Whoops. Couldn't get to posting tonight, will start it when I wake.

If there are threads by Monday night lacking PC replies, I will just continue them anyway, assuming players guard and/or wait passively while the scene continues around them. I may make assumptions to allow scenes will come to a conclusion faster, particularly ones that have dragged on for a while. I am doing this so that the game does not stagnate, not because I like to railroad people.

Exception is Perian's thread which will pause once his player is on vacation.

A quick heads up for everyone - Gatekeeper will not be able to update the threads tonight. Instead, she'll take care of them tomorrow during the day.

Thanks for your attention!

Harue is leaving the game indefinitely. No hard feelings, just wasn't working out.

Also, Veldygar/Eternal should be within a couple days (RL) of encountering Inner Temple Infiltration PCs one way or another. I can't always be sure 'when' because it depends on the players as much as me. But this is definitely what I am pushing for.

A little tired to churn out more responses tonight, so they will very likely come when I wake.

Edit, and now I'm delayed again because of other issues.

Edit 2, I've done what I could with the Riot/Earthcalm. Hopefully it is not too confusing, but it probably is. This is due to my error in not just combining the PCs together from the start. I will just try to salvage it the best I can, please bear with me.

Inner Temple folks will get an update before I go bed, hopefully. Again sorry for delay.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:04, Sun 09 Aug 2009.

Slow weekend is slow! (for me too, honestly)

Just to let you all know, I may not be posting as much from Thurs. August 13th to Tues. the 18th as I'll be visiting inlaws. Will have internet access but I'm not totally sure I'll be able to access it consistently.

Would like to get threads moving forward at least a couple times before then. :)

And speaking of moving forward... (ignore if you have already posted, or addressed lack of posting in PM/IM)

Please note that I will continue posting in approx. 8-12 hours from the time of this announcement, regardless of who posts.

This is a PbP game. It is already slow by default. I do not want to take 10 years to finish this game. The official posting rate is 5 times a week, assuming there are posts to respond to. In practice the rate is closer to every other day for many players; however, any slower than that starts to be unreasonable. Understand that I do not want to continually have to nag my players to post. If I find I am doing more nagging than playing, this game just cannot continue.

Some explanations for lack of posting will be considered reasonable. (RL business, lack of information, issues with my Storytelling, etc.) Or if you just want the game to move on (you're not inspired or your character wouldn't contribute) you could just as easily say that OOC. However, I cannot read your mind. I will assume a lack of interest, or dissatisfaction in my performance as a GM if you say nothing.

Looks like I won't be at inlaws after all, but I do still have weekend plans. So it's more likely then that I'll be scarce starting Saturday, and on through Monday night.

(That's August 15th through 17th, roughly!)

I should be able to move Earthcalm onward when I wake, but that will probably be my last post for a couple days. Gah sorry couldn't find the time to do it, unless I can squeeze in a bit more online time tonight.

If not, all threads will move again when I am back and able to sit and post late on Monday night. (Unless there's enough people questioning what to do next that they needed to wait for me to answer questions first!)

Seeya then!
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:39, Sat 15 Aug 2009.

Hello everyone,

Just a quick heads up to say that due to unforeseen circumstances, Gatekeeper will be back Wednesday (the 19th).

Thank you for your time and understanding!

I may be able to post before I head to bed tonight (though that may still be Wednesday, just *really early* Wed.)

Few notes though:

Inner Temple - I doubt you will be able to bypass all the monks with a secret way up. Maybe with an extremely good Int+Lore roll, you'll find possible less-protected routes! But from there, there will still be difficulties/opposition. The questions are more about who, how much, and how combat-oriented.

Part of this is meta: I would like Earthcalm and Perian's threads to resolve before you actually reach the Gatekeeper. The rest is because even if the monks may be remiss about particular details the Gatekeeper of Earth is not. It would be aware of obscure breaches and how to deal with 'em

On the other hand I will likely allow you to get a couple more hours' rest -- Third is right that the monks aren't going to move hastily whether there's screaming demons or not. Anyway you'll see the results of that when I post later. :)

Earthcalm - I need more people to post in Earthcalm before Wed. please? :/ Xurizu, you may be waiting for Kilani. I understand and will post something short on her behalf right now.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:02, Tue 18 Aug 2009.

There may be some delay with my new posts all around -- though, it seems to me everyone is generally slower. I apologize if it is due to any fault of my STing or writing ability.

Now for a longwinded ramble, these are thoughts that came up after a discussion I had with someone, but not necessarily related to anyone directly. It's just something I feel I have to say.

