[Poll] Plot Staff

[Kinaed]

Staff nebulously want to hire a plot staffer, but we're struggling on a few fronts.

Plot staff haven't worked out on TI in the past for numerous reasons, but despite those, we feel that the benefits of having a plot staffer probably outweigh the history, making it worth trying again.

In our view, there's a few reasons plot staff haven't worked out in the past. In part, it's a huge, time-consuming job. Also, for those of us who play tabletop, you probably already know that it takes a special personality to want to consistently run games and events for people. We've also had some past problems with internal staff strife (hopefully resolved). Finally, to be honest, players complain far and wide when staff run a plot and they disagree with something - it can be very disheartening to put a lot of work into something that feels unappreciated.

So, I ask a few things - firstly, see the poll above. Do you think we should do it? Why or why not?

If yes, what needs to change to facilitate that?

Also, if you are interested in being a plot staffer, please have a quiet discussion with Kinaed as this role may or may not open.
WARNING: A plot staffer is a very hard working role requiring a lot of free time, heaps of energy, and an epic thick skin.

[Buzz K[ir]ill]

Or, how about additional rewards or incentives for player storytellers?

You'd think you'd get a lot of recommends, but it's not always the case. Sometimes people just forget, and it feels... awkward to nudge. (Then again, it's possible I just suck at storytelling.)

[Taunya]

Always nice when plots can be handled promptly- though I've not had to wait too long for most I've done recently.

I'm not sure on improvements to help with disagreements- perhaps there could be a little more transparency on how plot outcomes are determined? show the rolls that were done in the staff reply for example?

[Ani]

I think yes. I would like to have plot staff. At least one to run things. One of the reasons being that it would be cool to set up a plot before hand and be able to have it run how you want it or with surprised twists between. Or just to run a plot and have your char involved. I think it would be fun. I don't wish to be a plot staffer, particularly because I like doing stories but not really writing them, (I never finish the one's I write down on paper), so I think if someone really wanted to do it, though and enjoyed it, then it could work. I think it's a good idea. I don't have any problem with the way things are now, but I thought I'd put my two cents on on the yes, part.

[Kinaed]

What additional incentives can we give to storyteller players that would be meaningful? Plot staff or not, we definitely want to encourage player storytellers.

[-+[-__-]+-]

I voted Maybe. There are definite benefits to having dedicated staff oversight for plots, foremost among them being continuity and coherency. But I worry about encouraging a culture of players who wait for Someone Else to Do Something, rather than encouraging more pro/active roleplay.

Especially since this poll went up on the same day as a post encouraging more players to run STs, I'd love to see focus on strengthening our storyteller system and player network first. That would benefit the game either way, and more general experience with what goes into plots would probably help us decide as a community on what a Plot Staff role needs to be successful.

If it is decided to open this position, I'd suggest considering more than one person, and possibly limiting Big Plot items to no more than one every 6-8 months. The rest of the time will easily be filled with player-run stories, events, and "downtime" RP.

[Voxumo]

Or, how about additional rewards or incentives for player storytellers?

You'd think you'd get a lot of recommends, but it's not always the case. Sometimes people just forget, and it feels... awkward to nudge. (Then again, it's possible I just suck at storytelling.)

I definitely have to agree with this notion for player storytellers. The last story I ran was over 12 hours long, and I think I got two, maybe three recommends max from it despite having around 8 players at the start of it, and due to a error at the time wasn't even collecting xp from that 12 hour session. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it, but there definitely needs to be something guaranteed for players who take on the workload of running a story, even if it's just ten qp.

As for plot staff. I can't rightly say anything comes to mind that needs changing, except maybe perhaps a clause that plot staff's word is final when it comes to the plots they run, unless for some reason it counters policy? But ideally the person who takes up such a role would not be making decisions that counter policy.

[Buzz K[ir]ill]

I voted maybe, because I have some experience running public events and STs. Even harmless ones, where there's no combat and no conflict, can be exhausting, especially if you're trying to involve the whole playerbase.

I think our plot staffer would need to be an experienced storyteller first, to ensure that they knew what they were getting into beforehand. They would also need to be reliable and trustworthy, understand the nuances of theme, have stable internet, be respectful, and be capable of juggling numerous players and NPCs at once... yeah, it's kind of a tall order.

So! I personally like the idea of a plot header every 3-4 months around which we can, as players, run our own stories and events.

Here are some potential incentives:

- 5-10 QP when the story concludes
- Small keepsake item for participants
- Lore entries to commemorate what happened
- Reminder on leaving the ST to recommend your Storyteller and fellow participants, if you had fun

I think some of these may already be possible, it may just be a matter of advertising.

[Buzz K[ir]ill]

Something else that I've been thinking about lately, that is somewhat related to this topic: it'd be really great if we had an in-game calendar or event system, that notified folks logging in about upcoming events or that could be browsed at will.

It would include all the usual Lithmorran holidays and would allow players to "register" their STs or planned public events for chunks of time.

I know that this is not a new idea, but it could really help with keeping people abreast of upcoming holidays and events by making the latter more visible on a day-to-day basis. IC Event posts are fine for an initial notice, but after that, it's really easy to forget unless the organizer remembers to pester the pbase with a general board note.

It might also help to prevent scheduling conflicts and things of that nature, and would certainly make the game feel more "busy" and "alive" to new players logging in to check us out -- without requiring them to read through months of board posts.

[Buzz K[ir]ill]

And on that note, in order to make it easier to absorb all the scroll on login, I think it'd be great if our motd were more compact... right now it takes up something like 22 lines. Add that to news/updates, plot headers, and other notices, and it's no wonder we often get questions about where to vote or whether we have a Discord/Facebook. It's all lost in the scroll.