Hi I?m Bosch and I?ve been GMing for quite a while although not here, over this time I?ve developed a few ideas and pointers to help me stagger through an RP and hopefully give everyone a good time (much like a good brothel owner). In this article I?m going to share my thoughts on RPing. I?m not saying I?m totally right or that my tips will work all the time but just whats worked for me.
Before we begin though I?d like to clear up a few definitions.
An RP.
A Role Play which is the whole reason we are here. Notice that it?s not a RPG as in a Role Playing Game. I draw a distinction because ?Game? implies competition which I feel it not the point of an RP. To me an RP is about a group of people telling a story from the point of view of multiple characters. You can disagree with me but I believe that good RPs are more about cooperation than competition.
A GM.
This stands for Game Master and I wish there was another term for this like ?story leader? or ?coordinator? as it fits the role better. The name is a nod to the early of Table Top RPGs where one person would present situations for the other characters to react to. For are uses it the person running the show who comes up with the world and administrates the RP.
Should I be a GM?
Yes, GMing is fun and a great way to meet lots of RPers, I think everyone should give it a go at least once if just to see what it?s like.
Being a GM takes three things an Idea, Dedication and Communication. Much like a tripod if you?re missing one the whole thing is guaranteed to fall over.
World Building
Without a doubt this is the most important thing you will do as a GM because it?s what attracts people to your RP and what keeps them there. I find it helps to think in terms of Genres and where they overlap. So maybe you want to do a crime RP but in a Sci-Fi Setting or a Modern Fantasy RP with comedy elements. The reason thinking in terms of genre is a good thing is it makes it easier to explain your RP quickly to potential RPers.
Once you have settled on a general theme it?s time to put your mark on it. You need to work out the politics, history, groups technology, magic, races and everything else that goes into your world.
For the purposes of this Guide we?re going to use an example RP that I?m literally making up as we go along. It?s a Sci-FI Vampire Hunter RP called BloodCell. See just in that sentence you already have an idea what?s going on.
Plot
The Plot is very important but secondary to world building as the plot can vary wildly from what you planned to what happens, this is because of RPer involvement. In my opinion the RP should start with a big event, a murder or an attack or a wedding, something dramatic that immediately gives the RPers something to do. Nothing kills an RP faster than the ?getting to know you phase? where characters just parrot the information on their CS. Start strong and kick off the RP with a bang.
The second important thing to note is as the GM the plot is your character and all other concerns are secondary. It?s your job to get the RP through and finished. That means you must be willing to sacrifice characters for the good of the story. Sometimes you can have fun with this. For example write a full CS for a character, big them up in you first three or four posts and then kill them. I mean really kill them dramatically and brutally, this is often a good way to introduce an antagonist, who odds are you will be playing.
The Third most important thing is that you have a plot that is an ensemble thing. Do not have a main character. Firstly if the main person leaves your screwed, secondly it will give too much control to a single RPer, you?re the GM so you are in control. Thirdly it means the other RPers are bored and reduced to glorfied NPCs. Nobody likes this.
So subplots are important. That basically means making sure everybody has something to do. We?ll come back to this below.
Ok so if we return to our example RP BloodCell we know we?re going to have Vampires. But I don?t really like the sparkly kind of Vamps, I like the pure evil variety. So maybe Vampirism has become an epidemic which has led to the founding of evil Vampire extremist groups. So we need something to fight these terrorist Vampires.
Werewolves?
Too clich?d.
It?s a Sci-Fi setting so why not Cyborgs or robots like Ghost in the Shell?
This could work as both groups will have impressive strength which will led to impressive fight scenes while neither are entirely human which could give the more philosophical RPers something to sink their teeth into (Ha Ha.. sink their teeth into.. see it?s about vampires and they bite people you know, with their teeth... nevermind). Additionally maybe the vampires are genuinely discriminated against adding another layer for thoughtful RPers to explore.
Thinking about how people are going to approach your RP is key to developing a good plot and World.
Drumming up some business.
The Interest Check (Int Chk) should give a brief outline of the RP?s world, plot and comparable works.
So the Int Chk for BloodCell could read like this.
In the Year 2051 Vampirism has become an epidemic with afflicted individuals forming their own subculture and feeding off the living. Faced with a disaster the government forms the AVUs or Anti Vampirism Units to seek out and destroy Vampiric activity. The members of the AVU ex humans turned into Cyborgs designed to hunt and kill Vampires. This RP will follow a unit of AVU called the BloodCell as they track down a groupl of Vampires believed to have taken part in a terrorist action.
The RP will be similar in nature to Ghost in the Shell, Day Breakers and Blade Runner.
The Title for the Int Chk topic should be a briefer description.
Sci-Fi Vampire Hunter RP
Remember to bump it when you want more RPers.
What about Roleplayers Wanted?
In my experience you get less hits with the Roleplayers Wanted section but every little helps.
Remember to frame to topic title in terms of Role Players wanted.
Looking for RPers to play Cyborg Agents in a Vampire Hunting Agency.
Then provide a link to the Int Check.
Remember to bump it whenever you need more RPers.
