Polarity Shift's "Hero How-To" Roleplay Guide

Polarity-Shift · 08-02-2009, 07:31 PM

Hi there! Since you clicked on this topic, I will assume that you're interested in (or at least curious about) roleplaying in Champions Online. Since many people have never RP'd (roleplayed) before, I thought that now would be a good time to put together a mini-guide to help both the new and the experienced RPer, and to encourage the RP community in Champions Online. This isn't intended to step on the toes of Pathstalker's awesome RP guide stickied at the top of the forum. Rather, this is intended more as a supplement and as a second viewpoint on the process.

-------------------------
What is Roleplaying?
-------------------------

Basically, RPing is simply another way of saying "acting". For a normal non-RP character, you use your character to navigate the game world, but you interact with other players as yourself (the person behind the keyboard). If someone were to ask what you do for a living, you might answer "I work in a music store". If they ask if you have any pets, you might say "no, but my mom has a chihuahua".

However, when you're roleplaying your character, you're "acting" your character's part, just like a movie or TV actor. If someone were to ask about your day job, you'd RP with something like "when I'm not saving the day, I work as a mild-mannered bus driver."

------------------
Why Roleplay?
------------------

For many people, RP adds an extra dimension of depth and immersion to the game. It's a way to give your character personality, to flesh him (or her, or it) out and make him more real and believable. It also adds player-driven content and storyline to the game, which helps keep the game fresh and interesting. For example, you might come up with a back story for your character in which her husband was killed as an innocent bystander in a gang battle. So now she has decided to take up the mantle of a hero and focuses her heroic efforts on ridding the city of gangs. In doing this, you've added some extra depth to your character, and you can have a lot of fun RPing encounters with gang thugs.

--------------------------
Getting Started RPing
--------------------------

RP is surprisingly easy, although it takes some practice to become good at it and to avoid clichés. The first step is coming up with a good mental image of your character, and of course a good superhero needs a good name. "Pwnsurface" is a really questionable choice since it would take a very particular sort of hero to call himself by a name like that, in general it just comes off as a bad gamer monicker from Counterstrike. Luckily, superheroes have almost limitless naming potential, and the internet has lots of resources available to help you here. The following is a list of potentially useful links to help you choose a character name. Don't feel obligated to use them if you already have something in mind, but they can help steer you if you're having trouble coming up with something good:

http://thesaurus.reference.com/ - An online thesaurus that can suggest interesting words you could use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_Superheroes - Wikipedia's lists of existing superheroes in fiction. Don't directly copy any of these names, but instead use them as a guide for what makes a good hero name.

You might also build a name out of your character's concept. This is usually the most fun and interesting way of naming your character, especially for a superhero. My character, Polarity Shift, switches between light control and shadow manipulation depending on the time of day. Since light and darkness are polar opposites and since he shifts between the two uncontrollably, Polarity Shift seemed like a great name fitting of the character's concept.

Once you have a name and concept for your character, begin thinking of a back story. Where was your character born? How old is he? What kinds of things does he like and dislike? Is he a serious person or a light-hearted jokester? Why is he a hero? What are his goals? Does he banter and use clever quips against his heroes like Spider-Man, or is he the brooding silent type like Batman?

With superhero fiction, just about anything is up for grabs. You could be an alien from an as-yet-undiscovered world or dimension. Or you could be an elf from a long-lost kingdom. Or a telekinetic but otherwise ordinary human child. Or a giant doomsday robot salvaged and reprogrammed to help mankind. The possibilities are quite literally endless. Just try to avoid stepping on the toes of the established story in the game. Having a minor connection to an existing character (Ironclad saved my mother from being hit by a car once!) is fine. Having a major connection to an existing character (Witchcraft is my twin sister!) isn't fine. But pretty much everything else you could possibly imagine is up for grabs, so feel free to experiment!

Polarity-Shift · 08-02-2009, 07:31 PM

----------------------------
Interacting with Others
----------------------------

As a general rule, in most MMORPGs there are certain standards and conventions that RPers tend to use. First of all, it's generally considered understood that in "public chat channels" you'll be speaking out of character (OOC). In these situations, it's perfectly fine to step outside your character and say that you go to school during the day or that you like the amount of damage your character can put out. In most MMOs, the main times you'll be RPing your character are with your friends in your hero group's chat channel, in group chat when you're partied up with other players, and in local-area chat.

