Elegant Esthetics' Guide to RP'ing

So, you want to learn how to role play, or battle. Well, I have some bad news for you; you can’t learn these things. Well, not from me at least; you will have to learn how to Role-Play by yourself, by looking down into yourself and finding the side of you that, well, wants to be someone or something else. That’s not to say that I can’t give you a few pointers along the way, of course. This guide will [attempt to] provide you with tools for Role-Playing, a glossary of terms, and even a handy little section that will illustrate your template. As a matter of fact, that’s the very first thing that will be outlined! So please, scroll down, grab some soda, and prepare for a read that will help you accomplish what you want.

Chapter One

Chapter 1: The BasicsSection 1: The Template

Now, a good thing to do before you begin making a character is to decide on what sort of template that you want to use. Sometimes the creator of an RP will have a specific template that they want you to use; others will leave you out to dry. At this point, you have two options: you can use a template that is already established and widely accepted, or you can come up with your own. Now, I know that the second option seems a bit daunting, so let’s just go over what your template absolutely should have:

Name:
Abilities:
Appearance:
Personality:

And hey, those are the only real essentials, if you want to go for the bare minimum. I wouldn’t suggest it, but if that’s what you need to use to start out, feel free to go with that; expect to be asked a lot of questions, however. Of course, you can have more information, like:

Name:
Age:
Race:
Appearance:
Personality:
Abilities:
Armaments[Weapons]:

That’s it! Now, there are those [myself included] that use more detailed templates, including information like:

Name:
Age:
Appearance:
Race:
Personality:
Skills/Traits:
Abilities:
Armaments:
Biography:

And so on and so forth. I know that taking on one of these templates could seem a bit tedious, but they help to describe your character, and thus they help to give everyone else an idea of what you are doing. In a sense, the template is what we all use as a sort of unifying force. Some people don’t use templates, but those are only in the battles section, so we will talk about that in a couple of minutes.

Okay, back to the other option: developing your own style of template. I’ve seen great templates, some of which are formatted in odd ways, and others that are just all inclusive. I myself have made my own template, and I would be delighted to share it with you:

Name:
Age:
Race:
Appearance:
Weapons/Armaments:
Skills/Abilities:
Biography:
Theme Song:

While this seems rather simplistic, it allowed me to illustrate my character in a clear and concise format, while also allowing me to have a bit of freedom [ and not fill out so many categories]. Just for an example, I will post one of my better-known characters, in his previous iteration:

Name: (Damien) Elendoth Elraith

Age: He has lived long enough to send many vassals about the world, and has seen through the eyes of each.

Race: Maiar

Appearance:
Elendoth has prominent Elven features, including slightly tipped ears and no facial hair. His hair is cut like that of his many vassals; shaggy, and in his eyes half the time. He modeled the vassal Damien after himself, so they share many of the same characteristics; molten copper colored hair, brown eyes, and they are of roughly the same build. Elendoth’s eyes carry a look of alternating hatred and pity, expressed sometimes at the same moment.

Usually wearing the golden armor that was crafted for him, Elendoth also ties a white sash around his midsection, adorned with his personal crest; the Elratu, or phoenix. Upon his pale chest is the same symbol, right where his heart would be. It provides him with both his life and his power, and is a deep red color, as opposed to the inky black of his heirs and vassals. The brown leather cord around his neck is tight, like a modern day choker.

Weapons/Armaments:
~Deltigoth: Damien’s main weapon, which changed after he assumed the name of Elendoth. To reflect the changes in its wielder, Deltigoth has assumed the form of twin swords, each bearing a slight curve in the blade. The pommels are still the color of gold, and their edges hold true.
~Orb of Acyre: The orb of Acyre provides Elendoth with a source of power, defined as a part of the Coalescence. It is about the size of a marble, and is ever shifting in color.

