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Evening Knights, Today's post I wanna focus more on the player end of things specifically role play. Now, I come from an interesting place in that before I started to actively write and hold a passion for the craft I obtained some valuable skills just playing table top games. By this I mean when I ran games, I went in with a basic plan of how the a session would go, I would normally have at least 2-3 maps of different locations to give them room to roam and on special days even more, however, and any Dungeon Master would agree with me on this: Players are unpredictable. More specifically characters are unpredictable. If one has a decent group in which the players role play their characters, from a Dungeon Masters perspective this can teach a lot about how characters react and feel about the environment their placed in. For example, I was once a player in a game of Call of Cthulhu (CoC for short, I know right?) now the basic premise for this game is a group of people of various backgrounds and occupations investigating strange mysteries and lifting the veil on conspiracies, secret cults, and ancient knowledge all set in H.P. Lovecraft's literary universe. So during the session it was me, a journalist, a lawyer, and a thief and in the game we had to break into someones house to look for this journal of a man we suspected was apart of a local cult to Dagon. We we're role playing of course, so it played out something like this: Thief: Alrighty, so we just gotta get inside, take the journal and scram before he gets home. Lawyer: You know I can't be apart of this Thief: Why not? Lawyer: Well besides my license, the charge of breaking and entering would change that. Me: We really just need a photo of it and I can handle that. Lawyer: Look I'll keep watch and run interference if someone comes along, but I can't be seen in there. This was a very distilled version but the point is, shortly after the game the player who played the lawyer even apologized because he felt he held up the game when this wasn't the case at all. In fact, this gave good realism to the game and introduced a pretty intense scene where the owner of the house did come home early and it created a fun espionage sort of session. This change would never of happened if he had just gone with the flow of the game and continued on the predicted path the Dungeon Master had made. The characters our players make can teach us a lot about choices, and perspective, which of course is what we as writers strive to do constantly in our craft, to achieve great, balanced, and beloved characters and I feel table top is a great way to emphasize this. So for your consideration, maybe look into the hobby or at the very least heed the emphasis of characters and what makes us fall in love with them: The realistic and rational thinking that makes them so real and dear that they become moreso, they become apart us and change the way we feel and see from the moment we close that book and say goodbye to them. Thank you for reading, you guys have a great day!

So this is kind of an offshoot from the story by authors. The idea of a roleplaying game across the GA community was born somewhere and I personally think it's a great idea! So here we can talk about if this is something we really want to happen. I think there definitely need to be rules (like Persinette has mentioned in the other thread) and there really should be someone like a Game Master to push plots and stuff. Since we're all on a writing community, I have high hopes this won't turn into a mary-sue angst fest. So yea! Feel free to share your thoughts, I really hope we can get this off the ground! https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/37277-a-story-by-authors/#entry427659 <-- link back to where the idea was born! Hope to hear from ya! MYI

Plans for a GA forum RPG are currently in the works! It all started in this topic then movied to this one, if you want to catch up on the backstory. We have permission to do this in a subforum, but it won't be created until we have our list of players and our setting. That's where you good folks come in. Interested in having a go? Then put your vote in for where you'd like the game to be set. We would appreciate it a lot, though, if people only vote if they're thinking about playing - don't want to accidentally end up with what the wider forum thinks is cool outnumbering the players. Multiple choice, because what's the harm in voting for your second (or third, or...) fave? Current GMs: Myiege Persinette Current Players: Clumber Sasha Distan joann414 Daithi AnimalMorph Delores Esteban scotty94 Thorn Wilde JMH asamvav111 Celethiel nostalgiclikeyou If anyone's on there and doesn't want to be, or wants to be and isn't then let me know. I've been in a bit of a muddle today. Anyone who says they want to play will get their name added to that shiny, super-exclusive list. These are the rules Myiege and I have currently drafted, plus a sample Character Bio. The Character Bio is currently really vague and has no options for things like magic, since we don't know the setting yet. (It is also for a character nobody will ever want to play. ) We're looking for feedback on everything! EDITED TO ADD: Don't worry about filling out a character sheet at this point! Its purely there for you to go 'I like the way that looks/God, what are you thinking?' and generally give any opinion you might have on it. Rules: 1) What the GM says goes. If you have an issue with one or both of the GMs, please bring it to us directly, through PM. We are meant to be objective, but if you believe that for some reason we are not, don't hesitate to bring it to our attention. There are two of us for a reason! 