Treshure

That would be Sushi Shaders.

LAND OF THE ELVES = =

"Hopefully the Orc's allies will pull out of this war as a sign of honor and respect. Elf versus Orc, as it should be," comments a bystanding Walter.

^ oh my god what the **** have we ascended new levels of art mastery gab i don't have any ideas right now but **** homie take my money

PRELUDE - One of the most bewildering experiences I’ve ever had on LotC was my interactions with the Marked Men (a monster hunting guild). In earlier days, I had admired their extraordinary detail to attention and commitment to roleplay. Their quality was undeniably higher than the average of the server. Thus, I was determined to get in. However, I had come from a nation roleplaying perspective. The way I asked to get into groups was through Discord. I fashioned characters OOCly by observing the group I intended to get into through IC means. I thought I was clever by playing right up their alley; rather, they saw straight through me. I was constantly dumbfounded why my requests were postponed and eventually denied. Wasn’t I good enough? Had I what it took to be an eloquent enough role-player for the Marked? Maybe. But I never understood the dynamic that I’m about to teach. It was the fatal flaw, or perhaps one of several, that made me ineligible for such a group. It took me a lot of time to finally figure it out and realize. Hopefully, you all can avoid the mistakes I’ve made and skip through this process all throughout. What the Marked valued in my perspective was the ultimate separation of out of character and in character. And they were very persistent about it, too. Out of character, the people I interacted with were incredibly friendly and polite. The moment I started asking to join and what character to make, however, and suddenly their responses turned cold and calculated. Perhaps for good reason. When we join the server, we are taught that meta gaming is more or less using OOC information and applying it ICly; blending two realms that should not intersect. Fair enough, right? Don’t meta-game people’s locations or names, add a few more trivial things and that fairly covers the rule. But thats just it: it only covers the bare necessary rule to keep you unbanned on this server. The principle of meta-gaming falls much deeper. If you are going to play a truly meaningful and special character, your out of character ambitions must be entirely barred from the equation. As you make a character, you quite truly must immerse yourself entirely. Here is why. PLAYING FOR YOURSELF - One time or another, we’ve played for ourselves. My most recent character was a manifestation of this desire. Perhaps you fancy a particular position in a nation. You want to strike a role-play deal with another player, but the restrictions of the medium make it difficult; you take the conversation to Discord. For me, it was the desire to see a fully functional elven military. So, I cut every corner possible. I intentionally made my character a veteran of the Malinorian crusades to harden his heart. I powered through every single role-play interaction, ignoring the realistic consequences of the situation so that my character could remain one dimensionally tunnel visioned on a strong army. I negotiated with nation leaders and other players through Discord because I reasoned much more efficiently than being constrained in character. All of these things were the means to a goal that I determined long before my elf, all done out of character. And while my elf was undeniably successful, I was fully robbed of the pleasure that exclusive role-play brings. My beloved character was just a thin veil on my face; a puppet barely masking the ambitions and intents of his controller. We often hear that roleplaying is cooperative. Learn to lose a little bit. Roll with the punches. The idea behind this is that if we are to truly role-play and engage in a cooperative and fun story, we can’t be rigid and solely driven by our out of character ambitions. Am I saying that if you want to be a wizard, for example, don’t try and aim for that whatsoever? No. Instead, model your character to have the intention ICly. Then, as your character, let the situation play out. Let role-play take it’s course, the interactions said character endures shaping his desires and outcome. He may indeed become a wizard, or something else more beautiful and intriguing can occur. AN ACTOR’S INTENT - If you are setting out to play a meaningful and unique character, cut yourself out of the equation. A permanent wall should be set between you and your character; an intentional bipolarism, if you will. Discord should only be for rallies and keeping touch with the friends that you make. This shouldn’t be burdensome and a chore. Rather, just be aware of what is said in the Discord that could influence your choices or outright decide them. By removing yourself from the situation, you allow the character you have created to interact with the world alone. This gives you a much deeper immersion than you would have otherwise. As players of LotC, we all secretly delight in living a made up fantasy. Don’t cripple that fantasy! Much like an actor removes himself to become another, so should you in role-play. The actor disregards his or her ambitions or intent, instead fully assuming the identity of the creation. CHARACTER CREATION: WHAT DO I DO NOW? - When an actor removes his fully developed real personality, he jumps into another extremely developed character (ideally). This character was conceptualized, drawn, written, and thoroughly inserted to a realized plot. This character’s actions are defined and justified. He has a personality and a cause for action. The actor cannot fully remove himself if the role he is stepping into is not clearly defined. All too similarly, I see people creating characters in about thirty seconds. No thought is really put into it. I too am a victim to this line of thought. I have this idea for a character, and bam! There he is. I start playing him immediately instead of taking the time to map and flesh out the character. If you want to really take a shot at this, you need to either define your current character or take your sweet time with a new one. If your character is not defined enough, you run the risk of playing a satirical version of yourself. I see it plenty on the forums: people replying to role-play threads as the bare minimum veil of themselves. That isn’t why we’re here. Isn’t why you’re here: you cannot say the fantasy you imagined while applying for this server was that so you can make edgy “in roleplay” comments that thinly mask your own out of character venom. — We came here ultimately for an attractive escape. So, take heed to this guide and fully indulge yourself on that vision. I hope this guide can help new players and veterans alike. In writing this, I admit some guilty participation in the vices I’ve described. These are very common things I’ve noticed in the community. Hopefully you can take a little bit from this post and apply it in your own role-play.

