Come Winter's Light (Exalted/Modern) [Forum] [Dice]

[Arynne]

Well, I'm in a PbP on this site that's been running since 2011, though it's on hiatus now. I fear we may have worn the ST out.


But I've never yet been in a chat game that lasted even through the first story. *mock-glares at Esbilon*

 

[Shining Lotus Sage]

Regardless of preference, we are all waiting on the same thing, here. Right?

 

[FeMChara]

Okay, guys. The forum is up here: http://www.rpnation.com/forums/come-winters-light.668/


We will start IC posting as soon as everyone's posted their character sheets over in the proper sub-forum over there. Thank you so much for your patience with us! I didn't dream I'd get such a large spread of players. Bless y'all.

 

[Esbilon]

Cool! May I recommend the creation of an OOC thread?


*looks apologetically away from Arynne*

 

[FeMChara]

That would be Records, Planning, BS. It ought to be on the left-hand.

 

[Winged Cat]

I don't seem to have permission to post over there. Though, I'm still waiting on review of my PC pitch (since this thread's gotten long: see page 17), then I need to create a sheet if that concept's okay.

 

[Esbilon]

[QUOTE="Winged Cat]
Name: Cygna Amilar (not widely known)
Street name: Star


Concept: Recovering adventurer


Exaltation: Journeys


*bg*

[/QUOTE]
So, you said you wanted feedback. I'm sorry if this comes across as a bit harsh, but I don't really feel I know anything about your character after reading the bg.


Each paragraph seems to be a snapshot of some point in her life, but without any context to help me make sense of it. She was born in a city I know nothing about, I don't learn anything about what her life was like (though a few things about what it wasn't like), and apparently something terrible happened.


Why is she interesting enough for 5 lintha ships to hunt her to the point where they ignore the Meruvian navy? It's just confusing, and frankly stretching my suspension of disbelief (though this is Exalted, so that's not too bad. I'd just like a justification).


If she doesn't like her full name, then why did she tell anyone? It doesn't seem like the sort of thing she'd keep written down anywhere.


In all, it reads like a lot of cool, dramatic snippets that showcase the essentials of her personality, to anyone who knows her background. To the rest of us, it's oblique. I'm sure I'd love her if I had more information.

 

[Winged Cat]

So, you said you wanted feedback. I'm sorry if this comes across as a bit harsh, but I don't really feel I know anything about your character after reading the bg.

No problem. I like honest criticism, and I have edited Star's pitch per your feedback.

Each paragraph seems to be a snapshot of some point in her life, but without any context to help me make sense of it. She was born in a city I know nothing about, I don't learn anything about what her life was like (though a few things about what it wasn't like), and apparently something terrible happened.

Ah, right. I wrote that more with the GMs in mind - Omicron wrote Yasumi - but I should have explained more. Suffice it to say that she's from a far-off place that will likely play no direct role in this campaign.


As to what happened to her, I've rewritten to make it clear: she "played" with abominations from the Underworld. (I know, Omi, that's not technically accurate. It's an abbreviation Esbilon can understand quickly.) It's the kind of thing that could give a mortal Whispers (not from talking to the Neverborn, as they don't exist in Modern, but just from remembering what those things told and showed her), though I'm leaning against actually putting that on her sheet. Details would be NSFW due to gore. Suffice it to say that no one she knew from back home is still alive at this time, and she would prefer to avoid their ghosts - say, by putting an entire saltwater sea between herself and them. That is a sufficient amount of salt to make her feel safe in that regard.

Why is she interesting enough for 5 lintha ships to hunt her to the point where they ignore the Meruvian navy? It's just confusing, and frankly stretching my suspension of disbelief (though this is Exalted, so that's not too bad. I'd just like a justification).

Explicitly noodle incidented, as the final act of a series of tales. (It can be filled in later if it becomes narratively interesting to do so; otherwise, it can be left alone. Given what I know of Omi's style, there's a good chance of the latter.) The main point is to explain how she arrived in Meruvia, and why the authorities let her stay. I've made that more explicit.

