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[Ministry Official]

When you're new to roleplaying, there's a lot coming your way. Maybe a complete new style of writing, or how do you even create a character that other people enjoy interacting with? What other things are important to know?

We've collected some of this information for you and brought it together in this guide to RPing. If you want some extra help or need advise, you can always contact any of the staff members, or request a buddy in the request topic you can find pinned in Privet Drive.

The Guide to Roleplaying

• What is Roleplaying?
  
• List of common terms and abbreviations
  
• How to create a character
  
• Godmoding, what is it and how to avoid it?
  
• All about Plots
  
• RP Etiquette

[Ministry Official]

What is Roleplaying?

Roleplaying is like writing a big story, but instead of being the only writer and being able to make each character in the story do what you want and manipulate all the surrounding elements to your personal taste, you only control one character in the game: your own, and every other character can influence the surroundings.  When playing, you crawl into the hide of the character you created, viewing the world through their eyes.  Where would they go? What choices would they make?

[Ministry Official]

List of common terms and abbreviations

CC or Character cards: Your character’s bio. Commonly referred to as "app" on many roleplaying forums.

Face Claim: See also play by. When you have a claim on the PB you use, preventing other members from using the same "face" to portray their characters. This isn't allowed on DMRP!

Godmoding: When a writer controls the actions of another character. Commonly appears when using spells or when reacting to threats or other situations in which characters would normally do something together. Because you can only control your own character, you can't decide if a spell hits another player, what happens if you aim a kick or blow their way, if they catch the quaffle you throw at them. By many roleplayers, it's considered rude when you don't leave their character to decide for their own what they're doing. See also Powerplay

IC: In character, a term to describe when you're actually roleplaying. See also OOC

Mary Sues or Gary Stus: Sometimes abbriviated to MS. Term is (sometimes incorrectly) used to describe characters that are too perfect. They have no real flaws, expect to be in the center of attention or are technically impossible. This term is generally used in RP to describe characters that go out of their way to be "different" by using odd hair colors, non-existing eye colors, weird pets that aren't allowed or aren't really pets. Often their CC doesn't make a lot of sense, because they are concentrated so much on being different the character becomes inconsistent and contradicts itself (i.e. extreme tragic past full of abuse but they're cheerful, everyone's friend and fiercely loyal, like they didn't suffer anything from the years of neglect) See also How to create a Character  

NPC:Non Playable Character. Is used to describe a secondary character, or a character that no one actually controls. The Hogwarts ghosts are examples of NPCs but also pets, siblings, and students in higher years that aren't actually played. You can use them to add something extra to your post, or acknowledge that other people are around as well, without them being played. An NPC should not be used to actively interact with as if it is a normal character, and can be controlled by anyone who fancies the need to use them.

OOC: Out of character, those actions you do on the forum that have nothing to do with roleplaying, such as the Privet Drive forum, or the off topic area in your common room. Also often used as a name for notes or explanations from player to player added to their IC posts. Announce those by adding one of the following: OOC: | [ooc note here] | {ooc note here} | ((ooc note here))  Out of Character may also refer to a character acting outside of their normal range. For example when a character is usually afraid of spiders, to suddenly pick one up instead of running away screaming.

Play-Bys/PBs: The person you use to portray your character in avatars and character cards. See also face claim.

Plot: General idea or direction in which you want things to go. Usually pre-decided/determined. See also All about Plots

Powerplay: Form of godmoding. Examples would be using information about the other character that your character couldn't possibly know (but you as a player do know because it was in the CC or the other player told you) or attributing thoughts and feelings to the other character that either are out of character or simply inaccurate.

RP/RPG: Role Play/Role Play Game

[Ministry Official]

How to create a character

Your character must be fun for you and for everyone else

Creating a character for use in role play is not like creating a character for fiction.  In role play, you must not only consider how much you’ll enjoy writing the character, but also how much other players will enjoy writing with your character.  