Prelude Well, let’s get right down to it! If you are a new player, were a new player, or have ever played this server, you have probably experienced the following. When you join the server for the first time, you are promptly welcomed by several players. Then, some might inquire if you’re looking for a group join. Some might even walk right up to you and offer to take you to their nation and show you around. Since you don’t know much about anything and they seem helpful, you tag along. They might inquire that you join their military and find some housing. Cool! You get lopped into a Discord, given a uniform, and march around. I’ve seen this happen for most players. And don’t get me wrong, this is great. Joining a nation as a new player, especially their military, grants you several things. First, it instantly gives you a home. We people are very tribalistic, so the idea that we instantly belong and join a group of players who have each other’s backs is attractive. It also gives you things to do. You have commanders barking orders at you, drills to practice, RP in the local area as a casual soldier. Again, this is great. It engages you right off the bat. But what if you wanted more? What if soldier RP/casual townsman RP isn’t the cut of pie you are looking for? And trust me, there are many more cuts out there. This guide is designed to help you transition from primarily nation RP to specialized profession/group RP. Let’s get into the meat of it. ABSTRACT VERSUS CONCRETE Nation and military roleplay is the first mostly because it is the easiest. It provides a pretty base level of entertainment and good bang for your buck in terms of time investment. Its not hard to get excited over fights, wars, raids, and whatnot. There is more out there in the world of Lord of the Craft, however. Take Maslow’s Hiearchy of Needs for example. The triangle is fairly self explanatory. You have your immediate needs (food, sleep, shelter), scaling upwards towards the more abstract, metaphysical, conceptual but still very real things. This is how I like to look at LotC’s different types of roleplay. And that is what it strictly is - different types. None are necessarily better than the other. When engaging in nation and military RP as a new player, as I’ve mentioned before, it isn’t hard to have fun. The roleplay and storyline is very tightly integrated with basic Minecraft mechanics. If you win that PvP warclaim, suddenly the story as a whole has progressed rapidly in your favor. We can argue without much difficulty, however, that the need for friends or accomplishment is just as attractive as food and water. It goes the same metaphorically for breaking the barrier of nation/military RP. DRAWING THE READER IN Specialized roleplay can be anything from a tavern cook to an evil necromancer. It is the act of picking a RP niche and actively exploring and expanding on it. You could join a group of cultists, or live in a town breeding horses for the local militia. You could be a ranger of the forest, or a student of the arcane arts. Whatever it might be, you must attempt to roleplay your specialization with as much detail as appropriate. When we move towards ideas that are hard to execute on Minecraft, more creative endeavors must be given to paint a proper picture for the person you’re role playing with. This is what I call a Collective Fantasy. When two nations battle it out, it usually occurs in Warclaims that contain dozens, if not hundreds of people. The medium, PvP, is largely not roleplay as well. Thus, it is very easy to construct a Collective Fantasy - we’re not really imagining things, we really just did fight a massive battle! But, place that very same person down in a randomly generated Minecraft forest and ask him to construct a vivid image as a Ranger. Its going to be a lot harder, simply because there isn’t much substance to work off of. Ironically, this is the type of roleplay that can garner the most admiration. If you can take a relatively plain Minecraft scene and turn it into a vivid fantasy within your head, let alone give that same pleasure to others? It takes quite the skill. If I wanted you to play LotC and get past the whole stigma of Minecraft, I wouldn’t show you Minecraft. Imagine seeing a bunch of players running around with no context, bound by imaginary rules. Then we have to stop and type in the chat to each other? It looks silly! Rather, I’d have you imagine the vivid Collective Fantasies we’ve as a community have dreamt. Massive wars between feuding families. Empires that have lasted for years. Every character is a real player - each with their complex storyline. Magic, creatures, culture, kachow! I’m a little more sold now. The same applies for professions, magic, or any specialized roleplay. When you’re a cook, you’re given Minecraft food items and a workbench. That isn’t much - it is up to you to describe the spices, herbs, meat cuts, cooking process, and so on. As a mage, you quite literally have no Minecraft representation. You would emote drawing from the void, yes, but furthermore the actual visual process - its magic! Let us be awed by the very image of it. Lark’s post was a large inspiration for this one. I remember back even in Anthos (a previous map) how he had a strong reputation as a blacksmith. Likewise to Anthos, we don’t have Nexus. Then what makes him so special? Surely anyone can craft a sword. Rather, it was his special role playing ability to construct an environment that made it so special. You watched as he made your sword, special and unique in creativity unlike any other before it. And as he handed you your specially made weapon, you know that specific item has a history. Sure, it might just be a Minecraft item - but both you and Lark partook in the Collective Fantasy of forgiving a virgin blade anew. I’ll leave some scene building and roleplay examples down below to show you what I mean. COOK Scene Building Emotes MAGE Scene Building Emotes DOING YOUR HOMEWORK Lord of the Craft does not generate it’s own content. Everything, and I mean nearly everything, borrows inspiration from things outside of LotC. This means that if you spend all your time playing Lord of the Craft, you will eventually stagnate in creative ways to spice up your roleplay. You can try and borrow ideas from other players, yes, but they ultimately got it somewhere other than the Minecraft vacuum. As Lark suggested, try watching videos on your specific profession. Consider even taking it up yourself. Right now I’m reading a crash course on cooking and the rudimentary foundations of the skill. As well as gaining a neat hobby in life, it will invariably help in my roleplay. Read books of advanced authors, fiction or non-fiction, and observe the way they write sentences and construct their fantasies. You will often find that you may have the ideas on how to spice up or change your roleplay, but the manner of which you do so is broken. A common trope for new players is convoluting the reader or person you’re engaging with overwhelming vocabulary and sentence length. Adjusting the flow of your roleplay will better deliver your collective fantasies. You will gain insight and creativity by exploring outside of the server. This is especially true if it directly pertains to the profession/skill you’re trying to expand on. BREAKING THE TROPE There is only one essential frame of character that you need as a newly joined player, fresh on their way in the local military. A 6’3, broad chinned, absolutely shredded warrior. He’s kind, smart, charming, strong, and yet also stern and commanding when the situation requires. He’s also cliche and done to death. A lack of imperfection will put any kind of roleplay into the grave. I’ve explored this concept in my previous post “Order and Chaos”, where there must be an equal balance of both. When you’re in the state or military, however, you need all the roleplay advantages you can get. And if you can just will your character to be a demigod in any way, you might think it helps. Except that it doesn’t. It only creates a static environment of eternally perfect individuals, immune to problems and the rich roleplay that would come from them. If you’re going to roleplay a tavern keep or cook, for example, you certainly don’t need to be shredded. There’s no good reason for it! In fact, you would probably craft more of a personality by roleplaying a bit of a fat chef than one who has no imperfections at all. And what if this chef carries chronic arthritis because of his fat, which certainly comes from his love of food? What about the insecurities and tempers aroused at the mere mention of it? Ah, the possibilities of roleplay! None of which would be available if he was without flaw. CONCLUSION This has been a long post, though it certainly could have gone on. I hope I’ve been able to sum up these ideas in something that’s sort of digestible. More broad than anything, the intention has been to rather equip the player with the mindset beneficial to roleplaying a varied and skilled character. I hope you can take these ideas and bring it into something unique for the server to enjoy. Stay loose as a goose, have fun, and thanks for reading.

