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Messages - Dorganath

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141
Layonara Server / Server configuration change -- EVERYONE PLEASE READ
« on: January 09, 2008, 08:26:05 pm »
Hello all,

I sadly must take some time to inform you all about a change we have to make to the configuration of our game servers.  This change may result in people being unable to log into any Layonara server when Bioware's Master Server is down.

Last night, between the hours of 22:00 GMT Jan. 8th and 00:00 GMT Jan 9th, there were 6 Bioware accounts and characters accessed by someone to whom they do not belong.  This person was able to do this because our server was set to permit logins when the Master Server was down, so that everyone could continue to enjoy Layonara during periods of outage, planned or otherwise, in Bioware's server.  It's a calculated risk, but one which has not caused us any problems in all the years I've been here.  Unfortunately, due to another case of a few (or in this case, one) spoiling things for everyone else, we have made this change to protect the community.

During this period of time, this individual targeted six people and logged on with their characters.  This individual used this access to remove gold from bank accounts and character inventories among other actions.  Two characters were killed while controlled by this individual, one of which died 5 times in 9 minutes and lost 2 soul strands in the process. I am still gathering reports from those players who were affected, but there is also at least one report of item(s) missing from character inventory.

This is disappointing to say the least, and while only six characters were directly affected, this is in fact an assault on everyone in the community.  

After pouring through our database, server logs and forum logs, I am confident in the identity of the person who did this.  I am in the process of banning this individual and once that is done, I will post a follow up for everyone to see.

To close on a positive note, I'd like to thank those players who have been affected by this with their understanding and cooperation.

142
Rumour Has It / Strange sightings
« on: October 31, 2007, 08:52:44 pm »
At ports of call all around Mistone and Alindor, sightings of unbound undead were seen on the docks and on the merchant and passenger ships were reported by a frantic populace.  Investigators, clergy and undead slayers were summoned to the locations with great haste.  Curfews were imposed and citizens were advised to remain in their homes until the apparent wide-spread incident could be contained.

Thankfully, the situation was resolved in short order, as these "undead" were revealed to be nothing more than a peaceful protest staged by the Western Mistone Maritime and Dock Workers Union, who as a collective disagreed with additional taxes and tariffs that were proposed by several kingdoms across the two continents.

All sides are now involved in negotiations to come to a mutually beneficial solution to this issue.

// Happy Halloween!
The following users thanked this post: miltonyorkcastle, Hellblazer

143
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:

Quote
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

144
GM Name: The Troll King or CuriousForum Name: miltonyorkcastleBioware Login: kcthecook or LynTobiasBio: I live in the panhandle of Texas, placing me in the CST/CDT zone. I have a six year old daughter who I hope one day, much to the chagrin of her mother, will be an avid roleplayer. Currently, I'm the Coordinator of Client Relations and Research at Texas Tech University. I also have a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts and a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from Texas Tech. Role-playing games got a hold of me my first year of undergrad (way back when), and I haven't looked back. I've played a myriad of pen-and-paper RPG's as well as many of the well known video games based off the pen-and-paper stuff.Milty the GM: I've GM'd PnP DnD (acronym city!) for about ten years now. I've played on Layo for, um, a long time (check the forum info), and before I became a GM here I helped the Team with LORE (which I still maintain and hold a dear place for in my heart). I also did a small bit of work for the single player module. I'm currently helping out with the MMO as well as continuing to support the NWN side of things. So. Here's a heads up on a few things you can expect when my quests pop up on the calender. 1) Practically all the quests I run will deal with some ethical or otherwise philisophically questionable issue. The issues are as they pertain to "humanity" in general and to the unique situations within the world of Layonara itself. Be prepared to think. 2) You probably won't run into very many classic puzzles or riddles in my quests. The puzzles you'll deal with will come from how well you analyze and predict the consequences of your actions. 3) Actions have consequences. So cliche' yet so important to repeat often. 4) Combat is deadly. Avoid combat at all costs (unless you're crazy like me and the "deadly" aspect is enticing). That's it for the ephemeral stuff. Here's some mechanical, concrete things to be ready for. 1) Casters, be ready for caster level checks (1d20+ your wizard/sorcerer/bard/cleric/ranger/paladin/did I miss one? level). Feel free to test the limits of your magical ability, cast spells that aren't defined by NWN (so long as they don't violate already stated parameters, like that regarding telepathy), and use your prowess to uncover arcane lore. However, don't expect to do it automatically. And Spellcraft checks aren't enough. (Spellcraft checks represents the non-magical understanding of the Al'noth. "Feeling" or seeing hidden magical auras requires other magic be in place for detection. This "other magic" a caster uses will be represented by a caster level check to determine ability and strength.) Basically, don't expect that your fake image of a cat walking by will look very convincing just because you're an illusionist and you got an SC check of 27 (although I do give bonuses for specialization). Caster level checks will help me determine your level of ability. 2) Resting: I'm not real picky about when and where you rest. However, if you rest randomly in a place that makes little sense to do so or you start a rest with little to no Roleplay reasoning behind it, you may find yourself ambushed by the local monster population. No, that doesn't mean I'm going to kill you for a poor choice in timing your rests; it means I will likely disrupt your resting in some way so that you don't get the benefits of it. A single giant spider usually does the trick. 3) Looting: Unless I specifically ask you not to, then feel free. However, all items must be declared to me at the end of the quest. Also note that some players prefer not to deal with looting on quests, so be considerate. The few gold that you may find on my monsters isn't worth player squabbles.Also, more philosophy is posted below.
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145
General Discussion / A few new long-overdue CNR recipes
« on: June 01, 2007, 12:16:32 am »
After what seems an age, delays, reworking, more delays and just more time spent buried under other things than I care to admit, I'd like to announce a few new recipes that I have just put into the database.  These will be available as soon as the servers reset, so please no bug reports until then. ;)

Before I continue though, these items were the result of a lot of work from members of the Project Team, most notably Talan, Lalaith and Aragon.  They did a lot of work on these things and I'll admit, they're far too long overdue on inclusion. Please direct your thanks to them, and if I'd inadvertently left anyone off the list above, thank them too!

So you're probably wondering what they are. :)

Some of you may have picked up an odd horn here or there off a creature of some kind. You may have wonderd what they're for, as they seem to have little use.  Well, they can now be used to make special horns:
  • Fey Horn -- Casts Woodland Frolic 1/day
  • Horn of the North -- Summons a Krashin barbarian 1/day
  • Horn of Sounding -- Dolomar's Force Wave 1/day
  • Horn of Abyssmal Sounding -- Summons a lesser demon 1/day
The final horns are made on the Musical Instrument bench in the craft halls, and are, you guessed it, Bard-only recipes.  They depend on certain enchanted products, including the horns themselves, and those can be made on the Enchanting Bowl devices. I won't give away any more so I don't ruin the mystery and excitement of discovery.

As I said, these recipes should be available once the servers are reset.

Enjoy!

146
Layonara Server / IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING v3.00.4
« on: April 05, 2007, 02:16:26 pm »
Hello all,

3.00.4 was released this morning, and it required an updated "Control" HAK file.  Unfortunately, we've discovered a fairly significant mistake in the file and I decided to pull it so that it cannot be downloaded.  I understand this will keep a few of you from being able to log in, but we will have it corrected as soon as possible.

Until then, please be patient. When the new HAK is posted, it would be good for everyone to download it again to avoid the chance of a problem.
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147
General Discussion / A small request for consideration....
« on: April 02, 2007, 09:13:57 pm »
Hey all,

There are a lot of courtesies we afford each other here as part of the Layonara community.  As members of a community, we are overall quite supportive and generally courteous to each other.  As part of a community we expect that we will be treated with the consideration and respect that we afford to others. For the most part, the community does a fantastic job of this, and really, it's a wonderful thing!

