Hey there! I'm still in the process of setting up everything for the game. But, if you stumble across this in searching and it piques your interest, feel free to shoot me a PM or drop an RTJ! I'm always happy to work with new players in getting the setting squared away.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:45, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

Alright! I'll start adding some location threads, soon. However, I'd like to hold off on actually getting started playing until we have a couple of people, at least.

I'll be adding a location for a park where the festival is taking place. Are there any other locations that you would like to see? Are there any favorite hangouts to be made?

Also, I'll start adding more details into the current event thread so there is a bit more information about the festival itself and what it entails. But, that's for tomorrow. I am way too sleepy, right now, to actually write much of anything.

Current events thread has been updated to something more readable and with more details.

I'll be adding a new section for races, soon. The first that I will expand upon are the fae.

Imma take the opportunity to introduce myself: The name is Alexander I'll be playing as the beggar Danlion, I hope to be interacting with you all and create interesting moments.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:31, Wed 27 Jan 2021.

Welcome to the game! It's great to have you!

Just let me know of any locations that you would like created. I'm making this all up as I go along, so don't be afraid at all to pipe up and say, "Hey! I'd like [location X] to be a thing." If you have a description of the place in mind, too, then absolutely send me a PM with it and I'll create the thread for you.

I expect this to grow and expand as more people join and more stories are written.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 03:00, Wed 27 Jan 2021.

Hi. I'll be your resident instagram influencer and all around social media star.

Both of you, feel free to start RPing together if you would like! However, I'm going to wait until I have at least 4 players before I hand out secrets. It's kind of pointless to do that with just the two of you!

So, things that are happening around the city, at the moment:

*The festival, of course.

*The local werewolves are hunkering down to wait out the week. While weres in my world are able to control when they turn, they are still somewhat affected by the moon in that it makes them all PMS-y, for lack of a better term.

*There's a book-signing going on at the Barnes & Noble by a local celebrity - an author who wrote a well-received bit of fiction.

*There's a busker who's moved into the area who is driving everyone batty. He's just one dude but he shows up to play his guitar EVERYWHERE. And, he's not even that good. But, he's danged persistent. He's at the CiCi's Pizza, then he's outside of CVS, then he's at the Home Depot...

I'm beat. I'll get a post up in the AM before work. :)

I know Dalion has a post in the works. I'm going to pause, here, in case he wants to break into the action.

Sounds good, I'll hold off on my next to see if there's something to play off.

I rolled and Dalion did not get away with his theft unseen! So, Sienna can see it, if you like. Or, I can have an NPC see him.Whatever is the most comfortable!

I was under the impression that this is largely free form. I would rather not have most actions determined by the roll of a die, especially narrative ones but even most others unless there can't be something settled through conversation.

I'm giving everyone the choice about how they want to determine how things work. If you just want to work it out through narrative, that's fine. If you want to use dice, that's fine, too.

Ah! I just read the IC thread. I see what's going on, now.

Since this is taking place between two players, I'll let you decide how to handle this.

I know Dalion's player likes the dice and I'll make opposition rolls for NPCs and circumstance, but I think situations like this are best sorted between the two of you.

You know, I was wondering if I was overdoing it with the rolls in my last post, if you prefer just ignore my last role and feel free to go with whatever you feel is right.

GM has indeed emphasized the free form nature of this game. In the future, I'll try to focus more on conversation/narrative when interacting with your character. Is that ok?

That's great.

I did write the GM. I think the system (that one in particular) might encourage overrolling because of the way things work for learning new skills.

Mmmm yeah good point, it might encourage overrolling because someone might think it's beneficial to grind the system in order to powertrip the game.

In my case I don't know where I'm gonna take my character, he's mostly a blank slate, so I'm kinda using the rolls to determine how I'm gonna play it.

For example, the stealth roll that I failed makes me imagine that my guy is not particularly dextrous, so I'm probably gonna take that into account in the future. The rolls that I'm making right now is to give me ideas on how will I play in the future. Also, this is my first RP so I'm really trying stuff out to see what I like.

I updated the Crunchy Bits thread to better explain my thought processes about how the roller is to be used. Let me know if what I have said is clear.

If you want to use the roller for yourself, Dalion, to help form your character, that is great! Just make a roll, decide what it means, and write accordingly.

T'is all good!
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:32, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

We have a new player joining us! Welcome Solstice Flames. Feel free to pop in whenever you like. Or, if you need a new location to start, let me know. :)

Oh! And once we have one more player, I'll exchange secrets.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:22, Fri 29 Jan 2021.

Awesome!

Welcome Solstice Flames

Hi guys :)
Happy to be here!

Hello.

I was thinking of hoping in. Let me know if that's cool.

My friend, there's nothing we would enjoy more.

I just woke up. I'm still kind of bleary-eyed and trying to chase away my brain fog. I'll get a post up for Solstice once I'm better able to string words together. Right now, "Coffffeeeeeee" is about the extent of my thought process. :D

Welcome to Pearl, our newest member! :)

Now that we have four people, I will put secrets in a hat and draw. Now, just a reminder that all this is meant to be is a way for us to forge connections between characters. So, you can do with the information as you please.

If you want to ignore the secret and pretend you never learned it, that's totally okay! You can hang on to the secret and RP it as you slowly piecing things together over the course of RP and spring it later for some drama, if you like. Or, you can use this opportunity to create a background connection with another character.

I want this to be a fun opportunity, not a terrible burden. I'll send out PMs once I've made all the rolls.

Hi everyone, I'm looking forward to playing with you :) I'll need to get my icon and profile sorted when I get a chance.

Welcome.

I'm going to add a full physical description to my description page. Can everyone do that so we have a good frame of reference? I know, at least for me, it helps to be able to picture the scenes.

Welcome Pearl!

Aye, I'll add a physical description too.

I just added mine. It's a bit lack luster but eh.

So I got a couple of Lore questions:

1- Do we have a real-life location on earth for bellhollow?

2- Has magic always been part of the culture of this world or did all just suddenly came to be this way in a specific year? I want to know for future references to history and or philosophy. Two characters are academics and I think it is important to know if in the evolution of this world magic was part of its natural evolution or if it was something that humanity had to suddenly adapt to at a certain point.

3- If magic was something sudden, in what year did it happen?

If the technological level is the same as the modern world I'd imagine it had to happen somewhat recently. At least in the 19th century once the technological revolution started. Otherwise we'd be looking more like an Eberron situation with magitech.

Welcome to Ryan Blake, our newest addition! :D

As far as history... I'm just spitballing, here. So, feel free to expand/change anything that I might suggest.

I kind of had someplace at the base of the Rocky Mountains in mind, for a real life location. But, I was purposefully leaving it ambiguous so that the players could kind of insert it wherever they wanted. I was planning on making all of the surrounding cities and whatnot completely fictional.

What I imagine happened is that the witch trials took a much different turn in this world. Up until that point, most magical people/creatures had lived in relative peace/secrecy... maybe even living in conjunction with native peoples. But, when the witch trials started, magical folk got swept up into that and persecuted. And, real witches weren't having none of that nonsense.

There was an uprising where the magical beings revealed themselves, causing a time of great turmoil. There were plenty of battles as religion clashed with reality. It was not a happy time to be alive, but it is currently far in the past.

Because technology was already starting to evolve during the Industrial Revolution (I know that the witch trials and industrial revolution were a bit apart in reality. For this, I'm going to say they were happening simultaneously), after the wars were over, magic and tech evolved in a parallel path.

There were people who viewed magic and tech as complimenting each other. So, magitech does exist. However, there were purists on both side who insisted that each should not touch the other. So, technology and magic also evolved on their own tracks, as it were.

But, that's just my first stab at the lore. Headed downstairs to spend time with my son. I can think about it more, later. Or, you guys can chew on it and see what you come up with!

Ryan Blake Welcome!

And Thank you GM for your answers, all the stated is good enough for me for now. I just needed some framework in order to avoid contradicting myself in the future.

I read an interesting theory about witch trials popping up when there was a time of strife and people felt the need to both blame something for their plight and create a sense of control where none existed.

Thank you, Dalion.

Looking forward to some good stories and gaming.

Not sure where I'll put in an appearance just yet, possibly at the book signing. Should anyone run across Ryan, he's got a watchful/waiting vibe that can be read as anything from 'he's hiding something,' or 'he's looking for something/someone.'

Fae might get a 'high court intrigue' vibe, though he's clearly not of the fae.

Thank you for the welcome everyone, and welcome Ryan :)

This game is only in baby stages

For future references, I'm commenting about what's happening in Gullbend Park around msg# 80

Guys I'm enjoying what we have so far, and I wanted to ask if you also feel like you need something to happen to move the plot forward between Sienna and Solstice? I mean something about the world to interact with.

Maybe Sienna could make a video with Solstice?

I got Dalion out of the picture because I felt Sienna and Solstice were having good mojo and maybe they could have better interactions without the strange guy, I also did it because he has the objective of getting an item he carries identified, so it would be natural for him to leave.

What do you think?

