#how rigby runs a roleplay !

[optimismrpt]

hello! i have followed so many of your groups and i've always admired how well you structure and plan your plots. i feel like many groups these days get buoyed up on an idea but fail to make it past the first event. can you explain just how you plan out a plot, how your structure that plot progression, and any advice/practicalities on how to build a full narrative into a plot that has a definite start/end and can come full circle? any advice you have would be so amazing. thank you for your time!

Okay first off wow, thank you so so much! I try my best and I put A LOT of work into the rps I run. And it’s true it is very hard to get part the first two weeks, and even I, with all my structure and planning, falter sometimes! But sometimes things work out! And below the cut I have put some of my plotting tactics and strategies. 

First off you need an objective in mind, something concrete that your character need to do, achieve, or get. 

For example: 

The team must find and kill Vronsky. 

The team must relight the beacon. 

The team must track down the war fugitive and bring him in for trial. 

The passengers must discover who the murderer is. 

I take inspiration from shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender which had a clear plot and timeline in mind from the very start. Ex. Aang must master the four elements and defeat Ozai before the comet. 

And I take warning from shows like Supernatural: Dean and Sam hunt monsters for seemingly the rest of eternity. 

One of these has a strong ending that will bring peace and resolution to watchers because it fulfills the starting goal. The other will go on and on until eventually people lose interest or they end in a ridiculous and contrived deus ex machina. (Not to get too off topic but if Supernatural had ended at season 5 it would have been an example of a good plot arc). 

This is the problem I see a lot of rps facing. The plot is: weird town is weird. Or people do bad things for bad reasons. And there is no structure to it - nowhere to go. Start with the end in mind. 

But I get it, sometimes simple can be fun! And not everything has to last for months! 

Here’s what I do to plot my rps: plot point A to point B. 

Point A: The very beginning of the rp. I like to set this within a month of the characters meeting each other, so they’ve known each other long enough t o have first impressions as well as know what they have signed up for whether it be a mission or a quest. 

Example Point A: The team met in the capitol city three weeks ago and have been planning and packing for the long journey ahead. Today they exit the gates and start their quest. 

Point B: the very end of the rp. This includes the climax and the resolution. You need to know if you want your team to be successful or not and you should have at least a vague idea how they ‘save the day’. 

Example Point B: The team arrives at the top of the Great Mountain, are tested by the guardians and relight the beacon. With hope restored to the land they part ways, changed forever. The princes and crowned and the couples marry. 

Once you know point A and point B you need obstacles. Obstacles can be people, monsters, the weather, the landscape, an event, and so on! This is what Joseph Campbell would call ‘The Road of Trials’ and like any classic myth it involves circumstances getting int he way of progress. These must be overcome. I view each obstacle as a plot drop and usually write about 6 to 12. 

Here is the plot outline I wrote for my latest completed private rp @questbegunrp.  It’s quite long so If you don’t want to read it scroll past the italic. 

Plot:

Leaving the city - the team rides out and away from anderos’ capital city where they first met. This is the first week so it’s pretty much just a time for everyone to do initial threads and get started.

Plains of Anderos - while riding across the plains of anderos towards baine the group is attacked by wargs. They must fight off the giant feral animals, protect each other and their horses (and the dog).

Wrongly accused - the team make it out of the forest and into the kingdom of ironhaust. They stop at a small town and enjoy the moment in civilization. But one among them is framed for a crime and a mob attempts to hunt down the innocent team member. The team must save their friend from the gallows. Now is the time to lay low recuperate and gather information on what Wulf is accused of

Lost forest of Baine- The team finally arrives at the border of the entlands. They find that it is disorienting and filled with a thick fog. They must navigate through the confusing and threatening environment. ( view of the past )

Ruins - the team find the lost city of baine, now in a state of crumbling ruins. They decide to make camp there for the night but are force to fight when a group of bandits attacks and takes rosalyn hostage. The team must get her back.

Bridge - The team is attacked by a group of goblins just before they are about to cross the ‘blackfire gorge’. They choose to run hoping that they can cross the long wooden bridge in time to make is safely to the other side and some of them do. But the other are trapped by a flaming arrow and the bridge snaps. Six party members are left on the edge and six tumble to the river - swept away to the mines.

