trinfan wrote:
That's probably a good guess, Kim. I know when I used to roleplay on forums, a lot of the GMs were pretty rabid about 'their' worlds. And I know the worlds I make are pretty complex, but I do encourage people to come to me with ideas and to ask about adding their own touches. I guess some people are a bit more attached to their vision than I am, especially after a few months of pounding out details before you even make the thread. 
When newcomers randomly decide that hordes of "invisible barbarians" are attacking your keep from the surrounding mountains, it does tend to grind my gears. I had a continuity that was very open-ended in many ways... people could play all kinds of character types, no matter how silly they were sometimes. The only thing I wanted people to do was to adhere a bit to the overall feel I was going for. The keep had no windows for insulation reasons; I can't count how many folks addressed them in RP. The keep was so high up in the mountains that the treeline was much further down; yet many folks RPed their characters' entrances "wandering out of the forest." There was a species of ogre that were extremely difficult to kill single-handedly; yet newcomers often boasted about slaying hordes of them (and their characters WEREN'T bragging), even when I had maintained that the ogres were becoming increasingly rare, etc etc.
Sound like all small things? Small things snowball and propagate.
I eventually closed the setting. I have nothing but a soft heart for GMs who over folks find overprotective. While lax settings are usually better, I just... know what they probably are going through. 
For me, what shuts the role play down is when none of the characters get the action going. It's been decided that this has to be done- but no one has the balls to actually have their character say "Well- lets go slay this ****er then." This is very frustrating and often means players who's characters are not leader types end up just leading the party because everyone is pussyfooting around.
I personally have discovered a roleplay is like a movie- or many movies intertwining. Every "movie" has a main character, the other characters support them. A and B characters- and neither one is more important than the other. The only problem is everybody wants their character to be the A all the time. No one seems to be willing to let their magical elf who shoots rainbows out their ass take a back seat for a bit and let someone else have their moment. B characters get their chance to shine and will have their moments of A characterdom. (This really doesn't apply to small groups of two or three because they tend to be the A characters and NCP's are the B.)
I personally have discovered a roleplay is like a movie- or many movies intertwining. Every "movie" has a main character, the other characters support them. A and B characters- and neither one is more important than the other. The only problem is everybody wants their character to be the A all the time. No one seems to be willing to let their magical elf who shoots rainbows out their ass take a back seat for a bit and let someone else have their moment. B characters get their chance to shine and will have their moments of A characterdom. (This really doesn't apply to small groups of two or three because they tend to be the A characters and NCP's are the B.)
Heimdall: Actually, I wouldn't call those 'small things' at all. Maybe they're considered small where you roleplay- I'm guessing Furcadia, I've seen it mentioned but never been there, so I don't know how things work there. But a sudden attack without checking with the GM is a big thing, as is ignoring the established setting. I'm talking about things like when the GM jumps down your throat for not knowing that that specific door would have been locked, or yells at you because their dragons only have black scales, so your character's mount can't possibly be blue, despite having never said so anywhere. No, you have to be platinum blond if you're going to be blond, no strawberry blonds allowed. Yes, my character has a pet ogre, but I'm the GM- you're not allowed to have any pet but an old hunting hound. I didn't say your character was allowed to leave the room. No, the table's on the other side of the room, by the other window- haven't you been paying attention to anything that's been going on? There are five attackers, not six, and I know I didn't tell you the exact number, but that doesn't mean you can just decide for yourself.
And yes, all of these examples have actually happened to me in roleplays. Gaia can be a very petty crowd at times. Those are small things, none of which were important, which I would have let slide if I had been GM. And the example about leaving the room without permission got me kicked out of that roleplay. The hallway was empty, the door was unlocked, I had my character poke her head out the doorway for a second, and I got kicked out of the roleplay. That is overbearing. There is no excuse for that besides being an absolute control freak who wants to write a book but wants other people to do the writing for them.
Saying "Dude, I'm pretty sure I mentioned the forest was about a mile and a half away- maybe you can rework that entrance?" isn't overbearing. Mentioning that invisible barbarians don't exist so it would be kind of hard for them to attack the keep? Not rabid at all. Wasting three paragraphs telling someone how stupid they are because their character is two inches over a height limit that nobody ever mentioned? Flat-out being a controlling bitch.
