Advice/Help The Best Way to Do Applications

[usagi froggy]

Hello! I am currently in the process of creating a roleplay that has limited slots-- 4 total, to be exact. I have no clue how many people are actually going to be interested or what to anticipate there. I don't really want to do first come, first serve, but I'm not really sure what the best way to do an application system is. Please, if you have any experience running an RP with either limited slots or an application system, I'd love to hear your advice!

 

[Ayama]

Hey! So, of course, how applications are done will always depend on the needs of the RP and the preferences of the GM but, as a rule of thumb, I would say there are usually the following things to consider:

Since the players submitting applications aren't guaranteed a slot in the RP, you don't want to make the applications too extensive, since that might dissuade some potentially great people from shooting their shot.

At the same time, you want to balance that with whatever it is you feel you need to make an informed decision. This usually includes some information about the character concept/idea, and can sometimes include writing samples &/or other information about the player themself.

So overall, my recommendation would be to make a compact and concise form for interested players to fill out that includes whatever information you want to know, and give whatever you feel is a reasonable deadline for them to fill it out, after which you make your selection.

Hope that helps!

 

[Naril]

I've run quite a lot of application-based stories over the years, largely in other places. I used to ask for full character sheets, but frankly that got cumbersome.

These days, I'll do one of two things:

- An 'elevator pitch' style of character description. One or two sentences, make it punchy, make it interesting. Don't try to give me a life story or anything comprehensive, just tell me why I should care. For example: Serenity van Buren, who gambled her soul away. The thing is, she won another.

- A very short story or scene centered on the character that tells me something about them. This is very much to look for the same question - why should I care about them, what case is the player making for the character to be a good fit for the story.

I'm a person that really does not like just reading a character biography, so these kinds of things also keep me invested and interested in the cast. Obviously, for the people accepted, I'd like to see a more thorough character sheet, but these days I'm also very much in the mind of "if you seem to know who this person is and you've connected them well to the world, great," rather than having very extensive character sheet information.

 

[usagi froggy]

I've run quite a lot of application-based stories over the years, largely in other places. I used to ask for full character sheets, but frankly that got cumbersome.

These days, I'll do one of two things:

- An 'elevator pitch' style of character description. One or two sentences, make it punchy, make it interesting. Don't try to give me a life story or anything comprehensive, just tell me why I should care. For example: Serenity van Buren, who gambled her soul away. The thing is, she won another.

- A very short story or scene centered on the character that tells me something about them. This is very much to look for the same question - why should I care about them, what case is the player making for the character to be a good fit for the story.

I'm a person that really does not like just reading a character biography, so these kinds of things also keep me invested and interested in the cast. Obviously, for the people accepted, I'd like to see a more thorough character sheet, but these days I'm also very much in the mind of "if you seem to know who this person is and you've connected them well to the world, great," rather than having very extensive character sheet information.

When you do these small applications, do you usually have people do them in the Interest Check thread? Or do you make a separate thread for them?

 

[Naril]

I'll do them in a full OOC thread or a Discord. Interest checks for me are just that - a place to express interest, I don't really need to see character information at that point. Quite a lot of other folks do ask for character information in the interest check thread, though. You should of course do what feels right for you!