Roleplay Guidelines

[The following guide explains the basic concepts of Role-playing, and how it is conducted in the Grecian Grove, along with tips on how to choose and create characters. This guide is by no means definitive, but strives to offer the reader a good idea of the hobby, as well as to answer as many questions a newcomer to the genre might have.]

oleplaying is playing the role of someone other than yourself (the personality of whom you assume is henceforth known as your character, as if you were a character in a book or story. The person who controls, "plays' the character is known as the player). One assumes the mantle of a fictitious (in some cases fictional or even true figures from History, such as Alexander The Great, Napoleon, Joan Of Arc, etc.) character and simply act out their lives, or part of them, as if acting on stage or in a film. One could play as a mercenary, accepting contracts and assignments from other players, and carrying those missions out. For another example, one could play as Genghis Khan, leading his Mongol hordes against the Western World. This would involve talking, thinking and acting like Khan, as well as suffering the same defeats and winning the same victories. Roleplaying which involves references from History is usually called Historical Roleplaying, or, if the game involves actually dressing up andacting out the scenes, Live Action Roleplay.

The Paper and Pencil System

Roleplaying can also be found in the form of board or table game systems, such as Warhammer, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, White Wolf, Space Hulk, Vampire: The Masquerade etc. This is generally called the Paper and Pencil System. In this system, the personalities which can be assumed are usually predefined or determined randomly by rolling dice, with various statistic-lines, abilities, skills, and so on. In these games, dice and book-keeping are usually involved, as statistics tend to change as the character you play gets weaker or stronger, acquires magical artifacts, has bionic implants, suffers long-term injuries, etc. A book or game manual offers a choice of adventures the characters can embark upon, whilst unexpected events are generated by drawn cards or dice rolls.

For example, in Warhammer Quest, a tabletop board RPG (Roleplaying Game) set in the Warhammer World, you have the choice of a Dwarf, an Elf, a Barbarian or a Wizard, as the character you play. As your character roams the world of Warhammer, he meets friends, makes enemies, and is given tasks (usually by means of Event Cards, i.e. cards which are drawn randomly and determine your character's next move). Rewards for completing tasks, are usually magic weapons or gold pieces, which enhance your character's abilities or enable him to buy additional armour, food, weaponry, etc. The amount of gold a character carries, along with his weapons, are noted down on paper, and the story continues. In Warhammer Quest, model figurines are used to represent the characters on a game board (typically representing a dungeon or castle which can be explored).

Free Form Roleplay

"In free-form role-playing (FFRP), each character is completely controlled by his or her player. There are no dice, there is no game master and there are no elements of chance; nothing can happen to your character that you do not wish to happen. FFRP relies on a concept known as respect. To fully enjoy FFRP, you must respect your peers and their characters if you expect them to afford you the same luxury." [Meredith Putvin's description of FFRP.]

Another type of Roleplaying, and which is used in the Castle Of Shadows, is Free Form (sometimes abbreviated to FFRP - Free Form Roleplaying). In this system, no dice are involved, no accounts or notes are kept, and the fate of a character is determined by the player. Just which FFRP damsel in distress an FFRP knight in armour rides out to rescue, just which magical artefact an FFRP wizard requires to unleash the power of the heavens, and just which realm's borders an FFRP warlord decides to invade, are all down to the players involved. No actual rules apply, though restrictions do apply as to the world in which the FFRP characters live, or how much power they can reasonably acquire (if only to keep it fair for the other players). These are all decided upon by an umpire/moderator, or by the players themselves, if mutual agreement on the matter can be reached. Apart from these, however, the only real restriction is the players' enthusiasm and imagination. On-line FFRP is usually limited to chat rooms, and the remainder of this article chiefly concerns this.

Roleplaying in the Castle Of Shadows

Setting

The Castle Of Shadows is situated in an ever-dark region of Cypria, a realm in the fantasy World of Warhammer (Those familiar with the Warhammer game systems will probably recognise many of the names and races used on this website). This places the first, and only restriction on the roleplaying involved at the Castle. It is conducted in a medieval fantasy world, and it is important to establish this.

Medieval fantasy at the Castle is all about mythical Elves, Goblins, Orcs, Dwarfs, Dragons, Ogres and such (though of course, bog-standard humans do exist!), in lands and times of old (around the feudal-imperial age, and preferably earlier) where modern niceties and comforts such as television, radios, computers and cars are yet to be invented. It is a world of magic, and adventure. It is about places and people who might well come from the fantasy worlds described in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, Warhammer, Lord Of The Rings, Robert Jordan's novels, Redwall, etc.

