• This section is for roleplays only.
    ALL interest checks/recruiting threads must go in the Recruit Here section.

    Please remember to credit artists when using works not your own.

OOC Little Talks

Launch the next chapter before existing players lose their patience and ragequit
I just want to say that, far from losing patience, if Staff were going through another round of "time since last IC post" weeding, I'd insist on an exception for Amaranth. Not just because I've loved the journey so far, but because I know how hard you've been working behind the scenes and the real quality of story I know you'll bring to future chapters. I'm more than willing to wait, knowing that kind of fun is coming!
 
Wolf, Kaerri's right. You have put way too much into Amaranth for me to feel otherwise. =)
 
I'm excited to join a roleplay that all its participants are so heavily invested in. Those don't grow on trees in my experience. Believe it or not, while browsing Amaranth's material I've been taking mental notes on strategies for building and maintaining a forum roleplay that people actually care about.
 
A large part of that is finding people who naturally care in the first place. Once that's established, you can probably play just about any game; it just takes the right group. =)
 
Agree with Dann. The most crucial components are the Storyteller's dedication and care - but you've got to have the right people, too.

But the most common Storyteller mistake in my opinion isn't admitting the wrong players into the game. It's not easy to judge someone wholly on their application, and appearances can be deceiving. No. The mistake I see all of the time is that they'll forget that an RP actually requires maintenance. I've seen Storytellers who'll absolutely nail the creation of a game and its initial stages, just overall do an amazing job of setting it up with all the bells and whistles included - only to neglect it down the road, as if the whole thing becomes perpetually self-sustainable the second you cut the red tape. Yet even bells and whistles can do with polishing every now and then, not to mention the stuff that gets caught in the cogs and wheels of the machinery, threatening to wear it out to a halt *woof*

Conversely, many players put so much focus on character creation, get lost in it, and then fail to actually play what they have written. When they lose interest over time, it's not always because of the Storyteller and their game - it's because they've lost interest in their characters. It's weird, but it feels like a lot of the people out there enjoy making characters and dreaming about playing them more than... well, actually playing them. And there's not much that a Storyteller can do about that :/
 
That's a very goid point, Wolf. I recall Gary Gygax (co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons) making a strong point of wanting D&D players to be genuiely excited to play their characters.

Regardless of the playstyle in question, Gygax thought that enthusiasm was a large part of any good campaign (he would use the word "milieu" in his writing), including (and probably, especially) the Dungeon Master (as the DM is the one doing most of the work).

Concerning the most common issue I see in role-playing, what I'm about to state applies mostly to tabletop, but I think I see it in gaming in general nowadays.

For me, it is PCs and Dungeon Masters not being familiar with the rules. I started playing in an era where knowing your stuff was par for the course. If you did not know your character (and by that, I mainly mean class and the basuc rules), you had no business playing the game. You were seen as wasting everyone's time.

Back then, nobody wanted to hold your hand and explain the same things to you the fifth or sixth time. While every accommodation was made for the new player, it was on you as an individual to reasonably have your act together when it was time to roll the dice.

Today, people praise me for my eye for detail, but I think it's just the way I learned to play and I've always had a knack for the art of role-playing.

Roleplaying is something I'll be doing for the rest of my life. =)

(I'm getting over a big headache I woke up with so do please forgive any grammatical errors/"failures in brain function." Ha ha.)

Honor and fun,
Dann =)
 
Alright, so in preparation for the opening of Chapter VII we need to coordinate a bit *woof*

Dannigan Dannigan Kaerri Kaerri Jack Elarithon Jack Elarithon
The other end of Uriel's portal took the Chosen directly to the headquarters of the Resistance, nested in the Darkvale Mountains north of the city of Dunn (and across the river Dunnaev, near where Tallwood Forest hugs the base of the mountain). The Resistance is based in an old, forgotten ruin of a fortress there, with an amazing view of the valley and city below. This is where Raziel's gateway was supposed to transport the party from the Temple of Hidden Knowledge back at the end of Chapter IV, except it misfired as explained in Chapter V. So you're finally back on track (though as Maggie and Auri joined after/because of that, I suppose technically they were never really off track lol).

