Posts made by Arkandel

@pyrephox said in The Desired Experience:

I tend to think the ideal MU* structure player-side tends to be a large number of smallish Sandwich Clubs with some overlap.

I feel this is a manufactured model that we, as players, have been gradually taught to follow. Many tabletop RPGs are party-based and that has introduced the 'Sandwich Club' as an integral part of how we play. World of Darkness games are notorious for this since in some spheres literally the first thing most players do is search for a pack/cabal/etc. Lords and Ladies similarly follow a similar paradigm as they integrate into factions (Houses, etc) to play politics.

I think Sandwich Clubs tend to get toxic when they start trying to police who people play with outside the group. Either by outright 'I won't play with you if you play with X' or the more subtle (not MUCH more subtle, but...) attempts to monopolize playgroup members, or egging them on to criticize people outside the group (so that they can later go back and tell those people oooooh look what X said about you and isolate the club member further).

Frankly I think this is a symptom of toxic people rather than the model itself. It's a perfectly human trait to want to be included, play mostly with your friends or like-minded individuals, etc. But leveraging that to exert pressure on other players to get your way or exclude specific others is a whole different ball game.

@rucket said in The Wheel of Time:

@wildbaboons said in The Wheel of Time:
Yeah I saw that too, and his point was that they didn't want to go longer than 8-ish because then people would age up a lot and the story really only takes place over like 2 years or so. Which I totally understand.

Hahah, that's an issue but Mat Cauthon literally becoming another person isn't?

Joking aside, I think audiences would understand and/or not care as long as the cast works out for that long. Also they could have easily explained that through stress; look at before/after pictures of most POTUS where they age like hell over a term of so much responsibility placed on their shoulders.

And that's without all the horrible things that happen to some of these characters over the course of the books.

Speaking of which... uh, in a show already heavily criticized for its woke-ness, I wonder if they are going to show the sul'dam/damane stuff as written.

@popes said in The Wheel of Time:

My only complaint so far is from the first episode. That bow Rand was using sure as shit was not a Two Rivers Longbow. I WAS ROBBED.

Apparently there's some online outrage because the ROOFS were not THATCHED either.

@wizz said in The Wheel of Time:

This is super unlikely to be the actual explanation, but my headcanon went instantly to the books, where Logain in fact has a Talent to see ta'veren. The first time he sees Rand in Caemlyn? He's "shining like the sun."

Sure, but Nynaeve would be ta'veren before she started to channel, too. She wouldn't glow more because of it.

We'll see, I guess, once they start establishing what the show-setting's rules regarding the One Power is a bit more.

Oh ALSO whatever happened to the Warders' color-shifting cloaks? I was kinda looking forward to that, especially since that's a relatively cheap special effect to pull off.

@rucket Given that we're already at half a season I think the pacing will have a major issue making us care about the identity or fates of some very good and sympathetic characters.

This was one of the things Game of Thrones achieved with flying colors. Not just about characters like Ned Stark, Jon or Tyrion but a lot of secondary ones; Syrio Forel, Lord Varys, etc. They were patient and let us become acquainted with them before shit hit the fan.

Siuan is definitely in that category. How much time will we have to even meet her? And once things start to uh, happen, will we care?

@derp said in The Wheel of Time:

@arkandel said in The Wheel of Time:

@derp I'm too big a purist to be okay with them changing any of the book relationships, dammit.

By the way I thought they handled the gay (bi?) Warders scene pretty well. No big deal about it, it flowed organically.

The one at the inn, too, where Rand was all, "If I wanted a man I could do better than Mat."

He could have had three!

Also I think I've posted more on the Wheel of Time thread than I've done in any other in months. Someone better open a MUSH dammit and I'll come back just to play in it.

(Now no one will after that threat)

@derp I'm too big a purist to be okay with them changing any of the book relationships, dammit.

By the way I thought they handled the gay (bi?) Warders scene pretty well. No big deal about it, it flowed organically.

@three-eyed-crow Btw did you read that Mat's actor is changing in season 2?

No explanation was provided that I know of.

@wildbaboons Leaked footage of Far Dareis Mai in action.

@rucket I kinda hope they don't allow too much power inflation in the show. Robert Jordan kept upping the upper scale of powerful channelers in every other book.

Between Nynaeve, Lanfear and the rest of the Forsaken they could just leave it there. Same as Logain, Mazrim and other Forsaken along with the Dragon Reborn (I can't believe I'm trying to not spoil who that person is ).

Nynaeve could comfortably be the top white-hat on the women's side which also serves to keep her special. Do we need show-Alivia?

@runescryer I am just trying to not nitpick. And there's nitpicking! For example Warders were kinda... nice? Pleasant people? They smiled a lot?

You are supposed to be stone-faced violence-on-a-short-leash people, you guys!

Also the fight scenes... the show can use better choreography in general, I think. It's an expensive show, surely they can afford that. Like, at no point did I feel just from watching that Lan is basically the best swordsman of this Age.

As for the Saidin vs Saidar I get it though. It's hard to push out that much exposition when the show has more than enough of it as it is, and to be fair the rules about channeling can literally fill books - in fact they have :).

I just want to get a clear understanding of how the show's 'rules' work. Like are men and women able to see each other's weaves or tell how strong each other is? Hell, can women tell if another woman can channel by sight? Are male and female channelers supposed to be on par, strength-wise?

