Table of Contents
- 1A. Introduction
1B. The RolePlay Tab and You
2A. Starting Out
2B. Searching for a Role-Play
3A. You've Found a Role-Play
3B. Characters
4A. Posting
1A. Introduction
Welcome to Role-Play Gateway! If you have been redirected to this guide it is because YOU need help finding your way around. Am I right? Well, don't feel bad. This site can look confusing at first but I promise you before this guide is over, you will be an expert of all things role-play. Okay, maybe not everything. But you will be able to navigate the Roleplay Tab, and have the tools YOU need to begin the first of many adventurers to come. My name is Maestro and I will be your guide.
In this guide I will try to make it as simple and to the point as possible. Chances are you are new to us here at Role-Play Gateway, so before we begin, I implore you to read the rules to know what we expect here from our users. There are only five! Now hoping you feel good about things, why not shoot over to the Welcome Desk and introduce yourself? I'm sure everyone would love to get to know you!
Off topic a little? I know, get to the darn guide you say! Save your questions for last, and feel free to use the Table of Contents to skip ahead if you feel confident enough. All you have to do is hit ctrl f and type in the corresponding sections designation before hitting enter; this should bring you straight to that section. Ex. Say you want to move to the first section, The RolePlay Tab and You. Just hit ctrl f, bringing up a small search bar that appears at the corner of your screen and type in 1B. And presto, you're there!
1B. The RolePlay Tab and You
The RolePlay Tab is unique to Role-Play Gateway! It is a system that is used to organize and chronicle the role-plays that are created by our users. Granted, some level of basic forum and chat role-play still exist, but the tab is the primary location where our role-plays take birth. Now don't get discouraged. It is simpler than it sounds, and really allows our game masters more control over their stories. Furthermore, it is a great way to organize varying bits of information pertaining to a role-play, simplifying the way we look at everything!
Most people don't want a history lesson, but originally the system was conceived by the founder of the site, Remæus. We are continuously trying to change and expand upon the world of role-play in the hopes that we can better connect you, our users, to the best possible role-play that fits your broad interests. In the end of this guide you will not only learn about the various basic functions of the Roleplay Tab, but also be able to circumnavigate them not only by genre, but by a wide range of other keywords and "tags" as we call them.
2A. Starting Out
This guide wouldn't be a guide without pictures, so here we go! From the front page, you will notice a large black bar stretched across the top of the page. It is here you will find the RolePlay Tab. In case you're having trouble locating it, here is a helpful reference.
Now, this bar should be able to be accessed from any page on the site. So no matter where you are, you will have access to its various functions (and more importantly, the RolePlay Tab itself). As you see here, if you use your cursor to highlight the Roleplay link, it will bring up a small list of options. You can create, view the role-plays you are currently in, or browse for new role-plays!
Let us choose the browse all option! From there you will be introduced to more than 12,000 role-plays ranging from every genre and story imaginable. But wait, does it all seem like too much? Unsure of where to begin or how to go about finding that right role-play for YOU? Well no need to fear, because we have a solution to that as well.
2B. Searching for a Role-Play
Presuming you've followed the guide this far, you should have clicked on the Roleplay link at the top of the website (located within the black bar) and chosen the browse all option. Now at the top of the list of role-plays, you should see something like this.
Everything is rather self-explanatory from here. If your page doesn't look exactly like this one, click on where it says Manage your filters or select a sort method. This should drop down the list of options you see above. From here, you can sort the role-plays by whatever method you find easier. But, if that isn't enough, don't worry, there's more! Come on, this is Role-Play Gateway, there is always more.
2C. Tags
Tags are another method to search for role-plays based on selected criteria set by YOU. Normally each role-play has tags associated with it. Rather than trying to explain, how about I show you?
As you can tell, a role-play can have as many tags as the game master (GM) permits as relevant. If you return to the sorting field, you can set parameters so that certain tags will be highlighted while others of your choosing will be ignored completely. So you don't have to worry about fishing through topics you KNOW you won't like at all.
"Click a tag to search for more roleplays associated with that tag."
You will notice this statement made somewhere near the top of the page. Once you set your searching preferences, all you have to do is click on a tag (such as fantasy, for example), and only all of the role-plays with the associated tag will be shown. From here, the rest is really up to you in finding a story that meets your needs as a writer. However, you are only scratching the surface of this illustrious system!
