Other Roleplay Pet Peeves

[PrincessBunny]

This is my first thread, so I figured I start out by sharing my own personal Roleplay Pet Peeves! I have been a Roleplayer of over 9 years now, and over the course of time, there are certain things in the RP world that truly annoy me. Even the nicest people have their own limits, so this isn't directed towards anyone in particular as I'm sure we've all done these at some point without realizing it! So, yeah, here are some of my Roleplay Pet Peeves & feel free to share yours if you like! (:

1. People who do not read/purposely ignore my rules.
This is probably one of the things that truly frustrate me till no end. I understand people not wanting to read through a book set of rules, but I feel like if you are truly interested in Roleplaying with the person, one should at least take their time to read through their rules and requirements. I just find it super rude when people do the complete opposite of what your rules say not to do. Come on, folks! Be considerate!

2. One-Liners.
I hate one-liners. They will totally kill a story immediately. I am a very detailed person when it comes to writing a story with a partner, so I believe you should give back what you get back. I believe that is a fair share in the game. Nothing feels more disappointing when you type up a beautiful paragraph/novel and can't wait to see how much detail your partner will give in return, only to be seen a one-liner or barely any effort. Writer's block is one thing, but just sending constant one-liners can get really frustrating and will kill a story very fast.

3. Characters you must feel sorry for.
Listen, I'm a huge sucker for drama/angst stories, and I want my partners to be able to express and develop their characters however they wish to! Like, let's say, their character's love interest rejects them, and so their character will immediately want to kill themselves, hurt themselves, or use the, 'No one will ever love me!' phrase just so that love interest or even you in particular will feel very guilty/bad. That's also why I do not like forced shipping either.... because it just does not feel natural to me, as you just want your character to be with someone for the sake of them not killing themselves. And the way their character acts is totally not the creator's fault.... what? is that actually true?

4. Godmodding/Overpowered Characters.
Please never control my characters. I don't like it at all. I know how they are supposed to act or think. Not only that, but when it comes to fighting scenes, the person's character is ALWAYS capable and beat your character or anyone no matter what as that gets annoying sometimes. Let them lose sometimes, that'll be more interesting to see the bad guy win sometimes ya know? Also, when the character does constant blocking and you can't leave a single mark or they BS their way in the next response. Or if some random character just pops out of nowhere just to purposely ruin a fight scene is not cool at all...

5. People who expect you to change your mind for them.
I've experienced this a lot in my years of Roleplaying. I am 21 year old female adult, who Roleplays with other female adults as it's more comfortable for me. People who are under 18 try to convince you to write with them anyway, despite your rules saying otherwise is just.... 'Oh, I'm very mature for my age' No. You are still a minor and writing with a minor will be too awkward for me.

6. One-sided stories.
People who just expect you to do all the work and they hardly advance the plot forward. Or better yet! When they are the ones who came up with the plot idea, but it does not last very long and they expect you to save it every time with coming up with ideas for them, and this just doesn't happen just once, but multiple times! I don't mind helping out my partners if they truly need it, but it can get tiresome when they do not try to think on their own.... And even better is when we are doing a double RP, but they are more focused and put a bloody load of energy into their side with their pairing, but put less and half-assed effort on your side. Both sides should share the same amount of energy! Otherwise, say goodbye to the RP haha!

7. Bad grammar.
Please, please, I beg of you, it only take two seconds to capitalize the first letter in your sentences! Also, when it's very hard to tell when the sentences end can be pretty confusing to me, since it is too many run on sentences. I'm sorry, but people who just type all lower case letters just bothers me.... or even people who think it's okay to type out "U" instead of "You". Like are you kidding me?

8. Characters who do the love at first sight.
I'm a huge sucker for romance! But, characters who immediately fall in love in the beginning of the story just seem so unrealistic to me as I think it should develop, which makes it more interesting in my opinion, but I understand if it's some people's thing to do.

9. People who will only play female characters.
There's nothing more exciting than finding a Roleplay ad that you may be compatible for, only to be let down that the person only strictly plays female/submissive characters, because they cannot "play" the male/dominant role. I personality play both roles as I'm pretty flexible person! But people who simply refuse to play the guy is just being completely unfair, especially if you want me to play your love interest, then you need to do the same in return too, otherwise, then it's pretty selfish. I believe people should be flexible, so that they can attract other people to RP with, otherwise, it will become very difficult if they don't make a change and just practice. Practice makes perfect!

