Dumb Ass Introduction
I found the secret, roleplayers hate me, I just don't start any RPs. Can't get rejected if you never try. Bazinga.
For realzies though, trying to start an RP and having no one join can be very frustrating. You have a great idea in your mind, you've put some portion of that in to a post and people just aren't seeing the brilliant possibilities of your idea. It can be hard to know why. Maybe it's because everyone is in my much better RP but probably not.
What problems have you had in joining in with the RPing? What worked for you to overcome those problems? What didn't? How thankful are you to me for being the one true sure solution to all your problems? You're welcome.
If this works out I'll try to build on this OP so people can potentially more easily find the aspect they are having trouble with. I generally see it in roughly this form.
What does success mean for me as an GM/RPer?
@Yankee
Presentation is very important. That doesn't mean a lot of fancy bbcode, but it does mean taking a moment to present your ideas in a clear, concise way. For example, a large wall of block of text can be a big turn off, but breaking that wall down into multiple paragraphs is already an improvement to help with information digestion. Also, less is more! Especially when it comes to 1x1 checks, not to come off rude but... no one needs your life story. Make your RP ideas front and center, at least!
Presentation
If your Interest Check is too rudimentary many will not want to join an underdeveloped setting. Some will. Some will love the idea of helping to build a world collaboratively to RP in, but many expect the OP to have a Setting ready and waiting to go.
Here are some examples of Good to Great Presentation (including my own because I'm full of myself)
As you can see mine is the simplest of them all. A single image at the beginning, a short explanation of the setting and a short listing of basically flavor material classes. It's not much, the other examples have a lot more, but it's still just a bit more than the minimum.
@Yankee
Presentation is very important. That doesn't mean a lot of fancy bbcode, but it does mean taking a moment to present your ideas in a clear, concise way. For example, a large wall of block of text can be a big turn off, but breaking that wall down into multiple paragraphs is already an improvement to help with information digestion. Also, less is more! Especially when it comes to 1x1 checks, not to come off rude but... no one needs your life story. Make your RP ideas front and center, at least!
@fledermaus
Simple Guide
> have a header with the title large above a centered image that represents the roleplay; image height shouldnt be smaller than 250px or taller than 700px
> break your information into sections and have a header smaller than the title above it (i typically have premise (where i give the story bit), setting, ooc information, and rules)
> use some varied color. nothing is more offputting to me than a block of white or a block of xyz. pick a color, make it the color of your headers and title, and either leave the rest white or color it gray (my preference)
Reputation
It is harder to find people to join your RPs when you are just starting. People will not know who you are, how you write, how you deal with conflict in RPs and that may make them more reluctant to join your RP. Being just too damn good of a writer may have that effect as well. I can't tell you how many times someone has told me "Hey BangoSkank, I'd love to join one of the many many brilliant RPs you have started but you are just too damn good. Too damn handsome. I can't keep up." It is my cross to bear.
@Yankee
As far as reputation goes, you'd be surprised how far a name and avatar change can go along with a dedicated plan to turn over a new leaf. If you're worried about your reputation putting people off, try on a new "brand" so to speak and work to change it, especially by reaching out to others. They say you get what you give, so joining other people's checks will give some good karma
General Interest
Niche interests are going to be harder to find RPers to RP with. If you want to do a Sonic The Hedgehog x Naruto Film Noire RP set in the last days of WW2 Tokyo you may have a hard time finding people to RP with you. Particularly if you want to RP as that Bat Lady with the big Ta-Tas and expect it to have Adult Themes.
Casual or Advanced
This is less of a concern than it may seem at first. There are some very average writers, like me, in Advanced and there are some very good writers in Casual. If you want to start in Casual start in Casual, if you want to start in Advanced start in Advanced. Folks here are quite unlikely to be rude to you if you're not quite keeping up. Sometimes RPing with people better than you is the best way to develop your own writing ability.
