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!"
