Hello and thanks for checking this out. So my problem is I really want to start up a Bleach RP, now if you have no interest or even no knowledge of what Bleach is don't worry, this won't be a great wall of text all about Bleach, the paragraph below give a little background but that will mostly be it. No, my question is more about how to structure and format an RP which will be set in the Bleach universe.
So for a smigein of detail, in Bleach there is the Gotei 13 which is, essentially, a small organized army or sorts filled with Shinigami or death gods who act as Spirit Samurai and help the dead to pass on to heaven. If a soul isn't passed on it becomes a monster known as a hollow, and the Hollow are the main antagonists to the Bleach universe in a very vague kind of way. So the RP will need to establish these two sides, the Shinigami who live in a pseudo 'heaven' that basically looks like feudal Japan. Whilst the Hollow who skulk around the living world eating souls and their own plane of existence known as Huerco Mundo (Hollow are all designed Spanish).
Now, traditionally the way Bleach RP's have gone is the Gotei 13 and all it's 13 squads are set out and people make characters for the Captains and the squad members etc etc. Then some make Hollow characters for everyone to fight against etc etc. There are multiple problems with this, at least from my point of view. Firstly, the Gotei 13 is never actually filled, which makes sense since there are probably around 30+ positions that would make an impact as a PC. With 30 people the RP is huge, despite the fact 30 people probably won't be interested, even a group of dedicated players wont make enough characters to fill the roster. So the RP has to be focused, on a smaller group of easily organized characters. However this leads to the next problem, if you have a small group with only a few characters that means you can't interact with the majority of the universe, that being the other Shinigami. They can be NPC's but you would have to make droves and droves of NPC's which would be so tedious.
My basic point is I want to make an RP, set in a universe with a very very large cast. However I want the group of actual players to be small. How can I make this work without limiting the interaction the players can have? I could say the rest of the Shinigami are all NPC, you can control them as you like, but then everyone starts RP'ing with themselves just talking to NPCs. My initial thought would be to BE the enemy, and have a small group who attack the Shinigami, this means you can interact with all of them whilst having a small group that makes sense, however again either they are all NPC's and you RP with yourself when you confront a Shinigami, or one person controls the entire Gotei 13, which is ridiculous because its 30+ people who can all be relevant. We haven't even got onto the Hollow side of things...
How do I control a massive cast of characters with only a few Roleplayers?
**Edit:** I probably didn't explain this very well so any and all questions are welcome if you don't understand anything quite yet.
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Alamantus That guy you knew
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8 mos ago
My basic point is I want to make an RP, set in a universe with a very very large cast. However I want the group of actual players to be small. How can I make this work without limiting the interaction the players can have? [...] How do I control a massive cast of characters with only a few Roleplayers?Whoa, when I first looked at this post, I immediately turned away because I know nothing about Bleach and don't really care to and therefore didn't think I could be of any help. But I skimmed through again and found the real question, which I extracted above, which I think I might be able to throw some ideas at! Hopefully you're still watching this topic and see this. It might not cover all of the more complex concepts and plotlines, etc. in Bleach, but here's at least a place to start: What you can do is keep a massive document (or if you're experienced enough to make/already have a resource that can do a billion tabs of info or something) with details about every other character. For your sanity's sake, I'd say to only include important details, like Name, Appearance, Job, specific skills, and then condense every other facet of their lives into bullet points. For example: Name: Billy Flyhead Appearance: Stereotypical mechanic, slightly overweight, always wears overalls and has smudges of oil on his face. Job: Airship Mechanic Special Skills:
- Can fly
- Can speak ALL European languages
- Determined
- Will never compromise his dignity, no matter the cost
- OCD
- Flaky
- get the idea?
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Blackbeard But why is the rum gone?
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8 yrs ago
Hey thanks for getting back to me! and yeah that's the main reason I didn't put Bleach in the headline!
