P2TM Training RP Think Tank [Portal's End]

[Alleniana]

Je suis la. This is nice.

Shifting emotion spectrum? I dunno, that sounds a bit... for lack of a better word, gamey.

[Tiltjuice]

I graduated from Velcro shoes to laced ones, Cami. Next I'll be tying them without hands.

That looks like a good evolution from Min's suggestion.

[Mincaldenteans]

Congrats on being named a Co-OP, Tilt. Makes me think you're getting too big for our rinky-dink TWD RP.

Basically, a plot device that briefly forces RPers to focus on particular aspects of their writing? Sounds like a plan, Stan.

I can't help but think it might serve better as one of those many multiverse lands the students will end up visiting: a place with some sort of omnipresent emotional manipulation, the cause of which could be magic/techno-babbly science stuff/etc. The goal in visiting said land would be to stop whatever is causing the Stuff and the Things. That would allow the Mentors and Co-OP's to periodically change what emotion it is that everyone should be feeling, while the students are running around trying to solve the Stuff and the Things; make it feel a little more organic, less like a plot device and more like a story. In keeping with the original idea, it could be a place that is discovered as the teachers and students dick around with a newly discovered emotion-spectrum portal.

I might come up with something of my own tomorrow.

Exactly. It'd be nice exercise/challenge for new players to describe their characters reactions/emotions instead of dialogue, dialogue, monotone, monotone. And if a char is actually bored with the emotion-realm, well good, they can describe their agonizing ennui at being there.

Je suis la. This is nice.

Shifting emotion spectrum? I dunno, that sounds a bit... for lack of a better word, gamey.

True. Therein lies the issue with lots of new players also: half the time its all I see and its only a few that actually write down what their characters are expressing past their dialogue without having to infer heavily on what's being conveyed. There's only so much "!" at the end of a sentence I can get out of unless said writer puts in, "s/he/it shouted", "face contorted into..", etc etc.

Anyway, its just a thought.

[Agritum]

Shop Ideas

Gino's Multiversal Delicatessen


Staffed by a friendly, plump Italian man called Gino, Gino's Multiversal Delicatessen is a renowned restaurant located in the hamlet near to the school. It's famous for its use of rare ingredients coming from the most disparate universes. Gino himself was a quite a skilled multiversal traveller, before he decided to settle down in the hamlet and dedicate the rest of his life to the culinary arts.

Students can come here to enjoy a good meal together, or to work part-time in the establishment's kitchens. Most notably, Gino regularly enlists groups of students to walk through the portal and bring back delicious ingredients for his dishes, preferably without getting stranded in another dimension.

Village Library

The library is a weird place: an apparently small, old building, which is actually much more bigger in the inside. It has no warden, or rather, the warden is actually an invisible spirit which proceeds to silence anyone speaking too loudly, and whack potential book thieves in the head.

Books-wise, the library is pretty much an hotspot of knowledge and information. Maybe even too much of that: reportedly, a student actually got lost for an entire day before finding the book he searched for. The bookshelves themselves are arranged around in a labyrinthine pattern, which, along with the size of the building, makes the library quite difficult to navigate.

Even then, precious arcane knowledge can be found in its tomes, as long as you manage to find them without angering the Librarian Spirit and whatever lurks in the library's inner sanctum.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Congrats on being named a Co-OP, Tilt. Makes me think you're getting too big for our rinky-dink TWD RP.

Basically, a plot device that briefly forces RPers to focus on particular aspects of their writing? Sounds like a plan, Stan.

I can't help but think it might serve better as one of those many multiverse lands the students will end up visiting: a place with some sort of omnipresent emotional manipulation, the cause of which could be magic/techno-babbly science stuff/etc. The goal in visiting said land would be to stop whatever is causing the Stuff and the Things. That would allow the Mentors and Co-OP's to periodically change what emotion it is that everyone should be feeling, while the students are running around trying to solve the Stuff and the Things; make it feel a little more organic, less like a plot device and more like a story. In keeping with the original idea, it could be a place that is discovered as the teachers and students dick around with a newly discovered emotion-spectrum portal.

I might come up with something of my own tomorrow.

Exactly. It'd be nice exercise/challenge for new players to describe their characters reactions/emotions instead of dialogue, dialogue, monotone, monotone. And if a char is actually bored with the emotion-realm, well good, they can describe their agonizing ennui at being there.

Je suis la. This is nice.

Shifting emotion spectrum? I dunno, that sounds a bit... for lack of a better word, gamey.

True. Therein lies the issue with lots of new players also: half the time its all I see and its only a few that actually write down what their characters are expressing past their dialogue without having to infer heavily on what's being conveyed. There's only so much "!" at the end of a sentence I can get out of unless said writer puts in, "s/he/it shouted", "face contorted into..", etc etc.

Anyway, its just a thought.

