Proposed changes to SWFans Roleplaying (Discussion)

[Figrin D'an]

With the proposed changes in format of the RPing at Fans seeming to have a high level of support, we need to consider how we will be revamping the GJO board to fit this new story scheme.


Essentially, as I interpret the situation, GJO as it exists now will cease to be. The term 'Greater Jedi Order' will likely be tossed out the window as well. Gone will be the current structure of the Order and the Jedi heirarchy in favor a far less centralized system. Since the storyline is going to be changing every year or so, it's going to be difficult to carry things over from storyline to storyline beyond the characters themselves. Things like the Bar & Grill, the Temple, the Living Quarters, etc... I think that's all going to have to be scraped. There won't be a single nerve center of operations anymore, so that type of large Jedi complex just simply won't be feasible.

I'm not even sure there should be a Jedi Council. Every Jedi will basically be on their own, choosing to team up with whom they wish. There will likely be sects of Jedi that form... small cells who work independently from one other. Some Jedi may choose to be loners.

As such, I see this board really serving one major purpose: to provide an enclave for the various Jedi groups to gather when needed. It would be a safe haven to all Jedi, regardless of their individual leanings. Beyond that, we can perhaps have some forums for things like training and philosophy, one for just general open RP for the enclave itself, and maybe one for OOC discussion. And, of course, we keep the administrative forum for obvious reasons.

Which brings me to the next point. I see little reason to alter the current makeup of the staff. We can still keep our current administrators/moderators. That OOC aspect doesn't need to be affected really. If someone chooses to not continue in their staff role once the switch is made, that is of course up to that individual.

I guess I see downsizing and simplification in the near future. I'm not sure where I stand on many of these changes personally, but that is irrelevent at this point. I'm simply attempting to prepare the current GJO for what will, very probably, occur.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I like the idea of converting the board into an enclave/safe haven. I'm not sure how to restructure the forums. I think perhaps it would be a good idea to keep the private OOC forum for planning. Also the Jedi Biographies forum, for obvious reasons. Perhaps making the gathering people the ruins of a Temple? I don't know. Outside of that, I'm not sure.

What about the New Republic?

[Navaria Tarkin]

The New Republic will probably became the Rebel Alliance? The Jedi and the Rebels could be working togehter in secret for those that wish to overthrow the Empire?

OOC closed forum should stay for RP planning and discussions... we all love it for that purpose.. Avalon is going to be archived as the aboved mention forums. What could happen is depending on whom wants to do what with whom, have some of the forums converted for the cells if they are large enough and if those 'groups' wish it.

Jedi Council - Not now. Only as things progress can one be formed at a later time.

I like the general meeting area. It would definately be a place that only they would know cuz what would be the point if all the Imps and Sith use the forum. Could be converted from one of the more then likely scrapped forums and is truly Jedi only for the time being depending on how the storylines progress.

These are just my ideas being tossed out :) We do need to discuss this with the group as well and let them know what is coming.... many people are going to have to restructer their characters for the new Jedi format

Also, as a side... I think I figured out a way for Navaria to still be a Jedi Knight. so she'll be part of the forums IC too :)

[Morgan Evanar]

I can only forsee an IC meeting point after a few months of the new scenario.

[Navaria Tarkin]

http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=38423

James started a thread and I hit the high points we discussed here

[Master Yoghurt]

I must admit, the idea of throwing 6 years of roleplay history, character backgrounds, stories and traditions out of the window was a pill very difficult to swallow, not to mention this will require some heavy reorganising of the forums. I have other concerns as well, such as; is this really thought through properly, will the roleplaying be a total chaos, why put all the eggs in one basket etc, all kinds of practical problems. But enough of that. I just hope this will work out, and leave it at that.

In the end, I realise this is what the community wants, and the board is in need of some serious changeover if its not going to dwindle out. I also find the post battle of endor setting with Imperial dominance and the rebels on the run an exciting scenario.

One problem while we dont have a Council, who is to decide on who gets promoted, and who is to be accepted as Jedi. Could anyone just walk in and create a Jedi character with no character background written, being Imperial and what not? Will there be a Jedi organisation and a roster at some point at all? And what about the training of padawans, how will that transfer?

Personally, I will cope and adapt to all this. I am sure most will. But we better start getting things figured out.

