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St. Lawrence, Maine

Sunday, April 19th, 2015

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The shattered corpse of a dormant city slowly stirs as life seeps back into it. It is a place where seeds of redemption now take root while a timeless struggle for supremacy begins anew. Beneath the rotted shell of the city, under the desperation and despair, lurks untapped power. Multiple factions of Kindred (and others) vie for control, and that power impatiently waits for those ambitious enough to grasp it. Welcome to St. Lawrence by Night

We are currently at maximum player population and will not be accepting additional players into the game until further notice.



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Masquerade Status: 67


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Tips on Roleplaying on a Forum-based Game (like this)
Topic Started: Mar 6 2018, 08:03 AM (4 Views)
Oracle

So you're all playing a forum-based version of the tabletop World of Darkness games. This puts the experience somewhere between a LARP, a communal story, and a regular tabletop game. As such, I have a few tips for all of us to ensure that everyone has a good time playing in this game. Please consider these reminders, guidelines, and expectations we should all adhere to. I struggle with some of these myself. Apply these to your experience as and when they apply and we'll all be better off for it.



1. Take Things Seriously

When you post, keep in mind that other people are reading what you write, and not just the ST. You're playing a game with a lot of serious, mature themes. This is a game about horror and monsters. Darkness and corruption. Tiny glimmers of light amidst a sea of despair. We are trying to convey a certain tone here, so keep that in mind when writing and commenting on things. Treat the material in any given thread with the appropriate theme. Not every thread is doom and gloom, and that's fine. But if you're in a doom and gloom thread, maybe don't make posts about adorable unicorns and rainbows in that thread. You super optimistic character doesn't have to be doom and gloom, but you should write them in the context of doom and gloom if the rest of the thread is taking that tone. So you want to be the Humanity 9 paragon of humanity in a thread where the Sabbat is eating babies? Go for it! There's zero wrong with that. But be that in juxtaposition with the horror. Don't just act like nothing bad is happening and everyone needs to be hugged. If you add out of character notes, maybe keep in mind that MONSTERS ARE EATING BABIES and don't make puns about the situation. It's disruptive to the immersion and it damages the narrative.



2. Don't take things TOO seriously

While you're expected to take the game and its themes seriously, it's just a game. It's okay to take things personally, but at a certain point, lines between fiction and reality blur, and if you find yourself so wrapped up in what happens to your character that you can't understand that sometimes a good story requires less than optimal things to happen to your character. I'm not asking you to be okay with constantly getting the shaft, but if you can't separate fiction from reality, if you're losing sleep because of something bad that happened to your character, or if you hate another player because of something their character did that was entirely consistent with what they character would do in that situation, you need to take a step back from the game and get your head right. This is a game. Take it seriously, but never forget that it's a game. Maintain that balance.



3. You are Expected to Actually Read the Forum

This one comes in two parts:

A. Please make sure you're reading the rules. I fully expect people to have questions, as the ST's job is to arbitrate things and answers those questions. At the same time, please know that we've changed how Fortitude works, or that Aura Perception is now DC 7. If it's a published rule, at least be somewhat aware of it. People forget, mistakes get made, no worries. But please don't act like you don't know how the Masquerade Status score works when it's clearly been explained publicly. If you haven't subscribed to the rules forum, please do so. As in real life, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Please keep up with how the rules work. It saves us all frustration.

B. Everyone who plays this game on the forum (ST and players alike) writes content on the site. The inherent expectation is that other people will read it. Why else would we be writing it? If someone writes something on the site, they probably worked really hard on it. The polite thing to do would be to read it. You don't have to comment on it. You don't have to read every word and every post that gets written, of course. But there are some people who actively avoid reading other posts and threads if they don't directly involve themselves. This includes people who search for their name on the forum and only read posts they see with their character's name in them.

That is bullshit and you should feel bad if this applies to you.

You're an adult and can read (or not) whatever you like, but you're playing a game with other people. If someone took the time to write it, then at least consider reading it. There is some AMAZING writing on this site, and you're doing yourself a disservice by not reading it. These talented writers are pouring their hear and soul out on the page just like you are, and it's frankly disrespectful to actively avoid reading what they write. Again, do you have to read everything? No. But at least make an effort. Show other players the respect that you'd like to receive and read what they have to say at least most of the time. You'll thank yourself for doing it later because most of what we do here is SO so good. Trust me, I know. I'm reading all of it.

