Roleplay Guide

First some definitions RP = Role-play and it refers to the occasionally neglected art, of making your Terris character say, and do, the sort of things it would do if Terris were a real world. Let me state for the record, that on some days, Terris as a world seems all too real. I suspect that many Terris Temple and Guild leaders will be quietly nodding their heads as they read this.

OOC = Out Of Context and is anything that relates to you and your activities in the real world and not the activities of your character in Terris.

IC = In Context and means in context for your character as opposed to in context for you yourself.

This somewhat Inconspicuous publication, assumes that you have some prior knowledge of the land of Terris.

The obligatory disclaimer If there is such a thing as an RP expert then I’m not really aware of it. I know that I’m no expert, but I also know that as time has gone by, I’ve got better and better at it. The purpose of this guide therefore, is not to attempt to teach RP but hopefully to give new players a head start. As a new player, you should realize that without RP, your character is just a name. Role-playing your character takes that name, and gives it a true identity.

Alignment This is potentially one of the strongest characteristics in Terris. Is your character good or evil ? For those who intend to play evil characters, be aware that you must still interact with other players in the game. If you keep your evil behavior nicely in the context of the game then great. If your evil behavior starts to disrupt others playing of their characters then that becomes a problem. Keep in mind at all times that there are real people behind those other characters, and they just want to play the game and have fun in the same way that you do.

Having said all that, strong willed or evil characters who get their RP right, do have a way of standing out from the crowd in Terris.

Race Another big factor is your character’s race. Different races might generally display different characteristics. For instance, Dwarves tend to be gruff, outgoing characters whereas Elves might be mysterious or shy. It is always good to be able to RP your race.

Class Your class might also have a large impact on the way you RP your character. If your character has a fighting class like a Fighter, or a Berserker, then you might be more likely to be brash, or boisterous than a spellcaster who might be reserved or introspective.

Guild Your character’s guild says a lot about them. I’d recommend that new players try to choose a guild that would be a natural home for their character. All of the Terris guilds have different characteristics and traits. One really great way to determine the best guild for your character is to talk to other players who have knowledge of the particular guilds you are interested in.

Temple Those who join one of Terris’s temples, are the followers of one of the Immortals. All of the Immortals have their own particular (well defined) RPs. It is exceedingly likely that your character will display some similar characteristics to those of your Immortal.

Household All of the Terris Households have established RPs. If your character is in a household then it may well have a bearing on how you play them.

Skills Your character's skills may well say something about them. A top class barterer for instance, is probably quite glib of tongue whereas a character with high Physical Training, is probably exceedingly swarthy.

The Terris creators gave us many tools with which to enact our RP. They ask that we make use of these tools but do not misuse them. I would advise all readers of this to make sure they are fully familiarized with the Terris COS rules (Conditions of Service). Conditions of Service rules tell us where the boundaries to the scope of our RP activities lie, or to put it another way, what is RP, and what becomes an unacceptable form of communication.

If you are a new player, ask yourself what your new character might say. Many players (such as myself) make use of a slightly ‘olde worldly’ manner of speaking. Others choose to say things in the same manner they would do in real life. However you say things, be sure to say something that your character would if they were a real adventurer in a real land. ‘I had my vacuum cleaner serviced last Tuesday’ is not RP however ‘I had my manservant clean it thoroughly’ would be.

The use of capital letters LIKE THIS is considered to be raising your characters voice. If you do this, be aware that other players may react as though you had shouted at them.

Is another commonly used method of communication. Whispers are secretive, if your character is naturally secretive or you are simply trying to be secretive, consider using this particular command.

Tells are widely used to communicate privately with another player. The beauty of Tells is that you can communicate with players who do not currently occupy the same room as your character. This does mean that Tells are not such an RP friendly method of communication however, I would still recommend that you make the effort particularly if your tell is going to be a request for resurrection.

These are all public methods of communication. Shouts are universally heard by any player who does not have their NOSHOUTS flag set on. As such they have immense possibilities for RP. It is worth noting that you are expected to use shouts in an IC manner. For those who wish to broadcast OOC comment, you are expected to make use of chats.

If you are going to be OOC then this is the way to do it. Chats were provided deliberately to give us a method to communicate OOC and keep Shouts IC.

EM is short for EMOTE. These are all pure RP aids. Perhaps the best way to discover their use is to try them out in a quiet area of Terris.

Many players like to set up macros to activate custom emotes that they have designed for their characters. Terris has it's own macro commands that you can use to do this (HELP MACROS will assist you with this) or alternatively, you can use the Terris Wizard's macro keys facility. All you need to do is use one of the above emote commands and some text that RPs your character. Then just fire them off as you will.

