[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic

Sir Solitaire
Sewer Captain

Posts: 43

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Feb 18, 2017 15:14:13 GMT -6

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Post by Sir Solitaire on Feb 18, 2017 15:14:13 GMT -6

For many of us we tend to have some doubts about ideas for RPs that we dream up during our mundane lives. The ideas seem like they could work, but one can't be too certain as to whether or not such an idea will actually gain support or even has enough stuff to keep it afloat.

Welcome to the Assistance/Peer Review Topic! Here you can post your ideas and get some feedback as to what seems up with the concept and what you can do to improve it!

To get the ball rolling here is a concept I've been kicking around since I started a campaign of Pathfinder Tabletop:

With Fire & Sword

Setting: ~1250s AD Continental Europe, Low Fantasy
Synopsis:
The world is a dark and forbidding place. Humankind is divided holdings that wage endless wars to establish dominion over each other. However, for the lowly peasants the wars are merely a sideshow, there are far more older and terrible things that occupy their minds. Creatures that lay waste to outlying settlements, kidnap children, and consume entire herds. The struggles of men to plant their flags and declare themselves king mean little to people who fret whether or not they'll be eaten. Yet there is hope. In these dark times a guild has risen to combat this threat. They take any man or woman who wishes to join the fight against the things that go bump in the night. They offer no training, merely a place to rest, food to eat, and jobs to take. They are the Gildes des Jäger. Join their fight, protect Humankind against the growing dark.

Wir sind die Jäger. Sie sind unsere Beute.

We are the Hunters. They are our prey.

Last Edit: Feb 18, 2017 16:02:41 GMT -6 by Sir Solitaire

-Dood's artistic representation of PixTron's comment

Burger Warrior
Sewer Patrol

For honor.

Posts: 116

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Mar 24, 2017 14:02:11 GMT -6

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Post by Burger Warrior on Mar 24, 2017 14:02:11 GMT -6

Boooooooooooo, low fantasy! :P

I've got my own weird-ass idea to replace it with... albeit for now it's a tad vague. I've been dying to kick off a roleplay in the universe of Warframe, a game about space ninjas.

The universe is sci-fi, for the most part, though it's in something of a dark age so lack of communication, murderous super power factions, low amounts of energy weaponry, and in general a good, big serving of hopelessness saturates the setting - oh, and also a complete lack of aliens. Everyone's a human, even if they're considered a different 'race' of human.

What few ideas I'm working off of would see you guys mostly playing as the average joes of the universe, a fact the video game does not often focus on or consider. The Tenno - the legendary, nigh-mythical warriors you play in the game - are naught but rumors myths to these people. The players hearken from any of an almost infinite number of colonies from just about any part of the solar system, with a few maybe even being rebellious members of the major superpowers in the system - the greedy and extortionist Corpus Merchant Guilds and the xenophobic, genocidal Grineer Empire.

That aside, however, I do have one major question that will help me determine the general layout of the RP: do people want to go for a more combat heavy experience (lot's of writing 'I pew pew'd at that guy') or for a more stealthy mission (would probably involve more exposition and lore-dumping, but there'd be more room to act. And there will almost definitely still be some pew-pewing).

Aaand if you have any questions on the universe at large that would affect your opinion on what you would prefer, lemme know! The game's lore is pretty deep, but at times patchy and the game does not do the best of jobs presenting it: I'll be going off my own perception of the universe - and I'm perfectly willing to bend some of the game's rules on things if it means a more fun and interesting experience for you lot - so feel free to approach me if there's either an aspect of the game you'd rather avoid or a character you'd like to make but that doesn't seem to fit into the universe at large at a glance. I'll see what I can do. ^^;

"Permission to lose this fight is denied, soldier!"

Mr. Skeli'n
Rat Hatchling

Accidentally going to Grad School

Posts: 62

Specialization: Composer, Artist, Author

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 2, 2017 13:14:33 GMT -6

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Post by Mr. Skeli'n on Jul 2, 2017 13:14:33 GMT -6

Some of you might remember this (Burgs/Sparks), my orphan-heroes stories set in my In Extremis universe. In the past, I've run it as a Choose Your own Adventure game, but in a group setting. The upside to that is it requires less investment from players and can continue from campaign to campaign with less pre-game required, checking in every couple of days to further discussion on what choice that the group makes. The downside is the low investment has led in the past to players forgetting about it. I'd like to run it again closer to winter, but I'm open to running it as a more normal RP. So the two versions are thus:

CYoA: People can come and go as they please, I create character archetypes that over time get fleshed out by the decisions the group has them make. Once per week (or so), I make a post which ends with character(s) having to make decisions that the players (that's you) have time (week/weeks) to discuss. Campaigns can start immediately after the last one ends, with no need for signups or layovers, and players have the ability to drop in/out at any point during the campaign due to schedules at no detriment to the campaign or other players. Each campaign starts with a summary of the mission/problem, the head of the Gallants picking a campaign leader. This character (played by y'all) makes the first decision, which other characters to bring along.

