What is the most intriguing part of a roleplay?

[RealisticFantasy]

When skimming interest checks and open roleplays, what lures you in the most?

 

[Ayl]

First of all, the theme. If it's my kind of play, I will take a look. If the presentation is detailed, my interest grows! Finally, if the author knows how to explain his idea in a way that doesn't tell you much, but leaves you curious and wanting for more, then I will definitely be looking forward to the RP.

 

[Chordling]

For me the interest checks that stand out the most are the ones who have elaborate ideas. The author has an idea where they want to start and where they want to go. Otherwise it just seems like the roleplay could go anywhere and you're really just signing yourself up for a ride that could go in completely unexpected directions.

 

[Skelo10]

I'd also say the Interest Check. Sometimes it can help me figure out what kind of person the GM/IC is.


@Musician


Same signature ^^

 

[Lustre]

What lures me in the most is a unique, funnel-shaped concept with a strong back-story and enough space for character development. Yet, what a roleplay needs to provide is an opinionated cast that has a well-rounded idea of the goal that has been set, for almost every plot, no matter how cliche and undeveloped it may look at first, can be driven to success with the help of interaction and open-mindedness. This paves the path to quality, of course, provided by the people. I've always thought that what makes a great roleplay is the chemistry between its participants, IC and OOC-wise. One complements the other - passiveness and aggressiveness. To put it short, not matter how much I love contributing to the rp with my ideas, oftentimes driving the plot, my ideas can and will run out. Therefore, I require my partner(s) to be able to keep the rp going by taking the initiative and implementing a new course or 'kindling' the old one. Otherwise, boredom and disinterest take over. To wrap this up, for I'd hate to waste yer time, if I find the concept moderately acceptable and pleasing to my taste, I will give the roleplay a chance; however, what decides whether I'll stick around or not is the people that comprise it, regardless of how epic the plot may sound. I'm not a fan of meaningless chatter that in no way contributes to the story or character development. o‿o <-- creepy, right?

 

[Ducky]

What @Queza said, though I don't mind a little bit of meaningless chatter to help gel the group. I also don't like big role play groups (greater than seven) because that increases the chance of interpersonal conflict and drama. I'd say around four to six people is my ideal group RP size.

 

[White Masquerade]

I won't lie. I look at the creator first. If there's a user that's good at what they do, I'll probably post:

• Sign-up!
  
• Joining!
  
• In!
  

without even looking at what they did.

 

[Zidlijan]

The relationship development. I'm a HUGE sucker of overanalyzing characters


and learning things I'm ignorant about (I didn't finish high school so I have this


hole in me I try to fill with researching things that fascinate me). And always as


a watcher I notice that the relationships of characters in roleplays are very much


like those of real people, and, depending on situation and place, can become very


deep and analysis worth, for example "why did your character say X to mine?"


that kind of thing is what draws me to other people, interest, the will to analyze


and learn about each other's characters, their reasons and other things.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

I voted for Content (Quality) but with a qualifier: I picked it because it's the vaguest, most open-ended choice, and all the others fall under it. There's no such thing as a good roleplay with terrible players or an inept leader or nothing in it. Given how it's dominating the poll, I wager most have similar ideas in mind, and would recommend one day repeating this question but breaking Quality down further into all the things that make up quality.


I was just asked this question in private yesterday, so I'll give a shortened version of my answer: I'm drawn first to the characters I can create, second to the setting, and third to those I'm playing with. It's an egocentric approach for an egocentric man -- I don't care how wonderful you are, I don't care how riveting the group is, I don't care how much you want to play with me, if my options don't please me I'm giving you zero attention. Once I have a character I enjoy, the quality of the world is important to me, as I really enjoy breathing settings I can leap into and engage and change. I prefer serious games with moments of levity, dramatic character dynamics, soaring ambition, challenge, and a grounded, believable foundation in human psychology and society. I want to feel like I'm in a living world, a simulation, of sorts, albeit one rampant with narrative necessities.


And, lastly, the people I'm playing with. I'm fully capable of entertaining myself, but if there's no one enjoyable to hook into one way or another, I'm out. If I'm the only one who intrigues me I may as well skip the roleplay and go back to my own writing.


tl;dr; the character and the world

 

[Polaris]

I've only recently returned to roleplaying and going by RPN's forum, I check the Interest Check. I'll be interested if someone writes the gist of the rp they have in mind on the title, but I notice a lot of the ones that I actually click on have little detail. A lot of them were "Is anyone interested in a (theme) rp?" and then there is nothing more to go by. So that puts me off. I need a bit more detail before being interested.


Another thing that I'm actually particular about (but choose to push aside because it seems a lot of people here don't mind) is the number of people playing the rp. To be honest, I don't enjoy rps with more than 8 rpers. It gets hectic and confusing. It's hard to control and keep up with. When I rped a very long time ago, it was normal to have only a set number of characters in the rp. So I was frankly surprised when so many people joined an rp here and the number of people in one rp would also be a factor for me in choosing an rp.