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  1. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    Roleplaying FAQ | Walkthrough

    Discussion in 'Archive' started by Oasis Writer, Jul 7, 2008.

    Roleplaying FAQ/Walkthrough
    Version 2.11
    Copyright: Devon Kingland 2008, Oasis Writer


    ==============================================================================
    0. TABLE OF CONTENTS
    ==============================================================================

    1. INTRODUCTION
    -Author’s Note

    2. TERMS
    -Common Terms in Roleplaying

    3. GAMEMASTER WALKTHROUGH
    -Act 1 – Preparation
    -Act 2 – Rough Draft
    -Act 3 – The Product
    -Act 4 – Controlling the Project
    -Act 5 – Completing the Project

    4. ROLEPLAYER WALKTHROUGH
    -Act 1 – Finding the Right Game
    -Act 2 – Living by the Rules
    -Act 3 – Creating a Character
    -Act 4 – Keeping to the Basics
    -Act 5 – The End

    5. CARDINAL RULES FOR GAMEMASTERING
    -Cardinal Rules List

    6. FOX LAWS FOR ROLEPLAYING
    -Fox Laws List

    7. EXTRA
    -Coding
    -Templates
    -Special Systems

    8. FAQ EXCREMENT


    ==============================================================================
    Thread will be updated regularly as more is written.
    Version 2.11

    ==============================================================================
     
  2. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    1. Introduction

    ==============================================================================
    1. INTRODUCTION
    ==============================================================================

    This FAQ and Walkthrough is meant to be very simple and easy to follow for the new and average roleplayer. While it may repeat itself in several points, it’s used merely to show importance. Since this is a writing site, I can come to the assumption that the reader is a writer as well, so I will not tell you how to write properly, or what to write. You should be able to do that by yourself. The walkthrough is used more for showing you how to make the game, how to jump into a game, and other tidbits that often are used in every game.

    To begin, the FAQ|WT consists of common words that will be used throughout your roleplaying experience. Note that there are many other words out there. These are merely common ones you will want to know. Soon after the terms beings the "Gamemaster Walkthrough." Here, you can learn how to be a create the game, control it, and end it with a bang. There are multiple ways of doing so, but these ways should help the first timer. After, there is a "Rolepayers Walkthrough." This is used to help people become a roleplayer, or to become a better one.

    Thereafter, you have the Cardinal Rules and Fox Laws of Roleplaying. They are good notes to keep in mind when running through the whole process of roleplaying.

    The Extras section will contain little hints, gimmicks, and specials that you can use in your games. They will be listed properly as posted.

    If you happen to run into a part you don't understand, or would like clarification, please message me. I will explain it to better suit you. I appreciate you taking the time to read through this massive FAQ. Feel free to respond to it however you would like to in the Oasis Productions thread in the RPG Discussion thread. Rep me if you please.

    Thank you, and have a wonderful roleplaying experience.
     
  3. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    2. Terms

    ==============================================================================
    2. TERMS
    ==============================================================================

    THE THOUGHT
    -------------------------
    There are a lot of terms in roleplaying that can be very difficult at first to understand. Many of which are common words that are being used in a way that can be intimidating towards people. Let’s go over a few of these common terms.


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    COMMON TERMS IN ROLEPLAYING
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    WRITTEN ROLEPLAY -- The act of writing as someone else in a different writing world with a community of people to create a story. These types of exercises help writers because better at their art and help communication skills between writers, which often doesn’t happen when they are working on their own pieces because it is self-written.

    ROLEPLAYERS -- Writers or members that are helping write the story.

    RPG -- Roleplaying Game.

    OOC -- Out-of-Character.

    THREAD -- Where the story is contained.

    POST -- Peoples replies.

    ACTIVE STORIES -- Alive stories that are being written on many times a day. These are the games that often make the roleplaying experience much better, and builds writing skills.

    DEAD THREAD -- These are dead stories, or dying stories. They often die out due to lack of interest, unorganized stories, plot holes, or poor gamemastery. These stories often go without endings and are very hard to revive.

    CREATIVELY CONTROLLING CHAOS -- Roleplaying is a very hard type of writing, merely because of how many people can be writing at once, and how many times the plot or storyline may be changed by how people move along the story. Creatively Controlling Chaos is a Cardinal Role that the gamemaster must practice to make sure the story is always going forward and doesn’t get stuck, lost, or killed.

    REALISM -- Staying in character, much like an actor, for a story.

    COMMUNICATION -- Talking with other characters to create a scene that has no plot holes and progresses the story to its ultimate destination.

    ONE-LINERS -- A short post, often not leaving enough for the next writer to continue off, which makes it difficult to progress the story on.

    GAMEMASTER -- The creator, or leader of the story. This person is responsible for making sure the story continues in a clean fashion to the end of the story. When the creator, this person must create the universe that the other writers, or roleplayers, the plot, protagonists and antagonists, storyline, and the ending.

    POOR GAMEMASTERY -- The act of giving up on a story the person created. This results in less activity in later games and can often lead to more failing stories. To avoid this, one must work hard to make sure the story is always progressing, with interesting plot twists, and minimal plot holes that can be avoided by making sure there is creatively controlling chaos in one’s story.

    SETTING -- The world that was created by the gamemaster.

    PLOT -- The conflict in the story, often created by the gamemaster. As the story continues, the plot often will change, or thicken into several things that can be fun, or devastating to the story if not controlled minimally.

    PROTAGONIST -- The person the story is ultimately surrounded upon. They do not have to be ‘good guys.’

    ANTAGONIST -- The person, or persons, against the protagonist.

    STORYLINE -- The main story behind the game. This is usually created by the gamemaster, and often changes throughout the story, though it is important to keep the storyline somewhat the same as it began, to avoid confusion in the story.

    PLOT HOLES -- A point in the story where something is incorrect or missing that causes the storyline to become very confusing, or destroyed the twist or ending of the story. This is a very bad, and often difficult thing to fix if not dealt with early one, due to the fact that other roleplayers confusion may thicken the plot hole, if they continue to use it as their main text for the story. Plot holes often lead to poor story development, failing stories, or lack of interest for the players, which causes dead threads.

    PLOT TWISTS -- These are the fun little tidbits that the gamemaster creates to make fun turns in the story, whether it be something big or little. These can be hazardous if not carefully thought up, though can be corrected very easily. This is also referred to as “The Twist.”

    SYSTEM CONTROL -- The crazy machine that runs your game. There are multiple systems that can be used in one written roleplay, though many gamemasters only use one. Some examples of systems are “Mission Based,” “Time Limit,” or “Progressive Control.” More systems will be described throughout the FAQ.

    NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTERS -- These are players that are played by the gamemaster. There may be one, which is the main focus of the story, or several that have little parts in the story to help the story develop. Most non-playable characters are leaders that help the story develop and continue. This is used to keep control over both the protagonists and antagonists of the story.

    CHARACTER TEMPLATE -- This is the sheet that other roleplayers fill out to create their character. Most of the time, the gamemaster will create this by themselves, though they usually follow along the same generic template. That will be explained later. This is often called “the template.”

    NON-PLAYABLE CHARACTER TEMPLATES -- When using non-playable characters, it may be helpful to have some sort of template for them. This helps the gamemaster remember who that character is, and the roleplayers know who they are dealing with. This does not have to be as complex as the character template you make, and is not always needed, or required.

    BACK-STORY -- This is the text that covers everything before the beginning of the game. This can be a history of the land, the people, the antagonists, or to be honest, anything the gamemaster wants. This is not always required for the story, and can often be skipped.

    REFERENCES -- Most of the time, this is only needed if you have a very complex character template. If your land as multiple languages, races, a complex government, or any other thing that might need clarifying for the story to progress. References can also be the templates for non-playable characters, items, machines, beings, or how things might work for anything that needs describing.

    DRAMATIS PERSONAE -- A common phrase used by Oasis Writer that contains the location of all the characters in the story. This can be named anything you want, and can contain any information that you want to give. It is often placed in the first post of the thread.

    COLOR-CODED TEXT -- This is the text the gamemaster uses to tell the roleplayers of important details. The color scheme can be anything the gamemaster wants. It is common to have missions or important information to be in red. Non-playable characters are often color-coded to separate them from other roles, and to keep from confusion.

    THE RULES -- These are the laws and regulations that the gamemaster makes to help keep creative controlled chaos over the game. When a rule is broken, it is considered an “Illegal Move,” which may result in the post being deleted by the moderator. Major offenses, such as flaming or god-moding, will have the character deleted from the RPG completely.

    FLAMING -- Attacking, name-calling, fighting, or insulting other members of the forum deliberately to hurt someone else’s feelings. This is both ruled against on the website, RPG Forums, and all games. Any posts that can be considered flaming should be reported. They will be dealt with by a moderator. Flaming will result in the post being deleted, and the person being contacted by a moderator. If it continues or if the person has multiple offenses, the member may be temporarily banned from the website. Flaming, insulting, or attacking other members will not be tolerated.

    ILLEGAL MOVE -- When a roleplayer goes against the rules set up by the gamemaster.

    GOD-MODING -- This is a step higher than illegal moves. This is where a roleplayer changes the storyline completely from what the gamemaster said. This can be anywhere from killing off another character, or by making themselves invincible in the story. God-Moding may resort to the roleplayer being deleted from the story by the Moderator.
     
  4. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    3. Gamemaster Walkthrough

    ==============================================================================
    3. GAMEMASTER WALKTHROUGH
    ==============================================================================

    THE THOUGHT
    -------------------------
    Let’s say you went to sleep one night, thinking about writing, but nothing came. Dramatically, you toss and turn in bed, turning this thought into something that could only be made into a story if you had help, but you’re stubborn. You want to write it. You want to create this masterpiece. You got this.

    However, you awake that morning to realize that this story is far to large for you. There is too many plot twists, there are too many characters, too many thoughts, too many personalities, and you can’t write this alone.

    It then occurs to you: the RPG Forum.
     
  5. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    3. Gamemaster Walkthrough - ACT 1 - Preparation

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 1 – Preparation
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    After logging onto your computer and opening up the Word Processor of your choice, you stare at the blank screen for a few moments, noticing that words aren’t just appearing like you would like them.

    Where do you start?

    What do you type?

    How can you make this original, instead of something that has already been done several times over?

    After running around in circles on the internet, looking for good starts, you finally find an FAQ that might help. Wonderful. After reading it, you still have no idea what you’re doing. That’s probably because you haven’t gotten past this point right here.

    When preparing an RPG, you first need to know a few little aspects of what you’re doing. They are small, but vital. It’s the Cardinal Rules of Gamemastering.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER ONE (CRN01)
    -------------------------
    The Big Six: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How

    When you approach the rough draft version of your project, you need to know just a few little things before you can immediately start. They are simple, and sometimes very tricky, and break down into multiple branches very quickly. Pretty soon, you have your “Who” forking off into forty-three different directions, and you need to find a way to keep control over all of this. Let’s go through the cardinal rule before continuing through the preparation.

    WHO
    -------------------------
    “Who” can be either very simple, or very hard, depending on what the writer is trying to do. Often times, people will simplify the “who” into just saying “characters” and leave it to the other members to decide how it will work out. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but can often lead to unpredictability of the project and can cause problems later on that can be harder to stop without the RPG being destroyed.

    When answering this question in the preparation act, try to figure out the simple things first. Answer the following questions to help sort through your thoughts. These questions can help you write your plot, storyline, and get a general idea of where you want the story to go. The questions don’t have to start with who to have it be focused on who it is going to happen to.

    1) Who is the story focused on?
    2) Who will play that part?
    3) How many groups are in the story?
    4) How many people are you requiring before the story can start?
    5) Are you playing only one role?
    6) Are you the focus of the story?
    7) Is the Game-Master’s character the lead in the story?
    8) Is the Game-Master’s character a completely different character from the main focus of the story?
    9) Is your character template been thought of?
    10) Are there non-playable characters?
    11) Who plays the non-playable characters?
    12) Who are you in the story?
    13) Who are your players?
    14) Are your players leading roles that control big groups?
    15) Is there someone in the game that is considered “The Twist.”
    16) Do they know their role?
    17) Does everyone know their role?


    WHAT
    -------------------------
    “What” is usually the simplest of all the questions to answer. This is what the story is, what you want it to do, and what you want the outcome to be. Usually, the gamemaster already has this in their mind from the beginning. Most of the time, the “what” is distributed throughout the other questions, since it is the most generic of the questions.

    When answering this question in the preparation act, try to figure out the simple things first. Answer the following questions to help sort through your thoughts. These questions will make sure you have the general things of your story thought out and might make writing the plot and storyline a lot easier when in your mind. Some of these questions may be too hard to answer right away. Don’t worry though. You’ll understand better later through the walkthrough.


    1) What is the point of this game?
    2) What is the story based on?
    3) What kind of story is this?
    4) What kind of plot are you thinking about?
    5) What kind of twists are you going to put in the game?
    6) What system are you going to use?
    7) What kind of ending will you have?
    8) Will there be a sequel?


    WHEN
    -------------------------
    “When” is a complex question, since things change so fast. There aren’t many questions to ask yourself, or answer, due to how random life can be. Just remember to keep them in mind so you can make sure that your story gets the ending you want it to have.

