Ellri

Star Wars: Revanchism [Knights of the Old Republic/Mandalorian Wars]

We're rather busy in RL these days, so it may take a bit of time to get a post in. We don't however, mind at all if someone starts involving our character somewhere in the meantime. We imagine she'll help the Colonel round up the other survivors and start heading towards whatever objective is logical to head towards. With no home net available, we'll have to wait for our christmas break (on thursday afternoon european time) to get net we do not have to travel a couple of clicks by bike to reach.

Stayin' Alive

We had an RP that actually survived the guildfall, but it died some months afterwards with two core players being mostly unavailable and certain blatant design flaws rearing their heads. We can't give good answers to exactly what'll keep an RP alive, but we can give some ideas to what can kill them.

The RP we had was Star Wars-themed, with captive Jedi during the Cold War between Vitiate's Sith Empire and the Galactic republic following the Sacking of Coruscant. The one design flaw that most certainly killed that RP, was that the Jedi had no real hope. Since the RP was based around players being on both sides of the conflict, that lack of hope truncated the options the Jedi faction had for doing anything. The prison ship was designed with a few too many of the Evil Overlord list points taken into account, so they had almost no chance to get to the ship's hangar, let alone get away from it. (when not in hyperspace, the ship was escorted by two Terminus-class destroyers. as well as being heavily armored and armed on its own). As such, even outside hyperspace, the ship was essentially unassailable.

On the ship, the prisoners essentially had the options of falling to the Dark Side or dying. They were often tortured, but you can get tired of writing imaginative torture after a while. Especially if the RP restricts you from using certain forms of torture.

You can probably see what we're hinting at here... If you're designing an RP with two playable factions opposing each other, you'd better make sure that both the factions have a full range of options. Don't let your personal preference for one faction dominate the RP. It only comes back to bite you later.

We've long had a plan to bring that RP back to life, so we've made some plans we think others could use too in order to make an RP work better in the long run... Not sure how good they are, but you never know. One plan we have for the second iteration of said RP, is to have multiple GMs, with different fields of "duty". One GM for each faction, one GM for the RP mechanics. We also plan to have fewer restrictions on what we permit the players to do in the RP. PCs should not be immortal.

However, another trait we've found useful for RPs, especially the complex ones like the one we've described here, is that we're strict on the Character Sheets. As it was in an existing universe, we have lore to stick to. Forcing people to follow certain rules when they create characters helps keep the chaff away from the wheat. Star Wars, for example, is a massive universe. You can't fairly cover more than a fraction of it in one RP. Thus players need to have restrictions when they create their characters. Our chosen prime restriction in the above RP was that players can only play Sith/Jedi. No regular soldiers, no bounty hunters, no Mandalorians and so forth. Sure, this removes some potential players, but it makes the whole manageable. When such roles are needed for whatever, we have our players use NPCs. Like the player characters, these are mortal and can die. Unlike the player characters, not quite so much is needed to kill an NPC.

Another important element that is easy to forget is the classic rule of "never split the party". If the PCs are too far apart, you can easily end up with the RP stagnating as various players are waiting for specific other players. The above RP had that flaw in having several cell blocks for the prison complex. While that makes sense containment-wise, it restricts interaction between the characters, which is a bad thing.

The final thing we think can help an RP survive long is permitting players to introduce their own plot lines. The GM(s) shouldn't have exclusive right to making the plot. Often players will have excellent ideas that improve the RP in the long run. Granted, the GM(s) should always have a certain control in place so that the RP isn't completely taken off the network of tracks, but He/she/they should not try to keep the RP on a single track. That would be railroading, and that is not a fun thing to go through.

Star Wars: Revanchism [Knights of the Old Republic/Mandalorian Wars]

heh. Coming on to 12 new IC posts... not bad progress.

