MAY STATE OF THE GAME

[powersthatbe]

I. Jaunt Vote Results/Walkabout Voting

Our next jaunt will be Showtime, by a considerable margin. The other two proposed jaunts made strong enough showings to come back up in the voting pool at a later date; keep an eye out for them the next time we feel in need of a game-wide vacation.

Walkabout options for June/July are the following, all on a 1:1 OOC time ratio:

Ivory Tower: Field Trip: Postapocalyptic scholars attending a conference near an irradiated city find there's more to worry about than academic politics when local warlords make trouble. It may be time to test how much mightier than the sword the pen can be…

Escape from Junkworld: Shopping Trip: The motley inter-species band of Gehenna survivors keeping up their outpost on a distant moon are doing fairly well for themselves overall, but in need of a supply run to a nearby planet. Between hastily and poorly repaired outriders and the constant threat of officials from any number of civilised worlds bearing down on them, the mission isn’t without its risks.

Lightside/Darkside: November: As the elves of January gradually ease up the quarantine that’s kept their population segregated for so long, they also begin repairing the overland roads to the rest of the Federation of Hel - and their relations with their neighboring cities. A delegation from the nearby city of November is here to find out just what January’s been up to, these last centuries, and whether they’re ready to rejoin the Federation’s governing council.

Walkabout voting will close Thursday, May 18th, at 11:59PM CST, to give us a chance to put it together. As usual, votes are weighted so that first choices count for two votes and second choices count for one.

Poll #18353 June/July Walkabot

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 26

View Respondents

What is your first choice Walkabout for June/July?

View Answers

Ivory Tower: Field Trip
5 (19.2%)

Escape from Junkworld: Shopping Trip
15 (57.7%)

Lightside/Darkside: November
6 (23.1%)

What is your second choice Walkabout for June/July?

View Answers

Ivory Tower: Field Trip
8 (30.8%)

Escape from Junkworld: Shopping Trip
7 (26.9%)

Lightside/Darkside: November
11 (42.3%)

II. Jaunt Disconnect

Discussion of jaunt disconnect problems reared its head again during this jaunt, and we’d really like to organize that discussion in a central place, the better to get as much input as possible and see if we can figure out how best to help prevent the problem, especially on jaunts that don’t also feature a walkabout.

Suggestions have included making better use of diverse setting locations, or making it clear that some locations are only available for characters to Be From and will not be used as active parts of the jaunt setting. In this regard, the mods feel Code of Dishonor was perhaps the biggest success (three distinct regions, each with its own agendas and plots still woven into the greater whole), though no jaunt has been without its issues somewhere along the line.

We’re open to feedback of all sorts, both about problems players are having engaging with jaunts and potential solutions to those problems.

III. OOC Tensions and Character Bleed

As noted the other day, this jaunt has seen quite a bit of IC and OOC tension, as well as an unusually high number of player complaints. (The high number of complaints in no way makes these complaints less valid; every complaint brought to us merited and got an immediate mod response. Please, absolutely let us know when you see a problem.) We’d like to take a moment to remind you all that you’re perfectly allowed to take a step back for a day or two if you need to, even on a jaunt with as high of stakes as this one.

We’ve also learned a few lessons regarding the presentation of high-stakes jaunts, and will do our best to help prevent the tension from ratcheting up so quickly for the next one. If there’s anything else we as mods can do to help defuse these situations in the future, please let us know.

IV. Liminal Energy Skills
Recently, Riddick & Matthew, through some clever combinations of skills, have uncovered a portion of the Liminal Skill tree lost since before Moebius - Liminal Energy skills. Four new skills are presented here, and more can be developed - we strongly encourage characters to find clever, subversive ways to explore the possibilities of the network, Liminal Space, & the Travelers’ own pasts, & are always eager to consult any curious player looking to develop something like this.

LIMINAL ENERGY
By breaking down the matter of Liminal Space, create enough energy to power or recharge any one battery-operated device, appliance which would use a standard wall socket, or comparable machine. Usable once per day.
Prerequisites: Liminal Manipulation II.

LIMINAL GENERATOR
In any created room, create functional electrical wiring and active electrical power systems which can power or charge any devices in that space, up to 2kW/hour per level of Room Creation you possess (an average American home uses roughly 1.5kW/h on average). Without this skill, lights and appliances in Created Rooms are powered, but are powered by being part of the room - i.e., a lamp that is unplugged in a created room cannot be replaced with a different appliance, as it is powered by the creator’s understanding of how the room ought to be, not by measurable electric current.
Prerequisites: Room Creation I, Liminal Energy.

