Good - I'm glad to hear it. I have to remind myself to have fun also - for everyone's benefit, sort of see the next session or two as a departure from the norm. There might be (and might not be) plenty of carnage, but that comes from the freedom of knowing that we're going to have fun putting a pantheon together in another few weeks that involves the same characters. For that purpose, I really do need to tell you/admit two things: 1. If anyone has a character that is involved with current events (even if they're just hanging around Sigil) and you as a player do NOT want them to become a power, don't use them next time on the mission. Anything goes from the time they leave the city on. 2. If you have specific ideas about what type of power you would like to see your character become, also let me know! For example, although Dennis doesn't have any aspirations towards godhood, I have a feeling it's in his future. To that end, I can already say that he'd of course make a good patron of bards and god of music and literature, but also that he'd be a god with some sort of pantheonic reference to trust/fidelity/loyalty somehow. It would be great to see the characters' personality traits mainifest as domains, such as giving Magnus domain over ambition in addition to other things (even if he doesn't want to be). Maybe if we all start thinking about that process, we can put less pressure on the current game - that stuff's almost more fun anyway. So, in closing - what did you all think about Gadget's world? I thought it rocked! > > Sure it helps. Actually, I would have been quite happy had you been > able to stay and talk. I had wanted to speak with everyone (you > included) to try and figure out why I was not enjoying myself as I > thought I should be. Unfortunately, you had to leave, and I had plenty > of time to stay. (Brad is taking real-estate classes for the next few > weeks, so he doesn't get home Monday nights until about 10:50pm. No > reason to rush home.) > Yes, I do feel better. I'm going to try next week to just relax and > play as my characters would, instead of trying so hard to "win" the > game. This does help. > > > jimkaren@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote: > > > I almost want to start off by > > saying "when you've been in this > > business as long as I have..." :) I > > knew when I left Monday that you guys > > had some things to talk/think about, > > and I was glad to give you that time. > > I wouldn't have added anything. Just > > the fact that John didn't bolt out the > > door at first opportunity was a good > > sign that such was the case. :) > > > > But seriously, maybe I can help to make > > this easier to come to terms with. The > > first few times we played, all the > > players ended with sort of a high, and > > I'd go home totally stressed about what > > I was attempting to do. That's why we > > had such serious, sometimes > > argumentative conversations for a few > > weeks there. > > > > I've had months to wrap my mind around > > the enormity of what we're trying to > > transition through, and it seems like > > you might be where I was about the time > > when Shawn visited. Then again, I've > > always kept more information to myself, > > giving me the "advance" dose of anxiety. > > > > But - be of good cheer! I think I know > > how to phrase this in a way that puts > > everything in the proper light. Over > > the past few weeks, as I've cautioned > > people on expectations and the > > possibility of defeat, my sole > > motivation came from a desire to do > > things "right". I wanted the players > > to feel that victory was earned, and > > not just handed to them. And I valued > > what we've all committed to these > > characters and this storyline over the > > years - I want to end well. Still, I > > may have gone too far to protect that > > desire out of my own anxiety. > > > > Here's the bottom line: whoever you > > (meaning us, the group, and Shawn) want > > to have become gods, can. Whatever > > pantheon or mythology you want to > > establish, feel free. My role in this > > ends the instant the "Big event" takes > > place. > > > > My biggest concern is that everyone > > leave their anxiety at the door. I'm > > not trying to pigeonhole everyone into > > ruling a world populated by chickens - > > I just want to tell a thrilling story > > (so try to sit back and enjoy the ride). > > > > I noticed Monday that everyone tended > > to take things a bit too seriously > > (again, I've had a part to play in > > that) - distance yourselves from the > > story for a second and just think about > > all the cool, amazing things that we > > roleplayed through. Gadget restoring > > the world - Magnus and Celane's > > showdown - the deceased characters' > > difficult decisions when confronted by > > Kelemvor. > > > > The next time we play, I hope to DM a > > VERY challenging adventure. The Riders > > will face their greatest obstacle in > > attaining godhood, and may even have to > > die on purpose to succeed. If anyone > > has a weak stomach by then, I can bring > > some dramamine along - but really, > > we're not succeeding if everyone is too > > uptight about the significance of this > > to not have fun... > > > > Did this discussion help any? > > > > > > > > Ok, I finally have caught up on > > my work, and I thought I would respond > > to > > > Jim's e-mail. My feelings on the > > current plot? I'm honestly not sure. > > I spent > > > about 30 minutes talking with Matt > > and Damon after Monday's game trying to > > > figure out just what my feelings > > were. I'm not sure how much of a > > conclusion I > > > came to, and I wish Matt and Damon > > had more time free to respond and chat, > > so > > > they could include their feelings. > > As it is, I'll try and speak as > > accurately > > > as possible. > > > Monday night didn't gel with me, > > and it's really weird. The first few > > times > > > we played this plot, with the Riders > > going after the power, I was psyched to > > > high heaven. Jim did such a > > tremendous job, and I was loving every > > minute of > > > it. But the last few sessions have > > been less exciting for me and I'm not > > sure > > > why. I tend to think it's a > > combination of quite a few things. One > > of them is > > > a feeling of anxiety. We are > > bringing to an end the adventures of a > > group of > > > characters we have played for over a > > decade (or at least, bringing their > > mortal > > > adventures to an end). While the > > characters will continue as NPCs and > > potential > > > background material, they will never > > be played again. What we are doing is a > > > major thing, and I am honestly > > concerned about how it will turn out. > > Jim has > > > dropped countless hints that things > > may not turn out the way we want them > > to, > > > and we should be prepared for > > anything, and as he dropped more and > > more, I > > > became more and more concerned. How > > is this going to end? > > > Of course, there is always an > > element of uncertainty in anything we > > do. But > > > what Jim does now closes a rather > > large chapter in our history. Not > > knowing > > > what characters will be affected and > > how they will be affected bothers me. I > > > find that I'm not enjoying myself, > > but instead worrying about the outcome > > of > > > every single encounter and every > > single decision. I'm concerned that we > > will > > > make a wrong turn, and catastrophe > > will ensue. > > > Personally, I'm just ready for > > the plot to be over, so I can breathe a > > sigh > > > of relief, and move on to something > > else. It's weird, because I'd like to > > move > > > back to the Sigil or to the lower > > level group of Riders where I play > > Quincy and > > > Ilana. Why? Because I don't care as > > strongly what happens to those > > > characters. If they die, if the DM > > turns them into chickens, if their arms > > fall > > > off, no matter what happens, it's not > > nearly as important as my feelings about > > > the current Riders. > > > Does this make sense? > > > > > > Jim and Karen wrote: > > > > > > > So, what did you guys think of last > > night? To be honest, it was my favorite > > > > night of this entire story line - I > > loved developing Gadget's supporting > > > > cast, and enjoyed seeing the > > results of tons of groundwork come to > > light > > > > (like introducing Kolyarut-13 > > several months ago, and having Dr. Klaw > > defend > > > > himself by taking advantage of the > > Riders' problems with the gods). > > > > > > > > I also loved giving Gadget a chance > > to take on his arch-enemy mano-a- mano, > > > > and he did great. I still can't > > believe how well he kicked Klaw's butt! > > > > The neat thing was, they fought in > > a virtual world, where Klaw's > > > > artifact-granted godly powers were > > worthless. Gadget had a neat moment > > > > where he disrupted a transmission > > from the mechanical Kolyarut-13 to Klaw > > by > > > > disrupting the stream of 1's and > > 0's with his hand. > > > > > > > > All of the players did a great job > > with their characters - they seemed real > > > > to me. And John, I hope you didn't > > worry about my problems DMing > > > > spellcasters (I know we joked about > > it a lot), but I was fine. Everyone > > > > really put their all into it, and > > it resulted in a great game. > > > > > > > > Still, I had a hunch that people > > weren't really totally enjoying > > themselves, > > > > but I couldn't figure out why. > > Matt, seemed a bit bored with his > > > > characters; John and Damon both > > seemed like they had a lot on their > > minds. > > > > Was it just a stressful day for > > everyone, or did my buddies have a > > common > > > > concern regarding the plot or game? > > > > > > > > Felt it was worth asking - not a > > major deal, but better than leaving it > > go > > > > unremedied. Ok, enough babble from > > me! :) > > > > > > > > Jim > > > > > > > > > > > >