Workshop Chatter

[Xiadais]

9 hours ago, Zen Gypsy said:

To all applicants!

Please note, that I have extended the deadline until Sunday February 25th. This is largely because this last two weeks have been extremely chaotic for me, and I haven't been able to give a proper review to the submissions, or follow up with my potential players, so that is on me.

Second, I have a general question for folks. If, in a hypothetical situation, you have submitted your character to a game, Luke Skywalker, and in Luke's backstory his father is a hero of the Old Republic, a member of the mysterious Jedi Order, and a veteran of the Clone Wars. Now, once selected for the game, through the course of play, you discover that your father wasn't who you thought he was, but was, in fact, someone who betrayed the Order and aided the Big Bad in their quest to rule the Galaxy.

Do you roll with the fact that the GM took your backstory and modified it to fit their vision of the universe, or do you approach the GM and say, that's not how I envisioned my backstory and try to course correct back towards your vision of Luke's backstory? I am just curious how folks enjoy twists, especially if those twists involve aspects of their own, personal, history that they may or may not be aware of.

In the example given, it's great. In fact, it's usually great and a lot of fun for a character's preconceived notions to get shattered.

It's theoretically possible for it to be painful, though. If I've gone to great lengths to describe that my character is one among 5 children of a completely normal seventh-generation farmer, and Dad was the moral pillar of the family, and Dad was always super busy with farm work from the time he was a child, and Dad never went to town, and Dad didn't have a shred of magical ability, and and and and and.... Well, in that case, it would feel really bad to learn that, "Ackshually, he was Darth Vader all along. He spent his youth doing evil shenanigans, then took a bit of a break to start his family, then faked his death to get back to his schemes. When his family was around, he used magic to duplicate himself and sneak off to his important evil meetings."

Basically, I don't think I'd be offended by a backstory twist unless it were replete with retcons/mental gymnastics and completely tone-deaf. For any GM with a modicum of common sense and respect for others—and you definitely seem to be in this group—this shouldn't be an issue. Go ham.

I've only ever made one character who had a parent who should not be tampered with. All my other characters, including my application here (Sorsul), include intentional vagueness in their backstories so that the GM can sneak twists in as desired. Of course, if any part of the backstory is too vague and/or won't be useful for a potential future plot twist, I'd hope to be asked to flesh that part out.

Edited February 16 by Xiadais (see edit history)

[Gnaws]

25 minutes ago, Xiadais said:

In the example given, it's great. In fact, it's usually great and a lot of fun for a character's preconceived notions to get shattered.

It's theoretically possible for it to be painful, though. If I've gone to great lengths to describe that my character is one among 5 children of a completely normal seventh-generation farmer, and Dad was the moral pillar of the family, and Dad was always super busy with farm work from the time he was a child, and Dad never went to town, and Dad didn't have a shred of magical ability, and and and and and.... Well, in that case, it would feel really bad to learn that, "Ackshually, he was Darth Vader all along. He spent his youth doing evil shenanigans, then took a bit of a break to start his family, then faked his death to get back to his schemes. When his family was around, he used magic to duplicate himself and sneak off to his important evil meetings."

Basically, I don't think I'd be offended by a backstory twist unless it were replete with retcons/mental gymnastics and completely tone-deaf. For any GM with a modicum of common sense and respect for others—and you definitely seem to be in this group—this shouldn't be an issue. Go ham.

I've only ever made one character who had a parent who should not be tampered with. All my other characters, including my application here (Sorsul), include intentional vagueness in their backstories so that the GM can sneak twists in as desired. Of course, if any part of the backstory is too vague and/or won't be useful for a potential future plot twist, I'd hope to be asked to flesh that part out.

I can agree with this, but I think the reason it would bother me is because of the farfetched-ness of it, rather than the fact that the GM took a part of my backstory and twisted it. I see the point you're making, though; if the GM is going to do something like this, it should be done smartly/respectfully and where it makes sense, rather than completely just breaking immersion to make a "reveal".

[Xiadais]

8 minutes ago, Gnaws said:

I can agree with this, but I think the reason it would bother me is because of the farfetched-ness of it, rather than the fact that the GM took a part of my backstory and twisted it. I see the point you're making, though; if the GM is going to do something like this, it should be done smartly/respectfully and where it makes sense, rather than completely just breaking immersion to make a "reveal".

