Lament

For the record, I was there - there were a few spectators, maybe about 15 people total? Some folks arrived late, too. There just weren't enough contestants, I think. I myself would've participated, but... I suck at combat RP haha sob. But if you feel people are maybe getting worn out (which is probably inevitable, yes) you could try holding it less often? More of a downtime may lead to people missing it/preparing better for it. Though it's probably best to wait and see if the trend continues, at least for now.

I know there was a Halloween IC party ongoing at the same time - that may have contributed.

If you're on Balmung, feel free to drop by. c:

Bump! My LS will be doing IC runs of Haukke Manor (in honor of Halloween) this Sunday, starting 9 PM EST. We'll gather in Fallgourd Float for organization/grouping. If it strikes your fancy, even if you're not with us, feel free to stop by! We'll fit folks in. We'll also be doing other runs for people who can't be there, if you'd like to attend but are unable to. Details: It'll be a joint nightmare between all 4 people in a group. They won't realize it's a nightmare, and they'll all remember it when they wake up (so even if they've never met, they can recognize each other when they do meet). Otherwise, it's freeform - play stuff out as it comes!

I don't think I've ever had a character use an Aetheryte IC - probably because the convenience would restrict their story more than help. Out of my three magic types, two are too sensitive to aether and I imagine they'd get too sick from traveling. The third hasn't been around the world much yet, so he's yet to attune to many Aetherytes. Out of all my alts, I think there might be one who can use them effectively (and right now, she has no reason to).

I've been asking around about a market-type event, and I'm pretty sure crafters, gatherers etc would be the stars of that type of thing.

Welp, here's a different take on it: I have a sort of prissy Lala from a well-to-do Ul'dahn family, Nanaya. She recently left (read: stormed out of) home to study archery in Gridania. It could very well be due to rebelling against an unwanted engagement.

Well, I'm willing to help organize, if you're willing to be involved, so let me know! I have an organization which, IC, is willing to sponsor things like this, since it tends to cost money to run. They could help with funding the bazaar, ICly. c:

Please don't use the word gypsy, it's considered offensive/pejorative/a slur by many Romani. It's controversial, but when in doubt, better not! If this takes off the ground maybe it could somehow be integrated into a market/bazaar-type event? Open markets seem like a good spot for street/nomadic/traveling performers in general.

This is due to a number of reasons, but a fairly inoffensive one is the fact male characters are more common than female characters. That's not entirely true. Quiet bookish characters are much harder to interact with (and to RP effectively) because they give little feedback - so people have very little to work with. I have an alt, Maliqa, with that problem. She plays best against cheery types who will initiate conversation, and I tend to warn people that it'll take time for her to open up. Offer to help with what, precisely? That is an unfortunate reality when setting up plots. Out of several interested people, usually only a few will stick around - even when they're the ones setting the plot up. Lies and slander. I owe you RP and I still think Naih would be a sweet traveling companion for Elissa so they can geek out over science. My main issue is having tons of alts - I get very little RP on each of them per week compared to people with just one. Try being less specific with IC dungeon runs. Everyone is there, each person can have their own reason. Or they're there because they have to be. It's easier than trying to get different characters to have the same objective. It's very, very hard to get other people involved in specific plots because characters generally need reasons to be doing things. Elissa, for instance, wouldn't care about poachers and chocobo chicks. She would need a reason to be involved - something that interests her. Again, it's hard to get others involved in specific plots when their characters don't take a particular interest in the topic. Again with Elissa - she would research Leviathan, because it's a primal. She would also research every other primal. None of my other alts would be interested, and there are 6 of them! Tailor your plot around including people who have no reason to be involved otherwise. Very few characters will get involved in things out of the goodness of their hearts. Communicate with people OOC, ask what kinds of things they're likely to be involved with. THEN decide. It's like setting up a scene for some quick RP, except on a much larger scale. And seriously, hit me up for RP any day. I may be busy sometimes - I have too many alts - but I am up for it.

I like that dictator is a career. I fluctuate between INTP and INTJ usually. Let's see. ...Yup. INTJ'd.

I like the Silver Bazaar (I think that's what it's called, the out of the way spot in Thanalan with the quests where you save the Bazaar from being seized by some shady NPCs) because it'd be a nifty thing, lore-wise - supposedly it was once a busy trading hub, and isn't anymore. It's a fairly scenic spot, facing water, it could work nicely (at least for Ul'dah). For (imaginary) stalls - they could probably ask a fee of anyone who isn't an affiliate IC. An imaginary fee, obviously, no need to actually pay gil to participate. People without money could probably set up "shop" with just a(n imaginary) cloth on the ground, too, flea market style. Could have artists/peformers entertaining people, too, if anyone wants their character to play the part. I like the idea of asking that if people will sell their items for actual gil, they should sell at a lower price than the market boards. I also like the idea of transactions happening over /tell - partially to avoid clutter and partially because it is sort of an OOC thing, too.

