Mage Signup/Info Extravaganza!

[reality_deviant]

Do you ever feel like you see life a little differently than other people? Have you ever thought there were secrets of the world, powerful secrets, just beyond your grasp? Have you ever laid awake at night, feeling helpless, contemplating our society's decline into ruin? Do you wish you had the power to make a difference?

Do you believe in magic?

Asking these questions is one thing, but one day, you receive an answer. Maybe it's a gradual realization, or it may come as a sudden shock. Belief can change our world. A person's will can shape reality. And, yes, magic is very, very real.

Welcome to the world of the mage.

******

This is a signup/information/interest-generating thread regarding a Mage game I hope to run for you fine folks. Some of you may be familiar with the system, some of you may never have heard of it before. I believe all the game mechanics and nuances have already been posted in another thread, and I will link to that soon. But dots on paper are not our concern right now. I will set the scene, you provide the characters.

Our stories will take place in Solhaven (name pending) , a large college town or a smallish city, however you choose to interpret it. It has a campus, office buildings, many bars and clubs, a city park, restaurants, theaters, housing from penthouse apartments, and pretty much whatever else one might find in a town this size. Solhaven is a city hanging in the balance, on the edge of a change. Will corruption overtake the city? Or will it soar to new heights? The fate of the city could rest in your hands.

Your character will begin play as a normal human who has just moved to the city, or has perhaps returned after some time away. Powers and abilities aren't too important right now; instead, try thinking about what makes your character tick. Interested parties should try to answer as many of the following questions as possible, from the perspective of the character.

Why are you in the city?
What are your hobbies?
What do you do for a living?
What was your childhood like?
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now?
What are your values and priorities? (Family, wealth, power, truth, love, justice, etc.)
What was your favorite subject in school?
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together?
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? If so, what?
Are we all doomed?
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys?
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way?
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how?
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training?
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one?
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it?
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions?
do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right?

These are just some questions to get you thinking about your character's personality, because the way you impact the city will be a personal one. More information to come, so stay tuned!

[Forever Zero]

Do you want us to answer these questions as part of the sign-up, or just keep them in mind for our final character?

[Dante]

What kind of themes do you want to explore?

[Dystopian Rhetoric]

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[lazy man]

Put me on the list.

[RangerAidan]

Horrya! I'm Lysdexic! (and like the RP idae!)

I'll just assume that we're to post the answers...I could be wrong, though.

Why are you in the city?- Medical School, dog, classes begin in 2 weeks!
What are your hobbies?-Computer Games, running, working out, Martial arts (so I can say I said it first!), reading Journals, science texts, and obscure history books.
What do you do for a living?- I'm on my way to be a medical student, and live on the Government's (read: all of yours) dime, seeing as how they gave me a free education at the Academy in Annapolis, and are paying for most of my expenses as well as School.
What was your childhood like?- Normal by military standards, lots of tradtion and honor stressed in the house, an overall good upbringing in a loving, stable family, albeit we never lived in the same place for more than two years.
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now?-I believe in the spiritual, I believe in religions. There are forces that act on us that aren't alive or dead, or even in between. I adhere to a belief in goodness, an inherent power of life, to sound cheesy, "the light." Something of an overarching power that acts upon the earth in many ways. The more of these weird-ass books I read, the more sense it makes, though...
What are your values and priorities? (Family, wealth, power, truth, love, justice, etc.)-Family, Honor, truth through honor, justice through truth, compassion whenever possible,
What was your favorite subject in school?-Science, science, History, Science, history, etc... ad nauseam
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together?-Just a serious prospect, a very good friend, who, between us understands there should be something more, and as such, we don't do too much other than hang out when there's time.
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? If so, what?- I lived in a few haunted houses when I was little, offbase housing was a bit nicer in many cases, and there are some strange places in this world, lemme tell ya'. It was nothing too crazy, just the occasional chilling of a room on hot nights, sans A/C, nothing very malignant, either.
Are we all doomed?-[Exaggerative voice] Not if I have anything to say about it.[/exaggerative voice] Not so long as there are folks who don't want to be doomed.
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys?-Understanding the past to secure a stable future. A fusion of two, it's a philosophy that led me to old institutions such as the military, and to evolving practices like medicine.
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way?-To lead.
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how?-At times...all times of the day, that is, though mainly when in a position of authority, I otherwise just like to be seen.
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training?-HAH. Yes, lots of it. I can shoot and I can punch and I can kick, baby!
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one?-I absolutely believe in the supernatural, c'mon, now. I've felt presences as a kid, and I've seen the looks that drape over their faces when they feel it too. I haven't seen a full-form apparition, but I know they're around us all the time.
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it?-mmmm, I get the gist of what's coming out before anyone hears it, not sure how, though.
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions?-not really, it might explain why I get girls, but not girlfriends
do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right?-yep, and I can't say it's failed me yet.

