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Introduction~ One of the things I’ve heard complained about frequently but nobody seems to do anything about is poor child roleplay. This is kind of funny, since child rp should actually be fairly simple. It’s like playing someone very dumb, and watching them get smarter with the help and influence of those around them. The biggest and most common mistake I’ve seen is that people play children as if they were adults. With the mental capacity to be willful, arrogant, rude, or even just overly intelligent. Hopefully this guide helps a bit~ Mindset Going In When making or choosing to play a child character, it’s important to realize what that means. More often than not, with time, you’ll end up with an adult character with a far more fleshed out backstory than most. This also means being willing to accept that whatever happens to your child character will greatly impact their life, can change their personality almost on a dime, and isn’t entirely up to you. If there’s one thing I can’t stress enough, it’s that if you play a child character well, that character’s personality is completely out of your hands. What they’re like as a child is something you can choose, but being fluid and affected by the world around them is part of being a child, and thus, part of playing a child. Learning From Parental Figures(?) As a child, your personality will be a cumulation of your character’s learnings under their parental figures. While their alignment will probably be set going in, that can easily change over time. (IE, a true neutral child fleshes out into lawful good.) It’s important that you realize that as a child, your character is learning their entire moral code from their parents, or, failing that, their interactions with other characters. If a child is told that something is bad, or something is good, they’re probably going to just believe it without question. “Druids are losers? Pah! What losers!” Of course, over time, they may develop their own opinions on what they’re taught, but that would most likely be in late teen/adult years, when the influence of others around them is less profound. The fact remains, though, that to correctly play a child, you might have to play outside of your comfort zone, or follow a path you might not have originally imagined for your character. Is this a bad thing? No! Sure, you might have wanted to become an uber-war mongering noble, but if your family winds up being a little band of farmers and bakers, that’s probably not where that character’s going to wind up in life.In the end, this unplanned route is a huge what makes child roleplay so appealing to so many. The other part, of course, is getting to play a little cutie, but you have to understand that that cutie isn’t going to walk into life with a plan. Reacting to Danger We all like the idea of being brave, but evolution alone says that as children, we wouldn’t be. Admittedly, in a fantasy world of swords and White Rose and elves and orcs (this doesn’t apply to orcs at all, really), we find it easy to either forget or justify the fact that children could be braver than it would be realistic to be. In most cases in real life, when a child is in danger one of two things happen. This also depends on the situation, but they either; Kick, scream, and flail or Run away This is most commonly referred to as the ‘fight or flight’ response. It’s something evolution has deeply ingrained in everything living, because that’s how they manage to continue living. It’s stronger in children, since they don’t have the capacity to process the level of a threat most of the time. A child could easily be just as scared of a spider as an undead necromancer, so they’ll just run away from both. That said, not all children are timid. Some might act brave, but they feel more fear than an adult in the same situation 100% of the time. Reacting to Harassment, Authority, Etc. Children don’t react well to being yelled at. Ever notice this? When an adult snaps at a child, their reaction is to shy away, or break down crying. From an early age, regardless of fantasy culture, children are not only taught but also realize that adults are inherently above them in the overall scheme of things. They don’t have the capacity to think ‘I need to learn everything so I can grow up like them’, instead they’re just thinking, ‘this person is in charge, I have to listen to them’. That’s not to say that rebellious children and teenagers don’t exist; teenagers especially. Teenagers are at the point in their life where that mental capacity starts to develop, and children can be rebellious, though it has to be for the right reasons. “Testing their limits” is common, more common among children around non-parental authority figures as they see if they can get what they want. You also have to keep in mind the parenting style used on your child has a massive impact on them. If mommy yells at you every time you try to eat a cookie, you might hate them. Or if you still want one, you might see if your dad will give you one instead. VAT shopping gets you blacklisted, parent shopping gets you cookies. Similar principles. Sort of. Harassment, as well, has a massive impact at this stage in a person’s life. If they’re constantly made fun of for their hair, for example, they will very likely dislike their hair for the rest of their life, even if they can’t remember why. Psychology Now understand that it’s not only your authority figures that will shape your character. Events that simply occur around you can have a profound impact