I'm almost never in a group roleplay I don't GM, mostly because the way other people GM their roleplays makes me wonder how they can manage to type, considering they're acting like bratty five-year-olds in need of a nap. There's a difference between being protective and being rabid.
Nefferduat: I love the way you word things, and I agree completely on your point. I wish I could find a roleplay with a magical elf who shoots rainbows out of their ass. ^^
And yes, all of these examples have actually happened to me in roleplays. Gaia can be a very petty crowd at times. Those are small things, none of which were important, which I would have let slide if I had been GM. And the example about leaving the room without permission got me kicked out of that roleplay. The hallway was empty, the door was unlocked, I had my character poke her head out the doorway for a second, and I got kicked out of the roleplay. That is overbearing. There is no excuse for that besides being an absolute control freak who wants to write a book but wants other people to do the writing for them.
Saying "Dude, I'm pretty sure I mentioned the forest was about a mile and a half away- maybe you can rework that entrance?" isn't overbearing. Mentioning that invisible barbarians don't exist so it would be kind of hard for them to attack the keep? Not rabid at all. Wasting three paragraphs telling someone how stupid they are because their character is two inches over a height limit that nobody ever mentioned? Flat-out being a controlling bitch.
I'm almost never in a group roleplay I don't GM, mostly because the way other people GM their roleplays makes me wonder how they can manage to type, considering they're acting like bratty five-year-olds in need of a nap. There's a difference between being protective and being rabid.
Nefferduat: I love the way you word things, and I agree completely on your point. I wish I could find a roleplay with a magical elf who shoots rainbows out of their ass. ^^
Jeeze, Trinfan, that's crazy. I used to RP on Gaia in Gaia commerce- I didn't touch Barton Town except for one-on-ones over PMs or IMs. I encountered a lot of people who were very particular, for instance, people who wanted you to write eight paragraphs at a time. I HATE it when people force you to write more than you would if you were allowed to write naturally. Don't they understand that after a certain point it all becomes fluff? If I didn't have eight paragraphs' worth of stuff to describe, I would probably just end up counting the eyelashes on my character and describing the dirt under her nails. Pfft.
There were also other weird quirks, which I don't remember, but like, "Don't use ( ) word," or "Your character can't ( )". I also hated how people had plots that included pre-made roles for YOUR character. I'll play MY character, thank you very much, not your stereotypical princess who's clumsy and blonde.
I remember one time, someone forced me to write a post for him describing a machine turning his character into a woman. For some reason my description of the clothes was TOO COMPLICATED for him to understand, so he made me re-do it two times, then STILL didn't get it. The only diagnosis I could come by was that he was a complete idiot. Then I asked him to write me a post in return to judge HIS capabilities and it became one excuse after the other until finally he just stopped replying. What a ****** nozzle.
There were also other weird quirks, which I don't remember, but like, "Don't use ( ) word," or "Your character can't ( )". I also hated how people had plots that included pre-made roles for YOUR character. I'll play MY character, thank you very much, not your stereotypical princess who's clumsy and blonde.
I remember one time, someone forced me to write a post for him describing a machine turning his character into a woman. For some reason my description of the clothes was TOO COMPLICATED for him to understand, so he made me re-do it two times, then STILL didn't get it. The only diagnosis I could come by was that he was a complete idiot. Then I asked him to write me a post in return to judge HIS capabilities and it became one excuse after the other until finally he just stopped replying. What a ****** nozzle.
Barton Town is where roleplaying gets a bad rep. The sad part is that I can't find any doubt that everything you said is absolutely true. orz
I completely agree on "write X number of paragraphs" GMs. That's where you get people writing ten paragraphs of utter introspective crap, none of which can be replied to because it's all about her soft cerulean eyes with flecks of summer gold and her long, tumbling waves of shimmering auburn hair, and then they act like they're better than someone who writes two paragraphs of things that actually move the roleplay forward. It's ridiculous, and nobody but other ten-paragraphs-of-crap writers want anything to do with them. Letting them into a group roleplay will scare away other players, who either think they have to write that much, or whose eyes glaze over after the second time they see the words 'rosebud lips'. x.x
I completely agree on "write X number of paragraphs" GMs. That's where you get people writing ten paragraphs of utter introspective crap, none of which can be replied to because it's all about her soft cerulean eyes with flecks of summer gold and her long, tumbling waves of shimmering auburn hair, and then they act like they're better than someone who writes two paragraphs of things that actually move the roleplay forward. It's ridiculous, and nobody but other ten-paragraphs-of-crap writers want anything to do with them. Letting them into a group roleplay will scare away other players, who either think they have to write that much, or whose eyes glaze over after the second time they see the words 'rosebud lips'. x.x
Loved the gaia reference there trinfan. I neved did rp there, i'm only a member to play their tiles game lol. I don't think it matters how much someone writes as long as there isn't like 50 actions described. I like it whene people give inside information that my character cant act on. throwing bits of character background keeps me humping the rp leg. But limits have to be agreed upon. Just cause i may write three paragraphs doesn't mean you have to. I try to describe just enough to keep myself engaged while leaveing it open for my patner to write shorter or longer then me. Patience is key and lets face it not everyone meshes well for a game. Too much discription or too little really ruins the mood.