Mines- While the fallen half of the team nearly drowns after falling into the river and being swept into the underground dwarven watermills they safely arrive on a bank. This team struggles with injury and a lack of direction. While the other half of the tema enters the mines and searches desperately for their friends. Just as the leave they are attacked by living shadows.

Refuge - the team is reunited and with the help of their new guide they make their way to the remains of a onc great dwarven city. It is empty now but the wanderer has been maintaining it. This is the time for the team to express their feelings to each other as their destination grows near.

( Cemetery - Seer ( a view into their future ) the team arrives at a cemetery near the edge of the mountain. While there they meet two strangers: a wizened seer and a young man. The seer offers to show the team visions of their future.

Maze - a labrightn of stone and vine surrounds the base of the mountain, built by magic. There is no climbing over it so the team must navigate the maze together. But that isn’t the most difficult part: there is a Wyrm that live sin the maze. It can only see movement but if it finds the team it will eat whoever it can catch.

Statues of judgement - the final threshold. Living statues demand that each member of the team prove they are worthy of going to the final resting place of the council. Each team member must make a case for themself and for one other person.

Relighting the beacon

Resolution

Some of these ended up being cut but for the most part we got through this plot all the way to the resolution! 

It is important to remember that a rp plot is like a growing, living thing. You do not have full control and you never can. Sometimes your members will do something with their character that will change the plot. Sometimes members leave and there is a huge blank space that you need to fill. You have to be willing to twist and mold the narrative to fill in blanks and meet the needs of your players. And that can be really really difficult. 

For more information of how I run my skeleton rps check these two guides PART ONE and PART TWO. 

[princelyhelp]

Hi I'm not sure if it's alright if I ask you about this or not (if not then you can delete this message ofc!) but I've been roleplaying for around 10+ years but I've never been an admin before (or a co admin) but I really want to open a rp group cause I have so many exciting ideas for a rp, dedication and plenty of free time, but I kind of feel like it's too late for me to admin for the first time? Idk what I'm doing, I will definitely do something wrong and I'm sure that people won't take me seriously 😣 is it too late for me to do this? And if not, do you know any guides about running a rp in 2022? Thank you so much!

ofc it's fine to ask me this!! i need you to know that it's NEVER too late to be admin, like ever. if you want to open a rp then do it!!! GO FOR IT!!! I'M ROOTING FOR YOU!!!! just know that while it's a lot of fun being an admin, there's a lot that goes into and sometimes, you're gonna find yourself annoyed with some people. but that's okay!! you're human, it's natural to be annoyed by anons who don't read over stuff before they ask you stupid questions like Is ThIs RoLePlAy AcTiVe type shit. and who cares if you mess up, you're human, that's what we do. but you learn from your mistakes and aim to do better. so if you mess up as an admin, apologize and take ownership for your mistake and do better. it's okay!! no one is gonna judge you ( we only judge racist and homophobic admins <3 ).

As for guides, here are some that i found in the tags!

Admin tips! What Makes or Breaks a Roleplay?

Essential Pages for the Main

Things Admins Should Do Before AND After Opening a Roleplay

Different RP Tags ( avoid using literate rp or lsrp bc fuck them bitches )

How to Write Prompts and Tasks

How to Make Your Roleplay Inclusive

How Rigby Runs a Roleplay

Writing an Event

And then tips from me! The girl who went from running a rp on Crunchyroll to Tumblr!

Optional! If you want to work with others, you could see if anyone wants to help you. You can either ask friends or ask strangers, whichever works for you. Just make sure to set up proper boundaries and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Since you're a new admin, I recommend putting a cap on how many members you want. That way you can get used to handling a rp without overwhelming yourself with muns and muses. A nice cap would be 10 to 15.

Use other rps as inspiration. Look at what pages they have, how they set up their main, and how they advertise their groups. Also check out what themes groups are using, though I recommend avoiding container themes with small font because those aren't accessible.

