Chit-Chat: General Roleplay Discussion Thread "the RPD" (archived)

[gimmepie]

Turnip. The Turnip that led to me being called Turnip. Turnip the Turnip. All the way.

From the looks of things, this little café get together RP character thingy is at the very least chipping away a bit at the fourth wall :P How do you guys feel about the fourth wall in this sort of thing? Should it be preserved as much as possible? Entirely abolished? Or is it just down to each individual RPer?

Also Foxrally had nothing to do with this idea it was all me give me all of the credit ayylmao

I don't like it when writers break the fourth wall outside of first person. It feels kind of tacky and it stuffs the flow of the writing around.

 

[Jay]

I'll get to work on it! Wheeeenever I'm back on a computer, I've had a cray week. Again.

So what character would you guys put into a "café event" then? :3 have you got any old favorites you'd like tl brush up on, or maybe a current one?

I don't have many characters on this site yet. So I'll most likely have to go with Vanish. The troublesome murderous psychopath whom seems like the handsomest, most charming and innocent guy in the World.

That is... until he's murdering you brutally with a serrated knife. Why serrated? So he can draw out every bit of pain in your expression of course!

I don't like it when writers break the fourth wall outside of first person. It feels kind of tacky and it stuffs the flow of the writing around.

I also quite dislike the breaking of the fourth wall. Especially with the idea of multiple settings and characters you know? I thought it would be cool if there was some strange and nonsensical overarching plot to bring every character to the various scenarios played out.

You know, some random omnipotent force is like; "Here's an idea. Let's pick up a bunch of random individuals from across the multiverse... and toss them into various scenarios for fun! It'll be like my own private dollhouse!"

Something like this is suitably silly and opens the door for all sorts of comic relief, interesting circumstances and even some light character development.

Breaking the fourth wall, however, kind of defeats the point of roleplaying these characters in my opinion. The whole point is to have the characters play out how they would naturally, with other characters, in different scenarios right? I think if the characters are AWARE that they're in an RP that that will negatively affect those reactions.

For example, let's take a character from a zombie apocalypse RP, like outbreak, and put them into a medieval setting with a dragon.

Example of Natural Reaction: "WHAT THE HELL, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! IS THAT A- THAT'S A DAMN DRAGON!"

Hilarity thus ensues as this more believable and semi-modern setting character is confronted with something like a dragon.

Let's now see his reaction if he is aware that this is an RP and thus is capable of breaking the fourth wall.

Altered 4th Wall break Reaction: "The GM wants me to fight a dragon now?! Being an RP character sucks!"

Still ironically funny, but if you ask me, that kind of humor will dry out fast (I know I used an extreme example but still), you can only break the wall so many times before it's gone completely... and with a long term RP like we all want this one to be, the lack of a fourth wall will hinder rather than help us in the long run.

In other words, I think having a broken fourth wall is a bad idea as I can guarantee that we'll get bored faster with that mindset.

The occasional fourth wall breaks are funny, yes, and it would be fun to see one or two thrown around at times. But making it so we can casually ignore the fourth wall? I'll have to put a foot down and say I'm personally against that.

We want this to be fun! But we also want it to stay fun! That's my opinion on it and I hope you guys can see where I'm coming from.

I for (haha four) one vote to keep the fourth wall standing!

 

[gimmepie]

I don't have many characters on this site yet. So I'll most likely have to go with Vanish. The troublesome murderous psychopath whom seems like the handsomest, most charming and innocent guy in the World.

That is... until he's murdering you brutally with a serrated knife. Why serrated? So he can draw out every bit of pain in your expression of course!



I also quite dislike the breaking of the fourth wall. Especially with the idea of multiple settings and characters you know? I thought it would be cool if there was some strange and nonsensical overarching plot to bring every character to the various scenarios played out.

You know, some random omnipotent force is like; "Here's an idea. Let's pick up a bunch of random individuals from across the multiverse... and toss them into various scenarios for fun! It'll be like my own private dollhouse!"

