[quote=NuttsnBolts]
[quote=Blackbeard]
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My basic point is I want to make an RP, set in a universe with a very very large cast. However I want the group of actual players to be small. How can I make this work without limiting the interaction the players can have? 

How do I control a massive cast of characters with only a few Roleplayers?   
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Going to apologise in advance for not reading the whole thread but I gathered what I could and skipped back to check a few things before I thought of some ideas.

You mentioned that most Bleach RPs are around the Goti 13 and how people have to create a large database to play with. Have you thought of setting a Roleplay up about a group of people outside the the main hub of the Goti 13? For example the Visored, or a disbanded group of Shinigami that have come across a threat that the Goti 13 doesn't want to look into? It's just when I see you mention "There aren't really 'grunts' it's almost like an army of mini-bosses." I can totally agree and understand how it would be extremely difficult to write for a full squad.

It just seems, to me at least, like a very difficult concept to create only because a player would almost have to crank up the level in each post that extra notch just to better their previous post. I know a fight between Ichigo and Renji could last for a complete episode in the series and character development would take place over several episodes, often dedicating one compete episode to just how someone had a change in thought.

Not trying to rain on your parade. If it can work than I do wish you all the luck you can get. I'm just wondering if it'll become an iceberg of an idea where what you have envisioned is only the tip and the entire base that is 9 tenths is the work that people will have to do. :hmm
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Hey thanks for getting back to me also. I think (Hope) I did say something about doing exactly that, a while back we tried an RP in which the group played as almost 'renegades' and the idea was that we used to be in the Gotei and we came back to fight them (Almost like Vizards) but again the problem with that is you want all the players to be in the group you see? the idea is we all play a character in this renegade group and fight the Gotei. But then who controls the Gotei 13? since there will be many many characters that we would probably encounter and have to fight (As it sounds you've seen the show so you know) it would encounter the problems stated above. It's probably the closest I've come to figuring it out and it's cool you came to that idea independently. 

I've all but given up on it, for now at least as I see it's difficult if not impossible to pull of, and I don't think there is enough interest for the RP anyway. I am happy however to have started the conversation and attempted to figure it out, I'm glad the community has tried to help me out and I'm thankful.

[quote=Alamantus]
If you want fully-fleshed out characters but don't want to make them [i]all[/i] beforehand, maybe you could just create the characters as you come across them in the story. Flesh them out only as they come. That way you won't have myriad unused characters just sitting there. That's generally how I make my NPCs, which is probably not the best but works for me. :P

Anyway, it sounds like the scale you're looking for would fit much better into the [url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/forums/42]Nation Roleplay[/url] forum, in case you didn't already know that. I'd recommend looking at how some of the longer-lived ones in that forum do their structure and army management, because it sounds more or less like what you want, except perhaps on a more macro scale. You could potentially combine the normal roleplay strategy with the macro scale strategy with the leaders doing battle with big baddies and occasional comments or even focuses on the army's (or whatever a unit of fighters would be called, it doesn't really matter) progress/status in battle. It would probably be hard to keep track of, but if you're determined and organized enough with your notes, I think you could do it.

But yeah, interest is always the hardest thing to garner. Maybe if you turn it into a more general RP and use all of the elements from Bleach (explaining them along the way), you could appeal to a wider audience than just Bleach fans?
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Nation role-play doesn't really fit to be honest. It's much more of a very very large normal RP than a smaller macro Nation RP, but thanks for the suggestion. Bleach is also the kind of thing in which only fans of the series really participate in anything surrounding it like RP's. I don't think I've ever seen someone who isn't a bleach fan they are just interested in the idea and wanted to participate. People either love it or hate it. Again though, thank you very much for trying to help me, much appreciated to both of you!!

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