Forums » RP Discussion » Concerning a Sci-Fi/Fantasy RP Concept

Hello everyone, if you're reading this you probably were at least somewhat intrigued by the title. I'll elaborate further down this post but the short and long of this topic's raison d'être is;
"Would others be interested in a fantasy/sci-fi RP concept I have in mind, enough so to warrant creating a group for it."

Still following me? Curious? Then please follow along... but first, a quick trio of DISCLAIMERS;

• I know a lot of people feel like fantasy and sci-fi are mutually exclusive so allow me to elaborate on my personal definitions;
  FANTASY: a story or type of literature that describes situations that are very different from real life, usually (though not always) involving magic.
  SCI-FI: fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances and major social or environmental changes, frequently portraying space or time travel and life on other planets.
• As you read on you may realize that there are similarities with this concept and a vast array of existing works. So as to avoid the hassle of being sued over an RP (what are the odds, but it's better to be safe than to be sorry) I provide you here with an exhaustive but not necessarily all-inclusive list of things I drew inspiration from, feel free to skip ahead if this aspect does not interest you all that much as I'll get to the meat of things after this list;
  
  • Dragon Ball (Z, GT, Super, etc.)
  • Avatar (The Last Airbender, Legend of Kora, etc.)
  • Berserk
  • Jojo's Bizarre Adventure
  • Yu-Yu Hakusho
  • Saint Seiya
  • Hokuto No Ken
  • Medaka Box
  • Star Wars and Star Trek
  • Space Pirate Captain Harlock
  • Cowboy Bebop
• This RP will contain a stat system and the dreaded MATH. You have been warned. If it's not your cup of tea, this may not be the RP concept for you, unfortunately.

From here, allow me to elaborate;

SETTING (Where are we?)
This RP will be taking place in a somewhat futuristic universe on a galactic scale. A plethora of humanoid or otherwise sapient races live across the universe's four quadrants in quasi-harmony. At the center? Brewing pandemonium as various groups and individuals, among which the infamous Star Trade Organization jeopardize the peace sought after by the majority. In this universe where magic and technology have both evolved to the point of being nigh-indistinguishable from one another, myriad races co-exist, and the future is built with the hands of the mighty and prosperous, how will you make a difference?

FEATURES (What's there to expect?)

• A large scale roleplay where every character and member may leave their mark on a small-to-massive scale. Make friends and enemies, protect or conquer planets, star systems and galaxies, build your own army from the ground up, form alliances that'll increase your influence, or betray your allies as they're at their weakest, buy, fight, level or ally your way to the top, the choice is yours.
• A fair and thorough but relatively easy to understand and not too mathematically heavy STAT-BASED (feels the potentially interested start to dim in numbers as he writes this) combat and financial system to ensure a minimal amount of OoC disagreements (in a "the numbers don't lie, I won fair and square" kind of way) that rewards IC activity and accomplishments.
• An ever-evolving universe with sub-plots peppered throughout to ensure there's a little push in the right direction when activity threatens to lessen.
• An opportunity to tailor your character as you wish throughout their growth, turning them into the ultimate life form.
• A "Nation-Based" role-play element to help build your army, spy on enemies, and attack or protect land and planets on various scales.

SYSTEM DETAILS
Now, as I've mentioned earlier, this RP will be stat-based with a leveling and currency system. There are two reasons for this;

1. It both promotes activity by encouraging it with the promise of accrued money, levels, etc.
2. This RP threatens to be conflict-heavy and it'll give us a good basis to rely on whenever conflict does arise.