[AmazonBabe]

One problem while we dont have a Council, who is to decide on who gets promoted, and who is to be accepted as Jedi. Could anyone just walk in and create a Jedi character with no character background written, being Imperial and what not? Will there be a Jedi organisation and a roster at some point at all? And what about the training of padawans, how will that transfer?

Yeah, we're trying to figure the same thing out over at TSO.

One of our Knights had a concern on how on earth he was going to get promoted to Lord and then Master during these story arcs if there is no group and he doesn't have a Sith to pair up with.

It's kind of a question that hasn't been thoroughly answered, really.


Also, another question that just popped in my head... what about the GJO website? Is that going to be scrapped due to this? I mean, we were working on a TSO website to be able to organize the members and short profiles, but with this new idea, the point seems kind of moot.

[Master Yoghurt]

Also, another question that just popped in my head... what about the GJO website? Is that going to be scrapped due to this? I mean, we were working on a TSO website to be able to organize the members and short profiles, but with this new idea, the point seems kind of moot

Yeah, thats one of the many things that irked me. I allready payed for the domain name and webhosting one year in advance, like a couple of weeks before the idea came up.. :grumble

Nevertheless, I plan to keep the website running, because I use it personally and its still good for roleplay hosting of different purposes (hosting sigs, Rebel Alliance website etc). I will probably keep the domain name thegjo.com as well, as its a recognised one and easy to remember. As for the website content itself, I suppose there still could be a portal of some kind, where you can read the FAQ and whatnot for the Jedi forums. FAQ btw, will need a total rewrite..


One of our Knights had a concern on how on earth he was going to get promoted to Lord and then Master during these story arcs if there is no group and he doesn't have a Sith to pair up with

Yeah, thats also a problem that irked me. There is allready a shortage of Knights and Masters around to train new Padawans. If people abandon their original Jedi Master/Knights characters and turn into bounty hunters, smugglers or whatever, that problem just expands exponentially. And lets not forget, its allready pretty darn hard to become Jedi Knight, and ridiculously hard to become Master.

There needs to be an organisation to handle this I think. One possible way of solving this, is letting the Master handle the IC aspect of knighting his Padawans, and let the Jedi forum moderator staff make the OOC decision if the candidate is qualified in terms of roleplaying merits to have that rank. That would be a provisional solution until there can be some sort of IC council body of a sort (if any is to be established at all).

As for Padawan training. Right now, I can only speak for myself and Bandage. I talked to him, and I agreed to keep training him as before, although, we would have to change localisation and background set for future training theads. We would not training at any Jedi Temple on Coruscant for example, because I assume that would be under Imperial control or destroyed.

My character would be younger (thats the advantage of being so old), although some modificatons to character background will be made. Bandage on the other hand will have to be born about 50-75 years earlier. Basic character background will for him stay roughly the same (its not time specific).

I guess we'll have to write some thing on how Yog and Bandage met (they could not have met at any recruitment center, and could not have talked in a Jedi Bar & Grill). Also how, where and when I as a Jedi am hiding from the Empire is also something I need to figure out.

[Lady Vader]

Well, I do know that I'll be keeping TSO intact (not sure what ppl are gonna do here at GJO). Mostly due to the fact so the under-ranked characters can keep RPing their "arts" so as to be considered fr promotion. In a sense, that's where i'll be keeping some of the current timeline so that when they have reached the top, so to speak, they can carry over that rank to whatever arc is being played out.

It's the only way I see them being able to be promoted.

[Navaria Tarkin]

This is a big concern, I agree.. but besides the groups figuring it out.. shouldn't this be brought up in the main thread as well in boardwide OOC?

That is what the thread is for and me and the other staff members can't read minds... regardless how well we can do it IC :p

Yog - About the site.. could always use it for who is who amongst the Jedi and who their Padawans are. Also, it was mentioned to perhaps have small communities eventually... could be good to list that there when it occurs

And for now, having the staff approve Knighthoods would be allright.. generally it happens anyway :) the person being knighted unless other IC things happen as with Kyle recently

[Morgan Evanar]

must admit, the idea of throwing 6 years of roleplay history, character backgrounds, stories and traditions out of the window was a pill very difficult to swallow, not to mention this will require some heavy reorganising of the forums.THE PANTS WILL BE NEW. EMBRACE THE PANTS. THEY DO NOT SMELL FUNKY. THEY ARE FRESH. PANTS!


