AmongHeroes- Today I have the honor of speaking with Keyguyperson for our latest installment of the RPGN interview. Keyguyperson, since you have one of RPG’s most participated in Nation RP, I’d really like to hear what you think makes a successful NRP? First off, have you GM’ed many of these styles of RP?
Keyguyperson- I've GM'ed quite a few, although the majority of those are sequels and reboots. I mostly GM roleplays like my current one, which is a freeform sci-fi nation RP.
AmongHeroes- Being that you've done this style of RP before, in your opinion, what draws players to a more Nation/freeform style of RP?
Keyguyperson- Well, being drawn to a Nation-style roleplay is really just personal opinion, but freeform is a somewhat more complicated topic. My current RP is much, much more freeform than one would expect, mainly due to its setting. As it is set in space, members are free to create any sort of nation they want. The possible draw someone could feel to this is quite obvious, as they can more or less do whatever they want.
AmongHeroes- Your last statement does bring a question to mind: with an RP based around a principle of freedom, is it a challenge to keep the RP in check? That is to say, do you have any issues with people being too powerful or influential?
Keyguyperson- Oh yes, that's the most common problem in my roleplay. If you're making a roleplay as free as mine, you honestly cannot expect to be able to keep everything in check alone. A lot of things split through, luckily, my playerbase is good at catching these things. Without them there to help, there's no way my roleplay would have any sort of fairness to it at all.
AmongHeroes- Oh I'm sure. Every RP benefits from having a devoted and open-minded player base. Do your players than drive the plot entirely? Or do you add some yourself?
Keyguyperson- Well, the players most definitely drive the majority of the plot. I'm actually in the IC too, and therefore I do have impact on the overall plot. However, if someone wants to go have a war, I'm not going to hop in and stop them to force my own plot on them, not anymore at least.
AmongHeroes- I can certainly understand that. So, for a player interested in creating and GMing their own NRP, do you have any advice? I will say, that some of the work that is involved can seem quite daunting.
Keyguyperson- To create and GM a roleplay means to commit yourself to it, you don't just make a roleplay, then hand it off to one of your friends if you lose interest. You really have to stick with it, and that's a lot of work. Creating a roleplay? All you need for that is an idea. GMing one? For that, you need to be able to stick with it no matter what.
AmongHeroes- I think that advice can certainly be applied to any RP. I noticed you have a wiki associated with you RP as well. Do you try to update plot points that other players have introduced?
Keyguyperson- The wiki is terrible outdated by now, mainly because very few people really use it. I usually like other people to put in their plot points, because I could misinterperet them to get details wrong. Since so few people use it, it's rarely updated. I am going to put up some major updates related to my plot points, though.
AmongHeroes- I see. So, if a player had a similarly expansive universe, such as yours, do you think the wiki is a helpful investment of time?
Keyguyperson- I definitely think that a wiki is helpful, and worth the investment. When a roleplay gets as many IC posts as mine, it becomes even harder than usual to search for historic events in the IC if you want to reference something. It also helps with hard to spell names, which, being a sci-fi freeform roleplay, mine gets a lot of.
AmongHeroes- That makes sense. Going along with the topic of supplemental information, do you think other tools like maps, for instance, are another worthwhile endeavor?
Keyguyperson- Yes, I do. I'm trying to get a map out right now, though I've had trouble finding the time and information to do so. There are a lot of problems that can be solved with a map and other tools. The map specifically can end so many arguments, and prevent them as well.
AmongHeroes- I had not thought of that last point, and being a visual player myself, I imagine I'll use that in my own RP experience. I've been a part of several NRP's, but I've never GMed one. For a person that is looking to join an NRP, perhaps for the first time, do you have any advice on making a workable faction to play?
Keyguyperson- That's one of the hardest parts of an NRP, making your faction. Personally, what I like to do is think more about the culture and people in the faction than how I'll balance it. Once I've done that, I can look through my description of it to find ways to make it balanced. However, I usually don;t put much emphasis on balance, and much more on the story. Balance is still important, don't get me wrong. Without it, the story wouldn't be able to work because one faction would just dominate the others. Still, I personally like to emphasise the story.
AmongHeroes- So, in the vein of balance, do you think that putting too much detail into creating a faction can actually be detrimental? I would think that too much technical detail, for instance, right out of the gate could cause problems with balance. Would you agree?
Keyguyperson- Yes, if you specify exactly how powerful everything you have is, then it will almost inevitably lead to balance problems. Even if you do balance your technical data with the data of others, there will inevitably be somebody that makes sure that their specs are simply better than yours.
AmongHeroes- It sounds to me as if the story is king in your RP's, over technical detail. Would that be a good assumption?
Keyguyperson- Yes, the story is most definitely the center of the roleplay. Technical detail is allowed, but it is usually discarded for the sake of the story. It's all nice to know how many megatons your missiles are, but having your famous team of crack pilots dodge them is far more interesting than relying on the data alone.
AmongHeroes- Well said. I know from my own experiences in NRP's that an over-relience on details, as you said, can truly hinder the story. With that, we simply can't end the interview without a shameless plug for your RP. Would you mind giving a brief description of it, and whether or not you're still accepting factions? I'm sure there are readers who would want to know.
Keyguyperson- My NRP is From Stardust, To Stardust. It's a sci-fi fantasy nation roleplay that doesn't really have any specific theme for plot. War stories, space opera, anything really. We're always accepting, mainly because there's a good excuse for nations popping in due to the setting. Writing standards are pretty relaxed, all that we ask is that your writing is readable and at least about a paragraph per post. If you are thinking about joining, just be warned that this roleplay is a wild ride.
AmongHeroes- Sounds great to me! Thank you so much for your time, Keyguyperson. It was a pleasure.
Keyguyperson- The pleasure is all mine, it was wonderful to be able to participate in this interview!
-Link to From Stardust, To Stardust-
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