A maybe simpler journey RP

moon · Nov 19, 2016

Pokémon Journey With IRL Time Dependent Mechanics

Probably in an alternative version of Kanto, a number of young people who didn't expect to become trainers have now been forced by circumstances (a bet or blackmailing or something like that) to start a journey to conquer 8 gyms in the region. Only if they manage, things will be set straight.

That's the super basic idea I have now, but the premise can change if I think of something more interesting c: Maybe you guys have ideas for journey premises that can give the characters good motivation to train on?

Basics

This will probably start pretty "normally" for "journey" RPs. You'll have one starter pokémon and start in a town, perhaps Pallet and perhaps we go backwards or some other route through the region. You will be able to write convincing posts, battle or not, and hope that the GM approves your captures or other means of acquiring new pokémon. You will be able to JP and occasionally do missions in areas and control "NPC" characters like gym leaders and others. Could be that gym battles need to be approved by the GM in order for them to be won, much like captures. Gyms should require some effort, since they're the key challenge in the plot!

Alola pokémon would likely be present. At least after I've played the game next week lol

Advanced

There will be a level system for pokémon. Every IRL week, you will be able to do a certain number of actions in the IC thread. If you can do 6 actions in a week, you can for example:

- challenge a gym
- train a pokemon (+2 levels)
- catch a pokémon
- participate in an event/mission
- battle a trainer (+3 levels for each pokémon fighting)
- evolve a pokémon

Each action needs to be validated with a post, and as you know, the minimum word limit here is 100 words. You can either make several posts throughout the week (and each needs to be at least 100 words) or one post with several (or all) your actions in it. A post with several actions probably doesn't need to be longer than that either! Not sure why you'd want to shove a lot of content into so few paragraphs, but I likely wouldn't police the length as much as the content.

If you want to write short summarizing posts and mostly just enjoy growing a team using the rp mechanics, then do. If you would rather like to use your creative vein and love to write, then write more!

As such - you would be allowed a max number of actions each week, and probably 1 as a minimum unless you have a good reason to not squeeze out 100 words or more for a lil action thing. After each week, we'd move forward and change areas (chapters?), and if you didn't manage to get enough actions in, then tough luck! Maybe for cities with gyms, we could have two weeks, and maybe in some other areas too.

There might be some sort of inventory system too, so that missions/events can reward you with battle items or "key" items that open up opportunities later on, as well as evolution items and mega stones.

so hi community, what do you think about this way of doing a journey? I want it to be fun and easy to get into, rather than daunting, but still allow for much writing for those who want.

Oddball_ · Nov 19, 2016

I'm up for it! New mechanics could be just what a journey needs. OH AND CAN THE IN GAME WEEKS BE AT THE SAME TIME AS OURS! OMG POKEMON CHRISTMAS AND STUFF HYPE

esperance · Nov 19, 2016

The short summaries and growing the team really appeals to me. Much less serious than a full-blown RP and something I'd really like to give a try!

Ewery1 · Nov 19, 2016

That's pretty cool!! It could sort of function as a type of Meta Journey thing where you accumulate Pokemon but like an actual RP that is only dictated by time. I like it!!

moon · Nov 20, 2016

Oddball_ said:
I'm up for it! New mechanics could be just what a journey needs. OH AND CAN THE IN GAME WEEKS BE AT THE SAME TIME AS OURS! OMG POKEMON CHRISTMAS AND STUFF HYPE

Lost Heart said:
The short summaries and growing the team really appeals to me. Much less serious than a full-blown RP and something I'd really like to give a try!

Ewery1 said:
That's pretty cool!! It could sort of function as a type of Meta Journey thing where you accumulate Pokemon but like an actual RP that is only dictated by time. I like it!!

Cool that you like it!

How many standard actions per week could be good? 3? 4?

And what things should be actions to choose from, and what should not count towards the action count?

Sweet Dreams · Nov 20, 2016

Hmm... While I've discovered (much to my disappointment) that standard journey RPs and I just do not seem to get along very well, I can offer my assistance as someone to bounce potential ideas off of! :D

Obviously interaction between players would be action-free, but how about players training together? Maybe you could give some bonus for training your Pokemon with someone else, like extra experience or something. Do you want trading Pokemon to cost an action point? Would progressing to the next route require an action point just to simulate time, or do you want to encourage more free-roaming? If so, then what stops a player from jumping back and forth between different towns/cities in a single post (except that own player's common sense, obviously--you could just try to encourage realism).

If someone wants to RP failing to catch a Pokemon or losing in a battle (or being the losing party in a battle between two of the RPers) do you think it should still cost an action point, and would they gain anything from it anyway? (I'm hoping they would, otherwise it might discourage people from battling each other and creating rivals and all the fun juicy stuff.) I'm curious as to what direction you want to go with this mechanic. xD

esperance · Nov 20, 2016

adventure said:
Cool that you like it!

