Mattchstick

"Kill or be killed" survival RP with a few quirks

The things the GM will be texting are all "stress modifiers." There is no actual toxin. It given the character a false sense of urgency. I don't know if I mentioned it already, but the only way to die is being killed by another character, with "exploding collar thing" as a fail-safe for players who just stop posting and disappear. Personally I don't like exploding collars. I don't want the players to worry about trying to take it off or deactivate it or figure out how it works (all of which are realistic decisions), because none of that is relevant to the point.

Of course, the desire to escape will always be there. I don't doubt that players will work hard to find a loophole, since you can't just up and kill someone else without getting it worked out between them and the GM. Speaking of which, something everyone needs to understand is that the GM has the right to kill your character at his discretion and dead characters cannot be revived. This does not mean I may kill characters for no reason or because I find it amusing, nor may I kill characters because I personally don't like them. This means that, should you conflict with another player OCC, the GM will decide the outcome, which will most likely be based on what would have realistically happened. I will absolutely work with players, and if Player A is willing to let Player B's character survive, we'll make it work, but I will not go back-and-forth with players who really want to have their way and generate drama.

That'll be in the rules.

"Kill or be killed" survival RP with a few quirks

I had forgotten to add an Appearance: slot to the CS. Adjusted.

So a few points of discussion.

FIRST
The idea here is for each person to kill one and only one person. I had considered the prospect of it secretly being a "Hunger Games" scenario where, instead of being released, a character would be texted another person to kill until only two were left. But that conflicts with the real intention of the experiment. It also means the game will drag on, and the longer a game runs, the higher the risk of players deciding to leave. I would like for this to have a definite start point and end point for the player.

SECOND
One of the key elements is the ability for players to join and leave without impacting the story or any other players. For killing them instantly, if need be, I have a couple options. Let me know which one(s) you prefer.
1. Have them try to escape and die.
2. Kill them with an explosive collar, which was used in a different RP. Or some other insta-kill device.
3. Have them collaborate with another player to get themselves killed.

THIRD
I'm also fiddling with things for the GM to send to the characters via phone. "Forgot to mention: you have been injected with a slow-acting toxin. The only existing antidote is resting in my pocket. You have about three days." Thoughts?

FOURTH
Also! I need a way to cycle day and night. I could base it on a time zone, I suppose, but that's hard on players in different time zones. Right now I'm considering making every other IRL day (in one set time zone) could be a whole day. Monday: Day 1, Tuesday: Night 1, Wednesday: Day 2. I could update it IC. Or I could just leave it go and not worry about day and night, as assume the entire experiment takes place through one very long day.

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@tigersloth
@Cryfest
@Default

And anyone else interested.

"Kill or be killed" survival RP with a few quirks

Hello. You have been selected to participate in an experiment, courtesy of the Institute of Natural Survival Instinct Preservation. You've been summoned here today to test your ability to make the most important decision in the history of mankind. To kill...or be killed.

This is based on a survival RP I participated in here years ago (under a different account). If you have to compare it to something, it would be somewhere between Battle Royale, Mad World, and Portal. However, it is simpler than BR, less gory than MW, and has more freedom that Portal. Rather than trying to be the last person alive either by killing everyone or hiding, you only have to kill one person. Just one. But it's not quite that simple. To make things even simpler, and more sinister, everyone will be supplied with a flip phone. At the start of the experiment, everyone will receive a text from the GM (via private message) with the name and face of someone else. You will have to kill that specific person. No one will be told who is hunting them OOC. You will have to decide whether or not you can bring yourself to find and kill a specific individual, with the knowledge that someone ELSE is hunting YOU.

A few quirks:
1. I'm making it extremely easy for players to leave and join. The only way to die is being killed by another player. If you want to leave, the GM will kill your character, giving the person targeting you the opportunity to get their kill and win. If you want to join, you'll be funneled into the test, and an existing player will be assigned to you, with you assigned to their previous target. To avoid continuity troubles and characters being put in "sleep mode," the GM will reserve the right to permanently kill your character, with the player having the option to roll in again with a new character at any time, to keep the story moving.

2. Everyone's phone is connected to the GM's phone. They are given one (ONE) phone call to the GM. You can use that call whenever you want, to say whatever you want, but only once. Want to make threats? Ask for help? Try to make a bargain? Feel free, but make it count.

3. While the GM won't be able to control the elements or use elaborate traps, I can send in "assistants" to force players towards each other or away. The assistants will likely be soldiers, armed with automatic weapons, who force players out of hiding. But they might also be medics or arms dealers, willing to make a bargain. All of them will be controlled by the GM. This is avoid things becoming monotonous or repetitive for the Institute (and the players).

4. Rather than an abandoned town, there will be a superstore in the middle of the map, with food, water, supplies, camping gear, and weapons of some form. Survival is not the problem. No one is going to die from starvation, freezing to death, etc. unless you do it on purpose, though the assistants may be on hand to keep that from happening.

5. I am going to actively screw with the players. I might start the game by telling you all that one of you is a psychopathic killer with a history of mental instability even though none of you are. I might send you text messages to encourage/discourage/give hints. All texts will be sent via PM only, though players will be allowed to reveal what they say IC if they so desire.

6. I will supply an overhead map of the area with building labels. You will not have access to an actual physical map IC. The map will not shrink, areas will not be sectioned off, there will be no electric clouds of death.

