Petra Blackheart
"Don't be a Muppet!"
Staff
Media Engagement
Department of Prisons
Whitelisted
Gold Supporter
The Goal of this Guide
From the Staff Team
The goal of this work shopped guide from the Staff Team, is to help show good uses of /me commands, as well as showcase stand offs, the art of speaking over shooting, as well as general roleplay tips to help foster better roleplay habits, and creating a more believable environment where everyone's stories can prosper.
From the Staff Team
The goal of this work shopped guide from the Staff Team, is to help show good uses of /me commands, as well as showcase stand offs, the art of speaking over shooting, as well as general roleplay tips to help foster better roleplay habits, and creating a more believable environment where everyone's stories can prosper.
General RP Tips
- Take Your Time
Unless your character has a reason to be in a hurry, don't run around or go full gallop between destinations.
There’s a lot of interesting things that can happen while traveling, even something as simple as meeting someone new and having a conversation. In addition, it gives more time for telegrams or letters to accumulate by the time you get to the next telegram station.
- Respect Your Ride
When out on a journey, try stopping by water sources, letting your steed take a drink, and replenish its energy for the trip! Feed it regularly and brush it down after a long ride.
Be mindful of railways as they aren't safe or comfortable for horses to travel on. Most characters should be concerned of the overall health, and safety of their horse, even if they aren't fond of animals, a horse is still a large investment and their primary mode of travel.
In addition, now with our tack removal mechanic, you can explore immersive horse RP even further!
- Express Yourself
Use /mes to help indicate visual queues of how your character might be expressing themselves in certain situations, but also give trace information.
Whether it be your character clenching their jaw in an argument, their eyes brimming with tears, or there being traces of blood on their boots after a violent altercation.
/mes are a great way to add a lot of depth to a scene and give your RP partners more to work with in terms of what they might notice in any given situation and open more avenues for their reaction and roleplay.
- Meet and Greet
You never know what amazing people you might bump into on the way or interesting stories you might stumble upon. Even if your character isn't social, you can make use of /me's to signal it. Whether they be diverting their eyes from direct eye contact because they are shy, or glaring at anyone that tries to approach them as they sharpen their knife.
- Keep It Real
If you’re ever unsure of something, ask yourself “Is what I’m doing period appropriate? Os this believable? Does it make sense?”
If the answer is no, then redirect your actions so you can answer "Yes!" to all of those questions.
- Be Creative
Offer goods and services that might not have a mechanical item attached to them!
/mes are a great way to engage in roleplay and offer services to people they might not otherwise expect, whether it be by describing actions or items.
When on the other end, be receptive and reciprocate the roleplay so that everyone can enjoy the RP. Remember, not everything has to be mechanics-based!
- Horseplay: Yay or Neigh?
Horseplay can be fun when done in moderation, and depending on whether it's something that makes sense. But avoid doing it in the middle of populated towns, or in ways that would break immersion. (Ex: Lassoing friends off buildings, or jumping off ones repeatedly would risk serious injuries and wouldn't be a way folks would 'play around'. But you want to tackle your friend in a field for fun? Have at it!)
- Stay Safe
When there is a nearby violent conflict, guns are drawn, a bank or store is being robbed, your character would likely want to get some distance or cover.
While it’s understandable for a player to want to watch the situation unfold with a good view, your character wouldn't want to catch a stray bullet as a souvenir or be mistaken for a combatant. So get some distance and if your character would really be curious, they could always pull out some binoculars.
- Don't Rob Yourself of Roleplay
Don’t be afraid of getting robbed, losing a bit of cash or an item here or there. These things can be regained, whether by just earning them back, them being reclaimed by deputies, or your character and their friends hunting down those that took the items from them in the first place.
Those doing the robbing should *always* ensure they give their target roleplay, regardless of what they may or may not have retrieved from them. The value in the interaction isn't the items, it's in the roleplay.
- Have Layers (like an onion, or a parfait)
All characters should have strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes and their own distinct traits.
Whether or not a game mechanic lets you do something, keep your character in mind as to whether they could or would do something.
There is a beauty in a character not being a master-of-all trades and it actually opens you up to more roleplay experiences when your character might falter in some areas and need someone else to help them.
