HappyHexagram

Difficulty attracting people to BLADES

2008-10-05T20:43:30Z

Why is it so difficult to get people into BLADES?

I understand there are plenty of people, even geek/nerdss, who shudder at the prospect of LARP. But plenty of people who don't still don't want to get involved!

For instance, there Bethany, who's in the choir, and is a legend. She said she would love to be able to do it, but there's so much other stuff she wanted to do, and she couldn't fit it in! There's also Sian, who is also a legend, who seemed to show some interest but said she couldn't juggle it with her course and her piano lessons (she also normally does something else on Sundays). We also have to mourn the loss of Ches who, while not a student, is no longer able to attend due to various happenings (she really wanted to do it as well!). I know this because I bumped into her yesterday. Not to metnion there are quite a few people who do and enjoy LARP, but have problems with the TL rules system (I'm not referring to any particular person or group of people here) for some reason...

So what is it? Are people just making excuses? Is it the time commitment (it does, after all, eat up a whole day)? Do I just suck at advertising, being as, despite knowing so many people, I haven't managed to get any of them into LARP? Is TL the wrong kind of system for students? Or does a LARP society simply not belong at a university?

After all that effort we only recruited two new people this year, and being as we lost florain and the_werefrog, that means we haven't actually gained anyone. Were we fools to think we could ever get thirty people? Do we even want/need them?

On a more positive note, can anyone think of other things to put on, besides Sunday LARPs? As the "taking up a whole day" things seems to put off some people...

Roleplaying meme

2008-09-20T12:25:34Z

I have a similar story to Lawrence's, unfortunately! However, I signed up to BUTTS, so I should be able to get some more roleplaying in soon, lol...

Years roleplaying: 2.
Least favourite character?:
Male or female characters?: Male.
Oldest character played: Gareth

Which character of yours would be most likely to...
Jump off a bridge?: Gareth if over lava or a hot spring. Otherwise it would be Durath, to improve his endurance and strength.
Get drunk and pass out?: Plenius, being as he almost did...
Kill somebody in a very unorthodox way?: Durath
Be far too hyper for their own good?: Plenius, being as he is!
Be raped?: Plenius
Get lost and refuse to ask for directions?: Durath
Get lung cancer?: Probably Gareth, in the unlikely event he actually lives long enough to worry about it...
Star in a horror movie?: Durath
Star in a whore movie?: Plenius - probably on the hope of getting some!
Star in a video game?: Durath - as a villain.
Make the world a better place?: Plenius has been trying for quite a while...
Have a torrid gay love affair?: I could try having Plenius crush on Bregan or Jimmy's Life Priest... Otherwise Gareth.

Relate each word to a character of yours:
Love: Plenius
Hate: Durath
Money: Not sure... I'll have to roleplay some more to find out.
Seduction: None of them really, but Plenius comes closest.
Lies: Not Plenius. Otherwise, again I'm not sure.
Tragedy: Probably Plenius and his descent into madness. But the other two also qualify...
Manipulation: Durath
Violence: Durath, without a doubt!
Politics: Can be applied to all of them in some small way...
Fire: Gareth
Ice: Durath, not that it realy applies to any of them...

Would you ever...
Play a prostitute?: Probably not... If I ever did, it would be someone who enjoyed it...
Play a musician?: Yes - I would have done it already, if not for the unspoken TL rule of "no music!"
Play a pilot?: Depends on the system.
Play a homosexual?: Yes, if given sufficient IC reason to (or lack of female characters to crush on), but not just for the sake of it.
Play a pedophile?: Probably not, but you never know...
Play a politician?: No - I'm not good enough.
Create a character for the sole purpose of smut?: I don't see myself getting THAT bored tbh, but you never know...
Play a character who commits incest?: Possibly...

Brief Bio your characters...

Gareth White - A human Pyromancer who thinks of his element almost as a religion. His choice of alignment, as well as his tendency to get himself killed, has made him almost universally disliked. His greatest fear is rabbits.

Plenius Mirendia - He means well and is dependable for healing and fighting the undead, but his religious fanaticism makes him rather unpleasant to be around. His swift transition from sheltered upbringing to war zone has more or less driven him insane.

