Before requesting access, you are required to read the following:
Game rules may be subject to change.
Applications will not be accepted on a first come-first served basis. Please take some time and give some thought to your answers. Try to provide specific instead of generalised answers.
SECTION I. PLAYER QUESTIONNAIRE
- Please provide your age and year of birth.
- What is your current time zone?
- What is your average posting rate?
- What is your first language, if not English?
- Why do you wish to join this game?
- What are your expectations for this game?
- What is your experience with gaming in general?
- What are the sorts of things do you enjoy? (In terms of games, books, movies, et cetera. I'm interested in hearing about anything, really.)
- What are taboo issues for you? (For example, some people are averse to games that depict drug usage in any way. Others feel uncomfortable with current political issues.)
- Please provide a writing sample. (I'm mostly looking for correct spelling, adherence to the rules of grammar, good diction, interesting ideas, and so forth.)
SECTION II. CHARACTER QUESTIONNAIRE
Think of this second questionnaire like a pitch. You are pitching your character for the game. Some characters may not fit with the game I'm trying to run. Or perhaps won't fit with the characters other players are running. My philosophy is that there needs to be a synergy between the players, GM, and the
characters so that we're all rooting for the same thing.
Which in my opinion, should be "a successful game".
Write a paragraph of text for a character, like you'd see in a story outline, describing the most essential elements of your character. What kind of arc do you envision for the character? What do you envision their story to be about? Try to capture what makes them unique as a character.
Compose your pitch in complete, grammatical sentences. No lists of abilities; no sentence fragments. It's okay to submit only one pitch, but would be better if you do more. Ideally, I would like to see three to five character pitches, after which I will pick the best one for a more in-depth focus. Each character pitch should be around 200-300 words long.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Here are some answers to some questions you might have.
What is the Big Picture?
The game chronicles the potential rise or fall of the Grey Company. It's fallen on hard times recently, and depending on the members of the Company, they can rise to its more noble past or fall into disgrace or even become utterly annihilated.
Following the centuries after the wars with the Dark Lands, the Free Companies began to disband one by one. Only the Grey Company and a few others remain. For some, their fortunes rose, as they gained noble rank and were granted lands in exchange for their services. For the Grey Company, however, something happened in the distant past that seemed to have been the cause for their current woes. Even now they eke out a meager existence as a mercenary band. However, this past is not something the current members are aware of, nor is it something they need pursue if they wish not to.
Who are the players supposed to be?
The player characters are members of the Grey Company. They can be soldiers or warriors as well as men of noble rank, but they can just as likely be magi and elves and those of other races. Read the
Reference: Setting document for more information on the Circles of the Known World, as things work differently here than they do in other fantasy settings.
However, your ideas are your own, and I enjoy being surprised by the creativity of others. Perhaps you'd like to play an intelligent greathound capable of speaking with Men. Or you'd like to play a dragon only just hatched. Or whatever your imagination conjures. Let me know, and we can work something out! :)
Is this Middle-earth?
No. While it may seem I have taken liberally from Middle-earth (I have, as well as from elsewhere), I see it as simply a source for inspiration. This game takes place in a world with a separate cosmology and history, though it evokes many of the same themes from the books that I love and cherish.
What do you mean by "home-brewed system"?
The system I'm using is more about using a quick resolution mechanic, to get the mechanics out of the way of the story and the fiction. Rolling a d20 with bonuses and penalties versus a specific target number is pretty easy to reason about. It is a level-less, class-less system that only inherits very broadly from its Dungeons and Dragons forbear and focuses more intently narrative, minimalist action.
If you are more interested in optimizing your build, killing everything in sight, and gaining treasure, this is probably not the game for you. Nor are we going to go into lengthy combats every time, with round by round blow-by-blows. That's not the point of this game.
I'm far more excited about exploring interesting characters in a fantastical milieu. :)
So this is freeform?
No. It's far more involved than simply freeform or even guided freeform or even freeform with rolls thrown in. We're using the
Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition ruleset, with many of the class features, spells, et cetera from that system, but home-brewed to be able to play a game about good versus evil.
Luckily, there's a handy
Reference: System document if you're curious.
What about game balance?
I take a more nuanced approach to balance than is espoused in D&D. Remember that this game isn't about combat per se. As long as every character has something interesting to do, I don't see a really huge problem. Often in stories you have an ensemble cast of characters with widely differing skillsets. You can have Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn in the same company and the same story.
A Tolkienesque style
How does one write like Tolkien? How indeed? How does one paint like Michelangelo, for that matter? Or move like Jagger?
Some basic tips:
- Write in an intentionally archaic style. Not Shakespearean, but certainly not contemporary.
