# Can someone explain the intricacies of role-playing?



## StreetShark (Nov 27, 2017)

hey all, while I’m fine-tuning my fursona, I would like to have a better understanding of what constitutes a role-play, how a group of people usually communicate throughout the RP ie. Skype, vent, whatever. How do people usually decide how often to RP, is there a leader like a dungeon master?

Am I asking the right questions? Any guidance would help me out a lot. Thanks in advance.


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 27, 2017)

StreetShark said:


> is there a leader like a dungeon master?
> 
> Am I asking the right questions? Any guidance would help me out a lot. Thanks in advance.


To SOME extent there _might_ be a director of sorts but those times are rare. Every roleplay group or forum has different rules. _it all depends on how you and the others play_. Most of the "rules" are unspoken and it can be a little tricky to know what's okay and what's not. it's just a matter of communication, really. There aren't any rule books that anybody follows unless you've all agreed to adhere to a certain rule-set (which is rare). if you really don't know how the process works, try reading through another play put on by the people (or kinds of people) you want to play with. Just like any ol' normal conversation, there are different ways to speak; topics to avoid, words not to use, off-putting subject matter, in-jokes referenced, etc. Roleplay works much the same way but the rules are looser than a game of D&D. The only "rules" there are per se are the same social rules you'd use with friends or acquaintances in regular conversation.

Again, much like a game of D&D, there's potential for awkward moments, disjointed actions, confusing narratives and poor execution. THESE ARE NORMAL!! Half the adventure in roleplaying is learning the ins, outs, do's and don'ts. You're going to meet some creeps. You probably gonna meet a few wannabe ero-writers. You're guaranteed to meet a few wordy types who type paragraphs and quiet players who stick to single sentence actions. You're going to have some awkward plays and some awesome plays. Some people write too much, some write too little. Some people can't string two sentences together to save their life and some people who just can't fucking read and ignore your every action. Some people that pay attention to what's going on and act accordingly and some people are going to get confused and lose track of the action. Some players are going to try and take control over you or your character(s) and piss you off and some players are going to make actions that make you face-palm.

So no, there's no "rules" to follow; they vary from person to person, player to player, character to character, setting to setting, forum to forum, board to board. All i can suggest is to watch, read take notes and be respectful of the others you eventually play with.

-And don't be afraid to step aside and ask questions! Private message are for those occasions. USE THEM!

*Also, i realize i've edited, re-edited and re-re-edited this post. SORRY! Just don't do that in roleplay unless you're fixing a typo. Just saying, it's annoying.*


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## StreetShark (Nov 27, 2017)

@PlusThirtyOne  this is honestly super helpful. I screenshoted your reply so I can use it in the future. Cheers for the response man. I had one question that I don’t think you went over. Im Beginning to understand that there are nsfw and sfw RP’ers, should I be explicitly declaring  pay sfw intentions before going into an RP?


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 27, 2017)

StreetShark said:


> should I be explicitly declaring  pay sfw intentions before going into an RP?


By all means, YES.
if you want to play with adults and do adult things, make sure you're in the right place to do that. Most RP sections are labeled as such, just the same as any other adult-oriented website. Likewise, if you want to roleplay _without_ that sort of crowd, there are more than enough places to do that. Most places are clearly marked for NSFW material but if you're ever unsure, just ask. -But just as before, if you do a little reading around the community, their age range should be obvious. FAF is strictly Pg-13 i think.


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## Amiir (Nov 27, 2017)

PlusThirtyOne said:


> FAF is strictly Pg-13 i think.


Not that that stopped the occasional user from posting porn in the art section lol

But anyway, do you perhaps know of any good furry places to RP in? Forums preferably but not strictly. I've been wanting to roleplay for some time now and the only dedicated site I found for that is F-List... Yeah... It'd be nice to RP in a group for some SFW adventure/action scenes for a change. If you'd be so kind to share a spot(s) that gets the closest to what I described, great! If not, it's coo. I'm asking you since you seem like you know a thing or two about RPing, 's all


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 27, 2017)

Amiir said:


> I'm asking you since you seem like you know a thing or two about RPing, 's all


Actually, what i know about roleplaying comes more from common sense than experience. Well, that and collaborative script writing with friends. i don't roleplay anymore. Haven't since i was a wee babby fur. i wouldn't know anything about where to RP these days. Most of my plays took place on DeviantART via notes and AOL with my 90's internet homies. Sorry...


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## Amiir (Nov 27, 2017)

PlusThirtyOne said:


> Actually, what i know about roleplaying comes more from common sense than experience. Well, that and collaborative script writing with friends. i don't roleplay anymore. Haven't since i was a wee babby fur. i wouldn't know anything about where to RP these days. Most of my plays took place on DeviantART via notes and AOL with my 90's internet homies. Sorry...


Aww no worries! It's coo'. Collaborative script writing sounds like fun, hell it's probably better than RPing now that I think about it. On the surface, that is, I should have to try them both first ofc


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## PlusThirtyOne (Nov 27, 2017)

Amiir said:


> Collaborative script writing sounds like fun, hell it's probably better than RPing now that I think about it. On the surface, that is, I should have to try them both first ofc


in my favorite and preferred method, collaborative writing and roleplay work much the same way; two or more writers contributing to a story. if you all take turns and/or play the characters' roles, scene settings and choreographing multi-character interactions, you can get some interesting results. Taking turns the ol' iM-RP method works great for writing realistic dialogue too. Also, there's added character consistency. With characters played by specific _writers_, you can count on better consistency in their personality, preferences, etc. Collaborating in real time is going to get you feedback instantly rather than passing a re-re-rewritten draft back and forth.
The only real difference being that RP generally moves super fast with shorter messages. Collaborative writing involves a bit more action, scene setup and world building so if you're really looking to *COUGH* _flesh_ *COUGH* out the details in an erotic story, it's a good idea to keep RP moving quickly.


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## silveredgreen (Nov 27, 2017)

While there aren't any rules indeed, there are a few points of basic rp ettiquite to keep in mind.

- Well for starters, nobody likes a ridiculously overpowered character unless the rp is meant for Dragonball level fight scenes. Keep your character's abilities reasonable, this goes for physical abilities too. 

- People also hate mary/gary sues. Those annoyingly perfect characters with no realistic flaws whatsoever.

- And then there's the topic of derailing storylines. Another don't.

- A more positive one this time, its usually pretty common to put out of character posts in (parenthesis, like this) or some other method of separating ic and ooc visually.


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