How To: On RPG Creation

You get to the bottom of the rules, and you’re curiosity is peaked. You want to get right in and make your first character but first, you’ve got yourself an idea. You have an idea for an RPG, and you want to get it going. You suddenly realize you have no idea how to make one! You feel a pang of panic until you go back to the RPG sub-forum, and you notice another sticky board. How To: On RPG Creation. Your eyes brighten and you quickly click on the link. Maybe you’ll be able to get your idea out after all…












The Idea

Before any of this begins you need one major component—you need an idea. An idea can come from anywhere and can be in any form. Sometimes it’s a good thing to write down what you’re interested in.

My Interests:

• Writing
  
• Drawing
  
• Germany/Russia
  
• Fantasy
  
• Mystery
  
• Children’s stories
  
• Insects
  

Your list of interests could go on for ages! I know mine could. What you need to do is rate what’s on the top, and go from there. I’ll pick Germany/Russia, Mystery and Writing. No, obviously writing will have a lot to do with it in the first place, so that’s an obvious. Now we’re left with two.

Maybe I can make the setting in Russia or Germany, or even the main character could be Russian or German. We’re headed for a Mystery here either way.

There are of course many ways to get the idea. Maybe you have one already, but you want the general idea in your mind before you even start. You want to know in what way you’re headed so when you start writing it down, you don’t panic and get frustrated.

Setting it Up

Plot should be considered before anything. You need a reason for all characters to be there. You need a beginning, a middle and an end. As with all plots, the middle will need to present some sort of climax. When it comes to Mystery, it tends to climax more towards the beginning with a few twists and turns on the way until you finally realize with all the clues, what’s been really going on. Not all genres and storylines/plots will be the same. That’s for the best.

Ask yourself a few questions when making a plot:

Where do I want to go with this?
Who am I aiming this for?
Will others be interested in it?
What are my main characters?
Who are they in this story and what is their importance?
Do I have room for other characters in this plot?
And most importantly:
Is this plot understandable and well thought out?

You want to make everything you have clear, to avoid confusion. When a plot gets too confusing and in-depth, you could lose some players. Mystery is hard in this sense. Just make sure everything is thought out before you continue. It’s good to pre-type your plot so you don’t forget important facts.

Setting is your second goal.

Where is your story taking place?
Do you need a map?
If not, then can you explain it well enough that others see what you see?

Setting can be pretty simple, but other times you’ll need to explain, it depends on genre. Fantasy is one you’d usually want to explain your setting better, along with Mystery. Maps are useful but not really needed.

Your Main Character is usually the one you either play, or is just the general man/woman in the story. There can be as many or as few as the plot allows. This shouldn’t be mistaken for NPC. These people are usually characters you will run into, or will see but are not necessarily the main characters.

It is best to get a character sheet up for the main characters. Some NPC are good to have character sheets up for, but it is definitely not necessary and should probably only be done if asked for by the players themselves if they need to know what/how the certain NPC acts.

An RPG Template

Quote :

Name: What is the name of your RPG?

Genre: Mystery? Realistic? Drama? Sci-fi? Fantasy? The options are unlimited.

Setting: Takes place where?

Background Information: Is there anything we need to know about the plot? This sometimes goes along with setting. The way RPGs are set up differs between people, this template is very loose.

Game Play: Is there anything specific that characters will have to do? What will be going on as they play? Will there be missions? Or will there just be scenarios thrown at them? The way a game is played differs from GM to GM.

Rules: Do you have any specific rules? Quoting of the RPG rules are fine as well. Some don’t even have rules. All RPGs are different.

Characters: What are your main character? Character sheets are usually a good idea here.

Basically, what you want is general information. You want them to be able to see what you see without overdoing the information and without confusion. Too little information can add confusion but too much can bring boredom. It’s good to find a middle.




Some Examples:

The small town of Wenig, Missouri, is located in the boonies of Missouri. Surrounded on three of its four sides by a large wooded area. On the far South side there is a lightly wooded field, that leads to the only water source of the Town, the Wenig creek. Though, in there is also the water tower. The creek is about 4 feet wide. Is known for flooding. There is only one road that leads from the town, it takes you directly from the Sheriff’s office, through out of town. The street leads to the closest town of Montgomery about 150 miles from Wenig.

The town itself is rather small, as said before. There’s no more then 80 citizens in the city, with a small growth rate of one to two people per a few years. There is one diner, a sheriff’s office, a fire department(also home to the fire chief), a gas station that is connected with the mechanic shop, a dairy, a supply store, a schoolhouse, a church and the homes of the citizens. The dairy takes up a good portion of the towns land, but also contributes to most of the economic stability.

