Suggestion SWRP: What If....Major Factions had a expiration dates?

[Boggo Flib]

(TLDR) WHAT IF: Major factions only lasted 1-2years OOC and then "expired" or were re-called. Do you like this or not?

As the title says.

What would it look like if Major Factions only had 1 1/2 years or 2 years of OOC time before they end? Alot could happen in that time. Factions would have time to loosely plan, or not, out a beginning, middle and end. What do you imagine this concept would look like in theory? Do you like this idea or do you hate it?

IF this was a rule or whatever, would you feel like it is fair or a challenge? Or does reading this all make you lowkey say " What would be the point?"

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

I think it could have potential, might mitigate writers from getting too overly-attached to their blobs on the map and encourage writers to be more willing to seek out other factions for coordinating long-term stories together, perhaps even encourage some to take the plunge and create new factions. But, for some who prefer everything to be 'free-form' and enjoy flying by the seat of their pants, it would be difficult. Not sure how it would look in practice, would need to consider that a little more.

 

[Caelan Valoren]

I get why you asked it, but Im of the opinion that a rule that eliminates a faction inorganically would make the RP not fun, especially near the end. Probably faction involvement would drop off near the end because motivation would wane at that point. I know technically the same thing happens with a recall, but you can recover from an activity warning. It doesn't have the same impact on people's involvement a set end date probably would.

 

[Delsin Shaw]

No. Here's my thoughts.

If a faction has a timer, it forces people to play their faction a specific set of ways. Hyper aggressive in Invasions, dominions, and or populations. Building to get as large as they can so they can dominate the map.

OR they will just stay in their bubble. Do some small stuff and not attach to or attack anyone else. Because they know they are going to be forced to lose it at the end.

You would also have the problem of, if they go minor again, could they just, pay for major again the next month? Or would there be a limit? Or would the faction be required to completely die and start a new one?

The site has all this shiny stuff to chase. And then when you worked so hard to get so big, it gets taken away because "it's my turn on the Xbox, mom said so.".

No. Is rather have two or three large factions and help build up smaller ones, that stay there for years because the writer base is active, than force them to shut down because they held on too long. It punishes the faction for being around longer. Not encourages it.

 

[Wedge Draav]

It would certainly help burnout. But I also noticed, for a lot of factions- Sith, Imperial mostly, it's a re-hash of the same people, same writers, same stories, same motivations, same look, same motivations IC- so I always wonder why the Sith Empire burns out so many times.

So it does get hard to "care". But I also can see the arguments against it. I think the Alliance is the longest-running faction on the board afaik, someone correct me if I'm wrong. And to it's betterment and also to it's detriment imo. But I think timelines for major factions would be good in some regards, and bad in others. But I don't think players changing hands is bad. It's just... odd to see the same people in the same factions, making me wonder why they go under. That's personally true for me too, being a long-time Mandalorian writer, with as many Mandalorian Major Factions as you can think of.

But all things are finite. And as many people have said on the site, stagnation is boring.

 

[Credit Wizard]

I think it would be beneficial for the site.

No ruler can rule forever, and no faction should maintain dominance, even in the face of significant activity or a surge in new narratives. As a long-standing member of the community for four years, I have observed much, not always in a friendly manner, particularly when engaging with factions led by veteran writers who have been active since 2016.

Like many others, I have heard tales of the Salt Wars from the past and have noticed a recurring pattern of narrative stagnation masked by terms such as "Faction Intent" or "doesn't align with our faction aesthetic," or simply due to exclusion from the 'in crowd' that holds administrative roles within these factions.

It would be beneficial for a faction to establish a clear end-goal, as this would facilitate the development of stories that are cohesive, allowing all participants to write towards a shared objective rather than pursuing numerous disconnected individual narratives.

Would it be just for the Site Staff to terminate your storyline after you have invested considerable effort into it? Perhaps not, but one should refrain from becoming overly attached to any single event or faction because that just leads to the rehasing of ideas and storyplots from chaos's glory days because you can't let go out of spite.

 

[Boggo Flib]

You would also have the problem of, if they go minor again, could they just, pay for major again the next month? Or would there be a limit? Or would the faction be required to completely die and start a new one?

Tbh I did not think this far about it. You make a great point. Are you in favor of any one of those options you listed? Or even with the options, do you think the complications of a faction "expiration date" would lead to the same points you listed so far?

