Community Project: The Roleplay Scale

[ImpousVileTerror]

Proposed by @r0y in https://forums.homecomingservers.com/topic/20019-roleplay-pet-peeves/?tab=comments#comment-238461

I think this idea has legs!  While strictly not necessary, I think it would be nice to have a collectively shared and community-authored scale for roleplay to help players determine just how "far" others want to go.

 

Here's a rough, first draft:

 

RP1 = Light roleplay, jumping between in-character and out of character as necessary, largely just idle chit-chat while performing gameplay.

RP2 = Moderately-light roleplay, being mindful of Out of Character signifiers (such as "(( ))" or "OOC:"), rare references to past roleplayed events.

RP3 = Moderate roleplay with decent story cohesion and ludonarrative resonance, player-characters sharing past histories, strong adherence to Out of Character signifiers while interacting with other roleplayers, occasional references to past roleplayed events.

RP4 = Narrative-driven, returning characters preferred but not necessary, strict adherence to Out of Character signifiers (but may still use General, Help, and LFG as OOC), moderate references to past roleplayed events.

RP5 = Deep narrative, recurring characters, strict adherence to Out of Character signifiers (and only used when necessary), referencing other roleplayed events frequently.

 

Please!  Feel free to critique, to edit, or to write your own scale.  Let's take a look at some ideas and consider which ones we like best.  Then, as the community comes to form some opinions, we can start putting these in to practice.

[Castilonium]

I don't think this is different enough from the "light RP, med RP, heavy RP" terms people already use.  If you want to measure RP preferences with scales, I think you need to use more than just one scale.  That'll give people more precision in showing their preferences.  Here are a few:

 

Scale of Continuity: Low levels prefer RP with no to little continuity where things return to the status quo, like an episodic Saturday morning cartoon.  High levels prefer long story arcs, changes in status quo, and character development, like Game of Thrones.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SlidingScaleOfContinuity

 

Scale of Immersion: Low levels prefer a casual approach to RP, where character emotes look more like lines from a TV script.  High levels prefer less OOC chatter and more description, where character emotes look more like paragraphs from a novel.

 

Scale of Grim vs Noble: Low levels prefer stories where individuals have little to no power to cause meaningful change in the world, even if they're badasses, like Warhammer 40k.  High levels prefer stories where individuals can cause tremendous change, like Star Wars.

 

Scale of Dark vs Bright: Low levels prefer RP with an atmosphere of misery and cynicism, like The Witcher.  High levels prefer RP with an atmosphere of adventure and optimism, like Star Trek.

https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Noblebright

 

See also:

Silliness vs Seriousness:  https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness

Idealism vs Cynicism:  https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism

Shiny vs Gritty:  https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty

 

Those are just examples.  There are dozens of scales we could use.  You'll have to decide which ones are informative enough to be worth using and ones which you should leave out for the sake of conciseness.

[ImpousVileTerror]

Thanks for the feedback, the information, and for getting involved, @Castilonium!

Also, YAY for your first post!

[Latex]

I'm not a fan of any sort of pigeon holing on various degrees of Roleplay I think 'I'm open to X and enjoy Y' is enough.

 

This system is confusing to me, I've no clue what I'd class myself as, I log on, portray a character with their own motives, wants, goals and drives, then log off. If people aren't a fan of the RP style I adhere to (I'm not even sure what that is in itself) then they're free to move on and find someone like-minded.

[chase]

6 minutes ago, Latex said:

I'm not a fan of any sort of pigeon holing on various degrees of Roleplay I think 'I'm open to X and enjoy Y' is enough.

 

This system is confusing to me, I've no clue what I'd class myself as, I log on, portray a character with their own motives, wants, goals and drives, then log off. If people aren't a fan of the RP style I adhere to (I'm not even sure what that is in itself) then they're free to move on and find someone like-minded.

I think the idea with the OP is more about what happens when you log back in later:
 

Is your character taking that encounter and building off of it, referencing it in the future, and kinda keeping continuity  (RP5 ) or is it more of a one-off, fun encounter, not intended to have any lasting impact or any potential change to your character, should you ever encounter them again (RP1).

 

 

 

 

[chase]

I've found that in my own (limited) RP,  where I fit within the narrative-driven scale is dependent on who I'm RP'ing with.