How many standard actions per week could be good? 3? 4?

And what things should be actions to choose from, and what should not count towards the action count?

I'd say we set a maximum of around 4 and require at least one in order for a player to stay in the RP. Then leave it to the player to decide how many actions they'd like to make a in a week. This would be flexible enough to encourage a wide range of players.

Actions I think would be good to choose from include:

Capturing a Pokemon
Battling a trainer
Training a Pokemon X levels
Evolving a Pokemon
Participating in an event (although I could see this also taking multiple actions)
Hatching a egg -- before this can happen the player should wait a set amount of time in-game while the egg incubates

Something that may require special managing is exploration: does traveling to a new area consume an action or is it separate from the training system?

Also curious about what you envision events involving.

Oddball_ · Nov 20, 2016

I think that sounds pretty good, moving between areas should require an action, but perhaps give a way to skip from town to town like I dunno, taking a bus or something. That way you do still have to describe yourself moving but it doesn't take three weeks to go from town a to town z.

moon · Jan 15, 2017

Sweet Dreams said:
Hmm... While I've discovered (much to my disappointment) that standard journey RPs and I just do not seem to get along very well, I can offer my assistance as someone to bounce potential ideas off of! :D

Obviously interaction between players would be action-free, but how about players training together? Maybe you could give some bonus for training your Pokemon with someone else, like extra experience or something. Do you want trading Pokemon to cost an action point? Would progressing to the next route require an action point just to simulate time, or do you want to encourage more free-roaming? If so, then what stops a player from jumping back and forth between different towns/cities in a single post (except that own player's common sense, obviously--you could just try to encourage realism).

If someone wants to RP failing to catch a Pokemon or losing in a battle (or being the losing party in a battle between two of the RPers) do you think it should still cost an action point, and would they gain anything from it anyway? (I'm hoping they would, otherwise it might discourage people from battling each other and creating rivals and all the fun juicy stuff.) I'm curious as to what direction you want to go with this mechanic. xD

colors said:
I'd say we set a maximum of around 4 and require at least one in order for a player to stay in the RP. Then leave it to the player to decide how many actions they'd like to make a in a week. This would be flexible enough to encourage a wide range of players.

Actions I think would be good to choose from include:

Capturing a Pokemon

Battling a trainer

Training a Pokemon X levels

Evolving a Pokemon

Participating in an event (although I could see this also taking multiple actions)

Hatching a egg -- before this can happen the player should wait a set amount of time in-game while the egg incubates

Something that may require special managing is exploration: does traveling to a new area consume an action or is it separate from the training system?

Also curious about what you envision events involving.

Oddball_ said:
I think that sounds pretty good, moving between areas should require an action, but perhaps give a way to skip from town to town like I dunno, taking a bus or something. That way you do still have to describe yourself moving but it doesn't take three weeks to go from town a to town z.

I think we could have a standard list for actions that can be taken in any IC post, and then add special actions for some areas and also subtract some actions for some areas perhaps - no battling allowed in some city maybe, or no egg being hatched in the graveyard city or something.

I think I'd do one Area Post and link to from a list in or near the OP, and after any area is reached for the first time, players can use an action to move between them during their week, yes. It makes sense to have traveling be an action.

Events/missions would probably be extra things that aren't permanently available in areas, but rather are temporary things you can do for the current week. Helping a person, stopping evildoers, going on hikes, participating in challenges... stuff like that.

I might try to structure something more in detail soon!

moon · Jan 15, 2017

Pokémon Battle Beyond

Year 2021, April:
Kanto has never been the most popular region for its nature, its culture or even its native species of pokémon. What makes the region great, is its people. So many famous trainers, actors, businesspeople, researchers and explorers have their origins in Kanto, and they outshine the natives of other regions in many situations with their pride for their region and brilliant energy and minds. At least... that's what they're saying in Kanto.

One particular career in which Kantonians have historically been particularly dominant, is pokémon battling. Anybody owning a pokémon is legally a trainer and obliged to follow trainer laws. But taking it one step further and battling other trainers for money - that makes you a battler. As with any type of sports, there are hobbyists, and there are those who strive and actually pursue a professional career.

As you might have guessed by now, one of them will be you.

You aspire to be a battler, maybe you are even a trainer already. As the Kanto community prides itself on its outstanding reputation for producing great battlers, the government has set up an office where trainers can receive a starter pokémon for free and a complimentary pokédex - which becomes registered as an ID in their name - to kickstart their career. This endeavor started a few decades ago and has proven to be successful. The pokémon species given out have largely remained the same, with a few seasonal and promotional changes now and then, and the core trio which were originally very rare pokémon, are now widely known as "the Kanto starters".

