6 minutes ago, monkeypoacher said:

This is such a nice format. I don't really run events but I think it would be useful for just roleplaying your character too.

Thanks mate. The format visually is a bit askew since I pasted it in from a Google Document, but the overall schematic has been useful for me to track my events that I've planned in the past.

21 minutes ago, ydegirl said:

omg im like 90% sure this was one of my skins hehe. sry i deleted her </3

 

All good! I didn't even realize it had been deleted. Not all of the skins were used, was more of a reference/inspiration if anything.

I've been writing lore for the past couple of days on the Google Drive I made for LotC and went on a bit of a nostalgia tour. I found this document for one of the events that I planned & executed in the previous Almaris map and wanted to share in hopes that, whether for official ST staff or players running player-run events, might find it an interesting template to use in the future. I had a lot of fun running this particular event with the players who happened upon the build in the South Hub region and hope those players too had fun with this event. Cheers!

 

Hayastan

The Illusory Hamlet

 

Location: Tile_125

Neighboring Playerbases: Amaethea, Vistulia, Saqr, Hyspia, Helios, Urguan

 

Brief Synopsis: When Marib al-Zanj seized and slew Qahtan al-Habasha, the leader of the Kharasi Farfolk who fled the Sheikhdom, multitudes of artisans & townfolk fled New Chorasmia (located in tile_121) in fear of the bellicose & wicked geoturgist. This diaspora of Farfolk came upon additional refugees still littered across Old Savoy from settlements such as Niseep & San Luciano and came to a small peninsula spreading from the southern continent and facing Elvenesse. 

 

They met an Elvish scholar who had sailed across the sea during the First Attack on Amaethea by the Dread Drake Azdromoth. The migrants and this scholar came to an accord to work together to raise the hamlet of Hayastan. The town, quaint & quiet, tends to lend itself to reclusion and the residents are reluctant to welcome large parties of people in. Melodious music fills the labyrinthine corridors, but quiet stillness welcomes night.

 

 

Hayastan - Inspirations & Visual Content

 

Build Inspiration: 

MC Escher #1

https://mcescher.com/gallery/impossible-constructions/#

Music Inspiration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iJ7aAzKIHY 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qw35UVE--U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OkxpoKvKZc

 

Art Inspiration:

https://warfare.tk/6-10/Sogdian_murals_from_Panjakent-6-8C-10.htm

https://www.ee.bilkent.edu.tr/~history/Pictures1/im19.jpg

https://warfare.tk/Gorelik-Oriental_Armour.htm

https://warfare.tk/14/Baptistere_de_Saint_Louis-a.htm

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8422967h/f359.highres

https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8422965p/f127.highres

https://warfare.6te.net/Turk/Varka_wa_Gulshah-03.jpg

https://warfare.6te.net/Turk/Varka_wa_Gulshah-11.jpg

https://warfare.6te.net/Persia/StPetersburg-Kulagysh-Dish-soldiers_in_combat-BW.jpg

https://warfare.tk/Persia/14/Jami_al-Tawarikh-TSM_Haz_1653-f347a-Mohammed_b_Al-Mahdi_Crosses_the_Nile-lg.htm

https://warfare.tk/14/Zoology_of_al-Jahiz-p25a-lg.htm

https://warfare.6te.net/12/img/Fatimid_Lustre-ware_plate.jpg

https://warfare.6te.net/12/Cappella_Palatina-ceiling-Camel_Rider.jpg

https://warfare.6te.net/Ancient/img/Stroganov_plate.jpg

https://warfare.6te.net/Turk/Seljuk_bowl-Bahram_Gur_and_Azade_on_a_camel.jpg

https://warfare.6te.net/Turk/Seljuk_David_bowl.jpg

https://warfare.x10host.com/Turk/th/Varka_wa_Gulshah-20_th.jpg
https://warfare.6te.net/14/Nihayat_al-sul-1371-f99.jpg
https://warfare.tk/index.htm
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/view-of-ornans-gustave-courbet/agE_sVxqgRz52w
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gond-i_Shahanshah
 

Skin Inspiration:

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/iron-ogre---scrolls/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/ancient-magic/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/armenian-noble/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/daughter-of-armenia/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/barbarossa-oru-reis/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/lotc-the-birth-of-vasoyevi/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/tambourine-4028012/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/the-gypsy-wizard/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/mongol-lancer/

https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/cuman-kipchak/

 

 

Lore & Narrative

 

The Farfolk of Chorasmia Jadida (trans. New Chorasmia) fled after the geoturgist Marib al-Zanj betrayed their leader Qahtan al-Habasha in the year 60 Second Age. They migrated along the coast by day and past the small towns of Daeland & Alstreim by night to evade notice. These migrants found a small peninsula on the northwestern side of the southern continent which jutted out in the direction of Elvenesse and began to settle.

