Ruined RPs
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Apprentice
Member # 1695
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 14:36
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What elements or factors do you think are most often found responsible for ruining RPs? Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 8 2002 07:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2080
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 14:40
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For serious RPs-Godlike Characters, Really idiotic ppl trying to take over the storyline, Me, FB, Puff the Magic Dragon For silly RPs-Overly-serious ppl, FB, Disco Stew, LSD, LSD PM, An actual plot Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 585
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 15:46
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For serious RPs, finding a balance is hard. Lack of control, too vague of a plot, to much structure to a plot, and hyper/godlike posters. Silly RPs tend to be fun, but they ride the edge of disaster, it's entirely possible for things to get too silly/get too involved with charecters/forget the plot (Around the Universe 2) or to have overcontrolling posters (Around the Universe 1). You'll notice that here on Spidweb structured RPs such as Join Us or Balthazar do well, while at places with smaller population and better RPers, the plot can safely be left in the open without worry of crashing and burning. -------------------- The many faces of Logalot -------------------- Polaris Roleplaying and Debating Board- 'Nuf said -------------------- Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve. George Bernard Shaw Posts: 780 | Registered: Friday, February 1 2002 08:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2339
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 18:05
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quote:  It's not like I'm actualy TRYING to ruin an rp!Why must I be barraged with such INSULTS!?!?!?!?!? -------------------- This is MY link. Click here,or here for the yoga dance mix!Click here to get to the misc. boards! Attack, icons, attack!THIS PAGE ROCKS!! Vicious virus stalks the web, has already infected over 150 computers: read more! We have tried to not harm anything in the making of this commercial, but we failed miserably. One Small Step for man, one giant leap(SHCKXXXXXX)STOP POKING ME!!! -Starcraft Observers R.I.P-Here lies NSI, may this rp be remembered. Posts: 1779 | Registered: Monday, December 9 2002 08:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2080
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 18:21
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Because it's funner that way. Besides I included myself on that list, so you can't really complain too much. Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 1359
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 21:34
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You didn’t really need to include yourself, y’know. Just saying “godlike characters” really had you covered.  -------------------- ~ §øСüm©ÿªñ¡Ðë ~ Mission Ridge -- All Your Snow Are Belong to Us. Posts: 1277 | Registered: Monday, June 24 2002 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3310
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 21:53
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May I have your attention please: SW will only tolerate three RPG at a time. Currently there are three running: "Hold the Tavern Front", "Zombie Attack 2", "The Greywraith Clan" and "The fall of the Star Clan". Ehh, wait a second. Yes, there are four of them. *sigh* We can only hope that Imban doesn't realize that. Anyway, this seems to be the general rule. So it's in other words totally useless to put your souls into the making of a new, brilliant RPG for the moment. Unless you like being gunned down, at least. Why do I even bother? Nobody will read this text. Couldn't some mod do the informing job? All those locked topics will get irritating in the long run, anyway. Posts: 756 | Registered: Monday, August 4 2003 07:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Sunday, November 2 2003 22:22
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If too few people are participating, people get frustrated and give up. On the other hand, the more people there are, the more chance there is that one person controlling a vital character will leave or lose interest. So another factor that can mess up RPs is being the wrong size. Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3238
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written Monday, November 3 2003 00:19
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I think another one would have to be how long your posts are. Decent long posts which describe what your character is doing is usually good, but if you make it too long, it can become tedious and boring. Making it short will make the actions go by much quicker, but you have a chance to lose your character in all the confusion. Too many people in one RP can also destroy it. God-like characters can be dealt with, even in a serious RP. You just gotta work around such things.  -------------------- "Friendship is two things: Trust, and sharing. I personally see it as a business opportunity." -Random Quote Posts: 203 | Registered: Friday, July 18 2003 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 517
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written Monday, November 3 2003 01:31
