Viewpoint Niche Corner of Fandoms (and how it effects your RP experience)

[Murdergurl]

So I've realized for a while that while I have an interest in some obscure fandoms. And it's understandable when you don't see many (or any) RPs for those fandoms running. And it's also understandable when you don't get any takers for them when you make a setting, either. However, I also know that I have interests in some popular fandoms. The thing is, I don't necessarilly like them for the reasons they are popular. Here's some examples:

Star Wars
I love Star Wars. But I'm actually not too big on the whole Jedi/Sith aspect. I know it's what makes Star wars different from any other Space Opera Sci-fi franchise. But I just really don't care for the space wizards. I'm more interested in it for the scum and villainy aspect. The wild west overture, the dog fights. One of my favorite sub-groups in the franchise are the Mandalorians. I know, big surprise, right? Everyone and their grandma like Mandos now. Especially with the recent Mandalorian series. But that's not the Mandalorians I'm talking about. Imo, the series is kind of a piss poor representation of Mandalorians to the extent of their EU history. What I really like in them, are when they were the Taung race, before the Neo-Crusaders. But... I know I can forget about ever hoping to find someone running an RP in that setting. I have created a human character in a setting further down the line, for ease of integration. But even then, everyone only seems interested in running Star Wars RPs in timelines around the movies or series. And that really doesn't work for me.

Judge Dredd
I wouldn't call this fandom obscure, as most people are at least familiar with it. Of course, if I were to have brought it up before 1995, don't think a lot of people would have known what I was talking about. But I digress. Typically, when people ...err, or should I say IF people were to run a Judge Dredd RP, I'm pretty sure they would obviously want to play their characters as the Judges. This would not be the case with me. The part of the JD fandom that interests me most is the whole "Cursed Earth" aspect. And while there was an entire series of comics about Dredd's escapades into the Cursed Earth, I feel like what I'd want to encompass would take away from what most people would want to RP. I've thought about trying to make a setting around this. But it's a long shot, and I'd rather use my effort in something more sure to hit it off. Many months ago (sometime last year) I had entered into a Judge Dredd RP another member had attempted to start. But after promoting the hell out of it for like a week or two, we knew it wasn't going to go anywhere. Literally no one else ever piped up with their interest.

Warhammer 40K
Again, this is not an obscure fandom. In fact, I've seen it explode in popularity since I got into painting the minis in the 90s. But despite its popularity, I don't often see people running RPs in the aspect I'd like it in. Too many people love the Space Marines and/or Imperial Guard. I mean, to each their own. I just really don't dig it. I DO have a Sorotita character ready to go for the right setting. But I mostly made her for ease of incorporation (which actually hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be). But if I really had my ideal setting for WH40K, I'd love to play an Ork/Gretchin centered RP. But I've never, EVER seen anyone try and run this kind of RP. And I personally am not super well-versed enough in the lore to plan an entire WH40K setting, myself.

I could probably mention a few other fandoms I have the same issues with. But I feel that's a decent amount of examples to understand what I'm talking about. Tbh, the same sort of issue happens even in Original RPs. The setting is good and well, but the premise of the characters we will be playing is not at all what I'm looking for. This has recently spurred me to make my own setting, and have the players take up the roles I wish were more prevalent in RP. But I'm apprehensive about how well it will do. I guess I'll just have to see how that works out. I've tried it before with other ideas, and they have flopped.

Anyhow, I'm sure there are others out there that have similar issues. You see a fandom you like proffered up, but never in the way you'd like to play it. Maybe you've even tried to make the RP setting yourself, but it always falls through. For whatever reason, it just doesn't work out.

Thoughts from the collective?

 

[nerdy tangents]

Obscure Fandom - Emelan
So my biggest obscure fandom is Tamora Pierce’s Emelan series and I will evangelize to anyone who happens to roleplay with me about the awesome themes and inclusive nature of the narrative.

The interesting thing about this is that there are certainly a handful of people familiar with Tamora Pierce as an author but they are all familiar with her Tortall Series which takes place in an entirely separate universe to her Emelan series.

I think the reason the Tortall series is more well known is because it’s Tammy’s first series and it follows the traditional fantasy format. It centers on knights and wizards and female protagonists going on hero(ine) journey.

Emelan on the other hand centers on a found family narrative with diverse cast of characters. The main protagonists are a quartet of magical foster siblings who not only have magical adventures but also deal with growing pains of a blended family.

The magic is also much more every day than usual. It literally is wielded through crafts like gardening and weaving rather than epic spells of the like.

