T1 Rules and Guidelines for the modern day RolePlayer.
Introduction:
{For those new to the form of T1, it is a common logic way of text fighting. Even though it is based off the imagination, logic in life still exists within the T1. Respect, Honor, and Trust are all key points needed to have a clean fun form of competition amongst one on one, or multiples against one. Order and communication is most important when dealing the starting posts in the T1.}
T1 is a multi-style way of fighting that has been in RP longer then I have been around. First you have the different types:
T1 RM= T1 Realistic Melee. This is the Style that is human against human. With real-life limitations. {e.g. Human capabilities of running, jumping, reaction-time, body integrity, vision, ect.}
Ex: Street fighting.
T1 UM= T1 Unrealistic Melee. This is the Style that is an above average human against human that are capable of using things such as Magic attack, Sorcery, Vampirism, Werewolfism.
Ex: Underworld.
T1 MP= T1 Moderate Powers. This is the Style that is commonly used now as a more realistic look towards T1 PC. The characters that have special powers, just not ones that have a power that is capable of destroying an entire planet. Powers such as elemental abilities are acceptable, but if there is a power that is capable of using all elements you must keep that power in a moderate use.
Ex: Bleach, and Naruto.
T1 PC= T1 Powered Characters. This Style is the most difficult of them all to learn. The complexity of the characters abilities and powers are what get them called "God Moders". The depth put into one character, with the powers, abilities, explanations of terrain, dimension, sub-abilities, character background, and traits will lead an inexperienced opponent to believe there is an invincibility about the character.
Those are the Styles of T1's. Now this is what you have to post in your T1 intros:
{Note: Forgetting information that is needed in your intro, CAN NOT be used later in the fight. This is grounds for disqualification under God Moding,. showing that you will make up anything to win.}
Preps or Preparations for a stronger move.
These are the steps for a stronger move/attack. With Preps, you can either do a power up or a technique with a better outcome in the end. You must either give up your attack attempt, take a hit or both to do this. You must take in step what you are doing in each post.
Posting information for your intro in a T1
{The first posting their intro CAN NOT state an attack. The second to post their intro is not to attack in their intro!}
1. You have to post what your character looks like. {e.g. Clothing, hair color and style, skin color, eye color, height, weight (optional), and any armor.}
2. You have to post what the area is that you and your opponent are going to fight in or are in. {e.g. Weather, time of day, type of terrain.}
3. You have to post what type of weapons, powers, abilities, and traits your character is going to use in the fight.
4. If you are posting your intro first, do not state where your opponent is, what they are doing, or where they are to begin, until they state otherwise in their post after.
5. Your character, and only your character is what you are narrating.
{Reminder: The reason for T1ing is to test yourself against others and make them believe they have been beaten by your character/skill.}
Rules for Starters
1. If you forget to post something in your intro; Power, ability, weapon, trait. You can not use it at any time later in the fight. Those things forgotten are off limits. If they are used, it is grounds for Disqualification from the match through the No God Moding tolerance. This is a competition between the knowledge of two minds on how well they know their character.
2. No God Moding. This goes towards those that take a hit in the T1 and get up from it like nothing every happened. T1ing is a competition against two different skills. The first to out smart, and out match their opponent is the winner. The easiest way to winning a T1 is to always keep in mind, the first one that lands a hit wins.
3. No Auto-Attacks. This is the statement that your attack landed without letting your opponent counter/block/dodge/avoid/deflect in their posts after.
4. Correct spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and over all quality of your posts is the means of gaining a win. Run-on sentences and poor explanations about your character or anything of the sort, you are subject to disqualification or request to do another post if not acceptable. The more effort you put into your characters' posts the better and smoother the fight will go.
T1 Style restrictions:
If the one being challenged requests a specific Style, the one challenging needs to either abide by the request or decline the challenge. If accepted, their character has to stay within the restrictions of the Style being stated.
T1RM: Absolutely no powers, mystic weaponry, no spells, no heightened abilities outside of normal human abilities.
Ex: Sight{10ft to see clearly}, Speed {30mph tops}, Reaction time {1.5 seconds +}
T1UM: Only slight abilities are heightened. No chakra, energy, or spirit force abilities.
Acceptable abilities: Heightened strength{100 body builders}, speed{50mph and lower}, sight{1-2 mile distance}, reaction time{10-15 seconds}, hearing {Slight air ripples}, smell {220 million smell receptors=Hound Dog}, and knowledge {Slight whereabouts of foe}.
T1MP: No powers capable of destroying entire planets galaxies or multi-verse. Energy/Chakra based attacks and combos. Basic abilities of energy and powers are acceptable. All Elemental control is acceptable as long as there is one to two elements being used at one time. You can not use all the elements in one massive attack!
Basic Rules of Roleplays:
1) You post in turns.
2) All attacks are attempted; you do not post attacking and connecting in the same turn. Attempting and connecting in the same turn is an auto.
3) An interrupt is where Person A reacts before the end of Person B's prior turn. As an example, Person B might draw his sword, curse, and then run across thirty feet before stopping, jumping, and swinging his sword at Person A's neck. In response, Person A would post drawing his sword and charging at Person B as Person B is running, therefore rendering the neck strike (in that form) having never happened. Interrupts are often regarded as the backbone of melee, as unfortunate as such things have begun. However all posts and attacks or actions there-in are a progression of events, feasably anything that can be interrupted can be interrupted within reason and if done sensibly.
4) A hypothetical is where Person A posts that, should Person A dodge to the West, he will bring his sword across; a hypothetical is a follow-up, a move that will happen if one or more conditions are met. Hypotheticals imply forethought, so they can be considered planned moves IC, and therefore do not demand the same conscious considering that would otherwise be demanded; also, hypotheticals might account for where a given attack would land if such and such defense were performed, like having a thrust to the stomach being displaced to the neck if the foe ducks.
5) Both interrupts and hypotheticals, and, indeed, all elements of T1 must be logical or else cannot happen; if you're interrupting a nearly split-second move, for instance, as you're looking the other way and engaged in some other motion, you won't succeed. Likewise, if your hypothetical is that your 140 pound axe will be swung left into the ribs if its potent downward blow is evaded, and your enemy is nimble and simply ran to the side at the "last moment," you naturally won't hit him.
6) Meta-gaming is when you use OOC information - or information your character does not have - in a fight, bestowing him that information. It can also be posting your character, after a duel is agreed on and a random room made, somehow having placed explosives exactly where your adversary is standing after he posts. An auto, too, but it can very well likewise fall under the "meta-gaming" header.
7) If we post in turns, and there are three of us, and Person 1 preps thrice over the course of 3 rotations whereas Person 3 preps once over the course of 3 rotations, and these two engage in that Person 1 casts a fireball at Person 3 and Person 3 defends with a dispel, the fireball overpowers the dispel and continues on.
Now, it seems that there's still a lot of ambiguity and ignorance on God Moding/God Modding, so let's delve further into this, eh? To make things easier, I'll even split this into sections, so you can locate which aspect of god modding you need to freshen up on.
Sections on God Moding/God Modding:
1. What Has Already Been Said
2. History
3. Opponent Control
4. Superiority Complex
5. Forbidden Powers
6. Character Modification
7. Cross Genre RPing
8. Creating a New Character
1. What Has Already Been Said
First, let's review what the RP School already has listed for god modding. Some of you may only need to see this to figure it out. First, of course, is the T1 Rules and Regulations section. God modding falls under the first rule:
1) Do not godmod; follow the limitation of powers.
