The Official RPG Planning Topic

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

@ Toa of Virtues;What do you mean by 'reprogrammed'? Creatures in the Matoran Universe have an organic brain. You can't just reprogram them. Not to mention the fact that Mata-Nui was trying to give those within free will so they could perform their jobs as the Great Beings intended, not as mindless drones. And Mata-Nui wasn't ignorant; if you read the book Time Trap, my favorite in the series (and also the authors, as it happens), it is revealed by Karzahni (the plant) that the Great Spirit altered the stars above so that Makuta would accidentaly cause the Toa Metru to fulfill their destiny so everything would work out and the Brotherhood could be defeated.They tried retconning stuff like that later by making it seem like Mata-Nui was ignorant to what was happening inside, but as far as I'm concered TLG rushing the last years of Bionicle along and giving it an ending meant to squeeze money out instead of what would have worked has rendered anything contradicting that invalid.That aside. These Kurek aren't that powerful the way you're descibing them. Without having their own elemnetal powers, a single Toa could devastate waves of them on their own, and a team of them could turn back a whole army. I dread seeing what would happen if they tried attacking Zakaz - they'd be ripped to shreds by the Skakdi in seconds! Vortixx would probably capture one, rip them apart, and inspect them for weakpoints, then design a weapon able to target that and kill them instantly.You don't describe anything like what they look like either.Finally, the masks. Lots of people come up with at least custom mask during their course of RP'ing on the forum, or in comics, or comedies. I've got the Mask of Plastic Creation to my name (awfully overpowered one, too, but that's off subject). The first one, the mask of thought, is also incredibly unbalanced and powerful, and could be renamed with ease the Mask of Autododging without any debate.Overall, the idea at its core isn't flawed; the way that it's described, however, doesn't work properly.@ Toa of Smooth Jazz;How many of you 'Toa of's are there? Must be breeding... pick a name, people.Oh, right, reviewing.The introduction isn't particularly well executed first person. I can tell it's attempting to give a sense of foreboding, but it doesn't really give much. There's nothing particularly shocking or amazing about it. Tentacles bursting out of his chest is always better. So is the narrator dying - much more exciting! Of course, I've been playing Deadspace, so you might just want to ignore me about that stuff.The music is the scariest part, though, so it's hard to do it with writing. Bleggh.... music. And sudden sounds.Okay, let's get this straight. You've been playing Strike from the Shadows and got an idea. Probably read the guy talking about zombies above, and might have noted my disdain about it. Let me tell you something - Metru-Nui was only attacked by Dark Hunters because The Shadowed One wanted a base at the capital of all civilization in the Matoran Universe, and was refused by Dume. Before more Toa were called, it looked like it would be an easy win. When a Toa army came, stuff got messy, but they were already in too deep to safely pull their men out and not have it be for nothing. The Shadowed One probably didn't want to risk looking weak, either.But let me tell you something. As soon as an army of undead monsters that can turn your men into foul creatures start spreading out across the city, it's no longer worth having. Especially if the damage is bad as you're describing it. The situation you've described is completely pointless.Also, with stubborn Dume dead, Lhikan would roll a Wisdom check and find out that, guess what? The city is safer with the zombies gone with them. The Toa and Dark Hunters would stop fighting and work together, if anything, before resuming conflict - if they did that at all!Ta-Metru... this is the one industrial location in the city. There's no way you would let this fall into disaray the way described. Ga-Metru... why does the fighting always take place in Ga-Metru? It's like an unstated law of RPGs. Le-Metru... whatever. Onu-Metru... why is it a wasteland? It's just the major entrance to the archives and the housing of Onu-Matoran. Po-Metru... wait, I thought the Coliseum was described as the safest place in the city? Hang on, it doesn't even get a description here. And why is it the Toa base? Ko-Metru.... I recommend using the color grey.The idea of the two factions continuing their fight in the face of mutually assured destruction is ridiculous. Dark Hunters love their children too, (while I don't believe children exist in the Matoran Universe, that reference is one you had best understand, lest your face be one in need of slapping) and I doubt that anyone on either sides leadership is so ridiculously stupid they would turn down a ceasfire. If the Dark Hunters were still there at all.How was The Shadowed One killed? He never left the Dark Hunter base on Odina. He had no reason to - the entire concept that he would leave the safest place he can go to the most dangerous is ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that the Toa Code prevents you from killing anyone - quoting Vakama whilst adressing Makuta here, "Toa aren't killers - if we were, we would have started with you."Also, a minor clerical error - Lariska was the violent and hyperactive one. It was The Shadowed One who was the smart, cunning, super-smart planner.Hey look, the color grey. On zombies. Which I don't actually understand. What you could be doing here is trying to explain what powers, if any, they have. Because otherwise, I see no reason not to just release a solid stream of Toa fire and incinerate an entire legion of them with one powerful strike. Heck, I see no reasons for the epidemic to have spread. Just find a Boxor, Exo-Toa, or an equivalent (if they could come up with the Boxor on Mata-Nui, I can't imagine what machines they could pull up in Metru-Nui) and strap a bunch of Matoran in. End of story.So again, the idea isn't flawed (though I personally find zombie stories overrated and ridiculous in about 90% of cases, despite owning my own Zombie Survival Handbook and flashcards) but the execution needs a lot of work.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[The Swimming Beard]

