Traveller's Cafe 4: Brainstorming, Discussion, Tea, Advice

[G-Tech Corporation]

Would anyone be interested in a character RP? It would be as if a new land had just been discovered and the end goal is to make businesses and try to control this new environment.

Depends. Can we hire NPCs to create a massive exploitative empire?

[Romextly]

Would anyone be interested in a character RP? It would be as if a new land had just been discovered and the end goal is to make businesses and try to control this new environment.

Depends. Can we hire NPCs to create a massive exploitative empire?

Maybe

[New Antarcticania]

Welp, guess it's back to the drawing board

[Ithalian Empire]

Who's ready for a neo-feudal mech RP set during the collapse of a stellar empire?

[Ithalian Empire]

I made the thing.

[Madrinpoor]

How much interest would I have for a superhero-type RP?

[Talchyon]

How much interest would I have for a superhero-type RP?

I'm always interested in superhero RPs. I'm kind of stretched as it is right now, so I might have to start as a reader.

[Eclius]

How much interest would I have for a superhero-type RP?

Eh, feels like a bit of cliche. Maybe add a twist to it or something to make it more interesting?

[New yugoslavaia]

How much interest would I have for a superhero-type RP?

Eh, feels like a bit of cliche. Maybe add a twist to it or something to make it more interesting?

Same

[Alozia]

I've been thinking of making a RP based on X Factor and similar television competitions, to work on my description skills in a possibly fun setting. Essentially, the concept is as follows: every "episode" players describe their characters' performances, their choice of song, clothing etc. In between episodes, the characters try to drive up their social media engagements, establish their personas through tweets and such. Players would be able to vote on which contestant to kick out/keep. The RP would end with the final episode and then maybe a continuation would be launched where we get to see the contestants try to make a name for themselves after the competition

[Madrinpoor]

How much interest would I have for a superhero-type RP?

Eh, feels like a bit of cliche. Maybe add a twist to it or something to make it more interesting?

I see your point, but I don't see how a twist really could work. Unless we took it into a different format, e.g. each RPer writes little stories about their hero, like a serial, that tie into everything else and allow for more freedom. I just came up with that ten seconds ago. But my point is, if we find a way to make it a unique form of storytelling it might be less cliche.

[Main Nation Ministry]

I see your point, but I don't see how a twist really could work. Unless we took it into a different format, e.g. each RPer writes little stories about their hero, like a serial, that tie into everything else and allow for more freedom. I just came up with that ten seconds ago. But my point is, if we find a way to make it a unique form of storytelling it might be less cliche.

I would still possibly be down, if someone did a RP based on "The Boys" and "Irredeemable".

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Eh, feels like a bit of cliche. Maybe add a twist to it or something to make it more interesting?

I see your point, but I don't see how a twist really could work. Unless we took it into a different format, e.g. each RPer writes little stories about their hero, like a serial, that tie into everything else and allow for more freedom. I just came up with that ten seconds ago. But my point is, if we find a way to make it a unique form of storytelling it might be less cliche.

There is a lot that can still be done with the super hero genre, if you give it some thougt. So, traditionally, super hero stories are about either crime fighting or battling super villains, with heroes existing in this strange extra-legal space. So, I have a few ideas for how you can put an interesting spin on the genre:

Superheroes are mainly employed in the military, perhaps as WMD analogues or special forces. After all, governments have a lot of funds to throw around. A lot less crime fighting, a lot more fighting for vague and realpolitical goals. For example, infiltrating and destroying an Iranian nuclear power plant, for no real strategic gain other than drawing attention to the Iranian enrichment program.

Superheroes are mainly employed by large companies who use them primarily for PR purposes, with very little actually saving people. This could be interesting because it draws attention to the real world economics of people with incredible abilities, like real-life professional athletes and the smartest academics.

Superheroes hold no real special place in the world. Police don’t turn a blind eye when someone crashes through a building, and because their crime fighting often leads to criminal retribution, vigilantism is heavily frowned upon. People are stuck with their powers and no way to use them in their traditional role.

More focussing on that, you can also make a superhero story where people are using their powers in other ways than crime fighting. Mind reading for therapists, speedsters as sports coaches or for rapid inner-city delivery. Flying, flamethrowers, telekinesis, all have uses outside of crime fighting, and that might be even more interesting,

A world where superpowered individuals are actively hunted for experiments or for their containment, leading to people either having to run abroad or becoming supervillains. A story without heroes.

These are but ideas, but hopefully you can do something with them!

Edit: or a superhero RP set in any other time zone than the post-war period. That is criminally underserviced.

