The New and Improved RPG Council Rooms

[Weasel Overlord]

THE RPG COUNCIL ROOMS
Written by Weasel Overlord, Coded by Crystal Tears

Welcome one and all to the official RPG Council Rooms again! Now comes in a completely wank-free flavour! Here you will find the comprehensive list of what the Council is working on and the progress we've made on these issues, as well as the low-down on precisely what it is that they (and we) will be doing for RPG. This will also be the place you come to if you have a problem that you think the Council can solve, an idea for the betterment of RPG, a complaint about something you think we're doing wrong or that we could be doing better, or simply to discuss what you think of the changes we plan to implement over the next few months.

First thing's first, the tasks of your Council;

1) They will, first and foremost, be your portal to getting things done in RPG. They're not mods or admins, they are normal members who you see around every day in your RPGs. We think that this will make the Council more approachable than us mods, if this is a problem.
2) They will be your brainstorming effort; working closely with the mods on ideas to better RPG, and to keep an acceptable level of activity.
3) Linked with (2), the Council will help us to work out rules for Tournaments, brainstorm new ideas for activity, discuss revamping and refurbishing RPG and to bring a series of polls and discussion topics to RPG itself. The main idea behind this Council is discussion, working together and ideas.

Of course, this list is not exhaustive. There will be other duties, such as helping with the Newsletter, should we wish to “revive” it again, and other efforts that will come up as and when they are needed.

Second thing's second, here is the list of what we are working on at the moment (not exhaustive);

RPG Board colours and banner
Revamping the Ideas Topic
Revamping the Away Topic
Revamping the Chat Topic (Twilight Town)
RPG Graveyard
A series of polls
Unfinished discussion/ideas, including; RPG Catalogue, Mentoring System

All of these ideas will be outlined in greater detail once they are agreed upon, settled or a poll has been decided on.

Right, the deal with the new Rooms. Here are some very basic rules. There will be NO WANK. This includes flames, being off-topic, being aggressive and generally being argumentative. We are all (mostly) adults, we will discuss things in a civil manner. This especially includes myself. Any post containing wank/flames/the aforementioned things will be deleted with no warning. A repeat offender will get an official warning. Use your brains for what happens next.

Now what else do we have? I've taken every idea from the old topic and put it in this one for discussion. We will go through the ideas one by one, discuss, and then move on. We will not discuss things that cannot be changed, such as "oh people don't join my RPGs," or "RPGs always die!" We know these things happen, but short of literally forcing people to bend to our will, we cannot do anything about them. Anyone in the RPG Chat today will know my feelings on this topic. Instead, we will talk about things we can do to improve - like the ideas in this new topic do.

1) How about looking into new kinds of RPGs here? More or less every game here is 'fill out a form', 'post occasional updates to progress the story', 'no real rules apart from no-godmodding'. I'd be interested in seeing some games with a rudimentary combat system and stats, how to implement it well in a forum setting is the problem though.

2) I would greatly enjoy if more people tried out various kind of roleplaying.

3) What I propose is that more RPGs should use a very basic system that gives guidelines to how players should play but is also freeform enough to allow flexibility and allow the GM to not have to put in so much effort. For some of these games, it might have to be the case that the GM himself doesn't participate in the RPG itself but acts as a 'dungeon-master', guiding the players with narratives and NPCs, for example.

4) The Established "Thing" RPG
- The idea with this one is to take a popular Thing (book, film, tv show, whatever, you name it - for the sake of examples, I will go with Supernatural).
- The DM should ideally know their source material, but it's not essential
- There is the series of established characters that you see in the Thing - in my example, there would be Sam, Dean, Bobby, Castiel, John, Uriel, Ellen, Jo, etc.
- The players would pick a character each and effectively "be" that character. The DM would post a version of a signup form for each character, so that the players can get a feel for them.
- The last point is a question: if this was the case, would the DM follow an established plot from the storylines in the Thing, or would they make up their own? There would be the problem of fitting in with canon, but then, since every RPer is different, no canon-telling would be the same as the canon anyway.
- I was thinking as a trial, we could go with a Star Trek RPG in this style, since I know we have quite a few fans in RPG. Of course, this is all open to discussion.

