Experiences Whats making you angry today? Rp pet peeves

[DapperCat]

Pre-made characters.
It can work in VERY specific cases, but 99% of the time they're the biggest turn-off ever.
I want unique, engaging, characters that belong to the world we make for them... not a recycled character you mash into every different scenario. It takes away so much of the charm for me to know that Billy-Bob Jr. has been madly in love with twenty different characters across a multitude of roleplays. It's almost like someone is looking for wish fulfillment and want to use me and whatever unique character I come up with to get there.

This is kind of nuanced because it does depend on the situation. Sometimes if it's a pre-made character that hasn't been used anywhere it can be really cool (ie. a character you came up with that fits into a specific unique world that you want to explore via a roleplay), but when it's just the same character across a billion different plots I can't help but get annoyed. Especially because characters like that tend to not have much (if any) room for character growth because it's all happened before.

If you mean someone that uses a character simultaneously in many RPs, I so agree- it's hard to really get into the mindset when they're in so many things! Though I can't say I get why a character can't have been in an RP before? Personally I incorporate previous RPs into their history, changing the history depending on the RP if for example it doesn't fit the theme-ing. But then again I think maybe you're thinking of only romance-focused RPs? Because if people RP many genres and don't fully focus on romance I think it's unlikely a character will have just fallen in love with every single character they've RPed with!

Then again if you mean 1x1... I haven't done that in at least twelve years... xD I do know there's a -lot- of people that do mostly 1x1 (not nearly everyone of course!) that just want the romance stuff.

 

[The Black Knight]

Pre-made characters.
It can work in VERY specific cases, but 99% of the time they're the biggest turn-off ever.
I want unique, engaging, characters that belong to the world we make for them... not a recycled character you mash into every different scenario. It takes away so much of the charm for me to know that Billy-Bob Jr. has been madly in love with twenty different characters across a multitude of roleplays. It's almost like someone is looking for wish fulfillment and want to use me and whatever unique character I come up with to get there.

This is kind of nuanced because it does depend on the situation. Sometimes if it's a pre-made character that hasn't been used anywhere it can be really cool (ie. a character you came up with that fits into a specific unique world that you want to explore via a roleplay), but when it's just the same character across a billion different plots I can't help but get annoyed. Especially because characters like that tend to not have much (if any) room for character growth because it's all happened before.

I don't allow pre-mades in my games. I had a guy drop a pre-made on me and he didn't even read my OP. He skimmed it and was like, Hey I like the genre and have the character for it. The character wasn't even tailored to the story. It didn't even fit the story. It was its own unique plot unrelated to the RP. Thus, automatic denial. Never demonstrate to a GM that you didn't read his or her OP. We work hard on it and not reading it is a slap to our faces. It also doesn't help you get approved. But I get a ton of applications from people who didn't read it, and I can tell they didn't read it because their CS doesn't incorporate any of the history (history that would have clearly affected them) or lore. I will forever deny those kinds of applications and if people want to get triggered and angry, they can KMA. XD

 

[Idea]

I don't allow pre-mades in my games. I had a guy drop a pre-made on me and he didn't even read my OP. He skimmed it and was like, Hey I like the genre and have the character for it. The character wasn't even tailored to the story. It didn't even fit the story. It was its own unique plot unrelated to the RP. Thus, automatic denial. Never demonstrate to a GM that you didn't read his or her OP. We work hard on it and not reading it is a slap to our faces. It also doesn't help you get approved. But I get a ton of applications from people who didn't read it, and I can tell they didn't read it because their CS doesn't incorporate any of the history (history that would have clearly affected them) or lore. I will forever deny those kinds of applications and if people want to get triggered and angry, they can KMA. XD

Truth be told I don't like pre-made characters myself, but my policy is to generally allow them (to an extent). This is because I suspect that even if banned, a player may very well still bring a pre-made character to the roleplay and just not tell anyone about it. It has happened to me before. So considering that, I prefer to at least have a chance of being aware of the fact the character is pre-built and all the hassle that tends to come with it.

Of course, if the character like in your example is entirely parallel to the actual RP's point, then yeah they're rejected on grounds that they don't fit the RP.

Just wanted to add these two cents of mine about this.

 

[The Black Knight]

Idea If it's pre-made and I can't tell because they incorporated it into my story, then I don't care. Great. But if it's pre-made and I can tell because it has nothing to do with the RP they're applying to, then I'll reject it.

