Posts made by Botulism

Yeah, see, I don't really like most stat and combat systems.

I have ZERO experience or understanding re: Ares. Not saying no, just I can't do a steep learning curve right now.

I'm alive. My absence was not planned or personal, and I'm sorry for those I let down.

If I come back, would people WANT HorrorMu to resume? Reboot? Something new? Gauging where interest lies.

I live.

RL ate me. It does that. Not bringing HM back, but may set something up similar-ish that's more static, but with more player-plot control. If there's interest. Unlimited mortals, 1 minor-power non-human (think the kids in Bonds of Blood),1 major-power non-human (think the gods in Carnival). No XP. Sorry, just not doing it. It ruins everything in the end.

Set in modern Vegas. I seed some plots you can run. You can make your own monsters/plots. I run a few. Enjoy whichever you like.

So we're trying a few new things this story. First and foremost, it'll be our longest story so far as we aim for 6 months. I've fleshed out a lot of lore for it, and hopefully it'll give people lots to play with.

Second, I'm allowing players to run plots involving 'monsters', in this case raider groups. Normally I handle Kill Scenes exclusively, but I'm testing out letting players run some. I think the core of our playerbase knows the system well enough now.

We have roughly half our Archetypes open, so now is a good time to give things a try - lots of options available and the story is just starting.

About The Last Road:

Around eight decades ago, the world died. Very few who are alive today were around then, which leads to some disagreement over the exact year, and it wasn't a single event but a rapid collapse. Some say 79 years ago, some say 76, but most common consensus is that it happened 78 years ago. In a short amount of time the seas boiled, the Earth was scorched, and nearly everything that lived, died.

Many people are sick, deformed, or both. Tumors and 'the sickness' send most to an early grave. The more they live out in the wastes, the more contaminated they get. Only those with good shelter and clean water and food resemble anything close to normal, and the air still takes its toll over time even then.

Nuclear war? Climate change? Asteroid? Most people don't even know what those things are anymore. All they know is the dead world, their world, and that survival is all there is.

The Last Road is inspired by and borrows heavily from the Millerverse of Mad Max, but is not set in the continuity of the films. It takes place some years after.

WITNESS ME!

Season 8: The Last Road starts November 9th!

Season 7: Bonds of Blood starts August 6th!

Set in Spring of 1994, Bonds of Blood is a Vampire story in the mold of Lost Boys and Salem's Lot. It takes place in 90's Spring Break mecca Lake Havasu City, AZ., where the old London Bridge was moved in the late 60's. It's a tourist trap town on the Colorado River built around the Bridge and a kitschy English Village next to/under it. While it's a fun place to visit - and MTV does for Spring Break each year - it's like any other small town to grow up in - slow and boring. A bit odd, but normal for most of the year.

PCs this story can be High School Seniors (18), or adults (18+). There are five families to choose from, and each has extended family options. Each age group and each Family have certain Perks and Quirks tailored just to them.

Read Family (faction) pages and pick your family. Contact The Director with your ideas.![alt text]

Season 6: Project Icarus is heading into the home stretch and will wrap by August 1st. If you have an Archetype and haven't been active for whatever reason (no judgment!), I need you to log in this week and let me know if you plan on returning for next story. Otherwise I'll be recycling all Archetypes that have no logged RP in the last two weeks on the 14th and listing them as open again.

What's the next story? Bonds of Blood. Ad to come after Project Icarus ends.

@Ghost I'm still holding The Wanker for you, if you ever decide to take the plunge.

@Derp I completely own both of the main points in Cons. I need to go through a lot of the basic, meta-level wiki and revise it as things have changed and evolved over time and trial/error. Sometimes these changes never made it to the wiki.

The second point is actually unique to this story. Every story so far has started with a general promise of 'the first X weeks are safe' and you can all get your feet wet and settle in. This story, for the first time so far, I Blew Shit Up (TM) on Day One. Everyone came an inch from dying the first scene. It was a blast, and gave the story a feel of being tossed in at the deep end that's done great things for the IC dread and tension, but yeah. I get how a new player would feel quickly overwhelmed.

I'm sorry that happened to you.