Explaination: RP is not about power; it's about skill. Don't simply hand your character so many powers and abilities with so much power that he or she becomes akin to God. Try to stick as closely to your core cannon as possible, and simply do more with what your character already has available to him or her. God modding is not simply attempting to control your opponent's character; it's packing your own character with so much that he becomes a literal god, impervious to damage and capable of doing almost anything. Also, certain powers should be avoided; these powers include but or not limited to: time control, unlimited use of portals, telepathy/mind control, control over all the elements, immortality/invulnerability.
Example:
Wrong:
-A goddess who can control time and also has the power to control her opponents.
-A DBZ character who controls his/her own dimension and/or is master of all the elements.
Right:
-A goddess who has a number of acceptable powers.
-A DBZ character who has gained the limited use of one element.
God Modding/God Moding - The act of doing a number of things, including but not limited to: 1) Making every attack you make an auto; 2) Treating every attack your opponent makes as if it cannot hit you or cannot cause you damage; 3) Granting your character unlimited power or granting them as many different powers; 4) Controling your opponent's character without their permission, whether it's announcing that an attack hit or announcing how the character feels or thinks; 5) Acting as if your character is superior to your opponent to the point of treating everything he/she does as weak; 6) Acting as if your character is immortal; and 7) RPing in a manner that disrupts the fairness of RP via the use of an overly powerful, God-like character. Viewed as being the worst thing you can do in RP.
2. History
God modding, or God Moding, comes from old video game lingo, the God Mode. This was the term used for when you entered in cheat codes to give your character access to every power, ability, weapon, area, etc. Some of these codes also gave you the ability to give your character unlimited energy and/or life. In RP, God Moding refers to when you create or use a character that has unlimited energy, can never be beaten, or has access to more powers and/or abilities than is considered appropriate.
3. Opponent Control
Perhaps the most well-known form of god modding is opponent control. This is most evident in autos, where you automatically announce that your actions affect and/or harm your opponent. This is also evident, however, in cases where one fighter dictates how his or her opponent reacts; for instance, some fighters will perform an action and then state that their action has surprised their opponent. This is wrong. You cannot control any aspect of your opponent in an RP fight; not their reaction to your attacks, not their emotions, not even what color shoes they're wearing.
4. Superiority Complex
Another problem with many RPers is that they automatically decide that their character is more powerful than their opponents. This is especially evident in DBZ RP, where there are Power Level in use for many characters. For instance, a Vegeta RPer may automatically assume that a Krillin RPer is too weak to face him. In an RP, this is considered crass and wrong; if the Krillin RPer wants to pretend that he is too weak to face the Vegeta, this is acceptable, but it is not the Vegeta's place or right to decide that he is stronger. RP is about skill, not power, and a Krillin RPer is just as capable of having skill as a Vegeta RPer. No character, no matter who you are, is automatically superior to all other characters in his or her genre. Now, note how I speak of genres in that sentence; I will speak of this later.
Acting as if your character is too strong to be hurt or defeated is likewise wrong. If your opponent launches a powerful attack at you and you just shrug it off like it's nothing, perhaps you even block it with one hand in a casual manner, then you are god modding. This isn't to say that you have to get your butt kicked by each attack; but if your character takes attack after attack with no damage, you're not RPing in a fair, T1 manner and you are simply wasting everyone's time. Included in this is simply dodging everything, either by use of extreme dodging or power dodging. Extreme dodging, in some cases, is not as bad as power dodging; extreme dodging just implies that you never take a hit, but if your opponent is never attacking or attacking only occasionally in a half-assed, lazy manner, then the use of extreme dodging, while still not very good, is at least justified by some means. Power dodging, however, is never alright; this is where, no matter what, you always dodge an attack even if it means doing so in an unlogical or noobish manner. This also applies to when you use the same manner of blocking or dodging for every attack; for instance, if a Goku RPer simply uses the Instant Transmission to teleport away from every attack or a Naruto RPer uses the "it's a clone" manuever for each attack.
RP battles are tit for tat; if you're never going to take damage or you're going to act as if you're too strong or invulnerable to be defeated, you're RPing as a God-like entity that is disrupting the fairness and quality of the gameplay, and thus you're god modding.
5. Forbidden Powers
Some powers, like it or not, are forbidden in a good, fair RP. Among these are:
Time Control: Time control is straight up bad. Having the ability to freeze time gives you the ability to simply freeze time and then do whatever you want to your opponent, often ending in one-hit auto kills.
Control of all the Elements: Controlling one element will make you powerful; controlling all of them is over-kill. Particularly if you're already RPing as a powerful character and you're just adding in additional powers.
Telepathy/Mind Control: Mind Control in and of itself is automatically a god modded ability; as you should know by now, you cannot directly control your opponents character. You can attempt to, by perhaps firing a beam that will give you limited control if it hits, but you cannot simply announce that you take over your opponent's mind. Telepathy is likewise bad, at least when used as a weapon; using telepathy to speak with your friends over long distances is fine, but trying to control your opponent's mind or even read their mind directly is bad. It's not up to you to announce what you're opponent is thinking, and using such an ability is noobish and wrong.
Unlimited use of Portals: Portals are a bit tricky. Simply opening a portal at the beginning of each of your turns to absorb your opponents attacks is noobish and lazy; opening a portal that you claim will automatically suck in your opponent is also god modding. And, remember, stating that it does something automatically and stating that it cannot be escaped is just as bad; you can't label your attacks as being unavoidable in a sneaky attempt at autoing, because that is god modding. Limited use of portals can be okay if it fits your core character; for instance, Janemba from DBZ can sometimes open a portal to attack through or absorb an attack with, but this is a limited use ability that isn't and shouldnt be used for each attack, and is not a widespread ability that every DBZ character should have and use.
Immortality/Invulnerability: This goes back to the previous section; having a character that cannot be hurt or beaten is god modding, plain and simple.
Any ability that allows you to do anything you want is likewise bad; if you've got a God-like ability to do anything at all, how are you not God-moding? Many modified characters seem to have some special energy source that can duplicate or perform any feat, and this is just lazy RPing. Such a power is the very definition of god modding. Likewise, having some power that can control everything (such as time) is also bad. Whether it's a dimension that you automatically pull your opponent into (which is an auto and would be a bad thing anyways) or if it's an energy source that can take over everything in the nuetral environment, it's acting like a God-like entity and is bad. When you think of God, you think of a being who can do anything and control everything, in one manner or another, and so having a power or numerous powers that emulate this is just wrong.
6. Character Modification
And now we come to one of the two biggest god modding problems:
Character Modification. Character modification can either be your best friend or your biggest flaw. To some people, you should have free reign to modify your character however you choose, without limits. But if you do this, you're breaking the first rule of T1 RP: RPing within limits, the limitation of powers aspect. You may look at this and scoff, but think of it: if there are no limitations, then you're going to end up with God-like characters that you can't beat with your standard T1 character. The limitation rule insures that things will be fair. If you're a Goku, you can fight a Vegeta on common grounds and not have to worry about the Vegeta suddenly opening a gate to Hell and sending demons after you while also tapping into the special Omega energy to cause a meteor to crash down on your head. If the Vegeta did do this, he would be a god modder.
