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

[Warren Castille]

It's folly to assume everyone wearing a collar is willingly complicit. Have faith.

[Askier]

Okay,  after an attempted night of sleep, I have realized:

 

We need a statuesque.

 

This is an attempt at a compromise all round.  Here goes  

 

1) All wells, fountains, and contained water sources inside the Ul'dah and the Goblet are contaminated and will be for one week, after which  the poison will disperse in the water.  This does not include the pond/river/waterfall thingy in the middle of the Goblet, nor does it affect the surrounding water sources such as the river outside the Gate of Nald.

 

2) The death toll: High hundreds, low thousands.  I'm putting my foot day and giving us something.  Why these numbers?  Well first, in my mind, Ul'dah is not like Rome during the height of it's Empire, which housed nearly a million people.  Ul'dah is a city state like Athens or Sparta and would likely house around 50,000 to 100,000 people.  So if we keep the number of dead low, people who do not wish to rp tons of people dying, or are not part of the event all, simply rp as they please, and those whom are part of this event say the named npcs never got a chance to drink the contaminated water and that anyone rping drinking drinks from the Quicksand are drinking non-contaminated beverages.

 

Secondly, we must remember Jin'li was caught in the act, so people knew something bad had just happened within minutes of his completion and those whom nearly nabbed him: Warren, Saravena, Alexei, and Erik, spoke.  IC law enforcement players such as Erik, Kahn'a, and Kage were sending out orders about sealing off the water sources immediately afterwards, just like would have happened in a real crisis, and started shutting down the water supply down for testing.  These facts, mixed with the fact that a bomb went off outside the gate and caused a distraction to the npc civilians, means that the window for people to actually obtain the poisoned water was, even in  real world time, extremely small, thus leading to a small number of infected.

 

3)  I have gathered from Kage's posts that the water supplies are under lock down by the Brass Blades and other law enforcement, but fresh water is still obtainable via the river outside Ul'dah and the  pond/river/waterfall-thingy inside the Goblet.  This means that the city of Ul'dah can still function, albeit with a high level of tension.

 

4)  Anyone whom has a collar is free to have it disarmed after this evening and the player is more than free to rp the fallout of their character as they see fit.  There has been statements saying fallout is needed to be appropriate for the crime and I understand from personal experience both sides of this arguement.

 

Askier tried to blow up Ul'dah to save his sisters's life.  He failed, was put on trial, had to fake his own death, laid low for awhile, slunk back to Ul'dah, was hired by Natalie to kidnapped Roen, had the kidnapping backfire on him, was skinned alive and tortured and lost his arm, developed PTSD from the event and has to now sleep with a stuffed animal nightlight, and now works for Erik Mynhier, whom in turns serves Ul'dah.  I still get repercussions all the time from Askier's actions.  Last night alone, a lynch mob showed up and tried to lynch Askier and Erik and Kahn'a had to drive the mob off.  I understand these repercussion are mandatory for his action.  However:

 

None of it was without my permission.  That is the most important thing.  I don't have time to level or redevelop rp connections with my RL responsibilities plus I am way to attached to the one-armed bonehead. I ask all those whom have shown concern about how justice will be handed out to those involved on the bad side to just trust in the players rping and see how things ultimately roll out.  If, in the end, their punishment isn't as severe as you believe it should it should be, or it is a bit hand waved, please remember, it is the player-of-that-character's choice to ultimately decide what happens with their character.  There was once a person who wanted to chop off Askier's tail and really, Askier couldn't have stopped him, but I said, OOC'ly, I was not okay with losing the tail.  Perhaps it was a tad unrealistic, but Askier is my character, no one else's, and at the end of the day, I want to be able to enjoy rping my character and no one has the right to make me rp in a way l don't want to.  That said, I have zero right to make someone who is uncomfortable with the whole poison idea to rp it it at all.  If someone tells me they don't want to rp it, I understand 100% and Askier can rp about something else with the person in question.

 

I one hundred percent believe those whom participated on the bad side will rp appropriately.  I know for a fact Jin'li will be dead at the end of this event, and I'm kinda attached to the little, crazy kitty. 

