The Great Coup

The live in the River Kingdoms was interesting in these days. Theodum had just rejoiced on the streets and praised Zog for dealing with the onslaught of monsters when a letter on his desk caught his attention.

REVOLUTION
We hereby declare the end of the Alpha-Aristocracy. Down with the leading class. Everyone has the right to be equal. No privileges anymore. They haven’t protected us from the monsters – they are not fit to rule us anymore.

There wasn’t any signature. Galt sprang to mind – could it be that some grey guards from Galt had secretly infiltrated this area. He would have to be on the lookout for guillotines. He didn’t wanted to lose his soul. But then – technically it would be Thod who had to march to the Guillotine. But could he really rely on it?

Messengers where send out – and the news back seemed bleak. Golgotha – Phyllain no longer in power, Hope’s End – Duffy ran out of town, Brighthaven – Cheatle no longer in control.

He went down to The Spire’s Retreat. One bucket full of Emerald Spirit again – oh – and please catch me a new rat.

It seemed it was time to worship Zog again. After all – the prayers had worked last time.

Edit: You might also want to read The Emerald Lodge Curfew where it is explained how to worship Zog properly.

Ryan and GW are aware that all companies lost leadership - at least this is how it appears.
Relax and look at it from the funny side. We are all effected in the same way. Seems some unexpected effect of the roll-back.
GW is working hard on keeping us happy - maybe too hard and things slip through. There was a lot of great stuff in the patch yesterday and maybe it would have been better to get it a little bit later.
But with hindsight we always know better.

"Hmm, what's this do," ponders the elf. "Let's find out!"

Without hesitating another moment his pale hand slams down on the big red button labeled 'Do Not Touch'.

pffft more monsters I coulda taken em ...just not with my wiz

Foxglove woke up with a hangover. Ouch. How could those last seven drinks seem like a good idea?
Her uneasy dreams about monsters everywhere faded, but the headache did not.

The previous night had been strange. The Fool's Feast wasn't a traditional River Kingdoms festival, but it seemed like it might catch on. The topsy-turvy aspect certainly appealed to the masses: mayors and barons dressed as court jesters and servants for a night while their fools sat on their thrones and commanded their people to laugh, dance and drink.

And it might teach the powerful to cultivate a little humbleness when they are reminded how easily power can change here.

The peasants must be put back to work immediately.

For being so roleplay heavy, totally didn't use any of my character names, or the actual character in charge of Brighthaven.

For the record, Michelle Wedgewood is the leader of Brighthaven, she is also the wealthiest person on the server, as well as a connoisuer of fine clothes.

"One bucket full of Emerald Spirit again – oh – and please catch me a new rat."

At the words, Deianira glanced up from her notes - that last stanza's phrasing just would not come right - in time to see Theodum dash over to the cellar door, most of their Emerald Spirit apparently sloshing in the bucket he clutched. She shook her head. Just like Donal back at the Two Swans. Perfectly normal one day, then drinking his body weight in liquor the next. Next would be the running around in his smallclothes, and canceling the play - er...

Clearly Theodum was overworked. Sighing, she blotted the unfinished lyrics dry, gathered up her bag, and went off to find Baron. Or Diltig, or... well, someone..

the wealthiest person on the server

Interesting. Is there a public list somewhat of how much gold I have?

the wealthiest person on the server

I don't believe it's possible to know this with certainty or even with reasonable confidence.

Obviously, as King in the North, Tink is the richest of all players. How else could I be King in the North?

King in the North

Are the other Kings in the North, of necessity, less wealthy than you?

Wealth doesn't have to mean gold.

Wealth doesn't have to mean gold.

Regardless of what it means, do you have access to a listing of the number of friends, allies, or assets that any other person on the board has? If you don't, the claim (while it might be accurate) is both spurious and provocative.

Or, you know, maybe it's just to let Thod know that, IC, "Michelle Wedgwood", not "Cheatle", is the head of Brighthaven and that's how she's roleplayed?

Honestly, can we not have a fun little RP thread without snark?

Cheatle, I apologize for misinterpreting your statements as being reality based.

It's difficult, Deianire. Cheatle occupies a unique position both inside the game and outside. When he makes statements that are not clearly roleplaying, it's easy to set the mind to wondering what's going on.

(Edit: Perhaps the Avatar Michelle could make those claims for herself.)

For being so roleplay heavy, totally didn't use any of my character names, or the actual character in charge of Brighthaven.

For the record, Michelle Wedgewood is the leader of Brighthaven, she is also the wealthiest person on the server, as well as a connoisuer of fine clothes.

This is very clearly not an in-character post. If he had said "wealthiest person in the Echo Woods" there might be an argument that the tone changed between paragraphs from OOC to an in-character Unreliable Narrator, but the claim as stated cannot reasonably be interpreted as anything other than an assertion of game-mechanic fact.

the claim as stated cannot reasonably be interpreted as anything other than an assertion of game-mechanic fact.

Sure it can: as an assertion that, based on Cheatle's experiences, he believes to be true.

I know next to nothing about what anyone else on the server has, and I don't even know what all Michelle might have, but I would bet Cheatle's assertion is true.

