Advice/Help Seeking words of wisdom from experienced rp'ers & GM's/DM's

[Devious Dilbert]

(Btw, not really sure what prefix should be put here.)

I plan to open up a very ambitious rp soon in about 2-3 months. Aaaand... I've never gm'ed anything before, HAH. I will have one or two trusted friends to help me manage things too. Both of them haven't really gm'ed either, LOL.

I've been thinking and planning... I've got a plot worked up, and I've already built up a world and some very simple lore. What I'm trying to figure out next is how I should run this. So, the next few paragraphs are just gonna be me rambling as I try to get my ideas out.



Firstly, the rp is gonna be kinda like one huge journey to the west kind of thing where rp'ers are constantly on the move, but not really to any specific destination if that makes sense, I will create a map though and only show locations that the characters have been to and I do have a general direction that the players will move in. The players will get to explore as a group or some can break off individually. But it's taking place in a really harsh and treacherous fantasy land, so I'm also incorporating a really heavy survival theme too. Combat is gonna be prevalent, and characters will need to trade and/or hunt/scavenge for food and other supplies. So, I assume most of the characters will decide to stick together, but I can adapt to outliers.

For the general world, I kind of want a "free-er" DnD system. I'll be completely taking control of the world and DM'ing, having the environment interact and sometimes react to the players and vice versa. I don't like using dice to be honest. I wanna trust my rp'ers to be fair, but I'll also keep close watch on who's been getting hit the least and the most in combat scenarios, and who's been having the best and worst luck out in the field. I'll still be controlling most, if not, everything that will happens to the players. There will be a day/night cycle and I will be monitoring the time and changing it frequently via world announcements. Night cycles may be a bit less active, so I may cut those short.

I've also been thinking of including posting orders/limits. I kinda feel like post orders would be a must with the kind of rp I'm trying to run. For combat, players must follow a strict order so that I am able to effectively control mobs and damage input/output and so that I can fluently shift around the progress and tide of battle. Out of combat, I'm thinking of just letting players be a bit more free with their posting, and not really enforce a limit to posts. But I am still able to interrupt and order for posts to halt to introduce something, move something along, or simply to just briefly change the time.

For the survival aspect of the rp, I still want to trust players to be fair and realistic, but I am gonna enforce that characters can starve, bleed, break things, and die. I also want the survival theme to be prevalent in everything. For example, a starved character is very weakened in battle. A character that falls into water has the possibility to drown if they're carrying too much. I like realism, my guys. I suspect that a lot of people will desperately try to keep their characters alive since they only have one, but that's the kind of struggle to survive that I really want. (;

Lastly, there will only be 6-8 people accepted with only one character each. The amount of people really make a difference, I think. Again, I assume that most of the characters will want to stick together. However, for characters that break from the group or get separated, I'll 1x1 them until they reconnect with the main squad. And they will always find their way back. For the most part, I will try to have only one person separated at a time, or have the group split up in at max two or three different smaller units as it will just be easier for me to keep up with everything.



And now I have some questions and things for you wonderful gms about gm'ing.

-How do you move something along when it gets dull?
What I mean is, if players are losing interest, what's the best way to get a hold of that interest and pull the players back in? I've always thought that as soon as an interaction ends, another must immediately pop up. Players must always be doing something. Dead time is bad time. Even a simple task helps destroy boredom, and I'm certainly not saying that everything has to be exploding and adrenaline-inducing all the time. I believe in the tension-and-release cycle. But is that a bad way to look at it?

-What do you do when there's drama in the OOC?
This usually isn't a problem cuz' I see that most rp'ers on here are pretty decent people. (; I hope this doesn't happen to me, but I'd better be prepared if it does. How do you (as in yourself) usually deal with this? I know it depends on the situation, but I'd like some words on this.

-How do you deal with a "difficult" rp'er?
What I mean is somebody who is unwilling to compromise. I know that the simple solution is, "If they ain't followin' yo' word, honey, they gotta' go." Well... Yeah, but it'd suck if somebody left in the middle of the rp. What do you (as in yourself) do if somebody is being difficult?

-I'm trying to look at this from a video game perspective since I think the two are very similar. Is this a bad perspective?

Also- I kind of wanted this to be an hp, but eeehhhh... Not sure if that will happen anymore? I feel like the organization of hp's will be a lot more beneficial to me though.



Thoughts? Questions/Answers? Criticism? Advice/tips? I'll try to answer and reply to them all.

 

[rae2nerdy]

First what your describing I think could really only work in a hosted project. As a regular thread roleplay it would be too disorganized and people would have a higher chance of being confused by the whole - some people are in a group and some people are off doing their own thing dynamic. If you make it a hosted project where you set up the landscape so to speak and just allow people to be in specific places with specific things happening to them than it would probably work more smoothly.

As for looking at it as a video game perspective I'd take that to Umbrie as I think they have a good handle on converting other mediums into a forum based system.

