RPR Archive The RPF Summer Challenge Portfollio Thread

The RPF Summer Challenge!

Below please find the entries our players have created for this summer challenge. This page is locked and stickied, and therefore is closed for discussion on these games. Please visit the RPF Summer Challenge Main Thread to discuss what you've read in here.

The First Challenge

*** Draft up a first post for a Star Wars game that involves exploring an unknown planet ***

Submissions (HTML semi-restored):

1.) To Reign in Hell, BobaMatt

[image=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/c/c5/Exodus1.jpg]

?Remember Corbos!? some would yell as our ship hurtled through hyperspace. The zealots. Maybe they?re right. The Jedi should have killed us all. One-hundred years of brutal and relentless warfare and the Jedi?they pat us on the back and see us off, the freighter making random jumps through space. The Lady XoXaan claims that the Jedi planned to send us to this dead world. Lord Muur is of the opinion that it was a random selection through near forgotten star charts of empty and blistered worlds far from Republic space. Ajunta Pall, our leader, says nothing.

What the Jedi did not know, though, is that this world is not dead after all. The people are inferior. Primitive. Savage.

What was it the poet wrote? ?Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav?n??

- Journal of an Unidentified Jen?jidai

After the One-Hundred Years Darkness, the followers of the Bogan were cast out of the Republic by the vile Jedi, adherents to abhorrent doctrines that kept them weak. How the Jedi and their precious democracy prevailed in this conflict is still a matter for debate, but the users of the Bogan, called ?Dark Jedi? by the galaxy at large, were rounded up and placed on ships, their hyperdrives slaved together and pointed at a distant planet heretofore known only by men with telescopes. Those men, pointing fingers at the sky, called it Korriban.

When the Dark Jedi landed, fully expecting to bake beneath the hot sun or starve in the barrenness of it all, they were instead greeted by a world full of slaves.

[image=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/b/b0/Exodus2.jpg]

Welcome to To Reign in Hell, a Star Wars RP in which players will conquer Korriban and the ancient Sith race by fair means or foul, and set in motion millennia of Star Wars history.

[image=http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/1/1b/Xoxaan_Muur.jpg]

Each player will control the passengers of one freighter, a leader and all that leader?s apprentices and followers, known collectively as a Guild; each party will amount to, at most, six characters. These players will, in turn, choose to answer to one of Ajunta Pall?s lieutenants, the Lady XoXaan , whose adherents prize patience and manipulation, or Lord Karness Muur, a man interested in testing the boundaries of the Bogan?s physical power.

The goal is to subdue the Sith and be worshipped as gods (and to gain more personal power and influence among the Dark Jedi). The methods are up to you. Three major cities have been identified thus far, ripe for the taking!

The Rules (Lifted Largely from R_Zion)

-Please PM your character sheets to me to be approved before posting.
-Please try to keep solely OOC posts after the start of the game to a minimum. If there?s something that needs addressed, add it onto an IC post or send a PM.
-No One Liners!
-Combat will be turn based, obviously.
-Do not god mode and no auto-kills or hits.
-Be aware that you can die.
-Do not take control another characters without their permission.
-Don?t try to carry to much stuff. A being can only bear so many items in their packs or pockets.
-Don?t curse, or if you must, use Star Wars curses like ?Kriff?,?Frak?,?Sith Spit?, ?Poodoo?, e/>

The Second Challenge

*** Create a (sheet for a) Star Wars character that is disabled ***

Winged_Jedi

Name: Valefor Blesbok
Species: Umbaran
Age: 25
Likes: Instrumental music, alien languages, hot baths, people who don't feel the need to fill silence, Twi'lek women
Dislikes: Holodramas, certain words, certain numbers, people who talk too much, Galactic Basic
Appearance: Gaunt, thin and tall. Is naturally pale but paints his face white, and is covered in purple tattoos, most prominently the dark violet circles around his eyes.
Personality: At this point he is mostly insane, and generally dizzy or disorientated
Weapons: A light-repeating blaster

Bio:

Synaesthesia is not normally considered a disability. But then, it is not normally as profound and severe as it was in the case of young Valefor Blesbok.

Born to a rich family of aristocrats on Umbara, Valefor wanted for little in life. He was born with a disorder in which stimulation of one sense would lead an automatic and involuntary experience in a second sense. As a child he found that simply hearing or speaking certain words was enough to evoke strong sensations of taste within his mouth. The word "holo" tasted like sour milk, the word "father" tasted like blatberries, while the word "speeder" tasted like cheese. And so on. In a similar way, reading numbers would cause him to feel varying degrees of pleasure and pain. "22" was a warm hand upon his shoulders; "189" was a rough sandpaper against his cheek; "66" was a prickling in his palms.

For many years this was not unpleasant nor disruptive to the boy's life, and indeed added exciting depth to the everyday experiences that others took as banal or mundane.

At the age of fifteen, he began experiencing the first manifestations of a power that he would later come to know as the Force. He could lift things with his mind, and read the thoughts of others (useful tools for navigating the murky social waters of his prestigious high school).

Unfortunately, the more he used this power, the stronger his condition became. "Holo" was now a torrent of rotted, rancid cream assaulting his tastebuds, and "66" felt like a dagger shredding his hands. Soon enough the sensations were so powerful, so overwhelming, that he was forced to cut himself off completely from the outside world. He locked himself in isolation, not daring to speak or hear a single word uttered, and wore a blindfold for fear of looking upon a number.

His parents helped him through it, and for a few months he lived a lonely struggle of an existence while help was sought. At first his parents went to local Umbaran doctors, but to no avail. Then they headed to doctors in the Core, but that was no use either. Finally, they sought the aid of the Jedi Knights.

