Posts Thanked By User

81

Introduce Yourself / A Much Belated Hello

« on: December 02, 2007, 03:43:12 am »

Dear Layonara ...

Or something like that. How do you introduce yourself to a community you've been part of for a year? That's the question I've been pondering and grappling with for a while now, and up until this point it's been much easier to just postpone creating this introduction than actually find an answer.

So why now, you ask? Well, today, as I calculate it, is my Layonara birthday—the one year anniversary of the approval of my first character—and as such is probably the most appropriate day I can think of to do this. So here goes, confession number one:

Until joining Layonara, I had never roleplayed a day in my life. In fact, had someone inquired as to my roleplaying abilities in casual conversation, my likely response would have been to blush and change the subject. I also hacked and slashed my way through the original campaign module and its offspring, pillaging, looting, and acting with a deep sense amorality that quite horrified my partner, who had given me the game to try. My first character may sound familiar to a few of you: a half-elven neutral good ranger who used a longbow and longsword. (Isn't it amazing how you can remain neutral good and still steal family heirlooms and do horrible things when they hand good points out like candy?)

My partner was the one who discovered Layonara, and after watching him enjoy it for a few months I was eventually goaded by him into submitting a character, Arynne Liadon, who basically became a much more moral version of my OC character, since unlike her predecessor, Arynne's actions had consequences. Well, one turned into four, as Eruanna Glorandir, Chiara Laecelam'lela and Jaelle Thornwood were all born into the world. And my partner? Yes, he still plays, though more rarely now. He's since discovered a myriad of other ways to torment the playerbase. Many of you know him, either as Darkstorme or Ouroboros. (I suppose he's my second big confession. Try not to hold him against me!)

What else? I'm twenty-two, five-foot-eight, green eyed and brown haired, and lest this start to sound like a personal ad, I will refrain from commenting on my thoughts on candlelit dinners and long walks on deserted beaches. I'm a student, though the end of my university days draw nearer with each December final. I'm crazy enough to stay at university even once I finish my biology major and English minor though, and will soon be entering my university's education program. Which, it occurred to me one night, means I'm going to spend almost the rest of my life going to school. Oh well. I'll manage somehow.

How much more should I divulge? After a year of silence, I suppose I owe you all more than that. Well, I've never lived more than a few minutes from the ocean, and honestly can't imagine living away from the sea. I've known how to swim almost my entire life, worked as a lifeguard, a swimming instructor, learned to sail, kayak, and row. I've played rugby, soccer, and field hockey, and a handful of musical instruments. I love tea, coffee, and chocolate, and not just because each go extremely well with a good book. I was always a precocious reader, though now I am merely a voracious one, and my tastes range from the Romantic poets to the Victorians, to American modernism and noir, to the fantasy classics ... I could go on forever, but as this is already lengthy I'll refrain from listing my favourites right now.

Well, I've said a bit about me, but I suppose I should say a little about my characters as well. I suppose it is true that we all sculpt from the clay of our own lives, and this is almost certainly the case with me as well. However, I am as unlike my characters as they are unlike each other. I can see myself reflected in all of them, but they have their own lives to live and I am content to watch them develop in the world you have all helped shape. So let me conclude with thanking you all, for taking me into your world and letting me explore it, and for helping spin the stories we weave together for our characters. I cannot say how much I have enjoyed and continue to treasure the time I spend with you all.

~Carillon

82

Just for Fun / My weekend - A CYOA

« on: October 16, 2007, 09:49:16 pm »

<1>
After the previous couple of relaxing weekends on Sunday I was preparing myself for some excitement. It's not so much that I go looking for adventure, however I know from previous experience that sooner or later, adventure will come looking for me.

Do you want me to create a weekend adventure filled with entertaining yet unfortunately fictitious frivolity?

If yes, proceed to <3>
If no, just tell me what you really did, proceed to <7>


<2>
Washington, 2013
President Chelsea Clinton, fresh from her extreme makeover, ascended the steps to the podium. Camera flashes popped and flared from the immense gallery before her on the lawns of the Whitehouse. Pausing for dramatic effect, she spoke the words that the free world had been waiting close to two decades to hear, "We Got Him!". The assembled crowd roared. Whilst Osama Bin Laden was still at large in his subterranean cavern network in Afghanistan, he was now known to be only a fall guy and the true terrorist mastermind, Dorganath had finally been taken into custody. Chelsea continued, "He was deep, deep undercover in Chicago-ish. Secure within a sham role as Layo administrator, Dorg had singlehandedly brought the Western world to it's knees. But We Got Him!"
From my vantage at the back of the gallery I nodded as the final puzzle piece fell into place. It all made sense to me now. Satisfied my instincts were proven correct I quickly phased off to . . .

Go to New York, 1983? Proceed to <8>
Go to Fiji, 1963? Proceed then to <6>


<3>
And so it was, bright and early Saturday morning, adventure, in the form of a statuesque redhead dame came knocking at my door. I thought to myself (as opposed to my unique ability to think to others) 'Here we go, another weekend filled with mind blowing, frenetic, freakish, exuberant, immoral, nasty, wanton, luxuriant, rampaging, unbridled, implausible and whimsical debauchery.'
Sure. That all happened in due course but it was what preceded those 2 and a half minutes that made this weekend interesting. Without saying a word, she reached into the low cut bodice of her French maid's outfit and extracted a . . .

