OOC - Ramblings, Insights and Ideas

[sxeBUDDHA]

1 hour ago, JagrHunter said:

@sxeBUDDHA  please don't write for my character unless I have given permission.

Thank you for the heads up. I shall respect your wish.
 

 

[Starhawk]

I too am happy to collaborate, but others writing for my character makes me uneasy at best. :)

[sxeBUDDHA]

36 minutes ago, Starhawk said:

I too am happy to collaborate, but others writing for my character makes me uneasy at best. :)

I will also respect your wishes. Thank you for the advance notice.

 

[dbcowboy]

So question for everyone: if no one really likes/trusts Boone all that much, why would he be the leader? There's no law that says he needs to be just because he has good people skills. Rick was a lawman but he was the leader in the original story.

If he is the "leader" then is it because he's just proactive about organizing? Motivating? Just keeps pestering...no pretty sure that would lead to violence. Folks have said they'll follow him for the time being, just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on a "why".

If he's not the leader, who should it be? I feel like Jaxon and Fleur could be strong candidates.

Then again, maybe we don't need a designated leader. It's a small group, maybe so far it's just been decisions by consensus?

Thoughts?

 

[sxeBUDDHA]

23 minutes ago, dbcowboy said:

So question for everyone: if no one really likes/trusts Boone all that much, why would he be the leader? There's no law that says he needs to be just because he has good people skills. Rick was a lawman but he was the leader in the original story.

If he is the "leader" then is it because he's just proactive about organizing? Motivating? Just keeps pestering...no pretty sure that would lead to violence. Folks have said they'll follow him for the time being, just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on a "why".

If he's not the leader, who should it be? I feel like Jaxon and Fleur could be strong candidates.

Then again, maybe we don't need a designated leader. It's a small group, maybe so far it's just been decisions by consensus?

Thoughts?

I like to believe we're openly brainstorming. Nothing is concrete, imo. We're shaping the group. I like that we're almost all combat sturdy.

I would like for Cassius to be familiar to only 2 of the pc's, Jaxon and Fleur. His prejudices and opinions of the others are moot.

Cassius likes order but not at the cost of his humanity. He's a moral > law which is weird considering he's a correctional officer. Maybe others in the group aren't aware of Boone's positive history. I think we're survivors that find themselves working together who found a mutual connection of some sort.

[JagrHunter]

It depends on what the GM decides. If the settlement has been established, it may very well have an NPC as a leader. Which would probably work out better in game terms. Leadership doesn't work as well on PCs as it does on others.

As to why follow, he may be the only one that wants the job and is the easiest choice over the nerdy scientist, the outlaw/criminal biker and an inexperienced kid? If we have to choose a PC leader, Boon makes the most sense. And nothing says whoever it is has the final say. Everyone gets a vote.

Edited April 3 by JagrHunter (see edit history)

[Starhawk]

Let's see how the interactions play out.. we'll find a leader. To my mind this is one of the things that's decided in play, not in ooc.

[Neopopulas]

8 hours ago, dbcowboy said:

So question for everyone: if no one really likes/trusts Boone all that much, why would he be the leader? There's no law that says he needs to be just because he has good people skills. Rick was a lawman but he was the leader in the original story.

If he is the "leader" then is it because he's just proactive about organizing? Motivating? Just keeps pestering...no pretty sure that would lead to violence. Folks have said they'll follow him for the time being, just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on a "why".

If he's not the leader, who should it be? I feel like Jaxon and Fleur could be strong candidates.

Then again, maybe we don't need a designated leader. It's a small group, maybe so far it's just been decisions by consensus?

Thoughts?

 

It depends on what being a leader means. If it means negotiations and politics and organizing amicable trade between two groups of people, or solving intra-group problems, then maybe he's a good idea because he's 'the talker'

If being the leader means action and doing the things other people don't want to do and making choices other people don't want to then someone like Jax or Fleiur or Cassius make more sense because Jax would 100% take charge and do the grim thing, or toss out a troublemaker, or loot a camp they run across or kill someone because they are a threat to the group. But you probably don't want him negotiating an argument over supplies between two group members unlessthe group gets real okay with a dictatorship real quick.

Jax has a lot of real world skills but they aren't skills that mesh great with 'normal people' He looks out for his group, but if he was in charge, he wouldn't be the type to allow 'lets agree to disagree'. He'd listen to advice, make a choice and people that didn't like it, well...

