What makes a good RP?

[Kesteven]

What, in your opinion, are the ingredients of the perfect RP? If you have a favourite genre or style, what is it about it that appeals to you?

[Weiss]

Honestly, I would say the elements that go into an RP aren't particularly important. After all, an RP is simply a story being written by multiple people, so what you're writing about isn't nearly as important as the desire shared between all of the "authors" to write that story.

Thus, my answer is that the most important elements - the key ingredients - for an RP are players who are interested in the story and an RP operator who is interested enough in his own idea to keep the storyline moving. As long as you have those, an RP will remain active and fun for those involved.

[Kesteven]

I agree entirely, but I'd rather know exactly how to keep people interested in an RP. I don't expect there to be any specific magic formula, but given that some RPs work and some don't, the difference between them must be to some extent quantifiable.

[Weiss]

Hm... I suppose I see what you mean. Though, I can still only speak from my personal opinions and what others look for will naturally vary infinitely.

1. Generally speaking, I like to know that the story has a clear goal. In other words, there should be a starting point and an ending point for the RP. If it's open ended, it means you're not sure what you intend to have the characters accomplish, which also means the players don't get to feel they've really moved forward as they progress through the story. By setting up a clear end of the adventure, you can then create plot points throughout the journey where major events might occur that leave the adventurers feeling that they've gotten one step closer to the end.

2. In addition to the first point, make sure you push characters in the right direction. It's one thing to allow them to alter small elements of the story as you go along, and to make decisions for themselves, but if you don't keep them moving on the road toward "the end", they'll eventually start to feel as if the RP has lost its point. Again, players sometimes need that feeling of accomplishment to remind them that they are moving toward something, and that the RP has an ending point that's getting closer with every turn of the plot.

3. Set up some interesting twists and turns in the story. While having a clearly defined start and end is great, it isn't enough to keep everyone moving. It's like a videogame, where the mini-bosses and level bosses have their own stories, their own goals, their own reasons for existing, and as the players work toward the final boss and the completion of their journey, they get to complete smaller tasks and defeat lesser threats along the way.

4. Reward your players. Motivate them to stay interested. When they defeat a boss, give them some interesting loot or open up new options for them. Make the RP as interactive as possible without sacrificing your plot. For instance, if you know they need to get to a certain place, find more than one way for them to get there and show them their options in an interesting way. For instance, if the players ask their leader where they should go next, or if they're talking to NPCs to find out how to get to a certain place, present them with multiple options. Travel over the mountains, or through the dark, scary forest! Both are vague scenarios that leave a lot of room for enemy encounters, NPC interaction, etc.

5. There are basic 'rules' that should be followed, as well. For instance, don't show favoritism toward a particular player. If others start to feel like you're giving too much freedom to another player simply because he/she is your friend, they may feel discouraged. As the DM, you're taking upon yourself the responsibility to make sure you treat each player fairly. Don't take any crap, but don't dish it out either; something like that.

Eh, I think that's enough from me for now. Don't know if this is really what you're looking for, but it's my two cents on the subject. I'm sure plenty of others have their own opinions on the matter, so I'll check later and see if there's anything else I have to add based on what they say.

[Kesteven]

Yeah, that's the sort of thing I was thinking of, although those guidelines are very similar to the ones I already try and hold myself to. I'd like to see what other people think though, because as you say it's a rather personal thing, and if possible I'd like to find some sort of consensus or at least an informative range.

The thing is, so far I've been pretty disappointed with the survival rate of RPs, most seem to last a couple of weeks at most, and I can't work out why; I've always managed to summon enough enthusiasm. I suppose I have a natural advantage since I have all the free time in the world right now, being currently employed as a basement-dwelling mooch, but if you look at all the thought some people put into character sheets which they then play for a couple of posts, if at all, it seems ridiculous. I'm just looking for ways to improve the odds.

One thing I suppose I could add is that RPs seem to do a lot better if they're started by a group of friends, that way the core is kept together by a pre-existing loyalty. But I wouldn't like to think that was a necessity.

[Weiss]

Hm, well... you may have stumbled onto something there. It might not be important for a friendship to already exist, but I do think it's important that you communicate outside of the RP with the participants as well as inside the RP. In other words, if you put together an RP, you should try to get the screennames of people who join and maybe chat with them occasionally. Not only is it good for getting feedback, but it also allows everyone to get to know one another so they feel more comfortable working together.

You can compare that type of mentality to the workplace. If you're a loner at the workplace and don't know anyone else at the company, working together with the other employees will be difficult. On the other hand, if you occasionally talk to them and get to know them a bit, you'll start to feel more comfortable and can glean opinions from them about how you might improve your own performance or what you've done particularly well.

So, perhaps communication at the player level is one of the most important factors.

[Kesteven]

Possibly... I find one-on-one chats a bit intimidating, though, and group chats are more productive for developing projects. Perhaps it's worth looking into making more use of IRC and having a scheduled discussion meeting. I remember one of my favourite things about tabletop RPing was the discussion and banter (aside from the pizza).

[Lord Saladin]

For making a good RP, see my guide on RolePlay Gateway.

[Kalaam]

I truly stay in a RP that is populated with writers I like and respect. The grammar needs to be consistently correct, but small typos don't irritate me as much as consistent and repeated errors. The subject matter has to be interesting to me in some way.

The best RP threads I have been in have been with people who have interacted before and are known to each other. Frankly, expecting a great story to click with new people is unrealistic. It takes some time to get used to another person's writing styles and habits.

[Sunwolf007]

I wholeheartedly agree with all the reasons given. There was a question a while ago about why RPs die out. I think it may be due to people's ability to budget time. After the giddiness of creating a new character for a new story you end up having less time than you thought and just stop caring enough to make time.

That brings me to the point that hasn't been mentioned yet. If people set aside time during their every day / weekly activities to write an RP then they will be successful writers. Giving the writers a reason for making time is one of the core workings of an RP. If they don't want to make time to write then the RP dies. To do this it helps to already be friends or to get to know your fellow RPers on some chat program.

Anyway I was just throwing that out there because it hasn't been mentioned yet.

[MoiraofWords]

I find the best Rp's consist of people that don't mind being humble or of minor importance. Those that can and willingly act humble can only help to advance the plot. A rp doesn't have to be 90% mary sues, it helps to have characters that are foils for them.

I find that it works not as well when people have to be too powerful or too important, throwing off the dynamic. A focus of one is poorly focused.

[Aiswari Cara]

A lot of these are great ideas, and I will definitely take them into consideration for future roleplays, but as a new-comer to this site, I don't know that many people around here. I know it takes time to get to know people, but I don't want my rp's to fail just because I don't know anyone, and they don't know or respect me as a writier.

I guess what i'm saying is, when we just stop and think about the rp, we have to ask ourselves. "Do I want to give birth to this character, and do I want to be with it from life to death?" It seems like a big step for a lot of characters, and I can certainly understand the apprehension that goes with it, but I just need to also know ways of getting to know people around this site.

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