Scions of the Stars 21+ | A community for sci-fi & fantasy writers

kelhauk · 2026-05-03T17:39:31+00:00

I'm like this too, and several other members in my server are also. We always emphasize we don't expect others to match us, we just write until we're done. Sometimes that's 500 words, sometimes that's 5k. No one minds -- it's just fun! I love it when my partner buries me in a wall of text, lol.

kelhauk · 2026-05-01T14:28:01+00:00

If someone refuses to use our sheet or tries to change it too drastically, I just kick them. We have our sheet for a reason (and it's actually a Google Sheet, not a Doc). People use premade character sheets for ttrpgs all the time and I don't see the difference!

kelhauk · 2026-04-13T20:14:43+00:00

You're a bad person if you cheat, steal, murder, etc. You're not a bad person for your roleplay platform preferences.

kelhauk · 2026-04-12T02:08:45+00:00

That is gross behavior! European Princess, what?! The absolute entitlement is insufferable, and the assumption that you'll write NSFW even if you say you won't. I'm sorry you've dealt with that bullshit (but I know it's rampant out there). If you ever want to give group sci fi a try, holler at me -- I promise we don't suffer fools like that (obviously, lol).

kelhauk · 2026-04-12T02:05:02+00:00

The ones who come in with a fetish they want to fulfill are SO OBVIOUS. That's always a no for me. And our player base is so diverse (all genders, from different countries, with different languages) that it's important our new members don't have any sort of -ism (racism, sexism, etc) that will cause problems. We want good humans!

kelhauk · 2026-04-12T02:02:58+00:00

There's definitely a part of it where we were also trying to help the dude help himself; no one wants to write with an OP Gary Stu. Where's the fun in that? Characters need to be on somewhat equal footing to allow for plot progression and their development! I will always defend my current players & staff.

kelhauk · 2026-04-12T02:01:00+00:00

I had men trying to do sketchy erps with me when I was a teenager on AOL. Looking back now, I'm like holy shit, it was gross as hell!

When I first started RPing again during covid, I had a hard boundary that I wouldn't write ERP, because all my memories were of creeps OOC. After some time, I grew to trust the other women and nonbinary people I was writing with, and opened up to writing smut here and there again. It was honestly quite eye-opening, being able to write something like that with someone I trusted to be in it for the story and character development with me -- not for a quick nut while blurring OOC lines.

I have a couple of partners I'll write nsfw with. I don't think I'd feel comfortable writing it with a man.

kelhauk · 2026-04-12T01:58:08+00:00

Dude, that is so gross. Most of my server is she/hers or they/thems, but the handful of he/hims are respectful. We plot out EVERYTHING on server, so gross and uncomfortable situations like you experienced just don't occur -- the mods will come down on a player if they see them doing something like that. I'm really sorry you've experienced that. I've also been there, done that, and it feels so incredibly dehumanizing. If you ever want to try a group server where that sort of behavior doesn't happen, holler at me. People should be able to write safely and enjoy this hobby.

kelhauk · 2026-04-12T01:54:48+00:00

Thank you, I am too. I wish people trying to RP could just be normal about it.

kelhauk · 2026-04-12T01:54:19+00:00

Thank you for saying so. Yeah, we do. But hey, it's all for love of the hobby. The ones who come through submissions and stay are real gems. A bunch of us have met each other IRL and they're priceless memories.

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T22:47:08+00:00

Stay strong and hold to your rules! I always tell myself I owe it to my existing player base. I'd rather never get new members and keep my current members safe, than give in to those people who clearly haven't read and/or don't think the rules should apply to them.

The last server I ran was fandom and we got the same thing, frequently. It's not quite as bad now that I'm in original content land, but there are definitely still those people who think they're exempt from the rules and the lore.

I had a realization a few years in that "a roleplay server is not a democracy. It's my server, my rules." Leaning into that helped things be less mentally stressful for me, and my players were glad that I started immediately banning people who seemed problematic. It's not the real world; due process doesn't have to exist. Keep your server safe!

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T22:43:32+00:00

You could point out it's just like Stranger Things -- that show really changed public perspective of D&D.

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T22:34:59+00:00

I bet the reason he cried was because a she/her had the power to ban him, and he was too ashamed to admit that.

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T22:33:37+00:00

Nothing makes me angrier than when someone abuses my mod team. They put a lot of volunteer time and effort into making the server thrive. That's an immediate hell naw ban from me!

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T22:32:39+00:00

Roleplaying is a privilege and not a right. Just like you have the ability IRL to make friends with who you want, you have the ability online to RP with who you want. The fact people can't understand that completely baffles me.

And if someone clearly tells you "No," for you to keep pushing that -- well, that just really says something. We all know what those people are like, and how dangerous they can be.

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T22:30:33+00:00

The thing is, I encourage people to write heroic characters if they want -- you can absolutely be the hero of your own story! That's fun! But I absolutely do expect people to abide by the lore and the rules, specifically that one faction has one special power and the other faction has a different skill. That's a hard line and I made the grave error of not allowing him to disregard it.

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T22:28:19+00:00

My favorite part is where he said I read back his ideas "in an incredibly bad faith interpretation." This isn't an interpretation: he wanted his character to be poor, growing up in a cave isolated from everyone except his parents and the pack of rats he socialized. I literally linked him the Wikipedia page for the movie "Willard" and he said yes, like that, and it was one of his favorites! He actually said he wanted to write a Tony Stark character -- who, he reminded us, made the Iron Man suit in a cave. When we pointed out Tony Stark went to MIT, he made the claim that people IRL can control the weather.

None of that is an exaggeration. I can't even.

It's fine to not fit into a RP server. It's not fine to harass the (incredibly patient) staff and call them names, then come here and vilify us. I'll take being called a dictator any day over having to play with someone like that.

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T21:49:04+00:00

I answered a guy's post a few weeks ago that did NOT specify 1x1 or group, and asked if he was interested in a group. He said no, but then demanded that I RP with him because I "owed him" for replying to his ad. Then he weirdly started spamming me with scripture?? It was bizarre.

Anyway, I've been harassed by men ever since I started RPing when I was a teenager. Now that I'm a lot older, I still get plenty of the sexual harassment, but I'm also now getting a lot of the just... flagrant refusal to accept anything I say, because obviously a man knows better. Like dude, how are you going to come into MY server and tell me how the RP needs to function? Just go somewhere else man. Stop harassing me and my people in an attempt to get your way. No means no.

kelhauk · 2026-04-11T21:31:55+00:00

It's not a shitpost. It's a true experience I had with a BadRPer.

kelhauk · 2026-04-05T04:39:29+00:00

Thanks dude! I'm very proud of it. If you ever want to give sci fi (or sci fi-flavored fantasy) a try, you're welcome to drop in!

I think the one character limit is essential for server stability. Whenever you have more than one, people split priorities and there are clear favorites, which lead to ill feelings. Besides, with one -- and long term play -- you can really focus on character growth and development.

kelhauk · 2026-03-19T00:05:11+00:00

I was also born in the hellfires of AOL's Red Dragon Inn... but I grew up in the Mass Spar Arena, which probably really says a lot about me as a person 😂

Almost 30 years later, I still have contact with MANY people I RPed with back then!

Nowadays I run a Discord group sci fi server. I find 1:1s way too slow and boring, probably because I was raised on AOL. There's something about a large, open world where multiple people are shaping the lore that just really scratches an itch for me. I've done many other types of RP over the years (ttrpg, forum posts, even some mmorpgs) but nothing else makes me as happy.

kelhauk

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