paizo.com - Paizo / Messageboards / paizo.com / Website Feedback / Please make a separate Free-Form Roleplaying Forum!


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Wed, Jul 1, 2009, 04:24 AM

Oh, and not to flog a dead equine, but I still think the game should have its own subforum under Gaming. Just sayin'


Dead Horse, Wed, Jul 1, 2009, 04:31 AM

Please....


Priestess of Calistria, Wed, Jul 1, 2009, 04:36 AM

Gets out the pleated cat-o-nine tails whap whap whap


lynora, Wed, Jul 1, 2009, 08:44 AM

I agree that it should have its own forum. It's good that we're out of off-topic. We were annoying people there. But even with the new limit, we're going to have real problems with our threads falling into the archives a lot. Because PBP is such a fast-moving forum with so many threads, and new ones always being created, and because Free-form Roleplaying moves at a much slower pace than that, it's kind of inevitable. Just delayed for a bit right now.


Kobold Cleaver, Wed, Jul 1, 2009, 09:47 AM

I agree. All that has been done is that the problem has been transfered to a faster moving forum.


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 05:12 AM

Well, after a week of trying out the new area, I for one am not very pleased. There is no coherence to the threads now, even less than in the OTD forum. It is hard to find them, and I have the feeling the game is slowly strangulating. I would again ask respectfully for a separate subforum for the free-form RPG. I understand that it is probably a pain in the @zz to do, but I would really appreciate it. Otherwise the game will most likely die.


The Dalesman (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Chronicles, Pathfinder Companion Subscriber), Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 08:45 AM

I will admit that I'm having trouble finding all of our threads in there, now that they all 'look alike', so to speak. I'm not sure what we can do to fix that and still be respectful of the threads that were already there though... Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman "Bringing Big Dn Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"


Ross Byers (Assistant Software Developer), Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 09:30 AM

If you are not using the 'focus' option, I would suggest trying that. It should make your threads very easy to find.


Kobold Cleaver, Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 09:54 AM

I actually thought that 'Sandreef' was a PbP, because I'd never visited it before. I only clicked on it due to luck.


lynora, Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 10:01 AM

Exactly. It's virtually impossible to tell the free-form threads from the PBP threads. They get lost. Focus only helps some if you're also involved in lots of PBPs. And it's currently pretty much impossible for anyone new to join the game-in-progress. Please, please, please can we have our own forum?


Gary Teter (PostMonster General), Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 10:06 AM

Would it help if the free-form threads were labelled somehow?


The Dalesman (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Chronicles, Pathfinder Companion Subscriber), Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 10:48 AM

Gary Teter wrote: Would it help if the free-form threads were labelled somehow? I think it would. If the free-form threads could 'stand out' from the standard PBP threads, it would be easier to keep track of them (for me, at least). My humble 2cp, of course... :) Your Friendly Neighborhood Dalesman "Bringing Big Dn Justice to the Bad Guys Since 1369 DR"


Emperor7 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber), Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 10:55 AM

Anything to make them stand out. There is so much activity on PbP that they drop down to the bottom quickly. Prefer a Free-Form Thread but will take any help you can provide. Thanks!


Gary Teter (PostMonster General), Wed, Jul 8, 2009, 07:25 PM

I dunno. Threads in the off-topic forum have a tendency to turn into free-form roleplaying threads if they go on long enough, and I kinda like that about that place, and feel like moving the roleplaying threads into the pbp forum hasn't worked out as well as I'd hoped. Breaking all the free-form roleplaying threads into their own forum has its own problems. Do we move threads out of off-topic once they have some sort of minimum amount of roleplaying? (Lots of off-topic threads veer in that direction.) Do we break up all the other pbp threads into subforums? How do we do that -- by game system? By genre? By adventure path? None of those seems particularly good. Do we have a forum with 200 active 3.5 threads and one with ten labelled "other"? If a thread converts to Pathfinder RPG, do we move it? etc. Maybe the answer is to move the free-form threads back into off-topic but provide some sort of labelling/tagging/filtering system or something. Or maybe we encourage more use of the gamer life forum instead of off-topic (possibly by moving it so it's a peer with the off-topic forum). I don't really have anything particular in mind at the moment, I'm just kinda spitballin'.


