Illarion.org

• First of all, a quick description of what a '#me' is.
A '#me' is an emote, a way to describe your character's PHYSICAL actions or state. Note the bolded, underlined and capitalized PHYSICAL. This is simply to bring to your attention, that you must not, ever, emote your character's thoughts. For example: #me thinks this lady is pretty. That'd be very bad. Why? Simply because an emote (#me), is a way to show others what your character is doing.. No one can read through people's minds or feelings! That also means no:
#me appears to be sad.
Explain, rather, how he appears to be sad in such a way;
#me walks into the tavern, a deep sigh bilking from his mouth. His gaze drops to the ground and he strolls wearily.
Now that, with no doubt, will show everyone you're a sad panda.

• Next on, ways to use a #me.
You can use a #me for action AND for speech! For instance;
#me slowly raises his steel-gloved hand to lower the visor of his helmet, as tardily returning it to draw his finely smithed blade out of its leather scabbard.
Or, if you'd like to add speech in your #me;
#me slowly raises his steel-gloved hand to lower the visor of his helmet, as tardily returning it to draw his finely smithed blade out of its leather scabbard. "Draw steel, and fight like a man." He taunted the other warrior, ready to swing at any time.
Now that way, often appears better than doing your #me, then typing out your speech. But that's just my opinion. It looks better.

A quick tip, try not typing in names in your emotes.. I do it sometimes, it's not THAT bad, it's not WRONG, but it often looks better, when you simply type out the race/gender of the person. For instance;
#me inclines his head briefly, both hands leaning onto his staff, he offers a scarce smile to the woman standing in front of him.
Rather than;
#me inclines his head briefly, both hands leaning onto his staff, he offers a scarce smile to Patricia.
Why? Simply because some other people around you might not know her name, and it'd be dull to spoil their fun finding out!
Also, a quick hint concerning names in emotes: If you happen to witness an emote which contains a name, do NOT !name (or right-click > give name) the person which you now know the name of. Simply because YOU know it, but your character doesn't! Your character can not see/hear the text written in emotes!

• Pimpin' your emotes!
#me smiles a bit and nods.
#me nods briefly, a squeaking of rusted metal echoing from his helmet as a smile begins drawing its shape onto his lips.

Now honestly, which's better? It's emotes such as the first one that make the roleplay scene dull and boring. Roleplay is all about art, writing and literature. Fancy words and abusing your dictionary! I personally use http://wordweb.info and use it regularly, every time I roleplay. It really makes roleplay more fun, more enjoyable and more impressive. Use adjective! Adorn your emotes with fancy words and descriptions! Be as descriptive as you can. There's a limit of xx characters per #me you'll tell me? Who cares?! You can add a small ~ or <c> in the end, as a sign that you're continuing the emote on another #me, to let others patient for a moment... Let your imagination flow while you're writing an emote.
While in this part of the tutorial, let me talk about grammar and spelling. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, (etc..) use abbreviations in emotes. Oh how do I dislike, and literally hate it when people type 'ok'. I'm saddened, and quite bothered that some good roleplayers, old players who should know better, type 'ok'. At least be bothered to type 'Okay'.. Or even better, #me that you agree.
#me nods shortly and agreeingly, crossing both arms over his chest.
It's way better that way! Also, never use Net-speak.. For instance 'lol', 'wot', 'den', 'y', 'idc', 'b4', etc.. And of course, last but not least, grammar and spelling!
#me look at the man in front and smiled a litel bit.
#me looks at the man hereby, smiling a little bit.
You judge which is better. Now I know, sometimes it's hard, but try! Re-read your emote once or twice before sending it in.. (Considering you're writing a few lines in your emote, not a few words.)
Try never doing one-word emotes.. It's really bad.. e.g; #me nods or #me smiles.. Ugh.. what a lack of creativity.

• Force-emotes! Roleplay's no-no.
Forcing roleplay can often be a blurry subject. Hard to control, hard to define, and the line between force and proper is a thin one.
Lets try a practical example;
#me approaches the man and grabs him by the collar.
That is considered rude, and unwanted. You're IMPOSING an action to someone else's character, lack of courtesy. A simple word, most of the time, fixes it all; "attempts". That way, you ATTEMPT to do an action, the other character can either walk with you, ignore, or counter your action, depending on the situation.
#me approaches the man, and attempts to grab him by the collar.
Now that's way better. The 'target' can either; Accept being grabbed (If for instance, he sees the other character coming from behind him, if he's unalerted, etc..) or manage to parry/dodge being grabbed, if for instance, he is alone/stronger/armoured/etc..

