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Lithp
05-16-2010, 12:25 AM
So, Optimis (new lurker guy) & I were going to start an RP to show our particular brand of shameless life-lacking style, but we hit a slight snag: We can't figure out what the Hell to do. I thought of a sequel to FF1, but it sounds like crap, even for an asspull.

So, while we get our shit together, I figured I'd take note of what the board likes to do. Is there any sort of topic that you, as an individual poster, gravitate towards?

Anime? Final Fantasy? Pokemon? (I'll kill you) Halo? (Harley will kill you) Cthulhu mythos?

For originals, too. Mythology? Modern warfare? Science fiction? Fantasy? ...Mystery?

Dego's (the link--it loves you) tends to gravitate towards anime & FF with mythology/fantasy for originals.

Optimis Prime
05-16-2010, 12:29 AM
Chaos, panic, disorder...

I see my work here is done.

POS Industries
05-16-2010, 12:39 AM
My best advice would be to relax for a bit and join in on some of the RPs run by some of our other members so that you can get a feel for the community and really become a part of it before trying to start up an RP of your own. That'll give you an opportunity to glean what folks around here might be interested in as well as afford everyone a chance to really get to know the two of you as well, which will help encourage prospective players to trust in your ability to GM and join up.

Hopefully, when the time is right, you'll really be able to get the show on the road and come up with something a lot of fun!

Lithp
05-16-2010, 12:55 AM
Honestly, I took a brief glance at the selection & I'm not liking anything that's currently up. It doesn't help that the majority of it is Pokemon, a subject I have an irrational, pathalogical hatred for.

Edit: Evidently, that's the majority of discussion threads. Similar principle.

Bard The 5th LW
05-16-2010, 12:58 AM
Thats truly a shame. Something you should correct.

And also, its just one RP based upon Pokemon. Every time one thread is filled to about 10 or so pages, a new one has to be made, that one has just been around for a while and its pages fill up quickly.

Geminex
05-16-2010, 01:20 AM
What Bard said.

List of RPs that're on at the moment:
Pokemon Umbral (that's the big pokemon thing you keep seeing. It's been going on for a while)
Big Bad Wolf: Mercenaries who fight the supernatural, demons, magic (and use it themselves).
One Piece RP: Exactly what the name says
Soldiers of Light: A swords-and-sourcery RP set in feudal japan with a lot of PvP elements
Avatar RP: Really long-running RP that involves not characters, but the users themselves.

phil_
05-16-2010, 01:28 AM
Hey, there's Watch Your Dreams, too, Gem. We're just really all really slow posters. Also, sign-ups are closed, but whatever.

Optimis Prime
05-16-2010, 01:32 AM
Ew, there are people who like One Piece here?

Overcast
05-16-2010, 01:34 AM
Indeed ya jerk. Nah I kid.

But in all seriousness you should always give something a chance here even if the topic seems off because sometimes who is running it is far more important than what it is about. AB's pokemon is not exactly the pokemon you have in your head. Don't believe me? Go read that shit.

Also there is a certain level of tact that seems to be lacking between you two right now. It is fine to be judgmental when it comes to things you are sure about(for example I may be leaving the One Piece bit since I am having trouble with the herky jerky way it is proceeding), but just dogging on what people like isn't all that nice.

Lithp
05-16-2010, 01:40 AM
You guys know I corrected myself about the Pokemon thing, right?

Anywho, I was just wondering if there were any observations anyone's made about their styles while I attempt to dislodge an idea from deep within my colon.

As for the RPs, there are a couple I might consider, but still, nothing's really jumping out at me.

Bard The 5th LW
05-16-2010, 01:40 AM
Yeah, you know you're doing something a bit wrong when NPF has to tell you to be more civil.

And the Pokemon RP definitely is far from the pokemon you're thinking of. Don't know why you hate that to begin with, but I back Overcast's suggestion to read a little of it.

You guys know I corrected myself about the Pokemon thing, right?

You also admitted that what you said still applies. Nothing is changed.

Overcast
05-16-2010, 01:58 AM
I wasn't so much talking about you, but Optimus who put up a one line post that didn't proceed the discussion that was just simply that dogging on members of the forum for liking One Piece. It is fine to dislike it, go ahead. But don't dislike people for liking it when you don't.

On styles...I have no idea what I'm like, but I know I'm not funny enough to run Avvy.

POS is good on his suggestion to stick around and see. I'll be honest when I say that you should probably just wait until you have an idea of your own instead of looking for one from someone else. Then do what we all do, list every single one you have with a small summary and then see which is most popular.

