Avada Kedavra; Killing Bad Habits

[The Dark Lord]

KILLING BAD HABITS ,

AVADA KEDAVRA CAUSES INSTANT DEATH IN A FLASH OF GREEN LIGHT.
THE CURSE LEAVES NO PHYSICAL SIGNS OF DEATH MAKING MUGGLE AUTOPSY USELESS...

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This booklet contains various pieces of information designed to improve your role-playing skills. Everything here is designed to help you get the best out of your RPing experience. You do not have to follow the suggestions made here and are more than welcome to do it your own way but the information is here for those who wish to use it.

Included in this booklet:
1. How To Lengthen Your Posts
2. God-Modding
3. Death To Mary-Sue
4. Writing Like An Intermediate/Advanced Rper
5. Purple Prose
6. Creating A "Good" Villain
7. Basic Character Creation
8. Beating Writer's Block

For further information and assistance with role-playing, I suggest visiting the following sites (click the names);
1. Caution 2.0
2. Role Playing Game Directory (RPG-D)

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THE RESOURCES OBTAINED FOR THIS BOOKLET HAVE BEEN
GAINED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. EACH SOURCE IS CREDITED
UNDERNEATH THE POST RETRIEVED FROM THAT LOCATION. IF
YOU WISH TO USE THESE PLEASE VISIT THE SOURCE LOCATION
DO NOT COPY ANY INFORMATION FROM THIS SITE. THANKYOU!

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[The Dark Lord]

LENGTHEN YOUR POSTS ,

INCREASE THE LENGTH OF YOUR POSTS WHILE STILL MAINTAINING
A HIGH QUALITY RESPONSE. THERE IS NO NEED TO LOWER QUALITY FOR QUANTITY...

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I am sure that the question has risen in your mind many times before: how can I lengthen my posts without lowering the post quality?

[/b]. This question is particularly important seeing as we have a posting limit on the site. This document is dedicated to giving you the information you need to increase the lengths of your posts and make them that dream post you wish them to be without waffling on and lowering the quality of your writing.[/center]

We will help you turn a post similar to this:

It was a silent day and Dean walked into the diner with his hands in his pockets. He was feeling a little hungry and decided that he needed to eat something.

Into something that you can be extremely proud of and say 'i wrote that' like this:

The sky was a sullen and nefarious blue that was being swallowed whole by orange and purple hues as the sun crept across the horizon and out from behind the mountains like a voyeur casting a malicious look toward the crimes of two lovers. It beat against Dean’s back as he removed his jacket and relished the last memorable chill of morning before the earth was once more basking in a spring heat. He tossed the olive green coat through the window and against the cushion of his driver’s side seat before looking back toward the shoddy diner that seemed to be held up only by smiling faces and not it’s foundation, he gave an audible snort at the thought and patted his pocket to make sure his keys were on his person. He didn’t trust anyone around his impala, he barely trusted Sam and they’d been inseparable for the majority of the two years after their father’s death. It was a rite of passage to him, the one thing he could pointedly deduce was a compliment to his person on his Dad’s behalf and the last piece of the man that he had left. At times he thought the man’s memory died with he and Sam, with he and Bobby, that there’d never be tales of the infamous John Winchester that there’d never be literary works or stories told to grandchildren about the acts of good intention and galloping grace he harbored. It was a cross he carried with him, even now after hell, the choice that his father had made and the position it had put him in; the doubt that inconsequentially serried in his mind. Even knowing that Sam was safe now, even knowing that he’d been forgiven by friggin’ angels didn’t change the seeping and searing guilt that scoured him in the dead of the night and he’d cut out of the hotel early that morning in an attempt to sate it, wash it down with a couple of cold Corona’s and eggs and pancakes.

The earth was quiet at the peak hours of the morning, it was almost like he wasn’t facing a war of his own choosing. It was silent, cheerful, and he thought for a fraction of a second that if he stopped walking toward the establishment that he’d hear bells or the soft whisper of intellect nudging him to return back to his bed and rest away his burdens. It was a folly and he knew it so he focused on the sounds of gravel crunching beneath the soles of his boots and the feeling of warmth that overcame his frame when he swung the door open by the handle and stepped inside. The diner was dimmed to a pumpkin hue and he was thankful for it, he wasn’t sure his already heavy lidded eyes could handle the full intensity of factory lights and he’d be just as fine with a dark restaurant and lit candles on the table. He just never had money for it and he got by on things not quite as good as a local I-Hop but certainly less costly.

“Can I help you?” The woman’s voice was light, sweet, and almost chagrin. He’d been so caught up in his head that he hadn’t noticed he was standing at the wooden block and waiting to be helped. He cast a chin down to the red and white tiled floors and then raised his head, his brows following in suit and cracked a crooked grin. “Yeah... Table for one. Just me today.” Her response was a resounding nod and the quick pluck of the plastic menus lying there as she lead him to a corner booth at the far end of the place that looked distantly upon the high way and sat squared with the field on the adjacent end of the parking lot. “Someone’ll be with you in a moment.” Dean gazed down upon his choices and managed to raise a hand in farewell. The most he could manage of chivalry in his weary state. Dean was surprised his mood hadn’t soured yet from the lack of satiating sleep. He was either dreaming of hell or having night tremors and neither events were enjoyable to him, just something he relentlessly dealt with and was slowly becoming adjusted to.

It wasn’t hard for Dean to decide upon the meal he wanted, he’d always been right with himself there. He always knew what he did and didn’t like and akin to most he very rarely ventured away from the comfort of those things. He just flipped the flimsy two paged book shut and stretched his jeaned legs out beneath the surface of his table, curling his toes in his boots when the bottom of them hit one of the legs keeping it up. The hum on his breath was none other than Aerosmith’s ‘Crazy,’ he’d heard it three days before on the juke box in a similar location and hadn’t been able to get it to stop cycling in his head since and occasionally as he fought to silence himself a word or two would drip from his lips like molasses and honey, tasting sweet but drawling out long and slow as he wasn’t consciously aware of his physically produced entertainment.

He kept his eyes focused on the white sheeted cloth of the table and not scanning the bodunk theme to the diner, he was curling the napkin in front of him between four fingers, two at each end, and occupying himself with the fodder while his ears ever attentive because of his training followed the footsteps of waitresses to tables and people to the door, they caught the sounds of cutlery against porcelain and the trickle of coffee being poured into a cup. One of the men seated on the bar stool had a bad leg and kept having to adjust it, and one of the waitresses kept tapping the bottom of her pen against the paper of her order book. The sounds of life Dean could relish, the sound of the earth moving and turning slowly and nothing happening that put him in the way of harm, at least not until he stood up against it himself.

I am here to tell you exactly how to do that in four easy steps that will not break your brain and that will improve your skills for years to come. Bear in mind that this strategy does not work for everyone and should not be taken as gospel. That being said: let us begin our journey...

phase one; the mood ,

[/i][/color][/font][/size]
what is your character's mood? how do they feel?[/i][/font][/color][/size][/center]

The first step to take when you want to succeed in your construction of a post is to determine how your character feels about the situation they are in. What is their mood at the current time? Are they happy? sad? depressed? angry? tired? eager? upset? lazy? Whatever it is you need to know it, once you know it you can work on expressing it so that we understand it as well. This is one of the easier steps to complete because you simply need to determine how your character is reacting to the situation they are in or the event(s) that have recently happened, etc.

Let us say that Kane is annoyed. He has just been rudely awoken by his brother and is late for breakfast. Instead of restricting yourself to something like this:

Kane was really annoyed. His brother had just woken him up in the worst possible way and on top of that he was late for breakfast.

Try elaborating on the events and how each part made the character feel. Your aim is to reach something like this:

It was one of those mornings. One of those horrible mornings where you wished you could just stay in bed, under the covers, hiding from the world. At least that is how Kane Montague felt. It was Monday, the first day of classes back at school and Kane, despite being a bookish Ravenclaw, could not find the willpower to get out of his warm bed. At least that was until some smart arse decided that it would be amusing to drench the entire bed in cold water. Oh how that useless twin brother of his was going to get it when he worked out how to get back at him. With a groan and a grumble and a few muttered curses (that sounded rather out of place for the usually quiet boy), Kane rose from the bed, showered and dressed before taking a look at his watch. Thus the cursing began again as he realised he was late to breakfast, well at least as far as his two best friends, Simone Rodriguez and Grace Foster were concerned. With a sigh he threw his books into his bag and flung the fraying article over his shoulder before shaking his wet hair (in a way reminiscent of a dog) and trudging down the steps and out of the common room.

