Non-Systems characters:
Non-Systems (NS) characters are similar to what their name infers; characters that don't follow the normal systems rules. Any single character can either be a Systems (S) character or a Non-Systems (NS) character, but can never be both.
That being said, there are still some systems that NS characters follow;
They follow most of the Rank system, which provides a measurement of the overall strength of a character, as well as their potential standing within their country/class system. They are not limited to the number of abilities they may use, nor are they limited to how much magoi or stamina they have. The rank system will also provide the character with when they are able to have a second specialization style for combat.
Speaking of specializations, the NS characters will also follow the Specialization System, however the only thing they follow from this is the limitations on what type of fighting styles they can do; Strength for close combat, Dexterity for long range combat, Stealth for mid range combat, Dominance for Beast Tamer combat, Body Manipulation for body-changing combat and Intelligence for spell casting. They do not need to create or register abilities for use or training.
Lastly, they will follow unique item rules. Non-magical items are automatically of equal or lesser rank to the NS character. Within reason, 'reason' being at the sole-discretion of an NS staff member, your character can have any mundane item that is within their station to have. NS characters are given the trust to freely have whatever it is they would like with the expectation that they will use this responsibly and not attempt to go overboard with it. Magical items will be purchasable from the item shop.
Insofar as combat is concerned, it will be based on the narrative between the two characters. Good writing would take into account the difference between the two character's Ranks in order to determine how well a match up would be. Again, this is placing the trust in the hands of the RPer. If there are any conflicts that cannot be resolved in thread, an NS staff member will make the final decision.
XP and Huang will be awarded in a unique manner for an NS character. An NS staff member will grade your writing based on four criteria; your creativity, cohesiveness, English skill and narrative flow. Your creativity will be measured by how interesting your posts are. Your cohesiveness will be measured by how understandable your posts are. Your English skill will be measured by grammar and spelling. Your narrative flow will be measured by how well your story flows from start to finish.
Differences between NS and S:
-NS does not follow a majority of the systems.
--This makes it easier for a character to start, and less rules for a player to remember.
--This allows a larger range of creativity from the character.
--This gives a player the trust to run things fairly. It is a responsibility that is enforced by NS staff members.
-NS does not follow word counts other than the site minimum of 100 words.
--This requires less time spent on doing various things.
-NS is graded on quality of effort.
--This is subjective to the staff member grading it, but any issues will be explained to the member being graded after their thread has been graded.
-Only NS staff grades/awards NS characters.
--Any strictly S only staff members will be unable to assist in a dispute or ruling between NS members, nor would they grade NS member's characters/threads.
Differences between S and NS:
-S Follows every Systems rule.
--Creates a non-subjective means of resolving a dispute.
--Provides an RPG-stylized sense to your RP, which has a more measurable sense of progression.
-S requires word counts for obtaining more power/influence.
--This allows a player to ensure that other players cannot simply start out with a larger amount of power/influence without putting in a similar amount of work into their characters.
-S is graded on quantity of effort more than quality.
--This allows progression for everyone equally, and is a non-subjective means of grading.
--While it is primarily graded on quantity of effort, it is not unknown for a thread to be refused if it does not meet the requirements of the effort being done. Ex.: a job where you must go out to sea would not be able to be completed if your character never actually goes out to sea.
-Any strictly NS only staff member will be unable to grade/approve S characters and their work.
With this type of double-system in place, we can do 1 of 2 things:
We may either create a new system that dictates how interactions between the two that would occur if they both exist in the same world, or we could create 2 separate worlds managed by each staff type (Systems Staff and Non-Systems Staff).
