Pantheon: The Third Age - Rules and Comments Thread

[Dorian]

Oh yeah, and I havnt said htis to fellas yet

Merry commercial holiday #2. so dont go get angry at me, tis the time to be jolly after all

[I'm Murrin]

What mythology do you guys read that doesn't have gods and goddesses sleeping around with everybody, some having children with several partners, mortal or other deities; playing jokes on each other; etc? There may be individual deities within any culture's mythology that are lofty and stoic, but, in general, they are like our pantheon, ranging from very serious to jesters.

That figures in mythology--well, certain mythologies--do those things I won't deny. But it takes a very unusual leap of logic for that to mean the kind of chat we're talking about is in any way believeable in the context of this roleplay. The one and the other are entirely unrelated. People aren't trying to portray a realistic and varied range of personalities--they're just chatting, but under assumed identities. (And as often happens in a closed group, they all end up sounding the same.)

By and large, most of us are playing our characters pretty much the way we've always interacted in all the other forums at the Watch. Which of us is stepping outside of ourselves? Think of which players: are quick to speak their mind; flirt a lot; get involved in the prOn threads; take a firm stance on pretty much every issue; worry about things; etc. And which deities act in those ways?

And on this second point - shouldn't we be interacting differently? Isn't that the entire point of roleplay?

[Dorian]

hear hear

[Loredoctor]

What mythology do you guys read that doesn't have gods and goddesses sleeping around with everybody, some having children with several partners, mortal or other deities; playing jokes on each other; etc? There may be individual deities within any culture's mythology that are lofty and stoic, but, in general, they are like our pantheon, ranging from very serious to jesters.

That figures in mythology--well, certain mythologies--do those things I won't deny. But it takes a very unusual leap of logic for that to mean the kind of chat we're talking about is in any way believeable in the context of this roleplay. The one and the other are entirely unrelated. People aren't trying to portray a realistic and varied range of personalities--they're just chatting, but under assumed identities. (And as often happens in a closed group, they all end up sounding the same.)

By and large, most of us are playing our characters pretty much the way we've always interacted in all the other forums at the Watch. Which of us is stepping outside of ourselves? Think of which players: are quick to speak their mind; flirt a lot; get involved in the prOn threads; take a firm stance on pretty much every issue; worry about things; etc. And which deities act in those ways?

And on this second point - shouldn't we be interacting differently? Isn't that the entire point of roleplay?

Well said, Murrin.

[an Carraig]

i have noo problem conforming my speech patterns to those around me.

please look at me.

i am what you see.

if you want to know how i come here, ask me.

I am made of the things in the hearts of humans, but i am not love.
I crave intimacy, but i am not desire.
I wound and leave no mark yet all who know me are scarred.

I mean, would you be in a hurry to not only believe, but worship a god who doesnt really act godly?

i have been allowed in this pantheon. i will survive or die by what my followers believe about me, not what other gods believe about me.
right now, there is, i believe, about 100 Eiranians who have invested
some of what i hinted at in my revelation to the mortal i wish for an instrument.

i can live without the bird.

[Keev Furaha]

I am a goddess of whimsical favours. I like banter. I like to indulge my wants and not apologize. I am done apologizing. I am a goddess, I will do what my heart tells me to do. Should I hold to the speech patterns of old ages? I am a goddess of now. Do I respect the gods of old, yes. I am what I want to be and you should all be that too and then we work it out.

[Dorian]

Of course, with the rule system being as it is, you could be a giant bird with an arse shaped like a pineapple called the mighty green joe joe and still have 100 followers and still continue to grow.

This RPG, unlike others, doesnt have an EXP system, rewarding you for good roleplaying. In a roleplay, I value good roleplying over winning or gaining treasure etc its the whole point of the game.

Goddess of now... Now in OUR time or Now in Eiran? Based on your playing style Ill say in our time.

And keev, your last post here is more IC than your ones in the game thread. If you continue to act more like that then you too will be on my list of commendable gods


Again, im not getting on your cases, simply presenting mine

also, Its alot easier to have this conversation and attempt to get everything and everyone straight so we know where we are if the posts are kept clean and out of character. there isnt much of a difference but when IC people tend to try and be clever with their words and get cryptic.


Can you guys not see the point im presenting here?

again, im not insisting im better or that you all change, just raising a point that I know several of us feel is of importance. Im just head strong enough to push it, despite popular feeling

[lucimay]

i'm happy to quit if you prefer dorian, since i'm obviously such an inferior player.

