Understand Role Playing
    'Why do you role play?' is often a question heard by experienced players coming from people who have never played before.  The answer is varied, but it is often on the lines of 'Because it is enjoyable'.  Role playing is, above all, a game and it should be an enjoyable experience for all players.  To those who are completely new to role playing, this page will hopefully help you understand the reasoning of what RPers are doing and why.  To the rest, it will hopefully make your RPing experience more enjoyable.
    Another question often heard is 'What is role playing?' Role playing is exactly what it says it is;  It is a role you play, other than your own.  There are many games (table top, computer, video, ect.) which involve role playing.  You control the main character and are sent on various adventures or quests in order to complete some basic point to the game.  However, in this RP, it is far more complicated than a simple quest to find a sword.  It's more like writing a book with some several thousand other writers at the same time and there is no sure ending or middle or plot to the book.  On top of that, each writer has a main character and no one is really sure what the point of all of this is, except to have fun.

Getting Started
    Now that you are obvious interested, or you would have stopped reading, this page will help you to create and role with your character.  To get started, the first step is to create a character.  Unlike a video game or a book, you are not going to be handed a main character, you have to create it.
    Your character can be just about anything, though all powerful, all knowing, or god like characters are generally frowned upon by the mass of role players.  Just as you do, your character should have faults or weaknesses that make them unique and interesting.  It is far more fun to work with a character that has a dread fear of spiders rather than someone who fears nothing.
    Also remember that most characters are set in medieval times (the land is called RhyDin, more on that later), so things like spaceships and laser weapons aren't likely to be found.  Though, if you go to the right area, you will find them.  Be open minded to this.  Do not assume someone is a bad role player because their character is from the future or is carrying a gun.  Play with them first, then decide.
    During your role playing sessions, your character will probably get into life and death situations at some point.  Just remember that you are not in one.  Allow for new things, but also don't forget that there are people who will not respect the rights you have over your character, no matter what.  The most important of these rights is only you can consent in the death of your character.  As selfish as this sounds, this rule was made by role players to protect their character from moders (people who cheat to get their way) and those who would just kill their character for no reason.  Remember, you may not kill other characters without the permission of the mun.  Do not abuse this power.  It was created to stop abuse, but it can become a two sided sword quickly enough.
    Below is everything that you will need to get your character started.  Your imagination will help you build it.

Back to top

    A. Character Race
    Regardless of what you are, your character can be male, female, it, or anything else your mind can come up with.  It is suggested, though, that people who are new to role playing start off with a character that is similar to themselves and of a common race like human, elf, halfling, gnome, just to name a few of the medieval fantasy races.  Those people who have experience with role playing in general (like D&D or other dice based games), but not with chat based experience might try either the common races or even other races that are slightly harder to play like gargoyle, vampire, half dragons, pixies, and so on like that.  For experienced role players who have played chat based role playing before, just about anything goes.  You might even want to try to create your own race
    For any of these levels of experience, though, one of the major don'ts of gaming is not to 'borrow' characters from books, movies, or that others have created in the past.  You may get ideas from these places, but try to keep your character original.
    Another pointer is to only create one character per screen name so that people do not get confused.  Even the most experienced of role players have a tough time with character crosses under one screen name.  It can get very confusing very quickly if you do not have experience in it.

Back to top

    B. Character Name and Class
    Once you have your character's race, you will need a name and a class for this character.  Try to keep the name simple, so that others can remember it easily.  Your screen name may also be your character name, but remember when you are role playing that your character cannot see other people's screen names.  The name of your character can be anything you want it to be, there is no limit on names (expect for words which AOL would not allow).
    Character classes are the character's job or even former job.  Do they sneak around in the shadows stealing things from others pockets?  Or where they once a knight to a grand kingdom that was destroyed by a dragon?  The possibility of 'jobs' is endless in role play.  If you are unsure of what to start out as, try a fighter.  These tend to be the easiest because it is easy, for most, to fall into the role of hack and slash.  Others might try for a wizard.  Deadly in distance combat, but venerable if they are caught by surprise, these kinds of characters rely more on brains than brawn to get out of a fight.  Another class is that of the cleric.  These are the people that heal others, when they are of good aliment.  Evil aligned clerics often place curses on characters (or other unthinkingable things) while a cleric of a good aliment lifts the curse.  The last of the main classes is the rogue, also known as a thief or assassin.  These are the people that sneak around in the shadows.  They tend to be quick and quite, rather than strong like a warrior.  They excel at planned attacks rather than the warrior's way of hack and slash.
    Remember, these are generalizations of the major classes.  Your character can be anything, even a combination of these classes to from a totally new classes.  Some examples of other kinds of classes are: Ninja, aristocrat, farmer, ranger, druid, witch, drunkard, demon hunter, and so on in that fashion.  Remember, this is the place of the imagination, nothing limits you in what your character does for a living, if anything.