This doesn’t mean you have to make a character that fits a certain mould, but it does mean that your character has to be able to interact with the other characters on the board.

For example, A shy character who consciously tries to overcome their shyness is much easier to play opposite than a character who is shy and makes no effort to get to know people.

Your character must have goals

There is something your character wants and something they want to avoid.  These things don’t need to be related, but you need to know what both things are. [note: some players will need some time to actually roleplay their character to figure out what they want to achieve playing this character, which is fine!]

Write it down somewhere where you can refer to it later:

“My character wants _____ more than anything else in the world”
“My character would do anything to avoid _____”

These two goals are going to shape your character’s motivations and actions in the game.  People are not perfectly consistent, and one of the reasons we aren’t consistent is because of our desires and fears.

Empathy vs. Sympathy and Mary-Sue Syndrome

Empathy is the ability to understand emotion.  Sympathy is when you feel the same emotions (as your character).  Empathising with your character is fine, and usually essential.  Sympathising with them can cause them to affect you and that way lays the slippery slope towards Mary-Sueism.

Mary-Sues are usually defined as “impossibly perfect” characters.  However, even impossibly perfect characters can be played well.  The reason Mary-Sues are reviled is because they are associated with writers who create characters that are idealized mirrors of themselves.  This often creates friction in RP when everything doesn’t go that character’s way, because such writers are likely to take it as a personal affront.

Start with your character’s history and personality, not their name or appearance

You may not know it, but you have a lot of preconceived ideas about names and appearances.  If someone named Sean or someone with blue eyes bullied you at school, you may make your character a bully because of that without even knowing you’re doing it.

Writing your character’s history first also gives you the advantage of knowing what sort of parents your character has and whether they are likely to give the character a name like Thomas, or a name like Thor.

Give your character real flaws

Your character is going to have flaws; the character card requires them to have some.  

More often than not, however, characters have flaws that are not really flaws (so beautiful it’s intimidating!) or that can be brushed under the carpet (he’s deathly afraid of pirates?).  Even more annoying are flaws that are only ever played as strengths.  If your character’s flaw is that they’re a smart-arse, the worst thing you can do is play them as always having the last word but never suffering the consequences of doing so.

This is related to having a character that's fun for everyone and empathising but not sympathising with them.  Make flaws real, empathise with your character, but don't be tempted to ignore their flaws because you want to make things easier for them.

Your character is eleven

Although people grew up faster in ye olde times, they still had childhoods.  In fact, the reason people grew up faster is because there was no such concept as a “teenager”.  You went from childhood to adulthood with no in between stage.

When you start at Hogwarts, adults will still regard your character as a child.  It's likely your character will still act like a child.  They may not like to play with toys any more, but they will probably enjoy playing games like hopscotch and gobstones.

Another note to keep in mind when you create your 11 year old student, is that children in the 18th century were much more deferential to their parents and guardians. This does not mean they wouldn't rebel and are all model citizens! Just keep it in mind when pondering how your character would react to professors.

Bear in mind, information wasn't as freely available in the eighteenth century. There are some things you might have known when you were eleven that your character will probably not because they haven't got easy access to information.

[Ministry Official]

Godmoding, what is it and how to avoid it?

Godmoding: When a writer controls the actions of another character. Commonly appears when using spells or when reacting to threats or other situations in which characters would normally do something together. Because you can only control your own character, you can't decide if a spell hits another player, what happens if you aim a kick or blow their way, if they catch the quaffle you throw at them. By many roleplayers, it's considered rude when you don't leave their character to decide for their own what they're doing.

However, when you're inexperienced with roleplaying, it is a skill that might be hard to learn, because most writers are so used to control their entire environment (like in fanfiction) you might not even realize what you're doing is godmoding.

Here's an example of a simple instance where one character godmodes the actions of the other character:
As Susan turned around to run from the giant snow creature she grabbed Shane’s hand and started dragging him behind her.