Durath - Inspired in part by a videogame villain, Durath holds firm to the principles of Might. Unlike most Half-Orcs, he is proud of his Orc side as well as his Human side. He joined Tremaine's Rangers largely out of lust for power.

For those I can't contact individually...

2008-09-15T16:40:44Z

I plan to write a parody of the VoT 36hr (I've already got the go-ahead from the GMs for this)... I want to ask if anyone has any particular objections to their character being used in this, who I haven't already contacted. Here's a sample:

*Harlequin can be seen with an ornate Aladdin-style lamp in her hands, with the letters "GM" clarly visible ont he side. She rubs the lamp and a spirit comes out of the spout, taking the form of Steve the GM.*
Steve the GM: I can grant you three player requests.
Harlequin: I want a guarenteed death for my character.
Steve the GM: Why would you want that?
Harlequin: Because it's funny!
Steve the GM: Your player request is my command!
*The GM-genie withdraws into the lamp.*

Confuzzled

2008-06-25T20:27:22Z

(If you're Lawrence, you can ignore the first part of this)

Tried Salsa yesterday! Got taught the very basics, but hardly danced at all because I didn't know hardly anyone there and was scared I'd mess up! Also got confused by the whole "the man HAS to lead" thing - which shouldn't the woman be able to give out the instructions, especially if she's more experienced and/or higher ranking in the society? I understand that it's just The Way It Is though. BTW the ex-Chair looks a lot like Ruth IMO... lol.

But it brings me onto the bigger question... What role are men expected to play in today's society? Is the notion of men as leaders and women is followers really as last-century as we are supposed to think? Indeed, is either stereotype a good fit?

Onto LARP stuff... a Daily item of Charm 1 (up to Charm 2 if and when he has 2 Willpower) will cost Plenius 25 Groats, which he's likely to have not long after the 36. It would be a good way to get information out of enemies as well as providing a peaceful solution (yay!) to problems - but is Charm 2 really going to nail that many things at mid-high level? Its a big investment and unless Dom's statting was mistaken, you can't use willpower to boost an effect to more than double its power, so with all the Enhance Will (or natural Willpower) in the world he'd never get Charm 3. BTW, one-shots cost five Groats. Each. On the other hand, a Superior suit of Studded Leathers costs 20 Groats and will never let you down - unless you get Cursed. (A Superior Staff would be a bit of a waste - even with one extra point of damage most things will still only be bruising, plus he can just cast huge Blesses down as opposed to enchanting the weapon with them). However, it wouldn't be exactly IC for Plenius to go spending all his money on items OR superior kit - he's too generous and charitable!

Also puzzled as to what to get Gareth item-wise - I might go the way of Salogel and save up for a Permanent Life Shield - can't go wrong with that! Or I could buy Control Undead, to take advantage of Gareth's Magey Willpower - or perhaps items of Clear Mind (although that might be dodgy, given he's a Fire mage). As for Control Undead, that might get him into trouble given that he already has a Chaos miracle - the Order aligned characters are looking for an excuse to lock him up as it is.

TL character theme songs

2008-06-17T00:01:35Z

It's mostly a case of "I heard this, and thought of you"...

Chanilsa: Hero - Bonnie Tyler
Malleus: Larger than Life - Bakcstreet Boys
Ze Von Angstines: The Addams Family (not my idea, it was Caroline (I think) and Dave...)
Adiuvo: Super Smash Bros. Brawl Main theme (this actually suits quite a few of the fighter characters)
Grunhilda: Fight - Natalia Barbu (now I listen to it again, I wonder whether this is actually a good fit...)
Gareth: Fire - Arthur Brown
Plenius: Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Dresari: Knights of the Round Table - Monty Python
Trantis: Playing With The Big Boys (from The Prince of Egypt) Also suits Raphael, but not as much...

I'll keep this updated, please forgive me if my matches are awful!

My own round of Eurovision commenting...

