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Factions and Stats: How To Approach Them

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So my friends and I are sort of drawn split in the middle when it comes to making factions for our upcoming site. We already have the general premise of what each faction is in terms of their history and how they play a role in our setting. These factions also have relations with each other in terms of how they view each other, if they're allies or rivals, etc. What we're more concerned about are two things: how many factions we should have, and whether or not these factions should have any canon/major positions. I'll give some of the specifics on what we're split on (without spoiling the genre, I'll do that when we're ready to do a little preview and collect interest via interest check :eyes: ).



- We have a total of about 13 factions (yes 13), or at least these are the ones that we think are good enough for character to be made in. The reason why there's so much is because the lore we have and the overall IC environment are the result of multiple groups with different interests, every single one of them having accomplishments and the likes being unique. First friend says we should have 13, but my other friend wants to shred them down to 5-6.

- We're planning to have a reputation system that'll affect a character's overall standing on the site, how they're viewed amongst others, etc. The same first friend says that major/canon positions are needed because they can help shift a faction's direction. While of course all characters, major or not, will have an affect on the site's plot and their affiliated factions, major/canon positions are somewhat held to a slightly higher standard. Just slightly.

Second friend, however, argues that there's no need for canon/major positions because the reputation system we made can give more freedom as to what people would want to do with their characters. Though, it's mentioned that these characters with such positions will have a higher reputation and will vary depending on the position itself along with their importance.

- Stats. We decided to have missions as a way to earn both site currency and reputation points. They're mainly used for missions. Friend 1 says "yes", but friend 2 argues that it'll limit what people want to do with their characters and it'll seep over to actual RP threads, since it wouldn't make sense that these stats would be restricted to missions and not reflect outside of it.


sdfghjmk I know this is a lot and may not make as much sense as it did in my head, but I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Both friends aren't necessarily adamant about whether or not they want things to go a certain way, but I'd LOVE to have some insight/advice to help settle things.


EDIT: Pesky typo cries.
last edit on Oct 2, 2023 22:21:35 GMT by oxo
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I think stats being limited to certain threads is something that many have followed. This does help when rpers don’t want to get into the main “gameplay” of the site. Usually that’s the intention as to why it’s like that but still, these folks would have means of contributing without joining missions, such as point donation through the posts they earned.

But the fact that your stat progression doesn’t reflect ic is a point that’s sticking out. If i an getting it correctly, average joe can eventually become a legendary ranked in missions if they worked hard enough. But still be the same average joe in rp. It’s certainly the usual problem you see in rpg. Recruiting the boss to your team? Oh sorry theyve been nerfed and their growth rate sucks.

It would make even less sense in rp. Generally, stats are supposed to reflect back to ic, yeah.

As for factions, sure. I think it’s not that crazy to have 13. The big question is how the population imbalance is supposed to work. I can see 13 factions working if they have really unique perks that attract people’s imagination. “Weaker” factions would be more niche and would have unique ways to approach the conflict of the story that bigger, established ones don’t. You can compete them at each other, but the skill set should be more or less balanced with equity according to how well you can predict a faction’s population. Wouldn’t be easy. Shaving it down to half would be more doable since at least, i have seen that work with pokemon being divided by faction region.


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So my friends and I are sort of drawn split in the middle when it comes to making factions for our upcoming site. We already have the general premise of what each faction is in terms of their history and how they play a role in our setting. These factions also have relations with each other in terms of how they view each other, if they're allies or rivals, etc. What we're more concerned about are two things: how many factions we should have, and whether or not these factions should have any canon/major positions. I'll give some of the specifics on what we're split on (without spoiling the genre, I'll do that when we're ready to do a little preview and collect interest via interest check :eyes: ).



- We have a total of about 13 factions (yes 13), or at least these are the ones that we think are good enough for character to be made in. The reason why there's so much is because the lore we have and the overall IC environment are the result of multiple groups with different interests, every single one of them having accomplishments and the likes being unique. First friend says we should have 13, but my other friend wants to shred them down to 5-6.


13 I feel is a lot and would limit my interest in joining a site if I couldn't easily remember who all the factions were. I think it's more manageable if you have subcategories for the factions, such as "5-8 of these factions are in Location A vs Location B" or "are Good vs Evil" and whatnot. If certain factions are restricted to specific character types, that also helps cut down on analysis paralysis. If factions are tied to forum membergroups, I would also advocate for fewer rather than more, or it just turns into a confusing smorgasbord of colors.

- We're planning to have a reputation system that'll affect a character's overall standing on the site, how they're viewed amongst others, etc. The same first friend says that major/canon positions are needed because they can help shift a faction's direction. While of course all characters, major or not, will have an affect on the site's plot and their affiliated factions, major/canon positions are somewhat held to a slightly higher standard. Just slightly.

Second friend, however, argues that there's no need for canon/major positions because the reputation system we made can give more freedom as to what people would want to do with their characters. Though, it's mentioned that these characters with such positions will have a higher reputation and will vary depending on the position itself along with their importance.


I could go either way on this, and it wouldn't affect my decision to join a site.

On the one hand, faction canons can help shape the direction of a site in a ready-made way, and provide plot hooks for people who otherwise wouldn't have a reason to thread with each other.

On the other hand, there can be perceived unfairness if staff members/early adopters gobble up all of the canon slots, particularly if canons start with a higher Reputation than non-canons. This can be mitigated by having a site shop purchase required before you can play a canon, or more stringent activity requirements for canons (so people can't just take a slot for the sake of saying they have one and coast on it), or a system whereby canons earn their position ICly (which can also create opportunities for non-canons to become canons).

- Stats. We decided to have missions as a way to earn both site currency and reputation points. They're mainly used for missions. Friend 1 says "yes", but friend 2 argues that it'll limit what people want to do with their characters and it'll seep over to actual RP threads, since it wouldn't make sense that these stats would be restricted to missions and not reflect outside of it.


sdfghjmk I know this is a lot and may not make as much sense as it did in my head, but I'd love to know your thoughts on this. Both friends aren't necessarily adamant about whether or not they want things to go a certain way, but I'd LOVE to have some insight/advice to help settle things.


EDIT: Pesky typo cries.


Without knowing what you mean by "stats" it's hard to judge on this one. Most stat systems I'm familiar with are along the lines of "my character can beat up your character" or "this is the most powerful spell my character can cast." I agree that it would be strange if stats affected mission threads, but didn't affect non-mission threads, or if people could only earn stats by participating in missions (especially with Reputation being a thing - will a character with high Reputation but low stats create issues with how people should respond to them in rp?). It might also be a problem if "grinding for stats" was perceived as more valuable rp than simple social threads.
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13 I feel is a lot and would limit my interest in joining a site if I couldn't easily remember who all the factions were. I think it's more manageable if you have subcategories for the factions, such as "5-8 of these factions are in Location A vs Location B" or "are Good vs Evil" and whatnot. If certain factions are restricted to specific character types, that also helps cut down on analysis paralysis. If factions are tied to forum membergroups, I would also advocate for fewer rather than more, or it just turns into a confusing smorgasbord of colors.


big agree on the grouping by location! it was in my head but it did not make it through the real world transmission (aka words, hard. brain, no great). some factions are big, some factions are small. but they do play different roles, like perhaps smaller factions being important in key areas.


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