Traveller's Cafe 3: Brainstorming, discussion, tea, advice

[The Tiger Kingdom]

I did (I read the Japan one).
Here's the part where I eviscerate it, right?
Actually, I read it and distinctly remember really liking it - maybe that's just nostalgia speaking, but I read it and a Turtledove novel at the same time and really remember liking the Conroy one way more than Harry's stuff. It felt much more...reasonable.
And for once, it didn't feel like it had some huge political axe to grind either, which is far too common in AH stories.

While I am of course pinned down when it comes to RPing, I'll at least say you're picking good source material.

It's annoying how not having an axe to grind almost makes an AH novel of better quality than average. I mean, surely, bias isn't that hard to avoid?

Bias is seriously like the one major motivating factor when it comes to creating AH, I swear.
I recently read The Time Machine by HG wells for the first time, and even in the very first incarnation of the time-machine story, Wells deliberately feints towards making a political point about how the far future came to pass - and then he deliberately backs away from it, like he's trying to trick you into thinking he's an ideologue. his hero repeatedly thinks to himself "maybe a situation of perfect Marxism/aristocracy/total human decadence caused all this to happen..." and then immediately goes "but I was totally wrong!/but I was only guessing and could easily have been wrong in a million ways".
Which is refreshing, to say the least (and slightly depressing, given how completely demagoguish Wells got later in life).

[Kedri]

A while ago, I made a thread for an RP about the Third Crusade. It never got past the OP. My problem was that I could not figure out if I wanted the players to play as individual characters or leaders of different armies. Which would you suggest I go with?

[Vancon]

A while ago, I made a thread for an RP about the Third Crusade. It never got past the OP. My problem was that I could not figure out if I wanted the players to play as individual characters or leaders of different armies. Which would you suggest I go with?

Armies (read nations) are always a bit wanky, so I prefer to stay with characters or factions.

[Alleniana]

It's annoying how not having an axe to grind almost makes an AH novel of better quality than average. I mean, surely, bias isn't that hard to avoid?

Bias is seriously like the one major motivating factor when it comes to creating AH, I swear.
I recently read The Time Machine by HG wells for the first time, and even in the very first incarnation of the time-machine story, Wells deliberately feints towards making a political point about how the far future came to pass - and then he deliberately backs away from it, like he's trying to trick you into thinking he's an ideologue. his hero repeatedly thinks to himself "maybe a situation of perfect Marxism/aristocracy/total human decadence caused all this to happen..." and then immediately goes "but I was totally wrong!/but I was only guessing and could easily have been wrong in a million ways".
Which is refreshing, to say the least (and slightly depressing, given how completely demagoguish Wells got later in life).

Hmm. From what I remember of the movie, it seemed to avoid that, but that's just me.

A while ago, I made a thread for an RP about the Third Crusade. It never got past the OP. My problem was that I could not figure out if I wanted the players to play as individual characters or leaders of different armies. Which would you suggest I go with?

Armies (read nations) are always a bit wanky, so I prefer to stay with characters or factions.

Always? With good RPers, I can easily foresee quite a good 3rd Crusade going down with people playing as various contingents.

[Kedri]

Bias is seriously like the one major motivating factor when it comes to creating AH, I swear.
I recently read The Time Machine by HG wells for the first time, and even in the very first incarnation of the time-machine story, Wells deliberately feints towards making a political point about how the far future came to pass - and then he deliberately backs away from it, like he's trying to trick you into thinking he's an ideologue. his hero repeatedly thinks to himself "maybe a situation of perfect Marxism/aristocracy/total human decadence caused all this to happen..." and then immediately goes "but I was totally wrong!/but I was only guessing and could easily have been wrong in a million ways".
Which is refreshing, to say the least (and slightly depressing, given how completely demagoguish Wells got later in life).

Hmm. From what I remember of the movie, it seemed to avoid that, but that's just me.

Armies (read nations) are always a bit wanky, so I prefer to stay with characters or factions.

