Major Change to Playing Format Coming Soon

Dear Players:

I have given a great deal of thought about the evolution of Caer Falken lately. At the completion of two years, it has become far more than my earliest anticipation. Whereas we started with three hard core players, two intermittent players, and three others that were destined not to last, our core base has now grown to a solid five, with six on many days, and an occasional seven. Essentially, we have doubled our player base, and I am given to understand we have more on the way.

I have constantly asked for input from the player base, both public and private, and the desires of the playership vary. I am thinking of making a major change in the way we will experience Caer Falken, and I am giving advance warning, just in case my astrologers have misread the stars.

Most of the steady players have been of two minds about their characters. Some have favorites they would prefer to play all the time while others like to switch around. Some find that even two characters are limiting. On the other hand, we don?t want to have too many either, as it confuses those who prefer continuity.

The continuity factor is a major issue. The original concept of chatting in the inn during the week just doesn?t work since Be Seen removed its Chat interface. The newer chat rooms just don?t measure up and makes the free form chatting harder to do. With different characters popping in every week, the characters no longer bond with each other, nor do they feel they can work adequately together, from teamwork, friendship and tactical vantages. In the current format, anyone not involved in the Devonshire plotline would get only one week a month to play, and those who were supposedly committed to the Devonshire Plotline are not able to always attend (and real life has always had that nasty tendency to get in the way anyway).

More and more, the growth of characters, the development of skills, the bonds they form with each other through interaction, all serve to make the old Caer Falken format rather trite and watery. The real meat and potatoes of role playing is the campaign. It is ironic that I conceived of Cattalinia and the Inn based on the unlikelihood of getting a viable campaign going, especially with the resources available over two years ago. Now we have enough interest in steady playing for not just one campaign, but two.

My plan, unless there is overwhelming rejection of it by the playership, is the following:

Starting very soon, there will be two simultaneous campaigns. For lack of better wording, I will call them the Hero Campaign and the Training Campaign, each to be played in alternating weeks. Caer Falken will remain the base of operations, the starting point, the ?home port? or ?headquarters?.

The Training campaign would be for new, starting characters, of low level. The old style Cattalinia storytelling would still be in effect, though perhaps not in the same manner. Perhaps I might have you return to the Inn each week, maybe every now and then, or perhaps only when the fates have decided you are too weak to go on without a resting period, need a chance to supply up, or in the worst case scenarios, when characters die and need replacing.

The Hero Campaign would include seasoned characters, those who have survived to high levels. These are the characters who will have the strongest bonds, the most history, the most powerful items, and are most likely to hit epic levels of adventure. Characters lost in this scenario are more likely to return by various means, and when they don?t, there are standby characters for almost all players. Eventually, the Training campaign characters may cross over into the Hero Campaign, replacing the fallen, or merely giving some heroes time to take a break for personal agendas, much the way Aoborr, Celene and Seara have done. The Hero Campaign may get their start for each adventure with Cattalinia, but will more likely continue from place to place based on leads and hooks. Occasional travel to the Caer Falken Inn may still be needed to drop off gold or recover old items, and these times would also afford good occasions to switch off characters if so desired.

There are some sacrifices to be made in this format. Players will no longer be able to bring in just any old character, and it commits players to playing just one or two characters for long stretches, depending upon how many campaigns you are in. Those who wish minimal time gaming can sign on to just one. The hard core players will get two steady characters. Those involved in campaigns but cannot make it for the night will be handled in ways that best fit into the evening. They may be left recovering in an inn, standing guard somewhere, on recon, or simply ghosting behind the party.

There is no doubt that the losers here are those players who never wanted to be involved in a full campaign, those who liked the freedom of simply playing whenever they felt like it. While I regret that I cannot please everyone, I really think this plan is the way to make the most people happy. This plan will likely go into effect as soon as the new players have chosen characters. It also allows players to start with new low level characters if they want to. While most of you have new characters already in play, do not feel that you are stuck with those if you would rather take this time for something new.

As always, feedback is not only welcome, but encouraged. I would like to think that I have walked a steady line between DM authority and leadership and allowing for player participation in the overall Caer Falken experience. I don?t intend to stop.

Sincerely,
Christopher R. Regan
Dungeon Master
Innkeeper
Starshadow

This message has been sent to both the Yahoo Forum, as well as the Hostboard.