However, you can modify your character. For instance, if you're a Goku, you can develop some new ki attacks. If you're a Sasuke, you can learn some additional jutsus or perhaps improve some jutsus you already have access to. In some circles, you can even add in some slight non-cannon abilities. For instance, a Goku who gains some limited use of the element of fire; this goes out of the core cannon, but so long as the Goku is reasonable with the fire usage, it isn't always a purely bad thing. However... if you do take on an element... you need to take a page from Megaman RP: you get power in one element, but then another is gonna cause you more damage than normal. If your element is fire and you get hit by a water based attack, that should do more damage than if you did not have that fire element. Also, keep in mind that if you're going to give yourself more, new powers, you need to drop some that you already had. For instance, if you're going to be a Jenamba with some slight fire control, and then you want to give yourself a new, more powerful form with a lot more special abilities and attacks, you should drop the fire control. Don't just continually add onto your character just because you gain new ideas.
Furthermore, don't use the length of time you've been RPing as a character as an excuse to add on far too much power or too many abilities as to no longer be recognizable as your core character. If you've RPed for a year and you're supposed to be Naruto but you only look like Naruto, with powers and abilities that go way beyond the Naruto character and even the Naruto cannon, then you're god modding. RPers should stick to their cannon's and RP within their genre. When you break the limits of you're genre or disregard all limits of your character, you're going to start becoming an overly powerful character to the point where you don't fit into your genre or even resemble the character you're supposed to be, you're going to begin god modding.
7. Cross Genre RPing
As stated before, you should RP within your genre. A Goku and a Naruto have no business fighting each other; the basic powers and styles are two different. A Naruto can be tough, yes, but last I saw he could not fly and destroy an entire city with a blast from one hand, and if he gets through through a mountain I doubt he'd survive, or if he did, come out with only a few scratches. The best RPing is done within your genre, where things are fair and even for both sides. Cross Genre RPing is just a recipe for disaster and god modding.
Perhaps the biggest problem of cross genre RPing is taking aspects of a separate genre into your character as a way of attempting to compete and be more powerful. For instance, a Gohan suddenly developing the Sharingan, or a Megaman gaining an Inuyasha-like sword or demon soul. This is god modding. A Gohan should not have Naruto abilities; a Megaman should not be concerned with demon souls or having a sword that has mystical properties. What's wrong with a Gohan simply learning a new ki attack, such as perhaps training under a Vegeta to learn the Galick Gun, rather than adding in a bunch of non-DBZ aspects to the character? Why RP as Gohan if you don't want to RP as Gohan? Why RP as a DBZ character if you're not even going to RP in a DBZ manner?
8. Creating a New Character
Here's where the second big problem in god modding comes from. Creating a whole new character. Now, I've already posted something on how to do this correctly. Some like it, some don't. But, come on. Creating a new character that has every power you can think of is clearly god modding. And if your character has no genre... who do you plan on RPing with? If you create a new character who doesn't fit into a certain genre and has way too much power or too many powers, you're most likely a god modder. It's actually really easy to set your character into a genre and RP within the confines of that genre. There's no need to make an all-purpose character that contains so many aspects as to be almost God-like.
9. Conclusion
Now, if you read this, you'll hopefully walk away with at least one realization: God modding is very complicated. It's not as simple as someone using autos or never admitting defeat. There's much more to it. Here's some brief notes to more or less sum up what was said.
~If your character has God-like powers or abilities, you are a god modder.
~If your character borrows from too many cannons, or go too far outside of the limits of your core character or genre, you are a god modder.
~If your character cannot be hit or hurt or you RP him so that he never takes a hit or gets hurt, you are a god modder.
~If you try to control your opponent, you're a god modder.
RPing correctly is really quite simple and once you get the hang of T1, it's easier to get better. And if you're going to god mod, at least have the decency to not claim you're a T1 RPer or try to taint a T1 RP group or tournament with your presence. And also, don't think that merely listing it makes it right. I can write down "James Baldwin discovered he was the rebirth of Jesus Christ and gained the powers of God" on my page, and it would not make me less of a god modder if I was to RP as a God-like entity.
If anyone has any further questions or constructive comments on God Moding/God Modding, please either post it here or ask me in private. No senseless insulting, however.
The Learning Center
As much information as we can collect is provided here, information dating back to T1's early inception. The Learning Center is meant to be a resource for budding roleplayers to use to improve themselves and their skills, and perhaps to help others as well along the way. Over many years I and others with whom I worked on this page with have seen lots of unfortunate events led by roleplayers abusing either systems or ideals and mistreating other roleplayers to an end where no one knows right from wrong. Our hope is to bring a peaceful way to reach conclusions to either situations or events through means which all those who roleplay can understand and benefit from. Read on and don't be afraid to contact us with questions or comments.
To those who are still asking the question "What is T1?", here is my honest and opinionated reply to you.
T1 is a style of free-form text-based role-play that is considered one of the highest of its kind. Such things as typing skill, details, grammar, and font features are its culture, making it a more elaborate and complex than just merely role-playing with multiple details. Also, the flow of each sentence should have a sense of direction all together. T1 is mostly used in battle by the ones who call themselves veteran role-players that can contribute a massive amount of posts in the form of multiple semi-paragraph or multiple paragraph (which is used the most). The restriction of god-modding (invincibility) and auto-hitting (taking much control of the outcome your opponent's moves) is highly enforced within T1, making it strict in a RP battle style point of view. However, the posts must NOT rely on the quantity they possesses at most times, but more so on the accurate and reasonable quality that the RPs posts have.
To reduce the intimidation done to you by this RP style, you must master 9 aspects. Much easier than it sounds!
1. Don't let other's advice or harsh words involving your RP creations to ever put you down if they are a burden to you
2. Build the enthusiasm and courage to Role-Play using 2 or more paragraphs or 3 or more semi-paragraphs
3. Grasp the willpower to learn and understand what will be bestowed upon you during the training you will receive from your mentors or sub-mentors
4. Your works speak of how you will be treated, so practice proof-reading much as well as checking for text-based errors in your posts (on how it looks and how it sounds to the reader, besides the post creator)
5. Know your character's abilities both in and out without dwindling too much about his/her/its past story
6. Challenge yourself in being creative with what you put in your RP, including practicing to create detailed role-plays to build improvement other than during your lessons
7. You must always remember that "quality is always greater than quantity"
8. Don't pitch for perfection, so you can at least just hone your skills to a level that will give a great or an outstanding impression to the reader (mainly another RPer) as you progress with what you know and what you can do
9. Don't stress on worrying about failing battles or not being to T1 RP at times
~~ Let me break them all down to give greater light to each of their importance.
~|Don't let others advice or harsh words involving your RP creations to ever put you down if they are a burden to you|
This one aspect is where superiority and inferiority collides with each other and harms the thoughts of those who aren't used to T1 as the ones that could do so end up bad-mouthing or stating much advice to the beginners and less-experienced. Listen, you have your own opinion. Why put up with others' that literally results into harming you? However, just because you have an opinion, it doesn't mean that you should step on the level in which you think that world revolves around you. No, that is one of the last things you want to accomplish. Avoid arrogance that others give you and that you may end up giving yourself with. Be open-minded at times or most of the time. Trust me, you'll feel less aggravated with what others think of your creations. And if they don't like it, then OH WELL, it happens. Either you ignore it or search what is harming your work, you know?? Defend yourself but don't make the world revolve around you.
