Papa Liam

OOC ((MC Name: Papa_Liam)) ((Discord: Liam#7649)) ((Timezone: EST)) IN-CHARACTER Name: Tûzbûg'Krap II, “The Trash Gobo” Why seek membership to the Mages Guild?: The arcane arts are almost taboo among my native community. The very allusiveness of magical practices in our culture makes it all the more fascinating, I respect it both as a scientific practice and as an art form. If it is something that I can continue to preserve as we see generations of mages come and go, then I'd humbly serve as the bearer of knowledge. What arts, if any, do you currently practice?: None. What position do you desire to attain upon acceptance?: Practicus When should you be contacted for an interview?: ((Will mostly be available in the afternoons, after 3pm EST.))

OG caliphate gang, brother 🤙

I wanted to have a brief discussion about the player’s relationship with LotC as a server, and about how some of us prioritize certain aspects of our lives. A lot of folks in this community take their character’s affairs very seriously, to the point where we allow the roleplay we partake in to cause us legitimate, emotional and mental anguish, to the point where we forget that we’re playing a videogame – and I’ve noticed that this particularly impacts our younger players, which to me, is extremely concerning. Most of you know me as the Sanoist guy, the GA guy, the Illatian mafia guy, the railroad baron guy, or the Parliament guy. I started playing on LotC the summer between 8th grade and my freshman year in highschool, around the time we switched over to Vailor. I was fifteen, and the reason LotC appealed to me is because I sort of fit your stereotypical description of the anti-social kid in the back of the class who wore gray hoodies year-round. I had a few people who were fluctuating friends, but I don’t think I really had any sort of normal highschool friend group. I was the kid that ate lunch in the stairwell, or in a teacher’s office, if I could find it. My weight was always something that I was heavily concerned with, I was a pretty chubby kid. I was pretty obsessed with listening to podcasts and drawing, even though I wasn’t that good at it, but that didn’t matter, it gave me some way to express myself creatively. Still, I didn’t have much interest in any traditional social activities, like sports or after-school clubs. I was pretty cynical, I thought that I was above the “jocks” and “popular kids,” even though all I really wanted to do was be in their friend groups. That’s why LotC has such a strong appeal to me, it gave me the chance to interact with others free of judgement, and additionally, it was an outlet to express myself. I was a kid with a lot to say, and with nobody to talk to, LotC seemingly had a lot to offer. And it did, over the last five years, I’ve had a lot of fun and met some pretty great players who I’ve formed close friendships with. Those people are fantastic human beings who helped me to get through highschool. However, at a lot of points during my time on the server, I found myself frustrated, upset, and angry at the happenings of my character and our group, anytime something went wrong either in-game or OOC’ly. It would ruin my day, and when I got home, my top priority wouldn’t be homework, it would be the server and how I could remedy whatever way in which I was wronged. It got to the point where I almost had to repeat my freshman year, if it hadn’t been for a very generous teacher who gave me an extra credit opportunity that I didn’t at all deserve. That caused some serious, unnecessary stress on top of what was already a pretty bleak highschool experience. Fortunately, my last year and a half of highschool, I was able to simultaneously play LotC while getting my grades into the 80’s and 90’s. I was accepted to some local colleges, and some were pretty reputable for their government/poli sci/economics programs that I was applying for, but I was also accepted to a certain school in Quebec that I didn’t seriously consider at first. On a whim, I decided to go to school over the border, and I cannot express how much of a good decision that was for me. At first, my reason for going abroad was because it was cheaper than any in-state school I was accepted to, and I was disappointed because I couldn’t afford one of the other schools I had been accepted to, but I soon realized that this was the best school for me. Back in September, I stopped playing LotC, cold turkey, because I was so preoccupied by my classes and the parties I was going to. At first, I was pretty disappointed that I couldn’t continue roleplaying, but realized that I didn’t miss it. I made a massive group of friends from so many different walks of life, coming from countries I’d barely even heard of, with varying interests and incredible stories to tell. That’s why, for a solid ~6 months or so, I hardly logged onto the server at all – and I didn’t miss it one bit. This is what I did during those six months at school. I made incredible friends who’d take a bullet for me, and I’d take a few bullets for them. I have a solid GPA, and I’m applying for my department’s honors program this year. I have an internship lined up for the near future (which I was supposed to be doing right now, thanks ‘rona), and I’ll be an orientation leader for the incoming freshmen next semester, which was an incredible experience for me as a freshman. I lost a lot of weight, and I’m no longer camera shy. The reason I’ve made this thread is because, as I return to LotC looking for something to do amidst this quarantine, I found myself getting frustrated all over again, and I have to remind myself that it’s not something worth getting huffy over, and I think a lot of people in this community need that reminder, too, seeing as a lot of folks in this community take their groups pretty seriously – and that’s okay! It’s good that you have a project that you’re working on, and if you’re having fun doing it, then continue to do so. But you have to remember, this isn’t something worth getting stressed over. I think that I’ve recently realized that the reason I played so much as a kid is because that was a substitute for my absent social life, and the reason I got incredibly stressed out is because LotC was, in a way, my top life priority. If something went downhill on the server, it felt like your life was falling apart, because that’s all you really had going for you at the time. That’s because there’s a lot of addictive elements to the server, and that’s something we have to be readily aware of. So here’s my short guide on how to enjoy LotC in a healthy manner; if you’re doing something that stresses you out, or you’re playing with a group that’s seemingly toxic, then leave for a different group, or start your own project. Do something else. The minute that you’re obsessing over in-game affairs and it takes a toll on your emotional health, you’re no longer having fun, and the purpose of the server is defeated. Does this mean you have to stop playing LotC? No, not necessarily, it just means that you need to prioritize fun over all else when you do play. It’s not worth it if you’re getting all huffy and puffy over a game. Additionally, I don’t know which gray hoodie wearing, back of the class sitting, anti-social kid who eats on the stairwell needs to hear this, but you’re gonna turn out fine. Go outside this summer, and try to talk to some of your peers with interests similar to your own (so long as you practice social distancing). I promise, if you give the jocks and the “cool kids” a chance, most of them are actually pretty nice people. Don’t be elitist, you’re not above everybody else just because you don’t play sports and don’t party and don’t post on social media. Take the time to meet others, most folks aren’t two-dimensional, and actually have a lot to offer. And if they don’t give you the time of day right away, keep trying, you’ll find a group of people who appreciate you. I know right now it seems like you might be invisible, but put yourself out there and you’ll see just how fast life can turn around. You will be fine. This isn’t necessarily a leaving post, I assume that I’ll be hanging around LotC for the summer whilst we’re stuck in quarantine, but by that same token, I assume I’ll also be taking another semi-hiatus once the next semester rolls around. You’re all very great and amazing people, and I just wanted to remind you all to take a breather. (And if you’re one of those individuals graduating highschool and have the option to go somewhere abroad or out-of-state, do it. Go on an adventure, I promise it’ll be a great experience.)

