Forum Based Games Creation

[Mason]

I was hoping to coax some advice/insight/guidance from the brilliant minds lurking here on how to go about creating the basics of a turn-based forum run roleplaying game. I've given it a shot before at another forum and found it to be a daunting task-what I thought would be a streamlined system of events and results turned quickly into a nightmare of endless resolving rolls and stat-checking. I'm quite the novice at such things and wanted to get some advice on creating a simple forum game. The complexity and historical knowledge of the legendary Republic Reborn has always been a source of inspiration as well as Sellswords on civfanatics, and the more recent Kingless Countries has piqued my interest in the genre as well. I also really admire Themeanestguest's Our Terrible Purpose and Grey Skies, Our Terrible Purpose for it's unique 'tag' system (which is ingenious) and extensive lore, and Grey Skies for it's just downright cool setting.

So I pose to you, good members of these forums, how do you go about designing such a game? My knack for numbers is lacking, as my attempts at creating such a game just resulted in endless tables of number checking. What advice can you suggest to create stream-lined game like the ones I mentioned here?

On the more creative side, what drives you to want to create such worlds/games? Running these things seems nothing short of a part-time job and I've always wondered if my own need to create such things is a result of my ego, megalomania or what have you. Enough babbling, discuss!

[Mason]

[ooc]Here is what I am working on at the moment. The numbers are shot straight from the hip although I did my best to balance the 'advancement' of ships using a static formula. Not much else here for now. [/ooc]

The Lux Anima Chronicles

Centuries ago, great civilizations fell as the world cracked and died. A mysterious mist, and the monsters that lurked within forced a great migration skyward where bastions and fortresses were built atop mountains and crumbling spires. With the coming of the mysterious mist, an element known as Lux Anima was discovered and refined to power immense airships and even floating cities. A new era dawned. Feudal states war over dwindling resources, as the disparity between rich and poor grows ever greater. Aberrant horrors tainted by the prolonged exposure to Lux Anima besiege the crumbling barriers built by the ancients. In far Larsa, the Sibis scholars seek to unlock the secret of the mist and the Lux Anima...


You are an airship captain, hell-bent on securing a fortune that you might retire to some windswept cliff manor, or a palace fortress in the Dreadmond. It is a hard life, dangerous and exciting. Hundreds of captains disappear without a trace into the cloying mists every cycle, and with them their legacy and gold. Crew your ship, trade and fight and find your personal glory. The world is a mixture of medieval and steampunk, with a dash of magitech and horror. Picture knights clashing aboard hulking airships, while red-eyed demons from the mist claw at the hull...or something like that.

The World

The Vaarterburg Imperium
From the high ramparts of the Vaarterburg Monarchy are trained the cannons of the Imperial Fleet, protecting the shipping lanes of the Windswept Cliffs, Hearthcourt and Dreadmond. The Vaarterburg has the largest airship fleet in the world, fueled by the Fountain Mounts of the Imperial Circle. From here, large quantities of Lux Anima are pulled from the depths of the Under Earth and processed to fuel the fleet.

Sibis, and the Eternal Well
The scholars of Sibis, who dwell in high Larsa, are keepers of the Eternal Well, a naturally occurring font of unchecked Lux Anima that spews forth from the earth. This well, the largest in the world has supplied fleets the world over. The scholars enjoy and maintain a neutrality in conflicts as they supply much of the worlds Lux Anima. The brevity of holy Bapha, the god of magic, and the skyborn clergy have lent some weight to avoiding conflict, as well as advancements in science refinement by Sibis scholars. It would be foolish to say that there are not those who covet the Eternal Well, however.  

The Free Cities of Maleah
A republic of trading captains, mercenaries and industry tycoons, Maleah is rich, but with a small fleet compared to the larger monarchies. They are arch-rivals of Vaarterburg, having rebelled against the king some 100 years prior, and continuous raids on the storehouses of the Monarch.  

The Kingdom of Naramunz
An ancient kingdom reaching back 1000 years. Home to the massive Fortress Ships of the Last War that have been converted into permanent floating cities. Although controlling only a single Mount, Naramunz has a strong fleet steeped in pride and honor, and a tradition of ship-forging that rivals even the great Vaarterburg shipbuilders.

