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Grish

Liche
True Blood
Oct 11, 2007
5,319
Winnipeg, MB
Hey everyone,

I've wanted to get back into roleplaying but have been declines the Gunhearts thread as I don't know a thing about the 40k world. I also know next to nothing about the Warhammer world; I read the armybook rules, but little fluff and even that seems to be scratching the surface. I'm new to the warhammer scene (~2 yrs of just the table top game) so I think it'll be a lot of hard work to get integrated.

With that in mind, I was thinking of doing a game of Mage. It would be an RPG where everyone is a fledgling 'mage' but not like a typical fantasy mage. The setting would be current day, but things would be a bit more darker, a bit more exaggerated. Think almost a sin city feel, but modern day.

Are people interested in this? It is an actual RPG but if people are interested, it would make for a better game the less they knew so they could find out about the world through roleplaying. Also helps build character. Low power game; I'm only used to table top RPGing so I'm not sure how things work too well in a forum sense. Seems to be a collaborative story telling so I'm not sure how well it'd work, but I think its worth a test run.

Any interest out there?
 

Knightofni

Varghulf
True Blood
Aug 31, 2009
758
Certainly an interesting idea. I like the concept of it being based in a more realistic modern-day world; if nothing else, you have my interest.

I will query 'mage' though.. are we talking genuine magic-like abilities or more like genetic mutations.
 

Grish

Liche
True Blood
Oct 11, 2007
5,319
Winnipeg, MB
Magic-like abilities. Heavy emphasis on characters. I want to co-run it with a more experienced forum RPGer (DoN perhaps?) as I'm not sure how old fashioned RPGing works in a forum, if it works at all.
 

Knightofni

Varghulf
True Blood
Aug 31, 2009
758
It certainly works.. the TVC for example is a testament to how well an Idea can work if when people really get involved.. though its success is also largely down to DoN's excellent leadership and the imagination and creativity of others.

I think it works rather well on a forum.. especially this one; which is certainly on of the more community-feeling ones I've been on.. where people create characters and imbue them with personalities, which differ great depending on the control player and then develop them.
 

Keldane

Ghoul
Mar 1, 2010
133
I'm actually an old hand at message board based RPGs, and I've seen many approaches to it. My lead off question would be, are you planning to run the game as a GM, or are you wanting the story to be woven by all those who play?
 

Grish

Liche
True Blood
Oct 11, 2007
5,319
Winnipeg, MB
Normally I'd want to GM as that's what I'm used to, but with different time zones and one post at a time, it might be a better approach to have users drive the story as well. Currently I'm just looking for interest, then I'll figure out how best to approach it.

If I do go the GM route, I prefer a style of game where the encounters/story just *is*. If you go the Dragon lair, expect to be fried at a low level; no Deus Ex machina or anything.
 

Disciple of Nagash

Oldblood
Staff member
Feb 12, 2008
27,732
Firstly this sounds interesting, and something I would like to be involved in.

Secondly, as for how you run it I would go for how I run the TVC. In a nutshell it works by:

  • Most people are equalilsh in power (though some of the later additions to the TVC lost a little out on this)., with no clear leader. This means people can talk, discuss, argue (in character xd). In other words they can say things, and as such makes posting more interesting.
  • Allow everyone to have a plot. However note that these are sideplots to the major plot. For example Simon had a plot to develop his character which entailed having his character take over Sylvania, and resurrect Vlad. This was worked into the main plot against Nagash, and it has kept him posting over the past two years as he progressed his plot as well as the main one.
  • Of course the GM would have to know all this minor sideplots. For example the ones in the TVC have to be run by me to check they do not clash with the main plot or other sideplots that they don't know about. If it can't be done I will discuss with them alternatives.
  • Characters should have weaknesses to balance out their strengths.
  • Always give a chapter outline. I.e, in the OOC thread say that this chapter starts off with x, everyone should head in this direction etc. Don't be too limiting, but on the other hand if you give some guidance then people have some idea what to post, and thus will post more.
  • Yes it is a lot of effort. I have had to keep track of scores of plots, you have to give things a kick up the arse, pester players etc. But when I look at the result of the TVC it has been well worth it - though as Knightofni mentioned it is not just me, but all the effort the other players have put in.

Hope that gives you some idea, there is more but that should help.
 

Keldane

Ghoul
Mar 1, 2010
133
If you do go the GM route, then you may also want to go a little more of a "book" approach, complete with dice rolling. For that, I know of a little site that actually allows the recording of and linking to roll results, which makes it well suited to online play. Rolls could be generated on demand, and included in posts as necessary, while the date and time of the roll (recorded on the same page as the roll results) offers some protection against 'pre-rolling' and using the most favorable results.

Another method I've seen is to have players include a series of roll results with every post, regardless of circumstances - these "just in case" rolls are typically a Perception roll, an Initiative roll, and a Dodge roll, plus whichever rolls are actually necessary for the post. In combat situations, the required rolls would change, of course, and having these results on hand means that even in the case of surprise combat, the thread can advance without needing an emergency call to get all of the players on to make their perception/reaction rolls to see if they notice the incoming baddy and evade his sniper grenade attack or what have you.

