They

IC: Krios "You look like it," I muttered under my breath as I half dragged, half carried the wounded toa in the direction of where I thought the hospital was. She was heavier than most women I had carried due in part to the large amount of muscle from whatever workout routine she deigned to partake of. I had decided to stay clear of her if things came to a fight, but for now she was wounded and I was getting blood on my shirt helping her to a place of healing. OOC: Hey, anyone got a doctor character in Onu-Koro?

IC: Ishi Polzin "You do not live, nor do you die. You do not eat, yet you speak and think as rationally as I do. Why can't a machine be alive?" Ishi finished the last floppy crust of his sandwich, bobbing his head while reciting what had become a sort of riddle. Standing up the Hapaka let his gaze crawl along the Abettor's body . The blue sigils scrawled across the machine's body caught his attention first, pale blue and glowing with a soft phosphorescence. Why did they remind him of mark bearers? Maybe life for the Abettor came from a different source than his own. There were so many secrets, so much to learn. Pistons hissed as the Abettor whirred and clanked in lifeless animation and suddenly Ishi had two stunning thoughts. He decided it was better to ask the first before going for the second. "You always speak in plural, did anyone tell you that? How many of you are there?"

IC: Daikura Koga "First Son of Daikura, Koga." The words rang out into the hall but were lost under the overwhelming sound of gaiety, the tuning of instruments, and the soft clinking of crystal classes. Koga appeared from the hallway more beast than man. Indeed he was covered in fine silks of rainbow color and his arms held the scent of spice, but beneath he wore a trim body suit glowing with soft heat-stones. He was not burned by the bejeweled garment, but rather emitted a soft radiance as if the sun itself. Indeed, for he had dressed as the sun, with a golden yellow mask to match. It was all part of the act, for later in the evening he would return to ground and plunge deep into the ocean, but for now the first son remained alight as the merrymaking began. OOC: Daikura Toroshu coming soon.

I'll happily spearhead CRANE. Been trying to get that running for ages. Anyone want to help?

Thank Mata-Nui. Standardization is what we need. If you're the evil overlord I will be your malicious henchman and help purge the irregularities from the wiki. That said, here's some more stuff. There will always be the players who feel terror walking headlong into a new game, searching for things, or even attempting to make headway. Unfortunately I can't relate one cent to that personally because when I first joined I dropped a large post back in the Durrem days, sought out interaction with a passion, and went straight to the N&D declaring my existence. I just so happened to have thoroughly read the rules before posting a profile too. I got hooked because of how Tuck had described the BZPRPG in the BZPower podcast episode one month, and I'm the kind of person who reads the updated legal contracts before accepting new versions of iTunes onto my computer so naturally the first place I would go is the glaring "Rules" section. Maybe putting up more road signs for new players would help, maybe it's simply the new player mindset. As much as I'm against player elitism I will remember two things I learned from jazz bands: Always work to get better. Play at your level but always look up and reach for it.CRANE would be a good way to get things back in gear. Maybe we should make a CRANE topic where mentors and new players can work together to create a more cohesive bundle. Mentors might mean anyone with six months to a year of RPG experience on this site?

I take it that attendants will be checked for weapons before walking in? Yes, actually, I made a post with Kamari Hogo detailing all the security measures put in place before the party started.

Great ideas everyone! I keep coming back to this topic seeing more awesome collaborations to breathe a little zest into the game from players, so cool. I had a couple new ideas which I will state concisely as Kughii-possible: Give the MNW a new section called Arcs or something like that. The section would be dedicated toward pointing players toward valid adventures that are either ongoing or just came onto the scene. This way players won't forget things like, say, Hewkii has a reward out for the kanohi Komau. Also, please see THIS blog post if you are interested in joining the MNW team! The Wiki. Instead of focusing on characters everyone focuses on adding events. Characters are great and give a good feel for the size of the community, but at the end of the day what's needed apparently is more EVENTS in their tab. Smaller events used to be restricted to character pages, and I think that's still a good idea to avoid clutter, but when we see several characters interacting that should start popping up on the event page for the wiki. I've been working hard on locations, and I'll keep doing that until I'm finished with the canon places, but then I'll devote my time to updating the 2013 Staff Plot page as well as the Events page. As always volunteers are most welcome to chip in, or claim the a whole swath of things to do! Send out mass PMs to inactive players. I am willing to do this, or anyone else could, but I think one or two people should craft a pre-written message asking about the lack of activity, if they're interested in playing, and if not would it be alright to delete their character post from the profiles topic. This would probably remove tons of clutter. Almost every week at least one person comes by, makes a profile, and then never jumps in. Those are my ideas.

