The (VERY UNOFFICIAL) Beginner's Guide to Roleplay

Hello new roleplayer! If you are here then this new world must be a big and scary place to you! Fret not, however, as I am here to help explain the basics that you'll need to know! Grab a snack, put on your thinking cap, take a few notes, and be the roleplayer you are expected to be! Hopefully you'll learn something from this and make your mother and father proud.

The first thing you should know about RP is that it isn't you speaking, it's your character. That is referred to IC (or in most instances, 'In-Character'). Actions done are your character acting, not you. If you wish to speak to other players then you must use an OOC command (covered later). OOC is Out-Of-Character in most instances. However, these two cannot be connected in any way. Going somewhere ICly while using OOC information is known as metagaming. An example is if someone says they are going to the cafe and your character decides to go to the cafe in the hopes of 'running into someone'. This is a poor way to RP and leads to issues (and banning in all instances).

Another IC and OOC regulation you need to know is when you recognize a character. Are you in the city alone except for another citizen? Logic dictates that using the player roster should allow you to know them immediately or looking at their LOOC or OOC name. I hate to break this to you, new RPers, but that is also metagaming. You do not know a character until you've heard them ICly say their name to you or another character. Players must press F2 and click the choice with how they revealed their name (Yelling, normal speech, whispering). While it may be tempting to have an omnipotent character that knows everyone remember this: Metagaming is a bannable offense and it will almost always prevent you from ascending on the RP ladder.

IC and OOC understood, it is now time for a name and a description.

Names taken from games or actors should not be used and descriptions to match them are way out of the question. A name must seem natural and it should fit in if called out in a line-up (IE, it shouldn't be Duke Nukem or Tony Stark). The next thing to know is how to treat descriptions. A description covers how your person looks physically, not their past history or their personality. You could say 'seems gullible but somewhat smart' but you can't just flat out say that your character is smart.
An example of a physical description that covers the basics: 5'9''|Brown hair|Dirty jumpsuit|Bags under eyes|Small frame|Slight hunch
Your character's model may not actually look like that but this allows for greater diversity and helps you stand out against the 'smarts desision maeker and really really supeir smart' people.

Alright, now that you know the difference between acting as your character and speaking as yourself and you have a good name and a believable description it is time you know how to do actions, change your voice volume, and the different OOC commands.

/me- This command, once given text to use, will act as if your character is moving or behaving in the way you depict. An example would be: /me stops and turns to the unit, fear in his foggy eyes.

/y- This command makes your character's speech reach farther. Each speech type has its own radius and can be viewed as malicious activity by the Civil Protection. Yelling or raising your voice to a unit is universally known as an audio violation.

/w- This command shrinks the radius of your character's speech to a small group around them. Whispering can also be viewed as malicious as it is mostly done by those plotting something. Citizens whispering in public can be accused of unlawfully meeting.

/radio- This can only be used by citizens and units that own a radio. All radios have different frequencies so you can change them when you feel your frequency is being tapped into.

//- this command allows you to speak to the entire server as a whole. Be careful, though. There is a timer in place to prevent a continuous stream of OOC so that the fluidity of IC roleplay isn't disturbed.

.// or [[- This command allows you to speak to other players OOCly in a small radius. It allows for groups to chat without needing to use the global OOC.

/pm <Character name>- This command allows you to speak OOCly (NOT ICly!) to other players. Admins can watch your PMs so trying to use them as a way to coordinate an IC move will lead to a ban.

Alright, so you've found this thing called a ration. That's a bag of goodies from the Union. There's one jar of supplements, a can of water, and a small amount of credits for use on whatever you want. The jar is full of a sludge that has barely enough nutrients for you to live off of, let alone become a megabody builder. The water drugs you. Makes you forget and keeps you docile. Really, if you're not aiming to fight back, this isn't a bad deal. However, if you want to fight back, you'll need to find another way to nourish yourself. It'll be tough but it isn't impossible.

