Legolover-361

MY DAD IS NOT A PHONE. DUH.

Kakaru what did they give you

Gah, I'll be away at summer camp from June 30 to July 6, so I won't be able to compete in most of the themes. I'll enter as many as I can, though.

I voted for Hero Factory as my favorite theme because of the sets. Whatever you think of the story behind the sets, Hero Factory introduced a new building system that provides even more variety in the already versatile line of Lego action figures.I was really, really tempted to vote for Games as my second favorite theme, but I voted for Star Wars instead because it has some really good set designs.

Memories are overrated. Who wants to vote for an RPG where you don't need to write a bio for your character? Vote Tides and receive a tax refund!(This is the first time I've ever jokingly advertised my RPG over others'. It feels so odd. ._.)

It was a tough choice, but I finally decided to vote one-two-three. I'm kind of disappointed to see Tides isn't doing well, but the current leaders don't look shabby. I don't think there's a single bad RPG in this contest, actually.

I agree wholeheartedly with the above passage. The format in which RPGs are chosen is just one facet of the problem; you can't ignore the blame that GMs and roleplayers share. To have an active RPG forum, you need active roleplayers and GMs who genuinely care about what they're doing.That said, I don't think the choice between contests and judging is very clear-cut. Both systems are listed in the poll as the only choices when there are many alternative methods that could fit underneath one of those umbrella terms.For example: We could have a system wherein only three or four RPGs are allowed at a time, but a revival date is instituted, and any time an RPG becomes inactive for a set period of time (say, two months), a replacement is chosen either via voting or judging. Such a system would allow a trial-and-error approach to running RPGs that theoretically should result in higher quality ones getting the chance to run longer, but more manpower would be required for monitoring the system.If the above system, or something similar, can't be placed into effect, I would prefer that we retain the current contest system.

I can't say I'm particularly surprised Tides isn't attracting attention; it is, after all, more reliant on in-game plots than setting. Then again, there aren't any significant edits that would retain the mystery while giving it more pizzazz, so I'll just sit back and cross my fingers.Good luck to the other entrants! May the best RPGs win.

While I'm not certain that my entry is better due to the theme, I didn't mind changing it around to accommodate the restriction. It's actually fun to work within limits because you have to think in other directions.I think the low entry numbers will make this a very interesting contest because there are fewer choices for voters to back. Good luck to the other competitors!

Eh, I'll just remove the hyphen so the last three letters of "godmod" aren't filtered. I'd prefer using a hyphen, but whatever.

I've edited Tides if anyone wants to give it another look-see.

Thanks, Naina.I have not been to a hospital recently, thankfully, but I have visited relatives (including one of my grandfathers) in hospital beds shortly before they passed away, so you would be accurate in saying I'm familiar with the feeling.

Happy birthday, Ezorov -- may your birthday be filled with vocabulary words, cute JPEG images, and kind wishes!

Thanks, Zar. I have experience with hospitals as well, so this story is rather personal for me.

Ah. That explains the name, then. I've never heard acoustic versions of Katatonia songs, so I'll be watching for this album with interest.

They're already releasing another album? Dang.

Hello, fellow Ambage writers. Maybe some of you remember the Lesovikk's Hiatus contest I've been running; maybe some of you don't; or, more likely, maybe all of you don't. Whatever it is, I'm not asking for entries this time. I'm asking for judges.The number of entries in the Lesovikk's Hiatus contest isn't very big. As a judge, you would read all of the entries, then PM me your lists of the top five or so.If you're interested, please PM me posthaste. Thanks!In other news, I think it would be a cool idea to have some sort of co-writer competition in which each entrant pairs with another entrant and co-writes a story. I think the first co-writer competition should be short stories, and we could branch into mini-epics later if there's interest in running the competition again. We could even make it less of a competition and more of a team-building exercise (except less useless than those in Dilbert ). What do you guys think of the idea?