We'd like nothing more to allow uninterrupted play time to the community, but unfortunately the NWN technology is flawed, and despite our best efforts requires occasional resets to restore stability and performance. And so, during such times a GM will come on and shout to everyone that the server is going down, and he or she will request that everyone log out as soon as possible, or once a safe location can be reached.  This is a rather disruptive but necessary interruption, but generally it is relatively brief.

Twice now in as many weeks, I have had to actually confront players directly who either ignored the shouts or tried to get in one last thing. These individuals caused a delay in the shutdown and restart, which in turn takes more time and ultimately causes a delay in when everyone can get back on.  This is not very considerate to either the GMs or the other players.

For the vast majority of players here, this post is completely unnecessary.  For those few who don't quite understand, allow me to describe some guidelines.

When a GM calls for reset, it is OK to:
* get out of a dangerous location
* quickly wrap up some RP
* give parting messages to your group
* dash for a portal/ship

It is not OK to:
* continue gathering CNR
* level
* completely ignore the shouts

I realize that some people play with their chat windows down/minimized, and perhaps they even turn off such things as shouts from appearing.  We kindly request that you do not do this, as it eliminates an important communication channel between GMs and players.  

We also ask that when a GM comes on and requests everyone to log out that everyone makes an effort to do so as quickly as possible.  Anything you might think you have to do before a reboot you can surely take care of as soon as it's alright to log back in.

I apologize to everyone if my tone seems harsh or short, but after the server had been up for 4 days with 2 crashes, many people were calling for a reset due to extreme lag, and even posting on the forums to request one, it's not too much to expect that everyone would cooperate in vacating the server before resetting it.  I would also think that people would show consideration to others in such circumstances.  Individuals who do this delay the enjoyment of others waiting patiently to return to the game after a restart.

Again, as a whole, nearly everyone does very well.  I'm not making this post to make demands or to single any one out.  However, if one of the behaviors under the things not to do when a reset is pending, please consider not doing them.

148
Fixed Bugs / Important Info Regarding Recent Update
« on: March 19, 2007, 12:33:57 pm »
Hello All,

Due to a unforeseen glitch in a new encounter system we're using, I had to revert the servers to the previous version of the modules (3.00.2) until I have a chance to address the issue later tonight.  

For anything that is listed in the "New Version Online V3" thread that is not working, visible or available, please do not file bug reports for them until we're back running on 3.00.3.

I'm sorry for any inconvenience this might have caused.  I will announce again once we're back up to where we should be. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
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149
Introduce Yourself / Who is Dorganath?
« on: March 12, 2007, 09:13:37 pm »
Hello all!

Behind the veil of semi-secrecy that the Internet and these forums provide, I am known as Dorganath, a Layonara player, GM and developer.  On the other side of the great electronic veil, I'm known as Steve, a 36 year-old husband to one, father of two and brother to one.  

I got my gaming start back in elementary school...hmmm...maybe 4th or 5th grade when my best friend introduced me to this D&D thing, and I've been hooked ever since.  I was at one time a proud owner of the "Purple Box", though sadly the only thing that survives of it are the dice...which I'm pretty sure are hardened against nuclear radiation. I also still have many of my old, 1st Edition AD&D characters. Over the years, we tried out several different PnP gaming systems but always heavily favored D&D.

Fast-forward several years, then several more...and probably add a few just to be safe...and some of those same people I used go game with got together and we started running through Icewind Dale 2 in multiplayer.  And then rumors of a new game on the horizon started to float on the wind this new game, Neverwinter Nights, that held the promise of being able to bring a tabletop, GMed gaming experience to a group of nostalgic old gamers who no longer live within a 15-minute drive.

Like most grand plans, this never quite materialized, however in late 2004, the very same friend, who first got me started with D&D and who GMed most of our gaming sessions in my early years, told me about this NWN persistent world called Layonara.  In October of 2004, I submitted my first character and I've been hooked ever since.

