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Frequently Asked Questions
Topic Started: Mar 28 2011, 10:37 PM (678 Views)
Envious Magic Staff
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Content in order:
1. I’m new, what do I need to do?
2. What is an RPG?
3. What does it mean to write in third person?
4. What is a Mary Sue?
5. What is god-moding?
6. Where can I locate classes?
7. Do I need to enroll for classes?
8. What is a spell vault?
9. How can I graduate from year to year?
10. Do I have to have a certain amount of lessons for each class, or can I spread them around?
11. Who can award house points (and how can I receive them)?
12. What is an administrator?
13. I have a question I think should be on here, what do I do?

1. I’m new, what do I do?
We have a helpful guide for all new members here. Simply decide what you want your character to be like, follow the seven easy steps, and enjoy!

2. What is an RPG?
RPing is short for role-playing. In role-playing, participants adopt characters, or parts, that have personalities, motivations, and backgrounds different from their own. Role-playing is like being in an improvisational drama or free-form theatre, in which the participants are the actors who are playing the parts of the characters they have selected or created.

A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game where players role-play by assuming the role of a character in a fictional story.

An Online Text Based Role Playing Game (like Envious Magic) is a role-playing activity in which online role-players in groups of two or more engage in writing a cooperative story, each restricting themselves to the character they themselves introduced to the story. In other words, they create characters and roleplay as those characters through a story that can either be improvised or pre-outlined. Obviously, in this case, your character has been outlined by way of a Ministry File and Sorting.

OTBRPGs cover a vast number of genres, from sci-fi dystopias to comedic affairs, and the locations, technologies, and so forth vary vastly from game to game. It is advised that players familiarise themselves, as much as they are capable, with the world and canon of the game world. In this case, Harry Potter is canon, so most of the members here have read the books, seen the movies, and need to be aware of the plot.

In Character (IC) is a role-playing term, referring to the world of the characters, rather than the world of the players. That is, a character talking to another character is an IC interaction, set within the IC world, while two players talking about a football game on the side is an OOC interaction.

Most online role-playing communities make allowances for the intrusion of "RL" (real life) by introducing standards of communication, such as insisting that all "OOC" comments are placed inside brackets, or given some prefix, for example "[OOC: Blast, the phone's ringing again, I'll go and pull it out of the wall.]"

(Credit to Wikipedia from which most of this information was borrowed.)

3. What does it mean to write third person?
Third person is the view you write in, the view that most people find easiest to write in, and which is easiest to read if you’re reading different RPs all together. This is why we choose this “view” as the way people RP here at EM.

An example of something that is not acceptable would be this:
Quote:
 
(First Person RP)
I sighed heavily as the dirty, old and wise hat fell over my face, shielding my eyes from the mountains of people before me. I jumped, horrified, as I heard the whisper of a voice in my ears, and it wasn’t long before I felt extremely stupid as the voice was just the hat, who was trying to sort me.

‘Ah, yes. Loyal, kind, polite and hard-working, you will achieve much in…’

“Hufflepuff!”

I grinned happily, glad to have been placed at all, as I rushed down to the Hufflepuff table, where the mountainous sound of clapping was issuing.


This is not allowed, as it is in First person.

Here is an example of a Second Person Role Play, which is also not allowed.
Quote:
 
(Second Person)
You sighed heavily as the dirty, old and wise hat fell over your face, shielding your eyes from the mountains of people before you. You jumped, horrified, as you heard the whisper of a voice in your ears, and it wasn’t long before you felt extremely stupid as the voice were just the hat, who was trying to sort you.

‘Ah, yes. Loyal, kind, polite and hard-working, you will achieve much in…’

“Hufflepuff!”

You grinned happily, glad to have been placed at all, as you rushed down to the Hufflepuff table, where the mountainous sound of clapping was issuing.



The difference between them is that the first one is written as “I” and “me” whereas the second as “you” and “your”. Third person writing conveys a viewpoint about the character as “he” and “she”, like in the example below.

Quote:
 
(Third Person)
Katie sighed heavily as the dirty, old and wise hat fell over her face, shielding her eyes from the mountains of people before her. She jumped, horrified, as she heard the whisper of a voice in her ears, and it wasn’t long before she felt extremely stupid as the voice were just the hat, who was trying to sort her.

