[Pseudosyne]

Eudos adjusted his lapel and sat on the hard wooden chair that had been provided for him. He could have requested a squishy armchair or something similar, but his firmly held belief was that a teacher sitting down wasn't teaching. Up, active, knowledgeable, and dedicated. That was the way to be.

He was a severe looking man, but well kept. Eudos took his work very seriously, and scruffiness was not permissible as far as he was concerned.

The amphitheatre was open and quiet; no students were here yet, as most had enrolled in levels A through D. Eudos expected a big turnout, but he couldn't be sure. It was his first time teaching here, after all.

Looking through the open archway that connected his and Olias's classrooms, he saw his colleague hard at work, preparing for the class. That archway would get its fair share of traffic during the course, as each of them would be moving between the classes, sharing their expertise.

He drummed on the table, waiting for his first students.
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(Sig and avy by Alias)

[Alias]

Olias Surrow was to be the experienced man's understudy, helping with excersizes and grading papers while his superior unleashed his lessons. But with no students, Olias had nothing to do, and the man had dismissed him. Olias was, after all, acquainting himself with the Academy more closely, completing the prerequisite levels for the advanced course.
_________________

[Pseudosyne]

Seeing Olias copy the class curriculum on to his white board, Eudos decided to do the same. He didn't want to waste any time explaining the flow of the course to the new students, so displaying it where it could be easily seen was the most effective solution.

Eudos preferred the old fashioned chalkboard to the whiteboard; he could never get the markers to work for more than a few days without becoming dry and dull.

[Xitaro]

Xitaro came in and saw Olias already there. (that guy is everywhere, and quite good) he chosed a desk and looked at the board wondering if he had to do something or if it was just the planning of the class.
_________________
GlobalMod, Leader of Isis

TOUR GUIDE OF RPGFO

[Pseudosyne]

Eudos watched the new student as he came in and sat down. It was soon obvious that this student, who apparently went by the name of Xitaro, had become fast friends with Olias during their time in the lower level classes.

"Xitaro, is it? I see you already know Olias. From what I can recall from the student log, I believe you haven't passed Levels C and D? That is fine, as in this class, all that matters is the desire to learn."

He spun the piece of chalk in his hands before continuing on.

"This course will be substantially more rigorous than the previous levels, as Olias mentioned. Also, the standards and expectations will be much higher, as I require near impeccable work from my students. After all, this is the most advanced class that the Academy offers, and it will be taught as such."

He pulled a copy of the starter guide off the desk and handed it to Xitaro.

"As is tradition on this campus, you will write a brief summary of the information contained in that starter guide to show that you understand the course material and goals. Then, we will move on to our first lesson."
_________________


(Sig and avy by Alias)

[Xitaro]

Finishing by signing his name under his work, he revised it before giving it to Eudos.

[Pseudosyne]

Eudos quickly looked over Xitaro's work and nodded.

"Good. You hit most, if not all, main points. Now, into the first lesson."

He moved over to the board, chalk in hand.

"I believe that recognizing and understanding the fundamental elements of an RP is the first step to creating a successful one, and there is no better way to see how much you know than through examples."

"So, this is well written RP..."

[Xitaro]

Ok lets go for the first.

We doesnt know much about the world. How people are living, what danger lay ahead, what is the purpose of the story, where it lead, who's the enemy and who are the ally. The story talk about an airship but we doesnt know more about it except that its magical, we dont know in wich era its happening. We dont know nothing about the character except his name. He talk about crossing between the living world and the dead, is it something natural in that world, what are the implication of this possibility. His trip bring him to floating isle in the cloud, how that is possible, why people who lives there have great height. What type of character an another player can make and how could he fit in the story.Well too much question.

Now for the second, its simply a pain in the ass but ok, I will describe it.

first a lots of error... sentences incomplete, and oh gosh, its really bad from the start until the end. oh well, what exactly are those famous creature, how have they been able to defeat earth? How a million of people has fitted in one space shuttle. Why the creature didnt attacked mars. What are they motivation, are they just bloodthirsty warriors who want to kill everything. This vortex machine, why they doesnt use it to bring futuristic reinforcement. The character are as simple as a game of Diablo, someone with a weapon who destroy monster. Why dwarves, elves and the like would want to fight in that type of war, being one of them I would have attacked those who have bringed me there. And the first text of the story, im speechless...well wordless. Its only a bloodshed, you dont know anything, against what are we fighting, where are we, who is on our side, what are our defense and... its hopeless, this RP is just bullshit and its really badly writen.