I played for about 8 months or so before applying to become a GM, and a couple months later (and just before the birth of my second child), Leanthar asked me to take on the module updates and maintenance tasks. To put it simply, I was excited by the offer, floored by the opportunity, and nervous as heck, but I did it anyway, and I've never regretted it.

So that's how I got to this point, at least.  As far as other things about me...Well, as I mentioned, I'm a father of two, both daughters and both quite naturally the cutest kids in the world. This has been certified by many committees, mostly imaginary. As cheesy as it may sound, I have to give my wife a boat-load of thanks, mostly for putting up with me and understanding my rather time-consuming addictions.  

For the job that pays the bills, I'm a mild-mannered Programmer/Network Admin./Tech Support/Server Admin./Workplace diplomat/Web guy/Technology Guru/Database Admin./Probably-other-stuff-I'm-forgetting Guy, which means on any given day I'm generally pretty busy and/or quite far behind.  

Living near Chicago but not being a native, I've grown accustomed to only having two seasons: Road Construction and Winter. During the winter,  I huddle inside being very glad I'm not out in the wind. During the Road Construction season, I engage in such outdoor activities such as lawn mowing, landscaping and "picking-up-after-those-darned-kids-throwing-trash-in-my-yard" *shakes a fist*.  

I also enjoy music, when it's not geared for people under 16, catching up with whatever I have recorded on my DVR at the time, or kicking back with a good movie with explosions and/or gratuitous fight scenes and/or any other assortment of "grown-up" themes.  More often, however, I hear the theme songs to "Blue's Clues", "Arthur" or "The Backyardigans", with shows and/or movies to match and where about the only thing that gets blown up is a balloon.

For those who are curious, the name Dorganath originally came from an NPC in one of my all-time favorite one-off adventures out of a magazine, which also got used as the name for one of my own characters. When I started playing NWN, it seemed an appropriate bit of nostalgia to that for my login name, and so it has stuck with me.

I suppose there's more, but it's time for me to slip back comfortably behind the curtain of pseudo-anonymity and let you all wonder about the rest.

*disappears to a Cheshire Cat grin*

150
General Discussion / A Reminder about tells...
« on: January 16, 2006, 06:42:50 am »
Tells are a great tool for having OOC conversations while in-game. In fact we encourage that if you are going to have an OOC conversation in-game, please use tells.
  However, please also be reminded that tells can also be very disruptive to someone's RP time. A friendly greeting to a player you know or have RPed with is fine, as long as it's OK with the other player, however, there are a few things one should not be using tells to do. Among them:
  * Don't send "random" tells to players/characters who you/your character does not know for the purpose of selling items. (e.g. "Hey, do you want to buy an ExceptionalRing of Über-ness?")
  * Don't send "random" tells to players/characters who you/your character does not know for the purpose of buying items. (e.g. "Hey, can you make me an Exceptional Ring of Über-ness?"). An exception to this might be to coordinate a meeting between two people who have recently agreed to a business deal.
  In general, use some discretion and have some respect for the other players. We have a really slick system for sending IC messages in-game now through the LORE site. Make use of that. An IC request to buy/sell goods is going to be received a lot better than an OOC one through tells. Besides that, there's the Trade and Market Hall forum, which is where such types of things truly belong.
  Also...there used to be a posting on in-game disruptions to the Content, Project and GM Teams when they are playing their characters. I believe it has gotten deleted since it wasn't updated in a while, however. So as a reminder on that front...
  GMs and Team members are also players, and when they are playing their characters they are doing so for enjoyment and recreation. Unless there is a serious/urgent issue AND no GMs are online to assist at the time, please do not interrupt their play time with problems. They may be in the middle of a quest, or a battle or some other situation that would make it difficult or impossible to stop and help you even if they were willing to do so. Generally, we don't mind helping or answering questions, but before you start sending tells to GMs in-game as their characters, please consider the following things first:
  * Always try the DM channel first. Try a few times, because we see a lot of spam in that chat window, and we may not catch you the first time. Try to be patient. GMs are often busy when logged in.
  * If that fails, and it's something that can be handled on the forums (bug reports, etc.) or through PMs (exploits, reports of abuse, etc.), then please, please, please go that route.
  * Utilize IRC...we have an IRCserver for Layonara. There are frequently several GMs online and able to answer questions, jump in and assist, etc.
  * If it is too urgent to wait (and I don't necessarily include being stuck on a ledge or behind a wall as being "too urgent") and all other methods have failed, and a GM is in-game as his/her character, then it's probably OK to contact that GM for assistance. Again, only as a last resort.
  One last note....Do not request CDQs from GMs logged in as players via tells.There is already a system on the forums for doing this. It's simply inconsiderate of the GMs who are playing their characters to be assaulted with such requests. Over the weekend there were several GMs on a particular quest as their characters and at least two of them received tells fromthe sameplayer making this kind of request. The proper place for those requests are in the Character Development Questsforum.
  Thank you for your understanding.
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151
Update 5/1/2012 --