We don't really have any plot going right now, just a conversation. With Solstice as a bit of a ball of nerves it seems just calm talking about nothing can be a way of creating rapport. I tend to take these things in an organic way and rather enjoy the smalltalk and little moments in games that do nothing but allow characters to stretch out, so to speak.

I suppose we could do with a slight nudge of plot, but taking things in an organic sense is fine with me. But if Sienna does make a video with Solstice I think it would be pretty funny if her fans are more obsessed with him and call him her new boyfriend or something.

I see.

Yeah so far I'm getting that Sienna is very smart, beautiful, and altruistic, Solstice is very mysterious and has difficulty coming out of his shell. I think it was an interesting first encounter between the three and I want to ask for some feedback.

I don't have anything plot centric in mind until the evening when the festival starts. I wanted to give everyone time to introduce their characters and figure out a way to meet before I dumped anything on you.

Dalion, would you like a new location to write in since you have left that scene?

This message was deleted by the player at 03:01, Sat 30 Jan 2021.

Ha ha! that's an idea!

I believe Sienna would break him like twig. ;)

oh sweet jesus

I don't know yet, I'm waiting for another player to answer my private message to see if what we could do next, I'll wait a little but if I get tired of waiting I'll ask you about that.

There's a beer called Sweet Baby Jesus. It has peanut butter so I can't try it.

ha ha ha ha! see? that kind of stuff reaction is really interesting isn't it?

I'm headed to bed, hopefully to sleep.

Is this a book signing that Ryan's doing? What kind of books does he write? I'm wondering if Pearl might show up there :)

Good night!

In reply to Pearl Dunn (msg # 53):

I'm sorry, I thought the GM had mentioned the local B&N. I would not be the author, but it would be a decent starting place.

Ah, okay, no problem :) Pearl's not a big reader but she could pop in to look at the coffee-table picture books if nothing else.

alright! I need to get Dalion to meet Pearl so I guess The book sign is a good opportunity to do that.

Alrighty! I'll get a location up for B&N.

Come to think of it, is there a thread that says what time of day it is currently? I can have Pearl pop into the bookstore regardless but it would be good to know how busy her restaurant would be when she left :)

Well the festival is active at night and Dalion just finished a meeting with Sienna and Solstice and had dinner with them, he's gonna leave the park and keep looking for his objective.

My best guess would be that it is just later on the same evening.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:50, Sat 30 Jan 2021.

That works for me! The festival hadn't begun, yet. So, let's say it is around 6:30ish in the evening. (Assuming most people eat around 5-6PM).

I'm keeping an eye on things, today. But, it's a family day. So, I'm only kinda-sorta around.

Well, Ryan's appeared at the bookstore. He'll eventually make his way to Pearl's place for dinner.

Anyone familiar with magic will know he's a magician of some kind.

I use 'magic' to describe spells, etc. ... and 'magick' to describe the raw power. That's a distinction made where he comes from, so don't worry about how you spell it.

I'll post a bit more, tomorrow, to keep things rolling in the park. I'll probably say that, during the time it took to eat and have that conversation, the staffers are wrapping up the set-up and the entertainment is arriving for pre-festival prep.

I'll wait for Ryan to post since what he does will affect Pearl's next action :)

Cool.

By the way, when Pearl told "the man" to call the cops, was she directly talking to Ryan?

More or less, she didn't turn her head away from Dalion to address him, but she did know he was there since he (Ryan) spoke to him.

I suppose it would be the GM's call if some other onlooker made the call though!
This message was last edited by the player at 05:17, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

In reply to Pearl Dunn (msg # 67):


As noted, Ryan has an issue with 'the authorities' and deferred to a store employee.

(He's not exactly from around these parts, and he's not talking about your friendly neighborhood cop ...)



(And no, this is not social commentary. Got a bunch of police officers in the family, and I'm on a citizen's advisory board where I live.)

Oh, I have no OOC problem with folks playing their characters :) Pearl's just in a hurry and saw Ryan wasn't already on his phone, which was about as much analysis as she cared to do under the circumstances.

At this point I'm guessing we'll need the GM to play out NPC reactions before the scene proceeds :)

Alright, I wonder how this will play out.

Every time Dalion gets slapped or scolded, take a shot.
.
.
.
Of water. Stay hydrated lads and lassies.

Ain't that the truth? I hope at least that it is somewhat entertaining to read.

Haha! Poor Dalion!

Instead of being the classic murder hobo he's a nuisance hobo. The smaller and less dangerous subspecies.

By the way, shit's gonna go down in the park, soon. Just giving you a heads up.

Ryan: Any place in particular that you are headed after leaving B&N?

In reply to Narrator (msg # 76):

Ryan will probably end up at Pirate's Galley and be reading Kirkegaard's first book.

BTW, if you have Netflix, you might enjoy FATE: The WInx Saga, based on the Nickelodeon anime. Teenage faeries attend a private school to learn to master their powers. Not too grim-dark, and not too much teenage angst.

In reply to Ryan Blake (msg # 77):

Yeah, I got Netflix, thank you for the recommendation.

I just finished up The Magicians. I was looking for something new to watch. I'll have to give that one a go!

Woah it's happening!

Just to check, is the GM waiting for me in the bookstore while I wait for the GM? ^^' No rush if they just haven't gotten to it yet though!

I think GM's intervention was just to make us move out of the current location so that we decide what happens after.

Hey! Sorry.. finding time to post in between work. Posting from my phone, right now.

If all you need is a name for the employee, feel free to make up something. She's an unimportant NPC.

No worries GM :) Mostly I just wanted to see if she'd give it at all since it would steam Pearl even more if she didn't, so that answers that, thanks!

Haha! Yeah, she'd give it. She's a super annoyed manager. She's had a heck of a day dealing with book signing shenanigans and she's just about had it with everything. XD

Had some weird, mirror-related dreams last night (obviously inspired by the plot hook I've got here) ... but, then, there was also the Mafia-run fried chicken place, so ...

Clearly, the game needs a Mafia fried chicken restaurant that is Pearl's rival. He can be Pearl's very own Jimmy Pesto!

Could call it the Chicken Bone

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 88):

Polli di tutti i polli (chicken of all chickens).

Capo di tutti capo is the Godfather.

Mm Language.

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 90):

So it'd probably end up 'Tutti i Polli' to be convenient. Checkered tablecloths, raffia-wrapped wine bottles, pasta ... and fried chicken.

It's canon, now. Tutti i Polli exists and it is, indeed, run by the mafia. I shall add it to the list of businesses!

It's going to take a few minutes for the police to arrive at the B&N. Is there anything that Pearl and Ryan want to do while they wait, or should I just skip to their arrival?

I'm just going to hand-wave the phone call, unless there is anything specific that Pearl wants to tell them.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 93):

Ryan's watching to see what 'the cops' are like in Bellhollow (i.e. are they human, a mix of, how are they equipped, etc.)


And yay for Tutti i Polli!

Ha, that's fun XD

For the police call, basically Pearl's just making sure that they're sending somebody out, so a handwave is fine. She'll talk to Ryan when she notices him since she knows somebody caught her but isn't sure if it was him, considering the logistics involved.

Also, good song choice Dalion :)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:34, Tue 02 Feb 2021.

Thank you, are you familiar with it? I couldn't find a way to comfortably write the title: the skies above.

I do hope that in the future Pearl asks Dalion something like "How's your nose?" or "Do you want another one?" or something like that, for comedic purposes.

A friend of mine loaned me a Black Mages CD a while ago, and I remember liking that one especially, it came right back to me when I saw the lyrics :)

So, I was thinking about it, and I realized that we probably need to add a system so we know when someone leaves/enters a scene, just so we can keep track of where people are if they skip between location threads. Maybe start posting a quick [X leaves to Location] in bold at the end of a post and a [X enters] in bold when they come in? Just something as a heads up to other other players that movement is happening.

Also, Dalion... so, you've exited to head to your home, correct? Is there anything that Dalion wants to do? I don't have anything planned to happen in that area, but that doesn't mean that that can't change!
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:48, Tue 02 Feb 2021.

That's correct.

I was planning on waiting for time to advance. I'll probably write something else about Dalion and then call it a night  (in-game time)

I gather that the bookstore is across the street from one side of Gullbend, but I don't know where the festival is, overall.

He's not likely to react well to the presence of a High Court fae.

I hadn't  placed the bookstore anywhere in particular. If you want it to be near the park, that's fine! That might make things interesting, since Samthann's presence is going to be widely felt, in that area. She's old and powerful and she's got her knickers in a twist. (At any rate, since Dalion walked there, it's definitely not far from the park!)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:14, Tue 02 Feb 2021.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 101):

Kind of thinking of Todos Santos Plaza in Concord, CA. Nice, large square, room for a bandstand, playground equipment ... and bordered on all sides by businesses (mostly restaurants). Farmers market once a week, etc.

Anyway, big glowing high-court type, red-and-blue lights from police cars ... Ryan might get a little wiggy.

Alright! Plans for today:

1. Find out why Samthann is in the park looking for someone.
2. Have the police arrive at B&N.

I'm getting ready to head downstairs to take my son to school. So, I'll try and pop in during lunch to get those two posts up.

