A maybe simpler journey RP

Started by moon November 19th, 2016 9:06 AM
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  • 22 replies

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
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15.5 Years

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.

paired with Ivysaur

Oddball_

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

Age 24
They/Them
Seattle, WA
Seen 4 Weeks Ago
Posted May 17th, 2019
866 posts
8.5 Years
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



Friends for Infinity
Paired to GreyBidoof| Magical Senpai |

"I've learned to be wary of his suggestions... he's consumed my life."

art by the amazing Infinite

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
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
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!
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?
paired with Ivysaur

Sweet Dreams

are made of these~

a store near YOU!
Seen January 23rd, 2018
Posted January 3rd, 2018
703 posts
15.3 Years
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



Friends for Infinity
art (right) by the amazing Kitty


esperance

Age 26
Male
OH
Seen October 8th, 2022
Posted January 11th, 2022
3,830 posts
13.1 Years
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.
What are you so afraid of?

Oddball_

Magical Senpai and god of the closet.

Age 24
They/Them
Seattle, WA
Seen 4 Weeks Ago
Posted May 17th, 2019
866 posts
8.5 Years
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.



Friends for Infinity
Paired to GreyBidoof| Magical Senpai |

"I've learned to be wary of his suggestions... he's consumed my life."

art by the amazing Infinite

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
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
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.
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!
paired with Ivysaur

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years

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?
paired with Ivysaur
Seen September 24th, 2020
Posted November 26th, 2018
2,143 posts
14.7 Years
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

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
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.
paired with Ivysaur

Groc

Age 32
Male
Arizona, USA
Seen 2 Hours Ago
Posted January 17th, 2023
1,646 posts
12.9 Years
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

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
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 (:
paired with Ivysaur

Dragon

lover of milotics

Age 30
Male
Viridian City
Seen 3 Days Ago
Posted October 24th, 2022
11,170 posts
9.7 Years
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


"Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess...
DRAGON SLAVE!"

FireSnow

Show me that Fighting Spirit

Age 27
Male
Ambrette Town, Kalos
Seen August 20th, 2021
Posted October 3rd, 2020
2,644 posts
7.7 Years
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

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
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 pokmon participating in the battle. You won't gain anything by playing OP in the RP (;
paired with Ivysaur

moon

they/them
Seen 11 Hours Ago
Posted 23 Hours Ago
37,443 posts
15.5 Years
Spoiler:
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
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?
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
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.
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!!
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!
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?
paired with Ivysaur

Gelius3

Certified Idiotic Potato

Age 22
Male
Seen 2 Weeks Ago
Posted October 22nd, 2022
840 posts
9 Years
Maybe Wild Encounters depending on season or week or even time of the day? For Example, in Week 1, you can easily find pokemon such as Machop and Mankey, but on Week 2, those are gone and migrated away, and Makuhita and Mienfoo replace them.

Day and Night System could be a bit tricky, but hasn't it always been?

For Week System, it would be 3-4 different weeks of the month. There would be the Week Exclusive Pokemon, who could exist in one, if not more, week, and then migrates until the next month's week correspondent. For example as i said, Machop could exist in Weeks 1 and 3, and during Weeks 2 and 4, it would be replaced by different pokemon. On Week 4, trainers who wanted a Machop would wait for next month's week 1. Same could work on missions, or even kinds of pokemon a Gym Leader could use.

For the Season System, i think that a Season System similar to B/W/B2/W2 would fit better. As in, trainers would need to wait for a next month to a new season, with it's own different changes of it. Some Season Exclusives could overwrite Week Exclusives. Example, Machop, in all Seasons, it exists in Weeks 1-3, but Mankey, does not exist in Weeks 1-3 of Winter, so it could easily be overwritten by another entry of Pokemon, like Pancham or Teddiursa. There could also be Season Exclusives without being Week Exclusives, and etc. The Order of Seasons starting from January would be Spring, Summer, Autumn/Fall & Winter, being Winter on Aprill, and then the cycle resets on May, making so December coincides in Winter, due Christmas. But yeah. The Season System would bring a new twist, not only making trainers to be ready for all seasons, but also for many different conditions, such as in Summer, due to the heat, it would be harder to defeat Fire Types, or in the Winter, any Non-Ice Type would be struggling through the fight, and many other conditions.

Certain areas could not have these Exclusive different conditions due to not having much changes, but mostly, that's the case.

There would be also an introduction to Daily System. As in, Certain Events, Missions, or even Gym Leaders, unavailable in certain days, as Gym Leaders do need a day out. So this means that the Players would have to wait a day out to do these things.

Players would have to put down the Day of the Week, Day of the Month and Month and if needed, before putting their in character part on the post, so for easy tracking.

This somewhat complicated feature is a bit complex, but, it would add a new twist, testing Players patience and way of managing the time. Additionally, to pass time to be active, they would have to do other side activities. Thankfully, Fly could later on be a thing.

Sorry for the obnoxious idea post.

FireSnow

Show me that Fighting Spirit

Age 27
Male
Ambrette Town, Kalos
Seen August 20th, 2021
Posted October 3rd, 2020
2,644 posts
7.7 Years
I've been super busy between preparing to move and work(I put in my two weeks, tell them I'm moving and they ask me to work every single day lol....) but if its still kicking and in need of players when I get a chance I'll get an SU up right away!
Should definitely join in, the more the merrier! You'll probably finish your SU before me at my current rate