Posts Thanked By User

1

Introduce Yourself / Looking around after so many years

« on: August 30, 2016, 11:35:20 am »

Good Day,     Nostalgia hit me recently and I wanted to see how my old favorite server has been doing.  It's been almost 10 years now since I last stepped foot in the world of layonara and I'm honestly surprised I remember my password.  For those curious, I used to play a mouthy seductress named Lia Di'Makiir.     Times have changed a lot for me and I honestly don't know if I have enough time to get back into the game, but a lot of my young adult life and growing up happened throughout my time here and I wanted to see how the server has grown.  I remember talk about a seperate project for an MMO, how is that project going?     Anyways I'm enjoying myself just reading up on the lore again and recent events.  I'll be browsing the forums for awhile yet as I determine whether I should jump in or not.     Have a nice day.

2

Introduce Yourself / G'day everyone!

« on: April 26, 2016, 10:51:24 pm »

G'day everyone!Hold on, I said that already.Hope everyone is well - just stopping by to say hello :)Glad to see some of the familiar names still popping up on the server status. Makes me tempted to pop my head back in to have Arkolio pick some pockets or Justice crack some skulls and then I remember .... oh no, I own an Apple and they made it all too hard to run Layo with intolerant operating systems and their partitions and wineskin workarounds  and other stuff I don't understand ...As such, I'll just have to be content sending my best wishes! Cheers, Pseudo 

3

Introduce Yourself / Hello Layonara again,

« on: August 16, 2011, 02:05:02 am »

Hello folks,

This isn't an I'm back thread... but its not NOT that either. Logged in and ran around on Bris for a while. My how things have changed. In a nut shell, Im not sure that I'm back and I don't want to make one of those posts where I claim that I am then I never login again so I'm just saying Hi to everyone I've known, missed, those I don't know yet and even those I didn't really miss at all .

Cheers!
Nicky

4

General Discussion / Resigning as GM

« on: May 31, 2011, 04:40:17 am »

It is time for me to hand my GM batch to another.

The plot is nearing its end and the remaining parts are in very capable hands.

So, after more years than I care to count I am resigning from my position as GM in Layonara's amazing Team of GMs.

Before I move on to being 'just' a player I have one thing I would like to ask all you players out there:


At times on quests where you feel wronged or feel that the outcome was not fair, please try to remember why the GMs are here. They are here to make this world around your characters a living and breathing entity that provides you with entertainment and fun. That is the basic idea.

So, instead of taking the fight to the GM and/or the Team, try to consider whether the incident in question is one that your character might deal with in an IC fashion - perhaps that was the intent of the GM in the first place.

Like you, GMs are people and people will walk away if you rattle them enough. After all, they are not acting GMs for their own sake, but for the sake of others.

This was not based on a recent episode or a current situation in game. Please consider this a plea that you might consider in the future. I have seen it happen too many times over the years and it simply burns people out, which ends up making this place less colourful and alive.


Finally, I wish you all the very best of luck and hope that many of you will continue to contribute to this magical place that is Layonara. For me the time has come to move on, although I will probably be around with Kobal now and then.


Kind regards,

Harlas

5

General Discussion / Answering the Questions

« on: July 15, 2010, 05:04:17 am »

I have been asked by a lot of people to please come back over the last year. I am considering it. Recently I even received a txt and call. Thank you for the conversation and kind words. I have been asked to air a few things and this post finally made me do it...
 

http://forums.layonara.com/roleplaying/278422-wl-frustrated-options-offered.html

I know exactly what pimbmendan means. I miss this server and the friends I made here deeply. I miss the effects and consequences someone's actions had, both positive and negative. The ever evolving world of Layonara has always been amazing and kept so many playing coming back throughout the years.

I played from 2003 to 2010. For 7 years I enjoyed Layonara and cherished all the time I put in. Even more importantly I cherish the time others put in to make the world so special. I have the utmost respect and appreciation for the staff and the players. I have always tried to show that respect and appreciation to everyone here through both my in game and out of game actions.

However, it feels like my efforts meant absolutely nothing when it came time for my WL attempt. My WL quest is one of the single most botched things I have ever seen happen by the Staff in 7 years.  

