Cherp Alternatives

Introduction

Cherp being down getting you down? Not sure where to pick up RPs in the meantime? Then you're in luck! The website may be down for now, but I've compiled a short list of places you can roleplay on the internet that are not Cherp, as well as a quick rundown of each service and what kind of roleplaying it's best for.

Below you'll find all of this information and a little more (like my personal opinion) for each site listed in the navigation bar at the top of the page. Happy roleplaying!

Discord

The Basics

Requires Account?	Yes*
Allows minors?	Varies
Allows NSFW?	Varies
Allows dark themes?	Varies
Fandom or Originals?	Both
Length?	Varies
Strictness?	Varies
Mobile Friendly?	Yes

* - Requires Account: While Disboard itself requires no account to browse, you must have a Discord account in order to join the Discord servers on the website.

What You Should Know

Anyone can list a server on Disboard; think of it as the Craigslist/Kijiji of Discord servers. The lister decides if their server allows each particular subject. They may be as strict or as lax about the rules as each individual server owner is. Minors are allowed to use Disboard, but an individual server may choose to disallow minors; they will usually have "18+ only" in the description or rules.

How to Use

Go to https://disboard.org/ and type in the name of a fandom you're looking for and "roleplay" or "rp" (eg "Overwatch RP" or "Overwatch roleplay"), then hit enter. You'll be redirected to a page with a listing of different servers that fit your specifications-- click the arrow at the bottom of each entry to be able to see the full description, find a server that fits your ideals, and click "join this server." Disboard will redirect you to a page that launches the invitation in the Discord app.

If you've joined a RP hub server, most let you post your own ads like you could post prompts on Cherp. They usually have separate fandom and originals sections, as well as a separate section for NSFW posts. Sometimes they make you verify your age first; sometimes you just claim the NSFW role somewhere in the rules or the self-assigned roles channel (usually servers that are always 18+ do this.)

Every server is different, and while most servers have the same general ruleset, a lot of them have different rules about how often you can post ads, as well as what kind of content you're allowed to solicit for and what channels you should be doing it in. As such, I implore you to read the rules of each individual server you join.

Once you're in the server, I suggest just thumbing through the ads in the section you're interested in and emulating what you see. Type a fandom in the searchbar and see what comes up! Some servers have rules about DMing people and have a channel specifically for @ing people and asking to DM them, so keep an eye on that. I absolutely cannot stress enough the importance of reading the rules.

Personal Notes

Because every Discord server is populated by different people, the vibes are different, too. They can be extremely nice or unimaginably aggressive and mean. I've joined servers that were awesome and welcoming, where the mods were incredibly polite and professional (as long as you made an honest mistake), and I've been in servers where the mods were very, very clearly powertripping and were so abrasive I was left with such a bad taste in my mouth that I felt compelled to leave. It really depends on the server.

Like, I cannot stress enough, if you think Cherp mods are cunts or whatever, you will actually die in some Discord servers. They'll see you post something in the wrong section and kneecap the shit out of you and make you apologize for taking up the time they could have spent playing World of Warcraft, or whatever. So read the rules.

Reddit

The Basics

Requires Account?	Yes
Allows minors?	Varies
Allows NSFW?	Varies
Allows dark themes?	Varies
Fandom or Originals?	Both
Length?	Varies
Strictness?	Varies
Mobile Friendly?	Eh.

You must have an account to post on Reddit. You don't technically need an account to browse, but if you want to respond to RP ads or post your own, you need to have an account. Making an account is free & easy and they don't even make you verify your e-mail (but you get a fun badge on your account page if you do.)

What You Should Know

Every subreddit has different rules. You should read the rules of each individual subreddit and decide which one(s) you want to post on. Some subreddits allow NSFW, some don't; some are exclusively for NSFW and will let you post anything that isn't straight-up illegal, while others only allow you to post NSFW prompts if they have a plot. It really depends on the subreddit. I've compiled a few below with the details of what they allow, but this doesn't mean you shouldn't read the rules anyway.

You should probably use a third-party Reddit app or browse on desktop. The official Reddit app isn't very good and there's really no way to turn off the incessant notifications of popular posts from subreddits you follow (and even subreddits you don't...) as well as the fact that lots of people prefer to be contacted through Reddit PMs rather than commenting on a post or the instant messaging feature, and there's really no intuitive way to send a PM in the app (it uses the IM feature.)

You must ONLY share your contact information in PMs. This is a Reddit-wide rule; posting anything considered "identifying information" can get you banned, which includes posting your Discord. You can totally give it to people, it just can't be in the post/comments section.