10. Impatient Roleplayers.
This one is a HUGE one for me. I love Roleplaying with a passion, as it's my favorite hobby to do as assuming the same for the other person. We are always excited to know what happens next in the story, perfectly understandable! However, what some people failed to realize is that PEOPLE HAVE LIVES OUT OF THE INTERNET. This is what probably makes me run away the most. Honestly, I never thought I'd have to deal with those kinds of people, but sadly I have. Getting messages like, 'Hello?' 'You there?' 'Are you going to reply?' 'Can you respond more than once?' etc just turns me off fast.... Everyone has responsibly outside of the computer screen, so if you are expecting 100 replies a day as you stare at your computer screen, then sorry to say, but that can't happen. Just because someone is active or semi-active does not mean they are all the time. People need a break from writing sometimes. You aren't being considerate if you can't respect someone's schedule of not being able to reply every single day. That's why I always give everyone a week to reply.

11. Ditching.
When people contact you and you two have an active conversation with introducing each other, then go over the plot and characters as you are super excited to start this RP, only for the player to up and vanish and you never hear from them again. It's even worse when you send the starter, and it goes unanswered. I completely understand that life is super unpredictable as it happens to all of us! I just think the most considerate thing to do is just update your partner that you cannot RP anymore or put it on hold until you can RP again, otherwise you just wasted the other party's time and energy for nothing...

12. Smut on smut and nothing but smut.
When people only contact you for a PWP with no real set story development, and even starting out the story that way. I can promise you that I will get bored pretty quickly. It's even worse when minors try to RP smut with you...

13. People who want you to play their characters.
People who want you to play their OC's that you have no clue or knowledge about them. This is more on the OC x OC side. And then you will get called out if you are not playing the character correctly or the way they want you to. I think it's safe to say it's better if people just play their own characters and not force/make their partner do it.

Those are just some of my Roleplay Pet Peeves! I didn't want to create a whole book of all of them! It was fun though ^.^ Feel free to share your own personal Roleplay Pet Peeves as let's respect everyone's opinions!

 

[rae2nerdy]

5. People who expect you to change their mind for them.
^ I think you made a typo here - I think it's meant to be People who expect you to change your mind for them.

As to the pet peeves I agree with quiet a few of yours especially 3,4,6, 8, and 12.


I am not especially fond of nine either but I'm also not fond of your solution either. I hate with an irrational and fiery passion character ratios.

Or - You play male x female and I'll play male x female. Or you play oc x canon and I'll play oc x canon.

Just because I am not a romance roleplayer I'm almost entirely platonic.

So for me being forced to play two characters who only exist as a love interest for two other characters drives me up a wall.

I would honestly rather you just ask me to play the male / dominant / whatever less desired romantic character is.

I mean at least then I'm only playing one character and I feel like I can try to make them more well-rounded and something beyond just Place holder Romantic Interest for Established Pairing.

 

[Chimney Swift]

My RP Pet Peeves (not necessarily a comprehensive list)

• Anachronisms in historical-based RPs. I'm not a stickler for years of research, but I expect players to know the gist of the era we're playing. I.e, a woman in the 19th century would be looked down upon for wearing a skimpy dress in public, color photos didn't exist in the 20's, and "Nevaeh" is not an appropriate name for an effing medieval character.
• Derailing, especially for the sake of romance. If I joined an RP for the cool-sounding story or just good platonic fun, I expect to not be left in the dust while the other characters ignore the plot and make out with each other ad-nauseam.
• "Insane", "random" or "psycho" characters. Not only are they usually just ugly stereotypes of mentally ill/neurologically disabled people, they are almost always dead-set on derailing the plot with edgy shenanigans. They act rude IC to other characters, but then expect immediate forgiveness. I hate it.
• Players who have no concept of a normal height/weight ratio. It takes 2 minutes on Google to find out what your characters proportions should be based on their age and build. If your character is a man of "average height", that means he is between 5'9 and 6'0, not 6'5+! Likewise, a woman described as "curvy" will not weigh 100 pounds unless she is extremely short. You will not believe how many characters I see who supposedly weigh less than 90 pounds and are represented by a faceclaim who is somehow not totally emaciated.
• When every character is white, rich, able-bodied and attractive, regardless of the setting. I mean, seriously, it gets ridiculous sometimes. An average high school in New York is not going to be full of blonde supermodels who drive fancy cars! A street gang in the 1950s is not going to look like a discarded Jersey Shore episode! Branch out!
• Massive walls of text. I beg of you, please break up your paragraphs! Please!
• Unintelligible fonts/coding. If I have to make my eyes bleed trying to read size 6 pastel blue text, RPing with you is no longer fun. If I have to open 62 little spoilers just to read your 7-paragraph CS,, I'm probably not going to finish it. Please be considerate.