If you wish for her to bring out a compact time-travel device that sends me on a good wholesome fun adventure, proceed to <11>
If instead she has some mains-powered device of an arousing, yet simultaneously disturbing nature down that top, proceed to <9>


<4>
Japan, 1603.
Ieyasu Tokugawa summoned the clan of black-clad assassins before his throne. "It is to you, the Red Monkey Claw Clan, that I entrust the continuation of this ancient duty. Hone your deadly skills continuously for if ever this sacred balance is disturbed, it is incumbent upon you to secure its restoration. No matter when, even say, 404 years in the future, if Pseudo's posts should go unthanked, slay everyone!"

Go to Melbourne, 24 September 2005? Go to <3>
Go to New York, 1983? Proceed to <8>


<5>
12.32pm, Delivery Room C, Brisbane hospital. "Push Mrs Paton, almost there, I can see the head. One more push, Aaaaaaarggghhhh, Congratulations! A beautiful baby boy. What's his name? Matthew. That's lovely (she writes name down on a small piece of paper, sticks it to trolley). We'll get him off and clean him up now and bring him back to you in a few minutes." Nurse takes baby away.

12.32pm, Delivery Room D, Brisbane hospital. "Push Mrs Trump, doing well, Baby is crowning. keep breathing, Aaaaaaarggghhhh, Congratulations! A beautiful baby boy. What's his name? Don. That's nice (she writes name down on a small piece of paper, sticks it to trolley). We'll take him off and clean him up for you and bring him back in a jiffy." Nurse takes baby away.

Two nurses, normally perfectly competent, are wheeling babies down maternity ward hallway. Large gust of wind. Paper flies everywhere. Nurse falls over. Baby trolleys collide. Confusion reigns. Nurse picks up two naming cards from the floor and sticks back on trolleys randomly. Newly arrived present day Matthew sighs heavily,
"Ok, but is he happy? Would sleeping every night with a succession of ever younger wives on a bed of scattered hundred dollar bills really bring you joy?" I sigh again, even louder this time, as I program the time travel device for . . .

Washington, 2013? Go to <2>
Rome, 57BC? Go to <10>


<6>
Oops! Faulty time travel device! Fiji?? I found myself standing on a hot basalt block in a sea of lava. That's the problem when you mess with time travel and the very fabric of the Universe.
THE END.


<7>
Worked all day Saturday, nothing terribly exciting occurred. Kids ran mental and I came perilously close to killing them, my wife and myself at several points in time. Went to bed early in anticipation of an interrupted night's sleep and a too-early rising Monday morning.
THE END.


<8>
New York, 1983. I boldly strode into the offices of my new broker, Toby Sachs.
"Tobes, I want to buy shares in these companies - Microsoft, General Electric, Wal-Mart, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard Co, Verizon Communications Inc., The Home Depot Inc, Boeing Co, Bank of America Corp., Pfizer Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Time Warner Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., Costco Wholesale, Johnson & Johnson, Dell Inc .... and sell those in Beta Video, The Seagrass Flooring Company, Baghdad Condominium Co and Enron"
That organised, time to go to . . .

Go to Fiji, 1963? <6>
Go to Rome 57BC? Head to <10>


<9>
An erotic story? Are you kidding? If you have come here for inspiration from me, of all people, then your plight must be a sad one indeed.
THE END.


<10>
Rome 57BC.
"Friends, Romans, Countrymen. Lend me your ears. I am hungry but I do not know exactly what it is I wish to eat. I feel like something pretty substantial, but simultaneously, not too heavy."
"But Jules, there's not much on offer. Cornelius burnt the toast and all we have left is some lettuce and a pig. Even the hen's eggs have not hatched and I have discarded them into that pot of water over by the fire."
Newly arrived centurion Mattonius Titus Patonus speaks up, "Guys - I have a crazy idea!"
Problem solved, I head off to . . .

Japan, 1603? Proceed to <4>
How about London, 1983? Skip to <12>


<11>
. . . compact time-travel device! Intimately familiar with the apparatuses (apperatii?) of 4th dimension travel through vast previous experience I grabbed a 600ml bottle of Diet Coke, a large calibre hand gun (that I have kept around in case of battles with ninjas) and punched in the coordinates for . . .

Should I go back to Brisbane, 1973? If you think that sounds good, head on over to <5>
How about London, 1983? Skip to <12>


<12>
The polite smattering of applause rose from an appreciative audience of mothers and fathers attending the schoolboys rugby match between Belgravia College and Hampstead School for Boys. Mr Wilkinson looked proudly out over the field, smiling proudly at his infant son Jonny playing in his first game for Hampstead. Mr Wilkinson leaned over to the father standing next to him - "My boy is going to play for England one day and flukily win them the World Cup." That father next to him, still slightly disoriented from the exiting of the time-space continuum, murmured "Not likely" as he raised the Magnum 44.
Little Jonny never even heard the sharp crack of the pistol being fired as the slug took him just slightly to the left of his sternum. I suppose I could have taken out his knee but I just had time for the thought 'Better safe than sorry' before I phased off to . . .

Back to Brisbane, 1973? Go to <5>
Forward to Washington, 2013? Go to <2>

83

Just for Fun / explanation off life

« on: September 05, 2007, 12:36:42 pm »

When God created the dog he said: "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years."

The dog said: "That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"

So God agreed.