on how your child’s mind develops. If your child sees someone get killed (hell, even your adult for that matter) it can be a profoundly traumatic experience. If your child spends too much inside reading and being a know-it-all, they’re probably going to become anti-social. Simple everyday behaviors that they perform, or witness can alter the character in far greater ways than the authorities can, but sometimes, more subtly as well. It’s also very important to remember that children are very, very easily manipulated. If a child is talking about something they shouldn’t be, an adult can just say, “Hey look!” and they’re instantly distracted. (At least, for under-ten-year-olds.) Especially at younger ages they believe everything they’re told without question, and aren’t even slightly in control of their own minds. This can be a bit tricky to rp, since we are in control and forget what it was like to be kids pretty easily. Just try to get into the mindset, one you’re there it’s smooth sailing~ Development 0-5: Children will be learning as much as they can in the years before their brain has even fully developed. How to walk and talk, how to act and when to say please and thank you. Though a lot of child characters aren’t played at this point, it’s good to get a feel for what happens during these years. Were their parents around a lot? Do they have a strong connection to them? How are their language skills? Can they read? What are their favorite toys? (That one may seem pointless, but can actually mean a lot.) The little things about a character at this age translate into big things at a later age. [10/8/13 4:09:29 PM] Boidwasperer: You should mention for the 5 year olds that they ASK SO MANY QUESTIONS [10/8/13 4:09:38 PM] Boidwasperer: What is that? Why? Is that yours? What is that? [10/8/13 4:09:54 PM] Boidwasperer: It's a hairbrush. Because it brushes hair. Yes, it's mine. It's a hairbrush, I just told you this... 5-7: Around this age, children are full of energy. Regardless of their personality they are able to bounce around and have fun. They tend to be competitive, and needs outlets for their boundless energy. They’re very concerned with rules, and have wild imaginations. They start to become more aware of the emotions of others but can’t always grasp how their actions affect those around them. They often struggle to make decisions, though they like the idea of ‘winning’. 8-10: This age group is starting to get into the ‘me against the world’ mentality. They’re very sensitive to praise, and their feelings are more easily hurt than younger age groups. They get to be choosy about their friends, since being accepted by their peers grows exponentially more important to them. They’re eager to answer questions and impress, so they can learn more. 11-13: This is where kids really begin to test their limits, and can become more of a ‘know it all’. This is where puberty starts to come into play, along with all of the awkwardness and self confidence issues it brings. Children around this age can begin to develop more fine motor skills, making them better at arts and crafts. Conformity becomes doubly important, if they have peers of a similar age group. They tend to demand perfection, at least of themselves, and can become easily frustrated when they don’t get it. They want more independence but in most cases are fully aware they’re not ready for it, and they begin to have a longer attention span as well. 14-16: Even more prone to testing limits, though very emotionally vulnerable. They’re insecure, fear rejection, and prone to mood-swings. This is around the time where it’s common to have a ‘role model’, an adult the child would strive to be more like. Notably, they usually have a very big appetite at this age. They have a better understanding of morality, and well developed fine motor skills. At the point where they’re right between childhood and adulthood, they might feel the need to act more like they think an adult should act, though they’re still self conscious and fear rejection. Other Useful Tips At the end of the day, the sun goes down. An apple a day might be bad for your teeth. Cheaters never prosper. Ouity is a gaylord. Whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you ‘cause I’m rubber, you’re glue! We didn’t know what to write here so now it’s just… yeah. +1 Ouity and Fiend Wrote This <3 Togehter. IN TANDEM. Google Docs is awesome. Yes it's messy and all over the place, but hopefully you take something good away from it! Feedback is welcomed~

So, whilst we all await Grim's more extensive, informative, in-depth and probably much more pretty and better overall guide, I thought I'd make a quick one, very shallow, about Gravens, what to expect from them etc. Gravens, being spirits, and semi-corporeal, cannot be harmed by things in the way a mortal can. Stabbing it's arm or leg doesn't really bring it pain, albeit it does lessen the amount of spirit energy that keeps them alive, and they often react anyway out of habit, albeit with practice, some cease to react to such blows. Gravens can be dismembered like any other character, but as before, this does not bring pain, only lessening the amount of spirit energy that keeps it alive. Gravens can't be struck by a blow from a fist or otherwise. It'll go through them, or at most, hit any armour they might be wearing. You want to affect a Graven? You need something other than flesh. Any metal can be used to affect a Graven, as well as any other physical object that isn't flesh. Gravens bear no particular weakness to any sort of weapon or