Role Playing Guide

A basic and simple guide to help those new to Role Playing or Members unsure of where to start on the site.

Table of Contents

• Role Playing & Naruto
  
• Before, During, & After Creation
  
• Waiting for Approval & Review from Staff
  
• Starting to Role Play

What's Role Playing? Role Playing generally means that you are pretending to be someone else. You are 'playing' the 'role' of an imaginary figure that you create. You are essentially putting on a mask and living the life of said imaginary figure of your creation and interacting with others doing the same.

There many different types of Role Playing Games. By far, the most famous and known types are video games where you create a character, often times choosing their name, appearance, weapons, skills, and attributes and taking part in a storyline with said character. In these kinds of RPGs you generally move about and interact with others through graphics on a computer or video game console. The best examples are the Final Fantasy series and Pokemon series.

So what's the difference between those kind of RPGs and this RPG? Well, to start off with there are no graphics or fancy program to keep track of how your character levels up, grows, and so forth. Nor do we know how the 'game' is going to end. Why? This is a Text-Based RPG. Meaning? You get to make your own character and pick your own weapons and what not, but you have to write it out with words.

But I suck at writing! No problem. All we ask is that you try your best: write in English, use punctuation marks, and Spell-Check above all else. Even if you're horrible at writing and don't know where the hell to put punctuation marks, as long as you can write in English and spell most of your words, then we can manage. The biggest problem is if you don't know how to write in English (which makes me wonder why you're here in the first place) and don't have the common sense to use a Spell-Check or Online Dictionary because you can Spell-Check your writings online and look up words online.

Okay, okay, so I guess a Text-Based RPG isn't that bad. But... what's Naruto? Naruto is a manga, a comic book basically, written and drawn by Masashi Kishimoto. Basically, its about a teenage boy growing up in an alternate universe where ninja exist profusely. These ninja utilize a form of magic known as chakra that allow them to do things like walk on water, use fire, and heal each other.

Oh! That! I know what you're talking about, but... I never read no manga. I watched this cartoon about an orange-clad, blonde-haired guy with some kind of monster-demon inside of him! Is that the same thing? Yes, you probably watched the anime, or cartoon, of it. Its basically the same thing, but it has fillers, events that never happened in the manga and might never have happened. The site is based off of the manga, not the anime, so there will be some things you can't do or use from the anime (or the movies at that). Just remember that everything we draw reference from is from the manga or the parts of the anime that follow the manga. So to make it easier on yourself, try to read the manga, at least up to the Kakashi Chronicles. If not, at least watch the anime. And if you can't do either, then read up on the episode or chapter summaries in Wikipedia. Just knowing a little bit about Naruto is better than not knowing anything.

But here are some key terms you'll need to know:

Spoiler:

Yeah! I'm so ready to RP! ... But um... where do I start? That's easy. You see the Creation Section? Start there.

Make sure you read all the Rules, Guides, and Templates first though. This is where you'll start every-time you make a character. Whoa, wait, I can make MORE than ONE character?! Yep. But don't get all excited yet, you can only have up to three characters for the moment. And before you actually start doing anything, think on a few things:

• Are you going to a boy or a girl?
  
• How old are you going to be?
  
• Are you going to be in a village? If so, which one?
  
• What rank will you be?
  
• Will you have an element? If so, which one(s)?
  
• What's your character going to be good at?
  
• Do you want a bloodline or Secret Techniques?
  
• Do you want special weapons?
  
• What kind of techniques are you going to use?
  
• Are you going to have seals, demons, spirits, or summonings?

Make sure you can answer all of these before you even start. Because if you can't, you're going to screw yourself big time. It's a lot easier if you know what you want to do first before you do anything.

Okay, so I've looked over the rules, guides, templates, AND managed to answer all of your questions. What now? Now you begin filling in the templates. Does it matter which one I do first? Honestly, it really doesn't matter what you fill out first, but most people do their character first, so I'd go with that. The only time I wouldn't do that is if you plan on having a bloodline and you're not sure if it'll get approved or not and it'll be a big part of your character's life. Then you might want to put up the bloodline first instead. But usually, go with the Character.

