The Tower of Druaga (heroic fantasy- Started)

[TheNaut131]

Oh boy, I worded that last post weirdly didn't I?

As the device took affect, it inadvertently sped up the storm, but in the end it caused the storm to sorta burn itself out.

The shards only destroyed a few houses, in case you're wondering.

And as for Caedis's punch...well, let's just say she's still kind of in her angry-crazy-murderous-warrior mode and is still a bit...volatile.

I'll edit it so it makes a bit more sense.

 

[hiei82]

Oh boy, I worded that last post weirdly didn't I?

As the device took affect, it inadvertently sped up the storm, but in the end it caused the storm to sorta burn itself out.

The shards only destroyed a few houses, in case you're wondering.

And as for Caedis's punch...well, let's just say she's still kind of in her angry-crazy-murderous-warrior mode and is still a bit...volatile.

Gotcha. So in that case, the storm sent out the "shockwave" that knocked Aleister from the sky?

 

[TheNaut131]

Oh boy, I worded that last post weirdly didn't I?

As the device took affect, it inadvertently sped up the storm, but in the end it caused the storm to sorta burn itself out.

The shards only destroyed a few houses, in case you're wondering.

And as for Caedis's punch...well, let's just say she's still kind of in her angry-crazy-murderous-warrior mode and is still a bit...volatile.

Gotcha. So in that case, the storm sent out the "shockwave" that knocked Aleister from the sky?

Pretty much. The device finished up with a final push and the storm just sorta went poof.

And I edited my post so part of it makes a bit more sense.

*sigh* Farmer Batman: Making things confusing since forever.

 

[hiei82]

Oh boy, I worded that last post weirdly didn't I?

As the device took affect, it inadvertently sped up the storm, but in the end it caused the storm to sorta burn itself out.

The shards only destroyed a few houses, in case you're wondering.

And as for Caedis's punch...well, let's just say she's still kind of in her angry-crazy-murderous-warrior mode and is still a bit...volatile.

Gotcha. So in that case, the storm sent out the "shockwave" that knocked Aleister from the sky?

Pretty much. The device finished up with a final push and the storm just sorta went poof.

And I edited my post so part of it makes a bit more sense.

*sigh* Farmer Batman: Making things confusing since forever.

Not really, just this post for me (and only at the end) - besides, I'm no master of clarity either ^_^

 

[NastoK]

Sorry for the wait everyone, I've just been flooded with things to do this week and no time for a legit post in the game thread.

So, anyway, point is I just posted.

Hey, better late than never. Yet you don't even mention the walking suit of armor? I'm so insulted.*goes off and cries in the corner*

I think at the part where he was mentioning everyone he wrote Atticus instead of Damien.

Atticus tearing apart miners

That part.

On a different note, to go back to what Asc ask (the new RP he plans to start); I don't have any setting I'd really like to do, but what I'd love is if we weren't all so durable and powerful. Why can't we have wonderlusting adventurers that can't swing a sword instead of master swordsmen/spearwomen/bowwomen/golems/other?

Know what? If anyone wants to go killing, or rather, destroying Stonefuse, it's fine with me. We'll just have to figure out how to do that as he's, erm, well.. Stonefuse.

 

[hiei82]

Atticus tearing apart miners

That part.

On a different note, to go back to what Asc ask (the new RP he plans to start); I don't have any setting I'd really like to do, but what I'd love is if we weren't all so durable and powerful. Why can't we have wonderlusting adventurers that can't swing a sword instead of master swordsmen/spearwomen/bowwomen/golems/other?

Know what? If anyone wants to go killing, or rather, destroying Stonefuse, it's fine with me. We'll just have to figure out how to do that as he's, erm, well.. Stonefuse.

1) When have I had my bow be effective? I've used the thing three times (as far as I remember) - once on a disembodied arm, once on a really big fish, and once on this past group of miners, the arm fight being the most effective as no one fought back (The arrows were only a delivery device for Prail's venom against the shark and the miners healed the hits I made. Just disputing the word "master" - Faunra is competent at best. I designed Faunra to specifically not be a combat monkey, but a stealthy thief/woodsman type - the reason why she gets injured so much.

Just saying.

2) I think the combat-focus is just a useful trope of fantasy adventure - combat is exciting, interesting, and keeps the plot moving. Where would the plot go if we just wandered from level to level with no conflict? The climbers are just people who travel so it's unlikely they would be drawn into any grand political schemes or subtle evil cults since any conflict they cause would be isolated to a specific level. And, even if we [i/]were[/i] drawn into such a conflict, in what way would we respond but with violence? We lack connections, allies, resources, etc to form a counter-political/religious-movement and eventually we would need to confront the antagonist, which in a world where magic is both powerful and real, cannot dramatically end in a non-violent way.