... Also why did that Warder's axe break the Shield on Logain?

Thanks for creating this thread! Some comments from me.

SPOILER ALERT - EPISODE 4 - SPOILER ALERT

For starters there is some great chemistry in this show. I'd say Lan and Moiraine, Lan and Nynaeve... uh, I guess the dude who plays Lan seems to be killing it. Ila's scene was right on the money, I thought, as well.

When it comes to the plot itself I think they are trying to simplify how the One Power works. For example I don't think anyone has said 'Saidin' or 'Saidar' once. That's perfectly okay as long as they stay internally consistent; for instance Logain knew how strong Nynaeve was when she channeled (in the books a man can know if a woman channels but that's it) yet he was captured in the first place by Aes Sedai who infiltrated his camp and Shielded him before he was able to defend himself.

It's creating some issues for book readers (such as myself) since I don't know how much of it they just haven't explained and how much is actually true in the show-world; for example I don't believe they've actually said male channelers are stronger on average than female channelers. Logain specifically was but that could be because he was an exception.

Also why would the Red Ajah hunt down all false Dragons if some are female? Wouldn't they rather train or use them against the Dark One's forces? There's no taint, there's no risk they'll go mad and kill everyone around them.

The focus on 'who is the Dragon Reborn' subplot is kinda weird. The books have been out for thirty years, that's a really easy thing to spoil. I just hope they don't try to make someone else be that person; that'd be a massive and very unfortunate departure from the books' story to the point of just making the story a completely different one. Character arcs like Min, Aviendha and Elayne's would be massively changed or made irrelevant in the process as well.

@tinuviel said in The Desired Experience:

Then don't play with them. "Be inclusive" doesn't mean "play with everyone no matter what."

It can, though. I'm not arguing that it should, but to some that's exactly what it means.

I was pretty shocked back on HM when I realized @EmmahSue basically took all RP at face value. She'd literally join any available scenes and stayed in it until she legitimately needed to leave OOC or there was a solid IC reason to do so. For a faction head and popular character that was rather unconventional.

Other players can't or simply won't do that. They cherry-pick more, especially in terms of fit ('should my nobleman get in a scene with this sailor'), so they can achieve IC goals ('if I play with everyone who wants an audience with the Prince I'll never do stuff I need to get done') or simply for their own sanity ('sigh, another sucky random scene').

I'd like to say I'm more like the former but I'm definitely not.

@aria said in The Work Thread:

They have a technical skillset that no one else on our team has and is also very well known for being an amazing champion of DEI in ways our company, quite frankly, really needs.

All of my teams' applicants need to pass a basic requirement: No brilliant jerks.

I don't care how amazing someone is - and in IT this is a pretty well known stereotype. Even so, if they can't work with others without causing problems then we'll pass on them.

It's served its purpose well so far.

@tinuviel The way I see it any number of external factors can contribute to helping someone find play. The character concept is one, staff (or PrP runners') willingness and ability to get someone looped into plots, the game itself might offer mechanics to either make search for scenes easier or to even incentivize it.

But the largest of those factors by far is how fun it is to play with us. And that's something no one can just hand out. All we get is an increased opportunity to showcase that when we do play with others.

@tinuviel said in The Desired Experience:

2. If the main driving plot of the game, if there is one, isn't for you then perhaps the game isn't for you. You could certainly enjoy yourself playing whatever in the background, but don't expect that to be the case, and don't whine if you don't get the fun you wanted.

I like this point because it's true, but also ties into 'expectations'.

No player's expectations supersede those of the game's runners. If I want grimdark fantasy and join a political L&L game then I should reconsider whether it's a good fit for me, not try to inject my own preferences through my General Butcher character.

@il-volpe said in The Desired Experience:

@devrex said in The Desired Experience:

In my experience what is wanted is to feel wanted

This.

Yeah. Some of this comes from a place of insecurity (which let's face it, the hobby has enough of).

The hard truth is there are very few character concepts that can truly guarantee someone interactions. Sure, staff can drive it through plot or setting design.

But for the most part we get out of it what we put into it. If you are fun to play with, people will play with you.

Hello folks,

This is not an official post since I'm not an official admin! But since we've been debating technical changes to MSB I wanted to get your opinion about what a 'reboot' could look like.

If you don't already know, MSB currently runs nodeBB; that's the software that you're looking at right now serving this thread to your web browser. However it's not the only one; there are several other (free, as in beer) forum platforms offering a range of features.

Here is a list: https://itsfoss.com/open-source-forum-software/

If you have a few minutes to check that out, or if you've had positive experiences with other forums you'd like to recommend - basically if you have constructive thoughts to offer in regards to relaunching MSB using something other than nodeBB, will you please consider doing so?

Thanks in advance!

@ominous

@testament You know, I am still grateful that I took him to the vet right away even though it wouldn't have made a difference either way. I had a deployment scheduled for the early hours of next morning so I was planning to take an afternoon nap, and only noticed Roo was kind of feeling sorry for himself but that could have been... anything. A hairball. Just being moody. I could have just left it there to see how it goes.

I'd have been so guilty if I had. Even now I am, and there was nothing I could have done at the point he had shown any symptoms. He did come to me to make him feel better, and I didn't. Now my cat is dead.

But at least I tried. I can't imagine how it'd feel if I hadn't.