Viewpoint Unpopular roleplay opinions?

[Syntra]

'Relaxing' and 'lowkey' rps actually stress me out. Like, those slice of life plot lines where you aren't expected to whip up a plot twist every other post and don't have to do a whole lot of worldbuilding? Inevitably, I get like 'omg omg, wtf am I even supposed to write about???' I spend much more time/energy on writing a post entirely focused on interactions than I do on a post full of explosions, bloodshed and crazy action in general.

 

[CecilDMMasters]

'Relaxing' and 'lowkey' rps actually stress me out. Like, those slice of life plot lines where you aren't expected to whip up a plot twist every other post and don't have to do a whole lot of worldbuilding? Inevitably, I get like 'omg omg, wtf am I even supposed to write about???' I spend much more time/energy on writing a post entirely focused on interactions than I do on a post full of explosions, bloodshed and crazy action in general.

Yeah, it can be really stressful when you plan a RP of searching an abandoned small town and camp and woods for supernatural creatures and events and instead your partner wants to stay at my characters house and have him cook for her. And comfort her for some tragic past. And share stories about her school days . . . . . . . Basically anything but leave the house and go in the direction of the small town and camp.

 

[Cealen]

i don’t really know how “unpopular” this is, but i really do not care for “literacy” descriptors for writing styles. honestly, having someone say they write like, 400 words on average per reply (random number i made up, no one in particular), that tells me a lot more than “i’m semi-lit” or something. i still put down my “literary” descriptor on interest checks because people sure do like referring to them, but I still include how many words because that is an actually clear descriptor, while it seems like some people have their own definitions for what is “semi-lit” and “lit”, which gets...confusing :’). maybe they had some function in the past, but not really anymore, i feel like?

 

[BurntCook]

I honestly don't mind if someone takes forever to respond because I do the same, especially when life gets hectic. I know there are some rpers that want communication or ahead-of-time notice on that type of stuff, but I don't care. As long as I hear every once in a while that you're okay, I'm not impatient with a response.

 

[BurntCook]

'Relaxing' and 'lowkey' rps actually stress me out. Like, those slice of life plot lines where you aren't expected to whip up a plot twist every other post and don't have to do a whole lot of worldbuilding? Inevitably, I get like 'omg omg, wtf am I even supposed to write about???' I spend much more time/energy on writing a post entirely focused on interactions than I do on a post full of explosions, bloodshed and crazy action in general.

Oh my goodness saaaaaaaaammmmmmeee, like I don't want death around every corner but holy grail, where's life getting hectic or stressful

 

[inkstainedhands]

I don’t like face claims, realistic or not. At least, I don’t like doing them. I get that they’re nice to look at, but these characters exist mostly in my head. I can’t draw. I won’t take somebody else’s art. Commissioning art for my roleplays is not in my budget. Even if I do reference a photograph or art and credit the artist, I’d have to take the time to look for what I want.

Or I could just describe how my characters look.

 

[diracdelta]

The standards for an "overpowered" (i.e., out of place) character will be different for every roleplay, and it's pointless to judge characters in a vacuum rather than in the context of the roleplay's setting and milieu. Take superpower roleplays, where so many GMs will write out the same list of banned powers* every time, despite how vastly disparate in tone and expectations these roleplays can be. They don't take the actual focus of their RP into account when writing rules meant to support it.

Characters in a roleplay focused on character interactions, for example, will obviously face different challenges and hold different priorities than those in a combat-driven RP, and abilities that might be broken in one RP might be inconsequential to allow in another. Like, sure, Saitama can effortlessly break every bone in a person's body with a careless flick of his pinky, but is that going to help him with his depression or his disconnection from society? Meanwhile, your average mind-reading do-gooder would get their shit rocked in a fistfight with Superman, but in a roleplay where most conflicts are social in nature and the biggest threat to any character is their secret identity being revealed, this guy might never be genuinely challenged.

