Aberrant: The Middle Children of History - The Middle Children of History- New Board proposal

[SkyLion]

I have a suggestion to offer.

There are only so many people who visit these boards. 2010 is dying. 2018 seems to have been dead for awhile. Im not saying 200x is to blame, but merely the fact that a community of a certain size can only support so much of a "communal" roleplaying experience.

I suggest we take this board live, but rather than apoint moderators we appoint storytellers. Rather than an opnet board with gamelike elements and plotlines lets just make it more of a normal STed game with plots, protagonists, and storytelling refs. I played in a game very much like that on Eon. It was high powered (translated to around 75 NP), had main plot lines that could interweave between characters as characters moved. There was an OpNet section for us to shoot the shit and we could help design NPCs for the ST in yet another thread.

This seems more viable to me.200x seems to already be taxing most peoples time to write, and Im not sure if we have enough people here to support another full on OpNet board.

Games are Good though... An actual game has a better chance of remaining vital.

[Hyoseph]

I like this idea

[SkyLion]

I like your Avvie's hat.

[Joani]

I like that you like his Avvies's hat.

Besides that, I also like your idea.

[SalmonMax]

I fully endorse the product or service.

[Sam 'The Crusader' Hill]

Personally, I'm perfectly happy with what was originally proposed by Malachite: a middle ground between the 2018 free-for-all and a fully ST-driven board.

[Warren Verona]

Originally Posted By: The_Fool

I suggest we take this board live, but rather than apoint moderators we appoint storytellers. Rather than an opnet board with gamelike elements and plotlines lets just make it more of a normal STed game with plots, protagonists, and storytelling refs.

Originally Posted By: Malachite

The Continuity and Storyline Moderator (C&S Moderator) is responsible for ensuring that moderator run plotlines maintain a coherent timeline and are updated through NPC’s and world events in a timely manner. The C & S Moderator is also in charge of running plotlines, maintaining and updating the wiki site for NPC’s and organizations, and appointing assistant moderators as needed to handle storyline and player needs.

I don't get what you're saying Fool. Hasn't Malachite already proposed this by means of the C&S Moderator? The mods will try and run a story driven 'game' while also giving players the opportunity to write their own singular fictions or interact with other players via collaborative fictions during the on going themes 'down time'.

No offense to Mala, I know she's put a lot into this, but while I don't see the need for another ball busting high powered aberrant game, I also do not see the need to over complicate her ideas (or shanghai them). Everything you've mentioned will already be covered by the C&S Moderator.

Now think about this people... another story game. Most of you are already in two or three as it is. A lot of us are complaining about the amount of time we have being short. Do you really, honestly think another PBP game is needed atm? Malachite idea is a mixture of both, much like Sephs idea for SW. If you have time, participate, if you don't then you are free to post at your leisure and participate at your leisure instead of being accused of being a "power grubbing cheese monkey" (as Fox so politely put it, I'll not delve into the irony...).

Do you guys consider these things or do you blindly agree to anything someone posts without actually re-reading the whole of the intent behind a proposal?

As it stands Fool, while your idea is a good one, it's already being covered by the proposal and it accommodates those players who wish to be involved but not in a PBP capacity.

[SkyLion]

I think what I was getting at was to tighten the focus just a little. Not trying to shanghai anything, just realizeing how much something like the OpNet boards can spread a bit thin.

Basically I realized that if/when this thing goes live we are going to have what? 10 players/participants? And for those who have already commited to 200X I would hazard a guess that that is going to be their prime commitment and take up their priority writing time. I was making a suggestion simply about the practicalities of time, and the number of people actively engaged on the site.

On the other hand I have found games to be fairly easy when i am a player. Jump on, read the updates and post up and then move on. It also works better with only 10 or 15 people. The game I played in that was similar to what I was reccommending had I believe 12 or more players but only a few of us would be gathered in any given scene, with multiple threads dealing with seperate scenarios. Characters could however warp around or otherwise change between scenes.

What makes this even better than that IMHO is that we have the potential to have 2 or more actual STs. The tricky part comes in when you realize that with STed games, its often not fair or desirable that the STs have a vested interest in playing a character (unlike the 200x boards where the mods can participate freely).

IN any case it was a suggestion and some people liked it but its Mala's baby so I submit my idea for discussion, adoption or downright refusal. I am not attached.

