First and foremost everyone needs to remember that for the 'Quest' to progress and be enjoyable there must be collaboration between all participants. If all members of the group do their part, together we'll weave a fascinating story with the guidance of the Narrator (DrCBVI). There are several points however that should always be considered and followed.
To begin, you should learn how to use the '/me' command, which will allow you to perform an emote. This is absolutely vital within the 'Quest', without this command you'll be hard-pressed to role-play effectively. Below is an example of the command and its results.
What you type - /me grins and waves saying, "Greetings!"
The result - Dytalorien grins and waves saying, "Greetings!"
As you can see, you'll have limitless possibilities of actions whilst using this command, however there are some guidelines that should be observed.
Do not perform ludicrously powerful/impossible actions (e.g. eviscerating all opponents in sight). Remember your skills within the 'Quest' are most likely not fully developed. So such things as a 'shower of lightning bolts that eradicates your enemies' should be avoided. Also try to avoid finishing of opponents with a single stroke or so, you'll find it better to prolong things a bit.
When referring to another character, try to avoid dictating their actions or responses.
Example
Poor - Dytalorien offers a glass of wine to [place character name here] and he accepts gladly.
Better - Dytalorien offers a glass of wine to [place character name here].It is, however, best to do so when interacting (e.g. fighting) with an NPC.
Example
Shandor swings his sword down towards the guard, who deflects it with his shield.
Always allow the Narrator to ultimately guide the story along, do not attempt to wrest control from him. That is not saying you cannot present your ideas, which would defeat the purpose of the 'Quest'. However avoid doing such things as spotting a random number of dragons over in the distance, and so forth.
When emoting speech, remember to use '/me says/yells/screams/shouts/and so forth', this will lessen misinterpretation and help the overall role-playing environment. Also it's a good idea to use "quotation marks" around what you say.
Example
Poor - Shandor Greetings!
Better - Shandor shouts Greetings!
Best - Shandor shouts, "Greetings!"As you can see from the above-mentioned as well as those to follow, many of these items are rather obvious. So when in doubt, use your common sense and you should do no wrong.
Furthermore try to condense your thoughts and actions, this will hopefully prevent confusion. This does not mean that you cannot make simple or short statements, however, it's usually better to lengthen them when there are a greater number of people.
Example
Poor - Dytalorien muses.
Dytalorien says, "Where are we going, now?"
Better - Dytalorien muses and says, "Where are we going, now?"
Keep in mind that all narration will be in bold, this is done to make sure everyone takes notice, as these texts are important to the progression of the 'Quest'. All out of character comments should be preceded with an 'OOC' tag, this will help preserve the role-playing atmosphere and lessen confusion.
Example
Narration - The group approach Emerald bay, the sun rising over in the horizon.
Out of Character - OOC: Hey, welcome to the IRC chatroom!-From DrCBVI/Colm
Also DrCBVI has mentioned briefly that his character, Shandor may (in lieu of the narrator) progress the story. So, as you should be doing anyways, keep an eye out for his actions and those of all others.
When speaking in a language other than common, it's a good idea to place your text within special brackets of some sort.
Example
Dwarven - Thor says gruffly in dwarven, <What!? No ale!?>
Elven - Shandor states in elven, {The trees..they appear a bit odd.}
You'll notice that two different sets of brackets are utilized, this would prove useful in the case where multiple languages are spoken at the same time. And to be obvious, while you can clearly understand what the person is saying, please refrain from referring to what is said. Unless of course your character would actually know the mentioned language.
DrCBVI has created a recommended set of characters to use for the various languages. It is suggested that you use these designated characters, however, if you'd rather not remember which is which you may use your own. Remember to specify somewhere which language you are using if such is the case.
Dwarven <Aye, and what are you looking at?>
Elven ~I am merely here~
Orc (Not what I heard)
Gnome [Let's have a drink?]
Halfling |No, let's have a pastry!| (that's the | not an 'l')
Troll {Har!}
It's a good idea to not use shortened forms of certain words (e.g. u, ur) and abbreviations of any kind. This might cause confusion, and could possibly detract from the atmosphere a bit.
-From DrCBVI/Colm ~ Derived from Session XIV
If you would like to contribute any suggestions/tips, feel free to send me an e-mail and remember to include your name so that I may know who to give credit to. I would also like to reiterate that these are only suggested behavior/tips and you will in no way be penalized for not following them.
--> Etiquette