AlchemistMayCry

IC: Veros Jolek jumped. Without much as saying a word outside of a near curse. "Boring conversation anyway," I said, glancing back at Crimeia who at this point had sheathed her weapons and was just glancing around. "You want to chase down jumpman?" I said. "Or go look for anyone else calling for help?" I could faintly hear someone calling for help. "Well?" Crim shrugged. "Either one ought to be interesting. Though you can jump better than me. At least with that karzin' mask of yours." "Hey just because I beat you in a race one time..." "ALL THE TIME." Crim pouted. That pout was the pout that would instantly put anyone on her side. It was adorable. "I see your point. I'll go chase after Jumpin' Jolek. Which I will probably call him from now on assuming he doesn't try to kill me." I blinked out of existence towards the direction Jolek went towards, leaving Crim behind. "Got your back Jumpin' Jolek!" I called. Spirits why am I now the nicknamer. IC: Crimeia Rescue duty. Woohoo. I dashed off down the alleyway. "Whoever was calling for help, I'm on my way!" I called. Assuming they're only mostly dead and not all dead. I felt rumbling under my feet. Quake? Or just...nah, no way...

Eighth'd. Definitely down for a quick start guide.

IC: Veros and Crimeia (Veros's POV) I moved forward with Jolek, Crim holding her position in front of us, bow trained towards the inn should anything come out. I flourished Absolution and sheathed it, shifting into a stance where a draw could bring the maximum amount of cutting damage with a single slash. I don't like this at all. There are too many variables. Things could go wrong at a moment's notice. "Well, at least there's options, Jolek," I said, gripping Absolution tightly. "And if they come running out...well, that's where my sword comes in."

IC: Veros "And if they don't suffocate?" I said, gripping Absolution a bit harder than I had before. "What's plan B? And for that matter, how many people have they injured and/or killed?"

As someone who knows one of those dudes...yes. very yes.

IC: Veros and Crimeia (veros's POV) "Pleasure, Jolek," I replied, striding forward. "I don't know about you, but standing around isn't exactly going to change anything. Is smoking the...whatever they are out like the best fish in Ga-Koro going to even work?"

IC: Veros and Crimeia I shook my head, finishing cauterizing all of Votaka's wounds. I almost wanted to slap him, but that might cause internal bleeding. "Well, assuming this smoke-out plan of yours works..." I said, standing up and drawing Absolution, the katana's red blade glimmering. "What are we facing?" "Something really bad," Crim said. "Well, do tell, hunter." "Smells like we're in trouble, Ver." "On a scale from harmless to Makuta, what we got here?" Crimeia inhaled sharply, nocking another set of three arrows. "11." Karz. I glanced at the Toa of Magnetism. "So, Strategist. What's your plan? And I didn't get your name. I'd rather not be calling you Strategist for the last few moments of your life."

IC: Veros and Crimeia "Don't need to tell me twice!" I said, dashing to Votaka that the Toa of Magnetism pointed out. I grabbed Votaka, heaving him onto my shoulders before throwing him into the air and blinking out of existence and catching the body, landing near the Toa of Magnetism. I put Votaka down and gave him a look over: he wasn't in good shape. Bleeding profusely from several wounds. "This is gonna sting, friend," I said, heating up my fingers with plasma. "This ought to keep you alive until we get you to a healer." I pressed the plasma-fied fingers gingerly on his wounds, cauterizing them instantly. I looked back up at Crim. "Crim! Get down here!" She nodded and descended from the roof, landing by the alley's entrance and ran in, bow at the ready. "This guy doesn't look too good, Ver," she said, surveying around, loosing a few arrows just in case. "Less talk, more protection!" I said. "I need to cauterize these wounds before loses all of his blood!" "Can do!" I glanced up at the Toa of Magnetism. "What the karz happened?" only a few more wounds to close. Karz it, I'm a fighter, not a doctor!

IC: Veros and Crimeia My eyes widened. I saw someone waving at us in the alleyway near the inn. And things were going to heat up fast. "Crim, cover me!" I said, leaping off my perch into a graceful dive before blinking out of existence and reappearing on the ground. I blinked again and again, arriving in the alleyway where I saw a Toa of Magnetism waving weakly. One blink again, and I was by their side. "The Calvary's here," I said, glancing up and around. I saw Crimeia on a rooftop nearby, three arrows trained on the alleyway. "Probably no time for introductions, but the name's Veros. I'll get you outta here."