Sometimes this is done with the excuse "I don't want to metagame." Let me be very clear here. You are all adults. I expect you not to metagame as well as possible, no matter what you read. I am the storyteller, I read everything, and I have to avoid metagaming. It's not that hard. Just keep in mind what your character knows in any given situation. I literally do this every time I post. It's a skill you need to develop. Saying that you don't want to metagame is not an excuse for ignoring what everyone else is up to. If someone wants to keep something private, there are a lot of ways to do that so that you can't read it. If it's posted publicly, at least make an effort to read what they have to say. In a lot of cases, you might be really impressed, and don't you hope they'll do the same for you?

Besides, if the Storyteller (me) adopted the attitude of "Screw it, I don't want to read that, it's not about me," you wouldn't have a game to play.




4. Not Everything is Worthy of Comment, but Some Stuff Is

This tags along with and hangs off of the above point. Not every post is a work of art. Some are, for sure. Some are just posts. Don't feel obligated to comment on every single post in Discord. In fact, please don't. Acting like everything is art cheapens the stuff that actually IS art. It's okay to let some go. At the same time, don't expect that everything you write is going to be met with critical acclaim. I write plenty of average posts, and I write far, far more than anyone else on here just by virtue of my job. It's just the nature of the beast. Sometimes we nail it, sometimes not so much. If no one says how amazing we are, don't sweat it. If they adhere to the rule above and actually read it, let that be enough for you.

That said, if someone does an amazing job on something, then by all means, applaud them. But don't applaud everything. It's not all gold, guys. I know sometimes I'm average at best with my writing. And I know sometimes I knock it out of the park. It's okay to save the accolades for the winners. If we praise everything, then what is that praise really worth? But when it's warranted? Pour it on and show the author some love because sometimes it's going to be you hoping to get recognized.




5. Reminder: the Official Ruleset is V20

I've commented on this before, but it bears repeating as it still comes up. I understand that it's convenient to use the online wikis as sources. I would suggest using those for lore only. DO NOT use older editions of vampire or online wiki sources to site game mechanics like disciplines. Things have changed over the years, and the old version are not necessarily valid. The game may draw material from older versions or online sources, but that is up to the ST's discretion. Do NOT look things up online or in older editions and assume they apply to this game. Lore and fluff? Probably fine. Game mechanics? Use V20 unless the ST indicates otherwise. If you come to the ST and copy and paste some discipline's description from a wiki, fully expect to catch a rash of shit if the discipline or whatever you copied and pasted says something different in the V20 book. This makes sure we avoid confusion. If you're confused or unsure, talk to the ST.




6. Angst is a Flavor, not a Way of Life

So you're a vampire. Yes, angst is expected, especially with all the serious, scary themes this simply begs for. But at the same time, not every post has to be dripping with angst and emotional turmoil. Sometimes it's okay to just act like a vampire. You don't always have to have an emotional crisis in every post. As above, it cheapens the real emotional crises if you are in the middle of a constant breakdown at all times. Save it for when it makes sense. Yes, of course, some characters will be more angsty than others. If your character is constantly angsty? Maybe you need to reconsider that character and/or how you're playing them.



7. Show, not Tell

This is a good guideline for writing in general. When you're trying to decide what to write, consider that it's always more challenging, but also more rewarding to display how your character is feeling with words and actions than it is to just outright state it. It's easy to write:

"Tom is furious, and so he sits and broods and thinks about what he's done with his life, regretting so many decisions."

But it's lazy.

It's harder, but also more artistically skillful to write instead:

"Tom slams his fist into the wall and squeezes his eyes shut in frustration. He counts to ten mentally, struggling the whole way, but still ends up gritting his teeth over the regretful decisions he's made."

See the difference? It's better to SHOW that Tom is angry rather than to just SAY that he's angry.

Along these same lines, please don't write paragraphs of exposition and internal monologue about your character. Sometimes you need some of that to make a post work. Sometimes you need to explain those things so that their tone comes across correctly. Sometimes it's important to understand that Jack hates Susie and is lying to her face out of spite. But sometimes the reader DOESN'T need to know how Tom felt about the sandwich he are earlier that day. Sometimes it's better to either let that come across in his actions or dialogue, or maybe just leave it out if it's not important.

