This kind of thing fascinates me: https://www.vox.com/2019/7/23/20702987/brain-psychology-making-hard-decisions
Just the idea we are all liable to make very bad - or at least erratic - decisions regardless of whether we are normally rational, educated, intelligent or even cautious individuals.
@zombiegenesis said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):
I think if people want to get the most out of the modern MU scene they need to embrace the idea of self-contained plots and running things themselves for themselves. I know that may be easier said then done but it's how I feel.
That's one way to do it but is it a realistic expectation? People's approach to being willing to run plot in general haven't changed to a large degree before, so why would it start now?
I think a better way around it is to assume nothing will change but give people tools to have their adventures ran automatically. Think more 'Diablo 3 random dungeon' than anything. Many combat-y plots aren't very deep anyway, so you could potentially package a game so that when there are scenes going they can go have political RP and when there's nothing else going on go fight orcs or whatever.
One of my earliest movie memories involve Flesh and Blood. Easily the first 'erotic' film I ever watched, too, even though it'd probably barely register as such these days. I haven't watched it in years but Rutger Hauer was so good in it.
@bear_necessities Well, essentially the idea has always been pretty simple - run a PrP, get some XP (or other in-game bonuses).
Mind you, this is no silver bullet. Those have gotten abused in the past. The simplest way is by people who ran them only for their friends (i.e. the people they'd be doing it for anyway), and so if you didn't have access to plots before you probably wouldn't now either.
Another way reward systems misfired is when people ran unplotted scenes just to collect them. "A birthday party" kind of deal.
But even then at least something happens. In smaller MU* when nothing happens for long enough it can be a game-killing condition, since people get bored and leave, then when other players log on they find no one else on, get bored and leave, etc... until there's no one left.
@Rinel The comic was over the top (and amazing) too. It's just how Garth Ennis writes. 
@derp Not quite. Everyone can respond to a scene. Some people are even quite good at feeding off of existing cues, writing really good poses, being fun to be around... but they can't (or won't) create new plot threads.
To some people "hey this scene is getting stale, I'll make a drunk NPC start a fight" comes naturally. Others don't want to deal with being in the spotlight for that.
@Ghost Where I think Millar fails - and Ennis succeeds - is in making me care about his characters. I don't think I've felt this way about a single Millar character - they are often involved in some really fun stories but that's where it ends.
He's also great about creating... gravity for his characters. His Punisher is the best ever written in my opinion; sure, there are some self-indulging plots where he just mows down hundreds of mobsters at a funeral but there are many personal, intimate tales in there as well - even romantic arcs, or what Frank can even have that resembles anything of the sort.
Yet in the entire saga the notion lingers that this is the most dangerous motherfucker on the planet and in itself it's almost a separate entity, a plot hook of its own, and Ennis can do that without having to explicitly tell the reader, yet he lets it be a contrast with the challenges his character faces - he makes Frank quite aware of the fact he resides in a cynical and violent world in which he can't really make anything better since he's part of the problem.
I quite loved his perspective. It's really easy to turn the man-and-a-gun vigilante into a simplistic glorification of machismo. Ennis can give it depth and nuance. The Boys is a work that embraces a similar concept, where otherwise it could have just been a far simplistic "evil JLA" story of which we've seen many.
@zombiegenesis said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):
The answer can't be, "let other people entertain me". That's the road that leads to stagnation and RP death. I think we're collectively trying to find ways to inspire people to find way to entertain each other. Even if it's just for a few hours.
That's true. But I think it's also not "let's all do something that doesn't come naturally to some". It won't work, either.
I think the answer is in automated unscripted PrPs to bridge some gaps. I doubt though there is a singular 'silver bullet' approach that will just solve this problem.
@zombiegenesis Yeah, that's fair. Maybe an 8-ball kind of code which, if at least half the scene's participants silently activate, spits out a random encounter in the room.
Put this thread in the Hogpit, g'dammit. I'm ready to draw a line on the ground and go to war.
