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Well this game finally got retired to inactive status. We have just blown past our first week of March. Given the lack of communication from Carlito and an increase in demand on my schedule, I am leaving this game. It's a shame. I thought all of the characters were interesting and full of promise. Good luck and happy gaming.
So where do we stand now? Obviously the target weekend has come and gone. Are we going to pick back up in Feb, Mar, Apr, ever?
Is this campaign over?
In the red corner, standing 5'9", weighing in at a 175 and wearing black trunks and pasty pale skin, we have the Sleeper, the Pillow Case Casanova, Mr. Arsenic and Old Lace himself... STANLEY SERIOUS SYDELL! And in the blue corner, height and weight unknown, smelling of deer musk and wearing varmint skins, the Murderous Marsupial, the Mamed Mammal, give it up for MARROAR BIG BEAR VENGEANT!
The gravity of the situation clearly reflected on Da'Ka's face, he comes to his feet, shouldering his bag, and moves to bar the door.
Da'Ka's eyes narrow as he listens to Janiven... visibly relaxing into his chair...
Odda Westies see Da'Ka come round, dey know what fo. So, What fo Lil' Miss feed Da'Ka dis night?
I fail to see how Marroar's ooc comment could/would have been deduced by anyone present given the facts of his past that have been explicitly stated thus far (which is very little). I grant that there are times when others understand motives better than the actor. However, that usually occurs among close/long time friends. Having known Aardvark for sometime, I can usually figure out (in general terms) when something that is bothering him is affecting his behavior. Having never met Marroar personally, I doubt I could conclude something was bothering (as opposed to it being just his personality) on our first meeting. Just because I want you to know something I'm thinking doesn't mean you ought to be able/allowed to know it prior to me giving voice to it. e.g. I really want you to know that I'm being coerced to do x. However, if I tell you my true motive, a magical geas will alert the despicable naive who is holding my daughter hostage. I hope you will figure this out, but I can't explicitly tell you. Just because I want you to know, doesn't mean you get to know. The problem, especially in pbps, where conversations can span weeks in real-time, is it is difficult to distinguish what my character should or shouldn't know based on the posts. I'm not in the habit of rereading every post prior to submitting a new one. I rely on my memory for most of my interaction. Narcotics make for some of the best posts. Rock on! Not to mention that you can never be truly sure that what you divulged in ooc or inner monologue, didn't in some way influence the actions of another player.
To Marroar... The issue I see with providing info pre-emptively, is that it presumes players will take assumed actions. Who is to say if a character would cast detect thoughts but for your tip-off. By giving the info ahead of time, you influence future actions of other players. Not to mention, make it incredibly difficult for other players to distinguish and keep track off out of character knowledge.
First lesson: The DM is never wrong and is fully justified in changing his mind as he sees fit. --To be taken tongue-in-cheek. That said, a wise DM will listen to player comments and give due consideration.
I'm afraid I don't follow your last post, Marroar. Are you saying it is perfectly ok for other characters to act off knowledge garnered from ooc? If so, I would have to disagree. None of our characters are omnipotent. As such, their actions should only be driven by their personalities and their limited perception of the world in which they live. If I have misunderstood you, please clarify. Stanley brought up another issue in one of his responses. Are we going to be using skills against one another in this campaign?
Fair enough. However, it is impossible to know whether Stanely would definitely have made a sense motive check had you excluded the ooc statement that contradicted the emotions displayed by your PC. Maybe he would have, maybe he would have taken you at face value and considered Marroar a world class a-hole. By providing the ooc, you could have changed Stanely's response.