Meanwhile, Valefor was finding that he could overcome his self-imposed blindness through use of the Force. By attempting to sense his surroundings, he could perceive their outline without needing to use his eyes. As he refined and practiced this skill, he unexpectedly opened up entirely new vistas. To his distress, he found that he had no way to close them out again.

He was now experiencing a cascade of colour every time he touched the Force. His vision was transformed completely into a dizzying kaleidoscope, and he found that even the slightest use of his abilities would now trigger overwhelming shades of green, or bold and brash blues.

When the Jedi arrived, Valefor was in a state of some distress. The Jedi's attempt to heal the boy only resulted in a highly painful sensation of white light, which later cooled to gold and [color=silv

/>

The Third Challenge

*** Create an original work of gaming philosophy ***

Winged_Jedi Submits

DISCLAIMER:

The following is NOT my (Winged_Jedi) personal philosophy. I have assumed it for the purposes of this challenge, in much the same way I would roleplay a character in a game. In reality I disagree with many of its tenets. Nevertheless, I found it interesting to write and feel it offers several points for debate and contemplation.

Also, for convenience sake, the GM is referred to using the male pronoun. Ladies of the RPF, please forgive me.

Introduction

Now we shall discuss those creative, intelligent people who want to tell a story and be loved for it. Why do these poor souls come to the RPF?

Perhaps they went unnoticed in the arid wastes of FanFiction, perhaps they are driven by a misguided sense of community, or perhaps they understand the subtle truth that to win deep admiration you must allow others to believe they share in your triumph.

Whatever the reason, these people have opted to tell their tale in these humble surroundings, thus taking on the mantle of GameMasters.

Unfortunately, they are immediately confronted with myriad challenges and obstacles, most notably through competition from other games and from the insidious clutches of Darth Real Life.

Most dangerous of all however, are the Players.

Players are a self-absorbed, nakedly ambitious, disloyal group. They wish to advance the interests of their own character above all else. Note that this does not necessarily mean god-moding or Mary Sue style heroics. Many players are smart enough to realise that struggle, pain and even death can also win them renown. It is the job of a GM to ensure that such antics do not come at the expense of his carefully crafted storyline- and that his hand is not too forcefully felt in guiding the issue (see below: ?Running the Game I?).

Players will leave without notice. They will brazenly abandon one game while still actively participating in others. They will either significantly advance plotlines without warning or remain so static that they must be led through every conversation by the hand. They will auto-hit, god mod, flame, bait, cheat, lie, sulk and moan their way through every game if left unchecked.

Drawing upon the wisdom of Niccolo Machiavelli?s The Prince, and Sun Tzu?s The Art Of War, I will briefly (and believe me, this is a brief treatment) demonstrate the way in which a Game Master must manipulate, subjugate and ultimately dominate his players in order to create and maintain a successful RPG.


The Prince and The General

The GameMaster provides the entirety of the gameworld, and everything that lies within it. Friend and foe alike spring from the imagination of the GM. Consequently, at his heart there lies a curious duality. He must necessarily be both ally and adversary to his players. His role is to provide opposition whilst simultaneously calling in the cavalry.

So the GM is required to be both the ruling prince and the enemy general. We shall seek advice from Niccolo Machiavelli on the former, and Sun Tzu on the latter, but note that in practice there is no clear distinction between these roles. The lines fast become blurred, and the skilled GM must be able to think as both general and prince in the same moment.

Note that this duality often openly manifests itself in the GM?s choice of NPCs. For example, in Jedi v Sith games it is common to see the GM assume the characters of Grand Master and Dark Lord. Thus he can direct both factions as he pleases through IC as well as OOC authority, and act simultaneously as leader and opponent to his players.


Before the Storm: Preparing the Game

"Nothing makes a prince so much esteemed as great enterprises and setting a fine example."

-Machiavelli

Oh how simple this first piece of advice is. This is not esoteric wisdom by any stretch; it is common sense of the purest kind.

Players are attracted to su/>/>

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The Fourth Challenge

*** Submit the best post you can find ***


Trimaj Submits
By Sai-Mera_Sai (?)

IC: Kayar Dor'leyn - 75 Credits

A glowing shaft of violent energy sizzled down through Naboo's stormy atmosphere and exploded into four neatly clustered apartments. As their internal foundations disintegrated, the external walls blew outward, spewing superheated oxygen and splinters of household furnishings in all directions. Flung backward by the impact, Kayar Dor'leyn was slammed into a nearby shopfront and knocked unconscious.

A short time later he awoke to searing pain all over his body. The diminutive Bothan lay awkwardly on a cold duracrete surface amidst shards of transparisteel. With each tiny movement he could feel the lacerating splinters cut into his flesh. Blood stained the floor.

With a painful lurch, Kayar wrenched himself upward and then covered his nose from the noxious fumes. Beyond the shattered display window through which he had just been thrown, he could just see the now leveled apartment complex burning with deranged glee in the gloomy twilight. Ruptured bodies lay everywhere. At the sight of a half gutted Rodian spilling into the gutter, Kayar vomited. His head throbbed.

Off in the distance, droid patrols could be heard engaging sporadic resistance. This was it, Kayar thought, this was the end. There would be no more lavish receptions on exotic worlds, no more secretive political scheming, no more desperate last minute alliances. He was injured, weak and alone. There was no way for him to escape this place - he would die here.

Resigned to his fate, Kayar crawled painfully out onto the street and collapsed in front of a dead human with his hands over his eyes. The man appeared to have escaped a burning building nearby. Fool, thought Kayar, cover your nose not your eyes - bright light cannot kill you, smoke can.

When all the soldiers have finished fighting and the battlefield has grown still, it is the general in a far off command post who has won the war. The mind is more powerful than any weapon and greater than any army. If you wish to live, if you wish to triumph, you need only to think.

The ancient Bothan proverb came flooding back unbidden as Kayar realised what had just happened. The human before him, who dwarfed the smaller Bothan in both size and strength, had perished regardless because he did not think.

