Making the "High School" Subgenre Interesting

[Draconus297]

You have probably seen the veritable armada of RPs set in some variety of unusual high school, which have a tendency to fizzle out in a few weeks or less.


As someone drafting an RP to fit into that genre (specifically, one of my most ambitious undertakings yet, which would require at least 23 regular RPers not including myself and a whole lot of side notes to keep track of subplots), I naturally want to avoid that rapid death RPs in that vein tend to have.


What I'm doing to set myself apart is simultaneously making this more centralized around a main plot, and more allowing for subplots. I'm accomplishing these goals in a relatively straightforward way: A) I'm running all of the "adult" characters- the Headmaster and teachers- with one student thrown in to drive conversations early in the RP, when no one knows each other, and late in the RP, when the plot will basically drive everyone to personalized goals. B) The classes will actually have structure and teach about the world the RP inhabits, to allow personalities to shine through, but I'm making up for it by giving certain amounts of time before and after class, and even the school day, for interaction based on friends made, suspicions garnered, et cetera.


Essentially, for a plot reason that actually makes minimalism acceptable early on, there are only six teachers in this school, so I'd need a multiple of six students so all six classrooms have the same number of students doing things at the same time. I'm planning on setting it up so that two people don't ever share two class periods, so that everyone can meet as many people as possible, and allow for wider webs of communication.


As for the initial plot, I have most of an introductory post ready:


It started with a rather innocuous letter.


Technically, it was a package, given that there was more in it than paper, but it certainly FELT like a letter.


Once opened, a thin silver chain slid out, almost serpentlike, and wrapped itself around your wrist, clasping shut with an audible click. The new fashion accessory glinted in the light, as if it were a perfectly ordinary metal chain that hadn't just attacked your arm a few seconds ago.


The contained letter was . . . rather odd.


|||Hello.


|||That thing on your arm is known as a Sylph Lock. It will suppress your aura, both to protect you from


|||the others, and to protect the others from you. I have been watching you recently. You are special, in


|||ways that most people simply would not understand. Even if they did, it would only serve to isolate you.


|||I wish to help. I have arranged a school, to show you what actually exists out there, and to expose you


|||to others who are just as special as you are. However, to prevent . . . misunderstandings, I ask that you


|||wear that Sylph Lock as long as possible. If you meet with my associates, you will be brought to my


|||facility with most excellent speed. All relevant people have been informed, and those that have not


|||acquiesced have been taken care of. You will have private living quarters, and your key is located at


|||the bottom of this envelope. In the event that you accept (and I highly suggest you do), you will be


|||expected to be awake by 0720 hrs, local time, on weekdays. An associate will guide you to the campus


|||for the first week.


|||Regards,


|||Headmaster T


|||PS- If you wish to receive instructions on removing the Sylph Lock, you must accept my invitation.


Now, I will answer non-spoiler questions regarding the RP on demand, and if I get sufficient interest here, I may simply launch and figure out details as they become relevant. However, any suggestions on what I may do to keep this interesting, or edits I may make to make the plot opener less . . . cliche are greatly appreciated.

 

[Dusky]

I think @Elle Joyner has some interest in refreshing and reinventing school RPs, given her experimentation with the Zodiac Echelon.


That said, while I do find this interesting, and likely to work out well, I'd agree it comes off as cliche. I think the best way to invigorate a typical "school" RP is to avoid putting much focus on the school. Maybe some facet of the school - a club, for instance. Even then, I am hard-pressed to find a way to make it seem new and exciting.


But honestly, I rarely involve myself in such things, so I'm hardly an expert on the topic. Hopefully some other people get in here soon to provide their disproportionately valuable two cents.

 

[welian]

In my opinion, part of the fun of school roleplays is just how formulaic that can be. It's like a sandwich. Ubiquitous, easy to make, delicious and everyone has their own preference. Philosophy aside...


I think the letter and the Sylph Lock make for some very interesting introductions, and in that regard you're off to a good start. But, I'd like to see a little more information from you. What do you mean by centralized plot, and what ideas do you have so far to also keep the RP sub-plot friendly? Why do you need twenty-three roleplays? Is there a way to scale your RP down without losing key points of the plot?

 

[Draconus297]

You want information?


I am only happy to provide.


Okay, regarding the primary plot, it's extremely hard to get into any of it without spoiling things that will become important, but notable details are that literally everyone is hiding major secrets from day 1, I'll ask my RPers to do the same (they'll only send their full apps to me over personal message, meaning that I'm effectively holding all the marbles and trying to keep any of them from spilling), and a massive amount of time will be spent on trying to puzzle everyone out. The two main objectives? 1) Keep your own secret as long as possible 2) Figure out everyone else's secrets quickly, or things will go badly.


