Zazu's RP Tutorial!

[Zazu]

This, my friends, is the tutorial I wrote while a wizard on ER! It was posted on the ER forum, and I see no reason not to put it up here, as well. If you feel like you need new ideas, or you're a new player who's trying to avoid newbie mistakes, check it out! As another wizard pointed out to me, this tutorial may also be a good place to direct players whom you think need some help.

[Zazu]

Zazu’s RP Tutorial

The following is a tutorial about MUCK-style role-playing: a freeform, text-based form of interactive storytelling used on the online worlds known as MUCKs. It’s geared especially toward users of Kings and Vagabonds MUCK, a place based on Disney’s The Lion King, but applies to most MUCKs fairly well. Take note of the fact, however, that customs vary from place to place, meaning that some MUCKs will favor different styles and have different rules than others. It’s important to make an effort to get to know the place where you role-play in order to fit in well.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the world of text-based role-playing!

Role-play is make-believe! Everyone plays make-believe in numerous ways every day, whether basking in the imagined glow of a happy family should dinner turn out just as planned, pretending to be a mutual acquaintance while making gossip with friends, or dreaming of the perks of an eventual promotion. As children we have the most use for make-believe; it gives us the opportunity to try on possible roles for ourselves, and there’s no better time to learn about taking on someone else’s point of view. These are skills that remain useful as adults, however, and to continue with this kind of game is a healthy choice. There are few abilities more useful than understanding where others are coming from, and few activities more rewarding than imagining possibilities.

There are many of types of role-play open to adults. Some have a lot of structure and some have little. Some have an elaborate system complete with building points, tables, and character sheets, while others are more freeform. Some depend on chance and others only on the participants involved. Some are controlled by a game master, some by a computer, and some on an equal footing by all the players. This tutorial is written for one of the freest kinds: the style of text-based role-play you find on a MUCK or an IRC channel, among other places.

In this form of role-play, there are no dice and no statistics. There is, for the most part, no game master telling you what happens around you. There are guidelines for what you can’t do without permission from your companions, but even these can occasionally be broken for the sake of an awesome idea. Each player takes one role, and can sometimes supplement it with others as needed, within reason. Another notable characteristic of this form of RP is that while individual characters have goals, there is no goal for players. One player is not pitted against another, nor is a group of players pitted against a game master or program. Everyone is cooperating to have a good time through their combined storytelling skill.

I’m drawn to MUCKs over traditional RPGs (role-playing games) because of their lack of a system, the freedom the form gives, the fact that I can come and go as I please instead of scheduling sessions, and the fact that the slightly slower pace of role-play is more to my liking. You may enjoy them for different reasons. With freedom, though, comes responsibility, and as MUCKers our responsibility is to know our craft. By being the best players we can, we make this form of entertainment something worthwhile. Because we don’t depend on a game system or a complex computer-generated world, MUCKing is only as good as we make it.

With that in mind, I’ve written this tutorial to help everyone make our form of role-play as exciting and engrossing as it deserves to be.

Note: I’ve included a lot of examples to illustrate my points. Some of these example RPs are made-up, while some are taken from RPs that occurred on Endless Round MUCK, the predecessor to Kings and Vagabonds. A few are from my personal logs. Of the excerpts I made up, I used some actual characters and some fabricated ones. If I happened to use your character’s name, please don’t read anything into it: I just felt like your character would be appropriate in the scene I was writing. And if I had your character do something atypical, sorry about that.

[Zazu]

SOME NOTES ON THE RULES OF LANGUAGE

Yes, this is the internet. And everyone knows that on the internet, the likes of capital letters, good grammar and properly spelled words are endangered species. Text-based role-play, however, is an exception to this rule! As noted above, this form of entertainmnt is what we make it, and we have nothing but text to work with. If our text is a mess, trying to enjoy what we do will be like trying to write a publishable story on a used lunch bag. Our text is our lifeblood. MUCKers therefore need to put effort into using good spelling, grammar, punctuation, and style. It’s embarrassing to admit that someone isn’t one of your favorite RP partners because they write run-on sentences or overuse the same words over and over, but it happens, and if you find you’re having trouble getting people to play with you, this may be the reason. What’s more, if someone does make a lot of mistakes, it marks him or her as a possible problem player: inexperienced, careless, or unsuited for the environment. When I started MUCKing I had the habit, carried over from the MSN Gaming Zone, of leaving off the last period of a paragraph. I have no doubt it made people think of me as amateurish until I figured out the problem and stopped doing it. Don’t take this advice too hard; MUCKers, especially those on ER, are forgiving to those who are earnest and making an effort to improve. Just consider yourself warned.

[Zazu]

WHAT IS A POSE?

Poses are the building blocks of MUCK RP. A pose is simply a single contribution from a single player to a scene. A pose corresponds roughly to a paragraph of content in a story. Typically, a pose describes what a single character is doing and saying, and possibly what he or she is thinking, but there are exceptions.

Elements of a pose:

Poses comprise some combination of the following elements:

1. Action. What your character is doing.
2. Internal activity. What your character is thinking and feeling.
3. Dialogue. What your character says.
4. Environmental activity. Things that happen in the environment around the characters.
5. Narrative. Information that you’re supplying for the sake of the other players, in order to establish the story you’re in the process of telling or to explain where you’re coming from.
6. Decoration. Embellishments to make your pose look cooler with poetry, song lyrics, and/or ASCII art.

Let’s look at each of these elements in detail.

Action:
Almost every pose will contain at least a little action. Action can be basic, simple movements such as:

Ghaibu picks up the pace. He runs for the giant tree, crashing through leaves and brambles while receiving countless scratches. Once there, he scratches at the bark of the tree until his paws are starting to bleed.

It can also describe signs of internal activity, such as suggesting your character’s intentions…

Chances are he won’t stop until he’s got no more strength to claw with. His eyes are focused on the prize.

…or your character’s thoughts and emotions.

He sinks to the ground and touches his head to a protruding root of the tree. His face is grim with sorrow and determination. When he looks up again, it’s clear that he feels defeated. He may try again, but not until he’s had a chance to regroup and think.

Note that all of this is just describing what a person watching Ghaibu would be likely to infer. It doesn’t provide a direct window into what he’s thinking, just a good indirect one.

It’s rare that you should make a pose with no action whatsoever. Even when your only purpose is to continue a conversation, it usually works better with if you throw in a little action. Here’s a pose basically without action:

Bashak says, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. But I can’t hunt, and I’ve –never- been able to learn. I’ve had so many teachers—Shaly… Ajonga… Joka… Kapu… Arianna….I don’t know what you could do for me, if none of them knew what to do.” After a moment, the hyena adds, “On the other hand…I guess I am turning out to be pretty good at being hunted, huh?”

It’s not bad, but it could easily be made more interesting with the addition of gestures, mannerisms, and/or intonations.

Bashak wrinkles his nose at the leopardess’s suggestion. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he groans. “But I can’t hunt, and I’ve –never- been able to learn. I’ve had so many teachers—Shaly… Ajonga… Joka… Kapu… Arianna….” He hangs his head. “I don’t know what you could do for me, if none of them knew what to do.” After a moment, the hyena looks up again slowly, his left ear flopping down. “On the other hand…I guess I am turning out to be pretty good at being hunted, huh?” he jokes.

Internal activity:
This is what you have when you put the reader into your character’s mind. You can include blocks of internal activity or incorporate it smoothly into action and dialogue. Here’s an example of a pose integrating internal activity with external action:

Kamau follows, moving backwards, not daring to turn his back on the hidden predator. He doesn't know whether to believe the news, considering its bearer, but even so, the sooner they leave this accursed place the better. Only once he's left the danger of the open, exposed clearing does he turn around, making his way down the mountain with haste, the foliage rattling as his large form pushes through.

And another, this time with a little dialogue:

"Well, why's that? Surely you'd need all the help you can get." The serval now sounds defensive, much to her own chagrin since she didn't at all want to get involved in keeping watch over anyone when she first came here. Her focus on the baboon animal is taken away by the approach of the lion. Sure it's just a lion, but he does have a looming figure and booming voice that helps to stir up her natural aversion to the species, backpedaling a pace as her large ears tip back. The leonine's apparent friendly demeanor does keep her from fleeing, but she seems skeptical, especially since he encourages the idea of her being some manner of cub sitter. "I dun’ see how I could manage to even get one to move if I wanted it to, let along steal it," she notes, head ducking down lower as her tail hangs low behind her.

And here’s one where action and internal activity are largely discrete, but still flow smoothly together:

Simba smiles wordlessly at the serval and turns to watch him go, releasing a soft sigh under his breath as soon as Kairu has moved out of his sight. With every inch of him he hopes that the message will make it to the Pridelands, both for his parents' sake, his own, and now for the sake of his messenger. If Kairu dies on the way…it will be all Simba's fault. Abruptly the boycub seems to realize that he's been still 'too long' - and he snaps back into hunched, slinking movement and races back up the side of a tree into the branches. Thank you, mad jungle skillz.

Here’s an exchange that shows a contrast between styles. The first pose is entirely composed of action, while the second is heavy with explicit internal action:

Ajenti appears confused for a moment, but shakes it off and nods firmly. She heads for the tall swishy grass to the north, away from the prey. On the threshold, she turns and indicates with her head that she's going to be coming around, north and then west. Her gaze focuses for one second on the adult Tzik is looking at, but then she bites her lip and gives a little shake, and swishes the point of her tail at the little kudu with a limp that she's been watching all day, who's more integrated in the herd. She finishes by patting the ground to the left, then twice to the right. With a satisfied smile, she disappears into the grass.

Tzik blinks. A lot. What the hell does she mean?! Tzik looks over at the limping kudu…yeah, he'd be easier…hrm. But the adult has such a nice SKULL. The lioness is gone, though. Leaving Tzik all alone in the grass. Left, right…what? He moves the opposite way that the lioness did. He'll just flank the herd.. yeah, that'll work.. right?

Good poses can fall anywhere along the spectrum from nothing but action to mostly internal with just a little action. Beware, though—the other players can only react to what your character does externally. The rest of your pose is just entertainment for you and for them. It adds a lot to the story but it doesn’t contribute to moving it forward. If you’re fond of using a lot of internal action in your poses, you should always make sure that you give your RP partners enough to go on. Here’s a pose that’s almost entirely internal activity:

Now what? If this dispute goes on much longer, they’ll all be dead before the crossing gets made. Verana stares at the rapids and breathes. Nefaru’s words echo in her head: “I’d never leave my brother to the kind of loneliness I once knew.” Her eyes flash: If that’s true, you hypocrite, where is he now? Didn’t I hear him begging to take him with you? No, Nefaru can’t be trusted with anything, let alone an important migration. Verana’s going to have to take control before too long.

Interesting, but Verana forgot to actually do anything other than stare!

Dialogue:
What your character says. Dialogue can be long or short. It can be a good idea to break it up with gestures, physical expressions, and descriptions of how it’s being said. It can also work to deliver it in big uninterrupted chunks. Each shapes the flavor of the scene in its own way.

When you make a long speech, you draw attention to yourself and to what you’re saying more than if you break it into bits. Lengthy dialogue is often appropriate when the subject of it is the focus of the scene.

Bashak sits up and starts telling his dream. His focus shifts from the high ceiling of the cave to each of the faces surrounding him, all in turn. “I dreamed I was watching Pride Rock from a little bush, far enough away that I couldn’t be detected. It was nighttime, but the clouds overhead were as bright as if it were day. There was a long line of lions, all lined up and moving up the path to Pride Rock. I didn’t recognize most of them, but there was the queen, Sarabi, and Nala, the future queen, and lots and lots of males with strange manes and goatees and tails, just when I focused on them, each one was stranger than the last. And at the end of this parade, there was a little animal. At first I thought it was a tiny thing, a shrew, but when I looked more closely it seemed bigger, and bigger, like a rat or a bush baby or a coney, and when I looked again, just as it was disappearing into the cavern, it was me. It was me in the path, and I looked back at myself and smiled! Then I was left alone there in the bush, but I thought there were eyes watching me from all over, so I stepped out into the open. I was in the middle of the field when the clouds started descending, they came down on Pride Rock and they started to eat it alive! I mean, they passed down over the tip and when they came down lower it was gone. I started trying to shout to warn everyone, but I couldn’t talk properly, and the clouds came low enough to eat the main cavern and everyone inside, and I realized they were eating me, and I felt weak and wobbled, and I fell over and I couldn’t see anything except the ground anymore. Then…I woke up.”

If you have a lot to say but it’s not really central to the scene, try interspersing it with actions and thoughts.

Tohner tilts his head again. "Fight?" He speaks, looking straight ahead of him
and away from the other two, although he stops in his tracks. "And where
would that get me?" He turns his mudstained head, teeth bared. "You see, luv.
" He starts again, and the shadows the low sun creates on his face make it
unclear to see whether he's looking at either of them, "Fighting is necessary
when you get yourself into iffy situations. Like Tuke, here, would. And did."
His tail flicks, left hind leg forced onto the ground. "Brawl is nice, yes,
but since you apparently don't have much else to offer, somehow I don't think
Sabi will be that easily swayed." The last sentence sounds almost like a
question, and behind him the sun reaches the horizon.

Tuke moves himself from his sitting position, joining Sabiri as she lowers
herself to the ground. He leans down, offering her a soft lick between her
ears. That is, until Tohner speaks up once more. Tuke sighs. Didn't I just
get rid of him? "Tohner, kid, you just prove my point with every word that
comes flying out of your mouth." He steps over Sabiri, only one leg over
her in a protective manner. "You already turned and walked away from her when
she offered you an apology of her own." His tail whips to the side harshly.
"Now. . . I like Sabiri. A lot. I will not just sit here and let you walk all
over her with your mocking words. You ran from her once. Who's to say you
won't do it again?" He sits himself down, his paw running over Sabiri's back.
"You seem to make a habit of simply walking away."

Environmental activity:
Most of what we pose relates directly to the character we’re playing at the time. There’s no rule that you’ve got to limit yourself to this, though. Things happen in nature, especially on a MUCK with a natural setting, and someone’s got to make them happen. A very simple example of environmental activity is just to establish the time of day:

Sarabi paces back into the pridal cavern, eyes nearly closed and steps ginger. It’s night. She takes a deep breath and looks around for… (etc.)

