The Story Circle discussion

[Fyn16]

TL;DR I want to start an RP in which our characters swap stories.

That said, you should totally read what I have to say. You know you wanna...  

Greetings to all!

I'd like to open up a new RP with an... interesting twist: the Story Circle. The Story Circle centers around a group of dinosaurs (our own characters) as they swap stories. Allow me to explain:

The Lore
No one knows exactly when the Story Circle began, but  how the tradition began is a topic less shrouded in mystery. Dinosaurs in traveling herds who were required to stay up late and keep watch for Sharpteeth eventually came to realize their task was much easier when they grouped up to share the stories they'd been told as young ones. As herds became more and more diversified, so did the tales. Some dinosaurs would even stay up late with the sentries just to hear the stories they had to offer. Word spread, and the tradition passed to stationary herds as well. It wasn't long before Story Circles were commonplace. They were an excellent way to get to know fellow travelers, and learn about one another's heritage. To this day, the Story Circle remains an important part of Leaf Eater culture, and it is expected to continue on far into the future.

Our Role
Each participant represents one or more characters of their own creation. These characters have gathered for their own Story Circle, and each will have multiple chances to share their own stories. These can be anything from creation tales, to scary stories, and even myths and legends. This differs from a standard RP in that dialogue is minimal. Instead each post will be a small story introduced by our respective characters. For example- if I were to post it would look something like this:

Ex: Fyn regards the young ones that have gathered near the circle with admiration, briefly wondering if any plan on sharing their own stories before he speaks.

"Tonight's tale is The Story of the Five"

Long ago, [blah blah blah, five young dinosaurs, yaddah yaddah, tragedy, something something, Great Valley]

There would be no dialogue to interrupt this tale, and the whole thing would have to fit within one post. If there's interest, I could set this up so that one person posts a story each day or each week (depending on personal time constraints).

Why am I Doing This?
The Story Circle came to mind under the guise of creating a laid-back RP that isn't story-driven. It's a hangout of sorts where we can gather to share our stories, and in doing so, bring out our creative sides. The Land Before Time is a diverse universe- imagine if you will, how differently a Longneck and a Spiketail might see the world, or what little Threehorns might tell each other at night to scare themselves away from sleep. It's this cultural diversity within the series' dinosaurs that I want to capture in this RP, and we can get a chance to do that- and practice our own storytelling to boot- with this series of stories.

If you're interested in giving this a try, please let me know, and we can get started as soon as possible! I think this could be a lot of fun!

[rhombus]

I wouldn't mind giving this a try.    It certainly sounds like an interesting idea.

I did have one question, however: would you prefer that the characters we are playing are OCs or canon characters?  Because that could affect the nature of the stories that are being told (if it is form a firsthand account, if they are exaggerated versions of the Gang of Five own stories that have been told for generations, if there are any sharptooth stories from Chomper, etc.)

[Fyn16]

Using OCs was my intention for this particular RP. It's not that I have anything against using the canon characters, of course- it's just what I had in mind when I came up with the idea. The Gang's story could be very interesting told from another source, too, with different interpretations certainly being possible as well. In fact, canon-related stories would also be quite interesting to hear. Perhaps something about the Stone of Cold Fire or the like.

Either way, that's the beauty of this little experiment of mine. The storyteller can tell just about anything!  

[The Great Valley Guardian]

I would certainly like to give this a try as I'd been hoping to get back into RPing with this wonderful group.

[Fyn16]

Great! I'm going to be working on compiling a set of rules tomorrow- hopefully we can get a few more in on this too!

[Fyn16]

Alright, here's the official rules post. I'll be updating the first post as a character reference sheet as well, and will include a copy of the rules there, too.

-Participants are encouraged to create an original character for this RP. This OC may be one you've already created (this can actually benefit you, as it gives you the chance to flesh out their character a bit)

-Each post should be based around the following format: Character's spoken introduction (present tense), Story (past tense), Character's spoken conclusion (optional, present tense)
-Double posting is not allowed

-Participants may post as often as they want (provided double posting is avoided, as mentioned above) and in whatever order they wish.

-Stories can be about anything as long as it applies in some way to the LBT universe. Be creative! We've got a lot of species representative, with very different myths and legends. Stories can also be based around existing tales in our world, as long as they're "dinosaurized" in a convincing manner (for example the concept of war, while quite prevalent in Homer's The Iliad, probably doesn't apply so easily to dinosaurs. Turf disputes, on the other hand...)

