The Interview Razkar can be attributed to breathing new life into Myrians gamewide. Can you tell us what first drew you to the Myrians as a race and why you decided to play a male PC in a female dominated society?
Their warrior and unfettered nature, is the short answer. I was specifically looking for a race that was centered around combat and war, since that's always been a fascination for me. Their blurb in the Race List peaked my interest and the more I read, the more I liked.
But that was what attracted me, past tense. What continues to attract me is their complexity and their deconstruction of the "savage jungle-dweller" archetype. The more I read and researched and role-played as a Myrian, I realized that they were much more than just a cliche or stereotype. The fact that they were female-dominated was a great challenge, too, though I have found Razkar's progress somewhat stymied by his gender. It makes me as a writer focus that little bit harder on my subject matter and see things from a different angle. I've never role-played as a male dictated to by females, and the direction it forces me to take Razkar in is new and unusual... but I find myself more and more warming to that.
Conflict breeds accomplishment, if you rise to it. Where would be the fun if everything about a race was to your perfect liking and you were never challenged?
What are the biggest challenges to playing a Myrian in Mizahar, especially outside Falyndar?
Well, inside Falyndar, it probably has to be the female-dominated nature of Myrian culture, if you're a male, anyway. It turns our own, real-life culture pretty much on its head, but in a way that is almost logical. Female animals are often bigger and meaner than the male, to protect their young in a hostile world... what Goddess is more protective than Myri, and what environment is more hostile than Falyndar? It does cause me problems, knowing that Raz can never really advance as far as I want him to in Myrian society, but finding his own place is just one of the many challenges to overcome... and thus half the fun!
Outside Falyndar, it's certainly the world's perception of Myrians... but more than that, I find that Myrians are a naturally aggressive race. They were bred for war and battle, so they often become mercenaries, soldiers or even bandits. That means they frequently clash with the more lawful elements of Mizahar, which only contributes to their vicious reputation, and the whole cycle continues. Writing a character that is... a little more restrained than the stories and whispers suggest is gratifying, but at the same time, so it playing up to the caricature that the "barbarians" have of Myrians. I think Raz enjoys it as much as I do!
You write excellent combat threads. Can you give the population some pointers on writing combat and what you think makes great balanced fighting?
There are several, but number one would have to be keeping it realistic. Keeping your actions within the realm of reason and practicality (as in, your own character's skill sets) is difficult: we all want to be more than we are, and it's hard to be restrained, but there is nothing wrong with recognizing your limitations. It makes it all the more satisfying when you exceed them. It will also ensure that your character lives longer, and if that's part of your plan for it, all the better! But more than that, it shows your character can be vulnerable. It may appear badass, but there's nothing fun reading about a character who effortlessly curb-stomps everything he fights. No challenge equals no development. Get hurt, get wounded, adapt, change and survive. The glory will be all the better for it, and you will learn far more, too.
Research has to be a big factor, too. The last site I was on was contemporary, and there's not much you need research about shooting a gun. Practice long enough and you'll be a good shot. But swinging steel is much more of an involved process. There's more to take into consideration and many more techniques you can learn. Google has become my best friend when it comes to researching everything I might need, and believe me, besides the historical, recreational and training sites, there are hundreds of thousands of pages. With all this information, it helps me create a fully-rounded combat style.
Finally (well, not finally, but I'll keep it down to three so this doesn't go on forever), always be pragmatic and don't ever fight fair. This may rankle with a few people, but this site's pretty open-minded. The idea of fair fighting has always struck me as just limiting yourself, and while that has its place in a tournament or sparring circle, when it comes to mortal combat (which Razkar often arrives at) it's just plain stupid. Those who know my work will see that low blows, biting, eye gouging, clawing, whatever blows or injuries Raz can inflict, they're all "fair" game as far as I'm concerned.
Don't limit yourself by being "honorable". To adapt a phrase I heard from a gunfighting instructor, "In ten years, no-one will care about blades wielded, stances stood or styles used. They will only care about who lived."
There's probably a lot more but to be honest, I'm still learning as I go.
