Blood on the Sands Episodic rp event (Rules for Event 2 in first post)

[Erik Mynhier]

We had two characters come to RWHQ tonight to "find Askier". On the way random players, some not even associated with the RPC, but having overheard the plot joined in without the original two asking. What formed was a lynchmob outside our door that had to be RPed away. This thing is spreading to the masses IC and OOC.

 

That's why we have a cannon in our front yard.

 

GET OFF MY LAWN!!

 

So do we, but Lala's are nimble. They dodge those balls like nothing.

 

That's what Grapeshot is for.

 

lol. Next time I'll load myself in and draw my blade and have myself fired hyur-cannonball style.

[Tiergan]

As someone who had been considering letting Tier get collar'd previous to the event, before just sticking him in the 'good guy' team - I have to admit that I sort of feel a little like I dodged a bullet.

 

I know how hectic and crazy it can be to organize and run a server-wide event, so I deeply appreciate all the work that went into this event so far. For my part, I've had a lot of fun. However, I do think that now might be a good time to stop, speak with all the collar'd folks, and make sure they're comfortable with where things are now headed for them before continuing to move forward. For anyone accepting this event as actually happening for them, it could really change a lot of things.

[Gaspard]

The problem in seperating the guilt of so many people that played on the 'Villain' side, as you put it, is that we're back into assuming how Ul'dah would react. Something we have no feasable way of knowing. They might only try to find the heads behind the operation, or they may want everyone involved in any fashion hanged, akin to a witch-hunt. Guilty by Association, and/or standing on the wrong side.

 

In the end, it's not as much about deducting the degree of guilt in each character, but rather, what the Ul'dahn society will settle on as viable punishment, and given that Ul'dah follows a rather medieval system of governing, it's not improbable that it'd be rather a witch-hunt then fair, individual set of trials to deduct someones guilt or innocence.

 

I think that in general people should distance themselves from thinking of this in terms of 'fairness' and or 'Character A is more guilty then Character B'. It's more likely(or plausible), that they'll trial everyone involved as guilty of treason against the Crown and the Citizens of Ul'dah, which will translate into hanging for all of them. There will be too much pressure form the Citizens themselves for a verdict that will please them, rather then be just,as many people will have dead relatives, friends and spouses by that point.

 

That's all well and good, but this is a cooperative game. Some people are, rather understandably, attached to playing their characters. So going around drawing lines in the sand saying "this is how it should be, and if you don't conform to the way I see things, then to hell with you" is simply not the way to go about it. It does not set a good precedent for the community - and that's what we are, lest anyone forget.

 

Make no mistake: I thoroughly encourage and support any and all IC reactions as your character (and this is a general "your," directed at no particular person, since it's evident that Aya isn't alone in her thinking) sees fit. What I don't support, on an OOC level, is 1.) blanket statements, for one, regarding a diverse group of characters with numerous motivations and differing circumstances, and 2.) declaring refusal to interact with someone because you disagree with their RP choices. The former is simply making assumptions, and the latter is at best exclusionist and, at worst, metagaming.

 

Actually, I personally tend to always find a way to get somewhat 'adjusted' to a situation, aslong it is not too outlandish. So you needn't worry about me running around 'shunning people', unless it gets too ridiculous.

 

As for ""this is how it should be, and if you don't conform to the way I see things, then to hell with you" is simply not the way to go about it." , That's not really the purpose or goal behind the whole Idea. As I mentioned before, It's a drastic, sub-optimal solution, but at times the only one left for players that feel as if there's no other choice in order to take themselves out of a plot/dynamic they don't want to be part of. I mean, what is the alternative? Always go along with plays you consider unrealistic/nonsensical? If so, you'd have to take every single barhopping, naked troll in the Quicksand seriously the moment he says 'i'm srs'. Ofcourse, it's a harsh and kind of over-the-top example, but it I think it conveys the message. What's Logical to you, isn't necessarily logical to others. If you're at a crossroad, you have the option of either : Trying to work it out if the person is willing to listen, or, if ignored in your request, in kind ignore their character. 

 

 I for one try to find a way to make things work, by sometimes even finding opportunities and more logical explenations for how they could achieve what they'd wish to achieve. That is, until someone claims he's killed Bahamut, Married Momodi, Or wined and dined with Odin.

 

I don't understand your point in regards to 'blanket statements', because I don't think any have been rendered. At most, I've voiced my personal theory, that I find logical as a result of that which apparently has, or will happen in this plot, and how the Ul'dahn Npc's (As in Military, Factions, Politicians, the common folk) will react to this scenario in regards to the characters involved.

 

As for:

2.) declaring refusal to interact with someone because you disagree with their RP choices.is at best exclusionist and, at worst, metagaming.

