The Official OTC TBRPG Planning and Organization Topic

[Archer Vonn]

you have eight species and only talked about one. i think the best thing to start on would be the other seven races.

[Fighty]

Of course, that post was just to demonstrate how the magic system was set-up.

[Archer Vonn]

level system? ehhhhhhh i guessmagic seems kinda lame. the 'wait ___ long' is also kinda stupid, because it kinda endorses 'you can apply and come back in two weeks and kick butt in my rpg (lolceptmagicdoesn'tdoanything)i don't like it. plant control seems the clear choice as the other two are pretty weak, the level up system should be less restrictive (if even present), and levels should be administered as you see fit, not through some hole in a calender.

[Xomeron]

Is it just me or is there a lot of Elder Scrolls influence here?Not that that's a bad thing; the races seem interesting, although for once I agree with JC about the level system.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Descriptions of the races would be good at some point. I have no idea what H'jinn or Rhy'vitin even are, and I thought the narrator of the intro was an orc until you said they were elves

[Fighty]

The H'jinn are basically humanoid cats (see: Khajiit) and the Rhy'vitin are a lizard-like humanoid race (see: Argonians). So yes, I am rather shamelessly inspired by the Elder Scrolls.Of course, detailed information for all races (religion, government, physicality) is forthcoming, this was just kind of a way to show off the magic-leveling system... which several of you seem to dislike.Okay, what alternative system do you guys think would work better?

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Is a magic system actually necessary? I've seen plenty of RPGs which allow magic without putting any kind of system in place and they worked

[Toast of Awesomeness]

Hmm... I like it, haha! But I'd suggest some more detailed descriptions of the races you made up yourself.I'm guessing you have ideas for the other races' magic?And what's the conflict here? What's driving the plot? Because all I see right now is "the gods made us, we have magic, become SUPAH POWERFUL!" :PFrom that you have so far though, I can see this turning out great.

[Xomeron]

Yeah, I think freeform magic would be best. I'd want to play an illusionist of some sort.The worst thing you're doing that I see here is limiting certain magic to certain races; by all means, give races a racial specialty, but don't restrict it. I might want to play a Wood Elf Pyromancer, and the system shouldn't stop me from doing that.

[Fighty]

The appeal of a leveling system, in my opinion, is the constant reward that players receive as they play. As -JC- noted earlier, many people would be tempted to disengage from the RPG and just wait until their characters have achieved their full potential. I am naturally opposed to this and will probably revise the system to require player participation, not just "time."However, I also have a couple of other ideas floating around, too. One is to give the races basic qualities, i.e. "enhanced speed" or "resistance to poisons," and then simply allow freeform magic, as that seems to be the more popular option.I do like my idea, though, so I may still try to work out its wrinkles. I do see your point, KoS, about the race restrictions and I have a couple possible remedies in mind.@ToA: That is not a complete overview of the RPG, just a simple prologue of the history of the land. I would set up some basic factions, conflicts and crises to engage players, as well as a single, over-arching mystery, but I want a good deal of the action to be player-driven as well. Okay, so race descriptions, factions, locations, and a revision of the magic system is forthcomng. Thanks for the feedback, guys.

[Archer Vonn]

although for once I agree with JC

>i've said more than like four things in this topici'll play an MMO if i want to be rewarded. TBRPGs arent MMOs, they're stories. the only reward in an RPG should be a good story. dont blur the line.listen, i have four and a half incomplete RPGs i have lying around too. i'm not posting them because they're incomplete. toa and power are asking questions you're leaving blank because its incomplete. as a heads up, finish your work before you publish it. Edited November 30, 2011 by ~JC~

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

As happens maybe about 46.6% of the time, I fully agree with JC. If it helps, thing of the TBRPG less like a game, and more like a story being written by multiple authors, some of whom just happen to have the creative capacity and writing skill of gerbils.