If you join a roleplaying group, the group may have specific rules on when you need to stay in character (IC) and when you can go OOC. Groups that classify themselves as "medium" or "heavy" RP generally expect their members to stay in character as much as possible, whereas "light" RP groups are much more flexible and will slip into and out of character at will. In most games, it's considered polite to avoid interruption other players' ongoing RP chat with OOC stuff, though most people don't mind as long as you ((surround your OOC talk with double parentheses, double brackets, or some other method of showing that you're speaking OOC)). These methods allow readers to know that you're speaking as yourself and not as your character and make it much easier to keep the IC and OOC talk separate, avoiding potential confusion.

When you meet another RPer in person, it's usually considered polite to try to stay in character and to respect their roleplaying. Even if the person is RPing that they're Superman or Storm or some other copyrighted property, try to be polite and respectful anyway. But hopefully you won't encounter too many existing character clones, given the limitless possibilities of the Champions Online character creation. =)

When you're RPing, it also helps to separate the spoken parts from the actions, letting your readers know that you're not actually saying that part but instead actually DOING it. For example:

"Get ready guys, here comes a whole lot of ugly! *Polarity Shift raises his arms, fists glowing with dazzling light energy*"

The part surrounded by asterisks is the actual action I took, whereas the other part is what I said. Obviously there will be a very healthy emote system in Champions, but occasionally it's necessary to put an action and spoken words on the same line, in which case separating them out helps clarify what's actually happening.

-------------------------------------
Meta-Gaming and Meta-Control
-------------------------------------

Meta-gaming and meta-control are two common pitfalls you'll want to avoid at all costs. I'll explain what these two terms mean and why they're considered bad form by roleplayers.

Meta-gaming is the act of presenting information YOU (the player at the computer) know as if your character knows it, when in fact your character has no way of doing so. For example, say you're on a mission to take out a particular baddie. You go online and look on some website to find out exactly what the mission entails, and you see that the baddie has a very good chance of dropping a particular piece of equipment. you alt-tab gack into the game and rejoin your group.

"Ok guys, let's get this guy, he's been spreading enough havoc and chaos. Dibs on the armor he drops!" you cry.

That's meta-gaming. YOU know the villain drops that piece of equipment, but how would your character know something like that? Your character's knowledge is limited to what HE has experienced, not what you know.

Or suppose you're playing on an alt character and you're grouped with friends, RPing while doing a mission. You've done this particular mission on your main character before. When RPing, it's important to remember that you know things your character doesn't. So in this case, even though you've done the mission before, you have to act as if it's the first time you've ever ventured into that particular mad villain's lair to thwart his plot. To do otherwise would bring outside information to your character.

The best example I can give is this: pretend you're an actor on stage. YOU (the actor) have read the script cover to cover, but your character obviously hasn't. If you were to suddenly blurt out in the middle of a scene, "Check Mrs. MacDougal's purse, she has a handgun inside it!" you'd ruin the scene, because your CHARACTER doesn't know that information. It's an easy thing to slip up on, but after a while you'll get the hang of avoiding meta-gaming.

Meta-control or meta-play is similar to meta-gaming, but it differs in that it only happens when you're directly interacting with another RPer. Just as you have free control over what your character says and does, so too do other RPers. Never force another player's character into an action without talking to them OOC first to make sure it's ok. For example, this is fine:

"Polarity Shift fires off a light bolt, aiming directly for Ion Burst's head."

There, I took an action at another player, but I left it open-ended so that Ion Burst could decide what to do from there. However, this next example is NOT ok:

"Polarity Shift fires off a light bolt, aiming directly for Ion Burst's head. The light knocks Ion Burst across the room, sending him into unconsciousness. He'll have a hell of a headache when he wakes up."

In that example, not only did I act out MY character's action (firing a bolt of light at Ion Burst), but I also took control of Ion away from his player when I made HIS character take the shot to the head and go flying across the room. ALWAYS leave the character's response and reaction up to the player who controls the character. In the first example, if Ion's player had wanted him to take the bolt, he could have easily emoted such. However, if he chose to dodge it, he could. Or he could fall to his knees and beg for mercy. Or he could deftly deflect the light bolt with a radiation pulse of his own. There's a lot of actions that leave the outcome (and the effect on Ion Burst) up to the player himself. That's ALWAYS a better way of handling things.

