_Exodus_
King of Transformers
I don’t fully get why most RPs I run into are school based. Don’t most people hate them? Why would they want to relive that when there’s so much more to a story than that?
Viewpoint What is enticing about school based Roleplays?
- Thread starter _Exodus_
- Start date
nerdy tangents
One Thousand Club
Not at all. They are an excellent setting to use for a variety of reasons
1. they are universal, everyone had some idea of what school is
2. they come with A LOT of events which can make for fun ways to get characters together
3. They are incredibly customizable. You can do everything from boarding school to mutant military academy to magical notwarts.
4. they are excellent starting point for beginners
I did them for years and the two longest role plays I have ever been in (that lasted over three years each) where in fact school role plays. I think they have a lot of potential for growth as well as you get better at roleplaying.
1. they are universal, everyone had some idea of what school is
2. they come with A LOT of events which can make for fun ways to get characters together
3. They are incredibly customizable. You can do everything from boarding school to mutant military academy to magical notwarts.
4. they are excellent starting point for beginners
I did them for years and the two longest role plays I have ever been in (that lasted over three years each) where in fact school role plays. I think they have a lot of potential for growth as well as you get better at roleplaying.
sephoinks
oink
I gotta agree w nerdy! I think it's because school roleplays are usually the most easiest and familiar ones. I also think it's because it's depicted as a time of discovery in a person's life, and that could be thrilling to people. Or at least that's how the media sees it ahah! You know, the whole coming of age story thing.
ChasmOfOrganicMatter
High Priest of Depravity
It's a nostalgia for simpler, easier, and uh, honestly often hornier times lol.
Jannah
Barely holding on.
I think Nerdy Tangents already answered this quite well. I personally don't like school RP's much, but that's just personal preference.
Idea
The Pun Tyrant
Reasons for wanting a school RP, to add to what’s already been said, can also fall into the following following:
1. There is a large media representation of school settings. As most if not all RPers take mild or heavy influence from the kinds of media they consume as they develop their ideas/plots, as well as their tastes and expectations, the very large media presence did the genre can make it feel natural and familiar to include it.
2. School RPs are a very basic setting, letting GMs use the focus they would otherwise spend on creating something more original on other aspects of the roleplay.
3.School RPs often offer the most freedom in character design by simple virtue of GM inexperience or laissez faire attitude. This isn’t an inherent characteristic of the genre, just a statistical observation I’m taking from my experience with those RPs. As a primary motivation for many players regards their own very particular character ideas or OCs, that kind of accomodatikg
You could ask this of any genre. The answer is simple- the story isn’t limited to the genre, or heck, a singular genre of probably several.
PS: As a side note, shouldn’t this thread be in the roleplay discussion subforum?
1. There is a large media representation of school settings. As most if not all RPers take mild or heavy influence from the kinds of media they consume as they develop their ideas/plots, as well as their tastes and expectations, the very large media presence did the genre can make it feel natural and familiar to include it.
2. School RPs are a very basic setting, letting GMs use the focus they would otherwise spend on creating something more original on other aspects of the roleplay.
3.School RPs often offer the most freedom in character design by simple virtue of GM inexperience or laissez faire attitude. This isn’t an inherent characteristic of the genre, just a statistical observation I’m taking from my experience with those RPs. As a primary motivation for many players regards their own very particular character ideas or OCs, that kind of accomodatikg
You could ask this of any genre. The answer is simple- the story isn’t limited to the genre, or heck, a singular genre of probably several.
PS: As a side note, shouldn’t this thread be in the roleplay discussion subforum?
Crow
Top-tier Avian Master
Tell me, ladies and gentlemen, which do you hate more? Gruelling work, or school life?
nerdy tangents
One Thousand Club
I mean personally I do roleplay “work place” plots a lot. Where my characters work is a central setting/premise in the plot. But I ain’t writing about flipping burgers or filing paperwork. It’s usually running a magical zoo or a cafe or something.
Now if you work in a cafe or zoo IRL you may or may not be into the plot. But they are so divorced from reality that it’s rarely going to be the same.
And it’s the same thing with school. No one is running a school roleplay so they can relive the thrilling feeling of doing homework or being bullied or whatever.
They are very rarely in realistic settings and when they are it’s more like an anime (think Host Club) then anything remotely connected to real life. But your far more likely to have vampire school, magic school, mutant school, etc.