5) The "Choose Your Own Path" RPG
- This idea is based off the books I was obsessed with as a child, written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. They're pretty self-explanatory; you play one person, you choose options and then go to the numbered page and find out the result. My idea is a modified version of this.
- There would be one narrator, the DM, as usual.
- They would have an already plotted storyline, and it would be posted in chunks as the story progressed.
- Group of players - given options, they discuss among themselves
and then decide what to do.
- Result of the choice is posted by the DM, then the game continues.
- Scheduled DM pauses - items, battle encounters, etc.
- There would be an items system, so anything you get along the way can be used or sold or whatever - some are cursed or dangerous.
- The battles would be in normal RP format. The DM posts a basic description of the monster, and could give choices as to what to do, if that's what people wanted.

6) So my idea is Adopt-a-Character. If the RPer is unable to post, then someone who is part of a line of experienced RPers can jump in and take over with that abandoned character. They may or may not already be part of the RPG. It's kind of like in the ASB forum, where someone can request for a substitute ref.

7) What if we only had a few roleplays going at once. And I mean, a few. Like three. These roleplays cannot be the same kind of ANYTHING. Not the same genre, style. WTF ever. If you wanna roleplay, you'll roleplay in these.

8) When a roleplay is finished, another will take its place. A single person won't be able to start up a roleplay twice in a row. And if you sign up and don't play it through, you'll be dismissed from the roleplay area like a kid who skips too many play practices.

9) One idea that I think HAS worked, even though I'm loathe to admit it, is the 'invitation-only' RPG. Sure, it is incredibly cliquey, even though I disagree that 'cliques' have anything to do with the failure of RPGs, but it keeps numbers down and people feel more obligated to keep interested and posting in the RPG.

10) Another idea that works, and one that I feel is contributing to the success of my RPG Dragonball: SU is co-GMship. Blade is effectively the 'Dungeonmaster' due to the fact he is in control of the villain and his forces, whereas I, the GM, just sort out plot progression and the other behind-the-scenes aspect of the game. We each have a degree of autonomy that allows us to act if the other one is inactive. The efforts of Master Rudy and Bear as well, in the RPG, the Lounge Topic, and by PM, has also been a massive help.

11) I'd recommend every RPG has a lounge thread and people stay active in that. A lot of people who are inactive in RPGs are active across the board but find it hard to keep up with an RPG. A lounge topic, I feel, maintains a strong link between regular member and active RPer.

12) Limited Numbers. Kind of like an invitation-only, but you allow people to sign-up but stress there is a cap on the number of sign-ups that will be approved.

13) Smaller, 'novel-sized' RPGs. Instead of having one epic, perhaps splitting up an RPG into smaller 'quests' that max out at about 150 posts, allowing people to drop in and out between 'quests' if they feel they can't stay active. These would only hopefully take a few months to complete, but allow people to carry persistent characters across.

14) Kind of like the VS-Seeker in ASB, people would simply list what RPGs they are in. I think some people do lose track of what RPGs they are in, but also it would allow GMs to vet prospective sign-ups: if they see the member signing up is in about 6 other RPGs that he hasn't posted in in a few months, then that might ring alarm bells.

15) Maybe we could implement a feedback system for failed RPGs, where people could say why they didn't want to join a certain one.

16) Perhaps we could play with the ideas that I've seen in the past in PCG. Namely, I think a few RPGers will remember the variations on the Werewolf Game that were pretty popular. I wonder if we could put our own spin on those and turn them into a type of RPG people would want to play. *ponders* I know that Roy attempted to do a version of the Werewolf Game a while ago (Stalking Golden Eyes, I believe it was called?), but as far as I can remember, it didn't take off. We could work more with the idea that people sign up and fill set roles - like the party game Murder in the Dark, have people heard of that? One person is chosen secretly to be the "murderer," and when the light goes off, they "murder" one of the other players by touching them. This is similar to how the Werewolf Game works, but I think we could combine these ideas to make something different.