This is why i didn't even hint at making him a leader type because thats not a very 'nice' group to be a part of. Someone who is used to making deals and compromises and working out relationships is important. Maybe in the right situation, Jax taking charge would be good, but in the general 'lets try and live through this and live our best lives' maybe not.

I guess it boils down to 'Is it peace time or wartime?'

[Starhawk]

Fleur considers it to be wartime. She would consider herself to be the leader in matters relating to technology and production, though she would try to come across as an advisor.

[BuyCrom]

Thanks for the invite @Laird_Thorne, I'm looking forward to playing with you all.

I'm a little unsure about declaring Cadey's opinions of the other PCs without seeing how they all interact in play. But I'm down to brainstorm a draft version of their starting relationships, so I'm just going to basically "Yes, and..." off of what people have already suggested about their PCs' relationships and opinions of her.
 

@JagrHunter I'd like to have Deano as Cadey's PC anchor since he seems like the kind of guy she'd find comforting to be around. He helps and gives advice but doesn't push, and that plus the no-nonsense attitude you described lines up with the vague sketch of Cadey's Grandpa I had in my head. So she might see him as a parental figure, whether that is one sided or not. I think they'd make a pretty good scavenging/hunting team stats-wise, and Cadey'd be keen to pick up some proper first aid/medical training, maybe she could of bonded with Deano through that. How does that fit?

@Starhawk Fleur being creeped out by Cadey's ruthless streak makes a fun contrast to pretty much everyone else in the group - Which is either Cassius's fairly dismissive "Just a kid" or "We've got to watch out for the kid" vs Fleur's "yeah, we do have to watch out for the kid."
That said, would you be willing to tone Fleur's opinion down a notch to at least only suspecting Cadey's a psycho? I'll roll with what's there already, because Fleur sees having a psycho around as potentially useful/necessary so I don't see it being a problem - I'd just rather not have another PC be certain my character is a dangerous nutjob right off the bat. I'd find it more fun to have some build up playing through "There's something off about her" to "damn, the girl is psycho" and seeing what sort of resolution feels right after that.
By the way, what made you change your mind from can hardly put a razor between "I ruthlessly protect the group" and "Morally flexible - saving us all always comes at a cost" they'd probably get along to Fleur would definitely be creeped out by this girl? Was it the disillusioned talent or the background quote?

What I'm aiming for is traumatized teenager who has learnt how to compartmentalize and keep her shit together as long as it takes to do what needs to be done/get out of danger. Think combat veteran, rather than sociopath. If I play it right, just spending a little time with her probably wouldn't be enough for the red flags to be too obvious.

So, what if Fleur and Cadey did have that big-sister/little sister, Ripley/Newt dynamic until fairly recently when Fleur noticed something the others didn't? What's something Cadey could have done to throw up some red flags that would creep Fleur out, but still be relatively easy for people to miss?

Cassius - since Cassius keeps his distance from the women and children, Cadey'd probably initially be fairly stand-offish with him in return but still make some occasional effort to get along better than just minimal cooperation in tasks and training etc. Although I definitely can see Cadey interacting with Butch more than Cassius more often than not in any "one-on-one" time between the two.

Jaxon - Cadey may or may not have had words with him about how she can take care of herself and doesn't want to be cut any extra slack for being a "kid" - but even though Jax's protectiveness definitely chafes at times, it is appreciated and returned in kind. She might even try to make it a bit of a competition, or bicker, about who is really protecting who.
Her dad taught her some technical skills, tinkering on cars, bikes and engineering projects was one of their things. By this point Cadey has almost definitely started at least on time-killer conversation with Jax along the lines of "What's your top 5 apocalypse rides to look out for, and why?" She might even help him maintain his bike, which could be used in "Meeting with your Anchor" scenes - any other ideas for what that looks like? Is Jax a cards/relaxing guy, or does he relieve stress by feeling like he's doing something protective or helpful for Cadey/others?

