Post by Abby on Mar 3, 2009 10:39:40 GMT -5
Any Role Play is allowed, but let me clarify a few things about the format and joining RPs so there is no confusion in the future. 
FOR MAKING AN RP:
Make sure you have a decent plot set up. Even if it's just discussion for a general idea and no real concrete form, it's still a lot better than making a thread saying, "i wanna make a rp but i don't know wat 2 make."
As you can see here in this thread, most of the RPs follow this format:
Name
Plot Description
Character Slots
Extra Notes
The one making the RP is in charge of it--AKA Game Master or GM. It's the GM's job to make sure everything runs smoothly and you don't collide with each other.
One your cast list is fillied up, you'll post in the Approval Area of everything--name, plot, and all the characters and notes. There an RP mod will (hopefully) approve and you'll be set.
ON JOINING RPS:
Two scenarios here: joining the RP before it's cast and joining the RP after the fact. We'll take a look at the first one first:
Okay, you really really really REALLY wanna joint his RP. Good for you. What you do is make sure your character isn't taken and then post in the thread asking for that character. That thread should be here in the Prep Stages. It's the GM's job to say yea or nay to you. If s/he does yea you, then your name will be added to the cast list. Simple, see?
Now let's say the RP is already underway and you still want to join. First, PM the GameMaster, and if the GM is willing you will be allowed to join either as an OC (Original Character) or something else. Don't go posting around in the RP expecting us to know who your character is or anything.
RPG TECHNICAL TERMS[/u]
Treasure Tables RPG Glossary
Adventure
A series of linked encounters, often played out in one or two sessions, in which the PCs overcome a variety of obstacles. Adventures can be linked together to form a campaign. (Synonymous with scenario.)
Balance
Also called game balance, the idea that all PCs should start the game at the same power level and that enemies and challenges should be appropriate to that power level. Can also apply to other game elements, such as monsters and items. Elements that are not balanced are often referred to as being broken; nerfing broken elements is a way to make them balanced again.
BBEG
Big Bad Evil Guy, slang for the central villain in an adventure or campaign.
Boss
Originally a video game term, bosses are powerful foes who require significant resources to defeat. In a given area, there is usually only one boss (though a boss will sometimes have sub-bosses).
Broken
A broken rules element is flawed in some way, most often by being too powerful or not powerful enough.
Burnout
When you need to take an extended break from GMing, you’re suffering from burnout. Burnout is most often caused by GMing too often or under frustrating circumstances.
Campaign
A linked series of adventures, usually with a central theme or storyline that ties them together.
Campaign Journal
A record of what happens during your gaming sessions. Campaign journals can range from a simple list of events to prose-style accounts, generally used to keep track of what happens during your campaign.
Canon
Established elements of a published setting. Published supplements generally support the canon. Some gamers are quite passionate about sticking to canon, and prefer not to diverge from it.
Character
Everyone in the game world is a character. This term applies to both PCsand NPCs. (also look at Original Character)
Combat
A battle, generally between PCs and NPCs or PCs and monsters.
Deus ex Machina
Latin for “God from the machine,” a deus ex machina is a plot device that dramatically alters the outcome of a situation without regard to suspension of disbelief or the actions of the PCs. Closely related to GM fiat, and generally frowned upon.
Downtime
The time between adventures, when the PCs get a chance to rest, heal, train and resupply.
Drift
Taking an idea or rules element from one RPG and incorporating it into a different RPG. For example, importing Luke Skywalker to Neverwinter Nights. AKA Crossovers.
Encounter
A self-contained event or series of events in which the PCs do (or have the opportunity to do) something of significance. Attending a royal ball would be an encounter, picking a lock would not. Linking together several encounters is the most basic way to build an adventure.
Feedback
Opinions and criticism of the game, generally solicited by the GM from theplayers.
Flag
Anything about a PC which can be used to drive the game. For example, a mercenary PC’s rivalry with an NPC merc from another unit would be considered a flag, as it provides the GM with a hook for involving that PC in adventures.
GM
Short for Game Master, the player who guides the other players throughadventures, describes the game world and plays all of the NPCs. Takes care of all things and is the RPG God.
Hack and Slash
A play style that focuses on killing things and taking their stuff.
