Dice Robotech - Southern Cross Adventure - OOC

[D. Rex]

As for me, I'm having problems trying to think of what to do with Marlon. I just can't get into his head whenever I try to sit down and write for him and can't seem to work up the enthusiasm to force something. I think I may have run his course with him, and may need to retire him.

 

[Purr]

D. Rex I was afraid of this. If I don't play someone for a long-enough time, they simply fade. Something like this seems to be happening/have happened with Marlon. So...

...do you want something to happen to Marlon that changes him in such a way that might "jump-start" him as a Character?

...do you want to make a new Character?

...or something else?

(At least people are talking in here now! =) )

 

[D. Rex]

D. Rex I was afraid of this. If I don't play someone for a long-enough time, they simply fade. Something like this seems to be happening/have happened with Marlon. So...

...do you want something to happen to Marlon that changes him in such a way that might "jump-start" him as a Character?

...do you want to make a new Character?

...or something else?

(At least people are talking in here now! =) )

I thought about it, and I figure it probably best to just retire rather than force myself forward. I had a great time in this game and a good run, and figure it wiser to quit while I'm ahead.

 

[Purr]

Yeah. I can relate with that. I just left a game I was in for years, but it was time. See you in our other shared games, D.! =)

 

[Sherwood]

I thought about it, and I figure it probably best to just retire rather than force myself forward. I had a great time in this game and a good run, and figure it wiser to quit while I'm ahead.

It has been quite a good run with you in this game, D. I understand your thought process here, but I will still miss your quirky point of view in the game.

 

[Purr]

My question is: Where is this game going? It's been quite slow recently and while I understand some games have their fast and slow times, I'm not sure where we are in here.

Psychie Where do you stand? Are you still having fun here?

 

[Psychie]

D. Rex I understand. I must confess that I am seriously considering retiring the game on a high note instead of having it fizzle out. I'm torn.

 

[Purr]

Let's have the talk then. In my mind, there is no game without the GM. It's been going for almost two years (quite a ride for your first game here, Psychie! =) ).

But it sounds like you're not having fun? Mind if we go into details?

 

[Sherwood]

Yes indeed. If we were to call this game right now, I would say that you have had a outstanding success on your hands, and if and when you choose to run again, I will be happy to be a part of it. But just like any game, the biggest part of it is to have fun. Are you getting burned out on this?

 

[Psychie]

Thank you, Sherwood. That means a lot to me! It really does.

Also to Dannigan, thanks for taking my feelings into this, too. I have had a great time running this game, but I am starting to wonder if I am just repeating the same encounter over and over again. I thought that taking the game to the part of the timeline of the Invid Invasion would be enough of a change, but I am not so sure. I am running out of ideas, and that is not fun for me. A part of me is thinking that it ma be time to retire this story with a smile and nod to all.

 

[Purr]

Psychie Well, let me recommend the following advice:

1. Take a good long look back in the beginning pages of this game. Try to remember why you started it up in the first place. What you're looking for is... well... inspiration, really. If the spark is still there, you'll probably see it when it was brightest (and for most games, that's at the very beginning).

2. Don't make the mistake of comparing your game to anyone else's (I don't think you're doing this, but this one is always worth mentioning to new Game Masters). This is easy to do when folks aren't posting in your games - especially if you aren't posting in one of your games. Or if you're trying to and just can't find "the juice" to make it happen.

3. Understand creative times come and go. That's one big reason I try to capture (write down, record, etc.) inspiration when it hits me - it often turns into words on the page during the times when I can't write on my own (like during my headaches/migraines - if I have a story already well into my head, sometimes the damn thing seems to write itself!).

4. Especially after looking through your pages and chatting with your Players, find out where both you and they are. Are they enjoying themselves? Don't just close up a game without learning something from it! This is an opportunity to learn! What about you? Are you in one game too many? Not enough? Curiosity provides answers - answers promote wisdom.