 

 

I'd have to disagree. Metagaming is using OOC knowledge Icly. in the form of 'bob knows your secret without having a way to know your secret' or ' in order to survive, I suddenly know the weakspot nobody ever found out' Outright ignoring a characters existence isn't metagaming, i'd rather call it as it is, ignoring another characters existence. Which again, is perhaps the only viable way for people to get control into their characters and their World/setting if things do not seem 'logical' and/or Lore-cohesive to them. Also, It's not about 'disagreeing' with the characters RP choices, It's about disagreeing with the presumed consequences by the Ul'dahn City State / the NPC's that 'will' react to it. Just as many of us opt out of using story central characters in our backgrounds because you run into that issue of Thancred suddenly being part of everyones background, and it making no sense whatsoever, the same applies, if not especially applies to using large scale locations such as Ul'dah, and 'moreso' applies when using Ul'dahs citizens, thus influencing ALL Characters and all their current situations out of nowhere.

 

At last point, I'd like to address this:

"Some people are, rather understandably, attached to playing their characters."

 

 

I agree, we all carry certain attachment to our characters. However, that shouldn't expell us from consequences. Infact, everyone 'should' be aware that the moment you decide to trade blows with another character, or cause damage of any sort, you'r opening yourself up to negative feedback, which 'will' come in the form of violence or the likes.

 

Either way, these are all theoretical scenarios so far as the plot is not done yet, nor have the right motions concluded so far. At the very core, we're all just arguing about how severe we assume the eventual feedback against those characters involved will be from Ul'dahs NPC perspective. I've been more or less playing devils advocate in this discussion ,as I'm curious whether some people here 'really' thought about what consequence means, as opposed to 'yeah, I get to be a terrorist and get away with a light slap on the wrist that I will then sell as 'grand consequence' "

[111]

As someone who had been considering letting Tier get collar'd previous to the event, before just sticking him in the 'good guy' team - I have to admit that I sort of feel a little like I dodged a bullet.

 

I know how hectic and crazy it can be to organize and run a server-wide event, so I deeply appreciate all the work that went into this event so far. For my part, I've had a lot of fun. However, I do think that now might be a good time to stop, speak with all the collar'd folks, and make sure they're comfortable with where things are now headed for them before continuing to move forward. For anyone accepting this event as actually happening for them, it could really change a lot of things.

 

One thing I love about these plots is that RP things start to almost have as much weight as things that are written into the lore. After the poisoning, 'Collared' seems almost like on the level of 'Tempered' in regards to the level of scariness. I think Tiergan is right, people might have agreed to have to have been collared so that the sides could be even for the saturday event, but they don't want their char to be hated forever. Currently there isn't any IC way for people to get out of their collars, so anyone who has been collared has one of two options.

 

1: Go along with what they are told, which could lead to very bad long term consequences.

 

2: Tell Jin'li to go fuck himself, and die.

 

I think we need to consider that maybe there needs to be a third option, "Get rid of the collar somehow." While this would rob Jin'li of many allies, I think quite a few of them would be willing to come back as NPC's or the equivalent. Part of the problem with not telling anyone ICly what being collared meant, is that many people didn't know OOCly as well what they were getting into.

 

I think we've done the whole, "What will happen as punishment" to the collared people discussion to death, so this isn't about that. This is more about giving people an out who might not have know what they were signing up for.

[111]

As an addendum, It's quite possible everyone who agreed to be collared is ok with this. However I'm all about allowing choice at all points of a plot. Basically none of the collared people knew what they were helping on saturday, but they all do now. Anyone who doesn't resist is collaborating with mass murder at this point. I don't think anyone can argue that point. I think we can leave the semantics of who is reponsible for what during the poisoning for some interesting trial RP, but IF YOUR CHARACTER KEEPS ASSISTING JIN'LI IN ORDER TO SAVE THEIR OWN LIFE, then... things will go pretty badly for them long term in the eyes of many other RPers. That's why I'm concerned about giving people a way out before the next event.

[Melkire]

 

 

I think we need to consider that maybe there needs to be a third option, "Get rid of the collar somehow." 

 

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".

 

Askier, Endemerrin, Saravena, Roen, Gharen, Delial, Kahn'a, and Sizha'to will be breaking into a castrum tomorrow in order to obtain the parts/components/tools that Askier and Merri need to at least disarm the collars' explosives, if not remove the collars completely.

 

 

 

 

As for "IF YOUR CHARACTER KEEPS ASSISTING JIN'LI IN ORDER TO SAVE THEIR OWN LIFE" ... most if not all of the collared individuals are assisting Jin'li in order to save the lives of their loved ones.

 

Take that, ye double standards.

[Tiergan]

I think that's the main thing that has rattled me about all of this.

