How To Be A Judge - RPLOG
From Flexible Survival
Participants
Date
29/9/2016
Log
Aaron walks out from behind the fountain, looking at the gathered class. "Everyone take a seat, there should be plenty of mats for all. And yes, this scene is OOCly IC. I'm not going to use the OOC command for literally every pose; trust me, I'll be doing plenty of typing as it is. Besides, the fact that you're here means you're working on self-improvement, and I have absolutely no problem with you being rewarded for that." Bringing an easel with her, she leaves it sitting for the moment with a large ream of paper, the front of which reads, "JUDGING 101: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Just F-ing Do It Already".
Aaron continues, "We're walking into this right away, folks. The pose you just saw was pre-typed before the class began, as is this one. This is a useful tool for anyone wanting to judge scenes; while you're not going to be able to go too far out (as player behavior will dictate much of what you do), having an introductory pose or two typed out in advance will help you set the scene without disruption. Now, a bit of background info: I expect this class to run for a little while. Feel free to ask questions, but please try to keep idle chatter to a minimum or in pages; I do have to work tonight, after all."
Aaron softly churrls, "Thus ends the pre-typed portion of our class tonight. Now, do we have any preliminary questions?"
Razana wanders over to make an attempt to push herself onto Lilac's lap, ten looks towards Aaron and shakes her head.
Aaron softly churrls, "I'll give people a minute to type."
Sroath i've got lots of questions, but i'm guessing most will end up being covered. so i'll wait until the end.
Aaron smiles. "Okay, great. Let's get started, then." Pulling aside the first sheet of paper, she reveals the next one: "STEP 1: BECOMING A JUDGE". Looking out to her audience, she inquires, "All right. How many people in this room are part of this class because they're not yet judges, but hope to be? Show of hands." That said, she waits patiently for any replies.
Sroath puts up a hand immediately.
Joannah takes a seat, relaxing in it, the feline taking a good look around the gathered masses and gives Ectios a small wave. "Well, I don't have any questions as of yet, but I've very much interested in hearing what you have to say on the subject. I had some thoughts about becoming a Judge in the past and with my own Manor now constructed, I have a bit more time on my hands so running a Judged scene seems to be interesting." Hearing the second part of Aaron's speech, she raises her hand as well.
Ectios lifts a long arm into the air.
Silver-fang alluringly purrs, "Maybe...... What's a Judge?"
Sroath blinks.
Arris raises a hand.
Aaron nods. "Well, since we have at least one person who says yes - and also for the sake of posterity, remember that this will be posted to the wiki for later reference - I'll cover the material." Turning to Silver-fang, she points at hir. "Good question. A judge is someone authorized by staff on a formal level to run canon scenes, given tools not accessible to the average player to do so, and potentially rewarded for the activity. It does NOT represent an obligation to run scenes. That said, it's a privilege, not a right, and judge status can be taken away if it's abused."
Aaron draws in a deep breath. "Now, brace yourself. Becoming a judge is suuuuuuuper-complicated." Words begin to appear on the paper as if by magic as she speaks! NANITES! "Step one, put in a +request stating that you want to be a judge (or speak to a handy wiz). Step two, wait. Step three, judge status!" Grinning a bit, she notes, "That's right! That's all it takes. If you're not horrible and you want to be a judge, it's pretty much a done deal. That's how I got MY judge status, some years back."
Ectios then lowers his hand before moving to stand next to his mistress. Though the setting would most likely not require him to fulfill any of his butler services.
Aaron softly churrls, "That said...Vath, does that about cover it? Anything else they need to know?"
Sroath darkly emanates, "what should such a request be filed under?"
Vath tips his hat in greeting as he appears near the podium, giving a bow in greeting before listing off a few things about judging. "First and formost? If you aren't certain it fits into cannon? Please contact a staffer, we are more then happy to help talk about the ideas, in fact I am almost exclusively just sitting around waiting for people to poke me about lore since it is my job." Giving a bit of a smile.
Lilac nods in agreement. "Angus is also another great contact to have. I've had a couple of my scenes vetted by him. I just gave him a rundown of my 'script' for the scene and he helped me tighten up the lore on some of the concepts I had written down."
Joannah nods her head. "And of course being a decent writer with a good grasp of the English language and having a fairly decent amount of RP experience would probably not a bad thing."
Aaron softly churrls, "Miranai/Miorna has also been a great help in that regard. Between the two of them, at least one is usually around."
Ectios retrieves a small notepad from an inside pocket of his tailcoat, and after a pen is removed from the binding he begins to scribble a few notes.
Joannah interjects, "And we have the new Lore staffer, Neant as well."
Aaron softly churrls, "Now, Vath. Specifically, is there anything else they need to know about how to become a judge? It's been some time since I became one, things might have changed."
Sroath softly churrs, "including which topic the request should be filed under?"
Aaron softly churrls, "I'd say the request should be filed under 'Judge'."
Sroath softly churrs, "... i've never noticed that option. my apologies."