    When answering this question in the preparation act, try to figure out the simple things first. Answer the following questions to help sort through your thoughts. Remember that life has it’s random points and these may change, just like every other question asked.

    1) When will the story begin?
    2) When will the story end?
    3) When will the game have it’s first plot twist?
    4) When will you implement different systems, or the same system again?


    WHERE
    -------------------------
    “Where” helps create your setting. This is very important, because without the “where,” you have no place to write.

    When answering this question in the preparation act, try to figure out the simple things first. Answer the following questions to help sort through your thoughts. Sometimes drawing maps to yourself, or for the players can help you make things simpler, so everyone knows the major areas, and doesn’t start creating lands that do not exist. When creating a new land in a fantasy, it is very helpful to create races and species to choose from and where they are generally located. This helps control god-moding and other unfair aspects.

    1) Where is this taking place?
    2) Will you have to create a map?
    3) If this is a fantasy, or takes place on a created map, does it have species or races that need to be generated?
    4) Where in the map will your main story take place?
    5) Is it important to give details on other lands, if you will not be on those parts of the map?


    WHY
    -------------------------
    “Why” is one of the harder questions, because this one will have no direct questions to answer. You will just have to remember to ask, “Why?” every time you make a very big decision in the story. This helps make sure you are making something that will be remembered and fun. Don’t make it a chore though. While having everything planned out may help you with the story, it will also make things harder on you when things don’t go that way. Roleplays often change direction as the game goes on. Ask this question whenever needed to double check and make sure things don’t go array.


    HOW
    -------------------------
    “How” is the question that requires a lot of writing. This is where the work really begins. You will no longer be asking questions that may help your thought. You are now asking the question that will be your rough draft. Some questions are as followed.

    1) How am I going to present this?
    2) How am I going to organize this?
    3) How many groups are in the story?
    4) How many people are you requiring before the story can start?
    5) How am I going to begin the story?
    6) How am I going to end it?
     
  6. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    3. Gamemaster Walkthrough - ACT 2 - Rough Draft

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 2 – Rough Draft
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    You’ve gone through all those crazy questions, and now are at the point where your brain is about to explode. What once was just a simple idea has been changed into something very difficult. What about this? What about that? Too many things to think about now, and why? You just wanted to start this story and have it become successful. Well, as difficult as it may be now, I can assure you that it will now become simpler, or at least, we can always hope.

    When you begin to write up your rough draft, there are a lot of things you have to cover and make sure are in there before you can start to call it a finished product, and post it. You have to make sure to cover all the basics, get in the important information, make sure all your references are there, your templates are there, the back-story is there, if needing one, and then the beginning of the roleplaying game.

    Don’t worry. We’ll work step by step to solve all of these little things.

    Don’t worry about organizing all of this right away. We will get to that later on. Right now, let’s just get some of this stuff written up. Some good ways to do this is open several word processing pages and making it’s own section for each of these areas. Then, when it comes time to organize, copy and paste them, color-code, indent, bold, and all that jazz, and then post it up. However, like I said, let’s get to that later.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWO (CRN02)
    -------------------------
    Establishment: The Setting

    You want to first establish the setting. You want to tell the other roleplayers the important things to know about the setting. This can be done a variety of ways, such as drawing a map, describing the climate of regions, or directing them to a site that may have it already created. Let’s break this down a little further on ways to describe the setting.

    MAPS
    -------------------------
    This can sometimes be the most complicated part of the story, because not everyone is an artist, and not everyone has a whole map drawn out in their minds. You do not have to be completely accurate though. If this is your favorite part, then do it. Be as detailed as you want. Draw the trees if you must. Make sure to label important things, such as forests, mountains, capitals, towns, and rivers. You won’t necessarily need to write about where things are, obviously, if you have drawn a map. However, it is helpful to tell them anyways in brief words, merely because sometimes, people can’t read that small type or handwriting.

    If you decide to make a map, make sure that you scan it to the computer, or save it as a file that can be saved on a file-sharing website, such as Photobucket. That way, you can copy the url and post it on the website so people can see it. It does no good to draw a map for others and hang it on your fridge.

    THE DESCRIPTION WAY
    -------------------------
    Sometimes the easiest, and most common way. All you do is describe the area. Tell them how big it is, if it’s a continent or a city, and major points in the story that will be important. Most of the time, you will only have to explain the area in the beginning of the story, because you can create and expand on the world at a later time. Since it’s your world, no one else needs to really know. Just make sure to let them know eventually. It gets very frustrating to have to refer to home as that place over there, instead of saying some name you created for them.


    REAL-LIFE LOCATIONS
    -------------------------
    Whenever using locations that really do exist, such as New York City, or Japan, make sure to tell the players where in those locations you are. Just saying, “We’re in the States,” and leaving it at that can be very difficult to write about, since you may be thinking Chicago, and everyone may be thinking you meant Miami. Maybe leave maps floating around, or pictures of the area.

    After you have decided what kind of way you want to present your setting, it is time to work on telling the roleplayers what kind of game you have created. There are several ways to do this. You can do this multiple ways. If you are cataloging things in separate paragraphs, make one that says “Genre” and “Focus” or any other variation of words you decide to use.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER THREE (CRN03)
    -------------------------
    Establishment: The Genre and Focus

    Simple enough: What kind of game is this? Are you making a fantasy? Is this some wayward sci-fi that has multiple endings? Is this a game of cops and robbers, or maybe a survival? This is the time to put it. There are many ways to explain this. You may make categories for this, or maybe post it in the Rules section. It’s important to make sure the focus of the story is very clear for everyone. If you have a survival game going on, you don’t want people god-moding and just destroying everything if that’s not capable of happening.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER FOUR (CRN04)
    -------------------------
    Establishment: The Rules

    These are the most important tools the gamemaster can use to keep control over their game. These are the laws, the commandments, the things that make people go, “Oh, come on! I just wanted to do a little bit of this, but no!!!” Yes, sometimes these can be a real downer for players, but they are very important to have. Most of the time, they are generally very generic and repetitive from game to game. This is common because we all want the same thing: a good game that everyone can play.

    Make sure that when writing your rules, you keep in mind all of the things that are very important to your game. You want to cover all the big things and make pointers of the little ones.

    It is sometimes common to see the specs of the game also posted in the game, as well as limitations on character development, or other references. For the purpose of this FAQ, we will not combine Cardinal Rules. We will make the Rules section different from the Specs and References.

    Most of the rules you will create will be based off of what you expect from the game. It’s common to see, “No God-Moding,” “The Gamemasters words are law,” and “All questions should be directed to myself.” Do not feel like you are repeating rules if you see them in other games. It’s important to put them, because there will always be that one player that will go, “I don’t see that rule,” if you try to tell them they might have done something wrong, like God-moding.

