The Official OTC TBRPG Planning and Organization Topic

[Toast of Awesomeness]

Oh, I'm not getting sidetracked. Just throwing the idea out there. Anyone can take it.

[Advent Child]

Your love for consideration of realism is quite mighty, Basilisk.My other option was equally farfetched, but less lodged in genetic enhancement, going the route of a Monster Hunter RPG, set around the coming of the Fatalis. But I can't imagine much of a player-base for that.

I'd play a Monster Hunter RPG by FAR. I think I might even be able to convince another member who loves Monster Hunter, and rarely Role Plays to join, just because Monster Hunter. =P Of course, I'm assuming you mean the Capcom semi-RPG series. You do mean the Capcom series, correct?Not gonna comment on the moral debate, aside from saying that people need breaks from the morality of the world; and that the world isn't all grey itself. There are instances of black or white morality; it's just not quite as common as fantasy books seem to suggest; however... Does it need to be that way, really?

Definitely referring to the Capcom series, mon ami.

[Blessed Blade]

Then yes, I'd definitely join, and I'd try to get my friend to join the RPG too, so if that happens, that'd be at least three people(Including yourself) who would play; and I would gladly help co-host. =)

[Havelock Vetinari]

I used to have a monster hunter game. Seems fairly realistic as fantasies go.Minus the giant sword I crafted out of skin and teeth.

Edited November 26, 2012 by Basilisk

[Blessed Blade]

^ Well, considering how huge the things you fight can get to be, and the mass amounts of materials you need to construct the weapons and armour, it kinda does make sense. It's better than some things in other games, where it relies on the power of magic to construct or upgrade them. =P

[Havelock Vetinari]

Quite.And I recall being killed quite a lot. So it was realistic, to a point, about how such confrontations end.

[Advent Child]

The game very poignantly lets you know that if you aren't willing to put in the work to be skilled, then you simply won't make it far. If I were to continue down this train of thought, I would try and make sure that the idea translates well to the RPG.And if this takes off, Blade, you'll be the first person I let know.

[Havelock Vetinari]

Eh. I might join. I only played the first PS2 game so I know very very little about the game worlds overall story.

[Blessed Blade]

Oh yes; the main point about Monster Hunter is simple: If you're not skilled in some way(Like, say, pretending you're a famous hunter from a far off land who had to sell all of his/her items and equipment to sail to a far off land where no-one knows you, for those who HAVE played before), you are going to die. A lot. And even if your skills get rusty? There is no 'instant win' switch; you're again going to die. A LOT.The only 'unrealistic' thing about it, is that you don't 'die', you just collapse and have to restart back at the base camp, since perma-deaths aren't really appreciated in games. =P In text-based RPGs, however... All bets are off. =PBasilisk: There isn't really a true 'overall story' so far; it's just 'go to a different island, find out about it's mythology and native monsters, go kill a bunch of stuff'. Though, the backstories behind the monsters are slowly increasing, but since there's currently only 3 main series games(With a handful of spinoffs), it's not like, say, Megaman, where you need to spend a good couple days to read up and learn the base necessities to get into the series. =P

[Havelock Vetinari]

THAT sounds like something I could get into then. This world seems low magic, high realism as these things go.In this case I measure realism by how many corpses of other hunters I have to go by while heading towards the creature. Of course, I do hope the cities are walled and guarded. Unlike the hub in the first game.How it survived without being utterly destroyed I do not know.

[Advent Child]

The way the villages work in the world of Monster Hunter, as far as I know, is the cities are protected from larger threats by castles and fortresses that guard the borders of the area in question, in combination with large guilds were various hunters gather to band together and set out to tackle large scale threats.

[Havelock Vetinari]

So, as I understand it, there is very little backstory in the Monster Hunter games.Yeah. I think an RPG set in them could work, more developed world and civilization. Would be interesting.

[Blessed Blade]

Well, I've personally only played Tri; but how it worked there was effectively detailed during the Ceadeus incident:There's a guild of Maverick Hunters, who go and protect the different villages and other places that need defending(Or to protect the main city if that's heavily needed). Sometimes, however, people must go relatively alone, since all hope seems to be lost, however, I'd assume the standard four would be allowed there, assuming word could get out in time. Since the only person able to help was the heavily armoured protagonist(And his puny companion serving more or less as moral and air support) at that point, since everyone else was preparing to just move, and even the guild had more or less written the village off. =PA city setting would be cool, since the city in Tri(Which functioned as the online hub) is pretty much how you're requesting; go there, live there, take on quests, and go kill stuff; sometimes far away, sometimes closer.Now; there is a little bit of 'magic', if we head to the Deserted Island eventually, since that's the closest thing I can say to describe the abilities of a Shakalaka, but we can stick with just Felyne Companions if we really need to have companions like in Single Player. =PALSO... Water, yes/no? I'd personally like underwater fights, since they wouldn't be so freaking annoying to control with text(Of course I also had the Wiimote combo when fighting those, so that didn't help), but others have mixed feelings about them, so...

[Havelock Vetinari]

.....Why doesn't the military handle this? Is there even a military? If so, why is there only one city? One would think they'd have the..Am I asking inconvenient questions again?