I am provisionally opening this thread again, but read through the entire post, as this should not be taken as being generally open. I shall explain.

At this time, I am only taking on requests:[INDENT]a) which pertain to a prior effort (i.e. previous CDQ/WLDQ),
b) which extends something I have done in the past, OR
c) to which I have previously agreed at some point.  [/INDENT]For any other requests, I am reserving the right to be extremely choosy regarding any requests that do not fit this criteria at this point. Any who do not fall into one of the three criteria above may be declined or deferred for a fairly long time. It is a simple matter of available time and my desire to not leave hanging loose ends, though it may also be a matter of what I may not wish to address (i.e. certain themes, topics, dogmas, etc). I will provide an explanation with every "no", so that everyone is in understanding of each other. In a perfect world, I'd be more open, but I have to work with what I have. I will also politely decline anything that I feel that you can do on your own, in game, without my help or the help of another GM.
 
 I am also reserving the right to take any requests in the order which works out best for me. It may seem arbitrary, but there is a method to my madness. As with any good madness, it defies being written down in any comprehensible sort of way.

 In the spirit of transparency, I'm going to list some things up-front here so that any reading this can understand my style and expectations. Some of this may already overlap with our CDQ rules, but it never hurts to remind or clarify.
 
General:

For all who make requests, you implicitly agree to my questing style, which is to say there will be opportunities for both success and failure, not necessarily in equal measure. Risks will be proportionate with rewards, and vice versa. I have been known to prod at the sore spots of a character's psyche. I have killed off family members and more. I have found (or fabricated) some seemingly insignificant mote within a character's history and/or ancestry and dragged it in all its ugliness into the light of day. Yes, I'm cruel like that, but at the same time I will still make every effort to make a quest personal to your character, not just some railroaded story of my own creation with your character as the accidental main character.  
 
I believe firmly in the Calem Rule, and in my interpretation this means that actions produce results, for good or ill. Failure is always an option, even critical failure. However, failure is not always the end of the road. There are opportunities in every failure...usually.  
 
I expect my questers to put forth an effort. Clearly, everyone is different in their ability and style, so I do not expect perfection, only effort. The sum of your efforts will determine the outcome of the quest.
 
I expect my questers to play their characters, not play to the expected results. Opportunities are not always obvious. Do not rely on pure mechanics to save you. They'll help; they have their place, but remember that I've already taken them into account. More important will be your role play and how you apply your characters strengths, abilities and characteristics, whether mechanical or not.
 
Given the nature of my available time, I may run a CDQ in a rather unconventional means. There may be a fair reliance on "offline" methods in addition to in-game actions. Unless absolutely needed, I will not be time-bubbling anything. This means time will pass between sessions...possibly not as much as our accelerated game time would suggest, but time will pass.
 
It is my intent to maintain a high degree of internal consistency, whether it be with world lore or PC/NPC characteristics. I will not be entertaining any unsanctioned variances just because the player may wish them. Time passes outside of the quest. The world rolls on. No quest is an island. You just might change the world, but possibly not in the way you expect. I will also discuss, in the fullest manner appropriate, the results and what they might mean, whether positive or negative.
 
