Help Thread: Plot, Planning & Review Thread

[moon]

You guys are so cute :)

Hm, true, some kind of roleplay sample perhaps. And I should probably do more than just mention the pokemorph part. It's hard when you don't want to give away too much beforehand, but if pokemorphing is what could lure players in, I should explain it better.

... Actually, can you call it pokemorphing when you mean that humans conpletelt transform into pokemon? And back. At will, usually. Or should it just be called transformation instead?

Thanks, I really appreciate your thoughts!

 

[gimmepie]

Damnit Doctor!

I'll be trying to join that but I don't know if I'll be able to handle it :/

My main concern is that we don't really know the mechanics of pokemorphing or what we can do when morphed. I'm also curious about how abilitites, moves, evolution and mega-evolution are handled by the RP if at all.

 

[Nidoking76]

Okay, so I'm thinking of an RP to make. When I'm done explaining it, can you please help me:
Get a good title
Make a map
Help me with anything else that ya think needs fixing.

Anyway...

The plot is that a team of pokemon thieves decide to make a new group of Pokemon to do their bidding. For this gang to create these Pokemon, they make a new type of Pokemon called "Super Minds". These Super Minds have an incredible intelligence, or an IQ of 346. These Pokemon, however, use their intelligence to escape. Of the 594 Super Minds that were made, 163 escaped, and the rest stayed. 20 of these Pokemon decided to sneak into the labs where they give people Pokemon. These 20 were the 20 starters, or Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Pikachu, and Eevee. Meanwhile, 20 new trainers awaited there new Pokemon...

 

[moon]

Okay, so I'm thinking of an RP to make. When I'm done explaining it, can you please help me:
Get a good title
Make a map
Help me with anything else that ya think needs fixing.

Anyway...

The plot is that a team of pokemon thieves decide to make a new group of Pokemon to do their bidding. For this gang to create these Pokemon, they make a new type of Pokemon called "Super Minds". These Super Minds have an incredible intelligence, or an IQ of 346. These Pokemon, however, use their intelligence to escape. Of the 594 Super Minds that were made, 163 escaped, and the rest stayed. 20 of these Pokemon decided to sneak into the labs where they give people Pokemon. These 20 were the 20 starters, or Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charmander, Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Treecko, Torchic, Mudkip, Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Chespin, Fennekin, Froakie, Pikachu, and Eevee. Meanwhile, 20 new trainers awaited there new Pokemon...

Just moving this to the planning thread for you!

Also, what you are describing is the background of the RP, the history behind it. But you haven't said yet what will actually happen in the RP: the plot. Will it be a journey-like RP where trainers travel with extra intelligent starters and meet the thieves behind it all eventually?

 

[Nidoking76]

Just moving this to the planning thread for you!

Also, what you are describing is the background of the RP, the history behind it. But you haven't said yet what will actually happen in the RP: the plot. Will it be a journey-like RP where trainers travel with extra intelligent starters and meet the thieves behind it all eventually?

It will probably be like this:

The RP will start with the players going to get there starters. The players will, obviously, be the 20 lucky/unlucky people who start off with a Super Mind. However, the players will not start off knowing about there intelligence.
And to make things more interesting, all Pokemon will be able to talk in this.
ALL Pokemon.

Anywho, the players will start off just doing what the player wants to do: but a short time in, the players will realize that their Pokemon are Super Minds. Then, the plot will unfold. The players will have to find out why they need these Super Minds, and what they are planning to do with them. And most importantly, who is the man/woman/whatever behind this?

 

[moon]

Okay I must say that I like that plot because:

(don't click this if you are in Crossroads!!!)

Spoiler:

That's almost what I'm having Team Rocket do in my RP now xD I made the starters shiny to further distinguish them but I was planning on making them able to talk very soon in the plot. I haven't told the players yet that their starters are special pokemon in this way or what TR are really up to, to preserve some mystery ;)

So yeah, as long as you try to keep some mystery for your players I'd say go ahead with your plan! Not sure what you should title your RP. A good name will surely come to you if you think for a while :)

 

[Zero Percent]

Here a simple name I came up with.