Next. See an item and someone standing over it with the word 'Performing...' over their head? Best time to swipe it, right? Wrong. First off, this person is roleplaying and can't stop you if you decide to mingegrab the item. It may be the darkRPer in you but you need to resist the urge to be a total jerk. People work hard for some things and just swiping it and darting is pretty douchey. And pretty bannable but whatever.

See a prop you like? Use the hand weapon to pick it up by right clicking. However, treat it like you would in real life. You don't just hold a bike in front of you with two hands in real life (I hope) so when you RP taking said bike, do a /me of you rolling it beside you.

Let's list a the problems with RP, shall we? You want your character to survive and prosper. This just can't happen. You can't force actions onto other players and expect them to be fine with it (especially if you decide to beat the shit out of them and dart off without them ever seeing you in the first place). Let's begin with the issues now, shall we?

Punch/stunwhoring- This is where you punch or stun another player without RP when they have a chance of fighting back. You can fight a player by starting a fight with a /me.

Example: /me tries to hit the man.

Stat Whoring- This is something that is never permitted. Stat whoring is where you do actions without RP to boost your attributes. Even if you are doing it just for a point or two, if someone walks in on you acting like an idiot then they won't take the server or your character as seriously. I know the population isn't an issue but when no one is doing RP correctly on a serious RP gamemode it's hard to attract an experienced crowd.

Mingerunning/jumping/crouching- Running away from a situation without RPing it properly. Just because you don't want to be arrested/mugged/scolded doesn't mean you should run off. RPing you running away and then darting off is also mingerunning. You must let players react to you. Same thing applies for jumping and crouching. Don't just jump to jump and crouch to crouch.

Mingegrabbing- Look at that. Someone is buying something from someone. Oh look! They dropped a box of money for the other player! No. Stop right there. You don't just grab something and dart off. First, you must RP trying to take it. If they fight back, you still don't just snatch and grab. This isn't darkRP.

Sorry. No parkour. Just because your character can stand on a thin rail OOCly doesn't mean he can ICly. Hopping from thin area to thin area is poor RP as most people (and by most, I mean a marginal amount) cannot leap long distances and land without issue on a thin signpost. Just look at it this way: Don't jump from ledge to ledge. If you plan to, RP it thoroughly. If you're not sure if it's possible, don't do it.

See a body on the road? LEAVE IT! For god sakes, people, you're in a world where acting strangely enough can get you beaten! You think dragging a body up to the Nexus door is a good idea? Report it to a unit and keep your distance. The only instance where dragging a body is acceptable is when you're either trying to hide it (meaning you're in big trouble ICly to begin with) or you're carrying an unconscious person to the hospital at the request of a CP or UCN member.

So here you are, a new citizen in a new world. Where do you fit in exactly? Hopefully, you fit in with the other citizens and don't stand out. A fair rule of thumb is you don't want to stand out. Sticking out means you can be picked out (or picked off). Most citizens would have succumbed to the Combine's rule and are now just living their lives. In this section I'll cover the basics of each role you may play and encounter. Hopefully you never have to worry about getting on the bad side of an EPU.

Citizen- Your run-of-the-mill everyday average Joe. They either accept the Union rule or just do whatever is needed to get their next meal and avoid being beaten. They are malnourished, oftentimes very quiet and withdrawn, try not to annoy the CPs on the street. There are very few variations of normal citizens. Some are not happy with the Union some are alright with them but the common citizen never goes to any extreme.

Rebels- Rule number one of being a rebel? Kill every CP you can? Wrong. Rebelling is a stupid idea. Very pitiful, really. With the Combine occupancy in full force currently attempting to take back a city or part of one is suicidal. You want to resist, not rebel. A full scale rebellion like that seen in Half-Life 2 is unheard of. It's a laughable prospect. Just think of putting up some anti-Union propaganda and call it a day. Who knows, you might get a good enough following some day to actually rebel...

Loyalists- These are citizen that have proven their worth to the Union by working without questioning laws, turning in law breakers, and just generally being trustworthy. This also includes the members of the CWU in the city, both known for their loyalty and agreeing to help the Union by merit of being part of the CWU.