I Don't Know Anyone, No One is Responding to My Interest Checks/Threads
Join someone else's RPs. Starting your own RP is often difficult even in the best of circumstances. There are many RPs here and many of the RPers here are already in one or more RP. We all have limited time and so can only join a limited number of RPs. Joining someone else's RP is a chance for you to meet other RPers, develop a reputation, develop some friendships, and maybe find a new setting you never would have thought of but absolutely adore.
I Don't Want To Compromise
You don't have to, but you should (for your own wellbeing) understand that being less compromising means it will be harder for you to find participants. Here, from @Demonic Raven, is advice on Compromise.
"Your idea might be great but in the end there's a few things that might bug your partner the wrong way. Coming up with solutions for these things and creating new twists and turns for your idea can be a handy skill as it can lead to more involvement from your partner. Collaboration on ideas is a key thing when creating a long lasting plot. For example, your potential partner loves the idea about a werewolf and a vampire but doesn't like the idea of blood and gore. You can come up with a neat idea like the vampires don't feed on blood but instead on life force or energy. Improve courses can help with this actually as it can help you think on your feet while planning the RP or actually RPing."
And the other side of this, also from @Demonic Raven
Over Planning
Over planning a plot can be a big turn off when people are looking for an RP. Now if you wish to attract others who over plot obviously over plot in your interest check and go into great detail. But if you want to seek a broader audience be vague in your idea and then plot with your partner about the nitty gritty details. Now there is also just jumping into a very under planned RP as well which is also what some people like. What you express in your interest check plots will determine the kind of people you RP with.
@ERode has more advice for balancing Planning
To supplement old man Broken's ramblings, I would like to say that even if overplanning is perhaps not too great, having a clear end in mind IS very useful, because then, that means you (and the players) have a general idea of where to go in the end. The only RPs I've completed as a GM were relatively short RPs which had a pretty big focus on a quest-like plot, whether it be plunging into the eldritch depths of the Inverted Spire or destroying the goblin nest of Rugome Fort. Both of these had a clear end (everyone died before they reached the end of the Spire, and almost everyone died against the goblins because the goblin leader contracted with an alien god), and also lead to the teasing of future plot threads to pursue and keep in mind if you wish to continue it (what the hell was that last thing they saw in the Spire before their death? why the hell did an alien god grant their boons onto a single frickin' goblin?).
A pattern of having a problem, solving/failing the problem, and then the reflections afterwards forms the backbones of the RPs I've enjoyed along the years. There's always that adage about how the journey's more important than the destination, but having a destination informs the journey and gives meaning to it. Also it cuts down on the dread of an ending RP if you've always been prepared to end your year-old baby from the beginning.
Just don't be so excited that you start talking about how cool future arcs would be, while neglecting to make the starting arc fun and engaging. One, it's spoilers, two, it kills the surprise. That being said, I guess this is more RP-running advice rather than RP-interest-gathering advice. Or perhaps they're one and the same?
I, Bango, would add to this that Over Planning can also end up hurting your experience because you know where the story is going and the only thing that remains is to get there. It can make you want to rush to that one really cool set piece you know is coming up but is still so far away. Taken to it's extremes it can also turn a fun hobby into a chore as you have this Outline planned for all the cool stuff that can happen and frustration when your fellow RPers want to take things in a slightly different direction. If you have an entire storyline planned out for the drunk old man who bumps into them in The Moldy Dog but they just knock him on his ass and walk away it can be frustrating for the OP trying to make things work the way he imagined them and for the other RPers just trying to do their own thing.
Dealing with Rejection
You're going to be rejected more often than not, most likely, if you are constantly trying to join RPs. Lots of people have preferred groups they enjoy RPing with and it can be hard to get into one of those groups sometimes. Even if you are friends with a group here RPs often only really have so many slots for characters before they become unwieldy. It may come down to "We like you and we like your character but BangoSkank is just so much better and his character is a work of art so we're going with him."
That is a common problem here. Try not to take it personally.
