Brimstone and Fire

Please Note: This story will contain elements of horror. If you dislike horror in all its gory glory, then this may not sit well with you.

For those who wish to join in, there is no need to ask. Just interact with your character in-game and you should be fine. The story in this thread is based on role play that is currently happening. It's colored up a bit here for better reading. Feel free to add your own posts giving your character's perspective.


Bright Eyes, Ebony Skies:

The Diaboli rolled upon the jail's stone floor in search of a cooler patch as sweat rolled off his skin in beaded, saline streams. The windows were locked tight as were the thick, wooden doors. The cell had become so muggy and warm that the guards had moved their chairs and game of cards outside where a gentle, summer breeze whispered though the quiet town. As he laid upon his back he wondered if he was asleep or merely recalling the events that lead up to this point. The days were black as night and evening never seemed to pass away. His worst nightmares were no longer shrouded in darkness, but in light. He recalled that burst of orange, yellow flame that burned his head and chest like a sulfurous flare while he flailed his arms and screamed in agonizing pain. His eyeballs burst with steamy blood tinged fluid and ruptured bits of flesh as he fell to his knees. He crawled and crackled like an unwanted sliver of bacon in a pan full of grease. While Roled's fury had left him charred, it was the fumbled healing spell of Aleeane that left him forever changed. Soaked in magic drawn of crystal way, she flashed a healing bolt of light which clashed and flayed his evil skin in ways that one might not have thought. Wounds healed, flesh grew and morphed - while his body, so steeped and stained with magic of darkest ways collapsed and slipped away. Rolling over in his cell once again, Rigwyn pressed his cheek and ear against the cool stone floor. He could hear the faint conversation of the guards just outside, but their words were inaudible and he hadn't the patience to strain much more. Bored, he slipped back into that nether region between imagination and sleep where his dreamy recollection replayed. He recalled his awakening upon the death realm floor - grasping and clawing at the ground with a terrible fright. The smell of putrid, rotted flesh was now identifiable and sickened him to his core. Having vomited during his failed attempt to get up, he tried once more - grasping onto a nearby wall as he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. They never did.

He grasped his face - running his fingers over his newly grown flesh. He raked his hair from his face with his fingers as his grasping became more frantic. He could feel his nose and lips, his forehead and cheeks, but where his eyes once were, there was nothing but flat, smooth skin. No bumps or bulges beneath. The realization that his eyes were forever gone struck an emotional chord that rung deeply and resonated within.

He staggered though the treacherous, stony pass with his swaying hands outstretched where it was possible to walk, and crawled like a clacker where there were no walls to guide him. Having lost his way in the cruel maze, he collapsed to the ground and nestled himself into the crack between the wall and the floor - knowing just how vulnerable he was to the realm's inhabitants.

So as we all know, there's been a bit of an upheaval regarding Ed Snowden's revelations of the spying programs employed by the US and other governments. Electronic communications of every sort are being vacuumed up and saved like it or not. If your communications get routed though the US or London, you can assume they have been recorded and may be searched at some point. Some folks would argue that there's no real harm in this - that we're better off trading this privacy in for security in the form of monitoring. Some argue that the removal of privacy inhibits people from speaking and exchanging ideas freely. Still others would argue that the governments that we kinda-sorta trust today could change and turn on us in the future and use this information against us. So, my question is: How important is privacy to you? Why is it important, and what expectations do you have on privacy?

Rolling Dice:  Reloaded.

I've always been against rolling dice for combat RP.  Well, I'm considering taking a new look at this with unbiased eyes. We have all felt the pangs of RP combat at one point or another, and if you have not, you will. Trust me on that.

Why the hell would I want to consider dice?
Well, lets look at the problem with RP fights to start off:

1. Over powered characters:

Nobody wants to lose, and even fewer wish to lose unfairly. Some folks overpower their characters with awesome abilities and near-invulnerabilities to avoid the experience of losing. I honestly think that this is not always intentional. What exasperbates the problem is when you develop an environment of godmodes - each more powerful than the next. Fortunately, I have not seen anything this severe on PS.

2. Disagreements in taking damage

Nothing ruins an RP fight faster than a disagreement in how much damage one should take, and in how realistic the other player is being. There are those who will fight their point to the end, and others who will just cave in so as not to let the disagreement ruin the game. Either way, its a let down.

Well what about just doing what makes sense?