 

[Marira]

I overall agree with all of them- save for the specific details of 5. If that works for you cool. However, I feel I should point out that, from my best recollection, this isn't an 18+ website; the rating overall is pg-13 give or take. Even if there is a romantic scene it's not like you're cybering or anything. There will be a large number of underage members who will be interested in your rp ideas. You can check out their posts to see if their style is up to par with yours, yet I don't see the discomfort leading to a hard limit myself. This is probably due to personal experience, as I've been on RPN when I was under the age of 18 and rp'd with members above the age of 18, and vice versa as I got older, and it hasn't been an issue for anyone I've rp'd with. Different strokes for different folks, I suppose.

 

[memphis]

I am not especially fond of nine either but I'm also not fond of your solution either. I hate with an irrational and fiery passion character ratios.

Spoiler

Agreed, I cannot stand character ratios. I will not have someone else tell me that I need to play a certain character so that it will be fair. Honestly, though, I never let it get to that point. If I feel like someone is going to try to dictate what character I play so their character can have the right love interest, I will drop the rp. And tbh I never really have this happen to me in the first place, because at this point in time, I am only really open to writing same-sex/queer romance (and also do a lot of just-platonic roleplaying). I find that, generally, at least with the people I've wrote with in the past, I have had a better experience with queer romance.

Anachronisms in historical-based RPs.

Spoiler

As someone who roleplays primarily historical content, I have grown to resent this. Like I understand small misunderstandings/inaccuracies, and I'm not about to call someone out for every small discrepancy, but if you're not sure whether people had telephones in 1850 or not, google is your friend! It really isn't that difficult to do a little preliminary research on appropriate names, attire, mannerisms, and common technology during a particular period!

Players who have no concept of a normal height/weight ratio.

Spoiler

God. It's honestly embarrassing, and I mean embarrassing, when I see someone write a female character who is like 5'9 and 100 lbs and, like, think that is normal or average. Of course there are women that exist with those types of proportions, but it's not like they're not going to be a curvy bombshell with that bmi; they're going to look waifish, and probably borderline-sickly thin.

When every character is white, rich, able-bodied and attractive

Spoiler

Yes, yes, yes. Okay, look, I understand that a lot of people write what they know, and tend to stick within their experiences and walk of life. When someone writes a lot of white characters, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt; maybe they're younger (with less life-experience), live in a middle-class, suburban region that is overwhelmingly white. But honestly, if you're ever going to get better at writing, you need to branch out of your small bubble of life. This gets so frustrating. Not everyone is an attractive, rich, able-bodied white person; and to be quite frank, that's not an appropriate character for many settings. In fact, in the big picture of the world, very few are, even if that is what we see represented most in media. As writers we have the luck of being able to control out narratives; so why would you choose to be narrow-minded and incomprehensive when you could literally write any type of person and share an interesting new perspective in your writing?

As for some more personal peeves of mine:

• Discrepancies in a character/personality/setting/plot/etc. are horrible. I understand character-growth and development over time, but if a character is an entirely different person from post to post I'm probably going to be annoyed.
• Characters who are nothing but meek and mild all the time. Timid characters are okay, sure, but if someone's character are shy or nonconfrontational to the point that they can't be self-sufficient, I'm going to get sick of roleplaying with them very fast.
• When someone refuses to plot with me. If someone can't contribute any ideas, and the process of plotting with them is like pulling teeth, why would I want to write with them? If you're going to put forth no effort, then I'm not going to write with you!

 

[PrincessBunny]

5. People who expect you to change their mind for them.
^ I think you made a typo here - I think it's meant to be People who expect you to change your mind for them.

As to the pet peeves I agree with quiet a few of yours especially 3,4,6, 8, and 12.


I am not especially fond of nine either but I'm also not fond of your solution either. I hate with an irrational and fiery passion character ratios.

