Forums » RP Discussion » Let's talk RP Genres!

There maybe a topic about this before, but hey...

What are your favourite and least favourite RP genres? What ones would you like to try? Which have you tried, but disliked?

Some of my favourite RP genres are...

Action and Adventure
Down to Earth
Mystery
Semi Horror

I am not a fan of Military type RPS or ones that have no plot or structure.

I'm a massive sucker for Romance and Slice of Life.
Personally, I'd like to try Mystery and Horror, but I don't think I'm good enough to pull off any sort of suspense.

It depends largely on what I hope to get out of it.

I'm a huge sucker for slice of life RPs when they're involving characters that already have established chemistry because it's a delight to explore the different ways that chemistry can manifest.

If I'm casting my net, looking for new folks to RP with or new characters to develop, I prefer something with more structure: plotlines with a driving force behind them. In these cases I'm partial to science fiction or fantasy, as they're tonally something that a lot of people understand, and they come with a lot of baked-in macguffins for characters to go after. In group settings it's fun to have a team-based or mission-based structure that makes use of a genre setting.

If I'm just noodling about with someone I'm more familiar with, I'll more often trend towards more contemporary settings with flavours of the more genre-based stuff (I suppose like urban fantasy, or five-minutes-into-the-future sci fi). I dislike relying on high genre for too long, as it can get worn out and sometimes lacks subtlety.

Horror stuff I'm not so proficient in, although it can be a hell of a ride if whoever I'm playing with is willing to take the reins a bit more!

I love:

• Romance
• Tasteful, maturely-written 18+
• Fantasy (Low, Dark, Modern/Urban, Gaslamp)
• Horror
• Victorian gothic
• Dystopian sci-fi
• Post-apocalyptic sci-fi
• Fandom AU

Not so much a fan of:

• Space sci-fi
• Modern
• Slice-of-life
• High fantasy
• High school
• College/workplace settings*
• Reality TV scenarios
• Anything involving combat mechanics (I save that for my Steam library).
  -
  *Might make exception for modern/urban fantasy context

I love horror and post-apoc genres, where characters get to bond via horrible things happening to and around them. I find that this is when characters are pulled to their extremes and their breaking points, so you get to more quickly explore what makes them tick.

On the other end of the spectrum, I have a soft-spot for fantasy-setting original worlds. I was a dragon-loving nerd-child and that hasn't entirely faded. I prefer when dragons have more complexity than weeny-roasting death machines!

If I can fit it in, I love to add a bit of Canadiana to characters and settings... I find that in modern-day RP settings, the US is very front-and-center, and while I have not travelled too much outside of North America, I think that the top half of that continent has some cool culture and settings to explore.

I can occasionally be a shameless shipper, providing all players and characters are over 18. In that vein I like to explore the friction points almost more than the parts of the relationships that go well. To this end it's been kind of fun to push my writing boundaries (and my characters' literal boundaries) with the occasional poly-ship romance. Those usually end in a fiery trainwreck, especially when the post-apoc genre is applied, but that's part of the intrigue.

Sci-fi is generally fun! I'm happy with anything from slighty-futuristic to space-opera, though I haven't dabbled this genre in ages.

I'm not too keen on spies and intrigue, nor on fame-based games. I don't have much interest in vampires and gritty-city games; small-town-supernatural is also iffy for me.

I get some sort of twisted, sick glee out of doing horrific things to my characters. I suppose this might mean I'm a fan of horror, which is funny since I absolutely hate watching horror movies. However, give me a keyboard and I'll slay entire villages if it will further the plot and make my character lose their wits entirely!

On a more general scale, I'm a huge fan of historical and fantasy settings. However, I have a huge distaste for people who wield magic about like it's a panacea. I prefer it when things are more subtle and can be overpowered with a bit of wit.

I'm cool with modern settings too, whether urban fantasy or just plain ol' slice of life. I really love taking characters that have never met before, toss them into some sort of sticky situation, and see where things go. Sometimes it might be a bit more difficult that way, but where's the fun in making things easy?

Oh, romance... all of the above include LOTS of romance! The chase is the fun part!

I haven't tried too many. Mostly because I have trouble finding a decent partner to write with.

I absolutely adore drama and romance. Drama being a near requirement in almost all of my stories. I get a thrill out of character development through stress and tragedy.

These are what i have done.

Well written erotic, settings based in modern or historical times. I love apocalyptic too. I'm not very good with that since it is hard to find a partner. I like military based ones also. Slice of life, school, crime.

Ive tried Sci-fi and didn't really like it. I do want to try horror and mystery.

I absolutely love romance and slice of life roleplays, set in modern time. It doesn’t have to be romantic all the time, but I like having it as a part of the roleplay. Both some drama scenes and also some casually, relaxed ones. I like building up a connection between two characters and I can work with most settings, if it fits a good and interesting plot.