[Kassaran]

I wanted to make one where the heroes are survivors of cosmic horror attacks and have gained mutations that let them fight it in return. They're controlled by an organization which tracks their movements because Humans affected by the horrors can become one themselves if they lose control of their abilities. That organization destroys them if they refuse to work under them, or if they corrupt.

[Talchyon]

I see your point, but I don't see how a twist really could work. Unless we took it into a different format, e.g. each RPer writes little stories about their hero, like a serial, that tie into everything else and allow for more freedom. I just came up with that ten seconds ago. But my point is, if we find a way to make it a unique form of storytelling it might be less cliche.

There is a lot that can still be done with the super hero genre, if you give it some thougt. So, traditionally, super hero stories are about either crime fighting or battling super villains, with heroes existing in this strange extra-legal space. So, I have a few ideas for how you can put an interesting spin on the genre:

Superheroes are mainly employed in the military, perhaps as WMD analogues or special forces. After all, governments have a lot of funds to throw around. A lot less crime fighting, a lot more fighting for vague and realpolitical goals. For example, infiltrating and destroying an Iranian nuclear power plant, for no real strategic gain other than drawing attention to the Iranian enrichment program.

Superheroes are mainly employed by large companies who use them primarily for PR purposes, with very little actually saving people. This could be interesting because it draws attention to the real world economics of people with incredible abilities, like real-life professional athletes and the smartest academics.

Superheroes hold no real special place in the world. Police don’t turn a blind eye when someone crashes through a building, and because their crime fighting often leads to criminal retribution, vigilantism is heavily frowned upon. People are stuck with their powers and no way to use them in their traditional role.

More focussing on that, you can also make a superhero story where people are using their powers in other ways than crime fighting. Mind reading for therapists, speedsters as sports coaches or for rapid inner-city delivery. Flying, flamethrowers, telekinesis, all have uses outside of crime fighting, and that might be even more interesting,

A world where superpowered individuals are actively hunted for experiments or for their containment, leading to people either having to run abroad or becoming supervillains. A story without heroes.

These are but ideas, but hopefully you can do something with them!

Edit: or a superhero RP set in any other time zone than the post-war period. That is criminally underserviced.

These are very good ideas. I also did one a few years ago also that took a unique twist on the superhero genre. The characters all had superpowers, but started out in a mental hospital where they were heavily medicated and that reduced the effectivity of their powers by about 90%. And there were some strange shenanigans going on that the characters were supposed to solve. There was one NPC who was crucial to the whole thing who was basically a catatonic vegetable in a wheelchair. It was also kind of a murder mystery of sorts. Anyway, I remember that that generated a lot of interest because it was different.

[Madrinpoor]

I see your point, but I don't see how a twist really could work. Unless we took it into a different format, e.g. each RPer writes little stories about their hero, like a serial, that tie into everything else and allow for more freedom. I just came up with that ten seconds ago. But my point is, if we find a way to make it a unique form of storytelling it might be less cliche.

There is a lot that can still be done with the super hero genre, if you give it some thougt. So, traditionally, super hero stories are about either crime fighting or battling super villains, with heroes existing in this strange extra-legal space. So, I have a few ideas for how you can put an interesting spin on the genre:

Superheroes are mainly employed in the military, perhaps as WMD analogues or special forces. After all, governments have a lot of funds to throw around. A lot less crime fighting, a lot more fighting for vague and realpolitical goals. For example, infiltrating and destroying an Iranian nuclear power plant, for no real strategic gain other than drawing attention to the Iranian enrichment program.

Superheroes are mainly employed by large companies who use them primarily for PR purposes, with very little actually saving people. This could be interesting because it draws attention to the real world economics of people with incredible abilities, like real-life professional athletes and the smartest academics.

Superheroes hold no real special place in the world. Police don’t turn a blind eye when someone crashes through a building, and because their crime fighting often leads to criminal retribution, vigilantism is heavily frowned upon. People are stuck with their powers and no way to use them in their traditional role.

More focussing on that, you can also make a superhero story where people are using their powers in other ways than crime fighting. Mind reading for therapists, speedsters as sports coaches or for rapid inner-city delivery. Flying, flamethrowers, telekinesis, all have uses outside of crime fighting, and that might be even more interesting,

A world where superpowered individuals are actively hunted for experiments or for their containment, leading to people either having to run abroad or becoming supervillains. A story without heroes.

These are but ideas, but hopefully you can do something with them!

Edit: or a superhero RP set in any other time zone than the post-war period. That is criminally underserviced.