The people of Wenig know everyone. Friends or even enemies since birth. No one moves away from Wenig, you are born there and you die there. A normally peaceful place to live.

That’s about to change for the homely people of Wenig with the new mystery that will soon arrive. It’s your job to solve it with the clues the Gamemaster gives you.



Point of the Game: With the clues given to you, and the clues played out by the other players you are to solve the mystery while also answering a few questions on the way. There are also the few missions that some characters will be given that can end in clues or new situations.

Time: Takes place in the early 1980’s. The time is Summer. School is out folks, and the Summer is hot, and boiling. The creek is looking good right about now isn’t it?

Characters: Some characters will be let in on the plot. They will be part of the plot, might get to know some of the plot but not all. They will help lay the plot out, while not telling the others what I tell them. Don’t want to ruin the fun of a Mystery.


When making your characters, remember this is a small town. I wouldn’t expect any incredibly rich people or rock’n’roll stars. Try and be realistic and have fun.

Clues: Once the mystery is put out all members will be given clues that they must play out. If a clue from another member is played out, try not to let your own clue out too close to theirs. This will help lessen the confusion. You are not to tell others your clues, nor the clues you find out. They are yours alone to find/figure out. Most of them should be obvious, while others may not, it’ll just take some thought.

To play out a clue, you’ll follow the directions of that clue. (Some might be really simple, and won’t take too much trouble.)

Solving the Mystery: Once you think you can answer all questions(You will notice them in bold at the end of my posts in bold.) and know who did what, why, and how then you may PM the me.

If you get it right, then I will tell you so, and you will be able to make the post. When you have solved the Mystery, you’re to go to the Sheriff and tell him what you’ve found out. Be as creative as you want.

If you are wrong, there are no repercussions, but I will not tell you what you got wrong so you have a chance to try again.

Buildings:

Sheriff’s office;; Three general sections. Once you walk in the door, you reach the first section. Desks for the Sheriff, Deputy and a small desk for the Secretary. One cemented room to the side where there are two jail cells. Four beds. Other room is for evidence and files, connected to the front room.

It’s located at the end of the main street, for easy access.

Diner;; Alcohol only served at night and only at the bar portion of it. Bar surrounds the area where the cooks works. Around it are booths and tables. About 5-6 tables. Open 5am to 10pm.

Fire Department;; Actually a small home. One floor. Two car garage, where ladders and tools needed for the job are kept. Pressurized water tank located on the back of Earl’s truck, in case of fire with hoses attacked. Though there hasn’t been a fire for over a decade.

Gas station and Mechanic Shop;; Connected to one another. One gas nozzle. Unleaded gas only in front of Mechanic shop. All cash is dealt with in there. Room for four cars, though one side is where all tools are kept.

The Dairy;; Two large buildings, and an outdoor field for the cows. One building is for the housed cows to live, with the bulls separated from the hundreds of heifers. The second building for processing of the milk. Large portion of land. Located near the far South side, just a mile from the creek.

Supply Store;; Located just across the way of the owner’s home. Two rooms. The main room where the counter and various items are kept refrigerated, and shelved for viewing. Room in back where other items and stock are kept in the back. Shop owners go out of town every other week to get supplies ordered by the towns people, as well as restocking for everyday items. A day long trip.

Schoolhouse;; Small building the size of a small home. Three classrooms. First for grade 1 through 6. Second room for Grade 7 through 9. Third room for grade 9 through 12. No indoor plumbing or cooling. Outhouse in the back. One teacher, as there aren’t many children.

The Church;; Not sure of which religion just yet, but I’d think Protestant or Catholic. If we get a leader of the church, as one of the characters, we will decide from there. Church is a big part of small time county life Small building, like a normal church. Etc. This you can imagine yourself.

Jobs:

Deputy (one)
Waitress
Diner Owner(one)((Unless owned with spouse))
Farmer
Dairy Worker
Gas Station Tender(one)
Sheriff’s Secretary(one)
Town Drunk
Student
School Teacher(one)
Pastor/Priest/Reverend(Not sure you make money this way….)(one)
Supply Shop Owner(if you want to choose this one, PM me.)(one)((Unless owned with spouse))
Out of Town Detective(Wouldn’t that be interesting?) (one)

Those are just a few. Use your imagination. You can make moonshine in your cellar for all I care You can even be unemployed and live with your family.

I may have to ask you to change jobs if it collides with the plot, but more then likely that won’t happen, so don’t worry about that.

The Fireman/Sheriff/Mechanic are non-playable characters. ((More non-playable characters might popup.))

