12-28-2021, 07:19 AM
To begin, HS13's main focus is to have fun, and how you accomplish that is inevitably up to you. I want to preface this by saying that while you should never feel forced to roleplay, in can be fun to put some effort into it from time to time.
We will cover the 'Why', 'How' and 'When' of roleplay in that order, to ensure everyone is getting the most out of their gameplay. Always remember the two golden rules: Whatever happens in a round, stays in that round, and to always assume that in-game occurrences (Such as being called a shit pilot for crashing the Spirit) are IC rather than personal attacks.
WHY
Why roleplay? Is everyone else just a furry? Is it cringy?
First off, yeah, there's probably a lot of furries (And you can tell based on how detailed their roleplay is) but it should never be regarded as cringy unless it literally does induce physical cringe, in which case you might be better pumping that M90 and filling the overly horny Unggoy with buckshot instead of whatever the fuck 'Jizz nipple juice' is. Roleplay can not only build a personal character that in turn shapes and modifies how you play the game, but it also significantly helps reduce monotony. Everything that happens in a given round is unique, and that progression isn't just made via combat alone. Even the simplest action - A Covenant soldier being called a heretic, or a Sergeant screaming to hold a position with your lives - Can all change the ebb and flow of the round. While you could always just execute the heretical Kig-Yar or ignore the Sergeant because he's bald, playing along gives everyone something to do, even if it's not the most beneficial route to take. If nothing else, remember this: You don't always have to win. Losing can be fun too.
HOW
How do I roleplay? What should I say and do? How should I respond?
I'll try and keep this brief, but it should be noted that roleplaying in a manner that's both enjoyable for everyone and not so over-the-top that you're writing whole books is a learned skill. At its heart, HS13 is still SS13, and that means that combat can be quick and punishing. If you're too busy playing out your Marine Sergeant Avery Johnson snowflake to notice the Hunter charging you with its shield, you're roleplaying wrong. This partially plays into 'When', but both questions have their mutually inclusive ideals.
To roleplay, the first thing you should always consider is how your character would react in a certain situation. For example, lets say a marine, 'Rico', just died in front of you, and you kill the Covenant soldier that killed them. You could just go on, but at the same time, your character may be angry, distressed, or mortified at Rico's death. You may try to save him, you may call for a medic over comms, you may try to take his dog-tags and say a prayer. While these seem like pointless actions - He's dead, after all - They build character and make you seem more human. On the other hand, you may butcher the Covenant that killed Rico - This presents you with a grizzled, desensitised character-building trope, and despite being the most common, it's also commonly the most poorly done. If you're ever at a loss or unsure how to present your character, look to the marines in Halo games. Even despite their military status, the game developers knew exactly how to portray them when they're facing the most deadliest and ruthless threat Humanity has ever encountered.
For a Covenant player, you are part of a massive religiously motivated Empire. You (probably) believe that humanity is unclean and needs to be destroyed. However, that is only a baseline - There are many races within the Covenant, and each have their own unique mindset. Unggoy are easy to persuade and command, but also prone to break down or be tricked. Kig-Yar are hunters and lone wolves, placing more trust in their kin than in the Empire, and are the most likely to turn sides - A physical item has more value to a Kig-Yar than a Oath. A T'vaoan is a step above this mindset, with less of a focus on Kinship between Kig-Yar and a larger focus on the individual. A Yanme'e operates as part of a hive, and are known for their technical abilities - Not quite as adept as a Huragok, but still capable. A Jiralhanae would fall on its instincts and the rush of adrenaline during combat, making them incredibly brutal, although not necessarily psychotic. A Sangheili is honourable and well-respected, and should use its martial and strategic skills to command the other races and demoralize the enemy.
That isn't to say you MUST portray your character like this. There have been Sangheili oathbreakers, honorable Kig-Yar, persistent Unggoy and (relatively) nice Jiralhanae - But subverting these expectations requires a good excuse and an even better execution.
If nothing else, remember this: Humanity fights for its survival. The Covenant fights for their religion. It is also a good idea to briefly read through something like Halopedia for a more detailed explanation on the species you are playing as.