Now how do you deal with difficult people - Kick them out. If someone can not or will not follow your / respect others in the game than they shouldn't be allowed to remain a part of the project. As all they are going to do is derail things and make it less fun for the people who are going along with what you want. If they leave in the middle just have their character die. You've said death is likely in this setting so just have the remaining characters move on after the disruptive players character is killed off.

If there is drama in the OOC - and there will be usually involving difficult people but sometimes it's just a heated discussion or people who just frankly don't jell with one another. It depends on the extend of the issue. If it gets to the point where people are being ugly to one another or it's spilling into the IC you can institute a one strike system. You contact the people involved privately and outline the fact that you would appreciate if they could either move on from whatever disagreement they're having or take it somewhere private where it's not disrupting the thread. If they continue do the same thing as I mentioned for difficult people.

What do to do if things get dull - Get your players involved. As it seems like your doing a lot of the legwork yourself a good way to keep people engaged is to let them have some say in what's going on. It doesn't have to be any world shattering or lore breaking things - but let them make suggestions for some small little side-plots their characters can do. Do OOC things that will keep people interacting with one another and more likely to stay engaged and talking openly even if the story slows down.

 

[Devious Dilbert]

First what your describing I think could really only work in a hosted project. As a regular thread roleplay it would be too disorganized and people would have a higher chance of being confused by the whole - some people are in a group and some people are off doing their own thing dynamic. If you make it a hosted project where you set up the landscape so to speak and just allow people to be in specific places with specific things happening to them than it would probably work more smoothly.

True, I was also thinking that. I definitely planned for it to be an hp. But the situation regarding hps rn is...? (Read the updates 'bout em', totally forgot what they said, LOL.) It may improve with time though, and hopefully I can get turn this into an hp when the time comes.

Now how do you deal with difficult people - Kick them out. If someone can not or will not follow your / respect others in the game than they shouldn't be allowed to remain a part of the project. As all they are going to do is derail things and make it less fun for the people who are going along with what you want. If they leave in the middle just have their character die. You've said death is likely in this setting so just have the remaining characters move on after the disruptive players character is killed off.

You're right. I'd really hate to kick a player out though when something could be compromised, but I guess if the player is just too stubborn and unwilling, it may be the only solution. I hope that doesn't happen, heh.

If there is drama in the OOC - and there will be usually involving difficult people but sometimes it's just a heated discussion or people who just frankly don't jell with one another. It depends on the extend of the issue. If it gets to the point where people are being ugly to one another or it's spilling into the IC you can institute a one strike system. You contact the people involved privately and outline the fact that you would appreciate if they could either move on from whatever disagreement they're having or take it somewhere private where it's not disrupting the thread. If they continue do the same thing as I mentioned for difficult people.

Yeah, you're right again, LOL. I've seen it happen only a few times, and it's always resulted in people leaving or getting kicked out. Guess it just also can't be helped if the people involved aren't willing to work it out.

What do to do if things get dull - Get your players involved. As it seems like your doing a lot of the legwork yourself a good way to keep people engaged is to let them have some say in what's going on. It doesn't have to be any world shattering or lore breaking things - but let them make suggestions for some small little side-plots their characters can do. Do OOC things that will keep people interacting with one another and more likely to stay engaged and talking openly even if the story slows down.

Oh yeah, of course I will be taking suggestions and the like. I will control the world, but I am going to give my players freedom. A bit of a contradicting statement there, but it's hard to explain exactly what I mean. I won't be a total hardass though, LOL, if that's what you're getting at.
About the OOC things, definitely. I won't lie, when the OOC is fun, it makes me more inclined to stick around. I feel like the OOC and the actual people involved in the roleplay contribute to the whole experience.



Thanks for your time, I appreciate it. (;
Is there anything that raises any flags in the other stuff I presented about how I was going to run the rp? Just wanting as much feedback and criticism as I can get.

 

[Umbrie]

i actually know a bit about GMing Dice RPs because i watch so many Videos on GMing Dice RPs and i know a small amount of Dice Based Roleplay systems. but here is something i will say, Capturing the Feel of the Game Setting Matters infinitely more than Capturing the Mechanics of the Game. my Flagship character i have played for since 1994 started as a tabletop character i converted into all sorts of other mediums. that character is the namesake of the Avatar i use.

i'm actually not too versed in Video Games, but i can tell you that you need to blind yourself to the mechanics and ask yourself how the story, tone, and setting of the game felt to you. then what you do, is you find a system that you know already covers the story and tone you wish to focus on. you don't use World of Darkness or Exalted to Tell a Gritty Realistic Story and you don't use Dungeons and Dragons to Run anything Dungeons and Dragons wasn't intended to handle. but you don't use Traveller or Ars Magica to run Superheroes.

System Matters and Game Mechanics matter, as do the size of the Dominant dice you will be using. though you don't want more than one quarter of the dies number of pips in bonuses or penalties and usually want less than that. but you also want a system that is simple enough that players aren't overwhelmed, while also wanting enough complexity to give them choice,

i truly recommend Savage Worlds, Cypher System, and any of the Apocalypse World Descended RPGs for New Game Masters.

