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Hey everybody, just wanted to thank you all for coming out today and playing, especially despite the weather.
Let's hear some reviews. Good, improvements, and favourite moment!
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It was good to be back, thanks for hosting us and for all the efforts of everyone in NPC camp!
Pros!
+ So many new faces since I was last at Ralinwood! Amazing!
+ NPCs were fantastic in their roles, kudos to the rude lady ice elemental riddler, to Shoshana as the gnome, Number 6, and to the first time shaper with the puzzle grid hallway (I'm sorry to not have gotten your name) for both his module and RP.
+ Riddles and puzzles were well done and quite enjoyable.
+ Great use of props to help getting things in character instead of relying only on descriptions.
+ Everyone is so friendly and lovely OOC at Ralinwood!
Suggestion:
+ The pieces of the mod schedule were individually great, with mods, puzzles, combat, downtime all slotted in. But the downtime was slotted towards the end (or many of us missed what was going on before the end) - I might recommend that next time some of the downtime be shifted to earlier in the event to ensure a strong and memorable push at the finish. Players often don't remember if they were bored for 30 minutes after the first mod if you give them a big finish at the end.
Bonus:
JESS BRIAN SIMON DEMETRI WE DID IT WE PCED ALL TOGETHER NONE OF US WERE IN AN NPC CAMP HOW DID THIS HAPPEN WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
OOG: Constantine Collias
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Pros:
+ PCing once more.
+ I enjoyed being in the dark in Ralinwood.
+ I think I got more social interaction with the players of Ralinwood more this game than I have since the beginning.
+ I liked the effects of the different rooms. The one cabin with the garland over the outside and inside doors caused some initial confusion but once figured out, was a fun mechanic. The toy transformation was interesting as well.
Cons:
- I guess this is unfortunately inevitable but there was a bit of meta gaming, particularly in the aforementioned room with the garland. Stating OOG mechanics and knowledge in character without having the proper skills to do so is meta gaming whatever your reasoning may be. As a player, when this happens and I receive meta information, I always feel the need to act in the worst way possible by either feigning immense stupidity or taking the full brunt of any negative side effects just to avoid any possibility of meta gaming myself. Don't do it. It isn't fun.
Improvements:
While the different mod zones were fun, it got a bit confusing as to when they were active. Like the gas room. I think several people were still trying to solve/interact with it after it shut down. Also the PCs had almost started interacting with the spider cave mod zone early. I'm sure this was just as common in the past seasons but being on this side of it, it's more apparent a sign or marker system might be necessary. Maybe not when a mod is somewhere like the disc golf course but more when the mod zones are so close to the tavern.
Best Moments:
+ Butter-strokes
+ Temporary heat relief in the cabin
Worst Moment:
- I went down to crawl in the spider-cave and landed on my undead-form risen mask (made of plaster) and wound up crushing it in a few places. It made me sad but is also a good motivator to make a less cumbersome and portable version. A possible bright side is that if i just fix it, it will take on more natural character as time goes on.
I look forward to weekend events where I can properly sit down and camp with my fellow PCs and start more long-term relations and plot lines. I thought I had set intentions of just relaxing and being a bit of a crazy fop once back in the game but seeing so much going on around me does make me miss the actual adventuring. I will have to revisit some of my PC plans.
IG: Victor, tall Risen High Elf, usually wearing red robes, carrying wooden staff
OOG: Matt H.
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11-27-2016, 12:05 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-27-2016, 12:10 PM by Chèvrelier.)
High-winter in my opinion is the most difficult event to write for and I honestly believe a great high-winter is unattainable. That said you guys did a very good job and I was very satisfied with my experience. See below for my nit picking.
1. People Turning into toy soldiers and the Acid Cabin
I completely missed the acid cabin and it's mechanics and story relevance, but the machine turning people into toys was delightfully creepy. It was interesting to see a consequence that had no immediate in game mechanic attached and I found it very interesting that I am still not sure whether turning into a toy was a good or bad decision.