 

The next couple of years brought additional migrants both from the ominous accident that wrecked San Luciano & Niseep as well as the Azdrazi siege on Amaethea. Farfolk & Southeron humans came in droves, making amends among themselves and combining with the existing encampments on the peninsula. Additionally, an Elvish scholar named Asul ferried across the sea from Amaethea as the Azdrazi’s drake laid waste to the Elvenesse capitol. This eclectic population would reach a synthesis mixing both traditions & languages such as Qali & Hyspian and they eventually began to call their hamlet Hayastan.

 

The hamlet of Hayastan derives its name from the Qali suffix -stan meaning ‘town’ and the first two syllables haya possibly derived from the Qali noun hayaa’ meaning ‘modest’ or from the Elvish hiuw meaning ‘to twitch, to move’. Asul Ilvilinyi (Hayastani for ‘of the Elvenkind’) worked with a few of the Farfolk artisans to create incredibly tall adobe buildings that seem to twist and confuse those approaching the settlement. The town emits a melodic tune, the sound of daf drums & female lulling, pleasant to all who are within earshot.

 

In addition to the intriguing architecture & canorous singing, there are intriguing idiosyncrasies about the hamlet. The buildings, constructed very close together, form a labyrinth for those approaching and the residents are usually reclusive. The observant passerby or pickpocket may find certain effigies carved from malachite depicting a chimeric fusion between a serpentine body and tail and an anthropomorphic torso, arms, & head. The townspeople are blissfully unaware of much of the whimsical illusions that occur overhead and carry about their day in an idyllic calm.

 

 

Key Points to Remember

1. The sound of daf drums & Zenobia’s singing is being played by the Muse of Music. Its destruction results in the sound no longer being played throughout the hamlet. This is a tweaked form of bardmancy/illusion magic causing the townsfolk to:

   Mistake Asul for Farfolk, not Elven
   Create a calm across the town
   Allow Asul to commandeer the minds of the townsfolk towards violence
   Cause the townsfolk to ignore the illusion magic making the towering belvederes look like they are swaying or make the murals, reliefs, & paintings appear to be in motion
   Ignore the occasional presence of the Grivpanavara/Muse of War above ground
   
   Let players make the connections, do not “lead them on” through OOC-light cues. This event site is meant to make players think. The following connections must be made by the players themselves:
   The townsfolk not being familiar with the illusion of the buildings twisting and tilting.
   The townsfolk not being familiar with the naga figurines besides Seshmidze who is explicitly tasked with seeking them out.
   
   What can be led on is that Zenobia’s voice is the same female voice which is playing in the town. This will more than likely be players “hint” that something unsettling is afoot. 

 

Storyline Effects & Process

 

[Start of Storyline]

 

[!] Those entering the confines of the labyrinthine Hayastan will be privy to the slow rolling drumming of the daf drum and the melodious singing voices of Farfolk & Hyspian women. [OOC] Reference: Moments for Joy and Mirth (Laylahen) Georgia Ambient - Didavoi Nana (Civilization 6 OST) Kereshme

 

[Introducing Hayastan as In-Game Knowledge]

 

[Event] SilverTheDM, hotbox_ysl, kindEmperor aid in the coincidental prison break of geoturgists Sumfaya il’Tariq & Il’Watar from the Vistulian Isles, resulting in a chance encounter between Marib al’Zanj of the Chorasmian Temple and the trio of players. They are informed that many Farfolk fled Chorasmia when Marib usurped power from the previous leader. He suggests that he is interested to learn where they migrated.