TEO Cheatle wrote:

Wealth doesn't have to mean gold.

Regardless of what it means, do you have access to a listing of the number of friends, allies, or assets that any other person on the board has? If you don't, the claim (while it might be accurate) is both spurious and provocative.

Michelle Wedgewood.... there's a crafty one. They can strip her of her titles and proclaim her just a commoner, but until they figure out how to access the vault without her they can't touch her power.
And if they were stupid enough to try anything, it would take about 10 seconds before all the mercenaries figured out the business opportunity.

It wasn't a roleplaying post in that I am totally talking out of character, but that's how TEO views Michelle. She is the leader of Brighthaven, a shrewd business woman, that is probably the richest person in the area, and its an inside joke about the clothes.

This also points out exactly the reason why I don't RP in public forums, and the reason why I abhor any type of public RP stuff, it can be taken out of context or used to make a point in a round about way. RP and politics don't mix in MMO settings, unless the entire server is an RP server, or your RP over laps with your actual goals/motivations/thoughts.

I think the problem is less RP and more overanalyzing, to be honest. But it's better than complaining about grass.

The grass needs to be way prettier or I am going to uninstall.

Patience, the grass is always greener in the spring.

also, OOC tags can always be used in RP posts to make it over-obvious that you are not RPing. Any post by Theoodum (and not Thod) is a RP post.

I find it hilarious that anybody thought to question Cheatle's statement *chuckles*

I find it hilarious that anybody thought to question Cheatle's statement *chuckles*

There are not one but two important questions to be asked when someone makes a statement of fact: 1) is it true, and 2) how can it be proven. An assertion which happens to be true but is not proven through verifiable public data should be worded quite differently from a conclusion drawn from generally-accessible and trusted information.

"For the record, Michelle is the wealthiest person on the server" implies a level of verified certainty which "TEO believes Michelle to be the wealthiest person on the server" does not. The former suggestion leads immediately to questions of "how do you know", especially when the only plausible answer to that question is "the devs are preferentially giving TEO members strategically valuable information not available to the general playerbase."

If Cheatle meant to present his position as a statement of reasonable belief rather than verified certainty, he worded his post poorly. The words he chose strongly imply the possession of data he should not have.

@Guurzak
There is also another possibility - a strong self-belief. Surely Golgotha can't be as well organized as Brighthaven and have as much stuff. No need to proof it - that should be just a given.

If Emerald Lodge one day goes up in flames then likely because I have been too arrogant and someone wants to show me how wrong I am.

the only plausible answer to that question is "the devs are preferentially giving TEO members strategically valuable information not available to the general playerbase."

I look forward to the day that players attribute our successes to the effort we put into them as an organization, rather than accusing the largest group in the game of being "preferred" by the GMs because someone misinterpreted a post or doesn't know how the damage-reporting system works.

There is a history of coincidences that can be interpreted as special treatment. The use of the word "server" caused me to wonder if someone in TEO had access to information that is not available to others. The original message contained an unfortunate error in delivery. I apologized in hopes the conversation could move on.

Context is important, and the reader has a responsibility to try to interpret the speaker's intent. Most people can read Cheatle's claim and intuitively understand it's his claim. Most won't bother to chastise him for speaking inaccurately. Those that do are probably more interested in some secondary effect than in encouraging more accurate speech.

Nihimon, I am not a stupid person, and I made the mistake. The word server was an unfortunate choice that triggered a lot of this. Trying to deflect that error completely is not going to help anything in this community.

Trying to deflect that error completely is not going to help anything in this community.

My purpose is to state the obvious to encourage reasonable readers to consider the motivations of the folks holding Cheatle's feet to the fire for inaccurate speech. As I've said a number of times in the past, I generally don't try to "correct" misinformation when it's obviously someone's opinion.

Seriously, though, is challenging the veracity of "my daddy's bigger than your daddy" really the right way to help anything in this community?

Things must be going well in the game if this much effort is focus on Cheatle's statement.

Hmm, if Michelle Wedgewood is the wealthiest on the server, then I'll have to chat with Nadya about increasing the taxes in Keeper's Pass on the top 1% ;)

I look forward to the day that players attribute our successes to the effort we put into them as an organization, rather than accusing the largest group in the game of being "preferred" by the GMs because someone misinterpreted a post

I, in turn, look forward to the day you stop doing things which make it possible to reasonably question whether your successes are purely by dint of hard work. I'm perfectly willing to believe the best of you and would prefer to do so, and I wish you'd stop making it so easy to reexamine that belief.

or doesn't know how the damage-reporting system works.

I don't think it's productive to raise this issue again, but if we're going to I'd like to point out that my post explicitly acknowledged the possibility that the events I observed could be explained by the damage-reporting system you imply I don't understand.

Context is important, and the reader has a responsibility to try to interpret the speaker's intent. Most people can read Cheatle's claim and intuitively understand it's his claim. Most won't bother to chastise him for speaking inaccurately. Those that do are probably more interested in some secondary effect than in encouraging more accurate speech.

