RP 101 - The Rules of the Trade

Hello, my fellow roleplayers!

Here, I will be giving some tips, tricks and explanations about how to RP effectively in the World of Warcraft! Apply the more complex ideas as you see fit, but there are some things that are key to any RPer, some universal rules, we might say. I'll talk about all of them and give some handy references (read: WoW Wiki - that is a link) I have found along the way. I'll keep adding to this when I get the time. Feel free to ask questions, make comments, anything you want in here. However, I will ask this: if you want my help on creating a believable character (the nitty gritty specifics, not just general questions that can apply to anyone), either talk to me in game or make another topic we can talk on (link it here or send me a PM about it if you do that) since that can get very long winded and time consuming and I'd rather not clutter up this thread.

So, without further adieu, here we go!

Staying in Character

First and foremost: STAY IN CHARACTER!

That is the number one biggest thing you have to do as a roleplayer. When you are part of an RP event (private or guild or open or whatever), you have to stay in character! Some people take it further than other, but here are the key pointers that anyone will hold you to:

1. Your character reacts to situations in a way that makes sense for who they are
   
   Ask yourself what your character would do in any given situation. Take, for example, a group event in which one of the characters suddenly draws a sword on you and declares you a traitor to the crown. How does Bob (generic example character) respond? Does he draw his own weapon and kill the accuser on the spot? Does he draw his weapon to defend himself while saying it's not true? Does he back away while claiming that he isn't a traitor? Does he accept the accusation and laugh? Does he run off screaming? This all depends on his personality and his past experiences (whether in-game or defined as a background).
   
   Let's try another example. Let's say Bob is a herbalist with a real love of pretty flowers. He treats them well and plants his own, respecting them and taking care of them. A fellow RPer runs up to him through a patch of flowers he's been cultivating, destroying all of them. How's Bob gonna feel about that? Pretty pissed, or perhaps upset. The reason for this other character running through and trampling the flowers, as well as Bob's tendencies to react with anger or not, will dictate how this plays out but he certainly isn't going to say "Oh, hi there! How's it going?" to the guy who just destroyed his plants.
   
   Several things determine how you will react. These include your character's personality, what your character likes and dislikes, what they do with their life, what has happened to them in the past, your character's tendencies towards certain reactions, and of course, the situation at hand. Think about yourself and how you react to situations. Apply that same thought process to your character.
   
   
   
2. Your character needs to react to their backstory
   
   This can be a tough one to do because your backstory will influence everything about your character, from random little quirks and habits to their entire outlook on the world. You have to make sure that, for the most part, the way your character acts can be explained through their backstory. For this, I'll use Zhane (my own character) as an example.
   
   Certain aspects of your personality will be unexplainable. That's just the way they are. Zhane, for example, is a flirt, a social butterfly, and he has a bad temper. Oh? Social butterfly? Those of you who have met Zhane in character will know something is up there. But here's the explanation that relates to his backstory: Zhane is a death knight and has been shunned for that. He's dealt with all sorts of nastiness, from the direct to the indirect. Point is, he knows from all that that he isn't welcome in the world of the living and thus shuts himself off and stays with the people who do care about him (ie. Tori). He isn't happy about that, though, which is how it plays into him staying in character (my previous point).
   
   As I just showed, other parts of your character will be dictated by the backstory you give them. These things may be counter to how your character would prefer to be (like with Zhane's antisocial tendencies) and that's perfectly fine so long as you react to that accordingly. Other things may define your likes and how you respond to certain situations. Let's look at Zhane again. He was killed during the Second War. At that point, Sin'Dorei were Quel'Dorei and somewhat reluctant members of the Alliance. They didn't like the Horde. Zhane now finds himself, some 25 to 30 years later, a member of that very same Horde that he grew up viewing as enemies. This is true for all Sin'Dorei and they will all react to it as they wish in regards to their personal experience with it. In Zhane's case, he was actually killed in battle when the orcs helped the Amani trolls try to take back what is now the Ghostlands. Understandably, he's got some issues dealing with the very same people who destroyed his home and killed him. Would you trust an orc if you died by having one of them impale you?
   
   That's the big picture stuff, but little things can be affected by your backstory too. If your character suffered through a particularly tragic event, they may be reluctant to enter into similar situations. Little things might suddenly make them recall something, good or bad, from their past and they will react to it. If they grew up in a certain place, they may like or dislike that place and be enthusiastic or reluctant to return. Perhaps your character really likes ice cream because they always had it as a treat when they were a child. Everything relates back to your history, good, bad, tiny or huge. It's all related.
   
