Although most people find the idea ludicrous, I'll give some insight to my background in roleplay. I started out with tabletops, but my first online roleplaying was Vuen's DnD on the Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne battle.net, and I loved it. After a while, I went from roleplayer to DM and even further was recruited into clans and people were always spamming me to DM or for help or for ideas, and for a while I was actually part of Clan Vuen and was part of some of the original beta and production teams for the map. That is mostly just backstory, but it did open me up to the roleplaying community, and what I found was that there were a plethora of maps and roleplayers ranging from the casual semi-gamers to the horny teenagers to the diehard Warcraft fans, and of course a few hidden gems here and there.

Before the battle.net updates that killed a bunch of maps and when the servers were still so full that you had actual wait times to log on, there was a point when roleplaying clans would literally compete. They would teach different methods, have different leaders, different views. I recall it literally being an amalgamation of political parties and pokemon gyms, at least in terms of the atmosphere, and some clans couldn't be more different. Some literally roleplayed out meeting each other, entire scenes, created what they called a "shared world" where everyone had to abide by a set of rules; others thought that was silly and merely gamed. There was quite a bit of social stratification, too; the more serious a clan was, often times the better roleplayers that were in it, which is why they ultimately competed.

This is where this story gets relevant. With competitions and actual contests of objectified skill came a need for teaching. One of the most common methods was apprenticeship, but from apprenticeship came dual-mod roleplays. A roleplay would be at the entire control of a DM, but it had a higher one (the teacher of an apprentice) and often they would set forth challenges or training exercises to increase the rate of or strengthen qualities that they individually felt were important to good DM'ing.

This entire anecdote is a setup for a specific 'training style' in which my teacher (and a few others) would begin making things harder for the DM's by limiting what they could do (at one point, my Mentor refused to let me ever use a Dues Ex Machina, and another time he refused to let me 'create villains' without them first being either neutral or protagonists) and would ultimately challenge the ingenuity and creativity of a DM. Roleplayers that were often also trained would be part of these roleplays and often intentionally be toxic, and generally instead of just removing them, you were taught to deal with them. The ideal was 'a disease can be cured, not just surgically removed', and often times a toxic player would prove to be substantially valuable to a roleplay. The other factor was that I distinctively recall training where I wasn't allowed to make antagonists significantly stronger than protagonists and several roleplayers made it their personal mission to kill antagonists that were hugely important to the plot. The results were huge rewrites, often adding in entire plot elements that didn't even exist before and completely abusing the gray area of unknown character histories to continuously revamp the plot. This was huge and the goal was to teach us as writers and DM's that you can adjust effectively and that even if an entire plot falls apart, you can salvage it.

Just a reminder -- let's keep things friendly in this thread or it'll wind up closed like the last one.

That's a lot of stuff I can't claim to have there Prince personally I just go with what I got after thinking of a main 'villain' without making him a complete dick and giving him a plausible reason or making him just down right insane joker style for doing what he does. Mercs, revolutionaries, and or mad scientists are normally my A game.

A big thing that ticks me off is when I do thing to improve roleplays and then others claim I'm being one sided because I don't want others to use them. I make some powerful characters or multiple characters with specific abilities or back stories in order for the roleplay to have a solid base no matter what the other characters are. If there was more than one of them then it'd unbalance the roleplay but since I'm not the guy who's going to be called out on being unfair I normally try to talk people out of it to little success. I mean I manage more then five characters per scene at times I don't exactly enjoy doing so but do it because I want to see my main character advance and if I did so in another rp and left it that leaves a large mass of characters just sitting there and getting them out if it is say an important scene is awkward.

As soon as I become a GM, I dislike having my 'main' or 'favorite' character. Each character I touch should be able to advance equally, in theory, regardless of how quick I am to make an NPC.

I have this firm believe that roleplayers, be them 1x1 or in large roleplay, do deserve universal rights. Rarely ever do I turn down a person out of distaste, although there are at least two people from these last few threads that I wouldn't allow in a roleplay of mine. That's important because again, I do believe power should be taken from GM's at times. But, simultaneously, I don't at all think characters for a roleplay deserve this same rights. If you make a character for a roleplay, you should be integrating it into the plot and setting. Some people like to do the opposite and prefer to build everything around a character or a set of them, which is fine for supporting interaction, but interaction only goes so far in terms of keeping a story and roleplay alive. Sometimes, sheer quality of plot or the versatility of setting are what keep a roleplay alive. In that sense, I do believe that characters don't deserve even the 'right to live' inside a setting. I believe that just like every living being on Earth is alive because it decided not to fucking walk off a cliff, that characters shouldn't be given plot-immunity.

