OngoingWorlds blog

News & articles about play-by-post games, for roleplayers & writers

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Original Characters AKA, YOUR Trademark

220px-RegisteredTM.svgOne surefire way to stay on track and expand your creative skills is to make a trademark for yourself, something you use a lot and it carries with you from place to place. This can range from something such as a signature, a saying, something personal. But, in the case of a roleplaying site i.e. Ongoing Worlds, an easy way to make a trademark is to have an original character. Why are they important and how can they make you feel more comfortable in a rp setting? Read More

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12 villain archetypes to choose from

hannibal

Creating a believable villain can be difficult. A villain needs a sensible cause (click here for an article about that), and they need to be credible (click here for tips about that too). You might find you need a bit of inspiration for creating a good villain, so here’s a list of 12 villains Read More

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Try these Heroes & Villains

The following is an extract from an article by Steven Savage from his Way with Worlds series of articles. It’s really intended for writing a book, but I thought it was interesting for creating heroes & villains in your roleplaying game. 

Heroes and Villains by Screwbald

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Heroes & Villains – Forget good & Evil

This was originally posted by Steven Savage on his blog, but has allowed me to republish it here as I think it’s useful for roleplayers! This is part of Steven’s Way With Worlds series of articles. 

Frozen - is Elsa a villain?

It seems that we often end up discussing Good and Evil when we are talking Heroes and Villains, antagonists and protagonists, and often for pretty good reasons. Let’s face it Good Versus Evil is a prime conflict and element of many stories, and we want to read/play/experience interesting characters. Read More

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Do your roleplay villains have a sensible cause?

10433202_10152850667551605_3472694221903309925_nHaving villains in your roleplay works so much better when they’re realistic. We’ve posted some tips about creating an effective villain before (read it here), but what also makes a big difference is credibility (we’ve posted an article about this before too – see here).

The best villains aren’t just ones that are “evil” or do “evil things”, because if you think about it… what does that mean? That’s not realistic. Read More

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Some secrets for an effective villain

Final boss

I saw these tips in the newsletter RPT#624 by Johnn Four. Read More

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Way With Worlds: Heroes and Villains – The Deadly Hero

This was originally posted by Steven Savage on his blog, but has allowed me to republish it here as I think it’s useful for roleplayers! This is part of Steven’s Way With Worlds series of articles. -David

Duke Nukem standing on pile of bodies

So we’e talking heroes and villains. Usually at some point we’re talking conflict and outright violence in this case, even if its not physical. However when it gets physical, I want to address a rather poorly handled archetype which I call The Deadly Hero. Read More

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Way With Worlds: When Good and Evil Collide & Exchange Insurance Information

This was originally posted by Steven Savage on his blog, but has allowed me to republish it here as I think it’s useful for roleplayers! This is part of Steven’s Way With Worlds series of articles. -David

Comic characters fighting

We’ve talked Utopias, their rarity, and how and why to create them in our worlds. We’ve talked Dystopias, their commonality, and why to create them anyway despite their near-omnipresence. I’d like to discuss a related, similar issue in worldbuilding – what happens when “good” and “bad” parts of the setting meet. Read More

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How to Write a Credible Villain

Scar from Lion king

Scar from The Lion King wanted to be king but his physically stronger brother was chosen instead. He is determined, egotistical, and callous but he has no idea how to rule a kingdom.

What’s a Credible Villain?

Have you ever seen a character where the character’s coolness and alignment are determined by the number of times the word “evil” is used in their personality? Read More

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4 Step Recipe for Creating Great Campaign Seeds

Pant-wettingly freaky castle

This article was written by Johnn Four and published on his Roleplaying Tips blog, and republished here with permission. Johnn writes advice for GMs running tabletop roleplays, but this article applies to the process of creating story arcs in play-by-post games too which is why I asked to share it here.

roleplaying tips logoA friend once told me his philosophy on work and projects: “Begin as you would end.” Read More