Spoiler:

(name of region): A Journey of Intellectualism

It doesn't roll off the tongue that well, so I don't know how good it would actually be

 

[moon]

Maybe rather just call it "Mind over Matter" or something ^^

 

[Nidoking76]

"Mind Over Matter". Gotta love that one.

Anywho, I still need a map.

 

[aceattorneyweirdgirl]

So I come back after a two year or so hiatus to find this handy-dandy thread after I already pitched my concept in the normal discussion thread. Oops.

Anyway, so it can get more detailed critique I'm reposting my pitch here.

One day, you arrive home to find a parcel with a Mega Stone that matches one of your pokemon and a keystone (embedded within an accessory of the player's choice), plus a letter telling you to keep them safe.

The next morning, you wake up in a small room in the middle of a deep, thick forest with only a couple of your pokemon and a backpack stocked with supplies (and another letter).

Then you leave the room and work with other players to survive, explore and, ultimately, figure out how you got there. The Mega Stones will figure into the plot, but I'm thinking only after a certain point. 

The letters are going to be pretty important, and part of a slightly more unique mechanic - all players receive the first two, but from that point on they are given out via PM at certain points to players at the GM's discretion, and will build towards the plot in an interesting way.

 

[Mana1]

So I come back after a two year or so hiatus to find this handy-dandy thread after I already pitched my concept in the normal discussion thread. Oops.

Anyway, so it can get more detailed critique I'm reposting my pitch here.

Welcome back :)

One day, you arrive home to find a parcel with a Mega Stone that matches one of your pokemon and a keystone (embedded within an accessory of the player's choice), plus a letter telling you to keep them safe.
→ Must all players therefore have a Pokemon ready to mega-evolve? They're all established trainers?

The next morning, you wake up in a small room in the middle of a deep, thick forest with only a couple of your pokemon and a backpack stocked with supplies (and another letter).
→ A room in a forest? As in a shed/shack or something? Do these first two letters explain any of this? It may be a good idea to let us know any reasoning behind these early events, assuming it won't really spoil much.

Then you leave the room and work with other players to survive, explore and, ultimately, figure out how you got there. The Mega Stones will figure into the plot, but I'm thinking only after a certain point.
→ Survive/explore? Is anything stopping them climbing on a Pokemon and flying/teleporting/surfing home? Are they given a reason to stick around? If the Mega stones don't have a purpose until later maybe it would be better to skip the characters receiving them right at the beginning and tie it in with a later event.

The letters are going to be pretty important, and part of a slightly more unique mechanic - all players receive the first two, but from that point on they are given out via PM at certain points to players at the GM's discretion, and will build towards the plot in an interesting way.
→ I love this idea and quirk - adding an air of secrecy and giving players additional information. I don't know how they'll actually be able to use these PM letters to help them, though.

 

[aceattorneyweirdgirl]

→ Must all players therefore have a Pokemon ready to mega-evolve? They're all established trainers?

They'll need a Pokemon able to mega-evolve, yeah. But they won't necessarily have to be established trainers - though it would make little sense for a rookie to wield, say, a Garchomp or Tyranitar, you could choose to play as a character less experienced as a trainer if they had something like Manectric or Mawile - stuff that's likely not as threatening without its Mega.

→ A room in a forest? As in a shed/shack or something? Do these first two letters explain any of this? It may be a good idea to let us know any reasoning behind these early events, assuming it won't really spoil much.

Exactly - a shack or shed would be something about right. I figure how you wind up there is going to be a significant element of the plot, though that particular detail has yet to be hammered out. The letters definitely won't explain it - they exist mainly for basic, cryptic advice so far.

→ Survive/explore? Is anything stopping them climbing on a Pokemon and flying/teleporting/surfing home? Are they given a reason to stick around? If the Mega stones don't have a purpose until later maybe it would be better to skip the characters receiving them right at the beginning and tie it in with a later event.