I was failed before ever being given a chance. My WL quest was shelved for almost 2 years and once it eventually started, it then took almost a year to run the quest. It took so long to get the WL quest running, that the people who would have played in it a year prior, were simply no longer active. I couldn't find evil PCs out there anymore, ESPECIALLY dark elves. I had to relay on PCs ranging from levels 7-15 for a WL quest, because that is all we had to work with. Now this is not the staffs fault, nor is it anyone's fault. However this should have been taken into consideration when running a Dark Elf WL quest. Rather than throwing insane amounts of purple instant kills at the low level party. I was told that the level of the party would be taken into consideration.

Few know that I was actually failed at the start of the quest, due to a misunderstanding. I thought we were in a time bubble and not supposed to be active in game. Thank you Dorg for helping handle that situation as a mediator of sorts and making it possible to continue from that point. I however feel I was failed from there. Perception.

Layo staff, you got that one wrong and nothing was ever done to even come close to trying to resolve it. I know it may sound like I'm faulting the failure of the WL, but I am not trying to. I fault the failed attempt to fix the botch.
I also feel the staff has done so many things right, i guess they deserve a free pass on my WL =)

This has torn at me in many ways and I have simply avoided talking about it or coming here to explain. I didn't want to seem ungrateful for the approval and time put into my WL. I knew failure could be an option and I would have loved another shot at the WL quest knowing I could fail. I was just honored to be considered and accepted for the WL. As a player, it meant everything. It represented the 7 years I put into Layonara. Seven years is a long time to put into something.

However, as Pibmanden said, where are the consequences? I fully expect big results from the success of a WL...but absolutely nothing for the failed attempt? The only consequences for my PC's actions during the WL quest are the ooc administrative failed results.

I should have listened to everyone who warned me. So many told me that I would fail my quest because I would run out of time. Even DMs warned me from the start. I should have stayed with the first DM who took my WL and waited my turn behind Jenara. After all I waited almost a year behind Jenara before I found another DM. I knew how Rowana ran her quests and what to expect from them. I had never been on a quest ran by Minerva where I was an actually part of the quest.

Minerva, despite the way this quest was handled and the way I was treated in the end, or should I say not treated...={ I still appreciate all the time and effort you put in. You stepped up to the plate when no one else had time. You tried the best you could and I saw that and appreciated it. I take full responsibility for not having gone on any of your regular quests prior to selecting you to run my WL quest. I learned a lot from that quest, both good and bad. For your time and hard work, thank you.

I never wanted any kind of hand out. I also do not feel entitled at all. I have always felt that my entitlements (if you want to call them that) came in the form of the enjoyment of playing the game with great friends and seeing the results of those actions throughout the world of Layonara. I miss you guys and I am sorry if this offends anyone in anyway. It is how I saw the events unfold.

I miss Layonara, I miss you, and I hope I have not been forgotten.

Thank you,
Geo

a.k.a.
Magus Del'Mar

6

Just for Fun / Why work and play should never mix

« on: September 25, 2008, 12:27:11 pm »

Had a fairly messed up dream last night.  It began with a few of my friends telling me that they had gotten us a new house (currently househunting irl) so I figured, hey, great!  Went to visit them in this dimly lit run down building downtown, which for some strange reason had a produce store with vegetables on display and a cash register.  "Dude, this is a store, what are we selling produce now?"  "no no no man, the living space is in the back, come back here".  Ok, I thought, maybe not so bad.  Went to the back and there was this HUGE Home Depot sized warehouse which didnt seem to have any particular theme at all, it was like a massive eBay bonanza warehouse. (currently work in a home renovation warehouse).  Ok what gives man...  At this point I start realizing that before all of this I was just sitting in my room (before I went to sleep, heheh) and instead of just figuring out that I was dreaming, I started screaming at them, "what is all of this?  I don't even remember coming here!  what year is this?  It was just 09/23/08!"  I'm all thinking that I suffered some kind of amnesia, and they're telling me its been 2 years since then.  That we're now in the post apocalypse.