In the meantime, I leave you all with a sea chanty of hungry kitties! https://youtu.be/dN3wEdK_vxw

I'm having some massive medical issues and don't know when I'll be back.

In reply to Sienna Sanders (msg # 104):

Sorry to hear that Sienna, I hope you make a quick recovery!

Oh, no! I'm sorry. I hope you get better soon!

I'll NPC Sienna off to take more video of the festival. You can pick her back up when you are feeling well, again.

Best of wishes. Take care of yourself.

Okay! I have plans for you, too, Dalion, but I'll have to wait until later this afternoon to get anything up.

In reply to Sienna Sanders (msg # 104):

I wish you a fast recovery.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 108):

Awesome! I can't wait!

By the way, I hope that is ok that I wrote myself and NPC, he is unimportant to me and is practically part of the scenery, but I think it helps me write in a less boring way.

That is absolutely okay! In fact, I'm going to go ahead and toss it out there to everyone: If you want to make an NPC to use as a writing foil, then absolutely do! Sometimes, your character gets off by themselves and you kind of need someone/something else to bounce conversation and ideas off of.

Solstice, you are more than welcome to write for Dr. Orrus, as well.

Re: Ryan's 'vanishing act' ...

I walk in a certain way, and have a habit of creating a 'parting the Red Sea' effect. Crowds part around me and reform behind me.

Not sure if it's because I have a very determined stride or I'm giving off some other vibe. I tend to think it's the former, because I'm also the guy who gets stopped with, "Do you work here?"

He is still close enough to notice anything amiss with Pearl and the BPD detective.

I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Also, does anyone have an good doctor's office names?

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 113):

Only real ones. Solari, Lee, Yoshisato.

Welcome to George Sully, our newest player! Feel free to introduce yourself and pop into any of the threads. I'll post some more, tomorrow. My eyes, they be heavy! It's time for me to get some sleep, but I wanted to get you added before I went to bed. :)

Hi all.
Im rather looking forward to playing this.
seems the style and shenanigans im looking for.

brief intro..Im from brisbane australia, im an artist of random arts , and a postal worker with headology degrees.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:39, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

Welcome George!

Welcome, George!

Welcome George :)

a little more bio done. Now to read, and work the pc into life at Bellhollow.

Since George is a boozehound..I think making an appearance at the Pirate bar might be a good jumping in point.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:50, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

Awesome!

Pearl, do you have a second-in-command in charge of the restaurant while you are gone? Is there an NPC you would like to make for that? Or, I can conjure up some patrons for George to interact with.

Also... at lunch, I shall drop the plot bomb. Everyone is now in place and it is time. Oh, yes. But, for now, work calls. I must pretend to be a productive member of society.

Yep, she has an assistant manager as second-in-command, along with the other cooks and waitstaff :) I'm not too particular about them as long as they're good at their jobs, so feel free to make up your own NPCs as you see fit Narrator. Random patrons are fine too :)

Sweet!
I am happily faffing my evening away..so off to the pirate place we go

Sweet! Pearl, you also feel free to make up restaurant NPCs and run them. Like I said, it's going to be a bit before I get to posting.

i must be to bed..

Annnd, BOOM! Plot bomb dropped. (Literally!) XD

Pearl - does the usual, 'Yes, Chef' become 'Aye, Cap'n!' at the Galley?

Ha! I imagine it would be looked on approvingly but not mandatory :)

BOOM!

Alrighty! I woke up way too early, today. Let me get some coffee in me and take a bit to wake up, and we'll see about sorting out what is happening. :)

Sorry, guys! I got a boatload of work dumped on me, today. I'll get to a post this evening!

No problem GM :)

I don't know how fast things will be unfolding, so I'll hold off on posting for the NPCs in the Galley.

im only awake right now, because i needed 'midnight' toast

Things should unfold pretty slowly, at this point. The big three things that I had planned for setup have happened.

1. Theft
2. Weird spider things
3. Big BADA-BOOM

After that, it's all up to you guys how quickly/slowly you want to take things and in what direction you want to run. :)

Niiice

Alright, that's cool.

Question: I sent Dalion out of his home and he's going to wherever the explosion was, will it be a new location?

I will make a new location. That way, it's a good, central spot for everyone who decides to investigate to meet.

I can post gifs now. fear me!!

I shall try not to abuse this ability XD

Haha! ALL THE GIFS!

Okay, Arlington Antiques now exists as a location. It is the explosion site. It will soon be swarming with emergency responders. The buildings to the side of the antique store are also damaged. But, fortunately, the explosion took place after business hours. So, it looks like no one was injured. Though, there may be injuries in the office buildings. It's possible people may have been working late.

I'll be delayed a little due to food poisoning or something >< Although Pearl is still checking on folks at the BN anyways.

Time for doctor and fae nurse??

Hah! I just finished a post for Solstice and Dr. Orrus. :D

And, no worries, Pearl. I hope you feel better, tomorrow! It's creeping up on 11PM, here, anyway. So, I'll probably continue in the AM. Since it's the weekend, I don't have to worry about work getting in the way!

hey there.
so..a thought.

Safe gaming is checking with people when theres potential for awkwardness or boundaries. Or possibly making someone uncomfortable, or feeling like pushed into story they dont want..

In light of that, Id like to check with you all, about pc potential actions.
George would likely attempt to flirt with some pcs, depending on situations etc.
But, only if you're comfortable with that. {any Ic reactions totally legit btw}

No intention of that being a main part of his interactions btw. just aspect of personality and character flaws psychology etc.
pls let me know if this is NOT cool for you, and it wont be a thing at all.

Because its pertinent, some of my possible meta story themes may run along loneliness, trauma,and family. If we go long enough, and the story beats feel right. thats the character aspect behind this idea. rather than being dodgy XD
This message was last edited by the player at 14:11, Sat 06 Feb 2021.

That's very considerate. I'm new to role-playing and this is my first game, I like what you're doing here and I think I'll try to do the same in the future.

In my case, there's no problem with any kind of interaction. One has to separate oneself from his characters and forfeit controlling how other people will perceive them.

thanks.

Ive got the experience for both of us {. Not selfie, thank goodness..my hair is blue XD)
many games played, and checking in on things first is always nice.

Pearl: Detective Johnson would've reached out instinctively to try to catch/steady her during the explosion. I know she caught herself, but as quickly as things happen, he wouldn't notice that before he had already acted.

Is it okay that he does catch her by the upper arm or elbow? Though, it would actually work out that he winds up steadying himself against her.

Solstice: I wish lol, a house call would be nice. Hopefully it's nothing serious anyways.

George: Sure, that's fine with me :) Not that I'm promising anything in terms of Pearl's reactions, but I'm a big believer in being true to your character.

Narrator: Sure, that works!

shenanigans ahoy :P
and promises make crap story flow..natural narrative works for me
and play shall see how things shake out.

I have to admit, I have no idea what to do next.

I got Dalion in the scene, but apparently the place already has police and firefighters, presumably ambulances and emergency responders too. Dalion has no reason to care beyond curiosity or seeing if he can help someone, but there's a police NPC that's already making non-responder back away, as it is natural and logical that she would do. So, no helping injured people.

Another reason to be there would be to check around the antique store, which would be reason enough for him to stay and try to see if he can get information for his objectives because it is antique related, but I think it would be weird to ask about antiques during an emergency, and also, who would answer questions? I would have to imagine Dalion as a complete psycho in order to try this.

Dalion would get in and try to snoop information or steal stuff, but not right in front of the firefighters or the police, unless there was something reeeeaaaally valuable that he knew would be worth taking the risk for.

There are the other characters, but I can't think of a reason for Dalion to pay attention to them or talk to them, unless, again I go for a full RaNdOm character.

So, I don't know what action to take unless I go full bullshit mode and do random stuff.

In short, all I'm saying is: I don;t know what to do.

The thing to keep in mind, here, is that this story is for and about the PCs. Are emergency responders cordoning off the area? Sure! But, that doesn't mean that you can't get past them. Remember, I am in control of what they see. They could well be looking in entirely the opposite direction if you decide to dive in and help that poor person trapped under rubble. Sometimes, you just gotta trust the GM. :)

Just because you can't go into the store, at the moment, doesn't mean that you can't ask bystanders about it. You don't have to come at it head on. You can always ask things like, "Oh, no! Do you think anyone was inside?" which might get you information about who owns the place or who works there. Which could lead you to more information...

I think George was specifically talking to Dalion in message #3:


This message was last edited by the GM at 18:21, Sat 06 Feb 2021.

Totally unrelated to anything, but I wanted to share. If you're not reading Shiloh, you should be!

https://www.webtoons.com/en/th...649&episode_no=1

I figured the guy calling for help from the rubble was more the other PCs' province since Pearl wasn't on the scene yet - she's not ignoring him, I just assume someone else will be helping him at the same time she's doing her thing :)

In reply to Narrator (msg # 151):

Alright! thank you, I'll think of something to write soon.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 152):

MMMmmmm it is quite stylish, I'll make sure to give it a read. The last time I read something in this format it was a short creepypasta that was very popular some years ago.

Tell us what you see, and how you feel. Trust your character, and let them find their voice.

