Three more days, Andy. Three more days.
I have been told that MB will actually kill me if I switch off of Raven and Starfire. But I may pester him about allowing second characters. Of course, that's assuming Wraith doesn't beat the deadline again.
[OOC] DC Universe: Genesis - Justice For All Page 15
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AndyC Guardian of the Universe
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9 hrs ago
I have been told that MB will actually kill me if I switch off of Raven and Starfire. But I may pester him about allowing second characters. Of course, that's assuming Wraith doesn't beat the deadline again.
Retired "Hayao Miyazaki"
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I think second characters are probably a no-go considering how many players are on the "expired" list every week with only one.
Lord Wraith Actually Three Otters in a Trenchcoat
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Three more days, Andy. Three more days.
I fail to see how constantly rooting for a player to miss their posting deadline is conducive to a healthy roleplay.
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Retired "Hayao Miyazaki"
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<Snipped quote by Retired>
I fail to see how constantly rooting for a player to miss their posting deadline is conducive to a healthy roleplay.
Well, aside from not being serious since I already have a character of my own, the last time I made the joke you posted within two days. Instead of me rooting against you, I'm rooting for you to prove me wrong again.
Hound55 Create-A-Hero RPG GM, Blue Bringer of BWAHAHA!
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*Subtly merges Alan Scott into J.S.A...*
Lord Wraith Actually Three Otters in a Trenchcoat
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<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>
Well, aside from not being serious since I already have a character of my own, the last time I made the joke you posted within two days. Instead of me rooting against you, I'm rooting for you to prove me wrong again.
I don't have anything to prove to you and it was merely a coincidence that my post came two days after your last barb. @Master Bruce gave me the opportunity to play Superman, and he's the only one I owe anything to in this roleplay. Were that not the case, I'd likely take my leave.
You might be joking, but you're the only one in on the joke.
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Supermaxx dumbass
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12 hrs ago
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Hound55 Create-A-Hero RPG GM, Blue Bringer of BWAHAHA!
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8/1 - The Weekly Post Check
@Byrd Man - The Flash - EXPIRED
@Hillan - Alan Scott - EXPIRED
@Simple Unicycle - The Question - EXPIRED
@Roman - Jonah Hex - 2 Days Left
@Lord Wraith - Superman - 3 Days Left
@Hound55 - Sandman - 3 Days Left
@Polyphemus - Crimson Avenger - 5 Days Left
@IceHeart - Green Arrow - 6 Days Left
@Tackytaff - Birds Of Prey - 6 Days Left
@Mao Mao - Misfits - 6 Days Left
While players past their expiration dates are eligible to keep their characters should he provide a post in the immediate future, their claims to the characters are annulled at midnight EST, and will remain invalidated while past the expiration. If someone else applies for a an expired and is accepted before a post is made past midnight, his or her application/posts will themselves be voided.
Safe For This Week:
DocTachyon - S.H.A.D.E.
Reason: Gave prior warning of absence until 8/4.
Deadline Expired - Removed From Roster Due To Inactivity
@Hexaflexagon - Sarge Steel
@Natty - Hawkgirl
Sorry, but them's the breaks. One post every two weeks prevents removal. You're allowed to re-apply for your character should you choose, but I'd recommend having an IC post ready beforehand.
Thank you and happy posting.
Re-posting just to fix the tag so we don't lose a Crimson Avenger without warning.
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Polyphemus They/ Them
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2 yrs ago
Still in it to win it! Had a bit of writer's block for a minute there but should have a post in the next couple days. Appreciate the heads up!
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Master Bruce Winged Freak
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C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L
T H E B A T M A N
Bruce Wayne .♦ .Philanthropist .♦ .Gotham City, New Jersey, USA .♦ .Wayne Industries
C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:
...
"It's about identity. If you can choose that, choose who you are in the world... you can choose to call yourself sane."
Nine months ago, billionaire Bruce Wayne returned to Gotham City to claim his inheritance and take an active role in his father's company, Wayne Industries. Or at least, that's what the public was intended to believe. In reality, Wayne had spent the last fifteen years of his life testing the limits of his mind, body, and soul in order to prepare for a self-imposed war against crime in an effort to avenge his murdered parents and bring order to his corrupt home. While spending considerable time learning all that he could of Gotham's inner-workings, wining and dining amongst the elite class to discover the depths of their apathy towards those affected by the criminal fraternity, Wayne also took to the streets in disguise to see just how the disenfranchised and the desperate could be corrupted. Thinking he had it all figured out, Wayne donned the garb of a masked vigilante and set out to reclaim the night.