When God created the monkey he said: "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."

The monkey said: "Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog did?"

And God agreed.

When God created the cow he said: "You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family For this, I will give you a life span of sixty Years."

The cow said: "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"

And God agreed again.

When God created man he said: "Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."

But man said: "Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?"

"Okay," said God, "You asked for it."

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

84

General Discussion / Artwork of Plenarius

« on: September 04, 2007, 02:18:19 pm »

I had a commission done for Plen, I just thought I'd share the result with the community.

I'm glad I'll always have this piece to remember where it all started, a big thank you to everyone who has shaped him along the way...

The artist is Carol Phillips, I discovered her work while I was doing research for the t-shirt web site and we have been working slowly over the last year to come up with something for Plen. I'm very happy with it

-orth

P.S. No he is not done yet

85

General Discussion / Why I still visit the Forums

« on: July 18, 2007, 07:59:49 pm »

Some days you read the forums and you get a bit discouraged right?

This person not happy about this, this person not happy about that. One gets tempted to leave the forums pages well alone and just play the game. I get enough negativity at work, I don't need to get it in my play as well. I'll just remove forums.layonara.com from my bookmarks, I think i'll just enjoy the game for what it is ...

Which prompts my question to myself, Why do I still visit the forums every single day?

My answer,

The community.
I love knowing the player behind the character. I love knowing the names of DMOE's kids. I love knowing how different Polak is in RL to how his character is in game. I love knowing that Dorg, despite every reason to have lost it during his long reign as dispute handler, retains a great sense of humour. I honestly care about people's wellbeing here, Interia, Solarina ... I hope Nibor is okay. Maybe he's run off with Minnie Driver? How do I know we share an unrequited love for Minnie? The PM system in these forums. I like knowing that LordCove and I could be friends in RL, Sall's sense of humour and flawed nobility has to come from somewhere.

I love reading each and every one of lonnarin's posts, no matter what the subject. The guy is irrefutably a legend. I cannot wait to see Darkstorme's and jrizz's and Acacea's perspectives on new submissions. I love a submission where the player has invested the time and thought. I love Lynnjuniper's CDT for Rhynn, Fatherchaos' for Durthak, Scriptwrecked's for Vlanin, Dezza's for Leisa, too many to name. I love writing in mine. I purposely write provocative Trade Hall advertisements because I enjoy reading the responses OOC as much as I write them that way for any IC reason. I think it's great that Filatus and I agree on so much in these forums and yet our characters are on the verge of PvP every time they meet in game. I voraciously digest any discussion on RPing alignments and attributes. I was more educated by a forum discussion on global warming that took place on a thread here a little while ago than my accumulated knowedge on this subject from any other media. I love reading posts written in dwarven accents.

I think Honora is one of Layo's greatest assets. Everything she writes, I enjoy reading, and believe me, I know it ain't easy to write this stuff. Much harder than it seems. I put my hand up maybe 6 months ago to write some stuff and in that time have maybe generated 10 pages? This woman is amazing. I cannot wait for the handbooks. Which leads me on to her hubby, every post he writes I feel like clicking on the thanks button.

The owners/administrators, Orth, OneST8, Thak, the big L. They all have a bigger capacity for copping ungratefulness on the chin with a smile than I do. Thanks to you.

I love being involved in the various faith forums. I play one Corathite ne'er-do-well and, amusingly, one less well known Aeridinite priest. I enjoy questions of faith interpretation for both of these from people that have invested a lot of thought on the matter. I admire and respect Ed for holding and organising this huge store of lore in that head of his.

The Just for Fun thread. A little bit of flippancy never hurt.

Why do I still visit the forums every single day?

Maybe you have some of your own reasons, these are some of mine. Focus on the positive!

86

General Discussion / I'm still here and having fun!

« on: July 08, 2007, 07:05:33 pm »

I've been here for what....4 years now on Layo, ever since Beta 4.  To see how Layo has developed over time still fascinates me!  Back then it was a north and south server and the south server still had some rough edges on it but even then it was fun because of the people who play here.

To see how far it has come since then is just awesome and I am always grateful to L and the team for having Layo up and running and constantly being refined.

In fact now I'm getting a chance to group up with people who I haven't tried to group up with and having a good time!  Of course I am sorry about that strand you lost the other day Rose on East and the one that Shiff lost in the desert.  

News of the development by the team of a new game engine has not deterred me in the least.  I'm here to have fun and escape from the dreaded real world which for some strange reason keeps knocking on the window.

To L and the team, keep up the great work, I'm going to continue to have fun on Layo.

87

Introduce Yourself / Stragen

« on: June 18, 2007, 03:52:13 am »

I live in Adelaide Australia.  I found NWN in December 2005 when I was looking for a roleplaying game to play with my friends on a visit to Perth.  The idea of role-playing without needing Pen/Paper and rulebook appealed to me as something different.  I found NWN and then began looking into online roleplaying.  After a few non-RPG servers I found Layonara and was impressed.  I have played Layonara full-time since Jan 2006.  

My roleplaying background is mainly using GURPS, with various worlds, campaigns and characters.   I haven’t done much table-top roleplaying in the last decade, usually once every two years or so.

For the last eight and a half years I have worked as a research engineer for a large organization.  I have a pretty good job with lots of travel, and every project is different.  However, like Dilbert I sit in a cubicle.

