Post by Tokrochiru on Dec 5, 2011 6:03:59 GMT -5
Because Ark Ethos runs on a different format from RPs like Ankaa, Kyril, or WC, the rules for AE are also different. Things are more strict and structured this time around, but hopefully not so much that it causes problems. The structure is designed to actually keep the RP going faster, so, if any of this goes as as planned, AE's story should progress much faster than Kyril's, even if posting gets somehow sluggish.
The rules are these, for the moment. I'm willing to take criticism and suggestions for these rules, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll change them. I may, or may not. It depends on how convincing of an argument you put up. I am also working on adding more stuff to this thread, so be patient.
RULE #1: THIS IS NOT A SANDBOX! IT'S AN ADVENTURE!
As far as Ark Ethos goes, I am thetyrannical omnipotent game master. This means that I control everything EXCEPT your characters. This includes almost all NPCs (with some very scarce exceptions), and the plot itself. This isn't an RP where you can create cities and civilizations, and pit your own factions against others. Each player only gets to make one player character, and there are absolutely no exceptions to this rule. Ark Ethos is designed as an adventure and a plot that focuses around each player's character. All the NPCs, plot elements, et cetera are specially designed for YOU.
Now, when I say that everything is designed around you, I mean that. Once you make a player character, I'll be making a consistent effort to ensure that the NPCs are specifically designed to challenge your character's skills, beliefs, and integrity. For example, if you were to make a character named Laraks who is an escaped slave gone mercenary, you can bet that the number of slavers you encounter will increase.
There will also be points where your character will be thrust into a situation where he/she will have to make an incredibly tough decision. Will the champion of law and order resort to planting false evidence in order to ensure a corrupt bureaucrat gets what he deserves, or wait for the day when he can be tried fairly and justly before the court? Will a young soldier decide to save his brother or his sister? Will the detective reveal an awful truth to the public that will cause chaos and rioting, or keep the information from them for their own protection. These decisions will have to be made by you. Who knows? Maybe your character will find a third option that proves to be better than the other two. My hope is that player characters will develop as they face these challenges.
Of course, even though I'm in charge the RP, I will be using my own player character. The way I plan to do this without exploiting the unfair advantage of also being in charge of the whole RP is simple. The character I use will not be like yours. My character, Duster, will develop differently depending on how the other characters treat him. Will he betray the party at some point? Will he learn to respect the other PCs and continue to tag along with them? Will he change his beliefs altogether after the other player characters show the flaws in his logic? That will all come down to how your characters interact with him.
All in all, just try to keep one thing in mind. This is not a general setting for you to build a story arc around. This is a multi-branching story made for the sole purpose of taking your characters on a journey of self-discovery. If you can't RP in a campaign like this, then this RP isn't for you.
RULE #2: ONE POST A DAY ON AVERAGE! ONE POST EVERY TWO DAYS AT LEAST, OR YOU GET POWERPLAYED OR SKIPPED! NO EXCEPTIONS!
People who can't post on a consistent, regular basis should not join this RP, because this RP will not be fun for them. Ark Ethos is designed to be much more fast paced than Kyril, and those who aren't able to participate will be left staggering behind. This rule might seem harsh right now, but my hope is that this will give players incentive not to slack off.
If something comes up in your life that prevents you from posting on a daily basis, that's fine. Life happens. However, I'm still going to have to skip or powerplay your character. That's the way the cookie crumbles, I'm afraid. Under no circumstances should you feel bad for not being able to post. With that said, if you've got the free time, then please do your part and post at least once a day on average.
As a side note, since I'm running the RP, I'll be powerplaying your characters whenever it's necessary.
RULE #3: MAKE AN EFFORT TO POST GENERAL ACTIONS RATHER THAN SPECIFIC ONES
Imagine that you want your character to go around town and gather information. It would probably go something like this.
Player: Go into bar.
NPC Controller: Description of bar.
Player: Take seat and order something from bartender.
NPC Controller: Dialogue.
Player: Dialogue.
NPC Controller: Dialogue
Player: Dialogue.
NPC Controller: Dialogue, interesting information given.
Player: Pays for drinks, leaves.
Yeah, that takes way too long.
In Ark Ethos, it works more like this.
Player: Search for information inside bar.
NPC Controller: Description of what kind of conversations the player's character had, and what he learned.
Player: Apply what you've learned to advance the plot.
There. An action that would have taken several rounds of posting was done and finished in just one round. One. Round. There are many scenarios in Ark Ethos that will be like this. Upon visiting towns and cities, rather than spelling out every last boring detail of every conversation ever had by every character, it's much more efficient and time-saving to give a general description of what someone searches for, and what that person finds.
Not all scenarios in Ark Ethos will be like this. Many conversations between player characters and major NPCs may still take a few rounds, but various conversations and sequences should follow this format to save time. For example, if you want to have one character talk about mundane things with another character, beautifully write about the time the two characters spent together rather than include every single quote of spoken dialogue.
If we all make an effort to do this, this should literally save us weeks, if not months, of posting in order to reach a certain plot point. The best part is that if done right, in theory, it will be just as satisfying in terms of developing character and whatnot as it would have been if we elaborated on anything. Let's cut out the fluff, and get to the substance!
RULE #4: MAKE CHARACTERS WHO ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGING AND DEVELOPING THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF A CAMPAIGN
Speaks for itself, really. Not much point in having an RP like this full of characters who are already fully developed. Give your character as much history as you need (it can be short or lengthy, your choice), but also make sure that the character is flawed enough that he/she will have plenty of opportunities to learn and grow over an extended period of time.
RULE #5: DESIGN YOUR CHARACTER SPECIFICALLY SO THAT HE/SHE/IT WILL CONTRAST, EMPATHIZE, COMPLIMENT, ETC WITH OTHER PLAYERS' CHARACTERS
Since this is an adventure that focuses on one particular group of characters, we need to make sure that these characters have chemistry with each other. Duster and Jonathan (Advix's character), for example, act as foils to each other. Duster is a lawless, rugged, uncouth, mass-murdering sociopath but is also humble and supports comradery. Jonathan, in contrast, is well-educated, logical and cool, but also arrogant and childish at times. Duster is more mature, while Jonathan is more moral. They don't like each other, but at the end of the day, they are stronger together than alone because they compensate for each others weaknesses. They are designed to parallel each other beautifully. All players should make an effort to create a character that interacts with the other characters in an interesting way. If everyone at least tries the teensiest bit to do this, the RP should be an altogether more enjoyable experience.
Perhaps your character could identify with Jonathan in a way that none of the other part members can. Or perhaps he could hold a grudge against another character because he reminds him of someone he hates. Just take some time to look at other character bios while writing up your own. The result should be entertaining.
The rules are these, for the moment. I'm willing to take criticism and suggestions for these rules, but that doesn't necessarily mean I'll change them. I may, or may not. It depends on how convincing of an argument you put up. I am also working on adding more stuff to this thread, so be patient.
RULE #1: THIS IS NOT A SANDBOX! IT'S AN ADVENTURE!
As far as Ark Ethos goes, I am the
Now, when I say that everything is designed around you, I mean that. Once you make a player character, I'll be making a consistent effort to ensure that the NPCs are specifically designed to challenge your character's skills, beliefs, and integrity. For example, if you were to make a character named Laraks who is an escaped slave gone mercenary, you can bet that the number of slavers you encounter will increase.
There will also be points where your character will be thrust into a situation where he/she will have to make an incredibly tough decision. Will the champion of law and order resort to planting false evidence in order to ensure a corrupt bureaucrat gets what he deserves, or wait for the day when he can be tried fairly and justly before the court? Will a young soldier decide to save his brother or his sister? Will the detective reveal an awful truth to the public that will cause chaos and rioting, or keep the information from them for their own protection. These decisions will have to be made by you. Who knows? Maybe your character will find a third option that proves to be better than the other two. My hope is that player characters will develop as they face these challenges.
Of course, even though I'm in charge the RP, I will be using my own player character. The way I plan to do this without exploiting the unfair advantage of also being in charge of the whole RP is simple. The character I use will not be like yours. My character, Duster, will develop differently depending on how the other characters treat him. Will he betray the party at some point? Will he learn to respect the other PCs and continue to tag along with them? Will he change his beliefs altogether after the other player characters show the flaws in his logic? That will all come down to how your characters interact with him.
All in all, just try to keep one thing in mind. This is not a general setting for you to build a story arc around. This is a multi-branching story made for the sole purpose of taking your characters on a journey of self-discovery. If you can't RP in a campaign like this, then this RP isn't for you.
RULE #2: ONE POST A DAY ON AVERAGE! ONE POST EVERY TWO DAYS AT LEAST, OR YOU GET POWERPLAYED OR SKIPPED! NO EXCEPTIONS!
People who can't post on a consistent, regular basis should not join this RP, because this RP will not be fun for them. Ark Ethos is designed to be much more fast paced than Kyril, and those who aren't able to participate will be left staggering behind. This rule might seem harsh right now, but my hope is that this will give players incentive not to slack off.
If something comes up in your life that prevents you from posting on a daily basis, that's fine. Life happens. However, I'm still going to have to skip or powerplay your character. That's the way the cookie crumbles, I'm afraid. Under no circumstances should you feel bad for not being able to post. With that said, if you've got the free time, then please do your part and post at least once a day on average.
As a side note, since I'm running the RP, I'll be powerplaying your characters whenever it's necessary.
RULE #3: MAKE AN EFFORT TO POST GENERAL ACTIONS RATHER THAN SPECIFIC ONES
Imagine that you want your character to go around town and gather information. It would probably go something like this.
Player: Go into bar.
NPC Controller: Description of bar.
Player: Take seat and order something from bartender.
NPC Controller: Dialogue.
Player: Dialogue.
NPC Controller: Dialogue
Player: Dialogue.
NPC Controller: Dialogue, interesting information given.
Player: Pays for drinks, leaves.
Yeah, that takes way too long.
In Ark Ethos, it works more like this.
Player: Search for information inside bar.
NPC Controller: Description of what kind of conversations the player's character had, and what he learned.
Player: Apply what you've learned to advance the plot.
There. An action that would have taken several rounds of posting was done and finished in just one round. One. Round. There are many scenarios in Ark Ethos that will be like this. Upon visiting towns and cities, rather than spelling out every last boring detail of every conversation ever had by every character, it's much more efficient and time-saving to give a general description of what someone searches for, and what that person finds.
Not all scenarios in Ark Ethos will be like this. Many conversations between player characters and major NPCs may still take a few rounds, but various conversations and sequences should follow this format to save time. For example, if you want to have one character talk about mundane things with another character, beautifully write about the time the two characters spent together rather than include every single quote of spoken dialogue.
If we all make an effort to do this, this should literally save us weeks, if not months, of posting in order to reach a certain plot point. The best part is that if done right, in theory, it will be just as satisfying in terms of developing character and whatnot as it would have been if we elaborated on anything. Let's cut out the fluff, and get to the substance!
RULE #4: MAKE CHARACTERS WHO ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGING AND DEVELOPING THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF A CAMPAIGN
Speaks for itself, really. Not much point in having an RP like this full of characters who are already fully developed. Give your character as much history as you need (it can be short or lengthy, your choice), but also make sure that the character is flawed enough that he/she will have plenty of opportunities to learn and grow over an extended period of time.
RULE #5: DESIGN YOUR CHARACTER SPECIFICALLY SO THAT HE/SHE/IT WILL CONTRAST, EMPATHIZE, COMPLIMENT, ETC WITH OTHER PLAYERS' CHARACTERS
Since this is an adventure that focuses on one particular group of characters, we need to make sure that these characters have chemistry with each other. Duster and Jonathan (Advix's character), for example, act as foils to each other. Duster is a lawless, rugged, uncouth, mass-murdering sociopath but is also humble and supports comradery. Jonathan, in contrast, is well-educated, logical and cool, but also arrogant and childish at times. Duster is more mature, while Jonathan is more moral. They don't like each other, but at the end of the day, they are stronger together than alone because they compensate for each others weaknesses. They are designed to parallel each other beautifully. All players should make an effort to create a character that interacts with the other characters in an interesting way. If everyone at least tries the teensiest bit to do this, the RP should be an altogether more enjoyable experience.
Perhaps your character could identify with Jonathan in a way that none of the other part members can. Or perhaps he could hold a grudge against another character because he reminds him of someone he hates. Just take some time to look at other character bios while writing up your own. The result should be entertaining.