Hidden 7 yrs ago 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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Conversation posts may be a bit short. :3
The last one was so short mainly because I rewrote it. I initially had a couple solid paragraphs down, written little by little during the workday, but when I sat down to finish it tonight, I realized that all the commanding officers sounded the same. They should each now have their own 'voice.' Magdalee is more emotional and easygoing, while Promagnus is more intellectual and erudite.

I've been brooding on how to bring Lanik and Eru together. I was thinking that their relationship could start out a reciprocal one - Erudessa saves his life on the battlefield, and then when she's enslaved, he saves hers through buying her.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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No worries about post length! And I like that idea a lot. I'll be sure to post tomorrow, and it'll be a little lengthier.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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My questions about Lanik's wife were answered. So it seems Eru will have some competition from the wife! Will the woman be a warrior amazon like most women, or a stay-at-home mom?
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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@BellBottomBlues
I'm not sure where to go from here. I need a hook to write from. Perhaps Eru should lead an ambush against Imperial troops, and we could get things moving if Lanik were nearby to hear an escaped soldier report on it. Your thoughts?
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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@Thinslayer
That sounds like a great idea! Let's do it.

And Serani's a Cheshire -- very talented assasins with a very magical dominated genealogy. I wouldn't call it competition though. The two are pretty fed up with each other as it is. Haha.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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@Thinslayer
If you want to write the ambush itself I can do the whole schpeil of the escaped soldier and Lanik finding him.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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@Thinslayer
With all due respect you can't take control of Lanik like that.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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With all due respect you can't take control of Lanik like that.


I'm sorry, wasn't meaning to. I was trying to approximate Lanik's physical capabilities, but I should have asked you first. I'll rewrite it.

Part of the problem is that I have difficulty writing around unknown physical parameters. Extensive use of predictive verbiage (e.g. "his momentum would change considerably) is about all I know. Do you have any suggestions for how to tackle such issues?
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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I've rarely had to write this much this consistently. Generally, if I'm about to run into any RP rules like controlling other's characters, I'll stop at the point where their input is required, which results in a very short post. Normally I'd be fine with that, but when you've written up such long, beautiful story posts, I feel it would be shameful to write much less, so avoiding power-playing will be a bit more problematic for me.

Additionally, my concept of the story at the moment does not lend itself to substantial content. I'm not very good at describing environments, so to bulk up a post, I would normally delve into a character's thoughts. But Erudessa's thoughts aren't very complicated right now - she just gave orders and is hanging back to watch the outcome. There's not much going on in the way of observation or analysis. She's not a particularly competent fighter compared to her soldiers; in fact, she'd probably lose a melee confrontation with any one Imperial soldier. Getting down and dirty would be most unwise. So I don't have a lot to write about right now.

What I'm trying to say is, please don't be mad. I'm still learning as an RPer. This RP is a brand new challenge that I haven't yet developed competency in.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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Hey there! No worries at all.

Everybody does it differently, but I would start with only ever using your own characters perspective or a new one you see fit to introduce in response posts. (Eg. Maybe Eru's second in command sees the two rangers). In any post you can only work with the setting given to you, and here it's important to never make assumptions. These are some of the core facts from my previous post:

- Lanik has a wounded Finnigan on his back

"Son of a bitch," Lanik cursed to himself, quickly pushing away the rubble and lifting Finnigan up over his shoulders.


- the cliff breaking made a hell of a lot of noise

There was a loud crashing noise, surely enough to alarm anyone in the vicinity.

They were in the worst possible position, and they had made enough noise.


- and he's trying to get out of the area

These were critical seconds he needed to use to get his ranger back into the safety of the forest, where they surely stood a better chance of hiding than out here against these cold rock formations.


These are undeniable facts. Things like how Lanik is handling the situation are completely up to me. What is up to YOU is how your characters (Eru and her merry band of elves I'm assuming) will take those three facts and respond (Mind you, if you can muster up any other kind of information from my post then go for it, those were just the three from the top of my head). Control of other peoples characters is completely prohibited, however, taking established facts and building a post around the information available is more than welcome.

I'll just shoot some examples:

FACT 1: It wasn't but a few paces away a man garbed in ranger clothing stumbled, carrying another over his shoulders.