~|Build the enthusiasm and courage to Role-Play using 2 or more paragraphs or 3 or more semi-paragraphs|
I know a lot of your beginners are either one of the two types of RPers: the lazy ones or the ones who are afraid to type/write a lot. I know many falls under one of the two and will probably take a long while before moving away from the habit of shunning Semi-Para (3 or 4 sentences in one bunch) or Para (5 or more sentences in one bunch) Role-Playing. But you have to remember that you won't advance in life if you're not willing to try and take a step forward to change your actions and standpoint, somehow. Same goes with RPing, especially T1. Give it a try and hone your courage on at least trying. Enthusiasm (interest on a certain thing, entity, event or idea) will build itself as you progress with trying much more. Here's an example Para that I can give you that contains 6 sentences.
[|||||]
Green is the shade which mostly dominates the stem-filled territory as the tens of thousands of bamboos remain stand on their ground for many years now. The street block-wide clearing he stopped at is filled with brown and dark orange on the ground as such colors originate from the dry leaves that have been compiled from falling down many hours, days, weeks, months, or even years ago. Soil and botanical presence are abundant enough for his Earth Dragon Force to take advantage of. Governing his inner supernatural skill to harness and apply soil, earthly minerals and plant lives to his own use, Ryu works his body and mind with his chi to activate such elemental force. A privilege given to him by one of the Dragon Deities he serves under is to move hundreds of thousands of tons of soil and minerals up, within or down on the ground. This same force also governs his chi to manipulate the conditions, motions, amount and stability of plant parts, going from roots, stems, flowers, and up to the leaves.
[|||||]
~|Grasp the willpower to learn and understand what will be bestowed upon you during the training you will receive from your mentors or sub-mentors|
One feature that will help you improve T1 RPing is that you're a learner that wants to understand what you are being taught with. If you get a sermon for making a wrong turn in your answers towards your mentor/sub-mentor, then don't make it a big deal. It's like school. You fail at times and then you work on improving as you go on and learn much more until you flip the failures into triumphs. With T1, you definitely need to understand the concepts of what will be given to you as a part of your learning experience. Whether it's how present your character, how to attack, how to defend, how to avoid cheating by invincible to a degree, or anything else, you will have to form understanding in doing them all and knowing why the should be done in the first place. Learning and understanding the aspects of T1 will make you an efficient RPer that can perform the style with greater ease.
~|Your works speak of how you will be treated, so practice proof-reading much as well as checking for text-based errors in your posts (on how it looks and how it sounds to the reader, besides the post creator)|
Since English is the main language used for role-playing, you will have to speak out as smoothly as you can in your RPs in the form of text. The flow of your post, how it sounds, the sentence structures, the inclusion of complete thoughts in each sentence, and many more all contribute to how your creations will be judged by those who will read them. So, before sending RP posts, check it once or more to ensure that it's pleasing to one's eyes and ears when he/she reads it. You may never know that grammar or spelling errors still actually linger within an unchecked set of RP text. In T1, being fluent with how you state your RP is highly crucial and others will perhaps grasp the treatment towards you with how you present your works to them. So, make it a habit to proof-read your RP creations. Remember, what counts in how it looks and sounds is the thought of the reader actually taking a good look at it and giving you an honest idea of what you did. After all, you are RPing for the sake of having an amusingly great text-based time with others that will read your RP posts, correct??
~|Know your character's combat-based skill, both in and out, without dwindling too much about his/her/its past story|
This is highly important in terms of making your character powerful but with using moderation. You might ask how come many T1 RPers are good with what they do. Well, it's because they know how their character is built, in and out. When performing T1, as this to yourself. Why create or pick a character that you will never build abilities around him/her/it?? Don't be too greedy with what you put in your character. Show some limit or you will flagged with the use of god-modding (the act of using invincibility in role-play), which is an illegal move to do in T1. Know how your character works in terms of combat-based abilities but show some restriction, if not too much. No need to really put a full-blown background story to support your character's abilities. A little explanation with much logic in it is enough if such thing is necessary to ensure that you are being reasonable with your character's combat-based features. An effective T1ist can perform methods that have limited use of power or energy yet it remains potent in its result against the RPer it will be used against. You will have to practice at least fighting some opponents and know it first hand how it's done.
~|Challenge yourself in being creative with what you put in your RP, including practicing to create detailed role-plays to build improvement other than during your lessons|
Don't worry about writer's block. It happens much, especially if you get lost in the train of thoughts you may be having. Everyone has the ability to make something creative and interesting. So, why should you be limited with it?? Try making at least 3 to 6 sentence worth of RPs, once in a while, so your skill in typing something different will get its proper exercise. Build your vocabulary and twist your rational sentence structures once in a while a fluent manner. Make sure that there is that viscous substance in each sentence, especially within presenting your character's abilities. I meant that as having your sentences to actually give the proper share to the entire RP post, especially if the sentence that is holding ability your character. Don't rely on making your creations flashy and stylish yet has no backbone. Still, practice role-playing with 3 or more sentences in each reply, and that definitely includes non-T1.
~|You must always remember that "quality is always greater than quantity"|
Oh, dear Lord. -__-; This is one part on improving within T1 that you must certainly understand as you progress. Many elite role-players fall under the influence of overflowing their posts, especially in a battle opener. Some or many get it correctly and the others don't. Never let yourself be tempted to post too much that aren't really necessary in the RP. Just because you can probably Para RP or even do more than that, it doesn't mean that you should slather your creation with details, details and guess what, more details. No, you should smack your hands and shake your head for a moment, then recollect on what you have been, are or will be doing. Never let the quality of your post be determined on how much it has in terms of the text included in it. Just put what is necessary yet make it a reasonable one in terms of its amount as you sum it all up neatly in a form of a role-play battle post. Dwindling in the past is a common deadweight you'll notice with many or some of the T1 RPers still insist on adding in their Intro. It's unnecessary due to the focus of past events rather than making the present event as the significant moment, since it's a battle that will occur very soon. The only way to make a past story in an opener seem reasonable is when an ability needs at least one or two sentence worth of brief background on when it spawned, how did it spawn and how does it work. Other than that, you shouldn't put 3 or more sentences and especially 1 or more paragraph that involves the background story of your character. Nail the proper introduction without really giving much importance to a story that occurred to your character's late past. You think it's a viscous substance for your opener but you are sadly moving in the wrong lane. Remember, the present event is more vital than reminiscing about your character's past.
~|Don't pitch for perfection, so you can at least just hone your skills to a level that will give a great or an outstanding impression to the reader (mainly another RPer) as you progress with what you know and what you can do|
Yes, competition does seem to brew much within T1 RPing. But you know what?? Don't make a big fuss about it, especially if you are just beginning to seize the opportunity to learn this RP style. Your works are amazing in their own way. You don't need to make it sound all perfect. As long as it's reasonable, smooth-flowing and enough in details, you'll do fine, or even great, to be more precise. So what if others' works look and sound better than yours?? No need to dwindle on that too much, especially if it aggravates you. Remember, you have your own ways to make you works to be great. Don't make it all perfect as if it's the greatest RP post of the century. Just know that you can create something great for others to see (mainly "others", of course) and hear, and that's more than satisfying enough for both the creator and the readers.
