How to create indie RP/plots

[BOXCARS]

Karma is all good and well but longevity is only one point for the criteria. That being said, karma isn't all its cracked out to be. You'll ultimately get more fun out of /being/ interesting and complex and finding your own way forward than paying good-boy points for a complex and interesting role. Wherever you go, there you are, being a magick user, half-giant, desert elf or noble won't change that.

The reality of sacrifice is that it only means something if it meant something to you and those you did it for. Its better to go down and see your friends go on without you for the satisfaction it gives you than for the hope of a reward. Going down in a noble last stand, if that's what you would or need to do, is the stuff of stories. Maybe you'll be dead but your character will live on in the stories and memories of other characters and that's worth more than any item, sid or karma.

There's plenty of reasons to clash with other players, and taking into evaluation your personal history, race, and place of origin is a good start. Failing that, poking into other's business is a good way to make plots. Information is THE highest commodity in this game, its the more useful than any skill and true and useful information is rarer. I feel immense pleasure when I learn what it is that's actually going on, who's working for who, what the history of groups and individuals are. Because of the one year rule and the general function and culture of the game information trumps everything else. So stick your nose where it doesn't belong. Personally do so, bribe and find informants, ask bad questions in the wrong or right place. Get your face out there.

Lastly getting involved in a group is the best way to find yourself in plots but not the only way to do so. Change revolves around force of personality as much as action. You'll find more people getting involved in your schemes when you make yourself someone to be remembered (subtly or loudly). Do things for other people, get involved in THEIR plots, make friends.
There's a lot of ways to make a good plot, but w;w;w;n;e;e; get loot;k scrab isn't the way to do so.

[Riev]

You aren't rewarded in any way for sacrificing your character for the sake of a good story. You are rewarded instead for 'longevity'. No matter how bullshit your methods of maintaining that longevity have been.

You won't earn karma for bravely holding that line against the raiders/gith/scrab with a grainy stone and going down in glory while your comrades made it to safety. Instead you earn a wait for approval and the joy of having to go find a new group of people to play with.
With all those factors, you're going to see more of the bullshit behavior and less of the narratively-focused players.

These resonate with me very much. I know its old hat, but I had a character who was being tortured, and a riot broke out. Because I was still "Following" the Templar in charge, I was let go from the restraints. I felt it was In Character to return to the torture device as I was never actually let go. I wasn't rewarded with karma, or kudos, or any pat on the back for following the rules. I could have just brushed it off sayin the rioters let me go and been on my way. I earned swift death and a new PC for that.

It makes it difficult to engage in plotlines that might irk someone else. I've had mentors in game say "Kill anyone in your way, because anything less means they will ruin your plans later". Its become such a state that you have to be buddy-buddy to accomplish anything, and indies especially end up dying to silly things, or store.

[Derain]

I cannot count the times I've held the line or let the march to the arena happen when I could of easily ran for my life.

[Lizzie]

The longevity thing is only awarded once, and that is when you demonstrate that you are -capable- of having a character last longer than a day or two. Why? Because it means you are -capable- of getting involved in storylines. A 2-hour character doesn't have time to get involved in much, if anything. A 10-hour character, also not much. But a 5-10-day character? Yup. He's had time to develop, to demonstrate his personality to people who *might* be interested in his participation in things. He's had time to impress, or piss off, enough people that someone would've heard his name, should he accomplish either.

ICly, he is "someone other than yet another one who shows up one day and disappears the next." If you choose not to do this on a regular basis, that's fine. You only need to do it once, to earn that singular longevity point.

[Riev]

What is that apropos of? Are you saying you only need to follow the rules once, get the karma, then dont do it again?

[Hauwke]

In this very specific case, I feel the point isn't awarded for merely keeping a PC alive for 1 rl month or what have you. If it were then just roll a PC and log out. But that is not the case at all. I feel like it awarded for showing the ability to keep a PC alive for awhile while playing. The point isn't to push everyone to play the same pc for 10 RL years, it is to foster some kind of consistency.

[valeria]

The best way I've found to make plots is to have your character be really passionate about something, and try to rope other people into helping you meet your goals. The thing you're passionate about can be anything from hating elves to collecting rocks, it literally doesn't matter, as long as you're trying to pull people along for the ride.

Incidentally, this is why I love playing dwarves.

[Bebop]

The best way I've found to make plots is to have your character be really passionate about something, and try to rope other people into helping you meet your goals. The thing you're passionate about can be anything from hating elves to collecting rocks, it literally doesn't matter, as long as you're trying to pull people along for the ride.

Incidentally, this is why I love playing dwarves.

This, or be totally obsessed with something or someone or both.  Which is kind've what you already said.