This is an interesting idea, and is similar to something I participate in on another online game I play on Saturday.

I'm willing to commit Caela to the 'Training' Campaign while either Gwylln or Celene enter into the next 'Heroic' one, post Devonshire.

I like the idea too, and must admit a good part of it is because two new friends of mine are the ones that really caused this effect!! I like I like. Ok....and of course, Merilin is primary hero, but don't forget Seara! And Ravensong will be my training barbarian.

Welcome to the new players, looking forward to you both joining us!

I really like the idea of alternating character/ adventures from week to week. Marren in training...hmmm

Bring it on - I'm all about this idea. One aspect that I find compelling is that one can be in a campaign without committing to three or four Fridays a month. There will likely be times in the future where I will be unable to do that, and I like the opportunity to be in one of the two campaigns.
I can't say for certain who my trainee will be . . . likely my rogue, but as some of you know, I have a character waiting in the wings for the right chance to debut. Who knows?

Greetings eveyone,
First off, thanks Christopher for the upcomming oportunity to play in one of your campiagns. I am very much looking forward to it. I am trying to familiarize myself with the boards/forums the best I can to be more ready. The biggest challenge for me right now is picking what class of character to play.. Things have changed greatly since i first played...yep back in the 70's..hehe. But I am close to narrowing it down. I am looking forward to roleplaying with you all and any helpful advice or input to get me on the right track will be greatly appreciated. Have a great day all.
Mark .... (soon to have a character)

Oh well, I myself enjoy having a potluck to choose from and bringing in "just any old character" but I can completely understand how hard that can be to rationalize and make the DM's work load that much harder.

As for who would be my 'main two', as of yet, I am totally unsure. I tend to vacilitate anyways, so I may just hang back and see what's made.
Aksor was/is fun as 'one of the gang' but I am unsure if I want him as half my gaming characters for this.

It didn't help that a friend gave me "Tome and Blood" (hello wizards and sorcerers) and get my mind going in that direction.

I know this is frustrating to the DM, and apologize for that. My own thoughts on my characters are thus:

Andrin- I think I'll retire him. He's died once, and got very spooked by it, and besides, Bards are notoriously prone to wandering off anyways. [img]smile.gif[/img] This means a certain elven rogue (if used) will have to get invisibility spells from someone else, but them's the breaks.

Aoborr- While quite smitten by a lady fire hair of his aquaintance, Aoborr also wishes to learn of "What was lost" to his people, and perhaps find them a land to conquer. This could mean he's ideal for retiring as he goes 'off on his own quest', or his background could be ideal for some high level stuff. He still wants to assemble a certain sword.

Aksor- (Note to self, I use too many A names for characters) Aksor is still a bit raw, but he does have the distinction of being the first half orc to be played in CF (My claim to fame [img]wink.gif[/img] ). He does feel a bit redundant at times with so many warriors of comparible level, but he's got the potiential for a lot of depth...even if he does pick his nose.

Jaskyn- Ever my most reluctant adventurer in someways, Jaskyn has his temple plans. He could easily retire after doing so (Perhaps even as priest of that temple). His main reason for adventuring beyond that is either going along with Lynliss his love, or Seara, his sister. Motivating him beyond the above reasons can be a bit hard, but on the other hand, clerics are surely needed.

So the only SURE thing I can say for now is that Andrin is on the 'retired' list. Not much, but it's a start.

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Originally posted by Sylvrr Knight:
Greetings eveyone,
First off, thanks Christopher for the upcomming oportunity to play in one of your campiagns. I am very much looking forward to it. I am trying to familiarize myself with the boards/forums the best I can to be more ready. The biggest challenge for me right now is picking what class of character to play.. Things have changed greatly since i first played...yep back in the 70's..hehe. But I am close to narrowing it down. I am looking forward to roleplaying with you all and any helpful advice or input to get me on the right track will be greatly appreciated. Have a great day all.
Mark .... (soon to have a character)

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Greetings back,

My advice would be to play what class and concept you know you'd enjoy (within the DM's restrictions, natch) [img]smile.gif[/img] Not much help, I know, but if you don't like a particular class, don't play it, even if you think the group could use it.

