RP Class Log: Subtle RP
As Taught by Rorgan
Further Editing and Emphasis by Gumbart

You say, "There are enough new people here that I would like to go over some
of the basics of RP (call it my pet peeves list) before I get into a more
complete discussion of what I call "subtle" RP."

You say, "The list: (there's only 4, really)"

You say, "1) NEVER pose doing something to another character directly
without their prior permission. This is especially important with combat RP,
but it does apply to other RP situations as well. If you pose holding a door
open for someone, let that person pose going through it for him or herself.
Pretty simple, really, but I've seen time and time again situations where
the door holder poses the other person going through the door, but then that
person does not. You are free to decide the actions of your character, but
you should always allow everyone else the same freedom."

You say, "2) Many times you will run into situations where YOU know
something your character does not. Please remember that information gleaned
from sources other than RP or 'common knowledge' is not information that
your character knows. The worst instance I have ever seen of this was about
4 years ago, when a Gondorian soldier bowed down before the visiting Ranger
Aragorn (who was in disguise, no less!) and called him "My King!". Just
remember that, although your character may not be dumb, depending on where
he or she is from, they probably don't know everything that you know about
the setting or the Feature Characters or possibly even entire races. Using
information that YOU know with a character who does NOT know it is one quick
and sure way to earn the scorn of the people you depend on to be able to RP
with."

You say, "3) If you want to play a shy character, that's fine, but don't get
upset when everyone else in a room is laughing and having a good time and
ignoring all the poses you make about hanging back in the corner observing.
I've seen far too many people become upset at their cultures for not
providing them with RP opportunities when it's really the character concept
that does not allow the player the interactions they desire. Some of the
most fun people to RP with, for me at least, are those people who play shy
characters that ultimately are not too shy to give in and approach you In
Character. Madness also falls under this category. It can be very tough to
get positive interactions with other characters if your character is insane,
and it's probably best to save your insane character for a time after you
have already established yourself as an active RolePlayer in your culture."

You say, "4) ALWAYS pay attention to the poses going on around you, even if
your character is not. If you do not, you may miss out on something that
will have an effect on your character later."

You say, "This last point is especially important if you are involved in a
RP with someone who uses the more subtle elements of RP on a frequent basis,
and brings me to the first element of subtle RP that I would like to
discuss: the hook."

You say, "A hook is an element used in RP to give other characters the
opportunity to join in the action. A good example of this can be taken from
a situation that seems to happen to my character a lot. My character is
Gondorian, and a frequent sight around Minas Tirith, but he was born and
raised in Rohan, and his physical appearance is much more Rohirric than
Gondorian. However, many Gondorian characters find the Rohir to be a strange
lot who are overly devoted to their horses, and usually, in much the same
way United Statesians make fun of the Canadians, they will make jokes about
Rohirrim or Rohan. Should my character overhear any of these comments, it is
an excellent opportunity for me to place him right at the center of the
action, defending his heritage or making a joke about the strangenesses of
the character who made the joke in the first place."

You say, "Something else you can use as a hook is your IC profession. If
your character has a common trade (besides being a mighty warrior or
important IC person), then many other characters can become involved with
you just by virtue of seeking you out and requesting your services. This
should at least allow the other characters to become involved with you in an
IC manner and will eventually make you all the friends and enemies you need
within your own culture."

You say, "However, for the more established character, especially for the
Feature Characters or others of high IC rank, it becomes increasingly
difficult to openly approach characters that do not hold high enough IC rank
to RP with them. By using hooks and subtle RP, these higher-ranking
characters can work to include more people in the RP surrounding them. Hooks
are one good way to do this. Perhaps mentioning to those you are involved in
RP with that you are expecting a report and then either ordering one of the
lesser characters to go get the information for you or, if they volunteer
OOCly to deliver the roport, paging them the information to come report to
you (perhaps even if they don't respond to the hook). I don't want to start
a lecture about inclusiveness in RP, but we should all keep in mind that
everyone who is a player here SHOULD ultimately be here to RP. Leaving them
an opportunity to join in your RolePlay is considered good form, and should
be encouraged at every level."

