I'm thinking of getting back in to gaming on here and want to know... what sort of games are you interesting in seeing? I am a free-form gamer and would love to see what sort of plots you want to see in such a game.

I liked the [game name removed] and [game name removed] games you had running. Preferably with slightly less of a contrivance to get the players into bed, though. (In an adult game, it's not necessary to contrive anything for players to start romancing each other.)
This message was last edited by a moderator, as it was against the forum rules, at 05:34, Sun 24 Aug 2014.

Hmm.

Greetings my friends, my name is Hades. I am the founder of a group known simply as Hades. Not much in the way of creativity, I know. That is not the point. I am here to tell you about an opportunity.

We are in need of new Agents. When you join us, you go through the process of the becoming a true Agent of Hades... you will be given special powers. Your powers are determined by your biology.

Agents are given freedom to live how they wish, where they wish and with whoever they wish. They are always on call, however, and must come when summoned. Dangerous trials await you...

Will you join me?

I was thinking something along the lines of this...

Superhero games are always awesome.  What system?

In reply to PCO.Spvnky (msg # 5):

First post says freeform.
This message was last edited by the user at 12:34, Mon 25 Aug 2014.

Ah, not a fan...:(

*chuckling* I used to be that way, and now EVERY game I am in is free form.

Go figure huh?

Sorry PCO.Spvnky ^.^' I've used game systems before I just... didn't enjoy it. I felt stifled. So, free-form is the way to play for me.

But, what I am curious about is, if I opened the game, what would the players need out of it to REALLY enjoy it?

I'd definitely be interested in this, but are we going to be heroes or villains because with a name like Hades....?

It's hard to answer because the question is so vague.

There are things any game of any kind needs to be successful.

It's hard to say what a specifc game type needs if you haven't decided on the game concept yet. It's like asking "what shall I cook?" without telling us whether it's for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, or cake o'clock.

If you run a freeform game it might be worth having some way to measure what a character's relative level in a skill or power is.
It drives me batty when Mary Sue just so happens to be causally an expert at my character's vocational skills despite having no reason for it in her background and no previous mention of it IC. Or when people start suddenly start manifesting abilities specifically to counter those of another PC.
That's what turns people off of freeform: the lack of defined limits. You don't have to implement any mechanics, but it's nice to have that back-up which says people can't just magic-wand themselves.

That is why I never play freeform. However in developing my own system I have had to deal with the "stifling" issue, and I am convinced that is isn't the systems themselves but rather the idea of a system (being like a board or card game) having absolute rules, which is actually incorrect (the rules are more like guidelines or tools).

The rulebook for DnD for example explicitly encourages altering things to make the game enjoyable with the example of allowing a player of a paladin to switch out the Mount ability for a different ability if the mount is undesired by the player, yet somehow I have found only two GMs that would even consider doing so, all the others saying absolutely "NO. It is against the rules." I think this attitude is why systems begin to feel stifling, and with it being the common nearly universal view on rules, only makes it worse.

Whether a true system or not, having rules and limits makes it easier to avoid PC equals superpowered character syndrome.

Hm. Preferably a loose organization with lots of stuff to get involved in rather than a heavily mission-based structure. Plenty of opportunities for intrigue and scheming would also be nice.

@Tileira: That problem can be dealt with by expecting all of our players to be adults and act accordingly, and having the GM step on anyone who's being a fruit tart regarding their abilities. Freeform games don't work with a GM being too strict, limiting the number of individual skills that a PC may know and enumerating the number of mandatory psychological disorders that each character must have (the latter is not hyperbole).

@Hitomi: There's no point in playing freeform if you don't trust players to act sensibly, and don't trust the GM or other players to call out egregious stupidity where it happens. Watering it down by setting arbitrary rules (as opposed to setting guidelines, which should always be adhered to except when not doing so makes for a better story) serves no purpose.
This message was last edited by the user at 15:29, Thu 28 Aug 2014.

Whether it is "watering it down" really depends on what kind of rules you are including.

What if I make myself as a character and include an intellect in the top 1% of the human race, highly flexible and fast (almost hits the world record on the 200 meter dash), a very broad skillset and experience and knowledge of many topics from physics to anime, a record as being undefeated in unarmed combat even by military instructors, a sharpshooter with either hand for both rifles and pistols, etc.

It sounds crazy and overpowered, but all of those statements are true about me, but compared to the common idea of an average person it is way above average. And how should I know when others think my character knows too much about too many things.

Having some form of rules allows everyone to be on the same page in terms of just how powerful a character can be, how much they can know, how good they can be at how many things.

Freeform suffers from the fact that what I think is reasonable and what others think is reasonable are very unlikely to match up.

Ram, that's a very... pointy, sharp answer that makes it sound as though you disapprove of the idea of any game using any rules or mechanics.

I suggested OP might want to think about using some way to score characters. I did not say he should do it or should feel obliged to do it.

In reply to DarkLightHitomi (msg # 14):

If you're including system mechanics in a supposedly freeform game, then "freeform" is being watered down. Personally, I don't like "freeform" games with "a little system and a few mechanics" added, and the OP is uninterested in a system game in any case.

In reply to Tileira (msg # 15):

I actually have no problem with system-based games; I have a problem with people looking at making a freeform game and then thinking that the first thing they need to worry about is how to control Mary Sues. That's not something I worry about if the GM is intelligent (which the OP is), clear lines of communication are kept open and disruptive players are dealt with.

The differences between free-form and system based games, and the (dis)advantages of both should not be discussed here.  Please restrict the conversation to the topic of the proposed game, and your interest in it.

Thank you.

Well depending on just how free-form you go, I would like to see some game with magic but that is more "down to earth" and with some (or more) action.

Fallout Equestria would be a neat setting for which I have two characters I would like to try depending on time period.

To answer the question of heroes or villains...The world of Hades wouldn't be that black and white. Much like the real world isn't. The types of missions would vary from things like retrieval of stolen items to assassination of targets. I'm not looking for things to be "good" or "evil". A job would simple be that...a job.

As for the powers, there will be limits and RTJ would be very detailed to avoid things like "I'm an excellent so-so" then in story just randomly developing a skill. Unless predetermined and approved with your character history, none of that will happen.

I also would not approve a severely over powered character. There will be NO Supermen in a game run by me.

And as far as GMing things like physical encounters between players, I always skim over and make sure someone isn't always dodging or auto hitting. I make sure the scenes are reasonable.

~~~

So, more to the point again;

Would what you have to see on an RTJ for this to make it appealing to you...outside of the basic information that is?

In reply to kissofzemoon (msg # 19):

I love free form games. To me the most important detail are a freedom of expression for chatacters and heavy plotting. Horror and some flirting stuff are my fav ingredients