By just sticking those two words in, Sarabi has strengthened everyone’s image of the setting and perhaps reminded everyone else present that they have the power to do the same. Here are a couple more involved examples. First, one that makes use of ambient animals:

The farther they penetrate into the jungle, the worse the cacophony overhead becomes. If you were an optimist you could call it birdsong, but it’s really just an avian clamor, mixed with the occasional monkey or tree frog. Sabiri is no optimist. She’s keeping her ears lower and lower as the party trudges on, but she doesn’t dare flatten them entirely, because she’s afraid the excitement in the crown of this jungle means something’s about to happen.

And next, one that makes use of weather:

As the clouds gather, Zazu hovers in the darkening sky. He looks something like a cloud himself over the proceedings, saying nothing for now, but clearly not oblivious to what’s happening below. The winds pick up at the cheetah’s words, and at Mufasa’s response, a stand of thunder rumbles not far away, causing the airborne majordomo to cringe in mid-stroke.

It’s encouraged for the other players to respond to these events, and it’s acceptable for them to elaborate on their own. For example, someone involved in the latter RP might decide to have it start raining at an opportune moment. See the section on spoofing, though, for warnings about how this can go wrong.

Narration:
It’s possible to imagine that every scene we role-play is part of a long, never-ending book with hundreds of characters, or perhaps a smaller book about our own characters’ life stories in particular. Narration is when you adopt the role of the implied author of this book. Example:

So it continues. Synapki has been walking this trail for a full day and a night. She came from the arid yellowgrass land to the north, and along the way, she’s met all manner of creatures, small and large, friendly and unfriendly. Not once has she eaten or drunk in all this distance. She paces onward with her eyes nearly closed, her tail low but still swaying back and forth, evincing some hidden reservoir of energy. Who will she encounter next?

This is kind of an extreme example. If the other players swing with it, that’s great, but otherwise the author should switch to more standard pose devices.

Here’s a more moderate and effective use of narration:

It's one thing to be suddenly awakened in the night, but quite another to be suddenly awakened by a scream in the night. Mufasa's first action, of course, is to exit the Pridal cavern and look out from the promontory. When that yields him no insight into what happened, he quickly makes the trek down to the base of Pride Rock to investigate for himself what just shrieked. Once down there, however, the smell of blood becomes somewhat mixed with the smell of hyenas, and that's all the evidence he needs to determine what's happened. Wherever you are, hyenas, beware. King Mufasa is on the warpath.

The first sentence is narration that gives perspective on the scene, and the last sentence is narration that foreshadows the course of the story to come. The rest is a combination of internal activity and simple action. It’s a forward-moving pose despite having no direct interaction with other characters.

Decoration:
Rarely, a player will embellish a pose with material that can’t really be considered content, but decoration. Poetry or song lyrics are a common choice, sometimes set apart from the rest with a line of punctuation. You may also run into simple ASCII art or quotations reminiscent of forum signature files. A lot of players are bugged by any and all decorative material of this kind. It’s considered rather juvenile, overall. However, I, for one, find some occasional tasteful decoration to be rather spiffy, as long as you don’t do it all the time.

I have fond memories of a RP partner from PokeMUCK, of all places, who was indeed only fourteen at the time. She liked to head her poses with song lyrics sometimes, like so:

o/~And if I could I would stay, and if they're not, not in my way, I'll stare here in the distance, but I'll grow up to be just like you..o/~ The girl turns her head slowly. 'Who? I remember that Lapras...' She glances over the creature, her mind attempting to form a name. "Seren?" The hand that held the pokeball falls to her side. 'Seren.' As she struggles against her disbelief, in an attempt to regain her old composture, a single smile slips trough her expression. Slowly, as if doing it for the first time, the girl begins to walk. Step for step, she walks into the water, until it comes up to her knees, and then she stops. She waits…

Serendipity slowly turns her head, as if against a silent struggle, the flavor of which no human could ever know, and slowly swims toward the child, as if it were her duty. There is no perceptible moment when she notices the girl, and no astonishment in her carriage--just distant anxiety and sadness, the feel of a lost child abashedly returning to her mother. Serendipity rises in the water but leaves her body submerged, and her neck bends to touch the girl she sees. Her throat rests against her hair, though it isn't even clear whether she remembers her.

o/~ I have to learn, have to try, have to trust I have to cry, have to see, have to know that I can be myself, yeah. o/~ Almost unwillingly, the smile returns to the teenager's face. "Seren." she states, as if trying to make sure that the Lapras isn't a mirage. "It's... it's been a while." Shaken, yes. She's been shaken by something or someone, but it wasn't enough to destroy her, it seems. She reaches out with a tentative hand, towards the watermon's face, in such a way that it seems she thinks the creature will simply vanish under her touch. 'Nat, I really owe you, you know... It's odd.. I owe myself, in a way. I suppose it's what they call irony.'

It’s hard to justify decoration in poses, but character descriptions are another matter. As long as it doesn’t get too long (more than a screen’s length is usually too long), it’s perfectly okay to put ASCII portraits and poetry in your character description. Do keep it relevant, though.

And so:
With the possible exception of decoration, these elements all have their place. If you find that the RPs you’re taking part in are uninteresting or unsatisfying, or that your poses don’t seem to fit in quite right, you may not be using enough variety in your poses. Try using these elements in different amounts and see whether it makes a difference.

[Zazu]

PAST AND PRESENT TENSE

In most works of fiction, the action is all in past tense. That’s because when you read a book, you’re “hearing” a story that theoretically happened in the past. Even if a story is set in the future, it’s traditional to tell it as if it happened in the past, and thus the past tense is far more common than the present tense in fiction.

When role-playing, it’s different. Because you’re making up a story as it goes along and pretending to be immersed in it, you talk or write in the present tense. This is obviously true for “tabletop” role-playing systems, like Dungeons and Dragons. It can be tempting, however, to write in the past tense when you’re RPing online, because it’s reminiscent of stories in books. It’s not considered correct, though—the accepted convention is always to RP in the present tense.

There’s nothing you can write in present tense that won’t work in past tense. Even if you’re playing catch-up, posing in response to things that happened several poses ago, it’s still appropriate to use the present tense.

This pose mixes present and past tense and comes off as weak:

Bubu continues to climb a few more paw-lengths up the tree when something shot into it. What was that? Looked like a small bird. A small... oxpecker? THE oxpecker? No, noooo no no no. Don't get paranoid. Could've been any bird. See? Theres another one! He noted Zazu fly down for a drink, and watched for a second. Hadn't he seen the hornbill somewhere before? No matter, fruit! The mongoose climbs some more.

It reads a lot better when you clean it up:

Bubu continues to climb a few more paw-lengths up the tree when something shoots into it. What was that? Looked like a small bird. A small…oxpecker? THE oxpecker? No, noooo no no no. Don’t get paranoid, he tells himself. Could have been any bird. See? There’s another one! He notes Zazu flying down for a drink and watches for a second. Hasn’t he seen the hornbill somewhere before? No matter—fruit! The mongoose climbs some more.

The two exceptions to this rule, where you’re allowed to use the past tense, are dialogue and narration. Naturally, if your character is talking about things that have already happened, he or she will speak in the past tense. And if you, in the role of narrator, are talking about things that already happened before your pose began, you can use the present perfect tense (She’s yelled), the present perfect continuous tense (She’s been yelling), the past perfect tense (She’d yelled) or the past perfect continuous tense (She’d been yelling). The simple past tense (She yelled), however, is incorrect. Example:

Mazizi scowls the worst scowl she can muster at the impudent cubbie. To think he expects the owl to answer him after a little shout like that! Why, she’s been yelling at that owl for hours, trying to get a rise out of it, or something, anything. She was here yesterday, too, chucking bones at the tree, but she didn’t get so much as a hoot out of the darned thing. But look at that! The owl is speaking with the cub, and Mazizi can’t believe it. “Unbelievable. He just sat there all day yesterday, while I was doing my best to pester him. You got some kind of magic trick, kid?”

[Zazu]

COMMON MISTAKES

If you’re new to text-based RP, it’s easy to inadvertently get a bad reputation. Any number of things, big and little, can mark you as a poor player, and most aren’t too hard to avoid.

Here are some of the most common mistakes:

Having a character who doesn’t do anything except with prompting, or who isn’t interested in anything but snuggling or listening to others talk. Players with initiative are much more interesting than players who just hang out.

Making lots of typos, spelling errors, and punctuation errors. We’ve already addressed this, of course. The occasional mistake is fine; what gets you in trouble is when you do the same thing wrong over and over. Capitalize the first letters of your sentences, make sure you don’t leave out quotation marks, avoid run-on sentences, and so forth.

Posing in the present tense—or worse, mixing present and past tenses. Already covered.

Using certain hackneyed or improper sentence constructions over and over. There are too many examples to list, but one that particularly bugs me is when people overuse participle clauses. A participle clause is something like this:

Seeing the bird alight on the branch, Mataku lunges for it.

This isn’t technically incorrect, but I see people using these way too often. And moreover, it’s only correct to use one of these when you’re doing both things at once. If Mataku watched the bird alight and only then lunged for it, the sentence is written wrong. So this is clearly wrong:

Coming to a tree, Mataku starts to climb it.

Clearly, he can’t climb the tree until he comes to it.

Let’s pause for an example. How many things wrong with this pose can you count?

Yseku looks up sadly, coming to a halt. “I wanted to go with them” he sighs, “but they didn’t want me, they said i was too slow and weak.” Looking into Cardaki’s face he shook his head, wondering waht it was coming too. “I just don’t know what i can do” he shrugs, gazing toward the horizon.

Yseku has misspelled “to’, “what” and “I”. He’s used the past tense in his third sentence. He’s left the commas out of his dialogue. He does too much looking in this pose and he invokes the vague cliche “what are things coming to?” Finally, he’s riddled the pose with inappropriate participle clauses. He would have done a lot better to type something like this:

Yseku comes to a halt and looks up sadly to Cardaki. “I wanted to go with them,” he replies with a sigh, “but they didn’t want me. They said I was too slow and weak.” The juvenile shakes his head, wondering about his future. He turns toward the horizon and watches the hunting party vanish from sight. “I just don’t know what I can do.”

Not respecting the established premises of the story or setting. For example: having a male lion wandering through claimed territory and being surprised and offended when he’s questioned; playing an orphaned cub with no reasonable means of surviving to that point; playing an herbivore who insists that carnivores should stick to eating herbivores who don’t talk (there is no such distinction in our setting); playing a character who casually speaks with spirits and makes supernatural phenomena much more accessible than the setting suggests; ignoring MUCK-wide plot twists.

Let me throw in a couple of pet peeves of mine. First, if you play a rogue lion, or some other large creature whose arrival in a pridal territory would be considered a threat or major event, please don’t just show up all of a sudden in the middle of a scene and try to blend in quietly. Chances are you’ll be confronted and you’ll derail whatever’s going on. Or the characters present may decide to play down their reaction to your showing up in the interest of not getting derailed, but this detracts from the authenticity of the scene and makes it all a little less satisfying. Please—if you’re a rogue or nomadic lion, male or female, take seriously the decision where to go, and be considerate.

Secondly: Characters who give no thought to where and when they got their last meal, but just assume that they’re always well fed. It’s easy to say that you’re exceptionally good at hunting, but I’ve found that this is often less a deliberate character trait than it is an excuse for not wanting to have to worry about starvation. Remember that big cats fail at hunts a lot more often than they succeed, and food is by no means something they can take for granted. Some species are better at hunting alone, some at hunting in groups, and some at scavenging. Large animals like antelope are especially hard for a lone lion to kill. Water is also a consideration, especially in conditions of drought or when the water hole is contested. Life is a struggle, and the character who reflects that is more interesting than the one who doesn’t.

Not realizing when you’re not welcome. Unfortunately, if you lack this skill in real life, you’re very likely going to lack it online as well. All I can say is, try to learn the cues and pay attention. If others give warm greetings to everyone in a room but you, ask yourself why. If you’re not sure you belong in a scene, ask the others if they’re comfortable with you being there, and let them know it’s okay to say no. And if you feel like you are getting shunned and you think the reason is that you’re just too inexperienced, ask someone for help. MUCKs are friendly places, and help usually isn’t hard to find.

[Zazu]

BASIC RP ETIQUETTE

We all have our characters and we all have our approaches to interacting with others. In order to assure that we all stay on good terms, we have to respect each others’ characters and approaches as much as we do our own. There are only a few basic things to keep in mind in order to avoid Out-Of-Character troubles…

1. Don’t directly mess with other characters without their permission. The classic example is that you can type the likes of…

“Katibu strikes at Gidotana’s face”

…or…

“Katibu tries to slash Gidotana across the face”

…but not…

“Katibu slashes Gidotana across the face.”

You have to give your RP partners the chance to do their cool thing and avoid the attack. The same goes for other physical interactions, like giving someone a nuzzle, but less so. If an interaction is peaceful and isn’t going to inconvenience the player on the receiving end, it’s probably okay to assume that it works. The problem is that if you just attack someone and assume it hits, you may be A) mischaracterizing what the other player thinks would happen in such a situation and B) causing an injury that the other player would just rather not have to role-play.

It can get tiresome to see a lot of “tries” and “attempts” in a scene like this, so try to change your wording to flow smoothly. Bear in mind that you can ask a player you’re fighting what kind of results they’re comfortable with; often it’s the polite thing to do. Occasionally it’s okay to affect someone directly, if there’s just no reasonable way they can avoid it, or if you have a cool working relationship. When in doubt, ask nicely.

Simo exhibits supreme confusion at this insinuation. “Are you saying I’m not good enough to mash this grass? You think you’re better than me, don’t you? Do you think you’re better than me?” He snorts at the lioness in provocation.

[OOC] Sarafina says, “Hm, I think I’m gonna have Saffy take a swipe at you. What do you say I manage to get a scrape in and scare you away?
[OOC] Simo says, “Aw, you’re tired of me already? ;>”
[OOC] Sarafina says, “Nah, I just want to finish up with Mheetu before I have to log off.”
[OOC] Simo says, “Oh, okay then, no prob.”

Sarafina works her face up into a scowl. “Well, maybe not, but my claws are sharper than your hooves. Or hadn’t you noticed?” She springs forward, the rush of the hunt hot in her, and springs onto the zebra’s shank, scratching and trying to pull it down.

Mheetu blinks. He has no part in this; he just stands there, watching and wondering whether he’s going to be eating part of the zebra who’s been bothering his mom. That would be so weird, but just the same…he is hungry.

Simo yanks back in surprise, clearing himself from the lioness, but not without a couple of red marks on his thigh. “Hey now!” he shrills. “If you’re going to be using force, I think that’s the same of admitting you’ve got no case! First refuge of the ignorant, that’s violence.” And with a whinny, he dashes off into the savannah.