In short, player characters should never feel entitled to being powerful, entitled to living after doing something stupid, entitled to 'survive after doing something fatal that adheres to their character' or even to be on par with the villains. Now, roleplayers would hate this in theory, but if you put it into practice with a good GM, it's soooooo much more healthy than everyone roleplaying and focusing only on themselves and their characters.

My main character is the person I make a CS for in most rp's the NPCs are there to support him and the other main characters and move along the plot. However I agree with you on most of what you just said. I give my characters badass statuses normally to explain how they can survive in a fight instead of getting wrecked some of the times they just barely get out of it alive or get lucky. If I can spare killing off a character, without practically taking myself out of the story, I am willing to do so. I let others decide what they want to do to characters. I allow the plots I make to having openings that cause the story to be altered but have main points that will happen due to certain characters. It's just the way I do things.

For example I just went 22-0 in Batman Arkham Origins multiplayer. I don't give my characters that sort of status. I make them work for their kills and survivals.

I'm going to sum this conversation up with, "I bet we're both Game of Thrones fans."

Well I am not sure if you are.

I feel like a horrible person, not showing up on RPG for weeks at a time like I do occasionally, and letting RPs that I'm in die off. It doesn't matter that I have perfectly reasonable excuses like getting ready to go off for college and my grandmother being in the hospital, it still makes me bummed out.

So where do you guys get your inspirations from? I get mine from Mobile Suit Gundam, LOTR, GOT, various animes like death note, and historical people.

vancexentan said
So where do you guys get your inspirations from? I get mine from Mobile Suit Gundam, LOTR, GOT, various animes like death note, and historical people.

I do a lot of historical fiction, along with the various flavors of anime. I don't write anime characters exactly, but I draw in that style, so there will always be a flair of it in my work.

I get mine from history. I got an idea for space robbers from cowboys, and I'm thinking of some historical RPs (The Belgian Revolution, The American Civil War, etc.) Of course, I won't do any of these most likely.

Music. Many of my ideas sprout of concepts that a song, most specifically lyrics, bring to me.

Real life and classic mythology. Some dungeons and dragons, pathfinder, and rolemaster. Sometimes just straight up brainstorming. It's led to lesbian queens, drow vampires, orc knights, shapeshifters that base their life around judeo-christian mythos... Loads of goodies.

Well here's something I want to bitch about....people not listening to what the GM wants to say....I don't want an excessive amount of people with super powers having an all out war randomly in the middle of the street or the nearby warehouse. Here's an idea let's continue to complain about it because the GM wouldn't allow three more people with high to medium level abilities into a roleplay already stocked with about six people at this point....

Brovo said Real life and classic mythology. Some dungeons and dragons, pathfinder, and rolemaster. Sometimes just straight up brainstorming. It's led to lesbian queens, drow vampires, orc knights, shapeshifters that base their life around judeo-christian mythos... Loads of goodies.

I think after all this time that the most interesting thing to come out my brainstorming sessions is Selkie/Skinwalker hybrids. They're two mythological races from different cultural backgrounds that actually have quite a bit in common (although the former is usually more benevolent then the later), but I'm not sure I've seen anyone else cross them.

The biology is a bit different to mesh because you're combining one kind of shapeshifter with another that can only turn when certain conditions are met, so finding a happy medium was a bit difficult but a lot of fun. It also led to my twin hybrid characters being born with a single snake skin tied around their necks and nearly strangling to death, but...

LesleyDrakken said
I think after all this time that the most interesting thing to come out my brainstorming sessions is Selkie/Skinwalker hybrids. They're two mythological races from different cultural backgrounds that actually have quite a bit in common (although the former is usually more benevolent then the later), but I'm not sure I've seen anyone else cross them.

Herzinth, a player in LoR 2, made a Selkie that comes from a sea made out of literal blood, that was then enslaved, and prostituted, then escaped.

