@Ghost said in City of Shadows:

Idea: Perhaps a different approach needs to be concocted for WoD MUs.

One thing I've noticed is that single sphere-type nonWoD games often have some pretty good cohesiveness. Take the BSG games, for example. I've also heard good stuff about HorrorMux. There are lots of other examples.

I've noticed that multiple sphere games (be they factions, mostly houses, or supernatural types) begin as LETS TRY TO KEEP THINGS ORGANIZED and very quickly fall into FUCK, I DUNNO WHO IS DOING WHAT AND I'M NOT SURE IF 3 OR 4 FACTIONS ARE EVEN PLAYING THE SAME GAME. I've seen this happen in Star Wars games with Republic|Empire|Sith|etc factions, Firefly, WoD...

(anyone remember the Star Wars Mandalorian pirates in hip-hugging blue jeans, lip gloss, and baby doll tees?)

What the single sphere games have in common is usually a tentpole metaplot designed for all players to involve in, but also have mutual stake in. When you spread out your players, as well as their interests, some players simply don't understand that the further they distance from the GM-run realm, the less viable their characters are despite the players still wanting to have a meaningful impact on the game.

Rhetorical Idea: I know some people are die-hard Changeling fans or Vampire fans, but would more staff metaplot and less sphere options create a more cohesive gaming experience?

I'm talking about the classic VtM setup, for example, where everyone is either a vampire or a ghoul. Staff may control the Prince over the city. PCs focus on clans and coteries within the city. The problems of the city become the metaplot that EVERYONE has stake in. Werewolf NPCs are sniffing territory, ghosts in the subways, vampire hunters in the city, shifting mortal politics, ancient vampire rumors living in the sewers, the Ventrue Justicar is visiting...all with Storyteller cohesion focusing on clan leads as opposed to spread out sphere admin.

Have places tried this? Feedback?

I just can't help but feel that sometimes the spread of spheres actually seems to make it harder to get a large group roleplaying together, as well as getting an entire cast of characters to give a shit about something.

ETA: I know that WoD works this way. I.e. This game focuses on the lives and times of the Kindred of Chicago where Werewolves and Changelings are visiting plot devices to explore. Then, if so inclined, you don't open the game to Changeling Pcs, but instead create a second venue/game altogether where Vampires are the NPCs and all PCs stick together. I know this works with LARP and TT. So...run it like a LARP.

More and more lately I don't think its the spread on spheres that is to blame as much as the number of alts one person can have. If you have one alt in every sphere then cross sphere gets thrown out the window for the most part.

It's not just XP starvation or slow XP that makes that whole system not always the best option, its when raises make sense and they can't be made due to the artificial wait times that it becomes a problem.

@Admiral I feel like a comment like this should come with some form of explanation or rational.

@Florida-Man said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:

@Tinuviel said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:

@Florida-Man said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:

@faraday said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:

@Florida-Man said in If you work hard, son, maybe someday you'll RP:

I only log in to play, so I don't consider this expectation unreasonable.

Logging in only to play is certainly not unreasonable. That's your choice. Just as someone can join a baseball team, attend each game/practice faithfully, never speak to another soul on the team outside of game-related conversation, and then go home. There's nothing wrong with that, but expecting everyone else to do it too is unreasonable. Communities socialize. Like it or not, MUSHes are communities. It's not just about the game.

Well, if I come onto a game to play the game, and none of the people on it are interested in playing the game, that's a bad game. Zero stars. I don't want to be on that kind of "game." Especially if I have to go through this multi-hour application process to get a character on it.

There's a difference between "not playing" and "not playing right now."

Whatever you say, hoss. If people aren't playing a game after trying to find something a few times (preferably on different days), the game sucks, and so do the people on it. You can only "not play right now" for so long before it's reasonable to write you off. Next.

I find this response pretty interesting. There is a game I log into where I can't always play and there is a new/newer player with a few alts that asks for RP a lot. For me, I have a lot of the constraints others have talked about here (work/adulting/etc) and can't always consistently play. Sometimes I'll log in when I can't play yet because I know in "x amount of time" I should be free and I maybe can line something up for later. This new person though is so thirsty that its kind of a turnoff. It makes me feel like expectations will be too high. Mix in the PCs this player plays appear to be the kind that are "special" or "different" in a way that means it'll probably be an additional effort in RP and that equals a big nope from me.