    Cover yourself.

    In this section, it’s also good to put limitations on what a character can do. Most of the time, everyone knows what to expect, and won’t need to read them, but if you have a game that can only have human characters, but the story is a fantasy, some people may create themselves as an witch. If you don’t put “Only humans,” it is not their fault for making themselves a witch.

    You don’t have to treat the other roleplayers like a baby, and carry them through the whole story, but you do need to make sure they know. The more informed the players, the better the story.

    The generic list of rules are below.

    RULES
    -------------------------
    1) Write the next part of the story.
    2) No controlling other characters
    3) First Post: Character Template
    4) No invincibility
    5) Continue from the last post
    6) All questions should be directed to the gamemaster
    7) Communicate
    8) Length Rule: No one-liners, short posts, or too long of posts. (Make the limits. Often enough, we try to avoid very short posts, or extremely long posts. This will be explained later.)
    9) All posts must progress the storyline.
    10) Read all posts (or the last post well enough to keep the story flowing without plot holes.)
    11) No killing off other characters.
    12) Those that leave are welcome to come back. (Edit this to fit the story. If they leave, will you make them non-playable characters, or will you kill them off?)
    13) FLAMING, INSULTING, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF HARSHNESS THAT IS DELIBERATELY USED TO HURT SOMEONE ELSE’S FEELINGS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AT ALL, NOR ACCEPTED ANYWHERE ELSE AROUND THE FORUM.
    14) Edit before posting.
    15) NO GOD-MODING.
    16) Do not control other characters unless given consent.
    17) Discuss issues in Discussion Thread.
    18) Gamemaster’s word is law.

    Most of the time, people will add and subtract what they want from this list of rules. Feel free to use the generic list.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER FIVE (CRN05)
    -------------------------
    Establishment: References and Specs

    References and Specs are the little things in the games that are used to tell the players what’s going on, and how things run in your game. Often, they can put aside in
    boxes in separate posts. Things that are considered References are Governing Positions, Weapons in the world, Races and Languages, Powers, and Advancements in Technology or Skills. Specs can be anything along the lines of just listing out different things like the setting, more rules, important notes from the gamemaster, or limitations like “How many Weapons can be used” or “how many powers you can have.”

    It’s good to make sure you put this in it’s own spot so people can look at them. References should all be separated into it’s own bracket or category. Most references are used throughout the story, so it’s good to make them in the first post, or in one of the first posts in the Discussion thread, which we will go over later.

    Specs can often, and usually are, be blended into the rules section.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER SIX (CRN06)
    -------------------------
    Establishment: Character Templates

    This can be very difficult or very easy depending on the kind of story you want to make, how you decide to make things. All Character Templates often look the same in the beginning. They will usually ask you for a Name, Age, Gender, and Description. The most generic templates are just those four things.

    While being very generic is okay, it often can be a very bad thing. This section is more for your roleplayers than it is for you. You want them to know their character. You want them to be able to actually see that character and be able to feel them and know them like they were real. The more you put into this, the more that comes out in your RPG. Instead of getting someone that just has a name, you have a person that was in the army for four years, knows Judo, and had a rough past. We want to know this. We want to be able to look back and remember characters, but the only way to do this is to make sure everyone knows who that person is. Of course, they can always describe more in-depth in the text, but we want them to at least have something to reference to, right?

    A generic template is directly below. We want to make sure to point out the important details in your templates. A good resource to make a template easier to read is to create it, and then in your main text, surround it by
     
  7. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    3. Gamemaster Walkthrough - ACT 3 - The Product

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 3 – The Product
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    By this point, you have gone through repetitive questions, sorted through what you want, and made several different documents of things you’ll need for a well organized game, but now what? What are you suppose to do with all that jumble of stuff that can get very intimidating to look? This is what we are going to work through in this act.

    Now that we have all your rules, templates, maps and setting, focus and genre, and storylines ready to go, let’s work through a few steps on how to organize all of that into a lean-mean-successful-roleplaying-mechanics.

    First, we’re going to want to sort the documents, or items in the word processor around so we can see what we’re looking at. If you know how to run word documents well, you could easier set up a Document Map of important information, or use Frames to create several different layouts from left to right.

    However, we’re going to use the plain and simple way.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER ELEVEN (CRN11)
    -------------------------
    Sorting Through the Document

    First of all, we want to find where everything is. You should have at the bare minimum, three sections: Rules and Specs, a Character Template, and Story. Maximum, you could have more than ten. We want to make sure that we have separated each of these parts by using some of the features the website have given us.


    TEXT EFFECTS
    -------------------------
    There are six main effects that you can do to your text: Bold, Italicize, Underline, Colored Font Change Fonts, and Change Font Size. This will probably be the tool that you will use the most often, and the one that you will see used the most. This is also one of the biggest range of effects that you can use from the others on the website, since this one can be spliced into so many different things.

    First of all, try to make all important things, such as titles to your sections (IE: Rules and Regulations, The Storyline, etcetera) in bold and a little bigger than the rest of the text. You want to be able to notice that it is an important section, and separated from the rest.

    After making the slight changes to titles, it is often good to run through the fonts and see which one you like the most. Try to be reasonable. Courier New, Arial, and Times New Roman are general fonts that read on most all computers, and are generally very easy on the eyes. Using weird fonts can become frustrating, and takes away from professionalism.

    Bold important information, underline the most, and toy with tools until you have organized something very special.

    Example:

    Personal Introduction

    Name: (Last, First, Middle)
    Notable Aliases: (Nickname)
    Age: (Reasonable age)
    Gender: (Male or Female)
    Birth Place: (Town, State, Country)
    Hometown: (Where you currently live)
    Race: (Be reasonable)
    Language: (Everyone should be able to speak English, for the purpose of this exercise. If you speak others, it’s fine.)
    Family:
    Parents: (Or Guardians)
    Siblings: (Brothers and Sisters)
    Spouse: (Husband or Wife)
    Descendants: (Children)


    ALIGNMENT EFFECTS
    -------------------------
    The alignment of the text has three different functions: left, right, and center. You will use them only minimally. Try to make sure titles are nicely colored, big, and centered to break away from all the left aligned text. This will give an emphasis on the title and the game.

    Keep all important details easy to read, bolded, left align.

    Most of this is very personalized, so go through it and find something that will work the best with you.


    LIST EFFECTS
    -------------------------
    There are two functions for the list effects: numbers and bullets. Both can be very helpful when listing out rules, locations, or trying to break apart text with an indented bullet.