To give an idea of the systems I have in mind, here is some information on the combat system:

COMBAT SYSTEM
The Combat system relies on stats to ensure things are as fair as possible throughout. These stats are numbered at a total of 9, including level and experience. Here are the stats and the purpose they serve in combat;

1. LEVEL: The combat level of your character. This gives a good basis of how close you are to others in the RP in terms of combat ability.
2. EXPERIENCE: The combat experience of your character, which increases with each altercation regardless of victory or loss and to a lesser extent with activity in general, used as a guideline to know how far from your next level up you are. (Rule of thumb; with Level = X, (X+1)00 EXP required for the next level).
3. VITALITY: Think of this as your HP stat. When this hits 0, your character falls unconscious and is left open to a potential killing blow. The Mod/Admin will handle this section. Your Vitality is determined by the following equation;
   [(Level*100)+(Strength)+(Endurance*2)]. An example will follow after the list of stats.
4. ENERGY: Think of this as your MP stat. You make use of it to utilize magic, special abilities, and things akin to them. The Mod/Admin will handle this section. Your Energy is determined by the following equation;
   [(Level*100)+(Focus)+(Willpower*2)]. An example will follow after the list of stats.
5. STRENGTH: This stat governs how physically strong your character is. The higher this is, the higher the damage you deal with physical strikes. Additionally, this determines whether or not your character can lift/use objects of a certain weight.
6. AGILITY: This stat governs how quick on their feet and to react your character is. The higher this is, the more your character can perform actions in a post, move per post, and dodge throughout a fight. Some heavy items, when in use, may cause this to decrease.
7. FOCUS: This stat governs your character's talent with their powers and ranged weapons. The higher this is, the more effective you are at a distance from your enemy.
8. WILLPOWER: This stat governs your character's ability to exert their will upon themselves and others. It acts as a determiner when calculating the effects of abilities and items that buff/debuff stats or recover energy/vitality.
9. ENDURANCE: This stat governs the overall toughness of your character, their ability to recover from and absorb damage. It is also the stat used when blocking to reduce damage dealt and determines how often you can block before it becomes ineffective.

EXAMPLE OF A LEVEL ONE CHARACTER'S STATS
Level: 1 (obvious)
EXP: 125 (at 200, this character would level up, they're more than halfway there!)
Vitality: 145 (level 1 * 100 + strength (15) + endurance (15)*2(30) = 145)
Energy: 131 (level 1 * 100 + Focus (11) + Willpower (10)*2(20)= 131)
Strength: 15
Agility: 9
Focus: 11
Willpower: 10
Endurance: 15

COMBAT POSTS
Now, as this is a play-by-post forum-type setting and so would logically be a group, posts will be separated by actions. These may be split into 3 "steps".

1. Reaction: Simply put; reacting to the actions taken by all others since your last post. Of course, if you're the first poster in the thread, you may skip this. But this is when you would block, dodge, take damage, apply buffs/debuffs, etc.
2. Movement: This is where you would make your character move, i.e. change position. This IS important as to ensure as much freedom and tactics as possible I opted to use a grid based movement system for this concept. (more on that below). So long as your agility stat allows you to, you can move during, before, and after the following step.
3. Action: This is where your character takes action other than reacting and repositioning themselves. Attack someone? Use an item? Call in reinforcements? It all goes here.

ACTIONS
Now, the action section may seem simple up above, but there are a plethora of things you can do with it. Here are some examples, though frankly more could logically be put here;

• Strike: Simple as that, hit an enemy in range either bare-handed or with a weapon, dealing damage equivalent to your strength stat (+/- any modifiers brought on by your weapon).
• Use a skill: Whether the source is magic, energy or sheer talent in martial arts, skills are any abilities your character uses that are simpler than blocking, dodging, or striking your opponent. These almost always cost energy, but the pay-off is generally worthwhile.
• Use/Equip an item: Maybe you're low on health and need a quick nanomachine injection? Maybe your weapon is out of bullets and you need to reload? Maybe you have just the piece of armor to protect against an upcoming attack, but were not wearing it when the fight started? Whatever the case, using an item expends an action (and the item, if it's consumable in nature).
• Summon allies: Perhaps your character has some underlings, or a means to contact a friendly PC/NPC? Calling them to your aid requires an action, but sometimes it's enough to get yourself out of a pinch in the long term.
• Buff/Debuff/Transform: Maybe you have an ability that puts you in a heightened state, increasing your stats, or a move that can lower your opponent's for a period of time, or a different form which gives you access to new abilities and buffs you as well, whatever the case; employing it costs an action.
• Much, Much More: basically, if it's not moving around, it qualifies as an action and goes towards your "action per post" limit.

