[Gossamer's Scrapbook] The Ethereal Canyon I

[Gossamer]

. Remembering... When I was in fifth grade in elementary, I had an advanced placement reading class. I lived a quiet life, didn't have many friends because I had started school early (at 4) and then skipped a grade because of testing and whatnot, so I was in the fifth grade but two years behind everyone else agewise. I loved reading, so I was super stoked to get this teacher called Judy Fountain. She was a wonderful rolly polly grey haired school teach that had a real joy of reading. Her advanced placement reading class let us read materials all the way up well into the twelfth grade level. It was a self-paced class so I loved it, and when we achieved goals we got prizes. I was the same size or taller as all the kids in my class, even being two years behind them agewise. It was one of the reasons I was put into school early was my grandmother was afraid I'd be teased for my heigth. Little did she know that being tall was the least of my worries. There was a little girl in the glass name Danielle Stephenson. I naturally didn't like her, even though she was nice, because her mother and father had a great deal of money and she raised and showed arab horses for real. There was just something about her I didn't like, as if she was always looking at me the way I'd look at a slug in my garden. I didn't have horses then, didn't even have lunch money half the time, and made do. It's what we did in those days. Anyhow, the rewards for the week were put out and one of the big ones was this great scholastic poster of a palomino horse. I wanted it badly, but so did Dani. Which, to my fifth grade brain wasn't fair because she had the real things at home. I worked hard, read the challenge material, and even finished two books on the side that were of eleventh and twelfth grade levels. I won the poster and Danielle got a Curious George iron on decal for her coat. She threw a fit and cried and demanded to know why I got the poster to all her friends away from the teacher's view. Later, after class was over and school was done, her friends descended on me. There was a lot of them. Two boys pushed me hard, knocked me down, and another took my backpack and dumped the contents all over the floor while I was trying to defend myself. They kicked my stuff all over the hall, with no teachers around, and took the poster and presented it to Dani all while I watched. One boy even stomped on my ankle hard enough that I could hardly walk on it afterwards. I was so mad, so hurt, and to this day I still remember it. I worked for that poster over an eternity (a week is an eternity to someone that little) and here she reaped the rewards. She was 'entitled' to it because she had a higher place in the pecking order. I told Mrs. Fountain, of course, and since there was no one around that could validate my claim, it was dismissed as heresay and unprovable even though I had a limp and a black eye. It messed me up as a fifth grader for a long time. I trusted no one, and I tend to champion everyone now who works hard for things and I tend to take the attitude that 'Your kidding me right?" When folks want something they haven't earned even if they weren't given the opportunity to earn it. There's all kinds of opportunities around. Not everyone gets a shot at every one out there. And that's fine, but you sometimes have to realize you all can't be Danielle Stephenson and just because you "OMG WANT SOMETHING BAD" means you get it one way or another. I'll never forget how she just stood there looking at me like I was a piece of dirt and delicately took the poster and put it into her own backpack and turned on her heel and regal as a queen marched away. .

[Oluse]

OMG! Sometimes I just can't believe how things used to be! Not even very long ago either. When I iamgine something like that happening in schools now days! Specially if the kid had a black eye! I'm glad things aren't like that anymore.

As for the snow aftermath, yeah. I think all of Seattle has gone crazy. I thank god the sun is finally shining! People are starting to unwind. I've just been able to feel the stress barring in on my defenseless little apartment the past few days. One of these days I'm going to have to break down and actually put some wards up against stuff like that... but it's just such a pain, and I can't hardly get myself to do the dishes XD And then id have to take it down when i moved... and maintain it. If it snows again i'm doing it!

My opinion on getting old: Thank god, being a kid sux.

I'd rather what I've had, my health, my sanity, erode rather than never have been there before. When you're a kid you can't even remember a time when your body was strong, and your mind was alert and most of all you can't remember ever being content. At least you have memories when you're old. At least you know you have earned pride...

And last note here. *wraps arms around you and holds tight* I love you.

[Gossamer]

. Morphing I love Morphing. Truth be told, even though I didn't write it, its probably my favorite skills in the game. But I've seen a disturbing trend recently. People are using Morphing in ways that just baffle me. Well, that's probably an inaccurate statement. You can use Morphing really in unlimited ways, but when you have half a dozen skill points in morphing, you can't actually use it with ease. Morphing takes time, concentration, and a focus that reminds me of a toddler first being poddy trained and concentrating on making dooky in the training potty. Yea. You sit there, you concentrate, sweat breaks out, you focus, you visualize, you grunt and strain and slowly transform your whatever into a whatever. But is that what's happening? Nope. People are skipping the sheer time it takes to morph (several minutes even to do the small stuff at lower levels) in favor of the instantaneous smooth uber cool shifts. Knock it off people. No mod in their right mind is going to give you morphing credit XP wise if your just changing your haircolor ala The Craft with a sweep of your hands across your dark locks turning them golden. Hear that mods? Don't let players cheeseball this. Make them actually cast magic concentrating on magic making it hard, demanding, and needing babysteps in the first bits of novicedom (is that a word?). I'm expecting the pcs that everyone reads to set examples in this. If not, I'm going to personally talk to them! You know who you are and I bet your scuffing your feet right now. Yea it kinda puts a crink in your style if you have to stop and grunt toddler-pottyhchair-style while your working on your lower level morphing, but when you get the points built up then you can be cool and do all the little 'just for effect' stuff with well practiced ease. .