@ Toa of Smooth Jazz;How many of you 'Toa of's are there? Must be breeding... pick a name, people.Oh, right, reviewing.The introduction isn't particularly well executed first person. I can tell it's attempting to give a sense of foreboding, but it doesn't really give much. There's nothing particularly shocking or amazing about it. Tentacles bursting out of his chest is always better. So is the narrator dying - much more exciting! Of course, I've been playing Deadspace, so you might just want to ignore me about that stuff.The music is the scariest part, though, so it's hard to do it with writing. Bleggh.... music. And sudden sounds.Okay, let's get this straight. You've been playing Strike from the Shadows and got an idea. Probably read the guy talking about zombies above, and might have noted my disdain about it. Let me tell you something - Metru-Nui was only attacked by Dark Hunters because The Shadowed One wanted a base at the capital of all civilization in the Matoran Universe, and was refused by Dume. Before more Toa were called, it looked like it would be an easy win. When a Toa army came, stuff got messy, but they were already in too deep to safely pull their men out and not have it be for nothing. The Shadowed One probably didn't want to risk looking weak, either.But let me tell you something. As soon as an army of undead monsters that can turn your men into foul creatures start spreading out across the city, it's no longer worth having. Especially if the damage is bad as you're describing it. The situation you've described is completely pointless.Also, with stubborn Dume dead, Lhikan would roll a Wisdom check and find out that, guess what? The city is safer with the zombies gone with them. The Toa and Dark Hunters would stop fighting and work together, if anything, before resuming conflict - if they did that at all!Ta-Metru... this is the one industrial location in the city. There's no way you would let this fall into disaray the way described. Ga-Metru... why does the fighting always take place in Ga-Metru? It's like an unstated law of RPGs. Le-Metru... whatever. Onu-Metru... why is it a wasteland? It's just the major entrance to the archives and the housing of Onu-Matoran. Po-Metru... wait, I thought the Coliseum was described as the safest place in the city? Hang on, it doesn't even get a description here. And why is it the Toa base? Ko-Metru.... I recommend using the color grey.The idea of the two factions continuing their fight in the face of mutually assured destruction is ridiculous. Dark Hunters love their children too, (while I don't believe children exist in the Matoran Universe, that reference is one you had best understand, lest your face be one in need of slapping) and I doubt that anyone on either sides leadership is so ridiculously stupid they would turn down a ceasfire. If the Dark Hunters were still there at all.How was The Shadowed One killed? He never left the Dark Hunter base on Odina. He had no reason to - the entire concept that he would leave the safest place he can go to the most dangerous is ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that the Toa Code prevents you from killing anyone - quoting Vakama whilst adressing Makuta here, "Toa aren't killers - if we were, we would have started with you."Also, a minor clerical error - Lariska was the violent and hyperactive one. It was The Shadowed One who was the smart, cunning, super-smart planner.Hey look, the color grey. On zombies. Which I don't actually understand. What you could be doing here is trying to explain what powers, if any, they have. Because otherwise, I see no reason not to just release a solid stream of Toa fire and incinerate an entire legion of them with one powerful strike. Heck, I see no reasons for the epidemic to have spread. Just find a Boxor, Exo-Toa, or an equivalent (if they could come up with the Boxor on Mata-Nui, I can't imagine what machines they could pull up in Metru-Nui) and strap a bunch of Matoran in. End of story.So again, the idea isn't flawed (though I personally find zombie stories overrated and ridiculous in about 90% of cases, despite owning my own Zombie Survival Handbook and flashcards) but the execution needs a lot of work.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

Yes, I understand it needs work. I'm going to rewrite it soon and try to fix some of the areas you pointed out. Also, I was planning the theme before I saw the posts above me. Edited July 12, 2012 by Toa of Smooth Jazz

[Toa Of Virtues]

@ Toa of Virtues;What do you mean by 'reprogrammed'? Creatures in the Matoran Universe have an organic brain. You can't just reprogram them. Not to mention the fact that Mata-Nui was trying to give those within free will so they could perform their jobs as the Great Beings intended, not as mindless drones. And Mata-Nui wasn't ignorant; if you read the book Time Trap, my favorite in the series (and also the authors, as it happens), it is revealed by Karzahni (the plant) that the Great Spirit altered the stars above so that Makuta would accidentaly cause the Toa Metru to fulfill their destiny so everything would work out and the Brotherhood could be defeated.They tried retconning stuff like that later by making it seem like Mata-Nui was ignorant to what was happening inside, but as far as I'm concered TLG rushing the last years of Bionicle along and giving it an ending meant to squeeze money out instead of what would have worked has rendered anything contradicting that invalid.That aside. These Kurek aren't that powerful the way you're descibing them. Without having their own elemnetal powers, a single Toa could devastate waves of them on their own, and a team of them could turn back a whole army. I dread seeing what would happen if they tried attacking Zakaz - they'd be ripped to shreds by the Skakdi in seconds! Vortixx would probably capture one, rip them apart, and inspect them for weakpoints, then design a weapon able to target that and kill them instantly.You don't describe anything like what they look like either.Finally, the masks. Lots of people come up with at least custom mask during their course of RP'ing on the forum, or in comics, or comedies. I've got the Mask of Plastic Creation to my name (awfully overpowered one, too, but that's off subject). The first one, the mask of thought, is also incredibly unbalanced and powerful, and could be renamed with ease the Mask of Autododging without any debate.Overall, the idea at its core isn't flawed; the way that it's described, however, doesn't work properly.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

Alright, seems like I got work to do. And I guess Mata Nui was not ignoant, but just provided inatentions for the Makuta to plot, as said in the Mata Nui Saga. I agree that Kurek need more power, but I don't want to give them too much power so it's unfair in the game. Maybe I'll give them element controll, and let them keep the two masks. Should be fair, considering everyone else hates them. I'll have to work on what they do to the matoran, maybe mental blasts like the Vahi used.

