[Amunet Scrapbook] Notes and Ideas

[Amunet]

Stonewhisper Pavilion (15 occupants ) (Ruby Clan)

Ankhal Lorak Stonewhisper

Wife 1

Brother (Goren)
Brother
sister
Wife 2

Sister
Brother

Goren “the chisel” StoneWhisper (Oldest son)(Glypher)

Wife 1

Brother
Brother
Brother
Wife 2 (joined recently )(pregnant)
Children from Leia Stonewhisper (deceased)

Amunet Stonewhisper
Drak Stonewhisper

[Amunet]

Goals

1. Skill advance

Medicine -- see to the health of people and animals
Herbalism -- continue collecting and processing herbs
Philtering -- turn herbs into usable forms
cooking -- feed people with nummy food

2. Apprentice under a healer

petition to be taught by one of the elder healers (whoever that is)
random rp's to help the people and animals of Endrykas

3. Gnosis rp with Rak’eli

Rak'eli appreciates strength and the strong will to help others be strong through healing.
Through some event where it takes a strength of will to overcome some darkness (could be way off base) or on a hunting trip where there is an ambush and Amunet works on keeping everyone as healed as possible till they get back to Endrykas. Somewhere along the way she is blessed.
Other idea is divine intervention of a dark attack drawn to her bright soul out in the middle of no where and she is preserved to Rak'eli's service.

4. Obtain occupation as a healer with people and animals.
petition for the job so the young lady can gain experience and much needed money.

[Amunet]

Songs, Lullabies and Poems

Drykas Lullaby

Children of the wind
Lay down your sweet head
Don’t worry dear children
The winds are well met

Children of the wind
Zulrav lead the way
Don’t worry dear children
Zulrav come what may

Soul's Rain

In a breath of resistance
Fluttering beats of desperation
Crumbling stairs and stumbling stones
Within howling hallowed worlds
Their reaches insurmountable

Fathoms of the lost
From the outer depths within the shell
Within the folds, the carapace lies sleeping
Phantom gossamer waves ebb out
And the heart stutters, starts

Straining for a rhythm as another wave arrives
The beat renewed with its reassurance
Presence pressing into the core
Peeling the layers
Just as the beat stumbles

The waves wash over, seeping
As the heart crumbles
The pin prick of hope glimmers
And the pieces come together
Renewed and reborn

[Amunet]

After many discussions and flame wars over a lot of topics and reactions that had little to do with why we are here. That is to craft story and enjoy writing with our fellow writers. This site is a collaborative effort. Not a place to stroke ego. Below are a few things i have written up in the past when I taught people how to roleplay, how to create a character and more importantly, not to loose yourself while doing so.

There is a line between Out of Character and In character. Its not just a pause in writing. If you are taking something someone said about your character personal? Your doing it wrong. There must be a line between yourself as a writer and your character. If you put too much of yourself in the character, you run the risk of being so much into the story, that you risk being hurt emotionally. I have seen friendships break up over this. I have seen entire groups and Sims break up and close over this one simple concept. Please i urge you to read the below and take stock in what you got as a character AND as a writer.

Common terms in Role Play

PC = Player character. this is an actual live breathing person playing an active character in the role of a storyline.

NPC = non player character. this is either a person or a make believe person playing a character in a story that is temporary. a live person can play an NPC in order to assist a storyline along. Most NPC are pretend people.



OOC = Out of Character. means the character is suspended in action and the person playing is speaking.

RP = roleplay or role play. this is the act of playing out a role.

storyline = this is the goings on of a particular aspect of a person, people, group or place and what is happening to them along a certain timeline. ranging from personal storylines to storylines spanning multiple groups, people, and realms.

thread = a particular part of a storyline. individual people's storylines are concidered threads in a larger storyline. other storylines are concidered threads in every larger storylines

mainline or main thread = this is the theme that all threads have some type of relationship. from small almost nothing to intricate to closely involved.

Common terms there, there is no surprise but this is a baseline to establish vocabulary.

IC vs OOC, the player vs the character ,
when people get started into rp. they jump in with both feet and put themselves into the character. they are their character. to us Veterans of RP, this is a costly mistake. Many people, that are otherwise intellegent, caring and have potential often get burned out and quit because they got hurt, got taken advantage of and generally got fed up with things. a character is like clothes and shoes. its a suit that you put on for that stretch of time. you take it off when you step out of the character. and you are yourself.

their has to be a line between the Character in the story and yourself. if nothing mroe then a simple one. some simple trigger that brings you out of character. and then back into character. Advanced techniques go into complex character developement where the person your playing is extremely not you. this will save arguments. it will save you from your feelings being hurt.

we all put a bit of ourselves into our characters to varying degrees. for beginners i recommend one major difference. such as something you do not have in real life. something that lets you feel good when playing the character and at the same time when you step out of the character. it needs to feel like your stepping into a pair of shoes. and then able to take them off when needed. in time with experience coming in and out of character will get easier.

on the other side of the coin. you need to be aware that someone being mean or rude may not be that person. its just the character. i advise taking a third person perspective when role playing. i often find myself laughing on the otherside of the screen at some insults and going. hmmm. i may borrow that later. or wow now that was a good post and very creative. it becomes more enjoyable.

the OOC vs IC line must must must have a line. I dont know how much i can say that can convey on its importance in maintaining your sanity, your feelings and keeping things civil.

three major do nots in rp.