2. Go with the flow. If someone you’re with makes a pose that implies that the two of you have talked something over in the past, for example, swing with it and assume it’s true, unless you have a good reason not to. If you’re in a group doing a hunt and the consensus seems to be that you’re not going to catch the quarry, don’t swoop in with a miraculous maneuver unless you’re advancing the plot constructively by doing so. If you’ve entered a scene and everyone seems to be ignoring you as much as possible, ask yourself how you may not be fitting in, or consider heading to another room. Don’t go starting fights where it would just cause a disruption, and don’t start talking about making friends with herbivores in a scene where the herbivores are clearly there to be hunted. In general, try to keep on the same page as the people you’re playing with.

3. Warn people if you have to go. Some scenes seem to drag on forever and eventually everyone has to leave. At other times, unexpected happenstance pulls away key players from a scene suddenly. And sometimes you just get tired of looking at a screen. It’s messy when players disappear, and it’s messier when they haven’t given warning. If you have to leave soon and it looks like the scene won’t be over, or if you’re getting sleepy, or if it looks like you might be kicked off the computer soon, let the other players know. If enough people give warning and it looks like the scene will have to be continued another time, consider doing so. It’s acceptable to tweak things a little bit so that the players who have to go won’t ruin the scene when they do. If you’re in a big scene and your character’s actions are important, you can even consider giving permission to another player to play you, or spoof you, in addition to his or her own. Otherwise, when you’re about to leave, pose out, so that there’s some explanation for where your character went.

4. Keep things moving. In order to keep scenes from dragging on forever, try to pose reasonably quickly. Be aware of when it’s your turn. If you’re leaving the computer for longer than a round of poses is likely to take, set yourself IDLE or AFK and warn he others. If you’re not doing anything for a while, let everyone know either by saying so or by typing ‘@po #drop’ to drop out of the pose order. If you have trouble typing long poses quickly, start typing them before it’s your turn. If you’ve been idle for a while, maybe you should make a short pose instead of a long one. You can always jump in with the rest later. Generally speaking, be aware of the pace and pattern of the room you’re in.

5. Don’t power-play. This rule is partially covered by rules 1 and 2, but it warrants its own. There are no systemic boundaries in this type of RP, which means you can have your character do anything he or she wants. If you go overboard, though, you risk spoiling things for everyone else. If someone is going to great lengths not to be noticed, and you notice them easily, you’d better have a good justification. If you’re an incredibly strong fighter, don’t be surprised if people don’t want to fight you. Spoof NPCs if it’s appropriate, such as if outsiders are invading your territory and it’s reasonable to expect guards to be around, but don’t go too far with it or you’ll just frustrate people. If the sick child needs a medicinal herb to survive and the pride is about to mount a quest to find it, don’t zip off and come back in thirty seconds with the herb in your teeth. Remember that compelling characters need weaknesses as well as strengths, and that characters whose actions overpower everything everyone else is trying to do essentially negate the story they’re trying to tell. So don’t be a spoilsport.

[Zazu]

POSE ORDER

Pose order is the order in which players pose in a group RP. Some players prefer to keep a strict pose order, which is to say that there is a set rotation for who poses when and it must not be deviated from. Others prefer to pose whenever they feel like it, or whenever they have enough material for a decent response, or as soon as everyone that they’re directly interacting with has posed. There are a lot of different attitudes regarding pose order. My own preferred approach isn’t necessarily the best for everyone, but I’ll describe it here anyway.

There are two reasons to observe a pose order. Firstly, it makes sure everyone gets roughly the same chance to participate. Some people type more slowly than others or take longer to think about their actions, or are somewhat idle, and without a pose order they may fall behind. This can result in rushed poses, or in poses that seem to be stacked, one reaction after another, like sedimentary rock. Example:

What’s this? Haranu skitters down the branch to get a better look at the feline invasion, as it were. Two leopards, a cheetah, and a lioness? All traveling together? Strange, most strange, and probably worth looking into. “Good day, travelers!” he greets. When one of the leopards addresses him, he jumps. “Which what—oh, hi!” he chitters. “Oh—I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to distract you.” Haranu slides back a few body lengths in response to the lioness’s roar. He glances up at the songbird, wondering whether it has anything to do with the others. When the cheetah starts climbing his tree, he runs for cover with a yelp.

This is a messy pose that’s difficult to respond to, but if there isn’t a pose order in place, it may not be Haranu’s fault, except insofar as he isn’t fast enough to keep up. The other players should ask if he’s having trouble and avoid posing out of order. It may, however, be that Haranu is simply writing his pose bit by bit ahead of time, as the other players’ poses roll in. This can work but doesn’t always, and the above pose is an example. If there is a pose order in place but Haranu is having trouble keeping up with the pace the others are setting, he should ask politely whether they mind him being slow on his turn. If no one minds, then he’ll be able to read everyone’s pose before writing his own. The upside is a smoother RP, and the downside is that it takes longer.

The second reason to have pose orders is to make sure that everything that demands a reaction gets it. If a pose order is broken, that means that someone has posed twice between two of another player’s poses. If the first player should have reacted to the first of these poses, the second may well get in the way.

That said, I don’t find it all that difficult to overcome slight irregularities in pose order. If there are fewer than five people role-playing in a room, I generally follow the order. I don’t complain if someone poses out of turn; I just wait until everyone else has done something before posing myself. If there are more than five players, I find that adhering to a pose order slows things down far too much, and I prefer that it not be kept. One player being idle for twenty minutes can keep anything from happening during that time, and often it’s fifteen minutes or more before anyone even gives that player an OOC nudge. If there are exactly five players, it’s borderline.

I am more likely to jump ahead in the pose order if I am playing a particularly active role in the scene, or if I suspect some of the players are idle, in which case I can lessen the chance of long delays by giving more than one person the chance to reasonably pose. I may also choose to respond right away to something someone has said to me when I can do so very quickly, with perhaps just a line of dialogue. For example:

Takashari sneers at Khal’s argument. “I wouldn’t repeat that if I were you. You may think you’re a good father, but I have my doubts. I’ll always have my doubts.” She unsheaths her claws and scratches the rock beside her in a futile effort to let out her anger. She looks for Mufasa for a ruling.

Liete watches quietly as the drama unfolds. From her point of view, it’s best she didn’t get involved, because just look what’s happened. Now Khal’s place is in question and even Kesh may be in trouble. She lets her tail swish gently, but stays silent for now.

Zazu swoops down to see what the matter is. “What is it with you –now-, Khal? Have you finally got Mufasa so steamed he’s run out of ways to forgive you?” With a flick of his tail the majordomo lands beside Liete. He lifts up his beak thoughtfully and turns to the lioness. “It –was- his fault this time, wasn’t it?” he asks quietly

Liete flicks an ear and whispers to the hornbill, “Yes, that it was.” She isn’t taking sides beyond that, though.

Zazu shuts his beak smugly and turns back to the confrontation.

Sometimes I play only a small part in a scene, in which case I may choose to pose behind the order. When you do this, it’s polite to let the others know, either by saying something like…

[OOC] Zazu passes his turn.

…or, if there’s a pose order program (as there is on KaV), typing the skip command. On KaV, it’s “@po #skip”.

Keeping track of pose order
The pose order program is handy. Just type “@po” and it tells you whose turn it is, assuming everyone has posed at least once. Don’t rely on it too heavily, though. If anyone makes any comment that doesn’t use the “>” for an OOC comment, it’ll count as a pose. Someone may use a different format for an OOC comment or make a typing mistake, or repose for someone else, etcetera, and any of this can mix up the @po queue. [NOTE: As of this posting, @po doesn't work with a small number of players, so you'll have to keep track of it on your own. This may change in the future.] It helps to keep track of how many people are active and to know many of them have posed at any given time. Also, be aware of who’s gone idle, so that you don’t end up waiting fifteen minutes for them.

[Zazu]

POSE SIZE--PART 1

Along with a great many other factors, the length of people’s poses varies quite a bit. Some people tend toward long or short poses, while others adapt to circumstance or vary with their mood or how busy they are. A lot goes into determining how long someone’s poses are. Do they include internal activity? Do they include environmental action? Do they ramble? Do they use terse or flowery language? Finally, are most importantly, how much do they choose to have their characters do?

Short poses
Sometimes people who routinely make short poses are derogatorily called “one-liners” or even the notorious cover-all epithet, “twinks”. Certainly, a lot of bad RPers make short poses all the time (although these are probably young people who may well get better soon), but not everyone who prefers short poses is a bad RPer.

Here’s an excerpt from a playful RP made entirely of short poses where everyone is having fun and the action is moving right along:

Bogo'!'! hoists himself up onto stubby little legs, smacks his lips drowsily, blinks around - and then starts the day!, by lying right back down, shutting his eyes, and trying to nod off once more.

Nunda is awake, and currently bopping about in the back of the cave as a sound alerts her. OH! The pudgeball immediately bounds over and ker-pounces on Bogo's head. RARF!

Lonjo yawns once more before hopping onto her paws. Brother! Wuffing happily, she bounds the few steps towards him, tail making her entire body wriggle. Suddenly, she yips and jumps back. Sister! Joining in Nunda's efforts, the pup dives onto Bogo's furry tummy.

Ah well. She gets to eat plenty enough. It's nice just resting sometime. So next to the acacia tree, Kija settles down to sleep we--noise. /Lots/ of noise. Kija opens her eyes to look around at the pups. Perhaps if she ate them it'd be quieter, but no. Kija might get in trouble. So to the nearest ones, she says, "Play. Quietly." Please?

Bogo'!'!, pupsmothered!, wriggles and yelps helplessly, trying trying to thrash and wiggle his way free!, yapyapyapyap!

Nunda head-pops up. Whoda? Quiet? Huh? "Wahtssa quiot?" Nunda tilts her floppy ears and looks around, her squareish face wrinkling in puzzlement. She's still on Bogo. Squish. The house is talking?

Lonjo is thrown from the flailing Bogo and squeaks softly as she gets to her paws. "Plaaaay?" She drags the word out, having fun. Play? The pup /loves/ to play! Showing the voice how much she likes to, she playbows and wuffs a challenge.

"Quiet!" Kija instructs. "Not talking, not barking or making any noise. Go-go take a nap, you." As she lays there, paws goes over her eyes as though trying to shut the entire Tii'mkebe pack and especially the pups, out. Which she is.

Bogo'!'! bicycles his paws in the air, still pinned-by-the-head under Nunda. Garblemumbles, "Lemmegolemmegolemmego!, I'll slap ya!, I'll sock ya!, I'll bitecha!"

Nunda hops off her brother and turns around. OH! Ummm... "is it like a game???this quiet?" Bark! Her stubby tail goes into a motor-wag.

Lonjo cringes at Kija's outburst. Loud! Angry! Uh-oh. Is the pup in trouble? Trembling in a little ball, ears flat and paws on her muzzle, she whimperwhines. Sorrysorrysorry! The pup inches away from the angry dog.

One down. Too many to go. Just Nunder or whatever. "Shaddup, Nunder!" Kija advises, politely as the situation calls for. And Bogo.. that demon in pupskin. "And you, Booger. Bogo. Keep it down." Kija decides on the spot she wants to be let down in the den. If only to escape them.

Nunda's tailwag is abruptly halted, as vengeful-Bogo clamps down on the thing with a well-aimed bite!, rrr!, pounce my head willya?

On the other hand, it’s all too easy to write poses without any artistry and without much content, and if you do this all the time, others won’t find you much fun to RP with. Example:

Nwande isn’t sure he likes the way this is going. He flares his nostrils and snorts at the cheetah: “Typical of someone like you not to notice there was a child around. I ask you! Don’t you blotched cats have any compassion for anyone other than yourselves? Does family mean anything to you, if it’s not your own?” His hooves splash up water all along the boundary of the water hole. He never once diverts his focus from the cheetah, even when the caracal speaks.

Linto comes up to the water and takes a drink. He swallows and relaxes. “What’s going on?” he asks.

Mikamik scuttles down his branch and spits the leaf he’s been chewing, juice and all, onto the hartebeest’s back! “Well, wear –that-, if you’re going to be this way!” He hangs on with three feet while partilally raising himself up to make a speech. “You’re a hypocrite, you know that? You care so much about winning compassion for you and yours, but what about us little guys? We may eat meat, but that doesn’t make us safer than you, and look what happened to my ‘Bemi! Seriously.” He casts his eyes down to the cub and answers, “Nothing to worry yourself over.”

Pietu continues to circle the water hole, staring the hartebeest down. “I know the meaning of family,” he snarls. “Got one of my own. I know how to treat them, and I know how to feed them—what more do I need to know, eh? Am I the guardian of your little ones?” He flicks his tail menacingly.

Nwande flinches as the chewed-up leaf hits his cheek. He steps back from the water and the angry cheetah for a startled moment, but comes back strong. He’s winced and he isn’t proud of it. “Like I say…-Typical!-“ And his head is down, ready to butt the feline right across the water if he needs to. “And as for you, you little menace—you’re a predator, and as far as I’m concerned, that makes you one of them. Curl up and die, or at least leave me alone.” He pays no attention to the lion cub.

Linto shrugs and heads toward the hartebeest. “You look strange,” he comments. “I never saw a creature quite like you. Are you an antelope?”

Mikamik pahs at the lion cub. “Get out of here before we drown you in spit,” he says, turning his attention to Nwande again. “I’ll leave you alone, and this cheetah will keep stalking your children, I guarantee it. Don’t you want my help, or are you that much of a fool?” He bends down and shoves more leaves into his cheek.

Here, Linto is making short, irrelevant poses that utterly fail to interact with the events around him. He ignores the splashing of water at the water hole, ignores the fact that Nwande is quite busy confronting a cheetah and a caracal at the moment, and doesn’t show any reaction to the conversation going on. Because of this, the other characters show little to no interest in him, and he is nothing but a burden to the scene. Sadly, players that this happens to are rarely given any guidance, and often end up disappointed and alienated from the role-playing scene.

Short poses have their uses
Even if you prefer longer poses in general, it’s useful to know that it’s okay to throw in a short one now and then. Some excellent uses for short poses are:

Dialogue. You can certainly incorporate dialogue into long poses, but often it flows better when some of the poses are entirely or almost entirely dialogue:

Shenzi is peeved and wants the world to know it. “Man, oh man, there’s gonna be noise tonight.” She pounces on the skull next to Banzai and kicks a bone into the depths of the pit, holding out her ear to hear it echo. “You know what that dirty ratbag said to me now?”

Banzai twists his head around, too lazy to get up. “What?”