Back to top

    C. Character Personalities
    Character personalities can sometimes be a little harder to come up with.  Most beginners tend to either use their own personally as a starting point and then build from there.  Others just make a character and start role playing, letting the character develop his/her own personally as time passes.  A helpful way to start with personalities is to pick the aliments of your character.
    Aliment is what set of laws (or no laws) that you character follows. If they are good, evil, or somewhere in the gray center called neutral.  This is a list of common aliments, in order from most good to most evil: Lawful Good, Chaotic Good, Neutral Good, True Neutral, Chaotic Neutral, Neutral Evil, Lawful Evil, and Chaotic Evil.
    Lawful characters are characters that will follow the laws that are put before them by their leaders.  Lawful characters can lead and create laws of their own, but they often do it such a way that everything will balance out.  Lawful evil characters tend to make this balance toward themselves while lawful good characters make it toward others.  Chaotic characters are those characters who care nothing about the law and tend to believe in free will.  While a chaotic good character will tend to forget about laws, they often work toward good causes.  Chaotic evil characters are the pure opposite.  They will do anything that benefit themselves and only themselves.  Chaotic Neutral characters are the most unpredictable characters of all aliments and are often insane to one extent or another.  In fact, the only thing that can be expected from this kind of a character is the unexpected.  True neutral characters are just that, neutral.  The believe in the balance between good and evil, chaos and law.  They tend to follow the law, but will break if they must.  This kind of character tends to be the common alignment of most leaders, as beings from all alignments may follow them.
    Remember, these are just ideas to help you get your character started.  You don't have to pick an aliment for your character right away, in fact, the chances are pretty good that your character will fall into one of the aliments listed above at some point.

Back to top

    D. Character History
    A character's history doesn't have to be found right away, though it is helpful if you come up with where they where or how they where born and what they are doing in the realm they are in now.  On AOL, there are many realms, but AotMC (Alliance of the Mystic Castles) works out of RhyDin mostly. RhyDin is short of Red Dragon Inn and was the realm, or world, formed by AOL when it started. AotMC can support other realms, as the rules do not restrict what realm the character is in.  Still, it is suggest that you get a feel for the realm you are in before your character plunges into a long story about how they were born in RhyDin and belonged to a castle that never existed in RhyDin.
    This is a limit on the imagination and it is for good reason.  It is hard to talk about a world wide war in RhyDin that never happened, because your character would be the only one that knows about it.  When coming up with the history of a character, many people just let it develop on it's own. Some make up short histories on how their character got to the realm they are in now.  Try to stay consistent with your character's history.  Don't change facts suddenly just because it suits you at that moment.  Also, try to let this history develop.  As your character's personality develops, so will his/her history.  Along with friends, you will make enemies role playing.  That is what role playing is all about, so don't become disgruntled if everyone can't be your character's friend or your character's enemy.

Back to top

How to Role Play
Now that you have created your character, given him/her/it a name and personality, and maybe even outfitted this character with a weapon and maybe some simple supplies, a bit of gold, and anything this character might need.  For example, a wizard will need a spell book and a knight might have a faithful steed.  Remember that your character need to learn to survive here, they can't just snap their fingers and have anything they may ever need appear, as often as this is done.

    A. Out of Character (OOC) versus In Character (IC)
    This is by far the most widely miss used or misunderstood terms in all of role playing.  Separation between OOC and IC is critical to role playing.  You and your character are two separate people.  Though you know everything your character does, your character does not know everything you do.  Keeping this sort of separation can often be difficult because while an answer to a problem might be obvious to a player, it might not be such with a character.  Characters need to learn and grow, but they cannot be taught everything by you.
    You, the one at the keyboard, has been given the name of Mun, short for mundane.  Characters do not know that the mun exists and so should never refer to them.  Also, there is some general short hand and what not that will be needed for OOC separation and IC separation.
    OOC separations is designated by 'mun bubbles', which look something like this; ((Hi, I'm the mun.))  Well, you get the idea. Talking OOC in a chat needs to be as little as possible.  Only use the bubbles if you wish to tell everyone in the room something important about the current role playing session that you are in.  Other wise, keep OOC to IM's.
    IC is sometimes a little harder.  You, the mun, must try to visualize your character, where they are, and what they are doing.  And then, you have to describe this to others.  Often, the setting that your character is in will be defined by the person that created the room.  Try not to make up things about the room you are in, this is considered bad role playing.  Instead, try to get the owner of the room to describe a little of the area or have your character go looking for very specific things.  Like if your character rides up to a castle on a horse, you might try first having your character look for the gates of the castle, if they are opened or closed, and if there are guards.  Then, you should react to what is told you appropriately.
    Other areas, like forests, fields, lakes, and such outdoors areas often don't have any true owner (sometimes) and things are made up as needed because it is near impossible to describe every tree in a forest.  Though, when in places like this, have your character look around and identify where other characters are, like if they are near the lake on the west bank, on the main trail of the forest, or up in a tree.  This will help you to visualize.
    To describe in IC, you will put your actions, not spoken words, inside of action brackets which look like this; ::steps into the castle, coming in though the main doors:: . The words spoken by your character are simply just typed into the room.  Remember, this is not a book (though you are writing), it's a game.  Many role players like a good description of a character, but they do not like a long one.  A good number of them will stop reading it because it is so long.  Your best bet for such description of your character is either in a profile or on a web page.  There is a fine line between too much description and too little description.  Try to find a happy medium for you and your character.  If you do such, chances are that everyone else will also accept it.

