RP thread
This topic was moved from Fun Stuff
Well I decided to try my hand at hosting a forum RPG. I've been inspired by Horse and in his absence need a creative outlet.
Before I get into the details I'd like to point out what I expect this to be. This will be survival/adventure in a low-fantasy world
Hosting/game Style
First I'd like to point out that the style of play will be very spontaneous and ad hoc. I won't be useing any sort of book or system. There are not dexerity points or level ups. Your skills and abilities will develop, evolving and devolving with circumstance. As the player, you will also never be presented with a quantification of your abilities, only a vague description. I like to write my own story and think turning game elements into quantifiable variables cheapens the story element.
This will require a little more effort on the players part to not only play to the story, but to reason, and not just game the numbers. You will simply have to trust me to be fair, however, stupidity begets stupidity, so don't expect mercy from me. The game will be quite harsh and death will be a threat.
Basically, a PC will have a handful of players assigned to it. The main player does everything, but only has priority for 12 hours(the time element may be changed later). otherwise one of the others may usurp the 'turn' for lack of a better word.
I am open to civil criticisms, but do not turn this into an opera. I reserve the right to eject someone for any attempt at ooc manipulation, including rhetoric.
There will be a separate RP only thread.
Players will need to provide properly fleshed out role play elements and display a grasp of good RP, includeing playing by your characters personality and motivations. This is a hint, your character will need these things.
The game will be centered on survival, both wilderness and social. There will be focus on group dynamics, as well as open plots.
Play Structure
As the GM, I will describe the setting and play NPCs. NPCs might be farmed out to other players as the game moves on. I will start by giving a history of your village and the setting.
Personal information will also be sent by PM. This information is considered introspection, its you characters personal memories and thoughts. As the player you can define the characters thought, think of the character as 75/25. 75% player driven, 25% GM driven. What ever you decide to do with the musings I send by PM is up to you. These musings will be along the nature of how you think others view you, or whether or not you feel sick etc.
PCs will be given turns. These turns come in several types: Long, medium, short and combat. These turns are asynchronous. Engaging in a long turn may mean your character sits out the next set of turns if the other characters are doing shorter turns.
Long turns take several hours or more, and the player is expected to provide a vague description of what his character intends to do during that period. Long turns are mostly consist of travel or sleeping.
Medium Turns span a few hours. They usually center around a single activity, such as fishing.
Short turns are anywhere from a minute to an hour. They are specific actions like shopping, or step by step activities that need to be explained to the GM or other players. A discourse could be considered a short turn, but PCs may RP their discussions in any logical situation regardless of the turn. This is the case with any set of activities that can be done simultaneously.
Combat turns are matters of seconds. They are vague descriptions of minute actions. Engaging in melee with an axe is a combat turn. So is maneuvering, charging at an enemy, or loosing an arrow. Certain circumstances may cause certain characters to miss combat turns. Two characters brawling in wrestling match are likely to be stuck together. Free characters might get several turns during this time. Some circumstances also cause compulsory actions that deny the player from making a decision. These are usually reflex actions or fear effects. An archer dropping his bow, pulling a dagger and charging at an enemy that is engaging him is an example.
After engaging in a turn, I will describe the results, as well as nuances of the methods used. As an example, you may wish to cut a man down after he insults you. This would be a combat turn. What you will receive as a result is a run down of the factors of the situation. This sort of action is obviously based on anger, so you should expect your character to act ferociously and without much deftness. Be careful because these motives and circumstances, both internal and external, will effect the details of your action in your turn, and the consequences. Your opponent's will receive similar treatment. He may have insulted you in the attempt to provoke you, which means he will be ready and expect rashness, or he might have just been careless and completely caught off guard by your violent reaction.
World Development
If you have played Unreal World, you'll have an idea if only you transport it into a low fantasy medieval setting. The world, at least where it starts, is scarcely populated and stricken with poverty. Even your simple possessions will have real value. The feudal system is in swing, as well as a sort of caste system.
Magic exists, but is rare. It is also not "I cast magic missile" magic, it requires hard training or some rare aptitude, and is grounded in the very least a sort of game-specific pseudo-science, such as alchemy. Makeing a rock levitate wil be a true achievement, and not degraded to "minor magiks."
This will be expanded when I get some characters and players. I leave it vague for the characters players make to impact it.
Character Development
You may submit character ideas here. I will choose and modify how I see fit. If I choose your character, your the primary player of it. I'm looking for convincing characters with real motivations, traits and faults. There will initially be 4 PCs.
Here is some basic background. Your characters live in a small rural village. They are all serfs and impoverished, but I might upjump someone. The village is surrounded by forests. None have ventured more than 30 miles away. The village has 5 or so families, with a few singular inhabitants. Subsistence is the occupation of most. The climate is wet year round, mild summers, unpredictable winters. The village is part of a huge but undeveloped fiefdom controlled by a knight. 3 days a week are set aside for communal service to the village.
IF you want me to expand this, just ask questions. The first RP post will paint a much more detailed picture.
Some RP information will be sent by PM instead of publicly on the forums. Your characters will know things other PCs and NPCs may or may not. Considering or discussing such knowledge will help to make characters a bit more unique. PMs will also give hints on your relationship with other characters. As GM, I will also inject personal memories of your characters into the PMs. Your character will be based on your proposal, but I will throw in some things with the PMs to facilitate group dynamics.
The basics of what I need for characters are:
Name: (First only)
Age: I would like to have 1 middle aged character and 1 youth and 2 20-somethings. If you wish to deviate, just ask, I'm open.
Occupation: (Remember the setting, your piss poor in nowheresville forest with communal duty, Most of your time is spent on subsistence work. This is still a primitive communal society, it is likely you have a handful of specialties that you are only mediocre at executing.)
Short Term Condition:
Long Term Condition: basic health, deformities etc.
Height and Bone Mass: (weight and build will be defined by circumstance)
Personality: (I'm looking for motivations and traits here. I suggest looking at http://www.russellrowe.com/Myers-Briggs%20Typology%20System.htm#What%20is%20MY%20Myers-Briggs%20Type? tables 1 and 2, you don't have to subscribe to the theory or anything. tables 1 and 2 are about 10%down the scrollbar. The links on the page a linked to will auto scroll to them. It can give you some ideas to play with.)
Send in a pic like the ones for the other chars. I can edit them if need be or make one for you based on description.
additional RP info in encouraged. I Have laid down these ground settings and such, but I am always open to suggestion, at least in this preparatory stage.
Players
None yet
This topic was moved from Fun Stuff
Well I decided to try my hand at hosting a forum RPG. I've been inspired by Horse and in his absence need a creative outlet.
Before I get into the details I'd like to point out what I expect this to be. This will be survival/adventure in a low-fantasy world
Hosting/game Style
First I'd like to point out that the style of play will be very spontaneous and ad hoc. I won't be useing any sort of book or system. There are not dexerity points or level ups. Your skills and abilities will develop, evolving and devolving with circumstance. As the player, you will also never be presented with a quantification of your abilities, only a vague description. I like to write my own story and think turning game elements into quantifiable variables cheapens the story element.
This will require a little more effort on the players part to not only play to the story, but to reason, and not just game the numbers. You will simply have to trust me to be fair, however, stupidity begets stupidity, so don't expect mercy from me. The game will be quite harsh and death will be a threat.
Basically, a PC will have a handful of players assigned to it. The main player does everything, but only has priority for 12 hours(the time element may be changed later). otherwise one of the others may usurp the 'turn' for lack of a better word.
I am open to civil criticisms, but do not turn this into an opera. I reserve the right to eject someone for any attempt at ooc manipulation, including rhetoric.
There will be a separate RP only thread.
Players will need to provide properly fleshed out role play elements and display a grasp of good RP, includeing playing by your characters personality and motivations. This is a hint, your character will need these things.
The game will be centered on survival, both wilderness and social. There will be focus on group dynamics, as well as open plots.
Play Structure
As the GM, I will describe the setting and play NPCs. NPCs might be farmed out to other players as the game moves on. I will start by giving a history of your village and the setting.
Personal information will also be sent by PM. This information is considered introspection, its you characters personal memories and thoughts. As the player you can define the characters thought, think of the character as 75/25. 75% player driven, 25% GM driven. What ever you decide to do with the musings I send by PM is up to you. These musings will be along the nature of how you think others view you, or whether or not you feel sick etc.
PCs will be given turns. These turns come in several types: Long, medium, short and combat. These turns are asynchronous. Engaging in a long turn may mean your character sits out the next set of turns if the other characters are doing shorter turns.
