RpNation Monthly: September 2015

[The Fellows]

RPN Monthly: SEPTEMBER 2015

Welcome to another edition of RpNation's monthly newsletter. The fellows, per usual, have been hard at work to come produce one of the most content packed editions yet. In addition to our normal sections, they have really stepped up to bring you new stuff all together. We hope you enjoy reading through all this delicious content and, as always, if you have any suggestions for the newsletter, please don't hesitate to reach out to your friendly neighbourhood newsletter coordinator--- Mordecai!

~ @Aldur Forgehammer




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So this year for song of the month I felt like a little representation from the EDM side of music would be nice! So after a bit of digging and listening to a variety of awesome tunes I came up with something a little less hard but not super soft, a kind of medium ground in the various types of dubstep! Interstellar, by Excision with Dion Timmer featuring Rise At Night! An excellent example from one of my favorite artists. Interstellar was released this year on February third as part of his Codename X album.

~ @Aldur Forgehammer

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Reservoir Dogs

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Featured Art/Artist

You know, one could say I made a RISKY move with this choice this month but, I've gotta say, the art done by @Risk really caught my eye as I was cruising through the artwork section! Certainly a lot more artistry here than I myself could muster haha. But I will say, in regards to Risk's art, that he's certainly got a skill here that's worth cultivating and improving!

See more @Dusky 's Guide to Forums, Threads, and Other Nonsense is certainly a good beginners guide to RPN with plenty of links, supporting pictures, and information to get any new member off on the right foot!

Read it @Aldur Forgehammer "The Hook"[/size][/right]

A Cloudy Tale

So, hi.


I was recruited to write a piece about my experience on the piano. (Musical punssss)


I’ve been playing for quite some time. I’ve been through three teachers, several music camps, a few select victories, many losses, countless recitals and long nights.


But wait, this is only the piano! You can’t honestly be telling me it’s that dramatic. But it is.


I will begin the telling of my journey with how my parents got the piano my family still has to this day!


My parents walked into a store. One of those cool, retro stores. I don’t remember the name of it exactly, but inside, the place was filled to the brim. A Canadian singer named Chantel Kriviatsuk was being sponsored by Steinway, and they were raffling off her old piano and giving her a brand-new one. It was a small upright Steinway, and you don’t see too many of those. So, thinking why not, my parents put their names in the hat, and low and behold, my mom won. They told her it would be shipped to her place within a few months. Well, months passed, and the piano wasn’t delivered. Until out of the blue, three months later, two guys with a truck appeared with the piano. And thus, the piano was carried up to our apartment on the second floor (no elevator) where it still stands. I don’t believe we would’ve had a piano if she hadn’t won that raffle. I don’t believe I would be where I am today.

Spoiler

I was about seven when I started playing piano, despite the piano being there before me. My dad was my first teacher. As a kid he’d played organ, so he was happy to teach me. While I was never 100% enthusiastic (you can’t blame me, I was seven) he persevered. It became our language, because my dad isn’t a super talkative guy. The one thing me and him could relate too.


For a long time, as I developed the new skill, we got loads and loads of complaints from the neighbors, living in an apartment where the neighbor’s place is 10 feet apart from yours. My piano plunking was not appreciated. Slowly I got better, but we still couldn’t play very early or very late at night, and we could never play very loud. Thus lead to the purchase of our very fancy ‘Super-natural touch’ Roland Keyboard. Which we also still have today. The thing has over 500 settings and I love it. (I could play and have it sound like an Aerial Choir if I wanted it too!)


My first ‘real’ teacher was an old russian woman who lived down the street. I wasn’t with her for very long, but I remember she was pretty nice. It was just a small, non serious thing that I did at the time. But my parents saw talent in me so I kept on getting new, bigger, badder teachers!


My next teacher was pretty cool. His name was Mike, and he was a really nice young guy who I enjoyed working with a lot. It still wasn’t really serious though.


Now, I’d been homeschooled all my life, but I did do some ‘version’ of a kindergarten thing called Tot Time. The teacher, Miss Natalie, was one of the kindest people I knew, and although she left Tot Time to do other things, our family still stayed in touch with her. She knew I could sing and play the piano, so she recruited me for a fourth of July event she was hosting at a nearby park. I got to sing three songs at a crowd of maybe.. a hundred people at the age of eight. I’ve never been shy, and of course I was nervous, I think I did pretty dang good for an [almost] nine year old kiddo.