   I'll get more into the nitty gritty of creating a backstory in another post, because there is a heck of a lot to it. Creating a believable character is a giant process, but the point right now is staying in that character. The idea is to keep your backstory because it is who you are. It made you the way you are and you have to respect that when RPing.
   
   
   
3. Be true to the lore.
   
   You don't have to be a lore fanatic to RP by any means. However, you do have to stick to the basics when it comes to things like how your character reacts to things and where they go. There are certain overarching concepts in the lore that will influence you as a character. For example:
   
   -- Death Knights are, for the most part, disliked by everybody
   -- Elves age a LOT slower than their other Horde counterparts
   -- Arthas is now dead
   
   These are the kinds of things that no character can get away from. Take the bullet about Death Knights: Other player characters may respond to a Death Knight in a more favorable light, but the NPCs (yes, NPCs play a role in RP) will treat them terribly. It's up to each character as to whether or not they respond to the tense environment they create wherever they are. Zhane doesn't like it and avoids settlements because of it. Other Death Knights may not care and just wander around freely anyway.
   
   Other bits of the lore can be toyed around with merely by reasoning that every person is different. Yes, High Elves are an arrogant bunch who want to be self-reliant whenever possible, but your character personally might not subscribe to the general ideology of their race. Bare in mind that it is very hard to RP a character who is completely against what their people commonly believe. It's far easier and more believable to either go along with all of it or just have a few areas of disagreement.
   
   Find your lore here: WoW Wiki (that's a link). This site is comprehensive and includes anything you could possibly want to know about Warcraft lore. It's the standard reference for RPers.
   
   
   
4. Player knowledge does not mean character knowledge.
   
   This may be the most important part of RP once you have your character designed (even if your design is in the preliminary stages). What the player knows is very different from what the character knows. That means the following:
   
   -- When you meet a new character while RPing, your character does not know their name or their class (assumptions about class can be made from looking at the gear if your character is knowledgeable enough, but these may be wrong)
   -- If you did not attend an RP event, your character knows nothing about what happened there unless another character told them about it
   -- Talking in guild chat about character stories does not mean your character will know anything at all about the history of another character when RPing
   
   In short, your character is oblivious to anything that they have not been told during RP.
   
   
   
5. Be careful not to die.
   
   Sounds obvious, right? This doesn't mean that you can't die while out questing and RPing. That is bound to happen. Play it off as getting injured and knocked out or something. Whatever you like, so long as it isn't actually death. What I mean here is that you have to be careful about in-character deaths. Players can kill other players in RP. Granted they can't do it without permission, but it can happen. So what does this mean to you? If asked by a player if they can kill your character, give it some serious thought. You can say no and that's okay. But if you say yes, be ready to accept the consequences. When you're dead in-character, you're dead for real. No more RP for you. Yes, characters have ways of returning from the grave, but these methods are difficult and rarely ever happen. In most cases, it would involve being on the very good side of something or someone who can bring you back. And that takes in-character connections to these things and likely lifelong dedication. You would have had to have been RPing with this in mind the whole time to make your resurrection make sense. You can't just randomly decide after death that you had a connection to something that can bring you back to life. So, here's the short and sweet version of this rule:
   
   When you die in-character, your RP is pretty much over for good. Make a new character if this happens.

That about covers the basics that anyone needs to follow when staying in character. I will post some more tips and tricks to help out with that, but that's the gist of it. All RPers must stay true to those four things. However, there are some more immersive ideas that you can follow if you choose:

• Have a reason for everything.
  
  Tori and I do this a lot with our characters. If we can't find an in-character reason to attend an event, we don't attend it, even if we are online at the time. If your character is in Outlands doing something, just how likely are they to just up and leave to go to Silvermoon City for an event? Especially when they don't know anyone in the event or have no way of knowing an event is happening. Just why would they bother going? They have no reason. It can be a pain because you'll miss a lot, but it makes your character more believable.
  
  
  
• Talk in ways that fit your character.
  
  Think about your word choice and what you say to other characters. Haka does a great job of this by talking with a dialect. It can be hard to do, but, if done well, it adds a lot to the RP. Also think about what sayings they might use. Jesus doesn't exist in Azeroth. Characters are more likely to call upon the Light. As a final idea, think about your word choice just in typical speak. Is your character more likely to use big words and try to sound intelligent, or will they speak in street slang? Other ideas might be to use the game's built in language feature. This limit who you can RP with but, if used effectively, it can be done in a multi-race group event too. If your character only wants his brethren to understand, he would speak his own language to them so that the others don't understand it.
  
