Looking for a new, engaging idea to bring a group game together.

[NileGoddess]

While my superheroine project with another writer is on hiatus, I was thinking about trying to start up a group game with similar themes. I'd like to try something different to make it a little more interesting for players. I had dabbled with stats and using the dicebot with little success, but I'd still like to incorporate a degree of randomness to controlling the story.

Does anyone have any suggestions that deviate from the norm?

[BlackestKnight]

What about a game where all the characters are villains? Sort of like DC's flashpoint or the graphic novel Wanted, a villains-only world. That to me would be way more engaging than another generic roleplay about superhero team.

[NileGoddess]

That might work, only the idea I have revolves around an existing franchise, with clear cut heros/villains.

[steelsmiter]

I say skip the franchise. I wrote a GURPS setting that had all original characters but claimed certain comic book characters were based on the OCs of the setting. I wish I had thought to put it online last time I went to the library. it isn't on my tablet so... yeah.

Anyway that's probably blah compared to what you want.

[Cyrano Johnson]

Wellll... I've been toying with an idea using a very simple system and Public Domain superheroes, whose conceit would be that the heroes exist in real time, and that the comic books industry isn't fantasy per se, but rather government- (or corporate-) sponsored propaganda. So you could play various periods of the Twentieth Century -- from the early Thirties, when pulp heroes first began to morph in Superheroes -- up to the present day, using a random generic Scenario Generator for each era to generate the various enemies and situations they encounter. Throughout, the heroes would have contact with government propagandists and/or private lickspittles (think William Beauchamp's parasitic biographer in Unforgiven for the type), and their romanticized comic-book escapades would parallel much less romanticized real adventures.

It might be too complicated a concept for PBP, but that's what came to mind...

[NileGoddess]

I say skip the franchise. I wrote a GURPS setting that had all original characters but claimed certain comic book characters were based on the OCs of the setting. I wish I had thought to put it online last time I went to the library. it isn't on my tablet so... yeah.

Anyway that's probably blah compared to what you want.

Franchise vs. non-franchise really isn't the issue. I'm trying to turn a roleplay into something more of a game, structured where decisions come into play and affect scenes. I'm also trying to prevent discussion in planning to go to 'I have a character. When can my character and your character fuck?".

[steelsmiter]

Franchise vs. non-franchise really isn't the issue. I'm trying to turn a roleplay into something more of a game, structured where decisions come into play and affect scenes. I'm also trying to prevent discussion in planning to go to 'I have a character. When can my character and your character fuck?".

Oh I only suggested it based on what I assume was a misunderstanding about the phrase "deviate from the norm". I would have suggested having a Round Robin GM game where every page (or 50 or 100 posts), GM duties get handed over to the next person. While it may be engaging,  this may require too much trust.

You could also just ask them not to beg to fuck all the time ;D

[Thufir Hawat]

Franchise vs. non-franchise really isn't the issue. I'm trying to turn a roleplay into something more of a game, structured where decisions come into play and affect scenes. I'm also trying to prevent discussion in planning to go to 'I have a character. When can my character and your character fuck?".

Maybe I'm thick, or just tired, but I'm not sure what is it that you're looking for.
Still, if you'd bet on me being tired, care to re-phrase what is it that you want? Examples of what you don't want would be helpful as well.

[Moraline]

Franchise vs. non-franchise really isn't the issue. I'm trying to turn a roleplay into something more of a game, structured where decisions come into play and affect scenes. I'm also trying to prevent discussion in planning to go to 'I have a character. When can my character and your character fuck?".

I have 3 group games on the go and none of them come down to "When can my character and your character fuck?" I try to keep the adventure side and the sexy timez sides seperate. Of course alternatively you could just make your game in the non-adult section then there would be none of that at all. Here's my group games if you want to browse them: Hyborian Age, Disaster San Francisco, and VGB (Virtual Galaxy Beta).

On randomness...

The dicebot is the only way to really add an element of chance and randomness to a game. Alternatively, you could lay out a set of "scenes" with loose fitting potential outcomes like I do with my Disaster San Francisco game then you just roll on a prepared chart and tell people loosely what happens to them at the end of the scenario - then let them freeform type it out the way they see it playing out in their heads.

