the taste for roleplaying seems to be gone

[Wolfe Garm]

hey all just a random thought.... is it me or has roleplaying all but gone dead for gaia, the most interesting Roleplays die fast and the one's that shouldn't even be around last ages, seems odd to me...

three decent roleplays die within days of joining, aggravating and extremely sad to say the least, these days it seems like there isn't enough commitment to a roleplay anymore...


thoughts anyone?  

[notmuch_23]

Are you talking about a series-related roleplay, or a Commerce-type roleplay?  

[Wolfe Garm]

actually roleplay in general. i'm an observer, been watching the forums while i've peered through the pages of roleplays and have noticed more and more roleplays dying with fewer and fewer pages within them than not.

if you want a bigger perspective let's take the roleplaying subforum within the guild here, i've seen plenty of roleplays come through that subforum and most have died at some point some ending on their own due to completion of the roleplay but most suddenly just stopping in mid step and dying, even the ones currently inside have no activity within them, not even a wisp of life in them and yet that is starting to become a commonplace for even the public forum.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

I think the problems, here in the guild, are the following: Organizers are either starting things off too big* or lack the drive to keep things going by stepping up when needed to.

There is also a lack of planning, of thinking ahead of where to go with the story, which can mire the things down with inactivity or being stuck in the same place for far too long.

That's not to say that the organizers are the only ones guilty, the participants also have a hand in this. When you agree to partake in a RP you are required to check in and actually participate on some basis, not to make the odd post and suddenly let everything grind to a halt when things are gaining momentum by not showing up for a long stretch of time without explanation.

* Or create a thread that is nowhere near done, with the promise of wrapping up the first post soon, only to never do so. emotion_donotwant  

[DarkElf27]

Generally agree with everything already said, I think people are spending less time in general on the site, and thus aren't consistently active on RPs, among other things.  

[Wolfe Garm]

Lady Blodwynn

I think the problems, here in the guild, are the following: Organizers are either starting things off too big* or lack the drive to keep things going by stepping up when needed to.

There is also a lack of planning, of thinking ahead of where to go with the story, which can mire the things down with inactivity or being stuck in the same place for far too long.

That's not to say that the organizers are the only ones guilty, the participants also have a hand in this. When you agree to partake in a RP you are required to check in and actually participate on some basis, not to make the odd post and suddenly let everything grind to a halt when things are gaining momentum by not showing up for a long stretch of time without explanation.

* Or create a thread that is nowhere near done, with the promise of wrapping up the first post soon, only to never do so. emotion_donotwant

i totally agree with you there for the most part it is up to both parties to make a RP work... i can tell you i've created twenty or so roleplays most i haven't released due to not feeling comfortable enough to let my work be played out, about nine of them has seen the day of light 75% of them failed because someone decided they weren't going to come on anymore and suddenly we've got players locked in mid conversation or mid action and can't do anything with those characters without removing them from play and just completely starting over.

that said i also agree with you that alot of times Facilitators do not plan out how they are going to run their roleplay and most of the time they are left with an empty roleplay just because they couldn't either add the necessary material to progress the story along or they themselves failed to show up for any amount of time and the players seeing that their facilitator isn't around to give them the necessary info needed to keep moving just up and left... i can tell you i've seen plenty of them do that.


for me i love creating roleplays whether or not they are played out or not is up to me, every last one of them (with the minor exception of the very first roleplays i started when i first joined back in 06) is planned out so well... for me i don't like creating a roleplay that wasn't fully prepared and usually takes me months at a time before any one roleplay is finished... i can tell you being a freelance writer i take creating material very serious and it saddens me most of the time when i give out my work to be played out and suddenly i either have to close it down because something unforeseen happened that forced my hand to close it down before it got out of hand to the extent that the moderators would have to get involved, or just because the flow of information is stable and yet the players are not there to receive what is available...

i hate to say it but the days of D&D are over, i can remember my older brother telling me it would take weeks on end of preparation just to facilitate one session of the story just because there was so much information that was needed just to get through that one session.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Wolfe Garm

i totally agree with you there for the most part it is up to both parties to make a RP work... i can tell you i've created twenty or so roleplays most i haven't released due to not feeling comfortable enough to let my work be played out, about nine of them has seen the day of light 75% of them failed because someone decided they weren't going to come on anymore and suddenly we've got players locked in mid conversation or mid action and can't do anything with those characters without removing them from play and just completely starting over.

