Setting up the new RP: Scale

What I failed to consider last time is the scale on which we should have the RP be run. I have two ideas myself, but am entirely open to suggestions.

1). Slow and Steady Wins the Race:
Considering HC is a relatively small and quiet forum, and the Fire Emblem RP would be a small portion of that, running a single or two single threads at a time involving most or all characters between them would be doable. This would mean everyone gets one character to work with in order to keep things small and organized.
Pros: The small scale means I could run this entirely on my own, mitigating the need for a new team. In addition, grading the threads would be easier since I would participate in all of them as the moderator. Levels and weapon levels would be easily kept track of and added to for me.
Cons: This would mean I would be grading my own threads and potentially assuming the position of a tyrant since there are no other mods to hold me in check. As a more serious concern, with only one or two threads going on at a time, newcomers can't jump in as easily and would have to wait for it, or one of them, to end.

2). Ambition is the Mother of Greatness
This would be a format largely identical to what's going on in the Hyrule portion. Everyone makes and submits a character at their own pace, finds partners at their own pace, and RPs at their own pace using the setting provided.
Pros: more freedom for the RPers since they can make their own threads and stories without having to conform to the ongoing thread plot. Newcomers can jump in and begin right away provided there are people available who want to RP with them. A familiar format that has been succesfully handled by the Hyrule team since the dawn of HC.
Cons: I would need a handful of moderators to help run this smoothly and democratically. The larger scale brings with it a greater level of complexity, which might slow things down to a point that can't be justified for the small number of people that will be participating. Honesty also compels me to say that this is the format that went to shit in the last iteration; although that may not be an inherent problem to the format itself, it may have played a role.

Any other suggestions are more than welcome. We'll consider levels, weapon levels, weapon lists, and class lists when the setting and scale have been decided on or at least given input.

I'm not sure how 'Way Better' my idea is, but I would like to humbly offer a different proposal.

It's something of a mix between the two, but leaning a bit more towards the 'Slow and Steady.' One thread and one OOC topic active at a time (we could call them Chapters, just to be Fire Emblem-y), but anyone new who wants to join can join in at any point, and while I won't suggest no limit on characters, I will suggest that there be more than one allowed per player. I would also suggest at least one more staff member on this, preferably two. Some things will need discussing by those in the staff, and in the event that two mods are diametrically opposed on an idea, a third party can tip the scales one way or another.

Now, obviously, if the plot has led us to some otherwise inaccessible area, then the new person/character would have to be somewhere else and RP in their own little space for a while, but this way it's more open and inviting, rather than 'Ooh, this looks cool, but the thread just started, it's kinda slow going, and I don't want to wait for months.'

Now, I understand that there are some pros and cons to this idea. There could be multiple parties of characters, they could be fighting for opposite sides, there could be a whole lot of subplots and things to keep track of, and that could be exceptionally tedious. But in my humble opinion, that just makes things more interesting. It would be like Radiant Dawn, the RP. I know it's a radically different system to what we're all used to, but I think we can make it work, with a little effort.

Questions, comments, etc. are welcome, so that I can help clarify anything I didn't cover already.

While I understand the rationale behind option #1 and even think it's a neat idea, I voted for Ambition. In addition to the cons BP outlined above, I think that only having one or two threads active at a time runs the very risk of the "square thread, round character" problem. What happens, for instance, if an RPer has an "evil" character but the only threads are based on the premise of the cast being good-aligned? Are they forced to sit out? Similarly, what if their character doesn't really have any chemistry with the rest of the cast? At the very least, I think, Slow and Steady would need to allow for multiple character slots for each RPer.

I also think the idea of only one or two threads being active doesn't really encourage growth, and it also makes the entire RP vulnerable to threads stalling, posters disappearing, etc. Ultimately, I think it's best to go for freedom and variety rather than limit options, here.

I would suggest a streamlining of the grading process to help make things take less time- a mandatory bullet point format, perhaps, with an option for greater feedback via PM/IM?

I disagree with the suggestion for a bullet point format. One of the many RPs on FEPlanet had something similar, and with one of Blonde Panther's characters, she got awarded fewer levels despite keeping her role-playing perfectly in character.

You misunderstand me; I'm not advocating for any change in the thought process behind grading threads. Heck, the grading rubric was one of the things I hated the most as a grader for RoE. All I am suggesting is that the commentary provided to each RPer in a grading be presented in a concise, bullet-point format of pros and cons instead of several paragraphs, with an option to receive more detailed feedback via PM or IM. Part of the reason gradings often take so long, I feel, is that mods are daunted by the task of providing meaningful paragraphs of feedback.

By moving that sort of thing to PM or IM, it becomes smoother and more conversational, rather than a big block of text an RPer looks at once and never again.

I see. That does make a bit more sense.

As to the question of scale, though, my opinion remains unchanged.

When I first heard the idea of renewing the RP, I admitted I was thinking about the Slow&Steady kind of RP. Though, I totally see Darth's point in how much it can ruin the fun for I be one liking to play bad people. Therefore, I've voted for the second instead.

I think we've heard enough opinions to know that Ambition is the Mother of Greatness is going to be the way to go about this. If anyone has any other ideas or compelling reasons to vote against this, send me a PM or hit me up on Skype.

For now, I'm considering this aspect of the RP as decided. I'm closing the poll and the thread.

If you haven't already, though, please make your voice heard in terms of our setting as well.