I play basketball socially 3 times a week.  I occasionally go to the gym to keep my ageing body fit enough to keep playing basketball.  However I am one year younger then Scotcar.

I am married with one child.  My greatest achievement is my one year old daughter.

You may have met my current characters in game; Jin Lun Lee, Jake Saltpetre, or Jacrum Shieldbreaker.   Both Jin and Jake are now 18 months old.  Jacrum is the baby at 6 months.

There is a running theme in all my current and past Layonara characters.  Try and guess it.

I am really enjoying this game.  There is a small but great collection of Aussie roleplayers and gamemasters.  

I plan to stick around as long as possible.

88

General Discussion / Zelda1, Some Clarity, Layonara Balance

« on: April 01, 2007, 05:35:57 am »

Okay this is a combination of quite a few things so bear with me here.  For some reason I decided to keep them all together though it's kind of three posts in one.

Many of you were left wondering just what the heck was going with regards to this thread:

http://www.layonara.com/general-discussion/114789-messenger-bad-news.html

I've been in communication with Zelda1 and she had a few things to say and a few confessions at the same time and has asked me to relay them.  First off, in regards to the mentioned thread, she insists she has no idea where that came from and was no part of it.  So we're still a bit up in the air on just where that all came from.

But Zelda1 does want to clear the air on some things anyway and has asked me to relay them.  She originally came to Layonara and was instructed to pretend she wasn't as young as she is. She, like many of us have had at times, got a little too caught up with her character, but also the persona she had taken up and decided to take a break. She returned again but due to some more conflicts left once more.  She returned in V3 and the new forums under a new username to set the record straight on her age and who she was but that never came to fruition before this event with the alleged coma took place.

She is upset and sorry for the grief she may have caused for this mistaken identity, she didn't realize how caught up one could get.  I have asked that she focus on her studies and keep in touch, but she will not be playing.  I believe also she has a few friends to contact to set the record straight.

Layonara is going to leave this episode to those who are very closely involved and step away from it.



Now onto a few of my thoughts...

I thought about some things and while my initial anger probably was a fuel for the harsh tone I had in my post that closed that thread, I think in retrospect I should have handled it better.  Obviously there were some people who would be feeling great emotion if they have been going through this thinking it's the full truth and for me to "slam" the door with terms such as "sick joke" might not have been the best.  I think a more calm "Something is not adding up here and I fear some people are not hearing the truth as the evidence of this story's fabrication piles up" might have been a bit more sensitive.  So to those who I may have offended in that regard, I'm sorry.

I also want everyone to know that we have a protective nature here as well and are looking out for the best interests of the community and we'll use all the information that is available to us to protect Layonara and it's community.  

Some of you may not know but when you connect to the forum you leave a trace of your internet connection. This sort of information is viewable to the Administrators of the forum who can be viewed on the User Groups Page.  

When you're in game you also leave this information and Dorganath, OneST8, Leanthar, Nibor21 and myself have access to that information via the database and Pankoki and EdTheKet through server logs.

One person asked me about Forum PMs. OneST8 and myself have access to this information only via the database though, there's no "Read this person's Private Messages" or anything like that.  It's on a database, it has to be stored somewhere... But that's the risk you take when you submit most information over the internet.  That is why you should always make sure your network admin gets cookies.  With that said, we're not going to read your PMs.  Unless a law enforcement agency asks us for them or we have an extremely strong suspicion that you may be guilty of something illegal or very detrimental to the Layonara community.

All poll voting is private but the information is stored on a database so once again OneST8 and I have access to that information.

No one can see tells in game.

No one can see private IRC communications.

I want everyone to understand that even though to some it may not seem so evident recently, we do really care for the players here.  Our number one goal is for you to have fun and enjoy yourself.  We want you also to meet new and interesting people in a family friendly environment where the magic of our fantasy world can help us feel young and creative and for us to be able to take out some of the real world woes on monsters.  Emotions can flow in every single direction when a group such as our playerbase joins up.  Many relationships have evolved from Layonara; great friendships, confidantes, mentors, coworkers and even love.  

Alas these emotions bring along other ones though.  There is indeed a Balance to the Layonara community too (oh no here comes the Plen!), and things go on tilt. Scores of differing opinions rise, rumours flow, relationships end, people fade, deception behind the computer, envy, frustration pile up then to add to that, there has been a lot of change recently to Layonara.  Very balance upsetting!  I've talked to a few people who are concerned about this and I find a rather large irony in the fact that these people approached me much like I think characters would approach Plen. I as a person can do for the community what Plen has tried to for the game.  Because like the cycle of Layonara's Nature, there is the one with the Layonara community and I intend to help keep that balance in whatever capacity I can

-orth(y)

89

Introduce Yourself / wow, I suppose

« on: March 31, 2007, 01:44:35 pm »

I haven't logged in in a bit, so I suppose I could re-introduce meself.

I'm... me.  I live in Northern MN.  Names Jodi, by the by.

