Hey!
I’m not sure if there’s another posting for this, but I’d love to hear what people believe are green flags in RP or on TRPs in general. Just a little fun thread for engagement between others!
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Not sure the best way to word this, but my green flag is someone who has flaws in their character, and doesn’t need to be the center of attention. I think we’ve all seen our fair share of characters who are the equivalent of Superman: no imperfections whatsoever and can do no wrong, or characters with backstories or features so great that their sole purpose is the need to be the center of attention. It’s boring.
I think it’s a great example of quality writing when you can make a character that’s three dimensional. They have wants, needs, strengths and weakness. They’re well rounded and can stand out from the crowd based on these features alone.
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This is so true though. I love when a writer isn’t so high on their horse that they let their character be a little bit of a loser. I think it’s very fun when a character kinda sucks at something and when other people do that too I get so thrilled. Let’s write powerful characters that also suck at simple things like cooking or tying their shoes together!!
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Being willing to allow your character to fail is a big green flag for myself.
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I’m always amused with the god complex of some folks, as there’s two ways of looking at it: 1. Sure it probably felt great to mouth off to that DK in Org/SW but 2. You also have to remember that canonically said DK could also force choke someone and also is a formerly coldblooded killing machine who has zero second thoughts about doing so or worse.
You are quite literally IC called the most bloodthirsty DK the Lich King ever raised outside of X name here according to that one book in Acherus.
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- Less-used lore. I love seeing profiles where a person is just clearly thoroughly obsessed with some particular aspect of the lore. Sir I have never heard of that kind of elf that’s mentioned once in a dungeon quest but I salute you for making a whole character out of it.
- Well-crafted combat styles, including people who make up their own. It can get out of hand sometimes, but especially on the Horde side of things where all the blademaster obsessed people live, it’s great to see people using and expanding on traditions. I love it when how a character fights just makes so much sense considering their backstory.
- Characters with no combat ability but have some other utility skill. Crafters, researchers, potion makers who should sell me their strongest potions, herbalists. I love you all.
- Less intrusive mog. Not that people who use shiny sparklemogs are bad (there’s def some cool stuff out there) but I love seeing a well put together, less flashy outfit.
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Regarding profiles, as that subject is a bit easier for me to discuss, I’m most drawn to those that are concise and up front. Prose can be nice, but I feel some include too much of it; I’m trying to learn about your character, not read your latest novel.
I’ve also grown an appreciation of ooc notes, particularly the longer form ones that explain in detail what the player is seeking in rp. I don’t do this much myself, but I do think it’s a decent practice.
More generally, I often appreciate patience and ooc communication, the latter especially. It hasn’t happened in a while, but I have had some instances of folks approaching then leaving if I haven’t given them a response within the minute. I don’t type very fast, and occasionally do paragraphs, I can’t deal with such a short attention span. Regarding the latter, not everyone seems to seek ooc clarification on things they’re unsure about in rp, so it’s nice when they do; much easier than having to work around assumptions.
Consideration is another big general one. In this case, I mean both for the player and the environment. Disclaiming moves against other player’s characters as attempts or wording the emotes as such, being mindful of not doing big dumb anime battles in a city full of guards who would realistically try to stop you, things of that sort.
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Green flag for me is when I see a character that I recognize from years ago, and it’s clear the character is still actively played. Like I just know that character is loved, and their personality has probably developed so much over the years into something complex and organic. That’s somebody’s baby that they’ve grown and raised.
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Oh heck yeah that’s the good stuff. Love seeing this.
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I think my green flags are just people who aren’t mean.
By example, I mean those who don’t feel the need to condescend others in their TRP, those who don’t make fun of others or treat people badly. Unfortunately, they tend to be the quiet ones that are harder to find. 
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Green flag for me is someone who only carries around so much money ICly, adding weight to their currency and not just having 1000000mil gold on their person at all times,“I only have like four pieces of gold, like ten silver, and to many copper coins… It’s getting hefty.”
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I like to use this as a humorous spin, as technically my main has no idea what the actual value of gold is, as metal is foreign to them… so just for laughs they do have millions, but the ironic twist is they don’t actually value it, it just sits there and is only really relevant when they make a purchase here or there.
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I don’t RP anymore, but to me it was friendliness.
If a person is friendly, genuinely friendly, OOC I find it easier to craft stories with them.
TRP-wise, I think a lot of the more “subtle” nuances within a TRP are big for me. Something off? Some attempt to hide dark arts? I love it. It shows the person wants to have their character go a direction and it’s just wonderful.
A weird green flag for me? New RPers. New and trying to learn the lore? Love it. They’re typically nicer and less jaded. It helps a ton with stories and actually wanting to write.
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I love when people do not care about trying to make their characters super unique in look or backstory. I love civilians and “run of the military” characters, where players develop their characters’ stories and idiosyncrasies subtlely; not in a way that is in your face. Furthering character progression organically and naturally through RP is awesome.
Along the same vein, I like when people are very invested in their characters and do not treat them like they are disposable—changing their race/faction/etc. and thereby fundamentally altering their stories every month. Serious, non-trolly TRPs that people put effort into are the best.
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Characters whose TRPs/art could be posted on a PG website, and nobody would bat an eyelash. I suppose this doesn’t 100% apply to darker characters, but even still a TRP doesn’t have to be… descriptive in certain ways. I find it more creative if they can dodge around such and still write something interesting.
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A nice TRP.
When there’s hundreds of characters out there but there’s only one of me I have to pick and choose who to approach based off of something, and that something is a characters TRP profile. I’ll choose a pretty TRP profile with some art links or even just a nicely written description over a “Found out IC ;)” everyday of the week.
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For me?
Please ask always before attacking, look I get it. You want to harm me. But if you can understand that I am not in the mood for violence, I really don’t want to try to force myself to -be- in that mood for violence.
Also; respecting the fact that I don’t do lewd is another green flag for me.
Maybe, MAYBE, if we build enough story behind it? I could shift this perspective.
But -no-, no random lewd.
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Generally speaking, pushing another person to a mood for violence in most situations is considered provocation and aggravation…
Just in general not something anyone should do to someone.
Also a massive red flag, and one folks seem to have a problem with with as much as I’ve witnessed folks who either want lewd perpetually or jump from partner to partner.
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Green Flags in TRP for me…
Grammar. Everyone has their own style of writing as it were, and typos are a plague everyone suffers, but even using punctuation correctly is always reassuring. No one will be perfect where grammar is concerned, but you can tell when people make an attempt to do it right, and where people just type up a profile entry and never spare it so much as a second glance.
Lore Adherence. By this I don’t mean being 110% accurate to the lore, but rather, that the character is appropriate to the setting. For example, Worgen Paladins. There are no Worgen Paladins in-game. It’s not a playable class-race option (yet). That said, Gilneas has a cathedral, priests, etc… If you RP a Worgen Paladin, great. The race and class exist in the lore, and there’s plenty of avenues to achieve that.
Where lore adherence becomes a red flag is when a player inserts a custom race into the setting, or a class that contradicts the existing lore in some manner. Lore should be the foundation of mutual understanding which facilitates RP. You don’t need to be a loremaster or have a character so perfectly crafted to conform to the lore that Chris Metzen himself will knight you with Frostmourne as a True Roleplayer or what have you.
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This one’s tough for me. I agree on principle but I have so many friends who are dyslexic that I’ve really eased up on this stance personally. I have a friend who was very nervous to do public RP for a while because of a dyslexia problem and I guess it’s made me be a bit more understanding if someone is struggling.
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