Ah, but there is a problem some organizers refuse to see: You cannot rail road your participants along a set line of tracks all the time, you must allow for (some) deviation and sidetracking if you want things to work out. No plan survives first contact, even more so when RP'ing with a diverse group of participants who each have their own wants and likes, or even worse: Alignment! xd

Wolfe Garm

that said i also agree with you that alot of times Facilitators do not plan out how they are going to run their roleplay and most of the time they are left with an empty roleplay just because they couldn't either add the necessary material to progress the story along or they themselves failed to show up for any amount of time and the players seeing that their facilitator isn't around to give them the necessary info needed to keep moving just up and left... i can tell you i've seen plenty of them do that.

for me i love creating roleplays whether or not they are played out or not is up to me, every last one of them (with the minor exception of the very first roleplays i started when i first joined back in 06) is planned out so well... for me i don't like creating a roleplay that wasn't fully prepared and usually takes me months at a time before any one roleplay is finished... i can tell you being a freelance writer i take creating material very serious and it saddens me most of the time when i give out my work to be played out and suddenly i either have to close it down because something unforeseen happened that forced my hand to close it down before it got out of hand to the extent that the moderators would have to get involved, or just because the flow of information is stable and yet the players are not there to receive what is available...

A good, solid RP should have everything it needs straight from the outset. A good setting, background and if need be, motivation does wonders for the group and gives them something of a picture on where they are and what they are supposed to do.

To give a real-world example (I am personally not a fan of forum-based roleplaying, I prefer to sit around a table and chuck actual dice while looking that slimy GM in the eye): I used to play in a Rogue Trader campaign based around what was found in the books, as in, we ran the adventures found in the books, which the GM had ordered into a nice big overarching story line. He's a daemon when it comes down to details and he didn't kick things off until everything was taken care of, presenting us with a hefty background package in form of a fifty(?) page primer he crafted for us with all our starting assets, resources, family history and a few objectives that were to drive us onwards without totally overshadowing the actual story seeds he had us fight and cavort our way through.

You also need to remember that when you run something as a GM, your word is law and you should make that known. Not to say that you should clamp down on everything, but you must allow for some deviation from the path or for players to have their moments, or their rewards. Our group wasn't an easy one, or so I had feared, but our GM kept us in line with the odd "physical" reward such as a new gun or Fury Interceptor, though the real rewards were to see the story progress and to be tossed another mysterious morsel regarding our overarching quest. He also made it very clear that he would be rewarding us XP bonuses for good roleplay that was both in character and in setting. sweatdrop

Wolfe Garm

i hate to say it but the days of D&D are over, i can remember my older brother telling me it would take weeks on end of preparation just to facilitate one session of the story just because there was so much information that was needed just to get through that one session.

Disagreement here. Strong disagreement even regarding the days of D&D being over! If anything, the industry is booming and ever growing. But if I may, on what do you base such a statement?

I would also like to chime in and say that the amount of time a GM sticks into a session does not always translate into a great session. It also depends on the type of GM and how he or she works with the group. Some prefer to prepare to no end, which can result in rail-roading, as you do not want your players to deviate from your prepared work, while others just take a few notes, give you their best gak-eating grin and spin you a tale as you go. emotion_awesome  

[Wolfe Garm]

well i've based that statement off of my own observations as well as what former players trying to get back into it have spoken of as well as the Facilitators themselves who have hosted in the past but now can't get anyone to start up.

my own Observations are conflicted to say the least that i'll explain in a moment, the other half to that is i've heard a lot of talk from players who either still played or didn't play anymore when i was back in larger cities, there was a time when when you could go out into a public area and almost be certain to find a group roleplaying, their books in tow their dice in hand ready to fly, and they would welcome new blood into the group. based on the fact that i cannot find such groups anymore or even groups that prefer to play at home is evident enough, that and the amount of books you need now even for D&D is ridiculous and costly which is tends to draw back on the conclusion that if you are die hard D&D player you'll buy the books even if it costs you an arm and a leg, the days of having a disposable income is gone every penny is needed these days to deal with everyday matters.

going back to my Conflicted Observations well some of it i've kinda touched basis on, i've been unable to locate any suitable groups so i can't fully determine anything that would be conclusive... the only conclusive observation that isn't conflicted that can be noted is the lack of presence.

but again going into a digital community of roleplayers D&D is gone the art of forming a story and putting players through that story from start to finish and having everyone filled with a sense of accomplishment and excitement because though it is merely words what they did completed something that kept them on their toes and had to constantly think of the best course of action, something i'm afraid you hit on the nose is the fact that you would rather have that its much more interesting with the books than on a forum which leads to the lack of commitment to a text based roleplay that the digital community concocted in order to adapt a dice based game into a story book style roleplay that is within the roleplay section of the public forums here on gaia.

pardon my wall of text its not often i actually find people who actually take the time to comment on something about something that anyone has said about anything... these days if i do come out of hiding and speak most of the time its lost in a wall of conversations already going on and usually goes unnoticed ...



truth be told if i had a chance to get into a group where i can get insight i would jump at the opportunity but since the only thing in my area are corn fields the attempt to find anything remotely close to the chance of finding even a hobby store is an hour away and that's too far away for me.

to say the least i crave for the chance to get into a actual roleplay but alas i am stuck dealing with a community based roleplay format that generally goes unfulfilled. to be honest i think the only reason i make roleplays anymore is just to give myself something to think about and develop something other than content for a book.  

