The below is an edited post from a while back that I've reworded a bit to make sure RPers and more importantly, judges, are executing properly every week...

As we move forward and I'm once again in charge of a large portion of judging, it's going to be more important (if you want to win) to start opening your RP-week with an RP that doesn't just jump right into an already ongoing story without any explanation of what's going on.

If you have an ongoing story in your RPs, please keep in mind that with each new RP week (aka, each new match you RP for) there might be an entirely different audience viewing your work. You might be against an opponent who has NO idea what your story was about up until now, and you may have judges reading your work who didn't happen to be assigned to your work the previous week(s), so it's always a really good idea to make sure you cover this base whenever you pick up that story for the first time in a new week.

Did a side character recently get a sex change and did your main character recently get arrested for public nudity? Well, if that happened LAST week or any number of weeks ago, please make sure you bring the reader up to speed on that stuff right before you cut back into continuing that story for a new week. Is your character literally in the middle of torturing someone, or being tortured, or literally any scene that just picks up already in progress? We expect a lead in then.

Remember you want to also build fans and followers of your work. As new members come in, it'll be way easier for them to get on board with your storylines and become fans of your work if you're supplying this extra tiny bit of info to help them out.

Also please DO NOT EVER do this...
"RP continues where this one left off last week:" Click Here to read it

The judge isn't going to back track to a previous week just to catch up on your story. If it's the first RP of your week, DO NOT use the above "link" method. Only use the link method if you're continuing a story that already was going on in an RP that SAME week for that SAME match and you're reminding the reader where it picks up from. Sound good? Any confusion on this let me know.

PS: If you are not somebody who carries your story over from week to week, you are not affected by this and have nothing to worry about obviously.

Judges, this isn't optional anymore. If you're judging somebody who fails to clarify their new work for the week, it's not as simple as just "noticing it" but shrugging it off and still scoring that RP higher. This should be seen as a serious issue, and a considerably powerful negative for that person's entire week.

I think you literally read my mind on this Shane, lol. The first few rps of muddy and Eric, I had NO clue what they were talking about. I’ll try to backup maybe 1 role play, but I don’t have endless hours to read up on multiple long storylines from multiple opponents. I did my best to kind of put an idea together, but not comment much, since I was limited on info. BTW, nothing but respect for the guys in our match. This is some quality roleplaying guys!

I think this is a good idea, but just how much ground do we have to "recover". Like, do we have to do a recap on who certain supporting characters are, even if we're not popping in mid-scene? Like for example Engy usually features Madison, Joachim, or on rarer occasions certain others like Mike Pence that he's featured before, and might have call back gags with (like Pence being a vampire hunter).

I guess I'm just asking for clarification on how much backstory you want us to include via recap.

Thank you, Shane. Personally, this helps a lot and is a great reminder. In fact, something like this can improve one's writing tenfold in general. The reason many people don't like comics is because they find it a hassle too backlog too the very first issue of a story arc just too get too the current bits of it.

(03-16-2018, 05:51 PM)The Engineer Said: I think this is a good idea, but just how much ground do we have to "recover". Like, do we have to do a recap on who certain supporting characters are, even if we're not popping in mid-scene? Like for example Engy usually features Madison, Joachim, or on rarer occasions certain others like Mike Pence that he's featured before, and might have call back gags with (like Pence being a vampire hunter).

I guess I'm just asking for clarification on how much backstory you want us to include via recap.

I always got a kick out of introducing each Bourbon Man in promos as though they had never been written before, like it was an inside joke, but I usually left it to once per RP cycle. First RP it was Diamondback, the man who can blend into any crowd, and Cyberjaw, the man with the cybernetic jaw, because they weren't on my roster page and gave new readers a clue. RP 2 (If I deigned to write a second) was just Diamondback and Cyberjaw since they were established for the current card's RP cycle.

Now if it were info on my roster page, like being a former President, I felt no honus to really expand or point to a prior RP since that was referenced as a part of the character from the get go.

So, in short, put as much backstory as needed to tell the story so it makes sense without having to point to a prior RP.

Don't write stories. Got it

HEY LOOOK ARE ME I'S AND CUCKCOCK ALL DAYS DERRRRR HUH HUH HUH GKUG GLUG GIMME YOUR SPERM CELL!

My sig got edited to match my overly shitty behavior so now I can play tough guy asshole IC anywhere I go. Except at home where my mother will beat my o-ring to keep me in line.

(03-16-2018, 05:51 PM)The Engineer Said: I think this is a good idea, but just how much ground do we have to "recover". Like, do we have to do a recap on who certain supporting characters are, even if we're not popping in mid-scene? Like for example Engy usually features Madison, Joachim, or on rarer occasions certain others like Mike Pence that he's featured before, and might have call back gags with (like Pence being a vampire hunter).

I guess I'm just asking for clarification on how much backstory you want us to include via recap.

Yes. Who know who those characters are?

HEY LOOOK ARE ME I'S AND CUCKCOCK ALL DAYS DERRRRR HUH HUH HUH GKUG GLUG GIMME YOUR SPERM CELL!

My sig got edited to match my overly shitty behavior so now I can play tough guy asshole IC anywhere I go. Except at home where my mother will beat my o-ring to keep me in line.

(03-16-2018, 05:51 PM)The Engineer Said: I think this is a good idea, but just how much ground do we have to "recover". Like, do we have to do a recap on who certain supporting characters are, even if we're not popping in mid-scene? Like for example Engy usually features Madison, Joachim, or on rarer occasions certain others like Mike Pence that he's featured before, and might have call back gags with (like Pence being a vampire hunter).

I guess I'm just asking for clarification on how much backstory you want us to include via recap.

Whatever amount you think to yourself would best hook a new reader and make them become a fan. Robbie's method is good but you can come up with your own spin too if you prefer. If you find yourself writing something and it feels like a brand new reader might be lost on what/who/etc even if it's something being referenced later in the RPs, toss in a quick explanation of any length you think does the trick. This would also be one of the few cases where copying and pasting small snippets to use when appropriate would be totally acceptable.