not quite what you're asking, but to offer my own perspective, mechanics aren't really what keep me on a site.

events that alter the setting do.

even in harvest moon, you're playing the game with a purpose beyond yourself. there's a town to restore, a goddess to revive, or broken relationships between towns that need mending. what helps most is to have a goal, and to see payoff for that goal.

events that would keep me around would be things like preparing for a storm, repairing damage from a natural disaster, tracking down a potential "thief," or trying to find a hidden treasure somewhere within an old town.

i recall one site i had joined a while back that would have different disasters that would be isolated to specific housing districts. setting up for people to be able to participate in threads centered around a power outages, helping friends clean up after the river flooded their homes, or looking for lost sheep after a forest fire saw them scatter to the woods would all be great prompts that i'd be interested in taking part in and could definitely help to make a character feel like part of a greater community.

while leveling up tools and crops gives you personal goals to work toward, if it's something that isn't leaving an impact on the site, it can lead to feelings of isolation. shonen sites often have power ups for purchase, but suffer from a similar problem. the setting itself is static, the rewards are geared toward the individual, and in the end - you're left with nowhere to grow.

hello! i am here to say yes.

kind of tired of the formality of power restriction that goes beyond what the setting would allow. it would be nice if more roleplays operated on trust rather than hard rules. the more creativity, the better, i think.

when i find folks who are more interested in a collaborative story than in "winning," it doesn't matter how op their character is. the scene is going to be a good time for all involved.

a bad roleplayer who follows rules is still a bad roleplayer. definition being: inconsiderate folks determined to come out on top of any situation regardless of what would make the scene enjoyable for their writing partner.

cooperation, communication, and consideration will always be keys to finding good roleplay.

i get folks are burnt out from bad experiences, but i do think it waters down what rp you manage to get if you're operating in fear.

recent developments have me thinking about x-men.

an academy for mutants learning to cope with their abilities and the scorn that comes along with having them. discovering who you are and what you stand for while dealing with political pushback because "you don't belong." folks trying to play the hero or set to give up and be the villain.

it's a good setting for some interesting rp.

how to afford ps5?

gundam rp seconded hardcore.

i recently found an au that was written into a game of amuro joining neo zeon and earth being pressed into submission -- earth conceded with char's demands and *all* of its people moved to space. my brain immediately sparked with "this should be a site".

i'll keep it in my back pocket if no one else will lol

i was just having this discussion the other day. i've really been enjoying the tabeltop i was playing, and it got me to thinking how much i really enjoy the random element of dice. can you imagine a game of d&d where players get to decide whether they succeed or fail at a task? it'd be no fun at all. the dice are a necessary component - not entirely to keep things "fair" - but also to add some surprise and critical thinking to the encounter.

to be honest, i love losing, and i love when my character is forced to think of another route to accomplish a goal, or have to deal with the consequences of failure altogether. it's a great opportunity for growth, and i gain a lot from it.

but i don't necessarily like deciding, "let's just say they fail." having the dice play a part in whether they succeed or fail adds a lot to the experience, but outside of a GM run tabletop, i like to have some say in what all that failure entails. by not throwing hitpoints on, i think it allows people to determine how the failure effects their character. losing hp feels more like salt in the wound than like something that contributes to the narrative.

it's definitely not for everyone. i know plenty of folks who bolt at the sight of numbers. but for me? i really do enjoy what rng brings to a scene.

voted for soft stats, but i feel like my ideal is somewhere between soft and hard. i like dice. i like stats. i don't like health points, energy pools, or cooldowns - most of the time. on the rare occasion, a cooldown adds to the tension of a thread, but it seems like something best reserved for BIG game-changing actions rather than every action having a timer of its own.

edit: after further thought, worth clarifying. it also depends very much on the site. sometimes stats really aren't necessary at all. i mostly find them helpful for combat or competitions.

the more you share the more excited i get. i got tons of inspiration from this!!!

huge fan of sci-fi and wuxia. the setting sets the perfect stage for romance while bringing the intrigue of a murder mystery plot to the table. sounds like a lot of fun.

incredibly interested in this.

i love when people give me a ridiculous amount of detail for their character concept. the more branches it has, the more likely i am to get hyped for the experience, because one of the greatest risks for me in handing a wanted ad over is that the other player might rely solely on me for all their roleplay. i want to see the character interact with other folks too. xD

i've gotten into the situation where i've brainstormed too far in a wrong direction, so these days i drop a line before i get really into the process. if i went angle y or angle z, would that work? do you have a preference between backstory point a or story point b? just a couple of questions to get the person involved, and then go wild. it seems to work well! and i know i love to see it.

jet set radio / bomb rush cyberfunk.

upbeat colorful graffiti turf wars with a bunch of rebels flaunting their parkour skills to decide which posse runs which block in uptight no joy city. drowning mundanity in rainbows and rumble bops to bring some life to a corporate landscape of suit and tie zombies.

fun. factions. rivalries. level ups. nothing dark, nothing high stakes, and grit can take a back seat while i stuff 30 sticks of gum in my jaws. here for the good times, my friends.

have to agree with Desmond Miles for the most part.

roleplay is about having fun. restricting fish pokemon's movements would make a lot of interactions a heck of a lot more difficult. with the claim limit in place, letting them "swim" through the air will make them more viable for play.

on magikarp, having them flop is hilarious, but equally funny would be a magikarp who swims through the air but keeps falling out - or who swims effectively and has no idea why everyone else is having such a hard time.

i say put the option there, but let people get creative with it.

friend request SENT!

this is just sounding more and more interesting. can't wait to get in there and write! the muse is absolutely bursting.

thanks for checking in. really enjoying this food. ;;