 

[Umbrie]

Umbrie's Easy Check List of Questions Everybody Should Ask themselves

What is the Story i Wish to Tell?

What Tone best fits the Story i Wish to Tell?

What Themes are Central to the Story i Wish to Tell?

What themes do i wish to Avoid when i tell the Story?

Am i willing to Accept Player Input?

What Character types do i wish to Encourage?

What Character types do i wish to Avoid?

What Compromises am i willing to Accept?

Am i willing to accept nonstandard Species?

how much is Excessive when it comes to characters?

how little is not enough when it comes to characters?

do i truly need to species lock or otherwise restrict access to certain skills?

do i plan to include combat?

do i plan to focus more on interaction?

do i plan to focus more on exploration?

which forms of metagaming are considered to be bad?

 

[Devious Dilbert]

but here is something i will say, Capturing the Feel of the Game Setting Matters infinitely more than Capturing the Mechanics of the Game.

I get what you're saying, I think? But I personally think the two work in unison to complete the whole game experience.

i'm actually not too versed in Video Games, but i can tell you that you need to blind yourself to the mechanics and ask yourself how the story, tone, and setting of the game felt to you. then what you do, is you find a system that you know already covers the story and tone you wish to focus on. you don't use World of Darkness or Exalted to Tell a Gritty Realistic Story and you don't use Dungeons and Dragons to Run anything Dungeons and Dragons wasn't intended to handle. but you don't use Traveller or Ars Magica to run Superheroes.

I'm not exactly using the DnD system. I'm only playing off of it just barely to be honest. But I get what you mean.

System Matters and Game Mechanics matter, as do the size of the Dominant dice you will be using. though you don't want more than one quarter of the dies number of pips in bonuses or penalties and usually want less than that. but you also want a system that is simple enough that players aren't overwhelmed, while also wanting enough complexity to give them choice,

Again, I'm not really using any existing game system, nor am I using die since I personally dislike dice rp's and dice systems, but that's just me.
Ehhhh- I think my "system" if you could even call it that, is simple enough, LOL.

Umbrie's Easy Check List of Questions Everybody Should Ask themselves

What is the Story i Wish to Tell?

What Tone best fits the Story i Wish to Tell?

What Themes are Central to the Story i Wish to Tell?

What themes do i wish to Avoid when i tell the Story?

Am i willing to Accept Player Input?

What Character types do i wish to Encourage?

What Character types do i wish to Avoid?

What Compromises am i willing to Accept?

Am i willing to accept nonstandard Species?

how much is Excessive when it comes to characters?

how little is not enough when it comes to characters?

do i truly need to species lock or otherwise restrict access to certain skills?

do i plan to include combat?

do i plan to focus more on interaction?

do i plan to focus more on exploration?

which forms of metagaming are considered to be bad?

You're going a little off of topic... and I'm starting to wonder if you read through my post. I already have the story and characters figured out. What I'm focusing on is how I am going to run my rp.



Thanks for your words though, I appreciate it. (;

 

[Umbrie]

Mook or Redshirt NPCs are generally meant to be defeated by players who focus their attention on them as reasonable for the weapons they use. not uncommon for a brute with a huge sword or axe to cleave 5 or more mooks at once if they were clustered together. not that i expect the sickly scholar to do the same. character balance is based on the shifting of character spotlight and making it as close to equal as possible. if characters are journeying west, there are likely lots of civilizations for the social characters to interact with and lots of battles for the warrior characters to fight. but both should have a fair chance of influencing how the story progresses.

 

[wonderandawe]

I find Role Plays grow dull when there is no conflict or if the conflict get repetitive. So I add some more opposition for the players to RP against. In a modern game, in a bar scene grows dull, I'll bring in a NPC to cause trouble. In a fantasy rp, if the players are running around in circles in the woods, I'll have them be attacked by a monsters or maybe find a strange house or something.

OOC Drama: As an ST, I try to stay out of OOC. I let the players work it out on their own. If it is obvious they aren't working it out, I remind everyone that we are here to have fun and to not take things so seriously. I don't take sides unless one of the players does something really bad. In that case, I talk to the player in PM, so the rest of the group won't see it.

Difficult Players: Not all players fit in all games. Talk to the player to see what they want out of the game. If their vision of the game does not fit yours, then wish them well.

 

[Devious Dilbert]

I find Role Plays grow dull when there is no conflict or if the conflict get repetitive. So I add some more opposition for the players to RP against. In a modern game, in a bar scene grows dull, I'll bring in a NPC to cause trouble. In a fantasy rp, if the players are running around in circles in the woods, I'll have them be attacked by a monsters or maybe find a strange house or something.

Yeaaahh, in a world as big as the one I'm hoping for, I shouldn't run out of things to throw at players hopefully. (; I was in an rp that kind of followed this repetitive cycle of "something big happens that makes everything go boom" and then there would be this kind of like dead intermission where the characters would just sit around and do nothing until the next big thing came along. Not exactly the kind of tension-and-release cycle I wanna have in my rp.