Don't be afraid to bug Christopher for details on his setting via email etc. While he likes to keep something vague at start overall(so he can develop them later) if you have a question about where a particular class or concept might have come from in the kingdom, he's very helpful, or will perhaps even take your own suggestions/wishes and incorporate them. THat's how the "Barbos" came into being for example, and voila, I had a people for Aoborr to come from.

Andrin- I think I'll retire him. He's died once, and got very spooked by it, and besides, Bards are notoriously prone to wandering off anyways. This means a certain elven rogue (if used) will have to get invisibility spells from someone else, but them's the breaks.

This just plain sucks...I love Andrin...he rules..Stranng is very fond of Andrin(considering he has saved his @## more than once from choices that has lead to near death). Stranng will miss him greatly.

Welcome Sylvrr Knight...Look forwrd to playing with you..My humble suggestion take any character that may have a reasonable resistance to death effects early on [img]biggrin.gif[/img] it seems that whenever we bump into an evil wizard at low levels we see a pinch of black dust and are steadily on our way to meet our makers... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Now Stranng don't go scaring off the Newbie. [img]smile.gif[/img] Besides we've not encountered any spellcasting opponents with the training group, though if someone made those fairies hostile last time...

Welcome aboard.

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Originally posted by Dramavictim:

My advice would be to play what class and concept you know you'd enjoy ... if you don't like a particular class, don't play it, even if you think the group could use it.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I cannot stress that advice enough. I only recently played a character in Everquest because I thought my "group" could use it. My group (my wife) outgrew me and left me, leaving me with a character I hated, and so I lost a month as I started from scratch. I played a dwarven cleric in another game only because I felt a dwarf was needed, as was a cleric. I hated playing both that race and that class, and I didn't play long.

I want you to embrace a character you will love first, and if it benefits the party, that's gravy. Clearly if you have three favorite character types and the party needs one of them, well then that's a no brainer.

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Originally posted by Dramavictim:

Don't be afraid to bug Christopher for details on his setting via email ... if you have a question about where a particular class or concept might have come from in the kingdom, he's very helpful

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This is my game and I make no bones about telling players no, you can't do that. Some may think me harsh, but everything I do is with the intent to create a better game for you all. Judging by the players who return, I guess I am somewhat successful. But on the flip side, I am not stingy with the creative sharing gig. I work very closely with any player who has certain goals in mind or creative character concepts they wish to pursue. I have had creative input on Aoborr, Gwylln, Merilin and Ravensong, as well as others. I would prefer characters who are well thought out to those generated randomly on e-Tools. Contact me at [email protected] when you are ready!

When do you forsee making this change? If after the Devonshire School, and that takes us as long to wrap up as the cave during which we fought Mirolna and the Temple of Death, it'll be a month or more.

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Originally posted by Lyssandra:
When do you forsee making this change?

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">The change process will not affect Devonshire except in terms of how often that campaign gets played. Once the lower level campaign begins, we will alternate every other week, and yes, Devonshire may indeed take months (like Mirolna)

Normally we would have our next non-Devonshire game May 7. That is when I plan to start the newbie campaign. If the two new players get me their approved characters by then, and the older players determine which characters to run (or even make new ones)prior to that, we may begin that new campaign May 30. This weekend is too soon to prepare.

Hostile fairies...more like a DM who loves to mire those with tall and brash words in irony.. [img]wink.gif[/img] . If I remember corectly there was a certain ogre mage that almost froze some of us to death but I see what you mean, a cone of cold is a long way off from a circle of death. Anyway...welcome to both the new players...I am relatively new to the past and current D+D, I find our DM to be very patient with the creation and evolution of characters...I look forward to sharing the Inn with you both!

maybe next time I will remember CORRECTLY...lol

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Originally posted by Dramavictim:
Andrin- I think I'll retire him. He's died once, and got very spooked by it, and besides, Bards are notoriously prone to wandering off anyways. [img]smile.gif[/img] This means a certain elven rogue (if used) will have to get invisibility spells from someone else, but them's the breaks.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Of the three characters I have interacted with, Andrin is undoubtedly my favorite. Jaskyn may have saved me more in one adventure than Andrin has, and Aksor is shaping up to be consistently crude, but Andrin's endless songs of power always keep me impressed. Vilarneseh appreciates both his stealth and his spells; Einkil likes to be roused to glory. He WILL be missed.