Time to Make an RP?
Unfortunately I can?t tell you what the magic group size is as it varies depending on RP type. What I would suggest is take on at least two more RPers than you feel you need. This is because RPers are possibly the biggest flakes you will meet in any walk of life at a few will disappear in the first few posts. At least if you have more than you need the drop outs won?t be felt as keenly.
Once you?ve a good size group it?s time to Click the create new Roleplay button.
Creating an RP.
Hells horses that?s a lot of little boxes. In this section I?ll give a brief run through of those boxes.
To help we?re going to use our fictional RP BloodCell. Anything in italics is what goes into the field.
Name
BoodCell
Descprition
The RP is set in 2051 and the planet is facing an epidemic of Vampirism and terrorist actions. The Vampires are treated as second class citizens and have formed their own subcultures. While most are peaceful some have begun feeding off the living and fighting for Vampire control of the planet. Faced with a potential war against an undead foe the government forms the AVUs or Anti Vampirism Units the seeks out and destroys Anti-Human Vampiric activity. The members of the AVU ex humans turned into Cyborgs designed to hunt and kill Vampires.
The RP group will be playing the members of a AVU called BloodCell thats has been tasked to investigate some disturbing reports...
(A rehash of the Int check is acceptable)
Tags
Original, Vampire, Sci-Fi. Put whatever you feel is relevant just make sure you stand over your decisions for example If I was use the word Magic that would be wrong because magic dosen?t feature in the RP and will lead to confusion.
Setting
The BoodCell Universe. I always had trouble with this question but I guess it?s if you have a successful RP setting you can set other RPs in the same setting but tell a different story.
Character approval.
I always say yes to approval because you don?t want any random asshole rocking up and getting their sticky mitts on your RP.
Is this role play original?
The answer should always be yes, but sadly some people make fanfiction RPs, if your RP is a fanfiction deal (this includes RPs set in the same universe but featuring none of the characters) you need to tick no. I?ll discuss my feelings on Non Original RPs below.
Rules.
In this section you lay out the laws. Things to consider are what is acceptable sexual and violent content, what is the minimum number of posts per week, is there a post word count (you should never have a word count on posts, sometimes a post needs to be a one liner), grammatical standards (remember not everyone received the same level of education as you, speaks the same language as you or has the same mental facilities as you. So long as they can write a good understandable story then live and let live.) etc.
Introduction.
In this section you want to introduce the RP in much the same way as you did in the Int Chk. Provide a brief description for people just browsing.
Press submit and you?re done.
First steps.
The way this site is set up you must have an active character in an RP to be able to create OOC topic. So go create your character. Keep in mind your character is really the Plot or the RP it?s self, that?s your baby so ensure the character you create is important enough to drive the plot in the opening posts, the ?big bad? and ?quest giver? are often good choices. Odds are you?ll have multiple characters but you just need this one so you can make topics and get to administrating.
Once you have created your character go make a new topic in the OOC title like ?The World Of BloodCell? or ?The BloodCell Primer? or ?The BloodCell Bible?. You want to get across that this is where the World is explained.
In this topic you describe the world, groups technology social structure of the world you constructed, before you were trying to entice people by providing enough info without overloading them. Now is the time for sensory overload, include everything you came up with during the World Building phase.
Now you need to go back to the Introduction of your RP and ensure this ?Bible? topic is linked to the introduction so people browsing will know you put in the time world building. There is nothing worse than an RP that the GM put no thought into especially when it?s high concept.
You could also put your world building on the intro page but I feel it looks cluttered. That?s just personal taste.
Bible maintenance will become very important in the opening days as RPers join and ask questions you never considered. A popular one is post apocalyptic currencies because nobody every thinks about it, freaks out trying to do something original and inevitably winds up using bottle caps.
Character Sheets
The character sheet system here is pretty comprehensive but if you require additional information just request it in the introduction.
You should view character sheets as tryouts, if an RPer can?t write a good CS odds are they won?t be able to write a good post. Additionally if they make no mention of the world you built or use very generic terms maybe you should question how closely they are going to read the posts of others. Your RP needs players to be successful but one good RPer is worth twenty poor ones.
Additionally try to take a chance on Newbies, if they have a quality CS give them a shot.
If you do refuse a CS it?s always nice to say way and offer constructive criticism. You don?t have to be harsh but be honest and let people know it?s nothing personal.
First posts.
These are all about setting the scene and letting people establish their characters. Here is where you want to describe your big event that will kick off the RP. Excitement will be high at this point so you want to capitalise on that.
For Example BloodCell could start off with a group of Vampires taking hostages including an AVU member (perhaps you could take this character and make them a bit of a Billy Badass). The RPers are scrambled to take care of it but before they can get there the Vamps detonate an explosive device killing all inside. Including your Billy Badass character in an ?opening episode? plot twist.
Oh no. The RP kicks off and the characters have to chase down leads across your Sci-Fi world, maybe mop up some surviving Vamps or provide first aid to survivors. The important thing is everyone has something to do.
