So here we are: NPC's and PNPC's - let's go!

PC vs PC can work for a vilian write I believe because well the villian writer knows they will come to their doom one way or the other

PC vs PC can work for various scenarios Depending on the story conflict

Question: What is the BEST NPC/PNPC or secondary character you ever created and why?

Jenni Matthews was my best PNPC ever.

That is naturally difficult, and requires a lot of maturity. Most writers naturally want their character to “win”.

I loved her so much, I turned her into a PC.

I made a drider

I ate all the marines

Fun times

I think it was a privateer quartermaster who died in the Battle of Nassau.

usually, my npc or 'NE' as we call them, usually end up dying in the sims

An old salt, a survivor... until the explosion made it impossible to survive

Hitomi Deunan a sargeant major I believe not sure about the rank anymore. a side kick to my vice admiral in command of the Stargazer.. She ended up with far more writing time and story because well she ccould mingle

James K'Temoc Bremer.... started as a lil side NPC for character dev, became a full character a year later, still playing him 20yrs after that. Why, his personality just came easy and he's been fun to write

Zera Leyar. His personality is opposite to mine which made it a fun challenge to try and write him. He is intel (and i lowkey admit that i enjoy making his life hell)

I PCed him for a bit after i ran my old PC past her CD point (that was a fun story in itself, but at the cost of the character)

A friend of mine created a character where people were just evil to them all the time time. Gave them all the crap jobs

Like being a Red Shirt without dying

https://vimeo.com/198906345 Treknology

That's a crazy short.

The next topic here is to do with recruitment from room two

You can put your plot/site awards in your recruiting ads (edited)

@Skoll My requirements are like x ammouint opf JP updates a week, say you need to update your JPS at least 4 days of the week

Each ship at star-fleet.com has a minimum posting limit.

I require one JP every two weeks per person. If you do a personal post, do a duty post. If you do nothing but personal posts, you'll get a warning and be put on moderation. If you continue, you'll be removed.

I've seen posting requirements from none to 500 words plus per post... depends on whether its a starter site aka anyone is welcome to an advance site. I don't play star trek games, but from my perspective I expect people to be able to match what I give them if its not a novel. But at the very least I expect people to give me something to work with.

I hate it when sioms demand solo posts, that is an instant no thank you for me

I've written 10 part posts that totaled over 22k words

Take my ship she is a 3/5/7 limits which means at least one post every three days from command, DH have 5 and junior officer have 7

Solo posts can do lots for furthering the story or bridging gaps!

I love my JPS and can update those for hours if stuff is fun and active, but solo posts are just yawn most of the time., I wrtie some when I have a good idea, but no more.

Or character developments you not ready to share

See you guys limit your players to one character per game... I have four in my teen wolf rpg and that includes controlling two site canon characters... so if you want to evolve as a community and make your sites more active relaxing character limit rules is something you might want to relax

I allow a player to have their PC and up to three PNPCs provided they can write for all of them. (edited)

I am running 15 characters

I once ran 12, but discovered that was way too much on one sim.

Plus lots of NPCs when the story asks for them, so writing solo posts is sometimes natural

I have 4 characters on my command, but I tend to limit myself to 1 or 2, more is to hard for me to track (like mentally not poissiblke go ask my doc)

For storylines, I have a Plot Manifest and put NPCs on there to use

I have 14 characters I play

I usually only ever like to get in the head of one character at a time, personally.

I think in a book there are far more characters, so why not in RPGs, as long as the story needs them>

On several different ships

Yes, of course

We use NPC we call nameless ensigns if we need them and can run as many of those as we need to

And on islands

I would say 14 on one site is to many.. but did recently encounter someone who wanted to play a lot more than that and run the story of her site.

