Post by Brownie on May 4, 2024 15:55:51 GMT -5
- Welcome -
Welcome to THE ORB v2 a fantasy roleplay where you tell your own story in a shared world. This roleplay is rather nontraditional--instead of 1x1 or small groups, each player moves their character(s) around the world on their own terms, with roleplaying between groups happening when those player groups collide. Basically a collaborative writing group with a little extra flair!
The first iteration of this roleplay struggled due to limitations with the map software hosting, but I think owlbear rodeo has upgraded to a place where it shouldn't crash and delete our world every other week! Which is great! Hopefully this time around it will go smoothly.
The first iteration of this roleplay struggled due to limitations with the map software hosting, but I think owlbear rodeo has upgraded to a place where it shouldn't crash and delete our world every other week! Which is great! Hopefully this time around it will go smoothly.
- About -
Since this "roleplay" is only about points of contact between individual parties, a lot of the writing, worldbuilding, and character development is done solo. This allows players to step out of the roleplay when they don't have time and come back on their own terms. Hopefully, this type of environment allows for the roleplay to survive despite the majority of this forum being poofy adults with responsibilities!
So how does this differ from merely writing a novel alone? Because all players are in the same world at the same time, actions of one group influence the map which can change interactions for another group. A village that had recently been aided by another player group may now be more helpful towards other adventuring parties passing through, while an earl that had their grain stolen by a player may not be so keen on other players' trespassing.
It is also encouraged to have connections between groups, both in personal relationships between members or conflicts in goals. Two players having a similar goal and different paths in getting there may indirectly help or hinder the other group, changing their story arc as the plot progresses.
The most obvious difference is "point of contact" interactions. When two players are in the same place on the map, they can choose to have a moment of roleplay between the two parties! This can hit that back and forth roleplay without a long-term plot commitment (unless the players choose to group up for a while, which is cool too!). The idea for this isn't to limit roleplay between groups, but to keep roleplay liquid enough that a player's muse doesn't hold anyone back, and that a sudden burst of muse can be fully utilized since you are able to make as long of a solo story arc in one go as you have ideas for.
So how does this differ from merely writing a novel alone? Because all players are in the same world at the same time, actions of one group influence the map which can change interactions for another group. A village that had recently been aided by another player group may now be more helpful towards other adventuring parties passing through, while an earl that had their grain stolen by a player may not be so keen on other players' trespassing.
It is also encouraged to have connections between groups, both in personal relationships between members or conflicts in goals. Two players having a similar goal and different paths in getting there may indirectly help or hinder the other group, changing their story arc as the plot progresses.
The most obvious difference is "point of contact" interactions. When two players are in the same place on the map, they can choose to have a moment of roleplay between the two parties! This can hit that back and forth roleplay without a long-term plot commitment (unless the players choose to group up for a while, which is cool too!). The idea for this isn't to limit roleplay between groups, but to keep roleplay liquid enough that a player's muse doesn't hold anyone back, and that a sudden burst of muse can be fully utilized since you are able to make as long of a solo story arc in one go as you have ideas for.
- Rules -
- Godmodding & Perfect Luck: Just because you are mostly writing solo and CAN godmod your characters to avoid the storm that another player described only a hex away or that you could, theoretically, find the object they are looking for the first village they check doesn't mean you SHOULD make everything go right all the time. Conflict builds character. (Also, don't make everything go WRONG either; sometimes your characters can be lucky, or skillful if they have that skill, or be helped by another party).
- Since this is meant to feel like a D&D-esque fantasy setting, using dice to decide combat, choices, or number and strength of enemies is a great solution and gives the solo roleplay a bit of random spice~
- Be Careful of Natural Disasters: They are fun, dramatic, and influence the map, but a volcano doesn't erupt every week. Large scale, unavoidable map changes should be discussed by at least most of the groups in the area before they are okay'd.
- But DO Impact the Map: The whole idea of this is to change the map for other player's to experience. Don't hesitate to build the world you are in and give others more unplanned obstacles (or aid) for their party. The world should be alive, constantly changing, and giving room to explore more and more depth.
- Chat! Discuss!: Just because you're writing solo doesn't mean you're alone! Chat and discuss things ooc with our other players. Plan contacts between groups! Plan to steal the object they were looking for, so now one player is chasing you instead of an npc! Make rivals that keep running into each other, much to both their frustration.
- Keep Groups Manageable: You can make as many groups as you wish. Just make sure you can keep track of them all, and that all of them are made for a REASON. Again, because this is self-driven, your characters should have concrete goals they are passionate about. The world is very dangerous and they wouldn't risk their lives on the road for no reason. Feel free to make stationary "npcs" that reside in cities that players can choose to interact with when they're in town.
- There are NO rules on literacy or post length, but DO NOT spam. It's totally okay to do several posts a day when you have the time, but please don't spam one sentence posts. No one wants to be buried under what feels like a text conversation between two characters that could have been a single post.
- Draw on the Map: This isn't a rule, but I highly encourage you to interact with tokens and draw in things you see. Create cities, borders, contested zones, biomes, rivers, roads, landmarks. Mark where your party often camps through that mountain pass. Trace the travel plans of your characters. Make it messy and lived in. (I'll go through and clean it up every once in a while; I would rather see MORE than less.)
- Use character tokens to indicate adventuring parties!
- Use the attachment rings to mark cities!
