Plot Help
Are you... looking for someone to post with?
Do you... have a plot idea and need someone else to make it happen?
Are you... looking for someone to play a character?
Are you... new to the RPG and need a place to start?
If any of the above or another situation applies to you, help is here! Below is a 'step by step' guide that I use to find or create plots, or to find someone to post with. You may find a completely different system works for you, but this is here to help you get you started.
1) First things first; have some idea of what sort of plot you want to engage in. It doesn't matter how vague your thoughts are, you just need to know what you will and will not do. Think about your character, their personality and their current situation.
2) Plots do not need to be complex. They can be something as simple as a conversation with another character, a love interest or a new friend. I suggest using these simple plots as way to introduce more complex plots such as treason, deciet and politics. For example; Belle, a human, meets Jim, a hunter, and by association she becomes involved in the hunter plot.
3) A plot can be anything you wish, as long as it fits with the setting of this RPG. In other words... your character cannot have a brief encounter with an alien since aliens don't exist here. Make sense?
4) So you are now at the point where you either have a concrete plot idea or you know what you are/are not looking for. The next step is to find someone to post with. There are various different ways of doing this, depending on what your situation is:
Situation A: You have a plot idea that involves your character and someone else. The problem is you don't have anyone to play the other character/s in the plot.
The first thing to do is send in the information for a player request (whichever is applicable), and I will add it to the website for you. I would also suggest posting to the OOC Group about the plot.
Situation B: You are just looking for someone to post with at the moment, but you are not looking to join a big plot. (This includes while you're waiting for a plot/character to be filled.)
The best thing to do in this situation is post your character in a public place where one or more characters are present. In the subject line of your post (the 'attn' part) tag the character or tag 'anyone'. You can have your character notice the other character/s present or just introduce your character's presence. Alternatively, you can post to the OOC Group and see if anyone is interested in conversation or your characters bumping into one another.
Situation C: You have a vague idea of what you're looking for but no definate idea OR you're up for anything.
You can either post to the OOC Group and see if anyone has any ideas, or you can enter your character into a public place (see Situation B for details).
Situation D: You are currently waiting for someone else to post and you're not sure what to do/you're worried about getting into trouble for being behind in posting.
You may end up waiting for someone for all sorts of reasons because real life does come before this RPG. In most cases the player will have notified me or posted in the OOC group and explained the delay. Sometimes you won't know what's going on. Either way I am usually aware that you have posted and are waiting for someone else. If you are worried just drop me a quick email saying you're still active. If the other player has given a return date wait for them to post when they get back. If you've been waiting over 2 weeks, and no explaination or return date has been given, it's best to excuse your character and move them else where. Drop the other player an email explaining whats happening, and you can always get together again when the player has returned.
If you are looking for a specific character you can also post a request at other sites, such as The Character Search Engine. The more places you post about the plot or needed character the more interest you will get. It is definetly worth taking the time to do so.
While you are waiting for someone to respond to a plot idea or character request you must still be posting. See situation B for an example of what you can do while you wait.
4) If your plot is going to affect other characters please talk it through with their players. Just because you like the plot idea doesn't mean they will. If your plot may have an effect on the entire RPG or a large number of characters please discuss it with me first.
5) You can always involve your character in the plot of the RPG discussed here. You don't need to ask my permission to involve your character in these plots, just contact me if it will affect the entire RPG.