Also here is the link to my Super Simple Play System: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=179517.0.  Feel free to use it or a variation of it (just site the original inspiration for it.) There is also an easy step by step illustrated dicebot tutorial that I added (to help people new to the dicebot.)

Example of my random outcome chart:

Disaster San Francisco
OOC Chatter & Character Sheets

...<this takes place after a major disaster causing complete loss of power to all electronics>
Possible outcomes charts to be rolled by GM for each couple:
(The details of how it plays out will be up to the role players. The chart is to set the scene and/or possibly show the final results.)

• Car crash just before arriving at the shopping center parking lot. Head on collision. Results in couple member "A" being injured, minor head wound (cut), broken nose and black eyes.
• Car crash just before arriving at the shopping center parking lot. Side swiped. Results in couple member "B" being injured, minor head wound (cut), sprained wrist (side facing door), and on the same side the forearm has a cut.
• A news helicopter crashes right beside the couple in the parking lot of the shopping center. There is an instant explosion and flying shrapnel. Both members of the couples are knocked to the ground suffering minor bruising, scrapes, and some torn clothes.
• Just inside the mall when the power goes out. The couple is at the top of a particularly dark set of stairs leading down and gets pushed accidentally by the tripping/stumbling people from behind. The couple tumbles a few stairs in a mass of bodies. No serious injuries, only minor bruises and having to deal with a tangle of people.
• The couple is at the entrance to get into the shopping center when a driver in a truck, not paying attention, strikes a young woman beside them. She is seriously injured with a broken leg, fractured ribs, and possible internal bleeding. 
• This couple will be fine at first but gets attacked by a rioter a couple hours later. The attacker will come out of nowhere <GM will PM the couple to let them know when it happens.> 
• This couples apartment will get burned to the ground by rioters before they can manage to get back home.
• This couples apartment will be broken into and vandalized, all valuables and electronics stolen.

...
Links
OOC & Character Sheet Thread
City Life (Main IC Thread)
Couple 1 (IC)
Couple 2 (IC)
Couple 3 (IC)

Alternatively, in my Hyborian Age game I took a hint from a Shadowrun game that I played in under Lunarsage & Ciosa. I created a side thread for "stuff that happens outside of the main adventure thread." It's basically the stuff that goes on at night, or anything that the players want to play out in detail but don't have time in the main adventure thread for. I call it my "chronicles" thread. The players go over there to that thread and post out all their relationship and sexy times stuff. I also did a similar thing with the Disaster San Francisco game by creating side threads for the alone time stuff as well. No point in stopping them, if people want to do it like bunny rabbits then I say let them be bunny rabbits.

I'm not sure if any of that helps or gives you some ideas but there you have it. Also you may want to look at the sticky up top in this thread "List of Topics to Cover in Intro Post for any Group Game." If you use it or something like it then you can narrow down the focus of your game and player expectations so you can get to where you want the game to head.

[steelsmiter]

oh hey I was wondering when you might chime in!

[Moraline]

oh hey I was wondering when you might chime in!

Are you talking to me? If so, then I'm not sure what your trying to say exactly?

Am I not welcome in this conversation or do you mean that I had some valid information for her? The intent of your statement is confusing.

[steelsmiter]

no you're perfectly welcome here, for me anyway. I'd say your insight is pretty good, you've got a lot of useful information. In fact I might not have pestered you about your dice roller tutorial if I had negative opinions about the plethora of information you've provided anywhere. Plus with your super simple play system here, I figured it was a matter of time since you happened by this thread and decided to have a nice little chat with people. It might have helped if I'd used  this ;D emoticon... happens to be my favorite. I hoped the exclaimation point covered it ;D

Anyway yeah so no negativity here.

[Moraline]

no you're perfectly welcome here, for me anyway. I'd say your insight is pretty good, you've got a lot of useful information. In fact I might not have pestered you about your dice roller tutorial if I had negative opinions about the plethora of information you've provided anywhere. Plus with your super simple play system here, I figured it was a matter of time since you happened by this thread and decided to have a nice little chat with people. It might have helped if I'd used  this ;D emoticon... happens to be my favorite. I hoped the exclaimation point covered it ;D

Anyway yeah so no negativity here.