Note that the action in itself isn't bad. Wouldn't you want to drag your friends to safety when you're clearly in danger? But if you write it like this, you leave Shane with no choice but to be dragged where you want to go. Maybe Shane saw the danger as well, and wanted to run in another direction, or make a stance to help Susan get to safety in time. Because you don't know the intentions of the other player, it's rude to decide for them!

Here's an example to get around this, and leave each other room to make your own choices:
As Susan turned around to run from the giant snow creature she grabbed frantically for Shane's hand, all she could think of was to get away from here as fast as possible, so she bolted for the next corridor.

See that I leave completely in the middle if Susan succeeds or not. Shane can decide for himself if he lets Susan grab him, or not. He might feel her fingers brush his arm, or decide to trip, or turn just as she makes her grab... all roads are still open because I didn't actually decide anything, I merely put forward an intention.


How to keep the game fair?

Because you can not control the actions of another character, there are instances where it is easy to act out of character, or where your actions might actually annoy the other player into no longer wanting to RP with you.

Take for example dueling. If neither character decides to let the spells and hexes of the other hit them, a duel would get boring pretty quickly. It then becomes a game of who is the most skilled RPer, writing in such a way that you leave the other no choice but to let their character get hit. If both players are up to this, it's perfectly fine, but on DMRP we allow players of all levels, so chances are your counter player won't be of the same level.

Ways to solve this are:
- use of dice roller to decide the outcome of an action
- stay in character. If your character is very clumsy and easily distracted, they wouldn't mange a whole fight without a scratch
- decide beforehand with the other player who is going to win

[Ministry Official]

All about Plots

What is a plot?
A plot is basically the direction you want things to go, and the things that happen along the way.  
Usually plotting can occur in two different ways:

• Site wide plots. In this situation the staff has set up an event in which every character can participate. The subject and the general direction is given by the staff, and they will usually post to move things along so new and exciting things happen for your character to experience and react on.
  
• More personal plots between characters that directly involve your character

How do I plot?
For site wide plots, the staff usually gives you the begin situation and the direction in which things will go. They often have a reason why they want things to go in a general direction, so read their instructions carefully and make sure your character doesn't act out of character, or suddenly will be able to manage spells they have never tried before.

For your more personal plotting, think about how you want your character to develop. Maybe they are really shy, and you want for them to crawl out of their shell more often. You might want your character involved in topics that force them to take action and speak up.
Maybe they want to join their house quidditch team but they can't fly very well yet, so you want to involve your character in threads that revolve around flying. For this kind of plotting, we have a plot forum, which you can find here

Things we do not do on DMRP:

• Invite only topics or topics that are only for a certain group of people and everyone else gets ignored. As the rules state, you need special permission for this kind of topics.
  
• plot a topic from start to finish. Plotting out from post to post who posts what is something we don't do on DMRP. After all, you can't decide who is allowed to enter your topic and who isn't.

[Ministry Official]

Role Playing Etiquette

Part 1.  General Section

Role Playing is about EVERYONE

You don’t RP only for yourself; you RP for everyone.  Some of the most fulfilling RP moments come from allowing your character to be a vehicle for another character’s development.  This doesn’t mean you have to make your character act in ways that are out of character for them, it means you have to co-operate with your fellow members.  You can’t expect to be the centre of attention in every thread.

What happens in character stays in character

It might seem obvious, but don’t get yourself confused with your character.  It’s easier to do than you think.

Be aware of your emotions when you’re RPing.  If you are hurt, upset or angry, you need to analyse what made you feel that way.  Was it the way another member treated you, or something their character did to yours in a thread?  If it was the latter, you are getting yourself confused with your character.

YOURSELF | your character

Don’t step over the line.

We’re on ur forumz, reading ur threadz

You do not know who is reading your writing. You don’t know what their reaction to your writing is going to be.  If you elicit a negative enough reaction, you are going to have one less person to RP with.

When you decide to make your character interesting, consider whether your idea really is interesting or whether you are just repeating a tired trope.