For example, a ghost might see a broken bottle of whisky on the floor and lament the taste of a good single-malt.

Always good advice! You don't always have to be actively doing something. It's totally cool to just reflect on the moment.

Dalion:


In my latest post at the explosion site, I follow improv rules - I present an opportunity for other actors to build upon, and that creates the scene.

Another method to help guide your writing is to move the character from a sense of unease to one of ease. You're solving their problems and meeting their needs, just like we make our way through life in the real world.

Consider, also, that the 'unease to ease' is how most commercials work. A problem is presented (lingering food odors in kitchen), and a product is presented that removes those odors. Simple! Your life is shown to improve immensely, your kitchen is bright and fresh-smelling, your house guests aren't wincing or holding their noses! Just buy our product!

Trust yourself and your character. Breathe. Don't overthink things. Believe in your choices (if you don't believe in your character, no one else will).

In reply to Ryan Blake (msg # 158):

Thank you man, I'll take all this into consideration. I really like that commercial analogy.

One of the things that I've always loved doing is writing backstories/side stories for my characters in pbp games. It really helps me develop their personalities. Plus, I find it fun!

Would you guys be interested in me creating "side story" threads where you can solo write whatever you like? Maybe a little slice of life for your character? Maybe some backstory to share?

If this interests you, give a yell! I can make a thread for you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:43, Sat 06 Feb 2021.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 160):

I tend to be in it more for the interaction, so I don't know if I'd personally use it much, but it sounds like a fun idea in general :)

In reply to Narrator (msg # 160):

I think I would use the option as a writing exercise, I would like to try and expand on the past life of my character, from before he started living on the streets.

In reply to Dalion (msg # 162):

thats a great way to find the characters reasons for being too. what drives them.

Niiiiiiiice, I think we got a pretty cool moment of all the players cooperating in one action.

In reply to Dalion (msg # 164):

Totally. Group bonding meet!

Ants??

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 166):

"Niiiiiiiice, I think we got a pretty cool moment of all the players cooperating in one action." <--Dalion

ants was my group bonding metaphor. i like visuals. ..at least i havnt got to posting music links for soundtracking yet {as artistic faffing type, im all "mutlimedia all the things!"}
This message was last edited by the player at 01:32, Sun 07 Feb 2021.

In reply to George Sully (msg # 167):

Yep, I wanted to reply with a Hopper image (the bad guy from the antz movie) but I can't figure out how to do it. I see what you're doing by quoting your post, what I don't understand is how, how do you pick the URL that makes the page understand what you want to post.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:38, Sun 07 Feb 2021.

In reply to Dalion (msg # 168):

<img src=" the link you want to post ">
and the image link is something ive opened in a tab under "view image"

{it took me six months to work out how to create a paragraph break XD }
This message was last edited by the player at 01:53, Sun 07 Feb 2021.

I don't know why I didn't think of opening the image in a new tab

In reply to Narrator (msg # 160):

Writing scenes helps me develop a character's backstory or their personality, so sure, 'workshop' threads would be cool.

Reading/writing, in the long run, makes you a better writer as you develop your style and find your voice. (Used to have a tabletop player who lamented that he was a lousy writer - he didn't mind brainstorming, but he couldn't put the spark of life into his creations.)

While not addressed to me..absolutely true!
I'm discovering a drive now to improve my writing style, as I really enjoy the process.  And have started just writing small stories based around game spin offs.

Alrighty, then! Just give me a definite, "Yo, make me a thread, Thread-Maker!" and I'll make one appear. Heck, I'll probably make one for myself, at any rate. I've already got some history for some of the NPCs bouncing around in the noggin. It'd be nice to get work through it.

But, it shall wait until tomorrow.

Hah! And, I completely understand about the multimedia. When I create a PC, I almost always start out with a "theme song" for them and build from there. In my last Starfinder game (via Discord), I played a ysoki operative whose cover was cosmetics model. She was the face of a high profile brand of shampoo from a huge corporation that was actually making bioweapons in a shadow division. She was there to expose the bioweapons. But, in the meantime... she was a star! Completely over-the-top, glam.

This was her theme: https://youtu.be/nGFm7u869Kg

In reply to Narrator (msg # 174):

""Yo, make me a thread, Thread-Maker!"

That song just made the play list. Fun character too sounds like.
I run a 'radio' group..so always looking for fun or interesting music i havent heard.

sleep well

In reply to Narrator (msg # 174):

Oh, that's fun :)

thanks for story channel :D
I shall us it unwisely

Blah! I've tried to write a post a couple of times, today, and my brain is being all, "Nope. No creativity for you, today!" I'll take another swing at it tonight. And, if not tonight, then tomorrow. It's just one of those days, ya know?
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:21, Sun 07 Feb 2021.

Solstice: Feel free to diagnose the man however you like, short of "He has a case of the deads!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:52, Mon 08 Feb 2021.

got it. I'll give him a look over.

I'm going to give it a beat or two before the EMTs descend on the scene to give Solstice a chance to at least assess the damage (if he wants to).
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:45, Tue 09 Feb 2021.

yea i got it. just that the dice are saying "fuck you" to my magic attempts.

In that case, I'm going to write it that Solstice knows what he's doing, but the stress of being in a new place, with new people, and suddenly all the action is just too much and he's having trouble focusing. Sound good?

Yea. Fits with his character. Performance anxiety I suppose.

"I could hear the amusement in their voice, and it grated on my nerves. I caught myself starting to grind my teeth and I consciously forced myself to relax. Release my jaw, drop my shoulders, breath deeply, uncrease my brow…

“We’ll see, you little asshole,” I muttered aloud as I began weighing my options."

yeah baby!...Soo many questions...mystery, evil madness, strange antiquities, and a fine suit..

I kind of wish there was a little like button next to posts, so i can do a thing that says i read it..and, well, think a things fun or great..like discord or facebork. something to let peeps know that their stuff is being read.
in the meantime...because i craft from home, i walk past pc a lot. so..assume ive read your posts peeps..and like em.


Quote I found..
"[assigning roles]

god: the sun shall fuel all life on earth

sun: sounds good

god: and the moon shall make tiny waves and werewolves

moon: hell yes"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:12, Wed 10 Feb 2021.

Haha! Glad you liked it! I'm having fun sitting over here in the GM seat, moving things around in the background. I hope it at least let everyone know that... no... all of these events aren't just chaotic, random happenstance. (Which I know it can look like, from outside of my own head.) There's some coordinated stuff going on. :D

But, I want everyone to keep in mind that just because I'm doing an evil, little dance back here doesn't mean that any of you are beholden to follow up on it. Things will keep happening in the city around you, whether you do anything about it or not. Mostly, this is set up so that I can keep interesting things happening that might trigger someone's curiosity. If not and your character would rather just continue living their lives without worrying about it, that's totally cool, too!

Also, this reminded me that I still need to set up a notice thread about the various races. Since this is all being made up as we go, I need to set up the rules so that newcomers will see what we have established, already. In fact, I'm going to start that thread now.

Solstice, George... if you have anything to add to it about fae and werewolves, just post in the thread and I'll update the first post.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 186):

Sweet.
Id add WW are born, not bitten. Need both parents with the gene. Expresses at puberty.

Added!

I've been mulling over NPCs, as I am wont to do. Trying to find that music that fits them. I see a lot of police in the future, so...

Detective Reese Johnson: Get it Together by The Go! Team https://youtu.be/4Sa1_Qo5bhY
Lieutenant William Cardenas: Spike in a Rail from the Bastion Soundtrack https://youtu.be/gQWAcgefsQQ

covers all cops..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTUP9iEguIY

Okay, this is cool! Rock Me Amadeus by The Electric String Quartet
https://youtu.be/4DYoXhIu6T8

In reply to Narrator (msg # 190):

about to go to work..so a nice tune to get me going . thxs XD

Sorry for not posting yet, been feeling a little under the weather. I'll try to get to it today or tomorrow :)

No worries! There's no rush. Take your time and get to feeling better. The game will be here. :)

In reply to Pearl Dunn (msg # 192):
i hear you...just left from work early, because feeling blergghh. (after a day off because of blergghh.)

drink water and rest your brians

Updated the story timeline to reflect what's happened. Also, added a note explaining a bit about why I have a GM plotline in a sandbox game.

This is kind of how I work. I have an idea of the main storyline and where it's going. Plot hooks are presented to players; it's up to them if they want to work with them or ignore them (happens more often than you'd think).

Sandbox means it's open world, everyone gets to create. Why not the GM? If everyone else can react to Ryan, why not the GM/NPCs?

Exactly! And, I want all of the players to feel free to create whatever drama they like. You want a rival wizard? Sweet. Make him and have magical fisticuffs! Want to start a new publishing company? Do it. Want to try summoning pink jackelopes into someone's apartment because, boy howdy... that would be a hoot? Dooo eeeeeet.

pink jackalopes you say......

for realsees..ill throw these ideas into the pot. in fact i might use one to do another little prelude thing..

.anti magic hate groups of sorts - religious and magic is from the devil etc etc.

Secret defence for "recruitment" of magical peeps they think useful for developing supersoldiers and ultimate weapons...cause the other countries are all doing it.

