RP clichés?

[Idea]

It's kind of stupid to judge people that way.

it is, I agree.

 

[Blaire Wisteria]

Another thing that really rustles my jimmies is when someone blatantly rips off a character from any media outlet to a tee when your supposed to be using your own unique OC that you thought up or cam up with, and when you call them out on it, they just deny everything and go on there merry way.

 

[Idea]

[QUOTE="The Endergod]Another thing that really rustles my jimmies is when someone blatantly rips off a character from any media outlet to a tee when your supposed to be using your own unique OC that you thought up or cam up with, and when you call them out on it, they just deny everything and go on there merry way.

[/QUOTE]
not to disregard that point, as sometimes people do just straight up copy, but it´s kind of a fine line to walk when accusing them of doing so. I mean, every type of character has already been made in some way or the other, and human beings are unable to create anything that is completely new, they can only improve or mix things they know from before. It´s perfectly ok to draw inspiration for an OC from a character from somewhere else and just because you know a character that is exactly like the one they described, it doesn´t mean the person who made it also even knows who you´re talking about. And if the copy is only partial, then you have to take into consideration that the adaptation of an OC to another universe or medium, is in itself, the construction of an OC, albeit half-hearted.

 

[call me rae]

not to disregard that point, as sometimes people do just straight up copy, but it´s kind of a fine line to walk when accusing them of doing so. I mean, every type of character has already been made in some way or the other, and human beings are unable to create anything that is completely new, they can only improve or mix things they know from before. It´s perfectly ok to draw inspiration for an OC from a character from somewhere else and just because you know a character that is exactly like the one they described, it doesn´t mean the person who made it also even knows who you´re talking about. And if the copy is only partial, then you have to take into consideration that the adaptation of an OC to another universe or medium, is in itself, the construction of an OC, albeit half-hearted.

i think they were ralking more about. how canon x somehow becomes an oc in either an original story or fandom roleplay.


like saeme name, same appearance, literally it is just canon x with no changes.


alternately when someone copies your oc and does the same thing. literally just copies and pastes your codes somewhere else.


i mean i know what your talking about copying tropes or mix-n-matching inspirations from media. is really common especially in the super cliche next gen fandom roleplays.


but like at least put some effort into changing something. a different name and picture at the very least.

 

[Idea]

i think they were ralking more about. how canon x somehow becomes an oc in either an original story or fandom roleplay.
like saeme name, same appearance, literally it is just canon x with no changes.


alternately when someone copies your oc and does the same thing. literally just copies and pastes your codes somewhere else.


i mean i know what your talking about copying tropes or mix-n-matching inspirations from media. is really common especially in the super cliche next gen fandom roleplays.


but like at least put some effort into changing something. a different name and picture at the very least.

I suppose you got a point

 

[MsPolite]

TBH I never liked how is all my rps most players make there characters morally incorruptible or just soo good. it makes it hard for conflict and I usually have to make a "bad guy" to help things move. Or in darker rps where everyone is evil and or crazy. I would love to see some believable characters.

 

[welian]

[QUOTE="The Endergod]Another thing that really rustles my jimmies is when someone blatantly rips off a character from any media outlet to a tee when your supposed to be using your own unique OC that you thought up or cam up with, and when you call them out on it, they just deny everything and go on there merry way.

[/QUOTE]
God, that's the worst. And it's really embarrassing for me as a GM when I don't notice it right away. I'm all for recycling and borrowing from major tropes like "depressed genius with scifi suit" (Iron Man) or "crybaby girl who learns to become a queen" (Sailor Moon), but I've had people join my RPs as like... obscure comic book characters and Disney cartoon characters, and I always feel like an idiot when I don't notice right away. I put so much work into making original settings, the least people can do is respect me by making original characters.

 

[TyrantKingKuma]

-Stealing concepts from series and changing two words to disguise them as original content.


