Burnsider

https://gyazo.com/a4f876eeb32bb9c7ef21b8042e41da7e

I remember helping write this as one of the last things I did on the mod team. I'm very glad it's been published as it's very important. And I can't believe I missed it by over a week. I want to put to words my thoughts on why I wanted to help Anna with this. I hate that we must consistently address this situation on this server. I really wish that we could treat every person on this server with respect and care. I especially wish the adults on this server treated the children on this server better. I have a 6-year-old son. People often joke with me whether I will allow him on the server in seven years, when he is old enough to join. Though they joke with the question, I never joke with my answer. I emphatically tell them no. In the current state of the community, we let minors be witness to awful racial prejudices, harassment, and sexual content that no child should be subjected to. I recognize that we are on the internet and most of us are anonymous faces to each other. Judicial precedent in the United States currently gives less weight to defamatory statements made online because the sheer negative hyperbole that we feel we can use in this anonymous guise is so overwhelming. I would love us to be better than the rest of the internet and, let's face it, that's not a high bar to accomplish. More importantly, I want to work to make this a place that I could, in good conscience, let my child join one day. I ask you to help me make that a reality. When I was a mod, I probably would have finished this with a note that I hope you can come to me if you need to talk. But I really truly hope that, now, you contact Anna. There are people on the moderation team I do not trust and there are people on the moderation team that I know spread the same lies and rumors Shmeep talked about above. But Anna, I trust completely. Talk to her. She will listen and she will do her best to help you.

Deep in his meditations as commanded by Callahan Bishop Citrea, on the Fifth Day of his journey on the Path of Owyn, Sir Zugha the Tower found himself drowsy and weary after seemingly unending fasting and prayer in front of the Pyre of Minitz. Fighting exhaustion, he felt a hand upon him and the Uruk was suddenly compelled to write. Pulling parchment and ink from his pack, he began to put word to paper, but found he wrote not the hastily scrawled scratchings that were his normal script, but rather that of a delicate hand. He found his spelling to no longer have issues and he wrote as if he had been brought up speaking the common tongue and not the tongue of the orcs. As the heat of the flames rise, But for my faith, my eyes would turn away. Could our end but be in flames? Does the Uruk deserve more in their soul? Every Uruk is a slave to their rage, For they are bound to it, Granted no respite from it, as the Humans are bound to their short lives. I turn away, but it calls me ever to it, Just as the addict is drawn to the Green. “Keep it contained,” I cry out to my Creator. “Let not my rage turn me from Your Light.” My will, alone, is not enough, Nor my body, alone, strong enough, Or my spirit, alone, able to cage it. Place Your icy hand upon my brow. Quell the fever Iblees placed there. Relief would flow through my body, Sighing, I would relax in your hand. Tortured, I would be no more. Under your care, I would be at peace, Very content in your embrace. Would that You would find me. Exact Your will upon me. Your servant, then, would I always be, Zealous to Your every command. The earth cries out to you, oh God. Creator, Your achievement proclaims Your name. The sun rises each morning, A flame to mark Your blessings. The mountains rise up to be close to You, The clouds gather around them, hoping for Your touch. Ever do the waves lap upon the shores, Ever does the spring bring rain. The moon changes phase, The tides rise and recede. Without words or voice, Your presence is clear, Your presence is distinct, Your presence is illustrious. None can plead ignorance. Show Your Displeasure to the unworthy, Creator of all, Let no one proclaim Your name for his own gain, Let their wickedness draw your wrath. The starving man begs for a place at the feast, But the fat man casts him away for disturbing his meal. The wicked place those who might seek You in a cage. Will You not break the chains placed down by them? Their words are honey, but their deeds are poison. Their praise of You is beyond measure, But they heap scorn upon Your creation. Ever it bites like a swarm of locusts, And those that draw close to You feel its sting. Bring upon them fire and ruin. Let them feel the chains they themselves place. Tear their skin, rend their flesh. Make right all they have done wrong. In the depths of time, where shadows dwell, Beneath the watchful eye of the Almighty, The understanding of God beckons to the hearts, Of the uruk, the mightiest Descendant. Yet, not all heed the call, for the path is wide, And many are the roads that souls may wander. In the forge and the fight, God's presence waits, For those who choose to turn their gaze above. Krug, their progenitor, in ancient fires forged their legacy, A tale woven into the fabric of existence. For God, in His boundless love, gazes upon the uruk with favor, And in His wisdom, has set a destiny unique. At the culmination of days, in a symphony of cosmic order, When the celestial bodies align and the Skies resonate, The Void, shrouded in darkness and steeped in mystery, Shall be bequeathed to the uruks, a realm to eternally refine. In this realm of dread, amidst the boundless expanse, They shall hone their strength, their spirits unwavering. For God has seen the potential in their hearts, And gifted them a forge of eternal fire. O God, the heart of the uruk cries out in anguish, For the burden of bloodrage weighs heavy upon him. In the heat of battle, his honor is eclipsed, Lost in the tempest of uncontrollable fury. Thine eyes, O Lord, have seen his struggle, Yet the shackles of this curse remain unbroken. He stands on the precipice of his own nature, Yearning for release from this unrelenting storm. Why, O God, hast Thou not granted him reprieve? His soul is ensnared in the throes of relentless rage, And his honor, once gleaming, now lies tarnished, Like a blade dulled by the ceaseless onslaught of time. In his righteous fury, he marches forth, Seeking a path through the darkness that shrouds him. His heart beats with a fervent desire for redemption, To reclaim the honor that has been stolen from him. O God, if it be within Thy divine will, Extend Thy hand to lift this heavy burden. Grant us the strength to rise above our curse, And let our spirits soar on wings of newfound grace.

