With the end of September in sight, and the beginning of a new October, the autumnal harvest season has come for some pastures throughout the globe. And though no two places are the same, and the seasons vary, it is nonetheless a good opportunity to take consideration of the bountiful fruits which one's labor has produced; autumn now begins, and a new year begins to etch itself closer by the day. Though it may be colder, it is still a time for many ventures to be had, and much beauty to be seen. Just like the leaves drop, another Newsletter now falls down for you to read.
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ROLEPLAY OF THE MONTH What are some of the things that inspired you to create your roleplay?
A mix of things. The group I was initially roleplaying with was composed of people who'd been roleplaying for YEARS. They'd had a series they called "The Ultimate Organization", which was a bit of a sci-fi, steampunk type setting. I joined in for a much later roleplay in the same universe called "Lords of Rock". During this time, I'd joined another Superhero Roleplay called "Project Oddity", which sadly hadn't lasted for very long, but I was also working on some short horror stories as well (my "Exodus" series). One of the players from Ultimate Organization (UO) had suggested they had wanted to a superhero roleplay in the past as well, and since Project Oddity had stopped running, it meant there was a chance for me to provide that.
Hadean is a bit of a marriage between a few things I'm passionate about: political intrigue and mystery, eldritch horrors, superheroes, sci-fi, supernatural stuff, etc. I had tried to achieve some of this in a semi-cyberpunk roleplay I'd made, but that one did not get very far. The superhero setting definitely made things more flexible for this.
Considering how many roleplays don't get past the planning stages, what do you think got your roleplay as far as it has?
Having a good group of people. I cannot stress enough how important it is to find other roleplayers who've successfully participated in roleplays in the past, are consistent with their involvement, are passionate, and who develop connections with each other. Discord as well has been a HUGE help for establishing this. We've definitely had hiccups, conflicts, etc. but the connections we've built with each other is incredibly important to the longevity of a roleplay. I started Hadean on Roleplay Gateway originally, back in 2020, so this is now 2 years it's been going! We haven't gotten as far as I'd like, but we've also achieved a LOT in that time.
Lastly, and most importantly I think, to keep a roleplay like this running, the GM (myself in this case) MUST be persistent. You have to be ambitious, driven, and unwillingly to let your story go, no matter what obstacles arise. You'll get writer's block, you'll feel disappointed and depressed, you'll lose motivation, etc. But if you can find it in yourself to keep going, to refuse to let your story go, then you find a way to keep it going.
My advice to other people starting a roleplay: don't give up on it. Keep going with it, refine it, improve it, but don't give up on it. I can't promise every roleplay you make will succeed, but I can promise that you've got a much better chance when you refuse to give up.
What is your roleplay about? Or is there a certain concept or theme that you wanted it to convey?
hat's a toughy. Hadean I feel like is about a lot of things. There's the obvious stuff: superheroes, monsters, saving the world, etc.
There's the stuff personal to the players: growth, development of characters, connections and relationships, finding purpose in the world.
There's the personal stuff for me: creating a challenging world that forces players (and me) to think through problems more creatively, that pushes myself and others to become better writers and creators, and that helps me to better connect readers with the emotions I want them to feel.
And then probably the thing I started this RP wanting to convey: Dread. I want this world to be fun, thrilling, adventurous, and much more, yes. But by the time we're nearing the end, I want a palpable sense of dread among everyone. Players, readers, even myself. I didn't just want this to be a superhero story, I wanted it to be the superhero story that gives Homelander, Superman, or Omni Man nightmares. And it's been a challenge, and will continue to be a challenge. But if it wasn't a challenge, I suppose that wouldn't be nearly as satisfying.
When the RP eventually comes to a close, I want there to be that sense that we really DID save the world.
Or at least mostly saved it...
How did you discover RpNation and what has your experience been like so far?
I discovered RPNation through members of the UO, some of whom and RP'd here before. As I said earlier, we started on Roleplay Gateway originally, which is a site with some AMAZING features, but unfortunately I found that we needed a new site to continue the RP on for a few reasons. Most importantly, we needed a stable platform, one that we felt could be reliably trusted to host our LENGTHY story on. And secondly, we wanted a place with more players, readers, etc. So far, RPNation has been an amazing site! I'm loving some of the features with the coding you have here! I definitely loved some of what Roleplay Gateway had to offer, and I'll certainly miss it, but so far I'm already starting to feel that sense that RPNation is home, and I'm excited to see how the features here will continue to improve Hadean!
What is the most interesting roleplay you ever participated in? What made it different?
Most interesting roleplay would probably have to go to Lords of Rock. I definitely would almost say Hadean itself, but Lords of Rock was the first RP I participated in that I would say ran relatively successfully while it was still running. It introduced me to new people who I'm still friends with right now! It showed me what roleplaying could be, how successful it could be, but also brought with it some INCREDIBLE world building from nearly a decade of writing by the other players. There was so much lore, so much breadth, and they trusted each other to add to the lore collectively. It was a great experience, and has honestly shaped the way I do roleplaying ever since.
