Roleplayer's Message Board

*punches schnak* I didn't know that you were comin' back...oh, wait, you might have mentioned it before...

*looks innocently at GI* what wars? I don't remember any wars... *looks evilishly at schnak*

hmmm hunter threads... *scratches head* not too sure...

and yes there is still a NICHE for you ;)

Myes ... erm ... is Shari Tana still around? Because if he is, just wanted to know if he's still willing to start a Star Wars thread. Kain just said that he's not going to be making one; not now and not in the near future.

she- shari tana

Shari's a he, I spoke to him online some months back and Shari told me he was a he. Unless Shari proves otherwise, I'm pretty sure it's a he 8).

Reaching way back into the 70s bringing up a old discussion i think was in this topic...

Having gotten back around to listening to New Jedi Order, I can say it does pick up. Some drop offs. That teen angst garbage messed up the movies, so they should've known it'd do the same to the books. But, all in all, not as bad as I thought. Did feel like they dumbed everybody down to make the kids the main characters though.

hey fizzy ;) good to see you

:-D *waves*

..unfortunately..as soon as I make the comment above, the books once again turn to garbage. *shakes head* Turn all the vong into idiots, even though they're supposedly this badass race of fanatics who've had nothing better to do than sit around gassing themselves up for this invasion...apparently. Not to mention the lame "get angry, go bat****" jedi. All so they can come to the conclusion that it's not your methods..it's your goals that make you good or bad. -__- books could use a high dose of The Departed-esque headshots after all that.

Ahh well. Decent enough. On to some micheal connelly.

I still hold that Traitor was a pretty awesome book, even being in the new series.

Well. This brings back memories. I wonder if anyone remembers me. xD

What's it been GA? 4 years? Or something along those lines.

I remember you! :haw:

GA - wow, long time no see... welcome back! :)

Yeah, it's been a while, hasn't it? xD

It's good to see you, GA. It's a bit slower these days, but I'm sure any of our threads would be glad to have you.

Yeah, I've noticed that it is a bit slower. I've been scanning threads and looking at the post dates.

I haven't done any roleplaying in a while. Or writing for that matter. I'm afraid I might be a little rusty.

It's just like riding a bicycle, GA, you always remember just how much it hurts when you mess up and come crashing down.

Or something to that effect ;)

Bah, just jump in. It's more like swimming. Just make sure you eat more than 45 min before RPing XD

Writing is actually associated with the same portion of your brain that remembers music.

It's strange, if I do a lot of creative writing, or prepare for a formal review, I get paragraphs and phrases stuck in a loop in my head rather than songs. It's really odd, but it sure makes remembering good parts of my storeis/reviews easier :P

Lets get this to 1 million posts!

...*shakes head*

Just dorpped in for a moment...to say hi to the rest of the community...besides my own little thread...haha...

*waves hi*
*leaves for class*

Still here folks.. but lately I've been swamped with work... I'll try to get something up soon, hopefully I won't have to work this w-end.

No prob, I know how work goes. Hell, I have two charas in both of Arks threads it it took me 3-4 days to come up with Dominic's post, and it'll probably take me three days to come up with Marcus' flashback completion XD
I swear, after work my brain just oozes out of my ears into a jar ;_;

Hey all, just dropping in to say I'm still lurking.

Years ago, a guy named Baeraad used to post in these woods. I used to participate in a few of his threads (something about a hamhanded wizard) and I'd like to retrieve some of the stuff I wrote to possibly expand upon. I know I had a good idea in there somewhere.

I know he archived his stuff, does anyone know how to find it or contact him?

Arch, you might want to contact lizzardbreath because I think she has Baeraad's email or contacts. If not, well, at least it's worth a try to contact her.

Umm...no, but I used to have Goldeneyes somewhere, and I'm sure he has some contact info.

I remember Baeraad...I miss those really neat/interesting threads. ^_^ Wish he would come back some time...

Why is it that as soon as I'm ready to start posting again everyone else disappears :p

www.trelyon.net ?

Know there's some very old stuff there. Think B4 and FlareCDE had archives too, but I can't remember them.

Yar, post people!
SoHee's excused for this outburst, as she explained already =D

I'm only semi-serious btw, I know RL gets busy. I just hate to see good things vanish ^^

I've been gone, but it's my anniversary week. So too bad. ;) but I'll be back when I can until things settle down a little.

No! Not good enough. I reject your answer in favor of a better one

and stuff


edit:
Oh, and answer my email ya turd ;p

Things tend to look pessimistic when you look at reality. Chances are, RPers like B4 and Baeerad have moved on in their lives and are off to doing things that they think are bigger and better. Kind of funny how people appear and disappear in the blink of an eye. I remember a long while ago that some dude named Gamewiz stopped posting in his Starcraft thread and I wanted to know for the longest time where the hell he went. I just found out recently that he's still alive and breathing and a fething amazing comic book artist.

