Posts made by EmmahSue

That's alright then. I can be quietly weirded out by voyeurs. I have no idea how Twitch works though, ne'er bothered.

ES

I'd rather not have people pay money to hear me blather when it's just random gametalk. Listening in would be weird enough without having the extra pressure of monies.

ES

I'd join in gloating more if I could actually win a damn game.

ES

MOD VOICE: I'm locking this thread, folks. We don't really need to have long conversations about why we do or do not like the guy.

If you spot him in an alternate account, please flag, and one of us will take a look.

ES

Cirno, it's a topic in the admin-only area in which the admin discuss the trolling that you and I have already discussed in chat; I was telling the others about that conversation, as you asked. It has nothing to do with banning you; that possibility was never mentioned, so you can set it aside as a concern.

ES

This is a tad old (Feb 2015) but still awesome.

http://www.okayafrica.com/news/african-superhero-film-oya-rise-of-the-orishas-nosa-igbinedion/

Making PC actions matter is a huuuuge-mongous deal. I certainly plan on saying over and over again (until folks are sick of it) that I'll run with anything done in-game. If you want to take a knife to the local faction leader and stand over his body shouting about how you're the king of the mountain, let's play that out! If you want to create a kraken mid-air and drop it on a nephandi's head in broad daylight, we'll play that out too!

We're playing make believe together. I want to get back to that feeling.

ES

From the POV of a runner of metaplot:

• Documentation is a huge downside. There was constant need to fight misinformation -- not through IC desire for misinformation, but OOC misunderstandings. There were several times I just flat out said "what you think is happening is not correct, this is the correct interpretation" because I didn't want OOC misinformation at that point in the process. I wanted people to know what they knew.
• You have to constantly work to involve as many as possible, then go do some more involvement because your initial efforts aren't going to work. Then maybe another time because see above.
• I felt strongly at the time (and still do) that the metaplot on TR should have had more varied ending. That is to say, whether or not the PCs met goals should have affected what happened after in pretty large, broad-brush ways. It is my forever disappointment that I was too burnt afterwards to push harder for staff buy-in on the big changes I wanted to see done.

Things I've Learned and How I'll Handle It Moving Forward:

• The Metaplot on SW will be less of a single story with a long arc, and more a situation (war!) with developments that will be met by PCs or not-met, as the case may be. This will let me break it into discrete chunks (chapter as mentioned in someone's suggestion above), and allow for more changes along the way as needed to the plot itself. If something just isn't clicking with the playerbase or with me, I'll be able to adjust more 'on the fly'.
• The same key phrases that I'm asking plot runners to work into their stories somehow, will be worked into the metaplot. The goal is cohesion and a feeling of everything carrying similar threads, even if the final product looks different for each player.
• How the players are 'doing', that is to say, some sort of display or prose or something that explains whether they're ahead of the bad guys, falling behind, etc., will be visible and obvious. It shouldn't be a secret, though this may be a side-effect of playing Mages who can tell how well they're faring.
• Above all else, what the players do needs to matter. It needs to. If they don't feel invested, then it's not really a cooperative collaborative effort. I can go play at NaNoWriMo if I want something I write on my own.

It's been years now, I think 2? Since TR. I vaguely recall writing up a post about it after the fact, but it was on WORA. If folks have questions about the behind-the-scenes doing of it all, both good and bad (I know not everyone felt it was a success at all points along the way) feel free to ask. I don't mind yammering, obv.

ES

If it's an "accident" then I get a cool 200-grand. Don't offer too many condolences!

ES

Hemlock Grove has one of the better 'watch a dude turn into a werewolf and out again' images I've seen in quite some time.

ES

I just posted Exercise 4, so join in if you get a hankering, the water's fine.

ES

I will admit the comparison did come to mind while I was typing it up, TJ.

ES

Integrators are one of the Council. The Council is chosen according to the faction, plus 1 representative chosen by popular Mage vote to be the Sleeper-rep. So if you wanted to play someone who was on Council once upon a time, we can work out details and bg, I dunnit see why not.

ES

Where do I need to drop more information in the following? I'm expanding on quite a few pieces, but the ones that are specific to the setting are the most nebulous in terms of 'what's in ES' head' versus 'what a player needs to know'.

