Passing Strange

Passing Strange gets a passing grade from me. 

In terms of site construction, everything is blessedly easy-to-read, cleanly designed, and laid out in a reasonable set of tabs and menus to navigate (even if I'm still gently baffled but delighted by the fact a unicorn is used to signal the account switcher). It sounds superficial but a site that I can't read due to font styling choices or have difficulty finding my way around is an instant no-go, and I am incredibly grateful Passing Strange is easy to use.

As far as the lore goes, it's pretty dang solid. Psychic, were, and vampire effects and mechanics are laid out in a complete but concise manner, and anything you manage to think of that isn't mentioned in the handbook staff are happy to work with you to figure out an answer. The incorporation of a dice system helps to avoid threads from falling into a loop of back-and-forth powerplaying or godmoding despite the supernatural abilities that many characters have, while the story behind those dice leaves enough room for flexibility and creativity. 

And of course, there's the community. I've known some of these dorks for what is officially too long, and honestly getting to see them grow as people and writers is a wonder and a joy. Everyone is universally supportive through both ups and downs, patient with newfaces getting settled and with anyone needing to take a break for a while, because at the end of the day it's about having fun and enjoying your time with them, not about how much output you can produce per day. It's just a nice relaxing, welcoming place. 

So do I recommend Passing Strange? Yes, yes I think I do.

In 2022 I almost gave up RP entirely. In 2023 I entered this community and was welcomed with open arms, amazing words, and so many virtual hugs. I was the new person, and yet within days I was fully a part of this, both in the Discord discussions and in the stories, where my characters fit so well.

The site itself is incredibly well organized, the interface user-friendly, the setting clear and engaging, the lore has original twists and is simple to understand. It was so easy to just get started! And once the words start flowing, they don't stop.

I have improved so much as a writer, and was thoroughly supported in my personal quests as well. This is not just a community. These are friends for life. Thank you so much for having me! 🥰

I have never encountered a more welcoming and mature community in the role playing sphere before. As a member, I feel included and valued, which, in a hobby space is so important to me. 

There are only amazingly written characters here and it's honestly a joy to watch other's stories unfold and really get into the in-character drama of it all. It's a wonderful space to write and tell stories in.

I don't think I've ever found a more amazing group of people to tell stories with before. 

This site has dragged me (lovingly) out of writing retirement, and for that, I am grateful. 

I have wandered the roleplay desert for over 15 years, but Passing Strange community has been unlike any that I've ever joined. They are immediately so welcoming, offering up advice and answers to silly/serious questions. The staff is incredibly patient and uplifting -- they're heavily involved with their community and it shows. The members themselves are amazing and are constantly interacting with one another to help create numerous stories. I am in awe of this unique little community and it's dedication to balancing Passing Strange and Work/Real life.

I am so very grateful for all the amazing stories this site has provided over the past month and I cannot wait to help create more.

I absolutely adore this site and I beg whoever is searching for a reason to rediscover their creativity or to get into writing, please check this site out. 

As a hobby in general, RP can be so draining and toxic. The writing is fun; the egos and cliqueyness are not. This community is made up of people who have gotten away from those awful experiences and created a truly safe place where OOC and IC are clearly separated.

Then there's the stories themselves! Any character can quickly become intertwined within the in-character communities that have been built, and if something happens to one, it ripples out to others they knew. One move can set off a chain of events that culminate months or even years later (but usually much sooner than that!). It's so much fun to be here.

The lore has also developed over time without retconning, to allow for more character development as well as rebalancing mechanics between different playable species. It's important to note that these things come about through discussion with members and testing out feelings overall. Feeling like our input matters is extremely important, and I have never been on a community that actually allows that. So, yeah, five stars, this place is the best.

After being burned out for so long in Tumblr spaces, this place feels a bit of a safe haven to me, honestly.

The community being relatively small and easy-going definitely helps a lot. Been there for 2 years already and I'm not planning on leaving anytime soon... so ya'll stuck with me.

Always looking forward to the April Fool's jokes, the Yearbooks and all the neat summaries of the things I've missed because of my timezone.

10/10, great admins, great characters, tears were shed during threads.

Honestly, there are not enough kind words I can offer to state how I feel about this site and its lovely community. I'm so happy a close friend of mine introduced me to it last year. I feel like I've grown both as a writer and a person just by being here, and it hasn't even been a full year. It's such a supportive and warm environment, where I've felt completely safe to be myself and write.

The lore of Passing Strange is amazingly written, but ever-evolving as well. The world is so dense with diverse, incredible characters that sometimes I just get caught up for hours reading threads my fellow members have written. The rules aren't too complex, the handbook is easily laid out, which was great for me as I tend to take a long time before I understand a world in which I'm RPing. I've absolutely adored playing each species the site has to offer (human, psychic, were and vampire). It really is a rich world to explore!

Don't get me started on the incredible staff either! Fao, Kiew and Drew are all warm, helpful and supportive admins who have made my experience so much better. I feel completely at ease knowing they are at the helm of this wonderful site. I've never had to wait long for an answer to a question, nor have I ever felt they didn't have the safety of the community in mind at all times. 

Would recommend this RP to anyone who loves writing supernatural characters (or humans!) and a supportive community that'll have your back ❤️

This place is undeniably home.

It is filled with familiar, welcoming faces and even if you're new you very quickly fall into the familiar heartbeat of Passing Strange. Everyone is always interested what everyone else is up to. The sense of community is undeniable.

Not to mention that there is always something compelling to either read or be involved in. Everyone here is a wonderful writer who constantly goes above and beyond. Each character seems to be crafted with the utmost care. Each post, no matter how short or long, leaves you wanting more.

I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of this community.

I love this place. The people, the admins, the atmosphere. It's welcoming to everyone who comes in. Everyone is always willing to talk and joke or just be there if you need an ear as well.

The Roleplay side of things is pretty spectacular as well. You never know what is going to happen, theres a plot twist in almost every thread and they're always fun! Some are intense and others are silly. Just depends.

I'd 10 outta 10 recommend this place to anyone looking for a great people environment as well as a place to watch your characters grow and thrive (or yah know kick the bucket sometimes lol) and just see what happens. I love this place, its my Rp home.

It was the community that first brought me in. I had stepped away from RP for a while and really wanted to start up again, but faced the problem of feeling awkward and rusty. The people from Passing Strange were more than welcoming and I felt part of the community instantly. 

Everyone is remarkably kind (even the self-proclaimed sour-pusses). The writing talent is top notch and so fun to engage with. The community is also very open to new RPers. No one is made to feel a stranger is this ground of Passing 'Strangers'. 

I've vastly improved my own writing confidence with this group and I've grown to really care for the other players. Real, long-lasting relationships have been built within the community and it truly is a place of constant support and motivation. 

All and all, I would come for the fun, riveting RPing and stay for the people at Passing Strange.

I love everything about this site. From the layout of the forum, to the writers, to the characters, to the plot and everything else that goes into it. You can truly "pass strange" because these people here are lovely. They will bring you into their lives and they will no longer be strangers after a while. 

I've been writing since 2012, and there hasn't been any place that's been as fun or as welcoming as Passing Strange. I want to be clear that I was not someone interested in vampires/werewolves before I joined this site. I liked fantasy, but it was more akin to Harry Potter kind of fantasy. But I thought the site sounded fun. Lurking through the threads as a guest let me know how active and entertaining this site is. 

I love this site. I love these people. Ride or die with Passing Strange, for real.

I have been RPing a long, long time. Almost two decades. I've gone through many sites. I've picked up many friends along the way. I've been an admin more times than is probably really reasonable, actually. But I have to say, after being through the wringer, deciding what sorts of people I like, what sorts of RP I like, and how I want my home to look... this is the place.

After this, I really don't think anywhere else will suffice. Out of character, the community is warm, supportive, always aiming to make sure interactions are healthy ones where everyone is treated as a person with feelings and lives of their own. It's not always perfect, but when conflict does arise, there's always that goal of making sure it gets solved with communication. I value this online as much as I do in the "real" world.

And don't even get me started on the site itself. It was built with love, and is always open to changing what it needs to change in order to make sure the site runs as desired. RP is meant to be FUN and that's the goal here, making it stressful would defeat the whole purpose. Every day sees over a hundred posts, typically even on the slowest days, and plots are almost always hot. Being able to jump in wherever and whenever and keeping things organic means no one gets left behind or left out, and the community's respect of other players means bulldozing isn't an issue, either.

I think about my characters here, and the characters of others, almost all day every day. The writing is top notch, the characters are varied and often hilarious, and really I wouldn't trade Passing Strange for anything. Twenty years and I have never felt more welcome, more creative, or more proud being in a forum.

If you want to play a wereanimal of some sort, or a vampire, or a magic human, or even just a very normal human stuck in a world with all of these crazies... you gotta at least try this.

With most of my RP career involving science fiction, historical, and fantasy flavoured boards, who often try for galactic wars and epic plots, my time on Passing Strange has really made me appreciate the blend of slice of life, supernatural intrigue, and interpersonal drama, without feeling there's a need to follow any particular plot beyond where the characters take you. The free flowing writing, an anything goes attitude, and a drive to have fun while doing it makes for a great environment for some exploratory writing that can take you outside your comfort zone, in a good way!

There's always something to learn in new threads: about characters, about the world, about your own writing, and about your partners' writing. With the culture of opens and ability to enter a thread freely, the place keeps you on your toes, especially with the knowledge that something interesting will always be waiting around the corner. You might be surprised by someone hopping into a thread, but I found that it helped me loosen up and become more adaptable when surprised as action unfolded in threads.

The community is also friendly and welcoming when you hop into the Discord, willing to answer questions, get to know you, and coo over your cute pets. There's always excitement when someone new pops in, gleeful about new characters and new opportunities. I've been RPing for more than a decade at this point, but the PS community has been one that's been easy to get into and appreciate. They possess an overflowing positivity that can be overwhelming at times, but at the end of the day is appreciated for how it brightens days and cheers up dour moods.

I have said this before and I’ll say it again, Passing Strange gives me the opportunity to read from all of my favourite authors in the one place. Everyone has a different style, a different spin to their writing, and yet everyone also meshes together brilliantly. I’ve been on so many sites - some short lived, others lasted years - and from my own personal experience I think it’s rare to see RPers complement each other as flawlessly as they do on Passing Strange.

I believe it stems a lot from the community, because the community is like... it’s like a family, really. Uplifting, supportive, and outrageously funny with some of the greatest banter you can find. Real people with real perspectives on life and above all, real friendships.

This place. I'd gotten out of the RP game a couple years back after a decade and a half or so of it being my primary hobby. Just diminishing returns, souring relationships, egos and mess. I meandered into Passing Strange a good few months ago because I'd known one of the staff for a long while and missed regular engagement with them. We neither of us are great at maintaining contact, so I thought this would help. And my goodness.

These people. They are good writers, sure. Threads are engaging and unpredictable and I like that we have a sort of melting pot of styles. Some posts are appropriately pithy and brief, evoking only the attitude of the established character and being excellent little reaction snapshots, while others are replete with visceral imagery that absolutely paints a picture. It all runs the spectrum and serves to drive stories forward in fun and fascinating ways. But whatever, a lot of places have stellar writing. That's not why I love these people.

Statistically I have to accept that you probably could, but I still catch myself doubting anyone will ever find a kinder, healthier community of humble humans just trying to have a little fun and make each other's lives better. The staff are across the board gentle and welcoming, hilarious and proactive. They embrace their role as facilitators and accept their fallibility, always open to suggestions and changes. They very sincerely want this place to be safe and gracious to all comers, and the memberbase embraces this fully.

I was not a month in before this community felt very much like the place I belong. Compassion runs rampant, and while we of course have occasional conflict because that's how human interaction works, the overwhelming desire to respond with understanding and find workable solutions keeps the community strong.

If the setting intrigues you, stop on in. Passing Strange is a wonderful home and if you decide to settle in, I think you'll find yourself loving it for a long, long time.

I do not think I could find a better community of kind, caring, hilarious, talented people anywhere on the internet. The stories and characters that these individuals create are some of the most enriching literature I've ever read. I cannot be more happy to be a part of a community that is made up solely of genuine people that are genuinely here to have fun and make one another happy. The admin team is small but mighty, always open to community discussion and disagreement without making it into a bigger deal than it ever has to be. We're all just a bunch of nerds that like to roleplay and be silly, and it shows in every part of the site as a whole. 

Having been a part of several writing communities for more than half my life, I think I've finally got a pretty good grip on what makes an enrapturing roleplay experience. The people I have met in the PS community have introduced me to a largely plot-free play style - and that has honestly changed this hobby for me for the better. The writers here consistently supply immense inspiration and compelling characters and stories, and half the time none of us have any idea how a thread is going to end, and I freakin' love that.

On top of having extremely rich and vivid in-character happenings, the OOC community is absolutely the kindest, funniest, most thoughtful group of people I have ever met, online and otherwise. The folks here communicate openly and lovingly, are inclusive and engaging, and I have learned a whoooole lot - about writing and real life situations in general - from a lot of them.

Here's to PS being around for a long time to come. 💖