- Everything will be HUGE when you first place them because of the map's scale; you can resize and rotate all tokens and text to better indicate their location.
- When in Doubt, the ORB: The ORB is a powerful magical object rumored to be hidden somewhere on the continent. Many adventuring parties, individuals, and kingdoms are searching for it and the limitless power it brings. Anyone can have a reason to look for the ORB: out of pride, greed, or desperation. Clues to where the ORB is hidden away are immediately shared and known between groups: the logic is that word travels quickly about any true rumors regarding the ORB and can be available at the nearest inn or tavern.
- Since this is meant to feel like a D&D-esque fantasy setting, using dice to decide combat, choices, or number and strength of enemies is a great solution and gives the solo roleplay a bit of random spice~
- Be Careful of Natural Disasters: They are fun, dramatic, and influence the map, but a volcano doesn't erupt every week. Large scale, unavoidable map changes should be discussed by at least most of the groups in the area before they are okay'd.
- But DO Impact the Map: The whole idea of this is to change the map for other player's to experience. Don't hesitate to build the world you are in and give others more unplanned obstacles (or aid) for their party. The world should be alive, constantly changing, and giving room to explore more and more depth.
- Chat! Discuss!: Just because you're writing solo doesn't mean you're alone! Chat and discuss things ooc with our other players. Plan contacts between groups! Plan to steal the object they were looking for, so now one player is chasing you instead of an npc! Make rivals that keep running into each other, much to both their frustration.
- Keep Groups Manageable: You can make as many groups as you wish. Just make sure you can keep track of them all, and that all of them are made for a REASON. Again, because this is self-driven, your characters should have concrete goals they are passionate about. The world is very dangerous and they wouldn't risk their lives on the road for no reason. Feel free to make stationary "npcs" that reside in cities that players can choose to interact with when they're in town.
- There are NO rules on literacy or post length, but DO NOT spam. It's totally okay to do several posts a day when you have the time, but please don't spam one sentence posts. No one wants to be buried under what feels like a text conversation between two characters that could have been a single post.
- Draw on the Map: This isn't a rule, but I highly encourage you to interact with tokens and draw in things you see. Create cities, borders, contested zones, biomes, rivers, roads, landmarks. Mark where your party often camps through that mountain pass. Trace the travel plans of your characters. Make it messy and lived in. (I'll go through and clean it up every once in a while; I would rather see MORE than less.)
- Use character tokens to indicate adventuring parties!
- Use the attachment rings to mark cities!
- Everything will be HUGE when you first place them because of the map's scale; you can resize and rotate all tokens and text to better indicate their location.
- When in Doubt, the ORB: The ORB is a powerful magical object rumored to be hidden somewhere on the continent. Many adventuring parties, individuals, and kingdoms are searching for it and the limitless power it brings. Anyone can have a reason to look for the ORB: out of pride, greed, or desperation. Clues to where the ORB is hidden away are immediately shared and known between groups: the logic is that word travels quickly about any true rumors regarding the ORB and can be available at the nearest inn or tavern.
- The Map -
The world is a generic "Dungeons and Dragons"-esque medieval fantasy. Most fighting is done with swords, bows, or magic. Many countries operate under kings. Its up to us to make this world unique from other generic fantasy settings.
The map can be found in links below. There are two important maps: the interactive map that has the tokens and cities, and the static map that has geographical information like height, rainfall, and climate.
The Interactive Map -
This is the place the players can impact. Please do draw on it as you progress in the roleplay and add things you see. Ruins? Cities? Kingdom borders? Landmarks? Those will all be placed on the map by the players as they explore. Use tokens to move your party around the map and see where other players are exploring. Players nearby each other can interact!
- I must manually invite each player to the map session. You should be able to get in using the link I DM you whenever you'd like. You will need to make an owlbear rodeo account to use the map--this is free, and only requires an email + password.
The Static Map -
This map cannot be changed, but that doesn't mean it isn't also interesting. I've grabbed this map from a world generator, and it comes with a lot of goodies. Use the static map's layers to explore elevation maps, biome maps, rainfall statistics, temperature averages and more. The static map is full quality and can be zoomed in for minute details and hovered for even more details about the local terrain.
The map can be found in links below. There are two important maps: the interactive map that has the tokens and cities, and the static map that has geographical information like height, rainfall, and climate.
The Interactive Map -
This is the place the players can impact. Please do draw on it as you progress in the roleplay and add things you see. Ruins? Cities? Kingdom borders? Landmarks? Those will all be placed on the map by the players as they explore. Use tokens to move your party around the map and see where other players are exploring. Players nearby each other can interact!
- I must manually invite each player to the map session. You should be able to get in using the link I DM you whenever you'd like. You will need to make an owlbear rodeo account to use the map--this is free, and only requires an email + password.
The Static Map -
This map cannot be changed, but that doesn't mean it isn't also interesting. I've grabbed this map from a world generator, and it comes with a lot of goodies. Use the static map's layers to explore elevation maps, biome maps, rainfall statistics, temperature averages and more. The static map is full quality and can be zoomed in for minute details and hovered for even more details about the local terrain.
- The ORB -
No one knows what the orb does, or where it is currently located. Some report it as gold, others white, still others claim it is clear with lightning trapped at its core. Whatever it is, there are enough stories and legends that it is fairly certain that it exists and is powerful, if the right adventuring party were to find it.
Clues: None yet.
Clues: None yet.
- Links -
Static Map || Character Sheets ||