WHEN
When do I roleplay? Should I always be roleplaying? When do I shoot the brain-dead Prophet?
The quickest and easiest section to understand, by far. Knowing WHEN to roleplay ensures you're not berated by other players, and more importantly, not interrupting the flow of the round in a negative way. This can briefly be summarized by, 'If someone's shooting, you should be shooting, too.' No matter what species or faction you are playing as, everyone (excluding special cases like AI and Spartans/Honour Guard) should value their lives. Do not expect to live long by running out into a hallway and screaming 'don't shoot!'. Most won't even pay attention to the chatbox and will just shoot you on sight. Do not ruin everyone else's experience by wasting the slot you occupy and immediately giving up - Try and fight, try and save your friends, try and win.
On the inverse, if you do win, it can be worthwhile to take prisoners. This is where the majority of roleplay happens between the UNSC and Covenant. First, ask your leader if you can take prisoners (Or give the order to take prisoners if you are the leader) and inform communications of the prisoner's name. Handcuffs aren't always required so long as they're unconscious, and it should be the highest priority to make sure they don't die. If you have been 'captured' and want to stay alive longer to play into the roleplay, using the 'Sleep' verb in the IC tab massively increases your lifespan and reduces bleedout rate but prevents you from waking up until after a certain time period (Around 30 seconds - You will need to keep using the Sleep verb until either you die or are brought back up to health). From there, take them to a secure location: The ONI Base for UNSC or the Brigs on the Covenant CRS (Depending on gamemode). ONI Researchers can create devices to translate Covenant languages, and many Covenant roles can speak English by default. From there, extracting useful information should be your priority - Torture and experimentation is not always necessary.
CONCLUSION
While this only slightly touches on the gargantuan behemoth that is roleplay as a concept, hopefully you've gotten some ideas from this post. Perhaps the single most important thing to note is that not everyone wants to roleplay. Some just want to shoot, and they will blast you if you try to make a push. Knowing who will and won't do a scenario is important to enjoying the server and making sure everyone's having fun.
This guide also doesn't cover Colonist or URF roleplay in the slightest, which is its own self-contained thing. Generally, if you're playing those roles, you probably already have a basic idea of what to do.
TL;DR Don't ERP.
We will cover the 'Why', 'How' and 'When' of roleplay in that order, to ensure everyone is getting the most out of their gameplay. Always remember the two golden rules: Whatever happens in a round, stays in that round, and to always assume that in-game occurrences (Such as being called a shit pilot for crashing the Spirit) are IC rather than personal attacks.
WHY
Why roleplay? Is everyone else just a furry? Is it cringy?
First off, yeah, there's probably a lot of furries (And you can tell based on how detailed their roleplay is) but it should never be regarded as cringy unless it literally does induce physical cringe, in which case you might be better pumping that M90 and filling the overly horny Unggoy with buckshot instead of whatever the fuck 'Jizz nipple juice' is. Roleplay can not only build a personal character that in turn shapes and modifies how you play the game, but it also significantly helps reduce monotony. Everything that happens in a given round is unique, and that progression isn't just made via combat alone. Even the simplest action - A Covenant soldier being called a heretic, or a Sergeant screaming to hold a position with your lives - Can all change the ebb and flow of the round. While you could always just execute the heretical Kig-Yar or ignore the Sergeant because he's bald, playing along gives everyone something to do, even if it's not the most beneficial route to take. If nothing else, remember this: You don't always have to win. Losing can be fun too.
HOW
How do I roleplay? What should I say and do? How should I respond?
I'll try and keep this brief, but it should be noted that roleplaying in a manner that's both enjoyable for everyone and not so over-the-top that you're writing whole books is a learned skill. At its heart, HS13 is still SS13, and that means that combat can be quick and punishing. If you're too busy playing out your Marine Sergeant Avery Johnson snowflake to notice the Hunter charging you with its shield, you're roleplaying wrong. This partially plays into 'When', but both questions have their mutually inclusive ideals.