In general, if you're wondering whether my agenda when making a post is political rabblerousing or encouraging more accurate speech, please believe me when I say in all sincerity that it is almost certainly the latter. And while I have the greatest of respect for Caldeathe's player, I can say with some confidence that we share little or no political agenda.

Cheatle's post can be and was read by multiple people of reasonable intelligence and goodwill to possibly imply knowledge which is not supposed to be available to players. Other reasonable interpretations are also possible, but careful speech would avoid stating as verified fact a position which is based purely on unverified belief. And I would firmly disagree with your suggestion that the onus is on the listener to assume the best possible interpretation of ambiguous speech. With that said, I'm perfectly willing to accept Cheatle's assurance that this was a misstatement rather than an admission, and I'm ready to stop talking about this whenever y'all are.

*Facepalm*

I guess it can't be helped, anything and everything I say will be scrutinized to the maximum. Its alright, just be glad its me, and not someone who takes this stuff personal. This is why I am just going to avoid RP threads in the future.

@Guurzak

For the record, I didn't follow the damage thread very much. I wasn't implying you, specifically, didn't know how the reporting works, and I recall you mentioning that possibility in the original post. I'm not bringing it up to discuss it, I'm using it as an example.

Again, not targeted at anyone in particular.

As for the rest, I get a very strange "guilty until proven innocent" vibe from your reply. Very unbecoming of someone belonging to a Lawful settlement, but I suppose Lawful Evil is perfect for that.

Regardless of if you think TEO would use information that we shouldn't have, you should also consider you are attacking the integrity of Goblinworks and Paizo when you make such statements. If you have a problem with TEO, so be it, but to attack the people who make the game repeatedly and without any semblance of proof is rather dissapointing.

Attack us if you wish, but leave the developers out of it.

anything and everything I say will be scrutinized to the maximum.

While this is probably true, because of your position in the game, I'd have been suspicious of anyone using that specific phrase. Perhaps not as suspicious, which is unfortunate for both of us.

Donkey is confused by much that has been said here ... however he wishes to know if a bucket of Emerald liquor might be reserved for his sampling.

Regardless of if you think TEO would use information that we shouldn't have, you should also consider you are attacking the integrity of Goblinworks and Paizo when you make such statements.

People are human. I happen to think that Goblinworks has been above average in many of the ways they interact with the community, but there are 25 employees at Goblinworks. Considering the possibility that one in 25 might have shared something they shouldn't is hardly an attack on the group.

This has been blown way out of proportion to the original challenge. Initially it was me doing the equivalent of "don't count your chickens" but has turned ugly. I won't look at this thread anymore. Which is unfortunate, since Theodum is one of my favourite things about the boards.

Donkey is confused by much that has been said here ... however he wishes to know if a bucket of Emerald liquor might be reserved for his sampling.

Get your donkey off the bucket. A rat just drowned in it - ahem - dissolved in it - and I'm not paying for a new donkey if the spirit kills the stupid beast.

Get your donkey off the bucket. A rat just drowned in it - ahem - dissolved in it - and I'm not paying for a new donkey if the spirit kills the stupid beast.

Ahhhh ... You misunderstand my meaning. By "reserving a bucket" I was referring to the quantity of the drink , not the container specific to your shrine. Donkey drinks from a bucket because, try as he does, the tankard often eludes him (mostly a hoof vs. handle battle). Donkey wishes to try the Emerald liquor but not from the dissolved rat container. If necessary I will bring a bucket.

Also, no need for name-calling. I often scold Donkey when he insults myself or others and you are setting a bad example.

Hey Alexander, wanna go get ice cream?

Hey Alexander, wanna go get ice cream?

If I go, I'm emptying my pockets first.

And I'm getting sprinkles. No sprinkles, no deal.

I'm perfectly willing to accept Cheatle's assurance that this was a misstatement rather than an admission, and I'm ready to stop talking about this whenever y'all are.

You guys must not spend as much time in the south as I thought =P

It would surprise me greatly if any individual has greater wealth than the combined wealth of the largest group in the game.

TEO has a centralised economy where Michelle essentially holds all TEOs gathered, refined and crafted items not currently in use by players. Which is ...a whole lot of items.

I will be awed if Cheatle's statement isn't fact. Based on the evidence, I find it laughable to doubt it... but perhaps that's just my particular perspective =)

sprinkles are for winners....

Kakafika,

That is because they don't hear me come into TS and ask if anyone has 25,000 coal....

The grass needs to be way prettier or I am going to uninstall.

The grass is also seriously underpowered, in other games the grass has much better saves and can do ridiculous damage whenever it is in the mood.

Kakafika,

That is because they don't hear me come into TS and ask if anyone has 25,000 coal....

Yeah, that really opened my eyes to the scale that TEO is working on... =P

GripGuiness wrote:

Donkey is confused by much that has been said here ... however he wishes to know if a bucket of Emerald liquor might be reserved for his sampling.

Get your donkey off the bucket. A rat just drowned in it - ahem - dissolved in it - and I'm not paying for a new donkey if the spirit kills the stupid beast.

But if you manage to completely dissolve the donkey, there won't be any evidence.

By the way.. can I taste the dissolved rat spirits? I think it could be a big seller.