material, but blessed objects and substances, such as holy water, can cause a Graven to demanifest nearly immediately, should it pass into their bodies. All Gravens have something in common. A very dangerous ability, and the only offensive magic about them. They have the ability to cause a temporary insanity in mortals with their stare at a close range (About 10 blocks maximum), in a very short time. Grim has told me that a Graven can finish this in about 1 - 4 emotes, and any mortal being affected after 4 emotes would almost certainly fall into madness. There are, however, exceptions. Graven can manifest some slightly more powerful abilities specific to that Graven if they are actively working to go and fulfill their duties, ranging from remotely wielding their weapons from a short distance, changing the flight paths of arrows, releasing souls to torment a victim without the need of the Stare, and so on. However, in order to do such, they would have to continually fulfill their duties and sustain an absolute minimum of wounds. Graven cannot be controlled by necromancers, as sentient creatures, but they may work with them if it goes towards fulfilling their goals. Most Graven are not in fact evil, but are rather selectively hostile, harming only certain categories of people, albeit they are capable of harming others outside said category. Whilst not part of lore, myself and Grim have figured, logically, an orc in bloodlust, being driven by it's anger and, well, lust for battle and pain, MIGHT be able to ignore the writhing soul of agony within the Graven, that gives the stare it's power. In fact, this can feed the orc's bloodlust, making them even more powerful and dangerous. Gravens are all very dangerous, and very unique to one another, but most can be sorted into two categories. First is your hostile, absolutely terrifying Graven, who wants nothing more than to terrorize and harm or kill mortals. An example of this is Grim's Warden, a Graven who was the warden of a prison in life. He is a judge, and is generally hostile and terrifying to all mortals, albeit more or less cold and neutral to those he does not see as guilty. He draws on fear, and gains energy directly from terrifying the one he is judging killing the man judged as guilty (correction made by Grim, I have to interpret every once in a while). Second is your more or less friendly, not so terrifying but still strange and a bit creepy and forceful Graven - or at least as friendly as a spirit damned to a fate worse than hell. An example of this is my own Graven character, Hunter, who is a hunter of spirits and ghosts. Including Gravens. His task does not involve harming mortals, or scaring them, to much of a degree. He's able to have a decent conversation with the living, if no one attempts to provoke him, in drawing a weapon or making threats against him. In fact, he's willing to give mortals a warning and a helping hand when they aren't trying to chop off his head or shoot him with an arrow dipped in holy water. He's got a bit of a soft spot for the living, and prefers not to scare or harm them when possible. However, Gravens are easily provoked, even of this type, and as this character IS a fighting Graven, whilst not easily provoked, once he is, you want to kill him quick or start running. That's about it for what I have for you on Gravens for now, and I think this should be enough for until Grim comes out with a better, more accurate, and much nicer guide. See you all later! OOC NOTE FOR GRAVENS -Sancus, Graven hunter made Graven.

OOC: >Have The Will To Lose< This is the most important part when it comes to a RP fight. You MUST have that will to lose. If you do not have a will to lose you would most-likely force yourself into a spot were you will force yourself to Meta-Game and/or Power-Game. If you lose the battle I guarantee you may not like it, but you will get respect from the other player(s). If you win you will feel great, you will get that feeling which tells you, "I actually won a fight legit!" And that is the greatest feeling on LoC. >Never Show Hate Towards The Other Player< Yes we all have to admit, we hate someone on this server. If you encounter someone you hate/dislike in RP and then engage a RP fight, you do not want to go into OOC and scream at them if they make a intelligent/good move towards your character. You have to contain your anger when playing LoC, it will make you a better person and player. Now; if you do yell at someone you dislike in L-OOC he will most-likely walk out of the RP and hate you as much as you hate him, or you will begin to Power-Game/Meta-Game so you can win against him/her and show that you are better than them. Trust me if you finish a RP fight like that you will find a ban report waiting for you on the forums, no one likes those. Now; if you contain your anger and fight fairly and not showing and signs of hate through the L-OOC chat and you lose or win you will probably walk out feeling better, yet, feeling as if the person you hate isn't so bad. >No Power-Gaming and Meta-Gaming< Easy. Do not Meta-Game or Power-Game. If you win a fight through Power-Gaming or Meta-Gaming the other player won't treat you equally like all the other players on LoC. If you lose a fight through Power-Gaming and Meta-Gaming there will be no difference. But if you do not Meta-Game and win a fight I guarantee you will come out of a battle with much respect from the other player. You can even win a battle without Meta-Gaming or Power-Gaming and the respect you get from the other player would be even higher.

