Newsletter RpNation Newsletter: September 2021

SEPTEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER
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Nature is all around us, in every way possible. Something so permissible to the universe it makes up that it's even transcended into our hearts and minds. Whether it be a frightful enemy bringing disorder and disparity or the Mother of all things both living and dead whom we respect with a humble awe.

Going as far to say that nature in itself is truly indescribable in full. Simply that it is, taking the form our collective unconscious believes it to be~

On a more down to earth note, it's hard not to find a moment when Mother nature is undeniably astonishingly beautiful. Stepping outside and feeling the grass and dew soaked dirt, gentle between your toes, the smell of the night's rain still lingering in the morning air. Before you an endless expanse of trees, boulders, mountains, lakes and the rivers which flow into them from those pristine white peaks. The sound of a single woodpecker echoing through the woods, accompanied by the soft rustle of the wind as it passes through the canopy's and foliage.

Nature invokes something inside of us which yearns for its soft embrace. Traveling to national parks, camping, sailing out to sea, exploring the reefs and down deep into the caves hidden beneath the earth. All simply to exist within it with less restriction, even if only temporary. Even just the idea or aesthetic of nature is enough to spark a powerful creativity in a person. Cottagecore would only be one example, and a wonderful one at that.

So I pass some questions onto you, what is your favorite nature theme or aesthetic? Your favorite environment or biome? Is it even on earth at all? And what are nature inspired things in your life that mean a lot to you? Be they hikes and camping trips, a moment you felt one with the Earth, or just roleplays, characters or other creative works.

Housekeeping Notes


🦈 Official RpNation Merchandise
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✏️ Featured Character
Exercise your creative skills with each month's character prompt and submit them to our site-wide showcase here.​


Nature's Tunes
Let’s show off some of your musical tastes in the newsletter next month! You can also see what has been recommended in the past. Submit your music here!








@Loremongrel ― Featured Artist
@Baconhands ― Featured Writer

@Yukitera ― Featured BBCoder
@Dannigan ― Featured Discussion


@GojiBean ― Member of the Month
What was your first roleplay experience? What made it fun?
My first RP experience was actually in live-action roleplaying as a kid with my best friend who lived just down the street. We would RP everything under the sun that was popular on TV and Film in the mid 90's and early 2000's like Pokemon, Digimon, Yugioh, Jurassic Park, DBZ, The Matrix, The Mummy, etc. We were so into this stuff it was always fun no matter what. We'd make our own storylines, our own extra lore additions and "what if" scenarios, and more. We even bought or made our own lore-based items, weapons, and wore clothes as close to the outfits of the characters as possible.

What led to you discovering RPN?
I was having trouble enjoying my time on another RP website due to both a dwindling member base and a lack of common interests with those who remained. I wound up scouring Google for other RP sites with active communities, and RPN was either #1 or #2 on the list. So I took a chance and joined the site, and I haven't regretted it yet!


Do you have any favorite kinds of RPs? Plots/Genres/Styles?
At the risk of sounding vain, my favorite RP's are the ones I create based on my own story ideas which I hope to turn into novels in the future when I get good enough at writing to make it happen. Have a ways to go before I can do that though. Most of these story ideas are rooted in my favorite genre which is medieval-fantasy. There's something about the allure of a largely untouched world in times long past begging for exploration and adventure which I just can't ignore.

What are some other hobbies you have besides roleplaying and writing your novel?
My primary passion outside of storytelling and RPing is composing orchestral music. And go figure it's often my story/RP ideas that inspire me the most musically. That or other film/tv shows I love such as Godzilla (go figure with my avatar being what it is, lol).

For example, my biggest playlist (and one of my greatest musical accomplishments as far as I'm concerned) is my playlist for a story/RP concept called "Divinity Unbound." Currently it sits at 24 pieces of music (everything after piece #14 is older and on crappy software so please don't slaughter your ears with them, lol). And if I may shamelessly plug myself, you can find the playlist on my SoundCloud page here: Divinity Unbound Playlist


Do you have a favorite part of Rpnation?
My favorite part of RPNation is the Roleplay Discussion and Advice section. As an admittedly (somewhat) older role-player, I've spent a good many years learning about (and struggling mightily through) the craft of storytelling. Many of the topics that show up there are issues which I've struggled with in the past and since learned to overcome. So any time I can help provide that one piece of advice or insight that helps someone (or several people) to overcome that issue and enhance their writing skills, it feels really good. I didn't have anyone like that when I was coming up through the years as a writer no matter where I went or who I asked. So if I can help others to overcome their perceived shortcomings or roadblocks and find success and fulfillment as a writer, I'll jump at the opportunity.


