Experiences Whats making you angry today? Rp pet peeves

[seven.]

seven. You don’t have to be rude, I am genuinely trying to understand what exactly you want people to do.

You seem to be having an issue with a specific trope. Okay I don’t like tons of tropes.

But I guess I don’t understand what has to do with you participating in roleplays?

That is the part that is not computing for me.

oh boy, here you go... i'd hardly consider my behaviour rude, but you're welcome to take it however you want. if you don't understand what i'm talking about then that's just too bad, i don't know how else you want me to explain it to you? "i don't understand what that has to do with you participating in roleplays" literally What do you mean by this? it could not possibly be more clear, i can't see what's not clicking. i said i don't participate in roleplays if i don't like the characters involved, what else do you want me to say? what YOU'RE talking about is a completely different subject, it doesn't relate to the issue that i take with characters like that, we're having two different discussions right now.

YOU’RE talking about people who have their characters hijack the plot and essentially do everything themselves, thereby ruining the collaborative experience of roleplay. I’M talking about the lack of diversity in many female characters, who are often very serious and lacking in personality, thereby creating a boring character, as well as being a trope that is somewhat prevalent in media and fandom spaces. they might have some overlap, but they’re not the same conversation. that’s probably why you’re so confused, because you’re not even talking about the same thing. when i say “hyper competent” i don’t just mean a fiercely independent character, i mean a character who is constantly rational, responsible for everyone else, unable to have moments of vulnerability because their entire being revolves around how self sufficient they are. like lunar bunny said, this is an attempt to get away from the damsel in distress archetype, but creates a new problem, at least in my eyes

 

[seven.]

also, hell yeah i'm annoyed when you're over here totally misunderstanding the topic and then telling me that i have the wrong idea. hello?? if you don't get it then that's fine, maybe we have different experiences, but like... chill out, perhaps you don't need to give your two cents when you're not even talking about the same problem.

 

[lisbeth]

 

[Inno]

Maybe agree to disagree and move on? Seems like there's some miscommunication somewhere.

 

[seven.]

i concur!

 

[Damafaud]

There is "high schoolers that never appear in class and only go wacky adventures"

And there is "let's roleplay EVERY CLASS for EVERY DAY OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR"

And you know. Maybe the first one isn't so strangling-worthy after all

 

[GojiBean]

If I had to point to one thing that's irritating me today, not necessarily making me "angry," but just irritating, it's the fact that it seems to be increasingly common for role-players these days to rush their character development.

They'll start the RP with a CS that states openly, or heavily implies, that their character is dealing with this, and this, and this problems and will have to deal with them over the course of the whole adventure... Only for them to deal with one of those major issues within the first 20-50 posts of the RP.

... Bruh.

I mean, we're all free to develop our characters however we want. But really? 20-50 posts and you're already having your character overcome one of their weaknesses and/or personal issues?

Cause, to me at least, that's way too early to be overcoming a major personal issue no matter how much you want them to progress. I don't think I've ever read a book, seen a film, or seen a tv series or video game where a character overcomes a major personal issue within the first 5-10 minutes. Ever.

Again, I realize everyone's free to develop their characters however they want. But it's still really irritating to see so many role-players rushing their characters through progression so early on in the experience. As a reader/lurker, I want to immerse myself in your character's journey and feel their struggle and their pain before they finally reach that point and earn the positive change rather than it just being handed to them on a silver platter so early on.

After all, the sooner you reach a resolution for your character's problems the faster your character will stagnate, and the faster you'll lose interest in them and the more likely you are to leave the RP they're in cause you have nowhere left to go with them. And you'll have nothing to look forward to other than the promise of watching other people's characters develop at a much better and more natural pace.

Anyway, I'm not "angry" about this. Just irritated. I like reading almost as much as I like role-playing, so it kinda sucks to start a journey with a character that I like only for their personal journey to end within the first 20-50 posts.

Cheers!

