RP Guide (Courtesy of Mongo, edited by Uncle Sam)

Here is Mongo's RP Guide, edited for use with this roster.

For Livin' on the Edge Wrestling to be a truly great Federation we need great RP. This helps the creative staff to develop solid story lines, and most importantly it helps us all have fun. So here is some info on RPing properly and respectfully.

NO GOD-MODING

God-Moding is simply when you take control of others. There are only three times this is acceptable:
1) You are the GM or working under the GM's orders.
2) You have specific permission from the person you are god-modding.
3) Partnerships. If you are a part of a team or a faction you may do basic controls such as having them to accompany you. Try not to speak for them, or have them performing complex actions such as attacking, or requesting matches.

RESPECT OTHER CHARACTERS

If you are RPing respect the character of those you RP with. Example:

Mongo watches as Uncle Sam makes his way to the ring. He argues with the fans and threatens a couple. Mongo jumps out and attacks him viciously, and tosses him over the barrier where the fans join the attack.

There are two major issues here:
1) I was God-Moding, by controlling Sam's character.
2) I was completely misusing his character. His character is a face, and a role model so he would never be interacting with the fans in such a way.

Good Example:

Mongo hides as Uncle Sam makes his way to the ring. He growls angrily as he hears the fans loud applause. Waiting for the proper moment when Sam is facing away, he jumps out like a coward and attacks him viciously from behind.

Here I avoided controlling Sam's actions and kept it general. Then I stuck with the fact he is a face by the positive crowd reaction.

Avoid Chair Bashing

I have been actively involved with 2 federations in this game, and 8 to 10 in another game (running one myself) and nothing is more annoying then this when you RP. It is the person whose idea of RP is bashing someone with a chair every time they have a feud. Physical attacks are ok, but need to be used sparingly or as part of a story.
Certain restrictions are put on RP attacks:
1) No injuries. Do not break bones, or put someone out of action. This will only happen if there is a pre-approved story line between the parties involved.
2) Be creative. Not just grabbing a ball bat and randomly hitting people.
3) Be true to character. For Mongo, this means attacks will be cowardly and sneaky,
4) Do not use it just to show you are dominant. An attack on someone who doesn't know it is coming is both cowardly and a good sign of weakness.


Put effort into Role Play

Bad RP:

Mongo rushes up and shoves Uncle Sam. I want to fight for the Title.

Good RP:

The lights in the arena begin to flash in brilliant colors. Creepy carnival music begins to play. The crowd boos when they realize the Demented Circus is on their way. Mongo and Mistress Suzette make their way to the ring, sneering and arguing with the fans.

In the ring Suzette grabs the mic and waits for the boos to subside before speaking.

Shut up.
Respect me or go home.

Once again she must wait for the boos to subside.

I am tired of this disrespect. Not only from you losers, but from our so called leader.
Uncle Sam. I demand that you give Mongo the title shot he deserves.

The first RP is short and lacks any real interest. But with the second I try to build the scene a bit and give some story line to it, while building on my characters.

Things that can help make solid RPs:

- Gimmick. A solid gimmick for your wrestler gives you a guide for RPs. Mongo likes to sneak. So he will often sneak up on someone and speak. He then bolts as quickly as he can.
- Spelling, and writing skills. Try to do your best with this. Use punctuation, and space things out a bit for easier reading.
- Added Elements. Livin' on the Edge Wrestling has its own announcers. Use them. You can also use the environment, build the entrance, or even use valets/managers to deepen the RP.
- Length. Sometimes a short RP is ok. Just make it quality. But trying to avoid always using single sentence RPS.
- Color Coding. As in the RP above create a scheme to denote parts of you RP. For me I use red for actions, violet when Suzette speaks, blue when Mongo speaks, and green for Graffix. I also use bold when yelling, and italics to represent thoughts.
- Work together. Sometimes communicating with who you are RPing with you can set the full scenario so you can both RP appropriately.


Build your character

Who is your character? What are his goals? How is he dressed? Is he a heel or face?

By knowing these things you can build stronger RPs suited to your character. Here are some tips to building a strong RP character.

- Know the basics. Looks, heel or face, behaviors, where they are from all help you to decide how that person will deal with situations.
- Create unique traits. Mongo is sneaky. Graffix has a sick since of humor. Suzette loves to cause others pain. I can always play off these traits for stronger RPs.
- Create a background. I am a writer in real life. Prior to writing I like to create a backstory for my characters. This allows me to connect better with them and how they would act in situations.
- Deepen your character with additional elements. Create a valet, or manager that suits your character and use them in your RP. Create your own locker room, and furnish it to fit you. Find ways to set up the scenes you want.


For now that is the guide. I may add more later. For now though a quick note:

If you do not speak English as a first language then ask for help here. I am sure one of us would be willing to help. Send the person your RP and we can help work out any issues.

The following is an Appendix added by me, Uncle Sam.

Tolerance for Others
Many of the players on TWG do not speak English with the same proficiency as others on here. This is not their fault. They should not be blamed for their inability to speak English as though it was their first language. It can be difficult to understand posts sometimes, and I have seen posts that I have had no chance of understanding. Writing is the only form of communication on here, and sometimes we forget to be tolerant of those who are trying their best to communicate in a language that is foreign to them.

To all of the players whose first language is English, try and put yourselves in their shoes. Imagine you are playing a game, and it is in Italian, or Spanish, or German, or French, or whatever other language you want. Just imagine it is a game that is in a language you do not know very well, or at all. Now, imagine how you would feel if you were being insulted or looked down upon because you didn't understand their language proficiently. I bet you wouldn't feel good, or welcome there. And likely, you would quit. Let's not make this harder for those who are battling the language barrier.

Broken English is one thing, but for those of you whose first language is English, this part is for your writing. Let's see a little stronger effort in here. Try not to use sarcasm in your posts, as a person trying to decipher English, the hardest language on the planet to learn, will not catch it, unless you put at the end "*sarcastic tone*", or simply write "in a sarcastic tone" in your RP. Also, try to use complete sentences, and some proper punctuation. I'm not saying everyone must try to be English majors, but at least make the conversations as clear and easy to read for both the non-English speaking players, and even the English speaking players. When we use your RP for shows, it saves a great deal of time if we do not have to edit everything to be readable. No SMS language, such as "l8r" for "later", or "r u" for "are you". This could cause your RP to not be used.

Do your best, and don't let this appendix to the RP guide scare you from participating or creating RPs. This federation depends on you for material that suits your character. We do not know what your character is all about, even if you give us a description, we do not know the manner in which your character will handle himself, or the wording they will use. The language will be cleaned up for the shows (I do not mean swearing, I mean editing), so feel free to write to the best of your ability. As Mongo's RP Guide suggests, if you need help, just ask us.