In some cases, unnecessary restrictions can also stifle potential points of interest—if the in-setting playing field is decidedly uneven, and your characters know it to be so, it adds another level to work with in their perspectives on and dynamics with other characters. That's not a light thing to forfeit! After all, characters are more than just their abilities, and while their powers might expand the possibilities for what they can do, their nature and beliefs always limit what they actually will do. (And I will always stand by my opinion that personality issues are a valid way to nerf a character! I'm stacking one soapbox on top of my first soapbox to yell about how balancing deserves a holistic approach! People in the street are giving me weird looks as they pass by at a safe, socially-distanced six feet!)

TL;DR: Context and framing are more important in judging a character than any one-size-fits-all checklist of undesirable traits.
Alternative TL;DR: Life sad, world unfair. Why can't my characters smash big rocks in fictional reality??

*That said, I completely understand why some powers are always banned in public group RPs. Cough, precognition, cough.

 

[CecilDMMasters]

The standards for an "overpowered" (i.e., out of place) character will be different for every roleplay, and it's pointless to judge characters in a vacuum rather than in the context of the roleplay's setting and milieu. Take superpower roleplays, where so many GMs will write out the same list of banned powers* every time, despite how vastly disparate in tone and expectations these roleplays can be. They don't take the actual focus of their RP into account when writing rules meant to support it.

Characters in a roleplay focused on character interactions, for example, will obviously face different challenges and hold different priorities than those in a combat-driven RP, and abilities that might be broken in one RP might be inconsequential to allow in another. Like, sure, Saitama can effortlessly break every bone in a person's body with a careless flick of his pinky, but is that going to help him with his depression or his disconnection from society? Meanwhile, your average mind-reading do-gooder would get their shit rocked in a fistfight with Superman, but in a roleplay where most conflicts are social in nature and the biggest threat to any character is their secret identity being revealed, this guy might never be genuinely challenged.

In some cases, unnecessary restrictions can also stifle potential points of interest—if the in-setting playing field is decidedly uneven, and your characters know it to be so, it adds another level to work with in their perspectives on and dynamics with other characters. That's not a light thing to forfeit! After all, characters are more than just their abilities, and while their powers might expand the possibilities for what they can do, their nature and beliefs always limit what they actually will do. (And I will always stand by my opinion that personality issues are a valid way to nerf a character! I'm stacking one soapbox on top of my first soapbox to yell about how balancing deserves a holistic approach! People in the street are giving me weird looks as they pass by at a safe, socially-distanced six feet!)

TL;DR: Context and framing are more important in judging a character than any one-size-fits-all checklist of undesirable traits.
Alternative TL;DR: Life sad, world unfair. Why can't my characters smash big rocks in fictional reality??

*That said, I completely understand why some powers are always banned in public group RPs. Cough, precognition, cough.

I started roleplaying on Deviantart. And it's always had a high rate of drawing in people who have a be in charge of my happiness vibe. (though it's gotten much worse over the years. At least at first you could sort out of really good players). I admit it's led me to having to look over my own rule sheets for a 1 on 1 often and seeing if I'm being too mean as bad players make you feel like you need to build a wall to stifle them swarming you.

When specifically looking for super hero based stories I ran across some real issues. And I can see why groups likely have some strict rules. To work they need to weed out the ones who will mess things up or the group will never get off the ground. I also figure this is why they do some arbitrary rules like certain face claims and all. They need to figure who can pay attention and who can't.

As someone who does one on one story based roleplays revolving around character interaction and working together in a story to decide the outcome of major battles and such I agree a story based and a battle based RP are quite different in the concept of 'OP'. Story based is about mutual interests and getting into a world and character. And battle based is a lot about winning. Usually by a level up and rule sheet of battles. Granted their are many different mix and matches of this. I have a partner that would never pass on a power check for a group but though I was auto red flagging the idea of their power they laid out some interesting conflict with it. As a story based RP we have been going for quite a while. Their power is pretty much a form of insta kill. But morals! And a huge downside!

In my experience of playing with those usually in the battle oriented RPs it tends to not work well. I swear it's like they see not having so many rules in my RP means they can vent out the urge of never getting to play a certain character. Almost seeming like without rules to hold them they go over the top and run roughshod with no real story and I'm either a captive audience or just the human game system to help push their story a bit. Seriously. I have many times felt like people see super hero and they toss in some not fleshed out character and then run over actual character interaction and story like a freaking tank on fire. We don't have sheets to stifle the powers or rules about not doing certain things so every time I say something THEY add something to top it. No back story or reason for the new power or how they top out on a education area (especially as a majority are as young as they can be. No child mains was one of the first hard set rules I added to my list).

