A reminder to help make Role playing far more enjoyable for all.

Started by Klaw, December 05, 2015, 04:54:05 PM

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Klaw

So, as many of you know. I'm back in the SRP seat again. I'm having a blast writing the stories, having fun running them, but I'm finding a lack of personal satisfaction at the end of the story.

Part of this is because I'm very hard on myself. Another part is frustration surrounding seemingly poor role playing skills.

Let me start out by saying this, I've been around a long time - and I've seen a great deal of terrible things, but none of those things have been seen recently. Recently, there have been only annoyances that have a way of detracting from the plot. What I aim to do here is list these annoyances, and try to offer ways to avoid such in the future.

1.) God Modding: God Modding is, in short the ability to do anything you want without limitations. IE, overtaking 14 Nausicans with only one hand, Overhearing a conversation from the other end of the quadrant, or having a Doctor repair a badly damaged Warp Core because he/she used to be an engineer, and a pilot and a Marine and a Botanist and a Politician and a Stand Up Comedian...

In essence, it's the creation of very unrealistic characters with seemingly very unrealistic abilities. I have been (and can still be) guilty of this at times.it's a struggle, when you're trying to push a story to completion not to find yourself bordering some level of God Modding.

How to Combat this: My first suggestion would be to create a clear, concise description of your character. Design their past to fit their present (Ie, it's highly unlikely that a former neurosurgeon would go on to become the Ship's Chief Engineer.) Be Creative, but be reasonable.

My Second Suggestion would be to be logical. if the Captain is talking to two people on the bridge, and you're in engineering - are you likely going to hear them? - Not unless the sound carries very, VERY well on that ship.... If the person is not in the same room as you, and isn't talking to you or someone near you with a COmmunicator logo... then your character will have no idea what's going on, even  though the player does. Portray that, it's called Role playing, not Player Playing.

My Last Suggestion would be this: When in doubt, ask. IN terms of Daedalus, I know I'm very VERY stressed out while running the Plot. But I also know there are solid Veteran RPers around who are very capable of answering questions too. If you're not sure how you should proceed with something, as a player, as a character, whatever - ask for help. There's no shame in that.

2.) Commitment: Serial Role plays run on a set schedule every week, or almost every week. From my own experience, I try my hardest to get the word out, and to remind everyone that Daedalus is running, and when. I also know that life happens, and sometimes, the routine stumbles. From an SRP Runner, to you - the Players: When you commit to an SRP (ie, Sign up, and are posted on the roster) Please make every effort to show up, or to advise the SRP runner, in advance, of your impending absence. It can be quite aggravating when a plot is written, and requires the presence of a certain character, and that character doesn't show up.

3.) Patience: The Plot Runner has a plan, please be patient while he/she works to bring it into fruition. If we don't respond right away, or if we do something in a manner that you're not fond of, please try to be patient - there's probably a plan.

4.) Be Prompt: When an SRP starts at 8, and everyone shows up at 8:15, this sets the story off on a rushed foot. As Such, the enjoyment of the story will be decreased because the Plot runner is trying DESPERATELY to keep it all in the NORMAL time restraints. IN terms of SRPs, there are often plots after another one, and if I were to sneak into Grizz's time, I'm not sure she'd be too happy... Tardiness is excusable, but try try try to be on time.

Lastly,

5.) Contribute: There are a lot of ways you can contribute to the RP. You could volunteer to write episodes, you could volunteer to build maps, you could volunteer to help create arcs and start a creative team of ingenious masterminds. Ultimately, however, every player has one big responsibility in contributing to the story. And that's Role Playing. In terms of how I try to run plots, I have a Basic Story that goes from A to B. When the Story is played out, how we get from A to B is largely up to you. You can also help develop things in such a way to skip B altogether and go to C, F, H, Z ETC. How can this be done WITHOUT PLOTJACKING?! By Contributing to the story.

Following my same path, taking Myself as an Example; I tend to write a basic story. There are elements of that story that I absolutely have to portray, and then there's a great deal of flex... if I tell you, We're going to the Klingon Home world to make peace, and then one of you claim that a Klingon Ship is coming toward us... that's fine - if it's a Borg Ship, that's Not.... If I write in the destruction of Earth, I'm looking for a clear, logical emotional response from the characters, Going to a quiet place alone to cry is logical, getting belligerently drunk, arrested then plotting your escape from the Brig and steps toward Mutiny are not...Also, if I have a story, and you wish to introduce a side-plot: For Example, the primary quest is to Find and Acquire the Holy Grail, but the Captain needs a Kidney Transplant. The Kidney Transplant can occur, but shouldn't overpower the main story.

What I'm saying is this, I write the main plot, and present it, maybe with a few layers of my own wrapped in. But you all have the freedom to add layers too and thus create a world, not just a two dimensional playing field.

Every one of these points are linked, in my opinion. When you create a character, you can then understand how that character will react to a situation, and as such you can add layers to the story based on your reactions, and your background. Being Present and On time will also help the building story continue, without the stress of an on the fly re-write, or rushing to get everything in before the 2 hours mark. And as the Story develops, it may not all come together at once. Be patient, there could be a plan as to why slot A didn't fit into socket B very easily.

Please take these considerations to heart, and feel free to ask me for more helpful tips! :) Ultimately, I'm just trying to make RPG-X a more enjoyable experience for everyone!