Bad Roleplay Guide

About Guide

This guide is intended for 'Souls RPG, though it may be used in whole or part elsewhere, provided you link back to Tears, Bones & Desire. You are free to link to this document if you please, or you can download it, modify it, and reupload it. You must keep an attribution link to Tears, Bones & Desire.

Introduction

Although I would decline to differentiate between "good" and "bad" roleplay, there are several behaviors often employed by newer players who aren't used to writing in a roleplaying environment. Occasionally, older players engage in these behaviors as well, and while some of them may seem harmless, they are at best irritating to other player; at worst, they're against the rules!

Some of the more severe behaviors listed herein can actually get you banned from a roleplaying game. Many boards have rules against powerplaying and godmoding. Severe and repeated infractions of this nature can result in unhappy players and administrators, and an eventual ban for the player engaging in this behavior!

Many concepts herein were established in classic tabletop or LARP games. The concepts themselves are nebulous across games and different "circles" of roleplay -- what is "powerplay" at one game is referred to as "godmodding" at another. This guide does not purport to be the be-all, end-all of these definitions; instead, it seeks to provide a basis for game administrators, if they so wish to define powerplay, godmoding, and other "bad behaviors" in the same way I have. Basically: there are many variant definitions for these behaviors -- you may or may not agree with me. :P

This guide is designed for a Strong Consent game -- i.e., games where "players cannot control anyone's characters but their own. You cannot kill another character without the player's permission; you cannot so much as force that character to blink without that character's player's permission."

See Also

• Roleplay Guide
• Combat Roleplay Guide

Major Concepts

These major concepts are typically against the rules. Some games choose to bar these behaviors outright in their game's rules -- other games rely on the tacit assumption that such behavior is never okay. Unless you're certain your roleplay is okay with a certain behavior (e.g., a non-consent roleplay would not ban "powerplay"), you should avoid them.

Godmoding

Godmoding is a catch-all term referring to several "roleplay bad behaviors." These various behaviors attempt to twist the roleplay in the godmoding player's favor.

"Godmode" gets its name from console gaming. It refers to cheats enabled which allow "a player to activate features such as invincibility, unlimited ammunition or lives, or similar power boosts" (Godmoding).

There are two types of godmoding: "passive" and "active" godmoding.

Passive godmoding is harder to identify. Passive godmoding is sometimes unintentional. There are three primary forms of passive godmoding in forum roleplay:

• Metagaming, the use of out-of character knowledge in-character
• Twinking, characters who act in a way that is nonsensical from an in-character perspective
• Cheesing, to twist the outcome by invoking something random and not previously mentioned

Active godmoding is generally blatant and easy to identify, though there are (as always) exceptions. There are two primary "subtypes". These behaviors are very likely to result in a ban.

• Godmodding, the specific type of godmoding that revolves around character creation
• Powerplaying, the exertion of control of another player's character

A player who is engaging in active godmoding is godmodding -- that is, engaging godmode for their character.

Godmodding

Godmodding differs from godmoding (one d). The differences are subtle, and the terms are sometimes interchangeable in that godmoding is a catch-all term. However, godmodding specifically refers character creation and character skill level advancement. "Think 'modifying' as opposed to 'mode' for pronunciation" and keeping the difference between the two separate (Godmodders).

Godmodded characters are often created by munchkin players who are determined to dominate the game in some manner. Godmodders play characters who are unbeatable, and given that free-form roleplay allows for incredible freedom, this is a common problem in forum roleplay.

The big problem with godmodding is the likelihood other players engaging in the same behavior -- "[t]he average player just scales up his character's power to match those of the god-modder, thus, you'll have a lot of characters go from backwater drifter with nothing but his sword to a great and ancient warrior descended from the heavens with his magical sword of supremeness to fight once again" (Godmodders).

In roleplays with frequent combat or character skill, this behavior can be incredibly annoying and may be difficult to prevent without implementing a hard-line numerical skill system. A form of godmodding can occur long after the character's original creation in skill advancement:

There are more innocuous forms of godmodding, too. Characters who lack flaws and weaknesses may be considered Mary / Gary Stu characters. Normal people make mistakes and have problems and flaws. This isn't to say your character shouldn't have strengths or success, but when your character always knows the right thing to do and say, it can get incredibly boring for you and it is likely to irritate the crap out of your fellow players. Most roleplaying games won't ban you for making a Mary / Gary Stu, but many will ask for edits before accepting you. Games you should probably avoid anyway will reject your Mary / Gary Stu.

Powerplay

The most common example of active godmoding is known as powerplay. This form of godmoding occurs most frequently in consent-based game, where every player controls only their own character. In these games, any attempt to control any part of another player's character is powerplay. There is only one instance powerplay is acceptable: when both parties have agreed to it.

Other games may be "limited consent" -- e.g., realistic consequences are enforced, but character deaths require player approval -- or "non-consent," meaning there's a much narrower definition of powerplay, if one exists at all. The following is not intended for limited consent or non-consent games.

Powerplay can be difficult to avoid especially in combat situations. Try to remember a few points:

• You cannot write your attack and the attack's damage into the same post.
• It is fine to postulate what could happen if your attack connects; however, it may be difficult to word such things without powerplaying. "Post your part of an attack but let your opponent post the resolution. Write in the "'tentative' mode" (Talzhemir). Words like attempts, aims, and tries are good. Words like hits, strikes, and slams are not good unless used in conjunction with a tentative word or phrase.