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Aoborr- While quite smitten by a lady fire hair of his aquaintance, Aoborr also wishes to learn of "What was lost" to his people, and perhaps find them a land to conquer. This could mean he's ideal for retiring as he goes 'off on his own quest', or his background could be ideal for some high level stuff. He still wants to assemble a certain sword.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I make no bones about wanting to see another barbarian of Aoborr's level - if nothing else, to compete on the body count!

Welcome to our new player! I think you've been given good advice thus far, and I will sweeten the pot: I am the player who will play either a rogue or a spellcaster. If you lean towards a certain class that would be redundant in our DM's view if played with one of mine, I will choose to play the other. I like them both and will enjoy the game immensely as either one.

This whole topic has gotten me to thinking about what we have seen over the past 2 years, so here are some facts:

26 characters have actually played at Caer Falken.

Male 14
Female 12

Humans 12
Elves 6 (5 High, 1 Wild)
Half Elf 4
Dwarf 2
Gnome 1
Half Orc 1

(Keep in mind there are characters with more than one class here)
Wizard 6 (Including 1 Illusionist)
Rogue 5
Ranger 4
Druid 3
Barbarian 3
Paladin 2
Fighter 2
Cleric 2
Bard 2
Monk 1
Arcane Archer (PC) 1


Alignment (Data irretrievably lost on 4 characters)
Chaotic Good 8
Neutral Good 5
Lawful Good 3
Neutral 3
Chaotic Neutral 2
Lawful Neutral 1

Players:

Male 6 (one of whom is the DM)
Female 5

Welcome Sylvrr Knight!

I look forward to seeing your character concept and think it was a great idea for you to come here for player input. I will leave my opinions out of it, but simply give you a list of who your new character would be adventuring with (in all likelihood):

Aksor half-orc ranger Male
Caela half-elf Druid Female
Ravensong Wood-elf Barbarian Female
Marren Human Paladin Male
Vilarneseh high-elven rogue male
Avera human fighter female

One of the above characters may be substituted by a magic-using character. (Hopefully that player will decide soon to make choices easier)

Starting players are not permitted to play Monks or Sorcerers. Chaotic Neutral and evil alignments are likewise forbidden.


[img]graemlins/star.gif[/img]

"Aksor half-orc ranger Male
Caela half-elf Druid Female
Ravensong Wood-elf Barbarian Female"

Correction, the she-elf in question is a wild elf not a wood elf [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/rose.gif[/img]

Einkil and Dramavictim have both stated that they were unsure of whom to play in the training campaign. For them, and anyone else with an interest, I make this announcement:

Sylvrr Knight has opted to play an elven ranger and we have begun the character creation process.

The other new player is rumoured to be considering a dwarven fighter, though that has not yet been confirmed.

Unless our as-yet-unnamed player makes a course correction and decides they'd prefer to play a rogue or other similar character instead of a dwarven fighter, Vilarneseh will join the "adventurer" campaign (to use term our DM designed for this very board, to distinguish the less-experienced "adventurers" from the more experienced "heroes").

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Originally posted by Einkil:
... Vilarneseh will join the "adventurer" campaign (to use term our DM designed for this very board, to distinguish the less-experienced "adventurers" from the more experienced "heroes").

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Einkil is right. I think, in all modesty, that those were good designations, and fit well.

Henceforth, all low level characters shall be called Adventurers and the higher level characters shall be designated Heroes.

Greetings all,
As Christopher stated I will be playing a ranger, Elf (M). Unfortunatly I have not come up with a name, but soon. Also my background. Good news is that I did order the Players Handbook, vrs. 3, so will soon be able to catch up on some basics. As soon as my adventurer has a name I will be popping into the chat room when possible. Maybe I can do some chatting with some of you others over a few rounds of mead and learn your stories and such. Be well all and see you soon.

Sylvvr Knight...
soon to have a name

mmmm, if that's how it looks like it's going to break down, I must confess the idea of a new Arcane spell caster is that much more appealing [img]smile.gif[/img]

Yes it would. A Bard, Wizard of Sorcerer would make a nice compliment to the Adventurer group, and would serve as a backup for our existing Elf wizard.

With the number of characters in the Adventurer campaign, don't expect our DM to play one of his - he's indicated that he'll have his hands full just keeping us all in line!

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Originally posted by Lyssandra:
A Bard, Wizard or Sorcerer would make a nice compliment to the Adventurer group, and would serve as a backup for our existing Elf wizard.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I meant to mention this earlier, but this is a good segue.

