Hello folks!
Whilst working on another RP project I put together a basic guide on the ‘RP Essentials’, things that I felt were fundamental for someone new to/curious about RP to know. This guide is intended to be easy to read and understand, and provide a new RPer with the basic knowledge they need to get out there and give the hobby a try. Please don’t feel the need to read it all in one go, RP is a form of gameplay that can be made as simple or complex as you like. I hope this guide proves useful!
- Common terms and abbreviations -
IC = In-character (This is used to denote when someone is actively roleplaying the character they’re on.This usually indicated they can be approached for RP at that time)
OOC = Out of character (This is used to denote when someone is not currently RPing on the character they’re on. Its often used when someone is playing their RP character for other game content like dungeons and questing ect).
OP = Overpowered (This is used to describe a character or ability that is significantly more powerful than is required for the event or other players in the interaction. It should be noted that being OP is relative to the RP you’re doing and who you’re doing it with).
TRP = Total Roleplay 3 (This refers to the addon ‘Total Roleplay 3’, which is the most widely used RP addon on the Argent Dawn Server).
Hub = An area of regular RP activity (an RP hub is an area of the game that is currently popular for casual RP, and is often a particular area of a city or settlement. For example the Valley of Honor in Orgrimmar, or the Park in Stormwind).
Casual RP = Roleplay without a specific purpose or DM (This is generally used to refer to the kind of Rp most often encountered inside settlements. Most often taking the form of buying or selling as a merchant character, visiting the tavern and sharing stories and general ‘slice of life’ RP. Combat is rarely involved in these settings).
DM = Dungeon Master (A term taken from tabletop RP, a Dungeon Master is a player who is actively running an event, most often pre-planned and involving combat. As WoW has no RP combat systems, each DM tends to have their own system for combat and abilities.)
Tongues = Elixir of Tongues (A potion purchasable from a Goblin NPC in the sewers of Legion-era Dalaran called Fizzi Liverzapper, which allows you to speak to members of the opposite faction for 1 hour.) Edit: This can also be used to refer to the addon ‘Tongues’ which allows you to speak and understand the languages of other races, if the other player you’re speaking too also has the addon installed.
- Recommended Addons -
These addons may be found, downloaded and installed easily using the Curseforge/Overwolf Client. You can find it via copy and pasteing this URL: https://download.curseforge.com/
Total Roleplay 3 (TRP3): This addon allows users to make a much more detailed profile for their character than the standard game allows, and read the TRP profiles of others. Players can alter the name of their character to include surnames, titles and even be a different name to the characters in-game name entirely. It also allows players to create their own names for classes (Herbologist for example) and fill out a backstory section, which can also be used for listing inventory if playing a merchant.
An important feature of this addon is the ability to set ‘at a glance’ tabs for your character, which are small icons which reveal RP information when moused over. For example; Your character carries a distinctive weapon that others might be curious about during RP, but isn’t really represented by any of your current weapon appearances. In this situation you can create an ‘at a glance’ briefly describing what makes your weapon stand out, so others can inquire about it during RP. This feature is often used to let people know if your character has a magical aura, distinctive smell or scars. Anything that you would notice in real life, but isn’t reflected by the character model.
Listener: This addon allows you to toggle on and off a separate chat box which will display everything said and emoted by another player when you mouse over or select them. Its incredibly useful when RPing in crowded areas such as taverns and RP hubs such as Stormwind Park, where there may be multiple unrelated conversations going on within your chat range.
Cross RP: This addon allows you to read the TRP profiles of the opposite faction when TRP is also installed, and will offer you a reminder when your Elixir of Tongues (a potion that allows you to speak to the other faction) is about to run out.
- Chat Channels and RP -
When RPing in WoW there are numerous chat channels available for players to use, some of which are used differently when IC and OOC. ‘Spatial channels’ referrals to those methods of communication visible to those characters physically near the speaking character, but invisible further away.
/s (say) : This is the method of speech used by default when loading up WoW, where what you type appears in white writing above your character’s head and is visible to those physically close to your character. This is the chat channel primarily used during RP, and is used to represent your character speaking normally. It is generally considered bad manners to speak OOC using this channel during an RP session, as it can spoil the immersion of others nearby (A whisper is often considered more appropriate).
/y (yell): This functions in the same way as /s but is visible over a much larger area and appears in red text. Generally used during RP to express a character shouting or raising there voice to a significant degree. Like /s, it is generally considered bad manners to speak OOC using this channel during RP.
/w (whisper): This method of speech functions as a form of private communication between two players, and has no limit to how far apart the speaking players can be. It is uncommon for /w to be used during active RP, as it is invisible to other players nearby. It is more common during RP for characters to speak in /s and begin their sentence with * softly * or * low * to denote they’re trying to speak without being overheard (The * at either end of the word make it appear in orange, like an emote).
/e (emote): This method of communication transforms whatever you type into an emote, which appears as orange text in the chatbox to anyone nearby. This is frequently used during RP as a means of describing what your character is doing without speaking. Anything typed after the /e will appear after your characters name. For example; typing ‘/e shakes their fist at you’ will appear to others as ‘Player name shakes their fist at you’.
Combining /s and /e during a sentance: With TRP3 installed, it is possible to emote whilst using /s and to speak whilst using /e. This is done through the use of speech marks and asterisks. For example: typing '/s Hello my friend * waves at you * ’ will appear as normal speech above the players head, but in the chatbox the sections between the * will appear as orange, like an emote. This also works in reverse, with anything placed between " during an emote will appear in the chatbox as white text, denoting speech. This is by no means mandatory during RP, but is a handy function of TRP3 to know.
P.S: I hope this guide is helpful to anyone who’s curious about trying RP, and if anyone has any questions not covered here, or has anything to add they wish they knew when starting out please feel free to add onto this thread!