I like this idea. Forcing those who wish to partake in the training to describe their character's inner thoughts, facial expressions and such seems like a fairly good idea to get them started on writing quality post. Kudos.

Shop Ideas

Gino's Multiversal Delicatessen


Staffed by a friendly, plump Italian man called Gino, Gino's Multiversal Delicatessen is a renowned restaurant located in the hamlet near to the school. It's famous for its use of rare ingredients coming from the most disparate universes. Gino himself was a quite a skilled multiversal traveller, before he decided to settle down in the hamlet and dedicate the rest of his life to the culinary arts.

Students can come here to enjoy a good meal together, or to work part-time in the establishment's kitchens. Most notably, Gino regularly enlists groups of students to walk through the portal and bring back delicious ingredients for his dishes, preferably without getting stranded in another dimension.

Village Library

The library is a weird place: an apparently small, old building, which is actually much more bigger in the inside. It has no warden, or rather, the warden is actually an invisible spirit which proceeds to silence anyone speaking too loudly, and whack potential book thieves in the head.

Books-wise, the library is pretty much an hotspot of knowledge and information. Maybe even too much of that: reportedly, a student actually got lost for an entire day before finding the book he searched for. The bookshelves themselves are arranged around in a labyrinthine pattern, which, along with the size of the building, makes the library quite difficult to navigate.

Even then, precious arcane knowledge can be found in its tomes, as long as you manage to find them without angering the Librarian Spirit and whatever lurks in the library's inner sanctum.

Cue epic quest for the Legendary Cookbook. -Nods-

[Tiltjuice]

Swith will be back tomorrow, after the ByteCoin craze subsides.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Swith will be back tomorrow, after the ByteCoin craze subsides.

If that's what causing all the lag, I don't blame her.

[Tiltjuice]

Swith will be back tomorrow, after the ByteCoin craze subsides.

If that's what causing all the lag, I don't blame her.

It is. She's barely on, and Cer can't.

[Constaniana]

How is it people find out about the academy, again?

[Cerillium]

Teens are selected by the Five.

I'll expand once the threat of being logged off passes. Precious little left to my data plan.

[Agritum]

Given that I'm currently busy, and I believe the same applies to Swith and Cer, who else would like to throw in some wordbuilding suggestions?

[Grenartia]

Certainly an intriguing idea.

[Tiltjuice]

Given that I'm currently busy, and I believe the same applies to Swith and Cer, who else would like to throw in some wordbuilding suggestions?

I'll be looking into it shortly.

[Tiltjuice]

The Squared Circle
Run by an elderly Asian gentleman, the establishment is not a reference to the alchemical glyph representing the creation of the philosopher's stone. No, not at all.

It's a dry cleaner's.

Day or night, rain or shine, it is open to students and faculty alike. The owner often sits outside with a magazine and a sewing kit, repairing any damaged clothes brought to him. He may also have pieces of advice to dispense when least expected, the benefit of his long years.

[Swith Witherward]

We just need to get the foundations properly laid and the app ironed out. Power scale vs no power scale, character limitations, etc. We can do town fluff on the fly.

This honestly isn't what I had planned out from the beginning so, if it seems like I'm falling short on plot ideas and such, it's because PE went in a totally different direction based upon player input.

I'd still like to see two minor missions which tie into an epic ending mission. Is there a way we can incorporate the "emotion" exercise into a mission?

[Tiltjuice]

I thought character limitations were addressed in the Students section. Could you expand on that a bit more?

[Swith Witherward]

I thought character limitations were addressed in the Students section. Could you expand on that a bit more?

That's why I stuck "tweak this" in the parenthesis. I wasn't sure if this would work or if we should incorporate some system. I prefer the very basic "pick a power" thing.

[Nationstatelandsville]

We just need to get the foundations properly laid and the app ironed out. Power scale vs no power scale, character limitations, etc. We can do town fluff on the fly.

Power scales are a good idea.

Not just because they help regulate in-character fighting - which will occur between new kids - but they also help refine a character. I often know nothing about a character beyond their name and general personality until I fill those out in Elfen High.

I'd still like to see two minor missions which tie into an epic ending mission.

That seems too restrictive, really.

Plot shouldn't be organized into classes and missions, it needs to flow.

Is there a way we can incorporate the "emotion" exercise into a mission?

"Emotion" exercise?

[Tiltjuice]

That's why I stuck "tweak this" in the parenthesis. I wasn't sure if this would work or if we should incorporate some system. I prefer the very basic "pick a power" thing.

Oh, OK. Yeah, that seems the most straightforward.

We just need to get the foundations properly laid and the app ironed out. Power scale vs no power scale, character limitations, etc. We can do town fluff on the fly.

Power scales are a good idea.

Not just because they help regulate in-character fighting - which will occur between new kids - but they also help refine a character. I often know nothing about a character beyond their name and general personality until I fill those out in Elfen High.