 

I want to say, Everyone here on this forumn is a stellar rper.  If you all weren't, I certainly wouldn't be running this event. :love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

 

I hope that this 4 point post is something we can all agree upon.  This is my attempt at working with those whom have voiced opinions all around.  Is this list perfect?  Probably not.  But it is a compromise and I hope it is an indication that I am happy to work with people.

 

My one request is that we DE-escalate this thread.  There is a lot of tension in this thread at the moment and I really, really, really don't want Freelance Wizard to lock this sucker down.  Because I would need permission to open a second thread to finish the event off.

 

Thank you all again for all your feed back and I will continue to work at this event.  I did say there would be hiccups in my event post.  I think it's safe to say we found a couple. LOL.  Thank you everyone for be understanding with me.

[Gaspard]

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.

 

 

* I was going to intitially disagree, but you are right. It 'is' everyones own choice how to play said 'consequences'. I think those that voiced concerns in this regard simply do not want to see it being brushed off like nothing happened.

 

Moreso, my Orange outline is meant to highlight a slight double standard. If Everyone is free to choose how their characters will face their consequences in said scenario, and it is entirely unrelated to the outside RP world, or the events happening in said RP world, then everyone is also free to choose the reality of his character (By proxy). With that notion, we can also decide who to acknowledge IC wise and who to ignore. It's a catch 22 argument, where you cannot condemn one yet support the other.

 

That being said, I have to concur with most on the notion that this has (mostly to my own credit) been going on for a bit too long, and I could've taken it to PM's and the likes. Still, I find things like these are necessary to be adressed atleast once, If only because now we have a certain understanding who view RP which way, which can be beneficial in planning future events and roleplays.

 

EDIT:

 

Nice post Askier

[Sophia_Grave]

I find that this is one of those cases where philosophies collide, sometimes radically. Sometimes people forget that collaboration is a double edge sword, and there isn't always a right side and and a wrong side.

 

Regardless, I wish everyone involved the best, and major kudos to the people in charge. Also, its fantastic to see this picking up casual RPers and those who are just curious about the concept. Keep it up! \o/

[Kage]

((I seriously need a law enforcement LS again because I left the old one because ICly the blades were getting lots of shunnnnns so I didn't see a point to it))

 

Great post Askier!

 

Indeed Kage would have the grunt Brass Blades start cutting things off. I'll see about how they'd want things distributed (Tension. Maybe the Syndicate wants all that water to themselves or rations! Curfews!?) But safe to say that they'd have guards posted at all the water places. But he's personally more worried about upcoming threats! ((Cause he feels like he can trust those he knows are working on an anti-toxin/antidote/relief.))

 

Fighters! Healers! Magic-wielders. The darkness approaches! ((yes I'm trying to get help oocly ;p))

[Aya]

As sort of the instigator here I really want to say that I have never approached any of this with a sense of anger, or frustration.  I am not, nor have I been, upset with any of the players involved in this event, or this thread (except, perhaps, briefly with Mr. Osric (Evil Batman)).  I have never and would never suggest that PLAYERS should be shunned.  There's been at least one post that suggested that is what I was saying I would do, it is not!  I would not!

 

That the discussion has been, I think, level and generally calm is a testament to the RPC and the Balmung RP community in general.  I know that I've made a number of people angry, but I do hope you'll find yourselves able to understand where I have come from, and to forgive me eventually. 

 

My entire point has been to provide two things:

1) Askier a moment to pause and decide if he really wants the villains to be party to mass murder (which he does, though on a scale three to four orders of magnitude smaller than before).

 

2) The players who had characters on the villains side the opportunity to decide if they really wanted their characters to be party to such a crime, most of them being unaware that would be the IC cost of accepting a collar (and many, I believe, really wanting to just help the villain side to make the event interesting, a noble endeavor for those players )

 

 

I think the appellation of "heartless" is quite unfair.  Compulsion is not a defense for murder, morally or legally.  There may be other extenuating circumstances (particularly that they were not directly involved in these murders), but the moral and legal equation at the bottom line is pretty clear (at least in the Western world).  There really hasn't been any argument presented to suggest that Ul'dahn legal or moral reasoning would be different in substance (at least to be less harsh in this case), so I don't know how those of us observing from the outside are supposed to have any different expectation. 

