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I Wanna Hear Your Opinions On The Different Wrting Levels/Forums.

This may be a little off topic, but considering how this is a thread that compares and contrasts the different sections, it seems to be something that doesn't draw away from the spirit of the conversation. There isn't really much of a conversation being had in this thread yet when you think about it, though. Just a lot of somewhat agreeable opinions.

I'd preface this with the fact that nobody is immune to making grammatical mistakes, but this isn't the only issue you'll find when looking at the sections on RPG. My concern, or topic of discussion rather, has more to do with standards in relation to Advanced and Casual. Although it's pretty clear that the two sections differ only slightly, and standards will differ further between GM's, I'm curious to know exactly what people expect in an Advanced RP.

If I were going into something titled 'advanced' for example, I would expect not only legible writing, and zero spelling errors, but near-perfect grammar, and healthy writing habits. I'll use @SleepingSilence's advanced examples to point out a few things that would immediately trigger me, and likely have me bail in a matter of days if they were repeated constantly. If these were in fact posts written by you, I mean no offense.

Look at all that criticism

The radiant glow of her gaze peering from the opened apartment window; a passionate spark that would someday set this world ablaze. Looking out at the landscape dense with skyscrapers, all clamoring for its denizens’ attention. Buildings adorned with a chromatic spectrum of lights from abundant advertisement billboards, surrounding the cavalcades parading through the grungy streets still dampened from yesterday's storm. A mirror universe showing a collage of reflections below people's feet splashing in the puddles. It was easy to get caught up in the beautiful lies and let your mind wander...

1. Pointless semicolon, almost immediately.
2. Sentence fragments galore.
3. Present tense done poorly, and immediately followed by past tense a paragraph later. Subjective perhaps? I'd argue otherwise.
4. Subject confusion.
5. Fluff.

These people weren't mere strangers to her; they were blobs of gray mortality, solely concerned for their own well-being. Clustered until their individual presence bleeds into obscurity becoming only noise pollution. How else does one stomach the grotesque daily displays of debauchery? Layers of sin smothered the masses like a thick blanket of darkness that strangled acts of generosity with a vice-like grip. Those who dare preach for compassion would choke from the fragrance of their vomit before any Samaritan could practice it. Night City Downtown Sector A2; otherwise known as The Northside District. A bloodthirsty creature created from their own volition, designed to enrapture its victims while swallowing them whole...

1. Another pointless semi colon.
2. Vague metaphor, immediately made redundant by the sentence that follows.
3. Tense confusion.
4. Redundant metaphor.
5. Why do people use ellipsis so often.

A zephyr blew into the room, leaving faint chill that sent a shiver down her spine. The dropping temperature being nature's forewarning forecast of rain. Her internal scattered thoughts abruptly halted by words drenched in playful sarcasm.

1. At this point, there have been two paragraph breaks for the sake of exposition, but there hasn't actually been any... Scene change.
2. leaving a faint chill. Grammar.
3. 'Being' nature's forecast of rain? Maybe 'for' rain? 'is' or 'was' nature's forecast? Grammar.
4. Thoughts are already internal. Redundant word usage.
5. Passive voice.

And that's less than 10% of the post in question. Perhaps something later in the post would justify the aforementioned, but it's difficult for me to trudge through writing like this. Although I haven't read all of the advanced RPs on the forum, I can safely say that almost every one that I have tried to read suffers from a similar amount of grammatical or syntactical errors on a post-by-post basis. The shorter Advanced RPs are the only exception to this, it would seem. What's strange is that I don't see nearly as many errors in casual, despite the fact that some people perceive a difference in skill between the two sections [Advanced>Casual].

So, I'm quite curious to know what everyone's standards are for their partner's writing in Advanced and Casual, specifically. Is it fine as long as it's legible and easy enough to understand? Or are there particular errors that bug you to no end? Where would you draw the line? Does this differ between Casual and advanced? Should it differ between casual and advanced?

I think it's more interesting to get a detailed first person series of ideas in regards to their expectations rather than their perception of an entire section based on experience.

I Wanna Hear Your Opinions On The Different Wrting Levels/Forums.

@HaleyTheRandom

It's hard to quantify. Although I could agree that a post with more lexical depth is in fact more detailed, I find myself questioning if those details all retain pertinence. Even if they did, what exactly differentiates them from casual RPs at that point? There are quite a few Advanced RPs that don't involve longer posts, but merely adhere to a lexical superiority. In this case, the only difference is in fact vocabulary. So it would seem that the two defining factors of advanced RPs are Post length, and vernacular. That, and abysmal posting speed. I can see the appeal to flowery writing, otherwise a great deal of novelists wouldn't have sold a single book. There are different kinds of readers/writers.