[Dystopian Rhetoric]

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[Elminster_Amaur]

Why are you in the city? College. I'm going to be an engineer
What are your hobbies? Games, games, computers, and games.
What do you do for a living? Full-time student atm; Composing middle school band music for extra cash.
What was your childhood like? Dull.
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now? Generally went to a Methodist Church. I believe in God.
What are your values and priorities? (Family, wealth, power, truth, love, justice, etc.) Justice, family, love, truth, wealth and power are the order I would place them in decreasing importance.
What was your favorite subject in school? Networking....my teacher let us sit in the server room unattended.
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together? Few friends, no lovers, relationships take too much effort.
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? If so, what? No
Are we all doomed? If I had my way.
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys? Ancient changes in journeys of stable creativeness.
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way? Whichever requires less work.
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how? No....yes....well, I'm not sure, because I've never tried to be the center of attention.
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training? Once I had a self-defense class, but I quit....it was too much work.
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one? Yes, Which? Spirits; ghosts do not exist.
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it? I often don't even care that the person is talking.
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions? Emotions? They have those too?
do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right? Yea. Always.


......oh, you said the perspective of the character. Let's just say that was him.

[Darth SS]

Well....


I'm in. I'll edit the questions in ASAP.

[Jeth]

Why are you in the city? University, studying to be a Stock Broker.
What are your hobbies? Sports, reading, video games.
What do you do for a living? I currently work at McDonald's part time.
What was your childhood like? Bad, my parents died in a car accident when i was about 2 and my adopted father beat my mother and I.
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now? I am very spiritualistic. I am Catholic and beleive in the Heaven sort of thing.
What are your values and priorities? (Family, wealth, power, truth, love, justice, etc.) My highest priority would have to be love, and then family, justice, wealth and power.
What was your favorite subject in school? Math and Science.
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together? I am currently dating a wonderful girl named Carrie. We are always going to the movies or the beach together.
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? If so, what? No.
Are we all doomed? I would say that not us in particular are doomed, but some day the earth will end.
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys? I would have to say Safe Stability, but then Creative Change.
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way? I love to be the leader.
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how? All the time. I usually make up funny jokes to get the attention.
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training? Yes, when I was younger I participated in Martial Arts and obtained a Black Belt before quitting.
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one? I do beleive in spirits, but not ghosts. No I have not.
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it? With some people, usually the people I know very well.
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions? Yes, I think the facial expressions tell it all...
Do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right? I prefer to act on something that I am certain of, but I will act on gut instinct sometimes and it is about 50/50 on success rate.

