The most important thing to me is someone whose RP is fun and not half-assed. I'm not really sure how to explain what I mean by this... erm. I have a fondness for newer role-players. They typically try very hard to impress, put in a lot of thought and effort, always try to keep something interesting happening, they're passionate and optimistic and not burnt out. I like that in people. I'd choose someone who can keep a good story going yet who may be a little green and make the occasional faux pas over someone who never metas and has perfect grammar but it boring and bland. So, that's always the real selling point for me, but other things I typically value:
- Three dimensional and interesting characters. For me, RP is largely character driven. The characters make the story. I don't like characters who are inconsistent, flat, or the dreaded, self-proclaimed "my character acts just like I do irl!" types.
- Staying true to the character and no random/unnecessary/frequent retcons.
- Good spelling, grammar, and diction. I don't want to get distracted giggling at funny typos or get a headache squinting at my screen as I try to decipher the meaning of a sentence.
- General writing ability. I like to read pretty words in pretty sentences in pretty paragraphs. I like to see descriptions that make me think, "Wow, I never thought of putting it that way before."
- No purple prose. No, that's not what I mean by pretty words. Using big/obscure words or abusing metaphors and poetic language is not a substitute for actual writing ability. There's nothing I hate more than people who try really hard to come across as deeply intellectual, deep, and philosophical by using a lot of superficial language and pretentious sounding words haphazardly strung together in a way that's not even effective stylistically or grammatically correct. "Physiognomy" may mean "face" but that doesn't mean you should substitute it for the word "face" in every sentence. /rant
- Post length. I want substance. I don't enjoy one-liners. But please don't prattle on about useless things. "I can write a lot" =/= "I can write well." They're not the same thing. The worth of someone's post is not determined by its length. It's also important to know WHEN to use lengthy posts and when not to use them. Skype RP may be good for a five paragraph long post--the middle of the Quicksand on a busy night is probably not.
- Description. See the above--moderation is important. I like a vivid picture of what's going on. How many grains of wood are in the table or what someone's character ate for breakfast yesterday do not need to be part of this "picture."
- Immersion and lore accuracy. I'm not a stickler, but I do like for the setting and the laws of the world to feel consistent.
- No IC/OOC bleed. Ruins the fun in RP almost instantly.
- Fairness and etiquette, avoiding taboos. No metagaming, godmodding, autohitting, powerplaying, Mary Sues, etc.
- Post speed. You don't have to cut substance for speed, I just don't want to wait 15 minutes for every post. I've role-played with people who'd write 5+ paragraphs for every post and the writing and substance were actually decent, but not worth a 30 minute wait between posts.
- Someone who's not just after ERP/sex/romance and nothing more. 99.9% of my role-plays won't end that way, so it's a waste of time for us both when someone realizes my character won't date/sleep with theirs and they ditch me and never speak to me again.
- OOC likability and communication skills. Like Val said, trust is important. No, they don't have to be my bff or someone who I would want to be mine, but role-play--especially in depth or long term--involves at least some degree of communication, so it helps if the other person is someone I enjoy communicating with and can with ease.
- Not taking things too seriously. Have fun. Put some comedy into your role-play. Be able to laugh at your characters, or laugh along when others laugh at them. Don't play "omg super cool badass" that everyone else must recognize as super cool, IC and OOC, at all times.
- Thick skin No, I'm not some edgelord, but in an increasingly tumblr-esque society where people are more and more easily offended, some of the content I like to explore and include in RP may be "triggers." That's not to say I will ever include something in RP that I know the other person is OOCly uncomfortable with, I just have a lot more fun not having to censor myself or my characters.
- Believability and logic. Sure, it's a fantasy setting, but I like for it to feel like a real world. I don't enjoy people who role-play like they're in an anime. In an anime world, your character gets a free pass to act like a dick/lone wolf/tsundere/whatever because you're the "chosen one," or one of them, and the people working toward the same goals are forced to be around you and learn to see past your rough exterior. That's not it works in real life or how it should work in RP. If your character acts like a dick, most other characters are going to think he acts like a dick, and want nothing to do with him.
