Story-based RPs are quite a bit different from tabletop.

Subject: Story-based RPs are quite a bit different from tabletop.
Author: VixenMage
Posted on: 2013-05-05 21:29:00 UTC

And most play-by-post RPs are indeed story-based. A former PPCer ran one a while back, at an academy for Mary Stus; basically, as said below, one person sets the scene - depending on the rules, this could be an empty scene, a prompt, done by a mod, or one of the characters doing something. Then somebody else posts a response on that thread, generally another character interacting somehow either with the scene or the original poster. And so on, and so on, adding characters (or not) until the scene is ended.

It can also be done by chatroom, which tends to be a much faster mode of play, but by the same sort of rules. The general thing to keep in mind is that the game is not run by points, but by story. It can be far better for your character to lose fights than win them, because what you want is character development, not high stats.

Reply Return to messages

Jump to this post's position in the thread ↴

Random RPG question by Voyd on 2013-05-05 19:42:00 UTC Reply

How do play-by-post RPGs work? I've never actually been part of one, although I have played a more traditional tabletop RPG (namely Pathfinder).

Well, if you're talking about what I THINK.... by Pauline07 on 2013-05-05 23:56:00 UTC Reply

Play-by-post RPG's are basically internet web boards. The role players make different characters and different posts for different sections, and then just rally the story back and forth.

For example, in a play-by-post, you play a character. Writing the story is like a joint story- you write the story from your characters perspective and they write theirs, and you both decide about external plot/conflict. Does that make sense? It's kind of like doing a play through the internet, and writing it while you're doing it, except it's in story form, so you're examining inner thoughts as well.

At least, that's what my experience has been.
Story-based RPs are quite a bit different from tabletop. by VixenMage on 2013-05-05 21:29:00 UTC Reply

And most play-by-post RPs are indeed story-based. A former PPCer ran one a while back, at an academy for Mary Stus; basically, as said below, one person sets the scene - depending on the rules, this could be an empty scene, a prompt, done by a mod, or one of the characters doing something. Then somebody else posts a response on that thread, generally another character interacting somehow either with the scene or the original poster. And so on, and so on, adding characters (or not) until the scene is ended.

It can also be done by chatroom, which tends to be a much faster mode of play, but by the same sort of rules. The general thing to keep in mind is that the game is not run by points, but by story. It can be far better for your character to lose fights than win them, because what you want is character development, not high stats.

That's a good idea! by KittTheCat on 2013-05-06 22:14:00 UTC Reply

Maybe we should start another one!

Well, it wasn't actually a PPC-based RP. by VixenMage on 2013-05-06 23:14:00 UTC Reply

Though it was a PPCer who ran the board, the RP itself was hosted on Proboards, and open to anyone for application. Hers was at least the second* idea of a "Mary Sue Academy," but I don't know how comfortable I would be with the idea of continuing the RP, or picking it back up, since she's left fairly permanently.

*I started a story ages back that was about a pair of girls escaping from a Stue academy that more resembled hS's Sue Factories, but it got abandoned. There've probably been others as well, but I'm not hugely familiar with them.

Probably third. by Huinesoron on 2013-05-07 09:54:00 UTC Reply

Diary of an Undercover Sue was waaaaay back in 2003, and centred on the Training Academy of Mary-Sues.

I'm currently in the middle of negotiating for use of part of the Academy after her story finishes (yes, other people pick very old stories back up too!), and if I get it, wouldn't be averse to someone starting an RP set in it. Given that I may end up with custody of the Light Side equivalent as well, it could be used for an interesting espionage-based RP - students from the two Academies try to infiltrate each other and, as ever, Hijinks Ensue.

Well, it's a possible. Would anyone be interested in that, at least as an Other Board RP (ie, fairly short-lived PPC job, not a permanent ProBoards-type thing)?

hS

Ah, nice. by VixenMage on 2013-05-08 05:35:00 UTC Reply

That is interesting, and I'd be interested in seeing what an RP thereabouts would look like as well! I s'pose my initial reaction was more of a knee-jerk response to mentioning St. Dymphna's, and the idea of reviving that - which I would be very much against.

A look at that kind of an RP, on the Other Board or somesuch, would certainly be an interesting one. I'm not entirely sure how active I would be - I've sorta gotten more involved in the sociological implications of the word Sue, which has made it difficult for me to see things here in the same light - but... er, it does sound like a good idea.

Well, if it helps... by Huinesoron on 2013-05-08 09:57:00 UTC Reply

... the staff of the Mary-Sue Academy (Loyalist) had/will have this conversation:

"Apparently they think we're undeveloped," a dry voice declared. "They call us 'one-dimensional' and 'paper cutouts'." Ravonia Darkmoor sniffed. "I find it rather offensive - but that's all part of the unbearable darkness that is life, I suppose."

"Well, what's wrong with being 'one-dimensional'?" asked a voice which could have appeared in the dictionary under 'sultry'. (Did they put samples in dictionaries? The Headmistress wasn't sure, but she'd seen something similar once...) Marchessa, perched on the edge of a table, crossed her legs in a way that would have caused men to swoon (but of course had no effect on her fellow Mary-Sues - that would be icky). "Provided you choose the right dimension, of course..."

"She's right," grunted Celia Bloodgage, picking her teeth with a dagger. "Of course," she rumbled, "Marchessa picked the wrong dime... whatever."

"Well, duh!" exclaimed Silverlocks. "Obvs the best dime-thingy is... er... whatever mine is!"