[Floom]

Why are you in the city? College student, studying/hoping to study law.
What are your hobbies? Going out with buddies, when he gets the time.
What do you do for a living? Bartends at pub just off campus.
What was your childhood like? Happy, mostly. Lots of moving around though. His dad worked in some government job, so he had to make new friends quite often.
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now? His parents were christians, but never really pushed it on their children. If asked, he would claim to be christian, but in truth he never really thinks about it.
What are your values and priorities? Life in the lower middle class has left him with a thirst for wealth and power.
What was your favorite subject in school? drama and english.
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together? He has a fairly large circle of friends with whom he spends most of his college days. As for lovers: his girlfriend of several years left last month. Things hadn't been going too well lately, so when she didn't contact him for a while he figured it was over. But when he noticed that her apartment had been cleaned out overnight, and that the college had no record of her he started getting a little worried...
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? Unless the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend counts, no. He doesn't believe in the supernatural.
Are we all doomed? Maybe. But that won't stop us fighting, right?
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys? Creative change.
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way? In general, he goes his own way. Others just seem to follow.
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how? Again, he is used to being noticed, but doesn't like having to go out of his way to attract attention.
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training? Not really. He's been in the occasional drunken bar-fight, but nothing serious.
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one? No. There's no such thing as ghosts.
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it?Frequently. Moving around so often as a child, he quickly learned to read people, in order to fit in better.
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions? Yes. Again, ability at reading people has come in handy time and again.
do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right? He is quite impulsive, which often gets him into trouble. His girlfriend used to restrain his wilder impulses, and without her influence it's only a matter of time before he does something truly stupid.

[Osterbaum]

I,l post the answers later cause I'm right now in school and don't have time.

[Dystopian Rhetoric]

.

[Floom]

Mmm, looks like it. Sorry!
But hey, I'll gladly join the police force, if it makes you feel any better :)
I wouldn't mind playing a police psychologist, or something like that.

Floom

[h4x.m4g3]

Ok I'm in,
*Warning* it will be my first real forum RP so take it easy on me, and tell me when I screw up, I already read the rules, So I'll try not to

Why are you in the city? Has been on a spiritual journey for the past few years, and has decided to finally settle down in this town.
What are your hobbies? Computing
What do you do for a living? Student
What was your childhood like? Father was military, after getting a dishonorable discharge he commited suicide.
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now? Was brought up a devote Christian, since his fathers death he has lost faith in god
What are your values and priorities? (Family, wealth, power, truth, love, justice, etc.) Values truth over all, while desiring to be in love, he trys not to get attached to people
What was your favorite subject in school? Psychology, Computers, Science, World History
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together? Has friends he only knows via the internet due to his travels
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? If so, what? After his father's death he started seeing things he passed off as halucinations
Are we all doomed? Yes, all will die at some time, when depends on what we do
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys? Personal Journeys
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way? Prefers to be alone, but will follow a group when its travelers suit his own purposes
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how? No
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training? Had some defensive training
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one? No ghost, are simply hallucinations caused by emotional stress
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it? No
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions? Yes, he's a psychology student
do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right? No, one must think instead of following their "instincts"

[reality_deviant]

Okay, so, Floom, Jeth, Dystopian Rhetoric, Dante, RangerAidan, h4x.m4g3, and ElminsterAmaur have given me backgrounds, lazy man and ForeverZero are still interested, is this correct? Sorry about not giving you guys a whole lot to go on here, I was online yesterday for the approximate 30 seconds it took to jump on the forum and paste the info.
Important. Important. Not iportant, IMPORTANT! Dammit, I hate spelling errors...especially my own.

Anyway, FZ, you can either post your info in the thread here or PM me with it. Dystopian Rhetoric, I'm sure it will take us at least a little while to get the details hammered out, so your exams shouldn't be a problem. h4x, this will be my first time running a forum RP, so we can look out for each other. Deal? Dante...hmm...

I would like this game to explore the impact a person can have on the people and community around him, the many subtle ways he can make a difference, for good or for ill.
The characters will start as unAwakened humans who may find themselves in increasingly strange situations, sometimes getting "flashes" of their latent powers. When the moment of Awakening finally arrives, it may be through a sudden shock, or just finally piecing it all together. There are numerous factions in Mage, each with different methods and agendas, who may be very interested in having up-and-coming willworkers like yourselves join their ranks. There will be enemies to fight, of course, but this is a game that I hope will allow non-combat characters to shine, as well.

