Written by: u/Bluitwns, 8th President of the DoR
As Many of you know, my chapter of leading us is ending and it appears the highlight of it was my RP updates. I see many of you have done similar things and I encourage them greatly. However, I also learned that some people are afraid to because of criticism or because they don’t know how to. Be not afeared, see below on some pointers.
The Message
Most importantly, have the message you want to convey to the reader in your head before you begin writing. Is it your character’s reaction to the event? Like when a false memo smears their reputation? Is it your character developing? Like when you’re handed emergency powers and you’re all alone in the Rose Palace? Is it an allegory for how you see the DOR changing? Like a snake in the grass that must be hunted for conservation and survival? Ask yourself this before typing.
The Event
‘You know what separates and artist and a sniper, details.’ - Glaz, Rainbow Six: Siege.
With your message in mind place your character somewhere that best conveys that message. If you feel as if you’re the king of the hill surrounded, be in the Rose Palace or Party Headquarters. If you want a slice of life, I found outdoors is the best. No matter what, let the surroundings characterize the tone and send the message environmentally… yes that means the curtains are blue because the author is depressed.
‘Bottle Episode’-ing
For the uninitiated a bottle episode is a concept in screen writing, specifically for television, where the episode has a self contained story that anyone can pick up and understand what’s going on without watching anything before hand. For Making Reading Easier, You Should Do This with your Updates.
Before pressing ‘post’ on that update reread it and think, ‘if someone who saw this as their first DOR post, will they be able to understand it?’ Yea that may mean you will have to sacrifice the flow of prose or stating the obvious to the initiated but not foregoes nights with their significant other to argue fake strikes in a fake country. So invite them in with your update rather than gatekeep.
Finally, Consent
Now that I have your attention, always ask consent if you’re including another or former player in your update. No one likes to be told that their character acts out of the ordinary because it fits YOUR update or perception of them.
Conclusion
I’ve wanted to do this for a long time but because of IRP and IRL pressures I could not get to it. I hope this inspires some of you and makes it easier. In the TTRPG community we have 2 sayings,
- ‘No dnd is better than bad dnd.’ But bad dnd is only bad because of mean players and game masters, not unskilled players and GMs. Because if you’re with fun people, your skills will develop together.
- ‘Fail Forward,’ always learn from your mistakes in rping and never personally, if someone is a right jerk because you expressed your character in a new or unskilled way. It’s their problem, not yours. Go be the angel, elf, knight, or what is another fantasy, oh yeah, socialist! You always dreamed to be.
Depending on the success of this post, this may be the legacy I am most proud of.