December’s Featured
Contributor:
AS Legion
Mark 5:1-17 (Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-38)
"They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he was saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many." And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, "Send us to the pigs; let us enter them." So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
AS Legion is an immensely talented new(ish) addition to our Storyteller Staff. She has been moving and shaking things up in Denval, and has a real talent for getting players excited about plots and events. Currently she and Tabarnac are weaving a complex plot involving past lives, new magic and a web of intrigue. Join me in congratulating this wonderful ST.
Tell us how you begin with these complicated plots you create? Where does the idea start?
Oh, good. You started with an easy one. I heart you.
The answer is goals. All of my plot ideas begin with goals. My goals, player goals, PC goals.
My constant goal as a moderator is to provide creative support for the players. That is the rule beneath which all others are formed. It encompasses everything from grading threads to providing a city of depth and interest to best inspire the players and showcase their PCs. As in writing characters are displayed by their interactions with other characters, worlds are displayed by their interactions with the characters who inhabit it. Dani (Tabarnac) built Denval into a wonder that I have both endeavored to communicate to players and used to communicate to the forum the wonderful PCs therein.
Players probably get sick of me asking them what their goals are. I do it to an annoying degree. I want to know their goals and I want to know their character goals. Always, always. That is the first thing I ask when approached for a moderated thread. I find with fair regularity that a player may understand their goal but not that of their character. Other times a player has a difficult time distilling the glob of creative awesome in their head into clear, concise words. It is incredibly rewarding to assist in this process.
Once the goals have been hashed out and narrowed down, well, from there springs the plot.
Goal + Conflict = Plot
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it. Even the most complicated plots ultimately break down to that simple formula. I take the PC's goal and stare it into submission with their player's goal. The PC goal is first and foremost. This is because a player can have an excellent goal, but if they have not ascertained that of their character then their path to it is likely to be flat and riddled with plot holes. When the PC goal has been reconciled with the player goal, I either expound on the built in conflict or create conflict if it does not already exist. The best vehicles of conflict come in the form of well thought out NPCs with goals of their own and in shiny chunks torn out of the wiki. Locations, monsters, magics, artifacts, etc.
I do that and voila! Complicated plot.
Of course, it helps that I love a good hoodwink.
Have you ever been surprised/intrigued by a PC's reaction to something you created?
Several times. The first to leap to mind is Michelle's (Seodai) reaction to the madness Static created in a thread I'm modding for her. The corruption of my NPC's gnosis marks threw them into a dream together. After setting the dream stage, I gave Seodai the ability to control the dream as a dreamwalker might. She blew me out of the water. I got peppered with smart, creative questions and then she went wild in the best way. The result was gorgeous composition and my thorough enjoyment of the thread.
I like it when players are inspired to take the reins. It tells me I have done my job well and, frankly, even storytellers like to be told some of the story sometimes. It helps maintain our muses.
What do you think is the proper role of an NPC as opposed to a PC in a modded plot?
An NPC exists for one reason and one reason alone: as a means to communicate the depth and facets of a PC.
As I stated earlier, characters are only capable of being displayed in all their glory by their interactions with other characters. If an NPC is not solidly constructed, they are not fully serving their purpose. Their role in a modded thread is to interact in such a way as to showcase the PC by either furthering or hindering the PC's goal. If the NPC is flat, if they don't have a goal, if the ST has not shook hands with them in their mind and looked them in the eye so to speak, then the NPC is going to fail the PC and thus the player.
What is something you would love to see more of from characters in your city?
Ideas. Tell me your ideas. Give me your thoughts. I want them. I don't care how vague or impossible, how ridiculous or extreme they may be. More often than not we can hash it out, make it work with a few tweaks. If your idea is super wild, then once we're done with it I can take it to the Powers That Be, get their opinions, beg, bribe and bat my eyelashes. I have no shame when it comes to a good idea that I can get behind. Truth told, most of my ideas come in a wild and skeletal blob like a huge and unwieldy map with no roads and no X's to mark the spot. I make them manageable by bouncing them off of others, sound boarding until it's right.
It would also be great if a little more focus/notice went into the fact that Denval is governed by military law and does, in fact, have slavery.
What has been your favorite creative project thus far?
Past lives! I love, love love the past lives. They are the backbone of the present citywide plot, so maybe I should say the citywide plot is my favorite project thus far. Dani laid the ground work like the master he is and then gave it to me like a Christmas pony. I have been bouncing in my seat ever since. The romanticism (yes, if it was not already apparent, I'm a hopeless romantic), the inclusion of so many wonderful PCs and the sheer fact that who doesn't want a connection to something ancient and world altering for their PC?
The fact that players have been bringing their A Games to the past life project is thrilling. Everyone is writing the heck out of it and I can't get enough. Better yet! There's a lot more to come in this plot.