OOC Drama: As an ST, I try to stay out of OOC. I let the players work it out on their own. If it is obvious they aren't working it out, I remind everyone that we are here to have fun and to not take things so seriously. I don't take sides unless one of the players does something really bad. In that case, I talk to the player in PM, so the rest of the group won't see it.

One thing I like about the community of rpn is that most people will work it out on their own and most people will avoid drama, so just staying out of the OOC stuff would prob work tbh. I feel like I'd definitely be the kind of person to step into OOC drama though in order to put an end to it if I see it. o;

Difficult Players: Not all players fit in all games. Talk to the player to see what they want out of the game. If their vision of the game does not fit yours, then wish them well.

True. ); Hope this doesn't happen though.



Thanks for your words, I appreciate it. Is there anything that raises any flags in how I want to run the rp? Just wanting any and all tips, opinions, and criticism that I can get. (;

 

[wonderandawe]

Is there anything that raises any flags in how I want to run the rp? Just wanting any and all tips, opinions, and criticism that I can get. (;

Players will shit all over your plans, so be flexible. They will either eat though all your plot in an hour or take forever and a day to resolve something you thought they'd get in a few posts.

Have a basic idea of where your game is going, but be willing to adjust if needed. You will come up with new ideas or the players may point out something that makes your original idea unfeasible.

Remember, PLAYERS are the stars of your story. All the NPCs should be designed to supplement the players, not steal their spotlight. All my NPCs have a "job" in the story. This NPC feeds the players information. That NPC gives the everyday man opinion on what is going on. Etc.

Also, if the players really like an NPC, don't over use them.

 

[Devious Dilbert]

Players will shit all over your plans, so be flexible. They will either eat though all your plot in an hour or take forever and a day to resolve something you thought they'd get in a few posts.

Have a basic idea of where your game is going, but be willing to adjust if needed. You will come up with new ideas or the players may point out something that makes your original idea unfeasible.

...Realest advice tbh.

Remember, PLAYERS are the stars of your story. All the NPCs should be designed to supplement the players, not steal their spotlight. All my NPCs have a "job" in the story. This NPC feeds the players information. That NPC gives the everyday man opinion on what is going on. Etc.

Also, if the players really like an NPC, don't over use them.

Most likely won't have too many npcs, or the npcs that do show up, won't stick around for long. And the rp is going to center around the characters. It's gonna be very character-driven, focusing on interactions and teamwork.

 

[wonderandawe]

One last thing:

You will fuck up. You will make mistakes. Your game will not be perfect and you will make decisions you will regret later.

But that doesn't mean you are a bad GM. I still make mistakes and I've been running games for years. Don't let the fear of fucking up or the pursuit of perfect stop you from GMing. Just learn from your mistakes and move on.

 

[Devious Dilbert]

One last thing:

You will fuck up. You will make mistakes. Your game will not be perfect and you will make decisions you will regret later.

But that doesn't mean you are a bad GM. I still make mistakes and I've been running games for years. Don't let the fear of fucking up or the pursuit of perfect stop you from GMing. Just learn from your mistakes and move on.

Thanks so much for your words!

 

[Kindred]

I'm planning a survival style roleplay right now and your feels speak to me ;_;

Firstly, if you're using lots of game mechanics, and they really are important to the overall feel of the roleplay - setting up your notes and GM process in a way which is going to be useful to you a month or two down the line (either when life gets difficult or posting slows down or characters do unexpected things), I've found, is key to keep your focus in mind a few months down the line. Just being able to step back and remind yourself about something - or go, ok, they did this, how do things fit now? - with minimal amount of faff will be really helpful. I'm not saying plan everything perfectly - it's impossible and will just slow things down/stress you out - but having things set up so you're relatively comfortable can just really boost your confidence and your ability to respond well to what your players are putting out there.


On keeping player's involved: Communication is key. I've gotten into the habit of, after doing a GM post, writing a little OOC bit that sums stuff up and checks in with my players. Also, really pay attention to what it is that motivates your players: some will be highly socially motivated, others will want to explore, others will be interested in overcoming difficult challenges. Everyone tends to like most things to a certain amount, but knowing what makes your players tick and helping them tell the stories they want to in your world can really help invest them in the story and build trust in you as a GM.

Make it clear in OOC when you'd like to start the next chapter / wrap one thing up and move onto the next. This can be as straightforward as pinging people a week in advance of a planned update, drumming up excitement for something upcoming, or a drop-in a couple days before the intended event to let your players know what's up. Often times in group roleplays, with different characters moving at different speeds, when an event or something is drawing to a close there will be people still hanging out while others are at a loss for stuff to do. Again, talking with your players about the flow of the roleplay, or having a general timescale (e.g. one roleplay I was in had events fortnightly, so it was easy to know when to wrap up posts and what was expected of us) can be beneficial because of that.

Not really my style, but one really successful GM I know (5+ year long roleplays, some past their two year mark) is very strict on warnings and posting dates. They expects weekly posts (and contact if in difficult circumstances) and regularly ping members that their week deadline is almost up. I don't have those kahunas but I have to say it's been EXTREMELY successful for them.