Always? With good RPers, I can easily foresee quite a good 3rd Crusade going down with people playing as various contingents.

I'm not that good. I am average at RPs.

Next question. Should I allow players to play as people such as Richard the Lionheart or Saladin, or should they NPCs?

[Vancon]

Hmm. From what I remember of the movie, it seemed to avoid that, but that's just me.


Always? With good RPers, I can easily foresee quite a good 3rd Crusade going down with people playing as various contingents.

I'm not that good. I am average at RPs.

Next question. Should I allow players to play as people such as Richard the Lionheart or Saladin, or should they NPCs?

Why don't you remove that from the equation entirely and do an alternate universe thing, where everything up till the start of your crusade was the same. Then you can do a lot more with your setting.

[Lavan Tiri]

I'm not that good. I am average at RPs.

Next question. Should I allow players to play as people such as Richard the Lionheart or Saladin, or should they NPCs?

Why don't you remove that from the equation entirely and do an alternate universe thing, where everything up till the start of your crusade was the same. Then you can do a lot more with your setting.

And add magic. Or make it steampunk.

[Vancon]

Why don't you remove that from the equation entirely and do an alternate universe thing, where everything up till the start of your crusade was the same. Then you can do a lot more with your setting.

And add magic. Or make it steampunk.

A religious crusade with a sprinkle of magic set in a Steampunk universe?

Yes please.

[Alleniana]

And add magic. Or make it steampunk.

A religious crusade with a sprinkle of magic set in a Steampunk universe?

Yes please.

Hnnging quite hard over this.

[Vancon]

A religious crusade with a sprinkle of magic set in a Steampunk universe?

Yes please.

Hnnging quite hard over this.

There's a large margin for error, that's certain. BUT, if this works, it'll work beautifully.

[Alleniana]

Hnnging quite hard over this.

There's a large margin for error, that's certain. BUT, if this works, it'll work beautifully.

Indeed. I'll resolve to look forward to it and commit no more.

[Vancon]

There's a large margin for error, that's certain. BUT, if this works, it'll work beautifully.

Indeed. I'll resolve to look forward to it and commit no more.

I'm no religious man, but I feel like now is the appropriate time to say, "Amen".

[Kedri]

And add magic. Or make it steampunk.

A religious crusade with a sprinkle of magic set in a Steampunk universe?

Yes please.

It would be cool to have a futuristic version against two warring theocracies.

[Alleniana]

A religious crusade with a sprinkle of magic set in a Steampunk universe?

Yes please.

It would be cool to have a futuristic version against two warring theocracies.

I think futuristic crusades are going to feel too much like some sort of alien war. I can definitely picture clockwork knights with big rusting iron crosses on shields and huge seam catapults lobbing flaming oil blobs at walls that illogically have gears and metal patches all over them though.

[Organized States]

Has anyone here read Conroy's Red Inferno: 1945 or his 1945? I think either one would make an excellent RP.

I did (I read the Japan one).
Here's the part where I eviscerate it, right?
Actually, I read it and distinctly remember really liking it - maybe that's just nostalgia speaking, but I read it and a Turtledove novel at the same time and really remember liking the Conroy one way more than Harry's stuff. It felt much more...reasonable.
And for once, it didn't feel like it had some huge political axe to grind either, which is far too common in AH stories.

While I am of course pinned down when it comes to RPing, I'll at least say you're picking good source material.

I'm a fan of it as well. Turtledove, though insanely good, can get, well, a little on the boring and drawn out side. Conroy was much better at just creating differences at various Flashpoints in history.

My axe to grind with Conroy is that Truman in various books he's written set after Roosevelt, seems a bit too aggressive. Truman saw action in the First World War, and hated having to explain to the American people why 20,000 of their sons and husbands were wounded or dead... So, that's my own axe to grind.

Thanks, I'm glad you chimed in.

[Hotgrat]

Anyone else intrested in XCOM? Just thinking i'd live to do something regarding that.