[Fighty]

although for once I agree with JC

>i've said more than like four things in this topici'll play an MMO if i want to be rewarded. TBRPGs arent MMOs, they're stories. the only reward in an RPG should be a good story. dont blur the line.listen, i have four and a half incomplete RPGs i have lying around too. i'm not posting them because they're incomplete. toa and power are asking questions you're leaving blank because its incomplete. as a heads up, finish your work before you publish it.

I never said it was complete so I don't see why it should be judged as such. Moreover, why should I finish it before getting feedback? Writers are free to post synopses or excerpts and receive criticism; why are game-makers relegated to posting their whole work before they receive feedback?But I digress; your point about TBRPGs is a good one, although not one that I would consider entirely true. I think, simply because my RPG experience is somewhat limited, I'll opt for freeform magic with racial specialties, since that seems to be the most popular solution.

[Archer Vonn]

it avoids questions like 'whats this, whats that.' for one thing.

[Fighty]

Well, yeah, that's definitely true.

[Noxryn]

The appeal of a leveling system, in my opinion, is the constant reward that players receive as they play. As -JC- noted earlier, many people would be tempted to disengage from the RPG and just wait until their characters have achieved their full potential. I am naturally opposed to this and will probably revise the system to require player participation, not just "time."

I'd have to agree with nixing the leveling system, it makes the game feel too much like a RPG I could stick into a console or PC and play in that fashion, rather than a coherent story that has an interesting and engaging plot. If you also have people gaining things based on the time they play the game, I'd suggest you reconsider doing something like that -- it won't promote activity, it sounds like it'd possibly be detrimental to the story, and the real enjoyment of a TBRPG is writing a story, not reaping imaginary benefits. If some players are a lot better than others, following rules and showing off a creative streak and being pleasant people, then I'd suggest granting them a reward along the lines of getting a bigger part in the overarching plot as a reward, or the ability to create a particular (or take control) plot-important character, or even give them more liberty with their own plots and requests. It's more fun, from a TBRPG perspective, to make rewards based on higher participation in story and assisting with writing the more complicated, delicate pieces rather than "hey, you get a new power" or "hey, you get an awesome new weapon" and stuff of that nature (which would belong more in the video-game counterpart, from my perspective).

However, I also have a couple of other ideas floating around, too. One is to give the races basic qualities, i.e. "enhanced speed" or "resistance to poisons," and then simply allow freeform magic, as that seems to be the more popular option.

If you want to give races basic qualities and advantages, I'd say have it work into the story -- make it seem natural to the species, provide reasons and explanations for why they have these biological advantages. Are they poison resistant because they live in a poisonous area, and have developed an immunity to it? Or is it due to magic? Or is it due to the poisons being naturally incompatible with their biology? Make it seem less like a Skyrim-videogame description, and more like a description an author might use to explain a species he/she has created in a fictional world only supported on plot and text. All I feel to add, is that having an overarching plot is fine and helps string things together and create progression, but I'd also recommend not just throwing something together quickly just to have a weak overarching plot with the idea of having the players do everything else. In most cases, it just doesn't play out that way and it's often nice to have a fallback plan if you end up attracting the more "follow the leader" type of player than the "Oh, I want to strike out on my own and develop my own storyline, my own plotline and leave a name for my character imprinted on this land" type of player.

[~kh]

Yes, so, I've thought of doing an RPG like this for a long while now. When I first found out about COTRPGs, I looked for a solid, modern-based serious Superhero RPG that I could join. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one, so I decided to create my own. I thought I should at least post this here and see what people think about it. Since this is my first one, I'm more than certain that this will need some work, so any critique possible would be greatly appreciated. I've thought of including some sort of skill point system to help balance this out; is there anything I should base it on, or is it even advisable?