My site went well for 7 years with me and my co-administrator (or former moderator) having 10+ characters each

If I put an NPC on the plot manifest, they're going to be around for a while. Otherwise, I'll just make up Ensign So-and-So on the go for errands

Plus writing the NPCs when needed, but those were shared with others to write them too

@Skoll That limit varies by sim. I know of many ships that allow multiple characters per game

I'd allow it if the player could prove they could write for all characters equally. Also, don't overshadow your main PC

We have several different types of ships to choose from and I'm a writer and can come with good ideas and when im not able to run with a character or position I'll step down from them to allow for new players to step in with fresh ieas

I mean people can have a dozen PNPCs on my sim no problem as long as they are all active and unique and not try to take over the whole story line.

We have 27 different ships on our site to choose from 2 being the academy which allows you to be able to learn the way we run our ships in an controlled environment

The type of ship you are on should not define what you can do sim wise... its not the size of your torpedo tube that counts.

It doesn't by my ship for example is the horror ship of star-fleet

@Skoll I do not know I am in command of a battlecruiser, I am not going to be send out for a detailled science annalsiis of this new nebula by command

Carde anything is possible and unless its a defiant class or Klingon battle cruiser the federation's heaviest cruisers usually have a capable crew in all departments.

We ahve science equipment, but why send a large costly to run ship out to do something a smaller less costly ship can do.

Our science capability are equal to that of an intrepid, crew wise we are about an AKira and resource wise we consume more than sovy.

Because you never know what's going to happen when you arrive

Well if it is near hostile territory it would make sense, but in save space I send the intrepid to deal with that and send the battlecruiser to deal with those pirate or patrol that boarder to ensure the other faction thinks twice before corssing it

The topic of #ffvii-room-one is awesome and interesting to read! But there are still some discussion going and we don't wish to interrupt it! Lets continue Game Management: Dos and Don’ts here! Under lead of @Leam-Mark has he still has one question to ask you all ❤

@Sepandiyar If people cannot follow common sense, cause it is not common to them, that aint my problem, but theirs

@everyone the one thing I wanted to discuss back in the room was a big one that I wanted to discuss, but had to drop because of the time, and that was DON'T abuse the trust of your players (and your fleet, if you are in one). We all want to be respected, but respect works in both ways, we have to respect our players and of course, our fleet and the leadership there. What are your thoughts? How should CO's respec their players, and on the flipside... how should a player, be it a newbie, or a veteran respect the leadership of the game.... and the other side, what respect do our fleet leaders require, and how should they respect their CO's and fleet membership as a whole

No comment. Can of worms.

Uh.. well. I generally feel that trust is earned, and it's only through transparency. Actions taken that do not have actual explanations kinda .. ?? me

I mean, yes, sometimes all you can say is

"To protect the privacy of the indivisual, no names or traceable details are mentioned"

@Phoenix Lalor its an open forum, please.... I'd like to hear what you have to say

but that at least makes it clear that you're only redacting what you have to

Yes, that are those questions/topics for!

I for one am interested in hearing all different sides to this one

I be honnest I have very little no respect for fleets because of multiple past events hence I tend to keep the relation in the form off "Do not bother me and I shall give you what you want and leave it there"

I very much doubt I will ever change that, to much has happened really for me.

I find larger fleets begin..

to become very much concerned with office politics

In what perspective would that be....a concern? What office politics are a no-go?

I think that being a CO means you are an ambassador for your game and fleet. But you have to respect that players have opinions that may differ from yours and that they cam and will disagree. It is important to repect that. Just as it is important for players to repect decisions made by COs and fleet. There should be transparency and open communication. When I remove a player for reasons other than the lack of posting I make sure my players are aware of the reasons. I do not just remove sans explaination. I feel my crew deserve the respect of being informed and I expect the same from my fleet and TG and TF

Office politics are a concern when it leads to the ship exploding.