Vath tries to think of a few things off the top of his head. "A good grasp of the lore is a great step in the right direction, Now to make it clear having the title of judge does not mean you have to churn out scenes by yourself all the time. Sometimes staff think up scenes that they themselves either don't have the time to do or have something preventing them from running them, and are more then happy to provide them to judges willing to give them a shot."
Aaron chuckles. "It's fine. Why would you? You've never been a judge before."
Joannah softly purrs, "And several Staff members have player alts that are Judges as well.""
Aaron nods. "That's true. Now then, so that the log doesn't get too scattered, I'm going to call for silence until Vath tells us he's done."
Vath steps down from the podium. "I don't really have anything else to add, I'll leave the floor to you Aaron."
Aaron nods. "Okay! So! Moving on. Different topics will be delineated by a three-line spoof, so brace yourselves for a little bit of spam."
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Aaron moves on to the next sheet of paper, which simply has the letters 'PJ' on it. "Moving on to the Player Judge command, or 'pj' for short. Typing 'pj' on an empty line once you're a judge will bring up the command. It's got lots of useful abilities for judges, and even a low-level judge can use most of them! In order, a judge can: reward players with (XP -or- XP and loot -or- planar charge), disable OOC chat, reward players with a buff, advance global research, give social influence, give tokens, and give people credit for playing up a flaw!" Tapping her foot, she adds, "Sorta considering using the 'turn OOC off' command right now."
Aaron gestures as more words appear. "When you are a judge, players can vote for you at the end of a scene (and will be reminded to do so when you pass out rewards). Getting enough votes causes your judge level to increase, in addition to providing tasty tasty mako! Judges of level 3 can boot a rowdy player from the scene. Judges of level 4 can create a temporary PVP room. Judges of level 5 can impregnate a player with an infection. Judges of level 6 can set an 'environment' condition in the room they're in. Some of these you may never use, and some of them are great boons! (I'm only judge level 3, so Wily had to set up this room for me. Thanks, Wily!)"
Aaron softly churrls, "Finally, you can 'pj #off' to turn off being a judge, and 'pj #on' to turn on being a judge again. There's also 'gojdg' to go to JUDGE status - generally intended to be used only if you're actively judging a scene, please. Now, I think Vath had something to add?"
Vath gives a nod. "On the note of the PJ, there is also the command that only staff can use called PJ Bless, the basic way it works is a way for a staffer to say that they like the idea of what you are doing, and want to show their support, it increases the mako gain of the judge vote it might have other benefits but they haven't crossed my mind. Keep in mind we don't give those out willy nilly, but that is another reason why it's always good to talk with a staffer about your ideas, if we wish to show our support? we can!"
Aaron didn't mention pj #bless mostly because only staffers can use it.
Aaron softly churrls, "But yeah, feel free to talk scenes over with staffers. If they give you their blessing, it might be in the literal sense! And it might not, but hey, those extra boons are always welcome. Just don't expect them ALL the time."
Aaron softly churrls, "Any questions?"
Joannah raises her hand again. "What is a Staffer doesn't like your idea?"
Arris raises a hand. "Wait, what's an environment condition?"
Aaron softly churrls, "If the staffer doesn't like your idea, ask why! I'm sure they'll be happy to tell you. Maybe they know or have thought of something you didn't? Discourse is a fantastic tool for a judge."
Aaron softly churrls, "An environment condition is something like heat, cold, water, etc."
Ectios continues to scribble on his notepad, only looking up to convey his lack of questions.
Vath nods. "Indeed, if we have some issues with a scene we are more then happy to sit down and work out kinks in the idea, either helping to smooth out problems or help put together an idea that has the same goal that works within the bounds of cannon."
Razana looks up from where she's perched on Lilac's lap "Do those conditions have any mechanical effect?"
Sroath softly churrs, "so, if a judge wanted to do a scene, and they got their idea all ready etc, but hasn't talked it over with a staffer, what sort of limitations would it need to work within? obviously, it still has to fit lore and such. but, would it need to only involve certain npcs, etc? or is it pretty much rule of thumb to run all scenes by a staff member before carrying them out?"
Aaron softly churrls, "Mostly the conditions help to offer flavor. I know some abilities work differently in certain conditions, but we'll get to that."
Aaron softly churrls, "We'll cover that as we go on, Sroath. And no, absolutely not! I've run plenty of scenes without running them past a staffer first."
Aaron softly churrls, "That's another thing I want to emphasize. Staffers are a great tool for RP and info for them, but you absolutely don't have to run an idea past them to run an official scene; I've done plenty of them without so much as a word to a member of staff. So long as you obey the rules, you're golden!"
Joannah softly purrs, "And if a Staff member decides to watch in and doesn't agree with the scene as it is, being currently in progress?"
Sroath softly churrs, "and guessing, as long as it isn't something big, like, impact the game big. like that 6 hour rp we had not to long ago."
Sroath softly churrs, "those would need to get a staff nod beforehand i'd presume."
Aaron softly churrls, "If a staffer wants to watch your scene, great! That means you have an extra resource on-hand you probably weren't expecting. And again, if they see a problem with the scene, ask why! If you're doing it wrong, wouldn't you want to know?"
