Help me figure this out...

[Blackbeard]

Well this went well :P

[Alamantus]

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?

Blackbeard

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

Personality Details:

• Determined
• Will never compromise his dignity, no matter the cost
• OCD
• Flaky
• get the idea?

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. From there, you'd still have the difficult task of being the sole conduit through which these NPCs speak. If you allow your RP's players to view the document and link to a particular person every time they are mentioned, then maybe you can trust your players to speak for the NPCs and interact fairly with them as their own characters. A bit meta, but I feel like it would go smoothly if everyone understood that they need to be true to the characters if they speak for them. EDIT: Just re-read your post and realized this is more or less what you already said would be a problem. In that case, I would say to either just allow that OR split the RP into smaller tasks/scenes/sub-stories. You can have a huge, overarching story and world, but no character in the moment knows all of that. You can move from task to task, having a huge series of smaller stories that you go through one by one, or at the same time if you think you can juggle it... I'm not sure at that point, though. It sounds extremely complicated and potentially unnecessary to have this massive repository of fully fleshed-out NPCs if you're not going to be encountering all of them all the time... maybe just a few NPCs that you control per "scene" or sub-story? What do you think?

[Blackbeard]

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.

Alamantus

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]

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]

... 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?

Blackbeard

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.

[Blackbeard]

... 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?

Blackbeard

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.

NuttsnBolts

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.

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?

Alamantus

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!!