My best RP hmm I only have those in Isis, so the setting is not in the story itself but in Isis as every other information. well read this or visit Kahame

[Alias]

Olias observed, and once Xitaro had finished, Olias commented on Xitaro's assesments.

"I beg to differ. The first roleplay is well written, while you critiqued it as thought it was poor in quality. While your primary concerns 'seem' valid, you need to take more time to analyze this roleplay. The airship is described as propelled by magic, and the character describes a purse for money. These describe the setting an era, as they allow the reader to assume that magic is valid, and that the world is not technologically advanced. You might recall from our Description class that a good description does not need to define every nook and cranny."

He paused, and then considered some of Xitaro's other points.

"You are also saying that you have no idea where the character is coming from or who the tall people are. In fact, Jacob describes himself as shorter than others, and so you can assume that Jacob is a halfling of some sort. You have just learned that he is cautious from the way he handles his purse, and that he is somewhat passive, as he chose to hand a paper with information to the guard rather than recite it himself. As for his origin? He is from a village. If you wanted to know more, you would create a character and then question Jacob himself."

Another pause, and he reconstrued his thoughts.

"The first roleplay, in contrast with the second, gives a reader a place to start. It allows for the reader to place their character in a merchant wonderland, where people of all places might find themselves. The fact that he has a paper with instructions allows for the reader to simply create their character. They might meet Jacob from the start, or they might observe the out of place halfling from afar and meet him later."

Olias was ready to comment on Xitaro's critique of the second roleplay, but his superior's momentary glance told him otherwise.

"Xitaro, I also cannot say that I am all too pleased with your second critique. Think on it some more. Use my description of the first as a model for things to look for in the second. What is lacking? What is bad about the character, about the setting, about the starting point? You have already touched upon the lack of motivation of the monsters. Put some more time into it, and critique it a bit deeper."
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[Xitaro]

Well, the first RP doesnt have any antagonist force, protagonist force or conflict. So you have an RP who is going nowhere.

You want me to describe more deeply the second RP. Alright you can find an antagonist force, a protagonist force and a conflict. You also have an era. This RP doesnt have a plot, its only a war. It give a template for the player but lack many characteristics to create an interesting character. It also give a situation to enter in the story, they are in the middle of a battle and they are needing help. I maintain every bad things of the first analyse and I wont write it again here.

(And your hero of the first RP describe himself as shorter, that doesnt mean he is an halfling, it could be the others who are giant. And we both know that many story are mixing magic with technology, and deciding to play ex:a cityguard and seeing the hero quit the city later, you found yourself out of the game. )
_________________
GlobalMod, Leader of Isis

TOUR GUIDE OF RPGFO

[Alias]

Olias nodded, though Xitaro seemed to want to just brush off his comments. He also made a note to modify the course introduction. His superior would teach the lesson that followed, and would critique Xitaro's roleplay, but Olias felt the need to clarify.

"Now, the course starter guide described the two forces and conflict. But the first roleplay is an open ended one. While it requires those three concepts, they need not be self evident from the beginning. As a fellow roleplay, one of the readers could create those forces. Say for example, have a fight break out, or call a meeting, or reveal other events. That way the creator would be responsible for having created a setting wherin a conflict would occur, while anyone could create the conflict itself."

He also felt a need to maintain his own points. With a smile, he added

"Jacob also describes his people as "short" when compared to the others, and himself as "barely above" to their elbows. Reading between the lines, you can see that he is describing as his own people as short, rather than others being tall. Eudos has selected this roleplay because it is very well written, and many great things lurk within it. This roleplay send many subliminal messages if read through. It seems to me that you might be skimming."

Olias stepped back, so as to allow Eudos to assess Xitaro and continue with the lesson. I will need to modify that starter guide so as to prevent students in the future from over extending the points provided within.
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[Pseudosyne]

OOC: Xitaro, you might want to try staying in character from now on, like you did with all the other classes. I don't know why you consider this class to be any different.

Eudos smiled; Olias had handled the review of Xitaro's work very well. However, he wasn't all too pleased with Xitaro.

"Xitaro, you did not follow directions and forced my assistant to essentially do the first part of the assignment for you. I expect you to turn in work that fits the assignment, or ask questions if you do not understand what you are supposed to be doing."

"The first roleplay is indeed an open-ended one, and the fact that you mentioned its immediate lack of protagonist, antagonist and conflict makes me wonder how well you actually did read the starter guide. In fact, what I am about to say will lead nicely into our second lesson."

He began to pace, forming his thoughts.

