[BitP:R] BleachITP Reborn OOC Thread 15: Eye of the Tiger... Hollow

[Kuroimaken]

Naturally.

[KnightDisciple]

Here's the current situation.

First, capability wise, about... half the mortal cast, not counting SWORD, is pretty much completely unable to handle an all-out war situation. If they try, they get killed, it's that simple. So unless we want them all dead in a short span of time, the escalation needs to be just a liiiiiiiiiiiittle bit slower than that.

Second, as it is, SS is pretty much crippled right now. Hueco Mundo's forces are simply that much stronger at the moment (even if we consider that most of the Captains are out of the picture for OOC reasons, they just don't have the firepower to handle defense of Seireitei AND taking care of the Mortal World without slacking off on one or the other. This should allow the Wall plot to proceed somewhat smoothly, as far as justification goes).

Third, Genoveva's diversionary stunt was pretty much her own doing. If any degree of diplomacy is to be mantained, Von Geister can play the blame card on her. This does, however, present him with the opportunity to sense just how on the ropes as a whole SS is. So he has a reason to test their response time as far as the Mortal World is concerned. Testing the waters, as it were, shouldn't be too difficult a proposition, and allows for the conflict to escalate more slowly with the mortal cast involved. (Which makes Renee's designs for the kids progress that much more swiftly, but I digress.)

So here's a thought.

Step 1: SS sends a diplomatic emissary to Hueco Mundo to set up a meeting regarding Genoveva's role in the Kujo event.
Step 2: Meeting happens. Von Geister notices the Seireitei envoys are a little more shook up than they should be, considering they actually forced Genoveva's retreat with no casualties.
Step 3: Von Geister gathers a number of wild Hollows, sends them into the Mortal World for intelligence gathering (or simply has his wife provide them in some fashion; that's up to our beloved HM dictator Draken).
Step 4:
Step 5: PLOT PROFIT!

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Also, everyone: Roll a D6!

[Kuroimaken]

I could've sworn your address was already in our mailing list!

[tgva8889]

Sounds like a plan! Who do we send as the envoys?

Hollows in the Mortal World sounds excellent, as it gives the kids a replacement plot of weaker but not harmless foes to fight. It'll be for this game what Uryu using the Hollow Bait was for canon! Maybe end it with a "big boss" that the kids will defeat but not kill?

[KnightDisciple]

I'll offer Masaru up as a possible envoy. He's a friend of the Commander, he's old, respected, intelligent, soft-spoken, part of a (smaller) noble house...

Because, really, to meet with the Ghost King, you don't send fresh graduates from the Academy. You send someone who might, if it came to a fight, at least leave some scars.

[tgva8889]

And Taiki is legitimately incapacitated.

I apologize for my lack of posting over the past year. I hope to make it up to everyone in this game. With the end of exams on the horizon for me (well, in 2 weeks but still!) I should begin posting more regularly. Hopefully I can be of some help in keeping our game together.

Notes to self: Write Taiki's Bio, write Ren Karashi's Character Registry Profile.

[Kuroimaken]

I'll offer Masaru up as a possible envoy. He's a friend of the Commander, he's old, respected, intelligent, soft-spoken, part of a (smaller) noble house...

Because, really, to meet with the Ghost King, you don't send fresh graduates from the Academy. You send someone who might, if it came to a fight, at least leave some scars.

Think Soushi might be an appropriate addition to the entourage?

[KnightDisciple]

Think Soushi might be an appropriate addition to the entourage?

Why wouldn't Masaru take his trusted Vice-Captain? I'm thinking it could be after his punishment is over, after all. Masaru needs his keen, insightful mind to make sure things are on the up and up.

[HirokatsuGoto]

Hirokatsu might be a decent addition to the envoy...not a threatening looking fellow with his umbrella and all...


Im curious to see what everyone's thoughts are on all these ideas...it seems liek we are accumulating quite a few right now...maybe we should just put it to a vote or something...or Central 5 can make a decision or something... whatever the process is

[Kayne650]

@Kuroimaken: You were correct, I meant that he would be at 30% total. I think that I misread his power explanation and thought that 30% was the highest total that he'd ever been allowed to have so far, outside of purely testing situations.

[riccaru]

There's to possible victims candidates in tenth right now. If there's one way to keep things clean and easy, it's to have your prisoners be sent on a mission with a high risk and then, you know, misplace them.

Tell them they can earn their place back into Seretei if they pull it off, either by themselves (Akio's a representative of the noble houses while Karite is a Vice-Captain. Not to mention they're both thirteenth members, which is arguably the division to do this), or with the other people who go(Masaru, Soushi, and them.)