That's... an excellent point. I agree completely. It's very difficult to break a character without it simply being a bad story.

[RedDingo]

Is this game still taking apps? The Overview said it closes on the 16th but the ad says the 24th.

[Thramzorean]

I hope so, when I saw the deadline extended I'm now building up a witch, but it would be good to get confirmation please.

[Zen Gypsy]

Yes, as I posted up thread, I have extended the Deadline until Friday February 23rd, with Selections being confirmed by Sunday 25th. I just wrapped up my Roll20 game for my old Table-top crew, going to see my son and his band play tonight, and tomorrow I will dive back into reviewing submissions.

I look forward to reading everyone's characters and seeing what you come up with.

[Zen Gypsy]

Ok, that's a chunk of reviews for the morning, going to finish my coffee, do some housework than try to wrap up by this afternoon. I do need to say that folks have not made this easy ... I wish I could take a much larger party whittling this down to a manageable group is going to be rough!

[Zen Gypsy]

Just a reminder, I am closing Selections on Sunday, February 25th. There are still several WIP applications I haven't fully reviewed. If you are still interested in applying to the game, please try to have those wrapped up and completed by end of week so they can be reviewed prior to selections.

You guys haven't made this easy and here I am asking folks to make it harder on me!

[Thramzorean]

👍 should be fine from my side. Really only gear to do at this stage.

[Eletido]

On 2/16/2024 at 4:51 AM, Zen Gypsy said:

To all applicants!

Please note, that I have extended the deadline until Sunday February 25th. This is largely because this last two weeks have been extremely chaotic for me, and I haven't been able to give a proper review to the submissions, or follow up with my potential players, so that is on me.

Second, I have a general question for folks. If, in a hypothetical situation, you have submitted your character to a game, Luke Skywalker, and in Luke's backstory his father is a hero of the Old Republic, a member of the mysterious Jedi Order, and a veteran of the Clone Wars. Now, once selected for the game, through the course of play, you discover that your father wasn't who you thought he was, but was, in fact, someone who betrayed the Order and aided the Big Bad in their quest to rule the Galaxy.

Do you roll with the fact that the GM took your backstory and modified it to fit their vision of the universe, or do you approach the GM and say, that's not how I envisioned my backstory and try to course correct back towards your vision of Luke's backstory? I am just curious how folks enjoy twists, especially if those twists involve aspects of their own, personal, history that they may or may not be aware of.

Sorry for late response. Took a family trip and have been attempting to fight off a cold.

I'm totally fine with the GM taking aspects of a character backstory and running with it. In general, I want my characters to be personally invested in the story and a close family member or friend being involved somehow is a great way for that investment to come about. In this specific scenario, I might prefer the GM ask first. "Hey, I'm thinking about changing something related to your family in this story. Is there anything that's absolutely off-limits?"

Overall, I feel that the players and the GM are working together to tell a story and play a game. That story (and backstory) is better when more than one person is helping craft it.

[Toraka_Stormheart]

The selection time is upon us!

Best of luck to everyone :)

[VennDygrem]

Good luck to everyone!

[Eletido]

Good luck all. Lots of fun characters. I don’t envy Zen…

[Xiadais]

Quick, someone edit your application to make it worse, so Zen's job is easier!

[Zen Gypsy]

After considerable time, various configurations, a spread sheet or two, I have landed on my decision. I want folks to know that you did not make it easy on me, and I ended up going with a seven man team based on the quality of the submissions. Lots of room for player on player interactions, and should give us plenty of plot threads to pull at, and push the story forward.

So here we have it, the roll call!

• Aquila Ekaitza - Sylph Kineticist @VennDygrem
• Caltrix Nimblesquirl - Halfling Rogue @Vedast
• Carthen Brisbane - Half-orc Fighter @Whitehart09
• Ihrin Giurea - Human Bard @saithor
• Ionacu Davian - Human Witch @Thramzorean
• Lira Proietti - Half-elf Thaumaturge @Keante
• Valerica Radache - Human Ranger @Gnaws

I just want to reiterate what a hard selection this is, and to thank everyone for putting so much effort into your submissions! They were a joy to read, and I wish I could take more of them, but unfortunately I feel that I am pushing my limits with seven. Happy gaming, and I wish you all the best in your upcoming games!