This thread was created to explain the idea of a Narrated RP, and to plot a test Narrated Adventure.
What is a Narrated RP?
A Narrated RP is a story guided by a player called the Narrator. Other players participate by including their characters in the story and exploring the world the Narrator creates around them. The choices characters make shape the story and add to it. So while the Narrator is in charge of setting major plot points, it's the characters and their choices that determine how they reach the End of the story.
Narrator's Role: Controls the Plot, Environment, NPCs, and outcomes of a character's actions. The Narrator moves the plot forward by describing the scene, who or what is available to interact with, and then letting the characters react, chat, explore, etc. It's the Narrator that decides what a Warrior finds when he looks inside a chest, what enemies the party encounters in a dungeon, and so on. Players can also request that certain characters or events are included in the storyline. This is super important because those events are important to character development. The Narrator alone can't develop your character. So your input before the thread can also shape the plot. The advantage to having a Narrator at all is the element of surprise you get as a player who isn't in charge of making those subplots happen.
Characters: Explore the environment, interact with NPCs, react to events, interact with other characters. Characters can also flesh out a setting, such as a bar, with random background NPCs that aren't important to the plot, or describe their immediate surroundings in tandem with what the Narrator said was there. The Narrator cannot control character actions, nor Player-created NPCs the character owns (such as a demon in the character's sword or a pet dog).
Simple Example Posts...
QuotePlayer 1: Jane saw the opportunity and took it. While the others turned away to continue to the next chamber, she sidled up to one of the closed chests and quietly used her magic to unlock it.
Narrator: Bright red light shined gently from the open chest and inside Jane found an enchanted Ruby, as big as her fist, with a familiar but unknown power pulsing inside. The light may attract the others' attention.
Player 2: Tim turned to find Jane looking at a glowing treasure. He hurriedly stepped over and shut the box. "Are you crazy? We don't know if this stuff is cursed!"
Player 1: Jane shooed Tim away and reopened the box. She threw a handkerchief from her pack over it and hid it away in the deep pocket of her coat. "I sure hope it isn't because it looks worth getting appraised." She brushed past him with a wink to rejoin the party at the door.
Narrator: *Writes a post describing the next room, a bakery, and some odd looking workers standing around*
Player 2: Tim sighed and also rejoined the others. Upon seeing what lie ahead, he gasped and fell to his knees. "So...many...cookies!"
Reactions can be retrofit to match the flow of the narration. So I don't think we would need a post order.
When is a Narrated RP appropriate? And why have a Narrator?
First, a Narrator acts as the glue that keeps a group of players moving forward on a general path towards an end. The NArrator knows what's coming, what's supposed to happen. The players might have a subplot that was pre-planned with the Narrator, but ultimately the when and how is blended into the Narrator's plot. This turns what would normally be a pre-planned or organically grown plot between a couple people into something like a text-based choose your own adventure tailored towards your and other players' characters, with original elements designed to, in theory, keep the players guessing.
I would think a Narrated RP would be best utilized for major adventures with a group of people, or perhaps for a tournament duel setting, wherein the players entrust the overarching plot to someone else.
It is very similar to D&D, if you're familiar with that, where the Narrator would be the DM and players take up roles in the story. In an RP setting, there's a whole lot less dice, though. Unless we want to include dice for that Luck/Chance factor that makes D&D so unpredictable.
Do we have some plot ideas to work with?
I'm willing to host a Narrated RP for you to try this out! I have a couple ideas. Review below and let me know if you might be interested. I think 2 - 6 characters in total would be best.
Idea 1
You somehow ended up in the possession of a strange stone medallion imprinted with an unknown sigil. Just how is up to you. The medallion did nothing, though, it was junk ... until one night you and a few other people happened to activate them all at the same time! Now you stand deep in a forest with a few strangers in a place you may or my not have seen before facing three mysterious doors set into three massive tree trunks. Looking at your hand, then look again - the medallion's sigil is now imprinted into your skin and the medallion is gone. You are cursed. Any attempt to escape is met with an invisible wall you cannot break or dispel. And so, you and your new companions come to the conclusion that your only way out of this is by facing the magical mystery unfolding before you. This idea is pretty much all original unless you would like to throw in a subplot you want to see played out. I have a mystery in mind that you, through your character, would seek to solve and then defeat. Each mysterious tree door leads to a different place and the stuff you encounter will change depending on what you decide. This thread would be used for you and other players to discuss choices you want to make in response to the puzzles and choices given to you.
Idea 2
A few weeks ago, you received a letter from someone who calls themselves the "Spider Witch." Only those familiar with underground operations has heard the name, so perhaps the term is a complete mystery. Either way, the Spider Witch has summoned you as a mercenary to aid in his quest to travel south. He thinks you would be a suitable match for his venture. The venture will likely take four weeks, and he's willing to pay 20 gold pieces per day for your services - half up front and half after he reaches the Kishahn jungle. He tells you when and where to meet him, and leaves the rest up to you. Now you've arrived to collect your payment, though you might have questions. The answers will be revealed throughout your journey. After all, it's impossible to hide much when you're stuck side by side with someone for weeks. This thread's just gotten started as a normal RP, but it could be easily adapted into a Narrated one. Right now the Witch is handing out half payment to Wave's character Wave. I think I could fit 2 - 3 more people in there, and if there are any major subplots you want to happen just let me know.
This adventure will occur in multiple chapters (all in one thread) as we move from country to country. You can read the thread here to see the plot outline.
The Will o' the Witch
