Glossary
Text roleplay terms and abbreviations explained in everyday language.
Text roleplay
A story written together by two or more people, usually taking turns to write their own characters’ actions, dialogue and thoughts. Writers agree on how to share the setting and other characters. Often shortened to RP.
Getting started with text roleplayIn character (IC)
What happens inside the story: a character’s speech, thoughts and actions. “I don’t trust you,” spoken by a character, doesn’t necessarily express how the writer feels about their partner.
Characters, writers and shared controlOut of character (OOC)
The writers speaking as themselves to plan, ask questions or chat outside the story. “Should we skip ahead to morning?” is an out-of-character message. In fandom discussion, OOC can also mean behavior unlike a character’s established portrayal; context tells you which meaning is intended.
Characters, writers and shared controlWhat to agree on before you startOriginal character (OC)
A character invented by a writer, rather than taken from an existing work. An original character can belong to a familiar fictional world: a new student at a canon academy is still an OC.
Find a roleplay partnerCanon character (CC)
A character taken from an existing book, show, game or other work. Agree on which version you’re using and whether you’re changing their story. Playing a canon character doesn’t mean you have to repeat the original plot.
Find a roleplay partnerAlternate universe (AU)
A version of an existing fictional world with something changed: a different setting, a character who made another choice, or an event that never happened. Agree on which changes belong to your game instead of assuming the label explains them.
What to agree on before you startPlay-by-post (PbP)
Roleplay written in turns without needing everyone to be online at the same time. A reply may arrive minutes or days later, depending on your agreement. The format doesn’t specify post length or a required reply schedule.
Getting started with text roleplayReply schedules and group playGame master (GM)
A participant who runs some combination of the setting, events, rules and non-player characters. The group decides how much responsibility the game master has. A game can also work without one by sharing those jobs.
Getting started with text roleplayWhat to agree on before you startNon-player character (NPC)
A character used as part of the wider cast rather than as someone’s player character. A game master or other writers portray them by agreement. They can be central to the plot: a main antagonist can be an NPC.
What to agree on before you startDoubling
A reciprocal arrangement where each writer takes roles for the other. In a fandom game, each might write their own original character and the other’s chosen love interest. Agree on the storylines and balance between them; the cast isn’t limited to exactly two characters each.
Find a roleplay partnerOne-on-one (1×1)
A roleplay between two writers. Each can write more than one character, so the label counts people, not characters. It doesn’t specify a romance, a post length or a reply schedule.
Getting started with text roleplayGroup roleplay
A shared game with more than two writers. Characters may meet in one scene or in separate scenes within the same setting. Agree on turn order and absences so everyone knows when they can reply.
Getting started with text roleplayReply schedules and group play[X4Y] in FictionCore Find
FictionCore’s code for writers: X describes the author; Y describes the partner they are looking for. F means female, M male, NB non-binary, A any gender and GM game master. For example, [F4M/GM] means a female writer seeking a male writer or a game master. These are stated identities, roles and preferences, not verified identities. The code does not set the characters’ genders; other communities may use it differently.
Find a roleplay partner[X4Y4Z] community code
Some communities use three parts to describe the character offered, the writer sought and the character that writer would play. In this convention, [F4A4M] means someone offering a female character, seeking a writer of any gender to play a male character. Check the ad’s explanation: this meaning is not universal. FictionCore Find uses the two-part writer code instead.
Find a roleplay partnerReply pace
How often someone usually posts: for example, a few times a day or once a week. It doesn’t describe how long each post is. Discuss normal variation and whether reminders are welcome instead of treating a typical pace as a deadline.
Find a roleplay partnerReply schedules and group playWriting labels: semi-lit, literate, novella
Loose community labels for writing preferences. Depending on the writer, they may refer to post length, detail, grammar or style, with no agreed thresholds. Ask what a typical post looks like and request a sample if useful. Longer writing isn’t automatically better writing.
Getting started with text roleplayFind a roleplay partnerMirroring
Roughly matching your partner’s post length as the scene develops. It isn’t an exact word-count promise or a reason to add filler. Check what each of you finds comfortable, especially when one reply needs much more detail than the next.
Write a post your partner can respond toCharacter agency
A writer’s say over their character’s decisions, reactions and actions, within the rules everyone agreed to use. Offer another character a choice without writing their answer, unless their writer or an agreed mechanic has already settled it.
Characters, writers and shared controlWrite a post your partner can respond toGodmodding and powerplay
Definitions vary between communities. Godmodding may mean giving your character unfair powers or deciding another character’s actions without permission; powerplay often names the second behavior specifically. Explain what happened and check the game’s rules rather than treating the labels as interchangeable.
Characters, writers and shared controlWrite a post your partner can respond toPowergaming
A term used differently across roleplaying communities, often for prioritizing advantage or “winning” over the shared game. Ask what behavior is meant and whether it conflicts with the agreed rules or takes choices away from other writers. A powerful character alone does not establish a problem.
Characters, writers and shared controlMetagaming
Letting your character use information you know as the writer but they haven’t learned in the story. Reading a secret in another character’s profile doesn’t give yours that knowledge. Planning a clue together so your character can discover it is different.
Characters, writers and shared controlPersonal boundaries
Limits a participant sets for their own involvement: themes to leave out, events to keep off-screen or ideas to discuss first. They can change as the story develops.
Boundaries and consentFictionCore’s rules and contact sharingSafe for work (SFW)
In FictionCore, this means no explicit sexual content or detailed depictions of gore. Some difficult themes can be handled without graphic detail, but prohibited subjects stay prohibited. The 18+ rule is about users’ age, not permission for explicit content.
FictionCore’s rules and contact sharingRetcon
Short for retroactive continuity: changing a fact already established in the story. Agree on the new version with the affected writers so later posts follow the same events. Quietly editing a fact your partner has already used can create another misunderstanding.
Resolve problems or end a roleplay