17) Anyway, I wont go into much detail about the plot, but it's basically happening during a war. Now, the RPG will be split into two topics, one focusing on characters on each side of the war. This would be two storylines going on simultaneously, with events from one affecting the other. Of course, the main problem is working out what would happen if both groups met and interacted. Like I said though, I'm still planning it.
Well, the RPG would have two scenarios, taking place in the same world at the same time. Major events one party causes could affect the other and so forth. It's like two parts to one big story. I'm still not sure what would happen if the two parties met. I think two topics for it is pushing it, let alone a third one for battles. I would probably try to keep the two parties separated from each other, at least until I can think of something.

18) This really in on topic, exactly, but--Can we do something about the RPG fanart section, please? I always wanna post there, but no one ever goes. Can we boost buzzing there? Maybe get rid of the no double posting no matter what rule. I deleted my last post there to make way for another that never came :B But I have tons of art from RPGs and character pictures. It's almost like we need another sister forum for it, instead of just a loose thread?

19) Also I would like to throw out a idea of my own. Possibly make a RPG Best of the Best, or what ever you wish to call them. Where we look over some of the past RPGs as far as we can go and determine which ones are the real quality ones of the RPG Forum, which ones truly represent the best in creativity, and have a sticky topic with links to them, or maybe have a section on the main site for it. It could help promote the forum, as well as giving us something to point to and show off as the cream of the crop of the RPG forum.

[Houndoom_Lover]

I'm woed on how empty this section is. Anyway, throwing my two bits in. Much like the useful free software section in the help section, I think the RPG section should have a catalog of sorts of active role-playing sites.

By affiliating with other RP sites, we can get more people to come for the purpose of roleplaying!

[Crystal Tears]

o.o You think that will bring people here? (if anything it will give the rest of us something to do while we wait for someone to post here lol)

I wouldn't have any sites to contribute. XD I don't venture far from TPM for my RPing needs.

[Houndoom_Lover]

Oh, I know it would bring people here. They'd check it out, at least, and three or four might stick. Little banner clicky things on other forums is how I find most of the places I RP at, so I figured, 'cause TPM has banners and clickers, we'd make use of them and spread them around.

(And yeah :B It be a good way to spend waiting time)

I have a few. Not as many as I use to have. They keep aspolding on me, but I know of at least two. At leeeast. I haven't be RP finishing in a while.

[Weasel Overlord]

Well, tbh I don't see any problem with trying it out. I mean, if we start to lose people then yeah, we'll be taking it down, but hell, I don't see how it can hurt at this point. And if HL's right, we might get a few people out of it.

Anyone know of any other sites? I really don't, heh. Stick em in here and we'll get a list together. Might as well put in ones that aren't active atm as well, cos as we all know, we go through periods of inactivity and then activity again, so there's no reason to assume other places don't as well.

re: the ideas list in the first post - I think we should look at them all one by one and decide, collectively, whether they're feasible. We could give a trial period to the ones we think might work and see where we go from there. How does that sound?

[Houndoom_Lover]

Here is what I can contribute for the time being

http://themushroomkingdom.proboards.com/index.cgi

I have moar, I'll have to dig through my faves and history and find them. I'll ask the people of this site if they're willing to make an affiliations list. I'm sure they would. They're nice people.

OOOh, I like that! What's the first thing on the list? Game rules and stats! :3 I'd love to give that a try. I tried before, but it just wasn't right for the time, I guess. But I'm willing to give it another go-go-go. What would people be interested in roleplaying that way? I myself love battle stats and stuff, I could do anything in them.

Once I've done like that were Naruto and Shaman King from eons ago. Eeeeoooons.

[Crystal Tears]

Topic One: New Type(s): "How about looking into new kinds of RPGs here? More or less every game here is 'fill out a form', 'post occasional updates to progress the story', 'no real rules apart from no-godmodding'. I'd be interested in seeing some games with a rudimentary combat system and stats, how to implement it well in a forum setting is the problem though."