Not everyone is keen on how gritty I make this game or how I handle the mechanics. Coils is probably the least 'Exalted-y' Exalted game I run. I am harsh on the rules because I feel I need that to back up the scenario of 'Celestials enslaved by Dragon-blooded with advanced/experimental technology, who have prepared for decades if not centuries to specifically fight/subdue Anathema'. Running this scenario with Celestials has been a gamble for me due to the fact Exalted caters toward players who want to do big, epic story shaking things. In Coils the situation is reversed. You're supposed to be at the disadvantage. You WILL be Epic, but the buildup is purposefully slow, even stunted, until you've built enough of a base in the Coils that you can conceivably abstract most of the bad, and take on only the leaders and powerful folk left to defy you (hopefully with some challenge still remaining to it after you're all Ess 4 with 200+ exp). I want that Epic to feel like you worked your arse toward it.

I do my very best to make the rules support those disadvantages--so I am not put down as 'ST who makes life miserable for players on a whim'. That is probably the main reason why I am so rules-conscious in this game. Especially at a point where I truly *believe* the opposition ought to be at an advantage, not because I am sadistic or hate players to triumph, but because the setting and scenario I have created lends toward that.

Note for example that Immy* when she sang and spoke to the workers, did not need more than a post or two to get them fully on her side. They wanted to be led by a Celestial in the first place. Now take the elite soldiers of Burning Feather, who are part of a Force regularly trained to resist and subdue Anathema, at least long enough for the Immaculates to do it properly (because honestly, DB charms rarely cut it all alone unless you've got a huge group of 'em and THEN I have to break out the Mass Combat, wince). They're going to resist as long as they can with all the Willpower they've got, as long as their chain of command is unbroken. They've got Intimacies toward their own group and cause, their commanders likely even have Motivations against Anathema.

Jedevra trying to survive long enough to at least complete the Shock Matrix charge, is also something that came out of "if she could, she would." I had her spend all the energy she had. In the end she will probably die to Xurizu's spell. But she didn't think "you know, I think I'll just die rather than use all my essence, charms, virtues and WP" when faced with a superior opponent she wasn't prepared for.

I never just make strict rulings because I feel like it. I have a reason, I judge based on the story I am trying to tell which the players have signed up for. I run other games, I am capable of a very casual and lenient mode of storytelling. But that is not Five Coils. I am sorry for now, before and any time after in which my ST style for Coils is found stifling, frustrating or just plain unfair. The only thing I can say is, bring it up. Write a PM (this is the most reliable way to reach me about RPoL things as I have said in the past). I will try my best to work with you, but it is completely and totally possible that the game may not be a good fit for you. I understand that and am willing to let anyone go who feels that way.

Yes, I do make mistakes of judgment at times, or of omission (I can think of one in particular in Earthcalm that has bugged me for a little while and will likely retroactively alter). I am not infallible, but I cannot read minds either. I admit I take criticism hard due to my various personal issues (this is not anyone's fault). But I also take criticism seriously. I would rather know than not know.

* used only as an example! Sorry Immy!

Very likely will be more delays with my posting. I am not in the best of shape for writing. I always feel bad about taking breaks, even small ones, due to the fact I try to normally keep at least an every-other-day posting rate (and more if I can manage). If I cannot keep up it's hard to get others to do the same.

However, I cannot force what does not come, I simply do not have the energy or inspiration to deal with this game at the moment.

For now this will last a day, possibly two. The possibility of a longer hiatus for Five Coils exists, but I am still in the stages of considering this, how long said hiatus will last, and how much further I will advance before temporarily freezing the threads.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:30, Tue 01 Sept 2009.

I think the current impromptu hiatus may continue through this week. After that I'll see how I feel about continuing, and who is still interested in doing so with me.

Of course if there is too much attrition I am not so sure if I can keep the game going. But I'm reasonably sure there'll be enough of us to continue when it's time. *crosses fingers anyway!*

To explain a bit, my interest is starting to waver when it comes to running a game that seems to cause a select few people more grief than fun. Having to deal with the OOC repercussions the few times I had to was comparatively quite draining, and also lessens my fun. It takes me time and effort to keep a game of this scope and size going; it's the fun that kept me going, and the desire to tell a story I thought people might enjoy. These later two things are starting to be in question, so this requires some thought and reflection on my part to confirm for myself what needs to be done, whether it's to change some of my methods or to retire the game altogether.

Believe me I have had moments where I wanted to knee-jerk just give up; but I have been advised not to be too hasty, and I *want* not to undervalue the efforts that my players have put into the game. Therefore, I will take my time -- hopefully for the betterment of this game.

As always I am grateful for all of you who have given kind words, and are willing to wait this out. Also note that (should we be continuing, and yes I am still leaning towards that) there's a pretty big xp bonus in store for Earthcalm for all you've played through, and something for the Inner Temple and Perian for having to wait all this time.

