# What do you Think makes an Rp?



## warsmith7752 (Sep 12, 2009)

Isolation and knights of the sword are movin fairly slowly at the moment (thank you serp and g0arr for your quick posts) I get the impression it's because of what I'm providing you with, in order to improve my Gming for these two threads and whatever comes in the future I ask what you enjoy doing most with your characters? Combat? Interaction? Description?

Any general requests for what you want to see in updates would be appreciated also.


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## LunaticStrain (Apr 13, 2008)

I haven't played any of the RP games on these forums, but I've played tons of pen and paper roleplaying games and GM'd a few in my day. In my opnion, which by no means is final, I think most games should be about 60% non combat interaction, 15% description and use the last 25% for the combat that will resolve the tension you've been building the entire time.

Granted it's going to be a little different on a forum than in person. That's just my two cents though.

-Amuntoth


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## BlackGuard (Sep 10, 2010)

I have a agree with the above. Players may crave combat, but ultimately besting the constant stream of supposedly 'hard' foes becomes borning and bland. One needs to be force to be critical and harsh choices. Some that they will definately not enjoy.

The point of a good roleplay, in my opinion, is the chance to die or at least been severely wounded and taken out. Players become more involved, and more concerned about the roleplay. It may not, and should not, dominate their day outside of the RP -- but you can be assured that during the boring points of their day they will think back to the RP and think about what choice they need to make. 

Do they go and help the villages on the west flank or the east flank? Do they walk into their dimly light tavern? How should they respond to this seemingly unassuming old man -- he could just be an old man, or he could be the God-Emperor in disguise. Those thoughts must race across the RPers mind.

Also, do not be afarid to make it very hard for players. Mind you there is a very fine line between hard and impossible. Players must work to get where they are and must strive for certain objectives. Once they go through all this interaction and all the riddles and mind-tricks, the petty fights, and castles. When they reach a boss or the main boss and kill him (or don't ... if thats their fate), they will appreciate it all the more.

You will, of coarse, have complaints and crying about it being too hard or impossible. If it gets too bad, drop a minor hint in your next post, something to tug at their mind and have them thinking. 

I've never played a table-top Roleplay, but way back in the day of my early teens I played a game called DragonballZ Wars (DBZ Warz for short). The game was heavily diluted and complex, almost impossible to grasp for an outsider for it had virtually NOTHING to do with the DBZ Franchise. Hell we had space ships and LOTRs tech (don't ask me how). 

My point is that the site had a prick (yea, I said it) as a GM. He would cheat, tell half-truths, and such while you did your missions. The best example I have for you is when I was searching for a Dark Magician -- I needed something or another from him. I and my entourage (InuYasha and gang for anyone who might know of him ... again this game was heavily diluted from its original purpose) entered a dark, complex, cave.

It took me three months to even REACH the guy. I hated it then, but loved every second of it -- the traps, the petty fights, the random possibly that the next tunnel I take may lead me to the exit. Always had me guessing and have to use all my skills just to advance. When it was all over I actually took a bit of a break from that game -- but was overly satisfied by that one mission, so much so that I can remember it even now.

But, I have begun to ramble, but hopfully all the above proves to be helpful.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Good story, you have to have a story that not only engages the players, but surprises them as well. Many of these threads are the similar heroe's quest types that grow old after time. I mix my threads up by throwing my players into unexpected twists and giving them challenges that you would'nt see coming.

Also, exciting combat is very imortant. Obviously most of the threads here 40k based, and that means war, fighting, slaughter, heroic actions, etc. If you throw the classic fight, people get tired over and over again. you need to mix it up, give a classic enemy, then give an enemy they would'nt expoect. use exotic enemies, guys that are a challeneg that the players can twist their stories around.

Thats all i got for now


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## DestroyerHive (Dec 22, 2009)

What about how to attract players? What do you need to put into the title and the recruitment page to get people excited? What kinds of enemies do you like to fight, and who do you like to play as? I'm not having much luck with Rps lately...