 

[Idea]

Makes sense.

 

[ashwynne]

If you mean someone that uses a character simultaneously in many RPs, I so agree- it's hard to really get into the mindset when they're in so many things! Though I can't say I get why a character can't have been in an RP before? Personally I incorporate previous RPs into their history, changing the history depending on the RP if for example it doesn't fit the theme-ing. But then again I think maybe you're thinking of only romance-focused RPs? Because if people RP many genres and don't fully focus on romance I think it's unlikely a character will have just fallen in love with every single character they've RPed with!

Then again if you mean 1x1... I haven't done that in at least twelve years... xD I do know there's a -lot- of people that do mostly 1x1 (not nearly everyone of course!) that just want the romance stuff.

I only ever do 1x1 so that may impact it a bit haha.

Personally, though, I’ve never seen a recycled character that worked across multiple RP’s, romance or otherwise (that was more my random example, I roleplay a wiiiiide array of genres). Usually the stories they’ve been in previously were unrelated to the current universe. And I mean... imo if your character started off in a steampunk world and is suddenly transported to a Wild West RP, you’re not going to be able to pull off a backstory that makes both those things work. Besides... maybe, maybe it works across two roleplays, but how exactly can a single character develop any further once you’re past that? And I know for one that I don’t enjoy stagnant characters that have no room any more to grow. Change the backstory of the character and it becomes a different character with the same/similar personality as the previous one... it’s just a one-note sort of shell.

Idk, the logistics are just so complicated for it to work properly... and I’ve never seen it done effectively in a way that was fair to the partner that works hard to build a character specifically for the plot being done. You end up with one character primed to grow, develop and interact authentically with the story. And one that has already been there, done that, taking a pit stop in this story before being shunted off to another one.

Ultimately, it’s just a personal peeve of mine. Nothing inherently wrong with it, I just don’t like it. Obviously, it’s different if you have an idea for a character and the RP it was in dies/doesn’t get off the ground, I’m specifically talking a single character used everywhere.

 

[Crayons]

Pre-made characters that you made yourself and transfer into another RP can be fine, honestly, providing that you sufficiently adjust them to the setting. Like ... I had this one character who was in several RPs that never made it because they died after one or two posts. I made a variant of the character for another RP and bam got two years+ and counting roleplay and character development and relationships and all the things I longed for but couldn't find. Also that latest iteration was the best one because I didn't give him the baggage of a huge character sheet. Simple won out.

I think if you just try to shoehorn them into things it doesn't really work very well. At least make a variation of some kind.

Pre-made characters that the GM has made and just wants people to play... biiiiiiiig turn-off. Like why would you? :/ I haven't seen this on RPN so far but I was on another site where people would periodically do this, including all the faceclaims and everything.

 

[ashwynne]

The Black Knight
Oh yeah, big agree there. I don’t do group rps because I’m always disappointed in them (so I’ve given up xD) but when I browse other people’s threads and see that it drives me up the wall.

If I can’t tell when I set up an rp with a partner then I don’t care either. But even then... for them to tailor the character to the plot we’re making, it basically means the character is no longer pre-made anymore, so I don’t know that I’d even count that.

It really is just a pet peeve for me ultimately. I’m a bit weirdly possessive about the stories I pour my heart into with my characters, so seeing the same character as is in my rp in multiple other places in different scenarios just feels wrong to me. Like they’re the betraying the universe they exist in with my own characters lol. I sort of think of every RP I've ever been in as part of its own multiverse, so maybe it especially frustrates me because recycled characters break that internal logic.

 

[Solirus]

first ever post outside of an RP or group interests, but I feel like one of my biggest peeves in rps is putting the effort on creating a character and later the rp going into silence.

Since I put an unnecessary amount of time into trying to make my characters different and unique, it sucks that an rp dies before even beginning, though I do and more tolerant when the one in charge of the RP says it is cancelled or such, but when it goes into radio silence like the developers of TF2 it just makes me anxious and makes me constantly check if it is still alive. : (

 

[Loud_and_proud]

What's making me angry today? The same things that are making me angry everyday, Pinky. And oh boy, it's a long hateful list...

1. "I play various characters, they're all unique and very different human straight white blonde mildly-confident strong independent rogue-type females around 20-25 years of age." Yeah, Karen, very unique, go buy yourself a medal.