Or - You play male x female and I'll play male x female. Or you play oc x canon and I'll play oc x canon.

Just because I am not a romance roleplayer I'm almost entirely platonic.

So for me being forced to play two characters who only exist as a love interest for two other characters drives me up a wall.

I would honestly rather you just ask me to play the male / dominant / whatever less desired romantic character is.

I mean at least then I'm only playing one character and I feel like I can try to make them more well-rounded and something beyond just Place holder Romantic Interest for Established Pairing.

Thanks for pointing that out! I fix it~

Character ratios? I don't think I've heard of that term before in my years of roleplaying, forgive me. So, it just basically means that each set of people should have a love interest in the story? Like, for example if there are two males and two females, then the male and female will be paired, same with the other existing pair? Just want to make sure I'm on the right page, and if I am, I usually tolerate it most of the time. I guess it's a sense that people don't want their characters "left out" of the romantic group. So, they would usually discuss it with me so we can come to a compromise or just attempt to do it without telling me beforehand.

I love romance in my stories. As long as the characters have a chemistry and healthy relationship, then all fine by me~

 

[rae2nerdy]

Thanks for pointing that out! I fix it~

Character ratios? I don't think I've heard of that term before in my years of roleplaying, forgive me. So, it just basically means that each set of people should have a love interest in the story? Like, for example if there are two males and two females, then the male and female will be paired, same with the other existing pair? Just want to make sure I'm on the right page, and if I am, I usually tolerate it most of the time. I guess it's a sense that people don't want their characters "left out" of the romantic group. So, they would usually discuss it with me so we can come to a compromise or just attempt to do it without telling me beforehand.

I love romance in my stories. As long as the characters have a chemistry and healthy relationship, then all fine by me~

Yeah but the problem is not everyone has the same emphasis on romance. And it doesn't actually fix the original problem of someone demanding you play a specific character.

Because all your doing is just upping the number of characters they have to play to fit your idea of a romance.

So instead of just saying - Hey you play the male while I play the female.

They're saying - Hey play a male and a female so I can also play a male and a female

It's not really changed the core issue which is - You are telling me to play a character specifically so you get what you want in the romance. You aren't asking what I want to play you're just assuming that I want to play the romantic opposite of your two characters.

 

[PrincessBunny]

My RP Pet Peeves (not necessarily a comprehensive list)

• Anachronisms in historical-based RPs. I'm not a stickler for years of research, but I expect players to know the gist of the era we're playing. I.e, a woman in the 19th century would be looked down upon for wearing a skimpy dress in public, color photos didn't exist in the 20's, and "Nevaeh" is not an appropriate name for an effing medieval character.
• Derailing, especially for the sake of romance. If I joined an RP for the cool-sounding story or just good platonic fun, I expect to not be left in the dust while the other characters ignore the plot and make out with each other ad-nauseam.
• "Insane", "random" or "psycho" characters. Not only are they usually just ugly stereotypes of mentally ill/neurologically disabled people, they are almost always dead-set on derailing the plot with edgy shenanigans. They act rude IC to other characters, but then expect immediate forgiveness. I hate it.
• Players who have no concept of a normal height/weight ratio. It takes 2 minutes on Google to find out what your characters proportions should be based on their age and build. If your character is a man of "average height", that means he is between 5'9 and 6'0, not 6'5+! Likewise, a woman described as "curvy" will not weigh 100 pounds unless she is extremely short. You will not believe how many characters I see who supposedly weigh less than 90 pounds and are represented by a faceclaim who is somehow not totally emaciated.
• When every character is white, rich, able-bodied and attractive, regardless of the setting. I mean, seriously, it gets ridiculous sometimes. An average high school in New York is not going to be full of blonde supermodels who drive fancy cars! A street gang in the 1950s is not going to look like a discarded Jersey Shore episode! Branch out!
• Massive walls of text. I beg of you, please break up your paragraphs! Please!
• Unintelligible fonts/coding. If I have to make my eyes bleed trying to read size 6 pastel blue text, RPing with you is no longer fun. If I have to open 62 little spoilers just to read your 7-paragraph CS,, I'm probably not going to finish it. Please be considerate.

I understand! I guess some people either don't really think in the moment of how a certain historical background should be set appropriately. So, they just use their own originally instead of keeping it accurate to a point.