FACT 2: There was a sound in the distance, discernible to any trained ear, a strange enough falling of rocks to warrant investigation.

FACT 3: The stumbling figure moved at a slow pace and one could easily tell the burden on his shoulders weighed heavily on his ability to move quickly through the forest.

How I normally approach reply posts (unless it's integral to introduce a new character with a new perspective) is to establish particular facts from a persons previous posts and then just build around it. Why is my character feeling this way because of what he or she said? What in the current moment is on the characters mind? Are there any tidbits of information I could throw in to make the scene more believable? After establishing all that THEN I'll actually get to the part where I reply to the situation. And I always leave it open-ended.

Yanduin and Bethdul dropped from their treetop perches and fired a burst of crossbow bolts at Lanik's back.


There's nothing wrong with that. Absolutely nothing wrong with that. It's open ended, and well, it's exactly what it is. You didn't state whether or not they found its mark, you left that up to me. Could I turn around in my post and say "With keen reflexes Lanik dropped Finnigan and spun around, grabbing the bolts mid-air and lobbed them back at the elves!"? Well I could, but I figure you trust me enough to play on the situation and let him take the hit. Remember, it's a collaboration, and I will always play to your tendencies, but a persons character is forever their own and nobody can ever change that. So, TLDR.

- always control your own characters
- play off the information given to you by the previous poster
- don't be afraid to introduce new situations in order to direct the flow of the story

I'll briefly explain that last one, because well, I never told you somebody was going to fall off a cliff, but I did that so I could put my people in a position for your people to find them. That's what I mean about introducing new situations.

I hope this helps, and I feel like it was a good learning opportunity for the both of us.

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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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I'm studying the above post for the next few days. xD
Thanks man!
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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I've rarely had to write this much this consistently. Generally, if I'm about to run into any RP rules like controlling other's characters, I'll stop at the point where their input is required, which results in a very short post. Normally I'd be fine with that, but when you've written up such long, beautiful story posts, I feel it would be shameful to write much less, so avoiding power-playing will be a bit more problematic for me.

Additionally, my concept of the story at the moment does not lend itself to substantial content. I'm not very good at describing environments, so to bulk up a post, I would normally delve into a character's thoughts. But Erudessa's thoughts aren't very complicated right now - she just gave orders and is hanging back to watch the outcome. There's not much going on in the way of observation or analysis. She's not a particularly competent fighter compared to her soldiers; in fact, she'd probably lose a melee confrontation with any one Imperial soldier. Getting down and dirty would be most unwise. So I don't have a lot to write about right now.

What I'm trying to say is, please don't be mad. I'm still learning as an RPer. This RP is a brand new challenge that I haven't yet developed competency in.


PSH! Hey @Thinslayer, I'm not mad man. Haha, and honestly your willingness to talk about these things makes me like you all the more. Few people can do that, let me tell you. Very often you come across these masochist RPers that are just ignorant and won't take no for an answer. But this is good. If I can recommend anything it's to describe -everything-, and there's no rush. Put yourself in a place where you challenge yourself to bring the thoughts in your mind into words. Why isn't she a competent fighter? Heck, after reading how gitty and playful she was with those glitter mine-bombs at the beginning I was hooked, I knew I'd like her. You don't need to describe her ENTIRE past, you can leave the parts you want Lanik to find out, but I have very little information of her to play off of other than she's this playful elf that likes to play tricks on others. That's cool, but there's apart of me that wants to know more even before her and Lanik meet, y'know?

I hope I didn't come off as elitist in my previous OOC post, there's no hard feelings at all, and I'm here with ya all the way.

And one last thing, take your time. If you need to take a week to craft a post to your liking then do it. I won't dog on you. This is a collaboration remember? ^^
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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*cracks knuckles* Okay, down to business.

First, I need to figure out who's who and what they can do. Lanik is an Imperial Ranger. There's 7 of them, himself included (if I counted right). At 6'2" and strong, he's about 2 inches shorter than Erudessa and a good 4 inches or so shorter than the average elf male. Being 28 years old, he should likely have about 25 years of military-related practice and about 15 years of combat experience (since the army only accepts teenagers at the front lines), if he lived an average Imperial life. That's all up to you, though. Point is, he's good enough to be a Ranger. That means he's tough, strong, and ought to be reasonably level-headed in battle.

