As a GM, what kind of rules do you think are necessary to be listed for your rp? Are you a minimalist or do you like to have a few paragraphs to really go into detail with what you expect to and not to be done? Do you like to feel more in control and read through certain things before your players post them? In a powers/abilities/magical setting, what besides time (since that's really a given) do you think would be something you'd limit free will use over?
Da Rulez
- Thread starter Sonata
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When I'm writing rules I generally try to keep the list relatively small and written in simple dot points. I think too big a rules sections restricts what players can do a bit much and is off-putting to potential joiners. The actual rules I use tend to be pretty stock-standard, with the odd few thrown in specific to the RP.
When it comes to pre-reading before a player posts, I never have it as a requirement. If a player is doing something big that might have a large effect on the RP, then perhaps it would be nice of them to let me check first but I can always ask them to edit things afterwards if need be. That being said, my players are always welcome to have me pre-read if they have doubts.
In ability/magic RPs, I think that one given is that mind control should never be allowed. It really easily ruins RPs for the "victims".
When it comes to pre-reading before a player posts, I never have it as a requirement. If a player is doing something big that might have a large effect on the RP, then perhaps it would be nice of them to let me check first but I can always ask them to edit things afterwards if need be. That being said, my players are always welcome to have me pre-read if they have doubts.
In ability/magic RPs, I think that one given is that mind control should never be allowed. It really easily ruins RPs for the "victims".
Junier
Fake Friends Forever (´･ω･`)
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I'm not too resolute in the rules I use but I know precisely what rules I will not use.
Unwarranted rules, like "NO MARY SUES ALLOWED!"and "DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE!", really turn me off from a roleplay. I call them "unwarranted" because they're usually self-explanatory. That and they're usually bolded/fully capitalized to emphasize their "importance" with some additional details afterwards. An example: "Use correct grammar. This isn't Twitter, you're not texting your "BFF" and you've (hopefully) gotten a substantial education at this point. "Ur" should be spelled "your", "u" you and don't you dare forget to capitalize. Finally, no smilies during dialogue. Do all these things and I'll have to kick you for being illiterate. I take roleplaying very seriously and I expect you all to do the same." This sort of aggression obviously targets less-experienced roleplayers. Instead of driving them away, give them constructive advice when they do show interest.
That and rules that micro-manage. The worst GM is the one that tells you exactly what you should be doing with your character. I remember roleplayer owners that acted disdainful about "bubbly, ditsy, kindhearted characters" because they were "sooo cliche", as if cliches and tropes are inherently bad. Forcing players to design their characters in an exact manner or change a minute detail like their sex ("We must have an even sex ratio!!") or even their name ("Amber is such an unoriginal name! Try something like "Maugerettiettta" or "Little Miss Ramhind"!!!) is pretty obsessive. It's understandable if every character plays a certain role (i.e. 18 Pokemon Trainers, each based off of a specific type) or a minor detail contradicts the universe ("She's a... blue-haired, black-eyed ancient Egyptian...?") because that's basing a character around a concept, not altering a character to fit some crazy criteria.
Unwarranted rules, like "NO MARY SUES ALLOWED!"and "DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE!", really turn me off from a roleplay. I call them "unwarranted" because they're usually self-explanatory. That and they're usually bolded/fully capitalized to emphasize their "importance" with some additional details afterwards. An example: "Use correct grammar. This isn't Twitter, you're not texting your "BFF" and you've (hopefully) gotten a substantial education at this point. "Ur" should be spelled "your", "u" you and don't you dare forget to capitalize. Finally, no smilies during dialogue. Do all these things and I'll have to kick you for being illiterate. I take roleplaying very seriously and I expect you all to do the same." This sort of aggression obviously targets less-experienced roleplayers. Instead of driving them away, give them constructive advice when they do show interest.
That and rules that micro-manage. The worst GM is the one that tells you exactly what you should be doing with your character. I remember roleplayer owners that acted disdainful about "bubbly, ditsy, kindhearted characters" because they were "sooo cliche", as if cliches and tropes are inherently bad. Forcing players to design their characters in an exact manner or change a minute detail like their sex ("We must have an even sex ratio!!") or even their name ("Amber is such an unoriginal name! Try something like "Maugerettiettta" or "Little Miss Ramhind"!!!) is pretty obsessive. It's understandable if every character plays a certain role (i.e. 18 Pokemon Trainers, each based off of a specific type) or a minor detail contradicts the universe ("She's a... blue-haired, black-eyed ancient Egyptian...?") because that's basing a character around a concept, not altering a character to fit some crazy criteria.
Ice1
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I tend to use the basic set of rules that goes around. It's encompasses all the important basic roleplaying rules. As GP said, it might be important to add some genre related ones like no time stuff and no mind control, but after that, it tends to be fine.
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I used to include some RP mechanics in the rules area of my OOC OPs too (like, what's ok and not when capturing pokémon, how death is handled etc) but my latest RP had a rules section looking like this:
So I think I'm definitely going towards relying more on the standard RPT rules and just adding necessary special stuff for my particular RP. As well as rating. Never forget the rating ;)
So I think I'm definitely going towards relying more on the standard RPT rules and just adding necessary special stuff for my particular RP. As well as rating. Never forget the rating ;)