Character Applications: Tips For Making Top-Notch Roleplaying Applications

If you love text-based role-play, then you're probably familiar with filling out character applications. They can take hours of your time and then you have to worry that they may not even be accepted.

I have over six years of experience moderating and have read hundreds of applications. I know what I look for and have only been rejected from one game in my time (their Hermione was a mod and was looking for a more sexy, less-flawed, Ron Weasley). I have had to fill out revisions and have made requests for revisions to be submitted to me, in turn.

This check list won't be fool-proof, but it will help to make sure that your application is thorough and leaves no room for question.

Character Application Checklist

Personality

Flaws: Your character cannot be the super best friend of everyone. What are her short-comings as a human being? These flaws, if concretely defined early on, will not only stop you from being marked as a Mary Sue, but will also give you room for character growth later on.

Sexy Flaws: A not really physically detracting scar or a flaw that is glamourous or can be toughed through is not a real flaw.

Practical Flaws: Your character is also a Mary Sue if their only real limitations are in their head. Practical Flaws are drawbacks that you can't get over or willpower through and you need at least one of these. Examples include: near-sighted, bad at math, bad back, can't swim, etc.

Likes and Dislikes: It may seem simple, but I have seen players scramble to know what their character likes. Even if it's just a meme you put in your journal behind a cut, have a clear list of hobbies, favorites, and things they dislike. It will help the simpler interaction later to know that Ron hates corned beef or that John is obsessed with Oreos.

History

Chronology: Make sure to put everything in chronological order and clearly label the flow of time. Statements like "When she was seven" or "Shortly after" give a sense of a timeline. I have received an application that had absolutely no sense of time or the order of events. I didn't think it was possible to forget time in a history, but it happened. En media res is a trick you can save for your own fiction. In a straight character biography, make it simple and clear.

Mind the Gaps: Make sure that every span of time is accounted for. If three years pass between life-defining events, mention it. Even if all they did was live comfortably and work at a nice job, mention it. We need to know what happened between those years.

Format

Length: An application that can fit on a page with minimal scrolling is probably too short and will make a moderator think you half-assed it. An application that is more than four pages in 12 font will make a tired moderator skim it and miss the details of your character. If you have a novel to write, save some of it for in-game. Be thorough, but don't make your application so much work that moderators will dread it. Length doesn't guarantee it's good, anyway.

Clarity: Html can help (bold form fields like Age: 17, Gender: Male) but it's not needed. On the internet, two scientific facts prevail; Sans-serif fonts are easier to read on a monitor and text is more palatable broken up into smaller, narrow chunks.

At the very least, without any Html, put headers in ALL CAPS and put return spaces between sections.

Experts can put the whole application in a blockquote to make a more narrow column. Change the font-family to Sans-Serif (Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, etc). Bold headers and add return spaces between paragraphs. Indents are hard to do on the internet, and you shouldn't combine paragraph indents with block spacing in a body of text anyway. Avoid scary color choices or white on black text. It's hard to read. Use some design sense if you're going to code it up.

Answer Everything and Then Put it Behind a Cut: Make sure every field is filled out. Proof-read it for silly grammar or spelling mistakes that will make mods want to nit-pick for more, and then make sure it's behind a cut. Nobody wants to add you to their game and then have to scroll through your whole application on their friend page. MAKE SURE IT IS VISIBLE TO MODS. At least once a month I receive an application that the player forgot to unlock.

*NOTE* Since creating this post I have left text-based RP. Working on my own fiction and business endeavors has taken my time away, but mostly the decision was made based on the current climate of the community. For those still toughing it out and fighting through the drama, flakes, and word-count elitism to find good gaming, good luck!

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Who is This Laine Thursday Girl And Why Should We Care (We Shouldn't)

I've been seeing a lot of screaming and ranting on RP Thieves about Quit Roleplay being deleted and the Laine Thursday scandal. What is going on? Who is Laine Thursday? I'm not really sure that who she is is important. What is important is the drama fueling cyclone around her and how it is destroying the Story Form community as a whole.

Laine Thursday is a Pen Name For a Pink-Haired Girl

This is Laine Thursday. She has pink hair and a tongue ring and that is all I know for sure. She may actually be a perfectly nice person who has gotten on the bad side of some mean-spirited people. I don't know.  

Laine Thursday is a girl who allegedly is a bad celeb RP player who has been in conflict with other players for harassing them. She switches usernames and pseudonyms and yet she somehow reveals herself to be the same crazy person. This is all alleged because I have never encountered the girl and don't care to.

