Thanks for responding so quickly and with such great input
I will get right on to it
Also i am interested in what other people have to say if their are any more opinions
I don’t know if I’m missing something for not having played a tabletop game where these rules work very effectively, but it seems that the examples you’re using to explain Style points show that the Style points system just replaces stuff that is usually roleplayed in a larp. I get the feeling it would be somewhat immersion breaking to hear the snap of a twig in the forest, go to investigate, and have to have an OOC conversation with someone where they try and convince you that you haven’t heard them by paying you style points. At which point the rest of your group has come along to find the person attempting to do the sneaking because you went off in the first place to investigate, and then have to have an OOC conversation with them in which you explain that the last minute didn’t actually happen in-game and that nobody heard anything despite having now all seen the person attempting to do the sneaking.
The same applies to combat use of style points. I realise that they are a mechanic that could be used to even the playing field between those who are already skilled at larp fighting, and those who are new, but it takes the immersion and intensity out of a physical fight when you have to stop and insist that they should take a style point so that you can cause more damage to them. While some players will accept the insist, I imagine most wont, and will continue fighting with their inherent skill. Why give up a fight if you know you’re going to win? Only when it’s more dramatic, and it’s a lot less dramatic if you’re trying to have an OOC conversation about why you should or shouldn’t take a style point to let the other person gain the upper hand.
The game scenario also seems to be quite focused on the sci-fi concepts, rather than the social situation of the setting. I personally attend larps for the social experience, not to have fictional technologies and future-histories explained to me (I watch or read sci-fi for that).
There also seems to be a decent amount of politics involved in the setting. This is evidenced by talk of large areas (star sectors, and even entire planets are large areas), rulers of these areas, and resources (which reads a little like a strategy game). Now, while a bit of politics in a larp isn’t necessarily a bad thing, anything that is boring in the real world usually isn’t any more interesting in a larp. FWIW; politics is pretty boring in the real world, so it’s pretty boring in larps too. While including politicians in a game doesn’t in itself make the game boring. Politics, however, does (although keep in mind that this is just one person’s opinion, others could well think differently).
I hope this is somewhat useful. If not, let me know and I will attempt to reword it.
I agree that the style points can detach the game but they were meant for actions that are really hard to role-play like out of character actions, or preparing schemes that have just finally come to fruition, and seeing that i am hoping for this to mostly being done indoors you wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally hearing a twig snap etc etc etc
But for combat you aren’t asking them for the style, it happens and they can’t stop it unless they have a counter maneuver and spend the style to use it
As for what the game sounds like, i am trying to aim for a social game and if it doesn’t sound like that i need to work harder on my promotional skills.
[quote=“Dogmirian”]Alright seeing no one seems interested in playing would you mind if someone told me what’s wrong with the idea or is it timing or display etc etc etc so i can try again later
Thank you[/quote]
Hi Garth,
A lot of what Ryan says is very relevant, and from my personal perspective, you lost me at “monthly game.” I’m not sure what your roleplaying/GMing experience is since I’m not entirely sure who you are, but I haven’t run into you/heard of you being involved with any of the four current monthly campaigns (I don’t attend two of them, so perhaps you do) so I don’t know if you have any experience in playing, let alone running, monthly campaigns.
Assuming you don’t have much/any experience in monthly live campaigns (and feel free to skip this paragraph if you’ve actually go stacks that I’m ignorant of) you really ought to get some before attempting to run one. I haven’t run one but I have had enough friends that have to know just how much of their time and energy it eats up. Running a monthly game is hard. If you haven’t run any kind of live game before, starting with a monthly campaign is like starting your painting career with ceiling of the Cistine Chapel. Additionally, playing in a monthly game, in my experience, tends to require a fair amount of effort and energy from the players too - which is why we tend to go for experienced GMs/GM teams, or at least people we trust to be able to run a good game. It’s a huge commitment to ask - I wouldn’t think twice about turning up for a one off afternoon game, but I already play in in one monthly game and NPC regularly at another and finding the time for another one is a huge ask. A lot of the community is in similar boats - there is a glut of monthly games at the moment (admittedly, as of mid-2011 we’ll be back down to about two)
I recommend starting smaller. I really like the look of Houses of the Blooded game, and would like to see something done with it but leaping straight into a monthly game isn’t the way to go. As Ryan suggested - try running a one off for Chimera, or just in general to get some interest first.
Anna