I have a thing for pets.  Birds in particular.  Went to college for Biology, ended up working at an old folks home.
Have two kids, Johnathan is gonna be 6 soon, Matthew is gonna be one sooner-both have april b-days

ummm... I have a almost-fiancee... you know how it goes, right?  Oh, I'm a GIRL.  YUP thats right, girl.


theres me and my youngest.  in the snow that we didn't get this year (grrr)

Hmmm, I like books.  Pets, things like that.  
pets, since I keep saying them.  I gots meself a cat named Squishy, 2 dogs now, Lotus is an Akita, and Rosie is a beagle/chow mutt.  Parrots, I'm in the process of getting a lory named Blueberry, have a budgie named Cloud.
will be getting poison dart frogs this summer. (SOMETHING needs to be sellable round here, the dogs and bird sure ain't doin it)

I play Beilidel, Lava, and Baji (well, one of them... hmmm)
I started with Supin.
As a kid I played DnD PNP style until my parents said no-they were all boys, I was a girl, it wasn't ladylike... bleh.
I was always an elven assassin.. go figure.  I was a good assassin though!!!

what else? I loved diablo-both forms.  Everquest stinks.  ummmm, I sit onthe computer a lot.

any questions?

90

Introduce Yourself / Who am I?

« on: March 30, 2007, 05:54:00 pm »

I was born in a small town in the south east of Australia.  While growing up, my hobbies included surfing and martial arts, in which I hold a black belt in three different styles and have studied in both Korea and Taiwan.

Following high school (oh so many years ago, I am nearly 34 now), I studied Natural Resource Management and then moved to Melbourne, Australia to compete a Degree in Biology/Biotechnology. Last year I finished my MBA and have still failed to find a way to return to the countryside near the beach.

For the past 8 years I have working the agricultural biotechnology area for which I have been punished by being sentenced to work in North Carolina for 3 months (actually it is a fantastic place).  I have four weeks of that term to
serve.

Hope to see you in game!
scotcar

91

General Discussion / How to PvP - The Mechanics vs. RP

« on: March 30, 2007, 02:17:28 pm »

I have a new goblin PC and have been putting him in situations where other PCs can have the freedom of how to deal with him.  So far it's been great fun and I hope the other players are enjoying the encounters as well.

I have had some questions about how to handle the mechanics of the PvP widget and thought I'd share my learnings here.

If you are in a party and someone uses the PvP widget on you or anyone else in the party, you will all receive a message:[INDENT]The Party: So-and-so, is requesting to PvP with your party.
[/INDENT]Only the leader of a party can accept a PvP challenge.  This can be troublesome if everyone doesn't understand this, especially if the leader is in another area and completely unaware of the situation.  The best suggestion is that prior to using the PvP widget you send a tell to the person you are targetting to see if they are in a party or leader of it.  This is so that they can accept or decline themselves.

Now, once the first PC has used their PvP widget on you, you or your group need to accept the challenge.  When the appropriate person uses their widget to accept, the following message is displayed to the entire party:[INDENT]Your party leader has accepted a PvP challenge from So-and-so. Leave party within 60 seconds if you do not wish to participate.

Please set So-and-so, to Hostile in your Player List window.
[/INDENT]Leaving the party is not a requirement in terms of game mechanics.  However, you should declare your intention to join in by setting the opponents to hostile.  It would be very bad form to stand at the edge in friendly mode only to jump in later.  You are either in or out.

Now, don't fight yet!  There will be a message after 60 seconds signalling when to begin.[INDENT]Your PvP session has now begun. You are allowed to PvP for up to 15 minutes, or until you die.
[/INDENT]When you see that, that is when you are back in-character.  I say in-character because between the acceptance and the signal to start, there should be absolutely no in-character activities!  You should treat the game as paused for you and your opponents.[INDENT][LIST=1]

• Do not rest!
  
• Do not buff you and your comrades!
  
• Do not move to more strategic location!
  
• Do not swap in and out armor and gear!
  
• Do not summon anything!
  
• Do get yourself ready mentally for some fun and excitement!

[/INDENT]It is important to remember that PvP can be very nerve racking for many.  A lot of us likely don't have much experience with this and we find our hearts racing and palms sweaty on the mouse.  Don't worry!  You'll be fine no matter the outcome.

What happens if you get killed?  When you die, there is no roll against the Soul Mother if you used the PvP widget!  (Note that there is currently a bug such that if a summon kills you, you will still roll for a loss of a soul strand.  Don't panic if this happens, just make a posting on the forums in the Disputes & Grievances.)  When you respawn, a gravestone is left for you and you are sent back to your bindstone to reflect.

After time has expired, you will see a message:[INDENT]Your PvP session has ended. Please set everyone back to Neutral or Friend in your Player List window. You will not be able to participate in PvP for 60 minutes.
[/INDENT]Now comes the tricky part:  You must handle this event ICly.  How would your PC react to being beaten?  Did you know the PC's name ICly?  Would you even recognize them again?

Let's back up a bit and look at the RP that must necessarily surround all of this.  Of course prior to using the PvP widget you and the other PC are going to be talking back and forth, posturing and such.  

[INDENT]You, a paladin of always-right, see a drow minding his own business squarely in the middle of the path on a rainy day. (#1)  You, not wishing to muddy your old green boots by walking off the path, tell him to step aside.  The drow simply laughs at you and puts hands on hips. (#2)  You draw your sword and tell him that only does he need to leave the path, but head all the way back to whatever hole he crawled out of.  The drow casts a defensive spell upon himself and pulls out his own blade. (#3)  The paladin then laughs and the two embrace and exchange flowers since everyone knows there are no evil drow outside of the underdark. (At this point, the observers should all use their PvP widgets on the paladin and drow.)
[/INDENT]In the scenario above, there are three numbered places where the PvP widget would make sense to use.  Perhaps #1 is a bit early.  The second point is a good spot since while the widget is entirely OOC, it does serve the purpose of notifying everyone of how serious the situation can become.  Point #3 will probably be the most common since it is the point just before the actual clash of battle.  My points about no resting, etc. during the 60 second wait period above are most applicable to this point.  