You see? That gives the person replying a feel for the way your character is feeling and can help them determine how best to react. The character went from being flat and lifeless to having feelings and emotions and being a real person. That being said let us move into step two...

phase two; the surroundings ,

[/i][/color][/font][/size]
what is around your character? what do their senses pick up?[/i][/font][/color][/size][/center]

This phase is slightly more complicated than the first. You need to describe what is surrounding your character. What do their senses pick up? The best questions to ask are: what can they see? what can they hear? what can they smell? and so on. Paint a picture of the setting for your fellow RPer with the words that you write so that they understand exactly what your character is seeing and they can respond to that. If there is a chair to the left of your character and a wall to the right you don't want your fellow Rper to have their character sit on the right of yours now do you?

So instead of posting something short and undescriptive like this:

Teka walked into St Mungos, there were peopole everywhere

Try something along the lines of this:

Teka made her way into the foyer of St Mungos, it was just how she remember it, with patients lining up to see the Welcome Witch and healers in green robes bustling around everywhere. The stairs to her right were crowded with visitors who were clambering up and down after visiting relatives and loved ones who had been placed here after the battle. Making her way towards the stairs she sighed as she was pushed against the railing, a rather impatiant man bobbing down the stairs. She reached the second floor and noted the names on the doors to the rooms, something that she had not noticed during her last few moments visiting. Up ahead Alexian's room door was open, he must be awake.

She moved towards it, ignoring the comments from the portraits that lined the walls. Knocking on the wood frame she entered, scanning the, rather bare, room, before her eyes fell on the chair she had been sitting in the night before, it was leaning against the wall beside the door. She pulled it towards the bed and sat down, thankful that the chair was cushioned.

You can also help by adding textures and feels of the items around you:

Teka was thankful that the chair had a soft cushion on it, otherwise it would have been rather uncomfortable. She leant against the bed, the sheets rather cold against her skin which was slightly flushed, but they were soft sheets none the less, designed to prevent irritation.

phase three; the personal thoughts ,

[/i][/color][/font][/size]
what is your character thinking about other characters? about the surroundings?[/i][/font][/color][/size][/center]

The third and most important step and, perhaps, the most challenging of them all, is to add personal the thoughts of your character on the situation that they are in. This gives a more charming touch to your posts and allows the reader to connect with your character and respond acurately. Is your character bitchy but curious like Gemini? Or overly dramatic but witty like Christien? Well add it to your post. Remember to try not to contradict anything else that you have written.

Gemini:

"Well done Potter" she drawled, hopping down from the windowsill and revealing her face "you should get a prize for being the only one to have a brain, or is it, perhaps, that you are the one with the common sense part of the collective brain that you idiots share?" a smirk toyed on her lips as she moved towards the trio, her hands draped by her sides and the movement of her hips showing that she was not use to walking at such a slow pace. Everything was rather hurried for Gem during the school year and even something as simple as approaching someone at a slower pace had become a task during the term, not that these three needed to know that. She raised an eyebrow, turning her attention to Elise for a moment. Unlike most of the other rivals she had been able to tolerate the girl if it meant that she could get back at the boorish, brainless Gryffindors. “Back to your original question, which Professor are you looking for and why?” she asked curiously, certain that she would not receive an accommodating answer now that her identity had been revealed.

Christien:

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he said, face dramatically turning, "MY EYES! MEDUSA!" Having said that he started to run around in circles, "Noooooooo! Why me?! Why a Slythern?!! NOT A MALFOY OF ALL THINGS! ANYTHING BUT A MALFOY! OH MERLIN STRIKE ME WHERE I STAND FOR I HAVE SINNED! I NEARLY BEGAN A TERRIBLE DISASTER! OH TRAITOROUS EYES!" He continued dramatically like this, even falling to his knees and clasping his hands before him when he mentioned merlin, until he heard, "Red hair has never been a turn on... nor have guys that look more feminine than I do". At this Chris stopped his dramatics and stood up straight with a smirk as his witty tongue prepared to get him out of this mess.

phase four; putting it together ,

[/i][/color][/font][/size]
throw everything together and voila! you have your post![/i][/font][/color][/size][/center]

Now is crunch time, time to see if this information works for you. Take all the things that you've been taught in the previous three phases and mash them all together and you should have [at least] two or three paragraphs to reflect on. Following these steps can really help and, with time, you may even begin to post things at a length and quality like this (but don't rush yourself, it takes time and practice to perfect your posting, it won't happen overnight) :

One of the few and frequent tells of posing as a professor was that Cepheus couldn’t go any place without being recognized, especially not at mid-day when the hung swung low in the sky and blanketed the England in a marigold sheen. Around this time it was absent of the ill review that the denizens might have given it had the weather been bothersome or their hearts been weary, everything looked better in the afternoon light, everything was earned and respected, moments didn’t get lost in surrealism so much as cherished in their definitive standing and things were right, if just for those few fleeting moments, filled with the errant chatter of the community and the social debuts of those so kindly gallivanting about it. It seemed to draw on and on only dwindling when the astronomical sunset began swirling its way about the sky consuming what one was blue and changing it slowly into a visage of purple, red and orange; casting a portrait of dissonance for the yearlings of the earth to attest to jovially and worship like they did the day, with different praise and different rites of value. There was a scenic beauty to everything that happened and the people that interceded with it; even now Cepheus wasn’t too blind to see it. Even after trial and tribulation he wasn’t daft to those that squandered around him and although he couldn’t experience it with them, feeling not a part of their world but an absentee of it, he loitered until evening going unseen for the sullen color of his robes and the neutral expression on his face.

It was half past six when he opened the door to the pub and was immediately assassinated with it’s surly and disdaining scent. The plumes of smoke rose high to the ceiling and the clanking of glasses moving together and the sounds of the amber liquid rippling within them were nothing to Cepheus, they off set the main attraction which was the simple bar stool to the right of the place, nearest the exit and away from any kind of social cobweb. He was safe there, as he was every Friday night, no one bothered him or spoke under harsh whispers about his ardor in the face of his lost virtue, a story that had been murmured twenty times over in a coliseum of coworkers after the death of his betrothed. No one approached him with kind smiles and no one approached him with stiff jaws. He was a ghost upon the establishment and the only person who gave him the gratification of verbal addressing was the bar tender from whom he always ordered the same thing, fire whiskey. He took it in shots instead of a glass and he’d sit there all night, slamming them away. One after the other until he felt the brain cells searing out of his head and the muscles in his mouth slacken under the weight of inebriation.

It was the same tonight. When the attending bar keep poured the bitter chestnut liquid into his glass he wrapped four fingers around the rim, picked it up, and threw it back. He popped his lips after each swallow and he let it sear all the way down without so much as a flinch. This was routine for him, something constant that he could cling to, and although he knew it was a petulant problem- one that would only warrant terrible health, he continued in it because it sated him- it kept him balanced and well-to-do and because no one of worth knew that he came here, he could leave with the same warranting self esteem he came in with. No one would think him a lesser being because no on really knew the man behind his face, or behind the profession, he was vague and indiscriminate and it served him well. It kept his nose out of trouble and his praises untold. He was often spoken of in curiosity but never in disdain, never in an accusatory tone and he appreciated it; for months after the inflicting horror of the raid he’d heard nothing but his wife’s part in it. He went unseen as per usual because no one knew his standing, he went unannounced even though he’d been there and so torn was he between guilt and his own insubordinate role that it gave him restless sleep, he’d wake up every twenty minutes or so and check the clock- wait for the third tick and turn back over to rest. It was all he could do and even in a castle populated by adult and adolescent alike he felt alone, unequivocal to them and it was that nature that set up the blockade that willed people away.

With his rear planted firmly in the bar stool he began singing an old wizarding song from the twentieth century, one he’d appreciated as a young man but hadn’t passed through his mind since. He was unaware that he was whispering the melody, instead his fingers twirled the glass against the table, green orbs drilling intently into it and his pathological awareness only picking up the grating sound of the circumference of it gliding along the wood. It sounded like a growling dog, perhaps a Grim, and the glint of the glass reflecting in his pools lightened their line of sight and cast a swollen golden strip from the candle light past him across the bridge of his nose, down one side of his face, and across his chin and the curvature of his neck. The lyrical muttering continued, even as he adjusted the way in which he was sitting and brought a heel to the wooden bar that caged the legs of his stool together.

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THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY MEG WITH ASSISTANCE FROM
CO-ADMINS FROM PAST SITES. RP SAMPLES BELONG TO: NIK, MEG
AND ARA. EACH SAMPLE WAS USED WITH THE CREATOR'S PERMISSION.
THESE POSTS SHOULD NOT BE COPIED IN PART OR WHOLE!

