Selecting Players

RolePlay Games: Easy to Destroy

I joined an RP about 20 days ago that looked incredibly cool.

It was started by a guy named Hawshire, and featured many cool players that I knew, and more that I got to know. It was an RP that would progress through ages, with the Dark Ages ending on day 100. The provinces were rearranged; for example, the Holy Roman Empire was made up of a conglomeration of Austria-Hungary and Germany, there was the Byzantine Empire, which was Greek provinces scattered about, and there was the Golden Horde, played by Caucasus.

Everything was going well. There were plagues, nations fought, the rift between Christian and Muslim nations grew larger, and everyone was planning, scheming, and having a fun time.

But then, bad things happened. Goldmark spamming, to be precise. Arabia was wiped off the map after being weakened from massive GM usage, and other nations were attacked as well. It didn't help that it was strictly against the rules (as it normally is in RP's).

But the thing that really tipped the balance in the favor of doom was that two players sent their entire armies across the Atlantic to take over North America.

Usually, this isn't much of a problem, as long as the actions are roleplayed correctly. But this game was different. This wasn't allowed, and wasn't RP'd. There were no players on the continent to the West, as it was to be used for colonization storylines in later ages of the RP. This meant that these players could completely conquer all of the provinces, and amass huge resources to use to ruin the RP further.

So, what should you take away from this?

Trolls Suck.

GM trolls suck even more.


Therefore, when starting an RP, one must be selective. If one wishes to have a great RP, he must be extremely so, and must utilize an extreme vetting process.

Don't let just anyone join. Make them prove their ability. If they only write 100 word articles, I wouldn't let them in my RP. If there is any chance that anger will force them to destroy your work, don't give them access to the game. Also, make sure that the people who you do let in the game don't give out permission to whomever they want. Who's in the game should be up to the creator, unless otherwise stated.

In closing, just be a tad skeptical when starting an RP.

That is all.

-ThatMcGraw