If she doesn't like her full name, then why did she tell anyone? It doesn't seem like the sort of thing she'd keep written down anywhere.

Other than on things like her asylum and citizenship paperwork, and her driver's license. I suspect the Merivian DMV frowns on nicknames to the same extent that the real ones do.

In all, it reads like a lot of cool, dramatic snippets that showcase the essentials of her personality, to anyone who knows her background. To the rest of us, it's oblique. I'm sure I'd love her if I had more information.

And now you do.

 

[FeMChara]

Winged Cat: you still need to clarify the story.


As for Yasumi, you needed to ask first before using it. Just because Omi is a co-ST does not mean it would be used. The RP is my baby, with Omicron's assistance not the other way around and I have no idea what Yasumi is even about.


I would like to see her story without Yasumi. You got one chance to make something more acceptable but I cannot approve the backstory as it stands.

 

[Winged Cat]

Ah, sorry. I talked with Omi to clear Yasumi with him; I thought he'd relay that to you. Anyway, have a revised, clarified tale. (Please disregard previous version: to keep things clearer this replaces it, not adds to it.)


Name: Cygna Amilar (not widely known)


Street name: Star


Concept: Recovering adventurer


Exaltation: Journeys


Things keep happening to Star. It is only recently that she has known peace, but she fears in her heart it will not last. It never has.


Where the girl now known as Star grew up is unimportant, for all that people ask. Suffice it to say that it is a city across the great ocean to the West, where the poorer neighborhoods are menaced by ghostly monsters. She played with said monsters until she was old enough to understand what they were, that they had twisted her parents' ghosts into more of them (and how said ghosts were in a separate location from their corpses), and that she was about to suffer a painful, drawn out death if she did not flee immediately. (To be fair, it was only because she began reacting to them with fear that they were about to attack.) While her childhood was happy - her "friends" made sure she was rarely hungry or lonely, despite living where neither police nor gangs dared venture - she now tries not to think about that time.


She spent the next while - at least a year, less than three, she does not remember what day she left but she does remember spending two Calibrations at sea - wandering the ocean, alternating between stowaway, press ganged sailor, and boat thief. It was in this latter role that she finally reached Meruvian-controlled waters, piloting a powerboat pursued by a small flotilla (it was only 5 ships) of Lintha out for her head. That she had stolen the boat in an "especially dishonorable" way (as Star later admitted: she flung her blood in the Lintha captain's eyes after he told her what he would do with her, shocking the crew long enough for her to escape), and she had taken a boat with a fair chunk of loot in its back (not yet unloaded from the raid that captured her), explained why the Lintha were firing on her as she steered toward a Meruvian battleship (responding to the raid, not yet knowing the Lintha were responsible). When said battleship's captain asked the Lintha to let them arrest her, the Lintha opened fire on them too; it is unknown whether the Lintha thought she was already working with them, or just that furious, but it was the wrong answer. One firefight later, there were no Lintha survivors and (after medical attention for wounds incurred during the raid and escape) Star was requesting asylum. Under the circumstances, and since the captain had been impressed by her piloting skills, it was granted.


Her exact true age is unknown - requests to her homeland for her records received an incomplete response, and that she had become semi-feral did not help - but she was clearly a minor with only partial formal education. When placed in school, she proved rather bright, advancing through classes and graduating in under two years. She has also taken well to socialization; her most notable remaining tic is a strong preference for avoiding using her real name (though she relents for official documents, such as her driver's license). Her case workers declared she is now 18 (therefore an adult and out of their system), with a birthday on the first day of Calibration.


She can seem a bit unhinged at times, occasionally making wild leaps of intuition - sometimes correct, sometimes not. She is decent at parkour, and has a knack for vehicles: she has won a few local racing tournaments, both physical and virtual. She is uneasy about all the excitement around her short string of victories, but the prize money helped a lot with expenses. (They didn't let her keep most of the loot, but she had pocketed and would later pawn the prettiest shinies. This gave her a small nest egg, but she is far from the lap of luxury.) While she is out of school now, she is still finding out what the world is like, often reading or exploring - when she is not setting up for the next tournament. (If we're having the nightclub in common: she took to hanging out there because she felt "safe enough for homework". Not that she doesn't also socialize, but she was occasionally seen actually doing homework off in one corner.)