[tgva8889]

Actually, I was unaware that 10th was holding either of them. I thought their respective divisions were holding them. 10th can do it, I was just unaware they'd been officially tried and sentenced to 10th-operated prisons. I thought they were being held until further questioning or something of that nature. I mean, they were recently arrested, weren't they?

[riccaru]

Actually, I was unaware that 10th was holding either of them. I thought their respective divisions were holding them. 10th can do it, I was just unaware they'd been officially tried and sentenced to 10th-operated prisons. I thought they were being held until further questioning or something of that nature. I mean, they were recently arrested, weren't they?

Yeah they were, I just thought they were being held on tenth grounds. All of our IC posts about it have been based on that, so. They're haven't had their trials, but they're being held there until further notice.

[tgva8889]

Well that's fine. I was just unaware. Good stuff to know, that.

[Dorizzit]

riccaru, did Allan make contact with his attacks?

[riccaru]

riccaru, did Allan make contact with his attacks?

*Reads post again.* >_> Yes. *goes to edit post for neglecting the shinigami*

Shinigami do the darndest things.

[Kuroimaken]

Pssst, Geek? It's Mitsukai-fukutaichou.

[Innis Cabal]

I debated posting here but some things came to light and I think, even if I dropped out early, that I can offer some words of advice as to a problem that existed at least when I and several others along with me left.

The game lacked fluidity. The reason the first Bleachitp worked for as long as it did was because there were no pre-set storylines. Anyone who wanted to be in the storyline at the time need only have pushed the current story forward along with everyone else and the story moved there. When people started doing "ARC's" people started dropping. Heck, even I dropped because the game was getting to regimented. By the end, everything had to happen just so or else people started to fret and tug at the apron strings of the movers and shakes of the storyline and in the end....lots of people were left out. Which made more people drop.

I don't know how it is now here, so I can't say that it's a current problem but from what I know of how this game started it was regimented from start to a good period in the future. A quick scan of the OOC shows that the problem has remained. The story had X,Y and Z all planned out, the only thing that wasn't was how. But the problem is when you plan for ARC X to ARC Y...you close the doors to a story that you never thought would happen. By going in and changing everything around so that everything works like clockwork you lose the beauty of a spontaneous event that shapes the story far more powerfully then your planned out fight that has to happen for the next story arc to work.

[HirokatsuGoto]

Innis,

thanks for chiming in, I think you are very right in many aspects...however i dont think it is an apple or orange thing when it comes to style

structure can (and does) work...it just takes active "GM's" who make open enough stories to allow for all the "spontaneous" things to happen. And if those end up being bigger, those "GMs" find a way to make the old arc contain the new events that come up. If everything is so loose, then people have no idea what is going on.

In an extremely loose setting you have no way to be involved with any RP unless other people want to involve you. and if you jump in without caring doing whatever you want and accidentally disrupt someone's previous "spontaneous event" then you are berated and told to stop. It makes it extremely difficult for new members to join when there is not something for them to do and they arent actively brought into the fold.

In the case of the Gotei, characters (not even Players) are told what to do by their superiors, and beyond sitting by a lake and fishing or going to drink some sake AFTER duty, they have little control over what their characters should be doing. So making it extremely loose goes against the fundamental part o their characters, and if you dont have active and interested players playing leadership roles over their subordinates means you will have a bunch of players not getting to do anything.

In other Bleach RP i have GM's and led, i found that the bleach universe has a place for just about every style of RPer. If you want the honor and military feel, go Shinigami...badboy fallen angel type, go Vizard... loose "i wanna attack people whenever i want" go hollow....normal, everyday person gaining unbelievable powers OR human in the midst of unbelievable stuff, go Human....mortals with duty and honor and power, Go Quincy

It doesnt mean those are hard and fast rules to each race...but it does give a lot of possibilities for TYPES of RPers...In Soul Society you need strong leaders and orders or "arcs" to drive their actions, because that is what those characters do...you want to be a bit more freewheeling and go start crap,but still feel a part of something bigger, be an Arrancar in Las Noches, just expect that you do haev to follow big bad old Draken...you want even more looseness to your RP and just react to situations...go human, or Quincy or even Vizard or Bount to some degree...

in the bleach universe, Shinigami are seen as characters that "react" to situations rather than actively act as protagonist...ie..big hollow attacks earth, send shinigami to deal with it...invasion, go defend...someone is spying, send investigation

Arrancar, Vizard, Bount are antagonists for the most part, Human can as well to some degree, but Human and Quincy are most likely "Reactors" as well, though they have limited structure to follow in HOW they react

It doesnt mean it is not fun to switch these roles from time to time, but overall this is the basic system that is present in the universe that Kubo made, trying to make it as if the Shinigami (and thus the players of the characters) dont have to follwo orders and can do whatever, whenever is just not correct to the the fundamental part of their characters.