 

[First Year of Event Site]

 

[Event] Players entering by day or night will witness the belvederes twisting and turning as if a crowd turning to an approaching member. Those players who enter Hayastan during the day will be able to interact with NPCs, loot items, and explore the environs. Those players who enter Hayastan at night will chance upon a silent environment with a change of music suggesting something ominous was afoot. ST will /roll 20, if higher than 10, a Dworkin’s Muse [the Warrior Muse, Grivpanavara] will begin lumbering through the maze and if the player encounters the Muse, it will become hostile - [OOC] Music: Core Drive (Westworld Season 2 Soundtrack)

 

[Event] If one of the naga effigies are looted, more NPCs will appear and the town will become more belligerent with new or returning visitors. Seshmidze and other soldiers will patrol the narrow pathways and talk in the town will turn towards the myths surrounding nagas in the sea beyond the town and the Seshmidze NPC will offer quests to interrogate the seas for any findings of the creatures.

 

[Event] If players enter Hayastan aggressively or with clear intent to do harm, 3 Dworkin’s Muses will be unleashed and the character Asul Ilvilinyi will use illusion magic to make the towering dwelling appear to twist and look upon said players angrily. The sensation of the walls closing in will cause confusion as various townspeople will attempt to sneakily stab and harm the aggressors until they leave the confines of Hayastan.

 

[Second Year of Event Site]

 

[Event] Tigranes expands the hamlet, erecting more belvederes and strangely-structured edifices including one based on Impossible Waterfall by MC Escher by which one end of the path will host a glimmer point in which eldritch creatures will be brought into this plane of existance.

 

 

 

Characters

Skins [Labelled]: https://imgur.com/a/0jyN1l5

 

Asul Ilvilinyi: An erudite scholar in the public eye, but secretly an illusionist who has rediscovered the manufacture of Dworkin’s Muses. He has tuned one such Muse to produce music to augment his efforts in casting a spell over the town populace to imagine him as a Farfolk or Southeron much like themselves and to obey orders when he requires the town population to follow.
 

Makonon Ilbagran: The “town maer” of Hayastan. He is a cordial man of Farfolk descent, versed both in Hayastani & Qali, and an optimistic person. A treat me well, be treated well character in town.
 

Tigranes Arkitekus: The architect and genius behind the labyrinthine layout of Hayastan. Tigranes is the only one to be cognizant of Asul’s identity, pursuit of control, and deception over the townspeople. Asul, as manufacturer of the Dworkin Muses, & Tigranes as architect have a pact in which Tigranes will slowly expand the labyrinth of Hayastan in return for more Muses to be constructed to both protect the town and in a pseudo-scientific ambition to help the Muses achieve sentience by way of traveling the maze and making enough decisions to gain transcendence.

The premise is that the Muses will eventually be guided from end to end of the labyrinth by the guidance of the Muse of Music initially, then set off on its own. Those Muses unable to find their way without turning around will be taken apart and reassembled. This Sisyphian task, though Tigranes & Asul are unaware of it being such a task, will be repeated and become more elaborate as the town limits expand.
 

Seshmidze Ilhethmid: This sportsman & falconer works with Tigranes to provide for the defense of Hayastan. The Hayastani typically fight as chain-maille or lamellar armored spearmen armed with shortswords or tabars (wide-head axes) preferring the use of archery, javelins, and clay grenades filled with tar and would combust on impact. Given the labyrinthine layout of their town, they also became astute trap-manufacturers. Seshmidze is tasked with investigating the appearance of cave naga in the coastal areas beyond the Hayastani peninsula.
 

Zenobia Ilbagran: Makonon’s wife possessing an incredibly dulcet voice. Her voice is the one heard throughout the hamlet. She is incredibly reclusive, not speaking except when some situation demands it. Those players who happen upon a situation where she does speak may recognize her voice and query her about how her voice is that of the singing across the hamlet while she is not singing. Zenobia’s voice is being imitated by one the three Dworkin’s Muses - the Muse of Music, Gramophone.
 

1. The Three Dworkin’s Muses: Dworkin’s Muses lore: https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/144203-dworkins-muses/

   The Gramophone: This muse is built with the utilities to produce, record, and play music.
   The Grivpanavara: This muse is heavily armored, dressed similar to a cataphract, with a great scimitar and tower shield. The name is Hayastani for “warrior guarded like a tortoise”.
   The Aesthete: This muse is built with the creative “mind” of an artist and an acute steadiness allowing the automaton to create paintings, calligraphy, and other visual art forms.
   
