Question for Everyone

E

Ellie al'Basteua

Newbie
Okay, I know this is a very general question, but I was wondering:

What kind of plot do you like?

I, personally, am a very big fan of the RolePlay-based plotlines (though I like to get the chance to fight every now and then). However, I realize that for some strange reason, the entire world usually doesn?t share my opinions. So before I get too deep into this whole mod-running-business, I would greatly like to know more about the desires of the players.

What kind of mods/storylines do you like to play?
What are important elements of the best mods/storylines that you've ever been on?
What do you want to see more of?
What do you want to see less of?

And also, my big question:
Do you mind getting woken up at night?
And if you don?t like getting woken up, are there any circumstances that you wouldn?t mind waking up for?
 
I LIKE RP... Maybe a little combat where I'm useful and not forgotten, but I get most of my joy out of schmoozing and politicking.

Emotional involvement has been, for me, the biggest factor in the coolest lines. Don't throw fear, make the PCs actually FEAR the bad guy. It has a far deeper impact on character development and story arc.

I'd like to see more plots with both aforementioned factors.

I'd like to see less of vulture looting, as it screws up treasure distribution and can actually really kill someone else's weekend.

I don't like getting woken up unless I'm needed to ressurect someone or one of my very good IG friends is in trouble. If I physically *can't* get up, (it's been known to happen when people keep waking me up), then leave me be. Otherwise, there's my life tag, have fun.

There ya go, my 2 coppers.
 
What kind of mods/storylines do you like to play?
I'm a sucker for a great story. That isn't to say that I'm ready to actually fully participate in one; even though my character was created (and first played) over a year ago, I've only been to two events so far (third will be in June). But one of the things that makes me want to go up there to play again (and again) is the stories. As for getting my LARP on, I'm still learning. =)

What are important elements of the best mods/storylines that you've ever been on?
A good story, "scaled" monsters/enemies--something for each level of character to fight against (and have a realistic chance of winning), new/unique ideas/puzzles/traps. NPC's staying in-game.

What do you want to see more of?
NPC's being in-game as much as possible, more stories!, cheaper airplane tickets, and food. More events. ;)

What do you want to see less of?
Solomon/Jeff in his skivvies *shudder*

Do you mind getting woken up at night? Not really. But there are times when I absolutely can't keep my eyes open and would be a safety hazard. <--no joke>

And if you don?t like getting woken up, are there any circumstances that you wouldn?t mind waking up for? If it's a dire emergency...
 
Oh, to clarify, when I say "LARP" and "story" I mean role-playing too. (Sorry for the double post.)
 
I like the role playing with alot of combat combined. But I really like it when everyone has a chance to do something. Instead of being bored to death actually getting asked to go and do something. I think it is awesome being woken up at night. Even if you are dead tierd. And one more thing...

Good luck Hayley!!!!!!

-Jacquelyn
 
L.E. said:
What kind of mods/storylines do you like to play?
Click to expand...

I like a good mix of RP and combat. I'm not ashamed to say that I like a good fight regularly -- but I also want roleplaying. I want *reasons* to get into a fight -- monsters wandering up to the inn doesn't cut it. I want *rewards* for doing things. These don't have to be material; roleplay rewards are great. In fact, roleplay rewards can be more important than material rewards.

I also like mods/storylines which are freeform. I want a plot that will roll with what I try to do to it. If the proverbial farmer's daughter gets abducted by goblins, I don't want to be forced to rescue the daughter and slay the goblins. I want there to be a way to make a truce without suicidal goblins that will throw away their lives "just because they're monsters". I want there to be a way to sneak off and make a deal with the goblins and collect half the ransom by working with them -- *WITHOUT* it automatically meaning that my character is found out and shunned/punished/whatever. I want to be able to be either a good guy or a bad guy without someone on plot deciding "He's doing bad stuff, so he's going to be punished no matter how well he goes about it".

What are important elements of the best mods/storylines that you've ever been on?
Click to expand...
Multiple "solutions".
Well-scaled.
Small groups. Large missions are great and all that, but they don't have nearly the same "personal" feeling or impact. If I go on a mission, I want to make a difference -- I don't want to be just another person in the Adventurer's Mob of the night.
Powerful reasons for my character to take action.

What do you want to see more of?
Click to expand...

I want to be able to do bad things. I have the very strong feeling that if I were to try and work with the bad guys in 99% of any plots I've seen in the last year, I will eventually be punished for it. The bad guys always lose, and they always make sure to take the players who work with them down with them. It's just the way the plots have been run for a while. If I want to sneak off and work with Raphael the Necromancer or Mr. Evil-Shar'Tha-Trueseer-Killer, and I do it well, I don't think I should be automatically smacked with the "you're-screwed" stick. I want a chance to get away with it -- a *real* chance.
I want to see more repercussions to the players' decisions. I want to see Raphael have a chance to actually win -- and terrorize the town for years to come. This doesn't mean "all the players must die", but it *does* mean that there needs to be ways for the players to screw up and not get "saved" by a deus ex machina -- and there should be repercussions other than just death (death, quite honestly, is more boring and while horrible not really the worst thing in the NERO world) to deal with.

