Plot Discussion (Chapter 1)

[Hecatoncheires]

Take a lesson from the crazy kids in Kaustir, guys. Don't wait for the GMs to tell you what's what: grab the plot and make it your bitch. You've got the chance to shift the story as you see fit.

Grab it.

 

[Asmodeus]

Thanks @Falcon - that's a good plan to run with.

 

[Boss Frost]

My idea was to jump off the ship, get under it, and try to 'Raise the Deep' in reverse, sinking the ship for a minute while the spore-cloud passes overhead. As this is not a good plan, with drowing a possibility there, the better plan might be trying to hook something solid under the water and reeling us out of the cloud, but... these are both plans formulating in his booze-addled brain. Thankfully, we have people capable of making better plans in this situation on board. Yay!

 

[Seth Bloodmoon]

First off, I apologize if I have contributed to the reason for this pause in the Viridos x_X I'm sure I have with my last post. This is the first time I have been involved in such a big endeavor for an rp.

I do have plans of having Valyrin using one of his advents in the situation, and I probably should have started setting up for that moment better. Probably many things I could be doing a lot better, though.

I am also still confused on the matter of cannons, as I had thought they'd be a huge pain to maintain and such, thus not exactly a viable option. So I assumed the Sea Wraith didn't have any cannons or gunpowder on board.

 

[Requiem]

Your ship from the images and description given, appeared to be big enough to have several decks, gun deck would be approximately the third deck. Also, they're not particularly difficult to maintain, and they are highly valuable to have for a Navy Ship, I mean, if you were a merchant ship it'd be questionable. In the idea that I was under, powder store would be in a shallow well in the center of the gun deck for easy access when its use became necessary. If it's a problem, I'll mod my post when the thread gets unlocked

 

[Seth Bloodmoon]

Oh I am all go for cannons on the ship, because it would definitely have them if they are available for naval ships in the setting. It's just from questions I had asked in the past, I thought they weren't readily available for such. Which I might have just completely misunderstood.

 

[Requiem]

From my understanding, it was only cannons that were available for the powder, society not being advanced enough for the handheld firearms yet. As Desaecula has a ship covered in cannons, it's presumable that it's not too uncommon, just uncommon enough to keep low end fisherman and merchants from having them (As would be realistically expected)

 

[Seth Bloodmoon]

I probably just completely misunderstood about the matter then. Which is nothing new in my case, haha.

 

[fatalrendezvous]

Let me share a bit of what I've already learned in the short amount of time I've spent in one of Asmo's (and Tegan's) roleplays. This is the first time I have been GMed by them, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was tentative, as I'm sure a lot of folks are/were as well.

But like Grumpy so eloquently explained, and as I eventually realized, Asmo and Tegan are allowing us quite a bit of freedom to express our characters. Once I realized this, I started relying on Asmo and Tegan a lot less (they can both attest that I had a lot of questions early on). The only times I've really asked questions since then were for clarification, not "can I do this" type of questions.

It has led to, in my honest opinion, what I genuinely believe to be some of my best posts ever as an RPer.

So don't be afraid or timid! Don't be afraid to push the boundaries a little. It's the only way we grow and learn!

 

[Jade]

So, I just wanted to apologize for not getting my groups next posts up yet; Gulzar Gangully and Lut Sar will perform the climax scene for our plotline tomorrow.

 

[unanun]

I've had my closer for Pegulis planned out for YEARS, just waiting on a few more people in Barvelle to post.

 

[Torsty]

If anyone in Avarath feels stuck with their character and somehow think that they could make something interesting happen with the help of the mayor of the town, shoot me a PM and let me know =)

 

[Diana]

@unanun un Eirene does have the eggs, but they aren't the boxes Ethelwen is carrying! I'll be showing us where they are in my next post. (Which I am working on right now! 8D)

IS THERE ANYONE ELSE -IN BARVELLE- THAT I CAN HELP GET INVOLVED IN THESE BARVELLE SCENES? I know there is @guygombaa that I am working on setting up a way to fold in. Do we have anyone else? We have some very cool plots getting staged and I have ample room for creating some plot hooks for people. >:]

 

[Wanderfool]

...

*pouts and goes to the corner*

I am ashamed... I must try harder.