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## warsmith7752 (Sep 12, 2009)

DestroyerHive said:


> What about how to attract players? What do you need to put into the title and the recruitment page to get people excited? What kinds of enemies do you like to fight, and who do you like to play as? I'm not having much luck with Rps lately...


When I join an Rp it isn't for the flashy title or the epic introduction, it just depends if im in the mood to play any particular race. 

Your recent one the final hour, I thought it looked pretty good but I have played far to much zombies on black ops and I'm kinda sick of them.

As for the races I want to play, Orks mainly, wouldn't mind a Tau one, and a khorne berzerker one would be neat also.


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## DestroyerHive (Dec 22, 2009)

> Your recent one the final hour, I thought it looked pretty good but I have played far to much zombies on black ops and I'm kinda sick of them.


Oh rly? :shok:

I'da thought with the release of Dead Space 2 people would be interested in a zombie Rp...  Oh well, I guess I'll have to find another topic :biggrin:. I was thinking:

1) Dead Space - because there are many fans on this forum apparently,
2) Dark Eldar or Inquisitorial Assassins,
3) Death Guard,
4) Emperor's Children,
5) Khorne Cultists (ever read Hammer of Daemons? :laugh)
6) An Eldar warrior cult.

Please give me an honest opinion, even if you don't want to join, because I really want to better myself, and maybe someday become a great Rper like Serpion :biggrin:.


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## deathbringer (Feb 19, 2009)

Well as someone in knights of the sword i can give you my two cents
You push your rp's far far too quick so things are moving on without a degree of realism or time for people to react

You pull a chaos fleet out your ass and the hulk is under seige in a brief passing comment that really isnt realistic or advancing the story at a decent pace.

We would have had some warning and a space battle doesnt take place in 20 seconds
there would be warnings cries for help, lots more than just
big ass fleet arrives WOOP

I havent posted because i'm desperately trying to get something out of the updates but even when i get my charactor to shout the house down, i get a nothing

You just pretty much ignore it, fuck seniority, I've just called a knight an honourless coward i have a sword to his throat so Im not suddenly going to go woop de dooo, ill follow your orders and walk out of the hulk.

I get a glare from the chaplain, my idea for the big ork was met with a fair does... make it up yourself and now this has just been put as a sort of we will ignore the large angry knight about to tear my head off and insulting my honour and carry on with my story so just amuse yourself.

Anyone not with Ruhr gets jack shit in terms of update potential and im not talking combat, i'm talking anything. I mean my post could be very simply

Rademund put his sword away and twiddled his thumbs suddenly forgetting what he was angry about in a fit of amnesia. lets go in the thunderhawks he said

its almost as long as the update

You split us up and it is as if your just going through the motions with the rest of us. I mean seriously I've been doing my best to pull a decent post out of 6 lines of update, and pretty pointless lines.

So as a general request, actually... any fucking content would be nice, a proper reaction that makes me feel like im actually valued not just as if im banging my head against a wall.


I'm sorry to be harsh but im very very frustrated and quite simply you asked


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Deathbringer, you do have a good point, but unfortuantly players today are very impatient and loose interest quickly if their is not an update within 2-3 days. Besides, a story should develop as it goes; not as the one post goes.

Destroyer, Dead Space 2 didn't do as well as the first because it is too similar. The whole ombie thing is only good when people can kill them epically. If they are too scary,then no one wants to watch it.


Anyway, i was just thinking of titles, and wanted to add my 2 cents. I think a title should be simple, and convey the meaning of the Thread. For example, Armor Furry should tell the interested player that this RPG is about tanks and stuff. Total War! tells them it's some type of an large, epic empire or army controlling RPG. Knight's of the Nine says that I'm about fantasy combat. This is important, for as cool as cool names are, if they do not convey the meaning of the thread then it confused and disappoints them


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## komanko (May 16, 2010)

emporershand89 said:


> Deathbringer, you do have a good point, but unfortuantly players today are very impatient and loose interest quickly if their is not an update within 2-3 days. Besides, a story should develop as it goes; not as the one post goes.


