Midway PNP Guild
Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2014 12:26 am
Please read at least the section marked 'OOC' near the middle of this post before posting.
An interesting advertisement catches your eye.
Looking for able-bodied individuals of a multitude of talents looking for long-term hire. These talents should include, but are not limited to, anything that may be considered a "specialist" talent, desired by others but possessed by few, which are marketable for profit. Individuals must be able to follow orders reliably while keeping an open and creative mind, being able to improvise in situations that may be considered dangerous or stressful. Individuals must be skilled in their talents, and past experience in performing under highly stressful situations is a strict requirement.
Keep in mind that this job will not be for the faint of heart. Individuals who are hired will be expected to perform in likely life threatening situations.
Any individuals responding to this offer should report to the establishment known as 'Midway' in Junction Town, and ask the main proprietor to speak to 'Harmony'.
What is 'Midway'?
Midway is a rest stop in Junction Town, catering to customers who are making their way to and from Manehatten. Midway offers food, drink, entertainment, and rooms for rent.
Who is 'Harmony'?
'Harmony' is not a real pony. It's a passphrase that lets the staff on call know that you're one of the 'customers' that's there for the 'other' business. Once you ask for 'Harmony', the pony will lead you (or direct somepony else free to lead you) down into the basement, where you will find what amounts to, in plain terms, a bounty office. It's not just a normal bounty office, however. This bounty office caters to a wide variety of 'specialist' jobs, and hires seasoned wastelanders to complete these jobs. Your average pony can't just walk up to the counter and expect to be given a high priority job... you have to be a member, first.
What kinds of jobs does Harmony deal with?
Harmony deals in dangerous, specialist, or high-profile jobs that benefit the Equestrian Wasteland on the whole. Members can be assured that they're working for the greater good when they complete a job for Harmony. Jobs like saving a settlement from slavers, clearing out a heavily dug-in raider nest, and scavenging dangerous abandoned Stables are among a few of the kinds of jobs you can expect from Harmony.
Where does Harmony get all this funding from, anyway?
Harmony does make a profit for itself for some jobs, but on the whole Harmony doesn't require payment for use of its services, and pays its employees well. A lot of ponies question where Harmony gets its caps from, but nobody knows for sure. Some speculate that the Followers of the Apocalypse might have a hoof in Harmony's success, or even the fledgeling New Canterlot Republic. The only thing known for sure is that there's somepony behind this organization, and it's somepony big.
OOC
This is a little idea I've cooked up that I think is an amazing one. Put simply, this is a special kind of PNP group. Instead of having one persistant set of 4-6 players and one GM, this group will be dedicated to providing short campaigns to a wider range of players, usually to the amount of a single main quest.
Put simply, people will sign up to be members, and occasionally members will set up a short PNP game to be played over something along the lines of 1-4 weeks. Something short and sweet. Players interested in it can sign up for that short game, and the GM will pick the ones he wants from those who express interest. The idea is to make starting and playing a PNP game something quick and easy, and not necessarily require a huge commitment over a long period of time (sometimes, a year or more!) to play through. Plus, with games being short, there will be more good opportunities for new players to get their hooves wet before joining a full game. (Or even opportunities for new GMs looking to get their hooves wet!)
Players will need to supply at least one character when signing up, and must have the character ready when they ask to join a game session. Be prepared to adjust your character on the fly to fit with the rules of any games you sign up for. This is important, to keep everything smooth and pleasant. Players will also be allowed to add multiple characters to their name, though they will all be under a single player name. Note: The requirement to supply a character is so you have somepony ready to go -- The sheet doesn't need to be 100% complete, since each game might be for a different ruleset or level. It's there so that you're ready to go right away, with minimal changes/additions required, and so GMs will always have a sheet they can look at to see at a glance, 'what kind of character is this?'
My own minimum suggested level is Level 5. However, other GMs might want to play a higher powered game, so the level is not something that's set in stone. Expect each GM to have a different target level for his games.
As a final word, please be courteous to your fellow members of this group. Be friendly, and polite. Remember, everyone here wants to play games!
Character Persistence
At a future date, there might be some level of character persistence offered. However, due to the difficult nature of balancing such things, any attempts would have to be strictly monitored, and tested. Any suggestions for how to implement such a system are welcome!
Application Information
When applying to join the group, please supply the following information:
IRC name, along with any other preferred methods of contact. Timezone, preferred timezone, or general availability. Additionally, please provide the name of at least one character, as well as a link to a relevant character sheet (It doesn't need to be the one you will be using for any specific group, but it must be there for potential GMs to be able to see).
Game Scheduling and Signup Information
Any GMs looking to set up a game only need to post a short premise, along with any relevant rules information, target character level, and any networth or equipment restrictions, along with a name for your campaign, or your campaign's main Quest, so players can easily differentiate between campaigns.
Players looking to sign up for a game should include the name that game uses to identify itself, so that other people reading the topic can easily see which game you're interested in, as well as the name of the character you wish to use for the game (preferrably with a link to a character sheet suited to the rules of the game you're applying to).
I will attempt to keep track of games that are currently recruiting and have the information available in this post.