One of our Knights had a concern on how on earth he was going to get promoted to Lord and then Master during these story arcs if there is no group and he doesn't have a Sith to pair up with.If you can't find a "group" after the first two months we have bigger problems. I only have two characters announced and its not like the older RPers aren't especially self motivated to do RP for "training"

We need to drop the "training" mentality. There shouldn't be trainging threads, I hope. There won't be safe places in the galaxy for anyone, which is the point of the whole reboot. There is a huge underlying layer of tension for a galaxy embroiled in a Civil War.

[Dasquian Belargic]

People can be promoted during the course of the story arc, then carrying over that rank into the next arc. Although more experienced players are starting over, not everyone is totally abandoning their ranks. A lot of us are just shifting them onto another character.

I think the key to all of this is really communication. Can't find a group, can't find a Sith to pair up with? Post about it! PM someone, catch them on AIM! Let people know that you're looking for someone to RP with, rather than sitting in silence, grumbling about how good it was back in the good old days when no one posted but hey at least we had a nice comfy little group to be a part of.

[Master Yoghurt]

Ok, lots of interesting points here.. first this:


THE PANTS WILL BE NEW. EMBRACE THE PANTS. THEY DO NOT SMELL FUNKY. THEY ARE FRESH. PANTS!

Im a stubborn grumpy old midget who dont wear pants, only robes :p


This is a big concern, I agree.. but besides the groups figuring it out.. shouldn't this be brought up in the main thread as well in boardwide OOC?

Im slightly reluctant to post complaints in the OOC (and I know others are as well for the same or similar reasons), because I fear that will lead to a snow ball effect where everyone will be like "OMG!! Teh forum drama!", leading to people leaving (one guy allready announced it unfortunately) - which is the excact opposite of what the proposal is supposed to do. I dont want the forums to be more split than necessary over a change that will very likely happen anyway. So why argue. At least, here in this forum, I know I am surrounded by level headed posters that wont overreact in a discussion :)

The other part of it is, most of my concerns were directly related to how the Jedi forums/roleplaying would be organised after this change.

If the roleplay mod staff/admins want to read this thread, they are more than welcome to btw. I would even encourage it, as much of the same practical problems of reorganising this forum is probably valid for other group forums.


We need to drop the "training" mentality. There shouldn't be trainging threads, I hope. There won't be safe places in the galaxy for anyone, which is the point of the whole reboot. There is a huge underlying layer of tension for a galaxy embroiled in a Civil War

How does that make sense IC wise though? Are we to assume force sensitive individuals train themselves somehow? Or do we just assume the training happened without actually roleplaying it? Even Luke with his very limited amount of training compared to the old republic era did spend time training with Obi Wan and Yoda. Yes, they were on the run or hiding, but it was still training. In the entire EU, I cant think of a single character who become Jedi without training. Lets not forget there is an important OOC aspect to the training as well. New people who has a lack of roleplay experience learn to roleplay being mentored by their master.

Expecting new posters to roleplay Jedi realistically and according to roleplay etiquette without experience and any kind of guidance, is not excactly newbie friendly in my view.

Call me old fashioned, but the best Jedi are those who actually received proper training. For the record, I dont count myself as one of them.

I agree with you on one point though, training allready fully fledged and experienced roleplayers does not seem like the most efficient thing since the wheel, concidering time constraints.


Yog - About the site.. could always use it for who is who amongst the Jedi and who their Padawans are. Also, it was mentioned to perhaps have small communities eventually... could be good to list that there when it occurs

Yeah, thats a cool idea. Also the thing about about small communities, thats interesting. Do you envision different Jedi clans with diferring views on the ways of the force and moral code?


I think the key to all of this is really communication. Can't find a group, can't find a Sith to pair up with? Post about it! PM someone, catch them on AIM! Let people know that you're looking for someone to RP with, rather than sitting in silence, grumbling about how good it was back in the good old days when no one posted but hey at least we had a nice comfy little group to be a part of

I dont worry so much about the established roleplayers communicating. I am more worried if its someone new, who might not even have AIM installed or know where to find out what to do etc. These are sort of things that at the very least should be detailed in the FAQ. You could also have some sort of a forum which would work as an entry point for newbs, or possibly even use the roleplay helpdesk for that.



