HF RPG 2.0

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

Yeah, this is a bit awkward, hey?

 

Well, I'd also volunteer for GM, but I'm in university and it eats at your time like no one's business. That said, I'd be very welcome to co-GMing, if we need volunteers and if people would want that. I've never run a proper game before, but I've had a go at some very small (1-2 player) games where I make things up on the fly and that seems to go pretty well. Not saying I wouldn't plan for things if required, of course- I have no experience with proper BZPower games and what planning is required for them- but I have some ideas for missions and not all of them involve Planet of the Rotors (a backstory/sub-plot me and some of the other players were going to go with, mentioned in Whirl's posts and hinted at in other places; I was going to post the details once Fishers approved them, but I never got a clear answer before she was banned) or incredibly majestic animal costumes. So while I may not be needed as a co-GM or the workload may be too much for me to act as one sometimes (I also have no idea how much work goes into co-GMing), I could help with some mission plots if needed, at the very least.

 

I guess the main thing is, I really don't want this all to end here. All you nerds are pretty cool and this is an awesome game we've been playing, not to mention my first step into the BZPower RPG world- so I am all for everyone banding together and continuing. All these characters are really cool, and I feel like it'd be a shame to end all their stories here.

Edited May 22, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Nato G]

hat said, I'd be very welcome to co-GMing, if we need volunteers and if people would want that.

 

 

As our resident HF lore expert, it'd certainly make sense for you to serve as co-GM.

 

 

I have but one request - you, Zip, must control Zib. 

Edited May 22, 2016 by The Old Master

[Voltex]

I'll second that, I suppose.

[Klanadack]

I'll... third it, I guess?

[Timageness]

I've got some time on my hands to help out if another Co-GM is needed, plus some experience helping Tiragath run Panzer with Nato.

Point me in the right direction and give me some creative freedom, and I can almost guarantee at least one post a day.

 

PS: No giant, carnivorous telepathic tree monsters this time. Promise.

[Onaku]

I WOULD volunteer for co-GM, but after repeatedly causing a fiasco with my op character profiles (and at one point an actual in-game fiasco with Nimius), I doubt you guys would trust me with it...

[Vestak]

I know I'm new here and inexperienced in running RPGs, but I have lots of time on my hands, at least for the summer, and if there was no one more qualified willing to step up I'd volunteer to be co-GM.

[Rylinth Anderfel]

If I have one or two other people to help me out with the details, I can step up and be the GM if no one else feels comfortable.

I promise I won't have the Makuhero Asteroid bombed into a post-apocalyptic wasteland and taken over by a tyrannical network of coliseum-like arenas...

At least, not right away...

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

Thanks to the people hesitantly agreeing with my volunteering and to the other people volunteering. It's very nice to see so many people willing to get this continuing!

 

Wait shoot how many co-GMs do we have now

 

Is everyone a co-GM

 

Good

Edited May 22, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Voltex]

Thanks to the people hesitantly agreeing with my volunteering and to the other people volunteering. It's very nice to see so many people willing to get this continuing!

 

Wait shoot how many co-GMs do we have now

 

Is everyone a co-GM

 

Good

 

excellent

 

we've come full circle back to the silly "crowd-run rpg" idea

 

[Rylinth Anderfel]

excellent

 

we've come full circle back to the silly "crowd-run rpg" idea

 

 

So is it even remotely possible that that could work? If so, we might as well give it a try while the GM(s) figure things out.

[Voltex]

I really don't know. For a short period of time? Absolutely.

 

But the whole thing would also be a logistical nightmare from the start, and it would only get worse.

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

Everyone hold hands as we descend into this spiralling pit of co-GM destruction together

 

In all seriousness, though, I can't see everyone co-GMing working. Or at least not for long. Maybe we should, I don't know, have a selection process or vote? I'm not sure. Since Lucina was involved with the first one, maybe they should be the one to lead the selection process?

Edited May 23, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Nato G]

OOC: I feel like I ought to just get this out of the way now.

 

Although I've co-GMed a couple of games in the past, and although certain people have suggested off-site that I should be GM, I definitely don't think I'm up to the task of maintaining this particular game.

 

My writing/playing style isn't suited to the tone of this game, and there's no way I'd be able to step into the role of GM without fundamentally changing the nature of this RPG (unless, of course, you guys wanted this game to turn into space GoT). I don't need GM powers to have fun in this game; I'm more than content to sit back and continue on with my slew of existing characters. 

[Voltex]

I'd also rather not be involved in the GM process, and I'd rather not have anything to do with the selection process either. I'm busy with running BZPGOT, and will be perfectly happy simply throwing a vote in if it comes down to that.

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

Okay, fair enough @Lucina. Sorry about putting you on the spot like that! Maybe we should put together a poll instead. Is there anyone able to make polls in here?

 

Also yes yes I know what you're all thinking, but I have already proposed to Nato a sitcom-esque situation wherein we co-GM and wacky hijinks ensue from my goofy style colliding with his more serious style. He has explained to me how that would not end well by any means.

Edited May 23, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Timageness]

Maybe we should just have a GM Of The Month type deal where everybody gets to take a turn for a mission or something.

[Nato G]

That... doesn't sound like such a horrible idea, really... 

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

The only thing is, how do we decide on things like approved characters? Communal approval? Also, what about additions and/or changes to canon? I mean, mission of the month sounds awesome, but the parts outside of missions- establishing canons and stuff, maybe changing things in the canon altogether- might get trickier.

Edited May 23, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Voltex]

The only thing is, how do we decide on things like approved characters? Communal approval? Also, what about additions and/or changes to canon? I mean, mission of the month sounds awesome, but the parts outside of missions- establishing canons and stuff, maybe changing things in the canon altogether- might get trickier.

 

Maybe for profile approval, you need at least five other players to agree that the profile fits the rules? And one of the five needs to be whoever is running the current mission?

 

tbh character approval is something that'll bring this thing down pretty quick if it isn't handled right

[Nato G]

Even fishers tended to put profiles on hold if there were players who had concerns about it, so getting approval from a decent number of players seems like a decent method for us to use. 

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

Story changes are a little harder to handle. What I'm thinking of is a situation like this: GM 1 creates an event. GM 2 wishes to carry on with this event, but takes it in a direction that completely disagrees with GM 1's future plans for the event. GM 1, obviously, couldn't reveal this beforehand because it would ruin the surprise if everyone knew what to expect.

 

Alternatively, GM 1 makes an event that clashes directly with GM 2's ideas for a story relating to characters or places that are now in GM 1's event. GM 2 is now in a position where they have to change a mission they are very fond of and may have to throw it out altogether.

 

Stuff like that, I feel like might be a problem. Coinciding stories will be difficult if we still want to keep some surprises in the missions.

Edited May 23, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[-Windrider-]

Okay, fair enough @Lucina. Sorry about putting you on the spot like that! Maybe we should put together a poll instead. Is there anyone able to make polls in here?

 

I don't think polls are enabled in the Creative Outlet. At least, I didn't see the option to add one when I tried just now.

[Voltex]

Story changes are a little harder to handle. What I'm thinking of is a situation like this: GM 1 creates an event. GM 2 wishes to carry on with this event, but takes it in a direction that completely disagrees with GM 1's future plans for the event. GM 1, obviously, couldn't reveal this beforehand because it would ruin the surprise if everyone knew what to expect.

 

Alternatively, GM 1 makes an event that clashes directly with GM 2's ideas for a story relating to characters or places that are now in GM 1's event. GM 2 is now in a position where they have to change a mission they are very fond of and may have to throw it out altogether.

 

Stuff like that, I feel like might be a problem. Coinciding stories will be difficult if we still want to keep some surprises in the missions.

 

If each GM can make their mission "standalone", that might be best.

 

Perhaps each mission takes place on a different "planet" or "dimension", and said location can only be used for Big Mission Stories by that GM; if another GM comes up with a story that would fit in that location and GM1 isn't ok with sharing (for whatever reasons, many of which could be valid), GM2 can just create an identical location with a different name.

 

There are workarounds.

 

 

Okay, fair enough @Lucina. Sorry about putting you on the spot like that! Maybe we should put together a poll instead. Is there anyone able to make polls in here?

 

I don't think polls are enabled in the Creative Outlet. At least, I didn't see the option to add one when I tried just now.

 

 

We can probably work around that anyway; I doubt there will be too many people, so it's probably something that a simple discussion can suffice for.

[Nato G]

If each GM can make their mission "standalone", that might be best.

 

Perhaps each mission takes place on a different "planet" or "dimension", and said location can only be used for Big Mission Stories by that GM; if another GM comes up with a story that would fit in that location and GM1 isn't ok with sharing (for whatever reasons, many of which could be valid), GM2 can just create an identical location with a different name.

 

I've always felt like the whole "big massive plot event that requires the entire playerbase to flock to the one location and thus get caught up in mass interaction lock" wasn't the best approach to take with Hero Factory. 

 

Smaller standalone missions sounds like a better idea. Gives more room for players to pursue their own storylines as well. 

[Timageness]

Yeah, if everyone's serious about actually considering my joke of an idea, then keeping missions separate (unless there's some collaboration beforehand, or it eventually ends up turning into GMs Of The Month) would probably be the way to go. If the plot needs to continue, whoever's running it can always take a back seat until their turn pops up again.

For character approval, the Co-GMs should probably have a set of guidelines established, mostly for clarification, just so issues don't arise somewhere down the line. Other than that, Otherwise, I think Lucina's got the right idea.

For lore changes, I'm honestly thinking that if it's not something huge enough to affect the collective story as a whole (such as the Heroes suddenly gaining the ability to swap magically swap out their gear on the fly like in Contagion), then it's probably worth noting, but shouldn't be stressed over too much. If a mission introduces something game changing that could possibly affect other missions (such as new upgrades, powers, abilities, weapons, etc.), however, that should definitely be cleared with the other GMs.