~|Don't stress on worrying about failing battles or not being able to perform T1 RP at times|
Yes, there are few that are unbeatable in T1 RPs, but you don't have to be put down by your status of loosing a battle. Leave that to the smug RPers to debate about how humiliating the consequences will be if one looses. I prefer a loss as an experience that tells me that I have much to learn or I did things incorrectly. Other than that, don't make a big deal out of it. Trust me, my first T1 battle was a failure due to lack of wisdom because I end up power-modding (immediate regeneration of your character's power) against my opponent. So, it was my own fault and I learned to avoid it now. You can, too. Unless you're in a timed battle, don't stress too much on it. I prefer patience over rushed post. Yes, there are those who can think and type their RP posts quickly and fluently. Hopefully, you will develop such skill, too. But until that moment arrives and you master such skill, try not to dwell negatively on not being able to T1 RP so much. You practice it at your own available time. Don't let your RP be a source of your stress, especially in real-life. Relax when you need to and just let your mind be fueled with creativity and mood to T1 RP once again.
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Once you grasp all of those, you are ready for advancement. It won't always be a smooth rode and that I can assure you. But you know what they say. "Where there is a will, there is a way."
~~Basic Definitions of Terms for RPers
Auto - The act of announcing that an attack automatically hits; hence, the name "auto". Bad in serious RP.
Ex: -Bob punches Billy in the gut-
Calculated Damage - The act of determining the exact effect of your attack if it hits. Bad in serious RP.
Ex. -Bob throws a punch at Billy's gut, which if it hits, will cause Billy to feel intense pain and lose his breath-
Chain Attacks - Attacks that are directly tied together; in chain attacks, each attack depends upon the success of the previous attack in deciding whether or not the attack is either successful as well or is even made. If one attack in the chain is not successful, often times the remaining attacks are declared null and void.
Ex: -Bob powers up to SSJ2 and flies at Billy, throwing out one fist and attempting to uppercut his opponent hopefully knocking him up into the air. If the attack succeeds, Bob would then dissappear, reappearing above Billy with his fists locked and attempting to slam them down upon Billy's head as he flies into the air. If this attack were to succeed, it would likely knock Billy back down to the ground. If this happens, Bob would then aim his palms down at his fallen foe and fire a series of ki blasts that, if they were to connect, would pound Billy further into the ground-
Combo Attacks - Attacks that are not dependent upon each other and thus can be performed regardless of whether or not a previous attack connected.
Ex: -Bob powers up to SSJ2 and flies at Billy, throwing out one fist and attempting to uppercut his opponent, hopefully knocking Billy up into the air. Upon completing the attack, and regardless of whether or not it succeeded, Bob would then aim his palms at Billy and fire off a series of ki blasts at his opponent. Any that connected would cause small explosions that could possible burn Billy-
Extreme Dodging - The act of dodging every attack in an RP, often without logical reasoning, though it is not necessarily so. Bad in serious RP. Also: "Power Dodging".
God Modding/God Moding - The act of doing a number of things, including but not limited to: 1) Making every attack you make an auto; 2) Treating every attack your opponent makes as if it cannot hit you or cannot cause you damage; 3) Granting your character unlimited power or granting them as many different powers; 4) Controling your opponent's character without their permission, whether it's announcing that an attack hit or announcing how the character feels or thinks; 5) Acting as if your character is superior to your opponent to the point of treating everything he/she does as weak; 6) Acting as if your character is immortal; and 7) RPing in a manner that disrupts the fairness of RP via the use of an overly powerful, God-like character. Viewed as being the worst thing you can do in RP.
In-Character (IC) - The act of speaking and/or acting as your RP character. The proper way to speak/act in a serious RP.
Limitation of Powers - The agreement of serious RPers to limit the amount of power or number of powers that your character has access to. One of the basic rules of T1 RP.
Multi-Para - A form of T1 RP which consists of multiple paragraphs of text. T1 Multi-Para is often characterized by a great deal of description, multiple attacks performed in each post (conditionally acceptable under unique circumstances), and a focus on in-depth character analysis.
Newb - A person who is new to RP and thus might not know the correct methods of RPing. Not meant to be an insulting term, nor to be confused with the term "noob".
Noob - A person who is not new to RP and should know how to RP correctly and yet continues to RP in an incorrect manner. Meant as an insulting title, and not to be confused with the term "newb".
One-Liner - A form of RP that consists of simply one line of text. Often used by newbs, noobs, and those who simply lack the ability to describe things.
Out-Of-Character (OOC) - The act of speaking and/or acting as your RL self. Improper in a serious RP.
Para - A form of T1 RP that consists of one paragraph of text. Usually either descriptive with few actions taken or not descriptive with many actions taken.
Power Playing - The act of RPing in a manner that attempts to force your opponent into taking actions he/she does not wish to take; attempting to describe an attack in a manner that makes it seem as if it is either unblockable or undodgable.
Real Life (RL) - Real life is simply that: the real life of an RPer.
Role-play (RP) - Role-play is the act of assuming the identity of a character, either pre-existing or original, and then participating in scenarios and fights in which you act and speak as your character.
Role-player (RPer) - One who role-plays.
Semi-Para - A form of T1 RP that consists of anywhere between one line of text to almost a full paragraph of text. Often characterized by consisting of a bare minimum of descriptions and actions.
Sub-Calculated Damage - The act of providing some suggestions for possible effects of an attack while not outright claiming what the effect will be. An advised aspect for serious RP.
Ex: -Bob throws a hard punch at Billy's gut. If it were to hit, it could possibly cause him some acute pain, as well as possibly causing him to lose his breath-
Technique1 (T1) - A method of RP that consists of turn-based combat with descriptive posts that can consist of anywhere from almost a full paragraph to dozens of full paragraphs. Follows a strict set of RP rules. Often used in forums and through services like Xanga and Myspace.
Technique 2 (T2) - A method of RP that focuses on speed-based combat that are often not overly descriptive. Follows a strict set of rules concerning word counts. Often used in chatrooms and instant messenger services such as AIM and Yahoo.
Technique 3 (T3) - A method of RP that is based off of T2, yet lacks the rules that make T2 organized and fair. Uncommon, and found almost exclusively in instant messages.
RP Levels and Skill Basing
"RP Levels"
This is something I myself cooked up while speaking to a friend of mine named Genesis. This is in no way a true part of T1 RP. This is simply a classification system I thought up that adequately describes all RPers in one way or another.
Level One:
These are the RPers who do not follow T1 Rules and Regulations. They are often one-liners who auto, use poor grammar and spelling, and god modd in one manner or another. Most are either newbs or noobs, though people who only RP for fun and choose not to engage in serious RP can also be part of this level of RP.
Level Two:
These are the RPers who follow T1 Rules and Regulations but do not produce high-quality posts. Their posts are usually short, anywhere from one line to one small paragraph. They may or may not god modd on occasion.
Level Three:
These are RPers who follow or attempt to follow T1 Rules and Regulations. Their format is often correct, with usually 2 to 4 paragraphs of text, but their content is often of poor quality. They often god modd.
Level Four:
These are RPers who have poor T1 structure but have acceptable content. They may have mispelled words, poor grammar, and as few as 2 paragraphs, but they do not god modd in any way. Their posts may sometimes be sloppy, but they make up for this by not RPing in an incorrect manner.
