Gameplay discussion

So we almost have a full cast, before worldbuilding + character creation I'd like to know roughly what you guys want to play.

Playstyle/Feel of the game
So there are several things that we could do and I would like your input on this, I'm happy to run anything.

A/ classic sandbox (basically how SWN is supposed to be played)
this is pretty free form and can contain all sorts of adventures/plot hooks. You might know how this works better than me so I won't go any further really.

B/ investigation
this could take several forms, playing as cops/team of investigators/thriller like story where you are pulled into a conspiracy, everything of course in a sci-fi context.

C/ high action space opera style
Think Star Wars, you'd be fighting a big evil bad.

D/ horror
We could try this one out if you're up for it, not sure if the atmosphere of a PbP would bring anything but I'd be willing to run this kind of adventure if you guys are down.

Theoretically we could include a bit of everything in the sandbox style, but just in case you want to focus on specifically one thing. I'm open to any other playstyle of course.

Content

1/ How okay are we with violent content ?
If someone is uncomfortable with anything in particular please tell me.
Perhaps we can decide what you're okay with with some rough outlines :

Game of Thrones level violence is good (IMO I can't go more violent than this)
Star Wars/LOTR etc... medium violence is good
Low violence/cartoonish is good

2/ Are we combat focused ?

3/ Is there any specific theme/idea you guys would like to look at ?
Time travel, dystopia, crime, alien life, space exploration, resource management, heavy focus on spaceships, focus on psychics/supernatural, hard sci-fi...

When should the campaign/adventure end ?
Of course the ending is nearly not as important as the trip there, but I think considering when the game ends can be important.
Some ideas :

all "character arcs" have been resolved
there is some end goal you have accomplished as a group (resolving a conflict, paying a debt...)
reaching a certain level
when the group has become famous
Discussion below

I'd be most keen for a classic sandbox personally, though I'd be fine with an investigation or horror game I always felt they didn't quite work in PbP.

I've never gotten to a combat scenario in SWN but for me combat is often the least engaging part of the game (at least on this platform, I can enjoy it in moderation at the table). So I'd definitely fall on the RP focus side.

As for violence, I've never hit a point in an RPG where I has uncomfortable with its level, I'd rather not see it trivialised (so not cartoony or used excessively).

A question for the GM, how much narrative control do you want to excerpt? Like will we be responding to what your presenting or are we allowed to add to the fiction in our posts?

Oh as for themes down for pretty much anything. I'll probably play a paychic be course I like how they play in this game but other than that I don't have much to add... Other then perhaps putting the "I am an actual physicist" warning up, not that it really matters...

Playstyle/Feel of the game
I'm thinking sandbox (I've not played SWN before, so not sure how nice it is for sandboxy stuff). That said, I love me some space opera so that's always a winner for me.

Content
Violence
I don't mind any real level of violence, so long as fits the tone of the story. If we're playing something lighthearted and silly then out of the blue we are fighting Ramsey Bolton, that's just not right.

Combat
I typically like a blend of combat vs RP intrigue. Again, though, not knowing the system makes it hard to say definitively.

Thematic Elements
Sci Fi, spaceships, exploration. All fun stuff!!

@Genisisect
I'm pretty open to giving you some form of narrative control (particularly if we go sandbox which is the less railroady experience). You can introduce background details and fluff as you want (like expanding on a description), so long as it doesn't break the game severely in your favor and doesn't stop the others from contributing as well.

If you want to create contacts/NPCs you'll use the appropriate skill and then we'll flesh the NPC together on the fly.

I might directly ask you questions tied to the narrative at the end of some of my posts as well (what's this guy's name, what's his tatoo like, what is he smuggling) - particularly when it might tie in to your character.

If you guys want to contribute to the narrative I'll open a thread when the game starts to record all the worldbuilding elements you've introduced during play, so that everyone (including me) can use it again at some later point.

As for scientific accuracy I will... do my best haha. I'm studying biology which might not help very much in this case, but I'm still drawn to science so I don't mind doing some extra research, at least some general info about space.

