So yeah...would it really hurt you guys to give at least a one for something that I did in a thread? It is not even a one to two sentence kind of thing unless there is really nothing I can do about it. Some of them go on for paragraph(s) or the whole post itself. And pretty much, the experience is for my efforts in trying to portray something in the thread isn't it? (or am I mistaken?) So why is it that you can give me an argument that my own efforts do not matter and it is only my character's efforts in using that skill? Or that one post completely on a skill which is of a few paragraphs do not matter to any experience because you don't think its detailed enough? Or that my character did not do enough even for a one because in that given situation he cannot do too much? That totally does not make sense (at least to me) I would be better off not wasting my time and energy going into detail about everything which is done and that my character thinks about it tojust finish it off with one boring sentence just so you can justify giving me a low amount or nothing at all.
The worst part of this is that nowadays when I am not doing anything for myself I end up just looking through new thread awards by STs and file them into my mind as [go to] and [not go to unless I really need to].
To answer your question, if it is not important then why do we even bother sending it to the STs which I believe that you have been doing as well? It is because the skill system is an indicator of the limits and capabilities of what our PCs can do.
I don't like solos, or training threads racing to a power level of 9000 and I only do those when there is a reason because where is the fun in playing with yourself? I rather do it with other people. A lot more opportunities for interesting things to happen that way but sometimes the skills are needed for when you are at odds.
Alright. I tried to choose quotes and keep them within context of what you were talking about. I know I am picking apart what you are saying but just like you felt the need to post your original scrap about ST's, I feel the need to reply. And I will do so in a polite manner.
The first quote I pulled is the one that made most people who read it go "WTF..." It's funny you say that about getting even just
one point in a skill because you brought it up in your thread, because just the other day I was complaining about how some ST's will give my PC one or two in a skill that she will never, ever use again. Granted, I was talking about points that I was given that lay on the cusp between two different skills; one of which I already have some points accumulated, the other where I now only have that one point. So, regarding your quote, everybody looks at things differently whether it be a ST giving out the credit or the PC receiving it. Yes, you technically have every right to put a do and don't list of story tellers in your head of who you want to grade your thread; maybe your do's give you those singular points. It makes sense. It works for you.
However... The issue came how you said it, and I hope you can see that. Angry responses and accusations come from when you type without thinking and offend someone. Words are powerful, as we all know, and when flailed indiscriminately can really do some damage. You can't be nice to some people, mean to others and then expect everyone to read your words unbiasly.
From a Storytellers point of view, I don't like to hand out single points. Why? Because if that person really wanted that point, they would have embellished, added more detail, had their PC stick to that skill for longer. If that one skill was THAT important, it would have happened. I hand out single points when that person clearly tried and just... didn't quite do enough to deserve more. *Shrug* We have to be picky, sometimes. And if your skill is going on for an entire post, and yet you didn't get a single point for it... maybe, just maybe, you didn't make that skill clear enough. Things that sound awesome in your head and to your eyes don't always translate perfectly to someone else. It's happened to me before, it will happen again, and it happens to everyone.
That ties into your second quote I put above. It's the limits and capabilites of your PC. You also mentioned that you're worried/concerend that Bob will straggle behind other PC's that have lots of points in many skills. I know you probably realize this, but a one or two in something isn't ever going to come in handy. Having a 1/100 in walking means that maybe, possibly, you've heard of this "walking" thing in passing, yet you don't know how to do it yourself. You made a mention of wanting to just aquire skills in a natural way, just letting them happen as you write your posts, and that's commendable. I wouldn't be able to do it. But what I don't get is how you can want to do that, avoid doing solo's or training threads and yet still worry about not having many high level skills. Those are all contradictory things. Even in real life, you just dont go about your day and hope you stumble upon excerscize, meaning you can't be jealous of buff, fit people because they have tons of muscle and you don't. They go out of their way to train and work out, and you didn't.
I love horseback riding. If I just waited around and went about my day hoping that a horse would appear and there would be reason for me to get on it and ride, I would have no skill in it at all ( in real life, I mean.)... Do you see what I'm trying to get at here? While your opinion of how Bob should get skills does make sense and is logical to an extent, you have to then carry over your expectations to that way of writing. You're going to lag behind in skills if you don't do solo's or training threads. It's just the nature of the game. Some people like it, some people hate it.
That's all I really wanted to point out, that everyone does it differently and that as a storyteller having read that blog however many weeks ago you posted it and feeling a little affronted. Like I said before, you have every right to have a favorite ST for your own reasons. Scraps are for letting saying what you want to say, it's true, but you're also
putting it on the internet, in a public place for everyone to see. You need to assume that everyone is going to read it. You also need to assume that not everyone is going to agree with you. So when people see less-than-flattering comments in a tone that is also less than friendly, they assume you meant it to offend, hurt, whatever. Self explanatory, I know, but you'd be surprised how many people don't think about it that way anymore.