In the event that both are able to freely interact with each other and share the same world, it would require a change of the current job systems and have its own separate systems for interactions. The idea behind this is that a NS character would provide background plot and story that goes alongside the S character's efforts in the job. The issue with this is that in the event of a conflict between NS characters and S characters, the NS characters would have an overwhelming advantage due to 2 things; their creative control, which allows them use of any ability they would like without having to have a prior training of it as well as their lack of magoi/stamina bar which would allow them the use of as many abilities as they would like without tiring. While it is possible to closely monitor such fights in order to determine the victor, I'm uncertain how willing S staff (Even myself) will be to do such a thing.
In the event that there are two separate worlds, 1 for S and 1 for NS, it would be much like having a board that is 2 websites rolled up into 1. One for those who like structured Roleplay and one for those who would prefer free-form roleplay. This isn't a rare thing for a board to do, and I've seen it happen in the past and be successful. Imagine it being opposite sides of the same coin; both are based on Magi, but one is Systems based while the other is Non-Systems based. In this case, S staff will pay attention to and create events for S players/characters, while NS staff will pay attention to and create events for NS players/characters. Neither group would interact with each other, but a player is always allowed to make another character if they want to have one in each Systems type.
If the first method is liked because people would like to RP between the systems, but disliked because it would be too much work mapping out the interactions between the two and would therefore prefer the second method, then I have another option here; The Hub Between Worlds. This 'Hub' would be a place where players may have 'chance encounters' with each other. They are unable to have a measurable effect on the world, but they are able to interact with each other while posting in this place. Here they may exchange trinkets and the like, but nothing of real power/significance (Anything purchased in the item shop). While posting here, all characters will follow the NS rules. Like mentioned before, this would be entirely for personal character development and will not have a measurable effect in the world out there.
Now that you've read this long post, please send your poll answer to the question above. Feel free to leave any comments below. This is still a work in progress, but the ideas have been hammered out far enough that it is something that can be presented for consideration. Vote cancelling is allowed if you change your mind down the line.
There are some who would feel strongly about some of these directions, and they should post to express this. Those who do not post, it will be assumed that if you like the idea of a Systems and Non-Systems world, you do not care much for which direction it leads to. I am saving my vote for now to see what kind of responses occur.
Non-Systems (NS) characters are similar to what their name infers; characters that don't follow the normal systems rules. Any single character can either be a Systems (S) character or a Non-Systems (NS) character, but can never be both.
That being said, there are still some systems that NS characters follow;
They follow most of the Rank system, which provides a measurement of the overall strength of a character, as well as their potential standing within their country/class system. They are not limited to the number of abilities they may use, nor are they limited to how much magoi or stamina they have. The rank system will also provide the character with when they are able to have a second specialization style for combat.
Speaking of specializations, the NS characters will also follow the Specialization System, however the only thing they follow from this is the limitations on what type of fighting styles they can do; Strength for close combat, Dexterity for long range combat, Stealth for mid range combat, Dominance for Beast Tamer combat, Body Manipulation for body-changing combat and Intelligence for spell casting. They do not need to create or register abilities for use or training.
Lastly, they will follow unique item rules. Non-magical items are automatically of equal or lesser rank to the NS character. Within reason, 'reason' being at the sole-discretion of an NS staff member, your character can have any mundane item that is within their station to have. NS characters are given the trust to freely have whatever it is they would like with the expectation that they will use this responsibly and not attempt to go overboard with it. Magical items will be purchasable from the item shop.
Insofar as combat is concerned, it will be based on the narrative between the two characters. Good writing would take into account the difference between the two character's Ranks in order to determine how well a match up would be. Again, this is placing the trust in the hands of the RPer. If there are any conflicts that cannot be resolved in thread, an NS staff member will make the final decision.
XP and Huang will be awarded in a unique manner for an NS character. An NS staff member will grade your writing based on four criteria; your creativity, cohesiveness, English skill and narrative flow. Your creativity will be measured by how interesting your posts are. Your cohesiveness will be measured by how understandable your posts are. Your English skill will be measured by grammar and spelling. Your narrative flow will be measured by how well your story flows from start to finish.
Differences between NS and S:
-NS does not follow a majority of the systems.
