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Hello! Im back to making essays apparently. Ill try to keep this from becoming a trend- again. However, I was trying to work out what it took to create a good, strongly written group and I got the simple, yet seemingly uncommon or unspoken answer to appear in my brainhole: Write your group like your writing a character.
I don't mean creating an extensive character sheet, however breaking down your group and considering it in this light as opposed to what most focus on- goals and aesthetic- I believe the groups you come up with will be more thoroughly thought out and realized, having a solid story telling foundation. For this, I came up with 4 sections to write out:
Stereotypes:
Working off of a stereotype, cliche, or archetype is a good way to start off with a character- and a group. However the thing to focus on is, people don't really like cookie cutter archetypal characters, or groups. They feel flat and predictable, which they often are. However, following Stereotypes to an extent allows for you to make use of common language movies and books have built up in players to get across aspects of your group without needing to explain them or explicitly state them. You are a cult: your probably zealous and ruthless in enacting your plans, and theres probably a lot of shady stuff hidden from even the members of your group. Your a knightly order: you follow a strict moral code and want to do what is right, often based on some religious morals.
As I said though, following this cookie-cutter makes for boring characters, and groups. Taking the past two examples. You are a cult: You seem to be an insane religious group and you keep secrets from the general members of your group. However, that secret agenda is actually an actually moral one, one most of your group might disagree with, maybe you work with the guard in secret to take down even more heinous groups. Or your a knightly order, enforcing your religion's will, but your secretly scamming the church and using the money to actually fix the issues that cause crime- such as donating to almshouses or feeding street orphans.
Archetypes are good for getting your group's identity across in shorthand, but you need to have a twist, usually a fairly obvious one, to catch people's attention and differentiate yourself.
Flaws:
Just like a character, your group needs flaws. Blind spots. Usually derived from your group's leadership's own weaknesses, or because things fall outside your group's focus. Your a stealth group that keeps falling into public display. Your trying to be morally superior but your arrogance alienates you and makes you look like a prick. Both literal physical failures and limitations as well as more mental ones. As an example:
Your guard charter has limited funds and has to make due with lighter armor, despite being focused on brute-force tactics. Or your bakery sells fantastic, amazing cakes, but the owner is a prick who drives off customers who lack thicker skin.
Its hard to think of examples of the spot. But they should be things that aren't easily circumvented or altered. Things that will stick, in your groups approach to situations, or attitude overall. Things that WILL limit you, in a negative way.
Inhibitions:
Inhibitions are a lot easier to explain, simply put: These are things your group will NOT do, or is VERY unwilling to do. Be they morally bound or tied by code. Your knightly order will NEVER draw their blades on holy ground, they must subdue issues with their hands or words alone. Your band of lowly thieves will never steal from those in need, forcing them to take higher risk jobs in the city to make ends meet. Your group will never cooperate with a Kathar, for they are foul and unholy. The idea is to force limits on yourselves that will make the group take more difficult paths. Conflict is the ichor of roleplay in many respects, especially for larger groups.
Motives:
Finally, we come to motives. DO NOT SKIP THIS. Ill emphasis immediately: Motives like "we want money and power" are weak, and shit tier. You need to prop yourself up on more than the bare-bones basic motivators like money and power and infamy. As secondaries? Sure. You need money to fund most larger goals anyway. But your MAIN GOAL should be drawn more from an Ideology. Morals. Less tangible sources of motive. You don't make a gang that wants to strong arm everyone for money. You make a gang that needs to get as much funds as possible to feed the poor. You dont make a group that enforces the law, for the sole sake of justice. Your group needs to be driven to correct the ways of the city in the name of whatever God, and to bring salvation, or to ensure no child has to go to sleep parentless again.
Motivation is key to a strong group. Your ideological motivator comes paramount to all else, then you build your more literal physical goals around it, to the ends of accomplishing or furthering the moral goal.
Theme will come naturally from the motivation source usually. If not, this is where aesthetic comes in- last. Not even worth a paragraph of its own, its been talked to death. Let everything above inform the aesthetics where applicable and you will do fine.