Yknow, I think there’s a youtube video of it. Might find it.


When I was 9, a biiiig thing happened to me piano wise. I was getting a MEGA teacher upgrade. In fact, I would be taking classes at a music school. A college. That also had teachers that give private lessons. Some people have called the school the Juilliard of the west. It's really a beautiful place and I look forward to going to it every week.


Piano wasn't just fun and games anymore. This was hardcore. My teacher, while very kind, (we are gal pals! Wewt \o/) pushed me. I was doing recitals constantly, competitions constantly, newly introduced theory practice (musical homework, basically) and much more complicated pieces with much more expectations. It was very overwhelming. But I flourished. My skills were taken to the next level, and the next level, and wow. Looking back on the pieces I used to think were hard, I laugh at myself. My neighbors no longer complain.


I tended to do a recital every two weeks, the most I’ve ever done is like four within a span of two weeks. I’ve had crazy busy months. Stress of trying to finish homework on time, stress about learning a piece on time, stress about if I’m gonna win, not gonna screw up. I don’t do competitions very often (as they aren’t happening all the time) but I do recitals a LOT. I’ve never had crazy stage fright like many people I know, so that’s always been a blessing for me, but I’m still only human and I can get pretty DANG STRESSED *sweats*


Although my training mostly resides in classical music, the thing I enjoy the most is accompanying myself on the piano when I sing pop songs. I participated in a talent competition once, and earned third place singing an acoustic version of Lady Gaga’s Poker Face, with my keyboard. It was crazy fun. And everyone should go check out the rendition of that song. It’s amazing. Anyway. I used to have singing teachers too, when I was much younger, I don’t exactly remember why I faded away from that.


Recently I’ve started trying to take up Ukulele and Guitar. I have a really tiny guitar, in terrible condition, but I’m still messing around with it. I really love to play the ukulele. Even though I hadn’t touched it for a few years until now, it’s stayed in great condition and I love jamming around on it. Piano is, obviously, way easier for me though.. lol. String instruments are TOUGH.


I really am happy I have this skill. But, believe it or not, it isn't what I want to do with my life. Funny, huh? I suppose a musical career could be interesting. But it was never REALLY my dream. The piano was never exactly my choice. It's a wonderful hobby, a great learning experience, a gateway to other opportunities even, but not what I want to do. All I know is I'm gonna do something artsy fartsy. Just a few days ago, my piano teacher offered to give me extra classes at no extra charge. And I’m honestly pretty psyched.


Being homeschooled, I was given the choice to invest my time into piano or spend it on more traditional studies. I would take piano any day. There is something about taking a piece and breaking it down that is so educating for me, more than any amount of math problems I could do.


So.. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my life. Good on you if you finished reading the whole thing. Piano is cool. You're never too old or too young to take it up. You don't have to be serious about it. But it's an invaluable skill and pretty dang fun. Yknow, when you aren't stressed like I shouldn't be.


-Cloudy

Spoiler

~ @Lexielai \!\!\! \*fangirl scream\* [/h]

And now some words from the MotM:

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How long have you been writing/roleplaying for?


About eight years ago, while preparing to set up my sister's epic birthday bash, she asked me this: "Hey, do you want to do a roleplaying game at the afterparty?"


I stared at her dumbly. "You mean like a video game?"


"Nope. Here, I'll show you." She deftly rummaged through one of her many bookshelves and pulled out a book for me titled Star Wars: Saga Edition Roleplaying Game.


I could tell she was preying on my Star Wars fanaticism, but as she told me more and more about it, the more excited I became. It's now been eight years since I first started and I'm still going strong.


You are known for being a fantastic GM, alongside often sharing your wisdom and friendliness in discussion threads. Have you got any GMing advice?


Good question! I've noticed that my natural tendencies make me a solid GM, so I'm different from your average roleplayer, but there are a few tips off the top of my head:


#1) Being a GM is hard. It combines a range of social, leadership, and creative skills altogether that not everybody is suited for. Most people will find it difficult to GM well, and not everybody is innately cut out for it. But, if you're motivated, I have no doubt that almost anybody can become an excellent GM regardless of their initial talent. If you're committed, willing to admit your mistakes, and then ready to learn from them, you're in a prime position to become a fantastic GM.


