70 réponses à ce sujet

[JMTolan]

Weeeeeelll... In absence of any sort of rules specific to this forum (At least at time of posting), seems like we'd do well to organize the forum until we get some sort of official blessing from Mods or such.

 

The long-term purpose of this topic is to alow those interested in Roleplaying on the forums to connect with those interested in similar roleplaying scenarios, styles, or otherwise serve as an organizational utility to keep most of the Out of Character chatter to a smaller number of topics. This is NOT supposed to be a General Discussion thread! Be friendly, but if you just want to shoot the breeze, there's other subfoums for that.

 

In the shorter term, I'm hoping to encourage some discussion of rules and practices unique to this forum to help it function better. (Obviosuly, if mods have plans for this or would otherwise not like members trying to legislate, feel free to close the topic or remove the relevant paragraphs, or what have you.) Establishing shorthands, catagories, organizational tags, that sort of thing. For example, sorting In Character and Out of Character threads--my idea, as I've followed with this topic's title--is to make it a title designation in parentheses, as well as a tag. That way it is always immediately clear whether a topic is intended to be an active RP topic, or an Out of Character topic, and doing a forum search will show relevant topics.

 

Another thing that may want to be addressed is how to sort RP catagories--free, anyone-can-join, single-location RP topics are going to be very different from RPs intending to carry a certain number of characters through a story arc. I'm open to suggestions, but if there's a small enough number of catagories, I could see this being added to the parentheses at the beginning of a title idea I suggested for labeling OOC vs IC topics.

 

Handling characters will also probably be a thing to sort out. Should we create a designated character list thread where characters can be posted and linked to for renference in IC topics? Should characters be handled by each individual RP topic? Do we want to try and establish a semi-consistent format for posting a character you're going to be RPing as? I like the idea of having a topic designated to housing characters, with having 1 post per character, and no chatter--then you can link to the post of a specific character when joining an RP, rather than having to  manage multiple profiles over multiple topics, and cut and paste write-ups you want to use in multiple places. (I'm also assuming this would make them easy to find for you through your post history... But I'm assuming that's something you can find on your profile somewhere. Hm. Should probably check that.)

 

Anyway, that's my ideas so far. Discuss if you're interested in helping sort this out!

 

-Tolan

[ParkBom]

I think that if people want more exclusive RPs, they should make groups/PMs for them. (They are great for that use, in my past experiences.) For this forum, I think that we keep things like "OOC thread" and "IC thread" in the titles while explaining how the specific RP works within the thread's original post. So smaller one-shot or single location RPs will let potential RPers know that it is not meant to be a long, winding RP with multiple arcs, storylines, etc. 

 

A designated character list would get much too lengthy, if that was for all RPers in this subforum. (Multiple characters for multiple RPs for multiple RPers... If this board is active, within a year, there would be so many characters. Too many for one thread, imo, as they'll get lost.) I say keep characters to their specific RP threads. And formats should also be left up to individual RP threads, tbh. Though, as you said, it would save a lot of time to have a common format so perhaps that's something that should be worked out. 

[Cainhurst Crow]

There's this rp site called aria's afterlife, hosted on fanfiction.net who has a unique way of doing their rp's. They have multiple rp's and multiple character creation threads for each of those rp's. That way the clutter of the CC get's cut down a bit and better organized.

[Cainhurst Crow]

So...is there anyone interested in rping, is the question. And if there are, what kind of rp would they want to have?

[JMTolan]

Forum activity would indicate no. :/ I dunno. I posted this with the basic assumption that the forum was going to be used. Given the lack of activity, though, I dunno if it's worth doing any kind of organization. No point in making guidelines when there's little/nothing to guide. -Tolan

[The Red Shadow]

Well, If the roleplaying Does take a hit and becomes a Active activity on the forums I do have a Universal Character Sheet of my own Make that i am willing to be used.

[Jessica Merizan]

Forum activity would indicate no. :/ I dunno. I posted this with the basic assumption that the forum was going to be used. Given the lack of activity, though, I dunno if it's worth doing any kind of organization. No point in making guidelines when there's little/nothing to guide. -Tolan

 

It might take a bit of time to get this area active. Specialized subcommunities start out small but grow and I find they are generally much more positive that way. if you would like it to expand, maybe reach out and let external sites know that you are here? I'd be happy to help spread the word too if you guys tell me where to post! I'd love to support our roleplayers more which is why this area was created! 

 

 

Weeeeeelll... In absence of any sort of rules specific to this forum (At least at time of posting), seems like we'd do well to organize the forum until we get some sort of official blessing from Mods or such

 

...

 

Anyway, that's my ideas so far. Discuss if you're interested in helping sort this out!

 

-Tolan

 

Thanks for getting this started Tolan! I didn't want to place a bunch of rules and restrictions (other than everyone keeping to the main site rules - and anyone who wanted to have smaller more private RP could make a group) because I'm not familiar with text based RP other than what I used to do on RP servers in WoW and when I'd play P&P RPGs. So I thought it would be best if it was structured in a way that worked for you guys and if you needed more guidance from us, we can definitely help too! I'm always here

[The Red Shadow]

I will check with a few of my Friends, and see if they can Lend some aid on getting this going. 

