The meta, Suggestions, feedback, etc.

This is the thread for suggesting new developments for the game, commenting the performance of other participants (for good or ill; people here are hopefully mature enough to take it) and generally chattering about the game, once it gets rolling.


Boring part
I'll stress the feedback part, for me personally: This is unexplored territory for me in many ways. I will likely try a few different techniques of description and such, at least. Tell which work well, which do not, and which you prefer.
I also have messenger and even an email address or few (firstname.surname@gmail.com is the most frequently used, with my my real name of course) if you are not comfortable posting here.
/Boring part


So, if you have wishes or ideas or suggestions on the direction of the upcoming game, post here. I will read them, at least.

Also, if anyone wants to write down a few names that can be used freely in game, that would be appreciated. I suck at naming stuff.

(I don't really except this to become very popular before the actual game.)

There's always the common names like Catherine, Jonathan etc.

For unusual, "fantasy-like" names, the random name generator of Cryptic's head spews out:

First names:

Marel
Tessa
Dram
Jonah
Coran
Serathi
Kenar
Cathea
Alkhar

Last names:

Leonall
Daleon
Kaldith
Narth
Velara
Nerathal
Vaen
Caratha


Need more? I can spew out as many as you like, but the quality will be equal to that of the ones above.

Guess I'll say when I need more of them.
Thanks.

You're welcome.

Oh, by the way, there's a little typo on the thread's secondary title. It says "feeback".

Need help with anything else?

Typo fixed.

I pretty much see the flags in your character, so no immediate help is needed.

Not an actual piece of advice, perhaps more of a nudge.

After coming to agree with your "If [I want look around] + [roll alertness] + [roll] + [results] takes four posts" comment on that other thread, I thought again of Elftown and the Realms of Lemire in there. You may want to take your own look (of the parties, see 'Hirelings of the Damned' for interparty murder and cannibalism) or just see my summation below.

Disregarding the shameless Bold-and-Beautiful, Angst-and-Affliction and the D&Dish system that the place wades hip-deep in, the thing works passably. What is typed up can be divided thus: meta, exposition, dialogue, combat. Other than combat, every other post doesn't need to be from the other guy because there's always plenty of time. The parties are fairly character-centric and most of what goes on is dialogue. That balance might not exactly work with two players, but there it is.

Combat by necessity comes down to strictly turn-based [description of action] + [GM (rolls and) describes the results].


If any of that seemed obvious and already decided, it's enough that you know that it works.

I'd need to register to read those, evidently. I'm reading the FAQ (partly for amusement, partly for the useful stuff), which doesn't require such procedures.

Is all of that in the same thread/equivalent, in same posts, or simply muddled together?

What I said was my own take on how it's run.

Try to introduce your characters and establish who knows whom, why they are together, etc.

I provided the tavern as a nice environment to do that (feel free to describe people there, and so on, if you get that far). If you are not interested, move on.

I will probably post more somewhere along the next week.

A tavern? Who would've guessed?

No, it's fine.

I assume we're free to build our histories and the setting as we go.

Ignore. You posted while i was typing.

As you can see from my first post, that sort of thing doesn't play itself out without you.

Cliches are a good thing, when recognised as such.
A familiar environment makes it easy for everyone to add material so that everyone stays on roughly the same page.


You are free to add material as you go.
A restriction: if an NPC is named (or otherwise important), do not determine that NPC's reactions, especially under pressure.


I'll post more when I have some time. Preferably after Lithien's location and company have been determined.

Now there's a hook if I ever saw one. Well played. Very well.

Anyone have any nontrivial solutions to double-posting (the trivial one: be careful not to do it)?

Um... Editing?

Indeed. I was, of course, thinking about crossposting. My bad.

A/the problem with editing: If someone else is reading, or has already read, the post he will likely not notice the edit.

What's crossposting?

Ha. Our venerable thirtyish Arion is calling Lithien "young man."

Too bad I sent Baram off to sleep so soon. The presence of other mouths in the room failed to really register.

Crossposting happens when two people post at the same time, so that neither has read the other's post.


