My Plot idea

In reference to the Discord announcement regarding plot ideas:


I think we should actually do the opposite and not have staff-enforced plot.


I think the era for staff plot and plot NPC has come to pass, and personally I feel it is overgrowing and becoming some part of a prescribed fanfic for the site. I believe there is enough content and power cycled through the site as is for PCs to actually experiment with. However, I don't think the PC can actually experiment with this when constantly having to deal with plot NPC or some other forced staff plot.

We first introduced staff plot when the site was just taking off when the highest ranking people were B-rank and nobody had no motivation to stir the pot. After two years I believe Gladius is now capable of sustaining itself. I suggest we remove plot NPC presence and let things roll out. Give the site a chance to actually sustain itself. Give villages a chance to pursue their own goals and influences without mysterious FTG marks appearing in their capitol and Plot NPC spawning to strong arm their village. I'd like to see a site without any magical 3rd party interference and see how well it plays out.

That's my suggestion. We shouldn't add more plot NPC, but instead do the opposite and remove them.

I don't consider this to be a staff-enforced plot because as the rules state this is purely a member driven plot. Members can propose their own ideas for a plot and they will have staff permission to carry them out. There will be minimal staff oversight and it will give players a chance to stir things up with interesting concepts, ideas, and NPCs.

I agree in spirit that plots driven by PCs are almost always superior to NPC plots but the members of Gladius seem to like the presence and play of Plot NPCs. I will be temporarily retiring Honiko and I suspect Menza's arc will also draw to a close fairly soon as well. Once that happens the Society will be entirely within player's hands, but I still think there is room for another Plot NPC on Gladius. One that is controlled by a member as opposed to staff.

Of course, I could be wrong but from the few people I have spoken to, there appears to be excitement and interest on the subject. I would still welcome people's thoughts on the subject though.

Shimiko Chinoike wrote:I don't consider this to be a staff-enforced plot because as the rules state this is purely a member driven plot. Members can propose their own ideas for a plot and they will have staff permission to carry them out. There will be minimal staff oversight and it will give players a chance to stir things up with interesting concepts, ideas, and NPCs.

But you see, this completely destroys any motivation of PC development. Why would someone focus on raising a PC character from the ground up, find power, and execute their plan risking their work when they can do the same with Plot NPC to be the dummy and the puppet master? You allow members to execute their ideal plot and grandfather them a character to do it. Why focus on raising a PC character at that point?

I agree in spirit that plots driven by PCs are almost always superior to NPC plots but the members of Gladius seem to like the presence and play of Plot NPCs. I will be temporarily retiring Honiko and I suspect Menza's arc will also draw to a close fairly soon as well. Once that happens the Society will be entirely within player's hands, but I still think there is room for another Plot NPC on Gladius. One that is controlled by a member as opposed to staff.

I feel they like the Plot NPC because of their interesting character and free stuff. But only a niche amount of people actually interact with these NPC frequently. If you want a plot controlled by members, just let players loose. I mean, at least a break would be appreciated from these Plot NPC. Them having a constant presence sorta chokes the flexibility of a site, because players always have to deal with them.

Of course, I could be wrong but from the few people I have spoken to, there appears to be excitement and interest on the subject. I would still welcome people's thoughts on the subject though.

Overall I feel we should have a bit of a grace period and see how things roll out. If the site ends up sitting around and doing nothing, then sure we can inject a spicy NPC to give the stew some flavor. But if the site thrives without the plot NPC I think we could do without them. At least until we need them again.

The Plot NPC should be something to enhance the gameplay and keep things interesting, not be the main course.