ArQane
With blood comes life, with life comes death.
Hey, it's ArQane.
Recently, I have been more and more involved in recruiting members to my roleplays, and I picked up several things that I (and probably other GMs) look for when accepting players into their RPs. Whether it is things to not do when going through the RP process, or tactics that might improve the probability of you being accepted into a roleplay, here are a couple tips and tricks for seasoned and new forumers alike that will benefit them on their RP endeavors.
Here are some basic terms that will most definitely come up in your future experiences on Storyteller's Circle.
New Forumers
Your name either hasn't spread around forums, or just begun to; but never fear-- joining a RP is an accomplishable task.
No matter how long you've been in the community, GMs are always on the lookout of certain attributes that they are looking for when they evaluate your applications. Here are General Tips that will give you the edge in making it into roleplays.
Just kidding.
Hopes this helps
~Qane
Recently, I have been more and more involved in recruiting members to my roleplays, and I picked up several things that I (and probably other GMs) look for when accepting players into their RPs. Whether it is things to not do when going through the RP process, or tactics that might improve the probability of you being accepted into a roleplay, here are a couple tips and tricks for seasoned and new forumers alike that will benefit them on their RP endeavors.
Here are some basic terms that will most definitely come up in your future experiences on Storyteller's Circle.
- OOC- Out of Character Discussion. Typically, this encapsulates recruitment, RP information, and peer to peer discussions.
- IC- In Character Discussion. In Character discussion is quite exactly what it sound like. You should post under the impression that you are playing as your character. The IC threads generally is where all the writing of the RP itself takes place.
- GM- Game Master. Cheers, Dungeons and Dragons. Game Masters are those who control the plot of the RP, and thus essentially controls your character. This is the authoritative figure in the roleplay.
- 1x1- A RP where two players bounce back and forth in a character relationship developing RP.
- Play-By-Post- A RP where content is covered from post to post, where each post is expected to have an abundant amount of information that leads to the development of the RP.
- Tabletop- A RP where players take on the old school D&D style gameplay. These types of RPs would likely involve selecting actions out of a couple options, and using a Dice (RNG) to determine the outcome of important game changing decisions.
- Epic- A RP that specializes in providing players with an open world with certain defined bounds. These RPs generally are the largest and give their players the most freedom. Most Epic RPs have no definite endings, and are more of Sandbox styled or cause and effect roleplays.
New Forumers
Your name either hasn't spread around forums, or just begun to; but never fear-- joining a RP is an accomplishable task.
- Introduce yourself.
The Introductions and Departures forum is among the first places that recruiters check out when searching for new members. Simply write a short bio for yourself, and list your RP experiences and preferences
- Get familiar with the community.
The Chat (located in the bottom right hand corner), is a site official area where forumers can communicate with one another. Often times GMs will chat with other writers or post their Open RPs for people to check out. Forums like Discussions & Debates and Forum Games can help you get connected with other players and GMs.
- Display your skills.
If you have any pieces or ideas lying around, feel free to make a post in the Creative Forums to display your past works. GMs can use these as reference when considering recruitment
- Reach out to recruiting RPs.
RPs with the "Open" tag in the Bulletin Board are the ones that are searching for new members. Alternatively, you can post under a RP with the "Interest Check" tag to reserve a spot in a RP that is not yet fully developed. Though you will probably have to wait after you post (varying dependent on the GM's speed), you get to start the RP from the very beginning, as opposed as joining an ongoing one. You can also search for RPs (with your genre preferences) here
No matter how long you've been in the community, GMs are always on the lookout of certain attributes that they are looking for when they evaluate your applications. Here are General Tips that will give you the edge in making it into roleplays.
- Develop your roleplaying knowledge.
The Writer's Circle is an excellent way of learning all sorts of miscellaneous questions when you are in a RP. If you don't find the answer to your question, simply post a new thread and wait to be enlightened. Afterwards, do some research on the RPs that you are interested in. Each GM would likely have a different approach as to how they want the RP to be written, and make sure you clarify all of those details before launching into writing itself.
- Apply, wait, and observe.
Make sure that you join the RP through an organized process (as opposed to butting into the IC threads). Make sure that the GM has accepted you before posting any of your content on their IC thread, else you will be disrupting the flow of their RP. Note that even after you are accepted, you should keep updated with the GM's vision on how the RP will unfold.
- Grammar and spelling.
It is so, so crucial that a writer on a writing forum writes well. Capitalization, punctuation, and spelling are the most often seen mistakes made by writers abroad, and it is the immediate reflection on the writer's level of skill or care. If words like "I" are not capitalized properly, or not capitalizing at the start of the sentence, your writing itself loses its charm.
- Stay on topic.
Make sure that you are engaged with the RP as a member of the RP. You shouldn't be creating a world around you without the authority of the GM, else you could create conflicting situations with the world the GMs have already built. Make sure you are not claiming a piece of the RP for yourself, but not properly interacting with others as you write alongside them.
- Avoid pet peeves.
Short posts covering little content, puking out information without enough details... These are telltale signs of inexperienced RPers. Make sure all of your posts are quality content, and that you put your time and effort in writing them.
- Have fun.
We don't write to bore ourselves; we write because it is an enjoyable and invaluable experience. Arguing with other players or the GM can happen at times, but if it is enough to upset you for the rest of your stay in the RP, you rather just leave it. Find a RP you enjoy, and commit to it.
Just kidding.
Hopes this helps
~Qane
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