Viewpoint What type of Roleplaying do you personally prefer and why?

[Sorin]

Topic says all.

I personally lean towards one-on-one Roleplays though I previously leaned towards group Roleplays. While I find it easier to make friends through group settings, I feel like they're usually difficult to get off the ground and tend to be equally as difficult to work with, especially when you have to worry about including everyone in the main plot/ensuring that no player gets left behind. I think it's a lot easier to write with one person and navigate a schedule with them (I have a preference for writing on Discord) though I imagine these views are very different from folks who use primarily forums for their writing. The same goes with plotting, in that it's easier for me, but I also think it's kind of exciting to plot in group Roleplays with folks so that you're surprising other players later on.

Where does everyone else lean?

 

[PeteTheWitcher]

I agree with that. I think that one on one is a lot easier to navigate a schedule and plot. However, group rps can be very fun if done right. You need to have a skilled gm to rally the troops and group rps have some of the best character development. Not to say one X one doesn’t because mine definitely does, but it is more likely because of how many characters and different things are going on.

 

[Onmyoji]

One on one. I can't fit into groups because of my time zone and schedule. And multiple 1x1 roleplays are a lot easier to manage than a single group.

 

[Jannah]

Definitely one on one. I have a tough time with groups since I'm a slow poster. Oftentimes when I attempt groups I just get left behind because there's always those two or three players who post multiple times a day. It can take me sometimes weeks to post and of course most groups are not willing to wait that long. Plus I feel it's harder to keep a story flowing when there's multiple players. Each is going to have their own creative visions and their own ideas for how they want the story to proceed. Not to mention the fact OOC cliques will sometimes form and then relationships in character will build around that.

 

[Sorin]

Definitely one on one. I have a tough time with groups since I'm a slow poster. Oftentimes when I attempt groups I just get left behind because there's always those two or three players who post multiple times a day. It can take me sometimes weeks to post and of course most groups are not willing to wait that long. Plus I feel it's harder to keep a story flowing when there's multiple players. Each is going to have their own creative visions and their own ideas for how they want the story to proceed. Not to mention the fact OOC cliques will sometimes form and then relationships in character will build around that.

This is another issue for me. I remember that I joined a group Roleplay on another website about two years ago and it was up to three pages of content within the first forty-eight hours. Because I was too busy with work at the time, I had to withdraw my application. Although I don't have much going on in real life now, I'm still a slow poster and just a tad bit of a perfectionist.

 

[UhOhStinkyGirl]

I've always done one on one roleplays and dabbled in groups a few times. The group rps are okay but I tend to find that when the group gets too big it starts to get messy and people can get left out. The same goes for if the group is too small.

For context, I started to roleplay about ten years ago, but I'm fairly new to RP Nation. The group I was a part of was a group of three and one night when I went to bed the other two keep going at it, so by the time I came back it was practically over for me.

I want to get back into group rps and roleplays in general though since it feels like it would be fun and a great way to practice writing!

 

[Idea]

When it comes to groups or one x ones I have no particular preference. I enjoy both and seek different things out of both. One X ones give me more room to maneuver certain ideas, to really focus the attention, and to control scheduling. Groups give me more people to potentially interact with, are good when trying to not be the center of attention or when wanting a setting to more focused, and when I want to show off a character idea.

I do quite enjoy dice roleplays though, though I've only really gotten a chance to try some D&D ones (everything else so far has been in a system I don't know). I usually do them as group RPs, but I've attempted 1x1 too in the past.

I've dabbled in quest RPs before, turned out I couldn't quite keep it up back then. I do have a potential plan for one such RP in fact, but I'm still formulating it and I need to find the time to reply to my actual current RPs before I start anything new.

Nation RPs are another thing I might dip my toe in at some point. I have a friend who's quite into them, but they've been a little overloaded with fantasy so I'll maybe wait until they're ready to try it.

 

[Jannah]

This is another issue for me. I remember that I joined a group Roleplay on another website about two years ago and it was up to three pages of content within the first forty-eight hours. Because I was too busy with work at the time, I had to withdraw my application. Although I don't have much going on in real life now, I'm still a slow poster and just a tad bit of a perfectionist.

I'm not going to claim it's always the case, but I feel like this is sort of why group RP tends to attract a younger crowd. They have more free time for it. One on one is definitely far more flexible for adult schedules, provided you're playing with fellow adults.

 

[xpstitch]

One on one rps aren't so much more enjoyable for me necessarily, rather they feel safer in a way. Mass player dropouts have devastated super fun stories I had been a part of.

Sometimes there are still two players (often with romantically paired characters) who still wish to enjoy. So it becomes a one on one by default regardless.

If story abandonment is inevitable, why not skip the middle man and just risk one person leaving instead of multiple? Hence why I do one on ones by default

 

[Dubious]

1x1 for the last decade or so, although a part of me would love to try a group RP again.