The thing that really pisses me off is how a lot of GMs make these great thread ideas and then let them bomb after a few weeks or months because of some lame excuse with real life catching up with them. Sorry if I'm just ranting here and seeming inconsiderate, but ... I feel that GMs sort of have an obligation and a responsibility to keep a story rolling and it's just disappointing and unfair to the RPers when the GM decides to drop out. Now I can understand that real life can catch up to you and I understand that RPing is a leisure, but in a lot of ways, I feel that at times the being too busy excuse is kind of lame; I mean ... now that I think about it, if you peeps were too busy to post ... wouldn't you be so busy that you wouldn't even be able to post that you're too busy?

Well, that's all for Gourmet's rant, pay no attention to me if you think my statements are over the top. *walks off to the abandoned Bar in the Bog wearing a golden chef hat*

Golden chef hat, eh? I believe the true question is:
Are you smiling like this?
Attachment 60842

SIR! THIS IS MY WAR FACE, SIR!

hahaha. ^-^

I've talked with you a bit about this already GI, but I'll say it again (as I know I'm one of those GMs that lets the threads they create die). The simple fact is most of us are here because writing and stories interest us, it's not a profession, it's a hobby and an escape. Part of the reason I give up on threads is for the exact reason you are frustrated - you feel an obligation to keep posting for the people that joined and soon it feels more like a job than something you enjoy doing.

I'm not assigning blame, just pointing out from my own experience. I think we're seeing a trend with trying to get the players more involved with the story when they join, but I don't know how frequently that happens. I think too much reliance is placed on the GM to keep the story going, and the players, frankly, don't adequately contribute to plot development.

I just started posting in Furious, but after reading the entire thing I can safely say (no offense intened SoHee, Ren and Kain) that the plot in that thread was going nowhere once Ark stopped posting for awhile. Did they keep it afloat, yes which is a feat in itself, but no plots were added that they, as players, could play out themselves rather than rely on Ark to come up with something for them. It could be the case where they simply got stuck on a scene and did have things coming up, but I've just joined and in 3 posts created an entirely new story arc that we can play through.

I guess this is me ranting back at my frustrations of rpers who can expect so much from a GM all the while contributing very little in return.

GI, I'm not sure if you have GM'd, I hadn't for the longest time, but I would say if you want threads to be run a certain way, then why not do it yourself. You might fail, as I have on several occasions, but you ultimately learn and hopefully try to improve the next time.

In other news, depending on the activity level in Furious I might post another thread soon over the weekend - I've gotten back in touch with the writer within ^_^ Nothing elaborate, just a good old fashion fantasy thread, something the whole family can enjoy.

None taken whatsoever. I always welcome creative input. In fact, if you ever want to point anything about that will help improve my writing style, feel free to drop me a message.
I shall admit I've been lacking in the idea section of RPing, at least with Furious. In that thread I, personally, have taken mroe of a reaction type role, though I've been focusing on character development and bringing things to a certain goal. Not good for plot development, but it works I guess *shrugs*
I know part of the issue as well was when Desole was made. We all flocked to there as well. It worked with use posting in both at first, but then things slowed for Furious, and they have done so with Desole as well. Desole is a bit different, and I think you would see things working better plot-wise. I think the first person POV helps with that.
I know the slow-down is cause of RL stuff, which doesn't bother me much. I have been taken several days to put together my posts for each of my characters, so that gives me time to think and all that jazz. It's only when I get to the point that I have everything taken care of that I go 'alright, post damnit!' lol

But as for Furious, I've been tossing some minor plot-like stuff around, but nothing that will make much of a difference. I think most of my hesitation on thinking up ideas comes from:
1) Though I love the free-style RPs, I've done 'set-style' ones for so long, it's hard to break that 'GM leads all' mindset ^^
2) My issues with 'interfering' with other writer's characters. Yeah, I just hate messing with people's stuff I guess lol

But I shall endeavor to assist in enriching our RP experience. I hope it works =D


fake edit:
Mireldeyn - Yeah, I love that pic. I have dubbed that image 'Chef Face'. My step-daughter thinks it's hilarious (she's 9.8ish years old)

Yeah, I mean I see both sides of it. You're completely right that for the longest time this type of thing was DO NOT CROSS THE GM and they were god and they had the story all set out so you would just be a reactionary player in what was otherwise their story.

I'll call myself a proponent of the collaborative approach, where every rper not only creates characters but finds ways to develop plot points. That's why I think it's important for GMs to set the expectations - and I would say on these boards at least - take a more active role in holding the players to them e.g. I actually make a point to ask a player to think of a plot to introduce if they haven't done so.

For me, I have an idea and can give an overall environment for the story, but I don't like fully running through my ideas. I usually have something that gets things started, but don't know where it goes after, and I like it that way. I want other people to take what I've given them and build on it, then I in turn can build on top of that.

And Kain, I can try to give you some feedback, but it comes with the warning that I am no critic, I'm not a english major or expert in anyway, but just as a reader ^_^ , but I would love some from you too, it's how we get better after all. I'll use email though.

