>
>IMHO the whole thing got really OTT - hordes of undead led by battalions of
>vampires rampaging across the countryside...
>
yeah! wasn't it great??!!!!! Wimps bog off, Blitzy to the front flanked by
Sabrina et al, wading through them toe to toe. Just what troubadours are
for - writing ballads and singing of great deeds when the dead rose
up....Makes you proud to be associated with them.....

I say " good on them" for putting it on the line. Also remember the hordes.
I remember few of my own adventures, (actually I remember every trap and
each death, but that is just the caring chap that I am) let alone those of
others, so good on them for creating a brilliant setting.

There is a 'dark circle' campaign going on down southish ways. I have played
there once and GMed on the outskirts of it. I certainly won't complain if
the whole thing goes OTT. Looking forward to it actually - characters may
actually have to interact with their world, gasp shock and horror <evil
grin, begins GM notes for forth coming episode>.

I appreciate your efforts to talk the campaign up by celebrating those GMs
who contributed the most. I remember the Party of orcs/oiks/orks hired to
find a certain Baggins to recover some stolen property, an earing or similar
or so I heard. Another brilliant setting - I laugh just thinking of it.

We need more adventures that spark admiration (or fear) in the minds of PCs
and players.

Ian (of the Bring Back MTB Appreciation Society)


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At 11:56 15/05/2001 +1200, you wrote:
> >IMHO the whole thing got really OTT - hordes of undead led by battalions of
> >vampires rampaging across the countryside...
> >
>yeah! wasn't it great??!!!!! Wimps bog off, Blitzy to the front flanked by
>Sabrina et al, wading through them toe to toe. Just what troubadours are
>for - writing ballads and singing of great deeds when the dead rose
>up....Makes you proud to be associated with them.....

Heroics on the part of PCs are to be encouraged - without heroes I'd have 
real problems filling the Seagate Times. And the campaign would be 
distinctly pedestrian without them.

What I was objecting to was the armies of Undead and such like. Certainly a 
necromancer can create a small platoon of undead - but whole regiments? And 
are there that many necromancers around? Especially with the general 
antipathy adventuring parties have for the species. Either the percentage 
of magic users on Alusia is a LOT higher than I had been led to believe, or 
somebody's was messing with the magic system. It just stretched the 
boundaries of credibility a ways too far.

But that's my opinion.

>There is a 'dark circle' campaign going on down southish ways. I have played
>there once and GMed on the outskirts of it. I certainly won't complain if
>the whole thing goes OTT. Looking forward to it actually - characters may
>actually have to interact with their world, gasp shock and horror <evil
>grin, begins GM notes for forth coming episode>.

Actually it seems to be sinking with relatively little trace, mainly 
because the GMs involved seem to have become less than involved with the 
campaign as a whole, and the rest of us are stuck with this thing that we 
don't know enough about to GM with any consistency, and are reluctant to 
develop for fear of treading on toes.

Meanwhile the PCs get to twiddle their thumbs or wander off elsewhere where 
they CAN do something that matters.

>I appreciate your efforts to talk the campaign up by celebrating those GMs
>who contributed the most. I remember the Party of orcs/oiks/orks hired to
>find a certain Baggins to recover some stolen property, an earing or similar
>or so I heard. Another brilliant setting - I laugh just thinking of it.

I remember that one too - I had misgivings at the time, and I still do. Not 
exactly the most heroic of concepts.

>We need more adventures that spark admiration (or fear) in the minds of PCs
>and players.

Now, that statement I can agree with. Summon the heroes!

Jacqui


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Jacqui Smith wrote:
> 
> At 11:56 15/05/2001 +1200, you wrote:
> > >IMHO the whole thing got really OTT - hordes of undead led by battalions of
> > >vampires rampaging across the countryside...
> > >
> >yeah! wasn't it great??!!!!! Wimps bog off, Blitzy to the front flanked by
> >Sabrina et al, wading through them toe to toe. Just what troubadours are
> >for - writing ballads and singing of great deeds when the dead rose
> >up....Makes you proud to be associated with them.....
> 
> Heroics on the part of PCs are to be encouraged - without heroes I'd have
> real problems filling the Seagate Times. And the campaign would be
> distinctly pedestrian without them.
> 
I suggest that it editing policy may have more to do with any difficulty
filling the Seagate Times, rather than any amount of heroism.

