Role Play Tutorial

[Ninoslav Maricic]

This tutorial was made by Father Lance Goodison with whom I had pleasure to be working while I was in Kris Rosin's CFWA!

Want to roleplay but do not know where to start? Read on!

Roleplaying 101 – A Beginner's Guide to Character Development and Writing Flashes

Introduction

I just joined a federation and learned that many players are not very familiar with roleplaying, and want to learn about it. I've had a bit of experience with it, so I found that I wanted to write an introduction to the issue for those who have not. In The Wrestling Game, you can join a federation when you reach level 5 (or 4 for supporters), and federations are by far the best arena for roleplaying in The Wrestling Game. I write this with federation use in mind.

In The Wrestling Game, roleplaying is not only fun, but also useful for your wrestler, as I believe many federation GMs explicitly look for roleplayers when they hire their staff. A roleplaying contribution made in a forum or on a mailing list is popularly called a «flash» because its most common form is a short clip of film starring your wrestler presenting his message to the world.

So far, this introduction to roleplaying includes these parts:
Part 1: Character development and writing flashes
Part 2: List of personality trait suggestions
Part 3: Flash samples
Part 4: More on gimmicks, and ten gimmick examples

This post reflects my own views, and not necessarily that of The Wrestling Game's developers, GMs or staff. I also collect a lot of inspiration from my fellow in-game wrestlers, and hope you won't be angry with me if I happen to speak of something resembling your wrestler. I also apologize in advance to female players and female characters as I will mostly be using the pronouns «him» and «his» in this text. If anyone is unhappy about my posts, feel free to beat me bloody in-game.

[Ninoslav Maricic]

What is roleplaying?

Roleplaying means creating a character and living out his life in written text. Roleplaying is dependent on people working together, reading what other characters do, and reacting to it if it has an interest to your own character. To be able to do this, you first need to decide what kind of character you're playing.

Breathing life into your character – character development

When creating your character, you will want to think of as many details as possible to make your character interesting and unique. You want other players to notice you, and to be intrigued by what you say and do. If they are, you will get more response to your roleplaying contributions, which is what makes roleplaying fun! Exploring some or all of the following topics is a good place to start.

Alignment: Is he a good guy (baby face), a bad guy (heel) or something in between?
Appearance: How does he look? Does he have scars, tattoos, or piercings? How does he prefer to dress? What ethnicity does he have? Hairstyle? Perhaps his looks reveal something about his past or match his personality?
Personality: What kind of person is he? Serious or playful? Organized or fussy? Emotional or stone faced? Friendly or reserved? Trustworthy or treacherous? In a follow-up post, I'm going to list a whole bunch of personality traits (borrowed from the Lord of the Rings RPG game). If you're not feeling very creative, or do not have time to think of something yourself, you can simply pick some of them and go from there. Further, what values does your character have? Does he have a catchphrase or motto he follows?
History: What brought your character into wrestling? Does his history bring him an edge on the competition? Does he have something to prove, a message to spread, something to avenge, and so on? Your character's history is very important when you roleplay, because it can give you a very good feel of how he's going to react and behave in different situations. A character who has been betrayed before is prone to be very angry with someone who is not loyal to him. A character who is used to being poor might be very focused on the financial aspects of wrestling success. Spice up your character's history! Make it interesting and keep in mind that if your character is too incredible, he might look silly to others. This is okay, because the silly character is a very popular gimmick all in itself.
Advantages and Disadvantages: Does your character have special strengths and weaknesses outside of the ring? For instance, is he a social person or awkward around other people? Does he have a secret that bothers him, or something from the past that he cannot let go of? Be creative. If you cannot think of anything, look to typical soap operas and the kind of conflicts you find in them. After all, basically, wrestling is soap where the actors get to bash each other's brains out! Keep in mind that you WANT other players to attack you, and giving them a hint of what they might use against you might inspire them to take a shot at you. If they do, GREAT! That means you get to shoot them back! Many times if you want to. A good feud is not settled with one match.

All of these things make up your wrestler's gimmick. Keep in mind that your gimmick can be changed at any time. For instance, in real wrestling, you'll find wrestlers switching from face to heel or vice versa, and changing their gimmicks as it suits them (or the storyline writers anyway). I'll write a bit more on gimmicks in the guide's part 4, "More on gimmicks, and ten gimmick examples".

Ripoff wrestlers

Whatever you do, please don't copy a real life wrestler. Why would you want to be Hulk Hogan when you can be YOURSELF, living the life of a great, genuine wrestling star? Feel free to collect inspiration from real wrestlers, but do not try to BE them. Use your imagination - that is what roleplaying is all about!