@Dramasailor
Noted. By the way the pdf is available for free on the internet, I'll make a thread with the basic rules (sometime)

A quick overview of the rules : The resolution mechanic is 2d6+attribute+skill vs TN, combat is handled with a d20 (don't know how I feel about that, maybe I will houserule something to keep the 2D6 mechanic ?) and there are 3 "classes" : the warrior with the highest hit die and the ability to ignore (once) damage during a combat, the expert with medium hit die but more skills and the ability to reroll a skill check (once/hour, to adapt it to PbP I will try to come up with something) and finally the psychic with the lowest hit die but the ability to use psychic powers (generally not the offensive sort).

I'm also going to add a question (will edit the OP) :

When should the campaign/adventure end ?
Of course the ending is nearly not as important as the trip there, but I think considering when the game ends can be important.
Some ideas :

all "character arcs" have been resolved
there is some end goal you have accomplished as a group (resolving a conflict, paying a debt...)
reaching a certain level
when the group has become famous

Yeah, I've been reading the rules this morning. I'm thinking an Expert is more what I'd be looking for. Possibly as a pilot or some other spacer.

As for play style, I came here with the idea of exploring and trying to cope with strange environments, cultures and biology, delving deeper into weird social and biological laws / rules. Also, investigation maybe, but more like 'exploring a story' than mental puzzles that I have to solve.
Horror isn't what attracted me to this game, though it wouldn't bother me as a flavor.

Content
I'd prefer something more serious than cartoonish. I like action scenes if not as a main focus. How deadly is the system? (online dice rollers hate me, I don't want to make new characters every few chapters :) Aside from time travel, I like all the other ideas.

Story end
Both succeeding and failing in a common goal is a resolution, so I'm fine as long as we do have a common goal that makes the PCs a team, not just random guys forced together because this is the story.

For character death it is always the same answer, poor decisions will lead to it rather than dice rolls - but the combat system is quite lethal in this game, be warned, especially for non Warriors.

Now you mention something important, the group has to function!
Coming up with the concept of your team will be interesting. You should discuss this between yourselves.

If exploration is your focus for instance you could be the classic team of astronauts/scientists collecting samples.

I honestly could not have said any of this better myself. I am open to play whatever the rest of the group wants to play.

After reading through more of the rules and setting and such, I'm down to try more of the exploration type game.

Meet new people, find new quests, discover new areas, and scavenging treasures as we go along our way of creating the world every step we take?

Exactly!!

I am thinking that adding the sandbox with the space opera would be an awesome combo. A sort of Star Wars-ish theme but not exactly "Star Wars." We create the world ourselves as we proceed with the campaign. The GM, of course, would create the names of all the planets, cities, NPCs, etc. This would make the game a sort of 'improv' type which would give no set outcome for anything that happens.

I am not in any way trying to take over the GM's job. Just trying to throw out some ideas.

The fully sandbox style puts a lot of work on the GM plot-wise, because this way the GM has to present lots of proto-plots for the players to choose from, then improvise the complexities as we go along. If there is a pre-made plot that we can poke from different angles, while making up lots of details, that might help.

What's your view on this, Hageru?

As long as I have a few plot seeds I think things should be fine. This is pbp after all, coming up with something on the fly is easier than improvising at an actual table.

If you are willing to play as explorators you can decide (roughly) what your group is about. Cartographers, scientists collecting samples, military scouts... the choice is yours.

The skill packages in the character creation section can also inform your decision.

As of now, what is the rundown of the game so far?

Nothing much yet, we're deciding on things. But now we know you guys want to play an exploration type game.

We should decide what your group is. I've already come up with a few plot seeds and I will try to do the sector map this week-end.

So, I'm asking, what is your group ? Are you employed or independent ? Have you done previous work or are you a brand new association ? Do you know each other ?

I like the idea of being a group actively employed by one agency. Beyond that, this isn't our shakedown cruise as a unit. Civilian vs military doesn't matter as much to me.

