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Posts: 129
Free-Form RPG Discussion Thread
I'm blocked on both of my writing projects and finding myself spending far too much of my time playing Starcraft instead of writing. Also, given the general unliveliness of this forum following the last two crashes (except for Neoplatonic--damn man, you rock!), it'd be nice to have something in here people might actually want to check on a daily basis.
The "RPG" has been tried on many occasions here, with varied results. I have witnessed two common outcomes to these endeavors. One is that two or more players will have a heated disagreement and fracture the party. The other is that time or interest begins to wane for the GM. Players hang on for a time, hopeful, but the game never recovers its momentum.
I propose something simpler, based upon my experiences at another online community. There, it was called "talking in character", the main divergence from classic RPGs being that there is no such thing as a game master and that the emphasis is even more on style and character interaction than forum RPGs. This has elements of a "round robin" story, but writers are generally limited to posting the actions only of characters they create.
Writers are not restricted to posting a single character and can even have basically adversarial characters. This works because other writers get to interact and intervene with those characters, becoming threads in a greater overall story. This also tends to be self-limiting, because a writer with too many characters will begin to tire of updating them.
There are a few rules to keep in mind:
Rule #1 Death of a character can only come with the consent of the controlling player.
This is not a contest of skill. Characters can and will die (and might be resurrected), but only if both attacker and victim have agreed upon it. This can be tacit, or planned out via PM. Good writers will use a character's death to add drama and advance the plot. If you aren't comfortable with that, don't bother posting. Boot up Diablo II instead.
Rule #2 You cannot control the actions of another player's character.
There are exceptions to this, but as for the rule on death, consent must be given. I've known players to loan their character to another writer for a time, or submit to mind-control.
Rule #3 Your writing must be intelligible and formatted.
No l33t speak. A few errors are to be expected, but use spell-check if people start to complain. Hit Enter twice to indicate paragraph breaks.
Rule #4 Writing compentency determines your character's allowable power and influence on the world.
The last point is a little harder to define. Basically it amounts to the fact that experienced writers are better suited for guiding plotlines. If you are a mediocre writer, this is your chance to learn, but kindly keep to the sidelines where the major story arcs are concerned. Don't bull in and screw up someone else's meticulous work with a few lines of text. You will be rebuffed and/or ignored.
Rule #5 NPCs are fair game--within reason.
An NPC is a character created but not specifically controlled by a player/writer. One common NPC type is a guard or sentry. Another is a military force under the command of a single player character. NPCs can be killed off singly with virtual impunity, in small groups if warranted, in the hundreds or thousands if the originating player is in agreement.
I know it sounds a little strange and unmanageable, but it worked, and it was often a joy to behold what would come of the collected effort of dozens of authors. Battles were fought. Characters lived and died. Nations fell. It got me writing at a time when I thought I had no ideas worthy of sharing. My screen name, by the way, was one of my characters, a powerful water elementalist whose growth was frozen at the age of twelve by a curse.
In any case, I thought it might be fun to give it a try here. There would be no signups, but I'd want a few people to agree on a setting and a premise. It doesn't have to be epic. It doesn't even have to be Diablo-related. Literally anything will do.
If no one likes the idea, no big deal. I'm sure I'll be writing again in a few days.
Sounds fantastic. Lets get the ball rolling immediately so it doesn't lose momentum. The setting is a standard world in the medieval time period. All is fair game except time-travel to other eras/anything to do with space. If there is consensus among the players that a writer should cease to be a part of the collective then it will be so. Start writing immediately and post it in this thread. Talk on aim as well. Oh yeah and no IC/OOC bullshlt. If you can't tell the difference from context and tone you don't belong here anyways. Try to keep chatter in this thread to a minimum, though.
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Posts: 129
There's something else I just remembered. We should decide whether we prefer first person or third person and present tense or past tense. I prefer third person past tense.
There's something else I just remembered. We should decide whether we prefer first person or third person and present tense or past tense. I prefer third person past tense.
I second that. Third person past tense is somewhat of a standard in fantasy writing, from what I've seen in most books. That, and I find it to be much easier to write than the first person present. It allows a much better flow to the story and keeps one from getting muttled up trying to decide how to bounce around time. There's present, past and future in the present tense, whereas the past deals mainly in the past (meaning, in this case, the present would be past and the past would also be past...).
Who else thinks third person past tense is the way to go?
Sounds like a great idea. I was thinking that this was sort of like a RPG, until I read the character tamrend, the "powerful water elementalist whose growth was frozen at the age of twelve by a curse." Then I saw the potential for tons of characters and storylines and read the thread again. Sounds good. Good luck.
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Posts: 129
Alright, someone else cast a vote via chat for first person. I suppose either one is fine. Just make it clear which character it is if you're writing first person. Maybe put the name at the top of the post, like a title.
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