The mind is more powerful than any weapon and greater than any army.

The clanking of Battle Droids in the distance began to grow louder. Kayar Dor'leyn rose to his feet defiantly, the azure slash of fur across his face glowing in the flickering firelight. He was not unarmed.

Mustering the last of his strength, the Bothan dragged the dead human a few doors up to an inn that had survived the blast. He laid the man at the top of the stairs, which descended from the street into the building's lobby, and gingerly picked his way down into the darkened room. Smashed furniture lay everywhere, as if the patrons had made a panicked exit when the aerial bombardment commenced. As Kayar suspected, nothing had yet been looted.

The lobby was a small rectangular room with a hallway extending from one end and a small kitchen nestled behind the reception desk. After a moment of rummaging through the food cupboards, Kayar emerged with a few bottles of Corellian brandy and a vial of Ryykian syrup. Smashing the brandy onto the floor and then sprinkling the syrup across the darker liquid, he produced a suitably bad smelling mist that began to fill the small room. Kayar retreated into the hallway as he heard the droids approaching.

From part-way down the corridor, Kayar could hear the patrol stop at the top of the stairs. To all outward appearances the inn now appeared to be filled with suffocating fumes, the dead human positioned at the entrance serving to enhance the illusion. Kayar hoped the droids were not carrying lifeform sensors, or the deception he had just constructed would be for nothing. After a long pause, the clanking/>

The Fifth Challenge

*** Draft up a first (opening) post for a non-Star Wars game about a children's cartoon franchise from the last 30 years. ***


Evil_King_Wiggins submits:

Rurouni Kenshin: The Boshin War

May 6th, 1867 , Japan

"Isn't this enough, Saigo? This killing? Surely we needent continue on with this merciless bloodshed! The Shogun must realize he's lost by this point..."

"No, Kido. We must continue in our cause, lest he escape to cause more harm. We do what we must to ensure the Emperor gains complete control."


Plot Synopsis -
It's been a year since the beginning of the war, what started out as a confined movement has spread throughout all Japan like a great fire. Nobles and commoners alike have joined the cause. Despite this, the Shogunate still stands. They have superior soldiers, and superior weapons. But they are slowly being pushed back, it seems that the revolution cannot be stopped. Three noblemen lead the revolution in the name of the Emperor, they are known as "Ishin no Sanketsu", the three heroes.

The Factions -

The Meiji Restoration:
Led by Okubo Toshimichi and Saigo Takamori of the Satsuma Domain, and Kido Takayoshi of the Choshu Domain. It's members consist of Peasantry and Noblemen from every domain. Several assassins are currently in the employ of the restoration.

The Tokugawa Shogunate:
Led by Tokugawa Yoshinobu, 15th shogun of the Tokugawa.
Dispite the size of the Shogunate military, they are spread thin trying to maintain order throughout the empire.


Gameplay -
Yes, this is based on the Anime. Yes, you can have super flashy samurai moves that couldn't work in real life. tongue Now for some ground rules, most Meiji characters will not be uber trained samurai assassins, so you cannot play them all that way. Come up with your own uniqe style for your character, almost everyone on this side has come from different areas of Japan, so fighting styles will be different. You will also need to take that into account when fighting other characters. As for the Shogunate, only the top level commanders will show different fighting styles, and each will have a small group of soldiers who have trained under them. The rest are cookie cutter martial artists, standard military training will do that to a person.

Rules

1.) GM?s word is law, no exceptions.
2.) Please, Please, No God Moding. The rules of God moding are still here despite flashy Anime battles. Remember to keep it realistic, You are not allowed to take control of another?s character, only I am.
3.) PM your Character Sheets to me, or it will be disqualified.
4.) Role-Play is open to anyone as long as I approve of the character, there will be no limit of characters.
5.) GM PMs are not to be broadcasted to other players, unless said otherwise.
6.) Keep OOCs at a minimum, this is not a discussion thread.
7.) Use ICs and TAGs in every post. (If an out of character comment is /so/ necessary use OOC)
8.) Please try to be realistic, even though it IS Anime.
9.) As an Anime character, you can carry almost anything in your pockets, but don't get carried away.
10.) If you?re going to be absent please let me know.
11.) I will Update once a week, unless I find the time to post more.
12.) Post like you know the English language, not like a five year old texting for the first time. Thank-you! happy
13.) Enjoy the Role Play.

Character Applications -
I need all of the characters I've mentioned in the synopsis and faction overveiws. I will also allow someone to play as Kenshin, as his name is in the title.


Character Sheet -
Affiliation:
Name:
Alias:
Gender:
Age:
Appearance: Picture or Description, both works well too.

Occupation:
Affiliation:
Weapons:
Personal Effects:

Personality:
History:
Martial Art/Sword Style:
How the Style Works"
Experience:
Bio:

Evil.


DarkLordoftheFins Submits:

Etern/>/>/>/>

The Sixth Challenge

*** Create a (sheet for a) non-Star Wars character that is tied somehow to the railroad***


Sinrebirth submits:


Character Sheet

Stats

Name: Scott Matthias/Twilight; alias Twi
Age: 22/Approximately 5
Gender: Male/Male
Race: Human/Human
Home: New Zealand/Second Life

Physical Details

Scott Matthias

Appearance: Occasionally clean-shaven, light brown haired, lightly built, scrawny in appearance
Height: 5?11??
Defining Features: A mole on his chin, black glasses, a ring on the index finger of his right hand, and a Celtic cross around his neck

Twilight

Appearance: Clean-shaven, grey hair, moderately well built
Height: 6?0??
Defining Features: Contact lenses, similar jewellery requirements as offline

Personality

Scott Matthias

Likes: Honesty, fairness, intrigue, creativity
Dislikes: Impoliteness, selfishness
Defining feature: Scott is defined by a slight under-confidence, which is a holdover from past experiences
Tendencies: Scott has a tendency to gnaw on the edge of his nails, and if not them then pens in particular

Twilight

Likes: Respect, literary pursuits, control of his surroundings
Dislikes: Power-crazed and sanctimonious individuals (not including himself)
Defining feature: Twi is particularly polite, but within that politeness there is an inherent hypocrisy and distrust of the world
Tendencies: None per se

Misc: Scott lives with his fiancé, who he loves greatly. Twi, for his part, has been characterised as attached to another person he knows online, to the point that the belief was genuine at one point that they are dating.

