The RPG Advice Thread

@rexorr:

The active teams right now are STRIKE, The Equalizers and We Are Legend in LA.

@rexorr: There are many ways! You could shoot someone a PM, asking to RP with them; you could simply post in a thread--although if you're going for this, it might be worth mentioning that you're waiting for anyone because some people might be uncertain whether you're writing a one-shot, waiting for a specific person, or something else and that makes some nervous. [Although I suspect with new people, most of the time it can safely be assumed they're not writing a one-off post (except the monster guy in LA; something about him seemed to have that potential and now I wish I jumped on it).] We also have threads like "want to RPG" and "want to battle" threads [in the information thread, under the heading "cut to the chase"] where you basically put out a beacon that says "HEY! I'm bored and I want attention!" Then someone comes along.

I'm not really up on the skinny with teams, not sure.

We Are Legend isn't active.

@last_guardian:

Oh I thought you'd brought it back, oops.

Alright, thanks! I'll give the I Want to RPG thread a shot.

What is RPG and what do we do in that. I know RPG is a role playing game its what i know from video games but what goes on here?

@empressofdread: No idea why it's called RPG. But this is the Roleplaying forum where people literate roleplay as the characters they make.

@a-friend: How exactly this works ?

@empressofdread: Everyone creates their own character, or multiple characters.

After this, they interact with each other. For example-

"Character A- Character A throws a ball to Character B, hoping that he will catch it."

Then, the other Roleplayer responds with what his character would do. For example-

"Character B- Character B attempts to catch the ball, but his hands slip in the last instant, and the ball hits the floor, instead of his hands. He is sad."

These posts are usually much longer and more complex, but that's the real 'Gist' of it.

@joey_destroyer_of_worlds: thanks.

I am sure it's be asked but I have a character how do I enter him for RPG stuff

Usually you just jump in a location thread and write something. Someone may, or may not, jump in on it (and if they dont, dont get discouraged. its like that for everyone. hit or miss)

Back in my old days I used to do it like fishing if I was particularly looking for something. Do a number of quick posts and drop 'em in various threads, and I figure someone'll bite in one or another. [And in some cases, all! Not weird until you're interacting with the same person in two threads at once and then not sure which comes first chronologically.]

@arquitenens: That's actually great advice for newer people wanting to do something.

@_drake: I wonder how it'd work now. I think it could.

The culture back then was different. People were more willing to just jump in and reply, partially because people were more receptive to it. At some point that faded a bit. People got more...planny? Particular? So if someone dropped a post, later on it became uncertain in many cases whether or not it was a one-off, or they were waiting for someone in particular. Nowadays people usually tag someone if they're waiting on a particular, but it still opens questions of one-off posts in many cases. Which are easily solved by an inquiry [or just winging it and hoping they don't say "yeah, no, this is a solo post"]. {Although I admit I'm a bit shy on that front myself.} But also, I think in most cases of the totally new people, you can be reasonably certain they're not in RPG to write with themselves. And otherwise, if someone's posted like so multiple threads, that should remove any doubt they're looking for something.

And it seems a thing for some people to try to get back to brevity and speed where possible in those kinds of interactions, so there's less of an air of particularity with regards to what people respond to.

Speaking of combat, whenever I fight in an RP, no matter how random the encounter is, it usually has to follow one condition.

It has to be for a reason one way or another. As an author, you are the hand of fate, if you will.

ICly, it might just be a random encounter, but I want that fight to open gate to grow into something greater. And I believe that is what a fight should be in an RP. That's how something has more significance. When something is a fight, just to do it, per say (without development or anything affecting anyone coming of it.)

Then it's pretty pointless, in my opinion.

Writing competitively for me, is actually about being a better writer, when I am competitive. Not necessarily about being more powerful, but about being more generally being more interesting. When I consider a character a "Beast" then by my RP definition, they aren't just powerful. Anyone can make a powerful character.

A "Beast" to me, is a character who is both Interesting and Powerful. Someone who, despite how powerful they are, is substantial as a character and can contribute meaningfully to a story.And being substantial to me doesn't necessarily mean being, well, ya know, having a super long background. Especially in RP where I don't really read backgrounds of anyone unless they have been around for a while.Mostly just personality and response-wise. A background can just be fleshed out while you go along.

Never write an attack you won't sell yourself.

Or just seek interactions :D Talking is good as well.

The easiest way to balance magic is to make it logical and consistent. Not necessarily realistic.

Vampires are invulnerable to being killed via cutting and stabbing most of the time, except with a wooden stake. Werewolves are nigh unstoppable killing machines. Ghosts can do all kinds of nasty things to you, but can be stopped by salt. A basilisk can kill a man simply by staring at him, and medusa can kill men who stare at her. And yet, a mirror held up to either will kill them both.

If one doesn't want their weakness exploited right off the bat, they should make it something someone can logically draw from the nature of the spell or of the person in question. Even Dr. Strange was vulnerable to having his hands messed up, to getting gassed or being bound with his mouth.

No wonder people make all these magic immunity things. (Which is pretty fair, in my opinion. Even then, I can see some ways around even that.)

It otherwise is a very good plot device to allow people to circumvent whatever obstacles more consistent science brings, and also bring about weaknesses that are very unlike what science might make you do. While simultaneously able to wave away other weaknesses.

So, I'm looking to get back into RPing on this site. I've been here before and after a long hiatus I kind of feel out of the loop. Is there any way for me to easily figure out a good place for myself in the CVNU?

@lens: Hey there! Best advice is to check out the Timeline thread. It has a lot of the major recent events :)

I had an open cVnU RP/Location in mind, but it has absolutely nothing to do with my character. Should I make a separate account for it?

@p_r_o_w_l_e_r_: It all depends on your own opinion. However, if you are new I'd recommend making a separate account as any location you make will stand out more.