You can find casual RPs with complex language, longer posts, and heavy lore as well though. So it's at this point that I have to question what exactly separates the two sections. The conclusion I come to, barring post length and language complexity, is actually 'nothing at all' as the actual skill levels between writers in casual and advanced are not too different across the board. It varies tremendously from player to player/from Gm to Gm.

Ultimately, I think any perceived differences aside from those two factors are subjective and most certainly arbitrary. I do admit that there's some draw to the idea of longer and/or more complex writing, as there are plenty of people in the advanced section, but it's hard to admit that people who post in advanced do not enjoy reading and writing longer posts. It seems that the biggest difference in advanced is size/scope, a lot of the time.

I Wanna Hear Your Opinions On The Different Wrting Levels/Forums.

Free is for people who just wanna have fun screwing around in whatever setting while not showing much concern for how they write, or improving on their writing. If you want a good time fooling around with absurd ideas, it's the place to be. Great for goofy RPs or extremely edgy stuff; it's a playground of guilty pleasures and teenage desire. It's alright if you don't want to write anything too serious. I don't judge people for just wanting to have fun, I've hosted and participated in plenty of 'free' RPs in the past.

Casual is for all levels. It typically attracts people who want a coherent plotline and more detailed writing, but don't want to write or read 6 paragraphs of fluff in every post like they're in a Steven king or Tolkien novel. Most casual RPs could probably be fit into free depending on the concept and the people posting if they stuck to dialogue, but there's this weird metric where people equate post length to quality, meaning that you won't see many people speed posting in there. It varies tremendously, but my basic idea for 'casual' RPs is anything that isn't absurd, or pretentious. It's where I spend most of my time in role plays, as I don't expect to be held to any nebulous and misguided standards while writing some stuff up.

Advanced is for people who enjoy writing fluff and don't care about pacing when they dump buckets of exposition in a single post. I like to describe it as the horribly pretentious doppelganger of the free section. It is most certainly a place where people who enjoy reading and writing flowery sentences flock to. But despite being flooded with very long posts, and uncommon vernacular, it seems that most advanced RPs are anything but dense. I play a little game sometimes where I take a 9 paragraph 'advanced post' and narrow it down to two paragraphs without losing any of the actual content. Advanced is a place for people who like to write a lot of words. I see it as the least cooperative and/or least engaging section on the forums.

Arena is a shadow of its former self. What was once a bustling community of a bunch of tools who thought that winning was more important than the experience of a fighter, now sits... Well, nobody. Fights are fun, but nobody really cares about them when you turn them into a contest. The entire 'competitive' infrastructure of the arena is a joke, but I know exactly why people liked it. People are too obsessed with winning/their characters though. I know I was. Rarely will you come across somebody who's humble enough too just be in it for the fight. In those cases, it's quite an enjoyable affair.

Tabletop is... Well I don't know what it is. I guess you can use that section if you don't know what roll 20 and discord are?

Nation roleplays are probably the best example of what advanced roleplays try to be. That's all I can say about that.

Underrated and Overrated Video Games

Tai-fu wrath of the tiger though - Possibly one of the best beat-em-up/platformer hybrids I've ever played in my life.

You get to beat up a dragon.

The Political Thread

The Political Thread

@catchamber

Here's a wikipedia article I googled.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_soc…

Underrated and Overrated Video Games

Wasn't skies of Arcadia on GC as well?

Most anticipated Games of 2018-2019

I think it's time to close and lock this thread since it's gotten so far off hand.

@Rex

You must not frequent the sewage factory known as 'Off Topic' very often then, friend.

Caravan: Resurrection

Feral Cove, Near Ayer and Paric's Landing
_{3rd of Summer - 9:48 PM}

Each passing moment spent in Ayer's presence was like beating his his head against a rock. Dannisus' eyes drooped more and more until the silly man was finished with his little display. 'He's an idiot,' Dannisus thought, 'An nonredeemable idiot!' Part of his verbose dialogue stuck with Dannisus, however. His mention of Arcane knowledge was no surprise though. Despite his curious demeanor, the contraption that he carried positively reeked of mana. And so, albeit reluctantly, the disgruntled cat-man feigned a polite smile and nodded after Ayer's words.