Bio: In hindsight, Scott's life was always a railroad. A cycle, it could be said. With parents who both fled from the spectre of their own influences, and then promptly repeated their mistakes. His mother, the child of a tragedy-hardened mother and a weak father, who was so controlled by her mother that she took the first way out of the family and leaped into the arms of an older man who wanted to settle down, when instead she wanted to enjoy her youth. His father, the child who was not meant to be, a replacement for a lost brother, with a hard father and a soft mother - the former hardened by war and by a creeping ailment - seeking to settle down and thus needing to marginalise a wife who simply wanted to be a teenager still.

It was an old, repetitive cycle, perhaps as old as time itself.

Scott himself would not notice this until he presided over his mothers affair and subsequent revisionism of all he'd known. The father turned into the ogre that he'd sought to avoid becoming, and the mother into the hardened woman, who scathed and plotted and twisted. Scott withdrew, watched his sister transform into an echo of both of his parents, wearied and worn, but controlling and petty and selfish.

It was during this time that Twilight was born - and he thrived. He acquired friends, and more - respect and privilege and the trappings of office. A minor bureaucrat in the online world that was Second Life, it wasn't long until Twi turned into a monster, manipulating those around him as tools and becoming a threat to everyone around him, let alone his sanity.

The Judges of Second Life were swift, and harsh.

They modified his character so that whenever Scott logged in, he would find his character tied to a railroad in the middle of nowhere, waiting for the day when the train would finally arrive and end the life of his petty creation. Despite this fact, Scott still logs in to Twi, and lays there, musing on what he has become, envisioning the station in town, the western apparel that adorns it, and whether he can break the railroad that is his life. Not the one which he finds himself tied to now, but the one which seems predestined to control his life - the legacy of family feuds so remote from him that he should be free of them.

Instead he sees Twi, the legacy of that railroad, and decides that it is time to make himself anew. And so he logs in, every day, to remind him/>/>/>

The Seventh Challenge

*** With one other user (no socks), create the best back-and-forth exchange you can***

And there is just way too much HTML in this for me to even hope to replicate it.


Collaboration between I-5 and Kalio-Dynkos

Story so far:
In the spirit of cooperation with the combined Autobot, United States military force, the Secret Galactic Intelligence Service had agreed to swap operatives for a three month period, so that each could see how the other worked, that sort of crud.

IC: Agent Mitch Nifesta, the Darth Unlucky, Consular-class space cruiser.
Location: Eagles Nest military base, Arizona.

The twi?lek E.P.E., or Extraordinary Powered Entity, exited the turbolift on the bottom deck of his burgundy-red space cruiser, the Darth Unlucky.
He had time to check his equipment, DC-15 plasma rifle, belt of grenades, stuff that I?ll ret-con as soon as I have the time, oh yeah, lightsabre up the sleeve, and turned for a last look at his craft.

According to the instructions of M, the boss of SGIS, as soon as he stepped off the craft, his opposite number with the force he was joining, would board, and be taken back to Coruscant in Mitch?s place.

?I?m sorry, Agent Nifesta. Orders of the Supreme Chancellor. Order 65. Specifically, if my arse gets kidnapped and held in orbit by Count Dooku, I don?t want Agent Nifesta anywhere near me.?

The twi?lek E.P.E. felt crestfallen at the news. ?Don?t know what he?s worried about, sir. I am only a danger to him if he?s Force Sensitive. And even then, only if he?s allied to the Dark Side. I?m a pussycat otherwise.?

?Maybe he just doesn?t want to see you lick your own... sorry, ahem.? The agency chief coughed and shuffled flimsies to cover the slip. ?The Jedi Order are pulling in Master Kenobi and Jedi Skywalker from the front line to-?

?-rescue his arse?? Mitch interrupted.

?Indeed. Anyway, this frees you up for that exchange programme we have going with Earth.?

Mitch stepped down the ramp, swapping the darkness of the ship?s cramped vehicle bay, for the sun-baked concrete flats of the airbase, clumps of green-clad soldiers moving about.

A purple, riderless, motorbike turned it?s handlebars and front wheel onto the ?Unlucky?s ramp, and passed Mitch as it started to ascend.

?Ah c?mon, they are swapping me for YOU??

Tag: Kalio Dynkos



Thomas Event
Eagles Nest Military Base, Arizona, United States

There are days and then there days. Some times that morning alarm beeped with such a melancholy announcement of the coming obligations, which only promised to make the rest of the day miserable. Back breaking labor, social interactions with people that one didn't like anyway, financial responsibilities to meet, not to mention the inevitable rush hour traffic on Interstate 10 out of downtown Phoenix - which always begged the question, why is it called rush hour when no one ever goes anywhere?

But, today was not one of those days. The alarm clock was but another finely tuned instrument in the orchestra of ecstasy and overwhelming bliss. The car horns that sounded the arguments of the vehicle driver's frustration were nothing but a twitter in the ears, the hit and run crash that left the roadway littered with multicolored debris which blocked downtown traffic for three hours was nothing to worry about. It was just a speed bump in what could be nothing but the best of days.

Even the cold plastic rod stuck hastily into the right pants leg of Thomas Event couldn't phase the progress of this day.