A professor Gary Oak is responsible for handing the starter and pokédex out to new battlers, and the facility can be found in Pallet City, a modern and still growing settlement in the southwestern part of the region. Most battlers undertake journeys through a region both at the start of their career as a test, as well as later on to stay sharp and well versed in skills and environments - as well as to build a web of useful contacts from around the world if they can! Every year, the Pokémon League also resets. This means that any battler can challenge the gyms around the region. If they manage to collect at least 8 gym badges, they can enter the Pokémon League Tournament on Indigo Plateau in the far west, which is the ultimate challenge for a Kanto battler!

Things might not be as easy as they seem though. A criminal syndicate is on the rise in the region, making many people paranoid and wary...

Mechanics

Okay, fasten your seatbelt and we will get through this. It's not as complicated as it might seem... I hope! This RP will, simply put, consist of players doing a number of actions every week. One week IRL = One day IC, unless there are special circumstances.

You can do a max of 5 actions every IRL week (IC day) and a minimum of 1, unless the GM states otherwise in special cases.

If we figure that the number of actions is a bit too low or too high to work well, we'll adjust it! If you fail to make at least one action during any week without having giving the GM a good reason for your absence, you will be warned. If it happens two weeks in a row, you risk being removed from the RP. Keep up!

Below is a list of things that will count towards your weekly Actions:

- Train a pokémon through exercise, practicing skills etc (+1 levels)

- Battle a wild pokémon (+1 level for each fighting pokémon per battle)

- Battle a trainer (+2 levels for each participating pokémon per battle)

- Battle another player (+3 levels for each participating pokémon per battle)

- Catch a pokémon (if there was a battle leading up to the capture, +1 level for your fighting pokémon)

- Challenge a gym leader (will likely be a JP with the GM or other sanctioned player, levels given arbitrarily)

- Evolve a pokémon (if the GM has notified you that a pokémon is able to do so)

- Trade a pokémon (at any time with other players, only at specially presented times with NPCs)

- Hatch a pokémon (if you happen to have an egg and the GM has notified you that the egg is ready!)

- Teach a pokémon a TM / tutor move (TMs will be rewarded for events, tutors will appear in some areas)

- Move to a new area (you can do this in any post, and jump back and forth if you want, but it does take up one action every time!!)
--- Eventually you will be able to use the FLY skill or trains and other services to more quickly skip between areas far apart.

Each Action needs to be validated with a post, and as you know, the minimum word limit here is 100 words. You can either make several posts throughout the week or one post with several (or all) your actions in it. A post with several actions won't be rejected for being little over 100 words UNLESS at least one of your actions is a trainer battle.

--- As battles against other trainers and gym leaders (and other players) give more levels than other Actions, I require you to write the battles out - detailed if you enjoy that, or in a more summarized form if you prefer to keep things brief. But more than "Jane battled Jake with Pikachu, Ampharos and Sunflora and won." you know?

This means that if you want to mostly write short summarizing posts and just enjoy growing a team using the RP mechanics, then do. If you would rather like to use your creative vein and love to write, then write more!

Every week, a new area will open up if there is at least one player who wishes to proceed.

Do these mechanics work or is it too much/too little?

ANARCHit3cht · Jan 15, 2017

I think that it sounds pretty good, and I'm definitely game for this! The whole idea of a the "actions" make it pretty interesting. The actions sound relatively balanced to me, apart from perhaps the leveling. Maybe there should be a cap on those? For instance, 3 levels for battling another player? I could use 3 actions for a day on doing that and just level up my Pokemon insanely fast while still being able to evolve/battle a gym/catch a pokemon etc

moon · Jan 15, 2017

ANARCHit3cht said:
I think that it sounds pretty good, and I'm definitely game for this! The whole idea of a the "actions" make it pretty interesting. The actions sound relatively balanced to me, apart from perhaps the leveling. Maybe there should be a cap on those? For instance, 3 levels for battling another player? I could use 3 actions for a day on doing that and just level up my Pokemon insanely fast while still being able to evolve/battle a gym/catch a pokemon etc

We could adjust if if they seem unbalanced after the game starts, of course. But I figure that posting together with another player and interacting is one of the key and most fun things, so I think it's really nice to reward that the most. You could indeed write out 5 player vs player battles every week if you want to, but most people actually won't from what I've seen in the past because writing out battles can require some effort. I'll nullify trainer battle posts that are too briefly written, after all ;D Although I don't want to be too strict in the beginning but being able to adapt will hopefully make things alright after a while.

