hey, my friends were thinking of starting an rp like yours, with the sburb session. did you have any system you created/borrowed to play it with, or is it all just imagination :?
Alright so! My good friend Rune, Homestuck roleplay expert and the host of my current HS rp, is going to help answer this question very extensively. Just a warning: This is going to be a long post, but it should explain most everything you need to know about starting a SBURB Homestuck roleplay.
Hello! This is Rod’s friend, Rune. I will be answering your question today.
One of the first things to consider is what platform you will be using for your RP. Me and my friends personally use Discord, as it’s actually a very good program for it.
You already seem like you have a group picked out for your session, which is a good start! What you’ll want to do is set up some sort of spreadsheet.
Above this is linked an example spreadsheet that you can base your own created spreadsheet off to fill out and edit based off of the canon 4 beta kids. A spreadsheet isn’t necessary, but it sure is useful! Helps you keep track of all sorts of information. [Note: you can add other tabs as well, such as an Echeladder tab, a tab to keep track of your characters’ Gear, and a Music Sheet - Theme songs and such just for fun.]
Next will be setting up your session and the rooms you’ll need for said session. I’m going to be using discord as an example here.
As you can see here, you’ll want to make a room for each of your player’s lands, one for Prospit and Derse, and one for the Incipisphere. The memo that you see at the top will be important in a little bit. It is recommended that you set your nickname on the discord server to your player’s Pesterchum handle.
Once you have all the rooms set up, now to discuss the best format for a Homestuck RP to make it easy and readable for everyone.
As you can see here, they should be formatted in second person, in similar style to homestuck narration. The narration should be in italics, which can be formatted by surrounding a post in *asterisks* like so. Commands, as are privy to homestuck, should be in bold text, which can be accomplished through the use of **double asterisks**. Characters speaking to other characters should not be in the same paragraph as narration, and formatted by listing the character’s name, a colon, and their dialogue. Like so:
(note, when two characters are together at the same time, both authors should switch to third person instead. all other things still apply.)
Following this format can encourage clean, readable, and good looking roleplay.
Now, we will return back to the memo. The memo is very important, and the best way to accomplish an entry into the medium. Entry is where MANY homestuck roleplays die, understandably, so I have worked it down to a science. Entry will be done over a pesterchum memo IC, in whatever the memo channel you have is called. You will type normally, as if you were just typing to someone over a messaging service, as the memo is meant to mimic that. Over the course of entry, the player who is entering should do their actions in the memo room in second person, and italics. Note, characters who are not able to see the character preforming this action should not comment on said action. That is, unless they are omnipresent (which I’ll assume they’re not.)
[Here is an example of the beginning of the memo.]
And that’s it! Once entry is over, you should follow the formula previously stated to post in each kid’s respective land! I’ll assume you’ve read homestuck and have a general idea of how the game is supposed to go. I hope this has helped! Have a great day!