    [Important Note] List Effects will have to be added manually on the site. They will not copy over to the site from word processors often without mistakes. It’s better to use it in the Advanced Post Window.


    INDENT EFFECTS
    -------------------------
    There are two effects for the indent: decrease and increases. They can be used when trying to make a second bullet on another or indenting text. To use it, go to the beginning of the text and press the arrow pointing right. It will increase it. Press the one pointed left to decrease.

    [Important Note] Indent Effects will have no effect copied over from word processors. It’s often better to put an [Enter] after every paragraph to break apart the text. The computer does not recognize the function and will not copy over indents.

    After you have got the text for each of the sections made up and looking pretty, it’s time to figure out what order to put them in. This can be done a multiple amount of ways, and to be honest, there are no wrong ways. Have fun with it. Keep it fresh and original. The next rule is merely just a refresher on professionalism. It will help you keep in mind what you need when organizing.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWELVE (CRN12)
    -------------------------
    Professionalism

    Like said before, you want to keep things fresh, but you want to make sure you look professional while doing it. You don’t go to a high-class interview in swim-trunks. You go in a nice shirt or blouse and dress pants. It makes you look the job, and that’s what we want you to do. We want you to look like you’re making a game that is for fun, but at the same time, makes you look like you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t.

    To do so, there is an acronym to help you make sure you are doing everything nicely. This isn’t like the one off Spongebob Squarepants (POOP: People Order Our Patties), though it is as simple as that.

    PEPSI:
    -------------------------
    People Expect Prepared Spotless I[-love-]Entertainment

    As impudent as that may seem, it’s true. Make sure your text has been edited before posting. Editing is the biggest thing to keep in mind.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER THIRTEEN (CRN13)
    -------------------------
    Have it Double Checked

    Many times when creating a game, a gamemaster will have an assistant gamemaster, or be in contact with several people about the game they are thinking. This is normal, and a very good idea. By tag-teaming, you will be able to make sure that, in your own absence, the game is always progressing and it makes creating a masterpiece a lot easier.

    After you have sorted everything out, make sure that you send your product off to someone to have looked at, whether it be a friend, assistant gamemaster, or the RPG moderator. It will help make sure that you aren’t putting out something that will get no replies, or a game that may become faulted.

    Often enough, people are very welcoming to help and will do what they can to make sure you are on the right track. Make sure to remember your manners and thank them for their help.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER FOURTEEN (CRN14)
    -------------------------
    A Name Says Everything

    While your friend is looking through your post, you might want to take the time to start thinking of a name for your masterpiece. A name is what will attract a person’s eye to your game. Often times, it’s the only thing that will get someone to open the thread. That is a very big responsibility and can be very hard to create.

    Sometimes, when you’re thinking up ideas, the name comes to you already and you’re ready to go. For some, that’s not the case. Some good exercises for creating games is to look at your storyline and figure out what the story is about. If it’s about space cowboys and how they save the galaxy, then relate the name to something about them saving the galaxy, or the ship that they are in when they go out to save the galaxy.

    Shoot ideas back and forth with a buddy to see what you can come up with. Remember that names can always be edited by the moderator.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER FIFTEEN (CRN15)
    -------------------------
    Time to Post!

    The big moment is here. You got the copy back from your partner with a big thumbs up and you’re ready to post. Well, what are you waiting for?! Go for it! You deserve it. It may take a few days for it to be accepted by the RPG moderator, but once it is, it’s time to start the story up for real.

    Take the time to start thinking up the little details that are going to be needed when the game officially starts.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER SIXTEEN (CRN16)
    -------------------------
    Be Active in Other RPGs

    This is very important. You can’t expect others to just jump at the thought of your RPG when they might not know a thing about you. You have to show them who you are, what you can do, and how you do things. Get to know people around the website. Join and be active in other roleplays. Remember that this is to help us all grow. Sometimes you can’t always be the leader. You need to know how to follow as well. It will also help you learn what kind of things you want to do for your RPG that’s about to be accepted and what not to do in it.

    Also, remember that if you are a newer member, the post may take longer to be accepted, since the moderation team wants to make sure that you’ll be an active member of the website and wants to know that you’re not going to flake out on your creation, though we both know you won’t.
     
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  8. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    3. Gamemaster Walkthrough - ACT 4 - Controlling the Project

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 4 – Controlling the Project
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Once the game is accepted by the moderating team, the real fun begins. This is where things can get ultimately a lot harder or a lot easier by the way you go about handling your game. The biggest thing to remember is what you’ve learned from the other gamemasters around the forum. See the ins and outs and use what worked for them for yourself. It will help you become a better leader. Learning is the best thing you can do in these types of situations. Since you can’t make all the mistakes in the book, learn from everyone else’s and make your own so you can learn from them.

    So, we have the game, it’s been approved, and we’re looking to start the game up. However, what’s the first step? Well, we need people to start making characters. So, our first step is to post your own. It’s time to make the biggest decision you’ve made since you started this RPG.

    Who are you in the game?


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER SEVENTEEN (CRN17)
    -------------------------
    Who are you?

    It’s time to figure out what side you’re going to play on. Are you the hero? The villain? Both? This is very important to decide right now because once you have your character made, others will start to follow suit. They need to be able to look up and go, “Oh, that’s how the gamemaster did his, this is how I will do mine.”

    A few big things to look at are how your game is planned out. This is where the “Who” questioning from Cardinal Rule Number One comes in. In your mind, you should be able to refer back and remember what kind of character you were going to have.

    MAIN FOCUS
    -------------------------
    If you are the main focus, you’ll want to make your template extremely full. Do not leave out any details. Since you’re the focus and main character of the story, everyone must know everything about you, excluding the secret’s of the game.

    This is important because everyone will be dealing with you directly. Since that is the point, they need to know who they are dealing with. I’d say don’t worry, but you might have to: everyone is going to be asking your questions about your character when the time comes.

    SIDE FOCUS
    -------------------------
    If you are merely making the main focus character an NPC, then you don’t have to worry too much on the details. Make them their template but make it quiet full, but then again, your first post now can be very simple and generic so others can refer to it and post their own.

    Make sure to answer every question though. If you skip, others will feel they can skip. Try to stick to your own words. No one will follow a hypocrite.

    Soon after you have made your character, you’re going to have to find a way to organize your characters, and your NPC’s. If you’re not organizing those, things could get very messy and people could forget who they are dealing with and what they look like. The next Cardinal Rule will tell you how to make a Personae that can help you organize character sheets.

    Most of the coding may be difficult and kind of frustrating, so a repeat of the coding with be later in the FAQ.

