The RPG Advice Thread

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Mercy_

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Alright, I'm not entirely sure if there's something like this floating around out there, but if there is, figured we could start clean here.

What this thread is, is exactly what the title says. It's a place to ask advice for ANYTHING RPG-related. Whether it's the mechanics of how to write something, whether or not you should do something, if you think a certain look would work with the character you're going for...etc, etc. No question is too small, too irrelevant, or too 'dumb'.

There are specific threads geared for certain things (bio tips, help me find a new look etc and many of those can be found linked here). This thread is basically for anything that doesn't have its own thread devoted to it, things that may seem too small or non-important for an entire topic.

Anybody is free to ask and anybody is free to answer. The more the merrier.

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Eagle_of_the_East

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#2  Edited By Eagle_of_the_East

Nice, I like it.

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Mercy_

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@eagle_of_the_east: Gracias.

I've seen a few new people lingering around and some oldies returning and figured it could be of use.

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Auralaria

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Oh! That's good. I think we were just talking about something like this.

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Eagle_of_the_East

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@mercy_: Indeed. There's all kinds of misc. stuff that could use community feedback.

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Cassius_Knightfall

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@mercy_: so its a reboot of the redhead thread thats pinned here to?. To be honest it kind of needs to be done the info is way outta date.

scratch that its no longer pinned. The advice thread that used to pinned my bad

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Annabelle_Godwinne

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I'll be watching this thread, wanting at it, but probably just that a lot. Maybe not, though.

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Mercy_

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@cassuis_slay_knightfall: Yes and no. This is kind of in addendum to that. It's still there and it's still relevant, but I feel like that thread gets neglected by people and this is a bit more of a general place to ask stuff that maybe doesn't have a thread.

@eagle_of_the_east: Absolutely. And I feel like there's stuff that people feel is too small to create a thread for. And hence this.

@auralaria: It's what spurred me on to it :)

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Eagle_of_the_East

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#9  Edited By Eagle_of_the_East

I'll start it off. I've been considering letting those who were interested play decedents, direct or removed, of Amaranth. What does everyone think? Is that something I should keep to myself, or open up to interested parties?

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Mercy_

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@eagle_of_the_east: I'll use the Knightfalls as an example of how I think that could turn out really well.

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_Araneae_

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@eagle_of_the_east: Volunteers a small Japanese girl.

Gonna be the next Knightfall family (XP)? It could be a good way to get people involved. As with any large scale idea, if it took off, I foresee people coming and going, some quickly, some slowly. It would also require you to be on call for numbers of people, especially at the start. You're already a wanted person, and such a thing would mean being able to meet the needs of those who want to get acquainted with you, sorting out their backstories through meetings, the individual stories, as well as anything done as a collective. Also, depending on how many people caught on, there'd also have to be a way to make sure other alts were still active or some didn't line up perfectly with Amaranth's goals and things, so there'd still be a conflict and not everyone on one side. It could turn out really well, though. The Knightfalls did (I could think of some other factors in there that helped with that working).

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Cassius_Knightfall

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@eagle_of_the_east: I would use the windsors as example who badly it could turn out lol. Seriously though expanding your own cannon to others can be a really good option.

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Eagle_of_the_East

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Nerx

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#14  Edited By Nerx

RP Battle

  1. Remember that when fighting different characters that the same tactics cannot be used, some of them can be dealt with fists, others can be dealt with words but some would require creativity.
  2. Also there is Power and there is Hax.
  3. Always react to their attacks, that can work for you
  4. It is good to have weaknesses, they are your strengths

General

  1. Get inspired everywhere
  2. When your character seems stale (when you don't feel like writing) make a new one
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Ohh I love this thread!

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Grabbed directly from Kratesis, as seen in an old thread that got lost somewhere.

-- --

There are five primary factors that contribute to the success of a character. There are exceptions, and there are secondary factors, but these five together offer the largest input.

If you want to build a character that interests others these things are what you should look at.

Exaggeration

Traits of successful characters are almost always exaggerated. Virtually without exception! The traits can be physical, or mental, but either way they are exaggerated. Larger than life.

