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Structure of the Forthcoming Epic - Kylin - 02-04-2011
![[Image: epic.jpg]](http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j110/Zarik_Sylvora/Pictures/epic.jpg)
Below is an outline regarding the future Epic, approved by the Epic Committee. Some of this may be subject to change at the last minute depending on the difficulty of implementation. Feel free to ask questions if something is not clear. The Epic does not yet have a start date. The next news release regarding this will hopefully be a teaser site about the story arch along with a projected start time.
For those not familiar with the Epic, it's a massive storyline meant to encompass and bring together all RPers. It will span for several weeks and unite Rpers from as many RP linkshells as possible, freelancers, and even non-Rpers.
Structure of Besaid's Epic
Rules:
There will be a set of rules for every Epic. These rules will be dependent on the story arch, however there will also be commonly seen rules from other RP shells in order to help prevent god moding and meta-gaming. If one can not or does not wish to abide by the rules set forth by the Committee, they will not be welcome to the events. This event is FOR the entire RP community. Any OOC sabotage attempts against it is an act of aggression against the entire community and will be treated as such. If necessary, reports can and will be made to one's linkshell leaders, a GM, and if needed a detailed report will also be recorded for the public. While this may sound “harsh,†the Epic is one of the HUGE things in which the RPC offers and as such, is taken very seriously. However, the chances of such sabotage are very slim seeing as other large public RP events haven't seen such issues. But the warning remains the same nonetheless.
The Epic is not mandatory to participate in. It is entirely optional. Like any public RP event, it is a privilege to attend, not a right. HOWEVER, keep in mind that the storyline will be considered CANON. Remember that even if YOU don't like the Epic, a large amount of role-players (including some possibly from your own linkshell) may very well be taking part in it. Hence, it has to be considered canon for the sake of everyone else even if your character opts to not be involved for whatever reason.
Content:
The content of the Epic (in game quests, storyline, event management, etc) will be coordinated by the Epic Committee. There will be an engaging and overarching storyline in which everyone will be able to take part in. Additionally, the Epic will be set up in a way that the content can still be role-played even outside of the scheduled events. This means individuals and linkshells can easily create their own sub-stories that tie into the larger plot.
Scheduling:
All in game RPC Epic events will occur on weekends only. This is the best and only way to reach out to all time zones. Specific times will be designated by the Committee. Linkshells please keep this in mind while scheduling events while the Epic is ongoing. There will be ample time (5-7+ days) given between each event's schedule. If a linkshell has a public event they'€™ve been planning for a long time, the Epic Committee will take it into consideration and possibly reschedule. The entire Epic is estimated to last approximately 4-5 weeks from start to finish. Each event will likely last 2-3 hours or longer, depending on each individual team (look below for more info on teams).
Organization:
Here'€™s where it has to start getting complex. As we'€™re all aware, events of this magnitude (according to the turnout at the Full Cold Moon) can be quite chaotic. The chat box could be overflowing with text, it's difficult to keep everyone together AND entertained, and the entire scene can just be chaotic with 50+ people in attendance. Fortunately, we have a system in place to handle all of this.
Almost every event will start with a guildleve. It will be posted OOC'€™ly up in the Bulletin Board. IC, these leves will be distributed to all nations to gather adventurers together. This should help bring together both casuals and hardcore role-players since technically EVERYONE uses the leve system to some degree or another.
The leve will have a designated time and meeting place. Everyone will gather there to meet with the "€œQuest Master"€ (note that Quest Master is an OOC only term and is henceforth abbreviated "QM"€Â). While in the presence of the QM, everyone is asked to remain as quiet as possible. If you wish to chat IC’ly during this part, please do so in /linkshell, /party, or /tell. This will help tremendously in getting the event started. Don'€™t worry, you'€™ll all have your chance to shine and chat to your heart'€™s content. Just not in the QM'€™s presence.
The QM will brief the adventurers on the mission and give some background lore related to the main story. This will usually be done in /shout with large attendances (hence why the meeting location will usually be somewhere semi-isolated). After the IC briefing, the adventurers will be split into teams of 3-6 people each, depending on turnout and mission details. Each team will be given a different mission related to the overall mission. For example, team 1 may be charged with investigating a certain area near Ul'€™dah while team 2 may be assigned to investigate near Coerthas and other teams would be assigned elsewhere.
