I'm contemplating hosting my own text-based Matrix RPG.

[Anonymous]

Good call.  I can't stand "invincible" characters.  On the other hand, I feel that characters who can't do anything at all, who continually fail without any trace of any kind of victory (unless the situation is really that bad) are nearly equally boring to play.

I prefer a nice mix, myself, something more realistic.  You win some, you lose some.  Maybe you'll do quite well, one mission.  Maybe the next, you're somehow betrayed and everything you've worked for is pulled out from under you.  Just keeping to one extreme or another for the entire scenario/campaign/whatever isn't very interesting.

[Anonymous]

What's realistic about "you win some, you lose some?"

And besides, I don't think I made myself very clear. But I don't rig the game so that it is for or against your favor. I give you some challenges, and it's up to you to turn them into victories. But I don't reward people making stupid decisions, nor do I give people "a break" should they make a mistake. Whether it's a stupid mistake, or a very calculated decision that just didn't work out for you, I don't lighten up about it. In my RPG's, you have to live with your mistakes.

In fact, you have to live with your victories.

Time tells the difference between victories and defeats. You may successfully assassinate a Hitler-esque leader of a country, and that you can count as a victory. But maybe within a year, that country turns their leader into a martyr, and they come back after you full force. That could be a defeat.

In my RPG's, yes, things might be extreme, but they're never black and white. There's so much gray you might even have trouble figuring out what you're fighting for.

My RPG's are not for anyone's self gratification of believing that they are the shit. They're for your mind. They make you think, and if you don't think, it's a pretty good way of getting yourself dead.

Anyone who comes into my RPG's thinking in terms of black and white get themselves into a lot of trouble very early on. They tend to think that just because someone is your enemy, that means that they're evil. This is not the case. Sometimes you'll have to kill very good people in order to get the desired results. And sometimes making an enemy out of good people and cause very bad results. Sometimes making friends out of terrible people can be a good thing.

[Anonymous]

so when does it come out?

[Anonymous]

I'm writing the rules right now. Currently I've got 10 pages written. I'm aiming for about 20 pages of rules, which is still like 280 less than SWRPG, and about 780 less than AD&D, so it's light reading, and a lot of it is just reference stuff.

Although, the rules are based on the assumption that everyone is somewhat familiar with d20 rules. If you're not, it's not truly a big deal, so don't worry. We'll probably have a practice session so everyone can understand how the game works.

Anyway, don't expect it to be a couple of days, aim for more like a couple of weeks. I'm going to be going out of town for about five days come Wednesday, and I'll have no access to a computer. Ideally, we could possibly start on the 19th. Not too terribly far away, and we might be able to fit in a practice session with some of you prior to that.

Look out for a future post where I'll be asking for everyone's information, and giving some more information soon.

[Anonymous]

Wow, AD&D is 800 pages? I remember my reference books only being 150-300, and there was only like three...But anyway, twenty pages for an online rpg sounds like a good amount.

And Zink, wheres your bouncing boobies? I demand the bouncing boobies!!!!/jk!!!!!

[Anonymous]

what u mean....their there

[Anonymous]

i guess all the avatars went down for a second...or my 56k couldnt handle that and downloading photoshop at the same time. Damn crappy wiring.

[Anonymous]

Well, the Player's Hand Book for DnD is 322 pages, and so the the Dungeon Master's Guide, coincidentally...
I have the pdf of about 15 different books downloaded so my DnD library is more among the 2500 mark.

[Anonymous]

Heh, i have a lot more for the dragonlance setting. Most of them on pdf also, as its impossible to find them were I live. And if im dming, there are thousands of pages you have to look through to make a good, not great adventure that not just a really cool idea.

[Anonymous]

On the "win some lose some" comment, you described it well yourself.  You accomplish a "victory," a successful assassination.  Yet, later it turns out such an action comes back to haunt you a thousand fold.  

In other words, some days everything seems to be going according to plan, everyone's hitting on all cylinders...then others (or maybe later on the same day) everything breaks down and falls apart in the worst possible way.

Essentially, I was suggesting that I like RP sessions that don't tend to one extreme or another when it comes to difficulty and the situation at the time.  Getting your face dragged in the pavement every single session is as unappetizing to me as being the perfect kick-ass paragon every single session.

Your revised description sounds much more appetizing, if you want my opinion.  I love games which play with your mind, create alignment vertigo, and put you in a place where you're not sure what you should be fighting for, and who is actually in the "right," if such a thing can be defined and applied.

[Anonymous]

I'll give you a good example of how my sessions turn out.

Currently, in my SWRPG, I've got about half a dozen or more people playing. A Dark-sided Force Adept, a Music Star, a Wanderer with the heart of a warrior, a deadly Mercenary, a Rebel Operative, and a Smuggler.

The Singer tends to be all right, but she's a coward, so it's rare she sticks her head into a situation that'll get her over her head.

The Rebel Operative was given a mission to kill the Wanderer. Yes, I put players against each other in my sessions. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes it just happens. I don't discourage it, though. The Rebel found out that the Wanderer wasn't such a bad guy, so he went against orders and didn't kill him. He then mouthed off to his superior officer, and got the shit kicked out of him, and thrown in the brig. Currently he's on Alderaan, and in the storyline we're about 12 hours prior to when the planet gets blown up. He's currently all alone in the jail cell, as everyone else vacated. I don't think he's going to make it.