@devrex said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):
Weirdly I've seen less of this over the years, not more. Most players I've run into and have run for have been kind, appreciative, helpful, and forgiving. Everyone's mileage surely varies there, though. I offer this not as a refutation but more to offer a sense of hope...many players are awesome!
It's because we fixate, to an unhealthy degree, on the negativity.
I'm kinda retired now but I've been in this hobby for a very long time. I've ran hundreds of PrPs, some for just one person, some for an entire sphere. The vast majority of those went either okay or people were grateful whether I really knew the source material intimately or ran the exact themes they were looking for or not.
The last sort of 'big plot' I ran was on Arx (yeah, that was a long time ago). It was just a dumb idea, kind of a training exercise for whoever wanted to join where they had to scale a wooden tower wet with traps and grab a flag from the top or something. I didn't even know what rolls to use on Arx's system so we made them up on the spot. Like 20 people got involved? There was no reward of any sort. The winner was a random sailor. It wasn't tied to running metaplot or politics in any conceivable way.
I got the impression folks liked it. Did it blow their minds? No. Not every PrP needs to do that.
Just run something if you want to, don't if you don't.
All I wanted to say in this thread is... don't count on plots being run if you're a game-runner. Design the MU* in a way that it won't be boring unless you find a bunch of volunteers, as they don't grow on trees.
Good news everyone!
This July was the hottest month in recorded history.
No wait, that's not good news.
I could have sworn it was July 1936. For the US that is. But they keep changing the data though.
@pyrephox said in MUs That We Would Love To Make (But Won't):
Yeah. I think this is where support comes in. @Devrex 's suggestion about having staff partnering with potential runners, working through mechanics with them, or being on hand to provide pinch hitting support (whether it's running a specific NPC, or what.)
It's harder to shadow someone running a plot, or to coordinate them so they can run NPCs within the scope of what you're looking to accomplish, than to do it yourself.
If it's an investment in hopes of encouraging a new ST? That's probably still worth it. But it can very easily be more stressful than just doing it, for no payoff at all.
@saosmash Charge a commission. Demand a tithe. It's your right.
I've been working with my current company for just over two years now and things seem to be going well. I got my responsibilities upgraded soon after joining then I was promoted and given my own team to manage. So this was good. The money is good. The title is nice.
On the other hand... it turns out I had completely underestimated how time-consuming this management thing takes. It is insane; all the meetings, writing of documents, keeping track of people's performance, doing one on ones.... shit, that's a lot of stuff. But it's fun and I still like it - perhaps because it's new and still a novelty, and even if it's taken my focus off of the purely technical stuff.
What truly caught me unaware though is all the... other requirements. For example now I have to dress the part - apparently it's a not-so unspoken rule that people will judge you based on that in ways keyboard jockeys (which I am, at least at heart) never have to worry about since the expectations are simply not there. No, I need better pants; yes, I need dressy shoes. And for sure I have to wear button-down shirts; gone are the days of sportsy, cool UA fun fabrics.
Those were not responsibilities I was prepared for. I'm not and have never been the guy who walks into fancy suit stores; I own suits but if I wear one more than once a year it'll be for a funeral or something. Now, it seems, that will have to change. I'm not so sure how I feel about all that yet.
I don't know who Lextius is but just from that, I hate him.
Alright, I don't hate him, but damn is that ever the wrong way to run a game. Punish your players for playing intelligent, proactive characters. Good job there.
@Auspice It's more like... I don't really suffer from imposter syndrome, that's simply not me. I don't feel out of place among managers or directors. I talk freely to our VPs.
But walking into a fancy place selling high end clothing does do... something to mess with my head. I don't know why - the guys working there are grunts like everyone else. But I while I don't feel judged I do feel self conscious and that's not something I'm used to.
Settings, much like characters, aren't self-driven. A great concept on paper still has to be developed so it breathes on the grid - and that takes work and maintenance.
As long as you don't pick a place that's somehow... wrong (say, a town too small, or some country most western-world players can't related to and don't know much about) location is irrelevant. Active, creative staff and players are what makes it work. Set it anywhere you want, it'll work or fail on the merit of how well it's taken care of, not if you picked Seattle over Cleveland.
