Demens Chosen [PL: Into the Abyss - CLOSED]

[Cerillium]

Unavoidable delay. I've taken Swith's post and cobbled Klaus onto the end. Also added Cecile's intro.

Welp, my sister got engaged. Looks like I'll have to get a tuxedo or something in the near future.

Rent, never buy. Styles go out of fashion.

[Giovenith]

Hope everything's okay on your end.

Aegis post should be up tomorrow.

Many good wishes, Mon!

[Tego Witherward]

Same nuttiness as always.

@ALL. If you are in the TAB region, please immediately endorse Bones. If you have a nation outside of it, please consider using the WA status to solidify the region. We had a shift of newcomers suddenly appear in the region. Could be a basic raid to dethrone a long-term delegate. We need as much support for him as possible.

TY

Cer

[Truth Incarnate]

I have made a post in which a lot happens all at once with very little outside input.

Hopefully it doesn't derail any plans, or simply come off as awkward writing...

[Tsuyoi Tekikoku]

I'll post later today!


I have a new character in the works but she won't be done right away But will be here soon!

[Monfrox]

Wait a minute, this means I'm gonna have...a brother-in-law?!

HELP! I'M GROWING UP! MAKE IT STOP!

[Tsuyoi Tekikoku]

Wait a minute, this means I'm gonna have...a brother-in-law?!

HELP! I'M GROWING UP! MAKE IT STOP!

Oh? Congrats? (I'm confused.)

[Mincaldenteans]

I'll post later today!


I have a new character in the works but she won't be done right away But will be here soon!

Tsu, it's all well and good to want and have more than 1 char (current is 2 max), but given that you've been away for a long while and that your current efforts are spent leading another RP, mayhaps stick to one char first before committing to a second?

[Tsuyoi Tekikoku]

I'll post later today!


I have a new character in the works but she won't be done right away But will be here soon!

Tsu, it's all well and good to want and have more than 1 char (current is 2 max), but given that you've been away for a long while and that your current efforts are spent leading another RP, mayhaps stick to one char first before committing to a second?

I will then.

[Tiltjuice]

Wait a minute, this means I'm gonna have...a brother-in-law?!

HELP! I'M GROWING UP! MAKE IT STOP!

Meter Mon?

Replying to Truth once laundry, sorting contacts, etc. gets done.

[The BranRiech]

So sorry I haven't been on in a few days. I was rather busy. :/

[Tiltjuice]

So sorry I haven't been on in a few days. I was rather busy. :/

*pies*

[Saldinado]

*sighs*
I apologize for my absence. I've been busy with school as well as helping my friends and partner through some rather difficult things. So just a head's up, I might not be posting anything for a few days maybe; I'm just trying to help and keep any of them from doing something that they might regret or harm themselves. I'm sorry.

[Tiltjuice]

*sighs*
I apologize for my absence. I've been busy with school as well as helping my friends and partner through some rather difficult things. So just a head's up, I might not be posting anything for a few days maybe; I'm just trying to help and keep any of them from doing something that they might regret or harm themselves. I'm sorry.

No sorry. *pies*

[Saldinado]

*sighs*
I apologize for my absence. I've been busy with school as well as helping my friends and partner through some rather difficult things. So just a head's up, I might not be posting anything for a few days maybe; I'm just trying to help and keep any of them from doing something that they might regret or harm themselves. I'm sorry.

No sorry. *pies*

Thank you. *wipes pie off face and eats it*

[Chedastan]

I'll try and make plosts tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight.

[Mincaldenteans]

I'll try and make plosts tomorrow, I'm too tired tonight.

PFFT!

Take
Your
Time

All, this isn't a "oh god plost something relevant! Quick think of something <insert aneurysm>."

This is an important step for us all. So take your time.

EDIT: Be nice if I could spell right while tipsy, but I can't so sue me

[Cerillium]

I'll move us along with Part II - Ops by tomorrow evening. Swith's offline for a few days.

[Tiltjuice]

Lemme know if you need help.

*pies fennec*

[Mincaldenteans]

I have writer's block...

Its okay, the next segment will be posted tomorrow, definitely questions Akagi can ask then.

[Mincaldenteans]

Excellent question, you're released from your corner, Ched

[Holy Lykos]

I can't think of any questions, so my characters remain quiet

[Giovenith]

I can't think of any questions, so my characters remain quiet

Same here, though I'd like to post just to get the thread into my list.

[Tiltjuice]

I like to imagine that people are drawn to PL by the possibility of events like...

