Roleplaying: Info, rules and guidelines

[Orion]

Welcome, members new and old - from those visiting us for the first time, to the most senior roleplayers refreshing their memory - to the rules and guidelines of roleplaying, where we hope to provide you with all the basics that everyone should be aware of.

WHAT IS ROLEPLAYING?
Grasping the basics

THE SECTIONS
Helping you figure out what goes where

GLOBAL RULES
Establishing the dos and don'ts

GLOSSARY
Getting to know what it all means

INTERVIEWS
Becoming acquainted with your fellow roleplayer

[Orion]

Depending on the context, roleplaying can mean a lot of things. In a video game it can mean sticking to a particular play style; in real life it can involve dressing up in medieval gear and clashing swords; on paper or boards it can mean assigning points and rolling dice to get things done. On KHInsider, it's all about the spontaneous collaborative writing: writing a story with other people as it goes along. Pre-planning significant events in a story is by no means discouraged - sometimes it's even necessary - but post-by-post planning of events takes away from the flexibility and unpredictability that is the strength of roleplaying as an art form.

So, how does it work?
Members who're involved in a roleplay usually have at least one character over which they have total control, but that's only a lower limit: In the right setting, there's nothing to stop someone commanding entire armies or nations. Through the actions of the characters and factions they control, roleplayers contribute to the story in a variety of active and passive ways: scoping out an area, traversing an environment, engaging in a battle, conversing with other characters, and more.

What's different between roleplaying and normal written fiction?
Because roleplaying is a collaborative effort, it has strengths and weaknesses that solo or pre-planned writing does not. Obviously you can construct very detailed plans and work towards them, but others can come in and disrupt those plans or seize control of them towards their own ends. This is at the core of the biggest weaknesses: the unpredictability of others and not stepping on other peoples' toes, which comes up most in conversations and battles.

Without making a series of single-sentence, back-and-forth posts, carrying out 'direct' conversations is difficult at the best of times. Direct conversations are the sort where what a character says and how they act are directly written about. If your avatar is talking to the character of another roleplayer, one way to get around this issue is to be in contact with that roleplayer, and discuss exactly how your characters would talk and behave, but this relies on both members being contactable. A round-about way to execute conversations is to talk about them indirectly, referring to the ideas and general opinions that came up rather than the words and actions.

In battles, it's courteous to end your post or action with a description of what your character does - the lining up of a shot, the slashing of a blade - and leave it at that. This lets your opponent decide how their character reacts to the action. An objection might be that this just lets your opponent dodge out of the way, but most roleplayers are honourable and honest enough to fight fair and take a hit where one is due.

[Orion]

ROLEPLAYING
Have a good chat
The hub of the section, but not where any actual roleplaying happens. It's in this place that you'll find discussion pertaining to roleplaying in general, and where people come for help to develop their ideas, or get interest checks for their roleplays before they begin.

CANON ROLEPLAYS
Have fun in the worlds of games, movies, books and more
Roleplays in here are the sort based in worlds or universes already in existence in other fictional media - in KHInsider Roleplaying the typical canon setting is taken from video games and anime/manga, but also includes books, movies, and theoretically any other type of fiction. Whether your canon roleplay follows or diverges from the events of the original material, it still goes here. It's in this sub-section that you will of course find the Kingdom Hearts roleplays.

ORIGINAL ROLEPLAYS
Run amok in the original imaginings of KHI members
Creations not anchored in realms present in other media, the works hosted in this section are based around their own unique world, mythos and more. Inspiration can be taken from existing fiction, but if your roleplay simply consitutes 'heartless', 'darkness' and 'keyblade' for other words, it is better suited to the Canon Roleplays section.

BATTLES
Skip over the intricate stuff and get right to the action
Love the rush of a good fight but hate the time and effort it takes getting a roleplay to that point? Just want to let loose and not worry about the deeper meaning of your characters actions and just have an all-out brawl? This section's definitely the one for you. It's here that roleplayers put their characters to the test against one another to have fun, improve themselves, or to see who's the best.Always be sure to clarify the restrictions and conditions of your battle if there are any - you don't want to equip a character of yours with awesome abilities and find out many of them are unusable.

[Orion]

These are the global rules of the section - they apply to all sub-sections and threads, be they for roleplaying, signups or discussion. Any of the rules for a roleplay or battle are both those listed by the creator of that thread and those listed below.

NO BEING A KILLJOY
Rule Number One is plain and simple, and can be followed almost solely through common sense and courtesy. People roleplay because they find something fun in it, and you have no right to take away or reduce that factor of enjoyment for them.