 

[Tegan]

No one in Viridos is in trouble with the GMs. We knew when we started this RP that once we had a very focused plot that problems like these would pop up. When we were writing the Code of Conduct, we did it with the full intention of breaking habits that have permeated online roleplay since the late 90s. So, if you haven't read the Code of Conduct yet, please do so right now. It is not a list of dos and don'ts, it is an actual guide to Ilium's RP style.

Fatal is correct, we are giving you all the freedom to make your own story. There is no right or wrong solution to any situation, just come up with something that adds to the scene, not merely reacts passively to it. Take control. Show initiative and creativity. Make your post some that is enjoyable to read. Make mistakes, they drive the best plots. The less time Asmo and I have to spend writing a player's story for them, the more time we can spend on creating better scenes for everyone.
Look to some of the fabulous players we already have now, what they are doing with their characters and EACH OTHERS characters.

This is not a brow-beating session. This is us communicating and sharing. I am not going to be a dick GM and sink the ship and kill us all. But I am not going to outright tell people what their character should do in a situation. That's not my job. I keep the scene moving and tie up any loose ends left that haven't been addressed by the players.

EDIT:

Lastly, everyone should be talking to one another to plot a scene before they talk to the GMs. That is how all the best ideas start. :)

 

[Tegan]

And cannons are fine @Requiem and @Seth Bloodmoon . There are just no personal firearms and the cannons are heavy as Hell.

Viridos might be all about the non-violence, but that doesn't mean it will not protect itself.

 

[Asmodeus]

*pauses while typing his Sink the ship and kill everyone scene* >:[


Yes, as Tegan said, Ilium is the direct OPPOSITE of most RPs on the web. I've been on sites where if you so much as make another character BLINK you get kicked out for hijacking. Likewise, I've been in roleplays where the only hero is the GM's self-insert and everyone else has follow him around and tell him how great he is.

*hides Dark Reign*

We can probably all recite those 90s rules by heart. NO HIJACKING, NO GODMODING, NO SWEARING, NO SEX SCENES, POST EVERY HOUR OR YOUR CHARACTER WILL BE KILLED.

We don't subscribe to that. If you want to smash through the Jade Prophet's window, rip his head off and have sex with his wife while calling his pet dog a cunt, then go for it. If it's written well, if it's entertaining - if it's a good read and sends the story in a cool direction - then what more could we ask for?


Tegan and I have no time to be protagonists. We're running around in the background with paintbrushes and nailguns. Which means the story-drivers are YOU. This scene is the tale of how Ayanne, Valyrin, Kozoul, Gomyar, Konkon and Aela dealt with shit that would have killed anyone else less plucky.

In a year's time when we are deep into this war, you guys are going to be the legends that started it all. So let's get your characters arcing.



*puts the action music back on*


Okay, thread unlocked. Time to show these spores some feist.

 

[Diana]

*Waves arms around!* O_____O By the way, what Tegan and Asmo mean about throwing the no hijacking/no godmodding rules out the window is NOT that you write dialogue and WHOLE scenes out for other player characters to get things going. (because, as they are explaining, we want everyone to PLAY their charries) They just mean that you don't have to stand there and wait for a reaction to every single tiny thing. If you want to punch someone PUNCH THEM, you don't have to do that "He swings a punch and hope it lands..." If the scene needs to move, MOVE it. You don't have to wait for every single character to weigh in and say something snappy before you transition to the next scene.

They're just worried that some players are so scared of godmodding that they are too afraid to play their own characters out. Don't be afraid. >:3

 

[Asmodeus]

Like me grabbing Zen's hand, shoving glass in her throat, insulting her, slapping her across the room, getting her dragged out and throwing her in the street while she gets molested by guards.

That scene would have taken 8 pages of IC in the old days. I did the whole thing myself, because I know Zen likes delicious character development, with all the highs and lows, and Zen knows that such an act would really illustrate the Czar's personality. Everyone wins. And also, it's a very cliched scene - something you would see in Game of Thrones or in any story where a young woman starts out as the underdog to a powerful dictator.

Trust in the mythic, yo.

 

[unanun]

I'm happy that you guys explicitly laid it out. I'm trying to move beyond quick fire posts, but the idea of exchanging short dialogue and actions every few minutes is deeply engrained in my style. It will be a challenge to move beyond it.

Edit: Halp spot light