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And it really wouldn't be right if I didn't pose the first question, or two. 3nodding

I've always been intrigued by the nature of "godmodding", and how it's become one of the major taboos of role playing, not just on forums, but practically everywhere. But godmodding itself is a theory: If one person is unstoppable, no one will try to stop them. And when there's no conflict or suspense, people get bored. And when people get bored, they tend to ignore. That's how RPs die. So, if no one godmods, then RPs last longer, generally speaking.

But what if everyone godmodded? What if, because the plot and scenario allowed it to be true, each character was a nigh-invincible, creation-shaking powerhouse? "But then the fights will be boring!" you might say, but when you think about it, most RPs have limits, saying that you can't kill another RPer without their permission, correct? Also, not every RP revolves around battling: drama and suspense are equally important, if not more so, in my opinion. Isn't the thrill of RPing found in not knowing exactly what is going to happen next? Feel free to make your opinions known, I know I'll be able to benefit from them.

On a more-or-less unrelated note, I notice that RPs tend to flow fairly quickly through the Barton Town forums, as they're attended by the masses. One has to wonder how many RPs die before they even have a chance to be played out, simply due to no one noticing they are there. I know that there was a topic made in this guild a while back about this question, but I don't think it got very far, so I figure I'll ask once more: Is there a secret to creating a successfuly RP in the Barton Town forums? "Bumping" RP topics up to the front page looks tacky, so I wonder, are the more successful RPs created with a group of people already on board? Is it possible for someone to create an RP without friends and allies to start it up right away? If you have personal insight on this topic, please share! So many people don't create their own RPs simply because they don't know how to ensure success!

I think that'll do for tonight. Hopefully, there will be responses later, but I, of course, will be considering these things myself. Worst case scenario: this topic becomes my personal notepad, and maybe I discover the secret to making an unsuccessful topic in the class section. xd

Response to question 1: This is a valid question. I have taken part in a few unofficial RPs (they had no plot) where it was very casual and we basically just made a character that could do anything. Things usually ended up in chaos where people choose sides and end up fighting each other. From there it became a "who can be more creative" contest with regards to attack and defense. It was rather childish, I must say, but still pretty fun and actually required a lot of skill to do well in. Now, there's another way to do this from my experience. My friend and I often RP together, and whenever our characters are in a situation where they are going to fight each other, we allow auto-hitting as long as it is not a lethal blow or will incapacitate the character (ie broken arm/leg). It allows for MUCH more freedom in posting actions and I have to say we really enjoy those fights. Outside of fights godmodding is really only seen in the form of puppeting other people's characters. That's generally not cool unless permission is given or unless a Mod needs to move someone out of the way in order to progress the plot. The other thing that I can think of is omnipotence/mind reading. If everyone can read everyone's minds or future actions based off of what's in the text rather than in the dialogue, I think that would be rather... boring. Thoughts?


Answer to question 2: In my experience the only time I've had success in a Barton RP was either with a very popular plot topic (I role play Bleach a lot, and it's immensely popular), if you have a group already on board, ready and excited to play, or if you create something that is genuinely REALLY GOOD as in very well thought out, developed plot with interesting roles for various people to play and then you just recruit like hell to get people interested. Bumping has never worked for me and looks tacky. Signatures help, busy OOC threads help, having a trusted, active group of people to promote the RP helps a TON.

Interesting concepts. I actually like the idea of exhaustion/incapacitation in that kind of setting. Give them three posts (or whatever) to go all out but in the end they end up way more vulnerable than they were at the start. I like, I like...

Indeed. My most successful RP that I created that is entirely original (or at least I like to think it is despite the fact that stories are told and retold in different forms all the time) is actually an I/O RP in Barton. It's me and two other players, which is why I think that it is as successful as it is. The bigger an RP is the harder it is to keep it afloat simply due to conflicting schedules and real life hang-ups that prevent progression of the plot at a sustainable pace. As for working off of a canon universe, it is indeed limiting, but if you can progress the story long enough you can eventually deviate quite a bit from what is already established. Using Bleach as an example, I've been a part of two RPs that have completed themselves already and, naturally, they had to start way before when the finished with regards to what was already established in the Bleach universe. Since the manga still isn't done releasing new chapters we've either had to adapt the RP or just disregard any plot significant events and stick with what we had already set up as canon for the new plot. With that said, the moment that we deviated from what was canon it essentially became it's own independent story with similarities both major and minor. It is indeed very complicated and would have been much easier if we had done what you've suggested in just spinning the world into something new and different, but then you wouldn't have all those amazing characters whose heads you can get into. Would it have been WAY more creative to make our own universe full of just as awesome characters and a more adaptable plot? Sure. But the issue is that (and this is my opinion based off of experience) more people can relate to Bleach than they can to some idea that was adapted from Bleach into something completely different. It's familiar to them, and all they have to do is figure out what we've changed.

Really there is no right or wrong with all that, though. As for promoting an RP? Well you start with friends that you've RPd with before. PM them and let them know what it's all about and tell them that you'd love to have them be a part of it. Maybe even give them a roll that you think they'd LOVE to play. I did that in my I/O RP and I have to say that it was both successful for me and challenging for the players because they had to adapt the characters to their liking. Another thing you can do is create an OOC in Barton OOC with a plot synopsis of your RP and what kind of players you're looking for, then bump the hell out of it until you get interest. Bumping an in character thread looks crappy and gums up the actual RP, so the OOC is where you do all that. State in the title of the threat that it's O/A and people might be interested.

If you don't have something like Bleach or any other established universe for people to relate to, then it's best to have really good content for them to look over when trying to recruit. I know that when I go looking for an RP I look for what makes it unique, what the plot is and what it might become, and how I can relate to it with whatever character I might choose to make. Thinking about that has helped me understand what to put in order to spark a person's interest. One more thing you can do is snipe. Sniping or poaching is when you go through Barton IC threads and look for people who seem like they would fit into your RP just fine. PM those people and give them the information about your RP, but be SUPER polite about it, and don't mention where you saw them in Barton Town or else they might report to their RP owner that you're trying to steal them away.

I hope this helps. Does anyone have anything to add or think that I'm WAY off base with this stuff?

It's basic psychology. Humans are a predatory species, we are wired to fight. And to like it. A person's true face comes out in combat, more than anywhere else.

Another factor of it is that the vast majority, bordering on the entirety, of REAL roleplays, the pen and paper ones, involve either combat or the threat of it in a very crucial way. The writers of what goes on over the web are trying to imitate the success of either these games or the animes/shows/movies that the new 'writer' is plagiarizing. It causes me a great deal of pain every time I see the interactive storytelling that occurs here on Gaia, and other 'social' networking sites, called roleplaying. It pains me even more when people calling themselves roleplayers have known nothing but what goes on these sites. Your source of ignorance is there, at the root of the problem. Not in the middle.

If Lillian thinks battle is simple, she must never have gotten very far with pen and paper roleplays. A good battle is never simple. Straight forward, yes, much of the time. But not simple.

I suppose that might be the case. My first taste of roleplaying was with a group, and one that wanted to get right into combat. (shrugs)

I personally find it constricting. I prefer to be in control over my character's actions, but the problem with not having a system like that is that you often get people who never want to let their character fail.