This is a tough one that I really struggle with, personally, but it's important we all try to improve. Practice SHOWING how your character feels, and use the inner monologue to set the tone rather than to convey the point of the post. Sometimes it's okay to do a lot of mental exposition. But that's sometimes. It's usually better to focus more on actions and words and to use the published thoughts to provide for context and tone of those words and deeds. Most people are way more interested in reading about what your character says and does than about what your character thinks. By all means, let us know both sides of it, but favor actions and words over thoughts in your posts, especially when interacting with players and NPCs. It's harder, but more rewarding, ultimately. Practice! I know I will.

So yes, this means please think twice about writing 4 paragraphs of inner monologue and one of actual actions and spoken words. Maybe at least consider alter the balance between the two in your post. With practice, you'll know when the balance feels right.




8. This is not a Solo Game, and it's not Just You and the Storyteller

This one is real simple. You should want to play with other players. If you're just running a solo game with the Storyteller and no one else, you're doing this wrong. There will be plenty of times when it's just you and the Storyteller, and that's fine a lot of the time, but that is NOT my primary focus for this game, nor should it be yours. We have 10 players. That's plenty of people to interact with. If you made a character that wants to do nothing but sit in a corner and brood and not interact with anyone else, then play a different character. That isn't what we're doing here. Imagine this as a tabletop game. You wouldn't spend your whole time around the table ignoring the other players. The same is true here.



9. Make a Good Story; Don't Try to Win the Game

We're all here to tell a story together. Help each other be awesome. Let other people have the spotlight when it makes sense to. It doesn't always have to be about you. If you're not the center of attention, you'll get your turn. Let other players shine sometimes and just as importantly, help them to do it. They'll return the favor.

You aren't here to "win" the game. There's no way to do that. If I think you're trying to do that, I'll make sure that you understand the futility of it. I can ALWAYS throw more werewolves at you, ok? So don't get any delusions of grandeur. You're here to have a communal storytelling experience with other people. Help us all write a good story with compelling characters. Help write something that showcases all of these characters and tells an amazing story that is entertaining to read. Don't try to outplay everyone else and be the best and beat everybody else. That's an impossible feat and a foolish goal. There's no winning this. There's only entertainment.

Yes, it's fine to want your character to succeed. As well you should! If you're hoping they fail, well, that's weird. You SHOULD want to succeed. But do it in a context that it tells a good story. Don't just race for dots and trying to dominate the game. Don't spend an hour writing a tedious dissertation about all the ways you're going to defeat any aggressor. The ST has literally infinite power, so at a certain point, it's a waste of time, as a magic portal might open and circumvent all your hard work. Pick your battles.. Tell a story people want to read. Superman sucks because he always wins. I'm not saying to sabotage yourself, but sometimes it's okay to let other characters have the spotlight. Sometimes it's okay if you don't make the most optimal move for your character.

You should be asking yourself if you helped tell a good story, and if the answer is yes? You did right. Just help tell a good story, whatever that ends up being.





I'll help bridge the gaps. That's my job. Just do your part to make it fun for everyone.




I'm surrounded by great players, and I really, truly appreciate that. This is a hard format to master, but it's a worthy challenge. I hope these tips serve you well (and me, as I'm always learning, too).

Good luck out there.
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Oracle

Clarification on point 1:

I'm not asking you to be more evil. Vampires aren't inherently evil. Some are good, some are bad, most are shades of gray. They all have to contend with the monster inside them, though, so that's true. For some, it is more of a struggle than it is for others. Certainly a core theme of the game.


So what do I mean about taking it seriously?


I'm asking you not to knit the prince a sweater or bring salad to Elysium for the Setites because "Set likes lettuce." Yes, those can be comical moments, and comedy is fine here and there, but it needs to be presented in the context of the narrative.

I'm not saying, "Why aren't you a bad guy running around and blood raping people?" I'm saying, "Please don't refer to the prince as 'The vampire formerly known as prince' or something cutesy like that when you're giving out of character direction on your posts."

I've broken this rule before. I usually try to do it in context, but looking back, I've failed on occasion. This is something I have to work on, as well. You can be casual, and you can be irreverent, but make sure it fits the tone that the rest of your post is trying to capture.
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