Posts Thanked By User

381

Just for Fun / A Game Master is Like an Author

« on: February 24, 2008, 09:12:57 pm »

Friends,

I was thinking about GMs and their styles.  Which are my favorite and why.  Then I realised that I like a lot of different GM styles, just as I like a lot of different authors. One way to describe a GM's style is to liken it to an authors style.

Who are your favorite GMs and what are their styles?  I'll get us started,

Canuslupis (Dezza) is like David Gemmall.  The best selling author of Heroic fantasy.  Gritty realistic battles.  A strong masculine adventuring.  Death is real.  Legends are born on the stories of the past.

Shadow (Pseudonym) is like Terry Pratchett.  Best know for his satirical fantasty discworld series.  The absurd and the mundane become a playground of wit and puzzles.  Pay attention to the trickery of words!

Keep them coming.

-Stragen

382

World Leader Development Quests (WLDQ's) / Daralith Del'Mar WLCDQ App

« on: October 12, 2007, 02:01:02 am »

Character: Daralith Del'Mar
Level: 20
Character Born on Date: October 4th, 2004

Original Character Application: http://forums.layonara.com/character-approvals/91423-daralith-delmar.html

Character Development Thread: http://forums.layonara.com/development-journals-discussion/102340-arch-mage-delmars-journal-accountings.html

383

Ask A Gamemaster / Ask the Loremaster: Cosmology

« on: August 05, 2007, 10:32:30 am »

Please post any questions on the new cosmology here. I will make this a running thread and update questions/answers.

1) considering how much shadow has been dealt with, including one of our World Leaders, an entire branch of the the Bloodstone plot quests, a complete shadow language, and the shadow dancer class in general, can you please fill us in on where Shadow fits in to the new Cosmology?

Shadows come from a lower/lowest energy world (so the low frequency worlds, see Mortal Coil description). Hence why their touch drains energy from creatures from a higher energy world. Their opposites are the Radiances from higher frequency worlds.

The shadow language is actually the language of the Lumbral, which those who went on that plot series received. So a more proper name would be the Lumbral language.

The shadowdancer does not travel to other lower frequencies when hiding in shadow, they're just very adept at using darkness and light. The summon shadow is something like summoning (so magic) and we're stuck with the D&D way of doing things there for NWN. The new planes structure was not made to accommodate all D&D specifics of course, as we're moving away. Some things will fit, others will not.

2) On the time section, does that mean that time passes more slowly for the negative energy realms than for the positive energy realms or is the frequency you're talking about there something different than the frequency of the realm itself?

The former.


3) How does Greater Sanctuary work now, as in D&D you walk the ethereal plane?

This is one of the things the new cosmology and D&D differ greatly as there is no ethereal plane. You can consider it as some kind of better invisibility, you not walking another frequency for example.

384

Introduce Yourself / Stragen

« on: June 18, 2007, 03:52:13 am »

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I plan to stick around as long as possible.

385

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*

386

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.

387

Layonara Server / Voice Command Tips

« on: November 19, 2005, 01:03:00 am »

I'm currently thinking of a way to give everyone the ability to create a Voice, as I know some Human and Half Elf classes don't get any Ears.  However, as long as there is an NPC, summon, or familiar around, no Voice is needed.

You can turn off listening to these emotes by selecting "Toggle *emote* Commands" using your Emote Wand.

Emotes you can use
-----------------------
agree     Plays the Listen animation briefly(example: *agrees*)
begs      Plays the Talk Pleading animation until cancelled (example: *begs for food*)
bends     Plays the Get Low animation until cancelled (example: *bends over to pick up an object*)
bored     Plays the Bored animation briefly (example: *looks bored*)
bow       Plays the bow animation (example: *bows stiffly*)
celebrate Plays a Cheer voicechat and animation (example: *celebrates*)
chats     Plays the Normal Chat animation until cancelled (example: *chats with the group*)
cheer     Plays a Cheer voicechat and animation (example: *cheers for victory*)
chuckle   Plays the Laugh voicechat and emote (example: *chuckles*)
curtsey   Plays the bow animation (example: *curtsey*)
demand    Plays the Forceful Chat animation (example: *demands your attention*)
dice      Plays the Get Mid animation (example: *rolls some dice*)
drink     Plays the Drink animation (example: *drinks a swig of ale*)
drunk     Plays the Drunk animation until cancelled (example: *staggers drunkenly*)
exhausted Plays the Tired animation(example: *looks exhausted*)
fatigue   Plays the Tired animation(example: *looks fatigued*)
fiddle    Plays the Get Mid animation until cancelled (example: *fiddles with the lock*)
fidget    Plays the Pause animation until cancelled (example: *fidgets nervously*)
flop      Plays the Dead Front animation until cancelled (example: *flops on the ground*)
giggle    Plays a giggle, if female (example: *giggles*)
greet     Plays the greeting voicechat (example: *greets NPC*)
hooray    Plays a Cheer voicechat and animation (example: *hooray*)
hums      Applies a Bard Song effect for 6 seconds (example: *hums a tune*)
laugh     Plays the Laugh voicechat and emote (example: *laughs out loud*)
meditate  Plays the Meditate animation until cancelled (example: *meditates on the word Om*)
mock      Plays the Taunt voicechat and animation (example: *mocks*)
nap       Applies a Snoring Sleep effect to the caller (example: *takes a short nap*)
nod       Plays the Listen animation briefly(example: *nods*)
peers     Plays the Look Far animation until cancelled (example: *peers in the distance*)
plead     Plays the Talk Pleading animation until cancelled (example: *pleads with the jury*)
pray      Plays the Meditate animation until cancelled (example: *prays to Pelor*)
prone     Plays the Dead Front animation until cancelled (example: *falls prone*)
reads     Plays the Read animation once (example: *reads the old book*)
scratch   Plays the Scratch Head animation once (example: *scratches head*)
salute    Plays the Salute animation once (example: *salutes stiffly*)
scans     Plays the Look Far animation until cancelled (example: *scans the room*)
search    Plays the Look Far animation until cancelled (example: *searches the area*)
shifts    Plays the Pause animation until cancelled (example: *shifts position*)
sings     Applies a Bard Song effect for 6 seconds (example: *sings a ditty*)
sips      Plays the Drink animation (example: *sips some coffee*)
sleep     Applies a Sleep effect to the caller (example: *sleeps briefly*)
smokes    Creates a smoke puff at head level (example: *smokes*)
snore     Applies a Snoring Sleep effect to the caller (example: *snores loudly*)
steal     Plays the Steal animation once (example: *deftly steals*)
stoops    Plays the Get Low animation until cancelled (example: *stoops low*)
stretch   Plays the Bored animation briefly (example: *stretches*)
swipe     Plays the Steal animation once (example: *swipes some quarters*)
talks     Plays the Normal Chat animation until cancelled (example: *talks to the bartender*)
taunt     Plays the Taunt voicechat and animation (example: *taunts*)
threaten  Plays the Forceful Chat animation (example: *threatens the bartender*)
tired     Plays the Tired animation(example: *looks tired*)
wave      Plays the greeting animation (example: *waves*)
whistles  Applies a Bard Song effect for 6 seconds (example: *whistles a tune*)
woozy     Plays the Drunk animation until cancelled (example: *looks woozy*)
worship   Plays the Worship animation until cancelled (example: *worship the shrine*)
yawn      Plays the Bored animation briefly (example: *yawns loudly*)

Special Emotes
--------------
"sits" and "drink" together in the same emote - Sits on the floor, then plays drinking animation. If you are already sitting, then you continue to sit (example: *drinks and continues to sit*)
"sits" and "reads" together in the same emote - Sits on the floor, then plays reading animation. If you are already sitting, then you continue to sit (example: *sits and read*)
"sits" and "floor" together in the same emote - Plays the Sit Down on Floor animation until cancelled (example: *sits on the floor*)
"shakes head" - A "head shake" animation (example: *shakes head*)