@Isune I know it was a different player behind the role back then, but was it always planned that should Hallifax return, you would move there?
Late reply! But, to my knowledge, it was not particularly in Isune's projections. Though her current growth path has deepened the character substantially I think so, as always, through adversity, we grow and change.
@Allgods: one of my favorite things about Lusternian orders is the plethora of order related artifacts/items, like prayer beads, fonts, and the like. I realise that some of you may be new to an old role where some of these have already been established, but do you feel providing these customized items helps or hurts your order rp? Have any of you found it particularly hard to design such intricate things?
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
I feel that because such items tie so deeply to the God in question, it makes them particularly hard to design at times. They hold and carry a lot of "weight" and need to say "so much" without being two pages long.
I've loved creating things that represent the orders, its members, and the tenets but definitely admit to trepidation and wariness that maybe it's not perfect enough!
Question for all divine (who can access the forums, anyway)... What do you miss most about being a mortal? (Sorry if this was already asked; I admit to not having read every single post.)
I miss being able to play with the cool things we make in a fashion that actually matters (areas, quests, skills, artifacts, etc). Having behind-the-scenes privileges means that there's no effort in doing many things. And in some sense, it's the journey and the incremental earned benefits that add a lot of fun to things. Hence, being a mortal and exploring new areas, figuring out quests, getting that awesome artifact finally, getting an elected position, taking down one's enemies, forming connections and relationships with other players, all of those things were fun to me because they required effort. And they were part of a world I love. Being divine means not participating in the game world in that particular fashion anymore.
Of course, there's a different kind of effort as required in being a divine, and I get the other fun of a high volume of varied and yet detailed work, brainstorming and making things, and participating in the world and in RP from a less direct angle, and yet more far-reaching. There's divine connections and camaraderie, and there's many other sekret divine stuff beside that can be a lot of fun!
@Allgods: one of my favorite things about Lusternian orders is the plethora of order related artifacts/items, like prayer beads, fonts, and the like. I realise that some of you may be new to an old role where some of these have already been established, but do you feel providing these customized items helps or hurts your order rp? Have any of you found it particularly hard to design such intricate things?
Speaking for myself, I put a lot of thought into designing any order-related items, mobiles, etc, and I want players to be able to enjoy them too! I think one bit that can be hard in general is that sometimes Orders for a particular divine can be fairly niche and small, or populations are in general smaller for one reason or another. Thus, creating custom descriptions, custom things, sometimes custom quests... can sometimes feel like a lot of effort for a circumscribed population of players. But if even a few players appreciate it, I suppose it's worth it!
Question for all divine (who can access the forums, anyway)... What do you miss most about being a mortal? (Sorry if this was already asked; I admit to not having read every single post.)
I missed this! Sorry about that!
I miss the people I made connections and bonds with, but, being a divine admin is immensely satisfying in so many other ways. In some ways, more restrictive (surprising huh?), and in others very freeing. Setting free a piece of yourself in creative form, and allowing it to become a living and breathing part of the game to last long after you? It's full of warm fuzzies and more!
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
@Kalikai I seek knowledge of something, would You mind a nickname? Would You have preference on one?
@Mysrai I have recently joined Your order with a baptism, and was instructed to leave an item of import to me at Your main altar! And I am hoping that my gift wasn't too unusual, inappropriate, or odd and that it was received well and in the relatively innocent graces it was intended? They were red, and I thought you might appreciate them!
It's worth noting that this thread is out of character - you may do better asking your questions via the PRAY command in game! (HELP PRAY explains more about how to do so). This thread is more for asking us things as administrators, or questions for fun.
As for some of the existing questions - thinking about what all of the various divine items (marks, fonts, etc) would look like was one of my favourite parts of building Czixi. Of course, most of them haven't even been seen yet...
Oh okay, I'm dull then sorry, been up for a very long time.
Actual questions then.
@Kalikai@Mysrai@Yomoigu@Crumkane Gaudiguch is known for it's wild nature, and it's sense of liberty, . What are some trade offs you made in the design of your gods and their cults, that would possibly have been possibly too hardline for such a free and self-centered city? Things you thought about but didn't because they just didn't fit? One cool thing you'd implement if the One Law wasn't a thing?
As it is OOC I'm really enjoying the concepts explored in Mysrai's cult and reading just the help files. How much do @allgods appreciate their cults help materials and how much players geek over their personal gods banner?