All of the sudden there some hard knocking on the front door and all of my friends scatter in the warehouse.  "Open the door, NOW!  Open up!"  Oh great, they tricked me into tresspassing or trying to steal something, now the police are here...  So I figure that the cops probably have the place surrounded already, and being an overweight smoker theres no way in heck I'm going to manage fleeing this place, and I'm already ticked off at my friends so I might as well rat them all out for a reduced sentence.  So I let the guy in, and it's Ronnie Cordova from the sockbaby.com martial arts/comedy series.  He's all sweating bullets, freaking out and ranting about how we have to get out of here, now, with his hair slicked back dressed in his aviator sunglasses and leisure suit.  Huh?  What the heck is a P.I. doing here?  Shouldn't he be protecting the Sockbaby?  Where's Burger?

So Ronnie Cordova now sprints out the front exit of the store. *shrug* I go back into the warehouse to try and find out where those buggers are who even tricked me into coming here are, and why I don't remember anything for the past 2 years.  Now the warehouse is infested by rats and dire rats.  And not only that, they appear to be the NWN dire rats that for no good reason have demonic voices and scream "your soul is mine!" all echoey and stuff.  I look down and I'm completely naked and unarmed... eeep!

I run around the massive random item warehouse looking for ANYTHING that can be used as a weapon, a blunt object, anything, but the prospects look grim.  Baby-wets-herself dolls, placemats, pirated DVDs, and finally, aha!  Tiny 2 inch pocket knives!  "what the heck, 1d4 is 1d4" I distinctly remember saying aloud.  I sprint around stabbing the smallest of the rats with it, pinning them down and twisting as they go "eeee! eee! eeeee!".  I finally come across a pallete of concert T-shirts in the warehouse, Blind Guardian I think, and think to myself... "aha!  Now I just need some pants!" and scour the place until I find a pair of cargo shorts and a pair of sandals.  Not much, but at least the rats dont get a clean shot on my bum... I'm still wary about kicking them unless I find some decent shoes though, (rabies!) and that would be so much easier than getting on all fours and stabbing them with a 2 inch blade.  In fact, I dont even know why I wasnt just punching them.

N00bly equipped in the worst sense ever, I then stumble upon the motherload crate...  cheaply made swords!  The kind that say "made in china" on them, that you'd typically find in a spencers or RPG shop and you could likely sunder with a broomstick.  Ah well! better than the 2 inch pocket knife.  So I appropriately pocket the pocket knife and pick out the best flimsy, poorly constructed, unsharpened sword for myself in my main hand, and run around with another the same size in my offhand, not so much to use, but just in case I run into any allies in the warehouse, like my friends who were hiding.  The rest of the dream devolved into hacking apart dog-sized, demonic voiced dire rats.  I think I might have made level two.

The moral of the story?  Don't fall asleep right after playing NWN and watching sockbaby online while you're househunting, especially if you work in a warehouse for a living.  That combination just isn't good for your mental health.

7

General Discussion / Rumors -- Please read

« on: October 27, 2007, 07:00:18 pm »

The following is addressed to the entire Layonara community.  It is not directed at one person or any specific group of people. Please read it and understand it.

As a recent post has highlighted, there have been some ugly and hurtful rumors flying around recently. This kind of thing, though different people and different circumstances, seem to happen on a regular basis. Sometimes the target is one person, other times it's a group of people.  There are back-channel whispers, finger-pointing, and accusations flying around.  The GM Team gets reports of this-and-that but rarely does anyone have the evidence or guts to back up the claims. Some rumors fade, but there are always some waiting to take their place.  It's a continuous cycle, and it is getting really, really old.

I urge everyone to hear what I'm saying here and take it to heart.  Rumors are almost without fail caustic and poisonous to the community.  You may interact with electronic representations, seeing only words and artificial avatars, but there are people behind those things.  Real people.  Not all rumors are false, but most rumors are not nearly as true as some would believe them to be. Whatever the case, they're bad...bad for those who spread them, bad for those who are the targets of them, and bad for this community.

Without going into specifics, the most recent batch of rumors ranges from annoying to very serious with implications that stretch beyond this little community of ours.  And so I ask you all...

If you are involved in spreading such rumors, stop. If you have proof, then present it to a Gm.  If not, then stop. You're hurting people and you're hurting this community.

If you are engaged in activities in the game world/forums/IRC channel(s) that are the center of one or more of these rumors and those activities are contrary to what we have established here, stop.

