Roleplay

If you've ever played Dungeons and Dragons with your friends on a Friday night, or made the choices your player character would in an RPG, you've probably had some experience with roleplay. But if this is your first time in a roleplay-intensive setting with strangers, then you're probably wondering how you're even going to start.

Fear not; this guide will teach you some basic pointers for RP, especially in a dark fantasy setting

Keep in mind that this is just a guide, and not meant to be taken as hard rules. Go check out the Rules page for that.

The World of Grimoria

The world is big and frightening outside your little town of Rockhill. Even if you are familiar with many of the non-humen races and cultures, it does not mean they are not strange and scary to you.

It’s a good idea to understand the lore through the Lore Primer. But you don’t have to thoroughly study it, or even follow it to the letter. Someone like you in a little swampy fief might not have all the answers or resources, so you’re free to hold views that are wrong, misinformed, or strange. Ideally, you’ll have an idea of the lore through looking around you and listening to other characters.

Character-Building

Even a small detail about your character can bring them to life and make them memorable. Ideally, your character should differ from you in some way, and have some unique trait; a manner of speech, a strongly-held belief, a superstition. Don’t be afraid to improvise on the spot!

More than anything, you should figure out something that your character wants, or a goal they can gradually work towards (or over the course of a round). Characters that want for nothing are listless, and listless characters are painfully boring.

Relationships

Not just the romantic kind – build relationships with other characters by talking to them, asking them questions, and doing things together. You might find that these relationships will help develop your character even more. Sometimes these relationships turn out to make enemies; these too provide intriguing, engaging roleplay.

Realistic characters

The Rules emphasize you should roleplay as a realistic character that does not stretch the beliefs or immersion of the setting. Obviously, what is believable to one person may be strange to another. Still, there are some guidelines that ought to be followed:

• Value your own life and try to avoid pain (unless you have the Pain Freek flaw).
• Fawning deference to your superiors (even as your character plans to stab them in the night) is essential. This is a world with vast class divides.
• Treat others with equal parts respect and suspicion, those outside of your race even more so.

Language

It’s impossible to avoid using neologisms completely, because you want to remain at least understandable to other players. But you might find that changing your language a little bit will do wonders for your immersion.

Greetings

Did you know “hello” is first dated to 1826? Before that, English-speakers usually greeted each other with “good morning” “good afternoon”, or “good evening”.

In the medieval ages, you might say “greetings”, “hail”, or “good morrow” to a fellow layman, or greet the nobility with “blessings upon you” or “hail to you, my lord/lady”. “Well-met” also works for an introduction.

Names

Choose a name that evokes the setting; Stonekeep's time period is roughly analogous to the 16th century. Last names in this period of society are a mark of hailing from either a successful clan or the nobility. It is much more common to have a surname based on their profession, or a surname based on the region they hail from, or no last name at all.

Get creative with it. Nobles and the Gentry can introduce themselves with titles, house allegiances, history of their bloodlines. Dwarf Lords with proud clan names and mountain holdings, a humble peasant naming who their father was, or naming themselves by the land they hail from.

Your character is free to introduce themselves as something other than the name hovering over their sprite. For example, if you are King Robert, you can introduce yourself as “Robert Windermere the third, King of Enigma”. Or if you are Noor, you can introduce yourself as “Noor bint Khaldun al-Zaqara” (Noor, daughter of Khaldun, of Zaqara).

Talking like your social class

An aristocrat or noble is educated in literature, etiquette, and wit. Take your crude Internet slang elsewhere, and speak thoughtfully and politely, even to the rabble beneath you (or don’t, if you happen to enjoy being a jerk).

As a peasant or out-of-towner, you can speak crudely and harshly. You’re likely not as educated, and you may not even know how to read. Of course this depends on your background; a wandering Zybantine mercenary may have finer education than a humble soilson.

Addressing your betters

Addressing the nobility and upper-class by their proper titles makes for a more authentic peasant, as well as an authentic fellow noble. But how do you address a noble? On Stonekeep, a good rule of thumb is:

• Your Majesty, His/Her Majesty: The King and Queen.
• Your Highness, His/Her Highness: Princes and/or Princesses.
• Reverend (Name), Father/Mother (Name): The Priest/ess.
• Your Lordship/Ladyship, Lord/Lady: Dukes/Duchesses, Barons/Baronesses, Viscount/Viscountess.
  • You’ll see this used for the Hand, Steward, Feldsher, Nitematron/Niteman, and Archivist.
• Sir/Dame: Knights or Baronets.
  • These are the Captains of the garrison and the Royal Guard.

Faith and Apostasy

Your character is very likely faithful to the Gods, at least a little bit. Back in the medieval ages of the real world, faith was important to everyone. Lacking the understanding brought by modern science, the commonfolk and the aristocracy alike turned to comfort offered by gods, folk beliefs, and the ritual of prayer and church. But these beliefs weren’t always in line with the orthodoxy of the priesthood, and in fact, many held beliefs that would be considered paganistic or heretical. So long as these beliefs didn’t threaten the church’s power, they likely wouldn’t be actively persecuted for them, unless they got too obvious or the church was especially vicious.

Use this as character inspiration. Make a habit of going to church, invoke Necra to turn her gaze from you if you are in danger, offer a prayer to Astrata to bring your crops to fruition.

The Occult

The Gods are far away above the realms and concerns of mortals. The powers of darkness are also real, but do their work hidden from sight. While perhaps aware of the occult, it is very rare (and very suspicious!) for a character to hold any significant knowledge of the dark powers of the world. It is better to be ignorant, lest they draw the eyes of witch-hunters to their door. Vampires are myths to terrify children, but everyone knows there’s witches in the swamp ready to trade in firstborn children for their bargains. Fae creachers emerge from the woods to trick unwary travelers on the roads into bargains for to steal their name. Everyone has heard these things and many others, but few know the truth of the superstitions spread. Roles that are permitted to have “occult knowledge” are the Archivist, the Court Mage, the Priest, and Inquisitors or Witch Hunters.

Inspirations

If you’re interested in getting into a medieval fantasy mood, this media can help.

• The Elder Scrolls, mostly Morrowind and Daggerfall – Inspired much of the server’s ambiguous approach to lore. Both games are clunky but have an active modding scene making it accessible to younger audiences, and have strong, compelling narratives.
• Conan the Barbarian, both Robert E. Howard’s original literature, and the 1982 movie – A classic of heroic fantasy. Obviously a little dated in its presentation, but nevertheless interesting reads. The art of Frank Frazetta also helps sell the mood.
• The Icewind Dale trilogy and the Dark Elf trilogy – The first six books with Drizzt Do’Urden, prototypical edgy drow from Dungeons and Dragons. Despite their later popularity and slow decline in quality, these are fairly grounded, enjoyable fantasy novels.