Maybe 1x1s suit me better anyway, though. I'm not sure how to keep a group together & I tend towards romance (or at least romance-adjacent) stuff.

 

[vividmilktea]

One x One. More likely to vibe with someone, OOC Canon characters drive me insane so I enjoy RP with someone on the same wavelength. Less variable this way vs in a group.

 

[magma_dude]

Group I find it hard keeping a story going with only 2 or 3 characters.

 

[marinatedmemories]

One on One. I used to do group a lot on some different forums, because they usually one-lined there, but on here that isn't so much the case, and while I'm typing, a lot of stuff might happen, and that just means I probably have to change stuff. It's not that I'm a slow typer but I also quite paranoid about missing something.

 

[Pokeking]

I like 1x1 because it's better to manage and exchange replys.

Group storylines are enjoyable since there are multiple participants. However, have an instance of a participant who stops posting, it puts.future posting at risk because non-posting can become infectious. If different participants are interacting with a character whose player stops posting, what do you do?

Years ago, I was in a sub thread because it was a side quest from the main storyline. The person I was with ghosted. I think it was three weeks without notice, so I had my character leave their character and head back to the tavern/inn which was the hub.

 

[Shreb]

One on one.

I would like to do group or large-scale rps but they're my Achilles heel. My style of writing is entirely based on replying to a single person so I fall apart over time

Combat isnt my forte either because I'm always biased to losing.

 

[Sorin]

Combat isnt my forte either because I'm always biased to losing.

Very relatable, honestly.

 

[Lorsh]

Combat isnt my forte either because I'm always biased to losing.

that is actually good

on gmod RP servers, it is often encouraged and is called "Play-to-Lose" (P2L)

 

[ashen.eidolon]

When I first started roleplaying (longer ago than I'm willing to admit) I only did groups. When I got older and developed my own writing style and a preference for well developed plots, it came only one x one games. Then I went back to just groups. Now I'm into both.

I find my issues and preferences echo what other people have said here.

Groups pose the issue of people falling behind (I can't keep up with the ones that have a DAILY post requirement lol, no way) and can tend to get messy with so many people at once.

One x ones are amazing and I think my preference now but it's so hard to find anyone compatible anymore. I'm really relaxed in so many ways, but finding someone who can take it from the plotting stage to the roleplay stage is really hard nowadays.

So I guess one x one games are my preference now, but I do wish I could find a good solid group because I really enjoy having more characters around to develop with and I love reading everyone else's posts and interactions.

 

[dangerfluff]

I prefer 1x1! It's nice to have something to think about throughout the day, and to be able to put some thought and time into a reply.

 

[A Sparkling Zombie]

Groups! They create a breathing world and in a way offers more possibilities, or at least the illusion of possibilities, since there are more characters to interact with. I think at least in small part it might also be because I don't socialize much beyond delivering one-liners or talking about the roleplay itself. I'm aloof and not very good at conversation. I feel like I build relationships better by just focusing on the shared "doing" at first and developing comfort through that before I'm ready to actually be personable. A lot of people don't function that way in a 1x1, though. At least in a group I can exist as a wallflower and pop in on my own terms, and then the ones who need actual, consistent conversation can fulfill that among themselves. I don't need an active group OOC, though. Just participating IC with multiple people can be enough for me.

I have found that a group has to have specific characteristics for me to maintain interest, though. Chief among them is that the GM has to play an active role in guiding the plot and involving the players. The second is that I like some form of a system. It could be something like D&D with dice, or just a character sheet with stats/a strict strengths/weaknesses system that the GM can use for their own interpretations/randomizations.

The groups that I have seen last a while have deadlines for each round, with no set posting order. That way it's flexible for individual posting schedules while minimizing the scenario where an inactive player throttles the rest of the group, or where two people run ahead of others.

1x1s do offer greater control, but I get kinda bored with it being just two characters going back and forth. I have been wanting to try a GM-player dynamic at some point to see if I like that better.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Zombie Ork man above me has it right. Groups are all I do, used to try 1x1's but I find them too much like chat type rp, another genre I don't want anything to do with. RP for me is co-operative storytelling. Isn't me to say if it's two folks. But as noted in the above post, you have to have deadlines, flexibility, hierarchy at parts and democracy at others. Some elements and features of the show should mainline one or more PC's but not everyone, while the rest support, then those roles get switched around. In fact having a large group responding to one threat, to one thing is a big mistake I find.

But veering off topic. There is very little that would convince mean to ever do a 1x1 RP.

 

[StuartAnderson]

1:1
i'm open to groups, it's just hard to get people's schedules to fit right, particulary in different time zones (and i am in a different time zone to most on here). so you either end up waiting for people or carry on without them and the story can be a bit disjointed.
it does depend what it is though I guess like a quest based one where it's one storyline for everyone is different to say a school based one where you can go off and have different conversations