Alright, so all I gotta do is click "Character Creation", "New Topic", and copy and past the template and just fill it out, right? Wrong. Copy and paste the template to a word document. Save. Now, start filling it out on your word document. Just fill in the simple stuff like Name, Age, Village, and so forth. When you're done with that save. Now start filling the more complicated things like appearance and personality. Save.

You sure like to save a lot... And why can't I just type it straight on the site? Well, I'd rather have my stuff saved than have to do it all over again because the computer crashes, screws up, or the Internet crashes. Its a lot easier that way. Anyway, if your character isn't going to have a long history, just type up their history and role play sample. Save. Now, Spell-Check it on the word document or copy and paste it onto an online Spell-Checker. Save. Re-read your history and role play sample. Fix any grammatical errors you might have. Save. NOW start a New Topic. Make sure you label the title correctly: Name [Village Rank].

Hey wait, what if I have a really, really, REALLY long history? You can do the same thing, type it up on a word document and then post it up, OR just to let the staff know that you're still here and do plan on role playing, post it up in the Character Section, BUT your title should be: Name [Village Rank] [WIP]. This is so that we know you're not done yet and don't reply to it with a bunch of "Add in your history" "Add a role play sample". Once you've posted it up, you type up the history on a word document and then post up parts of it onto your profile until you're finished. THEN change the title to: Name [Village Rank]. If you leave [WIP] in the title we're going to think you're not done yet and not look at it much.

Alright, now what? Once your character is up and your satisfied with it, you can start filling out the other templates if they apply to your character. How do I know if it applies to my character? If you have a custom bloodline, you'll have to fill out the template for it and get it approved, along with any weapons or items that the normal ninja doesn't carry with them, and all the techniques your character knows. AND if you have any seals, spirits, demons, or summonings you'll need to post those up as well. Make sure you follow the rules and templates. (Please note that if you are using custom Secret Techniques, jutsus that are only available to a certain clan, you'll need to fill out the clan template and provide the Secret Techniques there for approval. If your clan doesn't have secret techniques, a bloodline, or strange/unique factors/abilities you won't have to fill it out.)

Daaamn. That took forever! But I'm done now. Sooo what do I do? Well... basically after you put up your creations, wait for someone on the Creation Staff to check your things.

The Difference Between Approved and Accepted

Accepted means that the Kage of your village approves of you joining their village, but it does not mean that you are approved. This is just to let moderators and other members know that you're allowed to join a certain village. (This may also apply to others who join someone else's organization or clan.) To prevent confusion and disorder, please ask the kage or owner if you may join their village or clan or organization.

Approved means that the Moderators or Administrators have reviewed your application and have not found reasons to believe that you are breaking any rules. An Approval thus means that you may now begin to Role Play on the forums and use said character, bloodline, item, or technique in Role Plays. You must have this in order to begin RPing or using your items/skills.

X.X You guys aren't checking my things! Make sure [WIP] isn't in the title before you start doing anything else. Its not in the title. How long has it been since you last posted in there? If its just been a few minutes or less than a day, just keep waiting. Its been two days since I last posted in there! Just post saying 'Bump' once a day until someone looks at it. I'VE BEEN DOING THAT FOR A WEEK NOW! Don't start yelling, that's for sure. Sorry, but I just don't want to wait this long. Well, remember that the Staff DOES have a life. But, if its been a week or more, GO ASK A CREATION MOD! YES ASK THEM! But I thought we weren't allowed to ask the Mods/Admins to approve our stuff? Its okay if its been at least a week and no one's looked at it. Just don't spam it into their Inbox or the Chat though. Just ask two or three times a day at most. They should get on it then. And if they don't? Well then, that's a serious problem right there. By now someone should have looked at it. Still, if for some reason they don't, PM an Admin right away or talk to them about it on the Chatbox if you can catch one.