To retain the HSRP genre's love of subplots (if you've gone more than 20 pages without the main plot getting completely forgotten by everyone, you're close to a god), I'm actually borrowing some ideas from other genres. I'm going to keep track of the date, the time of day, et cetera, so that all classes inhabit a certain length of time, you have a fixed amount of time to bump into people in hallways, there's a lunch break you can use as you please, and you have time before and after school (and on weekends) to talk to other characters who you're investigating, who you're friends with, who are your love interests, or other such things. Also notable is the presence of five clubs, as all but one of the teachers runs one. They will have their own subplots, and will be much more lighthearted than the main plot. These will be your easiest opportunities to find out the six teachers' secrets, as well.


Good question. You see, the smallest number of people a class can be made up of and still be considered a class is 4, and there are 6 teachers. Unless I write out one of the teachers (which I'd rather not do), the minimum number of students acceptable is 24. To make matters easier, I'm controlling one, so I only need 23 other RPers. I have several blank notebooks, in order to keep track of all the subplots that WILL spring up, as well as everyone's information, who knows who, et cetera.


Technically speaking, there is. As far as the primary plot is concerned, only 3 of the teachers are absolutely necessary, which means a minimum of 12 students (or 11 outside RPers). However, I've already dedicated a significant portion of time to all 6 teachers' information, and I'd like to omit as little as possible.

 

[Blumenkranz]

The problem with high school roleplays is that high school sucks, and as such you will never see an actual high school game doing well for too long. I have to agree with Dusky: the only way of making a high school game fun is by paying very little attention to all the bits that make high school boring.


But mind you, this doesn't mean that you should forget you are still in a high school! Teenagers are expected to attend to classes. Classes that might not always be "combat class with a different name #294871".


What I meant by "paying very little attention to boring classes" is that you should minimize the time spent in classes where the students can't have any meaningful interaction. Why dedicate a couple of pages to a history class when you can simply write all of its contents in a single post, for example? Students are meant to be taking notes and not talking about whatever amongst them, which isn't interesting enough to be roleplayed.


Instead, what about lots of field trips? What about classes where the students can give some input? Stuff you wouldn't get to do in a real high school, because that's what we are here for.


Also, regarding the letter idea: just scrap it. It is always the same introduction, which does the trick but is completely stale and unoriginal. I always liked more the approach of "this is a regular school you just apply to", but then it assumes your characters aren't as special as you would like them to be. If you still want to run with the secret fantasy school trope, make agents of the institution come search each character and explain to them who they are and what do they do.


However...

PS- If you wish to receive instructions on removing the Sylph Lock, you must accept my invitation.

This is very fucking creepy. Do you plan the school on being one of those covert PMC bootcamp for magical kid soldiers or something? Because this sounds something only a person without scruples would do.

 

[Draconus297]

Okay, I'll admit it, the class stuff is mostly there for worldbuilding purposes, and to give people an idea of what they are actually capable of in the setting. Rather than answer a bunch of questions in a rather dull way in OOC, it's more interesting if the characters can actually be seen . . . y'know . . . LEARNING. And, if you think there's nothing interesting to be done while actually in a class, then you went to a rather dull high school. I experienced really weird and memorable conversations and moments in high school, while in class.


Ah. Damn. Perhaps I can do the whole "you get tazed, welcome to your new life" from the beginning of the HIVE books.


Sort of. It's extremely spoilery to even mention the Headmaster or his motives, considering that he is quite possibly the toughest nut to crack among my characters regarding his secret, and revealing what he plans gives away literally everyone else's reasons for being there, so . . .

 

[Grey]

I always think the school part should be dressing for a largely unrelated plot, unless you're dealing heavily with various institutional themes.


...I'm actually going to stop right there before this turns into an essay and save it for later.

 

[Draconus297]

The problem there is that, essentially, I needed a rather simple framing device that was also an excuse to constantly push for questions- a place where everyone would both be hiding something and have an incentive to talk to everyone.


Naturally, this led to a high school setting, and actually helped me resolve an issue I'd been having regarding the plot.

 

[Waltzcarer]

On a side note. I cannot, for the life of me imagine RP'ing being in class....

 

[Kayleen]

Hi! This sounds incredibly interesting! I was wondering if I could join?

 

[Draconus297]

Anything can be done. All it takes is a good deal of creativity.


Sure! I accept any and all comers, provided they can update relatively frequently.