Karnatheon

If I'm reading it right Rand can during the day attack any one Blight npc. Don't think I saw anything else though. Just curious how roleplay is going to work for people with specific identities? The point is for roles to be hidden right? So as soon as someone made a post from like, Lan's perspective everyone would know that was him. New to SE so maybe I'm missing something though.

"Alright, well Alask and Nekorb seem to be settled. Aeodin, this is the building here that I was hoping you could work on. Ishek, if you would follow me we can head towards our assignment, I just need t grab my tool kit." Laonin said this, then stood up and headed into the other room. "I'll leave the door unlocked for you all so you can all come inside when you get back, I don't really have anything worth stealing so there's no real worry of burglary." Returning with his toolbox Laonin headed toward the door. Walking out the door, Laonin took a breath of fresh air, then started down the road. He kept an eye out for an sign of trouble. Not that he expected any, but you never knew what might happen in the Alleycity.

"By Kaiju are you referring to the Tarasque? Based off the description posted of the modification process it is likely more formidable than a Tarasque from D&D. It will be most difficult to defeat."

The man walked up onto the top of a hill. He had been walking for quite a long time, longer than he thought he could normally. Perhaps the fact that his body was made out of code and molded by words prevented him from tiring as easily. He would need to test that out at some point. As he crested the hill he saw what he assumed had been his destination. A large swarm of birds were attacking a small group of people. Based off the description he had read earlier, these must be Shadowbirds. They were indeed quite large, at least compared to any birds he had ever seen back home. Looking down at his sword, and back up at the birds, he realized it wouldn't be very useful. He would need a different weapon. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his fake steampunk laser pistol, and ran towards the flock. It seemed as though a couple of the birds had already been beaten off, but the flock was still massive. He took his gun, and forcing it to change, started firing blasts into the group of Shadowbirds. He took out a few of them before they realized he was there, and a group dived towards him. He quickly fired shots into them as they got closer and closer, but he couldn't get them all. Suddenly they were on him. He tried to pull his coat up over his face before they could scratch and peck at it, but wasn't wholly successful in that. The sting felt quite real, and he wondered if the damage would last if he didn't repair it. He ducked down under the weight of the birds before he was hurt too badly and then rolled away, before jumping back to his feet and blasting into them. Suddenly his gun stopped firing, and he realised he hadn't focused on it enough so the change had worn off. Even in this place it seemed objects wished to remain themselves. Stuffing his gun back in his pocket he began running away from the birds, trying to figure out a way to take them down.

"Quality over quantity, as they say. I don't know how the whole deity thing is going to work out anyhow so why not pick something I feel inclined towards. It's not like we'll need followers to gain our power from or anything, we already have the power. We're just picking a facet of things to focus on so we step on each other's toes less. Or at least that's how I see it."

On the discussion of OP characters, we could limit people to one form of Investiture. I mean, in canon Hoid is the only person we know of(I think) that has access to more than one type of Investiture. At least I don't think we see Vasher surgebind or anything at all. So most people only have access to one. Obviously Hemalurgy can get around this but again, not everyone knows what Hemalurgy is/has access to it/is willing to murder people for power. So if people only have access to one thing it helps reduce power. Also sticking firmly with Era 2 Mistborn for Allomancers and Feruchemists would help too. Keeping Surgebinders to 1st or 2nd ideal at character creation would reduce power level while also allowing for character growth through RP. If you continue to follow your ideals and act in accordance with your spren you will continue to grow. The point system sounds interesting but may or may not be necessary. What would be worth how many points? How many points would you get? As for Era 3 starting, I agree that something epic should happen.(Ha Epics cause Solace) It could involve Mraize, Hellbent, The gods, any number of things all come crashing down at once, and the survivors are left to rebuild among the rubble.

"I would request to be the god of Kindness and Prosperity."