One more little bonus for you here - I write up games and Characters I'm wild about. Using Robotech: Broadsword as example, I created an alternate universe that turned the Robotech world (both Harmony Gold's and Palladium's) into a place I am wild about. But I only got there because I realized there were so many reasons that I wanted to see it happen.

What I'm saying is - if, Psychie, you have found another game out there that you've got the hots for (long-term!) and you'd rather be running it, you have one huge advantage over people who are brand new to RP Nation - you already have established friends and would-be Players in your corner willing to help or even play the game you create.

In the end, every game you make should have something that is truly you.

 

[Purr]

Psychie Would you be interested in a minor brainstorm from me to you about my feelings as a Player in this game?

 

[Psychie]

Psychie Would you be interested in a minor brainstorm from me to you about my feelings as a Player in this game?

Please do! I would welcome that!

 

[Purr]

Okay! I'm going to start with elements of my favorite Game Mastering styles, how I felt as the story went on, and finish up with where I am now. Give me a little bit to write it up.

 

[Purr]

Psychie

Note: I am alternating between "Psychie" and "the GM" as I'm writing this. I think I'm doing this to disassociate myself a little in the interests of writing fair-minded statements. Oh, and did I say "minor" brainstorm? Heh heh!

Matters of Style

When I first joined up (17 July 2019 as Gabi), I remember thinking, "Oh boy, I'm entering an existing campaign here. What should I expect and what is expected of me?" It was good that this was not a tabletop game, because as an RP Nation game, I had the opportunity to read everything that had made the game up to that point. All I had to do is just sit down and read it which I did.

I liked the organization of the game in terms of where to find information (IC, OOC, Lore, Characters) and more importantly, what was in each of those places. I remember being thrown off by Neo's picture - I had never imagined a half-Zentraedi looking like that. She came with no Attributes, Skills, etc. and only a basic description along with a touch of background. Even with the first-person wording in her description, I really didn't have any connection with her beyond "It's the GM's NPC." This is kind of a turn-off for me. I am here for the togetherness (PCs and NPCs), the stories, and the characters. Bland characters give me little reason to attach myself; well-made characters help to invest me!

As a Player in a new game, I am already at this point looking for reasons to invest myself. I want to believe in your story. If this were a book and we were in a library, I would have the book in my hands, but I'm not interested enough to take it home and spend time with it (especially when there are so many other books and adventures out there that I could be spending my time on - in other words, I want quality).

It was Rykon's character, Alan, that first hooked me. Here was a normal guy in what was, on the surface, a typical life. When you see the family problems, the reason for enlisting, and the clear feeling in the background, you have a real character here. Sure, it took reading a few times (and I think I asked Rykon questions about Alan), but yeah - this was a character with staying power whom the Player Character was definitely invested in. That the GM allowed this kind of Character was also telling - some GMs could not care less about PCs - kill 'em off because they're a dime a dozen. Other GMs can't imagine a PC dying in their campaigns for the opposite reasons. Which was Psychie? I was hoping something in between as there is danger in each extreme (at least with players like me).

The use of Anton-17, a clear copy/paste job that likely came with Sherwood's help met with mixed emotions in me. For one thing, I'd "been here" before as Cody "Wild Wolf" Loper in one of Sherwood's ASC games. The question then became, "What is Psychie going to do with this place?" The answer turned out to be - not much different than what Sherwood did with his Anton-17 except for one very important difference - the characters in here were (in my opinion) a bit better done. I could relate with them a bit. Sure, there was a large amount of dialogue versus character action (body language, use of tone, those things we take for granted when we human beings converse in person), but the GM was definitely making an attempt to bring life into these characters and story. This said, I'm not surprised that where our characters are now isn't making you happy. A blasted-apart world filled with death and destruction is like a garden that's been shelled by artillery; sure there are still roots here, but you really have to dig deep to find them. That's a much easier job in an atmosphere where the GM appears to be more comfortable (like Anton-17).

Characters like Schumer, Danfield, and Combs stood out and seemed realistic. I liked that a great deal. The GM was starting to put herself into the story, and therefore, the game.