Due to the number of players coming on board, Moondance (and Nightwind, who hasn't actually played yet) will cease activity unless the player pool drains once more (which I do not kid myself about as a possibility). I learned from the old Caer Falken Changeling game that all good things end.

Part of the reason for me playing characters was to fill a gap that is no longer there. I now need to open up the gaming field to actual players and spend more of my DMing time concentrating on their needs. But this is a good thing.

Garrick will stay with the Hero campaign until he either dies or some Adventurer achieves Hero status and takes his place.

I think, for what it's worth, Dramavictim should go ahead with a Wizard. Being one of the oldest players here, he has played a barbarian, bard, cleric, monk and ranger. A wizard would be a nice change of pace and a new challenge for him. (I have Tome and Blood too, by the way [img]wink.gif[/img] )

Of course, he is also free to continue with the half orc or someone else.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:
I think, for what it's worth, Dramavictim should go ahead with a Wizard. Being one of the oldest players here, he has played a barbarian, bard, cleric, monk and ranger. A wizard would be a nice change of pace and a new challenge for him. (I have Tome and Blood too, by the way [img]wink.gif[/img] )

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I'm inclined to agree and am working on a concept or two for a wizard. I'm seriously considering a specialist wizard.
*chuckle* I may also email you (or you can PM/Post here) about what options in the Tome and Blood book you'll be allowing, and what you won't.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:
The continuity factor is a major issue. The original concept of chatting in the inn during the week just doesn?t work since Be Seen removed its Chat interface. The newer chat rooms just don?t measure up and makes the free form chatting harder to do. With different characters popping in every week, the characters no longer bond with each other, nor do they feel they can work adequately together, from teamwork, friendship and tactical vantages. In the current format, anyone not involved in the Devonshire plotline would get only one week a month to play, and those who were supposedly committed to the Devonshire Plotline are not able to always attend (and real life has always had that nasty tendency to get in the way anyway).

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've been giving this part of the DM's concerns more thought, and I think part of the problem is we have, of late, gotten less 'down time' to RP in. While, as stated, it's much harder to 'free form chat' in parachat than we could and did in Beseen... I think perhaps we've abandoned it too much. In some cases, this is self inflicted if accidental. When I cut it five minutes till game time, there's not much time for anything but a quick OOC hello.

However, the 'mega story lines' like this most recent one has turned out to be, do seem to not allow for a lot of 'down time'. When whole towns are being saved, and the enemies are amassing their forces- There is not a lot of time, nor does it make sense, to have the characters pal around and really get to know each other, hash out any personal problems, discuss past exploits, etc. Oh, they COULD, but it wouldn't make sense for many characters, and it might leave half the party twiddling their thumbs waiting for the next monster attack etc.

The nice thing about the time at the inn is that they could do all that. When we are more actively adventuring, that oppurtunity is rarer or harder to arrange.

Now, the simple way would be to meet once in a while in the chat room during another day besides game night if/when convienent for some players. That's still not as easy to do when we are 'frozen' in adventures, and depends a lot on circumstances. While resting up on an inn, possible... while the undead spectre is moving towards us, and we'll pick up then... not the time for tea and crumpets. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Now, this is not to bash the DM's hard work or the story line (Though, whew, this latest one has grown to be a monster and I'll be glad when it's over... enjoyable, but very draining), but just to go over 'why' it may seem like our characters aren't connecting as well as they have in the past. I think lack of down time ICly might be one reason.

Actually, there's not been a lot of downtime in the recent games. Remember, the group's only been in Devonshire for a few days..a week or so at most, based upon when we rest. (Still winter for that group.) However, there was a lot of downtime during the long ride from Talagon to Devonshire. It's several week's ride between the two cities with those incidental encounters breaking up the monotony of the travel. The same'll be the case when the group returns to Talagon to report to Hrothgar of success or failure. The Devonshire group knows each other VERY well by now, better than the players know each other.

The downtime in the CFI is more frequent given that for those who stay at the Inn (Caela does not yet. She's been coming and going each month.) it's 6 days of downtime each week with a story on one night.

What I was implying in my previous post is that what Dramavision was saying is true. The Devonshire group IS closeknit. They have to be, and eventually when that happens, people get on each others' nerves. The adventure is also stressful on the party members. The more they associate, conflicts arise due to alignment differences, personal tastes, etc.

