Roleplay

Roleplay (or "RP") is a popular term that refers to when a person assumed the role of another. In video games, the player puts themselves in their character's shoes. They speak like their character, act like their character, and interact with others as if they are that character. In many RPGs and MMOs, however, roleplay is an even more complex concept. In most MMOs, entire servers can be devoted to players who wish to explore the game specifically through their character's eyes, and RIFT is no exception.

General Roleplay Guidelines
When roleplaying a character, it's important to remember the difference between IC and OOC. In-Character (or "IC") is the term to describe anything that your character would say, do or know. Out of Character (or "OOC") describes anything that is beyond the realm of your character's expertise. Here are some examples:

"IC: General Asha has sent me on a quest to investigate the Iron Tomb - would you like to come?" "OOC: BRB, guys, pizza's here."

It is also important to distinguish what your character knows versus what you know from outside the game. It is typically considered rude and unacceptable to act in contrary to your character's knowledge during roleplay situations.

"IC: Did you hear that panpipe? Something's not right in the forest... be on guard!" "OOC: Quick, let's take the porticulum to Zone X - my guild says there's an invasion over there!"

In the above examples, it would make sense for a character to recognize that the panpipe in Silverwood might lead to an invasion of Greenscale's minions (especially after they have spent some time in the forest), but there is no reason that a character would know about an invasion in another zone entirely.

Most roleplay communities will have set up a general rule of thumb to distinguish IC versus OOC talk. Certain channels and methods of communication will be considered OOC while others are reserved for IC roleplay. Most commonly, general channels (zone, level range, and trade chats) will be primarily for OOC communication, while the /say option is used for roleplay sessions. Other channels, such as private and guild channels, will vary based on those who are using them. Another, but more common method to distinguish OOC chat from IC, is to place parenthesis around text in the channels that you are roleplaying in. This can be done in the say channel, for example.

"IC: Do you see that? There's something stirring in the depths below..." "OOC: (( Hey guys, one moment, going to go get some more of that pizza! ))"

Naming Conventions
When playing in an roleplay shard, your name must be considered; While you could go around on normal shards with a name like LazorPwnFive, roleplay shards demand an in-character name. These must be names that would make sense in the world of Telara. When naming your character you should always consider their race. A Mathosian would have a different style of name than an Elf, for example. It could be a good idea to look at NPC names, use the random name generator in the character creation screen, or even look at some online name generators. Keep in mind that some names you may like are completely otherworldly. For example, a Japanese name makes no sense for a High Elf.