The Father of Waters

Game Master Fighting Chicken

Hope it goes well.
This is what Imix is made for :)

Take it easy and get well Isitel.

Hope you feel better soon, Istiel!

Yes, this is in Imix's wheelhouse. I hope that you'll/he'll enjoy it.

Also,

I think at this point, there's the following groups forming:

Change agents, who want a radical revisioning of society: Sarre (though she's abdicated her vote by leaving), Suuha, Anayda, Fulton

Moderates, supportive of some pretty substantive changes, but wanting to largely keep the social structure in tact: Antuk, Telowo

Traditionalists, who fall under the thinking of keeping things basically the same: Tex, Bellet

You can of course seek other perspectives, try to get the temperature of the crowd forming outside, etc.

Apologies if I'm stepping on anyone's toes but I'm a bit of a governance nerd, please override Oios here or in game if you don't like Oios' ideas.

Oios isn't enough of a collaborator or democrat to get more input really and he thinks the council should accommodate everyone aside from Bellet. And he thinks Bellet's got to recognize that this community is going to be way more Shadeholme than Cornucopia.

Governance nerd here too!

I'll hold off on NPC reactions to get input from the other players.

I also like governance discussions :)

Hmmm. Imix is heavily indoctrinated, but the time since day zero has challenged a LOT of his assumptions. If there's a consensus that there is a better way I think he is likely to go with it.

I point out OOC that the "Suriname don't lead" was based on the fact that Imix has an overabundance of self-worth and a lack of empathy. i.e. he's LE and sees himself as the natural leader.

Putting him in a place where he has a clearly defined role regarding subordinates probably makes sense.

What, Imix has an abundance of self-worth and lack of empathy? :)

OK, sounds like we just need to work out the role for the Suriname and the NPCs will react (there's probably enough consensus to enact Oios' reforms, especially if Istiel and Imix buy in).

If so, do you want to hold elections in the gameplay thread, or have me do a summary and move on?

I feel like once we have a set of defined options, then we have people vote on them.
Given how outnumbered we are, I think our actual votes are meaningless. What probably matters is how well we can sway the crowd.

@Oios: don't forget Imix's gift ;P

Bump! I think Oios' player is traveling, so they may be a bit busy. If anyone else has ideas about what to do with the Suriname, toss em out!

Oh whoops I thought I posted. I'm thinking would make an excellent representative of Makaya since he's strong in magic.

BTW are there crocodiles of the kind in the Valley around in this area of the world?

Hope everyone is okay with what I posted. I had Imix have a bit of a breakdown, running through his thoughts out loud. I guess a bunch of this might have been muttered.

Every other damn society seems to have better spellcasters than ours! We need to work on that!

It is great! I love the idea of Imix founding a college.

OK, I think we've got everything sorted. Late here, I'm leaving work now. I'll move forward tomorrow.

Finishing up my final draft of my book chapter (revision round #2), due tomorrow. Hoped to be done by now but still not happy with it. So, I'm probably not getting a post up today.

No worries. Polish that chapter!

OK, am I seeing consensus that there will be some elections and some appointments?

And next, you want to convene a meeting of the council for the war?

And Oios, sorry, I forgot to address your question about the crocs. Yes, there are none in the cursed waters.

Looks like no objections to elections and appointments. I'll get a post up tomorrow.

My spouse got seated on a jury so I'm doing child care and trying to hit a couple of deadlines at work, without having the time to do it. I'll be able to post this weekend, but early next week will be difficult.

Sorry all, spent the weekend catching up on work missed while my wife is at jury duty. Hopefully the trial ends tomorrow.

Trial over, deadlines passed! Thanks for your patience.

Congratulations!

Hooray! Good job.

I've been having some health issues lately and feeling quite lethargic. I apologize for the uninspired nature of my posts.

I'm sorry you're having health issues/feeling lethargic, Galorit. I hope you get on the mend soon.