   Jaqeli Ilhethmid: The oft-delinquent younger brother of Seshmidze, a common face in the teahouse in Hayastan. Distrustful, rude, and ready to use street smarts to doubt and chastise others.
   
   Tiribaz Shahanshah: A young scholar and expert in the languages of Hayastani, Hyspian, Mihyaari, & Qali. Tiribaz
   
   Lita Cabellut: The wife of Tigranes, charged with watching over and protecting Zenobia. She is aware, as her father is, of the use of Zenobia’s voice recorded by the Gramophone Muse and has mixed feelings regarding the heavy responsibility fallen on her and on Zenobia to keep silent. At the start, she sees no alternative but to continue with keeping mum about what she knows and will boldly give her life if anyone attempts to harm Zenobia.
   
   Dhul’Qarnayn & Zaynabou: A couple of Southeron origins. Dhul’Qarnayn is a feisty merchant who peddles exotic animals while Zaynabou is a tailoress. The two are a jovial pair though Dhul’Qarnayn is troubled by his gibbon who is unaffected by the illusion magic cast through the music that plays across the hamlet and often reacts violently when the dirge is heard each night the Muse of War is brought out by Tigranes.
   
   Orozartes: A Farfolk cavalryman, is in a small abode on the corner of the hamlet facing the open sea. He is currently with fever and can be heard in a fever dream describing a woman dragged in the water.

 

 

Forum Posts

 

Post 1

Upon a lone cape extending out to sea, commonly battered by storms spirited across the narrow strait between Elvenesse, Old Savoy, & Urguan, towers a multitude of open and narrow windcatchers. That most strange of sights is made stranger when you approach the small hamlet of towering structures; the windcatchers and open-air galleries appear to twist as if faces looking towards or away from you. As you approach the cramped and narrow thoroughfares beneath the galleries, you hear a consoling series of voices that call out from the recesses of the hamlet.

 

Dulcet voices of Farfolk women singing and the light rap against daf drums swell up over rooftops and verandas. The few townspeople who loiter the labyrinthine paths behave cordially, greeting passerby with Salaams, Holas, & Aapkasihay and exchanging terse prattle. Rows of carpets, rugs, and other woven tapestries wave at you from the towers above you as if aided by the illusory twisting and winding of the galleries. Figurines of malachite and other crystalline minerals manufactured in the shapes of serpents with hominid features decorate set tables, bookshelves, & other furniture visible to those wandering past doorways and portals into the buildings in the hamlet.

 

Remarkable art, both paintings and reliefs, decorate the walls both facing out and enclosed within the hamlet’s maze. A wide bas relief depicting a chimaeric and outlandish biped monster with four arms can be found in the center of the town limits. An air of aesthetic and artistic stamina can be determined from a brief survey of the various homes and halls found here.

 

Do you decide to wander to this placid hamlet? 

 

Post 2

A swarthy hand tipped the ornate tumbler back and the man took a swill of its contents. A wince and an exhalation full of burning breath broke the silence between him and the elf opposite him. A scene built around them casting the two in a pristine lodge with the man sitting in a bar stool and the elf wiping down another glass standing behind the bar itself. The Farfolk man set his tumbler down gently and slid it courteously towards the elf before continuing.

 

“You ask me who I love most, do you? I would have to confess my truest love to my wife Zenobia,” the Farfolk man recounted with growing fondness.

 

“She supported me when none of my kith or kin could bear to rest a hand on my shoulder. She trusted me when I decided to leave the old Kharasi Oasis with those who fled to Chorasmia and later still when we fled Chorasmia for this humble abode.”

 

“Makonon, aper, this is very touching,” the elf admitted before being cut off as the man continued in a trance.

 

“She has a most beautiful voice, like that of a songbird’s pleasantness, and not a protest can be made of its melody. She mesmerizes and she toys, how I am proud to be the hawk watching over my nightingale.”

 

“Makonon, aper, I did not realize this and I shy from suggesting I be an audience to this. I take it this would be an offense to your sensibilities as both man and Farfolk,” the elf mused, a cocked brow surveying Makonon’s reaction.