Unpowered individuals looking for ways to steal power...

In reply to George Sully (msg # 198):

My character has come excellent backstory tie ins for like half that list.

Also some of said backstory elements coming after Solstice in the present day *nudge GM*

Maybe not rn tho. Later.

Thanks, Narrator, George :)

These dang dice man!

Is 3 on a 1d6 really that bad? I mean if Solstice is good at magic and 3 doesn't do it, he has like a 50% failure chance.

i got 2 2's and a 3. I'm never gonna get any actual skills at this rate

AHHBDEBCRDEQ C

I'M DEAD!!

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 203):

skills overrated XD
just ask what you find ... and see. if narrater asks for roll..Then roll. If not..then fake it till ya make it XD

I feel like its only fair that I roll for magic, given how powerful my character is supposed to be. But the dice are nerfing me.

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 208):

perhaps some nefarious being is blocking it..who knows?

OOOOOO WE GOT BIG BRAINS IN HERE TONIGHT!!

This message was last edited by the player at 02:10, Fri 12 Feb 2021.

You don't have to use the dice, you know! But, if you feel like that's the fair way to handle Solstice when it comes to his magic, then that's cool. But, I don't want you to let the dice get in the way of your fun!

And, a roll of 3 on a d6 isn't bad! That's smack in the middle. An average roll! Let me think about it for a minute or two and I'll tell you what he senses.

Ok. I just didn't wanna push. Cuz you know that what he is probably comes with a huge amount of power and I don't wanna steam roll. Maybe we can say he's getting weaker and weaker after to long of being out of his home realm. Maybe give him a reason to try and go back sooner than he feels ready.

Cool, I might smooth brain a little for fun.

Ah good. Hope you like BBQ

I agree with the sentiment, It's part of the reason why I like to roll too because otherwise, I could write my character as a Mary Sue and just easily overcome every challenge, I think the dice can help generate undesired situations that could force us to find creative solutions.

im happy to attempts stuff, and allow narrator to call for rolls when nec. Description of attempt cues story writer to decide whats more interesting, and drives story.
that said..the genesis system of dice, that generate advantages and disadvantages along with pass or fail, work really well to generate story flow.
both ways have good things going on.

This is one of those moments where I wonder what to do next, I think I could:

1- Make my own narrative declaration and say that the NPC responded, but then I have to make sense of his answer, would that be ok? or am I highjacking a story that the GM had already planned? or am I diminishing in any way GM's ownership of some elements of this world?

2- Wait for GM to create an answer, but it worries me that by doing this I'm stopping the flow of our interactions and also creating more work for the GM.

go with the flow of interactions at this stage...IMO
reasoning.
1. narrator has said sand box, so create fun to an extent.
2. if you dont narrate responses that are important from important NPCs, should be fine. minion npcs can prob be narrated with predictable responses ..eg. emts push dalion away ..weird if they didnt.
3. retcon is available.its called edit XD. so, if we step over the line..it "was all just a dream"

I'd say a good rule of thumb is that if the GM has already played an NPC, like the smooshed guy, then he shouldn't be played by the PCs from then on.

Heh. I've been reading from my phone while trying to fall asleep. Wanted to step in real quick to give you some answers.

The smooshed dude is unimportant. He was just some unlucky soul who was taking a shortcut through the alley to get to the parking lot behind the office building beside the antique store. So, he could be named anything.

I was waiting to see what the other players would do about Dalion, but the paramedics are not going to let Dalion manhandle their patient for more than a few seconds. Their next action is going to be forcefully push Dalion away.

And, with Pearl's call, the cops are on the way. The place is crawling with them.

I'm putting the phone away and am going to try my best to get to sleep!

100% agree. id call him a mook with a quest symbol on his head. cant be used by players anymore

That's what worries me with option one.

Our GM is super open and has really emphasized that we have the freedom to create within this world, but in this case, this NPC was in a plot significant location, and I don't know if this NPC is plot-important or if it was created to make us band together for a common objective and that's it, he fulfilled his purpose and it's ok for me to use him.

'god' has spoken
this guy is a free wandering npc..well, less wandering, because smooshed.

Sleep well 'god'

In reply to Narrator (msg # 222):

Awesome, that makes things clear.

So, I've been trying to think of clear rules for this. And, I think what has been suggested already are good guidelines. I want you guys to be free to have agency in the world and create as you like, but I completely understand not wanting to tangle up anything that I have going on. (And, if you do so accidentally, it's no big deal! Either I can adjust or things can be edited. Ain't no thang.)

General rule of thumb:

If I don't name an NPC, consider them free range. More than likely, they are extras that can be moved around and used as you like.

If in doubt, check the NPCs cast thread. I'll try to be good about adding any plot important NPCs or NPCs that I've already cemented in my head as being "main cast." I'll also add any important PC-owned NPCs there, like Solstice's Dr. Orrus.

Speaking of PC-owned NPCs, feel free to make up anyone you need to help you with storytelling! Just let me know if you want me to add them to the cast page, if you plan on them being permanent members of the crew and not just someone you need for one scene to move things forward.

FYI, I am debating where Ryan reappears:

- A mirror in the lobby of Bellhollow Inn & Suites
- A mirror in the restroom of either the Pirates' Galley or Tutti i Polli
- The anti-shoplifting mirror at B&N (which means he falls from a height)

Yes, he has some agency here, but the space between mirrors is somewhat like a river. There are currents and hazards to be mindful of, so it's not teleportation-with-mirrors. You could be swept off your feet, Frodo, my lad ...

And, to explain a bit further, the Proctors are the High Court fae of his world. Same as ours, only with more attitude and much less courtesy. The Hunters are their enforcers, possibly even the Wild Hunt.

oh, then you'r character should be a big extra weary of mine.

No problem! I'm also kind of kicking things around in my head about how I want this to play out. I'd rather not have a player thrown in jail at this early stage, so I'm trying to work out how to avoid that.

Not that I am a lawyer or anything. I honestly don't know how something like this would actually be handled. But, it feels like if charges are being pressed, Dalion would at least be detained?

That made me curious, I just looked around a little and found this: https://www.bjs.gov/content/justsys.cfm

If I'm reading it right, I think Dalion would be put in jail/detained for questioning initially (unless the cops decide there's no merit to what he's being accused of for some reason), then before long a prosecutor would decide whether to file charges, and if so he'd appear in front of a judge to determine if he'd be let out on bail in the meantime or what. I could be wrong though!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:38, Fri 12 Feb 2021.

In reply to Pearl Dunn (msg # 231):

I believe the police could hold him up to 72 hours without filing charges, after which he would be automatically released, which does not mean he cannot be arrested again at a later time. An interview during the initial arrest would be likely, with Dalion's lawyer or a public defender present, and the District Attorney would decide if there's sufficient merit to warrant going to trial.

I've been on several juries where the evidence has been thin, including through the failure of the police to investigate in a timely or thorough manner (for example, not checking security tapes promptly, so the tapes were recycled, or a suspect inadvertently released).

That sounds right to me.

Also, I seem to recall reading somewhere that public defenders can raise concerns about their clients' sanity even over their own objections. So like... I understand being concerned about a PC going to jail, but you might want to watch out for him being institutionalized, too ;)

Yeah. It just seems like trying to RP the whole going to jail thing is not going to be a lot of fun. I really don't want to spend time writing up accounts of being detained/jailed and then going through the legal process. Plus, that puts Dalion in a spot where he can't really do much and is cut off from everyone else.

If he's detained, maybe I can just fast-forward through that to where he's released. So, it happens but it doesn't really impact the play. As slow as play-by-post tends to be, if we RP him going to jail, he could be stuck in there for weeks, real time.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:23, Fri 12 Feb 2021.

Rescuing Dalion from cops..if he toddles along quietly XD

or two peeps arrested.

No problem. Just keep in mind that you can only attempt to shuffle Dalion along somewhere else. Dalion has the final say in what his character actually does. So, you're not off the scene, yet!

oh, i know...
hence wording of post and the below img XD
life line.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:47, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

On the flip side of that, it might be worth bringing up before the GM posts again that Pearl would be going "Hey, he's walking away. Like, there he goes. The person I thought you were arresting right now?" ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:03, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

In reply to George Sully (msg # 235):

I made a long post to move Dalion and George away from that place. I hope it's okay that I took the liberty of assuming an answer from George, I did it because otherwise, I would have to post to make the question, wait for an answer, and then post the action, which would be slower than just getting to a place.

In reply to Dalion (msg # 239):

more than fine by me :D.

Oh, I've already written us out of there, but as it was mentioned before, we can always retcon the situations.

Up to the GM really :) I can understand their not wanting to have a PC arrested, but it's not like Pearl IC has any reason to go "There goes that lovable scamp again! I'll have a good laugh with the cops about this later!"

Also:

I forgot what was the convention we are suppossed to use to clearly indicate that we are leaving one location and entering another, Could GM please add it to the guidelines so I don't write it differently every time I forget?

Hahahahaha absolutely understandable.