Here we go, now we've got the stuff I was hoping to tease out of my half-written concept - plot holes! Nice to be able to have those addressed before I end up submitting anything. I figure the forest and surrounding areas be ridiculously expansive, if there's even any civilization at all to find. Teleporters, on the other hand, are tricky - that'll need some thought, thanks to the way they work in the games (bringing you back to the last Pokemon Centre visited implies you can teleport anywhere you've been to prior). As for motivation? I'd completely forgotten about that point, thanks for bringing it up.

In regards to the mega stones, perhaps it would be best to set them up like X and Y did - getting the mega stone at the beginning and obtaining the keystone necessary to trigger the evolution further down the line. I do want to draw at least some attention to them from the beginning, as otherwise it would feel slightly pointless requiring a mega-evolvable Pokemon in SUs.

→ I love this idea and quirk - adding an air of secrecy and giving players additional information. I don't know how they'll actually be able to use these PM letters to help them, though.

Thanks for the compliment! The letters are going to take a little effort to stop them falling flat as a concept. Hopefully I can make them work to the point that one player knowing something others don't (or at least their characters) actually makes a significant impact on the RP.

This whole 'mystery' concept is going to need a lot of forethought and planning - I don't want it to go in the direction of Lost and end up making half of my resolutions on the spot.

 

[moon]

One thing is a fact - I've always had too many RP ideas spinning around. Can't do them all auugh. Anyways, on top of the thing I posted here a while back, I came up with this in ten minutes the other day. When I think up RPs, I tend to write an opening post for it as I go because it helps me flesh out the idea and mechanics rather than just scribble things down unorganizedly somewhere. (is that I word, I think not but)

Is this thing clear enough to you guys? I feel like there could be so much more explained about the setting but it's tedious to write paragraphs and paragraphs about details in how the world works when we could iron those things out as we go... or not?

Also I'm not sure if the actual plot for the RP is natural enough. Would these affected pokémon (the players) really come up with the idea of going to search for the terrorist themselves or would I have to nudge them somehow with an NPC giving them a mission or something?

Spoiler:

When pokémon make terrorist attacks, they don't necessarily do it by blowing people up. Their powers allow them to be much more twisted than that.​

setting

The region of Kanto is prosperous, PokéCenters and PokéMarts being present in every town and PokéBattling and related tournaments and journeys being in its glory days. Most pokémon lead peaceful lives and go to work each day, unless they are pursuing careers in PokéBattling and train at PokéGyms or travel the region to get stronger and more experienced.

Humans? Oh no, there are no humans here. Once, there might have been, but they are fairytales now. Scientists at the Pewter museum claim to have found real human fossils, but most don't believe them when they say that there once stood mighty human cities in the exact same locations as Cerulean, Celadon, Saffron and the other major towns. In most fairytales, humans are depicted as malicious and greedy anyways.

Pokémon live in towns that are a bit smaller than they would be for humans - a lot of pokémon still live in the wild after all. The two kinds of pokémon are usually referred to as the Free People and the Modernists. Guess which is which. There are no regular cars or airplanes, but there are plenty of other machines and some trucks for transporting goods and such, and there are boats and airships and zeppelins in the sky. Pokémon mostly live like we do, with schools, work, kitchens, TVs... With some nifty differences which we can work out as the RP goes along.



plot

But back to the topic of terrorist attacks. Of course all is never really well even in a seemingly happy world as pokémon Kanto. So one day, in the middle of the street in the grand Saffron Town, somebody thought they'd better make a statement.

"Citizens of Saffron Town!" a high pitched voice suddenly cut through the buzzing of running, flying or crawling pokémon. Some turned their heads to see a lone Mismagius float up above their heads. "You are being misled into chaos and horror by violent liars. Cast away your battling aspirations now! Embrace peace and prosperity and rid our land of the constant battling! Battling only leads to despair! It's time to make you understand."

People started to realize the Mismagius was trouble, when it flew up higher and started to glow. "DESTINY BOND!"

The shout was followed by a shockwave, seeping through the whole city from Mismagius body. It had been invisible, but every pokémon had felt it. It was... odd. Uncomfortable. Even those who had battled and met this attack before felt uneasy. There was something different with this shockwave, something wrong.

