July Event Feedback

Grianadhmad

Grianadhmad

Apprentice
Hope I'm not out of place in starting this off, because I just want to thank Chris, Brigit, Cory, Jared, and Bev for once again putting on a fantastic event. I had a great time even though as usual I had to bug out early, and I'm super excited for the next event already.

Believe me when I say it's always worth the travel time for me to join you all at these events, it's one of the few times I'm able to genuinely relax and I enjoy this crazy alternate world we all live in <3

PROS
❧ I love the decision of Plot, after the adventurers' actions last month, to consolidate the mist pockets into the three large areas (four including Ardic, if I'm understanding correctly). Allowing for some escape from the Mists, especially the Mist curses, while still keeping that fantasy element and sectionalising our known regions, was a great way to progress the story in our chapter imo.

❧ I did not go on the Sir Nolan mod and I understand it was brutal and difficult so I probably wouldn't have survived anyway. But I also heard that it was a great experience (out-of-game) from some of the people that went. You all were gone a really long time! :D

❧ I "helped" kill a dragon!!! Meaning I was on standby to heal but wasn't needed. Yay!

❧ Finally having success on one of my two big personal plots. Huge thanks to everyone that came with me to the Heartwood, even if it was just for the first portion where we were attacked by animals while the moon drooled all over my totem :D I also definitely did not realise it was animals that were attacking us, thought they were Dread Fae of some kind or twisted spriggans or something. Looking back now, I see who was playing the moose and the bear and the dire possum, et cetera. Hilarious from an out-of-game standpoint, sad from an in-game standpoint. Had I known you all were forest creatures I would have asked everyone to pull their punches or play more defensively.

❧ I did not totally comprehend what was required of the quest (in-game the message from the Great Ent had been cut off by will-o-the-wisps so it's somewhat reasonable), and come to find out I very nearly failed the quest, but there's something awkwardly appropriate about Grin being the only one that didn't kill an animal during the totem trial. It resulted in the final test being really difficult, especially when Sadistic Saro, Primal Kai, and Barbaric Nommeric were impeding Grin's progress both physically and on a severe psychological level. It was just one of several things that put the quest into perspective. Also easily the longest mod I've ever been on personally, and it felt very rewarding. tl:dr; - we got the Heartseed!

❧ Related: hilarious that I had to do a ritual "under the light of the full moon" and it really was a full moon evening. Cory's regrets that we did not live in Europe or Australia so we could utilise the blood moon for the mod.

❧ Phasing children - the BEST. Tyler went full into the character of the schoolkid and the entire mod, which was almost completely roleplay and non-combat, was both hilarious and super fun. I think I would have kept the phasing power that I temporarily got of my own even if I had been forced to keep the dying penalty, and kind of regret that Maxwell managed to properly wish all the screwed-up powers away, but it was probably for the best.

❧ Tinker Tabby is now third on Grin's list of all-time favourite people (behind Hal, and just behind Squire Saro the paragon of justice). Thank you Plot for the great new enchanted glove! Next on the list: commission a cold iron mace, and have someone teach Grin to use one-handed blunt weapons.

❧ The people at Goodwill are starting to recognise me/us/our donations, and whether it's the guy that's happy to see me every time or the other crew members that just smile because I look ridiculous in costume, it still elicits smiles and we're making a real difference. Thank you all again for your continued contributions.

CONS
❧ I "get" the idea of saving your healing spells for only when people are dying (or dead), but I'm having trouble grasping it both as a player and as a character. I'm too much the sort of person that thinks, "My friends are less likely to die if I keep them topped off," and that's why I ended up re-memorising after the very first mod I went on, the mist monster horn hunt. Joe/Gideon tried to explain it to me and I got the idea during the totem trial, though I still ended up using up nearly all my healing because everyone kept dying. Can't decide whether this is going to be a permanent character failing or something I can actually manage to change in my RPing behaviour :Þ
 
Had a great event overall and I am happy with it. Weather didn't decide to attempt to kill us, so that is a massive improvement.