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Thu, Jul 9, 2009, 03:39 AM

Gary Teter wrote: Maybe the answer is to move the free-form threads back into off-topic but provide some sort of labelling/tagging/filtering system or something. Or maybe we encourage more use of the gamer life forum instead of off-topic (possibly by moving it so it's a peer with the off-topic forum). I don't really have anything particular in mind at the moment, I'm just kinda spitballin'. Gary, first off thank you for posting. I realize we are giving you a headache, and I just want to say thank you for chiming in with some ideas. I think I speak for all the free form RPGers when I say I appreciate your time and effort in trying to resolve this problem for us. Personally, I think that the OTD forum doesn't want the Free-Form RPG there. Folks like Aberzombie are upset because the fairly frequent traffic on the threads keep their 'fun' threads rolling into archived territory. The roleplaying in threads like 'Untitled II', and the 'Angry Jack Cult' is more slapsticky and jokey, I don't think they'd want to move to another forum. I can understand not wanting to split up a separate forum for FFRPGing, as that might cause issues with other types of PRGs, but it really is kind of a special case. The game is spread among a dozen and a half threads and characters move through them as the plot unfolds. It is hard to keep track of who is where and what is going on unless the threads are grouped together somewhat. As for which threads would merit being in a separate FFRPG subforum, I would say if we moved the ones we have now, then if someone wants to make a new one they would have to start it in the new subforum. I think everyone involved can keep their FFRPG thread creation in check to the subforum. Your idea of moving the threads to a less-active forum like Gamer Life has merit. I think that that forum moves fairly slowly, so the FFRPG threads wouldn't disappear like they do in the PbP threads. The only problem I see is if the folks in Gamer Life start to resent the 'illegal immigrants' taking over their forum much as the OTD crowd did with the FFRPG threads. Anyway, just spitballing as well. Thanks for your input Gary, and I encourage anyone else who has an idea how we can slice this Gordian Knot to speak up.


Emperor7 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber), Thu, Jul 9, 2009, 06:46 AM

Wow. Definitely more complex that I thought. We're really after staying out of the way of the other OTD posters, so we don't swamp their fun. They pop into FFRPG threads just to show their annoyance with us, so I don't think thread title changes will help if we go back. And we might recreate the problem if we go to Gamer Life. No spitball ideas to add. Just thinking thru the problem. Thx for putting the thinkin' cap on for us Gary.


Kobold Cleaver, Thu, Jul 9, 2009, 10:47 AM

If we move the threads into a FFRPING subforum, we can always have an 'archive' thread which explains what happened in threads that turn RP, or that turned slightly RP at one point (like the Kitten Thread, or the Jack Thread right before the creation of the Roleplaying Game thread, or those little 'internal dialogue' threads I had going, like the prison thread, that aren't major enough to move, but that deserve to be remembered because they played a small role in the start of FFRPing here). But a FFRPing subforum seems the only way to counter both the discontent of other Paizonians, the posts getting buried, and the fact that we clog up every forum we get moved to. I understand that it may seem like there aren't enough threads to justify a whole to subforum, but new they just keep on coming, and eventually we'll be completely clogging the OTD, or we'll have to constantly dig up out threads from the PbP archives.


Tarren Dei (RPG Superstar 2009 Top 8), Thu, Jul 9, 2009, 04:23 PM

Isn't this thread about to turn into a free-form roleplaying thread? I keep checking in to see if it has happened yet ...