1. meta gaming. keeping ooc knowledge out of game, One rule that stands out is Meta gaming.. Meta gaming is using out of character knowledge that your In character persona would not know. Example. Someone told you that her character murdered someone on another continent and that’s why she is skittish. You use that information to further your character’s reputation by miraculously uncovering this murderer. When found out your character will either have to change things or your reputation as a roleplayer will be severely marred. It is fine to discuss characterization details. It is not fine to use that information during in character play, unless that character reveals it to you in roleplay. This is called Meta Gaming.

2. The next do not items is autoing. This is when a character dictates another character’s action. This rule is loosely interpreted game to game. Example “I stick a sword in your heart and you die” you cant do that. In some instances, of pre arranged roleplay it is often over looked. This can and will be taken on a case by case basis.

3. A term called God moding. This term is used when a person uses extreme powers as to almost be godlike even sometimes to refer being a godling or son of a god or demon or what not. A person with this type of character uses every power in the book to keep from dieing, being even hurt at all. Playing with this type of person is not fun and ends up being one sided play. If you have a gift or power or background that is close to this, pick a weakness that is just as strong as the power. Also discuss it with your GM, DM, lead guild master whomever to see if its ok.

The above is very standard across every single rp venue i have ever written or rp'd at.

RP ettiquette and emoting

1. Proper roleplay etiquette is also loosely interpreted. Try to use punctuation and proper grammar/spelling. This is not always possible and mistakes happen. Brackets and emote commands make actions easier.. Try and keep your actions and statements clear. here are some standards used frequently

./me = an SL attribute that allows the emote to appear green. and uses your name in part of the emote. i personally dont use it. some old schoolers dont use it either but its encouraged.

(( )), {{}}, [[ ]] = OOC or out of character comments. this is not to be taken into the current storyline. keep aware of these

( ) = usually used in the middle of a post or emote to clarify a point such as time span is (rp time) and not real life time.

" " = dialogue.. your characters words speaking out in the open

' ' = often used to quote something. sometimes used to denote inner dialogue. mental or telepathic dialogue sense we dont have italics. denoting mental conversations often go to IM sometimes its out in the open.

~~ ~~ = an action. those that dont use the /me use something similar to this to denote an action. this symbol may vary

< > = often used for computers or com link communication to indicate where the voice is coming from or where the message is coming from. again this symbol may vary but this is the standard.

If you make mistakes and it comes across not clear. repost. dont take offense. everyone makes mistakes. just say (( sorry let me repost so its clearer )). most old school rpers and most people will understand and patiently wait.

2. Details. Scene details, setting details, atmosphere details. what your character is doing in this scene lets people see and feel whats going on.. Leave openings for people to enter rp with. A door is open. You walking through the courtyard. work with the details of a given scene that has already been described. this will be covered a bit more in storyline integration. SL provides a setting but dont think that because the "scene" is there that certain details shouldnt be done. how is your character reacting to the scene. is it "oh, another jedi temple. " and sighs as he trudges along. not every character responds to the atmosphere, scene or actions the same. dont assume people know. its part of roleplay. its also part of your characters developement. no one is going to read your mind.

3. Ask to enter a roleplay scene if you do not know the players. Do not just write yourself into something you know nothing about. Politeness will get you asked to future events. IM the person. ask them "is this an open story or roleplay". often in advanced play i am often asked "can i do this to your character". or "we would like to do this. do you want to participate?" . when in play and its a tense scene its not uncommon to IM the person and say " hey im not really upset or mad.. are you ok? " to check and see if they are taking it hard or not. you can get caught up in a scene. and thats when break down in communication happens. the third person perspective is gone. keep the communication lines open. you will find fewer jerks then you may have thought existed. you will have less stress.

4. on the note of jerks. (using polite terms im sure we have other names for these) Remember this is fantasy. This is only a character persona, keep a cool head. Don’t allow anyone to push your character around if its not within the scene, but don’t loose your head either. Stop a scene and ask questions. Try and get as many details as you can before a scene. you are the one that gives and takes away permissions to do a scene. be prepared for the ramifications to your character in said scene. Asking questions and talking about a scene or future scenes makes for happier roleplay. You will find a lot of characters have nothing to do with the real person behind it and that person is actually nice. i think at times in my life i had more friends on the evil side then good side. There are cases where that isn’t true, but again keep a cool head and talk to someone or your guild leader, GM or DM about the issue.