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[The Dark Lord]

GOD-MODDING ,

GOD-MODDING IS ONE OF THE WORST SINS YOU CAN COMMIT
WHILE RPING. THIS IS HOW TO IDENTIFY IF YOU ARE PLAYING GOD IN YOUR POST...

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Good morning, this is God speaking. You have fastened your seatbelts, and we will commence take off in thirty seconds. Tough luck if you don't want to be flying with Moding Airlines.

[/i]

God-moding can also be known as powerplaying, of which the definition is, "a player can be described as a powergamer if (s)he presumes or declares that his or her own action against another player character is successful without giving the other player character the freedom to act on his own prerogative. They may also be a player who tries to force others to participate in role-playing they don't want to engage in." _{(Source: Wikipedia)} Basically, someone says that your character does something without having previously discussed it with you, or letting you have any option but to go along with the direction they're taking the RP in.

Hi, it's God again. We have now reached thirty thousand feet. Oh dear, you've just been sick! Someone get him a sickbag! Here you are, now you have to go to the bathroom to clean yourself up. What? You don't get airsick, and so this is completely out of character? Never mind, just this once, eh? I need you to be sick to tie in with my plot. Don't worry about it, now you're in the bathroom, you'll be fine.

[/i]

Let's take a scene with a fight in, for example. Adam is fighting Bob. Although the two players have discussed before that they are going to have a fight, they haven't really talked about the outcome of the fight. If Adam starts off by saying, "Adam raised his wand and knocked Bob off his feet with the spell he shouted", that would be god-moding because it doesn't give Bob the chance to dodge the spell, or cast a shield; he has to go along with what Adam said, even though Bob might be lightening-fast on his feet and be able to dodge the spell really easily. This isn't allowed in most RPGs because it is taking control away from one of the players and not allowing the situation to develop through the playing of both people.

Yes, it's me again. I'm coming out to greet the passengers now, it's a special treat from God, of Moding Airlines. Wow, you just fainted at the sight of me! Am I that great? Hmm, I guess I must be. Now this gives me a chance to do my sympathetic and concerned act. Great.

In a role-play, players write what their character is thinking and feeling, as well as the expression on their face and what they say, because it makes it much more interesting reading, and also allows the other players to understand a character's actions better. However, your character can't see these thoughts, and so they cannot react to them. They're there for you as a player to read, but when writing as your character, you are oblivious to them. Exploring the feelings and personalities of a character is great, because it allows other people to see new depths to them, but what you can't do is write that A, your character, could sense that B, the other person's character, was upset, because even though they may have thought it, the expression on their face could have told another story.

Hi, this is God speaking again. Now, we are coming in to land, glad to see that you've already fastened your seatbelt. Great. I hope you have enjoyed flying with Moding Airlines, and will come back and fly with us again. Actually, you will, next week. Anyway...hang on! Where are you going? I know we've landed, but you can't just get up and leave like that! I want to talk to you. Stop! Come back! Oh, thank goodness the door is locked. Now you can't get out.

[/i]

So, we all want to avoid god-moding because it leaves other players irritated, and can take away from the whole enjoyment of RPing. The simplest way to do this is to look at the questions below, and answer them before you make a post. They will help you to see where you are going wrong, if you are, and how to make it better. And if you still need some help, feel free to ask; there are plenty of people here who are willing to help others.

1. Have you written the other character's name in your post? If so, is your character simply thinking about them, or is your character doing something to that character? If your character is doing something to another character, what is it? Did you have permission from the handler to do that to their character, or, was it something that was planned between you and the handler? If not, was the thread leading to that point in your character's actions, or was it inserted without prior warning or hinting?

2. Does your character know the name of the other character even if they have never spoken before? If so, how do they know this person's name? Does your character know from the look on the other character's face exactly what they are thinking? If so, how does your character react? If the other character doesn't say anything at all, does your character react to their thoughts or to their actions? If to the thoughts, what is said or done? If to the actions, what is said or done?

What? I'm being banned for god-moding? But I am God! You can't do that...I had a great plot, it's not my fault he didn't want to play along. It's a bad thing to do...I have to give everyone a chance to have the freedom to decide what their character does for themselves, because it's their character? Oh, well, um....

This is God signing off. Please enjoy the rest of your day, free from Moding Airlines.

With footnotes:

From Liberty Martin:

A player may write that their character is upset, for example, inside. So although they are smiling and laughing to the other character, the player is quite likely to explore the feelings of their character; I do this with Libby a lot. However, as a reader, you can read the thoughts of the character, but you can only see what they show to your character.

You're right, sometimes you can sense that someone is feeling something different to that which they're portraying, however, a lot of people are very good at disguising how they really feel - all people doing it intuitively up to a point. It becomes god-moding when your character starts voicing the feelings of the character, or saying what they are thinking, because there's very little chance that your character is so clever at reading people's feelings, especially if they don't know the character that well. You just have to be really careful with how much your character senses of the feelings of others, because most people wouldn't notice that someone was feeling upset inside if they were smiling and talking normally.

And yes, obviously it's god-moding if they didn't mention anything about different feelings at all.

From "Drake":

Another thing is that a character you are posting with might invite you to read such things. For example if I say: Draco was really down in the dumps, but disguised his mood with a clever smile. It is certainly considered godmoding to say that you know that something is wrong. But if something like: he tried to hide how he was feeling, but had a sick sense that he was failing miserably... that is inviting you to notice. Also, it depends on how well you know the person. Like your character and mine don't know each other that well, so little things that he does that would hint to a friend that something was up, your character should not be able to pick up on. But you want to be careful about being specific in reading people. Unless Liberty, for using your example as mine, said that sadness could be seen through her eyes, or in her profile said she had expressionate eyes that no matter what she did always gave her away, then that could be considered godmoding too. Instead, assuming that nothing was said to that effect by Liberty, you could be vague, saying something like: Rivcah felt a strange sense or sadness in Liberty. Her demeanor was giddy, laughing and joking, but something in her aura made Rivcah wonder if something more was not going on behind a false face. - Something like this still gets your point across and avoids stepping on your posting partner's toes. You don't want to say anything definitive about the other person unless they said if first. That way they have a chance to work around it without saying flat out - No, Liberty's eyes were deceptively happy too.

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THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY ICKLEKINS OF ADMIN'S RETREAT.
DO NOT PRODUCE IN PART OR WHOLE WITHOUT PERMISSION!

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[The Dark Lord]

DEATH TO MARY-SUE ,

CREATING A BALANCED CHARACTER PROFILE
AND AVOIDING THE KING AND QUEEN OF PERFECTION...

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Mary Sue and Gary Stu.. the absolute nightmare of any Forum RPG administrator. They come in many forms. Students, adults, animals, aliens - even kitchen cupboards, given the right sort of RPG. They're hiding in your bathroom. They're knocking on your door. They're going to make you cringe in later life, because you know you invited them to your door... but let's backtrack a little.

You'll see what I mean. First, I'll explain a bit.

1. Who Are Mary Sue and Gary Stu?

[/i] gets the girl.
[/ul]

2. Right... So Why Is This Bad?

[/i]. They aren't bound by the limitations of say, you and I in the real world. But at the same time, they should be just as affected by character flaws and history as we are. Keeping your character to a realistic balance of talent and troubles will make your character more believable, more easy to play, and a lot more complex than Mary and her boyfriend up there.

Also - most people have already written a Mary or a Gary. I won't lie and say I never did - more often than not, a person's first character possesses all the goodness in the world, I went through quite a few Mary's before someone pointed out to me that my characters didn't have enough flaws.
[/ul]

3. Need More Convincing?

4. Right! So, How To Avoid Them?

[/u]
As odd as it sounds, this is usually one of the first things that screams MARY SUE! Unless you're in a fantasy RP where it is appropriate, try and steer away from odd, or Elvish sounding names. Likewise, Moonstar Rainbowshine tends to make people vomit - and not in the good way. Try and pick something that's not overdone, unsusual in it's own way - but not over the top.

Age.
Another interesting factor. Many characters are purposefully designed to be roughly the same age as characters of the opposite gender on the boards. The reasons for this are quite obvious, and while that's okay - don't ever be afraid to play the old grandmother, or even the eleven year old child.

Personality.
Whether it's a requirement of the character sheet or not, always consider this carefully. What you decide to be your character's personality from the start should have an impact on how you play your character to the end. Things you should think about include:

- How does my character act generally? How do they view life?
- How does my character act in bad situations? What makes them angry?
- How does my character act in good situations? What makes them happy?
- How does my character respond to unusual situations?
- What upsets my character?

Important Notes: Never. Ever. State what other characters feel about your character. Unless it has been predecided, your application should be about your character, not how others see them. While you can say that your character is 'difficult to hate', you cannot outright say 'no one hates my character'.