You thread with anyone usually anywhere. But sometimes coming up with common ground is hard to do when PCs’ are vastly different. What are some of the methods you use to think up topics to thread about?
Mostly I look at my character and theirs and just think, "OK, under what circumstances would these two cross paths?". Sometimes it's easy, but yeah, sometimes it's really hard. So you have to rely on fate and chance to throw your characters together. Whether or not something will happen is a question for our world; the greatest thing about Mizahar is it's a world of what could happen. All we have to do is think about it, and craft our character's actions to fit the eventuality we desire. Then the crazy spontaneity starts taking over, and that's when the second round of fun comes in!
Aside from that, it's often a practical issue. I might need training, or weapons, or food or even shelter, and someone might be able to help that. But to, be frank, I generally spend solos doing that kind of character maintenance. Threads with other Players are for the sheer joy of it, the fun of challenge. Often it's sheer muse that strikes me.
For example, I'm doing two threads with Edreina right now: one revolving around storytelling and just talking, the other around Malediction. The first one, I just PMed her and we thought it would be fun to just bump into each other. See? Not would they bump into each other, but they could, so we'll make it happen. The second thread I was going to do as a solo, and I thought that it would be fun to have her involved, so I asked her if she'd like to join.
That has to be another method. Threads you think would otherwise be solos, well... put the word out and maybe you'd like a partner. One of the greatest attractions of Mizahar is that we're not packed with immature 4chan-wannabes who mess with people for no reason and seem to revel in inflicting annoyance on others. 99.9% of the people here are people who love writing, love bouncing ideas back and forth and just want to keep doing so.
So just ask. Odds are, someone will bite.
Not so very long ago you were a newbie. Finding a niche in Mizahar and making your way in this vast world can be intimidating. Do you have any advice for the newbies out there that are where you were a few months ago?
KEEP AT IT! Seriously, that's the best advice I can give everyone out there who starts. If you try the site out for a few months and it just doesn't float your boat, that's one thing, but so many people who really have potential get intimidated by the complexity and structure of Mizahar and just give up. Much like I was in, oh, the first month or so. It's only natural, I think. I have never been on a site with this vast collection or lore, magic, gods, races, fauna and flora, cities, countries... the sheer imagination and perseverance it took to craft this site still amazes me.
But my attraction to the site held up, and to be frank, much of it was a stubbornness issue: I spent a week designing and finalizing Raz so dammit, I'm gonna roleplay with him! Create a character that you know you will have lots of fun writing through, and that's half the battle won. Also, don't try to absorb everything at once. Even after six month, I still haven't read a fraction of the lore of Mizahar. I learn what I need to for whatever Raz is getting involved in, and the rest of the time I just go on Lore-Walks, ha!
To all you newbies: there is no rush, and no one's going to grade you for knowing or not knowing everything. If you want to hit the ground running and aim high, you can do that here, if you're willing to put in the work. If you want to take it easy and create a character you just wants to fish and hunt or carve naked ladies out of dried cow poop, meh, you can do that, too. It's all at your own pace. Don't be intimidated.
Oh, and talk to people. I didn't have much interest in socializing on this site when I joined. I just wanted to write a character that could cleave people apart (yeah, I had anger issues. Writing helps.). Then I started frequenting the Chat Box, talking through PMs, and found a whole site of people who were friendly, intelligent and creative. It's a blessing, nor a reason for apprehension.
Oh, one last thing! Have a plan. An overriding theme or idea for your character, a goal to guide him by. It will certainly give you some structure... just be prepared to have the plan change. The direction Raz is going was not the one I had intended for him when I started off. Life happens, and that's no less true here just because it's fiction.
Picking weapons for a PC is an important task in a violent world. What sort of criteria do you use to decide what sort of weapons Razkar uses and what he needs to learn next?
I looked at his race, his personality and finally what my own practical concerns were. Myrians in general prefer to dual wield weapons or stick with one favorite: they don't use shields as a rule, far too bulky and unwieldy in such a choking jungle atmosphere. I decided on a gladius and hand ax combination because for me it was a pretty good balance between offense and defense. Th gladius is a beautiful weapon, perfect for slashing, thrusting and parrying blows, and the hand ax has enough power in it to cleave through most armor and weapons with its swings. They're also both light enough that Raz can wield them quickly, and speed in combat is as important as strength and training.