Who is Control?
Is Control sentient? The Mages on Avalon have made sure that it is not, and run regular checks to make sure it remains that way. They don't want a true AI handling the business of keeping the proverbial trains running. All of them know the horror stories and have no interest in something self-aware deciding what is or is not necessary. Could Control become sentient? It's possible, and certainly there are those who feel it's so close as no nevermind. This is a point of minor contention between factions, and between Mages within those factions. Whether or not Control should be allowed or encouraged to become self-aware is moot, since the Council currently does not agree, and it's one of the few points on which all of them remain firm. It could change, but would require active and broad movement by multiple factions throughout Avalon and San Diego.

What is Control?
A computer system of steadily increasing complexity, designed by a team of tech-minded Mages. The initial creation was the Technos, but the Trads and Hermetics assisted with the re-programming needed when everything went to shit on Earth. It handles all of the day-to-day details of maintaining the Dream for the Sleepers: they are on Earth, in San Diego, and all is well with the world around them. It does not handle larger transgressions against that illusion (this is a task for individual Mages and Cabals to handle) but may, on request and Council approval, assist with small clean-ups in the form of reinforcing a story told.

How does Control work?
In many ways, the answer to this is ‘handwavium behind the OOC curtain’. The additional components that are the Council (3 separate voices) and the current, rotating Integrator (1 Council member plugged into Control at all times) provide a humanizing element to how Control goes about its daily tasks. As stories are told in-game about Control and its occasional mistakes, the limits of that handwavium will be documented and established.

Control does not make active decisions about whether to act, on its own. It takes these orders from the Council and enacts them through the Integrator-as-filter. Its first and foremost mandate is the smooth running of the Dream for the Sleepers. Any other functions are significantly further down the priority list. This fact allows an enterprising and clever Mage to attempt sly, coincidental interference using Control, but does not allow for overt or wide-spread changes.

What’s this about an Integrator?
The Council of 4 rotates 1 member every 3 months (this is an arbitrary timeframe, chosen based on Fate Magick of old determining what would be the best long-term) as Integrator. The Integrator’s job is to plug into Control and remain that way, body stabilized through Life magicks, for the 3 month span. Her mind joins with Control; the Integrator does not command or order or have any true authority when this is happening. Rather, she provides the human morality and sense of scale that would be so easily lost if a computer handled these things on its own. This displays itself in more realistic fake-vacations for those who go outside San Diego’s bounds, for instance, or in the slight variations in which foods are available to a restaurant when it places an order.

For them what expressed interest in the writing group, we're on week 3, exercise 2. Come in and join us even if you're late: you can do catch-up writing, or just jump in with whatever exercise is up to bat. We're not rulesy!

This post posted because I was asked why I hadn't told folks we'd started. Sorrymybad! If you want to join in, please ping me for the Drive-link. The only thing I do ask is that if you're reading and/or writing, you should offer some constructive commentary as well.

ES

The MEDIA (liars all, as we know) says the Lone Gunman will indeed make a return.

ES

It's not that it isn't reasonable or even that it's wrong. It's just... not done. I've seen major changes or special stuff come through, that makes sense. But we're not really for advertising in a "gotta get the market share" kind of way.

There's been no discussion between admins about what's right or reasonable because it hasn't come up. Nobody's talking to you in MOD VOICE at the moment. Theno's been laying out his personal opinions when commenting here; if and when any of us use MOD VOICE, it's marked as such, per our agreement to the users.

ES

@Jaunt

The typical is to post about your project once. If someone comments or questions, respond. Conversations ensue. I don't know of anyone else offhand who continually posts without the 'someone comments or questions' portion of the equation.

This is not a specific rule. It's the developed-over-time unwritten social agreement.

ES

O hai. I glance at this thread now and then, but I don't care enough about any of the topics (other fora, booze, angry ranting between adults) involved to be all up ins with the Mod Voice. So far nobody's done anything worth banninating or thread-closing or the like. I've a mild itch to separate the booze into its own thread, but that's my tidiness talking, not actual concern.

Carry on carrying on. Theno will speak up if it gets so awful it just can't be borne. He's not the only one, any MSB user is welcome to ask for an ice-bath from the three of us. But understand that if you ask me to read the whole thing and make a call, it might not be the call you want. We're trying to be as laissez faire as possible about this shit. I don't have the interest or energy in being anyone's mom.

ES

I've started up a GoogleDoc folder for this purpose. If you're joining in, and suspect I don't have your email address, please fire it my way in PM.

ES