History.
Another important topic. As with anyone, what has happened in your characters past will have an impact on how they see life in the future. Often it helps to write your history before the personality, to get some idea of how your character might have turned out. Also remember that a character without a history is an incredibly boring one, the more you put here the better you will understand your character from the beginning.

Things to avoid:
- Dead families/parents.
Orphans are so overdone. The occasional one, yes - I'll give you that, they exist and so should be represented in the RP world. But, there is such thing as going overboard...
- Overly tragic events that conflict with personality.

Fair enough if you're writing a tragic past. But remember that whatever you write, has to be reflected in how your character manages day to day situations. You can't have a tragic past simply for sympathy calls every time you feel like writing something sad... it has to be there every time, always in the back of your mind when writing your character.

Appearance.
Ye gods. The RP world is swamped with supermodels and iron men! If you haven't got the gist of this guide by now, here it is: Characters. Are. Not. Perfect! Not every girl can be Barbie, and not every guy can be Ken. So write that. You'll find eventually that playing a character who is physically perfect is just as boring as playing a character who is perfect in personality.

Some things to consider when writing appearance:

- What weight is my character? (Hint: Overweight is FUN!)
- How tall is my character (Be unusual.. or average. Do not be cliche and put 6 foot 2, eyes of blue...)
- How pretty/handsome is my character? (Zomg! I'd LOVE to see plain Jane! Or someone really ugly..)
- Crooked/discoloured teeth are awesome.
- Eyes that are not green/blue or some unusual shade are excellent.
- Scars that don't mean anything... wonderful. Accident scars... brilliant.

.. Let your imagination for personal defects run wild!
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5. So, What Did We Learn?

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THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY MOUSIE OF RPG-D.
PLEASE DO NOT COPY, SEEK OUT THE ORIGINAL ON THE SITE IF YOU
WISH TO USE IT FOR YOUR OWN PURPOSES! THANKYOU!

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[The Dark Lord]

INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED WRITING ,

LEARN HOW TO FIT INTO AN INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED RP
BOARD AND WRITE SO THAT YOU ADHERE TO THE STANDARDS EXPECTED...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

It is obvious that there is a certain standard you must adhere to for intermediate/advanced RPG boards. You know that writing a post on an intermediate/advanced RPG board is like writing a little novella. It has to be rich in detail, descriptions of surroundings, people and thoughts, but also with dialogue; good interesting dialogue. This is what to do to RP at an intermediate/advanced RPG.

However, what you may not know, or are struggling with, or maybe just in need of a little reference, is how to RP like this. The aim of this documentation is to provide tips on how to achieve this combination of requirements in order to create an intermediate/advanced post. Hopefully after reading, you will have an even better idea as to what makes an interesting and exciting post that captures attention and demands to be read.

The following are all possible ways in which to improve your writing. However, overuse of these techniques can spoil the effect they are trying to achieve. The judgement of how much and often you use each technique will come with time and perseverance, and of course, feedback, listen to the advice of your readers, it's invaluable.

Planning
You'd be surprised just how much it helps to jot down what the main points of your post is going to be. You could layout out the rough content of the paragraphs, or you could write the thoughts, actions and speech you character may use, whatever is helpful.

Use More Descriptive Language
While you must leave some things up to the reader’s imagination, that’s not to say that you should abandon them in a text filled only with dialogue and nouns, leaving them to think up complete descriptions of things themselves. It is supposed to be you telling the story, not them. So,

Don’t:
Eleanor looked at the dress laid before her as it rested upon her bed. She picked it up and looked at it for what seemed like hours. Her eyes flicked across it over and over, absorbing every detail.

‘Well?’ he finally asked, ‘Do you not like it?’
‘Oh no! I love it!’ she exclaimed, waving her hand in dismissal of the suggestion.

Do:
Eleanor looked at the shimmering dress laid gently before her as it rested on her soft bed. Yet then she picked it up and looked at it for what seemed like hours, a look of surprised delight resting upon her face. Her eyes flicked across it over and over, absorbing every detail. It was a silky and delicate green, sparkling and shining in the light.

‘Well?’ he finally asked, a doubtful look upon his face, ‘Do you not like it, is it the colour?’
‘Oh no! I love it!’ she exclaimed excitedly, waving her hand in polite dismissal of the suggestion.

Make Use of Similes, Metaphors and Personification
A simile is like a comparison, often making use of the word ‘like’ or ‘as’. E.g. ‘The colour is like that of a raspberry.’ A metaphor is when one thing is said to be another in order to achieve a greater effect or emphasis. E.g. ‘Her eyes are windows to her soul.’ The eyes aren’t really windows, but this does create a more interesting sentence than simply naming the colour or shape of the eyes. Personification is when you apply (usually) human traits/abilities (etc.) to something that is not human, again to make things more interesting. E.g. ‘The cold clawed at them with its icy nails.’

Don’t:
The hot sun burnt their skin as they walked through the scorching desert.

Do:
The sun’s gaze was harsh and unrelenting, beating upon their shoulders like a red-hot whip. The desert was a hell from which they would never escape.

Don’t Reveal Everything At Once
In order to keep people engrossed in the story you lay before them, you should not hand everything to them on a silver platter. That is, if you have introduced a new scene, or a new person, don’t just reel off everything about them. Instead, reveal bit by bit throughout the paragraph, page, or even post.

E.g.

Don’t:
Eleanor entered the room, she wore a long, white dress that hung to the floor and her light hair lay gently upon her shoulders as she looked at him with blue eyes. She had been in the gardens, singing with the birds, such a beautiful voice she had. She was tired and needed to sleep, such a long day it had been.

Do:
A gentle knock there was upon the wooden door, yet no answer could he give before it creaked slowly open upon its hinges. A pale hand reached around it and followed a vision of white entering gracefully as if borne in by angel’s wings. Unhurriedly, she closed the door behind her as if she was somehow unwilling to shut out nature, unwilling to place a divide between them as the birds still sang their songs outside, pleading for her to sing to them just once more. Then her eyes turned to his, a knowing glance she cast upon him, looking without permission but unhindered into his soul. They were as circles of blue staring at him, focusing on his true thoughts, his deep desires. A smile stretched across her lips as she walked closer to him, her dress brushing lightly across the floor.

‘Eleanor-,’
‘Shhh, my love.’ She soothed, her voice tender and calm like the first morning rays of the sunrise.

Try Phrasing Things In Different Ways
Often, a sentence sounds much more interesting when said in a different way. Hard to explain without examples so here goes. Sometimes one way will sound better than the other, so once you get used to changing the sentence around, you can decide for each case, which sounds better (Hint: a lot of the time, you are changing from active to passive sentences and vice versa).

The arrow pierced his heart, mortally wounding him. ---> He was mortally wounded by the arrow that pierced his heart.
He ran to save her as fast as he could. ---> To save her he ran as fast as he could

Try to Avoid Unwanted Repetition
Some repetition is ok, when it is intentional and sounds good. ‘The world hated him, she hated him, and most of all he hated himself.’ However, when you look over your post and notice that you have used the same adjective several times when describing your settings, characters and thoughts, or even worse, if you have repeated similes and metaphors, then you know you need to revise a little.

It doesn’t take too long to use a thesaurus or take a moment to think of a different word, but it does make the post look better by far. Obviously you can’t avoid repeating some things, just try and keep it minimal!

Make Dialogue More Than Idle Chat and React To Actions
Really get into your character, think you are your character when you post. Pretend what the other person has posted, what they have said to your character, they have said to you. If you were that character, how would you react? You react in some way to everything that is said and done to you, so why should you ignore dialogue and actions in your post?

So, try to get a reaction appropriate for you character, don’t move out of character. One of the worst things you can do is act out of character and make your profile meaningless.

Two Main Reactions
React physically or mentally or both! Think of your character as an actual person, and as a person, they will be happy, angry etc. sometimes they might lash out, or even plant a kiss. Either way, make sure you react, keep things interesting, and make the thread more like one flowing story as opposed to two or more people fighting for their own stories, and not reacting to one another.

Afterthoughts
Don’t forget at the end of the post, your character’s afterthoughts. From all the actions and reactions, how do they feel? Has their opinion changed about the other character(s)? What are they now thinking?

With all of the above, you should get a good idea on how you can make those intermediate/advanced RPs you're after!

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THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY ANDY OF RPG-D.
PLEASE DO NOT COPY, SEE THE SITE FOR THE ORIGINAL SOURCE DOCUMENT. THANKYOU!

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[The Dark Lord]

PURPLE PROSE ,

EVER FOUND YOURSELF FACED WITH THE TERM AND NOT KNOWN WHAT IT
MEANS? THIS DOCUMENT DETAILS WHAT PURPLE PROSE IS AND HOW TO AVOID IT...

