From The Skybrary

[edit] The Unofficial Skyrates Roleplaying Guide

[edit] Introduction

In late January 2008, due to popular demand (and clarity, to have roleplaying and General separate) the devs instituted a new tab, Roleplay! In this channel, we, the players, write as if we're the characters we play and collaboratively create stories about those characters. This adds a whole new dimension to the game play and is considered by many to be just as important as the day-to-day operations of trading and combat. After all, when you're waiting a couple hours to get to your destinations and combats only happen every fifteen minutes or more, why not create some of the world yourself through RPing?

Roleplaying, does not, however, just exist in chat – there is already much written about the world of Skyrates both in the Skybrary, and in the Created Content section of the Forum.

While much of this guide will be applicable to forum RP as well, this was designed as a quick ‘what-to-do’ and ‘what-not-to-do’ in chat.

[edit] Mechanics

[edit] Text, Emotes, and OOC

First things first: everything typed in the Roleplay tab should be In Character (often shortened to IC). What this means is that any straight text should be read and interpreted as a spoken statement from the character – as such, it should be appropriate for the world. For example, a conversation between Talon Karrde and Yennit Alqaf might come through like this:

Talon Karrde: Hey, Alqaf, have you tried the grog yet?
Yennit Alqaf: Yes, and by Magnus it’s terrible! Pass me some of that Nippenbrau, will you?
Talon Karrde: I was saving it for a special occasion!

Now, RP doesn’t just happen in speech – people move around and interact with each other, and you can’t have gunfights and dogfights without actions, so there’s the emote command. /em (also /emote or /me) followed by any amount of text will echo that text as an action or pose. For example, if Yennit Alqaf types:

/em drains her mug.

everyone will see the result as:

Yennit Alqaf drains her mug.

The next step is combining the two. In the interest of both combining multiple lines (for better readability) and having more detail in your posts, most roleplayers will combine their statements and actions, like the following:

Josiah lifts Allison's hand to his face, cupping it to his cheek. It feels cold against the side of his face. "You're alright. You're going to be alright." His voice is shaky, unsure, though he believes in the words he's saying with everything he's got, for what else can he believe in?

That’s the bread and butter of Roleplay. But wait! What if a new character just walked in and you’re curious what they look like? Well, you could RP the following:

Talon Karrde looks over the newcomer curiously, trying to discern what he looks like.

But sometimes they won’t catch the hint that you’re trying to get them to describe themselves. No worries, that’s where OOC comes in. /ooc followed by any amount of text will echo that text as an Out-Of-Character comment in double-parentheses and italics. For example, if Talon Karrde types:

/ooc AFK, tornado

Everyone will see the result as:

Talon Karrde: ((AFK, tornado))

You can use the /ooc command to gently prod other players about their descriptions (what species are you again?), give a status message (back in 20), or clarify actions (wait, your fist is coming towards my jaw from the left, right?). In general, though, if people are actually trying to RP, then please, keep the OOC to a minimum or take it to another channel.

[edit] Other

There are more formatting commands (bold and italics) but they almost never used for roleplay purposes. If a word or phrase needs emphasis, consider putting it in slashes like so:

Yennit Alqaf gives Talon Karrde an absolutely /piercing/ stare.

Also, brief actions or emotes – short enough to not need a full /em command – are commonly put inline with asterisks. For example:

Talon Karrde: What, is there something wrong with your drink? *confused*

All together, these allow for expressive roleplay without causing too much visual clutter or character-breaking statements. That will be covered more in the Etiquette section, below.

[edit] Ignore

The final command – and one that, with any luck, won't be used often – is /ignore. It does what it says on the tin; if typed and followed with another character's name, no comments from that character will be seen again until you unignore that character. If the name has a space in it, be sure to put the name in double-quotes, as in:

/ignore "Yennit Alqaf"

After you ignore someone, you can not unignore them without refreshing. Still, this method of dealing with trouble is to be considered a last resort – usually used against trolls that are in the RP channel simply to disrupt things; cooperation and negotiation are far preferable when dealing with a newbie who doesn’t know his way. If someone is being disruptive, explain why in an OOC comment (and help them learn how to use the OOC command if they don't know, or possibly even point them to this guide!) and try to encourage them to play by the rules. Be polite and patient; it's amazing what a little kindness will do to turn an uncooperative player into a respectable Skyrate and good roleplayer.