I don't think I've ever been in that situation before, but then again, I don't do group roleplays. (If that's what you mean)

While I don't mind psycho characters, I believe people should definitely do their research on mental disorders they decided to give their characters. But what annoys me greatly is these type of characters almost never have some sort of weakness. They are always powerful, strong, and controlling. They always have advantages around your character.

Good lord... I will never understand that. Those just seem very unrealistic in my opinion.

I love diversity! I mean, I do have a character who is rich, but they are not the stereotype, snobby, stuck up kind of person that others create their characters to be. But yeah, I like to see different characters of different race/ethics/background, not just the same old.

I am guilty of doing that before haha but I can agree on how that can be a bit much, as spacing out paragraphs is so much easier. It gives more organization in my eyes, so I know what's going on in my certain scene.

Being new to this site, I've never experienced this before, but I understand how it can be completely unnecessary. I mean, I understand people trying to make an RP attractive or pretty, but still, people have to be able to understand your font...

 

[PrincessBunny]

Spoiler

Agreed, I cannot stand character ratios. I will not have someone else tell me that I need to play a certain character so that it will be fair. Honestly, though, I never let it get to that point. If I feel like someone is going to try to dictate what character I play so their character can have the right love interest, I will drop the rp. And tbh I never really have this happen to me in the first place, because at this point in time, I am only really open to writing same-sex/queer romance (and also do a lot of just-platonic roleplaying). I find that, generally, at least with the people I've wrote with in the past, I have had a better experience with queer romance.

Spoiler

As someone who roleplays primarily historical content, I have grown to resent this. Like I understand small misunderstandings/inaccuracies, and I'm not about to call someone out for every small discrepancy, but if you're not sure whether people had telephones in 1850 or not, google is your friend! It really isn't that difficult to do a little preliminary research on appropriate names, attire, mannerisms, and common technology during a particular period!

Spoiler

God. It's honestly embarrassing, and I mean embarrassing, when I see someone write a female character who is like 5'9 and 100 lbs and, like, think that is normal or average. Of course there are women that exist with those types of proportions, but it's not like they're not going to be a curvy bombshell with that bmi; they're going to look waifish, and probably borderline-sickly thin.

Spoiler

Yes, yes, yes. Okay, look, I understand that a lot of people write what they know, and tend to stick within their experiences and walk of life. When someone writes a lot of white characters, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt; maybe they're younger (with less life-experience), live in a middle-class, suburban region that is overwhelmingly white. But honestly, if you're ever going to get better at writing, you need to branch out of your small bubble of life. This gets so frustrating. Not everyone is an attractive, rich, able-bodied white person; and to be quite frank, that's not an appropriate character for many settings. In fact, in the big picture of the world, very few are, even if that is what we see represented most in media. As writers we have the luck of being able to control out narratives; so why would you choose to be narrow-minded and incomprehensive when you could literally write any type of person and share an interesting new perspective in your writing?

As for some more personal peeves of mine:

• Discrepancies in a character/personality/setting/plot/etc. are horrible. I understand character-growth and development over time, but if a character is an entirely different person from post to post I'm probably going to be annoyed.
• Characters who are nothing but meek and mild all the time. Timid characters are okay, sure, but if someone's character are shy or nonconfrontational to the point that they can't be self-sufficient, I'm going to get sick of roleplaying with them very fast.
• When someone refuses to plot with me. If someone can't contribute any ideas, and the process of plotting with them is like pulling teeth, why would I want to write with them? If you're going to put forth no effort, then I'm not going to write with you!

That is super frustrating when a character jumps from personality to personality. That is another pet peeve that I can relate to. Like, one minute, the character is timid, way too emotional, dependent, then the next minute they are all of a sudden strong, independent and badass. What? Unless, if they have multiple personalities, I don't know....

Yeah, that goes back to the characters who can't be self sufficient, so they use some BS back story of how they are an orphan, got bullied, etc threatens to kill themselves so that someone will immediately care. Like, stop. That's manipulating....

Totally agree! Please don't contact me for an RP and you have zero ideas in mind. That'll make me less motivated to write with you.