Civil Protection- These are the 'rich' people. You are the homeless slobs sleeping in alley ways. Their job is to keep you civil. They protect the civil society, they don't protect you. They punish you for breaking various laws and the severity of the punishment is determined by the severity of the law. They don't beat you for every minor thing you do but that doesn't mean they can't be mean and intimidating to you. Their job isn't always to scare you into submission however. They can reward you for doing good and maybe even give you a nod of approval if you were a really good little citizen.

Overwatch Transhuman Arm- You aren't supposed to see these units. If you ever see one, run away from them. If they're heading straight for you, pray to whatever deity you worship (if any) and kiss your behind goodbye. These units are reserved for situations that the local CP team cannot handle.

City Administrator- Ever hear that voice on the speaker telling you everything's alright? That's the CA. His job is to keep you docile while giving you the feeling humans are still in control. The CA has no real power but only the highest ranking Civil Protection units know this. All but the best follow his orders and salute him on sight.

So you've been graced with the honor of patrolling the streets! Good work! Now, here's a few pointers you need to know before your boss (AKA the DvL or the SeC) chews you out for acting like a fool.

Civil Protection units help enhance roleplay! They don't hinder it! As a Cp your job is to make sure citizens follow laws and feel 'safe'. You aren't required to be nice but you are required to keep an eye on them. You can intimidate them, you can command them about, but if a higher rank says stop it's simple. You stop. Units don't unholster their sidearms to get a citizen to stop loitering. That's counterproductive. Yes, it instills fear. However, it also creates mistrust in the Union. As a unit, you want citizens to trust the Union. Reward them for loyalty, punish them for breaking laws.

DO NOT KILL THEM OR BEAT THEM IN PUBLIC! I cannot stress this enough. This is just as counterproductive as pulling your sidearm for minor laws. Tie the citizen on the spot, search them, take them somewhere secluded, then administer the punishment. Punishment for loitering on first offenders is time in detainment. Lock them up and leave them in the silent darkness. You may find that psychological warfare can do more damage than physically beating someone repeatedly.

The voice commands are for rare instances, not every chance you can! The voice commands give a nice feel of atmosphere. Hearing 'Citizen' in your ear can be terrifying, especially when committing crimes. However, hearing 'Citizen' 'Pick up that can.' 'Haha' 'Haha' 'Haha' can ruin the feel and make players bored. Stop using commands for everything possible! Get creative! Not all units are the same.

Want to punch that man in the face? You can. I suggest you don't, though. Punching someone is considered RDMing if you're doing it without RP. That's a hefty ban in itself. However, if you RP punching someone but don't let them react (/me punches you in the face with a mega punch) is known as powergaming. Ruins the feel, especially when it's in groups. Things tend to get heated and people get mad. You want to let people react.

Ok, so you found a knife in a dumpster deep in the slums. Instant weapon? Nope. People try this all the time and it shows poor RP. Admins must supervise you getting weapons of any kind. If your RP is good enough you may find something. If you try to find a shotcopgun with laser sights and a super stock you may get banned. Weapons in this world are rare and finding working firearms that aren't in a unit's hands are even rarer.

Kill a unit somehow and you pick up their pistol? Rule of thumb: Shoot to miss. It makes things fun. You want to kill more CPs but you don't want to just kill them all in seconds. Most citizens aren't megamarksmen with training from the Grey Beards. This is your first real chance at freedom. Your citizen would be scared and shaky. More units will be showing up and I doubt a malnourished citizen with no training can take on more than one armored unit with at least basic training. It can happen but it doesn't happen often.

To be fair, the Combine aren't here to baby you. However, they aren't here to torture you and invade your very privacy on a whim. Lower ranking units cannot barge into buildings without permission from a higher ranking unit, units don't make you apply unless the situation requires it (arresting a citizen or doing manual ration distribution), units don't walk around with their pistol drawn or their stun baton activated at all times. Their job is to keep you docile and, if you're being loyal, happy.