Terris also provides us with a set of incredibly useful pre-defined EMOTES. At present time, the full list of these is as follows:

2COOL	3ZIR	ABUG	ACK	ADJUST
AFK	AH	AHA	ANGER	APPLAUD
APPLAUSE	AYE	AYE2	BAA	BABBLE
BACK	BAH	BARGAIN	BARK	BEAM
BEEP	BEG	BHUG	BIBBLE	BLINK
BLUSH	BOBBINS	BOGGLE	BOND	BOO
BOTHER	BOUNCE	BOW	BOWS	BREATHE
BROTHERHOOD	BRUB	BUNNY	BURP	BYE
CACKLE	CANT	CARE	CARESS	CARTWHEEL
CHEER	CHIN	CHORTLE	CHUCKLE	CLAP
CLAPS	CLICK	CLUCK	COMB	COMFORT
COMPLAIN	COMPOSE	CONSOLE	COO	COOL
COUGH	CRINGE	CROAK	CRY	CUDDLE
CURTSEY	CUT	DANCE	DANCES	DANGER
DEAL	DING	DOH	DOODLE	DRAT
DRIBBLE	DROOL	DUCK	DUST	DWARVES
ELVES	EMBRACE	ENVY	ERK	ERM
EYE	EYES	FAINT	FAN	FANDANGO
FART	FEED	FIDGET	FIST	FRENZY
FKISS	FLAP	FLEX	FLIP	FLOP
FLUTTER	FOOL	FORCE	FORGIVE	FRED
FREDO	FRIEND	FROWN	FRUB	FUME
GARGLE	GASP	GAZE	GGREET	GHOST
GHUG	GIBBER	GIGGLE	GLARE	GNATS
GNOMES	GOBBLE	GOGGLE	GOOD	GOODBYE
GOODNIGHT	GOOSE	GOSH	GREET	GREETS
GRIMACE	GRIN	GRINS	GRIPE	GROAN
GROVEL	GROWL	GRUNT	GRUNTS	GSIGNBYE
GSIGNHI	GSIGNTHANK	GUFFAW	GULP	GURGLE
GWAVE	HA	HAHA	HALFMEN	HANDSTAND
HANDSTAND2	HANKY	HATE	HE	HEAVE
HEHE	HELLO	HELLO2	HI	HI2
HISS	HMM	HONEYBUNNY	HOORAY	HOOT
HOP	HOPE	HOW?	HOWL	HUFF
HUG	HUH	HUM	HUMANS	HUR
HURT	IGNORE	JAM	JAWS	JOG
JUMP	KENNY	HONK	KIAI	KIDDING
KISS	KNEEL	KNIGHTS	LAG	LARD
LAUGH	LEAP	LEER	LEON	LICK
LISTEN	LOOKDOWN	MAGES	MASSAGE	MEDITATE
MEGA	MEN	MEWL	MITTENS	MOAN
MONKS	MOO	MORNING	MRPINK	MUHAHA
MUMBLE	MUTLEY	MUTTER	MYTIME	NAG
NAHNAH	NAIL	NAILS	NARROW	NEVER
NIBBLE	NO	NOD	NODDLES	NODS
NOO	NOSE	NOSEBAG	NOSES	NRUB
NUDGE	NUTS	NUZZLE	NYERG	OASIS
OCH	OGLE	OGLES	OGRES	OH
OHM	OHYEAH	OI	OK	OOER
OOH	OOPH	OOPS	OUCH	PACE
PAH	PANT	PAT	PEER	PEERS
PEN	PHEW	PIPE	PIPE2	PIPE3
PIPE4	POINT	POKE	PONDER	POO
POOH	POUT	PRAISE	PRAY	PREPARE
PROD	PRUNE	PUFF	PSST	PUPPYEYES
PURR	QUACK	QUAKE	RAINBOW	RAISE
RAISES	RASPBERRY	RESPECT	REVELS	RICE
RISKY	ROFL	ROGUES	RUBBISH	RUN
ROAR	SNIGGER	SNIGGERS	SGIGGLE	SADSMILE
SALUTE	SCAN	SCOWL	SWOON	SCRATCH
SCREAM	SCUTTLE	SEX	SHAKE	SHAME
SHE	SHEESH	SHIVER	SHLA	SHOULDER
SHRUG	SHRUG2	SHUDDER	SHUFFLE	SIGH
SIGNBYE	SIGNHI	SIGNTHANK	SING	SIT
SKIP	SLAP	SLAVES	SLIDE	SLURP
SMART	SMILE	SMILES	SMIRK	SMIRKS
SMOKIN	SMOOCH	SMUG	SNAP	SNARL
SNEER	SNEEZE	SNIFF	SNIGGER	SNOG
SNORT	SNUGGLE	SOB	SORRY	SPANK
SPIT	SPLUTTER	SQU	SQUEAK	SQUEEZE
STABBED	STAGGER	STAMP	STAND	STARE
STOP	STOPME	STORY	STRETCH	STRING
STROKE	STRUT	STUTTER	SULK	SUMM
SWAGGER	SWAT	SWAY	SWEAT	TADA
TAGTAP	TEAR	THANK	THEO	THIEVES
THINK	THWAP	TICKLE	TICKLE2	TITTER
TITTER2	TOUGH	TRUNDLE	TUG	TUT
TWINKLE	TWIRL	VOMIT	VOTE	WAFFLE
WAG	WAGGLE	WAIL	WALKONHANDS	WALRUS
WALTZ	WARLOCKS	WARRIORS	WASH	WAVE
WAVEY	WHAT?	WHEE	WHEEZE	WHEN?
WHERE?	WHIMPER	WHINE	WHISTLE	WHO?
WHOOP	WHOOPS	WHY	WIBBLE	WIGGLE
WINCE	WINK	WINKS	WIPE	WOBBLE
WOMBLE	WOMEN	WONDERWALL	WOO	WOOD
WOOF	WOW	YAWN	YES	YICK
YO	YUK	ZED