Skills/Abilities:
Elendoth has remained true to his past. He uses magick of the arcane, planar, and Coalescent fashion. As an experienced mage and a higher being, Elendoth uses these energies as he sees fit, and doesn’t require the use of spells. The effects of each type of magic often coincide, but are each a separate energy type, and as such some spells influenced by the Coalescence can prevail where the magick of Arcana cannot. Elendoth can also travel through the planes, manipulate worked metal, and converse with any living creature. These are part of his Maiar heritage, represented by the symbol of Elratu.

Bio:

Favored of the Gods

Being born to the gifted race of the Maiar, Damien was an apt pupil, excelling in both magick and sword play. The Maiar were a divine race along the land of Yraen, and there were only a handful in existence. They answered directly to the gods of Yraen, of whom little was known. Prayers were answered by the Maiar, sometimes in the form of direct aid, but more often in the form of magick cast from the heavens. Damien was one of the few to appear before his subjects, and was the one that organized the holy Knights of Ambrosia, an order dedicated to keeping the peace among the common folk. Everywhere he went Damien protected the weak and innocent, even those that offered prayers to his kin instead of him. This continued for several centuries, with Damien leading the forefront against pain and suffering all the while. He never once slowed, launching himself into battle again and again. As the Grand Teacher among the knights, he also schooled many in the art of sword play, including the children of royalty. Things went well, for a time. And then disaster struck.

Banishment from Yraen

When his parents gave birth to another child using great energies, a bit of the dark side from the Coalescence managed to seep into the newborn. None of the Maiar recognized this, thinking that the child was simply going through a perpetual phase of cruelty. As the years went on the child-named Jared- began to antagonize Damien, and form plans behind his back. The two would butt heads every now and then, but nothing major came of the exchange, until Jared allied himself with the Arhtey- Maiar who had been cast from their realm for their impure mindsets. Together Jared and his army came against the rest of the Maiar, and most of them fell almost immediately. Backed into a corner, Damien brought his Knights against the divine beings, knowing that many of them would die- and they did. When it seemed that all would be lost the gods of Yraen intervened, resurrecting many of the fallen Maiar, and banishing both Damien and Jared. The two were reborn to a mortal woman, changing races in the process; they had become Gilgai, with hardly a fraction of their former powers. Beyond all else they were cut off from the Coalescence, which would have been a heavy blow, if they could remember their past lives.

The Bastion of Light

Even with but a fraction of his power, Damien still helped those that were in need. Along the way he met some extraordinary figures, including Valyon Lightstar and Methesulah the Ancient, two foes that were extremely powerful. Damien fought with the two, but each time both parties escaped with their lives. Damien drew a lot of knowledge from his short apprenticeship with Valyon, which he later used to great effect. Traveling between the universes and to different planets, each time saving them from defeat at the hands of his brother, Jared. This existence was one of a hero- or so Damien thought. Along the way he made some enemies, both from the stock of mortals and gods. It was during this time that his first vassal was created, with the name of Demayin. Eventually Damien and Demayin were reunited, and the beings gained power from the meeting. Finding a woman that Damien came to love, he also had a child with her, bearing the name of Luciane. That particular heir didn’t know that he was the child of Damien, and he spent much time searching the Omniverse for signs of his heritage. Another vassal named Arteyr was created some time later, and the many Elraith vassals traveled about the Omniverse, each acting independent of each other. As Damien found each of the vassals he regained some of his lost power, but his life was not to be quite so easy; disaster struck again.

Fall from Grace

Descending into the Abyss, Damien sought to rid the Omniverse of a powerful entity that was the lord of Hell itself. After a long and terrible battle that ripped holes in the fabric of the Omniverse itself, Damien was defeated by his opponent. Instead of being killed outright, Damien was changed into a demon, and his mindset changed to express that very fact; he began to torment the mortals above him, as well as those pitiful souls trapped in his dimension. This continued for many years, and Damien Elraith became a name that was hated by all. Many came down to try and destroy him, but most of them failed; all but one. Takumi the Tenth Muse nearly defeated Damien, and freed him from his fate using his control over Wyrd, or fate. Damien was released from his personal plane of hell, but Takumi himself was later killed in a battle, which Damien forced him to partake in. With his body ruined and his mind swelling with power. Damien finally remembered his heritage; he was a Maiar, and he was to return to the land of Yraen. In doing so he entered a church that was dedicated to his son Luciane, and there he met some of those that had traveled with Damien many years before. Slaying two of them, Damien received his prize- he regained his old body, and his former power was returned to him. Understanding that which had happened, he quickly explained to his Knights what had transpired, and after some years he was forgiven for his sins.

