Oh, and talking of toffs, Doctor Lovelace, I'm not quite reading Martin as the type (books to buy, tobacco to smoke and all that), but do you have a fellow to do this sort of thing for you?

Yes, I think I should like that. It sounds like a fun prospect.

Ha! All right, give me a name (and any other preferences) for not-Jeeves in PM and I'll see if I can find a slot for him. Currently working on the last of those setting notes.

Dr. Lovelace is the only one I've yet to have a sketch of an intro for, but being carefully dressed by your trusty servant would actually be a nice way to settle into the character's shoes, so to speak. his stockings, at least.

edit: typo!
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:44, Sat 26 June 2021.

[bops other threads to the top]

Next stop when not silly in the morning, in-game posts! Just need to confirm a few things and check we've not lost Mr. Bees, and give the vicar some description, really.

Incidentally, if anyone has a 'thanks, I hate it' reaction to any of the local folk tradtions/lore, please know that it's barely modified, and <90% is just random bits of English folklore stuck together.

#....dee doopy doopy do-be-do-be do-be-do-be do-be-do-be...#

I believe young Ben is all set for the inaugural posting.

I went down a rabbit hole concerning the construction of oil cloth garments for the better part of thirty minutes.

That's always a promising sign.

Fred Yendale (Maggie's Dad) had several stories about his ventures on the fringes of the Wyzenwood. The best was of a time he ventured too deep inside, finding a fountain and a pool. When he started to go, he had to race against the gathering gloom. Branches clutched at his clothing and he heard the cackling of the witch as she sought to keep him. He barely made it out and into his own field before the sun set.

Hello all, still here and very busy. Thomas looks to be finished for the best part. Thanks.


-

Thanks, Long Tom. Looking in is appreciated.

@Ben - I certainly consider it a good sign, but then again, I am all about the potatoes, so to speak.

(Incidentally, the more common/less exotic and exciting crop in England as yet would be turnips. Expect turnips in contexts where modern potatoes would be today, and expect curry to be more an excersise in showing off access to spices than any sane balance of flavour. If it sounds Indian, it's exciting!)

@Maggie - nice, loving the living rural legend there.

@Martin - reminder that I'll need the name of your manservant to start drafting your bit.

Continued thanks to both of you waiting on me to check numbers, for numbers are hard, but at least I know what Skills you possess! Right now I am aiming to go to bed within the hour, since I have a punishingly early start tomorrow.

Update: Started drafts for non-Martin threads, disliked drafts, started over, got distracted by new washing machine issues, need to go to bed soon to be up early, still within the three days of "new field season sore". Ugh.

Whilst I'm here, though, do people have past/present tense preferences? That may be partly why I was getting in such a tangle with the scene-setting - if we have a tie with those I can ask the Magic 8-Ball.

Continued thanks for bearing with the hanging about, I'm getting there, honest.

I'm partial to past myself, but am content with either.

Does Geoffrey work?



Ditto.

I prefer present for myself, as it makes things seem more immediate and let's me differentiate between what I'm doing now and what I did yesterday. But I don't have any problem with others using past.

In reply to Margaret Yendale (msg # 33): All right, that puts us presently at a tie, counting myself - Tom and Andrew?

@Martin - unusual but possible for someone of that class, though Martin will probably refer to his valet by surname...of which Geoffreys is found in the region Martin comes from. Alternatively, you could give the cast a Welshman to harass; Griffiths is common.

To be honest, it seems as though I generally default to present tense in the games I participate in. So, I suppose that would be my preference by way of habit. That said, if the general consensus is for past tense, I’ll happily go along with the majority.

Hm! Looks like it's up to either Tom or the Magic 8-Ball...

Update!

Still not dead. Been busier than I thought and lost a chunk of yesterday both to being asleep and letting a fellow on the edge of a mental breakdown in the park tell someone his woes (he legitimately had a lot; I pointed him at a local mental health/anti-loneliness-in-idleness charity and the works of Guy Gavriel Kay before leaving, but yeah, recovery and rehabilitation services must've had it hard through the pandemic). Aiming for tonight, fingers crossed. If I don't hear from Long Tom by then and/or the player below has no preference, I'll ask the Magic 8-Ball what tense we're in.

Sally Ann's player from the Australian game has joined us and I hope I'm up to the task - since we did have a prior agreement but no time was available until this late in setup the player is taking an NPC that was close enough to concept to get going with. The Reverend Palmer now has a player! You must now all protect your squishy vicar.


edit: ...or maybe not. I will take the grace of remembering that it's some kind of holiday for several of you and cease to state even tentative certainties, but I do pledge game posts as soon as I get time and capacity to do so. My sincere apologies for the delays and thanks for your patience.

Meanwhile, from wandering about the internet yesterday, this person isn't wrong: https://twitter.com/NeurologNy.../1411088892720160768
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:12, Sun 04 July 2021.

Hello everyone! Looking forward to not go insane and/or die horribly!

Welcome, Reverend! Glad to have you with us!

Indeed, you are very welcome Reverend. :)

All right, going to bed now so as to get 6 hours asleep...I think my vaccinated arm is less sore this time around, but that doesn't entirely help. Ben & Maggie, you at least have dreams now. They are horrible.

I kind of want to draw Trugred now, but yes, working in background. Bear with me, I'm trying to get decent quality out on the table first thing, is all. Everyone who still needs to fill in bits of their backstories, you do that whilst you wait...

Also, I think I'm changing our local highway robber's name to be even more blatantly a pseudonym, just in case that goes over anyone's head. His name might actually be Robert, but.

Must sleep. Grateful y'all are stll about. Going.

Posts will go up as they're finished, since I'm tired of drafts hanging about - folk who aren't Ben/Maggie, please bear with me a bit longer...

Also, with a mild regretful shrug towards my present-tense Keepering friends, the Magic 8-Ball declares us to be in the past tense - try to use it if possible to avoid general confusion.

edit for clarity: Going to bed now, though! 6am starts and all...
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:35, Thu 08 July 2021.

No worries chief! Take your time.

I really appreciate the patience (incidentally, that first post has dream sequences you can't see, so is really twice as long), though I'm also trying not to be the annoying sort of GM who sets an unrealistic timescale and then either spends every day apologising for not sticking to it or vanishes off the face of the earth and wonders where half the players went when they roll up two months later...

Anyway- [shoos doctor towards backstory] The more I have to work with, the more flavour you get, like, y'know, pottage.

Could everyone add a biography line with who they are? Helps me not have to click open descriptions every time. Thanks.

Oh, and Rob Anybody? Priceless!

[distant "I am, darling!" from Rob] Given he hunts a broad range to conceal his base of operations, you can imagine the bemusement of travellers trying to report instances of rural armed robbery with a relatively decent description of a masked man, only to receive the response "hmm...could be Anybody."

Yesterday's excuse was that I got gently kidnapped by Irishwomen after work, today's may be some jobs I expected to do Sunday getting moved up, but rest assured I am working on posts for the other players (and started to draw Trugred at lunch break huddled out of the wind - it's a good 'oss, that).