Roleplaying 101

Roleplaying 101

Roleplaying or collaborative writing is a wonderful hobby to get into. This guide is intended for those new to the hobby or perhaps new to the ettiquetes of forum roleplay. Each roleplay community has its own terminology and norms, we hope you will find this useful on your journey.

What is it?

Essentially, it’s a group of people writing a story together. You are in control of only one character, the one you create (or if it is a fandom site, perhaps a canon). The site will have its own lore and world that your character exists in and you must adhere to that sites lore. You, along with the other players will tell your own stories in that world one scene (or thread) at a time.

Swish & Flick is set at Hogwarts, here you can play out your characters entire magical journey through the Wizarding World. The other players will play your characters friends, enemies, loves, professors & acquaintances. In order to get the most out of this collaborative hobby its important that you do not base your characters entire existence on only one other character, if they leave that would be incredibly boring for you.

Terminology

We will be using these terms throughout this guide and around the site. This list is not exhaustive as there are many terms and nuances around the roleplaying community.

TERMS

IC - In character
OOC - Out of Character
Alias - The name you go by as the player. This should never be your real name
App - Application, this is usually required to join a rp site
Face Claim or Play By - The images you use to portray the appearance of your character. Often there is a list of face claims that are in use and cannot be used by others. We are face claimless site so you will not find a list here.
Thread - A forum specific term, a thread is the topic you are reading.
Post - Your reply to the thread
NPC - Non player character, these characters are not controlled long term by members but may be used as background characters to move your threads along. We have special staff controlled NPCs to help move our big stories along and ensue fun & chaos around the board.
Canon - Characters that are taken from a fandom or story
OC - Original characters
Plotter/Shipper - We refer to them as plotters here on S&F. They are threads containing information about a character & the things that writer would like to have them get up to on the site. You can reply to the plotters with your own ideas and how the characters could get involved with each other or how yours could join in on their journey.

Getting Started

The most important part of getting started roleplaying is to choose somewhere that inspires you. There are many roleplaying communities within different genres, fandoms and mediums.

Once you find a topic that interests you, be sure to read all of their lore, rules, plots & any information topics you can get your hands on. All communities are different but you should get a good understanding of the lay of the land before you decide to go further.

After you’ve familiarised yourself with all of their lore, it’s time to start thinking about your character. You will be in charge of just one. This character should be crafted by you (or a canon if you’re on a fandom site) and made to fit into the world of that site. It is important that this character is not an embodiment of yourself or one that you are trying to live vicariously through. This always leads to hurt feelings, your character isn’t a reflection of you - you are still wonderful even if other characters don’t get along with yours!

Once you have an idea, check out the sites application and begin crafting your character for the site. Typically you will need to await approval before you can begin roleplaying.

Many sites will require you to post a plotter or shipper as your next steps to let the community know what you have intended for them, how they can get involved. It is good practice to check out other plotters or shippers and reply to them with how you can get involved in their stories.

While we do have plotters & encourage you to have a look at them here on S&F, you are also welcome to just start posting right away! You can post a starter (as mentioned in the Give & Take section below or reply to a thread that someone else has already posted.

Give & Take

All roleplay threads or scenes are a game of give and take no matter how many people you are writing with. You need to take what your partner gives you and then give them something in return.

What can you respond to? Things your character can see, hear, feel, touch. Introspection and scene description are a wonderful part of a story, but if no one is saying or doing anything it can be a bit hard to reply to a post.

Starters

Hermione: The library was bustling with sixth year students getting ready to take their OWLs. Madame Pince was in fine form berating students for speaking too loudly, slamming books and generally existing. Hermione weeded her way through the stressed sixth years to find solace in the only empty table near the window. With a content smile she placed her book bag down on the floor, ready to get started.

This is an example of an opener post, designed to start a thread. These can be tricky to set a scene that really invites others to interact with your character. In this case, Hermione has found one of the only empty tables in the library which could invite someone to sit with her being that there could be few empty seats around. This is not the best form of an opener but one that can still be replied to none the less.

Harry: Harry was exhausted, his legs were starting to go numb from sitting on his Nimbus 2000 for the past six hours while Wood put them through yet another gruelling Quidditch Practice. His green eyes scanned the skies for the golden snitch he was meant to be finding. He was starting to think Wood was pulling his leg and never released it when he saw a glint of gold out of the corner of his eye. With a whoosh he took off in its direction, only to be pummeled to the ground minutes later. “Euuugh,” he said with a mouth full of dirt. Looking up he saw the Whomping Willow feet from him.

Another example of an opener, this time with more obvious ways to get involved. Another character could join and make sure he’s alright and find out what happened. They could try and find his broom, help him back to the pitch, the hospital wing or have a chat about how practice is going.

Keeping A Thread Moving

There is an art to keeping a thread moving and keeping engagement. As mentioned above you need to give & take in any scene.

Ginny: The fireplace of the Slytherin common room was crackling, casting a warm glow in the Gryffindor Common Room. Ginny moved to pick up her wand from on top of the stack of Defense Against the Dark Arts books beside her and knocked the whole stack down onto the feet of someone passing by. “Sorry!” She exclaimed, jumping up from her seat on the couch and moving to pick up the fallen books.

Neville: It was a cozy winter afternoon by the fireplace, Neville twisted his rememberall in his hand. It was glowing red yet again but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what he had forgotten. What he needed was a rememberall that remembered what he hadn’t remembered and told it to him. With frustration he set down the rememberall on the table. Just as he set it down Ginny knocked over a stack of books onto some first years feet.

This is an example of Neville taking what Ginny had given him, but not giving her anything of substance back to reply to. A better approach could be the following.

Neville: Neville was lost in thought, twisting his rememberall in his hands as he walked over to the fireplace. It was glowing red yet again but he couldn’t for the life of him remember what he needed was a rememberall that remembered what he hadn’t remembered and told it to him. A large thud hit him on the foot, causing him to send his rememberall flying. “Sorry, sorry,” he said in unison with Ginny. He bent down to help her pick up the books, not realising it was her that droppedd them and not he that hadn’t walked into them. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.” He explained.

This reply is better as it puts him in direct contact with Ginny. He’s given dialog to answer to and bent down to pick the books up. The continuation of the scene could be them laughing at Nevilles confusion about the book pile or her helping him recover the rememberall that was dropped in the room & go from there.

The examples of how to start and keep a thread going are quite basic interactions. Unless you have pre-planned your thread or relationship with the character before hand, you might not know where you will end up. That’s one of the most rewarding things about roleplaying is really seeing how two characters get along. Your first meeting thread may end up being your best friend. Don’t be afraid to spice up your threads, pull pranks, get in trouble or cause some conflict.

Not every characters interaction with others is going to be friendly and positive. Sometimes they don’t get along and that’s completely fine! Take it to the next level and start a duel if they start insulting your muggleborn lineage. Or have your character leave if duelling is not quite their style.

Communicating with your partner can also help you get the most out of your interaction, don’t be afraid to send your thread partner a message if you have an idea for the thread or the characters involved. The worst they can say is they’re not interested.