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** I'D LIKE TO SAY I TAKE NO CREDIT OF THIS ADVANCE ROLEPLAY GUIDE AND IT WAS NOT CREATED BY ME HOWEVER DUE TO RULES I CANNOT CREDIT THE OWNER WITHOUT ADVERTISING ANOTHER COMMUNITY SO I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY I HOPE THIS ROLEPLAY GUIDE GIVES YOU A BETTER PERCEPTION ON ROLEPLAY AND HAS HELPED YOU DEVELOP FROM IT AND GIVE IT A LIKE IF YOU DID LIKE IT AND HAPPY ROLEPLAYING! ** Introduction This is just my own view on roleplay. It'll be more a philosophy than an actual 'how to /me' My emphasis lies around fun and storytelling! So without further ado, lets begin! Index 1. Plots 1.1 World plots 1.2 Personal plots 1.3 Tiny plots 1.4 Zen of Roleplay 1.5 acting from character or, You've Got A Brain, Use It. 1.6 People will talk 1.7 Dignity 2. Types of RP 2.1 Passive RP 2.2 Active RP 2.3 Progressive RP 2.4 Sandbox RP 3.0 Involvement 3.1 Factions 3.2 Players 3.2 Cliques 3.3 Gm's & Storytellers 3.4 Leaders 4.0 Fun 4.1 Respect 4.2 Consequences 4.3 The real powergamer 4.4 Personalities 5.0 Conclusion 1.0 - Plots Definition: Also called storyline. the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.This is what roleplay is all about plots. My story, your story, and our story. We're all writing a story here in Los Santos. Consider our RP to be one giant novel. When you think: Hey this would be an enjoyable read if this were a book ... Then you did a good job! All fiction is based on conflict and this conflict is presented in a structured format called PLOT. Exposition The introductory material which gives the setting, creates the tone, presents the characters, and presents other facts necessary to understanding the story. Foreshadowing The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story. Inciting Force The event or character that triggers the conflict. Conflict The essence of fiction. It creates plot. The conflicts we encounter can usually be identified as one of four kinds. (Man versus…Man, Nature, Society, or Self) Rising Action A series of events that builds from the conflict. It begins with the inciting force and ends with the climax. Crisis The conflict reaches a turning point. At this point the opposing forces in the story meet and the conflict becomes most intense. The crisis occurs before or at the same time as the climax. Climax The climax is the result of the crisis. It is the high point of the story for the reader. Frequently, it is the moment of the highest interest and greatest emotion. The point at which the outcome of the conflict can be predicted. Falling Action The events after the climax which close the story. Resolution (Denouement) Rounds out and concludes the action. 1.1 - World plots In role playing games, what defines a world plot is basically: A plot that involves most people in the world. It's a red line that runs through your game. In normal games these might be called 'campaigns' or 'main missions' ... In roleplaying games something like this is a world plot. It's the servers admins their responsibility to set up world plots, and the players their responsibility to pick it up and do something with it. 1.2 - Personal plots Personal plots are plots that concern and develop your character. You start a business or get employed. You get a new car or you buy a new house. You repaint that new house and you lose that promotion to the cunt bitch *U#@*U$ employee you loath because she sucks the boss's dick. Right, never considered painting your house is fun roleplay/a plot did you now? You're looking at it from the wrong angle. It's not about the mundane action of painting the wall. There's no progress bar you complete after 50 lines. It's about the social action of painting your walls with a bunch of army friends, followed by a BBQ to thank them. That's - fun - ... 1.3 - Tiny plots These are the bread and butter of a RP server. And that's why this section is going to be kinda huge. But first, an introduction. A tiny plot is basically a world plot, that concerns a specific sort of people. For example, a bank robbery is a tiny plot between robbers and the police. A big collision is a tiny plot between the people in the collision, PD and ES etc. But PD academy is as always a large tiny plot within the PD. And so is a robbery in a mafia or a sit-down. This is very important to realize. Noted how tinyplots can encompass multiple groups? Some groups are even ic'ly rivaling groups! So, here's the secret people, so pay attention: We're in this together. There's no such thing as us vs them. There's NO SUCH THING as us VS them... It's just us. We're writing a tinyplot together. If everyone sees it that way, I can guarantee you'll find