---------------------------------
Storyline and How to Use It
---------------------------------

The in-game storyline is a crucial part of RPing, because if you don't know much about the Champions universe and its inhabitants, how are you going to pretend to be one. Luckily, there's lots of resources for you to refer. The best source of information is the Champions Online website and the Champions pen-and-paper books. And of course there's fan websites across the internet that you can refer to for more information about the Champions line.

However, don't stress out too much if you bend the story a bit without meaning to. Most RPers are very forgiving, and you'll probably even have someone politely let you know of your mistake. Thank the person for catching your error, but don't stress over it. Your character isn't ruined and you're not suddenly a bad RPer just because you got a minor detail mixed up. There are certainly folks in the world who know Champions better than the real world, but not everyone is a lore-junkie and it isn't a requirement for RPing. As long as you try your best to stick to the information presented in the game and on the website, you'll be fine.

---------------------------
There and Back Again
---------------------------

That's really all there is to RPing. The idea behind RPing is that your character is fully fleshed out and has his own back story, his own motivations, needs, desires, goals, characteristics, physical features, etc. Once you have all that, RPing can be a lot of fun. You can come up with your own story lines (My girlfriend has discovered that I'm secretly a superhero, just days before I was going to break up with her. Now what do I do?), and you can begin weaving your story into that of other RPers (I'll help you out, I've been working on a Memory Modifying Machine and I've been waiting to test it out!) Just, don't be surprised if you become an RP addict and start thinking up story lines and plot twists in your sleep! I hope to RP with you soon, heroes!

Polarity-Shift · 08-13-2009, 02:21 PM

Bump, for great theatrical justice!

Malcoren · 08-13-2009, 07:36 PM

Neat. As a random question, are you going to have 3 costumes for the guy? 1 for day, 1 for night, and 1 for dusk (probably something 'normal' for that one)?

Polarity-Shift · 08-16-2009, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malcoren

Neat. As a random question, are you going to have 3 costumes for the guy? 1 for day, 1 for night, and 1 for dusk (probably something 'normal' for that one)?

Likely just two, since dawn and dusk only take a few minutes each.

08-02-2009, 07:31 PM	#1
Polarity-Shift Champion Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: North Carolina	Polarity Shift's "Hero How-To" Roleplay Guide Hi there! Since you clicked on this topic, I will assume that you're interested in (or at least curious about) roleplaying in Champions Online. Since many people have never RP'd (roleplayed) before, I thought that now would be a good time to put together a mini-guide to help both the new and the experienced RPer, and to encourage the RP community in Champions Online. This isn't intended to step on the toes of Pathstalker's awesome RP guide stickied at the top of the forum. Rather, this is intended more as a supplement and as a second viewpoint on the process. ------------------------- What is Roleplaying? ------------------------- Basically, RPing is simply another way of saying "acting". For a normal non-RP character, you use your character to navigate the game world, but you interact with other players as yourself (the person behind the keyboard). If someone were to ask what you do for a living, you might answer "I work in a music store". If they ask if you have any pets, you might say "no, but my mom has a chihuahua". However, when you're roleplaying your character, you're "acting" your character's part, just like a movie or TV actor. If someone were to ask about your day job, you'd RP with something like "when I'm not saving the day, I work as a mild-mannered bus driver." ------------------ Why Roleplay? ------------------ For many people, RP adds an extra dimension of depth and immersion to the game. It's a way to give your character personality, to flesh him (or her, or it) out and make him more real and believable. It also adds player-driven content and storyline to the game, which helps keep the game fresh and interesting. For example, you might come up with a back story for your character in which her husband was killed as an innocent bystander in a gang battle. So now she has decided to take up the mantle of a hero and focuses her heroic efforts on ridding the city of gangs. In doing this, you've added some extra depth to your character, and you can have a lot of fun RPing encounters with gang thugs. -------------------------- Getting Started RPing -------------------------- RP is surprisingly easy, although it takes some practice to become good at it and to avoid clichés. The first step is coming up with a good mental image of your character, and of course a good superhero needs a good name. "Pwnsurface" is a really questionable choice since it would take a very particular sort of hero to call himself by a name like that, in general it just comes off as a bad gamer monicker from Counterstrike. Luckily, superheroes have almost limitless naming potential, and the internet has lots of resources available to help you here. The following is a list of potentially useful links to help you choose a character name. Don't feel obligated to use them if you already have something in mind, but they can help steer you if you're having trouble coming up with something good: http://thesaurus.reference.com/ - An online thesaurus that can suggest interesting words you could use. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_Superheroes - Wikipedia's lists of existing superheroes in fiction. Don't directly copy any of these names, but instead use them as a guide for what makes a good hero name. You might also build a name out of your character's concept. This is usually the most fun and interesting way of naming your character, especially for a superhero. My character, Polarity Shift, switches between light control and shadow manipulation depending on the time of day. Since light and darkness are polar opposites and since he shifts between the two uncontrollably, Polarity Shift seemed like a great name fitting of the character's concept. Once you have a name and concept for your character, begin thinking of a back story. Where was your character born? How old is he? What kinds of things does he like and dislike? Is he a serious person or a light-hearted jokester? Why is he a hero? What are his goals? Does he banter and use clever quips against his heroes like Spider-Man, or is he the brooding silent type like Batman? With superhero fiction, just about anything is up for grabs. You could be an alien from an as-yet-undiscovered world or dimension. Or you could be an elf from a long-lost kingdom. Or a telekinetic but otherwise ordinary human child. Or a giant doomsday robot salvaged and reprogrammed to help mankind. The possibilities are quite literally endless. Just try to avoid stepping on the toes of the established story in the game. Having a minor connection to an existing character (Ironclad saved my mother from being hit by a car once!) is fine. Having a major connection to an existing character (Witchcraft is my twin sister!) isn't fine. But pretty much everything else you could possibly imagine is up for grabs, so feel free to experiment! __________________ ~Polarity-Shift