That is at least what I have come up with after pouring a lot of thought into the topic. Any group structured around these four pillars would, in my opinion, work far better than one built around an aesthetic or vague corporeal goal like money.
I don't mean creating an extensive character sheet, however breaking down your group and considering it in this light as opposed to what most focus on- goals and aesthetic- I believe the groups you come up with will be more thoroughly thought out and realized, having a solid story telling foundation. For this, I came up with 4 sections to write out:
Stereotypes:
Working off of a stereotype, cliche, or archetype is a good way to start off with a character- and a group. However the thing to focus on is, people don't really like cookie cutter archetypal characters, or groups. They feel flat and predictable, which they often are. However, following Stereotypes to an extent allows for you to make use of common language movies and books have built up in players to get across aspects of your group without needing to explain them or explicitly state them. You are a cult: your probably zealous and ruthless in enacting your plans, and theres probably a lot of shady stuff hidden from even the members of your group. Your a knightly order: you follow a strict moral code and want to do what is right, often based on some religious morals.
As I said though, following this cookie-cutter makes for boring characters, and groups. Taking the past two examples. You are a cult: You seem to be an insane religious group and you keep secrets from the general members of your group. However, that secret agenda is actually an actually moral one, one most of your group might disagree with, maybe you work with the guard in secret to take down even more heinous groups. Or your a knightly order, enforcing your religion's will, but your secretly scamming the church and using the money to actually fix the issues that cause crime- such as donating to almshouses or feeding street orphans.
Archetypes are good for getting your group's identity across in shorthand, but you need to have a twist, usually a fairly obvious one, to catch people's attention and differentiate yourself.
Flaws:
Just like a character, your group needs flaws. Blind spots. Usually derived from your group's leadership's own weaknesses, or because things fall outside your group's focus. Your a stealth group that keeps falling into public display. Your trying to be morally superior but your arrogance alienates you and makes you look like a prick. Both literal physical failures and limitations as well as more mental ones. As an example:
Your guard charter has limited funds and has to make due with lighter armor, despite being focused on brute-force tactics. Or your bakery sells fantastic, amazing cakes, but the owner is a prick who drives off customers who lack thicker skin.
Its hard to think of examples of the spot. But they should be things that aren't easily circumvented or altered. Things that will stick, in your groups approach to situations, or attitude overall. Things that WILL limit you, in a negative way.
Inhibitions:
Inhibitions are a lot easier to explain, simply put: These are things your group will NOT do, or is VERY unwilling to do. Be they morally bound or tied by code. Your knightly order will NEVER draw their blades on holy ground, they must subdue issues with their hands or words alone. Your band of lowly thieves will never steal from those in need, forcing them to take higher risk jobs in the city to make ends meet. Your group will never cooperate with a Kathar, for they are foul and unholy. The idea is to force limits on yourselves that will make the group take more difficult paths. Conflict is the ichor of roleplay in many respects, especially for larger groups.
Motives:
Finally, we come to motives. DO NOT SKIP THIS. Ill emphasis immediately: Motives like "we want money and power" are weak, and shit tier. You need to prop yourself up on more than the bare-bones basic motivators like money and power and infamy. As secondaries? Sure. You need money to fund most larger goals anyway. But your MAIN GOAL should be drawn more from an Ideology. Morals. Less tangible sources of motive. You don't make a gang that wants to strong arm everyone for money. You make a gang that needs to get as much funds as possible to feed the poor. You dont make a group that enforces the law, for the sole sake of justice. Your group needs to be driven to correct the ways of the city in the name of whatever God, and to bring salvation, or to ensure no child has to go to sleep parentless again.
Motivation is key to a strong group. Your ideological motivator comes paramount to all else, then you build your more literal physical goals around it, to the ends of accomplishing or furthering the moral goal.
Theme will come naturally from the motivation source usually. If not, this is where aesthetic comes in- last. Not even worth a paragraph of its own, its been talked to death. Let everything above inform the aesthetics where applicable and you will do fine.
That is at least what I have come up with after pouring a lot of thought into the topic. Any group structured around these four pillars would, in my opinion, work far better than one built around an aesthetic or vague corporeal goal like money.