When the pokémon in the street looked up again, the Mismagius was gone. And soon they would realize that the attack had done something really strange. All the pokémon in Saffron Town were suddenly connected to each other, in groups. If one pokémon got hurt or tired, the other pokémon that had been close to them during the attack would feel it too. And if someone died...

This wasn't your lucky day. You happened to be one of the 8 pokémon standing almost right below the Mismagius when it happened. Your group became the most closely knit of all in regards to the curse. You'd better try to reverse the Destiny Bond before something really bad happens. But there are no potions, herbs, moves or cures to remove even a normal Destiny Bond. The only way seems to be to find the source, the Mismagius who issued the attack, and force him to release you... But where did he go?



straight forward

This is a RP where you will play as one of the pokémon affected most badly by the terrorist attack. I will play as most NPCs and try to steer you along the general path of the plot, which should consist of you trying to find out who the Mismagius was, why he did this, and most importantly - how to get rid of the curse before one of you gets badly hurt and drags down everyone else with you. Or worse, dies...

There won't be levels or anything like that, and you will be able to use any moves you think it's appropriate that your pokémon knows. Remember that unless you are "from the country", meaning one of the Free People, you live as we humans usually do in cities and probably have a job or go to school or something. Unless you are an active PokéBattler, you might not know the most powerful moves.

 

[Jegretis]

So I have had this idea for an RP for quite a while, called Wolf Story. It's sort of Disney inspired (the closest I can say is probably Lion King-esque). Pretty much it takes place in the Alaskan wilderness, and you play as a Grey Wolf pup. It would be sandbox I guess, where your wolf gets into mischief, hunt, adventures, etc. Then as the RP progresses, your wolf slowly becomes grown, and the plot sort of thickens. Poachers may come into play, maybe.

It's obviously just an idea as of yet. There's no motivation for me to actually do anything with it as of yet :/

 

[Skymin]

Sandbox roleplays are always fun, but remember motive and relevance is key! Sandbox roleplays usually rely on the player to motivate themselves to get to the next step or to interact or such.

Maybe -- like Lion King -- a alpha has died and a new one must take their place? At least as one of the arcs if you're planning for the long term. Or if you want to start where they are pups, perhaps they are leaders of certain families that all want the 'throne', but the pups have no quarrels with their cousins. Throw some game of thrones in here d:

 

[Jegretis]

Sandbox roleplays are always fun, but remember motive and relevance is key! Sandbox roleplays usually rely on the player to motivate themselves to get to the next step or to interact or such.

Maybe -- like Lion King -- a alpha has died and a new one must take their place? At least as one of the arcs if you're planning for the long term. Or if you want to start where they are pups, perhaps they are leaders of certain families that all want the 'throne', but the pups have no quarrels with their cousins. Throw some game of thrones in here d:

Well, if people take interest, then that's my motivation :)

When I meant Lion King, I meant that Wolf Story would be similar to that universe, where animals can talk and have human emotions, and stuff like that :)

The RP though would start off as characters playing as the pups, however they are all from different packs (if players want to be part of the same pack that is fine). Each pack has their own territory in the forests, so occasionally there would be some disputes among packs. However, since cubs are curious beings, naturally, they would go out and venture when the parents aren't paying attention.

 

[Nidoking76]

However, since cubs are curious beings, naturally, they would go out and venture when the parents aren't paying attention.

That sounds dangerous xD

Anywho, I guess that sounds fun. Though I can't see much being able to go on in that. Maybe there could be events such as droughts? Also, you may want to make a map or something so the players can know where the hell they are.

 

[Sephear]

Reminds me vaguely of Warriors...god if someone would make a Warriors RP here I would be so happy. But I like the idea of wolf story too, go for it if you get enough material! :D

 

[Nidoking76]

Okay, so I got the IC set up, all except for the map. Is anyone willing to make one for me?

 

[Mana1]

Okay, so I got the IC set up, all except for the map. Is anyone willing to make one for me?

Yo! :) You could find a map somewhere on google, edit up one yourself in Paint/Gimp, or use a map-maker website! :D

Here are a few links:

Deviant Art
Donjon