I'll all up for it. I think the only issue is if it gets far to technical and complicated. Simplicity is good at the beginning, introduce more complicated and intricate details later, once we work out the kinks (As it's all well being rewarded with spells/abilities in an RPG, but with no system to really use them in, they're a moot point).

Couldn't we do all sorts? o.o As long as a basic system was worked out, you could apply it too all RPGs who want a Stats/Battle System integrated, could we not? Obviously some would be easier then others I imagine, but I don't think there'd be a limit to which RPG idea (Naruto, Wheel of Time, Pokemon, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, etc) could use the system if they so choose.

[Weasel Overlord]

I reckon that for these new RPG ideas, we could set up a series of much shorter RPs, just to test the ideas out, and to work out the kinks. Like RPG betas, if you will. We could give them a set amount of posts (this idea was also covered in idea 13, so we could cross that off the list as well) and once they're done, we can evaluate how well we think it worked and whether it'd be viable to work on a larger scale.

The reason I think we should do test runs is because a) there's less committing to a long-term idea that might not run to completion, b) we can iron out the kinks as we go, and c) it's a bit less formal than a full-length RPG, if that makes sense.

Sie, I like your idea of making a basic system and being able to apply it to any RPG if you want to. We could make a topic containing all the different varieties and rulesets, that way there was an easy reference point.

So if we're doing stats, we'd first need to decide on what we thought were the most basic ones, to start off with. Say if we went for the general FF set (as an example, and this is only cos I know them the best); Defence, Attack, Magic Attack, Magic Defence, Luck, Speed, Evasion, Accuracy. And then of course there's your HP and MP.

Now, I've been using HP and a variation of MP (ammunition) in my Resident Evil RPG and it's working quite well. Monsters do a set amount of damage, which can be reduced by a set amount depending on how much body armour you're wearing (or your Defence).

I reckon that we could do a few different things; when you sign up, you're given a set of stat numbers determined by a dice (like in D&D), and those determine how good your character is. Or perhaps they could be set by the DM at the beginning of the RPG depending on what your character is like. So if for example you wanted to be a White Mage, you'd be stepping into a stat-set that's already been decided on.

Right. I'm gonna stop rambling now! Other people feel free to join in. My ideas are far from the only things we can do.

[Asilynne]

Why dont we try this again? http://www.pokemasters.net/forums/ar...p/t-15618.html

[ChobiChibi]

As fun as that would be, I think we need to concentrate on the RPGs themselves for now ^^;

Once I have a constructive, bright idea then I will share it... XD

[Asilynne]

Ok...even though that might spark some sort of life -.-()

Well I have another idea, how about gathering as many roleplayers as are willing, and all working together to craft the plot of an rpg which we will then all join and roleplay in? That way we all have a vested interest in it having co created it, and we could all WORK TOGETHER to discuss plot twists and fun stuff like that. I think itll be fun and would make for an interesting rpg with many different viewpoints working on its creation.

[Blademaster]

So basically the same thing we've been doing, except with even more whining because that many more people have a say in what happens, when, and why.

I think it's time we faced the cold hard truth: Everything associated with writing on this site is dead. Regular RPG is dead. ASBRPG is dead. Fanfic is dead. Misc. and ASB are the two deflating swimmies keeping this whole forum afloat.

You can keep trying if you want. I won't stop you. But the simple fact is that the third-newest RPG post here, ISSTBU, is from nearly 2 months ago. The Lounge has been empty for another month. Why, this very TOPIC has been dead since before summer.

This place is a dead horse and there's simply no more marrow left to beat out of its bones. I'm sorry, but I think that it's time to turn off all the lights and go home. This place is the Terry Schiavo of TPM subforums; sooner or later, the plug has to be pulled.

[ChobiChibi]

I'm sorry, Asi, but I just can't see the point in starting something new like that until the old things work again. I mean, you've pretty much abandoned your own RPG, how likely are you to carry a new RPG through?

"Hypocrite!" I hear you say. "You've also not posted in your own RPG!"

Why? Because I've pretty much lost most of my players. Yes, Sam would post, maybe Sie, but that's about it... Such an incentive.

Why did I post in FFDD? Because I knew others would too. Simple as that.