Fae left the building, feeling encouraged by the man's words. Here I thought my Bane would be the end of me, but it turns out it will help ensure my position here! I will still change during the Alleystorm tomorrow, I grow tired of this form. Walking through the town, she stored key pieces of information about what had happened today. She made sure not to store everything, as she couldn't access the information in her metalmind while in another form. She slowly made her way to where she was staying, knowing she needed the rest, but not relishing it. She couldn't afford anything too nice, so she stayed somewhere that was a little too damp and creaky for her tastes. Walking into the Inn, Fae pulled out her key, and opened the door to her room. She sat down on her bed, in the too small, too bland, room. I can't wait to get home. I miss being around other Singers. It's been so long. Lying down, Fae closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep. Fae woke up with a start. She had been dreaming, of something. Something frightening, but what was it? She always remembered her dreams so clearly. It was odd to have one so thoroughly gone from her mind. Disregarding it, she looked outside. The wind was starting to pick up, it seemed. Signs that the Alleystorm was approaching. Fae stood up, and exiting the Inn, walked to an open square. She stood there, alone, as most people had hidden inside to wait the storm out. Let them hide. They can never appreciate what it is to truly live. To be within the storm, to feel it pulse within you as it's power changes you. I love this. Seeing the storm bear in on her, Fae attuned the Rhythm of Awe. She never got over how impressive it was, the storm. Nothing was quite like it. Suddenly the stormwall hit her, making her reel back for a moment. She got her balance though, and braced herself against the wind, opening herself up to its power. She felt it coursing through her, into and out of her gemheart. She felt the change beckoning, calling to her like a lover. She focused her mind. What would be the most useful to her? Talentform, too trivial. Epicform, too much potential for being driven mad. Ah, she had it. Allomancyform. That had the potential for great things, and it happened to meet the requirements that had been asked of her. She focused, willing her body to change. Suddenly she could no longer feel her metalmind, no longer access it's memories, and she knew the change complete. Now, what had she ended up with? She waited for the storm to abate, still relishing in it's glow. Once the storm left, Fae pulled out a vial of metal, and drank it, seeing which one would burn. Iron lines appeared around her, showing her all nearby sourced of metal. Ironpulling? Fairly useful, though I prefer Steelpushing typically. At least I didn't end up with Aluminum. That was a waste of time. Happy overall with what form she had achieved, Fae began heading back to Zaphoid's place.

Laonin awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed. He had slept quite well after the adventuresome day he had had yesterday. He got out of bed and got himself dressed in some practical yet decent looking clothes, a task he had never thought he could miss. Looking in the mirror, he trimmed his beard carefully, making sure to maintain a neat appearance. He then walked downstairs to check on his guests. Looking into the room, it seemed as though a couple of them were still sleeping, but a few were awake. "Good morning! I hope everyone slept well? Sorry if it was a bit uncomfortable for ya. I'll get some coffee going." Laonin then went into what served as his kitchen and prepared coffee for the group. While he waited on that he pulled a slab of meat out of the cooler he had installed. He began cutting slices off of the smoked roast, and when he had a good quantity he put it back away. Wiping off his knife he grabbed a loaf of bread and cut several slices of that as well. He set the meat and the bread on a platter, along with the coffee after it was finished, and walked into the other room. Setting the platter down, very much like he had last night, he went and grabbed mugs for everyone. He poured himself a cup of coffee, and then made himself a sandwich. He sat down at the table and begin eating his breakfast. "Again, I know it isn't much, but I wasn't quite prepared for such an influx of people here. I mostly just keep simple foods on hand for myself, something enjoyable but easy to make. Help yourselves, there's plenty more if this isn't enough." After saying this, Laonin finished the sandwich he had been eating, then made himself another one. "We have a long day ahead of us, and it's best not to go on an empty stomach. They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Finishing with his meal, Laonin stood up, wiped his hands on his pants, and then surveyed the map and notes that had been gone over last night. Grabbing a sheet of paper he began writing a list. "Alright, Alask and Nekorb, this is a list of supplies we may need. Some metals, building materials, household necessities, and more food. Try and see what you can arrange for a regular supply of these, and stay out of trouble. Aeodin, and Lord Moerevron, when you left last night did you begin work on your buildings? If so, how much longer do you require to finish on them? I have a couple more places picked out you could begin on next. Ishek, feel free to make any recommendations you can think of on how I could make better use of you. If you wish to simply accompany me as we said yesterday, I would appreciate the company, but I wouldn't want to put your talents to waste either."

I followed this game to check out what SE was like, just gotta say you guys made it look fun. Any idea when the next will start up?

