Dept. of Magical Law Enforcement (Rules/questions)

Feb 27, 2019 5:27 pm
This will be a thread for questions about the systems, rules, rulings, just a general "I want to do this thing, how would I go about doing it?" thread.

The first point I want to make is about "social turn order". I'm going to try something I used which is really successful in an ASOIAF RPG I ran where I had one super passionate player who I loved playing with but had a habit of writing really fast and dominating the game. As both a player and GM I get frustrated when I walk away from a game for, say, a work day, and come back and have to get caught up on 40 posts just to participate. And then I go make dinner and it happens again. I want to structure it to make sure everyone gets an equal chance to participate.

My social turn order rule is pretty simple. When I start the first "chapter" I'm going to pick a random turn order for posts and players respond in that order. If a character has nothing to add on their turn, or they want to wait to see how another character reacts to a situation, they can pass or hold their turn. Obviously if it's a situation where a character is asked a question or expected to respond to dialogue or an action I'll make an OOC note to control the flow of posting a bit, but you all seem like lovely, dedicated people so I don't expect there'll be issues with making space at the proverbial table for everyone else.
Feb 27, 2019 5:32 pm
I like it. And I appreciate it. I tend to get a little overanxious and I worry that I'm posting too often, so having a system in place to help me rein that in would be fantastic.
Feb 27, 2019 5:44 pm
I think with only 4 of us + you (for now?) it will be less crazy. One of the games I'm in has 10 players on a Discord server with channels dedicated to each chr as well as general channels. It gets hard to keep up when some of them are night owls and I work in a high school.....I come back and have, as you said, 40 or 50 messages to go through.
Last edited February 27, 2019 5:45 pm
Feb 27, 2019 5:53 pm
Oh sorry, and one further clarification I was thinking about in the shower! When I ran my ASOIAF game I would post with the turn order, let that resolver, and then I would start the next round with the person who went last, and then so on and so forth. That way the person who posted last first isn't stuck posting last every round. So that might look like this:

CHAPTER START
Turn order:
GM
Caroline
Ava
Rafaella
Bex

Next turn order:
GM
Bex
Caroline
Ava
Rafaella

Next turn order:
GM
Rafaella
Bex
Caroline
Ava


Etc.
Feb 27, 2019 6:47 pm
Sounds like a reasonable system. I don't know how necessary it would be for four players but if you want to do it like this, hat's fine by me. As long as everyone is reasonably active so we don't have to wait days before we can post again, I don't see any problem
Feb 27, 2019 8:12 pm
I love it and kinda dislike it. While it depends on how busy I am at work, I normally tend to really get into it, similarly to RPM maybe. Having turns is great because we can make sure that nobody monopolizes the game. On the other hand, if someone can't post for a day or two, it can bring the game to a halt. Plus, assuming that we're following this order:
Quote:
OOC:
Next turn order:
GM
Rafaella
Bex
Caroline
Ava
Let's say that Rafa whispers something to Ava. Would I need to wait for Ava's turn for an answer? And then wait for yours so I can respond back to her? Or would you make an OOC note with instructions on how to deal with this?

Going a bit more into the system itself, is there any reason for the order? I feel like having turns where you post, then we all post, then you post and etc would work just as fine. If you use the order so nobody ends up posting at the same time of someone else, one thing I have my players do in another game is for them to first send an OOC message saying they're writing their posts, so no one ends up writing at the same time and whoever posts first wins(With the other player potentially having wasted their time because the situation may have changed).

Super sorry if I'm sounding conflictive! I just wanna make sure that I'm getting this right. 😁
Last edited February 27, 2019 8:13 pm
Feb 27, 2019 8:25 pm
Quote:
one thing I have my players do in another game is for them to first send an OOC message saying they're writing their posts, so no one ends up writing at the same time and whoever posts first wins
That's a great rule. In the Lasers & Feelings game I'm running, we've had issues with this before
Feb 28, 2019 12:44 am
No need to apologize! I'm open to suggestions and I obviously want to make this fun.

In terms of the question: Let's say that Rafa whispers something to Ava. Would I need to wait for Ava's turn for an answer? And then wait for yours so I can respond back to her? Or would you make an OOC note with instructions on how to deal with this?

When I did it for my ASOIAF game it was more organic, like, say, if someone asked another character a question that's totally fine, you'd just stick a note on the end saying OOC: Question for Ava? Ava has a chance to respond, and then if it's needed Ava can pass the ball back to Rafaella. Or someone REALLY wanted to respond to something that happened, you can, like you said, shoot a message to the group and say you really want to respond and are working on a post. It can be a little more fluid, with the turn order more just a rough guideline to make sure everyone gets a chance to post, and the posts don't pile up before I get a chance to respond.

To be perfectly honest, it's partially for my benefit. My work can be pretty killer, both physically and emotionally draining, so there are days when I get home and I'm literally flat out for the night. If I'm in the middle of a game I like to be able to do a post or two when I have the energy (as demonstrated, I sometimes do that on the clock), but if there are too many posts to get caught up on I get overwhelmed and give up, and then more posts happen, and it becomes a vicious cycle.