3A. You've Found a Role-Play
So you found that special role-play that you think will be a good fit huh? If you haven't noticed already, every role-play has its very own page. Now, we call this the RolePlay Tab because once you open each role-plays perspective page, you are going to see a list of tabs across the top. It should look something like this.
- Introduction- Under the introduction tab, you will find all of the basic information about the role-play. Its story, its characters, rules, etc. Basically this represents what the OOC front page USED to be.
Characters- Here is where you can view all of the characters and their authors who are a part of this story. One important thing to keep in mind is that a lot of role-plays require character approval first. So just because you submit a character doesn't mean you can just jump right in. The game master needs to first review and accept them. Once your character is accepted, it will appear on this page and you should receive a notification of some kind.
Places- If the game master decides to use it, here you will find all of the locations represented within this role-play. Worlds, kingdoms, and anything else they decide to post up. This will become relevant later when posting.
Groups- This is a spot for factions and groups within the role-play to be listed. Usually this also includes the characters who are a part of these groups. Again, this can be used at the game master's discretion. Don't always expect this information to be on this page. If it's not, the introduction should have what you are looking for.
Quests/Arcs- Some stories are massive, so they have their very own location to keep track of the current goals of the role-play, and the sorts of quests and arcs being explored within the story. Very convenient if you're not sure what you should be doing. Much like the last two tabs, this can be used at the game master's leisure. The nice thing about the RolePlay Tab is that a lot of its options are well... optional!
Activity/Posting- Quite honestly I'm not sure what the difference is (both of these tabs have the same information). This is where the meat of the story takes place. The IC! If you look to the top of this page, you will see a link that states Reply to this RolePlay. And as I just noticed, hitting the posting tab will bring you straight to an area to begin shelling out your post!
Chat- Each role-play has its very own chat. Although users don't always use it, if a game master so chose, the role-play could be carried out solely through this chat versus the activity/posting tab.
OOC- The best place to get started! Here you will find all of the various threads linked to this role-play. Sometimes game masters like to use this as a way to further organize information. If you have questions or would like to speak with other users/express interest in joining, this is the place to be!
3B. Characters
The first thing to do when joining a new role-play is to check out the OOC as I had stated somewhere above. Connect with your fellow users, ask questions if you have to. Also read the introduction to know the game masters expectations. Just like in forum RP, most role-plays have a character skeleton. The same standards follow here. But, you will be posting this character skeleton in the characters tab.
You're going to want to first copy the character skeleton, move to the characters tab, and choose the Add New button. This will open up a whole new page. From here it is rather self-explanatory. Your character name, a small brief description of said character, and an avatar (that has to be exactly 100x100 dimensions). It will NOT resize the avatar for you. Last is the large white box at the bottom where you will paste your character skeleton, and go about filling it out. When you're all done, you'll hit the submit button at the bottom.
Note: Adding a synopsis or an avatar is completely optional when submitting a character. Also each character name should be unique and original. No two characters can share the same name within a role-play.
This sends the character to the game master for approval. Keep in mind that this character can be edited at any time in the User Control Panel, and under the tab that reads Characters. Here you will see the list of all your characters, and there should be an edit button beside each of them.
Beside Characters, the tab Roleplays will bring you to a list of all the role-plays you have submitted characters to. You can access the same information on the black bar where you originally found the RolePlay Tab under the My Roleplays option.
4A. Posting
Last but not least. I know, this guide has been a gigantic information download shoved down your throat. But, I want to make sure that all of your questions are answered! You've found a role-play, submitted a character... and now, it's time to start writing. Oh my? Well, all you are simply going to do is head over to the Posting tab.
From here, I can be of no help. You will write your post, and begin taking your first steps in exploring this vast world! But, there are a few things I'd like to point out in the above picture before I go. I know, you're tired of hearing from me! We're almost done I swear.
The Where section above your post is important. This is where you can choose the location your character is in (based on the preset places the game master may have created). Make sure you don't forget about this because too many times I've seen people posting in the wrong location! Next, we return to character tags located below. You can tag a character in your post which will send that person a notification, letting them know that their character is mentioned or needed for a reply. Very useful in keeping people involved! Here you can also keep track of word count of your post.
Most importantly, make sure your post is just the way you want it before you jump in!
End