 

[The Fabulous Emerald]

One thing that annoys me are characters who don't follow their set moral alignment (Chaotic Good, Lawful Evil etc) - especially for villains. If there is a villain in a freeroam style RP, I expect that villain to do villainy, you know? Not to even mention if a pretty woman comes across their path and suddenly they are classified as Good with a complete moral shift. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, you get 'Good' characters who'll do bad things most likely because the player thought it would be cool. Would a Good person realistically kill their foe? No, probably not. Would they steal for their own gain? No. And so on...

Another thing that a RPer did recently that really did annoy me (not to mention everyone else in the RP) is when a player makes a character specifically to beat another person's character with no context, permission or anything (especially since the character that RPer was countering wasn't strong at all and there were stronger characters in the RP). I mean, if you and that other player discussed it and decided your character counters theirs because of plot reasons, fair enough - for example, if they had a vampire and I asked them if I could make a vampire slayer for plot - or perhaps if that character adapted in the RP, but straight from the CS page? Nope.

Here's another point - that same RPer also decided it would be a good idea to try to make a character without seemingly paying attention to the setting or anything. That RPer basically made a genetically enhanced space marine Kryptonian with lightsabers and pulse rifles (this is no joke or exaggeration for effect, BTW - this literally happened) in a D&D magic and swords style RP and expected to get away with it. Fortunately, they were banned before they could even make a first post, but it angers me how they thought they could get away with it.

As an engineer, it also triggers me when people treat materials as something they are not. Non magical swords are not indestructible, diamonds aren't impervious to everything (in fact, they are incredibly brittle), nor will a steel laser weapon be able to fire consistent plasma beams without melting or warping under the heat.

One thing that annoys me personally, although I think this might just be me, are people who duplicate characters that already exist in fandoms and stuff for non fandom settings. Using a faceclaim of a popular character somewhat related to your character is fair enough - I do that - but when their personality, back story, power set, abilities, weapons and even likes and dislikes (I've seen this before, too) in a RP that is not fandom or is meant to be slightly fandom is a bit boring and not really worth RPing with, as it suggests the player behind the character are unable to come up with anything interesting for themselves.

Now, this one usually applies to fandoms/multifandoms but you get get them in other settings, too. I call it 'dick measuring'. In short, it is where a player picks (for fandoms)/makes (for other settings) a powerful character just to one-up the guy before. Where a normal multifandom may start off with average power characters like the sort you'd find in Smash Bros and so on, you can almost guarantee the RP'll devolve into 'who can claim Goku and Gilgamesh first'. This is especially prominent and easy to see in RPs where numbered stats are a thing like levels or EXP (etc) are a thing. You can see how the bar gets slowly and slowly raised as more and more people try to have the strongest character. As a side effect of this point, I also dislike people who make a character with abilities the same as another character, but stronger/more experienced in said ability (at least, without consulting).

Whew, it does feel good to vent, doesn't it?

 

[Abendrot]

When I write six fucking paragraphs and my partner responds with a short sentence that doesn't move the plot at all.

 

[King Crimson]

One thing that annoys me are characters who don't follow their set moral alignment (Chaotic Good, Lawful Evil etc) - especially for villains. If there is a villain in a freeroam style RP, I expect that villain to do villainy, you know? Not to even mention if a pretty woman comes across their path and suddenly they are classified as Good with a complete moral shift. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, you get 'Good' characters who'll do bad things most likely because the player thought it would be cool. Would a Good person realistically kill their foe? No, probably not. Would they steal for their own gain? No. And so on..

I agree with you on everything except here.
The DnD morality system is complete ass because of how rigid it is and because everyone has different interpretations of what the alignments mean.

What if Mr. Evil mustache-twiddler just has a soft spot for the ladies?
Or what if he's acting good out of some evil, ulterior motive?
Why does every Good character have to take the Batman approach and let the villain live?
What if the Good character has to kill the villain to stop them?

 

[Chimney Swift]

.

Now, this one usually applies to fandoms/multifandoms but you get get them in other settings, too. I call it 'dick measuring'. In short, it is where a player picks (for fandoms)/makes (for other settings) a powerful character just to one-up the guy before. Where a normal multifandom may start off with average power characters like the sort you'd find in Smash Bros and so on, you can almost guarantee the RP'll devolve into 'who can claim Goku and Gilgamesh first'. This is especially prominent and easy to see in RPs where numbered stats are a thing like levels or EXP (etc) are a thing. You can see how the bar gets slowly and slowly raised as more and more people try to have the strongest character. As a side effect of this point, I also dislike people who make a character with abilities the same as another character, but stronger/more experienced in said ability (at least, without consulting).