The Lothelonni Wilds
The wooded isles of Lothelonn are home to mysterious beasts that lurk in the mists of the underearth, and crawl up from the swirling gloom across landbridges to all parts of the world. These creatures are hunted for the trace amounts of Lux Anima in their blood.


Playing The Game
The Lux Anima Chronicles is a turn-based game where you play an airship captain. You manage your ship, crew, goods, weapons and explore the world. Trading and fighting are two of the main parts of the game. Player written narratives in-between turn updates are a good way to help build the game lore and break the monotony of the numbers. Yes, this game uses numbers. But not to worry, it's all basic math and not at all complicated.

[spoiler=Player/Ship Ledger]
A players ledger keeps track of vital information relating to your ship, captain and specialist, as well as crew, cargo, hull (how durable your ship is) and cannon.
Captain: Choose a name for your captain. Possible nationality or racial bonuses?
Homeport: Choose your homeport on the map. Relations with this port will remain neutral unless you do something incredibly stupid.
Gold: How much money you have on hand to buy and sell.

WIP--->Specialist: Specialists can be hired in ports for 25g a cycle. The bounties board has information on which specialists are looking for work.
Specialists will bring better rewards to your ventures. Considering hunters, merchants, scholars, sorcerers etc.

Crew: Crew cost 1g per man (or woman!) per cycle. A full ships compliment will perform better. You may take on additional crew, but they must be quartered for an additional 1g per cycle (wages=2g total for crew over the max crew limit per ship) and take 1 cargo space per man over the crew limit of your ship.
Cannon: How many and what kind of guns you have on board.
Cargo: What your ship is carrying at the moment. Each class of vessel has a maximum cargo capacity.
[/spoiler]


Index of Goods, Ships, etc.
[spoiler=Ships]


Zeppelin
The tiny zeppelins that ply the air currents carry cargo at a painfully slow pace. These ships are commonly found all across the world, and are easy prey for pirates due to light armament and bulky maneuvering.

Cost: 100g
Speed: 5 knots
Crew: max 10
Cannon: 3
Cargo Space: 10

Sloop
A true 'airship' driven by multiple propellers and a basic anima engine. Despite the increased hold space, much of this is given to crew quarters, a gun deck and engineering.

Cost: 150g
Speed: 10 knots
Crew: max 15
Cannon: 6
Cargo Space: 15

Knave
Knaves were used infamously to smuggle goods to Meleah during the Great Rebellion by Imperium sympathizers. It's quick speed and expanded cargo made blockade runs risky, but rewarding.

Cost: 250g
Speed: 21 knots
Crew: max 15
Cannon: 8
Cargo Space: 25

Stoker
A civilian version of the Imperium Frigate, the Stoker is a large cargo vessel with a slow rate of speed, but big return on shipping investments-if you manage to avoid pirates.

Cost: 300g
Speed: 15 knots
Crew: max 28
Cannon: 8
Cargo Space: 30

Frigate
A true 'warship', the Frigates of the Vaartenburg Imperium protect the all important shipping lanes between Naramunz and Sibis. Heavily armed and manned, the Frigate is the choice ship of infamous pirates and mercenaries.

Cost: 500g
Speed: 25
Crew: max 40
Cannon: 18
Cargo Space: 40

Dreadnought
The largest class vessel, and the most feared. Used as flagships in Imperium Fleets, and as floating luxury palaces by the Pirate Lords and Naramunzian Royalty, the Dreadnought is dwarfed only by the floating cities of the Kingdom of Naramunz.

Cost: 800g
Speed:30
Crew: max 65
Cannon: 24
Cargo Space: 70
[/spoiler]

Glossary
Here contained are the terms and ideas most useful for determining the nature of the world.

Lux Anima
Lux Anima (or simply Lux, or interchangeably Anima) is a greatly understood magical element commonly found in the hearts of many of the larger Mountains across the world. Although rigorously studied and exploited to fuel the endless fleets of airships, Lux Anima maintains distinct ethereal and religious qualities-a sort of mythology to accompany the scientific. For instance, humans exposed to Lux Anima in its unrefined form often die within weeks of a violently debilitating disease, but certain creatures of the mist seem to thrive upon it. Scholars of Bapha work tirelessly to record any and all information gleaned from the use of Lux Anima.