Additionally, if your idea is based in a real life circumstance such as being underprivileged, or part of a different race, or something similar, you will need to research it so that you don’t sound like you are treating the associated issues in a superficial and inconsiderate manner.

Joining threads

This is very easy on DMRP, because every thread is open, meaning potentially, you can join any thread.

However, just because you can join, doesn’t mean you should. Before you join a thread, consider some things first:

What was happening before you got there?  
Does your character have a reason to be in that place at that time?
Are your character and your ideas going to benefit the plot of the thread?
Why do you, the player, want to join?

When joining threads you must also read the thread properly and make sure your posts conform to what has already been established.  It is no use saying that your character walked into the courtyard if the thread is taking place near the greenhouses.

Post order

When there are many players in one thread, there are often problems with members posting back and forth, or members needing to catch up with everyone else.  For the most part, this can be overcome with the simple consideration of letting a few people post before you post again.  There is also the option of splitting off and using another thread if you really must post back-to-back.  

Leaving, hiatus and reminding people about threads

If you’re going to be away from the site for a time, it is polite to either remove your characters from their threads, or negotiate with your RP partners how to handle your absence.  Will they be allowed to godmod you in the last thread you were in or will they simply act like your character left the area?

If, on the other hand, you’re the one who’s left in a thread that someone else seems to have forgotten about, it’s okay to PM them a reminder about it.  It’s not okay to continually badger people asking them to post.





Part 2.  Specific Do's and Don't's


Blanket Statements

They're easy to make, but really not all that popular, so watch out before you make bold statements! 'Everyone loves my character' is a comment that will have many of your co-members running in the other direction. For one, not every other character will love yours. Second, who are you to decide for someone elses character who they like and dislike? Of course from time to time, your character might feel emotions that come close to blanket statements, and there is nothing wrong with that! Keep a firm grasp on emotions that your character feels, and statements that force other characters to think or do something.

Insufferable know it all
Another easy trap, and there's several sections to knowing too much that we'll highlight:

• What you know..
  Your character might not! Any information that you know about other players, their plans, the dark secrets of their character.. you can read a lot about other characters in their character card topic and by reading other threads they are in. However, it's definitely a no-go to use this information for your character if there is no possible way for them to know about these things.
  
• Magic too advance
  This one kind of speaks for itself. There will be plenty magic your character doesn't know, couldn't know but would want to know when the situation suddenly lands them in a position where knowing spell X or Y would save their day. It's not funny, witty or cute to cast spells and brew potions your character can't possibly know yet. So operate within the scope of what is reasonable. If the school is attacked by Dementors, your 1st year would be wetting their pants trying to get away as fast and far away as possible, and not stand their ground to cast a beautiful patronus.
  
• Walking Encyclopedia
  If you've read all the Harry Potter books, think back to those first chapters of that very first book. Everyone hated Hermione and couldn't stand her knowing everything and bouncing up and down to answer professors in class. Yet somehow, for whatever reason people seem to think this is okay behavior in roleplay. It's not! Make mistakes, confess that you don't know the answer, get confused and mix things up!

Roleplaying is serious business and Internet Drama

If you think the above statement is true, you're opening yourself up to be trampled by a wild herd of drama llamas. Never assume anything based on what a character does, be inquisitive and verify if what you thought is actually true. Communication is key, and don't be afraid to ask or make it known you don't like something! If we don't know how you feel, we can't react on it either. A lot of petty drama and silent grudges could be prevented if people would just be honest about things. Say what you want, it's simple as that. People aren't mind readers, and what you type can easily be misread especially if you expect people to read between the lines.

Example: you're in a thread with 4 other people and your post has been ignored by three people that posted after you. Did they do this on purpose? Do they hate you? Would they wish your character to drop out of the topic? Most likely not, so don't feel like they're out to get you either. PM your fellow players, point out politely that you said something that was ignored, and give an idea about how to fix this to your satisfaction.