Need help sorting out an idea!

[Chrystal]

Okay, this is feeling really dumb to me, but I always say the only stupid questions are "How many beans make five?" and the ones that don't get asked, so here goes...

I have a plot idea rattling around in my head that wont go away until I record it in my ideas thread. Anyone who has ever looked in there will see that it is an Aladdin's Cave of ideas, very few actually taken in spite of the number of stories I always have going. This is why I hardly ever bump the thread, by the way. I figure if people want to write with me, they'll find it!

Anyway, I have my character already created for a group game that didn't go anywhere. She is a corrupt defence attorney.

The problem I have is the other character. I have a couple of ideas, and I cannot decide between them. I've asked friends, and have got totally conflicting advice, all of which makes perfect sense, and is thus not particularly helpful, because all it did was confirm that both ideas are workable, under different circumstances.

Of course, I could put both ideas up as options, or even possibly do the story as a three-way, but that just makes things complicated.

So, first of all, is this an appropriate place to ask for this sort of advice? (If it were a group game I'd ask in the GM's corner, but it's for a one-on-one).

If not, where should I ask?

And if this is the right place to ask, what do people think?

Should the other character be a client, or a paralegal?

Both have pros and cons, both would work as a story, with the right player.

Aaaand, another option just occurred to me, that the other player could be a judge! That's three! AAAGGGH!

Someone help?

[Oreo]

Maybe find someone that likes playing multiple characters? That way it's still a one x one, but you can let the story go where it will.

[Beguile's Mistress]

You could use a paralegal, someone from the DA's office who goes undercover but could also be working for the criminal being defended feeding the defense attorney bad information because she got one of his friends railroaded into prison and the gang is out for revenge.

[lilhobbit37]

Beguile's, I just had to say, I like how your brain works.

8-)

[Chrystal]

Okay, thanks for the advice so far...?

You could use a paralegal, someone from the DA's office who goes undercover but could also be working for the criminal being defended feeding the defense attorney bad information because she got one of his friends railroaded into prison and the gang is out for revenge.

BeMi, I... uh.... Yeah... so let me just clarify that...

She is actually working for the DA's office as an undercover investigator, but is also in the pay of the criminal being defended, and the criminal in question is using her to feed bad information to the lawyer because he wants revenge on the lawyer, and the character is posing as the lawyer's paralegal? Did I get that right?

Seems very complex to me. If you want to play the character, do let me know!

Beguile's, I just had to say, I like how your brain works.

8-)

Hi LH, it's been a while.

Maybe find someone that likes playing multiple characters? That way it's still a one x one, but you can let the story go where it will.

That is something I have dificulty with - finding someone who wants to "GM" the story. I nearly always end up doing that myself.

However, as this is obviously the correct place for the thread, I shall elucidate my cognitive processes....

I mentioned advantages and disadvantages to both options.

The Criminal:

In this one I see the criminal as being a young woman who has been caught in her first offence, but unfortunately that offence is murder. My character is doing a "penance" for contempt of court and has to take a number of pro bono cases (or something like that), so she takes the case but still wants "paying".

Advantages: In depth character development. The plot has a definite start-middle-and-end. Can be non-consensual. Allows focus on a single theme.
Disadvantages: Single story line, so could actually be quite short. Focussing on the investigation and the trial could be less than interesting. My entire knowledge of the legal systems in both the USA and UK comes from TV show! Could get bogged down on technical detail.

The Paralegal (or associate):

In this one, we are looking at what is effectively a gender-bent slash-fic of Suits: What if Harvey Specter were a lesbian dominatrix and Mike Ross were a girl? Yes I know Mike Ross is an associate not a paralegal, but the principal is the same.

Advantages: Focusses on the on-going relationship between the two characters. Continuous story development. Can have a "You win some, you loose some" attitude to cases. Potentially longer lasting, open to many possible sequels.
Disadvantages: No real start point and no end point. Could become repetitive and boring for the sub player, doing the same things over and over. Could end up bogged down on repetitive sex scenes.

The Judge:

Um, yeah, I thought of this one as I was creating the thread. It has a whole host of other complications. Does the story focus on one individual case, or on the on-going relationship? How does the judge hide the fact that she is having a lesbian D/S relationship with the defence attorney, and can she remain impartial when her mistress is blatantly in contempt of court....?

I thing the advantages and disadvatages of this one are a nice pick-and-mix from the other two... Actually I rather like this idea.

The DA/CPS prosecutor:

Nah. Been done. This is too cliché for my taste. Basically a lesbian re-make of the film "Adam's Rib".



So... I'm actually veering towards the other character being a supreme court judge...!

Any thoughts?

[Cassandra LeMay]

There are two thoughts on my mind here.

The first is, why not do more than one option? You said in your opening post that that (or doing a three-way) would complicate things, but what's wrong with a few complications if you end up having your cake and eating it? Isn't that worth a little extra effort?

My second thought is: Toss a coin. No. Really. Seriously. I am not kidding you.

When I am confronted with two roleplaying choices that both have equal merits and flaws that make a logical choice difficult I usually have an emotional preference for one of them without realizing it. So I toss a coin. If the coin toss comes up with a result that makes me think "cool, lets go for it" I know that that option is the one to take. And if the coin toss makes me think "umm... maybe I should toss again" I discover which option I am not emotionally happy with.

Of course it may not work for you, but perhaps you could give it a try?

[Chrystal]

Doing the story two different ways is something I would consider if I were suddenly able to finish about 15 of my current stories, and find writing partners for all my other cravings... Seriously, it's more a question of having so much else I want to do in so little time... Like having a bucket list that includes climbing Mt Everest, having the choice of climbing the South face or the North face, and choosing to do both!

The option here is to write the idea up in my ideas thread, and present both (all three?) options as possibilities, and allow the other player to choose which they want to be.

On the face of it, this actually sounds like a sensible option, but it relies on the other player knowing what they want to do with that character!

Flipping a coin... Yes, I have used that in the past. I think the difficulty here is that I don't actually want to make a decision....

And therein lies the dilemma, and surprisingly, the solution to the dilemma.

I have just realised that the only way out of this is to specify that the other player gets to choose their own character, and specify the options they can't choose.

Thanks for the advice people. You have helped me clarify my thought processes.