What do you want to see less of?
Click to expand...
Deus ex machina that fall out of the sky and save the day even if the players f*** it up.
Missions that end up with the whole town on one side vs the "monsters of the month" on the other side.
Pointless monster-wandering-to-tavern-to-keep-players-entertained.
Monsters that don't care about their life. If you're hurting, then run away, dammit! Just because you're a goblin doesn't mean you're suicidal!

And also, my big question:
Do you mind getting woken up at night?
And if you don?t like getting woken up, are there any circumstances that you wouldn?t mind waking up for?
Click to expand...

I don't mind getting woken up at night -- so long as it fits the things I outline above. Sending out a phase spider to jump inside the players' ward and attack them just to wake them up is *not* a good thing. Sending out a phase spider to jump inside the players' ward and attack them because they pissed off the phase spider nest earlier in the day *is* a good thing. If people are woken up, there should be a good reason or good reward for doing so.

-Bryan
 
L.E. said:
Okay, I know this is a very general question, but I was wondering:

What kind of plot do you like?

I, personally, am a very big fan of the RolePlay-based plotlines (though I like to get the chance to fight every now and then). However, I realize that for some strange reason, the entire world usually doesn?t share my opinions. So before I get too deep into this whole mod-running-business, I would greatly like to know more about the desires of the players.

What kind of mods/storylines do you like to play?
What are important elements of the best mods/storylines that you've ever been on?
What do you want to see more of?
What do you want to see less of?

And also, my big question:
Do you mind getting woken up at night?
And if you don?t like getting woken up, are there any circumstances that you wouldn?t mind waking up for?
Click to expand...
Hum, a step by step answer then, and pardon if my answers seem somewhat conflicted, I have been gamming way to long, so I like diffrent levels of some things, or diffrent kinds of things, within the same field.
Mods/storylines: I like both short and long ones. I prefer for the long ones to have a good chunk of IG history that the players have a chance to learn (at least in bits) For the short ones, I like them being directed, or player controled. Aka the charicters are asked to go find something, the charicters want to go do something, the hunting club is meeting for a little hunting, ect. I also like for the reasons for combat to be defined in some way.
Things I have liked: Now thats hard to say, I have liked a lot of things over the years. I like the moments of unexpected charicter RP, where the charicters are fully imursed into the game, and dont even seem to notice it. I like it when a long and hard plot comes to an end, and the storys to tell afterwords. I like watching the arcs of plots unweaive before me while I try to figure out whats going on. I like it when everything is on for a time. Its a little hard to explane.
What do I want to see more of?: More RP, more npcs that do not want to kill us, but are actally part of a story. More patterned combat (aka the creatures fit into whats going on, tho this happends quite well now a days). More people paying charicters to do things, and less treasure on monsters. Personly I think there would be a lot less vulture looting, if the monsters didnt seem to carry so much coin. I like the idea of more rescue missons, and payed mods.
Things I want to see less of: random combats, player vs player stuff, wake up calls.

Do I mind being woken up at night: yes and no, I dont mind noise, but often if I am down for the night, I dont want to get up unless its part of a plot, and even then, I often went down so that I would enjoy the next day. So, for a short amount of time 4 hours a night about, I like to get my sleep. Now if you catch me sleeping 8 hours or so, by all means, I should be woken up.

I hope that covers everything.
 
Mods and storylines that I like.
Lair cards are fun for down time or people who are bored. As for normal mods, I like it when they actually make me feel like it was worth it or really gets me involved.

Important storyline elements.
A good mix of rp and combate, Combate is fun, but there is a fine line between fun and a meat grinder.

Things that I would like to see.
Mods where the risk equals the reward.

Things I dont like seeing.
Very powerfull npc who are in the pc faces for no good reason.

As for getting woke up in the middle of the night.
I dont mind as long as there is a good reason behind it.
 
Kobold Nightfights

Me i'd like a big Kobold Night fight with lots of weak kobolds NOT SWINGING FOR 12 NORMAL. To provide fodder for my sword and bow. a fight were we could do the ambushing would be cool. I like nothing more than to hide in the shadows and jump out and scare the crap out of people. :laugh:
 
well if you wanted a big kobald fight, you should have there a few events ago in seattle, there was a huge gnoll and kobald fight.
 