08-02-2009, 07:31 PM	#2
Polarity-Shift Champion Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: North Carolina	---------------------------- Interacting with Others ---------------------------- As a general rule, in most MMORPGs there are certain standards and conventions that RPers tend to use. First of all, it's generally considered understood that in "public chat channels" you'll be speaking out of character (OOC). In these situations, it's perfectly fine to step outside your character and say that you go to school during the day or that you like the amount of damage your character can put out. In most MMOs, the main times you'll be RPing your character are with your friends in your hero group's chat channel, in group chat when you're partied up with other players, and in local-area chat. If you join a roleplaying group, the group may have specific rules on when you need to stay in character (IC) and when you can go OOC. Groups that classify themselves as "medium" or "heavy" RP generally expect their members to stay in character as much as possible, whereas "light" RP groups are much more flexible and will slip into and out of character at will. In most games, it's considered polite to avoid interruption other players' ongoing RP chat with OOC stuff, though most people don't mind as long as you ((surround your OOC talk with double parentheses, double brackets, or some other method of showing that you're speaking OOC)). These methods allow readers to know that you're speaking as yourself and not as your character and make it much easier to keep the IC and OOC talk separate, avoiding potential confusion. When you meet another RPer in person, it's usually considered polite to try to stay in character and to respect their roleplaying. Even if the person is RPing that they're Superman or Storm or some other copyrighted property, try to be polite and respectful anyway. But hopefully you won't encounter too many existing character clones, given the limitless possibilities of the Champions Online character creation. =) When you're RPing, it also helps to separate the spoken parts from the actions, letting your readers know that you're not actually saying that part but instead actually DOING it. For example: "Get ready guys, here comes a whole lot of ugly! Polarity Shift raises his arms, fists glowing with dazzling light energy" The part surrounded by asterisks is the actual action I took, whereas the other part is what I said. Obviously there will be a very healthy emote system in Champions, but occasionally it's necessary to put an action and spoken words on the same line, in which case separating them out helps clarify what's actually happening. ------------------------------------- Meta-Gaming and Meta-Control ------------------------------------- Meta-gaming and meta-control are two common pitfalls you'll want to avoid at all costs. I'll explain what these two terms mean and why they're considered bad form by roleplayers. Meta-gaming is the act of presenting information YOU (the player at the computer) know as if your character knows it, when in fact your character has no way of doing so. For example, say you're on a mission to take out a particular baddie. You go online and look on some website to find out exactly what the mission entails, and you see that the baddie has a very good chance of dropping a particular piece of equipment. you alt-tab gack into the game and rejoin your group. "Ok guys, let's get this guy, he's been spreading enough havoc and chaos. Dibs on the armor he drops!" you cry. That's meta-gaming. YOU know the villain drops that piece of equipment, but how would your character know something like that? Your character's knowledge is limited to what HE has experienced, not what you know. Or suppose you're playing on an alt character and you're grouped with friends, RPing while doing a mission. You've done this particular mission on your main character before. When RPing, it's important to remember that you know things your character doesn't. So in this case, even though you've done the mission before, you have to act as if it's the first time you've ever ventured into that particular mad villain's lair to thwart his plot. To do otherwise would bring outside information to your character. The best example I can give is this: pretend you're an actor on stage. YOU (the actor) have read the script