How to choose players for your roleplay?

[Strude]

I want to thank everyone for their reply. I've gotten some solid advice and I have what I need. Thank you all for being understanding and sharing your opinions.


Thread question resolved!

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I come from communities that primarily use systems that help GMs filter players for their roleplays. Most people use some form of application process, of which I've seen many different methods. The most common being something along the lines of asking the player to provide proof of their skills. Others ask the player to provide a basic profile for their character (that is reviewed), before they're accepted to the roleplay, wherein the player then fills out the 'full' profile.


A from is usually provided that the player fills in and PM's to the GM, or posts to a 'application' thread.


I'm not a particular fan of the "prove your skills" method, since I don't exactly ask much of players in regards to writing. I find this method unsuited to my particular needs. I do like the character method, because I am generally more concerned with finding the right characters.

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My question to the community is: what methods are used by members of this site to choose players for their roleplays?


I am aware of, and like, the roleplay sections ability to set roleplays as 'moderated' allowing me to pick and choose. However, other than simply clicking the join button is there some method people use or things they ask of their applying player?


Is it common place to ask people to submit characters for review, and if a roleplay is set to moderated where does one post such a thread?


Is it more common place to leave games open and ask players to submit characters to the 'character sub-forum' then as a mod of the roleplay change to prefix when the character is accepted. Then decline those that do not suit the roleplay?


I'm simply curious what and how people choose players for their roleplays. The system they use.


The other thing I wonder about is whether or not this community uses such methods at all, or is it more common place to have open roleplays that accept whoever wishes to join. Again simply curious what the norm of the community is, as implementing foreign (possibility seen as excessive) steps to a community can be offputting for most and it will alienate my roleplay.

 

[revo]

I require a character sheet application for all my role-plays. They vary from simple freeform apps to complex fill in forms based on the RP. Usually I'll also require a writing sample to just see what their writing is like. I'm not too strict on reviewing them as long as they keep in line with the plot and you can see they put effort into the app. I guess my philosophy is that if they take the time to fill out my app they've already proven they're a dedicated player and someone I'd like to have involved. I'll usually only deny if the writing is unreadable or the characters make no sense with the plot.


Note: I only run PbP RPs.

 

[hellrazoromega]

In my experience the picking of players is not very rigid here and if a game gets a lot of interest most use the concepts and/or character sheets to choose the final rosters. Other go on a waitlist if they passed muster as this sort of gaming can easily be derailed by real life and people drop out all the time. Sometimes players are rejected for a variety of reasons but I have yet to see any of those be without sound cause, usually it it is due to them not being able to make a character that fits the setting or the GM's rules.

 

[Strude]

I run only PbP roleplays myself.


My question do both of you is: where do you put such an application. To give some insight I am setting up a roleplay [here] and it's set to moderated, and players can no post to the forums until accepted. What would be the best practise for someone to apply. Would it make sense to ask them to fill out a application and PM it to me, or should I set the forum as open and as them to post to the character thread (then accept or decline from there?)


Also I would be using the character profile method over the 'prove your skill with sample post' method.


EDIT: I guess I am more curious/concerned with the process "how you do it" over "what you do". I understand the 'what' very well, but I don't know the common process people use . How they implement their application. If that makes sense.

 

[Strude]

...

I am looking at your roleplay right now. So you ask them to join, then get them to post their character profile. Then either set their character as accepted / declined (or some prefix variation of this).


How do you handle the people you decline. Do you remove them from the roleplays player list (so they can't post)?

 

[revo]

I had mine set to moderated originally as well. Unfortunately we ran into major issues. People who just joined can't post in the forum to apply and they can't PM me directly because they don't have enough posts. There's just no way to apply if you're new and since a lot of our members were transferring over from RPN it wasn't an option to do it that way.


So now I have it set to open. I have them post a character sheet that requires a staff member to post and approve them. I have yet to face the situation where I'd have to outright deny someone. Usually I ask them to make edits so that their character is in line with the plot, etc. and then we take it from there. It's not a one shot and you're out sort of deal. If they continually supplied an unacceptable app I would likely privately PM them and recommend they try elsewhere. Then I would archive their character sheet and delete them from the group. If they kept rejoining / posting in the RP I'd warn them and contact a staff member if needed... but I think people have enough common sense to respect the GM rules... so I doubt it'd come to that.


