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Post by fαllεη • on Mar 24, 2010 23:09:17 GMT -5
the wctrpg
Role-Playing Guide
Hello and welcome to Warrior Cats: The RPG's role-playing guide. If you've been directed here by staff, you may find the information here useful --then again, you may not. Either way, there's only one way to find out... Read on!
How to Use this Guide
At the moment, there are three different sections: The Guide to Creating a Character, The Guide to Role-Playing, and The Examples. All of these are under construction at the moment, so please bear with us while we try to be as useful to you as we can :).
Any quotes are examples that are part of the paragraph. They just provide examples of how you could write something, and formatting them like that helps to break up the monotony ;)
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Post by fαllεη • on Mar 24, 2010 23:10:19 GMT -5
when you're getting started
The Guide to Creating a Character
Character creation. We all begin with it, and it's constantly either loved or hated by every role-player in the world.
In order to make a good bio, you have to really get into your character's shoes -or in our case, paws. See the world through their eyes, and make it believable. The more interesting and in-depth your character is, the more interesting they will be to play, and the more interesting they will be to play with. This doesn't mean that your character has to be perfect, though: quite the opposite. For all those fans of Bluestar, Crowfeather, Mousefur or Tigerclaw, we all know that it's their flaws that make them interesting. We may not like their personality, or approve of the things they do, but that doesn't mean that they aren't interesting to read about. So, are you ready to create a cat of your own? I thought so.
Getting Started: Name, Age and Rank
Most people imagine that the beginning of their character is a name: it's what you'll use to refer to them throughout their lives, after all. But with a Warriors name, -especially the name of a warrior- their name is decided by what kind of life they lived, who they are, and what they look like. It's easy to name them something you like, but to name them based on their appearance, or even a name that you don't like, is harder.
We all know that most Clan cats become apprentices at around six moons, and warriors at twelve, but there's no need to stick to the norm. Perhaps your cat could have their apprenticeship delayed, because of something that the older cats were whispering about, something your cat, even now, doesn't understand. Little details like that can be added to their history to improve its length and add depth to your character.
A common mistake with kits, especially orphaned kits, is to say that they're living on their own at two or three moons of age. If you really orphaned a cat at that age, they'd be dead within hours. A kit cannot see until it is about a week old, cannot hear properly until it is two weeks old and, in the Warriors world, won't even be able to say
'Mama' until three or four weeks. For the next six moons or more, these kits must be looked after their mother, as at a young age they can neither eat solids nor keep themselves warm. Please, remember this if you are making a kit!
Respected warriors, old enough to have trained their own apprentices, are perfect at the age of thirty moons. That's a great age for any Clan cat, as it puts them right in the middle of their prime. Twenty moons is also great if you want a young-but-respected warrior; more so if you want to give them an apprentice.
An elder should be at least sixty moons, but it could be interesting to have a cat retire early because of some injury. The elders are responsible for burying any cats who go to join StarClan, but they don't need to hunt or even leave the den if they don't want to.
If you're thinking about making a leader or deputy, this paragraph is for you. A leader or deputy would be about thirty moons old, as they would have needed time to become a warrior, then to train at least one apprentice. These cats are responsible for patrols, major attacks or battles, and keeping their Clan running smoothly. A leader has the greatest responsibility of them all: it's their responsibility to turn apprentices to warriors, warriors to elders, and even to demote warriors to apprentices. They also administer punishments to cats who break the warrior code, disobey their mentors, or who generally cause trouble.
Medicine cats, unlike the other ranks, can be almost any age, but this is only because medicine cats can catch the very sicknesses they try to heal. Black-cough makes no distinction between old or young.
But for the other role-players, make sure to give a reason why they might come to the position young. Remember, an old medicine cat will be a more experienced medicine cat, and therefore be both greatly respected and revered by his or her Clan.
Choosing a Clan
Now that you've chosen an age, name and rank, you'll need to give your cat a Clan. You'll probably have decided what clan your cat is in about the same time as you choose her name, but we'll just go over the pros and cons of each clan anyway.