What makes sense to me and my *posse* may not make sense to you. Sometimes people have different ideas about what should be allowed to happen.  This also puts you into a smaller group of like-minded players. With a tiny RP community, playing with an even smaller subset of players just sucks.

What about just using the game's stats to determine who's more powerful?

The first issue with this is that it gives grinders the most power and role players the least. That's great if you're not a role player, but it you are, it means that the most powerful characters good or evil will often be some of the least skilled/entertaining role players ( and those who flat out do not role play ). The second issue is that it does not take the character's role played history into consideration.

Example:

    Mary is a new *player*. Her brand new character Emella is a seasoned warrior, though she has newbie stats.

    For role play, should a new player be allowed to do this?

    How should Emella's accumulated stats, scarce rp history, and background story be tied into the fight?
    How should these things balance out?

This is where the water gets awful muddy.


3. Problems with Dice

Not all dice systems work well Here's one example that got me rather pissed:

    HugeOgre grunts as he swings a 50 lb maul at TinyTim's head.
    TinyTim casually flicks a pebble at HugeOgre
    < dice roll decides that HugeOgre misses, and TinyTim succeeds - draining 15% or hugeorge's hp >
    < Yay dice gods >
 
Now I have to write a reaction emote for the Ogre!? This breaks realism.

---

Implementing a Dice System that works for RP

So now the question is, is there a way to implement a dice system that is conducive to role play and which does not break realism? Is there a way to make a system that:

* Is easy for players to use and understand.
* Takes into consideration the character's background story and role play history
* Takes a character's stats into consideration in a balanced way.
* Allows a character a chance at performing unimplemented feats and spells.
* Works with or without a GM or DM to moderate ?

While I don't know a lot about dicing, I did come across one suggestion that sounded promising. In this scenario, players would roll first, then write their emotes. So in the case of a fight, you would decide first if a swing would hit or miss and if the target would evade or defend. Then after that, write the actions and reactions. Hearing this idea made me think that perhaps there might be a way to make dicing work.

So I'm curious about what others think about this posbility, about how dicing systems from other games work, and so on. Anyone?

I would like to propose a challenge. 30 Role playing events in 3 months.

You don't need to be good at role playing, just willing to give it a shot. If you need he;lp or advice or have questions along the way, ask here and you will get it. I, and others will gladly help if asked.

These don't need to be huge events, they can be short 3 hour events if you like. From experience, I would suggest setting aside at least three hours per session.       

To qualify, simply come up with an idea for an event, and get started in-game. Once you've started your first session, start a thread under in-game role play events, and post the thread title here ( A link would be better )

You don't need to write out long stories, just post brief summaries or logs if you prefer. Kudos to those who include screen shots \0/


Good luck, and Whisper Bless!

I've been entertaining the thought of starting a new, semi-dark fantasy storyline and parting from my current trend of crime based RP. What I have in mind is starting a guild/group that's centered around a story. The group would focus primarily upon its own internal storyline as opposed to causing havoc at random, or spreading crime in Hydlaa - though members would certainly be free (and encouraged) to branch out and connect with others. We might also keep track of the story in a way that members can catch up should they be away for a while.

I wanted to put a feeler out and see how much interest there might be in this sort of thing....

To start, this would not be an evil organization, though there would certainly be plenty of room for evil characters or for non-evil characters to stretch and partake in evil deeds. I think going "too dark" might be a mistake. ( kinda like trying to draw with a lead pencil on a black piece of paper )

We might start out as a small community of sorts in the beginning, then add some conflict once the community has been formed. For example, we might add some twists to the story that challenges a character or sub-group's alignment - causing them to make choices and accept consequences. Again, this would be story-driven, so there would always be something happening. It would not be just a guild where people share a common name and an equal sense of boredom.

As for the issue of stats and rp conflict/fight resolution, stats would not be taken into consideration for this line of RP, rather each player would declare their character's strengths and weaknesses and just go with that... so if you want to RP being an archer or mage, then fine, you'll be treated as such.. no need to train.

Have a look at some of the pictures I've added below for inspiration and tell me what you think... and I'll tell you a little more about what I have in mind. Some will note that not everything here will fit with the settings. Again, these are only meant to help inspire or stimulate ideas, likewise, some things that don't work with the settings may work just fine within dreams or hallucinations.

Rig

Player Led Events

Have you ever wanted to run an event, but were not really sure how to go about doing it, or perhaps didn't have the nerve/confidence to give it a try? Well if so, you may like this thread. I'll spit out some of what I've learned from other players here in PS and elsewhere, then toss this up for discussion.