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1. What is Purple Prose?

a. History

The phrase "purple prose" itself was coined by Horace in his Ars Poetica, as he critiqued another writer's work. The translated passage reads:

Your opening shows great promise, and yet flashy purple patches; as when describing a sacred grove, or the altar of Diana, or a stream meandering through fields, or the river Rhine, or a rainbow; but this was not the place for them. If you can realistically render a cypress tree, would you include one when commissioned to paint a sailor in the midst of a shipwreck?

From the passage you can take Horace's point that purple prose is good or at least decent writing, just too much of it, and usually misplaced. As said in the last paragraph, it is often as out of place as someone painting a beautiful tree when they're supposed to be painting a shipwreck. Is it a pretty tree? Well, yes. But they're supposed to be painting a shipwreck, and bring the focus on the struggle of the sailor to survive.

The connotations of the word purple further denote that "purple patches" of writing are ostentatious and inappropriate - in other words, just as an ancient Roman would dress up in all his finery and purple linen to go out of the house (and look awful, but very rich), purple prose is the same thing with writing. It is a way to say, "I can write so much! Isn't it beautiful? Aren't I great?" even when the excess detail drags down the quality of the writing itself and seems out of place at best.

b. Modern use

The meaning of purple prose in modern times has shifted to writing that is just plain rediculous in its ostentatious nature.

An example would be saying "As soon as the Promethean spark had been fully communicated to the lady's tube" instead of "Once the lady lit her pipe". The most famous example of purple prose is from The Garden of Cyrus by Sir Thomas Browne:

"But the Quincunx of Heaven runs low, and 'tis time to close the five ports of knowledge. We are unwilling to spin out our awaking thoughts into the phantasms of sleep, which often continueth precogitations; making Cables of Cobwebs and Wildernesses of handsome Groves. Besides Hippocrates hath spoke so little and the Oneirocriticall Masters, have left such frigid Interpretations from plants that there is little encouragement to dream of Paradise it self. Nor will the sweetest delight of Gardens afford much comfort in sleep; wherein the dullness of that sense shakes hands with delectable odours; and though in the Bed of Cleopatra, can hardly with any delight raise up the Ghost of a Rose."

In short, purple prose is overdone, overworked language where the author has forgotten that writing is a means of communication and is simply trying to show off.

It is also often called "thesaurus rape" or "paragraph for a taco syndrome".

2. Why should you care?

For play by post style, roleplaying is writing. As I have said, writing is communication. If you don't know what the hell somebody just wrote, you can't have your character respond to them, now can you?

Furthermore, since roleplaying is writing, it pays off for all of us to keep in mind what's good writing and what's not good writing. Roleplaying is a great way to strengthen your writing muscles. You just don't want to learn how to write the "wrong way", or you will sorely regret it later.

Going against purple prose does not mean going against pretty writing or 'big words'. It means going against gaudy writing that is hard to understand, and going against seeing the English language abused.

3. How can purple prose be avoided?

a. Don't be scared off from vocabulary.

At first glance it may be easy to abandon all your big shiny words and say "ha, there, no purple prose for me." However, writing is all about striking balance, and sometimes those big shiny words do mean a lot. While people have different writing styles, it really does behoove you to keep your vocabulary up so you don't have to go searching for the perfect word.

b. Ask yourself questions when you use advanced vocabulary.

Big words - or advanced vocabulary - are analagous to spices in cooking. Without any at all, your writing is a little bland. Put too many in and you've cooked something nobody is able to eat. Strive for a pleasing blend to suit all literary palletes, not five-alarm chili.

Ask yourself:
Does the word I'm using communicate anything more than the simpler word it is replacing?
If it does, do you understand the full connotations and denotations of the word? (Sienna is not a straight substitute for brown, for instance, it denotes a specific hue of brown. Muttering something is a different action than saying something.)
Does it enhance the sentance to switch out a larger word? Does the sentence still 'flow'?

Most good writers stare down their sentences and ask themselves this already while they are writing. However, if someone accuses you of writing purple prose, consider reviewing these. Does the advanced vocabulary you are using truly contribute to your meaning, or are you just trying to show off?

c. Use great detail for dramatic effect.

Purple prose as a term originated from florid, overpowering description in a completely silly place. Simply put - don't be the guy who paints trees in great detail when you're supposed to be painting a shipwreck.

If you are going into a paragraph or multiple paragraphs of description in a scene, remember that roleplaying is a social game. People don't want to read what isn't important. If you are describing a place in which roleplay is going to take place within the entire thread - fantastic, describe away, your fellow roleplayers need to know where their characters are. However, they do not really need to know three paragraphs about the NPC who appears for two seconds to hand out drinks and then dissapears to never be seen again. That's painting trees in the middle of shipwrecks. That's wasting your fellow roleplayers' time. That's purple prose.

d. Before you launch into great detail, ask yourself questions.

IS THIS IMPORTANT?

Does the detail you are writing about provide some information to other roleplayers that they can then use later on during the roleplay?
-Are you describing a common setting that their characters will then be introduced into?
-Are you revealing something about your character through what s/he focuses on?
-Are you hinting at plot by describing certain items in the room?
-Are you giving the other players some useful, relevant fact they can then use later in a post?

Whether something is useful and relevant is very situation-specific. In a High School game, a character's clothing might indeed merit its own paragraph of description. In a cyberpunk post-apocolyptic game where characters are more focused on gunning each other down, probably not. (But a character's arsenal of weapons would probably merit description, while a High School character's would hopefully not.)

If you are writing just because you like describing the scenery your character is looking at while on a train ride, that is not useful information. (It can become useful information if your character gets on a mental tangent on his feelings about sheep, which another roleplayer can then use to ensure her character meets the other at the train station with her faithful pet lamb.)

e. How to fix purple prose.

Fixing purple prose is very simple.

-If you are describing something, especially in great detail, that is not important for other roleplayers to know, LEAVE IT OUT.

-When you use big words, make sure you know what they mean.

-Advanced vocabulary should be used when it really needs to be used and when it can enhance your writing, not just because you are trying to look smart.

If you keep those three things in mind while writing, not only do you cure "paragraph for a taco syndrome", you also become a better writer. Writing is communication, and staying away from purple prose makes it easier for you to communicate to others.

Resources consulted...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_prose
www.debstover.com/purple.html

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[The Dark Lord]

MAKE A "GOOD" VILLAIN ,

WE ALL LOVE THE BAD BOYS AND BAD GIRLS BUT IF YOU
ARE GOING TO PLAY ONE YOU NEED TO KNOW HOW TO TO IT PROPERLY...

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Of course I am messing around with the word 'good' here. What I mean of course is how do you play a villain well

Well, let's first look at;

What Makes a Good Literary Villain?
(taken from THIS article, this section is comprised of the article in the link and has been slightly modified to fit this guide)

A great literary villain is not any one thing; some are moustache-twirlers or evil geniuses, some are darkly complex, tortured souls, while others are amoral crazies who act wholly on impulse. There are many ways to write a literary villain, but a unique characteristic often binds the truly memorable anti-heroes together: they are at least as complex as the heroes.

Some of the earliest and greatest literary villains come from William Shakespeare. While literature certainly featured villainous characters before, Shakespeare had a talent and interest in developing their characters and the motivations behind their evil actions. In Othello, Shakespeare gives us possibly the most iconic literary villain of all time: Iago. The play revolves entirely around his schemes, and Iago frequently speaks to the audience, explaining himself and his plans. This tradition of a “thinking villain” has influenced many writers throughout history, and led to the creation of dozens of famous literary evildoers.

A great literary villain can be almost entirely pure evil; in the revolutionary Harry Potter series, much of the climax depends on the idea that the villain, Lord Voldemort, is truly unredeemable and beyond help. Yet the simple motivation of gaining ultimate power is the most basic thing about Voldemort; what makes him a compelling villain is the meticulous explanation of his past and rise to power. The depth of his villainy makes him a powerful and memorable figure, one that will haunt the nightmares of many for a long time to come.

Other villains are complex in their seeming amorality. These characters are particularly frightening as they seem to live chaotically, choosing actions by impulse or for their own highest good at any cost. Sometimes, these characters are described as gray- or anti-villains. They will occasionally do good, if necessary, but can very suddenly decide to do evil or actions that are detrimental to the hero. The random-seeming pathos of these villains is unnerving and memorable, as the challenge the concepts of ordered systems by their very existence.