- GojiBean

 

[Inno]

When I do a profile for a character that's a bad guy, completely irredeemable, just absolutely rotten to the core. There's no chance for said character to be anything other than bad to the point where even I want my other characters to kill him off BUT SOMEHOW someone takes one look at the profile, sees him in action in the roleplay, and is in love with this psychopath. Like they feel their character can show him the error of his murderous ways through sunshine, candy, Mary Sue-ish damsel in distress love. Dude, dammit, no! He's the VILLAIN.

 

[Wolfiee]

When I do a profile for a character that's a bad guy, completely irredeemable, just absolutely rotten to the core. There's no chance for said character to be anything other than bad to the point where even I want my other characters to kill him off BUT SOMEHOW someone takes one look at the profile, sees him in action in the roleplay, and is in love with this psychopath. Like they feel their character can show him the error of his murderous ways through sunshine, candy, Mary Sue-ish damsel in distress love. Dude, dammit, no! He's the VILLAIN.

Oof I totally understand that! It’s one thing if they have their character interested and possibly try to “redeem” them only to have their character realize there is no way the villain can be redeemed. That can cause for some interesting plots as in it can toss in some places for your villainous character to completely show off their crazy in different ways. However if they honestly think they can toss a bunny character at a wolf and think it’ll suddenly be sunshine and roses they are sadly mistaken. Also a little annoying when they continue to try romance and don’t have their character react to the heinous crimes being done.

 

[Murdergurl]

When I do a profile for a character that's a bad guy, completely irredeemable, just absolutely rotten to the core. There's no chance for said character to be anything other than bad to the point where even I want my other characters to kill him off BUT SOMEHOW someone takes one look at the profile, sees him in action in the roleplay, and is in love with this psychopath. Like they feel their character can show him the error of his murderous ways through sunshine, candy, Mary Sue-ish damsel in distress love. Dude, dammit, no! He's the VILLAIN.

honest question here: How is it exactly that you integrate these characters into a setting with other RPers? Like, I make a lot of antagonistic OCs. And I feel like one of the biggest hurdles to actually getting them written with other people is that it is really hard for the other players to write their character(s) against a low-life, shit bag with murderous intent. lol

 

[Inno]

honest question here: How is it exactly that you integrate these characters into a setting with other RPers? Like, I make a lot of antagonistic OCs. And I feel like one of the biggest hurdles to actually getting them written with other people is that it is really hard for the other players to write their character(s) against a low-life, shit bag with murderous intent. lol

The thing is the villains that I make are not meant to be played alongside other characters. They are for story purposes only. Example, the hero characters have someone that's hindering their progress of their goal. This is where the villain comes in. I would never write an antagonistic character to play alongside someone else's character in the normal sense. That just doesn't work for me and I'm sure the other person would not like it either maybe.

 

[Murdergurl]

The thing is the villains that I make are not meant to be played alongside other characters. They are for story purposes only. Example, the hero characters have someone that's hindering their progress of their goal. This is where the villain comes in. I would never write an antagonistic character to play alongside someone else's character in the normal sense. That just doesn't work for me and I'm sure the other person would not like it either maybe.

ah, okies. I gotcha. they are more for plot mechanic. See, I write my villainous characters as THE character I play. Of course, its in group RP. They have motivations that can ply them to play along. But their loyalty is ultimately to themselves and they will not look out for others. Kind of an interesting dynamic to have in a group. But I do understand that it would make most GMs wary.

 

[Damafaud]

If I had to point to one thing that's irritating me today, not necessarily making me "angry," but just irritating, it's the fact that it seems to be increasingly common for role-players these days to rush their character development.

They'll start the RP with a CS that states openly, or heavily implies, that their character is dealing with this, and this, and this problems and will have to deal with them over the course of the whole adventure... Only for them to deal with one of those major issues within the first 20-50 posts of the RP.

... Bruh.

I mean, we're all free to develop our characters however we want. But really? 20-50 posts and you're already having your character overcome one of their weaknesses and/or personal issues?

Cause, to me at least, that's way too early to be overcoming a major personal issue no matter how much you want them to progress. I don't think I've ever read a book, seen a film, or seen a tv series or video game where a character overcomes a major personal issue within the first 5-10 minutes. Ever.

