Posts Thanked By User

121

Roleplaying / Please don't be offended OOC by IC personalities/behaviours

« on: May 03, 2007, 10:01:22 am »

I thought I would like to highlight something in the scheme of things. That is this is primarily  a Roleplay Server and as such there are  a diverse number of personalities here ranging from the normal personalities to the quirky. There are times when there are good alignments and evil alignments.
  As such, not everyone is going to be normal...not everyone is going to be good and be helpful or be polite.  

What I am concerned about is that some people do take this personally and such that their characters reactions or the overall party may react OOCly, sometimes in a negative way and against what their characters are about...that the player has to change their character whole demeanour just so that they can join within groups or meet with new people. I think this is very sad, because it is losing part of what Layonara is about. That we lose the interaction between different types of personalities.  I enjoy now roleplaying with people with quirky/nasty personalities because it means I can fully RP my character how they would act and enjoy the reactions.

Now granted. . .there are going to be cases where where there maybe some characters that do reject the said person...and that maybe reflected IC. I accept that. I guess what I am trying to say is that when playing your character...don’t take offence when a character does act like that...and act as what your character would respond rather than what you will respond.

122

General Discussion / Positive Vibes

« on: May 03, 2007, 04:17:30 am »

I've seen an incredible amount of motivation from numbers of people in the past few weeks.
 
 I don't care what anyone says, it's there.
 
 The issue, and this whole declining attitude, is that everybody is feeding off each other's negativity.  All the while, the folks working incredible projects or more importantly working miracles of roleplay in game are keeping their mouths shut because they're either too busy or too complacent.
 
 There are incredibly fun things going on, and it has to work on all sides to make sure everyone feels it.  The people having a great time in game need to spread it around.  They need to realize the motivation they give each other in a bright spark of good roleplay, and probably divert their attention to making sure it's there for others.  The people who are acting a bit edgy in game need to snap their fingers near their ears and wake up.  And hey!  I'm not innocent!  Next time I'm in game and find myself off on east by myself doing nothing but wailing god knows what, I need to snap my fingers near my ear!  We all do at times and we all know how things could be better.  We've all had the glowing moments.  You just need to get that smile on your face because you know inside what this game can be like if everyone just snaps their fingers at once.  Because we definitely feed each other's moods, and it's a quick spiral downwards if folks stay down, and the opposite is just as true.
 
 I'm not ignorant, I know things come in waves.  And I know everyone has their time to shoulder the burden of keeping spirits up.  You think it's anything new that in a time of server changes there's a decline in motivation?  That the people usually on the forefront of maintaining excitement are perhaps so nose-deep in things that they're not out there with constant reminders of how great things have been, are, and will be?  Heck no!  It's always like this, on every update, change, and evolution on every server I've been a part of.  And there shouldn't be one shred of surprise in this.
 
 But I will say this, and it is a pointed statement.  It's the best of communities that keeps it together and picks up slack.  It's the best of communities that doesn't come bickering to the forums about some player or group of players but instead heads out with open arms to that despised person or people and instead tries to bring them into the fold.  It's not hard.  We weren't all born unto roleplay greatness and internet morality.  It takes some time and it takes a good community to help *everyone* find their place.
 
 I could post up pictures of this that and the next beautiful thing to come, but they're all empty areas, and monsters without theme, meaning, or any real reward... without people that are happy to be here.  And heck yeah I'm excited about these things people are working on and getting ready to put out there, but it all breaks in one swift blow over our knee if the motivation of the community isn't there when it comes.
 
 Be positive, show your best, spread the vibe.  I'm no hero in this sense but I'll try a bit harder too.  It's a fun ride uphill if we can just carry each other.
 
 And I sincerely thank every single person who is already working at this or reads this and maybe goes in game and tries to get things going positively, or remarks on IRC with things that will keep the positive vibes circling around.  It takes a village, and there are no exceptions.  We are all one community.

123

Roleplaying / If Cha is your dump Stat.....

« on: April 26, 2007, 06:31:58 am »

We have no comeliness Stat in the NWN nights engine....As such, Cha needs to represent a balance between characters attractiveness and 'people’ skills.  10 in NWN Stats is considered as average as I understand it...so with the above balance that would be pretty average looking and pretty average people skills.

I wonder how many people have Cha as their dump Stat...say 10 or lower and have amazingly attractive PC’s who also have great people skills?

Now...I’m sure some of you are saying....”what’s the harm in that?” Well....not everyone uses Cha as their dump Stat...Some people actually do sit and think how they wish their character to be looks and people skill wise and actually put the points into their Cha to reflect that.  In fact....everyone should be doing that at character creation....The whole point is that you can’t necessarily get all your Stats exactly how you’d want them so you do have to sacrifice some things.  If you’re playing your Cha 10 character as amazingly beautiful cause you wanted more Str or Con say....where’s your sacrifice?  The person putting their Cha at say 14 has made theirs.

Now remember it is all about balance...I have seen a Cha 8 character who was played as very good looking....Their IC people skills were terrible, I mean really terrible...It was some very excellent RP on the part of the player who was actually very sociable to be such an anti-social character all the time.

Take my own Cleric of Mist for example....She has Cha 12 and the following in her bio “She may be considered stunning by many but her eyes are what draw you to her, they seem to swirl, shifting with her mood much as the sea would in a storm but within them is a coldness that may detract from her beauty”....Anyone who has met her will agree she is NOT a people person...She is blunt, rude, judgemental and those are often her nicer traits!!! As such, I play her as being slightly more attractive than Cha 12 because her people skills are lower than those of Cha 12.....Obviously those are my perceptions of Cha 12 but most people can apply enough common sense so we are all pretty much working on the same page.

So have a thought when creating your character, requesting a description change and obviously RPing your character as to what the balance is between your characters attractiveness and people skills and if you want to be good at both...actually put the points into Cha to reflect that rather than getting yourself a 'freebie’ and using it as a dump Stat.

124

Fixed Bugs / Point of Interest Flags

« on: April 18, 2007, 11:13:58 am »

At this time when you find a flag and examine it, it merely states you found a point of interest or something and gives you the XP.
 
 My suggestion would be that when you examine the flag you actually get the story behind the point of interest. Explaining why it is actually a point of interest. I think that would provide quite a lot of lore and information regarding a particular place or area.
 
 Leanthar stated that this was his initial intention with these and asked that I log it as a bug report.

125

General Discussion / Partying: a personal request

« on: April 04, 2007, 06:31:38 pm »

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has experienced this:

You invite someone, or someone invites you into a party. Someone else wanders by, initiates conversation, inquires as to your purpose, and joins the party. You are about to set off to smack things. Suddenly, and without warning, another face appears on your sidebar... you mouse over their portrait, and see that they're on another continent . . . Strange. . . . And then, another person is added and another.  More people join (none of whom are actually present) until the entire population of Layonara is in a single party!  All of a sudden, everyone has a reason to wait before setting out, "One minute, it is vital that I stare at my navel before heading into battle." Lo and behold, all those little faces in the party bar just happen to wander by, having the urge to kill the same things at the same time at the same place.Funny how that works.

Seriously though, there is a big difference between:

Me: This is a strong foe we aim to battle. Perhaps I should send a bird to Lady Pwnsalot, to see if she would be interested in joining us.
Other Person: Indeed, her sword would be welcome!
Me: *summons a falcon and writes on some parchment*
[Tell] Falcon message: Myself and a few others aim to slay the fearsome rats in the sewers, but we cannot do it alone, would you care to join us?
[Tell from Lady Pwnsalot]: Verily! I would never turn down such an opportunity, I shall be there forthwith!
*invite Lady Pwnsalot*
Me: *Receives a not from a bird, reads it and nods sagely* She will be here to aid us as fast as her legs can carry her.

And:

[Tell]:Hey, wanna come kill some stuff with us?
[Tell from Lady Pwnsalot]: Sure, I'm in Allindor, just wait there for me, ok?
[Tell] n/p
*invite Lady Pwnsalot*

There are plenty of legitimate reasons why one might invite someone who isn't there at the moment, but please have the grace to ask the rest of the party members, and at least make an attempt to have some RP justification. Too often, this kind of thing just spirals out of control (although my initial description may be a tad exaggerated ). I know I'm not the only one who prefers small parties, so please try to remember when everyone wants their friend to come along, it can ruin things for many of us. If you want to have large parties that can run roughshod over anything, there are plenty of people who enjoy that too, but to make every gathering like that is disrespectful to the rest of us, in my opinion. It really doesn't take much imagination to invite people in an RP appropriate way that allows the group to have their input. Maybe character A will refuse to travel if character B  goes along. Maybe Character A is shy and doesn't want to fight with people he doesn't know. And maybe some of us just have OOC preferences, and feel left out when people are invited without some IC dialogue. A little bit of communication and courtesy go a long way.  Thanks.

