MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't)

[Wizz]

On the subject of MU*s to not-make:

Oubliette. I'm actually a little surprised I haven't seen a MU* or even discussion here about it, it's such a fun and bizarre setting.

Imagine a place that is sort of between Heaven and Hell, where all forgotten souls, creatures, cultures, and even gods wind up after they disappear from the world of the living. Everyone has a living body but is basically immortal, and even if slain they simply appear again in a new body some time later -- but because the sheer scale of time in this place is so immense, many of the inhabitants are "broken" after eons of existence, and simply wander mindlessly or lay in piles on the streets.

The realm is enormous and made up of a strange mix of locations all contained within a boundary that is essentially impossible to escape, and includes vast deserts, hostile jungles, bizarre cities, a vast underground, etc. that is constantly changing, breaking down, and reforming. The whole is referred to as Castle Oubliette.

Because time is "a plate of worms" in the Castle instead of strictly linear, you could meet someone who died in 1346 and someone else who died in 1982 and have lunch with them, though more likely you'd all be working for the vampires who rule one of the districts, or running from goblins in a Labyrinth, or fighting for the honor of a mad god, or a million other things.

There's politics and adventure and horror and simple slice of life stuff all in a zany Purgatory place and you can play anything from a mutated rat all the way up to the living concept of hate, and boy I sure do love it.

[Ganymede]

@lotherio

[TheBigD]

@greenflashlight said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

I dunno. For something no one wants to RP, I'm surprised how many scenes seem to be strangers making awkward chit-chat in line at the coffee shop or whatever.

The point there might be introducing characters to each other? I dunno. Or two players who have no inspiration or thoughts towards something meaningful to RP? xD

[Arkandel]

@greenflashlight said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

I dunno. For something no one wants to RP, I'm surprised how many scenes seem to be strangers making awkward chit-chat in line at the coffee shop or whatever.

I may be missing context but I'll disagree with you on this one.

Coffee shop RP (aka bar RP) is very often a symptom of a game not providing players with more meaningful things to do.

Sure, there can't be PrPs and big events happening constantly and, after all, characters need to introduce themselves to each other and have some downtime at some point, but it very often ends up being all that's happening.

[L. B. Heuschkel]

Coffee shop RP can be boring as heck.

It can also be a way to get information out there to the people who missed out, filling them in and getting them up to speed on game gossip.

I suppose it depends somewhat on the motivation for the scene.

[Misadventure]

The hospitals are all Saint Elsewhere.

Which is actually a Gentry's realm.

[Kanye Qwest]

"Coffee shop" rp (AKA rp amongst yourselves) should be at least half of your rp on a game. Otherwise, you probably aren't roleplaying a character so much as playing the world's crappiest video game.

[Coin]

@kanye-qwest said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

"Coffee shop" rp (AKA rp amongst yourselves) should be at least half of your rp on a game. Otherwise, you probably aren't roleplaying a character so much as playing the world's crappiest video game.

More or less, yah.

If all you're doing is showing up for Events, then I'm unlikely to want to interact with you during events, too. Happens a lot on roster games and/or with people who are in positions of IC authority -- they'll show up for their one event scene every once in a while to avoid idling out, throw their authority around, and then go back to being non-existent.

[Three-Eyed Crow]

@coin said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

If all you're doing is showing up for Events, then I'm unlikely to want to interact with you during events, too.

Yeah, it is so weird to RP with a person in a PrP I've never interacted with outside events. I'll do it but no way it is a better way to meet people than a random bar, it's just jarring.

[Coin]

@three-eyed-crow Yeh. I don't get it. It's especially jarring when those positions of authority also come with responsibilities to create and distribute plots and RP and they don't do any of that, or do it once every blue moon, lol.

[Arkandel]

@coin said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

@three-eyed-crow Yeh. I don't get it. It's especially jarring when those positions of authority also come with responsibilities to create and distribute plots and RP and they don't do any of that, or do it once every blue moon, lol.

Speaking of rostered characters specifically maybe they think that's the right way to play their character?

"I don't think Batman would go socialize" versus "I think Batman would go on this mission to rescue hostages".

[Coin]

@arkandel said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

@coin said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

@three-eyed-crow Yeh. I don't get it. It's especially jarring when those positions of authority also come with responsibilities to create and distribute plots and RP and they don't do any of that, or do it once every blue moon, lol.

Speaking of rostered characters specifically maybe they think that's the right way to play their character?

"I don't think Batman would go socialize" versus "I think Batman would go on this mission to rescue hostages".

If you're playing Batman and you can't have a conversation with Robin, or Catwoman, or -- I mean, yeah, I guess someone could rationalize it that way, but it doesn't make it interactive RP and something that's fun for everyone else.

[Too Old For This]

@arkandel If someone is playing Batman and refuses to play the counterpart partyboy Bruce Wayne... they're playing a terrible Batman. 'Batman' might not show up at the big gala to Support the Crippled Manatees... but bet your ASS that Bruce will be there with three insanely hot chicks hanging off him while he drips money and privilege in his wake.

