Fantasy A Questing Manual, as Written by Na Slegna Rotsopmi

[Idea]

Hello there everyone! So, we just started and it's been made clear that plenty of you are confused as to exactly how to go about this roleplay. How much of that has to do with it being a quest roleplay, and how much is my own fault for overwhelming you guys with text and code is questionable, but hopefully I can make things a little clearer here.

So if you have any questions or feedback, please give them here! Discussion pertaining to the specific entry's choices, as well as the voting is still to be made in the main thread though!

• Quest RP Basics
• About EBDWNLR

• 
  Without further ado, I'll start by trying to go over the basics. Some of you may already know these, but since some others don't, it's still important to have there here.
  
  What is a quest RP?
  Quest RPs are pretty much "choose your own adventure" books, one person is writting the story and giving the options, and the players are picking which option to advance with. One of the main differences is that , while those books are pre-written adventures you try to get a specific set of answers to solve, quest RPs are written in accordance to your answers, the path is created as you choose it rather than the several paths existing before your choice is made. Hence sometimes you can even offer direct input instead of making a choice.
  The other main difference is that, in most cases, quest RPs are made on a system of a vote. So while in the book each person chooses the option they want and go with it, in quest RPs multiple people are voting on which option goes foward.
  
  So, do we make characters? Or posts?
  In quest RPs, unless otherwise specified, you do not make your own characters nor your own IC posts. Instead, the player's posts are their votes, and discussion about their reasoning for wanting to vote this or that.
  
  In this specific roleplay, you are allowed to give input about how the main character is gonna be. More on this when I'm talking about the "character creation" phase of the RP.
  
  Shouldn't the votes be on a separate thread then?
  By convention that is not the case. Furthermore, while quest RPs do have a different balance in terms of the degree of input of the GM vs that of the players, it's still a group roleplay in the end of the day. To simply shove away the input the players have to another thread would, in my eyes, be a disservice to them.
  
• 
  In this part I will try to explain, hopefully in clear fashion, what exactly you're supposed to do as you participate in this roleplay. Except for "will" I won't be explaining anything from the "roleplaying phase" yet, both because it's a lot more straightfoward and because it's more important that you understand the current phase clearly for now.
  
  What's happening right now? (first post)
  As previously mentioned, the roleplay has two phases:
  
  Character creation phase--------> In this phase, your options will be used to define what the main character is like. During this phase, you will be taken to several events in the character's backstory, and your choices during those events will define the character's starting looks and personality. You may be asked to put input about something, but most of the time you will just be asked to say which button you chose.
  
  Roleplaying phase------> after the main character is created, the actual roleplay's story will begin. In this phase, any choice you make is the character's decisions you're making.
  
  What are the points about? (character creation phase)
  In the character creation phase, you start with 100 points. Some options in the character creation phase will come at the expense of these points if you pick them. If you spend them all right away, well, then, you may find yourself unable to make certain choices down the line (in the character creation phase).
  You may use this opportunity to get used to the "Will" system, which also features choices at the expense of a resource (free will) which may be locked if you spend too much.
  
  Uh...this is starting to look a lot like a game..
  Yeah, that's why I tagged it "gamey". I just run things better with a bit of a game-like strain to them. My apologies if that gets you a bit out of the immersion....
  
  I'm confused about the character sheet (character creation phase)
  The character sheet you currently have available is not a complete character sheet, but one simply for voting. In order to get the character sheet, you input your suggestions in the input boxes on the top of the post. Then you click on one of the buttons to choose your wealth at birth. Following this, press the character sheet generation button at the bottom and copy paste what comes out into your post.
  Each part of the character sheet is a vote for the trait you put in for it. For instance, if you put the gender "female" you are voting for the gender "female". If enough people vote for that as well, the character's gender will be female. If there are ties, I will be the tie-breaker.
  Again, this isn't your personal character, but rather, the quest's main character.
  
  What's "will" and the "will system"? (Roleplay Phase)
  Will is the character's "free will". In this roleplay, free will is what allows a person to go against the laws of the universe. Everything that is an abnormal state or action for the natural way of things requries free will to exist, from simply being a living being to being sentient, to acting outside the bounds of your genetics and psychology. And of course, to use magic/your ability.
  That's (in abridged form) how will is in the lore, but how does it affect the roleplay mechanically?
  Well, that's where the "will system" comes in. The will system says that, in every IC day, you have a certain percentage of free will which you can use. Uses for will include:
  1. Using your ability
  2. Making decisions that go against the traits you got from the "character creation" phase.
  
