Definition and guidelines to Roleplaying

Apparently Dragoncross has been receiving messages asking about what roleplaying is and how it's done. To put it simply, roleplaying is like creating a story and each person has their own main character to play around with. Generally the author of is the one in charge, so they choose whether they wish for the roleplay to go a certain direction or let everyone guide it together. Most authors start the board with a set of rules. They're typically the same ones over and over
1)No Godmoding (invincible or "perfect" characters)
2) Stay rated-PG
3) No killing without permission (or moreover no gore at all)
4) Sometimes there are restrictions on who can Roleplay, usually outlawing so-called illiterates (people who post list list intros for their characters or use only one-liners all the time)
5) Character intros start after the Author's
6) Also, sometimes there are certain words or phrases you have to post so that the author knows who is participating
-->There is also an unlisted rule that deals mostly with etiquette: Using OCC: (Out of character) in front or parenthesis around things, so that others know when you are not in character. And when you resume narrating about your character, BIC: (Back In Character) is put it the front.

Next either comes the roleplay's backdrop or the Author's character intro. This has to describe the setting to the other roleplayers (You don't want someone making snow fall when it is the middle of July, nor Skyscrapers pop up in open farm land or crowded forests!) Also you have to describe your character. The simplest way of doing this is creating brief lists.

Character Bio:
Name: Char Ming
Age:16
Appearance:Long red hair, amber eyes, medium height, wears a lucky silver amulet (And you can even describe their clothes)
Personality: She is a take-charge sort of girl that tends to leap without looking
(and you can continue listing off other facts and fun stats, exspecially including pet)

Here is an example of an extended intro from a while ago that someone else created:

A young Child sat in the back of a caravan heading towards the port city, his sister sitting beside him. He looked towards the front of the wagon, past all of the crates being delivered to the port, to see if they were there yet. Three days, little sleep, and a big sister. Young Zachary Lynn had been on edge the whole trip, mostly due to the fact that he had to sleep on a box(cont)

of meat. He peeked out once more, the light glinting off of his silver hair and green eyes. He pushed the lid off of another crate to reveal soem backpacks filled with some spare clothing him and his sister had brought, as well as their weapons and money. Zak slipped on a clean tan tunic overtop of his white shirt, and brushed the dirt off of his black leggings. He wore no shoes, but (cont)

instead bandages were wrapped around his feet, leaving soles the only thing visible of his feet. The thirteen year old boy put his black leather belt on, a shortsword strapped to his right side. Zak, picked up a set of leather armor, slowly and cautiously fastening it on over his tunic. He slid a dagger into its sheath on the armor, and picked up his bow and quiver from behind another crate.(cont)

He pulled a book out from his bag, and read while waiting for his sister to wake up. "Sis, we're nearly there!" He said, nudging her slightly as he read abour the Port village and Atlantis in the book. the Caravan passed through the dark tunnel, lighting it up by the lamps mounted in front and behind of the Wagon. Zak covered his eyes as the Wagon pressed forward, into the City.(done)

Some websites have limits to the number of characters in a single post. So when you can't fit all of it in, you can use the (cont) or more simply, (c) to let the others know that you're not done. And when you are, you can use (done) or (d). I doubt that we will ever have to use that on this site.

However, if you are not the author and simply someone joining in, yours will be a little different. Typically conjoining posts tend to be shorter and rely souly on the environment and mood set by the author. Here is an example that I created as an addition to the author's intro:

Kelpsy bounced up and down the stone path leading to the harbor. Her blue, curly locks flew up and down in the air as her amethyst eyes sparkled with merriment. All around her, other villagers were pouring down the much-used road. Most were merchants, rushing to be the first to trade with the Atlantian ships. The young girl stopped in front of the long stairway that wound down to the water.(c)

Her tattered and patched dress slowly fell back over her ankles. The other travelers of the path continued, yelling and squabbling in their haste. But Kelpsy stood there, transfixed by the sea and the buildings coming ever closer to the village. A large, broad grin had suddenly appeared on her mouth, and she gave out a small laugh. They were almost here!

As a character intro, this is very basic. When you write it, you want to create an image of your character that you want everyone else to see. However, that doesn't mean you should show everything about them. Most people who have roleplayed before have always loved an air of mystery!

"She's a beauty, ain't she?" Kelpsy whirled around at the voice behind her. Immediately the smile disappeared. The leader of the local pirate gang smiled at her with a gapped tooth smirk. To the little girl, he was as tall as a tree and just as broad. He wore a clean shirt today, it had less brown stains on it than usual.(c)

With brown leggings and a beard the same shade, he would have appeared to be just as any other villager, of course, if it weren't for the sharp sword he carried by his side. "Pa!" The little girl yelped. He had said nothing about coming to the docks today. Nevertheless, he smiled passively at her. "Girls need to be in the house, not outside." he scolded her, still smiling.(c)

But as Kelpsy was about to say something he shook his head. "Welp, can't blame you though. It ain't often that the largest treasure comes around these parts." Watching him, the girl felt a shiver go down her back as she witnessed the gleam in his eyes.(d)

If anyone has any further questions upon the topic, feel free to contact me anytime. This is just a guide to roleplaying. There are many different variations of styles, but this is how I learned. I encourage you to create your own!

I forgot to add a very important aspect.
Along with the "out of character" and "back in character" business, it is important to simply ask before joining. This may seem very obvious, however some people get very angry if this rule is broken. It also lets the author know if certain roles are taken and it helps distinguish actual roleplayers from "lurkers" (people who are just there to watch).
Note: An author is given the authority to accept and reject players asking to join. So if you really want to roleplay, make sure you don't get on their bad side.(I know from experience...-_-')