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No, they can't. The reason that god-like characters can't be worked around is that the definition of a godlike character isn't someone who kills every enemy they meet without breaking a sweat-they can have bad things happen to them, they can lose their magic weapon, they can meet harder enemies. A god-like character is someone who decides that their character is massively more powerful than anyone else's character. And that can't be worked around, because either that character is in a situation where everything the party meets is dealt with easily by them, or they meet things which are a challenge for them to kill and the rest of the party has to hide behind a rock while the battle goes on. To be honest, I think one of the main problems with RPs is that people tend to try to solve the plot complications they create. Someone posts about some evil creature that's blocking the path, and then kills it themselves. What fun is that? The best part of RPs is inventing challenges for others to deal with, and then not trying to ruin it for them when they don't deal with the challenges in the way you expected. -E- -------------------- Let them eat cake! Polaris Boards: The System is Up. Perennially. Posts: 2314 | Registered: Tuesday, January 15 2002 08:00 |
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Babelicious
Member # 3149
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written Monday, November 3 2003 03:05
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Four RPs? I'll inform Imby at once! -------------------- You are my precious thing Thing of speed and beauty, You are my precious thing As long as you remain beneath me -- Big Black Posts: 999 | Registered: Friday, June 27 2003 07:00 |
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Apprentice
Member # 1695
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written Monday, November 3 2003 04:38
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I'd go for godlikes too, I think its rather fun to have a weaker, struggling, character, than a brute who goes on a rampage and kill that monster in a swordmotion, which you had planned for your character to take 3 posts at least to maim. Weak characters are more realistic. I think a good exemple is the zombie rp, definitly these rps interest lots of people, but wouldnt it be more fun if instead of the goddies from out of town, we limited to weak citizens and town guards, caught within the horror? Also "some" godlikes are rather useful/balanced, Who's your favorite godlike character? Posts: 42 | Registered: Thursday, August 8 2002 07:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 3310
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written Monday, November 3 2003 07:58
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I think godlike characters can be dealt with. You can always put an "amulet of non-godlike powers" in their pocket when they aren't looking. But still godlike characters aren't very fun to play with. Marooner's right in this. An allpowerful character has only one one option: to always succeed. Therefore it's quite boring to play with such characters. I don't care if the RPG has a plot/hasen't a plot/has a silly plot/has a good plot. All I'm interested in is how my character (and all the others of course) react to the different situations. [ Monday, November 03, 2003 07:59: Message edited by: Ironweed ] Posts: 756 | Registered: Monday, August 4 2003 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Monday, November 3 2003 12:09
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And there, of course, goes the next reason for RPs failing: Different aims/goals of different players. When I participate in an RP, I tend to expect a 'story' to come from it, because for me it's a writing exercise. I actually want to produce something that might, with a little work, be compiled into a story. That's why I'm annoyed with poor textual quality, and fellow RPers quickly get annoyed with my long posts. I know that there are other things you might expect from an RP, but I find that you've got to accept it's in no way like a computer game. Where you make your own rules instead of adhering to those of the computer (unless you use cheats ), you're basically playing against yourself. In fact, as far as I can see 'winning' is not really the objective in an RP, since you can win whenever you want. The purpose is to have fun playing, and that fun lasts only while the game is going. To prevent tediousness, the game has to end at some point, and to not make it stop in mid-air, we invent something called a 'plot', and stop the RP when it hits the end of said plot. That way, we keep the game going for a while, have some fun imagining our characters, and stop *before* it gets boring.  [/ramble](Sorry, I like to go on and on when I talk about that subject...) [ Monday, November 03, 2003 12:09: Message edited by: Arancaytar ] -------------------- "And all should cry, Beware, Beware! His Flashing eyes, his Floating hair!" S. T. Coleridge --- "It is as if everyone had lost their sense Consigned themselves to downfall and decadence And a wisp it is they have chosen as their beacon." Reinhard Mey. --- Quote of the Week: "I have a high opinion of myself, which makes up for my total lack of intelligence." Anon. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Shake Before Using
Member # 75
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written Monday, November 3 2003 13:11