“He said if I had any ‘integrity’, I’d make a blanket out of any dog I saw roaming around! ‘Integrity!’ That guy doesn’t know integrity any better than he knows the dogs around here.”

Banzai sneers. “Whatd’ya want I should do about it, whack him one?”

“Nah, just leave this to me. I’ve got it covered.”

After all, it can get tiresome coming up with endless padding to slip in with characters who are really doing nothing but talking.

Idleness. If your character is just watching or waiting, there’s no need for a long pose, even if everyone else is making them:

Sarafina lifts a paw and signals to Akase that the trap is closing. She crinkles an eye in a sort of half-wink, half-urging, and then turns her attention toward the approach. The next patch of land is going to be dangerous, since there’s no cover until the boulder and half the herd always seems to be looking toward you, no matter which side you approach from.

Akase notices the signal, replies in kind, and creeps forward carefully. She’s got an easier path ahead of her, thanks to the soft grass on this side of the prairie. The wounded fellow they’ve picked out suddenly looks up, startled—Akase worries for a moment she could have been seen, and falls flat. But when she peeks up moments later, it’s quiet again.

Isa, still lying in wait on the far side of the ambush, has no role to play at present and remains silent for now.

Exits. If it’s established your character is on the way out or won’t be participating anymore, you don’t need to waste breath making your exit.

Mandara swoops down from the branch with something bulbous clutched to his chest. He reveals it only once he’s on the ground: it’s a vegetable of some sort, but nothing like anything anyone’s ever seen before in these parts! It’s smooth and green and covered on top with bluish leaves and a thick, stiff stem. “What do you say, Buberai? What will you give me?”

Neteti, no longer engaged with Mandara, decides to head back to her own territory. She clips the tree’s upper branches and takes off for the east.

[OOC] Buberai says, “Bye, Netiti!!”
[OOC] Neteti chirps, “So long!”

Long poses
It’s quite possible to go overboard with your poses. For one thing, the longer your pose, the longer others have to wait before seeing it. Even if you get a lot done in your pose, it will usually make the session longer because it reduces the speed of interaction between players. For another thing, long poses can make interaction awkward if they involve too many actions, because it makes the order of events hard to unravel and adapt to. For sessions where time is limited and pose order is important, I suggest keeping very long poses to a minimum.

Here’s a long pose that isn’t likely to work well:

With a dancing step and a tune running in his head, M’bora arrives on the scene. Who’s this? The intruder from a quarter moon ago? Well, he’ll soon see about this! “Ahoy, lion! You’ve dared to come back, have you?” He prances around the lion and the guards surrounding him, giving each one a wink as he goes, and then spots Inayla. Ah, Inayla, his one-time lover, sweetest of flowers! “Still working for the border patrol, my dear?” he whispers as he passes her by. Now he’s getting tired of stirring up trouble and decides to look for a place to lie down. That flat rock over there looks like just the ticket…excellent. M’bora calms down and steps over to the rock, assuming a calm position on its flat face. He watches the proceedings patiently. How is the intruder going to manage to get out of this one? And when will Inayla start to notice him again? Will she ever?

It contains too many things for the other characters to react to. Who’s to say M’bora would realistically even make it to the rock for a rest? The lion intruder or Inayla or any of the other characters might stop him or engage him in conversation, if they’d been given the chance. What’s more, Inayla may want to respond to both the things M’bora says, but it’s harder if she has to respond to both at once.

Long poses have their uses
Sometimes, the atmosphere is right for long poses. A few good uses for the very long pose include:

Exposition. If your character is telling a story or describing a complex thought, it’s usually better to do it in long poses than to force other characters to keep asking “And then what happened?” Example:

Zola still doesn't seem intent on going anywhere, despite the possible threat from the white lioness. Her claws dig deeper into the cracks of the boulder as she crouches down on it, her tail flicking back and forth in agitation. She isn't very inclined to fight however, not unless she is really forced into taking action. She is a bit nervous having so many around that could overpower her however should she say the wrong thing. The toothy grin of the white lioness is all the confirmation she needs as to who is the leader. Her eyes flicker briefly to rest upon Zira, who seems to be busy trying to get the two immature males under control. At the question of the white lioness she pauses before answering here, "I have come here...not for any particular purpose. I did not intend to come here. I am a rogue and am constantly travelling. Unfortunately there are so many lion prides that I have no choice but continue to move through the lands of some and hope I can reach the other side safely and continue on my way. I hope to one day join a pride. You see it all started several weeks ago. A great drought settled over lands very far to the west, in which my pride was settled. It used to be a lush land but when the drought hit the ponds and streams dried up and the plants died. Prey animals stopped coming to the territory and the rest fled or died. Food became scarce and soon a famine followed the drought. My pride was forced to scatter in order to survive. I have grown learned how to depend on my own hunting skills and just what it takes to survive on my own. I have traveled for many days on end, sometimes taking a brief rest before moving on. Never allowed to rest for long before being driven off." She explained to thw white lioness. The truth of that fact can be see by how gaunt she is, and the fact that her paw pads are raw and bleeding for constant travel with little rest. The males are again given a glance, this one more amused than anything. Seems the two immature males aren't so easy to control.

Intense dialogue. If the characters are engaged in a complex, emotionally intense discussion, often there’s nothing for it but to make long poses. Fortunately, this can result in some excellent drama:

Ras's eyes widen sharply as Bashak's tone softens, and the suggestion is made of
he being scared. But the brief expression of being taken aback only lasts for a
moment, a flash of resentment flaring onto his features as he lifts his entire forequarters a few inches off the ground, bringing down his forehooves in unison with a strong slam against the ground. "And I suppose /you're/ not scared at all?" he accuses further, momentarily sidestepping the issue of his inconsistencies, but then; "Look, I don't care /what/ you're doing, as long as it's something to /keep/ the trouble away from /here/. I've heard things... I've spoken with Tahzhoo myself..." he pauses a moment, breathing hard, to give his head a small shake. Looking back over to Bashak, his eyes are still angered, but his voice considerably softer, grave. "What do -you- think is going to happen?"

Bashak watches with horrified fascination at each time the zebra's forehooves leave the ground, and he trembles slightly at each crash. He looks back at Ras's face then and collects himself. "This much I can tell you--if I leave, then Mtukutu will forever consider this land a place where cub-killers can find asylum. He may not wage war on the Golden Lands straight away, but he'll never be an ally, and there will never really be peace. That is why I am still around, Ras." A breath is taken, and then another. His voice is as soft as ever. "I don't know what is going to happen, however, because this is a juncture point. This is the time when I ordinarily regroup with my friends, discuss our options, and decide what we should do. But I'm alone here, Ras. My tribe is no more, I'm a solitary stranger. I need people to help me if I'm going to do anything about this conflict. And I've come to you to ask for your help. Will you give it?"

"Help?!" the zebra cries, tone both outraged and incredulous as he lifts his neck in a proud arch, nostrils flaring wide and giving his shoulders a strong roll. "You come asking me for /help/!?" Ras' tail gives a lash, each of his hooves making a restless, shifting step. "Any help /I/ could possibly give would be solely directed t'ward the protection of these lands... and unless you have some -brilliant- idea of what I might do, you'll have no helpfrom me! I'll not have myself willingly associated with... with a creature wanted for murder... without the best of reasons." This is concluded with a powerful huff blown through his nose, and a sidewards sweep of his lengthy muzzle.

Bashak is surprised by the violence of this reaction, but he gathers himself up again. His fur has somehow come out of place, almost as if blown that way by Ras's fury. But he calms himself. "Isn't the protection of these lands the best of reasons?" he asks. "I thought you wanted to... to keep the trouble away from here. You seemed to want that very much." The hyena walks a little closer, trying his best to be at ease about it. "But don't think I'm asking you for personal help. As you said, I could leave if I wanted to. I could go home again and Mtukutu would have a hard time finding me. Or I could go back to the north, where I've lived in the past, and not have a fear in the world. But I care too, Ras." His muzzle twitches. "I want your help in mending things here. If you won't give it, if you're afraid of associating with me, then I won't blame you. But it will make things harder for everyone who lives here if no one is willing
to make things right."

Ras's chest heaves with heavy, angered breaths, forced in and out through clenched teeth, his ears finally flicking to point backwards, his withers trembling slightly as he works to maintain silence and stillness as Bashak moves closer, speaking. As reluctant as he is to admit it, he knows there is at least a thread of truth and sense to his words. Slowly lowering his neck and head as the hyena comes closer, Ras fixes him with a challenging, narrow-eyed gaze, chin jutting out slightly as he speaks in his once again lowered tone. "And what would you expect me to do, /hyena/?"

Action sequences. When interacting physically with other characters for a prolonged period of time, such as in a hunt or a fight, long poses help you describe exactly what you’re doing, which is especially important in such interactions. They also underscore the intensity of the occasion:

Meral purrs and snaps his claws out, the things digging into Simba's sides
- very prickly, piercing, and uncomfortable. He knows he weighs more, and
he's going to use that to his advantage. "Aww, does the little
coward-prince want to run home to Sarabi? Sure, she'll protect you.. but
you'll be an unfit heir if you keep running home to your mother. How do
you expect to solve your problems when she isn't around anymore, hmm?" One
of Meral's large forepaws shifts until it's resting between the other
prince's shoulderblades, and he slowly eases most of his weight onto it.

"You ain't no lady" Simba spits in Jamala's direction... only to have a
pawful of dirt tossed into his face. Getting into his mouth, nose and eyes.
Coughing several times and wrenching his eyes shut... they suddenly widen
again as he feels Meral's claws sink into his shoulders. "AGH!" The prince
squirms, kicking his back feet and trying to pull himself out from under
the other cub. But it all seems to be in vain. Meral's simply too fat and
heavy. XP

Jamala smirks softly, under the circumstances she can't do much, she's not
getting any more in this than what she has. "Coming from you...I don't
consider that an insult, wouldn't know what a lady was if one smacked you
across the face." Eyes opening in mock surprise, "Oh wait...one has.
Yesterday. Ha." She doesn't have alot of respect for someone that has the
only truely nice cub upset.

Meral growls and slides a bit to keep out of the way of the flailing legs.
A moment later he stretches out his large jaws and snaps down at the back
of Simba's nape, trying to get a good hold on the loose skin while
attempting to keep the other prince good and pinned. A constant growl is
ripping out from the older cub's throat, sounding like it should be coming
from a much bigger lion.

This certainly was most humiliating... and rather annoying. Growls continue
to rip from Simba's throat, doing his best to fight back but unable to un
the position he's in. Cringing just a little as Meral grips the scruff of
his neck. "Let GO!" he demands again, clawing at the dirt but unable to get
enough leverage to do him any good. A glare is shot to Jamala at her
incriminating words as well. What did he ever do to her other than take a
hit from her, without smacking her back.. and being too moody to greet her
just a minute ago? Shaking his head from side to side, he tries to get free
from Meral's jaws.

Jamala has said her peace for now, watching Meral she contemplates
someting, finding this is quite possibly an unfair fight. She gets up once
more, coming close enough to give Meral a headbutt into his shoulder, "Come
on....that's enough." She doesn't know all the particulars of the
underlaying hatred between most of the cubs, she grew up in a tough pride,
fighting always happend, adults taking anger out of cubs, she's had more
than her fair share of unfair fights.

Meral grinds his teeth down with a hiss, keeping his paw in the middle of
Simba's back while pulling his head upwards in a way that's almost
certainly quite painful. The other paws continue to prickle their nails
into the rest of the golden prince's pelt, some of them starting to push a
little deep for any sort of mock-fight. However, it seems that for today
Jamala's going to be Simba's saving grace. Once he's bumped, Meral grunts,
gives another quick clap of his teeth, and then lets go.

Cracking is heard while Simba's head is pulled back as strain is put into
his vertebrae, causing the joints to pop painfully. Teeth clenched and eyes
wrenched shut as he endures the pain... blood starting to seep from the
puncture wounds inflicted by Meral's teeth and claws. However.. he's then
released and flops back to the ground. But you think he's just going to
take that? No... infact, the prince suddenly whirls around quickly...
aiming to latch his claws onto the other boy's shoulder. But most
importantly... aiming his teeth to inflict a vicious bite into Meral's
face. Growls and snarls pouring from his throat as he does so. Oh he's SO
going to pay for that!

[Zazu]

POSE SIZE--PART 2

Pose size disparity
On some MUCKs, everyone is more or less on the same page or from the same school of thought, so to speak, and poses are fairly uniform in length (and even writing style). In other places this is not the case, meaning that you may occasionally get ridiculous sessions that look like this:

Siana is sitting by the pool, rinsing off her paws after a nice meal, watching the butterflies go by.

Tugriki marches in, ponderously ripping the grass at each step, untangling her claws from the clinging grass at each with a violent cant, snarling all the way. She is obsessed with one thing only: finding her former mate, that wretched sneak who’s even now most likely finding new and varied ways of making Tugriki sweat from afar, probably wrapped up in a sordid affair with two or more other females, maybe laughing at her right this instant. She snorts in indignition just musing over the thought. Why can’t the spirits dancing in her mind leave her alone to enjoy a nice day like this one? She spies Siana lying there and trots over with rancorous intentions. “Having a good rest, my sweet?” asks the elder feline sardonically. “I wonder if you’ve given even an ounce of thought to my proposal, hm?” She lies down and swishes her tail in time to the drops dripping from the tip of the leaves overhanging the river, bits of dew that represent her tormented heart.

Siana looks at Tugriki. “I’ve thought about it, but I’m not sure.” She gulps guiltily.

Tugrik sighs, not knowing what to make of this reticence. “You know, my mate—or he who was once my mate—would probably like to see me live a long and tiresome life. He’d like to see everything I see remind me of him, and know that he is never to return. He takes pleasure in my pain, I’m certain of it.” She lays her head on her legs and squints at the river and the butterflies. Something about them just seems nauseating today. Something has to be done about all these insects. “Hey, Siana? You remember when you caught that blue butterfly over by the hill? Did you keep the antennae, like you wanted to?” She rests for a time, eventually looking at the clouds and trying to imagine, or rather, not trying to imagine her former mate teasing her, his face laughing from each white puffy form. Ah, the days are as cruel as the nights are, that certainly is true.

Siana shrugs. “I donno if I kept them, I think I might’ve given them to someone.” She dips her foot in the stream and sighs. “You can have them if I find them.”