The plot will be coming out a week after I post this. I’d like it if you got a first post done for your character and missions might be given before the actual plot is let out.

Rules:

I hope you know the normal RPG rules, I won’t be posting those. Just general rules for Wenig.

1: No posts under three lines.

Ex: “How are you doing this fine morning, Sheriff?” she asked.

Correct way: Her eye caught a glimpse of the sheriff’s badge as the light shone off it. She ran across the street, waving at him. He tilted his hat with a friendly hello.

She stopped short of the sidewalk.

“How are you doing this fine morning, Sheriff?”

It could also help if you talked dialogue through with the other character on your profile messages or through PM.

2: Don’t let out clues on top of one another.

3: You must absolutely not talk about your clues or your theory on the solving of the Mystery.

4: Duel characters are only allowed if separate posts are made for them both. Meaning from two points of view. Otherwise they are considered sub-characters, and will be needed to put in a sub-character profile.

You are allowed family, children, friends and pets. They must just be characters your character will interact with, without you playing them. Like non-playable characters.




Sub-Character Profile

Quote :

Name:
Relation:
Description:
Brief History:

Character Profile:

Quote :

Name: (First, Middle, Last)
Nickname:
Age:
Appearance: (eye color, hair color, etc.)
General Attire:
Personality:
Family: (Spouse, Mother, Father, Children, Siblings.)
Job:
Brief History:

---

Example #2 :Here's another example, new roleplayers!

Name:
Out of Their Minds

Setting:
Contemporary Science Fiction

Genre:
Mystery and Science Fiction

Plot:
In a mental asylum in the suburbs of New York State, it is a popular rumor that the people admitted to the wards are not mentally bonkers. Of course, it’s virtually impossible – or is it? Though Dr. Francine is sure that her patients are completely crazy she is being continually contacted by the police authorities that one of them, or more, must be alien forms. Dr. Francine who has never believed in UFOs, is forced to go beyond realism and search for an answer.

How to play:
The game is played in a specific manner. Some players must be mentally bonkers, while a few must be aliens. Permitted diseases and permitted styles of alien life forms are listed later in the post. Now, you will not post that up with your profile (look below for character sheet). Instead, you will PM me whichever side you wish to be on, and I will approve or disapprove of your choice, depending on the situation (we can’t have 8 aliens and 1 crazy guy, I hope). However, you must post your disease since we will assume everyone is crazy! The player will be then given a list of five key points which the character knows. This time, you will be given a haiku after every ten posts you make (but the post must be at least 10 lines). I’m a terrible poet, so you will have to bear with me The haiku will be a symbolic clue, which you will have to fit in. The players are forbidden to reveal their identities and those haikus to anyone on the forum. If someone does, there is no penalty, but I would be greatly disturbed if I found out.

The next step is to start playing. I, as a GM, will be Dr. Francine and otherwise will guide you and reveal clues and situations which can help the characters to interact with each other and to find out the mad ones and aliens through proof and keen observation. Naturally, the one who finds out will be the lucky one. It must be noted though, that being alien does not mean the antagonists. There can be good aliens and bad aliens, and same goes for the humans.

You can join the game anytime you want.

Rules:
1.Your character cannot know everything, cannot do everything and is not perfect. Your character must have an equal share of virtues and vices. Even if you are an evil alien, there must be something good about you.

2.You cannot reveal your side or haikus to anyone.

3.No harassment, misbehavior or anything of the kind is to be tolerated.

4.Be regular. If you think you’ll not be regular (that is, you will not post for more than a week), then tell me in your PM beforehand.

5.If you have an issue with someone, or anything related to this RPG (even me), please contact me instead of gossiping with others.

Dos and Don’ts:

Mentally unstable humans

Do:
-Act according to your disease
-Act good/murky/alien/human (recommended for confusing other players)
-Hold grudges/have fights
-Indirectly reveal your haiku (in RPG, but make an attempt to show it as a general idea) but the idea behind it, not the haiku itself
- Permitted diseases:

Spoiler:

Don’t:
-Directly reveal (through PM, online proclamation, open thought in RPG etc) your identity and haikus
-Force and tempt others to reveal their identity and haikus
-Have superpowers, futuristic weapons or create unrealistic biodatas
-Be suddenly cured of your disease
-Have an intense personality disorder and act normal and vice versa

Aliens

Do:
-Act according to your disease
-Hold grudges/have fights
-Act good/murky/alien/human (recommended for confusing other players)
-Indirectly reveal your haiku (in RPG, but make an attempt to show it as a general idea) but the idea behind it, not the haiku itself
-Can team up with other aliens in the game (not recommended or discouraged, just allowed. But you must PM me for permission, so that I can tell you the involved aliens and then your must intimate the plan to me)
-Permitted characteristics:

Spoiler:

-PM all the details in the spoiler tags to me

Don’t:
-Directly reveal (through PM, online proclamation, open thought in RPG etc) your identity and haikus
-Force and tempt others to reveal their identity and haikus
-Create a far too vague biodata
-Have an intense personality disorder and act normal and vice versa
-Be gender neutral (…)
-Eat up humans
-Summon a force of aliens w/o my permission

About revelation of identity, no one will do so in or out of RPG. If a character is caught and questioned, only then the player has the freedom to reveal or conceal his identity. If someone guesses someone else’s identity, they may happy take the risk of plotting against them, but if they make a wrong guess – then they might fail! So be careful. Clues, hints and different situations will be regularly presented by Francine (in character) or GM (out of character) for you to find out. GM posts in green.

Profile:

Name:
Age:
Gender:

Race:
Spiritual beliefs: [you can invent your own, open category]

Fighting proficiencies:[skills, for weapons you’ll need my special permission]
Occupation:

Disorder:
Intensity (on a scale of 1-10):

Personality:
Appearance:
Biography: [mention your parents/guardians, spouse and children if they hold importance]

So, as a step-by-step analysis of what you should do:
1.Fill up the profile.
2.PM me the side you wish to be on.
3.Wait for me to commence the game.

My profile

Name: Francine
Age: 27
Gender: Female

Race: French
Spiritual beliefs: Jew

Fighting proficiencies: She’s a simple woman with no particular skill, but she has self-trained herself in body-building and some kung fu steps to deal with violent patients. She carries a revolver (which she is yet to master) with her at all times.
Occupation: Psychiatrist

Disorder: N/A
Intensity (on a scale of 1-10): N/A

Personality: A helpful, cheery and simple girl.. She is very humble which helps her in counseling talk. She also has a flair for sketching. She is very sensitive and sometimes cries at small things. She is not very clever, but she copes up with her innocence. She is very devoted to her job and treats her patients like her own family.
Appearance: Blue eyes with dark red hair which barely reaches her ears. Her skin tone is in between fair and tan. Her lips are perfect pink and her teeth are well-adjusted to her jaw frame. She is not very thin, but has a very good body shape with a height of 5’4’’ and weighs 130 pounds.
Biography: Brought up in Minnesota, she moved to New York City for higher education. At first she did not get a good job so she moved to a suburban area to reduce living costs. Her brother joined her too when his web designing business was a flop. Francine lives in a small apartment with one room and fairly larger lounge with her brother Jerry, who lives on her earnings for now. She has never mentioned her father’s name thus she is known as Francine and nothing else. Her mother lives in Boston and works as a receptionist in a hotel. Francine and Jerry visit her every summer for a month. Francine’s younger sister Sam was autistic which had compelled Francine to join psychiatry. Sam lives with her mother since Francine is not financially strong.

I hope you decide to join [u]

Example #3: Hey folks,
Here's another example for you! The real post is interlaced with several links that I decided to leave out here for simplicity's sake.



Introduction
Slowly, the warmth of summer dies and the chill winds of autumn sweep the continent of Eldora. It is the first day of the month of Imen of the year 1579 of the First Age; a year that will be remembered for centuries to come. The governments of the nations have grown stagnant, and are reduced to petty bickering. Nowhere are these arguments fiercer than among the members of the Coalition of Nations, established more than 400 years before. Border disputes, trade embargoes and restrictions, and minor civil cases have become common. As the order that the Coalition was supposed to provide turns to chaos, many rise to take advantage of the situation with their crimes.

Armies have been raised, tensions are high, and it will take only one small spark to set the fires of war blazing across Crystan.

In the midst of this world, a group of adventurers must choose their own fates; to quench the flames of war, or fuel them. Each member of this motley group has received a summons to an obscure, ancient monolith in the land of Aelinaust by a mysterious man who offers them a path and a future.

The Game
You are this group of adventurers. Each of you has received a letter from a man who identifies himself only as Hawk. He gives the location of a meeting place, and a time. For whatever reasons, each of you has decided to answer this summons and discover the nature of Hawk’s request.

I (Teele) shall act as GM, and Hawk shall be my primary character. Others may come and go as the situation warrants. I will describe scenarios and events as needed and as the story progresses. All of my posts will be in bold Book Antiqua font, so they’re easily picked out. I will do my best to be fairly active in the game; I don’t want to slow down the creative juices.