That's just a thought. I think the most important detail is to condense as much as you can and improvise based on "hot button" words/topics/ideas that speak to how the character would act in a given situation. Just be orderly so you can get the information quickly and easily.So what I got from this is basically a database constructed off all the NPC's in the world? but one in which they don't all have to be fleshed out, but just enough to give the players an idea of how they should act when and if they are to control them? That is a good idea and I'll definitely keep that one in my pocket for later, but I was hoping to avoid the droves of NPC's to begin with. I'm finding it hard to put into words exactly what I'm looking for, which I'm sure isn't helping. It's also difficult to really express the scale of Bleach. My idea so far is that the group of Roleplayers focus in on a squad in the Gotei 13. So instead of all of the 13 Captains being involved only one and his subordinates would be, or something to a similar tune such as a group made up of particular characters. I can cope with that, and the fact that we can NPC the rest of the Gotei because we won't interact with them alll that much, or at least I could steer it that way. The problem comes when we fight the enemy. It's not like a traditional Fantasy RP in which you can set the scene with a group of bandits, or a Sci-fi in which a dogfight breaks out, that very much says everyone fight these NPC's together. Which is really good, but in Bleach Characters are very very distinct and individual to the degree where each is like a player made character, if you see where I'm coming from. There aren't really 'grunts' it's almost like an army of mini-bosses. I could split the players, half as the group of protagonists and half as the antagonists, however I think that, if I do keep the numbers small, that won't work all to well because the scale will be lost, which typing it out makes me realize just how much of this problem is fabricated from me being picky. But to have a full scale war, that's fought between 4 or 5 protagonists against maybe 2 villains? I don't know it just doesn't...fit. I guess there is no real way to do it, I either have a small group of players, in which the war is focused down to two very small groups for some reason. Or I have it massive and expansive in which quality is lost and its inevitable that it will die off. I actually posted an int.check about it too, which garnered no interest so I guess it might already be a dead donkey :P Thank you very much for getting back and giving it a second read over though!
Alamantus That guy you knew
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8 mos ago
If you want fully-fleshed out characters but don't want to make them all beforehand, maybe you could just create the characters as you come across them in the story. Flesh them out only as they come. That way you won't have myriad unused characters just sitting there. That's generally how I make my NPCs, which is probably not the best but works for me. :P
Anyway, it sounds like the scale you're looking for would fit much better into the Nation Roleplay forum, in case you didn't already know that. I'd recommend looking at how some of the longer-lived ones in that forum do their structure and army management, because it sounds more or less like what you want, except perhaps on a more macro scale. You could potentially combine the normal roleplay strategy with the macro scale strategy with the leaders doing battle with big baddies and occasional comments or even focuses on the army's (or whatever a unit of fighters would be called, it doesn't really matter) progress/status in battle. It would probably be hard to keep track of, but if you're determined and organized enough with your notes, I think you could do it.
But yeah, interest is always the hardest thing to garner. Maybe if you turn it into a more general RP and use all of the elements from Bleach (explaining them along the way), you could appeal to a wider audience than just Bleach fans?
NuttsnBolts
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12 days ago
... My basic point is I want to make an RP, set in a universe with a very very large cast. However I want the group of actual players to be small. How can I make this work without limiting the interaction the players can have? How do I control a massive cast of characters with only a few Roleplayers?Going to apologise in advance for not reading the whole thread but I gathered what I could and skipped back to check a few things before I thought of some ideas. You mentioned that most Bleach RPs are around the Goti 13 and how people have to create a large database to play with. Have you thought of setting a Roleplay up about a group of people outside the the main hub of the Goti 13? For example the Visored, or a disbanded group of Shinigami that have come across a threat that the Goti 13 doesn't want to look into? It's just when I see you mention "There aren't really 'grunts' it's almost like an army of mini-bosses." I can totally agree and understand how it would be extremely difficult to write for a full squad. It just seems, to me at least, like a very difficult concept to create only because a player would almost have to crank up the level in each post that extra notch just to better their previous post. I know a fight between Ichigo and Renji could last for a complete episode in the series and character development would take place over several episodes, often dedicating one compete episode to just how someone had a change in thought. Not trying to rain on your parade. If it can work than I do wish you all the luck you can get. I'm just wondering if it'll become an iceberg of an idea where what you have envisioned is only the tip and the entire base that is 9 tenths is the work that people will have to do.
