The Ultimate* Forum RP Tips and Tricks

So, this is possibly going to be one of the longest, and one of the most changing posts on this site ever. Feel free to suggest things as they come along.

By the way, I am also a bit of a hypocrite. Before this post, I haven't done MOST of this.


There are two MUSTS. Two things you MUST have to have a good time RPing. If you remember anything from this guide, it should be these two here.


These two are set in stone and require no further explanation whatsoever (though they will still be explained.


I.) Don't panic:

If you are currently panicking, stop. It's fine if you're new (we were all new at some point). It's fine if you need some help. Some of us still need help even though we've done this several times before.

II.) Let your characters speak and act for themselves and also let them grow:

These two things give your character dimensionality.

Sometimes you aren't all that good at filling out the personality for templates. Sometimes you just can't fill every nook and cranny with stuff on there. Maybe interesting things that you haven't expected are happening. Who knows? Feel free to adapt. Don't always be "Jeff is an optimist. Jeff is always optimistic. Everything Jeff does is optimistic.". Sometimes stuff will happen to Jeff that will really put him down. Let Jeff also become a better person after learning a lesson of some sort.

III.) Let other people's characters speak and act for themselves:

These two allow OTHERS to have character dimensionality as well. It also makes it more fun for them as well. This also goes into allowing other characters to speak as well. Not everything has to be a super long monologue or soliloquy all of the time.

IV.) Try to be proactive, at least somewhat so:

Try to move the story even if you aren't the person that made the RP. Part of RPing is making story, not just interacting with story. Lazy people are okay to an extent. Super lazy people suck. I'm sorry, they just do. At some point, you have to "make this happen". Sitting around trying to be a part of the story doesn't really work.

V.) Scenery Amazing scenery:

This is a combination of "Show, Don't Tell" as well as using the five senses as well as thought processes.

What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you feel (both kinds of feeling; emotional and physical)? What do you smell? What are you thinking?

In Homestuck, you have pictures and flashes, but in most cases, you do not have access to these. You might think that this is a limitation, but it's not. You actually have access to more than Hussie could do. Sound wasn't that huge of a thing in Homestuck outside of music. Smellovision isn't yet in Homestuck. You can't lick stuff in Homestuck to get a taste (Hussie left that feature out because people would probably try to consume the mind honey). You also can't physically feel in Homestuck. You really only know the emotion-feelings and thoughts that are out-right said to you via mouth-words, text-words, and visual cues.

Also, some question words. Who are you (though this is usually established at the start)? What are you doing? Why are you doing it? Where are you doing? When are you doing it (though that is usually established unless you are doing time stuff)? How are you doing it?

These aren't just nice things to know, a lot of this is NECCESARY to me.

Okay, I guess --> "the girl runs in fear, trips and hurts her hand"

Amazing --> "Sweat boils to the surface of her skin in fat droplets stinking of emotion while the girl speeds forward, eyes wide, pupils tight when she glances over her shoulder from time to time. She never sees the tree root coming. Her shoe catches against the tree root sending her toppling over, gravity pulling her downwards with her momentum. Her great enemy once again besting her ability to stand upright, damned gravity. Her face contorts into a wince as her hands impact the ground, bloody patches rushing to the surface where the damage was the worst. She pulls them protectively to her chest, and looks back again, tears forming in her eyes. Her heart raced."

You don't have to make every line of dialogue drip with emotion, but it is always cool to emote a lot through text as well.

Wait, but what if my character is super shy or can't talk in a chat or can't speak English? Body language. Emoticons. Descriptions. Pictures.

VI.) Sometimes You Get Hurt:

Now, this is probably going to be one of the hardest things to implement for a lot of people. Don't be afraid to scare, hurt (physically and emotionally), embarrass, maim, or even kill your character. Perfect people who never get hurt suck. Contrary to your current belief, your character isn't yourself or your child. If they get hurt, you don't get hurt.

But what if it makes you sad? Good. Good then. You have successfully emotionally attached to them. Getting attached to characters makes them more than just some random Joe. It makes them "people". You've done your job as a parent to your OC, Mama Bird, now let your little birdy fly out of the nest (into a volcano where they burn then melt and disintegrate to death).

VII.) Some Language Tidbits:

Use more complicated adjectives than just "good" and "bad" and "ugly" and "tall" and whatever. Basically, use more "appropriate language". You can always use a thesaurus to find a better word, but you can also just use a simile or metaphor, or use a made up word or use a word in a different way if needed.

Also, don't try to use overly complex words unless your character uses overly complex words, and even then, not every word must be the most complex word possible.

There are quite a few people who are not natively from here, and there are also some people who have trouble reading for other reasons. Now, if you are one of these people, it is PERFECTLY fine to mess up every once in a while. If you are not one of these people, it is PERFECTLY fine to mess up every once in a while.

VIII.) Character Creation

Huge Tip: One of the biggest tip/trick I have seen for character design EVER is using symbolism and then building from there.

In actual Homestuck, the humans are based on elements, the trolls are based on the zodiac, and the cherubs are based on creation/destruction(?).

This is really helpful. I'm glad that someone made this, though as you said it's going to be nigh impossible to make a perfect guide.

Thanks, glad to hear. If there is ever anything you would like covered or covered more, feel free to ask.

I really appreciate this. This will help immensely when it comes time to actually roleplay. I especially liked the two golden rules and reassurements made about everyone being new. This is super helpful to keep in mind and I think having that in place will help shyer/newer/inexperienced people get better.