'Adventure Guild'

[Syaoran]

This idea just hit me this morning, so I was wondering what other people thought of it.

Pretty much the idea on the OOC side is a place for people who have 1~3 mission plots they want to run, that are still canon. It could be the introduction of a new enemy, some 'behind the scenes' stuff for the main plot they're already running, or even just getting in some GMing practice in the canon atmosphere. This is a little different from the Open roleplay area too, it's actually kinda a combination of that and the 'mission board' thing Wes was working on. It would work kinda like an adventurer's guild where missions and stuff can be posted by the person who plans to GM it. The benefit of this is that if it could get dedicated players, independents of course. But that way a GM can just go "Here's a mission that needs to get done." and it kinda streamlines the interest check process and gets a team of people on the ground quick, so that it wont have to slow down other things if it's tied to larger stories.

The idea came to me pretty much when I was thinking about something that happened with Origin. They want to rebuild Tami(I think that was the name) but there was heavy badguy infestation, so one of the independent RPs is doing a mission to take out the badguys before Origin comes in, and I figured why not just make that a thing?

So yeah a little ramblely but tell me what you think. I think there's a good few bit of characters sitting around that people have not attached to any story but wouldn't mind doing it. (It's also good for Independents in transition period between larger plots)

Edit: Comments appreciated

 

[Grey Library]

Interesting. Very interesting. I predict that I will make extensive use of this, should it exist.

 

[Syaoran]

Yeah got a lot of votes in but no real feed back. I can't really get it running on my own unfortunately. It would need multiple faction managers putting jobs up on the board and multiple GMs actually deciding to use it.

 

[Archander]

I'd like to chime in and add my two cents to this.

I think it could be largely beneficial especially if there were things that didn't require a specific faction to act upon and anyone could essentially jump in. Even taking it a step further, to post how many would be needed for such and having it so the first however many people that responded would be accepted, thus the plot could hit the ground running quick and in a hurry.

I would also recommend this tool for much quicker paced forum play, which would in turn garner a better response from those that suffer from the RP itch, myself included. Pretty much saying as more plots pop up on the board and are completed, it's popularity would in theory increase because more people would be looking to jump in. All of which would add another level to the already "deep as the sea" forum play we have now.


Tl;dr - I like this idea a lot and would be willing to bet there are plenty here that would agree.

 

[Syaoran]

@Archander You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I see this as something that will be most valuable to those that want to GM, but don't want to have to commit to running an entire plot. Got a semester you're out of college? Grab a few indie players real quick and GM a mission or two on the board. It'd also be good for Indie plot GMs who can't decide what their next episode will be.

 

[Grey Library]

As I was saying before I came under an ECM attack, I am currently drafting up payment plans for the missions in development, based of the pricing list of the Abwehran Foreign Service. The following modifiers will be prevalent, with the rest depending on mission parameters.

-Mission Type: Black Operations (Black Market Custom) 4000KS+500KS=4500KS

-Personnel: Soldier w/o Equipment+Silence Bribe 100KS+10KS=110KS per head

-Training: Experienced Squad (*1.0) [Flat payment per team, irregardless of size]

-Goodwill Payment (Black Market Custom) 2000KS/2=1000KS [1000KS additional upon completion]

 

[Grey Library]

As observed, such missions are VERY lucrative, paying common pirates the rate of battle-hardened soldiers. Hires are only paid the Goodwill payment and personnel hiring fees at the start, encouraging them to complete the mission to earn payouts at above market rates.

 

[Grey Library]

For Lone Wolves, such missions are often a nightmarish gamble. All that payout entering the pockets of a single merc often sets him up for the rest of his life, provided he can survive the hellish difficulty of the more high-end missions.

 

[Grey Library]

Transport and equipment are expected to be purchased and carried by the hires themselves, so as to prevent theft of the employer's resources. If a hire does not have the necessary equipment, black market dealers can be contacted but may overcharge, citing "smuggler's cuts".

