Newsletter RpNation Newsletter: April 2018

[div class=container][div class=header][div class=tri][/div][/div][div class=headertxt]April Newsletter[/div][div class=ofthemonth][div class=headerf]House Keeping Annoumcements[/div]
April's Supporter Badge
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Many thanks to Fable Fable !​
  • 13,775 accounts with 0 posts and no activity from before January 1, 2017 have been purged to free up those usernames.

  • Username changes are easier to request now! Members no longer need to go into a forum, but can request a username change via their account details. You can read more here.

  • Profile covers have returned!

  • The status update bar has been removed from the site's main page. Don't fret though, you can still see the newest ones here. You can read more about this at the bottom of this announcement post.

  • BBCode+ has been updated! There is now BBScript 2, CSS Animations, responsive classes, and stylable user tags.

  • The theme was slightly updated.

  • New ratings have been added! Useful, Creative, Great Idea, Great Scene, Aww, and Well Written. These are not universal like the Cookie or Heart rating and can only be used in select locations around the site.

  • Dice is back, but it's a little bit more complicated. Players will have to post first and then edit to add in their dice roll.

  • We've updated RpNation's Community Guidelines and moved things around a bit for better organization. Some thing are still being updated here and there, so keep an eye out!

  • We now have Live Content! When a user posts on a thread, it will automatically update to reflect it. Additionally, notifications should no longer require a refresh. Click here to read more.

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[/div][div class=info]Member of the Month
@Animent [/div]
When did you start roleplaying? What were your early experiences like?
I believe I was around twelve or thirteen years old so about 2013. I have to say my early experiences were very very difficult but that's what usually happens when you start something new. When I started, I didn't know there was such thing as roleplaying sites like RpNation, so I used a lot of texting apps to roleplay. I tend to make a lot of mary sues, and that annoyed everyone but hey, I was a beginner, so it was understandable. Also, since texting apps weren’t made for roleplaying, it was challenging for me to find roleplaying groups or people to roleplay with. Luckily, around 2014, I found a lot of roleplaying groups, and I got a lot of practice there, but I didn’t start improving until I join RpNation.

How did you discover RpNation?
I was googling for places to roleplay on, and I found a site that ranked the top 10 roleplaying sites, and I think RpN was on top of the list, so I clicked on it. RpN’s simple interface, active members, and loving community just dragged me in.

What features would be in your ideal roleplay? Do you have a favorite genre?
One of the main features in my ideal roleplay is out of character talk. I have horrible anxiety, and out of character chat and getting to know my RP partner tends to calm me down and make me more comfortable with them. Another feature is patience and respect. I’m in high school, and some days I’m not that motivated, so sometimes I won’t have time or energy to reply or that my replies won’t be that long. I love it whenever my roleplay partners respect the fact that I’m human and that I have a life outside my roleplays and is patient enough to wait until the weekend where I have time to reply. Also, my ideal roleplay would have a maximum effort from every party. I hate it whenever I roleplay, and I try so hard to make everything fun for everyone and put so much effort to make my replies understandable and have good enough quality that people will enjoy to read and could reply to but then the other person doesn’t try at all. That just kills the mood really quickly.

My favorite genre is usually a mixture of romance, action and either sci-fi or fantasy. I love it whenever there’s romance, but I don’t want it to take over the roleplay or plot. However, action plus sci-fi or fantasy is a must. I get bored quickly and action is the one thing that keeps me interested in every plot. However, this does not mean I’m against every plot that does not have action, sometimes I engage in a roleplay based on tooth-rotting romance.

Has a roleplay ever made you very emotional or cry?
It's like reading a book, you will cry, scream, get angry, etc. But I only get emotional if I'm far into the roleplay afterward I'm an emotional mess.

What do you do when you get writer's block?
I go to youtube or Spotify and listen to music or go to Pinterest trying to find some prompts or pictures. Most cases, I ride out the writer's block rollercoaster.