While I agree, Da'Ka's first post provided insight, the DM was the only other player in the scene. And as such, it imparted no real game changing info. Not sure that it would have, had other characters been present. Describing the manner in which your character acts is not what I'm getting at. E.g. Stanely's post ...He does so as nonchalantly as he can ... describes his action. Granted, someone might not perceive Stanely's non-nonchalance if observing him, but it is reasonable to assume that it is detectable. I have no problem with words that amplify the physical, as in Aardvark's example..."I wonder why he's looking at me"... It describes the questioning visage one might have in this circumstance and adds to the story. However, if the thought went one step further, "I wonder why he's looking at me, does he know of my secret killing spree?" That imparts game changing information, of the type that my character wouldn't be privy to through visual means. The issue I have is when the words provide insight that an observer wouldn't ordinarily deduce. That's all. Nothing more. Sometimes a post or description can just feel bare or random if there aren't certain parts of narrative added to them to explain their presence. When other characters are present, it makes sense that the description should only add light to the manner in which the act was performed, not the reason why the act was performed. Aardvark, it appears to me that you are trying to be petty with my spelling? It happens that my version of firefox running on my linux box is set to British spelling rules for some reason, and while the particular setting is changeable, I have not felt a strong enough compulsion to find where it is and make the change. To be clear, I was not issuing a mandate for the group. I was merely remarking on what I have noticed and questioned if the narrative was requested for other reasons.
I've noticed the narrative format people are using in the game posts. On one hand, I like it because it gives the game a book'ish feel. On the other hand, much of the narration provides insight that other characters wouldn't necessarily have. E.g. Marroar's post after Tarq's introduction. I get that the character is a jerk, which I think is fun to interact with. But, I shouldn't know his motivations unless he explicitly speaks to them, or I deduce them over time. When I provide a narrative, I try to limit it to what observers would see and let the other players judge the meaning. That's why the majority of the text of my game posts is in-character. I've read through the early Discussion posts to see if the inner monologues were solicited for the game and haven't found such. It is entirely possible that Carlito wants to use them to write a book. Since I tend to scan instead of read thoroughly, it's also possible that I missed the request. I'm happy to provide Da'Ka's inner thoughts in my posts if the DM is looking for them. I'm just looking for clarity here. My preference is to keep characters' inner thoughts hidden, or at least sequestered inside spoiler tags. I like trying to figure out what a character's motivation or thought process is.
At Marroar's words, Da'Ka looks himself over,sniffs his arm pits, looks at Tarq for a show of support and shrugs his shoulders. Turing to face the entire group... Da'Ka speak same same as odda westies. Da'Ka neva see much fa fa away, but know how fo speak first time faces.
Da'Ka pushes back his chair, stands and combs back his hair with both hands. A warm smile hanging below his broad, flat nose and ring . Dis place cozy true true, Lil Miss. Makes Da'Ka's heart wa'm an easy. Many aprons an' feath'a heads know Da'Ka. Know Da'Ka's trade, too. Like Mr. grass man dere. Da'Ka points gestures to Stanley.
Nope. Nothing of consequence. I spent most of my money at creation. Da'Ka will just be going about his usual business until the appointed hour.
Half listening to her, blah bl'blah, his eyes narrow and light up when his favourite topic touches his ears..."There are many things that happen in this city..." Ma'am, you don't even know the half of it. Those back-stretchers have this city wired tight, as Groetus knows full well. I could tell you a story or two. My prices are fair, but I'll need more details before we can make a contract. I will happily listen to all that you have to say over a comp'ed meal, if you are so inclined.
Perception:People tolerate Da'ka with exasperated smiles mainly because he's so damn dependable. If it weren't for his incessant yammering about his latest conspiracy theory, he could easily receive full patronage from any of the wealthier houses of Westcrown. Bottom line... if you need something found, property returned, debts collected, or hard-to-come-by information, you call on Da'ka. Religion: Da'ka doesn't worship Groetus so much as he attributes everything to him. Every conspiracy line of reasoning eventually leads to Groetus. History: A street urchin, Da'ka grew up wandering the streets or Westcrown, learning the shops, faces and power players that inhabit it. Doing odd jobs for storekeepers and merchants, Da'ka relied upon his back alley education to find whatever his contracts required. Being without family, a half-breed, and crazier than a s++#house rat, Da'ka spent most of his youth running from and fighting off more privileged kids, who were more often than not, humans. This constant abuse by humans taught Da'ka their natural failings, vulnerabilities, how they think, etc... making him an especially well suited bounty hunter.
Carlito, I wasn't sure of the timeline for the game. I'll have a backstory for you tomorrow morning..
Here is the party's ranger. Went with Trapper instead of Urban Ranger. |