"Open-ended roleplays provide a starting point for the RP, a brief introduction, nothing more. They are meant to give players creative freedom in developing the plot; thus, the rules that would normally apply to the first post usually can be altered or skewed. If an open-ended RP raises questions like the ones you described with the first roleplay, Xitaro, it shows how well written the RP really is."

"It is not necessary to define the antagonists or protagonists, or even the conflict for that matter, in the first post of an open-ended RP. If you do, you are restricting the players to a predefined character alignment, path, and eventual goal, which causes the RP to lose that freedom to create. The open-ended RP is one of the best ways to develop stories that you (the RP originator) have not fully planned or thought out, potentially producing a plot far beyond the limits of your own imagination. I say 'potentially' because giving players more freedom can also lead to the RP's failure, as other players may end up driving the plot into the ground or not posting at all, due to lack of guidelines. You can counter this problem by adding more plot-related information to the opening post, but be warned that there is a fine line between the restrctive and open-ended roleplays."

Finshed, Eudos strode to the board.

[Xitaro]

Xitaro began his work with the linear one:

In a world of sword and magic called Isis, Gods where trying to gain their place and the Great Hunter called Aixane has placed his faith on a young girl.

The sun shined brithly on the Rakane mountain that day. A young woman definitly not Gunrag was climbing the summit toward the Hall of the Ancient. The Shaman Argannon was looking her walking with difficulty toward the entrance where he stood, he made a peaceful move toward every Gunrag warriors who stood near on the ready. When she had come close enough to speak, she paused and taken a few minutes to breath. In high altitudes like this, air is difficult to find and its easy to comes short of breath, more for inhabitued people.

''Great Shaman of the Gunrag'' She gasped laboriously, '' I am Avalynn Valsyris. I was send to you by my God 'Aixane The Great Hunter'. He send me a vision of glorious Gunrag on a hunt over all Isis. He send me here to help you rebuild the Nation because many great hunt will begin in a near future'' She paused again before continuing.

''My god asked me to build a temple in the 'Deep Blue Vale', this place will be the Hall of every great hunter of Isis. From there, many hunter will gather and be send on the greatest hunt we have ever seen. Those who will come back victorious will be praised over all Isis. I need some of your best warriors to be able to accomplish this''. She paused and waited the answer for his request.

After having thinking a minute, the shaman answered her ''Do you know that the place called 'Deep Blue Vale' is where many Yeti's gather and lives? That a family of White Dragon rules over that place''

Avalynn looked at him with confidence ''I know, they will join us in the hunt, as hunter or prey''.

The shaman looked at her and then faced everyone who was listening'' You heard her, I need volonteers to accompany her, who will follow this glorious path?''

Character Template
Name:
Race: Gunrag
Age:
Appearance: (hair, eyes, heigh, weight...)
Clothing & equipement:
Personality:
Character Background and History: (Every Character come from the White Hawk clan of the shaman and they are all warriors)

Xitaro cleared his mind and began to think about the second part, create an open-ended RP with the same RP.

The sun shined brithly on the Rakane mountain that day. A young woman was climbing the summit toward the Hall of the Ancient. The Shaman Argannon was looking her walking with difficulty toward the entrance where he stood, he made a peaceful move toward every warriors who stood near on the ready. When she had come close enough to speak, she paused and taken a few minutes to breath. In high altitudes like this, air is difficult to find and its easy to comes short of breath, more for inhabitued people.

''Great Shaman'' She gasped laboriously, '' I am Avalynn Valsyris. And I ask the request to stay among you for the night.'' She breathed deep and long. The Shaman nodded positively to her. She looked at the horizon, it was a real beauty at this altitude.

He looked at his work not sure to have done exactly what it was asked for, well he will not know if he dont give it to his tutor.
_________________
GlobalMod, Leader of Isis

TOUR GUIDE OF RPGFO

[Pseudosyne]

Eudos took the paper Xitaro handed him and sat silently for several minutes, taking it all in. Then, he spoke.

"Xitaro, I'm afraid that once again, you didn't quite follow directions. I asked you to 'create' a roleplay, not use an existing one and modify it by adding one sentence. Also, your second RP seems to be the same as the first minus several paragraphs. I will need this assignment redone, but I will give you more specifics as to what you must do to avoid confusion."

"The first RP, which you described as linear, does not contain enough necessary aspects of a linear RP to make it one. Firstly, you do not specify an end goal (either directly or indirectly), so the players have nothing to work towards and may lead the story far from where you want it to go. Next, when I said that character templates are bad for open-ended RPs, I did not mean that templates are good for linear RPs. I realize that this is entirely my fault, as I was not clear enough, but know from now on that character templates are generally a bad idea unless the situation specifically calls for it, such as when there is information essential to the storyline that every character must have."