These teams will be decided based on the mission. You may be divided by any type of system depending on the event, ranging from gender to race to rank to class to just about any other classification system. It will all depend on the content of the event. This division of teams will be done IC'€™ly for believability but we will OOC'€™ly strive to put people into teams OUTSIDE of their own linkshell when possible. The purpose of the Epic is, after all, to bring role-players of all stripes and shades together.
After the division in teams, the QM will send everyone to do their thing. At this point, you will be able to RP to your heart’s content, get to know your teammates, etc. A "€œGM" will be assigned to each team (which may or may not consist of a member of the Epic Committee depending on numbers). This GM will enforce Epic rules and possibly serve as the person who is primarily responsible for advancing the overall quest.
After each team finishes their quest, they will return to the QM to report. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, not quite. In order to avoid repetitiveness and predictability, every event and every team will have varying experiences. For instance, a saboteur character may be put into certain teams every now and then to try sabotaging the mission for some reason or another. Sometimes you may have to do battle with powerful beasts in the wilds or even villains who may show up to ruin your progress. Sometimes you may have to deal with a very difficult NPC character who may require a lot of effort to get the info you need. The possibilities are only limited to one'€™s imagination. And if you'€™re not too careful, your character could even end up kidnapped and held for ransom!
In addition, we will sometimes reach out to linkshells/companies to help host an Epic event if they are willing, putting their own group in the spotlight for the duration of the event.
Role-players and non RPers alike will both be drafted for each event as needed to help with "NPC"€ management.
Path System:
The Epic is being designed in a way that supports multiple "paths."€ That means the story may take a different path depending on whether the adventurers succeed or fail at certain missions. This allows YOU to have an actual impact on the direction of the story. For instance, failing a certain mission may reveal a secret that wouldn'€™t actually have been ever introduced if you hadn't failed, thus putting the storyline on path #2 instead of path #1. Various different endings will be prepared. Which ending will you crazy adventurers bring about?
Epic Site:
There will be a section of the site set up for keeping a detailed account of each event. Those who miss an event can thus keep up-to-date easily. Each team is asked to post the details of their adventure in a pre-designated thread to make this process easier.
Epic Start:
The Epic will be announced once the storyline and everything else is hashed out by the committee. A teaser site will be released to give everyone a look at the story angle so you'€™ll have ample time to come up with your own subplots if desired. The Epic will NOT start when the teaser is released. You will be reminded of this again when the teaser site is revealed. The actual official start of the Epic will be via the Town Square. There will be rules for the brief thread (such as one post per character to avoid interaction scenes and just focus on the character'€™s initial reaction to the event). After that, the remainder of the Epic will be played out via the events posted in the Bulletin Board (all of which will be marked "Mission 1,"€ "€œMission 2,"€ etc.). The committee MAY post a behind the scenes story related to the Epic from time to time, though this remains to be seen and it would have to be made clear that it's OOC knowledge only.
Presently, a theme has been agreed upon and the details are under construction.
Re: Structure of the Forthcoming Epic - Eternal Darkness - 02-05-2011
I...love....this! <3
I can't wait for this stuff to start!
Re: Structure of the Forthcoming Epic - Myllor - 02-07-2011
Yeah, this sounds like a ton of fun!
Can't wait~
Re: Structure of the Forthcoming Epic - Sterne - 02-07-2011
Oh this is exciting :D
It should be a great learning experience since Sanctus Refero has had Linkshell Centric "Leves" and Story Arcs in the works for sometime. It would be interesting to see how it's implemented server wide and what direction and control the RPC will apply to it.
Question: Will the developing Besaid Canon Lore be documented anywhere so that people who haven't participated in specific events or just want to read a good story can have something to chew on? (Sorry if I missed that in your post)
Re: Structure of the Forthcoming Epic - Kylin - 02-08-2011
Quote:Question: Will the developing Besaid Canon Lore be documented anywhere so that people who haven't participated in specific events or just want to read a good story can have something to chew on? (Sorry if I missed that in your post)
An Epic section will be added to the site (link to be added under the Lore tab). At first this will just be the teaser site with the overall theme and other relevant info. Following the first event, it will be replaced with the old RPC book theme which will be used to document each event. This will of course require participants to document their own individual team's adventurers since each group may have varying experiences.