If you could make one of your original characters real, who and why?
It's hard just to choose one. I love all my children equally, and they're wonderful, but if I seriously need to pick one character, I would pick Andrin Bischoff or better known as Rin. Rin is a teenager in a wizardry school specializing in Illusions and Fire based magic. The reason I choose him is that Rin is always trying to find an adventure and I always wanted to go on adventures and get a little bit out of my comfort zone. Plus, Rin protects the people he loves so I don't have to worry about people messing with me. However, the main reason why I choose Rin is that he can create Illusions for me which means he can make my roleplay reals or make my fanboy dreams come true. (XD Finally my anime crushes can become real or something like that.)

What are some other hobbies you have besides roleplaying?
My hobbies consist of playing videos games like Destiny 2, Monster Hunter World, Sims 4, Skyrim or Fallout 4 or modding Skyrim or Fallout 4. If I'm not playing videos games, I'll sketch/paint, surf Pinterest, watch youtube/anime/movies/show, read, or work on my books and manga.

Are there any books or authors that have been influential to you?
There's a lot of books and authors that influence me even though I'm really picky whenever it comes to reading. However, there's one author that influences me the most, which is Edgar Allan Poe. A lot of people I meet in real life say his stories and poems dark and that he must be mentally insane. I assume people back then while Poe was alive, people must've read his stories and thought the same thing but Poe continued to write the genres he liked and always read them to his wife. I always remember that while I write or roleplay. People might find your stories or plot weird or even dark but as long as you love what you do and there’s one person that reads it, then you shouldn’t.

Is there a book/show/movie that you’ve been excited about recently?
Well, I’m really excited for Nyxia Unleashed by Scott Reintgen. I found his first book amazing, and that’s a lot to say because I’m really picky when it comes to reading and a book has to drag me in the very first chapter then keep me interested along the way. I’m also really excited for Attack on Titan Season 3, but like Nyxia Unleashed, I have to wait until July. Voltron Season 6 is coming up as well, and my friends know that I’m excited about that and I’m still talking about season 5. Once I’m hooked on a book/show/movie I don’t stop talking about it for months. I’m also excited for Avengers: Infinity War and Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Anyways, right now my primary focus is supernatural. I always watch random episodes from different seasons since I had some idea of the lore from online friends, but last week I decided to watch through all thirteen season, and I just have to say, I can’t stop watching. Supernatural is amazing, and I love how the show uses urban legends from different cultures. Also, the relationship between Dean and Sam is so relatable since I also have a little brother.

Got any RpNation projects? Tell us about them!
I’m sorry. I don’t really have any projects currently; maybe I will have on in the future.

Is there any wisdom you’d like to impart to the readers of the newsletter?
Well, I have a lot of wisdom so prepare!

I must say that communication is the most important thing in the word. I know it can very intimidating to talk to your group members, GM or your RP partner outside the roleplay but trust me, after you communicate with them, it’ll feel natural. And hey, you might get a brand new friend, and that will make rping so much fun.

Roleplay, roleplay, roleplay. I know this is cliche, but practice makes perfect. The more you roleplay, the better you are at writing and working with others. Roleplaying isn’t easy, but it’s so much fun after you understand it.

With that being said, don’t stress nor spend your every waking moment roleplaying. Take breaks and let your roleplay partner or group members know that you will take a break. Roleplaying should be fun, but it shouldn’t feel like you’re writing a thirty-page essay for English.

Expect that not everything is going to go your way. You’re roleplaying with real human being that their own ideas so that means they don’t have the same endgame idea as you do. This also means that your plots shouldn’t be specific, it should be open enough for wiggle room.

Respect everyone. Treat others like how you want to be treated. However, this does not mean you have to suck it up when you don’t like what’s happening in the roleplay. Talk to your roleplay partner/members respectfully to make the roleplay fun for everything.

Patience. You’re roleplaying with human beings that have their own lives. They need breaks, or they might become busy in real life so please don’t pressure them to reply all the time.

Finally, just have fun.
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[/div][div class=info]Roleplay of the Month
@capMARVELOUS[/div]
Give everyone a quick summary about what your roleplay is about.
In The Frontier: A Space Western, humanity has decided to take the next step in space exploration by setting up colonies on Mars. The denizens of these colonies must face challenges similar to those presented by the Wild West: lawlessness, savages, and sparse resources.

What are some of the things that inspired you to create this roleplay?
I got the idea for The Frontier after binge-watching Firefly for a week and getting my hands on Borderlands 2. For some reason, the whole cowboys in space idea really appealed to me, so I decided to make a game around the concept.