2. Everyone's a lowkey careless teenager cause no one has the balls to take some responsibility. Like, YC's going on a lifelong romantic adventurous journey and hasn't packed a second pair of socks? No, Karen, it's not because he's a rebellious soul, it's because you lack life experience and can't do maturity. Here's a tip: YC's age shouldn't be bigger than the total number of your brain cells.

3. "Cool" nicknames. "Yeah, his name is Josh, but everybody calls him The Black Death." No, Karen, everyone calls him a whimp and a disgrace.

4. This one's very specific, but... Sword on the back. Sword. On the back. I can't.

5. When I tell I don't RP something and people come to me offering a specific part of this something as if I just might make an exception because reasons.
"Oh, you hate vampires? How about dampires, then?"
"Oh, you don't do school/college/university settings? How about a magical academy?"
"Oh, you don't play fandoms, anti-heroes or Gods? Great, will you do MCU Loki for me then?"
No, no and no, Karen, go away, I'm scared.

6. "Yeah I do a lot of gore haha" *proceeds to censor the word fuck with asterisks*

7. Specific face claims. "I want it to be a black and white square photo of a Korean ginger albino porn actress." Fuck off Karen, I'll go with the best result for Google search "woman", I haven't got the traffic to load so many photos, also I can't tell Koreans apart, sorry 'bout that.

8. That one weird guy that included a dickture picture in his CS (outside of RPN, but I've met him here so I guess it counts).

9. Fãñčý fõñtš. I'm on my phone. It looks like this: 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑳 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲

10. "Good morning, fellow RPer! Or should I say good evening? It depends on our time zones haha Anyway, I don't want to make this message to long before I get to the point, so enough of my random ramblings of words. Oh, and please forget my typos, I'm on my phone and my dog is biting my toes which causes me to flinch every eight to ten seconds. Now, the reason I send you this message is... Ah, by the way, English is not my native language, sorry if I sometimes make mistakes or misspel certain words, anyway, I'm trying my best and hope I'm not too annoying..." HOLY FUCK GET TO THE POINT KAREN YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE

11. The opposite of God nodding. Like when they tell you everything about their character in advance. Everything.
"He's a secretly a reptiloid, by the way."
"Is my character supposed to know that?"
"Nope."
...why did you tell me then? The intrigue is gone now!

It's not a complete list, I'll write more irritating stuff later. But I honestly feel better now, God bless you for creating this thread. Oh, and have a good day y'all.

 

[Crenando]

You know what gets me? The "No Mary Sue/Gary Stu" rule. It's incredibly subjective, and no one sets out to make a Mary Sue unless it's a joke or there to demonstrate what one is.

If someone did make a character that fit the bill and joined an RP, they likely wouldn't know because they're young and/or inexperienced. I know a lot of people don't have that excuse, but if they do, someone should try and help out.

With that in mind, I think a lot of people apply the label to characters they don't like for the sake of it, instead of just saying no.

 

[DapperCat]

I only ever do 1x1 so that may impact it a bit haha.

Personally, though, I’ve never seen a recycled character that worked across multiple RP’s, romance or otherwise (that was more my random example, I roleplay a wiiiiide array of genres). Usually the stories they’ve been in previously were unrelated to the current universe. And I mean... imo if your character started off in a steampunk world and is suddenly transported to a Wild West RP, you’re not going to be able to pull off a backstory that makes both those things work. Besides... maybe, maybe it works across two roleplays, but how exactly can a single character develop any further once you’re past that? And I know for one that I don’t enjoy stagnant characters that have no room any more to grow. Change the backstory of the character and it becomes a different character with the same/similar personality as the previous one... it’s just a one-note sort of shell.

Idk, the logistics are just so complicated for it to work properly... and I’ve never seen it done effectively in a way that was fair to the partner that works hard to build a character specifically for the plot being done. You end up with one character primed to grow, develop and interact authentically with the story. And one that has already been there, done that, taking a pit stop in this story before being shunted off to another one.

Ultimately, it’s just a personal peeve of mine. Nothing inherently wrong with it, I just don’t like it. Obviously, it’s different if you have an idea for a character and the RP it was in dies/doesn’t get off the ground, I’m specifically talking a single character used everywhere.

