magicaddict | Because Dom Asked So Nicely...

...and because I've been getting more and more angry about it every time I am slapped down, behold what I consider would improve BLADES and larp in general. It's being said here so a) it doesn't go on the official boards and so is only a discussion, b) TheTony doesn't take the regular leave of his normally very reasonable senses and come out with words-to-the-effect-of "Normally I'm very nice, but right now you're citicising, so remember it's my ball and I don't particularly care for your complaining" comment that is rolled out every time someone complains about a rules change (example available on request if the boards go back that far), and c) it's on my LJ, so I can say what I damn well like, and so can you if you wish. All you will do is piss me off - not ruin the club.

It is behind a cut, because not everyone who's friends list this appears on will be interested in it.

Most likely, this will turn into a "let's see how many times we can tell Doug he's wrong" session, so I'm going to cut pretty much loose and issue a standing "I really don't care what you think" to anyone who might disagree with me.

Things I feel I need in order to roleplay better:
1. A comprehensive contemporary history of the Barony, dating back twenty years - Hell, knowing how well the farmers did last week would be nice.
Currently, my parents are aristocrats who have done positively nothing in their lives, because I can't create anything for them to have done. They've never raced a horse (even though Edran is a keen rider), or somewhere there would be records of point-to-point races. They've never had a party (and Juilin has never been to one), because someone would have been sober enough to remember them and that requires backstory. Nothing happened in the Barony last week, because that would require a news service to report it. I can't say anything did, because I'll get sat on for defining the world. If I want, as a freedom priest, to look back over past mission reports for recreational purposes (the same as reading technical journals, as professional scientists tend to do), I can't kick back and enjoy an evening's reading - I have to tell someone else I'm doing it and have them go and get the information for me (if the GM I am asking is disposed to do so).
Ergo, I dread guarding medders because if someone asks "so what do you think of...", or "so what did you do this week?", I am forced to answer "well, nothing really." This, for a seeker of knowledge, I find tantamount to imprisonment. What is the use of being a protector of knowledge if there isn't any bloody knowledge out there to protect, with the exception to the uber-tome of necrodhoom that turns up each week? How can I be interested in current affairs if nothing is happening outside of the patrols? So I can't be interested in current affairs? As a seeker of knowledge? *Dies laughing*.

2. A map of the Barony and how its borders have changed in the past twenty years, for crying out loud. Where do I live? Um...I don't know. Where did Daenaram come from? Um...nowhere in particular. Was his village outside the borders? Couldn't tell you - I only lived there for over two-hundred years. Where did you last take Anneri for dinner? Um...nowhere you've heard of. I don't know where I live - just think about how ridiculous that sounds. I can't tell people about House Fortrayre's wonderful orchards because I don't know they exist. I can't tell them about the view, because I don't know what it is of. Mountains? Pasture? Seashore? Moonscape? HELLOOOOOOO? COMMON SENSE????? Where is the Barony? What does it look like? What are some good night spots in Van Heusen's capital city? What's the first village along the Lannister road called? Where's Lannister?

Before you answer - I DO.

3. People to bother knowing who their character is - I dislike intensely characters who aren't even one-dimensional - who are, to quote Dave, "A walking set of stats". There is no excuse for this - you're too busy are you? Great - I have just oodles of spare time clanking around my schedule. This final year of the PhD lark is a complete doss, you know, and being active in three societies is hardly a crimp on the endless holiday that is my life either. Stop being so bloody arrogant and claiming that you are magnitudes busier than I am. It just isn't true.

Things I feel I want in order to roleplay better:
1. People who want to roleplay to putting time into creating their character - at least two thousand words worth. It's not hard to give them more than a name - a height, build (no - they do not need to look like you), gender, brief history and names of parents. It's amazing how quickly the words fly on to the page if people would bother to try - the creative talent present in BLADES is easily high enough for just about everyone present to do so. If people had to submit a couple of thousand words of backstory and a family tree of at least one generation, they might be committed enough to dedicate themselves in a way that holds me back when they don't. I'm tired of having my wings clipped because of other people's indolence - and the fact that I am saying that confirms just how indolent some people are.