• If I'm RP'ing with a supergroup, then I'd quickly lean to RP5 (at least in the context of that supergroup).  We're doing collaborative storytelling on a broad scale and unless we collectively agreed on some retcons, I'd expect that the story that unfolds would be reflected in all participants' individual stories.  (The community story arc is similarly very RP5 to me in that way)
• If I'm RP'ing from a walk-by or a random encounter, I'm less likely to expect anything that's lasting beyond a "not having to give introductions again."   I do try to build off those encounters if they happen again, but there's a reasonable limit given neither of us know how many such encounters the other's had in the interim

Part of that is just the practical--  Unlike a supergroup, where the characters are more closely associated with one, the guy on the street and I are going to be going separate ways, with different experiences and even different timelines  It may just be my next play session, so the previous encounter may feel just moments away, but that character could have dinged 30 times since then, been in and out of various supergroups, been shot, maimed, rehabilitated, and cybernetically enhanced all since we last met.

 

It's also sometimes necessary to reset from an encounter where another player took you too far out of the narrative you wanted for your character.    Tabby's perpetually-broke financial status has been remedied by trillionaire heroes sharing their limitless resources so often that I've run out of ways to creatively wipe out / decline those funds.  I just do a hard reset on whether that part of the character narrative ever happened.   I want her to be a financially-struggling college student.  

 

That brings up another aspect of this-  thematic characters.    I may not be interested in playing out a character's life story or evolving them past a point where I I have interest- I may just be interested in providing a compelling character to enhance your story and experiences, and once your encounter is done, I may just want to reset that character and play the scenario out in combination with someone else.   I'd always been more of a GM than a player, so I do have a stable of concept characters that I don't WANT to move past that point of development.

[Latex]

30 minutes ago, chase said:

I think the idea with the OP is more about what happens when you log back in later:
 

Is your character taking that encounter and building off of it, referencing it in the future, and kinda keeping continuity  (RP5 ) or is it more of a one-off, fun encounter, not intended to have any lasting impact or any potential change to your character, should you ever encounter them again (RP1).

 

 

 

 

From my understanding of RPing for years and years isn't continuity a key point in character development. Like it's a pillar of what makes Roleplay... Roleplay, surely?

 

I mean I do both 'RP1' and 'RP5' I might meet a character Roleplay with them but not have the chance of meeting them again for a long while. But if my character did meet them again to remark they never have seems to go against what I think Roleplay is, unless your character has a bad memory or something of the sort.

[chase]

1 hour ago, Latex said:

From my understanding of RPing for years and years isn't continuity a key point in character development. Like it's a pillar of what makes Roleplay... Roleplay, surely?

 

I mean I do both 'RP1' and 'RP5' I might meet a character Roleplay with them but not have the chance of meeting them again for a long while. But if my character did meet them again to remark they never have seems to go against what I think Roleplay is, unless your character has a bad memory or something of the sort.

I personally disagree with the whole concept that continuity is essential for roleplay, to be honest.   There's plenty of real-life scenarios where people roleplay for limited times, in limited situations, with no expectations of contunity- in play, in therapy, and in training.  They're all by definition and context role-playing.  There can be an element of continuity, yes, particularly in gaming, but even that's not certain.  Some of my best Roleplaying sessions have been with the GM providing the characters that we'd role play that evening, along with the setting.   

 

Don't get me wrong- continuity is a critical part of the collaborative narrative that unfolds during roleplaying, but there are varying degrees to what you accept and how you accept it, particularly when you're on a constantly-shifting online community with many types of people coming and going.    You're going to have encounters in-game that are "role playing" that neither fit your character concept, your style, your view of the world, or a path you're seeking to explore.   Out of courtesy, you may play it out with the people you encountered, rather than abruptly extract yourself from the scenario, and simply personally retcon it away like it never happened.    That keeps your character's narrative intact and ready for the story you do want to play out.

 

Tabby, as I mentioned, will always be near-broke, but I frequently run into characters that are mega-billionaires that see nothing with dropping a few hundred million on the less fortunate heroes they encounter.   They do so in a way that doesn't give much room to refuse it, and argue in OOC that this is just how their character is, so I should take it.   I no longer waste my time arguing. I let it last for the duration of that roleplay session, then pretend it never happened.  I don't come up with excuses for the lost money.   I used to- often to the point of being comical but that alone changed the narrative. Tabby's not irresponsible with cash, she just doesn't have it, and I don't want others to come and unilaterally take that away because they decided to play someone with too many zeroes in their bank account.   If he was expecting a RP5 level of continuity, my daddy warbucks may be offended he doesn't encounter someone whose life has been transformed by their act of forced generosity when we next meet, but I'm fine with that.   I know to downplay that aspect around them, and they learn to STFU about it if they want additional RP encounters.  

