Ulthuan

First of all, sorry to get your hopes up.

I was sitting in the bus today and started thinking (finally...). How many failed RPs have we had? How many good RPs that just ran their course and ended in a perfect conclusion that still left you wanting more?

Why was this? Maybe the GM disappeared? One or two key players lost interest/time? We've had a lot of really good and interesting RPs here in the past, though lately the amount has greatly diminished (although Shining Moment seems to keep going, and that's good).

What are the RPs you miss the most? Why did they end? Could something be done to revitalize them? Could you start a new RP?

Discuss!

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Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians

I think the problem with online rpgs is that they take a lot of time to get going. With, on average, one post per person per day, a slow introduction can take weeks to get through, and it's easy for people to lose focus over that time. The other side of this is that, if you keep it going, even a short game can take weeks - the monster sized ones can go for a year or more. Burnout becomes a massive problem at that point.

As far as I can remember, I've only run one rpg on here that ever finished naturally (Dungeons and Dragons), and I can only remember one other that got to its planned conclusion (The Crown). As for the other big ones I remember - Storm Over Ulthuan hit both of the problems I mentioned above, entering a slow period of the story after everyone was feeling burnt out from years of gaming. Tales of Beleriand suffered from burnout too, though it managed to reach a respectable ending point. I tried a pile of smaller ones that didn't even get off the ground - too slow a beginning in my opinion.

As for One Brief Shining Moment, we've had individuals burn out with it, but the game as a whole has kept going. However, we've only covered a fraction of the mega-storyline. Realistically, we'll be lucky if we get to the death of Uther, much less to Arthur becoming King and the planned climax at the Battle of Badon Hill - and that's only the halfway point for the complete story arc!

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"Ask every person if they've heard the story,
And tell them, loud and clear, if they have not:
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot.

Don't let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment
That was known as Camelot."

My attempt with Avatar took much longer then I thought to get going into action. Which I think is what hurt it in the end. Most of the points that Calarion has brought up have been the big issues.
The other problem is that to begin with you really need it to get going and know exactly what you're doing. The other rp I've run on here sort of died because I had an idea (I thought good) but not enough structure and planning to make it get past the first adventure.

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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

For long running RP's player loss or GM burnout are the biggest factors, usually in combination. I only ran one, Tales of Beleriand, but I did find it hard to keep going sometimes. Fortunately I was blessed with a dedicated group of players, all of whom were Tolkien fans. But after a year and a half, and still several story arcs to come I found I just didn't have the will or the time to keep going anymore. Life changes can be a factor as well. I barely even post anymore since Sir Tinian's untimely death.

In that way I really admire Cal's ability to generate long running RP's. OBSM is the 4th big one he's managed IIRC, although there's been a few failures too. (I'm still reading OBSM too, and it looks like it will be surpassing Tales in length very soon.)

As Eth said, I think it's important to really dive into the action. Slow buildup usually results in a lack of interest.

As for RP's I miss, well, I still look back fondly upon Storm, and especially upon the demise of my first character there. And I miss Howling Winter for Glaciandar's antics and the comic absurdity of those MSN conversations.

I do agree with Luna though. The RP forum used to be a beehive of activity. Text based RP'ing seems to be a dying art. Used to be there could be 10-15 efforts going at a time, with varying degrees of success. Now there's basically one. Which is kind of a shame.

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Never moon a werewolf.

Never fear, for I am in the process of working out some ideas for a Star Wars RP, using the Pendragon rules. Just gotta get exams out of the way, and I'll look into starting it up.

I think the main problem with RP's right now is that there are few of the veterans left on the board regularly. Even a year ago, there was a goodly number of people I would consider major contributors. Now, outside of the Warhammer forums there's not that many, and even fewer who like the idea of RP's. And the players are all important to avoid burn out. OBSM did well to start as all the players proved dedication and actual ability. Now there's only a few, and it's up to them to keep it going, and there are too few other people to maintain a new one.

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'The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.'

Incidentally, I have an opening in OBSM if anyone is interested. Luna?

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"Ask every person if they've heard the story,
And tell them, loud and clear, if they have not:
That once there was a fleeting wisp of glory
Called Camelot.

Don't let it be forgot
That once there was a spot
For one brief shining moment
That was known as Camelot."

I think PAs hit the nail on the head. I've been a member of Ulthuan for about two years and the second year here theres been a real drop off of veteran presence especially since the site change after the last campaign. When i first joined RPs sprung up all the time but now there doesn't seem to be much of an expirienced RP group outside of those in OBSM which has lost a number of players due to various reasons.



Text based RPing does seem to be a dying art form. To be honest if I wasn't in OBSM I wouldn't be involved in it at all which is a shame since its been my favorite part of Ulthuan since joining and has kept me around and active. Before doing text based Rping I never wrote and since joining I have become a passable writer and now write some fiction pieces.