[Dorian]

It has come to my attention that some of my comments are being taken personally.

If this is the case, then I am sorry. I was merely providing constructive criticism and my opinion and am in no way degrading anyone here.

I am only pushing this point so hard because I know of several players who feel the same but stay quiet due to feeling like its an uphill battle. I was in the NZ Army. we like uphill battles.

and Im and argumentative tosser.

If you feel I am having a personal dig at you, then sorry, I am not

[Dorian]

i'm happy to quit if you prefer dorian, since i'm obviously such an inferior player.

we posted at the same time

and Im not saying you are inferior, in fact i thought you were one of he better ones.

read my post above to get an idea of what im saying, and please dont take it so personally

Edit; in fact, me being in the minority, if it came to that, and i was asked to, I would quit and leave you to it, if it seems I am ruining your fun, which is the whole purpose of a game at the end of the day

[Avatar]

Don't think that's necessary from anybody.

For what it's worth, I tend to agree that there's too much extraneous chatter, so maybe Syl's 3-thread answer is a good one.

Not being a die-hard gamer, the meaningless stuff doesn't bother me enough to make an issue of it at all...I tend to ignore it. But having the meaningful stuff in a place would be handy.

No matter what happens, we'll be playing, because its fun, and I don't think a variety of approaches will be ultimately harmful either. We all play our own way anyway, and part of playing is being able to adapt to your opponents style, perhaps even use it against them if you need to.

We'll make out just fine. I don't want to hear this offering or threatening to quit. Especially not yet.

I do want to see the last two reveals and get our first results though.

So everybody chill out...its a game...like make believe?...lets just play.

--A

[Montresor]

i'm happy to quit if you prefer dorian, since i'm obviously such an inferior player.

I've known Dorian as a roleplayer for somewhere between two and three years now, I think, and I'd have to say that he's the last person to ever belittle another over their writing style or preference for mood, atmosphere, whatever. He's forthright, to the point (for sure), but he doesn't intentionally insult anyone or take a superior attitude to other gamers. There's no need to take umbrage from what he's said, he hasn't singled out a single player for criticism.

The point here is simple (it's what anyone who has pursued this line of reasoning has argued) - the dialogue from many of the posts in the game thread seem unlike what one might anticipate for the setting. Some gods lend themselves to this and, yes, many real-world mythologies have a strong element of fraternising and sex in them (many do not, however) - but, these elements exist in styles appropriate to their settings. You would not open up a good book on Greek myth for instance and read - Zeus: "Wazzup, Hera?! Let's bang!" (and, yeah, I'm aware that's a burlesque of the game thread)

There are ways to express what is being said, and to still make it sound like it's dialogue between divine beings. I apologise if I offend anyone's sensibilities here, and I am certainly not suggesting that I know the best way to play the game. All I can argue is that, for me, the atmosphere seems inconsistent with what I had anticipated, and with the style of Xar's own posts on game background and the setting. Most importantly, however, the posts of some of the players in the Game Thread seems a little off-kilter to their own reveals.

As to the point of playing yourselves, I'm with Murrin here. I think roleplay should be about playing someone/thing which you are not. I can certainly attest to the fact that I do not even remotely resemble in aims or personality Eztlicoatl, though I find it fun to challenge myself to play something that is counter to my own ideas. This of course, is all a simple matter of preference.

By all means, however, play as you most enjoy.

So everybody chill out...its a game...like make believe?...lets just play.

--A

Hear, hear, good man!

[Xar]

I haven't had time to read all the previous entries - and sorry if I haven't been around lately, but lots of things piled up between the holidays, relatives and friends - but even so, Av's words are still the wisest I've read thus far.

It's only a game, so please don't take things personally and don't criticize each other publicly for the way others play. Offer suggestions and advice if it is asked, but let's avoid turning the comments thread into an offshoot of the Think Tank!

As for my position: I do not want to force anybody to do something they don't want to, but I must also admit that people who roleplay their deities properly (and that is, people who make an effort to interpret their characters, speak as they would, and act within the context of the game setting) will almost always be rewarded over those who do not, just like people who offer detailed descriptions of their turn orders will almost always find that things go a bit better than they do for those who just send one-liners. See, while you enjoy the in-game banter and the plotting, and the not knowing what comes next, and how your actions shape the world around you, what I enjoy is seeing that people like the game enough to put an effort there; so, to me, the roleplaying aspect of the game is very important, especially since I always said this was a roleplaying game, since the days of P1. This is in no way a threat or a way to force you to do something you don't want to; but it is a honest explanation of how I see the game.