-Regular highschooler with sudden superpowers


-Munchkins


-Catgirls


-Katanas or any sword carried in the back


-Black clothing, long hair & bishonen looks


-Power fantasy character (The writer with a different name and powers)


Those are the ones I've seen the most

 

[Blaire Wisteria]

-Stealing concepts from series and changing two words to disguise them as original content.
-Regular highschooler with sudden superpowers


-Munchkins


-Catgirls


-Katanas or any sword carried in the back


-Black clothing, long hair & bishonen looks


-Power fantasy character (The writer with a different name and powers)


Those are the ones I've seen the most

Munchkins?

 

[TyrantKingKuma]

role-playing game[/URL]) in an aggressively competitive manner. A munchkin seeks within the context of the game to amass the greatest power, score the most "kills", and grab the most loot, no matter how detrimental their actions are to role-playing, the storyline, fairness, teamwork, or the other players' enjoyment. The term is used almost exclusively as a pejorative and frequently is used in reference to powergamers.

 

[Blaire Wisteria]

Really, really annoying power gamers who try to bend the rules or flat out break them to be the winners. They think RPG is about winning, not creating a story
Munchkin (From wikipedia) = In gaming, a munchkin is a player who plays what is intended to be a non-competitive game (usually a role-playing game) in an aggressively competitive manner. A munchkin seeks within the context of the game to amass the greatest power, score the most "kills", and grab the most loot, no matter how detrimental their actions are to role-playing, the storyline, fairness, teamwork, or the other players' enjoyment. The term is used almost exclusively as a pejorative and frequently is used in reference to powergamers.

OK, now I remember, wow I haven't heard that in a while. That just brought all my memories of past D&D games back. There was always this guy who was exactly that and we always called him munchkin and he had no idea what it meant.

 

[adrian_]

1. Axl. Mofuckin. Kerfor.

 

[Idea]

-Stealing concepts from series and changing two words to disguise them as original content.

I have to say, I fail at even seeing how this even is a problem, not to mention how it is a cliché. I've said it multiple times on this thread, but if something doesn't lose meaning, it isn't a cliché, and preserving the concepts rather than just stuffing random content or even using concepts with no purpose (understand that copying concepts implies a certain level of understanding of said concepts , thus there is meaning even in adding them for themselves) certainly has meaning.


As for why I don't see it as being a problem, it's because as long as you're not copying the thing you take it from completely, and that is, every single aspects of it, characters, attitudes, plot, world building, then it's an adaptation. Adaptations are good and are part of the fundamental process of human creativity, you can't make stuff from nothing. So if a person "steals" a concept because they really like it, that's no sin on their part, provided the execution/handling of that concept and/or the medium it is inserted are in enough variation from the content where said concept was taken from.

 

[Lenaara]

Some were mentioned already, but here's my list anyway:

• Princess characters that have been given a whole lot of 2 minutes of thought - these princess characters are usually teenagers, have had their families killed/enslaved/what have you. They are able to wield every weapon known to mankind, are beautiful and kind, and usually within the RP end up running through a forest. And then the running would continue when they meet your character. Or this princess would have to be guarded by someone (usually your character) and the girl ends up running away because of some rebellious nature. Because princesses, raised in a royal household where people die on a daily basis due to political scheming, are oh so rebellious and stupid to be running and acting like commoner teenagers.
  
• Bad boy vampire x Shy girl human - this is just...no. Just no.
  
  This idea usually involves attempted rape, sexual assault, bloodsucking that is borderline sexual and so on. Aaaaand then it becomes a romance. Because a vampire who is in the very least 100+ years old would fall in love with a 15-18 year old human girl. So realistic. Such depth. Much love. Wow. In my mind, I view it as a human falling in love with a cheeseburger.
  
• Characters with OP abilities - this has been pretty much covered in this thread, I think. But Gods above, have I met so many of these characters. Lightning speed, extraordinary strength, telepathy. A person with whom I used to RP maybe 5 years ago had all his characters literally disappear from Spot X and reappear in Spot Y in a matter of a second. Every. Single. Character. Action scenes would end up being 'X disappeared and appeared behind Y and stabbed them in the back whilst yelling an attack name.' Which leads to the next point.
  