He was wrong. He had learned nothing, as he found himself beaten beyond recognition by the ruthless Red Hood Gang whilst attempting to interfere with a turf war between them and the The Falcone Crime Family. Desperate to know where he'd gone wrong, he found himself barely clinging to life in his father's study, looking toward the bust of William Shakespeare and hallucinating it to be the late Thomas Wayne. He'd developed the skills, the knowledge, and the will to carry on - but until he had the method, there was nothing he could do to turn the tide.
Resolving to let it end then and there, Wayne's answer came in the form of a leathery-winged creature of the night that had struck fear into his heart as a boy. It's wings expanding, it lowered itself over the bust until it had covered the top half of the face - creating a terrifying visual that imprinted itself onto Bruce's psyche. Criminals, as he had learned, were ultimately a superstitious and cowardly lot. If he was to wage war, he'd have to utilize methods that they couldn't predict. Become something that they could never fathom, even in their nightmares.
He'd have to become a Bat.
He was wrong. He had learned nothing, as he found himself beaten beyond recognition by the ruthless Red Hood Gang whilst attempting to interfere with a turf war between them and the The Falcone Crime Family. Desperate to know where he'd gone wrong, he found himself barely clinging to life in his father's study, looking toward the bust of William Shakespeare and hallucinating it to be the late Thomas Wayne. He'd developed the skills, the knowledge, and the will to carry on - but until he had the method, there was nothing he could do to turn the tide.
Resolving to let it end then and there, Wayne's answer came in the form of a leathery-winged creature of the night that had struck fear into his heart as a boy. It's wings expanding, it lowered itself over the bust until it had covered the top half of the face - creating a terrifying visual that imprinted itself onto Bruce's psyche. Criminals, as he had learned, were ultimately a superstitious and cowardly lot. If he was to wage war, he'd have to utilize methods that they couldn't predict. Become something that they could never fathom, even in their nightmares.
He'd have to become a Bat.
"What in the name of Bill Finger is this?", you may be asking yourself. Well, oddly curious reader, this is me throwing up my hands in defeat. While the idea of what I was trying to do with my first concept for this game's Batman sounds great in theory, actually practicing it turned out to be a highly tedious process where I just wasn't having any fun with what I was writing. It took me until the third post to really realize it, and I had already had doubts before that. In order to really commit to a version of Batman so reliant on redefining the Bruce Wayne half of his identity, you tend to be forced to do alot of character building in addition to world building. And in order to get to one of the villains, not to mention get Bruce into the suit, I would have to compromise and cheat my way to getting there in a way I just didn't feel was worth it.
So I'm starting over. First post is going to deal with Bruce's first night donning the cape and cowl, with all of the gadgets, the money, the training, and everything that makes him traditionally Batman. Where it goes from there is anyone's guess, but doing it in this way will at least give me the freedom to build the world that he inhabits without having to learn just who he is all over again. I'm also taking more of a hand's off approach with the supporting cast, as I see no reason to reserve characters for my story until I've gotten to them - with the exception of The Joker and, of course, Robin, since you can't really drop them in there from the get-go.
This is actually more in line with how I originally saw the RPG, anyway. I don't have any explanation for why I chose to do such a dramatic departure for my first sheet other than "my kneejerk reaction is to figure out how I can 'ultimize' a character", which was never actually what I thought of when developing DCU: Genesis. My mindset was to take the character as they were traditionally presented, at their start, and build up the changes to the world from there.
So I'm starting over. First post is going to deal with Bruce's first night donning the cape and cowl, with all of the gadgets, the money, the training, and everything that makes him traditionally Batman. Where it goes from there is anyone's guess, but doing it in this way will at least give me the freedom to build the world that he inhabits without having to learn just who he is all over again. I'm also taking more of a hand's off approach with the supporting cast, as I see no reason to reserve characters for my story until I've gotten to them - with the exception of The Joker and, of course, Robin, since you can't really drop them in there from the get-go.
This is actually more in line with how I originally saw the RPG, anyway. I don't have any explanation for why I chose to do such a dramatic departure for my first sheet other than "my kneejerk reaction is to figure out how I can 'ultimize' a character", which was never actually what I thought of when developing DCU: Genesis. My mindset was to take the character as they were traditionally presented, at their start, and build up the changes to the world from there.
