Story-Driven, Modern Fantasy, MMO-Style

[Mike]

About a week ago I posted a thread in the main Interest Checks forum about story-driven vs. character-driven RPs. No one was against it and there seemed to be a bit of interest, so I decided to go through with it and post what the RP is about. Bear with me, this post is kind of long.

Like the title says, the setting would be fantasy, but still somewhat modern, like around sometime in the 90s. Though there is fantasy, it's more about the revival of it in a modern world, like there being magic and ancient/medieval monsters.The main plot would center around a group who are thrust into a conflict and tries to figure out why it's happening, as well as who's causing it, and eventually trying to stop the Big Bad. However, for those who don't want to follow the main story, the are other side-groups who are trying to deal with whatever new conflicts that have come up because of the whole "revival" that's happened. They deal with their own separate problems from the main group, but how they resolve them will effect the entire story. It's also up to them whether or not they want to help our hurt the main group as they pass through, or even joining them in their fight or joining the bad guys in their's.

Also, the RP would be somewhat MMO-style. Now, I don't mean you have to go kill 20 etc. and collect 15 etc. What I mean is that there would be a lot of players, each with their own side quests, but there would still be a main quest that everyone shares that has to be finished. Not only that, but it would be similar to how a RPG works, with there being monsters to fight (but less than what would be usual in order to keep the flow going), as well as boss battles at important events.

Another thing to mention is how characters work. Other than usual stuff you do when filling out a character app, you also fill out certain things like what their preferred weapon type is, what "stats" they're best at, and what combat skill they have. Magic isn't the default skill, so if you want to have to have someone who is acrobatic or knows how to Macguyver up some some tools, for example, you can go ahead have them do that instead. Also, while there wouldn't be a level-up system, your character can still grow and learn new moves as the story progresses, whether or not they choose magic as their skill.

Whew. I've been saying this a lot recently, but my posts always seem to end up longer than I plan them to. Anyway, I'd like to know if anybody's interested in this kind of thing. I have the basic outline for the OOC already set up, but I can change things if I need to.

[Shin Majin]

Hmm...if you're up to managing something this big, I may be interested in joining. I'll have to see the actual OoC first.

[Mike]

Well, I do have the character app already done. I'll post it here so people can see what it looks like.

Username: (Your username.)
Name: (Your character's name.)
Gender: (Male or female.)
Age: (Your character's age. 12-30 only.)
Weapon Preference: (What kind of weapons your character can use.)
Ability: (Magic or a Special Skill. If a Special Skill, be creative. A couple examples would be being able to find enemy weakness and resistances, or being a powerhouse in battle. Make sure your Special Skill corresponds with the rest of your character. If Magic is your ability, just put write Magic for this part.)
Magic Preference: (Offensive, Recovery, or Support? Ignore if you don't use Magic.)
Stat Preferences: (There are four main stats: Strength (affects how much damage you'll do with your weapon), Endurance (decreses how much damage can be done to you), Willpower (affects how well your Magic abilities will work, and how much enemy Magic attacks will work on you), and Agility (how fast you are, and how well you can dodge)l. Pick one your character is best at and one they're second-best at. The other two stats will be considered what your character is average at. Make sure it corresponds with how your character is.)
Equipment: (You can begin with your first weapon if it's plausible, and you may have some other minor items with you as well, such as food or money.)
Appearance: (What your character looks like. Any distinguishing features? Pictures are fine as long as you put some info about how they look that the picture can't describe, like height or other misc. info.)
Personality: (What is your character like? Very important, as your characters should act as you describe them here.)
Bio: (Your character's past. At least one paragraph, just put enough so others can get a feel for your character.)

Magic Quiz: (This will determine what kind of Magic you will learn. If you don't have Magic, just erase this part when making the app. Remember to answer the questions as if you were your character.)
1) Are you shy or social? Answer:
2) Are you resilient? Answer:
3) In a struggle, would you knee your enemy in their groin, or try to poke out their eyes? Answer:
4) Which do you find more likely for you to do: Run five miles in three minutes or lift up a 1,000 pound boulder? Answer:
5) There is a spider, a fly, and a caterpillar on a web. Which one do you help? Answer:
6) You are given one free wish. Do you wish for fame, money, or power? Answer:
7) Would you rather seem to be smart to everyone else but actually be dumb, or be smart but everyone thinks you're dumb? Answer:
8) Which do you prefer? Knowledge, or power? Answer:
9) The pen may be stronger than the sword, but which one is more necessary? Answer:
10) You wake up one morning and find out you have magical powers. What's the first thing you do? Answer:

[Shin Majin]

So...are only humans playable?

[Mike]

There are mostly only humans, but there are mixed races as well. All the pure races from centuries ago died out, but there are still a few people who are from generations of them being mixed together. Nobody really knows that though, at least, not now.

[Shin Majin]

So...what sorts of options do I have in that regard?

[Mike]

Whatever would make sense. There wouldn't be any dragon/human hybrids, for a number of reasons, but mostly because it would be pretty obvious is someone was part dragon. It would be something more subtle, like dwarf/human (the short, stocky character) or elf/human (tall, thin, angled bone structure). Those are just examples though, if anybody had any more examples then they could go right ahead with that.

The reason I didn't include it in the app is because none of the characters are supposed to know that these races actually did exist once. The characters would have to make their own assumptions on whether or not they are a mixed race, but they might never get a concrete answer. It's all up to them when it comes to that. So if somebody wanted to make them self a mixed race, they would have to hint at it with their Appearance, and maybe their Personality and Skill Set as well.

[Shin Majin]

Oh. That's too bad. I've always loved playing bizarre, exotic races, and the stock fantasy races (human, short stocky human, tall magical human, small human, etc.) feel pretty overdone to me.

[Mike]

You have no idea how ironic this is to me. Another RP that I wanted to do had that exactly, tons of bizarre and (mostly) original kinds of races to fit any kind of playing style, except that it would be an Arena-type RP instead. I did it years ago in a different forum, and it was probably the most popular RP I'd ever been a part of, but only because there were like three other people helping to build the world and RP mechanics. I didn't know whether to try that or this RP first though, and eventually decided to try out this one first. Seeing as you're the only person posting in this thread, despite what the view count shows, that probably would have been a better RP to make instead.

[Zombehs]

Sounds cool. The quiz part of the CS is a bit interesting as well.