 

Before joining this event, a friend and I were talking about which side to join and we were strongly considering joining the 'villain' side as people with collars on just to balance out the ratio of Villains VS Heroes. Later, I was told both sides were pretty balanced and that's what made me decide to just stick with the 'good guys'.

 

However, if I hadn't done that and went with the Villains simply to help balance the numbers only to find myself in a position where my character is suddenly seen as a huge, selfish asshole by the community at large for not opting to just kill himself with the explosive collar - I would be pretty devastated OOC. This event is fun, but if any collar'd folks feel sort of blindsided by what's happened so far, I'm hoping that we can brainstorm and help them find a way to still make this enjoyable for them as players.

[Melkire]

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.

[111]

 

 

As for "IF YOUR CHARACTER KEEPS ASSISTING JIN'LI IN ORDER TO SAVE THEIR OWN LIFE" ... most if not all of the collared individuals are assisting Jin'li in order to save the lives of their loved ones.

 

Take that, ye double standards.

 

Same thing...

 

If someone let's literally thousands of people die in order to save a loved one, that's a despicable act. I don't really want to get into semantics again, but everyone has loved ones and everyone has people they want to save. I know in the RP terms "Thousands poisoned" is just a pithy line, but if you really think of it that's a big deal. Just as one person is willing to let thousands die to saved their loved ones, thousands more will be willing to risk anything to get revenge on their loved ones that were slain. Obviously we can't RP out all those NPC's but as others have said the gravity of the situation needs to be respected.

 

In recent memory a terrorist attack killed several thousand people out a population of 300 million and it started two wars and numerous other low intensity operations. This attack did the same for a much lower population (probably less than one million), it is a HUGE DEAL, even if their loved ones were in peril. Would anyone have given a fuck if Osama been laden ordered the 9/11 attacks to save his wife or something? (No).

 

Also to take it away from an attack, I really think dealing with this would only help RP. Right now people on the outskirts have the perspective that joining the villain side is like russian roulette, if they picked the wrong side they could be screwed. While I know you want to keep things secret, it might help if people know they have an out, just so they can take more risks and get involved in more shady business. Otherwise it's going to be harder and harder to get people to play on the villain side.

[Askier]

As someone who had been considering letting Tier get collar'd previous to the event, before just sticking him in the 'good guy' team - I have to admit that I sort of feel a little like I dodged a bullet.  

 

I know how hectic and crazy it can be to organize and run a server-wide event, so I deeply appreciate all the work that went into this event so far.  For my part, I've had a lot of fun.  However, I do think that now might be a good time to stop, speak with all the collar'd folks, and make sure they're comfortable with where things are now headed for them before continuing to move forward.  For anyone accepting this event as actually happening for them, it could really change a lot of things.

 

One thing I love about these plots is that RP things start to almost have as much weight as things that are written into the lore. After the poisoning, 'Collared' seems almost like on the level of 'Tempered' in regards to the level of scariness. I think Tiergan is right, people might have agreed to have to have been collared so that the sides could be even for the saturday event, but they don't want their char to be hated forever. Currently there isn't any IC way for people to get out of their collars, so anyone who has been collared has one of two options.

 

1: Go along with what they are told, which could lead to very bad long term consequences.

 

2: Tell Jin'li to go fuck himself, and die.

 

I think we need to consider that maybe there needs to be a third option, "Get rid of the collar somehow." While this would rob Jin'li of many allies, I think quite a few of them would be willing to come back as NPC's or the equivalent. Part of the problem with not telling anyone ICly what being collared meant, is that many people didn't know OOCly as well what they were getting into.

 

I think we've done the whole, "What will happen as punishment" to the collared people discussion to death, so this isn't about that. This is more about giving people an out who might not have know what they were signing up for.

 

I had actually set up an event to obtain the tool Askier needs to disarm the collars a while back and been working on it since .  I started rping it the the same day I collared Osric since I back-storied Askier having designed said collars back when he was a Garlean solider.  I am more than willing to disarm the explosive the collar to anyone whom is collared TOMORROW after the mini event is done should anyone with one like.  I am more than happy to make sure anyone whom wishes it to allow them a way out immediately to not cause them any problems IC'ly, and if doing so makes one side lop-sided..meh....baddies gotta lose eventually, right?  Even if Jin'li dies at the end of event two and we don't get an event three.  

 

Now, I have created what can only be equaled to a firestorm of conversation and controversy over my event and I apologize for all those whom have been blindsided/offended/put off.  I never meant to cause anyone to feel anything other than enjoyment for my event and in a way, I honestly feel a little disappointed in myself for not doing a better job communicating. :cry:  Please do not blame anyone save me.  All those whom have helped me have been fantastic for sparing their free time.

[Kanaria Melkire]

 

 

I think we need to consider that maybe there needs to be a third option, "Get rid of the collar somehow." 

 

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".

