How to Attract Serious RPers?

[Legacy_Aleron]

               Very well said, FireWraith. Some good points in there. Especially on the parts about straining the setting vs what the player wants. Some servers just won't be a good match up I suppose and people will have differing opinions on where to draw that line.

Thanks for the input!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Knight_Shield]

               Since we're derailing here .I will add ..if  you dont like a server build your own or go find one you like.I found one I liked but got banned for running while not in combat.Next 3 servers I would have stayed but they went down.Now I'm building one.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_TSMDude]

               

FireWraith wrote...

My basic theory is that it's a balance between:
-What the player wants to play
and
-The degree to which it strains the setting

Every server will have to find a balance to this.  I've seen servers that allowed just about anything short of "I'm a God", and I've seen servers that banned everything except the basic races.  My own preference is to try and help the player have the character concept they want, so long as it doesn't render the setting unbelievable to others.  This can vary with the setting of course... For instance, in a setting in Arabel in the Forgotten Realms might be far more lenient for planetouched (aasimar, tiefling, genasi) due to the presence of a gate to the World Serpent Inn (and thus the Planes), than it would be for Half-Orcs, due to a general hatred of orcbloods by the inhabitants of the city following its sacking by invading Orcs a few years back.  On the other hand, a server set in Menzoberranzan might allow drow, duergar, and a few others, with half-orcs and humans somewhat restricted, and such.

What the server I help run does is to require applications for anything but standard and standard variant races, and we then work to try and ascertain whether the player has a solid grounding in what they want to portray (such as, actually has an idea what Drow are like, and not just Yet Another Drizz't Clone), how it will fit into the server, problems the character can run into, limitations, and so on.  If we see problems, we'll suggest how they might be fixed or minimized.  If we run across someone who's just logged in with a crazy background description (the aforementioned dragon in an elf's body), we pull them aside and politely explain that such concepts need approval, and that they can't play the character as such without it.

Bottom line, I'd say to figure out where the line for "anyone can play this" and "this can be played by approved request only."  Try to be as open and even-handed about the process as you can, and about where those lines lie, and you'll probably find a good compromise.

What she said.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_NWN DM]

               Advertise for them... knowing that when you do, for every one "serious RPer" you attract and retain, there will be 5+ for whom your vision for the environment doesn't match what they are looking for.