Post by Morreion on Aug 16, 2010 8:45:51 GMT -5
Storyboard: A group effort (Massively)
I like the Storyboard series on Massively, good practical advice
Put very simply, you want a coherent overarching sequence of events that you can point to for your characters. This is going to require some level of group coordination, and group RP events are a great excuse for roleplaying bonds to form anyway, so it's fully endorsed. For this week's Storyboard, we're going to take a look at running a group event in the smoothest way possible, ranging from a simple one-off night of adventure to a long guild-wide storyline that ends with time travel. (You know the story is really getting overwrought when the time travel makes things simpler, see.)
Arbitration
...If you're running a group RP event, you need to arrange for something similar. Not the ability to assault shopkeepers and take their goods, but a reasonably neutral third party -- or at least a consistent and mature third party -- to make sure that when problems arise, someone is there to keep things moving. Guild leaders and officers are often perfectly suited for the role, as are the people who come up with the arc in the first place.
...If you're running a group RP event, you need to arrange for something similar. Not the ability to assault shopkeepers and take their goods, but a reasonably neutral third party -- or at least a consistent and mature third party -- to make sure that when problems arise, someone is there to keep things moving. Guild leaders and officers are often perfectly suited for the role, as are the people who come up with the arc in the first place.
Scope
Some groups are just better suited to some stories than others. If your friends want to do silly and light-hearted character-based roleplay, your epic tale of love and betrayal is going to leave them a bit cold. Get a sense for what sort of roleplaying each steady member of the group is going to want to take part in, and try not to rely on people playing roles they're not comfortable with. Obviously this goes back to communication, but often times a little thinking will make some issues clear.
Some groups are just better suited to some stories than others. If your friends want to do silly and light-hearted character-based roleplay, your epic tale of love and betrayal is going to leave them a bit cold. Get a sense for what sort of roleplaying each steady member of the group is going to want to take part in, and try not to rely on people playing roles they're not comfortable with. Obviously this goes back to communication, but often times a little thinking will make some issues clear.
Plotting
...A good rule of thumb, however, is that with some knowledge of how many people are likely to attend, there should be an opportunity for everyone to do something. This is partly an issue of arbitration, but also an issue for which you want to take pains to ensure that there will be several different chances for neat things to happen. If everyone's just standing around in an area, something ought to happen that pushes someone into the limelight.
Even more important, though? You are not plotting a hard-and-fast event. You are giving yourself a loose framework of what will take place for an evening of roleplaying, something the players and you may all deviate from quickly. Think on your feet, react to changes, and roll with them. Which is just good practice anyway, right? Right.
...A good rule of thumb, however, is that with some knowledge of how many people are likely to attend, there should be an opportunity for everyone to do something. This is partly an issue of arbitration, but also an issue for which you want to take pains to ensure that there will be several different chances for neat things to happen. If everyone's just standing around in an area, something ought to happen that pushes someone into the limelight.
Even more important, though? You are not plotting a hard-and-fast event. You are giving yourself a loose framework of what will take place for an evening of roleplaying, something the players and you may all deviate from quickly. Think on your feet, react to changes, and roll with them. Which is just good practice anyway, right? Right.
I like the Storyboard series on Massively, good practical advice
