Avatar: Legends of the Dark Age

[CJ1145]

CJ, your assuming that more than 200 years in the future they wouldn't have better building materials and techniques. Think about us. Early 19th century you couldn't build more than 5 stories without being worried about earthquakes, wind speed, and dynamic weight. 200 years later? We have the materials and know-how to build 1000 foot structures in our sleep that can withstand constant-gale force winds. Most modern Skyscrapers can take a van packed with explosives to their lobbies and stay standing.

Now, assuming your concerns weren't bombs, but more often Earth-benders ripping chunks out of the wall, and metal benders wrecking supports. You would design a set of techniques and materials that would resist them, and use those for your supports. Girder's too pure to bend, composite concrete made from artificial materials that won't earth-bend and so on. Or wood. You know they could just use that stuff.

Also I will be getting a sheet up later.

Captain, if you can name a single building technique that gets around your building missing its entire support structure at the ground level, I will accept this train of thought. Scientific advancement may bring us a certain ways, but we have yet to master (nor will we ever master, in my opinion) the undeniable fact that without something to keep pushing it up, things are naturally going to fall. And I highly doubt the Republic is going to start attaching repulsor rockets to every last building in its territory. All we have to go on for architecture in this setting is a single picture, that looks pretty basic future-tech to me. An impenetrable cornucopia of engineering techniques, this is not.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

The reason I am denying the ability to stuff an eight foot tall railgun into a duffel bag, to rip down a building by its supports, or fucking lightsabers has very little to do with logic or believable scientific advancement and everything to do with the fact that I really do not want this RP to contain a guy capable of sniping City Hall with a bazooka from halfway across the city or a duo who can rip down buildings with casual ease. Why can't you do those things? Because I'm the DM and I said so. Rule Zero - the GM is right.

But you want an explanation? Here's one: Railguns do not exist in universe, and buildings are constructed using highly advanced alloys that are nearly impossible to metalbend, taking minutes to significantly effect even small amounts of. Happy now? Get out of my thread, you're not welcome here.

Let me be clear, my anger has nothing to do with the characters and everything to do with your refusal to accept my decision and continuing to argue even after I put my foot down. I don't mind the ideas behind it, but when I make a final decision I am in no mood to discuss it in a committee.

 

[Captainguy42]

Captain, if you can name a single building technique that gets around your building missing its entire support structure at the ground level, I will accept this train of thought. Scientific advancement may bring us a certain ways, but we have yet to master (nor will we ever master, in my opinion) the undeniable fact that without something to keep pushing it up, things are naturally going to fall. And I highly doubt the Republic is going to start attaching repulsor rockets to every last building in its territory. All we have to go on for architecture in this setting is a single picture, that looks pretty basic future-tech to me. An impenetrable cornucopia of engineering techniques, this is not.

If someone takes invests the time and power to sabotage (because let's be frank completely removing the support structure isn't neccassary) every single support in a building, then of course, it will fall. This is basic physics, you can't stand if there's nothing holding you up.

But let's remember time and power. In order to do this you need a decent amount of both, or an insane amount of one. I'll submit that a team of benders could do this. But one person? Without the raw power needed it would take a long time, they could easily be caught by them. And supposing they could do this quickly enough not to be caught? You would be talking about a ludicrously over-powered bender, I don't even think Toph could bend that many solid girders that quickly.

But the more important part is the materials. Now it's a simple fact that making a building correctly can be a matter of life and death. If a building collapses that could mean dozen even hundreds of lives lost. That's why when it comes to structural integrity, and making sure there are no glaring weaknesses good builders don't fuck around. You do not put a skyscraper if a single metal bender (which are incredibly common now) can tear down and kill everyone inside. In Legend of Korra we see that pure-metals can't be bent. Today, we can make steel that approaches an incredible level of purity. For the sake of keeping everyone in the building safe, it's not unreasonable to think they would go for an unbendable frame.