Thank you for the clarification. Text intent can be confusing at times.

PS: If she's willing to go a little more complicated you should point her over to your simple dice system. Some people like an edge of stats to their games. Maybe that will offer her a level of randomness and a touch of system without the full blown rule sets of things like PathFinder or GURPS - (which I totally don't understand how or why anyone would use in a forum, but it seems to work for them.)




Back on Topic:

Another option I had considered and still might use is an RP system where you lay out a story map before hand. The story map would have a series of branches that give RP scene queues to guide the story but not write it fully. It would give characters "paths" to choose from.

Posting a new story map with each chapter/section of the RP as you come to it.

You could fill it in or leave it as simple as possible, depending on how guided and directed you wanted the RP to be.

[steelsmiter]

PS: If she's willing to go a little more complicated you should point her over to your simple dice system. Some people like an edge of stats to their games.

I've actually got two systems, Maybe the magic section of Mass Combat RP would work for powers but that's really iffy I'd have to build a subset of rules from the ground up examine every power I could think of.  The actual easiest part would be converting the Ranks to Power Levels

I don't see the Elder Scrolls one working too well.

[NileGoddess]

Moraline, thanks for the input. My overall goal is to keep people focused on the main concept of the game, without deviating too much into erotic scenarios, though I'm thinking the game would still be structured to include such. It was an issue I encountered in a couple of my games: once, I literally went to bed, woke up the next morning, and a pair of players had gone off on their own ~15 post tangent and had sex. And since they moved so far ahead, they had nothing else to do while everyone caught up, so they just decided that it wasn't worth waiting and quit, which then tanked the entire game.

[Moraline]

I think a simple side thread for sexy times would be the best solution for that.

Just be sure to create "off moments" for them to slip away. Like in an adventure scenario there's no reason to fill up every second of every day. Let them have big blocks of IC time to themselves. That way the whole group can move forward with the story in the main threads and for the side thread the people that couple up can go as freaky as they want in their night time beds (or whatever the free time is).

It also lets the faster posters have an outlet - they can do more then just sexy times in the side threads they can also do long conversations and even mini-adventures.

*EDIT* Also the side threads don't have to follow the main threads timeline. So a couple can post about having sex or talking from a night that is days behind the main thread.

*NOTE* Remember with group games you can create 2 threads for every 1 player that you have. So a 4 player game can have 8 threads.

[steelsmiter]

I took advantage of the thread limit in spades for my Goin' Commando game. Everyone has their own "Tent" thread for "Interrogations and Liasons" plus there's a Mess Hall/BX for group "celebrations" and item upgrades ;D. So far, I've had decent activity from the female players but admittedly male player activity has stalled, which caused me to tweak for Mission 1 so that the girls still have a game to work with.

Granted I am aware that my system is a little complicated and I know that makes it harder to stick around, but I do specifically have the various threads for sideline sexiness.

[alextaylor]

Haha, I've always liked the Oglaf world! It's very much a sword and sorcery kind of setting, but a lot of the game is pornographic satire. Would make a good setting for a light, playful game.

I'm short on time though, so just posting to watch :P

[steelsmiter]

Haha, I've always liked the Oglaf world! It's very much a sword and sorcery kind of setting, but a lot of the game is pornographic satire. Would make a good setting for a light, playful game.

I'm short on time though, so just posting to watch :P

That's gonna be fun for me to look at ;D but:

I'm also trying to prevent discussion in planning to go to 'I have a character. When can my character and your character fuck?".

So... yeah.

[Haibane]

Moraline, thanks for the input. My overall goal is to keep people focused on the main concept of the game, without deviating too much into erotic scenarios, though I'm thinking the game would still be structured to include such. It was an issue I encountered in a couple of my games: once, I literally went to bed, woke up the next morning, and a pair of players had gone off on their own ~15 post tangent and had sex. And since they moved so far ahead, they had nothing else to do while everyone caught up, so they just decided that it wasn't worth waiting and quit, which then tanked the entire game.