Why i bring all this up, is back to what i first said, i dont think a RP forum needs to be ONE way or the other...i think Kubo provided us with an internal framework for differing types of RPers and structure to RP. You want more structure to what you do and when? probably Shinigami, less? Arrancar, Vizard or Quincy, even less? Human or Bount?

Now that doesnt mean every character can be "captain" level or anything with their powers and influence, but that is the trade off for being "rogue" in your RP style...it's just not a "rogue universe" that Kubo created which we play in, Rogues are unique and limited and usually antagonists meant to be taken out, they arent the norm


The real question is...where do we go from here? what do "we" want to do? I dont see a rise in membership, if the people when they come in have nothing set for them to do or jump in to easily, and if the only thing for them to do is not very fun or interesting, then why would they stay? if the only guidance you get is "jump in...go to a lake and fish or something" you are not providing a place for people to feel they can RP the "bleach" universe they have read and loved...and if they "jump in" to a plot someone else is doing, and are constantly ignored or pushed aside. Then why would they stay?


I know this was very long... sorry

Aaron

I debated posting here but some things came to light and I think, even if I dropped out early, that I can offer some words of advice as to a problem that existed at least when I and several others along with me left.

The game lacked fluidity. The reason the first Bleachitp worked for as long as it did was because there were no pre-set storylines. Anyone who wanted to be in the storyline at the time need only have pushed the current story forward along with everyone else and the story moved there. When people started doing "ARC's" people started dropping. Heck, even I dropped because the game was getting to regimented. By the end, everything had to happen just so or else people started to fret and tug at the apron strings of the movers and shakes of the storyline and in the end....lots of people were left out. Which made more people drop.

I don't know how it is now here, so I can't say that it's a current problem but from what I know of how this game started it was regimented from start to a good period in the future. A quick scan of the OOC shows that the problem has remained. The story had X,Y and Z all planned out, the only thing that wasn't was how. But the problem is when you plan for ARC X to ARC Y...you close the doors to a story that you never thought would happen. By going in and changing everything around so that everything works like clockwork you lose the beauty of a spontaneous event that shapes the story far more powerfully then your planned out fight that has to happen for the next story arc to work.

[Kuroimaken]

I'm a little on the fence here regarding loose plots versus pre-planned plot arcs. It's pretty simple to see that the more characters involved, the more demanding a given story becomes in terms of dedication, and this is true both of pre-structured and loose plot.

Further, while spontaneity is an excellent thing, one has to remember that certain interactions between characters are planned exactly because they don't always occur naturally. Even when it comes to things like HM invading Mortal World or SS, it risks becoming kind of a snowball effect.

Take the current Sereg fight. It started with the guy just popping into the mortal world and raising major red flags. We already have three separate parties on him like mustard on a hot-dog. I alone have a minimum of three characters that have reason to be involved (Kazuma is 11th division, his whole job description is search and destroy. Hasunaga would probably jump in the second Sereg got anywhere near the school. Subject 1864 is already on the scene. Soushi would also have reason to jump in if he weren't suspended from active duty). If riccaru were to, say, lose internet connection for a week, the fight couldn't possibly progress until he returned. And this is a situation that demands response from ONE person, as it stands. We can't expect everyone to commit to the game like a marriage (excuse the comparison, for those of you in wedlock).

[riccaru]

I'm a little on the fence here regarding loose plots versus pre-planned plot arcs. It's pretty simple to see that the more characters involved, the more demanding a given story becomes in terms of dedication, and this is true both of pre-structured and loose plot.

Further, while spontaneity is an excellent thing, one has to remember that certain interactions between characters are planned exactly because they don't always occur naturally. Even when it comes to things like HM invading Mortal World or SS, it risks becoming kind of a snowball effect.

Take the current Sereg fight. It started with the guy just popping into the mortal world and raising major red flags. We already have three separate parties on him like mustard on a hot-dog. I alone have a minimum of three characters that have reason to be involved (Kazuma is 11th division, his whole job description is search and destroy. Hasunaga would probably jump in the second Sereg got anywhere near the school. Subject 1864 is already on the scene. Soushi would also have reason to jump in if he weren't suspended from active duty). If riccaru were to, say, lose internet connection for a week, the fight couldn't possibly progress until he returned. And this is a situation that demands response from ONE person, as it stands. We can't expect everyone to commit to the game like a marriage (excuse the comparison, for those of you in wedlock).