  Spending too much will, however, can and will bring negative consequences. It may just be not having enough will to pick certain options in future entries, or it may escalate beyond that.
  

Hopefully this managed to adress some of the more general concerns. I do still think you may have more specific questions and feedback, so please let me know so I can try to adress that as well!

The Mechanist D duegxybus YoungX BackSet Damafaud The One Eyed Bandit SerenityAngel

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Shouldn't the votes be on a separate thread then?
By convention that is not the case. Furthermore, while quest RPs do have a different balance in terms of the degree of input of the GM vs that of the players, it's still a group roleplay in the end of the day. To simply shove away the input the players have to another thread would, in my eyes, be a disservice to them.

Personally, I think the readability offered by splitting the votes and posts is really valuable. But then again, I think calling Quests a type of RP is a little off in the first place, so whatever.

 

[Idea]

Personally, I think the readability offered by splitting the votes and posts is really valuable. But then again, I think calling Quests a type of RP is a little off in the first place, so whatever.

Thank you for your honest input

 

[Idea]

Final Character

Name: Hal Sophia
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Wealth: Rich
Zodiac: Libra
Hair Color: Silver Hair
Eye Color: Blue Eyes
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Dominant Hand: Left
Height: Short than Average
Wish: "I wish I could find those I lost!"
Ability: The power to track the exact position of any person in the vicinity and in any location which he has been in the past 12 hours or which he can observe. He can also "zoon in" to any of those locations even if he isn't in it, allowing to observe directly what is happening there, though he can't hear, smell touch ... with this effect. His other senses are lost while he does this, and it becomes easy to loose track of time. (1.5% free will per minute of usage, 3% when zooming in).
Ability Classification: Active - Localizer - Information
Daily Free Will: 100%

Traits:

Spoiler: +Cultured

The character is refined tastes and has good manners, it's also likely that they are well-versed in a multicultural view of history. May come off as charming or smart even if you aren't necessarily either

Spoiler: +Fast Learner

The character is quick to acquire new knowlege which they are taught and they put any effort into acquiring.

Spoiler: +Incredible attention to detail

The character is extremely attentive, being able to spot even tiny details that many others wouldn't even register.

Spoiler: +Pressure Handler

The character displays more resilience against social pressure

Spoiler: +Good with children

The character shows a certain enjoyment in being around children and some talent in dealing with them

Spoiler: +Adventurous

The character displays a certain thirst for adventure and an appreciation for that sense in of itself

Spoiler: +Fighting Style-Traps

The character primary way of fighting and proficiency lies not with direct combat, but with the setting of traps in which to catch opponents

Spoiler: +Patient

The character has an easier time holding back doing an action provided they understand it's better to avoid acting for their overall goal

Spoiler: -Spoiled

The character may be ill-equipped to dealing with situations where they lack the luxuries of great wealth

Spoiler: -Lazy

The character isn't particularly fond of moving around much, and tends to prefer lazing around a screen even to detriment of relevant tasks, which makes them harder in return.

Spoiler: -Video-game perspective

The character will show a tendency to view and describe things in video-game terms

Spoiler: -Competitive

The character possesses a strong drive towards competition and may have a hard time turning down a challenge

Spoiler: -Height Loss

The character will be relatively shorter than they would otherwise have been

Spoiler: -Flirty

The character shows a tendency to make romantically charged (but often not romantically intended) remarks and gestures

Spoiler: -Loner

The character has difficulty establishing new solid social connections and naturally retreats or ends up isolation from any given community

Spoiler: -Gluttonous

The character displays difficulty resisting the urge to eat

Spoiler: -Fear-Lightning

The character is absolutely terrified of lightning and may shut down at a moment's notice at even the idea of it's arrival.

Spoiler: -Cowardly

When confronted with awkward or frightening situations, the character display an extreme urge to flee or avoid it.

Spoiler: -Fear-Monsters

The character is absolutely terrified of any monstrous creatures or the monsters of old.

 

[Idea]

Part 2, the Main Story has arrived!

And with it, a few changes in how things are for the remainer of this quest roleplay. Thus far, your actions have all been deciding key aspects of the character's backstory. Your decision in various important moments in Hal's life have shaped who he is, defined the traits you see above. You may be wondering what the importance of such a thing was, and what exactly is going to change, so I'm gonna try to go over what you should keep in mind right now.