 

Askier, Endemerrin, Saravena, Roen, Gharen, Delial, Kahn'a, and Sizzie will be breaking into a castrum tomorrow in order to obtain the parts/components/tools that Askier and Merri need to at least disarm the collars' explosives, if not remove the collars completely.

 

 

 

 

 

As for "IF YOUR CHARACTER KEEPS ASSISTING JIN'LI IN ORDER TO SAVE THEIR OWN LIFE" ... most if not all of the collared individuals are assisting Jin'li in order to save the lives of their loved ones.

 

Take that, ye double standards.

 

I've highlighted the important parts of what Osric has said. To those that have been pissing and moaning about this event, you do not know everything that is going on, and should be ashamed of yourselves for assuming things. What fun would it be if you did? What would you have to look forward to, honestly... Sit back, relax and let the story play out... 

 

 

IMMERSIVE!

 

Oh no, do not let the GM/Storyteller do their job! Don't listen to what they say, don't take their words at face value...

 

 

Askier has a wonderful handle on what he's doing, and I would gladly place any of my characters in his hands. Of course we talked about all this before hand and yes I agreed to it. I'm still not privy to everything that is going on... and that's why I'm enjoying this so much.

 

That said... Bribe Askier with food, maybe you will get your way. 

 

Natilie... I'm calling you out right now... If that's the way you think, you are heartless. I'm glad to know that if any of your family or loved ones were collared that you would gladly let them die...

 

To those that have been sitting back and being chill about this whole thing, thank you. You are the ones I want to be roleplaying with!

[111]

Sounds good both Askier and Osric. It doesn't affect my character much, but as someone who wants these events to continue and succeed, I think it's important for people to know (even if they won't know ICly) that participating on the villain side doesn't immediately put you on the fast path to a hangman's noose.

[Gaspard]

Aw D:, dem feels

 

Seriously though. I don't think that all these talks are necessarily bad. Infact situations like these help promote a better understanding and moreso a better planning in future situations, since it helps to gauge out peoples sensitivities to certain scenarios/types of plays.

 

Moreso, I think you've done a rather good job communicating Askier. It's hard to predict every variable the moment you make an event server wide, especially if you put high stakes into it (I.E the lifes of civilians) etc.

 

The only thing I would personally propose for future Events, especially if they're meant to be large scale and touch upon various players and the whole 'rp scenery' itself, is to talk it out beforehand, as in, not just simply announce said events and phases, but actually gauge whether the majority Is for it. That way you can save yourself alot of trouble ahead with minimal clearing up beforehand.

 

@ Kanaria: Please don't instigate. If you feel strongly about Natalies opinion that's fine, but calling her heartless seems somewhat extreme given she's not wrong when it comes to the basis alone.

[111]

Natilie... I'm calling you out right now... If that's the way you think, you are heartless. I'm glad to know that if any of your family or loved ones were collared that you would gladly let them die...

 

If someone said to me, "We're killing your parents/lover/children unless you poison the water supply of Los Angeles" ( the city in which I live). I wouldn't do it. Maybe that's a weird choice? But I just wouldn't. At some level we're all playing for the shared team that is humanity (or sentient creatures as far as FFXIV is concerned) and mass murder for the sake of one individual is objectively wrong.

[Tiergan]

I really enjoyed myself. I was just worried about how folks were doing with how things unfurled. If all the 'collared' people are actually okay and still having fun, then all is groovy from my personal standpoint.

 

Also, I have to admit, I felt a lot of tension while reading this thread. I think all of us not directly managing the event should keep in mind that big, large-scale server events like this are EXTREMELY difficult to pull off without problems. It's like herding around 40 cats. (Sometimes literally with the miqo'te population :V) The greater the number of people involved, the greater the chance of issues propping up. A little patience and understanding when discussing our problems with each other or when agreeing/disagreeing with other folks in the thread gives the event-runners a chance to sort things out and improve things for the better if any actual issues exist.

 

Edit: I also think there's nothing wrong with non-event-managing folks expressing concerns. Like I said, I was mostly worried that there might be collared folks feeling stuck when I piped up. It makes me feel much better about participating knowing that it's not actually a problem. I didn't want to keep having fun knowing it was possibly at someone else's expense and I wouldn't really have had that cleared up for me if it wasn't brought up. That said, I do wish everyone would address things with each other in a bit of a calmer fashion.

 

This event is pretty huge in scale, and naturally has effected lots of folks, but this is still a game we're playing for fun - I'm sure we can all talk about this stuff without getting a little harsh with each other.

[Erik Mynhier]

Natilie... I'm calling you out right now... If that's the way you think, you are heartless. I'm glad to know that if any of your family or loved ones were collared that you would gladly let them die...

 

Ok, this is where I have to raise a hand, something I never do. I don't like confrontation so I tend to sit back when the fire starts, but I have an understanding of this way of thinking, and as much as I love people here I have to say something to this.