Lithp
05-16-2010, 02:06 AM
Optimis isn't the kind of guy you want to take seriously. Every time we get a new member, he decides to tell them I'm a fascist.

I'm not a fascist, damn it!

In unrelated news, how often do people say "same principle" & actually mean it?

Oh, this thread isn't for ideas. It's to make me feel like I'm doing something. I also dropped the idea in the OP to see if anyone responded to it, as that would have made my job easier.

If I want to be absolutely clear, I have 3 ideas I could try:

1. The aforementioned sequal to FF1.
2. A historical fiction thing with Japan.
3. Something featuring a mis-mash of multiple mythologies.

Geminex
05-16-2010, 02:13 AM
1: Considering the general plot and ending to FF1, you'd need to put in some kind of twist. Vanilla FF1 sequel would be rather boring.

2: Well, if you want Japan, we already have Soldiers of Light, it just started, you could still join that. Or was that too fantasy-oriented for you? Elaborate, maybe, on what you were intending to do??

3: Ok, so that's the setting. What's the plot?
I could totally get behind a reimagining of the siege of Troy.

Lithp
05-16-2010, 02:33 AM
1. The only real link it would have is that it uses the setting. The WoL & Garland would be NPCs with varying degrees of importance. It'd be more of an indirect sequel, really, focusing on a new antagonistic force & the characters that signed up.

2. When I say historical, I mean historical. "Magic" would factor in in that you could--oh, there's really no other way to put this--do ninja shit. It was an interesting concept to me because it relies entirely on ingenuity, rather than supernatural powers, but is still essentially combat-based magic.

3. That one would be basically a do-as-you-will RP. Although I could always change that, I liked the idea of using that style for that setting, for a number of reasons. Naturally, I would try to make sure some kind of subplots were going on.

Optimis Prime
05-16-2010, 02:45 AM
Big Bad Wolf seems kind of interesting to me.

If only because it's somewhat similar to an RP I have pending on the forum Lithp is whoring out.

Teal Mage
05-16-2010, 03:24 AM
Yeah, you know you're doing something a bit wrong when NPF has to tell you to be more civil.

It was a joke Bard. They might hate Pokemon and One Piece, but they weren't attacking you guys. It was kind of you two to tell them to tone the hostility down, but, you know, it did come off more as a joke to me than an insult.

On topic!

Anywho, I was just wondering if there were any observations anyone's made about their styles while I attempt to dislodge an idea from deep within my colon.

As for the RPs, there are a couple I might consider, but still, nothing's really jumping out at me.

First, welcome to the RP forum. It's a very small little place that not many people visit; I hope you enjoy your stay. Always nice to see new members in this comparatively stable community.

Anyway, to answer your question. Magic's the main piece of my RP style - I can work without the stuff, but it's by far my speciality. Most RPs around here use that as an element of their games to some degree; the non-magical ones don't usually go too far. So, your concepts are on the right track there, I think.

The Final Fantasy one might be tricky because its a really specific system. But, this forum started as a fansite for a Final Fantasy Comic, so I'm pretty sure everyone here knows at the basics of the games. Provided you have some idea of a plot and have some thoughts about character balance, that shouldn't be too bad.

Unfortunately, I'm really not sure what you mean by the later two concepts. They're both pretty vague and seem more like shallow descriptions of their systems instead of the premises for RPs. I'd to hear more about them if you're serious about running one?

Anyway, to conclude this impromptu review, I'm glad you made a thread like this. What I've read in your posts seems decently well written (a good sign!). So, if first impressions mean anything, you'll do decently as a GM here, even if you haven't joined another RP. Probably wouldn't have looked twice if you'd just thrown up a set-up thread as your first post here though. But now you've got my interest; whatever that's worth.

Optimis Prime
05-16-2010, 05:09 AM
I'd to hear more about them if you're serious about running one?

He doesn't screw around when it comes to RPs.

Overcast
05-16-2010, 07:15 AM
Hmm looking it over I think what bothered me last night was less of what Optimis Prime was saying and more how it was said. Your posting reminds me of a brick, even and efficient on all sides, but not particularly light. I'm getting used to it now though.

I might like the historic Japan one if magic were gone entirely. On my own terms I'd likely want to make death a relatively easy thing there and kinda encourage people to keep playing as different folks. Dynamic sort of design. Though that is just the kind of person I am, and is not an actual improvement on the idea. The question does rise up about the details of the plot as Teal pointed out though. Without a gauge on the story there isn't much to hook people in with.