I want to be able to do bad things. I have the very strong feeling that if I were to try and work with the bad guys in 99% of any plots I've seen in the last year, I will eventually be punished for it. The bad guys always lose, and they always make sure to take the players who work with them down with them. It's just the way the plots have been run for a while. If I want to sneak off and work with Raphael the Necromancer or Mr. Evil-Shar'Tha-Trueseer-Killer, and I do it well, I don't think I should be automatically smacked with the "you're-screwed" stick. I want a chance to get away with it -- a *real* chance.
Click to expand...
Just a note on this, I think it may just be a feeling. I know a few people are working with/for bad (or seen as bad) people and its going just fine. Now the out and out bad guys, the larger than life ones, do seem to go down and take everyone with them, but the other villans seem to be able to get help and minions. (evil fae, powerful merchants, theves groups, ect.) I know I have worked with someone that some would see as evil or bad, and done quite well doing it. But I dont talk about it much IG, for obvious reasons.
 
Polare Lissenstine said:
I want to be able to do bad things. I have the very strong feeling that if I were to try and work with the bad guys in 99% of any plots I've seen in the last year, I will eventually be punished for it.
Click to expand...

Have to say it... because there I always get blamed for it anyways:

Get a business card from Balryn. :cool:

It'll solve all your "bad things" desires.

Ha ha.

Barry

(What? Everyone was thinking it anyways... I just said it. I may as well be able to joke at my own expense even if I'm not evil, because I'll get the blame for it anyways!)


I for one, will detail my answers to you in private. No one wants to know what sick twisted thoughts are in my head.
 
I like all kinds of plot! However, if you want specifics from my perspective...

Plot should be original. I don't like replaying things I've read, seen, or played before in a non-NERO setting.

Plot should be flexible. I don't like being forced into a particular course of action; I wholeheartedly believe in being allowed to make mistakes and later paying for those mistakes.

Plot should be personal. I love it when something happens plotwise that causes me to have a strong emotional reaction. It doesn't necessarily have to be either good or bad; any combination works fine. Also, by personal I do not mean specifically targetted towards me, just that I want to feel like my character is feeling.

Plot in NERO should be very RP based. NERO does stand for "New England ROLEPLAYING Organization", after all. This is not to say that combat should be neglected; it is important to have a balanced mix of combat and RP. However, strong roleplay-oriented plot is the key to immersing players in your world.

Kinds of plot I like: Politics, epics, personal, and occasionally a good old-fashioned fragfest.

I dislike: plot that is nonsensical or implausible, negatively targetted plot ("let's try and kill X" or "let's go screw with X"), and plot that is more scripted than flexible (options are limited in a controlling or nonfeasible manner).

I love getting woken up at night, so long as there's reason to it (I can't stand goblin wakeup calls or whiny ghosts...basically being woken up for the sake of being woken up).

L.E. said:
Okay, I know this is a very general question, but I was wondering:

What kind of plot do you like?

I, personally, am a very big fan of the RolePlay-based plotlines (though I like to get the chance to fight every now and then). However, I realize that for some strange reason, the entire world usually doesn?t share my opinions. So before I get too deep into this whole mod-running-business, I would greatly like to know more about the desires of the players.

What kind of mods/storylines do you like to play?
What are important elements of the best mods/storylines that you've ever been on?
What do you want to see more of?
What do you want to see less of?

And also, my big question:
Do you mind getting woken up at night?
And if you don?t like getting woken up, are there any circumstances that you wouldn?t mind waking up for?
Click to expand...
 
Even though I havent played much larps, I have had WAY to many experiences with roleplaying storylines, so here goes:

The best storylines are the ones that make you DEEPLY believe something about the way things are is right and then smack you in the face with this later. (Like, for example, in Grandia 2 [good game :D ])
Further more, I greatly enjoy lots of fighting but if there is no roleplaying, it gets repetitive. If the battles have a reason for happening and there is time to interact with the creatures (possibly) a bit before you kill them/they kill you, then its cooler. :)

As far as the night goes, personally No. I hate getting woken up in the morning. But if there IS a good plot reason or some important IG thing happening, I'll get up... hopefully :p

Something you might wanna try is to send a few cats out or something and find out how the PCs are reacting to the whole thing. Though to do anything about it takes a very flexible plot.

Good Luck On Plot!! :D
 
Kauss and Balryn...

Note that my comments come only from my own perspective. It's great that people were able to get away with working with the "bad guys" -- they obviously did so in a good way :). I *do* know that people get away with working with, as you put it, the "not so ultimate bad guys". What's tough is seeing people work for the big bad guys who are slated to go down -- I certainly wouldn't have wanted to try working with the Fearmonger. Not because he wouldn't have been great to work with, but because I saw no chance of a future for him, and I could easily see him pulling his buddies down with him. I don't see any continuing big-bad-buy plots. I don't see the players messing things up, really -- they always end up beating those big bad guys. Are they just really good at putting things together and taking the big bad guys down? Maybe -- I couldn't say from my viewpoint. Personally, I couldn't point to any really "bad" force from two or three years ago that still exists and people fear. They've all been fixed, one way or another.