 

Willingness to sacrifice for the greater good is nothing to be ashamed of. When I was in the service, which many of you know I was, I learned what that meant. It isn't heartless, it is often tragic, but never heartless. To give of yourself to spare others is heroic. There is no need to go down that road and insult a person's integrity over a videogame. That is out of line I feel. Do not let this get personal or the event Askier has worked so hard for will fall apart and the thread will get locked. Remember there are real people behind every player, and you, me, and everyone deserves a level of respect. Keep the fact that it is a game in perspective.

 

XXOO, Erik

[Knight Kat]

I think that's the main thing that has rattled me about all of this.

 

Before joining this event, a friend and I were talking about which side to join and we were strongly considering joining the 'villain' side as people with collars on just to balance out the ratio of Villains VS Heroes. Later, I was told both sides were pretty balanced and that's what made me decide to just stick with the 'good guys'.

 

However, if I hadn't done that and went with the Villains simply to help balance the numbers only to find myself in a position where my character is suddenly seen as a huge, selfish asshole by the community at large for not opting to just kill himself with the explosive collar - I would be pretty devastated OOC. This event is fun, but if any collar'd folks feel sort of blindsided by what's happened so far, I'm hoping that we can brainstorm and help them find a way to still make this enjoyable for them as players.

 

This^^^^

 

Also, some people are getting awfully technical about the consequences that they think our characters should suffer, and sound like they expect us to adhere to it. I would like to state something that is obvious, but not being regarded. No one can OOCly force me or anyone else to do anything. End of story.

 

Anyone can ICly do what they want, but if someone shuns me because my character is not being punished the way they think my character should be, they will get the same treatment. Not only from me, but from my friends, and my contacts. And this person who is shunning me will tell their friends and contacts. Then the whole community will have a big ol shun-fest. How about we just decide how our characters will react, and stop being so worried about what other people should do with their characters.

 

My character is by no means a villain, but even if she was, do you -really- want to make things OOCly hard for me? There is a reason why Askier has so few villains on his side of the plot. Without villains, who would heroes fight? IRL, the world could use less villains, but in a fictional world like this one, villains make being a hero fun.

 

Stop reminding the "villains" that they need to face consequences. Everyone gets it now. No one here is an actual OOC villain.

 

And can we please keep OOC and IC separate. I see many people claiming to be keeping them separate, but insulting each other for opinions, and stating things like "Your character is forfeit now" is unnecessary and definitely an OOC offense.

 

We should discuss this stuff for fun in a collaborative story kind of way. We should encourage the villains, not threaten them with consequence like putting their characters in an IC prison for a few OOC months. Yes, they did a bad thing. However, they did it to -fake- people! No one's character, or NPC relative/friend needs to die or get poisoned if they don't want them to.

[Melodia]

As an outsider to this, and not involved in this rp, and a relatively new rp'er I have to say I am disheartened by this....this whole thread, really. Askier has tried to do something fun and people get so....damn....nitpicky and it just rips the fun out of it. Why would anyone new want to join in when the people involved can't seem to do anything but fight and bicker. Askier tried hard yesterday to just calm everyone down with a thoughtful reply and without fail, everyone continued to argue. With these kinds of events people need to be a little more flexible and try be creative rather than so set in this-one-and-only answer, because setting onself in stone with no wiggle room, only creates the "fun" thread here. And I feel bad for new folks who see this as the hottest thread and those shy folks or new rp'ers who may be turned away by this. 

 

I think Askier did good here, but the blowback from everyone makes me hesistant to ever join in a big rp event.

[Kahnopy]

So despite the fact that I lent my aid to Askier to have this event integrate people as smoothly ICly as possible, I have been awfully quiet on those forums. Until now.

 

Let me preface this by saying that Good storytelling, Gathering RPers and Fun are, no matter what is said and or believed, the primary objectives of this large scale event. This has been a conscious effort initiated by Askier right there to bring the community together and to give anyone who could have been a little hesitant to jump into RP a chance to join in the fun, and focus on a common goal, thus creating opportunities for all people involved to make lasting connections. This is exactly what occured during his first event, and discussing about it later we came to agree that this was without a doubt the most positive of aspects that could be taken away from the event. And the good man Askier, as the crazy creative mind that he is, and encouraged by people who heard about his first event and wanted more, wished to revisit the deed. Who can blame him?

