Roleplaying is a whole new form of hobby, never really conceived until the end of the last century. Nevermind trying to integrate the internet into that. sure, there are analogies to be made with old-time storytelling traditions, but they aren't truly the same because they lacked rules and structure. They usually weren't framed as games, but rituals. For us, its both, and its hard to consolidate that with the medium we play in, especially when people so freely deviate from the style and theme of the core games in their own homebrewed TTs, without informing the players or maybe without even knowing themselves they're "not doing it right".
Its only natural we don't have all the answers, yet, is my point, and it bears effort and experimentation.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Why We Play WoD (Not Written By Me)
In the dark past before history began, humanity learned to fear. Huddled in the darkness on the plains of Africa, our earliest ancestors listened as lions stalked through the night around them. Deep in the caves of Europe, later men kept watch around their fires in the snowy winter, telling stories of horrors living hidden in the gloom outside. In the Middle East, just as the Sumerians began to scratch cuneiform on stone tablets, farmers sacrificed their livestock to demons they believed lived in the desert.
Over time, we’ve learned to control our fears. To take them down to size. The lions in Africa were held back by fences of barbed plants, then hunted down with guns to near extinction. The horrors in the snowy winter of Europe were cast aside by the retreat of the glaciers and by the flaming torch of human progress. The demons living in the sand lost their sacrifices as time went forward.
In the twenty first century, we have the internet, we have half-mile high buildings, we have networks of roads spanning continents and air traffic going around the world. We look to horror stories, thrill rides, and late night television gore-fests to satisfy our psychological need for fear here in the western world. It’s almost like fear is a toy for us now; we only know true fear a few times in our adult lives.
But all of those terrifying stories our ancestors told around fires? All of the things they saw when they looked out into the blizzards of the ancient past? They aren’t gone. Where the lights don’t reach, where the shadows dominate, they still live. They crawl in their eternal crypts, dreaming horrible, dark dreams as the ages pass them by. Outside of the range of cell phones, away from all the commercial flight paths and shipping lanes, where no one can see, they build their kingdoms. Underground, they feast on whatever crawls by them. Nightmarish masses of twisted flesh and muscle, dark even against the darkness, they wait.
Because one day, the lights are going to go out again, and they aren’t ever going to come back on.
–
Credited to DigitalMadness.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The Justification System is Broken
Most persistent world online World of Darkness chats have a system for spending experience. In fact, all of them use the same flawed system: the Justification System. In this system, when you want to spend XP you make a post to your character thread in the forum or email the proper ST(s), stating what you want to buy and why your character should have it.
On the surface, this is a reasonable system where players are forced to develop their characters in terms of fluff when they develop them in terms of crunch. The intent is to challenge players to think creatively and constantly push themselves to be a better roleplayer. As with so many things, however, this idea is merely de jure. De facto, this system has consistently devolved into repeated favoritism.
It isn't even intentional favoritism most of the time. Some people RP great whenever they log on, and are dedicated members of the setting, but simply don't have the time IRL to write several forum posts about how their character is practicing kung-fu. In addition, this system is often used in an attempt to "balance" a game, that is, keep people from achieving "dangerously" high stats too quickly. This is a false premise, caused by the inherent lack of trust between STs and players online. In reality, you can approve a character with Strength 5 and Weaponry 5 and he probably won't kill a single important NPC, let alone several or even many NPCs. In my nearly five years of consistently playing on these online chats, I've never seen any hint of a character going on some kind of random rampage thanks to the stats on his or her sheet. It just doesn't happen, and we need to stop acting like its a danger.
A second part of this issue is that the rate of XP accrual on chats does not match up with the rate at which you can spend XP. Many chats require you to spend a month or more learning the first dot of a single skill, while in that month you acquire enough XP to learn several low level skills or master one of your already possessed skills.
I think we should take a hint from our friends in the Exalted chats. Yes, Exalted and WoD are very different games, but that doesn't mean we can't take ideas from one to place into the other. I propose that instead of the faulty and easily abused justification system, we apply a training time system. This can even be hardcoded into any website with relative ease. When a character wants to spend XP, they state that they begin learning whatever it is they want their character to learn. After a certain amount of time has passed, they get it. No justification required.
Naturally, some particularly potent abilities could be flagged for requiring ST approval. Its only natural that a character should require some explanation for things like the Allies or Status merits, or for particularly powerful or unique abilities (like Devotions in Vampire).
This system can be easily customized from game to game, to account for their XP accrual rate and for how long term they desire their game to be. In a chat intending to run for a year, training times might be low, where chats with no definite end point could set training times months longer (although hopefully still matching up with XP accrual rates).
On the surface, this is a reasonable system where players are forced to develop their characters in terms of fluff when they develop them in terms of crunch. The intent is to challenge players to think creatively and constantly push themselves to be a better roleplayer. As with so many things, however, this idea is merely de jure. De facto, this system has consistently devolved into repeated favoritism.