The Dark-Sider spent most of his time trying to repair a broken ship, to get his ass off of Alderaan. It took him two weeks in-game time, but he successfully did so. He spent all of his earnings on spare parts and an Astromech droid. A Rebel Operative then conned him into giving it over to him. The ship ended up getting destroyed, along with his R2 unit. He went crazy and decided to try to kill every single other player-character in the game. He got a bullet in his skull. He survived, but the bullet's still there. It's slowly tunneling into his cerebellum like that wacko from THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. I don't think he's going to make it either.

The Mercenary has no affiliation. He does what he's told by whoever is giving him the money. So far, he's been very successful.

The Smuggler killed a Stormtrooper, and took his utility belt since he was short on supplies. When a Rebel Intelligence Officer spotted the gear, he thought the Smuggler was an Imperial. Foolishly, the Smuggler lashed out at him before even trying to figure out if the Rebel was going to try to hurt him or just talk to him. The Smuggler's mistake ended up getting him a blaster bolt to his heart. His heart's been replaced by a bionic heart, meaning, robotic and artificial. He got his ass seriously kicked by the Dark-Sider when that guy went crazy. He did end up getting off the shot that pierced the Dark-Sider's skull though.

The Wanderer is the hopeless hero of the story. He started out by getting caught on Alderaan with a shit load of illegal weaponry. He cooperated, until he found out that they were going to place him under arrest. He escaped custody, with the help of a Rebel Operative, however the Rebel killed one of the Alderaan Police Officers, and the police believed the Wanderer was the one who killed him. It was the first murder on Alderaan in a hundred years, so the whole damn planet's looking for him. The Wanderer went back to the police station later to retreive a weapon he held dear, a katana he had taken from a not-quite defeated foe. He wasn't successful in sneaking inside the police headquarters, and was arrested. One of the police officers went off the deep end from all the stress, and shot the Wanderer. He had to be rushed to a medical center to be saved.

The Alderaan Government decided to hand him over to the Empire. Kyle temporarily escaped from Alderaan Custody, but the Empire was hot on his trail. His reckless little speeder chase cost about a dozen Alderaan citizens their lives, and the Empire caught him anyway. The Wanderer was manipulated by the head of Imperial Intelligence, and was turned against his own friends, to the ways of the Empire. The Wanderer did this because he felt that the Empire was in the right, but it was only because his character has a limited knowledge base of the Empire, and he was easily manipulated by a guy who is very, very good at manipulating people.

Every mission the Empire sent the Wanderer on was failed. Every mission, the Wanderer found out new information, and turned against the Empire, only to learn more information and side back with them. His indecisiveness eventually caused him to lose his left hand in a sword fight. The Empire replaced it with a bionic limb, like Luke Skywalker's.

The Wanderer was sent on a mission to destroy the Rebel Base, but he failed again, and once again turned against the Empire. He was aboard the Dark-Sider's ship while it was being attacked, and half way through the attack by the Empire, the Dark-Sider went crazy and tried to kill everyone. The Wanderer ended up losing his right arm, right up to the shoulder. He hasn't gotten it replaced, and he's currently in custody by the Empire.

In fact, they're all in custody by the Empire, except the Rebel, who's actually in custody by the Rebellion, on a planet that's about to explode.

You look at all of their track records, and what they've lost, and the prices they've all paid to gain absolutely nothing. These are all defeats.

Yet, they are still alive. Sometimes victories are small, and sometimes you have to look for them. They might just be a small silver lining in a dark cloud, but it is up to you to choose to focus on the bright, or on the dark.

Good or evil, right and right, victory and defeat. It's all a matter of perspective.

The only character's I consider to be complete failures are the two character's who died. One died because he was a complete moron. The other died simply because she didn't take cover during a fire-fight, and she got caught in the cross-fire.

Yes, you might die for simple reasons. Reasons that are anything but heroic.

Such is life.

Life is Good.

But that's just my perspective....

[Anonymous]

Excellent...excellent...

Reminds me of the one game of SWRPG I played in eighth grade.  I was playing a young force user, no lightsaber, no money, only a bit of telekinetic ability.  We came across a massacre in the docking bay of some planet (forget it's name).  A rancor had been set loose and slaughtered a ton of people.  So I, being the opportunist, begin looting the bodies.  Lo and behold, I fail the roll to resist the dark side.  Note that my character is very naive and good natured.  "Hey!  Look guys!  I found ten thousand <instant change to scary evil voice> CREDITS!!"  The GM took control of me for awhile, made me a complete ass.  I remotely activated a friend's lightsaber while it was still on his belt.  Fun times.

Back on topic, this is going to kick ass once you get it running.  I'm looking forward to the curve balls you'll throw at us.

[Anonymous]

Hahaha, I loved being evil in KOTOR.  It was so much fun, walking up to a random wookie and calling him the scum of the earth then killing him because he was irritating.  Good times...

[Anonymous]

So when the hel does this Rp start?

[Anonymous]

Anyone who comes into my RPG's thinking in terms of black and white get themselves into a lot of trouble very early on. They tend to think that just because someone is your enemy, that means that they're evil. This is not the case. Sometimes you'll have to kill very good people in order to get the desired results. And sometimes making an enemy out of good people and cause very bad results. Sometimes making friends out of terrible people can be a good thing.

It is not always those who see shades of grey who get through. Someone who fights for an ideal-what they see as white- by fighting agains tall that threatens thier way of life-what they see as Black- can act as a rock in a world of swirling sands.