Gossamer: Anyone who reads Xnnn’s intro and history can’t help but feel his inhumanness and the tragedy of his situation. How long did it take you to come up with Xnnn’s background and launch him into the world?
Xnnn: I thought the Kelvics were an interesting race. Someone in chat said they were not humans changing into animals, nor animals who change into humans but their own distinct race, which seemed a bit novel as opposed to “shape shifters”. I wanted to make one, but wasn’t sure what animal I should choose or how the character would shape up. I had also read about the Zith, and I wasn’t ready to make a Zith PC, but the race intrigued me. So, I thought of how the Zith had slaves and I thought the idea of a Kelvic being an escaped slave of the Zith would be fun to write. It seemed to me like that sort of creature would be very wary and also very unsophisticated. The basic instinct, though, of a Kelvic is to bond with and serve a master. So I saw Xnnn as being a good character to take from a brutal type of ignorance to one who can bond with a human, though he doesn’t understand the process himself. The concept of what he would be like didn’t take too long to come up with, but I plan on taking his development pretty slowly, as he learns about humans and about himself.
Gossamer: Playing a kelvic is a challenge. It’s a challenge not being quite as smart as everyone else around you. At the same time being just the right mix of feral inhumanness is often hard to maintain and sink into as a writer. What was Xnnn’s inspiration and how did you find his voice?
Xnnn: I can only think some part of me is Kelvic – or maybe I was a cougar in a past life. Xnnn is actually quite easy for me to write. I try to think how an animal thinks and feels based on what we can see of their behavior, and go with that. Cowboy and Stranger have really helped me develop him too.
Gossamer: Tell us some of your decision process in terms of where and how to launch him into Mizahar and then how you decided to have him interact with people.
Xnnn: I had a lot of input from and conversation with Cowboy who is a great friend and RP buddy. I had already decided to start Xnnn having escaped his Zith master and being in the wilds. Cowboy suggested the wildlands around Sunberth. It was fun to have cougar Xnnn interacting with a “city boy.” I think at first Xnnn had thoughts to eat him. So that gave me the chance to start having Xnnn experience that impulse to bond. And then I am doing a flashback thread with Stranger and she’s been very inspirational – we really play our characters off one another and it’s a really touching dynamic (turns out her PC Elymas is Xnnn’s daddy!)
Gossamer: Being raised by Zith is a hard start in life because Zith culture is so awkward and different compared to the topside culture Xnnn now has been exposed too. How has he made the transition? Was it easy? Hard?
Xnnn: He’s just beginning. Xnnn’s exposure to humans from birth to about 3 years of age was only seeing them as slaves – primarily as food for the Zith. In fact, his job was to care for the other slaves who were destined to become dinner. The other humans he was around were breeders. So he has a very skewed idea of what humans are like, what they are good for. But Tarn and Elymas, and hopefully Lyth, will teach him more and more about his father’s race. He still has a lot to learn – and not all of it will be roses and rainbows – hopefully.
Gossamer: Do you have any advice for Kelvic Players? Some people cleanly and utterly miss the mark on playing their kelvics. Yours is what we consider one of the finer ones that has been brought into the game. Share with everyone, if you will, some of your tricks and thinking on getting into a kelvic’s skin and his or her mindset.
Xnnn: Thank you for that stellar compliment. I guess what I do is try to gage Xnnn’s reactions and behaviors based on his life experiences so far. I read the lore multiple times as I created him and play him, and I try to stick with the spirit of that. Kelvics were made to serve, and they bond with a master much like a dog would. Kelvics can have distinct personalities, but that is their basic make up. The lore says they aren’t religious and they aren’t usually well educated or scholarly. That doesn’t mean they can’t be “intelligent” but intelligence is relative to what you’re trying to accomplish. Xnnn kept Tarn alive in the wilds, but he is lost in the city. If he was an alley cat, it might be the other way around. I guess what I see most commonly amongst other Kelvics is they are “too human”, even in their animal form. Or, alternatively, they are too inclined to be “loners” which runs contrary to what it says in the lore about the bonding instinct.
Gossamer: How did you discover Mizahar and what were some of your thoughts – good and bad – on the game when you first found us. Why did you choose to play here and how come you have stayed?