Above treacherous heights labored a worn, yet persistent elf. He had left his expansive loft in the cover of night, departing from the lands of Elvenesse to confront an enemy. He had broke through the Dominion’s national border in a little under three hours. The elf bore against his black mare, racing against a rising sun. All that saw him leave wondered why he traveled alone. The Lord General had not known he was facing against the champion of the Orcs. He did not know it was the son of the fallen Rex, killed at the behest of his brother, that he would clash blades with. Valkorion did not know he would die that day. It was only a challenge answered, another enemy to fall at the hands of the indomitable General. Finally, the hills waned. Valkorion saw over the expansive hills and was sobered. There, erect in the wind, flew the flag of a massive black scorpion. He had arrived to his destination. It was proper that even in the land of his ancient enemies, the elf would fight in a wooded expanse. And so the last General of the Dominion descended into the lofty woods before Krugmar, sword in hand to confront a virulent foe. The orc had wasted little time with Valkorion. Blades screamed against each other, hissing and spitting metal shards as the two clashed in the forest. For all the experience the elf had acquired in his life, the Orc was better. Each violent motion the elf wagered onto the behemoth was returned with persistent ferocity. No measure enacted by Valkorion could stave the towering beast. He found himself increasingly losing ground, pressing against a large and ancient oak. In his mind, perhaps he could have won. Perhaps a hopeful, heroic moment could break the losing momentum of the fight. This, of course, was shattered when the orc cleaved off Valkorion’s right forearm, and with it his sword. The elf’s vigor melted, and his courage turned to raw horror. It was not at the loss of his arm, but rather the realization he had only a few seconds to live. He turned to mouth at the Orc. It might have been a triumphant last phrase, or a beg of reprieve and mercy. Valkorion never had a chance to speak. The orc turned over the butt of his blade, driving the blunted bottom straight into Valkorion’s chest. The elf drove backwards, smashing into the oak behind him with tremendous force. The bottom side of the claymore caved and broke the General’s armor; it tore through skin like paper and coated the General’s bronze plate in crimson ichor. The sun had begun to set. The elf had not died yet, left alone to slowly endure his collapsing lungs. His eyes wandered towards the shore and the setting light, witnessing his last in a cold land, foreign of his friends and kin. As the scattered rays began to fade in the twilight, Valkorion Ithelanen whispered one thing. “Kairn…” And so the elf died, far from home and in an enemy’s land. His body slowly morphed into the tree, bark and moss overcoming his frame with only broken plate and a twisted face to remain of the once proud General. Little did he know, a war brewed at home. His kin had been crowned monarch, and the following campaign would lead the nascent King to the broken body of his brother. Only a path of blood lays between. ---- Amongst his shattered body laid two satchels. They burst at the brim with letters, notes, and expansive documents. The wind would deliver these unto scavengers; therein, finding themselves eventually to the civilized nations and home: Dominion. Such titles would be found submitted to the public library and those concerned with the last documents of the late Valkorion,

