Event idea list

[The Duchess]

I'm on a roll today, please forgive me.

For the purposes of future planning, I'm going to list some ideas - previously used successfully in other RP settings - for planned events.

• Meet n' Greet - these are your generic "let's all meet at the bar and pretend our characters are hanging out there that night" events. They become unnecessary once a "hub" is established, but shine early on. Moving them around to different cantinas and locales is also good, but ideally you don't want them too far from the starter planets... as they can provide opportunities for folks to try out new character concepts in a social setting.
  
  
• Hunt/Bounty/Chase - more of a group PvE event, these sort of have to be centered around characters with similar level. You can either have someone act as the "bait", or set up a story that involves going somewhere and killing a lot of dangerous mobs.
  
  
• Rescue - the less competitve form of a hunt - here we're all trying to get to someone stowed away in a dangerous location. Requires some patience and good humor on the part of the "victim".
  
  
• Race - though these are almost too easy to cheat at, and require neutral arbitraters at "checkpoints", these can be fun treks through high-level areas. Having a multi-day "Cannonball Run" style chase, where its checkpoints are broken up and based partially on clue-deciphering or obtaining certain rare objects/drops, may work better and provide more RP opportunity. Really fun when PvP can be added to the mix.
  
  
• Human Auction - Republic side can pull off a charity auction to win "dates" with handsome men/women. This absolutely requires a clever Emcee/auctioneer, and is best when the "auctionees" are RP celebrities with established reputations. On the Empire side, we can have "slave" auctions as well, as long as it's done "tastefully" *cough*.
  
  
• Mercenary/Apprentice audition - A chance for a guild or "alpha" individual to recruit in a fun in-character manner... perhaps a show of skills for a mercenary outfit, or an appropriate dressing-down and show of force with regard to a Sith lord seeking an apprentice.
  
  
• Story-telling circle - moreso a staple on high-fantasy servers, but it may work here for the right sort of crowd.
  
  
• Talent Show - ideally the participants will range from the atrocious and ridiculous to those actually showing off some skill - whether it be showing off a game mechanic, or an RP boon! It should show a side of our characters others rarely see... Neutral judges are needed, as always. Gongs are optional ;-)
  
  
• "Official" gathering - a bit of fudgery is involved here, as you have to setup a "pretend" in-game event to bring people together for a purpose. Whereas the Republic might have a celebration over a military victory, the Empire might suddenly require all citizens of a certain planet to report for mandatory ID badge inspections, etc.
  
  
• Court case/hearing - usually a tie-in to a larger scale RP plot, these provide a way for everyone to get a refresher as to what's going on, along with assigned roles (including temporary PC's brought in just for the legal proceedings).
  

[The Duchess]

Another:

Market Day - can easily be held in an existing town market, or around the empty shop stall in the Imperial Fleet, for example. Gives players a chance to hawk both real in-game items, as well as pure-RP inventories.

[The Duchess]

A few more:

Military drill - primarily for a guild that is, of course, militaristic in nature. A public drill or exercise training will advertise the guild better than simply posting an ad for it, and contribute to the live-rp presence in the area. It also gives you a regular activity for your grunts. ;-)

Dance - this requires SOME degree of formality - usually - and can be bundled with a celebration or holiday as an excuse. Sadly, we lack formal wear or even anything "fancy" yet - but it can still work with some imagination. As these are often "casual/lite" rp events, like the meet and greets, it can attract the largest crowd of participants (even folks who don't rp much can show up and pretend to dance/schmooze), so plan accordingly with a big, out of the way area, and hire some security!

[Sepp]

Very nice ideas.

[Raphael diSanto]

Wow. You really are on a roll, aren't you...

[The Duchess]

Tour/Walk/Pilgrimmage - these are best setup alongside advanced players, who can protect those on the tour from hostile wildlife. Ideally there should be a "theme" - such as showing off devastation in an area, visits to historical battle sites, pilgrimmages to "spiritual" Sith or Jedi ruins, etc. In a city, you could even do a variant where you show people various businesses and neighborhoods, while discussion the history of the region - but that might involve creating some 'fanon' on the fly.


DataCron/Lore run - also best led by high-level players. Come up with an interesting IC reason to visit these Lore and DataCron sites (which could combine with a "tour" event), and lead folks around to get them. Since everyone SHOULD want to visit datacrons, this is a easy sell, but expect some powergamers to show up too - if any are still left < level 50.

[The Duchess]

And now the obvious family milestone events...

• Bachelor/Bachelorette Party - pretty much like it sounds. An excuse to play the game of “what happens on Nar Shaddaa, stays on Nar Shaddaa”.
  
  
• Wedding - These are an inevitable staple of RP scenes. I barely need to go into much detail here. And yes, weddings CAN be done for laughs - as in the case of “shotgun” weddings or any sort of communion where the bride and groom are not entirely “thrilled” to be there.
  
  
• Divorce party - Equally inevitable, but sadly no one takes advantage of throwing good divorce bashes these days. Great opportunities for sleazy lawyer rpers to strut their stuff.
  
  
• Baby Shower - How the heck do the other species handle these things, anyway?
  
  
• Funeral/Wake - We may not get many perma-deaths, but ideal for sending someone off in an epic or respectful manner according to their species or affiliation.
  
  
  A few more “fun” ones (but they will require some familiarity between players in the community):
  
  
• Girls’ Night Out - This isn’t too far off from a bachelorette party (and is somewhat more guilt free). Sounds silly, but is a great way for female players/characters to “bond” through playing social games and learning more about each other. Some intoxication is generally expected (optional IRL), so teetotallers wouldn’t get much out of such an event.
  
  
• Roast - if Charlie Sheen can get one, so can we.
  
  
• Charity Fundraiser - pick a random charity... saving the orphans from a war-torn planet, funding the Sith Scouts, etc. Invite nobles, civic leaders, social climbers, and other rich hob-nobbers. For criminal bands this can even be a fake or “cover” non-profit organization to funnel illegal funds through.
  

[avernus]

Man.....

Something tells me that Roasting a Sith would end......poorly. Hilariously, but poorly.

[Tynril]

Roast 'em! *ZAAAAAPPPP* ....Nevermind, roast me instead. *coughs*

[darksunny]

Yeah, I have a feeling that other Sith would take that suggestion a bit too literally ;D.

Anyways, a bunch of great ideas here. Anything else of the cross-faction variety, or could that potentially cause problems?

[Tynril]

Cross-faction things might be..difficult. At least for Jedi/Sith, since they REALLY like killing each-other. Could see it working for non-Force classes, though!

[jarka]

Good stuff!

[darksunny]

Pitting the two against a more dangerous situation/foe could make temporary cooperation a plausible thing, though that would probably be better for a smaller group than what a full event would attract.

As to the list of great suggestions already made above, I like the "official" gathering idea for the overarching story lines that it could serve to promote, and the dance event just because those are fun, especially when one imagines what they could be like on the Imperial side of things.