"I know who has the kanohi Komau." Thanks Eyru for an awesome jam. After all the great feedback in the, well, Feedback topic I feel this may be the last jam I'll do in a long while. It's kind of fitting I think, the fact my first jam was with Eyru and so was my last. *sniffle* Good bye long posts of espionage and heart throb.

OOC: Well snap. IC: Krios I had gotten halfway through a treatise written several decades before I had arrived on Mata-Nui describing the creation of the Kumu-Islets as a free zone with its own government, or rather a lack thereof, when the doorbell rang. Of course I naturally expected someone to walk through the glass partition, but upon shifting my gaze to the window I saw a blood streak against the pane and the source, a wounded hand, sliding down with the awful sound of something wet. Puroi had changed something about me in the past three days for I found myself compelled by some greater force to help the dying toa. Mayhaps I did it out of the wish for gaining gold, or a favor, on the back end. More than likely I did it because I was bored. In any case with a rush of lithe physique I was outside and had the toa's arm around my shoulder. I looked into her pakari and the first thing I wanted to ask was if she cut trees for a living. However post-marine experience in Ga-Wahi I learned to ask a far more pertinent question: "What the karz happened to you?"

Do you know how ridiculous this all sounds to Joske? Very ridiculous. You don't need clothes. You need a belt with a big buckle.

Okay let's stay on topic and reserve our fun shenanigans and player-bonding to where it belongs: terrorizing the News and Discussion topic. Demitsorou you have some interesting ideas! I'm not sure how a dice implementation would carry over into a game of this scale already so heavily influence by the concept of being able to write instead of rely on probability, but it's definitely worth looking into the other points. I hear you about the bloated feel, but that's what calling out to other players for a place to enter is about. If you want to jump in somewhere just ask for interaction in the N&D. You'll get it, I promise, especially if players start pushing to create their own plots in that expansive horizon I was talking about. As for the canon characters being dead: well, that's what the GMs and the staff plot did and we're all just rolling with the punches. Personally I've loved the pain and angst I've experienced each time a beloved character from my childhood is brutally murdered by murderous staffies. It creates room for new characters, like the Maru and the Akiri, and offers more player interaction with the staff plot. More interaction is always better in a sandbox RPG I find.

IC: Ishi Polzin "Then how do you live?" Ishi countered between bites of sandwich. "All things need to eat. Karz, even Makuta had to eat something, though he probably just ate the fat of his overgrown ego until the Maru gave him what was due." The little po-matoran wiped his hand on the paper and blinked, thinking about how in such a blinding environment the Abettor could have clear vision. Or did it? Maybe the it was blind. He knew toa of sound used their element as a different form of sight, often more reliable, so why not a machine? Or was the blinding light actually the Abettor's way of seeing and anything outside the light was beyond its perception? Too many questions and he'd yet to even answer the one posed by his host. "Sorry, you asked me why I'm here," Ishi replied as he reached for the canteen. "In part because I enjoy seeking out the rare and majestic, the occult and the profane, and then piecing all the stupid nonsense said about those things into discrete bundles of truth and fiction. The truth I keep, the fiction I give out for a price. At the moment though I'm here because I figured you might be lonely and I was dying for an awkward lunch buddy who might have some knowledge about that cryptic riddle on that maaassssiiive door below us." He looked at the Abettor, doing his best not to squint in the light. "You see, you're a unique being on this island. How many of those can I come by on a day to day basis, hmm?" He took a bite of his sandwich. "None, unfortunately. On the surface anyone with any intelligence is plotting how to kill everyone else with a smidgen of sense. It's all rather grim. You, on the other hand, stay in your little cavern in the ceiling of Mangaia. I could ask the same question I guess: why are you here? "Though you made it sound like more of a statement," Ishi muttered than continued at normal volume, "I'm sure sitting around in a cavern of crystal for days on end isn't exactly a fun occupation. At least the caverns of light in Onu-Wahi have miners for company. You don't get lonely here, do you?"

