The Official RPG Planning Topic

[Silvan Haven]

 

You always have one piece of advanced technology as part of your body, but has to be cleared as per site rules.

 

This is not a site rule. Its just for the BZPRPG.

[Akavakaku]

Am I the only one who's realized that the Makuta mind-stealing thing and the Rahi-morphs thing would go perfectly together?

 

Imagine this:

Far into the future, the Kingdom has attained a stable society. It spans three islands (Mata Nui, Voya Nui and Nuva Nui) and has vast wild expanses for beasts and nomads to roam, shining cities for manufacture and trade, and everything in between. Toa are few, as there is little danger; all the survivors who were Toa at the time of the Great Migration are now Turaga. Other species, for the most part, live in small communities in the Kingdom's distant corners. The vast majority of those in the cities are Matoran. It is an age of peace...

...but it might not last.

Rumors tell that something made it through the Wall of Light in the years before the passage to the old universe was sealed. No one is sure what... except, of course, those who are of it themselves.

How it made it into the Kingdom and transformed into its current state is a mystery to all, but what it is now is simple. It is a species of beings called Kraata: weak, helpless slugs in their natural state, but capable of phasing directly through the head of a being and into their brain, where they immediately assume total control and have access to all their host's knowledge and thoughts. The only way to cure a Kraata's host is by exposing them to energized protodermis, which will kill the Kraata and leave the host unharmed. Of course, anyone who is not a host will be instantly destroyed.

The Kraata are organized and powerful. They target the influential and respected, seeking to bring about the day when they can simply order the Kingdom's entire population to have Kraata inserted into their heads. No one can be trusted. Not the Toa, not the Hunters, not the Turaga. Only Rahi cannot be directly controlled. 

Except...

There is one being who by accident destroyed his (or her, no clue at this point) own Kraata, while working with energized protodermis. Freed from control, he turned his research to a means of preventing the Kraata invasion. Finally he found a solution: a device which can grant a great power, but only to those with no powers of their own: the power to, for a limited time, become a Rahi. In this state, as long as it lasts, the user is immune to Kraata control. But the Kraata are searching for him. They can't let him live. He must find someone to whom he can pass on the device. And he's running out of time...

Edited February 4, 2015 by Akavakaku

[Bloody Nine]

TBH that changes the theme I wanted to something entirely different

[Akavakaku]

How so?

[Bloody Nine]

Because the theme is that, for the first time in their lives, the Makuta are weak. They're the ones being hunted. The Light won. This basically becomes another "Makuta wins, y'all doomed" scenario, and it doesn't even need the setup from what I already had.

 

Regardless I had another idea

 

It's basically a Bionicle Western set during the young days of Mata Nui, before the Makuta were evil

 

The Line

 

This is the Northern Continent.

 

Destiny has eluded this land. There are no Toa to protect the Matoran. Without these heroes to bring order, how could they expect to know Unity or Duty? Without a guiding hand, they have fractured into many tribes, divided by grudges or misunderstandings, grave and petty. These people are so very different from the Matoran of Metru Nui. Without protectors, they have admirably adapted to the harsh lands, Sturdier and stronger than normal Matoran, these People of the Land, as they call themselves, have managed to domesticate Rahi in order to survive.

 

For the longest time, no force has bothered with the Northern Continent, as barren and untameable as it was. Certainly, every now and then, a Toa team would try to bring the Virtues to this land, only to be rebuffed harshly by the People. Perhaps a single enterprising businessman would arrive full of hopes and dreams, only to leave with nothing. But, realistically, the only people that came, and stayed, were criminals escaping the long arm of the law. Destitute people seeking a new beginning. And so on. As they trickled in, these Bordermen managed to erect their own rickety roads and shantytowns, and established an.. if not amicable relationship, at least a neutral one with the People. Some villages gladly trade with the People around them while others will outright wage war on them. Either way, they could live their lives far away from the watchful eyes of the civilized world.

 

...That is, until now. The Line is a grand undertaking by people from all cities and all races. Xians see profit. Toa see opportunity. Skakdi see work. Even the Brotherhood itself lends its aid! All of this to tame these lawless lands. Two great ships landed on the east and west sides of the Continent, and have quickly set to work. Their first order of business was to erect a new kind of transport henceforth unknown to us: Railroads. These roads allow trains to travel at great speeds, many dozens times faster than the fastest Gukko bird. Offering exorbitant prices to whoever would accept them, People or Bordermen, the Line efficiently began its work.

 

Within ten years, they have managed to penetrate deeper into the Northern Continent than the Bordermen have ever managed in a thousand years. Their ultimate goal is for both East and West Offices to meet in the center of the Northern Continent. Now, however, they face troubles, as they have stretched themselves thin. Resentful Bordermen and People alike have turned to banditry, assaulting trains running far from their stations.