Obsession about flag rank, who's in charge, trying to control what sims are doing what IC related to the fleet storyline against the CO's wishes... some examples

And you can't be sure ever, if you're right in assuming who's actually at fault

@Phoenix Lalor a very valid point and I thank you for brining it up and saying it. A big thing is that link in communication between the fleet leadership and the CO's. Now, I've been a former TFCO myself, as well as a current TGCO here in BF, and a former TGCO in Obsidian Fleet (where I was originally) and communication was a big thing for me. I wanted and liked to email my CO's at least once a week to let them know what was going on. Now sometimes that wasn't possible, but when news was important to them to let them know what was going on, they heard about it. Communication can lead to a good building of trust between CO's and fleets and in turn, between CO's and players

BEfore I run for the next 30minutes there was a good reason in past I joined fleets with my sim under the rules that you get to put your flag on my ship and say look at this active sim we have in our fleet, but I would maintain total independence and keep to my own ruling. Also the reason I have and always host independantly from a fleet, that way I am always free to just say by by if anyone believes it smart to force things upon me. Respect in the end should be earned no which whom to whom it is and no rank or office is going to grant you any

For the folks that don't know all verbs! Task Force Commanding Officer - TFCO Task Force Executive Officer - TFXO Task Group Commanding Officer - TGCO

Thank you

thanks @RaWolfe should have added that in.

Office politics is something I personally try to avoid @Kylindra and it is really a valid concern you address. I am a Task Force Commanding Officer and what effects my players will be communicated with them in full length. What does not concern them, will not be said as that would only create fricking and upset feelings. I don't see myself as THE Vice Admiral of Task Force 93. No I see myself as a player that facilitate my players in giving them a home to write in and I ask their opinion on every moment I can get to do that. Because I holy belief that without those players, the writing groups don't exist at all.

When I was a TFCO I worked my ass off to make sure I was the bridge between the upper politics and my CO's.

So that any issues from politics had little to zero impact on my CO's

A view I think I have brought with me when I am upper fleet now.

I will atest to that, @RaWolfe is the TFCO where one of my sims resides, and communication is done very well, I am kept informed as to what is going on and what I need to relay to my crew. I have built my respect for BlackWolf to the point it is now over many years of simming with him. I don't see the rank as anything but an OOC tool

Agreed

Metagaming meh... someone entertain me in here then... lets see what yall up to

I respect those players, CO's and fleet leaders who do the right thing for the players, not for themselves. I find it quite appaling when decisions are made that benefit only a few people and not the whole community. Back when I was in OF, and on their fleet council; I said what was on my mind, and when things were discussed, I looked at what was in the best interests of the fleet as a whole, even if it meant being accused of looking after my own interests. Words can be percecived in different ways, tone is not good at coming across in written text. Being a CO, I made and still do make decisions based on what is the best course for the simulation as a whole, not just one person. If that means losing a quality writer, then so be it. Respect needs to be earned and while I will give a second chance to players when they deserve it, if they break that trust a second time, there is no coming back. I have respect for a wide range of simmers in the ST/RPG community, and there are of course, players and people I want nothing to do with while I am part of this community, that is just the bread and butter of it.

Sorry cant juggle

Nevermind

Communication is a two way street.

Those under command should reachout if they're in need.

Someone said to me in a conversation that words on an email can be seen on various perspectives. You mean something nice and maybe even complimentary. But at the same time the receiver might consider it as offending. What I am trying to say is that there is no real red line in this matter, incidents might happen and it is important how you react on that!

It sholdn't just be leadership looking down. We may have attention elsewhere.

Or not see a problem, or just be distractd with another task that needs more attention.

I have my TGCO on my game. Gives players that chance to take issues to him.

Very good idea there @Phoenix Lalor !

It's why I love Discord for the Fleet community. Easy access to anyone and everyone. And even if 'leadership' isn't around or can't help you. Someone else is and mightbe willing.

@Phoenix Lalor talks about a TGCO joining a game within the TG they are leading, I just did that myself

It's a great tool

@NevadaTrekkie is the one who's idea

Agreed, I think Discord is really changing how we communicate, on all levels, from fleet management right down to player level.

It was

We have a chain of command we use but most of the command staff usually have an open door policy when it comes to the crew having a problem that they need to dicuss

Especially its mobility.

It has been helpful.. for sure

helps build a true community.