--This makes it easier for a character to start, and less rules for a player to remember.
--This allows a larger range of creativity from the character.
--This gives a player the trust to run things fairly. It is a responsibility that is enforced by NS staff members.
-NS does not follow word counts other than the site minimum of 100 words.
--This requires less time spent on doing various things.
-NS is graded on quality of effort.
--This is subjective to the staff member grading it, but any issues will be explained to the member being graded after their thread has been graded.
-Only NS staff grades/awards NS characters.
--Any strictly S only staff members will be unable to assist in a dispute or ruling between NS members, nor would they grade NS member's characters/threads.
Differences between S and NS:
-S Follows every Systems rule.
--Creates a non-subjective means of resolving a dispute.
--Provides an RPG-stylized sense to your RP, which has a more measurable sense of progression.
-S requires word counts for obtaining more power/influence.
--This allows a player to ensure that other players cannot simply start out with a larger amount of power/influence without putting in a similar amount of work into their characters.
-S is graded on quantity of effort more than quality.
--This allows progression for everyone equally, and is a non-subjective means of grading.
--While it is primarily graded on quantity of effort, it is not unknown for a thread to be refused if it does not meet the requirements of the effort being done. Ex.: a job where you must go out to sea would not be able to be completed if your character never actually goes out to sea.
-Any strictly NS only staff member will be unable to grade/approve S characters and their work.
With this type of double-system in place, we can do 1 of 2 things:
We may either create a new system that dictates how interactions between the two that would occur if they both exist in the same world, or we could create 2 separate worlds managed by each staff type (Systems Staff and Non-Systems Staff).
In the event that both are able to freely interact with each other and share the same world, it would require a change of the current job systems and have its own separate systems for interactions. The idea behind this is that a NS character would provide background plot and story that goes alongside the S character's efforts in the job. The issue with this is that in the event of a conflict between NS characters and S characters, the NS characters would have an overwhelming advantage due to 2 things; their creative control, which allows them use of any ability they would like without having to have a prior training of it as well as their lack of magoi/stamina bar which would allow them the use of as many abilities as they would like without tiring. While it is possible to closely monitor such fights in order to determine the victor, I'm uncertain how willing S staff (Even myself) will be to do such a thing.
In the event that there are two separate worlds, 1 for S and 1 for NS, it would be much like having a board that is 2 websites rolled up into 1. One for those who like structured Roleplay and one for those who would prefer free-form roleplay. This isn't a rare thing for a board to do, and I've seen it happen in the past and be successful. Imagine it being opposite sides of the same coin; both are based on Magi, but one is Systems based while the other is Non-Systems based. In this case, S staff will pay attention to and create events for S players/characters, while NS staff will pay attention to and create events for NS players/characters. Neither group would interact with each other, but a player is always allowed to make another character if they want to have one in each Systems type.
If the first method is liked because people would like to RP between the systems, but disliked because it would be too much work mapping out the interactions between the two and would therefore prefer the second method, then I have another option here; The Hub Between Worlds. This 'Hub' would be a place where players may have 'chance encounters' with each other. They are unable to have a measurable effect on the world, but they are able to interact with each other while posting in this place. Here they may exchange trinkets and the like, but nothing of real power/significance (Anything purchased in the item shop). While posting here, all characters will follow the NS rules. Like mentioned before, this would be entirely for personal character development and will not have a measurable effect in the world out there.
Now that you've read this long post, please send your poll answer to the question above. Feel free to leave any comments below. This is still a work in progress, but the ideas have been hammered out far enough that it is something that can be presented for consideration. Vote cancelling is allowed if you change your mind down the line.
There are some who would feel strongly about some of these directions, and they should post to express this. Those who do not post, it will be assumed that if you like the idea of a Systems and Non-Systems world, you do not care much for which direction it leads to. I am saving my vote for now to see what kind of responses occur.