Then the issue that led to some of my rules. Especially as it built into the basis for one of my biggest nerve twitching triggers. Not using personality or even simple thought for actually paying attention to the setting before they go OP wow pow cool crazy. They start throwing out some grand destructive anime like scenes of great power and forget the actual story or the other person your playing with. THEY ARE SO COOL! AND POWERFUL!

"So, he just explodes in a fire ball fifty feet long on either side? And ashes everything in the vicinity?"
"WHAT NOW!"
"They are in the middle of the base with the people they are trying to save!"
"Oh, yeah, well, they moved away for the fight."
"The human traffickers just decided to move away from the base even though they were using the hostages to their advantage in the fight to have a dual out with the super powered people? Really?"

The story with this type never runs smooth as they take the whole thing like a competition instead of a collab story game. Even though it's about the characters working together in their head it's a competition. They HAVE to have the most powerful character.

On the same note though I don't play in the role a character and make a sheet types I've talked to people that do. I've heard a few complaints from battle based RPers when a person joins and basically tries to rewrite rules or hold up a scene for the sake of sticking to a character personality or back story. These games cater to the type to maybe have an idea but are in it to win fights and story can mean far less. Granted the level of how much a story can mean varies and seems to mostly still work better in somewhat like minded groups that get along well. But many don't want a fight held up by to much moral dilemma. Or they at least don't want to have to have their character deal with the moral dilemma of someone else during the fight. They are trying to gain experience!

 

[Jannah]

The standards for an "overpowered" (i.e., out of place) character will be different for every roleplay, and it's pointless to judge characters in a vacuum rather than in the context of the roleplay's setting and milieu. Take superpower roleplays, where so many GMs will write out the same list of banned powers* every time, despite how vastly disparate in tone and expectations these roleplays can be. They don't take the actual focus of their RP into account when writing rules meant to support it.

I think when powers are banned it tends to be ones that are difficult to balance in a RP setting, mostly because they require metagaming or some other element. Besides these that may be difficult to balance I feel like each sheet should be judged on a case by case basis. When someone is writing their character's powers to be OP you can usually tell. A lack of real weaknesses, for example, is a red flag to watch for.

 

[ShirenTheWitch]

Expecting your partner or partners to understand tense and person, as well as basic grammar and spelling, isn't asking too much and it doesn't make you picky. Role-playing is text based, if you can't formulate a post that makes sense in a written format then you are actively working AGAINST the thing you say you want to do. It is on each partner to make sure their responses are legible, readable, and most importantly, easy to understand. Your partner or partners is/are not mind readers, and just because it makes sense to you, doesn't mean it makes sense over all.

Also, length requirements are a bit ridiculous. It's about the quality or the post, not the quantity of the words in it.

Also also, detail is only ONE component of a quality post. Internal monologue, introspection, emotional description, these are all necessary for your partner or partners to understand your character and for your character to feel real and fleshed out.

 

[ramennoodles]

i don't think ghosting is that bad. like...i understand not everyone is going to be comfortable explaining why they no longer want to roleplay. confrontation is just too much for some people and i get it. i prefer to let people know why i'm ghosting but hell, i grew uncomfortable with a roleplay once because they reminded me of my ex girlfriend a little too much. not really a reason to end the rp that i want to explain to someone and i wish people would understand that. i do understand that ghosting can come across as inconsiderate and rude though so. double-edged sword, i guess.

 

[Jannah]

i don't think ghosting is that bad. like...i understand not everyone is going to be comfortable explaining why they no longer want to roleplay. confrontation is just too much for some people and i get it. i prefer to let people know why i'm ghosting but hell, i grew uncomfortable with a roleplay once they reminded me of my ex girlfriend a little too much. not really a reason to end the rp that i want to explain to someone and i wish people would understand that. i do understand that ghosting can come across as inconsiderate and rude though so. double-edged sword, i guess.