My current concept is an expert focused heavily on transport (transport specialist background and pilot training package). If the thought is more that pilotage would be done with hand waving and NPC wizardry, I could easily do up a different type of role.

We should be a group of, for lack of a better term, "mercenaries."

What kind of mercs are you thinking? You could really run a few different ways. Are we a mercenary company (banded together, under some kind of contract with either one another or to an actual company of mercenaries, orders come from above or from within, yada yada). What services do we offer and to what kind of clientele? Do we recover arms and armaments? Are we hunting for tech for a government? Do we do hostage rescue?

:)

I kind of like the idea of us being like action archaeologists in space. Indiana Jones with laser blasters. Scouring the cosmos for high TL items, on the run from governments and the like.

courir service, finding and bringing tech, maps, info
We could be Exploration Ltd. in a relatively organized civilization, where the government contracts undesirable elements for risky ventures, who are resourceful enough to be useful, but unreliable enough to be kept away with their ideas of more individual freedom.
What's your view on this type of team?

That sounds amazing, Drama. I love that idea. I am all for it. My character would be a perfect candidate for the 'unsophisticated bodyguard' role. Or I could even be the group assassin who goes out to kill regardless of the situation.

Would there be a way to combine the two types?

I don't see why not, really. From a system perspective, that'd be on Hageru to make a final call on. But I can easily see it where we are a unique company, offering less than legal means of handling risky cargoes. We are explorers and such, with enough combat backing to be able to not die in round 1. The government uses us when they need to have the ability to disavow. Blended work of possibly picking up key political figures, recovering pieces of re-discovered tech for military purposes, taking certain unmentionables out for a long walk out a short airlock.

I love it.

I like both your ideas, the only problem being how they conflict with each other where the government/law is involved.
I can envision both scenarios :

- Organized civilization would not be actively hiring independent troubleshooter to find lost tech/explore uncharted territory. If they want to explore themselves I feel like they would have a department focused on that or something.
However you could still go to them when you've discovered something they might be interested in buying - they're not actively looking for your help but some of the prospects you offer could. Your main clients might be private companies and the like.

- Or organized civilization does not have the personnel and training that you have and rely on you and perhaps other for mapping other sectors or finding interesting artifacts. There might even be a need to find habitable planets or specific resources to ensure humanity can keep going.

Either way, I get a high action/pulpy vibe. I will definitely take that into consideration during actual play.

I'd like to know other details :

A successful job you guys accomplished. You don't have to provide specific stuff right now if you don't want to.

Does your group have a name ?

Is there a leader figure amongst you ?

I forgot to write down that the government would only hire us for jobs when they don't want to lose their own trained / loyal employees, or when they want 'deniable assets'. And, a (some?) rich but non-adventurous person / group can also hire us to retrieve things for their personal collection, and with their eccentricity, can be simply interesting NPCs as well.

That sounds good. Would you consider yourselves "bad guys" then ?

Not necessarily bad guys. Good guys that aren't afraid to test the bendable limits of the law to accomplish things. Think Han Solo, Indiana Jones, Robin Hood, the entire Privateer force in world history.

Of course, everyone can be viewed as good or bad depending on your perspective and your lens.

As for the government contracting us, it would definitely be more like greenvoid mentioned: when the government has a need to not be there (the lost tech is in an area known to be held by opposing governments, there's an agreement not to explore an area but they need it charted, the risk to actual government personnel is too high).

I will step down from the talk about who the leader is. My character, a trigger-happy assassin, would not be a good fit for leader.

What does a trigger-happy assassin do in an exploration team?

What if we are encountered by a business/the government and they want someone to be killed and made look like an accident? Who you gonna call? An assassin :) It's not about what is going to happen, it is about the possibility of it happening. Plus, Assassin is just the training. He has a background as a soldier so he can very much stand his own and fight for the team.