Should we be getting into that? Differing RPers are bound to have differing styles of character development.

I'd still like to see two minor missions which tie into an epic ending mission.

That seems too restrictive, really.

Plot shouldn't be organized into classes and missions, it needs to flow.

I'm not sure an open-ended plot is the ideal for a teaching RP. Some sort of compromise would probably be better.

Is there a way we can incorporate the "emotion" exercise into a mission?

"Emotion" exercise?

What Min came up with.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Power scales are a good idea.

Not just because they help regulate in-character fighting - which will occur between new kids - but they also help refine a character. I often know nothing about a character beyond their name and general personality until I fill those out in Elfen High.

Should we be getting into that? Differing RPers are bound to have differing styles of character development.

Yes - so why wouldn't we provide a power scale? Not doing so would take a tool from the hands of those who might benefit from it.

Besides, the rest should have to do it so their characters remain balanced, at least against other characters. It takes three minutes and consists of nothing more than point allocation, at least in Elfen High's system.

That seems too restrictive, really.

Plot shouldn't be organized into classes and missions, it needs to flow.

I'm not sure an open-ended plot is the ideal for a teaching RP. Some sort of compromise would probably be better.

That's not what I meant - rather, that the plot can't just be a teacher pointing at a glowy rock of shag carpertry and shouting "LOOK, A ROCK!" a few times, before of all the rocks magically come together into an even glowier rock.

"Emotion" exercise?

What Min came up with.

Could I get a link?

I'm busy right now, so I can't go hunting.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Should we be getting into that? Differing RPers are bound to have differing styles of character development.

Yes - so why wouldn't we provide a power scale? Not doing so would take a tool from the hands of those who might benefit from it.

Besides, the rest should have to do it so their characters remain balanced, at least against other characters. It takes three minutes and consists of nothing more than point allocation, at least in Elfen High's system.

I'm not sure an open-ended plot is the ideal for a teaching RP. Some sort of compromise would probably be better.

That's not what I meant - rather, that the plot can't just be a teacher pointing at a glowy rock of shag carpertry and shouting "LOOK, A ROCK!" a few times, before of all the rocks magically come together into an even glowier rock.

What Min came up with.

Could I get a link?

I'm busy right now, so I can't go hunting.

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=289876&p=19475120#p19475120

[Nationstatelandsville]

Yes - so why wouldn't we provide a power scale? Not doing so would take a tool from the hands of those who might benefit from it.

Besides, the rest should have to do it so their characters remain balanced, at least against other characters. It takes three minutes and consists of nothing more than point allocation, at least in Elfen High's system.


That's not what I meant - rather, that the plot can't just be a teacher pointing at a glowy rock of shag carpertry and shouting "LOOK, A ROCK!" a few times, before of all the rocks magically come together into an even glowier rock.


Could I get a link?

I'm busy right now, so I can't go hunting.

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=289876&p=19475120#p19475120

I don't know - that seems like character development and more like getting handed a new character entirely.

A kind of "biggest fear" boggart-y type monster mucking around could fulfill the same role while allowing the players to reveals their characters without altering them. It might be kept by the school as a trial of sorts, so as to weed out the weak and such.

[Tiltjuice]

Yes - so why wouldn't we provide a power scale? Not doing so would take a tool from the hands of those who might benefit from it.

Besides, the rest should have to do it so their characters remain balanced, at least against other characters. It takes three minutes and consists of nothing more than point allocation, at least in Elfen High's system.

I suppose. Have to see how things go.

That's not what I meant - rather, that the plot can't just be a teacher pointing at a glowy rock of shag carpertry and shouting "LOOK, A ROCK!" a few times, before of all the rocks magically come together into an even glowier rock.

I'm not sure that's what Swith had in mind.

[Tiltjuice]

I don't know - that seems like character development and more like getting handed a new character entirely.

A kind of "biggest fear" boggart-y type monster mucking around could fulfill the same role while allowing the players to reveals their characters without altering them. It might be kept by the school as a trial of sorts, so as to weed out the weak and such.

How grand do we want the stories? I kind of appreciate Swith's suggestion - it has the potential to span all sorts of genres, not merely action.

[Nationstatelandsville]

Yes - so why wouldn't we provide a power scale? Not doing so would take a tool from the hands of those who might benefit from it.

Besides, the rest should have to do it so their characters remain balanced, at least against other characters. It takes three minutes and consists of nothing more than point allocation, at least in Elfen High's system.

I suppose. Have to see how things go.

That's not what I meant - rather, that the plot can't just be a teacher pointing at a glowy rock of shag carpertry and shouting "LOOK, A ROCK!" a few times, before of all the rocks magically come together into an even glowier rock.

I'm not sure that's what Swith had in mind.

Point being that the plot should not be compartmentalized.