Oh please don't worry! I'm not responding because I think you can't have your pet peeve or because I'm offended or anything! I was just curious, especially since I've been doing MMO-RP for a long time and haven't done forum RP until maybe a few months again now. And in MMO's it's the entire opposite opinion! The more progress your character has made usually the more good/well-received/bla bla. (Not that I agree with it, I like both!)

Stagnant characters are bad, certainly. Personally I think I need to say that I don't take every thing that happened to a character into their older/more experienced version in a new RP. More of an example of what I do would be... "Does this event in this RP (long term events usually) affect this character's future behavior/fears/permanent changes?" If yes, I incorporate it. So for example I don't take in every single thing they've done, but if they have had either a relationship for years that scarred them, OR made them a better person or changed something, I put it in. And luckily it doesn't matter what genre it is for me to incorporate it! If the character maybe was in a group of ... I don't know, magician scholars and it taught them a lot about life, maybe in the realism RP that comes next it was just a group of professors/scientists/etc!

"I’m specifically talking a single character used everywhere." ...Yeah -that- is usually a bit of a warning sign, I definitely agree. Especially if they look for romance a lot. xD The wish fulfillment chances are skyrocketing there haha.

Though I may also be somewhat misunderstanding what some people mean with pre-made characters? Some say it's something a GM has made some say it's a carbon copy of something they've already done thus not fitting in the setting (which is a big no no, I -definitely- agree) or just characters that have had an RP history. ;v; But yeah ashwynne please don't feel like I'm judging your pet peeve, I'm genuinely curious in this as it's such a different take than what I've learned to RP for about six years now after moving from forum RP to MMO RP! ...And now back!

 

[ashwynne]

DapperCat
No worries!! I was just re-reading my response and realized it might have come across as too harsh when I really don't intend to make anyone feel bad who does this! It's just not something I personally like.

It's honestly super interesting to hear the opposite side of the opinion. I think, ultimately, for me it boils down to the fact that when I make a character I make a character for that specific world. Their history, their experiences, their viewpoint of the world... all of it is tied to the environment in which they were raised and THAT is informed by the world we make together for an RP. I can't even imagine reusing any of them in a different universe, it would feel disingenuous to the characters themselves.

Which is probably why having someone recycle a character and just tweak them a little for a universe we are putting together just doesn't sit well with me. Not so much that I find it inherently lazy, but it just feels wrong to me on a fundamental basis to separate a character from the world that gave birth to them (if that makes sense). Plus it *can* be indicative of a "one note" sort of writer who isn't going to be able to develop the character very much because they always play this incredibly specific type of character.

It really does depend on what you're used to I guess!! I've only ever done forum based RP and I cherish the characters both me and my partner(s) come up with, the thought of sharing them just doesn't sit well with me... hence it being a pet peeve c;

 

[DapperCat]

DapperCat
No worries!! I was just re-reading my response and realized it might have come across as too harsh when I really don't intend to make anyone feel bad who does this! It's just not something I personally like.

It's honestly super interesting to hear the opposite side of the opinion. I think, ultimately, for me it boils down to the fact that when I make a character I make a character for that specific world. Their history, their experiences, their viewpoint of the world... all of it is tied to the environment in which they were raised and THAT is informed by the world we make together for an RP. I can't even imagine reusing any of them in a different universe, it would feel disingenuous to the characters themselves.

Which is probably why having someone recycle a character and just tweak them a little for a universe we are putting together just doesn't sit well with me. Not so much that I find it inherently lazy, but it just feels wrong to me on a fundamental basis to separate a character from the world that gave birth to them (if that makes sense). Plus it *can* be indicative of a "one note" sort of writer who isn't going to be able to develop the character very much because they always play this incredibly specific type of character.

It really does depend on what you're used to I guess!! I've only ever done forum based RP and I cherish the characters both me and my partner(s) come up with, the thought of sharing them just doesn't sit well with me... hence it being a pet peeve c;

I definitely agree that small tweaks are never the way to go, unfortunately when you wish to transfer a character to another world you need to really dive deep into it, and I think it really goes wrong there since a lot of people won't or can't. It's definitely tricky work! And I do like keeping the original lore I made my character in, just because it was their baseline.

And yeah it was interesting to me too hence I had to respond and see! Thank you for the good discussion. As for me; personally I enjoy a good balance in RP with characters. I usually don't like it MUCH if someone makes a new character for each RP (it usually means they start to really be alike ;_; ) but I also don't enjoy someone having one character for every RP. Usually I like it best (personally of course!) if someone has a group of characters they've made in detail they can re-use and re-shape. ...M-maybe because I do that haha.

