Howdy there everybody. You'll find a current character list at the bottom of this post as they're submitted and approved.
I'm feeling that familiar roleplay craving, and I was wondering if anyone here on the forum might be interested in some roleplaying on either Survive the Wild, Swamp, or any other audio game of that sort. I have a starting point and an idea for both of the games I mentioned, and I've been thinking about the right way of starting out for a few weeks. Now that I have enough background together, I figured i'd throw my ideas out here on the forum to see if I could gather anyone's interest.
Also, if you aren't very interested in roleplaying through the medium of audio games, (i'm new to it myself) I'm also completely open to roleplaying on MUDs, though they aren't usually the type of games that I play. I don't have much exposure to them. However, if you can be patient with a new player, I can absolutely assure you that my writing skills are up to the challenge.
Don't know what Roleplay is? Read this: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?id=22648
Le' Rules:
1) Be respectful OOC. It's one thing to have an argument between characters IC, it's another completely to get rude and nasty OOC because of IC antics. In-fighting and troublemaking will not be tolerated. If all you want to do is ruin other people's experience, this isn't the place for you.
2) It isn't all about you. A roleplay revolves around a CAST of characters. In the user's eye, their player is the hero. But one thing to keep in mind is that.. We're all heroes. We're all protagonists. Do everything you can, do everything you want to, just don't infringe upon another player's right to have fun. They're just as entitled to it as you are.
3) Don't meta-game, please. Meta-gaming is taking OOC information that your character wouldn't know, and acting as though your character has that information when it would normally be impossible for them to do so. Here's an example.
Ok, so Player A and Player B are at war. Player A doesn't know where Player B is in character, but is trying to search for him. Player B says something in the OOC chat that he's in the desert. Player A sees this message, and though his character doesn't actually know that his target is in the desert in character, he goes to the desert anyway and kills him, even though his character would have no knowledge of that character's location. That's just.. Not cool. It's one thing to discover someone or something organically, and make it make sense with your character. For example, if Player A knew that Player B spent a majority of his time in the desert previously, he could logically assume that would be where to find him. It's another thing completely to just use meta-information to give yourself an edge over the other players. Long story short, just don't do this. It ruins the fun for everybody.
4) In most instances, player death is permanant. Death is permanent in reality, so it is in roleplay as well. Glitches and bugs excluded, for obvious reasons. If your character dies, you can still make another character and keep going in the roleplay. But if a character dies, they're dead. No respawns. Adds more flavor to the whole experience, and makes death actually feel impactful and meaningful.
5) Be as creative as possible. If you have an idea-- let me and the others in the group know! It might just be the best idea we've had for the game up to that point. Creative ideas are literally what keep an RP going.
6) Commitment is ideal. Real life obviously takes priority over a game, but you should do your best to be in it for the long haul. You can leave at any time, that's no problem-- I just like long-term games.
7) DM (me) holds the final say on disputes. If nobody can logically decide how to resolve a situation, I'll figure it out myself. If I can't decide, outcome will be decided via roll of a twenty-sided dye, a coin flip, or some other similar method dependent on situation.
8) Rules will be updated as I see fit.
Ideas
They're actually pretty straightforward. I want to really get in character with these games. First things first, Survive the Wild. STW has this huge, expansive world to explore, quests to complete, resources to gather and items to craft. The mechanics of the game really speak for themselves, and provide the players the perfect avenue for roleplaying within it. With that being said, my idea is to simply create a character with a basic backstory, and take the roles of newly shipwrecked survivors who are trying to make their way through a tough an inhospitable world. We'll treat the game as reality-- speak only in character (when possible, obviously) and do our best to form a survival plan that will benefit the group as a whole. Building shelter, hunting, fishing, crafting-- our whole goal is the goal of the game, survival. However, as we go on, we'll collaboratively create new objectives for our little tribe to overcome. Perhaps one of the characters contracts some sort of illness, and we have to venture toward the hospital in search of life-saving antibiotics. Maybe one of the characters gets sick of all of us and ventures off on their own, and the rest of the tribe takes up the task of tracking them down and convincing them that there's strength in numbers. As long as we're creative, the possibilities are endless! And I have a whole, whole bunch of quests and tasks (of my own creation, they aren't coded into the game or anything) that could give our group more direction as the game stretches onward. This is just the briefest summary I can manage without getting too carried away and rambling on about this for.. Well, the equivalent length of a short novel.
My idea for Swamp is nearly identical, but with a different setting. Instead of worrying about the wrath of nature, we'll be focused on overcoming the endless zombie horde. We'll create our characters, form our group, and work on gathering resources (both in-game and fictional) to help us survive. It's easy in the beginning-- in the outskirts of the city, the infected aren't as populus, and the resources are plentiful. But in time, the K-mart's shelves will empty, the gas station's tanks will do the same, and we'll eventually need to fight our way through the sewer system and beyond in search of other survivors, supplies, and the promise of a safe haven. Relationships will form, tensions will rise, and eventually, we might end up having a full-scale war on our hands to deal with alongside the threat of the infected. Who knows what could happen? The more creative we are, the more depth our game will have. The only real difference between this setting and that of STW is the obvious problem of inventory management. For the purposes of the game, carrying capacity should be treated realistically. Obviously you have an infinite inventory limit, but in real life, one can't simply hold 7 assault rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammunition. We'll decide what our characters have when they leave the safe zone. One will carry what a person can realistically carry. Obviously there are exceptions to the rule, but I think you all understand what I mean by this.
If you're interested, even remotely, please use the following CS to create a character, and either post it in this thread, send it my way in a PM, or both.
Roleplay: (Survive the Wild, Swamp, or other)
Name:
Alias: (If applicable)
Gender:
Age:
Physical Description: (Short and sweet is fine. A small paragraph will suffice nicely. Just try to be descriptive! We're all blind here, and the best mental image of a character that one can portray is always preferable.)
Personality: (As it sounds, a short, sweet summary of the character's more noteworthy personality traits. As above, a single short paragraph will suffice nicely. Usually a character's personality is fleshed out further IC.)
Strengths: (For roleplaying purposes. Nobody is amazing at everything. For example, a man with a background in fishing is obviously an excellent fisherman and sailor, but might not be so great at hunting wild game or navigating through the wilderness. Keep in mind that a character's strengths should be balanced out with their weaknesses. )
Weaknesses: (A weakness isn't necesarily a bad thing. It just gives your character more depth in personality. It's preferrable that you choose a weakness that will actually effect the way you play the game. E.G: Being great with a spear, but terrible with a bow.)
History: (As above, a brief summary of your character's more important history and background. A little about their life before they were in the situation they're in currently. Former employment, interactions with people that had a lasting impact on the character, etc.)
Miscellanious: (Any other information you feel is worth mentioning that doesn't fall into any of the other sections.)
If anybody has any questions, criticisms, or other ideas, feel free to contribute. I'd be absolutely thrilled to discuss this all at length and form a more cohesive narrative for those of us that are interested. And do keep in mind-- Though i'll be functioning as a DM of sorts, this is all collaborative. All ideas are welcome, all input is welcome, and especially, all criticism is welcome. Additionally, if anybody has any other suggestions for games we could use as a roleplaying medium, I'm all ears. I just listed the ones i've been thinking of as of late.
Hope to hear from perspective roleplayers soon!
-STW Roleplayers and Characters-
Swagtastic: (Character sheet work in process)
-Swamp players and characters-
Swagtastic: (Character Sheet work in process)