It isn't even intentional favoritism most of the time. Some people RP great whenever they log on, and are dedicated members of the setting, but simply don't have the time IRL to write several forum posts about how their character is practicing kung-fu. In addition, this system is often used in an attempt to "balance" a game, that is, keep people from achieving "dangerously" high stats too quickly. This is a false premise, caused by the inherent lack of trust between STs and players online. In reality, you can approve a character with Strength 5 and Weaponry 5 and he probably won't kill a single important NPC, let alone several or even many NPCs. In my nearly five years of consistently playing on these online chats, I've never seen any hint of a character going on some kind of random rampage thanks to the stats on his or her sheet. It just doesn't happen, and we need to stop acting like its a danger.
A second part of this issue is that the rate of XP accrual on chats does not match up with the rate at which you can spend XP. Many chats require you to spend a month or more learning the first dot of a single skill, while in that month you acquire enough XP to learn several low level skills or master one of your already possessed skills.
I think we should take a hint from our friends in the Exalted chats. Yes, Exalted and WoD are very different games, but that doesn't mean we can't take ideas from one to place into the other. I propose that instead of the faulty and easily abused justification system, we apply a training time system. This can even be hardcoded into any website with relative ease. When a character wants to spend XP, they state that they begin learning whatever it is they want their character to learn. After a certain amount of time has passed, they get it. No justification required.
Naturally, some particularly potent abilities could be flagged for requiring ST approval. Its only natural that a character should require some explanation for things like the Allies or Status merits, or for particularly powerful or unique abilities (like Devotions in Vampire).
This system can be easily customized from game to game, to account for their XP accrual rate and for how long term they desire their game to be. In a chat intending to run for a year, training times might be low, where chats with no definite end point could set training times months longer (although hopefully still matching up with XP accrual rates).
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Morality in the World Of Darkness
I think a common mistake people make when creating characters in the World of Darkness is playing them at the morality they want them to be at instead of the morality they are at. That is a big reason why so many themes of the game are lost. A starting character in the World of Darkness is supposed to be unlikely and unwilling to kill a man, or to steal from his peers.
Of course, sensible games allow a player to start at a lower Morality, sometimes in exchange for XP (something I've never understood). I think a character should be able to start at any Morality they like, usually somewhere between 4 and 8.
Games like Vampire and Mage are about, partially, a slow descent into madness. But if you start out mad, how can you possibly play that out?
Of course, sensible games allow a player to start at a lower Morality, sometimes in exchange for XP (something I've never understood). I think a character should be able to start at any Morality they like, usually somewhere between 4 and 8.
Games like Vampire and Mage are about, partially, a slow descent into madness. But if you start out mad, how can you possibly play that out?
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Problems Pt. 1
Too many people get into this for the wrong reasons. You shouldn't be starting a game because you're angry at another game, or because you think you can do it better. The only reason to start a game is to provide people with a place to be creative and have fun. Any other reason will just be impetus on a long slide into debacle and corruption.
Sadly, this is a cycle that has been occurring since the idea of running these sorts of games online first cropped up. Granted, I wasn't exactly active in the community then, but I was at least aware of it and have discussed those times at length with people who were there. It seems to me that in the last decade or so of playing in these games, we've really made very little progress on creating a sustainable system of play and play management.
I'm going to list some common issues, later entries will discuss them at length. They are in no particular order.
1. ST/GM/DM Burnout
Inevitably, there are too few people trying to run the game for too many people. Part of this is the idea that for a GM (that's the term I'll be using as I find it the most generic) to be effective they have to sacrifice twenty or thirty hours a week to the game. Another part is that GMs are not properly trained. I have never seen a game that had a training program or period for GMs. In addition to this blog I am in the process of writing a "ST Training and Management Guide" geared toward World of Darkness chat games, although many of the ideas expressed in it would be useful for any system. I'll post portions of it here occasionally.
2. Cynicism
People have been trained by failed game after failed game, by each corrupt ST and each immature player. They have been taught that in this online environment, you can trust no one. They have been taught to approach games with utter caution, lest their hard creative work and desire to have fun be mercilessly mocked. They have been taught that no one can seperate IC from OOC, and we must either band together into flocks of vitriolic hecklers or tread silently through the virtual world, maintaining careful mediocrity to avoid notice. This is a shame.
In addition to retraining our GMs, we must retrain the players into realizing that we are a community. When we encounter a bad player (yes, I believe there are good players and bad players, and you should too), we shouldn't knock them down further. We should offer our aid. It only takes a moment, and its not only beneficial to them, but to you as well. Everything that improves the game you're playing in is beneficial to you, and more quality players means more quality play.
3. Metagaming
Some metagaming is good. For instance, if I and a few other players in a Mage game want to create a cabal together, we're going to have to talk OOC about the goals of that cabal as well as IC. We're going to have to create situations where our characters will meet and bond, which requires OOC manipulation of the game. These are good things, they add to the game.