I get why you asked it, but Im of the opinion that a rule that eliminates a faction inorganically would make the RP not fun, especially near the end. Probably faction involvement would drop off near the end because motivation would wane at that point. I know technically the same thing happens with a recall, but you can recover from an activity warning. It doesn't have the same impact on people's involvement a set end date probably would.

I often have a hard time seeing the subtle differences. All too often for me "an end is a end" So your perspective I really appreciate and wanna understand more of. Especially for the " eliminates a faction inorganically would make the RP not fun" bit. To deviate slightly and with what you said above, How do you also view predetermined threads or events?

My curiosity is where or how you may experience differences or similarities for pre-determination in general. All things have an end. How do you enjoy the time in-between?

It would certainly help burnout.

You think so? How come?

 

[Jonyna Si]

I've only been here for two years now, and in that time I've seen factions rise up, and fall within 6 months, but I've also seen factions last years on end.

Planting artificial time limits on factions seems like an awful idea, because all it does is encourage factions built around flash in the pan ideas, finishing their story and then going away to the next idea.

It discourages long term storytelling, and forces characters to conform to the time limit, rather than trying to develop them.

Jonyna has been through a massively long arc in the last 2 years, growing slowly. Going from a rebel knight who came from an era where the jedi did what they had to to survive, to a proper jedi master who could stand alongside the rest of the council.

The GA has been around for nearly 5 years now, and setting an artificial time limit would've led to her feeling lost had the GA just suddenly disappeared, and would've likely led to me leaving the site, because my story was suddenly disrupted.

It's not fun to see the faction you've invested in disappear for reasons outside of your control, and it'd certainly scare me off.

 

[Delsin Shaw]

Tbh I did not think this far about it. You make a great point. Are you in favor of any one of those options you listed? Or even with the options, do you think the complications of a faction "expiration date" would lead to the same points you listed so far?

Not really. I wouldn't want to see this at all.

if it were implemented, allowing them to come back the next month, just feels like they are constantly doing a rotation of being active and jumping through hoops to regain what they had lost. if you extend the time any much more than a month, then other factions can swoop in and take the planets they had, rewrite what they had done, and force them to start somewhere else. Extending the time longer than a month or two would kill any desire to bring the faction back, unless the idea of the faction is about always going back into the shadows or "tactical retreat" and show up somewhere else.

And if the faction is required to die completely, then all of their stories about the faction, are now lost to history and can only be picked up if a "new Faction" pops up in the same spot to take what was lost. You run the risk of the same people starting "Galactic Republic," then moving to "Galactic Alliance" then moving to "Galactic Democracy." To now "Galactic Defense Force." or whatever. Same faction, new name. Same people doing the same thing over and over again with just a new name.

We already have that to begin with. How many iterations of the Galactic Republic/Alliance have there been? How many iterations of "The Sith Empire." or "The Sith Order" have there been?

All it will do is force people off the map game, for no IC reasoning. If you want to see a faction die, then start a faction to fight them. Not force them off because "Mom said I can."

 

[Jonyna Si]

If you want to see a faction die, then start a faction to fight them. Not force them off because "Mom said I can."

Alternatively, go off, do your own thing. Let people have their sandcastles.

Start a faction with your own ideas, do it somewhere that isn't claimed. There's plenty of open space rn, and once the map update goes up, there's gonna be a lot more

 

[Kurayami Bloodborn]

Pointless. In the end, you are going to get a rehash of another Sith Empire, another Galactic Alliance, another Imperial state, Mandalorians or Rebel Alliance/Resistance of some such flavor. Those are the iconic themes of Star Wars, and what people want to write. Yea, you might get couple Black Suns or Hutt Cartels and their ilk as well, though maybe not as many because the writer base isn't usually as large.

Also as others have said when being forced into a set timeline people will likely either stick to their corner and not interact, or go hyper aggressive and that can be a bit of a headache and lead to burnout for anyone who isn't all about invasions and the like. Why punish a faction that has stayed active for many years? Why force people to agree that if they go major they have to agree to a set timespan? How does that make sense? 'Sure you can have an EMpire, but it will expire in this time. No more." Why bother having the drive for a major faction then? At that point screw the map game altogether, just stay minor and don't bother with timeframes.

 

[Caelan Valoren]

My curiosity is where or how you may experience differences or similarities for pre-determination in general. All things have an end. How do you enjoy the time in-between?

