planning I need help with getting ideas for an rp.

[Eternal Nature 321]

As you can see, I have this great idea for a rp, but there's a problem. I have no idea on how this work out. I was thinking about doing a "Power Ponies" like rp, but it's based on the "Power Rangers" type style. Here's how the backstory goes... In Equestria, there's a city in which hides a great evil underneath. After a freak accident during a scientific experiment, the great evil awakens, revealing itself to be a race of beast like creatures who call themselves "Malice Beasts". Five ponies found a base created by a being of great power, who calls himself "The Ark". These five ponies receives devises that will allow to "Morph" into a new power, the Power Ponies. Now it's up to the five ponies to stop these beast from destroying their home, and the universe. The idea is that the five ponies must have the colors of the first five ranger colors, but they harness the power of the Elemental Beast within them. I wanted to join in as well, as the sixth "Power Pony", NightGale, Ranger of the Lunar Wind, and the harness the power of the Elemental Beast of the Moon. Please this is all that I thought of at this moment, if anyone's out there who's into this thing, can you help me? Thanks.

[captainborgue 343]

Sounds more like a fanfic than an RP, as you already have the characters pretty much built. Some folks like trying to mash a character into a mold, but I know that for me trying to make a character fit into an assigned role is nowhere near as fun to play. In the tabletop RP world, we call such things "railroading"- where the DM has a set story that they WILL FOLLOW no matter what.

[Eternal Nature 321]

Sounds more like a fanfic than an RP, as you already have the characters pretty much built. Some folks like trying to mash a character into a mold, but I know that for me trying to make a character fit into an assigned role is nowhere near as fun to play. In the tabletop RP world, we call such things "railroading"- where the DM has a set story that they WILL FOLLOW no matter what.

Alright, so what if I make it like" The Kamen Riders" and have the story work on a spur-of-the-moment type deal, with multiple "Power Ponies " arriving at different times, and having different forms, and take out the fact that they harness a certain element. And for the antagonists, they happen at random, and each one is different from the last, it doesn't have to be the main antagonists. That way its more of a "open world" type style, so anything is possible.

[captainborgue 343]

I'm not saying you HAVE to do anything, I'm just saying that it sounds like you've got an idea in your head of how you want it to look, and in my experience the best way to absolutely wreck the hell out of "an idea in my head of how I want this to look" is to involve other people in it.

[Eternal Nature 321]

I'm not saying you HAVE to do anything, I'm just saying that it sounds like you've got an idea in your head of how you want it to look, and in my experience the best way to absolutely wreck the hell out of "an idea in my head of how I want this to look" is to involve other people in it.

Any suggestions?

[captainborgue 343]

Well if ponified power rangers is the goal, why not just do that? It may not turn out exactly as you had envisioned if it's an RP.

[Discord 247]

 

 

Posted 12 minutes ago Well if ponified power rangers is the goal, why not just do that? It may not turn out exactly as you had envisioned if it's an RP.

 

Don't forget the All-Powerful Leader/Boss/Head On A Screen, or the spastic, annoying robot.

 

Humans LOVE that stuff. 

[Eternal Nature 321]

Okay question, could I make a slice of life rp specifically for a ponified power ranger, and allow them to work on their own accord against their own primary antagonist, like it's multidimensional? That would mean that anypony can be their own ranger, and allow them to live in their own world, and there would be no backfires, due to the fact that there is no obstacles in the story, because everypony has their own storyline to live off on.

[Once In A Blue Moon 894]

I can offer some thoughts. I will admit to being much less experienced at running RPs, but I've run a fair few RPGs (and been in a fair few more) so I like to think I'm getting a hang of the basics (although everyone has their own style, and mine is fairly railroad-y, but that's fine as long as the people joining know what they're in for. The caveat for all this being that I'm not the best person to listen to for a more open RP.)

As you can see, I have this great idea for a rp, but there's a problem. I have no idea on how this work out. I was thinking about doing a "Power Ponies" like rp, but it's based on the "Power Rangers" type style.

I agree with captainborgue that the concept for the characters is a bit narrow. Pre-made characters can work for one-shot RPGs, where you only have a few hours and the main focus is on the mechanics and the adventure, but that isn't so good in the long run (that said, there are RPs where people RP as cannon characters, so it can be done if the characters are well-made.)

 

What I would suggest is you focus on the setting and events of the RP, and then just talk with applicants about how their character will fit into it - so long as there is a good world to engage with most RPers will want their character to fit in; maybe with a slightly different 'flavour', but since most superheroes are fairly off-the-wall in terms of design (or over-design) and personality that kind of fits in. I suggest you let them choose their colours, and to a certain degree their powers, as that makes them feel more involved with their character (again, just discuss how it fits in.)

 

Funnily enough, the Chaotic One is right in one respect - having 'a head on a screen' rather than an NPC leader that goes out with them is probably a good idea, as it should really be the characters that are solving things (and by solving I mean anything from scratching heads to smashing heads.) The boss tells them the problem that the guard / emergency services / other can't deal with and asks them to sort it out whilst (s)he sorts out big-picture things; the boss needs to be seen to do something, but the main characters need to be the ones to either allow the boss' plan to work or to deal with something that the boss didn't know about. Indeed they aren't just the heroes of this adventure - they're the SUPER heroes. Obviously they will require SUPER villains to go up against - so if the villain is powerful, they need to be really powerful; if the villain is clever, they need to be really clever (and that can be really hard to pull off without really obvious GM scripting) and so on. An invading race of evil beasts needs to be really threatening in some way (and also really evil, unless you want to do a more mature and complex RP about a conflict between species.)

Okay question, could I make a slice of life rp specifically for a ponified power ranger, and allow them to work on their own accord against their own primary antagonist, like it's multidimensional? That would mean that anypony can be their own ranger, and allow them to live in their own world, and there would be no backfires, due to the fact that there is no obstacles in the story, because everypony has their own storyline to live off on.

You could try that - it's not like there are specific rules or anything, but players do like their actions to have consequences (that goes for all RPs and RPGs, as far as I am aware) and a lack of obstacles would make it seem a bit... flat (showjumping with no jumps would be a parallel I would draw.) Obstacles need not be physical barriers or hostile opponents - in a Slice of Life social things happen that change the dynamic somehow, in a romance something goes particularly wrong / right / unexpectedly in a relationship, whilst in a comedy something absurd usually happens (I generalise, but these are good starting points.) Also, if you want an RP group (as opposed to a one-to-one RP) then there needs to be a point to there being a group. It's difficult, but one should always try to encourage the players to interact with each other as well as the world (and reward them for doing so) which will be tricky if what each of them does doesn't really affect the others. Unless you want a kind of superhero chat-room RP, which could be interesting, but you will need to make sure that everyone knows what they are signing up for.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Once In A Blue Moon