Pro
-Huge props to Tory/Nomeric for making me helmets for a Chimera! Cool stuff like that helps make our game cooler and helps re-energize my excitement.
-Playing games with Fate. Everything went to plan :)
-Sir Nolan fight was fun and straight forward. Mostly was nice to do some fighting since we were really light last event due to heat.
-Going to turn in Sir Nolan was made more difficult then when I had prepared the mod, so PCs got to on a lengthy travel mod.
-A bear, moose, dire possum, and fungus wolf almost wiped out the party. Also the moon dew was tonic water for those wondering what the gross taste was.
-Grin weathering the verbal abuse while completing the challenge to collect the Heartseed.
-Anique's trap mod. Very cool and very well done:) Was fun to watch/marshal.
-Spinning some gears with PCs on how to resolve the Ebony Halls
-Gideon was on fire (as in impressive, not literal) as a celestial caster

Con
-Chimera came out softer (challenge wise) then expected. Plus side makes me feel more okay to deploy on medium mods if needed. It is one of those struggles, do I stat it fight the strongest in town or stat it to stay true to the monster?
-We had some descriptor fails this weekend (as noted above) that may have lead PCs to act differently then they would have. We will continue to try to improve (and keep pressing us for details, we are tired stressed humans and see it in our own head).
-Last mod Saturday ending; sorta feel like out of our control. It was PC(s) actions (and misinformation) that drove the outcome/encounter.
 
Had an overall great event. Thank you again Weather Whisperer Joe/Gideon for blessing us with this fine temperate event.

Pro
Meditation time - Something I'm trying out. IRL I do morning meditation and it helps me focus and center myself. Doing actual meditation IG, even if just in a tent or looking into an open fire has really helped me get into Flint's mind space.
Did rouge stuff - 4/4 assassinates, 2/2 terminates and not wasted on crunchy BS. Wet leaves ftw. I keep telling myself to just get a bow and stop trying to be the rogue I've always wanted to be, didn't have to this event.
Finding our Center - At some point in the event Flint and Meeker had a pretty in-depth conversation, some **** went down that pissed me and him off and then Meeker and Flint had a good chat with Chris and an NPC. All of the meditation, internal conversations and observations really came to an unexpected head with a seemingly random NPC/Chris. I can feel Flint's wants, needs and desires more clearly, I'm going to be doing everything in my power/ability to harness this method acting approach to LARPing for the indefinite future.
Chimera! - I love big group fights, my imagination goes wild, and I just f**king love it! Loved the masks!
Making Friends - Felt like I made some good RP connections with some interesting factions, very interested to see how much good can be spread across the lands from these interactions.
First Magic Item of My Own! - Yeah, its kind of sad.... but better late than never!!!!
Plot Overload - I became mentally exhausted from trying to figure out all of the different aspects of the world plot. Was really hoping for some time to build and explore new places, guess its back to the OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE board. I call this a pro, because I love the story so much.


Con
Here it is - The last mod of the weekend for me left me with a few terrible flavors in my mouth. It wasn't one person or any one thing, it was a collection of bad information from plot oog, and (in my opinion) deploying no reverse-metagaming oog. I picked up a plot hook because it was on the ground and no one wanted it. I made it my own and spent months chipping away at it, though I should have spent more attention on it. After this past weekend, I'm glad I didn't invest more into it. Personally, I don't think its right for me to expect that everyone subscribes to my ideas, morals, values and I shouldn't have to subscribe to theirs. I was made out to look like an idiot out of game, asked people to stay up when they wanted to go to bed and ended everyone's event on a wtf note. I'm kicking this dead horse in the teeth because I don't want to feel like a dumbass oog as my sign off of an event. IG all is good, OOG this took my weekend from a 10/10 to a 7/10.