I’ve really tried to like things as sci-fi, fantasy and magic roleplays, but either they’ve sadly never caught my interest or the roleplay kind of faded out.

Love the replies, guys!

I forgot to add.

I dislike School rps. I never seen the appeal in them and it sounds boring in my opinion.

Senseless fighting/bad combat rps. Yeck.

Real life roleplay.

Well, personally, I've only been RPing for about 2 years now and I consider myself still very new to it. There are many things I've never tried. However, writing was a hobby for me before I began roleplaying, and I can say that, in that time, I certainly figured out what genres I like and hate. :v

I like:
- Romance. Not just plain romance though, maybe some drama? Please?
- Drama. Okay, I'm gonna be honest, I've only ever roleplayed drama briefly, bUT I can say my experience has been pretty fun.
- Sci-fi. Ohh my goddd, I reallyyy want to RP sci-fi. I've never done it, but.. I want to. Really bad.
- Victorian/Historical. This is a strict YESOHMYGOD from me.
- Anything with emotions and feelings. :v
- Anything with a distinct, well-written theme or aura.
- Horror. Just.. horror.
- Crime/Mystery. Just because.
- Modern
- Fandom RPs with OCs

I hate/am less fond of:

- Pure combat. Where's the effin plot??
- Pure erotica... Where's the effin plot??
- High.. school? Okay, I'm on the fence with this one. I can make exceptions with highschool plots that are well written.
- Fandom RPs with canon characters.

I think you might be my RP soulmate.

Lol, but for real, I have to agree with every single thing you've said here! Though, I've dabbled a little in sci-fi and it can be SO MUCH FUN. Try it! Do eet!

You have opened Pandora's Box, my friend. Let us begin. //Shot

But no really, my fave genres would be...

•Fantasy: I love almost anything fantasy. High fantasy, modern fantasy, dark fantasy, sci-fi fantasy, anything that involves magic, give it to me~!!
•Sci-fi: pure sci-fi is a mixed bag with me. I love the more theoretical kinds of sci-fi that touches on multiversal theory and philosophy, more than sci-fi that goes strictly by real scientific facts, just altered to be more entertaining. It's science "fiction" for a reason.
•Adventure: Who doesn't love to go on a good adventure? Traveling the world, seeing sights, exploring areas, meeting new people, even learning something about yourself as a character and a roleplayer... Ugh, I want more adventure in my RPs.
•Romance: Ah, romance, that beautiful muse that adds just the right spice to a RP... When it's done right. I'm not a fan of pure romance because it's usually forced from what I've seen so far, and too simplistic and easy-seeming to me. Doomed romances that can exist but never truly be are by far some of my favorite ones. To date someone, fall in love with them, and continue the relationship only to know that at the end, you will never have all of their heart no matter how much they show their love... It's heartbreaking, soul-rending, leaves you angry, sad, broken... And makes for an amazing story when done correctly~ It's one of my not-so-guilty pleasures.
•Erotica: Let me clarify this one. Poorly written erotica doesn't fascinate me. If I wanted crassness that had no true substance and emotion, well... Let's just leave it at, "I wouldn't write stories or RP." I prefer erotica with plot and chemistry, or erotica that reads as a beautiful and well-thought out love poem in its own right. If there's no plot or chemistry, or if there's no emotions described or felt in a work: no raw, scorching passion or tender, bittersweet kisses... then what's the point?

I've always wanted to try:

•Steampunk: I love the concept of it, and the outfits are heaven. Victorian with a mechanical or scientific edge catches my attention, especially when mixed with magic.
•Western: I'm not sure why, but I've always wanted to see how one of my more modern characters would fare in the Wild West. I also want to RP it with steampunk elements.
•Medieval Fantasy: I've had a fascination for medieval fantasy even since I was little. I've yet to play a medieval fantasy, but that's why I created Michael. I want to have that experience. I've only had a taste of it, and I want more.
•Dice-Based Role-play: I've never owned my own dice. I've yet to learn all of the mechanics. I still get lost like the newbie I am. But even with all of that, I want to play a tabletop or tabletop-styled game so bad. Just to know what it's like. I want that rush of rolling the dice, sending my characters into dungeon crawls, coming out victorious or defeated, jotting down notes and character development while in a campaign... Just once, okay? ;w;

Any other RP style I've haven't listed, I'm neutral on.

But my disliked RPs or ones I'd rather avoid?

•Purely Historical RP
•Realistic RP/Real Life RP
•Low Fantasy
•Horror (I can play with some elements, but not all horror.)
•Fandom RPs w/ Canon Characters (Other people can play their canon characters with me. I just can't play canon characters myself.)