> What I was objecting to was the armies of Undead and such like. Certainly a
> necromancer can create a small platoon of undead - but whole regiments? And
> are there that many necromancers around? Especially with the general
> antipathy adventuring parties have for the species. Either the percentage
> of magic users on Alusia is a LOT higher than I had been led to believe, or
> somebody's was messing with the magic system. It just stretched the
> boundaries of credibility a ways too far.

I don't know. What are you using for figures to determine the percentage
of mages per head of population? It's an empty argument, without the use
of real statistics, which no one has ever done anything about.

Which means that there are as many mages per head of population as there
needs to be. One can go around criticising the idea of hordes of undead,
or you can find a way to make it an acceptable part of the history. 

There's precious little effort in simple criticism. The other takes an
effort of imagination.
> 
> But that's my opinion.

And, that's mine.


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> I don't know. What are you using for figures to determine the percentage
> of mages per head of population? It's an empty argument, without the use
> of real statistics, which no one has ever done anything about.
>
> Which means that there are as many mages per head of population as there
> needs to be. One can go around criticising the idea of hordes of undead,
> or you can find a way to make it an acceptable part of the history.
>
> There's precious little effort in simple criticism. The other takes an
> effort of imagination.
> >
> > But that's my opinion.
>
> And, that's mine.
>

I've always thought that you got scads of evil necromancers, black-mages and
binders.

It's up to adventurers to cull them down to socially acceptable levels*

IMIO
William

*zero


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If GMs want a big game effect then I trust them to get it right. see
below...way, way below. I forgive you! Just step a little closer to the
edge - no you can trust me - look I will put my finger in your mouth as
surety!!! <silky voice> the one with the shiny ring on it...look down...deep
into the redness...deeper.................

-----Original Message-----
From: Jacqui Smith <flamis@ihug.co.nz>
To: dq@dq.sf.org.nz <dq@dq.sf.org.nz>
Date: Tuesday, 15 May 2001 16:17
Subject: Re: [dq] Alusian history


>At 11:56 15/05/2001 +1200, you wrote:
>
>What I was objecting to was the armies of Undead and such like. Certainly a
>necromancer can create a small platoon of undead - but whole regiments? And
>are there that many necromancers around? Especially with the general
>antipathy adventuring parties have for the species. Either the percentage
>of magic users on Alusia is a LOT higher than I had been led to believe, or
>somebody's was messing with the magic system. It just stretched the
>boundaries of credibility a ways too far.


Yeah them necros are scary. Nah, the NUMBER of magic users in Hell is a lot
higher than you wish to believe. Hmmm? this may have more to do with what we
believe should happen on Alusia and our credibility on what does happen in
Hell.

Someone put boundaries on HELL???!!!!!!!!!!! Who was the miscreant (brave
fool) who did that???? I bet it was that Father Rowan, between slaughtering
unbelievers (followers of a rival cult) and cultivating a church that
worships him....yeah that has his stench on it.

Hordes of undead? Realms of necros ?? Kingdoms of vampires??? Let them rip,
I say. I tell you they are worth it just to get Alusia out of the "Mostly
harmless" category of the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (May He Rest In
Peace). Oh yeah and several GMs used these as campaign plots to create
opportunities for players to bond their PCs to parts of Alusia (well several
of them smeared themselves over vast acreages of Alusia but that is not the
point here). So the hordes had at least one positive impact on the game.

I also recall the horde caused those GMs involved in teh war (which was
starting to drag on and get a bit boring) to end the war with a major final
push. So the horde had a positive impact on them as well. It did not impact
me or teh games I GMed, but did make the war more memorable.