"Quite the title," he mumbled with a tinge of sarcasm in his voice, "Nice to meet the two of you. I am a in fact a traveler, but I wouldn't consider myself mysterious or hardy. I doubt many men in Leias would. Speaking of which..." He glanced at Ayer's Wax Jury for a moment, and then swung himself around to point towards the thick overgrowth that lead deeper into the jungle. "Leias is a straight shot, about a day's walk from here if you know your way. The ah, the lack of a path makes it difficult for outsiders drifting ashore, I'm afraid. Even if you knew your way, the beasts here are not any less savage than those across Thoris." His ears perked up. "Ehm, it may be true that my senses could guide you two through safely, but I cannot do so. I'm sorry to say, but I have my own business to attend to, hence my travel outside the capitol." Dannisus looked back at the men blankly. "Sorry."

Caravan: Resurrection

Feral Cove, Near Ayer and Paric's Landing
_{3rd of Summer - 9:47 PM}

Dannisus opened his mouth several times to try an interrupt Ayer's stream of conscious thought, but would always get cut off just before he could speak. Each time it happened, the Myti's expression grew more and more sour. 'idiot' he thought, 'shut up for one second.' When Ayer flourished his little contraption, Dani's eyes twitched with curiosity. He slowly began to pull his Feral arms back so that they rested on top of his forearms snugly. It was times like these when he would have to exercise a great deal of patience for the sake of his image. It was becoming harder and hard to stop himself from telling Ayer to shut the hell up, though. He glanced at the Eldi for just a moment and sighed. Thankfully he wasn't nearly as talkative as his overtly excited little friend.

But that one comment.

'my cute little fake-primate'

"What?" Dannisus snapped with narrowed eyes. His right hand instinctively reached towards the opposite shoulder, going for the handle of a blade that was well-hidden behind his back. He stopped himself and lowered his hand with an excruciating sigh that threatened to uproot his self worth right then and there. His lips curled into a sarcastic half-smile, but he remained tense. "Ah, ehm... You two aren't familiar with the Myti, are you?" He reached up and scratched the side of his head. "Probably not well versed with speech in general," he quipped quietly to himself, "In any case, you may want to save your requests until after a formal introduction. We aren't uncivilized... Primates. I wouldn't want to be treated any differently than you might treat that one." Dannisus lowered his index finger from his face and pointed at Paric. "But, to answer one of your questions, I am in fact a traveler." The Myti stood in place and crossed his arms whilst whipping his hairless tail back and fourth. Close up, his features were much clearer. Burn marks ran up the length of his tail, and there was a clear slit in his left ear that ran half-way down its center. Even his attire was peculiar for a traveler. He didn't wear any form of armor as all. Not even leather padding, a common lightweight form of defense for Myti travelers. Instead, his upper body was covered in straps that held various tools, including the sword on his back, and a couple of knives that were held tightly in front of his chest over each pectoral muscle. His pants, or rather shorts, were similar in fashion, with an intricate belt holding various utilities and a pouch that hung from his hip. A vague outline of his bag poked out from his right side behind his armpit, but Dannisus didn't seem too concerned about concealing anything on his person. That's just how it turned out.

Baeshri Pass, Caravan Centaurus
_{3rd of Summer - 11:05 PM}

Blake hopped up onto a raising ledge as the ground became uneven, pausing in shock when he realized that the next jump was far too treacherous to make without thinking. He stopped there, and turned back towards where Rem stood in the darkness that covered them. This was not normal magic. The move the earth so viciously was a feat that no normal mage could achieve without expending an unprecedented amount of Mana. Even so, it was too precise to be a result of any common magic he'd even seen. This had to be the work of something divine. Blake smiled to himself and clutched his hammer tightly. Just then, the sharp stones from below crashed against his armored leggings, piercing deep enough to draw blood from his left thigh. He ignored the pain and lurched back towards Rem, jumping towards the next-highest platform between them and landing with a heavy thud. Without stopping, he charged again and leaped directly at the druid with his hammer held overhead. Mana swelled inside of the powerful artifact as he brought it down towards Rem with a great deal of force, combining the might he'd gained from his magic, and the momentum of his downwards fall to crush his target in one deadly, and explosive strike.