Luke Skywalker isn't just a good pilot, he's a GREAT pilot. Hulk isn't mildly irritable he's ANGRY. Gambler isn't 'self-confident' he's ARROGANT. Longshot isn't just kinda heroic he's a HERO.

This serves to create interest. On a basic level someone that's larger than life in some way is just more interesting. They stand 'above' everyone around them simply by possessing 'more' of a normal trait. Just as the greek gods were exaggerated versions of the greeks, interesting characters are exaggerated versions of regular people.

This sticks strongly in the readers mind. For example you could take any successful character and instantly think of something distinctive about them. Right off the bat, no thinking required.

Characters that lack exaggeration are not memorable. Remember Natalie Portman's character from Episodes 1? Remember anything about her besides her wild hair and cloths? She lacked significant exaggeration. Thus she was boring and forgettable.

This can be taken too far of course, some characters are so exaggerated as to become a parody. Think of Jar Jar Binks. Too much exaggeration is equally bad.

You want to fall between the extremes.

This is why I'm against policies or RP cultures that force everyone to have a RL avatar. It pushes everyone toward the same level of image exaggeration, and the same type of looks. For some characters a RL look is good, and for some its not. All characters DO NOT belong at the same level of visual exaggeration.

Position

Where is your character located in life? That has a lot to do with it. Think about a man who has billions of dollars and is really smart. Think about him going to a party, and getting drunk. Think about him getting into an argument with his friend, breaking stuff and later passing out drunk. Okay. Kinda interesting I guess...

Now think about him getting drunk.. in his suit of power armor, while he parties! Think about him getting into a power armored brawl with his best pal, blasting holes in his billion dollar manson! Then he falls over dead drunk, still wearing his suit of powered armor!

That's a heck of a lot more interesting story.

Batman isn't interesting because he's a rich playboy with a double life. He's interesting because he dresses up like a bat and flights super powered criminals with his array of gadgets and martial arts!

In short what a character DOES is part of that character. You're characters LOCATION and ACTIONS are just as important as their TRAITS and ABILITIES. Everyone focuses on the last two, but forgets the first two.. at their own peril.

The entire superhero genre is built on this. Watchmen is basically a detective story. But toss some costumes in there, and some powers and bam! Way more interesting just like that.

(There is a reversal to this.)

What your character does in each scene is critical because it establishes their location in the world. What you write a character doing is really important. Being aware of this could strengthen a LOT of RPGs.

Believability

Does the reader think your character acts believable? That doesn't mean realistically. The Aliens in Alien weren't realistic, but they were believable! Darth Vader wasn't realistic, but he was believable. Spider Man isn't realistic, but he does behave in a way that's believable.

Mostly this involves consistency. We can believe in even very strange characters so long as they are consistent in their emotional response, and in their actions.

It also ties back to the first element, exaggeration. You've gotta drive it home by exaggerating the same thing every time. Wolverine for example has a very distinctive way of speaking but it has become believable because he speaks in the same way almost all the time.

Look at the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their strange type of speech was believable because it was consistent Their sometimes extreme emotional reactions were believable because they were consistent. Their frequently poor logic was believable because it was consistent.

In many ways this is the simplest and easiest of all five.

Introduction

Whaaaaaaat? Isn't this part of the story, not the character?

Nope!

Characters and story are not separate A character does not exist in some mystical character realm. Characters ARE what they DO.

You re-create the idea of your character with the very first paragraph of each post. The first paragraph of a RPG post is critical beyond belief. That is make or break time. Whatever you type here sets the tone for the rest of the readers time.

This is going to ESTABLISH your character in the mind of the reader. Whatever you write here is highly influential upon how your character is seen.

I could go on and on and on, because this is one of the number one mistakes I see in RPGs. That said, I don't want anyone to feel like I'm singling them out so I'm going to leave this one here. If you want to talk about it further PM me and I'd be happy to help you.

Empathy

This is the magic bullet. If you create a character that is loved or hated (a character that connects either positively or negatively with the readers emotions) you win.

This is the radioactive spider, the gamma ray explosion, and your parents are dead. This is the stuff. Forge that emotional connection and you win the attention of readers, because at the end of the day that's what everyone is looking for. A connection, either good or bad, with someone.

