The Truth About Having A Truly Character-Driven Roleplay

I spotted this article on RPG-Directory written by Drae from the roleplaying forum Sizael, which hits upon some home truths that resonated with me. I got permission to repost it here for your pleasure and education 🙂

As a few guys and girls might know, I run/own/painstakingly-work-on Sizael, which is an original fantasy WRPG that’s been online for a good few years. Since running it, I’ve been asked a few times how I go about running a character-action driven board. Those whom I advise or who join Sizael then attempt it themselves seem to think it’s a piece of cake, and as nice as the rewards are, a board reliant on character actions is heavy in admin-work and is in constant threat of dying. What’s worse? You’ll be getting a bad reputation because of those other sites that say they’re character driven but are actually linear and/or plot driven.

1. Character Actions are Needed, but not Always Found
I’m not sure if people are simply intimidated by the amount of information Sizael provides about its world (it’s not the biggest in lore but neither is it the smallest), and I know its current version’s guidebook (V1.9) can be confusing. However, even when it is encouraged that members not be afraid to affect the storyline, to purposely pursue an attempt to affect it, there are many members who will shy away from it or roleplay actions that though they’re not shying away, don’t really affect the storyline. Read More