 

The Farfolk, leaning against an elbow resting on the bar, looked unamused.

 

“Ilvilin, I’d caution you to be careful how you address my wife,” Makonon stated flatly. The elf held up his hands as if surrendering, lowering his head with an amused grin hidden beneath the crook of his nose.

 

“I dare say, I might like to. . .suggest a use for that voice,” the elf parlayed in a low voice. Makonon’s face folded from displaying distaste to reluctance and he began to stand up.

 

Both the barstool and the bar seemed to shrink away through Makonon’s eyes. He watched as the bar slid back into a dusky nothingness and his feet felt a fleeting sensation of buckling as the stool shrank to the proportions of a common crate one might find on a pier or port. He teetered as the surrounding scenery melted back into the actual environment around him; he found himself standing only a few feet away from the elf on a sparse sandspit with two crates sat upon the shore.

 

Creak and echo suggested something screened in the darker shadows beneath a thick palm tree nearby. The elf turned, expectantly, to face the silhouette breaking its veil as a metallic head leaned out from underneath the flora as if inspecting their conversation.

 

Post 3

A single sloop sauntered along the choppy waters off the coast of Old Savoy; fishermen begged and pleaded with tangles of nets intending to cast them off their boat. One net managed to cooperate and the sailors threw it across the water's edge and its full length stretched fully. The light rocking of the boat, par for course, took no notice for what evaded the eyes of the fishermen whose sight saw little past the surface at dusk. More and more men cajoled their nets into cooperating and casted them out on opposite sides of their small vessel.

 

As the lattice pattern of the nets descended deeper into the waters, one such segment of the net bulged. A reptilian eye peeked from between the criss-cross stitch of the net at the fishermen, one of the anglers peering back at it and panicked. The creature disappeared back into the depths; the net followed it for a short time before idling in the waters. Each fisherman began withdrawing their nets and tossing them randomly upon deck. The panicked man tripped and fell onto his back, peering up to see a distant belvedere seemingly swivel to lock gazes with him.

 

The entire group of fishermen erupted with anxiety as more found the belvedere spying on them. They cried out orders to take up oars and furiously rowed and watched the belvedere snap back into its constructed position as the object dwindled with distance put between them.

 

 

10 hours ago, Unwillingly said:

I don't care who you are or what he's done to you but you are evil for putting him this low on the list

no I'm not taking criticism and you're all wrong

 

 

I rock wit you. Banter aside, I'm surprised I'm even midway on the list having not moderated for a few months now. Cheers @Phersades for the pleasant response. I will always treat mature players like mature players and be civil in my moderation & in my discussions with said players. Invariably, a lot of improvements needed on the server require a culture change which is simultaneously difficult to get a community of gamers (whose ages, real world experiences vary) & cannot be created by regulations (moderation, rule changes).

 

PS: Some more banter to cheer your day up!

 

 

8 hours ago, Reckless Banzai Screamer said:

There's some great things in being a vassal and having your group being apart of a community greater than itself and the world building you can accomplish with it, something folks seem to lack appreciation for. It's way more comfy being a vassal with your homies.

 

This is a really good observation and one that I hope other Realm leaders and/or players currently thinking to gun for a realm take into consideration. If you are sincerely interested in trying to roll a snowball into an avalanche & introduce a substantive & lasting culture or polity, playing as a vassal ensures you have a source of active players to interact with and let members of your culture/polity develop characters vis-a-vis interactions with said larger pool of active players (the nation you are a vassal under). In terms of game mechanics, it is referred to as being a "vassal", but the in-game understanding doesn't have to follow a linear medieval lord-vassal contract.

 

The entire time that my friends & I had the Cingedoz active on the server, we continuously played as vassals with "migrations" explaining who we attached to at any given time on the Almaris & Aevos maps. There was one short period, maybe a month, where we had a lair but I wanted the players involved with the Cingedoz at the time to feel the burn from the stovetop so to speak and learn that even lairs aren't the best method for instantiating an in-game entity on the server.

Want to play a character based loosely on Amerindian/Native American cultures?