OOC: Ishi from Onu-Wahi IC: Ishi Polzin Mangaia was filled with the blood red glow of slowly dying light stones. No one who traveled through the shadowy corridors deep beneath the surface of Mata-Nui had thought to replenish the ruddy illumination and so in the months since the Makuta’s defeat the once blood-red chamber walls had turned to a dark grey as the light waned. Soon it would be black as night. Even in death the Makuta’s shadows persisted. A door, brooding and mysterious, with no keyhole, hinge, or seam, lurked at the end of spacious chamber and two rows of pillars made from black fire-glass led from the chambers entrance to the impregnable door. Ishi glanced at his map with the aided illumination from his iStone screen, confirming the obvious: this was it. Krios had stayed behind. The tall vortixx hustler found descending into Mangaia a gamble too risky despite Ishi’s conjuring. Ishi didn’t mind: Krios wasn’t part of the plan anyways. He moved forward. The informant listened with each step, picking up nothing but the sound of equipment jangling from his rucksack and the soft dripping of water from a corridor to the right, echoing far louder in the dark cavern than expected. Eerie was the word Ishi found closest to mind. A hand strayed to the kukri on his thigh but nothing crawled out of the shadows looking for a meal and the po-matoran found himself at the door unharmed. Across the black surface was scrawled a sequence of words, a riddle he murmured to himself like an incantation. Across an endless ocean Beyond where minds can see My Key lies in the open Where you will never be Beneath the brightest thunder Stand towers of the day The light may break asunder If night skies choose obey The red sign on black eyes Will lead you to your prize The vault’s riddle offered more questions than answers. Despite his years of delving into the secrets of the world Ishi found himself looking blankly at the unknown and disliking every moment of it. He had fooled Hewkii, Ambages, even to a degree Caerus Valli. It was vexing to be fooled by a door. Above the somber lighting was a blue hole in the ceiling. Ishi couldn’t help but admire the geodes from the ground, straining his neck to look upward with mismatched eyes. After taking a minute to evaluate the distance and considering it within the range of his volo lutu he pulled the tool off the side of his rucksack, aimed, and clenched the trigger. “Here we go,” he said as the grappling hook head sailed upwards and into the crystal maw. He heard the catch, gave a tug to make sure it was a sure hold, and ascended. The ride up was dizzying, the ground giving way beneath him as the shadows receding and were replaced by a blinding light. As his eyes adjusted to the cavern he heard the clanking of machine parts whirring to life. Once sight returned Ishi couldn’t help but smile at the being he saw. It was tremendous. How had something so spectacular been hidden underground for so long? “Well hello there you beautiful recluse. Half the island’s been dying to meet you, the other half have been killing them. I’m Ishi Polzin, the Hapaka, you probably haven’t heard about me down here but that’s fine since I’ve been working on keeping a low profile.” Ishi said as he slipped his rucksack off and rummaged around inside for a moment until his deft hands produced a paper-wrapped sandwich and a canteen. “Care for some lunch?”