Either way, thank you for the discussion it was interesting to read the other side indeed .

(....Those emoji's look weird instead of text things. They look non-genuine. I'm sorry about that, it's not me it's the bloody emoji's on this forum!)

 

[WolfSol]

You know what gets me? The "No Mary Sue/Gary Stu" rule. It's incredibly subjective, and no one sets out to make a Mary Sue unless it's a joke or there to demonstrate what one is.

If someone did make a character that fit the bill and joined an RP, they likely wouldn't know because they're young and/or inexperienced. I know a lot of people don't have that excuse, but if they do, someone should try and help out. A lot of people don't have that excuse, but if they do, you should probably try and help them.

With that in mind, I think a lot of people apply the label to characters they don't like for the sake of it, instead of just saying no.

Hmm, I never gave that much thought. I honestly get annoyed at hearing people have an irritation to a Mary/Gary because so far I haven't seen one that's as bad as some claim... granted I don't linger on group forums or 1x1 searches that much like I used to. Anyways, interesting thought.

1. Ghosting will happen. I know it's a constant issue on RPN, and I know many feel frustrated by it but honestly it's probably for the better. Especially when people claim, "oh just tell me if you don't feel like RPing with me or if the RP is going South lol" and then boom, you do, and bam... they get pissed, butt hurt, or want to try for RP 1x1 sequel and seemingly won't take no for an answer when all honesty you just want to get the hell out.

2. Damafaud UGH YES. Glad someone had the same irritation from stuff like that. Granted, half the time I actually do not have the necessary time to create a proper reply even in a week's time.

 

[tiffasaurus]

One time I joined a thread about kids in a very regular human high school that wasn't high school musical or glee. We were three posts in and it happened. Someone wrote in that their character was walking out of the front doors while singing. Should have expected it because this specific person had made their character start singing out of no where in other threads, but it was still so jarring that I laughed.
Is this a thing that happens often or was it just that one person four years ago?

 

[Crayons]

ashwynne DapperCat Honestly I can see both sides of this. I think repurposing a character for wildly different things (science fiction to med fantasy to modern) is really fricking weird because how could they be the same character? And also playing different versions of the same character at the same time .... is just like a big no from me, because that indicates that the character is not developing and will remain static. But if the character's circumstances are similar in the different RPs (for example: all set in modern day LA or generic D&D land) and you take into account previous experiences or give them a hard reset then I'm cool with it.

Also I quite enjoy making fun AUs for characters, where you and RP partner are like "what would these characters be like in x universe" and it turns accidentally into a whole new RP. XD

 

[DapperCat]

ashwynne DapperCat Honestly I can see both sides of this. I think repurposing a character for wildly different things (science fiction to med fantasy to modern) is really fricking weird because how could they be the same character? And also playing different versions of the same character at the same time .... is just like a big no from me, because that indicates that the character is not developing and will remain static. But if the character's circumstances are similar in the different RPs (for example: all set in modern day LA or generic D&D land) and you take into account previous experiences or give them a hard reset then I'm cool with it.

Also I quite enjoy making fun AUs for characters, where you and RP partner are like "what would these characters be like in x universe" and it turns accidentally into a whole new RP. XD

Yeah to me it's like you take the psychological developments with into a new RP. So just the big things that impacted someone hugely. For example that was only 3 things I took for my main OC from 3 years of RP, and it's changed her as a person, and they're all things that were more influential to her psyche than anything else. Hence I take them with! I feel weird playing my character, oddly enough, static- to where they haven't gone through those things and evolved/changed. xD For me it's all one big history line and they change because of it! But of course I leave the normal/minor things out, so this way they can still experience new things they may have already experienced in other RPs ^^.

 

[Crayons]

Yeah to me it's like you take the psychological developments with into a new RP. So just the big things that impacted someone hugely. For example that was only 3 things I took for my main OC from 3 years of RP, and it's changed her as a person, and they're all things that were more influential to her psyche than anything else. Hence I take them with! I feel weird playing my character, oddly enough, static- to where they haven't gone through those things and evolved/changed. xD For me it's all one big history line and they change because of it! But of course I leave the normal/minor things out, so this way they can still experience new things they may have already experienced in other RPs ^^.