SKILLS
In this RP, there will be a plethora of skills. Here are a few examples of possible skills your character may have:

• An attack that hits from a distance.
• A magical spell that sets your enemy on fire and deals X amount of damage per post for X posts.
• A special strike that decreases your opponent's agility, lessening their total number of actions per post for X posts.
• An altered state in which your character's strength, agility, focus and will increase at a cost of X energy per post.
• An energy transfer allowing you to gift some of your energy to another character.
• A heat-seeking missile that is impossible to dodge for your enemy.

COMBAT GRIDS

The little black heart at A9 represents a player character. In this situation, the red crosses (at A8, B8 and B9) represent places where the player at A9 can perform a melee attack. The blue crosses (at A6&7, B7, C7-9, D9) represent locations where the player can move in three actions. The brown crosses represent positions the character can hit with an unidirectional beam of energy. In this context, the enemy player (represented by the green heart at I1) could be hit by an attack from the player at A9. These maps are extremely easy to do using Mipui, by the way. Do take the time to check it out if you're interested in making grid maps like these, you can also easily upload them via ImgBB.

EXAMPLE OF COMBAT
Dispensing with all the fun RP fluff of a fight (we don't want to just chuck numbers at each other, after all) here is what a 3 round exchange in-media-res between the green and black players above would look like;

-It is the green player's turn. He uses his last available dodge for the thread to avoid an attack from the black player, and moves forward diagonally 3 squares, he then fires four rounds of his handgun at the black player. This ends their turn.
-The black player blocks one of the bullets and dodges another, but takes the remaining two for a total of 32 damage.
-The black player makes a move forward towards the green player 1 square and fires a beam of energy at them for 10 energy, hoping to deal them 30 damage. They then move one square horizontally to the left so as to force the green player to move first if they want to attack back from a distance.
-The green player wants to dodge the beam, but has no more dodges this fight, and cannot do so. They block the 30 damage of the beam with their 12 endurance, dropping it to 18 damage, but since their health was at 16, they are knocked out; left at the mercy of the black player.

SOUNDS COOL, NOW WHAT?!

Now, I would appreciate your feedback, questions, etc.
THINGS I AM LOOKING FOR:

• A positive reply saying you think this looks cool and would love to join this kind of RP.
• A negative reply explaining why you feel this RP would not be for you.
• Questions which will allow me to further elaborate as I didn't want to drown you in mechanics when I'm not even sure I'll make this RP group in the first place.
• Weigh in on a question I ask myself; Given I prefer playing with mature members and enjoy my gore and sexuality in an RP where there is room for them, should I make this an Adult RP group, or do you believe it would restrict the number of potentially interested parties too significantly?
• Any and all feedback.

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR WEIGHING IN!

If I don't get back to your question right away, I am probably busy IRL. I will quote it when I can get to it so as to increase the chances you see my answer.

This sounds interesting and intimidating all at once. I love science fantasy, and I love the setting and premise. I'd also be totally okay with gore and, to a lesser extent, sexuality (explicit sexual stuff I'd prefer would be kept to its own set of threads so nobody has to see it that doesn't want to), though I fully acknowledge that this may be a deal-breaker for other RPers. I'm relatively new to RPR, so I don't know the demographics very well yet re: age distribution and comfort level with adult content. However, there are a few things that definitely give me pause. Let me elaborate.

This is more of a problem on my end, but I have no experience with combining forum RP with a stat system. That is, I know how to do forum RP, and I know how to do stat systems (D&D and a couple lesser-known tabletop RPGs being my mediums of choice), but I don't know how it's done when they're combined. If I were to participate, I'd probably need a crash course in stat system forum RP first. Which isn't a bad thing, nor is it an inherent problem in your proposal, just a lack of personal experience that's making me hesitate before getting behind this idea, a lack of experience others may share (though I am seeing some stat-based RPs on RPR, so maybe not).

I also want to know how scale will work in this RP. What I mean by scale is person-to-person interactions like single combat and socialization versus nation-to-nation interactions like raising armies and full-scale war. I've played games like Stellaris, where you control and develop a space-faring civilization, but I've got much less experience in roleplaying as an entire nation with other people roleplaying other nations. (I started my first ever Stellaris multiplayer game late last month.) How will you handle and balance the nation-based elements of this RP? How will it interact with the character-based part of it?