C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:
The why should be obvious at this point, and I've already outlined the motivation. What I want to do is build the myth of Batman using bits and pieces from every source I can reference until it's all thoroughly blended into a fine soup. I'm not out to reinvent the wheel so much as honor the parts of it that's made it work for 81 years, which will hopefully make integration into a multiplayer game far more accessible for team-ups and interactions that my previous concept just didn't allow, to my detriment.
As far as the character himself goes, he's largely the Batman we know. The only differences I'm going with off the top are that Bruce Wayne is more of a media oddity who spends way more time attending galas and nightclubs then he does running a company, which is a responsibility that he's designated to Lucius Fox. He's also a member of the board of directors for Arkham Asylum, which will play a more prominent role in this run than I've done before, but his role in the goings-on over there aren't common knowledge. Basically, Bruce Wayne is the Elon Musk of this universe, in that he's always in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Which of course is by design, as it helps him commit to the vigilante crusade he's got going on.
As far as the character himself goes, he's largely the Batman we know. The only differences I'm going with off the top are that Bruce Wayne is more of a media oddity who spends way more time attending galas and nightclubs then he does running a company, which is a responsibility that he's designated to Lucius Fox. He's also a member of the board of directors for Arkham Asylum, which will play a more prominent role in this run than I've done before, but his role in the goings-on over there aren't common knowledge. Basically, Bruce Wayne is the Elon Musk of this universe, in that he's always in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Which of course is by design, as it helps him commit to the vigilante crusade he's got going on.
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:
Supporting characters:
Butler, bodyguard, and father figure to Bruce since before his parents' untimely demise. Alfred is actually a key part in getting Batman out onto the streets, as he feels personally responsible for what happened to the Waynes but is unable to take retribution for himself. When he isn't posing as the stuffy English caretaker to Stately Wayne Manor, he's usually down in the massive Batcave below, manning the comms channel and aiding in the detective work.
Tough-as-nails cop from Chicago who's trying his best to reform the GCPD. While he's been railroaded at every turn by the combined efforts of Chief Clancy O'Hara and Commissioner Loeb, Gordon's quietly assembling a team of cops that still think they're above taking a bribe, including Harvey Bullock, Renee Montoya, Crispus Allen, Anna Ramirez, Paul Valley and Kate Kane to become apart of his inner-circle.
Relegated to R&D's archives department for the last twenty-five years, Fox was hand-plucked from obscurity by Bruce Wayne to become the new CEO of Wayne Industries after proving that the reigning head of the company, Elliot Caldwell, was using the company as a front to deal under the table to the criminal underworld. Fox's innate knowledge of every scrap of military prototypes that have been collecting dust in Wayne Industries' basement floors have helped form the basis for Batman's arsenal, with Bruce and Alfred making the nessescary modifications themselves.
A particularly passionate ADA for the corrupt Janice Porter, Harvey and Bruce Wayne were friends in their youth - but the moment Bruce left for his overseas studies, Harvey's priorities changed and his past got alot murkier. Despite Wayne's attempts to rebuild their comradery, Dent rebuffs him and blames Bruce for allowing his resources to go to waste while Gotham's citizens suffered the consequences under regimes like the Falcone Crime Family, the Maroni Syndicate, and Rupert Thorne's considerable empire.
Dent and Porter's paralegal, and the only member of the D.A.'s office willing to speak with Bruce, Julie's become an invaluable asset into Bruce's education on the complex system of corruption that infests Gotham's streets. While she doesn't suspect why he wants to know all of this, Julie is keen enough to realize the false front that Wayne puts up in the public eye is hiding something far nobler.
The family dog. Not really what most would consider "friendly".
S A M P L E P O S T:
Salvatore "The Boss" Maroni screamed at the top of his lungs as he was thrust into the open air amidst shattered glass. The masked lunatic that had thrown the gangster aswell as himself out of the top floor of the penthouse grabbed onto Maroni hard and produced that same grappling device that had sent them hurtling into an over 50 foot drop towards the pavement. Firing it again, this time managing to snag a stone gargoyle overlooking the adjacent building, The Batman pressed hard into Maroni's back so that they swung into an arch, heading directly for the building just across the street.