Though it was only a quarter past nine in the evening, considering what an evening it was, I think it's safe to say that the Chosen were all shown to their rooms and soundly asleep before long. So we won't be roleplaying any of that. Instead, we will start on the next day... My plan was to focus on the war council and analyze the situation, recomposing the player party while at it, and then start the next mission which will probably fill out the rest of the chapter.

However. I would like to see some character development before that. We don't have the time to play out the whole day, obviously, nor is there need to do that, but I was thinking to start a separate timeline for each character and explore what happened to them after waking up but before being summoned for the council. Or rather, to choose a single interesting situation and build a scene around it. This could be a conversation between two players, or between a player and an NPC, or perhaps a player's stroll around the fortress and multiple shorter social encounters... There's lots of options - I just need some input from each of you so that I can start setting it up.

What are you thoughts on this? And if you agree, when and where shall we shine some light on your characters? Assume this scene takes place anywhere between waking up and 14h, and feel free to ask for any additional info. Alternatively, if you don't want to do this, I suppose we can always skip ahead to the war council *whine*

Bone2pick Bone2pick
Most of what I wrote goes for you, too. I'm tagging you separately only because your character isn't part of the Chosen yet. She hasn't even met them, in fact... But we could change that. Do you have a desire to coordinate with one of the other players and have your characters meet in advance? Or perhaps one of the key NPCs? Think about what Sareath would be doing in the morning or around noon, and where she might find herself. If nothing else, it could even be a solitary walk with some inner monologue and reflections, with minimum interruption on my part. Regardless, don't hesitate to ask questions if you have them, either here or via PM.

Perhaps after everyone voices their thoughts here, we'll see some natural overlap potential. Or we'll make some room for it. It all depends chiefly on what each and everyone one of you wants to do, what kind of scene you'd enjoy writing - I just firmly believe that overall it would be really nice to start the chapter in this fashion. Plus it lets Bone start posting immediately, rather than forcing him to wait for the rest of you to initiate the council scene *woof*

Oh, and, let's settle this matter as soon as possible. I'd very much like to open Chapter VII this week, but right now it depends on you *howl*
 
It doesn't seem helpful to say "whatever works best for you" but that's honestly how I feel.

I expect Maggie will be doing a lot of praying, especially around dawn, but she would also want to explore and meet people, and of course check on her friends. She will particularly want to talk to Dina, and see if there's anything she can do for her (even if it's just listening). If our ordinary gear (as opposed to party gear from last night) is somehow available, she'd want to give her that dress she got back in Dunn.

Hope that helps!
 
It doesn't seem helpful to say "whatever works best for you" but that's honestly how I feel.
The goal isn't for you to be helpful, but to have an opinion. It's great if what you feel matches what I feel, but the two are allowed to clash. Anything is better than nothing, or I'll think you don't care :P

Obviously you had quite a bit to say about Maggie, so thank you for doing it. We'll see what the others think, but for now it looks like I could set up a scene for Maggie and Dina - that would be interesting, and Dina herself is likely to seek a peaceful place before the council convenes, so it would be little wonder for the two of them to get together even by accident *woof*
 
Wolf Rawrrr Wolf Rawrrr If it's not too much trouble, could you post a list of NPCs and important Resistance members currently at the headquarters? That way I can look them over and consider which one(s) Sareath might could have a relationship with.

As far as your suggestion of a solitary walk - that's a possibility. She also trains and meditates daily, so there's that.
 
Here is my opinion.

I like the idea of a scene where Bone's character is introduced into the game, pre-war council. This way, our characters have the chance to meet his character. This also gives our characters the opportunity to discuss what happened during Dina's rescue. A "post-mission", if you will, or discussion where our characters get to learn what was going on in each other's situations (Auri, for one, would like to know what Asher had experienced during the party, if he is willing to share that). There is the added benefit of some of our characters getting to meet and chat with the woman whom our characters risked their necks for.

I think we have fast-forwarded enough to go from the Sorceress/Angel scene straight into another big scene. For one, I had no idea where our characters were going when the portal appeared. I believe to simply thrust us all into a war council (yet another situation I was not prepared to roleplay, but since Auri is a diplomat, I imagine the powers at be are likely going to want him there to represent the drakkar or what-have-you) is a mistake.