Zay and Neal turned to witness Rem's feat, quickly splitting up and leaving Bart to struggle in the aftermath of his attack. They already knew it was probably a bad idea to get in Rem's path, even if they had some Mana to spare. Returning to the cart where Lyullia remained was a better idea. Neither of them shot an order towards Pyra, though. They hoped that in the heat of the moment, he'd know what to do.

Baeshri Hills, West of Centaurus
_{3rd of Summer - 10:42 PM}

Hyo ignored her apparent ally's call, immediately disregarding it as some sort of faint. Not only did her fellow sisters only communicate through psy-stones, but Sasha took off in the opposite direction. But it wouldn't matter either way. She felt something strike the side of her head, skirting past her ears and making he flinch in pain. It wasn't nearly enough to seriously injure her, but with her feet sinking into the ground, it wouldn't matter. She pulled one foot free before it could be trapped, but felt the earth surrounding her entire right thigh. As a result, she dropped Daelin to the ground and focused all of he efforts on freeing her leg. But with her repertoire of magic, it seemed impossible. With the wind keeping her from tossing anything at the people that caught her, Hyo went silent and still, waiting patiently for her next moment to strike.

If she'd been able to foresee the Druid's presence, this might have gone much differently.

Northern Marrenfall, Gybol's Cafe
_{4th of Summer - 11:08 AM}

Richard began to stow his trinkets away slowly, organizing them one after the other as Gybol expressed his doubts.

"It is as you say. Unfortunately, I have little to offer you that would not put you in custody. My artifacts are all very illegal in these wretched suburbs. But I can prove my status." Richard pushed himself away from the counter and stood up, placing a simple stopwatch on the tray that his empty bowl still sat upon. "A splendid coincidence, I'd say, that one of our projects is seeing light tonight. When that timer ticks to zero, you'll know that I'm not just some silly old man looking to trick cafe owners in his spare time. Likewise, I am not a man predisposed to violence, Gybol. I would prefer to bargain than resort to dirtier means." Richard turned away from the cafe owner and scouted the streets carefully. "You may cast your doubt as you please. But it would not be in your best interest to refrain from meeting with me a second time. I am old, but some men hold no stakes in the power of mana to force their wills on others." With those last words, he quickly shuffled towards the exit, placing his hat back on his head. It would be any moment before the guards arrived, surely. He stopped and turned back to Gybol one last time with a smile. "My honesty is a kindness. It is the same kindness you have paid me now. The town guards are not honest men. I would not place my trust in them, if I were you." The door swung open with a heavy push, and Richard retreated as quickly and inconspicuously as an old man could with a choir of coughs.

In the same moment as Richard turned the cafe's corner, Nina appeared from the opposite corner with a few men who were clad in formal attire. Marrenfall's Suburbs were usually overlooked by men and women dressed in a rough fashion with brown and blue patterns sewn into their jackets. They didn't use magic at all, to further enforce the city's atmosphere, but it was not wise to pick a fight with the MSPD. The door swung open again, but Nina was surprised to see that Gybol was alone. The three men behind her seemed equally disturbed, and infinitely more impatient.

"Where'd he go, boss?"

Leias, Kolo's Bobbet Stand
_{4th of Summer - 5:46 PM}

The stand was sturdy enough that Kolo had no worry for its possible destruction. Plenty of travelers and local Myti were pushed aside by impatient twats, often into structures that seemed fragile. Kolo prepared for it in advance though! Behind the counter, her craftsmanship shined through thick slabs of hardwood that were native to Leias' surrounding jungles. It would support the full weight of a Lok'Sha... Assuming they weren't intent on smashing her place of work.

The person who'd pushed Ryio aside payed her no heed afterwards, heading down the path towards the east. She didn't go far, though, immediately taking a sharp towards towards a nearby tree near Boa's Baubles, and quickly scaling its trunk towards the treetops. She seemed in a hurry. Kolo didn't pay her any mind, but was awfully concerned about this little human. She seemed like the type to collapse and die in the streets. Beggars weren't common in Leias but for her to fall to such a low would be pretty disappointing. Still, for a lady who seemed keen on working, it was strange to see her on the ground. Humans that couldn't make the climb would end up leaving the Myti capitol in a manner of days if they couldn't find a winch or some other form of help in the Nation.

"Miss," Kolo called out one last time, "If yoor lookin' for a way up high, I might know a woman who can he... Hel-he-hEYACHOO!" Kolo's entire body shook as she sneezed, and she blew her nose once again. "I might know a lady who can help. But she doesn't deal with kits or myundanes."