I think that would depend on how you define pre-determined. Every individual story has a determined ending to some extent but how you get there varies. And the determined ending for the few who orchestrated the thread doesn't mean there is a determined ending for everyone involved. For example, the Dominion of Lazerian IV. The outcome for Caelan was pre-determined, as was gaining the planet for the Alliance, but for everyone else involved, there wasn't a pre-determined outcome, it was just an organic story that went wherever it went. Even the people who went with Caelan didn't know what was going to happen to their characters along the way.

The difference between the stories and having a set end date for the faction is that it sort of forces faction implosion of some sort. Instead of a small story having a bad ending, it's forcing a lot of people to experience a bad ending. Keep in mind this is just my opinion, but given the nature of the galaxy and the presence of evil within it, the loss of a lightside faction for any reason would be a negative thing. How can a faction cease to control planets in a way that isn't negative knowing that evil remains out there dominating planets?

 

[Kitter Bitters]

I think if factions go under its ultimately because the interest and activity isn't there. If they are lasting long its because they are attracting writers and telling active stories. Ultimately the map reflects what writers are willing to work for. If you don't like a faction existing then make a major faction and attack it until its gone.

It just seems like salt to say a faction shouldn't exist because it's been around too long. If its been around that long it means it has active writers engaging in it so whats the point of taking away something they enjoy? Juts so someone else can own that fictional piece of the map?

 

[Helios Ardemark]

I think the Alliance is the longest-running faction on the board afaik, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Longest running active faction currently, yes - as Jonyna Si said, five years, which is a damn long time for any faction when most majors don't last more than 1 - 3 years - but longest running ever goes to the Silver Jedi Order/Silver Sanctum Coalition, which existed as a major faction for nine years from 2014 to 2023.

Alternatively, go off, do your own thing. Let people have their sandcastles.

I get what you're saying, and I like writing what I enjoy with people whose company I enjoy as much as the next person, but... sitting in your own corner and doing your own thing defeats the purpose of being on the map, when to become legitimate and get on the map in the first place tends to require interacting with other factions, from my understanding.

 

[Jonyna Si]

I get what you're saying, and I like writing what I enjoy with people whose company I enjoy as much as the next person, but... sitting in your own corner and doing your own thing defeats the purpose of being on the map, when to become legitimate and get on the map in the first place tends to require interacting with other factions, from my understanding.

It does, but with how much open space is on the board rn, if one wanted to make a major that just keeps to themselves rn, but was super active, I could see that going over well.

My point is more that, in today's day and age, factions designed to 'wipe the map' of older factions don't really work anymore, because all it does is encourage OOC toxicity. Let conflict happen organically, and make a faction around the story you want to tell, rather than simply wanting to be an opposing force for a faction you don't like.

 

[Boggo Flib]

I think that would depend on how you define pre-determined. Every individual story has a determined ending to some extent but how you get there varies. And the determined ending for the few who orchestrated the thread doesn't mean there is a determined ending for everyone involved. For example, the Dominion of Lazerian IV. The outcome for Caelan was pre-determined, as was gaining the planet for the Alliance, but for everyone else involved, there wasn't a pre-determined outcome, it was just an organic story that went wherever it went. Even the people who went with Caelan didn't know what was going to happen to their characters along the way.

The difference between the stories and having a set end date for the faction is that it sort of forces faction implosion of some sort. Instead of a small story having a bad ending, it's forcing a lot of people to experience a bad ending. Keep in mind this is just my opinion, but given the nature of the galaxy and the presence of evil within it, the loss of a lightside faction for any reason would be a negative thing. How can a faction cease to control planets in a way that isn't negative knowing that evil remains out there dominating planets?

So far im picking up that your answer has framed the topic more in terms of impact on group dynamics and narrative consequences rather than personal enjoyment of in-between moments. Ngl, You lost me. What im really interested in from you is your personal experience and perspective of how you enjoy roleplay or faction roleplay that seemingly has a end, period. Be it definite or eventual.

Pointless. In the end, you are going to get a rehash of another Sith Empire, another Galactic Alliance, another Imperial state, Mandalorians or Rebel Alliance/Resistance of some such flavor. Those are the iconic themes of Star Wars, and what people want to write. Yea, you might get couple Black Suns or Hutt Cartels and their ilk as well, though maybe not as many because the writer base isn't usually as large.

Also as others have said when being forced into a set timeline people will likely either stick to their corner and not interact, or go hyper aggressive and that can be a bit of a headache and lead to burnout for anyone who isn't all about invasions and the like. Why punish a faction that has stayed active for many years? Why force people to agree that if they go major they have to agree to a set timespan? How does that make sense? 'Sure you can have an EMpire, but it will expire in this time. No more." Why bother having the drive for a major faction then? At that point screw the map game altogether, just stay minor and don't bother with timeframes.