Aaron softly churrls, "Actually, Sroath, no. Even big important scenes can be run without staff approval, so long as you're doing it right!"
Aaron softly churrls, "Any further questions?"
Sroath softly churrs, "oh"
Sroath softly churrs, "i remember the other question i had now."
Aaron softly churrls, "Go for it!"
Sroath softly churrs, "so, i'd assume it is but, would it be allowed to call in another judge, or staffer with higher privs to help if you didn't have the necessary judge level for a command that would help with the scene?"
Aaron softly churrls, "Absolutely. Any tools you need to do the scene you want to do are at your disposal whenever available!"
Sroath softly churrs, "and how would you make sure they're credited for their help if they were called in?"
Aaron softly churrls, "I'm afraid that 'credit' would only be given in the form of kudos and appreciation. But do that!"
Aaron softly churrls, "Mostly, if a high-level judge has the privileges to do what you need them to do, they'll be happy to lend a hand without expectation of recompense."
Aaron softly churrls, "Okay! I think it's time we move on to the next topic."
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Aaron tosses the sheet aside to reveal another sheet of paper, simply reading, "WHAT DO?". Pacing before the audience, she begins, "Some of you are probably wondering, 'Okay, that's all well and good, but WHAT do I run?' There are several possibilities. First of all, in case you never have, type 'research' alone on an empty line. Each of the projects you see is a research project that can alter the scope of the game! Each project also has a percentage on the 'item' column. If you see a percentage that isn't 100%, that project needs some items to complete. And that's where you come in!" Pointing a finger at a random person, she adds, "Some items can simply be crafted and contributed to research, but some can only be obtained via RP. Your RP!"
Aaron moves on. "So, if you want to, you can run RP scenes with the idea in mind of sending your players out on a quest for the items. Maybe they're breaking into an old greenhouse to retrieve some plant samples. Maybe they're going fishing in a nearby creek for a particular breed of fish. Maybe they're surveying the city to help set up some new boundaries. The sky's the limit! Just keep in mind a few key facts:"
Joannah leans back when she gets pointed out and raises her hand again. "I have read through the various Research things a while ago. Do they all succeed? Because that Extradimensional Generator Research, it doesn't really sound to me like something that would actually be Lore friendly and should be completed at all."
Aaron softly churrls, "First, the scene should fit some sort of logic. If you're going into an underground complex in search of a data file, you're not going to get the Pink Fluffy Unicorntaur Statue that you need. If you're going underwater to find marine life, there probably won't be lots of birds there. If your scenes don't make sense, your players will lose a sense of agency."
Aaron softly churrls, "I actually have that topic planned for later coverage, Joannah, but good question."
Aaron softly churrls, "Second, you'll be logging the scene and submitting it to the wiki so that staff can review it; if they decide that your scene warrants the items, they'll be added directly by staff. If your scene doesn't make any sense, or if you have a flimsy justification for getting what you want, you might not get them at all!"
Aaron softly churrls, "Finally, keep in mind that - while research is a great way to find things to do and advance the state of the game - you're absolutely allowed to run scenes that have nothing to do with research. Do anything you want to do! Just make sure that the scene isn't gathering for tea or casual conversation; not every scene needs to be judged."
Aaron softly churrls, "In fact, to quote 'help rp/judge/rewards, you should NOT be giving a reward for (or judging) general chit-chat, sex, or fighting/grinding for XP. So that's not just a good idea, it's the law!"
Aaron softly churrls, "(That's also a great help file to keep on tap, though I recommend sunglasses. Bold white text, ow!)"
Aaron softly churrls, "Okay! Let's move on to the next topic. This was actually further down the list (yes, I have a list), but it's come up now, so let's cover it now."
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Aaron shuffles a different sheet of paper to the front: this one reads "CONSEQUENCES" in big red text, and has little flames drawn at the bottom. "Let's talk about consequences for player actions. First, it's important that your players have a sense of agency. That means that they know that the decisions they make matter; if you lead them along by the nose, it becomes more of a story being told TO them than BY them, and they start to lose interest." A short cough follows. "mightbealittleguiltyofthatmyself" she murmurs. "Anyway! We live, we learn, we improve. Now, does this mean you should let players run roughshod all over your scene? Not at all! But it does mean that you need to make sure that the players know that they matter. In that vein, I want to cover two important topics."
Aaron continues, "First, the Rule of Cool. I can tell you that Nuku swears by - and sometimes at - the Rule of Cool. Now, what does it mean? It basically means that, unless your players are trying to do something especially difficult, it's okay to simply let them do it. Trying to pry open a rusted-shut door? Make 'em roll, if you want. Doing so with the help of a kaiju? Just let it happen! You don't need to test for everything. And sometimes, if something a player is trying to do is just plain awesome? Let them! This is supposed to be fun, after all, and everybody wants a bit of the spotlight. Just don't let one player hog said spotlight, and you should be good to go! (So long as you aren't violating canon. Remember, if it's impossible, it doesn't matter how awesome it is!)
