Roleplaying Game

A roleplaying game (RPG) is a group of people who come together to write out a roleplay in a structured manner. It almost always refers to any medium in Bravo Fleet where three or more people are writing characters collaboratively. Traditionally, an RPG is a ship or station-based story, where each player writes and controls a specific character(s), with a more controlled writing format, and the player of the ship's captain is also OOC responsible for managing the group and directing the story - often referred to as a Game Manager (GM). In practice, RPGs can be more open or flexible formats, where, for example, people share responsibility for characters and plan story arcs as collaborative fiction, rather than 'playing' specific characters and developing the story through an emergent process.

There are three kinds of roleplaying games - or, more accurately, three forms of roleplaying - in Bravo Fleet:

• RPG Commands: Ships and stations that are a member's personal command, where other players may be invited to write characters and stories. Members can only invite more than one permanent player to their secondary command, which is only unlocked at the fleet rank of Captain. Primary commands can only have up to two writers total.
• Writing Sandboxes: Open settings for members to write together on BFMS in low-stakes, informal collaborative ways, where pick-up and ad-hoc joint writing is the central focus area. The current sandbox in Bravo Fleet is Starbase Bravo, where players depict life for the rank-and-file crew of the Fourth Fleet's headquarters.
• Expeditionary Group RPGs: Starship-based written RPGs with three or more members based on the Expeditionary Group BFMS Command. These are temporary games, where GMs propose a single mission, gather a crew of writers, and play out that mission before dispersing.

The policy on RPGs and sandboxes discusses how RPGs and Sandboxes are run in Bravo Fleet.

RPG Commands

RPG Commands are when members of the fleet rank of Captain or higher use a secondary command - that is, any additional command they have purchased - to recruit as many players as they wish. This is the closest thing to the traditional RPG or sim: the Captain runs the game OOC, is responsible for the management of the command, and must play the commanding officer character. The RPG Command, like any writing in Bravo Fleet, is bound by the Intelligence Office Policy and other canon and writing requirements, but there are no proposals, no oversight from the Intelligence Office of stories and missions - any more than any command's writing is under the IO's oversight.

It is important for Bravo Fleet that every member, especially new members, has the chance to use their personal command to write and participate in fleet storytelling events and plots. This is why we bar primary commands from being used for RP beyond writing with a single permanent additional player, or with occasional guests. Any member should be able to, for example, participate in a new writing campaign upon launch, something that is very difficult to do with an RPG, which might be halfway through a mission, be too slow-paced to effectively complete a campaign mission within the time period, or already be simply inactive.

Members who have reached the fleet rank of Captain are also experienced veterans of Bravo Fleet. They know how the fleet works and likely have experience of multiple writing events. When they decide to open a secondary command into an RPG Command, there is the presumption they understand the implications and responsibilities of this - instead of a brand-new Midshipman who, within their first week of joining, tries to recruit a whole crew because they feel it is what they are 'supposed to' do.

RPG Commands must not have their own Discord servers - players can use private communication, like Discord DMs, to communicate and plan. This is to avoid writing groups sequestering themselves away from the main fleet community. RPG Commands are not flagged on BFMS; the spirit of an RPG Command is much more of groups of friends writing together than of ambitious RP groups seeking to grow and grow. RPG Commands can be advertised on the appropriate Discord groups, or mentioned if and when members ask what games are seeking players.

RPG Commands are ideal for groups of friends who want to write together long-term, enjoying the sense of collective of writing an ensemble of characters, a cast and crew akin to the protagonists of the average Star Trek TV show.

Expeditionary Group RPGs

The Expeditionary Group is an RPG framework where prospective GMs, rather than proposing a concept and plan for a permanent, long-term RPG, propose instead a concept and plan for a single mission. Using one of the ships permanently assigned to the Expeditionary Group, the GM agrees on a proposed mission with the Intelligence Office, before recruiting a group of players and writing the mission to its conclusion within a predetermined time-frame - no more than 6 months. Upon the mission's conclusion, the group of players disperses and the ship becomes available again for any new proposals.

The EG plays a role in 'filling the gap' for prospective GMs who have not yet earned the rank of Captain. It means their concept and management is subject to IO oversight and direct support, and is a chance for a GM to get experience both with running a game, and with leading storytelling in Bravo Fleet. The short-term commitment can be appealing for any prospective GM or the players - a key weakness of traditional RPGs is the long-term, usually permanent expectation of a set level of activity. In the EG, players and GMs can commit to a short burst of high intensity, experiment with different characters, try out different story and mission concepts.

The Expeditionary Group can act as a prelude to or trial for more permanent RP groups, but also provide a rich, short-term activity of RP writing in its own right.

Sandboxes

Writing Sandboxes, such as Starbase Bravo are open settings run by Bravo Fleet departments that, subject to restrictions which vary across games, any member can join. They are ideal for ad hoc joint writing, interpersonal plots, slice-of-life storytelling, and pickup group RP. Activity can be as intense or laid-back as a member chooses; they are an ideal place to flesh out a character, experience the setting, or find likeminded fellow writers and build small RP communities within the bigger game.

A sandbox is always active, always 'live'; run by staff, any member can apply at any time and always find an ongoing mission which provides a guideline to shape their writing and RP. The large pool of players, drawn from across the fleet, means there is usually someone interested in a joint post. Where other RPGs have ebbs and flows depending on the activity and needs of what is usually a small group of players, a sandbox is a reliable base for low-intensity and often character-driven RP, and a solid foundation for those who want to build bigger plots and stories in a developed setting.

Additional Information

• RPGs have throughout Bravo Fleet's history been referred to as a "sim". This anachronistic term has largely fallen out of favor within Bravo Fleet as a misrepresentation of what Bravo Fleet does.