Roleplaying 101

Revaliir is a forum-based play-by-post roleplaying site. Here, you create an original character and interact with other characters via text. There are no dice, and while Revaliir has moderators, their job is to enforce site rules and answer questions, and not to manage a plot. The setting is largely a sandbox, but there is some lore available for those who wish to use it. Roleplayers of all skill levels are welcome; we do not require new members to have a character approved before they can start roleplaying, and there are no word count minimums.

This guide is written for members who are unfamiliar with roleplaying, or with the style of roleplay we have here.

## What is roleplaying?

Roleplaying involves assuming the role of a character, and then interacting with other characters in a written narrative. You write what your character says and does, and then other people reply with what their characters say and do. Here's an example:

> *"Dalanesca walked into the Winking Mermaid tavern. Her blonde hair had been tied back into a bun, and she had a sword strapped to her belt. She sat down on a bar stool and flagged the barkeep. "Can I have a mug of ale?" she asked. "I've been out all day adventuring and I could use a good drink."*
>
>

Now, let's bring in Nemesis. He's going to reply to my roleplay with the following:

> *"Nemesis had been in The Winking Mermaid for about an hour, sitting in a dark corner, watching everyone. He saw a blonde woman enter and ask for a drink. He was curious, and decided to approach her.*
>
>

> *'I heard you say you've been adventuring all day,' he said. 'What sort of adventures?'*
>
>

The topic could then continue with Dalanesca telling Nemesis about her adventures, and maybe mention that she knows of a troll nearby that's been terrorizing a village, and asks Nemesis to help her. Perhaps Nemesis has sinister intentions, and when they find the troll, Nemesis takes the troll's side and want to terrorize the village himself. The possibilities are endless!

Roleplays on Revaliir are written in paragraph form, as demonstrated above. Some members might use **bold text** or different-coloured text to highlight dialogue. Most members prefer to write in the third person (using pronouns like "he", "she" or "they" to describe their character), but this isn't required; other point-of-view voices, such as first person (using the pronoun "I"), are also acceptable.

Your character will always have a limited point-of-view. As a roleplayer, you might know more information than your character knows. For example, Nemesis has never met Dalanesca before, and he doesn't know her name, though the person roleplaying as Nemesis would know her name. This would be considered metagaming, and might be considered god-moding (and thus against the rules).

## God-moding and power-playing 101

When roleplaying, it's very important that you only control your own character, and don't attempt to control another person's character. Here's an example of what that might look like:

> *"You traitor!" Dalanesca exclaimed upon discovering Nemesis' treachery. "I will not stand by and watch you hurt these innocent people!"*
>
>

> *Drawing her sword, Dalanesca charged at Nemesis and brought her sword down on him, cutting off his right arm."*
>
>

Dalanesca's actions here would be considered **god-moding**, which is against the rules. Attacking another character and slicing his arm off ignores the possibility that Nemesis might dodge the attack, or use a spell to try to paralyze Dalanesca. Here is the same situation, without god-moding:

> *"You traitor!" Dalanesca exclaimed upon discovering Nemesis' treachery. "I will not stand by and watch you hurt these innocent people!"*
>
>

> *Drawing her sword, Dalanesca charged at Nemesis. She attempted to bring her sword down on him and cut off his arm.*
>
>

Here, the *intent* of Dalanesca's actions haven't changed, but this time the attack is presented as an attempt. Nemesis might end up with his arm cut off, or he may dodge the attack, or he may choose to counter in some other fashion.

Other examples of god-moding include giving your character knowledge that hasn't been revealed to your character yet (metagaming), mind-reading, and so on.

God-moding is allowed if the person being god-moded gives permission. Nemesis might have wanted Dalanesca to cut off his arm, in which case the first example would be acceptable.

On Revaliir, we use the term **power-playing** to describe actions that are extremely powerful. Characters may not, for example, be immortal or invulnerable. in a fight, your character might not be able to dodge each and every attack directed at them, especially if they need to resort to extreme measures to do so.

## About the setting

Revaliir is a high-fantasy setting loosely based in the medieval era. Books that use this setting include J. R. R. Tolkien's *The Lord of the Rings* series, Michael Moorcock's *Elric of Melniboné* series, C. S. Lewis' *The Chronicles of Narinia* series, and many more. High fantasy, and especially medieval high fantasy like we use on Revaliir, include magic; fantastic creatures like dragons; races such as elves, dwarves, drow, vampires, and shapeshifters; and exist in a fictional setting.

Revaliir's setting is fictional, though you may notice some real-world similarities in some of the areas. Canelux is a very traditional setting, with kingdoms, gods, and medieval weaponry like swords and bows, used alongside a variety of spells. Parvpora is less traditional, in that there are republics, education is valued, and magic is used more than on Canelux. Parvpora also features dead zones, where magic will not work.

As a general rule, technology that existed in the Medieval era (before approximately 1500) is allowed on Revaliir. Some exceptions may be made for technology that existed, but that doesn't fit with this particular high fantasy setting. Firearms and gunpowder are prohibited, for example, and we may make other exceptions if they come up.

## A word on items and spells...

You will need to buy an item from the shops in order to use that item in your roleplay posts. Looking for a spell or item that isn't in the shops? That's okay; find the item or spell that's closest to what you need and substitute. If you're not sure what to use to sub, ask in the help board.

There is an exception. If an item exists in the setting, like a stick in the Virens Forest, you may use that item in your post even if you don't own a stick item (or close sub). You may use your stick as a weapon in a pinch, though of course it wouldn't be a very effective weapon. You could also use it as a walking stick. However, when you leave the forest or the thread (whichever happens first), the stick stays behind.

## Still need help?

That's okay! Our members are very friendly and everyone is generally willing to help out new members. We want you to enjoy Revaliir as much as we do.

If you have questions, you might want to first try searching this wiki to see if your question is covered in an article. Don't see an answer? Ask in the Help board, and we'll strive to get your your question quickly.

You might also want to check out our Greenhorns' Guild. Here, you can participate in a roleplay with an experienced member, and they will give you tips about how you can improve your roleplaying, and if you complete the topic (at least five posts), you'll earn more gold as well, as your mentor will give you the gold they earned in the roleplay with you.

Most importantly, we want you to have fun roleplaying here, and our staff are here to help make your experience here enjoyable.

Happy roleplaying!