Something like this is suitably silly and opens the door for all sorts of comic relief, interesting circumstances and even some light character development.

Breaking the fourth wall, however, kind of defeats the point of roleplaying these characters in my opinion. The whole point is to have the characters play out how they would naturally, with other characters, in different scenarios right? I think if the characters are AWARE that they're in an RP that that will negatively affect those reactions.

For example, let's take a character from a zombie apocalypse RP, like outbreak, and put them into a medieval setting with a dragon.

Example of Natural Reaction: "WHAT THE HELL, HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! IS THAT A- THAT'S A DAMN DRAGON!"

Hilarity thus ensues as this more believable and semi-modern setting character is confronted with something like a dragon.

Let's now see his reaction if he is aware that this is an RP and thus is capable of breaking the fourth wall.

Altered 4th Wall break Reaction: "The GM wants me to fight a dragon now?! Being an RP character sucks!"

Still ironically funny, but if you ask me, that kind of humor will dry out fast (I know I used an extreme example but still), you can only break the wall so many times before it's gone completely... and with a long term RP like we all want this one to be, the lack of a fourth wall will hinder rather than help us in the long run.

In other words, I think having a broken fourth wall is a bad idea as I can guarantee that we'll get bored faster with that mindset.

The occasional fourth wall breaks are funny, yes, and it would be fun to see one or two thrown around at times. But making it so we can casually ignore the fourth wall? I'll have to put a foot down and say I'm personally against that.

We want this to be fun! But we also want it to stay fun! That's my opinion on it and I hope you guys can see where I'm coming from.

I for (haha four) one vote to keep the fourth wall standing!

Deceptio for president.
That is all.

 

[moon]

Aahah, you guys better give me credit for this >:D

I'd love to have Sophia from Gunpowder or Ryan the waterbender from Avatar New Legends. Sophia would rant about her day and Ryan would constantly make puns.

"Ugh, I tell you - being in a roleplay GMed by that pie dude is so stressful."
"Oh, you mean GM-e-pie?"
"..."
"Come one, you have to gimme credit for that one, it was good.
"**** you, I'm going to the One Piece guys."

The moderators will take all cred for this cafe thing, sorry. We are, as you've already established, evil.

(You get bonus points for dem puns still tho)

Deceptio for president.
That is all.

Yeah, I think we'll have to put Deceptio up next to Blarzigord in the splash. Yea.

I also think we shouldn't break the fourth wall. Overarching plot can either just be that an omnipotent force has thrown characters in from different universes, or maybe they can believe that this setting is a place within their native universe and just react as they should at whatever chars come.

 

[Jay]

Yeah, I think we'll have to put Deceptio up next to Blarzigord in the splash. Yea.

I also think we shouldn't break the fourth wall. Overarching plot can either just be that an omnipotent force has thrown characters in from different universes, or maybe they can believe that this setting is a place within their native universe and just react as they should at whatever chars come.

Spoiler:

*Shakes Blarzigords tentacle.*

I for one would like to welcome our new Alien overlord Blarzigord! As newly established president of the RP corner I wish to express to him that he has the full support and co-operation of the human workforce present here and to assure him that they are all prepared to labor in his name and honor.

*Crowd goes wild.*

Ahem... I mean...

I'm glad to see we're not going with the fourth wall breaking. Whatever reality you choose to go with for the RP I will accept. Though it does seem like it would be a bit difficult to link things like hotels, desert islands and medieval times if these were all just everyday events for the characters. XD

Unless each new setting was it's own instance and story where the characters already existed in the newly established setting. Thus showing us how they lived out their lives in said setting. That would be cool and unique in its own way entirely.

I'm super excited for this now! ^^ I can't wait to just jump right into it.