Its also anoying on rp forums especially mature content ones where every rper seems to be concerned about you asking for webcams. I'm like come on no one serious about rp wants that. I'm jellious i never get asked for my webcam even thogh i dont have one. but why doesn't a ventalitor sound sexy? lol. I never have asked creapy stuff of my partners. And in my 10+ years of rping i only once ever got truely creaped out. I really only got one dramatic story rp wise.
Its also anoying on rp forums especially mature content ones where every rper seems to be concerned about you asking for webcams. I'm like come on no one serious about rp wants that. I'm jellious i never get asked for my webcam even thogh i dont have one. but why doesn't a ventalitor sound sexy? lol. I never have asked creapy stuff of my partners. And in my 10+ years of rping i only once ever got truely creaped out. I really only got one dramatic story rp wise.
Eh, I'm only there for zOMG! now. The roleplaying community as a whole, while containing some promising individuals, sucks.
I've never done mature roleplaying on a forum, really, so no one's every asked for my webcam. It helps that most of the time, they have no idea what gender I am. ^^
But back on-topic. I definitely prefer quality over quantity when it comes to posts. I like detailed profiles, detailed actions, but seriously, I don't need a post that uses seven different words for brown when describing her eyes that no one can see because - as mentioned in paragraphs one, three, four, five, eight, and ten - she's wearing sunglasses. If that happens, I am out. Good-bye, thank you for your time.
I've never done mature roleplaying on a forum, really, so no one's every asked for my webcam. It helps that most of the time, they have no idea what gender I am. ^^
But back on-topic. I definitely prefer quality over quantity when it comes to posts. I like detailed profiles, detailed actions, but seriously, I don't need a post that uses seven different words for brown when describing her eyes that no one can see because - as mentioned in paragraphs one, three, four, five, eight, and ten - she's wearing sunglasses. If that happens, I am out. Good-bye, thank you for your time.
It's never fun when you start setting up a game then suddenly your partner goes "sorry i'm in 12 games i dont want to start a new rp" omg happens to me all the time.
OnScreenTyper wrote:
It's never fun when you start setting up a game then suddenly your partner goes "sorry i'm in 12 games i dont want to start a new rp" omg happens to me all the time.
I am pleased to say I never had any major troublesome RP situations. That is, if you ignore the dead RPs. Yup. *points RP graveyard* In fact, in my long life as a roleplayer (a year and a half) I only finished two RPs. Yes. The rest died. People who stop posting, people who just disappear from the face of the Earth, people who kill the RP for other people. Hilarity ensues.
Aside from that, my only trouble is LACK OF RPS.
*puts a cigar inside a pipe and smokes it under a bed*
Aside from that, my only trouble is LACK OF RPS.
*puts a cigar inside a pipe and smokes it under a bed*
SeraphicStar wrote:
I only finished two RPs.
What would count as a "finished" RP? I've had RPs go on for a decade and are still ongoing. I have no idea how I'd tell when they were finished.
I'd say when they come to a definitive stopping point. I've only had this happen once, and it ended when the main characters split up and went to spend the rest of their lives in different dimensions. We actually had a spinoff for each of them, but those did die before they could be finished. A lot of roleplays have a goal - save the world, marry the princess, defeat the evil villain - and once that goal is achieved, the roleplay is finished. Beyond that, it's a case-by-case call, I'd say.
**DISCLAIMER**
I haven't read alllll the posts, so if I repeat something, please forgive me. I'm just bored and figured I'd randomly insert my say into this forum.