A man stepped into the thread, and quickly read the contents, then disappeared back into the code from which he had emerged.

The man walked. He had never been on an island before. Or in a jungle. Let alone a jungle-island, although watching treasure island and others movies as a child had always made him want to go to one. It was slow going of course, he would occasionally need to clear a path with his sword to continue. He enjoyed the manual labor, as it gave him a specific goal to work towards. The wildlife of the island was very diverse. He had already seen many animals he didn't want to even attempt to describe in this post. They were magnificent though. He was just passing a large colorful bird twice his own size when he heard something, a voice, impossibly carrying across the entire island a message. "Shadowbirds!" The man paused, as the creature next to him ran off, frightened. The man couldn't recall what a Shadowbird was, but given the nature of the yell, they probably weren't good. The man pulled out his phone, and navigated his way to The Other Side of the World discussion thread to try and figure out what they were. Now knowing a little more about the situation, the man put his phone away and looked around him. The man walked around, trying to find a way to get a better view of the area. Not finding anything, he walked over to a small tree, and grabbing onto it firmly, willed it to grow. The tree quickly grew to a height of a hindred feet, which was more than adequate to see the surrounding area. He still had no idea what the mime had pointed him towards, as he didn't see anything in that direction that seemed important. Realising he should probably try to speed up, since he didn't really know if Shadowbirds were dangerous to humans or not, he wrote that he was as far forward as he could see, and there he was. It seemed like the foliage wasn't as thick here, which was a nice change. He continued walking, trying to push hinself to move faster. Hopefully he would get wherever he was headed before he needed to be there.

To clarify, I'm not trying to blame anyone for that, just bringing up the point that we would need to do something to prevent a situation like that in the future if guild threads started up.

