Writing for RPs 101 [Interest Check - LGBT friendly - Brainstorming]

Started by Oneiros, March 28, 2013, 10:12:58 AM

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Andi

I am not terribly interested in a 'modern school' setting for a variety of reasons, but I can see the overall usefulness of that kind of theme to this project. Thinking about alternatives, my mind practically immediately went to Dr Faust's academy (yes, THAT Dr Faust) in the years he is off adventuring with Mephistopheles. Wagner, being of a scientific bent, would not be interested in the magical half of the school, leaving it more or less at the mercy of the students. It being a sorcerer's academy, there is justification for just about every setting and time accessible by magic - and the academy being located in renaissance Europe + magic and the supernatural provides space for those of us interested in that sort of thing. We might have to handwave elves and dwarves, those of Germanic mythology have little enough in common with the Tolkienesque most of us are used to, but those are all negotiable tradeoffs. And besides, "a wizard did it" can always serve.

AribethAmkiir

The idea of putting it into a "Renaissance, Fantasy world" is appealing.  However, it brings much more complexity to the writing and is much less appealing to the general populace, in my opinion.  Attempting to keep things historically accurate, as well as accurate for the fantasy world might be too much for a game that's purpose is to help people improve their writing.

Personally, this is less appealing to me since I have no knowledge of Dr. Faust's academy and feel my knowledge of the Renaissance period is severely lacking.

Thorne

Then don't use that /exact/ setting - take the pieces you need? The academy, the frequently-absent headmaster, things not always being /exactly/ what they appear, in the OMG!Narnia* sense? Set it anywhere, anywhen you want - or don't /set/ it anywhere - have it be fluid.

I'm not familiar with Dr. Faust's academy either, but I like the basic idea of a place that is tied to all worlds, and possibly having students that are not, entirely, all what they appear to be. I like it a lot better than the idea of a 'typical' modern school setting, which I am not really all that comfortable with myself.

*insert alternate world, era or other such reality-bending insanity, depending on what's wanted by the player.

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Oneiros

Ack, sorry, I've been caught up in stuff. I'll be more attentive!

Anyways. I do like the idea of the school perhaps not being 100% 'normal'. Maybe there's some kind of mysterious goings-on or what have you, and once people are kind of settled in we could go deeper with it. We want to keep things interesting without having to rely on just typical school-drama, which I'm not too fond of myself. The exact nature of whatever weirdness is going on could be discussed.

Top Cat

Just spitballing here:

Perhaps the Principal of the school is intending to feed the students to a Demon of Intellect, and teaching the students is the functional equivalent to fattening them up before the feast. That could give a reason for NPC students to start disappearing, as the demon demands... hors d'ouvres. ;)
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Oneiros

Ha! I actually kind of like that. ;D

I do think that whatever's going on should definitely involve missing students, no matter what we eventually decide is going on. It'll also give us a convenient way to phase people out if they drop the game, whether temporarily or permanently.

Carlissa

"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Oneiros

It might not be as deep as supernatural or horror, but there will probably be an element of mystery to it at the very least, I think. Something to keep a story moving and engaging without having to try and propel it with mundane things.

Does anyone have any problem with there being an element of the supernatural to it?

Saerrael


Oneiros


Thorne

I have no problem with supernatural elements (almost wrote elementals. Not sure if my brain is stuck in Battletech, or Azeroth ... ).
Writer of horrors, artist of mayhem.

Currently available, frequently lurking.
Ons and Offs
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Ideas and inspirations: small groups

Oldknight

I think I would like to try this out too, and I think the supernatural element adds something to the whole idea.

Carlissa

I don't have a problem with the supernatural elements in the RP either, but I'm not a fan if the student dissapearance/Demon of Intelect idea.
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

EvilMegaCookie

I am very interested. Is there still space for another person? :3

Oneiros

There will be space for all the people, don't worry ^^ We're still brainstorming what kind of story we want to work on.