Popular Series - Harry Potter
As for my popular series, it’s a little known series called Harry Potter

The reason I love the series is the greater Wizarding World not the characters or Hogwarts (the main setting of the original series). So I see a lot of people looking for canon x oc pairings or roleplays dealing with Hogwarts and Wizarding romance. Whereas I love to flesh out the greater world and sort of look what the magical would look like in other parts of the world.

I have had great fun talking to people from other countries and helping them flesh out the magical world where they live. But sadly those people are few and far between.

 

[EuphoricDisaster]

As a fan of many “dead” or incredibly obscure fandoms, I can sympathize with all the above points - but particularly Harry Potter. If I had a nickel for every time I found an artist, writer, or role-player expounding on the virtues of any given well-established ship, I could buy the entire series a few times over. But I see so little discourse about the world building itself.

I can’t really say I’m interested much in Hogwarts during Harry’s studies there aside from a general love of the story of the books themselves. I was far more interested in the school’s history, and how the Wizarding Wars affected the school. I’m interested in the origins of so many of the beasts we see in passing, but never get more information on. Honestly, I prefer the Fantastic Beasts films to the original ones - and I get quite an earful for having that opinion. But honestly, I just find them far more interesting than Harry and the moral dilemmas, rash decisions, etc. Those narratives have grown a bit stale for me.

 

[Murdergurl]

nerdy tangents
Your take on Harry Potter is pretty much exactly how I feel about most of my fandom interests. We all know the canonical setting(s). But let's expand on that. Let's do something new. Let's get away from the same stuff everyone has already seen and done a hundred times. I don't even play as any canon characters. In a fandom setting, I always, always, always make an OC. Fortunately, a lot of the fandoms I like have a ton of room for OCs.

 

[EuphoricDisaster]

I can respect that standpoint. I also like to make OCs in many of my fandoms, but not all. I like to take a familiar character and explore the least-familiar aspect of their life. That, or I like to upend their familiar worldview and force them to adapt to the situation. Usually with an OC to assist.

This is always fascinating for me in fandoms like Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, Mass Effect - to name a few. I love watching a character who thinks they have it all figured out realize they’re in over their head. It gives me, as a writer, a chance to flesh out aspects of their world.

 

[Murdergurl]

I can respect that standpoint. I also like to make OCs in many of my fandoms, but not all. I like to take a familiar character and explore the least-familiar aspect of their life. That, or I like to upend their familiar worldview and force them to adapt to the situation. Usually with an OC to assist.

This is always fascinating for me in fandoms like Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, Mass Effect - to name a few. I love watching a character who thinks they have it all figured out realize they’re in over their head. It gives me, as a writer, a chance to flesh out aspects of their world.

Wow... Teen Wolf? Really? I'm surprised that movie even has a fandom nowadays. It's almost as old as me.

 

[EuphoricDisaster]

Haha I should specify - the MTV television series. Not the film with Michal J Fox I believe? The show is very good, decent pacing, snd very good writing (especially the first three seasons). I liked the exploration of mental illness, and the lore of the wolves and Druids. Very rare that a show keeps me that invested for so many seasons.

 

[Murdergurl]

Haha I should specify - the MTV television series. Not the film with Michal J Fox I believe? The show is very good, decent pacing, snd very good writing (especially the first three seasons). I liked the exploration of mental illness, and the lore of the wolves and Druids. Very rare that a show keeps me that invested for so many seasons.

Ooooh... I had no idea. I don't keep up on television too much anymore. Didn't know they had brought it back for a series.
Even when I used to have the time for television series', (just like you) it is really hard to keep me interested in any given show for several seasons in.

 

[EuphoricDisaster]

If you ever find the time, the show is heartwarming at times, and jarring at others. It’s difficult not to care for the characters, particularly because their bonds feel so genuine. I also have a soft spot for that style of camera work, using sharp angles or things slightly off screen to snag your attention. You always feel like you’re maybe missing part of the information you need to predict what comes next.

 

[Murdergurl]

...You always feel like you’re maybe missing part of the information you need to predict what comes next.

That would definitely be new for me. I've seen so many movies and shows over the years, I can usually call a "plot twist" before it happens.

 

[EuphoricDisaster]

I often find myself in the same place. I can either predict the story, or the story falls apart in such a way that I can’t make myself care. If you can’t make me care about the characters, if you can’t put me in their heads and make me take their journey along with them, I’m not going to give your franchise my time.

That’s what I find so maddening about Star Wars. I get caught up in the story, in the characters, but typically for the wrong reasons. The films are lovely, but the novels are entirely hit or miss. I’m giving another one a chance because I have to do something while I wait for Shadow and Bone to drop on Netflix.

 

[Werepunk]

I can relate, especially to the idea of wanting to roleplay popular fandoms in an unpopular way.

