What is this place?
This is a text-based RP community for characters from the Guild Wars 2 MMO. It is set in the world of Tyria and the timeline is congruent with the timeline of GW2 (so the current year is 1328 AE). It is open to anyone on any server, whether NA or EU. Regardless of whether you can play GW2 with someone, you can RP with them here.

The RP space is organized into three dreamwidth communities:
gw2rp for all in character posts by characters and for open RP posts (made either by the mods or by players).
gw2rp_ooc for all out of character discussions, plotting, chatter, coordination, and contact with other players.
elderdragons for moderator information and key posts like this one.

There is also a tumblr:
guildwars2.tumblr.com which serves as a hub for meeting, greeting, and contacting members of the GW2 community on tumblr, where GW2 players are currently far more active than they are here on DW.

How do I get involved?
First off, you need to make your character journal(s). Usually people will create one journal (i.e. account) per character. Each journal can have up to 15 icons for free, so you'll probably want to make some from screenshots or art of your characters. These can be used to represent the character's different moods, expressions, attitudes--you can select an icon to go with each RP reply ("tag") you make.

Note: DW allows you to make multiple accounts with the same email address. There is also a handy add-on for Firefox called LJLogin (or LJAccountJuggler for Chrome) which allows you to switch between your DW accounts with one click. You can get it here for Firefox or here for Chrome.

Once you've made your journal(s), join the communities gw2rp and gw2rp_ooc. (No need to join elderdragons.) You can introduce yourself and your character(s) by posting to the OOC comm if you'd like, or you can just jump in and start playing on the main comm!

You can also, if you want, post character profiles, pictures, drabbles, or whatever you like on your character's journal. You control the privacy and access settings for your journals, so it is completely up to you how you would like to use them! You can always take an RP scene to your own journal if you'd like to play privately. RP that takes place on the comm will be available for anyone to read any time.

What characters can I play here?
Any character that you have made in GW2 can be played here. It doesn't matter if they are inspired by a character from another fandom, so long as the character is native to GW2 Tyria you can play them here.

Can I play one of the GW2 NPCs?
Yes, but as this is an open sandbox, please be aware that multiple versions of canon NPCs may appear and we ask players to take responsibility for figuring out continuities between interactions as they see fit.

OMG the mods are playing the elder dragons?!?
We're not. We just needed names for the mod journals. We are not actually playing or posting as the elder dragons.

What kinds of posts/play can I expect here?
As this is an open RP space, we want the gameplay to also be very flexible.

Sometimes the mods will make open free-for all RP posts that will contain a general setting or prompt, though these will be broad enough for each player to take in whatever direction that they desire. Sometimes, if Tuesday's in-game patch contains a new event (e.g., Lunar New Year festival, Dragon Bash, Halloween, Wintersday celebrations, etc.) expect a post here that makes use of those events for RP enjoyment.

What about posts of my own?
PLEASE MAKE THESE! YES! PLEASE MAKE MANY OF THEM! The mods can't carry this community alone. If we are the only ones posting it is doomed to fail. Please don't feel limited or constrained by our open posts! Anyone can make an open post of their own! You can also make a character specific post in which your character is doing something and other players are invited to have their characters come meet up with yours. Or you can make a closed post that's only for you and specific, designated characters. This comm is meant to be like a sandbox. Anywhere in Tyria, anything that might happen, you can use as grist for your creative RP mill.

We have only two requests: 1) Please don't contradict the settings declared in open posts or do things to break continuity. If the open post says that there's a snowstorm in Lornar's Pass, please don't make a contrary open post declaring it to be sunny spring thaw in the same location.

2) Please try not to replicate (or closely copy) open posts during the same week. If there is already an open post about being caught in the rain in Ebonhawke then we almost certainly don't need one about being caught in the rain in Divinity's Reach at the same time. Save it for the following week or choose something different. Variety helps keep things interesting for everyone; too much repetition just leads to fatigue and burn out.

I don't want to do the mod RP post that you've put up. Now what?
That's fine! The comm is set up so that you don't have to participate in any of our weekly events if you don't want to. Again, you are free to make posts of your own--either open RP posts or individual, character-specific ones. Our feelings won't be hurt if you want to ignore what we've posted on any given week.

My character is a Nightmare Courtier/a Mordrem Sylvari/otherwise evil, so they can't go to the place where the week's open post is set. What do?
Be creative! Please don't take our weekly open post settings as a straight jacket to restrict you. They are meant as inspiration and you can bend and shape them however will be most fun. If the open post is set in the Grove, you are perfectly welcome to extend it to a location just outside the Grove's borders, for example. Use your judgment and communicate with other players, but remember that you can always go your own way and make posts of your own to suit your character better.

Third Person and First Person "comment spam" styles.
It is completely up to you whether you prefer paragraph style third person narration or whether you prefer to simply type the words the character says. Many people will prefer a mix, doing comment spam one thread and third person prose the next. Often you will see comment spam tags with "flavor text" [in square brackets] [or small and in square brackets] to give a bit of context or declare actions. (You may also you asterisks to denote flavor text if you prefer, or whatever notation you like best--we're not precious about it.)

As a matter of etiquette, it is considered polite to keep with the style that the OP of the thread has started in, unless you together choose to switch. It is also considered polite when writing in third person to use the verb tense established by the OP.

We suggest that you try to find people with whom your personal style meshes, and don't feel bad if there are some people with whom it doesn't mesh. While you don't have to always match the other player's tag length, if someone has written a multi-paragraph tag full of introspection and description, it is generally considered bad form to offer only a one line reply.

Can I play sex, violence, generally nasty stuff?
We have no intention of policing the content of the RP that happens on this community. You can play whatever you want. We ask that you label your posts with appropriate content warnings so that people can make informed choices about what they do and don't want to read. In threads, please use the subject line of the post to give any necessary warnings. In your personal RP posts, please use the following header (or something quite like it):

Characters:
Location:
Open/Closed:
Warnings:

Is the RP that takes place here canon for my character?
That is completely up to you and your RP partners to decide!

Is there a guild to join?
At present we have no plans to make a guild associated with this comm.

What are the expectations for player conduct?
It's really simple: be a good citizen of the comm. That means that you should treat others with respect, not be a dick to your fellow players, and conduct yourself maturely and considerately. This entails communicating with other players, not expecting people on the internet to read your mind, and accepting that different people may like different things than you.

Our one hard and fast rule is NO GODMODING. Don't declare actions for another person's characters. Don't bleed OOC knowledge and use it to try and claim an in-character advantage. We are here to play with others, not against them.

Also, please do not push a ship on someone who doesn't want it. Don't just assume that your characters are a couple without due communication with the other player. If someone doesn't want to ship with you (or play any plot with you for that matter), take no for an answer gracefully. Pressuring people creates an unpleasant environment for everyone.

I'm having a problem with another player. What should I do?
The mods are not here to act as parents or arbitrate petty disputes. If someone here is harassing you then you should absolutely contact us right away! Screenshots are ideal evidence, but they are not the only form of evidence we will recognize. Please do come talk to us as we take harassment seriously. If your conflict is about RP plots, however, we will encourage you to work it out between yourselves.

You can contact us by email at guildwars2dwrp [at] gmail [dot] com or by sending a PM to either mordremoth or kralkatorrik. (Our timezone is GMT.) You can also contact us on the guildwars2dwrp tumblr where anonymous asks are on.

I have a question you haven't answered yet!
Just reply to this post and ask it right here! Or head on over to guildwars2dwrp and ask it there!