‘Ah, yes. Loyal, kind, polite and hard-working, you will achieve much in…’

“Hufflepuff!”

She grinned happily, glad to have been placed at all, as she rushed down to the Hufflepuff table, where the mountainous sound of clapping was issuing.



4. What is a Mary Sue?
A Mary Sue is a character who tends to be perfect, or a character who seems to have no flaws and is heroic, brave, smart, cunning, sly, and the friendliest person you’ll always meet, but modest too.

A Mary Sue can almost be anyone; it just depends on in which light you cast them. If they are taller than the average student, are they admired for it by the boys, or do they feel insecure about it? Do they have things that stand-out, and make them different… things which make everyone love them? Do you write them in a brilliant light, rather than a realistic one?

As well as appearances and traits, make sure you look at the heritage. Make sure the background matches the character. For instance, someone who is particularly regal would not be seen running through the house tables with no top on as they chased after a mate shouting “Oi! You get back ‘ere you bloody bugga!”

Here are two different examples, both of the same character. Notice how the first one is written with a perfect image of the character, whereas the other has a more realistic image; one not so wonderful, with flaws and doubts, like a real person would have.

Quote:
 
Clarice smiled brightly, showing off her perfect white, straight teeth as she entered the great hall, laughing loudly at something the girl behind her said. She naturally smelled of a sweet, lavender perfume which everyone around her seemed to like – a few of them even made excuses to stand beside her, just to smell the beautiful fragrance. Or perhaps, unbeknownst to humble Clarice, some of the boys just wanted to stare at her, as many of them seemed to be doing. Clarice had lovely, curly strands of long, blonde hair that seemed to shine with an ethereal light, and bright blue eyes that seemed to hold wisdom and intelligence beyond her age. Clarice's smile radiated happiness and kindness; all features which generally attracted people of the opposite sex and enabled her to make friends with people that were above jealousy, as she was.

Clarice was also extremely intelligent, although she was modest enough to deny it graciously, and was as brave as she could be after her sister was murdered by Voldemort the summer before. It would be a shock to everyone if she was not placed in Gryffindor, since that's where most people with these traits (grace, beauty, modesty, courage) usually began their years of learning. However, she was also kind, perhaps the kindest person you could possibly meet… and terribly loyal. Brave, loyal and nearly a genius – she stuck up for those she loved and often used her more sly and manipulative traits to show this. Yes, Clarice was definitely going to be a difficult person to sort.


This screams out “Mary Sue! Mary Sue! Run for the hills, Mary Sue is coming!” as the perfection and good qualities of Clarice are portrayed here, with not one bad thing in sight. Even a smaller version of this, a small paragraph that is equally bathed in perfection and wonderful traits, will also send out the message of “Mary Sue is coming! Run to the hills!” If you want to avoid your character from being a Mary Sue you are probably best giving them a few faults, not making them good at everything, and not describing them in a wonderful light – do not use too many good adjectives.

Here is another example, this time one of a scarred girl in anguish, her heart detached from others because of the personal pain Lord Voldemort had wrought upon her in particular who might even be his daughter.

Quote:
 
Kristine stood separated from the rest of the huddling eleven year olds. It was cold out, cold enough to make the scars that stretched across her back burn like flames. They felt just like they had that terrible night barely a month ago when Voldemort himself had attacked her family and killed everyone but her. She had always wondered why, at the last second, he had turned away and left her standing there alone. Sometimes she had even wondered if she could be his daughte--but no. Extraordinary as it was, Lord Voldemort must have recognized a different kind of power in me, the girl philosophized.

For she had a life-altering secret that she must hide.

Even though she was amazingly intelligent and knew the answers to most questions, Kristine had never been found smart by her previous Muggle teachers. But when she entered the Great Hall, her eyes caught those of another solitary being, a man several years younger than her father with a romantically hooked roman nose and obsidian curtains of hair. Intrigued, she could tell that he was hiding something... A secret similar to her own? She conceded that it was possible. Like electricity, her topaz-coloured eyes met his and she could feel the power behind his mind, an equal match to hers. Oh yes, Hogwarts was already very interesting...