 

It is a tumultuous time. Will you turn to Outlawry? Establish Order by the Line? Protect your land?

[25K Now!]

Always been fonder of chutes than trains, but this sounds pretty interesting. It's a mostly arid region then?

[Bloody Nine]

You can't sip tea in a chute, you savage

 

But no, I think it would be a bit more varied than that. Like, for example, the Line having trouble cutting through a jungle infested with Rahi, or tunneling through a mountain.

[Voltex]

The idea of a western Bionicle RPG revolving around ambushing trains sounds wonderful.

 

I would absolutely play that.

[Toa of Dancing]

You can still combine the idea of trains and chutes. Make the trains travel through chutes. That makes it Bionicle and trains. Sip tea while flying through a tube of liquid.

[Bloody Nine]

Can't jack a chute without blowing the whole thing up, though

[Prowl Nightwolf]

I kind of like this idea. I could have my Po-Maotran(seen in Avatar) dressed in Western gear such as a wide brim hat, poncho, chaps and have pistols instead of a Kolhii stick and climbing claws. I guess he could still ride his Nui-Jaga, but maybe a more western Rahi would be better...

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

I was just thinking, what if there were a Bionicle acting company? So I came up with this:


Thousands of years after the death of Mata Nui, the Kingdom is thriving. The greatest inventors have developed methods of stabilizing the island, and the civilization has entered a Golden Age. Every species has its representatives, even the Kraata, who have developed intelligence and been allowed to leave their prison below and enter society. With this rise of culture, numerous fine arts institutions have come into existence.

Enter the Great Theatre, the most prestigious acting company in the land. Founded recently and run by a member of Axonn's species, Korero, it is a collection of the finest actors, musicians, and dramatists in the Kingdom, dedicated to putting on the most spectacular renditions of both historical and fictional events. Driven by passion for their art or desire for fame, each of these performers must compete for the most favorable roles.

There are those that say the Theatre has a covert purpose, but the rumors can't stop you. There can be only one leading role, and you want to play it. But so does everyone else. Getting to the top won't be easy... especially when your competition is driven to foul play. Will you outdo them with your superior abilities, or sink to their level and try to remove them?


I'm thinking one would play as an actor, musician, or playwright. The plot would be driven by the intrigue generated by the character's attempts to outdo or backstab each other. And as mentioned, the Theatre would have a secret purpose... Maybe it's resurrecting the Makuta with some ancient ritual, maybe it's killing off the city's leaders when they all attend a performance. Perhaps there's an Erik type guy lurking about. I haven't figured that out yet. It's preferred to have characters in the plays performed by one of their own race, so species diversity is encouraged. Anyone from Steltians to the Shadowed One's species would be accepted, as long as they have the talent.

 

Any thoughts?

[Bloody Nine]

That would actually be pretty interesting, but nobody can be that one snobby critic?

 

 

"The actor's voice lower than the actual Tahu 0/10 would not watch"

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

No, you're right, we'd need a snobby critic.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Johnrahk

[Toa of Dancing]

The driving force of the Trains could be that a new tech was created where people could jump into and out of chutes at any time and thus train hijackers. Of course, there would also be the rise of chute trains to make the idea feasible. Maybe a wild west island that's full of little towns between two larger cities?

 

I was just thinking, what if there were a Bionicle acting company? So I came up with this:

Thousands of years after the death of Mata Nui, the Kingdom is thriving. The greatest inventors have developed methods of stabilizing the island, and the civilization has entered a Golden Age. Every species has its representatives, even the Kraata, who have developed intelligence and been allowed to leave their prison below and enter society. With this rise of culture, numerous fine arts institutions have come into existence.

Enter the Great Theatre, the most prestigious acting company in the land. Founded recently and run by a member of Axonn's species, Korero, it is a collection of the finest actors, musicians, and dramatists in the Kingdom, dedicated to putting on the most spectacular renditions of both historical and fictional events. Driven by passion for their art or desire for fame, each of these performers must compete for the most favorable roles.

There are those that say the Theatre has a covert purpose, but the rumors can't stop you. There can be only one leading role, and you want to play it. But so does everyone else. Getting to the top won't be easy... especially when your competition is driven to foul play. Will you outdo them with your superior abilities, or sink to their level and try to remove them?


I'm thinking one would play as an actor, musician, or playwright. The plot would be driven by the intrigue generated by the character's attempts to outdo or backstab each other. And as mentioned, the Theatre would have a secret purpose... Maybe it's resurrecting the Makuta with some ancient ritual, maybe it's killing off the city's leaders when they all attend a performance. Perhaps there's an Erik type guy lurking about. I haven't figured that out yet. It's preferred to have characters in the plays performed by one of their own race, so species diversity is encouraged. Anyone from Steltians to the Shadowed One's species would be accepted, as long as they have the talent.

 

Any thoughts?

As a Theatre major, I say one thing: ALL OF MY YES.

 

However, is it really only limited to those three roles? What about Director, Tech, Stage Manager, Lead Costume Designer (or Makeup or Lighting), Producer, Critics, Reviewers? Even a devout fan could be a cool character.

 

Does there really need to be an underlying scheme? Just the everyday struggles of Theatre would be fun if at least minimal knowledge was applied to it.

 

(I promise I won't kill people if they get things wrong.)

 

Overall, though, I really like this idea and want to see it fully fleshed out. =3

Edited February 5, 2015 by Toa of Dancing

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

It would be really cool to have all those roles. My fear was if there are too many, however, there wouldn't be enough competition in each to really fuel the backstabbing stuff. (Not to mention I don't have the knowledge in theatre to actually come up with all that stuff )

 

With the underlying scheme, I don't know. Maybe just the Phantom guy? In addition to my inexperience in theatre I am inexperienced in RPGs, so I don't know if it would need the fuel or not. Maybe leave the rumors in, and develop if needed?

 

Anyways, thanks for the feedback . _{^{also, 800 posts!}}

Edited February 5, 2015 by Johnrahk

[Bloody Nine]

You can easily encompass the lights, sound, costumes etc into 'Tech guy' in general.

[Toa of Dancing]

If you wanted to run a Theatre-based RPG, I would totally make time to help you with the technical stuff, as an AGM or otherwise. In addition, there's plenty of resources online for basic principles of Theatre and basic flowcharts for different jobs.

 

And Bloody, please never say that all Techs are the same. That might not be what you meant, but the jobs, while they might mostly fall under "Tech" are very distinct and different. Maybe they often overlap for small productions, but we're talking about the largest company in the Bionicle world, the Broadway. In addition, I specifically mentioned lead designers because they aren't classified as Techs. They fall into the same category as the Director, creative pre-show stuff. They don't touch the show at all once they've done their job. Lights and sound are different from the Techs moving the props or those in the Flyloft.

 

I'll stop there so I don't get uppity and snooty about it. Just remember, there are a lot of invisible people doing their distinct jobs really well so that they won't be seen. =3

 

As a final remark on the topic, though, I just want to say that I realize that not many have the same knowledge of Theatre as I do (of course, some may know much more, I am simply a first-year student). I'm fine with making mistakes. I just felt the need to correct that one because we're on the subject and I wanted to show my nerdiness. X3

[Portalfig]

This theatre plan is an awful idea cause it would take even more of my time away from me and there is like, no way I could stay away from joining something like that because it sounds pretty awesome to me.

 

That is all

[Bloody Nine]

It makes more sense than having a dozen categories for different jobs. Some things you truncate for the sake of accessibility

[Toa of Dancing]

Then you streamline it into: Actor, Orchestra, Artistic Direction, Technical Direction, Playwright. Still simple enough, but relatively correct. =3

 

Also, not sure how fun being a Playwright would be. Unless the character directed his or her own plays, there really wouldn't be much to do other than having them just write. But I might be wrong, maybe them gathering ideas and having their scripts critiqued could be fun. Biggest problem I see with it though is that the company is going to be running one show for an amount of time and the other Playwrights get snubbed. Unless we went into things like Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Toa of Dancing

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

I like those roles, although you do make a good point about the playwright. Still, I'd rather keep the role so that the players have some say in just what we're performing.

 

Perhaps the first four roles you mentioned (Actor, Orchestra, Artistic Direction, Technical Direction) would be the main roles, and minority roles (playwright, critic, fan, etc) would be somehow limited? Obviously we wouldn't need as many playwrights as actors.

 

Also, don't worry about being a nerd, ToD. Better you educate us now than when the RPG has been posted.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Johnrahk

[IcarusBen]

Question; will these plays be typically "dramas" and "comedies" or will there be musicals added into the mix?

[Voltex]

Question; will these plays be typically "dramas" and "comedies" or will there be musicals added into the mix?

 

Musicals are going to be the unlockable post-game DLC. The main villain will turn out to actually be the fourth in command of the heroes' side.

[Toa of Dancing]

It really depends on how in-depth you want to go with this idea. Let the individual make their role, or set defined roles in the industry. Both have advantages for certain ideas.

 

 

Question; will these plays be typically "dramas" and "comedies" or will there be musicals added into the mix?

 

Musicals are going to be the unlockable post-game DLC. The main villain will turn out to actually be the fourth in command of the heroes' side.

 

Not sure if best thing ever or groan-worthy. Either way, I at least chuckled.

[IcarusBen]

But... I wanna write Bionicle "Aladdin"...

 

Also, was this inspired by my idea for Metru Nui Theatrical? 

[Sergei Rahkmaninoff]

But... I wanna write Bionicle "Aladdin"...

 

Also, was this inspired by my idea for Metru Nui Theatrical?

I think normally they wouldn't perform musicals. But because playwright would be a role, one could theoretically write a musical and have it approved and performed.

 

If I was inspired by your Metru Nui Theatrical, it must have been subconsciously. I was just sitting there and I suddenly thought "Holy Mukau, a Bionicle acting company would be awesome!" and proceeded to write up the intro I posted.

Edited February 6, 2015 by Johnrahk

[Timageness]

I had an idea for a Matoran Universe reality show about a week ago, complete with challenges, eliminations, and imaginary prize money.

I need to stop watching TV.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

Well spill the beans... what kind of gameshow... wheel of fortune, Jeopardy, Price is right? maybe Deak or no deal?

[Timageness]

Not a gameshow, a reality show.

Think somewhere along the lines of Big Brother or Fear Factor.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

Oh... Never watched them shows. I do take part in the past time of watching Face Off on Syfy. That is a Reality-ish show isn't it? Contestants pit themselves against each other in tasks and the winner each day survives while a loser is sent packing...

[Timageness]

Face Off (also an awesome series in my opinion) would also be a good example of a reality show, yeah.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

I guess I could see a type of reality show type deal... though are there televisions on Mata-Nui for people to watch? Seems like a big plot hole right there. 

[Akavakaku]

How about a Face-Off themed RPG, Mask-Off? (Kidding, of course.)

[Timageness]

Well, considering that it would take place outside of the main canon universe, it could be possible that Matoran have been able to repurpose the technology behind the Metru Nui jumbo-tron inside the arena for personal home devices. 

I was thinking that it would probably run more like Big Brother mechanics-wise; basically all of the characters/contestants are shipped off to an isolated "house" (which in reality, would have to be the size of a mansion if there was a large influx of players) and then have to compete in various challenges throughout an in-game week. Due to the possibility of people joining at infrequent intervals, I would think that a contestant ranking system would make more sense than having someone eliminated each week, but basically the winner/winning team would recieve immunity from that week's vote and gain a higher place in the system while the character/team that recieved votes would go down a spot. Whoever has the highest spot at the end wins the fictional prize money, and I suppose All-Star status if they're into that sort of thing.

The concept originally came to me when I realised that a good majority of the RPGs in the forum mostly revolved around violence, and while I do love a good fight here and there, it kind of becomes a bit repetitive if every character is locked in a fight all the time. I figured that this would be an interesting way for characters to mingle amongst themselves and still have them at each other's throats via pranking and backstabbing without having to resort to fisticuffs to solve all of their problems.

[Prowl Nightwolf]

This is true... Though I have not seen any fighting where my Ga-Matoran is. Once we go deeper into this cave no promises.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Prowl Nightwolf

[Banana Gunz]

I got a brilliant new RPG idea and am writing it right now. When I'm done with it, I'll post the draft for it here and see what you all think! I really feel that this could be awesome!

[IcarusBen]

I had an idea for a 1984/HL2-styled dystopian city-based RPG set in an alternate alternate timeline from The Asylum. Same setup, different resolution.

[Ghidora131]

Very coincidental, I was thinking of a part 2 of the asylum; when everything gets taken care of, all the Toa inside are freed, and have to return to the world they left behind, racked by war and all the Matoran have completely forgotten what Toa are. The warden, Halmos, and Nyhe would survive the destruction of their asylum. But this time they would bring up a secret plot that would be hinted to in asylum.

 

Basically, Halmos would return with full control over *secret plot details* and start an assault on the world. The makuta would be unable to stop him, because the *secret plot details* unable to fight back.

 

And, If Ben lets him survive, Jorik would be the Vezon for this world, and get placed in every situation. Nyhe would do the organizing, planning and overall leading. Halmos, on the other hand...

 

Hehehe... Halmos would do the morbid reconstructing.

 

 

Well, whaddya think?

[Voltex]

Very coincidental, I was thinking of a part 2 of the asylum; when everything gets taken care of, all the Toa inside are freed, and have to return to the world they left behind, racked by war and all the Matoran have completely forgotten what Toa are. The warden, Halmos, and Nyhe would survive the destruction of their asylum. But this time they would bring up a secret plot that would be hinted to in asylum.

 

Basically, Halmos would return with full control over *secret plot details* and start an assault on the world. The makuta would be unable to stop him, because the *secret plot details* unable to fight back.

 

And, If Ben lets him survive, Jorik would be the Vezon for this world, and get placed in every situation. Nyhe would do the organizing, planning and overall leading. Halmos, on the other hand...

 

Hehehe... Halmos would do the morbid reconstructing.

 

 

Well, whaddya think?

 

If this is a sequel to Asylum... shouldn't you wait until Asylum's story is almost finished first? =P