Advice/Help how do you keep the pace of a roleplay fresh and interesting?

[golden_]

hi! sorry for the vague title haha

I just joined the site a while ago and I’m already thinking about and plotting the first rps I’m going to do! after seeing the rp advice thread i was like well, lemme shoot a question!

i havent rped in years before trying to get back into it at this moment, but I remember that sometimes in the past i had trouble with the pacing of the rp. sometimes things get bogged down, sometimes charactars spend a lot of times talking and im not sure how to make the transition into action.

What do you reccomend doing when you feel like your rp is stalling? how do you naturally introduce action or move the plot and characters forward?

thanks for reading- I’ve adored seeing peoples stories and roleplay thoughts and advice on this board and I think its really going to help me get back into rp as a hobby!

 

[Idea]

Well, here's the thing: Very few plots, even in specifically action-heavy premises will avoid this completely. As in, to keep a plot all action you probably need something like a plot that boils down to a combat tournament, or you need some kind of horror thriller with an always-present threat. If the current situation isn't conductive for going into action there's a more than insignificant chance that you just shouldn't force it to become action.

A lack of action itself is not the issue. In fact, a more experienced RPer will often appreciate some downtime to get to explore and showcase the characters they made without constant pressure to do this or that. This isn't to say you should let players to their own devices of course, there should always be some direction people can latch onto, some overarching goal or immediate event people can engage with, but it doesn't have to be anything too heavy. For instance, some downtime resting at a bar could be accompanied by a nearby dancing competition, and emphasis on the latter could attract the players who are more unsure what they want to do. It's an easy thing to understand I believe, though a VERY hard thing to master. Stalling is one of the biggest issues in RP after all. And yet, I did mention that the lack of action isn't the issue.

That's because a lack of action isn't what causes stalling, it's a lack of motivation and initiative. As a DM there's hardly anything you can really do about players taking the initiative, but you can do something about the motivation by keeping a close eye on the OOC chat. Specifically, a dead OOC is one of the most common indicators of an RP that's going to stall. Keeping players talking in the OOC does wonders to foster a sense of being in a group, to potentially hype players, to overall anchor them better and make the experience more enjoyable. A dead OOC though, often spells out detachment of the playerbase.

Now, as much as I would love to tell you how you can keep a healthy OOC... to be honest it's something I really struggle with myself. Though I can say that one thing that definitely helps is you yourself being present and active in the OOC.


I hope this helps. Welcome back, best of luck and happy RPing!

 

[counterfeitcowboy]

For me, the easiest way to transition out of scenes that are slogging down the plot is to be communicative with your writing partner. Once all the important stuff in the conversation has been said and the characters are resorting to small talk, or when they're effectively just sitting around, I'll sometimes ask if I can fast forward the scene a little bit and get on to the next one. For longer term plot intrigue, it once again comes down to a good relationship with the writer on the other side of the screen. If you guys are talking about the RP and discussing characters and headcanons, it's usually inevitable you'll start springing prospective ideas on each other. When someone else contributes a plot point and you like it, try to give a "yes, and" response. This means you're expanding on their ideas whenever possible.

 

[Pilgrim59]

hi! sorry for the vague title haha

I just joined the site a while ago and I’m already thinking about and plotting the first rps I’m going to do! after seeing the rp advice thread i was like well, lemme shoot a question!

i havent rped in years before trying to get back into it at this moment, but I remember that sometimes in the past i had trouble with the pacing of the rp. sometimes things get bogged down, sometimes charactars spend a lot of times talking and im not sure how to make the transition into action.

What do you reccomend doing when you feel like your rp is stalling? how do you naturally introduce action or move the plot and characters forward?

thanks for reading- I’ve adored seeing peoples stories and roleplay thoughts and advice on this board and I think its really going to help me get back into rp as a hobby!

One trick is to keep the player base alive. Think of it as having your friends at your place for a sleepover. The natural course of the RP's post rate is dependent on their interest. Gauge their interests by switching up the paces. Say if you start off the story with an action scene, take into account your player's post rates and literary details over time. This is crucial intel-gathering as to what you should expect. If the interest wanes, it's best you end the scene and dial in your azimuth for a slower or less mobile pace. A transition from an exposition scene into an adrenaline-packed action scene is often the easiest in my opinion. Literally like every action flick you've seen - just drop a hostile on their heads and spin 'er up. Go full Michael Bay balls-to-the-wall action without the need to explain. Chaos and initial shock value will benefit your audience's attention greatly like an unexpected jumpscare.

Among my fellow RPers on site, one of them suggested that when I have a writer's block, I should keep writing. It mattered little what I wrote, what is pivotal is that you pump out written pieces. These pieces, in turn, will allow you to tape them together and make something out of it. The same principle as recycling crumbled papers. For RPs stalling, what you can do to instigate activity is by probing your players with certain tasks. Keep them on their feet, but don't throw everything their way. What's important when you give them a detail to tend to is their reply's content. If they are excited to pursue the case in IC, then it is worth to expand upon it. Most of my GMing experiences are based upon constant improvisations. Nothing is set in stone.

In order to move a plot forward, you are the fulcrum of your project. The more you write, the more you expand on certain things. Each GM will have their personal "Reeling System", which is a response of their own design to stir the players into action. Think of it like a monthly pension distribution. I'm sure you have one too. My personal Reeling System is leaving bread crumbs for my players to pick up on. Dropping hints of story development, conspiracy theories, lore drop, new locations and collectibles, et cetera. It may not seem like much, but the little things do accumulate over time. The more you write, even when others don't, the more you will be able to progress. Remember, your players are your friends at a sleepover. Be a good host and be creative as to how you will spend your time with them. Especially here on RPN, where it is often rare for an aggressive player to steal the show in the right way. If that makes any sense. Bottom line is, keep writing even when the others won't. Your project, your steps. Continue to write even if you don't want to. The finer things are often appreciated in hindsight. Suffer with me along the way, so that you may bask in the great reward at the end.

*This only applies if you're running an RP with a predetermined ending like I am. This is based solely from my experience, probably won't work for ya.
But it's worth a try I suppose. Batteries sold separately.

 

[cuzn]

while i can't give a direct and exact answer, i can at least tell you what's helped me, not only with rp pacing but also with solo story pacing as well.

i spent a bit of time studying how existing medias pace and structure their plotlines - particularly, anime, cartoons, and tv shows. the episodic format that they have translates really well into an rp just because rps tend to be quite ongoing in my experience, so personally, i learned how to better structure my stories and tie plotlines together by studying how shows that i love (teen titans was the biggest help for me because of the structuring of each season and character arc, although a ton of other shows helped as well) did it themselves.

transitions into timeskips are also an easy way to keep things going, but relying on timeskips too much has its own downsides as well. figuring out a few ways to ease into transitions, and figuring out how to structure plotlines so that everything ties together neatly at the end, helped me in both my action-packed rps and my more chill slice-of-life stories.

a really big help to me, along with watching tv, has of course been reading. not just the reading that comes with rp replies, but i've gone through a ton of books this last summer, and it's done so much so quickly for my skill level as a writer. the best advice i can give is to find another person that does it really, really well, and read it or watch it to figure out how they did it and make up a way that best suits you in response. good luck!