Some metagaming is bad. Sometimes a bunch of players create a clique in order to maintain control over the game. Sometimes this happens because the GMs and Admins aren't doing their job, sometimes the players are just jerks. Its easy to tell whether metagaming is good or bad. If the metagaming benefits only you personally, its probably bad. If the metagaming benefits the game as a whole, then its good metagaming.
Just as frustrating as people who do metagame are people who don't. People who refuse utterly to consider any IC action from an OOC perspective. While I laud their immersion, I observe that this just really causes hassles. Do we really need to RP out the minutiae of my character calling yours to organize a coffee date? Is staying true to your character worth leaping at that other character's throat and triggering a mass combat that will serve little purpose but to annoy the people who busy doing other things? Is staying true to your character worth causing OOC strife amongst your friends? Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes no. Its a hard line to discern.
There are many more issues, but these are three big ones in my opinion, and the first I will be writing about at length. I've introduced some basic ideas and solutions above, but will be elaborating on them in future entries.
Sadly, this is a cycle that has been occurring since the idea of running these sorts of games online first cropped up. Granted, I wasn't exactly active in the community then, but I was at least aware of it and have discussed those times at length with people who were there. It seems to me that in the last decade or so of playing in these games, we've really made very little progress on creating a sustainable system of play and play management.
I'm going to list some common issues, later entries will discuss them at length. They are in no particular order.
1. ST/GM/DM Burnout
Inevitably, there are too few people trying to run the game for too many people. Part of this is the idea that for a GM (that's the term I'll be using as I find it the most generic) to be effective they have to sacrifice twenty or thirty hours a week to the game. Another part is that GMs are not properly trained. I have never seen a game that had a training program or period for GMs. In addition to this blog I am in the process of writing a "ST Training and Management Guide" geared toward World of Darkness chat games, although many of the ideas expressed in it would be useful for any system. I'll post portions of it here occasionally.
2. Cynicism
People have been trained by failed game after failed game, by each corrupt ST and each immature player. They have been taught that in this online environment, you can trust no one. They have been taught to approach games with utter caution, lest their hard creative work and desire to have fun be mercilessly mocked. They have been taught that no one can seperate IC from OOC, and we must either band together into flocks of vitriolic hecklers or tread silently through the virtual world, maintaining careful mediocrity to avoid notice. This is a shame.
In addition to retraining our GMs, we must retrain the players into realizing that we are a community. When we encounter a bad player (yes, I believe there are good players and bad players, and you should too), we shouldn't knock them down further. We should offer our aid. It only takes a moment, and its not only beneficial to them, but to you as well. Everything that improves the game you're playing in is beneficial to you, and more quality players means more quality play.
3. Metagaming
Some metagaming is good. For instance, if I and a few other players in a Mage game want to create a cabal together, we're going to have to talk OOC about the goals of that cabal as well as IC. We're going to have to create situations where our characters will meet and bond, which requires OOC manipulation of the game. These are good things, they add to the game.
Some metagaming is bad. Sometimes a bunch of players create a clique in order to maintain control over the game. Sometimes this happens because the GMs and Admins aren't doing their job, sometimes the players are just jerks. Its easy to tell whether metagaming is good or bad. If the metagaming benefits only you personally, its probably bad. If the metagaming benefits the game as a whole, then its good metagaming.
Just as frustrating as people who do metagame are people who don't. People who refuse utterly to consider any IC action from an OOC perspective. While I laud their immersion, I observe that this just really causes hassles. Do we really need to RP out the minutiae of my character calling yours to organize a coffee date? Is staying true to your character worth leaping at that other character's throat and triggering a mass combat that will serve little purpose but to annoy the people who busy doing other things? Is staying true to your character worth causing OOC strife amongst your friends? Sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes no. Its a hard line to discern.
There are many more issues, but these are three big ones in my opinion, and the first I will be writing about at length. I've introduced some basic ideas and solutions above, but will be elaborating on them in future entries.
Statement of Purpose and Introduction
This blog is for the sharing and distribution of essays on the running of large venue online roleplaying games, and general roleplaying game theory and philosophy. These essays will promote community building, efficient management techniques, and discussions on different issues that crop up in the gaming subculture.
I am Exrandu, or JyfB, or Jeffrey Bauer. I am a mere twenty two years old and currently reside in Madison, WI. I have been gaming since I was ten, and playing in large venue online games since I was eighteen. I have adminned for two White Wolf's World of Darkness chats, Ashen Grey under the name Wilde, and Wanton Wicked under the name JyfB. I have ST'd many times for these and other chats as well. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas, and dearly hope some take them to heart.
I am Exrandu, or JyfB, or Jeffrey Bauer. I am a mere twenty two years old and currently reside in Madison, WI. I have been gaming since I was ten, and playing in large venue online games since I was eighteen. I have adminned for two White Wolf's World of Darkness chats, Ashen Grey under the name Wilde, and Wanton Wicked under the name JyfB. I have ST'd many times for these and other chats as well. I look forward to sharing my thoughts and ideas, and dearly hope some take them to heart.
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