[The Story Guide]

The proposal I have put up was with the intention that whatever kind of game the player base in general was interested in would end up the larger portion of the board. Also, with the oversight of characters and the xp tracking/expenditure system, I prefer a dedicated paper-tracker (i.e. the Admin Mod), and the General Board Moderator is there to provide a buck-stopping point as well as someone who can take up slack in areas when the other moderators have real life issues or whatever.

As for the C&S Moderator, whomever ends up as that person should enlist the help of assistants if there are enough players/characters/activity on the board to warrant more than one major storyline at a time or at least more than one ST. Also, a single major storyline doesn't necessarily mean a single posting thread. I'd envisioned a sub-board that would allow for simultaneous scenes in different areas and such.

Please keep up the discussion and suggestions! At this point we're waiting for Chosen to get home so the board can be set up, but the more we hash out here the better the start will be.

I've heard a lot of concern about the number of characters allowed, the power levels allowed, and the time commitment the board could be. Here are the thoughts I've had from what has been said:

1. I'm not taking out the High NP character slot, as there was a great deal of enthusiasm and part of the point of the time period was to allow PC's to shape the events of history under the guidance of moderator run storylines. However, if people are concerned with weekend PC's or just too many, I am willing to look at adjusting the lower level PC's. I could lower the number of characters allowed in play at a time, or the number of changeovers allowed in a year, or both. Lemme know if that helps and what you all would like to do.
2. The OpNet Board, for MCH at least, is as much a place for characters to make initial contact as it is there for bragging rights. I personally have never really seen it as a major time commitment, but then I don't have characters that really post on it.
3. I'm never going to have a PBP board where you can't post personal or small fictions. In TT games, I write out fictions for my characters. I think it's one more way for those who want to and have the time to share their creativity with the rest of us. Now, should I be voted out in an election, and the new mods want to shut that part of the board down, well I'll assume that was part of why they were voted in.
4. I'm trying to recruit people who aren't on 200X or even on N!Prime yet to come give this a try with my board. Limited success, but new blood is always nice. That's part of why I'm trying to get the wiki up and running as well, as an easy primer for the board. I'd love to get in cahoots with the other games (like Hounds, the D&D game, and the Exalted game) on the wiki so that we can expand our appeal as a PBP gaming area. More players in general means more people that could be interested in this game. So go harass people in rl and get them here!

For a recap of what I've gotten on my six questions:

1. Ptes and White Rat are willing to be moderators (and I'd like them to post their preference of which mod they'd prefer to be), with Fox and Fool up for assisting the C&S Moderator. Are there objections to any of these people in positions of authority? I'm not looking for personality conflicts here, I know those exist. I'm asking if any prospective player believes that any of these four people will abuse their power, abandon the position shortly after the start of the game, or otherwise cause significant conflict in the three months that they would be serving in their position? Please keep it civil and as logical/non-emotional as possible.
2. I'm seeing mostly High NP characters, as well as strong interest in moderator run storyline. I'm interested in running prologues for characters either through PMs or as the first few weeks of the game to create character ties with NPC's and other PC's as well as to get a feel for the game before jumping in to current situations. Anyone interested?
3. For mood and theme, I've gotten: modded storylines, natural disasters, and mystery/intrigue. I'm going to be sitting down with experts on the canon storyline, then adding some organizations, events, technology, and political developments myself. The wiki will be up for people to add to, as they wish as well. Just remember: major organizations, military, or political moves need to be approved through the C&S office.
4. No Trogs, Taint 10 means your an NPC, and please god let that have been a joke. Quantum 6 is the cap right now. If the game gets up and revving, we might look at higher later, but probably not until after the first year.
5. Ptes is the only person that seems keen on helping with the wiki. We'll do what we can, but it might take some time.
6. Ptes, your pony was made into glue; I'll ship you the Elmer's. Fox, there needs to be standard way to determine 'active' or 'inactive' for xp. Perhaps a number of posts in the month instead of just one? I don't want to have the Admin counting sentences or anything, nor do I want it completely subjective to the Admin or GBM on the 'oh, they posted enough, but they didn't, 'cause that's what I think'. We could say at least one fiction post or a number of OpNet posts or involvement in the moderated plot. Gimme some suggestions and we'll meet somewhere agreeable.

   Annnnnnnnndddddd..........talk!

[The Story Guide]

Addendum:

The C&S Moderator may not have their characters involved in the moderator run plots; assistants may not run scenes in which their characters are involved and are assigned xp by the C&S Mod.