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*sigh* I shall swiftly explain my self again. Due to their overtly resembling spam threads and easy inflation of post count, and the fact that in past, when I remember RPs being somewhat good, we only ever had one or two going on at once, I've more or less asked that there be no more than two RPs at once. However, this does NOT mean that I will kill any of the currently active RPs. It would not be fair to those participating in them. The only RPs I will strike down are those which have died, those which have turned into flamewars, and new ones started above the limit that haven't developed yet. I don't want to destroy the work that multiple people have put into something. Posts: 3234 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
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One Thousand Slimy Things
Member # 66
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written Monday, November 3 2003 13:21
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*Laughs his ass off at the "RPs" of Spiderweb* When you ban Zephyr from the RPs, you might have a chance ^^ No really, roleplayers are considered an elitist bunch, but that is really necessary for succesfull RP. One person can cause serious havoc in an RP, so you have to stop those people from taking part in the RP. Mmmm, I will write more tomorrow. -------------------- Saundersw3: And bitter is better! Posts: 995 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
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written Monday, November 3 2003 14:23
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I agree with Marooner - weak characters are much more fun to play in any RP. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Vahnatai Did Do It desperance.net - We're Everywhere The Arena - God Will Sort The Dead ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
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Law Bringer
Member # 2984
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written Monday, November 3 2003 15:11
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Agreed. It's much more exciting if you can't solve the problem with a twist of the little finger. Chibidemon Wolf (dammit, I once knew all the 'real' monikers of people here... let me guess... ArcticWolf? No, probably not...): A lot of that is true. But you don't need to 'ban' people, the problem solves itself. Eventually, all the 'good' RPers find a nice corner to themselves, and play good RPs there. Two more things I just thought of concerning the topic "What Constitutes Good RPs And Why They Don't Work Here" :1. World Consistency: All good RPing places have a universe to call their own. ONE universe mark you. Not like at Spidweb, where characters come from any which game, Avernum, Geneforge, or elsewhere, or even somewhere totally off the map. Any good RPing place needs to have, for one, a reference work with information of the world, so that any quarrels ("Hey, you can't have a lasergun, they don't exist here!" - "Says who?") can be quickly resolved. 2. Entrance Restriction: A really elitist RPing place will want to check your character before allowing you to play. At a site I know, getting approved is a process that may take from two days to a whole month, with the veterans and moderators giving you advice on how to improve your character. Your final character description is often several A4 pages long, and includes a character history that's a novel of its own.  The second won't work here of course, that's only for boards dedicated entirely to RPing since it's so much work. But someone might give some thought to it. Nazgul checked and approved every single character that wanted to join the "Baltazar the Mad" RP, and see how it turned out.  Of course, you want to watch that it stays a game, and doesn't degenerate into... dare I speak the word? WORK... Btw, someone out there should write a book about this kind of thing. It's such a broad subject. [ Monday, November 03, 2003 15:13: Message edited by: Arancaytar ] -------------------- "And all should cry, Beware, Beware! His Flashing eyes, his Floating hair!" S. T. Coleridge --- "It is as if everyone had lost their sense Consigned themselves to downfall and decadence And a wisp it is they have chosen as their beacon." Reinhard Mey. --- Quote of the Week: "I have a high opinion of myself, which makes up for my total lack of intelligence." Anon. Posts: 8752 | Registered: Wednesday, May 14 2003 07:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2080
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written Monday, November 3 2003 16:04
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quote:Actually, I've toned it down a lot over the many RPs. 1rst I had Lone Flame. He was really powerful, but do to his storyline he could do pretty much anything, and thus had to be toned down to keep my own arrogance in check. Then he was still too powerful, so I dropped him for Mars. Mars wasn't really too powerful, but he was on his way down that path. Then there was Dralnok. He wasn't very powerful, but a couple of Zats and just kept being too evil to help the story. And we can't forget Ryan, who everyone and there dog killed in 1 RP, but for some reason he managed to exist in another. And the semi-recent Blaze, who was actually really weak, but was overly arrogant and completely useless. Finally, the slain before he could even start in an RP consisting of more than him, Firefly, who I will rename and reuse in another RP. He actually wasn't too powerful. I created him while playing an RPG similar to D&D. So I'm not godlike anymore. Btw, lay of FB. He'll eventually get the hang of it. Til then, the RPs should just incorperate The Entity, a fine creation of mine that negates overly powerful abilities that will ruin the storyline and/or current situation. Nothing in existance can negate The Entity, which is powered to some degree by popular opinion. [ Monday, November 03, 2003 17:04: Message edited by: Dark Flame ] Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 3377