For most of human history, leisure was literally not a thing. If you didn’t work at full capacity nearly all the time, you’d starve and die. The 9-5 is a relatively new idea. Recreational time is also pretty new. Our monkey brains aren’t used to the overwhelming abundance of free time. They sure as hell aren’t accustomed to sitting in front of flashing screens with websites that are programmed to hook you on fractional dopamine loops. Use your time on the computer as a way to unwind after a productive day. Go work out, study, learn to cook, engage in the real world for a day. When you come home, use the time here to relax and enjoy yourself. But never use it alone - that’s a path to unhappiness and pain in the long run. We weren’t meant for this.

Preface If you’ve been role playing for a little while, there is a good chance you’ve stumbled upon the character types sheet. It displays different types of characters with their assigned morality: Chaotic good, Lawful Evil, Lawful Good, et cetera. The list goes on. But how have these things come to be? Why do they matter? How can this guide help your role play? Let me explain. Largely, our behaviors both in the real world and in virtual Minecraft come from a mix of order and chaos. The Taoist yin-yang represents the equal representation of order and chaos in our lives. If you’ve read 12 Rules for Life, you know what I’m getting at here. It’s a large inspiration for this post. The order in our real lives may be your alarm clock, ringing at the same time every morning. It’s the bank opening precisely at 10AM, regardless of circumstance. It’s the due process of law for all criminals. It is your car functioning as expected, the government running as it should be and the construction of a lawful society as we know it. It is the regulated, orderly and expected conduct of the world around you. On the contrary, chaos is quite the opposite. Its your girlfriend suddenly breaking up with you. It is your car shutting down on the way to work, or suddenly finding yourself out of work! It is the fear and uncertainty of the unknown and the challenges it might bring. You don’t like it, but we have to deal with it. Order and chaos cannot come without the other. In the beginning of Genesis, God created the world (order) out of the faceless deep (chaos). Christian or not, this is a well crafted story that explains the existence of order and chaos from the start of everything. Applying in Lord of the Craft Now that we have a basic understanding of order and chaos, how does it apply to LotC? The virtual landscape that we frisk in is very unique in contrast to real life. It is a place virtually (heh) free of actual consequence. Our real identities are hidden by a screen. Social punishments and ridicule thus are equally hidden. This lets us be pretty ******* weird. The norms we adhere to in the real world melt away. We take off our Chik-Fil-A work aprons and don our wizard robes. And since nobody can see who you are, nobody can really judge you. Nobody really wants to read, listen, or entertain your ten page lore proposal on Druidism during Calculus, but in this medium your creativity is not only entertained but appreciated! Unfortunately, this leads to darker results. Some players feel entitled to harass others, spewing vitriol and hatred in ways they could never do face to face. This freedom gives us as a community incredible power to act out our deepest, unconscious desires for better or worse. This freedom, consequently, gives a dazzling diversity to the “Order” and “Chaos” aforementioned. People swing wildly in either direction in ways they just wouldn't in real life. Because we live in a structured world with real social consequences, our actual lives walk the line between order and chaos much more strictly than our role play counterparts do. Your edgy, racist joke might garner you real criticism from your peers. We cannot be erratic and prone to action, because its harder to do and the consequences of failure are much higher. This might make us seem boring in contrast to our role play characters. While I might play a dictatorial emperor on the server, I might also lead a perfectly normal 9-5 on the weekdays and do charity work on the weekends. This divergence from expected behavior allows us to create wildly varied, differentiated characters with archetypal personalities and unique action. That’s a beautiful thing! But while we might enjoy the thrill of leading a very specific fantasy or direction for a character, it is easy to lose vision of how that archetype comes to be and how to properly role play it. Instead of describing each small division of character (Lawful Good, Chaotic Neutral, etc) I’m going to explain each major group and the motivations behind them. Please excuse this very long introductory. Let’s dive into the meat of it! EXPLORING CHAOS EXPLORING ORDER Conclusion One of the overlooked aspects to the Yin & Yang is the tiny bit of corresponding colors. In the black lies a little white. In the white, a small dot of black. This shows the potential for contrast. In order, there is potential for chaos. In chaos, potential for order. How does this relate to roleplay? It stresses not to lean things overly one sided. Every character has the potential to change, to go one way or the other than what is expected of them. It prevents horribly boring and predictable characters. It spices things up. And while the interaction between chaotic and orderly characters drives a lot of roleplay, much of the more intrinsic is defined between the clash of chaos and order within a character. That drives a story much farther, in my opinion. So stay loose, have fun, and I hope this guide gave you a little to think about. Thanks for reading.

