Traveller's Café: Discussion, brainstorming & advice

[Constaniana]

Olthar wasn't lying. She didn't want to have to continue writing in your RP, but still wanted to put up her RP that she had been working on for a long time. And besides, running a Dce RP takes a lot less effort, once you finish drawing up all the maps.

Of course, hosting a roleplay requires a lot less time and effort than merely participating in one.

Dice RP's work quite differently from regular ones. Why are you so bitter about Olthar dropping out anyway?

[Agadar]

Of course, hosting a roleplay requires a lot less time and effort than merely participating in one.

Dice RP's work quite differently from regular ones. Why are you so bitter about Olthar dropping out anyway?

Because after pretty much making her character the lead character, she suddenly jumps ship under false pretenses, leaving me with quite a gap to fill in order to keep the roleplay alive, which was already struggling, partially because of her.

But I can tell from your signature that you're buddies with her, so I'm probably preaching against a wall here.

[Altito Asmoro]

Of course, hosting a roleplay requires a lot less time and effort than merely participating in one.

Dice RP's work quite differently from regular ones. Why are you so bitter about Olthar dropping out anyway?

Perhaps you still don't know about the secret Olthar has, maybe?

[Constaniana]

Dice RP's work quite differently from regular ones. Why are you so bitter about Olthar dropping out anyway?

Because after pretty much making her character the lead character, she suddenly jumps ship under false pretenses, leaving me with quite a gap to fill in order to keep the roleplay alive, which was already struggling, partially because of her.

But I can tell from your signature that you're buddies with her, so I'm probably preaching against a wall here.

Yeah, it sucks when people drop out of a roleplay, but there's no point throwing a hissy fit about it.

Dice RP's work quite differently from regular ones. Why are you so bitter about Olthar dropping out anyway?

Perhaps you still don't know about the secret Olthar has, maybe?

What are you talking about?

[Rupudska]

Olthar wasn't lying. She didn't want to have to continue writing in your RP, but still wanted to put up her RP that she had been working on for a long time. And besides, running a Dce RP takes a lot less effort, once you finish drawing up all the maps.

Of course, hosting a roleplay requires a lot less time and effort than merely participating in one.

In a dice RP? Yes. She only has to post once, after everyone else has, and most of it is copy-pasting statistics from previous OP posts.

[Altito Asmoro]

Because after pretty much making her character the lead character, she suddenly jumps ship under false pretenses, leaving me with quite a gap to fill in order to keep the roleplay alive, which was already struggling, partially because of her.

But I can tell from your signature that you're buddies with her, so I'm probably preaching against a wall here.

Yeah, it sucks when people drop out of a roleplay, but there's no point throwing a hissy fit about it.

Perhaps you still don't know about the secret Olthar has, maybe?

What are you talking about?

Maybe Olthar has lesser responsibility now than before.

[Neo Arcad]

lately, RP are mostly made by nations from 2013. So, as to speak, yeah, the quality is low.

Being new to NS doesn't necessarily mean you make low-quality RPs, though.

Never said that. There are good RPers out there who are new. But they often get suckered into these terrible "pcik a 2103 REEL LIVE NATIN BUT I AMERCIA" RPs that are all the fuck over this place just like anyone else who's new. It's shameful, really, that that's the best stuff out there. You can't even consider an RP to be an AWRP unless the date of departure is a decent distance before your RP begins. It's like the difference between a Harry Turtledove novel and a shitty historical fiction fanfic about George Washington.

[The Magnified Union of Aligned Communes]

(Hi, Pt2M! A few ideas swirling around here; they're unlikely to become actual RPs anytime soon- I don't think I've the cred and experience just quite yet- more the results of 'now what RPs would I like to come up with?' thoughts. I’d still love to hear opinions though; I might try OP’ing a roleplay in a few months, maybe?)

