Other Plots vs. Ideas

[rae2nerdy]

Just an idle question that has come up recently that I wanted to poll the users of RPN about.

Do you prefer plots in your search thread?

Ex. I would like to do a roleplay where MC is a princess in a medieval kingdom who is abducted by a dragon who takes her to a mystical land. She must team up with another captive YC, and find her way home.

Or do you prefer just a list of ideas or pairings?

Ex. Jock/Nerd , Princess captured by dragons.

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

Both. As in, here are some fleshed out plots that I have. But if you don't like them, then we can plot around the general pairing.

 

[Spoiled Bread]

I prefer plots so I have better understanding of what the other really want in the roleplay.

 

[official clown business]

Plots! Plots! Plots!
I understand how good quick ideas and pairings can be, since they give the roleplayers a general idea of what their characters will be and let them come up with a plot together. When done well, it makes for some healthy OOC conversations from the very get go.

However, I am much more a fan of having a plot already made. Sometimes it can make for a good way to gauge the level of detail that'll be put into the roleplay itself - and if you're aiming for detail in the first place, a plot will be very appealing to people who want the same thing.

With that being said, if I were to create a 1x1 search thread myself, I would have a couple plots ready as well as a list of characters (named and with a one sentence description) I might be using for each plot, letting the other person decide the plot and character I use. Now that I think about it, I could create a hybrid plots + pairings search if I wanted to. I think I've actually seen people do that before.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Plots! Plots! Plots!
I understand how good quick ideas and pairings can be, since they give the roleplayers a general idea of what their characters will be and let them come up with a plot together. When done well, it makes for some healthy OOC conversations from the very get go.

However, I am much more a fan of having a plot already made. Sometimes it can make for a good way to gauge the level of detail that'll be put into the roleplay itself - and if you're aiming for detail in the first place, a plot will be very appealing to people who want the same thing.

With that being said, if I were to create a 1x1 search thread myself, I would have a couple plots ready as well as a list of characters (named and with a one sentence description) I might be using for each plot, letting the other person decide the plot and character I use. Now that I think about it, I could create a hybrid plots + pairings search if I wanted to. I think I've actually seen people do that before.

So you premake your characters for each plot? Or you just give people like roles that they can choose from.

Ex. This plot will be about three kids solving the mystery of who killed the mayor.

Kid A - Bobby the jock
Kid B - Sally the bookworm
Kid C - Jax the loner

(Obviously more detailed than this but I'm on a break at work and can't write a long reply.)

 

[official clown business]

So you premake your characters for each plot? Or you just give people like roles that they can choose from.

Oh, it was certainly a bit more complicated than the example.

You'll have to scroll down for a while, but I thought about this when I replied here. The way I tried running things was extremely complicated back then, but I wanted to take a look at the new fantasy setting I had made.

There weren't necessarily any roles to pick in these plots, but I had a list of characters people could ask me to use, and allowed them to create pretty much whoever, with races being the only real restriction.

 

[Idea]

Two traits I absolutely look for in my roleplay partners are passion and initiative. It is important to me that my partners have real enthusiasm, drive and a proactive spirit towards the story we’re working together on. It makes me really happy when we can chat and joke about the characters, plot enthusiastically about potential upcoming events, and they came with their proposals, questions and plot twists.

For this reason, I prefer plots over the other options. Credit where it is due, things like pairings and fandoms do have their place- specifically in that there is more room for me to insert a particular idea I want to do and tie it to something they like for instance, or because it’s easier to search for a fandom for itself rather than by a specific plot. However, I find not only are plots overall more appealing and show more about the person, they specifically show those very important things. How a plot is written can really convey how much a person wants to do it, what about it is attractive to the person, their level of detail...

Still, in my own interest checks, I do use several things- plots, pairings, fandoms, settings and recently OCs.

 

[Onmyoji]

I'd say both and it highly depends on what I want when I look into a search thread.

Plots, if I want to rp something but I don't have any specific plot in mind. In this case plots help to get into the right mindset.
Ideas/pairings, if I want to rp something with similar idea/pairing already and have a vague plot in mind that I could offer to rp partner for further discussion.

 

[Dutch]

I like if it's one or the other.

I like pairing only threads specially if I have a pairing or idea of my own that can match with one in someones thread.

Plot only threads for when I don't have a plot but I wanna RP. So seeing a plot that can spark ideas and make me wanna RP that story is nice.

A thread with both I generally ignore the pairings list because I know that person wants to do one of their plot ideas. So I kinda just consider that a either their plot or don't try.

 

[ashwynne]

Plots all the way for me!!

In other people’s search threads it gives me an idea of the type of writer they are, general interests, and a basic idea of how they’re going to be as a partner. I also have found over the years that people who take the time to write out plots tend to stick with the roleplay for a lot longer. It makes sense, really, because coming up with a plot tends to build more excitement than having no solid idea besides a specific pairing. (Not always true, of course, but it’s a pattern I’ve noticed over my own roleplaying years)

In my own search threads I find that if I leave things too general/don’t have a solid idea to share, I don’t tend to stay as invested either. There’s just something exhilarating about reading/creating a really good plot synopsis and getting to be part of bringing it to life that’s lacking when it’s just a list of pairings.

Granted this is all just my preference and I’m not normally a fan of pure romance roleplays anyway, so a laundry list of pairings is often a sign that I wouldn’t mesh well with that person anyway. Nothing is ever set in stone though, this just tends to be the way I lean.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Oh, it was certainly a bit more complicated than the example.

You'll have to scroll down for a while, but I thought about this when I replied here. The way I tried running things was extremely complicated back then, but I wanted to take a look at the new fantasy setting I had made.

There weren't necessarily any roles to pick in these plots, but I had a list of characters people could ask me to use, and allowed them to create pretty much whoever, with races being the only real restriction.

Sorry thought I responded to this earlier. But thanks for the example, it is definately more involved than what I was picturing.