So unless you have some deep seated trauma about escapism than it’s not a big deal.
click norris
Ender of worlds, devourer of souls
School rp is less stressful and more hands on. (my opinion) when it follows a specific plot such as a school, it really helps to keep rpers entertained and engaged
Murdergurl
will turn your insides into your outsides
Hate is a strong word. I reserve its use for political figures and pedophiles. I don't hate school RPs. But I definitely don't like them. I imagine that a lot of the people who participate in them are probably a crowd that is either still in school, or has recently graduated. Therefore, its more relatable to them. As someone who graduated High School in 2002, and already went to college (twice!), I can tell you that I absolutely do NOT have any interest whatsoever in roleplaying anything close to those scenarios. Boring, boring, boring! Modern settings are mundane enough. RPing the school (or work) life within that setting even more so.
When I RP, I do it to get AWAY from the real world. But everyone has their preferences. It's really just that simple.
When I RP, I do it to get AWAY from the real world. But everyone has their preferences. It's really just that simple.
Jannah
Barely holding on.
I can definitely relate to this, although I'm not quite as old as you are(graduated high school in 2009). I won't even do regular modern slice of life RP's. In fact, I usually won't do modern settings at all unless there's some sort of fantasy element involved.
Murdergurl
will turn your insides into your outsides
^ THIS all the way.
Jannah
Barely holding on.
Yep. If people want me to do a modern setting then there better be a damn good and innovative idea behind it. School RP's aren't it. They're literally a dime a dozen around here.
click norris
Ender of worlds, devourer of souls
that is why i rp as well
Murdergurl
will turn your insides into your outsides
Pfft. Try being an alternative gal in high school before it was trendy. Constantly being called a "Devil worshipper", getting called into the office because of wearing studded bracelets that are "weapons", and constantly being accused of various other bullshit by the normies.
To be fair, I did beat the shit out of a couple of them. But they had it coming.
Anyways, case in point: Fuck school. Not a fun time in my life. Nothing I wanna revisit.
Jannah
Barely holding on.
I was socially awkward and a nerd, thus I was bullied a lot too. School was hell for me. Fuck school.
nerdy tangents
One Thousand Club
School role plays are not realistic modern role plays. They do not literally take place in a real world high school. Ever.
At best you will get something like Host Club where it’s some overly dramatized version of high school which focuses more on activities than any kind of school work or whatever. (And that’s like 1% of school role plays at best)
A vast majority of them are actually in the fantasy, fandom, or sci-fi genres.
The most popular types of school role plays are : mutant schools, magical schools, and fandom schools.
Typically speaking the focus is learning to use some kind of fantastical ability or special skill. There is usually mostly focus on hands on training of some sort in “class” with possibly some wider plot dealing with powers or a big bad.
They are usually far more like Hogwarts than Sweet Valley High.
At best you will get something like Host Club where it’s some overly dramatized version of high school which focuses more on activities than any kind of school work or whatever. (And that’s like 1% of school role plays at best)
A vast majority of them are actually in the fantasy, fandom, or sci-fi genres.
The most popular types of school role plays are : mutant schools, magical schools, and fandom schools.
Typically speaking the focus is learning to use some kind of fantastical ability or special skill. There is usually mostly focus on hands on training of some sort in “class” with possibly some wider plot dealing with powers or a big bad.
They are usually far more like Hogwarts than Sweet Valley High.
Adelais Schaffwolle
New Member
as somebody who very recently got into a school RP, i think that at least for me there's a small charm in being able to relive those moments with people you actually enjoy being around + all of the "drama" that you never actually got to experience in the school environment w/o consequences
i grew up very sheltered and never really made a lot of friends in high school (let alone got involved with any major drama; i didn't even know that there were people at my high school who were actually going out and having parties, getting into cliques, etc.), so for me it's sort of served as a way for me to relive high school in a way that's "actually normal" (getting to hang out with my friends after school instead of going home immediately) and "more exciting" (there are no consequences for me irl if i skip my classes for the sake of having my character get into a fight hahaha) and with people that i would enjoy being around.
i grew up very sheltered and never really made a lot of friends in high school (let alone got involved with any major drama; i didn't even know that there were people at my high school who were actually going out and having parties, getting into cliques, etc.), so for me it's sort of served as a way for me to relive high school in a way that's "actually normal" (getting to hang out with my friends after school instead of going home immediately) and "more exciting" (there are no consequences for me irl if i skip my classes for the sake of having my character get into a fight hahaha) and with people that i would enjoy being around.
nerdy tangents
One Thousand Club
lol and we get a counterpoint right after my post, out of curiosity
Adelais Schaffwolle
do you typically do realistic modern roleplay?