IC: Veros & Crimeia (from Veros's POV), not far from the Lavapool Inn I knelt on the top of a roof, perched like a giant bird of prey, surveying the carnage below. Alas, poor Lavapool Inn, we knew you well. Great food, lousy beds. Somehow it was still intact, yet smoldering. I could hear the sound of fighting below, and as much as I wanted to join in, I knew that wouldn't end well. I heard a soft thump and Crimeia moved next to me, barely making a sound. She drew her bow and quietly nocked an arrow. "Situation?" "Dire," I replied. "Well, at least for anyone in the Lavapool Inn." Crim nodded and pulled back on her bow, readying the arrow. "What in the name of karzahni are you doing?" "If it hits something, or if we get attacked back, then we can decide if we should help or not." I glared at her. "How about no. Put down the bow. I got a better plan." Crim pouted and put her bow away, decloaking. "You're no fun." "No, I'm smart." I stood up and cupped my hands. "DOES ANYONE NEED ANY HELP DOWN THERE?!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. Crim shook her head. "Some plan." OOC: Veros and Crimeia open for interaction.

Thanks for the info! Might jump in as more of a spectator than anything else.

So what exactly is going on with the whole Piraka situation? Can I get the short version? Need to figure out when to jump in and all.

And how many Piraka are there? Because if...welp, ded people probably getting deaded.

