Politics, Politics, Politics!

Allo, will keep it short and sweet as per usual.

We have a total of 13 countries including Fiore but very, very little lore or history for them and their relationships with each other aside from their base descriptions. For me, it's always been a disappointment to see this since all of them very unique, distinct countries and cultures and societies created by members but are hardly ever used for anything except the setting of a job.

So my suggestion is to include something akin to politics into FTRP. I think by creating NPCs to govern and exist in these countries, we can give these places some character and Fiore an actual MC. I don't think the Magic Council should consist of actual players, but instead player-made NPCs. They could be used in events and whatnot and finally create some lore-rich, worldbuilding environments.

Yay or nay? Hmm?

I'm always down for more lore, politics, and anything that creates more plotting opportunities for players, so I'm all for making it a bigger thing.

But I think a lot of this already happens in people's personal stories, particularly with the MC. Maybe not the leaders of the countries. (I've only ever vaguely referenced the king of Fiore because I have no idea if we have an NPC established for that). But I think it would be less about establishing NPC authority figures/country politics and more about maybe focusing some events on things involving other countries. Events are basically the closest thing the site has to established site lore, and the vast majority of active players participate in them so that would be the quickest and most efficient way of giving other countries some worth outside of merely existing.

As far as leadership positions being NPCs, I personally think we could get away with people being members of the MC or being kings/queens/leaders of countries -- if they were site positions, like WS/Warlords. Limited numbers with a set list of regulations to show what's expected for someone to claim such a title, and requiring staff approval to make it happen. Not sure if others feel that way (and would understand if most would prefer not to allow these to be PC positions), but figured I'd make my two cents known on that for what it's worth while the subject was touched on.

Deeper lore is always a big yes from me. We have a system of government loosely set up as I can see by looking through peoples' posts, but if we had something a bit more regimented, it might make it easier to discuss or pin down exactly who people are trying to assassinate talking about.

As Serilda said, spreading it to players is always a lot of fun too. It's a bit stiff when important figures are always relegated to NPCs and it seems like everyone becomes friends with the King. But when the Governor of X Town is an actual player with responsibilities, meeting them begins to feel like it means something.

Just my two cents!

Serilda Sinclair wrote:I'm always down for more lore, politics, and anything that creates more plotting opportunities for players, so I'm all for making it a bigger thing.

But I think a lot of this already happens in people's personal stories, particularly with the MC. Maybe not the leaders of the countries. (I've only ever vaguely referenced the king of Fiore because I have no idea if we have an NPC established for that). But I think it would be less about establishing NPC authority figures/country politics and more about maybe focusing some events on things involving other countries. Events are basically the closest thing the site has to established site lore, and the vast majority of active players participate in them so that would be the quickest and most efficient way of giving other countries some worth outside of merely existing.

As far as leadership positions being NPCs, I personally think we could get away with people being members of the MC or being kings/queens/leaders of countries -- if they were site positions, like WS/Warlords. Limited numbers with a set list of regulations to show what's expected for someone to claim such a title, and requiring staff approval to make it happen. Not sure if others feel that way (and would understand if most would prefer not to allow these to be PC positions), but figured I'd make my two cents known on that for what it's worth while the subject was touched on.

Raiji Kameyama wrote:Deeper lore is always a big yes from me. We have a system of government loosely set up as I can see by looking through peoples' posts, but if we had something a bit more regimented, it might make it easier to discuss or pin down exactly who people are trying to assassinate talking about.

As Serilda said, spreading it to players is always a lot of fun too. It's a bit stiff when important figures are always relegated to NPCs and it seems like everyone becomes friends with the King. But when the Governor of X Town is an actual player with responsibilities, meeting them begins to feel like it means something.

Just my two cents!

I agree with both of you in regards to making them playable positions, but unfortunately, this is too unlikely to push for. It's been pushed for several times in both the distant and recent past, and apparently due to some issue that occurred back when we did have a playable MC. Of course, if there were enough people, I'd be down.

feels bad man, still

I have to say I actually also completely agree with everything said. I love site lore, and mechanics, however there is a MASSIVE amount of work that must go into them, and much that needs to be done on site before hand. Including getting Jobs, and other things to be equal across the board.

Personally I do not agree however with a playable high ranking faction, at least not in the way that it is done with most forums. I have seen it be done well only once, and it involved a LOT of staff involvement. Power that comes with those positions, and more importantly the ability to argue can be huge issues on a site such as this, especially with the current amount of staff. Because unlike with normal site positions, there has to be an inbuilt mechanic for how to get there, and how to loose said position.

That being said, I do love the idea of lore, and history, and actual facts / faces that people can point to and use.