Handwave
Skipping over something that would normally be played out. For example, if you normally describe each day of travel during a journey, you could handwave that time by saying, “After two weeks of riding, you all arrive safe and sound.” Similar to GM fiat, but generally used to get to the good stuff.
Hook
There are two kinds of hooks: background and plot. Background hooks are elements of a PC’s history that the GM can use to tie that PC into the game world, or as fuel for adventures. A plot hook is anything the GM describes to get the PCs involved in an adventure.
House Rule
Any game rule that is added, altered or removed from the original rules.
Improvise
What the GM does when working without notes or pre-written adventurematerial, often as a response to something unexpected from the players.
In-character (IC)
Speech and actions performed as if spoken or done by a character, much like an actor in a play.
Item Management
Item management encompasses a variety of activities centered around the PCs’ gear, such as tranferring items from PC to PC, buying new stuff and identifying magic items. Most commonly undertaken during downtime.
MacGuffin
Any game element that serves primarily to get the PCs involved in anadventure, most often a physical object (prototype robot, magical statue, etc.). For example, the idol in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was a MacGuffin. (The classic example is the Maltese falcon in The Maltese Falcon.)
Meat Grinder
An encounter or series of encounters that is tougher than usual, makingPC death much more likely.
Mechanics
All of the rules elements of an RPG.
Metagame
Technically, any game-related concerns that are not part of the game itself, but more often used in reference to a player who uses knowledge not possessed by their PC to their advantage.
Metaplot
Background story elements that exist throughout a campaign, often built into the setting. Metaplot elements are often peripheral to a game’s main storyline.
Min/Max
Short for minimize/maximize, a technique where you maximize acharacter’s abilities in one area while minimizing them in others. Often done by power gamers.
Monty Haul
A play style in which tangible rewards (usually items or treasure) far outweigh the risks involved for the PCs.
Munchkin
A player who exploits loopholes in the rules (but does not break them) to build PCs that are more powerful than average. Synonymous with twink and GM Nightmares.
Newbie
Someone who is new to RPGs.
NPC
Non-Player Character. Any character in the game world who is not a PC.
One-shot
An adventure designed to be played in a single session, and not as part of an ongoing campaign. One-shots often feature pre-generated PCs.
Original Character (OC)
A character created by the player instead of a pre-generated one. Made using character templates the GM sets in the Prep Stages RPG booth.
Out-of-character (OOC)
Anything that a player says or does that is not spoken or done in-character, such as asking a rules question.
Party
The group formed by the PCs.
PC
Player Character. Any character that is played by a player, not the GM.
Play by Post (PbP)
An online RPG which is played on a messageboard or forum, with everyone posting their actions for the rest of the group to see.
Player
Technically, everyone involved in playing the game is a player, but the term is most often used to mean everyone but the GM. Each player generally plays a single PC or more.
Play Style
A distinctive approach to gaming. Every gaming group has its own play style, as does every individual player and GM.
Plot
The story that unfolds during an adventure. In RPGs, the plot can start out one way and wind up somewhere very different, because of the actions of the PCs.
Power Gamer
A player whose PC utilizes the rules in such a way as to give them an extra edge, usually in combat and at the expense of non-combat skills. Generally gets kicked out pretty fast.
Prep
Short for preparation, all of the activities that the GM does before eachsession (and when planning out a campaign).
Railroad
A linear play style in which the players have very few options, so named because much like a train, adventures like this proceed as if on rails. Railroading gets a bad rap, but it can be a good thing in certain situations (at con games, for instance).
RAW
Rules As Written. The original, unaltered rules text of an RPG (not modified by house rules, for example).
RBGM
Rat Bastard Game Master. A GM who fights dirty, but fair. Forcing the PCsto choose between saving the residents of a burning building and capturing their nemesis is something an RBGM would do.
Red Herring
A game element intended to mislead the players, most often one of several possible clues.
Red Shirt
From Star Trek, a friendly NPC whose only real function is to get killed in a dramatic fashion, thus giving the PCs something to fight for. (In the original Star Trek series, when the bridge crew beamed down to a planet, they almost always took a guy in a red shirt — and he was always killed right away.)
RPG
RolePlaying Game. A game in which the players take on fictional roles (characters) and take part in a shared narrative, usually guided by a GM.
