Forums » RP Discussion » How to reject an RP partner?

I am too nice.

I've been confronted a few times with a situation that goes like this:

Me: And with that, the boy winked at his friend and said: "And that's why I always keep those walnuts in my pocket. Now you know."
Partner: Johnny stood in amazement at his friend. He couldn't believe what he'd just seen.
*Lollopantz27 has connected*
Partner: Hey can my buddy join the game?))
Me: *checks out profile, sees worst Gary Stu demon-angel-giant-elf-demigod-ghost-Minotaur-Sasquatch hybrid of all time* Sure! No problem. The more the merrier.))
Partner: Great!))
Lollopants27: hy guise sup yo dawg man
Me: Hey, Lollo! Quite the... Character you have there.
Lollopants27: ya man lol i wrked on him 4 liek a year dawg
Me: That's cool. So do you want to post right in or would you want us to go another round before you take your turn?
Lollo: na man its cool dog i can post in now
Me: Okay.
Lollopants27: Extrataurius III the Fourth suddenly appeared in the forest, blowing up a tree and making two consecutive children cry. His massive horns almost killed the two boys just by looking at them. His chestular muscles rippled with muscley muscleness as his ichor pulsed through his veins of STEEL. His x-ray heat thermal super awesome all-see vision powers showed him where the boys were, which was exactly in front of him. He yawned and said "Is this it?"
Me: Manny flinched when the tree exploded and heard two consecutive children cry. Then he jumped when he saw the massive beast thing. "What the..."
Partner: Johnny saw the beast and smiled. "Extry! My favorite demon angel elf giant demigod ghost Minotaur Sasquatch! Manny, meet my friend-
*Oaky has disconnected*

So here's my problem: I can't say no to a partner I don't really like. I just get afraid that if I don't let the friend of my partner RP with us that I might get kicked out or that my partner would get offended and if not right away, our RP could get cut short very soon. Another problem that I have is a scenario that goes like this:

*Oaky has connected*
UserPersonOverNINETHOUSAAAAAAND: Hey!
Me: Hi.
UserPerson: Wanna RP?
Me: Sure, I guess.
*start RP, 2 seconds later...*
Me: *sees friend has joined another room, has been bored with this RP anyways, doesn't want to be rude*
UserPerson: *totally into RP*
Friend: Hey Oakster! Wanna join me and the gang? We're all stuck on the cliffhanger you left us with last time!
Me: I'd love to! But I'm tied up right now. Give it a minute?

Now here, I could use the "I've got to leave, I had fun though!" But then they could see me join the other room and I look like a total jackass.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?";

Here's what you do: Honesty.

For the first situation, I usually address the person I was RPing with before their friend came in via private message and tell them that their friend plays in a way that I find uncomfortable. I then excuse myself either ICly or, if they don't get it, OOCly, explaining that our play styles are too different.

For the second situation, I just straight up decline an RP if the characters don't interest me or, if I am called out in the middle of a scene that bores me, I make an attempt to exit ICly or simply explain that the other plot takes priority because it came first and that time constraints require me to leave for it now as opposed to later.

If people get mad, they get mad. Good role-players will always understand that complications happen and won't dwell on it, so you should never worry as long as you're honest.

When I'm presented with someone who wants to RP with me and I don't like their character or them for whatever reason, I just tell them one of the following:

1: Our characters are unfortunately not a match because of <different settings that don't match/my character will not be interested in your character/whatever other reason I see that they don't match>.

2: I don't think our styles make for a good match, we have different preferences and/or I expect my RP partners to build a different kind of plot.

I then follow it up with a "I'm really sorry to have to turn you down, but I'm sure there's somebody else out there who will want to play with you. Good luck with your search and have fun!"

Being honest about not wanting to play doesn't have to be rude or tactless like a lot of people assume. You also have to keep in mind that a friend who can't understand you have no desire to RP with person X and gets upset with you over it, is probably not a friend worth investing time and energy into. It's understandable they might not be happy with your decision, but mutual respect means they accept it and don't let it get in the way of your friendship.

I know how you feel, Oaky. I too find it difficult to reject someone, even outside of roleplay. It's never a fun thing to do, but it is sometimes necessary, otherwise you'll be the miserable one.

I have to agree with Moore on this one. Honestly goes a long way. If you don't like someone's playstyle and/or character, tell the person about the problem in a friendly manner, and I'm sure he or she will accept your opinion. Sure, some people might get angry, no matter how friendly you reject them, but in the end it's much better than either suddenly going silent of having to deal with a situation you don't want to be in.

TO YOUR FIRST ONE: I hate too powerful of RP characters! I play usually quite normal guys, even if not all human (like Pieridae- my fae). Honestly I would send a message before replying after a post like that and tell them both of your dislike for that kind of thing to happen and what your impression of what the rp was going to be is and then say that isn't what is going on at all. If they cannot understand that that then tell them that you have lost interest in this rp game and wish them luck with another (nicely! ). If they are just refusing then just tell them you no longer wish to roleplay in that rp anymore. Tis what I would do.

TO YOUR SECOND ONE: Lets be honest, things like this happen alot everywhere in life! I reccomend that you just put it as it is in a softened way, ish. What I would do is say something like, "Hey man, I just had some friends come on and are asking to work on an rp that they need me for. Maybe we can do something later, sorry man." That gives you your easy let down, exit, and excuse!

Hope this helps!
Gamers

P.S.- What place did you go for this? It sounds interesting with the chatroom stuff, alot faster paced! (My kind of RP!)

Okay, three things:

A. I have now thoroughly convinced myself to make a character named Extrataurius III the Fourth.

B. The website I've used in the past is CyberChat-RP.com

C. Thank you for your help, guys! Now I can fearlessly break the hearts of all my potential RP partners!

Just kidding.

Oh fancy are we? Glad I could hopefully have helped! Go break some hearts you devil you!

The nicest thing you can do is be honest, but in a nice way.

If you dont wish for them to rp with you, just be honest in the reason why. If you are not honest then it ruins the rp anyway between the people in it.

"You're playing a minotaur, dude. I mean seriously? Seriously."

Then just leave

This was honestly one of the funniest topics to read through... Just for those two scenarios there. xD