All that Salvatore could see was oncoming glass before a very large and leathery piece of fabric shielded him from the impact. He couldn't see them hit the window, but he could feel it, aswell as the hard landing that both men made. By the time the fabric unfurled itself off of his face, Maroni realized that he was on his back, staring directly at his shadowy assailant, who stood above him. Salvatore growled.
"ARE YOU OUTTA YOUR FUCKING MIND?! WE COULD'A BEEN KILLED JUST THEN, YOU---"
The Batman's boot slammed down onto Maroni's chest, causing him to involuntarily keel and roll over in immense pain.
"Quiet."
With his prey momentarily incapacitated, Batman searched the room ahead of them. A set of office cubicles greeted him in the darkness, evident of a local business. The employees had long since gone home, leaving no one but a janitor who had already ran for the emergency exit. But The Dark Knight sneered as the heat signature-detection feature of the lenses in his cowl picked up the image of an additional few men heading up the staircase, guns drawn. Evidently, Captain Bolton had managed to round up some of his remaining men to pursue them.
Looking down at Maroni, Batman forcibly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up.
"We're not done."
Maroni wheezed in pain. "What the hell are you talkin' about?!"
Punching the mobster hard across the face with an executed right hook, Batman caught Maroni's body as it fell limp, immediately rendered unconscious. Letting him fall gently, Batman produced a pair of military-grade handcuffs from the back of his belt and dragged Maroni over to a support beam. Propping him up and placing his hands behind his back, the vigilante secured his captive in place, put something into the front of his jacket pocket, and looked towards the door to the spacious room they were in as the heat signatures immediately approached.
Retreating to the darkness on the opposite end of the room, Batman watched in cold silence as the door was slammed open from the outside with a kick. Several of Flass' dirty cops burst into the room, each holding weapons that were far above standard issue for the GCPD. Laser sights, automatic ammunition. The vigilante narrowed his eyes as they searched for any sign of him in vain. Someone had been outfitting Flass' men with the latest in high-tech ordinance. The other precincts didn't have the luxury of such treatment, and it wasn't hard to guess why. Salvatore Maroni had a good majority of the GCPD under his payroll, directly. It was how the mobster had kept himself one step ahead of his rival, The Roman.
"Look! Over there! There's Maroni!", one of them yelled, signaling two of the men to his opposite. "Get him out of here before that freak comes back! We'll stay here and keep watch!"
As the two men approached, The Batman produced a detonator hidden within his gauntlet. Waiting precious seconds as the cops inched closer to Maroni's unconscious form, the vigilante waited for them to discover the handcuffs.
"Uh, Lieutenant? He's bound to this thing. We're gonna need to..."
Hitting the detonator hard, Batman leaped forward with a roll as an explosion of smoke immediately hit the two cops from within Maroni's jacket. Seizing control of the situation as the smoke coated the entire room, The Dark Knight hit the side of his cowl and switched his cowl's surveillance mode so that the lenses could isolate the smoke and make the room clear to him alone. Immediately slamming his knee into the chest of one of the cops with a rising strike, The Batman spun mid-air and sent four projectiles directly into the hands of two of the other armed officers. He'd taken to calling them "bat-blades", though one of his associates had given them perhaps a more fitting moniker: batarangs. Landing behind the officer he'd struck, Batman downed that one with a hard elbow and immediately followed that up with a brutal headbutt, knocking him into one of the cubicles. Shooting his right leg out, Batman spun for a hard sweep, sending a second one to the ground fast enough for the officer to hit the back of his head. Opting for a palm strike against an oncoming enemy's jaw, the vigilante simultaneously reigned a flying high kick down onto a fourth officer's face, knocking both to the ground. As he regained his footing, he looked down to his chest and noticed the red targeting lasers start to cross his path.
"THERE... *COUGH* THERE HE IS! SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE ROOM! OPEN FIRE!"
Dammit.
Bullets sprayed the walls behind him as The Batman somersaulted forward, counting himself lucky as a bullet barely grazed the armor plating covering his right shoulder. Leaping into the air, he kicked off of the wall to the south of the room and produced his grapple gun yet again, firing a line directly into the northern wall. Directing a spin kick into an officer as he attempted to reload his weapon, Batman pulled at the line hard, catching the two leading figures of the group by the chest and waist as the steel cable slammed them into the adjacent wall. As another officer rose from the ground, still partially unconscious, the vigilante grabbed a stapler from one of the nearby cubicles and launched it directly into the man's head, sending him back to the ground. One remained. And he was firing off into the distance, having already lost the trajectory of his target. A batarang flew from the smoke and forced the weapon from his hands, embedding it into the window with a spiderweb crack. The officer's eyes widened as he looked at his unreachable weapon, failing to notice the figure that approached him.