Finally reward your players for committment and sticking to it. Roleplaying is great fun but good roleplays do require committment. Allowing your players to, say, get new skills related to what their characters have been doing every chapter or few, collecting clues and solving a mystery, and even genuinely letting your players know how you're feeling when people are getting involved are all things that, as a player, make me feel pretty great about the roleplays I take part in.

On Difficult roleplayers and OOC drama: There's not much you can do, to be honest. Firstly, make it 100% clear EXACTLY what you expect in a rules section on your thread that's clear and easy to see. Most of your rules might be just the same as the forum rules, but state anything that you expect in this roleplay that might not be 100% clear or obvious to say, a complete stranger. I find if you have clear rules, you don't get trouble, for the most part.

Also sounds terrible but I won't accept people who A. aren't putting their best foot forward in the CS without good reason or B. are known troublemakers.

Anyway, if it gets to a situation where there is an actual issue: Kick 'em. It might hurt as a GM to have to play bad guy, sometimes, but if they are toxic for the roleplay it'll be better for it. Get a mod involved if you have to. But always - if you can, take a step back and see the perspective of your playerbase as well. I've seen one or two roleplays tank because the GM kicked someone when they were in a heated place and the players disagreed with the action and left. so. Don't be triggerhappy, I guess.

Honestly though I haven't had much issues with problem-players, so don't stress too much

On Video Game Mechanics: I do alot of video-game style roleplays so I don't think it is a bad perspective to have, so long as you balance it right. Make it clear to your players from the int. check/ooc from the start that there are elements of that, be as crystal clear as possible what that looks like in the simplest terms, provide an example if you can, but don't bother going into the absolute minutia of everything (just the key mechanics and then slowly introduce specifics if you need too). Just walk your players through it, answer their questions, and you'll find that they start remembering stuff better then you do xD

So long as people know what they're getting in for, and you can show them that they can trust you, it shouldn't be a problem.

Of course if you're very much used to traditional text roleplays only, haven't played any games/tabletop rpgs, it might be a little bit more difficult to get into.

If you want I can send you a PM with information I've asked other great GMs about. Gamelike RPs are my favourite and something I am actively trying to get better at

 

[Devious Dilbert]

Firstly, if you're using lots of game mechanics, and they really are important to the overall feel of the roleplay - setting up your notes and GM process in a way which is going to be useful to you a month or two down the line (either when life gets difficult or posting slows down or characters do unexpected things), I've found, is key to keep your focus in mind a few months down the line. Just being able to step back and remind yourself about something - or go, ok, they did this, how do things fit now? - with minimal amount of faff will be really helpful. I'm not saying plan everything perfectly - it's impossible and will just slow things down/stress you out - but having things set up so you're relatively comfortable can just really boost your confidence and your ability to respond well to what your players are putting out there.

Yes, I will try to be as adaptive as I can. Now that I think about it, there were a lot of rp's I've been in where things kind of just flipped around unexpectedly, so it really is important to be flexible with your plans. The confidence thing is very true also.

Also, really pay attention to what it is that motivates your players: some will be highly socially motivated, others will want to explore, others will be interested in overcoming difficult challenges. Everyone tends to like most things to a certain amount, but knowing what makes your players tick and helping them tell the stories they want to in your world can really help invest them in the story and build trust in you as a GM.

This is also truth, and I hadn't thought of that.

Make it clear in OOC when you'd like to start the next chapter / wrap one thing up and move onto the next. This can be as straightforward as pinging people a week in advance of a planned update, drumming up excitement for something upcoming, or a drop-in a couple days before the intended event to let your players know what's up. Often times in group roleplays, with different characters moving at different speeds, when an event or something is drawing to a close there will be people still hanging out while others are at a loss for stuff to do. Again, talking with your players about the flow of the roleplay, or having a general timescale (e.g. one roleplay I was in had events fortnightly, so it was easy to know when to wrap up posts and what was expected of us) can be beneficial because of that.

Yeah, I've noticed that after an event there's people still in the middle of something, and then there's players that just kind of disappear until the next big thing comes along. What I want is no dead time for anybody, and I'll be trying my best to make that happen, but that just might not be possible sometimes. Letting people know what's up and when something is coming next is definitely a positive thing.

Not really my style, but one really successful GM I know (5+ year long roleplays, some past their two year mark) is very strict on warnings and posting dates. They expects weekly posts (and contact if in difficult circumstances) and regularly ping members that their week deadline is almost up. I don't have those kahunas but I have to say it's been EXTREMELY successful for them.

I wouldn't really like deadlines either, but I guess deadlines would help in keeping everybody active. It would also help move things along instead of waiting for that one player while holding everything else back. Kinda harsh to leave people behind, but it's understandable in my eyes.