2. Gob Nog
The NPCs and interaction regarding this plot were a delight. Constantine and Matt deserve Macaroni stars for their performance. Unfortunately I missed the resolution of this plot line which is a great disappointment. Perhaps after you invest as much time as you did running this little plot you may consider turning the conclusion into a bit more of a production to draw in more people. It breaks my heart that I didn't get to drink the Gob Nog
3. Mistletoe Cabin
No NPCs required, at least an hour of player entertainment. basically the perfect mod.
4. Candy Spider Lair
I can't express enough how impressed I am by what ever group of people took the time to string all that rope. The rules regarding the webs were very fun and encouraged team work and allowed for extensive douchebaggery. stringing up loot in the webs was an incredible motivator. I suspect the mod would have been perfect without the added lethality to the spiders because the web dynamics were already adding a great twist.
Also my brand new shirt and pants are filthy and I hate you for it.
5. Ice Elemental Riddle Den
I missed the story and the hook for this mod, and was simply dragged over because Constantine is smart and I was charmed to him (maybe?) I enjoyed a nice casual riddle experience, but I was really confused about why the situation resolved the way it did.
6. Death Riddle Hallway
The amount of time spent producing a grid prop as well as planning out so many tiles must have been extensive and was very successful from my perspective. The little time I spent participating was a highlight of my day. I am making the assumption that Ramsey wrote and ran this plot and that it is also the first mod of his that I have participated in. I am very impressed by your work and I look forward to enjoying more of your plot this season.
A couple of small suggestions for the future. When you write puzzle and riddle themed plot it is often non combat characters that participate actively and those characters are often low HP mage types. I think body damage is an important Mechanic because armour is unbelievable over powered, however when you apply it to puzzle mechanics you may find it will exclude the clever mage types and and newer players. When you have some free time I encourage you to have a read through the first few pages of the monster manual, because there are so many neat effects there that are way worse than body damage.
Also Curse of Jolliness should have lasted longer because it was the best.
7. Toy Training Exercises
These were a neat little diversion, however there was a lineup of mages wanting to participate in spell tag when the mod ended. Perhaps it could have been extended since only 1 NPC was entertaining a small crowd of players.
8. Snow Couple
A snow woman walks into town looking for a snow husband, proceed to immediately trying to murder (I probably should have expected that) A snow husband shows up and through some clever negotiation the situation is partially defused and the two snow people are told to go free and enjoy a happy life of snow romance. Then the snow man suicide attacks a horde of players and dies. I really don't understand what happened here.
9. Downtime Scheduling
It felt like things were very busy at the beginning of the day and it started to slow down as it got later. It is to be expected that as people tire out things slow down, but It may have been worth the effort to get the final mod out a little sooner. Once the sun set it started to get really cold which is absolutely out of our control, but it felt like there was a very long wait between getting the last piece of the mcguffin and actually wrapping things up. I can't even say for sure how long I was idling, but the cold definitely made it feel a lot longer. If the mod was delayed for reasons regarding the length of event it may be a better idea to run the big finish closer to sundown and then let RP stuff ride out the last hour or so.
10. Final Mod Thing
Wave plus is always a good start, but why not include the player gnomes in building the mcguffin?
11. Plot Delivery
There aren't many people that are better at dodging plot than I am so I can understand why I was probably confused some of the time. Simply for your reference I will summarize what parts of the over plot delivery I did encounter and which parts I missed whether it was intended that I should know or not.
- We were in Nickolai's workshop because we walked through a door
- The gnome slaves told us they could build a device to open the door back home if we collect sprockets and stuff
- We collected the things
- They built a device
- They opened the door and a dragon came out
- The dragon opened the same door it was behind and we went through it to go home.
12. They Said It Could Never Happen
But it did.
*Edit:
The Portos were smelly.
I also have spent many happy years in Suvant.
A goblin played by Matty
Unregistered
It's my biggest regret that I didn't get eggnog for that mod. It was supposed to be like a 15 minute filler that turned into a whole day thing.
I heard a lot of mages last year ask for some interaction because contests always favor mêlée fighters.
So expect a lot if these type of challenges next year.
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Its soo good/weird being a PC again after a season behind the scenes.