Kobold Cleaver, Fri, Jul 10, 2009, 09:34 AM

Tarren Dei wrote: Isn't this thread about to turn into a free-form roleplaying thread? I keep checking in to see if it has happened yet ... Kobold Cleaver scratches his bony head and stares at the cow. "This is a new development. I shall report to my masters." He vanishes. ;)


Sacred Cow, Sat, Jul 11, 2009, 05:34 AM

Kobold Cleaver wrote: Tarren Dei wrote: Isn't this thread about to turn into a free-form roleplaying thread? I keep checking in to see if it has happened yet ... Kobold Cleaver scratches his bony head and stares at the cow. "This is a new development. I shall report to my masters." He vanishes. ;) The cow smiles to himself as he chews his cud. "Hah! Soon even dragons will know of the sacred cow. There will be a great slaughter marking the ascendance of the 5th edition."


A Flaming Angry Fan Mob, Sat, Jul 11, 2009, 05:39 AM

HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO!


Charles Evans 25, Sat, Jul 11, 2009, 03:47 PM

A Flaming Angry Fan Mob wrote: HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! Or you could, you know, just bookmark all the threads you need to find. Maybe have a separate 'folder' for all your freeform RPG thread bookmarks, to keep them separate and identifiable from the rest of your bookmarks? (So long as you grab the address whilst it's not archived, it should find it even if it is archived, unless there's been a really big shakeup of the boards.)


Flame Troll of Doom, Sat, Jul 11, 2009, 03:52 PM

A Flaming Angry Fan Mob wrote: HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! HAY HAY! HO HO! FREE FORM DISCRIMINATION'S GOT TO GO! [joke] Rawr! The flame troll of doom feeds on the power of the angry mob, and channels and unleashes the wave of hatred and negativity in an outpouring which threatens to reduce his hated foe, Emperor7, to ash.... [/joke]


Aritha, Aspect of Lamashtu, Sat, Jul 11, 2009, 03:55 PM

Flame Troll of Doom wrote: [joke] Rawr! The flame troll of doom feeds on the power of the angry mob, and channels and unleashes the wave of hatred and negativity in an outpouring which threatens to reduce his hated foe, Emperor7, to ash.... [/joke] Oy! You. Out of here. Bad Flame Troll. One hand on hip she points and gestures, and herds the Flame Troll out of the thread.


seekerofshadowlight, Sat, Jul 11, 2009, 03:56 PM

I myself dont see a need the freeform roleplying is off topic and trying to move stuff back and forth would be a hella headache


lynora, Sat, Jul 11, 2009, 04:20 PM

Charles Evans 25 wrote: Or you could, you know, just bookmark all the threads you need to find. Maybe have a separate 'folder' for all your freeform RPG thread bookmarks, to keep them separate and identifiable from the rest of your bookmarks? (So long as you grab the address whilst it's not archived, it should find it even if it is archived, unless there's been a really big shakeup of the boards.) Bookmarking the threads has two drawbacks. 1. If someone makes a new thread and you don't know yet that it's part of the Free-form game you are likely to miss it. 2.It's still difficult to the point of nigh impossible for anyone new to join the game-in-progress. BTW, glad to see you back, Charles. It's been a bit since I last saw you posting.


Charles Evans 25, Sun, Jul 12, 2009, 02:12 AM

lynora wrote: Charles Evans 25 wrote: Or you could, you know, just bookmark all the threads you need to find. Maybe have a separate 'folder' for all your freeform RPG thread bookmarks, to keep them separate and identifiable from the rest of your bookmarks? (So long as you grab the address whilst it's not archived, it should find it even if it is archived, unless there's been a really big shakeup of the boards.) Bookmarking the threads has two drawbacks. 1. If someone makes a new thread and you don't know yet that it's part of the Free-form game you are likely to miss it. 2.It's still difficult to the point of nigh impossible for anyone new to join the game-in-progress. BTW, glad to see you back, Charles. It's been a bit since I last saw you posting. Well if you don't thik that's viable, then what about someone regularly posting links on each OTD page to all threads? :-k Gr4ys on The Rise of the Runelords fan resources thread keeps such a relatively up to date set of links to pictures/maps/other items/threads that people have posted which are useful to GMs running the path, so it is possible... Too much going on, besides PaizoCon UK. And on the subject of PaizoCon UK Richard Pett killed Merisiel in an awesome Styes game I saw running yesterday that didn't quite make it into print before the Dungeon magazines went back 'in house' at WotC.