[Grenartia]

It's annoying how not having an axe to grind almost makes an AH novel of better quality than average. I mean, surely, bias isn't that hard to avoid?

Bias is seriously like the one major motivating factor when it comes to creating AH, I swear.
I recently read The Time Machine by HG wells for the first time, and even in the very first incarnation of the time-machine story, Wells deliberately feints towards making a political point about how the far future came to pass - and then he deliberately backs away from it, like he's trying to trick you into thinking he's an ideologue. his hero repeatedly thinks to himself "maybe a situation of perfect Marxism/aristocracy/total human decadence caused all this to happen..." and then immediately goes "but I was totally wrong!/but I was only guessing and could easily have been wrong in a million ways".
Which is refreshing, to say the least (and slightly depressing, given how completely demagoguish Wells got later in life).

However, you've gotta admit, there are times when it absolutely does work.

The War of The Worlds, for instance.

[Kedri]

It would be cool to have a futuristic version against two warring theocracies.

I think futuristic crusades are going to feel too much like some sort of alien war. I can definitely picture clockwork knights with big rusting iron crosses on shields and huge seam catapults lobbing flaming oil blobs at walls that illogically have gears and metal patches all over them though.

It sounds like a cool idea, but I am not a steampunk person. Nothing against steampunk, I think it is a cool concept, I just can take so much before I am tired of it.

[Alleniana]

I think futuristic crusades are going to feel too much like some sort of alien war. I can definitely picture clockwork knights with big rusting iron crosses on shields and huge seam catapults lobbing flaming oil blobs at walls that illogically have gears and metal patches all over them though.

It sounds like a cool idea, but I am not a steampunk person. Nothing against steampunk, I think it is a cool concept, I just can take so much before I am tired of it.

I don't think we should go much further than steampunk, myself, before Crusader aesthetic is unretrievable, so perhaps high-fantasy medieval?

[Ah-merika]

Soo umm, anyone got any good ideas on how I should start my rp? Im at a loss. My help request is on the previous page from this one if that helps any.

[Kedri]

It sounds like a cool idea, but I am not a steampunk person. Nothing against steampunk, I think it is a cool concept, I just can take so much before I am tired of it.

I don't think we should go much further than steampunk, myself, before Crusader aesthetic is unretrievable, so perhaps high-fantasy medieval?

Interesting, but how would it work out? I am thinking of having it be a war between two religions with different attitudes towards magic.
Like our RL Crusade mixed with the witch hunts from the Dark Ages, where medieval knights are battling sorcerers instead of Muslims.

[Nature-Spirits]

Soo umm, anyone got any good ideas on how I should start my rp? Im at a loss. My help request is on the previous page from this one if that helps any.

Well after taking a look, I see that you definitely need to do some more worldbuilding. I recommend taking a look here for some guidance on that front.

[Alleniana]

I don't think we should go much further than steampunk, myself, before Crusader aesthetic is unretrievable, so perhaps high-fantasy medieval?

Interesting, but how would it work out? I am thinking of having it be a war between two religions with different attitudes towards magic.
Like our RL Crusade mixed with the witch hunts from the Dark Ages, where medieval knights are battling sorcerers instead of Muslims.

Err, that would just feel like a witch hunt IMO. The Crusades were cool because of the clash of cultures, the ancient battlefield.

[Arumdaum]

Interesting, but how would it work out? I am thinking of having it be a war between two religions with different attitudes towards magic.
Like our RL Crusade mixed with the witch hunts from the Dark Ages, where medieval knights are battling sorcerers instead of Muslims.

Err, that would just feel like a witch hunt IMO. The Crusades were cool because of the clash of cultures, the ancient battlefield.

the crusades were really just a barbarian invasion

[Alleniana]

Err, that would just feel like a witch hunt IMO. The Crusades were cool because of the clash of cultures, the ancient battlefield.

the crusades were really just a barbarian invasion

everyone is barbarian except glorios roma