Three different styles of play but eventually one or more finds itself face to face with the other. I cannot tell you how many times I have had a PvM’er or a PvP’er ask me how they are supposed to respond to an emote of “Smiles”?

It’s a simple process, an emote. The idea is basically signifying an action between one toon and another. One character and another. And emotes are the bread and butter of rp. If you think about it, emoting a “smiles” is really not that different from saying Hi. And so the question comes up, “Well, why didn’t they just say that?” You could ask why politicians lie or why the sky is blue. The answer is that’s them.

The right response to, “smiles” is to either plant your colon and smile back: Or to be you and just say Hi. Chances are the roleplayer will follow that up with: “With her head tilted, brushes a strand of hair back.” Okay. They are giving you a clear mental image of what it is they are doing. If you take the time to open the paperdoll’s description then chances are you will have a good idea of what the character they conceived is supposed to look like. For example you may find that the strand of hair they just brushed back is dirty blond and frays at the edges as if its been sheared a few too many times.

We are trying to paint you a mental image: Roleplayer’s tend to use emotes in any and all situations. That includes everything from a dungeon crawl to an EM event. Imagination is what this game was built on no matter which template or style you gravitate towards. Rp’ers just take it one step further. As I said earlier, we understand not everyone does what we do so when you don’t emote, “takes a step to the side as if moving out of the way.” Then we get it. There is absolutely no reason why we, those with different game purposes, can’t coexist and intermingle on a regular basis. And in fact that is part of the great divide.

A conversation with a Fellow Rp’er and reporter alerted me to a fact I had not taken into consideration: “Most people don’t become an rp’er without having been introduced to someone who didn’t break character.” Non rp-er’s and rp’ers tend to stay separate partly because they aren’t aware of each other and partly because it actually takes a moment to integrate the two syles. It’s not hard, it’s not overly time consuming, but you do have to stop and think. Roleplaying is our way of telling a story. Some of us incorporate actual written pieces into this on Stratics and other forums, some don’t. Point being, once exposed to roleplay, those who haven’t done it before are sometimes known to take a step inside our world. Haven, tavern nights, and various events, work well in acting as our wading pool for rp.

Come tomorrow, I would go through the motions of finishing the scene. As me, I knew that all I had to do was go through the hedges and across the street to the Big Wheel where April awaited me to free her. As She’ra, I had to navigate my way through treacherous snakes, find a way around the horde and pass through various barriers before I could ever reach the mechanical monster holding Glimmer.

This is the difference between In Character and Out Of Character. While the name of the game is different the rules are still the same. What I know as the player, and what I know as the pixel are two very different things. I would love to tell you that this is Roleplaying 101. But the honesty is that even seasoned veterans have issues with this sometimes. Knowing what information you can use In Character and what information you cannot is partly common sense and part deduction and sometimes, its storyline based. This is also a line, that if you cross when you shouldn’t you risk an absolute no’s in roleplaying: Metagaming.

In the purest sense Metagaming is using information you have Out of Character to influence things In Character without prior permission from the player you are roleplaying with. Let’s say this together, “Roleplaying is an interactive sport”. That means that you need someone else on the other end doing the same thing to keep it going. Yes, you can play make believe at your forge all by your lonesome. I’ve done it and it’s what I go back to when I need peace and quiet. But that isn’t what Roleplaying is about.

So that begs the question, what do I know and what don’t I know In Character. This is one of those times when you start asking yourself questions just like you did when you set your character up to begin with. Instead of asking, “Where was I born?” you take whatever piece of information you are wrestling with and put that into the equation. So the question becomes, “Did I witness something first hand?”

An example of this is where you know that a neighboring enemy is going to march on someone. This could be your city, this could be your best friend’s city. Warning your fellow players In Character may sound great but unless you either overheard the conversation AS YOUR CHARACTER or were the one Directly informed and let go to deliver the message then you pretty much just have to wait for the oncoming slaughter. The tricky part here comes with the fact you’re going to want to warn your fellow players on an OOC level too. At which point that makes all of you responsible for keeping it In Character.

I had a moment recently, where I failed at this. We’ve all seen the tags above our names and the rule of IC vs. OOC is that you can’t use that tag in rp. To do so is metagaming as well. This was an enemy guild member who had come to speak to me. They weren’t in human form and the correct thing to do was to play this out as just another stray animal. I took note of it instead as something out of place in my household. This is a prime example where the hope is that others learn from my mistakes. Rule of thumb in rp: If it’s in animal form your character really shouldn’t be able to detect a difference. If it looks like a wolf you rp it as one. If it looks like a bear, you rp it as something that will eat your food and poop in the woods. Additionally this also means though that if you have the rp to back up killing a bear in your vicinity, that your fellow rp’er should understand when you shoot first and not ask any form of question.