 

The first of points I want to address is the format. I will begin this with a simple statement: we did not see the width of the attendence coming in the slightest. Comparing to the first series of events, there are easily 2 to 4 times more players interested into playing this out, and this is not even counting all the people outside who, not willing to participate in the main events, enjoy hearing about the whole plot but in a more private setting. To be honest, this is what we wanted the plot to be about. The big events were there to give directions for people to move, but the big of it was to be played in smaller groups, outside of any scheduled large scale meeting, people basically acting/rolling with the plot in their own way, and their own understanding of it. Why so? Because even in the first events, we could easily see what could be improved, and what had to disappear from events to improve the quality of the storytelling. And also because you know... it's easier to play your character and have an impact on things when you're not RPing away with 20+ people around doing just the same. Yet those scheduled events had to have some big impact to be relevant and to make the plot advance.

 

Second, the organization. We were very few. Very very few. Essentially, Askier is the mastermind, who knows exactly what are the ins and outs of the plot, knows pretty accurately what direction to take for the plot to end in a good way, and moves ICly as Jin'li to do just that. Melkire and I, as two people who are regularly playing with Askier, accepted to lend a hand into the organization without a simple question. No reasons to say no, we had quite some success with this way of working for the first event, and we had no reasons that things could go awry for the second. Thus we began, about a month ago, to RP the pre-event, where essentially Jin'li who was a mere pawn on the boards of his masters, came to be this completely and insanely overpowered threat that needs to be dealt with. And before anyone says anything, yes, he is overpowered, and I believe that is suitable for the character. He is most certainly to die at the end of this whole plot, and the fact that he is so powerful encourages people to gather against him. At least that is how I view this.

 

Then the collars happened. It was a way to bring Osric down and slight the threat he was posing to Jin'li, and even to use his momentum against the very city he gave his life for. The night it happened was certainly strong with feels, bleed-through and what not, but this was certainly a strong moment. Back on point. That collar was designed to be somewhat of a crippling mechanism, yet one that was interesting to play with, for people actually asked if their character could be bound with such an item, moving completely outside of our expectations. And here it is another time: every one of the players whose characters are currently collared have given the permission to Jin'li to do so. I can see myself having wanted to have one for my own character, just so I could interact with the mechanism for some time. But we needed to have people for both sides to try and organize things, and bringing people in, and so I agreed on my character being essentially untouchable, for the need of the plot. While some might argue that such a thing is overpowered, I will answer you that with this few people involved into the makings, we kind of had to take a conveniance agreement. Some people, which to avoid any kind of repercussion thrown their way, I will not identify, did chime in to bring help and increase the numbers of participants, and all the better to them, because that, personnally, was a nasty splinter taken out of my hands. And I am only saying this because of the sheer amount of people that wanted to meet my character Kahn'a as a gateway into the plot for the Heroes side, because each interaction I had to achieve that goal was interesting, and I had fun, but like I just said, the number of those was dazzling.

 

Third, the first event in itself. Due to Askier's scheduling, there were concerns that he might have not been able to make it in time for the event, in which case we would have had to roll with some unexpected developpements. I say this to show that we tried to have a lot of unexpected situations/curved balls covered to ensure the plot would go in the right direction. Guess what? We were not prepared enough, yes yes we goofed. But people seemed to have had their share of fun, which was satisfying enough for us to be relieved that it did not turn out into a disaster. Some of the complaint I heard/read about was the lack of interactions with the Villains squad that walked around poisoning wells. If people insist that defensive patrols should have been organized to keep the waters safe, then I guess I am to blame for more or less purposely screwing that up. During my round of RPing new characters into the plot, several times Kahn'a has been suggested that water poisoning could be a thing, to the point where he sort of became convinced that it would happen sooner or later. However, let us take a stop right there and think about the greater scheme of this plot.

 

How impactful would have Jin'li's attack on the city been if he got completely blocked while poisoning the wells? Would he have been able to get out alive with a strong organization on the look for him? Probably not. Or at least not without some kind of powerplay, which always leaves a sour taste in the mouth of those who got tricked.

 

Also let us discuss about what did happen. A bomb exploded at the Gates of Nald, massing a crowd towards the gates to see what was happening. Expected. Goodies see baddies who made the explosive set off, and defend themselves against the assault? Expected. A little squad of Villains go around the town, fooling whoever asked them about the barrels they were carrying, and that in order to dump the poison into the water source mostly undetected? Expected. Some NPCs gathered around the curious scene of supposed alcohol being dumped into the water and tried to get some for themselves? Expected. But that certainly does not mean that this was a large scale massacre. If anything, the poison ran into the water undetected for a bell more or less. That leaves time for your thristy average john to go grab his fresh drink of poisoned water, and die from it, but not enough to provoke a complete drop in Ul'dah demography. Results? Hundreds of victims, yes, much like the spread of an uncurable disease, but not something that wiped Ul'dah off the map.