I think that power creep is a lot of people coming into things with a skewed idea of what RP is about. Games like D&D, Pathfinder, and other RPGs are all about making the most powerful character you can, in order to be able to do as many things as you can. That's what those games are designed for and the intention behind them, and that mindset is very easy to carry over. I think that not making a powerful character is something that takes an intentional effort to see through. It can be hard to care more about having a meaningful story than about being the most awesome you can be. I don't know what could be done to enforce this strictly, as there are obviously numerous very powerful characters already in existence, so forcing people to create under-powered characters that would reasonably have the floor wiped with them by someone like Hellbent or loc or Voidus Prime isn't necessarily going to work. Of course too is the fact that just because a character is powerful doesn't mean they use it all the time. Voidus Prime is a great example, he is trapped by the Worldspike currently and could have escaped at any moment should @Voidus want it to happen, but he isn't doing that because it is making some great story right now. I personally feel as though I have done a decent job at making my characters real, and keeping them within reasonable limitations. I think this is something that might need to simply be talked about more frequently, so that the issue stays more present in the minds of people who are making characters, whether they be new members or old ones. If it isn't something that gets talked about then people will likely ignore it more often than not in exchange for being able to do whatever they want to. So I think a good course of action as far as power creep is simply keeping the discussion open, and keeping it current, so people can be aware of it when coming up with their character concepts. It's probably just something people will need to hold themselves accountable for, and we might just need to trust them to stick to it. Of course, the character creation thread is around to try and steer people in the right direction when it comes to making overpowered characters, but again it can be hard to enforce that without seeming like you're spoiling someone's fun. Along with character power creep, group power creep is an issue as well, as mentioned. Having access to things like the Fiend, or massive armies, or super technology, are all very improbable, realistically. Yes, soldiers take time and resources to train. Where did this massive army of Lifeless come from? How did anyone come up with the idea for this power armor that is super out of place? Things like that. And while Hemalurgy is cool(The idea of it, note the whole murdering people for power) how are there suddenly all these hundreds of people who had access to Investiture and were killed in order to gain people all these powers? Wouldn't a massive slaughtering of Mistings and Ferrings cause some disquiet on Scadrial? How come there's no repercussion for that? You would think that there would be some sort of hunt for mass murderers, especially ones going after people with powers. Obviously that brings up the question of how Alley-aware is the Cosmere? Would people on Scadrial know about the Alleyverse if they haven't been there? Would they be able to send a lynch mob after someone? I don't know, but it's a thought. As far as the discussion of burnout goes, I have no idea what the correct course of action should be. The idea of increased summarizing sounds like the idea that would be easiest to implement and have the potential to work the best, but it also has flaws as people have said. People might not be willing to do it, and people might miss things when they do, thus causing as much or more confusion than currently. I think that if this were to become a thing, it might be a good idea to have people volunteer to post regular summaries for specific threads regardless of their direct involvement in that thread. This of course also has problems, because if someone doesn't log on for a week their thread will fall to the wayside. It could also simply be that if certain people were willing to kind of keep up to date on threads in general, then simply make a summary post when a new page started on any thread that didn't already have one, that could split the load more evenly and increase the chances of summaries happening consistently. I personally read any new post regardless of whether I'm in it or not, simply because I enjoy knowing what's happening and reading it. If there was maybe a group formed of people who performed regular summaries on posts I would be cool with being a part of that. This obviously also has some problems, but I don't know if any solution will be perfect. Guilds: I very strongly feel that each person, as in 17th shard account, should only be involved in 1 guild. As stated that would make guild things so much easier to be a part of. People wouldn't need to decide where their loyalties lie every time conflict happened. If that were something that was enforced though it would also be eliminating spying and subterfuge between guilds, which may or may not be a good thing in people's minds, so not sure what the best course of action there is. I do agree that guilds should be more active in the larger community of the Alleyverse and not just amongst themselves. The GB obviously have been having a lot of stuff happening lately, and the DA has its experiments going on in the Alleys, but there is little interaction happening. Again, I don't know what the solution would be, I like the ideas that were mentioned of having public goals to work towards, and having more active dedicated Guild HQ threads. This would again give the chance for people to have guild involvement that didn't include only PVP. The day to day happenings of the guild would be interesting to see. Of course, threads like alley ╔╦╦═╬╦═/ seemed as though they were intended to be that, but then people started invading it, and now it's completely off course from what it was supposed to be. I think that given that precedent any public Guild threads should only have guild members posting in them, unless a non-guild character were invited in for some reason by a guild member. That would prevent the thread from devolving into chaos. This would also allow for in character recruitment. Characters without any current guild affiliating could be invited in and shown around the guild before becoming initiated. I think something like this would allow for a lot of fun RP possibilities, as long as everyone played along. Thread discussion was also brought up, and I agree it can make for better threads and story arcs, as evidenced by "Exploring the other side of the World". It could be a very good thing to implement. As it would alloy people to gauge interest for something, so they could know how many people to expect. Almost kind of like a sign up thread? Maybe, maybe not. It would prevent a group from becoming too large and disorganized. But then if it was always a preset group of participants, that would again cause the issue of, who belongs here? How would new people be integrated into that, and old people leave the thread, without causing issues? It could again prevent general discord and chaos from happening if only the people involved were the ones posting. So basically, it seems like a lot of the problems here come from a lack of structure. Should the Alleyverse being changed to a more organized and structured environment? Should thread discussion topics become mandatory? Should we have set limits on characters? Should we have established people providing summaries, or force people to do it themselves? Should guilds be forced to come out into the light of day and show what they are doing more? Does doing these things change the Alleyverse into something people don't want it to be, or does it provide a way for it to become something more than it is now? All of these things could be very beneficial to the Alleyverse's continued existence, and allow it to thrive. This is of course very different from the way things have been, but since more and more people are joining into things, does that mean it all does need to change so it can continue to be a fun environment? How much of an overhaul does it all need? I think most people agree there are problems somewhere, but how would fixing them change things. I've probably managed to contradict myself multiple times in this post, but I've spent an hour writing it all, and thinking it out, so I might have not been consistent throughout. I think the risk is outweighed by the risk on most of the changes people are suggesting. More of a focus on roleplaying and less on combat would be good for the whole, but not necessarily for every individual. Not all conflict comes from battle, or life and death situations. The most important goal to have, is fun. And if that means changing some things, so more people can have fun, than that's what we should strive for. But if that means not changing other perceived problems because that would spoil lots of other people's fun too then maybe change isn't always the right answer. I don't know the best course of action for all of this, but I honestly have to say that this community is amazing. You are all extremely talented writers, and the dedication everyone shows to this whole thing is fantastic. Whatever happens, this forum, and this game, have undoubtedly had a profound impact on the people who show up here. And that's something to be proud of everyone. So, way to go, on making a fantastic place to have fun, and being willing to discuss some of the issues it has, and trying to fix them for the betterment of the community. (I wish I could tldr this but I would have no clue what to write down here to summarize everything, so sorry for the long disorganized post)