RP: This would take more pre-game planning, with character creation a more detailed process to build as one of seven races, each with their own skillsets, strengths, weaknesses, natural tendencies, lifespans, heights, etc. Would need some discussion on whether or not one player is put in charge of the campaign and picks other players to go along based on their own strengths and weaknesses. Due to the higher amount of lore knowledge, I've been apprehensive about running this in the past, but it would definitely have characters that players are more invested in. Not sure whether we'd pick the number of players per campaign before sign-ups, or just have much larger and expansive campaigns/parties.

Which one would people be more interested in? I'm not looking to start this until October/November ish but I'd like to get this much out of the way at least, since character creation/lore will take some time.

Burger Warrior
Sewer Patrol

For honor.

Posts: 116

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 2, 2017 23:00:17 GMT -6

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Post by Burger Warrior on Jul 2, 2017 23:00:17 GMT -6

...If I'm honest, I found the last CYoA set in your universe to not be terribly compelling. Usually they tend to be really visual and look kinda game-y - if you glance at old ones on SSLF you'll see what I mean - and that made things easier to pick out and the like and helped make it more accessible, I feel. Whereas with a written CYoA it was a little tricky to keep track of who was what and what was what and... all of that. I felt little inclination to do a ton of research because it wasn't really necessary to make choices, buuut it also made it hard to keep track of what was happening beyond those choices. ^^;

However, with an RP, there'd be obvious reasons to research and immerse myself in the lore - and I frankly think I'd need to know as much lore for the CYoA to really care about the characters and events happening therein - something I've been looking for a reason to do. As risky as it can be with people dropping out and leaving holes, there's less reason for them to do it for less serious excuses, which I feel would help keep a more solid core of followers which will probably benefit your universe in the long run.

Soooo basically I support the idea of an RP over a CYoA because if we're just doing text, here, a CYoA is more difficult to approach and I feel from past experience it would require as much research as an RP with less drive to do such research. Also, your universe would benefit from a few more permanent followers who actually know what they're doing thanks to being given such reason to immerse themselves in the world of In Extremis.

(Alsoalso it'd probably be best if you led the part in the RP, at least at first. Maybe make an opening for someone else to take charge when it's evident we understand things better?)

"Permission to lose this fight is denied, soldier!"

Mr. Skeli'n
Rat Hatchling

Accidentally going to Grad School

Posts: 62

Specialization: Composer, Artist, Author

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 3, 2017 9:37:49 GMT -6

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Post by Mr. Skeli'n on Jul 3, 2017 9:37:49 GMT -6

Thanks for the input, Burgs. The last part is what I'm a little concerned about- in the past the CYoA started with getting the 'right' characters on the job. Do you (or anyone else) have suggestions on how to start the first campaign? Perhaps just an 'all hands on deck' style mission, where everyone who signs up will play? I assumed I'd be playing the head Gallant that gives out missions, and doing some narrative bits as G/DM duties.

As far as the text for the CYoA goes, I thought about doing small illustrations for the choices in the past, but aside from the character choice at the outset, it restricts your (players') choice to only what I can think of (and draw).

Burger Warrior
Sewer Patrol

For honor.

Posts: 116

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 3, 2017 12:22:42 GMT -6 via mobile

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Post by Burger Warrior on Jul 3, 2017 12:22:42 GMT -6

All hands on deck seems like a solid idea, yeah. On that note, having one story rather than a comtinuous run of different missions is also a good idea, so I figure both of those can help each other. ^^

"Permission to lose this fight is denied, soldier!"

Mr. Skeli'n
Rat Hatchling

Accidentally going to Grad School

Posts: 62

Specialization: Composer, Artist, Author

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 3, 2017 12:55:44 GMT -6

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Post by Mr. Skeli'n on Jul 3, 2017 12:55:44 GMT -6

Well, the idea always was that previous missions would be referenced, so it's more like a CSI or serialized drama where there's overarching stories from one episode to the others, but each episode has it's own story.

Deleted
Deleted Member

Posts: 0

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 7, 2017 18:42:55 GMT -6

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Post by Deleted on Jul 7, 2017 18:42:55 GMT -6

Honestly, I think I'd take a pre-generated character for an RP version. Pick my race and my class with a bit of pre-set background that encapsulates some aspects of that specific lore, and I think I'd be able to jump in and breathe life into that character without diverting from the look/feel you want.

Mr. Skeli'n Rat Hatchling Accidentally going to Grad School Posts: 62 Specialization: Composer, Artist, Author	[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 7, 2017 18:55:21 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Mr. Skeli'n on Jul 7, 2017 18:55:21 GMT -6 Thanks for that. Do you think it could work having a few pre-made characters that people could RP as and work with anyone that wanted to make their own, or should it be one or the other?

miragefla
Rat

Posts: 116

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Jul 14, 2017 1:05:47 GMT -6

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Post by miragefla on Jul 14, 2017 1:05:47 GMT -6

So I'm still thinking of a RP revolving around Rise set in a post 6 setting. I've mentioned it quite a few times on Discord, but rather than HMVs it'd be a focus on things such as cars, trucks, tanks, and other lower to earth vehicles. It would involve constant travel from point A to point B, but rather than a home base typical to the Rise series, the cast would be outdoors in a somewhat hostile environment for the majority of the time.

