The Squadron Conundrum (help wanted!)

[Bette Davis]

As some of you know intimately, roleplaying within a fighter squadron can be one of the most rewarding roleplaying experiences to be had. Its all danger, women, and booze for the most part, with your fighter pilot buddies and pranks on the COs.

But on the other side of the coin, it can be one of the most frustrating experiences! When you have a full squadron it can seem like herding chickens, trying to get everyone on the same page. And then when you get your wingmates in order, the opposition likes to disappear in the middle of an RP. And then with a smaller RPer core (right now Shadow Squadron boasts one CO and 5 pilots) it can be easier to put together an RP, but you end up with too many NPC characters to juggle.

Right now SS is planning to let their pranks and hijinks to get out of hand - leading to a botched mission that gets them demoted. We were thinking to have them shuffled to different squadrons, but that only increases the amount of NPCs we have to deal with.

Then I thought, maybe we should make them flight instructors as their punishment. Then after we've had our fun ruining the next generation of fighter pilots (I mean, training them, of course), we can reinstate them to Shadow Squadron.

Smaller, Wing-Commander-like missions. Maybe there are sorties where we're broken up into individual wings, and there really are only four pilots in one place at a time. Perhaps having more smaller missions would be a good idea. One person could even adopt the role of GM, so to speak, and take charge of the hazards the other players have to deal with. One roleplayer taking charge of any NPC playing that has to be done in a single RP - and we could rotate the responsibility.

Post your thoughts!

[Peter McCoy]

I like the idea of a GM controlling the external factors. That could entail things such as enemy craft like space pirates or mercs, to natural hazards such as meteor showers and whatnot. Having the GM be able to play the part of a sentient enemy (maybe something like a single destroyer-sized ship or small group of lighter vessels) would give the squadron a roleplay without having to rely on actual other roleplayers. Not to suggest that the rebel pilots are unreliable but it guarantee's tht a roleplay can take place. As well as that, it allows more control of a story if the group has something specific in mind. For instance you could have something in mind and make a post, anticipating the reply only to have the opposition do the complete opposite. That works great when its a random encounter, but if its part of a storyline that has had a lot of time and effort put into it, it can be frustrating. The GM could guire rather than dictate the proceedings.

And I'm all for smaller missions. The Wing Commander, and Star Wars (X-Wing, TIE Fighter etc) games all have some great ideas for starfighter missions. I'll have a think about some possibilities.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I think the GM solution might be a very good one, and I thank Tannis/Kale/Brand for coming up with it. :)

[Tannis V'larr]

Well, we've got an impetuous pilot who goes by "Maniac," so the Wing Commander comparison seemed a natural step... :mneh

Another advantage of the GM idea is that he or she can keep the thread moving. Don't get me wrong, character development is what RPing is all about, but different people tend to take it at different speeds, and a lot of mission threads get bogged down by little asides that take the focus off the action. I think most mission threads could easily start with one post that sums up the briefing and the launch so we can dive straight into the action and let the characters just happen without forcing them.

As for character development, that happens best in small groups anyway. I'd love to see SS characters take more initiative in non-mission threads -- enjoy a couple shots in the pilot's club, snark about their commanders or their last mission, take shore leave and get into trouble in the Cloud Nine B&G. That sort of thing can make the mission action more meaningful, too, since the characters will have real relationships.

[Bette Davis]

Hey, speaking of, Bette is in Cloud 9 right now. ;)

[Lamar Starworth]

I suck, because I dont have any fleeting characters. However, I do think it is a good idea.

Really, I wouldn't expect anything less from Tannis. He always has something good cooking up there in his brain.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Indeed he does, and it smells delicious. :yum

[Tiberius Anar]

What an intersting image. I think this is a most interesting idea and I shall be watching with interest.

Now who gets to be the guinea pig- I mean GM- for this?

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The idea is that all the RPed pilots would share in the duty of GMing our missions.

[Bette Davis]

Starfighter Pilot Ranks

In the past there was a great deal of confusion over ranks, and I think that the end result was that we didn't really care all that much and just handed them out like candy. ;)

However, after some research Tannis and I have compiled this list of naval ranks (we fly for the Navy, after all) for our pilots.

Ensign - Fresh out of the Academy, this means you Jackal
Lieutenant
Senior Lieutenant
Lieutenant Commander - Bette Davis would be this rank
Commander
Captain (not likely to still be on active pilot duty at that point)

Shadow Leader would most likely be a Commander or Lieutenant Commander, and Bette and Val's prefix of Flight Commander is their post, not their rank. It would be possible for there to be Lieutenant Commanders on the squadron who are subordinate to Bette, if she has higher seniority, which she does, so don't even think about it you wet-nosed academy boys.

Every graduate of the Imperial naval academy would be an Ensign (barring advanced programs, but we don't know if they exist). And, as we understand it, each promotion is a greater and greater achievement. So Commander to Captain is a much bigger jump than Lieutenant Commander to Commander. That would mainly because they'd need to find you a post important enough to warrant an officer of that rank.

[Byl Laprovik]

I love the GMing idea guys. I've been wanting to do this for big threads for a long time :)

[Zachariah Jak'el]

Ensign, ensign, ensign, w00t!!!

[Ace McCloud]

I've always been a fan of the GM controlled fighting, not so much dice rolling but what you're talking about is what I've always engaged in.

I've been out of the loop of swfans for a year now and killed off this character. So if you're going to stick with the flight trainer idea, I would love to start an ensign for you guys to juggle around =D

[Bette Davis]

That would be cool - someone to corrupt. I mean, train.

:p

EDIT:

<a href=http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38941>Starfighter information added!</a> Check out the updated roster and ship information please.