NPC-land -or- In the land of Oz

NPC-land.
A solitary place
but one of power
because a single player
controls his universe.

It's Oz & you're the Wizard.
Not a place we recommend.

In "The Tribe" when a character would go into tv's version of NPC-land, you basically didn't see them anymore. Jack fled the mall because of Ellie & Luke. Salene went in search of Ryan. Amber went to try & recruit allies against the Guardian. Once they got back into the main line of the story, then they were visible again.

There are lots of ways to wind up in NPC-land. (Technically, a game zone of non-player-characters where one player controls all aspects of this corner of game-world...essentially playing by him or herself.)

1) You can't think of another way to bring your new character into the game, so instead of meshing with existing players & action you create your own outside realm. Then you hope slowly to pull them together.

2) You decide a new storyline would be nice, so you take all your creative efforts & put them toward bringing that thread to life. Until you can get other players to buy in to your idea, you're basically in NPC-land.

3) As part of the game/story, your character gets isolated somewhere. Maybe imprisoned, or exiled, or going on some sort of personal quest, or trapped somewhere alone. It's happened & believe me, it's no fun until you can get your character out of that situation.

There are other ways, but these are the most common.

NPC-land is frustrating, both for the player stuck in it & the other players watching. Usually you see so much talent & energy going into something small that could be harnessed to really energize the game.

KTDARPG, like most role-plays, is based on the stratetic interactions of a multitude of players & characters. Interesting individuals bringing their unique characters--and their unique perspectives--into the game to create a "whole" that's definitely greater than the sum of its parts!

Don't get stuck in the graveyard, guys. There's a great game-world here just waiting for you to participate!

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"