Alright, here's a long distracting post

• Iron Age: Hilt Meets Sheath: It is the middle of the 6th century B.C.. High noon for what we call the early Iron Age. The splendid garden city of Babylon hosts a flourishing empire, having crushed their Assyrian overlords completely. In the expansive Median Empire, a young noble by the name of Cyrus dreams big. In Greece, Sparta and Athens glare at each other and attempt to get lesser city-states to do the same. The Romans grovel under Etruscan rule. India is composed of fledgling, fragmented jungle states. China boils in civil war. And suddenly, a blue glow flashes along the horizon. Residents of the Near East, fearing a flood or sandstorm, hunker down. But the glow soon fades, and for many, life returns to normal. Even if that 'normal' includes monumental building projects and courtroom intrigue. Few bother with the approaching Mongol hordes of Kublai Khan to the east.

Mongol hordes? Yep. The blue glow? A computer simulation, an experiment by pesky meddling aliens...whatever it is, it has mashed up timelines and brought the Mongols to central Asia. Kublai Khan's hordes, for some time confined to the Yuan Dynasty, worry about the lack of contact with the other minor khanates, and begin another attempt to conquer Europe. Or at least, what they think is Europe.
And the central Asian people flee to the courts of the west. Bactria, Scythia, all crushed by a terrifying force never seen before. The beleagured empires and leagues and city states of the Early Iron Age prepare their forces... But hope is not lost! The time mash has brought several small, but advanced forces into their world! In Londinium, Roman Legionnaires stir in their barracks and wonder why the latest news from Rome has failed to arrive. In the northern hills of Africa, a band of French Foreign Legion wonder similarly.

So, yes, as you might imagine, this RP would be a hybrid of nation-based, military regiment-based and character based stuff and would also need a historical advisor.
Players could start playing a nation, and then switch to characters-based view (e.g. the POV of a few escaping royals) after their nation is squashed by the Mongols. Which, for most of the game, is a near certainty. Those not wanting to play Iron Age people can also create their own bunch of timemashed-in (yep, not timewarped, timemashed) folk, so long as they're not über-significant (Anytown, USA, or a ferry in the Atlantic could do).

• Not Caesar’s salad!: The Roman Empire reaches the height of its power in the 2nd Century AD. Then, another one of those pesky timewarps happen, and 21st century America is poofed in. Predictably, many large corporations gleefully rub their hands and see opportunity in this new old world. The USA sets up embassies in Rome, Chang’an, Ctesiphon and elsewhere, though they’re reluctant to begin much technological transfer.
A year later, transfers have happened anyway. Fast food outlets appear outside amphitheatres and colosseums, feeding the increasingly rotund Roman populace. The equestrian class have ditched horses to become a motoring class and musicians eagerly grab on to autotune technology and unsucessfully attempt to break into the American music industry. The Senate, now hooked on the Empire-wide mobile gaming hit Indignans Romanumvillae, casually tosses contracts to companies seeking to extract sticky black stuff from the Britannic Sea. A few American protectorate towns have sprouted out in Germania, local tribes not daring to militarily interfere after terrifying ‘shock-and-awe’ displays over the Teutoburg Forest.
But, even if one ignored mounting obesity, rampant exploitation, horses being run over by SUVs in the streets of Rome, and a huge black market for Western goods...the corporations setting up shop in Rome just felt slimy. Particularly Monstersanta, a ‘foodtech’ company and one of the first to dive into the unregulated markets of Rome. All across the Empire farm crops are mysteriously failing. Monstersanta is generously offering to employ the thousands of ruined farmers- but clearly something is amiss, especially illustrated by a bunch of babbling, blue farmers jumping around in the Forum and collasping a few days prior. Monstersanta claimed that they were simply drunk Caledonians, but the fact that they had Monstersanta badges on could not be denied. Neither could the fact that their still forms later turned multicoloured and began floating around in full view of the populace. Or that Monstersanta employees quickly drove to the forum and offered people large sums of denarii and mysterious tasty salad to hush. Or that nevertheless, one eyewitness reported what he had seen to a man, before turning purple and melting.