Remember too, just because the PvP widget has been used, doesn't mean that it has to result in combat.  It's also not bad to mix in some RP during the combat itself.  Some PvP practice in the arena with your comrades will help you get a better feel for what is possible and the flow of PC vs. PC compared to PC vs. monster.

I hope this helps make your PvP scenarios run a bit smoother.

92

Introduce Yourself / Enter stage right!

« on: March 28, 2007, 11:07:08 pm »

Greetings and salutations even. This is the obligatory post detailing me and myself, it has been requested several times. Well in truth people have asked what I would post not so much would I ever actually post. So this is it, yep nothing to see here at all, move along.

Who am I, this has been asked a lot more then it should be. I suppose the answer is ‘me’ or if you would rather, an accountant. Not only an accountant but an accountant by choice and as my ‘childhood dream job’ I enjoy it. This should answer all further questions about myself except my location.

I live in a rather remote area in the northern section of California, in a lovely little city called Mount Shasta. Known for its tourist value in the form of skiing, hiking and assorted other wilderness activates. Thus for myself and ninety nine percent of the locals there is a high demand for anything that can be done inside away from said tourists.

Well I think that answers all the questions I could think of asking anyone else. I suppose that will just have to do for the purposes of this post. After all I can either be nice or I can be honest, I can’t recall the last time I was both.

Oh and the title of the post was inspired by the greatest bard I’ve ever witnessed.

93

Introduce Yourself / Heya :)

« on: March 27, 2007, 04:32:52 pm »

Hi all, not really good english language skills here, hopefully you can understood me without much misunderstanding when I join you I am not even started playing yet, but already have my game prepared - only waiting for a friend to send me cd-keys. Purchased on internet, he lives in London now and I will have them in the next 3 days

My name is Pavel, 30yo from Bulgaria (Eastern Europe). Played the game a lot, also I love Baldur's Gate more than nwn, dunno why - maybe game engine was better for me, no idea

Cannot wait to see you in the game:D

94

Introduce Yourself / The Chaos that is Canyonman

« on: March 27, 2007, 03:54:24 pm »

Greetings, *he bows low and gracefully to all*
 
 My name is Travis...most know me as Aeryn Tahlaer.  I am 36 years old, a husband and a father of two beautiful little girls.  My girls are the love of my life, in this present world anyway, and are the main reasons you see Aeryn on only from time to time *sighs slightly, but with resolve*.  I live in a little town in the corner of Northwest Arkansas, the home of corporations such as Wal-Mart, Tyson's, and many big trucking firms such as J.B. Hunt *sighs again, knowing that the Arkansas jokes are coming, but is to be expected*.
 
 I am a teacher and a coach at the Junior High School level.  I teach a subject called Career Orientation, trying to get eighth graders to understand the meaning of real-life.  I coach football and track.  Football is my third passion, behind my faith and family, but coaching can definitely take away my free-time to play on Layonara especially during the season *sighs again deeply this time, as if contemplating something deeply, then shakes his head and continues*.  I really have a good life and feel I am blessed beyond all measure.
 
 As for my one and only character Aeryn...he is what I am and what I would like to be.  Sometimes I get way to wrapped up into him and have a hard time removing my emotions from him.  But, I believe I could play him no other way.  As for how he and I are a lot alike; the strength in his faith, although he may not always show it, his loyalty to his friends even to the point of dying for them, and his desire to please everyone even though he feels completely helpless to do so.  And as for what I would like to become; more faithful to his god, more confident in my relationships with people, and a better singer *sighs...wishing he could have been a rockstar...and then grins ruefully*  Oh, and one other thing I wish I could have from Aeryn is his hair...*grins once again*

95

Introduce Yourself / Just a follower....

« on: March 27, 2007, 12:49:38 pm »

My name is Amy...and my age..well old enough to have.. 2 boys...8 and 9 years old, well three if you count my significant other *grins and laughs* Although they are all wonderful and keep my life interresting to say the least!

Hobbies...I don't have much time for them...altough I do love being outdoors in the fall and very early spring...the crisp air and the lack of bugs  (I live in Minnesota, where the mosquito is king) make those the perfect times!  I enjoy the great outdoors..camping, fishing, hiking..etc.  I also enjoy watching my kids do anything..well just about everything.

I came to Layo by way of the significant other and two brothers, who all play here.  In other words...I had to go purchase the game, get it installed and create a char. to talk to any of those three *smirks*.  I have been playing on Layo for a little over two months now.  This is my first experience with NWN, Rping, or even really playing a computer game that isn't cards or minesweeper.  I think I am finally starting to master the keyboard controlling..(watch my char in game and have a good laugh sometimes as I forget and start mouse-clicking).  I was not a D&D player ever..*sighs*  Good thing the computer does the math as my degree is in social work!

