tips_for_new_players [Echoes]

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====== Tips for Roleplaying in Echoes======

For those new to roleplaying, there's a lot of little things that may not be immediately obvious, but when you think about them they make a lot of sense. Even for more experienced roleplayers, it's easy to forget these things when getting involved in a game - this page may have something for everyone!

See the [[glossary]].


===== When In Doubt, Calibrate OC =====

Don't be afraid to drop out of character briefly to check with other players and GMs whether they are happy with the direction and intensity of roleplay. For particularly intense interactions you have planned, for example angry shouting, it can be helpful to discuss in advance of session whether this is something you are both happy with.  

When ballgowning (roleplaying romantic or similarly intimate relationships) it is particularly important to calibrate early and frequently, to help make sure that everyone remains comfortable with the roleplaying.

===== Play to Lift =====

When someone does something dramatic, play into what they have done - act into how you think another person wants to be perceived. Rather than shutting down what someone is trying to do, consider how you can play it up.

Example of shutting down: One character blames the team for losing a game. You say that it’s just a game, no big deal, and move on.

Example of lifting up: One character blames the team for losing a game. In turn, you dramatically accuse them of being a bad captain, and maybe, if they hadn’t been so distracted with what’s clearly a crush on another player, the outcome might have been different. 

It doesn’t matter whether your accusation is true. It agrees with the fundamental idea and builds on it. 

===== “Yes, and…” =====
 
When someone makes something up, you agree with them, and then expand on it. This allows you to build on what someone has said without contradicting them.

Example of “no”: One character says they have an overdue library book to return. You say there isn’t a library in Little Avoning.

Example of “yes, and…”: One character says they have an overdue library book to return. You remark that they’d better be careful - you’ve heard rumours that people who have long-overdue library books have a nasty habit of disappearing…

There are of course limits to this in a game like Echoes: sometimes certain facts about the world are have already been established that players are not aware of. How else could there be secrets? Often GMs will be happy for you to establish small facts about the world, but be mindful that this can lead to confusion if you end up contradicting something the GMs need to be true, and so if in any doubt communicate with a GM before making claims!

===== Talk to the GMs =====

In a PvE game, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking “I'm working against the environment, and the environment is controlled by the GMs, therefore I am working against the GMs”. Incorrect! The GMs are first and foremost here to create a fun games for you. That does mean creating challenges in the environment, yes, but also giving you the means to overcome those obstacles.

In practice, this means you should tell the GMs your plans, so we can help make sure they happen. We're not going to use that information to make some contrived reason your plan can't happen, we're gonna use that to make it look really cool when your clever plan works.

Similarly, it can be useful to make it clear the difference between your OOC desires and your characters desires. There is nothing more fun as a GM than seeing a turnsheet say “Sam wants to fight Charlie [OOC: Charlie is clearly much more powerful than Sam, I'm looking forward to cracking out the injury makeup for next session]”.

===== Design Characters To Engage =====

We all love our characters - coming up with a cool character for the setting is heaps of fun, especially when you think of a cool aspect of the world you want to interact with. However it can be easy to forget that given it's a LARP, you need to play that character, and it should be fun to play that character.

What this means in practice is that while a cool brooding character who sits in the corner alone might sound like an interesting character, if you end up spending an entire session sitting in the corner not talking to anyone you may not have a lot of fun in sessions. This is not to discourage you from exploring different kinds of characters, it's just worth keeping in mind how this character is going to be fun for you to play. Different people enjoy different kinds of things, after all!

===== Manage Character Bleed Responsibly =====

Character bleed is the concept of your feelings and emotions getting blurred between your character and your OOC self. Often character bleed is talked about as some nasty thing that must be avoided at all costs, but in reality it's perfectly natural; in LARP you are embodying your character, you are having the interactions that cause that emotional reaction, and if your character is hugging someone, your body is physically hugging. It is natural for your brain OOC to react to those experiences, even after dropping out of character.

Rather than simply saying “you shouldn't do this”, there are more useful approaches to take to character bleed. The first thing is being aware that it's happening - this is usually a case of spotting when your OOC feelings start to change to match your IC ones. Then you can begin the work of trying to uncouple those things again. One way you can do this is by dropping OOC and talking to the person/people that the character bleed is about, either during the session or afterwards. This can help you get to know the OOC person as a separate entity to their character, and to firmly differentiate your IC and OOC feelings and reactions.

Getting to know people OOC is a great way to preempt some of these things - one of the reasons we have an official (but entirely optional) post-session trip to get ice cream is it provides a great chance to get to know people better.