One other question, for @allgods do you appreciate prayers about inconsequential things? And how would you feel if you found a supplicant that was praying each and every weave? Cause RPwise my character doesn't do things by half. I RP'd out burying a Gnome Child when I accidentally killed it. And I'm wondering like what the reaction to that would be and if it's something I should try to just RP away? Like say my character does it, but not actually do it. Would you consider it annoying? Would it be overwhelming for you? I'm sitting here just making sure I don't annoy anyone with IC RP.
One other question, for @allgods do you appreciate prayers about inconsequential things? And how would you feel if you found a supplicant that was praying each and every weave? Cause RPwise my character doesn't do things by half. I RP'd out burying a Gnome Child when I accidentally killed it. And I'm wondering like what the reaction to that would be and if it's something I should try to just RP away? Like say my character does it, but not actually do it. Would you consider it annoying? Would it be overwhelming for you? I'm sitting here just making sure I don't annoy anyone with IC RP.
I appreciate when players pray to Maylea. It doesn't always make RP sense to answer, but it's generally appreciated. I admit a prayer every day may get old, unless something of substance is actually talked about, but once a week wouldn't be too bad for me (not speaking for other divine!).
I get a feeling sometimes maybe players are too intimidated to pray? But it's a reliable way to reach a divine IC, so for those people who would like to get to know their divine more, prayers signal to the divine your interest, and you might find yourself with more interactions that way. We don't always make ourselves visible to the player base even when we're around, so waiting around for a divine to be visible on WHO ends up being a lot of waiting!
@Neela, I love that your character doesn't do things by half. If one of my order members accidentally killed something relevant to Maylea, RP'd burying it, then told Maylea about it, I'd find it interesting and perhaps a source for RP. Thanks for being so into it!
I get a feeling sometimes maybe players are too intimidated to pray? But it's a reliable way to reach a divine IC, so for those people who would like to get to know their divine more, prayers signal to the divine your interest, and you might find yourself with more interactions that way. We don't always make ourselves visible to the player base even when we're around, so waiting around for a divine to be visible on WHO ends up being a lot of waiting!
I can't speak for others but I do feel like that a lot. I don't want to waste the god's time, especially not IC.
As for a question, I am not sure if this is the right place to ask, but is @Charites one person, or is it a hull several godmins use?
Regrettably the lovely @Charites are suffering from the forum's continuing vendetta.
Suffice it to say, however, that We and our fellows - the Oneiroi, Erinyes, Charites, Camenae, Furies and Moirae - are myriad, magnificent, and mysterious.
re: prayers. Every day might get spammy and include things of little import but whenever there is something of note happening, I very much appreciate the prayers. As much as we are meant to roleplay the gods as semi-omniscient, we're not able to actually do that without your input since we don't sit around watching people all day. So players prayering to let Dro know what they are up to, what changed, what they desire, is very very useful. I am not always able to respond or even do anything about the content but at least I know where the player is in their ongoing arc.
One other question, for @allgods do you appreciate prayers about inconsequential things? And how would you feel if you found a supplicant that was praying each and every weave? Cause RPwise my character doesn't do things by half. I RP'd out burying a Gnome Child when I accidentally killed it. And I'm wondering like what the reaction to that would be and if it's something I should try to just RP away? Like say my character does it, but not actually do it. Would you consider it annoying? Would it be overwhelming for you? I'm sitting here just making sure I don't annoy anyone with IC RP.
I quite enjoy receiving prayers! I don't always have time to come RP right away, but it helps to let us know you're looking for us for something IC or even just that you're open to impromptu RP. Especially when you have questions you want to know in character, prayers are the best way and allows your roleplay to grow from either the knowledge or experience.
I'm actually quite curious @allgods, did you make your choice of god character by name of the character or by the org they were going to be in?
Also, that's more of a side thing, how come that some orgs attract more gods then others?
And a third @allgods one, do you generally react to prayers and inquiries from outside your orgs members?
I don't know if anyone picks by name alone, but more what that role stands for; their beliefs, opinions, outlooks on "life in Lusternia" and what their strengths/leanings are. For me, getting Hallifax was a bonus, I always wanted to be Isune.
Some orgs attract more gods than others because of many various things. Some of us prefer roleplaying darker themes, some not, I don't know if there's any one particular reason?
I'm actually quite curious @allgods, did you make your choice of god character by name of the character or by the org they were going to be in?
Also, that's more of a side thing, how come that some orgs attract more gods then others?
And a third @allgods one, do you generally react to prayers and inquiries from outside your orgs members?