Though my command crew panicked at first they are cool with it now

even amongst fleets like this

Exactly

Where else would everyone here just be able to chat like we are.

Discord has changed my entire simm. I love it

Very much a good tool to create a community

when I was a TGCO back in OF, I would (after reading through the monthly reports) send an email to my CO's to talk about their report and see how we could work together to improve things. I use that work "together". I did things as a team, that has been a big thing of mine and something I pride myself on these days, working as a team. Teamwork breeds respect. If you don't work as a team, and you don't respect their wishes or their view point and let something drop if you get the resistence then you don't have the respect being built.

Discord have brought players actually much closer then forum or email ever has. I see a trend (at least in Bravo Fleet) that more and more direct contact is used on Discord

@RaWolfe i would totally agree

Discord has given @NevadaTrekkies sim a chance to interact and make post ideas. As well as blow stuff up

I agree @RaWolfe

@Leam-Mark respecting people's viewpoints is an important part of teamwork; absolutely

It's breaking down walls that perviously existed between people. I just had a conversation with a player yesterday where they were questinoning something I put in our monthly and after beint nervous about coming to me, they commented: "Wow. I really didn't think you'd be approachable. Thanks so much."

But we have to be careful we're not micromanaging people when they don't want it.

@Sepandiyar you are approachable

That's also why I like Discord. It allows for that ready connection so it doesn't feel contrived or micromanaging when I reach out to them when things are in a rough patch

@NevadaTrekkie won't deny that one, and when other's viewpoints are respected then that trust and respect breaks down, and in a big way and it takes a long time, if at all, to build that respect. I'll personally say that there are some people who I won't ever respect again because of the way they have treated me personally in the community

I have always found the Fleet JFC of my fleet approachable

pats @Phoenix Lalor gently D'aww

Very much so agree there @Phoenix Lalor

hehe

Want me to create a room for you 3?

Lol no, lets keep this going

lol

respect is a big thing and I'm loving the discussion it has brought up, so thank you.

Its true though. I am not sucking up. A few years ago a TFXO got ideas ahead of herself. She moved my sim without consultation or even a hi we are gonna do X and I took her to the JFC cause my TFCO was sick. It got results and things were fixed. Transparency people works

transparency can breed respect as well @Phoenix Lalor so no denying that one

You can pretty much say that communication is the most important thing in every aspect

The JFC has always been approachable for me and has never changed

So i love discord, off topic: how would you all deal with a player who refuses to use it but complains they feel left out?

Oh very good question @NevadaTrekkie

@RaWolfe yes it is. Imagin going to sleep in one TG and waking up and finding yourself in another without warning. I spat chips.

That's called making an adult choice. The wrong one, lol, but that's their choice. With Discord available on your device and your PC/Mac, its down to a personal decision.

We use discord a lot on my game.

@Sepandiyar true

But don't be grumpy because your decision to stand apart keeps you apart.

@Phoenix Lalor I can imagine yea....

use other communication methods and encourage its use. Now, there are always going to be players who just wont use it, but if you can keep them in the loop then again, that respect (to bring that back for a second) can be built. I had a player who had not been on Discord since we started our sim's channel and he finally joined a few days ago and is loving it!

I dont think you can force them to, but you should make it clear that while not at a disadvantage, they are missing out.

right on @aio

And as @Sepandiyar said, it is the wrong choice

I love discord for my sims.

Too add to this the same player asked me to discontinue discord use for the game

something like Discord can not be mandatory as part of a fleet or simulation. Any simulation or fleet thats says that membership on a Discord server as part of membership is 100% reqired will not get me joining them. I join the servers I want to. (edited)

As the boss @Sepandiyar said.. wrong choice lol

@NevadaTrekkie it seems like this player just wants his own way?

Yes

As the vulcans would say "The voices of the many outweight those of the few" I think that answers your question pretty much @NevadaTrekkie

And that's fine @Leam-Mark if that's the decision you're making to stand apart.

