Experiences Interesting Info You've Learned For RP

[AdrianS]

I feel like most of us have done this... pouring hours into researching strange and obscure facts. Sometimes it's the obvious ones, like blood-loss and injuries that you're sure you'll put you on some sort of watch-list, other times it's random stuff that proooobably doesn't matter but will bug you if you don't know. Like how often a chicken lays eggs and how many layers you'd need for a viable income. Here's a place to share the weird things we're learned.

Who knows? Someone else might find it's just what they needed to know.

 

[Onikmey]

Things I have researched:
1. Anatomy of a crossbow, along with the proper way to load one, and that crossbow recoil pulls forward (instead of pushing back like most modern weaponry)
2. some of the culture, natural resources, and history of the areas around the Democratic Republic of Congo
3. pit viper anatomy and hunting habits
4. lots of ways to describe fire
5. languages
6. Bushido, and the cultural ideals that it embodies

 

[Sea Jay]

....
- Lots of info on different animals
- Some more fanciful words for descriptions
- Methods of torture
- Physical and mental conditions/ disorders/ disabilities
- Different occupations
- Mythical beasts
- Mythology
Etc etc

 

[Jules8008]

What I have researched:

- Languages
- Travelling distances
- What you can study and work as
- Different mental illnesses (esp. schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder.)
- Types of bows and differences
- Types of arrow tips and differences
- How to do rope traps (You know, something like this. Haven't found anything yet tho.)
- Torture techniques and brutal ways to die lma o rip
- The radius of nukes (NUKEMAP) (Doesn't count as research, but shush!)
- What happens after x amount of blood loss

 

[Patchlock]

-Civil war weapons/ battle tactics(wasn't even a Civil War RP, was just brought up in it)
-Tactics on properly running kingdom diplomacy
-Split personality disorder

 

[AdrianS]

If you're setting something during the late 1800s and you want someone to hold down a decent job that, while not QUITE a 9-5, still has regular hours, decent pay, company bonuses, and opportunities for promotion...? Fortnum & Mason held a royal warrant, paid well, sold luxury goods, and did not alway have killer hours that would allow for no social life.

 

[adrian_]

Bones don't crack when broken, they crunch.

Bullets aren't an immediate pain, they do burn after a few seconds.

Jamming a 9mm magazine down a man's throat requires you to atleast be within 7'5 to eight foot tall and about six hundred pounds.

Ich spreche neben Englisch auch ein bisschen Deutsch. I'm a bit rusty though.

By the way, none of this correlates to Nazism.

 

[Damafaud]

Many things about drugs. Amphetamine and diazepam, mostly, as well as about blood doping and aphrodisiac.

I also learnt quite a bit about atropa belladona and lactucarium in lettuce, as well as the best method to extract them.

 

[CerpinTaxt]

Back when I used to RP Halo, I had a Field Medic ODST. I read up on various old military medical manuals for field medics as well as kept the Halo Wiki bookmarked to access the various info about the medical tech and such that the universe has. I'd say I do a not too bad job of writing up how someone would treat a person in combat conditions, just don't ask me to actually do it in real life.

Too bad it's rare to find RP's for Halo, it was fun to do.

 

[The Omen of Death]

Various martial arts especially military martial arts

Counter-surveillance and evasion techniques

Tactical Shooting techniques

How to make Napalm (needed a way to exploit someone's weakness to fire, but actually make it stick to make it much more potent)

Torture techniques (that seems to be a theme here)

Various historical things about nations

The culture of Russia

Manipulation tactics, and subtle hypnosis (also known as subliminal messaging)

And various other things that I can't think of off the top of my head.

 

[Bone2pick]

Great thread! It would get my vote for featured discussion in RPN's newsletter, for whatever that's worth. Now for my list.

- Native American tribes & mythology
- Irish mythology
- demonology & exorcism
- medieval professions
- gothic fiction
- biolumiscent creatures
- early generation motorcycles
- commonly found edible plants in the American Midwest
- Seattle streets, highways, and neighboring bodies of water

And the history of capital punishment in the state of New Jersey, just to mention a few.

 

[MorgathosTheRussian]

The military doctrine of a variety of armies to find out the best urban warfare tactics. God, the hours I spent trying to find stuff was long but worth it.

 

[Candlebell]

The myths and realities of having a concussion

 

[AdrianS]

Great thread! It would get my vote for featured discussion in RPN's newsletter, for whatever that's worth. Now for my list.

Haha! Had no idea that was even a thing, but thank you! I'm just always astonished at the weird-ass things I google even just for a single post.