Also, it's your own personal preferences. I have always like the sword-and-ax combo in movies, comics, games... so when you get the chance to write a character using them, why not take it? When it comes to learning new ones, that's a much more organic process. Brawling, well, you saw my comments regarding the "nobility" of combat. That was a no-brainers. But as Razkar's story went on, he picked up new weapons and so I decided to make use of them. Having a weapon you have low stats in us pretty pointless. I picked up two lakan and a dagger, so decided it was time to brush up on them. If I pick up some more, I'll find the time to learn them, too.
Now, as far as "weapons" go, you can definitely include magic in that. Reimancy, for example, is a formidable weapon, but I have yet to have Raz really embrace magic. Aside from Malediction, and that's mainly because of his race. As a Myrian, what could come more naturally than a magical practice that revolved around using the bones of the dead to draw their power into you? The other part of it is a personal issue: I just don't have that much interest in magic.
Faith is critical to Razkar. What drew you to Myri and how does Razkar keep faithful to her and show his devotion. How do you think faith in Mizahar adds to a PC’s dimension and what sort of fulfillment as a writer do you get dedicating a PC to a deity?
The Myrian race in general was appealing to me, but Myri herself was a fascination, mainly because she was once mortal. That's a unique angle for a deity: to know what it was like to be finite and then to ascend to something far beyond that. More than any other deity in Mizahar, I think, Myri understands the troubles and concerns of her followers, and the fact she is the Goddess-Queen tells you how importantly she takes them. Ironically, just like her arch-nemesis Siku, she cares deeply for her people, and that at least makes me enjoy writing about her.
As you say, faith is a huge part of Razkar's being, but I think "faith" is a strong word for it. Duty, loyalty and, yes, devotion are better ones. Faith, to me, always implied a gap in logic and reason bridged by sheer belief. That's unnecessary in Mizahar, because the gods simply are. There's no debate or uncertainty: deities are as much a fact of the world as dirt and water.
But what really gets me going is just what Myri is a goddess of, and how Razkar best serves her. I'm a gigantic Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000 nerd, so I'm well-versed in Khorne, God Of War. Not to mention the Greek and Roman pantheons, Ares and Mars. There is a twisted purity in any deity representing warfare: praise to them is best shown by doing what a warrior is best at anyway, but for Razkar, there is the added joy that his "worship" is what he loves.
That in itself provides another telling aspect: Razkar could easily be using Myri as an excuse to fight constantly. I haven't made my mind up if he is, and he probably isn't, but we all know that faith or religion has always been an excuse/reason for countless psychotics and sadists to slaughter freely. It's interesting to look through the eyes of a character who is so close to that mindset, and testing his faith.
As to how he stays faithful, well, that's pretty obvious, but it's always interesting me to put... shall we say, some kind of structure around his devotion to her. Hence the trophies, by means of scalps and looted weapons, cannibalizing corpses, blood offerings and tattoos (more on them later). Having faith or belief or loyalty is one thing, but in Mizahar, creating a system of dogma that channels that into real power and meaningful offerings... that allows you to scratch the creative itch.
And it lets me write a ton of combat threads. Which is always fun on the bun.
This was a surprise to me, actually. I'm not a person of religious convictions. I've tried before and I just don't have it in me to take that leap of faith. But writing for a character who exists in a world where the gods are bone-hand fact, well, that was a challenge. Putting yourself in that mindset is difficult enough, but then creating one like Raz who's a true fanatic... that really stretched me as a writer because I've never tried to do it before. It gives me a much better appreciation of faith as a whole, as a writer and a human being.
Razkar is a very well flushed out PC. He has all sorts of quirks and character traits that have seemed to develop through roleplay rather than say a list on his character sheet from the beginning of play. How did you acquire these traits for your PC and what sort of thinking do you do when you work on things?
