Hey friends!

Does anyone play this anymore? I don't ask that facetiously, I promise.

I want to get back into this game, as I love(d) it, I really do. But it's super hard for me to just....come back & play with people who a.) don't want to play with me, b.) aren't RPing anyhow, and c.) I have to wait on for hours to even show up because time zones are different.

Last few times I logged in, the game had gone to the levelers. Now - more power to you late night French or German cliques who play together, I bet it is a blast.

But if it's a less than ~20 player base with maybe 1-4 RPers unlikely to meet when I'm on, I think hey, it's a good time to bid this game a permanent farewell.

People are sensitive.

Playing a bad guy is a lot more work.

.
What we do with what we are given defines who we are.

*ahem*

And what physical appearance might Aramara take on?
 
RR

That of a turnip shaped lad.

I like to post threads about thoughts apparently, lol.

Anyways, here's the latest:

Yliakum's settings depict it as a harsh world to live in, where every citizen should learn not only a trade, but also be able to protect themselves from the environment through combat, etc. Everyone learns how to fight to some degree, or at least barter or talk their way out of a situation. Magic is not only a tool, but also a weapon, and spells can both be defensive and offensive. Strange things happen in this Dome......

Magic and innovation make things very, very convenient to get over.
So it's partially the fault of the settings being contradictory.

One thing's missing, though: real Consequences. Yliakum as it's played is also often a land where things that might be major to us (death, robbery, dismemberment, or even more minor things like loss of tria, social stature, etc.) are often minor, and can easily be rectified with a few choice words or some hand-waving and rehab time.

Here's why: When we have a character, it's hard to have it change in any way other than positive. Read that through thoroughly - I'm not saying we DON'T change our characters, but rather we gear them to overcome every obstacle in a positive manner. Even the things that may have physical or mental side effects we in turn choose to have those side effects be spun for 'good', somehow. And I am not saying that everything needs to be bad....

We just need real consequences, or at least ones that take time to mend from. We can't have people who have had things happen to them without any mental or physical results. We can't have people running around who should have PTSD of some sort acting normally.

Now, hear me out:

I -am- saying that we should advocate consequence, both positive and negative.
I -am- saying that we as an RP whole have gravitated towards being 'fixers' of everyone's choices; why? It's convenient and people like being fixed and moving on.
I -am- saying that the results of this are people who's story arc stall. You're fixed, you sputter, you mill about with nothing to do.
I am -NOT- purposefully trying to make anyone feel bad. The fact that we gravitate towards fixing people is natural, and those of you who do so should feel no shame about it whatsoever. It's right to do that for other people's characters.

Dear Other People's Characters (including me),

Let's just consider our consequences a bit deeper, shall we?
Let's think about how we would be affected if we
a.) lost all our money (and the mental & physical dilapidation thereof!)
b.) got mugged (And the trauma and stress involved!)
c.) broke off a relationship (And the despondency therein!)
b.) Found the hope afterwards! <-----

Little things like this can greatly improve our roleplay, just going above and beyond when it comes to fleshing out how we react. Because truthfully, PlaneShift is a reactionary game. Things can't be planned very well since we're just going about playing off of each other for the most part.

So in your reactionary game, let's consider being revolutionary in very small ways.

(A sidenote, for the people who don't like sadness, etc.
-go watch Inside Out (xD)
-I'm not advocating evil or unhappiness. I'm advocating for a grasp on how to integrate your character. Remember, the defining trait of the human (or perhaps Ylian...) condition is HOPE. Through each reaction, perhaps keep Hope as close to your chest or as far away as it needs to be....)


Postscript thoughts on consequence, feel free to add:
Too many become lost in the Realm of Death....(whether true Death or not) - Octarchial Decree
My tummy and legs really hurt when he poisoned me, and I was quite mad at him. I still get pissed when I think about him - Cairn (hypothetically? )

Or I simply enjoyed the game without worrying about who's toes I stepped on, if any.
(I've had gazillions of RP threads that have offended some people to some degree or another.)

Here's the catch:

Much like in real life - If YOU fail to tell anyone that what they are doing is bothering you, you will have found no solution.
In PS if you fail to do so, that is also your prerogative. Let's not wait for others to fix our problems for us.

Why is this? Because people are infinitely different in the smallest ways, or largest. If you spend your whole life worrying about being perfect or pleasing others, you have lost a good portion of who you are instead. Embrace creativity and ideas, and if you find offense, seek to make it right, no?

Those who complain are contented to sit back and watch life pass them by. Those who seek to find a change, however small it is, are the real doers of the world.

 If a character is created, plays within PlaneShift's settings, and abides by PlaneShift's 'PG' ruling? There's no reason to go OOC at all. You can live a perfectly happy IC life. And if you offend anyone, then it's their problem - you're following Talad's rules to par!

FotH has and always will be one of the premier events. I love it!