You could make an argument for a mystery story, where the plot revolves around understanding some hidden truth (whether it revolve around a murder, stolen macguffin, secret organization, etc), but even then we would have to confront the antagonist at some point. Lastly, both of these ideas requires large amounts of time on a single level and prolonged engagement by all people. Combats have a definitive end - when one side can no longer continue - and if one person disappears for a week, combat can continue and conclude regardless. If a person disappears in a mystery story, with some vital clue connected to his character, the game master [b/]MUST[/b] control the character to reach an end point, making the story both a logistical nightmare and upsetting for the missing player should they come back and discover some element of their character has been irrevocably changed without their consent. Example: What if when you were gone for a week, you came back to find that Stonefuse had discovered he was actually created from the remains of some stone creature. This may by tangential or even counter to what you had envisioned for Stonefuse as a character, but the event took place so long ago in game time that there is little you can do to change it short of a deus-ex retcon.

In the end, physical conflict is just more manageable then other types of conflict for a forum game. That's not to say it cannot be done, it just requires a group of dedicated players with that kind of idea in mind for the game - elements that are hard to come by.

 

[NastoK]

Spoiler: WARNING, WALL OF TEXT - PROCEED WITH CAUTION

You misunderstand. I have nothing against combat, though I must admit reading about fights was never as enthralling as discovering a master plot of preferably epic proportions. No, what I do mind is that we always come out winning, and it's always the same story. Yes, Faunra isn't that combat oriented as some of the rest of the group, and I applaud your willingness to get her hurt. Damein as well got wounds, and it's a nice reminder that he's not unkillable. What awestruck me the most was when Etrius lost his eye. I was so pleasantly surprised with Viking's post and what I can only presume (and hope) was his alacrity to do it.

No. What I do mind is characters that aren't a swordsman, or a bowman, or a farmer, but are instead the swordsman, the bowman, the farmer. They are the cliche (the preview shows the e (é ) as some chinese symbol for all I can tell) protagonist - they can fall into trouble, but none that they couldn't escape from, they have obstacles infront of them, but none that are unpassable. They have skills, or powers, or knowledge, or gear that makes them special, a guardian angel that's got their back. Any and all of this.

And it's okay. I understand the why. Everyone wants to be someone special, someone interesting, someone magical. If we didn't, we would just be busy with our otherwise (questionably) mundane lives. Why would I want to clean the house, make lunch, go to work or school or other obligational event in an RP when I can do that in real life? I wouldn't! I'd want an exceptional story to take part in! I'd want to be the fully armored in tech gear with a power sword from the Warhammer universe guy. I'd want to be the all so majestic looking with magicly transforming hands and feet into talons bird man. Be the strange young all in white wizard amnesiac, or the cheerful masterswordsman with 3 blades in 1 except when I'm a badass reaper of souls with a scythe. Or why wouldn't I be the all so clever and smart inventor that never runs out of his doodads or the supplies needed to make them and also has a wicked slingshot that doesn't look like one and - oh yeah - also has a wind spell (if I remember correctly), and just so he'd be more awesome uses tons of, again, cliche jokes that we've all grown to either chuckle at or facepalm ourselves when we hear them. And then again maybe I want to be the bitter battleready spearmaster chick that goes into a frenzy when blood covers her eyes?

I know! Why don't I be a golem so we don't have a group full of, what I'll now start calling meatbags? That'll be different and interesting! And why don't I have this cool ability to fuse with solid objects? Wouldn't that be rad? Yes it would! Oh oh, I know, and let's make the golem resistant to magic! Imagine how much fun that will be!

Except it's not.

He can't die. The only thing that could've hurt him was Damiens power sword, and even if it were to cut through Stonefuse, the golem would just re-fuse, repair, or whatever. Except, remember how he picked up that piece of dragonscale after the fight with Calgradni? Yes, well, now, f*** you Damien, you can't get through dragonscales, so you might as well shove that sword up some dark hole.

Stonefuse was made overpowered and his drawback was that he was a twat and couldn't function on his own. Then I got bored by his passiveness as I wanted to actually play a role instead of just being in an RP thread and I took the drawback away. And I made him even more overpowered in the process.