2) If you feel you are being treated unfairly or think that someone else has broken one of the rules, please go directly to the GM through PM. We really don't need any vigilante justice people. 3) Godmodding. This is one of the big ones, guys. Godmodding (in case you aren't familiar with the term) is when you are essentially invincible. You make it so that no one can harm you and that you are super and ultra powerful. Another form of godmodding is using another character without the owner's express permission. Including killing them or making them fall in love with someone else or making them do ANYTHING without the owner's permission. Urban dictionary has a great definition if you are interested: http://www.urbandict...erm=god modding 4) Metagaming. Another big one. Please remember that you are playing a CHARACTER in a made up world and try to place yourself in your character's shoes and refrain from using information you, as a PLAYER, know and something that would be impossible for your character to know. A good example of this would be Sammy's character revealing some less than honorable intentions in an inner monologue and then Bobby's character calling them out on it. How, plausibly, would Bobby's character know any of what was going on in Sammy's character's head? Being suspicious of suspicious characters is one thing. Being all knowing is different and is pushing limits on godmodding as well, especially if you suddenly decide that you character can read minds. Also, 'bad feelings' should be able to be backed up with in-character interaction. Just a 'bad feeling' isn't enough. Please back up your feelings! 5) This seems like a no brainer, but please respect your fellow players. As a writing game, each of us has different strengths and weaknesses when it comes to our narratives. Also refrain from taking real world grudges (if any of y'all have any to begin with) into the game, or bringing RPG-related grudges OUT of the game. It's only a game and relationships should not be destroyed by it. This is supposed to be fun! GMs are not excluded from this as well. We will try to be as objective as possible. 6) Every player must submit a full character sheet (to follow) to GMs for approval. Please try to be realistic and creative. No one likes to play with Mary-Sues and character depth is important. 7) Please let other characters get a word in edgewise before posting again - for one thing, other characters might decide your character is an unbearable chatterbox. If things get too out of hand with this we may impose a posting limit 8) If for one reason or another you are going to be absent and you know this in advance, please let us know and make sure your character is not involved in any significant plots. If you are involved in a significant plot, please let us know far enough in advance that a temporary out can be found for your character. On a similar note, please don't abandon minor plots without finishing your part in them, even if it only effects a few players rather than the whole RP. Never finishing that in-character conversation about beer vs. cider is one thing; leaving a declaration of love hanging traps the other player in a situation where they're not sure what's happening with their character. 9) Players - with their consent - may be given plot hooks by the GMs. This can be anything from 'the Big Bad has secretly contacted you, what do you do?' to 'you are driven to fulfill your dream of becoming a baker'. You can request a plot hook/objective/sub goal at any time. 10) In-Character Actions do not equal Out-of-Character feelings. When a character is being a prick to yours, remember that the player doesn't feel any such thing about you - and if you genuinely think they do, bring your concerns to the GMs in a PM. Character Bio: Name: Blahdiddyblah Age: 27 Species: Human/other mix, mongrel of several different species Sexuality: Anyone with low enough standards Personality: Likes: Getting on people's tits. Dislikes: Having friends. Strengths: Good instincts for when somebody is about to thump him. Weaknesses: Terrrible social skills and general unlikeableness. Description: Blahdiddyblah is an unbearable little oik with the manners of a portside whore. Appearance: Eyes: Yellow Hair: Dirty blond Skin: Pale brown Height: 5'8" Build: Rangy, lean Strengths: Quick, agile. Weaknesses: Weak as a kitten. Description: Blahdiddyblah is blahblahblahblahblah. Advantages: Knife-fighter Acrobat Fast-talker How they work: Despite his unbearable personality, Blahdiddyblah can usually talk his way blahblahblah. Disadvantages: Poor hygiene Low social skills Spindly How they work: If anyone ever showed Blahdiddyblah how to use a shower, he wasn't looking - not that it matters, since with his charming people skills, nobody wants to get close enough to smell him anyway.