Updating The Character Creation Guide

[Kai]

I think I have a great Idea that encourages freedom for new players, while also making sure they have supervision. Additionally, it can be a proving grounds for Aspiring GM's.

What we do is have Players and/or GM's volunteer with ideas for 'Quick plots' and make themselves available to oversee these quickplots. What you need to do is have a list of these quickplots with a very basic description, listed with benefits and risks, as well as the hosting GM. When a player finds one of these quick plots they like, they simply PM the GM in charge of it, and the two of them can begin roleplaying.

Additional characters should be able to join, depending on what the GM thinks they can handle. But, these plots should try to be fairly short, like a simple event or Mission, wrapping up in a single thread and then leaving the participants free to find another Quick-plot mission, or perhaps to try and join a major plot.

The benefits for a New player are simple: It allows characters freedom of choosing what they can do, while giving them tangible, IC rewards, as well as helping them to learn the setting in a supervised setting without forcing them to commit to a specific plot.

For the Players and GM's that volunteer their time to facilitate this, there are also benefits, namely for veteran players who want to GM but have little experience: It gives these players practice at GMing without forcing them to commit to making a major plot, while allowing them to influence the setting in both major and minor ways. Additionally, if they choose to use PC's to facilitate these Quick-plots, their characters might also be allowed to reap the in-character benefits of such events.

So, basically, it's a Win-Win-Win-Win situation.

 

[Sigma]

I should, however, say that this system requires all players to currently be in a regular plot. If we have newbies who come in here and just start doing these one-shots before they know anything, things will get messy. Tech might used improperly, things may be misrepresented, stars might explode because of some hidden uber-weapon called a Death Star, etc.

That's the issue I see time and again with newbies. They come into the setting with differing ideas of how things work, with incomplete pictures of how things stand between all the movers and shakers of the setting, and a general ignorance of the history in the setting. It's not their fault. Even I still have these issues because there's so MUCH to know.

While I have nothing against these ideas, I would advise caution. Opening the floodgates could have disastrous effects if not properly administered. My suggestion, a limited trial run of the idea. Find some people to volunteer as these Indy GMs and then let them run one mini-plot. That should get us the data we need to see if the idea is viable.

 

[CadetNewb]

I don't think that's the intent behind Kai's idea Sigma - rather, it's to just provide a quick jump into the setting so they can get a better feel for the setting as a whole. Yes, these will be 'in canon' and to make sure nothing goes wrong, a supervising GM will be there. This person can be a veteran trying out the waters for GMing, or an actual GM who decides to volunteer. I imagine the player numbers will likely be very small scale for these 'Quickplots', perhaps only having 2-3 new players at the very most, and having the plot conclude very quickly. The key, I believe, is to more or less aquatint them to the setting as quickly as possible, while also ensuring they have someone keeping an eye on them.

I'm guessing things like having a quick squad level fight against an enemy would suffice for combat for an example - a very quick, IC skirmish. We can expand on this further, maybe narrate and 'tour-guide' them through a weapon store or small portion of a city. Maybe have a pleasant encounter with some Star Army personnel who are on leave perhaps? Things like that - quick, to the point, short in duration and also very easy to digest for new players.