I'm a problem solver though, not a complainer. Take the above as a lesson to everyone both player and plot. Flint/Meeker holds off on doing certain things he would do when inside other people's plot because the oog fun factor of the entire town means more to me than justifying IG why Flint/Meeker would do the thing. Consider this as it may help you as a player avoid throwing plot into a corner and help preserve the spirit of the game for others.
If you don't understand whats going on, need clarification, a description when on a mod, take the time to ask good questions. Much of the above would have been mitigated, or even completely avoided had I talked with a member of the plot and asked questions. Remember, the plot has been eating, drinking and living inside the story for so long sometimes details are skipped over or minimized for time sake. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask, and I was VERY stupid during that last mod.
 
I may have waited too long to write my feedback because the whole event feels like a blur now.
The Good
-My greatest thanks to Joe for finally getting the kinks of his weather machine worked out. If we could just make the nights a little warmer so I don't wake up freezing that would be great. But I don't wanna push it. 7/10
-I really enjoyed the Sir Nolan Mod. Its not often where we literally don't know where we are going and I have steer a ship around in circles trying to find the right way. Also having to actually travel through some places to get to a destination is a perk I am looking forward too now that the mist is more mild.
-Grins mod had me in a way. I typically make it a rule not to swing at anything that doesn't swing first. But when youre standing in the woods the mindset you have to help this dryad not die and have already formed a battle circle, things happen. Also that tonic water was the grossest thing I had ever drank. I was sure it was lemon juice. The second part of that mod.... I didn't know I was that mean. Saro refuses to acknowledge it was anything more than a bad dream.
-Saturday was a little bit of a slow start but I was also exhausted from going to bed at 6am from the night before, which I love.
-Jareds pirate mod was probably the highlight of my event. It was very creative. I love killing pirates. And swinging from the rope. 10/10
-Havok bombing the Amazon fight all together, and the cringe of watching Flint step up to the plate, followed by the face palm of Yngvin swinging for flame. Quality.
-SUCKBEEF
-Asking to join silver destiny and expecting a no because I thought my deeds were to obviously nefarious and getting a "so it shall be" instead
-The cave mod... "Here Saro, this is your knight task"... cool. Let me ruin it by saying King Claus sent us. The look on everyones faces had me dying after I realized what I has done
-Duchess Saro of the Sea. Err Admiral? Err Captain of the Loose Lips?
-Splendor. Honestly one of my favorite games
-Bringing Sorrow a cool hat and poorly explaining the new mist situation and watching her cry over mittens
-The stone elf after the dwarf thing had me spooked. And the canibalistic stone elves. very spooky.
-The thought of a cool cave party at least was fun
The Meh
-I really didn't like how we decided to handle the Maxwell Dragon thing. I think we were tired by that point or something but I think plot gave us a cool thing and we just broke it. A lot of times I think the simplest answer is the best answer, but not in this situation.

In summation, I really liked this event. I thought I was going to spend it doing weird pirate stuff the whole time, relaxing from the bones, but I liked the new mystery and impending death. I love you guys so much. You are my favorite people. The post larp blues are always too real after a TC event. Until next time

Kierra
 
This event was difficult for me to engage because I didn't have the back-up that usually attends. That being said I did have fun, and following along with other people was enjoyable.
I spent most of my time talking with NPCs and information gathering, which was nice to figure out all the new changes.

Those masks, for the chimera, were really cool. If they worked well to wear and fight in, you should certainly get some pictures up for other Chapters to see.

A couple of things I'm noticing from a super birds-eye view of the chapter.
-The three continents are basically three different plots to play in. Previously to 'fixing' (grrrr) the mists I knew each pocket was controlled by a plot person but the overall 'feel' was still a large mixing pot. This event very much felt like 3 different chapters to play in. Not a lot of cross-over/blending between the continents. Perhaps that is by design, I don't know. The feeling of disconnection was noticeable to me. Perhaps it was the lack of Eloria City, I dunno.
-This event had my first issue with the tent rule. Tents are out of combat, can't be rogue-d, kinda out of game and difficult to interact with. So a PC can basically keep something away from town infinitely without risk or concern. It's a little weird. If I've got a plot Macguffin, and I don't want anyone to know, I can bring it to every game and leave it in my tent totally safe. I'm not sure that's ideal, something to think about.
-I dislike PC PvP in general and through plot. I'm seeing it creeping its way into the chapter. I'm glad others enjoy it, but I will hard stop on any plot train that interacts that way.