ThunderClan
These cats are generally considered brave and loyal. They hold loyalty in the highest regard, and uphold the Warrior Code above anything else. Their territory is usually the most prey-rich, filled with voles, mice, small birds, and other mammals. For this, the other Clans tend to both respect and envy them: not every territory has such bounty.
RiverClan
Traditionally, the cats of RiverClan are lovers of all things beautiful. Their nests abound with skeleton leaves, shiny or coloured pebbles, shells, carvings, and sometimes pretty trinkets that the Twolegs leave behind.
These cats are known for their cold temperament to other Clans, and don't take kindly to trespassers or thieves. Their first loyalty is to RiverClan, not to the Warrior Code.
ShadowClan
Although these cats are generally associated with darkness and selfishness, the other Clans seldom notice what can make ShadowClan cats this way. Their territory is usually the least rich in prey, and the land is boggy and treacherous. They have had bad leaders in the past, and this has given them a reputation for a love of bloodshed: this is not always true. Still, there is no denying that most ShadowClan warriors have a sharp tongue in their heads and live their lives with claws unsheathed, always ready to defend what precious little they have.
WindClan
Generally considered a gentle Clan, WindClan were once the most famous for the frequent alliances that they made with other Clans, and the flightiness of their warriors. But knowing when to run and having cowardice in your heart are two very different things, as WindClanners know well. Their territory is the most exposed, and they tend to sleep out in the open. They are closer to StarClan than many of the other Clans -physically as well as spiritually- and they would defend their warrior ancestors to the death.
The Physical: Appearance
Don't look dismayed when we say that you have to have three full sentences for your appearance, and don't complain because you can't have a purple-eyed cat with a gemstone stuck in their forehead :P. You wouldn't see the Erins writing it, so we're not allowing it.
Three sentences isn't really that much: take these three sentences for an example if you don't believe me.
You can mention so many things here, but we'll try to keep the list short. First off, choose something about them. Their eyes, facial expression, or even their height. Then write a sentence about it! We haven't even told you the colour of Sablewing's eyes yet, so feel free to make up your own sentence about it.
Done? Happy? Good :) Now for our example: compare the two. (Neither is right or wrong! Heck, yours is probably better :D) If you chose green for her eyes, you might say,
Then, you could go on,
That sentence describes both an aspect of appearance and personality, and then you've already got two sentences done :)
If you're stuck on what to write about, always feel free to elaborate. Remember, you might have a picture in your head of what your cat looks like, but we don't know. Build, paw size, eye colour or shape, ear size or shape, tail length, fur length, neck length the shape of their chest... And I could ramble on for hours about this!
Anyway, to save you having to read any more of this blather, on to the next section.
The Mental: Personality
Let's be honest: if appearance is the shiny paint-job, personality is the engine under the hood. Having a good personality is crucial to making sure that your cat gets on the track and stays in the running.
For us, six sentences is the minimum, but as with everything else, more musings means merrier markers. (I don't know what that actually means XD)
Personality is wonderful. Personality is good. You can use the same method here as on the appearance: choose something about them. It could be their kindness, Firstly, an example (let's stick with Sablewing, shall we?)
Now, let's break that down. When writing this, our role-player has taken Sablewing's cold personality and sharpened its edge. If you had a kind cat, perhaps you'd do the reverse:
Although that might be going a little far -that is, assuming that Whitefeather is the only cheerful cat in RiverClan :P- I'm sure you can see what's been done here. Do I need to state the obvious for you?
I know you know what all of these mean -after all, you can read this right?- but don't think that I'm just doing this for the heck of it. Reading what other people have written is a great way to learn and expand your own writing, and it doesn't cost you anything --well, to read it on the internet, at least :).
Historically Speaking: The Past
The past of your cat isn't always the most important aspect of your character... Apart from the fact that it's shaped every bit of who they are today. Yes, including appearance: your tabby parents gave birth to a tabby kit, did they not? Because I'll be worried if they didn't...