>song about murdering each other in real life > minecraft pvp lol

uses post malone for pvp video music lmao cringe

"enjoy getting wiped out" says cassius de sola

lol i feel ya if you're serious about this, but realize nothing can really be done for social rejects, awkward people, and those plagued with strange fantasies are naturally attracted to this kind of community. you can take on an alter ego, mask your face/voice permanently, and disregard any real human sense. ascend to a staff position and suddenly you're afforded the social power you're never typically given its a bacteria breeding ground for toxic and unhealthy relationships. my honest advice is to leave and never come back. you're not going to solve jack **** by posting a feedback thread, on which half the people are already mocking it. real life DnD and face to face fantasy games, hell even RPing away from minecraft will give you a better and healthier experience

Arcann gives a hearty chuckle ”you’re no descendent of Kalenz”

valkorion screams from the grave "you idiots just let the aspectists grow or die in their wood elf district whats so hard to understand we had this all down"

arcann witnesses impending high elf genocide 2.0 "you are so screwed"

“Join the cultural resistance today and talk to your resident nation leader!” bellows Arcann.

15 year old band of mexicans desperately attempt to emulate flays

do you rest your mouse on rocks

Valkorion scoffs at the denial! ”A lordship within the Dominion is of equal merit as Rex. The High Prince takes command of far more than a tribe of savages in the far northern wastes.”

A lone emissary makes way to the Orkish lands, bearing a brief message before departing. To the Uruk Rex, and all his spawn beneath, The affairs of late have run dry. By the powers beyond our control, the everlasting conflict betwixt elf and ork cannot be solved through usual practice of siege craft and large scale warfare. The raids of late mean little, doing nothing more than to pepper moral and keep our respective troops from growing weak and slothful. I propose something else. I will not mask my hatred for you. This incursion of uruk-kind blights our forests. Our meadows are sodden with vile statues to your broken gods. As you have slain many an elf, I have repaid the debt to your own kind. It was under my watchful eye that your previous Rex’s head rolled, as her heart was torn from her bosom. I desire nothing more than to see you laid low. There is no greater remedy for this feud than death. I challenge you to single combat by blade alone. That if we should abide by this ancient agreement, the monks will not come for either of our shattered bodies. Decline, and show Atlas how far your kind have fallen. I eagerly await your response. Signed, Valkorion, Lord General of the Dominion

DECLARATION OF SUMMIT ((Belvitz Castle, February 17 Saturday, 6PM EST/3PM PST)) The silver state wanes. Our values once held high now tread against the dirt, gathering filth and squalor where oft it might drag. This is due fault to no elf; instead, entropy has lay siege to the greatest mali’aheral values. It is within our view that the state of Haelun’or may be unsuitable to those who prize our ethics of yore. For those who find discontent, for those who wish to start anew, we call for summit. In exactly two Elven Days, we will meet with any of those who tire of the decadence and monotony our once noble and beautiful kindred have fallen into. To our kind, impurity is moral death; and it is to this which we can no longer stand by and watch. It is self evident that we have long departed from our ancient ways. The location of this meeting is within the neutral Belvitz Castle, located beside the Whispering Crossroads. We ask only those who are interested attend. The intent of such a meeting is to bring about the creation of a new settlement, infinitely small enough only to maintain the populace, in interests to preserve ancient mali’aheral culture. To those of Haelun’or and the Dominion: the entire existence of the summit and hopefully settlement thereafter is wholly peaceful. We do not mean to denounce the current elven establishments, nor do we hold any particular interest in them. This is an organization of like-minded individuals with eyes for their own and none more. Our principles are our life. With hope, we will restore them to actuality, lest we fall to the jaws of ruin. Signed, Arcann of Lin’everal Signed, Psyhamirys of Gaekrin