RpNation Newsletter: December 2017

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I didn't want to go swimming anyway, baka!
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December Newsletter
It's time to say goodbye to 2017 and welcome 2018! We hope you were successful in your finals and wish you a Happy New Year!



Housekeeping Announcements
  • No, you didn't lose your mind, there is indeed now a new prefix for One on One searches; Multiple Settings!
  • Prefix colors were changed slightly in One on One recruitment forum.
  • Want to suggest a feature for the next Newsletter? Do it here!
  • Suggest a contest/challenge/event here!


Many thanks to
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Fable Fable !​



Member of the Month
As we celebrate the new year, we’re also, as per usual each newsletter, celebrating one of our wonderful members and the lovely contributions they’ve made to our site. This time, it’s Rustic Rustic , who was selected for bringing a certain kind of gentle hospitality to the site and creating detailed, emotional, impactful posts from the perspective of wonderfully imagined, deep characters. Here’s an insight into the mind of one of our many brilliant, kindhearted RPNation users.

When did you start roleplaying? What were your early experiences like?

I started out pretty young - I think around seven or eight years old. My earliest experiences with it were through Neopets. The site had a forum explicitly for roleplaying, and when I read the description of what that was, I was instantly infatuated with it. The problem was, there weren't any clear guidelines available on how to do it, so I had to learn by trying it for myself. A lot of trial and error was involved, and I generally made quite of nuisance of myself, when I did anything to be noticed by anyone at all.

I still somehow enjoyed it, though, which I think speaks to the tenacity of young kids. To this day, I still have fond memories of getting up early on the weekends to refresh that forum for some new adventure to go on.

How did you discover RpNation?

Google! It'd been awhile since I'd roleplayed anywhere, so I figured I'd start looking for a place by just seeing what came up when I searched 'roleplay site'. I ended up here!

What features would be in your ideal roleplay? Do you have a favorite genre?

It's hard to say. I think as long as I liked the other players, everyone's characters had room to grow and develop, and the game master knew what they were doing, I'd like just about any roleplay.

That said, my favorite genre is modern fantasy! I think it's romantic to imagine that there are fantastic things hiding in plain sight.

What are some other hobbies you have besides roleplaying?

Drawing takes up most of the free time I don't already use for roleplaying. Besides that, I also enjoy playing mobile games, listening to music, and bowling! I really love bowling.

Do you have a funny roleplaying story to share?

It's not much of a story, but I was in a roleplay a two years ago where my character managed to roll a perfect twenty on every combat roll she had to preform. On one encounter, three times in a row. It led to the game master exhaustedly informing us that her good luck had effectively 'shot the plot in the face'.

What was your favorite trend in 2017? (It can be any trend.)

I liked the trend of benign and esoteric things inexplicably becoming memes. Different takes on the 'Steamed Hams' scene from The Simpsons became popular, and we all just accepted it. That was great.

Are there any books or authors that have been influential to you?

Yes! Unfortunately, I don't read as much nowadays as I used to. That is to say, I haven't read anything at all in years, if you don't count roleplay posts.

But A Series of Unfortunate Events stands out to me as the book series that got me interested in writing as an art form. The writer's perfection of a verbose and purposefully circuitous writing style was something I've always found both stylish and intriguing. There would be tangents about seemingly irrelevant things that would go on for pages and it somehow masterfully fit the tone being set. That, along with it's quirky but compelling setting, had me hooked. It's certainly a series that, if I went back to it today, I'm sure would it still hold up, if I didn't end up appreciating it more.

In terms of things that were technically authored, Welcome to Nightvale and The Adventure Zone have bettered my writing, too, I think. Welcome to Night Vale inspired me with it's abstract, absurd, yet strangely compelling world, The Adventure Zone with it's awe-inspiring narrative journey and its breathtaking examples of what can be be achieved through collaborative storytelling, and both with their unique brands of comedy and weird but kind looks at what the world is and what it could be.

Is there a book/show/movie that you’ve been excited about recently?

As a fan of anime, I have to say, Gatchaman Crowds and Mob Psycho 100 are some of the best series I've watched in awhile. Both are unconventional shows with stakes that keep you on the edge of your seat without feeling cheap or unfairly cruel to it's cast.

And while it doesn't quite fit into the categories listed above, I have to say, I'm jazzed about the podcast Blue Dawn. If it's audio quality doesn't scare you away, it's colorful cast of lovable player characters will keep you hooked.

Any roleplay New Year's resolutions?

I'd like to join a Dungeons and Dragons group! I don't know how to play, but it seems like fun.

Got any RpNation projects? Tell us about them!

Nothing much, I'm afraid. I haven't been too ambitious. Yet!