The enter/leave this is easy. Just add a bolded note at the bottom of your last post when you are leaving like [Dalion leaves for Pirate's Galley]. When entering, at the top of your first post in the new location, add where you came from [Dalion enters from Arlington Antiques].

I'll add it to the guidelines, later. Just don't let me forget!

I'll also tackle this thing again, tomorrow. I'm feeling kind of blargh and cranky, and it's not the best time for me to try to sort through this arrest issue.

Hopefully thats been sorted, if it works for all.


"GM please add it to the guidelines so I don't write it differently every time I forget?" {Dalion) <--this. "how do i do that thing again?" mantra of my life on these things

Sorry to be a negative nancy, but Pearl did tell Potts to lock up before she even got to the antique store ^^'

In reply to Pearl Dunn (msg # 247):

I completely forgot about that.

and..."it was all a dream inside the restaurant"

..will delete "smack" talk soon
flow disruption..
oh..gods..no..unintended terrible pun.
in my defense Solstice started it..
This message was last edited by the player at 02:11, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

the joke was right there i had to make it im sorry

all good.
twas going to happen some time XD

as afab, im chill with the jokes

Doggy Bag was an obvious pun that had to be done.

Hmm, I might wait for a GM post just to make sure there's not a total time collapse here :) Potts's likely response would be "Well the owner told me to lock up, so let me call her and see," except that then he'd be sending a phone call into the past, where Pearl is currently trying to point out Dalion leaving to the police...

after long walk to evade, it should be a good half hour before they are at restaurant.
but, its prob pretty late for you guys. midday here.

It's 9:20 pm for me right now.

Rewind space-time

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 257):

Well... all the more to rewind if the cops don't let Dalion just walk away from his own detainment then XD

pretty sure that gm will go with it, given earlier convo above about having him jailed would be frustrating for all given time stretch out

I think a good solution would be for you to take control of some police NPC that would confront Dalion about the incident. That way we can have a resolution of the issue for Pearl while avoiding putting the weight of the matter on our GM who as stated before, doesn't seem to fancy the idea of writing right now about a PC being arrested this early, possibly freezing Dalion out of the story for some time, and also dividing his energy and attention.

I have no problem with my PC facing such difficulties that are logical and natural consequences of his behavior.

Mm, I'd rather not risk getting into a potential conflict of interest with my actual PC, it's not like I'm a co-GM or anything. I appreciate the suggestion though :)

The thing is, we're all at a halt right now, and I think that incidentally, we all had time to play tonight/today, it felt like we had the ball rolling, it's a shame to stop the momentum for the resolution of a matter that doesn't seem to be narratively promising.

The solutions I see are:

1- We continue with what we have already written as it is right now and move on, I can promise to offer a future opportunity for Pearl to bring Dalion to the authorities if such thing is important to the development and agency of Pearl, but this will eventually force the GM to write about the interaction between the police and Dalion.

2- We retcon the last few posts and make the GM write about the police interaction.

Well, OOC it's not like I have a personal investment in Dalion going behind bars, that's all IC :) But at the same time I feel like it would take some kind of deus ex machina for Dalion to not even be temporarily detained when he's literally surrounded by police who just saw him shake an accident victim on top of everything else. That's not to say I have a problem with, basically, GM intervention, but I do think that should come from the GM, much as I can sympathize with not wanting to deal with it.

Understandable. Let's wait for a GM decision. I would put an image of a judge right now, but I forgot how to do it lol, I'm gonna re-learn how to do that tomorrow.

Okay. Here's what I am going to do.

I'm going to let Dalion and George scurry off to find food because rewinding everything would be a pain in the butt. Plus, the cops on the explosion scene have their hands full, at the moment. They aren't going to drop what they are doing to immediately run after Dalion. Priority one is helping keep the peace at that scene and help find anyone else who may be trapped and injured.

RP will continue until everyone agrees that we reach a stopping point, in game. Everyone is going to have to go to sleep, eventually. The next day, the cops will find Dalion and arrest him. They have plenty of evidence of what happened from security cameras and bystander video.

I will write one post covering the arrest and detention. I'm just going to skim over it all and time-skip forward to Dalion being released. Honestly, they have enough evidence that, in reality, he wouldn't be released. He would be charged and have to go through the system. But, I'm not doing that. I'm going to hand wave it and say he's released.

Does it make sense? No.
Do I care? No.

If I were to go by reality on this one, I would essentially be either removing Dalion from the  game because he's now in jail or I would be stuck writing a court drama, which I don't want to do.

I'll get a post up moving things along over at Arlington Antiques later today.

This message was last edited by the player at 12:49, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

I protest. (but please don't take this too seriously)

This feels unsatisfactory to me.

When Dalion was caught stealing in the park, Sienna aproached and showed compassion and smarts in her interaction. That's is interesting because it showed some characteristics of Sienna and Dalion.

When Dalion shook smooshed man, Solstice stood up for the man, showing another side of him besides his shy and timid self, he showed a righteous attitude, a will to fight perceived injustice, that's interesting.

When Dalion stood there like an idiot after shaking the man, George showed some kind of solidarity and acted to save him from the situation, that is interesting.

When Dalion tried to steal Pearl's hat you wrote in that it was secured to her head and therefore you wrote in that there was some kind of struggle, I went along with it, Pearl punched Dalion surprisingly hard which led to establishing that Pearl is very strong despite her size, further proven on the smooshed guy moment. That is interesting.

What I would like to see is what it means to Pearl to make sure that Dalion is detained for what he did, is Pearl just very Lawful despite being a pirate? It is clear that this police business is very important for Pearl. This could be the start of something narratively interesting between Dalion and Pearl, maybe Dalion and Pearl will become enemies/rivals, maybe they'll become friends, maybe uneasy allies, who knows?

What I mean to say is: if you're pushing for this to happen, then we should make it something that is interesting to read. Or at least we should try. The current result seems lame to me.

Well, then... I leave it you two to sort out.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:27, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

Narrator: OK, that's fine :) I'll probably need to have Pearl avoid the restaurant for a while then since she'd just call the cops on Dalion there too. But she can handle it by phone with Potts anyways.

Dalion: I guess I have a different approach from you, I tend to be big on character purism and just let things unfold as they would from there. If the GM wants to handwave the world so that Dalion doesn't suffer the consequences of being played straight, that's absolutely their prerogative, and most games need a certain amount of that. But there's no larger "narrative" concern to how I'm playing Pearl - she's touchy, she loves her hat, and it annoys her that Dalion is avoiding those consequences.

Also, it might be worth pointing out, in case you were bringing it up because you're thinking I've just been making up details to mess with Dalion, both Pearl's hat being so secured and her being unusually strong were in her RTJ.

There is more than one way to make someone regret ever meeting you :3

I am opposed to the whole idea of sending a character to jail because that essentially removes them from play.

Yes, so we can impart revenge in other ways. We do in fact have a pissed off magic creature with a lot of knowledge about the human body and their various systems. Hmmm.

Well, on the one hand I can understand that, I GM a game myself that runs into this same problem once in a while. On the other hand, IC there's no reason for Pearl to realize Dalion has "PC" stamped on his forehead ;) As I said though, I have no problem with it OOC, it's just a matter of Pearl reacting to how the world works.

perhaps we could spin it that Pearl is like "Ok now this is personal. fuck sending him to jail I'll be the one to kick his ass."

Awesome! then we find a way to write that in, we make a point of how important the hat is for her, we make a point of how important it is for Pearl to see people suffer consequences for their actions, we make a point of her frustration over Dalion avoiding consequences. Let's goooooooo!

And don't worry, I had already guessed that the hat has a deeper meaning for the character, the thing is, let's write that in, let's flesh out our characters, let's make them do interesting stuff.

I don't think this is actually doable with a handwave, though. It actually seems better for them to just avoid each other and stop things from just turning into a cycle of reality blurs.

Yeah! that is an idea.

Whatever you guys want to go for. It's all good.

Personal consequences will always exist. Just because I'm not going to send Dalion to jail doesn't mean that, suddenly, Pearl's is okay with what happened. There will still be things that the two characters will need to work out. However, that ain't happening if Dalion is in jail. By sending him to jail, I am removing him from any kind of interaction with the other characters.

So...

Dalion isn't going to jail.
I am handwaving the court issues.

The two of you can fight, scream at each other, kiss and make up. I don't care. But I'm not dealing with researching how this would really play out in the legal system and role-playing that.

Whatever consequences there are will be personal between the two characters. Not legal consequences.

The thing is:

1- You wrote in the assault

2- You keep writing that  IC Pearl insists on calling the police on Dalion.

So let's make something happen with it, nobody else is gonna write something more interesting about the matter than you, you wrote your character investment in the matter, so let's go, let's use that, I see this as an opportunity to write something interesting in the near future, some interaction that shines more light about Pearl and Dalion.

...Huh? Unless I misread the original post in question and Dalion somehow tried and failed to teleport Pearl's hat off her head, there had to be some force involved.


Yes, and my point is that there is no IC reason that this would change :) This isn't to criticize the GM's understandable decision, but it makes for a hard circle to square in terms of further interactions.

1- I originally wrote Dalion taking the hat and trying it, the hat didn't fit, it was too small, making Dalion look stupid.