Be a fun admin. Like, be,,,, professional in a way, but also have fun!! Go stupid go crazy when you're advertising, use memes, come up with wacky ways to get people to look at you. Like I LITERALLY created the "cool rp" "swag rp" and "swawesome rp" tags,,,,, and guess what??? ANOTHER RP IS ALSO USING THOSE TAGS!!! not saying im a trendsetter but,,,, i'm a trendsetter

Discord Server/OOC blog! Okay, this is def hit or miss. Discord servers can be great, it allows everyone to talk to each other, you can post events and tasks in them, etc etc. I love them but others don't, which is so valid. Discord servers and just ooc chats can be overwhelming or people might feel left out because of them. It really depends on what you want to do, just be aware of the pros and cons.

Be a prime example when it comes to having diverse muses. Like for me, when I'm looking at a rp, I see how many black muses they have because I refuse to join a rp and be the only one with a black muse,,,, like absolutely not OAIGJAIGAIA But if you start off with a diverse muse (AND KEEP IT GOING!!!), it'll pull more people into checking out your rp.

Just create your rp and stick to it. It's gonna be tough at first, you might not get a lot of people joining but I promise you, when you stick it out and keep promoting yourself,,,, you're gonna love it because the apps will be flowing in!!! Just believe in yourself.

And that's it! Hopefully that was helpful anon <3

[galatcias]

Hi kelly! Do you know of any guides on how to make a rpg? Thank you!

*  𝐇𝐈  𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄  !  as  for  guides  on  how  to  make  an  rpg  ,  i  really  recommend  the  ones  made  by  @optimismrpt​  !  her  guides  are  super  detailed  and  include  examples  as  well.  hope  this  was  helpful  !

HOW RIGBY RUNS A ROLEPLAY PT 1 –– setup

HOW RIGBY RUNS A ROLEPLAY PT 2 –– tasks , events , & plot drops

HOW RIGBY RUNS A ROLEPLAY PT 3 –– plot outlining

[fakehappyhq]

Hey, guys.

So I’m sure that for most of you, this is going to come as somewhat of a shock, but Mod Rigby and myself have come to the conclusion that it’s time to close Fake Happy. It truly breaks our hearts to have to do this but it’s become apparent that we can’t salvage things. No amount of taking on other mods or easing up how much we log onto the main would change declining mental health on both our parts. We have to put ourselves first and be selfish in this instance. The closure of this group is just coming sooner than either of us would’ve liked. 

A part of this is to do with the fact our group grew very rapidly and with the various aspects of our plot, it became difficult to keep up with. We haven’t been able to reach the full potential of what our group was supposed to be, and for this, we’re truly sorry. The following will be separate personal messages from us both, and it would mean a great deal to us if you read them. 

Before we do that, though... we’d like to offer some groups we feel you guys may be able to take your characters and hopefully feel at home. 

@crave-hq -- reality television, small in size @newskinhq -- freelance, appless, small in size @harmonyrpg -- town au, small in size @betterweatherhq -- freelance, small in size @blushhq -- tour, truth or dare, large in size @unlostrp -- freelance, large in size @theplasticscenerpg -- blackmail, supernatural, needs apps to open

I would first of all like to say that I feel absolutely terrible that the Hallowe’en episode didn’t get posted. I wanted to go out with a bang and end things on a good note but it’s just not going to be feasible, and I am so incredibly sorry. I feel like we’ve wasted people’s time, and I feel like I’m letting all of you down. Just writing this message is taking me a long time because I cannot stop crying. 

I love this group so much, but I’m starting to resent it. I wanna get a little bit real and say that after I modded my previous group, I wasn’t really interested in modding again. It hurt me deeply to have to close the place down, but it dragged my mental health through the mud to run it. But I came up with this idea, and when I voiced it to Mod Rigby, she was excited for me and immediately offered to co-mod. I was totally on board. We created the group in less than a week. It’s been a joy to mod with her. 

I don’t want to say this is the end of Fake Happy forever... we may, at some point, decide to bring it back, so the main will likely stay up. But if we ever decide this... it will likely be very far in the future. 

I wanted to make a group that people could feel safe in and have creative control, whilst still incorporating my own creativity. But it recently occurred to me I haven’t really had a chance to thrive in my own group. I got too focused on the mod side of things, and then the group increased rapidly in size, and I just never really found a balance between my characters, mental health, and being a mod. Being a mod overtook all else and you don’t need me to tell you how incredibly unhealthy that’s been for me. For me, the only solution right now is to close, and I hate that it’s the only solution. 