OOC: This came in a little late, but I'm editing it in because it was supposed to be finished before Ishi went to the abettor, so without further ado this is the last jam I think I'll be writing in a while... THANKS EYRU FOR THE AWESOMESAUCE THAT IS COLLAB WRITING... IC: Ishi Polzin and... Ishi left Krios at the Wise Man's Archive a little past mid-morning tea. Time was told by the clockwork contraption in the center of Onu-Koro instead of by the rise and fall of the sun, though some matoran could tell the hour by the waxing and waning of a light-stone's strength, or so it was rumored. His feet were sure as they walked the wide road from the center of town outwards into the homes of the village... The house did not deviate far from Onu-Koran standards: it was dark and quiet, with a single, elegant light-stone lamp providing dim light to each room. The ceiling was low, so much so that a Toa might have to duck to pass through each doorway. Throughout the halls, the sound of a harp could be heard, playing a slow, peaceful tune. A Matoran sat before one lamp, reclining comfortably in a purple chair, his face cast in shadow. Across the room, the harpist played, her dextrous fingers plucking delicate strings. He waited, listening to the music. The movement ended and a slow clapping echoed off the stone walls, drawing the seated figure's eye to the doorway where a matoran leaned against the frame, legs crossed, tired face slowly returning to normal with the medicine of music. He had been let in, an expected presence, and yet his footsteps had not been heard on the stone floor. "You were right about the mountain top, but the avalanche seems to have frozen in place for now." Ishi said and entered the room. The Matoran gestured to a chair that sat across from his own, one of the few other pieces of furniture in the room. After a long pause, the harpist began to play again, more softly than before. “Take a seat,” he said, green eyes blinking once. “Welcome to my home.” "The place is far less ostentatious then I'd imagined, but then you've always kept a rather low profile. Hearing you're voice is one thing but," Ishi paused to straighten the front of his coat as he nestled into the chair, "having the face to match it only makes things more... Interesting." He smiled and tapped a finger to the side of his head. "I've always had a bad habit of analyzing people. For example, Ambages was a real piece of work but I got somewhere in the end. I feel I can play the part you asked in Ko-Koro’s succession, but I need more information before things can slip into place. At the moment it’s more likely the individual pieces will fall into place and grind against each other until the whole mechanism goes up in smoke.” "What do you need." Ishi thought for a moment. "A few things. First, I want to know more about this organization you and Ambages both belong to. I've heard rumors in certain circles but meeting with The Architect confirmed my suspicions. Ideally you'll answer truthfully to save us both time and money. Second," Ishi thumbed the fur lining of his collar, "Your knowledge of Matoro's death. Where'd you get it? If I'm going to align the pieces properly I need to know who started the ignition." Ishi stared into Caerus’ green eyes, watching as he spoke for the nearly imperceptible flickers of emotion, more habit than specific intention. “You're very curious,” the Matoran replied. “Your investigation into Ko-Koro's affairs has been less discreet than I had hoped; you have gathered little that I have not already known; and yet you come back asking for more secrets that you have not earned. What do I gain, Hapaka, by telling you these things?” "Curious, yes. I learned many things with my 'heavy-handed' approach. When I work on my own in a closed container what becomes necessary are allies, or at least some form of body fodder to take the blade intended for my neck. It may have seemed heavy handed but for all intents and purposes it's now my move in the game and I have almost everything I need. I know who drew Matoro's blood, I know the neuro-poison he ingested, and I've learned..." He paused long enough to wave a hand through the air, as if parting a veil. "Both you and Ambages work together. And more so, neither trust the other or you're phantom companions I've yet to find. There is something turning in the shadows of this assassination. Matoro's death was heavy handed, it's only a front to hide the more subtle plan moving steadily behind. You're well aware how common such a tactic is. I have other things at work, which I'm sure is expected. If you'd be kind enough to answer my questions I may be able to stop chaos and place someone credible on Ko-Koro's throne, possibly Korzaa and less potentially Ahka Tamara, while moving the blame of it all away from the source so the larger game can continue in the shadows unexposed. You have many things to gain, one of them quality sleep without the fear of death clawing at your mind. The other is undoubtedly a sense of ease knowing I'll be able to pull off what is required of me without starting an island-wide war. If you want me to keep counting the benefits I can list them off alphabetically or chronologically. You don't trust me, Caerus and I respect that, but in the end I'm where I am because I enjoy it. I won't kill the game, I'll only move it forward. Who are The Peers, what is there agenda, and who plotted Matoro's death?" A slow, deliberate blink. The harpist continued to play, notes floating on the air like rose petals. “Sometimes, Hapaka, we must make difficult decisions,” the Matoran said. “And, sometimes, I wonder if my slumber might be better served not by removing Ambages, but you.” Ishi cocked his head to one side. "Would it be better to kill someone who digs up truth for his enjoyment or a man who can avoid the accuracy of Leah Maru's kanohi and more than likely plans to lay waste to civilization as we know it?" He shrugged, the folds of his coat opening with a rustle of lava eel skin and fur as he rested his head in his hand and his arm on the chair. “Telling the truth can be dangerous business,” the Matoran replied. “Those who dig too deep may find more than they bargained for.” "Who said I would tell it?" Ishi gave a soft laugh. It echoed off the walls and down the halls, temporarily overpowering the harpist's tune. "Most of what I learn I keep locked up in this black box of a brain. It sounds hypocritical, but I'm sure you understand. Knowledge is its own special form of power. It may not be able to move mountains or freeze oceans, but it can certainly sway the tides