Level Five:
These are the RPers who follow T1 Rules and Regulations fully. Their posts are anywhere from 3 to 6 paragraphs of text, and their content is adequate. They do not god modd, and for the most part their posts are clean and readable, with few spelling and grammar errors. They are often intelligent RPers and like to keep things fair and correct.
Level Six:
These are the most professional RPers. They follow T1 Rules and Regulations strictly. Their posts can be anywhere from 8+ paragraphs long, and rarely is there a case in which anything they do could be construed as a godmod or auto. They are often meticulous about detail and correctness. They also show a great deal of intelligent thought and strategy in their RP fights.
Another Issue to be addressed:
"Noob Levels"
There often seems to be some concern about who the best RPer is. Now, to put it simply, such contemplations are a waste of time. There is no "best" in RP. Many RPers are simply average. Many are decent. A number are skilled. And there are perhaps a few who would qualify as being very good to a lot of people. But... the best? Such a title will never, ever be achieved by anyone, and anyone who does make such a claim is likely little more than an arrogant noob (or newb, if the person is just new and hasn't quite grasped at how wide-spread and large the RP world is). However, since merely pointing this out doesn't work, here's a brief look at a number of RPers who were believed to be among the best at one point. Names will not be given in this, but those who have been around for a while may be able to deduce the identities of some of these people.
Noob 1
This noob was viewed as the best by many, many people. Indeed, at a time when T1 was barely represented on Myspace, this noob was looked to as a "legend". Why? Well, appearently, posts like these were considered "great" posts:
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-aura from body pushes you back burning your body the closer you get to me-
-while aura has you pushed back i go into hellzone god speed making u unable to sense my movements and punch you in the jaw-
-you get punched in the gut 10 times in a millisecond and then your face gets shoved into a wall-
I suggest you give up now before i actually start trying
-laughs-
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Does this noob have any right to claim to be the best, with his/her glaring use of autos, poor spelling/grammar, and poor detail? Now, this post was created years ago. The noob in question improved slightly as time went on. But posts such as these were still pointed to with pride as being proof of a "legendary" status. Also, keep in mind that T1 has been around a long time, considerably longer than Myspace; so to claim that good RP "just didn't exist back then" would be a grossly ignorant excuse for pointing to this as being good. A main facet of this noob is that he treated his "experience" as being proof of him being the best; in other words, since he (and others like him) were on Myspace for 3 years, they were the best. Frankly, and I've said this before, experience means nothing if you weren't doing things right. Spend 2 and a half years RPing in a god modded and noobish manner, and the fact that you've RPed for 3 years means nothing; indeed, the RPer who has only RPed for 1 year but has RPed correctly for that entire year is likely a much more skilled and good RPer than someone who has RPed for 3 years but only been RPing correctly for a few months. This isn't to say a long-term noob can't one day become a truly skilled RPer; but to point to the noobishness of the past as being proof of being better than anyone is quite laughable. Now, let's move on to Noob 2.
Noob 2
This noob was not viewed as the best, but she was viewed as being "great". Now, where Noob 1's problems were mostly concerned with the basic infringements of good RP, Noob 2 is a better example of a poorly constructed character. Here is a brief description of Noob 2's character:
Noob 2 was a Saiyajin. She was also a sorceress. She was also a goddess. She had ki-based powers, jutsus, elemental powers, shadow powers, demonic powers, summoning/sealing powers, and even, in some instances, the power of time. There was nothing this noob could not do. Indeed, this noob was supposedly so powerful that her death would end existence... and woe be unto anyone who dared not view her or her friends as being powerful; should one brag about being powerful while calling another weak, this noob expected you to not only let them do so, but to also accept and endorse the idea that these people were truly powerful and great RPers. Why? Because her story said so. This noob also prided herself on training others to become better RPers. What was this training, you ask? Essentially, she god modded the hell out of you in a "fight" and then claimed you were better afterwards. Sounds real helpful, eh folks?
Now, based off of this description, you should be able to note a few things. One is that this person's ability to create a character sucked. Being a good RPer includes being able to work within the boundaries of fair RP; anyone at all can simply give his or her character every power or ability he or she can think of, and anyone can "win" with such an over-powered character, especially when facing characters that strive to be fair and balanced. As such, is simly having a "powerful" character a sign of being "the best"? No. Why? Because anyone can describe his or her actions as powerful, or grant his or her character the powers of God. I could add in "my character woke up one day to discover that he was the Lord Jesus Christ and thus was All-Powerful" and it would NOT make me a good RPer; indeed, such noobishness would mark me as a noob. Such noobishness marks many "great" RPers as just being simply noobs. At any rate, on to Noob 3.
Noob 3
This noob is viewed as being one of the best, especially among his friends. Why? Because he wins a lot! In fact, he's never been defeated! He's fought hundreds of fights and never lost a one... isn't that amazing?
However... let's look into how an RP fight works, shall we? In an RP... autoing and controlling your opponent is bad. So, you can't actually "beat" your opponent; you can't shoot his arm off, or blast him through a mountain, or seal him within a box from which he can never escape. No, you must ATTEMPT to do these things... and then he must decide on whether or not to let you. Now, many people seem to think it's "bad" to be hit. That taking damage in a fight or, heaven forbin, losing the fight is a sign of being a poor RPer. But under what set of rules or guidelines? How many of you enjoy RPing with someone who refuses to take a hit and is only concerned with being the winner of the fight? There is no fun, there is no enjoyment. There's just this person refusing to be hit or hurt while practically demanding for you to do so every turn. Is this fun? I would think not. Now, what about when someone takes his or her fair share of lumps? I do believe the key word there is "fair", ladies and gentlemen. And what's more fair than accepting a loss? Does this make the winner the better RPer? Not necessarily. If a Batman RPer fights a Superman RPer, who do you think would win? Now, let's take a snippet from a fight between two such RPers:
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Superman: -flys at speeds u cant keep up with an punches u hard in da facde- haha take that!
Batman: -As Batman is a normal human, albeit one with superior physical training than the average man, the Dark Knight would be unable to keep up with Superman's superior speed. Barely having time to throw up his arms in a bid to form a defense, the man known both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman would feel Superman's powerful fist slam into his arms, crunching the bones of his fore-arms as they shielded his face from the crushing pain that was Superman's fist. Pulling upon years of being a stoic and stiffling a yell of agony from the pain he had just endured, Batman would be sent flying across the battlefield, only to land in a crumpled heap beside a wall. Somehow managing to find the strength to stand after such an uncharacteristically brutal attack from his longtime friend, Clark Kent, Batman would open his cracked and bloodied lips to call out to the man from Krypton, his arms now dangling useless at his sides. However, while Batman sought to reach his friend's inner mind, the wily nature of the Batman did not trust in human kindness alone; as he called out to Superman, Batman would battle through the pain to reach into his utility belt, grabbing onto his JLA membership card and sending out a signal to the JLA Watchtower, hoping that someone on-board would receive the distress signal and come lend a helping hand against the out-of-control Superman.- "Clark! What has gotten into you? Snap out of this!"