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A few things to note:

1. Teamwork will be discouraged, romance is not allowed. The point of the experiment is to see if a human, on their own, is capable of making the decision to obey the order to kill another human. You can TRY to team up, but expect the GM to try to disrupt it via an assistant. This isn't the Hunger games, where working together to kill other people is a potential strategy. You have to kill one specific person, and you might be the one on your teammate's list.

2. Keep the language and behavior PG-13.

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Sample CS:

Name: (first and last)
Age: (at least 18. Can be any age past that)
Sex: M/F (as stated earlier, romance is not going to be a factor)
Appearance: (height, weight, hair, eyes, clothing. Pictures are fine)
Personality: (a few descriptive words or sentences)
Skill: (optional. List something your character is particularly good at doing. If you pick a skill, expect it to be tested)
Background: (three paragraphs max)

Inventory: (used as a reference for what your character is holding or carrying. Feel free to post and update it in the OOC)
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So there you have it. Survival at its simplest and finest. I'm aiming for 5 players minimum, 10 players maximum. Questions, comments, concerns, etc. would be great. I have an interesting underlying "plot twist" that explains the experiment as well that I look forward to sharing.

...

That's a fair assessment of one of the problems.

Mattchstick's Matchbook

My most recent project was downloading Tinder, taking screenshots, drawing the people in those screenshots (and deleting those screenshots). I drew cartoon-ish sketches of 39 women before I deleted the app based on the whole thing being rather creepy. In my defense, I hadn't drawn anyone in a long time and was completely drained of ideas. Rather than try to work from my imagination, I used actual people as inspiration. It was a success and I am surprisingly happy with the result.

I also swiped right on everyone I drew so they would know I drew them. I matched two people. One of them seemed pretty nice.

Here is a link to the Tinder photo project album, which I am keeping on facebook right now. If anyone has suggestions for a good website with third-party hosting, preferably with albums and renaming for organization, I would seriously appreciate it. Someone recommended Deviantart but Deviantart makes me sad.

Mattchstick's Matchbook

Hello. I am an art person. Sometimes I make art, invariably in graphite on sketch paper. I will post some art here if I ever get around to a good site with third-party hosting. Seeing as all of my work is currently on Photobucket, and Photobucket is now charging $400 annually for third-party hosting, I will not be able to use it.

If you want me to make art for you, I can do that, but it will have to be in graphite and I won't accept money for my work. On request, I can scan the art and make a digital rendition, with color and shading, but again I won't accept payment for it. Sorry.

Hello.

Welcome back to the Guild! However long you stay, I hope it's an enjoyable experience!

Well, I haven't left yet.

I’m not surprised to see your kind here. Many adventurers have traveled this way since the recent troubles had passed. No doubt you’ve heard about the tragedy that befell the community here at the Guild. Some say that the Guildfall, bane of role players, is slowly enveloping the community once again. I don’t know if I believe that, but I have noticed from time to time that posts or players will mysteriously disappear. They disappear without word and without notice, hidden by the leaders of our community. Maybe it’s nothing. But rumors and sideways glances seems to trail in their wake. You see, shortly before Guildfall had occurred similar disappearances were common as well and strange rumor began to ravage even the most common parts of the guild.

This sounds exactly like a flash game website I recently left, but with less corruption. Administrators there actively censored complaints/questions they did not want to talk about, edited user posts without informing users, ignored negative feedback, and showed as little interest as possible in those who had been active for many years on the site. Most are now jaded, hardened, and essentially waiting for the site to die for its many sins.

I was heavily involved. I contested the corruption and questionable behavior consistently. I accomplished nothing. May the community experience a swift, painful death, rather than the slow, agonizing one it is currently enduring, and may the site administrators be forever baffled as to how it came to that.

But until more evidence is uncovered I’ll remain here within this community and so should you.

I would prefer to remain as ignorant as possible. I will not be dedicating myself to internet justice as I once did.

You’ll find interesting role play ideas across all the various topics categories here on the Guild and a few of mine or ones that I participate in as well. However, I would make sure you save your own information before the shadow that fell over the Guild before the fall once again consumes us all. But if you’re still alive before then, I’ll be more than happy to accommodate any role playing needs you may have if I can.

In its defense, the site experienced many highs and lows in activity. Some years it seemed as though it was truly dead, but the next year activity would rise yet again. Only in recent times has the administration dirtied itself to such an extent. Should the administration here not follow suit, I would expect it to survive.

You should talk to some of the others, too. Guildmod has sent you a PM package to add with your new arrival and there are any number of veterans who are more than qualified to answer your questions. Maybe they can tell you more.

Magnificent.

...

I guess the overarching problem in a game like this is that, in Fantasy, for example, everyone wants to be the Dragonborn, and the Dragonborn has no rival. In Sci-Fi, everyone wants to be Commander Shepard. Average Joe just doesn't fit in a place where freedom is so heavily emphasized.

Hello.

Hello. I am Mattchstick, but you may call me Matt, even though no one else does. I have been here before. Now I am here again. I may leave tomorrow, who knows.

My Avatar is currently named 14_Star, but now that I think about it, "Matchstick" is a better name. Nearly any name is better than 14_Star, really. I do not look like 14_Star, but you may assume I do if it helps you sleep at night.

We Protect. We love. We care. We are the good guys. Right?

I might be interesting in being a police mook security officer. I'm concerned, though, about the prospect of all of us RPing with NPCs. Who will be controlling the super power NPCs? Do I have the authority as a player to, you know, decide that Inferno Man has been acting up again and someone needs to go have a talk with him? Or will the GM be running the chief of police too to keep track of how NPCs are behaving? I feel like that would make more sense.