I don't typically have one specific outline but some general things that are always a "yes" for me:
-LOTS of lore/worldbuilding, regardless of individual post lengths. I love going into what makes the characters and the world they live in tick
-Cryptids/creatures of some sort, whether they're mains or just side characters. I'm always for having a Fucked Up Little Weirdo (affectionate) or two
-For sci-fi specifically, I'm slightly a sucker for the subtle cosmic/lovecraftian/eldritch horror. Make the characters an unwitting pawn in the game of some long-lost god or gods. make the magic system a little Fucked Up And Weird etc etc

....honestly any of the above and you've probably got me LMAO

In one sentence : A strong group RP with a gripping plot, memorable characters and development, and a stellar ending that would make us all want to expand on the world/setting on after.

What most RP’ers want at some point I gather. ☕️🫖

For me it would ideally be set in a high fantasy setting or a science fantasy setting of my own design.

Probably a long-running RP with a dedicated group of friends that are each sorta trying to top each others' shenanigans in a mostly-freeform RP with a loose collection of optionally re-occuring characters.

Which results in tons of naturally occurring worldbuilding as the characters make life a little more interesting for the NPCs.

This is how we end up with a tech-analyst with a pet mecha that thinks it's a cow befriending a demon which also happens to be the field-marshal's half-sister, while a wheelchair bound bigot befriends a human-phobic dinosaur-pilot by splashing wine on them thinking they could drink through their scales via capillary-action and because he saw a video of pilots getting showered in champaign once... and simultaneously befriending a speciest human that wanted to enslave all non-humans... oh, and he flashbanged the queen in her own palace to get her to stop tripping on LSD.

You may not have noticed, but I'm actually quite fine with whacky shenanigans and mission variables. Like... pairing a xenophobic bigot with a xenophobic/specist anthropomorphic dinasaur to flashbang a queen that has taken an OD on narcotics to knock them back into their senses shenanigans... Or dating a demon out of boredom between missions and making that an important plot point 4 threads later... using a character someone else created and just handed to me to run with.

Not like I actually planned any of this stuff 4 years in advance. So calm yo butt.

There were also a few outbreaks of zombies. HALO parachute insertion into the eye of a hurricane onto an actively erupting volcano to recover some nukes was fun... the GM pointed out they would be expecting us and I kinda tore into them on that:

We're making a pretty unexpected and dynamic entry as it is. We are a 3rd party faction, and the primary (friendly to us) belligerent is a rather shitty local Special-Forces operative that is already on the ground*.

If the enemy has the eye of the hurricane super-defended, then he is being beyond paranoid to the point of being borderline clairvoyant.

Anyways, the point is, we are doing an awesome insertion, under awesome extreme conditions, to stop an awesome weapon and deliver awesome justice within an awesome time-limit.
*And we are complaining?

On top of this, one of these complaints, is that someone on the enemy team apparently expects this level of awesome to crush their nuclear testicles like a legion of Chuck Norris... and he isn't crying for mercy yet, why?

I mean, the only way to make it more awesome, is that we mount horses before jumping out the back of the plane and perform a vertical cavalry charge from space, then escape by surfing sharks with frigg'n lasers strapped to their heads back to a secret underwater seabase manned by talking dolphin-waitresses. AND NOT ONCE DO WE DROP OUR MONOCLES.

Edit: Although we did not, in fact ride off into the sunset using sharks as surfboards, we did managed to hijack and sink an airship and then proceeded to hijack a nuclear missile sub and ram it into Skynet's heart.

I was also notified that Godzilla took this idea and ran with it:

@The Elvenqueen@Shu@Foster

Thank y'all for answering! I'm always so curious to see people's visions.

I always liked RPs with my character going off from the main group and exploring things to their own volition. With my RP partner describing and creating various plotlines for me in a surprising manner, like an unfolding mystery. I've had a few RPs like that over the years.

I am also a fan of free-form RPs with little plot, where the characters all end up in a location without much reason for it.

The forum has informed me of a draft I had in this thread. Somehow. Sure, I'll necroanswer.

I think I would want to run my post apocalypse space fantasy, and that would be perfect. Ive been thinking about structuring it as a nation RP. The Gaian Solidarity emerges from the ashes of the Terran Empire, flush with the new energy resource that's been appearing in the galaxy since the apocalypse mysteriously vanished. They claim the apocalypse with return, and the energy source will need to be mastered before it does. Of course, mastering it isn't so simple. The most useful aspect of it is most quickly unlocked with a compassionate heart.

Right now, what I want more than anything is a Ranger Reject/Go Go Loser Ranger RP partner who's caught up on the manga and/or anime or has at least seen or read enough of it to be familiar enough to RP in that world. She's a Yellow Keeper girl over 18 who writes an amazing Red Keeper, has an OC character who can be friends with my OC, she's as dedicated to researching Japanese culture as I am to make the RP feel more real, she contributes great stories that keep me engaged putting as much effort on her end as I am on mine, she can write great nsfw content and she actually sticks around without ghosting me, disappearing for weeks to months and then making a brief comeback and she'll never dump me. So far I've got a Blue Keeper girl who can disappear for weeks, sometimes months, before making a comeback and I've met two Yellow Keeper girls who I've reached out to and both have rejected me. It hasn't been an easy search.

