College paper

Er... I'm having to do a paper on "How to do something" for my writing class, and so I though I would post it on the site, to get some of your opinions on it. Right now, DON'T CORRECT THE SPELLING OR GRAMMAR!!!, Because right now I need to make sure it makes sense before I even start with that.


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This paper will be on how to join up in a forum based RPG, which is basically where you use a forum to sort of play something similar to DnD, or Final fantasy and the like. If you enjoy such things like that, then you might want to give this a try. If you want to try, then take the time to read what I have here as what are the steps for joining one, and getting started.

First off is finding a site with a setting you like. By setting I mean like, is it based off the wild west? Or is it based in medieval Europe with some fantasy elements? Maybe you want to do one based on the modern day, or even one set in the future. One of the keys is at least joining one you might like, which is where the setting comes into play. After you found a site you might like to join, look over the rules a few times to see if you can understand them. If they are unclear to you, you could create an account to the forum, and at least PM , also know as private messaging (which is somewhat like an e-mail), one of the staff members of the site, the mods and Admins, your questions. They are willing to respond and try to explain the rules more clearly for you. After you have found a site, and read the rules some, it is time to create your character.

The character you create on the forum, is in a way your persona. You can make him, or her, whatever you want. Course, there are some things you want to consider when making it. The first of is, what do you want to be? And will it fit the setting? For instinct, do you think a man that uses modern day rifles in a medieval setting? For what you want, pick what you think you would enjoy. Like, do you enjoy being a "medical type person, if so then try to get your character close to being a doctor. Or if you are more of the gunner type person, make someone that uses range attacks or something. Or even make a character that is similar to how you look or act. After you got what you want your guy to do, it is time to say how he looks. For this, think of these questions, and you should have a somewhat good description. First, what is his build? Is your guy skinny? Or somewhat bulky? Maybe he is tubby, and has great strength? After you got that, what color is his hair? His eyes? Is there any facial features that stand out, like a scar or a mark? What does he wear? Does he have a coat and some pants, or maybe he wears armor, with en emblem of some sort. Infact, does he wear a hat? What kind of weapon, if any, does he use? Is it his fists, or a massive scythe? And about what does it look like?

After the looks, how does the character act? Is the guy shy around other people, or does he boasts about what he has done? Is the character a team player, taking hits for others and helping those around him? Maybe he hates others, and wants to take out the other players? Is he relatively bright, and shows of his knowledge? Or maybe the character is a dunce, and gets into trouble all the time? And on a deeper level, does he have a good reason for the way he acts, or is it just for his own enjoyment?

After all of that, in most cases you should be done. But most of the time you have some more mechanical stuff to do in addition which are laid out in the rules. For instance, using the system of a site I am apart of, you have to have a sort of special attack. At the start, it caps out at 70 damage, and after you use it, it takes time before you are able to use it again. Course, it can have the damage reduced for other effects, such as slowing foes down, or making you able to hit more, or even hitting more then one foe. When you have al of this done, post it in the registration area, and wait for one of the mods or Admins to say it is alright to use. When they do, post it where the approve characters go, and start playing in the RP.

These are the steps in at least joining a RP site. There is more after this, like playing with the other players, or even just by yourself. However, since this is just about joining one and making a character, I won't go into this matter. However, there is at least three more things I should say. One is don't try to get videogame characters as yours, it is frowned upon and the mods would say no to your character and ask you to change it. Then there is "Don't piss off the mods". They are human, and have feelings; as such they can either be helpful to you if you are new, or want to kill you if you don't follow the rules and act like a jerk to other players. Also, some sites reward good grammar, spelling, and how well you are at RPing your character. If you have problems that effect your grammar or spelling, like the langue the RPing is done in is not your first, or you have something that makes you unable to RP to the best of your abilities, let the mods know so they won't be as harsh on you for it. They are there to help the players most of the time.
In my opinion, its pretty good. Its well structured, and there aren't too many errors in it. My main quip is this: A large amount or the terms that you use are unknown to others. Examples are "cap", "mod", "admin", and a few others. You may want to add a small paragraph that could introduce some of the terms that people would encounter while checking out a forum.
...The final Draft of the essay, and I already turned it in.