The tone would not be that serious, hopefully becoming more fun for the characters and the scale would be pulled back significantly. The stakes aren't going to be that high and will be more about the adventure.

Mr. Skeli'n
Rat Hatchling

Accidentally going to Grad School

Posts: 62

Specialization: Composer, Artist, Author

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Feb 4, 2018 14:16:19 GMT -6

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Post by Mr. Skeli'n on Feb 4, 2018 14:16:19 GMT -6

I'm in no shape to pull this off any time soon, but I wanted to put it here to get some feedback.

Would there be any support for an RPG (whether tabletop/roll20 or forum) where you don't know your skills and stats before you start playing? Skill groups (eg. 'combat', 'intelligence', 'crafting') would be known before sign-ups, and signups would involve a detailed character sheet which your actual stats would be pulled from based on your backstory and character choices. As you 'use' the skills, you'd be notified (privately) that you earned points in a certain skill--it would be the player's choice to reveal what skills exist and who has them to other players. NPCs would also have these skills as well, which would affect what they can and can't do for you.

The setting in mind would be a persistent world-ish scenario where the people who don't want to play for hours/days/weeks (depending on forum/live) could just stay 'in the town'.

Any support for this? I would be willing to do it live if there is support, but that would either have to be over a summer, or once I graduate (May '19) so my schedule won't be as wonky and constantly up in the air.

Burger Warrior
Sewer Patrol

For honor.

Posts: 116

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Feb 4, 2018 15:09:33 GMT -6

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Post by Burger Warrior on Feb 4, 2018 15:09:33 GMT -6

I'm not entirely sure why hidden stats would be done instead of open number-crunching. I know I'd personally like to be aware of what exactly my character can do, since... well, that makes sense to me.

"Permission to lose this fight is denied, soldier!"

Mr. Skeli'n
Rat Hatchling

Accidentally going to Grad School

Posts: 62

Specialization: Composer, Artist, Author

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Feb 4, 2018 15:28:26 GMT -6

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Post by Mr. Skeli'n on Feb 4, 2018 15:28:26 GMT -6

My idea twofold, firstly is along the lines of it gets players quickly involved in world discovery. Secondly, I feel like it would give players more agency and ability in terms of group play. Do you share your stats, or do you slowly and carefully try to level up one skill as much as you can before anyone can catch up? The plot in mind is not necessarily players vs. GM, and has elements of potential player vs. player at times, without straight up pvp combat...so far. With a persistent-world kind of game, it would be up to each player how helpful they want to be for everyone's survival, longevity, and endgame rewards.

I'm actually thinking of a game potentially like the tabletop games that have a definite winner. Something like Twilight Imperium but in a RPG mould. A game where someone can pull out something nobody else knew they had and 'surprise I won the game'. Potentially, a group of players could win together and that decision would be on them.

Last Edit: Feb 4, 2018 15:29:45 GMT -6 by Mr. Skeli'n

Burger Warrior
Sewer Patrol

For honor.

Posts: 116

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Feb 5, 2018 1:31:27 GMT -6

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Post by Burger Warrior on Feb 5, 2018 1:31:27 GMT -6

That... sounds interesting, I suppose. But I don't get why you wouldn't send players their full stats privately, then, if all you mean to be doing is hide players' stats from each other as well as save them the effort of building their sheets. I mean, besides avoiding the effort to send all those PMs, which I suppose I can understand XD

In either case, color me interested I suppose, whenever this does come to fruition.

"Permission to lose this fight is denied, soldier!"

Mr. Skeli'n
Rat Hatchling

Accidentally going to Grad School

Posts: 62

Specialization: Composer, Artist, Author

[Ideas] RP Assistance/Peer Review Topic Feb 5, 2018 14:20:23 GMT -6

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Post by Mr. Skeli'n on Feb 5, 2018 14:20:23 GMT -6

Well the idea is that the character sheet isn't about stats, it's about the character's story and life, then the stats are based on those choices, so that you're less likely to pick things due to stats and more due to making a compelling character. And the hiding the stats until the player uses that skill is like if I had a 'hang gliding' skill for example (not planning on it), that would lead players to look for an opportunity to use that skill, where I'm trying to foster world discovery and exploration more organically.

Right now in my head I'm thinking of it as a mismash between traditional RP tabletops and strategy games where the strategy involves building your skills in the same context of the way you build an empire in the strategy games. The more I'm thinking about it, it'd probably be live for a couple hours a week for a month or one long session on a weekend or something, and ideally replayable with randomizable world elements and win-requirements while still being set in the same 'setting'.