I have various space navy/mil-fi ideas but it is a challenging space.

Ha, a loaded question, but I'll echo what others have said:

A dream RP would check the following boxes:
-A strong cast of main characters that are flawed, complicated and lovable
-A fleshed out world that borders on Tolkien levels of lore
-Defined arcs that explore different aspects of the main characters and/or lore. Each arc could alternate between earth-shattering, "AAHH the world is on fire" and intimate, more grounded relational moments.
-Funnily enough, a defined end point. I don't know if I'm weird for wanting this, but every story, no matter how amazing, no matter how riveting, has an end. I'd love to assemble all this and play this out over the course of a few years, but I want a defined end point to work to so that the stories we've made don't ever get stale, that we'll remember each moment fondly, but not feel obligated to keep churning out plot for the sake of plot...if that makes sense?

You know, I would really love a RP that is a crossover between Final Fantasy, Twisted Wonderland, Metaphor ReFantazio or Persona, and maybe Project SEKAI. Things are kept PG-13 at the most and there’s actually a plot that keeps the players engaged.

Sadly, I don’t really tend to find a lot of RPers in those fandoms and the thing is with Final Fantasy, it’s usually only VII and XII but I want to give characters from the lesser known or hated games a chance to shine as well.

I can't say that I have a "dream RP." But I do have moments that I would love, someday, to play out in an RP setting.

1. "Super Saiyan Moment."

Basically just wanting to play out a character having a rage/truama-induced burst of power; potentially even a transformation if the setting allows for it or I can otherwise validate it in the context of my CS.

2. "You saved me from myself."

I've imagined a few of my characters having scenes like this. They're at the end of their rope, most likely on the edge of escalating aggression/violence to a level that is dangerous for them long term. Think the classic superhero (Batman is a good one for this) ideal where killing a criminal is a line they will never cross. Would love to play out an instance of my own character prepared to pull that "trigger," knowing that once they cross that bridge, they won't be coming back from it; then have it cut into by someone who's character stays mine's hand. The following scene would see my character looking at my partner's and giving a comment on how that person rescued them from permanently changing the core of who they are.

I really want to run a murder mystery werewolf x townspeople game, but there would be more dynamic characters with enticing character relationships and developments. Furthermore, characters (while also juggling fictional steamy-drama) would be encouraged to engage in thoughtful dialogue about literature, philosophy, theology, and the like.

It’s been my dream since middle school, and yet here I am, still daydreaming.

- One with an overarching plot, with a clear direction and an antagonist to defeat
- One that is in an - at least mostly - sci-fi setting that is original, but reminiscent and relateable to other things as a point of reference and understanding, and is well-defined and explained to me.
- One that has 'real robot' type mecha in it - i.e. similar those in Gundam or Macross. Bonus points if, like Macross mecha, they transform.
- One where I can play a non-human character, but not necessarily that doesn't have humans at all in. I like settings with multiple species/races. Especially anthro/furry ones, or synthetic/robotic sapient characters.
- One that is mostly serious, with grand, epic plots, good versus evil, huge battles and great scope, where our characters are the thing on which victory or defeat rests. Going from being underdogs or not even worthy of note, to being the biggest damn heroes in the 'verse.
- But also where there are moments of levity, humour, bonding, romance and reflection on all that's happened and happening. Pathos and emotion, as well as epic set-pieces.
- One where the player character group are a bunch of varied personalities, that, sure; might not always get along. But they're actually friends and a 'found family' of weirdoes that always have one anothers' backs when the shit goes down
- One where being heroic, noble, and moral isn't a dirty word or smirked at and seen as 'naive' or childish.
- One where everyone gets a spot in the limelight, and each characters' backstories and histories are woven into the narrative as it progresses, so that everyone gets a chance at a proper ending and closure for their characters
- One where I can play a grown-ass adult, and not a kid, and not in a school, or an Isekai. Or that isn't inspired by terrible MMORPG mechanics.
- Escapism. Not rigid, ruthless adherence to realism. But enough grounding to be relateable and have limits - and then, when something exceeds those limits, it's worthy of note and something to be explored and understood.

My dream RP is less what is being written and more who I'm writing with. I'd sell my left arm if I could once again get with my old circle of writers, and the bunch of us just throw ideas to the wall like we used to when we were all younger. I'd do anything to go back to the age where we could write from 8 PM to 4 AM before I'd collapse asleep on my keyboard. Those were the days.

In terms of genre, I'd love to explore more worlds I plan on writing about in my novels next: my "post-apoc" steampunk story where instead of nuclear winter the aftermath of the great wars leave the world technologically broken and the survivors of mankind regress into the mid-1800s in a Cowboy/Victorian punk story about preserving the past and paving a better future.

Or maybe my wild arms love letter of cowboys, swords and magic across a desert landscape with magic tied into native tradition, themes on natural protection vs scientific progress and lots of anime bullshit.

Or hell, give me a sci-fi horror in the vein of Signalis. Give me Event Horizon meets Silent Hill meets a little bit of that dystopic energy in Dead Space.