Group Role-plays

[WiltedHeart]

I have always roleplayed 1x1, and I may be a bit curious about group roleplays. How do they work exactly?

 

[Lord DreamCrusher]

Each group will function a bit differently so it's hard to give a singular answer to this question. In general though, most group roleplays are organized by a single person who often functions as a sort of arbiter; setting the expectations of the proposed game that everyone needs to abide by (within reason) and doing their best to solve conflicts and manage all the potential players. In system games this role is typically called DM or GM, Dungeon Master or Game Master, though in freeform games it's not always required.

Group plays require a dynamic that is a bit slower paced than 1x1 plays as it's important that each player be allowed a chance to post so that everyone feels evenly able to contribute. Often times groups will attempt to establish posting requirements such as a post every week or once every three days in order to allow the game to move forward in case someone happens to be absent. Repeated failures to meet said requirements tend to mean that said player is softly dropped from the group.

Group roleplays overall are a fickle thing however so I will warn you about that before you even go into one. Collaboration from multiple people over a long period of time rarely happens and it's been my experience that most group roleplays tend to fizzle and fade out in the planning stages or shortly after the game is started. By all means that shouldn't stop you from trying if one sounds interesting to you, just keep your expectations in check so as to not feel too disappointed if it doesn't pan out. I'll also inform you that most group roleplays around here tend to jump ship to Discord rather than actually playing by post any more so take note on that front if off-site is something you want to avoid.

 

[Lord Nonak]

I had some experience with this around twenty years ago. It was back when the old Yahoo Groups were still around, and we'd tag in the specific partners that needed to respond to our posts.

It was slow going. If I was lucky, everyone would respond once a day, but it was usually two or three days before everyone had a chance to respond. There's nothing wrong with groups, but it's definitely not something you want to get involved in if you're expecting rapid-fire posts.

 

[bobmarleys32299]

Creating a world for others to play in might be interesting because it opens up the possibility of seeing how others react to given contexts and situations. It might make you a better roleplayer...