First, thanks for the feedback, Levacius. I don't mind criticism as long as it isn't condescending. If I haven't addressed one of your points, it either didn't need addressing or I didn't have a response for it. I did design the banner but used a desert image (I believe public domain) that I found online. That is one of my goals, especially because I want people to search for answers to those questions in-game. They aren't going to be answered except through exploration. I believe it's safe to say that, in Tides, you will be dealing with zero moons. I don't want to give an exact number of people in the caravan, but I could provide a rough approximation. It would likely be around fifty to sixty people.Turaga Aiken is in charge. It's funny how I only realize after receiving feedback that I didn't make that clear. (I suppose it seemed so obvious to me, I didn't bother to state it for people who haven't been planning and writing the RPG for over a week: a common pitfall of writing. ) ...including what would happen to the poor soul covered in scarabax at the time of the lightning strike. I know scarabax aren't very deadly, but they can be stealthy, and if they, say, swarm someone who's sleeping, the resulting scene won't be pretty. They're large wolves with killer reflexes that do tend to hunt in large packs, though I don't think they'd hunt in packs of over twenty, maybe thirty at the absolute maximum.I'd like to note that I had the Turaga talk about wolves and scarabax mainly to discourage people from separating permanently from the nomadic group. Perhaps I didn't give off that impression in the RPG text, but that was the main point. Also, I've been considering adding another dangerous animal; I'm not certain what animal yet. One of my goals for this RPG was to harken back to the early Bionicle storyline, not necessarily completely, but in the base concept of a mysterious, low-tech setting with only a few species (or sub-species, whatever you call 'em). Having only Matoran and Toa as the available species leads toward that. I do understand your point about Toa characters being overused, but I don't want to remove Toa from the equation... Eh, I have over a week to think about it. The elemental restrictions are largely based on the RPG's backstory. I wish I could clarify the reasons for a bunch of the restrictions, but doing so would ruin the surprise (and I certainly hope the "big reveal" will be worth it). That said, the list of available elements is not completely set in stone at the moment. They're amnesiacs; they don't need history. A-ha, I knew I was forgetting a section in the profile. I'm not entirely sure how to introduce a plot without surrendering too much information. Whatever I do, I won't outright state, "Do this," because I feel the players should think of the ideas themselves. That said, there is at least one thing I could add that may hint toward more exploration being required, and I do have ideas for inspiring exploration and / or mystery-solving once the RPG starts. Thankfully, I have answers for all of these questions, and I hope all of them will have the chance to be revealed. Thanks again for the feedback, and good luck to you as well!

I couldn't get inspired in time for the other themes. I barely wrote a story in time to enter the Sunset theme.

Thanks for the feedback, Lorax! The omissions of Kanohi and elements are important mainly for backstory purposes. I'll consider adding water to the list of allowed elements, but I won't promise the addition. Apparently the first three letters of "moderator" are filtered to the whole word. There's definitely a mystery element to the RPG. I may need to expand its text a little, though, to make the presence of secrets to discover more apparent so people don't assume it's really sandbox. Thank you, and same to you!

You don't know that! I could have been using "he" in its gender-neutral form!<<>><<

I've just posted my entry, Tides, and am open to feedback. Before you ask -- yes, there's a villain; yes, he's important; and yes, he is a puppet. I'm just not telling you who the villain is.

