Post by Dane on Mar 15, 2011 3:25:25 GMT -5
Concept
Just out of curiosity, is anyone down for a low-key classic fantasy RPG?
Think LOTR-inspired sort of thing but no crazy strict rules. By 'inspired' I would consider any fantasy game inspired in one way or another by LOTR. Dragon Age, Dungeons and Dragons and Elder Scrolls to all by inspired by LOTR, even if they all have their own take. Maybe we should have our own take? We have plenty of intelligent and clever people here, so if this kind of thing interests you we could make it swell. I'd like to give you guys as much creative freedom but at the same time I want everyone to be on the same page, have it easy to pick up for all of us and to understand each other.
Things I want:
- Just want to gauge interest. If theres enough I might write up a background story/setting for us to use as a guide. No strict time frames here.
- Solid, honest and reasonable back-stories for the characters will make everything easier. The more far-fetched your character, the more obtuse everyone will find interacting with you.
- Free flowing story telling. I'd basically write the background and you guys work within that world. But I'm not going to prescribe every fight you ever have with NPCs nor am I going to describe every room you're in down to how shiny the doorknobs are. I'm not going to be a DnD Game Master and have you do everything I tell you to. Writing a story together isn't like that.
- A small group to form a party and a few independent characters who may team up with or work against the main group. By virtue of this fact, most characters should be hero/anti-hero in nature.
- A simple, positive environment. So many RPGs honestly become shit-fights because people can't agree on the direction or people get confused. Worst of all people with enormously powerful characters come in and obliterate an entire team's enemies in one post. That isn't fair or fun for the others involved in the story. However, since all fantasy characters start off with limited skills and equipment that shouldn't be a problem.
Things I don't want:
- Improbable characters. Like an Orcish poet who serenades gentle folk at the Inn. Or someone with 21st century tech who lives in a bungaloo up a tree in Middle-Earth somewhere. It's just confusing and hard to deal with for everyone else.
- Blatant rip-offs. Established archetypes are established for a reason. And that's a good thing. There are plenty of race/class/background combinations that make fantastic sense. But try not to directly clone Legolas/Drizzt.
- To have to open Microsoft Calculator to figure out how fucking powerful you all are. Dungeons and Dragons is built on a premise of statistics, numbers and calculations to decide how actions work and to keep a person from becoming omnipotent. If we're all reasonable about character development we honestly won't need that. Just keep in mind your character is a mere mortal and they have limits. Everyone is good at certain things and feel free to have well established strengths like tracking or a certain field of magic but just remember the weaker your character is, the easier they are to make believable. If you become god-like then the story loses it's meaning.
Special Note: Although people are considerably more touchy when making a personal character, I must insist on invoking the same rights I do when making a scenario; if I don't think your character or your actions fit within the constraints of the rpg, I reserve the right to tell you to do it over again. I don't ever want this to happen but it's just so if someone does decide to come up with an omnipotent banana for a character I can say no to preserve the fun for others.
The short of it:
If that all sounds like your cup of tea, throw down a brief description of your character or start a discussion about what you're interested in for a fantasy rpg. Ultimately, like I said I'm not here to GM on a message board and tell you all what to do. This will be whatever we make it, but that'll be done together.
Just out of curiosity, is anyone down for a low-key classic fantasy RPG?
Think LOTR-inspired sort of thing but no crazy strict rules. By 'inspired' I would consider any fantasy game inspired in one way or another by LOTR. Dragon Age, Dungeons and Dragons and Elder Scrolls to all by inspired by LOTR, even if they all have their own take. Maybe we should have our own take? We have plenty of intelligent and clever people here, so if this kind of thing interests you we could make it swell. I'd like to give you guys as much creative freedom but at the same time I want everyone to be on the same page, have it easy to pick up for all of us and to understand each other.
Things I want:
- Just want to gauge interest. If theres enough I might write up a background story/setting for us to use as a guide. No strict time frames here.
- Solid, honest and reasonable back-stories for the characters will make everything easier. The more far-fetched your character, the more obtuse everyone will find interacting with you.
- Free flowing story telling. I'd basically write the background and you guys work within that world. But I'm not going to prescribe every fight you ever have with NPCs nor am I going to describe every room you're in down to how shiny the doorknobs are. I'm not going to be a DnD Game Master and have you do everything I tell you to. Writing a story together isn't like that.
- A small group to form a party and a few independent characters who may team up with or work against the main group. By virtue of this fact, most characters should be hero/anti-hero in nature.
- A simple, positive environment. So many RPGs honestly become shit-fights because people can't agree on the direction or people get confused. Worst of all people with enormously powerful characters come in and obliterate an entire team's enemies in one post. That isn't fair or fun for the others involved in the story. However, since all fantasy characters start off with limited skills and equipment that shouldn't be a problem.
Things I don't want:
- Improbable characters. Like an Orcish poet who serenades gentle folk at the Inn. Or someone with 21st century tech who lives in a bungaloo up a tree in Middle-Earth somewhere. It's just confusing and hard to deal with for everyone else.
- Blatant rip-offs. Established archetypes are established for a reason. And that's a good thing. There are plenty of race/class/background combinations that make fantastic sense. But try not to directly clone Legolas/Drizzt.
- To have to open Microsoft Calculator to figure out how fucking powerful you all are. Dungeons and Dragons is built on a premise of statistics, numbers and calculations to decide how actions work and to keep a person from becoming omnipotent. If we're all reasonable about character development we honestly won't need that. Just keep in mind your character is a mere mortal and they have limits. Everyone is good at certain things and feel free to have well established strengths like tracking or a certain field of magic but just remember the weaker your character is, the easier they are to make believable. If you become god-like then the story loses it's meaning.
Special Note: Although people are considerably more touchy when making a personal character, I must insist on invoking the same rights I do when making a scenario; if I don't think your character or your actions fit within the constraints of the rpg, I reserve the right to tell you to do it over again. I don't ever want this to happen but it's just so if someone does decide to come up with an omnipotent banana for a character I can say no to preserve the fun for others.
The short of it:
If that all sounds like your cup of tea, throw down a brief description of your character or start a discussion about what you're interested in for a fantasy rpg. Ultimately, like I said I'm not here to GM on a message board and tell you all what to do. This will be whatever we make it, but that'll be done together.