As far as the stat system itself, I do have some questions. I know nothing about balancing game mechanics, so I won't try to guess how balanced or broken the system you've created might be. I also don't know if you plan to continue allowing new members to join after the RP has started or stick with only the original group of players. However, I have to ask: if, hypothetically, someone were to join in the middle of the RP, would their character start at level 1 or would they be leveled up to match where the other characters in the RP are at? If the former, I can see how that would be alienating to prospective players and create a big power imbalance, leading to possible abuse of power. The latter solution, leveling new members up automatically to match existing characters, would alienate the existing players who might feel like they worked for their levels and stats whereas the new players didn't have to, causing resentment and potential for OOC drama. If you don't plan to invite any new members after the RP has started, the problems are avoided altogether, but if people start to leave the RP for whatever reason you'll be stuck with a dwindling population.

Last thing, I promise. If I were to join this, I'd want to know more about the magic system, the lore (please! I love reading lore!), and how you'll deal with issues like potentially overpowered (or even underpowered) characters and skills. Will there be a set list of possible skills and attacks to choose from, or will players have the ability to create their own? Will they have to be run by moderators to make sure they're not too powerful (or too weak)? How will metagaming (crunching numbers and figuring out how to minmax for the best possible stat array) be handled?

If you've read the entirety of this very long response, thanks! I think you've come up with a really cool idea and I wanted to give you some input. I don't know yet if I want to participate myself, but I wish you luck implementing this idea!

First and foremost, before we go on, thanks for your interest. I'm going to be breaking down your post so as to answer your questions as they come. This might lead to this post being on the massive end of the spectrum, but I believe it'll be for the best in the grand scheme of things and will answer questions both you and some others may have.
I actually very much agree with you on this. To clarify, my intent is to create a group where 18+ content IS ALLOWED, but I would nonetheless ask that people who RP sexually explicit stuff put a warning in the title of threads example; "[SX] An Intimate Evening". The "[SX]" there meaning "Sexually Explicit".
So am I! Nice to meet you! This is actually one of the main reasons for this thread; I'm not sure about demographics and comfort levels yet, but I figure with 20000+ members, there's bound to be SOME interested parties.

I fully agree that this kind of stuff could be complex. I'd give a crash course, so to speak, in the "GETTING STARTED" thread I'd put up in the group so people know the various mechanics and how to deal with them. I like to think a lot of it will be pretty intuitive, but to give you a quick idea via the combat system;

IN THE EVENT THAT TWO CHARACTERS (or a group) DECIDE TO FIGHT, OR SOMEONE CHALLENGES SOMEONE ELSE TO A FIGHT;
They would post at the end of their post (separated by a double backspace) the list of their character's stats. This will allow everyone to keep track of HP and Damage without having to constantly jump to one another's profiles, making things a lot easier to handle.
FROM THERE;
At the end of each post, you'd make a tally of your actions and relevant numbers. For example, using purely random numbers;

ALEX SILVER X
VITALITY: 200-45 damage =155
ENERGY: 200 - 20 (cost of Kamehameha used below in 'actions taken') = 180
ACTIONS PER POST: 3
BLOCKS: 3 remaining
DODGES: 3 remaining
ACTIONS TAKEN:
BLOCK: -25 Damage
MOVE: A5 to A8
STRIKE: 35 Damage
KAMEHAMEHA: (Focus x2, for example) 70 Damage

There may be a better way to do this, and I'm open to suggestions, but I believe separating "flavor" (the RP post proper) from "stat block" (the resulting numbers) will be the best way to go about this as smoothly as possible.

Well now you're hitting the thick of it! The nation aspect will have its own, separate system and own dedicated section in the group. Basically, once your character has power over a nation/planet/group, they'll be able to partake in larger scale intrigue/conflicts/etc as that nation. Wars and the likes would work in a similar manner, where units with their given stats are directed each post with your opponent reacting in kind, going back and forth until conflict ends or the attacking group's resources dwindle and they're forced to withdraw.