@gryphter

@gryphter said in Things I've Learned Running Horror Mu:

I think there is another factor at play here too, not to be overlooked. Whether it's the luck of the draw or the result of the game's community and policies, the players make this model work by taking their moment in the sun, then getting out of the way for the next person to shine. Kudos to the community of players who embraced experimentation and learned to put each other into the spotlight. That's a very real magic!

This.

It works as WELL as it does because the players are happy taking turns in the spotlight. They support each other and give them room to shine. No one HAS to be the star of every story.

I can't take credit for that. That's all them.

@bored Aw! Thank you! Sad you faded away, but I appreciate this.

I freely admit I love WoD games/themes and started playing it TT long before MU. I also fully believe that it's a flaming dumpster fire as a MU. The fact that the exact same things are being done over and over to this day is frustrating. Also, insanity is doing the same thing again and again but expecting THIS TIME it will be Different (TM).

I really wish others would try new things like this. I'd play the shit out of a game with revolving stories and themes, where stats regularly reset so everyone is equal, where everyone gets a chance at being in leadership instead of calcified groups running factions or areas. It's why I made one.

It's been fun running it, and I have lots more stories in mind.

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.

We almost had the shortest story ever. They were all an inch from dying in the opening scene because of hilariously bad rolls. So close!

I intend to run a scene on Saturday, June 1st, at 3pm Pacific that will cover waking up from stasis and, uh... landing. >.> This scene can be broken into three rooms - one per Mission (Mining, Sci/Cul, and Investigation) to help with spam.

Rejoice! The end is nigh!

@Ghost Nope! Want me to hold him for you?

@Ghost You've ALMOST unretired a few times now. XD

It's time for season 6! Ask questions and discuss!

Season 6: Project Icarus

In 2231, an anomaly in space was identified - an asteroid that is slowing down the closer it gets to KV-273, a black hole. Initially discovered on a deep space scan for precious Rare Earths, the asteroid was found to contain the largest concentration ever found anywhere in our galaxy. Scientists mapped its trajectory in preparation for an expedition and found it heading directly at KV-273 at staggering speed. Frustration set in as they wrestled with the physics of getting to it before it gets too close to the singularity, but then something truly impossible happened: it slowed down.

At its current rate of decline, it will come to a full stop before crossing the event horizon, something that simply should not be happening. They have dubbed this asteroid Icarus.

Having determined that Icarus is stable and has a strong gravity well, a series of probes were sent, followed by a manned mission in 2244. What initially started as a mining mission has become much bigger as the secrets behind Icarus' existence could rewrite physics as humanity knows it. That first manned mission ended in disaster as the small crew fell victim to some sort of mania. Penumbra Corp, the megacorp behind the Icarus Project, are convinced that they have isolated the cause of that madness and solved a number of other issues the first mission struggled with, and have launched a second mission.

You're set to enter the Icarus gravity well and awaken from stasis in 2249.

This story is best described as EVENT HORIZON, THE THING and AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS thrown in a blender. Claustrophobic, sanity-breaking horror awaits.

Season 6: Project Icarus

In 2231, an anomaly in space was identified - an asteroid that is slowing down the closer it gets to KV-273, a black hole. Initially discovered on a deep space scan for precious Rare Earths, the asteroid was found to contain the largest concentration ever found anywhere in our galaxy. Scientists mapped its trajectory in preparation for an expedition and found it heading directly at KV-273 at staggering speed. Frustration set in as they wrestled with the physics of getting to it before it gets too close to the singularity, but then something truly impossible happened: it slowed down.

At its current rate of decline, it will come to a full stop before crossing the event horizon, something that simply should not be happening. They have dubbed this asteroid Icarus.

Having determined that Icarus is stable and has a strong gravity well, a series of probes were sent, followed by a manned mission in 2244. What initially started as a mining mission has become much bigger as the secrets behind Icarus' existence could rewrite physics as humanity knows it. That first manned mission ended in disaster as the small crew fell victim to some sort of mania. Penumbra Corp, the megacorp behind the Icarus Project, are convinced that they have isolated the cause of that madness and solved a number of other issues the first mission struggled with, and have launched a second mission.

You're set to enter the Icarus gravity well and awaken from stasis in 2249.

This story is best described as EVENT HORIZON, THE THING and AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS thrown in a blender. Claustrophobic, sanity-breaking horror awaits.