As far as actually generating characters...will you veteran WoDers help me out with introducing the system to those that might be less familiar? I appreciate all your prompt responses and general interest. I'll be posting more details about the city fairly soon, so you can get a better idea of where your character might fit into the world. I'm looking forward to this, guys...admittedly, it's a little daunting, but you all seem to have very interesting character ideas and to generally understand what I was looking for. More to come....

[Dante]

The great and mighty Dante stands ready to flood all no0bs with Mage info. Approach, supplicants... and learn.

[Xennith]

Why are you in the city? He's here because he's been searching for an answer, and his search has led him here.
What are your hobbies? He likes reading, alot. Wherever he goes, he always tires to find the most interesting book he can, and memorize it.
What do you do for a living? He does odd jobs wherever he goes.
What was your childhood like? Disturbed, as a child he lost his mother and brother to a freak accident, which everyone told him was perfectly normal, but he believes the situation had been caused by supernatural beings.
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? He was too young to really say he was religious when he lost his family, and since then he has sought to find the power of the supernatural, and believes that there's something more to the world that what he just sees.
What are your values and priorities? He values his own neck above everything else, he has a fear of death.
What was your favorite subject in school? Philosophy.
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together?
He has no friends.
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? He believes that the supernatural is everywhere. He's a bit neurotic and paranoid about it.
Are we all doomed? Yes, we are all going to die.
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys? Ancient mysteries.
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way? Alone is best, but he'd prefer not to be in charge, he doesn't want responsibility.
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how? No.
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training? No, but he's gotten into, and out of, his own share of brawls.
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one? Yes, he believes, but he's never actually seen one.
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it? Yes.
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions? Yes, but he just thinks of it as "natural human empathy"
Do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right? It has never served him wrong. Okay, so there was that ONE time...

[Xennith]

Oh, jeez, I hope I didn't enter my char too late. I was writing it when the last two posts popped up.

[Dystopian Rhetoric]

.

[reality_deviant]

It's okay, Xennith, I think your character might add a bit of diversity to the group, as he seems to have the most background dealing with the supernatural.

Thought I was gonna be running a complete Technocracy game for a while there...

Anyway, how free-form do you think this game ought to be? I'm not sure if freeform, die-rolling, or a combination would work best. Opinions?

[h4x.m4g3]

Since the RP is based on contact with the supernatural and finding magical potential in yourself, perhaps die rolling to see if someone makes contact with the supernatural, or using a spell of somesort. I dont know, maybe my newb butt should just shut up for now.

[Jeth]

I like freestyle myself... But die-rolling would be ok...

[Xennith]

Die-rolling would require a large amount of trust if people will be rolling dice for themselves.
Frankly, that trust I don't have. No offense to anyone here, but I've had to deal with some real asses about die rolling, so it makes me uncomfortable.
I personally want to go with free-form, as long as everyone sticks to realism and storyline, it works great.

[Forever Zero]

You misunderstand the purpose of Dice-Rolling. The GM does all the rolling, and reports the results to us by what happens. Thus you perform a spell, and she would say if it works or not.

I would vote either way. Both systems work as long as the GM is able to keep the RPers in-line and from going crazy...