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Blackbeard But why is the rum gone?
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8 yrs ago
Hey thanks for getting back to me also. I think (Hope) I did say something about doing exactly that, a while back we tried an RP in which the group played as almost 'renegades' and the idea was that we used to be in the Gotei and we came back to fight them (Almost like Vizards) but again the problem with that is you want all the players to be in the group you see? the idea is we all play a character in this renegade group and fight the Gotei. But then who controls the Gotei 13? since there will be many many characters that we would probably encounter and have to fight (As it sounds you've seen the show so you know) it would encounter the problems stated above. It's probably the closest I've come to figuring it out and it's cool you came to that idea independently. I've all but given up on it, for now at least as I see it's difficult if not impossible to pull of, and I don't think there is enough interest for the RP anyway. I am happy however to have started the conversation and attempted to figure it out, I'm glad the community has tried to help me out and I'm thankful.... My basic point is I want to make an RP, set in a universe with a very very large cast. However I want the group of actual players to be small. How can I make this work without limiting the interaction the players can have? How do I control a massive cast of characters with only a few Roleplayers?Going to apologise in advance for not reading the whole thread but I gathered what I could and skipped back to check a few things before I thought of some ideas. You mentioned that most Bleach RPs are around the Goti 13 and how people have to create a large database to play with. Have you thought of setting a Roleplay up about a group of people outside the the main hub of the Goti 13? For example the Visored, or a disbanded group of Shinigami that have come across a threat that the Goti 13 doesn't want to look into? It's just when I see you mention "There aren't really 'grunts' it's almost like an army of mini-bosses." I can totally agree and understand how it would be extremely difficult to write for a full squad. It just seems, to me at least, like a very difficult concept to create only because a player would almost have to crank up the level in each post that extra notch just to better their previous post. I know a fight between Ichigo and Renji could last for a complete episode in the series and character development would take place over several episodes, often dedicating one compete episode to just how someone had a change in thought. Not trying to rain on your parade. If it can work than I do wish you all the luck you can get. I'm just wondering if it'll become an iceberg of an idea where what you have envisioned is only the tip and the entire base that is 9 tenths is the work that people will have to do.
If you want fully-fleshed out characters but don't want to make them all beforehand, maybe you could just create the characters as you come across them in the story. Flesh them out only as they come. That way you won't have myriad unused characters just sitting there. That's generally how I make my NPCs, which is probably not the best but works for me. :P Anyway, it sounds like the scale you're looking for would fit much better into the Nation Roleplay forum, in case you didn't already know that. I'd recommend looking at how some of the longer-lived ones in that forum do their structure and army management, because it sounds more or less like what you want, except perhaps on a more macro scale. You could potentially combine the normal roleplay strategy with the macro scale strategy with the leaders doing battle with big baddies and occasional comments or even focuses on the army's (or whatever a unit of fighters would be called, it doesn't really matter) progress/status in battle. It would probably be hard to keep track of, but if you're determined and organized enough with your notes, I think you could do it. But yeah, interest is always the hardest thing to garner. Maybe if you turn it into a more general RP and use all of the elements from Bleach (explaining them along the way), you could appeal to a wider audience than just Bleach fans?Nation role-play doesn't really fit to be honest. It's much more of a very very large normal RP than a smaller macro Nation RP, but thanks for the suggestion. Bleach is also the kind of thing in which only fans of the series really participate in anything surrounding it like RP's. I don't think I've ever seen someone who isn't a bleach fan they are just interested in the idea and wanted to participate. People either love it or hate it. Again though, thank you very much for trying to help me, much appreciated to both of you!!
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