Thread:LightningS9/@comment-32475031-20170706003915/@comment-28358106-20170712035930

(Hello fellas. This looks very good so far, and has been a fun read...always like to see the guy make good!   I thought I'd put a few thoughts here.

First, Mike, as a general rule, it's proper to leave control of other OCs to those who play them. Unless it's agreed on ahead of time, or you know the other person extremely well, and even that's no guarantee. If someone else is hosting, let them guide things by having them react, not by actually taking control of the character. There are exceptions to the rule: like before, if you know the person doing the RPing very well and know their playing style. The key is, reaction, reaction, reaction.

Sometimes, in fights, it's okay to do it for a set-up, but you still have to give an opportunity for the other player to act on their own. Example, if I played Rath and S9 played Sadak:

''Rath threw a punch at Sadak, who blocked it with his right hand. Rath took advantage and hooked Sadak with his other hand, and he went down.''

That's okay once in a while, because it allows you to fill the narrative and not just make it seem like you were trading blows. Mostly, it'll be more one sided, and you'll let the other react:

Rath's fist unexpectedly flew straight at Sadak's face...

And there, you leave the other guy an opening. A good player will take the hit and recover with a counter. Dodging every swing and blocking every shot not only is unrealistic, but it gets bring fast. This example is not just for fighting, but is applied to interactions:

''Sophia and Aida walked to the edge of the lake. "It's peaceful here," Sophia said, admiring the view. They turned and continued down the path.''

Rather than continuing, let the other person react. If things are clipping along, like in a chase, that's different, of course. It takes a little feeling around for the flow of the RP to see how things go. But always try and let the host lead, unless it's an open RP. This includes scene transitions, jumping from one place to another. This is one rare insrance where taking control of another's OC is okay, because if you're hosting and a character is traveling somewhere, they will need an intro to the new location to react to.

Which brings me to my second point, and something that is as equally important. Pacing. I noticed on a couple of occasions, S9, where you entered a long post and Mike didn’t have much chance to react at all because things clipped along. A good general rule is, try and limit posts to a single action and overarching speech paragraph per entry. Again, there are exceptions, such as if characters are introducing themselves, or talking among themselves, but try to keep it to those two elements. There's a good reason for this, and it has to do with the balance of the RP:

If you enter a long post, it isn't required that you enter an equally long response, but it's good manners, because it shows you care about what was written. So, if you make lengthy post after lengthy post, the other players are going to get fatigued, or you'll wear yourself out and get frustrated.

Not sure how to fluff out a post? Have the OC think to themselves, in narrative, about what's going on. Show the other player you're paying attention and care about what he's doing, and not focusing on just yourself. In a fantasy world, it's hard, believe me, with all the neat stuff to get to.

That's all for now, I think. Carry on, and good work, guys. And sorry I didn’t get to your sword question, Mike, I was asleep.)