My RP Died Before It Ended
RPs almost never live long enough to properly finish. It happens sometimes but that is the exception rather than the rule. If you have participated in an RP from it's birth through it's awkward teenage years and then to a satisfying conclusion Congratulations. If you haven't try to understand that that is the norm. People lose interest, life intervenes, inspiration waxes and wanes, and sometimes people just have the attention spans of goldfish and attach to a new RP. It doesn't mean you're a bad writer, it doesn't mean they're bad writers, it doesn't mean anyone is a dick, it's just how this hobby goes.
As @Obscene Symphony says in Page 2,
"The thing people don't brag about when they celebrate their RPs' 1, 2, 3+ year anniversaries are the 95%+ of their other RPs that died in the first month. It's a death-heavy hobby, if you can't cope with that then you might be better off writing solo. I've been at this for over 7 years and do you know how many of the RPs I've been in lasted a year or more? Three. And of those, only one ever got an actual ending. We're in this because it's fun while it lasts, not because we think every RP will last forever."
@BrokenPromise Advice On Keeping It Alive
A lot of RPs that I start end up coming to completion. Part of it is because I've been failing doing this for a long time, another part is because I have a lot of autism determination, and I'm not one to give up on an RP just because a few people leave, or if even my favorite people leave. My Danganronpa RP is the first RP I started on this forum about three months into my membership, and it's going to have a satisfying ending right at the 4 year mark. That's going to happen because I decided to keep running the RP when most of the players left, and was willing to wait out some long hiatuses to make things work. And of course because I have players that I am willing to put that kind of effort in for. They have been just as patient and tolerant as I have, and are a large part of why I'm willing to hold out for them. Hell, they had to kick my ass into gear a few times and they probably didn't even know it. But it does take effort.
But that's sort of the exception. Usually I run an RP for a year or two with an end in mind. And hey, sometimes even those fail. Doesn't matter too much to me though. I've got great memories of RPs that didn't finish, and friends I made along the way. Yea, completing an RP does give you that rush of accomplishment. Like hiking up a tall mountain and conquering it. But even if you don't conquer the mountain, the hike can be its own reward.
Have Confidence In Your Work
One thing that can lead to the down fall of an RP is if you constantly ask your RP partner if your post is okay or if an idea is okay! Lord knows that it's hard in the beginning to fully gain the confidence to say "Hey, I did a great job with my post and if my partner doesn't like it that's okay as we can resolve it or go our separate ways. Ending a role play because of artistic differences in writing is natural and okay!" Remember, not everyone will have the same writing style as you and sometimes you'll clash. But have confidence in yourself and what you write as it's hard to keep an RP going is you constantly get messages asking if the post was okay and if you need to rewrite it. Learn your writing strong suites as well and play into them when writing, this will significantly boost your confidence!
My Interests Are So Goddamn Niche @Ambra@Demonic Raven
Based on an Example given by Ambra and Advice given by Demonic Raven
"How about people that want to start RPs on obscure fandoms? I was thinking of eventually starting a Wings of Fire RP or even one centered around dinosaurs."
Try to use all the tools here to find people to RP with. Word of mouth is golden when doing niche role plays!
- Status Bar : You can post to the Status Bar on the Right Hand Side of the Main Page by going into your profile (click your Name at the Top Right next to Log Out and scroll down a bit to where it says "What's On Your Mind" but don't flood it.
- Partners : Put your friends to work by asking them directly if they would be interested in exploring a niche you like with you or if they know anyone else who might be.
- RPG Discord : Download Discord and join RPG's Discord. There are one or two channels in the Discord designed for Advertising RPs and Discussing Potential RPs.
Try explaining the setting and it's themes and what about them fascinates you. Other's may have no idea what in the hell "Wings of Fire" is, but they may LOVE one of the themes or something about the setting. They may also read the title and make assumptions that prove to be untrue. Tone can be important here, it is the difference between Warhammer With Dinosaurs or Monster Hunter with Dinosaurs or DuckTales with Dinosaurs. If you don't know what DuckTales is open YouTube now.