I am trying to get everyone to sleep, so that you can participate again. Feel free to grab an NPC while waiting. Like the noble/assassin/killer/prisoner.

I'd have a better time having a talk with him or his guard myself, really.


Note: "Who do we have that would make such noise? Should've asked someone about all the clients!"

A parrot sticker to anyone who noticed the jab before I drew attention to it here.

That's not even too bad, since it's fairly obvious when it happens. A worse problem is simply someone not choosing to wait for someone else when things are happening. Imagine there's going to be combat. I ready my weapons, go to work, and Cryptic, Thalin and you fight the thing through meanwhile.

So go un-turn-ified turn-based exchanges.

I read this one first. No stickers.

I try to wait for everyone who could be involved to post before doing so myself. (And I do have stuff at the university on Monday, Tuesday, Thrusday and Friday, at least.)

Since there is a possibility of this stuff becoming relevant:

1. One doesn't simply lie to Baram. This might make things hard.

2. Character death/dramatic and major changes. How do you expect them to be handled? If they happen, will you continue (possibly with a new character)?

1. Lithien never lies. All that may look like that are simply nervousness of being with the great heroes of one's and that loss of bleed and shock... The Amulet gave him new memories so that there would be no need for him to lie...


2. If the character dies, I have no time to make up new one... before christmas... (so don't do anything stupid...) And major changes... there shouldn't be any reason for major changes at this point? It would be rather stupid...(later it is of course ok... roleplaying, if there would be no "seventyfive years in jail"-session...) In case the amulet is questioned, Lithien tells everyone what he has figured out: the amulet shows the enemy: it shows the picture of squirrel just when the Forest is attacking... Otherwise it is visibly just the holy symbol of wardens... And he truly has not slept in nearly two fortnights... he waited for a peaceful haven before he had any courage to do that... he arrived last night at 3.00 am and then went straight to bed... He was anyway rather exhausted (because of amulet), but otherwise he is just shy, tired and rather overwhelmed by the thought that the two wardens are right now using him as their only witness... He is feeling himself important and tries to act as the warden would... or as he thinks the warden would...

(and the amulet is only showing squirrel picture so that it can be seen, when it is active AND when it's dark. There is no other situation...)

They are handled by roleplaying them through just like the game altogether, I think. Sorry if the answer seems silly, but I just can't see the problem.

If Arion dies, I'll continue with another character. As long as he lives and isn't incapacitated, however, I'll continue playing him.

Just checking.

So, this is what I read: Arion can die. Preferably avoid killing Lithien.

This is what I will do: Not especially try to kill or not try to kill any character. Leave room for Lithien escaping.

This is what I will not do: Meddle in conflicts between PCs without in-game agent whose nature the meddling is in.


Unless Gastogh objects.

Yeah. That doesn't mean I'm gonna like it if it happens, though, since I did put quite some effort in him and I've forged a bond to him like most of my characters.

But neither do I want anything to be forcefully changed just to make Arion survive. The story/plot (yeah yeah, I know, there's possibly no such thing really going on but I think you still get what I mean) takes precedence over Arion's success and well-being.

We are on the same page, then.
(I can usually guess what people mean by story/plot. In this case, my guess is climatic events and secondarily integrity of fiction, aka "realism".)

I'm going to quote the character description. By the way, you should consider deleting the obsolete entries on Lithien. They get very confusing.

What does this even mean?
I can't sort out the definite list of conditions that cause the amulet to "be active" from the description(s). Can anyone help me some?

Other than that, the logic of the amulet Squirrellifying when the forest is attacking is rather shaky. It's got Lithien completely in its power, which, if the amulet is of the Forest, should keep it Squirreled all the time. If the "third party" line holds... don't know.

Thalin, when responding, do so as a player. State the facts. This can include what Lithien thinks. Be explicit.

(If people want, I can make an archive thread for discarded stuff. I don't know if there is any value to it besides satisfying my perfectionism.)

The amulet probably can't truly be recognized as an evil thing. It is not of the Forest, so the wardens should have no way to see it's evilness. It is something rather unfamiliar to them?