#godmoding

[soulsrpg]

To the anon who sent a concern about NPCs: while we do understand where you're coming from, we do not think that realism or godmodding rules are being broken in this instance, and as such do not feel like anything needs to be done. If you would like to discuss this further, please send us a PM or an email from a one-off/anonymous account -- and please do so for future reports of this nature if you want a response from us. Thanks!

[the-rp-police-blog]

In honor of Valentine’s Day, tell us about the worst ship-related stuff you’ve had to put up with in RP.

[the-rp-police-blog]

[unpaid-protector-blog]

okay guys, let’s talk about godmoding

a lot of us, if not all of us, know that godmoding, in its most basic form, is another rp’er taking control of another persons character without permission.  this can be anything, from something as destructive as taking out the other character in combat by making them be unable to dodge (that should be their muns call, not yours) to something as seemingly helpful as coming up with positive events that happened between characters that did not exist in any rp and that are not traits that the character has ever shown to have or skills they aren’t shown to know.  an example of this could be a character winning an “off screen” game against an experienced player when they’ve never been shown to even know the game.  this, however, is not the only thing that godmoding is. 

godmoding can also be taking complete control of the environment that the the rp takes place in.  now, this doesn’t mean that a natural progression is somehow godmoding, there is a difference between two people working their way through a dungeon, each rp’er leading the story along, adding monsters and twists and turns, and two people going through a dungeon where whatever one rp’er does is changed by the other to suit their own needs. 

using the dungeon as an example; A and B are walking through a dungeon and B, being a ranger, picks up on some tracks and asks A if they want to see where they go.  A agrees so they follow them.  this, in general, means that A’s mun has given consent for B’s mun to go with the idea that they have, this is good teamwork between the muns.  however if after giving this consent, A’s mun then dictates what they find, this would be considered godmoding.  B had a plan, A consented to the plan, and then A hijacked the plan, and now B has no control over their plan that A consented to.  keep in mind that A never talked to B about possible ideas.  even if A’s idea is awesome and B would’ve agreed to it, conversation still needs to occur for it to be proper team work.  this kind of godmoding becomes especially aggravating if it’s a constant occurrence.  pulling something unexpected on your partner can be fun, and sometimes saying something like “I want to try something, you in?” would ruin the surprise, and that’s fine.  the issue lies, as it does in all godmoding, with it’s frequency and how much it takes control of the other person’s character.  the environment does not need to prove your character “more correct” than your partners, nor does it need to show that your character is more skilled or more anything.  the goal here is to have fun, and you can’t both have fun if one mun is dictating what the other mun’s character can and can’t do.  sorry for the long post guys but this has been bugging me for a long time

[nintendohime-blog]

I hate when I get irritated over something as small as when I'm RPing with someone over Skype and they deliberately god-mode. I was RPing as Palom earlier (Lotte was paralyzed from poison gas or some shit and he came to her rescue) and he threw a Fire-3 spell. It bounces off the other character, which lead to Lit-3, Ice-3 and Meteo(r) -- all of which are 'ineffective' on the other character. I call their mun out OOC, asking if it would be possible for their character to take damage (seeing as how Lotte took damage) and maybe a hint as to what the character's vice is. Rather than answer, they put up their "Away" status and don't bother replying. Yes, things happen; I get that. Makes me choosy about Skype, tho. :/ Bah.

[roleplayingconfessionsfromrpers]

It makes me so angry when people try to take away defining traits or conflicts from my OCs. I don't want your time traveler to save my traumatized OC. I don't want my OCs to be instantly healed when their purpose is to grow from their problems.

[roleplayingconfessionsfromrpers]

I hate when partners try to force me play my muse the way they want it played, and pressure IC and OOC when it doesn't happen.

[hardcoremollywobbles]

Roleplay Rules of Engagement: Godmoding Disambiguation

   Roleplay Rules of Engagement: Godmoding Disambiguation

If you want to avoid the cardinal sin known as Godmoding (also called Godmodding) in written roleplay, here's what you need to know. This is so important, in maintaining healthy roleplay relationships.

Landing Blows: You can decide if the assault lands, but not the result of impact. Ludicrous as it may be, sometimes a blow hard enough to knock a foe down won't.  Sometimes a kick to the boys won't result in soprano, and sometimes a slap won't make a person's head turn 90 degrees.  The result is up to the one on the receiving end.  Writing in that a person has a reaction is considered Godmoding, because you're taking away that actor's choice to react as their character would.

Landing Spells (or any manner of supernatural attack): Not every spell or attack is going to hit.  Truly, more should than will, but whether they do is dependent upon the recipient, and not the caster, because they have a definite outcome, and you have to allow your writing partner a degree of free will.

Age: Age makes no difference, in regards to ownership of the characters.  It doesn't matter if the character is one day old or one thousand years old, if the character belongs to someone else, and you do not have express consent to write as that character, DO NOT write as that character.  It is hurtful and frustrating, when it happens.

Laws Of Ownership: If you play the spouse of a character who is not being played by anyone, and is not dead, then for plotting purposes, you can own the actions of that character.  If no one plays that first spouse, ownership falls to the children, or else parents of said character, depending on which is more situationally appropriate, because they dictate the story, as it plays it out, for those characters.  If you wish to command the story of one of these not played characters (non-player characters, or NPCs), then you should first ask the spouse/child/parent's actor if you can apply to play their spouse/parent/child first, or if you can fill in plot for their spouse/parent/child for the duration of a specific story arc. To give you some example of what this means, I'll demonstrate some scenarios. 1) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. No one plays Bob. Someone plays Sally.  Sally's actor has full say over whatever Bob does/says.  Always.   If Jim's actor wishes to control any aspect of Bob, he should first ask Sally's actor's permission. 2) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a child by the name of Billy.   No one plays Bob. Someone plays Sally.   Sally's actor has say over what Bob does, not Billy's or Jim's actors. 3) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a child by the name of Billy.   No one plays Bob or plays Sally.   Billy's actor has say over what Bob or Sally do, not Jim's actor. 4) Bob and Sally are kids. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a parent by the name of Chris.   No one plays Bob or Sally.   Chris does have an actor.  Chris's actor has say over what Bob or Sally do, not Jim's actor. 5) Bob and Sally are married. They are acquainted with Jim. They have a parent by the name of Chris. They have a child named Billy. No one plays Bob or Sally.   Chris and Billy both have their own actors.  Billy's actor has say over what Bob or Sally do, because they belong to the same domestic unit, and neither Chris's actor nor Jim's actor has that connection or right. As always, if Jim's actor wants to control one of the NPCs in any scenario, he must seek the permission of the actor of the most appropriate relative.  If you do not, you are godmoding, even if the character that you are controlling is an NPC, because that NPC's actions and choices directly affect the outcome of the other person's actor.

Acceptable Godmoding: Godmoding is ONLY acceptable with permission from the owner of the character, or the 'owner' of the NPC.  In cases where the character's actor has granted permission to another player, to move certain plots along, it can be done, but it should only be done in that specific context.

I hope that this helps to clarify things for you. :)  Be kind to one another, out there. (At least, out of character.)