Roleplaying, or more commonly referred to as RPing, is a wonderful and unique version of writing a story. Normally when someone Rps, they control one, two, or serveral characters, either of their own creation or a character that was already created, while another person or group of people do the same to further a designated plot or story that everyone agreed on.

The most popluar genres to RP are anime, TV, video games, or books. With each genre, there are certain characters that some RPers love to play, like Sora from Kingdom Hearts (video game) and Itachi Uchiha from Naruto (anime). Also, with each genre, some RPers create their own characters suited for that RP genre. For example, if the genre is Books and the roleplay was based on Harry Potter, someone could create a witch or wizard student character, or even a new teacher.

If the popular media isn't your cup of tea, you can create an RP out of thin air. The proper way is explained in detail futher in the guide. The brief explaination,
given here, is taking either real life or a complete fantasy world and making a story from it. The story is as limitless as your imagination!

There are currently two ways to RP that anyone can understand. Although with no real proper names, they will have names here. With any form of RP, it needs to be descriptive and vivid, otherwise, what's the point? The following forms will be in two colors, to differ their look and style, but show how they are used. The two forms used here are Narrative and Abbreviated. See how each differ:

Example:
Johnny needs to go from his camp to the overlooking cliff of a mountain to spy on an enemy camp, but in the process of travel, he gets ambushed and forced to fight.

Narrative:
Johnny left his camp, looking up at the mountain, to the faint smoke of another camp. This was his goal, hoping that he could make it there before the sun set. The trek was slow to start with, which always is when the slope is gradually inclined. Johnny was always a fit man, his muscles flexing slightly as he made his way further up the slope. Nearly halfway there, he stopped, hearing a noise that wasn't himself or an animal. His clear eyes scanned the area until a sudden noise caught his attention.

An arrow flew from a tree, narrowly missing his arm, and hit the ground next to him. Johnny slowly pulled at his sword, waiting for another attack on him. "Show yourself!" He called out, hearing his own voice echoing against the rocks. His call was answered as a small troop of heavily armed men leapt out and pinned him against the ground, holding sword and spear against a vital area on his body.

Abbreviated:
::Johnny walked from his camp to another at a cliff on a nearby mountain. He had a long journey ahead of him, but he was ready. While on the trail to the ally camp, he heard a snap of a twig.:: "Who's there?" ::He pulled his sword to aid him, in case of an attack. An arrow was released from a bow, hitting Johnny in the shoulder. He dropped his sword, grabbing at the arrow.:: "Ahhh!" ::Before he knew it, Johnny was surrounded and restrained by an enemy force.::

TIP: It's recommended that everyone uses the Narrative style, since because of emotes/smilies, the Abbreviated style is more trouble than it's worth.

Examples:

: onna went to the car... (Donna)

: n the other side of the.... (On)

: assing through the checkpoints... (Passing)

NEVER GODMOD
GodModding is a horrible crime in RPing. It is the act of controlling or forcing another character that is not yours to do something. Like, if you and a friend are RPing with Tom and Rita, and you play Tom, you canNOT play as Rita at all.

Example of GodMod:
Tom threw the ball to Rita, and she caught it.

Example of no GodMod:
Tom threw the ball to Rita, hoping she would catch it.

Making a character for any RP can be easy or hard, depending on your creativity. Some people can think of personalities and different characters on the spot, which make an RP exciting and more realistic. With each RP being different, there are different Character Forms. The following is a good and detailed example of what to expect to see in most RPs, but with each genre being different, some categories could be added or taken out, depending on the RP. Please note that the following form is not required for each RP in this section, but you can certainly use it as you wish. Also, this is very important, don't make an all-powerful character that has no flaws or can never be beaten. This is unreal and will make the RP die in a heartbeat!

Example:

Full Name: Spade
A name. Something simple. Try to give your characters a full name, as requested.

Nickname(s): Smokey
If your full name is long or hard to spell, give your character a fun nickname.

Title(s): --
If your character has a title, like for royalty or (in)famous status.

Image (for pictures; use a link): Link
Please, please, PLEASE link your images!!

Gender: Male
Male or female.... You must choose one!

Weapons: Claws and stealth
Does your character have a cool weapon? It could be the trust sword, or the ingenius brain.

Age: Unknown, but appears around mid-20s
If you must put "unknown", give an appearance age.

Race: Half-Demon
Let everyone know your character's race, although it could be optional in most RPs with the same race for every character.

Birthday: Late Spring
Please, post which calendar you are using. Or if you want estimate or exact birthdates.

Family: Two brothers; Koltz and Raizendoth
You must put something here. Not everyone is automatically orphaned.

Infatuation: Pretty girls
What is an infactuation? It's a foolish passion, kind of like something your character loves, like chocolate or kittens.

Marital Status: Single
Is your character single, married, widowed, or in a relationship?

Favorite Color: Grey
Favorite color- Simple, eh?

Favorite Animal: None
Favorite animal- Simple, eh?

Favorite Food: Anything burnt or smoked
Favorite food- Simple, eh?

Hobbies: Peeping at pretty girls
Is there a hobby your character likes to do?

Likes: Sleeping
List a few of your character's Likes.

Dislikes: His brothers
List a few of your character's Dislikes.

Personality: Lax and calm, or sometimes child-like
What is your character's personality?

Background History: Explain your character's history.
Spade is a well-hated half demon. Not only by the humans, but by his own family. His mysterious father is a powerful demon lord who enslaves human females for his own lustful desires. Spade's mother was one of these women, who was allowed to live after Spade's father raped her. Spade's two older, full-demon brothers, Koltz and Raizendoth, hate Spade with a passion and normally play "games" where they would attack and beat him without mercy. Because of this, Spade ran away from home. He lived on his own for a few years, raiding nearby villages and spying on girls as they bathed in public baths, but eventually his brothers found him and continued their game. Spade is always on the move, fearing that his brothers would come and kill him once and for all.

Other: List other trivial things about your character.
TBA

Probably the most important part of any RP is the plot or the storyline to play and react on. The storyline (or plot) needs to be a summary of the RP or a preface. Any good one will contain a good summary of the story, a detailed character form, a setting (time and place) and a few rules, such as how to apply or posting order.

The simpliest way to make a story is to think of it as an invitation.

For example:

What: (What is the RP about?) An RP about wolves.
When: (When is the RP taking place?) Modern times.
Where: (Where is the RP taking place?) Forest; Winter.
Who: (Who is the RP about?) Wolves.

That's the basic backbone of any RP. But you'd want to make it look pretty, so you may end up with something like this:

Title: Wolf Bound
Banner: (not required, but nice)
Summary: You are a wolf, wandering the forest during the winter months. You must survive the limited food and hunters as you live, day by day. There are rival packs in the area, so if you run across them, you may have to fight for your life.
Character Form: (Always required, either in-thread or via PM)
Rules: (not required, but nice)

This, of course, is the simple way to make a story. You can make it as detailed and elaborate as you want, but beware of the size. If an RP is too big (meaning a lot of players), it'll spiral into chaos, even with a posting order. I suggest starting an RP one-on-one, just to build up your skills, then move up in the number of players. If you're afraid that an one-on-one RP will be too boring, each of you can create as many characters as you want. I know from personal experience that it works. There was a time I asked for a simple RP to get my mind off my troubles... Two years later and about 20 characters each from us, we made a phenomenon that still lives on.