2008-05-26T14:18:26Z

I liked the Norwegian and Icelandic songs best - but Latvia was good too, reminded me of Roger :) The Greek entry was OK too, and I was sooooooo gutted when Russia snatched it from them - their entry was rubbish! Any of the other four top 5 I would have been happy to see win - but no... Mind you, Ukraine's song wasn't that good either and I only really liked it because the singer was fairly attractive and the dance routine fairly cool - oh well... Bea rin mind Rusia's victory wasn't entirely political - the singer is apparently very popular with the ladies, which is why a lot of records sell these days. I'm sure that was a major contributor to Armenia, Greece and Ukraine coming in well too... I voted for Norway (the lyrics ofer advice I should heed more often) and they got 7 points from the UK, so at least I felt like my vote counted. It was interesting that Wogan (who is now considering quitting Eurovision after what happened this year) predicted Russia's getting political votes as son as the song came on... Anyway, I'm sure this year's results have dashed any hopes/delusions people such as myself have had about it still beign a vaguely fair contest. I'm not going to go into as in-depth a commentary as Doug did (largely because I don't have his ability to analyse music so brilliantly) but... yeah. I'm somewhat disappointed about not getting the usual handful of points we do from Malta, who would always drop us a few until the last couple of years... I also likely the woman outsdie the City Hall - very Plenius-ey :)

For an interesting analysis of the voting patters, click here... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7408216.stm

Quick comment on yesterday's game...

2008-05-05T22:29:54Z

In a remarkable reversal of fate, Gareth actually was something of a voice of reason today - he suggested the party didn't go into the next encounter with no wounds healing! Which, being a mage knowing that he would be totally screwed if he got hit, he would say. Still, it's what the party should have done. Too bad he literally had his head in the sand when Julin apologised...

This increases the number of sensible things Gareth has done to a grand total of one.

Actually - make that two - it was, after all, Gareth who found the Box of Sin on said mission. But anyone could have done that...

On the other hand... destroying the fae-traps from range was a good idea.

So I'll say Gareth has done a total of two sensible things in his lifetime.

This has not, will not, and never will balance out the innumerable number of stupid things he has done and no doubt will continue to do in the future.

TL: Previously Asked Questions...

2008-05-03T17:19:55Z

I've decided to collect a list of questions pertaining to the TL rules that have been asked by myself and others answered by those more literate in them, placing emphasis in those not mentioned in the clarifications. I'll try to keep this updated with new developments and the intention is to have this as a useful-ish resource for newer players and anyone else who needs it, to be honest. If you have a question or comment, post a comment and I'll answer it or take the problem to someone who can. Being as I'm not a GM, this will include little or no GM stuff.

DISCLAIMER: This is unofficial and has nothing to do with the creator(s) of TL. As such, I could be wrong. In this case, please correct me. :)

Q: Is a Druid in Cloud Form immune to Grip?
A: No! Despite the fact the rules clearly say this, I have seen at least one person say otherwise. In fact, it goes further - while in Cloud Form you cannot use your Strength to break free of Grip! You ARE, however, immune to any and all Entangle spells/Druidic miracles. As for Dark Entangle... I don't know, but I think it does affect you.

Q: Can I create diseases/poisons of healing?
A: No. This is one of those things that is technically posible, but is ruled out by the unwritten rule of "don't take the piss/don't break the system".

Q: Can I have Humans as my Chosen Enemy?
A: No, for the same reason as above, basically. Neither can you have vague, subjective criteria such as "Nijas" or "Stupid people" or OOC criteria such as "Monsters played by [insert monster player here]".

Q: Do I take hits while Paralysed?
A: Yes you do, although it's not particularly good practice for a monster to hit a Paralysed person without good reason. (I confess to having done this in the past!).

Q: Are you aware of your surroundings when Paralysed?
A: Yes. It only paralyses your body, not your mind.

Q: Is there a Miracle Prime in the system?
A: No, but I may have Plenius attempt to research something with a similar effect.

Q: Is there a Miraculous Divination in the system?
A: Not yet... *grins*

Q: Can you Spell Immunity yourself to Gust of Wind?
A: It's been ruled: No you can't. This is probably because Gust of Wind targets the area itself, not the players in it, unlike Mass [whatever] spells/miracles that target all the characters in the blast radius. Another possible reason is that Spell Immunity: Gust of Wind would mean you wern't slowed by the effect, making it a tad broken.