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written Monday, November 3 2003 17:03
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Hm, I once participated in a RP where all the characters were all-powerful gods. It made for ... interesting... fights. It worked because we weren't serious about it, and we were all more interested in character development than 'winning', which would have been impossible anyway. We never did get around to the final apocalypse, though. -------------------- From many a wondrous grot and secret cell Unnumbered and enormous polypi Winnow with giant fins the slumbering green. Posts: 356 | Registered: Saturday, August 23 2003 07:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2080
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written Monday, November 3 2003 17:07
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I think True Gamer Omega's RP is the only 1 on Spiderweb to ever have an ending other than 'only a few ppl were still participating, so they quit'. [ Monday, November 03, 2003 17:09: Message edited by: Dark Flame ] Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00 |
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Shake Before Using
Member # 75
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written Monday, November 3 2003 17:07
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Premonition - I've done the same. It just causes battles to look like bad episodes of Dragon Ball Z. LF - Baltazar the Mad? And at least one before that, which might have been TGO's. [ Monday, November 03, 2003 17:09: Message edited by: Imban ] Posts: 3234 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
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Guardian
Member # 2080
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written Monday, November 3 2003 17:11
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Sorry, y'all've got to take into account that I haven't actually been in the loop much over the past few months. Posts: 1918 | Registered: Sunday, October 13 2002 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 27
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written Monday, November 3 2003 17:26
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Although I love to RP, these RPs have something that makes them different from real RPs. It could be that the RPs in this forum are alot like chapters in a book where the author keeps contradicting himself. It seems everyone always has a different view of the story, and then writes it in their own way, creating a chaotic RP. The real good RPs are "Pen and Papers" (Internet chatrooms work too.) There is a DUNGEON MASTER who has his own story and creates obsticles for all the adventurers, instead of no Dungeon Masters and every character is their own master. Deciding what your character will do, without a dice roll, is fun but can get tiring after many people write things like, *A fire breathing dragon of doom jumps at the warriors out of no where. Bill, a veteran warrior, sighs at the stupidity of the Fire Breathing Dragon of Doom and slices its head off with his Giant Axe of Flaying The Flesh off of Bones, then he chuckles.* What is excedingly annoying is when the a "player" sets an obsticle in their path, that is not meant to be crossed, and they do everything in their power to keep it from being crossed. Then another player does something like, *Bill, a veteran warrior, laughs at the giant block of diamond blocking their path. He slashes at it with his giant axe of flaying the flesh off of bones and it cuts through. The diamond then grows back. Bill sighs then yells out, SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS, and starts to glow green, then the diamond explodes. Laughing Bill continues on.* These are some problems that annoy people, ESPECIALLY ME. I would ask that in the future, there would be a designated Dungeon Master for each RP and he would control the obsticles, and fix godly characters. *After Bill, the Veteran Warrior, does these seemingly impossible tasks, a Wyvern comes out of nowhere and eats him, then flys off.* That would be a privilege of the Dungeon Master. I wonder how many people actually read this post? -------------------- I be rockin' da paradise baby. Posts: 1233 | Registered: Wednesday, October 3 2001 07:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 1723
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written Monday, November 3 2003 17:43
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At least one. I completely agree. The person who starts the RP should try to keep some level of control over the RP, which is <somewhat> what The_Nazgul did w/ Baltazar the Mad. Which is part of the reason why it was so successful despite the massive number of people that joined and the rediculous amount of posts. -------------------- "... and approximately one sea turtle." Posts: 277 | Registered: Tuesday, August 13 2002 07:00 |
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