That man was a disgruntled ex-centurion living in Lutetia called Dislix Mingus. He wasn’t the only disgruntled former soldier around (peace in Germania meant that unemployment numbers for soldiers were second only to devastated farmers), but he did have access to an estate bordering a Monstersanta plant, and some of those newfangledly ‘phones’, ‘firearms’, and things. As well as a plan to recruit adventurers to break into and investigate the Monstersanta facility. But weird things happen behind its doors...

• Vacuum dragons!:

It's been 20 years since the end of the Dragon War. We all remember that dreadful day, back in <generic mid-21st century date>, when thousands of dragons, commanded by mysterious people, riders speaking in strange dialects, began emerging from portals above the Earth. And we remember the dramatic efforts of the world- unimaginable battles over land and sea, massive explodey pourings of firepower... the combined forces of the world (most notably the USAF in the decisive North Atlantic Exchange, better known as the Battle of New York- climatic, still shocking after all these years!), who heroically ground the conflict into a stalemate. From the occupied regions- Canada, Siberia, and so on- those enigmatic dragon riders still glare at us and oppress their inhabitants. Espionage, détente; nothing seems to move or crack their exterior.
Today, fittingly in New York City, we mark the 20th Anniversary of the Dragon War's end by showing them our unflagging spirit. You've known the core facts of the latest expedition by now. 2 years ago, we found a brown dwarf, a failed star in the outer reaches of the solar system, with an object circling it, believed to be the launch point of the invasion. And recent, bellicose statements from the Dragon Liaison Office in Invaded Canada suggests that that is the invader's homeworld.
Thus, the UN voted overwhelmingly today to begin Project Tides of Liberty, virtually a formality to those involved with the fleet of ships now in orbit and ready for departure. The namesake vessel, the USS Liberty, a massive half-mile-plus leviathan the length of 9 Saturn Vs, and the rest of the U.S. fleet will be turning on their lights, 1776 Eastern, and they will be fully visible to the naked eye of everyone. Those in invaded Asian Lands will also be pleased to see some other multinational vessels tagging along follow suit- almost-as-stunning ships from China, Russia, elsewhere...

As the news bulletin drags on and becomes increasingly passive-aggressive towards the Dragon Territories, you, dear players will been strapped onto your waiting shuttle at Mojave and launched for the Project Liberty fleet. You won’t be headed for the fleet itself though- you aren’t military, or military material. Your destination, instead, is the S.S. Facet. This pricey craft represents the commercial side of this voyage. It was perhaps intended to give a veneer of ‘peaceful intent’/‘private exploration’, or to act as a sacrificial scout; speculation is rife. But one thing for sure- the watching Dragon Invaders will not be able to discern its purpose either, for this thing is heavily cloaked, technology from some of Silicon Valley’s finest (Microzbook’s Privacy Screening Features- scaled up! Get one for your P.B. today!)
The Facet will be acting as a pathfinder for the Liberty Fleet- the trip from Earth to the dragon riders’ minisystem will take a few months, with a stopover at Mars and flybys of Jupiter and Neptune. Once at the dragon homesystem, the Facet should remain cloaked until Liberty arrives. In the meantime, try to communicate with the inhabitants on that planet- you’ve got diplomatic types amongst you, right? We’re pleased to say that all the applicants managed to get a spot on board. No, this does not mean that this is a suicidal mission, and that we didn’t screen all of you properly for neurotic traits and all that- you’re fantastic! Now go do Earth and Microzbook Inc. proud!

• Polar Shift: This RP would start off initially in the frigid wastes of the Antarctic Circle. Perhaps you’re a field geologist spending summer at one of the tiny bases there. Or perhaps you’re a tourist on the polar cruise of a lifetime.

Or perhaps you’re a penguin. More later...

So, inexplicably, all human civilisation vanishes.
Save for those below the Antarctic circle, every human and human structure has gone ‘poof!’, simply disappearing. Dams, zoos, closets, farms- all virtually blinked out of existence! Cats, dogs, and livestock still exist, and are generally friendly towards humans.
Also, penguins. The little waddling things have somehow began to grow opposable flippers and have started to speak the Queen’s English. They aren’t very bright yet though, and spend much of their time slapping each other and commenting on their dapperness.
Also, because this RP is more than a little weird, the position of the continents have been flipped. Will you recolonise the world from the Poles? What’s in store for the penguins? Is everything going to degenerate into anarchy? Will there be factions and feuds? Will there be fresh fish for the penguins? Is anyone going to introduce them to tuxedos? How soon will this world gain some semblance of good old civilisation? Or can it?