Groc · Jan 18, 2017

The mechanics are different but the setting is familiar, and it looks like a fun little romp. This looks like it could be a lighthearted, slice of life style RP, which are too often overlooked in favor of heavy dramatic stuff. Each post will have a specific goal, like training or traveling, and if you look at it like each post is an episode of a show, it's not hard to write solid posts! I love it! When do we start?

moon · Jan 20, 2017

Godzil said:
The mechanics are different but the setting is familiar, and it looks like a fun little romp. This looks like it could be a lighthearted, slice of life style RP, which are too often overlooked in favor of heavy dramatic stuff. Each post will have a specific goal, like training or traveling, and if you look at it like each post is an episode of a show, it's not hard to write solid posts! I love it! When do we start?

Well there would certainly come more "dramatic stuff" eventually, at least optionally, but the point of it to be pretty simple yes. I have a few people in mind who don't usually RP, whom I want to nudge towards this game haha. So maybe for beginners, and for more experienced RPers who want something light hearted as you say (:

Dragon · Jan 21, 2017

Sounds pretty fun, and I hope you'll consider making it soon. <33 Hopefully it won't spell to be too demanding for the Rpers but then again, if they decide to join, they must confide anyway. :3

FireSnow · Jan 21, 2017

I agree with Godzil, lets get this started! I could use a simple RP in my life and this one's mechanics are a real draw. The flexibility in the posts is sure to keep the RP running more smoothly as well

moon · Jan 22, 2017

Sweet Dreams said:
If someone wants to RP failing to catch a Pokemon or losing in a battle (or being the losing party in a battle between two of the RPers) do you think it should still cost an action point, and would they gain anything from it anyway? (I'm hoping they would, otherwise it might discourage people from battling each other and creating rivals and all the fun juicy stuff.) I'm curious as to what direction you want to go with this mechanic. xD

(not sure I ever answered this)

Maybe there could be bonus points awarded by the GM in the form of items or privileges or extra levels, whenever two players interact enough or write joint posts (:

As for losing party in any fight, it will still count as a fight so you will get levels regardless of winning or not, for every pok?mon participating in the battle. You won't gain anything by playing OP in the RP (;

moon · Jan 28, 2017

Spoiler:

Dragon said:
Sounds pretty fun, and I hope you'll consider making it soon. <33 Hopefully it won't spell to be too demanding for the Rpers but then again, if they decide to join, they must confide anyway. :3

Godzil said:
The mechanics are different but the setting is familiar, and it looks like a fun little romp. This looks like it could be a lighthearted, slice of life style RP, which are too often overlooked in favor of heavy dramatic stuff. Each post will have a specific goal, like training or traveling, and if you look at it like each post is an episode of a show, it's not hard to write solid posts! I love it! When do we start?

ANARCHit3cht said:
I think that it sounds pretty good, and I'm definitely game for this! The whole idea of a the "actions" make it pretty interesting. The actions sound relatively balanced to me, apart from perhaps the leveling. Maybe there should be a cap on those? For instance, 3 levels for battling another player? I could use 3 actions for a day on doing that and just level up my Pokemon insanely fast while still being able to evolve/battle a gym/catch a pokemon etc

Oddball_ said:
I think that sounds pretty good, moving between areas should require an action, but perhaps give a way to skip from town to town like I dunno, taking a bus or something. That way you do still have to describe yourself moving but it doesn't take three weeks to go from town a to town z.

Ewery1 said:
That's pretty cool!! It could sort of function as a type of Meta Journey thing where you accumulate Pokemon but like an actual RP that is only dictated by time. I like it!!

colors said:
The short summaries and growing the team really appeals to me. Much less serious than a full-blown RP and something I'd really like to give a try!

FireSnow said:
I agree with Godzil, lets get this started! I could use a simple RP in my life and this one's mechanics are a real draw. The flexibility in the posts is sure to keep the RP running more smoothly as well

OOC is up (: Bit different but hopefully alright. https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?p=9558955#post9558955

We could really use some more players. You guys were positive as I developed this RP, wanna give it a chance to get off the ground?

FireSnow · Jan 31, 2017

I'm sorry! I've just been trying to find a little time to create an SU, I'm hoping tomorrow

esperance · Jan 31, 2017

I've been a bit busy recently but still interested. I'll see about making a SU today or tomorrow.

A maybe simpler journey RP

More options

moon

Pokémon Journey With IRL Time Dependent Mechanics

Basics

Advanced

Oddball_

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

esperance

Ewery1

Local Red Panda

moon

Sweet Dreams

[I]are made of these~[/I]

esperance

Oddball_

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

moon

moon

Pokémon Battle Beyond

Mechanics

ANARCHit3cht

Call me Archie!

moon

Groc

moon

Dragon

lover of milotics

FireSnow

Show me that Fighting Spirit

moon

moon

FireSnow

Show me that Fighting Spirit

esperance