I guess game effects are more important to me than game mechanics - I
believe there are enough magic users on Alusia for the effects I require
when I GM; to manipulate when I play Isil Eth; cleave when I play Sir Woger;
and I won't describe what Left does with them.

>
>But that's my opinion.

>
>>There is a 'dark circle' campaign going on down southish ways. I have
played
>>there once and GMed on the outskirts of it. I certainly won't complain if
>>the whole thing goes OTT. Looking forward to it actually - characters may
>>actually have to interact with their world, gasp shock and horror <evil
>>grin, begins GM notes for forth coming episode>.
>
>Actually it seems to be sinking with relatively little trace, mainly
>because the GMs involved seem to have become less than involved with the
>campaign as a whole, and the rest of us are stuck with this thing that we
>don't know enough about to GM with any consistency, and are reluctant to
>develop for fear of treading on toes.
>


Yeah time to crank it up a little - nah crank it up a lot, says I. Make it
so pervassive that you WILL learn all about it, just before the circle of
your Pc's awareness shrinks and everything goes dark - for a while...<evil
grin, writes second chapter of GM notes> and then the torments of your soul
begin...<pass me your character sheet, just 'for a while'><manic
gleam><tearing sound followed by wailing and gnashing of teeth>.

Looks like we each have a challenge ahead of us. We get to choose to either
learn about something that is going on in the world of Alusia, or we can
GM/play  somewhere else entirely and never complain about what others are
doing.

Fortunately we each have the opportunity to do this just before each guild
session, when the DC is discussed by the gods, and we determine what the
game effect will be for the next quarter - that should be enough for any god
who wishes to GM in the surrounding areas. There is a also great booklet
available on the DC for those who choose to GM within it.

The dark circle will only shrink if GMs are too lazy to GM in there. We each
have a choice - GM in the Dark Circle or not. I asked for information on the
DC and have enough to GM there - have had so for several sessions actually -
but have chosen to not GM recently.

>Meanwhile the PCs get to twiddle their thumbs or wander off elsewhere where
>they CAN do something that matters.


As above, there is huge scope for a variety of adventures within the DC or
on its boundaries - no PC needs to twiddle unless GMs fail to get their act
together. The DC shrank for the last two sessions and for the last 3
sessions, the Duke sent groups of Brastor refugees back into the DC to
plant/harvest crops/build a defensive work - any GM could have chosen to run
a party using that as a background (+the excellent booklet stating what may
be encountered in there). So if there was any criticism in your above
sentence then I place the blame with the GMs (including myself). We either
choose to create involvement in local issues or we don't.

>
>>I appreciate your efforts to talk the campaign up by celebrating those GMs
>>who contributed the most. I remember the Party of orcs/oiks/orks hired to
>>find a certain Baggins to recover some stolen property, an earing or
similar
>>or so I heard. Another brilliant setting - I laugh just thinking of it.
>
>I remember that one too - I had misgivings at the time, and I still do. Not
>exactly the most heroic of concepts.


Are you saying that throwing hobbits into volcanoes is heroic? Frodo was
royally praised, when in reality he had forgiven Gollum only to later throw
him into the Cracks of Doom. Is that heroic? Or was walking through Mordor
with nary a cream puff in sight? No wonder Frodo never gained any
recognition in The Shire - he threw away the tea set to lighten the load!
(Actually that was Sam but who can blame the butler for looking after his
master?)

IMHO the orcs were doing a civic duty, stopping an unneccessary and blood
thirsty war or two, returning property it its rightful owner, investigating
an infringement of copyright, intellectual property rights etc.

>
>>We need more adventures that spark admiration (or fear) in the minds of
PCs
>>and players.
>
>Now, that statement I can agree with. Summon the heroes!


Did I get this right? are you calling those misbegotten sons of b!@#$es
(orcs) heroes???
They may have been doing the right thing at the right time BUT I'll choke
before I call them heroes, the slimy little ^%$#@s!!

love, Ian

PS - look deeper....




...........arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...............splash?

If the audience is cheering when a hobbit lands in lava, does his cream
curdle?


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