- Avoid anachronisms, modern expressions (Elrond never said “Whoa! Awesome, dude!”), and excessive use of contractions.
- Read some Tolkien (or listen to some of his works in audio) to get a feel for the man’s style. If it’s been a while, crack open one of his master works and give yourself a little refresher!
- This is a very interesting short essay written by Hilarius and Felix: How to Write Like Tolkien. It’s a ninety second read, but it offers a couple of very practical pointers.
Campaign Precepts
These are some important campaign precepts to keep in mind when creating characters and playing the game.
Heroes are heroic. In this game, there is an
expectation of heroism. This means certain behaviours commonly found in other games are out of place here. The company don’t steal from one another, or try to get the biggest slice of pie: they proactively help and care for one another. Where player characters in other games may choose to intimidate, steal, murder, rob and hoard gold, eventually becoming a tyrant, these aren’t things we would see here in our story. The heroes are bonded by a common Enemy and actively strive with one another, though of course they may falter from time to time from the righteous path.
Some characters may rise to this expectation and do great good. Others, may fail, and redeem themselves only in death or through great suffering. The right path may not always be clear, nor easy. It may not even be achievable – Frodo, for example, did his best, but still failed at the climax of the quest of the Ring – but there is always a moral choice to be made.
The road goes on, but the journey is greater than the destination. Most epic fantasy heroes undertake great journeys and must overcome peril and hardship on the way. The world is wide and little-travelled. Most people never stray far from where they were born, and there is little communication between North and South, East and West. Some races were even seen as figures out of legends in some places, as most had never seen an elf, a dwarf, or even a hobbit.
The years are long. The world is an ancient place, with a rich and varied history. To the elves, these passing years are a trifle, for they are immortal and recall the Elder Days. All others, though, are mortal and have short lives; the deeds of their ancestors have passed into legend and are mostly forgotten, save in the stories and songs that are a key part of their own lore. Players should keep this in mind, that there is a history to the world that is waiting to be discovered.
Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, this game will take place over extended periods of time. Some quests might play out over only a few short months, but in general, this game will unfold slowly, with time to breathe in between adventures.
The Long Defeat in a Fallen World. The battle between Good and Evil, Light and Dark, is a history of defeat after defeat suffered by the Light punctuated by bright, fleeting victories over the Dark. Good is not an unassailable force, but is instead constantly chipped away at over the long years. It is an endless struggle, and while one Dark Lord may fall, one will surely rise to take its place.
Deliverance arrives as all seems lost. Tolkien coined the term
eucatastrophe for the joyful turning of the tide at the darkest of hours. In short,
"The Eagles are coming!"
However, the heroes should not rely upon
deus ex machina to get them out of tight spots or to solve their problems for them. It is by their own heroic actions that the grace of the gods comes, after all.
Style
I expect players to think about their characters' inner life and thoughts and feelings and be descriptive about such in their posts. Some players have only posted their outward physical actions, which is fine for some games, but not the ones I run. I'm interested in character arcs and narratives and emotional pay-offs and so forth.
Lay out your character's backstory gradually. The tendency of most players is to get it all out at the beginning, sometimes in the first post. I've had some players whose first posts were their entire backstory, with 1000 words or more.
Don't do that.
Not only is it contravention to the posting guidelines, but we're just getting to know the characters, the world, the story. The less you spill, the more that is retained. Leave us wanting more, instead of wanting to skim.
Collaboration
I expect players to be open to collaboration in the fiction. I'll rein you back if I feel you come up with something that contradicts the world, but players should generally be open to suggestions from other players and the GM. We're all in charge of the fiction together. You can write for another NPC, just as much as I can. Someone else can even chime in and move other characters around if their idea makes for a more interesting story.
I'm even okay with player characters moving other player characters, with each other's permission, of course. Comfort levels may vary, but if I was playing Doc Brown, and another was playing Marty, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for me to move Marty in such a way:
quote:
"Great Scott!" said Doc Brown.
"What is it, Doc?" Marty said.
If you do move another PC or NPC, be sure to be open to making edits if someone says you're doing something to make them go out of character.
Regarding Romance
I'll leave it up to the players whether they'll engage their characters in a romance. Personally, I prefer for romance to arise organically in the story, as opposed to something that is forced or the "point" or the main driver of a game.
Nice as romance is, my aims and interests do not revolve around romance, but instead are concerned with the overarching narrative and the character arcs I'm trying to build in complicated webs between the characters. Romance can play its part, and maybe even a vital part for some arcs, but keep in mind that it's only one part amidst many others. o
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:36, Mon 27 Mar 2023.