A Brand New Name

As he rose to in power among the Maiar, Damien took a new name, to try and distance himself from his old personae; Elendoth Elraith he was called, and he rose to the seat of power among the Maiar. He quickly gained control over the Coalescence, and was now a divine entity in his own right. He has begun to travel once again, and this time he does so as a Maiar; while he calls himself Elendoth and Damien interchangeably, he will probably be known exclusively as one or the other; many mortals had short memories, and would forget about the Gilgai that had returned as a Maiar; new relationships would probably have to be formed, except with those of sufficient memories and life spans to remember their old acquaintance. Either way was fine with Elendoth; he was just glad to be himself again.

Theme Song: Blindfolds Aside-Protest the Hero, and Your Guardian Angel-The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Now, if you plan on taking a character into Battles [which I sincerely hope you do] then you would classify your character as either ‘Melee’, ‘Power’, or ‘Mild Power’. Damien, of course, would be classified as a definite Power character. While there is nothing wrong with that, it is also fun to explore different ways of battling. Which [quite smoothly, I might add] leads into my next topic.

Chapter 1: The Basics
Section 2: Battling.

Battling can be carried out in any number of ways, some of them including special rules, situations, locations, and the like. For the moment, I will tell you what you absolutely need to have in order to have a battle.

~A Character [with a template!]
~A Setting
~ A Challenger
~Some form of Judge

Now, we have already gone over how to create a template, and I’m not going to help you create a sample character; after all, this guide is meant to help with expressing your imagination, not mine. However, I will tell you something about locations:

Think about them! Seriously, there is no way for me to express this enough. In one battle I was fighting in a desert, and I made the mistake of running towards my opponent; needless to say, he exploited the fact that the sands would make me run slower. Another time I was battling in between two mountains, with a battle raging on around me and the challenger. I was forced to fight not only my opponent, but a number of people that just wanted to kill anyone that wasn’t on their side. This made me fight harder, and it was definitely an interesting experience.

When thinking of a location, you can be as descriptive as you like; be aware, however, that if you don’t describe something your opponent might, and your idea may be used against you! It’s a good way to keep you on your toes.

As for a challenger, you can find one by going into the Role-Playing section, and at the very top there is a sub-forum named ‘Roleplay Battles’. In here you can either accept someone else’s challenge or make one of your own. It may take a while for people to post, but be patient; we all do have lives, after all.

Now, a Judge may be easier to find. Often, people will look in on battles periodically, and will point out when something fishy is going on. Of course, another option is to ask for judges to apply, or you can always PM me, Elegant Esthetics; I invest a lot of time into this section, so I should be prompt about replying. After you have these, you can battle. These are a couple of general tips for battling:

Use the environment! Seriously, you can use whatever you need to in order to kill your opponent’s character. Are you on a mountain? Try to push the other guy off!

Know your character [and his template]! If you don’t, you will end up kicking yourself in the teeth when you lose. You may forget about an ability and not use it, or you may accidentally come up with something on the fly. In that case, your opponent will definitely have some complaints. Trust me on that one.

Know your opponent! Seriously, think about what your opponent can and can’t do at all times.

Never think more than two steps ahead! Not thinking ahead is silly, but if you think too far ahead you can end up getting yourself into a bind. Remember that you are battling another person, not a machine; they will be taking advantage of anything and everything, so large plans can become completely useless.

Now, for a definition of the battles.

Chapter 1: The Basics
Section 3: Battle Types.