In the early years of World War II, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States government discovered a secret long hid from them: the existence of metahumans. Some just had an appearance deficiency; others were gifted abilities beyond what normal humans could do. Their numbers were few, but they did exist, and in the time of war they were used to that extent.Scientists took them and studied them, soon developing methods to actively mutate select humans into metahumans themselves. The process, however, was risky and many test subjects suffered the consequences. The solution was found, oddly enough, by a metahuman himself known as Subject 13. His power was emitting some unknown form of energy, and scientists soon found that that energy could safely create metahumans, but for some odd reason, some would transform and others would not.​While scientists tried to explain this anomaly, President Roosevelt sanctioned the United States Metasoldier Division, which trained the active metahumans in their powers in order to provide a leg up over the international competition. That only lasted for a small while, however. Soon, a German Metasoldier Unit appeared, and a British and Japanese Unit followed suit. The world was now locked in a smaller but all too powerful war, made out of just over fifty individuals whose very existence was sworn to secrecy.However, on April 30, 1945, the USMD subdivison Spearforce 1 finally achieved their primary purpose: the assassination of Adolf Hitler. They pursued him to his Füherbunker and killed him, all while using a combination of fire-based metahumans, telepaths and illusionists to cover up their presence there under the pretense of a Sovient attack. This was later coupled by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Sagasaki, and soon after the war had officially ended.The Metahuman Units were disbanded, but the United States Government were in for another surprise. The metahuman population had started to grow. For another inexplicable reason, perhaps one related to the use of Subject 13's powers, metahumans were becoming more and more frequent throughout the nation.In order to regulate, study and train the metahumans, the United States Government constructed a top secret facility in southern Nevada in which all known metahumans were held for security purposes. This facility was soon christened "Area 51", and absolute secrecy was held as to its actual purpose. However, the government could not find every one that existed, and as the population grew, the more metahumans slipped through their fingers. The USMD still remained active during the Cold War, in which the use of metasoldiers were an additional fear to the threat of nuclear missiles that neither country officially acknowledged but were well aware of.This brings us to the current day. Following a terrorist attack on Detroit, Michigan by several metahuman individuals, the Government decided to release some trained detainees at Area 51 as agents in order to fully combat the new form of terrorism. Suspecting that the public would not be all that welcome to the thought that Uncle Sam had literal biological weapons under their control, they decide to instead "release" them as an "empowered public service dedicated to the security of United States citizens", better known as superheroes. Complete with codenames, costumes, comic and movie tie-ins and an entire department dedicated to public relations, Project: NOVUS was supposedly the first line in defense against superpowered terrorism.But things are not always what they seemed. With other countries starting to release their own superagent groups after the success of NOVUS, the awareness of metahuman activity has only grown in the public eye. Assassins, bounty hunters, criminal organizations, leagues, clans, gangs, and many others have long since known about the metahumans and are very open to them joining their ranks. Many others have now decided to strike out on their own criminal ventures, using their power for illicit gain.Still others work outside of the government sanctioned system, not trusting them in their use of the other active metahumans. They have begun to make a world a better place without the aid of Uncle Sam's breath down their neck.The world has become a much more dangerous place, and the stakes are being skyrocketed to a fever pitch. A new era has begun, a new category of humankind formed. No longer will battles be limited to bullets and blades, explosives and espionage. The rules have changed forever.All men are created equal.But some are more equal than others.------------So yeah, basically, this is at its core a Superhero RPG. It takes place in an alternate universe, one in which superhumans are the focus of American conspiracy and government cover-ups. I've tried to make it a little more involved and different from a "normal" superhero RPG by adding more realistic elements, but the basics are the same. There's some rules involved, though. Most of them are basic, but they're worth putting down for posterity:1. Psychic abilities,especiallymind-control and mind-reading, are not allowed. This is because such abilities can lead to heavy god-modding, especially in the case of gaining "top secret" information or controlling another OC to do your bidding. There is leeway offered in the use of telekinesis, however.2. Humans aren't completely helpless. It’s a common trope within the genre, but "ordinary" humans aren't exactly cannon fodder in this world. Soldiers and police pose a real threat, and even the next door neighbor with a baseball bat would pose at least some area of alarm here. No breezing through dozens officers/henchmen/gang members/bodyguards etc. just because you got bitten by a radioactive animal and they didn't.3. Magic based powers are not allowed. This is mostly because "magical" powers usually do not have a cap or limit to the variety of abilities they can "summon" (especially with sorcerers/witches/warlocks/etc.) and can also be used as an excuse to doing impossible feats or pulling a device rabbit out of the proverbial hat.4. All beings must have weaknesses. Even Superman has his Kryptonite, yada yada yada. It should probably be common knowledge, but here we go: everyone has to have a weakness. Everyone. Somehow, someway. This weakness must also be proportionate to the amount of power he/she can control, as well as somewhat obtainable (as in, not the sole Stone of Ages that is stored miles underground in a secret dimension that can only be accessed by reciting the twenty-thousandth digit of pi in front of the Sacred Pillar when the full moon rises on Thursday the 17).5. All events must be at least plausibly feasible/apply to real world physicsto an extent. Yes, I don't expect everyone here to be a physics expert, but as a general rule, this is a science fiction-esque RPG and there must be some degree of realism here. Yes, even in a RPG about people dressed up in themed costumes that shoot lasers out of their eyes. I know that superheroes break the laws of physics by nature, but there is a difference between suspension of disbelief and suspension of knowledge. Suspension of disbelief means that I can believe that Magneto can control magnetism. Suspension of knowledge means that I can believe he can use this power to levitate a plastic fork.6. All tech should be within the current or next generation range. Yes, I will allow leniency with this rule, seeing as this is science fiction and all, but keep this in mind so you don't go overboard.7. The science gets done and you made a neat gun, but it took a good chunk of your life. Technology takes time to master, perfect, perform, etc. You can't face Dr. Evil, get your butt whooped, go back and create the anti-Dr. Evil device in less than half an hour by your science degree-less and science lab-less OC. It takes time, equipment, materials, research, education and assistance to make things work. Of course, there is common sense to be taken here: if Dr. Evil is made out of sand and can be taken out by water, then making a portable hose wouldn't be too constrictive. But if Dr. Evil has his signature energy ray, you can't create energy ray proof spray and spray it all over your costume in less than a day. Not only that, but you have to remember that everything takes money too, so even if you are a super-genius, you still need equipment and materials to even start on something.8. All powers must be related and limited in number in some way, and you cannot start off uber-powerful. Super strength, okay. Super speed, as long as it’s limited, okay. Super X-Ray vision, a bit iffy, but passable. Super Laser Vision, pushing it. Super Ice Breath, getting too much. Super Photographic Memory, you're up against the edge. Super Ventriloquism...no, just no. Basically, your powers have to be related and limited in number. You cannot breathe fire, teleport, and have sonic scream all at the same time. Also, if you have more than one power, you are automatically less powerful than someone who has just one of those powers (for instance, Superman would lose against Cyclops as far as laser vision goes). All powers are also related to energy/skill/willpower. You can hone/grow your skills, however, just not right away or instantly. Also, as a reminder, try not to have it suddenly come into play when you're cornered by your opponent: it only makes it looked cliched and extremely unfair.9. No autohitting, autowinning, or autolooting without other member's consent. If going up against another member, give them a chance to respond. No automatic winnings and then stealing the Ring of Power from said member in order to have AllYourPowersCombined.10. The creators/staff can retcon things at any time and their general word is law. Everything is judged by a case to case basis. What they say goes, and they can also undo what you just did for whatever reason they see fit. After all, comic studios do it all the time, so who says we can't either? :P11. Please keep things more realistic and serious. I’m a great supporter of the use of humor, but please try to keep things more serious here. No Fluffy-Bunny Man or anything like that, plox. Anything absurdly silly is just out of place in an RPG like this.------------To join, just fill out the form below. If it is not too powerful, it will then be approved.Name/Alias(es):Gender:Appearance/Costume:Powers:Limits:Weaknesses:Origin/Biography:Personality:Alignment:

Edited December 5, 2011 by Kahi

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Hmm, I thought when you said realistic it would be something like Heroes, but as you've still got people in costumes and secret identities it seems more like The Ultimates. Which in my eyes makes it too similar to the forums current superhero RPG, To Save the World!, to give it approval.I get that, since TSTW! is run by me, this might seem a little like bias, so feel free to go to the other judges as well

[~kh]

Hmm, I thought when you said realistic it would be something like Heroes, but as you've still got people in costumes and secret identities it seems more like The Ultimates. Which in my eyes makes it too similar to the forums current superhero RPG, To Save the World!, to give it approval.I get that, since TSTW! is run by me, this might seem a little like bias, so feel free to go to the other judges as well

Well, it does take a lot of inspiration from Heroes, but you're right in that it also does have government-run heroes via the Ultimates. However, the costumes are only for public relations for Project: NOVUS (and they don't have secret identities, since they were the children of Area 51). The whole subplot of metahumans appearing all over the globe was to actually give it a sort of Heroes-esque feel of normal people suddenly developing powers (hence why costumes are meshed with appearance, they're entirely optional), in which the metahumans are coming into direct conflict with the government rather than just an outspread of superheroes.I do see your point in it being very similar; one thing I'd like to comment on is that "To Save The World!" seemed like a great homage to the Golden and Silver Ages of comics, or perhaps a Saturday morning cartoon, in which you had heroes and you had villains and they'd fight it out to rule the world and all that. Its a very classic setup, and it does give way for a good RPG. However, my goal with this was to create a world in which the lines were more blurred (I apologized if that wasn't clearly conveyed) and where the government forced superheroism to be under their own control, regardless if their actions were good or bad. I also wanted to give it a little more freedom in terms of alignment and motive, because I noticed that there were only four options in TSTW!: hero, villain, solo hero or solo villain, and I wanted something less limiting in that aspect.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

Problem is thats its still a very comic book styled RPG. Which means it runs into this rule

-There cannot be 2 RPGs of the same subject. If there is similar RPG running, please play that one to avoid any potential confusion; besides, a dupe RPG is basically like a dupe topic.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

In theory there are only those options, but in practice it's a bit more open than that - one of my characters, for example, is a government agent, and, while he nominally sides with the heroes, he does have his own agenda to take care of.My only concern with this RPG is that, since it is a Superhero RPG set in modern times, it's likely to overlap too much with TSTW to get many players.

[Blessed Blade]

Just as a curious question, what's the general opinion of having backstory that's skimmed in an RPG? Like, it's obviously happened in-universe, and there's a bit of explanation about it in the first post and throughout the story and such, but the most of it is left unknown at least for the first while?I only ask, because something I might have an idea for(Aside from one thing I also wish to create, but that I've been slightly ignoring for no good reason. =/), would have a similar situation, because it literally has stuff that's happened prior to it... But it would be way too much backstory to cover in a single post that would also cover other things, like power-related things, and how other things work.Once again, just curious, and I don't really have any actual stuff written up, as I wanted to find out the opinion on this before doing anything. =)

[Xomeron]

I like the idea, but the setting and conflict need fleshing out. My advice is to create two or more organizations, all of which must be "good" as in, their members believe they are in the right and no-one is obviously evil. These organizations just happen to be opposed to each other.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I have to point out, being the TSTW! fanatic that I am, that the TSTW! universe is far larger and greater than the first post implies. Certainly, there are the prominent organizations of good and evil, but I've seen every kind of character in between, from antiheroes to moral villains, government agents, aliens, extradimensionals, police, Atlanteans, news crews; you name it, we've had it. The four factions listed in the profile sheet date back to the beginning of the RPG and are really outdated at this point; nowadays, they're merely there to categorize the "good" character from the "bad." With over 500 characters and NPCs, it gets hard to keep track. :PIncidentally, Kahi, everything you've mentioned in your RPG, albeit if tweaked slightly, would fit nicely into TSTW, right down to Area 51. In my experience, we've tried to make TSTW! as realistic as possible. It's not just a hodgepodge of heroes and villains quarreling; we have a detailed backstory of how the world came to be how it is, how the various factions formed, etc. Heck, we even have our own pseudo-science explaining the existence of superpowers and how they react with certain other powers/situations.As far as I can tell, TSTW! owns the slot of non-comic-character-afilliated SuperHero RPG. Sorry. ~Lord Rahl~

Edited December 6, 2011 by Lord Rahl

[Korkoa]

Okay, just trying to gauge interest for now. What would you guys think about an insect/human hybrid type of RP? I've got a pretty solid idea for it, it would be set in the future, humans are experimenting with DNA enhancement, things go horribly wrong. I'd like to see if I have interest before typing it all up and then realizing people hate it.

