Milkman

Ember Grove - Supernatural RP

Hi, i read that you where still looking for players, specific to play vampires. However vampires aren't really my thing. I am interested in playing werewolf. I have an idea for some characters revolving around a youth gang started by an alpha wolf who "empowers" losers and binds them to his pack in order to gain more power. If you like that idea and thinks that its a fine addition to the roleplay that would be cool. If you really only want to add more vampires that's cool too. But since I don't really have any inspiration for vampires it would not be something for me :)

Thoughts on pre-made characters/roles?

I've been roleplaying on a different website for a while, and one thing that I've noticed there is that everyone seems to do these pre-made characters/roles for the RPs.

Sometimes it'll just be a name or a title/archetype plus a few bulletpoints, but other times it gets as detailed as this (not my character description)-

<Snipped quote>
(from urstyle.com/styles/553167)

The way it works on that site, most people either have a "reservation" system (first-come, first-serve) or you have to "audition" for a character, so you basically get a character based on how much GM likes your sheet (if there are multiple people "auditioning" for the same character). If you don't get the character you want, tough luck. They'll usually let you pick another character that hasn't been taken and run with it, but I find that most times I don't want to do that

I just wanted some of y'alls thoughts on that+pre-made character archetypes in general? I will admit that I don't mind being assigned a name/FC that much, and I think the pre-mades are a good system to ensure sort of """diversity""" among the characters (so that way there aren't like 20000 edgy emos in on RP), but after several bad experiences with the audition system I am really adverse to that. I don't mind the system that we have on RPG either (where you just make up a character on your own). I know people here/on other forum RP sites who will do vague/loose archetypes, which I don't mind either. But I think it's really fucking stupid to put in tons of work/effort for a character that you might not get to play, and a first-come first-serve system isn't completely fair either. I've been trying to think of a happy medium (ie very vague archetypes/roles), but I'm not really sure if there is one. I still think just player-created OCs are the best way to go, but again sometimes the archetypes/roles/pre-mades can be useful.

Thoughts????

@ayzrules

I actually see that you point out two seperate topics. The first one are "pre-made characters/archtypes/roles" and the other one is how GMs handle the application process.

Personally I don't see any reason to participate in a roleplay where I have to play with a pre-made character (Name, background, personality, skills already determined). I like to bring my own creativity to the game and when everything is being made for me without my involvement the roleplay is simply not interesting for me. But that is just the case for totally pre-made characters. There can be a good reason to have some pre defined roles and guidelines for the characters to follow. Lets say you're hosting a military style roleplay about a special forces unit. Within that unit there are certain specializations such as a sniper, demolitions expert, medic, communications expert and maybe some more. Such specializations will form the backbone of the pre-made roles. You don't want to have your team made up of 20 snipers.

The next part might involve some guidelines for the characters personality of the said roleplay. If the GM wants to have a certain degree of realism to his roleplay then the participants need to understand that their characters are highly trained professionals and not John Rambo or some other action hero. Nor can they start out as totally broken emo's with an extreme amount of psychological issues. Such people won't be on active duty. Such guidelines and specific roles can still be very appealing to me :)

Now lets go to the next issue. The application process to roleplays. I think the primary reason why the fast majority of roleplays die within a few months is the total lack of any form of application process. GMs tend to focus entirely on their awesome story/plot ideas and world concepts but totally forget to think about what kind of players they want in their game. They almost always forget to ask themselfs that simple question and generally roll with whomever expresses their interests. The most likely outcome of the lack of application process is that a group of people with totally different expectations about the roleplay start a journey. In that journey many will find out that player A posts to frequently to keep up with, player B posts way too little and drags the roleplay, player C likes to write these 10 paragraph over 9000 words posts which player D responds to with a one-liner. Player E is totally into same-sex romance and he's constantly persueing player F's character much to his annoyance because he's totally not into that and just wants the plot to move forward. In the end for many players the roleplay does not live up to their expectations and they will lose interest and drop out. Eventually the roleplay dies and the GM will start a new one and will repeat the above process over and over again until he is lucky and by accident stumbles upon a group of players that are more or less on the same level. Or he will lose his confidence and just persue a carreer of writing mediocre fanfiction :)

Personally I think it is vital for the success of a roleplay to get together a group of people with similair expectations about it. Not just only on post frequency and length but also on direction, roles, content and participation in the overall creative process. Communication with those who express interest in the RP is vital. Not just on how his character should be but also about what he expects from an RP, what his interests are. Does he like to have a touch of romance in between murdering goblin hordes? I think it is crucial for GMs to get to know the players. Know what aspects of roleplaying they enjoy, what levels of posting frequency they are comfortable with and in general what kind of roleplaying experience they are looking for. Then find those players who are most in line with your ideas as GM and with eachother. That way players are more likely to enjoy themselfs in the roleplay because it lives up to what they expected of it.