I love these! I like the idea of bureaucracy getting in the way of superhero work, and public opinion influencing things (which is why the Incredibles is still one of my favorite superhero movies). Superheroes being government tools hasn't been used enough, and I see a lot of potential with that. Maybe a split between superheroes, with some less-popular heroes fighting crime or international crime syndicates and some more important or respected ones being used in geopolitical affairs. Or vice versa. Or maybe crime syndicates are harbored by some countries, or heroes aren't given jurisdiction in some places for some reason or another. There are so many possibilities!

I like number 3 a lot too, with superheroic activities being mundane, but still dangerous. Like shells in Sarajevo during the 90s. I guess anti-hero protests would become more powerful and anti-hero firebrands lead to their being banned, which would then make heroes be illegally doing crime fighting and crime exploding. I'm not sure, but it would be a cool possibility.

The story without heroes, the corporate PR, and the ordinary superheroes are interesting premises as well. The only problem I see with all of these ideas is the fact that this is a roleplay, and there is only so much the OPs can do to influence the storyline (I think, I have never OPed but I have been in lots of RPs before). Amazing ideas though!

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

So, I have been thinking, and I have been playing some Red Dead Redemption.

How about a super-powered western? It would be towards the end of the true cowboy period, at the close of the 19th century. The dying west is one of the last refuges for super-powered individuals, free from the inquisitions and show trials of Europe, and free from the interference of the ever-growing federal government, which has more imperial ambitions every day. For those with special abilities out here, there is one choice: join with the army, or vanish.

Players would be part of a super-powered posse, heading into the West to convince the last known stragglers to either submit or face justice. They will have to hide their identities in order to avoid retribution from the hostile local population, who doesn't want weapons of mass destruction on their land and who are quite willing to string up any Witch, the nickname for superpowered individuals.

The group will be armed with both their abilities and with firearms, to prevent notice most of the time, and it will be a truly international bunch. I expect characters from all types of backgrounds, from all nations, genders, and ethnicities.

Does this tickle anyone's fancy?

[Madrinpoor]

So, I have been thinking, and I have been playing some Red Dead Redemption.

How about a super-powered western? It would be towards the end of the true cowboy period, at the close of the 19th century. The dying west is one of the last refuges for super-powered individuals, free from the inquisitions and show trials of Europe, and free from the interference of the ever-growing federal government, which has more imperial ambitions every day. For those with special abilities out here, there is one choice: join with the army, or vanish.

Players would be part of a super-powered posse, heading into the West to convince the last known stragglers to either submit or face justice. They will have to hide their identities in order to avoid retribution from the hostile local population, who doesn't want weapons of mass destruction on their land and who are quite willing to string up any Witch, the nickname for superpowered individuals.

The group will be armed with both their abilities and with firearms, to prevent notice most of the time, and it will be a truly international bunch. I expect characters from all types of backgrounds, from all nations, genders, and ethnicities.

Does this tickle anyone's fancy?

Reminds me of the Roleplaying game Deadlands.

Sounds fun though! I'd definitely join

[Lavan Tiri]

So, I have been thinking, and I have been playing some Red Dead Redemption.

How about a super-powered western? It would be towards the end of the true cowboy period, at the close of the 19th century. The dying west is one of the last refuges for super-powered individuals, free from the inquisitions and show trials of Europe, and free from the interference of the ever-growing federal government, which has more imperial ambitions every day. For those with special abilities out here, there is one choice: join with the army, or vanish.

Players would be part of a super-powered posse, heading into the West to convince the last known stragglers to either submit or face justice. They will have to hide their identities in order to avoid retribution from the hostile local population, who doesn't want weapons of mass destruction on their land and who are quite willing to string up any Witch, the nickname for superpowered individuals.

The group will be armed with both their abilities and with firearms, to prevent notice most of the time, and it will be a truly international bunch. I expect characters from all types of backgrounds, from all nations, genders, and ethnicities.

Does this tickle anyone's fancy?

yessss

[Talchyon]

So, I have been thinking, and I have been playing some Red Dead Redemption.

How about a super-powered western? It would be towards the end of the true cowboy period, at the close of the 19th century. The dying west is one of the last refuges for super-powered individuals, free from the inquisitions and show trials of Europe, and free from the interference of the ever-growing federal government, which has more imperial ambitions every day. For those with special abilities out here, there is one choice: join with the army, or vanish.

Players would be part of a super-powered posse, heading into the West to convince the last known stragglers to either submit or face justice. They will have to hide their identities in order to avoid retribution from the hostile local population, who doesn't want weapons of mass destruction on their land and who are quite willing to string up any Witch, the nickname for superpowered individuals.