- Mind the Grind
Whether you are grinding for goods or cash (Ex: Mining, woodcutting, farming, etc), remember that you are still actively RPing!
Be aware of what is going on around you, don’t ignore others, and remain in-character. Running around, or rough-housing on an active work-site (especially within Mines) is realistically very dangerous, and can be immersion-breaking for your fellow RPers.
- Dressing for the Occasion
Try to dress appropriately for the weather or the task. Have different outfits that fit your characters style depending on where they might be going or what they might be doing. A little bit can go a long way for immersion.
In addition, roleplaying out the impacts of the weather on your character is always appreciated for immersion purposes.
- Mind the Time
Is it midnight and you need to ride through the woods? Would your character feel safe doing so with all the wild wolves about, or would it be best they wait until the sun comes up?
Has your character been up and about for a long time and hasn't taken a moment to rest and recuperate? Perhaps it's time to stop and have a meal with a friend. Or if they've been cooped up inside for awhile, it's time to go for a walk or leisurely trail ride.
Then when it comes to yourselves as players, watch how long you are roleplaying and be mindful of your real life responsibilities. This is just a game and roleplay, your real life should come first. So take breaks and make sure you are taking care of yourselves!
If you find that you are being impacted OOC by things IC, it's usually a good indicator it's time to step away or take a break.
Remember: You are not your character, what is happening to them is not happening to you.
- Sisika Sorrows
Prison isn't a paradise or a vacation destination. For the player it can be great for roleplay, but your character should still see it as a punishment and truly unpleasant experience. It's a place where your character works day in and day out, with barely enough food and water to carry them through the day. Disobedience is met with physical force or other forms of punishment and it is completely lacking in any other creature comforts.
A character generally would not be eager to return. If prison RP isn't something you want to partake in while your character is serving a sentence, then use the time to play another character for awhile. Remember, crim characters realistically do have to face consequences for their actions, and civilians need to be able to see that they are by getting a bit of reprieve from one that had been arrested.
- Never Neglect Negotiations
Does your character have a silver tongue to strike a deal? Maybe hand one person in so the rest get away? Agree to a gunless chase? Or negotiate getting outside town before any shots are fired so that innocents stay safe.
Keep in mind, while hostages are valuable, they are not a skeleton key for winning a scenario. Even if bullets start flying, it doesn't mean that there can't be another stand off mid way where one side tries negotiations again either.
- Cell-block Tango
Incarceration time is great time to have conversations between deputies and their inmates. Conversations which may not otherwise have occurred.
So talk to inmates while they’re in the cells, especially if you're not the one doing their paperwork. Remember, there's still a player behind each character and they shouldn't be neglected.
This helps drive more roleplay and makes getting caught feel like a less punishing experience for the player. After all, it can be incredibly boring sitting alone with no conversation for 30 minutes.
- Leave Trails
Give some opportunities for follow up, leave breadcrumbs, whether through scenes or slips in conversation. While most characters may not want to be caught and would not consciously leave a trail behind, players should be open to it for the purpose of interesting stories. So leave those detailed scenes, have those slips in conversation, and do /me's that might give hints through either your characters movements, or to signal potential clues on their person.
- Patient Pacing
In general, let the roleplay breathe. Doing criminal activities, or LEO activities day in and day out is a really fast way to burn yourself out playing the server. It also doesn't make sense for most characters. Whether a criminal or a deputy, they need some rest and relaxation time, or perhaps just to lay low until the heat dies down.
Fixating on either end can cause burn out and negative feelings, so step back every once in awhile and remember the big picture.
- Communicate Effectively.
Always communicate clearly whenever possible. Strong communication will lead to better conflict rp from both sides, and will prevent a lot of interactions from ending prematurely.
Looking out for locals getting upset and communicating that with your RP Partners can help prevent a shootout from happening prematurely or ending the scene too quickly, just as letting anyone around be aware not to join in on the conflict if there's a risk of a Rule of 4 breach.
Always avoid assuming someone's intentions, especially ooc, as it may risk you hearing what you want, rather than what they've said.
