Traveller's Café 2: Discussion, tea, brainstorming & advice

[The Magnified Union of Aligned Communes]

As much lurking around as I do here on NS, I really don't RP that much. I feel this needs to be rectified.

And what would be a better way than joining a swashbuckling sci-fi Western adventure?

Hello. I'm a lurker*, and I think that's actually a pretty elegant, good, tagline for Postapocalyptia.

*it's pretty much a classic RP for creepy lurkers to scuttle around in. I could never join it, barring a completely straight, boring character, and am still disturbed by the end of Episode 2 (it's not quite nuanced Nightkill-style disturbing, but, you know, utterly brazen and soaked in the blood of hapless bandits), but you've created a really interesting world there!

Don't you mean Solar?

Look at your keyboard. Look at S. Look at P. Does that look like a typo?
Sins of a Polar Empire is a PC game about the plight between three factions for Antarctica. The PEC(Penguin Emergency Coalition) that is attempting to defend against attackers, the psychic Sealvent who are conducting a crusade against the PEC, and the alien Bearsari who migrated from the north pole to escape… Something.

I honestly think they were way too hard on the penguin coalition. Sure, the Penguin Empire and its king and emperor penguins did boss around its vassals and exile the Gentoo clans off-continent, but they did produce a lot of Antarctic infrastructure, coating the beaches in fine, warm guano. Everyone knows this resource was why the Seals attacked, but the seals are, having driven the penguins off their beaches, now pushing inland. This has left the penguins deprived of, and unable to mend or even contemplate their infrastructure- surely one understands the circumstances in which they had to join forces with the migrant bears, who, while just as furry as the seals, at least bothered to display some veneer of civility. But no, the seals push on; unsustainable plundering of the penguin riches is the only thing they're after now.

[Ayreonia]

And what would be a better way than joining a swashbuckling sci-fi Western adventure?

Hello. I'm a lurker*, and I think that's actually a pretty elegant, good, tagline for Postapocalyptia.

*it's pretty much a classic RP for creepy lurkers to scuttle around in. I could never join it, barring a completely straight, boring character, and am still disturbed by the end of Episode 2 (it's not quite nuanced Nightkill-style disturbing, but, you know, utterly brazen and soaked in the blood of hapless bandits), but you've created a really interesting world there!

Why thank you. I didn't know we had any lurkers.

[The Empire of Pretantia]

Look at your keyboard. Look at S. Look at P. Does that look like a typo?

Sins of a Polar Empire is a PC game about the plight between three factions for Antarctica. The PEC(Penguin Emergency Coalition) that is attempting to defend against attackers, the psychic Sealvent who are conducting a crusade against the PEC, and the alien Bearsari who migrated from the north pole to escape… Something.

This is beautiful.

Eventually, the factions each split between loyalists and rebels over whether to eat fish or the other species, in a metaphor for the energy crisis.

[Constaniana]

I could draw decent characters for myself, but I don't have an image scanner for uploading them.

Ever tried snapping a photo?

I did it a while back when I tried drawing portraits of the Constannian Imperial Line, but the pictures didn't come out terribly great. Though maybe it was a lighting issue more than the quality of the camera.

[Ayreonia]

Ever tried snapping a photo?

I did it a while back when I tried drawing portraits of the Constannian Imperial Line, but the pictures didn't come out terribly great. Though maybe it was a lighting issue more than the quality of the camera.

It usually is. Most times when people take bad pictures, they blame the camera, even if 95% of the time it's the photographer's fault.

I wish I could draw.

[Ularn]

You...probably wouldn't like ES, then.
I think we mostly do a good job with that, though.

Holy crap I broke the quotes.

In fact, I dislike using pictures to portray a characters appearance. But then, I've found that if people describe them by words, they tend to be a bit... lackluster.

The best way would be if everyone drew their characters, but then again, I can't draw at all, myself, and I think most people can't either.

With you on this so much.

My feeling is that character application forms are primarily a means for a GM to vet potential players so that she gets the level of writing skill she wants as well as characters that make sense in a setting. For players, they're a tool to help get the idea of their character sorted out from the amorphous blob of traits and history in their own mind and put it down in a solid format. Bios fulfil all those roles since you get a feel for the player's writing ability, imagination, and capacity for using those skills within the set limits of what you've described in the OP.

Asking for a description of the character's appearance can also give some hint as to writing skill. It also sets off my Mary Sue alarm whenever someone describes their character as 6' 8" and really strong, so it has that bonus as well. At the end of the day, cooperative RP is about writing a story. With that in mind, why would I want to test your skill at browsing Google Images in an application?