Xnnn: Tabernac and Stranger brought me here so I owe them big time because this site is awesome! At first glance it’s overwhelming, and, honestly, if Tabernac had not held my hand and literally put my first CS together, I would have run away crying. There is so much information to digest – which in the end is a great thing, because it shows how much thought and effort have gone into it. But at first, it’s like information overload. I’ve been playing about . . . two months now, and I feel like I’ve only begun to skim the surface of all the lore out there. The reason I decided to stay is the people on here are very friendly and welcoming and there are lots of great writers and wonderful forums with widely divergent cities and domains. I’ve never seen an RPG site this rich with possibility for endless creativity.
Gossamer: The truth of the matter is that all your PCs are fabulous even though we picked Xnnn for his outstanding kelvicness. Any one of them could have been chosen for a Featured Character award. Which concept and which PC is your favorite and why? If you don’t want to name names that’s fine, but tell us in general then what sort of concepts you enjoy playing the most and why.
Xnnn: Wow – hard choice. Each of my PCs is pretty different (I hope) and that is on purpose. I have a Vantha, an Akalak, a Svefra, a “regular” human (from Lhavit) and Xnnn. They each are fun to play in their own way, and each one requires some slightly different outlook. At the end of the day, my guilty confession is that most of all I enjoy RPing personal relationships – be they friendships or romance or even adversarial ones. I think behavior is fascinating and I enjoy that much more than battles or fighting or working on skills (I know – I told you this was a confession). I think at the moment, Syllke, my Vantha, is the most fun to play because I made him to be like the friendliest guy in Mizahar so that’s great fun to write.
Gossamer: Why is Xnnn’s animal a cougar? Does it have any specific significance for you? It’s always fun to know what kelvics almost were because we know people are often torn over what to do with their pcs and which to pick. Can you tell us what Xnnn almost was or was he a cougar from the very get-go?
Xnnn: When I was first considering a Kelvic, I poked about the forums and saw there were a lot of wolf Kelvics, so I thought I’d pick something different. I considered a very friendly stray dog, like a huge lab or newfie. But in the end I thought a shyer Kelvic, who would also be a very rugged and strong animal, was more interesting. When Cowboy and I were talking it over, we kind of jointly thought a big cat would be a good choice, and I think cougars are beautiful and majestic so I went with that.
Gossamer: As a gaming world, Mizahar definitely has its strengths and weaknesses. Can you tell us what you think these are in terms of your own experience here?
Xnnn: The strengths I would list are: the staff (founders and mods) who seem for the most part very invested in making Mizahar a great place to play and work really hard so we players can have fun; the players who are really enthusiastic and keep the place alive and hopping; the complex and rich lore and the incredible amount of detail that went into each race, each city, etc. The only weakness I have seen is that sometimes newcomers can have a rough time finding their way and I encourage everyone that plays here to make the effort to be both welcoming and helpful and patient – none of us began RPing as stellar writers – and sometimes, not always, a really rough stone can shine with the right amount of polishing.
Gossamer: Where do you see Xnnn going? Do you have any long term goals for him or things you want to see him experience or resolve in his life? Is there anything about him we should know that’s important for the readers to understand?
Xnnn: Xnnn is destined to learn more and more about humans, other races, and himself, and hopefully get to see a lot of Mizahar, before he finally reunites with his dad. I’d like to see him bonded to a master and develop as an individual in his own right, though within the scope of his Kelvicness. It would be awesome to one day see him become a dad! At the end of the day, I think Xnnn is easy to understand – he is a simple soul (though not simple minded) looking for his place, and his person, in a world which he finds a bit confusing, but I think he has the tenacity to get there.
Feel free to add anything else to this interview you’d like!
I just want to say I’m really floored by this wonderful acknowledgement of Xnnn and thanks to everyone that helps to run Mizahar and make it the vibrant, awesome place that it is - because otherwise, Xnnn would never have come into being.
Special thanks to Stranger who dragged me here (<3), Cowboy who tagged along and made it great (<3 ), Gossamer for being so helpful and kind (<3), and Tabernac for getting me going (</3)(j/k Dani
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by Kendall Saarinen on November 1st, 2011, 3:22 am 