The Relics

Collab between Sundered Echo and Ellri. Involving Angie nic Cuán & Alessia In the background as she got dressed, Angie heard some strange noises she could not quite place, intermixed with human shouting. After she finally got the clothes figured out, she started walking towards them. Considering that the structure was quite unfamiliar to her, it was a wonder she did not get completely lost there. There was a strange buzzing to the air, it tingled at the back of her head, as if familiar, yet not quite so. She realized she really wanted to figure it out. By chance, she got to a window facing the main courtyard of the Kalesian Embassy shortly after the stranger of the noises stopped. All that remained was the agonied moans and the faint scent of freshly spilled blood. She looked out the window and saw that there were bloodstains upon the ground in the courtyard. Alessia was on her way to her quarters to collect new clothes before bathing when, turning a corner, she walked almost straight into the young evoker she had rescued earlier, Angie. She seemed to be looking out at the courtyard, likely wondering why there were bloodstains suddenly in a trail to a wall. It would not do to scare the poor girl into thinking the people she was seeking sanctuary with were really monsters behind the kindly visage, though, after everything she had been through, Alessia considered it likely that this Angie would believe the truth. “Angie.” She began softly, so as not to startle the girl. “You are looking much better now. Do the clothes fit well?” She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “This has been quite the day, and its only just beginning. Is living in Amaryth always this… exciting?” “Exiting? Normally hardly anything happens. What happened down there?” she asked, still curious. She saw that Alessia had some strange stains on her dress. Idly she noted that Alessia’s dress was of fairly similar design to the one provided to her, though with a longer skirt. Sniffing the air, she caught the feeling that something that was like a hound yet different and more had been near Alessia. She had never before smelled anything like it, nor been told of any such being by the hounds of the city. Alessia paused for a moment, she thought about telling the girl to wait until she had changed, she really wanted to get out of this outfit now that it had blood on it, but thought better of it. “I was attacked… or, well, I think I was, by a beast that appeared to resemble a wolf that could walk. I have never seen its like. The Guards drove it away, but though their valor is appreciated, it would seem I owe my life to the beasts whim. It chose to lick me instead of biting.” It sounded somewhat ridiculous after she had said it, and she wondered if perhaps she might have been better off with a calculated lie. “A Two-legged wolf? That’s odd.” Angie answered, once again sniffing the air. She leaned over and breathed the scent on Alessia’s dress deeply in, so that she could without a doubt recognize it in the future. If it appeared once, she figured it might do so in the future too. “What happens now? I can’t leave the embassy, right?” Alessia inwardly cringed at the idea of Angie now sniffing at her, but did not let it show. The girl probably found the scent of the wolf-thing intriguing anyway. “No, not while you are still an Othean. Not if you wish to be safe from the Inquisitors. There is a way, that you could be safe though. Not just now, but always.” Safe from the inquisitors at least, Alessia thought. “But it will be a sacrifice as well.” She waited for a response then, to gauge the girls reaction. “Oh?” she answered, quite intrigued. She truly had no idea what that way could be, and the promise of permanent safety from the inquisitors certainly sounded like a good thing. She’d heard stories in the past about those inquisitors, but had never truly believed in them. The fact that the local chapter of Idris had been the family’s main customers probably explained most of the doubt. You don’t want to believe the worst about your family’s primary customer. “With my recommendation -” Alessia began. “You could become a citizen of the Kalesian Empire. Kalesia does not recognise the Idris laws and will not allow them to be applied to its citizens. But what am I saying? We cannot have you making life changing decisions while loitering in a corridor. Come, I’ll explain what this would mean for you on the way to one of the towers, then you can think about it while I go and change. How does that sound?” As she finished she gently began to lead Angie to the closest of the Embassies towers - ostensibly guard towers, though this one had been outfitted for viewing and general use too, as apparently the resident ambassador liked to spend his spare time above everyone. “Become Kalesian? Is that possible?” Angie answered a bit skeptically. She listened closely as she followed Alessia through the embassy and eventually coming to a long series of narrow stairs that spiraled upwards. Though the stairs were cramped, they passed several doors on the way up, eventually coming out to a surprisingly large room. She saw a large table in the middle of the room, whereupon rested a huge sheet of parchment, which Angie guessed depicted some sort of map. She barely knew how to read the simpler kingdom runes, let alone long texts or maps. However, before she could give that more thought, she saw the window. It was not as if windows were new to her, but rather that she’d never seen one facing anything but equally tall or taller buildings across narrow streets. The view out of this window was incredible. She could see more of the city than she’d ever seen before, even the wilderness and forests outside the city walls. She did not know how long she stood there, simply staring out the window. Alessia looked at the girl staring in wonderment at the expanse of the city, reminded of how she had felt the first time she had seen her home from up high. She was younger then, of course, but then, even now it was impressive. She put a hand gently on Angie’s shoulder to get her attention before speaking. “The most important thing to think about right now, is that if you become Kalesian, you will be expected to make use of your abilities, your evocation I mean, to serve the Empress, may she live forever. I’ll let you stay here and admire the city while I go and change. I will be back soon.” Angie only paid half-attention to Alessia’s words until the hand touched her shoulder. With reluctance, she turned about for a moment to listen. “Ok, I will think on it.” After the Kalesian left, Angie turned back to the window, not really looking at anything specific as her thoughts churned. She had never had any hesitation about using her abilities in the past, it was not as if she could truly turn them off after all. She missed her family a little, but knew that for their sakes that she could not have done anything differently. If it meant survival, she would have no problem serving that foreign empress. It was not as if the Othean nobility and royal family had ever done anything for her and hers. Thinking back, she even realized that they had done much the opposite, giving the Order of Idris nearly free reins. Her grandfather, before he died seven years earlier, had told her of how tolerant the King had been when he was young. How the Order had not had any influence to speak of back then. It wasn’t a decision to make lightly, but she knew without a doubt that she had already made it. She would take the Kalesian’s offer when she returned. Having wasted no time at all in freshening up, Alessia made her way quickly back to the tower, a new and different set of clothes now adorning her figure. She found Angie just where she had left her, and after allowing the girl just a moment more to look out at the city, spoke once more. “Angie.” She said to get the girls attention. “Have you thought on your answer? There is no rush to decide, the Embassy will let you stay for a few days without a decision but if we can get the formalities over with today, you may yet get to go to the festival.” “I have made my decision. The Kingdom of Othea has not offered me anything that is of more value than what you say Kalesia offers. My old grandfather, who is dead now, said it used to be different before the Order of Idris came, but the kingdom is not what it was back then. I will gladly accept the offer.” This time, she sounded very sure. There was no doubt in her voice now. A smile crept over Alessia face at the resolve present in the young girls voice, and it seemed she had also found a good degree of eloquence too. “Then it is my honor to inform you that you are now a citizen of the Kalesian Empire. There are several formalities to finalise the affair, but they will not take long.” Unbeknownst to Angie, her comment helped spur on Alessia in her belief that the Kalesian plan was justified. She only hoped the girl’s loyalty proved as strong as her enthusiasm. “Thank you.” she answered, a bit curious about exactly what the formalities entailed. Had she been more imaginative, she would no doubt have imagined all sorts of horrible ceremonies, but she wasn’t all that imaginative. Instead, she simply smiled.