I ask because most of the school roleplay I’m familiar with are fantasy or sci-if, with more realistic variants being something along the lines of
military school
music school
school for royals
So I don’t actually have a lot of familiarity with pure high school role plays in a realistic setting. But then I rarely do realistic role plays in general.
So is that a popular thing in the realistic genre?
Adelais Schaffwolle
do you typically do realistic modern roleplay? I ask because most of the school roleplay I’m familiar with are fantasy or sci-if, with more realistic variants being something along the lines of
military school
music school
school for royals
So I don’t actually have a lot of familiarity with pure high school role plays in a realistic setting. But then I rarely do realistic role plays in general.
So is that a popular thing in the realistic genre?
Adelais Schaffwolle
New Member
EDIT BECAUSE I ONLY NOW REALIZED WHAT IT WAS YOU WERE ASKING (I’M SO SORRY):
OH SHOOT I JUST HNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION AFTER I POSTED THIS
my answer in regards to whether or not pure modern high school is common in the realistic genre is “i dont know.” it probably is, tbh, since again you can do a lot with a high school setting (esp. which revolves around fluff)
=====
honestly? lmao nah i usually get into fantasy/sci-fi stuff; i’m usually not interested in realistic modern let alone school stuff myself hahaha (in spite of being in a school life + realistic modern)
granted, i also acknowledge that i’m a bit of a weird case in the first place. (i’m pretty sure not everybody has grown up sheltered nor had a relatively drama-free high school experience.) from talking to my fellow rp mates, their general deal is that they really enjoy the atmosphere (esp. when portrayed in a fashion similar to anime) and yeah the whole “people you actually like” dealio. school rps and stories in general also tend to be very focused on character drama and interpersonal conflict, so for (IRP) drama enthusiasts that’s definitely something to look forward to OuO
irl we’re given this huge expectation to grow up faster and study til death so we can get into better colleges for better jobs. it’s either you give up sleep or you give up your social life or give up both so that colleges will worship your grades and applications. in that sense, you don’t really get the chance to “enjoy yourself” the way that you would expect/would have wanted in high school. plus, there’s an undeniable truth that whatever you did wrong is going to end up tainting your permanent record, so if you’re a “good kid (TM),” why would you go out of your way to possibly ruin your chances of grabbing a better future?
at minimum, though, this is really just my perspective (if i’m understanding your question correctly): school RPs (regardless of genre) are generally that escape so that people can experience the ideal “school life” they couldn’t have back then. a simulation is probably the best term.
so, assuming if you’re asking if it tends to be overdramatized, of course it does. i need my love drama from somewhere aside from my daily dose of manga and anime. if you’re asking if variation in the genre is common, it most definitely is. then again, i’m also not an expert on things.
school life is also (from my experiences in watching anime and rp) a great segue way into giving people time to get attached to characters first before beating a sense of brutality into them. it also gives people a chance to make sense of the setting/mood based on how characters see/understand it as is.
(please do clarify if i didn’t understand your question though; i’m admittedly a bit unsure of what i’m answering but hopefully somewhere in that i did answer your question)
OH SHOOT I JUST HNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION AFTER I POSTED THIS
my answer in regards to whether or not pure modern high school is common in the realistic genre is “i dont know.” it probably is, tbh, since again you can do a lot with a high school setting (esp. which revolves around fluff)
=====
honestly? lmao nah i usually get into fantasy/sci-fi stuff; i’m usually not interested in realistic modern let alone school stuff myself hahaha (in spite of being in a school life + realistic modern)
granted, i also acknowledge that i’m a bit of a weird case in the first place. (i’m pretty sure not everybody has grown up sheltered nor had a relatively drama-free high school experience.) from talking to my fellow rp mates, their general deal is that they really enjoy the atmosphere (esp. when portrayed in a fashion similar to anime) and yeah the whole “people you actually like” dealio. school rps and stories in general also tend to be very focused on character drama and interpersonal conflict, so for (IRP) drama enthusiasts that’s definitely something to look forward to OuO
irl we’re given this huge expectation to grow up faster and study til death so we can get into better colleges for better jobs. it’s either you give up sleep or you give up your social life or give up both so that colleges will worship your grades and applications. in that sense, you don’t really get the chance to “enjoy yourself” the way that you would expect/would have wanted in high school. plus, there’s an undeniable truth that whatever you did wrong is going to end up tainting your permanent record, so if you’re a “good kid (TM),” why would you go out of your way to possibly ruin your chances of grabbing a better future?