2. A comprehensive history of the Kingdom of Exiles, since its inception (or at least five hundred years back) - if you want to tell me that there are no notaries, librarians or historians in the Barony, I will tell you that your world is so unreasonable as to be unplayable. What next? Gravity works in reverse? Water doesn't contain hydrogen? These are as fundamental concepts as history - if there is a now, there was a then, and someone will be documenting it. This is the way the world works. Get over it. While going all the way back is a luxury, it would be nice to see how the world has developed, rather than all those knowledgable Seekers not knowing anything about what happened fifty years ago. Mass amnesia, anyone?

3. Players to realise that their characters are important, but not that important. Why should story, or plot, or the world, end where they cannot touch it? How can te world stop moving during time out? How up yourselves are you people to assume the only people in the world of TL who matter or who can change the world are the ones being embodied by people every Sunday afternoon? I am sure that as soon as they game finishes every Sunday evening, the rest of the Barony populace freezes in place, waiting for the next exciting installment of arrogant sods who they have never met going out and saving their asses from things they don't understand. I'm sure the Barony patrols are viewed as heros by people they don't even know exist. I'm certain of it.

4. People who come up with original plot not being ignored in favour of parodying the latest film release, or because of who they are, or because of what people's opinions of their past larps are, or because someone who has been in the club longer has come up with something else. Rest assured I will never be submitting anything plot-related to any part of this society ever again. Go ahead - jump for joy. You got your wish. I was clearly misinformed in thinking I should ever try to write something that people might find engaging and stimulating, or that would be left alone. I obviously haven't been here long enough for that to be the case, as we all know that how long you have been there is the only important thing in deciding how reasonable your suggestions are. Larp - one of the few true gerontocracies left in the world.

5. How long you have been here ceasing to be the limiting factor in deciding what you are allowed to do.
It's strange, isn't it, that no-one has tried to change, alter or speak up against the inception of "optional" insignia for the patrolees. If Juilin came out wearing anything other than the tree, he shouldn't get a second glance, but he would, and undoubtedly people would think it was sour graps on my part not to be joining in. Think how hurtful I found the dissection of all I had been asked to create by the committee, then, that had been vetted and okayed by them. Nope, the longer standing members of the society, who aren't even full members so somewhow think themselves above the ones who are actually answerable to the university (who have to do the work to ensure we get to canvas on the parade and hire at the socs fair next year and actually get a new intake come october), decided that they weren't going to allow it to pass. So it didn't. I fucking hate it.

No. I don't have a low opinion of you. I have a low opinion of your opinion of me.

Damn. That felt good. Cue the flaming, the patting the upstart youngster on the head and the grumpy hurrumphs of "who's he think he is?" I couldn't give a flying buttmonkey what you think.

The programs are here. They charged me more than expected and used slightly less high-quality paper. I don't care - I won't be using them again because I won't be having anything further to do with publicity for anything that might use them. Ever. Suffice to say that more or less ands my commitments to publicise the show, and leaves me with a total of nine days left to survive and not kill someone.

The show itself is still a bad joke in a box.

The two leading roles, so cast because one of them does a radio show with the casting director and the other one wears her clothes (me? Bitter? nah...), are suddenly realising that they actually have quite a lot of lines, and requiring a prompt for every other one of them doesn't bode well with less than a week to go until we open. Pay attention and stop finding everything so funny - you aren't on the village green now.
The supposedly outstanding band is surprisingly good - for people who haven't been together a week. This means they sound like a crap band who have been together for a month.
The costume debacle seems to have been forgotten by everyone, so come tomorrow's tech when everyone suddenly realises they don't have this, or that and blames backstage because it's clearly their fault, there will be an almighty argument and someone more important might walk out. Like a member of the cast.
Helen wants us to finish the techs by eight at the latest each night. *Dies laughing again*. Let her try to argue people round to that if she wants. We'll be there until BTS are good and ready, probably gone midnight. If we run unbelievably smoothly, we might get done by then, but the day that a tech runs smoothly is the day that Satan...does something involving ice.

The Dow meeting went really quite well - more definite targets to head towards, more crystal structures got, all looking good, really.
It looks as if I am heading to San Francisco come September (well...damn. I suppose that'll have to do), the only crimp on which is the fact that I attend my cousin's wedding not two days after it finishes. Thankfully the parents had booked hotel rooms for us on the previous evening (we're staying down in London rather than driving there and back on the same day) so I can fly straight into London and go to sleep for the rest of the day. Might even work.

