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[Dermonster]

Dermonsters Guide to the nic knacks of RTD building!
 
 1 How to get started.
 
I am assuming you know the mechanics. First, as all good things go, you must have an Idea. An idea is basically 'What if?' It is the basis of The Setting, The Plot, and The Character, while the three combined make up The Story. Not much to say here, go wild.

2. The setting.

A setting is when and where the story takes place. A common misconception is that if it's 'bog standard' then it won't be any good. I disagree! A standard fanasy, Sci-fi, or anywhere in between is just as interesting as any gimmick setting, that is: Not at all. It is merely a place from whence the Plot and the Characters reside, don't sweat if you can't come up with something innovative. They're called the classics for a reason. That said, a little something new now and then does really shake up the status quo and be entertaining, but don't let the Setting override the Plot or Character. Make it western wizards, steam punk treasure hunters, something neat, but never forget that it is merely the vessel of The Plot and The Character.

3. The plot.

Many people assume that due to the 'simplified D&D' reputation that a plot isn't really that important, and you should just throw it up and make it up as you go along, or just let the players free roam across the world.

Wrong.

A plot is integral to The Story. from personal experience, if you don't have at least something planned out, your ship will burn pretty badly, or players will become bored and leave. Players often need something to nudge them along, give 'em something to do. In simple terms, set down a rail track and start up the goddamn exposition train. Save the world, usurp the king, become the wealthiest men alive, give them a goal. That's not to say they should be on the train 24/7. If they attempt to derail, whether they succeed or fail, work the derail into the plot. Let them have a bit of fun, that's the point.

But otherwise, think things in advance, but only in broad terms. Players usually shatter any minute detail you come up with. I've personally born witness to a city leader be immediately incinerated the first(and last) time he appeared due to a players actions.

(That player was me.)

4. The Character

This is pretty cut and dry. The Character is your players.

The standard format is as follows:

Name:
Bio:

With a variety of miscellanea as per usual, stats and powers or abilities and such.

The name is painfully obvious. Just have the player use his forum name. It makes working out who's who immediately less painful, and is an acceptable break in realism.

The bio is the real tricky part. You think you want your players to have a back story. But ask yourself: Are you actually going to use it? Coming up with a character from scratch is an annoying process for the players, and a worthless endeavor if you never bring it up again. If you do, ask them for about two or three back story related bits of trivia and leave it at that, weave something neat out of it. I have personally never seen this happen, if you manage to do so, well done!

Anything else is a product of The Setting. Your Class, your mutant powers, your implants, a profession, whatever.

The Story

When you combine all of the above, you create The Story. A thrilling tale of player antics.

Make it a good one, eh?

Miscellanea

Don't over complicate the mechanics or character creation, it leads to insanity.

A tradition is to change the thread title each turn to represent what happens in the turn in a short and funny manner.

Humor is a big plus. So is Artwork. Neither is technically required (The latter is hardly represented as all) but it will make your game memorable.

Spell check. A lot. Also grammer check. This is paramount if you want to be taken seriously.

Make sure the layout of the turn is a neat and organized manner. Quote the action above the results. Or you can lump them all together and make it seem like a passage out of a book, if you're into writing.

Do not play in your own game.

When picking players, wait one day for applicants, then roll for who gets to be in.

If a player has not responded to a recent turn, PM them, wait one week, then kick them the hell out and add in a waitlister.

Use Random.org for rolls.

Colored text in the status works well in some cases. (EG: Differentiating a Passive from an Active ability, or a disability.)

NEVER GO ABOVE SIX PLAYERS. It just makes a gigantic mess. A local minimum is four.

Abbreviations to hide the rolls is smiled upon.

Maps are a must when you can't accurately describe where everyone is or where anything is at any moment.




And then I got bored.

[ExKirby]

I would have called eight the maximum. Six is just generally accepted to be the average.

But seriously, anything above eight and you are letting a cat into the fortress.