On the other hand, I appreciate original content of any kind. If anyone ever submitted me a picture they drew themselves, I would be suitably wowed.

[The Tiger Kingdom]

Asking for a description of the character's appearance can also give some hint as to writing skill. It also sets off my Mary Sue alarm whenever someone describes their character as 6' 8" and really strong, so it has that bonus as well.

Seriously? Tallness is a Sue trait now? Jesus, I remember when that term used to apply to actual characterization; it's basically worthless now, because apparently it now just means "someone who's abnormal or different in literally any way".

[Agritum]

Holy crap I broke the quotes.

In fact, I dislike using pictures to portray a characters appearance. But then, I've found that if people describe them by words, they tend to be a bit... lackluster.

The best way would be if everyone drew their characters, but then again, I can't draw at all, myself, and I think most people can't either.

With you on this so much.

My feeling is that character application forms are primarily a means for a GM to vet potential players so that she gets the level of writing skill she wants as well as characters that make sense in a setting. For players, they're a tool to help get the idea of their character sorted out from the amorphous blob of traits and history in their own mind and put it down in a solid format. Bios fulfil all those roles since you get a feel for the player's writing ability, imagination, and capacity for using those skills within the set limits of what you've described in the OP.

Asking for a description of the character's appearance can also give some hint as to writing skill. It also sets off my Mary Sue alarm whenever someone describes their character as 6' 8" and really strong, so it has that bonus as well. At the end of the day, cooperative RP is about writing a story. With that in mind, why would I want to test your skill at browsing Google Images in an application?

On the other hand, I appreciate original content of any kind. If anyone ever submitted me a picture they drew themselves, I would be suitably wowed.

Describing highly detailed things such as someone's physical appearance is a difficult task for many people, even more so if English isn't their mother tongue. I consider myself a fairly good writer, but I really can't manage to translate my mental projection of a character into textual words. I also prefer to give my readers and fellow RPers something which can they easily visualize (eg. a picture), too.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

And what would be a better way than joining a swashbuckling sci-fi Western adventure?

Hello. I'm a lurker*, and I think that's actually a pretty elegant, good, tagline for Postapocalyptia.

*it's pretty much a classic RP for creepy lurkers to scuttle around in. I could never join it, barring a completely straight, boring character, and am still disturbed by the end of Episode 2 (it's not quite nuanced Nightkill-style disturbing, but, you know, utterly brazen and soaked in the blood of hapless bandits), but you've created a really interesting world there!

Look at your keyboard. Look at S. Look at P. Does that look like a typo?
Sins of a Polar Empire is a PC game about the plight between three factions for Antarctica. The PEC(Penguin Emergency Coalition) that is attempting to defend against attackers, the psychic Sealvent who are conducting a crusade against the PEC, and the alien Bearsari who migrated from the north pole to escape… Something.

I honestly think they were way too hard on the penguin coalition. Sure, the Penguin Empire and its king and emperor penguins did boss around its vassals and exile the Gentoo clans off-continent, but they did produce a lot of Antarctic infrastructure, coating the beaches in fine, warm guano. Everyone knows this resource was why the Seals attacked, but the seals are, having driven the penguins off their beaches, now pushing inland. This has left the penguins deprived of, and unable to mend or even contemplate their infrastructure- surely one understands the circumstances in which they had to join forces with the migrant bears, who, while just as furry as the seals, at least bothered to display some veneer of civility. But no, the seals push on; unsustainable plundering of the penguin riches is the only thing they're after now.

I'm disturbing?

[The Empire of Pretantia]

Hello. I'm a lurker*, and I think that's actually a pretty elegant, good, tagline for Postapocalyptia.

*it's pretty much a classic RP for creepy lurkers to scuttle around in. I could never join it, barring a completely straight, boring character, and am still disturbed by the end of Episode 2 (it's not quite nuanced Nightkill-style disturbing, but, you know, utterly brazen and soaked in the blood of hapless bandits), but you've created a really interesting world there!



I honestly think they were way too hard on the penguin coalition. Sure, the Penguin Empire and its king and emperor penguins did boss around its vassals and exile the Gentoo clans off-continent, but they did produce a lot of Antarctic infrastructure, coating the beaches in fine, warm guano. Everyone knows this resource was why the Seals attacked, but the seals are, having driven the penguins off their beaches, now pushing inland. This has left the penguins deprived of, and unable to mend or even contemplate their infrastructure- surely one understands the circumstances in which they had to join forces with the migrant bears, who, while just as furry as the seals, at least bothered to display some veneer of civility. But no, the seals push on; unsustainable plundering of the penguin riches is the only thing they're after now.