Just checking in. I am tentatively putting the continue date for this game on Sept 13. I will be posting at an "every other day, minimum" rate from then on.

In a few more days I'll either confirm that date, or give a new one, should I need a bit more time to get in the mood. I do regret pausing in the middle of scenes rather than bringing them to a conclusion first, but I really, really needed to step back from running for a while and think about what I'm doing here.

At some point I'll also open up a roll call for those who are sure they can continue, and are comfortable with the way I run things in this game. I'll be weeding out those who do not answer (or answer negatively, unless it's for a RL reason) by the time I'm ready to start again, so keep attentive if you're really wanting to stay in.

Thanks all for answering the roll call, please expect a post in each thread somewhere around 13th-15th of September. Just giving a wide berth here since I may not do every post on the same day, rather try to stagger the posting so I don't have too much at once!

As stated above each thread should get an update from me every other day unless for some reason I am delayed (I will inform of this). I expect those who answered to be able to keep up with the pace, if not I likely won't wait for you, and will just assume you don't act / speak.

Ok, all posted (finally sheesh, some of those I was working on since Sunday). The Inner Temple in particular took a lot of 'winging it' and I'll be trying to figure out how to make the process less awkward later. x.@ Other stuff just was hard to write from being away from posting for a while.

As for players lost: 23 and Talia, one didn't like how I run things (fair enough) and the other just had a hard time fitting in :(

We're down to 12 now. Kinda 11 and a half really, since Eternal is consistently slow (has a good RL reason for it) but really wants to stay - as it stands he may end up being kinda relegated to things that don't require quick posting.

I will endeavor to put no more than two days between posting from now on so next posts should be Thurs, and so on. Experience for Earthcalm is coming soon.

I just got word that Dena's player is having a RL emergency so will not be posting regularly for an indefinite period. I'll see about figuring out how to give Dashu something to do and probably just abstract the big battle with the bugs, I figure!

Expect next series of posts from me on Sunday. I may be able to get to it earlier and will certainly try at it, but we'll have to see!

Unfortunately had stuff crop up outside rpol that needed attention, then some big (as in, take hours to write!) posts that needed writing, so I'm now facing a slight rpol backlog. :)

Update! Finally edited my post in Inner Temple to be more in line with Dena's plans. I've got an hour or two of time possibly, will see about updating what I can in other threads - but Inner Temple doesn't have enough for me to work with yet.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:17, Sat 19 Sept 2009.

Status per thread
- Earthcalm: posting here is easiest right now as we're in a battle aftermath, if I keep up here faster that's why :)
- Inner Temple: will update here probably Thurs Sept 24. Admittedly hard to get inspired for this as it seems to be very uninspiring for everyone else involved, may try to find a way to speed things up. If your thread stalls long enough, you guys will just end up merging with others when Earthcalm people and Perian get things together enough to send you backup.
- Perian: I hope to write for you tonight (Wed Sept 23) should time and inspiration be aligned.

Note I've only gotten ONE person interested in the 'learn one Charm or Combo with xp and no training time' offer in the XP Reward post. Is there really no one else who will take the offer? I'll give till the end of the month for people to use it, after that will assume no one else wants it.

I've been working on calculating the Mass Combat stats for Danae's group, so excuse the delay. If I don't finish tonight then tomorrow I will post for them.

Calculations done but inspiration is not ;.; so likely tomorrow still.

Annnd now I am stuck calculating stats for the enemies. I'm starting to get a hefty amount of writer's block for this game, honestly. :( I feel that others are getting the same way. So, I am reducing post rate to every 2-3 days.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:12, Mon 28 Sept 2009.

Argh, sorry. I will try to post again by Tuesday night at the latest. I hope sooner than that.

Looks like it may be closer to Wednesday, unless I can get in the update before I sleep! Look at the Rules for Play for my modified Mass Combat Rules I will soon be testing in this game.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:08, Wed 30 Sept 2009.

Sadly, you may all get more time to rest, consider your next posts, etc, as I'm not sure I can even post until Sunday, now. I will certainly try...

(Will definitely be gone Saturday in any case!)

Whew, managed to get some last posts in this morning.

Am waiting for Danae (leading the warparty!) and Dashu (who needs to report to Dena so they can make a more decisive plan) in Inner Temple.

I will be gone rest of the day and possibly part of Sunday, as mentioned above, so earliest I can post again is Sunday night / Monday morning.

In case you're wondering, I'm not necessarily waiting for someone before posting again - just have been busy lately.

Tonight I should be updating most threads though.