The third's playing style sounds slightly like SoL but with specific mythologies clashing rather than ideologies. Or that is the way I'm reading it anyway. It could work rather well if you don't fall into the terrible cycle of absent GM syndrome. Along with player interest wane it is one of the major threadkillers around here.

So keep people amused and maintain your RP and you might get something. Or not.

Arhra
05-16-2010, 09:49 AM
On styles...I have no idea what I'm like, but I know I'm not funny enough to run Avvy.
You don't need to be funny to run Avvy... just insane.

Or maybe it drives GMs mad.

It's hard to say.

Anyway, yeah, people are generally a bit leery about siging up for something being run by someone they havne't played with before, but a well executed sign-up goes a long way towards overcoming that.

I tend to prefer fantasy RPs personally, mainly because I find modern and sci-fi ones tend to be troublesome to pull off. Mainly with respect to timing and organisations. One that's handled well is always a pleasure though. I tend to be a bit leery about using established universes though - it feels a bit weird to be involving or playing pre-existing characters, although I'm fine with (and guilty of) "in the style of" or "in the world of" type games.

POS Industries
05-16-2010, 09:58 AM
He doesn't screw around when it comes to RPs.
Hm, that might be a bad sign already.

We don't really take this shit seriously at all.

batgirl
05-16-2010, 02:11 PM
Welcome to the RP Forum, it's a lot of fun over here. With the down time we had, a lot of the RP interest petered out for a while, but it's encouraging to see that people are getting back into it.

I would like to second the idea that you play a few RPs as characters first before you decide to GM one. As someone who has RPed on this forum for years, I can say that while we all are fun loving and crazy types, at least I am a bit skittish about joining something run by someone with 25ish posts. Other than a few posts, I don't have any sort of idea of how you write, RP or run your characters let alone your games.

That being said, we do tend to pick up once the summer months hit when people are out of school, so stick around and there will more RPs that will pop up for sure.

As for personal tastes, I play just about anything that lets creative writing and fun take precedent over stats and systems. I have tried a few RPs that have complicated stats and algorithms and I find that it just takes away from the fun. Fantasy has always been a great love of mine, but I ran a futuristic matrix-eque tech RP years ago on this forum, so I'm game for most things.

Bard The 5th LW
05-16-2010, 03:33 PM
It was a joke Bard. They might hate Pokemon and One Piece, but they weren't attacking you guys. It was kind of you two to tell them to tone the hostility down, but, you know, it did come off more as a joke to me than an insult.

Yeah you're probably right. I took the comment a bit too much to heart. I wanted to say sorry about being a jackass.

Lithp
05-16-2010, 09:00 PM
Long post is long, but I think it covers a lot of potential issues that were raised:

Overcast: Let me give a more technical example on the historical fiction idea. There is a theory that ninja could "walk" on water by hiding bamboo posts under the lake. That would be the closest thing to "magic" that someone would use.

Death is one of the things that I specifically want to cover in my first RP. My idea of death is basically that it happens when you "screw up." Generally, I give a circumstance wherein there is at least 1 solution. If that is missed, there are a couple more chances. Then I give a "critical injury" warning, & the next successful blow is death. In a setting like Final Fantasy, there may be rules about permanent death.

It's actually much harder to achieve in practice than it sounds. You almost have to be trying. It's possible & it adds a sense that you aren't untouchable, but it's extremely unlikely to just die off.




Teal: I'm in the brainstorming stage. I can't really give a summary for the 2nd one, because it requires a bit of research to form a plot. Nothing too heavy, but I have to know the general authority figures who were around at that point, as well as if there were any major wars or other events going on. Can't start dicking around with timelines unless you have raw materials.

As for the third one, it is easily the vaguest idea of all. That is because it would rely on other subplots forming up around people--or me forming them. If there were a main event, though, I would say that it would likely have something to do with a War of Gods, like the Titans vs. the Gods in Greek Mythology, or the Giants vs. the Gods in Norse mythology.

In a way, I actually like this type of idea best of all, because it doesn't run the risk of one character getting too much spotlight at the expense of everyone else. I try very hard to keep people from being dragged along, because it's easily my weak point.

The premise could probably be described as manipulating a situation with a knowledge of myths & legends.




POS: Well, here comes the iffy shit. You see the length of Optimis's posts? The style? He doesn't waver from that too much. As for myself, I'm "serious" to the extent that it takes some work to keep RPs, much less an entire RP forum, in some unholy semblance of life. I do a lot of trial-&-error to try & come up with something that works.