Aaron softly churrls, "Another thing I want to cover is the darker side of consequences: failure. In truth, one of my most recent scenes failed: one of the players whipped out a flamethrower in the middle of a forested area and started blasting everything in sight, and the team had to evacuate and abandon their mission. It's okay for players to fail sometimes! I'm going to say that again, this time in all caps, because this is a hard lesson to learn: IT'S OKAY FOR PLAYERS TO FAIL SOMETIMES. If they've royally screwed up, or just somehow made the mission impossible to complete, it's okay to call it off and try again next time. Just make sure that it's because of something the players did! If you call failure at random, or because you're tired, or because of circumstances beyond the players' control, your players are going to feel like they've been shafted (and rightly so!)."
Razana pipes up "what about "Divine intervention" or similar things for the purposes of making sure someone doesnt get killed as the scene fails?"
Aaron softly churrls, "One more note: Agency works both ways. If your players do something, it should have a result. Did a player do something especially intelligent or clever? Let the world reward them for it! Did a player say something stupid to a NPC or screw up somehow? Let the world punish them! Everything from careful surveys paying off in terms of loot, to alienating a NPC on a permanent basis. The only major thing I want to warn you about is DEATH. Yes, it is possible for players to die in a canon scene, even in the bubble. If that happens, THE PLAYER IS EXPECTED TO +RETIRE THEIR CHARACTER. I urge you to use this sparingly, and with as much warning as possible: someone should have to do something supremely stupid and ignore all warnings if they're going to die, because the consequences are so steep!"
Aaron softly churrls, "Razana...if we have God reach down, snatch the character out of danger, and tap them on the nose and say "no no", that breaks immersion. It's VERY hard to die in the bubble (somewhat less so outside), and the judge should be giving the player some indication that they're headed down that dark path beforehand, but if someone is too dumb to live, well..."
Arris raises a hand. "What can kill a character inside the bubble?"
Aaron hmms. "When it comes to what can kill a character in the bubble, I'd like to defer to Vath, who had something to say anyway. Vath?"
Aaron softly churrls, "Please note: fire is one of those things. You can burn to death. :P"
Vath puts on a bit of the soap box hat. "There are a few ways of potentially dying yes, which involve outright just flat out murder. Few bullets to the chest? Ya you'll be hurt but you'll get back up. Trying to hug a bunch of C4 while screaming I'm the juggernaut? I hope they write that on your grave. I'd also like to share a personal story of how the rule of cool can be taken to far by a player who has never been in a scene judged by a staffer. A few years back I was judging a scene that involved aquiring an item for the nanite sealant device, in the scene itself I had a player not only decided that flying and landing on top of a building gutted and rotting out was a good idea, he then tried to take complete and utter control from my hands down to the detail of the building itself and how they were able to turn it into a crater with just a sneeze. I'm not saying that players always get out of hand, but in some situations you have to make it clear that you're they are the actors, you are the story, they push forward the plot why you apply the resistance of the conflict."
Aaron nods her agreement. "Well, since that came up, we can move on the next, related topic...unless anyone has questions?"
Aaron gives a minute for people to type.
Aaron softly churrls, "Actually, since the topic Vath just brought up will be part of a larger arc, I'm going to begin with that arc instead."
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Aaron removes the paper in front, and behind it is one that says, "ADVERTISEMENT!" and is somehow decorated in glitter and shinies. "So, you've decided on the scene you want to run. Now you need to get the word out! But how do you do that in a way that isn't spammy and obnoxious?" As she speaks, more words appear on the paper. Such obedient nanites! "One way is the RP channel. 'rp #on', if you like. All players have the ability to read that channel, and it defaults to the 'on' state, meaning that almost every player in the game will be able to see what you post there...but if you're not a judge, you'll find that you don't have permission. Once you ARE a judge, you can use that channel to post notifications of upcoming RPs! I strongly recommend that such notifications include a brief breakdown of what prospective players can expect to see, along with a planned time and date for said RP. I also recommend starting to post at least two days in advance, preferably more. (I broke this one a little bit for this class, but I was just plain out of time; had I posted earlier, I bet we'd have even more people here!)"
Aaron adds, "As useful as the RP channel is, it's not your only resource; you can use pubchat to advertise as well, spead the news by word-of-mouth, and even used the Desired Scenes section of the bboard if you want to! Just keep in mind that if you spam your scene notifications, people will start to get sick of it and of your scene before it even starts; I usually recommend no more than 2-3 notifications per day until the day of your scene, then one an hour or two beforehand, then a final one when your scene is about to start.
Aaron grins. "PROTIP: Trying to have at least one of your notifications during the projected time (but not date) of your scene means that you're more likely to reach players who will be interested!"
Aaron frowns a little bit and begins to pace. "Unfortunately, I virtually guarantee that - during this process - you'll find yourself faced with the inevitable complaint of 'but I can't be there for that scene'." Looking out into the audience, she firmly states, "That complaint is UNAVOIDABLE. No matter when you start your scene - no matter when! - you will have some people that can't make it. You can't please everyone, but you CAN run yourself ragged trying. The most important person for the scene to be convenient for?" The word "YOU" shows up in big red letters on the paper. "If the scene's time frame doesn't work for you, it doesn't matter how many other people it's convenient for. Make plans that fit into your schedule; some people will show up, some won't. Some will complain, and that is not your fault."
