Guide to Roleplaying

What Is Roleplaying?

Wikipedia defines roleplaying as ". . . a game in which the participants assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterisation, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, they may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games."

Can I Roleplay?

Anyone can roleplay; if you've ever been in a school play or played a video game, you've already done so. On Pokémon Showdown, we use the room's chat system to roleplay.

Chat Formatting and Commands

/nick: used to change your nickname, e.g. if you want to change your nickname to Former (Beedrill), you would enter /nick Former (Beedrill). If you want to keep a nickname for yourself, you can register it by clicking on the gear at the top-right corner of the page, and clicking Register. Registered nicknames require a password to be used.
/me: used to format actions. Messages sent using /me are formatted like this: • #Formerhope blocks the sword with his shield.
Bold: reserved for pollmakers to make announcements related to their poll and the current roleplay's host(s) to narrate. Bold text can be entered by **surrounding the text you want to bold with two asterisks**
(text) or ((text)): used for OOC (out of character) chat. When you want to say something unrelated to the roleplay in progress, surround the entire message in either (single) or ((double)) parentheses, depending on your personal preference.

Starting the Roleplay

The first step in starting an roleplay (RP) is creating a poll to decide on the next roleplay, which is decided by majority vote from the room's users. To create a poll, you must send a private message (PM) to one of the room's staff members (indiciated by a %, @, or # symbol next to their name) for permission to make it. PMs can be sent by clicking on the user's username on the userlist to the left, then clicking Chat, or by using /w (format: /w user, message). After receiving permission, ask for users to send you their suggestions for the next roleplay, and which staff member gave you permissions, e.g. "PM me your ideas! Perms from #Formerhope!" You cannot ignore choices based on personal bias (e.g. leaving out Freeroam because you don't like it). Some suggestions may not be allowed; check the rules for more info.

After giving users enough time to send you their suggestions, you can make the poll. Polls should not be biased in any way; if they are, a staff member may void your poll and call for a new one. To make the poll, go on strawpoll.me, entitle it what the poll's for (e.g. "Next RP Poll"), enter the choices that were sent to you, click Create Poll, and a popup with a link to the poll will appear. Copy the link, and paste it in main chat, along with what the poll's for and how much time's left until the poll will end (e.g. http://strawpoll.me/123456 Next RP poll! 3 minutes left). You should repost the poll at least twice to ensure everyone sees it and has a chance to vote. After the poll ends, if there were over 10 options on the poll and the results are or are close to a tie, you may ask for permission to make a top 2 or top 3 poll to decide between the tied options. Otherwise, setup will begin.

Ending the Roleplay

There are two main ways a roleplay can end. The first is a natural end, where once the right conditions have been met, the roleplay automatically ends. Most of these are roleplay specific: a Murder Mystery RP ends when either all the killers have been found, or the killers murdered all the innocents; a Freeroam RP ends when it reaches the two hour limit; and a Conquest RP ends once a warlord or team of warlords has taken over every type.

The second is with an ending poll. Once the roleplay has been in progress for over half an hour, you may PM a staff member for permission to create an end poll. Create a poll on strawpoll.me with a title along the lines of "End RP?" and clear "yes" and "no" options. If the total votes in favor of ending the RP are 55% or over, the roleplay will end.

Hosting

For structured roleplays, there is often a host required to keep the RP moving. A host is voted on through strawpoll, and is usually in charge of progressing through the RP by developing a storyline, organizing a document, etc. The specific duties of a host vary by roleplay.

If you are the host, DO:

Keep a document
Bold for things related to the roleplay
Make an interesting storyline
Know enough about the roleplay itself to answer questions

If you are the host, DO NOT:

Bold for out of character
Create a confusing/inappropriate situation (for example, a gory Murder Mystery)
Ignore questions from participants