Wiki-based RPG

Wiki-based RPG

Why just talk about Risus, let's have some RPG fun right here at the Risusiverse.

Archived Games

Basics

Create a new page using the WikiRPG template within this section to be the starting point for your wiki-based RPG. The page name should be the name of your game. You will then want to note the following details (mostly swiped from the Risus GM Guide):

Genre

Give players a basic idea of what genre the game encompasses. Fantasy, Pirates, etc.

Tone

It's not a lot of fun if a player interested in being silly jumps into the middle of a serious game . You should indicate what type of play is expected.

Campaign Options

Let the players know what Risus campaign options are being used (this will help with creating characters).

Description

Include a brief description of the game that will help players understand what the game world is like and/or what the game goals might include.

Characters

If possible, include a list of applicable clichés and what they are good for. Best case scenario is that you create or edit this list on the appropriate page in the Cliché Gallery. That way, you aren't wasting a bunch of space on the game page.

Players should then detail their character on the appropriate page in the Character Gallery. That way, all they have to do when joining a game is to add their character name to the list and make certain that it links to the appropriate Character Gallery. Again, this will help to save space on the game page for the actual game.

Alternatively...

You could simply link to one of the amazing Settings already detailed here at the Risusiverse.

Playing the Game

In reality, online (play by post, etc.) roleplaying games are usually nothing more than a shared story. Risus provides an excellent means of defining characters and adding a structure to the narrative. Playing the game on a wiki instead of a message board is nice as it allows for one contiguous narrative instead of indented posts and out of order scenes.

As you add your bit to the narrative, include Risus-based notation for any challenges, NPCs, etc. Include this information inside of brackets ( [game information] ). Use the abbreviation TN for Target Number if necessary. It doesn't hurt to include the dice type, but that isn't necessary. The idea behind doing this is that this provides other players continuing a narrative an idea of how challenging something is and they can continue the story appropriately.

For example:

Belkar the Dwarf rounded the corner and saw something that greatly concerned him...a huge pit filled with spikes [3d6]. On further inspection, Belkar noticed a very narrow ledge along the left side of the pit ([TN 15]).

About Dice

Note: nothing was mentioned about rolling dice. As there isn't anything special about the wiki to allow dice rolling, what are you supposed to do? Basically, nothing. If you, as the next contributor aren't sure what should happen, feel free to roll the dice on your own and document the results in a narrative fashion. However, the idea is to continue the story appropriately. If you want to succeed, you succeed. If you want to fail, then, too bad for you. If you want to roll dice and document the results, that's great too.

The Target Number or other game specific information is there to help the next contributor determine just how much risk/excitement/etc. they should be including in the narrative when they meet the obstacle/bad guy/etc. The game information helps to keep things consistent between different players.

Player Etiquette

As a player, it is very important that you follow good gaming etiquette:

    • You only have final say for your own character. Don't go killing off or significantly changing the other player's characters.

    • If someone does something to/with your character that you don't agree with, simply edit the page appropriately (keeping in mind rule #1), but try to work with what was written.

    • Try to not be a story hog. Give everyone a chance to post before you add something.

    • As much as possible, include clues (Risus-based) as to the difficulty of a given situation. This will help you and others to remember how challenging something should be.

    • Try to end your portion of the narrative with a cliff hanger. This gives the next player to edit the page a good starting place.

    • To the best of your ability, try to remain in character (for your own and for others that you might be using).

    • For off game information, use the comments on the given page or create a sub-page for the off-game content. Don't include off game stuff within the story itself.

Have Fun!

In the end, there is no wrong way to play. Just go have some fun!