Advice/Help How do you deal with people who take over the roleplay.

[MinaSullivan]

How do you deal with people who completely take over the roleplay. I'm talking about they have me roleplaying as characters they create. I hardly ever get to rp as my own. I made that character because I wanted to write as said character. I do drop hints I would like to roleplay as my character. But they seem to shrug it off and push it further. It's even gotten to the point that they change parts of my character when I finally do and it's aggravating. Asking them nicely doesn't help anymore....

 

[Sagey]

Straight up talk to them, no more hints. If they still continue this behavior, I would drop them. The aggravation isn't worth it, RP is an outlet and not a place any one wants more stress from.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I would drop them actually.

I will never forget years ago roleplaying with someone who refused to interact with my characters. I went out of my way to try to find scenarios for our characters to interact (heck I even wrote a completely new character when they refused to interact with my first one.)

I finally called them out and they literally told me they do it on purpose just to see how long it takes their partner to call them out.

They literally didn’t care about the roleplay at all they just liked pushing strangers buttons.

Now I’m not saying OP’s partner is deliberately setting out to push buttons but the behavior is much the same.

They just want to see how far they can push their partner before said partner has enough.

So don’t play the game. Just tell them that you can’t continue with the roleplay and bow out.

I wouldn’t even give them a reason truthfully. Just “I’m sorry but I can’t continue the roleplay. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.”

If they want to pitch a fit just ignore them.

If your talking in a conversation you can literally lock it (well provided you started the conversation. I don’t know that you can lock a conversation you didn’t start).

If you lock it they can’t message you anymore. It doesn’t delete anything but it will prevent them from harassing you.

 

[Steve Jobs]

Since asking nicely hasn't worked, I think you need a more assertive approach.

If you want to give them one last chance, I would talk to them and establish hard boundaries (if not an ultimatum). And I don't just mean "I would like to play as my character," but instead tell them "I will play my character as intended. If you ignore me or try to change my character, I will leave this roleplay." To change your character makes it clear that your partner isn't interested in collaborating with you. Your partner wants you to be a prop for their story.

If you don't want to deal with them anymore or they end up reverting to their old ways, show them the door and avoid them in the future.

 

[Megatron2024]

How do you deal with people who completely take over the roleplay. I'm talking about they have me roleplaying as characters they create. I hardly ever get to rp as my own. I made that character because I wanted to write as said character. I do drop hints I would like to roleplay as my character. But they seem to shrug it off and push it further. It's even gotten to the point that they change parts of my character when I finally do and it's aggravating. Asking them nicely doesn't help anymore....

Yes thats Pokemon roleplaying for you. thats why i don't do pokemon: because every one of them is like that and has been like that since people started roleplaying. I doubt it will ever change. 30 years: from now: i bet it will still be the same and people will STILL BE DOING IT. its god playing. most pokemon roleplayers love to god play. its like there are rules that there is no god powers in most roleplaying but in pokemon its widely accepted. sometimes the pokemon roleplayers will use god powers over your characters because they do it all the time over and over and over in pokemon: so it becomes normal to them: and annoying to eveyone else!

 

[KAOS]

This is why I don't do one on one's.
I would simply say, I think it's time to find another partner, and this will likely be the only way they will understand they have been very rude.
I've run into those people a lot. Just in general. In life. The greatest feeling I have ever had in my life was saying no and like just walking away.
I'm not certain if this is a friend or stranger on the internet but if its a stranger on the internet. Spare yourself misery.
There are plenty of people out there willing to roleplay a fair one on one.

 

[GojiBean]

Hoyo Mina!

How do you deal with people who completely take over the roleplay. I'm talking about they have me roleplaying as characters they create. I hardly ever get to rp as my own. I made that character because I wanted to write as said character. I do drop hints I would like to roleplay as my character. But they seem to shrug it off and push it further. It's even gotten to the point that they change parts of my character when I finally do and it's aggravating. Asking them nicely doesn't help anymore....

If you have experiences like this on RpNation where people are taking over your roleplay and God-Modding and Power Playing your character, leave.

Whoever's doing it is not worth sticking around for.

In my personal opinion, the acts of God-Modding and Power Playing (the behaviors you describe) indicate several things about them as people and role players:

1) They are egotistical
2) They are disrespectful
3) They don't respect the basic and fundamental boundaries of roleplaying (aka, don't God-Mod, Power Play, or Metagame)
4) They don't respect your autonomy as a role player and creative
5) They have no respect for your role as a GM or the work you put into making the RP
6) They're only in it for themselves and their own experience

Never, and I mean never feel like you have to force yourself to stick around with people like that. Just leave. Even if it was your RP to begin with, just leave.

Also, if this happens again (or is currently happening still) you can always submit a ticket to RpNation Staff requesting that we thread-lock the RP so nobody can reply to it anymore. Granted, this means you won't be able to reply anymore as well. But at least those people won't be able to continue butchering your original RP idea anymore. After it's been thread locked you can always try again by remaking the RP and inviting other people to join.

If you're worried about them following you and trying to take over again, go to their profiles and select the option to "Ignore" them. They won't be able to see your activity or posts on RpNation if you do so which will set you free of them.

As for me and how I'd respond to an attempted takeover... Admittedly, I'm petty. So, my first reaction would be to give them a taste of their own medicine before thread-locking the RP on my way out. I would write in my final post that their characters were suddenly killed by whatever the bad guy forces of the RP world were, and that my character, the only survivor of the encounter, walked away into the sunset. Then, I'd thread lock it so they couldn't try to retcon or change what I wrote. And the RP would end on my terms which is the ultimate way of reminding them that the RP was never theirs to begin with, and that they never actually had any power to run it themselves without my input.

But, again, that's me being petty.

I don't recommend anyone else do that. Just be the bigger person and leave the RP, put them on Ignore, and make the request to thread-lock the RP so they can't continue butchering your original vision anymore.

Your personal satisfaction and enjoyment of the beauty that is roleplaying is more important than forcing yourself to endure this kind of toxic, childish, and asinine behavior.

Cheers!

- GojiBean