It doesn't feel like a group of 4-5 people would be what the government might be employing as mercy, but that kind of cost saving is exactly the kind of thing coorpirate would do! Maybe we are employed by a firm to gather high TL items for resale/ feeding to RND, but while we're arround the planet also gathering info on it, like ore abundances, petrochemical surpluses, etc.

If you have ever seen the move "The Expendables," I would assume we are like that except technologically advanced.

I'd like to get clear on this with the whole team, because that's a completely different attitude than exploration. Doing sneaky jobs, and doing cold-blooded murder jobs are totally different, and the idea itself that the team is willing to accept the latter needs a fundamentally different team, an makes a fundamentally different game. At least as I see it. I don't mind either, but I think it's better to discuss this.

That's a good point. The character I've been getting together in mymind is essentially a researcher, and wouldn't take up a contract that required performing hits. If we choose to take that game style thats fine I can rework the RP to suit but we would need should discuss that...

Also the only place a character this squishy would appear in the expendable a is back at base.

I haven't created my character to be an assassin just yet. I had seen commando, exchange enforcer, mercenary, or even adventuring warrior (allows me to choose 4 skills of my choice).

I think a lot comes down to the flavor, like greenvoid said. I don't think we'd necessarily be doing hit work. Even for explorer's that's not quite there. Now, we may take it upon ourselves to, ahem, encourage other explorers to NOT encroach on our territory.

I'm also fine abandoning the idea of mercenaries altogether. Going purely research/exploration based. I'm really just kind of good with any direction.

Sorry that's not super helpful.

So would a warrior even be useful if we go the research/exploration route? I'm trying to add diversity while also trying to benefit the group.

Of course we're going to need a warrior, I mean imagine how dead all the characters in Star Trek would have been without their security officer! Even when exploring were bound to come across opposition.

Something like a commando could fit very well. Used to working out info about other cultures, some tactical Stealth experience, not to mention the shootybangy to keep the researchers alive til you are all aboard ship where I zip you all off planet.

Okie dokie

So, so far we have

Dramasailor - expert (pilot)
Genisisect - psychic (researcher)
iCryotic - warrior (commando/assassin???)
zatatmando - ???
greenvoid - ???

I'm floating between 2 ideas now:

psychic (teleporter+telekinetic)
background: biotech crew / tech crew
training: psychic researcher
He was born to 2 spacer techie parents, and followed suit, basically living aboard a small merchant spaceship most of his young years. Then, when his powers manifested, he was instructed by a travelling psychic, and used both his psychic abilities for the ship. Finally, he dabbled into psitech as a natural blend of his vocation and inherent abilities. And realized after a while that a single ship is two small for his research, so decided to find a team with wider opportunities. Basically, a psitech junkie.

expert
background: noble
training: xenoarchaeologist
He was born as a privileged man, destined to rule over a small clan. However, when he led a commercial venture, the retinue stumbled upon a cache of alien tech, and that changed his perspective. He became interested in things like that, and on a fateful day, he left his backward planet on a merchant ship to look for more alien and interesting stuff. Basically a bored noble going on adventure.

Any thoughts, ideas, questions?

I love the expert option. Space Indy, ish. If we go hard on the exploration and alien tech recovery route, that would be beautiful.

I will be a warrior with the backing of a soldier with commando training. I will fill the role of being a 'protector' in a sense. I will protect the group in any way possible if anything goes wrong.

You know him as John Smith. Laugh if you want. His identity is only known by him. He is always wearing a helmet/mask/hood that hides his identity (similar to Snake Eyes, only in regards to hidden identity).

@greenvoid
I'm fine with either character ! For the moment only Genisisect has a "weird" tech skill (psitech). If there was only one character knowledgeable about the techs you might find it would hinder the group I feel, so they're both nice additions.

@Dramasailor
The expert allows you to do whatever the hell you want as well.

@iCryotic
Can you give us details on your character's past, and perhaps motives on why he would help the group ?

Also, to everyone, if you're starting to think about your backstories, I'm copypasting the questions I asked a few posts earlier about your group :

A successful job you guys accomplished. You don't have to provide specific stuff right now if you don't want to.