I'm at point where I can say one of my pet peeves is static characters. XD

I literally do not see the point of making a character who doesn't change and grow with their experiences, because what is the story otherwise? You might as well just .. keep your character in a drawer and never RP with them. ... yet I see this happen a lot. I don't see what people get out of it.

 

[Idea]

I'm at point where I can say one of my pet peeves is static characters. XD

I literally do not see the point of making a character who doesn't change and grow with their experiences, because what is the story otherwise? You might as well just .. keep your character in a drawer and never RP with them. ... yet I see this happen a lot. I don't see what people get out of it.

I mean, it's also true many RPs just don't go far enough for there to really be any major visible character development.

 

[Crayons]

I mean, it's also true many RPs just don't go far enough for there to really be any major visible character development.

Well in that case they are neither static or non-static. They haven't yet been observed so they are Schrödinger's character, both alive and dead until the box is opened. XD

 

[Unwavering Knight]

7. Specific face claims. "I want it to be a black and white square photo of a Korean ginger albino porn actress." Fuck off Karen, I'll go with the best result for Google search "woman", I haven't got the traffic to load so many photos, also I can't tell Koreans apart, sorry 'bout that.

Hmmmm...

*Morb curiosity piqued, types 'Korean ginger albino porn actress' into google*

... oh

*stares in disbelief at the found images*

I... have to admit, I didn't expect this. I am legitimately surprised.

Well, see for yourself, the very first image google found for me:

Spoiler: Believe it or not.

 

[Damafaud]

What's making me angry today? The same things that are making me angry everyday, Pinky. And oh boy, it's a long hateful list...

1. "I play various characters, they're all unique and very different human straight white blonde mildly-confident strong independent rogue-type females around 20-25 years of age." Yeah, Karen, very unique, go buy yourself a medal.

2. Everyone's a lowkey careless teenager cause no one has the balls to take some responsibility. Like, YC's going on a lifelong romantic adventurous journey and hasn't packed a second pair of socks? No, Karen, it's not because he's a rebellious soul, it's because you lack life experience and can't do maturity. Here's a tip: YC's age shouldn't be bigger than the total number of your brain cells.

3. "Cool" nicknames. "Yeah, his name is Josh, but everybody calls him The Black Death." No, Karen, everyone calls him a whimp and a disgrace.

4. This one's very specific, but... Sword on the back. Sword. On the back. I can't.

5. When I tell I don't RP something and people come to me offering a specific part of this something as if I just might make an exception because reasons.
"Oh, you hate vampires? How about dampires, then?"
"Oh, you don't do school/college/university settings? How about a magical academy?"
"Oh, you don't play fandoms, anti-heroes or Gods? Great, will you do MCU Loki for me then?"
No, no and no, Karen, go away, I'm scared.

6. "Yeah I do a lot of gore haha" *proceeds to censor the word fuck with asterisks*

7. Specific face claims. "I want it to be a black and white square photo of a Korean ginger albino porn actress." Fuck off Karen, I'll go with the best result for Google search "woman", I haven't got the traffic to load so many photos, also I can't tell Koreans apart, sorry 'bout that.

8. That one weird guy that included a dickture picture in his CS (outside of RPN, but I've met him here so I guess it counts).

9. Fãñčý fõñtš. I'm on my phone. It looks like this: 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑳 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲

10. "Good morning, fellow RPer! Or should I say good evening? It depends on our time zones haha Anyway, I don't want to make this message to long before I get to the point, so enough of my random ramblings of words. Oh, and please forget my typos, I'm on my phone and my dog is biting my toes which causes me to flinch every eight to ten seconds. Now, the reason I send you this message is... Ah, by the way, English is not my native language, sorry if I sometimes make mistakes or misspel certain words, anyway, I'm trying my best and hope I'm not too annoying..." HOLY FUCK GET TO THE POINT KAREN YOU'RE GIVING ME A HEADACHE

11. The opposite of God nodding. Like when they tell you everything about their character in advance. Everything.
"He's a secretly a reptiloid, by the way."
"Is my character supposed to know that?"
"Nope."
...why did you tell me then? The intrigue is gone now!

It's not a complete list, I'll write more irritating stuff later. But I honestly feel better now, God bless you for creating this thread. Oh, and have a good day y'all.

