A Beginner's Guide to Making a Roleplay

Obviously, just like writing any story, you have to have a clear idea of just what you want your roleplay to BE before you can create it. Here are a few questions to help you figure this out:

What role do you want the players to play? Are they free to roam or will you try to keep them on a set path? Can they change the world around them? Will the roleplay even have a set 'end' point, or will it be set to essentially go on forever? How many NPC's do you plan to create, how much strain will that put on you? Do you want to have a post order? How often do you plan to make GM posts to move things along?

These are just a few questions you might want to ask yourself before starting out. Basically, try to consider what will make for the most enjoyable experience for your players while also balancing what is best for your plot. Roleplaying is about sharing, you have invited these players into your 'home' and should be an accommodating host ... on their end, your players should be respectful guests and try to abide by your guidelines.





Great, you've now got an idea in your head about a roleplay you'd like to start. But next comes the most important aspect of running a roleplay: being mentally prepared for it.

There are a few things you should understand before you create a roleplay. You are inviting other real live human beings into your world you've created, and they won't always perfectly share or understand your view of the way things ought to be. If you find yourself worrying about how 'wrong' your players will do something, then you should probably scrap your idea(maybe write it as story yourself?) and start over. The more personal you get about your roleplay, the more you'll be disappointed. The vast majority of roleplays will never come to their conclusion. This is a fact of roleplaying that must be accepted. The key is in making sure your players can have an immediate source of enjoyment quickly and continuously.

Part of being a good host comes in how you handle questions, how you handle troublemakers, and how you inform your players when they do something incorrectly. The thing to remember here is that veerrrryyyy rarely is anyone 'out to get you' or anything like that. They probably made an honest mistake and will be embarrassed enough to fix it, if you simply bring it up to them politely but forcefully. Don't be a doormat, but don't be a bully either. A few kind words mixed with stern warnings is always better than constant admonishments. You want your players to enjoy themselves or they're going to leave. You're trying to 'sell' your roleplay and roleplayers are your consumers.





Again, treat your roleplay like a business you're attempting to market. You want it to look professional, you want it to catch people's eye, you want it to be easily understood. This all comes from the first post of your Out Of Character thread. This post will contain all the information that is important to your roleplay. In it, you should contain everything that a player will NEED to know to make a successful character. You can't get mad at your player's shoddy characters if you didn't give them enough information to make good characters in the first place.

Here's a few things I like to include in an OOC, in no particular order:

Rules - Obviously, you need to have a clearly written guideline of rules that will be followed in your roleplay threads. Try to word these as simply, directly, and sternly as you can... without scaring anybody away.

The Preview - The preview is the first big blurb of text that you're going to write up for the OOC. This blurb's purpose is to really give potential players a good glimpse into what your story/setting is going to be like. It's important that this be informative as well as exciting. Think of it like a trailer for a movie, you're trying to tease the audience with enough information to get excited about it.

The Character Sheet - Obviously, your players can't make characters for you if they don't have a clear Character Sheet to work off of. Try to add detail to each field, think of what is necessary for a good character in your setting, and make it as easy to read as possible.

Setting Info - This is the section where you're going to talk directly about the specifics of your plot. This is sort of like expanding upon your preview... think of it like, you've hooked the RPer with your preview, and now you're reeling them in. You want to let them know everything they NEED to know about the setting in order to make a compelling character. Try not to get out of hand with this, though, as gigantic walls of text can really scare off potential roleplayers(unless you're making a roleplay for a very advanced crowd of RPers, in which case it's almost expected).






The first post of your roleplay is vitally important to the short-term success of your roleplay. This will be the first In Character post you ever write, and it should ideally be a damn good one. You want to give your players the impression that, hey, they've really picked the right roleplay here. It will make them excited to keep posting for you. That is always a good thing.

What should you put into a first post? That all depends on your setting and story. But, you really want to give your players a good sense of importance and direction, because the first post for a player is usually one of the hardest. If you give them a clear idea of exactly where they're supposed to be going, they'll try to move in that direction. Most of all, have fun with it, take your time, make it a good one.





Okay, so, you've made it this far and your roleplay is now off the ground. Here's a few things to look out for...

Stagnation - If your plot gets stale, your players start running in circles, or there's a long lull in posting... it's very difficult to come back. This is usually the nail in the coffin to a roleplay. You should try to get your players to post and also try to think of some good interesting ways to renew their interest. Fast.

Drama - Unfortunately, the internet being what it is, you're always prone to a little bit of drama. You may have two players that hate each other, you may have a player that you hate or hates you, and you may just have a person so oblivious/uncaring of your rules and wishes that they annoy you to no end. The best way to deal with these situations is debatable, but here's my advice: Give them a friendly warning, if they ignore that then give them a stern warning, if they ignore that then remove them from the roleplay entirely. Life is too short to worry over petty fights on the internet. If they continue being a problem even though you've told them to leave, contact the staff immediately.

Stress - Make no mistake about it, most roleplays of an intermediate or above level require a good bit of work to keep running. You need to keep on your players, keep thinking of how to make it fun, keep your own enjoyment of it alive(because if you start dreading it, your players will soon do the same), and you have to keep posting. Keep on posting. Post on time, never forget to reply to your player's actions, always make them feel like you're paying attention. There's nothing worse to a player than feeling ignored. It's a lot of work, but it can be rewarding if you get lucky enough to break through into that elusive long-term roleplay.

If you do manage to follow this guide and not fall into any of these pitfalls, then I heartily congratulate you. You have done what very very few roleplayers have ever done: create a successful roleplay. Feel proud. But, above all, whether it's long-term or not... enjoy it as best you can. Roleplaying is about having fun.

Anyways, I hope this guide has helped you somewhat. If you have any questions that aren't covered here, then please be free to Private Message me. I'm happy to help.

See you, space cowboys.