• What's going to be different?
• The Will System and Permanent Options

• 
  So, what we have been doing wasn't important?
  It was plenty important. Even though the state the character is now was to some extent pre-determined, your choices affected what relationships the character has, his skill, his ability, and of course, the character's natural personality. I will explain exactly how the character's personality will affect things going forward considering this is a quest RP.
  
  So, then what is changing?
  The first major change is that we're mostly done with time-skips. Other than a few unnusual circumstances, and any times when it doesn't make sense to have continuous time (like, when Hal goes to sleep), all of the action will be done on a scene by scene basis if you will. We are no longer overlooking years of the character's life passing by between entries, we're looking at one action leading to the next entry leading to the next entry and so on... This becomes much more like a continuous story and gives you guys, the players, a lot more control over exactly what happens and prcisely how things move into the future.
  
  Another important change is that, the point system (where you had 100 points and would spend them over certain decisions) will not be replaced with the Will system. I will detail it more in the other tab. The point system can be thought of as a sort of "trial period" before we jump into the slightly more complex "Will system".
  
  Lastly you will now have access to permanent options. Don't like any of the four options provided? The generally you may be able to use one of the permanent options.
  
  Consequences
  Up until now, everything has been happening in the past. There was no way Hal was gonna end up, in this story, without getting a genie or without surviving up til this point. However, there is no guarantee of anything in the future. I know where every character is and what they are up. If Hal makes it through his encounters with each character is in your hands, in your decisions and in your clever use of the tools given by the system and by your decisions up to this point. If Hal dies, the quest does not necessarily end there.
  Good luck
  
  Tags
  This is the last time those who have not voted or responded for at least 2 entries will be tagged in entries following those. Of course, they may return at any time and will start being tagged again, but I will not be tagging people who clearly want out.
  
  
• 
  Will System (again)
  During the character creation phase, your character has aquired several traits. Each of these traits represents your character's inclinations, whether in terms of skills or in terms of personality. It is those inclinations, in turn, that will determine what options will require you to use free will to take them, and to what degree.
  
  I repeat, just because an action consumes a lot of free will, that does not always mean it's the "best" option, it just means it is the one Hal would have a harder time making, according to his own natural inclinations.
  
  So, those of you who have forgotten and those of you who are new to this may be wondering: What IS free will? For this roleplay/universe, free will is a property of certain bodies of matter that allows one to go against the natural mechanisms of the universe and it's laws. Free will creates life, agency and even the ability to make choices against one's own nature. Because of this, free will is what is consumed when you use your genie's ability, since genie's consume their user's free will to create magic.
  
  Mechanically, every IC day will start with a complete dose of free will, in Hal's case 100%. The cost of a particular choice, fi there is any, will be in this free will. Using your ability, or a permanent option will also consume free will. Using free will can lead to very interesting pathways or allow to use your ability, but if abused it can lock other paths for you in the future and even weaken Hal's capacity for agency, potentially putting him in danger.
  
  
  What are permanent options and which do we have?
  Permanent Options are options which are generally speaking always available, and usually will have a fixed cost in terms of free will. Nomatter what the other four options are, players can always choose to vote for a permanent option instead.
  
  While they are called permanent, it is important to note that in a few very rare exceptions, they will be considered locked options. This will mostly occur if Hal does not have enough free will left to do it, or if the circumstances make it physically impossible. Regardless of what they are, permanent options are not something which is intended to be resorted on a common basis, though you are allowed to try if you are willing to face the potential consequences.
  
  "Item creation" and "phone calling" will be the first permanent options. Phone calling is just what it sounds like, giving someone a call. For starters, the police, Zerra and his mother are hal's only contacts, but of course more may be added in the future. "Item creation" will be explained more IC, though I may come back to edit this post with it.
  
  

I do sincerily hope you have all been enjoying so far, and that you have even more fun in the coming events! If you have any questions or concerns, once again, feel free to post them here.

Hope you have a great day

Tags: D duegxybus The One Eyed Bandit SerenityAngel RI.a Damafaud official clown business BackSet BearBearBear Gaius Danius Griinia acsgon The Omen of Death Voltsung Cinder_Rabbit Sgt Gomez

 

[Idea]

The One Eyed Bandit SerenityAngel RI.a Damafaud official clown business BackSet BearBearBear Gaius Danius Griinia Cinder_Rabbit Sgt Gomez RI.a

Oh God...it's been months maybe since last I updated this... Been having so many freezes lately I ended up making this RP low priority. I wouldn't call it dead yet though! Not unless none of you is interested anymore. In whichever case, assuming I carry on, should I perhaps reboot it? Or should I keep going from where we are?