Looking forward to August.

-Joe
 
@jwconvery

Just want to follow up about the three continents. While yes, at the moment they are not alot of cross over, the goal is to have cross over. Some seeds were planted (at least by me) for cross over. I think you will continue to see more and more as story unfolds on the various islands as we can focus on pushing those stories and seeing how the PCs interact with them and influence them. Again this last event was a lot of trying to establish the new lay of the land per say. In retrospect, I think it was a bit ambitious and perhaps a slower mist recline could have eased into more (and take some pressure off of trying to flush a lot of detail mid season). Some of it is a matter of trying to establish of a lot of where is this and how to get there. There is still plenty of unexplored areas. While yes mechanically there is a plot person overseeing each continent; it helps them establish the region, map, etc without one person trying to do it all. Another reason to it this way is help prevent runners crashing others runner mods (which happens easier then you think); we try to communicate and share plot/mods.

As to pc pvp and through plot. I am mixed about it. Is it something I enjoy, no not really, but I know full well if I taunt a angry orc that he is going to pvp me (and fully accept/expect that). From a game standpoint, Alliance is be whoever you want to be, good guy or bad guy. Being a bad guy is difficult and involves risks that will likely bite you in the butt. From a customer service standpoint, it sucks (a lot) cause it generates complaints and somewhat toxic gameplay (either side is upset with the outcome of the others actions). People also pvp for different reasons and that very easily blurs into OOG reasons. Downside also is causes stress on the runners/team who are trying to ensure everyone has a good time, prepare mods to entertain people, running on lack of sleep, and whatnot. Obviously the downsides out-weight the pros, but how to solve the issue is trickier.

Agree with plot McGuffins in tents. Last season I worried about that with the corrupting hammer until I heard the effects got stripped with shards. If you see this happen, let Brigit ((if you can't find her) then Chris then me) know. I think putting item recall or flaw of item rifts if left unattended might start happening more on plot items. I think it is also against the spirit of the game if people are hiding plot items in tent because of the tent rule.

These are just my personal thoughts/feelings on the matter, and welcome input, though don't want to see this thread degrade into negativity but constructive conversation.
 
Grianadhmad said:
I "get" the idea of saving your healing spells for only when people are dying (or dead), but I'm having trouble grasping it both as a player and as a character. I'm too much the sort of person that thinks, "My friends are less likely to die if I keep them topped off," and that's why I ended up re-memorising after the very first mod I went on, the mist monster horn hunt. Joe/Gideon tried to explain it to me and I got the idea during the totem trial, though I still ended up using up nearly all my healing because everyone kept dying. Can't decide whether this is going to be a permanent character failing or something I can actually manage to change in my RPing behaviour :Þ
Click to expand...

To be perfectly clear: GIDEON wants you to only use your healing for getting up downed people. JOE does not give a crap. Joe is happy you are playing the game and having fun. If you disagree with Gideon's tactical advice IG, that's totally fine and not something you should worry about playing 'wrong' or something on an out of game level.
 
jwconvery said:
To be perfectly clear: GIDEON wants you to only use your healing for getting up downed people. JOE does not give a crap. Joe is happy you are playing the game and having fun. If you disagree with Gideon's tactical advice IG, that's totally fine and not something you should worry about playing 'wrong' or something on an out of game level.
Click to expand...

I figured, but still grateful for the clarification ;) I'm super appreciative of the advice you and others have given me since I joined the club.
 
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