What is your most steal-your-breath "Woah" moment from a roleplay?
This is really hard to answer, but I think I'm going to name a scene from what I call "Day 2" in Hadean. I'm naming this scene in particular because it was the players who pulled this scheme together, not me. I'd faced them all down with this interdimensional monster that called the Beast of Decay, a creature that was literally melting supers with it's toxic fungi, liquid rot, and other gross things. Some of the players got together and really utilized their powers in a fun way. I don't recall who all participated, but I know one player with wind powers whipped up the sands on the beach, while another one turned the sand into glass. By the time several of the heroes had finished, they'd created a glass missile that they launched into the Beast. It was incredibly creative, I loved it!
On that note, another top contender was when some of the players arranged for a "cage match" between one character with gravity powers, and another character who can turn into a dragon. This was totally arranged by them, but was an AMAZING scene. The players in this really are some terrifically creative people, and I love what they all bring to the table!
What character creation preferences do you have?
I usually like to give players character sheets to fill out, so it gives them a template to fill with info relevant to the universe itself. I personally do not usually enjoy playing "preset characters", characters that the author creates as roles for players to play, just not to my tastes personally. So I like to give players the freedom to come up with their own stuff, with only a few restrictions to fit with the lore and mechanics of the universe.
As a roleplay Game Master and creator~ If you had the choice to adapt your roleplay into a different medium which would it be; comic book, novel series, TV show, movie, or video game? And why?
Honestly, I'd probably adapt different parts of it for different mediums, since at this point Hadean has kind of exploded in size from what we started with. The MAIN story of Hadean would probs be best suited to a TV series. I think it's too long to fit into a movie. The first chunk of Hadean alone was the length of the first Dune novel, and we'd barely gotten through 2 in universe days. Other mediums would be fun to explore though. For example, I might consider a spin off story about my character Peter Radovan, having that done as an Anime, firstly because I love anime, and secondly because I think he'd be an interesting contrast to some of the character tropes that exist in the medium. I feel like there's a bit more fun to be had there, plus anime really introduced me to whole new avenues of creativity as a kid, so it'd be cool to see how Hadean might do that for other youths.
What has been more fun for you and your players so far, worldbuilding or character crafting? Something else? No wrong answers~
For the players, I'd say either character crafting or character development, seeing how they grow over time, their relationships with others, their struggles, etc. I've also REALLY enjoyed the world building side of things, but Hadean is where I kind of let loose a little bit more. The real bulk of my world building goes into stories I haven't turned into Roleplays yet, but may do so one day!
How to do maintain and address players who join your Roleplays? Such as if there's a problem with feeling left out, or newer players mixing with more experienced players etc etc?
I find that older players tend to be pretty friendly and interactive with new players as much as possible, and I try to get the newbies interacting with everyone more on the discord server as well. Discord REALLY helps to fill in for a lot of the "OOC" stuff, but it allows us to connect in ways that, before social media like this existed, really was not easy to do. As for addressing conflicts, that's always a bit of a work in progress, one I'm learning more about, and so is everyone else. Generally speaking though, you have to deal with each player as a unique case, you have to be flexible, and you have to give people the benefit of the doubt as much as is reasonable. I also try my best to have players feel like they're part of the overall story, so I try to interact with everyone individually to help them create exciting scenes and story telling opportunities for their characters, but this is also a work in progress. There's a lot of us, and I only have so much time in the day as well, but ideally I want to be there to help all players create satisfying and exciting scenes for their characters!
Have any roleplaying tips and tricks you think others could benefit from?
First tip is probably to pull a good group of people together. I think taking character profiles first is a way to sort of field who you think would be best fit for your kind of roleplaying, gives you an idea of what their writing is like, and what they're like as a player. It's also hugely beneficial to have regular interactions with the players outside of the roleplay itself, highly recommend having a discord server to help with this.
Second tip, or rather insight, is a little rule to follow: you get out of a roleplay what you put in. Create opportunities and scenes for your character, or jump into other scenes and maybe talk with others about what you can add into it. This is a collaborative effort of creation, so don't be shy to take initiative and try to make your own scenes or conflicts!
Do you secretly like any unpopular roleplay ideas as guilty pleasures?
Probably my most guilty pleasure is having villains that can easily overpower player characters. lol Much as that might be to some people's chagrin, I want them to know that they live in a world that still has dangers, even if they themselves are OP. I don't want people to lose sight of the stakes, but I should still probably be cautious with this sometimes.
What is your favorite random fun fact?
Well, on a personal note, one of my favorite bands ever is Rammstein, who've been together for a LONG time (since 1994) with the lineup never changing. Apparently they achieved this by taking periodic breaks, respecting each other's space, and as I read somewhere, apparently doing group retreats to a cabin? It was very fascinating to me all the work they did to stay together and not get sick of each other, which I think has really added to the fact that all of the members are quite iconic in their own way. The band really wouldn't be the same if any of them left!