[Samus Aran-Bounty Hunter]

So, I finally realized that Realms is probably never gonna work out. Oh well. And then... this idea hit me. To put it basically...On Spherus Magna, after Mata Nui healed it, explorers found a huge tree. They went ahead and made a 'tree-house' city in the branches of this tree, and are all 'nature conseravtive' and stuff like that. Nearby, others make a huge tower made of technology, and become very advanced. And then, the tower tries to use the tree as more space. War breaks out. And now we have Nature vs. Technology. Thoughts? Should I flush it out more?Zakaro

Edited July 21, 2012 by A Skyblasted Zakaro

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

So, I finally realized that Realms is probably never gonna work out. Oh well. And then... this idea hit me. To put it basically...On Spherus Magna, after Mata Nui healed it, explorers found a huge tree. They went ahead and made a 'tree-house' city in the branches of this tree, and are all 'nature conseravtive' and stuff like that. Nearby, others make a huge tower made of technology, and become very advanced. And then, the tower tries to use the tree as more space. War breaks out. And now we have Nature vs. Technology. Thoughts? Should I flush it out more?Zakaro

Have you been watching Avatar? I hate Avatar. The story is almost as bad as 2012.Jokes aside, any idea (except 2012) is worth fleshing out. Even Twilight was worth fleshing out, and can serve as a perfect example as how you can take the idea of vampires and screwing it up. So sure, put some work and see what pops out.Just try to give it a meaning that fits into the whole idea of Bionicle. The set up could be used by pretty much anything. Like Avatar, only without the second tower.(And I think you mean Hippies vs. Advancement)-Toa Levacius Zehvor Edited July 21, 2012 by Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Have to say, if its nature vs technology, technology is going to win. Three words for you: nukes and chainsawsAnd if you want to be more subtle technology allows for better irrigation, meaning tech can deprive nature of the water it needs. Big tree like that is going to need plenty of water, cut it off and no more tree. And while you could arguably try to do something similar with nature elemental powers, a tower of metal and wires doesn't need to suck up water from the ground so its a pointless exercise

[Toa Of Virtues]

So, I finally realized that Realms is probably never gonna work out. Oh well. And then... this idea hit me. To put it basically...On Spherus Magna, after Mata Nui healed it, explorers found a huge tree. They went ahead and made a 'tree-house' city in the branches of this tree, and are all 'nature conseravtive' and stuff like that. Nearby, others make a huge tower made of technology, and become very advanced. And then, the tower tries to use the tree as more space. War breaks out. And now we have Nature vs. Technology. Thoughts? Should I flush it out more?Zakaro

I can see how the story is a lot like Avatar, and how the tech side would easily win. However, if you added somthing like the nature people get better powers from being around nature, and the tech side having weaker powers, but better tech, it may even it out. Another thing to make it less Avatar-y is to make a neutral side, not being super advanced in tech, or not being 100% reliant on nature.

[Flex Lord Splash]

An idea I had for a Bionicle RP, looking for review and thoughts on if it would work.

Into The Abyss

Synopsis:

The time is a thousand years after Mata Nui defeated Makuta Teridax for good, and the inhabitants of the giant robot body moved to Spherus Magna. Toa Tahu helped found the building of New Atero, a city that flourished and became even bigger then Metru Nui ever was. The Toa became the guardians of the city, for a time, the Toa were accepted, even wanted. They were seen as protectors. But in time, as expected, the population of Agori and Glatorian began to respond with hostility, and did everything they could to ensure that the Toa were not more powerful then they were. Because of the Core War, and the Elemental Lords of long ago the Glatorian grew slow to trust beings with elemental powers, they saw the destruction they could create. They were jealous of the Toa's elemental powers and of their greath Kanohi.

A group of Glatorian and Agori formed and began to slowly but surely take down any Toa they could in secret. At the same time, however, some Toa didn't want to be taken down, and decided to fight back. These events would lead to the first war waged upon the planet since it had been re-formed. The Glatorian wanted to keep the Toa down, but needed a means of doing it. This problem would lead to the birth of the Enforcers. A faction that belonged to the government of New Atero, which was made up of agents whose job was to specifically target and imprison any and all Toa.With both numbers and firepower on their side, the Enforcers launched a secret operation, which was a mission to wipe out all Toa. The operation lasted for a month. A month full of bloodshed as Toa were hunted and killed. With the media at their side to make Toa out to be terrorists, there was no one to stop the Enforcers. Some Toa fought and were slain. Others ran, but were found. In the end, Toa were all killed and their masks crushed and destroyed. The Enforcer's had defeated their greatest threat yet. Or so they thought. An ancient cult, known only as The Dark Ones had been completely unharmed by the operation. The Dark Ones is an organization composed entirely of beings from the Matoran Universe, which has existed since the destruction of Makuta Teridax. The faction is made up of what used to be Dark Hunters, warriors of the Barraki warlords, and even a few Makuta who survived Makuta Teridax's purge.