It's stated that most technology in this setting is advanced past out own. We make buildings that a single Earthquake can not destroy, they can easily make buildings that can't be destroyed by a single Bender. It's not hard, all they have to do is use the right materials, keeping in mind that even bending has it's limits.

 

[Pappytech]

...Well then.

So yeah, I was going to try and write up another character for the thread (because even if the idea is cheesy as all hell, it has the potential to be loads of fun), but I think I'll just go ahead and back out now.

CJ and Shadowstar have really said all that needs to be said on the matters of logic and inconsistency, but, Prince, that last post of yours is taking it up to 11. You're absolutely correct when you say that the GM's word is law; God knows I've invoked that rule more than a few times myself. However, you do not ask a player to justify their character/ideas, argue with them for half-a-dozen posts, and then pull the "I'm the GM" card.

If you had just told me that the railgun was unforgivably overpowered, I would have dropped it right off the bat.

Presumably, if you had just told CJ that toppling buildings was just too much for a two-man team, he would have moved onto a different character(s). Badda-bing, badda-boom, problem solved and crisis averted.

But instead, you ask us to justify our ideas. When we do, you're satisfied to poke holes in our explanations. When we fill in those holes, you poke new ones. When we fill in those holes, that's when you shut us down! Do not tell someone to defend themselves and refuse to listen when they do; that's just terrible etiquette!

I know that everybody has their own rules and that your style of RPing is probably going to be significantly different from my own, but I'm still hard-pressed to imagine a "fun" game when the GM utterly refuses to listen to his players and their ideas.

Still, you probably know something I don't, and I do hope that this thread ends up working out for you. I meant what I said about the setting being interesting; hopefully you can pull it off.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Snip

Have you found anything wrong with my bow character? I would like your input and know any needed changes for his acceptance.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Quite good, actually. I don't think I see anything that needs to be changed.

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Quite good, actually. I don't think I see anything that needs to be changed.

Oh, did I forget to mention he shoots metal bending rail guns as arrows that are stapled to nukes?

 

[drmigit2]

I am noticing two major issues with the formatting of this whole sheet deal. First off, you had a world in mind with clear sets of rules and what-not and you are entirely inflexible with these. This wouldn't be a problem if you established what these rules are in the OP. See, you said in technology that there are cyber augments and no guns. That's fine and dandy but when you see people with giant fist mounted pulsar gloves that send everything in a 100 meter radius flying in the air, you can't be shocked. You set yourself up for failure by these two standards.

Through my experience in GMing, if you can't come up with a list of available weaponry and set clear limits on what it can do, (this takes a lot of dedication and time) then you need to give players freedom with their choices. You have failed to do either and as you can see, none of the regulars are even considering joining now after your fallout.

 

[drmigit2]

As a continuation, for the bloodbending issue or any overpowered issue, you need to come up with a realistic reason why they can't bloodbend. If I were you, I would have instead of simply saying no you can't bloodbend, you can totally do it, but if anyone ever sees you doing it you will be arrested and killed within a day because this government has decided that bloodbending is a threat. Something like that. I never was a fan of just saying no you can't without any explaining.

A lot of GMs forget that while this is their story, the other people aren't just on a ride. They are actively building the story with you and would appreciate a decent amount of control over their destiny and what they can do. All of these restrictions you are making aren't in the OP so I find it silly to get mad over something that the OP made sound perfectly okay.

 

[Lizmichi]

*sigh* Bitching to the GM, never ends well for anyone.

 

[Lizmichi]

Spoiler: Zila

Name: Zila Tongfa

Age: 25

Gender: Female

Appearance: Her skin is slightly tan due to being raised in the Fire Nation. Her body is athletically built and an average weight. She stands around 5' 8". Her black hair is kept short not going below her chin and kept somewhat messy, her bangs going over her face some covering the left corner of her left eye. Her eyes a deep blue with a darker steel blue color near the iris.