-----
Now, based on that, it looks like Superman is clearly winning this battle, right? But... is he being the better RPer? For one, does the actions described by Superman sound like something you would expect from the Man of Steel? And is anything about his post particularly stunning or awe-inspiring? Meanwhile, look at Batman's post. Now, his post is not amazing either... but it's much better than Superman's. It tells a story. it goes into the head of Batman, giving you a look at the CHARACTER. Rememing, RP is not just fighting; it's playing the role of your character. And while this Batman isn't a perfect Batman, I'd say he looks to be a much better RPer than Superman. Gasp, but this can't be! Batman is clearly losing, you might point out. But... once again... who cares? In terms of RP skill, Batman is superior. The result of the fight doesn't matter; the journey to the end does. Is your favorite part of eating your favorite candy-bar the moment where you have nothing left but a wrapper, or is it the moments where you're eating your candy-bar and enjoying the taste? An RP is no different; if anything, the end of the fight and the moment a winner is decided should be the worst part; it signals that the fun is over. But, this is besides the point. Looking at such an example, can you truly believe that merely winning a fight makes you the better RPer, and that winning all your fights makes you the best? Typically, those who do actually make claims of being undefeated or having amassed a huge record of wins is likely just a noobing god modder, worse than even the Superman in the example.
Conclusion:
Now, what did we learn from this? We looked at someone who was supposedly the best for being around for years. We looked at an example of someone making an overly powerful and god modded character seem great. And we also took a look at the use of undefeated streaks and win-loss records as a form of measuring skill. In the end, hopefully you can walk away from this with this in mind: being an RPer for x number of years doesn't make you the best, nor does having a character with x number of powers, nor does winning x number of fights. What does make someone the best, then, if all these things are false? Simple. Nothing. Because the title doesn't exist, despite how badly some people need to believe otherwise.
Age vs Skill in RP & Cross-Genre RPing
Length in RP: Age, Experience, and Detail
Length
Length plays three roles in the world of RP. There is the length of time the RPer has been alive (age), the length of time the RPer has been RPing (experience), and the length of the posts that the RPer is able to make (detail). Some people believe experience is what makes a good RPer; they believe that so long as you've been RPing for a certain number of years, you must be a good RPer. Others believe that so long as you can produce a post that is longer than your opponent, you must automatically be better. Here is where I will speak of these three components.
Age
Age means absolutely nothing in an RP. Pure and simple. I've seen 12 year olds with maturity and skill, and I've seen 20 year olds who break down into OOC insults after only 1 RP post, and who could not produce a decent post to save their lives. As such, just because someone is young does not mean they can't RP well. However.... this is a double-edged sword. While it's true that their age doesn't automatically mean they can't RP, it also means that they can't hide behind it when they make mistakes. I've seen some young RPers brag of their skill, saying their age doesn't matter and they are just as good as others, but then when confronted with poor posts they go "oh, well, I'm just a kid". You can't have it both ways; either you're capable of doing things just as well as anyone else, or you're just a kid who can't keep up. It is my personal belief that if you're old enough to RP, you're old enough to RP right. Furthermore, when it comes to the age of an RP character, once again... it doesn't matter. Someone RPing as a kid Saiyajin can have as much skill as someone RPing as an adult Saiyajin; they shouldn't have to automatically lose just because their opponent is older.
So does age matter? No, not in the slightest.
Experience
A number of people who have RPed for a long while think experience is all that matters. They believe that newer RPers should not be able to compete with them, and that they have the right to be all-powerful on the grounds that they've been RPing for so long. Not all veteran RPers claim this, mind you, but a number of them do. This is wrong as well. It doesn't matter how long you've been RPing your character; God Moding is still God Moding, and it's wrong no matter how you try to spin it. I've known people who have RPed as the same character for 9 years straight, and her character is still much the same now as it was back when she started. And then I've seen others who have taken a simple yet powerful character and after only 2 years of using it, they've added on so much power and so many additional abilities that it no longer resembles anything that it once was and is so over-powered as to clearly be God Moded. Also, experience depends on a key factor in RP: whether or not you've been RPing correctly. Some people God Mode and use noobism for years; they produce one-liner posts with horrible spelling and generally piss off everyone they come into contact with. Is the fact that they've RPed for 3 years automatically make them good? Of course not. In some cases, "experience" means nothing more than "slow learner". Some people can come into RP and do so correctly and well from day one; others spend years as a noob and have only recently begun to try to RP correctly. So trying to hold to the belief that just because you've been around for a long time equating that you're a good RPer is substanceless and stupid. Furthermore, keep in mind, RP did not begin with Myspace; RP in general has been around for longer than anyone has been alive, and T1 has been around for over a decade, likely two decades. On a side note, I will speak more of Myspace and it's relation to RP in a another discussion at another point in time. So anyone saying they started RP or even T1 is being an idiot, and anyone believing that their being on Myspace for 3 years making them the best in RP is a fool. Now, if you've been RPing correctly for a long time, you gain a bit of credibility; however, that still doesn't mean you have the right to have a God Moded character or are automatically better/stronger/faster/whatever than everyone.
So does experience matter? Very little; it only matters if you've been RPing correctly, and even then it doesn't mean much.
Detail
At last we come to the third component of this lecture: detail. As stated before, some people think the length of the post is all that matters. This is, of course, false. Yes, detail is important to RP. Even T2, a form of RP that trades detail for speed, still requires enough detail to make everything vivid. To T1, detail is the basic backbone that holds everything together. However, much like a pillar in a temple, it is not the alone is not enough to support a good post. If a post is incredibly long but also riddled with mistakes, it's not a good post. If it's a long post but the RPer autod and God Moded in it, it's not a good post. If it's the biggest post you've ever seen but written in such a vague and confusing manner as to be unreadable, it's not a good post. The length of the post is a factor, but so too are the structure and the content. RPing is like baking cookies, in a way. You have a number of factors you need to put into a good post, just as you have a number of ingredients that need to go together in order to bake the cookies. If you omit one of the factors, or one of the ingredients, what you get is a flawed product; the post won't be good and the cookie won't be good either. But when you get it right... when you remember all the factors and type up your post with them in mind... the cookie tastes good indeed. And, of course, the more cookies you have, the better off you are; just as how having a dozen good cookies is better than only having one good cookie, having a good long post is better than having a good short post. That's not to say that only baking one good cookie is bad, or that producing only a good short post is bad; both are good, but it's a lot harder to make a good long post, and thus it's more impressive to do so. Anyone can do a one-liner post, just like anyone can throw a basketball. However, how many can score a basket in one hoop from the other end of the court? And how many can write an incredibly long post that is also structured well and contains good content? Not as many. So which is better, doing what anyone can do or doing what only a few can do? I believe the answer is obvious to everyone. As such, length most certainly plays a factor, even if it is not the sole factor as some people believe it to be.
So does the length of the post matter? Partially; it is not the sole factor in determining a good post, but it is a factor.
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Alright. There seems to be a few people who are against a number of the definitions of God Modding; more specifically, they are against the idea that cross genre is bad. So, here's a little lecture on just this subject.