 

Cunimund sat upon a nondescript stone bench before a fork in the ethereal road. One led towards the mezzanine ascending, that of the Seven Skies, & the other led towards a gilded chasm-gate; the Dwedmar's Halls. The corporeal form of Garedyn approached the fork; Cunimund spied him out of the corner of his eye as he worked on his ten-thousandth tome. A magnum opus, one of many.

 

"Mine kinsman Gaisorix and his son Brennus bid you whole health Garedyn, the Cingedoz remember you in the former years of Vistulia! They play a dirge on their carnyx in the lowly life, yet bugle triumph for your arrival in this greater life!"

1 hour ago, TreeSmoothie said:

 

https://www.lordofthecraft.net/forums/topic/187240-report-rules/ (also videos have to be spoiled, @mods!?!)

Futbol is better than American football ..... arabic is rly cool though 

 

* obligatory disclaimer after chatting with satin, anna & mady r my friends and I don't necessarily agree with reporting them; I only commented because of the warnings we were all given for our status updates, not the comments on the report 

I support the volunteers (just not the ones that are openly condescending without punishment that the regular players would normally get)

 

Don't worry habibi, I agree with you. I put in my retirement papers two months ago, hopefully this report reminds the admins to remove my Moderation tag.

Konahoteka leans towards the fire, enough that its light painted a dark shadow between his eyes. He dared his guest, who had previously been pleading for Konahoteka to side with the coalition, to improve his failing rhetoric as the young warrior praised the likes of Sir Gaspard.

 

 

For your future reference, the rule is in the Rules -> Rules subpage of the website. Scroll or CTRL + F & search for Other Subforum Rules to find the rule regarding not posting in reports where you are not mentioned or involved.

23 hours ago, Jentos said:

what about morning wood?

 

Log that one as one of the best comments ever. I'm rooting for more before the new year!

 

شكراً جزيلاً يا كِرِمِنوتْبَلَك

MC Name: IbnKhaldun8
RP Name: Konahoteka

Persona ID: 71255

15 hours ago, _RoyalCrafter_ said:

WE'VE BEEN GENTRIFIED BY THE ST. MY LEGS ARE GROWING LONGER OH GOD WHY ARE MY EARS POINTY

 

 

I dont think people will appreciate how ******* hilarious the gentrification comment is. My reaction is Ochocinco on the right.

 

The Subudain horde shall scour the continent. . .

Ayo do you want old Cingedoz region or is that too mountainous?

 

Odoacer hal'Cingedoz slid a bronzen icon of the Venerated Cunimund hal'Cingedoz over a print of the gorgeous Tabula Aaunica, just off-center from where the Langkette Pass symbol (the yellow-in-green marker). He wrote a note, reading: "Wæshæl! Whole health and hail to you o' King Johannes. By the love of mine kinsman Cunimund, newly venerated & incredibly instrumental to the legal & court tradition of Aaun, I ask that you consider marking the legendary humble hamlet of Bodbwodz on the Tabula Aaunica in future editions. Our fair village where heroes & scholars made home had been settled by the late Heinrich Lothar I & the Cingedoz tribe had been ever respectful to the Aaunic folk & ever loyal to Merryweather. As to the court tradition he aided in fostering, look no further than the Lex Aaunica transcribed & resting in assemblage lecterns in Whitespire among many other contributions."

4 hours ago, Sander said:

VENERABLE CUNIMUND HAL’CINGEDOZ
Baron Cunimund of the Cingedoz tribes is hereby made Venerable on account of his long service to the Holy Mother Church’s written word. Cunimund was appointed to oversee the literary donation of the Venerable Father Wert as Albarosa’s Church Librarian and in doing so gave shape to the library there, not only managing the Wertian collection, but vastly growing it to become the largest collection of books in all of Canondom to our knowledge. In addition to this, and more importantly in regards to his Veneration, Cunimund transcribed a great number of religious texts - some of which had never been put in book form before - and made the effort of spreading these religious texts far and wide across Canondom, thus playing an enormous role in spreading the word of God, of the Church, and in evangelizing the descendants of Horen through his contributions to the written word.

 

Odoacer keeps the bronzen icon of the now Venerated Cunimund close to him. He tells all that keeping a carnyx warhorn next to their newborn's cradle will increase the likelihood of them having scholarly traits.

