Every hobby has its shorthand, and roleplay has more than most. Walk into a room and you will see people asking for "lit para RP, no godmodding, OC x canon" and it might as well be a foreign language. This roleplay glossary translates it. Learn the handful of core terms and you can read any pitch and jump straight in.
The core terms (learn these first)
- IC (in-character). Your character speaking and acting, as them.
- OOC (out-of-character). You, the writer, talking directly. Usually marked with brackets like (( )) or a // slash so nobody confuses it for the story.
- Godmodding / godmoding. Controlling someone else's character or forcing outcomes on them. The cardinal sin. You write your character; they write theirs.
- Metagaming. Using knowledge your character could not have, taken from OOC, to act in-character. Reading someone's OOC plan and having your character "coincidentally" counter it.
- Powergaming / powerplaying. Making your character impossibly strong or successful so the other person never gets to react. A cousin of godmodding.
Post length and style
- One-liner. A sentence or two per turn. Fast, casual, low commitment.
- Para (paragraph). A full paragraph per post.
- Multi-para / literate / lit. Several paragraphs, descriptive, prose-heavy. "Novella" is the very long end.
- Match the effort. Reply at roughly the length your partner writes. A one-liner answer to a multi-para post reads as a brush-off.
Characters and pairings
- OC. Original character, one you invented.
- Canon. An existing character from a show, game, or book.
- OC x Canon / Canon x Canon. The pairing type, who plays what. "x" just means "paired with."
- Ship. A romantic or sexual pairing you want to see or play.
- Doubling. Each writer plays two characters so both get a love interest.
Mechanics and etiquette
- /me. The action command. "/me leans in" displays as a third-person action. The backbone of text RP.
- Action tags. Actions written in asterisks or via /me, versus dialogue in plain text. See our sexting styles guide for the formats.
- Fade to black. Cutting away before explicit content. On an adult site you usually do not, but it is the term for when a scene closes the door.
- Limits / hard limits / soft limits. What is off the table (hard) and what needs care (soft). Negotiated before a scene, always.
- Ad / LFRP. A "looking for roleplay" post, your pitch for a scene or partner. Our finding partners guide covers writing a good one.
Now go read a pitch
That is the vocabulary. The how to roleplay guide covers running a scene, and the roleplay room is where you use it, free and anonymous. Speaking the language fluently is half of getting the good partners.
Related: how to roleplay · find roleplay partners · sexting styles · roleplay chat
Frequently asked questions
What does IC and OOC mean?
IC is in-character: your character speaking and acting. OOC is out-of-character: you, the writer, talking directly, usually in brackets like (( )). Keeping the two clearly separated is the single most important habit in roleplay.
What is godmodding?
Controlling another person's character or forcing outcomes on them: deciding their character gets hit, feels something, or agrees to something. It is the cardinal sin of roleplay because it takes away the other writer's agency. You write your character's actions; they write theirs.
What's the difference between one-liner, para, and multi-para?
It is post length. One-liner is a sentence or two. Para (paragraph) is a full paragraph per turn. Multi-para or literate means several paragraphs. Matching your partner's length is basic courtesy; a one-liner reply to a multi-para post reads as low effort.
Do I need to know all this to start?
No. Knowing IC, OOC, and godmodding covers ninety percent of it. The rest you pick up by reading pitches and playing. This page is a reference for when you hit a term you do not recognize.
Where can I use these terms?
The roleplay room, free and anonymous. Reading a pitch fluently and pitching in the right vocabulary instantly marks you as someone worth writing with.