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Sun, Jul 12, 2009, 03:19 AM

Well, I'm not sure who is going to post up all these links and whatnot on a regular basis. All I know is that I am personally finding it very difficult to keep up with the threads. I am seriously thinking of just chucking the whole game and giving it up as a loss. It would be easier, and I will just go back to dealing with my regular PbPs.


WhiteWolf, Sun, Jul 12, 2009, 08:38 PM

RPG Forum please.


Emperor7 (Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber), Wed, Jul 15, 2009, 01:59 PM

Patrick Curtin wrote: Well, I'm not sure who is going to post up all these links and whatnot on a regular basis. All I know is that I am personally finding it very difficult to keep up with the threads. I am seriously thinking of just chucking the whole game and giving it up as a loss. It would be easier, and I will just go back to dealing with my regular PbPs. Maybe a monkey-shaman forum? Srsly though, the PbP threads still get pushed downstream quickly in the PbP forum. Will someone tell the Flame Troll that there is no oxygen in space so he can't burn with anger? ;)


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Mon, Jul 20, 2009, 03:42 AM

Sorry for the tone of my previous post, it was the frustration talking. Be that as it may, I think I will be wrapping up most of my characters in play as I am having a seriously hard time keeping track of the action. Perhaps later I will reenter the game, but at this point when something like this becomes so frustrating, it's not really in the category of 'fun' anymore, ergo, why continue?


Kobold Cleaver, Mon, Jul 27, 2009, 09:59 PM

seekerofshadowlight wrote: I myself dont see a need the freeform roleplying is off topic and trying to move stuff back and forth would be a hella headache Look, every other forum I know of which contains FFRPing has a separate subforum for this. I fail to see why we should be any different. I apologize to Gary for the inconvenience, but we need a subforum.


Kobold Cleaver, Wed, Jul 29, 2009, 09:33 AM

Patrick Curtin wrote: Sorry for the tone of my previous post, it was the frustration talking. Be that as it may, I think I will be wrapping up most of my characters in play as I am having a seriously hard time keeping track of the action. Perhaps later I will reenter the game, but at this point when something like this becomes so frustrating, it's not really in the category of 'fun' anymore, ergo, why continue? Aw, don't leave, Patrick! The plot's still fun, even if we have to look around for the thread!


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Wed, Jul 29, 2009, 03:02 PM

Kobold Cleaver wrote: Aw, don't leave, Patrick! The plot's still fun, even if we have to look around for the thread! I am just going on hiatus for a bit KC, until either my life settles down a bit or we get our subforum. I'm not quitting, just taking a vacation from the game. It's not worth my aggrivation.


Kobold Cleaver, Wed, Jul 29, 2009, 09:42 PM

Patrick Curtin wrote: Kobold Cleaver wrote: Aw, don't leave, Patrick! The plot's still fun, even if we have to look around for the thread! I am just going on hiatus for a bit KC, until either my life settles down a bit or we get our subforum. I'm not quitting, just taking a vacation from the game. It's not worth my aggrivation. Alright, then. You will be missed, you're one of our first players, and you probably comprise about half of our aliases.


Patrick Curtin (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Chronicles Subscriber), Sat, Aug 15, 2009, 05:19 AM

Well, I had hoped that perhaps with the retweaking of the messageboards perhaps our subforum would have been snuck in. Guess not. Well folks, I will probably be out of the FFRPGing threads until Fall then. All my avatars might pop in now and again, but I really can't deal with the hunt and search.


Kobold Cleaver, Thu, Nov 5, 2009, 06:57 AM

Okay, see, now I'm pretty sure that being in the PbP section is actually keeping us from getting new members. Most people assume we're another PbP, and they don't bother looking and seeing it's something they can join. WE haven't had a new person since, like, Dalesman.


Divad Frier, Thu, Nov 5, 2009, 07:45 AM

just increasing my post count post.