Her olive skin and silver-white hair is rare in the West and even rarer in Meruvia. Whatever might have been the case in the land of her origin, here her heritage is so uncommon there are no applicable ethnic stereotypes.

 

[Shining Lotus Sage]

So the Skullstone Archipelago, brought modern?

 

[Winged Cat]

Basically, yeah.

 

[Epiphany]

Very nice writeup. I liked it anyway.

 

[Winged Cat]

Thanks!


To clarify about Skullstone: I'd have just referenced it straight, except the closure of the shadowlands kind of messes with it. There are other ways to make a place where ghosts can take refuge while interacting with Creation, but it's easier to handwave this for some nameless place than for Skullstone.


That said, if FeMChara is cool with the concept but wants Star's place of origin explicitly named...sure, just say she's from Greyshores. (On the edge of the archipelago, and still a logical trading hub for those who dare venture there, to more plausibly justify her escape. Without the Silver Prince, it'd go from "living with" ghosts to "infested by", so few might care about any location identifier more specific than "Greyshores Island".)

 

[FeMChara]

Looks a lot better. Please keep in contact with both GMs and do not simply assume that both know from PMing. Just give a heads up.


Remember: one chance is what you get Cat. Thank you for not arguing it out.

 

[Winged Cat]

No problem. Sorry again: I'm used to "2 GMs mean they talk routinely", but now I know that is not the case here.


Anyway, I take it that the concept is okay with you so I should now make a sheet? I understand that though the PCs will be Exalting during the campaign, at the very start (i.e. now) sheets should be made as SLS summarized:

[QUOTE="Shining Lotus Sage]We create using the Heroic Mortal numbers, but we don't double 10s for anything. Willpower (2BP/dot) is still derived from Virtues (3BP/dot). We do get a favored Ability, which has to be the highest or tied for highest. No specialties are free at the moment.

[/QUOTE]

 

[Arynne]

Hmm. It appears I've been ejected from the game forum.

 

[Shining Lotus Sage]

That we all have, I bet. I'd blame the recent upgrade.

 

[Winged Cat]

Alright, how's this? If there's anything you'd like me to adjust, please let me know.


BTW, I saw some numbers conflict and confusion earlier, so could someone check this over and see if I've got my math right re: what we're using for chargen? Also, I saw some concern about minmaxing attributes - is it okay if she has Strength 1 (she's gotten by on knowing how machines work more than brute strength) and Manipulation 1 (she knew better than to lie transparently when her life counted on it, and since then she hasn't cared to learn how)?

Spoiler

Strength 1 Dexterity 5 Stamina 2


Charisma 3 Manipulation 1 Appearance 2


Perception 2 Intelligence 5 Wits 4


Archery 0 Firearms 1 Martial Arts 0 Melee 0 Thrown 1 War 0


Athletics 1 Awareness 1 Dodge 1 Larceny 1 Stealth 1


Integrity 1 Performance 0 Presence 1 Resistance 1 Survival 1


Bureaucracy 1 Linguistics 1 (speaks Western and Meruvian) Ride 0 Sail 2 Socialize 1 Drive 3


Craft 2 (Water & Fire) Investigation 0 Lore 2 Medicine 1 Occult 3 (favored)


Willpower 8 Compassion 1 Conviction 4 Temperance 1 Valor 3


Backgrounds:


Resources 2 (nest egg + tournament winnings)


Influence 1 (she's known to the local media and racing circuit)


Savant 2 (the ghosts whispered ancient secrets to her, which she remembers/figures out in fits and starts)


Intimacies:


Peace (enjoying while she can)


Racing (commitment to do well)


Survivors (respect for those who know how fragile life is)


Lore & Learning (so many things she never knew about/bibliophile)


Cooking (so many tasty meals to prepare, for herself and to share with friends!)