I found the secret, roleplayers hate me, I just don't start any RPs. Can't get rejected if you never try. Bazinga.
For realzies though, trying to start an RP and having no one join can be very frustrating. You have a great idea in your mind, you've put some portion of that in to a post and people just aren't seeing the brilliant possibilities of your idea. It can be hard to know why. Maybe it's because everyone is in my much better RP but probably not.
What problems have you had in joining in with the RPing? What worked for you to overcome those problems? What didn't? How thankful are you to me for being the one true sure solution to all your problems? You're welcome.
If this works out I'll try to build on this OP so people can potentially more easily find the aspect they are having trouble with. I generally see it in roughly this form.
What does success mean for me as an GM/RPer?
@Yankee
Presentation is very important. That doesn't mean a lot of fancy bbcode, but it does mean taking a moment to present your ideas in a clear, concise way. For example, a large wall of block of text can be a big turn off, but breaking that wall down into multiple paragraphs is already an improvement to help with information digestion. Also, less is more! Especially when it comes to 1x1 checks, not to come off rude but... no one needs your life story. Make your RP ideas front and center, at least!
Presentation
If your Interest Check is too rudimentary many will not want to join an underdeveloped setting. Some will. Some will love the idea of helping to build a world collaboratively to RP in, but many expect the OP to have a Setting ready and waiting to go.
Here are some examples of Good to Great Presentation (including my own because I'm full of myself)
As you can see mine is the simplest of them all. A single image at the beginning, a short explanation of the setting and a short listing of basically flavor material classes. It's not much, the other examples have a lot more, but it's still just a bit more than the minimum.
@Yankee
Presentation is very important. That doesn't mean a lot of fancy bbcode, but it does mean taking a moment to present your ideas in a clear, concise way. For example, a large wall of block of text can be a big turn off, but breaking that wall down into multiple paragraphs is already an improvement to help with information digestion. Also, less is more! Especially when it comes to 1x1 checks, not to come off rude but... no one needs your life story. Make your RP ideas front and center, at least!
@fledermaus
Simple Guide
> have a header with the title large above a centered image that represents the roleplay; image height shouldnt be smaller than 250px or taller than 700px
> break your information into sections and have a header smaller than the title above it (i typically have premise (where i give the story bit), setting, ooc information, and rules)
> use some varied color. nothing is more offputting to me than a block of white or a block of xyz. pick a color, make it the color of your headers and title, and either leave the rest white or color it gray (my preference)
Reputation
It is harder to find people to join your RPs when you are just starting. People will not know who you are, how you write, how you deal with conflict in RPs and that may make them more reluctant to join your RP. Being just too damn good of a writer may have that effect as well. I can't tell you how many times someone has told me "Hey BangoSkank, I'd love to join one of the many many brilliant RPs you have started but you are just too damn good. Too damn handsome. I can't keep up." It is my cross to bear.
@Yankee
As far as reputation goes, you'd be surprised how far a name and avatar change can go along with a dedicated plan to turn over a new leaf. If you're worried about your reputation putting people off, try on a new "brand" so to speak and work to change it, especially by reaching out to others. They say you get what you give, so joining other people's checks will give some good karma
General Interest
Niche interests are going to be harder to find RPers to RP with. If you want to do a Sonic The Hedgehog x Naruto Film Noire RP set in the last days of WW2 Tokyo you may have a hard time finding people to RP with you. Particularly if you want to RP as that Bat Lady with the big Ta-Tas and expect it to have Adult Themes.
Casual or Advanced
This is less of a concern than it may seem at first. There are some very average writers, like me, in Advanced and there are some very good writers in Casual. If you want to start in Casual start in Casual, if you want to start in Advanced start in Advanced. Folks here are quite unlikely to be rude to you if you're not quite keeping up. Sometimes RPing with people better than you is the best way to develop your own writing ability.
