A Pair of Ideas

So I've had these two ideas in my head for Rise stories, not RP's. In other words, a clear beginning middle and end with an actual plot that should last maybe a handful of chapters, but still function as RP's.

i.e. people have characters and post, the only difference being that:

There would be specific character archetypes they'd be given or have to write as. Some characters could either die or be given roles hidden from other 'players'.

Idea #1: Synopsis is that rebels are fighting against a totalitarian/oligarchy/police state government while on the other side police/agents of said government are fighting back to preserve order. It's not so black and white though, since the civilian population under the government rule are enjoying stability, economic/financial security, health, etc. Drawbacks though are restrictions or outright removal of personal rights (free speech and press, rights to gather for protest, ownership of weapons, etc.)

There's more to this, but that's just the set up.

Idea #2: This one I'll be playing close to the chest for the sake of surprises, but suffice to say it involves soldiers, guns, and monsters. Same rules apply though.


Thoughts?

Idea #1 sounds painfully familiar. Was this the DOGRP or something?

Idea #2 sounds a lot like general action post-modern fantasy animes, but I'd be willing to hear a bit more about it.

I had an idea like #1 a while ago but I never went through with it. I don't think it could work like you propose without it ending up being completely black and white with the whole "The evil fascists and the good guy rebel heroes."

#2 sounds really, really awful with the amount of detail in your post. We need more information of the setting before we can give you an actual opinion on it.

Well the first idea is meant to play out with the rebels fighting against, then if they win (but come on, they win) they face the question of, can they do better? So first they fight for a return of old rights and freedoms and to do away with the old government but then they have to see if they can do better, and actually handle a government.

Basically it's that whole "Walk a mile in their shoes" sort of thing.

Second idea is meant to be like Aliens, so if you ever watched the movie you know what you're in for. It has a bit of a cliche premise; soldiers sent in to investigate why a place went silent, suddenly things take a turn for the fucked up.

Your elaboration on #1 killed it for me. It's been done to death and it looks like you've already decided that the RP is going to be "le evul fascist lose to the gud guy rebels".

As for #2, if you can actually pull it off with a similar vibe to Aliens, I would be behind it all the way.

Well the details for the second idea are players control a squad of soldiers sent in to investigate a research base that has gone silent.

And that's mostly where it leads into a combination of Aliens, The Russian Sleep Experiment/Forbidden Planet, Virus and ME2: Overlord.

#1 should have just been "whichever side the players choose, they believe they are good" as opposed to one is actually good.

#2. Too vague

Skippy wrote:

#1 should have just been "whichever side the players choose, they believe they are good" as opposed to one is actually good.

#2. Too vague

Well Skip is as it turns out better at giving sale's pitches than I, since the first one is actually meant to play out like that. The government agents aren't really evil, they're just fighting to protect a) they're way of life and b) what they genuinely believe is the right side. It is meant to get more gray towards the middle when members of both sides (presumably) start questioning their own sides, if they're doing the right thing.

And as for the second idea.......please tell me I don't have to spell out the plot. Because the summary is that it's an investigative group, made up of some soldiers (or just trained security guards with guns) along with scientists or government investigators who are sent in to determine why a research facility has gone dark for several days. They're going to encounter monsters in there though if you're thinking some kind of genetic mutant monstrosity, no that's not the creatures faced. I'd like to share more but that would spoil what the monsters are and what was being researched.

#1 You pitched it wrong then, and I'm still not struck on the idea

#2 Ehhhhhhh, honestly it's just too unimaginative to capture me because it's been done so much before

Yeah, I admit that really when you get down to it both ideas have probably been done to death. I'm just looking to do both (and really the second one would only be the one single chapter) with a small group of people to do it seriously and following a specific set of rules.

For example, in the first idea someone plays the role of a double agent, only the only one that knows is and that select writer courtesy of a pm. I don't know, not the greatest but was trying to be imaginative in, if not the story then at least how writers would write in it.

Then you have the issue of not being enough writers willing and competent enough to follow and heavy rule chapter

Which griefs me to no end........

Grieves**

This honestly sounds like a very DnD-esque thing. Have the GM select a player to be the double-agent, and then proceed about the game with this double-agent sabotaging things along the way.

Pretty much Nick, pretty much. I set the board, hide behind my script thingamajig that's probably made of cardboard, and see how people dance to the tune being played.

Only no dice.

Believe me, the players don't dance to the GM's tune....It's the other way around

Oh......well hey so long as someone's dancing, doesn't matter.