[Free States of Barylia]

(Hi, Pt2M! A few ideas swirling around here; they're unlikely to become actual RPs anytime soon- I don't think I've the cred and experience just quite yet- more the results of 'now what RPs would I like to come up with?' thoughts. I’d still love to hear opinions though; I might try OP’ing a roleplay in a few months, maybe?)

Alright, here's a long distracting post

• Iron Age: Hilt Meets Sheath: It is the middle of the 6th century B.C.. High noon for what we call the early Iron Age. The splendid garden city of Babylon hosts a flourishing empire, having crushed their Assyrian overlords completely. In the expansive Median Empire, a young noble by the name of Cyrus dreams big. In Greece, Sparta and Athens glare at each other and attempt to get lesser city-states to do the same. The Romans grovel under Etruscan rule. India is composed of fledgling, fragmented jungle states. China boils in civil war. And suddenly, a blue glow flashes along the horizon. Residents of the Near East, fearing a flood or sandstorm, hunker down. But the glow soon fades, and for many, life returns to normal. Even if that 'normal' includes monumental building projects and courtroom intrigue. Few bother with the approaching Mongol hordes of Kublai Khan to the east.

Mongol hordes? Yep. The blue glow? A computer simulation, an experiment by pesky meddling aliens...whatever it is, it has mashed up timelines and brought the Mongols to central Asia. Kublai Khan's hordes, for some time confined to the Yuan Dynasty, worry about the lack of contact with the other minor khanates, and begin another attempt to conquer Europe. Or at least, what they think is Europe.
And the central Asian people flee to the courts of the west. Bactria, Scythia, all crushed by a terrifying force never seen before. The beleagured empires and leagues and city states of the Early Iron Age prepare their forces... But hope is not lost! The time mash has brought several small, but advanced forces into their world! In Londinium, Roman Legionnaires stir in their barracks and wonder why the latest news from Rome has failed to arrive. In the northern hills of Africa, a band of French Foreign Legion wonder similarly.

So, yes, as you might imagine, this RP would be a hybrid of nation-based, military regiment-based and character based stuff and would also need a historical advisor.
Players could start playing a nation, and then switch to characters-based view (e.g. the POV of a few escaping royals) after their nation is squashed by the Mongols. Which, for most of the game, is a near certainty. Those not wanting to play Iron Age people can also create their own bunch of timemashed-in (yep, not timewarped, timemashed) folk, so long as they're not über-significant (Anytown, USA, or a ferry in the Atlantic could do).

[Nightkill the Emperor]

A Tale of Fate and Serendipity.

The big, bad original Dice RP is back in town. Well, sort of. I made a new Dice RP much in the vein of the original with all the quirkiness and wackiness of A Tale of Luck and Chance. So, if you like Dice RPs and miss the good ol' days, then come on down. It'll be just like how you remember it but better. If you haven't played a Dice RP before and want to see what it's all about, then this is the perfect chance to get into it as nothing is better at showing you what they're all about than the original.

So, come join this exciting new (yet old) RP!

Six hours earlier, in The Swords of Amakesh RP:

Sorry. I'm going to have to drop out. I'm having some personal problems at home, and I can't stay in this. I'm really sorry.

Do you always blatantly lie to everyone, or only on this website?

She was having problems, but then those were fixed, and now she can work on her dice rp which takes much less effort. She also dropped out of quite a few other rps, such as Zark's.

[German American States]

I had an idea for a RP that is a combination of the Percy Jackson series(s) and the TV show Supernatural(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatur ... _series%29). So basically, half-bloods running around killing Greek monsters in the US. What do you think?

[Slembana]

I'd like to start an RP about animals, but I don't know what the RP would be about...

