Player comments on TPs!

[Zazu]

As you know if you've read my announcement in Staff Discussion, we're going to have to make some changes around here, which will affect our TPs. There hasn't been enough roleplay lately, and that we've had hasn't had a lot of scope: we need more successful TPs. That said, in a nutshell, what the group of ten decided tonight was as follows:

The Palandasya will be attacked by the Blood Brothers, who will win the battle, sending most of the survivors fleeing to Pride Rock. If we do this, we'll need to choose a date; I'd like to do the battle in a single day. The Wahamishi pups with the hyenas have run away; their TP is considered over, and they can return home or do as they like. The large TP (is it an MP?) involving relations between Mwenyezi and Pride Rock, followed by trials to decide the heirs, will continue as soon as we have the FCs we need in place.

I don't know what the Min'Men meerkats are doing these days, but they can just keep on doing it.

In addition, I'm really hoping we can do something with Kiruuke. It's had very little roleplay so far, but the place has such potential--surely we can come up with a fun TP for its denizens! Suggestions on this, as on all these TPs and other ideas, are welcome.

[Kesh]

My voice is pretty small here, I know that well, but might I have one suggestion?

Less TPs.

Yes, you heard me, less TPs.

One thing that I've noticed to be a constant amongst TLK-themed MUCKs (Or any mucks, really) is that the larger the number of TPs that are laid out the more often the following two things happen:

1) A rise in anger and strife amongst the populace
2) The proliferation of small groups of players who end up playing the major roles in every group

#2 tends to stem off on #1 which then leads to more of #2 and more of #1.. a viscious cycle that either strangles a MUCK or turns it into a place where the smaller players can hardly stand a chance to get anywhere.


I understand the desire for happenings to be going on, but maybe it's high time we just let happenings form on their own merrit? The best RPs I've ever had involved random groups in a central location with someone doing something that draws attention and ends up evolving into something unexpected. I, for one, find RP where I already know the outcome to be horribly droll and boring.. hence why I'm rarely ever seen taking part in TPs around here.

Another side of it is that TPs have a fatal flaw: Key characters. Life happens, crap happens, lots of other things happen, too, and invariably a key character in a TP gets hung up and unable to play, grinding the whole thing to a halt because so much is based around their presence. This annoyed people and often causes some to lose interest and it can only go downhill from there.



That's my 2 dung beetles, at least. Thus, anyone sitting around waiting for a TP to start is more than welcome to prod me for random, impromptu RP any time.

[Ajazi]

I love you, Kesh.

[Nyigakali]

So far as I know, players were only allowed one FC. Uchenna was my only one, for the Wahamishi lost pup/hyena TP. Now that he's no longer FC, I'm going to try for another. I didn't want to app for lions, but now that's all there is.

[Zazu]

It's been decided that the Palandasya exodus plot is going to happen. The details are still up in the air. The Palandasya land is going to remain intact (except for a few minor changes I've detailed in Staff Announcements). Questions to be resolved include:

Why is the pride forced to leave its home? If it's an attack from the Blood Brothers (as I hope it will be), why are they doing it? How do they manage to overwhlem a pride with superior numbers? Why don't the Palandasyans return after the Brothers move on? How will those who travel to Pride Rock be received, and where exactly will they make their home in the Pridelands? On a more concrete note, what date will we choose for our kick-off? I'll tentattively suggest the evening of Saturday, March 3rd.

What do you think? Feel free to post in the Palandasya Group Discussion section as well as here.

[Kuchwa]

We mentioned something in the discussion we had about a legend building out of this. "A pride of ghosts" swooping in an killing of the Palandasya lions. If the Blood Brother swoop in without warning and just start attacking, the Palandasya lions will have no warning, and will find it difficult to fight back. In addition, I gather from the name that the Blood Brothers are mostly male? A full grown female wouldn't stand much of a chance against a full grown male, and if the Blood Brothers are fighters/mercenaries, they'd be more skilled in fighting than the Palandasya lions.
As for why they leave and don't come back. Fear.
The one thing I'm not so sure on is WHY the Blood Brothers attack.

[Chisulo]

Hm. Perhaps a Palandasyan can somehow wrong them? And then in an act of outlandish revenge, they could displace the entire pride? That's almost the only thing I can think of.

[Adhama]

It could be tied into the peace talks TP. Maybe Bug decides that the Pridelands would be more cooperative if their main ally was no more? I dunno, just throwing out ideas.

[Rynoah]

That's what I was thinking, Adhama. Also, I know the BBs have at least two well-trained assassins in their midst. It's not out of the question for them to attack covertly in the night and take out part of the pride before they even know what's going on. And if Palandasya has a group of lionesses within their numbers that neither hunt nor worry about the pride's defenses, that would leave only a number of lionesses/lions for the BBs to be concerned with. The harem could be picked off easily after the guards/huntresses were destroyed.

[Zazu]

All good ideas. Keep it up!

I suppose it's possible we could use ghosts again. I liked that for Tribulations of Talmaleki, but that was kind of meant just as a Halloween thing, not recurring source of danger. I think I'd prefer Chisulo's idea--one of the Masaitani (Blood Brothers) gets upset about something and decides on an epic overreaction. >:] I haven't RPed with the Masaitani, but checking @groups and lastons makes it look promising--their players are pretty active.

[Rynoah]

I think the 'ghosts' comment was referring to a legend rising out of the BB attack. Meaning that if the attack was swift and lethal enough, it could be later misconstrued as an attack by a pride of ghosts.

[Kuchwa]

rynoah said:

I think the 'ghosts' comment was referring to a legend rising out of the BB attack. Meaning that if the attack was swift and lethal enough, it could be later misconstrued as an attack by a pride of ghosts.

Yeah, that's what I meant. AFTER the BB's attack, the legend arises. *likes legends* ^.^

[Zazu]

Ah, cool! Well, after some discussion tonight, we've decided that we -are- getting the Mashaitani involved--so it's not going to be famine or locusts, although they could conceivably play a part in why return to the lands is infeasible for a while. We'll hammer out some more information and I'll post about it in a separate thread.

[IceHeartedLion]

My little Harimu will become a legend... That's nice, others will fear him!