Things to avoid as a Roleplayer?

TheZanta

TheZanta

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Since I'm very recently getting back into this kind of thing, and was never truly experienced in creative writing as its own beast anyway, I'd just like to ask those who have been consistently doing this for a while:
What things should I avoid as I get back into Roleplay?
Or as an expansion, what things should I avoid in general as a creative writer?
I technically passed all of my English classes with As, but I've never really thought about or learned about the things to avoid when tackling creative writing itself. Any answers are greatly appreciated! Thank you!
 
ArQane said:
Don't godmode

and, apparently there is the need to mention this

Don't fkin forcibly try to reuse characters if they don't fit .-.

Today, I had to deal with both of these issues :| Imagine it.
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Can you elaborate on what reusing characters means here? Sorry if I sound stupid.
 
Another thing is to never be offended by stuff that happens to your character. They are a separate person, and should be treated as such. It's okay for THEM to be offended, but you should never take personal insult from an in character scenario.
 
Basically, Take criticism kindly. For example if a GM tells you to change some aspect of your character, they mean it for the benefit of both you and the RP. It's not a personal attack on you. Don't argue back and think that you know best. If you have questions, ask nicely and don't lash out at people for trying to help you. It makes a lot of things easier and RPing generally a more pleasant experience for everyone. Take it from me, I've had to deal with an unpleasant applicant the past few days, and it's really frustrating when people can't take constructive criticism and think that they're always right. Be polite, be gracious, and you'll do fine.
 
Just being all around rude.

Godmodding, ofc, and forcing things on other chars.

But being good outside the RP is just as if not more important than being good during it. Nobody will want to RP with you if you're generally unlikable, or if you attempt to assert something about your character or the world when it's not your place.

Generally just be nice, is my advice.
 
Well, I doubt you don't know this, but English (aka essays, annotations, debates) are obviously much different from creative writing. But some of the elements of it can be applied, so I think it's good that you're knowledgeable in it.


One thing about rping is to not have a protagonist mindset(unless of course you're meant to be). This is pretty much the one thing that separates rping from other creative writings. What not having a protagonist mindset includes is stuff like going off on your own plot line(a few posts just with your char is totally fine, just don't go off and do random stuff), godmodding(like everybody says), and just generally remembering that you're not the star of the show.
 
What I tend to follow:
1. Don't make your character a Mary Sue/Gary Stu, no one likes those
2. Don't take control of other characters without permission if the action you're doing has huge consequences
3. Don't be a dingle, read the RPs rules before applying
4. Don't godmod- as others already put it
5. Don't "metagame" (hey look I learned a new term!)- Using information on other characters that you read OOC that your RP character should have no idea of (or not yet anyways)
Ex. New guy somehow knows everyone's weakness, names and backstory despite having only met them?​
6. Don't ignoring posts involving your character or pretend something didn't happen in the RP
Ex. Your character broke their arm, but a post later it's fine?!​
7. Be nice and have fun!

But I'm actually an RP newbie too so this thread helps me too! ^^;
 
One thing I particularly don't like is Godmodding, especially when roleplaying action. When I post, say, an attack, I give the other a chance to react, never assuming that they can't dodge that blow. It's a pet peeve of mine when the other person doesn't do that, so I do it as a common courtesy.
 
I think some things you can do is to not get bored with the rp your doing. I sometimes get bored and its hard to continue a rp that way, also never write yourself in a corner i rarely do it but when i do its very frusterating. A big one is to always know what happened last, it sucks to drop a rp for a while then try and pick up where you left off. Welp that is somethings i think you should keep in mind when rping
 
Just throwing in my two cents here.

1). Making your character able to respond to nearly all situations capably is kind of a turn off. Characters have their flaws and strengths. Be sure to understand the character you create, for it'll make the story more fun for yourself and others!

2). Respect the GM if you join a story. Make clear your expectations if you GM a story.

3). If you decide to GM, don't go into it without planning the plot development. Nothing sucks more than an awesome idea that hasn't been planned out plot wise. I've done a lot of impromptu rp creation, and its nipped me right in the butt. Yikes :p!
 
Doing actions that are too fast to react to.
Here's an example.
EX: Joey grabbed the gun and shot Bob.
In this example, Bob had no time to react to the gunshot, so he now has a bullet wound.
This is how you should be doing it.
EX: Joey grabbed the gun, about to pull the trigger.
In this example, Bob had some time to react to the bullet, so he could have a bullet wound if he decided to not dodge it.
 
-Let your character react to situations in a way a real human being would, I don't expect your character to develop CripplingDepression, but there has to be an emotional reaction to usually scarring events like deaths of loved ones, if you don't there has to be a damn good reason for no reaction happening.

-And... don't go batshit crazy with dramatic events, I get it, you want things to happen, but don't make them happen all in a row, it takes all the realism and excitement.

-DON'T MIX UP THE RP WITH PRIVATE LIFE, the reason I quit roleplaying with the partner that also did the mistakes above, was because she started doing drama, accusing me for having "played with her feelings", she thought because my OC had a romance with her OC's it would somehow mean I personally would love the person behind the OC, hell no, I didn't even like her :confused:
 
I would rattle off like the others about basic things, Godmodding, Mary/Gary sue, Metagame, Taking control of other characters, etc. etc. Not saying that there not valid points. They are! But from my experience, there's one thing you must avoid. Don't be cliche, but don't go completely special snowflake. It may be cool to be the amazing female assassin or warrior who hates all things girly, but eventually, it becomes predictable. It becomes a cliche. It's good to break the mold, but remember that by going completely outside of it altogether, you're still being molded, but in a different way. Likewise with the reverse. Make it believable. having a Soldier whose not all gruff but is still stern is much more interesting than the warrior who is the sweetest thing despite all the war he's seen. I think I've ranted a bit too much, but here's a synopsis. Go for the middle between the cliche and the 'anti' cliche.
 
TheZanta said:
Since I'm very recently getting back into this kind of thing, and was never truly experienced in creative writing as its own beast anyway, I'd just like to ask those who have been consistently doing this for a while:
What things should I avoid as I get back into Roleplay?
Or as an expansion, what things should I avoid in general as a creative writer?
I technically passed all of my English classes with As, but I've never really thought about or learned about the things to avoid when tackling creative writing itself. Any answers are greatly appreciated! Thank you!
Click to expand...

One thing to avoid is, not looking at the other persons preferences and rules. People often have different ones and where some might be very similar- it is almost never the same. Avoid reusing characters unless they can easily fit or be altered into a new roleplay (if you look from a multiverse standpoint- if this was one universe- there could be a different you in another one.) Of course dont do this often though. Reusing characters doesn't let you progress in making better more advanced muses.​
 
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