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

One big flaw is if people want to do two conflicting things with one canon character. For example, as I mentioned before, and as some people are aware, I wanted to do some stuff with Rotor and his home planet. But if someone else wanted to do some Rotor characterisation, I wouldn't want to deprive them of their cool fun story! It's a moral dilemma.

 

But, I can definitely see the merits, too. So I don't want to shoot down the idea or anything, it's pretty awesome. Maybe we could have a discussion topic to establish ideas for lore, missions, characters, etc.?

Edited May 23, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Vestak]

Smaller missions would be fun and honestly more canon as well.  Most of what hero factory does is send out single teams to various parts of the galaxy to stop crime the local law enforcement can;t handle.  That would mean that they would not be dealing with just average crooks but villains powerful enough to be a serious threat.  It would keep these smaller mission from getting boring, and every so often a big mission comes along and everyone participates.  To me it sounds fun.

[Timageness]

Good point. I was going to say that if a conflict came up, the parties could just discuss who would have the character first, but since this is an RPG, there also exists the possibility of them dying or becoming otherwise incapacitated as well. And unfortunately, I'm drawing a blank on how to deal with that particular situation without it being at the expense of the playerbase.

As for there being a Discussion Topic for that, I second that notion.

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

The character dying or being unable to join isn't the only issue I was thinking of, either (though it's still a concern). Hero Factory leaves a lot unexplored, and, for example, almost every villain could have anything done with their backstory so long as you hold true to what little there is in canon. If one person wants to write a mission about Speeda Demon's homeworld being a fast paced racing planet and another person wants to make a mission where he's breaking the mould on a slow-moving, law-abiding government planet, for example, that's going to be an issue. If I wanted to make a mission where the Heroes go to Mekron City to compete in a dance competition and someone else establishes that Mekron City is in fact in this Footloose-esque dancing ban, then that's also a potential issue.

 

Hero Factory leaves all this awesome room for exploring characters and worldbuilding with an RPG in such an environment is really fun, but if we're all left to our own devices, then I feel like it's going to devolve into chaos. Which is why I proposed a discussion topic, so, say, I can say "I want to cut footloose" and someone else can say "that's banned for my story", and we can do things like coordinate to, in this theoretical situation, maybe have mine after theirs and then everybody can cut footloose. Or, in situations that directly conflict like the Speeda Demon example, some kind of middle ground can be reached.

Edited May 23, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Nato G]

That's all well and good, and it's certainly something that should be discussed in the future. But I think we need to come to some decisions about the here and now, because this game's been stagnating for far too long as it is. 

[The UltimoScorp]

For now, I think we should let Zippy wrap up the current arc, as she suggested, then set up a poll in the next couple of days in like.... COT for players to vote on what course of option/GM candidate they'd like.

[ZippyWharrgarbl]

Well, in terms of the game: I'm pretty busy for the next few weeks, but maybe I can try hashing out an ending to the mission with some help from you guys if no one knows how to end it. Or, better yet, someone else can write an ending if they've got an idea of how to do it. This mission felt really weird, in that it was both nearly over (we found the portal, the base, and the means to fix the portal and go home) and just beginning (I doubt we were put in an alternate universe to just chill there for a while).

 

While your pre-suggested timeskip is inviting and certainly a reasonable idea, there are people with stuff in motion (Planet of the Rotors: the Prequel was just beginning on my end, and Echo was getting built somewhere) who might want to keep going without skipping their parts.

 

In the case of Planet of the Rotors, though, that's in a position that it can be delayed for a timeskip if needed. It wasn't properly started yet. But, Echo and Focus and friends might want to keep on chooglin' for a bit.

 

EDIT: Ninja'd by Scorp. If there's voting, we have to do a voting campaign, right? A vote for me is a vote for shenanigans

Edited May 23, 2016 by ZippyWharrgarbl

[Rylinth Anderfel]

A vote for me is a vote for shenanigans

 

I'd vote for that...

 

As far as Echo is concerned, I'd be fine with doing something like having him be comatose after being revived until we've figured things out with the rest of the game. That is, unless Lucina or Onaku have any objections.

If we are going to do GM of the Month, we need to establish a rotation right away and leave room for any new players that might want to be GMs later on. Otherwise, we'll end up right back at square one as soon as it's time to switch.

On a different note, I better start figuring out some missions. 

[Onaku]

I am myself not 100% sure about this GM rotation thing... Not sure what it is, but I've got a bad feeling about it.

[The UltimoScorp]

the concept is fairly simple, every mission would be handled by a different person, and since we only have a limited number of players, they'd go in rotation

[Onaku]

Hmmm... but what of the smaller missions idea? What with not putting all eggs in the same basket and all?

[Voltex]

Smaller missions can probably continue to function as they always have.

[Rylinth Anderfel]

Side missions are generally handled by the players themselves from what I've seen, so the GM constantly switching shouldn't affect them too badly. Any players involved can just keep going regardless of what the current "main quest" is.

[Timageness]

Well, there could always be multiple missions going on at the same time, I suppose, in an effort to keep everybody interested.

It would definitely require a bit more coordination, but having a main mission, a smaller one, and some player-run content on the side should still be possible in theory.