I Don't Know Anyone, No One is Responding to My Interest Checks/Threads
Join someone else's RPs. Starting your own RP is often difficult even in the best of circumstances. There are many RPs here and many of the RPers here are already in one or more RP. We all have limited time and so can only join a limited number of RPs. Joining someone else's RP is a chance for you to meet other RPers, develop a reputation, develop some friendships, and maybe find a new setting you never would have thought of but absolutely adore.
I Don't Want To Compromise
You don't have to, but you should (for your own wellbeing) understand that being less compromising means it will be harder for you to find participants. Here, from @Demonic Raven, is advice on Compromise.
"Your idea might be great but in the end there's a few things that might bug your partner the wrong way. Coming up with solutions for these things and creating new twists and turns for your idea can be a handy skill as it can lead to more involvement from your partner. Collaboration on ideas is a key thing when creating a long lasting plot. For example, your potential partner loves the idea about a werewolf and a vampire but doesn't like the idea of blood and gore. You can come up with a neat idea like the vampires don't feed on blood but instead on life force or energy. Improve courses can help with this actually as it can help you think on your feet while planning the RP or actually RPing."
And the other side of this, also from @Demonic Raven
Over Planning
Over planning a plot can be a big turn off when people are looking for an RP. Now if you wish to attract others who over plot obviously over plot in your interest check and go into great detail. But if you want to seek a broader audience be vague in your idea and then plot with your partner about the nitty gritty details. Now there is also just jumping into a very under planned RP as well which is also what some people like. What you express in your interest check plots will determine the kind of people you RP with.
@ERode has more advice for balancing Planning
To supplement old man Broken's ramblings, I would like to say that even if overplanning is perhaps not too great, having a clear end in mind IS very useful, because then, that means you (and the players) have a general idea of where to go in the end. The only RPs I've completed as a GM were relatively short RPs which had a pretty big focus on a quest-like plot, whether it be plunging into the eldritch depths of the Inverted Spire or destroying the goblin nest of Rugome Fort. Both of these had a clear end (everyone died before they reached the end of the Spire, and almost everyone died against the goblins because the goblin leader contracted with an alien god), and also lead to the teasing of future plot threads to pursue and keep in mind if you wish to continue it (what the hell was that last thing they saw in the Spire before their death? why the hell did an alien god grant their boons onto a single frickin' goblin?).
A pattern of having a problem, solving/failing the problem, and then the reflections afterwards forms the backbones of the RPs I've enjoyed along the years. There's always that adage about how the journey's more important than the destination, but having a destination informs the journey and gives meaning to it. Also it cuts down on the dread of an ending RP if you've always been prepared to end your year-old baby from the beginning.
Just don't be so excited that you start talking about how cool future arcs would be, while neglecting to make the starting arc fun and engaging. One, it's spoilers, two, it kills the surprise. That being said, I guess this is more RP-running advice rather than RP-interest-gathering advice. Or perhaps they're one and the same?
I, Bango, would add to this that Over Planning can also end up hurting your experience because you know where the story is going and the only thing that remains is to get there. It can make you want to rush to that one really cool set piece you know is coming up but is still so far away. Taken to it's extremes it can also turn a fun hobby into a chore as you have this Outline planned for all the cool stuff that can happen and frustration when your fellow RPers want to take things in a slightly different direction. If you have an entire storyline planned out for the drunk old man who bumps into them in The Moldy Dog but they just knock him on his ass and walk away it can be frustrating for the OP trying to make things work the way he imagined them and for the other RPers just trying to do their own thing.
Dealing with Rejection
You're going to be rejected more often than not, most likely, if you are constantly trying to join RPs. Lots of people have preferred groups they enjoy RPing with and it can be hard to get into one of those groups sometimes. Even if you are friends with a group here RPs often only really have so many slots for characters before they become unwieldy. It may come down to "We like you and we like your character but BangoSkank is just so much better and his character is a work of art so we're going with him."
That is a common problem here. Try not to take it personally.