The same thing happened with the other big quest involving Mirolna. It'll likely also happen to the new adventuring group as well in time.

While those at the Inn have that time to chat, and tell tales, they also have the opportunity to get up and leave when tempers flare. Those on the road do not.

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Originally posted by Lyssandra:
Actually, there's not been a lot of downtime in the recent games. Remember, the group's only been in Devonshire for a few days..a week or so at most, based upon when we rest. (Still winter for that group.) However, there was a lot of downtime during the long ride from Talagon to Devonshire. It's several week's ride between the two cities with those incidental encounters breaking up the monotony of the travel. The same'll be the case when the group returns to Talagon to report to Hrothgar of success or failure. The Devonshire group knows each other VERY well by now, better than the players know each other.

The downtime in the CFI is more frequent given that for those who stay at the Inn (Caela does not yet. She's been coming and going each month.) it's 6 days of downtime each week with a story on one night.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">You're making my point. Perhaps there should be (or even IS) down time and the characters know each other better, BUT we don't play a lot of that down time. The effect is, for all practical purposes, it keeps the group from knowing each other. It is one of those reasons, IMO, for the lack of bonding the GM was speaking of.

SHOULD the characters know each other well by now?
Probably yes.
Do they? No, because we as players haven't taken the time to RP it out. Doing so may not be feasible (we have lives etc [img]wink.gif[/img] ) but I do think it hurts the 'bonds'.

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Originally posted by Lyssandra:
What I was implying in my previous post is that what Dramavicim was saying is true. The Devonshire group IS closeknit. They have to be, and eventually when that happens, people get on each others' nerves. The adventure is also stressful on the party members. The more they associate, conflicts arise due to alignment differences, personal tastes, etc.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually, I don't see the current Devonshire group as particularly close knit. For example, Jaskyn can trust anyone of the group to have his back and has reason to be grateful... hopefully, they respect him in turn. I'd have thought he'd earned it [img]smile.gif[/img]

Ask him Einkel's favorite color though, and he's lost. (Baby blue? [img]wink.gif[/img] )

I can easily see him enjoying theological debates with Gwylin or Straang, or speaking fondly of rivers and streams to two ranger ladies (One of which he knows well). However, the lack of "played" down time hurts this.

Perhaps we should start a thread of "What fellow party members would know about (fill in the character's name here) by now"? Perhaps not.

There are many methods of role playing in games. In days of old, D&D was a typical hack and slash, kick in the door, kill the monsters and grab the loot game. I always, even from the time when I started DMing at 14 years old, at least a year before the publishing of the DM Guide, tried to make it a little more than that.

Other gaming venues are more "deep immersion role playing". This was especially true for on-line Changeling play, when no one ever really DID much of anything except sit around and gossip while sipping their tea. When I was in that particular paradigm, I tried a reverse shift and attempted to add a little adventure to it. Some people liked it, some didn't.

My own adventures in games such as Vampire, Changeling and Deadlands on table top certainly did have a stronger character interaction system than the typical D&D game, but when all is said and done, it was all about the action.

Most players play these games for action and adventure, not socializing (though I can see the desire for those with little real life social life to attempt it vicariously through their characters, the same way the rest of the players try to get their action). There is nothing wrong with that.

Yes, my original intent was to bring the best of both worlds together, but the chat rooms saw less and less use during the week as time went on. Players were encouraged to come earlier than 8 to socialize first, but few actually did.

I agree with Lyss that the party knows each other well, and is fairly well oiled and tight. I also agree with Drama to some extent, though I seriously doubt Boromir knew Gandalf's favorite color either. I have worked with people at my job for 5 years, seeing them 5 days a week, and know less about these real people than Merilin knows of Einkil or Gwylln knows of Stranng.

Just as the players may not know everything their characters know about their professions (which is a lot), the same should be implied about their person lives. Not everything can be spelled out in game time. While I could be wrong, I really doubt most players would like to sacrifice 1 of the 4 hours we play each night to socialize, even if it was feasible in an atmosphere of war and mayhem. Even a table top game, which probably runs 6 to 8 hours, is not likely to devote that kind of time to socialization, though I know my tabkle top players talk about their characters in the down time before, after and in between games.

