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Role Playing Online
Well, you've learned a little about what Role Playing is. Now you want to know how to take that information and use it on-line. This note is going to focus on how Role Playing is done online and some of the terms and abbreviations you should be aware of.
To start, there are several way Role Playing is done online. You can Play By E-Mail (PBEM), some online services have a Bulletin Board system that can be used for Role Playing, you could Role Play in ICQ, and you can play in Internet Relay Chat (IRC). I'll be focussing mostly on the IRC style of playing, for that is the one I do most frequently these days.
There are advantages and disadvantages to each one of the above ways to Role Play. One of IRC's biggest disadvantages can be lag. Lag is when the servers are not communicating very fast to one another. So, something I might have said 2 minutes ago might not be seen by other players or the DM/GM until this second. Lag is common, and can sometimes be remedied by switching to a different server.
So, lag's not a problem and we're ready to play, right? But how? Well, a DM/GM will host a game in a channel that he chooses. He collects the character sheets in text file form from the players and approves the characters. Hopefully, the DM/GM will have a dicebot handy to make things easier. A dicebot rolls all dice for both the DM/GM and the players. A good dicebot will have many other fuctions to help game play go more smoothly as well. From this point, the DM/GM sets the stage and the players react for their characters.
Other things to know? Well, "OC" and "IC" are good things to understand. "OC" stands for Out of Character comment, and means just what it says. It is used to say something to the other Players as YOU, not your Character! "IC" means you are In Character and have started speaking as your Character!! Anything said in "OC" is not known by your Characters or other Characters. Many people use (()) or {{}} to show that they are talking out of character, while "" generally means you are talking in character. For example:
DM says: You have just come across a band of mean looking ogres. They don't look happy and are blocking your way.
John(In Character): "Bah! They don't look so tough! I say we cut them down to size where they stand!!"
John(Out of Character): {{Does my character even know what an Ogre looks like?}}
Well, class is over for now! I hope this was helpful!!
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