Connections to her life before Meruvia (mild fear; the main connection in practice is her real name)


Notable equipment:


Racing motorcycle (50/100mph, +1D Maneuverability, 6L/9B Armor, 8 HLs)


Riding leathers (heavy duster, rarely worn when not on motorcycle) (+1L/3B, mobility -1, fatigue 1)


Urban Mini (holdout pistol, usually concealed w/2 reloads in motorcycle) (Speed 5, Acc +0, 5L, Rate 3, Range 25, Ammo 3)


Small tool kit (on motorcycle, unloaded for races)


Smartphone (fits into clear wrist pocket on her racing jacket to GPS while driving or prompt her with turn timing during races)


BP use (sheet is after all BP spent): Dexterity 3->5 (8), Intelligence 4->5 (4), Wits 3->4 (4), Willpower 7->8 (2), Occult 2->3 (1), Drive 2->3 (2)

 

[Winged Cat]

Double-posting instead of editing previous post to make sure this shows up in Alerts, given the forum's instability over the past few days.


So...it's been about 3 days, with no response to me or to the co-ST when he has inquired, but the ST has logged on every day. Even with the instability, it is not credible that ST is unaware by now that Star's sheet has been posted and I've been awaiting the ST's review. That said, the game started on Tuesday, the same day the sheet was posted. The plot has hinted at needing all the PCs there at the moment of exaltation, which happened fairly quickly (fast enough that, as it turned out, there was no need to write up mortal sheets).


If I do not receive a reply by Monday, I must assume the answer is "no", given the increasing difficulty of inserting a PC mid-plot in a case like this, where critical plot happens right away. If that is the case, I would have preferred having been told it was too late to apply.

 

[FeMChara]

Please note the following posts:


http://www.rpnation.com/index.php?posts/1762099


http://www.rpnation.com/index.php?posts/1790025


I mentioned earlier in the thread for everyone to post their sheet in the actual forum. A good while ago, in fact. Maybe you didn't see it, I don't know. It is not too late, just go to the forum and post your sheet. Though the second post could have been a bit clearer, that was me approving your character.


Pardon me for assuming you were paying attention to the thread.

 

[Winged Cat]

So, it needs to be specifically pointed out that I do not have permission to post there? Where the post thread button would be, I just see "(You have insufficient privileges to post here.)".


As I understand it, you have to click something before I can get said permission - which means you're chewing me out for not doing what I am unable to do, and the reason I am unable is under your control.


That alone would be reason to leave. Add in the rest, and I am now formally withdrawing. Good luck with your campaign.

 

[Mei]

No, you have to click join game, man. But whatever.

 

[Winged Cat]

No, you have to click join game, man.

Yeah, I tried that and I still didn't have permission. I thought at the time that my application was pending needing approval, but now that you mention it I do notice the join button is back, as if my application got lost or reverted during the downtimes. Regardless, when I posted the sheet I could only post it here.


(Also there's the fact that I thought I was applying for a primarily chat game with some play-by-post. So far, it looks like this will in practice be almost entirely play-by-post with little if any chat. I mention this because there were others who signaled interest but the chat element prevented them from applying; they may wish to apply after all.)

 

[Epiphany]

RP Nation doing its migration right when the game was trying to get off the ground wasn't the best timing, particularly with the delay it forced on everyone. I also found it a bit difficult to figure out how to join a game, given I'm new here and didn't already know the functionality (I still haven't found an easy way to find the game forums either beyond depending entirely on my Alerts).


As I understand it, Wednesdays will be more chat driven with the forums being used for smaller group activities. It's just early days. Even if the actual game play ends up being mostly forum driven, the #comewinterslight chat room has been and continues to be very very active with players coordinating posts, talking about plans for their characters and asking questions of the ST or clarifying things. At least two of our players are somewhere in Europe with at least three of us state-side so that's made for some interesting schedule coordination.


Whether you join or not, just hoping to clarify things for you and anyone else interested in the game.