This is otherwise pretty good as RPs go, but the disparity between the players is an awful waste. A few things are going wrong. Tugrik is spouting all sorts of private thoughts in her poses that Siana just isn’t bothering to respond to. Of course, Siana couldn’t respond ICly to things she doesn’t perceive IC, but there are ways she could acknowledge Tugriki’s stream of thought—for example, she could begin a pose with the following:

For Siana, the days have never been cruel, much less nauseating.

But she doesn’t. More importantly, because Tugriki’s poses are so very much longer than Siana’s, Siana isn’t even catching and responding to everything Tugriki does, or even says. Most of what Tugriki is writing is getting wasted. Moreover, Siana’s player probably feels at least a little bored by how much reading she has to do, and this may be contributing to why her RP is lackluster.

For these reasons, it’s valuable to be able to adapt your pose length to that of your companions. Let’s look at this snippet again, only this time we’ll have both players adapting themselves a bit to the other’s style:

Siana is sitting by the pool, rinsing off her paws after a nice meal and watching the butterflies go by. She’s still thinking about her last talk with Tugriki, and wondering whether maybe there’s something she can do. Or is it out of her control completely? She doesn’t know.

Tugriki marches in, ponderously ripping the grass at each step, untangling her claws with a perpetual snarl. She is obsessed with one thing only: finding her former mate, that wretched sneak who’s even now most likely wrapped up in a sordid affair with two or more other females, maybe laughing at her right this instant. She spies Siana lying there and trots over with rancorous intentions.

Siana gets up from her repose and stares at Tugriki. “I was just thinking about you,” she remarks. “I haven’t decided what to do about Gramba yet, but…well, it’s been on my mind.” She gulps guiltily. “I suppose we must be destined to see him again, sooner or later.”

Tugriki nods impatiently and lies down not far from the young leopardess. She swishes her tail in time to the dewdrops dripping from the tip of the leaves overhanging the river, and eventually screws up the anger to speak. “You know, my mate—or he who was once my mate—would probably like to see me live a long and tiresome life. He’d like to see everything I see remind me of him, everything. He takes pleasure in my pain, I’m certain of it.” She lays her head on her legs and squints at the river and the butterflies. Something about them just seems nauseating today.

Siana looks at the butterflies with quite a different, more natural point of view. She likes them! Why shouldn’t she? Why do old lionesses find themselves so easily spoiled? Is it just the ones she knows, maybe? “Oh, it can’t be that bad, can it? I bet at worst he’s just forgotten about you. And can’t you just forget about him?”

“Forget? Nonsense. Can you forget the land where you grew up, can you forget how to walk? I’ll never forget him, and he’ll never forget me.” Tugriki puts her head on her legs. “Or else the stars may forget how to shine. Hey, Siana?”

Siana looks over a little more comfortably. “Yes?”

“You remember when you caught that blue butterfly over by the hill? Did you keep the antennae, like you wanted to?” She returns to her rest, not waiting for the answer.

Siana says, “Yeah, I donno if I kept them. I think I might’ve given them to someone.” She dips her foot in the stream and sighs. “You can have them if I find them. Why do you ask?”

Tugriki rolls over and answers, “I think I might have an idea. He always had an eye for little things like that. And the blue butterflies were his favorite. If you remember where you put them, then we may have something we can do.” She eyes the clouds wistfully, imagining her former mate teasing her, his face laughing from each white puffy form.

If this were a real RP, I’d bet both players would be enjoying it more than they did the first example.

Note that it’s possible for good RPs to happen despite a wide disparity in pose sizes. The key is that the amount of external content—action and dialogue—that a player puts into a character’s pose should be proportional to that character’s importance to the scene. A character doing something inconsequential like eavesdropping off to the side, or backing up a leader, should probably be making poses shorter than someone pivotal to the scene.

Kimya was north of the waterhole, hunting up dinner when she heard a roar, she /was/ deathy afraid of liones before but she's dying of curiousity at the roar. It usually means a fight between their own kind in her opinion. The young wolf pads silently in, weaving through the trees for cover.

Ra'di sits up as he hears Zira and the others approach and turns to face them. He sits on his haunches, his head lowered partly in shame, but partly because if he lifts his head up too long it hurts from the scarring on his muzzle. Not to mention he hasn't had a healer help him yet. He realizes that to his back is water, and if he had to escape the water would be the best way to go, but right now he is hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded. He decides to take this like a lion and maybe that will make them give him a second chance. He glances over at Zira still unable to look at her directly...."I swear, it was meant in the best intentions....I was trying to get into their pride to spy on them.....it it just turned out the wrong way....I was trying to learn which cubs were the best ones to steal...Wouldn't want to take the wrong one you know like a prince or princess." She says. "I'm sorry if you misunderstood what was going on."

A few more leonines swarm out from the darkness in the approaching eve, eyes glimmering as they turn to watch their Queen. "I have it on /good/ word that you were offering Mufasa information about our pride, Ra'di," Zira sneers, eyes narrowing maliciously. "Your defense means little to me, as you are not a trusted guard of my pride. This, on top of the fact that you have yet to bring me said cub as you were told in order to prove yourself to me, leads me to believe that you are not as loyal to us as you would have us believe. Even if it was not intended as treachery, I cannot afford foolish mistakes from those who wish to be a part of my pride." The maneless brothers approach as well, and Zira nods to the pair, signaling them to move into position on either side of the accused lion. "You will not die, Ra'di - but your punishment will match the crime." The Queen slinks closer still, claws still sheathed - at least for the time being.

"Best intentionssss..." A snake-like echo sounds from the rustling grass, somewhere off behind Ra'di, somewhat to the left. "../Wronnnng/ intentionsss.." Another voice soon follows, this one slightly to the right and behind Ra'di. A pair of large, maneless, somewhat familiar males spill out of the surrounding scenery. Low to the ground, they circle closer to Ra'di than the other leonines, sizing him up with hungry eyes - hungry for the carnage that awaits only Queen Zira's orders.

Suriama listens intently, padding nearer to get a better view and gulping when the two maneless ones walk past her. She still being rather afraid of them herself. However, looking back to the accusses.. Suriama also puts on her tough act. The small cub arching her back and bristling. "Rrrawr!" she growls and snarls rather patheticly.. swiping a paw at the air and spitting like a house cat.

The maneless brothers are given the briefest of glances as they pass by Selene; her attention remains primarily focused on Ra'di. Unwavering attention whose silence only underscores the overt menace offered by her pridemates.

Kimya stays under the cover of the trees, setting on her haunches, wondering what is going on, the wolf other wise stays silent, just watching. Making a mental note not to ever bother that lioness....

Ra'di nods. "I understand my queen..but I want you to know...My loyalties lie only with the outlands. Not the pridelands. I was merely trying to get the cub, by pretending to be with the pridelanders. I never divulged any information about the pride." He maintains. "There is nothing I say or do that will make you believe me, but I swear it is the truth and my honor is with the outlands. " He says. "I only ask you allow me to remain with the dark side." He says. "With With a little work, I could become a good member of your pride...and I will work hard...to ensure that. I promise you." The lion says. He is trembling now and his fear is beginning to show. After all, who wouldn't be scared of Zira's claws? And rage?

Suddenly, Giza and Sytobi stop circling and lunge at the stammering adolescent from either side, either brother grasping for one of Ra'di's 'elbows'. If they succeed, they will hold him there, pulling him in opposite directions in a rather twisted means of holding him down. Unlike their queen, however, /their/ claws are fully bared. "Now now, /pretty boy/," hisses Sytobi, oh-so-mockingly. "Thisss may /hurt/ a bit.." Giza chimes in, Sytobi finishing with the last phrase, "..But /do/ try to hold still."

Here, Kimya, Suriama and Selene are minor or background characters and are making much shorter poses than Ra’di, Zira, Giza and Sytobi. They are wise to do so; if their poses were just as long as the others’, it would distract from the main thrust of events and would make the RP a bit plodding.

[Zazu]

SPOOFING

Spoofing is the act of controlling things in your poses outside of your character’s control. Spoofing is a perfectly legitimate tactic. Given that there is no game master here and that room descriptions and weather programs can only go so far, everyone has to shoulder a little of that responsibility. It can be as mild as mentioning that the wind is picking up, or setting the time of day. It can mean playing a prey animal in a hunt, or controlling the behavior of a whole flock of birds, or describing the sunrise. It can even mean having a bevy of creatures pop up to aid you in a battle or provide atmosphere.

Spoofing can be a lot of fun and add a lot of dimension to a scene. Just two things to watch out for:

Don’t step on each others’ toes. It’s risky to have one element of a scene be controlled by multiple players, although it can be done. One player may have a rainfall start, the next has it get windy, and later on another player decides it’s a good time for the rain to end. It can turn ugly, though, if you decide to end the rain when the player who started it hasn’t accomplished what he intended it to accomplish in the first place. Clearly, it’s even worse when you’re dealing with spoofed characters, who shouldn’t be acting on the motivations of multiple players.

Even when only one player is spoofing it can cause problems if it goes against the grain. One time I was hunting in a group of five and spoofing the wildebeest prey. To me, it seemed like everyone was making all the wrong moves, thus giving the wildebeest a chance to consolidate and get away, so that’s what I posed. But I should have realized that the other players were determined to make it a successful hunt for whatever reason, and I should have let it happen, or at least discussed it OOCly. Because I didn’t, we ended up with a couple very upset players.

Don’t abuse your power. Naturally, something extreme like having the sun suddenly go out is something you won’t want to pose without running it by everyone first. If you bring another character into a scene, it should be justified by circumstance. The most common reasons to spoof characters are when someone has left a scene or was unable to show up and has given you permission to spoof him or her for that scene, or when a conflict arises on owned territory and the spoofing player needs to have friends around in order to be reasonably well protected. Hyenas often get spoofed in the graveyard, for example. It’s reasonable to do this to deal with intruders, but be fair about it; if they’re moving quietly and the graveyard’s forces are distracted elsewhere, for example, you probably shouldn’t have a horde of hyenas pop up. And needless to say, you wouldn’t spoof hyenas in the Pridelands.

[Zazu]

PERSONAL STYLE

You don’t need a distinct personal style to be good at text-based role-play, but if you are good at it (and even if you’re not), chances are you’ll develop one. There are limitless ways to role-play, and what’s commonplace to one player may be fascinating and new to another. The purpose of this section is to inspire you with a selection of the kind of poses you could be writing.

Internal versus External
One of the most basic stylistic decisions is how much internal activity to use. Some players never spill a single drop of what’s going on inside them. This is most suitable either for mysterious characters or for those intended to remain in the background. Even these types can be rendered effectively with internal activity, however, and indeed, most players make use of it, some quite a lot. Do you speak your character’s thoughts as if they were dialogue, only without the quotation marks? Do you give a lot of indications as to what your character is probably feeling without coming right out and saying it?

Sometimes, a scene works best if one character is sharing a lot more of their internal activity than anyone else. That’s for the same reason books are usually written from only one viewpoint at once. It’s easier to identify with a single character than with all of them. But MUCKing is kind of unique in that it also seems to work well when everyone is giving you a window onto their souls. The contrast between viiewpoints can give fascinating perspective.

Here’s an exchange that highlights the extremes of this axis:

Sauti strides into the dark cave. The only light comes from the stars outside, and those stars are being obscured by clouds, at the moment. She's new to the pride - brand new - and what little light does filter through is only enough for her to avoid the larger forms, darkness-adjusted eyes and all. Her paws are good at navigating the relatively strange floor, though... that is, until she meets one particularly sneaky specimen, dusky body tripping with a loud "oof!". She manages to avoid the *floor*, but she's been loud enough to wake *someone* up.

The gray form rises behind her about as silently as a thermal in the sky. His body blocks the starlight. What is he? A lion by the scent of him, but his build is more like that of a leopard, perhaps. His mane is thin and his face is all but invisible in this light. "You're the new one," he whispers. What a voice. Captivating in the silence. Anything would be important in that tone. "What are you doing here?"

Oh, dear. Think fast! Her dark tan coat is a fantastic comparison to his grey one, the kind a photographer would *kill* to get; but she'd probably kill the photographer just to appease this 'lion'. "I'm *sleeping*!" She squeaks out in a high, defensive voice; "or I would be, if those rocks would get out of the way." Her posture is a lot less defensive, her head is dipped low, and her tail coiled around her. You never knew who the important guys were around here, after all.

There's a difference between importance and power, and that's becoming more clear. The light sleeper takes a close look at the new member of the pride. His eyes slowly become visible, whether because of adjustment to the low light or some property of his eyes themselves. They're hazel and deep. He takes a step closer and bends down to lick the lioness lightly on the shoulder. "You taste all right," pronounces the whisper. "Go to sleep, then. But I'll want a full account of your dreams in the morning. That should let me get to know you like nothing else." What he could be after is difficult to say.

Oh, really? Her yellow eyes lock into his hazel ones, and she stiffens as he steps closer. What he's after might be difficult to say, but she has her suspicions, and she shies away from his tongue. "I don't dream much," her voice is much more level, now, "but if you *insist*." Flicking her tail, she nods to the male, and pads a short distance away - closer to the vague shadows that resembled pridal lions - before lying down. Imagine! The lions around here, so... *pushy*.

Pushy he may be, but not any longer. He slips away in the opposite direction into the night. It's almost as if he wants to dispel the impression Sauti may have gotten--or perhaps he has his own agenda under the stars. It's not likely there are many here like him, but the question is: how far will he go to learn Sauti's dreams? For now, he is gone.

Here, Sauti is using a lot of internal activity—things her character is thinking and what she suspects and fears, both implicit and explicitly. Contrawise, the nameless gray character never gives any internal information. Everything in his mind is described externally. He even verges into exploring Sauti’s thoughts a little bit.

This contrast makes sense because, given the choice between the familiar, likeable character and the mysterious stranger, the reader will find it easier to identify with Sauti. Both styles, of course, are perfectly valid.

A good deal of one’s style while role-playing comes from the nature of the character one is playing, naturally. When you start playing a character, you’ve got to know at least something about him or her. It’s permissible to flesh out a character thoroughly before you ever play it, and there are countless ways to do this, but most players start with only a little knowledge of their characters and build it as they go. For this to work, you need to be always receptive to the idea of adding to your character. Seize opportunities to tell your backstory. Connect situations you’re in with others you’ve been in before, and try to figure out how you can react in a consistent way, and thus become a more consistent character.

For example, I sometimes play a brown hyena character called Mazizi. In my first RPs with her, I realized that I was doing a lot with the bones in the graveyard—kicking them and making a clamor while walking on them. Having realized this, I made it into a defining character trait. I now understand that Mazizi has a thing for bones and, moreover, for kicking things, and that helps me decide how she should act.

