Now, now, class, settle down...

To get things in perspective - no, this isn't an RP. What it is, though, is my thoughts on RPing in general, and the hints and tips I've accumulated over my RP career.

To anyone that thinks that this is inappropriate, or that I'm being preachy, I say this - I've been RPing for a long time, and I've done lots of different things. I've done full contact Live Action, and table top roleplays, through to play-by-e-mails and internet games. I do, therefore, know what I'm talking about.

Remember, as well, I'm both an Admin and a Host of this forum. I aren't going to beat you over the heads much with this - but remember, if you're going to comment, be constructive, don't just flame. This topic has the potential to go downhill very, very quickly, and neither myself, Sam or Vec will be happy if that happens.

That sorted, on with the tutorial!

What is RP?

At the very base, roleplay is the continuation of the games we played as children. House. Cowboys and Indians. Pretend. Cops n' Robbers. When we pulled our action figures from the shelves, we were roleplaying. When our dolls sat around and talked, we were roleplaying.

As we grew up, we put the dolls away. The action figures are packed into boxes and forgotten. It's not 'done' to play Pretend any more. We aren't going to run about 'shooting' one another and pretending to be in the Wild West. We're more 'grown up' than that.

I remember, just under a year ago, talking to a few friends of mine. One of them was moving house, and he'd come across a box full of Transformers toys. Funnily enough, the first real memory I have of this guy is being over at his house, about a decade ago, playing with those toys.

We decided, feeling embarrassed about the whole thing, to look through the toys. Gradually, a few memories flickered and reasserted themselves. A little catchphrase used by such-and-such. What one toy had done to another when we'd played with them.

But, we were Students now, and students don't play with toys like that anymore. Instead, we packed the toys up, and went down into the living room, sat down, and pulled out the books for the roleplay we had planned for that day.

As we went through the game - pulling out the trademark lines for our characters, the little idiosyncracies, we were struck by a realisation - that, instead of moving from one hobby to another, we'd just taken it to a different level.

Roleplay is a return to an ancient ideal, the art of telling stories. The people who play it are often unsatisfied with the nature of 'entertainment' today - we're told what to listen to, what to watch, and, ultimately, how to think.

To take, instead, an active role, and to begin to move within a story, crafting a tale out of the air and imagination - that is roleplay.

All else is detail.