A villain we love to hate, or a hero we feel connected with. Either one will do.

Not too much to say here, this is mostly tied up in what 'person' you use, the temperature of the viewpoint, and the use of sequels. So its really about the writing technique itself, and thus a subject for another time.

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Nerx

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Don't forget to pick a theme when making a character, one that you will use as foundation for his/her/its development.

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deactivated-57916056a8182

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RPG is not Fan-Fiction

It's not about telling YOUR story, it's about adding to OUR story

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Urban_Ronin

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Dont be afraid to create and fail.

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Bogeyman

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#20  Edited By Bogeyman

Don't conform to trends, be a trend-setter.

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RamJam

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Ah shite! I almost forgot one of the most important aspects! GD!

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RamJam

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Oh, wait, that gets me in a feelin'.

I'm a trend. I set one every time I'm in. I go out and just come back, circle again. You a fad. That means you're sumthin we already had, but once you're gone you don't come back.

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TheGerk

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Okay, how/where do we make our character, I have like 50 characters already written up for a role playing game I play (actually I spend more time making characters then playing the game...) and I would like to have one of my characters join the vineverse, so where do I declare my character and powers of said character?

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Fukuro_Zoku

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@thegerk: You could do it in blog posts if you plan on different ones for one account (thought fifty is a lot, and there'd be confused people), or you could put it in the about me section of your bio. Most people make different accounts for different characters and put them in the about me section.

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Kurt

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@thegerk said:

Okay, how/where do we make our character, I have like 50 characters already written up for a role playing game I play (actually I spend more time making characters then playing the game...) and I would like to have one of my characters join the vineverse, so where do I declare my character and powers of said character?

Blogs I say. Then change your avatar per character when you RP or link the person to the character when you RP.

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Strigidae_23

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The best source of AV's and looks on the internet can be found in Gambler's accounts ;-)

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Fukuro_Zoku

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#27  Edited By Fukuro_Zoku

The best source of AV's and looks on the internet can be found in Gambler's accounts ;-)

There's a certain funniness to this statement, considering his....tendencies.

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Eagle_of_the_East

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CellphoneGirl

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QN5

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As Colonel Stars and Stripes once said, try and have fun. Cuz otherwise, what's the point?

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_Alistar_

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#32  Edited By _Alistar_

Just thought I would ask for some advice on making a bio for a character.

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Kratesis

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@_alistar_: It depends on how much detail you want to go into. Most of the time you want to at least list what your powers and equipment are though.

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_Alistar_

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#34  Edited By _Alistar_
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Pro_Nelson

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Hey i'm just starting and I've made a RP character but i'm not sure were to go with this lol .

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Charlemagne

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@pro_nelson: Welcome to the forum. Any of the location threads (most say location) are a good place to start. A simple introduction post for your character in one of these threads usually goes along ways. If you have more questions or need help let me know.

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lady_liberty

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#37  Edited By lady_liberty

I could use some input from everyone.

What do you WANT to do? What I mean by that is, when you log on, what do you hope will happen that day? Do you wanna get into a team? Maybe just read someone elses interactions? Battle? Do you want to write a long post, or a series of interaction posts? Are you interested in being involved in a large scale event, or would you rather limit yourself to small stuff?

I'm not asking for a list of your grievances ;-) I'm asking what stuff you would LIKE to do? What motivates you, and catches your interest?

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Spectrion

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#38  Edited By Spectrion

@lady_liberty: The biggest thing for me is interactions. Long posts, short posts, as long as I doing something with someone I'm happy.

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Mercy_

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@lady_liberty: What I like most, what motivates me most and what gives me the most fun to write are small-scale interactions that lead to something more and help build canon (not on a huge scale, but on a more relative one). Things like the fight with Charlemagne on the island that then lead to her being on the Brotherhood and now the fight with Liberty that builds up that canon revolving that team even more.

Things like that are what I like. I'm not huge on events. But small interactions and battles that build up to something bigger, that's my fav.

