I very much want to avoid time travel overall for this RP. ^^; Insofar as it occurring in the RP, I mean. Time travel can very quickly become a mess in RP's.

Ah, that makes enough sense then. I'll drop the idea completely.

Sorry. ^^; I am very open to arc suggestions though.

I'm not a huge fan of combat all the time myself, but honestly when there's a grand total of two actual factions and they're warring with one another, there's not much room of things that aren't combat. If there were, say, multiple organizations that were all in a cold war with one-another (Multiple organizations that consider themselves to be the true protectors of the multiverse and don't recognize the authority of the UMMA, SE having to deal with working in universes that are in a secondary faction's sphere of influence, that sort of thing). Barring the introduction of new factions, the introduction of splinter factions within the groups (I could see an internal schism within the UMMA being an interesting in for lots of down-and-dirty politicking, or SE agents receiving conflicting orders from their higher-ups.) could also provide an interesting plot. If you've ever read Chronicles of Amber, it's a very good example of what I'm talking about: People who all have the same primary goal (Save Amber) and conflicting secondary goals (Become the sole ruler of Amber). If you've ever played VtM, the Camarilla are another good example of an organization staffed entirely by people who are actively working against their peers at all times. Of course it would probably also help if Shadow Eternity had some sort of motivation beyond "Grr! We're bad guys who like to kick puppies and do bad guy things!" and the conflict between SE and the UMMA was something more akin to the Zeon/Federation conflict from Gundam but hey what's done is done I guess and if the GM wants it super clear cut I guess that's his choice and there's not a lot we can do about it.

I'm not one of those GMs who has (or lets) villains destroy and murder in lighthearted settings in crossovers just to show how evil they are.

Well, considering the player's missing (heh, Mario is Missing), I guess I should reveal what I would have had Eternal do: Kidnap the Princess, thus (OOC) giving Mario incentive to join in fighting to save her.

With that kind of shenanigan you'd probably have Bowser on your ass as well. Nobody but him can steal the princess! >looks at Mario RPGs

@Prostagma: Um, her choice. ^^; Shadow Eternity's official motivation is to take down the UMMA and destroy their influence across the multiverse, so they do have one that's not just "evil". ... When the Leader's actual motivation comes out I imagine there WILL be a lot of splitting and chaos on their end though. Which should be fun. The UMMA's meant to be fairly clear-cut, though. Not that there's not going to potentially be bad people trying to game the system in it or something like that. But as a whole it's intended to be fairly straightforward. Still, I do think there's potential for non-combat stuff, which I think is helped by the factionless characters.

Right. That's the entire IC read! I am completely caught up now.

Shadow Eternity's official motivation is to take down the UMMA and destroy their influence across the multiverse, so they do have one that's not just "evil".

That's a goal, not a motivation. Distinct difference. Motivation tells people why they want to bring down the UMMA, or at least the reason they give to their grunts.

... When the Leader's actual motivation comes out I imagine there WILL be a lot of splitting and chaos on their end though. Which should be fun.

See, that assumes the RP won't crash before we get there to due the aforementioned combat glut.

The UMMA's meant to be fairly clear-cut, though. Not that there's not going to potentially be bad people trying to game the system in it or something like that. But as a whole it's intended to be fairly straightforward.

The very fact that there's an organization that exists to "protect the multiverse" but still clearly meddles in the affairs of various universes and has no clear-cut authority backing them up (The denizens of the multiverse sure didn't vote them into power) leaves room for tons of ambiguity that is currently going to waste and would be an incredibly simple and low-effort way to help the roleplay dynamic. You yourself said "I hardly want this RP to be endless combat. That's not very fun and it's also difficult to GM.", after all.

Still, I do think there's potential for non-combat stuff, which I think is helped by the factionless characters.

See, there's that thing: Factionless. Without any reason to get involved in the affairs of either faction. Just-so-happening to cross paths with other people, often in a violent way because they are for the most part violent sorts of characters. Hell, I'll write up the factions if you like, seeing as you're clearly busy with those two unapproved CSes.

I sense great hostility in this one. Joking aside, I can see his point. Although I personally don't see this RP crashing. We've reached the stage where I believe the GM has accumulated enough loyal players to keep it alive, at least for a while.

You didn't forget me, did you Vita? I posted my sheet in the signups five hours ago.

You didn't forget me, did you Vita? I posted my sheet in the signups five hours ago.

Sir, I posted mine two or three days ago. Get in line. :P

You didn't forget me, did you Vita? I posted my sheet in the signups five hours ago.

Sir, I posted mine two or three days ago. Get in line. :P

That's ridiculous.

You didn't forget me, did you Vita? I posted my sheet in the signups five hours ago.

Sir, I posted mine two or three days ago. Get in line. :P

That's ridiculous.

Oh, I'm well aware.

Maybe Vita hasn't had the time or energy to go over them properly? I know that I usually go way more than five hours at a time unable to just post for a character. Vita's got to move the story forward in 3-4 locations, respond to player questions and evaluate signups. The interest check thread can be a bit chaotic too (I'm partially to blame there, I can admit, I contribute to the discussions there sometimes). Have a little patience, guys =/

I apologize, I don't want to step on any toes. But if I may, I'd suggest hiring a co-gm to help with the work load. It seems like Vita has a lot on her plate, and a helper of some description could go a long way to speeding things up.

Maybe Vita hasn't had the time or energy to go over them properly? I know that I usually go way more than five hours at a time unable to just post for a character. Vita's got to move the story forward in 3-4 locations, respond to player questions and evaluate signups. The interest check thread can be a bit chaotic too (I'm partially to blame there, I can admit, I contribute to the discussions there sometimes). Have a little patience, guys =/

How can you be busy evaluating signups if you're not evaluating signups? It's just three character sheets. I can go over them all in like 10 or 15 minutes. Hell, if Vita's that busy, just sign me up to handle signups. I got the time.

I apologize, I don't want to step on any toes. But if I may, I'd suggest hiring a co-gm to help with the work load. It seems like Vita has a lot on her plate, and a helper of some description could go a long way to speeding things up.

A thousand times this. If the GM has a lot to handle, you designate the workload to a co-GM. Hence why I'm offering to help out with signups. It'll smooth things out and allow Vita to focus on the IC stuff.

Because on top of everything else to do in this RP, Vita also has a life outside of it, and probably other engagements aside from this RP too. And this is on top of making absolutely sure any outstanding characters won't become a problem.

Because on top of everything else to do in this RP, Vita also has a life outside of it, and probably other engagements aside from this RP too. And this is on top of making absolutely sure any outstanding characters won't become a problem.

That doesn't mean a three day wait for a character approval isn't ridiculous. I've already offered to take care of the signup thread and lighten Vita's workload so this doesn't happen again, because brushing a legitimate complaint off with excuses won't solve anything.