- General
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Ideas
Relax the rules on what you can/can't do in an RPG forum
I find there are a lot of seemingly innocent topics started by people looking to have some fun, only to be shortly abandoned after a prefect jumps in to tell them "you can't do that", about something innocuous. Obviously you want the RPG forum to be as realistic as possible. However I feel that perhaps some people get put off by all the hefty restrictions. For example, getting told "You can't do that spell because it's a higher year..." And yet, Hermione produced a polyjuice potion in her 2nd year, and Harry conjured a Patronus in his third. There are ways around it, that's all I'm saying.
Perhaps it might be an idea to slightly relax on the restrictions a bit? This way people won't feel like their creativity is getting squashed, and are able to experiment more. There are some really good ideas out there that can't be properly executed because the minute they try they get told they can't do it.
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I agree. The RPGs... they're just stories you're writing. I applaud the work prefects do because I feel like it's one of the toughest jobs, but if it's something like being in the forbidden forest... it'd be cool if that were allowed. Now, this is worse on some sites than it is on others. Though, if you're talking about the OOG messages prefects leave: I disagree. We need rules so it's easy to overview for everyone and yes, Hermione did brew a polyjuice potion in her 2nd year, and Harry did cast a patronus in his 3rd year, but we don't have dementors flying around or basilisks in the plumbing. Besides, I feel like they don't always tell you you can't cast a higher spell, as long as you make it realistic. Needing a lot of tries for example. But that might just have been coincidence.
Long story short: I agree on being able to break Hogwarts's rules, but not on being able to break WoP's rules. I hope it makes sense. :P
Yes, I understand, the WoP rules are there for a reason. I'm not saying let everything be a free-for-all, just that perhaps a bit of flexibility is called for. If there's a genuinely creative idea, maybe just let it play out and see what happens? Or if a member really is not allowed to do something, perhaps the prefects can offer an alternative suggestion, rather than simply tell someone not to do something.
If there was something that someone really wanted to do that was against the rules, they could always rp in owls. That way others won't see it so it 1) Won't encourage others to break the rules, 2) Get caught by a prefect and told not to do it, and 3) You can choose who will be participating.
If they were to just "let it play out", then they would be picking and choosing which rules to enforce and which not to, which somewhat defeats the purpose of even having them in the first place.
the solution to this is maybe a status competition. just like you can only have some special things (like vetela heritage, animagus form or a cloack of invisibilty) with those compititions. same with these. like if you win you get the ability to be a bit more powerfull and can brew potions and spells from 1 or 2 years above you. i think 1 year is the best so you dont get too OP or anything
I like Kybjosh's idea of it being a status. Something like "Excelling Student" where they are technically a Year 1 but can behave as a Year 2 in terms of skill and knowledge.