Now, we all know baseball players can be good. We all know football players can be good. But, do we have a team of baseball players play a team of football players? No, we don't. Why? Because the two sports are just too different. Same goes for the different genres in RP. They're just too different. Now, it's true that a few can cross over, just as it would be possible thata footnall team and a rugby team could possibly play against each other (and by football, I mean the American football sport, not the football that Americans refer to as soccer). For instance, Bleach and Inuyasha. Inuyasha from Inuyasha and Ichigo from Bleach are both effectively strong humans with fancy swords. As such, it would be possible for the two to have a fight. However, even then, the genres themselves are quite different; Inuyasha takes place in the Fuedal Era, and Bleach takes place in the present, so having the two mix is a bit odd. Still, most genres just do not mix at all. Take Naruto and DBZ. Naruto features people who are effectively just human; they have special tricks, but that's about it. DBZ features beings capable of destroying planets; in fact, the few basic human characters presented (such as Hercule, or even the purple ninja from the original Dragonball series) are completely outmatched. One hit would be all it'd take to destroy the Naruto character. Does this mean Naruto characters are weak or the Na can RPers are less skilled? No. Naruto RPers can be even more skilled than DBZ RPers. But the inherent, basic abilities of both genres just sets one to be more powerful than the other. The second Sasuke takes a hit from a high-powered Kamehameha Wave, he's toast; and if he survives, he's giving his character far more resilience than he would otherwise have.
This brings me to a main point: cross-genre RP leads to god modding. Don't believe me? First, let's take another look at the term God Modding.
God Modding comes from the video game term of the God Mode; this was the mode you went into when you granted your character every weapon, power, ability, etc available in the game. Not only that, but you would also grant the character invulnerability as well. The way this transfers into RP is the packing of as many powers as possible into a character, as well as making a character unable to be hit, hurt, or beaten, as well as a few other definitions. However, right now, here's the definition we're concerned with: the packing of additional powers not found in the core cannon and/or the over-powering of a character.
Now, think on this: an Inuyasha has a set of powers and abilities already given to him. He has his basic half-demon strength, speed, resilience, and endurance, as well as his powerful claw attacks, enhanced senses, and most importantly his sword, which is capable of it's own spectrum of abilities. Compared to your average, non-powered human, this makes Inuyasha quite powerful, and with all of these abilities and strengths, it makes Inuyasha a danger to anyone in the Inuyaha genre. However, conversely, he's also in danger from all other characters in the Inuyasha genre. His brother, Naraku, Koga, Bankotsu, etc. He can have a fair and fun fight with any of them. Now let's say you want to modify him; that's alright, right? Give him a little uniqueness to set him apart from other Inuyashas. Maybe you give him some additional demonic abilities, such as a few flame-based attacks or something. Such powers are present in other, similar characters (ie, the other demons, who have special powers all their own) and as such taking them into your Inuyasha character is not so huge a stretch. It's definitely modification, but you're still playing within the rules of your genre.
However... let's say you then decide to start RPing outside of your genre. Compared to your basic DBZ character, Inuyasha is nothing at all. He's fast, but nowhere near as fast as Cell. He's strong, but nowhere near as strong as Vegeta. He's resilient, but nowhere near as resilient as Buu. And while he has a sword, we've all seen how good swords word in the DBZ universe; Goku was able to block Trunks' sword easily, and Android 18 broke that same sword later. To put it simply, Inuyasha wouldn't stand a chance against most DBZ characters. So, how would he deal with this, if he suddenly wanted to fight and defeat DBZ characters? Add in additional powers! Suddenly, we'll have an Inuyasha capable of flying and firing energy blasts which could destroy entire cities; he'll be able to teleport around the field and take hits that would leave a standard Inuyasha as a deceased paste. Effectively, this Inuyasha would begin to disregard all restrictions and pack in his character with as many additional powers as he can, as well as with powers that are not even remotely acceptable in standard Inuyasha RP; in case you've forgotten what was said earlier in this lecture, that's God Modding.
Now... even people who seem to understand that tend to forget this. Once that Inuyasha is done transforming his character into a god modded character, he or she will likely keep those powers. He or she will then return to RPing with other Inuyasha characters... and surprise, surprise... now it's his turn to be the massively powerful character. How will the others be forced to respond? You guessed it; the power store will be visited once more, and we'll have a whole slew of RPers over-powering their characters to keep up. Meanwhile, the DBZ character that fought this God Modded Inuyasha will possibly fall prey to the same thing; chances are good that we'll suddenly see a demonic Goku with the power to control demonic flames and with the use of a sword that steals souls, or some other nonsense along those lines. Which will make things spread in the other direction; other DBZ characters will see this and do the same.
Cross-Genre RP and the God Modding that comes from it tends to be a disease; it spreads like wildfire and the next thing you know, you can't find a healthy tree anywhere. Don't believe this? Here's a brief review of the DBZ sector of Myspace.
A fellow named Hellzone came in and, with his friends doing the same, began to massively over-power his character. They effectively became Gods, with every power from any genre that struck their interest. Very little of what they did matched up with DBZ at all. Naruto powers, control over all the elements, unlimited powers, special energy sources that were supposedly supreme, special dimensions, the over-use of portals, Final Fantasy style magic, demonic powers, etc... they were all fair game. Finding a decent DBZ character who looked like he or she fit into DBZ was a hard thing to do. And whenever new characters came in, they would see these overly powerful beings and seek to imitate them. Remember when Raijin was just a Cell character? Now he's a Heavenly being with power over lightning and the gods only know what else; and then, of course, other Cell characters and Majin Buu characters met him, and then we have more characters like that. Now, some modification can be okay; giving a Saiyajin some lightning-based power is acceptable, particularly if you have a good story to back it up (for instance, the Saiyajin in question is a cross-breed between a Saiyajin and some other alien race with special lightning powers). But too much is bad, especially when it comes about because of Cross-Genre. When you have a DBZ character who can summon monsters, use alchemy, and use all the ki powers granted to you by the DBZ cannon, you are attaching as much additional power as you can to your character and thus you are God Modding.
Now, while we're on this subject, think about this. For the T1 RP School Hall of Fame, a lot of people nominated people who are capable of portraying basic, cannon characters such as Frieza or Son Goku. Now, think about how many DBZ RPers there are. Think of how many Frieza and Son Goku RPers there are, and how many other RPers there are who are based on them (ie, being newly created Saiyajins or Changlings). And yet, out of all of them, only two are viewed as being good? Why do you think this is? Simple: they don't cross genre, and their characters are presented as being pure DBZ. Now, I'm not taking anything away from Son Goku and Emperor Frieza; frankly, I give them both major kudos for how they can do what they do. But how sad is it when what they do is so rare as to be noteworthy? People say they cross-genre RP and add on many new powers to make themselves unique; well, if that's true, they failed. The standard, unmodified character is now unique. There are probably more DBZ characters with non-DBZ power than there are DBZ characters with just DBZ power. And, frankly, that defeats the purpose of DBZ RP, where you RP as DBZ-inspired characters because you enjoy the genre and like the characters. And the same could be said for nearly any genre; Naruto, Bleach, FMA, etc.
To be short, Cross-Genre RPing is flat-out bad at its worst. Just as smoking can lead to lung cancer, cross-genre RPing can lead to god modding. Worse, it has a habit of spreading. And if you're going to support one form of god modding, you have to be prepared to support all forms of god modding. If it's okay to grant your character every power you can think or grant him/her power from any genre you want despite which genre you're in, it should also be okay to you for people to never be hurt, or to directly control your character, or any number of other things that one may find bad. Why? Because if you argue that YOUR method of God Modding or Noobing is fair and any attempts to restrict it are just unfair attempts at controlling you, than the same can be said by any RPer under any circumstances.
In the end, Cross-Genre RPing is a tricky thing that I would normally say is foolish.
But since it's always going to happen, and the only way that it can be done well is to accept the rules and ways of each world.