Guide to roleplaying - by Xeirseus of Blackrose Cartel

Xinz'r

What is roleplay and why should you consider doing it?

Roleplay is a way of playing in which you take a role of your character and behave as he/she would do. You create your character, write his/her story, design it the way you want it to be.. will he/she be an assassin, warrior, mage, mercenary, priest? Is he/she rich or poor? Evil or good? All of this is completely up to you, and once you create the character you assume the role of it and start your adventures throughout Tamriel (and beyond).
There are various roleplaying (in further text refered to as "RP") guilds, dedicated to remnants of Imperial Legion, vampires, werewolves, Argonians, Dunmeri Houses and so on, and even if you don't find any guild that suits you, create your own! Maybe you aren't the only one who is looking for exactly that thing you want to create.
Roleplay is mostly focused around talking, making rituals and other non-violent things, while fights and other forms of violence are more rare in RP because of its hard mechanisms to manage fights (unless you try to combine PvE and RP, in which (if you succeed in doing it good) it goes very fastly).

So, why would you want to start doing RP?
There are plenty of reasons! First of all, PvE and PvP can get dull because you depends completely on the game developers to generate new content or improve the existing one, while in roleplay YOU are the developer of your content and you can control outcomes, and if you have good imagination, sky is your only limit! Roleplay is excellent way to show your imagination and fulfill your potential regarding it.

Basic terms and tips for good RP

1. Most important thing in RP are terms "IC" and "OOC", meaning "In character" and "Out of character". IC means that you talk as your character, not as a player (!). IC is roleplaying, OOC is not.

For IC you can only use "Say", "Emote" and "Yell" chats, all others are OOC.

2. Have fun: Rule number one should always be to have fun. If RP becomes more of a burden than entertainment, then you should consider leaving it (at least temporary). Nothing good will come from the this, since both roleplaying will suffer, as will RL attitudes.

3. Character separation: This concept really has two components. The first deals with RL issues. It’s ver important to remember to keep RL issues out of your character’s behavior. Don’t let a bad day at work or school effect your roleplaying in your fantasy game world. The second component deals with the same thing, just reversed. Do not take anything that happens in-game as a direct attack toward you (the person). If your character has been “insulted” do not take it personally. It’s all part of roleplaying and only IC. Maturity is a must. What happens IC, stays IC.

4. Metagaming: Keep in mind the difference between what you know as a player in RL and what your character would know in the game. For example, another character’s name and bio may be easy to read but you wouldn’t walk up to a complete stranger on the streets of (Mournhold) and know their entire history…much less what to call them. Also, if you play alts, what you’ve learned with one character should not necessarily apply to the other, unless an explainable reason exits.

5. Character background: This is one of the most important steps in roleplaying. What lies in your character’s past and present is the drive that makes your character who they are. It’s incredibly important to spend quality time in writing good background. Whether you write it down or keep it in your head, character backgrounds will help guide all that your character says and does during the game.

6. Character Name: You can put a lifetime of work into a character biography and blow it all with an inappropriate name. The character's nickname may sound funny but very few roleplayers will interact with such a character. In a lore-heavy world such as Elder Scrolls is, names can be even more important for roleplaying purposes. Effort and a bit of self-control when selecting a name will greatly enhance your RP experience.

Tips for making and keeping dialog

Proper dialog will make the act of communicating both enjoyable and easy to understand. If done correctly, the feeling of immersion (the ultimate goal of most roleplayers) remains strong and true. Try to remain IC at all times. For OOC messages, use "whisper" or "group" chats.

/say Good eve to you m'lord. You look well.
A says: Good eve to you m’lord. You look well.
OOC speech should be minimized, especially in normal and group channels. If it is needed, it is customary to indicate that what you are saying is out of character. There are two common methods. The first is to “prefix” your message with an out of character tag. (OOC)

A says: OOC sorry guys, my computer crashed. I’m ready now though.
The other is to include all out of character chat in double parenthesis ((message))

Arenthas says: I must catch my breath my friends ((phone call…be right back))
OOC and IC dialog in chats and personal tells are usually up to the group or individual player. If you’re unsure of how chat is handled in a certain area, simply ask first.

Language:
It’s is important to use proper grammar and spelling. Few RP blunders will ruin roleplay immersion more quickly than using abbreviations, misspelling every other word, or not using punctuation. You don’t have to be a grammar ***, but please put a bit of effort into your sentences.

Speech:
Nothing scares a new roleplayer as much as proper speech. Unfortunately this fear comes form the belief that you must speak “in tongues”. The fears are unfounded. To be a successful roleplayer, none of the above is expected. Speaking normally is all that is really required. However, to create a more immersive atmosphere, try using some of the tips below.

