M
Murasaki_Sama
Guest
Original poster
Closer, it has come to my attention that some people feel my post was dismissive and nonconstructive, lacking both feedback and tips for a "newbie." I shall now attempt to rectify this mistake by offering my honest feedback and suggestions for your idea.
First, the "everyone trapped in a mansion in the middle of no where with a killer" is a cliche trope which offers an inevitable solution which manages to be suspenseful only because suspicion can, by rights, fall on anyone. Furthermore, it limits the players to creating characters who are unvaried in background, skill set, education or inclination (since they all 1) have to be rich, 2) have to like poker and 3) have to be part of a similar social circle in order to reasonable have received invites). This can make the players feel like they aren't contributing to the world building, or that they aren't allowed reasonable character development. It can also end up with a lot of Mary Sues (I had an rp with a similar restriction once, it was horrible what people came up with.)
Second, because the idea is so over done, you would be well served, I think, to add a special twist, not only to draw people into to what might seem like a "been there, done that" RP, but to showcase your own abilities as a GM. This idea could be a very fun one, if you were willing to work on it a bit. For example, perhaps change the setting to a rustic hotel, where people from different backgrounds, skillsets and socio-economic groups might gather for some reason or other. Or place the story in a small town, where they are not trapped, but where they don't have a quick or easy way to benefit from the powers of the greater world, like first class forensics and skilled investigators (anyone from a small town will tell you the police there are clueless half the time).
Give the players a chance to express their own creativity, to have characters who are unique, and not expendable embodiments of horror tropes. Let them help build the world around the story, adding poignancy and sorrow to the thrilling, painful suspense of a horror mystery.
Third, roleplay is, by its very nature, a collaborative effort. It requires communication, collaboration and consent. Telling your potential members that you "reserve the right to kill their characters" is not, in my honest opinion, a very good idea. It comes off sounding a bit like a godmode. Saying something like "This is a horror story, so some characters will die, feel free to volunteer," would perhaps be a bit more more in the spirit of collaboration. I know that I, for one, would never join an RP where the GM has the unrestricted right to tell me my character has to to die, or is going to die, or to decide/write up my character's death scene.
Your roleplay idea is rough. It has the potential to be unique and interesting and perhaps even fun. But I feel it needs more work. I think you should twist things, twist the setting, the characters, the kills, everything you can. Don't fall into the trap so many writers and roleplayers fall into, of being unoriginal. Offer your roleplayers something unique, suspenseful and truly scary.
For instance, you could start with a character dying. Or you could start with reports of runaways, strange accidents and the unusual absence of family pets.
I truly do wish you the best of luck with this roleplay, whatever form it might take. I know that it is unlikely to prove interesting to me, but as we all have different likes and dislikes I hope you do not take that as a dismissal of your ideas or as any kind of insult. Have fun, and best of luck to you.
First, the "everyone trapped in a mansion in the middle of no where with a killer" is a cliche trope which offers an inevitable solution which manages to be suspenseful only because suspicion can, by rights, fall on anyone. Furthermore, it limits the players to creating characters who are unvaried in background, skill set, education or inclination (since they all 1) have to be rich, 2) have to like poker and 3) have to be part of a similar social circle in order to reasonable have received invites). This can make the players feel like they aren't contributing to the world building, or that they aren't allowed reasonable character development. It can also end up with a lot of Mary Sues (I had an rp with a similar restriction once, it was horrible what people came up with.)
Second, because the idea is so over done, you would be well served, I think, to add a special twist, not only to draw people into to what might seem like a "been there, done that" RP, but to showcase your own abilities as a GM. This idea could be a very fun one, if you were willing to work on it a bit. For example, perhaps change the setting to a rustic hotel, where people from different backgrounds, skillsets and socio-economic groups might gather for some reason or other. Or place the story in a small town, where they are not trapped, but where they don't have a quick or easy way to benefit from the powers of the greater world, like first class forensics and skilled investigators (anyone from a small town will tell you the police there are clueless half the time).
Give the players a chance to express their own creativity, to have characters who are unique, and not expendable embodiments of horror tropes. Let them help build the world around the story, adding poignancy and sorrow to the thrilling, painful suspense of a horror mystery.
Third, roleplay is, by its very nature, a collaborative effort. It requires communication, collaboration and consent. Telling your potential members that you "reserve the right to kill their characters" is not, in my honest opinion, a very good idea. It comes off sounding a bit like a godmode. Saying something like "This is a horror story, so some characters will die, feel free to volunteer," would perhaps be a bit more more in the spirit of collaboration. I know that I, for one, would never join an RP where the GM has the unrestricted right to tell me my character has to to die, or is going to die, or to decide/write up my character's death scene.
Your roleplay idea is rough. It has the potential to be unique and interesting and perhaps even fun. But I feel it needs more work. I think you should twist things, twist the setting, the characters, the kills, everything you can. Don't fall into the trap so many writers and roleplayers fall into, of being unoriginal. Offer your roleplayers something unique, suspenseful and truly scary.
For instance, you could start with a character dying. Or you could start with reports of runaways, strange accidents and the unusual absence of family pets.
I truly do wish you the best of luck with this roleplay, whatever form it might take. I know that it is unlikely to prove interesting to me, but as we all have different likes and dislikes I hope you do not take that as a dismissal of your ideas or as any kind of insult. Have fun, and best of luck to you.