First off this is entirely OOC which is Out Of Character which I'll get to in this guide...

• Role playing is acting and in CL you must always RP for the game to remain fun most of the time but not all of the time.

 
• Don't just RP for yourself think of the others around you trying to RP.

 
• If you have something to say that isn't in your character, or not known to your character which can be found out by getting in depth with your character and thinking what you know about and what you don't, use OOC: and state your message. Such as, "OOC: Sorry I had to leave.....my computer crashed three times."

 
• If you have a computer crash relate it to things such as, "I was walking and I was sucked into a black void all of the sudden."

 
• If others around you are speaking of OOC without designating them OOC: say things like, "What are you talking about?" or, "People these days.....Crazier than that old hermit." Or, "(insert an OOC word they said here such as Computer in my example) Computer? What is that? Is it a food? A drink perhaps?"

 
• Try your best to heighten your RP experience whenever possible. Join a clan. Go on hunts. Or don't join a clan. Don't go on hunts. All things you do affect your characters persona which can be stable or unstable. Add in a few kinks here and there. Have a history for your character. Check out mine for an example.

 
• Here is a letter and a story appearing in the Puddle Post by Braveheart is is very well written, and is edited a little due to my constant ceckings of the pages spelling, so it's a must,

"A Letter From The Editor:
        As I wander the streets of Puddleby I am often reminded that we are all exiles here, and in short, we all come from "some place else".  Much of what existed in the places we came from, real or illusionary, no longer exists here in our new home. This article centers on how to explain the otherwise unexplainable and, most importantly, how to avoided speaking of "other worldly things" or at least how to put them into terms all other exiles can understand.
        The first strange occurrence, and perhaps the most common, is a poltergeist like creature called a "phone".  This creature is said to cause a "ringing sound" in the victim's head which MUST be responded to.  The victim will commonly cry out in agony "the phone is ringing" then his speech will degenerate to rough sounds like "brb" or "afk". After such loss of speech control the victim will fall motionless often for minutes at a time. Then, as abruptly as the poltergeist's attack began, it will end and the victim will regain full control of his body, and will often act as though  nothing has occurred.  I have discovered that this annoying poltergeist can best be avoided by entering silent meditation at the onset of its attack.  Simply stated, if and when attacked, simply inform your allies, "I need to meditate" or "meditating" then quickly enter prayer to the gods to left this evil poltergeist from your mind.  If done fast enough the loss of speech and non-sense sounds can be avoided and you can maintain full control of your body throughout the assault.
        The second occurrence is foul weather, referred to by some in puddleby as "lag".  Many people find that in times of bad weather they lag terribly behind their allies and often find it difficult to fight. Two things I learned from my mother long ago were; 1) there is little sense in cursing the weather, as it seldom changes to met your request and 2) when bad weather occurs seek shelter inside until conditions improve.  In other words, shouting "lag" over and over again at the top of one's voice will have no effect on the weather. If the conditions are intolerable or too dangerous for hunting retire to a pub in town and warm yourself by the fire.  This also goes for those times then the weather is so foul and cold that people feel they are "freezing". Should you feel the need to comment on the weather, then please comment on it as such..."My we are having bad weather today" or "The weather is really interfering with my ability to fight"...etc...
 

A list of other common "other worldly" occurrences and suggested translations to common speech:

Occurrences:	Translation:
"Car"	Wagon
"Sports Car"	Chariot
"bad engine"	Horse died/is sick
"the wheel fell off my car"	The wheel fell off my wagon
"My mac Rocks!"	The Gods have smiled upon me
"my friend owns a pentium"	My friend was entrapped by a wizard with a pentagon  [and thus can't come to Puddleby]
"my girlfriend won't return my calls"	My girlfriend won't talk to me
E-mail	Enchanted Mail or just Mail

Well I hope you get the idea, with a little time and consideration, almost anything you want to say can be translated into common speech.  One should make an effort to avoid speaking of "other worldly things" whenever possible. The one exception is "The Pub of the hand" located near the south gates of town.  The owner of the pub has set the theme of "other worldly things" thus, other worldly speech is not only encouraged there but expected to occur there.  If you have something other worldly you need to express to a friend, please retire to that pub to hold your conversation.
 
Braveheart, Editor of the Puddleby Post
 
• If you accidentally say something OOC but don't tag it say something like, "I'm babbling of odd things please excuse me." or something along those line.

 
• Just because you don't have an object doesn't mean you can't have an object. The \action command is one of the best in the game for RPing. Do things such as, "Polerand pulls out his Ruta doll and pokes pins into it." or, "Polerand pulls out his axe but drops it on his foot by accident." It truly adds fun to the game. "Polerand pulls out Joe from inside his shirt but stuffs him back in and continues to search for staff."

 
• If you're a certain race you might have something against another race or you might have something against that race due to your history. Check out DT's story and world design page for a list of races and info on them. You might not have anything against any race due to your history such as mine.

 
• There are many alignments you can choose from Good, Neutral, and Evil being the main ones. This is the most important thing concerning your character in that it should affect al of your decisions. You can be just lawfully good or evil and feel evil or good at times depending on your mood. There is also Entropy which is a balance meaning that for every good thing you do you do a bad and likewise with karma.

 
• Try and familiarize yourself with the clans and their backgrounds. Some of this may have to be read over in the Puddleby Post such as background on the Laugher's Academy and their departure from The Asylum lead by RiffRaff.

 
• Know what motivates you. Do you wish to repay the Emperor for his treachery or do you want to live out your life in semi peaceful Puddleby. Do you want to accept knew ideas or be close-minded and traditional?

 
• Have pride in your race. Have pride in your clan, if you have one. Have pride in yourself. Unless of course your character hates himself and others like him which would be good RPing just the same.

 
• Decide whether or not you want to leave a mark on the world. If so get some wood and give it to a builder. Participate in quests. Some day you'll be able to go into the Mystic Temple and say, "I helped make this!"


Your character's persona will depend on your race. Say you are a drunken, blood-thirsty, Ghorak Zo. You'll need to talk and act like one. Stumble around a bit, and slur your words. Whatever you want it depends on you. Thanks to Baerwizz for recommending this one.
 
• Come and find me sometime. We'll drink some ale and speak of the old days before we were exiled here.