Which one should I do?

[tjward]

Okay, I'm doing a forum where you can role-play as different characters from different paranormal factions (example: dragon, gargoyle, vampire, werewolf, witch, etc.). 

My questions is should I have a ceremony where the faction that they belong to is chosen for them or should I let each person choose for themselves?

[Kami]

May 29, 2022 14:42:01 GMT -8 tjward said:

Okay, I'm doing a forum where you can role-play as different characters from different paranormal factions (example: dragon, gargoyle, vampire, werewolf, witch, etc.). 

My questions is should I have a ceremony where the faction that they belong to is chosen for them or should I let each person choose for themselves?

whynotboth.gif

Just make it optional which one to do; sometimes I like predetermining what faction (in any faction-based RP) I'm going to play, but other times it's more fun to figure out the character as a reaction to something chosen for them.

take harry potter as a for instance: if people want to predetermine their character's house, they make an older student or an adult; if they want to have it be chosen, they often make a first year (which is when the sorting ceremony occurs).

[tjward]

Kami That's an awesome idea! I was planning on letting people choose between a student character and an adult character anyway. You've at least given me something to think about now. Thank you for the input.

[Kami]

Any time! Good luck!

[tjward]

Kami I have another question. Each faction has a king & queen. Should staff choose who the king and queen are or should the community get to vote who they make the king & queen of their faction? I'm also open to other ideas if you have them....

[Kami]

Jun 5, 2022 7:16:41 GMT -8 tjward said:

Kami I have another question. Each faction has a king & queen. Should staff choose who the king and queen are or should the community get to vote who they make the king & queen of their faction? I'm also open to other ideas if you have them....

Your mileage may vary, but I find that leadership positions within RP are best left as NPCs run by staff only on special, as-needed occasions versus being a main part of the day to day story -- RP forums already have an uphill battle when it comes to retaining active members, and characters in positions of leadership require far more mental, emotional, and time investment than an OC. Sure, you'll likely get a bunch of people who express an interest / desire, but by and large the turnover you'll see in membership will likely hit "important" characters first due to the investment cost.

Of course, the flip side of that is that there's every possibility that your forum will be lightning in a bottle and you'll have people dedicated and willing to do that; if that's what winds up happening, it'll be easier to reverse the decisi9on of having NPCs than starting off with playable characters and having to make the decision to turn them into NPCs after they've become an integral part of the daily plot.

Also, my tag is @ kamiyakaoru. the @ kami tag is someone else :x You can press the ALT key and left click a display name to auto-populate it into your reply

[tjward]

Jun 5, 2022 8:06:09 GMT -8 Kami said:

Jun 5, 2022 7:16:41 GMT -8 tjward said:

Kami I have another question. Each faction has a king & queen. Should staff choose who the king and queen are or should the community get to vote who they make the king & queen of their faction? I'm also open to other ideas if you have them....

Your mileage may vary, but I find that leadership positions within RP are best left as NPCs run by staff only on special, as-needed occasions versus being a main part of the day to day story -- RP forums already have an uphill battle when it comes to retaining active members, and characters in positions of leadership require far more mental, emotional, and time investment than an OC. Sure, you'll likely get a bunch of people who express an interest / desire, but by and large the turnover you'll see in membership will likely hit "important" characters first due to the investment cost.

Of course, the flip side of that is that there's every possibility that your forum will be lightning in a bottle and you'll have people dedicated and willing to do that; if that's what winds up happening, it'll be easier to reverse the decisi9on of having NPCs than starting off with playable characters and having to make the decision to turn them into NPCs after they've become an integral part of the daily plot.

Also, my tag is @ kamiyakaoru. the @ kami tag is someone else :x You can press the ALT key and left click a display name to auto-populate it into your reply

Since my post, I've been thinking about making that a staff member position instead.  What you've mentioned in your post has helped me to make that decision final.  If it's okay, I have a question for you but I'd prefer to PM you that question if it's okay.....?