"RPs based on hunting are extremely hard to craft into a linear storyline without making the plot tedious and boring. Linear RPs also tend to have a set number of characters or other such restrictions to limit the plot progression further, and an RP calling for any and all 'volunteers' does not set this kind of restriction.'

Eudos began to pace once more.

"For your second RP, you have hit the other extreme: an open-ended RP so loose that the characters have absolutely nothing to go on whatsoever. You don't give a plot beginning or a general setting. Even an open-ended RP needs some information to hold it together, and your second RP ends before it actually becomes an RP introduction. In fact, your first RP is an excellent open-ended RP, while your second RP is a great beginning fragment of an open-ended RP."

Eudos walked over to Xitaro and wrote on a paper in front of him.

"Now, this is what I want you to do."

[Xitaro]

Xitaro knew that he was really confused with the precedent assignment. Now things where clear and he began to work again.

[Alias]

Olias read over Xitaro's work. It was a major improvement from the previous attempt, and Olias smiled.

"You've grasped the idea. In the first, you have given the prospective adventurers a means of travel and incentive. However, your roleplay was very impersonal. Recall the first example that Professor Eudos gave you, about Jacob. The writer of that roleplay included a character to better describe the situation. To better your own roleplay, you could create your character in the very first post."

Olias decided to bring up Static and Kinetic Friction.

"Have you ever tried to move a block of wood on sand paper? You begin by pushing, and it doesn't budge because of static friction. But once you get it going, it slides much easier, because the kinetic friction is lower. The same is true for a roleplay. Starting a roleplay is a difficult task, and your audience needs some incentives. One good way is to give them a starting scenario, which you have done. But another is to create your character in that scenario, and have the other players join in with complementary or supplementary characters."

He caught his breath, and then added another thought.

"In a linear roleplay, you as the creator will most likely 'handle' the RP, and create the obstacles in the path of the 'party.' However, you do not need to be the 'dungeon master' to do so, and can handle a character of your own that may or may not be related to the dungeon mastering duties."

He then read over the second roleplay, which was considerably shorter than the first.

"As for the second roleplay, you seem to have interpreted the open endedness too literally. Keep in mind that, just because your roleplay is open ended, it can be just as descriptive as a linear one, if not moreso. The premise of open ended roleplays lies in their many primary paths, and can go in any number of directions, depending on the characters and their inclinations. To do this, you need to describe a starting point, and load up details like never before. If you wake up on a beach with amnsesia, what does the water feel like? What might you think. No, rather, what might your character think, finding themselves on land. Can your character find his or her weapon? what does the texture of the beach feel like? Are there any birds or crabs or other animals? What about the time of day? Is it dusk, or twilight, or nood, or is the moonlight washing over you every time the waves pull back? You included some of these, but you were very brief. You managed to describe the island as a whole more than the beach itself. Considering that all of the players will wake on the beach, you could have focused more of the beach and the nearby area."

He recalled a debate he had had with some other roleplayers earlier back regarding detail.

"When it comes to unnecessary details, ones that mean litte to the roleplay itself, the first post of a roleplay is probably the best place for them to go. Be as creative and enticing as you can when creating either roleplay, because ultimately you want to draw in some players, and then make your roleplay a long lived one. Of course, leave out such details as how and why (when considering an open-ended one), so that these concepts can be developed later on."

He took a pieace of chalk and summarized his long winded explanations on the board.

[Pseudosyne]

Eudos nodded in Olias' direction.

"Xitaro, you have improved so much already, and I am certain that you will continue in the same way. That said, into the next lesson: description, details, and introductory development."

"An RP introduction without details is like a tree without leaves: it is technically there, follows most, if not all, guidelines, but has no life or vigor. Details are necessary to provide that beginning atmosphere for your players to become acquainted, thus promoting a colorful, engaging storyline. There are two kinds of details that must be woven into a description, and thus, creating sound introductory development: setting details and plot details.

Eudos picked up the piece of chalk and began writing.

[Xitaro]

Xitaro understood the task and immediatly began to think of what would be an interesting RP. An old idea he wanted to use came in mind and began to work.

[Alias]

Olias read over the paper, and then turned his attention to Eudos.

"Although it is not a part of the overall curriculum, I would suggest going over tone and voice. Actually, they fit somewhat well with the next lesson, style."

He turned to Xitaro to explain his comment.

"While not bad, and proper in terms of getting a description done, that past roleplay was very passive. Your character had nothing to do with the introduction. It seemed more like a historical piece. Of course, historical introductions are viable options, but I'm not too impressed with the way it came out. Eudos will elaborate, but my suggestion is to make it a bit more dynamic. Weave the history into the thoughts of your character. Give your character a few preliminary actions that bring him into the courtyard."

