Ordinary people with extraordinary abilities {help needed}

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Bangbang

New Member
I'm having a hard time finding new roleplays that i can join in on. So im thinking of making my own thread.


The premise would be ordinary people with special powers. By special powers, i do not necessarily mean supernatural. They can range anywhere from elemental or magical to natural abilities such as an enhanced sense of smell or hearing or even a blessing of good luck. Each character's ability could either be controllable or something that is out of their control such as growing plants easily or finding random objects often.


The characters involved may or may not know how to use their abilites. Preferably, they should not, but considering that they probably grew up with these abilites it would be understandable if they had some experience with how to use them.


The idea of the rp would be the characters learning how to use their powers throughout a journey or adventure where their abilities may be useful or may cause trouble for them. ive seen many rps that are based on special powers, but i want this to be more strategic. Rather than having an overpowered mage, our characters would be ordinary people with blessings or misfortunes that need to use their imaginations to overcome obstacles.


With this in mind, the abilities should not be something that is applicable to a situation in an obvious way (controlling fire would be useful in a number of situations and will not require much thinking or planning to use effectively. Being able to talk to animals, however, would require a much different and more strategic approach).


You do not need to know much about your characters when you start out, but it is preferable that you have a basic idea of their history or background.


I like this idea and i think people might be interested, but i still need a setting and some kind of adventure the characers could go on. This is where i need your help. Would you like to do something post-apocalyptic or science fiction? Or would you rather have it based in older societies with knights and kingdoms? Anything else that i may not have thought about?


Should the characters start off together? Should they be forced on their journey or should it be voluntary? What should their goal be? Obviously these will depend on the location and time period.


I'd love any feedback at all.
 
i like the idea, and when i was reading, i started to think about the part where you said you didn't want them to be over powered. So i think maybe:


They have a single power they can do, and then a weakness that would balance it out. like... say a character is able to control fire, but being near fire for too long will cause them to over heat. or maybe if they touch water, they can't control fire for a certain period of time. something that could be used to limit their abilites?
 
Yes, i was thinking one power per character. Maybe there would be ways to improve the powers of each ability as the rp progresses to make up for the lack of abilies that each player has available to them. This would keep it interesting so that people wouldn't keep repeating the same strategies during the adventure.
 
Oooh, I just looked this up, and it sounds interesting!


But overpowering is a great concern here... So far, in every superpower RP I looked at, people started going more and more god-like as time passed... They evaded every strike, blocked everything and hit everything... It got stupid, plot-less and pointless.


I suggest weaknesses in terms of what affects your super power and also what affect you (are you a terrible public speaker, hate dark, afraid of people glarig at you, too self confident,... etc.)


If you do make this RP (that,I would be delighted to see), keep a close watch on folks and their attiude and pin any possible hot-shots down if needed.


As for the setting, I humbly suggest maybe a history setting... It could be like.. escape from prision where charecters used to be a close-knit team but failed at something and now some (or let's say most of them) where thrown into prision and now those that are still free and those captured must strive to break out using those powers... We could make them fail and then, they would have to use better and better strategies to finally get out!


But that's just an idea ^^;


Please don't make it something clishé like high school or something...
 
I know to watch out for overpowered players. That's one of the main reasons i want them to come up with abilities that dont seem useful in every possible situation. I want people to get into the rp and put thought into it rather than typing "my character shoots some lightning from their hands trying to kill so-and-so." I plan to be no-nonsense about God modding. Maybe one or two warnings?


Depending on the people i get to join in, I may or may not have fighting. I'll definitely try it because it would be nice to have the option but if it doesnt work out, then i know to avoid it.


Sora, I like your idea. Not only would the players have to think about how to use their characters' abilities, they would be encouraged to work together. I also like the fact that each character would need to have some flaws because they're in prison for committing some kind of crime. Also, it would be cool to see how players have their characters interact in such intimate circumstances. Working together doesn't necessarily mean liking each other.


Also, no high school, haha. People already have too much drama in their lives.
 
I do plan on starting this as soon as i can. I need to work on the plot, but I'd be more than glad to let you know when the thread is up.
 