You could also set up a couple of throw backs. Maybe Billy Badass survives the explosion, gets turned and comes back later as a Vampire Cyborg with a grudge. This is something good GMs are able to do, they leave little lose threads that can be picked up later in the story, sometimes they come off, other times they don?t. People tend to remember the ones that work out though and it can give the impression you have a grand masterplan when you actually got lucky. Given the interactivity of RPing and quality of the story, credibility can be somewhat stretched and your RPers won?t call bullshit if plots get dropped or merged into others. Often these things develop organically, maybe a one shot character turns out to be popular with RPers so next time you were going to use a faceless NPC use the popular one.
Another thing you want to do (if you are this way inclined) is try to set the theme in your first few posts if you going mega happy RP crack a lot of Jokes in the opening posts or if you want the opposite write like a depressed Raymond Chandler.
So that?s setting up an RP, now we?ll look at keeping one going.
The OOC
If you view this as hosting a party I find it makes more sense. It?s your job to make sure everyone is having a good time, getting introduced to each other and feel they can drop into the OOC just for a chat or to shoot the shat. You can do a couple of forum games here, discuss the plot, talk about whatever. The point is you?re trying to make friends (which is kind of the point) a group of RPers that can do this are more likely to stick together through the lean times. Its your job to provide the initial spark but pretty soon people will just be interacting normally.
The other purpose is announcements. Maybe there has been a pretty dramatic development in one of the posts. Make sure to point out something big has happened as some people only skim and might miss out. You should also praise people have wrote particularly well as the RPers deserve it. To you the whole thing is planned in your head, to them they have to get inside your head and then translate that into a post. It also gives other RPers an idea what you looking for.
PMs
I like mysteries and I like surprises as I assume others do as well. Therefore if I have an important plot point to drop on someone I do it via PM and collaborate with other RPers in an effort to surprise other RPers. I also encourage RPers to do this amongst themselves as I like being shocked when a Plot takes an unexpected turn. For example when an RPer makes their character fail to complete a goal is a beautifully awesome for me as I have to adapt the story on the fly. It keeps things interesting. Unfortunately few RPers get this and will often be worried it makes their character look weak. I never understood this ?Prison Yard? mentality, we?re playing make believe on the internet at the end of the day, it?s ok to take chance.
The other side of PMs is keeping the rabble in line. I?ve found a PM is way more effective method of pulling someone up than going public on the OOC. Publicity just leads to bruised egos and toys being thrown out of the pram it?s much easier to drop a quick PM and keep things nice and civil.
In this last section I?m going address some General Questions.
Nobody is joining my Amazing RP?
First off keep the Int Chk and Roleplayers wanted sections active by bumping them. Secondly ensure they are neatly designed and well written. A poorly written block of text is sure to put people off.
If you have friends on the site, PM them to see if they fancy getting involved, if you have RPers signed up get them to recruit their friends.
If none of this works maybe it?s time to look at your idea, is it original ? Have you made it clear what is happening? Have you made it seem like there is something to do?
What?s the deal with originality?
My RPs are always original, sure they may be influenced by other works but most times they are a amalgamation of lots of influences. Using the BloodCell example it?s pretty obvious where I picked up ideas (Van Helsing in Blade Runner after making a quick stop at Deus Ex) the advantage to having my own setting is I?m not constrained by cannon or existing characters. Consider why there are no James Bond RPs, the chaos over who plays Bond would be crazy. Instead we have spy RPs that are heavy on Women and Tuxedos, James bond in everything but name.
In addition Original RPs are better because it means the GM has taken time to invest in something they believe in. This indicates a certain level of motivation and Dedication.
Any tips and tricks for GMing?
GMs love giving people choices but sometimes wuss out on consequences. Lets say in our example RP an RPer has a choice between saving two RPers, only one can be saved. Some would see this as a binary choice. A or B. Good RPers will see many more. Maybe their character says ?Screw this, I hate both these jerks.? And leaves the room. Maybe the character says take me instead. Maybe they try to save both and everyone dies. The point is you have got to be brutal with the consequences of these decisions.
It?s vital you make it clear from the get go that you plan to have situations like this where one character can completely screw over another (in the name of drama) and that death is very likely. Some people might get annoyed their character dies but always keep in mind your allegiance is to the story, if that pisses some people off along the way so be it, but when it?s all said and done and you?ve run an awesome RP people will want to be involved with your next one.
Of course it?s only fair to allow RPers to come back with another character.
Another Idea is to take a break from traditional types of RPs maybe fantasy has become stale why not try something else. Additionally you could try RPing in different ways. An example of this would be an RP I?m running where instead of traditional posts I give people jobs and they write how the job is completed in the form of a short story. Creativity is number one here, if you can imagine it give it a go.
So that?s it, maybe it was all stuff you knew or maybe you think I?m full of BS or maybe it helped out and you have more questions. Whatever your thoughts please post below and I?ll try to answer.
Oh, BloodCell isn?t an RP I ever intend to make so if anyone thinks they can make it work feel free to take it. I?m just not sure the world is ready for Cyborg Vampires.
Your Pal Bosch.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/Dj-7p05UlFU/viewtopic.php
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