cover to cover, but your character obviously hasn't. If you were to suddenly blurt out in the middle of a scene, "Check Mrs. MacDougal's purse, she has a handgun inside it!" you'd ruin the scene, because your CHARACTER doesn't know that information. It's an easy thing to slip up on, but after a while you'll get the hang of avoiding meta-gaming. Meta-control or meta-play is similar to meta-gaming, but it differs in that it only happens when you're directly interacting with another RPer. Just as you have free control over what your character says and does, so too do other RPers. Never force another player's character into an action without talking to them OOC first to make sure it's ok. For example, this is fine: "Polarity Shift fires off a light bolt, aiming directly for Ion Burst's head." There, I took an action at another player, but I left it open-ended so that Ion Burst could decide what to do from there. However, this next example is NOT ok: "Polarity Shift fires off a light bolt, aiming directly for Ion Burst's head. The light knocks Ion Burst across the room, sending him into unconsciousness. He'll have a hell of a headache when he wakes up." In that example, not only did I act out MY character's action (firing a bolt of light at Ion Burst), but I also took control of Ion away from his player when I made HIS character take the shot to the head and go flying across the room. ALWAYS leave the character's response and reaction up to the player who controls the character. In the first example, if Ion's player had wanted him to take the bolt, he could have easily emoted such. However, if he chose to dodge it, he could. Or he could fall to his knees and beg for mercy. Or he could deftly deflect the light bolt with a radiation pulse of his own. There's a lot of actions that leave the outcome (and the effect on Ion Burst) up to the player himself. That's ALWAYS a better way of handling things. --------------------------------- Storyline and How to Use It --------------------------------- The in-game storyline is a crucial part of RPing, because if you don't know much about the Champions universe and its inhabitants, how are you going to pretend to be one. Luckily, there's lots of resources for you to refer. The best source of information is the Champions Online website and the Champions pen-and-paper books. And of course there's fan websites across the internet that you can refer to for more information about the Champions line. However, don't stress out too much if you bend the story a bit without meaning to. Most RPers are very forgiving, and you'll probably even have someone politely let you know of your mistake. Thank the person for catching your error, but don't stress over it. Your character isn't ruined and you're not suddenly a bad RPer just because you got a minor detail mixed up. There are certainly folks in the world who know Champions better than the real world, but not everyone is a lore-junkie and it isn't a requirement for RPing. As long as you try your best to stick to the information presented in the game and on the website, you'll be fine. --------------------------- There and Back Again --------------------------- That's really all there is to RPing. The idea behind RPing is that your character is fully fleshed out and has his own back story, his own motivations, needs, desires, goals, characteristics, physical features, etc. Once you have all that, RPing can be a lot of fun. You can come up with your own story lines (My girlfriend has discovered that I'm secretly a superhero, just days before I was going to break up with her. Now what do I do?), and you can begin weaving your story into that of other RPers (I'll help you out, I've been working on a Memory Modifying Machine and I've been waiting to test it out!) Just, don't be surprised if you become an RP addict and start thinking up story lines and plot twists in your sleep! I hope to RP with you soon, heroes! __________________ ~Polarity-Shift

08-13-2009, 02:21 PM	#3
Polarity-Shift Champion Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: North Carolina	Bump, for great theatrical justice! __________________ ~Polarity-Shift

08-13-2009, 07:36 PM	#4
Malcoren Champion Join Date: Aug 2009	... Neat. As a random question, are you going to have 3 costumes for the guy? 1 for day, 1 for night, and 1 for dusk (probably something 'normal' for that one)?