Too much typing, feel free to comment :)

[Navaria Tarkin]

Im slightly reluctant to post complaints in the OOC (and I know others are as well for the same or similar reasons), because I fear that will lead to a snow ball effect where everyone will be like "OMG!! Teh forum drama!", leading to people leaving (one guy allready announced it unfortunately) - which is the excact opposite of what the proposal is supposed to do. I dont want the forums to be more split than necessary over a change that will very likely happen anyway. So why argue. At least, here in this forum, I know I am surrounded by level headed posters that wont overreact in a discussion

okay... I can understand that. :) I have faith that TSO and GJO Can figure something out but I just suggested it since ranks is a big concern and does relate to the entire board.


Yeah, thats a cool idea. Also the thing about about small communities, thats interesting. Do you envision different Jedi clans with diferring views on the ways of the force and moral code?

Yes. Depending on what people wish to do. Problem is, I keep trying to bring people to discuss it in OOC avalon but no one is really doing it.. I don't want the padawans and others feeling excluded but no one is posting grr!! :lol Even some of the vets arent tho :\

[Figrin D'an]

Training is a tricky issue... I'm more inclined to agree that most "training" in this new timeline is going to come from IC experience. It's going to be a "learn on the fly" mentality in a lot of instances, methinks. Be it good or bad, we're going to have to adapt to this concept.

As for promotions and Jedi character creation... this may sound kind of elitist, but perhaps the best way to handle it for now is to simply have the current group of GJO admins/mods approve Jedi characters before they jump into the storyline. Being honest, this group is made up of the most seasoned Jedi RPers, and it would allow us to make sure that no one creates a character this is not going to jive with the story arc. Promotions can probably be handled the same way, at least until some sort of more structured Jedi grouping begins to form.

[Dasquian Belargic]

I like that idea a lot, Figrin. It's sort of like the "Force Council" they have at TRF - an OOC group of people, who have played Force Users for some time, who sort out new applicants and promotions within the Jedi/etc.

[Navaria Tarkin]

well, it's going to happen this weekend so we really need to get the forums in order!

Avalon - Just OOC closed forum? I mean, be nice to keep a bit of old with the new

General Meeting area forum

Admin forum

and ... anything else? Everything is a bit scattered so hard to tell if anyone wants to make a small group of indy Jedi.

I do believe that when the new board is implemented, we should wipe out access for everyone and start fresh. New names and people leaving will make things confusing

[Figrin D'an]

I was thinking:

Avalon: Stricting OOC, private forum, for planning and discussion.

Jedi Enclave: IC meeting and RP forum, for both small conversations/RPs and larger gatherings, once they become realistic to RP. This would encompass pretty much everything that the current Avalon, Academy, Grounds and B&G forums are used for now.

Biographies/Character Database: Pretty much the same as now.

Helpdesk: Self-explanatory, for questions, issues, and information.

Administration: Again, self explanatory.



The only loose end is the New Republic forum. As the NR will be transformed into the Rebel Alliance for the new campaign, there will be a name change, but beyond that, it's not really up to us to do anything with it. We can continue to host it here if they wish, but I'm not sure what Lion has planned, so we'll need to talk to him about it.



And, yes, all access to the private OOC forum will be reset when the change takes place.

[Navaria Tarkin]

I like.

There is talk of having the Empire/Rebellion under one forum so the people shooting at each other can be isolated =P

otherwise, I suggested having it possibly here since we're all outlaws.

[Master Yoghurt]

The forum structure Figrin suggested is probably going to work out.

Any ideas for group/board name?

[Navaria Tarkin]

The Lost Jedi :p

too bad that actually works :(

[Morgan Evanar]

No ugh. How about "The Enclave"

[Master Yoghurt]

Yeah, the ironic thing is that name works for the scenario. But its not a name I would like us to have.


Originally posted by Morgan Evanar
No ugh. How about "The Enclave"

Not bad.. or even "Jedi Enclave"?

[Dasquian Belargic]

The Jedi Enclave sounds good to me. So does the forum structure Figs proposed.

[Navaria Tarkin]

What the former pervy elf said :)