Just wanted to say that its not quite true. I can give you an example of various RPs which are not constantly updated yet they continued on with good players, for example Arkreever's Imperial Guard RP which in the end was closed due to a lack of players as some of them just disappeared. The most extreme examples are Lord of the Night's RPs and my RP, LOTN is not updating every 2 or 3 days but more of a between one or two weeks yet his RPs are successful, my RP which I'm probably gonna end due to me losing interest was updated in the same rate as LOTN's RPs and it ran quite a bit of time. 

In general what really matters is a strong core of good and dedicated players and a good GM whose posts are made of quality and gives much information for the player to work with. For example Revan's posts in Age of Dragons which gave me tons of info to work with, in the end it resulted in most of the posts to be huge in comparison to other RPs, my post took about 4 word pages which is huge for one post (look it up if you don't believe me, its on the first page.

At any rate back to the main subject. I think that what a good RP needs is a strong story, a creative and good GM, and a strong core of good and dedicated players. This combination can make even the worst ideas play out good, I can make a RP about flying hamburgers conquering the world and then trying to strap all the human babies to nuclear missiles to launch at the sun which approaches earth and it would be a good one if the 3 things stated above are there.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Don't forget my year and a half long RP Komanko, or the works by unxpekted; pretty sure those are not updated twice in a week. When updating, the most important thing is that you should be ready for the update, if your not than give it a day to work things out. No sense in you potentially rushing yourself and making things worse than they should be. In addition, some people need time; so waiting four or five days, or when everyone has posted, ensures everyone is relatively at the same spot.


When it comes to updates, I generally try to do one of two things:
-If the update is general (ie applies to everyone with no specifics) then I aim to make it three or four or five times the length of any post I expect from a player. (So I expect five sentences, my general updates aim for fifteen or twenty-five sentences.)
-If the update is broken down to specific players, then I expect to produce for them what I expect to get in return or double that. (Going with the five again, for specifics I then expect five to ten.)



If your an impatient player, I am not going to cater my style to you, and a GM should not feel the need to speed things up for this either. Its not that players story, they signed on to follow the GM's lead, that includes in pacing. So if your impatient, well time to learn some patience then or bugger the fuck off.


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

An RP thats updated every 2-3 days? I guarantee no RP going that fast would last long at all. Many people would miss updates going that fast and in the end just give up. At 2-3 days i don't reckon the updates themselves would be that great either.

Both of Revans RP's i am in currently are updated around 1-2 weeks. Revan more often than not extending the deadlines to 2 weeks to get everyones posts in. He's not impatient at all and in every update i can think of gives a very good amount of information for each character so you can produce a good update, not really favouring others aswell. 

Deathbringer is just the same. In over your head when it was running(and hopefully will continue!!) was one of the best RP's i have taken part in despite only having two or three updates. Every update was rich in detail, required the RP'ers to really put some effort into their posts(which everyone did) and was just an excellent RP in general(that again, i really hope gets going again!) And Deathbringers updates were never that fast.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Komanko, i wish you wouldn't do that man, it's rather insulting bro.

But to answer your question thats true, some do go one because of good players who are genuinly interested. however, i'm not talking about that, I'm talking about story development from a RPg that is active.both cases you mention the GM neglected his duties to the thread, and in my opinion he shouldn't have even started it in the first place unless he keeps to the timetable he lays out at the beginning.

Though, there might be an exception.................

Angel of Blood, up till recently(like this week) my Total War! thread was updating every 3 days, if not two. Yet look, it's one of the fastest growing threads, with an extremely active recruitment thread, that is my first major success. the only reason why it slowed down was because of me, the GM(had computer problems). My point here to you, is that, going back to what i said to komanko, a major part of a threads success is on the GM.

I make my thread exciting, engage my players, let them create the story off the guidelines that I give them, throw unexpected surprises at them; keeping themon their feet, and making sure that they get creative. This, I personally believe is what the core of a good thread is.

Thuogh to be honest, only darkreever is the only one with a thread that has lasted longer than 3-4 months


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Another thing i forgot to mention, doing multiple threads doesn't tend to work out too good. Thought I'd mention that


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## komanko (May 16, 2010)

Just out of pure curiosity and interest. What the hell did you find insulting in what I said!?