The General Board Moderator characters are handled by the Admin moderator for any situations in which the GBM would have been the final say.

[Mr Fox]

Woah there. Who said anything about position of authority. I was just volunteering to assist. I'm really good at coming up with plot ideas especially if there is someone to bounce them off of back and forth. I didn't realize that was an official position we were talking about. I am happy to assist though.

As for active/inactive. I don't really think it matters what the criteria is as long as there is one. I happily nominate the Admin Mod for the job.

I love the wiki idea. Sorry, I don't have any skill in setting one up or the time to volunteer to assist with it, but I think it is a great idea and will applaud loudly if you do get it working.

[SkyLion]

I hesitate to take too much of a storytelling role...my experience is very limited on that end and I have never seemed to quite find the knack for it.

I am stoked on this though and have three characters so far on my mind, 1 High, 1 Mid and 1 Low.

[SkyLion]

Also, would you mind clearing up what is meant by the character slot limitations? It says for example on the High and Mid...only one at a time but maximum 2. How would that work? Does that mean you could have a second by "retiring" the first? It would be good to know. I have my 2 medium slots filled with characters but am having to decide for the high and mid slots out of 4 possibilities. Oh the possibilities...

[The Story Guide]

Fool - yes, the first (lower) number is how many characters of that level you may have in play at a time. The second number is how many total you may play in a year. So if you blow through two High character ideas and abandon them in less than a year, you're out of luck until the next year to start a new High character.

Fox & Fool - I misunderstood. So, the two of you are willing to be 'unofficial' help, not assistants?

The White Rat asked for a greater definition of the moderator duties, so here's my best shot:

The General Board Moderator (GBM) is the final arbitrator of all things on the board. They handle disciplinary actions, fill in for any missing or overloaded moderators, and handle general board questions. They also run the election for the AM and maintain the wiki. This is honestly probably the least work of the three mods, but requires the most levelheadedness and neutrality.

The Administrative Moderator (AM) is responsible for character sheet audits, maintaining the xp award/expenditure parts of the character sheet thread, and for keeping the log of which player is owned by which characters (for reasons of the cap and any disciplinary inquiries). The AM also runs the elections for the other moderators. This position is time-intensive, requires a meticulous attention to detail, and works closely with C&S for purposes of plot-related xp awards.

The Continuity & Storytelling Moderator (C&S) is responsible for the setting of the board. The are responsible for all moderated plots, including posting news reports as characters actions warrant. Although the GBM maintains the wiki, C&S has final say on all major parts of the setting, so players wishing to be connected to major NPC's, militaries, political figures (or are one), and significant corporations/organizations must gain the approval of C&S before sending the article/information to the GBM. (Minor things like owning your own non-globally affecting company or being the child of a politician, that sort of thing, may be added to the pc's wiki page without approval. C&S and the GBM do have the right to remove or modify conflicting information with notification to the player.)

Both the AM and C&S may appoint assistants as needed/desired, but the GBM cannot. This is because the workload for the GBM is much lower and I don't want the conflict of 'well, I'm the assistant to the GBM, I can boss around the other mods.'

Did that help? Is there more I need to clarify or that needs to be discussed on the mods?

[Mr Fox]

That all sounds good.

Yes, unofficial would be best I think. I wasn't thinking in terms of helping the C&S run events and npcs so much as helping them with the story concepts themselves. I am willing to help out with events and NPCs but I'd hate to be an official assistant and then not be able to dedicate the time it deserves.

[SkyLion]

What Fox said.

[SkyLion]

So what is needed at this point to get this thing launched, or at least the next step closer?

[The Story Guide]

I need to PM/hear back from Chosen on getting the board up, though since he's planning on doing site maintenance on the 17th, perhaps it'll be easiest to roll it up in that.

Also, I am a convention at the moment, and when I get back home next Sunday will be spending the week after dealing with a good but tad bit overwhelming life change, so I'll be scarce until then. After that I should be on more regularly and be able to get the board up and rolling in good time.

I would like Ptes and WR to post their preferences for moderating, as there have been no objections to them taking up the positions.

[SkyLion]

Sounds good. Sounds like we are looking at a June launch date. I'm excited.

[Sam 'The Crusader' Hill]

Holy crap, it's live!!!

[SkyLion]

Yes please!