Cooperative RPG

There's a lot of stuff in the forums about character creativity, the perils of godmodding, villainy versus heroism, more detailed combat, and generally all the other “technical” issues that sprout up weed-like with all CRPG (ChatRolePlayingGames). I greatly enjoy such discourse and love seeing the opinions and ideas of people on this topic. CRPG is really, for as many years as it has been available, a fledgling and baby-new form of Role Play. There are no books, no consistent rules, no finalized “how to” for this RP like other Traditional RPG’s, LARP, PBE-mails, MMOnline games.

It is a site-by-site phenomena and it is my belief that Mystic Realms is the best of all of them.

As such, it is not surprising that these topics come up. Sure, the problems and how to deal with them sprout from the cracks. It’s natural. But don’t forget all the flowers that come with the system. The endless hours spent playing with other characters is a mighty fun time. But, there is something, a new concept in the way people play at MR that I’d like to suggest. Now, do not misunderstand! NOTHING is wrong with the way RP is happening! This is an additional way to play that I think the world of Rosha is just crying out for. Before I do this though, I need to explain how I’ve seen RP happening currently.

Character Vs. Situation Based Conflict
We are, as far as I can tell, a “Character Based Conflict” society here in MR. We interact with each other. It reminds me very much of a comic book or a show like Buffy. All characters dealing with each other, the setting is secondary, there are few (if any) outside influences that come from anywhere other than the players doing things to each other. This is good. It leads to strong community. It will always be the foundation of MR. But the drawback is this; all threats and adventure must come at you in the form of other players.

This, in my opinion, is the greatest difference in CRPG from traditional dice and paper RPG’s. In a “normal” RPG, the Players are (usually) working together against obstacles like weather, monsters, magic, geography, traps, and such. It is unlikely that someone will RP a rain cloud or a poison dart trap on MR. So this variety of conflict; scaling a dangerous mountain, weathering a blizzard, pulling yourself from a quicksand trap, fighting off the bondage of a magical barrier, etc… does not frequently happen in CRPG. I’d like to call these types of dangers and trials “Situation Based Conflict”. To anyone who’s ever done dice and paper, this should be making tons of sense. I hope I’ve explained it well enough for those of you who haven’t.

So, the question is this; Is it possible to have Situation Based Conflict in a CRPG? The answer is, ABSOLUTELY YES! It just doesn’t happen very often. I’m not sure why, but based on the things I’ve seen in chat (and the attempts I’ve made to do it), I believe people just haven’t thought of it, and aren’t sure how to go about it. So… I’d like to give a little (paraphrased and diceless) example from a chat I had with Ivory Rogue, and then explain how to “share” world building and cooperate.

EXAMPLE OF COOPERATIVE PLAY

Ivory Rouge slid from the back of her horse and crouched quietly, the sound of the goblins chatter closer than she felt comfortable.

JadeBlayde crept up to the edge of the clearing, looking down upon the pitiful swarm of goblins. There were perhaps a dozen, he’d slain more, but since they were not any threat he decided to circumvent them and cause no conflict. He watches out for dangerous Tangle Trees that he knows live in the area.

Ivory Rogue winces as her horse squeals in fear of the woods. Instantly the goblins chatter and she can hear the sound of their armor clanking. Regretfully, she slaps the horse on the rump, sending it in the direction of the horrible monsters. As soon as it starts to run she turns and tries to make her way quietly away.

JadeBlayde is startled as a horse runs past him and toward the goblins. Where there is a horse, there is usually a rider. He picks up his pace, hoping the goblins don’t mistake him for such.

Ivory Rogue moves through the forest, unaware of the Tangle Vines draped from the tree ahead of her. She crouches near the trunk, listening to the pitiful sound of her horse being slain by the goblins. Sad for the creature, but glad it isn’t her.

JadeBlayde moves through the woods, rapidly gaining on Ivory although he doesn’t know it. He comes through some bushes to see a woman, crouched by a tree, unaware of the half dozen vines that are about to descend onto her and pull her up to the great carnivore plant. “Look out!” he cries, ignoring the danger of the goblins.

Ivory Rogue startles and looks. At the edge of a forest is a man in a green cloak, but before she can say anything in return, great thick woody vines twine around her body, pulling her up off her feet.

JadeBlayde curses and draws his weapon, going to free the woman, knowing he only has little time before the noise brings the goblins upon them as well.
_______________________________________________

Well, I didn’t want to make it too long, but I hope you all get the point. In this scenario, Ivory and I aren’t depending on each other for conflict; we create “imaginary” creatures and threats, and then strive to deal with them. The best part here is this; the Golden Rule still applies! Ivory planted the idea of the goblins, I responded. I generated a setting by mentioning tangle vines, she approached one. I mentioned they were about to entangle her, she responded by letting them. She could just have easily said she dodged and rolled away. It’s up to you. But the joy of it is this; you can do anything with a friend. Raid a dungeon, battle a dragon, go on a quest across Rosha!

It's also very easy to use the dice to interact. Want to climb a mountain? Make a Body Roll. Want to not get seasick during a storm? Make a Mind Roll. Want to burn down that wooden door before the Lich arrives? Make a Magic Roll. Basically, if you're trying to do something you have a reasonable chance of failing, try to make a roll to see if you succeed. Just determine which stat you're challenging.

Ok then, that's the general idea.

I've taken it up a step further here in the Shrine of Jades.
If you think imaginary foes are too simple or lame I've created a large Beastiary of monsters and animals that inhabit the woods around the Shrine and a nearby cavern. I've also come up with some
House Rules for use at the Shrine of Jades that make monster fighting a very real possibilty.

Thats the whole thing! If you want to try this style of play I'm always up for it! Come visit the Shrine of Jades! Or go check out the Beastiary!