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

I still got it under subscription :)

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

Renard Sournois

Hargeon

Interacting with:@Leslie Hall

The sounds of laughter, cheers, small talk and the cries of those who lost faded away as Tristan moved to a different, less populated area of the establishment. Even before the bard had pulled the little mouse from his pocket Renard instantly knew where they were. No smell so penetrating as that of a restroom. However the reason why Tristan was taking this detour was all too clear for the young wizard. He could feel his companions hearth pounding, the heavy breathing and the muscle tension increasing. Even before the bard placed him on the basin and started to talk Renard knew that the strange sensations had taken hold of the bard as well.

For a moment Renard just observed his companion with a bit of a worry on his little mouse face. It was clear that Tristan wasn’t as accustomed to being under weird spells as he was. The fear on the bard’s face wasn’t as enjoyable as the red blush from back in the alleyway. Speaking of red, the young wizard should totally put his money on red during roulette. Just having this constant urge to gamble was not nearly as bad as that time that Renard was transformed into a worm, put in a jar and Sadao had to bail him out. Constantly walking from one side of the basin to the other Renard tried as hard as he could to analyze the situation but his mind was constantly getting back to gambling. With a bit of frustration in his voice Renard finally spoke out “This is so annoying! I can’t stop thinking of gambling. I bet this is some kind of magic.”

And suddenly Renard’s mind became more clear. That last sentence seemed to be the most clearest thing coming from his mind since entering the establishment. Suddenly it dawned into the young wizard how he could use the rules for their advantage. His expression of frustration slowly changed to a big smile as Renard had found a way to work around his gambling thoughts. “Cheer up Tristan, we’ve got to play with the hand we’ve been dealt. Time to look at what cards we can put on the table. Better not go all in when betting on my magic to negate the negative effects of other persons their spells” Renard paused as he gave his companion a curious glare, wondering if Tristan would catch on to his rephrasing his thoughts into sentences that had something to do with gambling.

The mouse closed his eyes and imagined himself sitting at a poker table. Next to him he placed the bard and started to fill in the seats with the other actors in this rather awkward comedy. The bouncer at the door, the lady who pointed Tristan to the cans, several dealers and even the unlucky crowd that got themselves into this fine gambling mess. The real important question was; ‘who casted the spell?’ The bouncer at the door? No, his cards sucked because there was no trace of any magic power coming from him. Maybe 1 of the dealers at the table? Most likely not, they are way too busy with their little tricks and scams to constantly take notice who entered and left the establishment. It was unlikely for the cans lady to have an ace either. Renard could not sense any magic power from her either. “What person did I miss…… what….what. That’s it! It’s not who but what!” shouted Renard in rejoice. “I am going all in on a magic device. It must be. This is Hargeon, unlikely to find a wizard this…..”

Renard could not finish his sentence before the door to the restroom opened and two men walked in. In a reflex the mouse jumped back into Tristan’s jacket, just hoping that both men did not have noticed him or heard Tristan talking. From inside the dark, confined space he could hear that both men were busy conversation with each other as they passed the bard and positioned themselves in front of the toilets. Although the men lowered their voice Renard could still hear their conversation with his sensitive mouse ears. “Boss, a message has come that the Abyss Chasers will be here shortly. The boys have gathered 35 ‘volunteers’ for them. All people eager to work off their gambling debts if you know what I mean” The other man sighed in annoyance. “Of course I know what you mean fool. None of them will ever return. God knows what those dark wizards do to them. And frankly I don’t care and I am not going to ask them either. We don’t want to get on the bad side with them. That would be the end of the octopuss gang”

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

A commotion in the gambling hall has been one of the options in my mind for a long time^^

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

Tristan and the mouse are doing fine. I'll have my next post up either today or tomorrow :)

The pace of the rest is a bit slow but that is fine. Slow and steady works too! Just write yourself getting to Hargeon and we'll meet up one way or another and move on from that point.

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

Hmm. Were at 7 players now so you always get uneven numbers unless we recruit an extra player :)

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

I'll start working on my next post tomorrow. I'll be commuting by train so its perfect to spend some time on writing :)

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

Emo Renard :P

Fairy Tail: The Future is for Fairies!

What I like about Edolas is the idea of having a counterpart of your character :)

But i am flexible and like to be surprised :)