[Hoxtalicious]

Lady Blodwynn

presenting us with a hefty background package in form of a fifty(?) page primer he crafted for us with all our starting assets, resources, family history and a few objectives that were to drive us onwards without totally overshadowing the actual story seeds he had us fight and cavort our way through.

Something like that, but seeing as it is/was a living document it would continue to grow and be added to over the course of the sessions, giving all parties involved a handy guide to what has happened, when, where and why. Also allows me to handily dodge the "Total Recall" talent bullet right there. wink

On top of that, can't think of a better way to get new players involved and up to speed, other than having other players present us with a rambling narrative of what happened, which while amusing, can be confusing as all hell to first-timers.

I plan on doing something similar for a future Only War campaign, though less as a family report and more as a Munitorum themed report detailing the efforts of a crusade or pacification campaign, with a list of all regiments involved and whatnot.  

[Hoxtalicious]

On topic of on-line roleplaying, while I started out doing that here, I more or less grew annoyed with it due to the general stupidity of participants and in the words of Benito Juárez: I had fun once and it was awful. Yes, I'm a killjoy who doesn't allow for a lot of things.

Seriously though, I grew very tired of putting up a themed RP and having people ignore what was put there in favour of being the little idiots that they were. RP on a space station, think Necromunda in space said no Space Marines, no Imperial Guard and no Inquisition, but guess what someone wanted to be with a dying passion? He even jumped in without waiting for a green light, that took some cleaning up and generated a lot of agita.

I much rather prefer a round the table thing, where I can look my victims in the eye and beat them to within an inch of their lives if I catch them cheating by casually flicking their dice round after a roll. But no, having sessions around a table work better for me as everybody is present and available with one purpose on their minds: To partake in the session. I want to tell a story, not feed a bit of exposition and wait for everybody else to catch up.

If anything, the whole on-line RP thing is doomed in my opinion, the industry on the other hand is booming. Top three best-selling RPG's right now are D&D, Pathfinder and the 40K RPG's, in that order, with plenty of other titles out there taking their share of the market. It's just the on-line part this is not working at all.  

[Lady Blodwynn]

Lt. Brookman

I plan on doing something similar for a future Only War campaign, though less as a family report and more as a Munitorum themed report detailing the efforts of a crusade or pacification campaign, with a list of all regiments involved and whatnot.

emotion_drool

Give us a war and I will give you soldiers, this must happen no matter what.  

[Hoxtalicious]

Lady Blodwynn

Lt. Brookman

I plan on doing something similar for a future Only War campaign, though less as a family report and more as a Munitorum themed report detailing the efforts of a crusade or pacification campaign, with a list of all regiments involved and whatnot.

emotion_drool

Give us a war and I will give you soldiers, this must happen no matter what.

No promises there, our regular clubhouse may or may not be on sale or sold off by then.  

[Hoxtalicious]

Wolfe Garm

being a freelance writer

Out of curiosity, who have you written for?  

[DarkElf27]

Lt. Brookman

Lady Blodwynn

Lt. Brookman

I plan on doing something similar for a future Only War campaign, though less as a family report and more as a Munitorum themed report detailing the efforts of a crusade or pacification campaign, with a list of all regiments involved and whatnot.

emotion_drool

Give us a war and I will give you soldiers, this must happen no matter what.

No promises there, our regular clubhouse may or may not be on sale or sold off by then.

Might have a new one out in the country if you play your cards right. wink  

[Wolfe Garm]

Lt. Brookman

Wolfe Garm

being a freelance writer

Out of curiosity, who have you written for?

no one... sadly...

i've got multiple books in the works, a few my own, one me and a colleague are working on a book together on.

you could say my freelance work is under the radar i haven't officially made myself known to anyone, though with time i'll hopefully be on my way to publish a book or two, and if my mind ever gets the determination to hopefully in a few years i'll have the material to hopefully be able to publish a Roleplay game... being a freelance writer is more of a title than anything official, being a writer is something that i've been doing for years, sadly i don't have anything to show for my years but i'm hoping to change that at some point.