%% Administrivia/ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

The ''Character Development Threads'' are a series of roleplaying threads that can be found in the Writer's Block section of [=TvTropes=]. Intended as a shared story and a writing exercise, tropers can write a character in and develop them through a StoryArc. These threads have become a tradition, [[OlderThanYouThink since borrowed]] from UsefulNotes/NaNoWriMo. Although some of the earliest threads such as Bar, Nightclub, and Picnic have been sadly lost forever in the archive purges, most of them can still be read deep in the depths of the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/conversations.php?topic=000000000000000000000295 Writer's Block thread list]].

There are two main 'styles' of thread: 'serious', 'non-casual', or 'main series'; and 'casual', which each carry their own quirks, benefits, and drawbacks. In 'serious' threads, combat is allowed and characters can fight to maim or kill, whereas in 'casual' threads, violence is generally not allowed and may even be physically impossible.

The discussion thread for the CDT threads in general can be found [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13037797990A10271500 here]].

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:List of Main Series Threads]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=cwyort4w0zp875jahhodd84q Hotel]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=x8x486qvwsqpo57gt5pa9tcs Hike]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=xq67dileir9ioq0zty0pw5d0 Therapy Room]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=12911857950A47021400 Snowflake of Characters]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=12982650800A33980100 Outpost]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13002234250A16760100 Beach House]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13015924960A12066600 Castle]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13035024270A30927100 Carnival]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13094531010A04740100 Titanic]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13120015990A69592000 Heist]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13169672930A99899200 Island]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13210601270A33541600 Memorial]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13243277010A44411100 Express]] - [[http://recreationalreality.com/images/Express_Map.png map here.]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13304839610A69526100 Dream]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13400026140A69180100 University]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13500830200A34880100 Dig Site]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13694399840A26260100 City]] - [[https://www.dropbox.com/s/smabk6bxzh1s3t9/map.pdf?v=1rw-- Map]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14111550060A18769400 Worlds' Fair]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14248981950A88250400 Capital]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14396473520A97305100 Frontier]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14534540090A11293900&page=1 Dream II]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15194176290A98089200&page=1 Adventure]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16271737420A54994800&page=1 Adventure II]] (Ongoing)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:List of Casual "CDT Lite" Threads]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16302183940A70476200 Hilbert Inn]] (Ongoing)
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=xq67dileir9ioq0zty0pw5d0 The Therapy Room]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13045663430A78601600 Chatroom]]
** [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13293475350A81292600 Chatroom II]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13055698930A64116900 Garden of Everything]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13098036850A08900100 Cantina]]
** [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13158795160A08549800 Cantina II]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13194143740A98134800 Resort]] - [[http://www.recreationalreality.com/images/Sojomi_Resort_Map.png Map]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13430846260A37289100 Dinner Party]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13463741420A18192800 Cruise]] - [[http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/366/ccdockmap2.png Dock Map]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13591550900A97600100 Mansion]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14002771270A73207500&page=0 Inn]] - [[http://recreationalreality.com/images/Ryokan_Inn_Map_v0.9.png Map]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14146648330A67011300 Halloween]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14280267300A25864400 Mountain Resort]] - [[http://www.recreationalreality.com/images/Ngadi_Resort_Map_Draft.png Map]]
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=14880519240A25174400 Space Liner]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:List of "Other" Threads]]
!!"Mixed" Threads
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13811457890A77333300 Archipelago]]
[[/folder]]

