The Watch - Out of Character Thread

[The Mighty Thor]

Thought we might need one of these soon.

TMT

[Enchantress]

Yay!!!! He finally got it up and running!!!

Thank you sweetie!!!

I can't wait for the game to start!

[Local Hero]

heh about bloody time dude!!! just kidding lol i am equally looking forward to reprising my third equal fave rpg character heh

[The Mighty Thor]

Ok players, I had an idea last week that I've been mulling over for a while, and I want your feed back. I am considering letting each of the players in The Watch control two characters, but never at the same time. Here is how it would work.

Each of you would have two characters on The Watches roster, and at the beginning of each new chapter of the game, I would select which character was used by each player in that particular chapter. This would double the team's roster, as well as provide the game with a nice unique twist. I think it would also help to keep the game fresh and interesting, since the dynamic of the team would be ever changing. Remember, in all but the most rare instances, you wouldn't be playing two characters at once, so don't worry about being overwhelmed. But it should offer some nice variety though.

Think it over and let me know what you guys think of that idea, and post your responses and/or questions here. I look forward to your feedback.

TMT

[The Truth]

Comments:
While I personally think that the prospect of a constantly shifting team is interesting and holds a strong possibility of actually being quite fun, I do have a few concerns.

Questions
1. How would this structure affect new players? If you start off with 6 to ten people on the team then you'd be looking at 12 to twenty characters from the beginning. If other members wanted to join in, would they be allowed to only after two active characters died/got sent home, or would you merely add them to the roster of active/availible characters? In the first instance, it might take twice as long for anyone to actually get into the game. In the second, you could be looking at a roster of over 30 to 40 characters in no time.

2. Would character selection be made based upon which ones might be best suited to and/or might gain the most from experiencing that particular mission, or would they be chosen at random? Such as...every character is given a number and whomever's numbers are pulled that morning/day go on that mission?

3. How would this affect the possibility of duplicate characters? If member X has a Green Arrow with one background, and member T has a Green Arrow with a totally different background....would both be allowed their Green Arrow character? And furthermore...would both Green Arrows be allowed on the team at the same time?

[Harley]

I really like the idea Thor, but I have to agree with Truth on those two points.

[The Truth]

Which two? Because I think I made three....

O-o????

[Harley]

Awww, gosh darnit. Glossed right over reason 3. I think it would actually be funny to have two Green Arrow charracters at the same time. Ladies beware.

[Enchantress]

The rules on someone wanting to play a character that someone else is playing already even if from another reality pretty much would be a NO...it would cause too much confusion. There could be expections if we could figure out a way that it wouldn't be confusing. You know, like if someone decided to play "Bruce Wayne Batman." and someone else comes along and decides to play "Dick Grayson Batman." There are ways, but it would take alot of planning on the new players part to make sure their character stood out from the existing one.
And this game isn't like the others we've played in. We don't have to worry about anyone dying/getting sent home the way they have. Characters will still get replaced eventually...they always do, whether someone just gets tired of playing them or they disappear during the game.
And basically, any new player would get 2 characters, so yes, if we had 15 players, we'd have 30 characters, although I doubt we'll ever have that many players. And just because there are 30 characters doesn't mean that they will all be involved in the game at the same time. He's already said they won't.
It's going to be up to him to draw the names of the characters would will be involved in each game. Just because I'm playing Victoria doesn't mean that she and Hank will be on the same team, at the same time, or will even get much of a chance to see each other. My other character may get pulled first. J say's he'll be picking characters by how well they are suited to each game.

[The Mighty Thor]

Pretty much everything she said is right. While I do think the idea of duplicate characters would be interesting, it could get confusing for me especially. So for now we will say no to the duplicate character question, unless like she said, you could distinguish between the two in some profound way.

In some cases the teams characters will be chosen at random for each chapter, but I will try to tailer the team to the task at hand the best I can. If I know the mission will hold alot of action, I would pick the characters that are best suited to that.

And no, a new player would most likely not have to wait for both characters of an existing player to leave the game before entering. They would probably get added to the team straight away. Although, I will likely institute the 10 player cap that I have used in the past, so things don't get out of hand. If this is the case, and the game becomes hugely popular, I may have to institute some kind of waiting list. But I will make sure a prospective player does not languish on the waiting list for too long.

I hope this answers your questions. If you have any more, fire away. And I hope to hear the rest of your opinions on this idea real soon, that way we can get the game started!

TMT

[Tessa]

As far as the two character idea goes, I like it quite a bit it adds a new dynamic to the game while avoiding putting too much stress on the players because technically they have two characters but wouldn’t be playing both at one time.

Would you be starting this random selection off with the first chapter, or would you be waiting until the second chapter of the game?

That’s really my only question, overall I like the idea.

~ Tessa~

[Solace]

Well I’m all for the two character thing, after all I’m always up for a challenge and I think it would definitely separate this game from certain other games online ^_^ I was going to ask a list of questions but it looks as if some of my fellow players already beat me to it, so I’ll just see what you have to say. But like I said I’m all for the two character idea.

[The Mighty Thor]

Well, since the response seems pretty positive so far, I think we'll try this out. But to answer Tessa's question, I don't think we'll start this right now. I will give you guys some time to think about your second character. Since, if you are anything like me, you need some time to flesh out a kick butt bio for your new second character.

So, we will go ahead with the characters everyone has now for Chapter One of The Watch, and in the meantime you all can be thinking of your second character. Go ahead and PM me your second bio whenever you get them completed, and we will start with the new double character concept with Chapter Two.

And if you have any more questions, as always, feel free to ask. But please, ask those questions here if they concern the game in general. That way everyone can benefit from them.

