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Entry tags:
September Midmonth
| Midmonth Mod Post: Month Hello, Aefenglom! Here's your monthly midmonth mod post. First, as always, some reminders. They're pretty brief this month:
• It's app month! You know what that means - Reserves and the TDM will both go up on the September 16th; reserves will open at midnight EST, while the TDM will go up at 3PM EST. Meanwhile, applications will open a week later on at midnight EST on the DATE, and close at the end of the month. •Our activity check also begins on September 24th! While we'll have the requirements on the activity check itself as a reminder, here they are right now so you can start figuring things out: 10 comments minimum from you across two threads OR one network post/log made by you with at least 5 comments from you and a second, separate thread with at least 5 comments from you.In addition, players are allowed to take a strike if they have at least half of the necessary activity; Since there was no TDM in August, TDM threads do not apply; this month's TDM will be available for use in October. Inbox threads and personal overflow threads also work - they just have to be from the current month! • The calendar has all these dates as always, so check it out! The Aefenglom Journal Aefenglom has held its breath, and continues to until our Speaker returns from Dorchacht, a forgotten city to the far northwest of us. We've heard the rumors of unfair Bonds, of a power dynamic so far removed from our own normalcy, and it feels as if for the most part, the general public agrees: Dorchacht is wrong, and their hearts are for the Resistance hoping to make a change in their home. But do not let despair swallow you! Meán Fómhair is just around the bend, bringing the promise of autumnal fun for all. Pick your apples, prepare your pies, and get ready for everyone's favorite fall festival. The goblin market has pulled its wares to the forefront, so be sure to browse and spend at your leisure. As always, when perusing any vendors' good, keep an eye on your personal belongings and children! Buddy bonding, while silly in name, is the best way to keep you and your friends safe in large crowds -- and away from the unsavory, be they people who want a moment of your time to speak of ill things or bad deals. Special: The Dorchacht Post Lady Morgana has allowed the Speaker and dignitaries of Aefenglom, a weakened city to our far southeast, into our domain. Gracious that she is, knowledgeable and wise, we must support and stand by her decisions for the grandeur of Dorchacht to continue; any falter in our dedication will cause disruption of our peace and safety, and ensure ill fate to us all. It is for the better of Dorchacht that we allow these strangers, unusual as they are, into our midst, and to welcome them with open arms, and open minds. Grace be with Dorchacht. (A pamphlet, tucked within many copies of the Post, speaks thus: Rejoice! Aefenglom has brought with it new tidings and new allies, whose minds are alike to ours and the goals just the same. Offer to them your wisdom and open your minds to their ideas, whatever they may be -- the fate of our Dorchacht rests upon our shoulders, but that doesn't mean we can't share the burden with those who offer their hands. Rally those around you. Learn an instrument or two. Keep peeking in places you shouldn't. We'll break these chains binding us and bring about a new era, where Monster and Man may work alongside one another with equal status, just as they rightfully should.) OOC Updates
• In the same breath, we have welcomed Nekky, our Hiccup/Bucky Barnes player, into our company. Please give both well-wishes and high hopes for the future! Feedback We're here again to offer everyone the chance to give some feedback, if there's anything that you've noticed or would like to possibly seem implemented! Talking Points:
• Quests. In general, what kind of quests would you like to see more of? How can we improve with these? What's working, and what isn't? • Plot investigation feedback. We've gotten quite a few good investigations, and honestly it's been fantastic seeing what everyone does with their information. • Events. What type of ones would you like to see, what ones are working, what aren't? • General feelings on: the game, the timing of posts, how events and such are set up, etc. • And more! Tell us what's on your mind. |
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I know getting timely answers to plot questions has been a sticking point for some people getting started on the latest plot, which has led to frustration, but looking at the number of questions y'all typically receive when a plot post goes up I can completely understand why that bogs down.
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If we follow that path, it'd be on the plotting post for those events. Another thing we'd like to try, with this in hand, is having the event post and the plotting post be the same, so players have a more firm idea versus summaries of the possibilities as it is right now and can plan accordingly, question and thread wise.
We aren't entirely sure what'll work and what won't, but we do understand the frustrations brought about by our lateness on some questions this time especially.
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Merging the plotting & event posts sounds like a good option--I might also suggest keeping them separate, but publishing a (locked) version of the event post when the plotting post goes up so everyone can look it over, but doesn't feel pressured to do both plotting & top-levels all at once. Give us some lead time to get sorted.
+1 regarding magic
For example, until I read questions asked on the FAQ page, I didn't realize that food from conjuration isn't filling at all and was operating under the assumption that it wasn't as filling as real food one might cook, but it still tastes good and fills one's belly at least a little. (Basically, I was operating under the assumption it was as it tends to be in most tabletops rpg systems where it's possible to conjure food!) Similarly, the permanency of conjurations was something left fairly vague on the Coven page. But based upon a response to an FAQ question I read fairly recently regarding the permanency of conjurations, I have more questions about which conjuration spells that applies to or if it's equal across the board. Or if the kind of permanency there is for characters unable to physically manifest without magic could be manipulated into a spell.
Basically, I feel like the Coven page as it's structured right now leaves a lot open to interpretation and I think results in people either doing their own thing based on canons/mediums/whatever frame of reference they got, or they have a lot of questions. And in the case of the latter, if questions are asked, that information may get missed since it tends to live on a separate page from where the relevant write-up exists. So, any consolidation of information and clarification around limitations would be super helpful (and really appreciated!) moving forward. :]b
DORCHACHT PT 2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO
Note that characters in group 1 are out 5th to the 16th while characters in group 2 are gone from the 18th to the 29th, assuming two days of travel each way, but characters in group 1 can also have chosen to remain in Dorchacht either continuing to pose as diplomats or joining the resistance.
Questions that might be worth figuring out:
- Headcounts! who in the first group has chosen to stay in Dorch/return to Aef? Who will be getting on the ships to Dorchacht next?
- Did we want to arrange/handwave things that Group 1 have asked members of Group 2 to prepare before coming over (frivolous or otherwise) or warned them to expect? Group 2 hanging back allows them to be a bit more prepped coming over.
- Has anyone at this point straight up faffed off from the diplomacy efforts?
- Is anyone in the second group still looking for someone to potentially Bond/partner with before heading over?
- Anything else we're missing that would be helpful?
HEADCOUNT FOR GROUP 1 (5th to 16th)
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He tried to behave himself as a diplomat but come the end of the trip instead of taking the boat back home he's going to sneak off with the resistance and help them from the inside--so he can still be a point of contact for group 2 and coordinate sharing the things they already know.
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He got a lead on some things about the Wall and is staying to keep working on that
HEADCOUNT FOR GROUP 2 (18th to 29th)
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Nothing of note except that she'd likely have tried to keep in touch with the first group to find out what she should be prepared for.
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He'll be temp-Bonded to Everett on his arrival (after he gets out of Coven Baby Jail for having brought the Cwyld into the city, oops), but could probably use a Witch Bond/buddy to keep him out of too much trouble.
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I haven't gotten a top-level up yet, but this investigation's an overview of what she'll be doing if he'd like to pitch in with any of that. Let me know if you'd like to handwave anything wrt hanging out on the boat and such as well!
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And he'll always be happy to talk about Thedas in all of its (debatable) glory (and horror)! I've got a top level here detailing more of what he's up to & I can also tag in on yours, if you'd like!
He'd definitely have plenty of time to chat on the boat after getting bit like an idiot, also! He is i n c e s s a n t l y curious & on a bit of a tear to understand more of Talam's magic now that he's (trying to be) over sulking about losing his own -- so they could chat about that, or what her home's like, or Thedas!
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Hmm, options, options ... if you could tag into her top level, that would be easier for me at the moment! :]
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I'll give that a go!! Excellent excellent.
event & information organization
My first thought is that it might be helpful to simply funnel any and all questions for an event/plot to its respective ooc plotting post with the only exception being if say during a longer event, there is a mid-point catalyst that may require its own plotting post separate from the main one. I think having more than one page outside of that exception to track down questions and answers becomes a little cumbersome and some people may not know which one is the most appropriate place to ask their question. Basically, my thought process around that is the more spread out questions are across pages, the easier it likely is for folks to lose or miss out on information.
My second thought would be something players could do that might help with organization. If players were to put in the subject lines the topic(s) of their question(s), that might make it a little easier for players to find the specific information they are looking for. Obviously, there may be some stuff that isn't very related that ends up on the same thread, but at least it would reduce searching through multiple pages/threads to find the answer to those topics and it may help with hooking players up to one another if they're interested in similar avenues of exploration/action.
Third, I was thinking it might be helpful to use these mid-month posts to briefly summarize player actions that are impacting the plot/event, particularly when it is a longer event like Dorchacht. For my experience of the event, I felt fairly informed of what was happening going into it, but midway through, things began to feel harder to keep up with and find information on an ooc level to know what to do. So, that's why I was thinking the midmonth might be a good place for a brief synopsis to make sure everyone's on the same page! Obviously it would not need to be overly detailed in terms of like a blow-by-blow description, but just a brief statement of which characters have engaged in something and the immediate consequence with maybe subsequent avenues or conclusions that could be reached based upon those findings. For example, John, Jane, and Tanaka, as part of the espionage group, uncovered (insert results/info), and managed to not get caught! They've presented the information to the rest of the mirrorbound, but it's in your hands whether to use the secret as leverage, look the other way, or wreck the system.
Lastly, this isn't something directly linked to information organization, but may be something that could be useful in the future with larger events like this. It might be helpful to have small groups assigned to certain tasks by using sign-ups and rng to select players who are able to participate. (It would also be helpful that if selected by rng, you must wait at least one event/significant rng [or more at mod discretion!] before entering again to help reduce the same players/characters being involved over and over.) There would still be things to do for the larger group, but for things that might move the plot along, that might make monitoring happenings easier, which would then may potentially offer more context if certain things for the larger group are happening/the overall conclusion of the event. And if npcs are required, hopefully small groups would reduce the workload for the modteam in managing that by reducing the number of characters trying to interact with key npcs.
And those are my thoughts!
I appreciate all your hard work and passion for the game, and I'm really looking forward to where the game is going. It's been really exciting having both consequences and the world of the game expand beyond Aefenglom's walls this month! I can tell how thoughtful you guys are being and as always, I really appreciate your open communication with your playerbase about things behind the scenes as well as openness to feedback from us. I honestly feel like every month, the game grows in really good ways and I think that is in no small part due to your efforts! So, thank you once again for making and running this awesome game!
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I want to especially +1 the mid-month summary! That would a super helpful way to make sure players are on the same page and know what's going on since there are so many characters running around doing awesome things all over the place -- it'd be great to have that info consolidated and open up opportunities for more plotting during the event! To help with that, I loved what you guys did with the "comment with what your character has been doing" thread for this event. I think that would work well with this update idea.
Also wanted to add that I love the splitting up smaller groups and RNG thought. I've seen this be really successful in bigger games especially, and it allows for players to dive deep into plots that would be really hard to get the nitty gritty on with a larger group. Plus, it's a great way to get some unexpected CR!
Thanks again for all your awesome work, mods! This has been an exciting month and it's so fantastic seeing PCs impact the overarching plot and setting in noticeable ways!