To roleplay, the first thing you should always consider is how your character would react in a certain situation. For example, lets say a marine, 'Rico', just died in front of you, and you kill the Covenant soldier that killed them. You could just go on, but at the same time, your character may be angry, distressed, or mortified at Rico's death. You may try to save him, you may call for a medic over comms, you may try to take his dog-tags and say a prayer. While these seem like pointless actions - He's dead, after all - They build character and make you seem more human. On the other hand, you may butcher the Covenant that killed Rico - This presents you with a grizzled, desensitised character-building trope, and despite being the most common, it's also commonly the most poorly done. If you're ever at a loss or unsure how to present your character, look to the marines in Halo games. Even despite their military status, the game developers knew exactly how to portray them when they're facing the most deadliest and ruthless threat Humanity has ever encountered.
For a Covenant player, you are part of a massive religiously motivated Empire. You (probably) believe that humanity is unclean and needs to be destroyed. However, that is only a baseline - There are many races within the Covenant, and each have their own unique mindset. Unggoy are easy to persuade and command, but also prone to break down or be tricked. Kig-Yar are hunters and lone wolves, placing more trust in their kin than in the Empire, and are the most likely to turn sides - A physical item has more value to a Kig-Yar than a Oath. A T'vaoan is a step above this mindset, with less of a focus on Kinship between Kig-Yar and a larger focus on the individual. A Yanme'e operates as part of a hive, and are known for their technical abilities - Not quite as adept as a Huragok, but still capable. A Jiralhanae would fall on its instincts and the rush of adrenaline during combat, making them incredibly brutal, although not necessarily psychotic. A Sangheili is honourable and well-respected, and should use its martial and strategic skills to command the other races and demoralize the enemy.
That isn't to say you MUST portray your character like this. There have been Sangheili oathbreakers, honorable Kig-Yar, persistent Unggoy and (relatively) nice Jiralhanae - But subverting these expectations requires a good excuse and an even better execution.
If nothing else, remember this: Humanity fights for its survival. The Covenant fights for their religion. It is also a good idea to briefly read through something like Halopedia for a more detailed explanation on the species you are playing as.
WHEN
When do I roleplay? Should I always be roleplaying? When do I shoot the brain-dead Prophet?
The quickest and easiest section to understand, by far. Knowing WHEN to roleplay ensures you're not berated by other players, and more importantly, not interrupting the flow of the round in a negative way. This can briefly be summarized by, 'If someone's shooting, you should be shooting, too.' No matter what species or faction you are playing as, everyone (excluding special cases like AI and Spartans/Honour Guard) should value their lives. Do not expect to live long by running out into a hallway and screaming 'don't shoot!'. Most won't even pay attention to the chatbox and will just shoot you on sight. Do not ruin everyone else's experience by wasting the slot you occupy and immediately giving up - Try and fight, try and save your friends, try and win.
On the inverse, if you do win, it can be worthwhile to take prisoners. This is where the majority of roleplay happens between the UNSC and Covenant. First, ask your leader if you can take prisoners (Or give the order to take prisoners if you are the leader) and inform communications of the prisoner's name. Handcuffs aren't always required so long as they're unconscious, and it should be the highest priority to make sure they don't die. If you have been 'captured' and want to stay alive longer to play into the roleplay, using the 'Sleep' verb in the IC tab massively increases your lifespan and reduces bleedout rate but prevents you from waking up until after a certain time period (Around 30 seconds - You will need to keep using the Sleep verb until either you die or are brought back up to health). From there, take them to a secure location: The ONI Base for UNSC or the Brigs on the Covenant CRS (Depending on gamemode). ONI Researchers can create devices to translate Covenant languages, and many Covenant roles can speak English by default. From there, extracting useful information should be your priority - Torture and experimentation is not always necessary.
CONCLUSION
While this only slightly touches on the gargantuan behemoth that is roleplay as a concept, hopefully you've gotten some ideas from this post. Perhaps the single most important thing to note is that not everyone wants to roleplay. Some just want to shoot, and they will blast you if you try to make a push. Knowing who will and won't do a scenario is important to enjoying the server and making sure everyone's having fun.
This guide also doesn't cover Colonist or URF roleplay in the slightest, which is its own self-contained thing. Generally, if you're playing those roles, you probably already have a basic idea of what to do.
TL;DR Don't ERP.