Star Wars: Revanchism [Knights of the Old Republic/Mandalorian Wars]

Collab between Sep and Ellri

It would be almost impossible to count the times Elara Rahn had flown through a planets atmosphere and landed upon its surface. In fact, her earliest memories were of just such events. But of all of those, none could compare to the entry this time. Never before had she done so in a combat shuttle amidst a firestorm generated by planetary defense turrets. She had doubts as to just how safe it was, but quickly resolved that she could not change it. It was necessary.

As the shuttle began spiralling towards the surface he hit the last person on the shoulder to get out. He looked to the deactivated droids sitting at the other end of the ship however realising there was no real time to activate them and have them ready to use their own personal packs. Some of those droids were shiny and new, others had been part of the unit for as long as he had and while they were not living he could not help but feel some pain at leaving them behind. He turned, and instead of jumping he powered up his pack, while he flicked his helmet mic on “Get yourself out of there Lieutenant!”. At this height and with the time it had taken since the last Jedi had jumped simply using a parachute would result in injury, instead he shot off up into the air. Red alerts flashed on his hud indicating him to the lack of oxygen in the air due to the elevated terrain above the mountain. He let himself begin to glide in a downwards arch, cursing slightly at being so far away from the original DZ, heading straight for the canopy he gave a burst just above the tree tops slowing him to a near stop, then falling through. Grabbing on the first branch he could.

After the shuttle was, inevitably, hit several times, it had been apparent to all aboard that it would not survive to land. They had all jumped out, attempting to land one by one. Not used to such jumps, it had not surprised Elara much that she had rather quickly gotten herself separated from the most of the others. She had seen several others get shot out of the air, but had had enough fortune to not get hit herself. Granted, when she had finally landed, it was in a tree, with her chute firmly wrapped around some thick branches. It was not long afterwards that she had figured out that the chute’s auto-release was jammed. Thankfully, she had also seen their unit’s commander nearby. She had shouted out to him, after a few minutes getting his attention.

He had made his way, painfully to the bottom. Curling up into the smallest shape he could he made sure to try and prevent his pack from taking any damage. He shook his head, and gave himself a run down. There’d be some serious bruising but his armour had prevented any major injury from occurring. He flung of the jump pack straps, swinging it around and inspecting it. It had taken a couple of hits, useless. The last thing he wanted was to use a defective one and end up becoming a fire work for the Mandalorians to watch. He was about to flick on his helmet comm when he heard a yell from the tree tops, running towards the source he eventually looked up and there she was. The Jedi Rahn, the last one out besides himself stuck in a tree.

“Well don’t just sit there! We need to get moving. Cut yourself down already!”

With a quick thought to those she had left behind back on H’ratth, Elara unclasped her longer-than-average lightsaber, igniting its citrine-colored blade and easily slicing through the chords on the chute. This of course caused her to start falling down, so she took a rough tumble down numerous branches of severely varying thickness. She expected a few bruises, but nothing more troublesome from it. Deactivating her lightsaber mid-drop, she barely managed to twist around to land on her feet near the Colonel. “Ouch. That fifth branch stung a little.” She muttered, gently probing her right thigh where she had struck a particularly thick branch.

Traest put his hand down to his belt and pulled of a kolto-patch, he would have also went with synthflesh and a painkiller however he needed the Jedi lucid, he handed it to the Jedi. Then began checking his rifle, he turned his helmet to her “Wait one.” With that he clicked his helmet comm. “Jumpers, report in.” Static crackled, however he got the responses he needed. The Jedi were surprisingly quiet however with them just using standard commlinks he didn’t have faith that all of the Jedi Commlinks were operational. He flicked his tongue, clicking the comm off. Checking his hud he pointed in the direction off the compound. “The objective is that way, however-” He pointed slightly to the right. “-That is the dropships trajectory. We’ll follow it back along and pick up anyone else who is still alive and kicking.”

“No need…” Elara muttered, concentrating deeply for a moment, holding her left hand over the injury. To her Force-enhanced vision, the air underneath her hand glowed as the bruised blood vessels knit back together somewhat. The healing drained her a bit, but reduced the injury to a minor annoyance rather than a problem. It would of course be best to rest it away, but even a fool would realize that would not be possible here and now, and she was no fool. “Picking up the others is a good idea. I can vaguely sense some of the other Jedi in that direction, but nothing clear. Hopefully none have been killed or wounded.”

"Next time, use what I give you.” He stowed the patches back on his utility belt. “I know you Jedi have fancy pants powers but the last thing I need is you tiring yourself and then slowing us down.” He lowered his right hand from his blaster rifle and took the stock of his pistol, pulling it out he grabbed the barrel and offered the handle to the Jedi. “Your lightsaber is all well and good but it doesn’t really have the range of a blaster.” Once the gun was handed over he began walking in the direction that the falling dropship had taken, he could only hope that any of his men that had picked up his transmission could also pick up any Jedi while heading ot the rendezvous. Though he decided to leave the dropship as it was, whatever was left would be burned or would have been knocked about that it would all be useless.

Raising his rifle into a readiness stance, he began moving through the bush. He turned his head slightly to his companion. “Keep an eye on our six, they’ll be checking the crash site sooner or later, I don’t want them to get the drop on us.”

Elara nodded once, not confused by the military terminology, as some of it had been drilled into her head in the past. Their pace was steady, but not very fast through the treacherous landscape. There was no reliable trail to follow and they frequently had to climb over the massive roots of the towering trees. She could feel a few other bruises getting strained, but not enough to be of any trouble. She certainly did not want to get on the wrong side of that Colonel again, whatever his problem was.

Canon catergorie?

while it might be beneficial to have such a section for those that use it, we believe that the market is rather small for such RPs. Right now, the sections are divided up into seven sections. three sections for post lengths (free, casual, advanced) and four for specific RP types. The specific types are Arena (which is competitive RPing specifically based around characters fighting each other), Tabletop (which is for those who want to play tabletop RPs that are heavily into dice and complex systems), Nation (which is where players control a nation/faction/or similar rather than single characters), and 1x1, which is where two people write a story on their own.
The type of RP you describe could fit in under several of these categories, so it does not make sense for it to have its own.

However, if the proposed system for adding tags to RP threads is implemented, we can easily see the option for there to be a tag for RPing with canon characters.

New subforums is not something that is made without there being a huge demand for it. The Tabletop and Nation RPers had to wait a long time before they got their sections.

In the meantime, we recommend that you mark the titles of your RPs with something to indicate that you want Canon characters to be used. Do not find yourself discouraged if most don't want to play with such. If its sufficiently marked, the ones that don't want such will simply skip your thread(s). We can't say anything on how many there are with your same interest, but there's bound to be others out there.

Posts in a Roleplay

considering that hidden posts are also still part of a thread's page contents (i.e. the 20 posts per page), hiding every post will make for a serious mess when you do get things moving. Imagine having ten hidden posts. that would mean that every time a page goes beyond ten posts, you'd pop up to an empty page on clicking the last post link. That would mean having to go back to the previous page all those times. If the RP takes off, that'll be fairly often.

Its far better to copy the stuff you want to keep into a new thread as Lillian suggested.

Information page

Those are both found in the list of common suggestions.

Hopefully Mahz will have time to fix things soon.

The Relics

this is the point we'd insert a whimsical grin.

The Relics

heh.

we're not on as much as we'd prefer, but we do often frequent the guild IRC and control a channel of our own therein. You can, among a number of other people frequently find several people from here in that (us, Fallen, Echo, ...). If you should happen to find your way to the guild IRC, just throw in the line "/j #Aftermath" and you'll pop over.

This place needs more noise. Also, don't hesitate to do something out of fear of doing too much. You will, within reason, have fairly free reins on what you start up IC.