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Types of RP: Tips for Creativity

Jsc

Disney's Princess
Types of RP

So I've been Roleplaying Online for a few years now and I must say I've developed a few favorite thread and RP types. I'd like to list them with a few notations and then solicit the community for feedback. After all, I'm always looking for new ways to explore the genre. Here goes,

  • The School Days RP
    Nothing says playing a Jedi Padawan like going to classes all day and pestering your Master for missions. This is easily my favorite type of RP. Especially when it's just one on one training. I could fill hundreds of threads with just adventures that happen inside a Jedi Temple right outside of a classroom. It is also a great way to start any new character.

[*]The Pick-Up PvP
  • Nothing is more challenging than creating a new NFU and jumping right into an Open combat zone. Doing your best to survive every second with only your wits and your ammo can be a thrilling chase for that perfect expression of RP. Naturally, you lose a few characters here and there but it's always a learning experience. My second character on this site was born that way and that first combat scenario went on to define his Fleet Career. Another great way to start a new character if you're brave enough.

[*]The Tourist
  • You know the type. Someone starts a mission and asks for people to tag along. So you volunteer a cheery type and wander off to a foreign planet in search of treasure and glory. Most of the time you and the group are just playing tourist until something crazy happens. I always use these threads to buy something. Spending fake money just feels good when traveling. Haha. Not to mention it challenges my description writing skills.

[*]The Board Meeting
  • If you've ever been in IC leadership, you've probably done one of these. It's that rare situation when everyone is supposed to meet together IC and talk, or debate, or just listen to whatever the 'Fearless Leader of the Month' has to say. Most of the time you just sit and nod. Bow and nod. Or, well... Most of the time you just say 'Yeh' or 'Nay'. While I generally dislike this type of RP, I've done it so many times it feels natural now. They always need more protocol droids for these too.

[*]Dating
  • Seen em', love em', hate em'. Nothing can spark a better friendship and story amongst characters than romance. Sadly, nothing can be weirder to write or more likely to blow up in your face. Like they say, you need to view a 1000 fish if you want to find a great catch. Luckily, every single date thread can be salvaged with a little improvisation, a magnificent location, and wonderful food. Or an explosion? It just depends.


So yeah. There are a few RP types that I have grown to love. What are some of the reoccurring themes you see in your RP's? Any new ideas you can send my way? I'd mightily appreciate it. Lol.

Cheers! :D :p
 
  • The Immediate Philosopher
    My favourite. A simple conversation thread where a character maybe just meets another one or has known them for some time and they have a conversation of something important, typically leading up to something philosophical. Probably it's just me and my love for philosophy which makes me write these threads, but I really love them. It also helps at setting up your character, but it also show you your own opinions and makes you really understand yourself, even if your characters' opinions may not be similar to yours. But a sad thing is that I always end up making even the simplest characters powerful philosophers. :p
 
I always seem to find myself in the position of being "the dangerous girl" type. I'll walk into a cantina, for example, and as soon as somebody reaches out to cop a feel, they get face-planted into the wall with a force push. Or I pretend to be nice and innocent, walk into a night club ran by energy vampires, and then reveal I'm a Sith and threaten to crush them if they don't do as I say. You know, seductive-threatening.
 
My personal favorite!

  • The Bump
    Your character and another character totally just happened to be at the same place at the same time. Even more so, they both happened to be absent-minded enough to walk into someone. Little did they know that they were actually meant to be good friends and after spending a good thread together they realize either two things. Their personalities don't really match in the end, or, you find a new best friend. It's kind of a hit-and-miss kind of thread start this one.

(Yes, this is a joke in case you didn't notice.)
 

Ashin Varanin

Professional Enabler
Jerry Mars said:
The Pick-Up PvP Nothing is more challenging than creating a new NFU and jumping right into an Open combat zone. Doing your best to survive every second with only your wits and your ammo can be a thrilling chase for that perfect expression of RP. Naturally, you lose a few characters here and there but it's always a learning experience. My second character on this site was born that way and that first combat scenario went on to define his Fleet Career. Another great way to start a new character if you're brave enough.
I'm an immense fan of this one.

Another favorite:

The Bait

You start a thread, dangling a treasure hunt or a crazy advantage -- a variety of Things People Want -- and let people go on their own for a couple pages before you find a fun spot to jump in yourself. Everyone gets something they want most of the time, and rivalries, alliances, and friendships form organically. Consequences abound. Tough to set up properly, but if you get it right -- the stakes, the threats, the bait, the locations -- it'll be some of the most fun you ever have on an RP board.
 
[member="Ashin Varanin"]

Before reading your explanation of The Bait, I thought you were going to describe a thread where there is a ton of potential and lots of promises made but before it reaches a total of five posts, it dies horribly.