Again, I realize everyone's free to develop their characters however they want. But it's still really irritating to see so many role-players rushing their characters through progression so early on in the experience. As a reader/lurker, I want to immerse myself in your character's journey and feel their struggle and their pain before they finally reach that point and earn the positive change rather than it just being handed to them on a silver platter so early on.

After all, the sooner you reach a resolution for your character's problems the faster your character will stagnate, and the faster you'll lose interest in them and the more likely you are to leave the RP they're in cause you have nowhere left to go with them. And you'll have nothing to look forward to other than the promise of watching other people's characters develop at a much better and more natural pace.

Anyway, I'm not "angry" about this. Just irritated. I like reading almost as much as I like role-playing, so it kinda sucks to start a journey with a character that I like only for their personal journey to end within the first 20-50 posts.

Cheers!

- GojiBean

I don't know how you usually RP but 20-50 posts feel like enough time? Especially leaning toward the latter. I'm in a 3-months-and-running RP and I barely have 20 posts into the 2nd arc.

 

[Murdergurl]

I don't know how you usually RP but 20-50 posts feel like enough time? Especially leaning toward the latter. I'm in a 3-months-and-running RP and I barely have 20 posts into the 2nd arc.

shiiiit... I can't even remember the last time ANY RP I've been in got to 20 posts. lmao

 

[GojiBean]

I don't know how you usually RP but 20-50 posts feel like enough time? Especially leaning toward the latter. I'm in a 3-months-and-running RP and I barely have 20 posts into the 2nd arc.

Well, let me clarify something. When I say 20-50 posts, I mean total in the RP. Like even if it's a Group RP with 5-10 people in it all posting back and forth, the total posts is only 20-50. So everyone's done 2-5 posts each. And a major problem or personal flaw for someone's character, like a personality flaw, is already fixed within that time.

That's just way too fast by any standard or metric of storytelling.

Nobody who actually has a personal issue or flaw is ever going to solve it that fast. For example, if you suffer from social anxiety and depression, are you going to suddenly learn to cope with and overcome the barriers they place on you in 2-5 days in real life? Not a chance. If you are a naturally arrogant person who doesn't really care about the problems or interests of others, are you suddenly going to realize you're wrong in 2-5 days of meeting someone new and make a total personality change? Not a chance.

Even if it was 20-50 for one individual among a group RP, that still seems fast to me. It'd be the rough equivalent of a 600 page novel realizing and solving the main character's weaknesses and basically completing their personal journey in the story (which isn't meant to end until the climax, or just before it) within the first 15-20 pages. You've still got ALL that book left, but your main character's personal inner journey is already over.

Imagine reading one of the Harry Potter books (any of them), and the main issue Harry faces in the book is over in the first 50 pages. But the book overall is still the same length as what we know today. What does the rest of the book become after Harry's journey in this particular book is over? Fluff and filler.

Can you imagine if J.K. Rowling did that in her Harry Potter books?

As an example of the RP's I usually run as a GM, on other sites in the past years I've had a few RP's reach 750-1,000+ posts (overall) and not a single character had resolved more than 1 or 2 of their flaws or personal issues. And we still had A LOT of RP left to enjoy before they came to a successful conclusion. I think the longest RP I've ever had was 1,752 posts, or something along those lines. And for almost every character involved, the whole of their personal issues and/or flaws weren't resolved until around post 1,400 at the earliest.

Granted, almost nobody has RP's that long anymore. But I still aim to, even if the RP's die early my goal is 1,000+ posts every time. Call me old fashioned. Lol.

But even if your entire RP is aiming to be complete within 150-200 posts, even 20 posts still seems way too fast to me since the entire purpose of storytelling and having a personal journey for a character to undertake wherein they face and resolve their flaws and issues is to enjoy that journey before the climax. After all, the climax of the story is usually right at the beginning of what would be considered Act III of a three act structure story.

