All RPers Read this.

[Daerk]

No.

 

As part of the rules posted for the roleplay forums, if anyone participates in a flame war, they will be banned from the roleplay forums.

 

-- D

[Kethruch]

Matthias -

 

For there to be a flame war, at least two participants are required. Just because someone flames you does not give you the right for a free shot back. The whole point is, don't flame. Let those that do hang themselves. Don't get caught up by someone who is trying to goad you into doing something stupid.

 

More good people do stupid things because they don't count to ten before they act. If you get flamed, don't instantly respond to it - Or better yet, ignore it and don't respond at all. If you feel you have to - do it to the moderators. Report the offender and it will hurt the flamer a lot more than whatever stupid, supposedly witty comment you can come back with.

[thanateros]

First of all, the Arena thread was a terrible idea in the first place and should have been censored right from the start.

 

Next, I whole heartily believe that it is the responsibilty of the DM to maintain a certain level of 'professionalism' to their campaign.

 

Though I don't particularly want to point to myself as an example when I created the Legacy rules not only was it to add a new element of gameplay that hadn't been seen on the forums but also to make it virtually impossible for things to get out of control. No character could perform an action that had a great effect without having to have me make a skill check for them.

 

What I'm not seeing in the RP's (besides players who don't really roleplay and give up on a thread once the first battle is over) is that DM's aren't taking enough responsibilty for what happens in their games. After all it's your game and your world, why not take pride in what your imagination has mustered appeals to other people?

 

In other words we need to create the setting such that it encourages party cooperation and unity and highly discourages PC killing. We also need party members who are available to post at least once a day so the story moves along, Legacy died because the players wouldn't roleplay, and I wasn't about to hold the remaining PC's hands' through the rest of it.

 

Kethruch, I agree that it takes two people to start a flame war and not enough people take the time to just chill, but its human nature to get defensive and want to hurt the offending party, and these threads, as we have seen are no exception.

 

I see these tests more of a screening process to find people who 1) are actaully good roleplayers 2) dedicated to encouraging others to roleplay at a higher standard of quality 3) are available and willing to take part in the adventure 4) willing to support other members of the rolplaying community by sharing their strengths and accepting advice on improvements.

 

Mods, just a question though, so are these at least some of the goals you're trying to acheive by setting this up. I support it fully, but if it is to be a more encouraging environment then how will people who are not 'up to par' be able to make it?

 

Also just as a general complaint from a DM perspective, players who make characters that are demons/war angels/ rangers/ uncooperative make it really taxing on us to try and keep things together, especially if they want to run off and do their own thing all the time. You can still have your thief or assassin, but they don't have to be so far removed from the group as to cause problems in the game. I would also make the point that if a player isn't able to use that character type in an effective roleplaying manner than they shouldn't be allowed to play the class. It should also be noted that I'm tired of seeing the same people play their same character for every campaign, mix it up a little and try new things.

[Kethruch]

Thanks, Theta, I agree with everything you say. My response was specifically to Malthius, and I did not want anyone getting the idea that responding to a flame was any better than the original flame itself. If we can get even one person to think twice about responding to a flame, I think we have done the site a service.

 

I will also HEARTILY agree about the expectation of the players. Please, if someone says it is a low power/low level mod, please do not try to get your demigod character into it. I have turned away players because they do not want to give up the powers that they have given their character. Pick and choose which threads are suited to the way you want to play that character. If the GM won't allow it in the way you want, try playing something completely different. A lot of the fun of roleplaying is taking on different roles, whether they be a fighter, magician, priest, thief, whatever. In most RP games, no one character can do everything, cooperation is required because no one is good at everything. Even the LotR and the Hobbit recognized this. You have the magician, the warriors, the thieves. It is not the story of a single ultra powerful being who single handedly takes on Mordor and destroys the ring. It's the efforts of the entire group that bring about the fall of Sauron. Most GMs try to get this kind of cooperation in their players. It only takes one to really mess things up....Don't be that one, or the GMs may censure you.

Edited November 20, 2003 by Kethruch

[Malchik]

Thanateros makes a valid point of seeking people that post every day. However it is not always so simple. A problem with international role play is the time difference. Even if I do post every day I often miss important information and even battles. My position is also compounded in that I can rarely post at weekends as the internet access is at work. I can get into the office at any time but it takes over an hour from where I live and to be somewhere I'd rather not have to be in my limited free time. In due course I will get access at home but not yet. Still, in the two role-plays I'm currently involved in there are others who post even more erratically so it seems the DMs can cope.

 

If I pass the entrance examination, I would like to start a role play where the players take prescribed characters. I have discussed the possibility with several of the regular role-players and they seem to be prepared to give it a try. It would be a pre-requisite that these characters are working together and so the risks of unpleasantness should be reduced. It does remove freedom of choice of character and some might not like that but it would not reduce freedom of action within the RP itself.

 

And as I am based in the UK I would not have to worry about everything exciting happening in the RPs when I am asleep!

 

Do we have any info yet on when the new tests might start?

[thanateros]

As far as posting everyday goes, it's not specifically the time difference that is the problem, it's that after the game starts players tell me they can't post anymore because of something that effects their lives on a daily basis (i.e. homework).

 

You should know whether or not you can take about 30 min a day to read and respond to things that are going on in the post; certainly people have priorities in the lives other than the forums (some of you might argue otherwise :bleh: ).

 

The time difference can create some minor problems as to when people respond to a GM's post or a question asked by somebody, but generally that really hasn't been too much of a problem on these forums from what I've seen; It's the people that wait 3 days before responding to a simple question that cause thread necromancy and other players to loose interest.

 

Malchik, you're right about one thing, GM's are always able to cope, in one way or another, especially when things are just getting started and people aren't necesarily in the same place at the same time. But so long as there are at least signs the person is involved, GM's rarely give up on people that make a solid effort to be apart of the game.

[I Am That Is Matthias]

Thaentros I haven seen you in forever. but On Topic is it possible Dark0ne or Daerk could start a forum for pure D&D rping for those of us want a more comletre experience with all skills and such

[Kethruch]

My thread isn't D&D, and it also is not placed in Vvardenfell. But, it is Rolemaster - which has more skills and stats than you would possibly want to imagine (and I don't take it to the nth degree, which requires skill progression in minute things like various ways to cast each spell). I don't see why a D&D thread couldn't be run through here just as mine is. If you're looking for a low-level kind of thing until the tests come, you're welcome.

 

Malchik - thanteros echoes my thoughts completely. If there's a problem where someone seems to be getting lost due to non-access during peak times, I would love to hear from them and would be completely happy in getting them into a situation where they were comfortable. If this means splitting off from the main party, that's fine too - there's nothing wrong with going your own way (up to a point, I can only run 5 or so campaigns at the same time before I go batty -though people say I already am batty, so I guess it might not make much of a difference). I'm sure that there are other GMs out there who would concur (with the splitting off, hopefully not the battyness part).

[I Am That Is Matthias]

How long until the tests are released

[HeLLL]

As we speak the tests are still being created/finished. Im sorry no new news as of yet. I will keep you posted.