Just to answer number two, there's several factors I've seen influence a god choice: The character of the god itself, what org the god would be in, what orgs need gods the most (which isn't always apparent, as sometimes there's factors discussed in private that very few people even up here will be 100% privy to until it happens), what role suits a person (or doesn't), what people are familiar with lore-wise, the amount of time they'll be able to devote to the role.
The number one thing is that the Gods need to be able to enjoy their role. The roleplay is an outlet and a reward in a way - most of the gods up here enjoy interacting with players in-character in some way, and while we have (a lot of) stuff to do up here, we want them to enjoy their time in-game away from the work. This is a lot of why there is only ever really one Anomaly at any time - It is a very specific position that requires certain skills, and the position lacks any roleplay purpose and is instead rewarded in other means.
However, at the same time, we do often encourage ephemerals to go in a direction the game needs. Estarra in particular is really good at that, and in the last batch of gods going up, somebody did end up taking a role they wanted nothing to do with initially (even going so far as to say they wanted nothing to do with the org the role was in) and ended up loving it in the end.
In the end, there's a lot of factors and a lot of blind stumbling about god roles. It's often an odd blend of what the person wants and what the game needs. There are times when it works out, times when it doesn't. There are times when people get their desired godrole and find they hate it, times when they take a godrole they absolutely hate and love it, and everything in between.
--
Now, number three, this is more anecdote from before I came up to the Havens. As a player, I once prayed to a god in an opposing org and got a reaction. Said reaction was actually one of my favourite memories of the game. It does happen, but I will say that responding to prayers can be a full-time job too.
I've seen Gods log in dreading checking their messages because they know half of them are prayers and it's going to take forever to figure out how they should respond to them, if they should at all (which is always a factor. Gods have different roleplay guidelines and there is a point where ignoring a prayer is proper roleplay), how they should appear (visions, tells/whispers, order the person to the fulcrux, zaps).
However, I will also note that I've seen gods completely just excited and happy that they get prayers. As much work as it can be, especially after a long day of everything, I think every god up here might enjoy prayers they get. From anybody. And while it does make more work, pray if you think praying is the way to go. Sometimes it's good to get a roleplay hook from a different org, or somebody you've never interacted with.
--
Take everything I say with a grain of salt though. Anomalies don't have shrines.
I did in fact pick the name first, but that is because I knew I wanted to be First Circle - which meant I had a list of names to select from. This isn't a normal experience, however.
In terms of organisations attracting more members, @Ianir and @Isune have covered this pretty well. I would also note that it fluctuates - there have been times where each organisation has had a lot of Divine or very few (or none, in the worst case). Just like player population changes.
As for prayers and interactions from people outside of Hallifax, they have formed some of my favourite interactions with Czixi. Prayers in general are a fantastic way of opening a channel to us. Many of us will find ways to 'ping' players to make them aware that we're around and available for interaction - prayers save us the trouble of doing that because they tell us straight away that you want something, plus give us an idea of what that is.
@Ianir What would it take to become an ascendant of an anomaly?
A blood sacrifice to the Rapture gods, including three yetis, a chimaera, and a centaur, but not including a gryphon unless you first consecrate it in a pool of liquefied punch cards. This must be performed at 2:11AM in the middle of a dried out alkaline lakebed in the month of October under the supervision of three other Anomalies who will take turns chanting in an odd C dialect as you draw a circle anticlockwise in the sand with the remnants of a server which once ran a MUD2 clone. At this point, you will probably be dehydrated enough that you start seeing everything in code like that one scene from the Matrix, except instead of green, the text is silver and it seems... somehow wrong despite being perfectly valid, and you will start to understand the underlying memory allocations taking place in your life and that around you.
At this point, you must begin reciting from memory RFC 854 from beginning to end while vague and sometimes hostile bug reports are recited to you over a megaphone from two feet away, and if you at all flinch or break your metre during them or fail to resolve any of them, the entire thing is a failure. If you somehow proceed past this point however, you will be invited to the inner circle of Furies in which you must decide upon which envoy reports pass and which do not, taking into account every single player comment and every single admin comment upon them, considering their effect on the game, and flogging yourself with a Cat5-o-nine-tails.
Only then will you be enlightened to the true ways of becoming an anomalascendant - That path is your own to find, I can only point you toward its direction.
@Ianir What would it take to become an ascendant of an anomaly?
A blood sacrifice to the Rapture gods, including three yetis, a chimaera, and a centaur, but not including a gryphon unless you first consecrate it in a pool of liquefied punch cards. This must be performed at 2:11AM in the middle of a dried out alkaline lakebed in the month of October under the supervision of three other Anomalies who will take turns chanting in an odd C dialect as you draw a circle anticlockwise in the sand with the remnants of a server which once ran a MUD2 clone. At this point, you will probably be dehydrated enough that you start seeing everything in code like that one scene from the Matrix, except instead of green, the text is silver and it seems... somehow wrong despite being perfectly valid, and you will start to understand the underlying memory allocations taking place in your life and that around you.