• Attack names - I think this is an aftereffect of watching too much Super Saiyan (did I spell this right?) and Naruto. Yelling some 'ATTACK OF THE FROST FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIST!!!!!!' doesn't add drama to the post. Or impact. Or fun. Or action. It makes me laugh and then feel awkward at reading such a childish thing.
  
• Forest settings - the RP begins in a forest, usually with two characters bumping into one another while having a casual stroll through the woods. In the middle of the night. In the middle of the said forest. Where animals and other critters prowl about. Because this would totally happen. And the characters nearly always act friendly to one another and do not question why the hell either of them are walking through the woods.
  
• Teenage characters that mastered every weapon known to mankind - self explanatory. This isn't realistic, this isn't humanly possible, this makes the character OP and no amount of reason would be able to explain this to me.
  
• Characters with sad pasts, i.e their families/loved ones executed/killed/mutilated/enslaved - happens way too often. And this almost never has any sort of realistic impact on the character. They either become kind little special snowflakes or become emo brooding assassins that sit in their brooding corner of broodiness.
  
• Nekos/Other characters with animal body parts - yeah, no. Too much "His ears twitched shyly."
  
• Insta-love - Nope.
  
• Fantasy settings with OP magic that cures everything (even death) - this is so unbelievably boring I do not understand why people do this. Taking out a Magic Potion of Godmodding to heal a fatal injury/bring a dead person back to life takes away from drama and the realism. How do you expect anyone to die a meaningful character building death if they will be forced to drink the Magic Potion of Fuckyou and be as good as new again?
  

There are so many more but these are probably the worst that I can think of.

 

[TyrantKingKuma]

I have to say, I fail at even seeing how this even is a problem, not to mention how it is a cliché. I've said it multiple times on this thread, but if something doesn't lose meaning, it isn't a cliché, and preserving the concepts rather than just stuffing random content or even using concepts with no purpose (understand that copying concepts implies a certain level of understanding of said concepts , thus there is meaning even in adding them for themselves) certainly has meaning.
As for why I don't see it as being a problem, it's because as long as you're not copying the thing you take it from completely, and that is, every single aspects of it, characters, attitudes, plot, world building, then it's an adaptation. Adaptations are good and are part of the fundamental process of human creativity, you can't make stuff from nothing. So if a person "steals" a concept because they really like it, that's no sin on their part, provided the execution/handling of that concept and/or the medium it is inserted are in enough variation from the content where said concept was taken from.

If you are making original content and you basically copy a wiki article and change 2 words then I think that's bad.... maybe the cliche should be called Copycat characters (Copying a character and changing its name, like say a ninja called Raruto)

 

[Idea]

If you are making original content and you basically copy a wiki article and change 2 words then I think that's bad.... maybe the cliche should be called Copycat characters (Copying a character and changing its name, like say a ninja called Raruto)

ok, first of all, you didn]t specify characters, you said "concepts". The fact you said "concepts" makes all the difference because a concept is the idea behind or at the core of something. If someone copies the core of something they like that´s not bad.


Now, of course, if they copy everything, say someone copies the entire plot and setting of a show, then yeah, it´s bad. But that´s way beyond anything you specified. Stealing characters and only changing stuff like the name, which has no impact on who the character is is pretty much bad too, but say I made a character who is a ninja possessed by some fox spirit or whatever... that, by itself, is not bad. If I made that character a skilled artisan whose too lazy to really leave his home that by itself makes it a completely different character.


You can imagine this by picturing a solved rubix cube in which you can only see one of it´s faces at a time. If you gaze at it from one direction, it has a given color, but if you change perspective, you will a different one. It´s the same rubix cube though.


The same aspect or concept can be tackled and executed in a cazillion different ways and the only time copying is bad is when there is no effort in any aspect of it to make it your own thing.

 

[TyrantKingKuma]

I should've explained myself better.