Knock on wood. I did this exactly because we needed more posting, so I did exactly what I expected to get the most characters involved!

[Dorizzit]

I think that actions like the one riccaru took are quite helpful; it does have potential consequences, but it added a great deal of activity to the Mortal World thread.

[KnightDisciple]

Re: spontaneity is good, but so is larger plot. The game needs a balance to not feel either choking (too much planning) or aimless/pointless (too little planning). It is a somewhat delicate balance.

RE the MW: Uh, are we just ignoring the huge acid cone, the guided missiles, and the sensor suite DS has? Just curious.

(This post made on my iPhone. :D)

[Dorizzit]

The acid cone, at least, would be avoided by the move into the building. The cloud may also obstruct sensors. Not sure about the missiles.

[riccaru]

The acid cone, at least, would be avoided by the move into the building. The cloud may also obstruct sensors. Not sure about the missiles.

The mist gives off reiatsu nearly identical to Sereg's own. Now that he's transformed, his reiatsu signature is nearly non-existant in the area. He also doesn't have any physical differences with the mist, and won't give off heat.

[KnightDisciple]

So...he misted before any acid hit him at all. Nothing can hurt him now?
As for the sensors...maybe he can't pickout a particular signature, but he could at least see that he has moved into the building.

[Dorizzit]

So...he misted before any acid hit him at all. Nothing can hurt him now?
As for the sensors...maybe he can't pickout a particular signature, but he could at least see that he has moved into the building.

How is knowing he's in the building not picking out an individual signature?

[KnightDisciple]

How is knowing he's in the building not picking out an individual signature?

To put it another way: if he IS the mist right now, and all the mist has an equal reiatsu signature, and some mist is in the building, then DS would pick up the fact that some of it is in there.

[Dorizzit]

Okay, that makes a lot more sense.

[Innis Cabal]

*Snip so as not to dominate the whole page*

To much of anything is a bad thing be it salt, beer or a particular style. I never said that some hard line things shouldn't be included, they need to be as many of your points made quite clear.

The problem is when you look at the random because the setting won't allow it and toss it away. Sure the Shinigami are a military but even from the manga we see plenty of people disobey their commanding officers and just do as they please. It's actually pretty common if we look at the storyline. Rukia does it, at least two captains do it when ever they please and plenty of Vice Captains do it as well. When you start defining a character by what they are and not who they are you get into dangerous territory.

I will use an example that few will probably actually understand since it happened long in the annals of the past Bleachitp but I think it's really the only thing I can use to show my point.

The game was going strong back in the very first few months of the game. The Arrancar were loose cannons with little to control them and did as they pleased. Random attacks on the Mortal world were common so we all agreed in the OOC that we needed to stop that for a bit as it was getting stale. The random and the hard line story mixed well on that event. But we also wanted some conflict and just didn't know how to go about it to hit every aspect of the game.

So Prime and a few others made the Bounts. They started as an enemy of Las Noches but it quickly turned to a setting wide threat as Hans showed up on the screen. Soul Society was just sorta going about it's business, there were minor plots being formed slowly and it looked like a pretty interesting storyline was going to come about at some point. I know for myself my character was going to betray Soul Society and become the settings Gin. That didn't happen and it's because of a total random event that had shattered the near peaceful calm in Soul Society and pushed a lot of potential plots back a very long while.

The player of Hans PM'd me out of the blue, it turned out that the Bount Hans had made a deal with the leader of Las Noches to prove his worth to the dude. He was going to go into Soul Society and kill a Shinigami. Now at this point no character had died so it was a pretty stiff order he had. The player PM'd me a day or two after Hans got into Soul Society asking if I would kill my character. No planning up to this point, merely random. We then took the random event and planned a little around it. That day, Yen was dead and the game wasn't the same after that.


TL;DR- You need a balance of planning and random but the random shouldn't be forced or used to jump start the story. The planning should come about only after events have led to a point where there needs to be planning in the first place.

Further, while spontaneity is an excellent thing, one has to remember that certain interactions between characters are planned exactly because they don't always occur naturally. Even when it comes to things like HM invading Mortal World or SS, it risks becoming kind of a snowball effect.

I suppose this comes down to style, but I take the road that if my character won't do something he won't do something. No amount of planning for him to do it will result in him doing it. I want my character to be realistic and make choices that make sense for him. If the story calls for him to kick a dog when he wouldn't do it, he's not going to do it ever.