If you have given your character the name of a real wrestler and do not care about roleplaying, that is fine. However, if you want to roleplay, you should either find a federation where people actually play real life wrestlers (I don't know whether there are any), or (my suggestion) reset your wrestler and start anew with a custom made, way more interesting character. In The Wrestling Game, it IS possible to change your name, but the cost of it (25,000 FE) is so high that most would not even consider it.

The roleplaying itself – writing flashes

You have given your character a personality and a motive for doing what he does. Now is the time for making use of it all. A roleplaying contribution (a «flash»), involves your character delivering a message to someone or an opinion on something. The message can be to everyone else in your federation, a group of wrestlers, or a single wrestler that you would like to ally or feud with. The most important thing is what your character says, but it does not hurt fleshing out your flashes to make them interesting, not only to the recepients of your message, but to everyone else who might be reading it as well. A simple flash stars your wrestler in front of the camera delivering his message. A more advanced flash can describe your wrestler's whereabouts and what he does there (lounging in a park, making a statement at a press conference, doing paperwork in his million dollar office, etc), his company (life partner, children, manager, physioterapist, his street gang, etc), his interest (acting, mountaineering, working out, etc). What is suitable for your character? What kind of people does he associate with? What activities does he indulge in outside of the ring? A daredevil high-flyer might climb a mountain top and deliver his message there. A dark and sadistic power tank might visit a friend in prison, telling him all about his new plans for his career, right in front of the camera. Such scenarios make your flashes little stories instead of just monologues. It's not at all necessary spending time on this if you do not feel like it, but it will entertain your federation mates and the practice will improve your writing abilities with time as well.

If you're feeling creative but do not have a subject to write about, that's okay too! A flash doesn't have to be about anything important. I recently wrote a piece describing my wrestler, Father Lance Goodison, handing over his old teddy bear to a little girl at an orphanage. It wasn't to deliver a specific message. It was simply to show what kind of person he is. This is helpful for other players because it gives them a lot of information about your character - information that they can use when they interact with you. I'll post examples of flashes with a message, and flashes without one in a later post.

The parts that make a flash

As I have mentioned before, a flash can many different components. Below, I have listed some of them.

Dialogue: If you want to make a statement, dialogue is the easiest way. You can voice your messages without it as well, but that take more creativity on your part.
Setting: Do you want to describe the environments of your character? Environments can easily be used to underline your character's personality or strengthen the message you want to send.
Action: Is your wrestler engaged in some kind of interesting activity?
Other People: Does your character interact with anyone? Is he speaking to a sports journalist? Taking advice from an old wrestling star? Yelling at his kids who are making a mess? Proposing to his soon-to-be life partner? A simple flash will simply have the character presenting his message to the federation's interviewer.

What you can and cannot do in a flash

You will want to keep in mind the following issues when writing your flashes.

NEVER, ever abuse another player's character in your own flashes: This is important. You can trash talk and threaten other wrestlers, you can stalk around their houses looking for them (even wanting to beat him them up), or you can leave a message on their answering machine, but you cannot actually describe attacking them, or humiliating them straight to their faces. You cannot control another person's character, and you cannot decide how he will react to something you do. After all, you wouldn't want someone else abusing your character that way? This is of course unless you have agreed on something with the character's owner. If he says it is all right for you to attack him in his locker room, do it! Nothing fires up a feud more than actual punches thrown. I wholeheartedly encourage you to make contact with your wrestling associates and discuss what your feud or alliance might be like and what is allowed and not allowed. If you are given permission to use someone else's wrestler, note this at the end of the flash («Wrestler X was used with permission from Player Y») so that other players do not necessarily think they can do the same. If you must describe another wrestler as part of whatever happens in your flashes, do it in way that is insignificant or positive to the player controlling him.
Stay in character: Don't write about your Strength statistic being a whooping 26. Your character doesn't know this – he simply knows that he can tear someone's head off if he wants to. If you bring the game's mechanics into your roleplaying, you rip apart the magic of roleplaying that allows you to BE a person in professional wrestling, not only for yourself, but for everyone else as well.
Proof-read your flashes: Somewhat correct spelling and proper grammar often helps your message come through the way you want it to. Before posting your flashes, eliminate mistakes you might have made when writing them to avoid misunderstandings.

All right! I have covered the basics. Feel free to tell me if I have not been clear on something, or if I have failed to include something of importance.

Next follows two posts, one with a list of personality traits (borrowed from the old Lord of the Rings RPG), and one with two flash samples.