Boon - I'm not entirely sure how Cadey's need to keep the group together is going to be expressed. But Boon is one of the people she'd try seeking advice and guidance on that from, she's probably suggested, or tried to get going, a couple of the type of team-building exercises that sports and youth groups do. Since that is what most of her experience in community-building came from at her age. I figure Boon's a charming guy, so Cadey probably likes him even admires him if he openly expresses his thoughts on building something new and better out of what's left of the old world. Although if he's still as deep in grief over losing his family as it feels he might be, it's probably tinged with a good deal of sympathy and understanding. Is there anything specific about Cadey that reminds Boon of his daughters she might have picked up on? Has he, or would he, mention it to her outloud if there was?


 

[JagrHunter]

Within that context I think the interactions between them would be awesome. Plus, I think her, and Hall would kind of fit within that framework also. Hall from a cultural standpoint and Cadey from learning needed skills. Welcome to the tribe!

[Starhawk]

@BuyCrom Duly toned down.. and it was the disillusioned talent. So, perhaps the assessment hasn't come into play as yet.

[Neopopulas]

11 hours ago, BuyCrom said:

Jaxon - Cadey may or may not have had words with him about how she can take care of herself and doesn't want to be cut any extra slack for being a "kid" - but even though Jax's protectiveness definitely chafes at times, it is appreciated and returned in kind. She might even try to make it a bit of a competition, or bicker, about who is really protecting who.

Her dad taught her some technical skills, tinkering on cars, bikes and engineering projects was one of their things. By this point Cadey has almost definitely started at least on time-killer conversation with Jax along the lines of "What's your top 5 apocalypse rides to look out for, and why?" She might even help him maintain his bike, which could be used in "Meeting with your Anchor" scenes - any other ideas for what that looks like? Is Jax a cards/relaxing guy, or does he relieve stress by feeling like he's doing something protective or helpful for Cadey/others?

Its a little column A, little Column B. Jax isn't comfortable in the casual group of strangers, he doesn't really trust them so a 'sitting around the fire chatting' situation doesn't really mesh, he feels better when he's doing something. In the past he liked a party or a drink up but thats when he was safe, he's never safe anymore. Jax more certainly encourages cadey, maybe more than he should. He's all-in protecting 'kids' but he also thinks they should be able to protect themselves (they just shouldn't have to), and he'd be the first person teaching kids younger than cadey to stick a raider in the back the first chance they get, so the fact she can and doesn't fall apart when things get messy is a mark in her favour.

[dbcowboy]

16 hours ago, Neopopulas said:

Maybe in the right situation, Jax taking charge would be good, but in the general 'lets try and live through this and live our best lives' maybe not.

Hehe I'm imagining something along the lines of:
Alex - "I...I'm sorry I thought I could...they said either we send a weekly shipment of food or they'll come for us."

Jaxon, patting Alex on the shoulder (dismissively honestly), "Okay Daniel," as in Daniel Boone, "your way didn't work; we're gonna do this the hard way." <Cassius cracks his knuckles in the background />

 

12 hours ago, BuyCrom said:

Is there anything specific about Cadey that reminds Boon of his daughters she might have picked up on? Has he, or would he, mention it to her outloud if there was?

Nice idea, let's say there's just something small she does, maybe tucking her hair behind her ear occasionally or how she tilts her head and squints when she doesn't understand what someone's saying. Nothing that anyone else would think twice about but it's something that triggers a memory in Alex of one of his daughters having a similar mannerism. Betty and Denise don't do it so Alex doesn't get the same around them. I would say he hasn't talked to Cadey about it yet, at best she's noticed his face falling after they've talked as he's turning away....just that split second so maybe she's not even sure if she's really seeing anything or not. Maybe something will happen and he'll share more with her; possible bonding moment.

[BuyCrom]

2 hours ago, dbcowboy said:

Nice idea, let's say there's just something small she does, maybe tucking her hair behind her ear occasionally or how she tilts her head and squints when she doesn't understand what someone's saying

Perfect. I'll try to remember to work those mannerisms into my in-character posts every now and then.

On the group leader thing: I think the group is small enough who is "in-charge" could be situational. For example; contact, negotiations and general relations with other survivor groups that come along? Then it's Boon.
Working on the haven, what extra things do we need and should look for scavenging, that kind of stuff? Probably Fleur, although on the NPC side Samuel is a construction supervisor so he'd likely at least helping with the organisation of this kind of thing as well.
Outside the wall or things get violent? Then Deano or Jax both seem like good candidates to me in terms of personality, skills and background.

Edited April 4 by BuyCrom (see edit history)