So let's face it. Yes, maybe I want something different because I made the most overpowered PC in this RP (except Aleister when he got his reaper form but I'll get to that later}, but the point is our characters should be formed as we're formed in real life - through experiences. From the ground up, from nothing to godlike. And those experiences should come from events ingame, so we get to actually feel the progress we're making and feel proud of our characters. Of couse we'll have overpowered PCs when everything we face is also overpowered.

And what now? How do I make Stonefuse less powerful? Do I even want to? What do I do? I kill him, that's what, and start from scratch. But how do I kill him? How do I destroy him? I need someone who's more powerful then he is. Like Alesiter for example.

He's a reaper of souls and can't be killed (how do you kill a reaper?). And what's Stonefuse's weak spot? He's got a soul. So Stonefuse shouldn't have been borned at all(he died, if you can call it that, as a fetus for crying out loud), meaning he has no place in the world of the living. So why doesn't Sutcliff tell Aleister to reap Stonefuse's soul? The alternative would be waiting until we reach someone powerful enough to do the deed. And that's what I plan on doing when we reach my level, if Stonefuse lasts that long.

Out of all our group members, I find only two that tickle my fancy. One would be Prail. While she too is overpowered, the Lallowen weren't made for a medieval setting, but a science fiction one, so I find it forgivable (might be because I'm fascinated by the idea of Lallowens). And the other one is Ramirez, who actually seems human to me, though I might have that impression because Asc barely posts.

tl;dr

So, in summation: I don't mind this RP, but Asclepion asked what we'd want, and I said that I would want an RP where my PC doesn't have to be overpowered or at all skillful in order for me to play.

Disclaimer: If any or all feel offended or called out (I'm looking at you Evrant), please don't overreact, none of this was ment to offend or provoke.

P.S. If I've made some grammar mistakes, ignore them, can't be bothered to check the whole damned post.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

NastoK, I am not offended by your words above; in fact, you make some good points. Look, if there are any suggestions you want to make, on how to make my character better, and more likeable in your case; please don't hesitate to drop me a private message. But don't make it big changes, instead, changes that can be more easily implemented, possibly even subtle.

But answer me this, was it wrong for me to have Aleister become a Reaper? Yes, I know it was sudden, but it was the first thing that came into my head, and then I tried basing something around it. In a way, it is still a learning process for him; as it is for me.

But also, what was your giant wall of text meant to do?

 

[Redryhno]

snip

I have to say that I really don't agree with everything in what you said, first would be that this is one of those high-fantasy settings, and I honestly didn't expect for almost everyone to make it in, least of all myself. The whole setting is asking for OPC's and you took advantage of that, as much as everyone else did and has. And it's kind've hard to not be some kind of cliche anymore, we've got like what, a few thousand years of literature? Beyond that, we've got the Gilgamesh legend hanging over our heads as a backdrop, and to make it up this tower, we've got to have either a huge amount of running speed and endurance, or know how to fight, which was going to be the other character but I flipped a coin and Mr. Damien's side came up.

We've got an over-abundance of high-level fighters, and next to no ranged support or anyone that just sits in the corner hoping for the baddies to go away and whispering "daddy'll be home soon". Instead, we've got alot of guys that go into the fray. Personally I saw the OP'ness of Damien and tried to compensate for that in his posts by him getting slammed, torn up and the like, but I can see some of this being considered even more OP than before.

Personally, I'm into any RP where I think is either interesting or I can actually contribute to. And with Asclepcion(Alsclepticon? whatever...) as GM, I'm not exactly sure if I want to be a part of it if this RP is any indication of his posting and keep up skills. No offense Asclep, but the few posts you've made I really have no reason to believe you'll be able to commit to something. That's really just a problem I've developed over time irl and it just kinda translates here.

On a side note, I think this rp is heading for the graveyard, no pun intended, simply because we've had three or four people drop out by default and posts are slowing to a crawl. Though I don't know if that's because of finals and grad being around this time or just because of declining interest.

But answer me this, was it wrong for me to have Aleister become a Reaper?

In a way, yes. It wasn't one of those things like he sometimes saw guys in cloaks out of the corner of his eye for a level or two and then they became more abundant, though he was the only one that could see them or the like. It was just one of those,"Lookie at me! I'm special!" kind of sudden changes that really, from my point of view, just tried to make him more badass but the idea didn't cross your mind until after the game had started.