And thus the triumphant return! Name: Veros Species: Toa Gender: Male Mask: Kanohi Kualsi, Mask of Quick Travel Element: Plasma Alignment: Chaotic Good Appearance: Veros is fairly tall, with a reddish brown body (Toa Metru-esque), black shoulders, feet, hands, with a hooded duster of the same reddish brown of his body. He wears several bandoleers of knives under his duster. His katana, Absolution, is kept at his hip. More knives are hidden on the inside of his duster. He keeps his long knife on a sheath on his chest. His Kanohi Kualsi is a standard Kualsi, modified with three ridges at the top and is the same color as his body (reddish brown). Eyes are red. His Kualsi is scarred with an X-shaped scar across the face. Weapons: Long knife (longer and heavier than his throwing knives, used for stealth attacks) Throwing knives Metal quarterstaff Absolution: protosteel katana (slightly longer than a normal katana) with engravings on the blade, which is a brilliant red. Volo Lutu Launcher Skills/Powers: Veros is a capable hand-to-hand fighter, but prefers stealth tactics, especially making use of his Kanohi Kualsi to sneak around a battlefield and take down unsuspecting targets from behind with his long knife. He alternates between using his katana and staff. However, his true strength is in wielding the katana, which he can unsheathe with lightning speed. He’s very pragmatic in his fights, and is willing to fight dirty if necessary, and make a tactical retreat if he’s losing. While he does make use of his plasma elemental power, he prefers to use it to enhance his weaponry rather than using it for blasts or the like. Weaknesses: Veros is not very physically strong. If anything, he’s average. If he fought someone stronger than him in a direct confrontation, he would lose very quickly, even though he’s a capable hand-to-hand fighter. And while he has a high constitution, he wears himself down quickly with his speedster fighting style and use of the Kualsi, not to mention using his elemental powers to enhance his weapons for long periods of time. Personality: As a Matoran (and early in his career as a Toa), Veros was snarky, playful, and overconfident to a fault, though he could back it up with his skill. During his time as a mercenary, he was jaded and cold, with a fairly black and mean-spirited sense of humor. After his near-death, Veros became much quieter and more somber in tone. While he’d still whip out a snappy remark, he’s is much less likely to do so and prefers to keep things quieter. He does have a sense of humor, and when there are quiet moments, he will try to make some jokes to ease tension. During more tense moments, he becomes deathly serious. After his final conflict with Fuse, he returned to a bit of his old snarky and playful days, though if dangerous situations presented themselves, he’d become serious and less snarky. History: Before he became a Toa, Veros was excitable and had a huge interest in the Toa. He wanted to become one, like his hero, Tahu. After the Toa never returned, his dream came true and he became a Toa. However, he was greatly unprepared for a Toa’s duties, and with his hero never returning, Veros left on a journey to discover himself. The journey was long and hard, and the cheerful Matoran of the past became jaded and cold, though keeping a (somewhat black) sense of humor. He became a mercenary, and while he tried his best, he eventually abandoned the Toa Code, finding that its old teachings would not work in a harsh world. He developed a rather unpleasant reputation of being a brutal mercenary without any scruples, and was feared and distrusted wherever he went, earning the nickname of “The Dishonored Hero”. While Veros was perfectly fine taking assassinations and other forms of killing, he kept some scruples and wouldn’t do jobs that were completely evil (for example, razing an entire village). In fact, if he were asked to do such a job, he’d be more likely to kill that possible employer and steal their money. As time passed, he grew fed up with the world abandoning him and decided to end his life. Before he entered the wilderness to find a rahi, Toa Tahu appeared to him in a hallucination. The hallucination voiced its disappointment with Veros, saying that Mata Nui would be better off if he died. Veros went into the wilderness and got his wish when he found a Muaka. He attacked the creature, and eventually was severely wounded. Near death, he collapsed and assumed the muaka would finish him off, until an unknown Toa rescued him. The Toa stabilized Veros’s wounds and brought him back to Ta-Koro, before disappearing into the night. When Veros awoke, he found himself home again, and realized that he was still alive. After some time recuperating and rediscovering the Toa Code that he had once abandoned, Veros left Ta-Koro once more, to wander the land and help wherever he could, and hopefully atone for his crimes and erase the stigma against him, and maybe find the Toa who had rescued him. He did not have much to go on, but he agreed that this journey would be one of enlightenment and atonement, and to distance himself from his past. Finding his savior would be just part of the deal. His travels reunited him with childhood friend Crimeia, and introduced him to several others. He confronted his past when Fuse, the leader of the Burnouts (a gang that Veros had joined and later eliminated after they went too far) returned, offering Veros the chance to join a restored Burnouts. Veros declined, and this led to the two settling their differences in a climactic duel in the Charred Forest, which left Fuse without an arm and a leg. Veros atoned himself from the crimes of his past, and left Fuse to either die or escape before falling unconscious because of his wounds. Name: Crimeia Species: Toa Gender: Female Mask: Kanohi Volitak, Mask of Stealth Element: Fire Alignment: Neutral Good Appearance: Crimeia is tall, with a Toa Metru-style body. Her body is a dark scarlet, with a mix of gold accents on her hands, shoulders, and feet. Her mask is round with a crest in the middle on the top. Her mouth is white, and the rest of the mask is the same dark scarlet as her body, with gold accents highlighting the armored-like design. Her eyes are a striking green. She wears a brown cloak that is short in the front, giving her arms room to move, but long in the back, giving it a cape-like appearance. The cape is split into two halves, which are tattered and when blown in the wind give the appearance of wings. She wears her longsword in a scabbard on the right side of her hip. A quiver of arrows is attached to the back of her hip, and on the left side of her hip is a holster for her hand crossbow. A second quiver is slung over her back, held up by a bandoleer of crossbow bolts. One of her knives is strapped to her left leg, and the other is sheathed next to her crossbow. Weapons: Protosteel longsword Longbow w/arrows Hand crossbow w/bolts Long knives x2 Volo Lutu Launcher Skills/Powers: Crimeia is a fairly strong hand-to-hand fighter, able to go toe-to-toe with foes larger and heavier than she is, and while she is capable, this is not her forte. She prefers to keep her foes at range, making use of her Volitak and cloak to hide and snipe from a distance. She’ll make good use of her Volo Lutu Launcher to get up to high places and survey in her fights. She views fights as hunts, and being an expert tracker, can track targets for days while staying hidden herself. If forced into a direct confrontation, she’ll make use of her longsword and knives, and if the opportunity presents itself, her hand crossbow. She prefers to use her element to enhance her longsword and on occasion arrows, and the occasional use of fire for a burst of speed or to launch herself into the air, or cause a distraction. Weaknesses: Crimeia can keep up a barrage of high-speed attacks to keep fights in her favor, but is relatively fragile. While she can track/hunt her targets for days at a time, this does take a toll on her fighting skill. It’s why she prefers long range attacks to short range strikes. Her Volitak and stealth skills aren’t perfect either, so an acute opponent can track her easily if she’s not careful. Personality: To use a terrible pun, Crimeia has a “fiery” personality. She’s energetic, fun-loving, and snarky. She loves to get into the action and have fun while doing it. However, this fun-loving appearance is a façade constructed to hide her inner doubt. She never expected to be a Toa, and the responsibility frightens her, especially living up to the standards of the Toa Mata. She has to protect the island she loves, and while she goes at it with gusto, she always doubts herself. She also finds it difficult to talk about certain issues with her friends, and when she goes introverted, she’ll use her mask to escape and hide. History: As a Matoran, Crimeia was fun-loving and excitable. She was the one always leading the way to ridiculous stunts, something she picked up from Veros. A champion lava surfer and kolhii player, she was always trying new things and having fun while doing it. She had lots of friends, including Veros, whom she had a bit of a relationship with. The relationship was rather awkward between the two, and they mutually agreed to be just friends, though Crimeia always noticed something more in Veros’s awkward proposals. She harbored similar feelings, but could never get them out, always changing topics to something different, such as free-running across the roofs of Ta-Koro. Veros and Crimeia maintained a good friendship until Veros became a Toa. Everything went downhill from there. After Veros became a Toa, he left to go on a journey to help people. Crimeia was left with friends, but still harbored her hidden feelings for Veros. She would try to dismiss it with more stunts and fun-loving, trying to keep up appearances, but couldn’t hide a bit of jealousy towards her friend. During this time she refined her already capable hunting skills, going out farther than she had ever been to practice hunting Rahi to provide food for her friends and family. She tried to keep in high spirits, until she started hearing rumors of a Toa of Plasma that had gone rogue. When she learned that the “Dishonored Hero” was none other than her friend, she buried any of her feelings for him completely. While she appeared to be happy on the outside, she was conflicted and furious at her former friend. This came to a head when she was given the chance to become a Toa. She spent a few weeks debating, before accepting the chance, becoming a Toa. After living in Ta-Koro for all her life, never really leaving, she saw this as a chance to see Mata Nui, and become a better hunter than she had already been, while helping people where she could. She vowed to track down Veros as well, and confront him about his actions, to finally put her past behind her. She found Veros in Ga-Wahi, and joined him on his journey of redemption. Her actions helped bring her friend back to something she once knew.