Apologies for digging up such an ancient thread but in group games a good rule to enforce before you start is "A player may not post for their character again until at least X other players have posted".

X = any number you need to assign to keep things moving smoothly. I usually insert a '2' there.

It's intent is to prevent exactly the situation you described.

[NileGoddess]

Apologies for digging up such an ancient thread but in group games a good rule to enforce before you start is "A player may not post for their character again until at least X other players have posted".

X = any number you need to assign to keep things moving smoothly. I usually insert a '2' there.

It's intent is to prevent exactly the situation you described.

I certainly don't mind the advice, even if it is from months ago!

While that would be a rule I'd normally enforce, I'm sometimes leery about putting restrictions on player's posting. My reason being people's rates differ, and if people are forced to wait at the expense of others, they may be inclined to not be bothered with it and simply start their own game. But, on the plus side, it does help budget the rate of the story.

I was searching to see if I could come up with something interesting enough to keep players attached through more participation instead of just purely writing and waiting for a response. You'll remember the cyoa game I tried, so something like that, only more participation and cooperation between players.

[Ghostwheel]

Also here is the link to my Super Simple Play System: https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=179517.0.

Trying to wrap my head around it... are there any rules for extended battles? Is it a single-shot all-or-none? How do you decide if the fight was hard, by how much you beat it? Do you have a d20 to be a bit random when generating the RNG? Do you get to add anything to the roll depending on circumstances apart from combat levels? (Someone's much better at X than Y.) Are all characters mechanically the same? Is "damage" binary? (Either you're completely fine, or you're almost dead.) Are there any actual rules for the skills, or are those entirely freeform?

I like it for the most part :-) It reduces everything to one roll, which is nice when you want to move on, though the flatness of the RNG and the all-or-nothing nature of it might make extremely swingy.

Here's my own system. It's considerably more rules heavy, but nowhere near as heavy as most RPG systems, and uses 3d6 instead of 1d20 as the RNG to change the shape of the RNG. The "Character Aspects" section is more fluff than crunch, and is mostly there to help people who have trouble making deeper characters.

EDIT: To stop it from being campaign specific, you can easily take out the "Magic" section (or change it to things that fit your setting), or even change the different perils entirely if you don't want people going mad, or if being scandalous isn't a bad thing in your setting. I've used it to great effect in a few different games thus far when we wanted something simple and coherent without the nitty-gritty of movement and tactics and such.

[Chrystal]

Moraline, thanks for the input. My overall goal is to keep people focused on the main concept of the game, without deviating too much into erotic scenarios, though I'm thinking the game would still be structured to include such. It was an issue I encountered in a couple of my games: once, I literally went to bed, woke up the next morning, and a pair of players had gone off on their own ~15 post tangent and had sex. And since they moved so far ahead, they had nothing else to do while everyone caught up, so they just decided that it wasn't worth waiting and quit, which then tanked the entire game.

Apologies for digging up such an ancient thread but in group games a good rule to enforce before you start is "A player may not post for their character again until at least X other players have posted".

X = any number you need to assign to keep things moving smoothly. I usually insert a '2' there.

It's intent is to prevent exactly the situation you described.

I've had a similar thing happen in a story-based game. Two players were assigned the job of stealing a car. They totally muffed it, because I (as GM) had a couple of cops show up at just the wrong moment. They rather stupidly killed the NPC cops, and stuffed the bodies in the boot of the car they came in, and torched it! They then continued with the task of stealing a car, but as the whole point was to come back with two cars.... *eyeroll* anyway, they then decided to park up and have sex, which I vetoed, telling them OOC and IC to get their arses back to base so the rest of us could get on with it!

They both promptly quit the game...!

To be honest, the only way I can see of preventing this sort of thing killing a game is to have enough players that one or two behaving like adolescents doesn't matter!

[Haibane]

Group games need to have all the players to be kept engaged all the time. This takes a lot of careful juggling in mision-based RPs where not everyone is on a mission or has a plot-critical task. In the case of what you described I'd have tried to give the rest of the players something to do while the grand theft auto side-mission was going on, or if that wasn't feasable, simply not RPd it at all but arranged 2 cars without any delay. Having players sitting around waiting can often be fatal to a game's health.