The First Sith: The Plot System

[Phoenix]

So I love this system so far, but i do have a few question about NPCs and how they will work in and out of plots (If this is planned to be elaborated on in a future update you can stop me here).
First of all, for the main three factions (I'm going to use the Jedi as an example, but I see it being important in every big NPC run faction), will we have some sort of canonical list of NPCs in important positions? Like, will we be getting a run down on the current council members, the grand master, and perhaps a couple of normal masters in important positions, which we can use as NPCs? For anyone who wants to play the political game, especially early on when not many players are in important leadership positions, this information is going to be integral.
Second of all, I wanted to know if we were able to use such NPCs outside of plots, and if so how much? So, if you were to do just some random thread in the Jedi temple (if there is a Jedi temple next TL), could you use one of these NPC’s in that thread? Could you run an entire conversation between them and your character? Or just a passing mention such as “As Mehmeh passed Master Blahblah in the hall the man gave the young knight a long glare, as if daring me to step out of line”?

There will be profiles written up and released for the NPCs (like Council members, etc.) when the new TL rolls out. As for how they can fit into RPs, the high level NPCs (Council members and whatnot) will primarily be restricted to plots and won't appear commonly in people's RPs.

Edit: I got ninja'd by Sreeya

 

[1new6]

1. Yes, we are in the process of writing out the key NPCs right now actually. There will be a list of important faction NPCs available and how they fit into the story and what they're like. We will have little bio blurbs to give context in case people want to appeal to them.

2. No, you won't be able to whimsically use influential and key NPCs without staff permission. It's fine if you briefly mention them in terms of things like 'Grandmaster and his Council were passing by in the distance', but you wouldn't be able to interact with them or write their dialogues for them without permission. We'd look at these case by case, so if you have a really good reason to be in a thread with an NPC, you may have a dialogue granted.

Ok, sounds good. I look forward to reading through all the bios! :)

 

[Fantasy Liver]

What happens if you have a plot idea for your own character but can't find somebody to RP with the thread with you? Would an NPC be allowed to step in?

 

[Sreeya]

What happens if you have a plot idea for your own character but can't find somebody to RP with the thread with you? Would an NPC be allowed to step in?

Depends on the plot. If it's to try to become the next main faction leader for example, NPCs won't cut it. The more important your plot, the more likely you'll need actual PC supporters. For smaller plots without any big significant outcomes, NPCs should be okay. Again, plots will be reviewed case by case so you'll know if your plot demands PCs or not.

 

[Fantasy Liver]

Okay, okay. If you were trying to become the next faction leader or something big like that, would such a plot require a few months or so of out-of-game time? Or is there not so much a timeframe to the plot threads as there is a required number of plot threads to be completed?

 

[Gamov]

Love it.

I can honestly say that, based on the announcements we've received thus far, I am legitimately excited for the next timeline.

 

[Narsi]

I actually like this, and I think it has lots of potential.
But, wont this practically eliminate any chances for surprise plots such as espionage and the like? What with any meaningful plots having to be submitted for review and then other players being potentially notified depending on the specifics?

 

[Sreeya]

I actually like this, and I think it has lots of potential.
But, wont this practically eliminate any chances for surprise plots such as espionage and the like? What with any meaningful plots having to be submitted for review and then other players being potentially notified depending on the specifics?

Plot submissions won't be visible to the general public. Thus espionage plots will be handled privately with the same concepts applied where only staff know about it. Only plot completions will be visible, and that'd be after it's already executed.

 

[Bill Nye]

Sounds like a major improvement over the current grid system. Bravo SWRP Staff.

 

[Loco]

Sounds like a major improvement over the current grid system. Bravo SWRP Staff.

We haven't had a grid system for a while now.

 

[Nor'baal]

So as I think is now common knowledge, my brain is very small (filled mostly with images of the Queen, brewing times for tea and a growing mistrust for the French) so hold with me here. With the new Plot system, which before I go on, I think is fantastic - how much room is there for flexibility in plot approaches and styles? As they are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis, does this mean that the admins could be very flexible, or very strict?

I ask because, just next to the images of Corgis and Cat memes, I have a lot of ideas for plots, some of which wouldn't even benefit my characters. So, some question -

Numero Uno -
Can plots be made, and then sent to the admins as general plot ideas, for site-wide use (and at no benefit to the plot makers character?)?

Numero Two...o -
Will there be bonuses to plots made that are intended to include and develop new members of the forum?

Numero the Third -
When it comes to Political Plots and Schemes (looking at you @Raif @TAC and @Alhon) what sort of room is there for the 'Mastermind' of the Plot to appear in only a few threads? For example, Sheev Palpatine appears in two or three threads in the plot, gets the credits for them automatically, and then his hired help, allies and minions appear in other threads in the plot without him. Should the plot be suitably cunning, would Sheev get the bonus for the completiion of the plot even if he did not appear in all the threads?