 

It doesn't even have to be a negative experience, but just a conflict in narrative.  Take time- I've had RP stories that were intended to have spanned weeks/months in-game but they occur in-between two RP stories that occur just a day apart.   I don't let the nature of online availability (or the lack thereof) affect the two stories.   I weave them together (or exclude one from the other) as I see fit.   It's clean, it only matters to me, for the most part, and it keeps things moving.   I'd characterize that around an RP3, though, because if I was involved in something like an RP5, the odds of my weaving of things coming into conflict with other peoples' weaving of things goes up the more reference history and try to tie everything together.  I'd guess in a RP5-level encounter, I would have had to start my nexe encounter with the next-day'er as an apology for not meeting them as planned, letting weeks transpire as I tell everything that transpired in their absence.

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by chase

[TemporalVileTerror]

A discussion in one of my Global Channels prompted me to think about this, and I realize there's another potential scale to discuss:

Player-character death.

 

The basics, as I see them (open to feedback and tweaking):

 

Immortal  -  The character should not die under any circumstances.

Eternal  -  The character can die, but always manages to find a way to come back.
Dramatic End  -  The character should only die in a significant way as it relates to their personal narrative.
Last Ditch Effort  -  The character could die at any time, but their final moments should be interesting and drive the plot forward for other characters.

Like A Chump  -  The character could die at any moment, even when it's completely uninteresting.

Open Season  -  The character can be killed by any other player who declares it and makes a convincing enough argument to the character's player.

The Game Said So  -  The character dies when defeated in combat, or by some other criteria determined by gameplay or a roleplay system's mechanics.

 

Thoughts?

[Coyotedancer]

*watches one of the mages blow up just for fun*

 

It would have to be multiple choice for some of us.

[TemporalVileTerror]

Oh, yes.  Absolutely.  I don't see these are necessarily mutually exclusive across the board.  They're just meant to be tools to help players quickly communicate their expectations for roleplay to one another.

[Greycat]

Eh.

 

Honestly, if *you're* going so far as to have your character die, it's up to you. Communicate it to others in your regular RP group if you have one, or SG or whatnot.

 

If someone *else* is involved, they'd better ask me first. You tell me "I killed your character by XYZ!" without discussing it with me, I'll tell you what you can do with it. Don't really need a scale for it, IMO.

[rookery.]

Yah. Any character death/maiming/depowering/power altering should be discussed OOC before hand. Otherwise, there is likely to be some hurt feelings and unhappiness.

 

Now if one feels you are being pressured OOC to allow another to kill your character, WHY ANYONE WOULD DO THAT BUT HUMANS... then maybe rping with that person is not something you should do.

 

I'd say Infyri is immortal. Being an efreet, she'd just reappear somewhere else if destroyed.

Frank Honesty is Eternal, cursed to wake up someplace new even if they have been killed. Makes it hard to solve cases sometimes when your six hour surveillance is ruined by getting shot.

Obscene Jester is comedic 4th wall, Eternal Going out like a chump. I literally want to put a tag on him and say "CNC VIOLENT END. You can kill this character, he deserves it. He'll get up an hour after you leave and dust himself off. Somehow."

Nova Gold would be Dramatic End, Last Ditch Effort. As the only Omega Level(Are their power levels?) super I have attempted. Dr. Mrs Ultrabadness has set off a reaction in the suns core and its going to supernova....Nova Gold would go and absorb as much of the suns energy as she could to stabilize it and then fly out into space and explode herself never to be heard from again.

No idea about Kathe. I'd say Eternal, Dramatic end

Hannah Waithe is eternal, as a unwitting spawn of Azatoth, she'll just come back. Azathoth knows of the Earth now and will bring her back again and again if it wants.

 

Outside those, most of mine are normal humans and  I'm game with dying/maiming/horriblethings(tm) as rp characters IF the situation is discussed fully ahead of time and makes sense IC. That's usually a pretty big hurdle though.

 

Great list VT!

[TalynDerre]

Generally speaking, I don't like my RP characters dying for any reason (unless 'coming back from the dead' is part of their super powers, of course) - even if I want to 'retire' an RP character, you never know when you might want to play them again!  And it suspends my disbelief to have to retcon a 'dead' character back to life.

 

Lots of other ways to 'die' narratively without needing to worry about it though - they could fake their own death, be badly wounded and need to go recuperate 'off-screen' for a while, they could disappear and have people assume they were dead, heck, they could just retire!