#2) You must lead. A lot of GMs create a setting, toss their players into it, and expect amazing results to happen. That doesn't necessarily work. Most of the time your players have their characters but aren't certain of what direction they want to take them in, don't want to feel intrusive, or whatever plethora of reasons, and the roleplay ends up going nowhere. To really get the ball rolling, you must create a story and conflict and bring it to your players. Make decisions and execute your adventure with conviction, don't be constantly second-guessing your self. If you're ever at a crossroads, make a decision and stick with it.


#3) Be open-minded. This may sound contradictory, but you want to be open to suggestions and changes in your plan. I'll clarify why open-mindedness and leadership can coincide: the leader, you, are the one who makes the big decisions. You say the story will go in whatever direction you want, or these events will happen and the players have to deal with them. However, that doesn't make you obdurate nor inflexible! Some of the best ideas and experiences in your roleplay will come off of incredible ideas that players have. As the leader, it will be up to you to see the value in an idea that you really like and make the decision to implement it in your roleplay. That's not easy. You have to be creative enough to figure out how it fits in with your existing material or whether you should throw out everything you have planned.


The greatest value of roleplaying is collaborative thinking. Don't be so focused on yourself that you leave out your players' ideas and in-character decisions. The leader has to be open-minded and take care of his pack.


What's your favourite thing you've ever written?


I looked in those amber orbs, and she into mine, and I realized in that one moment that I was afforded a single, split-second decision. One chance.


My nervousness arose in a lump in my throat. Time seemed to slow down. I could barely tell how long it'd been, whether it was only one moment or several.


I thought and thought, neurons firing faster than the speed of light, and while I deliberated my subconscious mind subtly relayed a covert message to my mouth. In one fell swoop, before I knew it, my lips had already parted and the words seemed so easy to say.


"Hi," I said. "I just you standing over here and wanted to come tell you that you're really cute."


I extended my hand towards her. She laughed, took my palm, and instantly I knew it was on.


My favorite thing I've ever written was based on a real experience in my life that became profoundly important to who I am now.

What was your favourite in-character RPing moment, and why?


This one's difficult to say! But, if I had to choose one, I'd say it was writing a massive collaborative post on google docs with six other players. We had so much fun writing, developing, and poking fun at each other with our characters that we barely realized six hours had passed. Even if it ended only eleven pages to solid roleplaying later, it was the first time I realized how fun collaborative writing could be.


Outside of roleplaying, what are some of your other hobbies and interests?


I'm a big fan of Star Wars and video games, particularly Sid Meier's Civilization V and League of Legends in the past. If you play either, hit me up!


Otherwise, my interests are mainly music, basketball, working out, and more recently, cooking.


What's your favourite place to go out for a meal, and why?


Ah man, this is a hard one! I have to say, my favorite place for a casual meal would be either Five Guys or Chipotle. They're both my guilty pleasures.


Describe your favourite three-course meal (starter, main, desert).


My favorite three-course meal? No problem! The starter would be fried zucchinis, followed by a main dish of fried zucchinis, of course, with a desert of fried zucchinis to top it all off.


If you were a superhero, what would your super power be?


I'd choose to have the power of placebo, or in simple terms, the power to be able to do whatever the people around me think I can do. Then I can spread all sorts of rumors about my super-strength, flight, ninja skills or whatever and become all of the above


If you woke up one morning and suddenly found yourself reincarnated as a car, which car would you be, and what would you do first?


I was tempted to pick my reliable Toyota Corolla, but it's gotta be a Ferrari. Then I can live my fantasies of going REALLY fast. First thing I'd do is tell NASCAR to sign me up, because I'm a FREAKIN' TALKING CAR, and win a world championship. Alternatively, I can get a large, car-sized soccer ball and invent a sport around hitting giant balls into goals with a car.


You invent a time machine which can only send envelopes back to the past! What would you write to your past self?


I used to daydream about something like this: invent a time machine and send messages to the past to make my life better. My answer when I was younger would invariably be to correct what I've done wrong.


As of today, I know that I'd put nothing on that sheet of paper. I've made countless mistakes, failures, and awful screw ups with some of the best people I've ever met in life. Through these shortcomings, I've created my own, unique identity and set of core values, forged from the mistakes I've learned, and literal blood, sweat, and tears.