[Gossamer]

. NPCs I keep having to repeat this lecture about once a year on the creation of NPCs. NPCs are important, but I always cringe when I see an NPC with more than a couple of Expert level skills. Now, this doesn't include Quest NPCs which are special, but it does include NPCs that are going to be around every day. NPCs are average people. PCs are above average. Its very rare that a person in this game who's a non-player character will have the time or skill to advance themselves past expert or master in more than one skill. NPCs also need a 'range' of skills. Don't just give a Master Weaver a Weaving of 95. They are real people so they probably have other hobbies. Give her a cooking skill of 15, or a flute skill of 34. Make the weaver interesting. Give them hobbies or weapons or skills that might surprise a PC reading the NPC or which might inspire a PC to go 'oh that's cool.. lets do that too!". Ever see a hellishly mean barbarian (there are actually some unaffiliated humans in Kalea roaming the mountains that we call barbarians) that lies to dry flowers as well? WELL YOU SHOULD! It's only good publicity. When you get into fights, its also hellishly important for NPCs to have actual skill points assigned to them rather than just levels. There are lots of times I've needed to compare PC A to NPC B's skill points to see how well PC A can beat NPC B's butt or vice versa. Sometimes factoring in the writing is not enough. Sometimes you have to look at the points and make a judgement call too. Yes a three point spread is virtually no different, but a 10 or 15 point spread is. See what I mean? If they are both Experts, you need to know this spread exists. So stop making NPCs that don't have skill points assigned. If you just have levels, you never know exactly where that range falls. Its also important to see NPCs as teachers. Teachers focus on one or more things that usually are in the same category. If they are a weapons instructor, give them the weapon but also give them TEACHING. If Brutas of the Sharp Dagger is a dagger instructor, he needs a high dagger and the ability to pass the skill on. Even some Rhetoric and Storytelling would help. You know someone named Brutas is a bullshitter. Its a given. You know he'll want to be telling stories of dagger fights gone bad and showing off his scars. Give him that ability. Make one or two NPCs for your area that are high enough they can be teachers. But then, don't restrict them from use. Let PC's play with them. Let PC's explore interactions through writing. Also, don't be afraid to let Players created their own NPCs and places that those NPCs haunt. Interactive cities are the best. People get a kick out of their stuff being used and used all over by all kinds of people. Let this happen! .

[Halcyon]

Jen. I just wanted to remind you how much I freaking love you.

It's a lot.

[Lase]

:D Here's a little picture I scribbled on Photoshop. :)

[Oluse]

I like how well it captures her personality.

[Gossamer]

. Roads in Mizahar! This is a mini travel rant so bear with me! When I say there are no known roads other than the Kabrin in game, I really mean it when it comes to Falyndar, Kalea, Taldera, Sylira, Eyktol and Cyphrus. Now, there are quite a few maps in the wiki, at least a couple, that this road shows up on. Its first branch was built between Zeltiva and Syliras and is just really known as the Syliras/Zeltiva road. The second section was built south through Kenash and onto Riverfall and the third section built north to Karjin all by the Syliran Knights and various factions/cities helping them along the way. This road is big enough for two wagons to pass on easily and has wayfarer stations at least in Sylira all along it so that travelers can shelter. See the Kabrin Road wiki entry for details. It's short and sweet. The Kabrin, despite my inept photoshop skills, is a COASTAL road and its over two thousand miles long. That means, heading across Kalea, there are NO ROADS. You are basically following animal trails and in the case of the Unforgiving which is the WHOLE of Kalea, you're mountain climbing. In Falyndar there are some overgrown pathways but the Myrians like to keep the welcome mat rolled up and nosy northerners out of their rainforest. In Taldera travel is easier because all the giant animals in the south tend to make road-like animal trails, but if you travel on them you are vulnerable to the same predation as the actual elk and deer that make the trails. Up north towards Avanthal you have easy riding through the northern wastes, but its cold and there's nothing there but a lot of peat and permafrost. And I do know Denval and now Ravok is currently doing a road building project but I'm not sure how that's going and where its connecting what to what. When these threads are done we'll definitely add it in to the regional maps. .

[Verilian]

I would like to chime in here and say that Ravok is going to be building a road (with the help of some PCs preferably) that is going to lead from Ravok to the Suvan Sea. Currently there is a quest going in which a group of PCs and NPCs are traveling through the wilderness to establish a trade out post. In spring I'll be launching a mini-quest to follow behind them in the form of a road crew. All this is, of course, assuming that the Knights of Syliras don't do something about it. I've talked to Chevalier a little about that, but really the quest isn't to a point where the Knights are an issue yet. Oh yeah, back to my original point. There might be a new road in a few seasons, assuming all goes well. (Which it probably won't. >.> )

[Colombina]

FYI, Eyktol has no roads. Traveling Eyktol is like navigating on the sea. It's red rock formations in the north, dunes in the middle with the occasional oasis, rockier towards the edges, and the coastal regions where the cities are have some arable land in the style of parts of the Judean desert.