Eka's Portal

Whenever I try to set up any RP, I like to do a little planning first. I don't mean write a script that the RP will follow to the letter, of course. Just a good idea where to start, what to expect and how it could end.

I mean, there are so many things to consider, aren't there? You start with nothing but a vague idea of what your partner enjoys seeing, and the same is true for them. With any luck, one of you already has a scenario he would like to see and the other person agrees to try it. But that's just the beginning. You still need to agree on things such as the premise, some basic details about your characters, the setting and some things which could come up in the roleplay - which in some cases, there are a lot of! And even if you do a few back and forth posts discussing things, it still doesn't guarantee you'd be meaning the same things. Of course, sometimes you can have a nice RP with minimal planning, but it rarely turns into anything to write home about.

So, I just have to ask: is planning things out considered bad taste on Eka's? It has happened time and again, that someone would express an interest in RPing with me, only to go "poof" the moment I start an exchange of ideas, as opposed to a vague "like/dislike" list (and odds are, half of that will be disregarded). Is there some unspoken rule about not putting any thought or effort into setting things up, if not the RP itself?

Share your thoughts and experiences.

I find peoples of it seems to vary really, I prefer to discuss thing prior so I know their likes and dislikes before hand and don't end up in an awkward situation where someone suddenly thrusts a kink I'm not into in, or vice versa. Particularly considering I've had people who I didn't talk things through with just suddenly disappear off once I started because they clearly didn't like the ideas.

Although I've experienced the same stuff of talking things out and then suddenly they vanish into the ether. Don't get why, guess a lot of people are just really impatient.

Planning out is usually something I find people interested in, especially when it comes to specific on point scenarios and assuming it is done through whispers rather than PUB. Even some of the Grab and Gulps I've been involved in had some rather lengthy discussion before they actually took off. The problem I seem to find with those whom I've tried to play with is simply that either they don't tend to be interested at that point in time, which is perfectly acceptable or simply that they don't have much time or a stable schedule for more long term RP's when I seek them, leading me to formulate simpler but hopefully equally satisfying grab and gulps.

Planning an rp out can be fun for people like me and some rpers. I used plan way too much though now tis not so much. The most annoying thing that gets me is when people you want to plan out with just up and leave and then remove you form their rp lists or block you. nothing gets more irritating then planning an rp with another and then they say 'nah I don't wanna plan it" then bam they are gone.

Oh yes, I gotta plan RPs. If I don't, they end up being one liners because I have no idea what to post.

I find the more planning involved, the less desire I have to actually go through with the RP. I mean, even without scripting it, if all the details are more or less worked out, and I've already gone through it in my head, there's significantly less point to actually following through and writing the scene. More often than not, the scenes I end up finishing are the ones where someone just pokes me in character and I snack on them >-> That being said, I do a good deal of talking about preferences, and trying to figure out WHY people like what they do, instead of just ticking off a list of likes and dislikes and hoping I hit them properly.

It definitely does vary person to person, though. I had one partner I'd frequently played with that thought I solely played scenes with a lot of planning, when his desire to overplan (for my sake) was actually making it harder to play with him. Or others mistakenly thought that my haste in jumping into scenes meant that I was only willing to chat in character, and caused misunderstandings or hesitated to talk OOC to me.

I think in the end, good RPers are people who communicate well, most of the time, and those people won't mind a few bumps in sorting things out - having to work out preferences, the amount of planning both people like, etc. The ones that are easily scared off by one little difference in kinks or a little miscommunication probably weren't going to lead to the best scenes anyway.

I don't understand how you can rp without any sort of planning. You have to pick the characters, setting, some sort of ideas as to what is going on...something. Maybe its just me, but I have to talk things out before ever doing an rp. Maybe you just got a bad batch of people. It is hard to find literate rpers that are into all the same things you are. So once you do, keep them.

As has been said, it varies by person, but also by situation. Sometimes two characters/players just mesh together really well and the setup is minimal because it's pretty obvious what should happen. That's not often.

I'm more on the planning side of the spectrum. I like to set kinks, make sure I know what my partner does or doesn't like, and find an interesting starting point. I like to have a vague idea of what is going to happen, but I don't like an itinerary or planning things out. I prefer to to let the story flow as it might after the setup. I don't often RP on here, though, admittedly—and I haven't RPed anywhere in quite a while.