Personally I don't care much if people ghost, especially since I do it a bit myself due to anxiety and a number of other factors. Nobody owes me an explanation. Besides, it could be for personal reasons and nothing to do with the RP for all I know.

 

[ramennoodles]

Personally I don't care much if people ghost, especially since I do it a bit myself due to anxiety and a number of other factors. Nobody owes me an explanation. Besides, it could be for personal reasons and nothing to do with the RP for all I know.

exactly! there was also a time during roleplays i had where my sibling passed away unexpectedly. again, i wasn't about to explain that to someone so i ghosted. ghosting doesn't always have to be about you or the role. it could be the person is going through serious stuff or whatever.

 

[Fenix]

I think role-plays without an opposing “villain” or “enemies/creatures” are interesting. To create conflict through adversaries is easy, but for characters to experience growth through the harshness of the external environment and/or facing their own demons/flaws is more creatively interesting/challenging. Plus, journeying along seems like a plot with more longevity than beating the “bad guys”.

 

[Jannah]

I feel like an outlier among aro aces in that I actually enjoy RPing romance.

 

[Fenix]

I feel like an outlier among aro aces in that I actually enjoy RPing romance.

I think romance RPs actually have a great payoff when the chemistry between characters develops naturally. It’s enjoyable to write too!

 

[nerdy tangents]

I feel like an outlier among aro aces in that I actually enjoy RPing romance.

Out of curiosity how are you usually pitched romance? Cuz I’m usually pitched it as “crushes” and I have never been given a decent explanation of what that means.

It usually ends up like me trying to explain algebra. A lot of frustration and links to other media.

 

[Jannah]

Out of curiosity how are you usually pitched romance? Cuz I’m usually pitched it as “crushes” and I have never been given a decent explanation of what that means.

It usually ends up like me trying to explain algebra. A lot of frustration and links to other media.

Mostly as something developing naturally over the course of the story.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Mostly as something developing naturally over the course of the story.

I think that might be the issue then. Most aro/ace in my experience are pitched crush style stories. Not slow burn.

I think “romance” is one of those words like “ghosting”.

Whenever you hear someone complaining about ghosting what they are really complaining about is being ignored not abandoned.

Universally they will say “I understand real life happens ....” then go on to complain specifically about people who are online and ignoring them.

I feel like romance is the exact same way. When people complain about romance what they are actually complaining about is essentially shipping. Where you reduce relationships to “I have a crush on X, who do you have a crush on?”

And inevitably the first thing people say in defense is “I write slow burn where the relationship grows over the course of time.”

But that isn’t what’s being attacked. No one actually has a problem with that style of romance. Allo, aro, ace, etc.

In the same way no one* has a problem is you have to leave the roleplay because you grandma died.

So I wouldn’t say your the only aro/ace that likes slow burn romance. You just happen to be the lucky unicorn who has figured out how to screen the crush requests.


*** now there are people who legitimately do get angry if you leave, even if your grandma did just die. but they are a*holes and frankly deserve to get ghosted. ***

 

[Merciless Medic]

I think that might be the issue then. Most aro/ace in my experience are pitched crush style stories. Not slow burn.

I think “romance” is one of those words like “ghosting”.

Whenever you hear someone complaining about ghosting what they are really complaining about is being ignored not abandoned.

Universally they will say “I understand real life happens ....” then go on to complain specifically about people who are online and ignoring them.

I feel like romance is the exact same way. When people complain about romance what they are actually complaining about is essentially shipping. Where you reduce relationships to “I have a crush on X, who do you have a crush on?”

And inevitably the first thing people say in defense is “I write slow burn where the relationship grows over the course of time.”

But that isn’t what’s being attacked. No one actually has a problem with that style of romance. Allo, aro, ace, etc.

In the same way no one* has a problem is you have to leave the roleplay because you grandma died.

So I wouldn’t say your the only aro/ace that likes slow burn romance. You just happen to be the lucky unicorn who has figured out how to screen the crush requests.