What was your biggest struggle in creating your roleplay and how did you overcome it?
I think the biggest challenge in making it was coming up with an overarching plot. It's still in the works.

What do you believe are your strengths as a GM?
I like to think I'm good at allowing for audience participation, collaborating with the players to brainstorm ideas for worldbuilding and making those ideas official parts of the game.

How about weaknesses?
Keeping up with the game itself. Real life comes first, but sometimes I wish it wouldn't so I could post in detail.

How do you garner interest for your roleplays?
I don't. Which is why I'm still stumped as to how I got to this point.

How did you come about roleplaying?
I really started getting into the whole roleplaying thing on a school website. In our spare time, some of the students and I would play choose your own adventure games instead of studying. I even hosted one of my own over there. And that was how my addiction started.

How did you discover RpNation?
One of my schoolmates and I were hunting for a place to continue our school games, and we stumbled across this place.

What is the most unique roleplay you ever participated in?
There's one going on now about magical girls. I think they're still accepting.

What stood out most?
The "magical girls" bit.

What is your fondest memory of roleplaying?
Having my humble little space western get picked to be featured, of course! I'm still having trouble comprehending it. I feel so honored.

What are some roleplaying tips and tricks you think others could benefit from?
When worldbuilding, start out small. It's way too hard to start on the continental level; starting on the town level, though, is much easier, and much more fun. Also, don't take on the task alone. Not everyone can handle it like Tolkien did, myself included. Brainstorm with friends and fellow game players; that way, you can get some rich variety in the game.

Do you have any roleplaying pet peeves? If so, what are they?
When people don't tag who they're interacting with.

If you could name a color, what would it be?
I can't name colors.

Do you have any other projects in the works that you would like to share?
Stay tuned for a fantasy war-themed game coming... soon-ish.
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[div class=featheader]More Features[/div]
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[/div][div class=sminfo]Featured Discussion
@flapjack[/div]
How do you prefer your roleplay progresses? Through a plot, lore, setting, or characters themselves? Do you feel plot driven roleplays last longer or progress better than character driven roleplays? Share your thoughts! Meta - The Driving Force of a Story: Plot vs Characters
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[/div][div class=sminfo]Featured Prose
@MissesOliver[/div]
Prose - Grace {A novel; Maybe.} goes over a snippet of Grace's life, many years well-written into paragraphs to express the dark events that happened in Grace's life. @MissesOliver may eventually continue Grace's story, but the limited glimpse offered already invests you into the character.

Trigger Warning: Dark/Mature subjects!
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[/div][div class=sminfo]Featured Artist
peachuu peachuu [/div]
peachuu peachuu thread - pure's art dump thing - hosts a variety of digital and traditional art, from rough pencil sketches to completed digital works. Many characters illustrated make multiple appearances and many works display vibrant color choices.
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[/div][div class=sminfo]Featured BBCode
RI.a RI.a [/div]
Ria's -- code dump? features clean and simple BBCodes with interesting image choices to feature as part of the design. Their codes utilize scrollbars, tabs, classes, and divs to create interesting codes. Cheer them on in their efforts in learning BBCode!

[div class=featheader]Alternate Roleplay Tabs[/div]
One of the great features that returned a while back were roleplay tabs, which allow members to link together their threads for their roleplays. Technically five threads can be linked together with this system. If you find that perhaps you need just one more tab, or wish to link your threads together in a different way, our lovely moderator @Kiyoko Tomoe offers this suggestion; Alternative for Roleplay Tabs!

In either case, players will have to click a link to be directed to the other threads, whether it is in the linked tabs feature, or just using links within a post. Using @Kiyoko Tomoe's code allows you to customize your text for those extra threads you want to link, but don't want to be identified as "Other."
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ERMEHGEWD I CAN'T EVEN. WHAT. THANK YOU SOO MUCH!

I DIDN'T KNOW BEING FEATURED WAS A THING?! MY HEART IS STILL RACING WTF
 
229 posts since 2014, the restraint.
They probably had more before the great migration. I had almost triple the count I currently have, but when we went from IPS back to xF I lost a ton ;3
 

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