Thomas shifted his suit-pants a little to allow himself a little more room and shivered bodily.

Maybe bringing the lightsaber wasn't the best idea. Who knew what this agent from Coruscant would say? And what about when Thomas revealed his pride and joy to him? It wouldn't be that weird, right? It was just a hilt, after-all, and the plastic rod in his other leg was just a blue piece of metal.

At least I didn't bring the red one, thought the mid-thirties man.

He'd been looking forward to this meeting for mo/>/>/>

Challenge #8: Design a Program for the RPR

DarklordoftheFins submits:

The Game Master Guild
[image=http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/2863469496_6920591173.jpg]

Introduction

Games are the blood to the RPFs body. The art of game mastering is the equivalent of keeping the blood flowing. It is vital to the RPF Community. Therefore it is needed to keep our skills sharp and our technique strong and make our games enjoyable. Not only for our players. No, also for ourselves. We are the GMs. Without us, there won´t be games. This is a Guild for GMs. All those who manage, narrate and master the games we all love and all those who wish to learn how to do this. For this purpose I hereby declare the establishment of a Game Master Guild. Where we shall learn and discuss all the techniques and tricks, highs and lows of being a GM.

Topics

As there are various guilds within´the RPR these days, there should be made clear what it is this guild discusses. We have three main branches of topics here.

1. Specific Problems

Whenever a member feels he needs advice he is free to ask. Should the problem be present or even if it is in the future, we will discuss it and see if our combined experience will help to solve it. I want this to be a practical help. Therefore we will deal with practical questions, first.

2. How to GM

Producing player-interest, storyline development, traps to avoid, promotion for games, structuring them, player-cabs and player-numbers. What works and what not? Do´s and DoNots. Chances, experiences, tricks and techniques to create suspense, generate interest, develop characters and guide player through stories. Workload, frustration and effort of playing games shall also be discussed. Here you share them, here you ask about them and here you can read all about them.

3. Game Theory

The founder of this guild believes that in understanding lies the key to advancement. Therefore this forum shall also provide the room for articles on Game Theory, whenever someone has written one. So much was written about organisation, genre, size and promotion of games. Yet, most games that die, do not because of any of these topics. They die because they do not work out. We will try to make a small contribution to understanding the narration of the unique media called Post-By-Post RP.


What we offer . . .

. . . is a place to discuss and to learn. And I mean a place where everybody can discuss and all of us can learn something. Because there is no school and no book that teaches you to do a good game. There is not even an adoption program, like the players have one. All there is and will ever be is us. So let us share our wisdom and learn from each other. So our games will get better and better with each post.

But that is not all. I plan to create companion thread where those who haven´t dared to GM by now can experiment and learn. Inspired by Sinrebirth approach a few month ago, I wish to revive the idea of a training-game. A Game-Master Training Center. A game for all of us to enjoy but for those who want to try in a save environment and with kind but competent advisers at their side.

And that´s still not all. We will arrange contacts. Here Game-Masters can come to look for Partners. A Co-GM market will be established to find matching couples who can tell their stories together.

This guild will limit itself to the games themselves. For opening posts and game design we gladly hand over to our brothers at the GDG.

What we demand of our members . . .

There is a simple rule among members. We are no rivals. Sounds simple but it is something that is lost to many GMs in this community. Who comes here does so to make others games and his own better. Criticism will be brought forth with as much seriousness and honesty, but also courtesy and respect, as possible.

Membership

There are no privileges and no special members. Whoever is interested in this discussion, can join. Only remark t

Challenge #9 - Design a Strategy Game

Winged_Jedi submits

Luminous Beings



Introduction

Music

[image=http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/e/e4/PowerFromWithin.JPG]

It is a golden age for the Galactic Republic, but in a universe unlike any you have seen before.

The most powerful beings in existence have yet to even be born. The Jedi and the Sith were never founded. There were no followers of the Ashla or dabblers in the Bogan. There was nothing of the kind.

Until now.

The Force has awakened its servants, and the galaxy will never be the same again...

Welcome to Luminous Beings, a strategy game in which you shape and build your own Force Tradition. In this Alternate Universe, we have a blank canvas with which to play. The Republic watches on anxiously as charismatic leaders begin forming cults all over the galaxy. Their gifts are supernatural, and their recruits come from all across the stars.

You will play as one of those Factions. Your IC posting will probably be done from the perspective of your Faction Leader, though you may occasionally wish to RP at the level of one of your followers.

The aim of the game is to become the dominant group of Force Users in the galaxy.


Gameplay

[image=http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/6/6b/Knightfall1.jpg]

The game is run in 'turns', each of which lasts a single RL week.

To become dominant, you must gather followers and earn money. To earn money, you must send your units (i.e. your followers) on Missions.

Each week there will be a Briefing Day, which signals the start of a new turn. On Briefing Day, each Faction will be presented with a list of possible Missions. There will be a great deal of them, more than you can handle with your current unit strength. Many Missions will be unique to that Faction, but some will be offered to multiple Factions. A Mission statement would run like this:

Unrest on Yaga Minor
Summary: A workers' dispute has turned violent during the construction of a new shipyard. What began as strike action has descended into a series of ugly riots. The Republic has requested assistance.
Difficulty: Tricky. The wrong team for the job might only escalate what is already a tense situation.
Reward: 20,000 credits and possible PR boost
Recommendation: Send a small group of well-trained knights to attempt negotiations

You will have to select those Missions which you believe to be a priority, and send an appropriate number of units (keep in mind that the recommendation may only suggest the most obvious solution, not necessarily the best). On Briefing Day you also will be updated on the status of your ongoing Missions, and paid for any completed Missions.

There will also be a weekly report on current voting patterns in the Senate and the balance of power in the criminal underworld. As your Faction's power grows, you will notice your effect in these areas.