of our desires. The more I know the less I can leave to guesswork. The less I leave to guesswork the more perfectly I can perform." He rose, taking a few steps about the room. The walls were smooth, carves from a single chunk of stone in the bowels of the earth. "I hate guessing. It makes things messy. If I know instead everything becomes wonderfully ordered. I'm all for order." He finished with a wry smile as he leaned against the wall near the harpist, watching her fingers move with delicate precision. A precision he wished to emulate throughout his own life. “I, too, hate guesswork,” the Matoran returned. “And perhaps my affairs might be more ordered if I simply returned your mask to Ambages to gain his trust.” The music ceased. His green eyes glowed in the dim light. “Secrets stay safest when buried.” An impassive glance passed between the unpredictable man and his hapaka. He knew Ishi had taken stock of the room before entering. It had been the fleeting glances as the informant clapped. The fireplace, the chairs, the small table, and the other few belongings had been placed in a mental map and plotted for possible outcomes. the shortest line of distance between Caerus and the harpist had been mathematically evaluated. Ishi knew where things were. It was a confidence he had no pretense to hide but no arrogance to flaunt. "Threatening to kill me did nothing for you," Ishi admitted candidly as he moved to the arm of the open chair and sat ad-hock on the wood. "It only proved what I had suspected, that my questions were of a far more than sensitive nature and that you're afraid for it to get out, afraid for your own life I can imagine given your partner in this plot." He undid the rose broach holding the front of his coat closed and tossed it lightly in the palm of his hand to create an awkward metronome. "There are certain things that happen in communication. Threats from men like you and Ambages often mean I've hit a nerve. Strangely, if I can prove how I'm useful in someone's plan they let me live. If you planned to kill me from the outset I'd have died in a Po-Koro cell months ago." He re-pinned the brooch to his coat. "Let's be honest. You distrust Ambages. He more than distrusts you. Sending him my mask wouldn't do much, except maybe you'd get a return request for my corpse as confirmation. Ambages does business and likes things tidy in his dealings. Loose ends really aren't his style until I come along and start pointing them out. Same with you. Sure, you two could use me as a way to temporarily relieve your paranoia. Putting your differences aside to keep the status quo. It wouldn't work though. If you kill me it shows you don't know your pieces and therefore are not suitable to play the game. If he kills me, well," Ishi gave a chuckle, "then I guess he'll be able to keep mowing down challengers to the position of Akiri and your attempts to thwart his plans without direct interference will be moot. In other words you lose, he wins, and I'm a poorly used piece, pawn sacrifice or queen trade it makes no difference." There was a short pause and then Ishi hopped onto his feet and clapped his hands together as if struck with a marvelous idea. "Or, you could answer truthfully and use your pieces wisely. I'll stop the ascension of our acquaintance to leadership of a wahi, you'll look perfectly innocent thanks to some well timed hot heads taking the fall instead, and I'll have a sixty-six percent chance of death to contend with. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?" “You talk too much,” the Matoran returned, his delivery almost lazy. “I'm not afraid of you. I am, however, wary of your hubris and of your need to incessantly prove your intelligence to everyone within earshot. I find that the more a man talks, the less he knows; and the less he knows, the more useless he becomes. “I won't reward you for an empty guess. I did not threaten you: I offered a solution to our current state of affairs, one that is appearing increasingly sensible as your vapid conversation continues. Even I, the master of whispers, am growing tired of listening to you.” Ishi had the good sense to remain silent and return to the chair. His ego floundered, as if Caerus had walked up to a large balloon with a pair of pins and stuck them deep. Ambages had done something similar when insulting Ishi's intelligence. The informant stalled, finger tapping the chair arm. Hubris,vapid monologues, and a loose mouth were the accusations of the prosecutor. In the specific instance Ishi had to agree. Ishi had been notified of his weaknesses, and weakness killed in the dark world of secrets. “You're right, my apologies. I stepped over a line that shouldn't have been crossed and wasted plenty of air decoding our conversation rather than focusing on the larger matters." He looked back at Caerus. The Spider was paying more attention to the crackling hearth than his repenting spy. It would take true information, actual useful bits of the truth Ishi coveted so dearly, to regain attention. Ishi leaned forward. "There's a group plotting to take Ko-Koro before an election can happen. They're rabble rousers mainly, but with deep pockets. I've found my way in with them, but it's only a matter of time before things begin to fall apart. You'll know when because transportation and communications will be shut down. Their plan is full of loop holes to manipulate and I intend to. If I knew the origin of Matoro's murder I could use that as well. Being able to give the entire population something to rally behind would only bring them to the watering hole. I just need information they'll drink. I could concoct it, but lies only work when truth is behind them. “I also know who owns the kanohi Komau.” The Spider steepled his fingers. The harpist didn't move. Then, at last: "Very well." He leaned forward, eyes alight. "I killed Matoro. "I left my game of secrets for the first time in a long time because the moment was right. I set up Ambages to take the throne because I knew it would be too obvious. The easier his ascension, the deeper the suspicion. The other Akiri never trusted him, but now they are almost certain. "You wish to bring him down? Then make his ascension easy. By serving him, you will both gain his trust and earn your coin, and, when the moment is again right, the other Akiri will turn on him. He will fall." OOC: Ishi Polzin to Kini-Nui IC: Krios I was lounging in the Wise Man's Archive and reading a book about the history of the Kumu-Islets when the doorbell rang with the soft sound of a visitor. OOC: Anyone? Open for interaction.