LIMINAL SHOCK
Once per day, produce a contact-based electrical shock less than or equal to two milli-amps per Liminal Skill. A ten milli-amp shock is extremely painful; between ten and twenty causes paralysis from contact, seventy-five causes unconsciousness and temporary cessation of breathing, and between one hundred and two hundred is fatal (a Traveler with every Liminal skill on every tree could only produce a shock this severe by using Liminal Power to double the effect of the skill).
Prerequisites: Liminal Energy, Liminal Bubble, Liminal Power.

EXTRALIMINAL TAP
Access the liminal energy you have access to to power systems or devices outside Liminal Space. Effectively, you can now plug devices into one or more outlet-portals to power them remotely.
Prerequisites: Liminal Energy, Intraliminal Skills, Object Portal.

V. New Business/Questions & Concerns
If you have something to discuss which doesn’t fall under the above headers, let us know here!

Comments

[bite_the_hand]

The problem with that is I know that at least personally, I would feel obligated to do one of those things, so it would be more like choosing a story from a list than crafting something more enjoyable. Sure there wouldn't actually be any pressure to do any of the provided suggestions, but choosing not to pursue any of them would feel like disappointing people and going against what was secretly wanted. If nothing else, it likely establishes a theme which would discourage some of the more inventive potential plot lines.

What I was suggesting as a compromise was to at first not give any of those kinds of guidelines, but make it clear to the player that they could ask for such suggestions or at least get help with brainstorming things if they were having trouble.

[triggerhappytraitor]

Agreed that having those guidelines available if needed, so if someone in a plot role is stuck, they can ask for them is a good compromise.

However, guidelines being seen as expectations of how something should go is a very complicated issue that I think should probably be looked into further. Suggestions should not feel like obligations, and we've repeatedly been told that the outcome of jaunts is not predetermined. Adding additional information or suggestions on how to get a ball rolling shouldn't countermand that, but clearly, the impression has been given that it has or would.

What makes a plot role different than a regular infiltration, I think is a lot of what this comes down to. If there's not going to be any guidance or suggestions or even added information, why is it a special role? Why not just have a sign up for privileged knowledge, rather than for a specific role?

[bite_the_hand]

It's less that the mods have done anything to give me such an impression or otherwise done anything wrong and more that I know that at least my brain would hop on the "what if" wagon really hard here. Like "oh, if they have these ideas they're tossing at me, clearly that's something they would want to see and I should follow one of these because it would be more interesting for everyone if I did since obviously these are the options that would work best with the Jaunt." Something I came up with for the role might actually be even better but I'm not sure I'd be able to get over the but what if it's not issue.

Mostly, I just wanted to point this out because I know I'm far from the only person with anxiety issues in this game. So I wanted to point out the Brains Are Assholes factor as something that should be considered as we look into this further. Implying that there was something wrong with mod presentation was not my intention. (Although if there are people that feel that way, by all means hop in, I just felt I should make it clear that's not the case with me personally.)

[triggerhappytraitor]

So def something that would be opt in rather than standard.

(and yeah, I get the anxiety/bad brain thing. My anxiety odometer rolled over back to "surprisingly chill" after maxing out over "but I need info or else I'm gonna screw up and get yelled at" this week so... /bad brain brofist?)

Still something worth tossing out there and batting about to see if there's anything other than just anxiety spiral behind it? If for no other reason than to find ways to dodge said anxiety spiral.

[bite_the_hand]

Yes! Opt-in is what I was kind of trying to get at last night but had too bad of a case of Finals-brain to get across properly. XD;

(/brofist/ Yeah I've nearly gone back around to chill at this point myself but only because of the aforementioned Finals soaking up most of my stress focus...)

And yeah, that's why I added that last thing about no really say a thing otherwise at the end there. I didn't want to shut the discussion down on accident so realized I should probably clarify that at the last second, oops.

[triggerhappytraitor]

Oh, finals week. So glad I don't have to deal with that hell any longer....

(Also DW needs a little "like" style button for the "I have read this and have nothing significant to add but wanted to give my general approval/agreement" because... that's basically all I got here but didn't wanna leave it hanging /awkward)

[maximumest]

Morning review says similar ideas but not quite the same, and at least I was mostly coherent! I know I wouldn't feel obligated to do those things but I am also not in a plot relevant role. I presume that a plot important role does have something in mind for it already or they wouldn't exist. I have similar ideas to Fran on that measure. Having a player have secret info that nobody else has isn't a bad thing in my eyes, and if it's plot bits to work with that's okay too.