Given the rules you guys have, though, I don't think "too serious" will be a problem. Not that I think they're ridiculous, they're just more serious than anything I would usually require.

I mean rules like "don't do one-liners." Things like "don't godmod or control other people's characters" are pretty universal. I try to let people stick to their own style, basically.



Bard: Don't worry about it. We're really not easily offended. I'd say I'm more worried about us coming across like assholes, frankly.

POS Industries
05-16-2010, 10:31 PM
Well, here comes the iffy shit. You see the length of Optimis's posts? The style?
I'm not gonna lie, you put up a picture of Sailor Mars next to anything and it's pretty much invisible to me.

krogothwolf
05-16-2010, 10:43 PM
Wait you actually create the solution? Why? You should be creating a Problem and then seeing what kind of Solution the players come up with. If it works it works, if not they be boned. I dislike the idea of a created solution.

Overcast
05-16-2010, 10:57 PM
Well krogoth if you create a plot in advance then it is important to try to railroad the crew down a certain path or they may end up miles off course and doing some other crazy thing when they should be trying to find some way to take out the moon.

Or that is my assumption.

I like the idea of death being easy though, because I am a fan of making life difficult for my characters and typically playing a relatively underwhelming person in terms of power. I like making life difficult to a degree. It just feels good.

CABAL49
05-16-2010, 11:07 PM
I have wondered if I am a touch of death for RPs here, because I have never been in one that finished, but if anyone is looking for ideas I think a Fallout RP would be interesting.

krogothwolf
05-16-2010, 11:07 PM
Im not really talking about plot, I'm talking about Solution.

Okay so you have the players encountering the villains lair. They should be allow to come up with their own solution of engaging the enemies. Granted them leaving would kill the story but going to yourself "Well, if they don't do this or this they'll fail" seems a little narrow minded.

Geminex
05-16-2010, 11:17 PM
I have wondered if I am a touch of death for RPs here, because I have never been in one that finished, but if anyone is looking for ideas I think a Fallout RP would be interesting.

I've actually been considering something similar. Dystopian wasteland, bare remanants of society, players would be heavily armed individuals in this wasteland, trying to make a living. I would've based on the "STALKER" series of games, but the principle is the same.

phil_
05-16-2010, 11:28 PM
I have wondered if I am a touch of death for RPs here, because I have never been in one that finishedMost RPs don't finish. You can only hope they last as long as you remain interested.

Really, the only RPs I've been in that have properly finished were Avatar RPs 1, 4, and 6; though Truce's Final Fantasy RP ended on an ok point for Group 2, at least.

Lithp
05-16-2010, 11:49 PM
Krogothwolf: Excellent question! You need to have at least one answer that you can think of, or else you may have created an inescapable situation. That doesn't mean they fail if they don't choose that situation, it's more of a check-your-work sort of thing.

Arcanum
05-17-2010, 12:09 AM
Totally off-topic:

I have wondered if I am a touch of death for RPs here, because I have never been in one that finished, but if anyone is looking for ideas I think a Fallout RP would be interesting.

I've actually been considering something similar. Dystopian wasteland, bare remanants of society, players would be heavily armed individuals in this wasteland, trying to make a living. I would've based on the "STALKER" series of games, but the principle is the same.

If the interest is there I might put up the sign ups for Endless Sands (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=34028&highlight=Endless+Sands) again, but you know, without the co-DM that kind of ruined the whole thing before it got started.

Anywho back on topic!

Welcome to the NPF RP section, yadda yadda, formalities, etc etc.

The historical japan and clashing mythologies ideas interest me quite a bit. For the myth idea though, would we be playing as mortals caught up in a battle between the gods, or as demi-gods assisting the gods, or as the gods themselves?

Also, in regards to what you and krogoth were talking about, even if you yourself can't think of a solution to a given scenario, doesn't mean the players won't. Especially a group of resilient players that don't want their characters to die. Obviously there are certain scenarios that would be impossible to resolve, but there's that in between area where you might think it's an extremely tough scenario but it gets resolved quickly through a few ingenious posts. Just my two cents.

Lithp
05-17-2010, 01:16 AM
That is true, but then it makes you a massive hypocrite for penalizing them when you yourself couldn't even think of a way out.

I hadn't even considered that question. Originally, the idea was that you were a mortal, & that's why you had to use your knowledge to get ahead. However, the other POVs offer interesting implications, as well.