Blade I honestly don't know how you can claim to know what's right for RPG when you haven't posted here in probably a year or so? This could seem bitter, but y'know, shutting something down that has such a sentimental value to so many people... Seems... I can't find the right words. But you know what I mean. It just doesn't go down well.

And I know you don't mean delete it off the face of the forums. And I completely agree that Misc, ASB and Mt Moon pretty much keep this place alive. And that the creative side of the forum is pretty much dead. But that doesn't mean no one wants to keep hold of it.

Don't get me wrong, guys. I'm not saying I'm some kind of RPG Saint and I do everything right and I post all the time and stuff. I just don't see how we can run before we can walk, that's all.

[classy_cat18]

Blade, I think the reason why Fanfic and RPG have lost so many of its members is simply because they were ambitious and moved onto bigger things. And this is why we must keep them open; to receive new blood as they wander in. In fact, I like #19 because of that reason. If we sticky our best RPGs, it might help attract more attention.

And now I need to post in FFDD.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

Now that I have my own internet, I could join RPG as well. So if there's a new RPG that has something that interests me, I'll be game perhaps. After some experience as a player, I could even start my own one. I'd gladly help to revive this forum.

[Blademaster]

Blade I honestly don't know how you can claim to know what's right for RPG when you haven't posted here in probably a year or so?

I didn't post what I posted out of anger, but a similar sadness to yours. I may not be an RPG vet like some of you guys are, but I do have some fond memories here as well. It just pains me a bit to see this place just keep being dragged along for no real reason... You said it best yourself:

"Hypocrite!" I hear you say. "You've also not posted in your own RPG!"

Why? Because I've pretty much lost most of my players. Yes, Sam Rudy would post, maybe Sie Heald, but that's about it... Such an incentive.

If we sticky our best RPGs, it might help attract more attention.

Well... I guess it couldn't hurt.

[Asilynne]

How can you say Ive abandoned my own rpg when I posted in it not more than a week ago? Its far from abandoned, Im just hoping now for some of the key characters Ive tagged in my 2 most recent posts (Wynth, Arren and those characters currently with them, ie Saril) to post in them as well. If they dont in a reasonable amount of time, then I will have to again. People not posting in my rpg or any rpg I care about has never stopped me and I doubt it will ever stop me because I dont give up very easily.

As for getting the old stuff to work before introducing new things, maybe they arent working anymore because theyre, you know, OLD. Maybe RPG needs something fresh in it besides the same old same old. Refusing to try out new things because the old stuff isnt working is just silly and will only result in stagnation. Blade is right, and he was right before in the original council rooms, his wording was absolutely abrasive but he is right in that we need new fresh things or else this place will just keep getting worse.

I know Ive been gone for a few months but thats because my boyfriend had just moved in and I hadnt seen him in 6 months before that so of course I wouldnt even be thinking about the internet. But now we'd both like to get back into roleplaying, and since no one had posted in these council rooms for months I figured why not spark a little bit of life by making a suggestion. I wasn't aware it would be instantly shot down without even so much as a moments consideration. Perhaps we shouldn't bother having a council room when no ones ideas will be good enough, and the only acceptable idea is to keep making the same sorts of RPGs we have for years.

[Master Rudy]

I'm with Bran and Blade here.....seems one of them tries to toss something out and then someone just tries to shoot it down. And since it seems to be the trend in the topic to point out people aren't posting let me go ahead and say it's hard to post in an RPG when YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE POSTING IN IT! :-/

Case in point: Heald and Blade's DB RPG. I'm still very much interested in it yet it seems all attempts to try and get something going stall. I'm willing to give it one last shot provided Heald/Blade are and there's at least one or two other people willing to join in as well (after all it's not much fun if that RPG becomes "Scott Pilgrim Shitagi Summers vs. the World")

Another case in point: My own Star Trek RPG. To this day I'm still trying to figure out what it was that kept people from trying it. Complex plot? The fact that it was my first RPG that I was doing on my own? The fact that it was Trek? Possible inclusion of established characters? Seriously when was the last time you saw a Star Trek RPG on these boards if at all? I've seen Star Wars a few times but NEVER Trek. Pretty sad that a good deal of you say you want something new and then ignore the one new thing that someone tried :-/

Anyway I'm also open to new ideas. Dragon Ball has always been a popular one over the years and I do kinda like the stat based system ideas. Now I know what some of you may think.....