If you are involved in or complicit in sewing the seeds of discord among all or part of the community, stop.

At this point, I am not overly concerned with what the "facts" may be in the case of the most recent events. There will forever be three sides to every story: "Yours, mine and the truth."  Since the last is often difficult to obtain, we're left with the word of one against the word of another.  As I said, it just needs to stop.

I want everyone to realize that these things are harmful, and they affect more people than just those at the muddy end of the stick.

In the thread about Layonara's future, there's a comment in there about the NWN servers and how long they'll stay up.  To quote Leanthar:

The NwN servers will stay up and running until it either a) gets to expensive for me to keep it running, so keep donating as this is important for NwN or b) the world or community becomes to much of a hassle in terms of time, effort, or headaches for the servers to stay online or c) we make it to beta testing of the new product which is still a ways away. Layonara is not going away, nor is it fading away; but much rests on the communities shoulders for how long the NwN servers remain online.

It is petty and dramatic things like rumors that are most likely to bring down the Layonara NWN community.  This kind of thing really drains the GM Team and Leanthar himself. It is frustrating, mentally exhausting and time-consuming. In some cases, it has taken hours of research and checking in on people, logs, actions, reports and so forth just to prove or disprove the allegations...time wasted and time not spent interacting with the community.

I don't want this to sound like a threat, but the fact of the matter is, there have been times, more than most of you realize, where the fate of the NWN servers has been close to a complete shut-down because of petty bickering, factional rumors and divisive words and actions.

It all needs to stop, people. I can't stress that enough.

Now, please...understand what I have written here.  Read it over, again if you need to, and really see what I am saying.  And then just think about it and remember it.

And also, please understand that when we take action as a result of things that go on here, be it a banning, a reprimand or some other kind of administrative action, that we do not do so lightly or on a whim. We are not targeting individuals because we don't like them or because we just feel like it.  The GM Team has, among its many duties, an obligation to protect this community.  It comes along with the job, and whatever people may believe, it is not a particularly enjoyable part of the job to ban someone who is acting contrary to the spirit of this community.

I do not really wish for this to become a discussion.  I don't want current or past rumors brought up here and presented with explanations, accusations or justifications.  I don't want people to post their opinions on the situation, be it the one most immediately at hand or any number of such things that have occurred.  Do not use this thread to confess or confirm.  I do not seek a string of "I agree" posts, nor do I particularly want any "Thanks" either.

I want people to read this and understand it.

I know a lot of people love this community and have developed very real and lasting real-life friendships as a result.  Keep that in mind please in all your future actions. Friendships are not formed of bickering and rumormongering. They're formed of a commonality of purpose and philosophy.  If you find, however, that you cannot continue to be a supportive and positive influence in this community, then consider stepping away from it before you contribute to events that may end up hurting those you call friends.

I generally have a lot of faith and respect for this community as a whole.  I sincerely hope that is not misplaced.

Regards,
Dorganath

8

General Discussion / I'm Dissapointed In Us.

« on: October 27, 2007, 12:20:24 am »

You know... One of the greatest things I've always loved about Layonara was the community. In fact, it's what's kept me here, and what will continue to keep me here, despite a few bad apples.

But those bad apples are starting to really tick me off.

Ever since Hawklen (Jeff) was banned, there's been something of a coalition of anti-Hawklen players floating around out of sight of most of Layonara. His site, Hawklen.com, was originally mainly just Layo-bashing, and I'm sure he felt justified in it, just as the mods felt justified in banning him from this site. I agreed with the ban, and while I don't agree with the VAST majority of the negative things that people have said about Layo over the years, I DO feel they're entitled to their opinions.

And I DON'T think that, just because someone joins another site, people from this site should harass them.

ESPECIALLY! Not with inflammatory and, perhaps worse, simply untrue allegations.

Rape is not something to [ahem]ing joke around about, folks. Not statutory, not "real." Neither is pedophilia.

It is NOT cool to jump on a player just because he or she has joined another site.

Is is NOT cool to spread rumours, ESPECIALLY! not negative ones, much less aimed at someone or someones who couldn't even say anything about it if you posted in General Discussion.