If you like, you can make a habit of talking about your character in the course of your poses as a kind of illustration for everyone. This is the sort of thing I mean:

Still grounded, still fidgety... A snore echoes around the water hole, startling birds into the air. Zeefra, bless him, is just waking up, and he isn't a morning person at the best of times. As he blearily opens one eye he groans, remembering his promise to Janaa. "d**n d**n d**n!" he mutters to himself as he heaves his skinny frame off the ground. He yawns, hunger gnawing at his stomach, and looks past the scattered trees to the path and sighs. No hunting for him. "d**n!"

Ajenti may be a tough girl with a mild blue streak--turquoise, perhaps, but she's not used to half this much swearing before breakfast. Even though breakfast, in this case, is coming at the end of her day, and looks likely to consist of nothing more than 'fortified' water. She deliberately makes a noise as she steps into the clearing, by rustling shrubberies. Who could that be? She slinks along slowly, hoping to get a glimpse of what her nose tells her is clearly a male lion before he sees her.

Zeefra's ears twitch as the shrubs rustle and he spins round as fast as his sleep-heavy legs will move. "Who's 'at?" he mumbles, moving into the sun and stretching out in it's warm rays. His eyes, usually twitching around, alert to every move, are now fixing in an irritated glare. This is Morning-Zeefra.

Zeefra gives the information that he is not a morning person and that his eyes normally twitch alertly about: “This is Morning-Zeefra.” Ajenti describes herself as a “tough girl with a mild blue streak.” In creative writing you’re generally advised to show and not tell what your characters are like, but in role-play it’s nice to do both. When we hear what a player thinks of his or her character, we understand more about what the character is supposed to be like. If a character is described as being snobby, for example, we know that the character is the snob and not the player himself.

Questions you can ask yourself
There are countless questions you can ask yourself about a character to develop it in your mind. Any guide to creative writing will offer suggestions of this nature. Some examples:

* Where did your character grow up? What kind of family did he/she have?
* What are his/her physical abilities? Is your character strong? Agile? Quick? Alert? Controlled? A skilled hunter or fighter?
* Does your character know any existing characters? If so, how do they know each other? What kind of things did they use to do together?
* What would your character do if threatened? If attacked? If seduced? Is he/she the sort to banter with enemies, or to talk with predators or prey?
* What kind of personality does your character have? Outgoing? Brave? Cowardly? Secretive? Shrewd? Loyal? Deceitful?

Any of these things can reasonably be put into your character’s description or your pinfo, in addition to his or her basic physical description. More importantly, they can all directly shape the way you play your character.

Apart from the way your character behaves, you can develop a personal style of playing him or her by asking yourself different questions:
* Do you always use : or “ to make your poses, ensuring that they always start with your character’s name? Or do you spoof now and then just for variety? Do you spoof every pose?
* Do you use a lot of dialogue? Or does a little go a long way for you?
* Do you start poses with dialogue? Do you create poses that are nothing but dialogue?
* Do you like short poses, long poses, in between, or some of each?
* Do you make big entrances? Do you hang around on the outskirts before joining in?
* Are you poetic in your poses? Philosophical? Spartan?
* Do you describe your character when he or she arrives on the scene?
* How silly can you get? Do you use slang or modern terms from time to time?
* Do you provide color commentary on your character’s actions? (“Now /that’s/ a shocker!”)
* Do you talk about your character’s traits? (“Oblivious, as always…”)
* Which pose elements are your favorites? Do you ever shape the environment? What kind of internal/external description mixture do you favor?
* Do you address other players or characters? (“Watch out, here comes…?”)
* Is your tone simple? Exciting? Grandiose? Ponderous? Meek? Happy-go-lucky?
* Do you tend to shape the course of RP, or go with the flow?

These answers don’t have to be constant for every character you play. If you’re good, you can use a different style of role-play for each of your characters, even apart from the actions of the character itself. Maybe with your meerkat character you make short, humble poses without much commentary, but with your panther you make long, crafty, tricky poses full of description and ominous suggestions. I try to do this with my own characters.

One little touch I use is that whenever I emphasize a word, I use a different symbol to do it depending on what character I’m playing. With Zazu I use -hyphens- for emphasis, with Mazizi I use +plus signs+, and with others I use *asterisks*, /slashes/, =equal signs= and #pound signs# respectively. It doesn’t have much meaning to anyone else, but it’s a way of reminding me who I’m playing and keeping me in character.

[Zazu]

TACTICS AND TRICKS TO KEEP RP SMOOTH AND INTERESTING

You may be surprised how much room there is to make the kind of RP we do on a routine basis more engrossing and fulfilling. It usually just takes a little creativity and a little initiative. Here are some ways to take your role-play to the next level.

Have something to work with when you enter a scene. When you enter a scene, is your character’s mind a blank? Is your default first pose waking up from a nap, or wandering in from doing nothing in particular? In reality, everyone always comes from somewhere, and most people have something on their minds most of the time. It adds a lot of richness to your RP and may even make things easier for you if you keep this in mind. What has your character been doing lately? Did he or she just come from a conversation? From a hunt? From a long journey? Is your character feeling sleepy? If you just woke up, did you dream? Are you worried about anything? Have anything on your mind?

Better yet, have at least one story arc going for each of your characters that you can draw on whenever you need to. Maybe the seed of an idea has been fermenting and your character feels like discussing it with someone, just to move the plot forward a little. Maybe you’re suspicious of someone in your living group and you want to check up on it. Maybe you’ve just had an encounter with a stranger in the woods, and it’s got you puzzled. Remember that whatever you play as just having happened to you doesn’t have to be something you actually role-played. Which brings us to…

Imply things that you didn’t actually play out. Reality is rich because things are always happening; relationships are rich because there are so many meaningful little moments. It’s hard to build up a strong, rich relationship of any kind between characters on a MUCK unless you allow them to “exist” even when you aren’t playing them. So, if your character has known another character for a while, maybe even since you were little, don’t be afraid to talk about the times you’ve shared, recent or long-distant.

Tunu's eyes return to the ground, and she becomes uneasy on her paws. She shifts her weight from one paw to the next in a nervous dance. She can't stay here and not know...but if she goes back, and Kani is dead at the claw and tooth of the scarred lion, then he will surely kill her too. So when Ajenti enters, the bewildered Tunu adopts the muscle-memory pose - defense. She was a guard afterall. Her ears pin, and her tail sticks straight out as a nervous scowl spreads across her maw.

Maiba returns her attention to reality when the lioness before her bristles out angrily and defensively. At first she thinks it is at her! But no... "Calm yourself Tunu. Ajenti is a prideland lioness." She looks over towards Ajenti, who looks uneasy herself, and chuffles a light greeting.

Ajenti knows this stance. She assumes a variant of it herself, although it's a little more possessive, a little more willing to cause trouble. She notices Maiba and bows her head. "Who's this Tunu character? Friend of yours?" She tries not to let herself bristle too much.

Tunu arches a brow as he looks sidelong at his brother. "I don't know if I'd like a male that crazy in our midst..." he says softly, not particularly wanting Dosari to hear. Not because she wouldn't be interested or could not contribute, but because he considers it rude to drag females into the mess that is pridal politics. Worries wrinkle the skin, afterall.

A pridelander? Tunu relaxes a bit, but keeps her ears pinned. "I'm Sarafina's sister, and have been aided by your shaman. I can only assume under King Mufasa's order, since I apparently collapsed at his very doorstep."

Maiba shrugs her lithe shoulders, letting Tunu explain. Not so much a friend. "Apperantly she's been resting up here for a bit. Mufasa is allowing it... She /is/ Sarafina's sister after all."

Something clicks in Ajenti that effects an instant transformation. The guarded lioness exhales, her muscles loosen, and she's at ease, though excited. "Oh--TUnu! Of course! I *knew* I'd heard that somewhere before. You're Saffy's little sister! Say, didn't I meet you once a long time ago? We were little then, if it really was you. Heh, Saffy's my best friend. Welcome to the Rock!" Well, that's a relief.

In a related vein…

Make up background for the world itself. A setting can be established by the positions and descriptions of the rooms on a MUCK, combined with a bit of source material, but it really thrives when the players put their own souls into it. In this case we’re talking about a Lion King setting, which may seem simple enough, but there are really a lot of ways to play it. How are rogue lions treated? How do lions relate to other large felines they meet? Do you emphasize tradition and the Circle of Life, or favor fast-paced, multi-faceted adventures? Do the carnivores ever talk with the herbivores they hunt? Even a simple issue like “Who really controls the water hole?” is open to interpretation. If the administrators haven’t made a specific ruling about some aspect of culture or setting and you feel it’s important, try filling the gap yourself. If you like the idea you’ve come up and you’ve taken the time to put it in a pose, it’s probably a good thing.

I’m rather proud of what I came up with in this scene, for instance…

Mufasa winces at the mention of his more subdued attitude, shutting his eyes and letting out a soft hiss of breath. "It can only be expected. A day that was supposed to be joyful was turned into a wanton massacre by those savages." His face falls into a somewhat helpless expression, the lion looking at Zazu and quirking his muzzle. "I'm just not sure what to do. Nothing like this has ever happened before, at least to my knowledge."

Zazu freezes with one foot poised. "Well, actually, sire...it's quite rare that one gets the chance to say that. About anything, really." He comes back over and concentrates, searching his brain, while the cavern is perfectly silent. "In fact, most anything you can imagine has happened before, at some point, and sometimes when we're lucky, we even know about it." The majordomo nods. "My mother imparted all the history she could remember when I was young, before I took the job from her. And she did say that the official ceremonies used to be far bloodier than they are in our age. No longer, perhaps," he adds mournfully. "But at one point, it was even a tradition for the king to capture and kill a hyena to coronate the new prince."

Mufasa grunts, pulling a small grin. "Maybe we should bring that tradition back. It'd surely mete out a bit of the justice that I'm sure the other animals are clamoring for.. and I must admit, it'd feel good to deliver a like blow to those savages." The king tilts his head thoughtfully and wrinkles his nose, evidently pondering the idea. "I think it's time to revive some of the old customs," he states firmly. "The coincidence that it will also serve justice will be an added bonus to revitalizing our culture." This is quite a shocker - the normally peaceful king condoning violence? The attack at the presentation must've gotten to him more than he's been letting on.

…

Mufasa moves up to the cliff's edge himself, glancing down and getting an eyeful of gorgeous pridelands. He sighs softly - though this time it's a contented one. He, too, notices Kiziah and smiles slightly. "I did mean it about reviving those old traditions.. I'll have to go out and find a hyena for the next litter."

Zazu gulps. "But, Mufasa..." He gestures against thin air. "Well, you may, of course, I mean it's your prerogative. But there are other customs that go with that one, others you might not like." Zazu's face displays the darkness of grim stories he's heard. "And even if you should decide to pick and choose, well...I don't know, it isn't trivial to change tradition on the instant, like this. I mean...Rafiki should be consulted, for one."

Mufasa perks a brow at this, looking over at the hornbill questioningly. "Oh? What other customs would those be, exactly? I was never told about any of this.. and I think it's more than high time that I've been properly educated about my own kingdom. As for Rafiki.. I think we've consulted with him enough for the time being."

Zazu alights next to Mufasa and pats him, in turn, on the paw. "Naturally. But you have no cause to feel that way, sire. Your own father educated you well, I happen to know. It's just that...well, these are things that happened many generations ago! My mother told me tales just so that I know what's possible, not so that...we might pick and choose for the present day." He hops on toward the cavern, his headache now only a memory. "One really only needs to know about one's own times to be an effective leader. That's what I think. But if you must..." Zazu reflects, now leaving the lioness to her own nocturnal dealings. "Time was, if two male cubs were born in the same litter to a King and Queen, they would be set against each other, in battle. As young as three months old--often to the death." The hornbill swings his gaze sharply back, for Mufasa's reaction. "That way the King would be strongest every time. And you can bet we wouldn't have the problem we have now, if your parents had lived then. Begging your pardon, of course."

Mufasa gives Zazu a dirty look, smirking. "True enough, but that's one tradition we will not be re-adopting here. Any others that I should know about?" The king lies down with his paws hooking over the edge of the cliff, still watching the creatures below with an almost idle expression on his face. "More cubs around would be nice, though.. we could even have you looking after one. What do you think of that, my friend?"

Zazu looks affronted, just like Scar under Mufasa's paw, being asked to play. "Oh, dear, no. I have barely enough time to get back to my own family at the end of the day. Especially with so many new problems afoot." He wipes his brow, as if somehow sweaty, and hops aside, following Mufasa's downward gaze. "My wife's still shut up for another month or so. Four chicks this time...all of them relying on me completely. And some days, I haven't managed to make it back at all. I don't know how she manages to forgive me."

Mufasa blinks at this, looking at Zazu and grinning. "Four? Really.. if you like, I can go with you some time. If you need help finding them food, all you need to do is ask and I'll do all in my power. It's the least I can do to repay you for all your help." The king goes back to watching Kiziah, grinning a little wider.

Zazu looks terribly embarrassed. "Oh no, sire, no, no no I'm the one who has to keep them fed. I couldn't possibly accept help." Besides--how would a lion know which fruits, pods, seeds and insects to look for? It could be a disaster. "But once the bark comes down, I'll be glad to let you meet them before they make their way off. I do hope they stick around for at least a few days, this time..." But Zazu doesn't let his mind dwell on this for too long. He's nearly at the cavern door, and he was asked a question. "Oh, but as to other customs? Yes, sire, certainly, quite a few, and I don't even know how they were properly done, or in most cases, why. There were some ages where leopards and cheetahs and panthers were all turned out of the kingdom, for one. Lions were the only big cats allowed to live at Pride Rock, and elsewhere, too. But then one king, whose name my mother knew but I don't recall, started allowing them residence, but only if they could answer three questions correctly. It was quite an ordeal. Mum asked me some of the sort of questions they'd use, and I rarely got any of them right."

Fix little discrepancies In-Character. The easiest kind of hitch to fix is a problem that arises in the course of role-play. Maybe someone misremembered a previous scene or a detail about someone. Maybe two players have different conceptions of space or time. Maybe someone feels their character has been spoofed incorrectly or underestimated. Maybe different players simply have different visions of where they think the scene should go. But in most cases, it’s not hard to work these things out.

If you don’t like what someone just did, try doing something in your own pose to bend its effect. If someone just licked you on the shoulder but you don’t feel your character would have let herself be licked, just pose that you shy away from the other’s touch. If someone assumed something about the layout of the scene that doesn’t match what you’ve established, just let them know what your vision of the place is in your next pose. If a minor character disconnects suddenly, feel free to act as if he or she were never there. In cases like these you could interrupt the RP to ask that they repose or that things be reorganized, but it’s cooler to just move forward with a little adjustment. The RP log may not read like a polished book, but that’s okay—no one expects it to.