You say, "One other element of subtle RP is making an effort to show your
characters hidden attributes such as their thoughts and emotions. Rather
than posing: Rorgan is angry. I might pose: Rorgan whirls on the healer,
eyes ablaze, as his fists clench and unclench spasmodically at his side. It
is important to remember that other characters are not mind-readers and to
keep as much of your character's actual thoughts out of the RolePlay as
possible. Find subtle ways of letting the players around you know what your
character is thinking or feeling by showing them the outward signs of the
thought or emotion and not telling them outright. A rule I learned a long
time ago, which was supposed to apply to the writing of poetry, can also be
applied to your RolePlay to make your character more vibrant and alive:
Avoid naming emotions whenever possible."

You say, "It all boils down to the old advice about writing: Show, don't
tell."

You say, "That concludes my little lecture on subtle RP. Call it subtle RP
101, if you will, because there are even more ways to use subtle RP in every
day situations... People who are good at subtle RP can often experience
coordinated RP stemming from the most mundane of situations. They know how
to leave clues for each other about how they would like for the other
characters around them to react, and how to change the direction the RP is
taking without resorting to +os Hey, let's all go eat at joes!"

Sirion says, "When your posing you should make it so that the person only
sees what is visibly apparent on you. One major problem is that people often
assume that you are a mind-reader. For example: Sirion strides into the bar
in a foul mood cause his wife just left him a Dear John Letter."

Rorgan nods to Sirion, "Everyone does that from time to time, Sirion, and
it's kind of a bad habit."

Maeghan says, "Is there such a thing as describing too much on RP, ie
'showing' too much?"

Rorgan rubs his chin, "Well, there are two schools of thought on this.."

You say, "One says you should include absolutely everything, and the other
says include only what's absolutely necessary."

Maeghan grins, "So we should abide by the addage 'everything in
moderation'?"

Gandalf adds quietly, "As one writer once put it: Don't write the parts that
people skip."

Maeghan says, "would that be a good rule of thumb?"

Rorgan nods, "More or less."

Drolo says, "including all that is necessary is the lazy person's way of
feeling gratified in my opinion."

Barion says, "If Tolkien followed that rule, then he shouldn't have written
about Hobbits. ;)"

Drolo says, "including all that there is, is the high-quality RPers way of
expressing themselves properly, and often times the lazy people dislike
it.."

Gruut says, "I think including everything is fine, as long as the length
say.. does not go over 24 lines :)"

Witch-King says, "But you would need to write a thousand words to express
everything there is, Drolo."

Drolo laughs and says he's wrote a 33-liner

Gudno says, "Quality, not quantity. Write what you need to with as few and
most expressive words as you can."

Rorgan shrugs to Drolo and Witch-King, "There's a time and a place for
everything. Just remember, Drolo, that some people connect with Raw Telnet
and can't scroll back to read the parts they miss."

Bifur says, "I would also note that while you're RPing with folks, time is
passing... a 33 line pose detailing some great stuff is all well and good,
but not if it takes 20 mins to type out. Things are happening in real time"

Drolo says, "all i know is when people only write 2 line poses, because they
think it is 'all that is necessary' it annoys me.."

Shlakhi agrees with Drolo

Barion doesn't think more than 10 lines is needed, unless you are posing an
entrance or something needing equal descriptive wording.

Gudno says, "In almost all instances, you can't fit 'all that is necessary'
in 2 lines."

Nelorn's poses are usually about 4 lines, sometimes less, oftentimes more

Gruut nods.. When I was a newbie, one of the LAs told me to use a 3 line
minimum...It helped me out a lot until I actually learned how to RP :)

Gwaihir says, "But you don't want to stretch something short like 'Yes, yes,
go on with your story' into 10 lines of nothing, either."