@pyrogram:

How should I label the thread? It's kind of a hybrid between a location and an RP.

@fortress_city: If I might answer my own opinion [which you can totally disregard if you don't like or something seems better], I'd say it depends. If you intend it to be used beyond the single RP, I'd suggest labelling it a location. [And then the OP would ideally have details on the location.] If it's only intended use is the one RP, then labelling it an RP works just fine.

So, I've decided on making my character a magic user, sorcerer, whatever. Is there some thread I can use to look up what has already been established for magic in the CVNU?

@lens: Well, there's no established Vine magic system, but some users have recently been working on something like that. I'd talk to @below0gaming / @rhys_eichner / @maxwell_hastings (all the same person), @vael, and @jean_knightfall about it. They've done a lot with magic in recent time :)

@lens: Everybody pretty much has their own system of magic and ideas about how it works.

@lens:

Like they said, we all have our own systems/way of looking at it.

If you want to look at mine it's all pretty laid out:

http://comicvine.gamespot.com/profile/vael/blog/

@lichter: @ivana_strigidae: @vael: Thanks. I guess I'll look up some ideas from articles on the matter to give myself some inspiration.

@lens: Here's my own personal head cannon and how I view the whole magic topic. Magic itself is a living breathing force comprised of an infinite amount of subsections, whatever your magic is will then become a cannon subsection and however you define it is how that particular sub section will work.

What's the culture on Comicvine in regard to disturbing content? Are things like images/drawn out descriptions of savage violence/body horror frowned upon? There have been a lot of things I wanted to write, everything from a blog story, CVnU events and RP posts that I worried would cross a line. Many of which I never ended up posting. So long as there is narrative basis or other substantial takeaway from it, is that stuff acceptable here?

@p_r_o_w_l_e_r_: Excessive gore, as far as I remember, is prohibited, in the way that gore "for the sake of it" is. You can sell an attack graphically, like having a hurt organ or whatever, but if it's wanton violence against innocents (see: Nerx) or gruesome imagery just to have it, it's not permitted. If there's narrative basis, it's more acceptable, but you have to get a feel for it on your own. You can always ask a mod if they're ok with it before you post. All in all, I'd say context is a big part of it; if it's disturbing not only in description but in nature, odds are it isn't a good choice to post.

@p_r_o_w_l_e_r_: It's usually best to keep it all PG/PG-13.

@lichter: What if it's part of an aesthetic? I'm not about to write a snuff-story or anything like that.As a writer how would you define the difference between "narrative fiction" and "exploitation ficiton?"

@p_r_o_w_l_e_r_: Well, I'd say if it adds to the story in a meaningful way, it's fine. You can also put violence warnings by your title if you're concerned, or PM it to a mod first asking for permission. There's plenty of rated-R type violence described here, but if it's like something out of Saw? Probably not a good fit.

@lichter: @joey_destroyer_of_worlds:

Thanks guys! Not sure if I can manage PG-13...but I'll keep this stuff in mind.

@fortress_city: I'm not sure what you mean.

What is this RPG stuff. Do I just write things and do stuff?

@richard_wolfe: Pretty much! All you need is to create a character (anyone/thing original, there really isn't a limit to what you can create) and go out into the world. Of course we have some rules in place to make this more of a viable communal experience.

@sonny_barbaro: hey thanks Sonny! Maybe I'll give it a shot.

@richard_wolfe: New people are always welcome. :D And it's no biggie, the people here are really laid back so feel free to ask around or @ me if you've got any more questions. The 'Writing Confessions' thread is sort of the central OOC (Out Of Character) hub for people so you can check in and out at any time there.

@sonny_barbaro: Lmk what you think. My first go at it:

The wind blew back his hair as he ran, feet touching the ground only for a moment before propeling him forward and off the ground again. He could hear their even breathing in and out, in and out, behind him. They were 15 in total and they all ran hard. Though he ran in front he kept dropping back, stopping to watch and see. Did they follow, had they lost them? He crouched on a large fallen tree and sniffed the air, nothing. Standing high on two feet he looked around for any sign of them. Thwack!

A pain in his neck sent him running like a shot deer, he pulled a needle out. Trying to transform as he ran fear overtook him when he realized that he was stuck in his human form. He just hoped that his pack would keep running. His breath was getting deeper and deeper and his legs began to burn. Richard looked to his left and right searching for an escape, but the only thing that he saw were trees and lasers searching for their target.

Ducking behind a tree, bark exploded behind him and Richard could feel them closing in. Their breaths became visible behind trees ahead, Richard moved once again avoiding the danger, hearing more shot whiz over head. Once more he turned see gun man ahead, turning to his left Richard jumped over a creek and skidded to a stop realizing he was being herded.

As the net came down over his head, Richard knew that there was nothing more he could do. The Lycan hunters had taught their prey.

Richard Wolfe prince of the Lycans, was a mere man in chains. The men in black masks laughed and pushed him forward into a carry van. A large boot kicked him in the back as a man said "In the truck dog." Richard inhaled deeply taking in his scent, this man would die by his hands. But for now.....they were in chains.

@richard_wolfe: You.

Are not fooling anyone with that noob routine.

@pyrogram: whaaaaaa? I have never written anything before every...... I'm just some random guy who stumbled onto this website.... 11yrs ago

@pyrogram: @richard_wolfe: AM I BEING BAMBOOZLED? AM I THE SUBJECT OF A BAMBOOZLE? OUTRAGE

The post was spectacular tho' :P

@sonny_barbaro: hahaha hi I'm Hawk.

@richard_wolfe: TBH that doesn't really tell me much. xD I'm here for a little under 2 years myself so I missed most of the earlier RPers. Nice to meet you tho'!

@richard_wolfe: HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWK!!