 

 

In terms of ignoring a particular character's RP, I just want to point out that if a random character came up to any of us saying: "I have just blown up a third of Gridania!  Tens of thousands of people dead!  The other thirds will blow up tonight, and you can't stop me, MWAHAHAHA!" the reaction of our characters would fall into two camps:

 

1) Completely ignoring

2) Believing that the character is MAD and treating him as such.

 

In neither case will the scenario he is describing be accepted as canon by our characters, regardless of how earnestly he intends it (and if this is not the case for someone out there, I have some characters for you to meet who will rock your world, baby!). 

 

My point in saying this is two fold.  First of all, it is an incredible testament to Askier et al. that if he said hundreds of thousands of civilians would die, we were discussing (mostly) the implications of it.  There was not much questioning of the validity of it (although there was some, it was polite).  That says good things about the weight of respect the community has for Askier and the others coordinating this plot.  Secondly, it shows what should have been obvious to everyone, but has been in something of dispute: we all control and limit what RP our characters accept as canon.  This should not be controversial.

 

 

I am happy that Askier has scaled back the death count, it makes plausible RP moving forward a little easier to imagine.  I would still have to see something awfully convincing to believe that any of the villain ringleaders (collared or not) could escape this at all, or for their henchmen to escape it unscathed, but at least it opens up significantly more room for suspension of belief.  

 

In what I hope is conclusion, I just want to say again (I keep repeating this because some people seem not to believe it for some reason) that everyone involved in this plot, and this thread, is terrific.  I did not mean to cause anyone to become upset at any point, and if you were I think its because you took something out of context (though the possibility remains that I said something stupid instead in which case I will apologize!), but I would gladly discuss that with anyone personally (and hopefully show you that I really am not mean, I'm not! Really!)

 

Good luck with the story and the character arcs

 

 

I will at least continue to RP along with the arc with this event result, although I do not intend to take an active part in the future events (not because they're not amazingly well run, which they are, but because they take place on Saturday night).  This was one of the finest run large scale events I have ever seen, I have never before seen such spur-of-the-moment community involvement, and seen it integrated so seamlessly; I loved this event, it was only the afterwards-announced result of it that raised my eyebrow.

[Gaspard]

((I seriously need a law enforcement LS again because I left the old one because ICly the blades were getting lots of shunnnnns so I didn't see a point to it))

 

I'd be all for a Law enforcement LS  : D Count me in

[Roen]

Great post Askier! I admire your positive attitude in dealing with all the questions and issues that rose. You are a patient and wise man. With a lot of spelling errors. Sometimes. 

 

I too have complete faith that everyone who has been collared/non-collared, no matter what their involvement, will play out the aftermath accordingly. That's what I am sooo curious about! From Osric who attacked the defenders, to Kiht who tried to kill Osric, to Crofte who hasn't even gotten involved yet... (I know there are more of you, I just am not aware yet what happened to you all...)

 

Let the story play out! I am excited to see where this goes.

 

AND! I do love the fact that this mutual threat is bringing people together (Brass Blades working with Flames! Free Paladins being pulled to work with Sultansworns!) against a common threat. (even some "villains" are going to try and help Ul'Dah... o_O )

 

As for those who are not involved in this RP... it could just be as vague as "Yeah there's some tension in the air alright" to... "Shite, I am paying WHAT for this glass of water??" Up to every individual to take it as they will.

 

Keep up the good work, showrunners! Askier, Khan'a and Osric. Showrunners don't get thanked enough. :thumbsup:

[Unnamed Mercenary]

 (even some "villains" are going to try and help Ul'Dah... o_O )

 

Time to make a new grouping: Villains Against [Crazier] Villains! 

 

Join the Unnamed Mercenary in taking down the people even crazier than he is! Just look for an axe stuck in a wall or something. He can't be too far off. (joke: unless Kage's being kidnapped again)

 

But in some seriousness, I'm still really looking forwards to how this all plays out. I apologize to anyone I might have offended when I got a little heated last night. /grovel

 

I'm eagerly anticipating seeing what's going to come back to bite Merc in the arse. (Besides feeling obligated to help Kage, of course)

[Coatleque]

I've heard that every time Crofte calls Jin'li "Master", a puppy gets punched in the face somewhere.