That's about 95% of the threads for me. XD
 
Alright, I've put more thought into it:

  • The Master Planner
    ​You have a million faces, none of which are really you. Searching for a way to reach your true goal, you will often times find yourself subtly pushing people to a choice that helps you, while other times employing extremely intricate reverse psychology and word association to make people act in a way they think is detrimental to you - which truly accelerates you to your goal. In the end, your empire is already on its rise, the signs are there but no one has noticed it yet - factions are powerless to do anything about it, and your most "trusted" allies do not quite understand your true motives. Darker yet, you have brought up multiple factions from infancy under the false banner of becoming their champion, only because you see their potential as a threat, and so you guide them to what seems to be prosperity - only for them to meet their demise as they strike out against the true threat to your plans, resulting in both of their untimely ends.

[member="Jerry Mars"]
 
Jerry Mars said:
The Pick-Up PvP Nothing is more challenging than creating a new NFU and jumping right into an Open combat zone. Doing your best to survive every second with only your wits and your ammo can be a thrilling chase for that perfect expression of RP. Naturally, you lose a few characters here and there but it's always a learning experience. My second character on this site was born that way and that first combat scenario went on to define his Fleet Career. Another great way to start a new character if you're brave enough.
Darn. Now I want to go do this. Over and over.
 
OK, linked but not the same...

One of the first rules of writing I was taught was that as beginners we only use one sense - sight. Agents reading manuscripts from aspiring writers find out on page one what someone sees, thinks and does. Good to great writers hook you with a smell or sound. It draws you right in.

In general, using the other senses allows you to be far more creative with your posts and can take you places you didn't expect.

What does that smell/taste/texture/sound remind you of? How might that open up your back-story? How might that allow you to share a connection to another character?

So, getting back onto topic:

  • You can start a thread not with what your character says or thinks but a description of a particular stimulus. How will your character react?

It will also (hopefully) make the next poster stop and think. What can I smell? What is that sound?

And like the best rules, it's one I keep forgetting to use myself!
 

Torill Holgor

Guest
T
[member="Jerry Mars"]

The School days RP.

I really like these and have done them on other sites before. However trying to do them here at Chaos as been one epic fail after another.

The Board Meeting.

I have done sooooooooooooo many of these. Most of which ended up converting to what I like to call the unintended Pick-up PvP.

Dating

Umm yeah the PG/PG-13 rating of Chaos prevents me from speaking of such things but yeah........... two completely twisted minds in the same thread of this type.......................... fond memories.



:p
 

Moss

Where the Truth Lies
These are all about right. Most of the scenarios I get myself into look something like these.

The best experience I've ever had as a writer, though, was when a friend decided that his character would relapse into old memories while in a comatose state. To make it interesting, we splintered his consciousness into separate personalities and essentially waged psychological warfare in his brain.

We debated one another on philosophy regarding the nature of humanity with the understanding that the winner would assume control of his mind when he awoke. A lot of question arose, not all of which had immediate answers.

What astounded me most was the actual environment. Since we were in his mind, the possibilities were endless and we weren't bound by rigid reality. Our characters assumed different forms and voices. We would argue in one moment inside his childhood home amidst the scene of a gruesome act of violence, inside his memories. Moments later, we would be standing on an unfamiliar beach of black sand late at night with an aurora above us.

Of course, as we went, we planted memories that never occurred and altered ones that did so that by the time he did wake up, he was questioning what was real and what wasn't - repercussions that lasted far beyond our little scenario.

That was, for me, the most unique and enjoyable kind of role-play I've ever done. I'm not entirely sure what to classify it as. Maybe The Immediate Philosopher, a brand articulated by [member="Maria Natalja"], which I also am fond of.

Good list, though!
 
  • The Slobber-Knocker
    Two characters meet by chance on a random world. It is their destiny to fight each other to the death, the will of the Force. And so the two combatants fight it out by any means necessary until one walks away the victor. The circumstances, arena and feeling of the duel will always vary. The combatants may earn a mutual respect or an undeniable hatred for each other. But one fact never changes. Two enter, one leaves. When done properly, it is RP at its most beautiful.

Just resurrecting this thread to share an old war story. I'll always miss these threads the most.
 
  • The Mystery
    You know this character's back-history. You know their secrets and desires. You know their true loyalties. No one else does. You roleplay the character and give minimal insight on their thoughts and feelings - at least, little beyond what extensive detail you give to their physical actions. You never divulge the full truth behind your character and only let out a peek of their true self with each post. It doesn't matter whether your character is good or evil. You're playing a game with people as they try to pin your character down - and you hold all the cards.
 
[member="Ellya"]

I'm the same, Erik; I can't help myself, if I find a debate/discussion partner IC then that's it. I could spend every thread debating and philosophising. It's why I loved the Jyn-Tirdarius partnership so much.
 

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