Right. End of day. Very little done but I have another crystal structure. That'll supplant work on any day of the week.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This is merely an initial response a proper response will take some time to carefully produce. It's more a collection of thoughts both mine and things for you to think about if you want. In order to have a reasoned conversation and dicussion with you about this (something I do want to do), I want to understand as much as your view as possible so I can better relate my ideas and opinions to you. So I pose here some thoughts and questions just to be considered, I appreciate any time you can spare on considering them and in writing responses. I have intentionally avoiding saying you are wrong where possible because that doesn't achieve anything, in the same way I hope you can care about my opinion so that we can better understand each other, give us option to change each others opinions and avoid misunderstanding and arguments.

So to start, here's the history of the system from the rules:

'About 100 years ago, the surviving members of a rebellion against The hierarchy crossed the Last Sea, and formed the small Kingdom of Exiles. The Kingdom is surrounded on all sides by wilderness filled with savage monsters and organised tribes. When they arrived, the exiles found evidence of civilization in the form of ruins and destroyed towns and cities. They were also attacked by two tribes, who called themselves the 1st Dragon Riders and the 8th Fox Scouts. The attacks were beaten off, helped by the fact that the Dragon Riders and the Fox Scouts started fighting amongst themselves when they discovered each others presence. From prisoners and research amongst
the ruins, scholars discovered that both groups were from a race of men who called themselves the Hassani. The Hassani had built up a large civilisation covering an unknown but large area, but destroyed themselves in a massive civil war. All that’s left are the ruins of their cities and groups descended from the armies which fought,and still fight today.'

I post this for one main reason. How much more detail than this do you need and how much more detail do you want? How accurate this now is I don't know, I know I have run games that don't fit into the history's before myself, but mistakes are made. This is history of the world as given to us so what's missing?

With regards to maps, this has been dicussed a lot by people for many hours and in large groups. Conclusions were made from these discussions, that have since gone on to alter and shape peoples' opinions about the nature of the world and what it needs. I assume you were aware that people must have talked about this before, so how much have you asked about it? Would you be happy with a map consisting of expanding circles of field, followed by forest, followed by valleys? Have you ever sat down, noted all the parts of the world defined in games and tried to convert them into a rough sketch map? Do you understand the need of always having a bit more unlarped border as untapped design space?

On some of what you have done I will say that I for one have felt, to quote [info]drabbit, that 'when you give a background or a description, it feels that you don't just define how your characters life went, you define how everyone's characters lives go if they do that kind of thing/are that class'. There are these little details, that seem to concrete stuff for everyone, the bit that takes it from this saying this is a bit of our world, to saying this is the world. So in order to better understand the why, what do you gain from these details, and what do you miss in not having them?

What's missing from the history of the world is who set it up (names), how it was done, what kind of timescale it was done in, what the main cities were called, how they came to be built, how diplomacy went during their building, what happened in the point-to-point races fifty years ago, who the most famous traveller in the history of the Temple of Freedom is, who was the greatest sword in the Kingdom thirty years ago, who was the worst Gladiator evar, what Juilin did in order to gain the blessing of Errolisi & Mithaniel Marr - and that's just off the top of my head in five minutes.

I miss the fact that I cannot define my world without someone else saying I am defining theirs. I miss the fact that I don't know how, where or when Juilin grew up, because the world is not in place for me to have done so, and so whenever I make a reference to my history, I am just waiting for someone listening in to pipe up and say "I'd really rather you didn't say you'd done that, because..."
I can't claim to have a history for fear of offending everyone else. I don't like playing a character with only two dimensions who can't talk about themselves. I might as well bring a set of dice to a larp and roll out what I do instead.

You have a timescale 100 years. Look at the larps that were run especially the early ones. The kingdom is still growing learning and finding its legs.

You can define Juilin without defining the world for other people. Lot's of other people do it all the time, and have done so for many years in this system. No one gets it perfect, which is why people offer advise and suggestions - if you cannot take a suggesstion without believing it to be a command, complaint or insult how do you expect the quality of your creations to improve and grow? Just because you take offense doesn't mean everyone else does.

Because I like my creations the way they are, rather then being mutilated by other people sticking their oar in where it isn't particularly wanted.
I can't remember ever having tried to suggest changing someone's character or their background, because I think doing so is really insulting the person. Regardless of whether they are offended or not, I don't like it, so I don't do it. Just because everyone else doesn't take offense doesn't mean I won't either.

I'm sorry that you take offense. Though your putting a work you want to kept preserved and untouched into a constantly changing world that will react and develop around this new input without changing it. I'm not sure you it can be done.

Because Dom Asked So Nicely...

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