- Three dimensional and interesting characters. For me, RP is largely character driven. The characters make the story. I don't like characters who are inconsistent, flat, or the dreaded, self-proclaimed "my character acts just like I do irl!" types.
- Staying true to the character and no random/unnecessary/frequent retcons.
- Good spelling, grammar, and diction. I don't want to get distracted giggling at funny typos or get a headache squinting at my screen as I try to decipher the meaning of a sentence.
- General writing ability. I like to read pretty words in pretty sentences in pretty paragraphs. I like to see descriptions that make me think, "Wow, I never thought of putting it that way before."
- No purple prose. No, that's not what I mean by pretty words. Using big/obscure words or abusing metaphors and poetic language is not a substitute for actual writing ability. There's nothing I hate more than people who try really hard to come across as deeply intellectual, deep, and philosophical by using a lot of superficial language and pretentious sounding words haphazardly strung together in a way that's not even effective stylistically or grammatically correct. "Physiognomy" may mean "face" but that doesn't mean you should substitute it for the word "face" in every sentence. /rant
- Post length. I want substance. I don't enjoy one-liners. But please don't prattle on about useless things. "I can write a lot" =/= "I can write well." They're not the same thing. The worth of someone's post is not determined by its length. It's also important to know WHEN to use lengthy posts and when not to use them. Skype RP may be good for a five paragraph long post--the middle of the Quicksand on a busy night is probably not.
- Description. See the above--moderation is important. I like a vivid picture of what's going on. How many grains of wood are in the table or what someone's character ate for breakfast yesterday do not need to be part of this "picture."
- Immersion and lore accuracy. I'm not a stickler, but I do like for the setting and the laws of the world to feel consistent.
- No IC/OOC bleed. Ruins the fun in RP almost instantly.
- Fairness and etiquette, avoiding taboos. No metagaming, godmodding, autohitting, powerplaying, Mary Sues, etc.
- Post speed. You don't have to cut substance for speed, I just don't want to wait 15 minutes for every post. I've role-played with people who'd write 5+ paragraphs for every post and the writing and substance were actually decent, but not worth a 30 minute wait between posts.
- Someone who's not just after ERP/sex/romance and nothing more. 99.9% of my role-plays won't end that way, so it's a waste of time for us both when someone realizes my character won't date/sleep with theirs and they ditch me and never speak to me again.
- OOC likability and communication skills. Like Val said, trust is important. No, they don't have to be my bff or someone who I would want to be mine, but role-play--especially in depth or long term--involves at least some degree of communication, so it helps if the other person is someone I enjoy communicating with and can with ease.
- Not taking things too seriously. Have fun. Put some comedy into your role-play. Be able to laugh at your characters, or laugh along when others laugh at them. Don't play "omg super cool badass" that everyone else must recognize as super cool, IC and OOC, at all times.
- Thick skin No, I'm not some edgelord, but in an increasingly tumblr-esque society where people are more and more easily offended, some of the content I like to explore and include in RP may be "triggers." That's not to say I will ever include something in RP that I know the other person is OOCly uncomfortable with, I just have a lot more fun not having to censor myself or my characters.
- Believability and logic. Sure, it's a fantasy setting, but I like for it to feel like a real world. I don't enjoy people who role-play like they're in an anime. In an anime world, your character gets a free pass to act like a dick/lone wolf/tsundere/whatever because you're the "chosen one," or one of them, and the people working toward the same goals are forced to be around you and learn to see past your rough exterior. That's not it works in real life or how it should work in RP. If your character acts like a dick, most other characters are going to think he acts like a dick, and want nothing to do with him.
![[Image: NCtCate.png]](http://i.imgur.com/NCtCate.png)