[bite_the_hand]

Oh yeah, there's something there to spring off of, but it's usually something that can be directed in a lot of different ways? Where as providing any more than that springboard would be funneling in a certain direction.

I really wish I could come up with an example that doesn't resort to Pathfinder but... Well say you're told to make an Fighter character. You're being directed enough that you don't show up with a Wizard instead, but there's still so many different ways you could take your fighter that there's a ton of freedom remaining. So you decide you want to make a Fighter that focuses on archery instead of the usual close combat styles. But if the person running the game feels the need to give examples of what they think would work well and they're all different examples of those usual up close and personal kind of builds, the archer idea starts to seem like it might not be a good idea after all. If all the options are close combat, does that mean that an archer would be useless? Will the terrain be wrong? Ambushes constantly forcing the character into close combat? Except in reality it's just a much rarer example the person running things didn't think of, and would in actuality be way cooler. But because that doubt has been created there, that cool thing might slip by the wayside because going with one of the guidelines provided is a "safer" bet.

On another note I wouldn't be against vague "secret info" roles to go alongside the equally vague "position of power" roles, although I would be concerned that the players would slip up and the entire big reveal of everything would get shown in the first mingle, or even accidentally mentioned on Plurk or something, making the entire Jaunt a bit anticlimatic. I think it could be done well, it would just take some work, and it definitely shouldn't be all or even most of the PI roles.

[triggerhappytraitor]

Basically an overthinking the examples as "wink wink nudge nudge" hints rather than brainstorming seeds to get you started kinda thing?

And if the plot roles haven't accidently pulled the curtain down prematurely already, why the concern over it happening if the plot roles are a little different?

[bite_the_hand]

Yes, exactly that.

And I guess having information just feels different to me than having influence? All of the plot roles I've had I knew just about as much as any of the other players, so I felt really free to plot things. But having privileged info might make things more constricting when it comes for doing plot? "People want to plot X thing but I can't do that because Y reasons but is it too early in the Jaunt to tell them about Y?" Although granted that sort of depends on how other discussions elsewhere on this post turn out. If it's decided people shouldn't know outcomes until the last possible moment, creating this kind of role will be way more tricky than if spilling the beans early won't cause any serious problems?

Like I said I'm not against the idea or anything by any means. It just felt like an angle that should be looked at a little before the concept gets moved into the testing phase.

[triggerhappytraitor]

That's a good point. I haven't done any plot role stuff yet so I only really know how it looks from the outside. I had always assumed that plot roles had added information so that they could perform a function. Makes me kinda glad I haven't signed up for one yet and likely means I won't in the future. Without any information or guidelines, sounds like it would just mess with my anxiety like mad.

[mytearsaremine]

Well, sometimes we do, depending on the role and the Jaunt. I've done this plot role thing a lot, and there were times when I DID have a lot of info to work with.

[bite_the_hand]

Well, they sort of do? And from the other comment to this it looks like some others likely get more and I've just happened to only get the more open-ended ones. So if there's already some more structured ones like that I'm all for keeping it that way. Maintaining a balance instead of getting rid of all the more free-style roles, then?

[maximumest]

Taking your example, and applying it to what's going on, Player A is told that they'll be playing a Fighter for this campaign, and given Half-Elf as a race. All further input from the DM ends, because that's how this campaign rolls, free-form and choice is the way to go for everybody. Halfway into the first dungeon it's revealed Player A .. and B with the sorcerer and C the thief too, still don't really have an idea of what they're doing or they're supposed to be doing and their character sheets are only half filled out. They figured they'd pick it up as they went along. Meanwhile certain outcomes of the entire campaign rely on them being able to play their class and background to an unknown end.

It seems reasonable to me that those who aren't able to take suggestions as options instead of requirements should have the option to not have them given but others who do want them, should be able to get some hints and directions. If not at the very start, then down the line when they're floundering. I know you have a lot of anxiety and worries about these things and feeling required to do this or that, which is a completely legit way to feel, but not having the option open to anyone else because of it seems unfair.

[mytearsaremine]

Yes, I agree with this. If you don't need them or want them, fine, but if you do, it would be helpful to have them available if you ask for them.

[maximumest]

Also good to make sure everyone knows the option is available! if it becomes available, anyway. I do know more modwork is always a headache, adding even more to it could be a real pain.

[bite_the_hand]

A lot like that, yes! Like I said, I'm definitely not against the option being there for if the second-ish mingle goes up and they still can't get the details fleshed out, it's just the "at the very beginning" option I'm a little wary of.

And I had a big long thing continuing the Pathfinder analogy here but it was getting way too complicated so I'm just going to skip it unless I really need it...