Q: When casting a Willpower-based effect from an item, can I add my Willpower/Holy Symbol/Guild bonus to it?
A: Yes. You cannot, however, cast any of these into an item. Note that this is inverse to the 'item downcasting' rule, where you can downcast into items but can't downcast when casting it.
Example: A Priestess of Freedom with ten ranks in the Humacti creates an item of Turn Undead 1. She has a Level 4 Holy Symbol of Freedom and two Willpower. Her Guild bonus, Willpower and Holy Symbol all add 1 to her miracle on casting it, so her player calls "Turn Undead 4" or "Destroy Undead 2". Were she to give this item to a Half-Ogre Guard with one point of Willpower, however, it would only come out as Turn Undead 1.
Example 2: Gareth buys an item of Contrrol Undead 1. He has 3 Willpower, so can cast it as Control Undead 2.

Q: Can Steal Life finish you off?
A: No. It's like Drain Life.

Q: It's the middle of a battle and I have no idea whether I should be down or not! I need a Battle Board!
A: Drop. It's better to fall early rather than late, mostly because doing so maximises your chances of survival. Work it out while you're on the floor, or wait for a Battle Board. If you're sure you're concious but unsure as to whether or not your arm is OK, run away. If you're not sure whether your leg is working, crawl under a bush or hop/limp to safety.

Q: Am I conscious on zero life?
A: Yes. You are also conscious on zero chest or head. And no, you don't bleed.

Q: Can I Backstab with a two handed weapon?
A: No - the rules clearly say the skill only applies to 1H weapons. Which technically means you can't backstab with claws, although the jury's out on that one.

Q: Does a victim of a Backstab HAVE to be unaware of it for it to count, or is it whenever they're hit in the back?
A: The rules say the victim must be unaware, same as Throat Slit. Yet you get people saying otherwise...

Q: Do I take [Path] Lace as a Balance Priest?
A: No (although taking 1/4 of the Lace would seem more logical). It does still come off any [Path] Resistance miracles you have running, however.
Example: Raphael, a Priest of Balance, has Death Resistance 1 running and is hit by Death Lace 4. The Death Resistance is used up and the miracle has no effect. Ironically, the miracle would have had less of an effect if Raphael had not cast Death Resistance. He then proceeds to blow the offending Death Priest's head off.

Q: If I have [Path] Resistance running and am targeted by a miracle of [Path], do I HAVE to use up the Resistance?
A: Yes - it's not like Reflection, where you get to choose. However, unlike Reflection, you can recast it immediately.
Example: Lomax, another Priest of Balance, casts Chaos Resistance 1, followed by Dexterity 5, on himself...

Q: If I'm meditating and get hit by Drain Mana, does it interrept my meditation?
A: No - the only way to interrupt meditation/prayer is to actually do damage. Subdue damage DOES count...

Q: Can I talk while resting (to gain 1 Mana/Standing)?
A: Yes. You should stay sat down or otherwise restful, however, and shouldn't be in any immediate danger.

Q: If Barbarians "fear and hate" magic, why do they have Witchdoctors?
A: This is (I assume deliberately) left to IC interpratation.

Q: If character A has a delibating effect running on them and character B gives them a Spell Immunity to that effect, is the effect lifted?
A: No - you still have to remove the effect by some means. Freedom works diferently - it DOES lift the effect (provided it's high level enough, or course). Radiate and Float work similarly to Freedom in this regard.