"Oh crap! Power levels in a Dragon Ball RPG. This never works out!"

When I say stats perhaps just a basic system? Keep the story based posts that RPG's on this board are known for but adapt the idea Weasel had for her RE RPG by including Health, Stamina, Ki and the like. Run out of Ki and you can't use energy based attacks/have weakened flight ability. Run out of Stamina and you are knocked out. Run out of HP? That should be obvious but since it's DB it's more or less a slap on the wrist

The only problem with stat based systems however is I feel the GM has to play a role outside the main story (after all if the GM has a main character included in the action it may feel like it's unfair/god modding)

Plenty of us are filled with ideas....it's just a matter of actually getting together and trying to come up with something. It also helps when everyone else isn't shooting anything down. After all at this point I feel a crazy idea is better than nothing

[classy_cat18]

The only problem with stat based systems however is I feel the GM has to play a role outside the main story (after all if the GM has a main character included in the action it may feel like it's unfair/god modding)

The GM can appoint someone reliable to handle the stats while the GM himself/herself keeps in charge of the storyline.

[Blademaster]

Thanks for backing me up, guys., but...

absolutely abrasive

Hey, if you want the horse to move, you gotta kick it with the metal spinny spikes.

[Master Rudy]

Hey, if you want the horse to move, you gotta kick it with the metal spinny spikes.

Or you can shoot it
*pokes the dead horse with a stick and then proceeds to beat it*
Ok......maybe I didn't think about this one.......

[ChobiChibi]

Sorry, Asi, I really didn't see your last post in LI. I'll go read it now.

I don't see how your idea has been "shot down", since I seem to be the only one that doesn't agree with you... And I wasn't outright refusing to try anything new, I just can't see how we could run a contest at the moment with so few active RPers... Hell, I'll give it a shot if people want to. How many people, honestly, would want to do a character contest?

[Asilynne]

Its ok Bex <3 I know you weren't being mean for the hell of it, Im just a bit sensitive lately with idea sharing since I have all these ideas at work for how to do things better or make more money for the shelter through fundraising ideas we've never tried before and I either get ignored or told a lot of bullshit reasons why it will never work, because a lot of people there are too focused on workplace politics to listen to anyone else x.x So thats why it was kinda like one more slap this time.

The way I look at it is its like all of us in rpg are the last survivors of a disaster, and before the disaster we all had our friends and some of us were even enemies. But if we all want to survive we will have to put aside our differences, swallow our pride, and work together for our common goal, this being of course keeping rpg alive. I think if all of us can get together behind a project, one which everyone can add something to, then we can make it happen. And why stop with one? We can do this with as many different ideas as we can handle. Even if we dont have a lot of people, more people doesn't necissarily equate to activity.

And also, everyone needs to wipe away the old way of thinking. When someone suggests or does something, dont think of it as political maneuvaring, that I think is one bad result of everyone growing up. Things dont look as simple anymore, even if they are. This is a general statement for all of rpg and not meant as a reason for flaming, because Ive also been guilty in the past of thinking someone had ulterior motives. We need to not think like that anymore, and just ban ourselves together.

So yeah, sorry to Bex for getting all butthurt lol And yay for wanting to try!

[Weasel Overlord]

I guess here is as good a place as any to announce my return for today we finally are connected to the interwebs in my house! Zomfg!

Anyway, I only have one thing to say, and it's more of a general pointing motion towards that massive list of ideas we all came up with before (in the first post). No-one fancy trying/discussing any of those?

I've already tried the Choose Your Path style, mixed in with basic stats (health, weapon strength etc.) and I found it worked really well. I tweaked the system as I went along to make improvements - that sort of system really does work best when the DM isn't actually playing a character. Like you said, Rudy, you can't be sure whether they're skewing the results or not.