Forums » RP Discussion » What do you look for in a RP group LFRP post?

What do you look for in a 'looking for rp' group post? As in, when a RPR RP group posts looking for members or introducing their group, what catches your eye? (this can also apply to other websites/etc since some of us RP on Gaia and WoW and such)

Do you tend to not really give a setting much of a look if they do not have images in their ad post?

What information are you looking for?

What makes you not want to join a group based on seeing their post?

This is free to be a discussion or you can offer advice, whatever you see fit posting.

On the treadmill posting from phone, so this may be less detailed than it could be, BUT--

Images are a total non factor for me. They're cute and impressive if done well, but drawing/sourcing images skillfully does not a GM nor mod make.

I think what attracts me most is an indication of commitment and experience from the administration, whatever form that takes. I want to know they will have the energy and patience to stimulate play, smoothly introduce and integrate new players into the plot and existing player base, and the judgement and mettle to know when one person's fun (or even justifiable bad mood) are having a negative impact on the community such that action needs to be taken.

Little convinces me of this quite like a proven track record, which admittedly leaves newer groups at a bit of a disadvantage.

That said, I personally adore strict settings with at least light GMing, and sometimes really well organized, curated and thought out orientation materials can coax me to take a risk.

When it comes to the ad that would attract me to look at a group's info for evidence of the aforementioned properties, probably just plainly stating the basics of the setting and the values the group has OOC (ie, strct settings, IC actions have IC consequences, the rules apply equally to all including staff, all members must respond minimum three times a week or be removed from the current adventure -- or whatever) and if it jived with me, I would go look.

All that said, I am not sure how much use my answers are as these days I am so busy I consider it an unkindness to try and join new groups, as I am almost certain o be that person who has to be booted from the post order to keep things moving for the rest of the group anytime we approach a feature release date or event.

Pictures can only help, but the lack of them isn't necessarily a deal-breaker! They appeal to my happy little design brain, and if the pictures include original artwork rather than a simple, cursory Google Images search, it's a promising testament to someone's commitment to the setting.

And that's what the appeal really boils down to, in my opinion: the work and love present in every aspect of the game.

(And heads-up, because I am absolutely going to name names - though don't worry, I'm only going for the usual suspects)

As far as Furcadian presences go, for example: TGT is a prime example of this. They have the advantage of being around a long time and a towering reputation to match, but they also live up to that advantage by having a very thorough web of sites and a very tightly-woven dream map. And while I'm not exactly gung-ho about the setting itself these days, I did greatly enjoy my time there and was absolutely won over simply because the Rah and co. and a fair bit of the player-base gave it the love, attention and care that such a large and old dream demanded.

New Versailles has also grown into something similar, though I've recently been daunted by the sheer size of that one! Still, I'd like to think I'd never entirely leave that place and want to pop back in occasionally for a casual scene or two - like TGT, I did enjoy playing in there, greatly!

So keeping that in mind, I like to look for places that are original (or at least a fresh take on a clearly-delineated fandom - no ripoffs or hazy half-original, half-canon settings) with a clear idea of its audience and who it wants its player-base to be, with the potential to grow large enough that there's plenty of opportunities for story and character growth - but not so large that any sort of plot or arcs could get lost in the mess, or that everything tips in the other direction and devolves into cliques and drive-by tavern RP.

But the strength of a setting is only half the battle: skillful moderation is an often-overlooked component to a game, but also rather unfortunately something that can't always be gleaned from a first glance. A place where sour moods and gossip are allowed to flourish, and -isms are met with a merely casual "we're all adults, here," and no further action taken can slowly poison a setting - if not destroy it entirely. I would like to see a place that delineates its rules from the VERY beginning (I have made this mistake with my own settings in the past), equally delineate the consequences for breaking them - and then the promise (and perhaps a subsequent track record) of sticking by these rules if trouble arises.

I suppose it boils down to: if you don't give the impression of caring about your setting or the dedication of maintaining it - from the map to the world to the moderation to the plots - then why should I as a player? That hardly sounds fun at all!

We just covered this very topic in one of the site-wide discussions not that long back. As such, I'll be terse and succinct. We went into much more detail, with plenty of nice back-and-forth.

I look for a demonstration of a decent grasp of the language, enough information to let me decide if I want a longer explanation of what's offered and wanted, and a enough elements to pique my specific tastes and interests.

For the benefit of those who weren't around at the time, link us, please?

Happy to help, and apologies for not thinking of that before I opened my digital mouth. I believe this is it.

Thank you, muchly! (Had no idea how to get to it, myself!)

We didn't spend quite as much time on groups as we did on general ads in that chat, though the principles are very similar.

Still, the more digestible summary article on that chat is slated to be released on the 27th, which is why I didn't point to it personally. Besides, added viewpoints from people who couldn't be there on the specific day is great to see!

"Allows non-human characters." That's literally the only thing I look for in an RP or RP group. I hate having to dig and dig through topics and pages to find an RP that allows non-human characters, because just about everyone who posts outside of obscure RP groups only want human RPs.

Otherwise, I'm not too picky. I don't mind people playing as humans, I just dislike never being able to use any of my characters.

Yessss! And speaking of old chat articles, http://www.rprepository.com/help/running-a-rp-group#168 I look for a lot of stuff on this list, personally, as a way of early screening for mods who are going to take care of me and the wider community.

Indeed, the logs to that chat are currently unprocessed and not summarized, as Kim has pointed out - nor did such a broad topic promise me specific information. No one should be expected to prune through logs like that - to do so is to deny that many of us haven't the energy. And clearly it is quite a bit to go through, if Kim has it slated to not be released for more than a week from now. I expected the topic had only been about one on one RP, personally, due to the nature of most RP on this site (you rarely see groups advertising, the vast bulk, after all, of ads are one on one, personal RPs)

I truly do appreciate everyone taking the time to tell me what they're looking for. There's been some things mentioned that I hadn't even taken into account, or simply might have glossed over because it might have seemed obvious to me (which is very much so not a good way to go about things).