The Enforcers believed the Dark Ones to be nothing more than a myth and that they would take care of them if they actually existed. After so many Toa were slain, the leaders of the Dark Ones believed that it was time for them to reveal themselves to the world. It started with an assassination. A Dark One operative was tasked with assassinating the leader of the Enforcers. The assassin was killed, but the death of the Enforcer's leader at the hands of a Dark One created the war between the Enforcers and the Dark Ones. However, a small group of surviving Toa are slowly emerging from the background. A group of Toa who believe that Toa and Glatorian species alike can live together peacefully. This group is called Nemesis, and while unknown to the rest of the Spherus Magna, that is all going to change very, very soon.Factions:

The Dark Ones- Dark One agents are a group of highly trained beings that are the remnants of the Dark Hunter, Brotherhood of Makuta and the armies of the Barraki Warlords forces. After most of the beings migrated from the dead robot body to Spherus Magna, many of the surviving evil beings that lived within the robot did not migrate, but decided to stay; and to live in the ruins of Metru Nui and to band together and to form a new massive Shadow organization. They are usually evil, sadistic, or just enjoy combat or power. Most of them are incredibly powerful foes. The Dark Ones operate under the radar of civilization, and most don’t even know they exist, or if they do they don’t live for very long.Nemesis- Nemesis is a group of surving Toa who fight against the Dark Ones and the Enforcers. They are a small group, but one of the only group of Toa that survived the Toa Purge. The original members of the Toa Draconis were all killed, leaving Toa Talkon alone. He began to find other surviving Toa from other teams, and banded them together under one name; the name Nemsiss, for they fought against opression and evil. They are somewhat small, but they are growing in numbers, and many Matoran will be willing to help them, because unlike the Glatorian and Agori they do not hate or fear them or their power. Rogue- Rogues are simply beings who are not in any faction. Rogues can be Toa or villains, or completely neutral for that matter. The Enforcers- The Enforces are a group of Glatorian who want to destroy all Toa. They are a part of the New Atero government. The leader of the Enforcers is an Glatorian named Kruhan. They will stop at nothing until all Toa are erased from the face of Spherus Magna. They used special high-tech technologies to compensate for their lack of elemental and mask powers, and when their leader ordered them to begin the Operation that would wipe out the Toa they enjoyed killing off almost every Toa they could find.

Rules:

1. No God Moding or anything like that. I will ban you from the RP.2. Please try to use your best spelling, just spell check before you post, should clear up the worst stuff. I probably don’t have the best grammar, but I want it to be readable, and enjoyable in the RP.3. Try to be creative! No canon characters.4. You can’t kill another persons character unless they clear if with you first.5. Don’t involve another character in your bio unless you guys talked about it.6. No max number of characters, but only make more than one if you are going to be really dedicated to them. If you want someone in the RP to kill off or something just make an NPC.7. If a character is dead, then that character is DEAD. This isn't DBZ, so if you want to kill off a character, you'd better be 100% sure.8. Post IC before your in character post , and then OOC for your out of character stuff, don't make an entire post OOC.

Sign-up sheet:

Name:Gender:Mask: if your character has oneFactions/Alliances: Enforcer, Dark One, Nemesis, or RoguePower(S):Abilites: Pick several skills, base these off what your character is good at. Try not to make these too OP, or contradict your powersWeapons and other equipment:Appearance:Personality: How your character actsBio:

Edited August 22, 2012 by Flex Nard

[Visaru]

Is anyone doing a sort of survival horror type RPG? I was reading some stuff in the COT RPG about a sort of zombie apocalypse style game, where the zombies (or more disturbing equivalent) are nigh impossible to kill. Amnesia: The Dark Descent was an example used to discuss that idea.Is anybody going to do something like that? Because I really want to play in that RPG. Might have to make it myself...

[Franco]

Is anyone doing a sort of survival horror type RPG? I was reading some stuff in the COT RPG about a sort of zombie apocalypse style game, where the zombies (or more disturbing equivalent) are nigh impossible to kill. Amnesia: The Dark Descent was an example used to discuss that idea.Is anybody going to do something like that? Because I really want to play in that RPG. Might have to make it myself...

Maybe. They wouldn't be nigh impossible to kill in the idea I'm working on, but it'd be close. 'Zombies' would have good power and physical advantages over the non-'infected'.

[The Swimming Beard]

Is anyone doing a sort of survival horror type RPG? I was reading some stuff in the COT RPG about a sort of zombie apocalypse style game, where the zombies (or more disturbing equivalent) are nigh impossible to kill. Amnesia: The Dark Descent was an example used to discuss that idea.Is anybody going to do something like that? Because I really want to play in that RPG. Might have to make it myself...

I had that same idea a few pages ago. Here is what I had. (I know, it's terrible)

ApocalypseI run for my life through Ga-Metru. Why won't they stop chasing me? As I near the way to Po-Metru, I see an elderly turaga ahead, croching as if holding a wound. Is he hurt? I approach, looking to see if I can help him. But they are coming for me. I must escape. The Turaga stands up abruptly, and starts pursuing me. He is one of them too. Did he touch me? No, he couldn't have. I run, barely making it into the Po-Metru. But outside they are still there, always waiting.OverviewThe year is 2000 B.C.G. The once thriving city of Metru Nui has been reduced to little more than rubble, reaulting from the long war that has been going on. Po-Metru is one of the only safe places in the city. The Toa and Matoran fight the Dark Hunters constantly, never nearing an end to this war. Debris lines the streets, with the remains of buildings serving as military bases. And that isn't the worst part. Every day, more and more succumb to the epidemic. It affects those from both sides turning them into zombies, causing their consciousness to be removed, leaving only an empty body, wandering the streets. Almost all Matoran have succumbed to the epidemic, and many Dark Hunters as well. It is spread by touching those who are infected, and symptoms take several days to manifest, so those who look harmless may still be infected. Every day more of the city is destroyed by the constant fighting. The Vahki have been all but wiped out, with the few that remain fruitlessly try to eliminate the Dark Hunters. Dume has narrowly escaped death, and refuses to cease the war to deal with the epidemic. The coliseum was destroyed by Dark Hunters, and little is left in its place save for rubble.Locations(