Perhaps one about some animals in a forest who are threatened by loggers, and have to fight them off?

[AETEN II]

I'd like to start an RP about animals, but I don't know what the RP would be about...

Perhaps one about some animals in a forest who are threatened by loggers, and have to fight them off?

It'll be as successful as opening up a newspaper company.

AKA Don't, unless you like dead RP's, or being mauled by noobs.

[Constaniana]

I'd like to start an RP about animals, but I don't know what the RP would be about...

Perhaps one about some animals in a forest who are threatened by loggers, and have to fight them off?

That sounds awful cheesy, like that rubbish movie Furry Vengeance that Brandon Frasier or whatever his name is was in a few years ago.

[Slembana]

I'd like to start an RP about animals, but I don't know what the RP would be about...

Perhaps one about some animals in a forest who are threatened by loggers, and have to fight them off?

That sounds awful cheesy, like that rubbish movie Furry Vengeance that Brandon Frasier or whatever his name is was in a few years ago.

I remember that movie. And yeah, my idea does sound like it.

I'll try to think up of a different idea.

[Doorheel]

So, I've created an RP set in a Dwarf Fortress universe, but I'm concerned that it's too much of a niche market, especially given how complicated the DF universe is, to attract players. Any ideas?

[Cylarn]

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=232470

The Northport Chronicles is my second attempt at trying to create a series of RPs, and the first "episode", if you will, of The Northport Chronicles is Noble Cause. Before I can begin to describe Noble Cause, I'll need to give a brief summary of The Northport Chronicles.

The Northport Chronicles will be a crime/law enforcement-themed RP set in the fictional city of Northport, California. The city is plagued by both upper-class and lower-class gangs, while the police force is too corrupt to do anything productive against the true threat to the city, which is a white-collar criminal organization known as the "American Syndicate", which effectively controls the higher echelons of te police force and the city government. The series will revolve around various investigations into crimes committed by the American Syndicate, while the investigators must also contend with those in their ranks who are corrupt. Now, with this brief summary, I can describe Noble Cause.

The plot of Noble Cause opens with the murder of a city councilman with a record for crusading against the corrupt elements of the city. With most citizens demanding answers, the Major Crimes Unit is handed the case. In charge of the unit is Detective First Grade Jed Lynch, a former Green Beret with a rather bad record in the police department. With both "golden" and corrupt detectives and lawyers in the team, the investigators will be diving into the world of corruption in Northport and into the eyes of the American Syndicate.

What do y'all think?

[Esternial]

What would happen if I mixed the Bioshock series and Dishonored?

Sound like a good idea? Might be able to create a whole world with elements from all four games, including Infinite.

Non-canon story, of course. Don't want to spoil the newest Bioshock game. Probably just use the tech there, though.

[Benuty]

What would happen if I mixed the Bioshock series and Dishonored?

Sound like a good idea? Might be able to create a whole world with elements from all four games, including Infinite.

Non-canon story, of course. Don't want to spoil the newest Bioshock game. Probably just use the tech there, though.

The ending itself was a bit of a mind cluster, although I'll give them an A for developing the plot like that.

[Ceannairceach]

What would happen if I mixed the Bioshock series and Dishonored?

Sound like a good idea? Might be able to create a whole world with elements from all four games, including Infinite.

Non-canon story, of course. Don't want to spoil the newest Bioshock game. Probably just use the tech there, though.

Would I like to see a steampunk adventure RP? Sure.

But a Bioshock/Dishonored crossover? I don't really see how you'd work those together.

[Esternial]

What would happen if I mixed the Bioshock series and Dishonored?

Sound like a good idea? Might be able to create a whole world with elements from all four games, including Infinite.

Non-canon story, of course. Don't want to spoil the newest Bioshock game. Probably just use the tech there, though.

Would I like to see a steampunk adventure RP? Sure.

But a Bioshock/Dishonored crossover? I don't really see how you'd work those together.

I'll take elements from both. It'll take some work but I don't think it'll be very hard.