*** now there are people who legitimately do get angry if you leave, even if your grandma did just die. but they are a*holes and frankly deserve to get ghosted. ***

I find it interesting people have an issue with romance in general, but I understand why. I like both "crush" and "slow burns" and, while I don't exactly like romance RP, I can still get into it (especially if it has other elements like action or adventure in play). I also like a lot of tropes (enemies turned lovers, rivals turned lovers, star-crossed lovers or "destined-to-be lovers", forbidden love, one-sided love, etc.), but I absolutely despise love triangles because it doesn't make sense to me and I don't understand why people would actually string two or more people along with or without intentions of doing so (I mean, I can understand the intentional part, but I am a very intuitive person and can general figure out what someone is thinking about by tone and body language alone, so I guess what I'm saying is I don't understand how people can be so aloof/naive or be so nice that they don't want to hurt the other person's feelings XD).

You can usually tell by the look in someone's eyes if they are into you (and it's something I'm glad I have noticed with two guys in high school who I immediately friendzoned due to already having a boyfriend at the time) and it is a look of very intense longing or yearning. Their pupils are usually dilated into huge saucers when they see you and they either get more nervous and flustered or more emboldened by your presence, but you have to already understand how the person acts when you aren't around by way of second-hand explanations (or stalking, but don't be a yandere or a creep xD).

 

[Jannah]

I find it interesting people have an issue with romance in general, but I understand why. I like both "crush" and "slow burns" and, while I don't exactly like romance RP, I can still get into it (especially if it has other elements like action or adventure in play). I also like a lot of tropes (enemies turned lovers, rivals turned lovers, star-crossed lovers or "destined-to-be lovers" despite having differing backgrounds that can put them at odds with one another, one-sided love, etc.), but I absolutely despise love triangles because it doesn't make sense to me and I don't understand why people would actually string two or more people along with or without intentions of doing so (I mean, I can understand the intentional part, but I am a very intuitive person and can general figure out what someone is thinking about by tone and body language alone, so I guess what I'm saying is I don't understand how people can be so aloof/naive or be so nice that they don't want to hurt the other person's feelings XD).

You can usually tell by the look in someone's eyes if they are into you (and it's something I'm glad I have noticed with two guys in high school who I immediately friendzoned due to already having a boyfriend at the time) and it is a look of very intense longing or yearning. Their pupils are usually dilated into huge saucers when they see you and they either get more nervous and flustered or more emboldened by your presence, but you have to already understand how the person acts when you aren't around by way of second-hand explanations (or stalking, but don't be a yandere or a creep xD).

When I write romance it tends to be along the lines of star-crossed or forbidden love simply because I enjoy those tropes so much.

 

[Merciless Medic]

When I write romance it tends to be along the lines of star-crossed or forbidden love simply because I enjoy those tropes so much.

THAT'S WHAT THAT'S CALLED! I gotta edit it in now XD

Okay, but yea, when I do romance RPs, I tend to do both (when it comes to fandoms, it's usually the "crush" thing). I have two going on right now.

One is more "forbidden" and a crush/slow-burn because a higher power is forbidding my character to have a relationship with someone who she has been friends with for years, only because the higher power doesn't want my character to get emotionally distraught if her love interest dies (which has happened in the past), but every time the higher power actually does something to prevent the two from coming together, their relationship gets stronger from it. XD

The other is a combination of a crush/slow-burn because we don't want them to come together in a date thing and just be more natural with how they get acquainted with one another. Given that one has a more "feral" mentality than human, despite being human, his is more of a "destined lover" situation.

Though, I'm heavily debating of making an interest check for an AU fandom thing of a yandere, one-sided relationship that ends up turning two-sided (whether it be by the yandere's coercion and blackmail and manipulation is up to the other partner, but I haven't done this topic yet XD)

 

[Jannah]

THAT'S WHAT THAT'S CALLED! I gotta edit it in now XD

Okay, but yea, when I do romance RPs, I tend to do both (when it comes to fandoms, it's usually the "crush" thing). I have two going on right now.

One is more "forbidden" and a crush/slow-burn because a higher power is forbidding my character to have a relationship with someone who she has been friends with for years, only because the higher power doesn't want my character to get emotionally distraught if her love interest dies (which has happened in the past), but every time the higher power actually does something to prevent the two from coming together, their relationship gets stronger from it. XD

The other is a combination of a crush/slow-burn because we don't want them to come together in a date thing and just be more natural with how they get acquainted with one another. Given that one has a more "feral" mentality than human, despite being human, his is more of a "destined lover" situation.