Offer to retract if someone is upset. If you’ve made a pose or an assumption that someone claims was unfair, hear them out. If it relates to their character—i.e., “No, even a large caracal isn’t big enough to throw me”—chances are they’ve got a point. Even if you’re convinced you didn’t do anything wrong, it’s probably best to just go along with the change they want. After all, if you’re a versatile player, you’ll be able to take the story somewhere else. You can emend something you’ve just written either by actually rewriting it or by saying something like, “Okay, let’s assume I didn’t throw you, just pushed you over. Sound good?”

Play along with others’ ideas. This is a concept any improv comedian knows well. You’re here to interact, so if someone you’re with takes the scene in a direction you didn’t expect, go with it! If a character you know

"Ha!" Taratibu puffs out her chest from her perch atop the genet. She keeps her grip on Nafsi's foreleg, paws planted firmly on her chest. Leaning in, she moves her mouth against her playmate's ear as she whispers, "You dun know th' story o' th' Gambamonster! I'mma gonna tell it t' you!"

Mazizi saunters in around this time, a sprig of some long hard thing that was maybe alive once in her jaws. She decides to sit back and linger for now. It's been a while since she heard the story of the Gambamonster, after all. That +is+ the one she's thinking of, isn't it?

Gambamonster? Nafsi grins and nods her head quickly, enthusiastically. She'd certainly like to hear more about this Gambamonster creature--so much that she doesn't even mind that she's getting squashed by Tibu-pup, or that her foreleg is clutched in the teeth of said pup.

Shenzi lies down on her belly, intending to listen to the story about this monster thing. Really, she is. But soon her eyelids begin to droop, and it's not long before the hyena is off into the land of dreams, snoring quietly next to her nephew and wild dog ward.

"Th' Gambamonster was a bad, /bad/ doggie," Taratibu begins. "So bad, tha' he had a darkness inside'a him. One day, th' darkness started to eat away at his gutsies. First, his tummy. Then, his thumpthump. It ate an' it ate an' it ate... till nothin' was left! But th' Gambamonster didn't die, nope. He ate his momma an' his poppa an' his brothers an' his sisters, too! Their gutsies became /his/ gutsies."

All this talk of darkness and cannibalism has Nafsi's full and undivided attention. To someone like her, this is the best story ever. She listens quite intently.

Mazizi doesn't quite let herself lie down. The story usually has a somewhat different flavor, doesn't it? A little queasy, she raises her eyebrows to Eshu, and as usual it's not clear what she's trying to convey. Oh well, they'll run into each other later. "An' then what happened?" she asks Taratibu brusquely.

"An' then..." She lowers her voice to a whisper. "An' then a bunch'a black birds took 'im away to th' moon! Now th' Gambamonster only comes out a' night, to feeeeeeeed." Taratibu drags her tongue across Nafsi's muzzle. Yum! "An' if you're a bad puppy, he's gonna come get'cha an' eat'cha all up!"

Mazizi roooollls her eyes. She somehow makes it noisy. "You dogs never get anything straight," she says, rising to her feet with a clatter of bones underfoot. "The birds didn't take him to the +moon+. You probably just made that up." She starts to come closer, ready with her own version of the story.

Taratibu rolls off the genet, sprawling out on her side. She gives Mazizi a foul look. "Oh yeah?" she asks. "If you're so smart, where did he go?"

Nafsi'Kifuko lets out a sound between a chatter and a whimper, hopping to her feet and shaking graveyard dust from her coat. Not that it does a world of difference anyway. "Girl-hyena know Gambamonster?" she inquires, tilting her head to one side, her tail lashing about.

Mazizi jerks her muzzle down toward the pup. "Hell yeah I know the Gambamonster! That's one of the best stories to toss 'round the graveyard, if you tell it right." She snorts. "The birds came to Gamba when he was crowing with pain, cuz he was so frazzin' hungry. So he asked them where he could get hisself a meal big enough to feed him and they told him he could only be full if he ate the +sun+. Not the moon, although maybe if there was a doggie Gamba he went to eat the moon."

Taratibu makes a face. Why would anybody want to eat the sun or the moon? "Yuck!"

Mazizi makes a face just as accusing and Taritibu's is confrontational. "How are you supposed to know what they taste like? Have you tried 'em?"

Adapt to others’ styles. If you can play the way the people around you are playing, you’ll get along better and the whole experience will be smoother. Meet each other halfway. I’ve already described a wide variety of different RP styles, so I shouldn’t have to give examples here. Just learn to recognize when your RP partners are doing things differently than you, and adapt yourself to it. Remember, though, that not everyone needs to be playing in the same style for a scene to work well. You can have serious characters and silly characters operate at full force in the same scene, for instance…just so long as the silly characters’ players have respect for what the serious characters are doing, and the serious characters’ players maintain a sense of humor.

Know your place. You can’t be the central character in every scene, especially if it was going before you got there. Sometimes you need to fade into the background and let others be the stars. Know how to be a supporting character, an ominous background presence, or possibly comic relief. A very small number of characters may work well without ever fading into the background, but that should be reserved for only the extremely villainous, extremely eerie, or extremely odd. And if you play one of these character types, do it in moderation.

On the other hand, sometimes a scene is just bopping along without any core or direction. It may need someone to step up and give it meaning, and thus become one of the main characters. If someone could later ask “What happened in today’s RP?” and your best answer would be “Nothing, really,” then something’s likely gone wrong. Step up and make some story happen before you find yourself in that spot.

[Zazu]

SYNERGY

If you can vary your style of role-play at will, you can adapt it to what others are doing around you. If enough people in a scene are listening to the way everyone else writes, they can adopt a similar style and achieve a beautiful synergy. Logs of RPs where this kind of synergy was found are a pleasure to read.

Here are three exchanges where the two main characters involved were able to find highly synergistic personal styles. The style and the flavor of each excerpt is quite distinct, but they all make good reading because of the way the parts fit together.

Shrewd military synergy:

"Ah." That's all Cyrus had to say. Shetani understands perfectly. "No legacy is so rich as honesty. Thank you, for being so blunt with me. If it pleases you, you may stay here. For the night. My ward has hidden her dinner in the ferns. Somewhere. Sniff it out and you're welcome to what is left. She should know better than to hoard what belongs to the men."

Cyrus flicks an ear as he listens to Shetani speak and nods his head slowly. The way he voices himself reminds Cyrus so much of his homelands that he actually nods his head in agreement. "Thank you, your generosity is much appreciated." He'll stick around for the night, finally a place to rest up and get some food. Maybe he could talk more with this lion, he seemed like an interesting fellow. "If you don't mind me asking," He drawls slowly, "What is this place? I normally don't ask names, simply pass through, but curiosity has snagged me this time.."

"This small piece of heaven has no name, I'm afraid," says Shetani, as he smiles. It is not a nice smile. "But /we/ are the Warugaruga. You could be as well, if you had the ambition and the discipline."

Cyrus nods his head, storing the name away within his memory. "I see.." he drawls casually before grinning then features slipping to an emotionless slate as was his normal way for he was taught that emotions gave away most everything and to learn to suppress them was to learn to hide your thoughts. "Ambition and discipline would not be a problem with me," he honestly comments, for he can honestly say. "However, reason would be.. what reason would I have to stay here, I've just met you after all.." he questions curiously.

"Well," reasons Shetani. "What reason do /I/ have to keep you here? You're quite big and strong. That I can see. But you mustn't be very smart to ask such a foolish question. Alone, a nomad does not live very long. The skin on his paws cracks and bleeds. His feet swell, as you are swollen now. His stomach shrivels to nothing. But a soldier with the Warugaruga? He never goes hungry, and if he bleeds, he bleeds righteously. The desert gives you pains, where I can give you purpose. The choice is yours to make, Cyrus."

He listens, an ear twitching. Hah, Cyrus was smarter then he let on, just cautious. "I survived on my own through worse, however, you are right." The lion nods his head, "Very true." He slowly slides himself back upon his haunches, head lifting straighter as he reflects. For this lion makes no decision without thinking it over, so he sits in silence, dark eyes narrowing in thought. "Ah.." he sighs, "Back into the ranks again.." he mutters more or less to himself. Attention shifts to Shetani and Cyrus frowns, "I'm under the impression that you, sir, are the one giving the orders? Who else would be, for I won't follow another unless they prove they're capable enough to lead."

Shetani nods, curtly. "That is correct," he intones. "I am the general of this company. Take all the time you need to sort things out in that scruffy head of yours. My men aren't the barbarians you might be used to. No one will chase you from the shade."

Nodding his head the lion lets these thoughts flip flop back and forth within his skull. The maneless general had a good point. While he wasn't one for prides, this wasn't one, this was more or less like home, he could relate and actually live. A short while passes and the barbary finally gives his head a quick nod. "General Shetani," he drawls gruffly, straightening up and tilting his head a few degrees to the side, "You got yourself new barbary muscle." He smirks dryly and slowly nods his head, thick ebon bangs falling into his face, "It'd be an honor to work under your command."

Cryptic confrontational synergy:

Pumbaa buttons up on command, seizing his tongue when his teacher comes over with a reprimand. He hears what the lizard has to say about friends and food, though, and doesn't particularly appreciate this. He's the one with the hooves, after all! "Well gee," he says, not so cheerful anymore, "it's never any fun when the bugs just pop out of the ground, you know. If everything was that easy, what's there to do stuff for?" he retorts, not exactly sure that he even *is* retorting. He looks to a soft patch of ground nearby and yawns, suddenly cutting off conversation with the two to go sleep.

Pumbaa has disconnected.

Roho whispers to Pumbaa with an urgent maneuver before his face, leaving himself temporarily exposed. The warthog listens intently and then speeds off behind the curve of land leading up to the upper Zuberi. The hyena watches him go and then turns back to the river and its enigmatic inhabitant. "A sporter, then," he concludes dryly, with an ear flopping half-over one eye.

Mpenda rolls over lazily, exposing a smooth expanse of pale bellyscale. "Hsst, no need to toughen your meat on Mpenda's account. Her belly is well-filled with many silvery fishes. And a turtle of medium size." The lizard wriggles sinuously, scales scraping against the stone. "My tastes may not be so different from your bristled friend's, come to that."

Roho stands rather still on the brink of the water, only his fur bristling in the breeze. "How did you know I could do that," he mumbles half to himself. More loudly: "The two of you may share an appetite for the moving, but I choose not to make sport out of catching food and ending lives, only in eating and digesting it. And--fiddling with life. I fear that may be the wrong term." The large reptile fascinates Roho, which is why he's not making much of an effort to run away.

Mpenda curls her neck about to regard the hyena. "Some wear down their feet in travel, but I do not taste with my feet." Flicker. "I adventure with my mouth, and my fangs are the most trusted of companions. I do not gaze over far vistas; I behold with my mouth, and what it encompasses, I know with certainty." The large lizard shifts back over onto her belly, fat tail curling beside her.

Roho takes a step backward onto somewhat drier, steadier ground. He answers in a measured tone, and only after thought. "A set of feet is made so as not to succumb to wear--there is nothing quite like it," he points out. "And the sense of taste, while it is a distinguished and venerable thing, does have its core weakness--it is no targeting sense, it has no range." Another step back. "And if no vista comes to you, I fear your education will be pocked with ignorance." The hyena seems genuinely concerned--isn't that touching?

Mpenda hisses softly as she basks, misted by the river's spray. "Spoken like a mammal," she replies, flickering her tongue. "Perhaps it is your ever-acute vision that impairs you. I cannot, from here, count the spots on your coat, but I can taste your last meal, and that of your friend. To taste is to know, and I have known many." The sleek reptilian head rises, tongue flickering pensively. "To survive. To grow as I have, requires great self-knowledge as well. I have known my own kind very well...what of you?"

Roho shivers. It's a strange thing to see him shiver, because it happens all through his body and affects different parts of it to varying degrees. His bones appear to remain still, but his flesh is ample, although somewhat reduced from loss of water weight. "I dare not say what my own kind is, or yours, just yet," he answers in a calm voice that belays his discomfort. "I have never heard of a creature that can taste from the water, all this distance away. It seems quite queer to my thinking. Yet it's a relief, because it must allow you to know intimacies about others that most would only...be able to learn by killing them." He's brushing against sarcasm here. "Other waterbeasts ambush, but for you, a slow parade on the shore is sufficient, hm?"

Mpenda hisses in mild pleasure, reaching down to scatter a few pebbles in the swirling water. "The crocodile waits, waits for beasts to drink, and seizes them. She is feared for this. All beasts must drink, this is so. But there are other things just as vital to a thinking beast. Different sorts of watering holes to which they must come to slake their thirsts. These pools of thought, of conversation...ought not they to have predators as well?" The lizard tilts her head slightly, perhaps in some semblance of a grin.

And even OMG silly musical synergy:

Hephaestus laughs, half-offended and half-amused. "Nowadays, nearly every son -of-a-pregnant dog is a snake in the grass to someone...I'm not TOO picky..." Sigh "Whatever happened to class..?" Heph rolls sideways, a paw moving to brush the front of his mane.

Tzik sighs with a slight chuckle. Soft piano music flies in on a gentle breeze, and the larger of the two males rumbles out in a rich baritone as he starts to strip muscles from rib on the impala before him. "Whatever happened to fair dealing, and pure ethics, and nice manners.." He angrily tosses the meat down to the right, and flicks the bone to the left. "Why is it everyone now.. is a pain in-theeeeaassss?" Tzik sighs heavily, resting his bloodied paw on the carcass. "Whatever happened to class..."

The sounds of a soft violin drift over the tinkling of the other notes, and Heph seems to lighten a bit, slinking down off of the rockpile with a soft tenor sound from his throat. "Class...Whatever happened to, "Please, may I?" He step-hops through the dust, a stray mouse picked up by his sharp eyes and paw. "And, "Yes, thank you?" The mouse squeaks lightly in fear. "...And, "How charming?" The mouse seems to blush a bit before he lets it skitter down his shoulder and onto the ground. He lifts his head as he turns with a soft sweep of his feet. "Now, every son of a -pregnant dog- is a snake in the grass...Whatever happened to class..?" A mild woodwind echoes up, and Heph's rather seductive tenor overrides his sigh easily.