Also nice to see you around Ulthuan Anarion its been a while Its nice to know somebodys following OBSM beside the players, even if you are an explayer

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Cidracin Greyrider 12/14/3

Actually.. The RP section is the reason I keep coming back here and I would wish a new interesting RP would open up soonish.. :3

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I'd be honored. Could you fill me in on the details via PM?

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Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians

I haven't had much success keeping an RP going, but I've had fun in every one I've participated in. I really enjoyed Desperate Times, wish we'd been able to finish it. Time is definitely a problem. A player or GM goes missing for whatever reason, and by the time they come back, someone else is gone.

I'm stubborn though, so I was thinking of giving it another go. I had an idea for a regular RP, or since no one has started up DAU 14, I might try running another of those(with less nighttime confusion, I learned my lesson ).

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Setesh Akhen-Isfet, Commander of the Heralds of Oblivion

It's so nice how Ruerl got all of us excited for DAU 14 and then he just disappeared over Christmas... <.<

Anyways, definitely up for another RP or something like that!

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DAU 14... Poor Ruerl, i hope he is okay... So that i can punish him with my own hands for crushing my hopes and dreams like this

I joke, personally i find it difficult to get into RP's because they have complex rules, and character formations that aren't easy for a new comer to just join and follow.

I think we should get a section that provides a guide to getting into RP's and how they work, how the stats work, etc... to allow fresh meat to get in and learn the ways of RP and feel more involved, which can result in less leaving when they realize they don't understand whats happening.

I agree. I have never done RP, but have always been interested in it. Especially in the warhammer realm (Storm of Ulthuan was a fun read, but I was totally lost with the game aspects of it!). Probably the biggest hurdle is no one I know plays them, so I am forced to do online ones. If someone could write something quick on how to get started, maybe a short RP with quick action could draw some interest and get fresh people involved?

A group of shadow warriors in a battle against a new invasion of Druchii as they have to escape the initial ambush and rush to the nearest fort and muster an army? That could be short-ish and exciting pretty quickly and give whatever other new people are out there a taste of what online RP can be? It can either end with the battle or if people are interested in continuing it can turn into a more massive invasion than initially thought. Maybe with one or more of the characters having his family abducted by the Druchii slavers and is more concerned with turning back to rescue them than warning the army and others who lost everything and are only out for blood.

Just some ideas that could be fun and exciting, but I don't know how this all works really so maybe my ideas are too simple. Like I said, an idea of how to get into this would be great help and short-er RPs I think would make attrition less severe.

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Link to my YouTube Channel:

To be honest I really think Ulthuan could benefit from some shorter RPs to get new players involved. Though I think that the DAU games that are held every now and again are great for newbies interested in RPing, and gives them to wet their feet without being overwhelmed by a full on RP. My start in text based RPing was DAU9 and it was really a good starting point for me seeing as I had never wrote anything outside of school assignments before and getting used to writing for RPs takes a while. For anyone who has read OBSM you'll notice my posts have gotten better over time So I think it would be good for a few simpler RPs to be held for newer players. Very simple scenarios would help eliminate the need for much intro and the new players could get into the thick of things on a fairly simple adventure and gain valuable writing expirience. That being said I really just don't think theres enough interest in RP to get even a simple RP underway. The reason there are none besides OBSM is because theres not enough demand for RPs, which is a shame as they really are quite fun and are the only reason I still hang around the site.

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Cidracin Greyrider 12/14/3

I can recall four or so RP's that I've initiated, and all of them have failed due to my failure to maintain them, or even get them off the ground. I suppose I just don't have the mental fortitude to stay wholly committed to running an RP--especially when real life becomes an obstacle--but at the same time, I can't bring myself to relax and run an RP at a casual level without huge amounts of detail. That's my catch-22, I suppose.

If anyone's seriously interested in getting some RP's started in here again, I really think my Days of Madness idea had some potential. It should be somewhere down the page on this subforum if you'd like to see the little overview I set up for it. I've got some other stuff written up for that I never posted, and a general framework for how it'd be run, but I just don't have the time to run it myself. If anyone else would like to throw their hat in the ring as co-GM or somesuch, though, that'd be great...I'd still like to see Days of Madness get off the ground one way or another .

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"To contemplate letting the alien, the heretic or the traitor win just to save a few million lives is the worst kind of heresy, because it is clad in the mantle of good intentions."

"I am Aenarion's heir, not Aenarion himself. My fate is my own."
-Tyrion, Champion of the Everqueen

Well let see, the reason why my RPG I ran based on a Seven Samurai Scenario was mostly do to my own burnout. Running a game is always more tiresome than it looks.

