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101

General Discussion / Plot - Dragon Storm: Suffering

« on: April 08, 2007, 11:13:25 pm »

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you and welcome. This is a two ‘part’ post this being the first part and only vaguely related to the second. As an effort to spread information and be fair to everyone I will be making ‘visible’ record of the Dragon Storm campaign. This first occurrence will be noted as you see it in the general discussion. However all future occurrences will land in the CDT I opened on Ozymandias. In the case of the later, this, past and future posts are meant to be read and used as a role play tool. The information I do not wish to be used I simply will not post.
You can decide for yourself how you come across this information. Perhaps you overheard things on the subject in the local tavern your character frequents, or you heard it off some bard trying to make a true. Whatever the reason consider it a valid tool to talk with others about.
The reason I am doing this in this manner is because I consider my previous method, in the Soul of a Lost Ancient a dismal failure. It was boring, reward less, and required many more hours doing nothing than I would like. Furthermore many people were left out as I had to sleep at some point, or work, or do other activities. So I am going to try this method where I spin a few rumors that might be heard in a public place. Then you the player, armed with even rudimentary knowledge can seek out those that participated. While for those of you that could only make part of a quest, either by real life or by group selection, are not left with the ‘left out’ feeling.
After all it is one thing to be expected to ask questions, it is another to not have any idea what to ask. So in that interest of fairness, in the interest of my sanity, and the interest of community spirit in the since of working together. I shall try and provide something you can work with in game.
Now enough of my gibbering lets get down to part two which you are really interested in.

In the last eleven years a certain sight can be found in most port towns. Entire villages with what belongings they could bring flocking there and boarding ships all to seek a life in ‘better lands’. Few find success in their endeavors but many will try to find a place to live a better life for their families. The stories are the same of crops failing and sickness running rampant, the gods having abandoned the people and horrific stories that Dragons have returned.
Roomers abound though of bandits and brigands growing more and more common. Some say they have turned from robbery to outright murder of their quarry robbing them of their scant goods and their lives. The roads no longer safe while the so called Heroes of Layonara live like royalty safe and sound from the horrors of the world.
Yet despite this it is still said, that perhaps the Heroes have not given up and that people here and there. Sometimes one, or sometimes just a single village are brought from the plight of the world. That certain parts of the world have become safer if only slightly because of their restoring of order. These instances seem few and far between in recent years. The world is suffering and so are the people that dwell within it.
In the Land of Kings the heroes made themselves known in the City of Twins; Lor. As people fled from the poverty and despair that had engulfed the north, the rich merchants demanded their due. A kings price to ship people away to a better land, yet the heroes stepped forward and paid it in true and one small group felt a time of reprieve.
There are reasons for everything, families are not torn asunder for no reason. A cult was rising and growing in this time of darkness. Armed, armored and wielding fearsome magic they displaced many and slaughtered others. They were called by many names, some cried that they were the black hand, others the iron hand, a few even said the hand of blood. Yet no mater what these individuals were called, they seemed to revel in the destruction and called themselves the hand.
Perhaps there are still heroes, maybe not as many as tales say. Some may be content to live in their homes as nobility while others suffer. Yet there may be some left willing to fight to protect those truly hurt by this time of darkness. In the Land of Kings those so called heroes gathered and moved to attack the brigands calling themselves the hand.
In the broken mountains the groups fought, heroes within desecrated valleys and caverns filled with decay and death. While this new cult of brigands channeled their twisted creations with joyous abandon. Willingly forfeiting their lives and accepting no chance to surrender. The battle raged and the earth moaned as twisted things fell returning to the earth with their passing.
Yet as the brigands were slain they called out that this was not the end. They were but a single digit of the full fury. Perhaps the heroes had brought the first blow to the bandits but it was certainly not the last. In the end the heroes were the ones to leave the twisted caverns and corrupted pass, yet questions yet many remained unanswered. Especially one that falls heavy on all minds, what does this group have to do with dragons that have returned?

All right an unexpected part three to this post. I think this tells you enough. I suppose we will just have to wait and see what unfolds and what each other have learned. Share information, spread it around, you never know when it will be important to remember. Anyway good luck I hope this post and this method prove more successful then the last method I used.