[edit] Etiquette

The first and most important rule of roleplay is that it is not a one-way exercise. It generally requires two people or more to interact, and the idea is to collaborate on what is essentially a spontaneous story. Cooperation and communication are the keys to making it work, but the result will be worth it.

The second most important thing in roleplaying is to stay in character (IC). While RPing, you take the part of your character and thus should write as if you only know what he or she knows. For example, if two characters are having a conversation in the hangar and your character is in the tavern, you shouldn't be able to hear, or respond to, their conversation. In addition, your character does not know that Explosive Rounds add five Firepower, but they might know that explosive ammo has given them that necessary edge over those thieves in the sky. Save the number-crunching for the World channel or the forums.

An extension of the 'staying in character' rule is to not powergame or godmode. Powergaming is the term for declaring the result of an action that involves somebody else before they can respond. Instead of describing how you're punching someone clear over the bar and watching them smash headfirst into the bottles and start bleeding (you brute!), try describing how you're throwing the punch, hoping to send that person sailing. This gives the other player a chance to react in a way that makes sense for their character. Don't be afraid to ask the person in an OOC comment if they're okay with what you'd like to do if it's particularly intense. If the scene is working well, something even better might come of it than what you expected, and everyone will have a better time of it! Similarly, godmoding is the term for when you do things that your character shouldn't be able to do. For example, your character should not be able to turn back time, use magic powers, kill other characters at all (unless their player has explicitly agreed to it), destroy the surroundings, or control the weather. They should not be able to have dynamite explode in their faces and live through it (though there are a few exceptions to this rule). If something this severe, unusual, and possibly setting-incompatible truly is justified by the character and the situation, use the same rule of thumb as with powergaming; ask everyone in an OOC comment first. It may seem limiting, but without some preservation of the setting and the rules of reality... well, it wouldn't be Skyrates then, would it?

Finally, please bear in mind that the game should be friendly to all audiences. A large part of the inspiration for Skyrates is taken from the Disney animated series TaleSpin, and though the Skyrates world is a bit darker and somewhat less campy, it's best if the in-game roleplay doesn't stray too far from what would be appropriate to that source. A rough approximation would be the American movie rating of "PG"; if you're not sure whether a line you're about to type would be pushing an "R" rating, then it's probably best to steer clear of the topic. Or, simply pretend that everyone else in the channel is twelve or thirteen years old and consider your actions accordingly.

[edit] Form

One of the most essential things in roleplaying is to spell and punctuate correctly. Keep in mind that everything you write will be read by those that are RPing with you, and it's easier to read a line like:

Talon Karrde walks across the room and takes a seat at the bar.

instead of

Talon Karrde wks acros teh room & taks a seat @ da bar

The rules for proper spelling and grammar include not using common netspeak or chatspeak terms, such as 'lol'. A good rule of thumb is to say out loud what you want to type; conversely, if you wouldn't say it that way, don't type it that way! Another point to remember is that actions should be kept in present tense. A sentence like:

Talon Karrde walked across the room and takes a seat at the bar.

is disorienting because it breaks the flow of time, and thus the flow of roleplay. The most important function of proper spelling and grammar is that it doesn't break immersion. Good roleplay should be like reading a good book – except one that's currently being written by you. This having been said, don't be too nervous. Everybody typos sometimes, and roleplayers are a reasonably accepting lot, so if you're clearly making the effort, you'll be just fine.

A more subtle but no less important point of RP form is one of monologue. Frequently, a single character will tell a story that's longer than just a couple lines of text. As tempting as it can be to pose one's reactions to the story, not only can it be terribly dusrupting to the storyteller, but it also makes it even harder for anyone trying to catch up to scroll back and make sense of it! It's not a hard-and-fast rule, but consider keeping brief responses like "*gasp*" or "Yennit Alqaf listens closely" to the obvious start or end of such an extended monologue.