What?! RP Battles with 10+ people?! Impossibru! Not quite. Yes, large battles that are conducted using roleplay combat as opposed to PvP can be difficult and confusing, I will not pretend that they are not. But this chaos can be managed if one is willing to focus and be patient... and perhaps practice these techniques. Before we delve into the guide itself, I'd like to note that this is not a debate on whether PvP or RP combat should be the default, nor should said topic and other relation topics be debated here. This is strictly a guide for those who are willing to try and participate in larger battles using RP combat. So, moving on... Why would I want to bother with focus and patience??? Well, there are plenty of reasons... most of which tend to be more selfless than selfish. 1: Roleplay combat makes room for more creativity and versatility than PvP does. Emotes can be detailed and many players prefer this more immersive style of combat. 2: Some players, such as magic users, have difficulty conducting combat in PvP due to the lack of a magic plugin. Many feel that replacing their powers with swords and bows, enchanted or otherwise, undermines both the work put into gaining the privilege to use magic as well as the actual act using magic. 3: Many players have low FPS (frames per second) rates due to their computers, suffer from poor internet connection, or otherwise are put at a disadvantage in PvP for reasons outside of their control. They feel that RP combat helps to minimize these unfair disadvantages. Now, if one isn't willing to cooperate and compromise with other players, then most of this is void. However, it should be noted that people tend to be happy and tend to want to cooperate when you avoid conflict and are nice to them... so. If you're looking to build good relationships with players, perhaps give these techniques a try some time, and see how it goes. Even attempting to compromise will earn you respect from most people. When is this applicable? When would RP fights of this caliber be conducted? Obviously, there are some situations where RP fighting in general is just not practical. Whenever there are mobs, there is an amount of players so massive (say, 30 or 40+), or most players on both sides want to PvP, it is impractical and unreasonable to do a battle using RP combat. However, in battles of say, 10-25, these strategies can be employed. Battles like this might occur during wars between small armies, events, antagonist attacks, or large scale raids. Enough lecturing... what are the actual techniques?! Why, I'm glad you asked! The techniques are simple in writing, but can be difficult in practice. They are as follows: 1: Don't try and follow every single emote. OOC, it's just... very overwhelming. IC, it wouldn't make sense for your character to know every single thing going on in a battle of that caliber. Instead, focus only on... 2: ... your character, and his actions. Make sure you know what your character is actually doing. 3: ... your target. Make sure you know how your target responds to your attacks. 4: ... your attacker(s). This may be the same person as your target, or it may be someone else. It may be more than one person. Make sure you are aware of what is happening to your own character. 5: If you see a player, but do not know the player's character, simply do /seen _______. This only takes up one line of text, and will allow to know how your target responds to your attacks, and vice versa. In order to do the above, it is best to simply scan emotes quickly for either your character's name, the name of your target, and any emotes that appear to possibly affect the entire battle. Other than that, simply dismiss the other lines of text. Below is an example of a chaotic RP battle. Using these techniques, see if you can identify which lines are relevant to your own situation and which lines are not. Below will be a spoiler with the lines highlighted, though I strongly recommend trying the challenge out for yourself before checking the spoiler. Since an in game text box holds 20 lines of text, you will be asked to review twenty lines here. Your character's name, in this segment, is Vashklov the Impregnator, and your target is Bojangles the Clown. The Dark Lord lowers his shield and swings his sword diagonally from high to low and his own right to left at The E-Trade Baby. Little Bunny Foofoo shouts to his comrades as he desperately presses his sword to that of The Edgy One. "Help! Help!!" Bojangles the Clown stumbles and falls to his side as he is rammed by Sir Trolls-A-Lot. The E-Trade Baby lets out a terrifying, loud, high-pitched scream as he is slashed across the torso, falling onto his backside. Gluk-Gluk turns to flee, fearing for his life more