Nuju Metru

From the plot description, it looks like things are simply beginning to simmer into something dangerous for now. Most likely street-level skirmishes before full-blown conflict occurs. Unless I'm completely wrong. For now, yeah, I imagine that the level of actual conflict on Sado has simmered back to "Montague vs. Capulet" levels since the riot, but the bad blood is much more extreme, and clan members may very well be planning much more calculated and dangerous violence for all I know. The state of the Sado streets is in your hands. How dangerous will you make it for the other side?

This is definitely how I see battles happening. But two seasons ago? Boy, learn to count... We're still in our second arc, by my calculation.

Attack dogs of the Rora. Whose life has been very clearly put in danger. I didn't think it was too much of a stretch.

Tuck coming back just wasn't enough excitement for one day... CHAPTER III INITIATED! Check it out here! For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

CHAPTER III INITIATED! Henceforth, all events described here are effective immediately. For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

CHAPTER III INITIATED! Henceforth, all events described here are effective immediately. For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

CHAPTER III INITIATED! Henceforth, all events described here are effective immediately. For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

CHAPTER III INITIATED! Henceforth, all events described here are effective immediately. For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

CHAPTER III INITIATED! Henceforth, all events described here are effective immediately. For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

CHAPTER III INITIATED! Henceforth, all events described here are effective immediately. For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

CHAPTER III INITIATED! Henceforth, all events described here are effective immediately. For more information on Chapter III and how it affects your characters, please read the first portion of this post.

Coming soon, and bringing with it some changes in the game...

OOC: Made that opening on purpose, Alex - was just looking for some good ol' interaction! IC: Nihi tried not to allow the grin that Soraya's signature irreverence had raised to grow too visibly. It was a losing battle. "We're trying to find the bunks," Nihi clarified to the other Menti. "If you know where those are, could you lead us there?"

Sorry to do this - hope none of you have implemented anything IC about it yet - but actual amnesia fog was retrospectively a dumb idea. I'm taking it back.

Question, since the Red Star voyagers have...more than likely crossed this "Forget-Fog" field, would they be affected by it? Would be interesting if th group returns, no memory of what they found... Probably... Good point.

The fog is an entirely new concept, that's right. You can't see it - besides, your character has no way of knowing it exists, you metagamers! - so you can't take any. Something with the awesome power of amnesia-fog-that-I-just-made-up is for GM use only.

As long as the memories are hazy, and they're not shared in any real depth IC, they're fine with me. I can tell you that there are other habitable islands in the BZPRPG universe we haven't discovered yet; however, since most of these places haven't even been conceived by the staff yet (and they probably aren't the same as locations from the BIONICLE universe), the best strategy is to leave indicators of their existence as vague as possible for the moment. All the foreigners who were "imported" against their wills to Mata Nui by Makuta way back in the prologue of the game passed through what essentially amounted to an amnesia fog (and, most conveniently, it's hung around for the benefit of new arrivals); Makuta made all the Skakdi, Vortixx, Lesterin, etc. forget where they came from so that none of them would try to leave Mata Nui. Wherever your characters came from (and at this point, it's not supposed to be somewhere specific), they'd have - at most - extremely vague and cursory recollections of their pre-Mata Nui lives. Wait, I've just realized again that I'm actually a genius; the Dasaka and Piraka could arrive on Mata Nui and remember where they came from because they arrived in submarines, below the surface. They never hit the fog. Ooh, I'm good.

Our game adheres more or less exactly to the BIONICLE canon experience - meaning its story and, more importantly, what we as an audience knew of its story (had we heard of Dark Hunters back in '01?) at the time - all the way up to when Kopaka betrays the Toa Mata. After that point, the BZPRPG becomes something entirely different from the BIONICLE canon. As such, things like the Piraka - a beloved element of the canon - can get borrowed from the BIONICLE canon without having or needing context, and without having the same ties as they did in the story. They aren't the Piraka of the BIONICLE canon; they're the Piraka of the BZPRPG, and like all characters in the game, we only really know as much about them as the story has told thus far. The key is not to overthink how we relate back to the BIONICLE canon. It's actually refreshingly simple: we don't relate back to the BIONICLE canon anymore. Everything there is to know about the BZPRPG universe (thus far!) is on full display. There's nothing else you need to confuse yourself over.

Correct. To quote the Starter Topic (because now I can! ): If, like Keeper of Kraata, any of you have backstories that run contrary to these guidelines, I'd like to ask you to please change them.