 

We also tried to ICly give people some direction to handle the rising crisis as quickly as possible, and that with the clear intent to have it sorted ASAP, to avoid interferences with people who just were not interested/unaware of the plot. We certainly did not want any sort of awkwardness happening for those people just because they did not attend. So in short, poison is detected, orders are given to ship water and cut the access to the main fountains/water places in town until they are drained away, and filled again with unsullied water. Tadaaaaa. Everything's clean. Does that mean the attack would have had too little of an impact? Certainly not. It created some panic, shook the shaky organization of the heroes - shakiness that, again, I am mostly responsible for - and gives Jin'li more space to act in the future, knowing that he has moved people enough so that they might direct their attention onto the poison and the dead more than on what's coming... We'll have to see where that goes, though.

 

My final point will be directed at all this talk about consequences. Again, I will refer to the first event Askier wrote. So he had his character make a pretty nasty attempt on the city of Ul'dah, one that would have affected people much like it happened with the poisoning. And yet... if you were to meet him ICly those days, you'd find a much different person, and most importantly, one that's free. Why is that? Well, because this is the result of some long-term RP plans that involved only a handful characters. So yes, it is very understandable that there is confusion regardless Askier IC status, but that's something that was RP'd out, my character knew what was at stake, he dove to take someone out of a nasty fate, and succeeded. That's all there is to be known about this.

 

I do bring this up because people seem very keen to suggest consequences should be faced by other players' characters. From an IC point, I do understand it completely, however remember that you as a player can only have so much impact on another player's character. Everyone is free to play the consequences the way they want to, for their own character, including completely dodging the bullet. It's their choice, not ours, and that's an occasion for some real IC struggle, should they choose to face such consequences. That does not give anyone the right to shun them if they simply don't want to deal with it extensively. Again, the reason behind this plot was to give some interesting story for people to get sucked in, and bring them together towards a common goal, either good or bad, for them to make connections. Certainly not for the RP to be cleaved towards a chase against the bad guy who got used, that might eventually just devolve into tensions from the people who are not willing to have their character endlessly chased and those who, for IC reasons, won't just let go.

 

This post was certainly very sloppy and rambling-like, but I find it is an accurate description of how all this passionate conversation seems to be, to me. A big mess. And one that has the potential to grow nasty thorns. So please let's just step back for a second, take a big breather to make sure we can get back into the game with better spirits, and overall less frustration. This is already pretty disheartening to see that people are looking more in the direction of flaws and what is headache-inducing rather than focus on what fun can be had from this. I guess we could have handled it better too. But again, there is so much a tiny group of persons can do. Especially with tight schedules.

[Kage]

This thread got somewhat heated, but hopefully it's simmered down by now.

 

A lot of the OOC conversation about the collared people are quite similar to what some may consider to be IC conversation. Since we are -not- in the know (and it's perfectly fine that this is the case) people are just as free to discuss those characters -because- of how big and fun and immersive RP can be because peoples' characters have interacted with them. Characters have opinions about what's going on. Some of us are just stating OOCly the IC opinions so that perhaps things can be played out in a way that doesn't massive alienate those who did take certain measures.

 

Is there a limit to what you are willing to do for your loved ones? No? Yes? Double standards came up and it's true. I was going to let it out in RP but if anyone expected Natalie to come under some fire again for her orchestrating events that were meant to save one's person's life .... and well ended up somewhat ruining others', Kage would blow a gasket. The actions taken by those who have been (ICly) forced into a collar and are accessories to the taking the lives of so many is even worse in his mind and since he was ICly exposed to the fact that PEOPLE WANTED HER HUNG than he would expect the same for those who became terrorists. But OOCly, Kage wanted to help with the situation. He doesn't know how they were being pressured just that their loved ones were involved. In that way Kage does understand but in his mind there are limits, even when he said he would do anything. He'd rather have the syndicate kill him than be forced to kill the Sultana, kill a large portion of the city etc.

 

In the same vein because it is hard to herd 19924514212 RPers around, OOCly I understood that things were being worked on and so ICly I just had Kage go "well I wanted to know but I think you have it handled so I'll let you handle it... but if I see them myself I can't just let them walk freely around Ul'dah and will have to deal with them as I see fit."

 

Everyone has a steak stake in this somehow, and we all want to promote the best type of story and fun for everyone which is why we continue to talk things out. Discussion, so long as it is kept civil and not attacking anyone's OOC opinions, is perfectly fine and it promotes a fun and better story.

 

I've probably not said it enough, but everyone here who has organized the event and has participated, very much kudos for all the hard work and such. Things get lively because we all do have a vested interest in our RP and we all just want the best for everyone involved. Thanks again to those who have organized this and those who want a good story told and for everyone to have fun.

[Berrod Armstrong]

It's interesting to see how far this thing is spreading beyond the original participants -- for example,  my character was not placed to participate in the events because of other commitments; however, characters that he's associated with are involved, and things began to bleed into his world. 