TMT

[Local Hero]

Well I have already let J know who my choice of alternate character is. all I need to do now is refresh my memory before I write the bio Personally I think this makes for a fairly unique game. It also will encourage each player to stretch themselves as a writer in order to keep their individual characters unique from each other. I find this a great challenge as I imbue a lot of myself into the characters I write. In Hank, Cam and Liath there are definitely aspects of my own personality. I find it helps me keep an element of truth to my characters. The character I am proposing to play should also allow me to explore a side of my personality I have only briefly touched on previously in RPGs so I'm really looking forward to this.

[Tessa]

Local, are you responsible for the appearance of my Tessa banner, the blue one with the eyes? If so, thank you!

On another note, anybody have any good suggestions for a second character? I'm drawing a complete blank...

~Tessa~

[The Truth]

Evinlea/Lizard Lady (aka Liz) - Crossgen's Negation
Arrowette/Secret - DC's Young Justice
Freestyle/Bliss/Sublime/or Copycat - Wildstorm's Dv8
Fairchild/Rainmaker/Freefall - Wildstorm's Gen13
Monet St. Croix/Jubilee - Marvel's GenX
Det. Montoya - DC's GCPD
Painkiller Jane - Event Comic's Painkiller Jane
Lady Pendragon - Same title...publisher forgotten
Witchblade - Top Cow's Witchblade
Lara Croft - Top Cow's Tomb Raider
Power Girl - DC
Jesse Quick - DC

And others....but this is just off the top of my head. Of course....you could always play a male character who's AU self is a female......

[Local Hero]

M. Yup. I figured you liked it, so I saved it from it's previous incarnation and resized it for ya

As for character ideas, a mighty fine list of suggestions there Truth, I especially like your transgender suggestion. You're other option is to take the Amalgam Universe/What if.. this character became this hero concept and use it to create you're own character. Beast with a bit of Hulk for example, or something even more extreme. Some time ago (in another life, another place) I had already prepared a couple of replacement characters should Hank bite the dust. He proved more resilient and enjoyable to write than I imagined and so I never used the other characters. Only fair I should show them to everyone and hope to give a bit of inspiration.

Blink - Click Here Post Days of Future Past and male to boot. The bio was the most fun to write, trying to figure what might have happened following the comic book storyline, but then applying it to yet another parallel universe.

Punisher - Click Here Although in my story Frank Castle met Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes in Vietnam, became head of Security at Stark International and has an suit of his own.[/url] Again I loved the idea of mixing elements from the various back stories together.

And finally a bio/image I created a while back that might be an interesting idea for an RPG character - the child of two existing characters (they could even be characters from different universes. Angel - Click Here The daughter of Angel and Psylocke.

Really though the best character you can write is one who interests you. They needn't be flashy or excessively powered, just well rounded and believable.

As for a list of character I think you could find interesting well where to being? In addition to Truth's ideas...

Zephyre or Capricia from Crux (Crossgen)
Some of the last surviving atlanteans, Zephyre and Capricia are currently avoiding the Negation forces which intrude on what remains of their future Earth. Zephyre's power is a speedster, while Capricia can assume any animal or creature's form. One or the other could be whisked away during an attack in which they might have died.

Shiara from Sojourn (Crossgen)
A Dragon / human shape-changer from the planet of Quin, Shiara's main goal in life was as Protector of her horde, including one of the Five Fragments of the arrow which killed Mordath. Changes between dragon and human forms at will. In dragon form, flight and fire breath. Shiara was died following a battle with Mordath during which she was mortally wounded. Could be she was plucked away at the moment of death, due to her sudden selfless act of saving Arwyn and Gareth from Mordath.

Deren Beq from Meridian (Crossgen)
A human from the planet of Demetria, Deren has aligned herself with Sephie and Pirates of the Wind, though she may be operating under her own agenda. Former innkeeper of the roughest bar in the down below, Deren has also proven extremely skilled at hand-to-hand combat, acrobatics and politics.

[Enchantress]

I'm trying to narrow down my choice of 2nd character. I know the one I'd love to play, but J is kinda pushing towards the other one, simply because he knows I know the character inside and out.

It's either going to be Harley Quinn (that's the one I know inside out)
Or The Maxx.

[Harley]

I'm currently thinking up both characters. First I opted for a blind Archangel (who was never cured of the whole Moondragon making him blind thing), but I'm going more for an amalgam character now.

[Spiderbob]

I have a question. What about inbetween missions, when the heroes are getting some R&R after saving a universe. Will our two characters be able to interact with each other? And should we use seperate posts for both characters or put them both in one post?

[Enchantress]

From what he's told me...there isn't going to be any "in between" mission time. There won't be an office, a building, a YMCA, or anything like that to go back to.

And like he said, he'll pick which character goes on which mission, so when that mission ends, unless stated by the GM, you'll still be playing that character until otherwise announced

[Spiderbob]

Oh. Well, that puts an end to my questions on the two hero thing.

Off topic but sorta on topic. I want to thank whoever made that niffty looking Spidey banner for me. Just noticed it and tis very cool.

[Tessa]

Nine times out of ten if a banner appears in your signature, Localhero has made it He's made all but two of mine.

~Tessa~

[Local Hero]

heh aye it were me. i cannot tell a lie. I wanted to give everyone a banner to be starting with on the game which pulled us all together.. hence the eye of agamotto 'Watch'ing us in the corner heh. If I can find some decent pics of Matua in my collection I will make one for Truth too.. if he wants

[The Mighty Thor]

Ok, I'm back. I spent the weekend entertaining my brother and his girlfriend, who were down for a visit. But I'm here now, and ready to get things rolling.

So, get your game faces on my friends, because The Watch will be starting tonight. I will start the game with the character bios that I have, and if anyone has yet to get me their bio, they can jump in later this week. But I thought we could at least get this game started with who we have now. I hope you all are as excited as I am.

TMT