[Advent Child]

I'm going based on what I know from having played the PS2 game, and every PSP game released in America. Just got Tri recently, gonna play it at some point. The hunters act as the major military force for the world, as best I can tell. There is a service of guild knights, but they're commonly set to protecting locations with high populace. There's more than one city within the world. And the questions are totally fine. They'll help flesh this out.As for underwater battles, I'm all for 'em. In a game, they're annoying, but in an RP setting, if a monster retreats into the water, there are no invisible boundaries or (in the case of Tri) infuriating motion controls to hinder progress. Only the physics of water.

[Havelock Vetinari]

Hm. That is an interesting set up. One wonders how the lords of the land feud with each other. If there are any civilizations close enough to feud with. Hm. The big question is human population. If civilization is scattered and precious....

[Blessed Blade]

There is no 'military'; the military is the Hunter's Guild.There technically isn't just one city... There's just one city we've seen and could go to in Tri(Loc Lac City). I honestly haven't played the earlier games, so there may have been more in Dos, or even Portable 3. I can check that tomorrow, however, just to double-check, and we could have our own cities if we wished, anyway.Advent: True for everything. And technically it's not the motion controls(Since you can just attack with A, even if using the Wiimote); it's more the fact that the buttons are mapped insanely, compared to what you can effectively reach. =P(Though that's more a design flaw of the Wiimote; I've heard it's slightly better on the Classic Controller Pro) But yeah, I'm not objected to the underwater battles myself, either, just was curious. =)Basilisk: To be honest, there hasn't yet been any real sign as to who really rules the land, or what they're doing; though some quests hint at royalty(As in kings and such) being present; like one of the Uragaan fights in Tri referencing a princess and the like.As for the population, I wouldn't say that's a problem; there's a fair amount of people in the Tri village, and there's a lot of people in Loc Lac. Even more so, if you consider all the Hunters.

Edited November 26, 2012 by BZP Blade

[Havelock Vetinari]

If there's a massive continent spanning civilization that can easily communicate....yeah, the social structure presented falls apart. Every civilization that has expanded to that degree, with no exceptions, has had an organized military attached to the government. Not wondering bands of hunters, however well armed. Hunters are good at fighting animals yes, put they are no replacement for a proper military. An organized military is basically a requirement to any sort of expansion on the continental level. Especially if you are technologically advanced enough to build large fortresses and cities.

Edited November 26, 2012 by Basilisk

[Advent Child]

The sentient population mostly consists of Humans, Wyvernians and Felynes. Since the world is so non-defined, I imagine this is where we get to develop political intrigue, or at least explain why there is so little. Probably because of the monsters...

[Havelock Vetinari]

Since this world is so dangerous, I would assume, assume mind you, that civilization is the exception rather then the rule. Otherwise, like I said, the whole thing falls apart.

[Advent Child]

As best I can tell, that seems accurate.

[Blessed Blade]

If there's a massive continent spanning civilization that can easily communicate...

It takes like a week or longer for communication to really happen, which is why some Hunters live on the islands they help protect; like the protagonist in Tri. I wouldn't really say they can 'easily communicate'. =PAlso, there technically hasn't been any reason for any military to be involved yet; no-one's attacked anyone, human wise. Likely because they're all busy defending each other from the more powerful monsters that, if they really wished to, could probably level one of the countries. =PHowever; I would agree with civilization being the exception, based off things shown so far in the games; usually, whichever island they're on, is deserted aside from the kinda small village they're on... And while there's an entire country/continent they haven't shown us yet(As hinted at by the ship thingy that arrives in Tri at a certain point), there's no guarantee that has any better of a situation

[Havelock Vetinari]

Yes. Armies of competing civilizations. Defending each other.*Insert cynicism and world history* Any villages hoping to survive will at least have to have a wall. Otherwise predators get to the livestock. Even in the real world where the predators aren't land dragons.

[Advent Child]

Well at the very least, I can confirm the existence of a rather large wall in Monster Hunter 2. Complete with ballistas and giant, dragon-repelling drills.

[Havelock Vetinari]

Dragon repelling dri-?Never mind. But yeah, that makes sense.

[Advent Child]

As far as the drills go, they don't so much repel as exist to cause damage to the dragons or other beasts who try to just ram their head against the wall to break it. It doesn't so much work on flying dragons, or dragon with breath attacks.

[Blessed Blade]

Basilisk: When your main threat is a multitude of species of giant dragons and dragon-like beings, you'd learn to co-operate fast, or risk fighting to your death and then having your last bit of land taken over by the dragons who choose right then to be the best time to invade. =PAs for walls, there wasn't really any place to PUT walls in the Tri village. Given, you know, pretty much half of it is water. =P But, there are indeed walls in the other villages that I've seen pictures of. Tri's village seemed odd, in that respect; the hostile monsters lived far out from the village, and it seemed kinda better protected(For the most part) than what I've heard of the others; like boats that go around helping hunt monsters as best as they can, and people who apparently can hold their own against some monsters judging by the first thing you do is locate someone who made it to the base camp unscathed without being a guild hunter(Who also is merely hungry by the time you get there. =P). Basically, it seemed better protected than you'd think most fishing villages would be. =P

[Havelock Vetinari]

Yeah. Not really. There is evidence that we were at each others throats during the Ice Age. Y'know, land of giant mammoths and saber tooth tigers?

Edited November 26, 2012 by Basilisk

[Advent Child]

I admit, a huge part of the monster/sentient populace relationship is rooted in suspension of disbelief.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I just saw the movie Rise of the Guardians with my little sisters. It was actually pretty good. So, I was thinking. Would anyone be interested in an RPG where you got one character, who could be any holiday or childhood figure from around the world, and play as your interpretation of that?

Now you see, these are the RPG ideas that make me want to cry because I don't have time to join them. Rise of the Guardians was such an awesome movie, I'd go see it again in a heartbeat. The only reason I wouldn't want this to go through is so that I can justify not being a part of it.As for Monster Hunter, I have and am/was/will be playing Tri, so I am familiar enough with the setting to comment and help sell the idea. As a general acknowledgement/commentary on what's already been said, I think Basilisk summed it up best when he said that civilization is the exception, not the rule. From what I've seen of Tri's universe and a bit of online research, the setting is essentially a primal world where dinosaur-like creatures roam freely, dragons being the most deadly of them. Cultures survive by living off these creatures, utilizing them for everything from food to clothing.If a Monster Hunter RPG were to exist, I don't think it would last long if there weren't some expansion upon the world, politics, and plot. The MH video games have literally no plot - go out, hunt certain monsters, come back, sort through the spoils, repeat. The story is flimsy at best, and TBRPGs are really about the story. There's a lot less fun in saying "I went out, fought this nasty Rathian, then came back, took a nap, and decided to go collect Mushrooms" instead of actually playing the game and visualizing it. Sure, it's a lot simpler without fighting the controls as much as the monsters, but it's less rewarding, as well. :PMoga Village's defense was that it existed on a small spit of rock in the bay of the Deserted Island, where few if any of the monsters from the island could reach it. The water was it's walls, and frankly, I think that's probably the smartest defense any settlement could have in this setting.~ Rumpelstiltskin

[Havelock Vetinari]

....Oh yes. This is a world ripe for my own unique brand of political intrigue.Expect me to join as a political figure of some sort. One with ideas.

[Xomeron]

A dinosaur-rich Death World is a world I can get behind.

[Havelock Vetinari]

What I would really like to see is a competent Eragon RPG.Just so I can kill the elves. Not a elf mind you, the elves.All of them.

[Alex Humva]

*an elfSorry, the grammar nazi inside of me manifests at the strangest of times.I still have this great urge for a Harry Dresden RPG. Alas, I've only met one or two people on BZP who've ever actually read the series, and it's pretty hard to sum up all the intricacies and sheer brilliance of how it handles the supernatural.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Well he has had 13 books to flesh out the world and mythos. 14 if you include the short story collection. 15 if you include the latest one not technically out yet which I've got pre-ordered on my Kindle

[Rumpelstiltskin]

What I would really like to see is a competent Eragon RPG.Just so I can kill the elves. Not a elf mind you, the elves.All of them.

Huh. You know, I had always intended to make an Alagaesia RPG once Inheritance was published, but I guess I'd completely forgotten about it. I suppose my running any sort of RPG is a bit far-fetched nowadays, but I agree that it's a game that should be made at some point.Also, if there is any substantial interest in a Monster Hunter RPG, I'm offering up my services as mapmaker/worldbuilder. While I may not actually play the game, the MH universe is one that I've been dying to delve a little deeper into; what's hinted at in the games is simply begging to be fleshed out.~ Rumpelstitlskin

[Advent Child]

It seems like this Monster Hunter RPG may well come together after all. I believe I shall begin working on a rough draft of the general idea.

[Havelock Vetinari]

I look forwards to it.

[Flex Lord Splash]

What I would really like to see is a competent Eragon RPG.Just so I can kill the elves. Not a elf mind you, the elves.All of them.

^ this yes. I even have somewhat of a plot idea in my head for such a RP.

[Blessed Blade]

Hmm... I was just wondering; why do we need a co-host from the start, anyway? To guarantee there'll be at least a little activity or something? Because if it's because of wanting to keep stuff updated if, say, I disappeared, then aren't RPGs usually closed if the main host disappears anyway, typically? Because they wouldn't be able to access the profile post? Or is it to help organize the first posts, since most people alternate them to help keep it all organized? I merely ask because there's a lot of ideas that are either dropped because no-one will co-host; or people are too iffy(Or wish to change the entire thing to fit their own desires, claiming that it wouldn't work) about it to even think about co-hosting. I'll admit, I think up some pretty experimental RPGs, that could be a risk, but some times, they do work. But, not even all of them get past the drawing board, because no-one would give it enough of a shot to co-host it...

 

I'll understand if it's to help with the start or guarantee activity, but I really am intrigued about the reason for having co-hosts, just because no-one's ever really mentioned it since the introduction of them.