Melee: Your characters have absolutely no supernatural abilities. This means that you are confined to swords, axes, fists, whatever, but you can use nothing that would equate to ‘magic’. Often something that is easy to get into but difficult to master.

Mild Power: Your character has mild abilities. Think, first level spells in a Final Fantasy game, or even just the beginning spells in Kingdom Hearts. You can’t blow planets up or the like, but you can use a fire spell to light the grass at your opponent’s feet ablaze, burning him. This is almost always used so that you are also using melee attacks as well.

Power: Stay away from this one for a while, if you are new. Powers can be fulfilling, challenging, and many things, but they are also somewhat complicated and hard to decipher. Included below is a glossary of common powers, and what they will mean. But I truly do mean that you should get the hang of battling before entering a high-power battle.

Chapter 1: The Basics
Section 4:: The Rules

There are rules that absolutely every role play and battle abide by. These are:

~No godmodding. This means that your character does not have every ability in the book, and can be defeated in some way.

~No powerplaying. This means that you do not control your enemy in any way, shape or form. Even saying that the character is already present at the battle or whatever else is power playing, and against the rules. You control your character, and that's it.

~Two paragraph posts at the bare minimum. I don't care what Takushi says, it's hard to understand or convey a message with under two paragraphs. This rule is flexible when you are beginning, but try to get the hang of making descriptive posts.

~If a majority of judges agree and you disagree, you are wrong. Sorry, that's just the sad truth.

Chapter Two

Chapter 2: The Glossary of Abilities
Section 1: Abilities that are simple/common
Now, in this section you will find abilities that are commonly found. This is not alphabetical, as of yet.

Arcane Magic: This magic will typically focus on using, well, the typical magic. The schools are Invocation, Abjuration, Evocation, Illusion, Necromancy, Enchantment, and Divination. Divination will almost never be used in a battle. The others are essentially summoning, protecting, harming with energy, creating fake images, dealing with the forces of life or death, and persuading a character to do what you want. Don’t even worry about divination.

Matter Manipulation: The character manipulates the world around them on a basic, molecular level. Also tied in with the ‘Kinesis-es’ below.

The kinesis-es: These are your standard controlling abilities. Telekinesis [moving things with your mind] Pyrokinesis [controlling fire] and Hydrokinesis[controlling water] all fall into this category, among many others.

[Eikre]

Want an odd template to work with in "Different styles"?

Hey there, my name is [color=][name, remove brackets for the answers][/color]. But since you know me very well, call me [color=][nicknames][/color]. I am [color=][age][/color] years old and I celebrate my birthday on the [color=][date. no year][/color]. At the moment, I am currently banging my head to [color=][your person's song][/color] by [color=][band name][/color]. I'm a camera whore? Well maybe, here are some model poses; [extra links]. I guess you could describe me as [color=][five to ten personality traits][/color], that loves [color=][what your character loves, item/hobbies, etc][/color] and hates [color=][things they hate][/color]. I'm weird? No way! But, I guess you could call me a a bit cool when I use [color=][instrument][/color]. I guess I'm also quite cool for liking [color=][your crush's name. if you don't know it, use bassist, drummer etc.] [/color]. Shh! It's a secret though!. Anyway, I'm being controlled by  [color=][Your Username][/color]. I'm not crazy! Blame the voice in my head...

[Jack London]

I may use that.

[Breakdown]

Why is there a need for a GUIDE? Interesting for diversity but come on D=. No but honestly abilities can be broken down moar. For the battles part, ~Rules, might be added. It's okay I love you<3

Maybe because the other guides don't actually tell you how to do anything. D=

And I'll be updating this whenever I get the time. This is definitely geared towards those that are maybe thinking about getting into RP'ing/battling, but seem a little intimidated.

[Jack London]

Then the first two sentances defeat the purpose.

[Breakdown]

I understand. Lock's guide was decent but he took it down if I remember correctly. =/ At least you have the patience to write something down. Congrats to you. Motivate people into RP battles is one thing, but getting them eager to continue and not drop out is another ;]