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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 8354884" data-attributes="member: 6775477">Such an idea should be limited in scope IMO. I'd only use the characters in the MMO, otherwise you have to come up with whatever mechanics you need for the "IRL" characters. I'd simply set them us as them playing themselves playing the game. This helps limit the meta of the game, since each player just has to play themselves, playing a game.As for a plot, I'd start with the players running a normal raid. As the players return from the raid, they see another character in the game running towards them screaming "you don't understand, it's..." when they're killed by an NPC. Presumably the players will take on the NPC, who vanishes mid-fight without explanation. The players should have the name of the character, but nothing more (maybe some loot, depending on how you want the MMO to work). A few days later IRL, they're checking the message boards* (or whatever MMORPG players use) for raid ideas when they see a request for anyone seeing NewbSlayer69 (or whatever username you want); their character (who they saw die) hasn't been used for a week. The players can then decide if they want to publicly give out their information, and you can get things going. I'd suggest another raid, with everything as normal. When they check with their fellow users, the user asking about NewbSlayer69 hasn't posted anything since they made the request (or talked to the PCs, if desired). Over time, various users stop logging in, especially those who ask about the missing others.As for what's REALLY going on... the "NPC" is the villain, who manages to kill the user when they kill their character. The specifics are up to you, but my favorite is innocuous death caused by Death itself (think Final Destination) using the game to mark users for reaping. Another option would be an evil corporation using the game for its own ends, either the designers or a rival company. A twist would be that the NPC has become sentient, and by stealing the souls of the users slain, generates more NPC, growing the game (and its power).* Bonus idea to create the message board IRL, and populate it with users. The players should be encouraged to interact with the board between sessions, just like they would in a real MMO.</blockquote>

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