What Is Free Form Role Playing?

Roleplaying, in general, is when a gamer sets aside their own identity and plays out the actions, thoughts, and dialogue of a fictional character. There are many games available on the market which make use of this concept, but all of these use fairly detailed rules and some form of random chance (dice, cards, or simply the game master's whim) to decide the character's attributes, abilities, knowledge, combat outcomes, etc.

Free form roleplaying takes this a step beyond. In FFRP, the player has complete control over the character they portray. There are no dice, no random elements other than characters' actions. No one can force actions on someone else's character. It's essentially text-based improvisational acting and cooperative writing.

The key element that keeps FFRP from becoming a free-for-all amongst ultra-powerful characters is RESPECT. Foremost, respect for other players; and equally important, respect for the setting in which the character is played. Disrespectful gamers usually find themselves ignored. Check out this article: On Being a Good RP Partner

In Lyran Tal, FFRPing can occur in chat or conference rooms. Our forum is considered an 'advanced' roleplaying setting; we expect players to 'support the illusion' by staying In Character (IC) at all times in the chat rooms. Any Out-of-Character (OOC) chat or references MUST be kept to IMs and e-mails, NEVER in the chat rooms. We reserve the right to refuse to game with those who are disrespectful to other players or the setting. We also reserve the right to ask disruptive players who violate our Terms of Service to leave the chatrooms.

For further information, hints and technique suggestions, please refer to the articles listed in the "Further Resources" menu.

 

Glossary of Common FFRP/Chat Terms and Abbreviations:

AFK: Abbreviation for "Away From Keyboard," OOC information sent to other players when one leaves their computer. This information should be sent via IMs or email, never to the chatroom.

Backstory: The history (or any part of it) of a character prior to the point where it's put into play.

Blending - (IC/OOC Confusion): Where a player mixes or "blends" realities between their character and themselves or uses OOC knowledge that wouldn't otherwise be known to their character either in active RP or in written SLs. This is undesirable and considered bad form. Remember, you are not your character!

BRB: Abbreviation for "Be Right Back," OOC information sent to other players for other reasons. This information should be sent via IMs or email, never to the chatroom.

Character: The fictional persona that one takes on when they RP (roleplay) within the room.

Erasure: When all players involved in a scene agree to declare that a scene or IC event never took place.

Freeform Roleplaying: Roleplaying where complete freedom is given to the players to control their own characters within a setting.

Godmoder: A player who creates or plays an invincible character. These are not conducive to cooperative roleplaying. Godmoding is undesirable and considered bad form.

Host: A volunteer Community Leader. "Host" is an OOC (Out of Character) term and should only be used via IMs or email. Most Hosts within the Crosswinds Tavern chat room play their Host characters as barkeeps or employees of the Crosswinds Tavern.

A Host's duties within the room include facilitating play between players, enforcing Lyran Tal's Terms of Service, and maintaining the theme and atmosphere of the Crosswinds Tavern chat room. They can usually answer any questions you have about the setting and the characters. All official Hosts for the Crosswinds Tavern have "CWT" as a designated prefix on their Screen Name.

IC (In Character): Anything that pertains to your character; their thoughts, actions, dialogue, etc. The part of roleplaying that maintains the illusion of the fictional reality where your character dwells.

Ignore: This is pretty self-explanatory; it's when a player either refuses to acknowledge the actions of another, or where a player actually uses the 'Ignore' feature available in AOL's chatrooms. It's usually a good idea to let your gaming partners know if you're ignoring a particular character, but do so in IMs or e-mail, not in the chat room.

Lurk: This is slang for when a player is in a chat room but not playing. Many experienced gamers will lurk in a room for a few minutes to get a feel for what's happening before they roleplay their character's entrance. We also encourage players new to the CWT setting to lurk an evening or two to get a feel for the setting and the characters.