 

[AndR01D]

Characters with sad pasts, i.e their families/loved ones executed/killed/mutilated/enslaved - happens way too often. And this almost never has any sort of realistic impact on the character. They either become kind little special snowflakes or become emo brooding assassins that sit in their brooding corner of broodiness.

I think a lot of the time this has more to do with lazy writing than having an effect on the personality. "How does my character get away from their parents?" can be a difficult question to tackle. A lot of people therefore use this to double as a motive for action.


I think the biggest cliché that comes to mind is - bear with me - wolves.


Any RP in which the users have a free choice to play as animals is guaranteed to have a wolf. I never quite got the obsession.

 

[Idea]

I think the biggest cliché that comes to mind is - bear with me - wolves.
Any RP in which the users have a free choice to play as animals is guaranteed to have a wolf. I never quite got the obsession.

I must say I am guilty of this myself. I think the thought behind it, at least from my experience, is that wolves are kinda closer to the idea of dog than any particular dog. Like, there are hundreds of different species of dogs but the closest image I can conjure to something that is the essence of what a dog is, is pictured by a wolf. And just like there are people who really like fandom characters and want to roleplay as them, people may like certain animals or identify with them in a way, and thus want to roleplay as them.

 

[AndR01D]

I must say I am guilty of this myself. I think the thought behind it, at least from my experience, is that wolves are kinda closer to the idea of dog than any particular dog. Like, there are hundreds of different species of dogs but the closest image I can conjure to something that is the essence of what a dog is, is pictured by a wolf. And just like there are people who really like fandom characters and want to roleplay as them, people may like certain animals or identify with them in a way, and thus want to roleplay as them.

Well there's nothing wrong with using a cliché, I just find it somewhat amusing that no matter how different the setting, somebody will choose a wolf if they can. Never any love for dolphins.

 

[Idea]

Well there's nothing wrong with using a cliché, I just find it somewhat amusing that no matter how different the setting, somebody will choose a wolf if they can. Never any love for dolphins.

I beg to disagree, since, as I have stated God knows how many times by now, a cliché is by definition meaningless. Bad.


What you´re thinking of is a trope, at the most.

 

[Trust]

Not too long ago, i was in a realistic post-apocalyptic rp


First page


Someone shoots bullets out of the air





This pissed me off so much... Reasoning behind it?


Years of experience and radiation





People know that stuff kills you right? It doesn't give super powers

 

[Trust]

Not too long ago, i was in a realistic post-apocalyptic rp
First page


Someone shoots bullets out of the air





This pissed me off so much... Reasoning behind it?


Years of experience and radiation





People know that stuff kills you right? It doesn't give super powers

(Cliché is the "radiation" cliché. Wasn't sure if i made that clear >~>)

 

[LegoLad659]

Well there's nothing wrong with using a cliché, I just find it somewhat amusing that no matter how different the setting, somebody will choose a wolf if they can. Never any love for dolphins.

I know @Idea already beat me to this, but I thought I might repost this anyway so it doesn't get buried in the thread ( )


I'm contributing... Right? (:'()

I guess it can be easy. To simplify it for anyone who doesn't know:
Cliche - A specific type of writing, either for a scene, setting, character, or really anything else, that has been used so much it has become tiresome for the general public to see. These can be very much subjective, however. Cliches have generally worked in the past, but have been used over and over and over and over again to where the original meaning for the scene the cliche spawned from has been completely lost.


Trope - A 'Tool' of sorts used to generate a setting, character, plot, etc. that has worked in the past, and is used by several other mediums as well. Many writers draw upon inspiration, often deriving their own ideas from tropes used in other works. And even if you don't intentionally use a trope, 99.9% of original works will contain a trope of some sort. It's unavoidable, the key to writing is not avoiding tropes, but using them to your advantage and to create a good story.

 

[Idea]

I know @Idea already beat me to this, but I thought I might repost this anyway so it doesn't get buried in the thread ( )
I'm contributing... Right? (:'()

yes, you are @LegoLad659 , yes you are. *pats on the back*