My personal go to is to watch a YouTube video about whatever I don’t know. At least surface knowledge helps me pretend like Araghar knows how to reforge an axe (Man at Arms), or what specific components of a weapon are called.
YouTube Certified Roleplayer.
I’ve never really thought about putting research into things like jewelcrafting or handling a blade, but if someone puts in that effort, that’s pretty commendable.
Now I kind of want to look this stuff up and learn more about it haha. I wouldn’t hold this as an expectation on other individuals and I hope others wouldn’t have that either.
Idk, putting in research for something you RP seems like it can open more opportunities for RP if folks become interested in your profession.
The only thing you need to know about music theory is that you can basically do whatever you want and two things will be true about it:
I think this question relies on the assumption that the stuff our characters do has an obligation to be authentic to the real world, and I guess I don’t really feel that obligation. I generally think it’s better to write the Hollywood version of “how the thing works” than try to match everything one-to-one with the real world.
That said, however, I often trawl Wikipedia or YouTube tutorials or whatever in search of concepts and/or names to steal. For example, if Ursuola was going to do a shamanistic ritual, I wouldn’t feel obligated to go out and try to mirror real-world shamanistic rituals, but I’ll certainly pluck out the bits and pieces I think are cool, if that makes sense.
I guess what I mean is that I borrow from real-world knowledge when I feel like it, but don’t really lose sleep if I don’t.
I guess if there’s anything technical or nuanced about my characters I try to educate myself enough to be convincing but not so much that I could even be called a novice about it. Sure if you’re RPing a doctor and interact with a character who also happens to be an RL doctor behind that avatar there’s a good chance they may know more about the subject than you do or even call you out on gaps missed, but for the most part I think most people just want to participate in the escapist hobby as everyone else.
If anything though because I play certain types of characters it’s made me look up relevant lore or aspects of cultures to draw inspiration from. Again so my portrayal of the character maintains the suspension of disbelief or comes off as convincing more than anything else.
My vulpera brewmaster is a bard of sorts. I am sure to label his musicality as “His brews are better than his singing”.
Internets and boredom.
I just like reading about stuff. But I certainly don’t know how to swing a giant flaming hammer that’s the size of two small children tied to the end of a really long stick with any sort of effectiveness.
I google…so…so much. maybe not specifically for WoW, magic is sorta nebulous and warfare can be…skimped if your descriptions are written well enough
but so, so much googling and light reading. even the lightest details add so much to the scene in the end.
I do research about character concepts that revolve around something I don’t really know about, but I’m not really under the illusion that it’ll make my RP seem more realistic or convincing—I just really like reading about cool things like brewing and blacksmithing.
Probably my engineer I don’t know anything about that stuff so any parts he uses are just his own made up words.
I found it later. It was Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegl. I do love Baldwin though.
If we’re in the literary theory lane, I maybe think Hemingway’s iceberg theory fits into what Greyah is getting at. Hemingway said, “The test of any story is how very good the stuff that you, not your editors, omit … the omitted part would strengthen the story and make people feel something more than they understood.”
I don’t think any of us are pretending to be experts in any of these subjects, so the purpose of these stories is to have us and anyone else feel and experience and gain something from the story. And I don’t think that’s to be hung up on details and descriptions.
I think if a story makes you feel something, and isn’t just an encyclopedic description or an endless list of adjectives, it works. Regardless of how much you know.
That ain’t god modding. That’s called being creative LOL now it makes sense. My fans have no conception of what rp dos and donts are! Will be citing this post for proof.
I really like the Pixar rule of storytelling and try to adapt it to my RP.
Anything that could get my characters out of trouble, they’re either bad at or fail at.
Anything that could get them into trouble, they’re experts at.
Actually, I would argue it is a good idea.
You don’t have to master things, but learning entry level knowledge on a wide variety of topics is something I’ve seen recommended in books on finding success. The more things you have a basic knowledge on, the more people you will be able to potentially connect with.
Consider:
Someone is wearing a shirt with a Horde logo on it.