Aaron notes, "One of my goals in running this class is to get more judges running more scenes; with luck, the available time frames will expand with more judges doing things!"
Aaron softly churrls, "Now, any questions?"
Aaron gives it a minute or two.
Sroath shakes his head.
Aaron chuckles. "Everybody still awake out there? We're about halfway done, maybe a little more."
Vath quietly sips his refreshment.
Aaron brings out the punch and pie. Surprise! You're getting fed, too!
Joannah shakes her head. "Not any questions about this."
Sroath slaps himself just to make sure he's still awake.
Silver-fang alluringly purrs, "ZZZzzzz"
Aaron stares at Silver-fang, who just repeatedly says the letter Z.
Aaron softly churrls, "Okay! So. Now that we've established that there are no more questions at the moment, let's move on."
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Aaron moves the next sheet of paper to the fore, revealing the tiny word 'scene' and the great big word 'SIZE'. "So, you're advertising your new scene. But how many people do you want in your scene? Are you prepared to manage half of the game? Probably not, being a new judge." Taking a sip of punch, she then continues, "I want everyone who's unfamiliar to type 'whospe', or 'ws' for short. Once you've done so, count the people who are awake; I see 11 at the moment. As I'm the judge, I don't count myself, so let's say there are ten people here. One of the most common ways to run a scene is to have pose order - and dear God, YOU WILL WANT A POSE ORDER - to be 'reverse whospe'. Meaning that the person at the bottom poses, then the next person up, then the next person up, and so on until you reach the top and restart."
Arris:raises a hand. "Reverse whospe is just the best order, I suppose? In the few judged rps I've been in it was reverse whospe every time."
Aaron whips out a calculator. "Now, let's assume that every person takes five minutes to pose." she explains, typing on the calculator's buttons. "Multiply that by ten people..." Revealing the calculator with the number "50" on it to the audience, she states, "You have 50 minutes per round of poses. Unless you're willing to make this your full-time job, that probably means six to seven rounds of roleplay tops, and that's not enough to get anything done. This is why - in general - I recommend a scene size of no less than <3> players, and no more than <8>. I consider the ideal to be 6, but that's what works for me; you might feel differently over time.
Aaron softly churrls, "I find reverse whospe to be what works for me, as - especially since I'm the judge - I'll be at the bottom, making for an easy scenepose. But do what works for you!"
Aaron adds, "Keep in mind that a judged scene must have a minimum of two players, not counting the judge themselves. Keep in mind that most people who talk about hosting immense scenes with dozens of players speak of it in the same tone as someone who's been in a war."
Sroath nods.
Aaron softly churrls, "One of the things I strongly recommend is to set out the rules to your players before the scene begins. I use two: one, if your pose comes around and you're 15m or more idle, you will be skipped; I will assume that your character is doing nothing of importance. Two - and this is one I strongly, STRONGLY recommend - players should be taking the time between their turns to type out their preliminary poses. Ideally, your players will have at least a basic idea of what their plans are, even while others are posing. If they do this, they can then go back and make the necessary edits to their poses when their turn arrives, which is way faster than typing the whole thing up on the fly. In scenes where players cooperate with this idea, I find that the speed of the scene is easily doubled."
Lilac nods. "I try to keep my scenes to 4-5 players plus myself, personally. Perhaps its oldschool dnd habits, but I find too many players and there's just too much going on, and each invidivual player has less of a slice of the action with which to shine. It's more work for you -and- could make for a lesser experience for your players."
Aaron softly churrls, "Please keep in mind that the player whose turn is directly after the scenepose will need time to read, and you should be lenient with them on this issue."
Aaron softly churrls, "A scene with 4-5 players sounds like a lovely time for all involved, Lilac. And remember, I've been doing this for a while; if you want to keep your judged scenes small, you absolutely have the right to do so and I would encourage it as a way of getting more comfortable."
Aaron softly churrls, "I generally aim for 6, and can accommodate up to 8. Beyond that, it's too much for me."
Aaron softly churrls, "Which brings us to another point: sometimes people will want to join in on your scene after you've reached your capacity. I know it can be hard to say 'no' to people, but it's imperative that you be able to do so; failing on that account ruins the scene for you and your players. It's just one of the responsibilities of being a judge."
Aaron softly churrls, "Any questions on this point?"
Sroath softly churrs, "Nothing new yet."
Razana shakes her head a little
Joannah gives a little shrug. "All clear to me, I'm good."
Aaron softly churrls, "Then let's move on to the next topic!"
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Aaron pulls aside the sheet of paper - and there aren't many left! - to reveal the word 'SKILLS', where the last S has been reversed. "Skills, and how to handle them. This includes combat, but also includes an array of other abilities. How do you determine whether or not a player notices something? Are you strong enough to open that door? Can you sneak up on that guard? There are lots of different ways to handle this. First, there's rolling. You can always have a player roll the relevant stat to see if they're able to accomplish a desired task. To do this, there are two commands: +roll and +dice. Don't get them confused! +roll <stat> is used to determine how many successes you get when you try to roll the stat in question. The number will seem very low, but remember that it works on a sliding scale. +dice is literally any dice roll; +dice 1d8 will give you a number from 1 to 8, irrespective of any outside influence."
