Yeah... I've just been hanging out here, really. In the past two years I've only been on about twice, and neither of those times really convinced me to keep playing unfortunately. It's a surprising coincidence that after all this time you come to the one forum I still use Runescape for.
Anyways, good to see that you've taken an interest in this community. Roleplaying is pretty simple, really. You create a character, and then have that character interact with other characters and follow along the Thread Owner's story. Good roleplayers will try to have their characters change and develop as the thread progresses, and have their characters form strong relationships/rivalries with other characters.
There are some rules though. Like you can't control any characters other than your own (with a few exceptions, like extremely minor characters with no importance to the plot.) Controlling other characters is referred to as godmodding.
You can't 'autohit' a character (instead of 'Bill cut Bob's hand off', you put 'Bill swung at Bob's hand, hoping to cut it off', which gives the other roleplayer a chance to type 'Bob moved his hand away from the swing and swung at Bill's neck.' In short, don't hit someone without permission. Instead give them a chance to avoid or negate the damage.
And then there's powerplaying, where you make a character ridiculously overpowered compared to the other characters. Refusing to let them take damage, unleashing extremely destructive attacks that are impossible or unreasonably hard to avoid, etc.
Before joining a thread, you must first fill out a character sheet or bio format. Most threads will have a template, where you list off your characters name, their age, what they look like, their past, etc.
Take a look at some of the Roleplaying Threads to get a better idea of how the process works. Most notably, Into the Fire by DF Angel - should be on the second page of this forum.
Beneath the gold, the Bitter Steel.
30-Aug-2015 21:06:19