Aragorn is on Nominations, and has never seen one person who continually
spammed poses at people get nominated for an FC.

Drolo thinks that everyone who has said something about length and quality
etc.. are correct, and that there is no specific length while RPing..
everyone has differnent typing speeds, imagination, grammer, etc.. and that
affects all RP :)

Rorgan nods. "And subtlety is not about length or shortness, so we need to
get off that subject. It's too divisive to be of any use right now. Beladan,
I believe you have something?"

Beladan says, "I wonder if you have a thought over posing in strict order as
opposed to a more freeform pose as you get it done type approach"

Rorgan grins, "I try to pose when *I'm* ready as opposed to carrying any
strict order. However, like everything else, there are good times to use a
turn order. For instance, it would be polite to wait on someone who is
having connnection problems or who is a slow typist so that they get an
equal chance to RP, but in many situations, it's more realistic not to take
specific turns."

Bifur says, "Just to add to what Rorgan said, pose order can be rather
stifling... that said, in more freeform situations, it is generally
considered good etiquette that if you pose directed at someone in some way
(even subtle ways) that you wait for their response. If you get impatient,
page 'em and ask if they're idle or working on it or what"

Rorgan smiles, "Excelent point, Bifur. And just as a side note, +os can be
blocked by people who don't want to see it (afik), so it is usually better
to actually page (most especially so in a crowded area)."

Keleir says, "Does your rule #1 also apply to NPCs? For example in combat rp
with another culture."

Rorgan smiles, "It should, I think. However, it rarely is, in my
experience."

Gilranel says, "In combat general 7 it says we pose, then use attack
commands, then pose the outcome of our turn... How can that happen without
breaking Rule #1?"

You say, "In practice, what happens is this: You pose your attack. (The CS
says you hit). Your opponent poses taking the hit. You do not decide WHERE
the blow falls, but when it is your pose, you certainly can mention hitting
them where THEY said they were hit in their pose."

Bifur says, "combat general 7 could probably stand to be clarified a bit ;)"

Gudno thinks it's pretty specific.

COMBAT GENERAL7
Doing battle:
        The proper procedure during battle when using the global combat
system is as follows: If there are more than two participants, decide
who will attack first and what order people will go in. Each player
takes a turn in sequence. A turn consists first of one or more says ("),
poses (:), semiposes (;), or @emits or some other roleplaying element.
This is followed by a use of the ATTACK, SHOOT, FLEE, or PASS commands.
Finally the player again uses says, pose, or semipose one or more times
to roleplay the outcome of their turn. The turn then passes to the next
player. You should conclude your turn by informing the next player (via
page or some other OOC method) that it is his/her turn.
        When there are only two participants, one can often be a little
less formalistic about this procedure. Just remember that it is
important that every player in the encounter feels like they have a
chance to roleplay suitably without being interrupted and they get a
fair number of turns in which to do so.

Maeghan says, "I think that an example perhaps of how that combat rule fits
into what Rorg's Rule #1 is something like 'JoeBobSoldiar hollars, "FOR
GONDOR!", and swings his sword, aiming to lop off his JoeGreenOrc's head'"

Maeghan says, "Then you do the CS command"

Maeghan says, "And depending on what it 'did' JoeGreenOrc poses his
reaction..."

Maeghan says, "at least that is how I have always viewed it, the pose for
the CS is more of an 'where he aimed' as opposed to a result"

Maeghan says, "Thus you try to do something, but don't actually do it"

Maeghan blushes and hasn't battled in ages so she could be wrong, but that
is how she has interpreted it

Tara says, "You mean with sword, dont you dear? =)"

Rorgan nods, "That is how it is practiced, yes."

Maeghan grins, "Something like that yes"

Rorgan thinks that we've drifted far enough from the subject, "Class
dismissed."