I created my one and only char:Talia...A preistess of Lucinda...
(even if a nice GM had to help me redo her...because I didn't know enough about the game..let's just say I didn't configure the package right)..Well..she has made great progress I think...as well as me..I have enjoyed my time on Layo so much...so many wonderful chars...(very forgiving I might add and helpful IC and OOC) so many places to die...umm, I mean explore...I really love the new scenery...and the music is nice too..Although I do find myself humming along with it now...*shakes head* not good!  Talia's skills are more healing and making potions of cure for the underdogs or those lacking funds.  Her verbal skills are sometimes reduced to nothing....my computer tends to crash for just about any reason or do whatever it's doing that stops Talia from doing her healing at times...while working on the wounded.  

As for questions...hmmmm..I always have so many...none are coming to mind right now.  I guess I'll just have to ask when they pop into my head!

Well, enough of this...off to go play again...WOOHOO!

96

Introduce Yourself / The Tan

« on: March 27, 2007, 06:31:35 am »

Hi everybody, I thought that I would jump on the bandwagon and introduce myself.  Unlike the majority of who mainly come from Australia, US or Canada, I come from across the Tasman, New Zealand.  I live in the North Island of New Zealand, in what you might consider to be a relatively small city of Hamilton. My name is Wei-Yen Tan pronounced “Way Yen”
  I enjoy a range of activities especially travelling. One day I hope to visit Canada to see one of my friends who immigrated there a while ago. I am working on getting him into Layonara as well.



  I discovered Layonara at the end of June and I have not looked back. Layonara was my first experience of an online world, and before I started playing I did not think highly of the MMORPG genre thinking that they might have the poor standards of role-play that are exhibited in other games such as most areas of World of Warcraft. :rolleyes:

 
  I was pleasantly surprised that Layonara is not that at all. Although, there is a lesser population than what other MMORPG have, it is instead replaced by an experience that is rich in nature and immersive. I have since joined the team and having done so, come to appreciate more the effort that Leanthar and his team put into this world.

 
  I have made a great lot of friends in Layonara and   hope that we do hope to meet each other in-game eventually. You can find a picture of me below. Post any questions and I will try to answer them as best I can.

97

Introduce Yourself / Kindo

« on: March 26, 2007, 03:29:02 pm »

Greetings. My real name is Dennis and I live in a medium-sized (by our standards) town called Östersund in central Sweden. I am 22 years of age since last Saturday, and I am currently taking a course in Science that is focused on chemistry and organic life, after which I intend to take University-courses in either History or Psychology, whichever is more available. I believe in friendship and fair treatment of people. I do not tolerate racism or any crime done against women. Either makes me want to go on a vigilante killing spree. I should also add that I tend to work toward perfectionism in certain cases, which is why this introduction looks the way it does. I have a fanaticism of 'completion purposes', and could simply not do it half-way.

[Click for picture]


Gaming
Just like most other people here, I am all about the games and, more often than not, role-playing games. I was very young when I first was introduced to games, when my grandfather brought home a Commodore 64 (or was it an Amiga?), causing me to get hooked on such games as Frogger, Pac-Man, and Star Paws (and many, many more), often irking my father and uncle as they kept coming home from a hard day's work, only to find that all their high-scores had been beaten. Later on, my father bought an NES, which came to be my first real gaming console, I suppose, with a hundred or so games (it included one of those fancy, pirated X-games-in-one cartridges). It lead to an addiction of the Super Mario Bros.-games together with a childhood friend of mine. My father preferred Arkanoid and Tetris.

After an upgrade to Super NES, and my father mastering Pilotwings before I did, followed Nintendo 64 and an admittance to the 'loser-group' in fifth grade (who wants to be cool, anyway?), together with an interest in land-hockey. We spent the days playing said hockey or talking about games we would be playing when school was done for the day. It was either late sixth grade or early seventh grade that I was first introduced to proper Pen and Paper role-playing (I had played a pseudo-version back in the third grade), and my group of friends shifted radically (still not being considered cool, mind you). We played GoldenEye 007 in multi-player mode as we were waiting for people to finish creating their characters, and pretty much every waking moment was dedicated to either planning or playing adventures or our new, super-awesome characters.

It was around this time that I first tried a role-playing game. It was Final Fantasy VII. I played it simultaneously with a friend and we loved it to bits. We also found the wonders of emulation, leading us to the glory of Chrono Trigger and other old-school games which had not been released in Europe. Along the road I was also introduced to the computer-RPG's, with Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment. The latter I played through about eight times straight, because of how much it fascinated me. There was a devastating addiction to Diablo II as well, which kind of led me onto the path to on-line gaming. It did not have much of a community, but as I started playing Neverwinter Nights, I soon started having my very first on-line friends, using chatting programs to keep in touch. This all begun in a magical module, administered by a small but dedicated group of people, under the name of Dysotopia.

Dysotopia was a wonderfully tight-knit community, ran by only a handful of people, with a very loyal fan-base that kept helping to pitch ideas and suggestions, as well as being involved in the in-game world's events, taking a lot of initiatives themselves to bring more life into the lands. I was given the honour of moderating both the forums as well as the in-game issues, and was even promoted to DM for a while near the end, which was a lot of fun, but my interest in the game had started dissipating. We all loved it, but the scandals were numerous, and the level of out of character-drama had no limits. Dyso is no longer, but I will never forget the amount of friends (and some enemies) I made during my time there. The only one I have managed to track down, however, is our very own Witch Hunter. I have no clue what everyone else is up to these days.