I dont want to use Discord, so no one else should either.

Thats just dumb, frankly.

Like I said. Don't be grumpy when that keeps you apart.

@aio that is,really their opinion

Tell him you are stopping using email, so he shouldnt

Ha

When he realises how dumb that sounds, he will conform or move on lol

@NevadaTrekkie ypu better have said no or I will unleash the Vaii

For us, you're missing quite a bit, if not almost everything if you're not participating in Discord. And if that costs a CO, then shrug that's the community we want to build.

It's made the fleet stronger for sure

Amen

Here here

Praise (insert deity)

lol

@Sepandiyar you quite don't understand the point I made. I'm not saying I won't use Discord, I use it (I have both my sims on Discord, I am on the fleet server, plus a private YT server). What I am saying is that we can not force it as part of sim or fleet membership. Discord is not the bee-all and end-all of communication, other forms of communication are still relevant. Not everyone has the time to be on their phone or their computer reading through Discord chats. Sometimes an email is as effective as real time communication

Discord makes the fleet stronger

Then you're chosing to stand apart. I make that clear to new CO's. Required if you want to be a regular participant.

It's readily accessible in multiple formats. If you can get on and email, you can pop on and discord.

I think using something like Discord as a community builder is key, if we want what is basically a shrinking genre to thrive. And its definitly increased usage. But I dont think it should be compulsary. Some people just dont want to use it, and as I said, if you want people to use it, dont force them, but make it clear that they are missing out.

Discord is a great tool, and I won't deny that, but it needs to stop being put on a pedestal as the god and only form of communication

We're also in a time of changing formats, technology and platorms. How long ago was it that email wasn't even a cherished form of communication? Not that long. Now we're transitioning to real time chat. It's not been ten years that texting wasn't even a thing. Now, who actually calls someone anymore?

OF has both Forums and Discord

so does most other fleets @Phoenix Lalor

If someone wants to chose to be a dinosaur and stay email only, that's their choice. But its the wrong choice for a growing community that wants to stay in synch

Exactly

So players have a choice

Times have changed.

Simple as.

Right on @aio

I had not finished @Leam-Mark

We either change with them, or we fall by the wayside.

Am on my phone as that bloodu stupid NBN is out

my bad @Phoenix Lalor

Some older simmers dont embrace change. And it shows.

Aye. I get it, they're used to it, but we have to adapt. Discord is part of that adaptation. It may not be the last of it either, but if we're all together here we can shift accordingly as one community.

Players in OF have a choice between the forums and discord and if they want most COs will post news on their sites

The groups that embrace change, throw out the rule book and try something new, those are the ones who survive as long as they have, Bravo Fleet, Obsidian Fleet etc etc, the ones whose names have been around for years.

Forums are great for notices and such. Long term discussions that need time to sink in. But this platform is the main tool

I post important news by my site

I try to communicate to my players the best i can.....kicks the NBN

@Sepandiyar I'm not saying that, I'm saying that Discord can not be the only form of communication that is used to get information to people. I'm not denying that times are changing but you can not say that every piece of information about what is going on is 100% going to be just on Discord, you need to accomodate for everyone. For me, I use my servers to get the information out in real time, but I will still use my emails so there is multiple efforts made to communicate. If it goes by the wayside with a player, then that is their choice. I won't ever force my players to join Discord if that is their choice, I will use other methods and efforts to get them the information they need to know what is going on.

It can be, and it soon will be at the pace its moving. Anyone on 'email' only is left in the dust.

I require it for my COs.

I can't help you if you're not. Don't like it, shrug I cant help you.

This community uses Discord. If you don't like that, don't be part of this community.

As @aio said. Simple as. (edited)

There's no hurting for choice lol, so many fleets. Surely one suits your technical needs. PBEM, Forum, etc. Choose what suits.

Discord has become the one of the main forms of communication for the BFA.

Gone are the days of constant email chains.