GSR has one in the markets.

IC: Eiyu Kwaiya "Have you found any ties between our earlier, male driven society to the Eastern Island?" Kwaiya looked at Lorekeeper Gotsoko expectantly, as if somehow the old scholar was able to see through the truth in the orb on her staff. "We set out to learn about the foreigners and now we're delving into our history. I don't understand." IC: Hogo Kamari Organizing the security for a masquerade seemed simple at the outset, but by the end of the afternoon Kamari was at her wits end. First she had to implement a form of screening for attendees, only those with an invitation and their one guest were to be allowed in, and once the revelers had passed into the great Dragon Hall Kamari would have to keep them under watch for suspicious activity. It was her duty to Toroshu Noshima and a duty she would not fail. The Chōjo was hosting, and if anything were to befall the crown princess, her sister, or any other royal it would be a grave shame to clan Hogo. In the end Kamari managed to establish a sense of order in the plans. There would be guards at the entries, a few Hogo in disguise as revelers themselves, and Kamari herself would watch from the rafters while cloaked by her huna: nothing would happen without a Hogo response. OOC: Okay, let's get this game rolling! WAHOO!

WAHHOOOOOOOOO!!! This totally ties into what I was just saying in the Feedback topic, so excited to have this rolling forward. XDDDDD

Okay, this went WAY longer than I thought it would so I just decided to make a quick TL;DR right up front for those who hate reading walls of text. Kughii thanks staff for actively asking for feedback. He explains what a sandbox RPG is, calling on some examples from computer gaming. Kughii points to how the style offers two major opportunities: ever expanding horizons and staff plot to alter the horizon's direction of growth.Offers a fix to the lack of motivation: attitude adjustment.Speaks about staff plots: offers the idea of more staff members or more staff interaction.Talks about personal pet peeves: elitism in the player community.Ends with a quick closing comment. If you want to pretty much get the concise explanation read that. Seeing this topic in the RPG forum really makes me happy. It shows just how dedicated the staff are to making sure this game is fun for all players. Up front I just want to say thank you for opening the door to positive feedback. I've seen a lot of great points already I might have made myself, but also a lot of points on which I'm guilty as charged and will work hard to change in my gaming contributions. As an aside, if anyone has a comment or feel they have something to voice toward me please do: my PM box is almost never full. As a (board) game designer I have to point out this is a sandbox RPG. In the computer game world, which sort of blossomed out of board games one could reason, MMOs have started to adopt the style of sandbox gameplay, especially some S. Korean games liked Black Desert and ArchAge, and the most recent release I know of like this on a gaming console for English speaking audiences is Elder Scrolls Online, and possibly WildStar coming out in a couple of months. By now we've all become accustomed to a Fallout or Elder Scrolls game, even to some extent a BioWare game, offering us that seemingly limitless horizon of possibility, but despite the amount of effort game designers put into showing how unending their game is I believe the true medium for a limitless horizon is actually right here on a little backwater fan site with the written word instead of high powered AAA graphics engines. However, in the world of text-based RPGs, the sandbox is a bit of a black sheep. On one hand the staff keep the players moving forward through a MUD-like area (not quite a MUD, obviously), filled with the occasional quest or larger objective of an arc, while at the same time players are branching out and testing just how limitless the horizon of the game really is. You're going to have the players who want to run off into the hinterlands and do their own thing there, and then you'll have the players who want a dedicated plot that moves the entire game forward to manipulate and interact with, and even more complex are the players who have a burning desire to do both. In a perfect world the balance would average out and we'd have the glorious result of an ever expanding horizon constantly changing its direction by a dynamic staff plot. We're not there yet, but I have no doubt with a little persistence we could be. I think the biggest fix might be player attitude. Yes, I'm in wholehearted agreement there should be more action (I'm guilty), less jams (I'm guilty), less introspective posts that do nothing to advance some greater plot but instead contemplate a character's feelings for some various thing (I'm guilty by several pages), and more player opportunities to influence the game. I feel the best way to change things in the right direction doesn't actually require staff intervention; it requires player motivation. As I said earlier this is a sandbox RPG. This is not a Dungeons & Dragons delve where the DM (Dungeon Master for those who might not know), is controlling a Tarasque while you and your friends work desperately to defeat the beast, save the maiden in the tower, gain XP and gold (and Renown if you're playing Encounters), and move on to the next challenge. The essential game mechanics, although both based on fantasy and imagination, are remarkably different. This is where that great balance between plot and an expansive horizon comes in. If you want interaction that morphs how others see the game then create it. That's the biggest part of the sandox open world format. There are plenty of locations and denizens between the two island nations of this game to keep anyone content for months of intense RPing, if