My favorite franchise is Dragon Age, which is a relatively popular fandom. Not as popular as something like Star Wars, but still up there. Every time I've posted an ad for a Dragon Age roleplay, its gotten at least a few responses. It's not even that hard to find oc x oc roleplays, since it's a series that lends itself to oc's really well.

But my problem is that I don't always want to stick to canon. There's a few aspects of the lore that I don't particularly like, and I'd have more fun re-writing those aspects and really making the series my own. A lot of people are (quite understandably) reluctant to do that and want to stay strictly loyal to canon. Also, I find a lot of people want to do roleplays that take place in the 3rd game, when what I'm most interested in is what happens between the 2nd and 3rd game (I am really interested in the Mage Rebellion, which ends close to the beginning of the 3rd game and, imo, isn't well-explored at all.)

I'm extremely fortunate in that I did finally find a partner for DA who's interested in the same things and also likes to play it loose with canon-- but it took me years, and lots of false starts. And now that I do have that one almost perfect role play partner, I'm not really inclined to look for any more for my DA characters since finding them is such a process.

As for solutions, I really don't know... Since I just got pretty lucky and happened to find the right roleplayer, lol. I suppose you have to either be willing to persevere and keep trying even knowing it might take a long time, or broaden your search and hope for the best?

 

[Murdergurl]

I often find myself in the same place. I can either predict the story, or the story falls apart in such a way that I can’t make myself care. If you can’t make me care about the characters, if you can’t put me in their heads and make me take their journey along with them, I’m not going to give your franchise my time.

That’s what I find so maddening about Star Wars. I get caught up in the story, in the characters, but typically for the wrong reasons. The films are lovely, but the novels are entirely hit or miss. I’m giving another one a chance because I have to do something while I wait for Shadow and Bone to drop on Netflix.

If you get into the EU, which is the majority of all the novels that have been written (Jacen and Jaina who?), not to mention the comics, then there is actually way, WAY more material to work with than all the movies and series combined. But at the same time, there is so much room to do your own thing. While the eras that have been exemplified in canonical movies/series are defined with tons of detail, there is SO much in the timeline that is nearly a blank slate for which to do almost anything with.

I can relate, especially to the idea of wanting to roleplay popular fandoms in an unpopular way.

My favorite franchise is Dragon Age, which is a relatively popular fandom. Not as popular as something like Star Wars, but still up there. Every time I've posted an ad for a Dragon Age roleplay, its gotten at least a few responses. It's not even that hard to find oc x oc roleplays, since it's a series that lends itself to oc's really well.

But my problem is that I don't always want to stick to canon. There's a few aspects of the lore that I don't particularly like, and I'd have more fun re-writing those aspects and really making the series my own. A lot of people are (quite understandably) reluctant to do that and want to stay strictly loyal to canon. Also, I find a lot of people want to do roleplays that take place in the 3rd game, when what I'm most interested in is what happens between the 2nd and 3rd game (I am really interested in the Mage Rebellion, which ends close to the beginning of the 3rd game and, imo, isn't well-explored at all.)

I'm extremely fortunate in that I did finally find a partner for DA who's interested in the same things and also likes to play it loose with canon-- but it took me years, and lots of false starts. And now that I do have that one almost perfect role play partner, I'm not really inclined to look for any more for my DA characters since finding them is such a process.

As for solutions, I really don't know... Since I just got pretty lucky and happened to find the right roleplayer, lol. I suppose you have to either be willing to persevere and keep trying even knowing it might take a long time, or broaden your search and hope for the best?

I've heard of Dragon age. I think I've even seen ads for it over the years. But I've never actually gotten around to playing it. Along with Mass Effect, it's one of those games my Gamer friends say I would probably really enjoy.

But I get what you mean about tweaking canon. Like, well... what if instead of THIS point in the game where the story made the characters do such and such, well how about they didn't. and instead we went off and did THIS. etc.

Or what I like to do, is run an RP story alongside whatever is happening canonically. Like, we aren't the main characters. We might not even be side characters. But while the hero id off saving the kingdom from ...whatever or whoever, here WE are schlepping it out in the trenches, fighting the good fight, completely unappreciated, etc. I like underdog stories.

As far as solutions... well, all I can do is keep trying when I have the motivation, and keep a hopeful lookout to see if anything ever comes up that someone else is running. I mean , what else CAN I do, right?

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Deep Rock Galactic is something I'd love to RP, though I've yet to see anyone interested in doing it. Same for Dungeon Meishi. Shame they're both pretty niche

 

[Werepunk]

I've heard of Dragon age. I think I've even seen ads for it over the years. But I've never actually gotten around to playing it. Along with Mass Effect, it's one of those games my Gamer friends say I would probably really enjoy.

