(no subject)

[vrdr_mods]

Hey, guys! We're currently looking for input on how to best handle player plots and events going forward. While big player plots are exciting and fun, we're also having trouble completing them. We tend to have bursts of energy at first, which trail off before long. This means plots drag on for months, making very little progress.

We've had a few thoughts, but we'd like to know what the rest of you think. Is there anything we could do better? What comm policies would make lengthy plots easier to handle for you? Do you have another concern you want to bring up? Feel free to comment below!

Comments

[wipingallout]

I already rattled off some thoughts on the discord, but I'll put them here as well in a more truncated way:

Advice for the mods

♦ A general calendar-ish post where people can talk about when they'd like to run their events would be good - it doesn't need to be fancy, just a list of plots and their rough est. 'expected' dates as well as a comment section open for people to discuss, sign up to help out, etc.

♦ Use announcements in the Discord for event and plotting reminders!


Advice for players running plots

♦ Have a timeframe that you want to dedicate to actually threading things out as much as possible. For example: if I wanted to run a Palace, even if in character the exploration might take weeks or a month, consider a weekend where you know you have time to consistently reply AS the character of that Palace. Having a timeframe in mind for yourself can help you make sure external responsibilities/limitations (time, mental energy, obligations, etc) not conflict with your goal of execution

♦ Take advantage of the OOC comm existing! If you come in with the premise of your plot laid out and say "these Roles are where any given player character could slot in and Act", then it can be much easier to communicate - as well as giving time before actually pulling the trigger on the plot for people to either ask questions about details of the plot or to propose their own Cool Moments they want to have.

♦ Break down a plot into smaller 'pieces'/events. Every character added to one thread exponentially slows down a thread, so having RPers go in 2s or 3s to tackle smaller objectives can keep things much breezier.

♦ By talking to people getting in on the event, decide on the End Result any one 'scene' might be working towards.
For example: say you have a scene where a few people need to sneak in and steal a key. Three players agree to have their characters team up for the heist - they can talk in Discord or on the OOC post about the details of how they want to do it, with your input on environmental factors. You all still know the end result IS the acquisition of the key and getting it to the next group!



These are all only basic advice and obviously your mileage may vary.

[vampirethief]

Since Discord doesn't seem to like me (though I might look into seeing if that's still the case. Can't make any promises though.), I'll put my thoughts here:

Pretty much seconding the above, though I think for encouraging players to use this comm more often, perhaps have general player plotting meme posts more often? It could be useful. I know I've had ideas for both of mine, but I haven't been able to figure out how to make any of those ideas happen. If anyone wants to know what those are, feel free to ask.

And while it's not mentioned here, in terms of possibly handwaving the Evil Ken fight, I'm okay with that. Fight scenes aren't my forte, though depending on how you wanted the fight to go, I'm cool with Vampire Ren getting temporarily killed to make the fight more intense, so the eventual win against Evil Ken, the more satisfying. Ren is hard to kill, but it's not impossible.

Though if you rather than just everyone just beat Evil Ken without any causalities, that's fine too. I know not everyone likes dealing with that.