I wanna ask you the same question as Caelan. What makes a roleplay or faction roleplay enjoyable for you even when you know it's going to end?

 

[Boggo Flib]

It discourages long term storytelling, and forces characters to conform to the time limit, rather than trying to develop them.

Jonyna has been through a massively long arc in the last 2 years, growing slowly. Going from a rebel knight who came from an era where the jedi did what they had to to survive, to a proper jedi master who could stand alongside the rest of the council.

The GA has been around for nearly 5 years now, and setting an artificial time limit would've led to her feeling lost had the GA just suddenly disappeared, and would've likely led to me leaving the site, because my story was suddenly disrupted.

It's not fun to see the faction you've invested in disappear for reasons outside of your control, and it'd certainly scare me off.

This is something I also did not expect to read! It sounds like your character's growth has been deeply tied to the faction's journey. Do you see a distinction between your character's personal arc and the overarching faction story, or do you feel they're inseparable? If Jonyna's character arc is separate does that effect your outlook on the topic or no?

 

[Wedge Draav]

You think so? How come?

Personally, I've been on Chaos a long time- a very, very long time. As of August of 2025, I will have been here for over 12 years. Of course this is marked by periods of inactivity, LOA, low posting, etc etc. But throughout my time I have been at least- consistently present. So, I say this with earnest, that I think when people are given an endgoal, an endstate, that they do better, have something to write around. I'm also for challenging people, for expanding on their writing. And I think the map game- ultimately shoehorns people. And I want them to do better, to see what they can write. I know I meme about "Alan doesn't get tagged, Alan doesn't read" which is obviously not true. I follow several writers religiously (I won't say who) for the quality of their writing.

I mean, where else do I get to read essentially mini-books for free, get to be inspired, get to appreciate art, beauty, creativity, stories, characters on such a scale? I think Chaos is a special place not just in the realm of roleplaying, but in writing in general. I hope one day to write half as well as some of the people I've written with and read here.

That being said, I think outside, actual challenges inspires people, creates tension and pressure, and pressure makes diamonds. As in Proverbs, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." I believe that to my core (not just because I'm Catholic) but because with a real, tenable goal, a real thing outside the in-character thing, people perform better. I know not everyone likes that mindset, and there's plenty of people use this as escapism. I know I certainly do. Chaos has been here with me in most major events in my life- deployments, an OIS, breakups, a failure of an engagement, all of that. I don't talk about a lot of these things because I can write out my feelings with my characters, or just have a constant source of escapism, a brief respite- but that being said, Chaos should not be the totality of your online life, or a major force in your everyday life. I think I've been at the points where I found Chaos to be on my mind more than usual, or checking the forum too often for my lacking for updates, etc. I think that's what drives my sporadic levels of inactivity over the years- the constant need for validation, for updates, can drive a person to burnout.

That and I like the (SWRP) chaos of factions rising and falling. There's a lot to write with them. Minor factions are where my heads at lately- as I get older I have less time for the map game, and my style of writing is more focused on the interpersonal stories of my characters rather than the sweeping narratives of major factions. I also don't believe in tying your characters to single factions. Think of all the people that just say- Han Solo interacted with, legends and canon-wise. From this place to that place, to every which way. A Jedi doesn't need a major faction, a Pilot doesn't need a major faction. It's nicer, sure, to have a cohesive writing set- but I want people to be pushed.

My point is more that, in today's day and age, factions designed to 'wipe the map' of older factions don't really work anymore, because all it does is encourage OOC toxicity. Let conflict happen organically, and make a faction around the story you want to tell, rather than simply wanting to be an opposing force for a faction you don't like.

I think OOC toxicity is mostly due to people taking some things that are occurring IC into OOC. I think that's the main driver of "toxicity". But ultimately I've grown to hate the word "toxicity". The guy roleplaying as Stalin and Hitler or Himmler, or whatever it was back in the day, or espousing ultra-right-wing talking points in discords and racist memes, that's toxic. Discourse about writing, quality of writing, plans, faction direction, or critiques are not toxicity. I think the word "toxic" has become oversaturated on the forum nowadays that it's ultimately become a weightless word to me, dismissed outright in some cases.