 

Hornet was hurt on the evening that she and he had a little moment. From that, he began to learn bits of what was going on. I began to learn things OOC that painted a bigger picture and now I'm at the point where I have to decide how much I'm going to let this affect my guy. He lives in the Goblet, after all, training hard and drinking lots of water. I suppose I can easily wigglefinger around poisoning by saying that his residence stores water in barrels and tanks -- something like that. It's just really really intriguing to see how this has put me in a position that requires me to pick my canon. 

 

It seems like everyone is having a lot of fun, though -- kudos to the folks who got things going! I guess I'll have to read this thread from the start and make a decision based on what I read.

[Kage]

I have a friend who, from what I can tell, is considering highly getting into RP because of this and mentions of it (on Reddit), so I think Askier and those helping have done wonders in promoting RP and connections.

 

...I might have alluded to it in a post of mine when someone asked about an RP server still being Balmung....

 

I think some major questions people had about dealing with this is is the scope of the poisoning. Now, we know that it will eventually dilute to a point where it won't be an issue in the flowing water (like water falls or that they're not issues at all). However free standing pools I assume are being quarantined etc. because those have no ways of breaking down the poison. It's past the time that people have said people will have been affected. How many are  dead and approximately how many may be dying, can we still save them? We can continue to skirt around it and say that we just need to be careful, a large amount of people died (not specify numbers anymore), etc.

 

I know at least one character has taken pains to start working on antidotes, etc. by giving those who may be able to reverse-engineer it samples and I think mentions of the Alchemist guild have been made as well.

 

 

In other news, as OOCly as I can state it, there's no Brass Blades really RPing. So... I'm not sure how to proceed with that on a Brass Blades angle but for the fact that the NPC blades will be on the lookout for Jin'li or Osric or both. Other than that... Kage's looking for a force of healers, magic-wielders, and people willing to not falter in the face of darkness. I'm not sure how to deal with the fact that Kage knows there needs to be a strike force or a defensive force but uh... OOCly I... don't have Blades ; So he may just be working as a Free Paladin with those forces...???

 

More Edits to go with all the edits: I don't think people are saying "these are the exact consequences people -must- face" but that there is going to be some RP that goes about that if character opinions are going to be changed. This is not a bad thing. At all. Characters ICly will have opinions, and it's up to the wonderful story telling in RP that things may happen and change.

For instance all it would take really for Kage to come to terms with Osric is actually talking to the man and for him to agree that hounding Natalie would be hypocritical and a double standard. As far as kage knows, Osric still means to do that and if he does, Kage wouldn't be happy that someone who still terrorized a city state just gets off. No matter what he has done or does in the end.

 

 

I had to come to the event late. I had to be bonked by friends to even join because ICly Kage had no knowledge of what is going on. People are wondering how this affects their RP because if the city was attacked... everyone would know about it. In fact, that was what was handwaved for Kage to come running out of the Gate of Thal in order to join in. It was public. So, people -do- need to start talking about the loads of people who died or did not die etc from the poison because it does affect general RP. However, this is only something Askier, Haeden, Osric, and/or Erik can answer (or just Askier) because those involved in the event might have started to misunderstand the scope of the poison event. But I think we've started to say that this has been mostly dealt with ICly, but OOCly we just need to be sure of the scope and how open this can be. If loads of people died, how many? How long did it take?

 

The massive scale of what people were saying (dehydration and whatnot) does impact RP and that was the implication people started to get within this thread. I think this is what some of those not involved want squared away, especially if they live in Ul'dah or RP in it. But I think a lot of people got hit by the "every water source was contaminated" and it snowballed. It's starting to seem that it's not that big, and I for one think further talk about the scope of it will have to wait until we have a clear understanding of it. ... Mainly from Askier?

 

I'm more worried about the fact that I don't have Brass Blades to RP with ; ; /shot Kage needs to get a force ready ; ;

[Coatleque]

They dodge those balls like nothing.

 

Giggidy

[Erik Mynhier]

Take heart Askier and Kahn'a. If you had heard some of the absolute mean-spirited and ugly personal things said to me, even by people I thought were friends, when I was organizing the Ball. It is a wonder I didn't quit the game right there. Tis the nature of large RP.

[Kage]

Personally, any of what I say here is only for discussion for a continuation of fun RP. I think people have valid concerns, we just need to be more mindful to not have it become heated.

 

 

 

I'd personally love some insight on how to proceed on Kage's end. OOCly I'm not sure how I can muster anything in terms of the Brass Blades except that the guards will be on the lookout (easy for this to be gotten around by use of disguise if characters ICly use them a lot). On the other angle, he can just work as a Free Paladin to bolster forces he deems fit. On that note, again, Kage's looking for a force of healers, magic-wielders, and people willing to not falter in the face of darkness.

 

 

But Erik I loved the Ball ; ; It ended up getting Kage's arse beaten in a few suns later...