She wears a necklace with the symbol of the fire Nation and the Water Tribes mixed with red and blue glass beads. She wears a deep red cloak with a hood the can cover her face when it rains. Her undershirt is robe like ending at her elbows and ties off on the side. The back of the shirt extending past her hips to her mid-thigh while the front ends at her hips. Her pants are black and connected to her shoes. Her shoes are a simple pair of black boots with a sole meant for long travel as well as combat. Her pants are like traditional fire bender garbs.

Personality: At first glance she seems serious but really she just wants to return things back to the way they were when her parents we're growing up. She takes her role as a fire bender very seriously and, like many fire benders, is driven by honor to do the best she can. She will give and do anything for a loved one and will defend an ally with her dying breath. She was raised to depend on the others around her; after all, in her mind they're the only people you have in life are your allies; which can be friend?s family and every those fighting for the same cause. She?s a giving and caring person but years of fighting for the freedom of benders and running for her life has hardened her making it hard to get to know her. In truth she's strong willed and driven.

Skills: The first skill you'd notice about her is her fire and lightning bending skills. When bends fire the flames are blue and smaller then average fire benders. Her fighting is very traditional and well honed. Her martial arts match her bending skills, seeing as how both in interconnected. Her lighting bending skills match her fire bending. She's accurate and never misses her target. She's even able to create her own lighting, not just bend it.

Beside her bending, she is trained in Tessenjutsu, the martial art of Japanese fighting fans which allows her to block arrows, darts and spears to an extent. she can also throw small projectiles.

Gear: She carries a lighter with her to augment her fire bending and to make her more useful when it rains; the spark from the lighter also helps her lighting bending. She doesn't carry much gear wise other than the basic travel needs. Her only weapon is her silk fan with steel bars hiding in the fan it's for when she uses Tessenjutsu. She carries throwing knives, kunai and throwing needles that she charges with lightning., some are coated with gas that she lights with her fire bending.

History: Her parents, the father a fire bender and her mother a water bender, were born and raised before the rise of the Equalists and the Republic, thus she and her brother, a water bender, where raised with the understanding the benders are just like none benders. She was around 5 when things turned and when the Fire Nation fell her family ran to the south to get away and find some rebels to join with. That's when her family found a Resistance group. Zila and her brother grew up with their parents fighting the Republic with the Resistance. When she turned 18 she was allowed to fight on her own or lead small groups. She's been fight for the freedom of the world since then.

 

[drmigit2]

No, I don't need to come up with a reason. The reason is "It isn't allowed because it's too powerful and I don't want it." Do you see people running Superhero RPs explaining why they don't allow mind control as a power? Or why Counterattack's Demigods RP prohibits Charmspeech? No, they don't need to explain, it's fucking overpowered, that's the only reason I need.

DrMigit, let me make one thing very clear. The day when I ask -your- opinion on how I run an RP is the day I stop RPing altogether and turn to something less humiliating like dumpster diving. This discussion is over, get out of my thread.

Yeah except while they are making new worlds, you are using a previously established one that does have blood benders. You can't hand wave things especially when your OP is vauge as all hell.

As for your outburst, keep in mind that I do remember you being kicked out of more than one rp for this very attitude. You are like a paranoid king of a molehill. Have fun with the roleplay that you chased everyone out of.

 

[CJ1145]

No, I don't need to come up with a reason. The reason is "It isn't allowed because it's too powerful and I don't want it." Do you see people running Superhero RPs explaining why they don't allow mind control as a power? Or why Counterattack's Demigods RP prohibits Charmspeech? No, they don't need to explain, it's fucking overpowered, that's the only reason I need.

DrMigit, let me make one thing very clear. The day when I ask -your- opinion on how I run an RP is the day I stop RPing altogether and turn to something less humiliating like dumpster diving. This discussion is over, get out of my thread.

I was going to leave the thread, seeing as this was a lost cause. Congratulations, though, you have performed the blood sacrifice and the incantations necessary to return me from my realm of hellish nightmares. This is the attitude that makes the shittiest of GMs. I've watched, and even participated in a few of your RPs, and I've seen the same damned problem in every one of them: you think it's a book.