[reversed]

Lately for me it's a matter of time, energy, and all the other things that are in frustratingly short supply between work, health, and other RL factors.

If Other Player X invites me to come along on the Island of Mysteriously Uncomfortable Chairs PRP, I'm likely to go. If Other Player X is holding an open-to-all Arbor Day Party, I might go if I feel up to it, but that's far less likely. In the former, there's an objective I can focus toward, and in the latter, if I don't have the energy or the focus coming from my own self, it's easy to just watch paragraph after paragraph whiz by on the screen and go 'okay.'

But that's just me and the situation I'm in lately. I can't speak for anyone else or their thoughts on why they're not going to Arbor Day parties.

[Coin]

@reversed said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

Lately for me it's a matter of time, energy, and all the other things that are in frustratingly short supply between work, health, and other RL factors.

If Other Player X invites me to come along on the Island of Mysteriously Uncomfortable Chairs PRP, I'm likely to go. If Other Player X is holding an open-to-all Arbor Day Party, I might go if I feel up to it, but that's far less likely. In the former, there's an objective I can focus toward, and in the latter, if I don't have the energy or the focus coming from my own self, it's easy to just watch paragraph after paragraph whiz by on the screen and go 'okay.'

But that's just me and the situation I'm in lately. I can't speak for anyone else or their thoughts on why they're not going to Arbor Day parties.

"Bar RP" or "Social RP" doesn't have to be "big scene RP" either. It can be one-on-one, or just a small group.

But it can't just all be big plot events. I mean, it can, but its lacking a large chunk of the meat, IMO.

[silverfox]

@reversed

When I'm doing a more social scene I have to put a lot more effort in to creating the kind of drama (as in the flavor of what people react to, not like omg kind of stuff) that will get people engaged. So often it is "hi how are you" back and forth and that just gets boring.

Speaking of, @thesuntsar is the best at this. 10/10 would coffee shop again.

[Pyrephox]

Even a 'bar RP' scene can be meaningful, if you consider the setting, the NPCs, and your characters' purposes for being in that place at that time. The only real problem with bar/coffee shop RP is that people have a tendency to 'white room' it - where a couple/group of PCs pose to each other as if they were standing in a white room for no particular reason.

I don't always succeed, but I always try to have a reason to be in a public place - my character is there to do something, and there are things in the environment that complicate that or change that, and hopefully engage other people in the scene by bringing those elements to the forefront on occasion, whether it's an NPC or an element of the setting, or even the weather. It's one of the reasons descs really ARE important.

[Seraphim73]

@pyrephox said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

Even a 'bar RP' scene can be meaningful, if you consider the setting, the NPCs, and your characters' purposes for being in that place at that time.

I already +1ed this, but I want to do it with words too. Inhabiting the setting rather than just playing characters divorced from it is what makes your WoD game different from your Supers game and your L&L game and your BSG game. Rifle through those crop-cornered sheets of paper, or spill ink across the table from the inkwell, or struggle with a toner cartridge until you use your super strength (from being a Garou or a Vamp or from being a superhero) to just rip the MFer out.

If you're not engaging with the setting, I feel like you're missing out so much on the game. Heck, even your "X City After Dark" games can be set apart by where you are. If it's June in Seattle, you're likely ordering a hot coffee, if it's June in Atlanta you might be looking for an iced coffee. Little things that make your character and your RP part of the world, not separate from it, are SO critical in keeping things interesting. And yeah, as @Pyrephox said... those room descs and personal descs are critical for making this work.

[Lotherio]

Furthermore, if batman is just showing up to roll some dice and show how bad ass he is but doing nothing in between, I think there are better video games to simulate batman ass kick-ery. I think we're all doing this Mu* thing for the RP aspect that comes along with it?

Not everyone might enjoy the routine coffee and philosophical debate sessions, but I'm in the half that does enjoy this. I've played on a few modern only games (and ran one) that had no monsters or threats of a other worldly nature.

[reversed]

@coin said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

@reversed said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):

Lately for me it's a matter of time, energy, and all the other things that are in frustratingly short supply between work, health, and other RL factors.

If Other Player X invites me to come along on the Island of Mysteriously Uncomfortable Chairs PRP, I'm likely to go. If Other Player X is holding an open-to-all Arbor Day Party, I might go if I feel up to it, but that's far less likely. In the former, there's an objective I can focus toward, and in the latter, if I don't have the energy or the focus coming from my own self, it's easy to just watch paragraph after paragraph whiz by on the screen and go 'okay.'

But that's just me and the situation I'm in lately. I can't speak for anyone else or their thoughts on why they're not going to Arbor Day parties.

"Bar RP" or "Social RP" doesn't have to be "big scene RP" either. It can be one-on-one, or just a small group.

But it can't just all be big plot events. I mean, it can, but its lacking a large chunk of the meat, IMO.

This is true. I still try to make time for social/not-punching-the-NPC-mob RP, but these days it's generally not of the public, open-to-all variety.

Which means I miss out on meeting new people and making unexpected connections, sometimes, but I accept that when it comes down to "playing the cards that RL is dealing me."