Rule One
“The GM is always right.” Often called the Golden Rule.
Rule Zero
“Never give the GM ideas.”
Rules Lawyer
A player who knows the rules extremely well, and prefers to stick to them very closesly. Often, rules lawyers use their extensive knowledge of the rules to exploit loopholes that favor their PC.
Scene
A discrete event or sequence of events, much like a chapter in a book, that has a definite beginning and end. An encounter is often (but not always) also a scene; an adventure is never a scene.
Scenario
A series of linked encounters, often played out in one or two sessions, in which the PCs overcome a variety of obstacles. Scenarios can be linked together to form a campaign. (Synonymous with adventure.)
Setting
The world in which the game takes place.
Social Contract
The unwritten (often implict, sometimes explicit) rules under which your group operates, covering everything from when and how often you game to how much out-of-character discussion is allowed at the table.
Splitting the Party
When the PCs split up to tackle two or more things at once.
Stakes
What is at stake for each of the parties involved in a conflict. Stakes are implict in most RPGs (PC death is at stake in nearly every combat, for example), but some RPGs have rules for setting them.
Stats
Short for statistics, the mechanical attributes of a character or item. For example, strength is a stat in most RPGs; the amount of damage caused by a gun would be one of that weapon’s stats. Not really used in post-by-post roleplaying.
Story Arc
A series of linked adventures within a campaign, connected by shared plotand/or thematic elements. Resolving a story arc does not resolve the entire campaign (unless it’s the final story arc).
Subplot
A secondary plot that runs parallel to the main plot. Subplots are often designed so that they can be ignored (or missed) by the PCs.
System
Another term for a game’s rules.
Table Talk
Any conversation at the gaming table that is not directly related to the game itself, such as quoting Monty Python lines. Excessive table talk can be disruptive.
TPK
Total Party Kill. When the entire party of PCs is wiped out in a single instance, most often due to a run of poor die rolls.
Twink
A player who exploits loopholes in the rules (but does not break them) to build PCs that are more powerful than average. Synonymous withmunchkin.
Wing It
Slang for “improvise.”
Worldbuilding
The act of creating a setting.
(a big thank-you to Treasure Tables for letting us borrow the Glossary)
FOR MAKING AN RP:
Make sure you have a decent plot set up. Even if it's just discussion for a general idea and no real concrete form, it's still a lot better than making a thread saying, "i wanna make a rp but i don't know wat 2 make."
As you can see here in this thread, most of the RPs follow this format:
Name
Plot Description
Character Slots
Extra Notes
The one making the RP is in charge of it--AKA Game Master or GM. It's the GM's job to make sure everything runs smoothly and you don't collide with each other.
One your cast list is fillied up, you'll post in the Approval Area of everything--name, plot, and all the characters and notes. There an RP mod will (hopefully) approve and you'll be set.
ON JOINING RPS:
Two scenarios here: joining the RP before it's cast and joining the RP after the fact. We'll take a look at the first one first:
Okay, you really really really REALLY wanna joint his RP. Good for you. What you do is make sure your character isn't taken and then post in the thread asking for that character. That thread should be here in the Prep Stages. It's the GM's job to say yea or nay to you. If s/he does yea you, then your name will be added to the cast list. Simple, see?
Now let's say the RP is already underway and you still want to join. First, PM the GameMaster, and if the GM is willing you will be allowed to join either as an OC (Original Character) or something else. Don't go posting around in the RP expecting us to know who your character is or anything.
RPG TECHNICAL TERMS[/u]
Treasure Tables RPG Glossary
Adventure
A series of linked encounters, often played out in one or two sessions, in which the PCs overcome a variety of obstacles. Adventures can be linked together to form a campaign. (Synonymous with scenario.)
Balance
Also called game balance, the idea that all PCs should start the game at the same power level and that enemies and challenges should be appropriate to that power level. Can also apply to other game elements, such as monsters and items. Elements that are not balanced are often referred to as being broken; nerfing broken elements is a way to make them balanced again.
BBEG
Big Bad Evil Guy, slang for the central villain in an adventure or campaign.
Boss
Originally a video game term, bosses are powerful foes who require significant resources to defeat. In a given area, there is usually only one boss (though a boss will sometimes have sub-bosses).