1. Types of Events

There are a few types of events that I've come across on PS and other games. The ones I've seen are what I call "Guided Events" in which a player acts like a DM leading other players though a preplanned storyline, and Freestyle Events - where a player or players encourage others to role play while providing a loose storyline that serves to give the rp some direction. These are a little different from casual RP in that there is some planning involved and usually somewhat of a story that's preplanned. The amount of planning can vary; personally, I prefer very loose planning with the expectation that the RP will come to life and find its own path.

2. Getting started

Plots and Conflicts:

So, to get started, you need an idea for a plot. Its an Event, thus something interesting is going to happen - otherwise, who would really care. Once you have an idea for a plot, you'll want to think about how to present the plot in-game. My personal opinion is that its best to bring about a conflict of some sort, then let others figure out how they wish to resolve it - this way there is no expectation on the player to make certain choices, and the player feels free to do whatever their character would do.

If you are not familiar with "Dramatic Structure", I highly recommend that you do a little reading up on it.
Start here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dramatic_structure

For plot ideas, there are a few lists in circulation of 36 or so basic plot ideas that are used over and over again in literature.  You can also find lists of plot ideas that are specific to fantasy or RPG stories. Check out these links for ideas:

     http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/plotFARQ.html#36
     http://www.rpglibrary.org/articles/storytelling/36plots.php


3. Looking ahead

Next I would suggest thinking your plot through to see if there are any glaring problems with your idea. For example, you will want to see if your idea violates the game's settings. If you planned on taking over the Octarchy, that's fine, but know that you can't do that as it would infringe on the settings. You could certainly stage a takeover with the knowledge that it would end in failure - after all, winning isn't necessary for a good story.

4. Getting the ball rolling

OK, so you have your plot idea, or possibly a storyline in mind. All you need now are people who are interested in playing with you.  As a player, they are most likely going to ask themselves, "Will this be fun for ME?". Is your plot or story designed to entertain them or is it solely designed to entertain you at their expense? This is another thing that should be carefully considered. You need to make the event fun for others.

I've participated in events that were started out with an ooc discussion and agreement to meet somewhere and rp in a certain direction. This is perfectly legitimate and a rather easy way to start out. I've also participated in events that just happened naturally in-game. For example, you might "drag" or entice others into your story via IC means. The latter takes a lot more time to do but will have a very natural feel.

5. Props

Tadano Hitosh/Jarexia used to use quest items rather heavily in events. He would run quests and take note of the items and their descriptions, then integrate both those items and the information in the quests into his events. This gave the events a very solid feeling. They were well grounded in setting material, so they felt like they were part of the game.  He would also take snippets of information from the books in the in-game libraries and find ways to make plots based on them.

I won't post the complete list that we came up with, but for the sake of example, here's a few:
 
* Philter of Intelligence
* Skull (xacha, seemingly eaten clean by insects)
* Sunshine squadron badge
* Engineering proposal
* Box full of tria
* Masterpiece sculpture

Now how to integrate such objects into a story.. Tadano used have players dig or search for things, then oocly trade the items to them as they were discovered. If you found a corpse in a closet, you might not think much.. but if you searched it and found a  "Sunshine squadron badge" on it... well, that would serve as a clue as to who that person might have been and where to the party might go looking next. Likewise, a box full of tria might be suitable for an excavation, a Masterpiece sculpture might found only to discover later on that its cursed or coated in a layer of poison! A Philter of Intelligence (profound intelligence?) might be at the heart of a power struggle...

6. Rewards

Sometimes its nice to throw in some sort of a reward for players as a thank you for participating. They could be discovered in the course of the event, awarded at the end, or whatever. If you have a priest or mage type of character in the game you can easily "Bless" or "Enchant" someone's sword or weapon by replacing it with a nice long-name weapon. ( obviously, you don't want to replace it with something inferior!) Finding tria is also nice too - new players will appreciate this as they are usually strapped for tria.

7. Character Development

Some players will want to participate for the sake of character development.  Events - especially those that you document and post on the forums are great for character development.  Playing the role of a villain, hero, heroine, or whatever in a documented event will do wonders for a previously unknown character.


Ok, I've said enough for now. Fire away.. comments, your advice, your feedback, criticism, and or questions!

I've seen other sites that use SMF which allow you to wrap text around images. They usually have a few options for *how* it should wrap. Is there any chance that either support could be added for this or else that embedded HTML be allowed for the <img> tag alone?

