Tips on starting (and maintaining) a group roleplay?

Mystica

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  2. Multiple posts per day
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  4. One post per day
  5. Multiple posts per week
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  1. Intermediate
Preferred Character Gender
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  2. Female
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Romance, Fluffy, Smutty, Fantasy
I thought of a nice idea for a group roleplay. Only problem is, I've never done one before. I could use some help, so does anyone have any tips or advice for starting and maintaining a group roleplay? All help is welcome. Thank you in advance.
 
I don't have the best track-record when it comes down to running roleplays and maintaining them as a GM, but I do have my experience and learnt my lessons from it.

The most important lesson is: Communication. Communicate with your players, talk to them to gauge their interest, their ideas and how they fit with your ideas, explore possibilities, but keep a hold on your own plan. It is also a good way to keep their interest. Staying involved as a GM will do your own interest and theirs good. Not all conversations have to be roleplay related. Though it is nice if they remember that they are part of your roleplay.

Another tip I can give is to keep the action going and flowing. If you feel that something is just murking on and going nowhere it is time to switch some gears on. This is probably also a good idea for the start of the roleplay that tends to start off with introductions and can be a little slow.

Other than that I think this guide is also a good read if you want to find more tips on how to keep a roleplay floating.
 
The one thing I've noticed is that group roleplays with a clear and strongly adhered to schedule do better. My guess is that when you get gaps of weeks between posts people start to lose interest and look elsewhere and don't really come back. It does mean working out what to do if someone doesn't post etc and also making sure you as the GM can keep to the schedule for the long term as well. If you as the Gm can't keep to the schedule that will kill things off.

Personally I find a two week cycle a good balance between giving people a chance to post without having to rush and keeping things moving. That said, it is something you have to work out with your group and change as you go to suit your players needs.
 
Learning how to maintain a role-play will take time and practice. I've had so many die on me (for various different reasons, some more recurring than others) before I've managed to keep a role-play alive for a relatively long period of time. So, first and foremost: just practice at being a GM. Do it again and again, and when you're not GMing, observe how others do it and see if it's effective.

But here's a few tips to get you started with:

Long gaps between posts will definitely kill any roleplay. You want to maintain a consistent posting speed all throughout and also be consistent when people fail to meet the posting requirements. Sometimes, this means making hard decisions, like removing people with important characters or perhaps even having to kick out friends. And you'll probably have to kick out a lot of people, or they'll likely drop out of their own accord.

In that case, make sure you don't run out of players. Have a target size in mind, then add a few extras just to be safe. Open your roleplay to newcomers at intervals, or keep them open indefinitely. Your choice. But a bigger group means harder maintenance, and more tendency of people clashing with each other, so that's another thing you need to keep in mind.

You'll also have to keep the action going for any role-play to thrive. Plan ahead, brainstorm with your fellow role-players if that's what'll get the creative gears churning. Add conflict, spice things up, involve everyone and make them feel they have something to contribute to the story.

Out-of-character chatting also works wonders. People write better when they know who they're writing with and when they're at least somewhat involved in the planning process. An active chat hypes people up and provides a sense of community.

Lastly, listen to your role-players. You don't have to do everything they want you to do. You're the GM after all and you make the last call. But in the end, a group role-play is a team effort. You want to make sure everyone is heard and their ideas are considered, even if some ideas are ultimately not given the green light.

And just be confident. When you act like you know what you're doing, people will learn to trust you as their GM and there is a lot less hassle that way.
 
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