    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER EIGHTEEN (CRN18)
    -------------------------
    The Personae

    Once characters start popping up like crazy, you’re going to need to know what to do with them all. Here comes the big coding seminar that will take a few tries to understand and make perfect. Remember that you can organize this however you want, and name it whatever you want.

    THE TRICK
    -------------------------
    First of all, you want to have some way to organize the names. Some will choose to put the character name for the story, followed closely by a comma and the name of the roleplayer.

    An example would be: Character Name, Member Sigh-in Name.

    This is the generic way, and very common. There is nothing wrong with it, and is perfectly understandable if done this way. The way to find the URL for this trick is like following.

    At the top of each post, on the top, right hand corner of the box, is a number. The number is the “Post Number.” By right clicking it, and clicking on “Copy Link Location,” you can get the url of that post. If you do that to all the posts that have a datasheet on them, you’ll be able to make the character sheet a lot more organized.

    Other ways to organize your Personae is to use the Quote button and copy every Personae, then posting them in one post somewhere in the game, or Discussion forum. It’s a lot messier and can become very difficult to gather them all if you get a lot of characters. I would recommend the other way, personally.

    THE CODE
    -------------------------

    Character Name, Name of player

    There are many other ways to organize it. Another common way is:

    Character Name; Occupation, Role in Game, or Important detail (gender)

    Color-Coding the text can become helpful as well. When you color-code things, try to keep all playable characters (your roleplayers) one color, and your NPC’s another. As well, if you so decide, maybe make your antagonists red and your main characters blue. That way you can tell the difference between the two groups. (Use colors that fit your style.)

    With all those characters being made, you’re going to start needing some communication going on. This is where the Discussion thread comes in handy.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER NINETEEN (CRN19)
    -------------------------
    Communication!

    Your Discussion thread is your friend. It can be one of the places where you can organize your RPG so quickly, and make it look so perfect. In your Discussion thread, it is wise to post all your NPC’s in the beginning of the thread, along with a new post for every single little reference you have, such as Rules, Regulations, etcetera. Sort them out and post them in order before opening the thread up to the public. If you get all your important things in the beginning, then every member will know where to look when they go to play.

    Make sure that you have your players communicating back and forth in this thread. If you discourage the discussion thread, or maybe not even active in it yourself, your game can fall apart really quickly. Without communication, a game can and usually will beginning to fall apart.

    Things to keep in mind when your in the discussion thread and post regularly:

    1) Missions, Updates, and Changes
    2) Upcoming events in the game
    3) Suggestions, feedback
    4) Reminders of the rules
    5) Reminders of your expectations
    6) Hints of your plot twists
    7) Always making sure the game is progressing, and reminding the other characters

    You want to always make sure there is progression. That is one of the most important thing in a game.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY (CRN20)
    -------------------------
    Progression

    This is the true glue that keeps the game together. It is your job to make sure that game is ALWAYS going forward. Never let the game backtrack. If someone is starting to repeat events over and over again without moving forward, you must immediately contact that person and straighten them up. If they do not start getting the picture, then contact a moderator.

    The moderating team is on your side. We want your game to be the best it can be, as much as you want it to. When a problem comes up, let us know.

    These are some major issues that you need to be aware of that can slow down progression down a lot.

    1) Fighting, insulting, flaming, or spamming.
    2) God-Moding or invincibility
    3) One-liners
    4) Back-tracking
    5) Constant flash-backs or flash-forwards
    6) Someone skipping around (plot holes)
    7) Unnecessary deaths

    There are some serious things that happen often in games. There are ways to avoid each any every one of these. Whenever you see numbers 1 or 2, contact a moderator if you do not feel like you can stop it. We will put an end to it immediately. The website does not condone unfair acts, and we do not allow insulting at all. If it is constant, the member my be banned.

    Back-tracking can be avoided by redirecting the post into a forward motion. Reply to the message in a positive manner and simply retell the last bit of back-tracked post in your own gamemaster way to get the story moving forward once again.

    Flash-backs and forwards are often mistakes of the gamemaster. Make sure that whenever you use them, that it is necessary. There is not reason to bore a player with constant info dumps that might not mean anything to anyone, and not progress the story. Only use the necessary ones, and make references to the rest.

    Plot holes are extremely hard to control and fix. This happens when someone skips a point in the story and begins telling another part that may not have occurred yet in the story. While it sounds like it wouldn’t happen, it actually happens quiet a bit and is very frustrating. If not dealt with early on, it can pull the story down, and really quickly. Make sure you’re on top of the story and attacking these situations quickly.

    This comes back to activity, and making sure you’re reading every post. It’s very important.

    Killing off members should be a last resort move made by the gamemaster. If a member kills off another member, notify a moderator immediately. We will deal with it as quickly as possible. If the gamemaster is deciding to kill of a member, it often means the story is having issues, and is dying. If you must kill of members, make sure that it’s done with grace, and you have consulted both the member that may be killing them, and the member that is dying. It’s extremely rude to wake up to a dead character, especially if they really were active in the story.

    If you kill of a character, and it’s done with very little grace, keep in mind that they might come back and start posting again, saying, “I really didn’t die. Fooled you.”

    Retaliation is common, and isn’t really nice, but if the person is killed off for no reason, and is done in a mean manner, it’s more karma than it is anything else. We will ask the person to stop, but then again, you have to remember that you get the respect that you give to your players.

    It often is okay to kill off characters in military, shooting, alien, or survival RPG’s. Make sure your roleplayers know that in the rules, so they can make note to themselves that one day, they might die. That’s very important. We don’t like to upset people.

    That leaves only one thing left to discuss:


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-ONE (CRN21)
    -------------------------
    Destroying the Nasty ‘One-Liner.’

    One-liners are a very annoying and disastrous post to have happen to an RPG. The biggest problem is that they are extremely common, and often create much more serious problems, such as plot holes and progression problems. One-liners are the chain-smokers of yesteryear.

    A one-lined post will often hold no relevance to a story, and progress absolutely nothing to the main storyline. One-liners can come from many things, such as poor gamemastery, not enough information in the previous post, conversational issues, not enough to write about in the plot, or a dried-up storyline.

    There are many ways to avoid one-liners happening, but once they start, they are very hard to stop. This is where you must be strong and remind people to communicate.

    Tell them of ways they can talk with each other to maybe formulate a full conversation instead of a post that goes back and forth with one question and a description of the area. This is very aggravating to read, and is a constant reminder that the roleplayer isn’t growing in their writing abilities, but just playing one big word game.

    Ways to avoid this happening is to give people enough of the plot and conflict to write about for twelve to twenty-four hours. Always give them something to write about. When they are talking with a character, they can get on any type of instant messaging program, or use the site’s resources to go back and forth, and then write more on the plot. Make sure that you try very hard to encourage communication.