I'll start: I'm personally willing to help manage the IC concept behind it (and, since I'm posting this, willing to organize it OOC). I have a LS with a very open-ended IC concept - an association that sponsors people, including crafters and artists of all trades. They have an IC excuse to sponsor/advertise a bazaar. They are not crafters, however - ideally some crafter LSes/FCs should be involved too. I have several alts. At least two would be willing to sell things. One is an artist and would likely be offering the Hydaelyn equivalent of getting your portrait drawn quickly by a street artist. The other is an armor/weaponsmith. The others could all browse or just show up to chat. Ul'dah seems to be Eorzea's primary trade hub, so having the market be in Ul'dah seems reasonable. I can see it being an itinerant sort of thing, though - a different city each time. RP within the city tends to get pretty messy, so finding spots outside of the cities would be cool. For Ul'dah, maybe the... Silver Bazaar, I think it's called? Crafters, artists, performers in general and merchants obviously have a place in an event like this. Fighters could also be there as security. Most folks could at least browse, I think! I'd go with twice a month, on different days of the week/different times so more people can attend, maybe? I'm personally a night player, though. As for actual selling, as long as people aren't spamming, it could be a nifty way for people with high levels in crafting and/or gathering to craft or offer materials to other players. If a player is open to it, you could also buy/bring them the materials and ask them to craft for you. It could be a nice way to recruit people into organizations/FCs IC! Markets usually attract people, so they tend to be nice spots for IC advertisement.

I've seen a few mentions of this, including in the last LS leaders' meeting - figured it could do no harm to open discussion about it. How do you guys feel about a market-type event? Would you participate/attend? If you have a crafter type character, would you sell your wares there? Where would a good spot for this be? What are some ways we could include as many different character types as possible, since it'd be open world? How often should it happen? Once a month? Once every two weeks? Once a week? What day of the week/time would be best for you? If you have a LS, would it fit in? Should actual items and gil be exchanged too? Thoughts? It'd be nice to get more open world IC events going, there's already an interest in a market, so it seems like a good way to start.

I still can't find you guys oh god D: I mean - I've found some of you guys, but man, the ones I can't find I really can't. Please give me a poke if you see me (...I know it's hard to give me a poke when I have millions of alts, yes). I should be online tonight spectating at the Grindstone tournament - either on Rhesh Awanah or Ethne Lancaster. That should be a good way to find me, at least!

That's Chinese, man. Look how much more sense it makes when you translate it into English directly from Chinese. Oh. I maintain that I was very tired and it looked like Japanese to me. I'm definitely not stupid. There, there.

To be fair, people share their (negative) opinions of others in private all the time. It is amusing when they accidentally make their opinion public, but I don't think having a negative opinion of someone makes you immature or unfriendly. Like Siobhain, I've made friends with people who I previously disliked (or who previously disliked me) plenty of times. Opinions change. Preaching acceptance and tolerance doesn't mean you have to like anyone and everyone. If they were purposefully hurling insults, that'd be one thing, but it wasn't meant to offend you. They thought you sounded like a dick and didn't want to associate with you - I honestly can't see how this is immature or unfriendly on their part. We can go on about how we shouldn't judge people before we get to know them all we want, but everyone makes this kind of judgment. It'd be pretty hypocritical to condemn this sort of attitude when pretty much everyone does it. It shouldn't be encouraged, sure, but people will do it anyway. I know I do. And I've seen people accidentally let their negative opinions of me slip in public, too. It happens. I sadly have no amusing MT stories to share! Only the unamusing "that was supposed to be in /say" ones that happen every five seconds when I RP with people. ):

There are a few links (two?) embedded into the text. If I may make a suggestion, it's likely best to at least edit those out. c:

That's Chinese, man. Look how much more sense it makes when you translate it into English directly from Chinese.

We will have our first trial IC event this Sunday, the 27th, at 9 PM EST. It's actually unrelated to Wings-the-IC-entity, but the idea was too good to pass up (thank you Vito)! We'll try to get IC dungeon groups going for Haukke Manor, in the spirit of All Saints' Wake/Halloween. The runs will be a joint nightmare between all 4 characters - they're all dreaming, and they all share the same dream. Haukke is a level 28 dungeon that is unlocked via storyline. Even if you're not in the LS, you're more than welcome to tag along. c: Our LS currently has 22 people along with a few alts! We also made a FC 4 days ago, so those of us without FC bonuses can get them. It's currently rank 2, and at this pace we can expect it to hit rank 5 sometime in November.

OK guys I'm really sorry! I need to put these on complete hold for a while. It did help me get un-rusty, so to speak, so thank you to everyone who requested! Sorry if I didn't get to yours. ;;

I guess because many people grabbed the 90 days vet rewards? I have no idea.

Balmung's always open late at night/early in the morning.

For those of us in the US or Canada (except Quebec) or in a PAL territory, SE has started two community events/contests on their forums. 100 entries per contest will win an Ahriman Necklace: Details for NA (US/Canada except Quebec ONLY): Doppelganger Screenshot Contest Details for EU (PAL territories ONLY): All Saints' Wake Haiku Contest The NA contest ends November 4, and the EU contest ends November 1. Good luck to everyone who wants to/can participate! Sadly, I live in Brazil and can't participate in either. Edit: There is also a JP contest; details in the JP forums (scroll to the bottom, last section: コミュニティイベント, first link: 開催中, スクリーンショットコンテスト, instructions in the topic with the shorter name, 守護天節スクリーンショットコンテスト). Sadly my Japanese is too rusty to translate most of it. Topic title is "All Saints' Wake Screenshot Contest". The rules say to avoid screenshots with only scenery and NPCs, and make sure you include your own character. The deadline is November 5, Japan time.

I could see that being useful for when you want to multiple runs too. That or if you just want to use the scene in a dungeon you could stomp it out real fast then just linger around. I never thought of doing that... hmmm You only get around 10 minutes inside a dungeon after the boss dies, so you'd have to stomp it out but not kill the boss. Not that this should be much of a problem. :Ia