Blackbeard

Opening posts

I haven't read any of the other posts yet so forgive any repetition that might occur. I just wanted to add my two cents. I agree completely. Shorter opening posts do seem to encourage players to post more quickly and easily. Speaking from my own personal tastes, I'm not to keen on reading a wall of text, however detailed and well written. It's something I wish I could cope with but I just seem to...turn of a little? It becomes much more of a task than a pastime. Shorter opening posts give people a nice guided entrance to an RP, they let them get straight into it. They can read it quickly which will spark ideas for them that they can immediately begin to form a post around. I've been there, at both ends. A short opening post I can shoot through, I can begin my response immediately and as you say, there is less pressure to match it for size and intricacy. On the other hand I've been in those RP's where you love the concept, you make your character and your really happy, you think it's going to be fun. You come to read the opening post and it's like you have to dissect it. You have to really concentrate and soak in everything it's trying to tell you, and whilst I might enjoy it, it just gets tedious unless you are seriously wrapped up in the RP. You have to give people an easy berth into it, once they are hooked you can start to expand on things, get a little more thorough. This is my personal preference at least, something which I'm not really happy about, but it just seems to be the way I respond to things. I absolutely love the concise 3-4 paragraph posts that give you something meaty to sink your teeth into, with one liners I just give up. There isn't any meat on the bone (to continue this poor analogy). With large text-walls? I just turn off a little. Frankly, I don't like the amount of effort I have to put in to try and get myself hooked. If that makes sense? when someone creates an RP they are already swimming in the ideas, they are immersed in what they are trying to create. Other people will think 'Hey that's a cool idea' and join in but they aren't yet to the same level as the GM. When massive walls of text are presented it's almost like I say to myself 'This is a cool idea but...I can't be arsed with that' Which is a shame, I think that's why I'm not a very good writer and it shows my inexperience. That's my opinion any way. Ironically this came out a lot longer than I intended XD

Help me figure this out...

... 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!!

The Return of the Great Power (Working Title) - Fantasy Roleplay

Oh... Well it might be a bit difficult for me to post the necessary seven or eight paragraphs. But I'll try...

Avanhelsing

You don't need that much dude. Don't worry about it I'm sure you will be fine, it's more about quality than quantity but some are just capable of writing great walls of text. I'm sure a CS with two or three paragraphs for a couple of sections and the other relevant info will be great :)

Return of the Great Power

Decided I'm not going to be taking part. Sorry for any inconvenience and good luck with it all!

Help me figure this out...

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!

turn off signature and avatar visibility

No worries!

Bleach battle?

Hey thanks for checking this out. I was hoping to find someone that would be up for an arena fight using our own original character from Bleach the anime. I suppose cannon character would be fine (I'll be using an original) but I'd like it if you had their character and style down to a T if your going to use them. Apart from that whilst I'm aware the arena is a competitive part of RPG and for the most part its all about winning fights, I'm hoping the person I RP with is more concerned with the epic style that we're keen on seeing the series, awesome abilities, cool techniques nothing over complicated but something that's just bad-ass! If your interested please state so! Give me an idea of who your going to use (You don't need to fully explain just yet, but I'm expecting a CS style thing so we can both get each others characters down at some point)

turn off signature and avatar visibility

This is already an option I believe? click on your name in the top right which will send you to your page in which you can 'edit' which is essentially your settings. Halfway down there is a 'hide signatures' checkbox to hide them all. I don't think it effects Avatars but they are much less a problem than Signatures I think.

Same RP different GM

I would say casual has a large breadth of different genres I've seen Fantasy/Sci-Fi detective and horror have popped up a few times a number of slice of life RP's. However I would also say it's difficult to find an RP that will last, in my experience. Which is the major bug-bear for me.

The Return of the Great Power (Working Title) - Fantasy Roleplay

Interested!