"Tell Commissioner Loeb. Tell your fellow men. Tell everyone..."
"I'm coming for them, too."
P O S T C A T A L O G:
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Retired "Hayao Miyazaki"
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0-24 hrs ago
It wouldn't be a DC game without a reboot.
coGM
Hillan I'm a writer - Lying's what we do.
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14 hrs ago
@Master Bruce
Batman has been booted from the game due to clear lack of interest from his creator.
The Batman (Original character, do not steal. TM) is hereby accepted and welcomed to the roster.
The bat is dead, long live the bat.
Batman has been booted from the game due to clear lack of interest from his creator.
The Batman (Original character, do not steal. TM) is hereby accepted and welcomed to the roster.
The bat is dead, long live the bat.
GM
Master Bruce Winged Freak
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1 hr ago
Roster is updated. Couple of notes:
@Hound55 has been given an extension on Sandman due to his method of posting being broken.
@Roman has dropped out as Jonah Hex.
Sarge Steel and Hawgirl were removed due to inactivity.
And I've started marking expired characters with red text. As a reminder, once a character is expired, the player has a chance to post and regain their status as an active player. But should someone apply for the character before that, the application can be considered for approval.
@Hound55 has been given an extension on Sandman due to his method of posting being broken.
@Roman has dropped out as Jonah Hex.
Sarge Steel and Hawgirl were removed due to inactivity.
And I've started marking expired characters with red text. As a reminder, once a character is expired, the player has a chance to post and regain their status as an active player. But should someone apply for the character before that, the application can be considered for approval.
GM
Master Bruce Winged Freak
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1 hr ago
8/8 - The Weekly Post Check
@Retired - Zatanna - 2 Days Left
@WXer - Animal Man - 4 Days Left
@Cybermaxx - Teen Titans - 7 Days Left
@Bounce - Kai-ro - 7 Days Left
@webboysurf - The Outlaws - 7 Days Left
Safe For This Week:
DocTachyon - S.H.A.D.E.
Reason: Said to return 8/4. Will begin counting days next week if no posts are made.
Tackytaff - Birds Of Prey
Reason: Personal loss.
Thank you and happy posting.
@Retired - Zatanna - 2 Days Left
@WXer - Animal Man - 4 Days Left
@Cybermaxx - Teen Titans - 7 Days Left
@Bounce - Kai-ro - 7 Days Left
@webboysurf - The Outlaws - 7 Days Left
Safe For This Week:
DocTachyon - S.H.A.D.E.
Reason: Said to return 8/4. Will begin counting days next week if no posts are made.
Tackytaff - Birds Of Prey
Reason: Personal loss.
Thank you and happy posting.
1x Thank
GM
Master Bruce Winged Freak
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1 hr ago
ATTENTION!
After some extensive discussions over the Discord sever between active and former players, aswell as other interested parties, I've made the decision to review any and all pitches for the future functionality of the RPG. Some people want one thing (IE: more interaction and cohesion, player-driven events), other people want another (IE: solo-driven content, minimal oversight), and even some ideas in between, so I'm taking this opportunity to start an open dialogue within the OOC to bolster the player community and lay a foundation down for how the game should operate based on everyone's feedback.
At our current trajectory, a month into the game's launch, progress has been admittedly stilled from both a narrative standpoint and sheer quantity in the level of posts. There are virtually no incentives for player interaction and weeks have gone by without some characters even being posted for, leading to several roster removals and drops. Interest has been expressed in continuing the game as it is on a base level, however, without a reboot or retooling of the core concept. So there needs to be a change of some kind, but what exactly that is should be determined through an examination of what's working and what isn't.
I'm opening the floor now.
AndyC Guardian of the Universe
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9 hrs ago
I'll throw in my two cents.
First off, there's obviously no perfect system or silver bullet that's going to suddenly make everyone inspired and motivated to churn out lovingly crafted posts on the daily. Every format change, every shakeup in the status quo, is going to have strengths and weaknesses, and holes can be poked in all of them. The current format has its own strengths and weaknesses, which we've griped about at length in the Discord chat.