[lazy man]

Why are you in the city? Moved into the city a few years back.
What are your hobbies? Video games and playing lacrosse.
What do you do for a living? Basically plays video games for a living, but likes to play lacrosse when the season comes up.
What was your childhood like? A very peaceful childhood, but still full of its problems with a lack of motivatoin in school leading to bad grades.
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now? Doesn't really care about religion; believes that the world is screwed up in many ways.
What are your values and priorities? Doesn't really care about much, but is basically your average guy (middle class, normal family, public school, etc.)
What was your favorite subject in school? Science
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together? A few friends, no lovers; just hang out and talk.
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? If so, what? Not yet.
Are we all doomed? Probably
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys? Personal journeys.
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way? A bit following and a bit of going my own way.
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how? Nope.
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training? Yes.
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one? On the border line of belief and non-belief; no.
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it? Very rarely.
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions? Sometimes yes and sometimes no.
Do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right? Yes; most of the time, yes

NOTE- He's still in high school in his junior year.

[reality_deviant]

I'll probably do at least a bit of die-rolling, to capture that random, chaotic element of magic. Don't worry, it will be someplace public online, so we can all see the results. If we do go with this plan, we will all have to remember to keep in character, and not use ooc info gleaned from the roller's history. I know the White Wolf website has at least one, I'll see if I can find any others. I could write a die roller for C++, but my Java know-how is nonexistant. You guys gave me some good leads as to what areas might be most important to flesh out first, so look for a brief run-down of the city tomorrow or Saturday at the latest. Please keep those questions and comments coming.

[Xennith]

I think that we should have a way of dealing with unplayed characters, meaning: If, say me, should happen to go out of town, or not have net access, or something, how will we deal with their char? This may be important if they drop out mid battle, or in the middle of a mission or a conversation.
I just want to have something ready NOW so it doesn't have to be dealt with when it comes up.

[Jeth]

Err, since this RP is not about 1 group in perticular, but the life of a person who has magic abilities, noone would even notice if you went out of town, and it wouldn't affect them. :P

[Forever Zero]

Xennith, please try to be a bit less of a newb, it's not that hard... The solution is, for the most part you vanish. You are assumed to stay with the group, but you play no active or acknowledge role until you return. If you are in the middle of something, resolve it, because if you don't the GM will resolve it for you usually.

Also, two more things.

1. I will have my sign-up-ish thing ready later today.

2. I will be able to post sporatically, at best, tonight, tomarrow, and Saturday, so the RP isn't starting within the next few days, right?

EDIT: Jeth also had a realistic solution to that situation that wasn't hard to realize...

[Xennith]

I know, but sometimes people start complaining when that happens, an it's just so annoying... I can never tell how a group is going to react to a certain situation. I won't make the same mistake twice, clearly you are all as skilled as I thought.

And don't call me a newb. I resent that.

[Forever Zero]

And don't call me a newb. I resent that.

Don't act like one. It isn't hard to figure out what needs to be done. We are all veterans around here, and we know what we are doing and how to solve problems that come up. That is a common and easily solved problem.

[Jeth]

Xennith, this is about the 3rd time in a couple threads that I have read that I have heard you say " I resent that." Honestly, it's annoying.

[Xennith]

Okay, sorry. Won't happen again.

[Jeth]

Thanks. ;) Heh.

[Elminster_Amaur]

I just realized the inherent error in my character. He is me. That will make him to far gone on the chaotic to lawful scale, causing people to be very confused. For I am a lawfully chaotic being. Umm..right...this was just a rant that was caused by realizing I had nothing better to do.

[RangerAidan]

Meh, ranting can be fun. btw, Elminster, isn't his last name spelled Aumar?

And btw again, my character's religion, it's more or less a belief in a conflict between good and evil, two distinct opposing forces in the world, and the gods of the known religions are interpretations of the good side.

[Jeth]

/\/\'/ 5P4/\/\ 157 |33773|2 7|-|4/\/ '/|_||2 5P4/\/\!!!

[lazy man]

You know Jeth, you're not going to get many positive comments from that.

Back onto topic, is this exceedingly complicated, pretty easy or somewhere inbetween.

[Jeth]

From what I've seen, it's gonna be extremely complicated. It's gonna overload my puny brain... >.<

[Elminster_Amaur]

btw, Elminster, isn't his last name spelled Aumar?

