Yeah, you knew this was coming.
What is VLDR?
For those of you not from Town of Salem forums, VLDR has been shifting forms since its inception in 2014. Originally, it was pretty much just Forum Mafia adapted to the Zero Escape death game formula. Eventually, custom roles were made for it, and eventually, people actually started roleplaying in it, and fast forward to today where one crazy fucker has already run a time travel game.
(I’m not joking. That was last year. It’s only gotten more nuts since.)
Essentially, what VLDR is now is… very hard to define. But there are typical core aspects to it.
Core VLDR Aspects
- Everyone has a character they play. VLDR has long since moved past its days of no-RP games. We actually tried that when we moved to the new forum, exactly 1 time before everyone realized it wasn’t as fun. All VLDRs nowadays are pure roleplay.
- Everyone has a rolecard they are assigned. Rolecards typically (but not always) have certain traits, and may be customized to the character depending on the game:
- A rolecard title.
- A little quote or blurb or something as flavor.
- A list of stats. What stats specifically vary from game to game, but typically you’ll get Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Accuracy, and like 2 others. Typical rolecards have 5-6 stats.
- Aptitudes/ineptitudes for certain things, which give advantage/disadvantage respectively. Think D&D. Not every card has this.
- However many abilities. This has come to wildly vary between games, but for the sake of host sanities, most cards have 2-3 abilities. These may also come in the forms of debuffs, information, connections, etc., depending on the game.
- A “wincon”, or, as is starting to gain traction, a motivation. Wincons are no longer “wincons”, as winning is no longer as important as it used to be, but they still do exist. It just depends on the host. For example, you may need to escape, or kill 3 people, or ensure the mastermind meets their end, or maybe the “wincon” is a motivation instead and you have an ideology to follow. Again. Varies.
- Action results are rolled with a d20.
- Everyone typically has 5 base inventory slots and one “hidden” slot that cannot be found in searches while the player is alive and conscious.
- Each game has a map (whether viewable by the players or not) and an out-of-game jukebox to accompany the game.
- The game is organized in varying phases. What phases there are have come to vary wildly, but typically there’s a roaming phase where people wander around the map, find puzzles to solve, kill people, etc etc, and then like 1-2 other phases, depending on game mechanics.
- Each game typically has one main mechanic, which is usually Ambidex or Decision Games, a la Zero Escape.
- VLDR games have active processing. Time scales for in-game and out-of-game are pretty much impossible to sync up because of action processing, especially during combat, so just assume anime logic for some things.
- You may be lied to for game purposes, or because of someone’s ability.
- There will be lore. Oh, there will be so much lore. Prepare to embrace reading.
A standard rolecard may look a little something like this:
Example Rolecard
Dr. Eva Bug, The Judge
“I will not let my order be disrupted.”
STRENGTH: +0
DEXTERITY: -2
VITALITY: +2
ACCURACY: -1
INTELLIGENCE: +5
TECHNICAL: -1ADEPT: Analyzing People, Lying
INEPT: Acting Quickly
Will of the Prescripts | Item
These are the lines I will not cross.
You begin the game with your Prescripts, a book of your rules for living. This takes up no inventory slots for you and cannot be taken from your person while you’re conscious. You must follow every rule in the book, and have a +2 to doing so, as well as a +5 to any roll regarding willpower outside of your Prescripts.
Mapping the Mind | Talent
Oh, be ever so kind to keep that frightened look in your eyes…~
You are a renowned psychologist. You understand almost everything there is to know about how people work… and especially how they hurt. You learn things about people from observing them in pain, especially well if YOU’RE inflicting it.
Chains of Heaven | Talent
Never think that you are above me.
You have a +3 on rolls to restrain others. When you have someone restrained in any manner, they are INEPT at using their abilities.
[REDACTED] | Flaw
…I-I am in control.
Beware. If you lose control of your emotions, it may bring you strength, but at a terrible cost.
I will survive. But not without making sure the ones who brought me here don’t escape unscathed…
FAQ
Hey, wait, if you already have a forum and a community, why are you considering hosting games here?
Three main reasons. i mean if you WANT to go over to the forums you totally can just ask me
- I already have my own VLDRverse over there that I continue to procrastinate on and don’t want to intrude on that set of lore.
- Hosting games over here allows me to try some more experimental stuff without being soulread too hard by people who already know the cliches of VLDR.
- Only one game runs at a time over there, and oh god the scheduling nightmares. Lol lmao etc.
Are all VLDR games PVP? Or are there PVE VLDRs?
Well, other VLDR hosts in the past have run PVE games. I do not like PVE. So all of my games will be PVP, or at least partially so. But PVP always takes priority over PVE, so even if there are NPC enemies to brutally murder, you will always be incentivized to kill your friends.
Will you be doing a time travel game like that one host you mentioned?
...
No.
Will you allow ANY out of character moments?