Map of Metru Nui)Ta-Metru:Formerly an industrial city, Ta-Metru has fallen into ruin. The devastation is most obvious here; wherever you look, few buildings remain, and those that do are partially destroyed. The epidemic is also thought to originate from Ta-Metru, as the first known to be infected came from here. The few Nuurahk that remain have computer failures, and wander the streets aimlessly, almost like the zombies themselves. Few dare to venture into Ta-Metru, fear of the epidemic being the reason. The devestation originated from before the epidemic, during the time that a war was actually fought there. This area is also strewn with Vahki parts.Ga-Metru Ga-Metru is where most of the fighting happens, with the zombies being sparse here. The schools have become military bases, and the city is beginnign to fall into ruin, similar to what happened in Ta-Metru. Every day, battles are fought in Ga-Metru, with the Toa and Matoran taking on the Dark Hunters in direct combat. During all the fighting, both sides sustain roughly equal losses, and the war never comes any closer to an end. No vahki remain in this district. Le-MetruLe-Metru is controlled by the Dark Hunters, who use it as their base. Le-Metru is also the least ruined Metru, as fighting has not yet spread here. Occasionally, the Toa will launch an attack, but usually to no avail. The epidemic has not yet spread here, though it shows signs of doing so. The Dark Hunters have set up a large camp here, and use many of the buildings to store weapons and supplies.Onu-Metru Onu-Metru is rarely visited by either side. The archives are ruined, and the epidemic runs rampant here. It has become a wasteland, with any life form being wiped out by the epidemic. Few leave Onu-Metru alive, but there are large stocks of weapons here that originate from before the epidemic, and sometimes either side will send troops to recieve them, though few return from such missions.Po-MetruPo-Metru is the base of the Toa, as it is relatively epidemic-free. Occasionally a battle is fought in this district, but most Dark Hunters stay away, as the Toa forces here are great. The Toa use the buildings as bases and to store supplies, knowing they need to store all the supplies they can. Dume makes Po-Metru his home after the destruction of the coliseum, where he serves as leader of the Toa.Ko-MetruKo-Metru is a battleground, many of the buildings leveled by the constant fighting. The epidemic does not exist here, as the virus responsible is intolerant to cold. Every day, small groups of Toa and Dark Hunters fight here, though the cold discourages many, who fight in Ga-Metru instead. Lhikan was appointed leader of the forces here.FactionsThe ToaThe Toa fight the Dark hunters in the war, hoping to defend what remains of Metru Nui. They are led by Dume, who commands their battle plans. They attempt to find the source of the epidemic, knowing the zombies could become a more serious threat then the Dark Hunters. In recent times, they have decided it best to stray from the Toa Code, knowing killing is the only way to defeat the Dark Hunters. Turaga Dume refuses to cease the war, despite the growing epidemic.The Dark HuntersThe Dark Hunters invaded Metru Nui at a point far in the past. They fought the Toa, hoping to gain control of the island of Metru Nui. They also attempt to find the source of the epidemic, having traced it back to Ta-Metru. The Shadowed one remains in Odina, and appointed Lariska in charge of the war effort. Lariska stubbornly refuses to agree to a ceasefire, so the war continues.The ZombiesThe zombies prowl Metru Nui, midlessly stalking their victims. They are most prevalent in Ta-Metru and Onu-Metru, though some wander elswhere, The epedimic is caused by a virus that seemingly comes from Ta-Metru, and no cure has been found. The zombies are entirely gray in color, and their skin is drastically hardened, rendering them invulnerable to most attacks. They are composed of mostly matoran and Dark Hunters, though there are some Toa as well. Both the Dark Hunters and the Toa attempt to contain them, but to little avail, as they continue spreading. They are nearly impossible to kill.

[Visaru]

^ I missed the 'nearly impossible to kill part' with the Zombies. That sounds pretty interesting, as long as you focus on the Horror aspect of it.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

Is anyone doing a sort of survival horror type RPG? I was reading some stuff in the COT RPG about a sort of zombie apocalypse style game, where the zombies (or more disturbing equivalent) are nigh impossible to kill. Amnesia: The Dark Descent was an example used to discuss that idea.Is anybody going to do something like that? Because I really want to play in that RPG. Might have to make it myself...