The group will be armed with both their abilities and with firearms, to prevent notice most of the time, and it will be a truly international bunch. I expect characters from all types of backgrounds, from all nations, genders, and ethnicities.

Does this tickle anyone's fancy?

I would love it. I'd be in.

[Voxija]

So, I have been thinking, and I have been playing some Red Dead Redemption.

How about a super-powered western? It would be towards the end of the true cowboy period, at the close of the 19th century. The dying west is one of the last refuges for super-powered individuals, free from the inquisitions and show trials of Europe, and free from the interference of the ever-growing federal government, which has more imperial ambitions every day. For those with special abilities out here, there is one choice: join with the army, or vanish.

Players would be part of a super-powered posse, heading into the West to convince the last known stragglers to either submit or face justice. They will have to hide their identities in order to avoid retribution from the hostile local population, who doesn't want weapons of mass destruction on their land and who are quite willing to string up any Witch, the nickname for superpowered individuals.

The group will be armed with both their abilities and with firearms, to prevent notice most of the time, and it will be a truly international bunch. I expect characters from all types of backgrounds, from all nations, genders, and ethnicities.

Does this tickle anyone's fancy?

Sounds like my kind of rodeo. Yee-haw and shazam.

[Lavan Tiri]

I kinda wanna try and revive an old RP idea of mine that died before takeoff--I launched it right as I was disconnecting from NS about five years ago, and nothing came of it, but I love the setting enough.

[Main Nation Ministry]

I kinda wanna try and revive an old RP idea of mine that died before takeoff--I launched it right as I was disconnecting from NS about five years ago, and nothing came of it, but I love the setting enough.

What's the RP idea, though? Might be interesting.

[Lavan Tiri]

I kinda wanna try and revive an old RP idea of mine that died before takeoff--I launched it right as I was disconnecting from NS about five years ago, and nothing came of it, but I love the setting enough.

What's the RP idea, though? Might be interesting.

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=392744&hilit=Lost+London

A fantasy/dystopia where the Nazi's managed to bring magic back into the world, and accidentally ended the world, shortly before D-Day.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Some of the world-building for the Western superhero-RP I am cooking up. Keep in mind, the history is written from the perspective of a 19th century upper class academic, and cannot be taken as literally true; just as the understanding of that day, with all the preconceived notions that brings with it. Notice the complete lack of discussion of any other social theory besides social Darwinism.

Hopefully people are still interested, then I will put up an actual OP somewhere this weekend.

Witches of the West

1890 – The American West is slowly but surely drawing to a close. The last holdouts of free Native American peoples are being crushed underfoot by the United States, slowly drawing itself together from coast to coast. Railroads crisscross the nation, carving a path through age-old mountains and ancient civilisations alike. The trains bring people, and businesses, and lawmen, and politicians, and the bill is slowly coming due for those who fled from either persecution or prosecution.

Among them are people with unique abilities or powers of their own. The name super-powered is as of yet only used in a few English-language academic articles on the subject. More commonly in academia, they are known as Homme Extraordinaire, following the pioneering French research on the subject. Those outside academia, however, use a term that has been used descriptively by the Church for centuries: Witches.

The American West still holds a few powerful individuals who have so far evaded employment by any government. At one time driven by ignorant persecution for their innate abilities, governments now seek them out for more immediate advantage, a part of the arms race that will come to dominate the early 20th century. The Frontier holds people from every corner of Europe and the US. Descendants of plantation slaves in the American South and Chinese railroad workers in the east, called witch-doctors for their non-western origin, also inhabit the region. The Federal Government, amongst others, seeks all.

That job is now yours. The War Department under secretary Redfield Proctor has put a bounty on the heads of five named individuals believed to be residing in the Utah-Colorado border regions. Meanwhile, the same department has sent a few of its own agents extraordinaire to Green River, where train service for the to-be-completed Denver-Salt Late City Line ends. One of the last unconnected tracts of United States land, it is a symbol for those still evading the reach of the War Department, and a show of force intended to flush out the last remaining individuals still not willing to help complete Manifest Destiny, and the American destiny beyond that.

You are part of that group of agents. Equipped with horses, provisions and weapons, as well as a carte blanche from the War Secretary, you are to locate these individuals and convince them, one way or another, to serve the US cause. During peace time, life of relative luxury awaits in New York, at the West Point campus. Living costs are provided for, and those present are only expected to follow officer training and subsequent courses. Their bounty is for their live capture, but be aware that, should they be unable to come willingly or otherwise, half-bounty is awarded for proof of their deaths.