[Unnamed Mercenary]

I've heard that every time Crofte calls Jin'li "Master", a puppy gets punched in the face somewhere.

...for he is kind?

 

Those poor puppies :

[Whittledown]

I've heard that every time Crofte calls Jin'li "Master", a puppy gets punched in the face somewhere.

 

Puppies being punched are worth it. *quietly starts shipping Crofte/Jin'li*

[Askier]

I've heard that every time Crofte calls Jin'li "Master", a puppy gets punched in the face somewhere.

...for he is kind?

 

Those poor puppies :<

 

He is ever so kind.

 

And polite...

 

And crazy...

 

And a hater of puppies....

[Melodia]

I've heard that every time Crofte calls Jin'li "Master", a puppy gets punched in the face somewhere.

...for he is kind?

 

Those poor puppies :<

 

He is ever so kind.

 

And polite...

 

And crazy...

 

And a hater of puppies....

 

But he let Crofte save Ruru.

 

 

*Ruru puts on foam finger with "Jin'li #1"*

[Kage]

((I seriously need a law enforcement LS again because I left the old one because ICly the blades were getting lots of shunnnnns so I didn't see a point to it))

 

I'd be all for a Law enforcement LS : D Count me in

 

 

Once my character worked awhile, he swore... and he used to be Sultansworn. Until current plots ish.

 

There is an Immortal Flames LS which Kage was invited to by one he respected when he was inducted but he then left recently because he was feeling the IC tensions of those against Brass Blades in which he was/is a part of (and myself OOCly because of aforementioned IC reasons)

 

Perhaps because of this event more will have joined or will rejoin it or brand new ones made etc.

 

 

 

I think that perhaps scaling the poison toll will be much easier for all in the community to be able to accept some things. I always just assumed it was hundreds, and even that it's a pretty big death toll to swallow for those in the know. For others, hundreds in a big city-state like Ul'dah seems pretty ok to write off as murders and accidents and whatnot.

 

I know when I RPd about the event I've taken to Rping it in ways that still allow people to either ask me OOCly or decide that it can easily be disregarded. Then again, my character only had to be around 4 others so he wasn't in anything large scale, so it's something that could be written as a Amalj'aa attack, mobs, etc. Usually vaguely like "It's about recent events" so that people are allowed to go about their own RP if they wish.

[Erik Mynhier]

FYI I have regained control of the "The Immortal Flames" LS and can now add and drop people as needed. It's original purpose was as a law enforcement for Ul'dah LS, anyone rpings as a Sultansworn, Brass Blade, Stone Tourch, Flame, government official, or contractor was welcomed. I interned to return it to this purpose again in the coming weeks. Care to join it Kage? Or anyone else?

[Gaspard]

I'm in, as Gaspard works as a sort of Private Investigator / Private eye

[Melkire]

FYI I have regained control of the "The Immortal Flames" LS and can now add and drop people as needed. It's original purpose was as a law enforcement for Ul'dah LS, anyone rpings as a Sultansworn, Brass Blade, Stone Tourch, Flame, government official, or contractor was welcomed. I interned to return it to this purpose again in the coming weeks. Care to join it Kage? Or anyone else?

 

I've always been confused as to why it'd been called "The Immortal Flames LS" when it encompasses more than just that particular branch of service. This occasionally causes some issues when said branches work at cross-purposes.  

 

I know Coatleque put together an LS specifically for Sultansworn (with high-ranking Flames getting pearls for ease of coordination). Could we not do the same for each service, then have an umbrella LS that not only encompasses all of them but also brings in inspectors/private investigators like Gaspard?

[111]

FYI I have regained control of the "The Immortal Flames" LS and can now add and drop people as needed. It's original purpose was as a law enforcement for Ul'dah LS, anyone rpings as a Sultansworn, Brass Blade, Stone Tourch, Flame, government official, or contractor was welcomed. I interned to return it to this purpose again in the coming weeks. Care to join it Kage? Or anyone else?

 

I've always been confused as to why it'd been called "The Immortal Flames LS" when it encompasses more than just that particular branch of service. This occasionally causes some issues when said branches work at cross-purposes.  