As far as balancing goes, you may have noticed I've mentioned monetary gains in this RP. Locations and forces under a character's control will award them some money on a monthly basis which they may use for their personal use, to maintain their lands, or to upgrade their troops and what not. Of course, to have a land/force, you must either buy it, or take it over, so the more worthwhile "powerful" ones will be more challenging or expensive.
I'll allow people to join from day 1 to the eventually, hopefully far distant, death of the RP/myself. I HAVE considered this at length so forgive me if my elaboration is a bit wordy;

SIMPLY PUT: New arrivals will be scaled up to an established minimum. As the RP progresses, people will grow in level, but some people will be more active than others. To fix this, I will arrange for a minimum level that will be bumped up every once in a while. So if you join when the minimum is 10, you start at level 10. That way people who work hard to stay ahead of the curve won't feel cheated, and those who don't have as much time to give the RP as they thought would remain at least somewhat relevant.
The whole reason I will allow more people to join in as time moves forward in a nutshell, yes.
I believe you, go on.
Oh, there will be lore, but frankly to allow for magic and the likes while giving as much freedom as possible to people when creating their characters, it'll be broad and as all-inclusive as possible.
Players will be creating their own skills, magical spells, etc. Though I will give some examples which people may feel free to use at their leisure.
Yes, but I will give thorough guidelines where scale of abilities are concerned (essentially, skills/abilities/powers/magical spells will be levelable like your characters.) I'd love to have more moderators down the line and will offer incentives, but I won't look for those until I have a reasonable amount of interested parties in the first place.
I'm not too worried about meta-gaming, to be honest, as it'll be an intentional part of it. Basically, the system will be AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE but EXTREMELY LAYERED, making sure there isn't ONE best way to go about building your character up to the maximum level (once I decide on what that level is...) and each stat has its own vital use to ensure an at least somewhat equal distribution among them. My main concern is that some people will be WAY more active and accrue a lot more power, but I'm hoping to fix this via the implementation of a minimum level which will be updated on a "need-be" basis.[/quote]
No problem, replying to this made it SO MUCH EASIER to address those questions than trying to fit them all in just a random "FAQ" post, so in a way you've helped me out too!
Well, I hope my answers helped you decide (and I hope you DO want to participate) but one way or another, thank you very much for the feedback, it was appreciated!

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions! You can put me down as an interested party. I hope this gains momentum!

I certainly hope so as well, though having one person is already a very good sign of things to come!

While we wait, since I know you're interested in lore and the magic, let me give you snippets of what I have in mind;

On a universal scale:
In the universe of this RP (I really need to think of a name, hehe ^^' ), much like how matter and anti-matter permeate every atom of space, a force known as "aether" demonstrates an omnipotent nature. Within all beings, the "ichor" that gives them life (for example, blood in humans) passively absorbs a portion of this aether, allowing them to make use of it, shape it, and distribute it as they see fit. This "aether" manifests itself in the form of energy whence converted into a usable resource through the metabolism of an individual, and of course, like a muscle, the accumulation of this energy increases with use and training, allowing a person to use more of it.

Some species throughout the universe have come to implement this aether as part of their technology, as a virtually inexhaustible resource of power, it is effectively THE greenest power available. From the perspective of those species, the evolution of a culture is thus largely based on their ability to efficiently use aether in place of other forms of fuel.

Certain individuals use this energy to perform superhuman feats of strength or speed, to fly, or to allow them prolonged stay underwater or in space without the need for oxygen, some use it to manifest and take control of the elements, some prefer to unleash it in raw bursts of "pure" energy, while others still choose to combine these various methods to benefit them in combat.

(From a mechanical perspective, this explains why some people have more energy than others; their bodies are just better accustomed to metabolizing aether, while also allowing a character to power an item they have with their own energy should the need arise in the context of the RP.)

We have a "Looking for RP" thread in the Adult section now. If you are 18 and over, feel free to post your interest for this concept there as well. Helpful link here; https://www.rprepository.com/community/forumthread.php?t=61294&p=1#4383798