Erudessa is a typical elf female, physically speaking. She takes an active leadership role and travels often, so her stamina is reasonably well built-up. Running with soldiers for extended periods isn't too difficult. Her work as an inventor gives her a solid bit of muscular training, so while she's not as strong as other female elf soldiers who undergo dedicated training, she can survive a fight long enough for backup to arrive. Her primary combat strength is as a battlemage. Casting magic involves, among other things, completely imagining the task desired, and that requires time and focus. Erudessa can cast complex spells with a snap of her fingers or a wave of her hands, and she can cast multiple spells simultaneously. Her forte is Telekinesis, highly versatile remote manipulation magic. While she is innately capable of elemental magic, she can thus far only conjure up Light magic from the silver mana channels in her hair. Special hand signs are used to cast it.

Now for the setting. They are in the mountainous forests surrounding Aetherion. The terrain is highly uneven and densely packed with trees, bushes, and other foliage. Much of the surface stone is broken up by roots, but the denser, continuous stone of the mountains can be found further under the surface. The temperature is chilly at this altitude, but not unbearably so. If I read your post right, Finnigan dropped with the broken rock off a cliff about twenty feet, and Lanik descended to reach him. So by the end of your post, Lanik has Finnigan slung over his shoulders and is standing at the base of the cliff, twenty feet below ground level and possibly out of the denser forested area. He'll have to secure his man over his shoulder(s) before attempting to climb back up.

Erudessa is perched on a tree branch high above ground level, observing the situation unfold. Her current state of mind is Calculating/Observational. She wants to kill the Rangers and/or lead them off course into a trap. She has not yet set the trap, since she only just pinpointed their location. Her squad consists of four elf soldiers: Yanduin, Bethdul, Frandur, and Henindal, all armed with standard army gear. Yanduin is the youngest of the four, about 300 years old or so, but he's still older than Erudessa. Bethdul is slightly older. Both boys are solid swordfighters and deadly shots with the crossbow. Frandur is the oldest elf of the group, about 800 years old, and skilled in nature magic, water magic, air magic, quarterstaff fighting, swordfighting, spearfighting, accounting, finance, metalworking, carpentry, and several other crafts. Henindal is about 600 years old and a lot more focused. He's strong in ice magic, one of the best in the country, and competent enough in fire magic to compete with the professionals. He focused on magic to the detriment of other combat skills, meaning he's a fantastic ranged combatant, but he'd perish pretty quickly in melee. Like Erudessa, he can hold out until backup arrives, but not much more than that.

That should be enough material to get started. Gonna study your post some more and work on ways to write better.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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@BellBottomBlues Check out the rewritten post!
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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Your post is great. :). You're a great writer!
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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If Erudessa's feelings about killing seem contradictory, there's a reason for that. It boils down to whether she can see it properly. In an ideal battle, people die when you attack them. That she can deal with. But in reality, people tend to get injured and die later, which she can't stomach. As long as she doesn't notice that they're getting injured instead of killed, she can handle killing.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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Lore Update
Limiter
Designed by one of the few mages in the Imperium, the Limiter was created to restrain magic-capable slaves. The Master need only verbally specify whether and how the slave can use magic, and the slave will be limited to casting only the magic specified. What the manual doesn't tell you is that if the slave tries to counteract the order conveyed to the Limiter, he or she gets a violent shock that can kill weaker slaves. The Limiter is a bit pricey, but well worth the cash on untrustworthy slaves.
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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@BellBottomBlues What are the exact parameters of Finnigan's leg injuries? Like, how much of the legs were destroyed, and if partially, which parts?
Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by BellBottomBlues
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@BellBottomBlues What are the exact parameters of Finnigan's leg injuries? Like, how much of the legs were destroyed, and if partially, which parts?


Bilateral femur fractures, shattered patella. Surprisingly though nothing's broke skin.
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Hidden 7 yrs ago Post by Thinslayer
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@BellBottomBlues Like the bit of poetry? I'll be developing fictional songs later on, because it's one of the tools Erudessa uses to help people.
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