I know this is just a cosmetic issue...

Thanks
Rigwyn

[ This is a diaboli fairy tale written for the Masquerade Ball. It was written from an in character perspective for a younger audience, and with certain character based motivations. I thought I would post it here for anyone who might want to read it. Enjoy ]
 


Serpentella
By R.S. Salutow

     Long ago, before the blackened sky was wrought with brilliant flashing light; in a land that lay beyond the seam of ground and sky, there lived a young, curvacious maiden named Serpentella Krallight. She was tall and slender with hips that rolled with each enticing step, and long, smooth, polished horns that shimmered like a lake. Her tail was smooth as silk and free of stubble, the tip, sharp and always clean; and when she sang, the tiny creatures of the night would stop and gaze in silence - hypnotized by her beauty.

     Despite her looks, Serpentella was very lonely - painfully so.  She would lay upon the floor day and night wishing that Gal'marah, the man of her dreams, would come and take her away to his abode, and stroke her long, starphire scented, black hair as he bathed her in poetry and praise,  but he never did.

     One day she saw him outside her window. She gazed in awe and waved, but he just walked away. She called, but he did not answer. She sent her brother out to bring him back, but when he arrived Gal'marah showed signs of boredom, and when asked if he wanted to marry her, he said no and left abruptly.

     She was heart broken and fell into a spell of sadnes that would not go away. Desperate for his love, she sought a little know god named Vaarg for help. He agreed to make Gal'marah fall in love with her, but in return she was to give him her hair and wear a collar with the name of her god written on the side. Furthermore, he and only he would be the love of her life; bound by an oath on her life,  she swore.

     Vaarg took his sword and shaved her head - removing each and every bit and piece of stubble until it was as smooth as her face. Around her neck, he affixed a thick black collar with razor sharp spikes that were as long as her arm. She cried when she realized what a harsh price she had to pay, but was eager to see her beloved.

     When Gal'marah saw her he was instantly in love, but when he tried to kiss her, his neck was pierced by a spike. He tried again, but it was no use. Despite the sharp spikes that separated them, they were infatuated with one another. They wed and lived in utter pain - unable to express their love aside from the sighs and groans they shared.

     Finally, Gal'marah insisted that she take her silly collar off, but she refused for fear of breaking her agreement with Vaarg and losing the favor that he had bestowed. That night, as she slept, Gal'marah crept into her room and snipped the collar from her neck. It turned into a serpent and slithered away - squealing loudly like a newborn whelp. She awoke hearing the screech, only to find that her collar was removed. Suddenly, Gal'marah realized how ugly she had become and ran away. As he moved farther away, he remembered how lazy and unloving she was; how she neglected to keep his interest yet sought to be pleased and entertained.

     Deprived of Vaarg's spell, she could no longer entice him. She sought the tutelage of her mother - an older, wiser woman who knew the secrets of tapping into a man's heart. She taught her to cook and bake, to be considerate and kind; to find and draw out the most hidden and secret desires of his heart, and to make them come true.

     One day, she saw him sitting all alone and depressed - staring into a stagnant pond.  Her first thought was to ask him to tell her a tale and to stroke her silky, black hair  - which now barely covered her neck, but then stopped and recalled the lessons her mother had taught her.   Seeing that he looked sad, she sat next to him and asked what was wrong.

     He told her of a prophecy that was revealed to him as a child upon asking a god for guidance and strength, but when asked, he would not reveal the god's name which he had sworn to keep secret. Vaarg had told him that he would meet a woman with a serpent who would try to deceive him. She would be greedy, though beautiful, she would smile warmly and make him promises of affectionan, but then offer none. Worst of all, that he would not recognize her until it was too late - and that once she had touched him, he would be defiled and eventually suffer true death.

     Convinced of their plight, they saw no point in living any longer and decided to embrace true death by their own hands. Having obtained a potion of eternal demise, they sat beneath an old crooked tree and held their flasks to their lips as they counted:

One, Two, Three!

     Before they could wet their lips, a soft voice called out from a bush. Startled, they watched as the town elder stepped out and called them by name. He took their vials away and asked them to tell him of their troubles. By virtue of knowledge and wisdom earned through trial, error and old age, he pointed out to them the terrible trick that Vaarg had arranged, then set them forth on a sound path of knowledge and magic - warning them to never again lower their heads to a god.  Free from the snares of the gods, they started their life anew and lived happily every after.

The End