Does your group have a name ?

Is there a leader figure amongst you ?

Can you give us details on your character's past, and perhaps motives on why he would help the group ?

Of course! His identity his hidden but his means and past are not. He is moderately "quiet" (meaning he will not speak if he does not absolutely have to).

Just out of curiousity, do we need to start as a preformed team? I think it might be interesting to see the group interacting for the first time. Our first meeting after being hired onto the mission.

Can you give us details on your character's past, and perhaps motives on why they would help the group ?

Dr Valian Keߟler was a graduate from "insert psychic academy here", where she pursued a career in research. Though here psionic potential was quite deep, she lacked the rigour and technique for detailed research and quickly found herself struggling to publish. More and more she found herself in a teaching role, and dealing with psychics who were unable to cope with the stresses of their craft. A career of watching people slowly blowing themselves up degraded her, and eventually she gave it all up and 'went corporate'.

Why not ? Then I can change the first question to :

What job are you guys currently doing ?

This will tell me directly where and how to start the adventure. Essentially we would start in media rez, ala Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Cool. How about being on a dangerously steep descent towards the surface of a water planet, damaged by one of the almost omnipresent gigantic cyclons that wreck the planert, with no sign of the population we know should be there? And we are here looking for ... ?

... a lost submerged city. They civilization that lived on this planet were well known for their shield technology, but no ones managed to recover either a prototype or a design for them. If we can recover one well be well of. Otherwise we at least gather some data to sell to prospectors.

Another potential question...

What's our ship like? Do we own it?

I like it.

As much as I want to own the ship, I'm not sure we could collectively afford it. If we can (through actual coin or through DM magics), That'd rock.

We might have found one. Its controls respond properly most of the time, however, once in a while it seems to avoid certain actions or courses, as if it had a conflicting motivation of its own.

Ooooh, i like it! Possibly even a piece of that lost technology trying to keep us from danger. When in fact we're trying to intentionally go to a dangerous place for work

So I finally made a character by blending the two concepts. He was a noble on a backwater planet, flashing swords and hunting with bows. During a commercial venture, his retinue stumbled upon a cache of strange, alien tech. He and some of his men heard weird white noise for a while, and lost touch with reality, submerging into otherworldly visions.

When he came round, it turned out that all the others who had those visions went completely insane, and he didn't feel well, either. This changed his ambitions of becoming a powerful ruler and he felt a strong desire to understand what just happened, because he felt he could never feel safe without that in the future.

On a fateful, idyllic day of celebration, he slipped away from the partying and left on one of the merchant ships that brought the supplies for the festivities.

He met Chen Hai, a psychic instructor during his travels, a morose drug addict, who only taught him in hope of retiring to his home world with no responsibilities and lots of wealth. However, an psychic institute caught word of them and tried to assimilate them into their fold, but they managed to run away, going separate ways. Stefan knows that the institute is still looking for him, and suspects that Chen still wants payment for his tutoring.

Hey all,

I'll be slowing down a bit - my exams are coming up early January and this week in particular is fairly loaded. Next week might be more feasible for me though.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

Sorry for the hiatus guys,
my availability might be lower for the coming weeks, but at least now I can post.

If everyone is cool with the underwater city I'd be happy to run something like that.

I also like the idea of you guys having a ship, but it's very quirky. Could be the reason why you're in trouble for this underwater exploration as well.

@greenvoid Seems good. I will take into account the psychic institute as well as the bitter mentor. As for the alien technology, has it been left on your homeworld ?

I don't think so, Stefan didn't leave with cheerleaders and honour guards lining the two sides of the way :P Maybe a small, insignificant trinket the Lord Sauron desires to get back? :)

No, nothing like that, but some small, weird thing he has no idea what to use for or how, it just took his fancy. After all, he led the group that found the cache.

Is this game still going?

Not really sure. I've been wondering myself. I haven't seen Hageru around since December 20th or something like that.

Good question.

Hageru?