At this point, you must begin reciting from memory RFC 854 from beginning to end while vague and sometimes hostile bug reports are recited to you over a megaphone from two feet away, and if you at all flinch or break your metre during them or fail to resolve any of them, the entire thing is a failure. If you somehow proceed past this point however, you will be invited to the inner circle of Furies in which you must decide upon which envoy reports pass and which do not, taking into account every single player comment and every single admin comment upon them, considering their effect on the game, and flogging yourself with a Cat5-o-nine-tails.
Only then will you be enlightened to the true ways of becoming an anomalascendant - That path is your own to find, I can only point you toward its direction.
You sir, are glorious. Thank you, I haven't laughed that hard in awhile, and will endeavor to follow your instructions. Thank you for the information.
What's a firm but polite way to metaphorically prod a god in the chest and ask why they haven't responded to you or anyone else since their return?
Everiine said: The reason population is low isn't because there are too many orgs. It's because so many facets of the game are outright broken and protected by those who benefit from it being that way. An overabundance of gimmicks (including game-breaking ones), artifacts that destroy any concept of balance, blatant pay-to-win features, and an obsession with convenience that makes few things actually worthwhile all contribute to the game's sad decline.
Comments
@Allgods: one of my favorite things about Lusternian orders is the plethora of order related artifacts/items, like prayer beads, fonts, and the like. I realise that some of you may be new to an old role where some of these have already been established, but do you feel providing these customized items helps or hurts your order rp? Have any of you found it particularly hard to design such intricate things?
I've loved creating things that represent the orders, its members, and the tenets but definitely admit to trepidation and wariness that maybe it's not perfect enough!
I miss being able to play with the cool things we make in a fashion that actually matters (areas, quests, skills, artifacts, etc). Having behind-the-scenes privileges means that there's no effort in doing many things. And in some sense, it's the journey and the incremental earned benefits that add a lot of fun to things. Hence, being a mortal and exploring new areas, figuring out quests, getting that awesome artifact finally, getting an elected position, taking down one's enemies, forming connections and relationships with other players, all of those things were fun to me because they required effort. And they were part of a world I love. Being divine means not participating in the game world in that particular fashion anymore.
Of course, there's a different kind of effort as required in being a divine, and I get the other fun of a high volume of varied and yet detailed work, brainstorming and making things, and participating in the world and in RP from a less direct angle, and yet more far-reaching. There's divine connections and camaraderie, and there's many other sekret divine stuff beside that can be a lot of fun!
Speaking for myself, I put a lot of thought into designing any order-related items, mobiles, etc, and I want players to be able to enjoy them too! I think one bit that can be hard in general is that sometimes Orders for a particular divine can be fairly niche and small, or populations are in general smaller for one reason or another. Thus, creating custom descriptions, custom things, sometimes custom quests... can sometimes feel like a lot of effort for a circumscribed population of players. But if even a few players appreciate it, I suppose it's worth it!
I miss the people I made connections and bonds with, but, being a divine admin is immensely satisfying in so many other ways. In some ways, more restrictive (surprising huh?), and in others very freeing. Setting free a piece of yourself in creative form, and allowing it to become a living and breathing part of the game to last long after you? It's full of warm fuzzies and more!
@Mysrai I have recently joined Your order with a baptism, and was instructed to leave an item of import to me at Your main altar! And I am hoping that my gift wasn't too unusual, inappropriate, or odd and that it was received well and in the relatively innocent graces it was intended? They were red, and I thought you might appreciate them!
As for some of the existing questions - thinking about what all of the various divine items (marks, fonts, etc) would look like was one of my favourite parts of building Czixi. Of course, most of them haven't even been seen yet...
Actual questions then.
@Kalikai @Mysrai @Yomoigu @Crumkane Gaudiguch is known for it's wild nature, and it's sense of liberty, . What are some trade offs you made in the design of your gods and their cults, that would possibly have been possibly too hardline for such a free and self-centered city? Things you thought about but didn't because they just didn't fit? One cool thing you'd implement if the One Law wasn't a thing?
As it is OOC I'm really enjoying the concepts explored in Mysrai's cult and reading just the help files. How much do @allgods appreciate their cults help materials and how much players geek over their personal gods banner?