Finally, there's a temptation that almost every newbie has when entering a world full of richly developed roleplay. That temptation is to enter the channel, pose about sitting at the bar (quietly in some cases, noisily in others), and then expect immediate attention and to be brought fully into the fold right away. This never works. Becoming part of that close-knit group can happen, but it can take quite some time; days, weeks, perhaps months to really become a known entity. This isn't because the other roleplayers are cruel, but because they each have their own rich stories and connections that they're keeping up with. Be patient, stay in-character, listen to others' stories, don't get frustrated, and you'll find that over time, there will be recognition and acceptance.

[edit] Setting

Inspiration for skyrates was drawn heavily from the Tailspin TV show and the movie Pocco Rosso, so the setting drawns heavily from these stories. The time period for the technology level of the game has been established as roughly analogous to the post-World War II period (Late 1940s, early 1950s), however, without the early jet engines.

From what has currently been established, the default setting for the RP channel is not radio chatter but casual conversation in a tavern known as Rotors & Props (get it?). It has all the usual things that a real-world tavern might have: barstools in front of the long bar on one side of the room, couches to the other side, and tables scattered randomly about the rest of the area. Behind the bar is a door to a backroom, and on the other side of the bar, there is a staircase leading upstairs to rooms for weary skyrates to rest. The rooms upstairs aren't usually used, as the patrons of the bar tend to nod off where they sit, but the rooms are always available for a private talk or an overnight stay. There are only a few rules written on the signs posted both inside and outside of the tavern: "No weapons to be pointed at other people" (it's considered polite to stow them in the provided weapon lockers), "Any public displays of affection are to be confined to the couches", and "No antimatter." These can be thought of as useful reminders of the guidelines above regarding powergaming, godmoding, and not grossing everyone out.

As for the bartender, a few people have taken up bartending duties, as no one person is there all the time. Just ask for the bartender after you come in, and he or she will be happy to serve you. If none is present, it's commonly accepted that the bar operates on a donation basis; if you want some grog, serve yourself, and if you have some spare grog, add it to the collection so everyone can enjoy.

The R&P is situated on a skyland that is just small enough to hold the tavern, a few small shops, and the hanger and airstrip. Keep in mind, though, that you can roleplay wherever you would like; the tavern is simply the default location. As long as you clear it with the other player(s), you can take your characters anywhere – just recently to this writing, there were concurrent roleplays set in a hospital, in one of the character's planes, and in the tavern itself. Sometimes, if there's action going on back at the tavern and somewhere else at the same time, this can be handled gracefully by putting the location in brackets before the statement, or otherwise keeping track of who is where in the case of actions. For example:

Yennit Alqaf: [hospital] Something was wrong with that grog!
Talon Karrde [hospital] shakes his head. "Alqaf, you could have warned me that you were such a lightweight...."

However, remember that unless there are radios to each location and that the radios are turned on, the characters in the various locales should not be able to hear each other. Use your judgement, and try to reduce confusion if it's clear that there is any.

[edit] Species Reminder

Hybrids are frowned upon, as are most other 'unusual' species. For example, whilst it's fine to play a particular breed of feline or canine, specific type of fox or whatever, creatures such as dragons, unicorns, and other weird species are right out. If you're not sure about something, ask people first when the RP channel is quiet. You wouldn't want to be chased out of the area by a wall of out-of-character comments now would you?

[edit] Who's (With) Who

A spreadsheet detailing the active chat RPers, and some basic information about them can be found here, and essentially acts as a 'cheatsheet'. Not familiar with a name? No problem; just look it up and get the basics, no questions or disruption needed.

[edit] Conclusion

It may seem daunting at first, with an unfamiliar interface and so many colourful characters all chatting away effortlessly, but don't be afraid to participate. Watch and listen for a little bit to get the feel of it, jump in when the opportunity comes up, and in no time you'll be an important part of the action. See you in the R&P, Skyrate!

Roleplay