This post is meant as a good-spirited piece of advice on how to make a good, easily comprehensible historical RP request in order to find RP partners looking for the same thing as quickly as possible. It's just what works best for me and how I structure my requests, but you may prefer a different layout and way of doing things when it comes to making requests, which is totally fine. I just know how intimidating and disorientating actively looking for RP partners may seem, so this is just to try and make things a bit easier for people who are new to historical RP.
You are not required to use this layout/method while making RP requests in the group.
This is the most basic characteristic of a historical roleplay session. All the other components of the RP will be based on this (loosely, at least). Characteristics such as social situation and tech level, which are also very important aspects of roleplaying, may be determined by this.
2. Specify a location
The location in which the RP is set is also very important in a ''true-to-life'' historical RP. Different continents, countries, regions or even cities were at different points in social and technological development at the same time. How specific your location is set is up to you, but keep in mind 'Europe' is a much broader specification than, for example, 'Eastern Europe,' 'Russia' or 'Moscow.' Personally, I'd advise you to specify at least the continent and a country at most, although you can also choose to RP in an unspecified location, but then specifying social situation and tech level will be necessary to give the RP a good base to start off of.
3. Think about how your set time and location work together
This is important for the RP's tech & combat level and political & social situation and to sort of form a base path your character can (but doesn't have to) follow over the course of the RP. For example, if you're playing an aristocrat in late 18th century France, they're likely to be targeted by the French Revolution and may face certain hardships during their life because of it, whereas their life would be virtually unaffected if you played the same aristocrat in the same time in a different location. Obviously, what social class your character belongs to also plays a big role here. Using my example with the french aristocrat earlier, your character may be the one going after that aristocrat if they're a peasant at that location in that time. You can, however, choose to dismiss historical accuracy and make up your own social, political & technological standing (although I do ask that these be kept within reason in relation to your set time, at least when you're RPing within the group's space).
4. Google is your friend
If you ever find yourself clueless as to what life was like in the historical period/location you'd like to play in, just google it. I myself, as a hobby historian, am often dumbfounded when it comes to knowing what life was really like at that time in that place. I mean, sure, we have dozens of movies set into various periods of history, but movies often deviate from fact in order to make the plot more interesting. If a truly historical RP is what you're interested in, do some research before and while you're RPing. This comes into play in your character's occupation, spare time activities, social standing, clothing style and other factors that describe them as a person for the duration of the RP. This is not really a necessary step, though, as it depends completely on how historically accurate you want your RP and characters to be.
These are all the pointers I go by when making requests or looking for RPs. You're welcome to use the same checklist, but you're not required to. As I said, this is just meant to make things easier and quicker.
Hope I've helped you at least a bit!
You are not required to use this layout/method while making RP requests in the group.
This is the most basic characteristic of a historical roleplay session. All the other components of the RP will be based on this (loosely, at least). Characteristics such as social situation and tech level, which are also very important aspects of roleplaying, may be determined by this.
2. Specify a location
The location in which the RP is set is also very important in a ''true-to-life'' historical RP. Different continents, countries, regions or even cities were at different points in social and technological development at the same time. How specific your location is set is up to you, but keep in mind 'Europe' is a much broader specification than, for example, 'Eastern Europe,' 'Russia' or 'Moscow.' Personally, I'd advise you to specify at least the continent and a country at most, although you can also choose to RP in an unspecified location, but then specifying social situation and tech level will be necessary to give the RP a good base to start off of.
3. Think about how your set time and location work together
This is important for the RP's tech & combat level and political & social situation and to sort of form a base path your character can (but doesn't have to) follow over the course of the RP. For example, if you're playing an aristocrat in late 18th century France, they're likely to be targeted by the French Revolution and may face certain hardships during their life because of it, whereas their life would be virtually unaffected if you played the same aristocrat in the same time in a different location. Obviously, what social class your character belongs to also plays a big role here. Using my example with the french aristocrat earlier, your character may be the one going after that aristocrat if they're a peasant at that location in that time. You can, however, choose to dismiss historical accuracy and make up your own social, political & technological standing (although I do ask that these be kept within reason in relation to your set time, at least when you're RPing within the group's space).
4. Google is your friend
If you ever find yourself clueless as to what life was like in the historical period/location you'd like to play in, just google it. I myself, as a hobby historian, am often dumbfounded when it comes to knowing what life was really like at that time in that place. I mean, sure, we have dozens of movies set into various periods of history, but movies often deviate from fact in order to make the plot more interesting. If a truly historical RP is what you're interested in, do some research before and while you're RPing. This comes into play in your character's occupation, spare time activities, social standing, clothing style and other factors that describe them as a person for the duration of the RP. This is not really a necessary step, though, as it depends completely on how historically accurate you want your RP and characters to be.
These are all the pointers I go by when making requests or looking for RPs. You're welcome to use the same checklist, but you're not required to. As I said, this is just meant to make things easier and quicker.
Hope I've helped you at least a bit!