Conflict happening organically is what drives these conflicts, but a lack of desire to engage in conflict or frustration about conflict is silly to me. Invasions are competitive by nature, and by playing the map game, you engage in the idea that any point someone can come in and try and take your lunch. Sith writers back in the day (and to a lesser degree now) were so aggressive that they punched a hole straight to the heart of the Republic, and wrote so well that they kept winning. I always thought that was cool.

If you want to play the map game- you have to play the map game. Don't play the map game if you don't want someone coming in and kicking at your door. It can't exist both ways. It's like that in Star Wars, why should it not be a thing here on Chaos too?

Longest running active faction currently, yes - as Jonyna Si Jonyna Si said, five years, which is a damn long time for any faction when most majors don't last more than 1 - 3 years - but longest running ever goes to the Silver Jedi Order/Silver Sanctum Coalition, which existed as a major faction for nine years from 2014 to 2023.

My own faction- how dare I, my friend. How dare I. My memory has gotten terrible over the years!

 

[Jonyna Si]

This is something I also did not expect to read! It sounds like your character's growth has been deeply tied to the faction's journey. Do you see a distinction between your character's personal arc and the overarching faction story, or do you feel they're inseparable? If Jonyna's character arc is separate does that effect your outlook on the topic or no?

Jonyna's arc happened because of the faction, and thus is tied to it, yes.

She came out of the ice, having been a character that grew up in the imperial era, and having spent her early years on the run, and living in fear.

Then she came out, and all of a sudden, the fight had been won. Her rebel tendencies didn't fit in as much. She needed to settle down, and adjust to a galaxy that had found (at the time) a lasting peace.

If the GA were to suddenly disappear in the middle of that, because 'they've been around too long', then Jonyna would've been lost without a place, and I probably would've left, because there was no light side faction to write with at the time.

Both the GA and SO are still SUPER active despite the former being around for 5 years, and the latter being around for 3. There's no reason for staff to want them gone, as they have no real dip in activity. Sure, it might not be the high octane PvP driven activity that a lot of people are wanting most of the time, but they are still active.

 

[Delsin Shaw]

Alternatively, go off, do your own thing. Let people have their sandcastles.

Start a faction with your own ideas, do it somewhere that isn't claimed. There's plenty of open space rn, and once the map update goes up, there's gonna be a lot more

This is what I don't want to see though. If you are a Major faction then you play the map game as soon as you do. If you want to stay "in your lane" and play with our own sandbox, then start a Minor faction and play with it. Go with it. Do your thing, in your corner, where you don't have to worry about people rushing you or fighting you in Invasions.

Some of the best threads I ever wrote were in minor factions.

If you become major, you play the map game. That is what you sign up for. It's like signing up to boxing classes and get mad when someone makes your nose bleed. You put yourself in a position to get punched (invaded) and now you are upset when it happens?

That and I like the (SWRP) chaos of factions rising and falling. There's a lot to write with them. Minor factions are where my heads at lately- as I get older I have less time for the map game, and my style of writing is more focused on the interpersonal stories of my characters rather than the sweeping narratives of major factions. I also don't believe in tying your characters to single factions. Think of all the people that just say- Han Solo interacted with, legends and canon-wise. From this place to that place, to every which way. A Jedi doesn't need a major faction, a Pilot doesn't need a major faction. It's nicer, sure, to have a cohesive writing set- but I want people to be pushed.

I get that feeling completely. I find myself near that same boat/shore. Been through so many things IRL that I just can't spend as much time as I did in the past. I remember being able to make over 70 posts a day because of how much free time I had on my hands.

I have no idea how I could do that now. But that's not really the point. If you are enjoying the site with how much or how little you interact with it, then continue that. Some people are in the stages of life or have the free time to spend on here like we had in the past. And denying them that opportunity because "I don't like the map game anymore." Is disingenuous to them.

I would be more than willing to stop writing on chaos to help run and facilitate the site. Because I know eventually I may not write anymore. But I want others to experience that thrill I had.

Making a rule, forcing factions to act a specific way that was different from years ago, because it wasn't how we dealt with it, limits the future writers.

I don't want people to just sit in a corner and play with a single shiny thing. I want them to interact. But I'm also not going to force them to do so for the betterment of a few others who want that forced interaction.

That's the thing that gets me. It's forced removal from the map game. No case by case basis. No extensions if they have good activity. Just. Pack up, go home. You get nothing.

Any rules that restrict play style, that hold something back? Nah. Pass me on that.