Do you have any favorite literature pieces? Or maybe a beloved TV series?
My absolute favorite TV series is, and yes, I know how common this answer is, Avatar: The Last Airbender.

A lot of people love this show, and with good reason. But I'm not entirely certain how many people understand why the world and people are so compelling and relatable. It's not just the writing and the characters. It goes far beyond that. When you actually take the time to break down the show and its worldbuilding, it's beyond incredible just how far the series creators went to flesh out the world around the main cast.

For but a single example, let's take a very brief look at why the Fire Nation was so successful and more technologically advanced than the other nations. It wasn't a coincidence. And it wasn't just a random choice to make them seem like "oh, this nation's the strongest and they're the bad guys." No, no.

The Fire Nation is heavily invested in the metal industry because they live in and have access to volcanic islands which are rich in iron, obsidian, coal, etc. Their natural geography and geology gave them an industrial revolution if you will which further gave them the ability very naturally and dynamically to advance in technology beyond what the other nations are capable of at this time because, outside of trade with the Fire Nation, they lack these same resources.This is exactly why they have such an advantage when they decide to invade as well. With their use of fire and coal they can build advanced warships, blimps, etc, to travel in ways and at speeds the other nations can't keep up with. And not only that. But they planned for this invasion in conjunction with the approach of Sozen's Comet, another naturally occurring phenomenon they were smart enough to take advantage of, which they knew would put them at the peak of their power once they were ready for the final killing blow in the war. And had it not been for Aang, they would have succeeded.

I could continue going further and further into reasons why the Fire Nation's strength and advance in the war were important and not just happenstance, but I think you get the idea.

There's SO MUCH behind every detail of the world in Avatar: The Last Airbender that I thoroughly believe that it's an objective fact, not an opinion, that it is the single most fleshed out and well-written world ever to grace our television screens.


Oh no! You found yourself in a different time and world! Where did you go? Which era have you traveled to? ( Could be real, fantasy, etc. ).
Oh boy! I've found myself in Japan right in the middle of the height of power of the Tokugawa Shogunate during the Edo period!... Right before I get my head lopped off by a Samurai who viewed me as an intruder.


If you had to make a character based on your favorite color, what would it be? What kind of character would you make?
My favorite color is black. Black is the lack of color, or the complete absorption of visible light. Over the centuries black has been associated with many things, though mainly with death, evil, witches, etc. However, it was also the color of royalty in the 14th century throughout much of Europe. And that's my favorite part of the color's history when it comes to what it symbolizes. As such, I'd make a character of royal blood adorned in black and accented with either blonde or silver hair. Personality wise they would be as regal and elegant as befitting of royalty with a speech style to match their highly educated and sophisticated upbringing.


If you could shift into another animal, what animal would it be and why?
I'd choose an Eagle, doesn't matter exactly what kind (though as an American I have a soft spot for the Bald Eagle). Why? Flight. The feeling of soaring freely through the sky is something I always have dreamed of achieving. Though, sadly, gravity is a thing and I always come back down.


Is there anything you're working on at the moment in relation to RPN? Any possible future plans?
I have 2 active RP's going right now. Assassin's Pledge: Whispers of Myth, and Divinity Unbound. I definitely plan to do more here in the future as there's a lot of fandom stuff I like and want to do like Pokemon, DBZ, Halo, Full Metal Panic, Attack on Titan, etc.


What advice do you have for the newsletter readers?
My advice for the newsletter readers is the same advice I'd give anyone for anything: Don't let anyone tell you you're not good enough.

It's probably the most crippling thing anyone can hear whether it's a role-player hearing it from a GM of an RP they want to join, someone hearing it from the hiring staff at a job they want to work, or hearing it from the Admissions department of a school you want to attend. And it doesn't matter what fancy words they try to wrap it in to soften the blow. To hear "you're not good enough" is always a blow to one's pride and sense of personal accomplishment leading up to whatever the occasion was where those ugly words were slung at you. And if you let it get to you then you've already crippled yourself. At least temporarily. So to Hell with that nonsense. You're always good enough, and you're always worth it.

Back to a role-play focus, if someone tells you that you're not good enough then you should know immediately it's more a sign that they're insecure about their own abilities which is why they've created constraints to keep others (and you) out in the first place. Ever meet those GM's who say "if you can't write at least 2 paragraphs every post then don't bother joining?" Well, guess what? There's a difference between truly knowing how to write, and just barfing up words on a page to fill up an arbitrary word count. And if they're demanding a word count, guess which side they fall on?... Yeah. Don't fall onto that side with them.

