Step One: What is Roleplaying?
From ElanVital
Roleplaying is a hobby. A game. Oh, yes, it has a very long (and I'm sure a very off-the-point) explanation of how it originally came about as a kind of therapeutic technique, but now, and for a lot of people (including us folks here at EV), it's just a game.
So when you're thinking of roleplaying, think of a combination between writing a story, and acting out improv. It's all done on the fly (no, you don't have to worry about being Herman Melville--please don't--or perfecting every word of every pose you make), and it's all about the story. If the plot's good, perfection doesn't matter so much.
So here's how it works: You have a place (for this example, let's say it's a tavern), and a plot (Miss X is choking on a chicken bone! O noez! Does she live, or does she die a horribly ignominious death?), and an untold amount of PCs--or Player Characters--and NPCs--Non-Player Characters--to make up your cast. Let's say that our PCs are Erika, John, and Edward, and our NPCs are Miss X and Mr. Bartender.
Throughout the course of a scene, a number of things might happen. Of course, the PCs have to decide what to do about the chicken-bone-challenged Miss X (maybe they send Mr. Bartender off to go find a doctor. Maybe Edward is trained in first aid and CPR. Or maybe they just ignore her so that Erika can quietly enjoy her evening dinner with John, who might be her significant other, while Edward hangs out in the background somewhere and Mr. Bartender squawks like a flustered turkey). There might also be interesting conversations going on, or somebody playing music in the background, minor incidents or even other plots within the scene. Whatever happens, though, must be decided by the human players behind the PCs.
Many scenes may be moderated by an admin called a Staffer, a DM (Dungeon Master, a term that came from D&D), a TM (Thread Master, usually used on forum-based RPs), a GM (Game Master...), etc. Basically, a lot of names for a few people who basically do similar jobs. These are the people who run the games, and direct most of the global plots, though players are usually welcome to run their own smaller ones. They also do things like write the theme, and sort out problems. Their word is law. And they also get to play the NPCs the PCs interact with (though if the PC's player creates the NPC, they generally have the right to play it as they wish.)
There are several different types of RPs. One way is LARPing, or Live Action Roleplaying, where everybody dresses up in costume and acts it out face-to-face--like onstage. Another is PbP, or Play by Post on an online forum. PBeM comes out to Play by Email, which is--you can guess. ;)
Elan Vital is none of these above. Set in a MUSH codebase (see About MUSHes for more info on that), it occurs in real time from behind computer screens, in a layout that's almost like a chatroom. We don't get a nifty acronym. Just a name for our codebase. :( Click here for more information on our staff.
Return to The Walkthrough
Continue to Step Two: What is This 'MUSH' Thing?