Typically, though, my observations suggest that player written 'collaborative fiction' is best suited to open ended systems, or systems that gauge a character's fighting experience and predetermine combat based on that. The flaw with the former is that it relies on players working together and actually accepting when their characters have no chance for escape or survival, whereas the second one can be a little limiting in conflicts and force metagaming to save a character's hide when they come across something much stronger than themselves. I have yet to see an effective system that bridges the two without demanding additional mechanics to determine effectiveness of attacks, whether or not Joe 5 Points can use a technique to paralyze Zanzibar the Ultra Troll God of 10 Million Power Levels, et cetera.

Hmm... methinks this post may have meandered.
 

Disciple of Nagash

Oldblood
Staff member
Feb 12, 2008
27,732
Just a note on dice rolling - currently a modification is in production that will enabled dice to be rolled when you post in certain threads (this is for the WFO which will be setup on CN shortly). That function should be ready in a week or so.
 

Grish

Liche
True Blood
Oct 11, 2007
5,319
Winnipeg, MB
Good points. It might be tough to develop plots without knowing the world fully, although in my types of games I enjoy less epic plots; side plots could be mundane things such as a love story, the wanting to have your own business, etc. This would be until people get more into the world and understand the mechanics better. Everyone will start as 'normal' and just getting their powers I think. We can fast forward training and such so people will build up their characters as they go.

Does such a low power game appeal to people out there? In all honesty, I loved the DnD adventures the most at low level, when 20 zombies was a scary thing. I hated the high level where you're fighting weird stuff by the hundreds. Just didn't have the same impact the further removed from reality it was. Whether level 1 or level 20, you were still challenged; the higher you went, the less satisfying the challenges were though.

I really want to remove 'power' from any kind of focus. In a story game, the story is what's interesting and drives it. Whether you're the captain or the private, the skilled or the weak, as long as it's a good, interesting story and everyone has their challenges the game should work. This is my experience anyways.
 

Grish

Liche
True Blood
Oct 11, 2007
5,319
Winnipeg, MB
I would like to use dice rolling as I'm very familiar with that. I would also like to incorporate something called "hero points" as pulled from Mutants and Masterminds; they were points that were given when the hero(es) were captures, met with failure, or roleplayed well. They could be used to modify dice rolls. So if you roleplay well, you gain hero points, which can then be used to save yourself if you roll poorly.

Would people be OK with a dice rolling system?
 

Keldane

Ghoul
Mar 1, 2010
133
I'd love to participate in a low powered game. I'm actually setting up a low powered (to start, at least) Heroes Unlimited campaign to be played over MSN.

That Hero Points system reminds me of the luck system I threw together for a RIFTS campaign I ran a few years ago - whenever players botched a roll (natural 1 on any D20 roll or a 99-100 on a percentile roll) they got a luck point, and could store up to twenty. Spending one point bought a reroll; spending five before rolling could buy an autosuccess instead.

It also reminds me of a character Facet system that I read about recently, whereby characters would have certain exploitable "facets" that the GM could use to help drive the story forward or throw in the odd complication, or that the player could use to garner bonuses in situations that pertained to the facet. If you're interested, I could provide a link to the article, which I have no doubt could explain the system better than I am.

Edit: Right, dice. I'm all for that; just tell me how you want me to handle my rolls.
 

Grish

Liche
True Blood
Oct 11, 2007
5,319
Winnipeg, MB
Yes! Heroes Unlimited! Old school paladium? That game was hilarious. The *BEST* super hero game out there, by far, is Mutants and Masterminds. If you haven't tried that game, pick it up. It is stellar (and I'm not into the super hero genre even... the system is just that cool.)

The predice rolls are good; if someone does not have a dice roll and I need it, I'll dice roll it myself. I'd prefer to keep DM rolls private... sometimes I'd be rolling for things people would not be aware of (making you roll perception would give you metagame information, or sense motive or the like).

Hero points ensure roleplaying is kept as the first priority; if something is what your character would do, even if it's not the best choice (for others, for yourself) you will get the hero points to compensate for it.
 

Grish

Liche
True Blood
Oct 11, 2007
5,319
Winnipeg, MB
After explaining in detail some of the aspects of the game to DoN, he's on board. I don't want to reveal too much before we play, as discovery in game would probably be better, and more exciting.

If people are on the fence and need more information before committing, let me know!

Otherwise, if you're in 100%, let me know via PM if you're in, and how active you plan on being. If you don't know, that's OK too. If I know we have 4 active members and 4 partials, I will structure the story around the active members (and if partially active people become more active, I will add roll them in as well).

I hope we can get a few interested people!
 

Dreadgrass

Necromancer
Dec 20, 2009
846
I'm a big RP fan, been trying to scrape together a DnD group locally for a while (our DM moved to Mt Isa dammit!) was a bit daunted to join the TVC when its been going so long, but I'll probably jump in here if you'll have me. Would like to know a bit more about it, but if I'm in, I'm on dear old CN pretty much every day so I'll be active, just the timezones that might be a bit of an issue...
 