Deep in the dungeons of the Silver City, a low hum was heard initially by the guards assigned there. The humming grew louder and then a deep, basso voice cried out in song. The song was mournful, yet the hope carried within it was as if sounded by a clarion. It drifted up and out of the cells, into the sea air. [!]Mighty Sequana crests in the deep ocean. In shadows bound, amidst foreign shores, Captured heart, yet spirit soars. Salt-stained skin, a soul untamed, In chains of iron, not subdued or maimed. The waves still call, their whispers near, A note of freedom, held quite dear. Through starlit nights and sun-kissed days, Their rhythm guides, in ceaseless ways. To distant isles, my thoughts do fly, On narn'mataliarme, I'll again ride high. With linannilers' wisdom, stars to read, And Sequana's current as my steed. Though captive now, my spirit's free, The ocean's pulse held deep in me. In every surge, in every swell, The Waveman's heart, they cannot quell. For manum lives not in chains and locks, But in the heart that never mocks. In adversity, our souls grow strong, In darkness, we find where we belong. So hear my song, O boundless sea, A Waveman's soul shall ever be, In trials faced and trials to come, The ocean's child, heart a-thrum.

Brave Version 1.1 has now been released! Please see the below change notes. Statistics: All statistics have had their names changed in order to better differentiate them. Statistics no longer share parts of their name with each other and each one also begins with a different letter. Hat tip to @Fishy for the suggestion. 1. Strength (Offense) has been renamed to Strength. 2. Strength (Defense) has been renamed to Fortitude. 3. Skill (Offense) has been renamed to Training. 4. Skill (Defense) has been renamed to Expertise. 5. Spirit has been renamed to Psyche. Health: The starting health for each character at the beginning of a fight has been increased from 10 to 25. This, along with the damage changes below, will help reduce the advantage that Strength and Fortitude had over Training and Expertise. The marginal difference in the simulated fights (hat tip to @NotEvilAtAll for the amazing help with this) with these changes do not seem statistically meaningful, especially when considering the ingenuity of the human behind the emotes. Damage Roll: The standard damage roll has been increased from 1d6 plus modifier to 1d12 plus modifiers. Additionally, damage rolls for attacks that require emote counts have been increased from 2d6 to 2d12. Please see the above note on Health for the reasoning.

It's an optional system. If you don't like it, don't use it. There's a third path to this trolley. And honestly, given it's optional, why as a staff member, did you feel the need to troll it?

Thanks for posting this, Jumper. Yeah, Jumper and I have been theory-crafting over DMs tonight and we think this is the answer. I expect to make an update to the main post tomorrow when I'm not sleepy.

NGL, kinda feel it makes sense that orcs are just slightly better in 1v1. Not overpowered better. Just slightly better. That said, what would you recommend to fix the "going first" issue? That seems a difference with a more than a standard deviation.

I specifically wanted to keep this simple. The more complicated the system, the less it is usable without a plugin. I think @Moribundity's ideas would make sense. I would absolutely agree to that in combats where I'm facing against you guys. This is why I wrote in the rules that the rules can be changed/added to at the mutual agreement of the people in combat.

This can happen sometimes. You might DM on discord the CT member who accepted you and let them know there's an issue. They can work with the tech team and figure it out.