5. Remember you are a real life person behind these pixels. That pixel you play is a fantasy. sure its a way to connect to people and live out certain things we dont get to do in real life but this is fantasy and fantasy is fine. Don’t forget to get out and enjoy life. Roleplay can be a part of life, but dont live to roleplay.

The above is some old school stuff that may not apply here. I still find it of value though.

If you have questions or would like to comment please do. There is more to come as i impart what i have garnished over 30+ years of role playing. I love all of you guys, and i cant wait to see more great writing.

[Amunet]

Storyline Developement

**note. this is a work in progress. this section isnt quite finished

When you start out rping, you start with a story. In your travels you start connecting with people as you go. The story is an intricate part of roleplay.

Now in any given storyline. there is npc's. if you dont have friends playing mentors or parents they could be pretend people. or those people that have strongly effected your life.

let us take a look for a moment at an underused tool and commodity to role play. the non player character. This is a character that is either made up or played by a person. this character is under the control of its creator. and is either a non combatant or a temporary character. the temporary type is usually played by an actual PC that is filling a role. This could be the character's parents, children, servants, the villain in their lives, could be a pet, a trusted steed, a familiar. could be bad guys, could be anything. as you review your personal story see if there is a key figure or two you could make a loose npc with. do not go crazy with npc's. start with one good one. maybe one day someone could take up that role as a PC. with the beast aspect now the pet or familiar role could be filled. till then use NPCs. Look at the realm around you. the cities and towns are filled with NPCs just cause you cant see them on your screen. think a minute. someone has to make the bread. someone has to do the laundry. someone has to run the towns and cities. someone has to pick the poop up of all those beasts. all those someone's do not have a person behind the monitor. they require you to give them life. to lend credence to a bustling city, town, realm. distances are deceiving in SL. it could take hours to get from the queen's castle to the Academy if you walked it or rode a horse. all this takes time, preparation and npc's.

when developing a story for yourself. Do.. not.. let writing intimidate you. the three main components of writing :

prewriting: analyzing, anticipation, adapting
writing: research, organizing, composing
revising: revising, proofreading, evaluating

you will spend 50% of your time on the revising phase.

you have a character concept. go through your character and go over each point to see where your story is. why is it the way he is. training. skills abilities. even race/class has a story in it.

getting it written down.

in the pre writing phase take each part and write it down. get all your ideas down either in outline form. or in free form bullet points. analyse each part and group together to where you feel it should go. some of it is obvious. some of it might need its own catagory. and still some you will decide to just drop it as it has no merit or has no basis on where your starting. perhaps keep it on a backburner as an idea to get into later.

Anticipate need not just what you want. anticipate questions that will be asked of your character and how your character will answer them. not how you would. how does your character sound. some of you may l ike spontaneous rp, this will help spontaneous rp when you have some basic questions answered before the rp occurrs.

Adapting.. meld your story to where you are. find the hook to connect to others storylines. often you start out on a sim somewhere and may have an idea of where you fit in.. if you dont ask whats needed. and adapt your story from there. some adjustments to skills and abilities maybe needed.

This is where research comes in. Not only your own race/class/skills/abilities but the place your character is living, has been previously and the like. this is will give your character crediblity and believability. yes this might be fantasy but in rp so people can feel your character these details bring some believability that makes for great rp. others will enjoy your character and you will have fun.

Now its time to organize all this stuff. switch things around to get a feel for flow. that way composition will be a breeze. If you have never written before dont panic it isnt as hard as it looks.

you will need an introduction, body and closing. your character is the subject of all this. the whole objectt of an introduction is to skim things over. at least three to four points that the character is dealing with. then go into the body and describ each point. it is suggested each point should have ints own paragraph, but do the best you can. there is no one that is going to grade you on grammar here. the point is get your story down. this format is the basis of all writing. the first draft isnt going to be perfect. then close it with your goals and objectives.

Revising stage.. now you got it organized and written. read it over carefully and slowly. one for grammar two for spelling. dont worry if it isnt perfect. next look to see if points are clear. if they need to be expanded on. is anyone that reads it going to understand it. then revise. no one gets it perfect on the first draft.. no one.

bare in mind that your story will need updates. with new objectives and goals. solutions to the previous ones. the story keeps going.

developing your character storyline. several things have to be taken into concideration. group, guild, area, realm and mainline all have to be in the mind of how your character fits in. how your character involves in the small, medium, and large events as well as the main event rps with the mainline. there are many props and tools you are missing in your story if you are having trouble and that can be helped with on a one on one basis.

have fun with this. if you are not a details person. your thread can be loose, but integrating that loose thread needs to include all of this in general. even for a fae or happy go lucky gypsy.