However, we will be accepting new members into The Dying World Beneath soon! If you're interested becoming a hunter, let us know, and we'll mention you when our interest check is ready!

Is there any wisdom you’d like to impart to the readers of the newsletter?

Don't write yourself off! It's easy to get into a mindset of 'this is just who I am' or 'I'm just not any good at this', but you might be surprised at what you can do if you keep trying. Even if you can't be the best, you can be your best

Congratulations
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Rustic Rustic !​



Roleplay of the Month
Hunting Gods is set in the future after a 73 year war until one man united all people under one banner. Under this new peace, the world advanced, creating the technology to finally explore the stars. With this new step, humanity has since encountered various alien races, but with this exploration and expansion of the humans came the resurgence of greed.

This greed turned a once peaceful exploration into conquest and war broke out. The war resulted in the destruction of many species. The government for humanity changed, from one dictator to sections of government and multiple leaders, resulting in the galactic peace doctrine.

There was another 500 years of peace, at least until accounts that The Turned were harvesting inhabitants. Now the EUMF (Earths United Military Forces) has formed a team to investigate this threat.


What are some of the things that inspired you to create this roleplay?
Silly enough as it may be, the vortex armor from a game called Terraria made me want to make a sci fi rp. I loved a lot of games like mass effect, destiny, halo, and they were all inspirational in creating the rp. The one you see now, "hunting gods" is actually the remake of several not as refined ideas that never made it to RPN's pages. It kinda became a mash up of my favorite parts of my sci fi experiences, with a lot of sanding at the edges to make it my own.

What has made your roleplay successful?
Definitely the people I roleplay with. I have been in about 13 different roleplays with multitudes of people, and seen so many unique and wonderful writing styles. After a few rp's you might find someone who you really connect with, or who really gets the way you think, and the two of you can just wing banter or achieve objectives without even having to talk. The people I am roleplaying with right now are good friends of mine, all excellent writers, and they are communicative and genuinely excited to explore the worlds I made, which makes everything more fun.

What do you believe are your strengths as a GM?
I think my strengths as a gm are communication, cooperation, and being focused on the end goal. It is important as the gm to not just enjoy the rp you create, but to make sure that people who you play with also have just as much fun. Peoples opinions are never going to align perfectly and sometimes there will be disagreements, but a good gm will be able to speak with everyone with fairness and maintain the rp while still working to meet peoples needs. I feel like I am a very approachable gm that people feel comfortable coming to talk to about their ideas or concerns.

How about weaknesses?
Definitely my main weakness is sometimes reeling in a player too hard. It can be a fine line between ushering and leading, and I have had a few time where I have pushed players to a certain place the plot needed to go, much to their own discomfort. I have learned to let a lot more things go and be more "chill" with small plot variances.

How do you garner interest for your roleplays?
I do what I would do for myself: LORE! I love world building, and spend days going over the universe I am building. I really believe that the first thing you read leads a lasting impression, and having lore that pulls a reader in and makes their mouth water is the same thing that makes me want to join an RP.

How did you come about roleplaying?
I have always been a writer, and explored a great many styles of scribbled expression. It was actually my girlfriend who RP'd here that brought me here to do an old old rp called "The Mist Touched." It was drawn out and poorly written, but we both loved it, cause it was a way for us to be close to one another, and also we were able to design a game exactly the way we envisioned it.

How did you discover RpNation?
Like I said earlier, it was my current girlfriend who introduced it to me. At the time we were not dating, but were just friends with a lot of emotions. Rpn let us have fun together while also challenging us as writers.

What is the most unique roleplay you ever participated in?
This is a very hard question to answer. I have been in so many different unique rp's with a plethora of wonderful creative people, that its hard to really pick one over the other. I would have to say "Beast Souls" was one of my favorite rp's. What really hooked me was the incredible lore and detail in the story that went into its creation. Its writer, SilverFlight became a big inspiration to me, as well as a dear rp friend.

What stood out most?
Definitely the uniqueness of the Idea, and how complex it was. It was a simple plot, a world with people who had two souls: one human and one animal. But from there she went on to describe the lands people lived in, and behaviors certain animal people had. She explored the idea of how religion would work in this society, and hit on a lot of immersive detail points without giving away her end game. During the rp, there was so much great stuff to work with, but she kept surprises up her sleeve to keep things moving. It was great, and I hope it picks up again.

What is your fondest memory of roleplaying?
I had a roleplay called "returning to skyrim" which was the first rp I had written myself. It was amazing, because I expected to not have people respond to it at first. Instead, people flooded in, which almost made me cry. The people I did end up RP'ing with were all wonderful, great writers. The entire time, their enthusiasm just made my own that much brighter. It was like magic.