Edit: Also, love the neat table look of your main RP page. If you don't mind I think I'll use that clean look as inspiration for ours.

 

[Purr]

I have never even heard of an application just to join an RP here at Roleplay.Zone. That's a strange concept...


HellRazorOmega's experiences and mine appear similar. A Storyteller posts a game. Those players that show interest reply. Then the Storyteller pretty much picks players based on what is best for the game (new players, experienced players, players they know well, or perhaps players they don't know well but would like to play with anyway). Whatever the case, the game seems to be the boss. The Storyteller selects players based on what is best for the game.


As a long-time tabletop Storyteller, I select my players based on how well I know them. Here, selecting players to invite seems much the same. Who do you follow here at Roleplay.Zone? Whom do you admire? Invite them! And if they cannot accept, go with who you want.


A large amount of people in Roleplay.Zone already know each other (many of them well). If I had questions about a player, I'll just see what they have posted, look for the good and the bad (if any), and go from there. I might even ask others privately, "Hey, what is your impression of Bubba over there? You think he's all right to game with?"


Friendships have sustained Roleplay.Zone this long - I say (for any games I might host) why change what's working? =)


Good luck with it, Strude! Hope you find some buddies! =)


Honor and fun,


Dannigan

 

[revo]

I have never even heard of an application just to join an RP here at Roleplay.Zone. That's a strange concept...
HellRazorOmega's experiences and mine appear similar. A Storyteller posts a game. Those players that show interest reply. Then the Storyteller pretty much picks players based on what is best for the game (new players, experienced players, players they know well, or perhaps players they don't know well but would like to play with anyway). Whatever the case, the game seems to be the boss. The Storyteller selects players based on what is best for the game.


As a long-time tabletop Storyteller, I select my players based on how well I know them. Here, selecting players to invite seems much the same. Who do you follow here at Roleplay.Zone? Whom do you admire? Invite them! And if they cannot accept, go with who you want.


A large amount of people in Roleplay.Zone already know each other (many of them well). If I had questions about a player, I'll just see what they have posted, look for the good and the bad (if any), and go from there. I might even ask others privately, "Hey, what is your impression of Bubba over there? You think he's all right to game with?"


Friendships have sustained Roleplay.Zone this long - I say (for any games I might host) why change what's working? =)


Good luck with it, Strude! Hope you find some buddies! =)


Honor and fun,


Dannigan

No disrespect, but I have to disagree with the reputation based player picking method. It really limits you from getting players who may be newer to the site or who haven't developed a reputation on the board. As the site grows and gets bigger I think it will be harder and harder to recruit members this way.


I think that if you limit yourself to just the people you know you want and don't leave it open to new faces you really short change yourself and what your RP can do. People will inevitably go inactive and if you don't keep finding new, trusted people your RP will die out.


Also, I've known many rpers who have very active real lives. Maybe they only post in one RP or only post for streaks and don't build up a rep. These types of players have really added to my games in the past and it'd be a shame to lose out on them. Also, being a new member here myself, it's just an impossible way to recruit for me.

 

[Pineapple]

I usually take everyone. I'm not overly picky on who gets in. (I can be picky on the quality of the character thread. However I'll always offer suggestions or be willing to help).


Actually, the only time reputation matters for me is when not taking people. If someone has consistently made characters and roleplayed in ways that go against the concept of the game I'm trying to run or constantly abandoned my games, I would consider not allowing them.


When looking for players, you gotta write something compelling and interesting and submit to looking for players. Something that people will read and go 'wow, this is something special'. Typically I go in with a solid concept and setting and try to hook them. I don't usually provide knowledge of everything I know about the setting, only whats needed to get a good feel of it.

 

[Purr]

Oh, I wasn't recommending this method to anyone - I meant to share only what is working for me.


Concerning new players, I follow their posts and get to "know" them. New or old, people's posts sometimes lead to creative things and games and I will lurk there and enjoy the fun everyone is having. Heck, one time I followed a good RPer and it turned out, he wrote poetry here too! I like learning things like that. It tells me a lot about what folks are comfortable sharing. It's also a good way to learn about different role-playing styles, etc. Again, for me.