My RP Died Before It Ended
RPs almost never live long enough to properly finish. It happens sometimes but that is the exception rather than the rule. If you have participated in an RP from it's birth through it's awkward teenage years and then to a satisfying conclusion Congratulations. If you haven't try to understand that that is the norm. People lose interest, life intervenes, inspiration waxes and wanes, and sometimes people just have the attention spans of goldfish and attach to a new RP. It doesn't mean you're a bad writer, it doesn't mean they're bad writers, it doesn't mean anyone is a dick, it's just how this hobby goes.
As @Obscene Symphony says in Page 2,
"The thing people don't brag about when they celebrate their RPs' 1, 2, 3+ year anniversaries are the 95%+ of their other RPs that died in the first month. It's a death-heavy hobby, if you can't cope with that then you might be better off writing solo. I've been at this for over 7 years and do you know how many of the RPs I've been in lasted a year or more? Three. And of those, only one ever got an actual ending. We're in this because it's fun while it lasts, not because we think every RP will last forever."
@BrokenPromise Advice On Keeping It Alive
A lot of RPs that I start end up coming to completion. Part of it is because I've been failing doing this for a long time, another part is because I have a lot of autism determination, and I'm not one to give up on an RP just because a few people leave, or if even my favorite people leave. My Danganronpa RP is the first RP I started on this forum about three months into my membership, and it's going to have a satisfying ending right at the 4 year mark. That's going to happen because I decided to keep running the RP when most of the players left, and was willing to wait out some long hiatuses to make things work. And of course because I have players that I am willing to put that kind of effort in for. They have been just as patient and tolerant as I have, and are a large part of why I'm willing to hold out for them. Hell, they had to kick my ass into gear a few times and they probably didn't even know it. But it does take effort.
But that's sort of the exception. Usually I run an RP for a year or two with an end in mind. And hey, sometimes even those fail. Doesn't matter too much to me though. I've got great memories of RPs that didn't finish, and friends I made along the way. Yea, completing an RP does give you that rush of accomplishment. Like hiking up a tall mountain and conquering it. But even if you don't conquer the mountain, the hike can be its own reward.
Have Confidence In Your Work
One thing that can lead to the down fall of an RP is if you constantly ask your RP partner if your post is okay or if an idea is okay! Lord knows that it's hard in the beginning to fully gain the confidence to say "Hey, I did a great job with my post and if my partner doesn't like it that's okay as we can resolve it or go our separate ways. Ending a role play because of artistic differences in writing is natural and okay!" Remember, not everyone will have the same writing style as you and sometimes you'll clash. But have confidence in yourself and what you write as it's hard to keep an RP going is you constantly get messages asking if the post was okay and if you need to rewrite it. Learn your writing strong suites as well and play into them when writing, this will significantly boost your confidence!
My Interests Are So Goddamn Niche @Ambra@Demonic Raven
Based on an Example given by Ambra and Advice given by Demonic Raven
"How about people that want to start RPs on obscure fandoms? I was thinking of eventually starting a Wings of Fire RP or even one centered around dinosaurs."
Try to use all the tools here to find people to RP with. Word of mouth is golden when doing niche role plays!
- Status Bar : You can post to the Status Bar on the Right Hand Side of the Main Page by going into your profile (click your Name at the Top Right next to Log Out and scroll down a bit to where it says "What's On Your Mind" but don't flood it.
- Partners : Put your friends to work by asking them directly if they would be interested in exploring a niche you like with you or if they know anyone else who might be.
- RPG Discord : Download Discord and join RPG's Discord. There are one or two channels in the Discord designed for Advertising RPs and Discussing Potential RPs.
Try explaining the setting and it's themes and what about them fascinates you. Other's may have no idea what in the hell "Wings of Fire" is, but they may LOVE one of the themes or something about the setting. They may also read the title and make assumptions that prove to be untrue. Tone can be important here, it is the difference between Warhammer With Dinosaurs or Monster Hunter with Dinosaurs or DuckTales with Dinosaurs. If you don't know what DuckTales is open YouTube now.
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