COROLLARY - NO FLAMING
With the intellect and articulation required for roleplaying, you have no reason to not seek out a calm resolution to your issue.At the same time, understand that others may not prescribe to your perspective on the matter - regardless of whether you agree or disagree with what someone has to say, you must respect that as their decision. Finally - there is a difference between flaming someone's work and critiquing it. Whether you're new to roleplaying or not, the members of this section have a general expectation of quality and format, so don't get angry if people think your content or presentation could be improved.

NO POWER-PLAYING
You have your own character/s so you can influence the events of a roleplay, there should be no need to overstep the rather large bounds of influence you already can exercise. Taking control of characters and events relating or belonging to other people is likely to annoy them, and you wouldn't want the same done to you, so avoid it.

NO GOD-MODDING
You have the right to your character, but you remove the fun for yourself and others when you decide to also remove the possible challenge and growth that makes roleplaying a great thing. Resist the urge to be infallible, otherwise others will quickly get fed up of your style and cease to enjoy at least part of their roleplaying.

RESPECT YOUR FELLOW ROLEPLAYER
In an environment built on collaboration and a mutual desire for expression, respect for each other is key, regardless of differences in skill or seniority. The community functions best when we all can get along - even if we don't necessarily like each other. If you're unable to resolve a roleplaying-related issue with another member, contact the roleplaying section moderator - Orion.

COROLLARY - THE BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT
In an individual roleplay, no one deserves more respect (or to have their work respected) than the creator. They are the most knowledgeable when it comes to that roleplay, and if you're a participant in their creation, you must respect their actions in the roleplay and their rulings in regards to it. Unless it's a one-to-one copy of canon material, you are simply in no position to debate with the manager of a roleplay.

[Orion]

ROLEPLAYING

Working with others to make a story
The stuff you do in this section, working with others to shape a story through the interactions of characters and the unfolding of events. Any genre, setting and style of roleplay is allowed, and productions can be anywhere between serious business and totally lax.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: RP(-)ing

ROLEPLAYERS

Those that shape the fictional world
The people who do the roleplaying by controlling various parts of a roleplay, most typically their own characters.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: RP(-)ers, Players

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Something's a little off...
A canon roleplay where something has gone differently to the source material. In a Kingdom Hearts roleplay, perhaps Sora died in Castle Oblivion rather than lasting through it, and the events of your roleplay continue on from there. If your roleplay is entirely disconnected from established events, such as if you were to put original characters into the same universe with a unique plot, it's still an AU roleplay. A roleplay set in the future of the canon - such as a Kingdom Hearts 3 roleplay - the past of which is still based in official events and knowledge, then it is not considered to be AU.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: AU, Non-canon

POWER-PLAYING

Siezing control of things you shouldn't
Where a roleplayer takes control of elements of a story that have not been designated to them, most commonly seen when one roleplayer takes control of someone else's character. A subtle variety of this is seen in battles, where one person dictates the actions of an enemy, such that they are hit without any chance for the enemy roleplayer to respond.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: PP(-)ing

GOD-MODDING

The bad kind of perfection
The creation - or transformation - of a character where they become ultra-powerful, all-knowing, and/or generally without flaw. This is generally seen as poor sportsmanship in combat, uninspired, and poor story-telling in most cases.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: GM(-)ing

ORIGINAL CHARACTER

Your very own created persona
A label for creations that are entirely your own. In a canon roleplay, this would be your own Keyblade Master, Organization member, or any other sort of being. The term 'original character' technically applies in original roleplays as well, but its use in that context is redundant, since it is expected that your characters will be original anyway.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: OC

OUT OF CHARACTER

Chatting, discussion and ideas
Discussion, statements, proposals, and so forth that are not part of the actual roleplay or battle. Most commonly seen in the associated signups and discussion thread, though also of course possible in VMs, PMs, and other methods of communication.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: OOC, OoC

IN CHARACTER

The meat of your posts
The opposite of OOC, the actual writing of events, thoughts, actions, environments and so forth.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: IC

TEMPLATE

Tell us about your characters
Most commonly a skeleton form to be filled out, giving an informative overview of your character. Not all roleplays require applications in the strict format of a template, but the name is used generally for any type of application.
Entries generally included in templates are Name, Age, Sex, History, Personality, Equipment/Weapons and Abilities.
Abbreviations/Synonyms: Temp

[Orion]

Casually-organised interviews with roleplayers, chosen at will or by popular vote. Want an overview of other roleplayers? Check if they're listed below.

TAKUSHI RENA

ASHES REMNANT

KING WOLFE

ULTI

ORDEITH

THE CITRUS CULT

LORD OF CHAOS

ORION

ALAUDE DRENXTA