Avoid using blatantly modern words.
Avoid using slang.

To make your character really shine when speaking, there are a few things you can do to make their speech sound more authentic and colorful. For example, try changing the word order in a sentence for a more dramatic effect. Instead of “I don’t know him”, try using “I know him not”. Be careful not to fall into the “Yoda” trap however. “Collect carrots for you, I will” does not have the same effect.

Consider using a few words that have been out of common use, like abide, befall, craven, doom, feign, and hither all add a particular flavor to a character’s speech.

Some extra tips from Blackrose Cartel to improve your RP even further

1. It is always good idea to learn lore of certain races (and religions) of Tamriel. If you're not into lore of the whole universe, at least try to learn basic lore of the race you are playing to immerse yourself more into it and make your character more realistic. Every race has some specific things about it.. most common example would be Khajiit during their talks, for example:
"This one ((instead of 'me')) is very grateful.. you are the one who helped this one ((name of the character can be used here as well)) back in Auridon, yes? ((yes is also common ending for questions asked by a Khajiit))"
This is far better for a Khajiit then "I'm very grateful.. are you the one who helped me back in Auridon?"

Noticed the difference?

2. While IC and OOC should not be mixed during RP, some things that happen OOC must be reflected into IC, for example if one of your guildmates left the guild or quit ESO. If he/she quit ESO, make a story of how he/she died during something or some other story which would fit your guild's atmosphere. Also, if one of your members left your guild and joined another one, which you might encounter during RP on public events, say that he/she left and joined that other group for reasons you will come up with. Don't pretend like these things didn't happen and just ignore them in your RP.

3. If you are the one leaving a certain guild, make a story of it and leave the guild IC as well. This is best solution for both you as a character (and a player) and the guild you are leaving.

4. This one is for guild leaders and officers - don't get afraid if your guild is going through a rough period. Betrayals, fights and/or lack of inspiration for good stories and events can happen to anyone. One simple thing we practice in Blackrose Cartel, and which could help any guild there is: "Everything could be used to make a good story. You just have to adapt to the circumstances."

5. Find a RP hub of your alliance. In Ebonheart Pact you have Ebonheart Pat RP (EPRP), which is place for all RP guilds on Pact teritorry and also a place where you can both encounter many random RPs or public RP events.. or you can use it to make yourselves known to the local RP community.

6. Don't powerplay or make your character too overpowered (OP). Powerplaying is simple: it's making your character seem unafraid or even dominant in situations where your character should be scared or submissive. OP is a little more difficult. OP-ness can start due to things happening that makes your character a little more powerfull, but results in too much power later on. You are not Dragonborn who can respawn infinite times and can kill Alduin himself.

7. Killing other characters is and always should be possible BUT ONLY with that character's owner permission. Don't kill of other people's characters without their permission. This is pretty straightforward. Nobody likes to lose all progress. And with a character this is just so much more than that since it would mean a demotion of rank, lost friendships IC, losing of relationships etc. In case someone does try to kill you IC or torture without your consent ignore it, leave the place and try to spread the word of the player and/or guild that attempted to do that.

8.Be respectfull towards each other, and if you have a problem with something someone did talk it out nicely. Look for a solution. This one is more of a personal matter. As said in the start of the post, RP should always be fun, so try to solve the problem smoothly, and if you don't know how, remember Cartel's saying "Everything could be used for a good story.". Try to use everything for your advantage.

9. Please, try to avoid clichés in your character's backstories. For example, try to avoid being an Argonian who was a former slave and his/her parents and/or siblings were killed by some Dunmeri slavers. Try to be original.

Some extra tips from Blackrose Cartel for organizing RP events

1.Be daring, dont be afraid to improvise or try something new or unexpected it increases event's tensity greatly. Everyone loves good plot-twists.

2. Involve all players in event, so no one will feel like spectator (left out). Everyone came to the event to have fun.

3. Make challenging events, no one likes piece of cake events...people might enjoy it for one or two event but then it becomes boring.

4. Never use your character when you are DM/GMing to discover secret and hidden stuff or do something that is uknown to players. That against rules of RP.

5. Give players as much freedom as you can in event.

6. Reward players

7. Be nice and friendly, I know sometimes we are in bad mood and angry but that your problem, learn to control your emotions and be friendly and nice or else people won't RP with you no matter how good you will be.

8. One of the most important, dont be a jerk. Don't rage or luagh at a player, who is inexperienced and/or new RPer and needs much time to emote or makes mistakes and writes emotes that you can't understand.

On the side note, I don't mean to advertize Blackrose Cartel for this since we are too busy with that guild alone, but if you have a good idea for creating a guild and really need some help, contact us. We are always glad to help aspiring roleplayers if they have good and original ideas.