Role Play Ideas

[Benevolent Thomas]

Funny enough I'd be for a GM ran game, but am open to do it any way. I always prefer order in a thread which the GM provides and also letting chance/fate dictate how I behave. Letting the group RP everything as they go is heavily reliant on everyone being good storytellers and a level of maturity to do things proper.

[warrender]

Oct 21, 2014 10:14:55 GMT -5 Deadeye Jack said:

I like your updates. The increased cost parity makes it so things don't get too jack of all tradesy. And everyone has basically the same cost to upgrade within their character class. So I guess my question now is how do we run these then.

You mentioned a few posts back that you could either go the GM rolling route or the free reign route (and obviously this could change depending on different RPs).

So in the GM way you'd have to basically have a phase where people say what they want to do and then the GM will do the rolls or whatever they use to figure out what happens. Then everyone RPs how you got to the results.

The other way is just to set the scene and let the group progress through everything with an eye towards being reserved and realistic. As a nation RPer this is definitely what I'm used to and I think it can be better provided people commit to realism.

I completely agree with your points and I have preference for a free reign myself and think it plays a lot more easily for RP'ers of all skill. The act of dice rolling just seems to cold and impersonable. GM's in free reign have more create licence to make the game more fun as they aren't following a rigid structure all the time and can allow for randomness.

The main issue you find is trying to keep players RP realistically for the character they chose. If you pick a low firearm character then you should RP suppressive fire a lot and occasionally hitting a target. Trust is the main thing required and in my experience you rarely get any issues. ... ... Though there was this one time, at band camp....

Oct 21, 2014 15:20:19 GMT -5 Benevolent Thomas said:

Funny enough I'd be for a GM ran game, but am open to do it any way. I always prefer order in a thread which the GM provides and also letting chance/fate dictate how I behave. Letting the group RP everything as they go is heavily reliant on everyone being good storytellers and a level of maturity to do things proper.

Yes I agree, some of the best RP's I've had the pleasure to be in were ones where the GM sets the scene in detail and gets it going. Players then post up there actions in character and then the GM will push the story along as needed. Throwing in more details and "what happens next" style posts. Sometimes a GM might decide to throw something in to force players down a certain avenue such as detailing a player getting shot. This helps a lot with preventing the story becoming stagnant and forcing players to think outside the box. "Oh hell, bob just got shot but we're on the other side of the compound, do we run to help him or duke it out here to take out all the guard and hope he lasts long enough"

As for the reliance of good story telling, I'm sure people would be very supportive in offering advice or even helping in posting.

[Deadeye Jack]

Ok so it seems like we're progressing on this idea. Should we try to flesh out more details about what the exact mission will be or shall we leave that up to a GM?

[warrender]

Generally it's left for the GM as it ruins the surprise for players to know the storyline. But I'm up for fleshing it out with details

[Deadeye Jack]

Well we don't have to do the whole storyline and the results. Just a more general like what the scenario is. For example, I like the idea of the ship going somewhere to make a trade deal. What kind of trade deal, what is the general universe like? The specific storyline details can be left up to the GM and when we start RPing

[warrender]

That can be the beauty of it. Assuming the Captain ISN'T the GM then he and some of the crew could decide on 3 missions to go on. Each one is different with a pre-determined level of difficulty and chance for extras like additional weapons or specials.

I'm thinking of literally copying the background of Firefly the series. You won't need prior knowledge of it in order to play, though some of the descriptions might not make sense if you don't, so careful GM writing would be great.

So you just go place to place doing missions, getting profit and doing whatever you've chosen to do. Then you do another mission and so on.

As for getting the missions, perhaps the GM can give the missions to specific characters who will then tell the Captain. For example, the Doctor might get a telegram about medical supplies needing transporting, the tader might hear about a weapons deal going down, the Commander might get a personal message about a friend in trouble. All three will tell the Captain and the Captain decides what to do. Most missions will have a time factor applied, so if you do something else it won't be there when you finish the job, others might be there for ages or until you go do it such as dig up some treasure no one else knows about.

[warrender]

For a story line I'm currently thinking of a couple of scenario's.

The first could be a set up for the beginning of a Civil war where one force is trying to take control of the land(so to speak) and unite everyone under one banner, their banner. A map could be made that changes every now and then so missions taking place in occupied space might become more dangerous than before if it's something like weapon dealing. Though this also requires a lot more effort from the GM. As the story unfolds the crew could find themselves accused of something they haven't done and being hunted down as pirates.