[Ninoslav Maricic]

List of personality traits

As I have mentioned before, this list I have borrowed from the old Lord of the Rings RPG system (edited somewhat), where they've produced a nice collection of personality traits for players to choose from. This is helpful because it gets your imagination going, suggests options you might not have thought of yourself, and saves you a bit of time.

The list follows below. Traits are listed along with their opposites. Consider it a tool for exploring what your character is like.

Sullen, Somber, Serious <-> Lighthearted, Cheerful, Joyous
Merciful, Compassionate, Kind <-> Uncaring, Mean, Ruthless, Cruel
Sober, Restrained, Moderate <-> Unrestrained, Indulgent
Martyr, Over-protective, Protective <-> Intimidating, Overbearing, Bully
Radical, Liberal, Open-minded <-> Orthodox, Conservative, Reactionary
Loving, Friendly, Amicable <-> Quarrelsome, Hostile, Antagonistic
Prudent, Patient, Cautious <-> Impatient, Impulsive, Reckless, Rash
Extrovert, Outgoing, Talkative <-> Reserved, Shy, Timid, Introvert
Meek, Modest, Humble <-> Proud, Cocky, Pompous, Arrogant
Lazy, Idle, Easy Going, Laid Back <-> Vibrant, Energetic, Enterprising, Ambitious
Respectful, Courteous, Polite, Civil <-> Impolite, Rude, Insolent
Docile, Pliable, Cooperative <-> Stubborn, Obstinate
Confident, Secure <-> Nervous, Apprehensive, Daunted
Pacific, Nonviolent, Peaceful <-> Aggressive, Hostile, Destructive
Charitable, Forgiving <-> Vindictive, Vengeful
Benevolent, Generous, Giving <-> Selfish, Greedy
Honest, Direct, Trustworthy <-> Shifty, Deceitful, Dishonest
Honorable, High-principled <-> Dishonorable
Loyal, Faithful, Reliable <-> Treacherous, Disloyal
Lawful, Just, Upright <-> Unreasonable, Chaotic, Corrupt
Moral, Ethical, Principled <-> Immoral, Unethical
Pious, Devout, Religious <-> Worldly, Profane
Utopian, Idealistic <-> Practical, Pragmatic, Cynical
Gullible, Trusting <-> Skeptical, Suspicious, Paranoid
Curious, Inquisitive <-> Apathetic, Incurious
Focused, Attentive <-> Distracted, Absent-minded
Continent, Chaste <-> Lustful, Sleazy, Promiscuous
Quiet, Reserved <-> Flamboyant, Boisterous, Loud
Valorous, Brave, Bold <-> Timid, Cowardly
Passive, Detached, Calm <-> Forceful, Enthusiastic, Excitable
Calm, Even-tempered <-> Quick-tempered, Hot-headed
Sociable, Companionable <-> Nonsocial, Antisocial, Cold
Optimistic, Upbeat <-> Uncertain, Cynical, Fatalistic, Pessimistic
Creative, Inventive, Original <-> Conformist, Uncreative
Tolerant, Open-minded <-> Snobbish, Prejudiced, Intolerant
Disordered, Messy <-> Orderly, Perfectionist
Tolerant, Understanding <-> Envious, Possessive, Jealous
Dependent, Clinging <-> Self-reliant, Independent

[Ninoslav Maricic]

Flash samples

I will here present two sample flashes. My first sample is one involving my character, Father Lance Goodison, giving a message to his federation as well as a few specific members on its roster. This is the flash that introduced him to the federation, and the messages are clear to all.

I have noticed that there seems to be a convention that you color descriptive text with blue and leave speech text black, and this is an all right system because it gives flashes a bit more structure at the same time as it livens them up with a bit of color.



Sample #1: Father Lance Goodison enters the CFWA

The press conference is buzzing with activity. A few journalists have shown up along with their cameramen, as well as many, many Crimson Flow Wrestling Alliance fans. One of CFWA's new signings has invited them all to the local church for a brief statement, and as the bustle of people settles, you hear the soothing voices of a choir practicing somewhere nearby. Father Lance Goodison, dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a plain white shirt has taken a seat on a bench in front of his visitors.

"Welcome to you all. I am happy to receive you here, as this is a place where I have spent many of my finest hours. In happy times, I have united lifetime partners and welcomed babes into our world of wonder. In darker times, I have consoled those in pain, and begged the above for answers to questions too complex for man to understand. As you might see, my life was once quite different. Yes, I walk an unusual path, a path that I myself once would have frowned upon, but which I have found later to be necessary. Though love and understanding are far more powerful artillery, in the face of evil, you must often use the simplest tools you have been given: Your fists. And that is why I am here. The CFWA reeks of corruption. I will stomp it out. I will bend it until it yields to the good that is in us all. Atonement shall come.