It does not involve Star Wars, MechWarrior, Blade Runner, X-Men, Bucky O'Hare, 2001 AD etc., or any of the personalities or devices described in those publications. Terminator cyborgs will not be found anywhere in Cypria, no matter how hard you look.

Characters

To begin FFRP, you must, of course, choose a character to play. Most people are content with playing a single character, or sometimes two, but it is neither impossible nor unusual for a single player to have more. The most die-hard and inventive of roleplayers have a veritable horde of characters lurking in the shrouded mists of their over-used imaginations! Which character to play is a difficult choice, simply because there are so many options available. One might select a character which best fits his or her personality in real life, someone who is totally different, or a compromise between the two. This the beauty of FFRP: the choice is exclusively yours.

[Here follows a list of a character attributes. Note that these only describe various physical and mental characteristics, they are not meant as a definitive list of races, classes, magical abilities, etc. ]

Character attributes

Race
As noted previously, characters found at the Grove are fantasy folk: Elves, Dwarfs, Orcs, Wizards, etc. Ideally, a character would be one of an existing fantasy race, though it is not unusual for ambitious players to invent entire new peoples and species. Articles in the Castle of Shadows' Study and the Grecian Grove's Library describe as many fantasy races as possible.

A player should be reasonably familiar with most aspects of their character's race and/or species, to avoid confusion and dispute between players, such as 'But Setite vampires can't do that!' - 'Oh, yes they can!' etc. Such is the players' own responsibility.

Personality
As with real life, every person has his/her emotions, likes and dislikes, mood swings, manners, conscience, and the like. This is also true of FFRP characters; some are dour and cynical, while others are joyous, and full of life, and should be reflected in the way in which a character is played. A cheerful halfling character would be all smiles, telling jokes and making people laugh, while a grim-faced witch hunter might keep himself to himself, his suspicious eyes darting about constantly, looking for some trace of blasphemous sorcerers.

Sometimes, individuals might hate or distrust the whole of another race, for past wrongs. For example, a Ranger who has spent his career protecting a village from raiding parties, would have some sort of enimty towards the raiders' species; be they Goblins, Ogres, Kobolds, Trolls, or anything else. The character has fought them for so long, that he has reached a point where he cannot tell the good from the bad of that race, and hates it collectively. Whole races distrust each other, such as Elves and Dwarfs, and this should be shown in Elven and Dwarfen characters. Dryads and Wood Elves might hate those who might harm the forest, and so on.

Profession/Class
Every character needs make a living, just like everyone else, unless they were fortunate enough to have been born into a wealthy family. Characters earn their keep from a professional role such as a miller, a fisherman, a cook, a herdsman, a stablehand, and so on, or from more uncommon practices such as a mercenary, a sorcerer's apprentice, or a court jester.

Characters also belong to a specific character 'class', such as a fighter, a ranger, or a cleric. This is just a way of determining which category a character belongs to, and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with their profession. It is just as likely for an innkeeper to be a fighter when needs be, as it is for a woodcutter in the pay of a local Lord, to also be a ranger.

Magical Abilities
Characters may also have supernatural or magical abilities. Some might have been born with these talents, whilst others might have had to study hard for honing their powers. These needn't be simply Mages or Sorcerers; a simple Elf Ranger could really be a secreted Master Mage, keeping his abilities to himself so as to not over-complicate his life.

Magic is a complicated part of any roleplay system, and wizards should know the limits and requirements for casting spells, for these vary radically from race to race. For example, an Orc Shaman uses raw magic to blast his enemies, but a great deal of concentration and mental discipline is required to cast his spell. Hence, a breaking of his concentration, might result in the Shaman's head exploding, having absorbed great amounts of power to cast his spell, or an incomplete casting of the spell, with the blast sent in a random direction.

Strengths/Weaknesses
Just how powerful or weak a character is depends on the choice of their player. A character might be exceptionally strong, or uncannily agile. They might have a commanding effect on animals, or be able to read minds. Characters' strengths should be balanced by their weaknesses, for purposes of sportsmanship. For instance, an Elf character might be an excellent shot with a bow, but near-useless in a sword fight. Bear in mind, that no characters are immortal, though they can grow to be very powerful. Vampires are a good exampe of this, though even the oldest noseferatu can be bested by a particularly capable warrior.

There are many more character traits, of course, but the basic attributes are listed above, and are all that are necessary for the creation of a new character. Other skills and abilities may well develop in the character's life.

To complement this read, see also the specific roleplay documents in the Rules & Guidelines section.

Any questions about role-playing, characters, or any point in this article should be submitted here.

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