In my fair opinion the systems I use: Forum: Long wide discussions that does not belong on discord, as certain details might be overlooked or worse might be forgotten Discord: Quick to the point messages, interaction with your players E-mail: Operational announcements, communication changes that directly for the players

I mean we still email, but if we need to discuss something quick, Discord it is.

At my work we are using Yammer as a platform for interaction across 650+ sites

And as @Sepandiyar said, for long term discussions, proposals etc, we use the forum.

We use Yammer as well.

I dont think ive heard of yammer?

Its great because it provides the 'forum' for long terms stuff and the chat for quicktime

it's like a enterprise focused FaceBook

I'm sorry, but that is wrong. You can not force people out of this community simply because they don't want to be on Discord. We are always seeing good writers leave for whatever reason, and as I have said, I won't deny times are changing, that is just fact.... but to force people out because they won't use a particular thing is wrong and disgusting that it is even floated

So discord is not the only platform out there. There are a lot. Back in the day it was IRC

It's not wrong. It's progress forward.

We used IRC for quite a number of years

before transitioning to Discord.

We're not asking for your first born You have a smart phone, you have a laptop, you have a desktop. How hard is it to go to the Discord site instead of the Fleet site

and even then, we linked the two.

Bbs

If you want to chose to be stubborn and unwilling to change. Again, can't help you

Aye, Discord has a little embed thing you can toss on your site sidebar so you can see who's online and such. Links right to it if you click

I'm sorry, but I'm leaving this discussion now, before I say something that I will regret

Someone techy tell us what that's called lol

Technology has moved forward to allow to allow things like discord.

Exactly

there are irc clients for phones

but they arnt great

Discord, with its seamless integration across all platforms has revolutionised how we do things.

and its free

Slack cost money after a certain user level

If im mobile, I have basically the same use of it as if i am on my ocmputer.

Exactly, free.

Theres a paid option, but its not features you miss lol

I can understand folks not wanting it on their phone if data is limited.

But its just a website. Click it like you would anything else. You're logging into tag. Why can't you log in to chat?

Wow i hope my 1 comment didnt start all this o.O

Dont be silly.

I love having it on my phone since most of my rp writing is done from my phone

All conversations welcome

Christmas shopping with the wife so cant entirely keep up

I love it on my phone because im mobile alot, so I can be aware of issues on the fly.

See that's where I'm a bit old school myslf and need to change @CaptRavenfall . I can't simm onmy phone or ipad. Drives me nutters to try.

Trying to change with the times on that.

Discord doesn't take anymore data than things like watsapp

Typing on a touchscreen of any form is torture.

Like want me to confes to murder I did not commit force me to type a novel on a touch screen

Lol. I know

I wrote fairly densely, so trying to do it at molasses speed on a touchscrreen drives me ape. To say nothing of the autocorrect

I started on a computer and it took month to transition over to my phone

ugh

Auto correct

But my laptop and tablet arent good to take with me to work because a lot of people like to take things that don't belong to them

The one thing holding me back from mobile simming

I have written one post ever on my ipad.

I have trained my autocorrect well

and it drove me nuts lol

On my phone

never again

haha

Bloody thieves @CaptRavenfall

hehe

Has anyone tried discord simming?

A live chat sim on it?

I'm not sure how you would keep from tripping over one another

I've writtena JP with two people on Discord, but that's way easier

I have irc simmed before

and while fun at the time, it was hard to track.

I think too many voices would make for some convoluted story telling

I agree

i'm a little OCD about that, which is why I prefer Nova over Forums

Agreed.

Right

If you can run it with clear focus the way we do on the boards in stf one person gming and the crew following the gm it isn't that hard

Yeah

Iv simmed for many years

started with Yahoo groups, like everyone else lol.

Then moved to SPMS

then forums

then Nova

I love nova for the same OCD reasons.

and I have to hand on heart say Nova is the thing keeping simming going.

Without Nova, I dont honestly think simming would be as popular as it is.

And even with it, its genre thats shrinking.

When I started simming I wanted ot be a star trek character

and simming is all we had.