2- I got informed that the hat can't be taking, I retconned my post, I left it ending like this:

"Dalion approached the person from behind, swiftly trying to take their hat and see how it would fit him."

3- You wrote the yanking sensation and the loss of balance.

4- Pearl reacted by punching and calling the cops.

5- Dalion sees he's getting in trouble and tries to bullshit his way out

6- Pearl notices this and doesn't play along and becomes hellbent on getting the cops on Dalion.

This is all good, it's a natural and logical development of events, we established that Pearl is not some helpless broad physically nor mentally, while Dalion is disrespecful, conceited and dramatic.

We got a good set up here, let's not waste it. NOBODY is saying anything about changing Pearl's perspective or attitude, you say that it is hard to write about interactions in this set up, I say that we got one of the best and easiest.

</quote>

I'm with you up until the last part :) (although technically Pearl didn't get violent until Dalion started trying to touch her directly) But I'm saying that with things as they are, every scene with them together would presumably go like this:

1. Pearl: "Hey, how aren't you in jail yet? Well, let's see what the cops say about that!"
2. Pearl calls the cops
3. Reality hiccups
--->If Dalion is still there afterwards: GOTO 1
--->If Dalion isn't still there afterwards: END SCENE

Done that before, even though it was because of elements I'd introduced into a game. Things got to a point where I either wrote it, or skipped it and wrote about the outcome.

So what? We write something else then, the possibilities are limitless:

-Maybe Pearl curses Dalion
-Maybe they fight things out
-Maybe Pearl demands reparations of some kind

This is just all thing that I'm making up on the spot and they can all be interesting to read, I don't see why things have to be trapped in an endless loop of Pearl calling the police and the police doing nothing.

I think I understand where you're coming from, I'm worried I haven't really made my own position clear enough though ^^' Basically: I'm not a co-GM and Pearl isn't an NPC. It's not my "job" to bend her mindset to make for a better story or what have you. I acknowledge that I could just decide one of those things would be in her personality.

Now, I do think there are solutions that don't involve that, but I think you're talking to the wrong person about them. Off the top of my head, maybe Dalion is the estranged son of a foreign ambassador and can't be prosecuted, but his parent's office presents a formal apology and gift to Pearl to try to smooth things over, which would also explain why he seems to consider himself untouchable. Maybe the mayor gave him the key to the city for some act of heroism when he was more stable. Maybe due to all the supernatural influence in Bellhollow, it operates on the Olde English outlaw system, and the police won't arrest Dalion because anybody can legally kill him for an offense instead. Maybe he has a lawyer BFF that somehow preemptively pleads him down to misdemeanors and he just has to pay a fine. But something like that would be between you and the GM.

I'm handwaving it. If you don't like it, move on.

Alright, I guess that's it.

OK :)

Sorry. I've just lost my patience with this. There needs to be compromise.

My compromise was that the court actions do happen, but I will not explicitly write them out. And, Dalion would be released so that he can continue to play. He would have a record and would probably not be viewed in the best light by authorities going forward.

Being completely unbending in the name of "it's what my character would do" when faced with something that be solved with a little give and take on both sides absolutely grinds my gears.

Is it metagaming? Yes. Sometimes it's needed to keep things running.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 291):

I'm fine with that compromise, that's why I said Pearl would stay away from the restaurant to avoid triggering any further shenanigans until it gets sorted time-wise. As far as I know this has all been about Dalion wanting to settle things before that, which I don't think would be worth doing.

That said, it may just be that our GMing/playing styles aren't compatible, and if so, then no hard feelings :)

just punch it out and get it over with

Hey it's all good, we move on. I'm currently waiting for George's reaction, since the food thing wasthe current thing going on.

Im awake! food post posted. all read. happy moving forward

Actually, I've been thinking about it and I may just not be in the right place to be running a game. I want to. I miss it. But... my body is being a little bitch-ass.

I am currently going through perimenopause. I am basically going through second puberty as my reproductive system shuts down. So, my hormones and my emotions can fluctuate wildly.

I realized, today, that this whole exchange stressed me out much more than it should've. This shouldn't have even been a blip in my day. But it was.

I'm going to take a day or two to think about things and decide if this was a good idea. I may just be biting off more than I can chew, at the moment.

Regarding food safety ...

FDA safety regulations center on TCS foods, where time and temperature are critical. Ready-to-eat food must be cold (below 40º) or hot (above 135º) and must be discarded after being out for more than four hours.

If the power at the restaurant went out, steps would be taken to prepare foods for cold storage, portioning it out into hotel pans (the deep service containers seen at buffets) and or deli cups (the plastic cups that come in various sizes). Large containers of items like stew would be divided into smaller containers, so the food isn't inside the danger zone (40º-135º) overlong. Everything is covered and labelled. This would begin immediately, rather than waiting for power to come back (and leaving food in the Danger Zone).

So its not half-cooked foods that would be served, it would be orders that had not been taken to their diners. (That wouldn't happen IRL.)

Food is stored in the refrigerator on a FIFO (First In, First Out) basis. Kitchens usually have masking tape and Sharpies available to label things, and one always labels the container, not the lid - lids can get knocked off or mixed up. There are rules as to what goes on which shelf - if you consider things leaking/spilling, dairy / leftovers / vegetables / meats ... so you don't have raw meat dripping juices on your lettuce.

Hey, that's life. If you need to take a day or two, that's ok, but I think we all appreciate your time, the effort and the attention invested in the game. I really hope you can carry it on.

Sorry to hear that Narrator :( Do whatever you think is best for you, real life comes first.

Should the narrator decide to step back, I would be willing to run a game. I tend to use existing systems for character creation (i.e. Mage, Scion, etc.) and then go sandbox.

what they said.
and apologies for any hand in causing stress

Darnit I want to make a long post right now but I have two small works to do right now...

im not going anywhere..its house tidy and do art stuff time

yay! God is staying on!

Yeah, I'm sticking around. Heh. But, I did make a post about my GM style and what I'm looking for in this game. So, it'll be more clear when folks join as to what I am expecting.

Honestly, I'm pretty loosey-goosey about all of this. I'm just here to write and have fun. I want this to all be as low-stress and collaborative as possible.

Yay!

Sounds good!

Not related to anything. Just sharing because the dog scene kills me every time I see it.

Quicksilver saves everyone. X-Men clip. https://youtu.be/ZnZqB5Z75zI

Quicksilver is reeeeeeeally overpowered.

And yes, the dog scene is really cute and funny.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 308):

Fun :)

Pausing a beat so La Belle Auteur (or anyone else) has an opportunity to play by writing the child or the parents' response, or any other bystander in the lobby.

mmmmm...cool.
if you want npc interaction run by another player, maybe we need to think of a convention so it can be easily identified that an  NPc is being played?

In reply to George Sully (msg # 312):

1. Do as I did, specify the character(s) and mention it in OOC.
2. PM the player.
3. Note [NPC: Mother, Father, Child] at end of scene. [TBC] (To Be Continued) indicates that the author has a progression of events already in mind.

Simplest is best, so I prefer #1 as opposed to having to remember another convention for posting.

In reply to Ryan Blake (msg # 313):

Well then, Im thinking to give it a go.

rather than Pm this time, i'll ask a question here, as I think its a useful question to ask if running an npc for someones scene like this in general. Probably helps God to have a say if they wish as well.

question is.- what did you want out of the scene? As its yours, if you want to accomplish something, npcs can be steered to flow that way

also Hello God. (hope you dont mind God..its easier/faster to type without spelling mistakes )

Could I please have a Channel for the forests outside the city?
Im going to prob need one to wolf around in soon .

Can do! Just woke up, though. So, I'm taking a bit to eat a little something and then I need to go buy groceries. (I usually do it on Sunday, but this weekend's ice storm kinda made that hazardous, so I waited until it melted.)

I'm thinking that George will probably run into the city's other werewolves out there, tonight (in-game tonight). They probably have a thing that they do on the full moon. What thing, you ask? Don't know, yet! I haven't decided.

Also, would it be useful if I made a specific thread for NPC offers so they don't get lost in OOC? I didn't have anything in mind for the child/mother in Ryan's thread, myself.

Haha! I don't mind what you call me. :D
https://youtu.be/uq-gYOrU8bA

Pearl will be leaving the game. So, I'm going to write her out. And, since she has requested that her character be abandoned, what I may do is say that the Pirate's Galley suffered some damage from the explosion that was previously unnoticed and needs to be closed. Since this is her idea and her intellectual property, I don't want to infringe on her by continuing to use Pearl or her business as backdrop.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:41, Mon 15 Feb 2021.

Hey everyone, I'm sorry to say I'll be withdrawing from the game. It's been fun playing with you and I hope you continue having fun here for a good long while :)

In reply to Pearl Dunn (msg # 318):

Sorry to hear that. May all your adventures be exciting ones!

Ryan introduced me to an idea that seems like it would be excellent for this game: The Time-Out.

If anything happens in the game that gives you pause, for whatever reason, you can call a Time Out. It can be invoked if you need clarification, someone has crossed a line, etc. Basically, it's used for anytime that there needs to be a quick chat about what is happening in the story between players or the player and GM.

