Rifteworlde

[kingandy]

OK, so, Riftworld.  It really is very good.  Everybody had a great time, the props were as funky as I have heard (there was an autocannon on top of the bunker!  It swivelled as people moved towards it!  It all gets you thinking about what you can achieve with a little MDF, some spray paint and a bit of imagination), roleplaying was of a high standard, rah.  Rules were simple and easy to pick up, though I imagine if I was playing I'd have to know a little more about the exact death process.  I worry slightly that the system may be growing too fast, but the players seemed genuinely hounded despite the 2:1 (maybe 3:1) crew:player ratio - there were about 20 players and only 7 or 8 crew, including refs (who also monstered).

The low crew numbers were mostly due to an unfortunate confluence of events (various regulars being ill / celebrating parents' birthdays / being otherwise unavailable), though I can't help but feel it's at least in part due to the crew exclusivity policy.  Once you have been initiated into the Great Secrets of the Plot, you see, you're no longer able to play the system - you can only ever crew.  They don't let you in on the "big picture" for your first crewing session, though.  So basically, if I ever want to play the system, I can't crew again.  (At least, until I get bored of playing.)  Now, while I'm not sure I'll be able to play the next event, I'm positive that I want to keep the option open.  So, essentially, it's cost them a crew member for the forseeable future.  I don't know if any other (potential) players have gone down that same line of reasoning, but it seems reasonably probable.

The low crew turnout didn't have too bad an impact on the event - there were a few instances where it would have been nice to have spare people hanging around to ref certain things, and certain things would have run smoother if Martin had been back at base to answer the radio instead of off monstering himself.  In fairness, a surplus of crew probably wouldn't stop him wanting to get his hands dirty.  (And Rakman the scary killing machine probably wouldn't be as scary if he wasn't played by somebody so freakishly tall.)  That could cause problems if the system continued to grow, but there was talk of maybe putting a cap on players for future events so that might not be a worry.  This weekend was apparently about the right number of players.  I think I agree - though the brief was very loose and subject to changes depending on character actions, you're basically looking at a self-reffing three-day "linear" in real-time and real-space with breaks for sleeping, if you see what I mean; the playerbase was definitely a party rather than a collection of disparate factions with conflicting interests.  More players would largely result in redundant characters, and also make it impossible to target the player-specific plot that everybody enjoys so much.  Things would certainly become unwieldy, especially on that site, which (while lovely) was not massive.

So, in summary - a corking weekend.  I will go again, when I have enough money to play.  Assuming there are enough player spaces.  I wonder if I can borrow Sam's murdering knife...

Comments

[angelfire-75.livejournal.com]

Myself and masati played one and had so much fun we wanted to stay in the NPC team. Other have choosen the other route.

I wish I could have been there :-(

The amount of effort Martin & Matt put into making stuff they have to have fun playing with it :-)

[kardrath.livejournal.com]

We're working on more PvP conflict I assure you. :)
And not just by the tried and tested method of giving people tainted power that makes them hard, scary and doomed.

Actually thinking about it I can think of at least 4 seperate groups of players, who while they may not be out trying to knife each other (the worlds to dangerous for that to be a sane option a lot of the time) are defiantly not best friends and all have their own agendas that often clash.

[batelf.livejournal.com]

who while they may not be out trying to knife each other
Really? I was handed my first command decision of Do we do this our way or their way? Their's possibly won't work and ours will involved killing every Citier here and all their mates.

[kingandy]

Oh that's not to say they're a cohesive unit - there's certainly intra-party conflict. But it's definitely in-fighting, rather than being distinct groups.

That said, of course, I didn't spend a massive amount of time in with them, like some people. ;)

[samharber.livejournal.com]

I was on the verge of popping caps into the backs of heads a few points in the event. About the only thing stopping me was that it was my first event, so had a poor grasp on the player/group dynamics (so yes, OOC considerations stopped me from offing two players).
However, that particular looney is dead now, so I need to come up with a new looney concept.