Actually, Geco, I am :)

And in that position I can say that a story, however promising and engaging, will never succeed if the main story has no body. Please read carefully, for this seems to address many of the same issues everyone keeps talking about.

I've been an editor and a critic, among other things, and the first thing you learn is that the easiest part to writing a story is never writing the whole thing. Depending on the person, he or she may think of the beginning and have trouble formualting an end or vice versa. Some people can easliy concieve an interesting and exciting climax, but hit a block when they try to place the events leading up to and those taking place after. It's not unusual for new stories to go through these phases, but the good thing is, no matter which part of the story you concieve first, each one can lead to a general basis for the others. Often, this comes in the form of asking yourself questions, like the ones Ark posted in Desolé. What does your character want? is the same as asking yourself "What is the objective of the story?" In other words, what lesson or moral (or whatever) do you want to express? Is this a story about bravery? Compassion? Loyalty? Mabey romance? Every story has a theme or some underlying message to send to its readers. If you don't have one, you're not telling a story so much as giving a documentary.

Second, every story needs an end. Endings are nice, not the bane of all good. They leave the writers with a sense of accomplishment and that good feeling inside that their character made their fictional world a better place. Stories that don't end will just wither and die eventualy. This doesn't mean a story has to be short, by any means. If you want the players to define the world and the state it's in when the tale completes, then give yourself a very general plot with a simple objective, while keeping the theme in mind.

An example of this is: "An evil king has a crown of power and a group of heroes sets off to kill the king, free the people of his oppression and find someone worthy of bearing the crown of power." I'll break this very simple idea down. Beginning: the people are unhappy and oppressed; enter the heroes and their pasts and what brings them to Village X. Rising Action: THe heroes' quest to reach the evil kings lair/castle/whatever; great for inserting side missions that partain to the main quest. Climax: The wicked king is killed and ther heroes have the crown; perhaps some internal conflict among them to place the powerful artifact on thier own head. Falling Action: a new king is found and brought to the formally evil castle; possibly more side missions, perhaps the new king is held captive. Resolution: all hail the new king!

Despite my breaking it down, I'm sure any of you could have figured that out by yourself, but the point is, that story had a purpose, and a very basic theme (good vs. evil). Often I see threads here that are just settings. The intro describes the world around the story, and while that is an integral and essential part of the story, it is not a plot. It is, however, an excellent method of brainstorming. Put yourself in your own setting, in your character's shoes, and think of the first thing you would try to do.

I was going to remark on how side quests needed to be canon with the main story, but I realized everyone here pretty much has that under control XD

This post isn't directed at any one thread or writer, but seeing the many of the same complaints about the state of things sparked this lesson in my head. And the best part about it, is once the Exposition (the beginnign events) is complete and the quest to kill the evil king begins, the GM is pretty much hands-free, as far as controlling the Rising Action. That being said, it is the GM's resposibility, no matter how loose the threads of the story are woven, to say "It's time to stop with the side quests, and get back to the main story." Even though the quests other participants contribute are fun an interesting, there still has to be some main underlying objective. You can't just stumble out of some forest and find the evil king's castle. It's just.... tacky >.<

Well, that's all I have. I hope you take at least some of it to heart before creating a thread. I'm not trying to sound bossy, but these are integral part of any form of stroytelling, and they're the main reason some of my own ideas haven't hit the boards yet. Mostly due to a lack of a main objective. I'm the kind of person that easily thinks of a beginning :)

GI,

I'm going to try and convey my message clearly and calmly without getting angry.

But here's the gist of it.

Your post makes it particularly evident that you have absolutely zero comprehension of what it takes to make a thread work. We, as GMs, are not here for your personal pleasure. We have zero obligation to make you happy or to keep you entertained. To view us as such is selfish and insolent.

We are here, devoting our very limited time and energy to string together MANY people in what I believe to be a COLLABORATIVE effort to make a story. We do not fail as GMs because *we* as a single person in a field of MANY people occasionally prioritize our educations, jobs, children and or relationships over RPing, but rather because we are infinitely ALONE in our burden to make this thread work.

If you want entertainment, you have plenty of options elsewhere. But we are not your videogames, movies, or books. The people that put their time and energy into those endeavours in making such ventures are PAID. We GMs and fellow RPers are NOT.

Now, I'm primarily very annoyed because I take RPing very seriously and I'll be damned if I am ever glad something else takes precedence. Therefore, when you make a statement like that, you're discounting whichever GMs effort has already been put into something such as this. Especially because you, as either a would-be GM or simply a fellow RPer, have never stepped up to do something similar.

I find your comments sorely disrespectful and ignorant.

---

LK, considering you mentioned my threads, I just want to put forth the reminder that I highly encourage getting over our primal fears of treading on each other's characters, or plots. In fact, I love it when it happens.

Shari, you bring up good points. I'm glad you mentioned them as they're a great reminder of things I should keep in mind as a GM.