When you're in an NRP and your enemy takes control of your forces, also when you make a strategy before the battle and suddenly before the battle your enemy comes up with something that counters it, without knowing about it so thus they didn't send out scouts.

(Note: I just had LASIK surgery, so my eyes are blurry. I may not catch the mistakes when I write this...or care to fix them if I do).

The only time I think it is a problem when characters react opposite of what we hope is when they never react different than that. Like, sometimes, I play a character who is an angel. I play on the "Angels know Love and Protection." So, they don't understand fear, hatred, etc. When this is known ahead of time, you can EXPECT that this character won't have many emotions to show no matter the situation.

But then there's time when you get a NORMAL character being played, and they play them absolutely emotionless and there is no 'reasoning' behind it... That's the only time I might come out and say; "Hey, it's hard to really respond to the RP if you never show anything emotion wise... If you plan to keep acting like this, my character won't stick around..." And, in 1 x 1s, if someone leaves, the RP ends.

What I hate is when...I look for a partner for a plot and describe how a specific character they play will be demeanor wise...and they want to do it...but then completely flop the character into someone else...which totally throws the RP off... I don't mind if they ask to change it, but since the plot I was expecting called for specific types of characters, when they take a cold hearted guy and make him a softy from the get-go, it's just weird...and basically stops the RP. Growing to be softer hearted is fine, but not without depth to build to it.

I dislike when people do things, or have NPCs do things, that should not be done. Not int he, "oh, it's illegal" type of way - but the "How does that even happen?"

For instance, in an early version of Allaria, an RP I run - the PCs were drafted into a war, as part of a plan to take down the big bads army that had took over most of the world and were making the final leap to complete dominance. So, both armies, good and bad, were standing on opposite sides of the field - the good barricading the city and the bad, preparing to attack.

The PCs are standing there talking about their plan. All of a sudden one of them launches an arrow... and ignites a ring of gas and whatnot, that not one... but TWO of the big bads armies had managed to just so happen to step in. Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, provided there was some prep for it.

But, the battle hadn't started. There was no explantation of why the ring of gas was there. There was no explanation of how these two random guys were able to sneak past an entire army and get behind them, only to get caught by a, in terms of power as opposed to the bad guys, weakling. It was just an all around WTF moment.

Only to be capped off by her jumping off the bridge, and into the river below, because their real mission was to get past the battle and head to the next city. That was her chosen route.

That sounds absolutely hilarious.

I can certainly sympathise with that, when someone just doesn't get the tone or atmosphere etc of an army well enough that their responses to what's going on is just completely nonsensical, strange, left-field and wtf-ery.

There was a collective.. .WTF.

So don't you dare laugh at me. :( xD

I was the GM for a fantasy school that got pretty good, but once I started recruiting new people, none of them understood the atmosphere of the Rp and would just go nuts in their first post about like blowing up part of the school or hunting other students. Or cutting in the middle of the main plot and just throw their selves in to it when they know absolutely nothing on what's going on.

When I used to run something big, a army-style thing, but not quite what you'd think... Hard to explain...

Anyways, I would VERY bluntly state in the description, in my opener, even in a drawing, show that there weren't 'hallways'. It was a base, built on an island. But instead of being one massive building that has sections inside, it has multiple buildings on the island with pathways OUTSIDE leading to each building. This was done to make sure people had a high chance of success if they needed to escape because it's much harder to block off 50+ doors than just 10 or so when in an attack.

People, no matter what, would still talk about walking hallways inside a building...and I would be like; "...Did you miss the five times in the description of the RP, base, and my post that there aren't hallways?"

Obviously, I said it nicer than that. Most would edit their posts, only a few bitched. It takes a few minutes of reading. If you're unwilling to read, don't join--period.

What really annoys me, if sometimes when they RP with no sense of developemnt. "This character did this." And leave it at that.

Brovo said
The (Mis)Adventures of Brovo the mass murdering GM.A: Hey Brovo!Brovo: Hey A! Posted yet?A: Not yet, soon. :3Brovo: Awesome!-two days later-Brovo: Just checking in, posting yet?A: Oh I have just been busy sorry! Get on it soon.Brovo: Oh fantastic, no worries, I work full time night shift, I understand.-two more days later-Brovo: Alright so you have been online for a couple hours now, how long will you be around for?A: All night! Why?Brovo: Post? :3A: OMG stop harassing me about it Brovo I will get on it when I can I'm a really busy person with [personal reasons omitted] and [more lawnmower noises here], you don't understand!1!~Brovo: ...okay.-four days later-Brovo: I am posting tomorrow.A: Wait give me more time!Brovo: Nope. Just put up a two paragraph post or something nice and quick.A: YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW HARD MY LIFE IS [unending, moderately offensive stream of completely inconsiderate, childish crap]-two days later-A: OMG YOU OOSTED AND LEFT ME BEHIND [rage about how horrible I am, acting as if two paragraphs is impossible to do in over 168 hours]Brovo: Sorry. Had to continue the story. You can catch up this round though!As a GM I hear a lot of incredible dumb things. There's one story of, sadly, many.