"I wrote a poem about being one-dimensional," Ravonia put in. "It revealed the inexpressible anguish of my soul."

"I killed a Goth once," Celia grunted. "I think she was a Slytherin Hermione. Her blood was black."

"Mine is red," Ravonia declared. "Crimson as the rose petals, as it drips from my wrists..."

So yeah, in this case I think the term is justified. ;)

hS

Well... by SeaTurtle on 2013-05-05 19:53:00 UTC Reply

One person usually starts off with a topic or a prompt. S/he usually establishes rules, gives us context, etc. and then writes the first part of the story.

Another author can then jump in and, in a reply to the original post, write the continuation of the story. And then another person may jump in or the OP replies, and so on. It's very simple!

As an example, I'll link you to hS's Door to the Future RP, played in the above fashion.

Questions for SeaTurtle by Outhra on 2013-05-08 00:35:00 UTC Reply

I'm not sure what thread I should have hijacked to ask questions, so I just picked a recent response by you to attach this to.

After relocating one possible Permission piece, scrapping another, and merging two into a story that was going to be too long, I've got an idea for a viable Permission story.
However, there are Intelligence agents in it, and I don't know a lot about their Department. Since it seems you've adopted Intel, you'd be the most likely person to have high-quality information about it. So...

How they are visually distinguished from Agents in other Departments? I know they have a flash patch, but those tend not to be that prominent, and the character I was planning on having encounter the PPC Agents wouldn't know about Intel, or any other Department, at first. Is there anything in particular that the Intelligence Agents tend to have in common, so that they could be picked out from a group?

How can one tell which colored team an Intel agent is on? Is there an armband or a team uniform or something of the sort?

Furthermore, does each team deal with a specific duty, and how are Agents assigned to their team?

Divisions are briefly mentioned in a few of the reports. How many are there, and what does each deal with? (This one doesn't play into my story; I was just curious about it.)

Answers for Outhra! by SeaTurtle on 2013-05-08 19:52:00 UTC Reply

*Cracks knuckles* Okay, here's the lowdown.

Visually speaking, the only thing that distinguishes Intel agents from the rest of the group would be their flash patches. When on duty, they're usually wearing a canon-appropriate disguise and acting like a background character (if background characters have a tendency to follow a Suvian around while making gagging noises and swallowing copious amounts of Bleeprin, that is).

As for my own headcanon, Intel agents are often quite discreet, meaning that you have to actively look for them in a crowd. It's a habit formed from actively hiding from Suvians, monsters, and canons, wot. They also tend to have more self-restraint than other agents, given the fact that Spies are forbidden to muck with the Suvian when on an Intel run.

Colour teams are just a method of organizing Spies, so no armbands or anything. They are randomly plonked into a team by the Department of Personnel.

There are three duties to perform in Intelligence: sorting badfic in the Sorting Room, assigning fics to agent teams (done from a Spy's own RC), and Action duty (where the Spy goes to a cubicle in the Action Room and waits to be assigned a fic to investigate). There are six teams in Intel, and each is rotated in and out of each duty on a daily basis.

The cycle consists of four straight days of Sorting, one day of Assignment, and one day of Action before the cycle repeats.

Infrastructure agents work in shifts, so there is a "nine-to-five" feel to their job than Action Department agents who are "on call" 24/7 (or whatever time distortion HQ uses). Each colour team has a day shift and a night shift so that an entire team just doesn't walk out at the same time.

As for your last question, most Intel divisions were rendered obsolete with the shift to the colour-team system. Technically speaking, the only divisions that are left would be the DoI's administrative staff and the folks down at the supply depot that's connected to the Hub.

I hope this helps! Don't hesitate to ask more questions, I can go on forever about Intel n'stuff.

This does help. Thanks! by Outhra on 2013-05-08 22:25:00 UTC Reply

Would you be interested in beta-reading when I finish writing the story?

Sure. by SeaTurtle on 2013-05-08 22:30:00 UTC Reply

I'll be finally free of exams this Friday, so anytime after that is all right.

I've tried putting my email in the box thing up there, but if that doesn't work after I press "Post", then toss it over to expertmechanic [at] yahoo [dot] ca.

Related to that... by Outhra on 2013-05-05 21:33:00 UTC Reply

Do you know about what time of year the Board's RPs typically are? Or are they decided upon mostly at random?
I'd like to be involved in one, but it would help if I knew how long I'd have to wait.

Re: Related to that... by firemagic on 2013-05-06 00:13:00 UTC Reply

The times of the various RPGs do happen regularly - just with a unit of time measured only on a planet orbiting a massive plothole, so time gets a bit wibbly-wobbly there.

In seriousness, they basically pop up whenever someone has an idea. I'd suggest poking the IRC to check for interest or posting on the Board before starting the game proper, but other than that there's not really anything.
They tend to pop up sporadically. by Pretzel on 2013-05-05 22:14:00 UTC Reply

There aren't any set times for them, nor set topics. If you have an RP idea, I'd suggest broaching it to the Board in general, say, a day or so before you start it, just to let people know and figure out if they want to join. Also, Board RPs are odd beasts when it comes to general PPC canon. For example, the most recent one with the Blackout/Meatloaf Monster named Slorp has actually been integrated into several Agents' personal canons, so I think it's been generally accepted as a Thing That Happened. Not all RPs are, though.

Oh, and if you have any non-PPC-related RP wants/needs, feel free to ask. I personally do a lot of Supernatural-based RPs myself, but I'm sure there are people who would be willing to do other fandoms as well.