    One-liners are dangerous. Don’t get in the habit of allowing them. Often, gamemasters will make a word limit, or character limit for each post. A good goal is to have it set for 100 words, minimum.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-TWO (CRN22)
    -------------------------
    Dealing with Misbehaviors

    These are those scandals that run around and pick fights, insult others, or often God-mode in any RPG’s. If you come across anyone like this, report them immediately to a moderator. We will deal with it.

    Please don’t temp any character that may be acting up. It’s harder to clean up a big mess than deal with it in the shadows.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-THREE (CRN23)
    -------------------------
    Revealing Enough Plot

    This can often be a very difficult thing to do for gamemasters. What’s enough plot? How much of the conflict can I give away without giving away my secrets?

    There is no direct answer. This Cardinal Rule will require you to think outside the box and find your own limits on the storyboards. You need to be able to sit down and judge what you can give away and what you can’t. Make sure that you’re giving enough for characters to write about.

    Bad plots or not enough information will often lead to a failing game. You have to have a balanced even to get further.

    Also, make sure you are tagging up with your partner’s still. Let them in on what the main conflict is and how the group is resolving it. It can often lead to more ideas that might make the story a lot better. Communications, once again.

    Finally after you have controlled all the rest, it’s time to work on your plot twists before the end of the game catches up with you. While you may introduce a lot of them throughout the game, it’s best to let out the biggest one somewhere before the end of the game so everyone can enjoy it.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-FOUR (CRN24)
    -------------------------
    Plot-Twists before the Cliffhanger

    The second biggest part of the game is the plot-twists, just below the ending. This can make or break your storyline. Make sure that while the story is progressing, you see what level of writing you have in each character and how much you can expect from each and every one of them.

    Sometimes, it’s perfectly fine to have someone else be the twist, and change things up. It’s a system control, and can be fun to see how others react to it, if they don’t know.

    Whatever you big twist is, make sure you put some thought into it. You want it to be explained like an opera. You want the emotions to jump, and things to change. You want to surprise them all, like you want to in any story. Don’t just tell them. Make them live it. Put a lot of thought into it, and as the game gets closer to it’s end, let it out of the bag for everyone to see.

    After that, sit back and watch your story ripen. It’s getting closer and closer for it’s time to let the story come to and end: the ultimate goal of every story: to have a good ending.
     
  9. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    3. Gamemaster Walkthrough - ACT 5 - Completing the Project

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 5 – Completing the Project
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    After getting out some of the most creative plot twists known to roleplayers, you have finally decided that the game is getting ready for it’s ultimate finale. There aren’t enough missions in the world to go on, and you’ve said everything that needs to be said. Now, it’s time to plot out how we want to end the game and restart the magic.

    When we start to wind down, there are a few things we want to keep in mind. Are we going to start a new game related to this topic? Are their sequels, or prequels, or is this the end of it all. Are we leaving cliffhangers if it’s the end? Any more twists? Mass character death, or a happily-ever-after moment? This is where we will sort it out.

    Before, everything has been doing itself. You being the gamemaster have only had to make sure things are flowing. Now, this is where you get to test out your writing skills once again.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-FIVE (CRN25)
    -------------------------
    What Will Happen?

    We need to decide what we want to happen right now before we get too much further. We will rethink the questions before, such as: “Is there going to be a sequel or prequel?”, “Any more twists?”, and “Which side is winning?”

    We need to be able to look at this with a very clear mind. What do you want? A happy ending, a sad one? This Cardinal can not give you those answers. It can merely give you ideas, and ask the question that might not be as simple in your mind. Remember that if you are making sequels, leave a cliffhanger.

    Good cliffhangers will give the character enough data about what has been going on, and yet, leave them completely unknowing about what is going on. Try to stray from cliché cliffhangers, like “He returns,” or “We thought he was dead, but now he is not.” Come up with something that fits your story perfectly, and can leave a member starving for more word-food.

    Once you have decided what kind of ending you want, it’s time to start writing it up. There are many ways to go about this. Some gamemasters will send out messages and post warnings about the end, and have others write it up, while some will end it, whether or not the members have posted.

    While both have there ups and downs, it really comes down to what you want in the end of the story. Make sure that you type up all loss ends and make the ending something worth remembering.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-SIX (CRN26)
    -------------------------
    Tying those Loss Ends

    While having others end their own story in your game can be very beneficial, it sometimes doesn’t necessarily mean that all the loss ends will be trim and presentable. This is the time to start plotting out what you need to do to make the game look prettier for the ending. By rereading through a few posts made be each member, you should be able to get a general synopsis of what you want to happen.

    Be nice, though. It’s not necessarily fair to make a character that has been working so hard in the game complete trash when you go to end it, unless the other member is aware, and fine with it. We are looking to make good stories and grow in your writing talents, not hurt people.

    Rereading through the posts shouldn’t take you too long, because throughout the game, you should have already been keeping notes and reading through the posts anyways to make sure that there hasn’t been any flaming, spamming, plot-holes, or any other thing that could ruin the story.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-SEVEN (CRN27)
    -------------------------
    The End is Near


    Once you have all your notes, and have thought up everything you want to happen, it’s time to write it. There are many ways you can go about this. You can either write them up individually for each character in the game, or do one massive post that deals with everyone. It’s up to you. Choose one that will best reflect your writing skills, help make the ending stellar, and conclude the game the best way possible.

    WRITE TO WRITE
    -------------------------
    Don’t stop writing on your story until it’s completely done. Giving up on the story is the last thing you want to do. Sure, you may have had some iffy players, and the second week of the roleplay didn’t go the way you want it to, but giving up when you’re only a few pages away from the end only makes you more lazy when you try to do another story, and you’ll quit well before that point, until finally, writer’s block has gotten you completely off writing, and that’s the last thing we want.

    You finish that ending, and you post it up like there isn’t a tomorrow, even though there is.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-EIGHT (CRN28)
    -------------------------
    Saying Goodbye


    This can often be the hardest part of every good gamemasters day: having to say goodbye to their game. Just remember, you made magic. It turned out great. It had it’s ups and downs, and now you have a story everyone on the forum can scan and enjoy. Save the experience and do what you can to always push yourself to continue on.

    There are a few fun things you can do before locking the thread though.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER TWENTY-NINE (CRN29)
    -------------------------
    Sequels, Prequels, and the Credits

    These are often very fun to play with and can be good writing exercises for the gamemaster. This allows you to turn away from your original way of writing, and focus on different types. Sure, your character was in first person, but now you’re going to have to write a setting and plot in third to give everyone something to look forward to.