This also cries, "Mary Sue! Mary Sue!" Although the character is not depicted in a completely positive light, her traits are overly exaggerated. Please remember that male forms of Mary Sues (otherwise known as Gary Stues) are equally frowned upon.

5. What is god-moding?
God-moding is when you dictate actions (or thoughts) of another member’s character within your own RP, usually for your own character's needs. For example, if Jane’s RP said John started throwing rocks at her—but no such event occurred beforehand—it would be god-moding. However, if John’s RP stated he started to throw rocks, and then Jane’s RP also says he threw rocks, it is not god-moding since Jane's RP would simply be restating a previous action as an affirmation. Here at [EM], god-moding is not allowed, and repeat offences will result in proper warnings and punishment as deemed appropriate by the Administrators.

6. Where can I locate classes?
Hogwarts classes are located in various sections of the castle, from the many different floors - each floor marked by its own forum - to the the outer sections and school grounds. There are classes in the damp dungeons as well as on the highest tower of the castle; if the school becomes too labyrinthine to navigate, there is also our lesson list which compiles links to all of the lessons in one, easy-to-use post.

7. Do I need to enroll for classes?
Members do not need to formally enroll in classes. The most common practice to post in lessons as one sees fit and as frequently as possible. Professors accept all students unless it is clearly stated otherwise, with year or level limits being the only acceptable circumstances. As soon as one has been Sorted, members are allowed to begin posting in classes.

8. What is a spell vault?
After completing a lesson post, the professor (or, in some cases, their assistant) will grade the post with both an in-character and out-of-character response. The in-character grade (Outstanding, Exceeds Expectations, Acceptable, Poor, or Dreadful) is usually given in the in-character response, which is based on the character's ability to perform the task as specified. The RP grade, however, which will be based on the actual writing quality and character development, is most commonly assigned in the OOC response. Details on the factors which determine specific grades can be found in the Grading Rubric topic.

A spell vault is a topic where one can keep track of these spells a character has mastered and can be created for your character here. A spell is mastered when a character has completed a lesson and received a passing grade; the spell vault is also used to keep track of the points a member has earned for his or her character by posting RP responses to lessons. These points are in turn used to determine a character's ability to graduate from year to year.

9. How can I graduate from year to year?
To graduate, one first needs to RP his or her character as each of the other years. To ensure that members do this, we have a certain policy regarding graduation and points accumulated by posting in lessons. However, this also means that members do not have to RP as (for example) a first year for the whole school year before becoming a second year - members may apply to increase a year as soon as the required number of points has been reached. Nonetheless, in this vein, a member is also welcome to continue RPing their character in first year for as long as they deem necessary, even if the amount of points required for graduation has been achieved.

Further information on graduation requirements can be found in the graduation requests section of the site.

10. Does one need a certain amount of lessons for each class, or can one spread them around?
No, members are given free reign and are allowed to spread lessons amongst the classes as they wish - one could pass to second year if (for example) either A)six DADA lessons have been completed, or B)if one had done two Charms, two Transfiguration, one Herbology and one Potions - it doesn't matter how they are completed, so long as the lessons one does are designated for students in the appropriately corresponding year.

11. Who can award house points (and how can I receive them)?
House points can only be awarded by administrators and moderators, along with professors and prefects. Out of character, house points are typically awarded to well-written RPs in class, but they can also be given to high quality out-of-lesson posts. In character, professors and prefects can add or subtract points in accordance with a student’s behaviour—just like what is done in canon.

12. What is an administrator?
An administrator, sometimes referred to as an "admin," is a senior staff member who works with other administrators to run the site. They create new boards, change member names, edit board properties, sort out member group and permission masks, change the sidebar information, add links, and much more. Administrators also do moderating jobs such as closing topics, editing posts, making sure everything is running well, and approve or disapprove applications and character ministry files.

13. I have a question I think should be on here, what do I do?
Tell us in the submission section of the Help and Support section of the site, or simply PM an admin. Honestly, we don't bite and any suggestions are always welcome!


Originally written by Jess on the InvisionFree forums and tweaked by the Zetaboards Administrators as was deemed necessary.
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