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

emporershand89 said:


> Thuogh to be honest, only darkreever is the only one with a thread that has lasted longer than 3-4 months


AB:TN Part II - unxpekted - December 12, 2009 -> present
A road to glory and chaos - revan - August 9, 2010 -> present
Hammer of Olympia - Vilhelm - January 6, 2010 -> December 23 2010
The Claw - darkreever - July 16, 2009 -> present

I'm not the first to do it, and I am most certainly not the only one.


There is no reason for you to insult other members with such inaccurate assumptions, or to cry wolf for things some have not done like you are in this thread. Either stop looking for problems in every post or take a walk.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

If you`re going to split your group up, you need to make sure there are tasks enough for all parties. Deathbringer had a point, you`re not putting a lot into the other side of the group. 

There are orks on the hulk right? It wouldn`t be too hard to have the scouts coming under attack while they`re trying to run recon/secure thunderhawk/assist injured brothers whilst the main group is on their way back?

Your plot is solid enough, but the timing needs work. I did get the feeling that one party was neglected because the other was stretched too far. 

Other than this, the best advice I can offer is to keep trying, and be open to alternative ideas, be flexible with your plot, because new ideas can hit you at any time. 

The fact that you asked these questions is a credit to yourself, to the fact that you want to improve. :good:


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## BlackApostleVilhelm (May 14, 2008)

here is what i learned from Hammer of Olympia. Darkreever can back me up on what i am about to say also; when i started Rping i was very rushed, i got to the point where i even got one of my characters killed because i was too impatient (this was with The Claw). when i started the Hammer of Olympia i had in my head what i wanted to happen, a grand scheme, a beginning and an end. Now my first mistake that i made was that i rushed the first two updates, which did not make it fun for those who were participating, especially in an Rp of such a large scale. 

once i slowed down i decided that i didnt want to have in my head exactly how the players were going to get to the end, and in the end had multiple different endings. i got to know the characters, i read every post over and over again trying to understand them and get inside their heads as they strived to get into the head of the Apostle and other NPCs that i introduced. i was very detailed with my updates after that, picking each person out personally and giving them multiple choices in each update whether they knew it or not. 

i read how they reacted to what i threw at them and incorporated that into the next update, i wanted each player from the brutal captain of the second to the newest fresh recruit of the fourth to have an equally engaging experience. i threw twists and turns in when i could and i still even had about six or seven more updates until the thread would have been over but sadly i had to close it. 

this is just me but i love writing on a large scale, i absolutely love large battles with carnage and guns blazing and all the detail i could put into the update, hence why i did my roleplay on the Iron Warriors. i could give the big picture that was somewhat obscure and then take it down to the singular level of each viewpoint of every character and see it through their own eyes. 

anyways i think ive gone off on a tangent but my advice is to not rush things, most certainly not, give people time to get the creative juices flowing. not only that but give them enough to work with, dont give each character four lines and that is it, if you are doing updates person by person i had multiple paragraphs for each or at least one large one. and if you are doing a group make sure it includes everyone equally and gives them all enough to work with (reever is very very good at this) 

above all else you have to be into the Rp yourself as the GM and show enthusiasm with every update. ask any seasoned Rper on this forum, me, Deathbringer, Euphrati, Dark Angel, Unxpected22, Darkreever and many many more and they can tell you that if the GM doesnt give a fuck in an update it is extremely difficult to post.

also Emperor's hand even though you are posting every two to three days that is because of the style of your Rp, you have to update it in two to three days or else the battles go stagnant and people loose interest. i can tell you right here that i have not lost interest once since the Claw started and can honestly say that i get extremely giddy every time we get an update. anyways i hope that helps!!!!



EDIT: also i forgot to say that even though i had a few endings ready for the Hammer of Olympia i left it open to how the characters got there. leave the plot loose so that the choices they make can have an impact and keep them interested


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

DestroyerHive said:


> I'da thought with the release of Dead Space 2 people would be interested in a zombie Rp...  Oh well, I guess I'll have to find another topic :biggrin:. I was thinking:
> 
> 1) Dead Space - because there are many fans on this forum apparently,
> Dead what now?
> ...


They would all work, if you want to run a xeno Rp I`d be more inclined to join. Another Eldar Rp would e good. 



DestroyerHive said:


> Please give me an honest opinion, even if you don't want to join, because I really want to better myself, and maybe someday become a great Rper like Serpion :biggrin:.


Really? I haven`t even been doing these things for a year yet. :dunno:


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Ehhhh, it can go either way Apostle, I think it would survive if I didn't update it every 2-3 days. It's the interest in the idea that counts.

AB:TN Part II, really, I seriously didn't know that; thats nuts!!! He has to have gotten a medal for that or something, did he??

Komanko, I'm not even going to answer that, you should know. If you don't well then it would probably be better to remain ignorant to the mistake.


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## komanko (May 16, 2010)

*shrugs* whatever you say emperorshand...

Anyway, Warsmith, read the advice given to you and try to work by them. Find out what suites you better and youll see that with hard work and dedication in the end youll be able to create an enjoyable RP for your players. Am not saying its not enjoyable now as I didn't really play but you get the point. (No offense meant to anyone who reads this post, if you find problems its your own twisted head and paranoia *ahm* ahm*)


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## Angel of Blood (Aug 18, 2010)

I'm reading Komakos first post over and over and i still can't find anything insulting in there. 

Also i fail to see how the amount of posts in a recruitment thread define a good RP. Regardless, kudos to you RP, but like has been said, that's because of the type of RP you have made and no offence but imho it will run out of steam before long. And again for that type of RP, fast updating can work, but in virtually every other RP going, they would fall flat if they updated that fast.

And Revans 'A Life of Action and Adventure' has been going for over 4 months now and isn't showing any signs of failing, if anything its still in its infancy.


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## emporershand89 (Jun 11, 2010)

Well, we shall see, my RPG is a slowly terminating type, meaning the players will eventually eliminate themselves and the story shall end.

Besdies, it's a test run for a future thread that will hopefully bring back FOG's Earth cnquering vision!!!


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## DestroyerHive (Dec 22, 2009)

Thanks for the input Serpion . I'll be doing a Khorne Cultists Rp. For everyone who wants to be a blood-shedding mutant, come "RAAAAAAAAARGH" over to Blood Crazed!


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## Lirael (Nov 15, 2010)

*raises his asbestos blanket against the ensuing firestorm*

First, I would like to throw out is thus:
Not everybody wants to be a Space Marine. I know this is WH40K, but there are tons of character types out there besides Spess Mareens and Eldar. Let the players spin their wheels with 'em.

Sure, they're super-mutants with uber large weapons. but it drains the fun if everybody is playing one. One of the most fun things about any type of RP is the character advancement. Raising oneself in ability and quality of gear. World of Warcraft has turned this into huge bank. If everybody starts near max level, it's not quite as fun. I know one of the RPs I most looked forward to was one where I wasn't going to be a Space Marine at all. In fact, Space Marines were barely mentioned. Character development and advancement play largely into the story, I think.

I cannot stress this enough, the GM really should not make a character to run with the group. That's what the players are for. Don't take that away from them. You can create tons of NPCs as is. Nobody wants to watch the GM strut around his super soldier. It leaves the player feeling less fulfilled and important to the story. It's hard for a GM to resist the temptation to make his creation the center of attention all the time. I know it's fun to play with the group as they run through your story, but balanced should be maintained. If you do have a characer run with them, remember that the players are the star of the story, not the NPCs.

Don't give the player a huge squad to control. I know it works on the video game and such, but it really doesn't translate well to PnP. People have a tough enough time trying to figure out what their character is going to do. When you add another 9+ NPCs to their squad, they have to act/think for that many more people as well, and it's a recipe for disaster. Keep it simple.