Silver-fang stares at the reversed S before saying. "That S looks funny."
Aaron moves on, "Another way - and my preferred one - is to simply ask the player for their skill in a particular field, and make a judgment based on that. Remember that 10 means you're competent, 20 means you're skilled, and 30 means you're exceptionally skilled; if you have a 30 in stealth, will you be able to sneak up on that guard who's singing to himself? Probably. If you have a 10 in Empathy, will you be able to tell why that mouse girl is crying? Mmmmaybe, I'd ask that you roleplay for it. This way, you have a general idea of what your characters are capable of, but you can fudge it a little in either direction. Also, remember the Rule of Cool here!
Aaron notes, "Looks fine to me." The words appear on the paper, with the 's' reversed.
Joannah points out +help Roll. "Also, the number gotten from a Roll is the amount of successfull results from 20 dice rolled.
Aaron softly churrls, "Please note that if you want to, you can always determine whether or not a player has a stat they claim to have; just have them +prove <stat name>."
Razana tests the +prove command, always liking more commands that give her information about the world.
Aaron mmmns. "Finally, there's freeform. With this, you can simply decide whether or not the players succeed based on the environment and situation. While this can be very liberating for you as a judge, remember that the player wants a sense of agency; if you trivialize their skills in favor of circumstance, they'll feel like it doesn't matter what they do. This method should be used sparingly, and generally in conjunction with one of the others.
Aaron softly churrls, "And yes, +prove shows to the whole room, Razana."
Joannah points to her roll. "This means, I rolled 20 dice, and 5 came up as successful. Now that's for me, who has 36 on Strength a rather dismal result. When looking at the Scale of Difficulty from the +help Roll, you'll see that I can succeed in something basic but not too advanced based on that roll.
Aaron softly churrls, "You can also +prove/silent to view a stat without altering everyone."
Aaron softly churrls, "Er, alerting. And altering!"
Aaron softly churrls, "...I'm not sure if roll results show up on a log, Joannah."
Joannah shrugs, "It's okay, I also explained it in my reply."
Arris nods. "So, since combat skills are capped lower, does that mean that being a 20 in Marksmanship is the equivalent of 20 or 30 in a non-combat skill?"
Aaron softly churrls, "Not directly, but something like that."
Arris wetly gushes, "Ah. So the numbers are different for combat skills."
Aaron softly churrls, "Now, those are the three ways I've seen to determine the results of player interactions. It's okay to use any one of them, or even one in conjunction with another, but it's very important that your players understand how things work. Nothing will turn them away from your scene faster than feeling like you just use whatever method you want to get a desired result, and it changes on the fly."
Aaron softly churrls, "Speaking of combat..."
Joannah looks over at Arris, "Do note that those Combat Proficiencies have hardly any to no effect on actual mechanical combat, they are almost exclusively for RP combat.
Aaron softly churrls, "I'm going to come right out and admit that this represents a gap in my knowledge. I largely play out combat as a combination of Rule of Cool and a bit of the +roll methodology, plus playing out in my head how things might go. It is possible to spawn in actual mobs that players can fight with the combat system, but I've literally never done that and don't intend to. If you plan to spawn in mobs for your players to fight, I recommend asking those more knowledgeable on the topic than I am."
Aaron softly churrls, "Now, any questions? We're getting close to the end!"
Razana nods "is there a command to list all the active effects on a player?"
Aaron softly churrls, "For yourself, yes. For others, no."
Joannah softly purrs, "status name"
Arris nods. "Yeah, was just checking. Uh, for example, if having 20 points of the max 40 of a non-combat skill makes you're skilled, then 10 of the 20 points in a combat skill means you're skilled in it.
Aaron softly churrls, "Oooooor I could be completely off-base on that one. Thanks, Joannah."
Joannah tips hat.
Aaron softly churrls, "To a point, yes, Arris. But remember that the cap is a difference that shrinks over time and is larger at smaller levels. It is never 10 points, and the stronger you get, the smaller the gap gets."
Aaron softly churrls, "A level 60 character has a maximum of 40 in non-combat skills and 36 in combat skills, for example."
Arris raises an eyebrow. "So to properly gauge one's combat skills, I'd need to check their level as well?"
Joannah softly purrs, "Or you can ask them to set their trust levels to Read for you and check their Sheet"
Aaron softly churrls, "Not really. Remember, you can only get so skilled, only get so strong or resilient. I'd call it a 1:1."
Aaron softly churrls, "So if you have a 10 in a combat skill, you're competent. 20, skilled. 30, exceptionally skilled."
Aaron softly churrls, "36, you're freakin' Bruce Lee over here. :P"
Joannah softly purrs, "For me, checking a person's Sheet is probably not going to be an issue since probably half the people playing already have me listed on trust level Transform."