I don't know names of who's spreading these rumours, because those who told me of them wouldn't give those names to me. And frankly, I don't care if there's any "punishment" that happens.

It's just a childish thing that's happening, and it needs to stop.

And I feel that posting here, where everyone can see, rather than trying to sneak around and ask in the shadows and in Tells, is a more potent way of getting the message that this infantile bull needs to stop.

Grow up. Hawk's banned, he's not coming back, and the personal lives of others are their own.

9

Poetic License / Characters of Layo #4

« on: October 11, 2007, 08:58:03 pm »

Sall struggled and tugged at his coat, trying to release it from the womans gasp.... but despite her small size and frail appearance, her grip was incredibly strong. Infact, she hardly seemed to notice he struggled, and clasping tightly the ends of the thin belt that ran around his coat, she skipped cheerfully along, dragging him deeper and deeper into the trees.
" Look woman... I dont even know you! Get the hell off me!" he cried, struggling even more fiercely.
" Ohh poof!" she giggled, her smile wide and innocent, her black scruffy hair bobbed at the back bouncing to and fro, with an unusual look in her eyes that Sall simply couldn't place.
" Your my daddy of course.... dont worry.... the hit on your head did that. I'll take you home.... and you'll remember everything and make me wonderful presents and cook me cherry and chocolate pies all day long." she laughed, skipping merrily and tugging him along.

They had left the path a good while ago, and Sall was still at a loss as to what happened. This woman just came out the woods, bursting from some bushes covered in small branches and leaves clinging to her tattered clothes, huffing and puffing as though exhausted. She screamed at him a moment, something unintelligable, then grabbed his coat and began dragging him in the trees. Normally, he would have drew his sword and cut himself free if he had to, or just took a deep breath and knocked her unconscious, despite his hatred of such things.... but there was something about this one that held him back.
She was scruffy, dirty, her boots and clothes in tatters with strange, slime like smears across them, and she smelt like a sewer. But she had no weapons, there was no look of malice in her eyes or face... more like.... total innocence or something... Sall couldn't place it. And she genuinely seemed to believe he was her dad!

" Just a little more daddy.... I think I saw my brother's ahead... they'll be happy to see you too. Oooo.... then we can have a campfire... and all sit around and sing songs and..."
He began ignoring her, sensing a prickling on his neck.
Up ahead he saw it, a shadow move.... and he stopped in his tracks, refusing to let her tug him an inch closer. The sudden stop made her frown, and she looked up at him with obvious dissapointment.
" What is it dadd...aaeeee!" she suddenly let out a shrill scream, as a crossbow bolt whizzed through the air and grazed her arm, thudding into a tree close by.
" !" he swore, pushing the woman to the floor and hiding quickly behind a tree. Two other whizz sounds followed, and two other bolts struck into the trees around him. In a flash his swords were out, and he stood over the woman angrily, seeming ready to knock her unconscious.
But.... she wept and cried, holding her bleeding arm and looking at Sall pathetically through tear streaked eyes, wailing like a child.
She certainly didn't look like she had expected this. And if this was her attempt to lead him into an ambush... her tactics were.... well... far too pathetic to be believable.
With a soft curse, he edged around the huge tree trunk and spotted the attackers. A dwarf and a halfling... hidden in the brush, or trying to but doing a terrible job if it. Mercenaries likely... waiting by the road for someone to wander by. They didn't have much of any kind of armour, looked fairly tattered and rough.... and now they'd missed their targets on the first few shots... they seemed a little dubious about continuing the whole thing, arguing in hushed whispers with each other.
Suddenly Sall was gone. The wind whispered in the trees, branches creaked and groaned, and occassional bird song filtered down... and of course, the woman continued her screaming and wailing.
She didn't even notice he was missing... neither did the two mercenaries.... until Sall was stood behind them.