Also I have made a few text Rp forum sites so i can get started on making templates.

And in any case It will take a while no doubt to get peoples attention but with several people aiming to at least put forth the effort and make it work their shouldn't be any issues.

[Terca]

"How to organize"... That's a broad topic.

 

So one way to deal with character cluttering for Creation is to have either a massive master-thread within which all the characters exist. It gives, generally, a good legacy understanding of how many characters have been made but if you are checking facts on what character is what with what past it can become tedious. I'm going to use two different examples from different places I've RP'd.

 

Cluttered and Complete

Seperated and Partial

 

These are from two different forums, the top one is an old one called Fettt's. As you can see when you click on the link there are hundreds of characters there. I used to be on that forum and helped organize where chars were in that list for an RP. Safe to say the list was very useful but was also a royal pain to maintain.

 

The lower link is to Aria's Afterlife, a different forum that doesn't only focus on RPs. They divide everything up there so that each character-creation is different so you don't wind up with such a long list. It's easily the more manageable option IMO. It also allows you to change the rules for what races you can be etc. without worrying too much about word not making it to others.

 

Taking another general idea from both locales is a thread on RP discussion, the OOC chat in which you talk about things in the forum and discuss ways to advance the plot, throw around RP ideas, etc. If there is a general chat and then an RP disc. thread they can be seperate without on getting in the way of another.

 

I can lend my help here if people want it, I've been RPing for half a year now though I have taken a break from it recently. I don't know the experience of others here but I have my own fair share.

[The Red Shadow]

Its good to Have some help when needed. 

Im already working on Templates for Character creation and also afew with a Dungeon and Dragons Feel. 

Which is pretty neat to say in the least since a friend and i made a Mass effect DND styled Game a while back.

But once we get some sort of thing goin' ill just be workin on the templates 

[Terca]

Templates for RPs tend to trend one way as far as I have seen them though if you have your own ideas on how one could be structured that works as well. Again, I could pull up some samples from Fettt's or Aria's since they're essentially the same. If you want to shoot ideas around on the templates I'm cool for sharing ideas.

[Brass_Buckles]

Rules might be helpful.  I'd argue it's best to say "no, you can't be a character already existing in the Mass Effect universe, create your own."  "No self inserts" is usually a good plan too.  Also "use your best English, do not use netspeak or texting shorthand."  Makes it easier for us to understand each other that way--some people do not have English as a first language, and I understand that.  However, netspeak/textspeak will make it harder for those people to understand.

 

I really think you guys are overthinking this.  What you need to do is make it accessible, without being overbearing.  People should feel free to create a thread for any sort of setting in the ME-verse they please.  And since people of all ages and from various nationalities and backgrounds come to this forum, any rules should be simple and the character creation shouldn't be super-detailed.  Don't discourage the newbies, because they can get better from examples.

 

The best way to get people rolling is to put something up for people to respond to.  Drag your feet, and overthink it, and you may never get started.

 

I will also suggest that part of the reason for the track-dragging here is the fact that people aren't too sure what's going to become of the ME-verse post-ME3.  So in each thread, make the setting and situation clear.  If it's post-ME3, make it clear which ending was chosen.  Etc.

 

I've been RPing for years, and have more or less quit due to the amount of time it takes.  I might pop in from time to time to play, but I don't expect to be super-active.  I'm sure there are others in my shoes, in that regard, as well.

[Terca]

Admittedly with exams coming on soon for me I'm not going to be super-active here because I do have stuff do for them. I used to RP every day for a few hours but it gets tiring after a while.

 

As for C-Creation the way I have seen it done is essentially...

 

Name

Race

Class (Combat)

Age

Occuptation

Orientation

History

Personality

Appearance

Strengths

Weaknesses

 

How much you fill in is really arbitrary though because having a lot of details is sometimes overwhelming and having too few can make it too easy to just make things up on the fly which sometimes cramps people's style, so to speak. Depending on the person it's either huge or skimpy on much more than the details.

 

Rules-wise...

 

No controlling other chars,

No god-mode

No God-mod

Appropriate language

 

Those seem to be the main four. Appropriate language is basically, 'speak as well as you can'.

[Brass_Buckles]

I've posted a general set of rules.  I think I missed "no netspeak" and "use the best English you can."  I think we've got god-mod covered with "no powergaming" and "don't create the ultimate badass."

 

I'm not trying to steal anyone's thunder, just get this thing going.

 

I'm also making a basic character thread.  I'm leaving off "orientation," since even though it's an important part of a character, the actual character is more than just a gender preference.

[Terca]

I don't there is much thunder to be stolen really in terms of rules. I read them over and they're open enough for people to work with but closed enough that people aren't going to go crazy with what they could theoretically make. Works for me and I don't think people will disagree with you.

