Introductions: Crash Course in Roleplaying
Types of Roleplaying
There are a myriad of ways that we can break down the different types and categories of roleplays on EcchiDreams. In the public roleplaying forums it’s typically broken down by skill level, and people are fully encouraged to tag the genres of the roleplay too, to make it easier for others to search. On top of that there are a number of ways in which one can roleplay on EcchiDreams.
Skill Level
First; the skill level. This is explained in a little more detail in this Roleplay Difficulty Guide. But the basic premise is this:
- Mixed; this is for all skill levels.
- Casual; this is typically for people who are starting out, or like to make short, concise posts, or speed roleplay. Sometimes can be a single line, or even a sentence.
- Intermediate; typically more than just a single line or a sentence. Usually roleplayers who have been doing casual roleplays look at increasing their skill, and venture out into a slightly more challenging scenario. Typically, Extra Information on the roleplay is considered light reading.
- Advanced; are somewhat more serious about roleplaying. There might be a lot of lore, plots or other extra information which might be required to be read first, or if the scope of the roleplay allows it in such a way, then there could be many plot lines and converging stories.
- Expert; are for the downright serious, dedicated roleplayers, and not for the faint of heart. A casual roleplayer will not do here, and even intermediates and advanced might struggle to keep up. There are incredibly detailed and often convoluted plots. Furthermore, an unrelated action committed by one person could have serious ramifications to another roleplayer. These are designed to be challenging, and require considerable post length, and detail.
Genre
Next is Genre. There is no definitive guide on this yet, and there are a lot of genre’s to cover; so much so that we are actively taking suggestions on improving our Roleplayer Preferences to include new genres. Currently we have categorised the following Genres, which can be mixed and matched like ‘Sci-Fi, Adventure, Survival’ much like in video games:
- Adventure - A genre that usually involves an exciting undertaking for the characters, that usually involve an element of risk. It forms the main storyline, and could be mixed and overlapped with many of the other genres.
- City Life - A city living type roleplay, there is a potential for many plots, jobs (such as firefighter, police officer and paramedic, as well Government jobs, rent collectors, business owners and ordinary citizens, students and children. (Example: Blackberry Falls City)
- Dystopic - A type of roleplay that is set in a ‘dark nightmare’ type of scenario. It’s typically anti-utopian and challenges the fundamental assumption of human perfectibility with utopias; that humanity’s inherent flaws negate the possibility of constituting perfect societies.
- Fanfiction Roleplay - Usually an alternate universe-like roleplay where canon may or may not be respected. Observe any other tags such as ‘Alternate Universe’, ‘Canon’ and ‘Non-Canon’ as well as what the roleplay is a fanfiction about (e.g. Naruto Yaoi RP).
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Fantasy - Be that magic, supernatural or, certain paranormal elements are twisted into a main plot and theme, or setting. Imaginary worlds where magic creatures and other strange oddities are common, and home.
- Please note: There are many different subgenres of fantasy, but the major two are High Fantasy (a completely fantasy world; e.g. Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien), and Low Fantasy (the ‘real’ world, with magical elements; e.g. Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling).
- Horror - We’ve not seen many ‘horror’ roleplays. Usually the characters are in a perpetual state - or at a drop of a hat can get into a state - of intense fear, dread, dismay and peril.
- Historical - Similiar to Medieval, however it doesn’t have to be that far back. It doesn’t have to be historically accurate either.
- Medieval - Any historical piece that is during the years 476AD to 1500AD. Can be mixed and matched (and usually is) with Fantasy. (Example: Craethiel Kingdom)
- Post-Apocalyptic - Usually after some great catastrophic event that has plunged the world away from the old ways. This can be mixed and matched with sci-fi, horror and definitely survival. The event could be anything, impact from an asteroid, nuclear warfare, zombies, aliens, mass civil unrest that turned very ugly, and so on.
- Romance - A genre in which the primary focus is on the relationship and romantic love between two (or more) people, which usually have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending."
- Sci-Fi - Science Fiction (sometimes also called SF or Speculative Fiction) usually revolves around the impact of actual or imagined science on individuals, or society as a whole. These usually have a strong scientific factor as is essential with this genre, even if it’s pseudo-science, which it usually, although probably unintentionally, is. (Example: Andromeda Trading Station)
- Sex Only - Porn, usually without plot. Otherwise known as ‘cybering’, these are usually more common in one liner settings, but not always.
- Survival - This genre is one where the characters have to make concentrated efforts towards literal survival. It often overlaps with other roleplaying genres. (Example: Utopian Curse)
Ways in which Roleplays are possible on EcchiDreams
There are various ways in which one can roleplay on EcchiDreams, there are three sections, which cover Private, Public and Premium, although private can be done through one of two ways.
A Private Roleplay is one that isn’t published to the forums, and shouldn’t be viewable - whilst it remains in your EcchiText - by anyone not a part of the conversation. For an instant messaging approach, players can go through EcchiChat to do one on one scenarios, or even make their own private chatroom in the EcchiChat App. I feel I must stress that it should not be considered completely private as either you or the person you’re roleplaying with could decide to post your Roleplay, or even use elements of it if and when you come over to Public Roleplays. For more information, click or tap here.
A Club Roleplay is a roleplay that takes advantage of the Club system on the forums. Depending on the privacy level of the club, it can be viewable by guests, or just Dreamers. Or no one but members of the club. These clubs can either be open to everyone, or invite only, depending on what the Game Master wants. It’s customisable and the Owner of the club can even have their own staff which have some moderation-level permissions within the club. The Home Page is considered the doorway into their Universe, as well as providing the potential roleplayer the information they need to roleplay in that forum, as well as links to any relevant information topics, such as Extra Information, the Character ID location and OOC topics. For more information, click or tap here.