  
  
• Dress the part.
  
  Most RPers do this, but it's not essential. The idea, though, is to equip yourself in a manner that fits your character. If they're hurt, give them bandages; if they're modest, wear clothing that isn't revealing; if they're not fond of battle, don't wear the extra armor pieces. There are a lot of things you can do here. Of course, it's not practical to wear your RP gear in the field when you're trying to level up, but it can add a lot to the event (personal or otherwise) to be dressed appropriately when possible. Also included in this would be things like pets and mounts. Yes, you might really like your little Winterveil Gnome, but are you really going to wander around with it while trying to RP? Or perhaps you acquired a motorcycle but is a druid really going to ride one? Keep in mind how your character dresses and what they believe and what they do when making choices about how they will equip themselves and what mode of transport they are likely to use. A lot of players will carry around several different RP items to change into or use when the situation calls for it. Others will keep them in the bank if they aren't used so often. It can be expensive to acquire an RP wardrobe, but it is also well worth it for the level of authenticity it adds to RP events.
  
  One thing to keep in mind with this, though, is to always take the situation into consideration. If your character is joining the event fresh off the battle field, they won't be wearing their casual clothing. They'll be more likely to be in a set of armor that has been chosen for RP. Of course, if you were out leveling, that doesn't necessarily mean your character was on the battle field. Game mechanics just make it so that we all have to be out fighting to get anywhere. If you RP a warrior who lives for the fight, it's more likely that he would have been out fighting before joining an event. But if you RP a scholarly character, it's more likely they'd have been holed up in a library somewhere before joining a group and they wouldn't be in their armor.
  
  
  
• Take character knowledge (or lack thereof) a step further.
  
  It's important to not assume you know anything about another character that you haven't learned through RP. However, you can go further than this and react to the world in the same way. If you have never been to a place, perhaps you will RP your character as being lost. If your character has a long history, this could change how they react to certain places because even though your Blood Elf Warlock is level 5, they might be several hundred years old and have come back from following Kael'Thas to the Outlands.
  
  The same can apply to NPCs. Don't assume your character knows anything about them if they are unlikely to have met them before. NPCs are a little easier to assume with since most of them are in designated labeled areas saying who and what they are. However, a wandering herbalist on the road, for example, doesn't have those cues for your character to pick up on. This can be important if you choose to immerse yourself in RP to such a degree that you also RP the NPCs.

General Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to help you succeed as an RPer in the World of Warcraft. Here are the universal ones that everyone will expect you to do:

1. Use OOC tags.
   
   Find some way to label your out-of-character text to distinguish it from in-character speech. The universal tag is (( text )). Other people use other formats, but that one is recognized by everybody. Sometimes, people might drop off the last two brackets. This is okay, too. So long as there is some way to tell it apart.
   
   Or better yet, keep out-of-character chat to OOC channels, such as guild, party or raid (of course, these can also be in-character channels if the group decides to use them that way). Whispers can go one way or the other. Sometimes they are used for in-character communication, other times they are not. People tend to type in-character speech within speech marks when using whispers, but that's down to personal preference and everyone uses whisper differently.
   
   
   
2. Do not use chat speak while in-character.
   
   Things like lol and brb are not acceptable for in-character communication. Think of what you would do if someone said that out loud to you. The same reaction applies. If you want to say brb, use OOC tags. If you want your character to laugh, type the sounds out, type /lol or /laugh, or create a custom emote using the custom emote system (/e or /me). The list goes on. Basically, type everything out or say it in OOC.
   
   
   
3. Do not god-mode your character.
   
   Basically, this means that you cannot determine how another character will react to your actions. This is especially important if you do not know the people you are RPing with. The best way to show this might be with an example, so here goes.
   
   Bob and Jim are RPing together in Silvermoon City. They are drinking in a tavern and having a great time. Bob starts to get drunk and Jim says something to make him angry. In retaliation for Jim's harsh comment, Bob throws a bottle at him. The correct way to do this would be:
   
   /me throws the bottle at Jim.
   
   Now, this emote allows Jim to respond in any number of ways. He can get hit by the bottle, he can dodge the bottle, the bottle can miss entirely and smash on the wall (this last option could have been safely written into the emote). It doesn't dictate what Jim has to do in regards to the action. The incorrect way of emoting this action would be:
   
   /me throws the bottle at Jim and it hits him in the face.
   