Relevant Information
IRC Channels: #Midway and #MidwayOOC
Master List of players, their characters, and games currently recruiting
An interesting advertisement catches your eye.
Looking for able-bodied individuals of a multitude of talents looking for long-term hire. These talents should include, but are not limited to, anything that may be considered a "specialist" talent, desired by others but possessed by few, which are marketable for profit. Individuals must be able to follow orders reliably while keeping an open and creative mind, being able to improvise in situations that may be considered dangerous or stressful. Individuals must be skilled in their talents, and past experience in performing under highly stressful situations is a strict requirement.
Keep in mind that this job will not be for the faint of heart. Individuals who are hired will be expected to perform in likely life threatening situations.
Any individuals responding to this offer should report to the establishment known as 'Midway' in Junction Town, and ask the main proprietor to speak to 'Harmony'.
What is 'Midway'?
Midway is a rest stop in Junction Town, catering to customers who are making their way to and from Manehatten. Midway offers food, drink, entertainment, and rooms for rent.
Who is 'Harmony'?
'Harmony' is not a real pony. It's a passphrase that lets the staff on call know that you're one of the 'customers' that's there for the 'other' business. Once you ask for 'Harmony', the pony will lead you (or direct somepony else free to lead you) down into the basement, where you will find what amounts to, in plain terms, a bounty office. It's not just a normal bounty office, however. This bounty office caters to a wide variety of 'specialist' jobs, and hires seasoned wastelanders to complete these jobs. Your average pony can't just walk up to the counter and expect to be given a high priority job... you have to be a member, first.
What kinds of jobs does Harmony deal with?
Harmony deals in dangerous, specialist, or high-profile jobs that benefit the Equestrian Wasteland on the whole. Members can be assured that they're working for the greater good when they complete a job for Harmony. Jobs like saving a settlement from slavers, clearing out a heavily dug-in raider nest, and scavenging dangerous abandoned Stables are among a few of the kinds of jobs you can expect from Harmony.
Where does Harmony get all this funding from, anyway?
Harmony does make a profit for itself for some jobs, but on the whole Harmony doesn't require payment for use of its services, and pays its employees well. A lot of ponies question where Harmony gets its caps from, but nobody knows for sure. Some speculate that the Followers of the Apocalypse might have a hoof in Harmony's success, or even the fledgeling New Canterlot Republic. The only thing known for sure is that there's somepony behind this organization, and it's somepony big.
OOC
This is a little idea I've cooked up that I think is an amazing one. Put simply, this is a special kind of PNP group. Instead of having one persistant set of 4-6 players and one GM, this group will be dedicated to providing short campaigns to a wider range of players, usually to the amount of a single main quest.
Put simply, people will sign up to be members, and occasionally members will set up a short PNP game to be played over something along the lines of 1-4 weeks. Something short and sweet. Players interested in it can sign up for that short game, and the GM will pick the ones he wants from those who express interest. The idea is to make starting and playing a PNP game something quick and easy, and not necessarily require a huge commitment over a long period of time (sometimes, a year or more!) to play through. Plus, with games being short, there will be more good opportunities for new players to get their hooves wet before joining a full game. (Or even opportunities for new GMs looking to get their hooves wet!)
Players will need to supply at least one character when signing up, and must have the character ready when they ask to join a game session. Be prepared to adjust your character on the fly to fit with the rules of any games you sign up for. This is important, to keep everything smooth and pleasant. Players will also be allowed to add multiple characters to their name, though they will all be under a single player name. Note: The requirement to supply a character is so you have somepony ready to go -- The sheet doesn't need to be 100% complete, since each game might be for a different ruleset or level. It's there so that you're ready to go right away, with minimal changes/additions required, and so GMs will always have a sheet they can look at to see at a glance, 'what kind of character is this?'
My own minimum suggested level is Level 5. However, other GMs might want to play a higher powered game, so the level is not something that's set in stone. Expect each GM to have a different target level for his games.
As a final word, please be courteous to your fellow members of this group. Be friendly, and polite. Remember, everyone here wants to play games!
Character Persistence
At a future date, there might be some level of character persistence offered. However, due to the difficult nature of balancing such things, any attempts would have to be strictly monitored, and tested. Any suggestions for how to implement such a system are welcome!
Application Information
When applying to join the group, please supply the following information:
IRC name, along with any other preferred methods of contact. Timezone, preferred timezone, or general availability. Additionally, please provide the name of at least one character, as well as a link to a relevant character sheet (It doesn't need to be the one you will be using for any specific group, but it must be there for potential GMs to be able to see).
Game Scheduling and Signup Information
Any GMs looking to set up a game only need to post a short premise, along with any relevant rules information, target character level, and any networth or equipment restrictions, along with a name for your campaign, or your campaign's main Quest, so players can easily differentiate between campaigns.
Players looking to sign up for a game should include the name that game uses to identify itself, so that other people reading the topic can easily see which game you're interested in, as well as the name of the character you wish to use for the game (preferrably with a link to a character sheet suited to the rules of the game you're applying to).
I will attempt to keep track of games that are currently recruiting and have the information available in this post.
Relevant Information
IRC Channels: #Midway and #MidwayOOC
Master List of players, their characters, and games currently recruiting
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