Yes, actually, it is. Why?

[Floom]

Thought I was gonna be running a complete Technocracy game for a while there...
So much for my cunning plan, then...

Most of the characters don't believe in the supernatural because they haven't encountered it, yet. Doesn't mean they're all going to turn out soulless technocrats. After an encounter with a wraith or two, I'm sure they'll be quite willing to swallow any mystical rubbish the Traditions want to feed them.

Floom
Black hat and mirrorshades

[Dante]

Ooh, can I be a widderslainte Nephandus? (IE reborn spawn of ultimate evil)

[h4x.m4g3]

Thought I was gonna be running a complete Technocracy game for a while there...

My character has had encounters with the supernatural, but since he's been studying psychology, he believes their meerly hallucinations caused by emotional stress, which was reinforced by the fact that he started seeing them after his father's death

[Forever Zero]

Ooh, can I be a widderslainte Nephandus? (IE reborn spawn of ultimate evil)

My tentative guess, and in all honesty I'm not the GM so I don't have final call, will be that she says, "No."

[Xennith]

Hey, my guy already believes in the supernatural.
But nobody really wants to believe him cuz' they think he's kinda' crazy.

[Dante]

My tentative guess, and in all honesty I'm not the GM so I don't have final call, will be that she says, "No."

Ah, hell. I wanted to play an evil, sadistic bastard...

[Forever Zero]

Ah, hell. I wanted to play an evil, sadistic bastard...

When don't you? You have played more then a few Bad Guys on this forum...

[Dante]

Well, all Nephandi are nihilistic servants of ineffable darknesses which make Cthulhu look like Hello Kitty, and they want to conquer the world so they can torture it.

[Xennith]

That's pretty f'ing evil, I'd say.

[reality_deviant]

Sigh...better "soulless Technocrats" than soul-warping Nephandi...anyway, Mage is not really too complicated. If it does perchance break your brain, be assured it will be that much stronger when you piece it back together. No, FZ, there is no big rush on the char; just answer the questions you can, when you can. I'll probably be on at great length Saturday night, as I'll be looking after my brothers and have actual non-library net access. I'm thinking of throwing together a quick, sloppy little webpage for the game, for easier reference, but we'll see how motivated I am after what will most assuredly be an all-night party tonight. (School's out! Woohoo!)

A friend of mine once tried to ST a Mage game, but ultimately dropped the idea, saying he didn't really know what it is that mages DO. Apparently this is a common question. So, what is there for you as a mage to do?

-uncover mysteries and secret societies
-fight for the rights of the opressed
-manipulate luck to strike it rich
-discover lost cities and shadowy realms
-attend college classes
-decorate your apartment
-rain fire upon your enemies, but suffer the cost
-heal the sick and injured
-obtain rare, powerful treasures
-make it big on the club scene
-dream prophetic dreams
-clean up the park
-adopt a pet, or find a familiar
-train with a martial arts master
-defeat evil beings bent on hope's destruction
-join a monolithic organization
-talk to a ghost
-struggle to keep a part-time job
-engage in a mage duel
-ride in an airship
-enter a world that exists entirely in cyberspace
-make friends and enemies, or find true love
-increase your power and understanding of magic
-taste power's corruption
-question everything
-unlock your potential
-open your eyes and Awaken

The city of Solhaven holds many secrets, many paths; the only real problem may be deciding what to do first.

[Dante]

All I can say is, with reality as an ST, we sure as hell won't be short of things to do...

[Xennith]

Wow. I just realized how similar all of those ideas are to EVERY MANGA EVER WRITTEN.
Funny how things work that way eh?
Not saying they're bad ideas, they're good ideas, but still... very manga-ish.
Of course, manga imitates life so...
...I think I'll just shut up now.

[Dante]

Hmm, maybe you should. or maybe not.

Cliches aren't necessarily a bad thing - after all, if they've been done so many times it gets boring, that means someone's hit on the right formula somewhere for it to have lasted so long.

