General Hangout!

[Unkabear]

Welcome Nighteyes5678 I hope to enjoy the game with you and Varen Tai here in the near future.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Unkabear (see edit history)

[Nighteyes5678]

Hi everyone, I don't have time to go through all the lovely applications with comments right now, but I DO have time to share a pet peeve!

Loners.

That's it. That's the pet peeve.

What, you want more? Pshaw, fine!

Humans (and most sentient species found in the pages of fantasy, so one might just say mortals) are social creatures. We're born helpless and dependant on others, we grow up and spend most of our time trying to figure out how other people (and ourselves) work. We make friends, we make rivals, we make enemies, we make family. We laugh, we cry, we forgive, we forget, we dream, we plot, we scheme; and at the center of all of that is relationships.

I get it, I do. You're making a character that you know is going to leave their home. They're apparently possessing of skills that might make them attractive to other people and a grander plot, so certainly they have maybe the one mentor, right? And that mentor is probably dead or evil or missing, and probably that's all the time we have for people. Maybe a love interest. Maybe. Unless they need to die too, or be evil, or be missing.

But that's not how we people work. We have bosses, work friends, people we see when we go to our favorite coffee shop. We have friends, lovers, children, and the friends, lovers, and children of our friends! We have parents and siblings, grandparents, cousins, and other relatives. Often times, how we spend our time reveals what our values are. Many times, relationships find themselves caught between our professed values and our revealed valued.

I'm not asking anyone to create a cast of hundreds for their character. Just be mindful because, well, let's be honest: this game is called Redemption and is billed as a game that explores the battles fought in secret, in silence, in our hearts. This means that we're looking for stakes. Because yes, sure, Varen and I could kill you. We might kill you. But death is boring without something to give it meaning. Life is boring without something to give it meaning. Or is it?

What I do know is that characters with relationships feel more alive. Often time, how people treat others reveals more about themselves than anything they'd write on a piece of paper. There's a reason that it doesn't matter how lovely the person is, if they're a jerk to a service person the first time I meet them, I catapult them into the sun. Why? Because how we treat those in service, those who are required to be polite, reveals a lot. Especially when they think no one is watching or noticing.

So you tell me that your character is kind and noble, frequently gives to the poor and always has a quip to lift a weary travelers spirits, and that's very nice to hear but what I want to know is how do they treat their super annoying little brother?

When was the last time they came home from a really hard day at work, the kind that really makes them stay up at night even though they're so tired they can't move just because they're questioning all of their life choices, and instead of going to bed they realized that someone they loved (or are fond of, or maybe just tolerate?) needed something. Nothing big, nothing momentous, maybe that person just needed a story before bed, or a cup of their favorite tea, or the trash taken out. What did they do then?

Who is the person they swear they'll die for?

Who is the person they're willing to live for, even when dying would be so much simpler?

And perhaps, when you consider all of this, you might ask yourself what these relationships tell you about your character. How do the others in their life see them? What about your character might surprise them if it were dragged out into the light? What nasty little lie that lives in your character's mind might make their friends weap at how misguided it is?

Remember, shame is a social construct. Shame means isolation from community, the fear of rejection and the absence of the warmth of touch or comfort. Which means if your character doesn't have community, then it's hard for us to imagine what might make them ashamed. And Shame is such a tempting motivator.

Well, that's one of my pet peeves. I hope it helps!

PS: That isn't to say I haven't enjoyed a loner in my time, or even accepted one into my games. I have, and I will again. They're just rare, and usually I only want one of them in my party. At most.

PSS: There is a temptation to create a character that's a main character...of a novel. Told from their limited point of view. Instead, this is a game with other players who want to play together. Which means that we shouldn't have to fight to make your character be a part of a group. We should be able to imagine how they'll interact with other players' characters. How, you ask? Why...we look at how they interact with the other people in their lives...which means it's awfully helpful if they have those.

[DarkAngel]

Ok ... just because I like to build characters as part of the brain storming and character development process...

What kind of Stat roll would be appropriate?

