Serious How to get in rp

[Alankiller]

So I am playing rp for some time, but I still got one problem. Each time I try to interact with others it seems they try to only get over with all the stuff and move on.

Now I am not saying anything, but since rp is something where you need interacting I just want to ask how to get involved with others. I always see some two people together and begin honest I feel lonely doing rp alone.

So just want to ask what should I do to get more into the rp and not feeling like begin annoying.

Thank you.

PS: I know it sounds kinda dump, but I really need help because after a while it gets boring so please no bad comments.

 

[miguel]

My go to ways to get involved in stuff was always to play a very outgoing character, that's always a first step and something that shy character can't always do.

Being or trying to hawk for RP hubs is the second. Bars, restauraunts, little shops-- anywhere where people hang out, find a way in with a quick ''Yo, I need a lighter for my cigarette'' or something like that.

Not a very detailed or helpful aswer if you've been around many RP servers, but, that's how I do it; outgoing character and hanging around RP hubs.

 

[Nerdbird]

play a very outgoing character

i'll have to echo this, i've played reserved characters and it's frustrating to get them acquainted with others that wouldn't break their character. with outgoing characters, icebreakers and small talk is much easier to accomplish when you don't have this invisible barrier in front of you.

something that's at your disadvantage is how tightknit the community is. people would rather roleplay with those that they're more familiar with and known for years. it's not something that you can fix per say, but recognize that it's not inherently your fault for not being able to get your foot in.

you might just need to work on yourself as well, watch other people's roleplay and think on ways on how you can extend your vocabulary while emoting and being conscious of your grammar. people's eyes glaze over when they see an obvious grammar mistake in your emote or see you have a popular roleplay pet peeve (i.e "he would go...")

get involved with server-wide events when they come and possibly work at a roleplay hub (bar, restaurant, little shops) so that you have more interaction with others.

 

[Kat_]

this isnt dumb at all btw. its hard sometimes to jump into scenes without knowing folks. in all honesty, there's a lot of judgmental people at tnb who aren't willing to put in the effort with folks they dont know. i struggle with interacting with people sometimes, and ive been here for six years. its a normal problem.

miguel has the right idea. you need to play a character that WANTS to interact with others. extra brownie points if that character has a likeable personality, too. i feel like that might be a good start with just getting your name out there and figuring out ways to get involved. is there ways to get involved with an asshole? can you play a shy character and still get interaction? yeah, but it's a bit more complicated and tough to figure out.

these days, i have a lot of friends on the server that are willing to give me rp if i simply ask, so if you have any buddies around the server- im sure they wouldnt mind a tug on the sleeve. if thats not the case though, what i did when i was first kicking around was being VERY aggressive.

approach people. if they shut you down, oh well. find someone new. just keep on trying. it's a roleplay server. if they get annoyed, that's their problem. we're all just here trying to work with a character. try, try, try, try. push yourself into situations without being obnoxious to a scene that looks delicate. if you think you're butting into something too much, find something else. but you HAVE to force yourself into some shit. there ARE people around who will probably run away. those people are asshats. just ignore them. people who will return the favor do exist.

doesn't matter how simple the emote is. often times, i literally do '/me walks up.' but you can't be too afraid or dainty about it.

after a while, you'll probably find a group that you'll get regular interaction with. forming relationships is essential to make sure you're not stuck in this state for too long.

tldr; be aggressive about pushing yourself into roleplay situation (with SOME mindfulness as to what you might be interrupting).

 

[malina?]

short post bc a lot has been said already and i don't want to repeat things too much:

keep the interaction going. if someone walks up to you like "hey, how are you" and you reply "good" then there's not a whole lot of... well, anything, for them to work off of. this is incredibly common even among more experienced roleplayers. just view it like a real-world conversation - find something to talk about. bond over something. ask questions, get to know the person you're dealing with. and more importantly: act how your character would! portray them, let your rp partner know their mannerisms, the way they do certain things, maybe just odd little details nobody would notice if they hadn't spent a certain amount of time talking to them.

 

[Alankiller]

Thank you for answering. To be honest I feel I am too scared to interact and I will try to work on that. Imdont know if I am going to say something bad or that they will be too aimed on their buddies ignoring new people. I have chars that are very outgoing by looking and by talking (example can be small vietnamese man of mine). But I don’t know if people I rp with will remember me later. But thank you for answear.