Do you have any future plans for your players? Anything you can share with us?
Well this isn't spoiling too much, but I plan on gently... Coercing their characters into becoming more powerful. This is because they're going to NEED to become more powerful for what else I have in store. I can also say that, while I'm trying to balance out how things escalate in the story, things are REALLY gonna escalate in the story, and not just at the climax. The world as we know it (or as we know it in Hadean) is going to experience a considerable amount of change.
Should people join your RP? Is it friendly to new characters despite having started already?
The Main Thread of Hadean is currently full, but we've actually started up a Sister Thread as well for some of the players who wanted to explore a few different plot lines. I highly recommend people who are interested to go ahead and make a character sheet, and DM it to me. There's always the possibility we could find room, if not in main Hadean, then possibly in the sister thread! Speaking of which, that one is called Hadean: Arcadia, and is being more or less directed from players from the UO who I trust will do some fantastic work, especially with the world we've already worked to build so far!
MEMBER OF THE MONTH When did you start roleplaying and what made you stick to it?
Well, I think I may have been twelve or so? I distinctly remember being bored and stumbling across one of the roleplay sites that used to be big back then. I sincerely doubt many people on here would know it, since it wasn't an English-speaking site. It was mostly geared towards DnD and other dice-based systems, which isn't my first choice these days, but it did the trick for me then. You could call it my gateway drug!
How did you discover RpNation?
I just typed 'roleplay forums' into Google and RPN was one of the first results! My old roleplay scene was pretty small, and by that point, I figured my English was good enough for me to be able to write in it comfortably. Funnily enough, I've started to prefer it since then because I tend to be something of a perfectionist in my native language, so English is more 'fun.'
What type of character(s) do you lean towards creating? Any preferences?
Oh, I definitely have my tendencies. I wouldn't say I have a favorite archetype per se, but I do like writing intense characters. I live for drama in roleplays, so you'll rarely catch me playing a character that is... well, non-reactive, or too stoic, or too withdrawn. They all tend to have strong convictions, that's for sure. I do love my villains, too; after all, there's nothing more fun than committing fictional atrocities!
Are you excited about any upcoming or current books, shows, or other related elements of media? What are they?
I had to think about this because I'm not much of a media person, and Elden Ring has already come out. That being said, I'm very excited about Silksong! It's a videogame and basically the sequel to Hollow Knight, which is a game I spent stupid amount of time on. I loved getting lost on the huge map and figuring out all the secrets, so I'm hoping the sense of exploration will be the same. Also, I am ridiculously happy about Hornet being the main character because I loved her in the first game.
What is your favorite animal? Why?
Hm, probably dogs? The boring answer, but growing up, my family always had a dog and I feel like I 'get' them. I like plenty of other animals as well, including the creepy crawlies and snakes, though dogs just win all the points with me due to the interactivity.
Why did you choose your username?
Okay, I... don't actually remember, haha. I think I wanted something fantasy-ish, and also something that sounded like a name, so it may have been close to a keysmash that I then edited to make it more readable? There isn't anything deep to it.
What are some other hobbies you have besides roleplaying?
Well, mostly videogames and languages! I used to read a lot as well, but my interest in that has sadly dwindled, in part because writing is taking up most of my energy and in part because academia kind of made me hate reading. Thankfully, it has never managed to make me hate languages despite my being a linguist, lol. But yeah, languages are a major hobby of mine, and I want to learn as many of them as possible.
What is your favorite thing about Rpnation?
I love how big it is. All the other RP sites I have tried seemed kind of dead, but this site's community is very active and I feel like everyone can find exactly what they are looking for here.
When you get onto RPN on any given day, what do you generally like to do?
First, I check out my partners' replies, have a breakdown over how perfect they are, and try to reply myself. Then I respond to OOC messages, and spend the rest of my time reading discussions and contributing, sometimes, if I have something to say. Also, sometimes I make RP-related memes and spam my partners with them, haha.
Got any RpNation projects that you would like to share?
Not really? I'm a 1x1 roleplayer exclusively, and I sincerely doubt that anyone actually reads those. I mean, I have heard of people doing that - and even gotten the occasional like/love by a complete stranger on a 1x1 post - but that's definitely an exception rather than the norm.
[bWhat advice do you have for the newsletter readers?[/b]
Follow your dreams! But unironically. It's always better to try and fail, or try and discover that this actually isn't what you wanted, than to wonder about what could have been. Oh, and git gud. For the fellow Soulsborne fans, lol.
Have any person(s) you'd like to give a shout-out to?
Hm, I'm a little shy about these things so probably not, haha. I love all of my partners and I'd feel bad if I forgot about someone, so... you can watch me be awkward, instead. You know I adore you, guys!
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