Sroath chuckles.
Aaron softly churrls, "Any more questions, or shall we move on?"
Silver-fang has been thinking this whole time on her question and finally asks "Why are you so cute?"
Aaron softly churrls, "Because I'm a bunny, and bunnies are amazing."
Aaron softly churrls, "Any more?"
Sroath softly churrs, "good for now."
Aaron softly churrls, "Okay! Then let's hit the next topic."
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Aaron moves the next sheet to the front, this one saying "DISRUPTIVE PLAYE-" where the last two letters are scribbled all over the paper, almost making the text illegible. "Disruptive players." she states with a sigh. "I'd like to tell you that you're not going to get them, but - and Vath can back me up on this - there are some players who will use your RPs to try to elevate themselves at the cost of others, some players who just have no idea what they're doing, and some players who will try to trash your hard work for the hell of it." Rubbing the bridge of her muzzle between thumb and forefinger for a moment, she continues, "There are a few things you need to know about these situations when they come up."
Aaron draws in a deep breath. "First of all: as a judge, it is your responsibility to deal with disruptive players. The help file I linked before literally says this: A Judge's/Director's duties (May include, but are not limited to): Stop others from god-modding or doing something 'unnatural/impossible' for the fictional world our characters inhabit, within the bounds of the world's continuity. (Canon)" No longer quoting in a monotone, she continues, "If you don't deal with these issues when they arise, your players will assume that you condone the behavior you're seeing, and they won't want to be part of your scenes any more. So it's not just the law, its a good idea!"
Aaron softly churrls, "The first thing you need to do - before anything else - is make sure that the player who is being disruptive is told what they are doing wrong, why it is wrong, and what is expected of them. Contrary to what you might expect, this should be done in public, in OOC; other players need to see that you are aware of the issue, you are addressing the issue, and that the behavior won't be tolerated (so they shouldn't do the same thing)."
Aaron softly churrls, "Keep in mind that it might have been a simple mistake; some newer players might have no idea that they're even doing anything wrong!"
Aaron softly churrls, "If the behavior continues, it's acceptable to tell the player that they haven't stopped what they're doing and inform them that they are being disruptive, and that - if they refuse to stop - they may be asked to leave the scene. I realize that this may be difficult for some of you, and that it may involve some rewriting of the scene to write them out of it if needs be, but better that than sacrificing the RP as a whole!"
Aaron softly churrls, "If the behavior still continues, you are entirely within your rights to do something about it. You can ask a staffer to come deal with the issue, move the scene to a different location, or simply ignore the person and continue. If you're a judge of at least level 3, you can also use +pj #boot to forcibly remove the player from the scene. Now, if you ask me? +pj #boot should be a command available to all judges regardless of level, and I need to remember to petition for that to be the case...but for now, it's still a restricted command."
Razana lifts her head "How would you re-write such a thing? If other players responces are dependent on their actions, you can't simply delete the actions, would you replace them with an NPC?"
Aaron softly churrls, "Disruptive behavior can be anything from taking IC actions to sabotage the RP, to doing things that make no sense in canon, to spamming OOC chat. Anything that makes it difficult or impossible for you to run your scene can be considered disruptive! Also, keep in mind this text from 'help rp/judge/responsibilites and rights':"
Aaron softly churrls, "It is the Judge's right to end a scene at any time, for any reason. The Judge may continue it, or may call it off. It is also a Judge's right to ask for players to cease a particular action that is disruptive to the RP, be it an IC action or an OOC action. A Judge also has the right to use any and all command afforded them, including the boot command, to ensure the scene goes well. Finally, it is the Judge's right to execute any command afforded them that works within the canon of the scene. As an example of this, submitting to a feral causes infection. A judge may then use their Judge Commands to alter the player who submitted's infection (Please note that the command already pays respect to things like UIR)."
Aaron softly churrls, "It can be difficult, Razana, and will depend on the content of the scene. It may be something as simple as posing their departure, or something as difficult as having them go catatonic on a temporary basis. That said, posing the character out should NEVER involve their death."
Aaron softly churrls, "If it makes you feel any better, I have never ejected a player from one of my scenes; we've always been able to work things out."
Aaron softly churrls, "So, any questions on this point?"
Sroath shakes his head again. "Seems pretty straight forward."
Joannah shakes her head as well.
Aaron softly churrls, "Okay then! I think we're on to the final segment, then I'll open the floor for general questions."
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Aaron pulls aside the front piece of paper to reveal the final one: "LOGGING AND REWARDS". It's been decorated with a little party hat and noisemaker! "So, you pretty much know everything you need to know by now, in terms of making a RP happen. But what do you DO with it? First of all, you need to know two commands: 'rplogstart' and 'rplogstop'. As you might imagine, the first tells the game to start logging RP in the room, and the second tells it to stop. Now, once you've stopped, you'll be asked if you want to upload the RP to the wiki. Remember that you will need a wiki account to do this! If so, tell it 'yes' and give the log a name, and the game will upload the log for you; no work required on your part. It'll even kick back a link to the log you just made! Easy-peasy." Grinning for a moment, she moves on to include, "From there, if you've been working on a research project, you'll want to put in a +request under the Judge category, explaining what you did and giving a link to said log so that a staffer can review it. If everything is on the level, they'll take care of the rest!"