102

Roleplaying / An Ode to Rogues, or, a Rogue by Any Other Name

« on: March 28, 2007, 03:01:57 am »

Shall I compare thee to a common thief?
Thou art more complex and more versatile.
Rough hands oft do thy name much grief
And most make you a stealer with a smile.

Sometimes too great an influence, the screen
With roguish grins, lawbreakers are they all -
So we fall victim to the things we've seen
And in this stereotype you sadly fall.

But you've still chance to make thy choices known,
And 'fluence those with bios still unwrit;
And cast as scout, or aught of sim'lar tone
Into a new alignment snugly fit.

So when you make a rogue I pray to you:
Think not of theft - there's more a rogue can do!


The gist of the above is that I've seen a disturbing trend of people tarring all rogues with the same brush.. or, gods help them, referring to a rogue's (or their OWN) profession in-game by the line: "Oh, I/he/she am/is a rogue!"

Behaviour
To borrow from the handbook:

Rogues have little in common with each other.  While some - maybe even the majority - are stealthy thieves, many serve as scouts, spies, investigators, diplomats, or simple thugs.  Rogues are versatile, adaptable, and skilled at getting what others don't want them to get.  While not equal to a fighter in combat, a rogue knows how to hit where it hurts, and a sneak attack can dish out a lot of damage.

The gist of this is that there are no "typical" rogue activities, nor a "typical" rogue alignment.  A thuggish rogue would likely not waste any skill points on Pick Pocket, Disarm Traps, and the like, and would likely have more of his ability points in CON and STR than in INT or CHA.

Conversely, the acrobatic lithe fighter who darts in and out of combat can also be a rogue, with a high DEX, and likely a high CHA, as this would be the gentleman who would Taunt opponents as he dashed around them, slipping a dagger in where it hurts.

There's the scout, learning to hide and hurt the enemy for their noble (or ignoble) cause.

The diplomat, with a high INT and CHA - capable in a fight, but much better suited to a duel of words.

Any of these are more likely to be suited to a Rogue character than virtually any other character type.  The upshot?  As before, Rogues are a very difficult character class over which to generalize.

By Any Other Name... Please?

Of all the classes, this is the One Which Is Not Named.  A rogue may be a thief (though he's unlikely to advertise as one, unless this is what the hirer is after), a scout, a trapspringer... or any of the occupations listed above... but the word "rogue" would mean nothing in-game, save its original designation: a scoundrel, unreliable, deceitful, and untrustworthy... and again, who would advertise themselves as this?

Monks are.. well, monks.  They could perhaps be "practitioners of the arts of unarmed combat", but that's stretching the point a bit.  A fighter can be a sellsword, a mercenary, a soldier, a guard.. or, let's face it, a fighter.  Someone who can wade into combat, blades flashing.  A Paladin is just that - it's in their title.  Perhaps the appellation Knight can be given.  Calling someone a cleric is fairly reasonable, likewise Rangers, and certainly Druids, Wizards, Sorcerers and Bards.  Barbarians could be called fighters as well, but their name is not misplaced.  Rogues are really the odd ones out, as a loyal scout of Mistone could easily be a Rogue.. but not be roguish in the least, and certainly not deserving of the name.


In Summary, and I'm Not Makeup, Darnit!

Rogues are incredibly versatile, so if you're planning a rogue submission, don't pigeonhole them into the "thief" persona unless that's what you wish them to be - with so much selection, a rogue can take almost any place if she's written right.

Rogues are not called rogues, as those who are wouldn't advertise it, and those who aren't would be offended.  (Though it is permissible to call the wittily quipping rogue "roguishly charming".  It may just get you smacked by anyone within arm's reach who's reading over your shoulder. )

And, please, Rogues are not Rouges.  The one is a versatile fighter/scout/thief/smoothtalker/whatever, the other is a powder.  (Granted, the former can become the latter if mixed with mages or dragons, but one would generally not wish to apply the result to one's face.)

And that's that!

Cheers,
Darkstorme.

(N.B.  Yes, I'm biased, with a primary rogue character, but sometimes I weep to see what is done with my.. erm.. noble profession.  *chuckles*)

103

CNR Suggestions/Discussion / Firebomb detonation

« on: February 06, 2007, 05:05:28 am »

Your rogue, laden with a couple fire or acid bombs sneaks into the middle of the group of ogres. Carefully he sets the bombs in their midst (drops them from inventory and stays in stealth). Once the rogue makes his way back to the group, he notches a flint-tipped arrow and lets it fly. Flames erupt from the first bomb as it is triggered. Another arrow, another eruption. The ogres, seeing where the arrow came from, charge and the battle is on!
  Suggestion is to make fire and acid bombs triggerable by attack from a flint arrow. The new CNR item, oak flint arrow with raven feathers, would be level 9 to use (same as the bombs). If further limits needed to be placed, make it only usable by rogues and rangers. The bombs would go off with any amount of damage. (I beg of you not to make it like fish where there is damage reduction; some of us rogues are weak.)
  This is kind of the poor man's trap. The ingredients for acid bombs are easily acquirable by rogues. Fire bombs require coal which takes a bit more effort to get.

104

General Discussion / Personal Accountability and Internet Gaming

« on: October 24, 2005, 12:37:00 am »

I wrote an apology letter to the boss here a short while ago, but I think that a few points of good sense I've picked up along the way might save a few people the same trouble I've found in this relatively new medium of socialization and fun.  Maybe there's something to take from it, maybe you're already a good ways ahead of me on figuring this out.  I don't know, but regardless, it's some things I think most people playing online games should think about.

Having traveled the full spectrum of being a nuisance player on Layonara to pulling my hair out running my own server filled with nuisances just like me to finally sitting back to being ashamed with the whole state of internet gaming, and general social behavoir online... I'm kind of down on how we treat each other.  It's amazing how little personal accountability we demonstrate.  In the land where you don't have to deal with someone face to face it has become acceptable behavoir to burn any bridge you please and act in a fashion that would get you knocked out were you in the same room as them.  It's juvenile, cowardly, and a fairly depressing tone for the future of personal interaction online.  It's as though we're inclined to modify our values that we'd normally act upon with a person you deal with face to face and compromise our integrity because we've somehow found it acceptable to do so when the person is anonymous and a veritable million miles away.  I personally, am embarrased at some of the things I've said to people online.  In particular Leanthar and co.  And seeing some of the things people do online... I'm astonished at how far from normal interaction this all has become.

The reason is simple.. there's no repercussion for your actions.  And it really begins to illustrate the character of these people as they take advantage of this and simply act as though nobody else online matters... that they simply exist for your enjoyment.

So anyhow.. a few things for people to think about:

- How you behave online actually says a lot about what kind of person you are.  If you don't think so, and you think it's totally separate from real life, then you should give it some more thought.  There's a person on the other end of that line that you should be dealing with as though you're in the same room.  Doing anything else really says a lot about how cowardly and petty you are as you take advantage of any opportunity to not be accountable for your actions as they bear repercussions for those around you.

- Staff, DM's, Devs... all people like you.  They've just alotted a lot of time into production.  And while no dev can abuse you because of all the 'work' they put into this... it certainly demands respect.  The best way to think about it (again in my opinion only which may not be right) is to think in terms of how much money you make at your job.  If you're young or don't have a job, think of your parent's and how much they make in their job.  Now open up the NWN toolset and make a house interior that's 8x8.  It's very easy.  Press toolset when you prompt NWN and go from there.  Decorate that house like it were your own and you were going to be able to have it as your house in game... so treat it like it counts.  Make a custom creature and then give it a dialogue in conversation.  It's not rocket science.  Now after you're done look at your watch and think about that hourly salary I told you to think about.  Salaries are all relative and we're all equal when it comes to time.  It has the same stealing effect on all of us.  Now think about the entire world of Layonara and picture making about 1500 of those that you just did with the same amount of detail and effort.  Then add in scripts etc, and more importantly the time changing things because of bugs, changes, or player requests/ comments.  It adds up to a lot of time.  A whole lot.  And while people tend to not value another person's time as much as their own.. I ask you to think of those hours in terms of your own salary at work because that's the only tangible way for most to equate it.  Yeah.  Lotta money.  So respect that person's efforts.  It never ends and they're continually taking their time to make a good game for you.  It's actually pretty profound to look back at my utter lack of respect for it.  