not years. If you need a quest for your character to find a magic sword do what Toa Fanixe did and make it. If you want to be a world-builder and showcase a temple or other landmark go visit one like Joske and Co. did at the Temple of Creativity early in this arc. Your writing leaves a lasting impact on the expansive horizon, gives detail to what is already known, and makes the wiki peoples' head spin (trust the guy who updates location pages), when someone says Ta-Koro is at Mangai and someone else says it's closer to the coast, but that's all part of the fun. Once this mentality of go-and-get-it is established as the norm instead of lounging about waiting for someone to hand us a plot-hook like it's DND and say, "oh look at this map and go find this stuff and kill this evil wizard in the tower and then pursue further roots into the Underdark," I feel we'll be on our way toward having that upbeat feel the game used to produce in its players. (Y'know, back when Tuck was dropping meteors left and right?) What about the staff plot portion, that thread which constantly manipulates the expanding horizon? Here is where I would suggest adding a little more staff push. Let the sandbox work its magic and create the landscape, use the staff plots to create the overall feel of the composition. Indeed, the staff plot seems to have entirely disappeared as players go about sandboxing with their characters and the staff themselves fall into a stint of inactivity as life becomes full of absolutely awesome (but time consuming and far more important to be honest), things. We've got staff who are exiting high school and looking toward college or jobs, we've got college students coming out with a degree, and we've got players going through the same life checkpoints as the staff themselves. These are trying times in our lives and each player/staff member only has so much time in a day to give to a game like the BZPRPG. When something like the staff plot is lulling and the expanding horizon is continuing to branch out without direction naturally there will be a feeling of chaos and lack of purpose, especially when players are not actively pushing their own agendas and instead waiting for something good to happen so they can jump on the bandwagon (I'm guilty). As for how to fix this situation, I'd suggest maybe looking into the possibility of getting another staff member to help run things and keep the plots moving forward. Vezok's Friend and Ghosthands are both capable players with important characters in the game who seem to be around quite often.* If bringing on more staff isn't the answer you seek I'd suggest looking into creating more ways for players to get out of the rut of continuous sandboxing and begin molding the raw landscape they've generated over the past few months. More staff plots aren't the answer in my opinion, more staff interaction is. That may sound oddly hypocritical at first, but I assure you it's not. The staff have some great key plots running at the moment, the plots themselves just need some spark plugs and a quick shock back into action. Finally, my personal pet peeves is the integral ranking system of the game. There is a player group at the top and a player group at the bottom and the two rarely interact. There are middlemen players who seem to be the go-betweens. The rank of a player also seems to be based around their quality of writing and how long they've been playing the game, which in some ways is wonderful since players with a better grasp of syntax and grammar can interact at the same level and with peers they've grown fond of, and in other ways not so fantastic because those in the lower groups don't get much by way of learning through interaction and newbs** aren't actively encouraged to play with veterans. Actually, from the way things are talked about on off-site networks veterans seem to be a reserved class with perks and newbs are made to look foolish for their actions. (It's kind of like being a senior and talking about the freshman class, omitting the fact we were once freshman too and got tossed in garbage bins just as often.) Instead, those players on the bottom seem to think such writing, or the staff plot, is out of their reach, or at least act as such. Maybe they're content being considered a lower group, but as a fellow player I'd only want to see my friends improve their writing while having fun, not wallow at some level below or above my own. This was one of the reasons I gave up trying to be a "veteran" or a "top-tier" player once 2013 arc hit and I'd stopped writing 15 page posts. I realized it just didn't make sense and created far more animosity than awe. It also kept expanding the horizon, great sandboxing, without actual plot progression, which meant I'd end up out in the middle of nowhere with no one to interact with except myself until I got back from the boondocks and into the company of civilized society where other players were waiting for interaction. By breaking up the concept of one player being greater than another, irrespective of writing prowess, and by actively encouraging each other to participate in plots and push things forward I feel we can begin to achieve more of the fun interaction and adrenaline pumping adventures we remember and crave. Finding that beautiful balance between sandbox interaction and manipulation of the world through staff plot will naturally take time, but as interaction between players/staff increases so will the pace of change in the game itself. Thanks for reading! ~Kughii ––––––––––– * Veef and Ghosty did not ask me to just up and say they should be staff. That's entirely a matter of my personal opinion as a possible solution. ** I think I made the joke that newbs are, "newts who happened upon a keyboard and wifi connection," once. Again, I'm guilty of this mentality but working hard to change.