 

 

A bronzen icon is left by Odoacer in the Temple of the Exalted outside Whitespire. It is labelled Venerated Cunimund hal'Cingedoz with a note reading 'You know for what reasons he deserves some recognition come the next Golden Bull. Cherish thy library and all of its work transcribed mostly by his hand.'.

23 hours ago, Islamadon said:

It's good that the Mods are attempting to uphold forum standards to make sure it's quality over "R" posting (I hate these, you didn't have anything important to say in the first place!), but I can't help but feel as if the spirit of the enforcement does not revolve around the pursuit of quality.

To me, and I emphasize I'm not trying to go at anyone's throats, the way in which this has been enforced previously comes across as two adults attempting to impose their moderation authority onto a bunch of teenagers and college kids. It doesn't seem so beneficial as it does making a vendetta to put oneself in the spotlight and impose control over the forums.

From my experience, most people who receive the snarky one-liners are making snarky one-liners themselves, and who end their posts with their character twirling a dagger or something in their private room. How, unless through anonymity or vague-posting, are people meant to respond to this kind of forum reply? By the logic of moderation, any attempt to do so legitimately cannot be done - it's Metagame. Are we meant to wait for the Blues to clean it up? Further, in the event that posts are indeed always IC and can be responded to regardless of reasonable presence, do I not hold the right to walk over to them in-game and rip their tongue out?

It is my opinion that whatever you put out on the forums should be fair game to respond to in any way one sees fit. We do not moderate the number of words, hostile intent and so on in-game. I understand it is a false equivalence to equate the forums to the in-game server, but the forums are meant to be an extension of the in-game world whereby people can see law posts and character threads. If people didn't want others to respond, why are they even making a thread or reply in the first place? A solution to not receiving feedback would be allowing for OPs to lock their own threads off the bat.

To conclude - begging the rules as law doesn't address the spirit of those rules. Being a pedantic enforcer of rules which deter player enjoyment (and indeed - a good portion of the players thinks this is annoying) only means that Mods themselves are deterring player enjoyment. As long as no one is causing harm through doxing, posting IP grabbers, slur-spewing, ETC. I don't see a need to be so tight-fisted about the forums. They've always been sassy.

 

I'm going to put this to the test. I like what you've come with as a rebuttal, so I am going to be more lax on enforcing the rules, but preferring to take an interpretive stance on certain posts. I'll leave reserve posts, unidentified flying posts (no name posts), & one-liners (I already do this anyways) alone even when reported (and certain players are now abusing the system for shits & giggles).

 

Cheers & have a good day!

 

 

 

45 minutes ago, Boom_steel said:

Mods please assess this unruly individual a warning point. They are injecting out-of-character animus into the forums. I feel unsafe, please do something about this.

 

The Pat McAfee Show? Animus? Where is the connection?!

 

I will reply in full tomorrow, but I'm fine with pumping brakes on the necessity of explicitly mentioning your character's name in a flavor post and instead being more interpretive on whether posts are directly or indirectly written with invective, trolling, and/or harassing of the OP.

5 minutes ago, sam33497 said:

I don't really care about this one way or another, but I don't think the way the anon-posting rule is being interpreted here makes sense

 

It's not against the rules to go ingame and rp without specifying the subject in your emotes, making environmental emotes, etc. People can still hatepost with their characters, and pretty often do so. I may not have the full picture but I don't really see what's being accomplished with that interpretation

 

That is a fair point. Would you say you would want us as forum moderators to make more of an effort to interpret whether a forum reply [with or without direct mention of character name] meets the criteria of harassment, "shit-posting", or otherwise rule-breaking in nature?

 

Edit: What do you think about the following point: What we want to avoid are throwaway characters used only for shit posting, it doesnt embody any metric of player conduct or RP standards (give and take). Played characters in game are more or less actual characters that can be consequenced for being jerks in RP. Making random throwaways in game too is arguably against conduct and standards.

20 minutes ago, megavoltar said:

Question about this, do you think bias has affected the ability for moderators to make decisions and made it very loose-goose?  Is there any kind of, 'pass-off' like jury duty?