Now with the likes of STO, you can be it, with alot less work.

My first RPG was in MSN messenger and it could get rough at times

forum sims are still good to use, they do need a bit of work on the players (and GM's part) since there is no automated notifications like Nova, but it is still a viable platform. Sad that it is not used as much these days unlike Nova

Most people gravitate towards Nova over a Forum setting as they're not fmailiar with it/comfortable with it.

THose of us with OCD obviously lol

I think we have, what, two left? @goldun

Possibly just the one...

Portland?

I never could get into the Nova I like the message board system I'm a part of now

I think was forums

Errr two Syd and another one i always forget @Sepandiyar

Ah yes the Syd.

Our beloved timeship

Protland and Syd, thanks

Hey if that's what you like, go for it. I just think consiering its like handicapping yourself out of the gate. But I could be wrong

I couldn't get into forums for ages like i actively avoided them even if they were immense until one came along. Everyone is different, no right or wrong in it.

Ely was forums. Changed to Nova when i took command

Yup. To each their own on that format

Same @goldun I couldnt for a while. Then I got into one, and simmed that way for a wee while.

I find Nova very player friendly

Exactly

Its so easy for a player to use, makes simming that much easier.

nods

and at the end of the day

Its what helps players

as CO's, if our players find it easy to use, they are more likely to use it.

Exactly @Phoenix Lalor

I try to make my game player friendly as possible

If it takes an obstacle course to join, they wont join. If its easy as 1 2 3, done.

Yup

@Sepandiyar I have tried others and just could figure them out so it's not I just wont it's I can't get the format down

Okay back to over flow two

The love is in the air! @Griff is going to continue his love story in this room! ❤

It seems to be a popular topic.

A...um, juicy topic.

heh heh heh

So, does anyone have a romance-related topic they want to chat about? Or shall we keep discussing smut?

...

Uhm

Two characters of mine are married

...I just write that sentence. In public.

Lol

One with six kids

Well.

Oh that you're shy about

Well I have a married character whose wife requested a transfer without talking to her

I was unaware of the distinction

So marriage in RP blows compared to the real deal

So Twi characters in my plot are in love and intimate

All PCs

@Ametheliana ooooh, that's rough....

Be right back folks, I’m desperate the loo.

But haven’t had sex or anything. Their relationship is distinctly non-sexual. While still being very intimate

that sounds interesting @Tonytonitone

Yes.

Thank you

So two are both aliens from separate worlds but have found something warm in what is otherwise a very terrifying universe to be in. The topic of sex has come up, yet they skirt around it

nothing wrong with that. it's important for characters in a romance to be on the same page and the same level of comfort, same for the writers

if neither characters are ready for that jump, nothing wrong with refraining (edited)

Which brings up interspecies attitudes on sex. For some, it is only a means of procreation...while others, it helps a couple bond with each other.

indeed! this is how we worked things out on Pandora when my character slept with someone else. the other guy was one of those species where it was 'just sex' and didn't understand why Cailus and Shae were so upset, made for some interesting drama

So... not talking about romance

Just smut

okay, not strictly 'romance' but a side effect rather, another point we didn't talk about was families, more importantly, pregnancy in a simm

Yup. I didn’t have time to bring up that one.

pregnancy is really hard to write effectively on a sim

pregnancy on a sim is a dangerous proposal. if the sim stalls or something like that your character could be pregnant for years real time

depending on how things are timed out between sim and RL time, like david said your character could be pregnant for years!

and if your character has a job that require physicality, then this can become a problem with active duty!

Temple worked around this by having an NPC wife who isn't an officer, so that makes things easier

That’s an interesting point. Pregnancy is a huge shift for a character.

My happily married character is pregnant

it really is

Haha I just made things easy for myself

Has been for about the amount of time a pregnancy for their species takes

lol

I never want that baby to come omg

I don't want to RP a baby around lol

Why did she do this to me?!?!