More Annoying Are the Warnings About Laine Thursday
Quit Roleplay was flooded by repeated posts about Laine Thursday. The girl posting about her claims that she just wants to warn people, but either we're going to see her posts or not and it doesn't matter if every post on the page is about her. Flooding a community with warnings about Laine constitutes SPAM.

So when the offending journal was blocked from QRP, the user, who apparently had gotten in with the mods under another journal, hijacked the QRP community and deleted it before starting her own exclusively to rant about Laine Thursday.

I don't care how crazy this pink-haired Laine chick is, that's way more crazy.

You Can't Claim Someone Is Stalking You if You Keep Taunting Them On the Internet
If you keep posting about someone on the internet, warning people not to play with them, that's like asking for them to come out of hiding and defend themselves. If you really want the drama to end, DROP IT. Don't keep talking about her where she has no choice but to say something.

Further, the users involved in this drama claim that she has contacted them at work, but they are on The Dirty posting personal information about where she lives and what her house and kids and cats are like. Who is the stalker?

The user who was freaking out about Laine Thursday has a ridiculously long post in a journal about how Laine keeps claiming she is trying to end the conflict. The point is supposed to be that each letter claims she will leave them alone, but then another letter follows. The point I'd like to make is that between these letters are countless publics warnings to other players about Laine Thursday, trying to ostracize her from the Story Form community.

In real life if you ran around taking out newspaper ads to warn women in your hometown not to date your ex-boyfriend, you would be the crazy one.

The Point Is That You Can't Protect The Whole Internet, So Don't Try
It's a waste of your time and energy to run around every roleplaying community on the internet to make sure that every user is warned of drama and by doing that  you are actually perpetuating the drama.

It may not seem like it, but if you ignore a drama llama long enough, they will stop. It may take a week, it may take a month, but eventually with no response they will give up. It will be boring. Instead of running around trying to warn people about Laine Thursday, DELETE HER COMMUNICATIONS AND FORGET IT. Don't even post them somewhere for a laugh, just delete them and save yourself the stress.

Warning the whole internet about someone is just too damn much work!

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Story Form eBook

The following eBook contains 2 previous blog posts (A Drama Intervention and 6 Common Mistakes of RP Plot) plus much more content for expert and newbie text-based Roleplayers. It's an in-depth guide to the format I play, "Story Form."

Table of Contents:
Story Form vs Action Form
Story Form vs Tabletop RPG
6 Common Fatal Mistakes of RP Plot
Navigating Game Information
A Drama Intervention: How to Avoid RP Drama and Why
A Guide to Gaming Graphics
Expert Tips for Moderators

If you're new to the medium or just want some ideas for moderating, this guide is for you. Click the cover image to download the pdf eBook!

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6 Fatal Mistakes Commonly Made in RP Plot

Text-based RPGs were a passion of mine from 10th grade (2002) until very recently. Right now my life is too busy to commit to much gaming, but a break from the hobby can do wonders to renew passion.

Despite my distance I find myself ever-lurking, observing mistakes players make and acknowledging my own failures in the medium. With 8 years experience playing and 6 years modding, I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two. So, here I pass on some wisdom and welcome comments supplementing my knowledge.

"All I know is that I know nothing." -Socrates.

6 Fatal Mistakes Commonly Made in RP Plot



1. Blowing The Load

You heard me! So many great plots get rushed through. A story that could have beautifully, slowly developed over months takes two week and then it's over and done with. This happens most commonly with relationships. Two players get so excited by a ship that they fall in love, get married, and consummate (usually not in that order). Any tension from a forbidden romance, any secret love, gets rushed and done with so that plots have to loop or fizzle out because they were over too quickly.

Worst of all, none of the other players care about these fast-developed ships because they see them as too little development with too much enthusiasm.

Credit Hannahtess on DeviantArt

2. Becoming Romantically Dependent

Too many players make their romantic plot their only plot. Then if their ship gets boring (because good relationships make bad TV) they end up in an endless loop of fluff/smut or fade away. Even worse, if their ship partner drops they have no friends or plot to fall back on while they NPC the ship and find a new player or adlib a breakup.

3. Isolating

Like becoming Romantically Dependent, if all your plot is with one other character, this spells doom. This is really specific to communities and not personal story lines, but it's a boundary that is dangerous if confused. Other players will come to dislike you if they see you as a pair playing out a personal story line in a community and it will be hard to get involved in the community should your storyline partner fade away.