 

[TAC]

@Nor'baal I think the focus of the plot system is to create incentive to write good stories and complete them. Seems like you should get credit for plots you participate in, even if you only write in a few threads you are helping satisfy the goal, but counter intuitive to received credit for threads you did not write in - even if you helped develop them.

The first two ideas are pretty cool though. I hope there is room for both.

 

[Marcus]

Numero Two...o -
Will there be bonuses to plots made that are intended to include and develop new members of the forum?

Can I just say "YES PLZ!"? It can be intimidating to get involved as a newcomer, so I think always having a few "entry level" plots going on/available would be a very good thing.

 

[Aberforth]

Can I just say "YES PLZ!"? It can be intimidating to get involved as a newcomer, so I think always having a few "entry level" plots going on/available would be a very good thing.

We have already announced something of the sort, not for plots, but thread evaluation.

 

[Sreeya]

So as I think is now common knowledge, my brain is very small (filled mostly with images of the Queen, brewing times for tea and a growing mistrust for the French) so hold with me here. With the new Plot system, which before I go on, I think is fantastic - how much room is there for flexibility in plot approaches and styles? As they are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis, does this mean that the admins could be very flexible, or very strict?

I ask because, just next to the images of Corgis and Cat memes, I have a lot of ideas for plots, some of which wouldn't even benefit my characters. So, some question -

Numero Uno -
Can plots be made, and then sent to the admins as general plot ideas, for site-wide use (and at no benefit to the plot makers character?)?

Numero Two...o -
Will there be bonuses to plots made that are intended to include and develop new members of the forum?

Numero the Third -
When it comes to Political Plots and Schemes (looking at you @Raif @TAC and @Alhon) what sort of room is there for the 'Mastermind' of the Plot to appear in only a few threads? For example, Sheev Palpatine appears in two or three threads in the plot, gets the credits for them automatically, and then his hired help, allies and minions appear in other threads in the plot without him. Should the plot be suitably cunning, would Sheev get the bonus for the completiion of the plot even if he did not appear in all the threads?

Numero Uno -
If you mean in terms of events, then ideas will be considered case by case basis. You'd be asked to DM and orchestrate everything of course, and you'd be able to get bonuses for that.

Numero Two-o-
We'll have incentives for helping out new members. There will be bonus credits granted.

Numero the third-
Ideally you'd appear in all your threads. With that said, it makes sense for a high level character not to show up everywhere and send minions instead. In that case, it must be abundantly clear that the minions are doing things on your behalf. I wouldn't expect to see this until a character is minimum level 3 AND ranked however. Even then it'd be case by case, but you'll probably get the bonus credits despite the underlings completing a leg of the plot for example. However, it'll never be the case where you're not in any threads at all and you get credit.

 

[Pippa]

Will it be possible for threads to be included as part of multiple plots?
For example, If a player can show that the thread links to the progression of different plot goals that were established before the thread would that work?
Or if different players included a thread they were all involved in as progress to wards different plots would it count towards each as long as it could be clearly linked to each goal?

In regards to the list of significant NPCs, will significant NPCs from NPC organisations be part of that list or are they likely to be kept in where ever NPC organisation submission pages end up going?

 

[Sreeya]

Will it be possible for threads to be included as part of multiple plots?
For example, If a player can show that the thread links to the progression of different plot goals that were established before the thread would that work?
Or if different players included a thread they were all involved in as progress to wards different plots would it count towards each as long as it could be clearly linked to each goal?

In regards to the list of significant NPCs, will significant NPCs from NPC organisations be part of that list or are they likely to be kept in where ever NPC organisation submission pages end up going?

Completed plot submission will always mirror the initial plot request sent to staff. And plots will only be submitted for evaluation by those that have organized or lead the plots. For example, say person A applied to do a plot with person B, C and D and had it approved. When the plot is completed (all threads finished and concluded), person A will be the one submitting the completed plots with the names of B, C and D as participants. We will never see cases where someone in multiple plots submits stuff halfway or anything. If everything does tie together and warrants being submitted under one megaplot, then a single person needs to be the owner of that and submit it. This designated that it’s their plot.

The NPC stuff is not finalized yet so stand by.

 

[Pippa]

Okay, so does this mean that initial plot requests will also include a list of planned threads (as an expansion to "The things you intend to do to achieve your goal")? With the possibility of some unplanned ones being added later maybe?

 

[Bill Nye]

We haven't had a grid system for a while now.

I was talking about the grid-based territory system mentioned in a previous post.