Examples:

Time Out! Can we not use spiders? They really bother me.

Time Out! I'm not sure that Fred would actually be close enough to reach that place. How far away is it?

Time Out! Wait a minute. Didn't Barney actually take care of that in [other post?] Are we forgetting something or am I imagining it?

Ok! Got it. DOes this apply to all threads or just the one in question

In reply to George Sully (msg # 314):

Sometimes a kid is just a kid.

Also, just because there's magic in the world of Bellhollow doesn't mean parents believe in or encourage it.

So, there's no specific direction, just an opportunity to flesh out the world and even 'seed' characters that you, yourself, could use in the future. Is one of the clerks at the Inn a pack member? Works nights, except for a couple of nights every month?

Does Dad work for a High Sidhe boss? Does Mom think Dad is two-timing on her with a fae mistress? Does Junior seeing Ryan emerge mean he's got the magical gift? (It could be that no one sees mirror-walkers - they're there one moment, gone the next, unless you're looking right at them, or have the 'lid off' understanding of magic (you know some of what's going on ... still a confusing stew inside the pot, but you know what it is, mostly).

Build on what is presented, but be careful not to close things down.

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 321):

This applies to all threads. The Time Out can be used in any scene, any thread, any time. And, once we get clarification, then the "time out" notice can be edited out and replaced with whatever is appropriate.

Also, I updated the posting guidelines with both the time out and the enter/exit notices.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:56, Mon 15 Feb 2021.

Re: Pearl withdrawing and how that affects the story.

I'm going to retcon the whole thing. If she had agreed to have her character adopted, I would NPC her but... she opted for abandon. So, I wouldn't feel right about continuing to NPC her. The easiest thing to do is say that the B&N encounter didn't happen.

However, Dalion shaking the smooshed man did happen and the ambulance drivers would've called over the cops, thinking that he might be a danger to the injured man. Once George escorted him off, though, Dalion was no longer a threat or a concern. They figure he's probably just some homeless wacko who is mostly harmless, especially if someone else was able to wrangle him off to another location.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:03, Mon 15 Feb 2021.

is Solstice losing his cool still cannon?

In reply to Solstice Flames (msg # 325):

Oh, yeah! That's still totally canon. That was in response to shaking Smooshed Dude like a maraca. That happened regardless of Pearl's presence. Which reminds me that I need to add that to the story timeline...
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:11, Mon 15 Feb 2021.

"Solstice goes fucking apeshit"

Teasing super saiyan Solstice

Hey pearl...nice internet meeting you. sorry to see you go.


In reply to Ryan Blake (msg # 322):
Cool

Im all over adding seeds/hooks, and opening paths.
Shenanigans and complexity rather than boring and dead end

And the Time Out mechanic. Love it.
always a fan of something where a player can hold up a hand if they have a problem, esp when mature themes exist.
seen games where there was no such thing, eg.. gm steamrolled some peeps into some really nasty stuff without warning..including a teen player. {tabletop con game. Id kick that particular gm into the sun.}
This message was last edited by the player at 00:13, Tue 16 Feb 2021.

Yay! I was able to write a long post.

In reply to Dalion (msg # 330):

part of me wants to run off and research blue flower potions..to try and guess what dalions doing XD

BTW, George, this is exactly the kind of scene I had in mind. Doesn't have to be an epic, world-shaking moment - just stuff that rounds out the universe. Guests at a hotel. Parents being parents. And so on.

Remember, the Academy exists. If I recall correctly, Dalion used to teach there. So a simple scene helps set up so much more.

Thank you.

In reply to Ryan Blake (msg # 332):

And exactly the sort of scene that can be really important later..even months later.

It establishes personality facets, allows pcs to think about different aspects as brought forward by interactions.

thanks for having the scene

That's why I love writing slice of life moments for my characters. When I'm a player, I tend to write tons of those.

Also, I promise to get things back on track at the antique store, tomorrow. Today was pretty exhausting with behind the scenes stuff.

FYI, if you have Amazon Prime or AMC through subscription elsewhere, look for A Discovery of Witches - it's urban fantasy, with witches, vampires, and demons existing in secret. The discovery of a long-lost book is seen by some as a sign, by others, a threat. And everyone wants that book ... or the woman who found it.

Based on the 'All Souls' trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Season 2 is in progress, and it's been confirmed there will be a third and final season.

We have a new player joining! Welcome to Lysette Vargas. Let me know if you need any locations or anything, Lysette. I'll be happy to get them set up for you.

I've got some more work that I need to do, so I'll be a bit before I can get around to making more story post, though. Silly work, always getting in the way of my fun!

Relatable.

Welcome!Lysette Vargas.

Hi Lynette...great to have you here
oops lysette
This message was last edited by the player at 00:35, Wed 17 Feb 2021.

Dalion: Just a heads up that I plan to have the cops come looking for you in the AM. They're just trying to figure out what happened, and Dalion was on the scene. They figure he may have seen something.

Roger that, I'm actually waiting for time to move forward to the next day.

I was planning on making Dalion visit smooshed man A.K.A. Michael in the hospital the next day, so that should make it super easy for the police.

The reason he would go is because Dalion is curious about the explosion and he still believes that smooshed man could know something, he also wants to know if he survived.

Welcome, Lysette!

Ah! Okay. I'll set up the hospital location later this evening, then.

We could probably move on to the next day, for you. Ryan, George, and Solstice are all of doing their own things. I don't think it would disrupt things, unless the others had plans that might involve Dalion further?

I think that's a good idea

nope. forest run should be madman free

I didn't intend to go seeking anyone out

Nothing's happening at the Inn that can't be picked up 'the next day.'

Sounds good! It's on my agenda for tomorrow. I've sat here staring at a blank box for several minutes. And, now, I realize I'm too tired to be creative. I'm like, "It's a hospital. Many rooms. Much sick. Heart monitors go beep-beep-beep!"

Can relate. I teach english, you all must have figured out by now that english is not my native laguage. This weekend I had most of Sunday free, but I couldn't think of anything to write, I did the same as you, I stared at a black box thinking "ok, I need something to happen..."

Looking forward to writing with you all. I see some of you are wide open about who your characters are, some a little more reticent. I'll spend some time today picking my portrait and posting a background. Looking forward to some storytelling.

Welcome aboard! We look forward to crafting some awesome tales with you!

We're all about comfort level, here. So, share as little or as much as you like about your character. If you are secretive, we figure it'll all come out in the storytelling, anyway. :)

-----------

Just a heads up for everyone. We're supposed to be getting more ice storms here, starting tonight. So, I may end up losing power, internet, or both. If I disappear for a bit, it's because I'm sitting in the dark, playing Scrabble by candlelight with my son, most likely.

scary. Be safe.
 Im sitting in bed feeling great that its nice and cool, with a breeze for once. looking forward to sleeping without sweating horribly

Thanks! Everything just now melted from the ice storm we had this past weekend. I have a guy coming out to give me a quote on removing a big, ol' widowmaker that I have hanging over my driveway. (It broke, but didn't come all the way down. It's just hanging there, now... threateningly.) I'd like to get that taken down before more ice arrives!

Ugh! I hear you. I'm much better with sleeping when it's cold. You can always add more blankets. When it's hot, it's miserable. You can only get so naked!
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:07, Wed 17 Feb 2021.

I was gonna go to the fire Department place but it isnt on the list.

Sorry! I forgot to make the FD, this AM. I'll try to get that up at lunch.

Doubly so when you work an oh-god thirty shift and have to go to sleep before the sun sets, so in the summer, it's still light out and can be in the 90s.

Hated that.

Oh! And, blanket statement since there is a good chance my only access to the internet will be through my phone if the ice storm does hit, and I'm not going to attempt to type real posts on that tiny screen. But, I will keep an eye on things and be available for questions.

So... I have nothing planned for Michael, AKA "Smooshed Man." (Worst wrestling name EVAR.) So, anyone feel free to pick him up and run with him.

The only NPCs that I claim, right now, are:

Abraham (who you guys haven't met, yet. He owns the antiques store)
Detective Johnson
Lt. Cardenas
Samthann

If anyone wants to mess around with Q & Iris, that's fine. They're just a couple of garden pixies. I don't have any plot points hooked to them.

If you don't mind I'm gonna run the Fire department NPCs.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 357):

Roger that. I hope It doesn't get that uncomfortable there.

well, I was thinking that the whole talking to smooshed man would be just a red herring for Dalion.

Is there a map of the town? Do we know where we are? Sounds like the northwest (fir trees and such) but could be anywhere, I guess. Just curious.

Planning to set up in a strip mall that didn't quite make it on the outskirts of town, create some small businesses there and find the cool places in town to meet my fellow travelers.

Anyone have any plots in motion that could use a vampire?

Options I might suggest:

• Someone summons a demon they can't control and several unnaturals have to work together to contain and then banish it
  
• A rather creepy circus comes to town with unnaturals of their own who plan to destroy the town
  
• Someone is murdering unnaturals and the remaining ones need to work together to find out who it is and stop them

If I'm being too pushy. Let me know.