Birdsie
The God-Emperor of Mankind
I never said they should be.
Other For the Benefit of Mr. Kent: Making better superhero RPs
- Thread starter Crenando
- Start date
PhoenixMire
ᛚᚨᚦᚢ:ᚹᛁᛞᚢᛉ:ᛖᚱᚦᛟ
As much as I like the league of villains in My Hero Academia, and I really love Shigaraki and Dabi, that doesn't mean everything needs to have one big group of villains hanging out together. It can be done well, and I'm sure it would create some fascinating interactions in an RP - but it would be equally as interesting to not have a big group, and instead have a bunch of individual villains (or multiple different groups!) messing around and possibly conflicting with each other.
I guess I'm saying both ideas can be fun and neither one is wrong or right. Either one could make for a fun RP.
I guess I'm saying both ideas can be fun and neither one is wrong or right. Either one could make for a fun RP.
UnusualYak
Real Steel
Would it though? I mean, I get that if you were to have the villians start from the top but otherwise it shouldn't be a problem.
Idea
The Pun Tyrant
I want to start this post with the following statement: I don't do a lot of superhero roleplays. I mostly do boku no hero fandom roleplays when I do participate in such a roleplay, and even then I only occasionally pop into one of those. Reasons range widely, though they mostly fall into being a kind of roleplay where over and over I was not allowed to use my style of roleplay or otherwise got driven out by other preferences on which I wasn't fully willing to compromise. Other times I just didn't feel there was enough thought put into the roleplay itself to justify how it was made. And other times, it was just because I don't gel well with dark and gritty if there is no theme driving it, I don't see the appeal of chaotic messes that are dark and gritty for the sake of it. Which is not to say they are bad, just that they don't appeal to me and it happens often in hero roleplays.
Long story short, I didn't particularly notice a shortening or lowering of quality of those roleplays, at least nothing beyond my expected general predictions (which are mostly based on the general tendency for roleplayers to rely on crutches like the muse or inspiration, or to expect immediate gratification from the written medium, thus becoming dependent on things that only rarely come and losing the habits needed to sustain things on a longer term). However, in the sample I did get, I did notice one thing that irks me: Superhero GMs are notably bad at character reviewing.
Well, allow me to be more exact. Compartively to what they would need to be, they are particularly bad at it. It is quite understandable if a lowkey sandbox fantasy RP ends up accidentally allowing a character with god-like powers, both because there are more means of achieving that and because it is a far more relaxed environment where power level comparison and fighting don't necessarily hold much meaning. Superhero roleplays, on the other hand, are practically built on those two things.
One way this (terrible characters slipping under the radar) tends to happen is through genuine accidents. Things may not seem problematic on the surface level, but be once you consider how players actually will play those things. Energy costs seem great on paper, but in reality even if their characters do get exhuasted, they will still be making impossible dodges, running marathons and what else but using that ability regardless. And if by chance they do get too exhausted to move, it will be only when it is convenient for the player or they will magically go "plus ultra" and break their hypothetical limits. Same with abilities that become broken if spammed. Players say they won't abuse powers like teleportation, but in reality when your character is on the line, people tend to not have the self-control to loose or even risk it. It's not just in terms of powers this happens either. We all know the person who is somehow a master of several martial arts while still a teenager. Leaving aside the improbability of that even being possible, they still don't use that to take appropriate stances and try to apply particular moves. They always have "their own developed style" of bullshit moves or are just plain able to do inhuman feats of balance, strength, resilience etc... Basically another superpower altogether. I could even adress the terrible backstories and personalities that fail to work for the character or to properly establish them as a motivated individual, but at that point it would spiral into too big a rant.
Another method is copy-cats who fail to understand how the characters they are trying to emulate even became cool in the first place. They are basicaly that "let me copy your homework/ok, but change it a little" meme, but on an actual character. Characters born out of admiration for other characters that attempt to emmulatte them, only to completely misunderstand what made the characters cool in the first place. Things like context and build up, character arcs, interactions etc... With all that removed, they essentially try copying Darth Vader and being as cool as Darth vader...but instead of the powers and intimidation, instead of the deep character arc or menacing existence, they copy only the black costume and breathing apparatus.
And then of course, there are the just plain, straight up utterly broken characters, or complete Mary Sues of the world.
Now, why is this something I find to be such a big issue (other than driving me nuts)? Well, because it encourages similar behavior. And not just in the "negotiating with terrorists" type of way.
One of the most common justifications for wanting a broken ability I hear is "Yeah, but if I don't have this, how am I going to keep up with everyone else?". Even in an RP run by someone as paranoid as me, some players still don't feel safe or respected, they don't feel included unless they can have a character that can keep up with others, something which often ends up being a broken character.
Even in the utopic world of 9/10 players with terrible characters actually being able to properly play those characters, even magnificently: it takes 1 person that doesn't to ruin the experience for everyone around them. If someone hogs the spotlight too much, if someone makes others feel like they can't compete, especially in a place as full of people anxieties and the like as RPN, this is a deadly blow to an RP.
And it doesn't help that GMs in these RPs focus so little on actual characters. I often say it is paramount that GMs know how to handle the down times, and this is something superhero roleplays often seem to lack. The typical solution is to hop around like frogs from fight scene to fight scene, add a little mystery, more fighting. In many cases, it's not even for reasons actually really involved with the characters, as these GMs tend to focus more on the villains or whatever is the plot scenario, rather than focusing on trying to make the players involved, only furthering the problem.
PS: I also wanted to add something about the lack of themes, people focusing too much exclusively on surface-level elements, but I am too tired for that.
Long story short, I didn't particularly notice a shortening or lowering of quality of those roleplays, at least nothing beyond my expected general predictions (which are mostly based on the general tendency for roleplayers to rely on crutches like the muse or inspiration, or to expect immediate gratification from the written medium, thus becoming dependent on things that only rarely come and losing the habits needed to sustain things on a longer term). However, in the sample I did get, I did notice one thing that irks me: Superhero GMs are notably bad at character reviewing.
Well, allow me to be more exact. Compartively to what they would need to be, they are particularly bad at it. It is quite understandable if a lowkey sandbox fantasy RP ends up accidentally allowing a character with god-like powers, both because there are more means of achieving that and because it is a far more relaxed environment where power level comparison and fighting don't necessarily hold much meaning. Superhero roleplays, on the other hand, are practically built on those two things.
One way this (terrible characters slipping under the radar) tends to happen is through genuine accidents. Things may not seem problematic on the surface level, but be once you consider how players actually will play those things. Energy costs seem great on paper, but in reality even if their characters do get exhuasted, they will still be making impossible dodges, running marathons and what else but using that ability regardless. And if by chance they do get too exhausted to move, it will be only when it is convenient for the player or they will magically go "plus ultra" and break their hypothetical limits. Same with abilities that become broken if spammed. Players say they won't abuse powers like teleportation, but in reality when your character is on the line, people tend to not have the self-control to loose or even risk it. It's not just in terms of powers this happens either. We all know the person who is somehow a master of several martial arts while still a teenager. Leaving aside the improbability of that even being possible, they still don't use that to take appropriate stances and try to apply particular moves. They always have "their own developed style" of bullshit moves or are just plain able to do inhuman feats of balance, strength, resilience etc... Basically another superpower altogether. I could even adress the terrible backstories and personalities that fail to work for the character or to properly establish them as a motivated individual, but at that point it would spiral into too big a rant.
Another method is copy-cats who fail to understand how the characters they are trying to emulate even became cool in the first place. They are basicaly that "let me copy your homework/ok, but change it a little" meme, but on an actual character. Characters born out of admiration for other characters that attempt to emmulatte them, only to completely misunderstand what made the characters cool in the first place. Things like context and build up, character arcs, interactions etc... With all that removed, they essentially try copying Darth Vader and being as cool as Darth vader...but instead of the powers and intimidation, instead of the deep character arc or menacing existence, they copy only the black costume and breathing apparatus.
And then of course, there are the just plain, straight up utterly broken characters, or complete Mary Sues of the world.
Now, why is this something I find to be such a big issue (other than driving me nuts)? Well, because it encourages similar behavior. And not just in the "negotiating with terrorists" type of way.
One of the most common justifications for wanting a broken ability I hear is "Yeah, but if I don't have this, how am I going to keep up with everyone else?". Even in an RP run by someone as paranoid as me, some players still don't feel safe or respected, they don't feel included unless they can have a character that can keep up with others, something which often ends up being a broken character.
Even in the utopic world of 9/10 players with terrible characters actually being able to properly play those characters, even magnificently: it takes 1 person that doesn't to ruin the experience for everyone around them. If someone hogs the spotlight too much, if someone makes others feel like they can't compete, especially in a place as full of people anxieties and the like as RPN, this is a deadly blow to an RP.
And it doesn't help that GMs in these RPs focus so little on actual characters. I often say it is paramount that GMs know how to handle the down times, and this is something superhero roleplays often seem to lack. The typical solution is to hop around like frogs from fight scene to fight scene, add a little mystery, more fighting. In many cases, it's not even for reasons actually really involved with the characters, as these GMs tend to focus more on the villains or whatever is the plot scenario, rather than focusing on trying to make the players involved, only furthering the problem.
PS: I also wanted to add something about the lack of themes, people focusing too much exclusively on surface-level elements, but I am too tired for that.
Idea
The Pun Tyrant
So I guess, in short... characters in these RPs need to be taken more seriously, and players need to be more properly involved into the narrative.
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