Back to top

Fighting: Sim and Dice

    A. Dice
    A bar fight is a common sight in role playing.  Things happen, and characters have disagreements, but fighting should be taken as an opportunity to improve your role playing skills, not to show off.  Even though you might not like the other person much IC (as you are now fighting), you should NOT take this dislike to OOC.  It is a violation of the separation between mun and character.  Try to work with the other mun so that the fight comes out with both characters taking and giving hits.  This is often a sign of a good role player.
    There are two ways to fight.  One of them is called sim, or simulation.  The other is with dice that are rolled with AOL's dice rolling program that is built into the chats.  The easiest way to fight is with dice, but as people's tastes in the way they role play change, one way or the other will become more favored.  Currently, sim has become the preferred why to fight, while dice are used for spars.
    Spars are a friendly fights between characters where dice are used to make the fight quick and simple.  There are other kinds dice fights (see here for more info), but sparring is the most common.
    Dice must be earned by a character.  New characters will start at 0 level, or Xd20.  The X is then replaced by one of three numbers based on the character's race.  Mortal characters will start at 2d20, character that are half immortal and half mortal will start out at 3d20, characters that are immortal or considered superpowers will start at 4d20.  Some forums will have other systems, but this system is based upon the original rules of RhyDin.  If you are not sure what dice your character falls into, either ask someone, or change to another race.
    Dice are rolled as such in the chat room:  //roll-diceXX-sidesYY .  XX's are replaced by the number of die you wish to roll while the YY's are replaced by the sides of the dice you wish to roll.  So, a character with 4d20 would type into the chat room; //roll-dice4-sides20.  Remember, this string must be exactly as it is typed or it will not work.  There are other ways to roll dice, if you have problems with dice.  One of them is keyword on AOL: dice.  This one is slower than typing it, but it never fails.
    Dice are earned in a number of ways, depicting upon the guild and forum you are under.  Experience points, or XP's, defined your dice.  You might earn 10 or 100 XP's here and there.  Over time, these will add up and allow you to have higher dice.  Here is the XP to dice transition for AotMC.
    To fight with dice, you first state who you are attack, then your attack, where you are hitting, and what weapon you use, be it your fist or your sword.  The order can be mixed around to give variety, but as soon as the action is typed, then the dice are rolled.  The higher the score, the harder the hit.  Any number below a 15 is miss.  See here for dice scoring.
    Once your attack as been stated and then your dice rolled, it is now your opponent's turn.  Your opponent will first react to your hit and then give a hit back to you, rolling their dice.  In a match, the end of the fight is when either you or your opponent is out of hit points.  (see here for more info.)
    In a bar fight, on the other hand, there is no set end.  It ends when one character yields to the other.  When dice are used for a bar fight, it is generally the person who has the higher dice or is rolling better who wins.  Finding a bar fight which uses dice will be a very rare occurrence.  As stated before, the preferred way to fight is with sim.

Back to top

    B. Sim
    Dice make seeing a hit in a fight easier than sim.  Sim is suggested for medium level role players, though beginners should try it to get a fell for it.  Sim is much like dice, only you don't roll any dice.  Instead, you must visualize a fight and the describe, in the best way you can, what your character does without stating too many things at once.  Remember to be descriptive in fighting, it is important so that others, and yourself, know exactly what is going on.
    To block a hit in Sim, you must state the block, in full detail, before your opponent gets the hit in. Should they get a hit in before you state the block, then the hit goes though.  Do not state a block as ::blocks the attack:: Try to be descriptive and state how you are blocking, or if you can block it.  Sometimes, you will have to take a hit. Your character cannot block everything, or hit if for that matter.
    Here are several different versions of sim fighting, with examples.  This page will not go into sim further, as it is listed else where in the forum.

Back to top

AotMC Word Bank:
This is a listing of some of the most common short hand used throughout the AotMC forum page and in role playing itself. Not all words are listed and so if you are unsure about the meaning of a short hand you see, ask the person that used it.  Chances are that they will tell you what it means.