And your posts are fine!

OK, so near term plans are:

1. Train all townsfolk with some weapons
2. Share intel with the beastlings
3. See if there is a trading relationship to be developed: crossbows for ???
4. Put spare Resters (name for people from Damballah's Rest?) to work with fortifications and farming
5. Hold elections

Does that sound right?

Add in patrolling by Oios for death magic and teaching one trusted person the secrets of Death Magic And Divination in there but other than that it seems good to me. (First he will try to teach Divination, only if they are able to do that will he move on to what he understands of the Death sphere). Telowo maybe if he can? Otherwise the main healer.

Telowo has no use of magic. By main healer, do you mean Nat (DR's PC) or Helga (the wise woman)?

Oios would trust Helga more.

OK - good to know (stay tuned for more developments on that front)

:P

I think 5 3 2 1 4 might work better. Ideally we can train people in crossbows, if we can get them.

Imix will (again) ask if anyone is interested in magic. He will approach people who might fit the bill (Helga and Issy, maybe) and see if they are interested in joining in a more senior role.

He will talk to the Other Suriname first, though, and see if they have comments. I am curious how they've been progressing since we crossed the Falls, but given it has not been long I am not expecting much.

He's very, very interested in duplicating the fountain plate.

Still here, just tired. Crossbows and following Nat/Drazan sound good to me.

OK, moving on shortly. I needed to write Drazan out, but if TD comes back, I've got a way to work him back in.

@Imix - how are you planning on setting up your college? Duplicating the fountain? Is your college going to be in the Rest, or in the Enclave, or somewhere else (like the library?)?

Imix's plan.
1 Consult the Other Suriname, ensure they are on board. Offer them the opportunity to be treated as multiple entities.
2 Go amongst the people - ideally by sending the Other Suriname to do it with anyone younger. Ask who has knowledge they can share, and who wants to learn.
3 Ask the other races (we have three now!) if they have members with magical knowledge or aptitude.

From this he should get candidates. These need to be sorted into students (aptitude and desire), scholars (knowledge), and rejects (not taking it seriously).

Given we do not have a lot of books or paraphenalia, for now this will consist of finding a spot near the centre of the village to act as an ampitheatre. Ideally this would be natural but wooden stepped seating could be built.

One by one each person with knowledge will come forward to explain what they know, how they learned, and how they would teach (how many students at once, what it is likely to be like).

Imix feels that at that point it should be clear who has experience with teaching. It is best that those persons organise groups, but he expects those groups to be largely self-organising.

Maximising the time spent learning means organising food to be provided, and housing to be nearby. The need to have multiple small groups meeting means one ampitheatre is not likely to be as useful. As the college grows this will mean building a secondary venue. This is likely to be roofed (for warmth and to keep out rain) The best defence is likely to be having the ability to run, and being near the rest of the settlement.

I can see that the theatre is likely to see additional use from people wanting to address a lot of others - politicians and entertainers. I think he would be okay with that. Building a second ampihteatre seems a bit overkill.

He would seek someone good with organisation and not interested in learning magic to manage food, housing and organisation. Obviously a real scholar would be problematic, as they would constantly be distracted.

Question: is Imix engaged? Was this dropped with the new political structure?

Imix's plan.

Offer them the opportunity to be treated as multiple entities.

I love Imix. What a reward, to be treated as an individual!

Apologies all - we just closed our Library, and as a member of our Library Leadership Team, I've got a lot to get figured out in the next few days.

I'll be back ASAP.

No problem - stay safe.

Digging out, will be back tomorrow.

Hope everyone is doing OK.

Given we do not have a lot of books or paraphenalia, for now this will consist of finding a spot near the centre of the village to act as an ampitheatre. Ideally this would be natural but wooden stepped seating could be built.

Just a point here - you have lots of books at the Library, you just need to learn the language(s).