[I'm Murrin]

i'm happy to quit if you prefer dorian, since i'm obviously such an inferior player.

Luci, where the hell did this come from? Noone's singled you out, noones said anything about quitting or inferiority, and suddenly out of nowhere you come out with this?
This isn't about individual players. It's certainly not about wanting players to quit entirely. It's just a few of us saying that the tone of posts in the game thread is breaking our suspension of disbelief. There is no reason at all to take it badly, or even that seriously.

[Menolly]

As for my position: I do not want to force anybody to do something they don't want to, but I must also admit that people who roleplay their deities properly (and that is, people who make an effort to interpret their characters, speak as they would, and act within the context of the game setting) will almost always be rewarded over those who do not, just like people who offer detailed descriptions of their turn orders will almost always find that things go a bit better than they do for those who just send one-liners. See, while you enjoy the in-game banter and the plotting, and the not knowing what comes next, and how your actions shape the world around you, what I enjoy is seeing that people like the game enough to put an effort there; so, to me, the roleplaying aspect of the game is very important, especially since I always said this was a roleplaying game, since the days of P1. This is in no way a threat or a way to force you to do something you don't want to; but it is a honest explanation of how I see the game.

I thought I had read a similar sentiment of yours somewhere before, AllFather.

[Fist and Faith]

Again, the game hasn't started yet. We can't actually do anything yet, and there's been nothing - from Xar or each other - to react to. We're just anxious to start, so we're jabbering away. Yes, when the game is on, Zephyr will be hitting on the ladies. The Bhakti's tend to do that. Lots of Love to spread around! And that is advancing the story line. That's how Zephyr and Calais came about, after all.

But there will certainly be other things to talk about. Joking and flirting will always be part of Zephyr's character, but he's got a lot of Forests to protect, so the stuff some of you are objecting to will not be the totality of his contribution to the game. I did more than that in P1 and P2, and I have no intention limiting myself to that in P3.

[Arcadia]

i'm happy to quit if you prefer dorian, since i'm obviously such an inferior player.

I understand how you feel, Lucimay. As I was reading the posts, I could not help feeling the same way.

There are many aspects of this game that are fun and in-thread bantering is one of them. This has taken place even with Xar's NPC's. If we do not have that, then why even have a game thread at all?

Did it ever occur to anyone that we are trying to have a little fun before the game actually starts? Why begrudge us this? We are having fun. We are excited for the game to begin.

I do not appreciate being critiqued on my roleplaying if it does not fall into place with someone else's style or ideas of how roleplaying. I did not critique the style of others.

We are all individuals here and that is the beauty of the pantheon. We are allowed and encouraged to be individuals. If that means that my character is friendly and chatty, then so be it.

[Madadeva]

Well stated Calais.

I agree completely.

[Arcadia]

Thank you, Deva.

By the way Xar, welcome back. Hope you had a restful holiday.

[lucimay]

i'm happy to quit if you prefer dorian, since i'm obviously such an inferior player.

I understand how you feel, Lucimay. As I was reading the posts, I could not help feeling the same way.

There are many aspects of this game that are fun and in-thread bantering is one of them. This has taken place even with Xar's NPC's. If we do not have that, then why even have a game thread at all?

Did it ever occur to anyone that we are trying to have a little fun before the game actually starts? Why begrudge us this? We are having fun. We are excited for the game to begin.

I do not appreciate being critiqued on my roleplaying if it does not fall into place with someone else's style or ideas of how roleplaying. I did not critique the style of others.

thanks for that, calais.

my post was a direct response, at gut level, to the blatantly superior attitude that i read in the posted comments.

as i've said to murrin and creator and jenn, i'm more than happy to do whatever needs done to create atmosphere and support game continuity.
basically what you fellas were complaining about is that some of us aren't good enough "actors."

a little pm'd friendly advice about role-playing might have gone over much better. just a suggestion, mind you.

had lore, montressor, murrin, dorian or whoever pm'd me (or any of the others whose game banter they had a problem with) and said "hey, your banter seems sort of out of character, its sort of abrupt in the context of the game world." a more amiable dialogue might have taken place.
as xar well knows, i'm not fond of washing dirty laundry in public.

courtesy goes a very long way with me, discourtesy raises my hackles.

and i'd just like you more experienced players to know that i, for one, am acutely aware that you are more experienced. we appreciate any and all advice on how to better play the game.