How I felt as the story went on

By the time Gabi got involved (everyone was now, what, 3rd? 4th level?), I felt that the GM had given me some serious trust and leeway in playing exactly the kind of character I wanted to try out. More freedom than I expected as a matter of fact, and that is a damned good way to keep a player like me invested. Let me play someone I can really put myself into for years to come. Just the use of the word "someone" as opposed to "my char" is telling when things like this come up. Gabi was an experiment in a number of ways - half-Zentraedi, drone pilot, mecha engineer, Special Forces... and I was allowed to play it all. Playing Gabi was a real blast and I'm thankful to you, Psychie, for that.

Then there's the whole Ryuko spectacle... Oh Lordy! It is never easy, especially for a new GM, when a PC (especially one who has never even played the game) tries to come in an reinvent the game to something they want it to be. The GM showed incredible patience (maybe too much, but that's definitely better than not enough), and I think you learned a few good lessons from everything. You were open to the PCs ideas (including new melee-based technology in the game), but when push came to shove, you held your ground and that's important.

Other GMs would have either kicked this PC much sooner in an angry and rude fashion or put up with them ad nauseum until the Players began to get sick of it and leave. The GM here drifted toward the latter until I spoke up and told it like I saw it. Then the GM put an end to it and felt bad for doing it (if the latter isn't a sign of a new GM, what is?). So, yeah, Psychie, you get high marks in my book for giving a damn. Too much is better than not enough, but I would be surprised to learn you had let this kind of situation happen to you a second time. =)

Taking on the Robotech Masters was a lot of fun! Lots of challenge, reward, action, and great player interaction with more than just "Strike Parry Dodge Roll" going on. We had to think and make decisions too and that's the sign of a fun GM!

The only big speedbump I remember running into in terms of GMing style was when we suddenly shifted from Robotech Masters to Invid Invasion. Okay, maybe everyone else saw this coming. For some reason (maybe because I've never seen the Robotech ASC/Invid Series even though I know what happens in the Palladium games?), this decision to throw ourselves and the Earth that we knew headlong into years into the future just bowled me over. I didn't see it coming and that was where my fun began to... well, plummet... as I began to figure out what was now going on in Gabi's head. Now I'm being "forced to play" (there are three words no PC wants to write) a Gabi that has lost her entire beloved family (as far as she knows), her army, her world, everything. There were big feelings of, "What in the hell do I do with Gabi now?"

The answer was: change Characters!

Playing T'kar has been a lot of fun (even though it appears this game is ending). I've never played a Karbarran before and I really had fun playing this one if only for his perspective and the great joy I had creating him! This wouldn't be possible if the GM had not allowed it and I remain grateful. Perhaps in some other Robotech game somewhere, I can ask to play him? Time will tell. Still, I believe it was you, Psychie, who brought up the very idea of my playing an alien when I came to you about Gabi. If that isn't one terrific solution, what is? =)

Still, the idea that we were/are stuck in - what is for me - the absolute worst part of the Robotech story until God-knows-when is... a serious drag! That's what it is. A serious drag. I don't even know what happens after the Invid Invasion (well, as a GM I do, but I mean in terms of what story comes next. Macross Next or whatever it's called)? I should apologize here but I just... I can't stand the canon Invid Invasion! Ha ha (I'm laughing as I write this)! And it's because simply because Earth has gotten her ass kicked yet again and now everyone on Earth is either dead or enslaved! I mean... where is the fun here? And let me say it here - none of this storyline is the fault of the GM!

I imagine playing as one of the future soldiers in the first and second Terminator movies as more fun than Invid Invasion (or even as any one of the poor cops or holocaust survivors from the first Mad Max/Road Warrior movies - there's a gaming atmosphere that shouldn't be on RP Nation!). Also, as a GM, just what are you supposed to do? How many search and rescue missions, sabotage operations, and underdog adventures can you go on against an enemy who can basically kick you and your party's ass if they seriously put their mind to it? And once that realization is met, where is the long-term fun? Especially once you know the canon ending in here (which basically says whatever you've done on Earth didn't really matter anyway - at least in my opinion)!