Balryn -- not evil? Don't you remember what we went looking for when we were in Twilight Vale together five or six years ago? Ha.

-Bryan
 
OK. I know I am on plot for Seattle, but Haley is plot for Oregon, so I guess it's safe for me to put my two cents in on this one ;)

I like plot. In order for something to *have* a plot, it must have a story. In order to have a story, it must have characters. I like to be in the story with the characters and play with them. I like to be able to fight their enemies, drink with them, fall in love with them, cry with them, mourn them, cheer their victories and console their defeats. I like to be able to make deals with them, break deals with them, etc. You get the picture? I like the world to be real. I like being able to suspend my disbelief and become another character for a while. I like a good story.

That being said, I guess I'll get right down to brass tacks. I like RP (if you didn't get that from the above, just look at most of my NPC's). Fighting is fun, but RP is the heart and soul of the game for me. If fighting happens because of the story, fantastic. if fighting happens just because? Not so good, unless the monsters make sense for the area we are in and have the possibility of us actually *doing* something about it.

Being woken up? I expect it. That's what setting watches is for.

I am even willing to overlook a rules advantage to RP Rupert how he would be in my mind.
 
Action, adventure, excitement. This Jedi craves those things. Songs, cards, food. This Jedi craves those things too. Works best when left separate.

Basically, I like games in which there is "HomeBase?". The place you go when you just want to kick back, rap IG about IG things, play some cards, sing a song, get some grub. At HomeBase?, there is no stress. No drama. Not much really needs to be said about HomeBase?. Basically, I be here, leave me the hell alone to relax. Think of it as Elvis Presley and Honolulu during the Vietnam War, rather than China Beach.

And then I like "Out There?". The place that you go where you seek out combat, adventure, dungeons, dragons, mushroom people, whatever. OutThere? has lots of trees, a couple of gullies, and stuff to do. It involves lots of walking and looking around, interspersed with the aforementioned Action, Adventure, and Excitement?. AAE? can be in many forms. Combat. Physical challenges. Puzzles. Locks. Fast-talking. Lair cards with the aforementioned combat, etc.

Things I hate? Having to do anything. I didn't come to NERO to be forced to stuff or suffer Dire Fates?. I came to play, stretch my legs, and have fun. I want to go do things like save the world because I want to go save the world.
 
L.E. said:
What kind of mods/storylines do you like to play?
What are important elements of the best mods/storylines that you've ever been on?
What do you want to see more of?
What do you want to see less of?

And also, my big question:
Do you mind getting woken up at night?
And if you don?t like getting woken up, are there any circumstances that you wouldn?t mind waking up for?
Click to expand...

Hmmm...lets see. I love RP mods. I love puzzles, riddles with the fighting thrown in for spice. Simply put, I like to THINK my way through a solution if possible first before resorting to brute force. I guess that answers the first two questions.

I'd like to see more crunchies for the lower level characters. A level 9 earth ogre, with racial prof, fighting undead that he could not hurt with a weapon was not fun - especially considering his limited earth tree.

In conjunction with that, I'd really like to see less of the uber characters splatting the crunchies that do come out before the ones that could have fun with them and whom the crunchies would be a challenge for have a chance to even smell them let alone try to kill them.

As for being woken up at night, I don't mind it in the least. Just beware though, if I don't get at least a couple hours uninterupted sleep, especially at events, I tend to wake up swinging. :p

Just my two little copper coins worth of insight.

Keith aka Kril....errr.....Togg.
 
Krillmalir said:
In conjunction with that, I'd really like to see less of the uber characters splatting the crunchies that do come out before the ones that could have fun with them and whom the crunchies would be a challenge for have a chance to even smell them let alone try to kill them.
Click to expand...

I would like to see this as well. While NERO is a roleplaying game, players have to work well with plot and put some thinking effort in. Obviously it's fine to have a "thing" against kobolds, but if you are 25th level and specifically smiting them down all the time you are probably taking plot energy and resources away from someone else's enjoyment.

As Balryn, it often resorts down to the "why bother with them?" methodology. Try to keep RP going, while realizing the OOG mechanics of the game. Don't chew on the bone intended for the newer characters/players (because we obviously want them to have fun and come back for more!)

I would also like to see some long term "bad guys" as Bryan stated. Smart ones. Ones that kick the crap outta people who screw up. They don't have to be "all powerful", but a group or two of longterm villians is always good for the campaign. When I ran plot, some of my best liked NPCs where the insightful and smart villians who couldn't get ousted. Nothing ruffled PCs more then getting beat at their own game. I used to setup various mods where PCs and NPC were competing for the same goal, and many times the PCs got there just in time to see the NPCs riding into the sunset.

Barry
 
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