Finally reward your players for committment and sticking to it. Roleplaying is great fun but good roleplays do require committment. Allowing your players to, say, get new skills related to what their characters have been doing every chapter or few, collecting clues and solving a mystery, and even genuinely letting your players know how you're feeling when people are getting involved are all things that, as a player, make me feel pretty great about the roleplays I take part in.

Same thing for me. I really like an engaging, positive OOC and not gonna lie, if the people in the OOC are cool, it makes me wanna stick around. I'm totally gonna talk to my rp'ers in the OOC and such- I think having a friendly one adds to the whole rp experience. The players themselves make up the whole thing.

On Difficult roleplayers and OOC drama: There's not much you can do, to be honest. Firstly, make it 100% clear EXACTLY what you expect in a rules section on your thread that's clear and easy to see. Most of your rules might be just the same as the forum rules, but state anything that you expect in this roleplay that might not be 100% clear or obvious to say, a complete stranger. I find if you have clear rules, you don't get trouble, for the most part.

Yeah, I already have a rules thing typed out, and I did try to be as clear as possible, even thinking of what would be possible questions that people would ask, and then going back and clarifying/adding the answers to those questions in. LOL.

Also sounds terrible but I won't accept people who A. aren't putting their best foot forward in the CS without good reason or B. are known troublemakers.

Doesn't sound so bad to me. Why let somebody into your rp if they aren't giving much effort or aren't behaving? But at the same time, I don't like kicking people out if there is a solution to the problems. Sometimes, I guess there just isn't if the person isn't willing to compromise.

Anyway, if it gets to a situation where there is an actual issue: Kick 'em. It might hurt as a GM to have to play bad guy, sometimes, but if they are toxic for the roleplay it'll be better for it. Get a mod involved if you have to. But always - if you can, take a step back and see the perspective of your playerbase as well. I've seen one or two roleplays tank because the GM kicked someone when they were in a heated place and the players disagreed with the action and left. so. Don't be triggerhappy, I guess.

Honestly though I haven't had much issues with problem-players, so don't stress too much

Yeah, it is definitely better to remove somebody that is just not working with you or the other players. I always try to be fair when dealing with other people, so I will always consider the words of my players, but in the end I will make the decisions. About being triggerhappy, LOL, I'm much too nice to be so.
I hope I don't have to kick anybody out though. I've seen it happen a few times, but honestly it's pretty rare for it to happen.

On Video Game Mechanics: I do alot of video-game style roleplays so I don't think it is a bad perspective to have, so long as you balance it right. Make it clear to your players from the int. check/ooc from the start that there are elements of that, be as crystal clear as possible what that looks like in the simplest terms, provide an example if you can, but don't bother going into the absolute minutia of everything (just the key mechanics and then slowly introduce specifics if you need too). Just walk your players through it, answer their questions, and you'll find that they start remembering stuff better then you do xD

I don't think my system would be too hard. I'm mostly trusting my players to be fair and know what is realistic and what is not, but I will step in if something seems whacky, LOL.

Of course if you're very much used to traditional text roleplays only, haven't played any games/tabletop rpgs, it might be a little bit more difficult to get into.

I am used to traditional text rps, LOL. That's why my rp is more leaning towards the traditional text kind. I don't really like the dice thing, LOL. It's kind of hard to explain what exactly I'm trying to go for in my rp, but it might be a blend of a traditional rp with a little bit of the game aspects. Though, it would be more leaning towards the freedom of traditional rps.

If you want I can send you a PM with information I've asked other great GMs about. Gamelike RPs are my favourite and something I am actively trying to get better at

I'd love that if you did. I want as much help, information, and wisdom as I can get.



Thanks for your time, I really appreciate it. (; You had a lot of good things to say and I'm happy that I've been getting some great help and opinions.

 

[Bacon is fluffy]

(Btw, not really sure what prefix should be put here.)

I plan to open up a very ambitious rp soon in about 2-3 months. Aaaand... I've never gm'ed anything before, HAH. I will have one or two trusted friends to help me manage things too. Both of them haven't really gm'ed either, LOL.

I've been thinking and planning... I've got a plot worked up, and I've already built up a world and some very simple lore. What I'm trying to figure out next is how I should run this. So, the next few paragraphs are just gonna be me rambling as I try to get my ideas out.



Firstly, the rp is gonna be kinda like one huge journey to the west kind of thing where rp'ers are constantly on the move, but not really to any specific destination if that makes sense, I will create a map though and only show locations that the characters have been to and I do have a general direction that the players will move in. The players will get to explore as a group or some can break off individually. But it's taking place in a really harsh and treacherous fantasy land, so I'm also incorporating a really heavy survival theme too. Combat is gonna be prevalent, and characters will need to trade and/or hunt/scavenge for food and other supplies. So, I assume most of the characters will decide to stick together, but I can adapt to outliers.
Becareful with open ended nonsense. You have be firm and guide them without making them feel like they have no options. I've been in countless situations where as a player I left things up in the air and the players just floundered. I'm not even talking about not posting. I'm talking about the social situations in a town that end up with no one making an effort to interact with eachother. It's like a free for all where everyone is off in their little corners jerking off. So make sure that you give them freedom carefully or you'll get stuck in the intro phase because your players will be running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