[Cerillium]

Two IC posts up. I divided them to cut back on wall-o-text overload.

To reiterate what Swith said earlier this month:

We aren't trying to exclude anyone by not having players serve as top command. The roles are filled by me or CoOPs because, simply put, this allows CoOPs to actually CoOP. We do the dull administrative things as part of our jobs. It's more OOC than IC. We've given the RP some structure since, prior to this, it was the mother of all clusterfucks due to my schedule and inability to communicate with my CoOPs in a timely manner.

Teams are the bread and butter here. This is where players get a chance to be in command, shine in their character's specialties, and learn ways to tighten their writing skills. (We're a training RP, after all!) It's not all military in nature. Some Teams might be specialist heavy and have only two "fighters" on board. Some teams won't have any, in fact.

Please feel free to ask questions here. I can help clarify anything that's overly confusing.

Questions that have come up:

Q. Can characters serve in both branches?
A. Yes, we'll need them to. Kale and Sid might be on Teams but they'd also work in the gardens when not "active" in that function. This opens the door for Team missions through a Gate, but also for stories involving the local gardens.

Q. Will a Team Leader be the GM?
A. Nope. The GM might be the specialist that's brought on board for that team. For example, let's say that Sandy is a specialist for Team Bravo and it's comprised of Nick and Primordial. Sandy is the GM for that story - Raiders - and thus guides the Team through each element. Either Nick or Primordial might be the Team's established Leader however.

Q. Does my character have to follow Demens as a "god"?
A. Nope. Klaus clarified that in the IC.

Q. Will my character need to crawl through mud and do military things in Basic?
A. Yes and no. Are you running a military character that will serve in a military fashion? Then yes, your character will do these things. This is because players have asked us to teach them how to write for military characters. We're a training RP. But also, yes because it gives players a chance to develop their characters more. Some people really enjoy having their characters overcome insurmountable (in that character's mind) odds. The military training specialty is open to all characters, however, should people with civilians be interested in learning more.

Q. But my character should be offended because she wasn't made a commander/is being made to take Basic/has commanded forces prior/is a multi-fighter skilled in all forms of combat plus a ninja.
A. If she's that potent a military character, she'll see this as a prime chance to increase her skill and knowledge. "BRING IT!" We don't have any military characters that specialize in covert operations. Most are overt fighters. Some of the CoOP characters are the exception. You can write your character as bitter, of course, but don't allow that bitterness to hinder his growth.

Q. I don't like-
A. Trust your OP. Trust your CoOPs.Trust your fellow players. Change is never easy. However, the purpose of this change isn't to stomp out fun. It's to provide a structure that supports the setting so we're not just some sandbox. Sandbox wasn't working. We've switched over to boxcar for that reason. We're not a rails game.

Q. But I don't like how you've set up-
A. I understand that it seems unfair that both Swith's characters are in command positions. However, I trust in her ability to teach, in her fairness as an OP, and in her ability to not power trip. She was, after all, the OP that uplifted PL from a chat thread to a role play game. Her patience, willingness to put herself in another player's shoes, and desire to see everyone excel in storytelling are what make her an outstanding Mentor and OP. She didn't get commander positions because of her relation to me, but because I respect the hell out of her talent and her training methods.

Q. But Neste is so Mary Sue!
A. Mission accomplished. Neste is a purposeful parody of a Mary Sue trope in PL. However, outside of PL, the character isn't Mary Sue. I personally loathe Neste outside of PL. I have a hard time defeating Neste's forces in war games - because Swith is an advanced level wargamer with a good grasp of strategy and tactics, ranging from Ancients (tabletop) to FT (forum, PBEM, and tabletop). That "old Neste" is the Neste that Swith is bringing to PL. She's scrapping her PL shtick in order to use the character to help players learn.

Q. Can my characters teach?
A. Yes. But this depends on whether or not you're familiar with what your character should know.

Q. Who determines what characters are Leaders?
A. It comes down to what players are most comfortable doing it, whether or not your character has the ability to earn other character's respect and trust, and the whims of the players behind those characters. Some players might decide to swap out the leadership role. One mission, Brit is the leader for that Team. The next mission, Drova is the leader. Players can sort those arrangements.

Q. Will there be magic user training?
A. Yup.

Q. Will all this training allow us to boost our skill points or gain new skills on our sheets?
A. Yup.

Q. When's training begin? When are they getting uniforms? What weapons-
A. Training will begin probably next weekend. We have a family emergency here and that has occupied most of my attention when I'm not at work. I apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience.