Melkire

This whole water poisoning thing has been blown way out of proportion as a result of seven pages worth of discussion that occurred while the main organizer was away and unable to set the facts straight. What resulted is essentially "Whisper", in which the details got more and more distorted as they were passed from person to person until you had an "atrocity" in which there's no drinkable water (not true) because "every water source" was poisoned (uh, maybe wait for clarification?) leading to the deaths of "hundreds of thousands of people" (I don't even think there are hundreds of thousands of people in Eorzea, let alone Ul'dah!) So here are the facts: Standing water sources - fountains mainly, not waterfalls or rivers or other freeflowing bodies in which a toxin would be naturally washed out over time anyway - were poisoned for all of an hour before an IC alert went out and the problem was dealt with. An hour. The intent was to give an event some weight via tangible consequences, and in order to avoid impacting players, the organizers deliberately targeted an NPC population which does not even exist nor is represented in-game by actual characters/models. The intent was also to create JUST this type of environment: ...and the above measures were taken to result in and create said bubble. A one-hour type span in which NPCs drank some water? Fountains which could then be drained and refilled from uncontaminated sources? (there's a river right outside of Ul'dah, people, and a waterfall in the Goblet). I don't see how it's difficult at all to employ the sort of creative solutions Zhavi talked about to go, "oh, I didn't drink anything in this one hour that Ul'dah was in danger". This would also be one of the few times I can see OoC knowledge crossing over into IC knowledge as a feasible thing - oh, you learned that there was a poisoning via forums/tells? Cool, now your character can know as well! You can just say they picked up the news from an NPC or something. What I'm getting to is this: it's been extremely disheartening for a number of participants and organizers to see/hear this sort of negative feedback/backlash from the community at large when the goal was to have a fun, immersive event that anyone who wished to join could do so, while ALSO allowing others to stay out of it. The levels of passive-aggressive B.S. that has been going around (I myself am guilty of this) is also, likewise, disheartening. Shouldn't have to go into a thread about another city-state to wish them luck and give encouragement only to find mentions that such-and-such area has been ruined, or that we've somehow "violated" people who didn't give "consent"... I can't speak for others but, honestly? This is how frustrated I am: Show us on the doll where we touched you.

Can't... can't it be both? ...now I want to know what an excited sigh sounds like. Besides a gasp or a moan, that is.

Collared Individuals: Osric Melkire Kanaria Galanodel Leilani Belle Coatleque Crofte Kiht Jakkya Miah Polaali Collared Individuals in Order of Significance: Osric Melkire / Kiht Jakkya Coatleque Crofte Kanaria Galanodel Miah Polaali Leilani Belle To my knowledge, all of the above consented to being collared, and are playing it out such that they minimize their contributions to Jin'li's efforts while trying to sabotage him discreetly. The first three have been passing vital information over to the heroes, the fourth has so far stayed out of it, and the fifth and sixth have coordinated to essentially "flop". This "OMG COLLARED" scare is blown way out of proportion. There is not a veritable army of these folks. There are six individuals who are all struggling against their predicament in different ways.

This has been in the works for two weeks now, and will be coming to a head tomorrow. This is why I keep coming back to, "knowledge that not everyone is privy to".

...Jedi Academy is not old. Dark Forces is old. Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight is kind of old. Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is sorta old. Jedi Academy is, like... *recalls that JA was released over a decade ago, and that Dark Forces was nearly two decades ago* ...I'm old.

...it's true. I knew what was coming courtesy that picture from Square's Patch Notes, and I still "nope'd" hard when we reached that third sepulcher.

...the Goblet is directly connected to Ul'dah via a passageway by the Miner's Guild. That's really close, vicinity-wise, if not a part of. I feel the need to state the above because, um, I ran into some people who didn't know that that entrance existed... yeah.

You know what? That's actually pretty f**king creepy. Xy would have ran for his shotgun. Yes, shotgun. Large caliber bullet for a large caliber man. Why does he remind me of 'No Face' from 'Spirited Away?' Noooo idea... nope. None. Can't be because homages. Nope. ...nopenopenopenopenopenope.

Someone should probably have made sure that there was a Hero available to organize a search team. That might have helped :-] ...

He actually did... The salient point we're discussing is this: Yeah, I think the biggest problem is that not one of us organizers expected or anticipated Jin'li getting EVERY water source. Like, what. There are so many fountains and waterfalls and such through Ul'dah and the Goblet combined... and according to Askier (via VoIP the night of), he emoted Jin's actions out at EVERY SINGLE LOCATION. That no one stopped him before he finished is... um... yeah. (I blame Warren =P )

This was more an impression I'd gotten than anything, given the recent attempt on Captain Anduron's life. Captain Anduron's got some people looking for him but he's not a priority. Alright, I take back what I said. Was mostly trying to convey just how few roleplayers we have playing Blades, Flames, and Sworn right now. I just wanted to know cause if that's how people want to play it I can work with it I think. ... Nat and myself are the only ones RPing as Brass Blades... That's up to you and Nat. :moogle:

We need another short break, courtesy another brief moment of levity:

If a handful were killed, maybe... With so many supposedly dead, it is not justice that they have to worry about, but armed mobs, vengeful families, and perhaps worse than either, vengeful powerful people. It will be impossible for any of them to believably return to their lives in Ul'dah. These guys didn't just rough up a barmaid. This assumes that the authorities even release the identities of the principles and accessories to the public.

See, my main concern with the water supply poisoning is that there really isn't any way for this to happen. -snip- Again, this comes back to knowledge of events that not everyone is privy to. What I know from having heard second-hand: Warren witnessed Jin'li pouring something into the fount outside of the Arrzaneth Ossuary. Erik, Warren, Alexei, and Saravena caught up with Jin'li just as he was finishing. Of these, the latter two know Jin'li by name and sight and Alexei is familiar with Blue Blood Strand 1. It would not be a stretch for these four individuals to compare notes and realize what the Garlean was up to... especially if they took said notes to Kahn'a, who, of the heroes, has the most personal experience with Epinoch sans Askier himself.

I accepted bleed-through when Osric opened a box to find a collar inside. The hits haven't stopped coming.

I'll have to bow out at this point, as Askier'd be the best person to address these questions/concerns. I know he gets off work later tonight.

That's fine and good Warren... but were the players of these characters all aware that their characters were forfeit when they joined the villain side? That's going to be the end result of this (if it is to be believable). Its something for Askier and his crew to think about before they set the results in stone. That's why it had to be brought up. Things to remember: 1. The fate of a character is ultimately up to that character's player. No character is "forfeit" unless the player chooses to give it up. 2. Consequently, it is up to each player how the consequences of their actions play out in a somewhat realistic, believable fashion. No one gets a free out... but that doesn't mean they don't get an out. Case in point: depending on how things go, Osric may get taken into custody, thrown in prison, charged with treason, scheduled to hang, broken out of prison, and have to flee for his life. Alternatively, depending on how any potential plea is received, he may be exiled, or taken into a black ops unit, or hanged, etc. ...

This was more an impression I'd gotten than anything, given the recent attempt on Captain Anduron's life. Captain Anduron's got some people looking for him but he's not a priority. Alright, I take back what I said. Was mostly trying to convey just how few roleplayers we have playing Blades, Flames, and Sworn right now.

To be fair this seems to be less a conscious choice on the part of the defenders, and more just the way it was GMed. Nothing wrong with that, but I wouldnt present it like this. From what I've heard, there was supposed to have been a conscious effort from the defenders inside the city to keep a watch out for any potential subterfuge. Apparently that fell through for numerous reasons. *shrugs*

Some OoC commentary from Mr. Saturday Cartoon Villains Organizer is in order. Warning: here be potential spoilers regarding bygone events. 1. No one on the offensive knew exactly what they were causing a distraction for. The one most in the know was Osric, who only knew that Jin'li would be inside the city and up to... something. 2. Fun fact: Southern California imports the majority of its water from the Colorado River. That means that Los Angeles, one of the largest cities in the United States, is extremely dependent on a non-local source in order to support its population, to the point where the local drought this past year forced local and state governments to consider water restrictions/rationing. Supporting a large population with imported resources is difficult, but not impossible. I've heard tidbits here and there from Kahn'a: apparently there are already several efforts underway to shift Ul'dahn dependence from local to non-local sources. 3. Bottled drinks should still be safe, meaning repercussions for unwitting patrons of the Quicksand and other such establishments should be, for the most part, nil... as those drinks would have been bottled prior to the Atrocity (I like that name). This might be enough to hold over parts of the population. 4. IRL, the average human can go for up to 100 hours (three to four days, usually) without water. Same should go for Hyur, and from there you can extrapolate expected needs for the other races. 5. There will definitely be consequences and repercussions for those involved in the event. There's no getting out of this cleanly for anyone who works, willingly or otherwise, for Jin'li. 6. This is what happens when you let the flashy, nonsensical frontal assault distract you from the real threat. You get Jin'li in ur base, killing ur d00dz.

This was more an impression I'd gotten than anything, given the recent attempt on Captain Anduron's life.

You poor, innocent little thing.

I guess there's gonna have to be a house meeting on why some of us are injured. "Um... so... chopping vegetables is really hard." "You cut open your leg trying to cut up vegetables?" "....yes?" But yeah it was fun, even though the counter terrorists won. It's okay We set up the bomb at A, it was expected. I blame the nub who planted it there.

Kudos again to Askier, this time for organizing the event that resulted in what must have been the largest PC vs PC fight in Balmung's roleplay history (that I know of, anyway). Exiles finale came close but involved NPCs. This... this was... Well, look for yourself. With Nameplates and HUD Without Nameplates or HUD What you can't see are the small detachments that were fighting at the Gate of Thal.

It was completely and utterly chaotic... ...and it was soooo fun. Hahaha!