The second is bandits trying to take control of outlaying worlds and not taking kindly to the crew of the [insert ship name] taking business away from the bandits. Some shenanigans could ensue which opens up to a bigger storyline.


Any thoughts on others? or things to improve?


Also, any takers on running this RP?


And lastly, is the Captain to play the role of GM or stay behind the scenes and merely run it?

[Deadeye Jack]

I think either of the story lines you propose could work but the first might be a little ambitious for the GM. Also the 2nd one sounds inherently more Western. I like the idea of the crew maybe starting off with a somewhat ambiguous alignment but maybe as they interact more with the bandits and the dispute grows they grow into more of a special force dedicated towards stopping the bandits' "evil" plans. Of course that doesn't mean that our crew has to become totally altruistic. Maybe they can be a little corrupt at the same time, never giving up their old ways.

I would offer to run the RP (first time I would be actively GMing a character RP) but I am starting a new job next week and I don't know if I will be able to do the planning necessary to run the RP and do it justice. But if no one else can do it, I guess I can try to give it a go.

As to your bit about the Captain and GM relationship, I think it's ok if the Captain is the GM provided that the GM is capable of holding back its knowledge of how the RP will evolve. Something you brought up earlier is how the GM could PM members of the crew certain missions that need to be done and then the crew would have to decide which path it takes. Well the GM as captain would be able to judge who made the best arguments for which mission to take.

[warrender]

Good points, the former would be more work and I’m a muppet for always suggesting systems that make things more complicated *Slaps hand* “Stop it Warrender!”

I prefer the bandit backstory as well. I already have a intro lined up for consideration that would help give a reason for all players to have a range of ambiguity towards the bandits or at least a certain faction. The only issue would be that players would have to play ball a little in tweaking their backstories to make it work but that is easily done and will leave plenty of scope for them to have whatever range of misgivings or apathy they want their characters to have.

In two of my own RP’s that I could claim were *Successful* I played both styles. The first saw me as the guiding GM that only interacted with players in storyline format. The second I changed over to a more active role where I was an active player and found the interactions more rewarding but ultimately more harder to run the game.

In my opinion it would be far easier to run the game from the backline and give the Player whose role is Captain the choice of what missions to do. The GM can easily create multiple NPC(non-player-characters) and control them throughout the story, so while not actively playing, the GM can at least feel they are part of the story and players can react more realistically to an NPC with personality. For example, the chief bandit trying to kill them could appear time after time, by giving him bit parts it makes him more believable and the GM feels they are actually playing.

As for GM’ing, I’m in a similar boat. I don’t want to take the reins as I’m partly worried I’ll botch it up but also as it’ll feel like I’ve arrived and just taken over the RP considering I joined up a couple days ago . But I would happily take the reins if no one else wanted the job to ensure the game runs.

I’ll write up the intro I have in mind for consideration as this will set the background up nicely as well as the possible start, giving plenty of info to work with to shape the world in a way everyone thinks will work. If I think of any alternatives then I’ll post them up as well for consideration.

[warrender]

Background

In 2158 the first FTL drive was built and tested, putting the universe at the fingertips and spreading the frontier even further than just our solar system. 2164 saw the first set of FTL craft to be produced with the aim of exploring the galaxy and finding new resources and world to colonise. 3 years after the exploration initiative, privatised companies began funding the construction of their own craft, the idea being to establish their own presence upon distant worlds in order to claim ownership of any resources from the world they controlled. This frenzied expansion saw 100’s of worlds colonised by privatised companies who built towns and communities and created millions of jobs for people to mine the minerals.

Many worlds became hubs, huge expansive cities stretching to the size of small countries as they prospered from the wealth of materials and services they could provide Earth. Other worlds were not so lucky with either the resources being mined dry far sooner than expected or simply not being cost effective enough to run to warrant continued support, leaving workers and their families stranded after having expended all their wealth and to come to this new frontier for a better future.

The majority of worlds on the outer regions of space fall into this category, long forgotten worlds where lawlessness is rife, technology is non-existant and people struggle to make ends meet. Soon after the abandonment, bandits began to appear in greater and greater numbers, praying on the weak and setting up outposts on many worlds, knowing that the Deep Space Police Armada(DeSPA) were not interested in defending worlds of little to know value. Other worlds faired more lucky, bartering what little resources they have to create self sufficient colonies with their own police force that help deter all but the most organised and aggressive bandits.

In recent times the bandits have become braver, bolder and more organised and many fear the various factions are joining together to form a huge network. Several worlds have already fallen over the last few months, with bandits taking control of the settlements, burning down those with no value. Those who cannot escape are destined to live under a rule of evil, where no one will stand up for justice or human rights.