But I get what you mean about tweaking canon. Like, well... what if instead of THIS point in the game where the story made the characters do such and such, well how about they didn't. and instead we went off and did THIS. etc.

Or what I like to do, is run an RP story alongside whatever is happening canonically. Like, we aren't the main characters. We might not even be side characters. But while the hero id off saving the kingdom from ...whatever or whoever, here WE are schlepping it out in the trenches, fighting the good fight, completely unappreciated, etc. I like underdog stories.

As far as solutions... well, all I can do is keep trying when I have the motivation, and keep a hopeful lookout to see if anything ever comes up that someone else is running. I mean , what else CAN I do, right?

Yeah, exactly. I also love to have stories going on at the same time as canon, and Dragon Age lends itself really well to that kind of thing. There's so much going on that they didn't have the time to explore in the games (or the novels or comics.)

A big thing I ran into was that people wanted to roleplay their player characters, as in the custom protagonists of each game. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to see how my characters would do as their protagonist's companions/followers, but I also wanted to explore what was going on in the trenches, as you say. I got really lucky with my partner in that he likes doing both of those things and he likes having multiple POV characters, so I get the best of both worlds.

And as for your solutions, yeah, that's pretty much what I was doing when I found said partner, so I can say that it works eventually with determination and a bit of luck.

 

[Murdergurl]

Deep Rock Galactic is something I'd love to RP, though I've yet to see anyone interested in doing it. Same for Dungeon Meishi. Shame they're both pretty niche

Can honestly say I've never heard of either one. I'm curious as to what Deep Rock Galactic is about. Care to expound?

A big thing I ran into was that people wanted to roleplay their player characters, as in the custom protagonists of each game...

Yeah, I can understand that. That's actually what I did with a Star Wars Character from the SWtOR character of mine. But since it's an MMO with a whole bunch of different story arcs depending on what class and side you pick, there really isn't a "Main" story. And I also pretty much just used her for the Star Wars aesthetic. Her bio is not related at all to the timeline that the MMO is set in.

But yeah, I think when ppl choose fandoms that have obvious centralized characters, they always wanna play those characters out. which is the exact opposite of what I want to do.

And as for your solutions, yeah, that's pretty much what I was doing when I found said partner, so I can say that it works eventually with determination and a bit of luck.

I'm not even going to get into how long I've been roleplaying for. lol
But it's whatevs. Even if my ideas keep flopping, I enjoy writing up all my worldbuilding and characters alike. It would be great to actually DO something with them. But even if it never happens, I still have at least a partial creative outlet.

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Can honestly say I've never heard of either one. I'm curious as to what Deep Rock Galactic is about. Care to expound?



Yeah, I can understand that. That's actually what I did with a Star Wars Character from the SWtOR character of mine. But since it's an MMO with a whole bunch of different story arcs depending on what class and side you pick, there really isn't a "Main" story. And I also pretty much just used her for the Star Wars aesthetic. Her bio is not related at all to the timeline that the MMO is set in.

But yeah, I think when ppl choose fandoms that have obvious centralized characters, they always wanna play those characters out. which is the exact opposite of what I want to do.



I'm not even going to get into how long I've been roleplaying for. lol
But it's whatevs. Even if my ideas keep flopping, I enjoy writing up all my worldbuilding and characters alike. It would be great to actually DO something with them. But even if it never happens, I still have at least a partial creative outlet.

It's like if D&D dwarves went to space and recreated Aliens. It's a fist person co op shooter where you play as four dwarves sent in to gather resources in the core of a planet, while fighting off a species of native bugs called Glyphids. It has a great mixture of an Alien-esque space trucker art style, and classic dwarf tropes like drinking, mining, and hating elves. It's great, I highly recommend it.

 

[Murdergurl]

It's like if D&D dwarves went to space and recreated Aliens. It's a fist person co op shooter where you play as four dwarves sent in to gather resources in the core of a planet, while fighting off a species of native bugs called Glyphids. It has a great mixture of an Alien-esque space trucker art style, and classic dwarf tropes like drinking, mining, and hating elves. It's great, I highly recommend it.

Honestly, the Squats (space Dwarves) from Warhammer 40K came to mind, with the aliens being the Tyranids. But if I've been informed correctly, the Tyranids eventually finished off the Squats. They got Nom'd

 

[Rusty of Shackleford]

Honestly, the Squats (space Dwarves) from Warhammer 40K came to mind, with the aliens being the Tyranids. But if I've been informed correctly, the Tyranids eventually finished off the Squats. They got Nom'd

It actually feels like fighting Tyranids, actually! It's like if Wrhammer Fantasy dwarves got picked up by Weylan-Yutani from Aliens and told to go fight Tyranids