by Legolover-361 * * * Hello. You were asking for Turaga Aiken? Yes, I am he. Please, take a seat; my tent is your tent. Do close those flaps, please — I don’t like sand blowing in when I’m trying to relax. It’s terrible for the lungs. No, I don’t remember why we ever set out on this long walk. I’m too weary from our trekking to do any thinking. I only know where we’re going: The Red Star that hangs over the horizon like a lantern. Yes, that star will lead us to our destination; I’m certain of it... I’m sorry, did you say something? I’m afraid my ears aren’t what they used to be. No, I wouldn’t recommend splitting off from the group. We’re much better staying together. There are many dangers in this desert — animals, sandstorms, cyclones, quicksand, and the list goes on. We must remain unified if we want to survive long enough to find... whatever it is that we’re trying to find. History? There is none. We have been journeying across this desert for as long as we can remember. Ask anyone; they’ll echo my words. But though we have no history, we do have a future, and it is over the western horizon yonder. * * * THE LOCALE AND FAUNA We don’t know much about Bara Magna, the Great Desert, except that it is big, windy, and hot, and it contains a lot of sand and nasty vermin. There’s no official map, for what would be the point of studying a location only to move on and never see that place again? Besides, we’re too focused on foraging and hunting for food, and preventing ourselves from becoming food, to bother with mapmaking. We’ve passed a few dead forests and salt flats during our journeys. The forests are where we scavenge most herbs; the salt flats and occasional riverbed provide water to those willing to dig deep enough for it, and we are so willing; the only other nourishment we receive is garnered through hunting rodents, avians, and lizards that thrive in the heat and sand. Sometimes we find pieces of wreckage littered across the landscape: here a broken sword, gears, or worn pottery; there an overturned, rusted chariot or decrepit dwelling. We tend not to linger too long to scavenge items from the sand, but if we find anything on our way, we’ll pick it up. Each solar cycle lasts about twenty hours — at least, that’s my estimation — which means ten hours of scorching daylight and ten hours of freezing night. We break camp at the sound of the camp supervisor’s horn and set it again upon the same signal. Despite the heat, the daytime is the safest time to travel. The only animals awake tend to be small: sand-mice and sand-rats, dune lizards, sky-hawks, and desert vipers — we will hunt and eat any of those animals for food if we can find them. The only large, diurnal predator we know, the large, four-legged Skopio, is very rare; we usually only see them once in a blue moon and at a distance. At night, however, other predators emerge. Scorpions and flies are the least of our worries. Scarabax beetles, though small, can burrow through the sand and attack prey in swarms difficult to stem or disperse. Venomous rattlesnakes have rough, khaki scales that allow them to blend into the sand. Large desert-wolves with stiff, bristled fur and sharp teeth have been known to attack outliers of our group. Rock Steeds, Spikit, and Sand Bats, though thankfully not very common, are a danger almost around the clock. The first rule of survival in Bara Magna: Be wary. We place torches and guards around the circumference of our camp and keep a fire lit to discourage their attacks, but it’s hard for us to help people who wander beyond the camp’s boundaries. The predators aren’t always present, but they often are. Take care in the twilight. * * * THE GROUP While I, Turaga Aiken, am technically the leader of this ragtag band of nomads, my bones aren’t what they used to be. Call me the organizer-slash-mentor, then. My companion and bodyguard, Toa Rho, and the camp supervisor, Harn, provide most of the physical necessities of leadership. Every sunrise, Harn sounds a horn to alert everyone that it’s time to pack up and move on. Every evening, he sounds the same horn to alert everyone that it’s time to set up camp. Members of our group take turns pulling seven scavenged sleds with much of our gear loaded atop. Shifts are usually determined voluntarily and / or through popular consent, though every so often the leadership needs to force someone to take a turn in the interests of fair division of labor. All the rest of the gear is carried in sacks by hand. Apart from leadership and muscle, several members of our group have found time to pursue studies. For example: A Matoran named Nixie is our foremost astronomer, Kodan our foremost archiver, and Nuhrii our foremost engineer. Specializations are encouraged but not required; sometimes, after all, an individual with a general education is more useful than a specialist. * * * THE PROFILES We require that forms be filled out for all members of our group for the interests of keeping track of everyone. We don’t want to lose someone without knowing; we have maybe sixty people by my rough count, a hard number to monitor at all times, and the desert’s a dangerous place. I see you’re chuckling, but trust me when I say the desert only looks like a flat, open expanse of land. Do you know anything about sand dunes? Quicksand? Concealed pits? No? Then please no longer treat the risks of being left behind so flippantly. Just turn in your profile to our librarian, Kodan, when you’ve filled it out, and he’ll file it away. Thank you. Name: (no canon names; try to make it sound Bionicle-ish) Gender: Species: (Matoran / Toa) Appearance: (description, link to image, or both) Kanohi: (no Mask of Time, Life, Shadows, Light, Dimensional Gates, Creation, Reanimation, Wisdom, Valor, Corruption, Time Duplication, Repulsion, Disruption, Hunger, Silence) Element: (one of the following: stone, air, fire, lightning, iron, sand, plasma, water, magnetism, plantlife, sonics) Abilities: (skills not element-related) Equipment: (no electrical items or otherwise advanced technology like guns) Occupation: (if applicable, the role(s) your character has in the group, e.g. guard, hunter, astronomer, healer, etc.) Personality: (try to write guidelines rather than absolutes) * * * THE RULES Before you recline in your own tent, I’d just like to remind you that we do have guidelines for being in this group. I’m not saying you have disobeyed them; it’s just a general reminder. In most cases, the rules are implied — don’t fight, don’t steal, et cetera — if you have any questions about the others, don’t hesitate to ask me. 1. All BZPower rules and RPG forum rules apply. 2. No god-modding, auto-hitting, unapproved bunnying, etc. 3. Your character can and will die if you roleplay recklessly. While typical character preservation rules still apply, if your character is in a position where he or she literally cannot escape, do not godmod, autohit, bunny, etc. to avoid your character’s death. It won’t work. 4. Elemental powers are not as powerful as those in the canon storyline. Thus, no nova blasts are allowed because it’s impossible for anyone to do them. 5. Remember that this is an RPG of many players. You may attempt to run your own sub-storylines, but please don’t go out of your way to prevent other people from interacting with your own characters. 6. No more than three characters are allowed per player, and no more than one NPC per PC. 7. The staff of this RPG, Legolover-361 (GM) and Gravity (assistant GM), are present to ensure this RPG runs smoothly. While they don’t rule with an iron fist, they do ask that you be respectful of their wishes and, if you disagree, do so civilly. 8. The first time you break a rule, you will receive a warning. Depending on the severity of your next offenses, you may be given more warnings, have your character punished in-game, or outright banned according to the discretion of the staff. 9. Remember that you’re playing this to have fun! Treat other roleplayers with respect and feel free to explore the world within Tides.

Member Name: Legolover-361Theme: SunsetWord Count: 798Link: http://www.bzpower.com/board/index.php?showtopic=10067