Bapha
The god of magic, light and hope. One of the gods depicted on the Sepulchre Stone, of which 9 of 13 have been lost. Bapha is depicted as an angel with wings of lightning, a shield of storms and a thousand faces. He is the god which the Sibis attribute to allowing mortals to harvest Lux Anima, and refine it for their own purposes. They also attribute him with allowing the monsters of the mists to endanger civilization, so that man may not forget his own limitations.  

[Magnus Pym]

This does look kick-ass!

[LoA]

Dude, I'm down.

[Ghostman]

You've got my attention.

[Mason]

Thanks guys! I'm trying to get a sense of where to concentrate on developing/expanding this game.
  What appeals to you more in-game? Building and upgrading your airship fleet; investing in industries, mercenary armies; or exploring the world? How do you feel about swapping out fantasy races for national bonuses? (do you want different races to choose from?) Also, any help with my first post questions would be greatly appreciated.

[Magnus Pym]

On the more creative side, what drives you to want to create such worlds/games? Running these things seems nothing short of a part-time job and I've always wondered if my own need to create such things is a result of my ego, megalomania or what have you. Enough babbling, discuss!

While there might be a speck of the different things you said that contributes to my keeping checking in here and even participating by posting some stuff, for me it's also a way to dodge my plebs-life and gain relevance and control over something. It's an escape.

Now, to answer your last reply more specifically, I think all of these things appeal to me. I find games that are too small in scope do not pique my interest, but on the other hand if there aren't rules and restrictions it can get overwhelming. Striking a comfortable balance is definitely a tough thing to do. And to come back to why your ideas appeal to me; they seem to me as though we could add them up to make a perfect whole. You're intent on mastering a game that evolves around flying ships, and in a living, mostly human world. Well, this is a resource worth having! So who gets more? And then, who gets the things needed to make these things? And does this thing get any better at any point? Is there something else? Here I questioned myself about the ships, the resources needed to make and operate them and then if anything better or different existed, thus proving that the ideas you enumerated can definitely and, I think, should be part of your game. They make sense.

Swapping out fantasy races for national bonuses is my favourite. You get me here. But I'd go even further... no bonuses at all. Make humans, humans.

You know, Ursain Bolt is only the fastest runner because, among those who decided to run publicly, he was the fastest... not because he's black and not because he truly is the fastest!

[sparkletwist]

Also, any help with my first post questions would be greatly appreciated.

Having read a decent amount of Republic Reborn and played in Grey Skies, I think one big way to avoid having a lot of excessively detailed crunch is just... to not have it. Those games seemed to be pretty freeform, all things considered. Although I think Republic Reborn developed more formalized mechanics as it went on, it was not nearly as crunchy as, say, something like Underdeep which had detailed tables describing the available units and buildings and costs and how the math worked and such. I'll also point out that Underdeep ended because it got a little too overwhelming for Steerpike to GM it, so you're definitely not alone in feeling like you're getting buried in tables and numbers, I guess. Like Pym said, it can be tough to strike a comfortable balance, because you don't want the crunch to become onerous but you also want to be able to have enough that the players are able to make reasonable decisions.

I'm personally not a big fan of forum games, mostly due to the slow pace and need for a long-term commitment, so I'm probably not the right one to ask. To me, forum games are like conventional series TV. I prefer casual games that are more self-contained and scheduled when we want to play them. More of a "Netflix" model of gaming, I guess; you can dive in when you're feeling it and you're not stuck with it when you're not. The one forum game I myself tried to run, called Grimdark Gladiators, was based on this model, as matches would happen when the players wanted them, not on a regular update schedule.

[LoA]

On the more creative side, what drives you to want to create such worlds/games? Running these things seems nothing short of a part-time job and I've always wondered if my own need to create such things is a result of my ego, megalomania or what have you. Enough babbling, discuss!

You are the DUNGEON MASTER. The name couldn't be any more megalomaniacally poignant if you called yourself the Murder God. It's your job to be the egotistical jerk who punishes the players for being idiots.

