Signs That a GM Won't Continue/Start the RP

mombie wrote:I don't understand why people start a Universe only to not start the actual RP or to only disappear after one or two posts made by themselves.

I don't understand this either! I always thought people would be a lot more passionate about maintaining universes they've created, but what do I know... it'd be great if we could find more ways to help them succeed, but it seems dedicated creators are few and far between.

One thing I feel helps is just jumping in to other people's stories, as someone has to be the person to write the next post, so it may as well be you. Maybe you don't even get a response, but at least the next eager adventurer has something they can respond to!

mombie wrote:Is it bad form to continue the RP without them or to take their Universe and just move it to your own so that you can accrue new members and move on?

I think posting in inactive settings is a great way to bump them back up to the top! Maybe other players will see the ongoing scene and decide to join you, effectively ending the inactivity without any action from the original creator. I generally think it's better to contribute to what already exists (to make it better) than to copy and start fresh, as collaboration tends to lead to the best outcomes.

Who knows, maybe the original creator comes back and starts posting again thanks to you! Be the change...

Posted Elsewhere.

Speaking as a GM, I can tell you how hard it is to find people interested in an RPG sometimes. I know for a fact that the site isn't as active as it use to be when I first join and I've seen plenty of RPGs that never got off the ground. I stopped questioning it at this point.

I was lucky enough to get permission from a GM to recreate her RPG, but there is another I would love to recreate also by another GM. I only plan on focusing on my current RPG for now, but someday what I may do is take one of the ideas of that old rpg and make major changes so it's only loosely based and I won't be stealing someone else idea. I've been roleplaying long enough to know that RPGs nowadays aren't truly original since they share similar themes.

As someone who has made rp's that don't get off the ground or die, I can say it's complicated. Firstly, you've got things in life that can get in the way of actually moving forward with creating the RP to its fullest, but can also get in the way of continuing the RP once it's started. However, I am part of an RP (Lords of Rock) which has managed to have significant (and consistent) periods of inactivity, but we manage to get back on the horse every time and keep going. That's largely because we've managed to find a group of people who are consistent in sticking with this story, even if it means things come to a halt for a few weeks, or even months.

If I could find groups like this for my own RP ideas, I can tell you that starting them (and continuing them) would be much less of a problem. Of course, too many RPs means too much to juggle as well, which has also been a problem. Sometimes you've got several really cool stories you want to turn into RPs, but then you go and do it and you just can't manage them all. I'm sure there's a way to manage several RPs and be active in all of them, but it really comes down to having a strong core group that will remain consistent. It helps keep the other members inspired enough to stay active and keep going, as well as the GM.

And as I'm sure we can all attest to, this has been an issue in roleplaying for a LONG time. I saw this for years when I was on Gaia in the Roleplay for Fantasy, Love, and Action (RPFLA) guild, and I know it happened elsewhere too. Roleplaying in general is just not being widely supported and marketed like it used to be, like when Gaia would have hundreds of thousands of users on at one time in the heyday.

My time in LoR has shown me though that it's crucial to have regular communication with your group (like Discord or something), decent chemistry between the members, everyone staying consistent in posting (or even just in being social with each other, that chemistry helps keep you interested in going back), and finding ways (with respect given to the lore) to create your own fun as a player (or GM). There's more to it than that I'm sure, but you really do need to develop better connections with the people you roleplay with, and you need to approach every roleplay knowing there will be parts that are a little more boring, but sometimes you need to get through dinner to get to dessert. Anyways, enough rambling from me, but I hope this provides some information for others to think on.