Advice/Help First Original Roleplay Questions (Band on Tour - Documentary)

[The Boneless]

Hello Roleplaynation!
I'm currently in the making of my first original roleplay and I'm super excited! I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask in order to make the experience as good as possible for the participants.
Before I get to the actual questions, allow me to tell you a little bit about the roleplay. (It's not all done and I'm open for suggestions!)

It's set in the 90's, I've yet to decide the exact year but I'm leaning towards 1994.
Basically we get to follow a British indie-pop band on their first tour across the States, following them is a film crew who's shooting a documentary about the band and their tour. The band and the film crew will travel in two "hippie-busses", while the record label's arranged for their equipment and so on to be transported by truck.
I'm thinking the band just released their debut album which turned out to be a major success in the United States, therefore the tour's taking place there.
This band would later become one of the biggest acts of the 90's and the footage wouldn't be released until their anniversery 30 years later.

That's the basic premise of the roleplay, I've got a more detailed description in my head but I'm sure this is enough for you to get the gist of it.
On to my questions!

01. Interest Check
a) What do people want to know about the roleplay's plot before joining?
I'm looking to have each participant be a big part of the plotting on the Dsicord server later on.

b) Anything else except for the roles available and the rules you'd like to see in an interest check?
More information about the band, tour dates and so on will be found on the Discord server.

sidenote: I'm going to use a Netflix code for the interest check I found on the site, thought it fit really good with the roleplay considering we're shooting a documentary that plausibly could be released Netflix.

02. Roles
a) How many spots would be the best?
I'm thinking:
Band - (vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, bassist and drummer)
Film Crew - (director, producer, videographer and sound mixer)
Others - (tour manager, audio engineer and lighting director)
A total of twelve, is that a reasonable amount of people for a first time GM?

b) What other spots would you like to see?
If you could replace some of the roles I wrote above, (except for the band), what would that be? I want to make sure each role seems fun to play for the interested. I assume the band's spots will be the ones with the most "pressure".

03. Predetermined Genders
a) Is it okay to have predetermined genders for the roles?
I want it be even genderwise in the roleplay, I believe it will the most fun that way. I hate when it's like ten females and two males, that may just be me though.

b) Would it be fine to have just female/male roles available for the sake of keeping it simple?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for LGBTQ but I'm not sure everyone wants to play let's say a trans character. I'm not looking to offend anyone and I want everyone to feel welcome.

04. Predermined Band
a) Can I use a "bandclaim"?
I have a band in mind that I'd like to use for this and I have already made a playlist with the songs we'll be performing. I can see the downside to this being people not enjoying the music, but I also feel that it's better to have this decided beforehand to eliminate the trouble of having loads of people trying to agree on a band.

05. First Time GM
a) General tips for a GM?
This will be the first time I'm GM'ing a roleplay, any advice on that front? I'm a musician with loads of experience in that so I know how what's needed in the roleplay on that part.


I believe that's it from me! Thank you for the help and I hope I manage to get some interest for this.

 

[GojiBean]

Hoyo!

Good questions! First-time original RP's can be daunting. Especially if they're personal for you and something you invest heavily in.

I'll do my best to provide some insight as someone who's done this for nearly 20 years.

Here we go!

01. Interest Check
a) What do people want to know about the roleplay's plot before joining?
I'm looking to have each participant be a big part of the plotting on the Dsicord server later on.

b) Anything else except for the roles available and the rules you'd like to see in an interest check?
More information about the band, tour dates and so on will be found on the Discord server.

sidenote: I'm going to use a Netflix code for the interest check I found on the site, thought it fit really good with the roleplay considering we're shooting a documentary that plausibly could be released Netflix.

It's less about what people want to know, since we can't know what they want, really, and more about what they need to know in order to quickly understand the central premise and what they're in for if they join.

A brief summary of the premise, perhaps 2-3 sentences outlining that it's the band's first tour after their debut album hit the scene and became a success, and an idea of what you have in mind for how the tour is going to go and if you have any sort of structure planned for it would be good info to include here.

Aside from the summary of what to expect, rules and roles is pretty much the standard. I'd also recommend creating a character skeleton for everyone so that they know exactly what to put into their character profiles when they join.

Another thing would be your expectations on communication. Being open and communicative is imperative for a GM. For example, if you want everyone to at least say "hi" before they just throw a character your way (as I do), say so. It might just be me. But I can't stand it when people just throw a character at me without so much as a "hello!" and an attempt to start some sort of communication. Regardless of whether you feel the same or not in that regard, make your expectations on communication clear right from the get-go.

02. Roles

a) How many spots would be the best?
I'm thinking:
Band - (vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, bassist and drummer)
Film Crew - (director, producer, videographer and sound mixer)
Others - (tour manager, audio engineer and lighting director)
A total of twelve, is that a reasonable amount of people for a first time GM?

b) What other spots would you like to see?
If you could replace some of the roles I wrote above, (except for the band), what would that be? I want to make sure each role seems fun to play for the interested. I assume the band's spots will be the ones with the most "pressure".

This depends entirely on what you feel comfortable with as the GM.

The benefits of a smaller cast of characters is that the RP tends to move faster, and it's easier to manage in your role as GM when there aren't as many real world personalities to balance. The benefits of a larger cast is that there's more room for exploration of character and side quests, if you will, such as little mini adventures between each of the shows on the tour. For example two band members and one crew member go off to "get dinner," and end up at a casino because the crew man is a gambling aficionado and convinced the band members it'd be a good idea.

So ask yourself "what am I comfortable with, and how many people do I know I can manage?" If the answer is 12 people, then make 12 slots. Go with your gut here.

For your first original RP, I would personally recommend a smaller cast of 4-8 people. More than that and things can start getting chaotic, and the risks of taking longer to get everyone to post include the RP stalling and people dropping out because it's taking too long to come back to their turn.

03. Predetermined Genders
a) Is it okay to have predetermined genders for the roles?
I want it be even genderwise in the roleplay, I believe it will the most fun that way. I hate when it's like ten females and two males, that may just be me though.

b) Would it be fine to have just female/male roles available for the sake of keeping it simple?
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for LGBTQ but I'm not sure everyone wants to play let's say a trans character. I'm not looking to offend anyone and I want everyone to feel welcome.

You're the GM, so you're free to design your own roleplay and story however you wish.

All that we ask is that you remain respectful and don't make any attempts to subtly or passively throw shade or hate at the LGBTQ+ community as we don't tolerate such hate in any form. We've had a few people try to use sneaky language to disguise their hate and bigotry, but our community isn't stupid. And neither are RpNation Staff. We can see when shade and hate are being directed towards the LGBTQ+, and we will take swift action against it.

But otherwise, your RP is your oyster, so to speak.

If you think the band leader should be gay or queer or whatever, put up the request up that the character be so. If you want the vocalist to be trans, put up the request that the character be so. If you think the band should all be straight but the band manager or any other behind the scenes person should be openly gay or queer, put up the request that they be so.

It's your RP. Your story. Your vision. Your rules.

Design it how you wish.

If anyone objects, they can find another RP to join.

04. Predermined Band
a) Can I use a "bandclaim"?
I have a band in mind that I'd like to use for this and I have already made a playlist with the songs we'll be performing. I can see the downside to this being people not enjoying the music, but I also feel that it's better to have this decided beforehand to eliminate the trouble of having loads of people trying to agree on a band.

Honestly, I don't see why not. Given that this is a realistic period piece RP you're free to use a band claim if you've found something that fits your RP needs.

But if you want to play it safe, I'd recommend that you identify the source of any/all images and music you'll be using so everyone knows what the real life inspiration was. I don't think anyone else will have much of a problem if you were to go that little extra mile.

05. First Time GM
a) General tips for a GM?
This will be the first time I'm GM'ing a roleplay, any advice on that front? I'm a musician with loads of experience in that so I know how what's needed in the roleplay on that part.

Relax and have fun.

Being a GM means you're the manager of a roleplay. But you're also a participant. Your goal should be to create the experience you feel would be most fun for yourself first, and anyone else who feels the same and has the same interests is free to throw their lot in and ask to join.

I alluded to it before, but the big secret to being a good GM is clear, open communication with your fellow role players. Whoever joins, chat them up. Keep them active with you and thinking about the RP and you should be fine.

Best of luck to you!

~ GojiBean

 

[The Boneless]

Thank you so much Goji!
This was full of helpful tips, and all of the sudden it doesn't seem as scary anymore!
Well, I'm off to my little workshop to get this going!
Thank you once again, really kind of you! =)