I get a feeling sometimes maybe players are too intimidated to pray? But it's a reliable way to reach a divine IC, so for those people who would like to get to know their divine more, prayers signal to the divine your interest, and you might find yourself with more interactions that way. We don't always make ourselves visible to the player base even when we're around, so waiting around for a divine to be visible on WHO ends up being a lot of waiting!
@Neela, I love that your character doesn't do things by half. If one of my order members accidentally killed something relevant to Maylea, RP'd burying it, then told Maylea about it, I'd find it interesting and perhaps a source for RP. Thanks for being so into it!
I can't speak for others but I do feel like that a lot. I don't want to waste the god's time, especially not IC.
As for a question, I am not sure if this is the right place to ask, but is @Charites one person, or is it a hull several godmins use?
Suffice it to say, however, that We and our fellows - the Oneiroi, Erinyes, Charites, Camenae, Furies and Moirae - are myriad, magnificent, and mysterious.
Also, that's more of a side thing, how come that some orgs attract more gods then others?
And a third @allgods one, do you generally react to prayers and inquiries from outside your orgs members?
Some orgs attract more gods than others because of many various things. Some of us prefer roleplaying darker themes, some not, I don't know if there's any one particular reason?
I do/will, but you should know that by now!
The number one thing is that the Gods need to be able to enjoy their role. The roleplay is an outlet and a reward in a way - most of the gods up here enjoy interacting with players in-character in some way, and while we have (a lot of) stuff to do up here, we want them to enjoy their time in-game away from the work. This is a lot of why there is only ever really one Anomaly at any time - It is a very specific position that requires certain skills, and the position lacks any roleplay purpose and is instead rewarded in other means.
However, at the same time, we do often encourage ephemerals to go in a direction the game needs. Estarra in particular is really good at that, and in the last batch of gods going up, somebody did end up taking a role they wanted nothing to do with initially (even going so far as to say they wanted nothing to do with the org the role was in) and ended up loving it in the end.
In the end, there's a lot of factors and a lot of blind stumbling about god roles. It's often an odd blend of what the person wants and what the game needs. There are times when it works out, times when it doesn't. There are times when people get their desired godrole and find they hate it, times when they take a godrole they absolutely hate and love it, and everything in between.
--
Now, number three, this is more anecdote from before I came up to the Havens. As a player, I once prayed to a god in an opposing org and got a reaction. Said reaction was actually one of my favourite memories of the game. It does happen, but I will say that responding to prayers can be a full-time job too.
I've seen Gods log in dreading checking their messages because they know half of them are prayers and it's going to take forever to figure out how they should respond to them, if they should at all (which is always a factor. Gods have different roleplay guidelines and there is a point where ignoring a prayer is proper roleplay), how they should appear (visions, tells/whispers, order the person to the fulcrux, zaps).
However, I will also note that I've seen gods completely just excited and happy that they get prayers. As much work as it can be, especially after a long day of everything, I think every god up here might enjoy prayers they get. From anybody. And while it does make more work, pray if you think praying is the way to go. Sometimes it's good to get a roleplay hook from a different org, or somebody you've never interacted with.
--
Take everything I say with a grain of salt though. Anomalies don't have shrines.
Tonight amidst the mountaintops
And endless starless night
Singing how the wind was lost
Before an earthly flight
In terms of organisations attracting more members, @Ianir and @Isune have covered this pretty well. I would also note that it fluctuates - there have been times where each organisation has had a lot of Divine or very few (or none, in the worst case). Just like player population changes.
As for prayers and interactions from people outside of Hallifax, they have formed some of my favourite interactions with Czixi. Prayers in general are a fantastic way of opening a channel to us. Many of us will find ways to 'ping' players to make them aware that we're around and available for interaction - prayers save us the trouble of doing that because they tell us straight away that you want something, plus give us an idea of what that is.
At this point, you must begin reciting from memory RFC 854 from beginning to end while vague and sometimes hostile bug reports are recited to you over a megaphone from two feet away, and if you at all flinch or break your metre during them or fail to resolve any of them, the entire thing is a failure. If you somehow proceed past this point however, you will be invited to the inner circle of Furies in which you must decide upon which envoy reports pass and which do not, taking into account every single player comment and every single admin comment upon them, considering their effect on the game, and flogging yourself with a Cat5-o-nine-tails.
Only then will you be enlightened to the true ways of becoming an anomalascendant - That path is your own to find, I can only point you toward its direction.
Works on the hamsters in the servers anyway...
Where's the tech savvy know-how @Xenthos??