OOC (Out Of Character): Anything that pertains to you, the player - AOL, punties, IMs, e-mail, chatrooms, internet, Hosts, etc. None of these, including you, the player, should be mentioned in the chatroom while playing your character. Doing so disrupts the illusion and repeated use of OOC chat is grounds for being asked to leave. OOC chat is surrounded by (( )) to differentiate it from IC chat, and should be kept to IMs or e-mail. Only a HOST should use OOC chat in the room. If you need to leave the computer, tell someone in IM or exit your character. We don't want to see "AFK" or "BAK" or anything like them in the room during roleplay! It is, as previously mentioned, distracting and annoying.

NPC (Non-Player Character): This is usually a minor character (think "bit part") who does not have an actual screen name. It can sometimes refer to playing a second character while under another screen name. See below for an example of this:

Zharyka: [Ellie] ::The serving girl blinked, staring at the strange creature who'd walked thru the Northern Portal:: Goodness sakes, what kind of Outlander demon is THAT?

Powergaming: This is when a player insists on calling actions for someone else's character. Like "Godmoding", it's not conducive to cooperative roleplaying, and is considered bad form.

Do this:

Freon: ::An aura of bone-chilling cold emanates from him, fanning out into the entire room::

Rather than:

Freon: ::A flick of his fingers and a chill runs down the spine of everyone in the tavern::

The difference is subtle, but the first one does not dictate action for the others in the room, whereas the second one does.

SL (Storyline): Usually, the tale of a character's life. SLs can intertwine between characters, and the term can also refer to just a portion of a story, either written and/or roleplayed. Sometimes you'll see some pretty intense scenes being played out in the Crosswinds. It's a good idea to IM one of the players first before you have your character jump in, to be sure you won't be upsetting a storyline by doing so.

 

 

Other Things You Might See in the Crosswinds Chat Room:

:: :: : Double colons surround a character's actions or thoughts. Anything between double colons has NOT been spoken aloud.

Zharyka:::She took up a bottle of Luminiian White Wine and poured a glassful for the troubadour::

@: This symbol is used at the beginning of a line of text to denote that the action or dialogue is taking place somewhere other than the common room of the tavern. Some players use it at the end of the line as well, to reinforce the visual cue that they're not in the common room.

Zharyka: @::she stared up at the stars from her seat at the base of Cornelius Dreven's statue::

#: This symbol is used at the beginning of a line of text to denote lyrics being sung.

~ : This symbol surrounds telepathic thoughts.

(( )): Actually, you should NEVER see this. It denotes OOC chat, which is not allowed in the Crosswinds. Only a HOST may use OOC chat in special cases.

A List of Frequently Used Shortcuts:
These are denoted within brackets or parentheses. Note: Using the letter "S" between angle brackets will apply a strike-through. Also, some IM programs will "hide" the contents of angle brackets. This can cause problems if you are portraying an NPC (non-playing character).

• [m] = murmur or mutter
• [q] = quietly
• [s] = softly
• [w] = whisper

Please keep in mind that using shorthand cuts a good deal of the flavor out of RP. Descriptions that are written out add flavor that another player can respond to. Abbreviated emotes or actions should only be used when it comes to tone of voice. Someone coming in on the middle of a scene can misinterpret what is happening if they miss the explaining description, but [w], [m] -- (as well as @, ~, and #) if properly used and understood -- are easy ways to make sure people are minimally aware of circumstances.

A Few Last Notes:

Typos: Don't worry about correcting most typos. The other players will usually know what you meant, and correcting them just disrupts the flow of play. If you really feel it's necessary to correct it, do so within ::double colons:: not ((OOC)) because it will disrupt less.

ASCII Art, Phaders, illegible fonts, and hard-to-read colors: Don't use 'em! Seriously, if you use stuff like this, you're likely to get ignored. You're here to tell a story, not give your fellow players headaches, right? Do not use red. Use pink and orange with extreme caution. Also, be sure to set your font size to 12 points so that we can see it without a magnifying glass!

Turn on your IMs: Because FFRP is all about cooperative roleplaying, it's a good idea to keep your IMs (Instant Messages) turned on so that your fellow players can contact you behind the scenes with important information.

Respect Copyright Laws: Don't infringe on other players' creative rights. Get permission to use others' work. The Copyright Website

Above all ... HAVE FUN! Remember, this is a game and if you're not having a good time, take a break and come play some other time. The room will still be there.