T.T They finally started to check my stuff, but its not getting approved! What's wrong?! Well for starters, if you don't get an immediate Approval (most things don't), it usually means something's wrong. And most often, it means that your stuff are breaking the rules or aren't clear enough, meaning you COULD break the rules. Usually for Characters this means your rank is wrong, or your history is too short. Although sometimes it could just be that your writing skills don't live up to the rank you're applying for so they want you to start out at a lower rank unless you can show us that you're able to handle it. And in everything else it generally means that you're missing a weakness, you're not clear enough, or your weakness isn't that much of a weakness.

Awww, so I can't have it at all? Not necessarily. If you edit it some more you might get to keep it, but if they say its completely against the rules... you better remove it or edit it big time. The Mods should tell you what's wrong with your application and how you can fix it. So go from there. If they say you don't have a weakness, add in a weakness. If they ask you to clear something up, explain it a little more.

-_- All I've been doing is editing my stuff, and I made sure they weren't OP or breaking the rules either! They've even been approved on other sites I've been on, and those were pretty strict. So why aren't they getting approved? What's wrong now? Hmmm, Mods have been telling you your stuff doesn't fit the rules but you're 90%+ sure that your stuff fits the rules, huh? Start getting things from the manga, leafninja, and the site to back you up. Prove that your things are okay and fit the rules. BUT DON'T ARGUE OR FIGHT. That'll only just make it worse. If a Mod is still saying your things aren't appropriate, ASK AN ADMIN. Yep, ask an Admin to look at your stuff. But don't do this with everything. This is only if you're 90% sure your stuff are good to go, you've tried to prove how its okay to the Mods, and they're still insisting that your stuff is OP. Whatever the Admin says, you go with.

Hey, all of my things are approved, so I can start RPing now, right? Not quite. Once all of your things are approved (or once you've posted all of your things up), go to the Section. Its the very last template you'll have to fill out (if you're just making one character). Once you're done with that, copy and paste the link to that topic, go to your profile, specifically your signature, edit it, add in the link to your signature. But whyyyyyyy? Its so that the people you RP with can get an easy link to your character's things AND so the Staff can easily check your things.

Hehe, I just won't put everything. Then I can get a bunch of stuff approved without them knowing! WRONG. The Staff and everyone else can still double check your things even if you don't link all of them there. We'll just get annoyed and a little mad with you if you think you can cut the rules by not linking all of your stuff. And it'll only take EVEN LONGER to approve your things if the Staff has to constantly go and look up all of your things. So make it easy on yourself, the staff, and everyone else: Link everything.

WOOT! I AM READY TO RP! Hold up. Before you actually start RPing, at least make sure you're aware of the current storyline on the site and double-check any specific rules in your village. Don't start your own topic right away either. Check around, see if there are any open, promising topics that have just been started that your character could be involved in. Its a lot better to be able to RP with someone instead of ignoring an open person and making your own topic only to end up waiting days for someone to reply to.

And always, always, ALWAYS make sure you check the date that the topic was started on and the date of the last post after checking the title for [Private]. (Of course, never post in [Private] topics unless you've been told that you need to or was allowed to). There really is no point in posting in dead topics. Most of the time we'll be able to move the Dead Topics, but we may miss some on occasion. As such, just kindly PM a member of the staff that said topic is dead. What's a dead topic? Generally speaking, a dead topic is a topic that hasn't had a post in a week or more.

This should be obvious but... NEVER post in the Historical Archives unless its Creation Related. Say what? Meaning, if you posted up something but never finished it and you find it say, two months later and decide you are going to finish it and use it, you can post in it and ask for it to be moved back. (But it'd be better if you just PMed a member of the staff to move it back for you.)

That's it, RIGHT? No. WAHAT? Kidding, kidding. That's pretty much it. Just remember: obey the rules! Yea, yeah, whatever. I'm serious! Long as you follow the rules you should be okay! Suuuure thing. Well, have fun then Guest, enjoy your time here on Shinobi Armada.

--Shinobi Armada Staff