Another kind of force-emote, that is often forgotten, is inflicting emotions by force.
#me is so beautiful, she makes you drool.
I know I know, I used a little rough example, but I'm just kinky like that. Now that kind of emote is also seen as rude and unwanted. Not because of the 'horny' part, more because of the 'she makes you' part.
No one likes to be forced into anything after all.
A better way to do it would be;
#me's features are lean, sleek and flawless. The little attire she wears grasps onto her slightly tanned skin. Her movements are elegant and daring.

With just one addition I'll add a link to this in the big rp book that seems to be growing dust sadly.

Everything he said above is correct. The only thing I would like to add is that when you're #me's involve someone else, you can only "attempt" an action; you can't do an action. It is only with the agreement of the other party that an attempt becomes an action; otherwise, you are forcing rp.

The difference is

#me grabs player x is bad, whereas

#me attempts to grapple player x is good, whereas

#me lunges at the assailant, determined, and attempts to grapple him by the legs

is awesome.

Thank you. =)

Ahh, forgot force-#me. Thanks.
*Adds it*

I mostly agree with Karl's posting; #mes containing thoughts or similar are no good!

Sometimes <#me appears to be sad> is okay for me (e.g. if much RP is happening at one place); from time to time I am using <#me seems to consider>.

I personally often used combinded emotes and speech, e.g. <#me laughs: "Funny!"> or <"Funny!" *laughs*> (a little net-speak-style, but this way you can put emotes after or in the middle of speech).

Correct grammar and spelling is nice, of course. For german the use of more commas would be even nicer!
And not every small spelling mistake (scrambled letters) has to be corrected afterwards with normal "(( ... ))".

Sometimes using the "name" is necessary, when wanting to describe the target of the action in the crowd. Which "her" is the guy pointing his sword at if there are five women present? The fluidity of the scene for those involved is more important than if someone's world crumbles as he hears the name of the character who has not been mentioned yet. That's my five cents, anyhow.

2. When writing with "appears", "seems", "looks" etc.. You can in my opinion, use even shorter descriptions like the aforementioned "me appears sad". I don't know about you guys, but for me it's not that hard to tell about such broad emotions such as sadness, anger, amusement, happiness.. Usually people don't make any attempt to hide those. Just basic social skills, no mind-reading abilities are necessary.

IMO "looks" and those others work a bit like "attempts" when interacting with other characters. It isn't "he is so", but "he maybe is so".


PS. Seems like Karl is the new resident RP-police. Congratulations!

I've always been Illa's RP-police, though under different chars.

Most of my 'guide' up there expresses the optimal way to do an emote, not the correct way.. Of course, you can '#me appears to be sad'.. but after all, Illarion's MAIN goal is roleplay. I consider people play Illarion because they want to roleplay. (There are better games to train skills and own the world).
Roleplay is meant to be a fun, interactive way to write/storytell. What fun is it to write #me appears to be sad?
Isn't more entertaining to write and read; #me sighs deeply, shaking his head a little at that comment, his gaze lowering to the ground as a tear trickles its way down his cheek.

Well, it's MY opinion. I like roleplay, and for me, roleplay constitutes of 90% of writing skills.

Well, then it should be in the "pimping" section and not in the "don't do" of the basics.

It gets the job done just fine. If it's meant to be a guide for those in need, then it should not be portrayed as a flaw. At least not in my opinion.

I agree with all. What I want to add is this:

If a char's back is facing your char...
a) Don't nod to them or something similar, they wouldn't see you.
b) The other char shouldn't magically know about the char and nod back, or the moment the char walks in, he/she looks over her shoulder, unless their attention is caught by noisy steps or an opening door etc...