 

I know Coatleque put together an LS specifically for Sultansworn (with high-ranking Flames getting pearls for ease of coordination). Could we not do the same for each service, then have an umbrella LS that not only encompasses all of them but also brings in inspectors/private investigators like Gaspard?

 

I vote it be called "Guardians of a corrupt and exploitative system" or something equally disparaging.

[Michikyou]

Naih'ir is researching a cure to the water, if anyone else is on that subject of the plot, could you please send me a message here or in game?

[Erik Mynhier]

FYI I have regained control of the "The Immortal Flames" LS and can now add and drop people as needed. It's original purpose was as a law enforcement for Ul'dah LS, anyone rpings as a Sultansworn, Brass Blade, Stone Tourch, Flame, government official, or contractor was welcomed. I interned to return it to this purpose again in the coming weeks. Care to join it Kage? Or anyone else?

 

I've always been confused as to why it'd been called "The Immortal Flames LS" when it encompasses more than just that particular branch of service. This occasionally causes some issues when said branches work at cross-purposes.  

 

I know Coatleque put together an LS specifically for Sultansworn (with high-ranking Flames getting pearls for ease of coordination). Could we not do the same for each service, then have an umbrella LS that not only encompasses all of them but also brings in inspectors/private investigators like Gaspard?

 

I vote it be called "Guardians of a corrupt and exploitative system" or something equally disparaging.

 

Name was already taken.

[Askier]

Naih'ir is researching a cure to the water, if anyone else is on that subject of the plot, could you please send me a message here or in game?

I know Tiergan was working on it and there were some others.  I'd be happy to give you any information regarding it if you have any questions.

[111]

FYI I have regained control of the "The Immortal Flames" LS and can now add and drop people as needed. It's original purpose was as a law enforcement for Ul'dah LS, anyone rpings as a Sultansworn, Brass Blade, Stone Tourch, Flame, government official, or contractor was welcomed. I interned to return it to this purpose again in the coming weeks. Care to join it Kage? Or anyone else?

 

I've always been confused as to why it'd been called "The Immortal Flames LS" when it encompasses more than just that particular branch of service. This occasionally causes some issues when said branches work at cross-purposes.  

 

I know Coatleque put together an LS specifically for Sultansworn (with high-ranking Flames getting pearls for ease of coordination). Could we not do the same for each service, then have an umbrella LS that not only encompasses all of them but also brings in inspectors/private investigators like Gaspard?

 

I vote it be called "Guardians of a corrupt and exploitative system" or something equally disparaging.

 

Name was already taken.

 

Oh well, I guess we can pick something inaccurately heroic, like defenders of the jewel.

 

Wait we should go for a pun and call it "Just Deserts"

[TheLastCandle]

FYI I have regained control of the "The Immortal Flames" LS and can now add and drop people as needed. It's original purpose was as a law enforcement for Ul'dah LS, anyone rpings as a Sultansworn, Brass Blade, Stone Tourch, Flame, government official, or contractor was welcomed. I interned to return it to this purpose again in the coming weeks. Care to join it Kage? Or anyone else?

 

I've always been confused as to why it'd been called "The Immortal Flames LS" when it encompasses more than just that particular branch of service. This occasionally causes some issues when said branches work at cross-purposes.  

 

I know Coatleque put together an LS specifically for Sultansworn (with high-ranking Flames getting pearls for ease of coordination). Could we not do the same for each service, then have an umbrella LS that not only encompasses all of them but also brings in inspectors/private investigators like Gaspard?

 

I vote it be called "Guardians of a corrupt and exploitative system" or something equally disparaging.

 

Name was already taken.

 

Oh well, I guess we can pick something inaccurately heroic, like defenders of the jewel.

 

Wait we should go for a pun and call it "Just Deserts"

Call it this:

[Askier]

Morning everyone.

 

I'm just posting this to let everyone know that last night we had a mini-event and got the tool that disarms the explosive in the collars. Now removing the collar is a bit more tricky but we can do that too if anyone with a collar wishes it. I just want to say thank you for everyone who attended last night since it was honestly, mostly, improvised.

 

I'll be posting information about part two after work once I am done tweaking a few things based on feedback I have received.