You're doing great! Looking forward to the next chapter.

Amakusa did a good job summing it up. BZPRPG Art: Greisk

@Admis: If you can change the topic name to "Greisk: Toa of Magnetism" that would be so great. ThankS! The second character for Norik from the BZPRPG, this is Greisk. Greisk is a toa of magnetism (don't let the earth-elemental colors fool ya'), who wields a pair of iron bars and wears a cowboy hat. I was gonna' add the hat, but then I realized those beautiful horns on his kanohi were just to gorgeous to cover up. So here he is without equipment striking a pose. (Click image for Full resolution.) This took about 3 hours to complete using Artrage demo program and a Wacom. As always I would love some C&C. Also, I definitely stole some tips from Vezok's Friend and Demitsorou, but hey: copying in the entertainment industry is the greatest form of flattery. ~Kughii BONUS CONTENT: First up is the fifteen minute digital speed sketch I did after reading the profile. He was a little too bulky, and the red felt cap was actually supposed to be a brown cowboy hat, but I was trying to catch the elemental powers in mid-motion.

IC: Daikura Koga Koga nodded. "Yes, of course. For starters I will need to welcome my Toroshu to Sado." Once outside in the small garden Koga quickly made his way across the crystal path to the front gate. Outside the Korae residence he found his palanquin waiting and stepped inside. He felt as if the world was a dream. From scholar and occasionally teacher to member of the Chōjo's honour guard in little under an hour, Koga's prospects and future had risen significantly. No longer was he just a token first son to be bedded by valiant menti his toroshu deemed acceptable. Now he was gaining true power. In time he hoped his power would win favor with a certain woman. A woman who desired power above almost all else, for power was what would unchain her from the fate she was given: Soraph.

OOC: Hewkii Post in the near future. @Norik: I believe it's Lady and Sir. Unless you want to use Serr. XD IC: Kriigata As her eyes adjusted to the barracks one sunspot morphed into the image of a ko-skakdi. He sat on the lower bunk of a bed to the left, arms still against the wood frame from hauling himself erect. The muscles bulged on his shoulders and his mouth was twisted into a wacky grin. Kriigata smiled, displaying the skakdi runes of protection on her teeth. "Sir Zekev it's good to see you," Kriigata stated warmly as she crossed the threshold and stepped closer to the knight. "The mission went well... Were you sleeping?"

OOC: OMG Going to Mata-Nui OMG IC: Daikura Koga Koga blinked, unsure if he had heard the battlemaster correctly. Not only was Koga to serve the Chōjo directly under the command of his new mentor but he would do so half a world away where the powers of the land and sky and see were reported to be manipulated by beings similar to himself. If he had been a youth without the discipline of menti training his jaw might have dropped. Instead, Koga did little more than bow deeply and say; "You honor me deeply with the prospect of glory in the Eastern Island. The Daikura way is one of training the mind, and what better way to train the mind then place it in a foreign environment? You will not regret your offer to me." He rose from the chair, silk fabric rustling as it fell into place about his frame. "My mind is yours, Mentor Korae, for the protection of the Rora and her family."

IC: Kriigata "I read in the histories our Lord was once known throughout the island. It will be a blessed day when the name of Ak'rei'an is to be spoken on the lips of common folk," Kriigata said as they entered the main keep's throne room. It was dark but cool, the ceiling patched in the time she had left with Jorruk for Ko-Wahi. So much had changed in such a short period of time. Two weeks felt like two years. As she thought of time she also thought of a man. "If you will excuse me," Kriigata said after they had walked the length of the chamber and turned through a doorway still missing its door, "I have someone I need to find." The purple coat she wore fluttered at the hem as she spun and walked in the other direction. No longer tied to the pace of the aged matoran her long legs carried her swiftly through the corridors of the main keep until she had walked back into the beating sun of the courtyard and across to the humble buildings that served as barracks for Ak'rei'an's knights. "Jaaku?" Kriigata called as she stepped out of the light and into the long rows of bunk beds, freshly made from scavenged wood. No doubt a caravan of lumber crossing the desert had met its end for her comfort. Such was Truth. Reminding herself of the reason she had come she called again as the sunspots danced in her vision. "It's Kriigata. Are you there?"