   In this case, Jim's choice is taken away. The bottle hits him in the face. No arguments. That's what happens. This is bad. A player must always have the option to counter whatever action is done to their character, or to allow the action to occur as intended. Keep that in mind when dealing with other characters.
   
   'But what about you and Tori?' you might ask. That's a good question. Our emotes often involve taking away the choice from each other. However, there is an important reason for that. We know each other and each other's characters very well. We could RP each others characters and stay in character if we wanted. We have each other's permission to do this. That right there is the key point: Get permission from the player before you go saying what your actions do to their character. If they say no, keep your actions ambiguous.
   
   
   
4. Use correct grammar and spelling.
   
   Typos happen. Everyone knows that, everyone accepts that. Fix them with OOC tags with the format (( fix* )) or fix them in an OOC channel with the format fix*. Using punctuation and correct grammar is important if you want anyone to take you seriously and if you want others to understand your actions. Of course, incorrect word usage and order might be down to your character dialect, but don't make stupid mistakes without fixing them.
   
   
   
5. Keep ERP private.
   
   There are no rules saying you can't partake in R-Rated RP with someone. It happens more often than you might think. However, there are common courtesy rules that dictate how this should be done.
   
   First off, don't initiate it with a person you don't know without first asking them how they feel about it. Remember, there are kids who play this game. I may be 21 and fine with it, but I know we have 13 year olds in our guild too, and I know that WoW itself is full of younger kids. If you find yourself in a situation that could lead to things getting steamy, shoot your companion a whisper asking how they feel about it. They might be fine with it, they prefer to opt for the fade-to-black method of dealing with it, or they may not want to partake in it at all. It's important to respect that decision, whatever it is. If they say no, let it drop.
   
   If you get an affirmative answer, the next thing is to find a way to make it private. The rest of the players around you don't want to see it, and I'm fairly certain you wouldn't want someone seeing you have sex either. So, how do you deal with that? There are two different options:
   
   -- Take the RP to whispers. Determine a mode of IC and OOC chat formats and keep it between yourselves. You could do the same thing in party chat if the only group members are yourself and your companion(s).
   -- Find a private place. This can be harder to do. Private does not just mean you're in a little house or room on your own. Emotes and the say channel have a radius that extends outside of your immediate area. Other people can see them even if they can't see you. They could also walk in on you as well. Find yourself somewhere people are not going to walk in on you or could see it if they walked past. That excludes anything near a town or near a path.
   
   Now, that's not to say you can't do ERP in a town or well-traveled area. What it means is that you have to keep in mind who could be near you. They don't want to see it, so if you do choose a more populated area, take your RP to a private channel. Your character can be laying naked beside each other or whatever you want, but you do not want the emotes of the speech to be visible. If someone walks up on you and your companion(s) laying next to each other on a bed, they may wonder what the heck is going on and make assumptions, but so long as the actual text is private, it's not a problem. Let them think what they want.
   
   'What if we're RPing it to be in public?' you may ask. That's fine too. Park your characters in the middle of the road if you please, but we still don't want to see the details of what's going on. If you want reactions, RP an NPC within your private channel or talk to a fellow RPer about whether they are willing to play the part of someone walking in on you. Do not ever assume that someone will want to see what you're doing in detail.
   
   
   
6. Use emotes effectively.
   
   The guys at Blizz gave us RPers an amazing tool when they made this game: the custom emote system. This allows us to take our actions beyond what the built-in emotes can achieve. However, it's important to use this system effectively. Basically, treat the emote system as if you are writing a story. Don't use script style RP when you're using the emote system. It's there to remove the necesity of scripting. The basics are this:
   
   -- /e or /me will start the emote.
   -- Emotes always begin with your character's name.
   -- Use third person present tense to type out your actions. (This applies most of the time, but more advanced writers can respond to past actions as well as the current action - don't worry about this if you aren't too strong of a writer.)
   -- Put speech marks around any speech you include in an emote.
   
   Some people will use this system more than others. Advanced RPers tend to use it more than the say channel to write out fine details of everything their character does. This can include facial expression to tone of voice to hand gestures. Anything can be written into a custom emote. The thing is, you don't have to use it if you don't want. Just use it correctly if you do.
   
   
   
7. Don't take it personally.
   
   Often times, especially if you are RPing an antagonistic character, RP will take a nasty turn. Other characters may threaten to kill you, may insult your character, may treat your character terribly or do any number of other things you may not like. It can go the other way too: your character might get someone hitting on them or trying to kiss up to them. Stuff happens and it isn't always what we want, like, or feel comfortable with. However there is one very important thing to remember:
   
   It's not personal!
   