 

[Sinclair]

Thank you for answering. To be honest I feel I am too scared to interact and I will try to work on that. Imdont know if I am going to say something bad or that they will be too aimed on their buddies ignoring new people. I have chars that are very outgoing by looking and by talking (example can be small vietnamese man of mine). But I don’t know if people I rp with will remember me later. But thank you for answear.

the shyness/fright is frankly pretty normal especially if you're new, so dont feel bad about that. along with what people have said above, here's some other tips:

THE biggest thing for getting into RP is learning from others around you. when i first came to tnb my only rp experience was roblox apocalypse games when i was a kid, so i spent alot of my early time just watching other people and emulating what they do grammatically, in emotes, how they act, etc. when you're new it's usually pretty easy to tell you're new, and sometimes people will brush you off or be less apt to let you in close sometimes, so developing roleplay skills and norms and etiquette will see more opportunities open up for sure.

also another thing to always keep in mind: you are not your character. not that im saying you're playing an avatar, but many people (even experienced players) get caught up in playing their character, and start to blend the lines of who's reputation is on the line when they take risks. but in reality, just because your character might be weird, an ass, creepy, outgoing, overbearing, etcetera doesnt mean you are/have to be OOC. try and take comfort in that separation rather than be worried you'll make yourself look bad by what you say or do.

finally, try and keep repeat interactions. ive found the bulk of and best of my rp on certain characters tends to be with a small group. the same way people develop friend circles IRL, you develop a roleplay circle. find people/characters you like and who are receptive to you, and interact with them alot, talk to them, help them with problems, try and get them to help you with your problems, do favors, etc (ofc, dont let this stop you from contsantly meeting new people and going out your circle, but let the circle be the structure, the rock where you build your church so to speak.)

 

[raklo]

idk what everyone else has said but the way your character and rp are shown also plays into how ppl want to interact with you. there's a lot of info to digest here so read at your own pace and only take what you need. I say all this not knowing how experienced you are w/ RP and explaining things like I would to a newcomer. PM me if you wanna know anything else.

Spoiler: quick do's and dont's

• having a boring character and boring writing will turn ppl away
• having a badass character and boring writing will turn ppl away
• having a boring character and badass writing might keep ppl around
• having a badass character and badass writing will definitely keep ppl around

this is really vague since what ppl might considering to be good characters/writing is subjective, so I'll tell you based off of what I hate and like

DO

• have layers to your character. an inherently good guy can do terrible things just as an inherently bad guy can do good things. develop meaningful relationships and a real reason for them to be around and do what they do beyond them just being a vessel for you to be in the story.
• constantly develop your writing. I've been roleplaying since I was a little ass kid now and I still don't even think my writing is that great. pick up vocabulary and habits that you see from people who's style you look up to as "Good Roleplayers."
• be willing to start over. roleplay is SO fucking boring when you've seen the same server full of characters that have been around for years and years despite doing all types of dangerous shit. if you place your character in a situation where they may die, be willing to accept that they may meet their definite end there even if you haven't accomplished every single thing that you might have wanted to or have progressed far/have scripts on them.
• study and make lists of your surroundings. what's your world like? how do people survive? who's the controlling power(s)? where does your character fit in? get in-tune with your setting to really have the grasp necessary to make a good, setting-accurate character.

DON'T

• make a self-insert or your own fantasized version of yourself. the whole point of roleplay is to put yourself in another person's shoes and make a story out of THEIR life, not jerk yourself off imagining how much of a badass you'd be in X setting. we obviously throw in some traits that we can sympathize w/ for the sake of being able to relate to our characters, but stay away from a carbon copy of yourself.
• make a tone-deaf character. if your setting is grim and violent (as basically all of our settings are), keep all the brightly colored hehe haha bitches/cool hipster guys out of it. this isn't to say that you can't have a quirky character or whatever but try to stay faithful to your material.
• focus on getting weapons and armor and all that shit. yeah, I get it, everyone wants cool shit, but you'll get it as you go. the most self-damaging thing that you can do is be a scriptwhore in TnB, I've seen so so so many people come here and be shunned for a good chunk of if not the rest of their stay because of it.

Spoiler: writing-specific tips

i wasnt sure how to fit this part in since it's pretty particular, but your writing will determine a lot when it comes to how ppl engage w/ you and your character. good writing varies from person from person, different strokes for different folks and all, but here's a few tips.

long, fluffy writing ≠ good writing.​

roleplay, to me, does actually have some element of bonding to it: you get to know and more fluidly write alongside someone's style the more you're around them. so, that said, don't focus on throwing out some paragraphs with someone that you've first started RPing with, that shit'll probably make them feel uncomfortable or bored. start out with smaller, crisp emotes when you're feeling the waters w/ someone and proceed from there. in general, I'd always encourage newer roleplayers to focus on being concise and working their way up in complexity and length as they get more comfortable and find a style that they like.

descriptors.​

adjectives/detail go a long way when referring to objects/places/people/actions. whether it's in your character's description or how you're explaining something in your emotes, be sure to elaborate on things so people can have a vivid image of what they're supposed to be imagining. for example:

John Doe runs to the bike from the corner.

by itself, pretty boring and unremarkable. give it some flavor.

John Doe, moving with urgency and recovering from a stumble, runs to the rusted red bike from an abrupt start off the corner some feet away.

now you can see that:

1. ol johnny boy really has something that he's running from, so much so that he hasn't even found his footing.
2. the bike seems like it has a history of its own now based off of its condition.
3. john's starting point, the corner, is a few feet away from the bike.

little things like this are what give character to what you're writing.

organization.​

something that I like to put a great deal of emphasis on (mainly in my character descriptions) is the organization of information. when you're giving any amount of writing to someone, you want it to flow in such a way that it's easy to read and everything within can be fully understood: be it by your spacing, using vocabulary to compact information, etc. I really like my own writing to look pretty, so to speak. an example of bad and good organization would be something like this:

this emote, as a result of its awkward placement of information, comes off as a bit unrefined and writes as a long run-on sentence.
John Doe unloads all of his gun's magazine into the CCA unit from around the corner hoping that he'll at least hit a few shots, he is having trouble controlling the recoil and receiving suppressive fire because of the crossfire coming his way.

here, we emphasize pertinent information in the order that it should be provided and are sure to break things up.
John Doe, under some indirect suppressive fire across from his position, gets low and unloads a sporadic spray around the corner. The unruly full-auto fire gives him a great deal of trouble in handling his AK, which is barely kept on target.

organization is a bit more vague and ig more about personal taste, but I thought I'd at least try to hit on it (if not to just fill this post out a bit..)

Spoiler: character descriptions

here are the descriptions of my most recent characters. I DO have the benefit of having a donator model to better represent what my characters looks like, I should note. these days, I like to keep my description short and sweet: give the most essential and distinguishing information and leave the rest to be asked/assumed. I don't leave all my information in one unsightly blob, instead trying to making categories of two-three sentences.

display line: what you'd see on an immediate glance.
first line: personal features not pertaining to any armor or weapons.
second line: armor and what's on it
third line: weapons

display line: what you'd see on an immediate glance
first line: personal features not pertaining to any armor or weapons
second line: how they're presenting themselves (demeanor)
third line: grooming

​

the description below is like my last description before I started using the more simple style above. this is what you'd probably be more inclined to use if you aren't rocking a donor model, since you'll need to squeeze more in to distinguish YOUR male_07 from the OTHER GUYS' male_07.

I still structure it the same way: display line used to point out the flat cap (a trademark feature of the already well-established character, thus why I didn't use the display for any substantial info), first paragraph used for the individual's descriptors, second used for clothing, third line used for weapons. it may be longer, but it's still a nice to look at and very understandable read (so I like to think) because it's basically the same as the others, just adding way more information.

​

this last description is some dude's from like 2016 (I just so happen to have found it while looking for the Daichi Tanaka description) and I'll throw it in as an example of a bad character description. it's not the worst that I've seen, but still a mess and holds a lot of throwbacks/unnecessary information.

​

to start off, pertaining to throwbacks, the display line uses the kind of structure that people used back in the days where we didn't have the luxury of having a whole box to fit our descriptions. instead, we only had the display line above our head and that was it. you could fit a good sentence, two on some frameworks. as a result, people broke their character's descriptions into incredibly abbreviated versions of the most important information. it'd write something like this:

6'1 American | 200 lbs | Blk Hair | M4A1 ACOG | Kevlar Armor​

these days, we don't have to do anything like that because we have this WHOLE box to use. it just looks really ugly and like a lazy attempt to cram in information without having to use any real writing skills. on another note, pertaining to having unnecessary information, don't shove quotes in anywhere or just anything other than what you are actually seeing or hearing when you're looking/around a character.

first line: details his clothes. nothing wrong with it

second line: talks about a tattoo.. that you can't see. why include it at all if it can't even be seen? just reveal that in a /it or /me if that time ever comes.

third line: used for injuries, but absolutely no reason to have shoved in all the IC information about how he got it/how it's mentally affecting them/etc. express that in your dialogue with other characters.

at the bottom are some facts. the only thing that I could really see as an acceptable addition would be some kind of indicator of their mood. what they like, when they were born, etc should all be something that your character is actually telling other people, not something that you include even though our characters wouldn't ICly know it.​

generally speaking, just make sure to structure your descriptions well and keep all the frilly bits that people should be learning IC/just plain don't belong out.

honestly I feel like I've just gone on a tangent with this part since I have a lot of passion for descriptions but hopefully it's giving some constructive information.

 

[Cacti]

Making RP is the best way to get it

If you make some sort of event/RP that's so attractive 'everyone' wants in you can even end up with a situation you have more people than you want to RP with


Also as miguel mentioned having a very outgoing/chatty type character is a good way to ensure roleplay is never far from reach, they can even be (ICly) annoying and nosy if you want

 

[Alankiller]

Thank you all for advices. I appreciated it.