Was it wrong? No, but there's that timing thing in any media, and you just kinda crushed the supporting beam of the roof while you were aiming for the nail on the board halfway across the home. Bad metapor I know, but I'm just trying to get the point across, kinda. If you'd waited maybe another level and they'd taken you while we were sleeping and put you through some kind of initiation beyond, "sign this,this, and this, and you get this one-of-a-kind, minted in Germany, scythe, super powers from every hero ever conceived, and the ability to consume souls to grow even stronger". I didn't watch the anime you based it off, but it just seemed like one of those things that really makes no sense in the scope of things because it took the story from our hands and made you the protagonist almost exclusively by accident because you have what no one else can do and could be called on to kill any one of us simply because of a list you were sent...

That was longer than I thought it would be, but I hope you get that I'm not criticizing you,etc, just trying to get my point across.

 

[hiei82]

The problem with cliches/tropes is that they are pervasive. EVERYTHING has been done. I don't know about you, but I've been playing tabletops like D&D for years. I've built the master-swordsman's out for revenge, the displaced nobles, the anti-social loners with hearts of gold, everything. I've even built and played golems (her name was Claire - she cut down her enemies with a sword that makes Cloud Strife say "over-the-top" but she was fun to the extreme) but everyone of them falls into some cliche or trope because EVERYTHING has been done.

Unfortunately, there have been so many books and movies and games and television shows and comics and blah that nothing is really new and so everything has become, to some degree, a trope.

If you pick up a sword, it's a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeroesPreferSwords

A bow is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheArcher

Stonefuse is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Golem

Even breaking free from tropes is a troupe http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SubvertedTrope

Overpowered is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PurposefullyOverpowered

Underpowered is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OvershadowedByAwesome

Prail and the Lallowens are two tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheReptilians http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoMouth

Everything is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools

And everything old is new and new is old.

It's actually the reason I make characters with psychological disorders - Faunra is hemophobic, Dr. Laurence (from the eva game) was misanthropic, Iskierka (from the Lost in Spaaace! RP) is borderline Schizophrenic, and Derek (god rest his soul and the RP he was in - Redryhno will get the joke) was distrustful of all authority figures because he was put to death as an innocent - because http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMentallyDisturbed is a trope I like to subvert.

Being cliche does not preclude being an interesting character. Are James Bond movies less interesting because of all the tropes he embodies? What about Luke Skywalker? Hell, the movie [u/]Avatar[/u] was Dances with Wolves/Pocahontas in space.

Stonefuse is an interesting character - created life trying to find his place in existence. A super strong being living in a world he could tear apart if he were not careful. An immortal being who wishes to die. All tropes. All cliche. All interesting.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

The problem with cliches/tropes is that they are pervasive. EVERYTHING has been done. I don't know about you, but I've been playing tabletops like D&D for years. I've built the master-swordsman's out for revenge, the displaced nobles, the anti-social loners with hearts of gold, everything. I've even built and played golems (her name was Claire - she cut down her enemies with a sword that makes Cloud Strife say "over-the-top" but she was fun to the extreme) but everyone one of the falls into some cliche or trope because EVERYTHING has been done.

Unfortunately, there have been so many books and movies and games and television shows and comics and blah that nothing is really new and so everything has become, to some degree, a troupe.

If you pick up a sword, it's a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HeroesPreferSwords

A bow is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheArcher

Stonefuse is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Golem

Even breaking free from tropes is a troupe http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SubvertedTrope

Overpowered is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PurposefullyOverpowered

Underpowered is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OvershadowedByAwesome

Prail and the Lallowens are two tropes: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheReptilians http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NoMouth

Everything is a trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TropesAreTools

And everything old is new and new is old.

It's actually the reason I make characters with psychological disorders - Faunra is hemophobic, Dr. Laurence (from the eva game) was misanthropic, Iskierka (from the Lost in Spaaace! RP) is borderline Schizophrenic, and Derek (god rest his soul and the RP he was in - Redryhno will get the joke) was distrustful of all authority figures because he was put to death as an innocent - because http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMentallyDisturbed is a trope I like to subvert.

Being cliche does not preclude being an interesting character. Are James Bond movies less interesting because of all the tropes he embodies? What about Luke Skywalker? Hell, the movie [u/]Avatar[/u] was Dances with Wolves/Pocahontas in space.

Stonefuse is an interesting character - created life trying to find his place in existence. A super strong being living in a world her could tear apart if he were not careful. An immortal being who wishes to die. All tropes. All cliche. All interesting.

Hmm, I'm curious now, aside from the obvious ones, are there tropes that Aleister falls into?

 

[Redryhno]

He falls into the displaced noble category with a sprinkling of mentor death and a cherry of guilt and revenge on the mind.... and that he obviously gets into relationships extremely quickly, though Faunra's about the same.