As I see it, the major strength of the free-form sandbox RP is that it gives players total license over their character, and allows them to flex their creative muscle and show off how clever and unique their take on a character can be. It gives us the opportunity to tell stories we want to tell, and -- especially in the case of DC, where many of us have been dissatisfied with the state of the official canon for a long time-- allows us to "do it right." The major weakness of this, however, is that it is entirely dependent on the player's creative muse-- if they're having a bad day, if they had a solid initial concept but then don't know where to go with it, if nobody else is posting and they don't feel urged to post themselves, then players drop out and the game slows down.
Personally speaking, I'm a big fan of tabletop-style roleplaying games, where the Game Master directs the events of a story, where the players operate within a defined set of rules, and perhaps most importantly, where there is the possibility of failure. A group of adventurers exploring a goblin cave isn't tense and exciting because there's anything inherently tense and exciting about goblins, it's tense and exciting because the goblins can kill you. On the other hand, the weakness of a GM-led tabletop style of game is that it funnels the players into a handful of options, which is stifling if you want to do your own thing. Plus, you have to be very careful about how much complexity you add into a system, since the appeal of forum-based RPGs is that you don't need to memorize a 300-page rule book. I do have a system that I have put together, and am going to put up an Interest Check, but it is purely meant to be an experiment to see if it works, not a replacement for the game as it exists.
As for the current state of DCU:G, I think a slight time skip might do some good. Because nobody has made their big public debut yet, everyone's either in hiding or on the run or operating in the shadows or whatever, which makes it harder to do big set-pieces or have reasons to cross paths and interact. Perhaps jumping forward a couple of months so that there are at least a couple of capes out in the open can free things up a bit. Though again, that also has its weaknesses, as it steps on the toes of people who are working on a big origin-story arc.
Long story short......I dunno, you can't please all the people all the time, it is what it is.
First off, there's obviously no perfect system or silver bullet that's going to suddenly make everyone inspired and motivated to churn out lovingly crafted posts on the daily. Every format change, every shakeup in the status quo, is going to have strengths and weaknesses, and holes can be poked in all of them. The current format has its own strengths and weaknesses, which we've griped about at length in the Discord chat.
As I see it, the major strength of the free-form sandbox RP is that it gives players total license over their character, and allows them to flex their creative muscle and show off how clever and unique their take on a character can be. It gives us the opportunity to tell stories we want to tell, and -- especially in the case of DC, where many of us have been dissatisfied with the state of the official canon for a long time-- allows us to "do it right." The major weakness of this, however, is that it is entirely dependent on the player's creative muse-- if they're having a bad day, if they had a solid initial concept but then don't know where to go with it, if nobody else is posting and they don't feel urged to post themselves, then players drop out and the game slows down.
Personally speaking, I'm a big fan of tabletop-style roleplaying games, where the Game Master directs the events of a story, where the players operate within a defined set of rules, and perhaps most importantly, where there is the possibility of failure. A group of adventurers exploring a goblin cave isn't tense and exciting because there's anything inherently tense and exciting about goblins, it's tense and exciting because the goblins can kill you. On the other hand, the weakness of a GM-led tabletop style of game is that it funnels the players into a handful of options, which is stifling if you want to do your own thing. Plus, you have to be very careful about how much complexity you add into a system, since the appeal of forum-based RPGs is that you don't need to memorize a 300-page rule book. I do have a system that I have put together, and am going to put up an Interest Check, but it is purely meant to be an experiment to see if it works, not a replacement for the game as it exists.
As for the current state of DCU:G, I think a slight time skip might do some good. Because nobody has made their big public debut yet, everyone's either in hiding or on the run or operating in the shadows or whatever, which makes it harder to do big set-pieces or have reasons to cross paths and interact. Perhaps jumping forward a couple of months so that there are at least a couple of capes out in the open can free things up a bit. Though again, that also has its weaknesses, as it steps on the toes of people who are working on a big origin-story arc.
Long story short......I dunno, you can't please all the people all the time, it is what it is.
Retired "Hayao Miyazaki"
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0-24 hrs ago
Alright, so. I think the easiest way to solve lower activity rates is to inspire more interaction opportunities. And the most effective way to do that, without arbitrarily forcing people to start writing collaborative posts together, is to incorporate linear story elements into the RP.