A history of Witchcraft

Historical research into Witchcraft is a tenuous business. Ancient Greek and Roman sources make mentions aplenty of supernatural events, but they involve both powers that have been observed in modern humans, and those who are believed to be beyond the ability of any human carrier. As such, ancient sources are to be mistrusted when concerning Homme Extraordinaire, or Homo Heros. Although it is confirmed by multiple sources that such individuals did exist, and especially that they were used to great effect by peoples opposing Roman conquest. It is believed that the density of Homo Heros was higher in ancient populations than in Dark Age populations, although absolute numbers have steadily risen with population increase.

The Dark Ages proved an unenlightened time for any Homme Extraordinaire. Prosecution of witches, both real and imagined, was extensive, especially after the 14th century plagues and following publication of the Malleus Malificarum, which called for the extermination of all sorcerers. Because the persecutions were so extensive, and executed with so little regard to the presumption of innocence and other fundamental legal principles, it is unknown how many Extraordinaires actually perished in the late middle ages, all throughout the early modern period. It is certain that some of those executed for sorcery must have had extranatural abilities, although the incompleteness of the archives leave much to be guessed about the ratio of innocents to actual Extraordinaires that were killed.

Societal views towards Homo Heros changed with the enlightenment. More and more writers pointed to the persecution of super-powered individuals as an example of irrational governance by divinely inspired monarchies. According to Hobbes, a true wise ruler would use the powers and knowledge given to him by science for rational governance. The leviathan would be able to wield these powers to the betterment of his own people and the destruction of his opponents. Other enlightened writers, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, rejected this, and pointed out the dangers these powerful individuals would have to a free society, and advised their expulsion.

It is at this moment that we must point out a strange and counter-intuitive fact about these special abilities. They do not seem to appear at random throughout the population. There are no records of super-powered monarchs throughout the entire modern period, for instance, and among noble families the affliction is exceedingly rare. Even among the proletariat, these abilities are not evenly distributed. In Europe, we find that these afflictions are most often found in minority populations. The Muslims of Bosnia and the Gypsies are among the most prolific creators, but the Poles too have a larger than average number among them. The protestants in Spain are also more represented, while those in Germany hardly produce at all. In that country, Catholics produce best, with the strange exception of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Outside Europe, however, the prevalence of Homo Heros is much greater, almost double that of any European population. While the Ottomans have a smaller representation overall, it is noticed that the division between the upper and lower classes in terms of production is not that noticeable. The question remains whether the lack of production by European upper classes is due to, as some social Darwinists claim, a stronger moral stock overall, or that the European upper class is more apt to hide the affliction, which is culturally associated with minorities.

Whatever the reason, while science and literature were more accepting of the affliction by the end of the 18th century, governments were still openly hostile. The start of the French revolution promised improvement, and many ancient laws were removed from the books. These attitudes shifted as the Revolution progressed and became more and more violent, with many outspoken proponents of liberty for Extraordinaires disappearing beneath the guillotine. It took until the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte that these restrictions were lifted throughout the French empire, as he made remarkable use of their abilities throughout the war. According to some scholars, the Battle of Austerlitz was the first battle won by these powers, as many agree Bonaparte would have lost the battle had he not had access to some incredibly powerful soldiers.

Still, the defeat of Napoleon and the foundation of the Congress of Vienna meant a regression in the rights of Extraordinaires, as many nations slipped back into reactionary opposition. Extraordinaires were treated as inherently revolutionary and faced the same punitive justice, even if they were themselves not in any way politically involved. This only changed after 1848 with the rise of nationalism, and then, only for the same pragmatic reasons Napoleon had had: a single super-powered individual could, if properly utilised, equal a battery of cannon, without the need for horses or heavy equipment. The battle of Solferino during the Wars of Italian Unification was one of the first battles that truly used super-powered individuals on both sides, and the results were so devastating that they would lead to the foundation of the Red Cross.

That was more than thirty years ago. The world has changed dramatically since then. It is a new age of imperialism, colonialism and nationalism. The Dark Continent has been split up by the Congress of Berlin, and Europeans have slowly been making headway into the continent. Germany and Italy have unified, also representing a unification of the many super-powered individuals, with Italy leading the charge. Those Extraordinaires who were unwilling to partake in this exercise could either flee to the US or China, which had little patience for westerners. At first these refugees to the US were left in peace, but as they started to look abroad for more territorial expansion, the US too began to pick up their own army of witches. Those who lived along the east coast were quickly rounded up; those who could moved west in search of better fortunes.