Th determinant, as always,is the execution of the idea, not the idea itself...

[Xennith]

Exactly.
But on the assumtion that I have never RP'd with you guys anywhere else, I have no idea how well you'll be at implementing those ideas into a coalescent storyline.

But, you say that you're good, and you clearly arent newbs or morons, so I'm going to put my trust in that you know what you're doing.

P.S. I hate cliches. With a passion. I have a strong desire for originality, which is hard, because barely anyone is original with their ideas nowadays.
No-one wants to have to think hard enough to be creative.

[Dante]

P.S. I hate cliches. With a passion. I have a strong desire for originality, which is hard, because barely anyone is original with their ideas nowadays.
No-one wants to have to think hard enough to be creative.

Well, a cliche presented originally is still praiseworthy, though when you can tell that there hasn't been any effort put in, the imitators should be cursed... them burned.

[Xennith]

Yes. Burn. Burn them all.
But then again, even cursing and burning someone alive for being moronic is a cliche, to a lesser degree.

Edit: Using a cliche against cliches. Damn thats pitiful. It's like fighting fire with fire, which is also a cliche.

Damn you! damn you oh, God of cliches! Damn you I say!

[h4x.m4g3]

Cliches aren't necessarily bad, if preformed correctly.
I mean almost every anime/manga is clicheic but when they present it in some unique way, its good

[reality_deviant]

Huh. I had actually thought this was remarkably less cliche than it could have been...most games I have played in(and, admittedly, run) have been mission-driven, I-bought-the-damn-adventure-module-so-now-you're-gonna-like-it games, not that I generally have a problem with that. The idea of making a nonlinear setting/storyline seemed to offer a few more possibilities, even though it's definitely tougher to develop. If this is something that seems overused, do you have any ideas to make it more appealing? I would like the game to be fun for you guys, not just me, so I will try to tailor it to your character goals and gaming preferences.

[Dante]

In other words, we PM you with what we want to see and do. Right.

[Red Mage20xx]

Why are you in the city? School Transfer
What are your hobbies? Cooking and Watching Discovery channnel
What do you do for a living? cook
What was your childhood like? Not good, not bad sorta plain
What, if any, religious/spiritual upbringing did you have? What beliefs do you hold now? None
What are your values and priorities? (Family, wealth, power, truth, love, justice, etc.) Family, Power, Justice
What was your favorite subject in school? Math
Do you have any friends? Lovers? What do you do together? yes and yes, and we do stuff like play risk, trivial persuit, and Final Fantasy games!
Have you ever had any experiences with the "supernatural"? If so, what? No not really
Are we all doomed? Not when im around
Which is more iportant: Safe stability, creative change, ancient mysteries, personal journeys? tough one.. probobly ancient mysteries
Do you prefer to lead, follow, or go your own way? I either go my own way or am in a group its different somthimes
Do you like being the center of attention? If so, how? no no i dont
Have you ever had any defensive or martial training? both for about 6 months but gave up
Do you belive in ghosts or spirits? Have you ever seen one? I belive in both and no i havent but i thought i had once
Do you often guess what a person is going to say before she says it? yes
Do you find it easy to "read" others' emotions? very easy
do you follow your "gut instinct"? Is it usually right? i do most the time but its not right alot

[Red Mage20xx]

I would say either
--engage in a mage duel
--increase your power and understanding of magic

[reality_deviant]

Thanks for the feedback, but don't double-post, Red Mage. If you have a few minutes, go check out the forum rules, okay? I can really do without invoking modlike wrath upon this thread...


EDIT: See, here's me editing a post I made over a week ago. It's fun and easy!

Okay, Just so you guys know this game hasn't been forgotten, I'm..well, telling you it hasn't been forgotten. Yeah.