[ParkBom]

I don't there is much thunder to be stolen really in terms of rules. I read them over and they're open enough for people to work with but closed enough that people aren't going to go crazy with what they could theoretically make. Works for me and I don't think people will disagree with you.

Pretty much this. Nice set of rules, Brass. It's the basic set of RP rules so shouldn't surprise the vets but newcomers, read 'em over please! Nothing is worse in an RP, imo, than someone coming in and disrupting everything. (I don't need to get into specifics... *cough* Someone RPing as a half-demon who can spawn Titans in an Attack on Titan RP... Ohmygod, it was horrid. *cough*)

Should we have rules for speaking OOC, that way it's clear with everyone? On tumblr, I use double parenthesis around things that are said OOC. I know other people say whatever OOC things between a double slashes.

i.e. ((Hey! Sorry for the late reply!))
//No problem! I'll have one up soon.//

You get the idea. :b

[Terca]

Where I have RP'd you either use double parentheses or speak in an RP-discussion thread. Either option works though some people are picky. I don't care either way much. If you are telling someone something short ((this is fine)), if you are discussing plot go to a discussion thread. Sound simple enough?

[ParkBom]

Oh yeah, that's fine by me. I already use the double parenthesis thing, haha but like I said, I have friends who use other methods. It's a little detail but just something we should all know. Should we make a general OOC thread like the Dragon Age RPing forum has? 

[Brass_Buckles]

Oh yeah, that's fine by me. I already use the double parenthesis thing, haha but like I said, I have friends who use other methods. It's a little detail but just something we should all know. Should we make a general OOC thread like the Dragon Age RPing forum has? 

 

Probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

 

And on the OOC thing, on forums I've always either seen it done with double parentheses, or double parentheses plus OOC.  Example:  ((OOC: This is out of character.))

[Terca]

I think as long as you make it clear that you're talking OOC that's fine whether it is //OOC// or ((OOC)) but keeping it one way is probably the best. And my vote would be for having a separate RP disc. thread and OOC thread for longer stuff. I find it keeps things cleaner in the RP itself.

[ParkBom]

While I was looking back on previous MERP character sheets, I noticed that our's is a little barebones. (Like, it could fit any RP, tbh.) Perhaps we should add in more ME things? In previous RPs, the character sheet included powers (Only allowed a set number of powers and you were allowed to create your own with mod approval), weapons (Either specific weapons or what a character is proficient with), and armor.

 

EDIT: Forgot to say, classes too. Like, should we add what class the character is?

[Brass_Buckles]

While I was looking back on previous MERP character sheets, I noticed that our's is a little barebones. (Like, it could fit any RP, tbh.) Perhaps we should add in more ME things? In previous RPs, the character sheet included powers (Only allowed a set number of powers and you were allowed to create your own with mod approval), weapons (Either specific weapons or what a character is proficient with), and armor.

 

EDIT: Forgot to say, classes too. Like, should we add what class the character is?

 

Class is covered by occupation, in my opinion, so posting both is sort of redundant.  If you're military, put your class, rank, etc. in there, because that's part of what you do.  If you're military I don't expect you're also going to be the janitor for the Afterlife.  Same goes for if you're a mercenary.  If you're not military or mercenary, you probably don't have a "class" in the sense of how it pertains to gameplay.  If that makes sense.  You might be a biotic or have basic weapons training with a pistol, but the Afterlife's janitor is unlikely to be a soldier, sentinel, etc.

 

I don't think things need to be super-complicated; if it can work for "any RPG" as you put it, why isn't it good enough for Mass Effect?

 

I can add something in for guns and biotic powers (that makes sense and can help prevent people from powergaming), but it's kind of offputting to a lot of players to have to fill out an essay worth of stuff just to play a game--myself included, and I tend to write essays worth of stuff anyway.

[ParkBom]

Aah, I didn't think of that. That makes sense.

And it could work for a MERP, which I never said it couldn't. However, one or two more lines of information could give a lot more reference to look back on, during combat scenarios. It's not super complicated, tbh. It's just basic stuff, like looking at a character from the roster before a mission. You see their armor, the types of weapons they use, and their powers.

That's precisely why I'd want that kind of detail, so we don't have superpowered Adepts (Like, Samara/Jack strength) running around with tech powers because they have a hacked omni-tool and use heavy weapons as their mains, because they're physically stronger. (I've seen this before, ugh. It was terribad) And it doesn't have to be an essay. Armor can simply be a nice picture (Unique or from in-game, doesn't matter) and powers/guns are just a line or two each of wording.

[Terca]

I could give an example of a character I made for an RP. It's more information than was necessary though, that's what I tend to do for my chars. It's pretty big though so it would not lend itself to being an example for more detail means less writing

[ParkBom]

That would be great! And yeah, I know the struggle of writing too much. xD I need to massively cut down my OC bios, those already created, if I were to import them here. They range from a few paragraphs to absolute novels.