I would absolutely love to do this rp with you (and whoever else joins). Plot wise: I like the idea of a prison setting, and everything metioned that you like (haha). You could also like throw in this monster/creature twist as an obsticle, like you know, a experiment on some animal gone wrong so its still realistic, or something like that. For time setting, I personally like the setting of Medevil to Late European Reformation, but that's just me cause I know so much about Europe during that time frame. But a modern setting like right now could work too, either way its up to you but those are just some sugesstions.


~Tell me what goes on, i want to stay updated with this RP(:
 
Yes, I was thinking Middle Ages that way the prison would be escapable and the escape would seem more realistic. Also there would be knights and horses, huzzah.


That would have to be in England, but I don't care much about geography. Obviously, you should have some idea of the society and the physical appearances of that time period, but I think using specific names for locations will make it more like homework.


In regards to plot, I would like to have the characters escape the prison to start a journey. Maybe they have to escape the continent? If they're wanted for breaking out of a prison and that was their goal, t would allow for a larger area to explore and some interactions with people in towns. It would also allow the players to decide what to do and where to go next, and it would make the rp longer than just 'Oh, you escaped, game over.'


Players should know how their characters ended up in the prison. It could have something to do with their abilities or it could be completely separate from them.


If anyone has a better idea for a goal that the characters should complete, I'd love to hear it. Brainstorming!
 
They can discover America! Just kidding.


And, perhaps, not all of them should be imprisoned. I like the idea, yes, but I also think that they should gather traveling buddies along the way?
 
Perhaps hiding the fact that they had been imprisoned?


I figure that I'll start out with a small number of people. If someone expresses interest after the rp is started, they can appear as a travelling companion. This way the story will be easy to start because all the characters will be in the same location, but the number of players involved will not be limited at the very beginning.


As I keep thinking about the plot, the focus becomes less on the prison and more on the journey to escape from a country that wants to find the escaped prisoners. At this point I don't know how long the escape chapter should be compared to the travelling afterwards.
 
I like all the idea's going on here, i think that the escape should be either a small part where the first few people meet eachother then the adventure afterwards is more the entire story so its not a 'oh you won this part, now go do this and op- game over, time for a sequel'


then the other idea is to make the escape the main of the rp then the adventure afterwards a smaller part and once they do that they all go live their lives seperatly and what not


But its up to you because this is YOUR roleplay, im just along for the ride
 
I've been considering both. I think having the escape purely for the introduction is best. That way the characters get to know each other. I'll probably have to actively push this part forward so it doesnt become the main focus. Then the players can make their own decisions on what they think is the best course of action to take after they escape. Then I can sit back and enjoy the story as it progresses just like the rest of the players after the escape.


I do understand that it's "my roleplay" and I guess I get the final say in what goes. But I do value the opinions of others. I won't know whether an idea works unless I get some feedback. So by all means, keep giving me some criticisms. The more I get, the more fun this will be C:
 
Agreed. I think the best part about roleplays is how unpredicable they are. The adventure afterwards could be totally hurrendiously long or not. It's all on how good we make it(:
 
I love the way this is looking so far, however I'm going to argument the short prision escape. I am terribly afraid of charecters drifting apart and going too far off the track of the whole story after the break. We need something that will make them stick together by all means. A teeny, tiny bit longer prision break would, by my humble opinion, strenghten their relationships and emotional ties.


Also, I hate to see everyone go all 'ok, what now' afer something is achived in a RP. But with whole country chasing after us, it won't be hard to keep it all happening.


I would really want to suggest option of our charecters not being caught. Now, you may think that those who would not get caught have no reason to flee the country. I suggest there should be a straight rule obligating these charecters to either go along (by any other alternate reason - may be high affection towards those that have to flee, getting caught when helping others escape,... etc.) or just say that they remained in England and make them silent for the rest of RP.


Oh, and I have an idea of those who got captured getting an unereaseable mark! That would make the flee sooo much harder, because everywhere you would go, people would realize who you are by a closer glance.
 
Sora, do you mean that the characters of players who quit will be assumed to either be captured or peacefully living in hiding? Or do you mean it as an incentive to keep running?


