Idea Erin’s recent-ish roleplay ideas!

[FoolsErin]

...God, I never know how to start threads like this. But essentially this thread is what it reads on the tin. I’ve been thinking of about maybe taking another shot at GMing a group roleplay, but before I try anything I’d like a little feedback on some ideas I’ve had for said possible group roleplays.

1. Title-pending-surrogate-wereanimal-pack-thing
It didn’t matter how you got to the Wolf’s Howl on that fateful Wednesday, but what did matter was that you were all isolated in one way or another. Maybe you were exiled or abandoned. Perhaps you just simply left due to being less embracing of your wild side, or because you were a turned were that stuck out like a sore thumb. Or it’s possible your species of were wasn’t very social and partial to gathering in the first place. Regardless of how you were alone, your path ended up crossing with other solitary weres like you. Maybe you didn’t see eye to eye at first, maybe it was an instant connection, but time and fate seemed to dictate that perhaps, down the line, you could be in a pack after all.

2. Skin to Scales: Fueled by Fire
It was never meant to happen, the dragonbloods. Just an attempt at medicating some of the more hopelessly sick souls way back when in the age where magic ran free. Perhaps the blood of one of the most resilient magical creatures out there could be the cure to the loss of hope, they thought. Sure, it seemed to be harmless at first, once the sick stopped wheezing up blood and speaking without notes of weakness. But the children of the saved souls were...different. They sported dragon-shapes birthmarks of odd, unnatural colors. They would random vanish at seemingly out of nowhere moments of the day, returning with little memory of what they’’d been doing or where’d they gone. What precisely had happened was slowly revealed as the children aged. The blood their parents had consumed had given them the unusual ability to shift into dragons and back again. The blessing and curse of these gifts was never brought to light for long however, with people across the world tiring of the banes of magic. Sealed away was the art of spell craft and the mystic forces of the unknown, along with the powers of the dragon blood children. It stayed that way for centuries, the sparkle of potions and charms forgotten for religious books and modern technology. But magic didn’t want to stay hidden, to remain cramped in a seal that had been created with it’s own power. So it slipped all it could through the cracks, to wake something up that could unlock its prison. So, on the fateful night the blood moon passes over the unusually named city of Pearlfang, the essence of dragons will reawaken within, and the quest to rescue magic from itself will begin.

Skin to Scales was the first roleplay I created on this site, and it died thanks to poor timing, and it would’ve most likely gone down thanks to some garbage writing on my part had it not perished then. I think I have a pretty good idea of what to change now, and I’m ready to reboot it in a blaze of glory if people are interested.

3. Unamed Lab Experiment RP
Those of you old enough to remember can at least remember some details about your taking. Maybe a mysterious aunt or uncle showed up to pick you up from school, and you were too stupid to catch their bluff. Or a “impromptu field trip” where you just happened to get separated from the group. Perhaps you were young enough to fall for the classic van full of candy. You were all taken, one way or another, whether it’s something you can remember or not. You’ve “lived” in this lab for years, being molded into superhuman weapons through painful experiment after experiment. But one day you decide you’ve had enough. That you cannot take this anymore. So you stage an escape with your fellow experiments, hoping that a perhaps a scrap of a plan can get you out. Things go much better than you expected, and now you’re all free. One question. Now what? It’s a dog eat dog world out there, and there’s going to be both the lab and others out for your abilities. Do you try to slip into society? Find old family through half erased memories and old files? Take down the lap. The world’s a panic filled oyster for lab experiments like yourself.


When I was about 9, I used to scroll through this other forum that I was too young to join. They had a very small group of role players, and I recall my extreme fascination with a roleplay similar to this. It’s stuck with me all these years, and I sort of consider it a weird tribute I guess.

Anyways, that’s all the ideas I consider acceptable for possible roleplay creation at the moment. Please reply with your honest thoughts on these, if there’s any way to improve them I’d certainly like to know.

 

[FoolsErin]

Hello? I spent a lot of time writing these descriptions...

;-;

 

[Nenawa]

Hi there! So I actually haven't done any group roleplays on this site and that's the main reason why I didn't chime in back when you posted this. But I suppose I can try and toss a little feedback out there if you're willing to accept that it isn't from a veteran group roleplayer.