I'm disturbing?

Yes.

[Constaniana]

Hello. I'm a lurker*, and I think that's actually a pretty elegant, good, tagline for Postapocalyptia.

*it's pretty much a classic RP for creepy lurkers to scuttle around in. I could never join it, barring a completely straight, boring character, and am still disturbed by the end of Episode 2 (it's not quite nuanced Nightkill-style disturbing, but, you know, utterly brazen and soaked in the blood of hapless bandits), but you've created a really interesting world there!



I honestly think they were way too hard on the penguin coalition. Sure, the Penguin Empire and its king and emperor penguins did boss around its vassals and exile the Gentoo clans off-continent, but they did produce a lot of Antarctic infrastructure, coating the beaches in fine, warm guano. Everyone knows this resource was why the Seals attacked, but the seals are, having driven the penguins off their beaches, now pushing inland. This has left the penguins deprived of, and unable to mend or even contemplate their infrastructure- surely one understands the circumstances in which they had to join forces with the migrant bears, who, while just as furry as the seals, at least bothered to display some veneer of civility. But no, the seals push on; unsustainable plundering of the penguin riches is the only thing they're after now.

I'm disturbing?

You've confessed to flying Joe Biden. Yes, you are.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I personally may be terrifying, but my writing usually is not.

[Nationstatelandsville]

I personally may be terrifying, but my writing usually is not.

Khan can't be forced to give a shit to write well in England most of the time.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I personally may be terrifying, but my writing usually is not.

Khan can't be forced to give a shit to write well in England most of the time.

I assume you mean English.

[Constaniana]

I personally may be terrifying, but my writing usually is not.

You can wrote woke horrifying stiff when you want to.

I personally may be terrifying, but my writing usually is not.

Khan can't be forced to give a shit to write well in England most of the time.

However, his writing is fantastic in Wales.

[Kassaran]

I personally may be terrifying, but my writing usually is not.

Awww, Night, you'll never be scary in my book. You're moreover one of those fluffy doggies I see in pet store windows. Perhaps there's some baggage, but you still make me feel warm and squishy inside.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

My OOC stuff appears to scare people though. Nat is afraid of my plans.

[Nationstatelandsville]

My OOC stuff appears to scare people though. Nat is afraid of my plans.

What scares me most is that you never tell anyone; I just mention a minor detail and the whole goddamn thing comes tumbling down.

[Constaniana]

I personally may be terrifying, but my writing usually is not.

Awww, Night, you'll never be scary in my book. You're moreover one of those fluffy doggies I see in pet store windows. Perhaps there's some baggage, but you still make me feel warm and squishy inside.

Night's a puppy alright. Like this dog.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

My OOC stuff appears to scare people though. Nat is afraid of my plans.

What scares me most is that you never tell anyone; I just mention a minor detail and the whole goddamn thing comes tumbling down.

What happened is that Nat tugged on one small minor plot string.

And he saw over six months of insane, roleplay-crossing planning.

[The Grey Wolf]

My OOC stuff appears to scare people though. Nat is afraid of my plans.

You could make Shiva turn tail and hide...

And then I was brutally murdered by the God of Destruction himself.

[Gvozdevsk]

I honestly feel as though splitting P2TM into two subforums, one for nation/faction RPs and one for character RPs, would be a good idea. Does anyone agree with me or am I just going off on some lunatic fringe movement here?

[Zarkenis Ultima]

I honestly feel as though splitting P2TM into two subforums, one for nation/faction RPs and one for character RPs, would be a good idea. Does anyone agree with me or am I just going off on some lunatic fringe movement here?

Ehhh...

Well, I wouldn't call you a lunatic, in any case.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

I honestly feel as though splitting P2TM into two subforums, one for nation/faction RPs and one for character RPs, would be a good idea. Does anyone agree with me or am I just going off on some lunatic fringe movement here?

No point. Besides, there's often much crossover.

[Grenartia]

I honestly feel as though splitting P2TM into two subforums, one for nation/faction RPs and one for character RPs, would be a good idea. Does anyone agree with me or am I just going off on some lunatic fringe movement here?

No point. Besides, there's often much crossover.

Pretty much.