Details. The more details, the better. You're trying to create an entire universe (in some cases, a multilverse) for the players to play in. Now you're trying to take that image in your mind and set it to words written in a forum thread. If you want people to be able to imagine what you're imagining, you have to give them plenty to work with. The more detail, the better. It'll turn something rushed and 2-dimensional into a living, breathing setting. Honestly, its the difference between a rushed internet comic and a blockbuster movie.

Pacing. This can be the hardest part of all. Some people get impatient and drift away, whereas others type a single word in the afternoon. Some crave action, other want the interaction between players. My best recommendation is 70% interaction, 30% action. 

If the GM has people come up with such in-depth back stories, why does he never use it? Because he wanted characters, not cardboard cutouts propped in the store window. Characters need a chance to be characters outside of "I move and shoot my gun". Give them that chance. And the player needs to keep with their character as well. Don't come up with a background and then just throw it out the window once gameplay begins. It's a give/take relationship with the GM.

Give the action a cause and effect. Okay, that ork Waaaaug just showed up. Where did it come from and why. How did nobody notice it? (cause) The orks are defeated. The area is in shambles. Did the heroes save enough people/resources/time for it to be a real victory? What are the locals thoughts and reactions? (effect) The players should live within the world they act within, not remain separated and isolated. 

Always make sure that what you have planned is an actual story, not just an action scene. I've seen too many on here where it's basically just an action sequence and nothing more. There should be more to the story than just the fight. If you don't have more than just the battle in mind when you start, it's not a story, it's just a brawl. Not saying anything is wrong with that, IF that's what's planned from he start. Just remember, battles typically last a scene, stories last for chapters, even entire novel series.

Don't try running too many stories at once. One is enough. You shouldn't try running four and five at a time. Trust me, all your stories will suffer for it.

*climbs off soap box* Okay, I think I'm done for a bit. That's my two cents.

EDIT: This is not meant to critique or insult anyone's gameplay or RP style in any way. These are simply things I try to incorporate into my own sessions of GM-ing games. This is by no means a list of rules set in stone or to even be heeded in any way. Go with what works for you. Everybody runs games in their own unique way.


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## Serpion5 (Mar 19, 2010)

There is nothing wrong with the GM controlling a character as long as he abides the same rules and commonsense as the players. 

In my Rp, I control a character and it has not taken away at all. In fact, Warsmith and DestroyerHive can probably attest that Anon has done sweet FA except order the other daemons around and stab them in the back. :laugh:

Don`t worry guys, he`ll get what`s coming to him. :grin:

And incorporating the character`s background is as much up to the player as the GM. 

Personally, I don`t like this criticising of other`s Rp`s that I am seeing. If you think it won`t work, don`t play, but that`s no reason to be discouraging. I for one would appreciate it if those who are partaking in this animosity (no names) would stop. Warsmith asked for critique and received it. Nobody else has asked for advice.

I don`t think anything further needs to be said.


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## Euphrati (May 24, 2009)

Well said, Lirael.

About the only thing I disagree with is your blanket statement of astartes being unable to grow/move forward in the course of a rp- as this can be seen in both 'The Claw' and 'ABTN2- SotE'. A character's ability to progress and grow in their personality is not limited by their species, but by the storyline itself.

Now, onto other things-

There is a distinct difference between a gm running npcs to assist his/her storyline... and a gm trying to 'play' a character in their own rp. Any character controlled by a gm, by their very role, is an npc (NON-player character) and cannot help but have access to 'above table' storyline information not availible to the pc's that will taint any attempt to play fairly alongside the player run characters.

Nothing turns me away from a potential rp more than to see the gm post a 'character' in their own recruitment thread (normally placing themselves in a leadership role directly over the pc's and afording themselves special rank/equipment/etc). *Note* This is my personal opinion- agree or disagree as you so desire.


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## Lirael (Nov 15, 2010)

Euphrati, I understand what you mean. I didn't really mean to make a blanket statement about astartes not being able to grow or develop. In the grand flow, they strike me as 'epic level' type characters, especially when compared to other character types found in the Dark heresy source book. The same when it comes to gear. That's what I based my opinion on. I'm personally used to starting my games on a much lower power level. But then again, I'm still pretty new to the system, with less than a dozen WH40K Dark Heresy games under my belt. I do hope to play in more and become more flexible with the game.