 

[rae2nerdy]

So I had a character that was a dog show breeder and I went through dozens of occupations for her which involved lots of research including

1. Researching available housing and their prices at the best equivalent locations of her made up home town
2. Researching dog fencing and kennel regulations by the ASPCA
3. Researching barn conversions into kennels
4. Researching Dog Houses and Dog House air conditining
5. Researching Dog Parks, Luxury Dog Hotels, Cage Free Boarding

For The Jobs

Raw Dog Diets ( what they are, what you can feed your dog, how to determine healthy ratios )
Poultry Care ( breeds, layers, housing requirements, multipurpose uses, how many would be needed for the operation etc. )
Goat Care ( ditto the above )
Cow Care ( ditto the above, in addition the benefits of miniature vs. full sized cows )
Fish Farming and Aquaponics ( did a lot of research on this for another rp too )


HP AU RP 1
I did some research into the truth behind the salem witch trials. Also used some awesome podcasting information that I researched back when I thought I might want to do that. (doesn't count i know but it was a fun rabbit hole to fall down)

HP AU RP 2
Salt Water Aquarium Set Ups
( including actual tank requirements, animals needed to make a healthy biodiversity, how to grow seagrass/seaweed, and if such a thing as an aquadome exists. )
Koi Variations
Otter Habitat Set Up and Requirements
Shark Care Requirements
Private Islands Available Near Georgia and Florida
Weather In Georgia, Florida, London, and Isle of Skye


That's about all I can think of right now.

 

[Whisker]

I got big into HEMA to write more realistic combat scenes in my fantasy RP. I am now addicted.

Also learned medieval battle tactics, bush crafting, the cultures of Russia and Japan, and some air combat fighting techniques, communication, and physics. Pretty neat stuff.

 

[welian]

I'm currently studying Flat Earth theories because I want to make a world that is flat.

 

[ONI]

I want to make a world that is flat.

You are the devil.

 

[Imaginary Memories]

Poisons, medicines, and such. natural and man-made
various wounds
how to temporarily paralyze people from the waist down
How to kill people
How to hide bodies
Lots of things about how people react to pain and such
what bullet wounds look like
where you would need to be shot to die quickly yet slowly??? like not instant death
how long you could survive without air
how long you can survive without food/water
mental illnesses
mental effects of isolation
generally violent things

 

[Unicorn666]

Atoms actually cast shadows.
Early versions of Leprechauns wore red, not green.

 

[letachibana]

Do you know that a shark genital is like 50 cm.

I learned that from a doujinshi instead of roleplaying but figure I would let anyone know.

By the way, do you like Biology? hit me up if you do, we can learn about human anatomy if you know what I'm saying

 

[Darkmaster006]

In Aomori, at exactly this time of the year, the sun rises at around 4:30 am.

 

[Saccharine Cyanide]

Weirdly specific facts!

During the Tokugawa/Edo era in Japan, male given names generally had four syllables (e.g. Akimoto, Teramasu) and female names had two syllables (e.g. Chiyo, Kichi). Surnames weren't common before the Edo period; generally only the nobility had them.

Chimney sweeping was lucrative in Europe because soot was a major source of fertilizer. Demand sunk in the 1800s because of the discovery of more effective mineral and chemical fertilizers. Also, people would sometimes sweep their chimneys by shoving a live goose down there.

 

[nattaila]

I have learned...

- Too damn much about the geography of the eastern half of the United States geography. Rivers and regions and natural resources, all of it.
- Predicted populations of US cities by 2050.
- How many horses there are in the United States (~9 mil in 2005).
- There are ~30,000 wild horses in the US, which is less than I expected but is actually way too many to be sustainable. Normally overpopulation is solved by hunting, but for cultural reasons this is considered unacceptable.
- A lot about the agricultural and hunting practices of the Northeastern Natives, which varied greatly depending on the exact region.
- All about medicinal plants found in the Northeast US. Most of them just make you shit or vomit a whole lot, which I would call poisonous, not medicinal. But I'm no expert.
- If you or a beloved character is shot by an arrow, don't pull it out by the shaft. The arrowhead may stay behind, and then you are really fucked. Unlike bullets, arrowheads are sharp, and impossible to heal around. They must be removed.
- Fatal exsanguination due to an arterial wound could take less than a minute.
- Never use a tourniquet unless you are 100% ready to say goodbye to whatever limb you are tying off.
- Slow blood loss by elevating the wound above the heart.
- Stitching a wound shut seems like common sense, but it's not always a good idea. An infected, closed wound can't drain and will just lead to an even uglier infection. Unless the wound is wide, and/or deep, it is probably best to leave it open. But not uncovered!

I spend way too much time doing this kind of research, and not enough time studying.

 

[Ezleurnoe]

- The fastest jet in existence (tho I have completed forgotten its name.)
- Languages
- Misophonia and other mental illnesses
- Close combat
- Many mythologies and historical figures (wooo go Korean hero with the turtle boats!)
- A bunch of food, and ways to cook them (how to make egg without oil...)
- The method/process of preventing cats from getting pregnant/making a mate pregnant.

And others I can't clearly remember.