A friend of mine is looking for some RP tips

[Darben Skirae]

So a friend of mine has been writing up a bit of a modern-fantasy world, and he plans on making an RP forum for it. He knows it'll take a bit, and has been wondering about tips for like balance between races, time progression and such. Anyone got any good tips on stuff like that?

 

[Rusty]

1. Have a catchy hook. Helps to tie into an existing property that's wildly popular. If you don't want to tie into an existing property, describe your central premise in relation to something popular. "Like [Dresden Files/Iron Druid/etc], but with..."
2. Let the players figure out how best to balance the fantasy races. Most everyone knows the elf-human-dwarf-orc status quo by now, so you really don't have to do a whole lot there. Don't set out to shake things up just for the sake of being unique. In the beginning, comfortable and familiar, with just enough of a twist to make it interesting, that's where you want to go. A good playerbase will diverge from the standard format all on their own.
3. Be really vague about time progression at first. Don't try to codify month=year at first, just give them a start point and let the stories progress naturally. RP time is always weird, and trying to rigidly enforce it is asking for headaches.
4. Heavily emphasize RP etiquette and manners, but don't get bogged down making rules. Over time, additional rules may become necessary, but the more freedom you start off with, the better.
5. On the flipside, make sure the admin team is empowered to handle problems as they pop up. A light touch is usually the best way to go, but some people just need to be hit with a banhammer. Make sure you can reach for the banhammer without cutting through miles of red tape.

Hope this helps.

[member="Darben Skirae"]

 

[Darben Skirae]

[member="Rusty"]

That really helps a lot, thank you

 

[Jsc]

and he plans on making an RP forum for it.

Run a forum? He's clearly insane. Intervention soon. Save a life, you can.