[Dischord]

Lesson Ten: The F.A.Q.

Any questions that are posed down in the lower thread, I will attempt to answer. Consider this something of a side FAQ for the rest of the thread.

Q:] What does the term/word _____ mean?

A:] Here's a list to help. If there's something I didn't cover, just tell me via PM, and I'll add it, and add your name to the credits list.

Role-Play: To assume the rule of a character.

RP: Slang for 'Role-Play'

OOC: Out of Character. To be out of character is to speak as the person behind the computer screen.

IC: In Character. To continue, or to begin playing your character.

God Moding: Making a character that is impossible to beat, kill, or best in anything. Any character that is impervious to everything. Any character that seems too godly for their own good.

NPC: Non Playable Character, or, as we D&D players call them, 'Cannon Fodder'. These are characters that are a stable part of your role-play world, but no player may actually take them up. Some characters often switch into NPC mode, if their players have to go offline, or need to run to take care of something. You NPC them until they return.

Storyline/Backstory: Every role-play must have a storyline, or backstory that explains it. This keeps a role-play moving smoothly, more than anything else.

Open RP: A role-play that is open to anyone and everyone who wants to join

Closed RP: These role-plays are usually private, or invitation only. Its rude to post in one of these, and such posts can be considered spam.

Canon Character: This is a character that originates in a genre. Examples are Inu Yasha, Harry Potter, Utena Tenjou. All of these are 'Canon' characters, and are the intellectual property of someone else.

OC: Original Character. These are characters that you yourself create and play. They can be from just about any genre, and are generally pretty fun. Remember though, not all stories need original characters. Some need the canon characters to go anywhere.

Munch/Twink/Sue/Stu: These are all lumped together because they generally mean the same thing. A bad role-player, who is in dire need of improvement.

Q:] Can I link back to this thread?

A:] Sure! Feel free, in fact, I'd love you for it.

Q:] Do you support the AMP?

A:] Er, no. Because I think some of what they define as 'munching' is just fine for certain types of role-play, but not for others. The rules for role-play, and what should and shouldn't be varies from genre to genre. I think as a role-player gets better, they will be able to distinguish what they should and shouldn't do without the AMP. I would recommend beginners add that to their reading list though. For those interested, the AMP is the Anti-Munch Project, and it can be found here.

Q:] I'm not that good with detail, is there anything I can do to improve?

A:] Actually, there is. :3 When you get stuck with detail, I have an almost foolproof writing exercise that will help you out. It's very simple. Find a picture of a still life flower. Use any flower you prefer, you can find some good images by going to google.com, and using the image search. Now, open up a wordpad file, and with the picture of the rose just slightly to the side, begin to describe it. Don't stop until you've reached at least 3 sentences. Use a dictionary, or thesaurus if you need to.

Once a week, do this exercise. Expand by one sentence each time. When you can describe the flower in such detail, that you don't even need to see the picture to know what it looks like. You can read your paragraph, and you know how beautiful the flower is, just by description.

Conclusion & Credits

Well, I've pretty much reached the end of this thing. I will update, and improve it over time, as I can manage to, and as I can think of more, and depending on what kind of feedback I receive from people.

Also, a friendly warning. Please, do not take my role-play advice as the 'absolute' It is just that. Advice. I was lucky enough to have a really good teacher, and have related here to you most of what was told to me when I started learning. If even one person manages to become a better role-player from reading this guide, the twelve hours I put into this, and whatever other time I spend updating it, will be well worth its writing.

Please note something. If you're going to flame me. Or yell at me... please do it with proper grammar, and full sentences, and no leet speak, or AIM speak. If I'm going to be flamed, I at least want to be flamed by someone who can write correctly ******.

And that's the end of it all. I hope you've enjoyed reading!