A good literary villain can also be one with motivations or characteristics that are both easy to identify with, and to a certain extent, universal. Creating a villain that is sympathetic gives readers a powerful contradiction of emotions. While they do not want the character to succeed in their dastardly plans, they feel true remorse for the pain or fatal flaws causing the villain to react with evil. In Macbeth, the villain arguably does a good thing, by ridding the kingdom of a weak and frail king and replacing him as a hero of the nation. Yet Macbeth is twisted by his own love of power, and, almost against his own will, falls into darkness.

For the most part, the best literary villains remind us that they, too, are human. No matter how twisted or dark they might be, they are not so different than you or I. The paths that separate the hero from the villain are complex and uncertain, and great writers are often able to accurately depict not only the evil done, but the humanity abandoned.


So to Re-Cap (all original content from here)

• They are COMPLEX
  
• Develop the characteristics and motivation behind their actions.
  
• Make them unredeemable and beyond help
  
• Give depth to villainy and make them memorable and compelling
  
• Amorality, the heart of Chaos
  
• Unnerve the reader
  
• Identify with the villain and justify their actions
  
• Always have them abandon humanity
  

How to...

...achieve this?


They are COMPLEX - so don't be scared to confuse people. Match the complexity of the hero/es, how else can you hope to defeat them? Mwahahahaha! Every villain needs his master plan, his plot to gain power, or take over the world! Don't shy away from these grand schemes and don't be afraid to make them convoluted. The more diabolical and far fetched the better!



Develop the characteristics and motivation behind their actions. - this is where you get depth and character development. You don't have to always agree with or understand these motivations, not everything has to be justified or indeed, sane, and you don't always have to identify with your villain, just know them. For every action there is a reaction, for every thought there is substance. Random is fine but have some method to their madness otherwise you are just playing someone insane, not always a villain. Like the Joker give them reason, make them make sense even if it is just to themselves. The plan can be to have no plan but give them a direction and a reason for that direction. You don't have to reveal it too soon or even at all, just knowing it helps you write them though.


Make them unredeemable and beyond help - again, this is not true for every villain, but sometimes it helps to write the more... messy actions and deeds if in your mind this person is beyond retribution. You are merely playing a part, telling their story, you do not need to justify them only admit they are beyond help and have no morality and are wholly disconnected to you (even if you are vicariously living through them, haha! Kidding, I am kidding >_> )


Give depth to villainy and make them memorable and compelling - don't be a wall flower, villains rarely are. Give them gravitas, give them quirks, give them bravado! Don't be afraid to make them arrogant and even if they are slimy little so and so's at least make them compelling... so they work in secret? Does that mean when you post them your writing has to be as forgettable as their actions are supposed to be?


Amorality, the heart of Chaos - ahhhh, chaos! How I love thee! A villains best friend is his insanity, but even the insane have some order to their madness. There can be chaos in order and to write it convincingly you still need to construct this amoral character in an orderly fashion, otherwise you lose sight of what you are trying to achieve with them and just end up with a huge mess; both in character and in your writing. Amorality is difficult to write well, so I advise against it if you are a newb to writing 'good' villains. This takes practice, and flair. When done correctly though you end up with a truly frightening character, impulsive, selfish, single minded, on the edge and unpredictable. They may seem to do good sometimes but they always manage to cause chaos for the hero, so focus on that... their aims are always shifting, so litter their actions chaotically but wisely, not leaning too much towards one side or t'other, always keep them guessing!

This should be your Amoral villains mantra:

"Make the random pathos as unnerving and memorable as possible and challenge the concepts of ordered systems by my very existence."



Unnerve the reader - by doing pretty awful things. Mwahahaha! Don't tell them what's coming, sit on it and surprise them (but don't god mode!). There are clever ways of unsettling your fellow posters without forcing them down a path they might not want to go. Use atmosphere, language and most of all, intelligence to write a truly convincing villain. Weave your plots around the hero and challenge them, unsettle their character mentally and always stay one step ahead of the game. There is no such thing as a stupid villain, that's what henchman number five is for.


Identify with the villain and justify their actions - by doing this you limit yourself with the other conventions, and limit what you may be prepared to write, but there is a way around it. They may have universal traits, even a justifiable reason for their villainy, but does the end justify the means? That is what you need to cling to... Make the end justifiable but the means abhorrent. We can sympathise with their childhood and trauma, and its something we can identify with on most levels, but how we deal with it and how the villain deals with it is what sets us apart and enables you as a writer to write this despicable actions. Justify it by saying; "Well I can see why I just can't condone the how of it, but it does happen." You do not want them to succeed but you feel remorse for them, and understand the fatal flaws that lead them to act out these villainous deeds.


Always have them abandon humanity - this is a journey and to complete their metamorphoses it is advisable to detach them from humanity and make them a beast. Always is probably a bit strong, as not all villains are irredeemable and not all go as far down the path of evil but for the sake of the conventions most must go down this path most of the way if we are to preserve the beauty that is villainy and indeed, evil.



Obviously not all of this can be achieved in one character, so what types of villains have these conventions?


Villainous conventions

As far as I know these literary concepts do not meet up and greet their fans, no, I am referring to the types of villains you can write, and how you combine the above conventions.


Archetypal villains - these are types of villains that can be seen in most literature.


The "Thinking Villain" - The plot revolves entirely around their schemes, they frequently outline their plan and modify it, explaining themselves and their plans, sometimes attempting to justify it. This tradition of a “thinking villain” has influenced many writers throughout history, and led to the creation of dozens of famous literary evildoers.


The Malcontent - The Malcontent is a character type that is often discontent with the social structure and other characters in the plot. He or she is often an outsider, who observes and offers commentary on the action, and are often a bastard or illegitimate child with resentment at being poor, ignored or not included in the family. Shakespeare's Richard III and Iago in Othello are typical malcontents. The role is usually both political and dramatic; with the malcontent voicing dissatisfaction with the usually 'Machiavellian' political atmosphere and often using asides to build up a kind of self-consciousness and awareness which other characters will lack. The morality and sympathy of the malcontent is a massive variable, and sometimes, as in Hamlet and The Malcontent, they are the sympathetic centre, whereas Iago is a very unsympathetic character. The most important thing about the malcontent, is that he is malcontent—unhappy, unsettled, displeased with the world as he sees it—not at ease with the world in which he finds himself, eager to change it somehow, or to dispute with it. He is an objective or quasi-objective voice that comments on concerns and comments as though he is somehow above or beyond them. The word itself epitomises the nature of this character, mal - bad and content, not contented with his lot or the world.


The "Rogue" - The assassin, the thief, the character who has the most sympathy and often the most transition. He/she can be the main antagonist, the main villain, or in servitude of a villain and either become a villain themselves (and often murdering their 'master' in the process) or reforming and changing their ways.


The Mad scientist - chaos, anarchy, insanity! Always always always has some grand experiment and is single minded to the point where it is often to their own demise. They refuse to see beyond their plans and they often enrage their own minions.



The Supervillain - The Uber Villain, the dude who is pulling all the strings and changing the world to suit them. Can cause the creator to make a Gary Stu, but the best way to avoid this is to focus on his flaws. He is arrogant, and mistreats his minions and henchmen, he undermines his allies and he underestimates his enemies. To play an interesting supervillain you MUST have him have a fall, and the higher he is before, all the better. Strip him of his power and force him to regain it slowly and force him to focus on his basic strengths, thus removing the Gary Stu element. Supervillains are often power played so I urge you to make his weaknesses debilitating and you are on to a winner! Be willing to be defeated and prove his worth by playing him in a clever manner. He is intelligent so don't rely on his power, make him politically savvy and with the ability to adapt and recognise his own failures, after he has fallen. Remember, Pride before the Fall, so if he is starting in a position of power, prepare to bring him down a peg or two and allow him to bleed. Make him untouchable and no one will touch you, literally they won't post with you as that character.


The Evil Overlord - teh Emperor, the all powerful Ming! Lord Sidius, Sauron, you know the deal. Often a canon and never to be overplayed, use this villain through his minions. Create his apprentice, his faithful servant, his slave and if you are an admin only play him to progress the plot. He is too hot to touch for too long, too awesome and powerful to play every day, so bring him out on special occasions and then put him back on your shelf of awesomeness. Too much of a good/powerful thing does not a good plot make. As fun as they are to play resist the urge, everything in moderation!


The Evil Genius - Unlike the mad scientist this dude is not completely insane. His genius may drive him insane but he still has some grip on reality and thus renders him more dangerous. Often under the radar, weaving his evil threads and relishing in his machinations this villain is fun to play but extremely hard to pull off.