 

[moon]

Thing is, we want it to be casual, not something that requires much in ways of plotting and real effort. Regard it as a RP DCC thread but IC sorta :p

 

[gimmepie]

Spoiler:

*Shakes Blarzigords tentacle.*

I for one would like to welcome our new Alien overlord Blarzigord! As newly established president of the RP corner I wish to express to him that he has the full support and co-operation of the human workforce present here and to assure him that they are all prepared to labor in his name and honor.

*Crowd goes wild.*

Ahem... I mean...

I'm glad to see we're not going with the fourth wall breaking. Whatever reality you choose to go with for the RP I will accept. Though it does seem like it would be a bit difficult to link things like hotels, desert islands and medieval times if these were all just everyday events for the characters. XD

Unless each new setting was it's own instance and story where the characters already existed in the newly established setting. Thus showing us how they lived out their lives in said setting. That would be cool and unique in its own way entirely.

I'm super excited for this now! ^^ I can't wait to just jump right into it.

You are no longer allowed to stop posting.
Just keep posting.
Just keep posting, posting posting

Thing is, we want it to be casual, not something that requires much in ways of plotting and real effort. Regard it as a RP DCC thread but IC sorta :p

I like the overarching plot of the omnipotent presence who likes messing with people. I think a simple "plot" like that is a great way to allow for a more casual atmosphere and provides material for some great moments from characters.
The omnipotent presence should be Blarzigord

 

[Foxrally]

The omnipotent presence should be Blarzigord

TBH let's just call the RP Blarzigord: The Uprising and have the plot be that he used the love of Mark-sempai and teleported everyone to his dollhouse where he can throw in stuff and occasionally come in to screw things up.

(I love how you guys actually took my suggestion seriously though, tyvm rika :3)

 

[Groc]

I was in something similar on another site about seven years ago. We all brought characters together from different games and just had fun in a casual setting. Then we got all multiversal.

We called it The Portal. It exists in all times, in all places. Sometimes it was an old world tavern, sometimes it was a sylvan glen, sometimes it was a simple drink stand on the beach. It could be anything at any time, at the whim of it's owner (our GM, whenever he wanted to mix things up). Everyone was welcome, from the child on his first adventure, to the old man telling his life story. Humans, monsters, robots, ghosts, all were welcome. It didn't matter if they were from the distant past, Next Sunday A.D., the apocalyptic future, or even another dimension. There was a bar where you could share food and drinks, bedrooms where you could sleep or *fade to black*, an arena out back where you could fight (with both parties being fully healed at the fight's conclusion), and a gift shop. We would hang out, talk shop, and occasionally go on adventures in our new locale.

Eventually, it just became a place for us to gather our favorite characters and go on quests. The arena got its own thread, and we'd send characters from one to the other as we saw fit. It got complex, with two separate threads having the same overarching story, but was by far the most popular thread, even getting a sequel thread once we hut 500 pages. Funny thing was, there were only about eight of us, and some even temporary dropped out for a bit, only to rejoin weeks later. So, even with a small and somewhat inconsistent group, it went on for a while.

 

[Winter]

We could also vary the IC setting every month or so. To start off, maybe it's a hotel with descriptions of various places within. Then next month it becomes a medieval castle. Then suddenly we're castaways on a tropical island...

The settings could be presented as new "chapters" in the same IC thread and you wouldn't have to sign up anew and could just keep playing as whoever you happened to be (unless you want to change). The mods could try to keep a list of which player is currently playing what character.
... Or we could just start new ooc and ic threads every time we change setting, but that would make the threads shorter and not as history-filled in the long run.

I'll be looking forward to a murder mystery roleplay in an inescapable setting like a moving train (think: Baccano!). Don't disappoint me.

 

[Foxrally]

I was in something similar on another site about seven years ago. We all brought characters together from different games and just had fun in a casual setting. Then we got all multiversal.

