Roleplay, A Guide

Welcome, writer, to Ghostsona Ghorytime; a Discord and Wikia dedicated to original characters and roleplay based on the BBC series Ghosts.

Since you're here and you've clicked onto this page, it makes me very happy to know someone is actually reading this and I didn’t sit here for the past who-knows-how-long typing away for absolutely nothing.

This guide is mainly for beginners so let’s start with the basics, eh?

What Is Roleplay?
In short, roleplaying or RP is taking on the guise of a chosen character and playing out their role as an actor would. It’s more similar to scriptwriting, I think, as we’re writing out the character’s actions rather than physically acting them out. (Unless you LARP. More power to you!)

These characters are our Ghostsonas (Ghost Personas) or in some cases if a writer has applied, a Canon Ghosts character from the very TV Show we’re all here to love. They’re designed however we like them (fitting in with the period we’ve set them to), and they can be anyone we want them to be. 1800s author? Go for it! Neolithic hunter with a soft spot for flowers? Be my guest! What I’m saying is, we write characters as an author would. The only rule for character creation is that they must fit into the world of Ghosts. That means no mythical creatures.

Roleplay Terms
There are many terms used in RP, many specific to the place where it’s done. Second Life would have different terms to Tumblr, which would be different to Discord and so on, but the following are used in all formats. An example would be: [Clyde steps over to Adam and grins deviously. “Oi, let’s go into the kitchen and see what Mary’s up to, yeah?” He takes Adam’s hand and begins to lead him away.”] See how Adam didn’t get a chance to say no or do something else? This is considered very bad form and we don't allow it here.
 * RP: The abbreviated Acronym for Roleplay. Very commonly used, and will be used in this post from here on out.
 * Character/Ghostsona: Self-explanatory, the character that is being controlled.
 * Player/Writer: Also Self-explanatory.
 * Out of Character (OOC)/In Character (IC): Out of Character text is speech and actions taken by the person behind the keyboard, not the character in the virtual world. This won’t be necessary here as each RP location is IC only, with OOC sections already designated. IC simply means that we’re writing as our characters, not as ourselves.
 * God-Mode-ing/Godmoding/Godmodding: Godmodding can happen in a variety of ways. A character hit with a devastating attack shrugging it off like nothing happened, a character with a power or ability that was not allowed, a player that takes an action for another player's character (This one is a big no over here) and so on. These actions are not allowed in the Ghostsona Ghorytime server outside of the Crackghosting channel as they are disruptive to the flow of RP and generally just make everyone angry with you.
 * Meta-gaming: Meta-game is a bit of an awkward one for some people. It’s the act of taking information that the writer has learned (either from researching, or reading about another person’s character OOC etc.) and using that information IC and can be anything from a character's name to their history. This can often create unfair or uncomfortable situations for people who ICly don’t know the other character, or do know them but haven’t shared everything. Just because a writer knows something, it doesn’t mean that their characters do. Crackghosting is also only for fun. Nothing there transfers over to the actual RP channels.


 * Auto-hitting/Force-hitting: Pretty straightforward, it’s used to describe an attack made from one character to another that instantly hits. If you get into a fight, you cannot instantly hit them and must write that you attempted to, such as “Charlie ran at Percy with his fist raised, aiming for the other lad’s jaw. If it hit, it would certainly hurt!”

The Different Roleplay Styles
Although different styles will be listed here, the Ghosts Ghorytime server uses Paragraph (para) or Medium for our writing outside of the Crackghosting channel where anything goes. Here’s an outline of what they are.
 * Paragraph (Para) RP: This style has the main characteristic of long, very descriptive posts that span several lines of text, sometimes into the double-digits for complex posts.
 * Light RP: Generally characterized by "Txt" talk and Emotes ( ., >.>, =D, XD etc), this type of RP is generally meant for casual RPers, and those just getting the hang of OOC speech. This includes the use of the letter "u" instead of the word "you". Please avoid this outside the Crackghosting channels.
 * Medium/Med RP: This style is meant for those who have an understanding of RR, but either do not want, or cannot produce posts that are the size of Para. This is what I expect.
 * Heavy RP: Virtually the same as Para RP, but often longer. This is for those who want long, complex posts, about as heavy as a book can get.

Examples of Roleplay Styles
Below are examples of each style of writing, in order of how much detail is needed per post. While we work using para or medium here, it’s good to know the different types at a glance.