I've been doing some rather extensive work on the city of Solhaven, basically building it from the ground up. We are currently looking at close to a hundred locations(god DAMN, this thing took on a life of its own...), and almost forty NPCs, more to come. We also have an amazing "Plot Idea", also featuring subplots and mean baddies to fight, for those who are not so taken with what my twerpy brother so eloquently called a "modern Harvest Moon". Hoping to work in a little something for everyone, which means, of course, more work, but this deviant does aim to please. So, be patient, if you would, and I shall inform you of updates as they occur.

[reality_deviant]

Dang...that...totally didn't make it go anywhere. Rats, Hypocrisyville, here I come...

[Elminster_Amaur]

You know you could try a repost instead of double-posting.

[Forever Zero]

A "Modern Harvest Moon" eh? That actually sounds pretty interesting. I'm still very interested, and hope you got my Sign-Up...

[Xennith]

So, from the looks of it, only a few of the characters have ever even thought seriosly about the supernatural for more than thirty seconds (Mine included), and that could prove for some interesting reactions from the "non-believers" the first time the supernaural manifests.

[reality_deviant]

Repost? For some reason, I didn't even know that was an option. Thank ye kindly, Old Mage...

FZ, I did in fact get your bio, and do in fact have it saved. The "modern Harvest Moon" thing stemmed from trying to figure out where all the characters would be at different points during the day. This way, you could see a guy working behind the counter at a store, and recognize him as one of your classmates. The girl you meet at a club has both a home and a day job, and does not vanish from existence as soon as the character(s) leave her presence. Plus, I always really liked the "wooing" portion of HM especially; we'll just have to see how well this type of mechanic translates into an online RPG.

What sorts of things are you guys looking forward to in particular? Sort of exploring and interacting with various chars? Becoming famous/infamous? Making lots of money and buying Stuff? Just kinda playing with magic? Making the city a better place? Beating down random hostiles? Finding One True Love? Fulfilling the Prophecy?


I'm looking forward to seeing all the characters react, too, Xennith. I suppose it's entirely possible that a character could never admit, even to himself, that he is working magic, and just attribute it to luck or circumstance.

Today's update: Hangouts are a go! I'll post info about various clubs, bars, cafes, and other places where people gather very soon, so you can start to get acquainted with the city. Hardest part: coming up with names that do not sound incredibly dorky.

[Forever Zero]

Well personally, you have a pretty big city set up for us, so I'm just interested to learn more about it. On the RP Side, becoming a powerful mage seems to be a worthy goal. Probably playing with magic, and learning more about his skills will be my character's goal.

[RangerAidan]

Shoot, I'm into everything I can get into. Suppose fulfilling a prophesy requires me to beat down hostiles by using the influence of fame and buying lots of sweet stuff with the money it brings, in order to save my one true love and there fore make the city a better place, why the hell not?

[Dante]

I'm looking forward to seeing all the characters react, too, Xennith. I suppose it's entirely possible that a character could never admit, even to himself, that he is working magic, and just attribute it to luck or circumstance.

Something tells me Sleepwalker would be good here...

Today's update: Hangouts are a go! I'll post info about various clubs, bars, cafes, and other places where people gather very soon, so you can start to get acquainted with the city. Hardest part: coming up with names that do not sound incredibly dorky.

You could always pick up a telephone/street directory and pick names you like...

[Xennith]

Heck, why not use the cheesy names?
I know I'd go to somplace called Red Dragon Inn, or Dot's Diner, or Bob's Cafe.
You could also use my stereotiypical pub:
"The Scurvy Lobster"

[reality_deviant]

Heh, yeah, fortunately I DO live in a college town...we actually have exactly as many bars as are legally allowed by regulation...I'm also picking, choosing, and/or tweaking some minor WoD characters & locations, which is making things remarkably easier.

[RangerAidan]

Hey, just for kicks, couldya throw in my local bar? It's called Fat Tuesday's.

And more importantly, horray! I've been waiting for a real in-depth and immersive RP for a while!