath of any story, in fact. They could be mini-stories in themselves, even. Take a look:

Fright at First Sight

The first time your character sees something different from the ordinary, there’s going to be shock involved. He might be frozen with fear. She may try to run. He may get angry. She might try to defend.

Even if your character was standing in place, simply blinking, there would still be a million different thoughts running through that person’s head. “How do I get out of this? Where did this come from? This can’t be real…”

You can’t just let your character do nothing without explaining why your character is frozen solid. There’s a reason for everything. What are your character’s?

Flight or Fight

The next phase involves the character taking some kind of action. Yes, even if your character decides to just stand there and do nothing (which really isn’t advisable), he’s still doing something.

How can nothing be something? Well, there are all kinds of physical reactions that prevent a character from moving. Maybe he starts to shake uncontrollably, his gut twists up in knots, and he can’t think clearly. Perhaps she throws up all over the antagonist in the scene or bursts into screams. Your character could even break down like a gibbering idiot.

Or, your character’s action could really involve some action. Maybe he or she feels a surge of adrenaline that spurs the type of utterly heroic action that the character never would have done in a million years. Maybe the character simply attempts to run away.

The Aftermath

Ripples of reaction always follow after a traumatic experience. Not everyone reacts the same way. Some people are calm and collected through an emergency. They instantly move to autopilot and do what needs to be done to get through the crisis.

The character could insist he or she is fine, that there’s nothing to worry about, but the moment they get some private time… They fall apart.

This delayed response could happen shortly after the encounter, or it could show up over time, similar to symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Make the Most of It

Encounters are so rich with material you can write about that it’s a shame not to take advantage to explore your character’s personality and development further. These tough situations let you look inside facets of your character that you wouldn’t normally get to delve into on a daily basis.

Some questions to ask of yourself as a writer are:

• How does the encounter affect his current relationships?
• What effects will the event have on your character on a daily basis?
• Will your character go through his day like nothing happened and deny everything?
• Will the situation bring back a haunting memory from the past?
• What will the physical reactions of the encounter be?
• Will he lose sleep?
• Will he get paranoid?
• Will he never want to go anywhere alone again?

Plenty of reactions, responses and emotions rise to the top after an encounter or event. Enjoy them.

Combat encounters are the bread and butter of most role-playing games. There are dragons to slay, orcs to battle and zombies to kill – oh, and don’t forget rescuing the fair maiden and splitting up the treasure afterward.

Role playing combat in a creative writing environment is a little different from other types of rpg games. Since the focus is on writing and character development, combat is a rare event. This isn’t a dungeon crawl where encounters lead to experience points.

If there’s no reason for combat and it won’t further the plot, it doesn’t happen. But that’s not to say it never happens.

What Is A Combat Encounter?

A combat encounter can be anything from a tussle in a parking lot, to a bar room brawl, to defending against the supernatural, to fighting a monstrosity in the spirit realm.

These encounters are when skills and/or attributes come into play. Storytellers roll the dice and the results of actions are given to players.

Writing combat takes practice, too, since you need to know how far to take character actions without writing the results until it’s your turn.

Always Take Action

It’s easy to freeze up the moment your character faces a sticky situation or a tough moment in combat. You could even use that in your character’s response, if it’s a natural reaction for your character to have. But what you should avoid is having the character freeze because you, as a player, don’t know what to do.

A character’s mind is always active, even if that character is frozen with fear. Thoughts are probably racing through his or her mind. What is this thing? How am I going to get out of this? Will I live to see tomorrow? Who’s going to feed my cat…?

Think about what goes through your mind in a crisis. Do carefully consider all your options, or do you just react without thinking? What would your character would do?

The point is, do something. There is always something to do, and no one sits around letting bad things happen to them in conflict situations.

Use Everything You Can

As hopeless as it may seem, your character isn’t set adrift without any help. Storytellers aren’t out to get you or crush your character with no chance for him or her to defend. Storytellers want to see you find a creative way out of the predicament. Some of the best solutions are the most simplistic ones, too. Common sense, more often than not, always wins.

Look around the character’s environment. What could he or she use that’s handy and in the immediate vicinity? What equipment does the character have on his body? Equipment could be anything from a hairpin to a lighter.

If you’re not sure what’s lying about in the scene to use, ask the Storyteller. If you have an idea on an action or something you could have your character do, run it by the Storyteller. The ST has a clearer vision of the setting and may be able to point out something you missed that would help.

There’s Always a Way Out

The main reason for combat encounters is to challenge players to push their characters. A good Storyteller never gives a player more than he or she can reasonably handle or solve. Storytellers are aware of the balance in the game and the experience or abilities of each character. There’s always a way out.

It’s up to the players to find what that escape route is.

Teamwork helps, too. Your character may not have all the skills required to get out of a bind, but maybe some of the other characters do. It’s easy to think you have to solve it all on your own or want to grab all the glory and the shining moment of being a hero.

But never neglect asking a fellow player how you could work together.

Risky Business

Take some risks and chances, too.  We always say “stupid kills”. You don’t want your character to make a move for the sake of doing something exciting or dramatic just because he can. Take a moment to consider what you want your character to achieve, then start weighing the possible consequences of that action. If you can handle the consequences, keep thinking until you feel you’ve covered as many options as possible and pick one that fits best.

This isn’t to say that a stupid move won’t get your character hurt (or even killed). However, Storytellers do admire a player who can think his or her way out of a sticky situation.

The beauty is that, predict as they might, Storytellers have no idea what your characters are going to do. They make assumptions and educated guesses based on the characters’ personalities to date, but high-stress situations make people unpredictable – and your characters are no exceptions