Well, you hit the nail on the head, there: I didn't plan pretty much any of them, they all just developed organically. My original plan for Razkar was, to be honest, kinda boring. The eternal warrior, pretty much. But I didn't have much in the way of dimensions to him, any depth, and my early threads reflect that. As I roleplayed, however, met people, things changed. I have to say, the other players here crafted Razkar as much as I did.
Ayatah, for example. I NEVER thought I would write a romance with Razkar. I even said so in a Character Registry. And yet, here he is, six months and a season later, hopelessly in love with a female. Whipped, if you will. Those roleplays, that change to his history, has changed his motivations and his outlook.
That's the best example I can offer, and as far as the thinking goes... there really is none. I prefer to let the winds take Razkar and see where he lands. I do have a broad plan for him, but these character growths are much more fun in the short-term (good or bad).
Speaking of quirks, Razkar loves Loves LOVES tattoos. How did you come up with this concept of keeping a running tally of his kills on his body and what are some of the other tattoos he has and their meanings? How does this help you establish who Razkar is as a person and what his motivations and drives are?
Ah, yes, the incredible ink, eh? The running tally concept was, I admit, born from machismo and ego. I've used it before on a couple of other sites, and it's kind of a "look how hard I am because I've killed this many people". But as Razkar has developed, so has the reason behind his ink.
I've always thought that tattoos are important, because when everything else is stripped from you, your skin is all you have left. It's an irrevocable part of what you are, and from a religious angle, there is no other canvas that speaks more of your devotion than using your own body. Razkar has taken that to heart: his body has become a temple and a chronicle.
The tally of skulls in an ever-expanding spiral on his back is pretty large, but most definitely the most prominent is the one on his forehead. Bear in mind that some of these were thought up to get around the tattoos on Middle Eye, the character from Apocalypto I use as Razkar's avatar. But the more you think and come up with solutions, the more questions and new answers keep popping up. So that large tattoo became "Myri's Eye", through which Razkar believes Myri herself watches the actions of her son.
There are others, of course. I haven't got a full list yet, but much of Razkar's body is inked up. He has a large, circular tat on his shoulder, covering some pretty hideous scarring he got from a tiger mauling when he was a teenager. There's another one covering his lower arm, depicting a tiger fighting a male and female Myrian joined at the hip (Razkar and Ayatah). Like I say, there are more, but I have yet to fully develop them.
I think as far as his character goes, the tattoos just accentuate to the rest of the world how "other" Razkar is. There are few other races who "adorn" themselves as much as Myrians. He is literally covered in ink, some of it very bold and striking, and it marks him right away as someone who lives beyond what most other peoples believe is the natural order. It makes his character stand out more.
Anything else you’d like to add to this interview? It’s your time to shine… your time to speak out and tell everyone anything you’d like to gamewide.
Well, this would be the time to thank everyone, but that gets a little tedious after a while. To all those who spend your time and intellect making sure Mizahar keeps spinning, you know who you are. To all those who have wrote with me, bounced ideas off me and helped me develop Raz into a character worthy of this distinction, whether it was one post or one hundred, you know who you are.
"Thank you" is but a preamble to the gratitude I would offer for those services.
Anything else I can add would be directed to the newbies. Keep writing, guys. Whether it's a post a week or a dozen threads, keep exploring, keep trying, keep pushing your characters and crafting them like the creative writers we all are.
Oh, actually, one final piece of plugging, to all those who would be interested. I have yet to truly begin with Razkar. I've got plans for him, both in the jungle and out of it. I hope I keep him alive and whole enough for them to come to fulfillment, because it's going to be something to see...
And if not, you can bet your granny's copper teeth I will reincarnate as some other character. So many roleplaying sites offer nothing but unstructured, unfettered escapism, with no constraints or thought behind the world they take place in. Which can be fun, and often is, but only for a while. What sets Mizahar apart is that it's a world as challenging and structured as our own, only far more fantastical and wondrous. There are consequences to your actions here, for good or ill, and that adds an extra flavor to everything you do.
A bit of an odd note to end this one, but... I think that's everything. Cheers for the distinction, all those who chose me for the feature. |
by Capricious on March 31st, 2013, 4:57 pm 