[Tarran]

As someone who has had 10 players in his RTD for quite a while, I would strongly disagree about it being a 'gigantic mess'. There's no 'mess' involved with having more players in my experience, only more effort.

[Dermonster]

Seeing as how this is technically for beginners, it becomes a giant mess when they get massively discouraged by exponential effort.

[SeriousConcentrate]

I'd say it depends on the capability/preference of the GM. Some are comfortable with about 6, some want 4, many like the old standard 5-man team, some try for more. Then there's guys like Piecewise who have about twenty or more people in their RTD, but balance it out by only have some of them in play at a time. Instead he has a separate thread for what amounts to waitlisters to play around in, which is a really good idea although not applicable to every RTD.

[Tarran]

Seeing as how this is technically for beginners, it becomes a giant mess when they get massively discouraged by exponential effort.

Then that's a side effect rather than a main effect, which it should not be treated as. The main effect is more work which comes into effect immediately. If it gets messy, then that will most of the time be sometime afterwards, which it will be a side effect. And it getting messy doesn't even happen to everyone either.

[ExKirby]

Seeing as how this is technically for beginners, it becomes a giant mess when they get massively discouraged by exponential effort.

Then that's a side effect rather than a main effect, which it should not be treated as. The main effect is more work which comes into effect immediately. If it gets messy, then that will most of the time be sometime afterwards, which it will be a side effect. And it getting messy doesn't even happen to everyone either.

My eyebrow is raised.

[10ebbor10]

My only complaint is that it's sounds to much as a rule, rather then a suggested number.

[Remalle]

I'm thinking of running a game sometime in the future where audience participation is a mechanic.  Has this been done before, successfully?

[10ebbor10]

I'm thinking of running a game sometime in the future where audience participation is a mechanic.  Has this been done before, successfully?

Yes, though succesfully might be a problem. RtD's don't tend to pick up a large crowd from the beginning.

[Tarran]

My eyebrow is raised.

My eyebrow is also raised. That means... what? What do you want me to say?

[IronyOwl]

At least now I'm getting started on my guide-thing. Good things take time, you know! _{Plus I'm lazy and long-winded.}

My only complaint is that it's sounds to much as a rule, rather then a suggested number.

Sort of a recurring issue in his guide-thing, really. You could argue that this guide is for people who have no idea what they're doing, and thus telling them exactly what to do is a good idea because at the moment they realize "Wait a second, why do I have to do it this way?" they're past the point where that guide's any use anyway, but I still prefer generalized suggestions to hard, arbitrary rules like that.

I'm thinking of running a game sometime in the future where audience participation is a mechanic.  Has this been done before, successfully?

Yes, though to a limited degree. Gatleos' Hero Caddies RTD at some point acquired a pet dongrel, which is a very large and pointy critter and whose actions were then turned over to community suggestion. The results were humorous, though largely because they tended to make things worse in a game all about things getting worse.

[TolyK]

I'm apparently both good and bad at doing RTD's.
Don't know how that works.

[Tarran]

Well, it's easy: If people are saying that of you, then that means some people prefer you while others don't.

If one person is saying that of you, then he likes some things about you and dislikes some things about you.

If you're thinking that of yourself, then you have fluctuating self-confidence.

[Theodolus]

Tolyk: From having been in one that I had to bail on and one you're running now, I'd say the biggest roadblock to enjoying your games is you expect the players to have a fair bit of motivation from the get-go. If you notice people are having trouble getting in to the game try railroading them in to an encounter that requires their character's skills. More than 'here you are, what do you do'. Try 'here's a problem to solve that will have immediate consequences if you don't' and then if people fail to participate just have the consequence happen. Like you mentioned we've been in a non-moving elevator for a while. Have it be called to a different floor or something to jolt the players in to action. And lastly, don't be afraid to just run with a player's loose idea. I threw out a plan, it got approval, and that should have been enough to move the plot forward unless the players get in to a discussion about who's going where. If they don't they probably don't care and just want you to throw them in to one of the groups. /twocents