Thank-you for sticking with us. Thank-you for allowing us to flex our creative muscles since July 26th on this wonderful group. Thank-you to the friends of mine that joined and supported this group. You’re all very creative yourselves, and very talented. Be kind to each other. 

Again, I’m really sorry that we’re closing. Posting this message is going to make me ache for days because I’ll feel so much guilt and sadness that it’s over. But I love you all and it’s just time for Mod Rigby and I to heal ourselves. We can’t be good mods for you if we’re not taking care of ourselves. 

Quick shout-out to our temporary Mod Skips for being my moral support for a hot minute when Mod Rigby was out of the game. 

I could type for days and days but I need to stop at some point. I’m just very sorry, and I’m glad so many of you were so board with our crazy detailed idea enough to join us. Some of you have been here pretty much since we opened, and to you Fake Happy veterans in particular, bless you. 

See you when I’m lookin’ at you. 

- Mod Mordecai Xo

For two solid months, I thoroughly enjoyed modding Fake Happy. It felt good to be able to say that we were doing everything within our power to ensure a safe and fun group for the majority of you here. It felt good to curate a space that has come to be known for being run by proactive mods. We truly did everything we could to keep things afloat, and it’s with heavy hearts that we’ve come to this decision. As we grew in numbers, the severity of our responsibilities as mods increased further than we could sustain.

On top of modding this group and playing my baby, Jake Ewald, I’m also a retail business owner preparing for my first holiday season which is enough alone to overwhelm someone. The past month or so, I’ve found myself buried in modding duties... leaving no time to actually roleplay once all of the t’s were crossed and i’s dotted. After returning from my much-needed sabbatical... I couldn’t get back in touch with my muse for roleplaying, and I fear that putting too much pressure on myself to go above everyone’s expectations of me is the cause of that. This is no-one’s fault but my own. In the future, I hope to get back into the swing of things, but only time will tell. 

To everyone that I had active plots with, I’m so incredibly sorry that I’ve been a ghost these past few weeks. You’ll all be getting personal messages once I’ve recouped from the whirlwind that modding this group has been -- I just wanted to make sure you know that I am sorry for checking out on my actual roleplaying. 

To all of you, I’m so sorry that this party is ending so suddenly. I wish you all the best of luck in all your future endeavors... both in your day-to-day lives as well as in roleplay. Thanks for sticking with us! 

- Mod Rigby <3

[optimismrpt]

HOW RIGBY RUNS A ROLEPLAY : A VERY SPECIFIC GUIDE ( OF SORTS )

BONUS CONTENT: ACCEPTANCE DAY

I think it’s essentially to start with this disclaimer: This is merely how I run a rp and I’m not saying by any means it is how a rp should be run. I have found success through these methods all in combination and I can’t promise that they work all the time.

IMPORTANT ! if you use this guide as a basis for your rp please credit back to me somewhere on your front page, rules, or plot! this is a very specific type of rp (small limited run plot heavy skeleton rp) that i have worked very hard to develop over the past five years. i want you to learn from my successes and failures, and please give credit where it is due!

It is a lot of work! Like A LOT! And if you don’t have time to admin with full commitment this is not the right type of rp to attempt.

With that in mind, let’s go!

FULL GUIDE IN THE SOURCE LINK! 

BEFORE THE ACTUAL DAY

First of all, getting apps is fun and it’s easy to get wrapped up in the excitement and want to move things forward as soon as possible. However, I recommend you don’t rush! Do not move up your acceptance date or the date that you close the inbox! This isn’t fair to the people who were planning on finishing up their apps before the original deadline who now have to crunch to meet the new deadline or may not be able to make the new deadline at all because of irl responsibilities. It’s always good to give lots of warning for the inbox closing and stick to it! 

I also recommend that you do not lower the threshold of people needed to open. Sometimes it can be disheartening to set an app threshold at ten and then only get six apps, even if the days grind on with no new apps, stick it out and keep promoting! Opening with less than eight characters (and for apples I’d say 15 characters) is going to make activity lackluster. It’s better to delay opening for the sake of having a grand first day than to jump the gun and end up making the rp fizzle before it can even start. 

About 52 hours before acceptances are set to take place I like to write out a to-do list and put it in my drafts. It usually involves ‘write acceptance posts, update skeletons, update main, post acceptances, post follows, post opening note’. Just having everything you need to do between then and opening written out in order is so helpful. And being able to check things off the list creates both a feeling of relief and excitement. So make a plan, determine how soon everything needs to be done, and work through it meticulously. In the rush of opening day it can be easy to forget important things like updating the triggers page.

If I have time I try to write everything hours in advance. When it comes to things like opening announcements and plot drops I try to write those at least 24 hours of their release time. And this is why I like, for competitive rps, to close the inbox and then give myself at least two hours to deliberate. But I’d even encourage giving yourself 6 hours between the inbox closing and posting acceptances. I know that’s a while to make people wait but apps can get pretty long and reading them all (and probably rereading a few of them multiple times) can be a lengthy process! 

I always try not to read the apps at all before the deliberation time. I find that if I read an app when it comes in that gives the first person an advantage because they have more time for me to adapt to their vision and start to assimilate it and get attached. And that’s not fair to the people who may have stumbled upon the rp later. So I just read the app far enough to get the info for the app count.

Just as a general rule I like to post important dates and times in at least two different timezones. For example ‘Acceptances are at 6am GMT / 1pm EST / 10pm PST ’. That way you can show that you are keeping other timezones in mind. And plus it’s nice to just to the conversion work so your applicants don’t have to. 

DELIBERATION TIME

Start by reading the apps which don’t have competition. These ones are easiest because it’s not a matter of determining whether they are the best of the bunch, it’s just deciding whether or not they are are passable. So I always read those first and then write their acceptance post immediately after I make my decision so that at least I’ll have that to post at the set acceptance date. That way, even if I haven’t made a decision on all the apps I’ll have something to post to show that I am reading apps and trying to stick to schedule! 

When your are dealing with competitive apps there are a few things I look for in an application: 

The most important is that the applicant seems willing to talk to you. This could be asks, ims, or even a little note in the app! Writers who want to make it clear what their intentions/desires/goals are ooc are going to be the easiest to work with! Plus it gives you an idea of how flexible they are! Those who dig their heels in when you offer up alternative suggestions are probably not good to work with. You want to find someone who has direction, intention, and ideas but don’t treat your ideas (or anyone else’s) as lesser than their own. 

Call for humor! I’ve found that I have trouble with people who take themselves and their characters too seriously. This means that they often won’t be up for plotting since they don’t want their character to be anything less than graceful. Humor is a really good sign that a writer is fun, creative, and understands their character. 

I also get wary of people who overhype the rp. Making edits/adding memes in the talk tag is all very nice, but when it looks like an rpt is promoting my rp just to give themselves an advantage over other applicants I tend to count that against them. I don’t like the idea of an rpt trying to use their signal boosting and popularity in the rpc as leverage over me. 

One of the biggest red flags is someone not sticking to the skeleton! If someone blatantly disregards one or more aspects of the skeleton that is an instant strike against them. I don’t like it when people have ocs that they adapt to fit a skeleton because most of the time that means that they don’t really care about the skeleton and your ideas. However, if they contact me about changes to the skeleton in advance and ask if some edits are alright then that’s actually a really good sign! I want people to play a character that they are happy about and I’m willing to change up any skeleton. I just need to know the applicant is willing to work with me instead of against me. 

Do not be afraid to deny applications. I used to never do this because I felt it was too mean and judgmental but now I realize I reserve the right as an admin to deny any app or character that I don’t vibe with. Go with your gut, and if the application is making you uncomfortable or nervous in any way, do not accept them. Sometimes it’s better to have one role go unwritten than to have someone who isn’t good for the group. Because both ic and ooc dynamics contribute to the effectiveness and survival of the group, you need to be excited to work with everyone and their characters. 

One of the ways that I protect myself from muns who may not be right for the rp is by putting a password in the rules. Often the apps that make me uncomfortable are the ones that disregard or contradict the skeleton or plot. It’s clear that the mun either wasn’t paying attention, reading the pages carefully, or just chose to ignore what they read. It’s often That the apps that I don’t vibe with end up being the ones that don’t read the rules and therefor don’t put the password. So not only is it a good indicator to me that the mun might not be very considerate but it’s also a great default reason to deny an app without having to tell the mun directly that you didn’t like other aspects of their app. Most often I allow them to reapply if they’d like to but their acceptance won’t be immediate, so that there’s a chance someone else might apply for the same role with an application than doesn’t skeeve me out.

