The Official OTC TBRPG Planning and Organization Topic

[IcarusBen]

I don't think we'll have all those fancy price listings.

 

If you want, though, I can use OSBuddy to find prices. Give your characters a goal. Seems a little bit complicated, but eh.

 

EDIT: Two things; 1, I'm looking for two co-GMs. All of us would share the same level of power. Currently, I'm think of asking Ymper Trymon to fill one spot, since he has had a pretty good balance between critical and supportive.

 

The second thing is directed at Chumpu; yes, I put a limitation on starting equipment; don't start with anything above Steel or it's equivalencies.

Edited May 20, 2015 by IcarusBen

[25K Now!]

Losing all your defence?

 

That's impossible, sony. All they did was increase the level requirement by ten.

[IcarusBen]

Ah, gotta love it when you grind towards a specific goal and Jagex moves the finish line.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

Honestly, I really can't staff a Runescape RPG right now. Barring scheduling conflicts or the fact that I'm behind in Marvel by like fifty posts, I've never played Runescape. I've never even wanted to play Runescape. While I appreciate the offer, you need someone who won't be daydreaming about Goat Simulator on the job, someone who can bring the true, authentic Runescape spirit to the table.

[IcarusBen]

Well, in that case, anyone else wanna try?

[Perp]

To be quite honest, my advice is still to go back to the Bionicle RPG forum and work out your problems in The Asylum first before you jump ahead and tackle OTC.

[25K Now!]

I'd be willing to help out.

 

Mentor you in the ways of the OTC:

 

AKA how to keep an rpg afloat despite it being basically dead from inactivity

[Prowl Nightwolf]

Don't look at me I don't know anything about the series.

[25K Now!]

It's one of the more renowned MMOs around.

 

Also in my youth you either played RS or Club Penguin. Or both. Or AdventureQuest but man I wonder if my account's still around.

[IcarusBen]

I'd be willing to help out.

 

Mentor you in the ways of the OTC:

 

AKA how to keep an rpg afloat despite it being basically dead from inactivity

 

Thanks, Tyler. I'll mark you down.

[shadow pridak money gang]

hubert you son of a ###### this is getting real inconvenient

 

-Tyler

Edited May 22, 2015 by Aikuro Mikisugi

[IcarusBen]

Ugh... What is it now, Mr. Mikisugi?

[Let's Henshin!]

Tyler and Raz co-hosting Runescape with Icarus.

 

I might be able to dig it. 

 

Although my first advice would again be to get used to Playing in the OTC before running a game. 

Edited May 22, 2015 by Razgriz

[IcarusBen]

Raz has won an award and Hubert is a master of many characters. You're both hired.

 

Now, how do we get one of those group PMs?

[Perp]

Ben, my advice? Let his madhouse go, get into a good RPG, say, Corpus Rahkshi or BZPRPG, take some time to study RPG's, join in one as a player, interact, ect. Once you've built up enough knowledge and experience on the subject, then try your hand at being a GM again. Who knows, maybe it'll work better in a second attempt?

 

 

Ben, I'm going to echo Tiragath and say that you just need more experience and time to get to know the RPing community, see what the pulse is on what they like and dislike. 

 

-Tyler

 

 

The bottom line, however, is that my advice is this; Let Asylum die with some dignity. Then, after that, go play more of the games here. Get to know the community, and build a rapport with your potential playerbase. After you've done that, and taken a break for a bit, start thinking about trying again. This one didn't work out, but there's no reason the next one won't. You have the capability to run a successful game, but you're coming at it from a direction where you don't actually know how to run one in this community yet.

 

 

Although my first advice would again be to get used to Playing in the OTC before running a game.

 

 

Instead of just hoping that whatever you do next works, perhaps you should take the time to, as I have previously said, participate more as a general player in RPGs rather than trying your hand again and again as GM until you've learned enough to sustain an RPG without it potentially falling into chaos.

 

Essentially, I'm telling you to do more research and get more experience first before you go ahead and GM another RPG.

 

 

Ben, when you have this many people telling you to slow down and give yourself time to grow before shouldering the Mantle of GMship, you should probably take their advice.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Perplexed

[IcarusBen]

I'm going to reiterate myself so that I don't come off like an inexperienced noob.

 

The Asylum was not the first time I have GMed an RP. It's the first time I GMed an RP on this forum, yes, and it's the first time in a long while that I GMed an RP that went about as well as filling a burlap sack with soup, but it's not the first time I have been a GM. I've been a GM for around.... ugh, now I've lost track. I think it was somewhere in the neighbourhood of around 1-2 years... Point being, I haven't had an RP crash and burn like that since the first time I GMed, and I plan not to let one do it again.

 

Plus, now that I know what went wrong with that RP, I can make sure I don't make the same mistakes. Better GM communication, getting more. experienced RPers and GMs to help, not writing Mary Sues (I have a strange feeling that Nyhe might've been half-Ga-Toa, half-Skakdi, half-Turaga, half-Great Being, half-Glatorian and half-Mata Nui) and letting the players advance the story and/or having the main story run on events that can't be directly stopped by players, but at the same time won't hinder them from doing as they please.

 

Oh, and laying out better rules and sticking to them. Gotta remember that one. It was kinda the straw that broke the Kharidian camel's back.

[Perp]

That's all well and dandy, but it don't mean jack when you don't have the necessary experience with the players themselves that will be playing your game.

[Let's Henshin!]

The point is that no matter how much experience you may have off site, you have next to none when it comes to RPGs on this site and absolutely no experience when it comes to the OTC. I've RPed on quite a few different sites at this point, and I can safely say that BZPower's RPing community is rather unique. 

 

GMs here never start out as just GMs, they all have worked they way up after having been players for a while. 

[Eyru]

I understand if you feel like people are ganging up on you, Ben, but everyone who's given you advice honestly wants you to succeed. Otherwise they wouldn't bother giving you advice and suggestions on how to improve. People wanted Asylum to succeed, which is why they stuck around for so long. People have been giving you loads of critique in this very topic, again, because we want your ideas to succeed.

 

With that in mind, I'd like you to take another look at the quotes posted above. I know it's hard to read them without getting defensive, but give it a shot. Stop giving excuses and rationalising everything, and just accept the advice that you are being given.

 

People think you have got some good ideas, but they also suggest that you gain some more experience as a player before you try GMing again. They're not saying you have no experience; they're saying you need more, and there's no shame in that.

 

Listen. Help us help you.

[IcarusBen]

I understand if you feel like people are ganging up on you, Ben, but everyone who's given you advice honestly wants you to succeed. Otherwise they wouldn't bother giving you advice and suggestions on how to improve. People wanted Asylum to succeed, which is why they stuck around for so long. People have been giving you loads of critique in this very topic, again, because we want your ideas to succeed.

 

With that in mind, I'd like you to take another look at the quotes posted above. I know it's hard to read them without getting defensive, but give it a shot. Stop giving excuses and rationalising everything, and just accept the advice that you are being given.

 

People think you have got some good ideas, but they also suggest that you gain some more experience as a player before you try GMing again. They're not saying you have no experience; they're saying you need more, and there's no shame in that.

 

Listen. Help us help you.

I appreciate the advice, I like that you're giving advice, I just happen to disagree with the advice. I feel as though I can produce a superior product than the Asylum ever was.

 

Remember, as I was GMing the Asylum, I was also playing it. I learned more about the people here and how to make a good RP.

 

I know it's hard to believe, but I read every. Single. Post. Over. And. Over. Again, in every single RP I've ever hosted. Not only that, but I read every single post here, too. You give good advice, it's just that one piece I happen to disagree with.

 

I do listen. I learn from my mistakes, and I learn from people like you and (as much as I hate to admit it) Tyler and Perp. It's just that I disagree with waiting. Granted, it's a pretty unanimous opinion, but I just don't see it that way.

 

The RP isn't going up for a while anyways, so all this talk of waiting is redundant.

[25K Now!]

You need to get a feel for the playerbase, honestly.

 

If you wanna run an OTCRPG, you gotta understand the OTC playerbase.

 

Join my RPG.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

I don't even think I understand the OTCRPG player base since I haven't even been able to RP in any of them :dead".

That being said I do understand where Ben is coming from. He is the type who likes to learn from doing, not being told. Yeah he is likely to stumble, a lot. But that is how he learns. Yes it may suck that along the way he may take down some good RP ideas due to poor planning or GMing or whatever you want to call it. People learn differently. Me personally I don't ever say I know how to do something unless I have actually done in and done it multiple times and done it well.

[IcarusBen]

You need to get a feel for the playerbase, honestly.

 

If you wanna run an OTCRPG, you gotta understand the OTC playerbase.

 

Join my RPG.

Thanks, but no thanks. A). Not that big into the concept (Persona in Arabia... okay...), and B)...

I don't even think I understand the OTCRPG player base since I haven't even been able to RP in any of them :dead".

 

That being said I do understand where Ben is coming from. He is the type who likes to learn from doing, not being told. Yeah he is likely to stumble, a lot. But that is how he learns. Yes it may suck that along the way he may take down some good RP ideas due to poor planning or GMing or whatever you want to call it. People learn differently. Me personally I don't ever say I know how to do something unless I have actually done in and done it multiple times and done it well.

Never actually thought of it like that, but it certainly makes sense considering how I learn in school.

 

Again, now I have a much better grasp as to what works here. I can write a far superior product than the Asylum ever could've been. Not only that, but if I get a co-GM who's open to communication, that's probably the biggest problem fixed.

[25K Now!]

That's a lot harder to do in OTC.

 

Because here, even if you get lots of interest in the planning topic, by the time your RPG gets out into the world, you realise that only half of them will make profiles, and they'll only play half-heartedly and post once a week unless you push them.

 

And so if your RPG isn't named Marvel: Rebirth or Rise of the Rockets, actually getting it to survive is hard.

 

OTC is an unforgiving place. A good RPG here means nothing without players, and OTC doesn't have many players.

[shadow pridak money gang]

Ben, here's my advice from someone who genuinely would rather see you improve than keep putting you down forever and ever: play the Elder Scrolls RPG for at least a few weeks to months. See how OTC works differently than the BRPG forum. Notice the playing styles of the people who play in OTC only. Then revisit the Runescape concept here and see what you've picked up from an RPG of a similar tone and genre.

 

That's all they're asking.

 

-Tyler

[IcarusBen]

Ben, here's my advice from someone who genuinely would rather see you improve than keep putting you down forever and ever: play the Elder Scrolls RPG for at least a few weeks to months. See how OTC works differently than the BRPG forum. Notice the playing styles of the people who play in OTC only. Then revisit the Runescape concept here and see what you've picked up from an RPG of a similar tone and genre.

 

That's all they're asking.

 

-Tyler

Again, the Runescape concept isn't going to be published in full anytime soon. It'll be a month or two before it's ready. In that time, I can play the Elder Scrolls RP (assuming it's approved, which so far it seems to be.) It's not like I'm gonna send it out for approval right this second.

 

The biggest problem I see with what you said is that... comparing RuneScape to the Elder Scrolls is like comparing Spongebob: Battle for Bikini Bottom to Batman: Arkham Asylum. They're very different tonally. One is light-hearted with minor moments of drama, and the other is ERMEHGERD, DERKNURSE DEURMEUR with a healthy heaping of Sheogorath every now and again.

[Perp]

I think you need to re-evaluate the accuracy of your own comparisons before you go and judge the accuracy of the comparisons of others.

Edited May 23, 2015 by Perplexed

[shadow pridak money gang]

The Elder Scrolls is not particularly dark as fantasy fare goes.

 

-Tyler

[IcarusBen]

The Elder Scrolls is not particularly dark as fantasy fare goes.

 

-Tyler

It ain't exactly gumballs and dandelions, now is it?

 

Especially not if the first fantasy RPG you ever played was RuneScape and the first Elder Scrolls game you tried was Morrowind. Man, when you're a little kid, Morrowind is FREAKY.

[Eyru]

The RP isn't going up for a while anyways, so all this talk of waiting is redundant.

I don't consider it redundant. I think this discussion has been quite productive in that it continues to expose the fact that you are not good at listening to opinions you don't agree with, regardless of how many people hold that opinion or how qualified those people are. You claim to have learned from Asylum, but I don't know if you've learned enough. One of the chief complaints in the Asylum OOC topic is your unwillingness to listen and engage in dialogue with the players, and your conduct in this topic suggests you have not taken those complaints to heart.

 

I hope I'm not being too blunt, but honestly? You're so convinced of your own correctness that you won't listen to advice, even the advice of people like Tyler. And that is a worrisome quality in a GM, especially a GM who already has a track record of not being open to criticism.

[IcarusBen]

 

The RP isn't going up for a while anyways, so all this talk of waiting is redundant.

I don't consider it redundant. I think this discussion has been quite productive in that it continues to expose the fact that you are not good at listening to opinions you don't agree with, regardless of how many people hold that opinion or how qualified those people are. You claim to have learned from Asylum, but I don't know if you've learned enough. One of the chief complaints in the Asylum OOC topic is your unwillingness to listen and engage in dialogue with the players, and your conduct in this topic suggests you have not taken those complaints to heart.

 

I hope I'm not being too blunt, but honestly? You're so convinced of your own correctness that you won't listen to advice, even the advice of people like Tyler. And that is a worrisome quality in a GM, especially a GM who already has a track record of not being open to criticism.

 

No, you aren't being too terribly blunt.

 

I do believe it is redundant, because I'm going to have to wait anyways because writing these things always takes a long while (I was lucky with the Asylum, Ghidora wrote most of that for me, though I was unlucky in the fact that he was a pretty cruddy GM.) With Ashfall, it seems like you have around 3 people writing that. I have one. I may as well keep writing it as I go along, where's the harm in that?

 

And, I'm going to be brutally honest here cause if I'm not, this conversation will be going in circles like it has been since April. You're so convinced of my incorrectness that you won't listen to viewpoints other than your own. Just because something worked for you does not mean it will work for me, and vice versa.

 

So, we can either keep going in circles which won't matter anyways because it's going to take a while before the RP is even ready to post, or we can actually talk about the RP while we wait for it to become ready?

[Razgriz]

Hey Raz, did the economy bork itself before or after Runescape 3 happened?

 

Because I have an idea.

Well before. The Grand Exchange, as convenient as it is, was the real tipping point to where things started going downhill.

[Perp]

And, I'm going to be brutally honest here cause if I'm not, this conversation will be going in circles like it has been since April. You're so convinced of my incorrectness that you won't listen to viewpoints other than your own. Just because something worked for you does not mean it will work for me, and vice versa.

 

oh i feel it oh no I caN'T STOP IT HERE IT COMES

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Qu15k24SA

Edited May 23, 2015 by Perplexed

[Atton Rand]

Hey everyone. How's it going? I definitely don't have time to run an RPG right now, but I've had one or two idea going through my head and thought maybe it would be good to get them written down. Maybe it'll give someone else some ideas:
 
Recently I've found myself wondering if Game of Thrones might have some RPG potential. The basic setup would be pretty straight forward: players would choose a house to side with and then join in the fight for power. On the other hand, I can imagine that it would be a little difficult to organize due to the presence of so many different factions on the show. You'd probably have to start off with perhaps three or four (say... Stark, Baratheon, Lannister, and Targaryen) and the option to join the Knights' Watch, and then others (i.e. Greyjoy) can be added as the RPG progresses. There would also be the issue of the fact that the show has a fairly rigid storyline, so the only way I could really see an RPG working is to use an alternate timeline; perhaps starting roughly at the same point as the show, and how closely what follows corresponds with the series will depend on the choices of the players.
 
The other problem I could see would be trying to figure out how to handle official characters and preserve the "anyone can die" tone of the show. That probably would have to mean removing a standard RPG rule (no killing off other player's characters without their permission) but at the same time I could see that easily causing some problems if everyone is killing each other easily in one post. You'd probably have to be able to regulate who gets killed and when, perhaps enforce some rules about how to handle player vs. player confrontations to give each player a fair chance. On the bright side, I suppose that would have the advantage in that it would encourage players to create NPCs as well, which would allow them to keep playing if their primary character gets killed off. I'd imagine something similar would be in play for official characters but I'm not quite sure how that would be handled. In any case, I'd imagine that someone, either the host or someone he or she assigns the responsibility, would have to keep some sort of record of who is still alive and who is dead so that everyone else can keep track.
 
I have also found myself wondering if the Mad Max series might have any RPG potential. This one would probably be more of a sandbox RPG (literally, considering the films often took place in the desert), and I suspect Max himself would probably have a small supporting role at most (though to be fair, that was pretty much the case in Fury Road so it's nothing new), but it is an interesting world. I'm not sure if anyone here as seen any of the films in the series, there's been four so far (one of which just came out). Basically the idea is that it is a post-apocalyptic world where society has collapsed. What remains is the barren desert and "society" pretty much amounts to whoever can take control of the roads. It's literally a world where people kill each other for fuel. I don't know if anyone can do something with that but I'm just throwing it out there.

[IcarusBen]

Apparently, the "no killing without permission rule" isn't actually a rule, moreso a courtesy.

 

I really disagree with that assessment, but I don't make the rules. (unless I'm writing the RP, in that case, "I am the law and the law is not fought!")

 

 

 

And, I'm going to be brutally honest here cause if I'm not, this conversation will be going in circles like it has been since April. You're so convinced of my incorrectness that you won't listen to viewpoints other than your own. Just because something worked for you does not mean it will work for me, and vice versa.

 

oh i feel it oh no I caN'T STOP IT HERE IT COMES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Qu15k24SA

 

[Perp]

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2015 by Perplexed

[shadow pridak money gang]

I'd say the subject matter of ASOIAF would be harder to carry over into a BZP incarnation...like..every subject.

 

-Tyler

[Ghosthands]

Apparently, the "no killing without permission rule" isn't actually a rule, moreso a courtesy.

 

I really disagree with that assessment, but I don't make the rules. (unless I'm writing the RP, in that case, "I am the law and the law is not fought!")

I can't speak for other RPGs, but the way it works in the BZPRPG...well, works. It's not acceptable to kill another player's character in your own post insofar as doing so would be an autohit, but there are two main circumstances under which a player may kill a PC (without that player's permission) in their own post.

 

The first is if they've been given special dispensation to do so by the Staff, which is pretty self-explanatory.

 

The second is if the character in question has been put in a situation in which there is no reasonable way for them to survive: think of it like a checkmate in chess. When there is no avenue of escape short of a deus ex machina, a player can be forced to let their character die whether they want to or not. This may seem harsh, but it's not a situation that arises often, and it tends to be justified when it does. It normally takes a combination of skilful and determined play on the part of the attacking player and blunders on the part of the attacked to bring a character down in this way.

 

Now, I've generally stayed out of the debate surrounding Asylum etc, and I know this has been said before in different ways by different people, but Ben: it's a bit rich for you to accuse others of being unable to "listen to viewpoints other than [their] own", because from what I've seen over the last week or so, that is frankly the pot calling the kettle black. I know you're disappointed by Asylum's failure and I understand your eagerness to put it behind you and dive into a new project, but you are dismissing good advice that is being repeated to you by pretty much everyone in the thread, and then complaining that nobody listens to your viewpoint. They are listening to it, but they disagree, and most of them are speaking from experience.

 

Trust me, when you get to the point where even TYLER stops snarking and gives you his plain and earnest advice, it's worth giving it some thought.

Edited May 25, 2015 by Ghosthands

[IcarusBen]

-SNERP-

Hey, I may be a pot, but just because the pot calls the kettle black does not mean the kettle is not black, it just means the pot is also black.

 

I'm being honest here, because if I'm not, we'll be going around and around the SAME. THING. OVER. AND. OVER. I disagree with you. You disagree with me. There, simple as that.

 

And I have given Tyler's advice some thought. Lots of thought, actually. Again, it's redudant to get on my back about waiting because I already HAVE to wait while I write the RP, so what's the harm in writing it while I do other stuff? Since I've started writing it, I've already a). submitted a character for Ashfall, b). created a huge space station in LDD (It's, like 200+ pieces), c). started playing the BZPRPG again, d). have been writing a Power Rangers fanfic (don't ask, PR is a guilty pleasure of mine) and e). been catching up on school. I can multitask, people. It's not that big a deal.

 

And, as I've said before, while I'm writing this, I'm also playing other RPs as well as trying to apply my experience from the Asylum into this RP.

 

On a less serious note, Perp, don't you dare post an opera. It was funny the first few times, but it's gotten old. And using my own snark pictures against me? Shame on you.

[Perp]

ben

don't you dare post

anymore

snark pictures

It was funny the first few times, but it's gotten old.

 

 

 

 

also

 

 

 

Hey, I may be a pot, but just because the pot calls the kettle black does not mean the kettle is not black, it just means the pot is also black.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3WOVnTz-Yo

 

 

ben, I don't know if you understand any of this Italian, but you're one they would call 'calabrese'