The pre-defined emotes are an excellent way of quickly expressing your characters feelings on the spur of the moment. The trick is applying the right emote in the right context. I spent some time trying to work out which of the emotes apply best in which situation. I am including this information below in the hope that it will prove useful to new players.

Emotion	Possibilities
Guilt	ACK
Realization	AH CLICK
Anger	ANGER FUME
Revelation	AHA
Surprise	BLINK WOO WOW
Embarrassment	BLUSH OOPS SHAME WHOOPS
Concern	BOTHER MUTTER FROWN
Delight	CHEER WHOOP
Thoughtfulness	CHIN FIST HMM PONDER
Amusement	CHUCKLE CHORTLE GIGGLE HA HAHA HUR SNIGGER SMIRKS
Happiness	CLAP OOH
Nervousness	COMPOSE COUGH FIDGET NAILS PACE SHUFFLE
Admiration	COO
Fear	CRINGE GASP STUTTER QUAKE SHUDDER
Sadness	CRY SOB TEAR
Impatience	DOODLE HUM TAP
Disappointment	DRAT HUFF LOOKDOWN NOO NUTS OH SUCK
Envy	ENVY
Disgust	EYES SHEESH
Vanity	FLEX
Exhaustion	FLOP PANT
Hope	HOPE SIGH
Relief	PHEW
Depression	SCOWL
Confusion	SCRATCH SHRUG

Many of the most useful emotes need the name of another character as an argument. These take the form EMOTE <character> The character concerned must be in the same room as your character and visible (not hidden or invisible) for the emote to fire correctly.

Effect	Possibilities
Offer congratulations	APPLAUD <char> APPLAUSE <char> PAT <char>
Indicate surprise	BACK <char>
Indicate Pleasure	BEAM <char> PRAISE <char>
Indicate annoyance	GLARE <char> IGNORE <char> NARROW <char> NAG <char>
Pleading	BEG <char>
Show confusion	ERM <char> RAISE <char>
Forgiving	FORGIVE <char>
Accusing	FREDO <char> HE <char> SHE <char>
Interest	LISTEN <char>
Understanding	NOD <char>
Calming	FAN <char> NRUB <char>
Getting attention	TUG <char> NUDGE <char>
Examining	PEER <char>
Condolence	SHOULDER <char> SQU <char>
Playing for sympathy	SNIFF <char>
Apologizing	SORRY <char>
Offering thanks	THANK <char>

A number of other commonly used and useful emotes are listed below with rough categories:

I have observed that the vast majority of the top RPers in Terris, carry a singular theme to their characters. They may have a number of notable attributes but there is usually, one single characteristic that they draw on constantly. What this characteristic is exactly, is down to the individual in each case. I have no way of knowing how each one of these players established their own individual theme, but I do know how I established my own.

Yorkminster is something of a caricature of me. He has all of my good and bad qualities in abundance. Most of the unusual things he gets up to are based loosely upon my childhood experiences. In short, there's a lot of me in Yorkminster. I suspect that many other players draw upon aspects of their OOC lives for their Terris characters. This might be one good way for you to establish a theme for your own character. Pick on something that you know about yourself and accentuate it.

I've spent quite a bit of time discussing possibilities for your own character's RP however, Terris is an interactive game. At least as important as your own RP (if not more so) is the RP of other players. You can often support in game RP by paying close attention to what other players are trying to achieve with their own RP. I recall quite a few times in the past, where quite complex in game events have developed, when two or more players have simply allowed their normal ad-hoc RP to develop on the spur of the moment.

Hopefully the contents of this document may have given you some food for thought. Terris really is much more than just hack and slash. I'd encourage all new players to find a theme for their character's and discover the fun in RP.