If any player is inactive for an inordinate length of time, I will attempt to contact him/her via PM. If there is no response, that player’s character will be left behind (I won’t kill him/her off, though; if you want back in, PM me and let me know). I’m not sure as yet exactly how long this RP will run. If at any time you want out, PM me, and we can discuss a suitable exit for your character. As for taking on new players in-game, I will leave that open as a possibility, but for simplicity, I’ll keep the entrances closed after the initial given join-up time. PM me if you’d like an exception.

Primarily, the focus in this game will be relationships between player characters. While you can expect to see a lot of classic sword-swinging fantasy action, I will attempt to focus more on the conflicts between the characters of different races and agendas, how these conflicts are resolved, and how the individuals grow. Your characters should have more to them than a sword and a set of plate mail (or, if that is all there is to them, there should be some real, significant reason why). Romantic relationships between PCs are encouraged, as are deep friendships, rivalries, and other such interpersonal dynamics.

Character Template
Note: Information about the world of Crystan, and my races, is available on my blog. I DO NOT expect you to have read all of my notes on all of my races on Crystan. Read through this overview, and if you see something you like, skim through the lengthier description of that race. In particular, all you’ll likely need to know is covered in the sections entitled Appearance, Personality, and Special Abilities. If any other sections catch your eye, by all means take a look. My objective here is to try and NOT intimidate you with loads and loads of information to sift through.

Another Note: You can play any of the races I describe and list below. However, I would recommend against choosing a Cimill or a Krilind for your character. These races are very intellectually simple, and lack much capacity for the feelings and thoughts that dynamic characters entail. Naturally, there would be exceptions to this rule, and if you’d like to play a Cimill or Krilind to make things interesting, go ahead. Just a personal preference.

Yet Another Note: If you want to play a Crystal-using character, it might be a good idea to read through my entry about the Crystals. It’ll explain a little of how they work.

Getting Tired of Notes: I won’t explicitly rule it, but I’d like to keep a fairly decent balance of males and females in the game, just so everyone has a shot at a potential partner.

Just One More Note: If, in the process of reviewing my material, you spot an ambiguity, inconsistency, or curiosity, please PM me, and I’ll explain/correct it.

Name:

Gender: (Male or Female)

Age:

Race: Aelin, Alarin, Alamin, Cimill, Drenning, Erissi, Iander, Krilind, Lennira, Mahri, Sardite, Shale, Solan.

Appearance: Eye, skin and hair color, hair style, height and weight, clothing; keep generally within the confines of the race’s description, but if you want to add a unique feature for your character, go for it.

Weaponry: The weapons and armor that your character currently carries. Anything fantasy-generic will be allowed. For those with dedicated Crystal-using characters, you may have up to four Crystals. A non-dedicated Crystal-user (one who has learned some of the art, but is dedicated also to another school of fighting), may have two. Each Crystal will grant a different power, but remember; the Crystals you choose must be consistent, and the backlash (mental and physical exhaustion) that your character receives from using the Crystal is proportionate to its power. During the course of the game, you’ll have the opportunity to acquire more (and more powerful) Crystals. However, these are not an excuse for god-moding. Keep it fair. If you need help deciding on Crystals, keep in mind that the power a Crystal can offer is equivalent to a D&D spell.

Occupation: I won’t define a list of available classes here. Generally, stick to fantasy-generic types of things. If your character has studied Crystal Lore, say so here. Such a one is called a Crystal-user or Crystalmancer.

Background: Description of your character’s past leading up to these events; birthplace, family, upbringing, education, etc. Be as detailed as you like!

Personality: Description of your character’s drives, motivations, and perspectives, as well as his/her reason for answering the summons. Be as detailed as you like!

The Rules
- Posts should contribute to the story; your first post should be your character.
- No controlling someone else’s character unless permission is given.
- No god-moding: invincibility, instantaneous killing of all enemies with no negative effects, etc.
- No killing other player characters (or major GM characters; if you get the urge to do this, PM me and I might let you have some fun )
- If you have a question, ask me.
- No flaming, insulting, or general nastiness intended to put down someone else; this is a general forum rule.
- Feel free to make liberal use of the discussion thread.
- No explicit sexual content: I will encourage and welcome romantic relationships between PCs, but we’re not here to write erotica, people. Keep it decent.

Hawk
Gender: Male
Age: 28
Race: Lennira.
Appearance: Hawk wears a tattered brown robe, of the Solan style, with the hood usually up. His face is weathered and scarred, but handsome. He has shaggy black hair that hangs around his face.
Weaponry: Hawk carries a decorated longsword of Farlanian (Lennira) design, and he carries a carved longbow and a quiver of arrows.
Occupation: This you will find out as the game progresses.
Background: This you will find out as the game progresses.
Personality: This you will find out as the game progresses.