The Stores

[image=http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/c/cf/JediAndRogueCooperation.JPG]

Here you can make purchases which will help you build and expand your Faction. There are two types of currency: credits and Force Points.

Credits are a measure of how wealthy your faction is. They are acquired through Missions, generally involving victories in battle, trading of goods and payment for services rendered.

Force Points are a measure of how strong in the Force your faction is. They are bestowed by the GM if you stay true to your faction's philosophy, complete certain Missions, and dominate any of your designated Holy Lands (note that the GM can also take away Force Points for Mission failures or for straying from your faction's philosophy).

The main goal is to attract followers. Untrained followers have the/>/>/>

Challenge #10: Create a Detective Character


Winged_Jedi submits:

Inquisitorious Memo, Prakith

Regarding our most recent...'recruit'. Here's the background documentation that was requested in our previous meeting


[Anoat Sector][The Office of Judge Finis Marshall] Court Transcript [ARCHIVED]

[Defendant stands; male human; dark-skinned, six foot tall, dressed in combat fatigues and wearing goggles]

Court Droid: State your full name and age.

Defendant: Marcus Vijun Jeth, 35 standard years.

Judge Marshall: Mr Jeth, do you have anything further to add this morning?

Defendant: Yeah. I'd like to add that I regret the deal I made in that hell-hole and want to revoke it. I'm pleading guilty. Lock me up, execute me, whatever.

Judge Marshall: I'm afraid that the 'deal', as you put it, is very much sealed. The Jedi you found is now safely in the hands of the gentlemen who visited you last night. They thank you for your sterling work in service of the Empire.

Defendant: Go kriff your-

Judge Marshall: Strike the defendant's last remark from the record. Mr Jeth, your recent history troubles me very greatly. This is the fifth time in a year that you have been caught attempting to investigate the whereabouts of your son...Vellum, was it?

Defendant: Valin.

Judge Marshall: Valin. In the eyes of the law, I'm afraid that Valin Jeth is a Jedi padawan and fugitive. You would do best to put him out of your mind and get on with your life. Any more of these irresponsible and illegal investigations will see you landed back in that cell, and this time for good. There will be no caution, no fine, no deals. Do you understand me?

Defendant:...What I said was, go kriff-

Judge Marshall: You will be released at noon today with your possessions. One broad-rimmed hat, one engineer's belt and toolkit, one holdout blaster, and of course your light freighter, the Chancer. A ship which I hope not to see anywhere near Varonat again, Mr Jeth. Court dismissed.

[End of Transcript]




Note: As you can see, Jeth was pushing it. I really had to work hard to convince the Judge to simply let him go like that.

Jeth isn't a stupid man. He knows that the men who came to his cell were more than just suits. He knows that someone important orchestrated his release, and he probably knows it was us. His plan is to just find his son in any case, even with us following him. He thinks he can beat us to the boy and then somehow escape our attentions.

I must commend him on his investigation skills. He is obsessed with small details, he always takes the most logical route regardless of any 'hunches' or instincts, and he processes information like a droid. Most importantly, that is now a total of three occasions on which he has inadvertently led us to a Jedi-in-hiding. Apparently he used to be a forensic accountant on Muunilist. Then the Purge happened and he became obsessed with this quest. Strange how the trauma has brought out some of his latent gifts for detection, but in answer to a previous question: no, I do not believe him to be Force sensitive.

He is a highly useful asset for us (regardless of his willingness to co-operate or not). As evidenced by his rather tame surrender of the padawan he found on Varonat, he doesn't care about the Jedi in general. If they are of no use to him in his large plan, he will discard them. Which makes him an extremely valuable tool. He knows we are using him to hunt our prey, and he accepts that. He just wants us to leave him alone until he finds his son. Which we shall do- we keep our distance and pick up all the Jedi he uncovers in his wake.

And of course, if we find the boy before he does, so much the better!

End of Memo


DarklordoftheFins Submits:

Name: 3425s Shylock 45322859 Version 7.2 with integrated On/>/>/>/>

RPF Summer Challenge #11 - Write a Romantic Series of Posts


Xan and Sey submit:

IC: Buster

The door opened and Buster stepped out into the light, blinking his eyes against the sudden brightness. He shook his head and gave a little hop of joy to be outside. Within moments he left the pavement and connected with the soft grass that crushed down as he padded over it, but instantly sprang back up as he continued on his way. With each breeze that blew past his nose an array of smells. Flowers. Trees. Grass. Motor Oil. He quickly sifted through the scents trying to find the one that he wanted. Aha! There it was! Pixie...Every day he waited for the time where he was free from obligations in order to seek her presence.

Buster increased his pace and broke into a run, enjoying the feel of being able to stretch his muscles out. He ignored everything else and concentrated on her scent, following it. Oh right! The fence! Busted gathered his strength and bunched his muscles and bounded over the fence without breaking stride. At last he was able to lay eyes on her.

Tag: Xani

IC: Pixie

Pixie was bored. It was a fine sunny day, perfect for a run in the park or a swim in the ocean, but here she was curled up beneath a tree in her backyard, idly flicking away flies with her tail because there was nothing to do. Her family was all out somewhere - they had run out the door earlier today amidst a lot of happy shouting and a box full of things that smelled very appetising. One of the boys had refilled her water bowl, patted her on the head and promised to be home soon, but she was still all alone at home. That was, until ...

There came a noise from the fence, like something (or someone) thudding into the ground. Pixie cocked an ear and looked over. The intruder was a largish brown dog, mouth open in a triumphant grin at having jumped the fence. She sniffed the air and picked up a familiar scent - male, around her age, happy - Buster!

With a delighted bark, Pixie leapt up and bounded over to him. To anyone familiar with doggie-speak, it meant, Hey hey! I missed you!