 

Because its very obvious when it does not happen

 

I can only speak for myself & about forum moderation specifically, I am notorious for being "out of the loop" about current playergroups, cliques, etc. I usually lean into that by taking more charitable interpretations of player behavior (unless it is unavoidably obvious that behavior is done with malice, asshatery, etc). If you have a direct moderator decision of mine that you wish to contest, I welcome you to speak with me on Discord about it, but otherwise I've enjoyed mostly positive feedback in how I conduct myself with others as it pertains to forum moderation.

15 minutes ago, Brawms said:

you WILL not have fun on my forums!!! you WILL consult the 400 page rule lawyer post on how to specifically word your post!!!

 

 

I bet your growled like AJ Hawk when you wrote this one out.

 

 

The following thread is intended to encourage discussion of the current set of rules found here & an intentional effort to educate all users of the current set of rules & how forum moderation has been executed starting within the last month. As of right now, all moderators have the ability to moderate the forums, but formally there has only really been 4 moderators who have taken an active role in moderating the forums: Mirtok, annabanana1014, itdontmatta, & myself. I base this off of the moderator-level viewable notifications of forum warnings being given out.

 

 

Of those rules listed under the General Forum Rules subheading, most rules have been followed & are pretty basic. Basic civility & decency is not a scarce commodity exchanged and proof of most players following these basic rules is evidence of that.

 

The only rule of the General Forum Rules that some players may benefit from a reminder of is the following:

 

Quote

Certain behaviors are prohibited: Posting “r” or otherwise reserving a post for later editing and updating.

 

When one happens upon a roleplay topic that they consider their character(s) would have reason for interfacing with, there is no need to reserve post as most other players will take the opportunity to skim through a forum topic's reply. If I had to take an educated guess as to the why - why reserve-post? I would guess it has to do with players becoming psychologically dependent on the effects of the upvote system - a mini-attention economy if you will. Regardless, unless this rule is removed, moderators will enforce it.

 

 

 

Of those rules listed under the Roleplay Subforum Rules subheading, here is a break down of the rules:

 

Rules #1 & #2 are pretty self-explanatory and there hasn't been too much trouble with ensuring players follow them.

 

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Rule #3: Responses in topics should be at least three sentences in length, be related to the original topic or prior responses, and contribute to character development or the value of the original topic.

The forum moderators, by consensus, have agreed to not enforce the "three sentences in length" clause of this rule. We allow for one-liners so long as they abide by the remaining parts of this rule. Whether a user types 1, 2, 3, or 100 lines - the number of lines has no bearing on whether the user is trying to intentionally break rules, be disrespectful, or convey some invective to another user directly or indirectly.

 

Rule #4 is pretty self-explanatory.

 

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Rule #5: Mentioning the death of a non-permakilled character, unless that character has been perma-killed (PKed) is prohibited unless the player has given their consent.

I think this rule is one where a number of players take issue with in that it creates discrepancy between something that actually occurred in-game (a character death) & how the player whose character is killed chooses to respond. I would like to get some opinions on this rule, but as far as I know - there has only been one instance where this rule was brought up in a forum report in the past month or so.

 

Quote

Rule #6: Players must roleplay with a character which they currently control and play.

This is the rule which Mirtok & I have brought up as it regards anon-posting. Anon-replies have been used both for prose flavor to add to forum threads & to get jabs & quips in about the player you just love to hate. I think for those who are sincerely writing good prose, it isn't too difficult an ask that you specify the subject of your sentence by name (it being a character you currently control & play). So instead of:

'He frolicked through the garden' -> 'Cunimund frolicked through the garden'

 

If this is a herculean ask of users of the forums, then forum moderation will get into the interpretive weeds of whether a sentence[s] with unspecified subjects is really trying to take the piss out of another player in the thread or whether it is just adding flavor to the thread.

 

PS: Rest easy, even some other moderators don't like my opinion ;)

 

Spoiler

 

 

Rule #7 is pretty self-explanatory.

 

 

I can only speak for myself in that I usually try to get engagement from someone who has broken the forum rules because I acknowledge the forums have not been well-maintained or moderated in the past and that general slip of acknowledgement of existing rules is real. If you ever have an issue with how I am personally moderating, want to ask a question, or otherwise like to express an opinion (and are comfortable with dialogue both ways) - please feel free to reach out to me on Discord at ibnkhaldun8.

 

PS: Feel free to have a read over a thread I created when I first started actively forum moderating: