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How To Make a Discord RP


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This is not a guide, but a question: I've never seen a Discord RP with my own eyes (also don't know where to find them), but would be very interested in making one and heavily appreciate detailled advice! ❤️

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I went a hybrid route with my site Metro, so we have both forum and discord based RP available for members. 

 

Now, I've roleplayed on discord in the past, but I'm fairly new to running a RP server there. Personally, I find keeping the server neat and easy to navigate is the most important part. 

 

Some discord servers I've seen create channels for each specific "region" or play area. For example a Harry Potter based one might have channels like: Hogwarts Grounds, Slytherine/Ravenclaw etc Commons, Great Hall, Hogsmead and so on. From here there are two options. Each channel can just be a sandbox kind of RP where everyone just jumps into a big RP chat and goes on. Alternatively, bots can be used to allow people to create individual threads within the channels. 

 

My discord went with the later option. We only have one RP channel in our discord, but my co-admin @Morriganset it up with a bot that allows each individual member to create their own RP threads. Members create a thread, throw up a little blurb about where it is located, specify whether its a private or open thread - and off they go! This allows members to RP in whatever world setting they choose without staff having to build and design each individual setting (which in the Metroverse would be incredibly exhausting and messy). When individual threads are finished and closed by the players, they're auto-catalogued to an archive on the forum. 

 

Of course, the bot system can be used for a single channel or for multiples. If you want to take a peak at my server, the bot we (read Morr) chose is nicknamed The Librarian. 

 

There are also several discord bots that were built for RP and will allow players to create customized profiles for each character. Unfortunately some of them are rather clunky and glitchy, so we're still experimenting. Unfortunately, we haven't yet found one that quite functions the way we want. 

 

So ultimately, my advice is first and foremost keep it neat and easy to navigate. 

 

You'll want to have an Information channel with Rules, World Information, and an Announcement board. 

Obviously a General chat room for members to flippantly socialize. 

A channel specifically for plotting 

If you intend to do applications and an approval process I would advise a channel and sub-channels specifically for pending and accepted apps. 

You'll also want to have separate Advertisement and Affiliate channels so you can expose your site to potential members. I can't speak for the other resources sites, but all The Initiative asks for a discord RP to be listed in our Directory is for our banner and link to be pinned in an Affiliate channel so it stays at the top. 

 

A huge pro to discord based RP is they're really easy to reorganize until you finally figure out that sweet spot. 

 

Feel free to check out our discord and see how we've set things up/experiment with our thread feature. 

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Thank you so much! Yes, I bloody love the simplicity and focus on writing with Discord as opposed to the impending doom of all the coding and more (sometimes unproductive/unhelpful/snobby) focus on graphics. I feel like Discord also has the potential to feel very cozy/private, and there's always the potential to expand to a forum. Perhaps a good start for an admin journey. This is so very, very appreciated!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I grew up on chat RPs and have intermittently pondered making a discord RP but have been slow to conceptualize how it can be organized. Completely forgot about the thread option. This is really helpful!

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10 hours ago, Hal said:

I grew up on chat RPs and have intermittently pondered making a discord RP but have been slow to conceptualize how it can be organized. Completely forgot about the thread option. This is really helpful!

 

Honestly, I have come to think that anyone wanting to start a forum based RP should start their idea with a discord. 

 

  • Discord RP is very easy to set up. 
  • Discord is simple. There aren't an infinite number of shiny bells and whistles to distract and overwhelm creators. 
  • They're easy for potential members to check out. 
  • They're easy to join. 
  • If the discord sees a successful level of activity, then creators can build a more complex forum knowing they'll have a good member base and all that time and effort will not have been wasted.

There are also a number of pros for members, but I find a large one to be that starting out with discord weeds out the admins that are more into creating a world and a shiny new forum than they are in managing and keeping it alive. 




 

 

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18 hours ago, Dragon said:

 

Honestly, I have come to think that anyone wanting to start a forum based RP should start their idea with a discord. 

 

  • Discord RP is very easy to set up. 
  • Discord is simple. There aren't an infinite number of shiny bells and whistles to distract and overwhelm creators. 
  • They're easy for potential members to check out. 
  • They're easy to join. 
  • If the discord sees a successful level of activity, then creators can build a more complex forum knowing they'll have a good member base and all that time and effort will not have been wasted.

There are also a number of pros for members, but I find a large one to be that starting out with discord weeds out the admins that are more into creating a world and a shiny new forum than they are in managing and keeping it alive. 




 

I agree with this so much, I think it's great. Is giving me a lot of confidence and motivation regarding Discord. 😄 I also feel like it can be much, much easier to lose motivation while building a whole website - Discord strips it down to the essentials (and writers are good at imagining anyway).

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've been co-running a wild west discord RP for a little over a year now and despite a good bit of success, have no intention of moving to a forum.  I love how *connected* I feel to the game world and the ease of following along with scenes that I'm not actively participating in.  

I know Wild West is obvious niche, but you're certainly welcome to join for another example.  (I think there's probably at least a few ways to organize things, so definitely helpful to check out multiple servers and swipe ideas that fit the vibe you're going for.) 

If you haven't already, check out the bot called Tupperbox.  It's probably one of the ones that Dragon alluded to above.  It proxies accounts, allowing players to post with their character's name and profile picture.  

 

Another bot command that we've had a ton of fun with is a custom rumor command for sharing gossip!  I wrote up a post awhile ago about how I set it up:  



Our Wild West Discord RP is here in case you want to check it out!


As far as where to find Discord RPs - I think Disboard is probably one of the more popular places:  https://disboard.org/. Good luck with your server/RP!  

 

Edited by Juls

 

 

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