Plus it sure beats watching TV. =)


Revo, if applications work for you, then why change it? =)

 

[Strude]

I have never even heard of an application just to join an RP here at Roleplay.Zone. That's a strange concept...
HellRazorOmega's experiences and mine appear similar. A Storyteller posts a game. Those players that show interest reply. Then the Storyteller pretty much picks players based on what is best for the game (new players, experienced players, players they know well, or perhaps players they don't know well but would like to play with anyway). Whatever the case, the game seems to be the boss. The Storyteller selects players based on what is best for the game.


As a long-time tabletop Storyteller, I select my players based on how well I know them. Here, selecting players to invite seems much the same. Who do you follow here at Roleplay.Zone? Whom do you admire? Invite them! And if they cannot accept, go with who you want.


A large amount of people in Roleplay.Zone already know each other (many of them well). If I had questions about a player, I'll just see what they have posted, look for the good and the bad (if any), and go from there. I might even ask others privately, "Hey, what is your impression of Bubba over there? You think he's all right to game with?"


Friendships have sustained Roleplay.Zone this long - I say (for any games I might host) why change what's working? =)


Good luck with it, Strude! Hope you find some buddies! =)


Honor and fun,


Dannigan

I appreciate the time you took to answer, but this sadly would not work for me in the slightest (for a multitude of reasons).

 

[Strude]

I usually take everyone. I'm not overly picky on who gets in. (I can be picky on the quality of the character thread. However I'll always offer suggestions or be willing to help).
Actually, the only time reputation matters for me is when not taking people. If someone has consistently made characters and roleplayed in ways that go against the concept of the game I'm trying to run or constantly abandoned my games, I would consider not allowing them.


When looking for players, you gotta write something compelling and interesting and submit to looking for players. Something that people will read and go 'wow, this is something special'. Typically I go in with a solid concept and setting and try to hook them. I don't usually provide knowledge of everything I know about the setting, only whats needed to get a good feel of it.

Like Dannigan, this too would not work for me. I want to pick my players, I'm highly uncomfortable with the level of unpredictability and similarly lack of quality control that comes with an open door policy. Not to say an application gets it right, but at least its my own fault for picking wrong.

 

[Purr]

That's fine by me, Strude. You definitely accepted my post in the spirit in which I gave it. =)


Now, I can't help but wonder - if researching players, posting applications, and advertising don't work, then... what does that leave? I honestly don't know of a fourth method (though I am open and I hope one reveals itself for you - I want you to game, too! =) ).

 

[Strude]

That's fine by me, Strude. You definitely accepted my post in the spirit in which I gave it. =)
Now, I can't help but wonder - if researching players, posting applications, and advertising don't work, then... what does that leave? I honestly don't know of a fourth method (though I am open and I hope one reveals itself for you - I want you to game, too! =) ).

I was simply wondering what the norm is. It appears people do it a number of ways here, which has it's pros and it's cons.


Also I wanted to see how other people do it. Specifically people who use application/screening processes, to see what is more common place (since certain communities tend to adopt a norm). I didn't want to enforce a process that alienates people because it isn't the norm.

I'm more concerned with which are the norm/commonplace methods, and how people implement them.



edit: Oh and I've been in communities that have 4 step application process, with forms for each, that screen as many aspects of the player the GM needs to know. I know of games that take you a month to be screened, and it takes months of setup before the game even starts.


edit: Like I also said I'm less interested in screening players writing, than I am in finding the right characters. So I'm looking more-so at people who do character screening over player screening. Granted there is some player screening involved in it regardless, since I need to find people I can tolerate (but that comes naturally while talking to the player).

 

[hellrazoromega]

I was simply wondering what the norm is. It appears people do it a number of ways here, which has it's pros and it's cons.
Also I wanted to see how other people do it. Specifically people who use application/screening processes, to see what is more common place (since certain communities tend to adopt a norm). I didn't want to enforce a process that alienates people because it isn't the norm.

I'm more concerned with which are the norm/commonplace methods, and how people implement them.



edit: Oh and I've been in communities that have 4 step application process, with forms for each, that screen as many aspects of the player the GM needs to know. I know of games that take you a month to be screened, and it takes months of setup before the game even starts.


edit: Like I also said I'm less interested in screening players writing, than I am in finding the right characters. So I'm looking more-so at people who do character screening over player screening. Granted there is some player screening involved in it regardless, since I need to find people I can tolerate (but that comes naturally while talking to the player).