"It's hard to find a good Roleplay partner" is a term I usually use, the problem is that even if you find someone who likes your things (Let's say Oral, Soft, Non-fatal) maybe the other person wants something a bit different or don't like one type of characters, or has a non-vore thing they really want to include? It's pretty much ruined then, I often don't get to the planning of the Rp because me and whoever I'm talking to can't get along with some small things.

There will always be people who don't want to plan and just want you to know what you're supposed to know. The best way to really get friendlier over the site is to talk about things, such as "Oh you liked that, I really don't like that, is that alright? Can we work around it somehow?"

I agree that it's hard to find good partners, since everyone is different. Vetting people is so damn time-consuming. When I used to actively RP it was hard to log on for less than 3 hours. One of the reasons I stopped.

That and when I did find a really great fit in a partner, something fucks it up and they disappear or stop playing. that's my luck.

I like some planning, but not to the point where it's on a script. Gimmie the characters involved, a setting, and anything that my partner and I are looking for specifically at the time or are really wanting to avoid and it's all good. A little bit of plot to why the characters are there or how they start interacting or who's doing what role is also nice too, but not absolutely necessary!

For me personally I like to have a little bit of planning taken care of. Half of it is so I can find out what my partner wants from a scene and the other half is to see how the other player actually acts. I like to talk to someone a little bit before a rp before starting one to see if I want to play with someone. All the preferences can line up perfectly and a scene can go poorly because personalities don't really mesh well.

Vidofinir wrote:I find the more planning involved, the less desire I have to actually go through with the RP. I mean, even without scripting it, if all the details are more or less worked out, and I've already gone through it in my head, there's significantly less point to actually following through and writing the scene. More often than not, the scenes I end up finishing are the ones where someone just pokes me in character and I snack on them >-> That being said, I do a good deal of talking about preferences, and trying to figure out WHY people like what they do, instead of just ticking off a list of likes and dislikes and hoping I hit them properly.

It definitely does vary person to person, though. I had one partner I'd frequently played with that thought I solely played scenes with a lot of planning, when his desire to overplan (for my sake) was actually making it harder to play with him. Or others mistakenly thought that my haste in jumping into scenes meant that I was only willing to chat in character, and caused misunderstandings or hesitated to talk OOC to me.

I think in the end, good RPers are people who communicate well, most of the time, and those people won't mind a few bumps in sorting things out - having to work out preferences, the amount of planning both people like, etc. The ones that are easily scared off by one little difference in kinks or a little miscommunication probably weren't going to lead to the best scenes anyway.

Agreed. Some people expect you to describe the entire scene from beginning to end, with EVERYTHING in between, I have found these to be the shallow types, who want it all planned out for them, and turn a person down, simply because of a few minor details they didn't like.
It involves compromise and both people should try and work it out together, if you have to have everything pre-planned. All that matters to me is how it turns out in the end. Ask what your potential partner wants, or tell someone who is asking you for a scene what YOU want. Proper communication is key.

I'd much rather have things planned out, but definitely not like a script. Just a basic idea of how to begin, and what could happen, then leave it open for anything else to occur. If I don't have things planned, or at least some idea of what to do, it's difficult to get things to flow nicely in a descriptive, lengthy roleplay.

i've had at least one person disappear on me when i didn't have a plot already formed right off the bat, but i can't see how it would be considered a bad thing to want to plan at least the basics of your story out with a potential partner. i don't really like the idea of trying to start an RP without any planning at all; that just seems like a recipe for disaster. and, well, if previous experiences are any indication... it is. most unplanned or barely-planned RPs i've encountered in the past have either ended prematurely or gotten me saddled with players who weren't up to snuff. a lot of people like to jump into things, but it usually leads to assumptions being made or an overall lack of detail. if you don't communicate before you start writing, chances are, you're gonna have a bad time.

.......................................

Potential overplanner here.

Fetishes are really, really hit or miss. As someone frequently expected to be the dom, the pred, the plot, the playmaker, the ADC carry, etc. all the eggshells and legos are there for me to walk on.

You want it with surprise and spontaneous, just tell me first, but by default I will assume all surprises will give everyone cancer always if they pertain to anything close to a kink.

Planning is often good, but it can make things a little too linear. Overplanning, in my honest opinion seems to drain the fun out of a roleplay, before it even begins. That's just my personal opinion, but I'm sure many would agree.