Nope! (Though comments explicitly marked as ooc, like ((this)) or //this are okay in certain situations, like saying “oh god there’s a house fire nearby I can’t post right now” or something. Do not abuse this.)
having thought about it yeah ooc shitposts are fine but don’t include information the people viewing the shitposts don’t know and don’t just start entire ooc conversations
How do we make our characters? I’m bad at making characters and roleplaying!
Well, try your best, for starters. And secondly, you really just need a name, an appearance (a lot of VLDR players use images from online or picrews, or if you’re an overachieving slut like me you draw all your characters), and some backstory. Ask me for advice. Or to hear me ramble for literal hours about character creation because it’s one of my passions.
Actually, here’s an entire thread on it:
A Guide On Making Characters and Roleplaying Them
Does the character have to fit the rolecard? Or does the rolecard have to fit the character?
Historically, varies. Most games typically give a rolecard outright with everything set, and people make a character to match. Some games, especially as of recent, start with a base rolecard, let the person make their character ideas off the base, and then add more to the final rolecard to match the character. Very few games let the person make the character and THEN make the rolecard. As in. The players make the rolecard. CYR is a nightmare.
I personally prefer the second one. It would go a little something like this:
Tailor Your Role example
The Mercenary
“War is hell. I LOVE hell!”
Armed and Ready | Item
You begin the game with a weapon befitting your character. This will not take up an inventory slot for you.
Shut Up and Dance | Talent
Should you land a hit on a target AND dodge an enemy’s attack in one combat round, you get another attack action. This stacks, should you be facing multiple opponents or an opponent with multiple attacks.
Scars | Flaw
Your character is damaged, perhaps permanently, from their history of fighting. Whatever it may be, it incurs a notable debuff.
Following player feedback and character creation, the host works things out and updates the rolecard:
Belladonna Rudyk-LaFey, The Mercenary
“Y’ ever seen what happens when y’ corner a wild animal?”
STRENGTH: +5
DEXTERITY: +2
VITALITY: -2
ACCURACY: -1
INTELLIGENCE: -2
TECHNICAL: +0
Armed and Ready | Item
My beautiful, bloodthirsty baby!
You begin the game with an enchanted shotgun. It has effectively infinite ammo… as long as you actually land the shot. You begin with 1 charge, and gain a charge for every 3 regular attacks you land. This will not take up an inventory slot for you.
Better Luck Next Time | Item
Yeah, no, I’m not dealing with this shit again.
You begin with a protective vest hidden under your clothes. It is bulletproof, and resistant to stabbing. This will not take up an inventory slot for you.
Shut Up and Dance | Talent
All that training paid off after all.
Should you land a hit on a target AND dodge an enemy’s attack in one combat round, you get another attack action. This stacks, should you be facing multiple opponents or an opponent with multiple attacks.
Scars of the Mind’s Eye | Flaw
Shit! No! Not like this!
You spent so long alone all that time ago, it did a significant number on your mind and left you with recurring bouts of psychosis and anger issues. Every so often, the host will roll a flat d20 roll, the DC determined by circumstances, and, should you fail, you will temporarily lose your grasp on reality and perceive things that aren’t there. A natural 1 will send you into a sudden bout of paranoid, feral aggression, and you will attack the nearest person.
Fuck all of you! I’m here for a good fight! (And to get paid…)
Will rolecards be balanced?
i’m trying my best
Are there winners and losers?
Not really? I mean. Because of how RP-heavy VLDR has become, I would personally argue that winning no longer is a thing. Hence why I no longer use wincons, and use character motivations instead to steer players into their in-game roles without making it feel clunky and awkward. Helps with characterization better.
Do I roll the D20, like in D&D?
No. The host rolls everything. This helps mask certain results and prevents metagaming. And it gives me an excuse to pull out my clicky-clack math rocks.
What is the extent of PVP? Do I have to kill everyone to win?
Not necessarily. It depends on the game, your rolecard, and, most importantly, your character. You could make it through a game of VLDR without ANYONE dying. Though, PVP is poggers, and I personally prefer it happening vs not happening. So make of that what you will.
How do we process actions as quickly as a game like this needs?
Typically, we over at VLDR use Discord. Actions are NOT public. (However, there are ways to send actions privately without Discord, so it’s up to what you and the host work out.) (Also there’s an exception for flavor actions like waving your hand, physical tics, hitting the griddy, etc etc)
Are puzzles mandatory?
I will never make puzzles mandatory. Breathe a sigh of relief. Puzzles are optional, and solving them gives good rewards.
What in the heck is an Ambidex and Decision Game?
Ambidex is Prisoner’s Dilemma. Decision Game is “make a decision and it might get your allies/enemies killed. Good luck!” (well it’s more complicated than that but that can be explained later)
How long do VLDR games last on average?
About like. 2-3 weeks. We’ve definitely had shorter/longer, but a game SHOULD take less than a month. Shoutout to VLDR:ZTD Nascaring the entire game in 10 real life days and that one game of VLDR that just didn’t get canned/finished for like 14 months straight.
Is this Danganronpa?
Are you gay?
Well, yes, that was a given.