Remember: If you’re unsure what to do, estimate by what a Mentor or advanced writer is doing and follow their lead. Don't just make your own rules up as you go along. Ask if you need to, it's why the Mod Squad are here.

Heavy RP:
The most descriptive style of writing and one that I prefer to do myself, but I don’t expect it here. It can take far too much time to make posts unless everyone is willing to wait.
 * Writer 01: As each member of the band had their own flat, each was decorated differently, unique to each one. Colin’s was almost the definition of hygge. Warm, light woods and white walls with sparse yet matching decor. Books lined several shelves, and were even atop the mantlepiece of a fireplace that had been replaced with an electronic replica in order to reduce smoke in his flat. Colin sat by the kitchen window, strumming away on his guitar to no set tune as he gazed out at the city, a cup of tea cooling on the windowsill beside a copy of some hardback novel he’d picked up and breezed through only the day before. Every so often his music would begin to form a tune before drifting to a gentle acoustic freestyle once more as he absentmindedly plucked the steel strings, head resting against the cool glass.


 * Writer 02: Keys could be heard in Colin’s front door as Noel let himself in. A massive perk of being in a relationship was that he was given unlimited access to Colin’s place, which he greatly appreciated. Noel grinned to himself as he carefully stepped towards the kitchen, careful not to disturb the sound of music as he gently gripped a bag of Maltesers in his hand. A quiet sigh when he caught sight of Colin and he was wondering if maybe he’d been noticed, or if Colin was still in his own world. Either way, he wouldn’t mind as there was nothing more lovely to him than watching his lover play music in a daze, but he also quietly wondered if that was a bit strange.

Para/Paragraph RP:
A very descriptive style of writing. While not expected, posts like these are encouraged here.
 * Writer 01: Early, so early it was dark on the murky streets of London. People came and went as they always did, to work in the factories, and the shops, and all the places set to open. A newspaper stand stood at the corner of a small alleyway, a man in old yet neat clothes and a cap on peddled his inky wares to those out early enough to purchase them. A young man sat watching him from an old crate nearby, his flat-cap pulled low as he tugged at his ragged fingerless gloves, taking slow, careful breaths in the sharp, early morning cold.

Notice how each writer is filling their post with detail, just like in Heavy? What the character is doing, along with perhaps how they look and even some hint as to why they’re there. Both writers have put in their introduction as to why they’re in this location, and Writer 02 has replied using some of the descriptive information that Writer 01 has given, using Writer 01’s character description to form an idea of how their character might respond to their presence.
 * Writer 02: Wandering the streets before having to set up the stall he worked at, a youthful looking man lit up his rolled cigarette while silently cursing the cold. Though he knew it kept illness at bay, trying to keep his decrepit home was a near impossible task. The job at the stall did not pay enough, but no other occupation would take him. He was reluctant about working in a factory after noticing that workers had often left with missing limbs -- not a great place to work in the long term. Passing the man on the crate, he took pity on him, wondering if he was homeless and deciding to try helping in some way. “Good morning, sir.” he asked. “Are you in need of something?”

Medium/Med RP:
This is also very acceptable here at Ghostsona Ghorytime, whether you’re a GhOC or a Canon. While Heavy is encouraged and Para is recommended, this is what we’d expect from most of you.
 * Writer 01: Percy strolled out of the chipper, shoving a handful of chips into his mouth and somehow not missing with a single one. He looked Charlie over, followed his eyeline to the motorbike, and hummed. “Alright then.” He spoke up once he’d swallowed his chips and then quickly shoved some more down his throat after speaking.

This is the style used here, primarily. Descriptive, but not overly long, and tries to avoid the simple “speech, then action” of short posts by adding relevant filler text. There’s still enough for each writer to base their responses off without things getting too confusing for both parties.
 * Writer 02: Charlie stared at Percy, wondering how his mate could shovel all those chips into his mouth and not be a fat fuck. Then he remembered that he had played connect the dots with the spots on Percy’s face earlier. Looking back over to the bike, he kept his voice low as he spoke. “Hey… Think we should take it?”

Light RP:
About as simple as it gets, and how we tend to interact in Crackghosting. While IC, it’s not considered canon in there. Notice that it's incredibly basic and not very good for actually writing.
 * Writer 01: Julian you fucker give my coat back! *frowns and grabs at him*
 * Writer 02: NO!!!!!!! D:< *slaps René’s hands away*