You want to know the worst part? NO one wants to post in the ooc making plans and they will even refuse to do so. But then they do absolutely nothing with said freedom.
For the general world, I kind of want a "free-er" DnD system. I'll be completely taking control of the world and DM'ing, having the environment interact and sometimes react to the players and vice versa. I don't like using dice to be honest. I wanna trust my rp'ers to be fair, but I'll also keep close watch on who's been getting hit the least and the most in combat scenarios, and who's been having the best and worst luck out in the field. I'll still be controlling most, if not, everything that will happens to the players. There will be a day/night cycle and I will be monitoring the time and changing it frequently via world announcements. Night cycles may be a bit less active, so I may cut those short.
Fate core is a good little system that really only took me around a day to learn. If you want something structured but free-r than DnD.
I've also been thinking of including posting orders/limits. I kinda feel like post orders would be a must with the kind of rp I'm trying to run. For combat, players must follow a strict order so that I am able to effectively control mobs and damage input/output and so that I can fluently shift around the progress and tide of battle. Out of combat, I'm thinking of just letting players be a bit more free with their posting, and not really enforce a limit to posts. But I am still able to interrupt and order for posts to halt to introduce something, move something along, or simply to just briefly change the time.

For the survival aspect of the rp, I still want to trust players to be fair and realistic, but I am gonna enforce that characters can starve, bleed, break things, and die. I also want the survival theme to be prevalent in everything. For example, a starved character is very weakened in battle. A character that falls into water has the possibility to drown if they're carrying too much. I like realism, my guys. I suspect that a lot of people will desperately try to keep their characters alive since they only have one, but that's the kind of struggle to survive that I really want. (;
You can't really have this type of rp without having structure in mind. In fact it would be massively beneficial to have a system of roleplay set up before actually starting this up. You should not trust people. Give them clear limitations, rules for replenishing their needs and clear debuffs for bad situations.
Lastly, there will only be 6-8 people accepted with only one character each. The amount of people really make a difference, I think. Again, I assume that most of the characters will want to stick together. However, for characters that break from the group or get separated, I'll 1x1 them until they reconnect with the main squad. And they will always find their way back. For the most part, I will try to have only one person separated at a time, or have the group split up in at max two or three different smaller units as it will just be easier for me to keep up with everything.



And now I have some questions and things for you wonderful gms about gm'ing.

-How do you move something along when it gets dull?
What I mean is, if players are losing interest, what's the best way to get a hold of that interest and pull the players back in? I've always thought that as soon as an interaction ends, another must immediately pop up. Players must always be doing something. Dead time is bad time. Even a simple task helps destroy boredom, and I'm certainly not saying that everything has to be exploding and adrenaline-inducing all the time. I believe in the tension-and-release cycle. But is that a bad way to look at it?

-What do you do when there's drama in the OOC?
This usually isn't a problem cuz' I see that most rp'ers on here are pretty decent people. (; I hope this doesn't happen to me, but I'd better be prepared if it does. How do you (as in yourself) usually deal with this? I know it depends on the situation, but I'd like some words on this.

-How do you deal with a "difficult" rp'er?
What I mean is somebody who is unwilling to compromise. I know that the simple solution is, "If they ain't followin' yo' word, honey, they gotta' go." Well... Yeah, but it'd suck if somebody left in the middle of the rp. What do you (as in yourself) do if somebody is being difficult?

-I'm trying to look at this from a video game perspective since I think the two are very similar. Is this a bad perspective?

Also- I kind of wanted this to be an hp, but eeehhhh... Not sure if that will happen anymore? I feel like the organization of hp's will be a lot more beneficial to me though.



Thoughts? Questions/Answers? Criticism? Advice/tips? I'll try to answer and reply to them all.

Sounds like an ambitious project. I hope you have a helper

 

[Devious Dilbert]

Sounds like an ambitious project. I hope you have a helper

I do. It'll be kind of dksfjdjsokdldll cuz It'll be very first time running an rp and I'm already jumping into something huge, LOL.
I have two trusted friends to help me with this, though it's also their first times running an rp.

 

[Beckoncall]

Pm me when you'd be free to talk on discord, I am on pacific time. If you want to see how I run an rp check "lost continent: flight from muurdaan" ... but I've been an active gm more years then I haven't, and I'd be glad to give you some resources as well as answer your questions.

 

[Clairvoyance]

Remember that Kik RP? That was a fail, yeah, but it was Kevin's fault. Kevin.

 

[Devious Dilbert]

Remember that Kik RP? That was a fail, yeah, but it was Kevin's fault. Kevin.

...
WE DON'T TALK ABOUT THAT HERE, GET OUT OF MY THREAD

 

[Seldil]

Hello Dilbert,


People have given lots of great general rp advice so I'm going to try and point out a few things that may help you specific to what you are about to get into.