1. This one looks and feels like it's the least developed and least specific idea, and the fact that it's so vague might make me feel leery about expressing interest for it in the first place. Now don't get me wrong, it's a good thing that you're keeping plenty of room for flexibility in the story and setting so people who join can insert their own different characters without being pigeonholed too much. But as a GM you need to be a driving force not only to get the roleplay going and get enthusiastic and active people interested in it in the first place but also to keep things going. So if you need to come up with additional specific ideas and details for the plot or for the Wolf's Howl or any other aspect, then spend a little time working on that! Or if you already have some ideas in mind, see if you can allude to them in your description and try and entice people with bits of information that hint at the greater story and make people intrigued to find out more.

2. Good description! This one does a solid job of setting the scene and suggesting the plot for people who are reading it. There are a few small typos though, if you'll forgive the nitpicking: They sported dragon-shapes [*shaped] birthmarks of odd, unnatural colors. They would random [*randomly] vanish at seemingly out of nowhere moments [*I know what you mean but it sounds a little awkward] of the day, returning with little memory of what they’'d [*just one apostrophe] been doing or where’d they gone.

3. This is a creative idea! However, I'm wondering why it's starting when all of the "experiments" have been there for years and presumably know each other already and then have already staged their successful escape. There's nothing wrong with starting a story that far along with so much having happened previously already, but the group may have to spend a lot more time planning out and discussing how all those things went previously rather than having them be part of the future roleplay (unless you just decide all that as GM instead). Additionally, if the group has now made their escape, what is there to keep any of them together at this point? If one character goes off to search for family and the other wants to live alone in the woods, is the roleplay over before it even starts? That's not to say that this idea is inherently unworkable, by any means! But similar to the first idea, it would benefit from a bit more explanation or at least hinting at details for who or what that lab actually was. And if that's something you intend to leave open for discussion with the group then that's fine, just keep in mind that some roleplayers might not be as interested in the idea if it sounds too vague or incomplete.

For any of these stories, if you want the participants to play a huge role in planning things out with you and worldbuilding then I suggest making that clear in the post to try and attract roleplayers who love doing that kind of stuff. Just don't forget that as the GM you may have to come up with a lot of that stuff on your own and make some executive decisions to keep things running smoothly. Similarly, if any of these are likely to have darker themes or other characteristics that people should know about, be sure to mention them in the post so people aren't caught unawares.

I think that's pretty much everything I can think of! Getting the first and third ideas as polished as the second one should make them more appealing to people, though keep in mind #1 is mostly appealing to those who like were/shifter roleplays; #2 is mostly for those who specifically like dragon shifters (though maybe you can think of ways to allow other characters too without them being too marginalized?); and #3 for those who like superhuman themes. So each group individually might not be the largest, but hopefully you can still find some great roleplayers who are interested in one or more of the ideas!

 

[FoolsErin]

1. This one looks and feels like it's the least developed and least specific idea, and the fact that it's so vague might make me feel leery about expressing interest for it in the first place. Now don't get me wrong, it's a good thing that you're keeping plenty of room for flexibility in the story and setting so people who join can insert their own different characters without being pigeonholed too much. But as a GM you need to be a driving force not only to get the roleplay going and get enthusiastic and active people interested in it in the first place but also to keep things going. So if you need to come up with additional specific ideas and details for the plot or for the Wolf's Howl or any other aspect, then spend a little time working on that! Or if you already have some ideas in mind, see if you can allude to them in your description and try and entice people with bits of information that hint at the greater story and make people intrigued to find out more.

Yep, you're right there. I liked the concept but I had no idea for what the plot would actually be. I might think on it more and maybe make something better out of the basic idea, but I probably won't. Werewolves and werepeople, in general, aren't my bread nor my butter. I only included it in this thread to see if anyone was interested.

2. Good description! This one does a solid job of setting the scene and suggesting the plot for people who are reading it. There are a few small typos though, if you'll forgive the nitpicking: They sported dragon-shapes [*shaped] birthmarks of odd, unnatural colors. They would random [*randomly] vanish at seemingly out of nowhere moments [*I know what you mean but it sounds a little awkward] of the day, returning with little memory of what they’'d [*just one apostrophe] been doing or where’d they gone.