[Bundalings]

There was a general animal/human RPG that went on a long time a while back, so I guess the interest is there. I myself don't even have time for the RPGs I am already a part of, but I think it would be pretty fun to play if I had time. I think the other died because of host absence, but I'm not sure.I would also consider widening it from insects to all critters, give people more to play with.

[Xomeron]

That was called Kingdom Gaebionta, and it was my first CoT RPG. I look back on it fondly, and it'd be nice to see something like it again.

[Alex Humva]

Me personally, the only reason I'd be against it is because I still hope the creator of Kingdom G will return one day and deliver on his promise of a sequel.I'd be willing to give it a shot, though.

[Korkoa]

Well, it looks like I have a promising start, so I figure I may as well share what I have and see what you think! Please bear with me, as this is an RP I introduced on another, very relaxed site. As such, it's not quite up to snuff yet. Which is why I'm here.

INSECTOIDS

LOCATION: NEW YORK CITYYEAR: 2034 ADSTATUS: DESTROYED.Welcome to the Insectoids RP! First on the agenda, a bit of background.This letter was mailed to me, I suppose for safekeeping. Future generations need to know what happened here... If future generations survive.It all started out so... Innocently. Okay, maybe not 'innocent' but well meant at least. 10 years ago, in 2024, a group of geneticists started studying insect DNA. The wanted to make the police force of the USA stronger smarter and faster, and thought that the key lay in mixing human and insect DNA. The settled on the ant, a hardworking and nearly unstoppable force in the bug world. They tested it on a few police veterans and it seemed to be working. Then something went wrong. Nobody knows what, maybe they used a different strand of DNA, maybe they just used too much, but... A few of the second generation ANTs turned out... More insect than human.They looked like man sized and man shaped ants. And their bite had the ability to infect others with their DNA. They built an army, their ant brains driving them to take over the city... The scientists scrambled for an answer... And their answer just made things worse. Regular humans couldn't fight the ANTs, so the scientists decided to pick a select group of people and fuse their DNA with an ants natural enemy: Wasps. The process was rushed and flawed, and the same thing happened to the first batch of WASPs that came out. Think of it: Two super intelligent factions, fighting each other in a city... It was bad. Then... Both sides got ahold of their own geneticists. Forced them to do more experiments. They wanted to turn the rest of us into their armies, into cannon fodder. I stayed ahead of them for awhile, but soon I was caught by the WASP army... And I got a look at what they were turning us into. Beetles, of every shape and size. Tanks on legs, strong but stupid. They were cycling through beetle DNA, and for me, they settled on a firefly, I suppose to try and relay messages via flashes. They strapped me to a table, and that's where I got a lucky break... They were trying to train some of the other beetles to take over the process so the WASP scientists could work on other things. The beetle they were training didn't tie me down tight enough. As they injected me with new DNA, my muscles grew and I ripped out of the restraints. I'm not sure what happened next... I suppose that since I hadn't gotten a full dose, I retained my mind, and the other beetles sensed that. I was able to lead them all in a successful escape from the WASP fortress. Since then, others have been joining out cause, we've been growing. The fighting needs to stop. We need to end this war.There are 4 main factions in this game.ANTsThe first Insectoids, ANTs have hard bodies, and powerful, crushing jaws. They also have a hive mind, and blind obedience to the Queen.WASPsWASPs main feature is their wings, powerful enough to carry them through the air. The also have stingers that extend from each wrist which delivers a painful poison.CarapodsCarapods are the freed Insectoids, any human/insect hybrid that has escaped from either side may join. They have a wide variety of skills, but most of them, being beetles, have thick shells and wings.HumansHumans are one of the smallest factions. As the ANT and WASP forces kidnap humans to experiment on, the humans dwindle. They're what you might call the mercinaries of the game. They can join any side they want, either in an attempt to save their own skin, or to try and stop this senseless fighting. They can also form their own groups.ArthropodsArthropods are perhaps the biggest and meanest Insectoids out there. These are people whose DNA has been infused with insect-like species, ranging from spiders, to scorpions, to crabs, to anything else in between! Nobody is quite sure where they came from, and neither the ANTs or WASPs are admitting to creating them. They seem to be bent on the total anniahlation of the city.CHARACTER SHEETUsername:Character name:Age:Description:Personality:Insect species (Inapplicable for humans):Insectoid abilities (Not necessary for ANTs and WASPs):Weapons:RULES:1. NO GOD MODDING!2. FOLLOW SITE RULES!3. This is the future, so whatever you can think of for a weapon should be good, within reason.4. Always listen to the Game Master. That's me.5. Be respectful of other players.6. No autohitting.7. Please wait to RP until I've approved your character.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Toa Korkoa: Toa of plasma

[Xomeron]

Oh good this is just no.One of the best aspects of Kingdom Gaebionta, the RPG I'll compare this to in my head the whole time, was that we got to pick the animal we were blended with, and the powers we derived from that animal. This, where we're forced to choose between Wasps and Ants, wouldn't be nearly as fun.

[Wyrd Bid Ful Araed]

He mentions in the text that the narrator gets blended with a firelfy. So its possible you can choose what creature you get, as long as its limited to an insect (which, lets face it, hardly narrows things down)

[Archer Vonn]

Oh good this is just no.

see now i wanted to go on a trip to the grand canyon, but i guess an ego trip is just as goodthing i dont like the most is the fact that it takes place in the future. modern science is hardly basic. i think just reworking the premise and setting it in modern day would work better. like, some reclusive scientist paid off a few people to be a part of his experiment to splice insect and human DNA, and the results multiplied, asexually or something.i'll agree its really restrictive though. like i wanna play as a human. oops, cant. limiting people to insects is fine, all the really cool animals (other than like, gorillas and komodo dragons and a bunch of hipster animals nobody knows about) are so small in number i dont think anybody other than the role playing nazis of the board will make a big deal out of it. you should give the option to play as a human, though.

[Alex Humva]

I say work it into the near future; the far future worked with KG, but it doesn't quite fit here. Put it in 2030 or something; gives us a closer slate to RP off of.

[Archer Vonn]

or maybe 2020 or maybe even 2011 :oshoot stick it in 2002 people were crazy back then

[Korkoa]

Alright, I can work it into the near future, as that seems the general consensus. As for playing as a human, I think that can be worked in. Not all humans have been experimented on, there's probably a lot of normal humans left. As for using animals in addition to insects... That I dunno about. The whole point of the RPG is the incredible power of insects, in proportion to their size, and imagining a race of humans with the power of an ant or wasp or beetle. I don't think it's restrictive at all, considering the mind blowing amount of insect species in the world.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

How about non-insect arthropods? Like crab-people, or scorpion-dudes.

[Archer Vonn]

^ good point. i keep forgetting arachnids are seperate from insects ._.also, it takes place in new york, right?

[Alex Humva]

or maybe 2020 or maybe even 2011 :oshoot stick it in 2002 people were crazy back then

We have that sort of genetic manipulation right now? Wasn't aware.Keep in mind genes are NOT Lego Bricks; successful hybrids would require a ****ton of research and knowledge we don't have today. We're rapidly on the track for that knowledge but we don't have it today, unless the government is doing it behind our backs. In which case if the government can make human-insect hybrids, why can't we get a decent budget? Then again, genetics and economics rarely mix so it's a moot point.

[Korkoa]

@~JC~, Yes, it takes place in New York.@TSOT, You actually may have hit upon a bit of a plot point there.

[HeavyMetalSunshineSister]

How would non-insect arthropods be a plot-point? They're just other buggy things.