A few hacking and slashing sounds followed, a long groan of pain... and Sall walked slowly back to the wailing woman, wiping blood off his sword with the edge of his coat.
" Now... " he said, pointing one of his swords at her, " you wanna tell me who the hell you are?"
She stopped wailing, sniffling a moment, glancing behind him and noting the two mercenaries were dead with wide, puffy eyes. But, stifled as it were, it didn't stop, and with another wail of tears, she wrapped her arms around his legs, hugging them tightly.
" Oh daddy! I was so afraid! Why.... why do people try to... to keep us apart?! Pe-people are so.... mean!"
His legs crushed together so tightly he almost fell over, Sall had to keep hold of the trees beside him to keep his balance.
" All I want is to be happy! But noooo... " she screws up her face angrily, wiping her nose with a dirty sleeve, " they kicked me out of Hempstead... they kicked me out of the Arms.... they even said I couldn't stay in the Sewers! And I so loved that rat....."
She sighs miserably, sniffling, now wiping her nose on his trouser leg.
" Woman! I dont even care! I aint your bloody daddy! And I dont care where you stay! I mean... what are you... craz...!" he stops suddenly, biting his tongue, realisation dawning on him

The sudden silence causes her to look up, and that same look of oblivious innocence sparkles in her glazed eyes. She looks at him curiously at the outburst. For a brief moment, her eyes flutter repeatedly and turn white. Then suddenly, she looks up at him adoringly, practically climbing up his clothes to look into his eyes, a bright, mischeivous glint in them.
" Take off your shirt." she says, twiddling with some buttons on his coat.
Sall blinks.
" Er.... what?"
She takes a step back, looking him up and down with obvious, unhidden approval. Taking a deep breath, she suddenly begins yelling at the top of her voice, shrill and piercing, until no more breath remains in her lungs.
" I do! I do! I do I do I doooooo!"
Sall falters and flusters, stepping back and bumping into a tree behind him, his face almost comical in his confusion and bewilderment.
" What the hell you doing woman?!?"
She takes a deep breath, sighing, and a bright smile plays on her lips. She skips over to him and grasps his hand, tugging the bewildered man along with her through the woods, who now seems at a complete loss to stop her.
" There.... " she says, pulling him along... " All married now."



// I love my job. Heh. 1 more to come.

10

General Discussion / Huge Kudos for a Hefty Week of Impromptus!

« on: September 28, 2007, 12:40:21 pm »

To Pseudonymn, Oxsmallard and Wei-Tei-Ten, thank you so much for keeping us entertained and on our toes this past week!  Just about every single night, monday to friday has been a plethora of GM interaction, whether it be angry gnolls, rallying mercenaries, kidnapped little girls or even nefarious giant shamans disguising themselves as kidnapped little girls.  My roommate Cassius is very pleased with his War Ox, and we're all grateful for the attention!

11

Just for Fun / Argh, dont touch the cheesy-beefy burrito!

« on: September 27, 2007, 02:44:31 pm »

On a whim I stopped by Taco Hell today and eyes a new concoction, the Cheesy Beefy Melted Burrito!  The display in the window looked marvelous, like a cornucopia of cheesy beefy goodness.  Golden baked hilltops displaying a veritable valley of beefy cheese.  Then I ate it.

The Cheesy Beefy Melt combines only the best qualities of wet dog food and melted plastic... that starchlike grainy feeling on your teeth minced with all the parts of the cow man was not meant to consume.  It's rice, bean, beef and cheddar filling was omniscient of month old leftover hamburger helper casserole, but the true delight was in the digestion.  When combined with Taco Bell's signature Pepsi soda, the menu item seemed to bubble inside my belly, churning in some form of tribal dance of unity.  The drink slowly started expanding, much like raw rice in a pigeon's gullet... growing and growing until it had nowhere left to go.

Then, in less than 3 minutes time after the final bite, a miracle happened!  I was sent sprinting to the washroom with a loaded colon, ready to send the Beefy Cheesy Melt off unto new adventures with a winding roller coaster ride of pipes and dead sewer rats.  This was truly amazing, as I remember my biology teacher telling us how many meters our small intestines stretched and how it took food at least 4-6 hours to complete the full circuit of digestion.  But lo and behold, it was ready to be launched well before its allotted time was due.  The secret ingredient must be shared with Arbys, as only their melted cheese has such a similar effect!