We called it The Portal. It exists in all times, in all places. Sometimes it was an old world tavern, sometimes it was a sylvan glen, sometimes it was a simple drink stand on the beach. It could be anything at any time, at the whim of it's owner (our GM, whenever he wanted to mix things up). Everyone was welcome, from the child on his first adventure, to the old man telling his life story. Humans, monsters, robots, ghosts, all were welcome. It didn't matter if they were from the distant past, Next Sunday A.D., the apocalyptic future, or even another dimension. There was a bar where you could share food and drinks, bedrooms where you could sleep or *fade to black*, an arena out back where you could fight (with both parties being fully healed at the fight's conclusion), and a gift shop. We would hang out, talk shop, and occasionally go on adventures in our new locale.

Eventually, it just became a place for us to gather our favorite characters and go on quests. The arena got its own thread, and we'd send characters from one to the other as we saw fit. It got complex, with two separate threads having the same overarching story, but was by far the most popular thread, even getting a sequel thread once we hut 500 pages. Funny thing was, there were only about eight of us, and some even temporary dropped out for a bit, only to rejoin weeks later. So, even with a small and somewhat inconsistent group, it went on for a while.

Let's hope ours ends up as good as the one you were part of :D

Although the arena idea is extremely interesting - it would give the RP a sort of purpose other than messing around like a DCC.

 

[moon]

Hmmm, that sounds really interesting, Godzil! The Portal is an awesome name also :3 we don't want to steal ideas, but the name isn't very unique anyways so maybe it'd be ok.

I think arena-style battles in such a thread/rp in our foruns will do best as joint posts.

 

[gimmepie]

Thing is, we want it to be casual, not something that requires much in ways of plotting and real effort. Regard it as a RP DCC thread but IC sorta :p

Hmmm, that sounds really interesting, Godzil! The Portal is an awesome name also :3 we don't want to steal ideas, but the name isn't very unique anyways so maybe it'd be ok.

I think arena-style battles in such a thread/rp in our foruns will do best as joint posts.

Arena style battles is similar to what I had with Smash, however as a long running thing it could be cool. People could just be chosen or volunteer to do one on one joint posts for someone's Blarzigord's amusement.

 

[moon]

Yeah maybe we could have special event weeks with battles... but again I feel it'd be too much plot and too little casual. This would be meant as a break from yer average plot ridden RPing here. So if you wanted to battle, you could simply go and do it somewhere. Some characters probably aren't created for battle even!

 

[Foxrally]

Yeah maybe we could have special event weeks with battles... but again I feel it'd be too much plot and too little casual. This would be meant as a break from yer average plot ridden RPing here. So if you wanted to battle, you could simply go and do it somewhere. Some characters probably aren't created for battle even!

I demand a fight between Jeb from Gunpowder and McGregor from Outbreak

Pokemon battles would be hilarious though:

Charmander is confused!
"Shit, he's turned! Put him down!" *smashes hammer*

But I agree that there shouldn't be any plot in the RP. Posts should be allowed to be as short as they want to be - making it an IC DCC.

 

[Jay]

You are no longer allowed to stop posting.
Just keep posting.
Just keep posting, posting posting



I like the overarching plot of the omnipotent presence who likes messing with people. I think a simple "plot" like that is a great way to allow for a more casual atmosphere and provides material for some great moments from characters.
The omnipotent presence should be Blarzigord

"Day 2357: I have done my best to complete my task and to "just keep posting". But it has come to the point where my food is all but gone and water is a distant dream. My only hope now is that our Omnipotent Lord Blarzigord can forgive me in the afterlife..."


And exactly, it's not like we want a massive overarching plot with various secrets disputes and factions. But something small like this, to prevent fourth wall breaking and to give some reason to it all would increase the amount of insanity and funny moments provided.

I demand a fight between Jeb from Gunpowder and McGregor from Outbreak

Pokemon battles would be hilarious though:

Charmander is confused!
"****, he's turned! Put him down!" *smashes hammer*

But I agree that there shouldn't be any plot in the RP. Posts should be allowed to be as short as they want to be - making it an IC DCC.