	Cooperative Role Play

	There's a lot of stuff in the forums about character creativity, the perils of godmodding, villainy versus heroism, more detailed combat, and generally all the other “technical” issues that sprout up weed-like with all CRPG (ChatRolePlayingGames). I greatly enjoy such discourse and love seeing the opinions and ideas of people on this topic. CRPG is really, for as many years as it has been available, a fledgling and baby-new form of Role Play. There are no books, no consistent rules, no finalized “how to” for this RP like other Traditional RPG’s, LARP, PBE-mails, MMOnline games. It is a site-by-site phenomena and it is my belief that Mystic Realms is the best of all of them. As such, it is not surprising that these topics come up. Sure, the problems and how to deal with them sprout from the cracks. It’s natural. But don’t forget all the flowers that come with the system. The endless hours spent playing with other characters is a mighty fun time. But, there is something, a new concept in the way people play at MR that I’d like to suggest. Now, do not misunderstand! NOTHING is wrong with the way RP is happening! This is an additional way to play that I think the world of Rosha is just crying out for. Before I do this though, I need to explain how I’ve seen RP happening currently. Character Vs. Situation Based Conflict We are, as far as I can tell, a “Character Based Conflict” society here in MR. We interact with each other. It reminds me very much of a comic book or a show like Buffy. All characters dealing with each other, the setting is secondary, there are few (if any) outside influences that come from anywhere other than the players doing things to each other. This is good. It leads to strong community. It will always be the foundation of MR. But the drawback is this; all threats and adventure must come at you in the form of other players. This, in my opinion, is the greatest difference in CRPG from traditional dice and paper RPG’s. In a “normal” RPG, the Players are (usually) working together against obstacles like weather, monsters, magic, geography, traps, and such. It is unlikely that someone will RP a rain cloud or a poison dart trap on MR. So this variety of conflict; scaling a dangerous mountain, weathering a blizzard, pulling yourself from a quicksand trap, fighting off the bondage of a magical barrier, etc… does not frequently happen in CRPG. I’d like to call these types of dangers and trials “Situation Based Conflict”. To anyone who’s ever done dice and paper, this should be making tons of sense. I hope I’ve explained it well enough for those of you who haven’t. So, the question is this; Is it possible to have Situation Based Conflict in a CRPG? The answer is, ABSOLUTELY YES! It just doesn’t happen very often. I’m not sure why, but based on the things I’ve seen in chat (and the attempts I’ve made to do it), I believe people just haven’t thought of it, and aren’t sure how to go about it. So… I’d like to give a little (paraphrased and diceless) example from a chat I had with Ivory Rogue, and then explain how to “share” world building and cooperate. EXAMPLE OF COOPERATIVE PLAY Ivory Rouge slid from the back of her horse and crouched quietly, the sound of the goblins chatter closer than she felt comfortable. JadeBlayde crept up to the edge of the clearing, looking down upon the pitiful swarm of goblins. There were perhaps a dozen, he’d slain more, but since they were not any threat he decided to circumvent them and cause no conflict. He watches out for dangerous Tangle Trees that he knows live in the area. Ivory Rogue winces as her horse squeals in fear of the woods. Instantly the goblins chatter and she can hear the sound of their armor clanking. Regretfully, she slaps the horse on the rump, sending it in the direction of the horrible monsters. As soon as it starts to run she turns and tries to make her way quietly away. JadeBlayde is startled as a horse runs past him and toward the goblins. Where there is a horse, there is usually a rider. He picks up his pace, hoping the goblins don’t mistake him for such. Ivory Rogue moves through the forest, unaware of the Tangle Vines draped from the tree ahead of her. She crouches near the trunk, listening to the pitiful sound of her horse being slain by the goblins. Sad for the creature, but glad it isn’t her. JadeBlayde moves through the woods, rapidly gaining on Ivory although he doesn’t know it. He comes through some bushes to see a woman, crouched by a tree, unaware of the half dozen vines that are about to descend onto her and pull her up to the great carnivore plant. “Look out!” he cries, ignoring the danger of the goblins. Ivory Rogue startles and looks. At the edge of a forest is a man in a green cloak, but before she can say anything in return, great thick woody vines twine around her body, pulling her up off her feet. JadeBlayde curses and draws his weapon, going to free the woman, knowing he only has little time before the noise brings the goblins upon them as well. _______________________________________________ Well, I didn’t want to make it too long, but I hope you all get the point. In this scenario, Ivory and I aren’t depending on each other for conflict; we create “imaginary” creatures and threats, and then strive to deal with them. The best part here is this; the Golden Rule still applies! Ivory planted the idea of the goblins, I responded. I generated a setting by mentioning tangle vines, she approached one. I mentioned they were about to entangle her, she responded by letting them. She could just have easily said she dodged and rolled away. It’s up to you. But the joy of it is this; you can do anything with a friend. Raid a dungeon, battle a dragon, go on a quest across Rosha! It's also very easy to use the dice to interact. Want to climb a mountain? Make a Body Roll. Want to not get seasick during a storm? Make a Mind Roll. Want to burn down that wooden door before the Lich arrives? Make a Magic Roll. Basically, if you're trying to do something you have a reasonable chance of failing, try to make a roll to see if you succeed. Just determine which stat you're challenging. Ok then, that's the general idea. I've taken it up a step further here in the Shrine of Jades. If you think imaginary foes are too simple or lame I've created a large Beastiary of monsters and animals that inhabit the woods around the Shrine and a nearby cavern. I've also come up with some House Rules for use at the Shrine of Jades that make monster fighting a very real possibilty. Thats the whole thing! If you want to try this style of play I'm always up for it! Come visit the Shrine of Jades! Or go check out the Beastiary!	The Beastiary! Stats for monsters! . Back to the Shrine of Jades