Tarquinus

There are a number of very good roleplayers in MD, but not all of them are necessarily good [i]judges[/i] of roleplay. I will not participate in a discussion of what makes good roleplay. That has been done without satisfying anyone. Innocence - in all her various incarnations - is the best roleplayer I've ever known. She tends to be very opinionated, and is not what I would call the most impartial judge in the world, but her roleplaying skill is without equal, in my opinion. As far as other good judges of roleplaying skill go, I would feel remiss if I did not mention Amoran and Peace. Love them, hate them, or be indifferent to them, they are strong roleplayers and know another one when they see one.

Happy Birthday.

Happy (belated) birthday.

Happy Birthday.

Ha. Leave it to phantasm to beat me to the punch with Pong. We ain't gettin any younger. Tron ruled. So did Discs of Tron. Other arcade memories: Lunar Lander. Xevious. Galaga (and its predecessor, Galaxian). Reactor. Warlords. Xenophobe. GORF (ha ha, Space Cadet!). Sinistar. I remember lots of old Atari and Intellivision games, too many to count. Ah, youth. Pitfall gets a gold star, though. Early PC games: the original Castle Wolfenstein (schweinhund!) and its sequel. Choplifter. Wizardry. And for the Sega Genesis: Road Rash. Star Control FTW(!!!). Earthworm Jim. Toe Jam and Earl.

I hate to disagree with Marv, but I think this would be a good use of the Libs. I have trouble giving bursts away, which used to be my most reliable means of losing XP. I applaud those who have bothered to hang around GoS with Regen rituals set: thank you. I have a finite amount of time I can be online as Tarq and Keith, and you make my time a little bit easier, a little bit more pleasurable.

Happy (belated) Birthday, 'kets.

Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday!

Miq

[quote name='(Zl-eye-f)-nea' date='19 June 2010 - 06:16 AM' timestamp='1276946215' post='62240']A substantial number of people have been offended by the lack of consideration given via the process of killing via an item that is currently mechanically possible - that much should now be obvious. The response, on the whole from the other side has been "I don't care, it's possible, it's allowed, so I'll do it." [/quote] That point is valid, and it stands. My intention was to use something wholly in the game, of the game, for the game in order to create an interesting quest that tells a story. I can see in retrospect why the one-sidedness of Ivorak's dagger caused problems, raised objections, and so forth. My intention is not to kill someone else without permission again; my intention is merely to find another character, event, or thing around which a story may be woven. Whatever the focus is, it must be a [i]MagicDuel[/i] thing rather than a story woven from personal backstories or other out-of-game considerations. Unfortunately I didn't make it clear from the start that the incident of Mya's assassination was meant to provoke a relatively large-scale fight. In my mind, the ideal MagicDuel quest offers something to all players, from snooty roleplayers to cunning (or in some cases, stubborn) grinders and all points in between, including those who wish nothing more than to create havoc. The trick is getting the right people involved in the setup and assuring their consent to the story and its open-ended structure, all the while keeping the whole thing secret. Impossible? Of course not. But difficult all the same. I am grateful to you, Z, for raising the issue of consent. Though many of us are adults and theoretically can separate in-game events from real life emotions, things don't always work out so neatly. You haven't dismantled me, and I did not intend to imply you had; you have raised the standard for such an endeavor, and that is a good thing.

[quote name='Rhaegar Targaryen' date='19 June 2010 - 03:44 AM' timestamp='1276937095' post='62230'] Children of the Eclipse will stay in their own business unwilling or too afraid to done anything of importance to Loreroot... Some things will never change. [/quote] You have made an enemy where you once had a friend. Is that the change you sought?

To defend the land in time of war (and torch, if the king wishes). To respect the king an the elders of the land; to obey the king, not as a person, but as the king, for the good of the land and the honor of the crown. To engage in honest colloquy with other Lorerootians, keeping the culture alive and vibrant, and keeping relations between the alliances strong. To defend other Lorerootians by word and deed. To use one's imagination for the good of the land, be it from writing quest or poem, from holding events, or from instructing newcomers in the ways of battle, etiquette, and how to unravel the mysteries of MagicDuel [i]for themselves[/i].

You might try asking Ivorak, if you don't want to bother Mur, who is certainly a busy man.

Happy Birthday!

I am awarding the Golemu drachorn to Lightsage. I would be most grateful if a moderator would close this thread.

[quote]Don't get me wrong: the main idea of the quest was good but the implementation sucked.[/quote] dst, this is the only part of your post that is worth responding to, because it is accurate. Thank you for the feedback. [b]Edited for clarity[/b]

I was wondering when this would be noticed. Elthen rented two keys to Pample and advised her strictly that there was a relatively brief time limit on keeping them. Then he disappeared. Pample and Keith have taken blatant, flagrant advantage of his absence. Someone else needs to be given the keys, and they need to return to general circulation of the MD community. The question of what to do with the silver is a good one, and one I confess I had not thought of.

I am not afraid to call you the current standard bearer for the anti-roleplaying faction, no, but it is a phenomenon I have observed since I first joined the game. It has always annoyed me. You are but the latest critic. If you think Tarq's role is that of a mannered knight, you haven't gone far into his role. Do you care to? Almost certainly not. Do I care whether you care? No. I did not feel your input in the quest was completely out of place, but I did feel that you were being antagonistic and clearly trying to shut down the thing before it even started. Had you continued to be involved, you would have been considered for a reward. You chose not to be. That was your choice. You will never convince me that the big bad roleplayers shut you down and made you go cry in a corner. You simply weren't interested, and said as much twice. You consider the action rude? Is that a... scruple I see? Oh, no. My mistake. Just invective. carry on.

I understand, Firs, and I agree. I was merely giving voice to a personal preference to mortality in RPGs.

[quote name='(Zl-eye-f)-nea' date='16 June 2010 - 05:18 AM' timestamp='1276683513' post='61980'][i]"I was--and remain--far, far less worried about pleasing people who are fundamentally opposed to roleplay, or people who will roleplay anything whatsoever when they are bored"[/i] This covers 100% of MD players, including yourself, so I don't really get your point there?[/quote] I refer to the extreme camps. Some players seem to have an inveterate hatred of roleplay, and who they are and why they have it is a whole other topic. The other end of the spectrum, those who will roleplay anything - [u]anything at all[/u], whether anyone else thinks it is interesting or not - are a choir that doesn't need to hear my sermon. The ones that I want to reach are those like the few that came to me and told me this quest had changed their minds about roleplaying and showed them how much fun it could be. [quote]From your last statement it seems to be that you won't bow to a particular group suggesting something isn't right?[/quote] Discussion is fine, but you will find me intransigent. My belief in the efficacy and utility of the simple fact of mechanics, even if they are bent, abused, broken, or otherwise, is unlikely to be shaken. I am opposed to roleplay that disregards systemic resolutions in favor of civilized consent, which in my experience both in MD and out of it is depressingly rare. You can't "godmode" in GURPS, D&D, Call of Cthulhu, or any LARP I've ever played. It's systemically impossible. [quote]Scope wise...I've had to get consent from a lot of people for story things before, it's really not difficult.[/quote] That may be your experience, but it varies from mine. Mya was in fact the fourth candidate for this particular quest, and she seems to have been an excellent choice. I found that other characters as popular or important were unwilling, for various reasons, to cede control of their personal characters' stories in the interest of the greater game. The timing of the murder was inconvenient to her, deliberately, and its resolution (still) uncertain... and she has handled it all with enviable and exemplary grace. [quote]What I'm saying is, the story set a precident, a precident that could have very bad consequences that a number of people appear to be blind to or just really couldn't give a damn about so long as they get their way.[/quote] The precedent is not set by the story but by the existence of the item, which was no invention of mine. I learned of its existence almost by accident, and happened to be in a position to influence its owner to play along. [quote]The situation set a precident for item scripting, I don't think the precident is ok for the following reasons: Firstly, it means anyone can kill anyone without warning for any reason (or lack of) they like. Secondly, the victim has 0 control over that.[/quote] I fail to see how this is different, really, from being beaten by six-drac rituals constantly every time Keith sits in a public place. To the extent there is a difference, it is one of degree. I don't say, *Keith Moon attempts to harm dst*. I attack her and fail because of the way the system works and because of her devotion to learning how best to use it; Keith is not the weakest fighter in the game, but being an alt and an easygoing one at that, has not devoted the same amount of time and energy to sharpening his combat skills to the extent of a Burns, a Jtz Champion, or a dst. You can say, "oh, that is your choice," but it is not much of a choice if my alternative is to abandon Tarquinus and/or spend a fair amount of time in sanctuaries. No: the game is set up to work a certain way, and by playing it I agree to abide by the "laws of nature" in this world. If there happens to be a quasi-lethal scripted item in the game, or six, or twelve, that can incapacitate a character for a week or more, I call that a [i]risk[/i]: danger, yes, but also opportunity. Storytelling is much easier and more satisfying when risks are higher. Will a powerful thing be abused? Yes. Always. Invariably. No matter what it is. I still play the game. I do not fear the proliferation of such items as the stone dagger. I wish there were more like it. And as a man who has spent a good bit of the past two decades playing [i]Call of Cthulhu[/i], I wish there were items and situations in MD that could kill characters [b]permanently[/b]. Frankly, I don't see that happening in MD. I take what I find, and as a player and a quest designer, I make the best of it. I have not found discussions of "[x] should not be like it is" to be helpful to this community. People tend to agree, often at the top of their voices, and Mur goes along and does his thing anyway. That's the reality of it, and I accept MD for the flawed but beautiful, unique jewel it is. [b]Edit in response to Firs:[/b] Yes, I agree that such things are clearly intended for the use of roleplay, as are many of the spells in the wish shop. If we could stop them being abused, wouldn't we? I have enough faith in Mur to think anything egregiously abused will eventually be rectified and/or policed.

Obviously, the whole thing could have been handled better. I made many mistakes in running and playing the quest. Still, if I had it to do over again, I'd not change much, if anything. I don't want to get sidetracked into a discussion of the idea of the events' reality or verisimilitude, though you raise valid points there. I will say, in brief, that some of your objections are based on things beyond the control of an ordinary player with few special powers or privileges. If I must, I will address all your objections line by line. There is a group of people in the game who seem to despise roleplaying and to not understand the point of it. I have long believed that game mechanics must govern all roleplayed disputes, and after all the time I've spent running and playing tabletop RPGs, I am set in that belief. I was most interested in persuading people "on the fence", who prefer combat and might be interested in roleplay if they saw a point to it. I was--and remain--far, far less worried about pleasing people who are fundamentally opposed to roleplay, or people who will roleplay anything whatsoever when they are bored. A story must have conflict in order to offer interest, and no matter how you look at it, Mya's murder was interesting. It's all very well to say roleplaying must be based on consent, and indeed it must, but I ask you to consider the scope of the thing and how many people must be involved to carry it off, the limitations of what tools are available, and the impossibility of pleasing or persuading everyone. Your forthrightness about how you would have reacted to Zleiphnir's murder is bold and appreciated - and it is, in fact, very like the reaction of the dagger's first victim - yet it does make me appreciate Mya's reasonable nature and strong roleplaying skill all the more. I am sensible of your kindness in waiting to post this, and in praising the effort. Thank you. The thing was fun, and I will do something very like it again as soon as the chance presents itself. [b]Edited for grammar, typos, and clarity[/b]

It pleases me to announce the end of this story quest, and I hope most of y'all had as much fun as I did. [size="6"][center][b]Rewards[/b][/center][/size] The poll above will help determine the winner of the Golemus drachorn. [u][b]Wish Points[/b][/u] Wish Points are awarded for a high level of quest [i]participation[/i]. In general, roleplaying is important to a story quest, but there are other factors, including combat performance, reasoning, and overall involvement. The following player characters, in my opinion, did much to help bring this "story" to life: [list] [*]Kyphis - very solid involvement from start to finish. Impressive, and a pleasure to work with. [*]Lightsage - I have to say, this player character really surprised me, involved early and full of constructive comments during Act II. [*]*Mya Celestia* - Not just for being a good sport about being murdered (we did not ask her permission), but for outstanding roleplaying and yes, good generalship. [*]Totenkopf - for being very funny and making the whole thing more fun for all involved. Hail Eris! [/list] [u][b]Honorable Mention[/b][/u] If I hadn't spent all my silver and then some on mercenaries, I would give some to each of these player characters, who in their respective ways added a great deal to the experience. I will find a way to reward them one way or another. [list][*]Amoran K Kol - a huge factor in the big push toward the Eastern Lands in Act II. Nominated for MVP by another player who barely knows her and is NOT a Lorerootian. [*]Clock Master - arrived just in time to stop the Ivorak-team's late rally, and stop it cold with strong tactics. Most impressive. [*]Dmik King - earned his weight in silver as a mercenary for Ivorak's team. Nearly turned the tide singlehandedly. [*]Virtuous Pride - provided a detailed medical report of the state of Mya's body early on. I can't praise this player character enough. [/list] Thanks to all who participated. More than one player told me that the quest made them interested in roleplaying, and that, my dears, was the whole point. And we had fun! I also learned some important things about how these things run, so you really helped me more than you might realize.

If you call ten hours of fighting quickly, then yes.