Roleplay Help
Applying to a large Discord roleplaying server like BUA can be daunting at first glance and you may be wondering where to even begin. We are here to help you with our quick-start guide to Discord roleplay and specifically, our server.
We welcome starting roleplayers as well, and don't impose any kind of skill limit. We're here to have fun, after all!
Discord RP Quick Start Guide
Discord roleplay is not vastly different from forum or chat roleplays and easy to integrate once one gets past the overwhelming number of channels. The server has activity every day, and reading everything is obviously not mandatory-- Just prepare yourself to a lot of activity! The essentials of roleplay can be found in this document and in the Roleplay-section of our rules, and we can always be reached out to with further questions.
Most of our roleplay is longform of various lengths, with both dialogue and description. We tag our roleplay partner(s) at the end of our roleplays, utilizing Discord’s tagging system. This makes it possible to find roleplays even in the busier channels. We also offer shortform roleplay in the form of a chat room called U.A. Messenger, where special rules apply and characters are typing as themselves with no descriptive text whatsoever.
All our in-server locations have written lore that can be found pinned to the respective channels and on our official site. It’s not mandatory to use the location information in your roleplays to a T, but if stumped, it’ll give you some ideas what the environment looks like and what opportunities your character has to interact with their environment.
BUA also offers multiple out-of-character channels to chat about your characters, to organize roleplays and to just get to know your fellow roleplayers!
​
An example of an in-server roleplay is below, showcasing the tagging system, our in-server roles and some of the channels available to the student body. Click the image to open it in a pop-up.
General Advice
A good general rule of thumb for any roleplay anywhere is to always put something interactive in every post. That is what keeps the roleplay moving and gives your roleplay partner(s) leeway in responding and lets them showcase their own character. Interactive parts can be anything ranging from a question to even a prolonged silence, facial expressions and other actions.
If you don’t have anything to continue the roleplay with and your OC wouldn’t just leave, you can make up a phone ringing in their pocket, them accidentally spilling water on themselves, etcetera. While embarrassing other people’s OCs without asking is generally frowned upon, the world is your oyster in making your character react-- Even if it’s via a total accident. Of course, if you’d rather wrap up a roleplay, always say this. Every roleplay doesn’t have to be a long journey, and even short encounters can set up interesting plot threads for later or just be a fun thing to do.
While it’s understandable to want to keep your character cool and successful, a primary motivation of wanting to show off your OC’s coolness can stifle roleplay and feel a little awkward. Don’t be afraid of having your OC fail! Your OC doing cool things is also better remembered if it’s something they finally succeed in, be it finally winning a spar or successfully finally cooking udon.
It’s important to keep in mind that things may not always go the way you imagined them to go and you’ll have to work with what you’ve got instead of trying to make your roleplay partner(s) adjust their characters to fit your character. If a roleplay isn’t going the way you’d prefer, you can always make your character exit the scene, but try to be understanding and let other OCs act according to their personality as well.
​
Things to Avoid
These are things that definitely dampen the mood, and things you should generally avoid in roleplay of any kind.
Godmodding
Godmodding means that one’s character is excessively knowledgeable. This also encompasses autohitting, as in giving the other roleplayer no chance to avoid attacks or other actions, and controlling another roleplayer's OC without their consent.
Metagaming
One of the surest ways to suck the fun out of roleplay, metagaming means your OC having access to information they would not know in-character.
Powergaming
The goal of roleplaying shouldn’t be to win. It’s to keep things fun for everyone, and generally, that means that your character will sometimes misunderstand, fail and lose. This also extends to creating a character that skirts by the parameters of rules, but created and especially played in such a way that there is no other OC that can even come near their excellency in any subject matter, even if it’s all technically within the rules. It’s just not fun for anyone else, though!
Railroading
In short, this term means being pushy not only OOC but IC as well. This means the roleplayer is, while reacting to the roleplay partner(s), still pushing their own agenda, just in a different way. It’s as if the roleplay is only a railroad to the end result the roleplayer wants to reach instead of an interactive team effort that’s fun for all.
​
Roleplay Terminology
Some oft-used terms that you may not know, but may come up in the server.
​
-
Mun: A shorter word for roleplayer.
-
OC: Short of Original Character, it’s an another word for characters.
-
Muse: Another word for the roleplayer’s character.
-
OOC: Acronym that stands for out-of-character.
-
IC: Acronym that means in-character, meaning everything that is from the perspective of the characters.
-
OP: Short for overpowered, it signifies a character that is too powerful for their skill level/age/etc.
Finding a Roleplay
For all roleplay, a good starting place is the #rp-planning channel. Keep note that at some times people aren’t available and some may not check it awfully often. Don’t feel down if nobody steps up instantly! It happens to everyone.
​
When offering your character up for roleplay, if you have any scenario in mind, please detail it immediately. An inquiry of “hey, anyone want to help my OC who’s fallen asleep on the beach and is getting horribly sunburnt and help them? you could wake them up by talking/nudging/water gun if you want!” perks up more interest than a plain “anyone want to rp?”, even if there’s nothing wrong with the latter!
If you have a specific scenario and an another person’s OC in mind, you can ping them in the #rp-planning as well, or ask them in DMs. Don’t feel down if you’re turned down due to time constraints or something similar, but remember that as long as you’re not pushy, nobody generally minds getting a roleplay inquiry! This is a roleplay server after all.
If someone volunteers to roleplay with you and for example asks if you had an opinion on the setting, even an approximate direction to go in like “somewhere off-campus, maybe?” is better than replying with “whatever place is fine”, removing pressure from your roleplay partner(s).
Once you’ve got your idea down and write your starter, you could make your OC approach the other OC right away! And when responding to a starter, it’s generally good to have your OC establish interaction right away from a glance to actual conversation. It’s hard to roleplay with a character who avoids all contact-- At least if the roleplayer is afraid to push their imagination on how to start the interaction!