IC: Nihi couldn't help from grinning a bit at Soraya's comment. She found that she liked the Dashi seamstress; Nihi was glad to know someone on board, and glad it was someone who had no reason to lie to her; but beyond that, Soraya had a good energy, something spunky that Nihi hadn't had in her life for far too long. Nihi picked up her staff and her satchel - she'd deposited them in a corner of the bridge - and then headed for the door. Soraya had stayed rooted in place, as if captivated by a lingering thought. "Well, come on," Nihi prodded her lightly, gesturing with her head as Soraya gave her a look. "Let's go." Soraya followed Nihi out of the bridge, then down a steep stepladder that led them into the bowels of the Chiisai Ryuu. On the way, the mismatched pair passed engineers twisting knobs, navigators flicking dials, and sailors moving crates, as well as a few of the esteemed passengers conversing with one another as they leaned against the submarine's hull. Some of the passengers showily ignored Soraya and Nihi as they passed; the self-righteous had no patience for would-be stowaways, especially if they were mere Menti and Ringti. Nihi paid the rude ones no heed; she was used to negative attention. After passing a particularly deliberate pair of nobles, Soraya made a face for Nihi's benefit, and Nihi giggled. They made their way through several passages. Once Nihi had tried several locked doors along the latest corridor, Nihi turned to Soraya and rubbed the back of her neck. "I don't actually know how to find anything on board."

At long last, it's gone from my "to-do" to my "done" boxes... ladies and gents, I present you with the finished BZPRPG Starter Topic! Please leave your thoughts and suggestions below. I want to make this as strong a resource as possible.

IC: Nihi had stood aside as Hanako had addressed Soraya. She'd been pressed into the bridge window, watching the seas of fishes pass, and listening with one ear; the voices of the only Dashi she knew onboard and her new master had drawn her somewhat out of her own thoughts. As Hanako dismissed herself, Nihi sensed that it was her time to step forward. Neither she nor Soraya belonged on the bridge, especially without Hanako there. "I haven't got a bunk mate, yet," Nihi told Soraya as Hanako departed. Wistfully, Nihi gave the window one last look, almost able to see the -shaped smudge mark she'd made a few minutes ago. "I figured you didn't yet, either... let's go look for a cabin, huh?"

Guys, please be more respectful. I really don't like to see such immature (and, worse, unimaginative) name-calling happening, especially from those of you that've been around a while and should know better... it's easy to be angry, that's why the Internet is so full of trolls. Naked hostility never helped anyone. It definitely doesn't help my perception of you as people. That said, Flynn, I recommend you stop doing things that make the people feel the urge to call you by impolite names. Many players in this topic (the ones who haven't resorted to jeering, sarcastic, and/or pedantic tones, that is) are doing their best to help you. You're new around here; other players simply know more than you do at this point, and the nice ones see it as their responsibility to impart their wisdom to newer players like you. When they inform you about what is/isn't seen as acceptable in the game, they're pulling from experience that you don't yet have. They've given you advice that you'd do well to heed, before you steer into a pile of trouble. Based on what I've seen so far of your play and your attitude in this topic, Flynn, my biggest piece of advice is this (and it's something I think many of other players could also benefit from hearing): you as a player are separate from your characters; therefore, the well-being of your characters isn't necessarily the same as your well-being as a player. Oftentimes, I find that there's actually an inverse relationship between character well-being and writer well-being. I know that some of what I feel has been my best work in this game has stemmed from my characters' miseries. The BZPRPG isn't a game about "winning;" it's a game about story, and the best stories (the only stories people actually find compelling) involve adversity. Bad things happening to your character aren't the end of the world; for the character, they might be - they should be, because who cares about a character if there aren't stakes? - but a character in a bad spot is, I find, actually more fun to write than a character that's still doing swimmingly, and you as a player lose nothing from the character's setbacks. If your character gets into trouble, she/he can definitely react with vitriol, with urgency, or however she/he would; that's how characters develop. You as a player, though, are responsible principally for telling the character's story, not for her/his well-being, and it's important to bear that distinction in mind. Your character "losing" or "winning" against another player's character isn't you losing/winning to that player, that person. It's illogical and unbecoming for you to take the wins/losses of your character personally.

Next year I want a section of coverage called "people" where we can see all the lovely faces of all the lovely members who were unlucky enough to bump into Andrew as he was photographing.