Play-By-Post Roleplaying

[Loxmardin]

So.

CotH has IC forums. I see some people using them fairly regularly to in some way, shape or form record the going-ons of their characters when they are alone, writing down what happens when the character is not on-screen at the time.

This is great.

I am wondering, though, if there's any interest whatsoever in the CotH community to lead dedicated storylines that run primarily with forum posts with the occasional in-game adventure here and there. I ask this because I have a storyline in mind that I've been pondering for the past few months and in order to get all the necessary interactions with certain story-relevant NPCs and characters... the best way to introduce them to people is through forum roleplay.

Why is that?

Well... First of all, it puts less of a requirement on me and the players to be online at the same time and allows the story to progress naturally as long as either part has the time to produce a post once in a while. It eliminates the worry of not having the time to sit down and roleplay it on-server and lets the story evolve and relationships develop at a steady enough pace to let them last and then builds a good foundation for continued interaction in-game and still lets characters go about their business without being locked in place or anything like that. It lets the player integrate the forum experience in their in-game roleplay as they please to carry on the storyline. That way it doesn't have to steal a lot of in-game time or make anyone feel forced to log on just to keep participating.

Would this kind of storyline be interesting, at all? If I tried to get something like this off the ground, would you be interested in trying it out?

[Sorum]

Maybe.. Depends what the stories are all about..

[Psychyn]

I'd say go for it; Don't know till you tried.

Whether I personally would be interested; Not quite so much. Forum RP never gave me the immersion I needed to continue with the storyline; I've tried over and over, barely managed to finish a couple on here, much more left abandoned which I eventually just deleted. Those where my own stories and posts, journals and such; With others, the pacing becomes a problem for me as well, I find them too slow paced.

Still. Its CotH, this is probably one of the better environments to try it on. I can imagine others being interested, very much so.

[MstrCorvus]

This sounds like a great idea because it allows for a more in-depth storyline and explanation which can sometimes be left out when doing an in-game storyline. I'm sure there'd be a lot of people (including me) who'd be in for this.

[Ural]

Personally, I have found it quite rewarding to trade a draft back and forth with someone to craft a single scene. Perhaps like a movie script? Do note that I've never published any of these as they've gone largely forgotten or outdated since their inception.

I suppose partially because they don't really have any bearing on a character one way or the other. Rather, they give a glimpse into the personalities or conduct of (in my case) two individuals. I'm sure there's progression to be had in this format. But usually I feel quite rooted when something of importance happens to my characters. Not that it bothers me but I could see where it's an issue.

Let's give it a test!

[Stealthscout]

I like the idea, let's do it.

[Vladdy]

I'm fine with forum role-play.

[Dae]

Forum roleplay so easily winds up feeling like a chore more than anything, but I haven't really tried it much before with established characters, a familiar setting and the likes.

I'd try it for the stuff you come up with, Lox.

[Revan]

I find the idea of having an interactive F-RP pretty good. Hoooooowever, it would require a lot of patience, motivation, inspiration and interest to keep a storyline active. Wouldn't want to have your story cut-off, right?

[flammos200]

I like play by post RP. But the story has to be compelling.

[Ironhide]

Interactive and play-by-post both have their own appeal. It really depends what I feel like doing, I guess.