Krylo
05-17-2010, 10:16 AM
Wait you actually create the solution? Why? You should be creating a Problem and then seeing what kind of Solution the players come up with. If it works it works, if not they be boned. I dislike the idea of a created solution.

I find it's best to create a series of solutions with pre-planned resolutions because the game goes smoother when you know what's coming as GM, but then if the players do come up with something you DIDN'T think of, welp, then it's time for improv.

So kind of a combination of the two views. Players shouldn't be penalized for coming up with something creative that you didn't think of (quite the opposite, actually--it's part of what makes RPing fun), but the GM should also have some ideas on resolutions both to keep the game going smoothly and to ensure they aren't putting players into unwinnable situations.

But most of my RPs die after like two chapters/threads, so what do I know?

The answer is not much. I do not know much. Except how to make one or two entertaining chapters, hopefully.

krogothwolf
05-17-2010, 10:26 AM
I thought your Star Wars Died because half the gits stop posting! I think that's the main issue with NPF RP's is, more often then not, people just head off to do other things and forget all about the RP's they are in.

I was really enjoying Krylo's Star Wars one though it was sad to see it die :(

CABAL49
05-17-2010, 08:42 PM
I thought your Star Wars Died because half the gits stop posting! I think that's the main issue with NPF RP's is, more often then not, people just head off to do other things and forget all about the RP's they are in.

I was really enjoying Krylo's Star Wars one though it was sad to see it die :(

I was so close to flying such an awesome ship!! I think we also suffered from infighting. Team Badass suffered from not knowing how evil they should be.

For other ideas, there could be an Egyptian RP. A comedy perhaps. I have always found Egyptian mythology to be pretty funny. Like the story of the Two Brothers, where one stalks his unfaithful wife as a cow, a tree, and knocks her up so that she gives birth to his new human body.

Lithp
05-18-2010, 04:39 PM
The third option would include Shinto, Aztec, Egyptian, Greek, Norse, basically anything, although probably divided by region, though with the ability to overlap. The Egyptian pantheon wouldn't be out in full force in America for no good reason, for example.

Also, this discussion of dead RPs is making me rather nostalgic. We've never actually finished an RP. Any time we get to the "end," someone pulls a Part II out of their ass. We are getting really close with a couple, though.

Krylo
05-18-2010, 09:49 PM
Man, it wasn't just the Star Wars, RP, and I believe that at least some blame falls with me.

In the SW RP I probably didn't reign in certain players enough and deal with interplayer conflict as well as I should. There were some combat balance issues, and too much of it as well, though the former was to be expected as I pulled the whole system out of my ass in a couple of days (though I did build off an earlier shittier one to do so).

Then there was Suicide Kings (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=34501) wherein I believe I micromanaged things a bit too heavily and probably put in too many traps.

Of course there's Rebirth of Destruction (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=23327) which I did twice. Died both times because I didn't give the players enough direction/gave them too much freedom (the first time right at the beginning, the second when I didn't warp them all someplace when they argued over where to go).

Then there was the Wild Arms RP (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=14624) which died due to a combination of my splitting teams up (because I thought I had too many players) when I didn't need to (due to slims), and a poorly thought out/balanced system.

And of course Ingenium Academy (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=14040) which suffered from me bogging things down with extraneous bullshit that slowed the game terribly. Namely allowing people to RP out classes that they didn't share with all the other players.

And THIS one (http://www.nuklearforums.com/showthread.php?t=33443) which didn't even get off the ground because I was insane to even try it. Still think it's an interesting idea. I should revisit it eventually.

And a bunch of others, that all died, at least in part to me either giving too much or too little leeway to players, at some key point in time.

Lithp
05-18-2010, 10:03 PM
Hey, at least you can recognize mistakes & try to learn from them.

...Is it wrong that I'm thinking about initiating a group hug? 'Cause it feels so right.

Geminex
05-18-2010, 10:04 PM
Does anyone know, did they ever find the remains of the last guy who tried to hug Krylo?

Edit: I mean, hug him non-sexually?

Overcast
05-18-2010, 10:37 PM
Everyone hugs Krylo platonically. You are the only one that wanted more out of it. Greedy little...

Anyway I guess it is all up to finding that impossible balance between freedom and reign that makes a proper thing last an unreasonably long amount of time. I've seen it around, even missed out on it in the past(I remember something about Pirates and something else about Cyberspace, but I can't for my life remember any more about it) but it has been a while.

I just want to be in another RP that asks me to be ludicrously wordy again. I swear I am degenerating down so badly that I think I can feel myself getting dumber. Don't feel good at all.