Arresting- See a citizen standing around? I know what you're thinking. Stop it. Turn the stun baton off and cool your jets. Just warn the citizen if they didn't know and if they did know detain them. You don't beat citizens in public or beat them senseless for breaking incredibly minor laws. You see a reason to detain someone or bring them in for questioning. Make them face the wall. If they comply, tie them. If it takes a while for them to comply, tie them roughly. If they do not comply make sure no one can see you as you start dragging them to a corner to beat them senseless.

Patrolling- Units walk the streets but they don't barge into apartments without a reason. Citizens require somewhere they can feel 'safe' and barging into their home can create distrust. Citizens not trusting the Union will lead to more attempts to resist and this, ultimately, leads to horrible units. Sorry if you feel the urge to force citizens apply at all times and run around for no reason but this disturbs and bothers citizens.

Interaction- Citizen kindly conversing with another citizen indoors? Leave them alone. They're not whispering secrets or yelling violently. It's you job to keep people in line but it isn't you job to keep them feeling alone, depressed, or mad at the Union. If they are being rude you tell them to calm down and work as the hand of the Union if they refuse to calm down. Citizens being kind to you does not always mean they're plotting something. My citizen Hank Thyme is incredibly respectful to all Union officials and more than willing to help should they need it. Citizens call you sir or ma'am, you call them citizen or worker. Showing respect with a more formal title can jeopardize the idea of the Union being better than the average citizen.

You know the basics, good. This guide should have helped you better understand what you should or shouldn't do. Now it's up to you how your story unfolds. Remember, roleplaying tells a story and everyone around you is involved. You are your own main character but you aren't the main character of someone else's story. Try to be an average Joe. Make your actions hold you above you crowd, not your looks. Just be prepared. Be fair.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello there. I'm Nugget and Skull. I originally wrote this guide back in mid-2011 for a community with an entirely different mentality and set of players. If you spot anything not consistent with the server or community, that's entirely on me. I would update it, but at the moment I can't be arsed. Given enough time, I will go through and fix what is needed, but for now I say take this with a grain of salt. Even if it were written for the community here at Vortex, always remember that this isn't official and should be simply a stepping stone into the world of RP. This isn't a rigid guideline so much as it is somewhere to get an understanding. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good time RPing!

Phenomenal work.

Exceptional as usual, what I would like to point out though is that the CPs on this server actually tend to be out in the open when re-educating someone. Seeing this guide though makes me think we should do just that and move to a secluded area, considering citizens gather- which most shouldn't.

I may go back and do a few changes. Found a few grammatical mistakes.

You should call this: "HL2RP for dummies" or "Serious Roleplay for dummies".

Ser.net wrote:You should call this: "HL2RP for dummies" or "Serious Roleplay for dummies".

Someone might not get the reference and get offended.

I like jokes and references but a title like that may discouraging. I mean, I'm not against offending people (fuck people, amirite?) but still.

I found another one of my old guides recently. 'The Resistance Tips of the Trade.' Meant more for "you aren't a super soldier" than anything, but still.

"you aren't a super soldier" is definitely what we need on this server.

I take it there is support in me posting the resistance thing?

Yes!

YES PLEASE.

Did you really write this yourself? I mean.. wow.

Seriously, good work.
If this shows more potential I might even make it official.

I did write it. It was last updated as part of a "get back to writing" self-initiative (AKA, "stop doing nothing, Nugget"). I plan on updating it some more later.

Since the server's down and I'm planning on adding to my guides, is there anything you guys think should be added? I've got the time to add things and I believe I should up the quality since there's been a big push for teaching new players. Guides shouldn't always be the first resort but it never hurts for new players to have references.

I think the best way to do descriptions, is to make them actual descriptions rather than just physical traits. I prefer "Looks about 6'1 with short brown hair. Blue eyes and has a thick british accent." as it seems like more of a description as opposed to 6'1|ShrtBrwnHair|BlueEyes|BritishAcc|

I prefer to think of roleplay as everybody is essentially writing a book together, and your actions and everything related to IC, should be able to go into a book and people will know the whole scenario and story.