Setting Guide Threads

[Captain Untouchable]

In a few of our discussions we've touched on having threads to help ease new people into our roleplaying settings, and to also help players keep tabs on things on an ongoing basis.

Suggestions for what these threads would contain include:

• Brief summary of the major groups/teams/etc within the setting.
• Brief summary of what sub-forums should be used for (Star Wars).
• Character lists, possibly including a "who plays who".
• Current story arcs / active threads.
• Links to wiki pages for further info.

We've got all sorts of variations on these things already, so there's plenty of inspiration / past experience / etc to draw on. Other things to consider:

Will there be too much for one thread? How many posts is "too many" for one of these threads? Which types of information are more useful/important, and which are expendable?

How much detail should these threads go into on a particular topic? How much should be written down, and how much should be left to word of mouth / asking someone else to explain it?

Should there be a standard(ish) format across the board to make it familiar/easy to interpret, or do specific settings need these threads to be tailored in different ways?

Threads can only be edited by the original poster (or a mod/admin). Is this the best way of presenting this information? Is there a better way?

Who is responsible for keeping these threads up to date? What happens if they don't/can't?

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Personally, I would like to see a lot of this information on the wiki so that anyone/everyone can keep it up to date. However, I think it would also be very helpful (in the interests of user friendliness) to have something on the forums themselves to help guide people to where on the wiki they should be looking.

Perhaps all we need is a glorified contents page: a thread of useful wiki links. Perhaps we could just have a link at the top of each forum (we can make links look like forums and stuff right?) that takes you directly to a handy little Wiki Portal page for that particular faction / setting.

I would like to see us avoid divorcing this information from the forums entirely, though. The more we integrate the wiki with the forums, and the easier it is to hop between one and the other... the more we're going to use it, and the more incentive we'll have to keep it up to date.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I'll work on writing something up for this tomorrow/later today. A starting point, anyway.

[Droo]

I think Steinfield's thread highlights a real need for guides of this sort.

[Dasquian Belargic]

What do we think about making these guides stickied topics in the relevant forums? e.g. guide to WoD would be in the WoD forum, etc.

[Droo]

Agreed on that. Easy to find, easy to link to, and it saves the discussion forums being bogged down with stickied threads.

[Captain Untouchable]

What about with Star Wars? Would you have a stickied thread for each main faction in the main Star Wars RP forum? Would you try and have a thread for each faction?

Similar for General RP. Does each setting get it's own thread, or do you try for one thread that introduces everything.

Probably worth getting what people want the threads to contain before anyone runs off and tries to make anything.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I think the Star Wars thread could just be pointing towards other threads in the factions own forums, so the faction mods themselves could then have responsibility for doing updates. One sticky per RP forum (SW RP, Gen RP, MU, WoD) for this, I think.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

World of Darkness
Based on the classic White Wolf RPG, the World of Darkness RP scenario takes place across three continents, and spans several years. In Chicago there is a large presence of Garou and Immortals, while London is where you want to be for Camarilla politics and the underhanded dealings of the Sabbat. You can even visit Russia for more Kindred/Garou dealings if you wish.


Visit the World of Darkness sub-forum for writing roleplays, and the General RP Discussion forum for all OOC talk and plotting. We have a post of current threads, and the wiki is also full of information for the setting (as well as the White Wolf wiki for more general information). Please bear in mind that the wiki is a volunteer project and as such the information may be out of date. Please contact Lilaena De'Ville, Droo, or Dasquian Belargic if you have questions about anything regarding World of Darkness.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Mutants, Unite!
Based on Marvel's X-Men, the Mutants RP scenario takes place in a very familiar world where the X-gene has spread and mutants with special powers have appeared at every level of society. There are no canon Marvel characters allowed, all of our characters have to be original, though there is a school for gifted children run by an enigmatic mutant in New York State. This is also a cover for the famed X-Men, though that half of our storytelling has fallen by the wayside over the years as focus has turned toward Los Angeles and more 'everyman' type characters rather than super heroes. There are even rumblings from over the pond in Great Britain, where the government is taking a decidedly less friendly approach to the mutant 'problem.'

Super heroes are still welcome though! Check out what's going on in our current threads, read the wiki (with the caveat that it is created by volunteers and may be out of date), and think about how you want to join in. Contact Dragon, Droo, or Lilaena De'Ville with any questions! We are happy to help you get started.