Not gonna bother droning on for ten paragraphs that you won’t read, but for the longest time, I’ve thought that the amount of mina injected into the LotC economy has made it impossible to create the sort of economic and material conflict that makes aspects of roleplay interesting. LotC is an outlet that could have a really dynamic economy if poverty, strife, and shortages actually existed. There’s no real need for labour of any sort, and consumers hardly buy anything aside from food and iron occasionally. It’s not something I’ve put hours of thought into, but if one day of voting didn’t provide us with a week’s worth of tax money, then maybe the server’s economy – and inevitably, the quality of roleplay created from material conflict – would fare better. The obvious issue with cutting mina as a reward from voting would be a decline in the incentive to vote, but I’d argue there are other incentives that can be offered. I think providing food is an adequate enough incentive, alongside the periodic voting milestone rewards offered (rename tokens, soulstone cooldown, shop of wonders vouchers, etc). This is just a thought I’ve had for a while, and I wanted to know what others thought, and how else we might be able to spur economic activity on the server

Bell Sano began to weep from the Seven Skies. Watching the hairy mass march through the pearly, white gates brought a tear to the old man’s eyes. Another friend had arrived. The old man wept, for he had been awaiting the Wild Man’s arrival, knowing the beast long before he was regarded as such. “The Wild Man. . . Rafe, my boy, we’ve been expecting you. What took so long? It’s been over a century.” With that, the elderly scholar grinned. “Welcome home.”

Escape while you can. In all seriousness, I can send you a link.

I posted on one of these threads when I first joined LotC as a freshman. Now, I’m graduating from HS tomorrow. Safe to say I’m prepared for summer

Minecraft Username: Papa_Liam Discord Tag: Liam#7649 Character Name: Lucius Manlia Character Age: 19 Character Social Class: Slave Character Profession: Laborer; aspiring thespian

Looking nice, my fellow cartographers

I'm still trying to make lotc cartography that's half as great as this. What program do you use? I've got SAI and that's treated me pretty well but I'm wondering if there's anything better out there. And again, kuddos, getting the political boundaries correct and actually marking townships and forts is extremely difficult and painstakingly excruciating to do EDIT: Only mistake I can see on the map is the island in the lower left hand corner, which actually belongs in Fennic territory. It's home to some Fennic military camp with fat tents n ****

Lotte Baptiste, who has long since abandoned the mafia life, reminisces about his old days as a mob boss in the Adelburg drug cartel. "Ey, these bozos ain't know what's in store for 'em," he'd sigh, shaking his head. "They'll get real spooked after gettin' busted and spendin' two years in prison. . . But 'ey, whatd'a I know?"