As the chat in between games vanished, I encouraged the use of the Yahoo groups, but that was more or less abandoned as an info sharing tool, other than for DM announcements and treasure distribution. The Hostboard became much more useful as a tool however.

I fully endorse the suggestion that these boards be used for characters to get to know each other. Any information gleaned in this manner can be assumed to have been learned during downtime. You alreday use them for treasure splitting and strategy discussion, and so socialization is the next likely step.

Anyone who has spent time on the internet is familiar with mass email or live journal questionnaires and memes. Who says you can't do that here? I have even done a few myself, though participation has not ben universal.

I certainly do not mean to diminish the feelings of some players that the BS sessions help make for a better, richer game. In fact, some of the same players who complain that all we do is fight, are reluctant to socialize through the lists, boards or even the chat rooms themselves, often showing up too late to do anything other than catch up with the action already in progress.

We cater to a variety of players with a variety of tastes in play style. Each time I get feedback of any kind, I make minute adjustments with an attempt to appease the vocal. That means that I always want to hear what you say, because I can't fix a problem I do not know is broken. It means I will listen to those who speak their minds rather than try to guess at those who don't. Yet at the same time, I know I can't please everyone and will attempt to please the majority moreso than the minority. Yes, I realize this may cost us players, and in fact, it already has. That's a fact of life I learned to live with long ago, and the players I have lost have actually caused an improvement in the game. Certainly there are directions in which I will never take you, because as much as I want to please the players, I do not want to hate what we are doing myself either.

So keep role playing during the sessions, attempt to get together in chat during the week, post anything you want to about your characters on the boards, continue to send in stories about your characters (only three players have done so, and two more than once), and feel free to show up early to play. There is no reason that you can't use an hour each Friday night to fill in the gaps representing the evening meals or the time just before bed, when the group is lying in their sleeping bags.

Also remember that the players have almost complete control over the game flow. While there are occasions in which you may be ambushed, what your characters do is up to you. If you choose to sit around discussing life goals, old flames and tales of the adventures of your youth, I certainly won't stop you. I just don't believe most players or most characters want that.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:



Most players play these games for action and adventure, not socializing

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Never said that action wasn't the first priority, even for myself. You mentioned a lack of bonding recently, and I sort of shot some ideas on why that might be the case. I think this might be one of the factors.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:

Yes, my original intent was to bring the best of both worlds together, but the chat rooms saw less and less use during the week as time went on. Players were encouraged to come earlier than 8 to socialize first, but few actually did.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well, initially I did a great deal of that actually. RL happened, both to myself and other parties, and voila... fell out of the habit. That and sometimes, as said, IC socialization is not always possible in those cliffhanger moments.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:

I agree with Lyss that the party knows each other well, and is fairly well oiled and tight. I also agree with Drama to some extent, though I seriously doubt Boromir knew Gandalf's favorite color either.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Well, the color thing was mostly tongue in cheek. [img]wink.gif[/img] But I'm glad you get partly where I'm coming from.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:

Just as the players may not know everything their characters know about their professions (which is a lot), the same should be implied about their person lives. Not everything can be spelled out in game time. While I could be wrong, I really doubt most players would like to sacrifice 1 of the 4 hours we play each night to socialize, even if it was feasible in an atmosphere of war and mayhem. Even a table top game, which probably runs 6 to 8 hours, is not likely to devote that kind of time to socialization, though I know my tabkle top players talk about their characters in the down time before, after and in between games.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Again, in total agreement that shooting the bull is not what we're here for. Reread previous posts if you like, I'm not saying we should drop a half hour of our friday nights after 8 to just chat IC... I'm saying that the oppurtunity is not there, and that a lack of true played down time is maybe a reason. Sorry if I wasn't clearer on that.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:

I fully endorse the suggestion that these boards be used for characters to get to know each other. Any information gleaned in this manner can be assumed to have been learned during downtime. You alreday use them for treasure splitting and strategy discussion, and so socialization is the next likely step.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Good. I was wondering about your stance on that, which is one reason I was reluctant to start anything up without mentioning it.

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Originally posted by Starshadow:
So keep role playing during the sessions, attempt to get together in chat during the week, post anything you want to about your characters on the boards, continue to send in stories about your characters (only three players have done so, and two more than once), and feel free to show up early to play. There is no reason that you can't use an hour each Friday night to fill in the gaps representing the evening meals or the time just before bed, when the group is lying in their sleeping bags.