I like to recycle but like mentioned here it is only successful when there are changes to fit the new game/scenario. For me, if I've found a character that's easy to "get into" and really play the story then moving them to a new setting with changes to fit still usually ends up working. I think because of my comfort level with the character and it feels natural to play even if its a new environment.

@Thenomain said in Game of Thrones:

This was posted by @Tat on the Ares Discord, and I think it's a strong, good, nuanced outsider non-spoiler breakdown of this season of Game of Thrones.

https://twitter.com/dsilvermint/status/1125856091261136896?s=21

Or: D&D plots, GRRM pants.

While the points are all good, I feel like that's an abuse of Twitter. I blame Trump for making it cool to post giant stories on Twitter.

@Taika said in City of Shadows:

Quick update on the progress of things.

Alts will be limited to two, to start. 1 per sphere. So no double dipping with a vampire AND a ghoul, or a wolf AND a Blooded.

A bunch of code is in and updated. +plots is amazing, now. And some other bits and bobs are in. (Thanks, Theno!)

Data entry is coming along now that I've finished rejiggering colors and such.

Families have been cut from 20 to 5.

A lot of what is ahead now is stuffing things into the wiki, desc'ing, and building the stories for families and mystery cults, figuring out Bloodlines, lodges, and legacies. Entitlements are so personal to a pc, I don't have plans for pre-fabbing any.

The to-do list is still a bit daunting, but progress is chugging along nicely.

This might not be the right thread for this question but specifically:

A bunch of code is in and updated. +plots is amazing, now. And some other bits and bobs are in. (Thanks, Theno!)

Will these changes be rolled into the code that games seem to reuse?

@Ghost said in City of Shadows:

Idea: Perhaps a different approach needs to be concocted for WoD MUs.

One thing I've noticed is that single sphere-type nonWoD games often have some pretty good cohesiveness. Take the BSG games, for example. I've also heard good stuff about HorrorMux. There are lots of other examples.

I've noticed that multiple sphere games (be they factions, mostly houses, or supernatural types) begin as LETS TRY TO KEEP THINGS ORGANIZED and very quickly fall into FUCK, I DUNNO WHO IS DOING WHAT AND I'M NOT SURE IF 3 OR 4 FACTIONS ARE EVEN PLAYING THE SAME GAME. I've seen this happen in Star Wars games with Republic|Empire|Sith|etc factions, Firefly, WoD...

(anyone remember the Star Wars Mandalorian pirates in hip-hugging blue jeans, lip gloss, and baby doll tees?)

What the single sphere games have in common is usually a tentpole metaplot designed for all players to involve in, but also have mutual stake in. When you spread out your players, as well as their interests, some players simply don't understand that the further they distance from the GM-run realm, the less viable their characters are despite the players still wanting to have a meaningful impact on the game.

Rhetorical Idea: I know some people are die-hard Changeling fans or Vampire fans, but would more staff metaplot and less sphere options create a more cohesive gaming experience?

I'm talking about the classic VtM setup, for example, where everyone is either a vampire or a ghoul. Staff may control the Prince over the city. PCs focus on clans and coteries within the city. The problems of the city become the metaplot that EVERYONE has stake in. Werewolf NPCs are sniffing territory, ghosts in the subways, vampire hunters in the city, shifting mortal politics, ancient vampire rumors living in the sewers, the Ventrue Justicar is visiting...all with Storyteller cohesion focusing on clan leads as opposed to spread out sphere admin.

Have places tried this? Feedback?

I just can't help but feel that sometimes the spread of spheres actually seems to make it harder to get a large group roleplaying together, as well as getting an entire cast of characters to give a shit about something.

ETA: I know that WoD works this way. I.e. This game focuses on the lives and times of the Kindred of Chicago where Werewolves and Changelings are visiting plot devices to explore. Then, if so inclined, you don't open the game to Changeling Pcs, but instead create a second venue/game altogether where Vampires are the NPCs and all PCs stick together. I know this works with LARP and TT. So...run it like a LARP.

More and more lately I don't think its the spread on spheres that is to blame as much as the number of alts one person can have. If you have one alt in every sphere then cross sphere gets thrown out the window for the most part.

It's not just XP starvation or slow XP that makes that whole system not always the best option, its when raises make sense and they can't be made due to the artificial wait times that it becomes a problem.