   What a character does to yours is not a representation of what the player will do to you. Zhane has a nasty temper and often has to be restrained by Tori to keep him from killing people who piss him off. However, I'm probably one of the most laid back happy people you'll meet and, to top it off, I'm a self-proclaimed pacifist. If Zhane threatens or tries to kill your character, it doesn't mean I hate you. It means Zhane hates your character. There's a difference.

That about covers the basics. You can do far more with RP though. Here are some more immersive tips about RPing. Not everyone will maintain these ideas, but they can be fun to toy with, full-time or otherwise.

• Keep distance in mind.
  
  Yes, you can go anywhere in the entire universe within 15-20 minutes tops. However, keep in mind that that is merely a game mechanic. If we really had to take distance into account, it would take forever to get anywhere and people would stop playing. However, there is nothing saying that we RPers can't think about distance. If an event starts in Undercity and moves to Booty Bay, that is a LONG way! First, you have to get yourself to a place that can get you to the other continent. Now, Undercity is lucky in this case since it has a zeppelin station right outside. It would probably take a couple hours to get through the city since it's a BIG city. The ride, though, is across an ocean! It would take days if not weeks to get to Kalimdor. And then you land in northern Stranglethorn Vale, miles from Booty Bay. Several hours of riding would get you to the tip where Booty Bay is settled. The same event would not pick up right where it left off. You would have to discuss what might have happened while the characters were riding, while they were on the zeppelin for days. They would have kept on discussing the matter and dealing with it on the way. Teleports are the only way to get around this since they are instantaneous. However, you can't teleport everywhere. And even when you do, you land in a palce that would take hours to traverse to get to the right spot unless you just happen to like the area you land in. Of course, everyone in the group would have to agree with this, so it would be best to implement this idea with small groups unless you have a very cooperative big group. That's not always the easiest thing to do.
  
  
  
• RP the NPCs.
  
  This can make one-on-one and small group RP a lot more fun, and it can also apply to single player RP. The idea here is to incorporate the NPCs into what you do. Consider how they would react to the event going on in front of them or how they would respond to your character if you needed something. You can decide that one player will control the NPC or you can tag team it, that's up to you. The point is, NPCs can add a lot into an event because they aren't adventuring characters. They're typically townspeople and they would be more stereotypical of their race than the wandering hero (ie. player characters) would be. This allows your character to interact more directly with the lore of Warcraft.
  
  
  
• RP through quests.
  
  Everyone can admit that tavern RP gets boring. You can make it more interesting by being out in the streets or something but even that has its limits. Try RPing in the field as well, either just with yourself or with your companion(s). This way, it allows you to continue progressing with your character in regards to the game and it allows you to react to different situations in RP. It can be a lot of fun to react to the monsters in-character. Perhaps you taunt them, perhaps you're timid or squeamish. This also puts you in different environments and perhaps your character can even treat the quest as a mission of their own or a hired job to get some cash. It makes for a great character building exercise to see what happens outside of the regular sit-and-talk format.
  
  
  
• RP with yourself.
  
  So, just how would you go about doing that? Easy. React to your environment. RP the NPCs, talk to your pets, taunt the monsters, make exclamations when you get hurt, whatever. Just act in-character with whatever you do, regardless of where you are and who can see you. Other RPers will join you if they see you do this. But it can be fun on its own. I learned alot about Zhane's more eccentric side when doing this. It's a great exploration activity for any character, new or old.
  
  
  
• Use RP addons.
  
  There are a handful of addons out there that can add a lot to RP, either by giving you more options for your character or by providing other RPers with information about your character and your RP style. Check out the addon thread I made for some ideas on which ones to use. They can be pretty cool.

Creating a Believable Character

So, now you know how to RP. You've got all of the rules down, maybe you're even trying to be more immersive and using some more advanced ideas. You know how to stay in character and how to interact with other people when RPing. But what about your character? It's all well and good knowing how to RP when you don't have a decent character to RP with. That's where I come in. I will tell you what you need to know about making your character believable.


What is your name?

The first thing you have to do is give your character a name. Easy, right? Not so much. There's a lot that goes into giving your character the perfect name. Here are some things to consider.

• Is it an actual name? Parents don't name their children things like "Horderulez" or "Gnomepunter" unless they are insane. You need to give your character a feasible name. It doesn't have to be a real name (just how many Relzhane's do you know running around your town?) but it needs to sound like it could be one.
  