Reigner was one such world. Each day more and more bandits arrive by ship, amassing a huge force capable of over running its only town that still mines a quantity of ore for Earth. Many who have tried to flee have already been captured and some even shot. But a passing trader conducting business on the planet took pity on it’s people, and organised to ship as many people as they could off world while concluding his transaction in town.



Intro 1

The sound of muffled shouting could be heard over the dirt dune followed by occasional gunshots. A group of figures suddenly appeared over the top, sprinting as though being chased by a herd of wild bulls, one of them clutching the top of their hat to keep it from flying off as the group galloped over the top and down the slope to a large open prairie.

Still holding his hat he looked round, watching as several large men with guns bounded to the top of the hill behind them, pausing to take better aim. Halfway down the hill the shots sprung past them, flicking up clouds of dust where the bullets had embed themselves in the dirt.

“How could you not know you were stealing it from the Gregory Brothers!?!!?” One shouted, feeling the burning in their legs and chest as they sprinted towards a ship just ahead. Several people could be seen arranging boxes inside the hanger bay, looking up as they heard the gunshots. The figures on the hill, realising they had missed and were now lagging behind, jumped forward in attempt to continue the chase.

“No one steals from us and gets away with it!! Might as well make it easy on yourselves” one of the pursuers yelled. Finally pulling off his hat and holding it in his hand he turned to his comrade “How was I supposed to know that stuff was theirs?! It was left out in the open!!”

“That’s because it was ready for pickup. You screwed up a bloody weapons trade! God you’re stupid!”

Shots continued to ring past the group as they neared the ship. By now, everyone knew what was going on and hastily made sure they were aboard and out of trouble. A lone figure stood by the ramp just inside the hanger, hand on the button ready. As the groups feet pressed against the metal ramp he instantly pushed the button. Gears and screeching metal sounded as the large ramp started moving slowly upward. “Go,go,go!” he yelled into a comm unit and then promptly almost fell over as the ships engines screamed into life and caused the vessel to lurch to one side.

Pings against the metal outside could be heard as the gunmen shot at the vessel in vain, more out of frustration than believing they could hurt the armoured hull. One of the gunmen threw hit hat on the floor and shouted at no one in particular “Shizz! Henry’s gonna be pissed!”

Inside the vessel the ship rattled slightly as the vessel ascended into orbit. Three figure lay on the floor of the hanger, gasping loudly to catch their breath. “Well … *pant* … that went … *pant* … well”

------
Two hours later

A few hours later saw the Captain sitting alone in the mess hall of the ship. Chair leaned back and feet on the table while eating some porridgy looking meal from a bowl. A datapad came visible from the left hand side of the chair and. “Here’s the dossiers of the passengers we picked up and payment details. Would have liked to of given you the choice to speak to them before agreeing to transport them but you kinda decided to piss of the Gregory’s … … again”

Without saying a word the Captain reached back and took the datapad, using his thumb to operate the device while his other kept hold of his bowl. After briefly flicking through the various pages he flicked the pad onto the table “Cheers, I’ll have a proper look when we get to, Verzonia. There’s quite a few more people wanting picking up so we’ll see who wants to go in our direction”


------

There we are, a possible intro to the main crew and allowing for players to choose whether they start onboard or come aboard at the next destination if they join after it starts, aka they’ll join at Verzonia or any other place we go to. Tried my best to stay genderless as we’ll be having male and female characters I’m sure.

[Benevolent Thomas]

Well hot damn! It looks as if though we have our set up. I do believe that this is the part where I officially ask you to be our GM. Only if you're comfortable with it though. Our region is still quite new and Jack & I are not nearly as well versed in this type of roleplay. We can learn how to properly do these things by watching you this time and in the future we would be the ones capable of running other RPs so that you do not have to do it all the time. What I love about the people in this region is that we wear many hats.

[Deadeye Jack]

Well this was...amazing. Yeah I'm pretty excited about this and if I had my choice of who would be GM, it would be you.

[warrender]

Cheers chaps.


I noticed a few grammar and spelling mistakes that I'll sort when I post it up. I suppose all we need to do now is make any changes needed to the character creation and then get people to sign up.

Can we get a show of hands? If low on numbers I'm ok with making a char to join in but he/she would have to be a low level char just for filling out the roster rather than an important character like the Captain or Doc. etc.

Gonna go build me up some bad guys

[Benevolent Thomas]

I know Jack and I are in, let me make a post on the regional message board and advertise this.

[Deadeye Jack]

Yeah give us maybe a week to try to get people to sign up