- It's incredibly simple.  Act like you're on the same team.  To the lead developer of the mod - all he or she is looking for is team players.  And more and more everyday is what's going to make them happy.  There is no 'us and them' to the dev.  There's just the vision of having a big happy family where everyone plays like they're on the same team.  There's no super secret decoder ring that you're given when you become a DM or Dev for the mod.  Or that 'high level' player.  It's just the time that's passed that lets them know they're on the same team.  If you just come in and treat the people around you like they're on your team and you're working towards the same goal - you're gold.  It's incredibly simple.  The only 'us and them' that ever exists is what happens when YOU initiate it from your own insecurities.  Then people wonder what's wrong with you.  It's true.  It's incredibly simple.

- Don't presume anything about the people playing next to you.  There are a lot of habits towards treating this game like a dirty little aspect of your life.  I don't know - probably because our mother's scolded us on how video games were rotting our brains when we were playing atari, sega, nintendo, etc growing up.  So the notion many people have is that since we were raised to think video games represents something substandard that the people playing online games are substandard too.  But it's alright that you're playing because you keep it separate from your life.  Well hold on a second on that one.  Wake up to the fact that you're playing video games like everyone else.  And realize that there's no other correct notion then respect of an equal to these people around you.  You can not presume anything else.  Start treating them with the respect that you would ask for yourself because there's a pretty good chance they're as 'cool' a person as you are that demands just as much respect.  Acting any other way of acting just illustrates that you either don't have the brain capacity to realize, or willingness to admit, that you're in this the same as everyone else.  Respect others because they are people very much so like you.

- Deal with things like a man (and for the women here I mean it in the John Wayne/ honorable sense).  There's a studly way to deal with your problems and/or complaints, and there are many very measly weak ways.  Getting angry and going to the forum to spam angry nonsense is akin to an upset three year old girl leaving a toystore without the toy she wants.  She kicks, screams, and pouts.. and hardly ever looks the problem source straight in the eye and talks it out like an adult.  It's simple - if you have a problem in real life what do you do?  What is the most honorable way of dealing with it?  You walk up to the person that is the source and you talk to them face to face without bringing others into it.  Online this means sending a mature PM to the person.  We all sense a crybaby when they start shouting.  Even I look at some of my old posts here and slap my hand to my forehead.  "My wife would be embarassed I'm her husband".  Be cool, be honorable... don't be a little girl.  It goes nowhere.

- And the last thing.  This is a simple one that's been said again and again.  But let me give it from another point of view maybe some don't have.  On Layonara I leveled as fast as I could.  I wanted to see everything as fast as possible - mostly out of excitement for the module and what I was seeing.  More more more.  It's the standard self-indulgent behavoir we're seeing a lot more of in the world.  Now later on... I've developed a world, let's say for figures I made all the monsters and 90% of the areas.  So I'm now online and excited to play... but I've already seen it all.  I know everything from the areas to where the thistle plant grows to the purple encounter triggers on every map.  Well what the hell do I do now?  Once you figure out that question you're guaranteed a good time on any server you're on.  Because nothing will matter anymore except your roleplay - because it's all you have in the end.

I guess in all of this I'm really just saying that we should all show a little personal accountability in our actions online.  It's a thing that seems to be vanishing from real life, which is pretty sad.  More and more people aren't able to admit that they're accountable for the decisions they make, and they look elsewhere to place the problem or blame.  Online it seems like it barely exists.  People don't hold themselves accountable for anything at all... because there is no aspect of the 'person' in personal.  If we were all in the same room forced to look each other in the eye one would immediately think 'wow this is going to be a pretty big fistfight'.  Because the things we say to each other and the way we act are simply not acceptable social standards.  But I don't think there'd be a fistfight really.  I think you'd have the people who act with values and integrity in everything they do standing aloof from the people who act with no shred of respect for their own actions online... and those ones would be standing there unable to look the others in the eye.  I urge everyone to act as though they're in the same room and their actions matter.  I actually think this sort of thing is starting to matter more and more in the world.  Show personal accountability in what you do and deal with people in an honorable and studly fashion.  They do exist, and what you're saying does influence their lives.