Most of us can at least name one instance when IC vs. OOC was an issue as such, you are invited to do so.

We’ve all done it. You see a character come across the screen and you mouse over them to see what guild they are and what title. While you can’t rp’ly act on what you see it helps to know what and who you are dealing with going into any possible confrontations or discussions. You can’t immediately shun them if you’ve never met in game and you can’t run up and spread the love with hugs galore either unless the same has occurred. The guild signature and titles simply allow for a group association. An example of where this is necessary is in an rp/pvp situation where a res kill and/or looting takes place. (For those who aren’t aware, which means you live under a rock in Ultima: Res kill is just that. It’s where you are revived long enough for your opponent to kill you once more. This is a no no in an rp/pvp confrontation. And looting, is obvious but again it is also a no no in an rp/pvp situation.)

So you are at the spot where you mouse over an oncoming pixel person and you see the guild signature [+A+]. This, on the Atlantic Circuit, is the symbol for Ashencrosse. What follows ranges from logical to hysterically funny and gives each guild the chance to express themselves. This is a great way to let outsiders know just a little bit about the characters they are dealing with in an rp environment. For example: Cezanne Abella, (A friend) who is a member of Ashencrosse has the title of Spirit of the Wild. This sums up quite a bit about this particular character in a few minor words. She’s breezy, sweet and leaves a feather touch you tend to remember. Rowan ab’Arawn of Stonegate has the title of Chaotic Princess. That in a nutshell sums up exactly what you’re going to get out of her attitude. Privledged, random and haughty.

Guild titles can demonstrate rank, sphere of influence or even racial qualities. House of Draven for example denotes their inner stations in their guild titles. Members of Baja Roleplaying Alliance cover the gambit from titles of what station to what race. One of the best things, in my opinion, about BRPA is the freedom of title choice. It is both inviting and unique.

The point being that this is a small tool with endless possibilities in the role playing community. Tiny details like this can enhance the interaction. Even EM’s and the wonderful Mesanna are subject to titles we use. They just may not know about them.

I do recall the first day I started playing; I was immediately thrown into role-play by some friends of mine. To say I felt scared and awkward is putting it mildly.  A few weeks in I was still rather silent and trying not to speak too much. I admit I felt overwhelmed, then again I was also learning how to play this Ultima Online at the same time.  Thinking back on this experience it made me remember all the things I worried about when I first started Role-playing. I realized that there may be many out there that worry just as I did and therefore don’t give it a try. So drawing from my own experience, but also wanting a good general view I asked for the knowledge and wisdom of other current Roleplayers from across the shards. Here is what I have heard from them and in meeting new people personally the most.

Top Role-Play Myths:

They all talk funny, saying Thee and Thou and stuff. I don’t want to speak that way, that’s not who I am.

So many people wrote into me about this one. First off I want to say, talking a particular way, such as Thee and Thou and Thy is not necessary. While some but not all, role-play groups have their own way of talking, thee or thou is up to the individual’s choice. I have never seen a requirement that says you must speak this way to join us. What I want those considering role-play to understand is that your character is your character, they do not have to have an accent, and they do not have to speak in any certain way. The only thing asked is that abbreviations aren’t used like LOL.

(-TY Family Guy for the line..)

If you Role-play, you have to be in character all the time, in game, or even out of game whenever you speak to other Role-players.

Not only is that not expected, but frankly, sounds a bit exhausting. How much and when you role-play depends on two things, When you want to, and when the guild or shard your on, typically does. Overall, Ultima is a game; there are certain game mechanics that require that when you go on a hunt you have to bring certain types of characters to fight with. This often leads to a group of hunting parties that are not role-playing,  just heading out to have fun. In Chats like ICQ, UO chat or on Forums we converse like I am right now. There are a few exceptions when a forum is marked Role-play only but it is easily identifiable.

I am afraid people will laugh at me or not take me seriously.

The Core of Role-play is being receptive and open to new ideas. If you are new and trying to learn then we want you here. I can’t promise you that there won’t be one jerk or person, who is judgmental, that’s life. (Let me know where he/she lives and I will hunt him down. Just teasing!) However I can promise you this, there’s a lot more people that want you here, who get excited that you have come, and that want you to stay. There are many out there who will teach and help you learn. Just be reasonable, take it slow and observe how others are around you.

Why I Recommend Giving Role-Play a Shot!

Friends. Through Role-play, I have made so many friends; some of them have become lifelong relationships. I have gotten to know so many great people. It is exciting to see what a group of creative and imaginative people can do together.

Reporters Log: I would like to thank the many people who contributed and gave me their opinions regarding these role-play myths. By no means can I cover them all, just some of the top ones, if you have anything to add please do!

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