What are some roleplaying tips and tricks you think others could benefit from?
I found a few tricks that are helpful to me: The first is, close your eyes and live in the story. I find that a lot of people get confused where they should go, or how to make their post longer and more detailed. I really try to put myself in a situation and say, "How cold is it?" "What can I hear?" "What does it feel like under my feet?" "What am I in this place to accomplish?" From there I start going through and mentally interacting with the world to become a bigger part of it. Another trick that is helpful to me is keep your interactions organic. The best way to do that is to have character building exercises. This includes using things like songs to identify and highlight who your character is. You could also write them into scenes just to play with how they react. The more time you spend with your character, the more you grow together, and know more about one another.

Do you have any roleplaying pet peeves? If so, what are they?
I am a pretty amicable guy, but I do have a big no no for my rp's. I get enraged when people just move along with the plot in a direction without asking. When I am running an RP and someone try's to step in and GM when they aren't the gm, it makes my blood boil. I am not to proud to say that this has led to more than one case of spontaneous combustion...

Do you have any other projects in the works that you would like to share?
Actually, yes. Right now me and another writer Purize are in the development stages of an rp that we had started but abandoned. We actually have several rp's based around a world we created called Nymsiran, and we are working on redefining and sanding into perfection the world and details. From there we are planning on having a world filled with all sorts of mystical creatures for people to come and explore with other people hopefully in January of 2018.

Do you have any roleplay resolutions for 2018?
Stick with it. Sometimes rp struggle, and stumble. But an rp, if you truly love it, can succeed when you give it a little love. I also am resolving to Join at least 10 new rp's this year, in different genre's and meet as many new writers as I can!

Congratulations
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BugDozer73 BugDozer73 !​



Featured BBCode
BBCode is a rather large part of the RpNation community, so we're going to be featuring one of the many wonderful BBCode threads! adored adored 's thread 「 ♡ 」 ━ *┊artificial love hosts some lovely BBCode designs they've been kind enough to share.

Congratulations
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adored adored !​



Featured Artist
Another new member has shared their incredible artwork with us! Their works are colorful and creative, with both original art and fan art with a unique style that is all their own. You can check out their works here in Lari's Art Showcase.

We cannot wait to see what else they share!

Congratulations
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Arinemone Arinemone !​



Featured Discussion
Our featured discussion this month comes from Bone2pick Bone2pick regarding roleplays and their tone, as opposed to a genre or setting. They bring up that tone is just as important to an RP as their genre and setting, but that they feel GMs do not always stick to the tone which can greatly affect the roleplay.

You can join the discussion here and share your thoughts and opinions.

Congratulations
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Bone2pick Bone2pick !​



Roleplay Resolutions
Most know of the traditional New Year's resolutions, making promises or goals for yourself for the new year. What are your Roleplay Resolutions? What are your promises and goals for next year when it comes to roleplaying? Are you going to finally create that interest check you've been too shy about? What about branching out into different settings and genres? Perhaps you just want to improve your post length? Go ahead and share them with us!
 
My resolution is to incorporate as many memes as possible while having various themes that don't need to be there but are there because people love themes.
 
FAHSGSHSFDG uM WHAT ??? WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN ?? WOW

uhhhh i don't really know what to say bc i'm like hella astonished right now, but i'm really honored to be featured in a newsletter and i just aaaAHHH ; words can't describe the happiness and excitement i'm feeling right now haha

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congratulations everyone !
i'm so excited for you guys ! <33
 
New years resolution to be still going strong in the rps i'm in now by next year. Would be really nice to see some more promotion for the idea of dedicated roleplaying here :^D
 
well done, everyone! i looked through the winners, and goodness, it's an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as you all. thank you for sharing your exceptional work!

Well done Rustic Rustic on member of the month :D and everyone else mentioned :3 3

Congrats to my lovable Rustic Rustic , and everyone else! Ya'll are awesome. < 3

thank y'all! i may or may not have hysterically cried about this whole thing!

i feel really blessed to be here, to have made an impression on you guys, and the site that's been so important to me.

Congratz Rustic Rustic , your advice was inspiring

thank you! it was probably the most important i'd learned myself in 2017, and i thought it'd be fitting to pass it along on in the end of the year newsletter.

and congratulations to you, too! as someone who has only entertained the idea of being a gm, i thought your experiences with it were really interesting.
 
Shoutout to BugDozer73 BugDozer73 !!! You are my dearest friend and the love of my life. You are my inspiration and incredibly creative. Keep writing and keep being amazing at everything you do. I love you <3
 
Kaerri Kaerri (i wasn’t sure where to put this) but the notification link sent us to the december news letter !

edit: omgg i was ninja’d you sent the right link while i sent this one agsbsj
 

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