Article 1: Online Courtesies
Interactive Storytelling Role-Playing is a new way for most of us RP'ers to game. It's bounded by far fewer rules (or guidelines) than the table games that we're all most familiar with. But, just as a player going out of character at a table game and shouting, "George! How are ya!" to the neighbor watering their front lawn three doors down is disruptive to the game, there are simple courtesies owed to the other gamers in the ISRP:
Stay in character
It's difficult to maintain the illusion if your dwarven character from the Forgotten Realms is complaining about X-Files being bumped for a basketball game. One of the most jarring things is to walk into a role-playing room and be jolted out of the illusion, whether it's "age/sex check" scrolling to the room, or "{{{{{{{Bob}}}}}}}". Certain things are acceptable in the general chat rooms. Here, though, they can be painfully disruptive.
Denoting Actions
Type your actions by using a colon (:) followed by the action. Don't use "Online Shorthand" to represent your character's actions. Here's an example.
Don't:
Bob: {{{{{{{{{{{{{Stone}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
or
Bob: Stone! :*:*:* ;D
Do:
Bob: :walks over to Stone, and hugs him
or
Bob: :blows Stone a kiss from across the tavern, sending it with a saucy wink
Outcomes of Actions
Remember that NO ONE owns a character, except the person paying the internet service provider bill. If you're running an assassin, and you want to run a "kill" scene, make sure the person playing the target character is aware of it, and will play along. Otherwise, when your assassin doesn't kill the character, your assassin's reputation is shot.
Keep Identities Separate
Keep IC (In character) and OOC (Out of Character) separated. Just because you're playing an elf, don't think that anyone believes that you, the PLAYER, are an elf.
Have fun!
Remember, you can ALWAYS leave the ISRP area or go to another room if you don't like the way things are going.
Think of Others
Remember that the other characters are here to have fun as well. Be courteous. When you see a story or a scene you'd like to be involved with, drop the other character's player a private message and ask if you can join in.
Interact!
This is a COOPERATIVE environment. We're all here to play our characters, and just like in any role-playing games, it's more fun when you can hook up with a group and play out cooperative adventures. Don't be afraid to ask people if you can join in their fun, and remember to ask others to jump into your storyline.
Have fun!
We know, we keep saying that. It's important. If you're not having fun, what the heck are you doing here?
If we all keep the above stated "simple courtesies" in mind, we'll all be able to showcase our characters to their best advantage, and have fun while doing it.
Article 2: ISRP Defined
This is EN World's Interactive Story Role-Playing (ISRP) area. Now, that might require a little explanation, so... keep reading, because that's what this is here to do -- explain.
Running an ISRP Character
ISRP is closely related to Role-Playing Games. There is a bit of a difference, though. When you're playing Dark Sun or Dungeons and Dragons, you have a game master leading you through your adventure. You run your character, and the GM (or DM) runs everything else, including all of the NPCs (Non-player characters) and all of the monsters.
In ISRP, you run YOUR character... but other players have control over THEIR characters, the ones you meet and interact with. You're not gaming with a game master; you're gaming with other players just like you, each playing a character. You may walk into the Crossroads Tavern, and meet Elminster. On the other hand, you may walk in and meet Count Strahd. No one's really sure who will be in the room when your character enters the tavern. That's the charm of ISRP. The only person making decisions for your character is you, the player.
What is ISRP?
Now that you've gotten the introduction to the area, here's what ISRP is: ISRP is a way to play your character and fill in all of the details you've always wondered about. Or show those personality quirks to the masses. Bring your adventure-worn character in for a drink at the Great Bazaar. It's a marketplace that has portals to everywhere you can imagine. That makes it accessible to all of the gaming worlds; so don't worry that your character won't "fit in".
The best way to describe ISRP is to say ... immerse yourself in the character. Let the character have a "boy/girl's night out". See them, as they would be in real life, when the characters they interact with aren't your GM's characters. The safety net of "s/he always does this or that" is gone.
Think of ISRP as an acting job. You're given a role (your character), and now, the director's kicked you up on stage with NO script! Now here you are, on the stage of a medieval tavern... you turn to your director and scream, "WHAT NEXT?" The charming director whispers, "Ad lib."
Yep, that's right - Ad lib. This is YOUR character. What you put into text and send out into the chat room is all that we'll know about your character. It's up to you to intrigue us. You tell us as much or as little about your character as you feel comfortable with revealing to a tavern full of player characters.
Stage Directions
In this medium that is heavily text, there are aids to helping you create the aura that surrounds your character. Ways to make your character flesh out. Since we can't see if your character is sauntering into the tavern, running in with a sword stuck out of hisser back, or limping awkwardly, we are at a disadvantage. How do we solve that? By providing stage directions.
Most of the time, you will enter our chat room, and see a line something like this:
Bilbo: :reaches down to scratch his furry feet:: Anyone have a comb?
Our hero Bilbo has established a couple of things. First, that he has furry feet, and second that they are itching. For the very discerning, he's pretty much stated that anyone who offers him a comb will have to watch as he drags the borrowed comb through the fur on his feet. Not something *I* would want to happen to *my* comb. How about you?
