Tips for Roleplaying in Chronicle

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 for a guide to roleplaying terminology used here.

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 – such as an angry rant at someone else's character – it can be helpful to discuss in advance of session whether this is something you are both happy with.

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

Chronicle tackles a lot of complex and sometimes heavy topics. Be prepared to calibrate when dealing with the topics outlined in our CAT policy.

When someone does something dramatic, play into what they have done — act into how you think another person wants to be perceived, while staying true to your character. 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 no big deal, and move on.

Example of dramatic 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 character, the outcome might have been different.

Example of diplomatic lifting up: One character blames the team for losing a game. In turn, you step in to mediate the argument, suggesting the captain calm down and have a little chat — you know a thing or two about leadership and maybe they should take your advice.

You don't always have to be dramatic, but your PC can have a variety of noticeable reactions to a situation.

When someone makes something up, you can 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're sure they're on the brink of a great discovery, if only they could push a little further into the Yuuvian rainforest. You say the trees look completely impenetrable to you.

Example of “yes, and…”: One character says they're sure they're on the brink of a great discovery, if only they could push a little further into the Yuuvian rainforest. You say you'd be happy to go with them, and could even bring a machete from Xheech.

When someone makes something up that you don't agree with, rather than shutting them down completely, you can offer an alternative idea.

Example of “no, but…”: One character says they're sure they're on the brink of a great discovery, if only they could push a little further into the Yuuvian rainforest. You say the rainforest looks completely impenetrable to you – but have you considered analysing what you've already uncovered in the Lutown University labs?

There are of course limits to this in a game like Chronicle: 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 (such as a local custom, type of food, or minor character who hasn't yet appeared), but be mindful that this can lead to confusion if you end up contradicting something the GMs need to be true — please don't make up detailed local backstories or entire cities without discussing your ideas with a GM first! If in any doubt, please communicate with a GM, and we will help figure out a solution that works for everyone.

In PvE aspects of the 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 game 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 or adjudicate fairly between competing PCs. We're not going to use that information to make some contrived reason your plan can't happen; we're going to use it to make it look really cool when your clever plan works.

Similarly, it can be useful to make it clear the difference between your OC desires and your character's desires. There is nothing more fun as a GM than seeing a turnsheet say “Sam wants to fight Charlie [OC: Charlie is clearly much more powerful than Sam, can't wait for the Angsty Emails I can get out of this]”.

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 doesn't want to interact with anyone else might sound like an interesting character, if you end up spending an entire session in a channel on your own, 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!

Character bleed is the concept of your feelings and emotions getting blurred between your character and your OC 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 a RPG, you are embodying your character, writing as they would and conveying their feelings as your own. It's natural for your OC brain 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 OC 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 switching out of character 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 OC person as a separate entity to their character, and to firmly differentiate your IC and OC feelings and reactions.

Getting to know people OC is a great way to pre-empt some of these things – one of the reasons why we'll be having an official (but optional) voice chat after each session is it provides a great chance to get to know people better.