Modern games do not hold much interest to me, nowadays. I hold a few games from my past in a higher esteem than others, re-visiting them every now and again. Especially some of the role-playing games have proven qualitative and fun. Bioware and Black Isle Studios, for instance, have proven time and again that they know what it is all about, with masterpieces like Baldur's Gate, Fallout, and Planescape: Torment. As for the Japanese RPG's, there are few which I do enjoy. Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Final Fantasy IX will all maintain a special place in my heart for being fabulous games. None of the new releases from Square-Enix have caught my eye. I also love the old Monkey Island-games, and certain console titles by Nintendo or Rare, with their obvious classics. Another somewhat underground game-series I value highly, is the Thief-series. With an unsurpassed atmosphere and sound environment, playing those games is one of the most immersing experiences I have ever had in a game. I feel that many game developers have lost sight of what it is to create a game with excellence and depth, which is often why new titles do not impress me as often as old ones do.


Music and Movies
After writing such an annoying biography about gaming, I suppose it's difficult to imagine that I have other things on my mind. That's quite close to the truth, actually, seeing how my interests are quite narrow. I always love to hang out with my friends, of course, and it doesn't matter what we do, but music is one of the two main things I care about. I love listening to all kinds of music, depending on mood and current preference. The only genre I have problems with is hip-hop and the like. Other than that, I can go from purely instrumental dance/techno by Daft Punk to pure emo-rock by Joakim Thåström or Kent. One of my all-time favourite musical artists is definitely Michael Jackson, however. A more skilled dancer and musical genius you would have a hard time to find these days. Game music is also great, if done right, and my favourite composer of the genre is unsurprisingly Nobuo Uematsu with all his great work on the previous Final Fantasy-games. My favourite instrument is the piano, and therefore I absolutely love listening to the Piano Collections of said games.

My favourite visual entertainment. I enjoy films that contain heart and soul, that want to say something but without being boring (Requiem for a Dream and V for Vendetta are good examples and two of my favourite titles), and I also enjoy films that do not necessarily bring up an important issue, but are outright fabulously fun to watch anyway. These do not include lame movies about boobies and teenager-sex, but rather films like X-men and The Pirates of the Caribbean. Naturally, I drool when I think of The Lord of the Rings. I am currently looking forward to 300, Spider-man 3, TMNT, and Transformers to show up at our local cinema. As an addition, my favourite TV-series is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for its great take on good and evil - right and wrong - and how it's not as black and white as other shows sometimes portray. It has been discussed briefly in an attempt to hijack this thread.


So that's a bit about me.

Kindo

98

Introduce Yourself / hiya

« on: March 24, 2007, 07:47:28 am »

Well where to start , my names Ian ... Im live in a small village in the middle of nowhere in wales the Uk .

Im 24 years old and have a wonderful 6 month old son called Joshua , *smirks* who's just starting to learn to crawl , well try at least .

Erh? My main enjoyment are Darts , which i play for a local pub team and i also play at county level , fishing when i can find time ( so relaxing sat beside a lake with no one else around on a nice warm summers afternoon)

I have a few charecters here on Layo as some of you might now , Voon , kloss and Jack all fun to play in there own quirky way . From what i can tell i think i started playing here in Feburary 2004 *laughs* didnt realsie it was that long ago time does fly when you have fun *laughs* .


*waves and walks away*

99

Introduce Yourself / The Goblin

« on: March 24, 2007, 07:01:15 am »

I am the crazedgoblin, im 16 from the UK, not played in awhile but thinking of playing abit now, im taking my GCSE's soon so thats going to be fun......

I am a reasonably experianced diver, if anoyone knoes the BSAC progression im about 2 dives off sports diver, i do running and cycling and martial arts(Wing Chun).

My main charcters are Jamesan who is the bard who has no sense of danger, Gribble the goblin with no brains, and Jaideth, well ill let you find out.

100

Forum Discussion / Forum Update - HTML Cleanup & New Tables

« on: March 24, 2007, 04:07:46 am »

Okay, the HTML Cleanup went okay as far as I can tell, there are some issues here and there, in some cases all you need to do is edit your post and save it and things should fix themselves.  (I noticed this for bulleted lists).  

If you are missing anything please let me know.

Also the format of how you work with tables is much easier and I have converted the existing tables to use that new format.  To make a table you simply enter it like so:

Code: [Select]

[noparse]
[table=head]Heading 1|Heading 2|Heading 3
Row 1 Col 1| Row 1 Col 2| Row 1 Col 3
Row 2 Col 1| Row 2 Col 2| Row 2 Col 3
[/table]
[/noparse]
If you don't want a heading for the first row and just treat it as a normal row then you need not specify the =head part.

Now the real cool part... if you want to make these tables sortable, then specify which columns are sortable.  For example:

Code: [Select]

[noparse]
[table=head;sort=1,2,3]Spell|Level|Cost
Bless|1|460
Virtue|0|25
Implosion|9|7560
Resurrection|7|10000
[/table]
[/noparse]produces this:

[table=head;sort=1,2,3]Spell|Level|Cost
Bless|1|460
Virtue|0|25
Implosion|9|7560
Resurrection|7|10000
[/table]

Notice how you can click the headings and they re-sort?

Anyway I should post this so I can turn the forum back on O.o.

Once again, let me know if anything significant has been lost, and if you see a stray html tag and it's your post, try fixing it.  As I said sometimes just clicking edit then save will do the trick.

Cheers,
orth