We seem to be heading into kind of a supernatural-mysterious direction, while taking place at a school, which may or may not involve student disappearances for some nefarious purpose, but we're still working on it. Feel free to throw your own ideas into the pile!

Oldknight

Well I can't say I like the demon idea, where the school has such a negative purpose, I do however like the idea of their being a mystery and we can use people whom drop as maybe students whom disappear to keep continuity in it.

kckolbe

This is more than a bit amusing, since I already have a system for a school-based game with intrigue aspects, as I plan on running a system Hogwarts game in the future.  Out of curiosity, would anyone here be interested in that sort of thing?
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Andi

Just to make sure I am not horribly mistaken about something: This thread /is/ still about a group game to practice writing, considering a school setting for the obvious correlation - not 'generic school RPG interest check?'

Oneiros

Yes, the game is still primarily about practicing writing. We just ned a story or else we'll never get that far, and I'm trying to crowdsource it, give everyone a chance to suggest what kind of game it should be so we don't end up alienating anyone too badly.

Do you hate the school RP idea? We have to come up with a story that people are okay with, but chances are we won't be able to please everyone.

Top Cat

Quote from: Tenshinhan on April 04, 2013, 07:05:39 PM
Well I can't say I like the demon idea, where the school has such a negative purpose, I do however like the idea of their being a mystery and we can use people whom drop as maybe students whom disappear to keep continuity in it.
Strictly speaking, the school's purpose would be educating students, possibly students with special talents. The principal would be subverting it to his own ends. It's not that the entire school is geared toward feeding the demon.

At least, that's my idea. If I were running it, that would be a fairly decent place for a slightly darker Teenagers From Outer Space plotline. ;) TFOS also has a fairly decent RP system, simple enough to make characters in minutes. That said, it's aimed toward slapstick comedy, not drama. It's halfway between Toon and Big Eyes, Small Mouths.
O/O / Story Seeds
Current posting speed: Slow to moderate. Most threads should get a response within 24 hours, with occasional dips as RL makes demands.
If I am more than a week behind on a story post, please feel free to PM me about it.
I am present in Elliquiy's Discord channel. If you want to chat about a story idea, feel free to DM me there.

Andi

I'll just answer this briefly. No, I don't 'hate' a school setting. Note that my alternative suggestion up-thread /was/ a school setting of sorts. I do not, for various reasons, wish to play in a /modern-day/ school setting. To summarize my objection (and I apoligize if I offend anybody), if I want to deal with our world, I can open my front door and step outside.

Carlissa

Can we get more information on the school itself? I have a few problems with the demon idea, but I want to know the full picture of your idea before passing criticism.
"Damn kids doing work. Back in my day we worked 18 hours a day and still had time for 12 hours of fun before a solid 8 hours of sleep in 24 hours".

Oldknight

I think that with this idea, given the basic level of the idea, that the rp should be based around something simple, the school idea sounds fine, and having the fantasy element it opens up the rp a bit and makes it more inclusive. I think that the more complex you make it, the more challenging for starting rpers and I think if you keep it simple, it enables for room for advancement and development in unknown ways, that can be worked on as the rp would hopefully advance.

Oneiros

Okay! I am still here, I'm just facing a rough week or two coming up so I might be a little sparse. I still want to get this game off the ground, and we should really settle on a story idea.

I personally do agree that a regular, modern school setting might be more off-putting than one with more of a fantasy lean. I know some people aren't going to be happy with it, but we need to get these ideas cemented in and actually get this started.

Second order of business - this might be kind of a lot for one GM. Is there anyone who might be willing to co-GM this? Preferably someone with GM experience, but it's not a prerequisite, since this game is about learning.

Quick poll - is anyone severely opposed to a fantasy themed game, taking place within a school?

kckolbe

I am okay with a fantasy lean, but I want the level of fantasy (what kind of magic, technology, species) to be clearly determined beforehand.  In my opinion, one of the biggest mistakes made by group RPers is pre-game coordination.  Most everyone wants to just throw up a char sheet and get to posting.
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