My suggestion, as I've laid out in the Discord, is to utilize mini-events or "sidequests." As has been the status quo over the last several years, these games now tend to have end-of-season GM events that are wide-spanning crossovers able to pull in every player and character at once. As was witnessed in the previous two games, these are very successful and positively viewed. And they tend to bring together players who may not have ever written together in that particular RP. I say we take that concept and miniaturize it down.
A sidequest would be relatively simple: one of the GMs puts up an IC post detailing some sort of natural crisis or criminal act in a section of the world some of our characters would be close by to. For instance, half-a-dozen high-skilled individuals breaking into a California facility where weapons-grade plutonium is held. That GM would then post in the OOC announcing that this is a mini-event and that any player who can reasonably get their character there to react to this crime-in-progress may choose to do so, and would list a small checklist of what would likely need to be achieved in order to resolve this sidequest. For example: prevent the theft of plutonium, with a bonus objective of apprehending those responsible. The players that choose to respond can then resolve this sidequest as they see fit without further GM action. If multiple players respond, they now have an easy opportunity for their characters to interact. If only one player responds, that's fine, too, as the sidequest still serves to make the world we're writing in feel more lived-in.
If no one responds, though, after say a week or two, then the GM will then write a second, closing post in the IC detailing the success of the criminal's plans. No one resolving the mini-event would mean "consequences" in that civilian life could be lost, or the criminals could now be even more dangerous the next time. In the same example as above, the criminals now have weapons-grade plutonium and could return in several weeks now holding the city of Los Angeles hostage by the threat of a dirty bomb - thus upping the stakes for a future sidequest. These are the sorts of "consequences" that make the world feel lived-in and real - it's not just what our characters do that build the world, but also what they don't do - while at the same time not feeling like a punishment for choosing to ignore a particular sidequest.
This method, I think, should spur a lot of interaction with minimal effort - GMs would only need to write a single, relatively brief IC post for each sidequest, or two if it is not resolved. It would also help expand upon the world we write in, filling out the backdrop events and giving more opportunity to include these sorts of stories that often don't make sense in our solo arcs. And, further down the road when it makes sense for a year one story, these sidequests can be used to introduce minor comic book villains that may not be utilized otherwise. And, they can even be used to tie-in to the overall season-ending event, whether directly or indirectly, so we can truly feel like said major event has been built up to. There's a lot that can be done with this method that doesn't require any drastic change.
As someone who went into this RP with the intent to fully interact with others this time, but can't always rationalize teaming up with certain characters under normal circumstances, these sidequests could be very beneficial.
Introducing a new sidequest every two weeks or so could be a great way to improve activity, inspire inter-player interaction, and create new, interesting story beats that feel even more like the comic books we all love and enjoy.
My suggestion, as I've laid out in the Discord, is to utilize mini-events or "sidequests." As has been the status quo over the last several years, these games now tend to have end-of-season GM events that are wide-spanning crossovers able to pull in every player and character at once. As was witnessed in the previous two games, these are very successful and positively viewed. And they tend to bring together players who may not have ever written together in that particular RP. I say we take that concept and miniaturize it down.
A sidequest would be relatively simple: one of the GMs puts up an IC post detailing some sort of natural crisis or criminal act in a section of the world some of our characters would be close by to. For instance, half-a-dozen high-skilled individuals breaking into a California facility where weapons-grade plutonium is held. That GM would then post in the OOC announcing that this is a mini-event and that any player who can reasonably get their character there to react to this crime-in-progress may choose to do so, and would list a small checklist of what would likely need to be achieved in order to resolve this sidequest. For example: prevent the theft of plutonium, with a bonus objective of apprehending those responsible. The players that choose to respond can then resolve this sidequest as they see fit without further GM action. If multiple players respond, they now have an easy opportunity for their characters to interact. If only one player responds, that's fine, too, as the sidequest still serves to make the world we're writing in feel more lived-in.
If no one responds, though, after say a week or two, then the GM will then write a second, closing post in the IC detailing the success of the criminal's plans. No one resolving the mini-event would mean "consequences" in that civilian life could be lost, or the criminals could now be even more dangerous the next time. In the same example as above, the criminals now have weapons-grade plutonium and could return in several weeks now holding the city of Los Angeles hostage by the threat of a dirty bomb - thus upping the stakes for a future sidequest. These are the sorts of "consequences" that make the world feel lived-in and real - it's not just what our characters do that build the world, but also what they don't do - while at the same time not feeling like a punishment for choosing to ignore a particular sidequest.