!!CDT Threads with their own pages:
[[index]]
* ''Roleplay/CDTAdventure''
* ''Roleplay/CDTAdventureII''
* ''Roleplay/CDTArchipelago''
* ''Roleplay/CDTCapital''
* ''Roleplay/CDTCity''
* ''Roleplay/CDTDreamII''
* ''Roleplay/CDTFrontier''
* ''Roleplay/CDTHalloween''
* ''Roleplay/CDTHeist''
* ''Roleplay/CDTHilbertInn''
* ''Roleplay/CDTInn''
* ''Roleplay/CDTMansion''
* ''Roleplay/CDTResort''
* ''Roleplay/CDTSpaceLiner''
* ''Roleplay/CDTUniversity''
* ''Roleplay/CDTWorldsFair''
[[/index]]
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!!The Character Development Threads include examples of:
[[folder:General]]
* AbortedArc: Arcs last only as long as they keep people's interest.
* AnyoneCanDie: Troper characters aren't immune from deaths, though declaring that another troper's character died from one of your own's attacks is generally frowned upon.
* CastHerd: Splitting characters into small groups of 2-6 is pretty much essential to the threads for the sake of making sure everyone gets enough attention. It's also easier to manage who posts when.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: Since the purpose of these threads is to learn about and develop your characters, this is the expected result of using your character in the thread, especially if they return in a later thread.
* ClosedCircle: Castle takes place in an IslandBase surrounded by a tropical storm. Hotel and Bar had intense snowstorms. Carnival takes place in the middle of a thunderstorm 30 miles away from the nearest city. Nightclub seems to have this at first, only for the cast to adventure out to the end of the city, into the depths of the ocean, to [[VideoGame/BioShock Rapture]]. The trope has become less popular in more recent threads, as it can make it difficult for writers if they have to leave.
* {{Crossover}}: Inherent to the concept, of characters from Tropers' works-in-progress showing up in the same place to interact.
* DeathIsCheap: Though characters can certainly be KilledOffForReal, this status only lasts for the duration of the thread. Characters who have been killed in past threads are completely free to return in later threads whole with possibly little more than some sour memories and feelings regarding their murderers.
* DeconstructionCrossover: A common result of these threads is a character's nature getting examined in a new light.
%%* DysfunctionJunction: Dream's ability to show the subconscious lent itself particularly well to characters of this sort.
* EverybodyLives: Sometimes- Castle is one notable example in living memory. Enforced in casual threads, as violence is against the rules in such threads, if not completely impossible.
* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The majority of the threads' events take place in less than twelve hours, due to WebcomicTime. Averted in Heist (about one in-story week), Resort (several days) and Archipelago (a full day and then some).
%%* FakeGuestStar
* FantasyKitchenSink: Or sci-fi kitchen sink. Or anything kitchen sink you like. Expect to see characters from all tech levels and origins and abilities running around any given CDT.
* GenreBusting: Inevitable when crossing over characters from different settings and genres. Although the threads tend to attract science fiction and fantasy writers in general, due to the overall leanings of Writer's Block as a whole, there is still quite a bit of mixing between the various subgenres of speculative fiction.
* GenreRoulette: The genre of each thread can vary quite a lot, to say the least, and even within a single thread. Casual threads tend to be more relaxed, while the non-casual threads have featured ClosedCircle mysteries, adventures, puzzles, and so on. But no thread, regardless of style or genre, has ever been in particularly short supply of interpersonal drama.
* GenreShift: Different conversations in the same room can appear to be from completely different works and settings, let alone what's going on between different rooms.
* IdiotBall: This was lampshaded by Ian Down during Castle due to his recklessness that got him injured several times.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Several characters throughout the threads have openly mused and/or wondered about the nature of the settings that appear in the threads as well as the more classic questions of their own fictionality:
** Carnival had some characters outright questioning whether or not they're fictional.
** University had two characters discuss the way previously-described parts of the setting do not appear to have been created by someone who's visited an actual university.
** Archipelago had Vince- in his tenth thread appearance -actually call the archipelago itself a setting due to how parts of CDT settings can sometimes seem to exist in a vacuum or without permanence, [[EntertaininglyWrong only to then presume that the alternate universe-creating aliens that he studies are behind the 'settings'' existence.]]
* LighterAndSofter: Some [=OPs=] insist that the setting should be relaxed in order to avert meaningless fighting, but that doesn't stop other writers from writing in life-threatening crises.
* MassivelyMultiplayerCrossover: A typical thread often ends up with twenty or more characters interacting in their own plots all at once. And given the nature of roleplays, ''every'' last one of those characters is technically a main character.
* MythArc: Believe it or not, there ''is''. The question of what has been drawing these various characters to certain locales remains up for grabs.
* NeverLiveItDown: An in-universe example in Island. Prisha has known Bianca to hallucinate once and he sees her as a schizophrenic for the rest of the thread.