Onikaigo

Vampire Lord
True Blood
May 17, 2008
3,604
Germany
Without reading half of this thread, due to lack of sleep and concentration, I'm halfheartedly interested.

Halfheartedly is the incorrect term I think...more along the lines of Cautious. The last two RP's I've joined, TVC and Gunhearts (My apologies to the progenitors of those roleplays!) I was unable to find any resource or willpower to continue. With no finger pointing or intentions of malice or disrespect, the level of Roleplaying on CN isn't equal to what I've become accustomed to over the years.

Granted, it may be that I disagree with some of the basic principals people employ on this site in their Roleplays; a clash of opinions or I simply don't like what's going on....But I see a good glimmer of really good potential in this one. I believe that if people put forth the effort, and with somewhat of a 'Goal' in mind for the characters, this could flourish.


At the moment I don't have any constructive criticism, jut a tentative hand raised for interest. If nothing else I can provide backstory, play an evil antagonist (Over the years I've made evil characters that resonate very, very loudly in my circles), and perhaps just provide a bit of 'Kick in the Arse' as DoN puts it. So, I offer my services in support of this endeavor. Either as a player, behind the scenes, or plot device; it makes no real concern to me.

Hope this didn't offend anyone. :-/
 

Knightofni

Varghulf
True Blood
Aug 31, 2009
758
Onikaigo said:
With no finger pointing or intentions of malice or disrespect, the level of Roleplaying on CN isn't equal to what I've become accustomed to over the years.

Hope this didn't offend anyone. :-/

Without wishing to hijack this thread, I don't think it's fair to the people that spend a lot of time and effort RPing on CN (not including myself here) like some of those in the TVC who have spent nigh on two years working hard, without offering some kind of reason why it/they aren't up to the standard you've become used to.. or at least some helpful pointers as to how to 'improve' (I use inverted commas because I personally have no experience of 'better' RPing than here at CN) and raise the standard.
 

Onikaigo

Vampire Lord
True Blood
May 17, 2008
3,604
Germany
@ Knightofni: I didn't offer any specifics due to a wish not to offend those I 'called out' (As that is what it would seem to be doing) due to 'bad' practices as I've come to see them. But, without mentioning names, here's some things I've seen.

Some basic practices:
1)Proper punctuation, capitalization.
2)Continued and unchanged use of tense and perspective.
3)Spacing out posts so that it's not one wall of text that daunts the eyes.

Some more advanced things that get under my skin, but are much harder to avoid.

1)Adherence to archetypal and predictable character types. (Rowdy uncontrollable fire mage, cold and calculating ice mage, cocky arrogant gunfighter, silent ninja killer sneaky archetype) Not bad in and of themselves, but from reading your character description I should -not- be able to predict, almost word for word, what your character will say and what he/she will do.
2) Little or no variance from the archetype, restated for emphasis.
3) Over emphasis on combat, with little or no relative development on a character basis. (Characters spend so much time polishing swords, throwing fireballs from hand to hand, pointing their guns at one another, etc...that they completely lose out on welcome development opportunities, and thus the RP suffers as a whole as so many aspects are denied)

And my last point:
4)One dimensional characters. Very difficult to avoid without some work on creation and actual posting, and most importantly -time to develop them.-
Out of all the points made, this is the one that I feel almost bad for mentioning, because with the exception ov the TVC none of the Roleplays have lasted long enough for this kind of depth to emerge. There are some wonderful characters there, I simply can't find the interest to continue Niklaus, so he's disappeared in the battle somewhere.

I'm not going to tote my 'Qualificiations' (If there are such a thing...) in roleplaying, or in creative writing. Simply because I can eloquently put my thoughts on paper doesn't mean I'm any more or less creative than any of you, or anyone else for that matter. I simply find, in my experience, that these points add to a roleplay in exponential form; if even 40% of the characters in a roleplay follow most of these points, and put in depth thought and care into their actions, the roleplay takes on epic proportions within days.


Anyways. I was asked, this is my opinion. IF there are any opinions, comments, flames, et al, PM me. I'm quite willing to talk about this, but don't wish to hijack the thread.

Here's your thread back! *backs out* I'm still interested, though. I'm just going to watch it develop and see how it goes.

Edit: On second thought, I'm opening up a thread with this idea in mind. Instead of PM'ing, we'll discuss whatever needs to be discussed there. PM's are still welcome, but I think an open air discussion would profit everyone.
 

Keldane

Ghoul
Mar 1, 2010
133
I think I'm going to need a lot more to go on (location, how the campaign's history differs from the real world, details on how character creation works under this system, etc) before I can be totally 100% on this. Typically, I find instant messengers easiest when dealing with that variety of information and the questions that will inevitably result. If you use one, could you PM me with your contact info, please, Grish?
 

Sanai

Stylish Deviant
True Blood
Oct 30, 2009
5,193
Behind Darvy
If you are going to do this rp, I might join, but will need more information (before) it actually starts. I would like to join an rp and be there from the start for once. TVC I am indimidated by, original gunhearts I tried to join but it petered out, and new gunhearts I missed out on alot of dialogue chances due to my late entry.
 

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