Also remember that the players have almost complete control over the game flow. While there are occasions in which you may be ambushed, what your characters do is up to you. If you choose to sit around discussing life goals, old flames and tales of the adventures of your youth, I certainly won't stop you. I just don't believe most players or most characters want that.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Alas, here in lays the problem. Indeed, when lives are on the line, most characters of our group aren't going to chat it up. It's an almost selfish act in such cases. Now, this doesn't mean such times don't occur when the heat is off... but for some of these longer storylines, the heat is on for the characters the majority of the time.

What's more, most of the players (Heck, all of them from what I know) are basically kind considerate folks who don't want to ruin things for others. We know, for an example, the DM wants to get things going, and has kindly devoted his time and hard work and may not appreciate having half the time he thought he did to advance the story. I know, you've just said it's no problem, but past examples have shown that troubles occur that delay even when it's all action, therefore there is a pressure to 'hurry up' sometimes. Not all the time, but there are moments when the frustration of others is tangible, and good people try to respect that.

To make a long post, uhm ,less long, You stated a concern, I think I found a part of the reason why it might be so, and just voiced it. I didn't really have a solution that I was certain of, but was seeking input... and thanks for that.

That's all, really [img]wink.gif[/img] YMMV

Wow, so much feedback . . . any chance you'd all be willing to repost without all that abbreviating stuff? If it ain't English I have no clue what you mean - and unlike my character(s), I don't see learning a new language in my cards. [img]wink.gif[/img]

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Originally posted by Einkil:
Wow, so much feedback . . . any chance you'd all be willing to repost without all that abbreviating stuff? If it ain't English I have no clue what you mean - and unlike my character(s), I don't see learning a new language in my cards. [img]wink.gif[/img]

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sorry, somewhat corrupted by time on computers (Which is funny, as I'm quite incomptent techno wise)
YMMV is "Your Mileage May Vary" meaning, others will have different opinions, or ways and I respect that. Though, occaisionally I have to chuckle at some misconceptions that arise on just what my preferences ARE. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

for those of you who would like to know here is an excerpt of an interview Stranng had shortly before entering the Caer Falken Inn...Stranng had a bit of down time in the woods, on his way to the Inn, and was interviewed by an inquisitive fey...

Night line fey: So Stranng we off the Wood, who are with wings, would like to know your favorite color hee hee.


Stranng: Well I have been and I believe shall continue to be fond of blood red...human blood of course.


Night line fey: Interseting...So when not dining within your grove...What is your favorite meal?..hee hee haa..I'm a fairy


Stranng: hmm I can see by your wings and sparkley outlook...this is true..When I am in an animal form I rather enjoy feasting upon the heart of my enemy...I just love taking the heart..haa haa...out of them.


Night line fey: So you are a meat and potatoes man...what do you do for fun when you are not contemplating your boundless rage against your race?


Stranng: Hmm well I guess since your such a fairy I should be honest...I'd hate to lie to you and be turned into...well a fairy...When I am not contemplating my boundless rage rowards humanity...I am most likely dreaming bloody dreams of mass genocide, bathing in the blood and gore of all my brethren, smearing a handfull of bloody sinew upon my feet as I skate about watching gleefully as the demise of the human race falls about me as sparkles would fall from the heavens in the mid summer of the fey.

night line fey: hmmm...your sick..a sick and demented man. Who would rub sinew on their feet and think that would counter friction..~quickly fires a tiny sleep arrow in Stranng's chin~..take that sicko...~flies away~


Stranng: huh...argg....~sleeps~


This encounter never happened but I hope you now have that what you need of Stranng....enjoy!!

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Originally posted by Dramavictim:
Though, occaisionally I have to chuckle at some misconceptions that arise on just what my preferences ARE. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Actually, you are understood more times than you think you are. My comments were all in an effort to further the conversation and provide my input, and were not, unless specifically stated in one instance, either rebuttals to any specific comments you made. Sure there was overlap, but my posts were purely where my head was after reading what everyone else had said, and then mulling it over further.

That's twice in one week that someone seemed to think my comments were targeting them specifically when it simply wasn't the case. If I am responding to a specific point made by any one individual, I try to quote it. But if chuckling makes you happy, then that's cool too. [img]wink.gif[/img]