I approve of the Karens high five

 

[Redfork2000]

The topic of pre-made characters is a very interesting one because there's different ways you can go about it. Of course just copy-pasting the exact same character to a completely different RP is a terrible course of action, since most of the time the character will not fit into the RP, and it's too obvious that they're pre-made. However there's a few ways to use a pre-made character in a way that will feel completely natural to the plot.

I'll admit I've been guilty of re-using characters in several RPs. In fact I bet there's several users on this site who have RPed with me that are familiar with the same names. That being said, there are a few things I do so the characters still work properly in their new settings:

-Hard reset: I love having my characters get development throughout the RP. Perhaps I'll have a tough and cold character who slowly warms up and shows his friendly side, or perhaps a shy shrinking violet who eventually starts to open up, or any other character who undergoes a change through the RP, but when I bring the character to a new setting in a new RP, I just reset them. Each time I bring a character into an RP, that character acts as if the events of past RPs never happened. They can still get their character development in RPs, but it's interesting to see how they develop in different settings. The result will never be the same, and it's interesting to see how they'll interact with different characters in different RPs.

-Don't just copy-paste them: I've got a few characters that I've used in several different RP genres. It's just a matter of reworking some of their details to work in the new RP. There's sometimes I've aged up or down a character to fit a certain setting, or changed their backstory in a way that still makes sense for their character, but fits within the RP world. HIghschool RP? My characters are now teenagers, and they have relatively simple backstories. No need for tragic backstories or epic battles, so keep things simple. Superhero RP where only adult characters are allowed? My characters are now adults, they can have more complex backstories as to how they became superheroes, and I give each one powers that make sense to their characters. Medieval fantasy RP? Perhaps the character who I used as the technology specialist of the group is now a wizard apprentice. Maybe the big and tough character is now a knight. It's all just reworking them into a new RP. Most of the time my pre-made characters become completely new characters in the new setting, and the only things they keep from their previous iterations are the name, appearance and personality.

The main problem with pre-made characters is that some people just take a character from a previous RP, bring it into the new one and call it a day. I've always believed that using pre-made characters isn't a problem as long as you're willing to rework them to fit the new setting. I believe the problem is that sometimes pre-made characters from other RPs are used as a shortcut to not need to make a new character. I use pre-made characters a lot, but I do so because I really enjoy the characters I've made, and I love to see how they develop in different settings, genres and situations. I pulled a character from a highschool RP, and made him a superhero in a futuristic world. I pulled out a silent and cold knight from a medieval roleplay, and made him the backbone of a rebellion taking place in a futuristic dystopia. But so far no one has ever asked me if my characters are pre-made, or pointed out the fact to me, and it's because even though I use the same characters, I don't make that an excuse to skip character creation, instead I use it to explore the greater possiblities these characters can offer. I use them to expand on what I already feel comfortable RPing, and explore these characters in different scenarios.

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But if you ask me what one of my pet peeves is, that would be the specifics about faceclaims. Basically, when you are expected to provide a faceclaim, and it's not negotiable. I've sometimes quitted RPs on that alone, since I simply do not use faceclaims. I provide textual descriptions of the physical appearance of my character. If it were up to me, no physical description would even be added, since I barely give any importance to the character's appearance. The way I perceive a character in an RP is completely through their personality, and many times I even forget how the characters of an RP actually look, because it's information I really don't care about. I understand that other roleplayers like to visualize the characters, but I've never been able to understand why that isn't possible with a physical description. I know this isn't something many people will agree with, since I haven't seen anyone other than me get upset by this, so I understand this is really just me being weird.

But something else that I think might resonate with others is heavily coded text. I've seen interest checks where the text has a weird font, or is tiny, and I usually just skip those. But worse yet is when you're being obligated to use codes too. In one group roleplay I was very interested in, I saw the GM demand every roleplayer to use coding for their character sheets. I asked him if it was mandatory to use that coding, or if I could just use a normal character sheet without coding, and he said "it's mandatory." I left the RP and never looked at it again. It's a shame really, since the plot and concept of the RP was very interesting.

 

[ukiiyo]

this has only happened to me a few times but it gets me every time.

when someone essentially copies my character to a literal T. i try really hard to make original characters with unique personalities, backgrounds and quirks so when someone quite literally copies the entire thing, i get really upset. it actually happened in my most recent roleplay and i was quite disappointed because i spent a lot of time making my character different from the rest and i succeeded. but then someone posted their character and she was the exact same as him except she was a rich kid whereas he was poor from the get-go.