Do I have anyone in particular in mind? I do not even know where to begin!

Zilla Killa lives to bring pain and misery unto others. Not only does he thirst for blood - he even has the nerve to claim to crucify others before pinning them. The disrespect! The blasphemy! Zilla Killa is on my list, and I can tell you right now, it will take time to squeeze the sin out of that one.

In the same way, Dragonfly seems to thrive on bloodshed alone. I have a hard time finding meaning in such an existence. Perhaps I may reason with him. Perhaps I'll have to twist his arm. Either way, I hope we'll find time to have this discussion sometime. I look forward to discovering the complexity of his character. If there is any.

The Management Planner is a misguided soul. He is too caught up in himself to see what parts of life give true joy. Believe me, it is not financial success or popularity. I will try to tell him this, so that he may change his ways before he hits the wall of disappointment. Yes, I almost consider it my duty, for a bringer of good must often deliver messages of truth to those who do not see its value. You may not appreciate it, Planner, but I will have patience with you, and will aid you to a better life.

Last but not least, I have seen The Liberty Rock, and his crusade against impurity. It makes me shiver. Remember always that good intentions can turn bad indeed when they are not backed up by wisdom. I shall study you, Liberty Rock, and if you stray from the right path, I shall shove you back onto it.

Although I see many a threat here, I see many more friends. I foresee a great future for us all. I foresee harmony. Father Lance is eager to initiate his mission. I shall heal your hurts."

Lance Goodison smiles warmly to his audience. A few pictures are taken, and journalists and fans alike are invited to enjoy a cup of coffee in the church lobby.



The next sample is a flash that delivers no message whatsoever. I wrote it because I felt like being creative and because I thought that «who knows, maybe someone will use it for whatever purpose». Any seed you sow can grow into a great storyline.

Sample #2: Father Lance Goodison visits the orphanage

The camera view changes to that of the insides of a home for orphans. Children of all ages are running around shouting and playing, sometimes chased by women in black and white robes shushing them. The camera zooms in on a corner of the room, where Father Lance sits talking to a little girl. As he looks at her, she hangs her head.

"Yes, Mr. Lance, I took Anthony's teddy bear. But see, I had to. He isn't taking care of it. He isn't being very nice to it."

The little girl sports an unhappy smile, and twirls at a strand of long blond hair. Lance Goodison tries to frown, but smiles instead.

"It is good that you're looking out for Anthony's teddy bear, Amelia. But thing is, there is someone who needs your love and care more."

The girl looks puzzled. Lance produces a brightly painted cardboard box, presenting it to her. Hesitant, she pops open the lid and gasps. As if handling something very tender, she lifts up a furry, white teddy bear. It bears the marks of several repairs, and one of its eyes has obviously recently been stitched back on. Lance Goodison smiles again.

"This is Tristan. His owner is grown up, and such a busy man that he cannot look after him all the time. But you can."

The girl hugs the teddy bear, eyes brimming with tears.

"Tell the man that I will take good care of Tristan. Tell him thank you, and that he is safe with me!"

Lance pats her on the shoulder.

"He knows, child. You're a good girl!"

Father Lance Goodison rises and steps toward a door. Before leaving, he looks back, almost longingly toward the old, ragged teddy bear.



I spent a bit of time on these flashes, because I have trouble letting them go without proofreading them seven hundred times. That's what I do. You do not have to spend as much time on them - often simplicity is the best, and flashes are supposed to feel like fun, not work. Find your own style. If you prefer short talk-to-the-camera sequences, great! If you want to paint vivid pictures of what your character is doing, and work on intricate dialogue spiced with all the tools of the trade of communication, great! Find out what works for you and stick to it. Although I have made quite a few suggestions as to what you can do when roleplaying, my suggestions are but that: Suggestions. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and if yours is to disregard everything I write, that's good too! My hope is simply that I will get to see even more roleplaying in the future, and that we will sustain a lively and exciting gaming community.

Hope my tips are useful for those new to roleplaying. If they are not, please tell me why so that I can improve my posts! Feel free to pose questions as well if you have any. I will be updating and editing the thread with new information as I see fit, and if anyone wants me to.

Ulrik
(a.k.a. Father Lance Goodison)

[Sponsored content]