The main reason I get irritated when people resolve their character's flaws and problems so early on is because once they're resolved, the character's personal story is over. The RP's narrative might still be ongoing, but the character will enter a stage of emotional and mental stagnation from which no further forward progress can be made.

Be it physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or a mixture of all the above, stories exist and are what they are because of the conflict the characters face (regardless whether it's personal or external, as both will play a role in the character's development). Once the conflict is over in a character's personal journey, their story is over as well. After that, at best they can help serve as a driver for the growth of others afterwards, which is fine. But how long can you keep that up when you have no further reason to invest in your own character's development?

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Everyone has different preferences and views on the matter. And I realize that everyone paces their character development differently. Especially if they don't plan on the RP living very long. I guess I got too used to my RP style with the ultimate goal of reaching 1,000+ posts, and where everyone has all the time in the world to fully and deeply explore their character's psyche and solve their flaws and issues in good time.

Still, I would make the argument that it's always better to dynamically realize your character's flaws and issues and overcome them as naturally as possible over time rather than trying to solve them as quickly as possible. Cause again, once they have resolved their problems, their story is over.

Cheers!

 

[Inno]

ah, okies. I gotcha. they are more for plot mechanic. See, I write my villainous characters as THE character I play. Of course, its in group RP. They have motivations that can ply them to play along. But their loyalty is ultimately to themselves and they will not look out for others. Kind of an interesting dynamic to have in a group. But I do understand that it would make most GMs wary.

Let me ask you a question. How many of your characters are villainous?

 

[Damafaud]

Well, let me clarify something. When I say 20-50 posts, I mean total in the RP. Like even if it's a Group RP with 5-10 people in it all posting back and forth, the total posts is only 20-50. So everyone's done 2-5 posts each. And a major problem or personal flaw for someone's character, like a personality flaw, is already fixed within that time.

That's just way too fast by any standard or metric of storytelling.

Nobody who actually has a personal issue or flaw is ever going to solve it that fast. For example, if you suffer from social anxiety and depression, are you going to suddenly learn to cope with and overcome the barriers they place on you in 2-5 days in real life? Not a chance. If you are a naturally arrogant person who doesn't really care about the problems or interests of others, are you suddenly going to realize you're wrong in 2-5 days of meeting someone new and make a total personality change? Not a chance.

Even if it was 20-50 for one individual among a group RP, that still seems fast to me. It'd be the rough equivalent of a 600 page novel realizing and solving the main character's weaknesses and basically completing their personal journey in the story (which isn't meant to end until the climax, or just before it) within the first 15-20 pages. You've still got ALL that book left, but your main character's personal inner journey is already over.

Imagine reading one of the Harry Potter books (any of them), and the main issue Harry faces in the book is over in the first 50 pages. But the book overall is still the same length as what we know today. What does the rest of the book become after Harry's journey in this particular book is over? Fluff and filler.

Can you imagine if J.K. Rowling did that in her Harry Potter books?

As an example of the RP's I usually run as a GM, on other sites in the past years I've had a few RP's reach 750-1,000+ posts (overall) and not a single character had resolved more than 1 or 2 of their flaws or personal issues. And we still had A LOT of RP left to enjoy before they came to a successful conclusion. I think the longest RP I've ever had was 1,752 posts, or something along those lines. And for almost every character involved, the whole of their personal issues and/or flaws weren't resolved until around post 1,400 at the earliest.

Granted, almost nobody has RP's that long anymore. But I still aim to, even if the RP's die early my goal is 1,000+ posts every time. Call me old fashioned. Lol.

But even if your entire RP is aiming to be complete within 150-200 posts, even 20 posts still seems way too fast to me since the entire purpose of storytelling and having a personal journey for a character to undertake wherein they face and resolve their flaws and issues is to enjoy that journey before the climax. After all, the climax of the story is usually right at the beginning of what would be considered Act III of a three act structure story.

The main reason I get irritated when people resolve their character's flaws and problems so early on is because once they're resolved, the character's personal story is over. The RP's narrative might still be ongoing, but the character will enter a stage of emotional and mental stagnation from which no further forward progress can be made.