You treat every player character as if they were your own creation and property, to do with as you please. You already have it planned out precisely how this plot is going to go down, and you go to absurd lengths to keep it on its rails. That's not what a GM does. A GM is not the only player, he is simply the one delivering the experience to the others. If a player has their own ideas of how their character or their arc should play out, as a member and contributor to the experience they are entitled to a better answer than "I'm a power-hungry bastard".

For the record? I do run a superpower RP. And if someone wants an explanation for why their preferred method of play isn't viable, I'll tell them. It's a matter of making sure everyone is having fun. Not YOU, Prince. Everyone.

So anyways, yeah, your douchiness. You're so hostile and unwilling to compromise on a single idea, you've driven off half the applicants. What are you left with? An archer that is literally just Sokka, a girl whose life completely fails to fit within your timeline (which is so vague, I can't even blame her), and an airbender that is a reskinned copy of my character in the Avatar RP that already exists, literally down to having the same name. Good luck with that.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

HA HA HA HA HA OH FUCKING HELL.

Don't tell me how to run an RP, CJ. I was in Gundam. That's enough said, really.

 

[CJ1145]

There's an old story about an object called Pandora's Box. Perhaps you're familiar with it?

Need I remind you of Hunter: the Vigil, which crashed in beautiful, catastrophic explosions Gundam could only begin to aspire to?

Or do I have to bring up Titans, where you wrenched control of the RP to invent NPCs that did not exist to kill off your own character, because you're so obsessed with control you think you know how to run an RP better than the one who already knows its every secret? I should have brought this one up sooner, actually, it's an excellent demonstration of the kind of control freak behavior you get up to.

 

[Pappytech]

You know, I'm starting to see a pattern here.

People take the time to build an argument against you. They compile points that address any complaints you've brought up, flesh out their characters/ideas a bit more, and take the time to explain why they think this way. In other words, they put enough effort into it to build a decent foundation for their assertions and have the patience to actually develop their arguments.

Then you step in and, instead of replying in kind with your own arguments, insult, belittle, and act all high and mighty. Simply because you've got the OP.

Someone trying to defend their character? Shut up, I'm the GM, get out of the thread.

Someone criticize your GMing style? Shut up, I'm better than you, get out of the thread.

Someone counter your earlier assertions? Shut up, you failed at something once, get out of the thread.

Yeah. That's a great environment for breeding entertainment and fun.

In closing: Code MENT. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-5nIitL7KAc#t=187s] That is all.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

I killed off my character to exit the RP, therefore I'm a control freak?

Wow. That's...

Wow. I have no words.

Pappytech, I tried to be reasonable. But when you flat out ignore what the GM says - I.E. that certain components of your character are unacceptable and you need to change them - eventually the DM is going to lose patience and tell you to fuck off.

 

[Shadowstar38]

Dude. You killed her off with people that didn't even exist. Every threat was dead and you frabricated more stuff out of thin air to make your exit. You were more or less overriding the GM's job.

If you want to quit an RP, bow out gracefully and don't will things into existance just to make a big event out of your character going.

 

[CJ1145]

Prince, I've had players withdraw from my RPs before. They tended to do so in a respectful, pleasant manner. I then, either with their permission or on their suggestion, killed off their characters or shifted them into a new role to serve the plot. The story chugs on with no hindrances, and even allows for new directions that couldn't have been followed prior to their leaving.

You, on the other hand, raised a big hissy fit and without bothering to make a semblance of cordiality invented characters in a situation where there were none to suit your personal desires for a flashy exit, and gave me a headache to iron out in a way that actually kind of made sense with the surrounding actions. If you'd asked me to kill your character off, or even switched her over to the other side, I'd have been happy to do so. Instead, you chose to take the matter into your own hands to make some kind ill-conceived point. Which, frankly, is pretty immature.

 

[PrinceOfShapeir]

Yeah, okay, CJ. Whatever floats your boat. If you have such a problem with me, why'd you apply here? Hey, why are you still here? Why don't you toddle off back to your little RP, please. Thank you.