Tzik stands and steps over the kill to add his deeper voice to Heph's tenor, both males singing, "Oh.. there ain't no gentlemen to open up the doors. There ain't no ladies now there's only pigs and sleepers.." Tzik's teeth bare a bit at those words in particular, and he starts to circle the slightly younger and smaller lion as they both lament harmoniously, "...And even kids will know you down so's they can pass..Nobody's got no class!" With another sigh, Tzik stops, turning to look at Heph. "Whatever happened to old values?"

Hephaestus hums the words along to Tzik's, circling as he circles, tail swinging lightly along. When Tzik turns, he turns too. "And -fine- morals?" His brows crease lightly.

Tzik's brows knit as well, his eyes turning upward in exasperation. "And good breeding.." he adds, singling slightly through his teeth.

"Now, no one even says "oops" when they're passin' their gaaaaaas..." Heph sidles closer to Tzik, a laughing grin on his face holding up his smooth tone. "Whaaatever happened to class?" His tail curls at the end as he heightens the end.

Sinking back on his haunches, Tzik joins Heph in singing the last questioning refrain, sighing.. "Class.." with him. He lifts a paw to try and pull the tenor close to him, wrapping his arm around Heph's shoulder as the continue: "Oh, they ain't no gentlemen that's fit for any use. And any girl'll touch your privates for a deuce.." Heph continues on, and Tzik mirrors the next line a few beats behind - but they meet up together to finish. "And even kids'll kick your shins and give you *sass*.. nobody's got no class!" Tzik closes his eyes, pressing his other paw against his chest. "Awwwall you hear about today is *rape* and *theft*.."

Hephaestus absently cuddles closer as he's pulled in, singing along brightly. "Massiyyaaaa, ain't there no decency left?" He moves on, a paw lightly to his chest, echoing Tzik as they go. "Nobody's got no class!"
Heph nigh-speaks next, his tenor sharpening. "Every guy is a snot!"

Tzik's eyes narrow as he looks sidelong at Heph, echoing his expression and technique. "Every giiirl is a *thingy!*"

Hephaestus tilts his head a bit, almost leaning on Tzik's shoulder. "What a -shame-..." His paws move up to touch his own chest, and the music softens into the smooth sound of strings.

Tzik leans up against Heph a bit, but not as much. His head turns back toward him, and the larger lion looks slightly down and sidelong at the other male. "What a shame," he echoes in his rich baritone, his eyes closing slightly as he shakes his head in pity.

Hephaestus lifts his seductive tenor into the last line, his ears folded as he does so, one six-toed paw lifting slightly to the air. "Whhaaaaat becaaaame of claaaaaaaass?" His paw out-stretches more with the notes, his shoulder rolling forward to push up his mane like a fur-covered boa.

Tzik joins Heph in singing the last line, his own paw raising into the air as well, his head tilting back. They hold the last note as the music provided by the whistling wind dies away, and hold the pose for a moment after - as the audience in their heads applauds.

Ed soars onto the scene, ribcage-xylophone in tow, zipping into his spot and hoisting the bone-mallets high!, pantpantpant!, sorry I'm late!, when do we start the song???

[Zazu]

HOW TO BE A GOOD CITIZEN OF A MUCK

There’s more to being a good MUCKer than being a good role-player. There’s knowing when and where to role-play, for instance, and knowing how to juggle your characters. There’s also the Out-Of-Character presence you bring. Here are a few ways to become known as a good MUCKer beyond what you do when you’re in an actual scene.

Play unusual characters! Variety is the spice of life, and a unique character, if done well, can provide a focal point to keep any scene from getting boring. Characters of uncommon species are especially good for this, because they’re interesting (and possibly educational) without having to have a possibly cliched oddball personality. If a MUCK gets bogged down with too many of the same kinds of characters (felines, for example), a little variety will go a long way.

Lijou ambles up towards the water hole, the pangolin's armored body giving him more than ample protection from most any predator that might find him a tantalizing tidbit to terrorize. He waddles the rest of the way to the bank, ignoring all around him, and just leans his oddly shaped head down for a drink.

One of those ear flicks catches the sound of the arriving pangolin. The panther cub turns her head, her eyes widening to seemingly cover her entire face. What in the... what *is* that? Slowly, Mynama pads in an arc, trying to get behind the strange creature.

Lijou slurps out his gigantically long tongue and starts lapping at the water, shutting his black eyes and letting out a soft whistling sound - /while drinking/. He's a pangolin of many talents. One of his tiny round ears twitches back, his instincts keying him into the approach.

Mynama's ears swivel forward at the sound. Way cool. She crouches, slinking her way to the strange animal. Once she's close enough, the cub reaches out a clawed paw tentatively in an attempt slap the weird beast's hard hide..

Lijou's squat legs propel him into the air and suddenly - he's just a perfectly spherical ball of plates, rolling slightly on the ground near the water hole's bank. How bizarre.

Odera slowly pads her way toward the waterhole slowly. Her ears twitch as she listens intently for.. anything, really. She spots Mynama and the pangolin. She doesn't speak up just yet, though, instead opting to quench her thirst. The pangolin is certainly interesting, but she's learned not everyone is friendly.

Mynama's eyes bug again. But the mighty huntress never gives up! The cub runs after the ball, grinning from ear to ear, hell-bent on batting it around for awhile.

No sound's going to be coming from this bird, though. Coming in from overhead, Asikari is silent on the wing, and no sign really given of her presence beyond the shadow that falls over the savannah. She lands on one of the twisted acacias, mindful of the talons, before swivelling and fixing those large dark eyes on the gathering already assembled, letting out a soft "krrr" while ruffling her feathers back into line. It sounds like a branch being bent slowly and snapped.

Lijou rolls around as best as he can, trying to evade the panther cub. Once he finally comes to a stop he starts shouting protests. "Hey! I'm not a toy, you little ruffian! You heathen! You perfect hellion!" The ball curls tighter, though the tip of the pangolin's tail moves out so it can fwap at an intruding and inquisitive nose.

Odera lifts her head and blinks at the ball of pangolin. She gives her head a little shake and rubs at one eye with one paw. Amazing little thing!

"Eee!" shrieks the cub, who up until now was convinced it couldn't talk. She re-asserts herself quickly enough, though, crouching down to prepare for a pounce. "So stop lookin' like one. It's your own fault.."

Lijou sticks a stubby foreleg out from the ball and starts waggling it at the cub's face in a very parental way, wiggling a clawed finger-thing at her. "Well, that's not -my- problem, is it? I was born this way! Were you born rude?"

The owl edges along the branch, finally hopping to another one to get a better view of the creature down there. Well, now, you don't see that every day. Pangolins are a rare enough sight, but to see a panther cub playing with one like that? No, that's just not something that happens every day. Asikari makes that sound again, interested by this point, edging along her branch and leaning over to get a better look. Best to watch a little before commenting. Maybe someone's in trouble.

"No.. but I used to curl up like you!" She circles the ball in her crouched and ready position, tail flicking behind her. "And now my sisters call me Turtle 'cause of it.. are you a turtle?"

Lijou's scales bristle at the very suggestion, the pangolin waving his foreleg around wildly and pointing at both of the small felines. "Blasphemy! Impossibly crude!" He gives up and just sighs, uncoiling on his back and just rolling into an upright sitting position. "No, I'm not a /turtle/, and my name is Lijou."

Mynama's eyes narrow. "I think you're the rude one. 'Cause I'm not a turtle neither!"

Choose the right character for the scene. Sometimes, you’ll want to enter a scene or RP with a specific person and you’ll get to choose which character to use. Think about who would be most likely to be there and who you feel like playing, but also think about the dynamic your characters will have together. Which of your characters will most likely lead to the most interesting interaction taking place?

Moviegoers wondered what would happen when Alien met Predator. You can ask yourself, “What would happen if X met Y?” And grin with evil glee.

Simo hums happily away to himself, his tail swishing over his striped rump. He perks his ears forward once he espies Potovu, muzzle half buried in the water and mud of the waterhole. He lifts his head and whinnies - alright, the other zebra looks funny. But it's still a zebra, right? Still completely unaware of almost everything else around him, he starts to highstep a brisk trot directly through the water, heading towards Potovu. "Hey!"

Potovu lowers his head the small fraction to take a short drink, eyes locked on Simo. They narrow a little, his tail thrashing against his rump and hindquarters. When the full-blooded zebra extends the happy greeting, one of his long ears droops back. What the...why is he talking to him? Potovu raises his head and shakes it, sending water droplets flying from the end of his muzzle. "Hey.." he calls back, somewhat hesitantly.

Kinto is about to speak and just turns to look at the zebra zooming through the water hole, splashing a bit of water here and there. Kinto looks slightly annoyed at the sudden burst of activity here and mumbles "Why do mornings have to be so short?" and simply shakes his head. It should be morning all day, nice and quiet and no one to bother him. He glances back to Zira and hmms "Zira?" a short pause "Where are you from then?" he asks, while keeping an eye on the zebras, watching for anymore sudden movements from their part.

Glancing back at the cheetah as he inquires as to her origins, she chooses to remain more or less ambiguous: "South of here." Ooh, two zebr--wait, /is/ that a zebra? No matter, it's close enough to be food. And to double her chances of eating said food. Licking her chops, Zira's focus closes in on the pair of equines, beginning to slink closer from her crouched position. The grass immediately around the waterhole is sparse, so she moves closer to the brush found nearer the outskirts in an attempt to camouflage her movements.

Simo stops in front of the zebra-like thing, still knee-deep in the water hole, and whickers. He snuffles at the large ears of the funny creature in front of him, his own much shorter ones twitching around. "Are you from the herd? I don't think I've seen you before. Anyway, I'm Simo. Did you roll in the mud or something? Where are the rest of your stripes?" Yes.. he's a talker.

Potovu leaps backward, extending his head and neck, his ears pinning and his nostril's flaring. Snapping his flat teeth together, he shouts back, "Whoa there Mister-Nobody-Has-Personal-Space!" He snorts, shaking his head again. "*NO* I'm not from any *herd.* And I did *not* roll in the mud." He stops his front hooves a few times and snorts again.

Well, in Kinto's eyes, that's two zebras standing over there, period. He simple nods to Zira and watches her sneak off, turning his attention to the two zebras over there and speaks lowly to himself "this oughta be interesting for a few minutes..." lioness about to attack the two zebras, where one is talkative and one is a bit more hesitant. Kinto doesn't really look in Zira's direction, he might give her location off to the two zebras, but instead just watching the zebras from the other side of the waterhole, waiting for something to happen. He has no plans of interfering for the moment, Zira might just pin a failed hunt on his shoulders and he'd rather avoid that for now...actually, he'd rather avoid it with any lion any time.

Hmm. Which one should she chase down first? That doesn't take long to decide - the annoying jabberjaw. Zira's tail thrashes about in anticipation, shifting her leg muscles back and forth for a brief moment before suddenly launching herself towards the pair, slightly angled towards the true zebra. Fangs bared as her black claws tear up the ground, the adolescent rushes forward in the hope of taking them by surprise.

Simo continues chattering away at Potovu, his topics ranging from 'no, my name is Simo' to 'have you seen the hornbills this year?'. He prances from hoof to hoof, splashing water around him and whinnying every other sentence or so, excited as he is to see another zebra around, even if the zebra's a weird one with big ears. Because of his loudness and generally wayward attention, he doesn't notice Zira coming at him until she's almost there. He shrieks and tucks his hind legs, pounding forward and skittering away from his former standing spot.

Help newbies. Sometimes new players will ask for help, making things easy. If you know the MUCK commands they need, tell them! If they want to know where to find RP, give them the best advice you can. At other times, you may meet someone who’s new to the MUCK or to MUCKing in general, perhaps someone who’s done bulletin board RP until now. Make them feel welcome and offer help and encouragement. Be friendly. Think of yourself as a citizen of a wonderful place, helping a new resident get settled.

Read the forum. If the MUCK has an online forum, which ER does, read it now and then! It’s like the Bonus Features on a DVD, fan-fiction, a post-game celebration party, and a clubhouse rolled into one. It’s a great way to see who’s around, make plans, trade art and ideas and goofiness, and think about your MUCK’s future.

Start plots. A RP environment isn’t much without plots. If you find yourself and your friends logging on time after time with nothing to do, you may need to make it happen yourself. Plot can be large or small and involve as many as a hundred or as few as two people. You can advertise them on the forums, discuss them with staff, or just get them going with your friends through word-of-mouth.

If you would love to start a new plot but just can’t think of any ideas, my advice is to focus on what aspects you like the most about RPing on the MUCK you’re on, or about the setting of that MUCK. Maybe you’re drawn to the concept of pridal life, in which case you should start something domestic. Maybe your character is pregnant, or thinking about finding a mate. Maybe you’re worried that food is getting scarce. Maybe you’re more interested in a subtle soap opera story about your relationship with the others in your group. Sometimes a little conflict for its own sake can be useful. Sometimes drama flows naturally out of a discussion.

Or maybe when you think of The Lion King, the Tree of Life is one of the first things that comes to mind. So, think of a reason your character would go to visit Rafiki, or your local shaman or healer! If you haven’t got one, maybe your character should think about taking up the healing arts, or knows someone who might. Or perhaps you love the contrast between the desolation of a ruined Pride Rock and Simba’s Hakuna Matata paradise. Thinking about it should give you the inspiration for any number of storylines. Maybe your character is secretly in a position similar to Simba’s, having left home young, and now worrying about the fate of those he or she left behind. But maybe when you and your friends make your way back home, you find that something altogether unexpected has happened…

Start groups. IF you’re ambitious enough, you can start a new group to reflect the sort of thing you and your friends are into, or advertise on the forum for players to join you. Each new group is a new element that can be added into any MUCKwide plot; it’s a new place into which a wanderer can stumble, and it’s an addition to the wealth of energy and imagination the MUCK possesses. If your group would possess its own lands, make plans and ask a wizard to help you build them, or alternately choose a section of the map that isn’t used too much and set up camp there. If you can successfully start and maintain a healthy group, you’ve become one of the superstars of the MUCK.

Continue existing plots. It’s no good to start new things constantly unless they eventually come to an end. And if everyone is doing nothing but pursuing their own plot ideas, none of them will ever really progress or reach its full potential. That’s why, if you come across a plot in progress that seems interesting to you, you should find a way to get yourself involved. If you have a great idea for how the story should go (and it’s not predetermined), see what you can do. In this case, it’s probably a good idea to ask what the others think first. If you’ve got your own thing going that would interact with the plot you’ve just stumbled into in a way that adds intrigue to both, then that’s storytelling magic, and you should definitely go for it. Remember that in addition to having fun together, we’re all here to support each other.