(( )) - Used to designate what the mun is saying or doing.
:: :: - Used to designate a character's actions.
AA - Assassination Attempt, where a trained assassin tries to murder another character of an opposing castle.  The assassin must first overcome all present bodyguards to kill the target.
AFK - Away From Keyboard, indicates that the mun is not at the keyboard.  Normally stated in the double parentheses.
AotMC - Alliance of the Mystic Castles.
BAK - Back At Keyboard, indicates that the mun is now back at the keyboard.  Normally stated in the double parentheses.
BRB - be right back, normal used in the double parentheses stating that the mun will come back shortly.
DC - Division Commander, is a person who is over a division, like warriors or assassins, in a guild or castle.
DM - Death Match, a match where the looser either deletes their profile or there SN.  Either way, they loss all rank and worldly possessions and must start over with a new character.
FB - First Blood, is the first hit in a match.  FB's are only given to the person who starts the match.
GC - Guild Commander or Grand Commander, this person is the leader and representative of the castle.
GP - Gold Piece, the common currency in RhyDin.  Gold will be needed to buy items in RhyDin.
HM - Honor Match, a very formal and respectable match when honor is in question.
HP - Hit Points, used to designate either the life of a pet or to how many points a spar will go to.  It is how points a character has to be hit for total, before they are out.
HS - Honor Strike, is the last hit in the spar.  HS's are rewarded to the person who goes last in any match or spar.
IC - In character, where the character is speaking.  IC actions is indicated by the double colons.  Example - ::walks in and quickly finds a seat::
Init - Short for initial.  This is what determines the order of the players in a match.
MDM - Mass Death Match, is like a MS except all losers will either delete their profile or SN.  Either way, they loss all rank and worldly possessions and must start over with a new character.
Moder - This is someone who abuses the written and common laws of role playing for their own purposes.  Note that such will not be tolerated in AotMC.
MS - Mass Spar is a battle the is fought when more than two characters wish to spar.
Mun - Derived from the word mundane, it means the person who controls the character, or in simpler terms the person at the keyboard.  The Mun is usually referred to in the third person.  For example: "I have to go, my mun is getting impatient"
MWM - Mass War Match, is a battle between more than two characters that is fought only during times of war.
Newbie - This is a new person to role playing, or someone that is unsure of the rules.  A hint for newbies that are reading this: When in doubt, ask, someone will help you.
OOC - Out of Character, where the Mun is speaking indicated by the double parenthesis ((whatever is in here is spoken by the Mun not the character))
RhyDin - This is the realm in witch the majority of the characters live and play even though new realms have sprung up in the last few years.  RhyDinian rooms are located in member chats under Arts and Entertainment.
RM - Release Match, a match where a slave or a slave's friend tries to win back his/her bondage so s/he might be free.
POW - Prisoner of War is actually a match.  It is basically a slave match, but is only fought during war and the loser is not initialed to a RM.
RPG - Roll Playing Game.  This kind of a game is called so because you have a group of characters that interact with each other.  These characters live under a certain rule system that designates how they should conduct themselves in the game.  These rules need to be learned and understood in order for a character to survive.
SiC - Second in Command.  S/He is the second in command of a castle, only the GC tops her/him.  This person is there to lead the castle or make decisions if the GC is not present at the moment.
SL - Story Line, this is the very backbone of role playing  It is a planned role play about a character or a group of characters, often complete with villains, missions, and an ultimate end that was planned at the start of the story line.  Though role playing tends to revolve around the story line, it is highly suggested that a mun gains a good deal of experience before running a complete version of one of these.
SM - Slave Match, the loser of this match will be the winners slave for a set amount of time, with life being the extreme.  As in all matches, both contestants must agree to the terms mutually before the match.
SN - Screen Name, this is what the computer knows a character by and is what will be listed in rosters along with that characters rank, XP's, and dice.
Spar - Shorthand for sparring.  It is a short match where contestants are battling in a friendly and formal manner, usually for nothing more than practice.
TA - Theft Attempt, where a trained thief tries to steal an item from another character.
TiC - Third in Command.  S/He is third in command of the castle and only the GC and SiC top her/him.  This person is there to lead the castle or make decisions if the GC or SiC is not present at the moment.
WB - Welcome Back, used to great people when they back from AFK land.
WGP - War Gold Pieces, this is a unique kind of gold that is only used in AotMC.  It is used by guilds/castles to buy siege weapons and defense, to make promotions within the guild, and other various things throughout the forum.  These are what judge how well a guild or castle is doing within the forum and will be one of the deciding factors if a guild needs to be removed from the forum.
WM - War Match is a battle between two character that is fought during times of war only.
XP - Experience Points, these are what are earned though matches, recruiting, and other means.  These then in turn decide upon your level and dice.

Back to top