Next Incantation

I did have some good experiences on this site, which is why I didn't give it one star. I think it's just a shame that it seems that the same patterns with staff abusing their powers, playing favorites, or overall not appreciating the fact that MEMBERS make the site seem to repeat over and over again. The site owner is, at the bottom line, a coward, which leads to a lot of conflicts that could otherwise be avoided if she found her backbone for members as much as she finds it for her toxic staff members. Definitely not a site worth investing your time, characters, and effort in, in the long run. You'll just end up with wasted time and sour memories. There are MUCH healthier places to write.

As a user and ex-admin of this site I can wholeheartedly verify the mess that is the hierarchy system of The Next Incantation. I remember the oldest days, before it was self hosted and I remember that it had held promise for a small group of people to have a good time and write, chat and make good friends. That was lost when two people were ousted by Shadow - her two right hand men.

I have fond memories of the place, but it's run its course and devolved under Shandow's tyranny.

Dodge. This. Bullet.

... Is that when you're part of them, things seem great. Until you open your eyes and realize that you're hurting other people. At one point, I would write good reviews of this site everywhere I could find. I was drinking the koolaid. From the inside, TNI's staff is like a cult. You don't have friends outside it, you prioritize staff first, and you don't believe anyone who speaks out against it. And you know, that makes it impossible for this place to be fixed, because as someone who thought this way myself, everyone who speaks out against it is a toxic liar who is out for themself. Any proof that this person is human is proof that they are bad.

I left eight months ago. Recovery is rough, and TNI is one hell of a drug.

I've been active and invested in this site for years(I was even on staff for a bit). It's a decent place if you're seeking literate RP with plenty of creative freedoms. About the only content limits that exist on site are whatever the individual writers are uncomfortable with. That is a definite pro. They also have their own site plot which is a long-term thing. Because it is long-term it does make certain factions appear as overpowered, but having been behind the scenes I know that everything in the site wide plot is well thought out.

About the biggest con of the site is the extremely cliquey nature of it. It can be difficult for new members, or even long time members, to be fully accepted into the social side of things. In fact, some members will not even write with those outside their own clique at all; say one thing wrong and they will also turn against you. It may be advertised as 18+, but in reality a lot of the members do not act like mature adults. This even occasionally goes for staff.

Speaking of staff, though, it does seem a good chunk of them are selected on virtue of being friends with the founder of the site rather than actual qualifications or merit. THAT is a definite problem, but over all I do not believe it seriously defers from the quality of the site.

The final verdict? If you want quality writing and storytelling then I would recommend this site. However, if you're not particularly gifted socially then it's probably best to stay away.

Only to add a note to the others voiced here. The crap that goes on with and among the staff here is not worth your or anyone else's time.

"But wait," you think. "Some of the plot and writing is pretty good, and I like writing with some of these people. I can just keep myself to myself and not get involved with staff."

Okay. Possible. But you should know, then, that how the staff operates is going to affect you no matter what. Because the staff does not respect or bother to uphold the site rules if they do not wish to do so. They WILL censor your writing. You will be told directly, change or remove this material or you will not be allowed to post. Rules meant to keep everyone agreeable and moving along will be totally disregarded in some circumstances and applied unjustly in others.

Can you keep out of the petty, immature interpersonal stuff? Maybe. But don't fool yourself. At TNI, you would be operating under the direction of a group of selfish autocrats for whom freedom, justice, and simple harmony are not priorities and are often disregarded inconveniences.

There are two other reviews for this pbp rpg site that say IT ALL. I first joined TNI back in 2013 and at first things were awesome. I met great people and started making wonderful friends. Hell, I even got lucky and met the love of my life.

Here's the rub; the administration sucks. Back in the day, they were rather nice people glad to help. I've tried to go back a couple of times since I had to leave for a long while back in late 2013, and let me tell you; the new co-admins are the worst.

They are very cliquey and of you don't suck up to one of the more active ones, you could wait several days to have your application approved. And that's before they of course find fault in it (especially if you are new and don't have a hundred charries like they all have), making it take even longer to get approved. The admin doesn't respond in a timely manner anymore, if at all, and this is coming from someone they were friendly with way back.

In all; unless you want to dig through the cliques to try and find the very few real people on there who I want to rp and have fun, don't bother joining.

Just don't.