How to Use

Pick a subreddit that appeals to you off of the following list:

• r/Roleplay: No NSFW at all, minors allowed to create ads, notoriously strict mods
• r/RoleplayToo: NSFW allowed (mark post as NSFW), minors allowed to create ads, ostensibly lax mods (was created in response to strict mods in r/Roleplay)
• r/RoleplayPartnerSearch: NSFW allowed (within rules; mark post as NSFW), minors allowed to create ads, (IME) reasonable moderation
• r/Roleplaying: NSFW allowed (mark post as NSFW) minors allowed to create ads
• r/RoleplayingForReddit: Groups only, NSFW allowed, minors allowed to create ads
• r/WrittenRoleplay: NSFW allowed (mark post as NSFW), no minors
• r/AdvancedLiterateRP: NSFW allowed (mark post as NSFW), minors allowed to create ads, high level of literacy/long posts/novella style expected
• r/DirtyPenPals: NSFW only, no minors
• r/DiscordRoleplay NSFW allowed (mark post as NSFW), minors allowed to create ads

Just because I've listed the basics of the subreddit here does NOT mean you don't need to read the rules!!! The rules are usually either 1) in a pinned post at the very top of the subreddit, 2) linked in the header (on the new Reddit design) or 3) in the sidebar to the right (on the old Reddit design.) Read the rules for each subreddit you want to post in. Please.

Create a post! Hit "create new post" (on the new Reddit design) or "submit a new text post" (on the old Reddit design) and type up your ad. Give it a title. Each subreddit has different ideas of what a title should look like, but a brief description of what you're looking for is usually enough. Make sure it's posting to a subreddit and not your profile, choose a flair (think of a flair as like a tag; it just makes your post easier to find), and hit submit!

If your post includes any mention of NSFW, be sure to flag it nsfw by scrolling down to the bottom and clicking the "nsfw" button beneath the body of the post (and then confirming). Mods will get mad at you if you don't do this.

Personal Notes

Reddit mods are generally like Discord mods (and everybody else in the world, really,) in that they can either be super cool or massive pricks. So far I've only had positive experiences with polite moderators who were very understanding of me admitting I don't really know how to use Reddit and needed to ask questions, but there's a reason stereotypes about Reddit mods being assholes who wait for you to slip up so they can permanently ban you from the subreddit exist. Just read the rules and do your best to follow them.

Roleplay Central

The Basics

Requires Account?	Yes
Allows minors?	Yes
Allows NSFW?	Eh.
Allows dark themes?	Yes
Fandom or Originals?	Both
Length?	Varies
Strictness?	Lax
Mobile Friendly?	Yes

Roleplay Central is basically SFW F-List. You basically set up an account where you select all your RP preferences (originals or fandoms, genres, what kind of characters you like to play, what kind of pairings you like, post length, etc.) and then you can use the Matchmaking system to find people you might be compatible with. You can also search by fandom.

What You Should Know

Roleplay Central isn't super active, but by God, it should be. I love everything about it and I think it's so cool. They have a Discord server that is absolutely worth checking out as well, that functions more like the RP hub Discords mentioned above, where you can post ads (both SFW and NSFW) that allow other people to connect to you.

How to Use

The Website: Create an account and follow the process. I did it a while ago, but I feel like I remember it being pretty straight forward and easy to do. Then go to your own profile and click the "matchmaking" tab and see what's up! You can also search by fandom specifically by going to the "search" tab. Be sure that whoever you're messaging is marked as looking for RP and not inactive. The website will also tell you when they last logged in, which is worth looking at as well.

Personal Notes

I love the mods here. I've only very briefly interacted with a handful of them but every time it was incredibly professional and polite and I felt like they respected me and my time. Because "Éinín" has non-searchable characters I was asked to change my name to be able to search, but the admin and I were able to come to the compromise as listing my name as Éinín (Einin) because the fadas are important to the pronunciation. So all in all a positive interaction.

You can also use your Roleplay Central account as a quick, SFW way to tell other roleplayers what you're into in other servers that aren't the RPC Discord, which is a plus, I think.

Tumblr

The Basics

Requires Account?	Yes
Allows minors?	Yes
Allows NSFW?	Yes
Allows dark themes?	Varies
Fandom or Originals?	Both
Length?	Varies
Strictness?	Varies
Mobile Friendly?	Yes

You must have an account to find roleplays on Tumblr, even if you aren't actually roleplaying on Tumblr. And I don't recommend roleplaying on Tumblr because it's shit for that for a multitude of reasons. Regardless, even though the roleplaying stuff I'll be describing in this section generally involves using Tumblr to find roleplayers to write on Discord, you still need an account to message people after they interact with your ad.