The Traitor - my personal favourite! Clever, two faced and normally in disguise for 90% of his career as a villain the betrayal must be significant and he is NOT TO BE TRUSTED! Yet the bloody hero always ends up trusting him. Tips on playing the traitor... be cool. Do not tell everyone your plans and trick your fellow posters into believing him. If you post at a board that allows one account per character make TWO profiles, one the arch villain the other the disguise and do not reveal the link until the OPPORTUNE moment. You'll know when it is, if you are clever enough you will have manipulated the plot in order to reveal your true self and thus betray the hero. Before this happens you'll have a tingling sensation, but don't worry, that's is just the anticipation of being able to finally bellow your evil laugh.... having practised it in secret for so many years.... Bwahahahahaaaa!


The Sycophant - The snake, a self-seeking, servile flatterer, a fawning parasite! The seemingly servile weasel who attempts to win favour by flattering influential people. Sometimes in the servitude of a king, but truly his loyalties lie with the arch villain, sometimes this sycophant is the arch villain though, perhaps in disguise. Do not overplay this character, keep him under the radar and eventually reveal his true allegiance, be that another master or evil instead of good.




Some Final Words of Wisdom

• Stay true to your character and the archetype.
  
• Have a plan! You don't always have to stick to it, that depends on the character, but have some focus or your plot will suffer!
  
• Don't be afraid to be bad. Its fun!
  
• Torture is always a good 'talent' to have.
  
• Don't be afraid of the stereotypes, villains are cliché but the execution of the cliché is what matters. Take the convention and make it your own, twist it to your needs and wants.
  
• Mix and match - keep people guessing and keep in interesting for yourself. Don't always stick to form, try all kinds of villains!
  
• Don't be scared of them, embrace their villainy and detach yourself if need be to get the job done.
  
• Enjoy them as characters and don't taint them with "bunnies" and "sunshine". Be bad, and be good at being bad.
  
• Practice makes perfect!
  
• Don't give up! Playing a good villain is hard, but the better the villain the better the hero and the more interesting the plot!
  

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY CADACUS OF RPG-D
PLEASE SEEK OUT THE ORIGINAL SOURCE DOCUMENT IF YOU WISH
TO USE THIS INFORMATION ON YOUR OWN SITE.

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[The Dark Lord]

CHARACTER CREATION ,

GO BACK TO BASICS WITH THIS GUIDE ON BASIC
CHARACTER CREATION. ITS A STEP BACKWARDS BUT IS VERY USEFUL...

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[/b]
[/ul]The creation of a character can come in many different ways for different people. Some people think of a name first and move from there, others think of an appearance or personality first, then flesh out the rest and others might figure out an entire character just by looking at a cool, random object. Hopefully this guide will help all of those sorts of people regardless, if not to create a character, then to help flesh him or her out a little.

[/b]
[/ul]Rather than jumping straight into the deeper aspects of a character like personality or background, we’ll start with the easy stuff – the basics, like name, age and gender.

Name: Name can be a pretty important part of your character; it may even lend a hand making their personality (a guy with a really feminine name might’ve had a hard time growing up and begin bitter, for example, or he might be known by a nickname instead). You need to make sure that it fits with the setting, too. A character in a high school role play is not going to be called Xagroth the Destroyer, nor is a character in a medieval fantasy likely to be walking around with the name Ryan Smith or IG-108. If you can’t think of a good name on your own, try checking out a name generator or baby name sites.

Age: Age should also be relevant to the setting and also your character’s personality, though we’ll be deciding on that later. If you’re trying to create a character to fulfil a certain role for example, like a knight, the character wouldn’t be a 10 year old kid or a 90 year old. If the plot says that all of the children in the role play were killed in some way, you shouldn’t rp one then either unless you’ve clarified it with the role play’s creator. Age too can lend a hand to personality – a kid would be a lot more naive than a teenager, who might be more hot headed and reckless than an experienced adult.

Gender: Again, make sure gender is fitting of the setting and the role you want to fill and be mindful of the effects it may have on your character’s personality and background. If you’re role playing in an Amazon tribe, you wouldn’t be playing a guy, for example. This is pretty self explanatory though.

Got that out of the way? Great. Now we can move on to...

[/b]
[/ul]Now that we have our simple stuff, we can start to add more too our character and make something of them. I find that the best thing to do at this stage is get a rough idea of what you want their personality to be like, and then work on their appearance afterwards since appearance can (but isn’t always) influenced by personality.

Getting that basic idea can be done in a number of different ways. You might just think of a few words or titles that would work well, for example:

• Weary knight
  
  
• Seedy barkeep
  
  
• Damsel in distress
  
  
• Brainless ruffian
  
  
• Optimistic peasant
  
  
• Bitter widower
  
  
• Whimsical farmer’s daughter
  
  
• Reckless rapscallion
  
  
• Indifferent mercenary
  
  
• Dutiful wife
  

All I’ve done there is just slapped an adjective on a noun of some kind, like a rank or whatever, and already ideas can begin forming for each one of them. The brainless ruffian quickly becomes someone who’s only really skill is punching or following orders, and he might be his best friend’s lacky. The reckless rapscallion becomes a devilishly charming young man who’s only out for himself and a good time and an adventure or two, and the indifferent mercenary becomes a emotionally detached gun-for-hire who never gets involved with anything for his own good. Gigantic, leafy trees grow from the smallest of seeds, yo.

Now that you’ve got that title, you can do the same as I just did and make a short sentence or a couple of sentences about them.

With that short personality under our belts, we can start to think about what might be an appropriate (or even appropriately inappropriate) physical appearance for them. We only need bits and bobs here, nothing fancy or detailed. You might decide that your ‘reckless rapscallion’ is a fairly tall, robust guy with scruffy brown hair and near constant 5 o’clock shadow. The scruffiness and stubble fits the initial idea, so it’s not a bad choice. Getting a brief idea of build and height, hair, initial looks (e.g. youthful, impish, handsome, fugly) is the best way to start yourself off on your appearance.

By now we should have a name, age, gender and the bare bones of a personality and physical appearance. Next we can work on fleshing out that personality a little more so that we can then work on our background. Some people prefer to do it the other way around, but hey, this is the way I’m used to so I’m sorry!

[/b]
[/ul]Now then. Hopefully you’ve got the framework of your character and we can start filling in the blanks. With these simple details, we can start making more of it. I like to start by sorting out two lists – one of the characters positive points and how they might be on a good day when everything’s sunshine and happiness, and one on a bad day when they might be generally unhappy or just having a crap time of things. By doing this, we not only get a long list of aspects of their personality when we join the two together, but we get a list with a nice amount of flaws too. Characters with perfect personalities and no flaws tend to be fairly hollow and 2D, and that’s not what we want.

Here are some examples of things that could go in each list – some of them even apply to both.

Good Day
Energetic
Cheerful
Optimistic
Intelligent
Cunning
Gentle
Sensitive
Steadfast
Brave
Confident
Industrious
Charming
Decisive
Eager
Trustworthy
Tough

Bad Day
Narcissistic
Selfish
Rude
Aloof
Grumpy
Uptight
Deceitful
Domineering
Violent
Tough
Unintelligent
Cynical
Lazy
Thoughtless
Thick-skinned
Careless

Once we’ve figured this out, we can move onto the ‘whys’ and the character’s background and past.

[/b]
[/ul]These are an important part of character development, though I personally hate writing up character histories.

The simple background formula I use is:
Life before/at conception (Were they planned? Rape? Happy families?)
Life at birth/as a baby. (How were they treated? What were their parents like? Any other siblings?)
Childhood. (Were they bullied? How were they raised? Were they in any accidents? Did they learn any important lessons?)
Teenage Years. (Similar to childhood. Did they have a first love? Were they enlisted into the army with or without their own choice?)
Adulthood. (etc.)
And so on depending on how old your character is. Significant events and insignificant events are both good in a background, though the ones significant to the character are likely to affect their personalities a lot. The things we do in our lives, even out own simple rl lives, can contribute to how we are now. Here are a few simple real life examples of just how much our own backgrounds can affect us:

• A character who’s an only child could grow up to be very spoilt.
  
  
• A character who’s a younger sibling could grow up to be very competitive and feel easily unappreciated.
  
  
• A character whose father walked out on them at some stage could grow up to be distrustful of others.
  
  
• A character who moved around and travelled a lot could grow to become very adaptable.
  
  
• A character with a family who made loads of life mistakes could learn from those and be very level-headed themselves.
  
  
• A character who practically had to bring himself up could grow to be very self-reliant and independent.
  

As you can see, little things like whether or not your character had brothers and sisters can actually have an impact on how the behave later on. It’s worth considering all these things when forming your background. You’ve already picked your basic personality lists, and the background is where you start to think about why these things might be.

Why is your character arrogant? He might’ve had a lot of praise from parents or succeed at almost everything he does.
Why does your character always do as he’s told? He might’ve been brought up under a strict household or served in the military.
Why is your character unnecessarily forgiving? Perhaps they themselves were forgiven for something terrible they’d done and feel they owe it to the world.
Why is your character so unpredictable and violent? He might’ve been brought up around fighting or even been raised that way.