I just hope they don't start asking Auri for military advice. He's a simple wizard who previously lived the life of a warrior, not a general. We'll see where it goes, though. =)
 
Last edited:
I was going to expand the list of personnel as needed, but I suppose it *is* needed at this point, lol. Sorry, I do lots of improvisation and generally don't plan ahead in too great detail past the next couple posts, and since the war council seems to be a good few posts away, I haven't actually thought about it yet. Here's a quick list though:

  • Aron Natalis
    Former general and commander in chief of the old Royal Army, now the founder and leader of the Resistance movement.
  • Violet Robbins
    A lieutenant in the Resistance and Natalis' right hand. As of a few weeks ago, also a member of the Chosen party.
  • Arthur Teagan
    The Bann of Darkvale and one of the most powerful men in the realm. A supporter of the Resistance (unofficially of course).
  • Astor Brook
    The lord and ruler of the nearby city of Dunn, as well as a key Resistance sympathizer.
    Soreas Arenov
    The archmage of Dunn's Mages Guild.
  • ...?
These are some of the key members of the Resistance. There's a couple more lieutenants like Violet, which I've yet to create but I do know they exist, as well as the rest of the military structure as you might imagine. Violet herself is someone whom Sareath ought to know at least a little. Commander Natalis she's probably acquaintances with, assuming she's risen somewhat through the ranks or simply considering Sareath's unique background. Bann Teagan... probably not. He's a great supporter of the Resistance but he doesn't normally come often to the HQ (no real reason to). Astor Brook, as his station requires, rarely leaves Dunn, so Sareath probably doesn't know him. She might know the last name of the list, Arenov, as he's actively helping the Resistance.

I know it's not much but I'll see about expanding the list. You could always happen to meet another player character during your training or meditation, like Asher or Auri. Not to mention that there are likely others whom Sareath knows, such as her comrades who aren't high ranking. I focused on listing people who will actually be present for the war council *woof*

Dannigan, I get what you are saying. I imagine there's hardly a soul at the Resistance HQ right now who wouldn't want to speak with Dina! So are you telling me that Auri set out to find her, sometime before or around noon? Or did he look up Maggie, too?

Jack Elarithon Jack Elarithon still waiting to hear about Asher *woof*
 
If memory serves, Auri is both brand new to the Chosen and the Resistance? If so, he would probably hang around Maggie, both to look out for her, and to get her interpretation the Resistance.
 
In that case, I propose we start a joint scene for Auri/Maggie and quickly move to include Dina in it.

Which logically means I also propose that Jack Elarithon Jack Elarithon 's character, Asher, has a scene with Sareath. The two of them have things in common *woof*

Opinions on this?
 
You don't need to think *too* hard about it. I'll set everything up using clues I gather here in the OOC, then you just need to play along and develop the scene naturally as it goes. So chances are that, until we actually start, you won't have any real idea on how it should go, but once we do start it ought to all click together *woof*
 
I dunno, Asher might be hard to find after he woke up. He's probably up in some shadowy rafters of the reading the diary/notebook/journal/book he swiped from the tower.

In any case, I'm up for there being a meeting scene.
 
In that case, Jack Elarithon Jack Elarithon and Bone2pick Bone2pick , might I suggest a scene where Sareath has finished her morning training routine and is now meditating in a quiet corner of the fortress in anticipation of the war council? Cue Asher who stumbles across while looking for a quiet place - we can say that this is where he inevitably wound up, what with the fortress being chock full of people and activity due to everything that's going on.
 
My apologies to everyone, I'm currently trying to unstuck myself after hitting a few Storyteller's blocks... I had planned to start the new chapter last weekend but clearly those plans fell through... *whine*

Just so you're not kept in the dark. Entirely my fault. I'm working on it.

In other news, the two other recruits I had both gave up due to real life difficulties, so it appears as if it might be just Bone joining us. However, I do have another potential player, but if he joins it will be down the line in the chapter. Paws crossed.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top