He interrupted himself.

"My apologies. Eudos, if you'd please. Xitaro, please pardon me, I will return promptly."

He walked briskly into the adjoining room, and then disappeared into the corner office.
_________________

[Pseudosyne]

Eudos glanced back down at Xitaro's paper and then handed it back to the student.

"Olias has said everything that had to be said concerning this roleplay. Writing a pure description generally results in a lifeless roleplay; you must integrate historial details with present action. For example, instead of Saros standing in the courtyard, you may have him running to find Mordrigaaz to inform him that the band of rebels has been sighted. It is consistent use of these types of nuances that make a roleplay interesting."

Eudos looked thoughtful for a moment, then pulled out a small folder.

"I was looking through your earlier roleplays, and I found one common element in several of them that I was not so fond of, and that is the "answer the call" dynamic. Many of your introductions seem to be based around some kind of authority figure putting out a "call" for characters to come and aid in a quest. This is generally a recipe for RP failure, as you don't provide enough freedom for players to take the story wherever they want, yet it is also not linear enough to keep players hooked. So, in your next assignment, I do not want you to use this "answer the call" dynamic."

He rounded his desk and cleaned the board.

"This lesson wil involve style, genre, timeframe, and, as Olias suggested, a little bit of tone. I have already discussed as much as I have liked to concerning voice. Now, this is one of the biggest grey areas in roleplaying, in the sense that it is all a judgement call. You do what you think is right for the situation; there is no set of guidelines to follow. The most I can do is lead you on the correct way of thinking, which is what this lesson will be aimed at.

He picked up the chalk and began to write.

[Xitaro]

Xitaro took note of what he has to correct and knowing a wrong its already like having corrected it. So he started writing the new RP

[Alias]

Olias returned from the other room to recieve Xitaro's work. Eudos had exited while Xitaro was working, most likely to get a breath of fresh air, or admire the rain outside. His trademark grin wide accross his face, Olias scanned Xitaro's roleplay.

"There are a few things that I think could improve this piece, but I congratulate you Xitaro, you have hit all of the important points, and you have made a cohesive and playable roleplay. You character is stranded, nearly alone, in a ship invaded by the enemy, thus fulfilling the survival criterion. As he is alone and has lost the crew on whom he has relied for all of his life, you have hit the hopelessness factor. And the timeframe is futuristic, which you have both described by circumstance and setting, as well as the cervical intelligence booster and disintegrator."

Marking down Xitaro's successful completion of the lesson, Olias returned to the roleplay itself.

"Now for the pointers, just to keep in mind. One thing that caught my eye was the cervical intelligence booster, which was only mentioned once but was given an acronym. Acronyms are not generally helpful, save for war faction names, and so CIB is unnecessary in this situation."

"But something more important to consider: you have placed your character on a ship and you have explained that all of his crewmates have been killed... This cuts off the easiest method of getting roleplayers to join your roleplay, since they would normally have joined as supportive crew members. One remedy for this would be to begin the setting immediately before the ship was overtaken, thus giving the captain and a few surviving crew members to hide out until the alien invaders tired with the ship and left it as space junk. After you graduate into E-2, where I hope you will be coming, keep this in mind, as it will come in handy with one of the exercises."

"You will be moving onto the last lesson in just a minute. Please give Eudos a bit of time to return."
_________________

[Xitaro]

Xitaro replied to one of the things Olias said, ''Hum, Olias, maybe my text wasnt clear enought, maybe my fault, but what I mean is that the crew around my character where dead. Then he go out of the control room to seek any other survivor.'' On that he waited the next assignment and thinked a while about being really sure to be clear in his future introduction of RP.
_________________
GlobalMod, Leader of Isis

TOUR GUIDE OF RPGFO

[Pseudosyne]

"This is a very short lesson, and it deals only with one skill: adapting concepts and ideas for, and from, other mediums to RPs. A common misconception is that an RP is merely a cooperative story, but in fact, it has many key differences that keep stories and RPs separate. For example, RPs require much more direct, up front information concerning setting, characters, and plot than other mediums may provide. For the sake of simplicity, I will conduct this lesson using short fiction as examples, but the procedure I will outline can be applied to LARPs, poems, etc."

[Xitaro]

Xitaro immediatly began to think about the subject of this last assignment. He wondered a while about it then thinked, why not using my own Nation He chosed one of the story inside the threads 'Myth & Legend' and began to work.