Broken
A broken rules element is flawed in some way, most often by being too powerful or not powerful enough.
Burnout
When you need to take an extended break from GMing, you’re suffering from burnout. Burnout is most often caused by GMing too often or under frustrating circumstances.
Campaign
A linked series of adventures, usually with a central theme or storyline that ties them together.
Campaign Journal
A record of what happens during your gaming sessions. Campaign journals can range from a simple list of events to prose-style accounts, generally used to keep track of what happens during your campaign.
Canon
Established elements of a published setting. Published supplements generally support the canon. Some gamers are quite passionate about sticking to canon, and prefer not to diverge from it.
Character
Everyone in the game world is a character. This term applies to both PCsand NPCs. (also look at Original Character)
Combat
A battle, generally between PCs and NPCs or PCs and monsters.
Deus ex Machina
Latin for “God from the machine,” a deus ex machina is a plot device that dramatically alters the outcome of a situation without regard to suspension of disbelief or the actions of the PCs. Closely related to GM fiat, and generally frowned upon.
Downtime
The time between adventures, when the PCs get a chance to rest, heal, train and resupply.
Drift
Taking an idea or rules element from one RPG and incorporating it into a different RPG. For example, importing Luke Skywalker to Neverwinter Nights. AKA Crossovers.
Encounter
A self-contained event or series of events in which the PCs do (or have the opportunity to do) something of significance. Attending a royal ball would be an encounter, picking a lock would not. Linking together several encounters is the most basic way to build an adventure.
Feedback
Opinions and criticism of the game, generally solicited by the GM from theplayers.
Flag
Anything about a PC which can be used to drive the game. For example, a mercenary PC’s rivalry with an NPC merc from another unit would be considered a flag, as it provides the GM with a hook for involving that PC in adventures.
GM
Short for Game Master, the player who guides the other players throughadventures, describes the game world and plays all of the NPCs. Takes care of all things and is the RPG God.
Hack and Slash
A play style that focuses on killing things and taking their stuff.
Handwave
Skipping over something that would normally be played out. For example, if you normally describe each day of travel during a journey, you could handwave that time by saying, “After two weeks of riding, you all arrive safe and sound.” Similar to GM fiat, but generally used to get to the good stuff.
Hook
There are two kinds of hooks: background and plot. Background hooks are elements of a PC’s history that the GM can use to tie that PC into the game world, or as fuel for adventures. A plot hook is anything the GM describes to get the PCs involved in an adventure.
House Rule
Any game rule that is added, altered or removed from the original rules.
Improvise
What the GM does when working without notes or pre-written adventurematerial, often as a response to something unexpected from the players.
In-character (IC)
Speech and actions performed as if spoken or done by a character, much like an actor in a play.
Item Management
Item management encompasses a variety of activities centered around the PCs’ gear, such as tranferring items from PC to PC, buying new stuff and identifying magic items. Most commonly undertaken during downtime.
MacGuffin
Any game element that serves primarily to get the PCs involved in anadventure, most often a physical object (prototype robot, magical statue, etc.). For example, the idol in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was a MacGuffin. (The classic example is the Maltese falcon in The Maltese Falcon.)
Meat Grinder
An encounter or series of encounters that is tougher than usual, makingPC death much more likely.
Mechanics
All of the rules elements of an RPG.
Metagame
Technically, any game-related concerns that are not part of the game itself, but more often used in reference to a player who uses knowledge not possessed by their PC to their advantage.
Metaplot
Background story elements that exist throughout a campaign, often built into the setting. Metaplot elements are often peripheral to a game’s main storyline.
Min/Max
Short for minimize/maximize, a technique where you maximize acharacter’s abilities in one area while minimizing them in others. Often done by power gamers.
Monty Haul
A play style in which tangible rewards (usually items or treasure) far outweigh the risks involved for the PCs.
Munchkin
A player who exploits loopholes in the rules (but does not break them) to build PCs that are more powerful than average. Synonymous with twink and GM Nightmares.
Newbie
Someone who is new to RPGs.
NPC
Non-Player Character. Any character in the game world who is not a PC.
One-shot
An adventure designed to be played in a single session, and not as part of an ongoing campaign. One-shots often feature pre-generated PCs.
