Is there a mininum theshold for changing details...

[Morningstar1337]

...before it can be considered retconning? (title limits). By now I'm sure you know that I don't RP in game, part due to unwillingness and part due to server(I'm am attempting 1 or 2 journals, but they can be considered rough drafts and thus also not finalized until I post it here. As well as joining a forum RP here to test myself). As such I feel like my character's details haven't been finalized yet. As such I am interested to know if there is or isn't a "pre-RP" threshold for changing back-story elements before the RP starts, and if it is on a case by case basis?

[Valence]

Generally for the things that never got exposed into RP in any way with anyone else than yourself, it tends to be fair game and you can do whatever you want (unless you have like, people following/reading your story, it might be confusing for them if you change things midway...).

General rule of thumbs though is that as soon as you start involving people with something, if you start retconning it it's always better to talk about it with them first, to see what can be worked out or not. It can be rather rude to force/impose change on someone's RP when you want to change something about yours. As soon as you start RPing something with RP partners, it stops being a solo endeavour but more of a collective effort.

 

So in short, it always depends on the people you RP with.

[Knislinge]

Well, I think it depends on the impact it'll have on other people's RP. If you're changing, say, a pretty big aspect of your character's backstory that hasn't come into play IC yet, I wouldn't call it retconning, because no one you RP with would be impacted by the change.

 

And, of course, if you point out to people that you're still hammering things out and that you might want to change some stuff in the future, I'm sure they'll be understanding and prepared for potential retcons and changes-of-mind.

 

It seems to be a case-by-case judgement call sort of thing.

[Shofie]

If you haven't roleplayed with anyone yet, anything is fair game, really.

 

Even after you've begun roleplaying, you are free to change your character if you wish. Just be aware the more tied to other characters you become, the more inconsiderate it can become to make unexpected changes without consulting with the other people first.

 

Again though, you are free to do as you wish with your own character, just be wary of repercussions if you do it, and try to be thoughtful.

 

It sounds like you aren't engaged with anyone currently, so you should be completely fine, though.

[Kilieit]

I view character backstories and personalities as being subject to quantum uncertainty...

 

That is, until that particular fact about them has been "observed" by a third party, it is both the case and not the case.

 

So, as Shofie says - not a problem whatsoever until you start interacting with people. Knock yourself out.

 

As for after that:

I'd talk it over with long-term partners, if you have them, before making any major retcons.

 

An example of why this can be inconsiderate: let's say your character's always been fond of carrot cake. But you make a retcon, and show up to RP suddenly saying that your character is no longer and has never been fond of carrot cake, and that your friend's character - who regularly gifts your character their favourite snack of carrot cake - has been force-feeding them their hated food all along. This portrays their character as malicious - something they never intended - and pulls the rug out from under their feet.

 

A better course of action would be to contact them OOC before showing up, like "hey, I was thinking of retconning it so my character never liked carrot cake, because I decided their parents were killed by a rampaging carrot mandragora. What do you think?" And they can say, "well, what about all the carrot cake my character's been giving them? My character's intention was never to hurt them" and you'd say "We can say they were giving them something different if you like. They still love bonbons, how about we say they were giving them bonbons instead?"

 

And you're sorted. Everyone's on the same page, the original "intentions" of everything is preserved, and you still get to make the change you felt was appropriate.

 

So do it - but communicate.

 

 

Honestly if anything I think things are gonna be a little stricter here with what people will tolerate... mostly because RP is an ephemeral medium where there isn't really much permanent record of what's happened in the past. Whereas these media are more permanent - people can check back and say "hey, that's not what you said originally". Or first-time readers will be confused because they just read one thing in Chapter 1, but Chapter 3 said something different?

 

So when you retcon, go all-in or not at all. Make sure it's something that's important enough to warrant it; go back and edit old posts to reflect your new ideas, and be prepared for the idea that some readers might lose interest if you make too many changes.

 

With concrete media like these, there's a lot to be said for making sure you're happy with what you're writing before you commit to publishing it - or at least wrapping the story up if you're so unhappy that major retcons would be the only way to resolve it, and starting a new one that you prefer.

 

[Delilah Scythewood]

I view character backstories and personalities as being subject to quantum uncertainty...

 

That is, until that particular fact about them has been "observed" by a third party, it is both the case and not the case.

 

So, as Shofie says - not a problem whatsoever until you start interacting with people. Knock yourself out.

 

As for after that:

I'd talk it over with long-term partners, if you have them, before making any major retcons.

 

An example of why this can be inconsiderate: let's say your character's always been fond of carrot cake. But you make a retcon, and show up to RP suddenly saying that your character is no longer and has never been fond of carrot cake, and that your friend's character - who regularly gifts your character their favourite snack of carrot cake - has been force-feeding them their hated food all along. This portrays their character as malicious - something they never intended - and pulls the rug out from under their feet.

 

A better course of action would be to contact them OOC before showing up, like "hey, I was thinking of retconning it so my character never liked carrot cake, because I decided their parents were killed by a rampaging carrot mandragora. What do you think?" And they can say, "well, what about all the carrot cake my character's been giving them? My character's intention was never to hurt them" and you'd say "We can say they were giving them something different if you like. They still love bonbons, how about we say they were giving them bonbons instead?"

 

And you're sorted. Everyone's on the same page, the original "intentions" of everything is preserved, and you still get to make the change you felt was appropriate.

 

So do it - but communicate.

 

 

 

Honestly if anything I think things are gonna be a little stricter here with what people will tolerate... mostly because RP is an ephemeral medium where there isn't really much permanent record of what's happened in the past. Whereas these media are more permanent - people can check back and say "hey, that's not what you said originally". Or first-time readers will be confused because they just read one thing in Chapter 1, but Chapter 3 said something different?

 

So when you retcon, go all-in or not at all. Make sure it's something that's important enough to warrant it; go back and edit old posts to reflect your new ideas, and be prepared for the idea that some readers might lose interest if you make too many changes.

 

With concrete media like these, there's a lot to be said for making sure you're happy with what you're writing before you commit to publishing it - or at least wrapping the story up if you're so unhappy that major retcons would be the only way to resolve it, and starting a new one that you prefer.

 

 

Pretty much this ^^^^^

 

I have someone I know who retcons and changes their characters on a pretty constant basis. To a point where I usually don't RP with them because it's too confusing to keep up with anything when there's no prior warning before the character is already something new.

 

As long as you can avoid a situation like that (though it's a somewhat extreme example) you should be fine

[Nebbs]

Generally for the things that never got exposed into RP in any way with anyone else than yourself, it tends to be fair game and you can do whatever you want (unless you have like, people following/reading your story, it might be confusing for them if you change things midway...).

General rule of thumbs though is that as soon as you start involving people with something, if you start retconning it it's always better to talk about it with them first, to see what can be worked out or not. It can be rather rude to force/impose change on someone's RP when you want to change something about yours. As soon as you start RPing something with RP partners, it stops being a solo endeavour but more of a collective effort.

 

So in short, it always depends on the people you RP with.

 

This. 

 

Though it can get complicated if you get other retconing the same past differently. Such can occur when someone leaves a group for example.

 

I'd suggest exploring IC bending of things before retcon.

[Morningstar1337]

Thanks for the answers guys. Right noe most of the stuff I'm looking into are just a handful of small details (age mainly)