Well, since i love it to play in english... i have to agree what Karl is saying.
BUT...it isn't a problem for me to form a nice #me in german which is even very detailed but in english. I still have my problems with that and gawd, i really adore some people who can write such awesome #me's, where you have the feeling that char seems to be real. I've learned 'a lot' over the last months and i'm always open for some inspiration. But meh...that #me smiles a bit and nods. reminds me of myself. >.<
I always try to write some more details but..it isn't that easy and not all seem to understand that it is for us, german people, somewhat harder. When i search for something on my translation-site and notice that my RP-Partner plays with the keys of his keyboard (means that he turns his char...maybe to check if the server is still alive, lol)... that just makes me nervous and then i rather write something simple instead of something awesome which would take a bit longer to write. Not all seem to be patient.
But well, i will have a look at the link for some inspiration...thanks for that. ^^

1. Sometimes it is hard for others to know how they would look physically. So they put the emotion so you can picture it your mind the way you wish.

2. This is personal preference, I think it look better #me, talk, #me. But because it is preference probably should not be here.

3. As stated good in small rp but cannot really do in large rp.

4. This is a good idea. However especially when rping with alot of people, you do not have time to write a long elaborate line, they have to be kept short a precise to get it in before the other person(s) say something else that changes the situation and thus makes your #me look stupid. This also goes for talking.

5. Forced emotes are bad, but some for instance will only have one result if being rped well. For your example. If you where talking to someone it would be more then easy to walk up behind you and grab your collar. Now if i could hold on is a diferent matter. I find that alot people forget what traits they gave there character and they have lightening speed, when in reality they have average.

6. OK... this one was taken way to seriously. IMO saying, she is so beautifull she makes you droll is in the same catagory as 1 AND 4.

Ashayen wrote:Well, since i love it to play in english... i have to agree what Karl is saying.
BUT...it isn't a problem for me to form a nice #me in german which is even very detailed but in english. I still have my problems with that and gawd, i really adore some people who can write such awesome #me's, where you have the feeling that char seems to be real. I've learned 'a lot' over the last months and i'm always open for some inspiration. But meh...that #me smiles a bit and nods. reminds me of myself. >.<
I always try to write some more details but..it isn't that easy and not all seem to understand that it is for us, german people, somewhat harder. When i search for something on my translation-site and notice that my RP-Partner plays with the keys of his keyboard (means that he turns his char...maybe to check if the server is still alive, lol)... that just makes me nervous and then i rather write something simple instead of something awesome which would take a bit longer to write. Not all seem to be patient.
But well, i will have a look at the link for some inspiration...thanks for that. ^^

I'd like to clearly state, (also to the one who sent me a PM ), that no one can allow him/herself to blame germans for being less descriptive than others. It's already complicated to write two languages, and we should be thankful they allowed us english players to play along with them
So you have nothing to blame yourself for.

As for Tanistian, you misunderstand the point of my guide.

In that case I'm even more excused than the Germans. German and English are related languages, mine aint.

#me grins and looks happy.

Ashayen wrote:(means that he turns his char...maybe to check if the server is still alive, lol)

That happens to me sometimes as well and I really dislike it. Sometimes I get to write something, then notice some mistake and need to erase a large part and takes some time. Or other times I just get stuck and need to think abit. And same, I get a little nervous when the other player turns his char around.

People should be patient. And if you want to check if server is still alive, click on an item in your inventory. The server is frozen/crashed if the description does not appear, or lags if it takes time to appear.

I also have no problem with #me appears to be sad especially in certain circumstances where speed is essential. As a slow typer, I am always grateful when someone waits for an #me as I try to do. Which is why Ashayen, sometimes it is a welcome relief to RP with someone else that also takes longer for their better #me's .

My biggest request would be, if there is a pause in play, instead of interjecting "Are you coming?" or something simililar, give it a second, the #me's especially the better ones, may take a little to type.

Is this good enough for sticky?

You made this just for a sticky? Dude, there is already a rp guide thats 10 time better and 20 times bigger.

So, no ( even though i'm no mod, I can just tell they won't.).

Wow, Grant..
Err, when is it you're going again?
Sorry sorry, I don't want to be rough. On second thought, yes I do.
The second I saw that you replied to my question (without reading your message), I told myself; "Damn, this idiot must have posted something annoying, pricky and dick-headed like he always does."

'Raheem', trust me, try to leave onto good notes with everyone. (Considering you will leave as you said.. Hopefully.) Stop being an idiot. I know it's going to be hard for you, but at least try. When you have nothing nice to say, don't post. That will dramatically reduce your post count, I know, but it'll be worth it for us, and for you.
Your name is Raheem. Which means merciful in arabic. Give us mercy, and gtfo.

Karl wrote:Is this good enough for sticky?