• Names don't have some hidden deep meaning that relates to what their bearer is like or does for a living. If they do, it's a giant coincidence. Think about how parents name their children. The baby is born and, for the most part, looks like every other baby ever born. They don't know what this child will do with their life, whether they will have a fiery temper, or sometimes even what color their hair or eyes will be when they grow up. They know the kid's gender and that's about it. The child is named something that perhaps means something to the family, after a family member, relates to the family's heritage or religion, or maybe just sounds pretty. You have to do the same when you name your character. What sounds cool, what has meaning to the culture, to the family, who might they be named for? If you don't know, because you haven't thought up your history yet, that's fine. You can always tie it back in later when you do that.
  
• Does it fit the culture? Even if your character's name isn't anything special in regards to the culture they grew up in, it still has to fit in. Cultures have different naming practices and patterns arise in the names. The best way to figure out what those patterns are is to look at the NPCs of your chosen race. A Blood Elf isn't going to be called Ormok (an Orc name) and an Orc isn't going to be named Phillip (a Human/Forsaken name) unless they have some mixed blood or parents who learned about and connected to other cultures. You might be making up your name, but it has to sound like it would fit into the society your character was born into.
  
• Think about surnames the same way. Your surname doesn't have some special meaning pertaining to who you are and it often gives clues to your heritage and culture. Surnames can be made up of word combination that you wouldn't give as a first name, but they will still hold true to your race's naming conventions. It's also likely that it will flow with your character's first name to sound good as a full name. Look at NPCs again to find ideas and patterns about how your character's race uses surnames. Find something or make something realistic. A Blood Elf won't have Moonblossom (a Night Elf name) for a surname and an Orc won't have Tinkernut (a Gnome name) for one either. There would be some pretty weird mixed blood going on if that ever happened.

What do you look like?

At the same time you are naming your character, you are also designing how they look. For the most part, this is entirely up to you and there isn't much to limit you, but think about the following things before you hit the 'Create' button.

• How old is your character? Kids don't have facial hair or wrinkles and, unless something weird is going on, old men don't have smooth skin and bright red hair.
  
• Does your character have siblings that you have already created? If so, they will look at least somewhat like their blood relatives. Death Knights are the exception here as they are undead and features change through the whole being dead thing. Have an idea of what they might have looked like before if you choose to make them look different than their siblings, though.
  
• What scars/tattoos/piercings/etc. does your character have? If you have a story in mind for your character, think about how these things will relate to that story. If not, this is personal preference, but remember them for later. It's all well and good to give your female Forsaken Mage the leather strapped eyeless feature on her face, but why is it there? If you don't have an answer for that, think of one. If you have a character concept in which she has bright blue eyes and doesn't like bondage, perhaps rethink adding this feature to her. Obviously, some parts don't need explanations: maybe your character just likes piercings or maybe they're just legitimately decomposing and falling apart. But some stuff is a bit more unique than personal preference items.
  
• Make the face match your personality. Some faces look downright insane, while others look very innocent and happy-go-lucky. Most are neutral, but if you pick one that isn't, make sure it makes sense with how you want your character to act. If you don't know how your character will act, that's fine, but just remember what you chose and be able to stick to what personality connotations it will imply.

What are you like?

So you've named your little guy or gal (or perhaps they aren't so little), and you've decided what they look like. What's next? Personality and general traits! Think about these questions about your character:

1. How old are you?
   
   This doesn't have to be an exact number, especially for our Elven brethren. Things to consider are how physically mature your character is, as well as how emotionally and psychologically mature they are. Choose an age to fit. Now, like I said, Elves are little more difficult cuz they age weirdly. But you can still make it look right with your imagined age.
   
   
   
2. What are your strengths?
   
   Now I don't mean things like 'I can single-handedly defeat Onyxia!' or anything of the sort. I mean personality strengths. If you'd like, think about these things as the positive aspects of your character's personality. Let's look at Zhane. He's compassionate and considerate, he's loving, he's friendly. He's also very playful and is quite the social butterfly. I'm sure I can come up with sveral more positive things about Zhane's personality, but that is another important point to consider: you don't have to know every single little detail right now. Your character will grow as you play them and you will learn things about their personality through improvised RP.
   
   
   
3. What are your weaknesses?
   
   Again, think about personality. These are the more negative sides of your personality. Zhane is over-protective and pushy. He has a bad temper and he is generally apathetic and antisocial. He is sarcastic and a bit of a flirt. He also has some depressive tendencies and can be very broody. Again, I can come up with more if I try, but it doesn't matter. You just want the main points right now. More will come to you as you play.
   