Where I am now.

Psychie, I think I fully understand (or at least can relate) your terrible predicament of running out of gaming ideas for this gaming setting. Invid Invasion sucks! As the GM, either you radically change the situation (Earth somehow wins, UEEF shows up, and takes you back to the Sentinels space where you basically become space explorers) or you jump timelines again to some other version of Robotech or... what? I mean... fuck! =)

I'll miss T'kar and all of the Characters here, all of the cool mecha combat options and loadouts you allowed, the drone action, the character interaction, the military atmosphere - but I get it.

Whatever happens from here, take a bow, lady! Up until Invid Invasion, I was genuinely having a great deal of fun and good times! Unless you reinvent the wheel here (which I'll make every effort to help you with if you want it), I can't see how to continue this game.

 

[Psychie]

Purr
I really appreciate your honesty, both the good and the bad. I have enjoyed this game a lot, but the more I think on it, I feel that it has run its course. It has been a good learning experience, and I do promise that this will not be the last game that I run here at RpN.

Let us all take a bow, because this game would not have been such a success without all of you! Thank you guys. Look for me as I get ready to run future games!
Sherwood Rykon D. Rex

 

[Sherwood]

You are very welcome, sweet lady! I look forward to seeing what you come up with in the future!

Let us all raise a glass in salute to our Storyteller! May the dice always favor . . . your players and jinx all your evil NPCs that stand against us!

 

[Purr]

It has been a good learning experience, and I do promise that this will not be the last game that I run here at RpN.

Thanks for the good times, Psychie! *salutes Third Heavy Recon and puts T'kar away for possibly future use*

Send me an alert if you'd like me in your next game (because I am very liable to miss yet another Dice Roleplay Interest Check - I was lucky enough to run into Sherwood's Champions game! =)

See you all in Sherwood's Rifts game (if I had time/opportunity to run a 3rd game, it would probably be Rifts)! =)

 

[D. Rex]

Psychie

I shall have you know. That it was you and your game that has become the very first Role-play that I got to participate in start to finish, beginning to end. As well as the first rp that saw its conclusion.

Good job Psychie! You did great.

 

[Psychie]

Thanks everyone! Your kind words brings a tear to my eye.

Perhaps I should let you all know that I have been pondering a different game to run. This would be a Rifts game, but with a much different focus than Sherwood's: You would all be starting out as Coalition solders on the front lines against the evil hordes out to destroy the world, acting as the literal saviors of humanity!

 

[Sherwood]

Thanks everyone! Your kind words brings a tear to my eye.

Perhaps I should let you all know that I have been pondering a different game to run. This would be a Rifts game, but with a much different focus than Sherwood's: You would all be starting out as Coalition solders on the front lines against the evil hordes out to destroy the world, acting as the literal saviors of humanity!

I will say that this intrigues me. Tell me more?

 

[Psychie]

You guys would be operating as the SAMAS fighting wing of an APC, so any Coalition character class would be allowed (Military Specialist, Ranger, Special Forces, and of course, the SAMAS Pilot OCC). No Juicers allowed, but I might be persuaded to allow a light cyborg, saying you were a combat vet that was injured, and parts of your body were reconstructed.

Sherwood Purr Rykon D. Rex

 

[Sherwood]

Would this be in the old style SAMAS powered armor, or one of the newer Smiling Jack or Super SAMAS suits from the book Coalition War Campaign? Just curious.

And would this be set in the war against the Federation of Magic, or somewhere else?

 

[Psychie]

I'm still working on the details, but I will probably have you starting out in the Smiling Jack suit, then upgrade to the Super SAMAS one as you level up.

 

[D. Rex]

I dont know what a SAMAS or Smiling Jack is. But I did get a thought that I could possibly play Daisy's hubby before he ran away from the coalition.