He would seek someone good with organisation and not interested in learning magic to manage food, housing and organisation. Obviously a real scholar would be problematic, as they would constantly be distracted.

Tex is probably the most apt for this work. Telia, the engineer, could be good as well. Darkhorse possibilities could include Chukix, Bellet, Ogwe (the cook).

Question: is Imix engaged? Was this dropped with the new political structure?

Good point about the library. I hadn't considered that. How many linear meters of bookshelves are we going to need?

I am actually really interested to see what Chukix pushes for. His training may make him uniquely qualified, and he has an excellent understanding of magical theory.

I hadn't considered that. How many linear meters of bookshelves are we going to need?

Librarian powers, activate!

Good point about the library. I hadn't considered that. How many linear meters of bookshelves are we going to need?

I am actually really interested to see what Chukix pushes for. His training may make him uniquely qualified, and he has an excellent understanding of magical theory.

Well, the library is 3 stories tall, so you're going to need a lot of LM if you want to transfer the whole library.

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I have a general map of events, and waypoints, but I'm having some trouble figuring out how to get us from A to B to C, etc. Thanks for your patience.

Still here, just very busy. I'm going to get this figured out this weekend and get us back on track next week.

Oh, I hear you on that.

RE Library. I hadn't really considered that, but if the books are germane, it does make sense.

Does anyone else have an opinion on a amphitheatre vs a library? Maybe we build both?

Still here, and still intending to get this rolling again. But right now, I'm totally swamped. 10-12 hour days, and then the weekend rolls around and I don't want to sit down in front of a computer.

I'd like to pause this game until after the semester is over (mid-May). In the meantime, I need to chip away at getting things back on track, structurally speaking. My intention was to get reallllly sandboxy in this part, but I don't have the time to keep up with it, and things ground to a halt as a result. I'll work on getting things more defined in a traditional narrative sense, and I'll check in in early May with the intent of moving along if everyone is still here.

Does that sound OK?

Apologies again on the delays. My job was already no joke in terms of time commitment, and COVID has made things significantly harder.

I hope that everyone is safe and healthy, and that things are going well in y'alls' corners of the world.

Sure. No problem. I've had two other games go into hibernation, and I definitely understand.

I wonder if a more responsive medium might be better for sandbox than PbP? I always worry I'm running roughshod over other people.

I'm just glad you're keeping your head above water in these crazy times. No problem at all with a pause.

@Imix considering I basically had Oios define the whole governance structure of the community going forward I don't think you have to worry about running roughsod over me :). I worry that I'm doing too much myself.

Hanging in there. I just want to go back to the lab and do real work instead of sitting on a computer all day. Makes me not want to do anything.

I wonder if a more responsive medium might be better for sandbox than PbP? I always worry I'm running roughshod over other people.

I do think the medium is not particularly suited for sandboxes, though this game's predecessor did it really well IMO.

Hanging in there. I just want to go back to the lab and do real work instead of sitting on a computer all day. Makes me not want to do anything.

I hear ya! In addition to everything taking SO MUCH MORE TIME, I really miss our library special collections - the physical materials that I used to work with on a regular basis.

I have to say I am most missing my face-to-face gaming groups. We've all gone online, but it just doesn't seem the same.

I suspect it is that there is a different skill set to running a game in person compared to running a game over zoom/hangouts/discord.

I've never participated in an online game in a different format than PBP, so I'm not qualified to say, but it doesn't strike me as a great medium. You don't get the time and introspection that PBP provides, and you don't get the face-to-face interaction, snack sharing, etc., that traditional gaming provides. Plus there's the tech element, that depending on how you game, could be pretty intensive.

My GM in Texas ran our games in a hybrid way - most of us gathered around a table, but two people in LA Skyped in for the games. He did it with an IPad pointed at the table, and our distance gamers talked through the IPad but also texted called other folks at certain points. It seemed to work OK for the people in LA, but it slowed us down and was strange to have this disembodied voice interrupting things from time to time.