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, for example angry shouting, it can be helpful to discuss in advance of session whether this is something you are both happy with.
When ballgowning (roleplaying romantic or similarly emotionally intense relationships) with another player, crew member or GM, it is particularly important to calibrate early and frequently, to help make sure that everyone remains comfortable with the roleplaying.
The Social Season includes in-character dancing, which players may wish to roleplay by dancing themselves. It is extremely important that players calibrate OC to discuss what, if any, physical contact they are comfortable with while dancing (and indeed players should always obtain OC consent before any sort of physical touch in the game).
In PvE aspects of the game, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking “I'm working against an NPC, and the NPC is controlled by the GM, therefore I am working against the GM”. Incorrect! The GMs is first and foremost here to create a fun game for you. That does mean creating challenges for your character, yes, but also giving them the opportunity to overcome those obstacles.
In practice, this means you should tell the GM your plans and goals, so I can help make sure they happen or adjudicate fairly between competing PCs. I'm not going to use that information to make some contrived reason your plan can't happen, I'm going to use it to make it look really cool when your clever plan works and give both sides in a PvP situation something interesting and engaging as an outcome.
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, I'm looking forward to cracking out the injury makeup for next session]”.
If the game isn't going as you hoped or there is something you are unhappy with, please share this with the GM and I will listen to your concern and do my best to resolve it. Issues are most easily fixed when they are communicated early and clearly, especially given the short length of the game, so please let me know any concerns you have when they arise, even if they have not yet grown into something bigger.
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.
When someone makes something up, you should engage with it and build on the idea in your reply. A “yes, and” response means you agree with them and then expand on it. This allows you to build on what someone has said without contradicting them. You can equally build on the suggestion with the alternative “no, but…” framing depending on the situation.
Example of “no”: One character asks for your assistance in organising a party which they are worried about. You reply that the party will be fine without anyone's help.
Example of “yes, and…”: One character asks for your assistance in organising a party which they are worried about. You agree to help, asking why they are concerned, and begin brainstorming possible locations.
Example of “no, but…”: One character asks for your assistance in organising a party which they are worried about. You reply that you are too busy to help, but you suggest some other characters who might be well-suited to the task.
There are of course limits to this in a game like The Social Season: sometimes certain facts about the world have already been established that players are not aware of. How else could there be secrets? The GM is usually happy for you to establish small facts about the world, but be mindful that this can lead to confusion if you end up contradicting something else the GM needs to be true. If in any doubt, communicate with the GM before making claims or ask for some more setting details.
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 sits in the corner alone might sound like an interesting character, if you end up spending an entire session sitting in the corner not talking to anyone, 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 LARP you are embodying your character, you are having the interactions that cause that emotional reaction, and if your character is hugging someone, your body is sometimes physically hugging. It is natural for your brain OC 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 dropping OC 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 we have an official (but entirely optional) post-session trip to get ice cream is it provides a great chance to get to know people better.