Eh. Lloyd attempted to make one a few contests back. So did Evex. I haven't seen any of them win the contest, though. It's hard to make people have any fear on a computer... unless you sneak up behind them while they're playing Slender.It doesn't work really well, though. Not that I can see. You have the option of just offing the players characters, but with some peoples characters, that's a lot of work being taken away randomly with no save game to fall back to. If somebody writes up 500+ words for a character, and then they get killed off, that's not very fun.Note, though, that 'The Monsters are Big, Scary, and Dangerous' =/= Survival RPG. The first just gives it an epic scope and makes things more meaningful, but adds a sense of danger and excitement. And if your character is lost, it's in a memorable way. Survival means that great characters are just lost.But if you can make an RPG like that and have it work, go for it.And if you can ever convey the sense of fear in Slender in an RPG, then that would probably be the single most impressive thing ever. Amnesia comes close, but something so simple... well, you can't do that with RPGs either. Or War Zone.@ Toa of Smooth Jazz; I can't tell if you want more comments on that RPG or not.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

One of the problems with survival horror being translated into Bionicle is that its very hard to be scared of zombies when your character is a walking flame-thrower/wind-turbine/power-hose etc.To make it effective you'd probably have to limit players to Matoran characters. And rather than have the whole of Metru Nui to play around it, trap them in the Coliseum. Trap them in with the zombies. Like a quarantine. You can't leave because you might be infected, or a carrier of the infection (because its always an infection these days) and the Toa or whatever guarding the building will utterly vaporise you if you try. So its just you and the zombies in this one (admittedly quite big) building and none of you can leave. You could just try to survive, you could try to find a cure, you could try your darndest to eliminate every last zombie in the place or you could try to kill all the survivors because that way the Toa can just immolate the entire Coliseum to wipe out the infection. Greater good and all that

Edited July 31, 2012 by Man with the Hex

[Visaru]

Oh. By 'Survival' I meant it's more about your character surviving than fighting. Fighting the zombies (or equivalent) In this hypothetical RPG would just be death unless you were very creative. I guess I misused the term.If I made the RPG, there's no way I could make someone as terrified as they would be by playing Slender. I'm not that good of a writer.But I might write up a treatment or something. Thanks.

[Riisiing Moon]

Ripped from my blog--So, the RPG would be set at sea. Instead of submitting character profiles, you'd submit a profile for your ship--ship type, weaponry, allegiance (which, of course, depends on what the plot is), etc. You'd be able to upgrade all that junk based on your success throughout the game in the areas of battle and civilization-building.How, you inquire, does one battle and build civilization? Well, you'd have control of the entire crew of your ship, and based on your efforts in the realms of battling and building civilization you'd receive upgrades!But wait, RM, how do you have any kinda personal interaction with your buddies when you control entire crews? But wait, RM, how can you keep track of the entire crew's whereabouts?Well, in addition to your ship's profile, you'd submit a relatively short profile for your captain, who's the main focus of the RPG. The crewmen would be something between PCs and NPCs--controllable for the sake of battles and civilization-building and such, but one-dimensional, 'flat' characters who can't play as much of an RPing role (lol role-playing role) as the captain. If you wanna flesh out a crew member or twelve, all you gotta do is submit a profile for 'em and get going.This is an extremely rough draft of an idea, so there'll be lots of holes. Please point them out so I can figure out solutions, or if you think it's entirely bogus scrap it all together. Thoughts?

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

Good thing I submitted Waves this contest. Having similar RPG themes just makes a squick feeling.The description given here answered most of the questions I was going to ask. A few things remain though. Setting, possible allegiances, primary genre... all of that stuff. So overall, what's above I could go with, but not without the context and backstory overall.Also, how you would maintain a travel/time system.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Riisiing Moon]

I mean, all that's the kind of stuff I don't need the approval of everyone for, that'll work regardless of what I come up with. You think concept of submitting whole crew profiles rather than an individual char profile would work in practice and without issue?Travel'd be regulated by the RPers. I'd post a map of whatever realm I decide to use (I need a co-writer for this thing), and people can navigate their boats around the seas and islands as any RPers travel around in any RPG.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

Of course. Though I want to be certain -I would give the name of a ship (The Griffon) as a single profile, and be able to describe the captain (Levacius), along with a few other crew members (also PCs), and everybody else would just be nameless red shirts under PC instead of GM control? Or am I misreading that. In that case, what would the 'cap' on that be? And could multiple players work together on a single ship, or have a few characters that are crewmembers on another?As far as it going off without a hitch - I think a few people might not like having to go into the full detail. I, for one, would enjoy the opportunity. But already having a captain and crew who might associate with him detailed on a Word Document puts me in a somewhat different position than the mainstream players.So yeah, I would definitely want to offer the opportunity for players to act as either land based adventurers or mercenaries for hire alongside ship captains if they don't want to go to the full work of a ship. Losing somebody because you wrote a wall of text is bad enough - don't want to lose them because they don't want to write a wall of text.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Riisiing Moon]

Haha, don't worry, when it comes to RPG writing I've had my fair share of practice. If there's any technicality required, I'm gonna make it as brief and clear as possible, with lots of spacing and coloring.Good call, I'll offer players the ability to either choose a ship or an individual char, and that char may be a member of another member's crew, or your own crew. Just to spice it up, members don't need the approval of a ship's captain to be members aboard, so long as they have logical reason for being aboard in the first place.Yeah, basically you got crew members who're essentially nameless dudes under a captain's control. RPers can name them and flesh them out to whatever extent they want, so long as they don't start making posts from their points of view. If you wanna do that, just make a new profile.The cap's probably somewhere around eight-ish, and one of the upgrades you can get allows for additional crew members. You can also go around on your own recruiting random RPers you meet on island, but there'd be a restriction on drafting NPCs for obvious reasons.In terms of submitting crew profiles, it'd be something like ship type, weaponry, crew count (which you update) whenever your crew gets bigger), ship appearance, ship history, allegiance, and then a brief adaptation of the classic profile for the ship's captain. Captain's the only one who gets a full profile, initially. The crewmen are basically part of the ship.I get how technical this all looks, but I'll be sure to make this clear and to the point in the written draft.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Riisiing Moon

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

So am I understanding correctly - the captain and any freelancer PCs require a profile. You have crew members, but they need a profile too if you want to tell things from their perspective. Paragraph 3 makes it sound like that, but I can't tell it you're saying make a new ship or actually give them a profile. Mostly because paragraph 5 makes it seem like crewmen are all part of the ship, and you only write a profile for the captain, ever.And then for the eight or whatever, do you mean the full crew including deckhands and guards, or just people with profiles? Because for a full crew of eight... that's a tiny little ship.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Riisiing Moon]

Well, I know nothing about seafaring, and this is a fantasy, but I plan to do research anyways. There'll be a cap, I just gotta figure out what it is.The bare minimum for submitting a char is to, go figure, submit a char. Just one. No ship, just classic RPG single dude. You also have the option of submitting a ship. If you choose to do this, the requirement is that you submit a profile for a ship, and then a profile for your captain. At this point, your crewmen do not have profiles, and they are all for practical purposes part of the ship, an extension of the captain. You may flesh them out to whatever extent you want, but you can't have them straying off or start telling things from their perspective until you make them a profile of their own. Once crewmen have profiles, they act as freelance, individual chars like the first option in the beginning of this paragraph, and can either stick with the rest of their crew, or go off on their own for whatever reason you decide, or you can create them as a member of a different crew. The options are pretty much limitless--I don't say that as a gimmick, you can literally create a char in whatever parameter you want.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

So when you first start off the RPG you might have an idea for what you want to do with certain crewmembers, but you have to develop them IC before fully implementing it and making another profile? Alright, that makes sense.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Toa Of Virtues]

It wouldn't be that fun to play as the zombies, it eliminates all personality.

[Evex_Wolfwing]

I've entered a "zombie" RP twice. The Digression and Rust. And Goodbye Innocence had its share of the maccabre. One of the big things for The Digression was the ability to play as one of the Infected. I have an unfinished remake of that one, more down to earth and set in the Matoran Universe. Dunno, just feel like saying this.

[NStephenH]

This years rpg got me thinking.. What about an alternate universe where the toa mata defeate makuta, but they die in the process, and the bohrok are released. The matoran have to defend themselfs, so they create machines such as boxor, only better. the bohrok see that they can not defeat the boxor, and they create better bohrok. Some of the krana get in an acident where they are liberated from the hive, and they become independant, and start working with the matoran. it could have toa/skakdi/vortixx like this year, but it would be really cool to have just matoran defending themselfs against the bohrok.

Edited August 1, 2012 by NStephenH

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

@ NStephenHYou mean the main BZPRPG? This is for discussing the RPGs written up for the contest - unless you want to make an RPG, and are merely suggesting going along the same path.Here's what doesn't make sense, though. The Bohrok awaken when it comes time to awaken Mata-Nui, but were forced to do so early by Teridax sending out signals into the hives and stirring the Bahrag.How would you create better Bohrok? Bohrok, canonically, are transformed Av-Matoran who are transported to the hive. The Krana are placed inside the now lifeless shell in order to power them and give them the new purpose.All in all... not much of this makes sense.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Evex_Wolfwing]

The Bohrok could capture Matoran, and transform them into more Bohrok.Keep other species out of it if it is set on Mata Nui. Just Matoran Toa and Turaga, like Beat and Rythem did.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

The Bohrok could capture Matoran, and transform them into more Bohrok.Keep other species out of it if it is set on Mata Nui. Just Matoran Toa and Turaga, like Beat and Rythem did.

How would that work though? Only Av-Matoran could do it, and that would just leave us with Bohrok!Takua. Which, since he's destined to become a Toa, would contradict itself and blow up the universe.(I might have added that last part)-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[NStephenH]

@ NStephenHYou mean the main BZPRPG? This is for discussing the RPGs written up for the contest - unless you want to make an RPG, and are merely suggesting going along the same path.Here's what doesn't make sense, though. The Bohrok awaken when it comes time to awaken Mata-Nui, but were forced to do so early by Teridax sending out signals into the hives and stirring the Bahrag.How would you create better Bohrok? Bohrok, canonically, are transformed Av-Matoran who are transported to the hive. The Krana are placed inside the now lifeless shell in order to power them and give them the new purpose.All in all... not much of this makes sense.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

It is just an idea, I might put it up for the contest, but I wanted to see what people thought. Makuta does awaken the bohrok early in my idea, and they attack the matoran. The matoran defend themselfs using boxor like machines. The bohrok queens take parts from bohrok and make improved versions or armor of some sort. I made something along those lines and will post a picture in a bit.We know bohrok can be taken apart because of the boxor.The independant ones, I am not sure how they would become independant. Perhaps they wer dropped on there heads or something. Edited August 1, 2012 by NStephenH

[Evex_Wolfwing]

Independent Bohrok feel unnecesary. Matoran/etc. could be controlled by Krana, then "converted". Not true Bohrok, but no longer what they were.The Borg come to mind, and I have never even watched Star Trek really.

[NStephenH]

The reason I was thinking of that is because I created a toa-resembling suit of armor and I thought of a really good backstory for him:The bohrok queens realize that the bohrok are too noticable, and are easily driven back by the residents, so they decide to create a bohrok to infiltrate the inhabitants adn figure out what there plans are and how to destroy them. The existing krana are to... odd to blend in with the inhabitants, so they attempt to create something more independant. they end up witha krana that is completely independant. Before they have it destroyed, it escapes, and steals one of the bohrok-toa suits, before escaping to the surface, taking sympathy with the matoran, and attempting to blend in.

