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Adventure! RPG: Warlords of Tellus - Warlords of Tellus OOC


Jackson Creed

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Nice post yourself Prof, but why did you just declare an action for R'Garok? ::huh

I actually PMed Prof on what R'Garok would do should a "Royal" act like that since I anticipated it, though I thought it'd be the Princess, not the emperor that would scream "Off with their heads!" ::wink

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Really? I was just going to say that it's an awesome post Heritage! I love the contrast between the shoes (nice touch with the Bells) and the polite viciousness of Grenda's threat.

Makes perfect sense for the setting, I'd leave it as is.

The last of the intoxicating draught's effects evaporate as Princess Grenda watches her carefully ordered world rapidly devolve into chaos; she despised the Emperor and the entire Imperial family, but never imagined taking action this direct before the eyes of the entire court.

*Too soon....far too soon...*

But the die was cast; for better or worse, the lives of those around her were now in her hands, and she must rise to the occasion and adapt as only a Lhan-Garan can. With a tilt of her head, she makes a polite inquiry of her handmaiden Haltha at her side, whose blue eyes have gone wide with shock at the proceedings.

"Do you think we shall have to leave our shoes?"

Without taking her eyes of the Imperial Guard, Haltha slowly nods.

"I believe we must, milady; they weren't designed for running."

The princess looks down ruefully as she lifts up a delicate foot.

"A pity - I so love the little bells."

Grenda meets the Emperor’s gaze and inclines her head just so.

"I'm afraid my party must take its leave of you, your Imperial majesty, but before I go, I must make a simple request. My dear sweet sister will be released from your seraglio at once, into my father's custody; if this is not done by sunset today, I shall personally supervise the rape of your daughter by these three man-beasts, over the course of several days, leaving her alive but unfit for breading with even the lowest of your kitchen slaves, and any attacks upon my family will have the same result. Once I am sure that myself and my family is safe, she will be released; is that perfectly clear?"

After she and Haltha carefully slip off their shoes, Grenda gently lays a hand on the Imperial princess's face.

"And needless to say, any violent moves by anyone in this room will force the Stoneman to remove K'ora's head as a child plucks a flower."

To the human, she nods.

"A fair plan, slave - let us depart."

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Really? I was just going to say that it's an awesome post Heritage! I love the contrast between the shoes (nice touch with the Bells) and the polite viciousness of Grenda's threat.

Makes perfect sense for the setting, I'd leave it as is.

Ok, I'd like to have a few more people weigh in on this, then.

To me, the big issue is using rape as a threat; clearly this is a horrible, horrible thing to say to anyone, much less an emperor, but my feeling last night was that Grenda is terrified that everyone in both her and Haltha's family will be wiped out by atomic cannons if she doesn't scare the living crap out of him, and threatening his dynasty is the best thing she could think of at the time.

Now I definitely think it's appropriate for a world as harsh as this; the question is whether or not the post is offensive and/or inappropriate for an all-ages website ::unsure

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Now I definitely think it's appropriate for a world as harsh as this; the question is whether or not the post is offensive and/or inappropriate for an all-ages website

To be honest I'm not sure it's appropriate to the genre - the world is a harsh one, yes, but it's meant to be harsh in a pulp sci-fi sort of manner - not in a gritty realism sort of manner. When in doubt I find it best to think: 'Would this scene fit in Flash Gordon?' - while good ol' Ming may talk about making Dale his concubine, or taking her to his bed, or other such euphemisms I serious doubt he'd threaten to rape her to death. In the eighties film you get the 'Ming's hypnotic seduction of Dale' scene with all that it implies - but it's more about implication than about 'the real thing'.

This makes me worry that I've failed to present the game world as I intended: sure there are the sorts of kinky undertones of bondage you used to get in old pulp stories, the poor excuses for everyone to run around half-dressed, as well as war & conflict & violence & all that stuff which makes for ripping yarns with sword fights & stuff: but I never intended for the game to be about graphic real world issues or anything. The bad guys are meant to be moustache-twirlingly bad, with the good guys as epically heroic - this ain't the World of Darkness where everything is painted in shades of grey & even the 'heroes' are just villains of a different stripe. I just wanted to run something that was fun OTT Adventure!...

'... I shall personally supervise the rape of your daughter by these three man-beasts, over the course of several days, leaving her alive but unfit for breading with even the lowest of your kitchen slaves...'

Is this really the only way to say this, or even the best way? Yes, it has shock value - but personally I feel this sort of threat is much better, especially in the context of the genre & setting, when implied rather than when blatant, e.g.:

'... I shudder to think what may happen to a female as beautious as your daughter if I am forced to leave her in the care of three such brutes...'

'... my Stone Man slave has been looking for a concubine - although I fear he may be a little too rough for such a delicate flower as your daughter...'

'... your daughter was not bred to be a concubine, but I'm sure my three man-beasts can educate her in the finer points of required service...'

'... I hope your daughter's many suitors won't mind if she's spent some time entertaining my three man-beasts here - I understand their appetites are quite demanding...'

'... the other slave-girls will be happy to see K'ora arrive - attending my three man-beasts can be so exhausting, after all...'