OR!  Sometimes, I like to just play a "supporting role" find those characters that are really passionate or quirky and fun to play with and just pledge your allegiance to whatever it is they're passionate about.  Take on their obsession and push it forward.

[number13]

>But a 5-10-day character? Yup. He's had time to develop, to demonstrate his personality to people who *might* be interested in his participation in things.

That's a terrible mentality.

A 5 to 10 day character has been playing for 120 to 240 hours of game play. By comparison, a typical Netflix series is like 10 to 13 hours. A typical movie is 2 hours. It should be possible to play the game for 10 to 20 hours and have a character worthy of including in plots.

[Miradus]

>But a 5-10-day character? Yup. He's had time to develop, to demonstrate his personality to people who *might* be interested in his participation in things.

That's a terrible mentality.

A 5 to 10 day character has been playing for 120 to 240 hours of game play. By comparison, a typical Netflix series is like 10 to 13 hours. A typical movie is 2 hours. It should be possible to play the game for 10 to 20 hours and have a character worthy of including in plots.

I agree. The character who has been around that long is probably one of the LEAST LIKELY to be someone I would try and rope into a mad scheme of mine.

They are most likely already burdened down with all sorts of relationships already and anyone I'm plotting against is probably their bosom buddy from their halcyon days in the Byn, or the Garrison, or whatever. Or their mudsex buddy, or the mother of their child, or any number of things I might not be aware of.

They're also extremely invested in their longevity, which means they're not likely going to follow me down a path of antagonizing anyone who might actually represent a threat to them. Which in my book, are the only people worth antagonizing.

And finally ... as a culture thing .. in Armageddon, other players almost always defer to the side of the longest-lived people they know. They will rally around and support each other, even when it makes NO sense in terms of roleplay, to defend against some newer character. So even attempting to rope one of them into your plot is extremely dangerous.

Newbies try harder. They're far more worth inclusion into schemes to my way of thinking.

[Armaddict]

Uhm.

Anyone who's pertinent to the scheme is worth pulling into scheming.

[Large Hero]

They are most likely already burdened down with all sorts of relationships already and anyone I'm plotting against is probably their bosom buddy from their halcyon days in the Byn, or the Garrison, or whatever. Or their mudsex buddy, or the mother of their child, or any number of things I might not be aware of.

...

And finally ... as a culture thing .. in Armageddon, other players almost always defer to the side of the longest-lived people they know. They will rally around and support each other, even when it makes NO sense in terms of roleplay

r/selfawarewolves material. Perhaps the longer-lived characters you've seen defend each other do so because they have relationships you may not be aware of, as you say is common.

People who play RPIs would benefit from making fewer assumptions about how other players' actions "make NO sense in terms of roleplay." We cannot be aware of all or most of what drives a character's (and player's) choices. Even staff looking in and even people who OOCly gossip about our characters' actions can't know it all.

Haven't posted in a while but I wanted to point that out since it's such a common way for people to worsen their own roleplaying experience. Give people the benefit of the doubt. If that's become difficult or impossible, it may be time to take a break.

"We judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behaviour." ― Stephen M.R. Covey

[path]

Whoa do I love newbies. And I don't think there's anything more fun than pulling them into any kind of roleplay, scheming or otherwise.

And yet, that in no way diminishes the delightful effectivity of a longer-lived and more invested PC.

If you're just looking through a lense of PK and how to accomplish it without being detected or retaliated against, maybe newb is the way to go? However, that's quite a meta perspective. I say, throw those bones! Be detected or retaliated against!

If you're looking through a lense of story creation and inclusivity, you're going to rope so many people into your fun and the more people you bring into that circle of fun, the more relentless your own fun will be. Will you bring the wrong person in? WILL THEY NARK?!? PERHAPS! But the story is boring if you play your cards too close and I'm not here to be bored. I've bought the ticket and by the Highlord's balls, I'm going to go on this ride.

[Riev]

If you're looking through a lense of story creation and inclusivity, you're going to rope so many people into your fun and the more people you bring into that circle of fun, the more relentless your own fun will be. Will you bring the wrong person in? WILL THEY NARK?!? PERHAPS! But the story is boring if you play your cards too close and I'm not here to be bored. I've bought the ticket and by the Highlord's balls, I'm going to go on this ride.

This has to be tempered, though, with the realization that in order for your PC to accomplish their goals, they have to be alive.
Staff support has made a decent shift to "supporting those who have been around longer", in the vein of "You have to have your PC around for at least <X> amount of RL time". It isn't a hard set rule, but the risk-averse behavior has been strengthened by the fact that a dead PC can't start their own circus, and going outside with strangers to discover caves doesn't lead to alive PCs.