*I hope this doesn't sound too whiny and ranty, as the title says this is just a personal request, based on my own play style, and I realize not everyone is going to agree with me here*

126

Introduce Yourself / Who's your granny?

« on: March 13, 2007, 09:12:40 am »

Hello, I'm Martha--Granny, bonsai artist, Layo addict.

I think I would be the oldest person playing on Layonara (at 63), except that my husband is even older than I am.  I have two grandchildren whom I also introduced to Layo.  They even play in game with me sometimes.  The third one is still learning her alphabet, but give her a few years and she'll be here.

I have about a hundred bonsai trees in various stages of neglect from playing here too much.  My game name, Serissa, is the name of a small tropical tree with tiny white flowers that is often used for bonsai.  It stinks when you cut it and drops dead if you look at it cross-eyed.  Seems appropriate!

I started reading science fiction in about sixth grade (when I discovered my dad's stash), and discovered fantasy somewhat later when I gulped down LOTR in one looong weekend.  I've been hooked ever since.

I discovered role-playing games when my son was in junior high, becoming DM for him and his friends.  That was when D&D was being touted as dangerous to our youth--a few idiots got hurt acting it out in real life.  He grew up and went on to other things.  (I don't know where I failed him.)  I stayed hooked, playing nearly every computer RP game that came along.  I moved to on-line worlds about five years ago and discovered Layo a couple of years ago.  Haven't gone anywhere else since.

I grew up mostly in Texas, but have also lived in Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana and New Jersey.  I've been living in West Virginia for nearly forty years, and it's the best.  There are woods right outside my back door, but it's only a ten minute walk to the store if I'm really in a hurry.  There are great places for hiking and camping all over the place, and the scenery is wonderful.  I've been to most of our western states and Hawaii, and to Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, England, and even Tahiti, but this is the place I love most (except for Layo, of course).

I love to cook.  I even bake our bread and make my own soup stocks.  The best part is that my husband usually cleans up after me.  I love being retired--the only alarm clock I set is to get up in time for a Layo quest.  Considering all the dumb things I've done, I'm proud to have made it to age 63, and love being the age I am.

I hope to meet you in game and have lots of fun!

Serissa

127

Introduce Yourself / Obligatory Introduction Thinggy

« on: March 12, 2007, 07:34:38 am »

Well Hey, This looks fun so I suppose I’ll write a little blurb up to.

...

Hi!

Anyway, My name is Jessica, Lynn Juniper is a pen name from my middle name and the street I was born on, in case you’d like to know. I’m 18 as of last December and a freshmen (urg) in college studying Journalism as my major. I enjoy writing (anything really) editing ( I try not to do it unless asked), Reading/being read to (yes I’m childish in that aspect) , and hmm...Video games!

Well I started the whole RPG thing with Final Fantasy and liked those a whole lot up until around the time I got my first computer, then I decided to give MMORPGs a try at the prodding of a friend and downloaded Ragnarok Online. Well that was fun for a little while at least, in a cute little way. All the while I participated heavily in Text based rping with a small group of friends that would write 20 page posts in a round creating the story as we went along. Meanwhile NWN sits in a dusty corner of my room until one day around a year ago I decide to pick It up because I’ve heard of people using it to make their own RP worlds. I clicked on some random “NWN Prestige World Top 100” List, found Layonara , clicked and joined. And well, Here I am.

Well, I guess I should say that I’m online quite often and am always around to answer any questions the best I can. My main character, unless you don’t know already, is Rhynn, and if you don’t know her yet you will. A lot of people love her, a lot of people hate her. But I have lots of fun with her and hope that my RP experience with you, fun times, or conflict, is enjoyable. See you in game!


EDIT:  Fear the blurriness of my crappy camera.