Original Character (OC)
A character created by the player instead of a pre-generated one. Made using character templates the GM sets in the Prep Stages RPG booth.
Out-of-character (OOC)
Anything that a player says or does that is not spoken or done in-character, such as asking a rules question.
Party
The group formed by the PCs.
PC
Player Character. Any character that is played by a player, not the GM.
Play by Post (PbP)
An online RPG which is played on a messageboard or forum, with everyone posting their actions for the rest of the group to see.
Player
Technically, everyone involved in playing the game is a player, but the term is most often used to mean everyone but the GM. Each player generally plays a single PC or more.
Play Style
A distinctive approach to gaming. Every gaming group has its own play style, as does every individual player and GM.
Plot
The story that unfolds during an adventure. In RPGs, the plot can start out one way and wind up somewhere very different, because of the actions of the PCs.
Power Gamer
A player whose PC utilizes the rules in such a way as to give them an extra edge, usually in combat and at the expense of non-combat skills. Generally gets kicked out pretty fast.
Prep
Short for preparation, all of the activities that the GM does before eachsession (and when planning out a campaign).
Railroad
A linear play style in which the players have very few options, so named because much like a train, adventures like this proceed as if on rails. Railroading gets a bad rap, but it can be a good thing in certain situations (at con games, for instance).
RAW
Rules As Written. The original, unaltered rules text of an RPG (not modified by house rules, for example).
RBGM
Rat Bastard Game Master. A GM who fights dirty, but fair. Forcing the PCsto choose between saving the residents of a burning building and capturing their nemesis is something an RBGM would do.
Red Herring
A game element intended to mislead the players, most often one of several possible clues.
Red Shirt
From Star Trek, a friendly NPC whose only real function is to get killed in a dramatic fashion, thus giving the PCs something to fight for. (In the original Star Trek series, when the bridge crew beamed down to a planet, they almost always took a guy in a red shirt — and he was always killed right away.)
RPG
RolePlaying Game. A game in which the players take on fictional roles (characters) and take part in a shared narrative, usually guided by a GM.
Rule One
“The GM is always right.” Often called the Golden Rule.
Rule Zero
“Never give the GM ideas.”
Rules Lawyer
A player who knows the rules extremely well, and prefers to stick to them very closesly. Often, rules lawyers use their extensive knowledge of the rules to exploit loopholes that favor their PC.
Scene
A discrete event or sequence of events, much like a chapter in a book, that has a definite beginning and end. An encounter is often (but not always) also a scene; an adventure is never a scene.
Scenario
A series of linked encounters, often played out in one or two sessions, in which the PCs overcome a variety of obstacles. Scenarios can be linked together to form a campaign. (Synonymous with adventure.)
Setting
The world in which the game takes place.
Social Contract
The unwritten (often implict, sometimes explicit) rules under which your group operates, covering everything from when and how often you game to how much out-of-character discussion is allowed at the table.
Splitting the Party
When the PCs split up to tackle two or more things at once.
Stakes
What is at stake for each of the parties involved in a conflict. Stakes are implict in most RPGs (PC death is at stake in nearly every combat, for example), but some RPGs have rules for setting them.
Stats
Short for statistics, the mechanical attributes of a character or item. For example, strength is a stat in most RPGs; the amount of damage caused by a gun would be one of that weapon’s stats. Not really used in post-by-post roleplaying.
Story Arc
A series of linked adventures within a campaign, connected by shared plotand/or thematic elements. Resolving a story arc does not resolve the entire campaign (unless it’s the final story arc).
Subplot
A secondary plot that runs parallel to the main plot. Subplots are often designed so that they can be ignored (or missed) by the PCs.
System
Another term for a game’s rules.
Table Talk
Any conversation at the gaming table that is not directly related to the game itself, such as quoting Monty Python lines. Excessive table talk can be disruptive.
TPK
Total Party Kill. When the entire party of PCs is wiped out in a single instance, most often due to a run of poor die rolls.
Twink
A player who exploits loopholes in the rules (but does not break them) to build PCs that are more powerful than average. Synonymous withmunchkin.
Wing It
Slang for “improvise.”
Worldbuilding
The act of creating a setting.
(a big thank-you to Treasure Tables for letting us borrow the Glossary)