* NoEnding: ''Constantly.'' These threads will, more often than not, fade without a proper end when people get bored or too busy in RealLife to keep going. Castle was the first to avert this, and Carnival, Resort, and Mansion have followed in its stead.
* TheOtherDarrin: On rare occasions, writers have allowed other people to borrow their characters for threads. [[invoked]]
* OutOfGenreExperience: Whenever characters are brought in that don't come from a speculative setting that [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism at least leans towards cynicism]].
* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Any CastHerd that's gathered together for an adventure or mission of some kind is probably going to have quite a variety of characters and settings of origin due to the jumbled, FantasyKitchenSink nature of the threads in general.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: If the writer of a certain character just doesn't have any free time or is having internet issues, their characters will also become unusually absent.
%%* SphereOfDestruction: This is the method that was used to end Castle.
* SpiritualSuccessor: Due to the popularity of the debut thread Bar, a troper started Nightclub, the SpiritualSuccessor. But it didn't stop there. After Nightclub, many more {{Spiritual Successor}}s had also spawned.
* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Unless enforced otherwise, usually in the form of the writer adding an OOC comment along the lines of, "By the way, you can interrupt him/her/them whenever you want."
* TranslationConvention: Since the threads generally attract SpeculativeFiction writers who might have {{Constructed World}}s that contain characters who would logically be speaking languages other than English, this trope allows those characters to mingle with each other and focus on their characterizations without having to deal with language barriers.
* WebcomicTime: An average thread pre-2014 tended to last for around six weeks while usually only spanning twelve hours of in-story time. Many threads from 2014 onward have begun to drift towards more extremes- due to several active writers at the time transitioning from high school to college -lasting for months of meatspace time and 48 hours or less of in-story time. This has resulted in characters becoming way too-close friends over a single conversation, a conversation that might have taken several weeks for the writers involved to write.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: If someone leaves the thread without removing their character in any way, this is a frequent result.
* WorldOfBadass: Very few threads have ever been in short supply of characters with at least some practical combat prowess.
* WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants: Very much so. Especially during fight scenes between more than two writers, they also sometimes even feel the need to rush to avoid being [[ForumSpeak ninja'd]]. [[invoked]]
* WrongContextMagic: There's all ''sorts'' of interactions between magic, AntiMagic, and SufficientlyAdvancedTechnology from different 'verses.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Titanic]]
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: After Morgulion dropped out, Karl Miller simply vanished without a trace. The idea was tossed about that he had thrown himself overboard, but this scene was never actually written in.
* NoEnding: Unfortunately, the thread petered out before long, well before the inevitable sinking.
* OneSteveLimit: Averted with Sophia Noe and Sophia Rosenfeld Kunstler.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dig Site]]
* CosmicHorrorStory: Subverted -- it seemed that way, but the "eldritch" entity in question was "just" an ancient and powerful lich.
* DamnedByFaintPraise: K-12Z-2, when speaking with Crescent Raptor, calls his prized crossbow "a formidable weapon in its context", which briefly causes Crescent Raptor some distress as he wonders what frame of reference such a politely dismissive comment must come from.
* ForScience: Moonlit Blossom, who is introduced by asking to dissect someone.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Nice work releasing the Lich, Crescent Raptor.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cantina I & II]]
* CultureClash: William and Borghild have an argument on magic and gender.
* NoEnding: The thread petered out following the launch of the Character Heist.
* NumberedSequel: Cantina II was announced on the discussion board to be released soon after the original Cantina.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mountain Resort]]
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Camille is a little surprised to see a yeti as a bartender despite being a vampire herself.
%%* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: Mark the bartender, who also happens to be a friendly version.
* LikeADuckTakesToWater: Compared to her last appearance, Katya is much more adjusted to her new life.
* RecursiveReality: Dr. Isaac Rose is a fan of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. Izeri and Qal are [[FanFiction actually from that 'verse]]. The spirits that directed Izeri and Qal to the Resort, Isaac's friend Alice (who knows what's up but [[InsanityImmunity is already too insane to be perturbed by the implications]]), and reality itself are all working to keep them well separated to avoid any [[GoMadFromTheRevelation messy]] [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow results]].
%%* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Partially averted in regards to Mark the bartender, who gets quite a few reactions from the people in the bar.
[[/folder]]
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