It's going on a year of Horror Mu being open and running, and I've learned a lot even after 24 years in this hobby. I made it based on a few key observations over the years as a way to see if those things could be overcome, or at least minimized. They are:
- Games with stats usually have some form of XP. There is no proven 'right' way to do XP that's fair - base it on time on game and new players never catch up. Base it on activity or RP and some players will dominate due to RL availability. In either case, XP becomes s thing to be chased, it fosters resentment, and is basically a huge fucking nightmare.
- Games with stats that DON'T have XP often make players feel like the character is stagnant. XP is equated to 'growth', fair or otherwise.
- Games without stats are often still using some kind of factions or hierarchy - Weyrs on Pern, etc. Factions become insular, territorial and possessive.
- Players are generally averse to taking risks, especially if they may lose their big XP PC. Anyone who shakes things up IC or takes risks often gets sideye.
- Players want continuity in RP, not a new game every 4-6 months.
- Approvals, XP, story jobs, etc. burn staff/storytellers out. Making creatives do paperwork is especially bad.
Add to this a few honest things I know about myself as a staff/storyteller:
- I LOVE running stories and playing NPCs.
- For a few months, at least. Then I get bored and distracted.
- The more admin/paperwork I have to do, the more I lose story momentum.
So with Horror Mu I set out to address every one of those issues. I made an anthology-style game where you play an Archetype (The Loner, etc.) that has a new but similar role in each story, which I usually assign. I try to make each story deal with a new or different facet of the Archetypes when I write roles. To keep an ongoing continuity, between stories you all exist in a place simply called The Facility from which there is no escape and all your needs are provided. In here, you ARE your Archetype and remember your various roles from the stories like new lives you lived. There are no dice or stats in The Facility, and dying only lasts a day when you wake up in your bed again.
For stats, I settled on a simple system called Slasher Flick with some modifications. That brought me to
- Games with stats usually have some form of XP. There is no proven 'right' way to do XP that's fair - base it on time on game and new players never catch up. Base it on activity or RP and some
players will dominate due to RL availability. In either case, XP becomes s thing to be chased, it fosters resentment, and is basically a huge fucking nightmare.
and
- Games with stats that DON'T have XP often make players feel like the character is stagnant. XP is equated to 'growth', fair or otherwise.
I addressed by having stats, but they reset each story. You get to completely redo your stats to suit your role. Further, I added a Perks and Quirks system, like Merits and Flaws, that allows more customization. Every PC has the exact same points, but each is good and bad at different things.
I addressed
- Games without stats are often still using some kind of factions or hierarchy - Weyrs on Pern, etc. Factions become insular, territorial and possessive.
by having the PCs broken into groups or factions each story (with 50 Archetypes, you kinda have to), and scrambling those factions for every story, including who I give leadership roles to. Sometimes, yeah, I get burned by giving an important role to a new or idle player that drops the ball, but often times it surprises everyone when someone new shines and does awesome things. It's been far more 'hit' than 'miss'. It keeps people RPing in new combinations and prevents cliques from dominating.
I addressed
- Players are generally averse to taking risks, especially if they may lose their big XP PC. Anyone who shakes things up IC or takes risks often gets sideye.
and
- Players want continuity in RP, not a new game every 4-6 months.
By having stories last 2-4 months. Most people go in expecting to die. Dying is seen as fun. People do all the crazy shit they normally wouldn't because it's not the end of the character - just that story. The Facility gives enough over-arching continuity to allow people to 'stay in character' and not feel like they're just playing a new PC every time.
And that just leaves me and MY 'Known Issues'.
Approvals, XP, story jobs, etc. burn staff/storytellers out. Making creatives do paperwork is especially bad.
I LOVE running stories and playing NPCs.
For a few months, at least. Then I get bored and distracted.
The more admin/paperwork I have to do, the more I lose story momentum.
I have a couple staffers who help do all the paperwork/approvals/etc., freeing me up to run stories and do story-related +jobs. I don't approve PCs, or give out Archetypes to new players, or handle wiki foo.
I tell stories.
And with each being limited in nature, I'm always wrapping it up when my usual boredom/loss of energy would hit. People RP in the Facility a couple weeks while I create and post all the info on the NEXT story (I nerd out on world building and writing newsfiles), which I'm totally psyched about at that point, and we take another spin on the wheel.
Rinse and repeat.
It's been a fun experiment, and there have been bumps in the road, but I just talk things out with the players and take their input into consideration when fixing a problem. People have a voice and use it.
I've learned a lot, some of it unexpected, some of it confirming previous theories. Players tend to prefer I write their role and outline their character, and in stories where I leave it open to them we end up with a fair number of 'cannot find a hook into things' issues. Assigning roles means I give you a hook, a reason to be in the story, and things to do. They've come to feel that works better.
It's also created the most co-operative MU environment I've had the pleasure to be in. People encourage and support and help each other. People let each other shine. It's lead to some of my very best experiences in the hobby, and some of the best RP I've seen or been involved in.
Lastly, it's NOT for everyone. Some people don't do well at all there, and it's not because they're bad players, but just different. Everyone likes different things, and that's a good thing. If it doesn't work, it's okay. I'm fine with the game being small-ish but active and enthusiastic.
And thus concludes a year of what I learned running this game and trying something new.