Notes on making new roleplays

[Pripyat Pony 2,608]

Just basic things, not rules set in stone, to remember when you want to post a new roleplay. Some might seem obvious to experienced roleplayers, but newbies are another matter. I have seen all of these over the many years I have been roleplaying, some by newbies genuinely making mistakes and some by noobs who won't be taught and who eventually ended up barred from the forum where I used to roleplay, now defunct. Hope they will be useful and of course, if there's a question anypony wants to ask which is not answered here, feel free.

Before Posting A New RP Thread.

* Gather together the players. On MLP forums, that is what the OOC forum is for, other places just have the first page for sign ups. This is very important as altho you can have people join in at a later date in some RPs, in others it's best to have the full roster of players before you start. Make it very clear what kind of RP this is at the beginning. A slice of life RP, for example, would be fine to have new people signing up here and there, but an established story RP would not as it would damage the continuity. For example, the players have just jetted off into space... and suddenly, there's one more person there. Makes no sense at all. Even if the RP is cool with new players signing up, you shouldn't just randomly jump in. Apply first in the OOC topic or PM the owner of the RP and ask first. If you are refused, for whatever reason, don't have an attitude about it or keep begging the owner to change their mind. Just accept it and either make the changes to your character that the owner has asked for, if that is why you were refused, or start/join another RP. Which brings me to...

* Be original. Now, I'm not saying for a moment that certain ideas are "taken" and can't be used again, just that you need to make sure that your RP uses said theme or idea in a completely new way. For example, there's a long running RP on vamponies in Equestria. You rather like the idea, but the RP is closed to new players, so you start your own. Don't make your RP an exact copy of the one you couldn't join; instead, explore the theme in a different way. Make the vamponies different, for example, making them a separate race rather than like vampires who can make new vampires. Have a completely different plot and explore new possibilities of the theme.

* Have a basic idea of how the story will pan out. Of course, you don't have to stick rigidly to your plan; later on, you might get a suggestion from someone which seems very plausible and you want to include it, or you might want to throw a few curveballs into the plot. But if you have no idea whatsoever, there's a chance that the RP could stall later on. Also, don't try and force players to follow a script. I've seen scripted RPs, and without exception, they all have failed cuz people don't want to play their character in the way that someone else wants them to, they want to be free to post without having to abide by a rigid script.

Notes On Characters.

I already have a topic on Mary Sue, so she will not be included in this thread. You can read about Mary Sue here: Meet Mary Sue

* Thin Characters. Please don't have "Will be explained in RP" as your character's backstory. This is not only lazy, but also not very helpful to players who want to choose a suitable character to play with yours. Don't have a thin character; flesh out their personality and backstory so that other players can get a feel for them. Remember that a backstory is just that, a back story. It's telling us about your character's past; the RP is the present and future story. So please don't omit the backstory when you post a character.

* The "Me Me Me!" Character. One way to completely turn players off an RP is to have your own OC be the main character and/or the focus of the RP, meaning that everyone else is simply there to dance attendance on your OC and do what they want, or do the things that your OC feels is beneath them to do. This doesn't mean that you can't have your OC be the leader of an expedition, or for the RP to be about your OC making friends in a new town. However, you do have to let everypony else's OCs have a moment to shine and to relinquish the spotlight occasionally instead of making the RP all about your OC. People will get bored very quickly with an RP where the owner's OC is the only one allowed to do anything heroic, interesting or move the plot along.

* The "Special Snowflake". Not just referring to a Mary Sue or a "Me Me Me!", tho those characters are often snowflakes. What I'm saying is that you need to not take things personally if another player's character attacks or insults your character. Remember that the player is not insulting you, their OC just doesn't like your OC, and that's OK. It would be a pretty boring world after all, if we all liked everyone. Don't hold it against the player, just work with it in the RP. Maybe the characters become friends, or they just learn to tolerate one another, but you can't have your character be a special snowflake who has to be liked by everyone, or they throw a tantrum. It's also perfectly alright to have an unlikeable character, but you must accept that you can't control what other players' characters think about your character. If an OC likes your annoying OC, then just accept it. Even annoying ponies can have friends, just as likeable ponies can have others who dislike them.