than anyone else's. Yolo Swaggins closes his eyes and concentrates as his hands begin to glow a dim blue, trying to block out the noise around him. The Based God shouts, pointing to the tunnel in which reinforcements are streaming from. "Archers, fire!" Squire Billy cries out as Bojangles the Clown's throwing knife impales itself into his back, falling to his knees. George Clooney ducks under Whiney the Poo's backswing with his axe, then swiftly stands, draws his knife, and slashes across Poo's chest on the draw, attempting to immediately bring it back down afterwards and impale the knife in Poo's neck. Vashklov the Impregnator hacks downward at Bojangles the Clown with his broadsword, hoping to take advantage of Sir Trolls-A-Lot's help. Baelif Stonesmasher raises his warhammer from Snooty Elf's mush of a head, letting out a cry of victory. Ser Lord Bastard Justifier Joseph of Tyrannia the Fifth lets releases the string of his bow, watching as the barbed tip of the arrow hurtles towards Vashklov the Impregnator. Below is the same example, with "important" emotes highlighted and noted. Green text shows actions being done to or by your target, yellow text shows actions being done to you, and red text shows actions that might possibly effect large parts or all of the battle, including you. As you can see, there is still quite a bit to keep track of. However, we effectively eliminated half of the distracting emotes from our radar. When more people are added to the fight, even less will be happening to you and your target relative to the flood of emotes, and you will need to focus on even less of what's happening. I hope this could be of some service to people. If anyone has any questions or (constructive) criticism about this method of managing large scale RP battles, feel free to send me a PM on the forums or ask below. Enjoy!

~A Guide on RPing Pain~ -Introduction- Hello! You may be wondering why such a guide is even necessary. Pain is something that has a common place in all our lives - we have all burned our tongue on hot coffee, pricked our fingers, stubbed toes, and so forth. Why then, do we need a guide on how to roleplay these things? The answer is simple: some roleplayers do not understand how ‘painful’ various types of pain can be, and the effects pain has on the body. I hope this guide clarifies that and proves useful. Pain: Localized physical suffering associated with bodily disorder (as a disease or an injury); also : a basic bodily sensation induced by a noxious stimulus, received by naked nerve endings, characterized by physical discomfort (as pricking, throbbing, or aching), and typically leading to evasive action. -Types of Pain- Lacerations/Punctures (Slashing/Stabbing) Perhaps the most common type of wound that occurs in LotC, this pain occurs when one is cut with a blade, impaled spear of some kind, or pierced with an arrow or bolt. The first thing to factor in when getting hurt with one of these types of weapons is the force put into the attack. Obviously, the deeper the cut, the more painful it will be. Another thing to consider is the sharpness of the blade; a dull blade will tear and rend the flesh, causing more damage and pain, while a sharp blade will cut easier, leaving a cleaner wound. Reactions to this form of pain can include opening of the eyes, pupil dilation, increased heart rate, faster and deeper breathing, and tensing up. Additionally, squirming, trembling, crying out, crying, shuddering, and whimpering may occur when this form of pain is inflicted upon someone. Vomiting and passing out sometimes happen when extreme pain is inflicted over a long period of time. Burning One of the more damaging types of attacks, burning pain can cause some of the most severe pain. Like all feelings of pain, it serves as a defensive mechanism which causes the body to get away from the ‘harmful stimulus’, preventing further damage to the body. If you have ever burned a finger on a hot stove, you know that usually you retract your finger quickly as a reaction. Prolonged burning, such as with a metal brand or hot poker, would cause much squirming and struggling. The reactions to this form of pain would also be similar to the reactions for stabbing and slashing wounds. Blunt Force Trauma This type of pain covers everything that involves getting punched, beaten, slapped, or hit with blunt objects. These types of wounds usually don’t break the skin, but they can cause broken bones, internal bleeding, and bruising. While one or two blows may only cause minor pain, as they occur more frequently breathing may be ragged and strained, with movement also being somewhat impaired. Blows to the head can cause dizziness, blurred vision, and eventual loss of consciousness. -A