That's my two cents on the matter! Let's try it, and like I said, I'm happy to suggestions to make it work for everyone.
Mar 2, 2019 8:45 am
Wouldn't it maybe make sense instead of having the set turn order for the players, to just allow every player to act (up to) once in any order between the GM turns. That way, it would still be like before that there wouldn't be overwhelmingly much happening between two posts by the same person, but if you lack inspiration after the previous poster's post, you can wait for someone else to respond and then maybe go after them. Also, it might speed things up slightly because people can shuffle their turns around to suit their schedule.

That said, I don't mind keeping with the turn order. It's just a siggestion
Mar 2, 2019 4:19 pm
I think aphelion mentioned that we can pass our turns if we want to. We just had to post in OOC, no? "I want to act after x" should do.
Mar 2, 2019 4:40 pm
aphelion says:
When I did it for my ASOIAF game it was more organic, like, say, if someone asked another character a question that's totally fine, you'd just stick a note on the end saying OOC: Question for Ava? Ava has a chance to respond, and then if it's needed Ava can pass the ball back to Rafaella. Or someone REALLY wanted to respond to something that happened, you can, like you said, shoot a message to the group and say you really want to respond and are working on a post. It can be a little more fluid, with the turn order more just a rough guideline to make sure everyone gets a chance to post, and the posts don't pile up before I get a chance to respond.
I think this is the relevant quote here, so yeah. If you really want to jump in on something, just post an OOC note.
Mar 3, 2019 3:19 am
Sorry I haven't got around to posting until now! I've been getting over a cold so my head's felt like sludge all day, but I'm up now and going to get a quick post out!

And I'm totally okay with the turn order being a rough guideline and people taking their turns in a little more fluid and organic way. I totally don't mind if people want to post out of turn, I'm not going to be angry about it, just let the rest of us know when you're going to so we don't have double posts! And if you want to ask a question to a NPC or fellow character don't hesitate to tag them. I still like having a rough turn order partially for crowd control and partially to make sure everyone gets a chance to respond, but don't feel like it's set in stone.
Mar 6, 2019 4:13 am
Would a hyper-dedicated aspiring witch who’s generally ignored by her parents (such as myself) have been able to teach herself alohomora? Totally fine if not. Just want to know my options!
Mar 6, 2019 6:06 am
78RPMLife says:
Would a hyper-dedicated aspiring witch who’s generally ignored by her parents (such as myself) have been able to teach herself alohomora? Totally fine if not. Just want to know my options!
Yes! Narratively, especially kids raised in wizarding households would have some basic grasp of magic. Mechanically, your characters already have strengths and interests in terms of spellcasting abilities, so I'm totally down for your characters using simple spells!
Mar 6, 2019 6:46 pm
OOC:
I wanted to post this before I lost it. If we end up with an ooc side chatter thing I will copy past it there later, but this is Bex's Journal from the night before they leave...
August 31, 1998
I come from a proud wizarding family. The Drummonds and the Fangbournes have been important member of our society for centuries. My Great aunt and uncle were Aurors. They vanished during the first wizarding war. No one knows what happened to them. I’m named for my Uncle actually. He and his twin, Araminthia, were tracking some dark magic nonsense, so the story goes. My grandmother, their younger sister, Cordelia Drummond was a 7th year. She had a daughter so I was the one who got to inherit a name. She married into the Fangbournes. They both worked for Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures.
Father works for the ministry as well, in Magical Law Enforcement, mother for the Department of Magical Games and Sports. She rather wants me to be a Chaser for Slytherin, but I would be happy on any team, playing any position but seeker.
They also tell me my great uncle was brilliant at potions and the keeper/captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. But again, no one really knows what happened to the twins, they were chasing dark wizard and then just…vanished. They never came home, no owls, no signs, nothing. It was as if they had been erased from the world. When they vanished, so did the disturbance. I neglected to mention that Aunt Mina was a master of Defense Against the Dark Arts. One of the best aurors in her class, and probably smarter than her twin. The incident happened either in 1919 or 1920, but the exact date is as lost as they are.
Granny married Cordon Fangbourne, who she’d been dating since her 5th year. They married shortly after school ended. Father wants me to become an Auror one day, mother just wants me in Slytherin. Mum is Addfwyn Llywelyn, famed keeper of the Welsh National Quidditch team. Father is Octavian Fangbourne, and I have no idea why I’m listing my linage in my diary, but it feels…important.
My main hope for school is that I do not end up in Hufflepuff.. … I have not patience for mindless cheeriness and toil. There’s always a simpler solution to most problems. I don’t think I will be able to stomach them…except for maybe their cookies and cupcakes. I hear those are legendary.
Were we still living in Cardiff, the trip to Kings Cross Station would make sense. But we currently reside in Kershopefoot, practically at Hogwarts already! Perhaps next year they will allow me to meet the train at Hogsmeade.
I have a smoke grey kitten named Vesper, and a nervous long-eared owl named Fritz. Ebony wand, inlayed with silver. Other requisite items. All that matters now is that tomorrow, I will be on my way.

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