Message Board Terms:
Thread: Term used to describe all messages under any main topic, including the initial post and replies.
Post: Term that describes each singular message as written and submitted by a person.

Roleplay Terminology:
    RP: Roleplay (the concept of taking on the 'role' of another person or character.)
    NPC: Non-player character (a character controlled by no one but the storyteller)
    PC: Player Character (a character controlled by another player.)
    IC: In Character (Signifies that a post is as by the specified character.)
    OOC: Out Of Character (Signifies that a post is from the player, not the player's character.)
    K/O: Kill Off (Term used to write a character out of a roleplay, or in extreme terms, existence.)
    Bio: Biography (a document all about a specific character.)
    ST/GM: Storyteller/Gamemaster (the creator/conductor of a roleplay.)
    Power Playing: 'Immortalisation' (term used to describe players who defy RP rules and etiquette.) [See Rules]

Some of these and other terms are described in depth below:

Characters:  Roleplay characters are the one essential thing to any roleplay, unless you wish to approach a limited storyteller's method.  Characters as as unique as people, and can be anything the player wants them to be-- within the limits of the rules.  For each character, it is good idea for any roleplayer to keep a personal biography for each character, also known as a 'Character Bio.'

Character Bio:  This is where all information about any particular character is stored.  Naturally, a player needs to list only what he or she wishes others to know.  Therefore, if there is mistery to a character, he or she needs not state it publicly.  (Sometimes players keep a separate private bio that they use for reference only.)  Character bios can contain a little or a lot of information, and biographical forms have been created in the past by which players may or may not chose to follow.  A basic example of what one might chose to include in a character bio goes as follows:

• Character Name:  The name of the character
• Character Race:  What type of being your character is. (Hylian/Goron/Gerudo/Sheikah/etc)
• Character Occupation: What your character does for a living.
• Character Description: What your character looks like.
• Character Personality: How your character acts, feels, etc.
• Character Stats: Weaknesses, Strengths, etc.
• Character Story: A biographical tale of your character, and what makes them most signifigant, etc...
  A picture of the character.
  * Some artistic roleplayers also chose to include a picture of their character!

Again, this form is basic.  If you are looking for something bigger, click here.

Also note that there is a specific board set aside for roleplay bios, and thus they should not be posted on the main roleplay board.

Storyteller:  The storyteller (also called gamemaster/mistress) is the one who creates and conducts a roleplay.  He or she writes the story and controls most of the NPCs, or those which are not controlled by other players.  He or she keeps the roleplay alive and institutes all major plot changes.  Even the storyteller has limits to his or her power, however.  These rules will be stated further on in the document.

NPC/PC:  The difference between the NPC and the PC is simple.  the NPC, as stated above, is often controlled by the storyteller unless otherwise stated.  PCs are controlled by players, and should not be used by other players to dramatic extents without concent.  The extent of control for a player to another player's character will be discussed later on. [See Rules]

IC/OOC: On the Zelda Community, OOC posts used to be made under the same thread as a roleplay.  This quickly became a problem, and thus two new boards were created for roleplaying.  The OOC board was one of these boards.  It was instituted to allow players an out-of-character discussion of the current roleplay, so that disputes could be settled and the storyline could be discussed.  OOC notes may still exist in RP threads, but major issues should be addressed to a separate OOC board created for the use of any particular roleplay.
(Example thread for OOC board: "OOC: A Paradox of Fates")

In Character Threads are naturally the roleplay threads themselves.  IC posts are simply those through which the character is played; it's as simple as that!

Powerplaying:   Powerplayers are those who wish to make their characters all-mighty.  They generally want the game to go their way, (whether they realise it or not,) rather than roleplaying the game realistically.  In many cases, powerplaying characters have a skill or spell to match any given situation, and nothing ever seems to go wrong for them.  Generally, they are immortal, though this is not always the case.  There are occasions where characters may bear these traits and still not neccessarily 'powerplay.'

More significantly, Powerplayers never seem to lose battles against other PCs.  They rarely give other players a chance to fend for themselves and often defy the abilities of other characters. 

Issues further addressing killing off characters, powerplaying, and other issues of dispute will be addressed under the section for Roleplay Rules and Etiquette.

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