It is linked to from a sticky http://illarion.org/community/forums/vi ... 8&start=60

i agree with the serious postings in the thread.

but let me mention, that (for me at least)
it is difficult, to follow these guidelines, when they would be most needed.
while in friendly socializing szenes everybody tends to be more or less patient, hostile scenes are different.
from experience i don't dare, to write long speeches or emotes, because i have to be afraid, to be ctrl-clicked, while i look at the keyboard.

@Karl, yeah i think it's good that there's this part inside of you that wants to help out those who dont have a clue what rp'ing is, and that you take the time to write your 'guides' and 'do's and dont's', and to let everyone who cares to read these forms know what a 'great' roleplayer you really are, but seriously...

YOU ARE F#CKING PATRONISING AS HELL!!

..."You ain't all that beeatch"!~Kundra

Korm Kormsen wrote:i agree with the serious postings in the thread.

but let me mention, that (for me at least)
it is difficult, to follow these guidelines, when they would be most needed.
while in friendly socializing szenes everybody tends to be more or less patient, hostile scenes are different.
from experience i don't dare, to write long speeches or emotes, because i have to be afraid, to be ctrl-clicked, while i look at the keyboard.

Aharr, I see what you mean. I have to admit that personally, I type extremely fast without looking at the keyboard, so that's not a trouble with me.
But yes, I also have to admit at times, (tired, stressed, during a hostile scene, etc..) I don't actually bother typing 2-3 lines long emotes, and I don't use the dictionary. (Yes, when in a calm, enjoyable scene, I do use the dictionary to make better emotes.)

Kundra wrote:@Karl, yeah i think it's good that there's this part inside of you that wants to help out those who dont have a clue what rp'ing is, and that you take the time to write your 'guides' and 'do's and dont's', and to let everyone who cares to read these forms know what a 'great' roleplayer you really are, but seriously...

YOU ARE F#CKING PATRONISING AS HELL!!

..."You ain't all that beeatch"!~Kundra

http://www.drugs.com/ritalin.html

Just as a curiousity: Is there some sort of ! or # command thingie that displays your char description?
Because there are a couple of players who can put down 4-6 lines in description of their character in (literally) under 3 seconds. Are they just really really fast typists?

Yep. Type out your description (E.g:
#me is a young elfess standing at .. bla bla ..) and instead of hitting enter to send it out, hit Ctrl + F1. The text will disappear, which means it's now macroed as F1. Whenever you press F1, the text will appear again, and you can press enter to send it out.
If your description needs more than what fits in a single line, you can do the same, and continue it on a new line.. #me also carries .. .. .. . and hit ctrl + F2.. and same thing. You press F2, and hit enter..
So whenever you want to send out the two description, you do:
F1 <> enter
F2 <> enter
It'll send them both pretty fast.
You can do that up to F6, I think.

Have fun.

Karl wrote:Yep. Type out your description (E.g:
#me is a young elfess standing at .. bla bla ..) and instead of hitting enter to send it out, hit Ctrl + F1. The text will disappear, which means it's now macroed as F1. Whenever you press F1, the text will appear again, and you can press enter to send it out.
If your description needs more than what fits in a single line, you can do the same, and continue it on a new line.. #me also carries .. .. .. . and hit ctrl + F2.. and same thing. You press F2, and hit enter..
So whenever you want to send out the two description, you do:
F1 <> enter
F2 <> enter
It'll send them both pretty fast.
You can do that up to F6, I think.

Have fun.

F2-F6.

Default is F2 i think, F1 opens the manual i think.

Umm, if you assign it in the first slot, you can also right click on your character and choose "Describe yourself"

Right, sorreh.

you can also double bind texts on these keys with ctrl+shift+f2 (...+f6). By shift+f2 (...+f6) it will appear again.


Has been asked several times before, search function is your friend

This is the reason why I hardly play anymore. Long, uninspired #me's. Every time I turn around, it feels like a damn #me contest. Drop this e-penis contest and it might just grow a little bit more.

Long and descriptive #mes =/= "good" roleplay or even interesting.

You don't read books because of their word count, you don't watch movies because of their length. Who gives a damn if someone uses "makes you drool". If you don't like it, just don't respond to it. Those #me's up there are often boring, notions that hardly bring anything to anyone and, as I said, boosts you up in the "rankings".

Cliu is a true inspiration for our time, he speaks wisdom always

#me grins and nods