And by an "unreleasable mark" i assume you mean something given to prisoners that visibly marks them as convicts. Is this right?


I wasn't planning on making the escape part too short. The whole story stems from this event, so it should be done carefully. I do not want to make it too long either because I think it would be very limiting to have players interacting for a long period of time with an environment that is as small and confining as a prison.


Edit: This thread is marked as hot now. Awriiight
 
Ack, I ment 'unereaseable', and yea, you got my point.


And, I'm ok with that part about not-too-long prision break.


About those who quit... I guess assuming them to be either caught or safe hiding somewhere is good.


My, I can't wait for this RP to take action~
 
As far as the story is going, i'm liking it. I've been thinking about Character development, and How we want to have something with it to make them weaker. I was thinking about something like this:


Name: Tien Nightshade


Age: 19


Appearance: (Not important at the moment)


Power: Able to vanish into the shadows, becoming invisible.


Disadvantage: Being in the dark, He is unable to strike others in a physical way, and thus can not fight back.
 
Rynmaru, make sure there's a reason for your character to be in jail at a young age.


(This goes for all of you): I've been reading about middle age prisons. Despite the harshness people seem to equate with middle-age justice, the prisons were rather lenient. Short sentences were given for misdemeanors to shame the offender as punishment rather than shut them up in a prison cell to teach them their lesson. Prisoners also were able to leave the prisons to beg for money. Giving money to prisoners was considered positive, and people often left food and drink for inmates and jailors at the prisons.


HOWEVER, the prison for this rp will not be one of those mentioned above. This prison is a few miles from any town and is meant for criminals or dangerous people rather than those who commit misdemeanors. I can understand a 19-year-old being caught for something minor, but I have a harder time believing that a 19-year-old would commit a serious crime or be considered dangerous.


Otherwise, I really like your idea, Rynmaru. Another weakness for blending into shadows is that the ability would not be useful in full daylight due to lack of shadows. This is the kind of ability I am looking for in the characters participating. It requires thinking and teamwork to use properly.


Updates: I'm working on the design and layout of the jail. I've decided that cells are below ground and I've planned the topography of the surrounding area. To make it more realistic, I need to find a geographic location. I am leaning towards England considering that you would expect knights there.


I am working on my character as well, although I will wait to post anything about him.


I imagine that the characters would have been in the prison for a while before they considered escape. This means that I will come up with times for shift changes for guards as well as a map of where the guards are posted and the distances to the nearest towns. This is information that some or all of the characters are likely to know if they lived nearby or watched the guards to plan their escape.


Important!!! After the escape, we have the choice of working from a map of the country from the middle ages or having me make up a map from scratch. I think making up the map will make it easier for players to participate because it will be simpler (less detailed) than an official map. What would you prefer?


Maps of the jail and geographic location will be posted when I start the actual rp thread.


I am thinking about having an OOC thread for the purpose of discussing where players would like to go next or what they would like to do. It is hard having characters state their opinions to each other when everyone must take turns posting. Having a separate thread will allow for easier communication. This thread will be made when the rp thread is up.
 
Yeah. I like the idea of making a map from scratch. It would make it a little more challenging, hopefully keeping others interested, instead of just breezing through everything.
 
And by "make up a map" I mean use fake locations and names. Just to clarify.


In case I do make my own map, does anyone have suggestions for town and country names?
 
Robur, Latin for strength. It could be a town with a huge wall and act as a safe place for a short time.


Frieden(German for peace)....Berg(German for Mountain)...Bellezza Meraviglioso(Italian for Wonderful Beauty).....Uh...
 
I like Robur, Frieden and Berg. Italian doesnt fit well with German, though. It's more elegant.


Thanks for the suggestions. I might make all of the town names words from other languages (depending on how many towns we end up visiting).
 
Town/City name suggestions?: Junge (Young), Kaninchen (Bunny), Zerstorung (Destruction), Leherin (It sounds cool but its meaning is weird, its a Female Teacher), Hapsburg (Famous European Family but you know cause your not using historical reference too much to make this rp it might be a good name for a town or something)


All the names above are German, i'm not sure what language "Hapsburg" is from but whatever
 
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