Aaron continues, "But hey, you've put in all this hard work, and so have your players. What do you get out of it, aside from the XP from roleplaying, and the freecred, and knowing that you're awesome? That's where rewards come in! As a judge, you get access to +pj #xp and +pj #loot. These two commands are used to either give your players a juicy amount of XP in the first case, or a slightly less juicy amount of XP and a chance to find salvage! I generally only recommend the latter if the players were in a place where there's stuff to get; if your group spent the RP underwater, there probably isn't much salvage there."
Aaron softly churrls, "But how many rewards do you give? According to the help files, they recommend roughly one reward per three hours. So, 1-3 hours, one reward. 3-6 hours, two rewards. 6-9 hours, three rewards, and anything over 9 is four rewards (the maximum)."
Aaron softly churrls, "Now, you probably just saw the XP yummy I gave you all (and some freecred besides). As the judge, you get an added bonus: players will (as you can see) receive the prompt to +pjvote for you. Not only do these votes help you to advance in judge level, they also translate into a mako apiece. That's right, you get mako for being awesome and running a scene, so long as your players liked it!"
Aaron softly churrls, "One more note about the RPlog system: it will log any IC poses, anything said IC, and spoofs. It will NOT log other commands or OOC conversation. So be careful about assuming that things will be present; it's smart enough to know what's part of the scene and what isn't!"
Aaron finally tosses the last piece of paper to the ground with the others, and flumps down onto one of the mats. "And that ends the planned portion of the lesson. We got through all the bullet points, woo! At this point, I'm opening the floor to any questions you may have, following one final partition. Goodbye, partition! We'll never forget you!"
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Joannah raises her hand. "Right, I had a question earlier about the Research projects."
Aaron softly churrls, "Sure, go for it."
Joannah reads back. "I have read through the various Research things a while ago. Do they all succeed? Because that Extradimensional Generator Research, it doesn't really sound to me like something that would actually be Lore friendly and should be completed at all.
Aaron softly churrls, "Not necessarily. In fact - and thank you for reminding me of this - it's actually possible to run a scene AGAINST a research project."
Joannah softly purrs, "So, in short, can a Research project itself be deemed a failure even when completed succesfully?""
Aaron softly churrls, "So if someone wanted to sabotage the Extradimensional Generator research because the planet exploding in a cascading reaction seems like a bad idea, they could run a scene in which that happened. I've actually checked on this in the past, and it's staff-approved!"
Aaron softly churrls, "No. If a research project successfully finishes, it...finishes successfully."
Aaron softly churrls, "Any more questions?"
Lilac tenderly lows, "What are the conditions for a scene to be deemed appropriate for a 'research project'? Is there a specific checklist that has to be met in terms of themes, duration, staff approval, player count?"
Sroath softly churrs, "..."
Aaron softly churrls, "Ah, now we're getting away from my area of expertise, and off-topic."
Aaron softly churrls, "Any more questions about judging?"
Aaron softly churrls, "(Also, I will say that it's usually considered bad decorum to encourage your players to +pjvote for you, just in case it ever comes up.)"
Sroath softly churrs, "The only thing that I can think to ask about is for more information on the topic you stated up front isn't something you know well. In short, I'm all set."
Aaron softly churrls, "(Remind them that the option exists, but don't press them for it.)"
Aaron softly churrls, "Wait, I think I see what you're asking."
Aaron softly churrls, "You're not asking how research projects are created, you're asking what criteria staffers use when determining whether or not a scene is successful for purposes of advancing an established one. Right?"
Lilac tenderly lows, "Correct."
Aaron half-smiles. "I have to admit, I'm not privy to that information. I imagine it varies depending on which staffer is making the determination. I suspect Vath might have more input here?"
Aaron softly churrls, "(I hope he's typing right now.)"
Sroath softly churrs, "I can't say from a staffing posission an answer to this. However, based on the class... "A scene needs to have a minimum of two players". "You can, and probably should for the first few scenes, run the scene by a staffer before running it. and discuss any points the staff member dislike about your intended scene"."
Sroath softly churrs, "With those two bits of information, I figure that question has already been answered."
Aaron nods. "Those are the must-haves, but I suspect Vath will be able to give more detailed information."
Vath slips back in from an exstended break, maybe one of the puppets broke, but he answers a question accordingly. "Depends really on how you are doing it, I'm more then happy to sit down with you and do a play by play of if it works or not, and help to fill in gaps that are missing. The biggest criteria that needs to be filled is does the scene make sense? What is the ultimate goal, what challenges are going to be placed before your players."
Aaron softly churrls, "That's a better answer than I could hope to give."
Aaron softly churrls, "Any more questions?"
Aaron softly churrls, "All right! At this point, I think we can call this a win all around. Feel free to partake of as much punch and/or pie as you want, thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to seeing - maybe even participating in! - your scenes to come!"