Implied threats with a dash of wit are, I feel, what the pulp Adventure! genre is all about: heroes of the era were all dashing & charming & stuff, they weren't modern 'graphic novel' fodder who threatened to, 'Blow the mutha-fookers hed off!', & the like. Even the crudest of characters were more akin to Prince Vultan - randy slobs rather than degenerate psychos.

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Okay, when the Storyteller says his piece, you have to listen, and I am totally fine with that; pulp is actually a much harder genre for modern players to pull off than people think, and I dropped the ball, as I thought. Post will be edited today/tonight.

::huh Also, was Nick just referred to as a "man-beast"? ::wink

What's your point, slave? ::tongue

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People are posting kinda slowly lately... ::unsure I feel like it'd be appropriate for Nick to post again and start hustling people out of the room, and I know we're not in combat, but I haven't heard from R'Garok, Gro-Khash or the Ophidian in a while. And since Prof only tends to post when all the PCs have posted, that also includes K'Reed and K'ora, and the hordes of Imperial minions.

Even a quick "My character leaves the courtroom with the rest of the party" would help keep this rolling.

C'mon guys, it's not like this is a slow spell in the action... ::sly

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C'mon guys, it's not like this is a slow spell in the action...

This is true, & it seems to me that nothing kills the atmosphere of an Adventure! game more than the pace slowing down... So, I'm kinda' considering posting on a more regular basis, whether all the players have posted or not (& damn the consequences... ::unsure ). What does everyone else think?

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What...you think he got his reputation just through word-of-mouth? ::wink

Sorry about slow posting, I actually refrain from posting more than once between ST posts through sheer discipline and willpower as I hate it when the boards become a jumbled mess with need to fix past posts.

Player interaction being the exception, of course...

P.S. Suspense in QZ is killing me!

P.P.S. Great start for the game! Especially for Adventure!

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Zeke: I agree for the most part, it's just that it's been quite a while.

Prof: That sounds fine to me, but then I tend to have plenty of spare time and so I would probably not be the one being potentially excluded from posting. Other opinions?

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Just so you all know, I spent some inspiration for a minor onscreen effect, the nearest skiff being the imperial skiff...

i.e. Quick and comfy as opposed to slow slave barge for protracted getaway

Posting this in case some of you want to add minor extensions...

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Regarding the posting issues: I tend to not post if my character won't have anything significant to add. This may be a bad habit on my part however, and if so then I apologize. In the lull that we just went through for instance, I didn't post because I'd already stated that Gro-Khash had dropped into a defensive position in a previous post. As a soldier and current slave-gladiator, Gro-Khash has no great talent with words and puts a heavy emphasis on actions. So he would see no reason to say anything, nor to do much of anything other than stay in his defensive crouch since it was obvious that nothing he could possibly do or say would change the fact that the Emperor would just as soon kill him as look at him.

I don't like filler posts that amount to little more than a fancy way of saying "my character reacts to what just happened by feeling some stuff, thinking some more stuff, and maybe moving or shifting position a little just to spice things up. Oh, and the really observant might notice his facial expression change as a result of all that emotional and mental stuff." So when it happens that I'm not clever or creative enough to think of something proactive for my character to do, I tend to just not post. Again, that may be a bad habit of mine, and if it is then I apologize.

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I don't like filler posts that amount to little more than a fancy way of saying "my character reacts to what just happened by feeling some stuff, thinking some more stuff, and maybe moving or shifting position a little just to spice things up. Oh, and the really observant might notice his facial expression change as a result of all that emotional and mental stuff."

The only reason I make posts like "Nick does nothing" is that because of the way play-by-post is structured, I need to let everyone know I don't want you to wait on me.

In other words, sometimes Nick really is doing nothing, but sometimes Phoenix got waylaid on his way to the Internet today and what Nick really wants to do is "use dramatic editing and suddenly attack the nearest armed person," but won't be able to do it for a day or two.

The problem is that there's no way for the rest of you to tell the difference, unless I've made a habit of posting "I do nothing" whenever that's what I want.

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Wow!

14 bad guys in one turn isn't half bad! We work pretty good as a team! BTW, great post Prof, definitely worth the wait. This game is now officially exciting!

Now we just have to deal with the other 60 bad guys! ::sly Easy, right guys?

Right?

Guys? ::unsure

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When the Ophidian suddenly appeared at the officer's throat it greatly surprised Gro-Khash. He had not seen that coming! He briefly considered activating the Blood Orbs mounted in his eyesockets so that he could see all that they did, but then decided against it. If there were any other hidden assassins, surely the Ophidian would know it, wouldn't he? He'd heard no end of stories concerning the almost mystical abilities and incredible senses of the Ophidians, and doubted that his senses (enhanced though they might be) would compare.

Just to let you know: I'll be ignoring this bit, 'cos the Ophidian doesn't 'suddenly appear' & Gro-Khash has no reason to even suspect he's there. 'Cloud the Mind' isn't a D&D 'Invisibility spell' - combat only cancels it because it's 'an obvious action which calls attention', not for some karmic reason which makes being not seen incompatable with violence. The Ophidian's actions are all too subtle - he didn't leap out & yell, or take a swing at the officer - just the opposite in fact. The only character in the scene who has any reason to perceive The Ophidian is the officer himself... & he's not really in a position where he's willing to draw attention to the snake man... ::sly

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