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

Problem is that Krana were created by the Great Beings one hundred thousand years in the past. You can't just create a new one.And for the record? Bohrok wouldn't be easily driven out if you got rid of the other species. And the Toa - I'll tell you for a fact that a Toa could wipe out a squad of Bohrok with a shake of their hand in these RPGs.All in all, there's no reason to have independent Bohrok. We know that there are certain Krana who are more intelligent than others, like the one that hooked onto Lewa's face. All in all, you're best just having Matoran fighting against Bohrok in Boxors and other mecha like things.While I can see why you want to incorporate this armor thing, it doesn't make sense for making an RPG. There's lots of little MoCs I made a long time ago, but I wouldn't stick any of them in an RPG or design one around them. But that's partially because I've always liked the literary portions of Bionicle more than the actual sets themselves.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

Edited August 1, 2012 by Toa Levacius Zehvor

[NStephenH]

How do I enter my Matoran vs Bohrok no toa idea in the competition?

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

How do I enter my Matoran vs Bohrok no toa idea in the competition?

Check the Bionicle RPG Forum Rules.To put it simply - you write up an RPG. Most RPGs give a history leading up to the setting, typically with some tidbit of introduction text called the 'hook'. Or I call it that. Or the introduction. Depends on how hooking it is, really. You give the basic idea of what the RPGs goals are, what to do on it, what characters you're allowed to play, what the different groups you work for are, what the setting is, where the setting is, all of that.Check some of the RPGs from the last contest to see how they were done. The winners, which are currently on the forums, are Waves of the South, Aloft: Castle in the Sky, and Strike from the Shadows.Of course, you don't want a perfect model - do whatever feels natural in your writing. Word of advice though - use formatting that looks nice but incredibly clear. Text that strains the eyes too much like this this is bad.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[NStephenH]

K thanks. I will work on modifying my idea, and post what I come up with here to see what people think, then submit it.

[The Lorax]

Problem is that Krana were created by the Great Beings one hundred thousand years in the past. You can't just create a new one.

Actually, you can, and it was quite common to do so. The first krana were created by the Great Beings (along with the Zyglak), but then they taught the Bahrag to make their own krana, to replace those that got lost or damaged while performing their task. This is the reason why there was energised protodermis under the Bahrag's lair - they used it in making krana.As an idea, this bohrok-war thing isn't bad. but like Levacius has said, the two opposing armies need something to balance them. Bohrok are much more powerful than Matoran (without big machines), as shown by their almost-takeover of Mata Nui in 2002. Toa and Skakdi (in groups) are much more powerful than Bohrok, as shown by single Toa Mata defeating swarms almost single-handedly. If you wanted to have these species available for play, I recommend you give the bohrok some extra power to balance things up, otherwise the war will be over very quickly. Maybe they all recieved some sort of -kal like upgrade?

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

Problem is that Krana were created by the Great Beings one hundred thousand years in the past. You can't just create a new one.

Actually, you can, and it was quite common to do so. The first krana were created by the Great Beings (along with the Zyglak), but then they taught the Bahrag to make their own krana, to replace those that got lost or damaged while performing their task. This is the reason why there was energised protodermis under the Bahrag's lair - they used it in making krana.As an idea, this bohrok-war thing isn't bad. but like Levacius has said, the two opposing armies need something to balance them. Bohrok are much more powerful than Matoran (without big machines), as shown by their almost-takeover of Mata Nui in 2002. Toa and Skakdi (in groups) are much more powerful than Bohrok, as shown by single Toa Mata defeating swarms almost single-handedly. If you wanted to have these species available for play, I recommend you give the bohrok some extra power to balance things up, otherwise the war will be over very quickly. Maybe they all recieved some sort of -kal like upgrade?

Or just have Boxors vs. Bohrok, maybe? Perhaps Boxors modified into numerous forms, like super huge Mecha able to crush Bohrok with their bare hands, and ones incorporating acid-resistant materials against Lehvahk, or ones modified to go underwater with breathing apparati...Besides, you really don't need balance. Having a sense of unbeatable odds can add to the drama of a story. You might want to limit Bohrok controlled characters in that case, though. Or not have them - just Matoran PCs and NPCs vs Bohrok NPCs.And sure, Bahrag learn to make Krana. But they weren't designed to be creative, you know. They had no idea about improvising - they just started cleaning when woken up without stopping to think. They knew to mutate certain Krana but making them Krana-Kal with the EP, but that was because everyone knew that. For further mutations you would need something else to go with it. And knowledge of How-2-Science.-Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

People always seem to forget the Bohrok have more than numbers on their side. Their krana grant them additional powers, remember, such as super-strength, telepathy, flight, shielding...And they're not exactly stupid, as they managed to think around many problems they couldn't just muscle through. If you want it to be Bohrok v. Matoran then the Matoran players are going to have to use ingenuity and smarts even if you give them Boxor. It would encourage people to actually think rather than just go "and i lept at the borok and swung my uber sword and kiled like fifty of them"

[Evex_Wolfwing]

Now that you mention it, the Bohrok were quite adaptable. What is that, 8x6... God I hate math... That is basically 48 different Bohrok. Yeah, if handled properly, these guys could be pretty powerful.