-Certain types of Sharpteeth may be used as OCs, provided they've proven friendly to herbivores before. Most Piscivores should be okay, but Spinosaurus is out due to its proven hostility in the series.

-Story content of a graphic nature will be permitted (I mean look at Greek mythology for goodness' sake), but the character telling said story should warn the audience (in character) if graphic descriptions will be used (ex: "Tonight, I'll tell you about the legend of the Darkwater Dweller. But be warned- this story is not for  the faint of heart")

-OC sheets will be very simple, and should stick to this format:
Character Name
Age
Short Bio (not a life story, this is about how your character ended up coming to this story circle)

-And finally, enjoy yourselves and feel free to discuss what you enjoy and where others can improve on their stories (in character of course). This is a fun RP, where we can come to relax and show off what we know about our own characters and their heritage, and in the process, dust off some of our RP skills while getting to know each other a little better!

[Fyn16]

Well, while this post hasn't attracted the attention I was hoping for, I think it'd be fair to say we can at least get our characters straight. Maybe as we post the rest of the community can get a better idea of what we're all about. Just follow the guidelines above if you wish to submit a storyteller. I'll be holding off my character post for a bit- I have a few in mind, but I'm still working on my decision.

[rhombus]

Here are some characters that I am considering using at some point:

Character Name : Luma
Character Species :  Threehorn (Triceratops)
Character Age :  At least 40 seasons (he claims to have lost count)

Short Bio :  Little is known about Luma's history besides what others in the threehorn herds have whispered amongst themselves.  There are adult storytellers who remember Luma seeming ancient even when they were younglings, which has led to much speculation as to his actual age.  Most of the older threehorns doubt his fantastic stories as the ramblings of a mind grown feeble with age, whereas some of the more superstitious threehorns suspect that he saw some of his stories firsthand.  

Regardless of his origin, he has gained a reputation for being introverted and nearly unreachable, only being accessible when he tells his tales.  Only then does the stoic facade lift and the true storyteller appear.  It was in his usual stoic and silent manner that he appeared by the Story circle one day.  His presence being the only sign that he would tell his tales to the assembled dinosaurs.


Character Name : Flutter
Character Species :  Flyer (Pteranodon)
Character Age :  16

Short Bio :  A scion of a well-known flyer story-teller family, Flutter had the idea to share the stories of his kind with other dinosaurs.  Despite setbacks due to the cultural differences between flyers and the ground-dwellers in his former home, he hasn't lost hope that he would find a willing audience among some of the far-walkers.  It was this hope of a more receptive audience among the more outgoing dinosaurs that drove him to finally cross the Great Divide and seek out new horizons.  But would his hopes be realized?


Character Name :  Rift and Lunge
Character Species :  Fastrunners (Oviraptors)
Character Age :  27

Short Bio :  Not much is known about the background of these two besides the fact that they are mates and often are distant followers behind many leaf-eater herds.  Some of the more accepting think that they do this in order to follow the growing plants, whereas the more cynical suspect that they do this to feed upon whatever the sharpteeth left behind... in any case they are only permitted to follow from a distance.  No one wants a potential egg stealer in the herd.

However, by the communal watering holes in the Mysterious Beyond, things are different.  Even sharpteeth may drink from these pools in an odd sort of truce that is not a truce.  One of the inherent contradictions of the hard life that the travelling herds face.  It was in one of these watering holes that Rift was caught telling a tale to his children, which made several leaf-eater younglings listen in out of curiosity.  Ever since then the two have been welcomed to the Story Circle.  It has become one more area where the Oviraptors can be subject the uneasy truce between the leaf-eaters and the omnivores.

[Fyn16]

With RPs a bit more active than they were last time I posted this, I'd like to try and rekindle interest for this little project. If you need info, it's all in the first few posts. Happy viewing!

[Ducky123]

I'm very busy right now but I might have time for this in a few weeks. Certainly interested - a cool creativity challenge

[Fyn16]

Glad to hear you're interested! Because this RP's a much slower pace, with more time between thought-out, longer posts, I figure it could be perfect for those who don't have much time to spare. Making it a weekly thing would be easier on everyone's schedules, and would help take some of the pressure off.