Needless to say, do skip this menu item.  In fact, I was insane to stop there in the first place!  *starts eating some Tums by the dozen, and feels like throwing up for the rest of the workday*

12

Ask A Gamemaster / Grabbing masks and PVP

« on: September 27, 2007, 02:12:32 pm »

If a complete stranger walks up to you and attempts to yank your mask or helm off your head, shouldn't that be instant acceptance of PVP where you could just finger of death them for their rude insolence?  

I haven't had it happen to me yet, (at least not since way back when I played Rakish) but I've been noticing it going around lately.  Character X is just standing there with a hood on, and along comes character Y who metagamingly read X's bio or pic and *knows* that they're a drow or monstrous race of some sort in disguise.  Then, without a word, the just walk up to character X and emote *yanks X's mask/helm off*  

So here we have some poor player's disguise totally ruined because a grabby player doesn't even have the decency to RP with the person to even bring up suspicion.  I understand that while guards might try to do this in service of their jobs, but people not of the military really don't have any right to be touching anyone.  I would view this as assault, since many spells and poisons need only come into contact via touching a person, and most certainly theft of a fine helm or mask.  As such, I think a perfectly justifiable solution would be to make such offenses open season for PVP.

It should also be noted that humans and gnomes without subracial features almost never have their masks ripped off, since the grabby players read their description and see nothing awry.  It's always when the person's a drow or criminal and puts decent effort into disguising themselves that somebody walks right up and yanks it off.  It gets annoying, this 100% accuracy of metagaming.  Could somebody try walking up and trying to grab Ketibjorn's hood, calling him a duergar for once?  I'd like to see how quickly that person would drop to the floor in a pool of their own blood.

13

General Discussion / Wow...I missed Layo!

« on: September 24, 2007, 09:04:46 pm »

I played today for the first time in ...almost year and a half...is that right?  Something like that. Anyway, Bama was back in Hlint and I was priviledged to RP with Elessar and Ember (The yound lass looking for astork).  I forgot how relaxing and fun it is to RP.  Man I have missed it.  I am glad I am back.  I will try to be on more frequently.

14

General Discussion / Saying hey - FAST

« on: September 24, 2007, 02:14:01 am »

Aloha. Letting you guys know I'm still living, and still searching for ways to find internet as I occasionally am able to pop in and get info on dates, etc.
 
 I have about 45 seconds left on this kiosk.
 
 Love you all. <3

15

General Discussion / Interesting (Non-Layo!)

« on: September 15, 2007, 01:09:51 am »

Came across this before and found it quite amazing. Hopefully you might find it interesting and thought provoking too.

Do What You Love: Time is Too Short to do Anything Else ...

Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, delivered a truly inspirational commencement address to some 5,000 Stanford University graduates. Without further adieu, his message:

"I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.

The First Story is About Connecting the Dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?

It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife.

Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: 'We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?' They said: 'Of course.' My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.

And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition.

After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5 cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed.

Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them.

If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.

Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

My Second Story is About Love and Loss.

I was lucky - I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents' garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation - the Macintosh - a year earlier, and I had just turned 30.

And then I got fired.

How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.

I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me.

I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me--I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

Fired From Apple

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.

During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it.

Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers.

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

My Third Story is About Death.

When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.'

It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Diagnosed With Cancer

About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer.

I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months.

My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery.

I had the surgery and I'm fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:

No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it.

And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch.

This was in the late 1960s, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.

Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue.

It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: 'Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.' It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Thank you all very much."

Food for thought, huh?

16

Ask A Gamemaster / How to RP Diety Relationships w/ topsy-turvy Like vs dislike?

« on: September 14, 2007, 11:44:58 am »

I just saw Leanthar's recent message about RPing diety relationships between characters, which I somewhat agree with.  However, some deity relationships make no sense to begin with.  For example, Xeen is Friendly towards Folian, but Folian Dislikes Xeen.  In this case, if a Folianite and Xeenite become friends, are they only half in the wrong?  Should all Xeenite clerics pester Folianite clerics with party invitations, and Folianites treat the Xeenites with utter contempt for their adoration?  Would two such clerics partying together get along or hate eachother in this case?