Yikes, thanks for pointing those out. I typed the whole thing in the few free minutes I had at school with a very violently autocorrecting iPad. Anyways, thank you for the feedback! This idea's been with me for a while, actually. I first thought of it back in my Roblox roleplaying forum days, where it got some interest but didn't go anywhere in the end.

3. This is a creative idea! However, I'm wondering why it's starting when all of the "experiments" have been there for years and presumably know each other already and then have already staged their successful escape. There's nothing wrong with starting a story that far along with so much having happened previously already, but the group may have to spend a lot more time planning out and discussing how all those things went previously rather than having them be part of the future roleplay (unless you just decide all that as GM instead). Additionally, if the group has now made their escape, what is there to keep any of them together at this point? If one character goes off to search for family and the other wants to live alone in the woods, is the roleplay over before it even starts? That's not to say that this idea is inherently unworkable, by any means! But similar to the first idea, it would benefit from a bit more explanation or at least hinting at details for who or what that lab actually was. And if that's something you intend to leave open for discussion with the group then that's fine, just keep in mind that some roleplayers might not be as interested in the idea if it sounds too vague or incomplete.

Ooh, fair points. I see your point about the time frame, and I see your point about the separate choices. For the latter I was planning for the group to have a variety in ages of some kind, which would essentially tie the group together in a way with there being some younger experiments that don't really have the skills to take care of themselves, along with some of them having powers that'd make solo living very unpleasant. Though, thinking on it now, this wasn't really as thought through as I initially believed, because there's no guarantee that people would make those kinds of characters. As for the former point, yea, that really would make more sense if I changed it. It's one of those things that seems fine on the surface but you realize is sorta problematic when you start to think about it. I think I can resolve both issues by making the captures a lot more recently in relation to the roleplay, and making the lab in question along with other groups a lot more hostile regarding recapture, thus forcing them to stick together as one person can only run and fight so much.

For any of these stories, if you want the participants to play a huge role in planning things out with you and worldbuilding then I suggest making that clear in the post to try and attract roleplayers who love doing that kind of stuff. Just don't forget that as the GM you may have to come up with a lot of that stuff on your own and make some executive decisions to keep things running smoothly. Similarly, if any of these are likely to have darker themes or other characteristics that people should know about, be sure to mention them in the post so people aren't caught unawares.

I think that's pretty much everything I can think of! Getting the first and third ideas as polished as the second one should make them more appealing to people, though keep in mind #1 is mostly appealing to those who like were/shifter roleplays; #2 is mostly for those who specifically like dragon shifters (though maybe you can think of ways to allow other characters too without them being too marginalized?); and #3 for those who like superhuman themes. So each group individually might not be the largest, but hopefully you can still find some great roleplayers who are interested in one or more of the ideas!

Overall, thank you for the criticism! I find it's a lot easier to expand on my ideas when I get an idea of what makes sense and what doesn't.

 

[Psychonaut]

Chop, chop, chop. Too long. More words means more room for error. Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

Try writing yours out by hand. People are impatient. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. The kids call it "high concept." Lapidary: suitable for engraving on stone and therefore elegant and concise.

1. Eight strangers become family, hunting together as werewolves.

2. Dragon's blood cures a plague. The next generation is cursed.

3. After years of experimentation, you escape with superpowers.

Ten words each, tops - says just about the same thing. Your ideas are all hook and no bait. Only dumb fish bite bare hooks. The smart ones taste better, and they want worm.

 

[FoolsErin]

Chop, chop, chop. Too long. More words means more room for error. Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

Try writing yours out by hand. People are impatient. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. The kids call it "high concept." Lapidary: suitable for engraving on stone and therefore elegant and concise.

1. Eight strangers become family, hunting together as werewolves.

2. Dragon's blood cures a plague. The next generation is cursed.

3. After years of experimentation, you escape with superpowers.

Ten words each, tops - says just about the same thing. Your ideas are all hook and no bait. Only dumb fish bite bare hooks. The smart ones taste better, and they want worm.

You're kind of off the mark with the first and second one, but whatever, I get the point. Thanks for the criticism, I guess...