When choosing people to accompany you on your CDQ, choose wisely. I will also let the missteps and actions of your party affect the outcome.  
 
CDQs/GCDQs:
From my perspective, CDQ requests are simply that: requests. Assuming it is reasonable, I will set up a scenario by which a quester can achieve his/her goal(s), but it is by no means a guarantee. Like I said above, failures can have their own opportunities. Sometimes you have to fail to succeed...I've actually had that happen several times. Do not request a CDQ with me and expect to pass. Do not get upset at me when you fail because you didn't do what was needed. I will try to set up a situation where there is a path to success, but I will not guide anyone forward through that path. That's your job, not mine. Success will be an option, always, but the difficulty of that success will depend directly on the magnitude of the reward for that success.  
 
The grander the CDQ request, the more likely it will be broken up into multiple CDQs. The more general the request, the more I will put my own spin on things. I do not do pre-written results or pre-defined outcomes. If you want to write your own CDQ, ask another GM. By this, I don't mean the endpoint so much as the path. If you want a new class, achieve status within an organization or some other sort of specific endpoint, these are all fine, but you will have to earn them and it may not be easy or clean. It may actually be quite messy, and your character may bear the scars.
 
GCDQs are for a well-defined group, not just a bunch of friends or the like.  This means a guild, deity association, or something of the sort.  The goal of a GCDQ should reflect the goals of the group as a whole, not of a single individual.
 
For CDQs, the party size should be kept small. This is for your benefit as much as it is for mine.  The more people I have to manage, the more time it will take, and the more likely it is that you will run out. It also becomes less personal for you if you cart along a lot of people.  I recommend three or fewer people total, though I am willing to entertain some leeway with a good reason.
 
For GCDQs, obviously there may be a larger group of people working to the same end.  As such, I will allow any number of people on a GCDQ up to twenty (20) people, and that simply for performance reasons. The added condition here is that the members of a GCDQ party must belong to the group in question or have a very solid reason why they should be part of the effort.
 
Please give me the courtesy of letting me know, in advance of a quest session, who is expected to attend.
 
Specifically for group efforts, you will succeed and fail as a group. Keep that in mind.
 
PCDQs:

Plot CDQs are likely to stretch out over some period of time, and they likely will not follow the general CDQ format, which is to say they may not be run in “sessions” or have a distinct beginning or end.  The plot is not monolithic, and neither is any CDQ based upon it.  Actions will build upon actions.  Results will build upon results.  Your past actions can and will come back to you in some way, for good or ill.  Be prepared. You can also walk away at any time. The world will move on.  

 At this time, there is only a narrow range of plot-related issues for which I will entertain PCDQ efforts.   I'm not going to disclose them either.  If you ask, and I say “no” then it's probably not on the list. I will, however, attempt to direct you to someone else who may be able to assist.
 
WLDQs:

For as choosey as I am about CDQs, I am even moreso about WLDQs, given the nature of such quests and investment required in preparing and running them. As such, I'm only going to accept requests that I feel I can do with justice and the appropriate level of attention I feel they deserve.  Otherwise, I'm going to decline. Do not be offended. It's better for everyone that way.  
 
Everything that applies to CDQs (of all types) and in general will apply even more strongly to WLDQs. This is especially true for the comments regarding playing one's character (not just one's character sheet) and party composition.  
 
Party size for a WLDQ must be a minimum of three, which is to say the WL candidate and at least two other people. I will place no limits but the practical ones upon WLDQ party size, but I highly recommend keeping the the party limited to those who can help or who the character would have along on such a task. This can change over the course of the WLDQ, of course.
 
As with CDQs, I request the courtesy of knowing who you intend to invite to your WLDQ. This can change as circumstances change, but I like to be prepared.
 
Am I done yet?:

I'm sure there's more, but it's long enough already and hopefully this will give everyone a good idea as to what to expect from a CDQ run by me.
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