The "Norm" I would say is that GMs post an interest check that tells people what the game is, maybe what the setting you are proposing is, with a general idea of what house rules you may be using if it is a dice roleplay. Most don't give every detail at this point just an overview. Then you wait and see what sort of response you get. You may want to state up front how many players you are looking for. People log on here at all hours and there are people from all over the world so I would wait a day to two to give people time to respond. I have seen some popular games or settings get 7-10 pages of reposes within hours and I have only been here for less than a full year. Once that is done most GM's I have seen ask people to submit either just a concept or a concept and a completed character. It is up to the GM but I can see how some don't like the idea of submitting a full character only to have it not get chosen. I have seen some GMs cap players at 3-4 and others take all comers and have games with 12 or more players which they split into groups of 3-4 and run different parallel stories that sometimes intermingle. It is really up to you. So once you have selected the characters you want in your game you make the announcements invite those players and have at it. That is what I have seen to be the "norm" but it is far from the only way and there are no real "rules" that everyone follows to the letter (other than the rules of the forum, of course).

 

[Strude]

That is what I have seen to be the "norm" but it is far from the only way and there are no real "rules" that everyone follows to the letter (other than the rule of the forum, of course).

Thanks for the added reply.

 

[Grey]

I know this thread is more or less done, but I figured I'd throw in my two cents.


I typically choose players based on the requirements of the game. For example, I gave special preference to inexperienced players in a recent game because it was my intent to give them experience, and I felt it was the right kind of game in which to do so. In other games I will cherry pick based on personal experienced and reputation. In still others, I tend to go with applicants in the initial Looking For Players thread who seem to grok what I'm doing adequately.


Of course, I'll admit to having a pool of preferred players noted for reliable posting habits or particular talents that I'll sometimes approach with first refusal of particular roles or anticipating their reaction (there are, at this point, a small number of site members whose characters I can predict before they post them).


In general, though, I'd say get players to post potential characters in the LFP thread. If they don't mesh with your plan, politely explain so.


Actually, I'm curious - what methodology did you settle on?

 

[Strude]

Actually, I'm curious - what methodology did you settle on?

Thank you for your advice, sweet and to the point I like that.


I decided to do a moderated RP, that has open public posting. Then people can post a character, wait to get accepted or declined, and have the ability to post OOC with any questions. Since my biggest concern is finding characters I like (since I hate reading sample posts!) Usually everything else I need / want to glean from a person comes through this process. Once a player's character is accepted they can join the RP.


I liked the way revo went about it, so I'm going with something similar to their methods. May change it up for my RP MAPS, but it should work find for Card House.


Over time I may try something else, but I've never made an RP here yet and I don't want bugger up in my first go! It's already been a little ride trying to organize a game.

 

[Grey]

Solid plan. I'd be tempted to try Revo's method, but I suspect that is a luxury afforded to you newbies (even some of my favourite members have delicate egos and would respond poorly to me vetting them in such a manner, for which I couldn't entirely blame them). On reflection, I'd want to have a damned impressive game laid out before employing that system.


I hope Card House swells! It seems like a compelling idea.

 

[Strude]

Solid plan. I'd be tempted to try Revo's method, but I suspect that is a luxury afforded to you newbies (even some of my favourite members have delicate egos and would respond poorly to me vetting them in such a manner, for which I couldn't entirely blame them). On reflection, I'd want to have a damned impressive game laid out before employing that system.
I hope Card House swells! It seems like a compelling idea.

Heh, wouldn't say it's a luxury though I get where you're coming from. It is certainly hard to say no to my regulars, but I will admit generally they're my regulars for a reason (anyone who can put up with me and befriend me is a true trooper! Specially anyone who RP's with me! xD )


Also thank you. I hope Card House turns out alright too. MAPS is a work in progress that I'll let sit for now (since it isn't feeling right at the moment). If Card House doesn't work I'll give Amberwood a try too, that one generally turns out pretty well too.


//always needs a backup of a backup of a backup!