Anyway, history is the area that you can use to explain everything else in your bio. I recommend starting with the parents. Although saying how they met isn't technically part of your cat's history, it does provide a good base for you to work from. I find that having a good history down helps me to really flesh out my character, so it's usually the first thing I do, even before their name.
Anyway, let's get down ten sentences of an example for you, and then I can get back into this :)
See? One sentence and already you have a basic picture of the parents. She grew up as one of three kits, all toms, and learned her boisterous nature from them. She was constantly in and out of the den, dancing around camp, and incredibly frustrated at her clanmates' stubborn refusal to let her out of the camp.
Sablekit was apprenticed to an elderly tom named Falconpelt, who had already had two apprentices of his own and was well on the way to the elders' den.
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Post by fαllεη • on Mar 24, 2010 23:13:28 GMT -5
now that you're here
The Guide to Role-Playing
The role-play section of this guide will try to take you through the basics of thread creation, and of role-playing. Don't worry, we'll try not to dwell too long on the boring bits, and feel free to try out anything you learn here either in-character or as a trial thread in this board. We will always be ready to give you pointers and to role-play along, so that you can keep putting what you learn into practice!
Opening Theme/Idea
Every role-player has to begin their thread or post with an idea, a thought, a feeling... even just a written picture of the surroundings. If you don't you end up with a thread that has no point and no depth to it, and that's exactly what you're here today to stop :D
If you are role-playing your character for the first time, haven't had much experience with role-playing before, and need a bit of a helping hand after this guide, you should always feel free to make a thread in the Role-Play Tutoring board. There, someone with years of experience can help you get started :)
First of all, remember that everyone writes differently: some people like music to set the mood, others find that distracting. As such, some of what is said in this guide may not help you at all, while other things may be really useful. If you find something else somewhere that helps you out when writing, please message me and I'll see if I can incorporate it into this thread --don't worry, the person who originally came up with the idea will be credited :)
So, in helping you out with your posts, why don't you help me clean up the following one? The person who wrote it obviously needs a helping hand, so let's give it to them :)
I'm sure everyone sees the obvious things about that sentence: spelling and grammar. Now, we don't require you to be a perfect speller here -the occasional typo isn't going to get you told off XD- but if we're really finding it hard to read what's being said, you'll get a note from staff.
Spelling really isn't that hard: we studied it in primary school, you know :) The whole ''i' before 'e' except after 'c'' thing? (A few words to note in that regard, though: weird,
If you're starting a thread of your own, you probably don't have much idea of what's going to happen: that will come later, as people join the thread and interact with each other. But as the starter of the thread, you get the enviable job of setting the scene. (Always remember to check the season before you make a thread: it's not likely to be sunny and hot in leaf-bare!)
You can start a thread by introducing your character or the weather, location, and general feel of the area.
That tells your audience -reading in rapture- that there are other cats around, that it's cold, and probably night-time, because the cats are sleeping. Next, you could introduce your own character:
There. Short, sharp and obvious, no?
Next, you probably want to delve into your character a little more. From here, you could slip into Sablewing's dreams, explain what she had done that day, or just have her wake up :). Let's say you want her to awaken to the sound of rustling outside: that will give her something interesting to think about, and an interesting reason for people to join the thread. It's probably best to leave it there, because if you immediately state that 'WindClan had invaded the camp', you're not allowing much in the way of excitement. Keep the true source of the noise secret: maybe it's actually a lonesome kit, whose role-player has decided to have wander out of the den. Maybe it really is WindClan. Either way, it's seldom a good idea not to state the source of the plot outright.
So, in the end we might finish up with:
While that example was longer than I intended it to be, do you see how it left openings? Whoever enters the thread can either be the cat that clumsy Sablewing tripped over, another cat awakened by her cursing, or the cat causing the noise.
Now, time to shine this post up a little: on to the next!
Metaphor, Simile, and Personification
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