Two people approach them (not at the same time), one played for half an expansion, the other never played any of the games or expansions. The first is likely going to be able to talk to the person easier, and then segway that conversation to other topics if they hit it off.
The same thing goes for any other topic.
People want to meet people with shared interests, and while entry level knowledge won’t help you talk about things at length, it will help you listen to the other person informatively without them needing to explain every little thing.
The thing I love about Gotosh , is that a lot of him ARE things I actually truely enjoy.
I’m very interested in skinning, tanning and the process of all that. And my research has actually made the RP better, and adds dimension to what you’re doing.
I think, if you don’t know a certain aspect of what you’re getting into…research it! But I don’t say that from the angle of “elitisism” i say it as a chance for you to learn about something and expand your writing skills. I’ve learned how to fully cook snails, de-slime them, cook them and how other cultures consume snail meals all because snails are large in Highmountain, and are a nuisance to Gotosh’s and Zargaron’s garden.
So how would he cook them? How does it work? It’s so fun, and THROUGH that you can share that knowledge.
And since this is a writing based RP, doing the research actually helps you feel even more connected to the character. Maybe they like doing this sort of skinning, maybe they HATE skinning these sorts of things. Skinning can take anywhere from maybe 45 minutes, to a good few hours, depending on method, animal and so forth.
But you’re not godmodding, Greyah! Not everyone knows every single little itty bitty thing. And when you don’t, its better to make a vague action then a half hearted one. I wouldn’t be upset at all if you said “Greyah began her work skinning the deer”.
It shows what she’s doing without much else, and anyone who knows skinning can just imagine that shes seperating the skin from the body by slicing her knife carefully to seperate the connective membranes and doing all the appropiate cuts around the hooves or paws.
I certainly never done a lot of things! I’ve never grown a massive garden, or stitched someone, or butchered a snapping turtle. But I’ve researched each thing, simply because it’s fun and because it helps me grow Gotosh, see him develop and expand my own knowledge!
But again, don’t feel bad for broad posts on some things. This is, after all, a form of roleplay thats instant. Posts are instant. Certain situations may call for just a broad post!
Hope you’re doing well Greyah
I typically do something similar in trying to keep things vague. I have to do this a lot, especially as a Pandaren roleplayer with Crohn’s; I’ve never been able to drink alcohol or eat even a quarter of what Pandaren do, so it’s especially difficult to describe these things in RP when relevant. I admit, it can make me very self-conscious at times, especially when others are describing the food/drink my character is providing for me, wittingly or unwittingly implying I should be doing that. But… I simply don’t know how. I’ve never experienced it. 
Another matter is RPing a master monk. I worry greatly on how to RP training his students. Fortunately, all the ones he’s had to date haven’t tried asserting some niche knowledge on me, but I can’t help but be concerned for the day I’ll come across someone that expects me to be an actual grandmaster monk IRL that roleplays in WoW and have the actual knowledge on how that all works.
I’m fine! I was just using the title as clickbait haha. Your reply is a good read. ThankS for the input!!
Makes more sense then regarding the interpretation hah; a really good pick, regardless.
Oh! lol, well I had a feeling when I saw it was you but then I read it.
But yeah!! I love researching the things I get into with Gotosh and all my characters (but mainly him.) It really helps rounding him out!
If someone ever asks you IC how she tans her pelts, you can say she brain tans them. Which is a solution made from the brain of the animal, and usually is enough to tan that one pelt (usually). It provides a natural way to tan it, and makes the leather very soft!
Glad you are doing well, stay safe!
And you too! Hopefully Greyah and Gotosh the mate can get together again soon. 
I believe the best way to learn is to keep it vague but look up descriptions. Some things are pretty self-explanatory. Others might need a bit more work. I often look up some videos or recipes when roleplaying out cooking, skinning, tailoring, or even jewelcrafting. Though I may keep it vague so its up to the imagination.
You don’t -need- to research it. On your own time just look up little simple videos or guides so you expand your description options. Sometimes stylizing things too as if your character is a dancer or has exaggerated movements.