"So Ark's intent is that, like Helbent, any character that makes it through the trapped maze and such will have the same opportunity to be voted upon by the gods to see if they are worthy of one of these weapons or not. There still seems to ne some debate on what that entails or if these weapons are ok as of now, so I think ascending a character would juat cause more problems until things are sorted out. I don't have a problem with a Pantheon if that's what gets decided upon. If it does though I think it should be entirely non interventionist and exist solely in the Mountain of the Gods for the purpose of discussions and decisions of this nature. The Mime Titan would be an effective deterrent, for most characters at least."

@I think I am here.

"I'm glad everyone is ok with my plan. Let's all get a good night's rest and we can pick up with a fresh start in the morning. I'll be right back." Laonin said this, then went into the other room. He came back a couple of minutes later carrying 5 bedrolls and some pillows, which he set up in the cleanest part of the forge. "Well, it isn't much. But it's here for you who'll accept it. I'll be spending all my free time aside from restoring the building I assigned myself fixing the house next door, so hopefully it should be usable soon. May you all sleep well, and rest easy, knowing the good your efforts will do." Laonin then went upstairs, and since he had never changed out of his pyjamas, went to sleep soundly.

It seemed that Alask echoed some of Laonin's thoughts. He seemed bitter and judhemental of the man. Maybe he had a past of his own involving Hemalurgy? Laonin didn't play on prying though, Alask would bring it up if he wanted to. "Well, I'm never one to deny a man a second chance. As long as you're willing to work, I would happily accept your assistance. Given the nature of Forgery, I won't very well be able to work directly on a specific task with anyone else, but if we coordinate our individual efforts I think we can all make a real impact here." Laonin stood up, and walked into the other room, then came back carrying a plain but well drawn map. "I'm no artist, but I do know measurements. I did a bit of scouting in the area and marked down locations I was thinking would have been good places to focus my efforts. If we can work together we can make some real progress. If you're all willing, here's what I'm thinking." Laonin took out a pencil and pad, and began taking down notes, highlighting areas of importance on his map. "Lord Moerevron, this building here has lost a lot of structural integrity, and has been put out of comission because of it. However, it has suffered minimal actual damage, so you should be able to shift things back into place and weld any cracks fairly easily. Just be cautious not to destabilize it further and cause a collapse. I'm not sure if you wish for your Elantrian companion, who I don't think we were introduced to yet, to accompany you or not, but if he wishes to go on his own, this building here simply has a collapsed roof, so maybe he can take care of that? I will continue my work on this large building here, and Ishek I believe you had said you wanted to accompany me as, protection? Alask, I'm sure you know this city better than I do. I was hoping you could try and find somewhere for us to purchase supplies from, preferably in bulk to save costs. Maybe try negotiating for a better price, or seeing if I could partially exchange my services to them for part of the cost. Nekorb, while you are still recovering from your ordeal maybe you could accompany Alask? This setup would mostly keep us in pairs for some safety in numbers. This is just an initial thought process so if anything sounds like it needs to be changed just let me know and we can review it."

"I don't know if I want there to be a government set up, personally. It could have benefits, but the unruly aspect of the Alleyverse is part of the fun. And like I said, Everyone would need to be on board with the idea before I would have any desire to have that happen. It all depends on how strict it would be intended to be. Is it an enforced and agreed upon thing by all the guilds? At that point cooperation would need to be very highly incentivised and supported."

After Zaphoid spoke, Fae voiced her concern. "How are you going to test certain types of Feruchemy? Like memory storage? Or are there only certain types of Feruchemy and Allomancy you are interested in? If you read my sheet, you'll see I can switch from one type of Investiture to another, kind of at random. But I can only do it during any Alleystorm. I don't know if that will disqualify me from participating here or not, but what would be the most useful to you? I believe an Alleystorm will be happening right before this test you mention, so I might be able to switch to something better." Fae was increasingly worried her Bane just might be what prevented her from getting to space.