ONCE YOU’VE MADE THE DECISION

Write out your acceptance notes. I try to write a full paragraph for everyone when I am accepting for a skeleton rp. If there’s more than 20 characters being accepted then obviously don’t, since that’s way too much to ask of you. But if it’s a small group I always endorse writing a little welcome the chosen mun saying what ti was about their appt hat you gravitated towards. It’s kind of a way to also provide feedback to those who were denied as to what their app might have been missing. Plus, it’s just a good way to get the right vibes going for the ooc portion of the rp. Muns need to feel appreciated! After all they put in the work to get there! 

I also like to offer feedback to those who were denied but with a disclaimer that most apps are chosen based on how they mesh with the other apps, since that’s something no one can anticipate. Usually the quality of the writing isn’t as big of a factor as how the character plays into dynamics with the others and whether or not their desired plots and connections with your vision and everyone else’s. Most of the time people won’t take you up on it, but be kind and thoughtful to those who do. However, if they are aggressive towards you in any way because they are upset about being denied block them immediately. Just trust me on that one. 

Keep everyone updated as to your progress! Just telling everyone where you are at (in the process of reading apps, writing the acceptance notes, or taking a break) is a good way to put everyone’s minds at ease. It’s especially important to let people know if you are logging off for a while on acceptance day.  That way people aren’t stuck refreshing the page and dreading that you might be ignoring them. On acceptance day I like to make a post every time I come online or go offline. It may seem like oversharing but it’s honestly so helpful to both you and the applicants. 

POST-ACCEPTANCES

Once you are about to start posting acceptance notes, turn off anon. I know that anon can be very useful for those shy and curious folks that don’t want to im you directly, but this is another case where you’re just gonna have to trust me. For your mental health turn off anon and keep it off for at least 48 hours. I usually keep it off permanently unless there are more roles that need to be filled in a second round of acceptances. There aren’t really any questions that should need to be asked anonymously once you have a full roster of muns and this is a good way to get people used to asking you questions via discord, im, or dm. To prevent nasties from bullying you and to open the line of communication between you and your members, turn off anon! 

And finally, once you have posted acceptances, close your laptop or turn off your monitor and don’t come back to it for at least an hour. I like to give myself two hours to go on a walk, eat some food, and just do non-rp things for a while. Acceptances are stressful and it’s important not to get swept up in it and feel overwhelmed. Taking a step back and remembering you exist outside of rp and outside of being an admin is so important. It’s hard to resist temptation, but if you have anon off really the only thing that’ll come into your inbox are follow messages and those can wait for two hours (or more)! But like I said above, keep everyone updated that you are going to log off for a bit and you’ll be back. Just so no one assumes the worst. 

Just remember to be kind to your applicants and to yourself! It’s a stressful time for everyone! 

[optimismrpt]

i did it! i wrote a list of all the skeleton rps i’ve adminned and what i’ve learned from them and i made a page for the compilation of all my ‘how rigby runs a roleplay’ guides which features some terminology and explanations that will help you understand how my skeleton rps work. please send in asks if you have any questions or want some advice! 

[optimismrpt]

is there any sort of guide about making live rp events?? they sound like so much fun but i’m not sure how to organize one for my rp

i touched on it briefly in HOW RIGBY RUNS A ROLEPLAY: PART 2 but that’s fairly specific to small plot heavy rps (under 20 characters). for large rps i have absolutely no clue. if you’d like me to expand upon what i wrote in that guide and give you the full play by play of how i plot, schedule, keep things moving, and wrap up live writing events i’d be happy to write that up over the weekend! 

[optimismrpt]

fun fact: the ‘how rigby runs a roleplay’ guide is now exactly 12000 words long. 

[optimismrpt]

cryrps replied to your photo: HOW RIGBY RUNS A ROLEPLAY : A VERY SPECIFIC GUIDE...

This is so helpful! Tysm!!

I am so glad to hear that! If you give any of the methods a shot let me know! I would be happy to hear how they work out for other people!