O_O

I do not envy your situation

I've been doing it with mine for like the last...eight months and it hasn't been too complicated, though there were a few bits of people being concerned when it came to away team sort of shenanigans

Did a child go on away missions?

I know one of my characters and one of Jack's characters are currently in the process of getting to know each other. Trying to take a "slow-and-steady" route with the relationship instead of shoehorning it into the plot. And I know one of Jack's characters and her wife are both pregnant at the same time.

Best way to handle in-character pregnancies: just be Joe's wife from Family Guy.

she went on an away mission in the early stages of the pregnancy, but she was also the only available expert

But also, romance is great but there gets to be a point where you want your character to progress in his/her personal life and start experiencing the next stages - such as married life and kids

@alainogara indeed

Well, if time is issue, I suppose there’s the whole time dilation thing. A little technobabble magic and boom, one baby arrives early.

I imagine the biological clock still ticks in the 24th century

yeah, that works

I dunno, I don't think that all characters are going to view life as just a progression toward marriage and kids.

Yee Aitas

@Narica Not at all. That’s especially true for Trek sims, where most characters are career Starfleet officers and not necessarily interested in kids while in uniform.

Not all, no definitely not

It is military service still, just a really comfy service

yeah, it something that needs to be taken into consideration before you make that kind of a leap

Eventually you end up like the Original Series cast on their 6th movie looking too damn tired for this nonsense.

indeed

How do you keep the magic alive in a romance between characters?

Hm.

wow, that is a tough one

One thing that comes to mind is simply to have them do things together. It doesn’t necessarily matter what they’re doing, as the magic typically comes naturally.

well, after a while, a relationship reaches a plateau where things simmer down; there's still passion, but you're not trying to tear each others' clothes off the second they walk through the door. and this is good, it's healthy to reach this plateau. from a writing standpoint, it may not be as exciting as the 'getting to know you' phase, but the potential for development is still there. this plateau is often where marriage and family comes into play

and likfe Griff said, have them do things together. Our romantic characters have lunch together, it's their routine

That’s a fair point. It’s not all fiery passion and blazing romance.

yeah, and if the romance isn't the only thing your characters have going there's plenty of other ways for them tohave drama

Even partners can have normal interactions

they depend on the regularity of their lunches seeing as how they are both very busy officers, not to mention that my character is the mother of a child with special needs and that absorbs so much of her time

The relationship doesn't always have to be at the forefront of their RP

exactly!

But just RPing them together can be taxing if you don't have an interesting plan

that's true

I don't want to RP more than a few lunch dates

but a relationship also can't survive constant drama, eventually the characters will burn out and implode. there are little ways you can keep the magic alive

You don't want a Ross and Rachel

for our characters, it's about lunch or their movie nights, but that's simply where our character have evolved. it can be other things like leaving flowers for your partner in the footnote of a post to remind them that you still care, things like that

That's sweet

You do have to beware of doing scenes where it’s just about the “magic”, as you can find yourself getting bored. If the scene has something else happening, such as the characters reconciling after an argument or perhaps confessing some deep dark secret, it adds an extra layer and gives you direction.

The general idea for our posts has been that something has changed between the beginning and end of that post, and it matters.

another important binding factor between Shae and Cailus on the Pandora is the relationship Cailus has with Shae's daughter. He has come to adore the child and this means more to Shae than lunch or movie night or flowers. now, not all characters can have that, but sometimes a pair will simply have this one thing that helps hold them together, even when things get 'boring'

Yup. The Aoife element has been very interesting to develop. I was initially really hesitant, as much because of Cailus’ past and just because it sounded hard as all hell to write, but it turned out great.

yeah, it's been very rewarding for both of us

well, I think this has finally died down some... we had an hour and we've been going on for an additional 40 minutes! lol

Yup. I think it was a success.

but relationships can be complicated, so it's no surprise we went on as long as we did. and it was just a lot of fun too

Indeed.

Thanks @Griff and @Monoui for the insights

Thanks for popping by.

Which reminds me, I owe you a PM...

So anyone from this group want to add me?

Sure