Now I realize that I wouldn't have it any other way.


You wake up one morning and find, in Sword-Art-Online style, that you are now trapped inside the virtual reality of the RPN! What happens next?


I'm not sure I should say; I'm not a fan of showing all my cards when it comes to world domination

Interviews conducted by ~ @SkyGinge

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Roleplay Feature

Roleplay Feature

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Persona - Black Garden is an action-adventure fandom RP with a little mystery thrown in, where the characters are left mostly in the dark and thus have to figure things out 'themselves'. There's plenty of chances for interaction between characters, though the plot's always moving. There's the Black Garden, a place where dreams 'come true', and then there's a mastermind manipulating the Black Garden for their own purposes. There's a great cast of characters who are all great and are fun to RP with. Read the roleplay here.

~ @Atom

Roleplay Feature

Roleplay Feature

Roleplay Feature

The vast magical world of Myria is yet to be fully discovered, and that is the reason why the Myrian Expedition Team exists. Each and every expeditionist will be sent to expeditions assigned to their own divisions and unit groups while the others on break can roam the fort headquarters freely while waiting for their assignment. Whether it be wastelands, volcanic areas, undersea, there is nowhere in Myria the Myrian Expedition Team will not try to reach. This will give expeditionists the opportunity to experience exploring a wide variety of lands that will test their true expeditionist skills. The fort will be your home and you will also be able to interact with the other expeditionists like you. Take on these challenges and brave these lands to unearth secrets and the ancients. Be warned, these expeditions come with large risks and even complicated situations. Safety cannot be guaranteed and death is always possible as there is no telling what can happen within an expedition. This also gives a chance for everyone to hone their skills and be better and stronger than before. Though somewhat unnerving, success may be rewarded handsomely. For those who are brave enough to enlist and survive. Read the roleplay here.

~ @Atom

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Closing Thoughts

It has been a long and exciting month. The Fundraiser has come to a close, summer is slowly ending, school is starting for many, and RpNation keeps chugging along. We, the staff and fellows, want to thank every user for their devotion to the site and to all of the awesome content they put out. Every day, this site grows a little more: becomes a little better, a bit more exciting, a bit more fun, and it wouldn't be possible without all of you. Thank you so much!

~ @Mordecai

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[Mordecai]

Congrats to everyone who was mentioned! This release was a few minutes early for some, but hey! Better early than late! Please enjoy.

 

[Dagfinn]

It's a few hours early for me ( )

 

[Xillia]

Congratz everyone! Well done

 

[izayoiix]

@Lexielai CONGRATS LEX!!!!!!! ()

 

[Snquin]

Congratulations and a job well done to everyone who made it possible!

 

[CJ Mason]

Congrats to all that was mentioned!! Good job!!

 

[SkyGinge]

Well done everyone!

 

[welian]

I very much enjoyed watching all the submissions come in for the Art Competitions. There were some close votes, and lots of fantasic artwork!

 

[Mordecai]

>__> Don't mind me breaking the coding. *whistles and walks out the door*

 

[Clear]

Wow, what... O.o thanks so much~

 

[yonmita rae]

Congratulations to everyone!! (^U^) And thank you very much!

 

[Iskandar]

Congrats to Everyone. Special Congrats to @Verse Zero For being a Great GM and CO in Iron & Fire 2338 And @Tarmagon For having such a salty and cool Pilot on board the Valkyrie! Congratulations to both of you. I am proud to serve with you!.


~Lieutenant Colonel Takashi(AKA Me.)

 

[Bone2pick]

Exceptional newsletter, each month continues to out do the last. Congratulations to every mentioned member.

 

[Seikaze]

I was really surprised when my RP Grand Ultima (the myrian expedition team) was featured. Hooray xD

 

[BLUR]

And yet another awesome newsletter!


On another note, *cough*, WOOOOOO LEX!!!!!! I knew it was only a matter of time! Congrats buddy!

 

[thoroughfare]

Congratulations everyone! Another great newletter this month, great job guys!

 

[The Dark Wizard]

Congratulations to everyone who got mentioned .

 

[Sludge]

What a great newsletter, feels like I got featured on a Tv channel xD


Many thanks for getting the art competition judging sorted.