However, certain missions may have specialized equipment provided by the employer, such as disguised vehicles for infiltrations, VIP vessels to be escorted, et cetera. Such items are untraceable and often come with failsafes to prevent hires from escaping with them, as a final precaution against investigators.

 

[Grey Library]

Mechanics wise, these will function as Mayfly RPs expected to have a short lifespan of a handful of weeks at most, with each mission being its own independent game, at the end of which a new recruiting session will be held for the next operation. Fluff wise, this will help explain the changing casts after every mission, as the employer constantly hires different personnel for secrecy reasons.

In loose estimates, I currently am gestating 10 to 12 of these mini-plots, varying from simple smuggling runs to full-on starbase raids. Thus, players can have a choice of ground, orbital, naval, aircraft and even siege gameplay.

 

[Grey Library]

Oh yes, how could I forget. In true RPG fashion, hires have free reign in any non-objective plunder, be it crippled starships, passerby freighters or surrendering hostiles. As long as the objective is completed intact with no implicit links to the employer, the employer does not care.

Clever hires may complete the mission with unusual methods, like jettisoning the sealed cargo bay of a target vessel and delivering the detached module on its lonesome to the employer. Thus, the employer is satisfied and the hires will get to keep the hull for themselves.

 

[Grey Library]

As you can probably tell by now, these are quite heavily inspired by Shadowrun and Payday.

 

[Syaoran]

@Grey Library you might want to consider using the edit function to amend your post more so that you're not posting several post back to back.

 

[Grey Library]

I see. Thank you.

 

[Wes]

I will keep adding new jobs as I come up with them, for Yamatai.

Also I'm open to suggestions and will also make up additional new ones on demand if nothing suits a GM/adventurer's fancy.

 

[Grey Library]

The current operations I have planned will veer more towards the criminal element and will occur all across the sector, with no single faction being targeted. Granted, YSE and DIoN will be common locations due to their huge size.

I will most likely have to apply for visas from the relevant faction managers for every single mission, due to their Independent nature. This will be a headache. I am making slight progress on the construction of the aforementioned missions, though I plan to hold off on beginning operations until I garner more experience on this site.

 

[paladinrpg]

Hmm, I like the basic idea. The site needs more ways to start up a plot without it being a gargantuan undertaking that is intimidating, and to break things down as single episode "jobs" and unconnected episodic format encourages a faster pace of roleplay for all involved. It makes being an Independent more viable and lucrative and realistic. This also can serve as an easier way to further develop underappreciated planets/regions of space, which fleshes out the setting organically.

I may be willing to post some jobs myself in the future, too.

 

[Samanthia]

I like it as a Player. Got a character that's idle. But is Nepleslian (apologize for the misspelling) From a Tanker RP that somehow died in the process.

 

[Syaoran]

For the guild faction wouldn't matter, as long as they are able to do independent work it'd be cool.

 

[Doshii Jun]

We've tried this idea a couple of times before, without having it laid out quite like this, and it runs into two related problems:

• This area's meant by design to be fast and loose, but still canon. In SARP, even now, veteran GMs and staff have tried to keep a tight-enough control on canon not only to preserve it, but to guide it. It's why things like Open Roleplaying and SARP Non-Canon are quasi or noncanon. It's not personal, but it's difficult to trust fast-and-loose RP to respect what these veterans have attempted to build, sometimes for many years. Grey hit on this already here.

  I will most likely have to apply for visas from the relevant faction managers for every single mission, due to their Independent nature. This will be a headache.

• Following the first problem, when we make these areas noncanon, they tend to not get a lot of use. Players, understandably, want to affect the universe in which they play. They can't do that in noncanon settings.

This leaves us in a bind similar to how @Luca and his Phoenix tend to curve the reality of SARP. Luca always keeps canon in mind, so his ability to curve along canon's edge is well developed. We can't guarantee the same for another GM, especially one who has not been promoted by a FM or previously pitched a plot to the senior group.

What we'd really need, for this to take off, is a kind of approval setting that is efficient enough to allow the play, but careful enough to keep canon in the highest regard.