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Fukuro_Zoku

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@mercy_ said:

@lady_liberty: What I like most, what motivates me most and what gives me the most fun to write are small-scale interactions that lead to something more and help build canon (not on a huge scale, but on a more relative one). Things like the fight with Charlemagne on the island that then lead to her being on the Brotherhood and now the fight with Liberty that builds up that canon revolving that team even more.

Things like that are what I like. I'm not huge on events. But small interactions and battles that build up to something bigger, that's my fav.

This, mostly. Of course, there's times when I need to take a step back and just come to "chill." And there's times when I'm creating or updating, so I need to step back. But what Mercy said. I like the dramatic interactions, and I like fights. Big events still intimidate the heck out of me, but I get the other stuff. I don't particularly come for long or short. Just, the kind that you do, and when it flows and goes, it does. It can be short, then somewhere along the way, it grows, and maybe it shrinks again, then it goes. Or whatever.

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deactivated-57916056a8182

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I like being retired and just showing up to talk smack and instigate others to do the same

I have found my calling

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Pyrogram

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I like being retired and just showing up to talk smack and instigate others to do the same

I have found my calling

Anarchist!

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Jaegerjaquez

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Also, to express thoughts and ideas. I have a lot of ideas, sometimes they just come to me. This is a good thing to get to play them out, in a way, and share in other people's ideas. Right now I have too many, and I'm not sure how to go about them all.

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JediXMan

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#44  Edited By JediXMan  Moderator

Okay, so, I was thinking about joining the whole "RPG" thing. I was considering the idea of starting a Star Wars universe within the RPG realm, but I have no idea how this works, how to start, etc. So advice (especially from RPG vets) is welcome.

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JediXMan

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#46 JediXMan  Moderator

@_steel_ said:

@jedixman said:

Okay, so, I was thinking about joining the whole "RPG" thing. I was considering the idea of starting a Star Wars universe within the RPG realm, but I have no idea how this works, how to start, etc. So advice (especially from RPG vets) is welcome.

If you mean one separate from the general continuity, all you've got to do is set it up and let people know it's a U of it's own. Basically just type up a foundation to give people a clear view of in your mind, what that U would/is/will be like (If your not clear enough it probably would get a few heads but not as many as if you layed down a solid foundation to wrap heads around). Let them know how they can join, and the rules of the U/RPG/Thread etc.

If you mean one within it, start a discussion thread saying your going to use the SW mythology, gauge some interest, see who migth already have a character that claims to be a jedi, or a sith, or anything else SW related. From that point you wanna setup a PM and decide how all your continuities fit together. From what I hear theres alotta versions. Then you'd do everything in the first paragraph above.

Far as I know there was only a small shot at it in the past.Even though it wasn't canon it got a people involved, I got a feeling if you make it you'll get a decent amount to start off running with

Would you make a single thread, or multiple for different factions within the same RPG world? Or separation of potential eras?

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-Eclipse-

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I want to create a new hero character, but I don't have that spark of inspiration yet.

A little help would be appreciated :)

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Tank.

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@jedixman said:

Okay, so, I was thinking about joining the whole "RPG" thing. I was considering the idea of starting a Star Wars universe within the RPG realm, but I have no idea how this works, how to start, etc. So advice (especially from RPG vets) is welcome.

Sadly you won't find a lot of staying power with it. People here tend to stick with 'Canon' events and that's about it. You might get a few to jump in with you, but most of them would not post on any regular basis.

As for the number of threads to make for it. I would say that depends on how big and expansive things got. Starting off with a generalized area would be best and then let it grow from there. This way you could gauge the interests and know where to take things.

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JediXMan

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#50 JediXMan  Moderator

@tank_ said:

@jedixman said:

Okay, so, I was thinking about joining the whole "RPG" thing. I was considering the idea of starting a Star Wars universe within the RPG realm, but I have no idea how this works, how to start, etc. So advice (especially from RPG vets) is welcome.

Sadly you won't find a lot of staying power with it. People here tend to stick with 'Canon' events and that's about it. You might get a few to jump in with you, but most of them would not post on any regular basis.

What do you mean by canon? Sticking to the source material? Because I intended to do that.