   
   
4. What traits contradict one another?
   
   As you may have noticed, Zhane is both a social butterfly and he's antisocial. These two traits are counter to one another, but the thing to consider is why each has manifested. Your story will explain this, and the interaction of these contradictory traits will influence how your character acts. So you can see what I mean, we'll continue with Zhane as our example. He is a social butterfly because he would love to be able to be with people and talk, to be part of events and get to know people. However, being a Death Knight, that tends to not work out so well. As such, he has become rather antisocial in order to avoid being hurt further by people shunning him. Because the two traits are so diametrically opposed and his antisocial tendencies are a forced change as opposed to his natural tendencies, this tends to leave him rather depressed and apathetic when he gets into his broodier moments. The point here is that opposed traits can explain one another as well as explaining other traits. You have to consider which trait of the opposed pair is the natural trait and which one is a product of environment.
   
   
   
5. What do you like?
   
   This one's easy. What stuff does your character like to do? Where would they like to live? What is their favorite place to be? Again, you don't need to know everything, just the key things that influence how your character acts. Zhane likes the forest and has a penchant for climbing trees. He also likes Tori. As with a lot of stuff, you'll figure out more stuff the more you play.
   
   
   
6. What do you not like?
   
   Another easy one. Don't bother with the obvious stuff. No-one likes being stabbed, eating poison, dying, etc. These are the more unique things that they don't like. For example, Zhane doesn't like being cold. He has an absolutely terrible tolerance for it. This is weird for an undead guy, but whatever, it's how he is. He also can't stand his ghoul. Remember that you'll learn more as you play, too, so this list may not be very big.
   
   
7. What quirks do you have?
   
   Physical or otherwise, what weird little things make your character unique? This can be just about anything. Maybe your character is left handed or will only drink from a metal goblet. We'll pick on Zhaney some more. One of his quirks is that he is very sensitive to touch. Means he has a pretty low pain tolerance too, but he has other ways to compensate for that. Yet again, this list may not be very big just yet. You will learn more as you play your character. They have a tendency to grow of their own free will, half the time.

What's your story?

Now comes the fun part. And the hardest part, at that. You've got all of this stuff about your character and you could probably improvise and RP as you are. You know their name and how they act, pretty simple to RP if you're good at improv. However, your character isn't finished yet and unless you're one of those people who likes to just throw a character into the world and figure out who they are and where they're from as you play (I occasionally do this), you need to come up with a history for your new avatar.

So, let's get going! Here are some basic questions to get you started.

1. Where are you from?
   
   This is a pretty key thing to decide, even if you don't want to get too in depth with your history right now. Everyone comes from somewhere. And that somewhere influences who they are. Think back to the traits you just gave your character and the name you bestowed upon them. What makes sense with that? If your character loves the forest, perhaps they grew up in a forested area. Or maybe the exact opposite is true and they love it because they longed for it as a child. If your Blood Elf has a human first name, did they grow up in a human community in the days of the Alliance?
   
   You can be as specific or as broad as you wish with this. I prefer to get it down to town, but sometimes this isn't necessary. Zhane is from Windrunner Village, but he could have just as easily been from any other town in the Ghostlands for his personality and his story to work out.
   
   
   
2. Why do you do what you do?
   
   Explain your class decision. Keep in mind that you don't have to be a professional mage if you chose to be a mage. Game mechanics force us to pick a class and professions, but that doesn't mean that we all do those things professionally. A mage herbalist can just as easily be a flower merchant who just happens to dabble in magic on the side as a hobby. Whatever you decide to do, though, you need an explanation for it. Perhaps this flower merchant's mother owned the shop before and handed it down to her. Perhaps her father was a court mage and taught her how to do simple spells as a kid and she just kept on learning new things.
   
   
   
3. What explains your personality?
   
   This is quite a loaded question. Now you have to explain all of your weird quirks and all of your personality traits. Granted, some will just be the way you are, no explanation needed. But most will need some sort of explanation that is tied back to your past. Especially important will be your explanations of contradictory traits. With contradictory traits, there is always at least one trait influenced by the environment and past experiences. Now is the time to explain these things with your backstory.
   
   
   
4. What explains your appearance?
   
   Remember how I told you to keep in mind the choices you made for your character's appearance? Now that comes into play. Just what happened to your girl to end up wearing the leather straps on her face? Why exactly does your character look like he wants to kill everything that moves? Now is the time to think about these things and explain the story behind each of these odd physical features. And, of course, think about other features that the game cannot actually show. Scars under clothing and the likes. What gave them those scars?
   