Oh joyous day! Well, there's always the option of a tactical retreat.

Someone say something about beating up Piraka in Ta-Koro? I could use a little action to get back in the groove.

As I said in my pitch for this, it was to be purely optional. As in, if you wanted to do it, you could, but you if you didn't, you wouldn't have to. It would not be an approval system. It would simply be a safe place to workshop your characters and get ideas, suggestions, and constructive criticism. There wouldn't be some arbitrary requirement like "You must have had X people looking over this character and incorporate some of their suggestions into your character". That wouldn't help anyone. Also, while it is a workshop, I'd suggest that people workshopping their characters shouldn't have to take ALL advice from everyone (unless that advice was "Please tone down your very obvious godmodded Expy of Batman into something more reasonable"), they could take ideas and use them as they see fit. All it would be is that, a workshop. It wouldn't lock out anyone from making new characters, it would give newbies the chance to interact with people of all skill levels, and maybe, just maybe, increase the quality of characters appearing in the RPG.

See, I think another thing we should see more of is less "scoffing at the foolishness" with newer players. That time spent scoffing could be spent crafting a PM to the newbie in question and being like "hey! I saw your character profile, and while it's good, there are some things that need to be tweaked so it's more in-line with the rules! I can help out since I've been doing this for a while!" Short version, the veterans should be the ones initiating this sort of "Can I help?" conversation with the newbies. Think of it as on-the-spot mentoring. Like CRANE, but less formal. On that same vein with characters that might need revision, I had an idea: an optional topic where players can submit their character profiles before they go onto the profiles page, and they can get assistance with revising the characters to be more in-line with the rules, less of an expy, etc. This way new players can get interaction with the community and learn some good ways of writing/developing their characters, without the hassle/fear that might come from trying to find a vet to PM and ask "Is my character okay?". And like I said, this would be purely optional, not an extra step required to making a character. Getting a character made is already tough enough as it is. Adding in "You must have someone look it over to see if it's good or not to be actually put in the profiles page" would be a major deterrent to getting people to actually want to play. Any of that seem reasonable?

As a self-professed newbie, there's something that arguably makes the RPG more difficult to get into than it should be. And while elitism, overly-long introspective posts, overly-short posts, etc are issues, there's one thing that can make the RPG hard to get into from the outset, or even after coming back from an extended hiatus. (NO SUBTEXT HERE I ASSURE YOU) Continuity lockout. I think it's possible to overcome continuity lockout (considering that I'm a comic book fan, overcoming continuity lock-out is practically a requirement!), but at least with a comic book or a film series, you can skip some material and still get what's going on. With the RPG, not so much, on account of there being so many people running with their own plots, not to mention the staff plot that can get caught in the overflow of things going on. Heck, one of my reservations about joining the RPG was that I'd never be able to follow what's going on. And the only reason I could keep up is that I kept my first little "arc" self-contained and with only a couple people. However, the only solutions to avoiding continuity lock-out seems to be either reading long walls of text posts, the RPG wiki, or, god forbid, all the posts related to what's going on. Suffice it to say, aside from Kughii's blog that has bullet-points of the latest events (which I didn't even KNOW about until a friend showed me), there seems to be few tools to help avert the lockout. And I think that if there were these tools, they should at least have some sort of promotion in some way, or new people to the RPG should be informed of them outright. I do hope there isn't a sense of "oh let the newbies figure it out on their own" here, since that just exacerbates the differences between the new people and the veterans. As for the "Continuity/Story Tools", I do have a few suggestions if these did come into play: Make them accessible and promoted enough so everyone can find it easily (especially for first timers!) .No walls of text (it doesn't need to be just bullet points, short paragraphs for easy reading would be fine). Maybe include links to relevant posts in-game if the readers are interested in seeing what happened for themselvesIn short, for those who just joined/returned from hiatus, they should feel like they can understand the story without having to read several novels' worth of text across various forums.

Just Live More - Gaim no Kaze

AC/DC - Shoot to Thrill