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Hour of the Wolf:Lord Relar Sorin, Guardian of Northern Athel Loren, member of the Eternal Guard, and Lord of the Tower of the Eternal Forest.

Yeah, I miss the good old days too. I've been in a number of RP's here, one of which we even managed to conclude! Most of 'em just died off because of X.

But have no fear, I still intend to continue Strife over Tlaxis, I just need new players.
And what better place to market than a place where eople sob that no more RP's are going on! Join people JOIN!

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Dwarven gravitational theory states that enough ale will make anything fall down.

Hosting an RPG takes a lot of time and dedication. And when things go slow, you need to give it some more input, like throwing some more wood on the fire, and it will get going again. It took me over three years to run 20 turns of the Age of the Beast (and yes, Luna, it has ended). What might help in a turn-based RP is a deadline. The first DAU by EricJ was a great success, partially because it was fast paced and every few days a turn would end.


That was the one I was in I believe. That one was excellent.

Funny, by the way, to see Calarion and Anarion post in this thread. Very nostalgic.

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I'll think of something

I know, but can you blame me for not wanting it to? It was the most fun RP I've had on this site to date.

When's the next one?

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Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians

I think a fast-'n'-furious style (SPAM-based? It's the only RP system I know, but it seems pretty cool) RP would be a brilliant idea! I have never participated in an RP before But I would love to give it a try, and new members who want to play an RP will be more likely to go for a new, action packed one, rather than something long and time-consuming like OBSM (don't get me wrong though, I think it's fantastic!).

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"If you spend your whole time thinking about the universe, you tend to forget the less important bits of it. Like your pants."

"Dojo! What is Rule One?"
"Do not act incautiously when confronting little bald wrinkly smiling men!"

-Terry Pratchett

Star Wars sounds great so just wanted to say that if/when you start it you can count on me to join in (or help in anyway that i can). Please let this happen!

I would love to join an RP be it a slow one or a fast one. I would have asked to join in on OBSM (i keep reading that as BDSM though! ) but i have no idea what the story is so far and i don't have the time to read some 100+ pages to catch up!

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War. War never changes
dum spiro, spero...
"Humans are strange creatures, in a world of such fascination and wonder they have managed to invent boredom"

OK, I'll will start a new RP at once! Just saying though, I have never done anything like this before, so don't get your hopes up too much!
I will have it up and running once I get the finer details of the plot worked out.

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"If you spend your whole time thinking about the universe, you tend to forget the less important bits of it. Like your pants."

"Dojo! What is Rule One?"
"Do not act incautiously when confronting little bald wrinkly smiling men!"

-Terry Pratchett

Just an idea... Can we move the RP thread up in the index?

That way it gets seen more and people don't forget about it. Just an idea to reviving the RP.

This is a very late reply, but when I came back to the site I was very surprised at how much it's changed in priorities. When I first joined (before we were ulthuan.net) OT was easily the most active, followed by roleplay. Now they are both very nearly dead. I never really got into the roleplay section (though I used to post a lot in off topic) but I do think it added to the site overall. I have no idea on how to bring it back though. I think some explanation and a couple simple games would help though.

If I am not mistaken, there were mods who were also great story tellers at that time. I can't be sure, first time I heard of Ulthuan site it was the word that it was swallowed by the seas. Long after that, when I actually started playing Warhammer, I found it as it is now.

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Rainbows painting blog
Secret Santa 2016

It's because most of the old guard is gone and there hasn't been enough new blood to revitalize the site. Somewhat poetic, since that's what's happening to the Asur in warhammer as well, but still a darn shame.

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Prince Deral Lionbane, head of the House of Lionbane, Lord of Lionstone and Warden of Tor Charta

Luna, try not to beat them too hard. They are proud about their pseudo-glorious past and their present nothingness, you know.
-Elmoth, about Caledorians

The focus definitely shifted. Off topic I understand, there are other media where there is easier to chat about anything to heart's content. But role play? I do not think so.

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Rainbows painting blog
Secret Santa 2016

We went though some tough times for sure. Loosing the domain, servers that frequently crashed, a community that spent tons more time in OT and Roleplay then any thing warhammer (not a problem, but hard to rebuild membership that way). And then this got set up and the whole place went nuts.

I'm not at all a big role player. But part of me wants to help get something going again.

Pretty sure you just quoted/replied to yourself...

Damn i really want to RP and video games are just too boring for it like Skyrim since after 200 hours i just know where everything is now or completed. DayZ people never roleplay just kill each other and then Fallen Enchantress where i try but its a TBS game so limited same with XCOM. I want some good old random text based RPing...

Heck even the GF wont Roleplay...

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War. War never changes
dum spiro, spero...
"Humans are strange creatures, in a world of such fascination and wonder they have managed to invent boredom"