What You Should Know

Every blog does things differently. Read the rules. Tired of hearing this? Look me in the eyes. I am talking directly to you. This is about you. Read the rules for each blog that you submit requests to because they're all different and they'll delete your ask if you don't comply.

How to Use

There are a bunch of roleplay searching blogs on Tumblr.

• @roleplayfinder
• @FYRApartnersearch
• @roleplay-finder
• @rphunter
• @roleplayersonline
• @roleplayermeet

Pick a blog, any blog, read the rules, and if it fits, the general sequence of events is that you send an "ask" (if you have a shorter request) or submit a post (if you have a longer request,) wait a day or two for it to be posted (@roleplayfinder is, in my experience, the most active) and then message anybody who interacts with (replies, "likes") the post to talk to them a bit and swap Discord handles. You then write together on Discord, but sometimes people also like E-mail or Google Docs (they'll usually say this in the ad).

Each blog has different rules about what they allow you to solicit for and what is required in a post, but as a general rule they usually at least require an age range/requirement (under 18, 18+, 21+, 25+, etc) and a brief description of what you're looking for. So not much more than the minimum requirement for a Cherp ad, really.

Personal Notes

Roleplaying on Tumblr sucks fat nuts in my opinion. The website used to be, dare I say, optimized for roleplayers, but the new post format destroyed that because we can no longer delete replies from the reblog chain, so posts quickly become unmanageably long and convoluted, which makes it impossible to really write. In addition, in recent years, roleplaying on Tumblr has become to rely heavily on aesthetics and presentation over... like, quality of writing, which can quickly get annoying. It's also just generally kind of cliquey and unfortunate, especially in smaller/older/nicher fandoms.

Other

Other Places on the Internet to Check

This is a separate section for places I don't have as much experience with and am not super sure about, but I wanted to list anyway as options, because they might be useful to somebody else. I'm in largely dead/niche fandoms, but if you're into something more popular or are looking for originals, these might be more useful to you, and I'd hate to omit them just because they don't work for me personally.

Barbermonger

Barbermonger.me is a forum-based roleplaying site. I think the default site layout is kind of hard to navigate, but if you make an account you can swap it to light mode. There's a 1x1 seeking section you can post in even without an account(?) and there are minimal rules-- it seems to be very much of an "anything goes" situation, providing the content isn't outright illegal.

Omegle, Shamchat, and Rolechat

I'm lumping these three together because they're all basically the same thing except Shamchat and Rolechat are actually specifically for roleplaying.

Omegle: Omegle is a random match website kind of like MXRP. You use it by entering a list of pairing names/"[your fandom] + rp" in the "interests" section and smack the button until you match with somebody, then you send a message to them in character as if it's a text, with your character's initials afterward. ("Hey, how are you holding up? GR".) Sometimes people also send paragraph-style starters, but that's far more rare. If you want to make it an AU or provide context, people usually do so before or after the "starter" message, such as "Hey, how are you holding up? GR ((Soulmate AU))" or something like that.

It's old-fashioned-- I remember roleplaying on Omegle as a kid/teen, and I would wager a lot of the userbase is underage, so I really wouldn't recommend this site for fishing for NSFW, especially if your fandom is extremely popular with teens.

Shamchat: Shamchat is basically Omegle for roleplayers. I have no clue if anyone still really uses it, but it's got an intuitive userface. It's got that going for it.

Rolechat: Rolechat is another site like Shamchat. I don't know anything about it, but it was recommended to me by somebody in the Cherp tag, so worth checking out, I imagine.

Other

I don't know anything about roleplay.chat either, but again, it was recommended to me, so I'm throwing it up here as an option.

While poking around I also found toprpsites.com which appears to be a list of roleplay sites on the online that are usually fandom-specific. They won't let you view the site for more than a few seconds with an adblocker on, but eh. It might be worth checking out if you're in a very old or classic/quintessential fandom (Marvel, Star Trek, Harry Potter, etc) or into original roleplays, but I don't know how much use it'll be to anyone else.

Conclusion

I hope this guide helped you in any way, shape, or form to find roleplayers/roleplays outside of Cherp while it's down! Questions, complaints, suggestions? Contact me on Tumblr (anon is on!) and let's hear it. This list was based on my own personal experience, so it may not be entirely accurate, and is definitely biased (sorry Discord mods.) However, it should be roughly up to date (as of October 18th, 2021, anyway.)

Good luck finding partners and happy roleplaying!