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How to join a forum-based RPG


This paper discusses how to join a forum-based Role-playing game (RPG). A forum-based RPG is a game played on a computer or anything that can have a web browser like Internet Explorer or Mozilla trough something similar to a message board with players from all over the globe. If you have ever played games like World of Warcraft or one of the several Final Fantasy games, then you know the basics of what a RPG is, because those both are RPGs themselves. If not, then an RPG is a game that is similar to playing out a story. If you enjoy playing those kinds of games, then you might want to give this a try. The plus side is the thing is free, and not as time consuming as some of the other stuff can be. If you want to try, then take the time to read what I have here is the basics of finding one of these RPG sites, on how to create a character, and some tips to keep you out of trouble and to help you have a satifining online experience.

First off is finding a site with a setting you like. For instance, would you rather play a game based off of westerns, or do you like games based in medieval Europe with some fantasy elements? Maybe you want to play on a RPG forum based on the modern day, or even one set in the future. One of the keys is at least joining one you might like, which is where the setting comes into play. Even if you know what kind of setting you want, finding the sites can be somewhat difficult. What I would suggest is using "Google" to look up like "Forum based RPGS" or something like that. After you find a site you might like to join, look over the rules a few times to see if you can understand them. If they are unclear to you, you could create an account to the forum, and at least Private Message (PM) one of the staff members of the site, known as the moderators (mods) and Administrators (admins), your questions. They are willing to respond and try to explain the rules more clearly for you. Along with this, there might also be a section on the forum that has a summary of the plot for the site. You should read it; because it might sound like something you might want to get heavily involved in. After you have found a site, and read the rules and plot if they have one, it is time to create your character.

The character you create on the forum is your persona. You can make him, or her, whatever you want, within reason please. And by that, I mean no space marines in a game that is based in the 1200's. Aside from silly stuff like that, your character could be whatever you want. You could play a brave knight, or even a technician that can create devices from things like paperclips and other household items. You could also be someone whom uses words instead of the sword. You could even model the character after yourself. Most sites I have been to have a good deal of freedom on what you can be, so much that you could probably get a pink humanoid hippo wearing a kilt that step dances as if fires rockets as your character. And no, I am not joking about that.

After the looks, how does the character act? Maybe you would like to play a character that is not very social, hardly speaking to the other players, or even a character that takes a calling in protecting those around him or her. Maybe you want to make the character scholarly and well read, or just have him or her be a dunce? Or maybe the character is a dunce, and gets into trouble all the time. Maybe on a deeper level, the character has a good reason for the way he acts.

After getting how the character looks and acts completed, in most cases you should be ready to send your character trough the approval processes. But most of the time you have some technical things to have to worry about, which varies from forum to forum. By technical, we mean items such as character stats. When you have all of this done, post it in the registration area and wait for one of the mods or Admins to say it is alright to use. When they do, post it where the approve characters go, and start playing in the RPG.

These are the steps in at least joining a RPG site. There is more after this, like playing with the other players from all over the globe, or even just by yourself. However, since this is just about joining one and making a character, I won't go into this matter. However, there are at least three more things I should say. One is don't try to get a copyrighted character as your own, it is frowned upon and the mods would say no to your character and ask you to change it. Then there is "Don't anger the mods". They are human, and have feelings; as such they can either be helpful to you if you are new, or want to kill you if you don't follow the rules and act like a jerk to other players. Also, some sites reward good grammar, spelling, and how well you are at keeping in character (IC), meaning how well you Roleplay as your character. If you have problems that effect your grammar or spelling, like the language the RPG is in is not your first, or you have something that makes you unable to Roleplay to the best of your abilities, let the mods know so they won't be as harsh on you for it. They are there to help the players most of the time.

After all of that, and the three tips at the end, you should now be able to start playing the RP. In this paper, you have just learned what a forum based RPGs was, how to find it, and some things to think about when making your character. And the last three tips should help keep you out of trouble and make it more enjoyable for you as well. Have fun, make friends, and save the world! Or whatever you want to do, because it is up to you how you want to play.