   'Features the game can't show? You never said anything about that!' you may say. This is correct. I didn't mention it before because I was focusing more on the in-game appearance of your character. However, there are lots of little things that the game won't show that may distinguish your character. Think about these and add them to your profile in whatever way you are keeping track of all of this stuff. And then explain them. Birth marks may not need explanations, but things like Zhane's impaling scars on this stomach and back need an explanation. In his case, he got run through with a sword while fighting to save his home in the Second War. Things like that are the things you need to be thinking about.
   
   
   
5. What explains your name?
   
   Finally, think about the name you gave your character. If there are any oddities about it (maybe your Blood Elf has a human surname), figure out why. Most names won't have a story, but some things do require explanation, especially if they are named for someone or something important to the family. This doesn't have to be a huge long explanation. Maybe Kalinara Sunweaver (totally made up name) was named for her grandmother. Plain and simple explanation. The point is that you need one if there's anything special about the name you chose.

These questions are the basis of your backstory. Alone, however, they don't tell much of a story. Here, you can stop if you'd like. You have the important parts down and the rest will build as you play. You're free to tie it together into some sort of basic story, and in fact, I encourage you to do so. It's easier to play your character if you build them some sort of past storyline instead of just a bunch of answers to the questions above. Add in (mostly) irrelevant yet amusing stories and events into your past to build a life history of your character. Think about how they were as a child and the things they got into. The more you add, the more realistic you'll be. And, of course, don't stress on all the details. Get big events down and fill in the rest as you play. It will come to you as you talk about and play your character.


Okay, so you've got your name, your appearance, your personality and at least the explanatory parts of your past set up. Done, right? Nope! You have one more step in creating your character. Now comes the hard part of making your story. Now you have to go through all of it to make sure everything that needs to be explained is and everything makes sense with no strange contradictions. It can be easy to get ahead of yourself when writing a story. Things start happening that seem cool and the whole thing just snowballs. Now it's time to stop that snowball! Think about these two very important rules when you are looking over your character:

1. There can't be any unexplained contradictions.
   
   All aspects of a character are intertwined and affect each other. Your personality influences how you act in given situations, which leads to events in your past, which can then lead to more traits (physical or personality) manifesting. That in mind, I realize how hard it can be to make it all match up. The thing is, it has to match up. Your personality has to match up with the events your have in your past and vice versa. Your job now is to go through what you have decided, find the contradictions you have made (if you made any) and fix them.
   
   
   
2. You have to stay true to the lore.
   
   This is of monumental importance. It's all well and good if your character is consistent within himself if he isn't consistent with the lore. Everything about your character has to fit in with the lore of the World of Warcaft, from their story right down to their name. This is a complicated matter that can take a lot of work to ensure. The best advice I can give is to read up on the lore that is relevant to your character. This includes things about your race as a whole as well as relevant important events in the history of Warcraft that your character may has lived through.
   
   'All the events I've lived through? That's all three of the games and everything in WoW!' That may be true, but notice I said relevant. Think about what your character would know about the world as they grew up. A Blood Elf, for example, is likely old enough to have lived through all of the wars. However, most of them don't really care that much about it because they were isolated in Quel'Thalas. Yes, their people were fighting for the Alliance in the first war, but that doesn't really amount to much when you think about the fact that your character was probably a child at the time and, unless they had family or friends actively fighting, not much really changed in their homeland. As such, the first war is pretty irrelevant. Know about it, but don't bother with the details. Second and third wars on the other are far more relevant because they came to Quel'Thalas itself. Know about these ones in more detail. See what I mean? There is a lot of lore, yes, but most of it you don't have to know about in detail. Find the relevant parts and read those but don't stress on the details.

As I referenced in the Keeping in Character post, WoW Wiki (that is a link) is your best reference for lore. Everything I have talked about in regards to creating a character can be answered by this website. It will list NPCs and tell you the history and relevant culture information you need to know to make your character believable.

That about covers what you need to know about RP. As I said earlier, feel free to ask question in this topic. I'm happy to clarify things or explain them. I'm also open to discussing how to do specific events (like weddings or funerals, etc.) and more in depth immersive RP ideas. Ask away! ^^ However, don't ask me specific things about your character in this topic. I'm happy to help, but contact me in game or shoot me a PM for assistance on building your character.

I hope you enjoyed reading this. I certainly had fun writing it. XD