The text inside the colons ( : :: ) were stage directions or, in this case, actions. It allows us to see the character in a way that speech wouldn't do. It also gives us a way to put things on the screen about our characters that wouldn't necessarily be remarkable enough to comment on.
Take this example:
Bilbo: Gee, I've got furry feet. And they itch. Does anyone have a comb?
Now, why would Bilbo (who is a hobbit, and *all* hobbits have furry feet) feel the need to discuss the racial trait of furry feet out of the clear blue sky? Hm... Not very believable, huh? The : :: stage directions allow us to see actions or descriptions for ourselves, instead of putting the onus on Bilbo's player to think of a believable way to work that into conversation.
The stage directions give us a tool so that we may give more information out to the other people in the room. It's not information that the character SAYS, it's information that s/he gives the other players in the room to help fill in their vision of what's happening around them. It allows us to see that Bilbo is scratching his feet, and react accordingly.
Note that, in the ISRP online chat rooms, typing a single colon before your text denotes an action. Visually, doing so will change the color of the text as it appears onscreen, from blue (standard, used for speech) to pink (denotes action). When typing a combination of speech and action, offset the action from the speech by using double colons (::), as illustrated below.
Bilbo: :reaches down to scratch his furry feet:: Anyone have a comb?
Brigid: :looks askance at Bilbo, "Aye, I've got a comb. But you can't have it."
In Conclusion...
Interactive storytelling gaming is fun. But it's a TEAM game. By working to keep everything consistent (i.e. actions inside : :, and character speech with no delineation), the illusion of our characters having a night in the local tavern is maintained. Hope to see you in the ISRP area soon!
Article 3: Interacting in the Setting
This is an Interactive Story Role-Playing room. In case you're not sure how this works, we'd like you to continue reading. We've tried to boil down some of the basics so you can easily understand what's happening.
Note: The setting of the The Meeting Place is described in full on The Meeting Place portion of this web site, just as is the setting of the Rotunda and The Great Bazaar. We are using the Crossroads Tavern as our current example.
The Fantasy Setting: The Crossroads Tavern
You are entering a tavern in the city of Greyhawk, on a world known as Oerth. The front door faces into the marketplace, and a sign hangs above the door; there is no picture on it. In fact, it looks like a clean slate. Etched below it, in dwarven, are the words "Proprietor: Darvinski". This is crossed out in red paint, and now it says in common "Proprietor: Siani".
The tavern is relatively clean, and apparently caters to patrons of all social standings. The reputation of the place is good and solid, a place where a weary adventurer can spend some quiet time, or a refuge for an outlaw on the run.
How ISRP Works
Interactive Storytelling Role-Playing is just another type of role-playing. The difference is, there is no dungeon master or game master. You write your own stories, and the endings to them. You choose whom you want to interact with, and those you'd prefer to avoid.
The mechanics go something like this:
When you enter the tavern in character (meaning, you type something to screen indicating your CHARACTER has entered), a bartender (a Magi) will greet you. For example:
Brigid: :walks into the tavern, plopping wearily down onto a stool
Demeter: :seeing the weary warrior, the tender looks up:: Welcome to The
Crossroads Tavern! Can I get you a drink?
That's it. From there, just jump on in. There are some conventions to follow, and here they are:
- When you enter the tavern, you are IC (In Character). Everything your character does or says will be *their* words, not yours.
- Text placed inside of colons denotes actions, i.e. Demeter ::watches Brigid from the corner of her eye::
- If you want to say something OOC (Out of Character), you need to bracket
them in double parentheses, though the best course is to send it in a PM
(Private Message). For example:
Demeter: ((Hey, Brigid, my character tripped over your character's foot, did you miss it?))
or
/tell Brigid ((Hey, Brigid, my character tripped over your character's foot, did you miss it?))
Sample Game Play
Below is a short scene that is similar to what may occur in the CrossRoads:
Brigid: :opens the door, and steps into the tavern
Demeter: Hail, Brigid! Well met! Can I get you a drink?
Siani: Aye, Demeter. But none of that watered down wine, y'ken? ::glaring::
Demeter: :stifles a chuckle:: Of course not!
Siani :saunters across the tavern toward the bar
Demeter: :quickly returning the bottle of watered wine to the shelf, and
switching it for a bottle of the good stuff:: I've got just the thing for you....
Demeter: :sliding the glass he poured over the counter:: A silver, if you please.
Siani: :shocked:: What? You'd make me pay for wine in my own tavern?
Demeter: /tell Siani ((ROFL, Siani! I forgot. ;D))
Demeter: Hey. Can't drink up the profits. ::whistling cheerfully as she wipes
down the bar with a rag::
Still Have Questions?
If you need more help with the mechanics of playing, feel free to Private Message any of the Magi in the room, or direct questions to isrpmagi@gmail.com.
Enjoy your evening in the ISRP area - and be on the look out for adventure!