TAG: Sey

IC: Buster

Feeling proud of himself that he had cleared the fence and a little tired from his run, Buster stopped and let his mouth hang open as he panted in some air. His pink tongue flopped out of his mouth and little droplets of water fell off the end of it. His tail curled upwards and wagged at the tan dog that came over to greet him. He quickly touched his nose to hers in a doggy greeting and then trotted over to her water dish to lap up some much needed water.

The cool water was instant relief on his tongue and re-energized him almost immediately. With water still dribbling off of his tongue he spun around and let out a playful yip in Pixie's direction before sticking his butt up in the air and laying his head and front legs almost to the ground, tail still waging.

Play with me!

Tag: Xani

IC: Pixie

Pixie's mouth was stretched in a large doggie grin. Yay for Buster! He always knew how to have fun. She had been bored before he showed up, but you couldn't be bored around him. It was impossible.

She pounced playfully on him, tail wagging madly. Sometimes she could bowl him over this way - not often, he was a bit bigger, but sometimes. Either way it would be fun!

TAG: Sey

IC: Buster

Buster's eyes were constantly on Pixie's as she bounced around. He still tracked her as she pounced playfully on him, he knew it wasn't her being mean or even an attack, but he had to fight hard against his instincts and let her do it. He allowed her smaller weight to cause him to fall to the ground so she ended up on top of him. In his doggy heart he knew she would like this. When they stopped rolling, he quickly gave her cheek a tender lick and then scooted out from underneath her. With agility befitting his Labrador nature he whirled around and nipped her in the butt before running to the other end of the yard.

Tag: Xani

[/>/>/>/>/>

Summer Challenge #12 - Philosophy Challenge

Sinrebirth submits:

To Franchise, or to Disenfranchise. That is the question.

Introduction

The Franchise is a concept that has occasionally made it way into the Role Playing Forum (RPF henceforth). By franchise, the writer refers to a series of games that coincide in terms of the narrative and the characters, and the theme; be it a strategy war game such the Balance of Power arc, or simply a monopoly on a particular cult; such as the Sith Trials trio of games which ran for their various periods of time, or simply a story which continues for seemingly ever, such as the New Jedi Outcasts arc. The latest major franchise is generally called the ABYverse, a series of spin-offs and stories from the initial 128 ABY - Turning Point game, which itself became a 'flagship' for the RPF when it's second chapter became so mammoth that it encompassed three games - games that themselves saw more than half a dozen other spin-offs set before and after the saga, and has incorporated more than half a dozen ancient games into its embrace; including the aforementioned Sith Trials games, as well as the pseudo-Sith Trials game The Sith Reich. The franchise also has the potential to snowball, when the story created becomes so large (or grotesque) that it takes on a life of its own, with its playground being pushed further by the players more than the birth father; for example, the ABYverse franchise recently crossed types of roleplaying with The Vultures Talon, and that game itself had nothing to do with the Franchise creator.

But while it can be relatively easy to define the Franchise, by virtue of its grasping and absorbent nature, it is difficult to define whether or not it is a good thing. When encountering a monolith, it is easy to suggest that the answer to that question is a resounding No. But within the confines of the construct, marvels may be discovered, and it is that divide which requires analysis.

Now it is well known that the author of this article is indeed the same individual who inadvertently created the ABYverse, by a desire to simply link together all his stories. With a team of GMs from the EUC and the eponymous 'German Triumvirate', the sandbox-within-a-sandbox has expanded threefold. That would suggest that a philosophy essay that claims to weigh the pro's and con's of the concept may be biased towards the Franchise. While the author remains open to criticism, he also hopes that readers will also retain an open minded approach to this piece, and apologises if he drifts into too deep and complex an analysis of the ABYverse Franchise; as our most current example, it bears the most analysis.

Negatives

As a naturally chirpy author, it has been decided to study the negatives first, if not because writing a downer on yourself always requires a pick-me-up towards the end, but because it may seem, from the initial introduction, that there cannot be anything more enjoyable than creating a series of games that take on a life of their own, and by retcon takes into its bosom the finest games that the Role Playing Forum has to offer and makes it their own. This is simply not true.

If we study this angle first, there is a massive likelihood that those players that played these old Franchises will simply not be around to play them anymore; thus the concept of 'old franchises' or you may have already deflected them. The original 128 ABY game was created in the EUC, with support galvanised from various groups in the heyday of the Legacy hysteria; but it also inadvertently replaced the next game in the Sith Trials arc. Some individuals actually concluded that it was to be the Sith Trials 'New Sith Order' in the Legacy setting, which in and of itself deflected a lot of the Sith Trials potential into the 128 ABY; suddenly the head of the Sith Trials games are removed without anyone realising it, let alone the creator, until some hindsight later on.

A surging Franchise then has the potential t/>

RPF Challenge #13 - Creating an All Sith Game

Winged_Jedi submits

Four thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, an elite team of Jedi Knights were sent to defeat the reigning Dark Lord of the Sith...aboard his own flagship. During the battle, the Dark Lord's own apprentice betrayed him, firing upon his master's vessel and setting in motion a chain of events that would change the face of the galaxy.

The surviving Jedi found that their target was still alive. They captured him and brought him back to the Jedi Council.

What followed was one of the greatest crimes in the history of the Order.

Welcome to...


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the MentICide Of DaRth RevAn.



PLAY IT AGAIN DORAK


All day today, tonight and tomorrow, we dive deep into the mental maze of Darth Revan?s head, as the members of the Jedi Council attempt to very rudely INTRUDE and imprint an artificial personality inside his magnificent skull.

But they will soon be lost in a nightmarish swirl of dark dreamscapes and sinister secrets! The Jedi will not defeat the will of a Sith Lord so easily!

And that, dear friends, is where you come in!