A terrible scenario in my opinion would be when you create conflict to make sure the roleplay stays alive and allows all characters to deal with a problem and someone solves it. Right off the bat. Like...say two characters are sitting around (Micah as mine and Aaron as my partner's) and I decide to liven the scene by pulling in a new character for the sake of conflict; Aaron's arch rival or something. He bursts in the window like "huublah" and Aaron stabs him and kills him. No conflict, and the roleplay continues to die. I really don't like players who's characters have a solution to everything.
That or a partner's character constantly separates him/herself from my character. You cannot have a roleplay if there's only two characters and they aren't intermingling. This is just writing two separate stories at the same time. And often, the roleplay dies instantly after the separation (unless a new char is added to make up for the partner split).
I haven't read alllll the posts, so if I repeat something, please forgive me. I'm just bored and figured I'd randomly insert my say into this forum.
A terrible scenario in my opinion would be when you create conflict to make sure the roleplay stays alive and allows all characters to deal with a problem and someone solves it. Right off the bat. Like...say two characters are sitting around (Micah as mine and Aaron as my partner's) and I decide to liven the scene by pulling in a new character for the sake of conflict; Aaron's arch rival or something. He bursts in the window like "huublah" and Aaron stabs him and kills him. No conflict, and the roleplay continues to die. I really don't like players who's characters have a solution to everything.
That or a partner's character constantly separates him/herself from my character. You cannot have a roleplay if there's only two characters and they aren't intermingling. This is just writing two separate stories at the same time. And often, the roleplay dies instantly after the separation (unless a new char is added to make up for the partner split).
We all hate god mod plyers, but there is also another thing there. Sometimes people do want all powerful characters but then why do they not let me god mode if thats what they wanted. Only has happened twice in about 10 years but still..growl.
I think that a lot of pick-up-and-go RPs lack a direction to begin with. You're in a bar/tavern/forest and you just bump into each other. I'm thinking more along the lines of Furcadia RP. I tend to be OCD and like to plan out my end of the RP and I understand going 'Ok day one we will do ___, and then ___, followed by ___.' is too much. But having a sense of what the end goal is without knowing what twists and turns might crop up is what makes RP interesting. I RP for the unknown, I write my novels for the joy of writing a laid out scene. Many, many times the RPs grow stale after just three or four posts. Like its been said previously my partners tend to get self absorbed in their character and never give anything back for me to reply to.
Play the what if game before you start a RP. Or make a 'I want' list. I start off by going 'I (as said character) want to.. get out of the town asap/avoid paying the dinner bill/discuss my divorce..' etc. It gives me a personal direction. Besides, what if games are fun and even the most silly ideas can be turned into something more plausible. If you're last RP was in the tavern where you got drunk, danced naked on the table and black out.. WHATIF the guards came in because of your disturbance and now you're in jail. WHATIF you don't remember why. WHATIF you hooked up with the chef's 15 year old daughter (who you swear said she was 19) and now you've no where to stay in town because everyone won't let you near their kids. You get the idea. xD
Play the what if game before you start a RP. Or make a 'I want' list. I start off by going 'I (as said character) want to.. get out of the town asap/avoid paying the dinner bill/discuss my divorce..' etc. It gives me a personal direction. Besides, what if games are fun and even the most silly ideas can be turned into something more plausible. If you're last RP was in the tavern where you got drunk, danced naked on the table and black out.. WHATIF the guards came in because of your disturbance and now you're in jail. WHATIF you don't remember why. WHATIF you hooked up with the chef's 15 year old daughter (who you swear said she was 19) and now you've no where to stay in town because everyone won't let you near their kids. You get the idea. xD
Was this a reply to what I had said? This didn't sound like complaints but of requests and tips o.o I'm trying to make the connection to whom you were speaking to. ^^""
Birdie wrote:
I think that a lot of pick-up-and-go RPs lack a direction to begin with. You're in a bar/tavern/forest and you just bump into each other. I'm thinking more along the lines of Furcadia RP. I tend to be OCD and like to plan out my end of the RP and I understand going 'Ok day one we will do ___, and then ___, followed by ___.' is too much. But having a sense of what the end goal is without knowing what twists and turns might crop up is what makes RP interesting. I RP for the unknown, I write my novels for the joy of writing a laid out scene. Many, many times the RPs grow stale after just three or four posts. Like its been said previously my partners tend to get self absorbed in their character and never give anything back for me to reply to.