at minimum, though, this is really just my perspective (if i’m understanding your question correctly): school RPs (regardless of genre) are generally that escape so that people can experience the ideal “school life” they couldn’t have back then. a simulation is probably the best term.
so, assuming if you’re asking if it tends to be overdramatized, of course it does. i need my love drama from somewhere aside from my daily dose of manga and anime. if you’re asking if variation in the genre is common, it most definitely is. then again, i’m also not an expert on things.
school life is also (from my experiences in watching anime and rp) a great segue way into giving people time to get attached to characters first before beating a sense of brutality into them. it also gives people a chance to make sense of the setting/mood based on how characters see/understand it as is.
(please do clarify if i didn’t understand your question though; i’m admittedly a bit unsure of what i’m answering but hopefully somewhere in that i did answer your question)
nerdy tangents
One Thousand Club
lol I actually have been doing school roleplays for the better part of a decade. I was asking because I usually stick to fantasy and sci-fi school settings. So realistic modern schools are something I’m unfamiliar with personally.
I think the only two I ever did were
1. a battle royals where students had to kill one another one by one in order to get free from their school
2. a school based on “reincarnated” Disney characters where they had pre-established flaws they had to overcome.
So for me school life has never really been a focus as school is just an easy setting to build whatever scifi or fantasy element is the real focus.
So I was mostly wondering if that was just something that comes from sticking to the more realistic setting without some kind of cross-genre twist.
Because from what I do remember of realistic role plays they do seem to be very much about living an idealized life or at least a life where you don’t have to worry about the obstacles of your actual life.
(Not to say fantasy, sci-fi, etc. don’t do the same. It’s just with the added power fantasy and metaphors thrown in)
I think the only two I ever did were
1. a battle royals where students had to kill one another one by one in order to get free from their school
2. a school based on “reincarnated” Disney characters where they had pre-established flaws they had to overcome.
So for me school life has never really been a focus as school is just an easy setting to build whatever scifi or fantasy element is the real focus.
So I was mostly wondering if that was just something that comes from sticking to the more realistic setting without some kind of cross-genre twist.
Because from what I do remember of realistic role plays they do seem to be very much about living an idealized life or at least a life where you don’t have to worry about the obstacles of your actual life.
(Not to say fantasy, sci-fi, etc. don’t do the same. It’s just with the added power fantasy and metaphors thrown in)
Chimney Swift
i am confusion
It's a versatile setting that ensures the characters stay in close proximity of each other! Very little chance of straying and derailing without hope of interaction.
School RPs, when done well, usually expand beyond the school itself into worldbuilding of the town or city around it. In my current school-based RP, only a handful of events take place in the school itself. School is just a common thread connecting the characters to each other and grounding them within the town.
In addition, high school and college are an intense and highly emotional experience for most people. School, whether you loved or hated it, brings back visceral memories and feelings for almost everyone. It's easy to build a character around that concept.
And a lot of people (myself included) are daunted by fantasy and historical settings. I find it hard, personally, to work with those unclear boundaries. I know exactly where the limits and norms of the contemporary English-speaking world are. I never have to worry about being anachronistic or breaking the rules of the universe.
School RPs, when done well, usually expand beyond the school itself into worldbuilding of the town or city around it. In my current school-based RP, only a handful of events take place in the school itself. School is just a common thread connecting the characters to each other and grounding them within the town.
In addition, high school and college are an intense and highly emotional experience for most people. School, whether you loved or hated it, brings back visceral memories and feelings for almost everyone. It's easy to build a character around that concept.
And a lot of people (myself included) are daunted by fantasy and historical settings. I find it hard, personally, to work with those unclear boundaries. I know exactly where the limits and norms of the contemporary English-speaking world are. I never have to worry about being anachronistic or breaking the rules of the universe.