So, well, there. You aren't alone in creatively playing with Selkies.

My greatest annoyance is when I come home from work too whipped to want to do a damn thing and it stays that way for a whole week. You have a lot you want to post/write/whatever but it's just like 'Man I do not have the energy for SHIT tonight', so I just end up being a useless piece of shit all the rest of the day.

Oh and when moths fly all over my fucking screen when I try to write. Perks of living in a forest I guess.

Prince said
Criticism, be it constructive or not, can still be rude. Additionally, there is a point when an opinion or even the opinion of several are still based on preference. Recently, I have been scrutinized for my flowery writing style. So what? I'm still grammatically correct and there is a huge crowd that would rather read well-constructed, flowery sentences than dull, neutral descriptions or statements. That is preference, collective or not, and it is rude to push your preferences onto others. Before making any criticism, you should be aware if you are criticizing an actual, detrimental issue or just a personal one that doesn't need addressed whatsoever. Also, the purpose of asking permission is for etiquette. Not only is criticism on any level an often sensitive issue, using a polite, well-mannered attitude is the best way for toning down the negative issues with it and reaching the desire goal.Oh, and to anyone who attempts to be judgmental or criticize you in their very first message toward you can fuck off. That's rude as fuck. Saying "you show potential if..." or "if you improved this" really just merits you a whole bunch of social animosity that you generally deserve.That's another excellent point. Some people just plain don't give a fuck, and kudos to them! There is no point in criticizing someone whom doesn't want nor appreciate the gesture. That, as a matter of fact, is when it becomes rude.

These threads seem to inflate rather quickly.

Role-play merits as much criticism as literature written for other people to read deserves. Additionally, due to the multi-player nature of role-play, someone criticising your role-playing skills isn't like someone walking in on you during a single-player game and criticising your skills, it's like someone criticising you in a multi-player game for making the game less enjoyable for everyone else involved.

TL;DR, people actually have to read that shit, and if they aren't allowed to criticize it for no other reason than they cannot get permission, why.

GMs that callously make use of an iron-fist.

There seems to be this infectious belief on this site where a GM is the end-all and be-all to the smooth and contentious function and duration of a roleplay. To supporters and practitioners of this notion, it's assumed that a GM is inherently entitled to be unyielding in their judgement, and that they are infallible in their reason and logic. It's pretty ridiculous, and it's downright scary how much flak you'll take for just calling out the GM's bullshit for what it really is (especially if the other players start a lynch mob in the thread when you decide to open your mouth).

This does not mean be a willing doormat to every wish and whim of your accumulated player-base, but this also doesn't mean become this pompous asswipe that's practically begging to garner a less-than-stellar reputation across whatever roleplaying site you make anchor at because your word is 'law' (which is an indirect way of stating that "Even when I've been proven wrong, I'm right by default because I wield the most power in the thread.")

GMs like these seem to be badly confused as to what their title truly entails, for their station is really only guaranteed true legitimacy so long as they have players that are willing to stick around for the ride.

Typically, no one's going to persist in a thread when there's a shitlord on the loose in it, and I don't think a GM is really much of a GM when his or her thread has nothing to show for itself other than a cool breeze and some chirping crickets.

EDIT: On the topic of bad GMs, I hate the ones that are addicted to making thread after thread---and then suddenly leaving these thread (without warning) right before the thread is about to get off the ground, or when the thread is only a few posts into its IC.

@Asta: If you do not mind...

I generally support the notion of a GM having absolute power/my word is law for a couple reasons.

#1: It exposes good GM's who communicate from bad ones who punish near instantly in most circumstances.
#2: It gives me the power to deal with problems or enforce systems as necessary. (For instance, a strong theme in my role plays is that anyone can die. There is little to no plot armour. It would be excruciatingly hard to enforce this without absolute power.)
#3: A GM has absolute power... But only in their thread. If a GM turns out to be garbage, you can simply leave and join a new Rp. You can also make your own and become the dictator yourself, if you want.

Basically: I enforce in my own Rp's and support GM word is law because the GM's role is, by definition, the arbiter. They make the world and plot, and it simply helps to have a central authority figure. Especially if a moderator has to be called in for help, and especially since if a GM is bad, you can just... Leave. Go find a better GM, or become a better GM.