Play the what if game before you start a RP. Or make a 'I want' list. I start off by going 'I (as said character) want to.. get out of the town asap/avoid paying the dinner bill/discuss my divorce..' etc. It gives me a personal direction. Besides, what if games are fun and even the most silly ideas can be turned into something more plausible. If you're last RP was in the tavern where you got drunk, danced naked on the table and black out.. WHATIF the guards came in because of your disturbance and now you're in jail. WHATIF you don't remember why. WHATIF you hooked up with the chef's 15 year old daughter (who you swear said she was 19) and now you've no where to stay in town because everyone won't let you near their kids. You get the idea. xD
Play the what if game before you start a RP. Or make a 'I want' list. I start off by going 'I (as said character) want to.. get out of the town asap/avoid paying the dinner bill/discuss my divorce..' etc. It gives me a personal direction. Besides, what if games are fun and even the most silly ideas can be turned into something more plausible. If you're last RP was in the tavern where you got drunk, danced naked on the table and black out.. WHATIF the guards came in because of your disturbance and now you're in jail. WHATIF you don't remember why. WHATIF you hooked up with the chef's 15 year old daughter (who you swear said she was 19) and now you've no where to stay in town because everyone won't let you near their kids. You get the idea. xD
Ah, I was just generally speaking in response to the opening post about "I'd like to get people's opinions on situations that can potentially drive an RP into a wall. What are they, how do they come up, how can they be solved?".
Oh alrighty ^^
Birdie wrote:
Ah, I was just generally speaking in response to the opening post about "I'd like to get people's opinions on situations that can potentially drive an RP into a wall. What are they, how do they come up, how can they be solved?".
This is to the first post, and yes, I know im reviving an old topic xD
Ive run into several 'walls' that have stopped roleplay, (I rp Furcadia, but I used to rp on forums. Been an avid reader/writer/rper for about 8 years.)
One would be the creator of the entire plot kicking out people of the rp (me and a friend to be exact) and leaving us with nothing, we didnt know how to continue because the creator suddenly labeled us as OOC enemies and knocked us to the side. it also left the creator with a huge gap to fill (which they promptly voided our presence completely)
Another was I rped with this guy, hes nice and such, and he wanted to rp with one of my mated chars. (She is a werewolf
) and the RP went from them being friends to him trying to rape her. This immediately caused a wall, because a) sexual rps make me uncomfortable and b) i wouldnt consent to rape anyway. This left us with an issue, on how to continue. (the guy claimed our chars had no way to continue, and thus left me all, derp.)
Ive run into several 'walls' that have stopped roleplay, (I rp Furcadia, but I used to rp on forums. Been an avid reader/writer/rper for about 8 years.)
One would be the creator of the entire plot kicking out people of the rp (me and a friend to be exact) and leaving us with nothing, we didnt know how to continue because the creator suddenly labeled us as OOC enemies and knocked us to the side. it also left the creator with a huge gap to fill (which they promptly voided our presence completely)
Another was I rped with this guy, hes nice and such, and he wanted to rp with one of my mated chars. (She is a werewolf
) and the RP went from them being friends to him trying to rape her. This immediately caused a wall, because a) sexual rps make me uncomfortable and b) i wouldnt consent to rape anyway. This left us with an issue, on how to continue. (the guy claimed our chars had no way to continue, and thus left me all, derp.)
I don't find many RP situations troublesome. Though, that's likely mostly because I don't RP with many "random" people nowadays. Mostly just close friends because my character doesn't really turn many peoples' heads (for whatever reason that may be). Sometimes, my character can be all... touchyfeelyaffectionate (she's developed a brain of her own over the 8 years I've had her!), but I always know ways to distract her from it, and I can and am always willing to provide tips for distracting her, or I'll even do it myself with NPCs or other characters if I am asked to. Otherwise, I'll assume the harassment is purely IC because I'm big on communication- I don't "take hints"; II expect my rp partners to have backbones and be able to directly tell me something.
Though, when my character was a slave at TGT, nost of the situations were trouble. Eventually I got sick of her being ignored and finally went "ugh this is stupid" and with the help of a friend, I pulled her off the slave market.
Though, when my character was a slave at TGT, nost of the situations were trouble. Eventually I got sick of her being ignored and finally went "ugh this is stupid" and with the help of a friend, I pulled her off the slave market.
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