Aleister really has no backstory either, so he's the mysterious wanderer as well.

 

[hiei82]

Hmm, I'm curious now, aside from the obvious ones, are there tropes that Aleister falls into?

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MasterSwordsman

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Shinigami

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheGrimReaper

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ElementalPowers

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SinisterScythe

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KatanasAreJustBetter

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ImprobableWeaponUser

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RuleOfCool

And those are just the first few seconds of thinking about it

Edit: when you gained your reaper powers: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TookALevelInBadass?from=Main.TakeALevelInBadass

 

[hiei82]

He falls into the displaced noble category with a sprinkling of mentor death and a cherry of guilt and revenge on the mind.... and that he obviously gets into relationships extremely quickly, though Faunra's about the same.

Aleister really has no backstory either, so he's the mysterious wanderer as well.

Don't get me started on Faunra... When I made characters, I used to make entire lists of the tropes I had used. it became... time consuming.

Edit: Also, on the note of ASC not being around, The other game I was in (the Eva game I have mentioned far too often) was one of his. It was a great game that he ran beautifully. I think this game had to do more with him being the GM for the first section, then falling behind on reading posts at some point (he mentioned going away for a while somewhere I think) in that time, we... kinda moved a long ass way.

 

[Redryhno]

Don't get me started on Faunra... When I made characters, I used to make entire lists of the tropes I had used. it became... time consuming.

And that, my friend, is why I never ask myself whether or not I'm being cliche, well, besides what I already put up while talking to NastoK(happy? I made a big K.)) I just write up an idea that comes to me and go with it. Tropes don't really bother me unless it becomes a nuisance, kinda like with Evrant's sudden shift to being a reapo-man.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

Don't get me started on Faunra... When I made characters, I used to make entire lists of the tropes I had used. it became... time consuming.

And that, my friend, is why I never ask myself whether or not I'm being cliche, well, besides what I already put up while talking to NastoK(happy? I made a big K.)) I just write up an idea that comes to me and go with it. Tropes don't really bother me unless it becomes a nuisance, kinda like with Evrant's sudden shift to being a reapo-man.

I'm not sure if that was an insult or not. Before you say anything, I ain't offended by it.

 

[Evrant-Knight]

On A Side Note: Probably by the end of this journey, if its still going that is, I'll probably have Aleister retire as a Grim Reaper. Maybe settle down with a pointy eared friend, if all goes well.

 

[hiei82]

Don't get me started on Faunra... When I made characters, I used to make entire lists of the tropes I had used. it became... time consuming.

And that, my friend, is why I never ask myself whether or not I'm being cliche, well, besides what I already put up while talking to NastoK(happy? I made a big K.)) I just write up an idea that comes to me and go with it. Tropes don't really bother me unless it becomes a nuisance, kinda like with Evrant's sudden shift to being a reapo-man.

That's why I stopped. Well, that and it was as an experiment. I wanted to see what the smallest number of tropes I could use to make a character. This was before I discovered subverting tropes was a trope in and of itself.

Now for a pure RP like this, I just use whatever character idea pops into my head, then alter it to fit. My favorite is when I start with one character and end with a different one (such as Faunra who started as a magic wielding witch-girl and turned into a rogue/ranger)

In table-tops I have a bad habit of building the character and the stats for the character separately which leads to confusing ideas (such as when I end up with an anti-religious person who is blessed with power by gods... interesting RP though... I should try that again some time.

 

[Mr.Ivebeenframed]

SNIP

I understand where you're coming from and yes I will outright claim that I did want Caedis to be a bit over the top with combat. But like you said, we all have that guilty pleasure into making our characters a bit of something( or alot of something) that we aren't.

Heck, when I read that this RP was set in the high medieval era I was a coin-flip away from making a alchemist who was missing both their hands and searching for the bigger sibling that they thought they had. My level was going to take place on a sea where they find that the older sibling was nothing more than a con artist and a swindler.

SNIP

I really didn't want to mention this either but I agree that this RP doesn't have alot of time left on the account of a lack of players and the finals(at least in America) taking place right now or at least in this time span. Hopefully Asc, you can get a new RP going or something but I do enjoy this RP enough to try and post more often.

Also I can spend a full day on Tvtropes, just sayin

 

[Evrant-Knight]

On the subject of dying RP, maybe we just need to take a break from this for a few weeks.

Or at least, we could set up a long travelling post, that doesn't need rapid fire responses.