It's easy to come up with an epic plot and barrel ahead, but it's always a good idea to find little ways for others to play with you. I'm not saying that everyone has to cater to your plotlines, but that you should give others opportunities to fill slots in yours. Offer up roles that an NPC might play to the community for grabs or find a way someone else can complicate it.

Further, don't just stick to plots you came up with. Volunteer to help others and even if you have an amazing plot running with plenty to do, tag open threads. Don't get stuck in your own world. You are part of a community.

4. Hitting an Emotional Dead End

Sometimes plot is so epic that it breaks a character. If you are going to horribly scar your character for life you have to decide if you will be willing to realistically deal with the emotional fallout of certain traumatic events.

Killing a spouse, for instance, makes a character very unpleasant to play for quite a few months.

This is not to say that you're a bad writer if you don't want to deal with it. Writers in prose fiction generally have the luxury of summing up a character's emotional breakdown in a literary montage or at least reflecting it off of a supporting cast of characters. You play one character in role-play and you really shouldn't play anyone who interacts with them. You don't have the luxury of summing it up because games are played in real time. You have to wallow in it.

Consider before you do it.

Credit altana on Deviant Art

5. Ignoring Plotholes and Flaws

If there is a simple way your character could solve all of their problems, but they aren't, you'd better be ready to point out in your narrative what psychological reason your character has for ignoring that out or you will be seen as a Mary Sue player.

Too proud to apologize to win her back? Make it clear that this is a flaw in your character and not just you being too attached. It's admirable to make your character flawed, even stubborn. It's annoying when we can't tell if it's the character or the player who thinks they are right.

6. Failure to Recognize the End of an Arch

If a plot has nowhere to go without going in a circle, end it. Sometimes you need to do this with characters, too. If you have a character you've played for years and you love their plot and arch too much to upset it with drama, retire the character. Nobody will fault you for saying that you have no more stories to tell with that character.

Only write the book if you have a story to tell.

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eBook Conversion

Owing to the huge popularity of the Drama Intervention post, I have turned my article on how to avoid/resolve drama in online role-playing games into an eBook. Share it, enjoy it! I even found someone using it as the default drop box message in their game and someone else had it as their status on tumblr!

Click the cover below to download the eBook in PDF format.

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A Drama Intervention: How to Avoid RP Drama and Why

This article is tailored specifically to the online, text-based gaming world, but I’m sure that it has many applications in other social or gaming environments. So here it is, How to Avoid RP Drama and Why.

“The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing at the right time, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.”
-Dorothy Nevill

I. Why NOT to Participate:

i. The Internet is Written in Ink, Not Pencil:
It is important to remember that everything you say is there forever. Okay, sure, you may be able to lose things that you sometimes wish you could find again, but permanence of the internet is always something you should count on when you decide if you should or should not say something.

Whatever you send or post can be copied, saved, archived, or retweeted. Plenty of gamers save AIM logs and there are entire sites dedicated to archiving the juicier bits of social networking sites. If you say something catty about another player, chances are that your direct quote will be repeated or found by them in some way.

ii. All Activity is Beneficial to the Life of a Game:
We have all met the player who is so bad that people leave the game. They do exist. However, chances are that this person will be cut from the game if you give it time. Filing a complaint with a mod is a mature way to voice your concerns. Complaining laterally is an immature way and far less productive.

Most gossip and drama doesn’t center around that one player. Most of it is focused on someone you have a problem with that others may be fine with. Therefore, even if you have decided to avoid interaction with another player because of drama, don’t discourage others.

ALL activity is good for a game. Activity creates plot that ripples and effects others. Character X and Character Y could have a plot that changes Character Y and gives him plot with Character Z. That doesn’t mean that X and Z ever have to thread together. It’s still plot that spreads.

Activity promotes activity. People keep up with the standard of a game. The pace is set and matched. If it slows, even the active players will slow because of decreased pressure or because they are afraid of flooding the boards. Discouraging activity with any player can ripple to slow the whole game. Furthermore, active games attract active players. You may not want to play with a person, but the fact that they are playing can bring in more, good players.

iii. “Who gossips to you will gossip of you.” -Turkish Proverb:
If you start talking smack about another player, the people you talk to will probably not trust you.