Next is the issue of Likes and Dislikes that don't make sense to begin with.  Like Toran the defender of the weak and of the common man who seems to have a mutual disdain for Prunilla, the patron of the peasant farmers and the happy home... Does this mean that LG paladins who are sworn to protect their homelands and the peasant farmers secretly HATE them as they do so?  Do the farmers gripe that the paladins should quit patrolling the outskirts and roads so that orc hoardes can raid their farms more often?  Deep down inside, do Toranite paladins fantasize of raiding innocent farmers, laying waste to their crops and burning down their barns for valuing agriculture above martial law?

Then what about Aeridenites and Azattans who by the very virtue of their faith must show loving kindness to all forms of life?  Even though they might hate Corath himself for what he preaches, how do they view Corathites who by virtue of Azattan theology are capable of redemption without exception, and by virtue of Aeridenite theology, are entitled to their life, and should be peacefully dealt with?

I can understand the clear oppositional gods like Toran vs Corath, Dorand Vs Grand and Grannoch, Vorax vs Pyrtechon or Sulterio... but it's the strange exceptions mentioned above that give me pause.  I would like to see more background lore and explaination as to why some gods hate the gods that love them, and why guardian paladins hate the very people they are sworn to protect.  How should an Aeridenite approach a Corathite when peace is all he should know?  Are there some followers of gods that Azattans feel are beyond redemption?  Those have been the nagging questions in the back of my mind regarding deity relations.

One more question, should followers of illegal gods who must worship in secret like Corathites be openly aggressive towards opposing gods publicly?  The smart corathite cleric I would think would keep his disdain under wraps for fear of being burned at the stake, since its a dead giveaway once he starts RPing his diety relationship chart.  What better way to hide his religion from the public than to pretend to be friends with the neighborhood paladin?  Trickery is part of his portfolio, after all.  I never saw Rufus or Chanda wear their deity relationships on their sleeves, which is precisely what made them such good Corathites.

17

Layonara Server / Deity Relationships and RP'ing them

« on: September 14, 2007, 09:37:27 am »

Hi folks,
 
 It has come to my attention that a particular individual or two are totally and absolutely ignoring deity relationships in RP. It has been stated "because I don't know" or "because the character does not know". When you are a follower of a deity (especially as a champion, paladin, or cleric) you do know and you know it very well. The church would ensure you know this until it was ground in to your head and that is a mere fact. To say my character does not know when you are a follower of those types is wrong and wrong in all sorts of levels, it is also not acceptable in any sort of way. Deities will strike back and they will ensure those that are close to them and that represent them do as they request and desire or they will not give them the powers that are prayed for, that is also a mere fact. When you are a close follower of a deity (of those types; champion, paladin, cleric) you can not claim you do not "know" because you do and you would via the church. It is hard to represent/show that in an online game environment and that is why we have so much on the site about this topic, but as a close follower of a diety you are to go by the relationships as they are defined and RP in that manner.
 
 Please start playing deity relationships properly folks.

18

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.

19

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

20

General Discussion / Wide Eyes and Grabby Hands

« on: August 26, 2007, 11:22:36 pm »

Folks, I know that new stuff is pretty exciting.  I also know that the fact that there's been a slight shift in magic level is a rather enticing proposition for adventure.

There's nothing wrong with this.  The excitement is a good thing and the increase in adventure is a good thing.

But, let's keep the spirit of things going.  And hey, I get wide eyes too, so don't think I'm declaring myself the official angel of Layonara.  Yet there seems to be some pretty mindless interactions going on, and I know that everyone that's a part of them can do better.

An example of this would be when a GM initiates a fairly significant plot level impromptu... don't kill the creature and continue in debating the loot drops, what was found, and getting out your dice.  On a scale of 1 to 10 on improper playstyle, I call this an 8.  "Whoa, a rift has opened and a shadow of reality has emerged... and we killed it... 1d100 for the boots then guys?"

I understand situational levels of roleplay: someone has to go, you're tired, it's bedtime, whatever...

But let's not make this the trend.

You are 100% wasting your life if you let the wide eyes dictate your time on Layonara.  When it's all said and done, at some point you've seen it all, you're level 40, you've seen and had every item, you've seen and killed every creature... what do you have left?  The community, and good conversation.

"Less is more." (HB)

I struggle to fully embrace this concept at times myself, but it's certainly something that we should all be trying at with some vigor.

Fun fun, see you in there.