4d6r1v1 best of 2 ?

Thats my fav for heroic build, I like the randomness of it.

Edited December 7, 2023 by DarkAngel (see edit history)

[Varen Tai]

4 hours ago, DarkAngel said:

Ok ... just because I like to build characters as part of the brain storming and character development process...

What kind of Stat roll would be appropriate?

4d6r1v1 best of 2 ?

Thats my fav for heroic build, I like the randomness of it.

No stat rolls. Build your character story and we will assign stats based on your story once we accept your application.

[Basil_Bottletop]

Well looky looky. I knew the name Varen sounded familiar and then I jump in here and see ol' Nighteyes.

You think we can break our streak?

Also, does the Squirrel Lady know you're here?

 

Okay, more focused on the game ad... Is there setting stuff somewhere we can read? I want to make something that feels like it fits the world.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Basil_Bottletop (see edit history)

[Varen Tai]

26 minutes ago, Basil_Bottletop said:

Well looky looky. I knew the name Varen sounded familiar and then I jump in here and see ol' Nighteyes.

You think we can break our streak?

Also, does the Squirrel Lady know you're here?

 

Okay, more focused on the game ad... Is there setting stuff somewhere we can read? I want to make something that feels like it fits the world.

Not sure she does yet. :D Good to see you still around as well.

Forgotten Realms.

[Varen Tai]

OK, I just put this as specific guidance for a player but wanted to mention this as a general suggestion.

One of my all-time favorite series is the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. Five books, none very long, but the character growth and development was so realistic that I still step back in awe on every reread. He played on some archetypes, but created real, living, breathing people with real problems from those archetypes. If you want a solid example of the type of character building I am looking for, go read (or reread) that series. The best book of the lot (and they are all great) is the 4th one, called Taran Wanderer. Top notch character building.

Look to make people, not archetypes.

I'll also echo NE's post - give us a (non-comprehensive) list of people that your character has interacted with and had relationships of some type with. Old friends, family members, etc. Dive into one or two of them in more depth, so we have an idea of how your character concretely interacts with them. That helps us to see how they will interact with the party once we pull it together.

[Nighteyes5678]

Basil!

WRITE ME A HUMAN, BASIL

WRITE ME A GUY WHO JUST LIKES TO BAKE AND MAYBE HAS A PET SQUIRREL

 

Good to see you. ^_^

[Cointhief]

Question, do you guys have a particular narrative writing style you are wanting everyone to coalesce around? I've been enjoying 1st person past tense recently in another game...even for daily posts it allows a lot of freedom since you can embellish or fuzzy out some details as an unreliable narrator. I totally get the possible irritation of reading a set of posts written in different tenses though.

[Varen Tai]

As far as the application goes, write it in whatever tense you desire. Once we start the game, we will all agree on a tense between the players and us and everyone will use the same tense from there on out.

[KillerK]

Hi, I'm just posting interest! I have several ideas, just trying to decide.

Is it OK to have the backstory very much rooted in previous historical events of the Forgotten Realms, or is there a preference for it to not be so setting-specific?

[Varen Tai]

Go ahead. If we need to shift it somehow, we'll let you know.

[Lamppost]

I'll be absolutely posting a character soon. The pacing and style of this game are right up my alley.

[Crownguard]

And here I was thinking I may retire from Myth-Weavers for good....

Slower paced and RL friendly? High role vs rollplay? A character who didn't congeal off the wall of a dark tavern?

You had my curiosity...but now you have my attention.

I have a lot of sadly orphan characters and ideas in a folder; I may need to go through and see if something strikes me to either re-work and try, or sparks a few new ideas.

[Taigains]

On 12/3/2023 at 4:18 PM, Varen Tai said:

I'm finding it the easiest as a google doc so I can easily make comments on it, though feel free to post a general concept. That being said, you can totally make a private thread if you'd prefer!

Hullo! I have a character living in my head rent free and would love a private post ro set them up in. Maybe with a nice couch, some chairs, a ritualistic stone slab for sacrifices, maybe a rug?