rp a lot more enjoyable. If the chief of PD can talk to the Mob boss in OOC saying. Hey mate, I don't want to sabotage your faction or kill it, so lets make this fun and I'll make sure you'll have plenty of room for continuation between our conflict. PD isn't out to kill factions. To harass you... PD is out to create fun RP with you. In an ideal world, you would be too. 1.4 THE ZEN OF ROLE-PLAYING What would RP be without TinyPlots? I think they'd be pretty darned Boring. Coding and building can be dandy activities--both absorbing and satisfying to the people skilled in them. But a RP server with prettily designed rooms and little player interaction has all the zip and excitement of a museum in which paintings are displayed at a distance behind glass, and the tourists numbly move from one exhibit to the next. Yawn. Think of your RP as a stage. Each room is a unique set. The character you've created is costumed, poised, equipped with props, and ready to act. But the real stage has a well-groomed and attired audience sitting on the other side of the proscenium, waiting to be entertained. The witnesses to your performance, though, will be the other players. And every other player, just like you, sits at their computer terminal, assimilating and judging the messages and /me’s that scroll down their screen. And they want to be entertained, too. RP players are not interested, however, in watching two other characters act out scenes from Death of a Salesman , fine as the acting may be. RP players want their character to become a living, vital part of the big improvisational troupe that uses as its stage the dozens or hundreds of sets available. When players come together with the characters they've created for this shared experience, it can be sheer magic. I hope that at one time or another you've experienced the thrill of losing yourself to your character. There you are, sitting at your terminal, playing a game of make-believe. Suddenly the action begins...perhaps it's a conflict between two personalities that your character must stop. Perhaps it's a birth, or a wedding. Perhaps an evil sorceress, her lips brightly enamelled with poisoned lipstick, attempts to give her wayward daughter the Kiss of Death. Your real-life self becomes absorbed with the proceedings, and Real Life fades out. You begin to think the way your character thinks. Your body responds physically the way your character's virtual body responds. You breathe more quickly. Your palms sweat. You laugh aloud, or bite your lip with tension. And then you crash back to reality to find the boss or lab attendant or your significant other giving you a quizzical look. This feeling isn't unusual. It's the creative high. Fiction writers experience it when they're working on a story. The Stanislavski method of acting is based on submerging your personal, physical self to a character's responses and rhythms. Ask an artist you know who deals with creating characters what they experience during a really good performance or workday. They'll say, "It was wonderful...the character just kind of took over, and the real me just sat there, watching what happened." Honest, they will. They'll use those exact words, too. Money back guarantee. (Now, exactly how much money did you pay for these observations?) A RP offers unlimited opportunities for players to experience this creative high. The larger RPs often have scores of players online at a time. Even with as few as a dozen players, imagine the possible combinations. When two players role-play in a room and a third character begins to participate, the dynamic of the situation changes. If the third player leaves and another enters, the situation changes once again. And when more characters begin to interact...well, I'm not about to calculate the number of different combinations possible with a dozen players. The words "a whole bunch" pop to mind. Role-playing in a RP is acting. It's interactive fiction-writing. Uniquely exhilarating, it should be thought of as a creative, shared, utterly human experience. 1.5 ACTING FROM CHARACTER or, You've Got A Brain, Use It. You will make your biggest imaginative investment in a RP as you create your character. I'm not referring to the login process, in which you think up a name and a description, and what sex your character will be. That's just the beginning. As you continue to play a RP, your character will evolve. The description might change. You might start to notice that the character has a rhythm of speech that differs from others, or that she chooses a certain vocabulary. The character's background will accumulate depth. She'll have parents, perhaps, and brothers and sisters to which she refers, or past experiences that, while they were never role-played online, influence the way she thinks. I hope you don't want to play a shallow, two-dimensional being. I don't think you'll have much fun. Like any living, breathing person, a fictional character (and remember, that's what you're playing on a RP) has quirks. Characters have good points, and characters have flaws, too. All of these accumulate into increasing layers of depth. If you're playing on a themed RP, respect its theme above all. Players on NarniaRP don't take kindly to a cowboy from the Wild West in their midst. Pern MUSH RP will resent characters beaming in from the Starship Enterprise. Be clueful: a lot of people have gone to a lot of trouble to keep their themed universe consistent. If you choose a character that ignores the milieu of a RP, however interesting you may think he or she is, the chances are good that no one will play with you. You will be ignored. Point blank. It's the Law of the Sandbox. If you want to join in TinyPlots on a particular RP, test the waters with one toe before you plunge in. Contact your TP Coordinator (GM or faction lead) and see if he or she knows of any TinyPlots that need participants. Observe other players involved in TinyPlots. Don't go diving into all the plots that interest you; just as you, in Real Life, don't run around the world interfering in dozens of people's lives, don't let your character zip around the RP trying to do everything. Involve your character only in those TinyPlots that would appeal to his or her motivations--and don't expect just to 'jump in' to an ongoing TP. Let your character work his or her way in, naturally. Try to keep in mind that many TinyPlot originators have gone to considerable trouble to keep their plot interesting and exciting for other players. If you're involved in a mystery plot and on your own find the all-important clue that solves the case, or if you're on a quest and find the magic axe that will relieve your nation of all ills, resist being a plot-hog. Don't arrest the villain yourself, or chop down all the evil Rassafras Trees on your own...get some other people involved! They'll appreciate your thoughtfulness, and more people will get to enjoy the fun. And you'll still get credit in the end. And above all, observe the rules of common courtesy. Don't expect other characters to behave the way you want. They have their own agendas. Don't harass other players, in-character or out, to play with you. If your character plays nicely--that is, behaves consistently and doesn't attempt to harass or intimidate anyone else--you'll have plenty of opportunities to contribute to TinyPlots and start your own.- As a TinyPlot Coordinator on a MUSH, I get asked this question frequently. It's often easier to illustrate with negative examples. The following's taken from a real RP experience, heavily disguised to protect the offenders (but I hope they feel really, really guilty). *One day, a popular character (we'll call her "Abby") at an unnamed site sat down in a public area, the primary hangout of the server, to knit. She was the only character there. Two characters entered to act out a scene in which a woman repudiates her slimy ex-lover. Abby watched in horror, allowing the pair to fight for a few moments, occasionally emitting /me's of shock and concern. When the slimy gentleman pulled out a knife and attempted to threaten the target of his desires, Abby acted in character by trying to warn the woman, and then to lure the attacker away. *The two other characters suddenly left Abby alone in the room, and within minutes they bombarded her player with pm's, accusing her of ruining a carefully-plotted TP. Her Roleplays were distracting, they told her, and her attempt to intervene they considered offensive and unwarranted. "Next time you see us role-playing," pm's the player whose character was the woman at risk, "Don't you DARE say a WORD." What's wrong here? Simple. Abby wanted to participate in a TinyPlot, and proceeded to do so, in character. The two other players, however, pounced on her for expressing herself. I see this as a serious offense--it's the squelching of another's creative impulse. No one signs onto a RP server to watch two characters, however well they may role-play, enact a drama of the day while they ignore everyone else. The key concept to a TinyPlot is participation. Not the participation of two select players, three players, or even ten players to the exclusion of all others--but the participation and contribution of potentially everyone who plays on the game. An argument performed in public between two people may be good role playing. So might an assassination attempt of a popular character. A tender personal soliloquy of love might be an exquisite performance. But unless other players feel welcomed to join in an argument, their creative contribution remains only a potential. If players are discouraged from tracking down an assassin, they're not likely to want to return to the server. And a declaration of love isn't a TinyPlot until other characters can gossip about it, laugh at it, or attempt to thwart or advance it. Let me admit right now that my opinion isn't universal. Many people, good role-players among them, see nothing wrong with plotting and acting a TinyPlot that involves no more than a select group of people. They don't necessarily welcome outside participation, though they will accept kudos for a fine performance. But in my experience, the finest moments of role-playing have often come from the most unexpected contributors. Real life's not pat and neat. And a fantasy world gets boring when events are too predictable. Good TinyPlots are distinguished from and elevated above random moments of roleplaying by a sometimes difficult-to-maintain balance between careful direction and spontaneous, unpredictable participation. Anyone should be able to join in, if the plot strikes their fancy and it's logical for their character to do so. Someone has to run the thing, of course. There's always janitorial work to do with a TinyPlot--rooms to create, objects and puppets to manipulate. And sometimes TinyPlots must result in a certain outcome. But there's no plotline so perfect and inflexible that it can't bend to accommodate spontaneity. And there's no greater satisfaction on a RP than in knowing you helped someone else enjoy themselves. Remember the stage metaphor I used earlier? Everyone on a RP wants to be entertained and to entertain others. The more you work to ensure that others players enjoy themselves, the more you will enjoy the TinyPlot. It's a positive feedback loop! 1.6 PEOPLE WILL TALK Keeping Track of Everything When Too Much is Happening Remember Dynasty? Knots Landing? Ever watch EastEnders or All My Children? Don't sneer...shows like these last for years. They're long lived because they cleverly blend drama with intrigue, mystery, and comedy. They're not afraid to be outrageous. They're not afraid to recycle stories and use them. And they know how to balance all the ongoing plot lines so that from episode to episode the audience isn't overwhelmed. So am I saying that your RP should resemble the goings-on of the Carringtons? Yes, in a way. At any given point, your RP can have multiple TinyPlots involving threats to collective happiness, threats to individual happiness, romance, and comedy. Let's look at each. *Threats to Collective Happiness: These are the grand, sweeping TinyPlots that affect every character on the RP. It may be a war, a plague, a threat of invasion. Pern themed games have the permanent and convenient TinyPlot of fighting the Thread that can destroy their planet in a single pass; other milieus have similar built-in threats. Generally a RP can handle only a very few major threats at a single time. More than a few of these spread the players' attentions thin. *Threats to Individual Happiness: Arguments. Fisticuffs. Misunderstandings. Bullying. The events of everyday life. The RP can stand lots of these. *Romance: Ah, the complexity of Love! Everyone loves a wedding/handfasting/joining together. Properly publicized, they can be the most popular events on a RP. And everyone enjoys themselves even more when a couple has problems. There are arguments to be had, sides to take, threats to make, gifts to return, gossip to spread, faces to slap. . . . Just remember that a union is all the more sweet when the lovers overcome hurdles a-plenty. Comedy: Face it. People like to laugh. If you're good with comedy, try your hand at a comic TinyPlot. Grand comedic TPs are few--they tend not to support their own weight. Well-managed comic characters, however, tend to be popular RP attractions, and their antics can involve many, many other players. In a running gag on NarniaRP, the hyperactive and more than slightly paranoid squirrel, Thizzletwit, regularly sends people into a frenzy looking for a teeth-gnashing monster in the woods that inevitably turns out to be kindly Aunt Fizzia. Similarly, if a meddlesome character is tied up in her own knitting yarn by fire lizards, chances are good that more people will remember it than if she received a mere scolding from another player. Once you have several TinyPlots underway, your RP server will need a way to keep people aware of them. In a place, where I coordinate TinyPlots, has several mechanisms to keep players apprised. Three of these are administratively controlled: we altered the login message of the day to reflect any major upcoming opportunities for role-playing, such as balls, gathers, baked bean-offs, and mudfish festivals. We have a global command, +rumor, to provide players with the latest gossip from world. And finally, once a TinyPlot is played out and done, we write up a summary and put it in the online news. If you're considering a way to distribute TinyPlot information to your RP, think of something that fits its mood or theme. A 'newspaper' that people could buy for a daily update might work on some RPs, for example. As in Real Life, however, news spreads fastest by word of mouth. I know that many people shake their heads at the word 'gossip'. On a RP server, however, in-character gossip is practically a necessity. It's easier to avoid gossiping in Real Life than on a server. Here's an example: Let's say you're out with friends. Among them is a couple who've been dating for years, and they argue violently in a restaurant in front of a score of people. He retires to the bar and drinks too much; she shoots him nasty looks now and again as she sucks down cigarette after cigarette. Ugly, eh? Now, in Real Life I don't think you'd immediately turn to the person sitting next to you and say, "Now, is it true that he is a recovered alcoholic, and she's never smoked before in her life?" I hope you wouldn't. Most people want to appear to best advantage, and that kind of behavior wouldn't be appropriate, or kind. Even if you whispered it, the chances are that one of the subjects would put two and two together and realize you're talking about them. And as for talking about it later...well, you need to be pretty sure of the person you're with before you ask them to dish some dirt. In any RP server, however, remember that the object of a TinyPlot is to encourage other players to have fun. When a couple argues in the local tavern, they want players to react to it. The pair putting on the show realize that some of the newer players might not know that Kassiopia has been wooing Schlomo the Dog Boy while Dirk the Decent was out of town fighting sea serpents. They might not want anyone to break up their little love spat, but you can just bet they'll be mighty disappointed if the entire server isn't talking about it in ten minutes. If not sooner, that is; back then the server I administrated supported a wonderful global called +mutter designed just for gossiping about people to their faces. If Hedda mutters "That Dirk! Every time he goes to the bar with Kassy, he turns into a potty mouth and boozes all over the place!" to Ariel, Ariel hears the entire sentence as a whisper, but the rest of the players in the room merely hear "...Dirk!...he goes...potty...all over...!" or some other tantalizing combination of words randomly chosen from the sentence. As the ads say, imagine the possibilities! Of course, not every player will be online during role-playing developments. That's why you should have player-generated mechanisms, in addition to the administrative devices, to keep people apprised of TinyPlot happenings. Provide a bulletin board in a public place so that characters can post their responses to recent happenings. Encourage people to post their gossip there. I'll bet that the board will be more current (and substantially less accurate, though that's fun, too!) than any of the administrative news outlets. In-character gossip spreads news. In-character gossip keeps people feeling up to date on the latest developments on the RP. It's a powerful socializing factor--newbies, by listening to the gossip, can learn what is and isn't acceptable role-playing behavior on an individual RP. And players who have established characters will only get more involved with the server as the TinyPlots get increasingly complex, and the characters acquire depth as their history grows. For, as anyone who has become addicted to All My Children or EastEnders can tell you, there's immense satisfaction in the accumulative effect of a character's history. Someone watching a scene in which Angie the pub owner drinks an ale, gathers her courage, and sits down to chat with a surly-looking stranger, might find it interesting, but unimportant. Longer-term watchers might understand that Angie survived a suicide attempt and clawed her way to gain control of the pub, and have more interest in the scene. And those of us who remember way back to the time that Angie was actually engaged to the surly chap before she discovered he had multiple personality disorder....well, we've got our faces pressed against the TV screen, egging her on. RP servers are much the same. The more you learn about other characters through role-playing, the more you appreciate and enjoy them. The more you enjoy the other characters, the more vivid and imaginative the TinyPlots become. Hey, it's that positive feedback loop again! 1.7 DIGNITY I like to believe that people, and RP players in particular, have a modicum of common sense. It's pretty to think so, at least. Of course I've run across some players who have to be warned about everything or they'll cry foul. You know the type...they whine, "But you didn't tell me I couldn't --------!" (You fill in the blank: a) "name puppets after other players and make them do unspeakable things!"; "kill that newbie!"; c) "pick up every object that wasn't nailed to the ground and carry it back to my hut!"; d) "follow around female players and beg them for Sex!") In all the advice I've given in this manual, I've made some assumptions. I can't list them all, but here are a few. * Do Unto Others: You know, the Golden Rule. It may be perfectly in character for Yorgo the Vulgarian to emit various bodily odors and sounds, be verbally abusive, and to swing a weapon at every living thing he drunkenly sees. But when he does it on MyPrettyPonyRP, no one's going to like him much. Remember the Law of the Sandbox: If you play in a way that is not consistent with the theme or mood of the RP, or if you play in a way that offends or disrupts others, no one will play with you. * Respect, respect, respect!: When you see a player's TinyPlot unfold, or when you see that character roleplaying to the best of his or her ability, you are receiving an especially private, privileged glimpse into their imaginative life. Each player is offering up a very secret part of themselves when they extend their imagination into your office, home, or computer lab. Respect it, please. How many of your Real Life friends offer you such a gift? * Harrassment: Whether it's sexual or otherwise, harrassment and intimidation is a no-no. If you perform some action and you see that you're causing discomfort, stop. If you can't see that you're causing discomfort and another player asks you to stop, stop. Never assume that any character, even a female who wears veils, kohl, heavy perfume, and a tantalizing description, will welcome your advances, no matter how suave, no matter how subtle. If you're confused about what's welcome and what's not, ask someone. I can't be more serious about this caveat; there is no RP I know of that welcomes harrassment. Don't find yourself a victim of the Law of the Sandbox! * Surprises: Plot twists enliven books and films and videos, but if you're running a TinyPlot, remember that there are fun surprises (Uh-oh! That Calormene guard you thought was on your side is really a double agent!) and then there are not-so-fun surprises (you whisper to another player, "Oh, by the way, this is the part where you're supposed to roleplay to get killed by the Mutant Pink Hamster. What do you mean, I didn't tell you?"). People are attached to their characters. They've put a huge investment in them. Don't treat them cheaply. This is VERY IMPORTANT. People take CK's too lightly these days. If you throw a plot twist that will endanger a player's character without his or her consent, or if you force a player to do something with his or her character they would never do under normal circumstances, they have every right to refuse, walk away, and never play the RP again. And that's not what we want. There do exist Tiny RPs in which players have a chance of random, unpredictable death; these RPs warn the player of this possibility usually on the first login. I don't think it's particularly good for any RP to invite players to spend hours working on characters and then to the CK of them in a drastic conclusion, but at least the players know what chances they're taking. * Toe-stepping: Don't start a flame-war over a TinyPlot. Fascinating and vivid as they may be, they just aren't worth Real Life hurt feelings. If you are planning a TinyPlot and another involved player doesn't like the pro-Roleplay outline, don't waste your time shouting at each other. Human experience (and by human, of course, I include the virtual elves, Marsh-wiggles, talking animals, and furries that populate the RPs everywhere) is so vast, so flexible, and often so downright strange (watch a daytime talk show recently?). Believe me, it's possible, with a little thought and time and communication, to avoid flame-fests and construct a TinyPlot that will satisfy everyone. Likewise, if you're involved in a TinyPlot and don't like the way it's progressing, have an out-of character chat with the person running it. Find out why certain things are happening, and if you're still dissatisfied, compromise. Be flexible. Trees bend in strong winds, you know....the trees that are rigid and ungiving topple over. * Fun and games: The object of RPing is to have fun. Think not of just your fun, however, but also that of the other players. And RPs are games. But keep in mind that Tiny RPing is not like handball, or Monopoly, and you're not going after trophies and glory and points and money. When I was a kid, our physical education instructors very often would haul out a huge old parachute. It was circular, and the class would grab hold to the silky fabric and stand around its rim. On command, we'd loft our arms upwards, and the taut fabric would catch an updraft and billow up majestically. We'd feel a skyward tug as the parachute pulled our bodies upward, nearly lifting our toes from ground. No single one of us could have effected this giddy exhilaration by ourselves; it had to be done as a group. I know I've dished up a lot in these pages, but it's this last point that I hope you'll remember once the manual's out of your hands. A Tiny RP is a community project. You're free to explore your creativity on the RP--free to contribute as much or as little as you want. Always keep in mind, however, that although your neighbors in this community are perhaps thousands of miles away and you may never see their Real Life faces, you are all counting upon and relying on each other for support and encouragement. It's just like a Real Life family, though the only lines connecting you are those of the Internet. The community begins to overcome the barriers of electronic communication the instant it works as a unit for everyone's mutual enjoyment. The result--the creative, kaleidoscopic, imaginative group project that is the Tiny RP--can be enchantingly beautiful. 2. Types of RP There's several types of RP we need to explore and know. 2.1 Passive RP Passive RP is basically the 'rp side dish' ... The RP that makes us human. Dropping the dishes, making coffee, drinking coffee, slipping in the snow. Anything that's RP, that's defining yet has nothing to do with any ongoing story. 2.2 Active RP Active RP is all the other RP that just occurs. PD going on patrol, EMS treating a victim or you running your business. These are all part of your character's main story. 2.3 Progressive RP RP specifically designed to progress one or more characters, think of marriage or something of the likes. 2.4 Sandbox RP RP that has nothing to do with the world. Something that happened with spoofed characters. Like a mini-story on the side. 3.0 Involvement You're supposed to get involved! But how? 3.1 Factions Factions are there to be an establishment facilitating RP. And a social circle to hang out with. If they can't do that then they failed. Factions should be encouraged and supported by administration. They should be accessible and a good reputation is an absolute necessity. 3.2 Players There's always individual players walking around, just as bored as you! Engage them in conversation, start a RP and give them a hook to hook into! You never know who you'll meet! 3.2 Cliques: Cliques have a very bad ring to them. That's because a lot of them get bad tendencies. But cliques aren't bad in themselves. People who like to RP with each other and get together regularly. Less accessible than a faction but often more rewarding. A well executed clique is worth a lot! Unfortunately most get out of hand. Exclusivity gets to the roleplayers head! 3.3 Gm's & Storytellers: I'll be Frank (and you can be Jamie) ... All jokes aside, I do think the GM team here is a flawed concept. It's once started in SAMP and frankly (that's my name with -ly behind it!) it's failed time and again. That's because SAMP failed to understand the role of a GM. The GM is a storyteller. A neutral referee. A GM is the person who creates plots! You heard it here first, GM's are plot making machines, that should be their one and only goal! Teaching people to RP can't be done with boring lectures. You teach RP by involving people! I think this should go hand in hand with 'you don't need to rp unprovoked RP' ... Which means, if you didn't provoke a RP (ICA = ICC) then you can say: "I'm sorry, your RP is not to my standards and I don't want to RP This." ... It's a thin line to walk, when did you provoke rp? I think if you set up proper guidelines it's rather doable! Remember, speeding means provoking the PD, walking in gang territory means provoking violence, rape or robberies and insulting a mob-boss means provoking a beat-up/firebomb on your house. By unprovoked I mean, you're walking by IGS and some Hobo walks up and RP's pissing all over you. Want to rp that? Go ahead, but since you didn't provoke it. I think you should be able to say no. What this does is, some people who don't rp up to standards don't get as much rp anymore. And they'll have a reason to learn to do better! And GM's are a gateway to do that, through plots, not through RP schools. This also means that the 'would I succeed in x' question should be directed at the overseeing GM. And the 'you must rp x' command should be a rule set in stone GM's can issue. 3.4 Leaders Shees, I lead a faction! But it's everyone elses fault nothing works out. Look at it as.. You're leading a faction. You got a few jobs. - Making the faction achieve it's goals/work. - Providing for RP- Solve internal issues and most importantly: - TAKE RESPONSIBILITY Yes, I'm telling you here, if one of your faction members fucks up, it's YOUR fault if they're in your faction. And YOUR responsibility... Maybe even more so than the admin's to correct this player and teach him or her how to do better! I know, for some this is a painful truth. But crossing your arms and going: 'not my job' doesn't at all make you a good leader. Good RP only gets you so far 4.0 Fun This is what it's all about... Period, if a RP server can't offer this to you, then the RP server is WRONG. However, everyone experiences fun from different things. So there's a fine line servers need to walk to be able to facilitate to as many people as they can. 4.1 RespectFun starts with respect. Respect for your own fun, respect for the admins their fun, and most importantly, respect for other player's fun! Without this healthy respect you get sad painful events, which MTA is unfortunatly infected with. It's a lot of : ME ME ME and barely any: US US US .... We need to change that! And I guess we need to start somewhere right? 4.2 Consequences Pfft, always a difficult subject. Yet I'm going to try and keep it short. ICA = ICC, it's true and it's neccasery. HOWEVER, most people make the mistake of taking ICA = My pass to do whatever the fuck I want. That's wrong. I mean, people have made CK apps because "MY char is macho and don't take insults from nobody..." ... Well I'm sorry but your character is as shallow as my faith in humanity's grave. I'm dead serious here, if you're incapeable of containing the ICC (In character consequences) to a level they're there but the victim is also content with the RP, then you're a-social, and you need to change. Not your victim. A lot of people are surprised by people by afraid to RP losing. Here's why. The moment you lose on MTA, you lose for good. People are addicted to ck-ing others. It's like saying you're addicted to ruining Rembrandts's paintings! That's just sick! 4.3 The real powergamer Consequently, this brings us to this. The real powergamer is the one who forces his RP on others who clearly don't like it. Learn to listen and talk to people, and put them at ease. "Hey man, don't worry you won't be ck'd ... Just beat up, great roleplay by the way!" IS all it takes to calm most people down when you're assaulting them for whatever reason. It'll improve your RP and their RP! Seriously, try it... 4.4 Personalities Please develop your characters. We have seen too many angel sculpted muscular pro-sportsmen rich gun nuts who drive and shoot like Jason Bourne and kill everyone with their evil stare of doom if you cross them mildly. Honestly, if you think this is you, I hope you realize that everyone sees a freckled and fat 12 y/o with no irl power and a serious complex/trauma sitting behind his screen in the dark scratching his balls, wheezing and belching when he commands his will on the world through his superhero character... Seriously, if you're going in that direction, at least put on tights! 5.0 Conclusion If you read this, good job. I hope I could impose some of my knowledge on you and I helped you through this guide. If you skimmed through it, equally applause. If you're just reading this, then BOO... I know there's going to be some TL;DR comments. That's your own loss, I think it's a bit immature. But alright, off to the conclusion. I think MTA as a community as a whole needs some serious changing in attitudes. Get rid of the us vs them, get rid of the power complex, get rid of the rotten server attacking and ddos'ing. Get rid of the hate, PG MG and all the other shit. And through what? THROUGH FUN. Lets just have fun TOGETHER. As a team, because frankly, I'm here to play my part in the stage that is Los Santos. And I want you to be my co-actor while we entertain our audience. No matter who you are, no matter what you did in the past. If you can do that, then I'll love you and your RP. And I hope some people will join me in this, because we need more cuddles and less knifes!