If I offended, I did not mean to.


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## warsmith7752 (Sep 12, 2009)

So I have another question for you, do you perfer freeform storyline where you do whatever you want, or do you perfer to go along with a storyline?


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Personally, I feel that if some sort of plot or story is not part of the RP (and not just a vague idea) then its not all that good. More often than not, I tend to stay clear of these so called free form RP's.

Claim your keeping things open so that players have freedom all you want, but end of the day the story (if any can be found) is weak and the core of role-playing barely existent if your lucky.



We have limits for a reason, lets the GM reign players in, and at the same time gives each player an idea of what the boundaries are.


So I prefer story; to me that free-form bullshit is a waste of time because end of the day I end up having to make up some sort of story so that there is any sense/order. And if I'm gonna do that, then I'll focus my energy on running the story on my own terms rather than have someone watching over my work and trying to curtail me while doing a lacklustre job at it.


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## Euphrati (May 24, 2009)

No offense taken in the slightest :wink:

However, I think we might be talking apples to oranges here. Both are fruit, but each is unique in its own way- DH tt rpg style vs the style of rp that is common on these forums. Both are rpg's (gm, player characters, general storyline, etc) however where as DH/RT/DW is hard published material- most (if not all) of the rp's on these forums are based solely on the storyworld created by the gm (even though that 'world' might be contained in the WH40k megaverse) and not subject to the same statistical bottom line of the pen&paper version.

Either way, it is a journey that takes the combined effort of both the gm and the players to see from first step to last... and all the twists and turns inbetween.

*edit- I personally like to have a storyline, freeform (in my opinion) is simply the gm being a wuss and a copout. Simple as that.


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## warsmith7752 (Sep 12, 2009)

^ hadn't though about it that way, fair enough if the little plot there is is terrible but of it's half decent but still give you options and freedom is surely the best thing you can do isnt it? I would be very surprised if anyone turns around and says they like being piloted through a set story with not room for change. 

Note: I am being a bit of a hypocrite here but ignore that, I'm trying to make a point.

EDIT: euraphi ninj'ad me


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## Euphrati (May 24, 2009)

:spiteful: I'm quick like striking kitten!

You can have a storyline without leading your players by their figurative nose hair from scene to scene. Actions and responses have affects and effects, some visiable to the players and some not so much. Make choices _*matter *_ but also have some set points that allow you to keep the storyline under control.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Just because there is a story or plot does not mean every single detail is set in stone. To use my own RP as an example, most of the story is little more than a base outline. Part of my outline initially looked something like this:

-Drop onto planet
--Assess situation, disperse rioters
--Seek out cause ('preacher' rousing the people), neutralize
-Aftermath, split group, select X players to take branch path
-Send primary group to next objective
--Discover traps
--Come upon church
---Locate fallen brothers (objective)
-Join with secondary group

-Send secondary group to main building
--Fact finding
--State of locals
--Proceed to objective of primary group
-Rejoin primary group

-Enter church
--Discovery
-Trap
--Main antagonists
--Loss of Kjarl


Thats it; thats a portion of the outline to my own RP. It has enough structure and story for me to know whats going to happen but does nothing to limit interaction and growth for the players. The only piloting of the players that gets done is where the group will be going; the details of what happens, the interaction between characters and environment, that gets left to them with some slight prompting and setup of the GM.


As Euphrati said, a GM going free form is his/her way of declaring that they were to lazy to come up with some sort of plot/story. They want the players to do all the work, which goes against the strain that being a GM is hard because you need to do more work than the players.



Using my RP again as an example of things: the fallout from the death of Kjarl, the ramifications of the loss of the player character Njoror, the duel between Vermundr and Iorek, the choice of who now leads the pack. None of those things were set in stone, most are either interaction between the players or a choice based on the growth/interaction and potential future growth/interaction of the player characters.


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