First of all man you are brave. I've been rping for about 15 years and GMing for most of that and I'm pretty sure I couldn’t pull this off in a thread. I did run a game very similar to this where 12 players owned a pirate ship but it was a face to face game that met once a week for about a year. It was a nightmare I swore I would never attempt again lol.


Some things to consider:


Unless you have already promised those spots you may want to consider reducing the number of players. 6-8 players is a pretty large group even for face to face game which runs faster than forum games. If you think about it this way if you have ordered turns such as during combat and you have 8 players each player will have to wait to see what the one who goes before him will post. When you factor in time zones, work/ school schedules, and that one guy who misses a day you could wind up taking a few days to a week for one round of combat. Consider now that the average DnD combat is 4 to 6 rounds and it could be up to a month per fight.


Another area that’s going to cause major issues is allowing the party to split up. If you have two guys who go off exploring and the main party gets into combat. The explorers will be passing much more time per post than the people in combat. Considering how long combat could last (in real time) and you will wind up with a significant time distortion between the players. Meaning you will be constantly warping some groups forward (also throwing off your simulated survival timings) or making the outliers wait days to post.


One thing to consider is no matter how well you GM this it will be very slow. It’s a large game with in depth simulation and possibly ordered turns even out of combat. Just make sure that your players are looking for that kind of game and that should minimize the player conflicts (since players who like that kind of game would probably be patient people to begin with).


I wish you the best of luck with it. I'm not sure how much help I was / can be, but feel free to hit me up if you need (probably bad lol) advice.

 

[Devious Dilbert]

First of all man you are brave. I've been rping for about 15 years and GMing for most of that and I'm pretty sure I couldn’t pull this off in a thread. I did run a game very similar to this where 12 players owned a pirate ship but it was a face to face game that met once a week for about a year. It was a nightmare I swore I would never attempt again lol.

LOL. I guess I am, thanks, haha.
Yeaaah, I can see how that'd be rough, LOL. 12 players... wow.

Unless you have already promised those spots you may want to consider reducing the number of players. 6-8 players is a pretty large group even for face to face game which runs faster than forum games. If you think about it this way if you have ordered turns such as during combat and you have 8 players each player will have to wait to see what the one who goes before him will post. When you factor in time zones, work/ school schedules, and that one guy who misses a day you could wind up taking a few days to a week for one round of combat. Consider now that the average DnD combat is 4 to 6 rounds and it could be up to a month per fight.

Honestly, this is a really good point, and I'm really glad that you brought this up because I honestly hadn't thought of it. But you're pretty damn right. 6-8 people is definitely going to be hell after reading what you've wrote, LOL. I've been in some pretty large group rps- one I'm in right now has about 13-14 people and I'm pretty sure I've been in one with around 20 in the past (Though, I dropped that one pretty fast, haha). I think my past experiences in groups with so many people had kinda led me to believe that I needed a larger group. Though, after considering just this,

DnD combat is 4 to 6 rounds and it could be up to a month per fight.

I'm gonna have to rethink that. I may limit it to just five instead when launch time comes around. That may speed things up. Though, not sure by how much. I still would really like to have a group of at least that number. I've only promised two spots to the co-gms though, so changing that number around wouldn't be a big deal.

Another area that’s going to cause major issues is allowing the party to split up. If you have two guys who go off exploring and the main party gets into combat. The explorers will be passing much more time per post than the people in combat. Considering how long combat could last (in real time) and you will wind up with a significant time distortion between the players. Meaning you will be constantly warping some groups forward (also throwing off your simulated survival timings) or making the outliers wait days to post.

Another damn good point that I hadn't given much thought to. I honestly cannot think of a way around this other than keeping the whole group together... but I think the group sometimes getting split up, whether because of a disaster (heh) or somebody being exiled/ willingly leaving the group, would be a cool thing to have in the rp. certain situations where this can happen also puts the emphasis back on character interactions and the characters themselves, which is what I'm heavily focusing this rp on.

No matter how I see it, time distortion is going to occur with how I wanna run this rp. But the effects of this may be less dramatic with a smaller group, just like in your first point. So, I'm very likely to lower the number cap on players now when the big day comes around.

One thing to consider is no matter how well you GM this it will be very slow. It’s a large game with in depth simulation and possibly ordered turns even out of combat. Just make sure that your players are looking for that kind of game and that should minimize the player conflicts (since players who like that kind of game would probably be patient people to begin with).

That is very true. Though, slowness is kind of what I'm afraid of.
Again, I've been in group rps with 10+ players and when the rp slows down, it's pretty bad news for everybody as it means people will start to lose interest and people will then drop out, and when that happens, even more people will lose interest and drop out until the rp is kinda just left out in the dust.

Seeing that happen so many times has kind of made me believe that an rp has to be a bit faster-paced in order to keep everybody's attention- which would mean a hell of a lot of work on my part in this project because of my role. But you're damn right. An rp this size will be on the slower side. That's just how it will be I guess, LOL. But with patient players and determination on my part, it wouldn't be a problem.



You brought up some really good things. Thanks so much for taking the time to read-over my shit and give me some really good thoughts.