Q: Which increases in weapon damage increase the amount of Strength one can add to the damage?
A: I'm going to do this as a sort of table:
Increased Quality (Superior, Masterwork, Legendary): Yes
Increased Proficiency (Specialisation, Expertise, etc.): No
Favoured/Chosen Weapon: Yes*
Strengthen: No
Dark Bless: No
Mighty Blow: No
Blade Sharp/Bludgeon: Yes
*Favoured/Chosen Weapon increases the amount of Strength you can add to it, but not the amount of StengthEN (or Blade Sharp/Bludgeon). Slight difference there, easy to get confused...
Example: Charlotte Rennie Macintosh, a Barbarian Warrior, has Triple Strength, 1H Sword Mastery, a Superior Sword called Gladius and Favoured Weapon: Gladius. The Superior weapon adds +1 damage, as does the Favoured Weapon bonus, meaning that Gladius has 6 base damage, so she can add all of her Triple Strength to it. A Macintosh Order Shamaness casts Strengthen 1 on Gladius adding 1 to its damage, while the Mastery adds +3. Her player therefore calls "Blade 16" on a succesful hit. However, were Charlotte to Rage her way up to Quad Strength, this would not increase the damage as neither the 1H Sword Mastery or Strengthen 1 lets her add any more strength to her strikes. Later on in the day a Macintosh Earth Witchdoctor clan casts Blade Sharp 2 on Gladius, adding a further +2 to the weapon. Charlotte than Rages at the enemy's shield wall. The Blades Sharp DOES increase the amount of Strength Charlotte can add to Gladius' damage, so she can now use her temporary Quad Strength to the full. Charlotte proceeds to break the enemy's shields with one sword blow each.

Note: The ONLY way to increase the maximum Blade Sharp/Bludgeon/Stengthen you can cast on the weapon is to get a better quality one.
Example 2: Two Guards approach an Earth Warden for a Blade Sharp 5. The first has the Favoured Weapon skill for a regular 1H sword. This sword cannot take Blade Sharp 5, so it is treated as Blade Sharp 4. The second Guard has no Favoured Weapon skill, but a Superior 1H sword. This sword takes the full effect of Blade Sharp 5.

Q: Do your spell vocals have to include the OOC spell call?
A: They can, but they don't have to. You still have to call it at the end, but you can make it so it is not part of the vocals. If you get hit after you say the vocals but before you finish the OOC call, the spell/miracle is sucessful.
Example: Plenius is attacked by a Traveller Spirit (played by Ginger Hobbit) - and he doesn't have his staff on him! He whips out his Level 2 Holy Symbol of Life and Simon shouts "Spirit be gone! Turn Undead 2." However, as Simon is saying the OOC words, the spirit nails him with a Freeze. Simon says to Ginger Hobbit "Take it anyway" at which point the Spirit flees, unless he has two or more Willpower. This is because "Spirit be gone" is three words, enough for Turn Undead 1. SImon called "Turn Undead 2" because of the Holy Symbol bonus.

Q: How does Aura/Cloak work?
A: See the example in the rules - that explains it in a lot of detail. But it's all changing soon anyway...

Q: How does Shociking Grasp work?
A: Shocking Grasp <n> allows you to do <n> points of lightning damage with each hand once. The two attacks are separate and are therefore counted separately against the target's power armour.

Q: Can you dodge Cause Wounds/Steal Life/Shocking Grasp/Storm Hand?
A: The first three CANNOT be dodged. The IC justification for dodging spells is that the magical power is built up in the catser's hands and 'thrown' at the target, who can jump out of the way. With touch spells, however, the power basically flows directly from the your hands into the touched locations, so you can't dodge it - compare with trying to dodge an arrow fired at point-blank range. The IC justification for only half the targets' Dex counting against Flaming Hands is similar: the spell's short range. Storm Hand is different: it is not cast at the enemy, but on your hand. The affected hand behaves like a weapon with <type> Blade on it. The rule with physical attacks is that Dexterity counts against the physical and not the power damage, EXCEPT when there is no physical damage called. So Storm Hand CAN be dodged. Compare with a Ghoul doing Unholy damage with claws.

Q: If a Judge Order Laces a demon, do they explode?
A: After a long debate on the subject, Marcus stepped in and said something to the effect of "No, unless ruled otherwise". It depends largely on whether Order Lacing a demon would be consistent with your character's interpretation of Order - if yes, you're not likely to get punished for it. IC justifications for doing this largely fall along two lines: that by damaging entropic creatures you are in fact decreasing entropy OR that you're not really damaging them anyway, as they return to their home plane when "killed". Also bear in mind that the Order Lace damage is cause by the demon's not being on its home plane.

Q: My friend says that BLADES is cool when I mention it, but then turns around and says it scares him/her?
A: It seems to be a form of Lies-To-Children. Sorry! If you actually have an idea to increase numbers, see Caroline.

Q: I don't understand what any of this is about!
A: Then why are you reading my LiveJournal?