Whew, it does feel good to vent, doesn't it?

This. THIS.
Sometimes it isn't even about power. Sometimes it's about even sillier things, like sympathy. If I had a dollar for every time I've witnessed people get into a tragic backstory arms-race, I'd be goddamn Batman by now. It's like " oh, my character's parents were killed by a bank robber, and then she was adopted by the mafia and was forced to become an organized crime lord. Also, she's been addicted to cocaine since she was 10" and then someone comes along like " Oh yeah? Well MY character is a lung cancer survivor whose hometown was obliterated by aliens, and their boyfriend died in their arms the day before their child was born! And that child was SATAN!" It's complete madness.

 

[Platypus]

When people restricts you from using certain types of face claim images. I honestly don't get the point. I mean, why does it matter so much whether I use an realistic image or one from some random anime?

 

[Bone2pick]

When people restricts you from using certain types of face claim images. I honestly don't get the point. I mean, why does it matter so much whether I use an realistic image or one from some random anime?

Because the aesthetics of a fictional world are important. If I'm GMing a superhero RP and all of my concept pics for it are traditional American comic book art, then don't submit a character with realistic photos or Gifs. You will not be accepted.

 

[Justin93Daniels]

There are three characters that can, in my opinion, break the immersion of anything:
"Gary-Stu", "Mary-Sue", and "Self-Insert".

Gary and Mary are like brother and sister, in the sense that they are perfect in every way, shape, or form, don't have any flaws, and/or just doesn't find themselves challenged with anything, be it emotional or physical. Heck in one of my RP's, I have a character who can't die, but he still feels the cold sting of death, and has his own set of flaws that, despite his "Immortality", makes him "Human" enough to not be perfect.

"Self-Insert", of course, is "Throwing yourself into the picture", and not relying on a "Persona" to make a character... altogether, making things a bit more personal. People tend to "Immortalize" themselves a lot, and would stop at nothing to say "No, THAT didn't happen! That character's too important to get in that fight, because he/she is me, and everyone knows I can't die!"

Heck, even if you want to reuse the characters in other RP's, at least let them fit the theme, or have a realistic/reasonable reason for "being that one person", should someone accept you... in a world with Magic and Soldiers, would you normally run into someone with orange armor, and donning a pair of thick eyeglasses, who fights with a Pistol and a Crowbar, and calls himself "Gordon Freeman"? No! If said person was Magically drawn from another world and/or time period, then they would likely be questioned and/or hidden away by someone from that era that might've summoned them there. Customs will be different, however... don't expect perfect conduct, then, and remember that back in those days, a dismembered head was a fun toy to kick around!

And plus, if the chance occurs that they kill their ancestors, then expect a Time Paradox to make 'em vanish, anyways...

 

[Marira]

Because the aesthetics of a fictional world are important. If I'm GMing a superhero RP and all of my concept pics for it are traditional American comic book art, then don't submit a character with realistic photos or Gifs. You will not be accepted.

I understand that aesthetics are important, but what if the creator can't find a sampling or concept art that appropriately conveys their character? It isn't like there's a vast majority of members that have the skills or the means to create an image of their character(s)

 

[Chimney Swift]

I understand that aesthetics are important, but what if the creator can't find a sampling or concept art that appropriately conveys their character? It isn't like there's a vast majority of members that have the skills or the means to create an image of their character(s)

This is why I always feel like a written description should be an acceptable substitute. I'd honestly rather have something written than have one person have a drastically different image than the others.

 

[Bone2pick]

I understand that aesthetics are important, but what if the creator can't find a sampling or concept art that appropriately conveys their character? It isn't like there's a vast majority of members that have the skills or the means to create an image of their character(s)

As has already been offered use a written description. I've never encountered a roleplay where that wasn't acceptable.

 

[rae2nerdy]

When people restricts you from using certain types of face claim images. I honestly don't get the point. I mean, why does it matter so much whether I use an realistic image or one from some random anime?

It's a uniformity thing. Like Bone mentioned if everyone in the roleplay is using realistic images and you use an anime image than your character doesn't fit into the roleplay.

It would be like if you're watching a live action movie and out of nowhere a cartoon popped up and started interacting with them.

Now some GMs and partners might let you compromise by just doing a written description though. It means you don't have to use a specific image but also you won't be throwing off the aesthetic.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I understand that aesthetics are important, but what if the creator can't find a sampling or concept art that appropriately conveys their character? It isn't like there's a vast majority of members that have the skills or the means to create an image of their character(s)

There are also threads on this site specifically dedicated to people finding images. Plus there are dollmakers online, pinterest boards, and even model sites.

Like their are whole tumblrs dedicated to helping people find real life faceclaims and several pinterest boards dedicated to art samplings.

It might take some work , or you might need to ask someone else for help, but it's not impossible.

And most people who use drawn images don't actually make the art themselves. The same way most people who use real life face claims aren't actually using their own pictures.

 

[Chimney Swift]

There are also threads on this site specifically dedicated to people finding images. Plus there are dollmakers online, pinterest boards, and even model sites.

Like their are whole tumblrs dedicated to helping people find real life faceclaims and several pinterest boards dedicated to art samplings.

It might take some work , or you might need to ask someone else for help, but it's not impossible.

And most people who use drawn images don't actually make the art themselves. The same way most people who use real life face claims aren't actually using their own pictures.

Always remember to source art, though! Some images are copyrighted or otherwise not up for free use. Pinterest is fine for finding things, but a lot of the art there is stolen so be careful where you put it.

 

[Marira]

There are also threads on this site specifically dedicated to people finding images. Plus there are dollmakers online, pinterest boards, and even model sites.

Like their are whole tumblrs dedicated to helping people find real life faceclaims and several pinterest boards dedicated to art samplings.

It might take some work , or you might need to ask someone else for help, but it's not impossible.

And most people who use drawn images don't actually make the art themselves. The same way most people who use real life face claims aren't actually using their own pictures.

I get that aspect. But, my big focus is trying to go off of a specific art style. For the record, I get examples like not using anime/cartoons for a rp that's meant to be realistic. Sticking with the example that Bone2pick described, I may not find what I'm looking for in a superhero-comic art style. But, what if I find a picture that has practically everything my character embodies, however it's an edited photograph, or inspired by superhero TV shows/movies, or even a superhero anime? You're telling me that, even if everything else in the character sheet checks out really well, you won't accept it just because it's in a certain media that isn't the same as the one you've depicted? You'd sooner use your imagination with a set of words than you would an actual image?

As Chimney Swift just pointed out, It's good to source where your art comes from. Not many artists want their photos/drawings/etc. used for platforms such as these. And it may be an unfortunate truth that those whom once accepted it no longer do because that sort of privilege had been abused in some way.

 

[Bone2pick]

You'd sooner use your imagination with a set of words than you would an actual image?

Would I rather read a character description than have an out of place image pollute my RP's vision? Without a doubt I would.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I get that aspect. But, my big focus is trying to go off of a specific art style. For the record, I get examples like not using anime/cartoons for a rp that's meant to be realistic. Sticking with the example that Bone2pick described, I may not find what I'm looking for in a superhero-comic art style. But, what if I find a picture that has practically everything my character embodies, however it's an edited photograph, or inspired by superhero TV shows/movies, or even a superhero anime? You're telling me that, even if everything else in the character sheet checks out really well, you won't accept it just because it's in a certain media that isn't the same as the one you've depicted? You'd sooner use your imagination with a set of words than you would an actual image?

As Chimney Swift just pointed out, It's good to source where your art comes from. Not many artists want their photos/drawings/etc. used for platforms such as these. And it may be an unfortunate truth that those whom once accepted it no longer do because that sort of privilege had been abused in some way.

Well firstly I don’t personally care, in fact I tend to request written description an purely for this reason. It’s easier for people to just describe what they want their character to look like than bother with images.

However a rule is a rule.

And if everyone else in the role play finds a way to complied with it and you do t than you shouldn’t get special treatment because you can’t find the exact image you want.

Not I’m using the general you ( as in you the theoretical player ) not specific you ( as in marira )

To me it’s about two things

Aesthetics - so everyone looks the same

And also uniformity among players. Everyone has to follow the same rules to get their characters accepted.

If you the player don’t like the rules than that just isn’t the role play for you.

Because yes I would rather keep the rules equal and avoid playing favorites than be like

Well I like Bobs character sheet more than Toms do Bob doesn’t have to follow the rules but Tom does