Note on Masochism- What is Masochism? Masochism is the enjoyment of what appears to be painful or tiresome, or when one receives pleasure from pain or from getting hurt. How it Works in Roleplay I would first like to say that being a masochist in LotC isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It can provide interesting RP opportunities, and add depth to characters if done right. A few things must be considered before you can properly roleplay your character as a masochist. How did they begin enjoying pain - were they tortured or conditioned to enjoy it? What types of pain does your character like, and what doesn’t he or she like? Another thing should be kept in mind - masochism should be very specific. Many types of pain, such as burning, getting torn apart by animals, or being flayed alive wouldn’t likely be enjoyable, even by the most extreme masochist. -Resistances and Racial Lore- Races Each race would respond differently to pain. Everyone handles getting hurt in a similar way, but some have more of a tolerance for it than others. Races like the dwarves and orcs would likely be able to handle pain better than others, such as humans and halflings. This should be treated very carefully however - just because you are an orc does not mean you can fight fully and easily when you have multiple serious injuries. Adrenaline Rushes and Orcish Bloodrages In stressful and intense situations, an adrenaline rush may occur, where chemicals are released in the body that act as natural painkillers. When doing this in roleplay, one must keep in mind the effect wouldn’t be too strong, and it wouldn’t last very long. There is a difference between a slight tolerance to pain due to an adrenaline rush, and ‘going numb’ as adrenaline courses through one’s veins, the person shrugging off pain and fighting as normal. The latter would be an incorrect way of emoting. As for Orcish Bloodrages, I believe the effect is similar to an adrenaline rush, but on a much grander scale. (If anyone would like to clarify this that is knowledgeable with Orcish lore, I would appreciate it!) Tolerating Pain Many people are built differently, and the reactions people have to pain differ. Some may be affected differently. Think of a battle-hardened soldier compared to a normal, peaceful merchant. Both may be the same race and size, but one will have a higher tolerance to pain, having at least experienced combat more. Naturally, a peasant would be much more fearful in a fight, while a soldier or mercenary would be more brave and confident in their abilities. -Final Note- Thank you for reading, I hope this guide proved somewhat useful! Please leave any comments or suggestions you may have, as well as clarifications or corrections to any mistakes. Have fun getting hurt!

Now upon reading the title you may be wondering some questions. What is this simple guide about? Well this is my way of addressing the general population of Lord of the Craft, my favorite server of all time. Most questions and problems can be solved through roleplay. Now how is this possible you may ask? Well it is quite simple really, roleplay can almost solve everything. You want information on construction progress of a city? Get on the server and roleplay! But what if they are offline? Well that is a simple answer: Use the forums! The forums are one of your best tools and should be utilized. If the server happens to be down or they are offline just send them a roleplay PM or if it addressing a general population then give them a nice topic in the roleplay section of forums. Found here. You see roleplay can easily solve anything related to your character, whether it be the whereabouts of a city. (Remember, no metagaming.) All questions related to roleplay can be solved through roleplay. Please don't metagame. Don't know where the human capital is? Ask a traveler on the Anthos highway. They just might answer your question AND avoid metagaming all together. This specifically addresses newer players, now I know this entire topic is rather tiring and everyone gets it. But new players sometimes forget and get on global OOC and ask questions such as, "Where is x" or "I'm lost, where do I go?" Roleplay is literally the answer to every single problem EXCEPT: List of Common OOC Questions: -All questions about VIP. -All questions about staff positions, the entire concept of staff is strictly for OOC purposes. -Debates -How to configure chat, how to use commands, ect. -Teamspeak related -Clearing up some unclear or confusing RP -Other Off-topic questions -Most applications are OOC (Except for guild or roleplay) I hope this simple guide helped any new player who needs a refreshment on rules and how you can solve most of your problems. From, Nord