- Party Crashing
Do not insert yourself into every conflict scenario you see, regardless of how thrilling it is. Conflict in general is very chaotic and can put a lot of stress on players, and piling onto it for the sake of being involved could not only get your character in a bad situation, but also takes away from the roleplay of the people invested in the scene. If your character doesn't have a good reason to get involved, they shouldn't.
(Especially don't push yourself into a scene because of a stream, this can be -very- obvious to people around you and is in very poor taste.)
- Reduce Revenge, but don't Recycle It.
Revenge arcs are only entertaining for so long before they start to wear on everyone. If you commit a violent act towards someone, and they get revenge on you or your group, let the situation resolve, or pace out your groups responses. Otherwise, people will get burnt out and resentments may develop out of character.
If you can't log out of server and give each other props for the rp and maintain a good relationship ooc, it's probably gone on too long, or being done for the wrong reasons and should come to an end. These arcs are only fun when everyone is enjoying the roleplay, not just one person or one side and rp should always be enjoyable by everyone involved.
- The Standoff!
The classic moment we often see in movies, the tension between two parties is palpable as they point their guns at one another. Where character lives could very well be lost with just one twitch of a finger!
But don't let that excitement cause you to pull that trigger too quickly. These are perfect moments to negotiate, as well as drop nuggets of story narratives. Either side can try to appeal to the reason of the other and it can be fascinating.
Just because guns are pointed doesn’t mean it has to turn into a gunfight!
- De-Escalation
Bullets don't have to be the end of it. If you start losing a gunfight, or are winning one by a good margin, try and appeal to the characters interest of safety and wellness, try to shout and get them to surrender or yield. This can be a great way to turn the tables and extend the roleplay. Talk about getting medical care for your people, or allowing the other party to treat their wounded if they let you go.
- Two Sides of a Coin
Always remember that there are players behind the characters, and even in hostile scenarios, try to consider the other sides enjoyment. Is your hostage being used as a prop or are you treating them like a person and actually conversing with them? Are you giving the criminal any leway in the negotiations or are you hard shutting them down? How long has this interaction been going? Because at some point, someone is going to need to eat or go to the bathroom, or just may have someplace else to be, so pitter patter.
- Incapacitating the Roleplay
This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone but, people use guns to kill folk. Once you've incapped someone, it really hinders what they can do for the rest of the scene. So your character should enter conflicts with the thought that if a bullet flies, someone may die (or at least sustain some pretty serious injuries).
Even if it isn't your character that gets seriously injured or dies, the fact they may have a partner or an opponent that does can seriously impact their lives. Their friends, family, partners and gang members could be killed if we escalate into a gunfight.
- Fist Fighting!
Why just choke someone out when you can punch them in the face? Go ahead and put em up, have a fist fight and see who comes out on top.
- Forget the Frustration
It might seem frustrating getting into a situation where your character takes what could be perceived as a loss. Whether your character is robbed of their money or firearms, harmed or kidnapped, etc. These may be bad things for your character, but that doesn’t mean they are bad for you or your roleplay experience. These are story opportunities, you just need to capitalize on them.
- Seize the Opportunity
Situations like these can provide wonderful scenarios, leading your character to evolve or adjust their mindsets, perhaps leading to a revenge arc, or a new goal of regaining your stolen valuables. Maybe they make a new friend that helps them, or that they get close to due to a shared experience. There are many ways your character could go about recovering from whatever knocked them down.
- Recuperation Routes and Development:
A character could seek justice through legal routes such as the court system, even going so far as hiring a lawyer to represent them to take whoever did them an injustice to court. (This route offers ample RP)
Or they can go the not so legal way by taking matters into their own hands and robbing back their stolen goods.
Perhaps they begin acting differently, being more wary of strangers, not associating with criminals or individuals that are friends with those that harmed/robbed your character.
If your character was injured, they may take time off while they recuperate, and setting appropriate limits themselves until they are healed. (A leg injury leading to slower walk speed and being unable to scale hills as easily, needing to sit down more often and take a break.) While they do so, you may be surprised in the different interactions your character receives because of it.
These are just some general roleplay tips, and we hope that they help you have a more immersive and rounded experience.