No doubt I'll have to push "Dunwall" a few years into the future so that it comes up to par with the Bioshock universe, but I think that if I take elements from Bioshock and put it into Dishonored, I could make it fit.

One example how I could combine everything: The Outsider grants only the chosen few his powers. With humanity's advancements, these abilities have become available to all through either permanent genetic modification (plasmids) or the use of temporary concoctions (vigors).

[Ceannairceach]

Would I like to see a steampunk adventure RP? Sure.

But a Bioshock/Dishonored crossover? I don't really see how you'd work those together.

I'll take elements from both. It'll take some work but I don't think it'll be very hard.

No doubt I'll have to push "Dunwall" a few years into the future so that it comes up to par with the Bioshock universe, but I think that if I take elements from Bioshock and put it into Dishonored, I could make it fit.

One example how I could combine everything: The Outsider grants only the chosen few his powers. With humanity's advancements, these abilities have become available to all through either permanent genetic modification (plasmids) or the use of temporary concoctions (vigors).

That is something I, personally, wouldn't like. It sort of rips out the mystical element of Dishonored by applying fanciful science.

[Esternial]

I'll take elements from both. It'll take some work but I don't think it'll be very hard.

No doubt I'll have to push "Dunwall" a few years into the future so that it comes up to par with the Bioshock universe, but I think that if I take elements from Bioshock and put it into Dishonored, I could make it fit.

One example how I could combine everything: The Outsider grants only the chosen few his powers. With humanity's advancements, these abilities have become available to all through either permanent genetic modification (plasmids) or the use of temporary concoctions (vigors).

That is something I, personally, wouldn't like. It sort of rips out the mystical element of Dishonored by applying fanciful science.

Does it? The Outsider isn't being meddled with. I'm just putting both together.

To be quite honest, I don't intend to include the Outsider in this. More like the social and political structure of the city of Dunwall, as well as the order of assassins.

[Ceannairceach]

That is something I, personally, wouldn't like. It sort of rips out the mystical element of Dishonored by applying fanciful science.

Does it? The Outsider isn't being meddled with. I'm just putting both together.

To be quite honest, I don't intend to include the Outsider in this. More like the social and political structure of the city of Dunwall, as well as the order of assassins.

Well, yeah. It takes away the special aspect of having powers by giving them to everyone and their grandmother through technology. If the setting was unique, that would be an interesting theme, but in this case its just Bioshock overtaking Dishonored. And, personally, I think that the Outsider and his mysticism is too tied in with the order of assassins at the least to just rip him out of the story.

[Esternial]

What I intend to do is consider the Outsider to be a folk legend from the past, worshipped by a cult of assassins who believed that he gave them powers, but are actually just their own abilities. This Cult of the Outsider has abandoned their patron as time passed, eventually just calling themselves The Outsiders with most of its members not knowing what it truly stands for. It's now 1960, and people look back to the Outsider as we now look back to witchcraft: to those people it might have been very real, but now we have come to realise it was just mysticism and stories passed over and exaggerated. Nobody knows whether the Outsider has ever been real anymore, and they don't care.

So. Alternate history 1960. Europe has been struck by a second plague, unlike the previous epidemic. America severs its connections with the European continent and becomes increasingly militaristic to prevent the plague from entering their domain. This is where one could fit in the flying city of Columbia, lead by a religious figure who seeks to destroy the plague with flames, constantly raining down fire from above onto European cities as they lie weakened by the plague, unable to properly defend themselves. Europe is more or less completely like Dunwall, and also lagging behind a few decades behind the more developed America.

On the sidelines stands Rapture, which is still intact and running because we don't follow canon (obviously). During the strife between Europe and America, Europe seeks to gain the help from Andrew Ryan to rid them of the cure through genetic modification, incorporation some kind of immunity against it. Obviously, the good Shepherd doesn't like this at all, as it goes against his God's divine task, and sets out on a crusade against Rapture.

Both sides clash. Inhabitants of Rapture and Big Daddies rise to the surface - armed with gun and plasmids - and face the devout inhabitants of Columbia, joined by their own automatons and handymen, with vigors in hand.