Poor Brovo. I feel for this guy, you know. Stupid people ain't easy to manage. A was a lazy, irresponsible, nightmare of a co-writer.

There's fuck-all wrong with being busy, but there is a lot wrong with being irresponsible with other people's time.

Now, I wanna recommend (whilst "bitching" about a legitimate annoyance of my own) that people learn to properly manage and deal with the things which annoy them. Congregating online to wallow in a bubble of self-importance, judgemental hatred and bickering, and seeking vindication and sympathy from fellow wallowers is in no way a positive, or constructive way to not only deal with pet peeves, but contribute to a creative community. Whilst I agree that sometimes insight or advice shared by others can provide clarity or closure for people experiencing similar barriers (it's a barrier to your happiness and Zen, not a permanent annoyance deployed by life to fuck with you. It's all about your head space), but in a thread like this with this sort of basis and context, it loses most of it's constructive, positive merit.

If I were to even list, nevermind bitch about everything in this world, or even my day so far that pisses me off, confounds me, or otherwise makes me wanna build a high-yield explosive device in my basement, this thread would probably implode under the strain, and your brains along with it.

However, I've learned how to manage the space between both of my ears, because that's all that matters. I dictate the world around me, it does not dictate me.

I don't think anybody has mentioned this yet (to my surprise): wardrobe montages.

I really really am not interested in the specific colour, material, fit and brand of each individual item your perfume advertisement character clotheshorse deigned to put themselves into. A few superficial details can be nice flavouring, a plot point, or hint at characterisation, but that's pretty much it as far as appearances go in an RP for me.

Yep. I know that feeling as well, Jig.
I once had to make it a rule in an army RP, only to the women (men didn't have this problem), to not go into deep detail. They turned this war-based RP into a beauty pageant too often. Your hair is raven black, got it. I don't need a paragraph about how smooth it is and how it glistens in the night. Seriously, it's black. We got it.

The only time deep detail is needed is if it's called for. I like details, but sometimes it's harder to imagine something if it has too much. The less detail, the easier it is for a lot of us to create the image in our head.

I also hate people, again, usually women, who try to describe their character as 'indescribable beauty', or some nonsense like that. I fully accept that, in some RPs, the character is supposed to be that type of character.... In a live based RP I have been in, I have had women come in describing themselves in ways that was to grab the attention of all the main characters. The men, however, were all just as sick of it as I was and, in turn, turned their attention toward my char who I was just playing as a character. I wasn't going into the depths of her beauty. The women would get so mad that they were being 'ignored' that they'd leave... It's like; "Try saying hello or something. Your looks won't get people to talk to you in this RP."

I've rarely found anything explicit. I can't think of many people that I've played with that have outright said 'beautiful' or 'handsome', but using more luxurious specific adjectives, a la your hair nightmares. They're such good writers that they show and don't tell.

Also, why is it that every man is well-dressed, immaculate, and very straight-laced in appearance? Could we not just have a few more slobs around?

I don't know... Men think that's what girls want?
I enjoy men who look more normal or strange. The 'prince' look does grow tiring.

Jig said
I've rarely found anything explicit. I can't think of many people that I've played with that have outright said 'beautiful' or 'handsome', but using more luxurious specific adjectives, a la your hair nightmares. They're good writers that they show and don't tell.Also, why is it that every man is well-dressed, immaculate, and very straight-laced in appearance? Could we not just have a few more slobs around?

I've never noticed the whole every dude is well dressed, immaculate stuff. Huh.

Then again, I don't know what RPs you've been in or what genres they are, soooo...

(On a serious note, isn't RPing 'role playing'? If you choose to be a slob, to some, it's just being themselves IRL, not a character or a role. Idk.)

Good point. Many people try to make themselves out to be the opposite of what they feel they are IRL. So, girls who don't feel pretty want super pretty girls, and boys who feel lacking go for the super cut and handsome men. Not always true, but very likely so on many people.

Miss Gallagher said
Good point. Many people try to make themselves out to be the opposite of what they feel they are IRL. So, girls who don't feel pretty want super pretty girls, and boys who feel lacking go for the super cut and handsome men. Not always true, but very likely so on many people.

And so it came to pass that Misery and Dissatisfaction should have a child. They named her... Mary Sue.

Haha.

Even if the males weren't doing it, it seems a bit of a dick move to only tell the women.

Miss Gallagher said
I don't know... Men think that's what girls want? I enjoy men who look more normal or strange. The 'prince' look does grow tiring.

What a silly thing to say. Unless you do a lot of 1x1 roleplays.

Meh.

That leads to today's very cliched IRL advice that no one gives a shit about!

Just be yourself. If that girl or guy doesn't like you for who you are, then you two wouldn't work well together anyway.

Unless being yourself means being a serial killer. Or terrorist. Or rapist.

In which case...Derpestein walks back. Slowly.