This method, I think, should spur a lot of interaction with minimal effort - GMs would only need to write a single, relatively brief IC post for each sidequest, or two if it is not resolved. It would also help expand upon the world we write in, filling out the backdrop events and giving more opportunity to include these sorts of stories that often don't make sense in our solo arcs. And, further down the road when it makes sense for a year one story, these sidequests can be used to introduce minor comic book villains that may not be utilized otherwise. And, they can even be used to tie-in to the overall season-ending event, whether directly or indirectly, so we can truly feel like said major event has been built up to. There's a lot that can be done with this method that doesn't require any drastic change.
As someone who went into this RP with the intent to fully interact with others this time, but can't always rationalize teaming up with certain characters under normal circumstances, these sidequests could be very beneficial.
Introducing a new sidequest every two weeks or so could be a great way to improve activity, inspire inter-player interaction, and create new, interesting story beats that feel even more like the comic books we all love and enjoy.
7x Like
Is this series still available to be joined up? I have a few characters in mind I'd like to play
HenryJonesJr
Member
Seen
2 yrs ago
Alright, so. I think the easiest way to solve lower activity rates is to inspire more interaction opportunities. And the most effective way to do that, without arbitrarily forcing people to start writing collaborative posts together, is to incorporate linear story elements into the RP.
My suggestion, as I've laid out in the Discord, is to utilize mini-events or "sidequests." As has been the status quo over the last several years, these games now tend to have end-of-season GM events that are wide-spanning crossovers able to pull in every player and character at once. As was witnessed in the previous two games, these are very successful and positively viewed. And they tend to bring together players who may not have ever written together in that particular RP. I say we take that concept and miniaturize it down.
A sidequest would be relatively simple: one of the GMs puts up an IC post detailing some sort of natural crisis or criminal act in a section of the world some of our characters would be close by to. For instance, half-a-dozen high-skilled individuals breaking into a California facility where weapons-grade plutonium is held. That GM would then post in the OOC announcing that this is a mini-event and that any player who can reasonably get their character there to react to this crime-in-progress may choose to do so, and would list a small checklist of what would likely need to be achieved in order to resolve this sidequest. For example: prevent the theft of plutonium, with a bonus objective of apprehending those responsible. The players that choose to respond can then resolve this sidequest as they see fit without further GM action. If multiple players respond, they now have an easy opportunity for their characters to interact. If only one player responds, that's fine, too, as the sidequest still serves to make the world we're writing in feel more lived-in.
If no one responds, though, after say a week or two, then the GM will then write a second, closing post in the IC detailing the success of the criminal's plans. No one resolving the mini-event would mean "consequences" in that civilian life could be lost, or the criminals could now be even more dangerous the next time. In the same example as above, the criminals now have weapons-grade plutonium and could return in several weeks now holding the city of Los Angeles hostage by the threat of a dirty bomb - thus upping the stakes for a future sidequest. These are the sorts of "consequences" that make the world feel lived-in and real - it's not just what our characters do that build the world, but also what they don't do - while at the same time not feeling like a punishment for choosing to ignore a particular sidequest.
This method, I think, should spur a lot of interaction with minimal effort - GMs would only need to write a single, relatively brief IC post for each sidequest, or two if it is not resolved. It would also help expand upon the world we write in, filling out the backdrop events and giving more opportunity to include these sorts of stories that often don't make sense in our solo arcs. And, further down the road when it makes sense for a year one story, these sidequests can be used to introduce minor comic book villains that may not be utilized otherwise. And, they can even be used to tie-in to the overall season-ending event, whether directly or indirectly, so we can truly feel like said major event has been built up to. There's a lot that can be done with this method that doesn't require any drastic change.
As someone who went into this RP with the intent to fully interact with others this time, but can't always rationalize teaming up with certain characters under normal circumstances, these sidequests could be very beneficial.
Introducing a new sidequest every two weeks or so could be a great way to improve activity, inspire inter-player interaction, and create new, interesting story beats that feel even more like the comic books we all love and enjoy.
I really, really like this idea.
1x Thank
Lord Wraith Actually Three Otters in a Trenchcoat
Member
Online
Is this series still available to be joined up? I have a few characters in mind I'd like to play
I believe always open and accepting is our approach so feel free to apply. Just be sure to @ the GMs when you drop the sheet so they don't miss it.
@Master Bruce @Hillan
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