Next class its integrating into other storylines and mainline stories.

[Amunet]

Storyline integration

**this is a work in progress, it isnt completed

RP comes in many forms.

Free-form Most are a fan of this cause anything goes within a loose set of rules. sometimes none

Structured Structured RP has a lot of rules and usually a defined end. spontaneous rp is little to none.

Linear rp this has a defined pattern and set storyline to follow including most often the end result

non-linear rp this one has a loose pattern where there are goal points or guide posts along the storyline but the ending and the way you get there is determined by the player

Live action LARP this is when people physically get together dress their character and physically act out their character.

Electronic the innovation of the future meets rp. your here now. this includes RP chat channels, forums, MMORPG and this format of a simulated virtual reality

Narrative rp this is extremely detailed form of rp where it is like reading a novel. participants of this are in a constant ballet of action and reaction in extreme detail.

types of battle that maybe encountered in rp

P.V.E Player vs. Environment where the player is in combat with their environment. this includes monsters, npc bad guys, and mother nature of their roleplay environment.

Raids small groups combating each other. Usually some coup or strike force goes to the opposing side's lands for a specific purpose or to simply harrass per their roleplay.

Battle full scale armies face to face. could be two, could be more then two armies on the battle field. This is epic and a large event that takes a lot of time to set up and perform.

RP Battle all actions are detailed out in a narrative fashion. participants must have a clear understanding of what their character can do and most importantly what that character can not do.

Non Player Characters
Again, NPC's play a crucial role in the background of any given story. they provide those invisible mechanics and technicians. artisans and keepers. workers and dealers. you may not realise it but this sim is a busy place. the port is a very busy place. ships are wizzing by, some are docking, some are departing. like a busy international airport, a lot of things are going on that you cant see physically but as part of the ongoing story there is a great deal happening.
when integrating threads. NPCs can help the transaction of one story meeting another. as an intermediary, backgroun and/or setting.

RP events
The different type of events and how they play a part in the overall weave of roleplay stories, threads and storylines.

small event -- a small event rp is an occurrence within the personal story of the character or a daily goings on with the realm and/or town. the kitchen gets a grease fire. someone cat is having kittens. so and so's maid is having a baby. the brown cow died. the winter fields are plowed with rye and winter wheat. the noble is preparing for the spring crops and seeing tot he protection of his livestock from the marauding mountain trolls.

medium event -- this usually involves a small section of a realm to a medium section of the realm. a small group of people. a isolated sickness that involves only them. the economy, raids on the village or farms, a band of wolves is creating havoc on the country side. the queen taxed hair styles. the syndicate's black market is taking on a minor shift in power.

heavy event -- this envolves the entire realm. usually life altering sometimes catastrophic. sometimes golden. epic battle, widespread plague. involves more than one realm.

RP threads -- a thread is a specific storyline detailed storyline often has more then one story in it. but it is possible for a specific storyline to have just one thread. rare though.

character story is a thread -- weaving your story in with your surroundings is important. if its no more then being in the background being a heckler. or in the fray taking down the bad guy.

area storythread -- the area or section of your realm, your group, your guild has a story and should entwine in the realms rp and your charcter should have a hook in it.

realm story thread -- this thread should be a loose story to work around. make it too specific it looses longevity. not be specific enough story looses substance. realm story usually turns epic as it moves along

mainline thread -- this is the thread everyone works off of. every realm, group, character should be woven in some manner to the mainline. If your character doesnt care a wit about rather the shadow takes over the world. use it. develope that.

all of these weave together to make RP. daily rp should not be a hassle to do as long as you have an audience. narrative rpers often enjoy soloing. let them know you enjoyed what they wrote. thats what they live for. they also enjoy interaction even a minor one. you dont have to be a writer. notice your narrative rpers or the more chatty ones and even if you are not a writer, respond, react.

Roleplay is a game of action and reaction. circumstances and consequences. thats what makes it fun. these are the things you need to ask yourself when you are going to post

what what would your character do with this.
why whats the reasoning behind the action
who who is it directed towards, secondary who's, yourself?
when is your character in shock and going to respond later or a hot head
where is it where you stand or you planning a location for later.

these items are constantly running through my head on what i know of other characters and what my character can do. it is crucial to take a third person aspect when doing this. this happens in matters of seconds after some practice. Veterans give time for posts for slow typists and beginners. walk off get a cup of coffee 2 minutes will see most have posted what they are going to react to or post an action.. a new player may enter in. so you have time to digest and react to these. if you are a narrative rper.. break up your posts. not everyone is a speed reader. and considering how many time zones are accounted for english is often a second, third maybe even fourth language. they need time to read, translate and digest. to post a reaction. if the pause is too long IM them. they could have something going on the other side of that monitor.