    SEQUELS AND PREQUELS
    -------------------------
    Time to shift focuses from your character development to your story development. You want to write up a short scroll of text that explains what you want to accomplish in a second game. Sometimes, if you can think of a new adversary, and present them in this text, people will become excited, and join immediately once you have created the game.

    Try to stay close to what you want from the series when you write this up. This is your reference to your game at a later day.

    CREDITS
    -------------------------
    Credits are not necessary, but they are a fun way to explain who did what in your story. You can often do this just like a movie. For example, the Director would be you, and Producers would be the crew that helped you with the idea. Be creative with this. If you decide to do one, you should put it before your post about the sequel or prequel, that way it seems just like a movie to people.


    CARDINAL RULE – NUMBER THIRTY (CRN30)
    -------------------------
    Locked and Coming Back Later

    This is the final step to being a gamemaster. Once the game is complete, contact a moderator to lock the thread. This will make sure that no one is posting in the thread after it is a completed project. It looks much more professional that way. You do not need to have the Discussion Thread locked if you feel like you want to leave it open for discussion, though you may if you like. Once the game is locked, it’s time to save the files you want, and close them down until you’re ready to do something new.

    If you decide to start the sequel, make sure to note that in the title of the game. Once you’re ready to go onto a second game, if you need reminders of what to do, start back at Cardinal Rule Number One for any reference you may need.

    Good luck with being a gamemaster and always remember that practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes permanent, so make sure you’re practicing tools that you like and that work, that way you aren’t pinning yourself down and ruining your future games.
     
  10. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    4. Roleplayer Walkthrough

    ==============================================================================
    4. ROLEPLAYER WALKTHROUGH
    ==============================================================================


    THE THOUGHT
    -------------------------
    Let's say you're at home, work, or school, browsing around the website, looking for something to do. Your story has hit a little snag in the road, or maybe writer's block as got you down. You are looking for a solution to your problem, but you just can't find one. This writer's block just might win. You're about to give up on writing, when...all of the sudden...you see a little forum: the RPG Forum.

    You click in quickly, hoping to see something of interest, and low and behold, you found a title that caught your eye. You click in and see the gamemaster has put a lot of thought into this story and it's organized oh-so-very well. You start reading through everything, and you're ready to join.

    However, you've never done this before. Sure, you may know everything about the universe, but you don't know where to start at all.

    That's what we're hear to fix. Throughout this FAQ and Walkthrough, you, the roleplayer will learn the ins and outs of how to roleplay like a master, from the beginning to the end. Make sure to take note of the Fox Laws, little things to keep in mind when learning how to roleplay. They will help you grow.
     
  11. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    4. Roleplayer Walkthrough - ACT 1 - Finding the Right Game

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 1 – Finding the Right Game
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Coming Soon!
     
  12. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    4. Roleplayer Walkthrough - ACT 2 - Living by the Rules

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 2 – Living by the Rules
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Coming Soon!
     
  13. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    4. Roleplayer Walkthrough - ACT 3 - Creating a Character

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 3 – Creating a Character
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Coming Soon!
     
  14. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    4. Roleplayer Walkthrough - ACT 4 - Keeping to the Basics

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 4 – Keeping to the Basics
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Coming Soon!
     
  15. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    4. Roleplayer Walkthrough - ACT 5 - The End

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    ACT 5 – The End
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Coming Soon!
     
  16. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    5. Cardinal Rules for Gamemastering

    ==============================================================================
    5. CARDINAL RULES FOR GAMEMASTERING
    ==============================================================================

    Below is a list of all the Cardinal Rules throughout the FAQ.

    By going through the attachment, you can see the document as a whole. The following apples to the attachment version. By holding CTRL and F, you can use the “Find” search bar. By typing in the abbreviation at the end of the rule, you can quickly jump to that portion of the FAQ without having to scroll and find the text.

    CARDINAL RULES
    -------------------------
    1) The Big Six: Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How (CRN01)
    2) Establishment: The Setting (CRN02)
    3) Establishment: The Genre and Focus (CRN03)
    4) Establishment: The Rules (CRN04)
    5) Establishment: References and Specs (CRN05)
    6) Establishment: Character Templates (CRN06)
    7) Establishment: Non-Playable Character Templates (CRN07)
    8) Establishment: The Back-Story (CRN08)
    9) Establishment: The Storyline’s Beginning (CRN09)
    10) Establishment: System Control (CRN10)
    11) Sorting Through the Document (CRN11)
    12) Professionalism (CRN12)
    13) Have it Double Checked (CRN13)
    14) A Name Says Everything (CRN14)
    15) Time to Post! (CRN15)
    16) Be Active in Other RPGs (CRN16)
    17) Who are you? (CRN17)
    18) The Personae (CRN18)
    19) Communication! (CRN19)
    20) Progression (CRN20)
    21) Destroying the Nasty ‘One-Liner.’ (CRN21)
    22) Dealing with Misbehaviors (CRN22)
    23) Revealing Enough Plot (CRN23)
    24) Plot-Twists before the Cliffhanger (CRN24)
    25) What Will Happen? (CRN25)
    26) Tying those Loss Ends (CRN26)
    27) The End is Near (CRN27)
    28) Saying Goodbye (CRN28)
    29) Sequels, Prequels, and the Credits (CRN29)
    30) Locked and Coming Back Later (CRN30)
     
  17. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    6. Fox Laws for Roleplaying

    ==============================================================================
    6. FOX LAWS FOR ROLEPLAYING
    ==============================================================================

    Below is a list of all the Fox Laws throughout the FAQ.

    By going through the attachment, you can see the document as a whole. The following apples to the attachment version. By holding CTRL and F, you can use the “Find” search bar. By typing in the abbreviation at the end of the rule, you can quickly jump to that portion of the FAQ without having to scroll and find the text.

    FOX LAWS
    -------------------------
    1) (FLN01)
    2) (FLN02)
    3) (FLN03)
    4) (FLN04)
    5) (FLN05)
    6) (FLN06)
    7) (FLN07)
    8) (FLN08)
    9) (FLN09)
    10) (FLN10)
    11) (FLN11)
    12) (FLN12)
    13) (FLN13)
    14) (FLN14)
    15) (FLN15)
    16) (FLN16)
    17) (FLN17)
    18) (FLN18)
    19) (FLN19)
    20) (FLN20)
     
  18. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    7. Extras

    ==============================================================================
    7. EXTRAS
    ==============================================================================

    Extras will be updated at a later date.
     
  19. Oasis Writer

    Oasis Writer Contributor Contributor

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    8. FAQ Excrement

    ==============================================================================
    8. FAQ EXCREMENT
    ==============================================================================

    Version 2.11: Working Progress (7/7/08)

    Copyright by Devon Kingland, Oasis Writer; 2008.
     
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