Be it physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, or a mixture of all the above, stories exist and are what they are because of the conflict the characters face (regardless whether it's personal or external, as both will play a role in the character's development). Once the conflict is over in a character's personal journey, their story is over as well. After that, at best they can help serve as a driver for the growth of others afterwards, which is fine. But how long can you keep that up when you have no further reason to invest in your own character's development?

Anyway, that's just my two cents. Everyone has different preferences and views on the matter. And I realize that everyone paces their character development differently. Especially if they don't plan on the RP living very long. I guess I got too used to my RP style with the ultimate goal of reaching 1,000+ posts, and where everyone has all the time in the world to fully and deeply explore their character's psyche and solve their flaws and issues in good time.

Still, I would make the argument that it's always better to dynamically realize your character's flaws and issues and overcome them as naturally as possible over time rather than trying to solve them as quickly as possible. Cause again, once they have resolved their problems, their story is over.

Cheers!

We got different expectations and conditions in mind I guess lmao

Just a minor pet peeve this time: when the GM has a lore thread but not all of the lore is there and instead spread between there, a discord channel, and the interest check.

Ok so the Lore Thread has info on the country, but if I want to look up about the king I should look at the interest check thread where the king is mentioned on the NPC list.

 

[Murdergurl]

Let me ask you a question. How many of your characters are villainous?

Most of them have antagonistic traits. I'm not saying they are all villains. But if I were to assign the iconic D&D alignments to all my characters, I'd say that most of them would fall between Neutral Evil, Lawful Evil, and maybe every now and again a Chaotic Evil. I do have some "good" characters. Bu they are not at all the norm. To throw a rough estimation out there, I'd say 80% are villains or pseudo villains.

 

[Inno]

Most of them have antagonistic traits. I'm not saying they are all villains. But if I were to assign the iconic D&D alignments to all my characters, I'd say that most of them would fall between Neutral Evil, Lawful Evil, and maybe every now and again a Chaotic Evil. I do have some "good" characters. Bu they are not at all the norm. To throw a rough estimation out there, I'd say 80% are villains or pseudo villains.

Oh. That's interesting. Do you have them in any 1x1's if you do those?

 

[Murdergurl]

Oh. That's interesting. Do you have them in any 1x1's if you do those?

nah. I generally do not participate in 1x1 RP. I look (almost) exclusively for group stuff.
I'm not sure what it is about 1x1s, but I quickly get bored of them and wind up dropping out for one reason or another. I just can't keep myself interested when it's just me and one other writer. There's a lot of reasons behind this, but it warrants a discussion all of its own. So I'll just leave it at that.

 

[Inno]

nah. I generally do not participate in 1x1 RP. I look (almost) exclusively for group stuff.
I'm not sure what it is about 1x1s, but I quickly get bored of them and wind up dropping out for one reason or another. I just can't keep myself interested when it's just me and one other writer. There's a lot of reasons behind this, but it warrants a discussion all of its own. So I'll just leave it at that.

I understand.

 

[AndPeggy]

I'm sorry, I know people like to draw their characters instead of using outside reference pictures but.

Some people just draw sooo badly. I'd rather have a good written description of the character instead of a terrible drawing as a faceclaim.

 

[Murdergurl]

I'm sorry, I know people like to draw their characters instead of using outside reference pictures but.

Some people just draw sooo badly. I'd rather have a good written description of the character instead of a terrible drawing as a faceclaim.

Agree. Like, as an artist, I realize no one starts off doing great. But you also gotta have some prudence in knowing that you aren't display-ready yet. lol

 

[Kaisar]

Imposter syndrome.

 

[Lunar Bunny]

Just something I find annoying in group rps specifically; when the gm puts out a list of limited roles but then applies for a bunch themselves.
For example, let's say that there are 4 prince and 4 princess roles available, but the gm takes 3 out of the 4 princess positions. So in reality people can only apply for the 4 princes or 1 princess character lol just rubs me the wrong way.