Long turns take several hours or more, and the player is expected to provide a vague description of what his character intends to do during that period. Long turns are mostly consist of travel or sleeping.
Medium Turns span a few hours. They usually center around a single activity, such as fishing.
Short turns are anywhere from a minute to an hour. They are specific actions like shopping, or step by step activities that need to be explained to the GM or other players. A discourse could be considered a short turn, but PCs may RP their discussions in any logical situation regardless of the turn. This is the case with any set of activities that can be done simultaneously.
Combat turns are matters of seconds. They are vague descriptions of minute actions. Engaging in melee with an axe is a combat turn. So is maneuvering, charging at an enemy, or loosing an arrow. Certain circumstances may cause certain characters to miss combat turns. Two characters brawling in wrestling match are likely to be stuck together. Free characters might get several turns during this time. Some circumstances also cause compulsory actions that deny the player from making a decision. These are usually reflex actions or fear effects. An archer dropping his bow, pulling a dagger and charging at an enemy that is engaging him is an example.
After engaging in a turn, I will describe the results, as well as nuances of the methods used. As an example, you may wish to cut a man down after he insults you. This would be a combat turn. What you will receive as a result is a run down of the factors of the situation. This sort of action is obviously based on anger, so you should expect your character to act ferociously and without much deftness. Be careful because these motives and circumstances, both internal and external, will effect the details of your action in your turn, and the consequences. Your opponent's will receive similar treatment. He may have insulted you in the attempt to provoke you, which means he will be ready and expect rashness, or he might have just been careless and completely caught off guard by your violent reaction.
World Development
If you have played Unreal World, you'll have an idea if only you transport it into a low fantasy medieval setting. The world, at least where it starts, is scarcely populated and stricken with poverty. Even your simple possessions will have real value. The feudal system is in swing, as well as a sort of caste system.
Magic exists, but is rare. It is also not "I cast magic missile" magic, it requires hard training or some rare aptitude, and is grounded in the very least a sort of game-specific pseudo-science, such as alchemy. Makeing a rock levitate wil be a true achievement, and not degraded to "minor magiks."
This will be expanded when I get some characters and players. I leave it vague for the characters players make to impact it.
Character Development
You may submit character ideas here. I will choose and modify how I see fit. If I choose your character, your the primary player of it. I'm looking for convincing characters with real motivations, traits and faults. There will initially be 4 PCs.
Here is some basic background. Your characters live in a small rural village. They are all serfs and impoverished, but I might upjump someone. The village is surrounded by forests. None have ventured more than 30 miles away. The village has 5 or so families, with a few singular inhabitants. Subsistence is the occupation of most. The climate is wet year round, mild summers, unpredictable winters. The village is part of a huge but undeveloped fiefdom controlled by a knight. 3 days a week are set aside for communal service to the village.
IF you want me to expand this, just ask questions. The first RP post will paint a much more detailed picture.
Some RP information will be sent by PM instead of publicly on the forums. Your characters will know things other PCs and NPCs may or may not. Considering or discussing such knowledge will help to make characters a bit more unique. PMs will also give hints on your relationship with other characters. As GM, I will also inject personal memories of your characters into the PMs. Your character will be based on your proposal, but I will throw in some things with the PMs to facilitate group dynamics.
The basics of what I need for characters are:
Name: (First only)
Age: I would like to have 1 middle aged character and 1 youth and 2 20-somethings. If you wish to deviate, just ask, I'm open.
Occupation: (Remember the setting, your piss poor in nowheresville forest with communal duty, Most of your time is spent on subsistence work. This is still a primitive communal society, it is likely you have a handful of specialties that you are only mediocre at executing.)
Short Term Condition:
Long Term Condition: basic health, deformities etc.
Height and Bone Mass: (weight and build will be defined by circumstance)
Personality: (I'm looking for motivations and traits here. I suggest looking at http://www.russellrowe.com/Myers-Briggs%20Typology%20System.htm#What%20is%20MY%20Myers-Briggs%20Type? tables 1 and 2, you don't have to subscribe to the theory or anything. tables 1 and 2 are about 10%down the scrollbar. The links on the page a linked to will auto scroll to them. It can give you some ideas to play with.)
Send in a pic like the ones for the other chars. I can edit them if need be or make one for you based on description.
additional RP info in encouraged. I Have laid down these ground settings and such, but I am always open to suggestion, at least in this preparatory stage.
Players
None yet
Just keep it to your character.