Oh Gods, Charmander, what have they done to you. I can imagine pokémon battles would be freaking hilarious also... I can imagine the reactions that non-pokéverse characters would have to the 'mons.

On the other hand... while the idea of the whole "IC DCC" thread is one option. It is still an RP... right? I mean of course it's going to be casual and fun but shouldn't the basic RP rules still apply? At the very least the 100 word post minimum? I think if posts were allowed to be as short and ridiculous as possible then it would kind of take away from the experience. While casual randomness is fun... some structure is important lest things dissolve into chaos and stray off the path of the various setting our characters could encounter.

Yeah maybe we could have special event weeks with battles... but again I feel it'd be too much plot and too little casual. This would be meant as a break from yer average plot ridden RPing here. So if you wanted to battle, you could simply go and do it somewhere. Some characters probably aren't created for battle even!

I see your point there, battles can get pretty intense. But some characters, like my own Vanish for example, live for killing and violence. Still, perhaps the occasional event for the battles could be the omnipotent force Blarzigord warping the characters to some sort of battle arena? Still, who knows? And not everyone is built for battle yes, but that doesn't mean that they're not going to be put into a position in a world as crazy as this where something or someone wants to murder them right?

I was in something similar on another site about seven years ago. We all brought characters together from different games and just had fun in a casual setting. Then we got all multiversal.

We called it The Portal. It exists in all times, in all places. Sometimes it was an old world tavern, sometimes it was a sylvan glen, sometimes it was a simple drink stand on the beach. It could be anything at any time, at the whim of it's owner (our GM, whenever he wanted to mix things up). Everyone was welcome, from the child on his first adventure, to the old man telling his life story. Humans, monsters, robots, ghosts, all were welcome. It didn't matter if they were from the distant past, Next Sunday A.D., the apocalyptic future, or even another dimension. There was a bar where you could share food and drinks, bedrooms where you could sleep or *fade to black*, an arena out back where you could fight (with both parties being fully healed at the fight's conclusion), and a gift shop. We would hang out, talk shop, and occasionally go on adventures in our new locale.

Eventually, it just became a place for us to gather our favorite characters and go on quests. The arena got its own thread, and we'd send characters from one to the other as we saw fit. It got complex, with two separate threads having the same overarching story, but was by far the most popular thread, even getting a sequel thread once we hut 500 pages. Funny thing was, there were only about eight of us, and some even temporary dropped out for a bit, only to rejoin weeks later. So, even with a small and somewhat inconsistent group, it went on for a while.

This reminds me of another RP this sort, it's called "the multiverse" it's incredibly incredibly long, has had hundreds of players and is still going to this day. (I believe it rivals several full length novels in size now) Anybody can join making any sort of character they want and players are free to make their own plots an stories, it was really cool!

(Not saying this RP is going to be anything like that of course, as The Multiverse actually had many serious and overarching plots.)

I'll be looking forward to a murder mystery roleplay in an inescapable setting like a moving train (think: Baccano!). Don't disappoint me.

Someone murdering everyone? Gee I wonder who that will be.

I mean, that sounds like an awesome idea! Seriously though, this concept wins an award for one of my favorite random setting ideas.

 

[Foxrally]

BLARZIGORD HAS RISEN

HAIL HIM

(check RPC splash)

 

[Jay]

*Bows to RPC Splash*

BLARZIGORD BE PRAISED!

THE TENTACLED ONE HATH COMETH!

 

[moon]

I don't even know what's going on with this place anymore ahahah

Anyone feel like typing up a description for a café sorta setting we can start the multiverse RP off with? I feel uncreative today >.< But I have the OOC post ready to go! As soon as the setting is finished. Maybe with some neat pics.

 

[Foxrally]

I'm studying atm but If nobody writes up anything (I'm sure Deceptio/Blarzigord will) I'd be glad to. I'm willing to sell the copyright to Deceptio for a cookie :D