Thanks guys! I'm trying to get a sense of where to concentrate on developing/expanding this game.
  What appeals to you more in-game? Building and upgrading your airship fleet; investing in industries, mercenary armies; or exploring the world? How do you feel about swapping out fantasy races for national bonuses? (do you want different races to choose from?) Also, any help with my first post questions would be greatly appreciated.

I want to play the game that you want to run. Give us some more descriptions about what you had in mind. Also you don't have to include any extra races. One thing I will say though is that I like development games. I like being able to invest time, money, and resources to grow assets or develop things such as businesses, communities, etc, etc. I haven't played Fallout 4 yet, but I can tell you the one thing I'd probably be spending my time on doing is building up a settlement from the get go.

[Ghostman]

What appeals to you more in-game? Building and upgrading your airship fleet; investing in industries, mercenary armies; or exploring the world? How do you feel about swapping out fantasy races for national bonuses? (do you want different races to choose from?)

This seems like a promising setting for exploration. Dare the uncharted skies on a quest to discover new trade routes and sources of Lux! I don't think the game needs any national bonuses or races, but I'm not opposed to the idea either.

[Mason]

Thank you all for the genuine responses.

Having read a decent amount of Republic Reborn and played in Grey Skies, I think one big way to avoid having a lot of excessively detailed crunch is just... to not have it. Those games seemed to be pretty freeform, all things considered. Although I think Republic Reborn developed more formalized mechanics as it went on, it was not nearly as crunchy as, say, something like Underdeep which had detailed tables describing the available units and buildings and costs and how the math worked and such. I'll also point out that Underdeep ended because it got a little too overwhelming for Steerpike to GM it, so you're definitely not alone in feeling like you're getting buried in tables and numbers, I guess. Like Pym said, it can be tough to strike a comfortable balance, because you don't want the crunch to become onerous but you also want to be able to have enough that the players are able to make reasonable decisions.

This has been immeasurably helpful. My biggest concern is luring players into a game with a flashy gameworld only to have it dissolve as the gameplay is revealed to be cardboard thin. I suppose the only way to get better at this is to give it a go.

I want to play the game that you want to run. Give us some more descriptions about what you had in mind. Also you don't have to include any extra races. One thing I will say though is that I like development games. I like being able to invest time, money, and resources to grow assets or develop things such as businesses, communities, etc, etc. I haven't played Fallout 4 yet, but I can tell you the one thing I'd probably be spending my time on doing is building up a settlement from the get go.

Development of a fleet of airships, and possibly building a home base, a 'pirates nest' or a wealthy trade organization fortress, possibly seizing control of a city for your own purposes. I have not played Fallout 4, but I imagine the settlement development in that game to be more of a 'complete this mission' and 'this NPC shows up with things you can buy' type deal. I might take a look at that.

The possibility of investing in ports to give you some monetary and political control might fulfill that role. But that is a bit off from where I'm at with this game. Nailing down the aspects of buying/selling/trading/fighting are priority right now.

This seems like a promising setting for exploration. Dare the uncharted skies on a quest to discover new trade routes and sources of Lux! I don't think the game needs any national bonuses or races, but I'm not opposed to the idea either.

Admittedly, I've given little to no thought on how exploration would work-other than saying 'I point my ship in that direction, let's see what happens.' Not sure exactly what benefits (other than the ones you mentioned) one might gain from blindly exploring the world. Artifacts? New peoples to trade with? Some horrible monster?

Now, to answer your last reply more specifically, I think all of these things appeal to me. I find games that are too small in scope do not pique my interest, but on the other hand if there aren't rules and restrictions it can get overwhelming. Striking a comfortable balance is definitely a tough thing to do. And to come back to why your ideas appeal to me; they seem to me as though we could add them up to make a perfect whole. You're intent on mastering a game that evolves around flying ships, and in a living, mostly human world. Well, this is a resource worth having! So who gets more? And then, who gets the things needed to make these things? And does this thing get any better at any point? Is there something else? Here I questioned myself about the ships, the resources needed to make and operate them and then if anything better or different existed, thus proving that the ideas you enumerated can definitely and, I think, should be part of your game. They make sense

Yup. Flying ships and a living world you can interact with. That is the goal. You raise some good questions for building on my initial ideas. Thanks!