Powerplay also occurs in less serious situations, such as automatically imposing a particular reaction on another player's character. Even something as innocuous as completing another characters' actions for them can be considered powerplay.

Powerplay can also occur with any assumed interactions taken with another character, however minor. If you're making an assumption about a character interaction, it's wise to contact the players involved beforehand!

There's also a rather harmless form of powerplay which occurs in character profiles. Frequently, players write presumed reactions about their character. This is a very weak form of powerplay; it presumes a reaction from other characters. However, this form of powerplay is generally not an issue unless the player attempts to force other characters to react the way their profile states.

Metagaming

Metagaming is the use of Out of Character (OOC) knowledge to change In Character (IC) interactions, thoughts, or behavior. "When a character knows information that they shouldn't - this information could be taken from a forum they aren't supposed to have accessed, the user's prior knowledge on a subject ... outside conversations about characters, or anything along those lines" (Alverez, Luca).

Metagaming is a pervasive problem in roleplaying. It is sometimes difficult to avoid metagaming, and many roleplayers are guilty this behavior. Essentially, do your best to remember that your character is a completely separate entity from yourself. Your character can't read the other character's profile and therefore is unaware unless the information is gained ICly.

Commonly, combat-relevant metagaming occurs when one character perceives a weakness and adjusts his or her fighting style accordingly.

A serious form of metagaming occurs when a character literally acts as a mind reader.

Metagaming may be far more subtle than the examples here provide. Please see Wikipedia's metagaming article for an in-depth explanation and a wide array of examples.

Minor Concepts

"Minor" is not intended to suggest these concepts are any less important! They're simply encountered less frequently.

Twinky

Use of the term "twink" to describe a roleplayer is somewhat derogatory, but "twinky" nonetheless accurately describes a type of roleplaying behavior. Use this term at your own risk.

"Something that conflicts with an established and defined roleplaying setting" or "gross violation of believability" (Talzhemir). This is generally used to describe characters that act nonsensically from an IC perspective, and varies from game to game. Twinky can also refer to extremely unrealistic circumstances, events, etc.

The classic example of twinky character behavior is the character who walks into a bar and starts a fight for no reason. Realistically, a person who did that in a setting where barfights are effectively and immediately dealt with (e.g., a medieval setting where characters enforce their own justice) would never do this for fear of the consequences (e.g., every moral person in the bar leaping up and slaying the offending character on the spot). To port this to 'Souls, consider two potential scenarios:

In some instances, these are perfectly acceptable actions -- that is, when they are plotted out beforehand with the roleplayers involved. Plotting beforehand not only avoids plot holes, it avoids dissatisfaction and drama between players. The key difference between twinking and plotting is generally that a twink will not bother to plot these things out with other players -- twinky players tend to become upset when their IC actions have unintended consequences. It's important to remember others are playing, too -- their characters will not sit passively by while yours ravages their family or homeland.

Another form of twinking occurs where believability is stretched too far in plots and roleplaying. Extreme luck, incredibly rare skills or items, etc. Sometimes, some things are just not plausible for a certain settings.

Cheesing

Cheesing is, essentially, an "ace up the sleeve" concept -- cheesing is "[forcing] the outcome ... by invoking some sudden plot development that relies on some previous history no one could know." Cheesing frequently occurs when players are unhappy with a scenario's outcome -- cheesing attempts to alter the situation to their favor.

Cheesing can occur when a character suddenly develops a new ability to solve a problem at hand. The classic example is a huge, fighting-based oaf suddenly developing advanced electronic lock hacking abilities when it becomes convenient to the plot.

It can also occur in non-combat or skill-based situations. "For example, two characters could have a romantic scene. When the morning-after comes, one character could say, 'Oh, and by the way, I took a magical fertility potion and there's a 100% chance I'm pregnant now'" (Talzhemir) -- Sidenote: this is also a strange example of powerplay; while in the real world, we can't control our reproductive organs, in the roleplaying world it would likely be considered powerplay.

It helps to avoid cheesing in combat situations by determining outcomes beforehand. Figure out who is going to win and who is going to lose, and make sure everyone is happy with that outcome!

This behavior is not likely to get you banned from a forum, but you can lose roleplay partners if you're known as one who likes to throw other players for a loop, too.

Munchkin

Use of the term "munchkin" to describe a roleplayer may be considered derogatory, but it nonetheless describes a "style" of roleplay. Use at your own risk.

A munchkin is "a player who plays what is intended to be a non-competitive game ... in an aggressively competitive manner ... no matter how deleterious their actions are to role-playing, the storyline, fairness, logic, or the other players' fun" (Munchkin). These are players who create super-strong, super-powerful characters in an open-ended, non-combat game with intent to "win" or completely dominate the game.

Usually, this behavior is encountered with players solely interested in combat and fighting. Fighters and warriors have their place, certainly, these players may find more fulfillment in a competitive gaming environment -- freeform roleplays aren't great for that kind of competition.

It is perfectly acceptable to have a character who enjoys fighting or considers him or herself a warrior; however, when creating this character make sure you give it depth beyond their fighting abilities. Give it a personality and make sure the character interacts with others in ways that do not involve combat.

Sources