Though, I'm heavily debating of making an interest check for an AU fandom thing of a yandere, one-sided relationship that ends up turning two-sided (whether it be by the yandere's coercion and blackmail and manipulation is up to the other partner, but I haven't done this topic yet XD)

I don't play canon characters. I will play in fandom universes, but all the characters have to be OC's. I'm very strict about that too, thus when I do romance in those settings it's definitely the slow burn type. In one of my RP's now, it's in a pseudo-historical setting based around the Russian revolution and my character is a revolutionary in love with one of the princesses. Oops. It's getting pretty intense too because soon her family is going to be executed and my character is wrestling with the prospect of having to be the one to pull the trigger.

 

[nerdy tangents]

Merciless Medic so as an aro/ace I do not have crushes. As such trying to explain the concept to me is usually pretty frustrating. So it’s not so much that I have anything against it it’s that I genuinely don’t understand what people are talking about.

It doesn’t help that a lot of shipping tropes can be pretty creepy if you just do a surface level reading.

like the “not like other girls” trope. Now given a slow burn you can elaborate on what exactly sets the character apart from other girls and how that influences her ability to connect with men and women. Ideally with some self-reflection about learning to let go of her self-esteem issues.

It’s a bit creepy if it’s just “boy likes girl cuz she’s not like any other woman.”

Like that’s kinda what I mean by crush. My brain is like ... “but why tho? How is a negative trait attractive? They literally aren’t anything. They are just not a thing.”

 

[Merciless Medic]

I don't play canon characters. I will play in fandom universes, but all the characters have to be OC's. I'm very strict about that too, thus when I do romance in those settings it's definitely the slow burn type. In one of my RP's now, it's in a pseudo-historical setting based around the Russian revolution and my character is a revolutionary in love with one of the princesses. Oops. It's getting pretty intense too because soon her family is going to be executed and my character is wrestling with the prospect of having to be the one to pull the trigger.

Most of my RPs set in the Pokemon fandom universe are all OCs anyway, so I do get what you are talking about though. I also understand that not everyone has the same perspective on how characters act and, while I like the spontaneity of it, I tend to tread very carefully and ask for headcanons first if I'm playing a canon character for someone.

But damn XD hope that RP goes well for you :3

Merciless Medic so as an aro/ace I do not have crushes. As such trying to explain the concept to me is usually pretty frustrating. So it’s not so much that I have anything against it it’s that I genuinely don’t understand what people are talking about.

It doesn’t help that a lot of shipping tropes can be pretty creepy if you just do a surface level reading.

like the “not like other girls” trope. Now given a slow burn you can elaborate on what exactly sets the character apart from other girls and how that influences her ability to connect with men and women. Ideally with some self-reflection about learning to let go of her self-esteem issues.

It’s a bit creepy if it’s just “boy likes girl cuz she’s not like any other woman.”

Like that’s kinda what I mean by crush. My brain is like ... “but why tho? How is a negative trait attractive? They literally aren’t anything. They are just not a thing.”

That makes complete sense. I am still trying to understand how aro/ace people work (I know that sounds bad, but I don't have any other way to say it other than that), but thank you for the heads up. :3 And I have seen the creepy shipping tropes (like the one person who I heard from a second-hand account who was playing as a Wally fanatic for a Pokemon RP on Discord that I was so glad I wasn't there for, but that was several years ago XD). I also used to dabble in creepy shipping tropes when I was a teenager, so I completely understand that. xD

I hate that trope so much XD It sounds like an oxymoron because if every girl says that, then that loses the novelty of being special because everyone is so special then that makes it the norm and so nobody is special anymore (kudos to Syndrome/Buddy from Incredibles for that little tidbit XD "I'll give them the most spectacular heroics anyone's ever seen! And when I'm old and I've had my fun, I'll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be a super! And when everyone's super, no one will be.")

My brain wants to explain what a crush is with a food analogy, but I feel like it would just frustrate you, so I'll refrain. XD