Describe Denval in 3 words.
Sparkly. Sexy. Stubborn.
::scratches head::
Oh, wait. I mean –
Strong. Struggling. Determined.
Or, of course -
Denval, defend yourself.
(Seriously, Bina-my-dear, you know can't give me a three word limit. I'm way too bloody flowery.)
I knew I should have gone for five.
What is the hardest thing about being an AS for you? What's the best thing?
The hardest thing is juggling. Hands down. I adore playing my PCs as much as I adore moderating. My free time is limited by my work, more work, my family and friends. Juggling moderator responsibilities with things I want to do for my PCs sometimes poses a problem. It is one of the reasons I failed Miz NaNo. It makes me oh-so-slow to respond to all sorts of posts. It has me eyeing the stack of various lore write ups on my plate and wondering when I'm going to squeeze them in.
On the other hand, the best thing is telling stories with a wide variety of people; and I get to do this because of all the work I put into those behind-the-scenes things.
I want to add that the second hardest thing is remembering what I'm allowed and not allowed to do. I'm dead serious. I have no real concept of what an AS is not supposed to be doing. The only thing I know for certain is that I cannot play gods. Okay, got that. The rest? Way over my head. That is primarily due to Dani as my DS being as awesome as he is and not only allowing me to do any number of things, but encouraging me to. We don't often step on each other's toes or, when we do, we both know it was absolutely on purpose and try to rub it in good. But that's our relationship. We have a great report and this has caused me to think that a solid and open line of communication between moderators of any given city and/or region is absolutely essential.
The second best thing is that I get to meet people, and to know them better than I think I might otherwise. I genuinely like people. So long as they can handle a goofball with a twisted sense of humor, we're golden.
How much of your plots are pre-set and how much is left to be molded by player action? How do you establish this balance?
I prefer a plot to be malleable. If a plot is structured without any give, then it is likely going to fail the PC involved. Even if the plot is custom tailored to a PC but has no give, it is still probably going to fail. No matter how well I research a PC or how often I have written with them, they are still not mine and it is both impossible and unfair for me to guess who they might react. If I do try to guess and work up my plot with those guesses, then I'm doing the PC a disservice. I'm not actually allowing them to impact their own story.
Establishing malleability in a plot without leaving giant plot holes or a feasible conclusion can be difficult. It makes it even harder when you know as fact that the player does not at all want to see their PC to die. I tend to create dangerous plots. I like dangerous plots and so ideas for them come to me more so than others. I don't want to kill any PCs, but on the other hand I hate having to deus ex machina too.
I have no tried and true formula for establishing and then maintaining the necessary balance. The best advice I can offer is to plot, plot, plot but remain open to a PC blowing your plot up in your face. And cheering them on if they do. The player is complimenting you when that happens, not trying to trip you up. It means your plot has grabbed hold of their interest and inspired them.
What is your dream thread as a mod?
I want to mod a military coup. Or a political, city-changing plot. With an IC shadow group like the Rising Sun or the Ruv'na or that one in my head right now I haven't written up yet up to their necks in it. Throw in some serous divine meddling and I'm your huckleberry. In a heartbeat.
Here is your chance to plug something. Do you have any fun ideas/plans for the near future?
Dani will shortly be posting an "opt in" announcement in Denval for a pair of winter season threads for the next stage of the Denval citywide plot. He's tackling one of them and I'm tackling the other. They both promise to be brilliant with the sheer amount of writing chops the players in Denval have. (I'm not a bit biased.)
The new magic discipline "static" we unveiled in the Past Lives write up has a lore article I'm writing. Once it has gone through the revision and approvals process, it will be introduced in game play for PCs to start earning XPs in. First, however, they have to find out about it and that is a leg of the citywide plot. Lots of fun.
Finally, I may or may not have a giant file chock full with a new city's descriptions, NPCs, locations, opening plot and a dozen other as of yet unfinished items on my computer. Dani may or may not know about this and be in on it with me. I may or may not actually have the go ahead to write any of this and I may or may not be having way too much fun doing it to care. I have no idea. I just work here. I plead the fifth. Bina! Will you be my lawyer?
Of course, though civil isn't my speciality. 
Lastly, do you have any words of modding wisdom for hopeful Storytellers out there?
Love what you do. Seriously love it. Have a thick skin and don't take yourself too seriously. Create open avenues of communication with moderators and players. Goof off sometimes and have fun. This is a game. And, always, always: Goal + Conflict = Plot
I feel like everyone is going "tl;dr" by now. Time to say thank you for choosing me. I was astonished and incredibly flattered.
Write on,
Legion (We Are). |
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by Colombina on December 1st, 2011, 6:24 pm 
Look at Denval. Two featured storytellers!
