N
Ner0
Guest
Hey players, Welcome to Part two of my in depth Tip series; Complex Conflict.
In this portion we will be discussing what is personally my favorite part of any conflict. The Build up! Known less commonly as The Rising Action, The build up portion of any conflict spans every moment before that inevitable moment when the two conflicting parties finally jump at each others throats. This portion of the conflict is by far the most important, because the more detail and thought put into this area, the more intense and real the actual conflict will seem.
Just remember "A conflict is very much about the journey, and not so very much about the destination." With the destination being the main conflict itself, of course. When presenting this in regards to a role play, it is best to answer the following question first.
Will my Role play begin before, during, or after the main world conflict?
Any of these three options are viable, and the decision is all up to personal preference.
I would not say there is a BEST way, but if I was going to have to chose between the three, I would go with starting the role play near the middle or end of the Build up portion of the main conflict. So my answer to the above question would be before. I prefer this method simply because it gives your players time to adjust to the world, build their characters, and develop relationships without any imminent sense of danger.
AND THEN BAM
The crazed barbarians decide to ruin your day with a surprise butt party. (Nobody likes a surprise butt party. Nobody.)
Remember that when developing the Build up that it helps to use Ages as a sort of landmark/grounding tool to describe the flow of the relationship between the two parties.
For instance, if we were going to be doing a role play that took place AFTER a major conflict we would do the following:
Age of Expansion: Two parties meet, small barriers are formed between them through ignorance and missteps.
Age of Tolerance: Despite initial rough patches the two sides become unlikely allies and begin expanding throughout the world together.
Age of Friction: With the world colonized, the two parties are forced to re visit the problems they initially faced. Without a common goal friction begins to reappear and the alliance begins tearing at the seems.
Age of Anger: The two parties are brought to the brink of war by several extreme events, in most cases small skirmishes break out between the two nations
Age of Scouring: War engulfs the land and the two nations destroy the beauty they had taken for granted. Both empires fall and the world enters a time of darkness
Age of Regret: The two parties still hold great hostility towards each other, and even with the common goal of survival, the wounds of war do not heal.
The role play in question here would take place during the age of regret. Be sure to go into as much detail as possible when describing each age. (Remember that this is not the only way to approach construction of a conflict, this is just my preferred way :P) I recommend using this as a rough draft and then condensing it into a detailed, but contained history description. this allows you to let your ideas run wild while using the Age method, and then gives you time to process and organize your thoughts into a readable format.
Just remember that The build up to the conflict is, in most ways, more important than the conflict itself, so do not glaze over this step. Take your time and go into detail, I promise you that it will be more than worth it in the end.
Well, I hope that this was helpful to at least some of you :)
Join us next time for C C Part three: The Spark
Have a good play
~Sincerely,
A.
In this portion we will be discussing what is personally my favorite part of any conflict. The Build up! Known less commonly as The Rising Action, The build up portion of any conflict spans every moment before that inevitable moment when the two conflicting parties finally jump at each others throats. This portion of the conflict is by far the most important, because the more detail and thought put into this area, the more intense and real the actual conflict will seem.
Just remember "A conflict is very much about the journey, and not so very much about the destination." With the destination being the main conflict itself, of course. When presenting this in regards to a role play, it is best to answer the following question first.
Will my Role play begin before, during, or after the main world conflict?
Any of these three options are viable, and the decision is all up to personal preference.
I would not say there is a BEST way, but if I was going to have to chose between the three, I would go with starting the role play near the middle or end of the Build up portion of the main conflict. So my answer to the above question would be before. I prefer this method simply because it gives your players time to adjust to the world, build their characters, and develop relationships without any imminent sense of danger.
AND THEN BAM
The crazed barbarians decide to ruin your day with a surprise butt party. (Nobody likes a surprise butt party. Nobody.)
Remember that when developing the Build up that it helps to use Ages as a sort of landmark/grounding tool to describe the flow of the relationship between the two parties.
For instance, if we were going to be doing a role play that took place AFTER a major conflict we would do the following:
Age of Expansion: Two parties meet, small barriers are formed between them through ignorance and missteps.
Age of Tolerance: Despite initial rough patches the two sides become unlikely allies and begin expanding throughout the world together.
Age of Friction: With the world colonized, the two parties are forced to re visit the problems they initially faced. Without a common goal friction begins to reappear and the alliance begins tearing at the seems.
Age of Anger: The two parties are brought to the brink of war by several extreme events, in most cases small skirmishes break out between the two nations
Age of Scouring: War engulfs the land and the two nations destroy the beauty they had taken for granted. Both empires fall and the world enters a time of darkness
Age of Regret: The two parties still hold great hostility towards each other, and even with the common goal of survival, the wounds of war do not heal.
The role play in question here would take place during the age of regret. Be sure to go into as much detail as possible when describing each age. (Remember that this is not the only way to approach construction of a conflict, this is just my preferred way :P) I recommend using this as a rough draft and then condensing it into a detailed, but contained history description. this allows you to let your ideas run wild while using the Age method, and then gives you time to process and organize your thoughts into a readable format.
Just remember that The build up to the conflict is, in most ways, more important than the conflict itself, so do not glaze over this step. Take your time and go into detail, I promise you that it will be more than worth it in the end.
Well, I hope that this was helpful to at least some of you :)
Join us next time for C C Part three: The Spark
Have a good play
~Sincerely,
A.