These are all only examples, but you get the idea. More often than not, it’s the characters who’re angsty for the sake of it or the character who hates talking to people for no reason other than ‘because he doesn’t like people’ who are very uninteresting and underdeveloped characters. Everything has a reason, especially things like emotional problems (e.g. angst or seething hatreds). Not coming up with a reason for those emotional problems is practically branding you and your character as a classic attention-seeking emo kid.

One thing you should obviously be aware of when constructing a background is making it plausible. Role players who try too hard to make their character’s histories (and even appearances and personalities) unique, whether this is by making them a blood thirsty psychopath who burnt down an orphanage or by saying that they don’t trust people because they were sexually abused by their parents and brother and sister and aunt and uncle and boyfriend, will often lose all credibility in role plays. Things need to be believable, not so outrageous and whacked out that people think ‘... riiiight’ when they read it, but that doesn’t mean that you have to have a plain old boring background either. Find a happy medium!

[/b]
[/ul]One thing you have to remember when writing an appearance and thinking it up is that people aren’t really the flawless celebrities we see in the media. Even the beautiful, popular kids at a high school have their flaws, whether it’s a mole on Mary Ann’s otherwise perfect face or the bags under Jack’s eyes from staying up too late. Real people are not flawless (UK) size 8, airbrushed beauties, and that’s what a lot of people seem to make the mistake of doing when making characters. Perfect appearances often go hand in hand with the perfect personality or unrealistic background.

I’m not saying that characters can’t be beautiful of course, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there is more to every single person than the way they look.

Anywho, we already have the basic idea of what we want our character to look like, but it’s time to begin fleshing it out similarly to how we did the personality and background. Head-to-toe descriptions aren’t the best way to write them, but it’s easier for a beginner or just for the ideas to analyse a character’s looks that way.

Head (What’s their hair like? Eyes? Face?)
Torso (Do they have broad shoulders? Deep chest? Big boobs? Are they really slim/chunky/fat?)
Waist (Wide hips?)
Legs (Long legs? Thick, powerful legs? Thin legs?)
There’s obviously more to it than what I wrote there in brackets, but you get the idea.

A very important thing to realise when thinking about your character’s appearance is that there is a lot more to the way someone looks than just their hair colour and all of those things. We can learn a lot from just studying a person’s outward appearance, for example:

• Do they slouch, or stand nice and upright?
  
  
• Do they stare straight ahead or at the floor?
  
  
• Do they seem as though they know where they’re going or do they always seem lost?
  
  
• How do they dress?
  
  
• Do they look clean and polished, or scruffy?
  
  
• Do they have any noticeable scars or markings?
  
  
• Are there certain things that they’re almost always seen with? (e.g. a certain necklace, or even earphones in their ears)
  
  
• Do they smile often?
  
  
• Are their faces or eyes very emotive?
  
  
• Do they often use hand or body gestures? How often?
  

All of these different things and more can reflect the character’s personality in the way they look. Someone who slouches and stares at the ground is likely to be lazier or at least more self-conscious than someone who stands upright and looks straight ahead. Someone with scars might be very self-conscious of them or even proud of them because they’re a token of a victory or a mark of a mistake. Someone who smiles and uses exaggerated hand gestures might be a very happy and eccentric person, whereas someone who rarely smiles and sneers instead might be cold and spiteful. We can learn a lot about people, or at least make assumptions about them, from these kinds of things and so it’s worth considering them when developing your character.

[/b]
[/ul]We already have pretty much everything covered by now, even if only in a summarised form, but the last little thing that I always find fun to do are miscellaneous extras. These are sorts of things that aren’t necessary at all, but they’re enjoyable, for me at least, because they help me learn more about my character and the sort of things they might like.

Some things to consider are:

• Do they have a star sign? Which one would fit them best?
  
  
• What’s their blood type, or which would fit them best?
  
  
• Do they have any favourite items, or are there any items that you attribute them to?
  
  
• Do they have a theme song? What is it and why?
  
  
• Do they have any embarrassing memories?
  
  
• Are they allergic to any kinds of food? What foods do they love/hate?
  
  
• Do they have any (ir)rational fears?
  
  
• Are they religious?
  
  
• What would their ideal, perfect birthday cake be like?
  
  
• Do they have a certain political stance?
  
  
• And of course, what are their opinions on things going on with relation to the actual role play?
  

Insignificant though some may be, these kinds of things help to bring you closer to your character and give them further depth, but in a fun and silly kind of way. Not for everyone, but hey, the idea’s there for those who’re into it.

[/b]
[/ul]That pretty much concludes this character creation guide. From the simple seed of a random title or concept, we’ve fleshed out our character right until the very end where we figure out some random additions to make them seem more human. One thing you should think about though is that characters are subject to change as you role play them. The reckless guy from the beginning that I used as an example may grow to be more responsible and serious, and the Damsel in Distress might eventually learn to become more self-reliant and fend for herself. Like us real folks, characters are constantly changing and developing as time goes on – some might end up completely different to how you originally imagined them, but that’s half the fun of role playing. [/blockquote]

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY RYOKOMON OF RPG-D
PLEASE SEEK OUT THE ORIGINAL SOURCE DOCUMENT
BEFORE REPOSTING ON YOUR OWN SITE

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[The Dark Lord]

BEAT THE BLOCK ,

WE ALL GO THROUGH THAT HORRID STAGE KNOWN AS WRITER'S BLOCK.
BUT HOW CAN WE BEAT IT AND GET POSTING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE? HERE'S HOW...

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

-Go through and write everything that the character wouldn't do or just something random and pointless. It's nothing that has any point at all other than to get you past the stuck point.

-Watch some TV; sometimes a quote or a situation, or even a commercial would inspire a topic or some writing..

-Go to word, words processor, anything you have. pencil and paper work too. Type "There." or another starting word(s), such as "it was. "
From that word or phrase, you can get almost anything.
"There was a great moon on the night that they met"
"There was a large lump in her throat"
"It was late that night when the chills began, despite the tropical climate."
"It was this that made him so alien, so unreal."

-Listen to music or read a book

-PUSH yourself to come up with interesting ideas

-Join more threads. You can't dismiss any possibilities until you're in the middle.

-As you go--from the day you create your character, keep list of 'key words' that you'd love to do a thread on. This can be added to as you go, and tackled whenever you feel at a loss. It's really, really important to keep talking about your characters and keep pouring over your ideas. Do it ANYWHERE, but keep on going so that when/if you do hit a wall, you have some ways to get around it or break through it..

-Don't think too hard. Go do something else that's completely unrelated, like physical activity to distract yourself. If you think too hard you're going to just mentally over0exert yourself and you will not have much good to show for it. Brain storming can work, depending on the Mind of the person.

-What you won't write. Look back at your last few posts- especially the narrative monologues, and if it seems that you keep rambling about the same topic in all the narration, ban it from your writing to force yourself to think of new ideas.

-Go through and make a list of all the topics you want to cover, the things or situations you need a character to respond to or act on, what you want them to do, anything

-Try really hard to just put yourself in the shoes of your character. Imagine yourself (as them, that's important, don't break character!) in their situation; what would be going through their head, how would they feel, etc. Sometimes looking at it from that perspective helps, but ALWAYS make sure the character STAYS the character, in other words, don't let it turn into YOU.

-Keep away from distractions. Other windows, sometimes music that is very loud or music you are SINGING to. Maybe you have a million windows open on your computer at once. Try to shut them out. ALL of them.

-Challenge yourself to write a set amount per day/post.

-WRITE THROUGH THE BLOCK. write something you aren't happy with. Write a one-liner. just write SOMETHING. force yourself, no matter how long it takes.

-Try eating almonds and blueberries. Thinking food.

-Meditate and stretch. Calm your thinking down to a manageable output, some people have too many ideas that they don’t realize they have, and so it seems that they have none.

-Look for a photograph/draw the scene your characters are in for inspiration.

-http://www.seventhsanctum.com/ A writing ideas website.

-Try playing some executive games, drive a car in someone’s office, or pop some balloons.

-Laugh. Go look at something funny, or try to think of a funny way for you to proceed in the roleplay.

-Think back to things that have happened in the past week, or longer, than really have sparked your emotions.


Preventatives:

-Write often and exercise the creative part of your mind, do some art, or sculpting, or something hands on. that can help.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

THIS DOCUMENT WAS WRITTEN BY ROSALIEART OF RPG-D
PLEASE SEEK OUT THE ORIGINAL SOURCE DOCUMENT
BEFORE REPOSTING ON YOUR OWN SITE

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