Your writing skills are just fine. Could they use refinement? Absolutely. All of us can refine our skills no matter how long we've been in the game. Lord knows my writing can still use refinement! But that's part of the beauty of art, which role-playing and storytelling absolutely are! There's always room for improvement, and there will always be someone better for you to learn from and look up to. But never will such a reality ever mean that you're not good enough.

@Solirus ― Roleplay of the Month
What are some of the things that inspired you to create this roleplay?
The RP's original concept comes from an RP I was a part off in my first days in RPN. It had it's time and I enjoyed it a great amount so when the RP inevitably ended, I decided to take the concept and tweak it slightly to bring the same experience I had to other players.

What has made your roleplay successful?
I believe that it has to do with many things, but primarily with two. Firstly, the concept of letting players create whatever they want can really catch their initial interest as it allows for players to be really creative, especially for the people who love worldbuilding. Secondly, the players themselves, I can say for certain that I am lucky to have the players I have, many of them are engaged and excited, always seemingly working to bring prosperity or conflict to spice things up and keep it interesting, and when they aren't posting in RPN they discuss in the discord about what ifs or ideas one might have. That is what I believe makes the RP primarily successful.

How did you start roleplaying?
I used to play on Gmod RP servers a lot which is likely the reason why I even decided to try out Forum Roleplay, although at first I was rather shy, but I eventually became more confident and here I am now creating my own RPs.

How did you discover RpNation?
By chance, after checking out many other forums and seeing nothing that interested me I stumbled upon RPN and it just so happened that it had something that caught my interest, from there I met a multitude of people, some of which I can call friends and thus I've stuck around ever since.

What are some roleplaying tips and tricks you think others could benefit from?
Don't be afraid to ask your players for feedback or to simply listen and fix any concerns players might have with your RP, sometimes the change can be for the best and the only way to know is by going through, if it doesn't work then you may always revert it, but never ignore feedback or concerns from players, if you do then it should come as no surprise when your players lose interest or leave.

Tell me a little bit about your roleplay. What's your favorite part from it so far?
My favorite part has the be the interactions between the Gods and each of their creations, it's always fun and interesting to see how each god sees the others or how mortals might see a certain god as a liar, evil, and despicable while others might see them as a savior or parent and then whether the God decides to do anything about changing that perception of themselves and how they go ahead and do it which in my opinion makes the world feel more alive and interesting.

Now, I want to look more on an imaginative side. 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?
A Hard question to answer for sure, I'm leaning mostly on comic books as it could give the option to have volumes and different stories focusing on different gods or mortals as many times the Gods aren't interacting with each other so a TV show or Movie that isn't focused on a single character would be jumping around too often and possibly cause confusion while comic books could simply focus in one God or character at a time similar to how some comic books specifically focus on batman and what he's up to.

What do you think makes a "good" roleplay? As it goes, there's no right or wrong here, simply your answer and thoughts.
That really depends, RPs differ for good reason as everyone is looking for something different, but the primary reason I believe people even roleplay to begin with is to have fun, to express their ideas in settings brought forth by others. If the RP isn't fun then it simply feels more like work than an actual RP.

Do you have any roleplaying pet peeves? What are they?
Godmodding or the action of a player taking control of characters that are not theirs without consulting the player beforehand to check if they're okay with it, it really grinds my gears when I see it happen, especially with mind control which I have heavily limited in my RP because having someone else control and possibly ruin the character you've been working hard on is a huge bummer and it always leads to problems and drama which can kill the players interest or even the RP if it gets out of hand.

Do you have something in mind for your next roleplay? Can we get a few hints?
I don't really have any ideas, however I've been discussing with some of my players and it's very likely that if the RP manages to keep going with the current success it has, then we've been thinking on creating a sort of extension to the RP which could be it's own RP so that all the worldbuilding being done can be used more meaningfully.

Shout-out to the participating members of the roleplay!
Huntertabbysandshark3 Huntertabbysandshark3
@Karcen
Tetro Tetro
Juju Juju
Damafaud Damafaud
And to the rest that are a part of it as well!


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To any and all who are reading this! Hello and thank you for taking your time to view over our Newsletter!

Now, I am wanting to create something special for the upcoming October Newsletter but I need your help for this. If you would like to know more on what it is, DM me here on Rpn! Don't be shy and let your friends know too! I promise it's something anyone can do!
 

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