We’ve all had the buddy we thought we could vent to. You may think you’re blowing off steam to a trusted source, but I’ve personally had a long time RP buddy turn around and misquote my words of anger to an even longer-time RP buddy. It nearly ruined our relationship. She was never someone I wanted to lose as a partner and I almost did because I vented to someone who liked to gossip.

iv. Drama is nasty and players will leave good games to avoid it:
I have known players in my games to quit because other players kept gossiping to them. Drama creates a negative environment. We role-play to de-stress. This is meant to be fun. Nobody wants to sign up for a game with notorious drama. Nobody wants to pick up a storyline with someone who has a reputation.

II. How to Avoid Drama:
i. Ask Yourself If It’s Worth It:
If you have ever had the terrible, gut-punching sensation of confrontation... if you’ve ever felt the adrenaline rush of duking it out online... if you’ve ever stayed up past your planned bed time to correct someone on the internet... ask yourself if this issue is worth that stress. Usually it is not.

ii. Give Them The Benefit of the Doubt:
Make sure that you didn’t misinterpret tone. It’s hard with a text format and they may not have meant it as snarky as it sounded.

iii. State it and End It:
There is something to be said for a reasonable debate, but if you have stated your case and they don’t seem to be acknowledging logic or they appear to be responding to your logic by repeating the points you just argued against, then they don’t care what you have to say. They may even be a troll. If they aren’t going to let anything prove them wrong, then no matter how right you think you are, it is not worth it.

If they are not changing their mind, end it. There is no point repeating yourself in a six page debate on rpvents. It’s stressing to you and it makes you look just as argumentative. There is a maturity and grace is saying “I already addressed that issue. If you don’t like my answer, then I guess we’re at an impasse.” You will ultimately come off more intelligent and sane and it will win you favour with anyone else reading the debate (and even if you think it is a private AIM convo, they could be showing it to a friend or posting it to quitroleplay!)

III. How to Resolve Drama: For those cases where you need a “come to Jesus” because it can’t be ignored anymore.
i. Asses The Intention:
If someone wants to talk and you think it may be drama, ask yourself what they want. Do they want to “vent” or brainstorm. Sometimes a player may come to you for advice and I don’t want to discourage help. You have to ask if they want help or if they just want to blow off steam. You should avoid steam (it burns worse than boiling water!) and decide if you think you can be helpful if they really want to brainstorm.

ii. Decide if You Can Help:
If you can help, and you really need to search yourself for an honest answer, approach with caution. If you can’t help, make it clear that you can’t and then keep what you’ve heard in confidence. If they really came to you for help and you spread the word, you will not be trusted again.

iii. If You Decline to Help or Listen, Refer Them to a Mod:
If you cannot help or do not want to involve yourself (smart cookie!) then refer them to the other player or a Mod. Those are the only two people you should ever suggest they go to. Don’t drag in another third party.

iv. Know that Nothing on the Internet is Private:
If you know the person in real life or are comfortable on Skype, then those may be your only modes to talk without your words being copy-pasted to someone else. Remember that a stranger on the internet, no matter how long you’ve known them, may repeat you and DO NOT say anything you may regret if it was quoted.

v. Be Objective:
This other player may be your friend, but remember that there are two sides and give the benefit of the doubt. Playing the devil’s advocate may help, but always show that you are supported so they do not think you’ve sided against them.

vi. Get All the Details:
If you are going to intervene, you had better know it all. If anything is unclear, ask for a clarification so you are not giving misguided advice or spreading misinformation.

vii. Offer Advice:
If you are going to talk about a problem, you had better be working towards a solution. Offer advice. This will also tell you if they really want help or just want to vent.

viii. GET OVER IT:
When the issue is dealt with, forget it. It helps no one to cling to the past.


Drama is not an unbeatable force of nature. It is living. Drama evolves and grows and consumes, but the important thing to remember is that it can die. Drama as a tiny monster is easy to kill. Drama allowed to grow can destroy relationships, communities, and leave scars on players. How does Drama grow? Like any creature, Drama needs to be fed. If you refuse to feed Drama, it will die.

DRAMA IS A LIVING, GROWING, ALL-CONSUMING MONSTER. I MUST KILL DRAMA BY STARVING IT AT AN EARLY STAGE. NO MATTER WHAT IS BEING SAID TO ME OR OF ME, I HAVE THE OPTION TO REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE. IF I DO NOT RESPOND TO THE CALL OF DRAMA, IT CANNOT FEED OFF OF ME.

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