September Midmonth

[moustre]

Midmonth Mod Post: Month Hello, Aefenglom! Here's your monthly midmonth mod post. First, as always, some reminders. They're pretty brief this month: • The OOC Tracker is still on and open! Don't forget to submit your activity, and yes -- you can save a spot on there so long as it gets filled out entirely by October 3rd. • 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! Now then - onwards! 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 • It is with a heavy heart and great understanding for us to announce that Bella, one of our headmods, will be stepping down from her position. • 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: • Info posts that you'd like clarification for. • 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. We honestly appreciate all kinds of comments, and we want to make Aefenglom a wonderful, fun, and comfortable game for everyone who joins. This post will remain unscreened, so if you'd like to take something to a more private venue, you can either PM us or comment here.

Comments

[faithlikeaseed]

Fantastic! As a follow-up comment to this--I think one thing that might help to have, as part of the FAQ/various info pages/plot posts is a list of what can't be done. E.g., a list of what magic in the setting can't do on the Coven page would be really helpful for me, because a lot of the time I find myself wanting to ask "is this something that's possible at all?" questions. And I know there were a handful of those on the latest plot, too, especially w.r.t getting close to Fafnir and/or freeing them.

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

[fulgency]

I would like to also echo some more structure/guidelines surrounding the magic being greatly appreciated. While I'm cool with not having it necessarily be super structured with set spells that everyone learns in a particular order in each class or having essentially talent trees, I have felt a little lost at sea at times with it and have been concerned about breaking the world's rules around magic by accident.

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