You are the Sith elements of Revan?s personality, manifesting inside his head as a defense against the Jedi intrusion. Perhaps you are based primarily off an emotion: hatred for the Mandalorians, envy of Malak, contempt for the weak. Or perhaps you are based off a particular memory: the genocide of the Cathar, the first cold blooded murder Revan committed, the discovery of the Trayus Academy on Malachor V.

We will progress through every stage of Revan's life, right from his birth up until the moment he was betrayed by Malak. And at each stage you will have to fight off the Jedi Intruders! Sometimes the fight will be physical. At other times, it will be a test of wills, engaging in riddles or lateral thinking puzzles to prevent the new memories being implanted.

You do not have to go through the stages in order, you are free to jump around- the Jedi are everywhere, after all, with their false personalities and their insidious little lies! Stop them! You are Sith, now make your mark! You can even play the Jedi at their own game, and warp old memories to suit your own vision of what Revan should be! (As long as it's a Sithly vision!)

And if you are successful, who knows, you may just subvert the canon and have the Dark Lord of the Sith wake up on the Jedi Council operating table, his mind still intact. And he'll be angry...



heRe is The SheET.

Name:

Age: How long have you been worming away in Revan?s psyche? Two months? Two years? Since childhood?

Origin: Do you spring primarily from a memory or an emotion? Describe it for us!

Appearance: Inside the world of the mind, you will take on a physical form. This may alter dramatically as we progress. Your appearance is linked to your
origin! If your origin is the memory of constructing HK-47, then guess who you?re gonna look like!

Nemesis: Which of the Apparitions below could do you the most damage?


Here Are the AppAriTions.

These are the foes you will come across during your odyssey through Revan's mind. Don't trust a single one of 'em! Ever!

'Internal' means they're being generated by Revan's own memories- they're not exactly harmless, but at least they belong inside here! 'External' means an attack from an outside source! Fight off the 'External' apparitions! They're Jedi! Keep 'em out!

The Liar (External)
[image=http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4963/250pxzhar.jpg]
Weakest of the Jedi leading the attack, but the most annoyingly persistent. He tries to argue and debate his way out of most situations, so beware his silver-tongued speechmaking and simply chop him down on sight! He?ll appear again, so just kill him again! And again! And again! Etcetera.

The Woman (Internal? External? We don't know!)
[image=http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/3435/450/>/>/>/>

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The 14th RPF Summer Challenge: Build a Team

The Skyhook Five group happened to be in the same room when they heard of the missile attack on the Imperial Senate, and the reward, and decided to join forces to catch the perpetrators and claim the reward.

IC: Bree, Detective Lockley, Dak Trooper, STANG cops (Angel and Dokes), executive?s office, HNN Skyhook.
Location: Coruscant skies

As the twi?lek sat with the others in one of the skyhook?s executive suites, on an upper floor, she thought of another time, similarly sitting with others.

It felt like such a long time ago.
An intense looking jedi with black hair brushed back, and a thin black moustache ? something twi?leks could not have - had released her and two other twi?lek girls from their bonds on board a slavers? blockade runner, and left them in the fire-damaged cockpit with the tied-up surviving mercenary guard, unconscious and tied to a chair.

She was a commercial lawyer, one girl had apparently been a veterinarian ? Bree didn?t know of any other occupation that required sticking an arm up a rycrit?s bottom ? and the third captive, by that point, had become a complete basket case.

They had been too traumatised from their experiences to actually speak to each other, she recalled, but as blood had returned to their braintails, they had used them for communication, agreeing to mete out justice on the final slaver, rather than rely on the courts.

?Ah, the heck with this!?

Brought back to the present by the exclamation, she turned to see the bounty hunter climbing to his feet, gingerly holding his neck despite the thickly padded collar that the stormtrooper medic had fixed around it, and moving behind the clean, brown desk.

She wondered, not for the first time; if this place was supposed to be abandoned, how did they keep dust off the furniture?

The others in the room, all cops, were also watching Dak Trooper at work, as he placed his helmet on it?s side on the desk, and then dug into one of the pouches on the trouser part of his black coveralls, pulling twisted loops of thin black cables from the compartment.

?What are you doing?? One of the STANG officers, asked. As he had a leg injury, he was seated on the carpet, his back against the wall, hand laid protectively over his thigh wound.

?My helmet receives the holo-news.? Dak explained as he worked, attaching one end of both cables to ports on the inside of the dented TIE pilot?s helm, and the other ends to ones set into the desk top. ?I figure that with some tweaks, we can all watch the news on the office projector. Something serious must have happened down in the City, for our ambulance to take so long getting here. I worked Coruscant Fire Service; I know these things.?

A vertical rectangle of fogged white translucence appeared over the desk, and it really did not matter whether you viewed it from the angle of most of the room?s occupants, or from where Dak stood, even though his view, the correct one, would be a reverse image of what the others saw.

Some colour appeared in the centre of the translucence, leaving a border of untouched white. The colour was recognisable as the ruddy features of the second most famous face in the galaxy.

?Hgubmil.? Kate Lockley grunted, recognising the sensationalist broadcaster as she felt her painkillers starting to wear off. ?Figures he would be the first person we would see.?

?Hold on. I should be able to get some sound.? The rookie bounty hunter knelt down to keep his head steady while he made a tiny adjustment to the connection inside the helmet.

?-ords cannot begin to describe the destruction,? entoned Hgubmil as the holocam panned over the area of the Senate which once housed the Supreme Chancellor?s office. ?It appears the floors imploded, fell in upon each other like a youngling?s game of ?Stacks?.
The people here never had a warning, never a chance to escape.?

?What on Kamino??

?Oh my stars. The Senate.? Detective Lockley started to sniffle, her eyes filling with tears as she took in the sights that the reporter?

The 15th Summer Challenge: Play In The Demon Room

Please find the Demon Room right here!