Pros:
The Candy Web Mod, I had a great time scrambling and trying to maneuver through the strings. I also got to stand as a meat shield for squishy players with my threshold. I think I got more loot from things falling out of people's pockets than actual mod rewards.
Becoming a Toy, Being one of the first people to be turned to a toy was a lot of fun, and being left to remain a toy because the reversal is timed-out gave my character something to complain about all day. Very glad I was returned to normal in Ralinwood!
Cons:
The difficulty knowing the actual reasons for plot going on, may just be something I've noticed since being behind-the-scenes for a year.
OOG: Falcon
2017 Medical Marshal / 2017 New Player Liaison / 2017-18 Logistics Team
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First, I want to give a shout out to the shaper and all those who helped in to npc. Coming from the other side I understand what you guys go through. You did really great at your transition and if anything didn’t go as planned it wasn’t shown.
Now for the pro’s:
• It was really fun to just relax and interact with all the pc’s again. (I did miss that) It felt weird being on the other side, not knowing what was going to happen but there were so many people who are amazing at rp’ing their characters and it made it easier to get a better understanding if how I was to at as my character. So thank you to everyone for that.
• GOB NOG was amazing
• I don’t remember laughing so hard in a very long time. At times I found myself smiling for no reason
• IZZY- your actually crazy
• I loved the web mod. It was really creative and even if you weren’t that strong you were able to do something. You really saw people helping one another. The pacing was great and even though it was the first time pc’ing I found that I was actually able to do something.
• Also shout out to the
Now for con’s:
• The only think I can think off is what has already been mention. It felt really slow closer to the end, but that’s about it.
Overall it was really great to be back and I can’t wait to see what the new team has in store for this season. Great Job guys!!!
Brown elf with green tribal markings on her face. She has a decorative feather piece in her hair.
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11-27-2016, 02:35 PM
(This post was last modified: 11-27-2016, 02:50 PM by Izazel.)
First and foremost, I would just like to thank the hell out of the NPCs, and shapers, that made such an effort to ensure the success of this High Winter. It was cold and moist and long, but you made the day's wretched weather worth it with your hard work. So, very many thank you's, you guys rock.
Pros:
- I wasn't sure how I'd feel playing a faun and not really knowing any other PCs, but everyone I did interact with were supportive and so very lovely. Getting to know everyone's dynamic characters helped me feel more fauny and immersed. We obviously have a wonderful player base at Ralinwood.
- I unfortunately didn't get to participate in many mods, but the spiderweb cave was fairly enjoyable, as much as it was a pain in the ass to get through. The final fight was also hella fun. Both combined will be the source of my soreness for days to come.
- All. The. Props. Literally all of them. It's easy to rely on physical descriptions and the like, as this is a role playing game, but the props bring the game to the next level, and I feel that this time around a lot of thought and care went into planning even fine details.
- The combat was steady and even. I never felt the need for any more or less than what was brought. Balancing that out with the puzzles made for great entertainment for everyone.
Memorable Moments:
- Butter strokes forever.
- Running after Jeff's NPC faun. Slightly traumatized that his nose got cut off, but also glad no one killed him.
- Watching Josh get chased around by Lilith and crew, and then trapped in a group hug. Hilarious. Let's have more of that.
- Learning the importance of consent and why it's okay to kill someone if they want you to...?
- Ahahahaha "Bert".
- Basically all the role-playing.
Cons: (I don't have many, and the ones that I do have are mainly beyond the control of anyone)
- So many PCs and not so many NPCs. I noticed that during combat, at times, one NPC would be overwhelmed by 10 players, at the very least. Makes combat a little less challenging, but then again, this was High Winter, so not a huge deal. Just something to be aware of for future day mods.
- The holly I was going to use to wrap around my horns kept falling off. Costuming malfunctions suck.
- The weather was miserable. I don't know why it's raining in November. Canada is weird.
All in all, great game. A really nice way to come back to PCing! See you all next year!!
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First off, HOLY SHIT YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!
Ok so thank you so much for everyone who helped make this gnome themed event amazing, it didn't feel like the event was 'lets give the gnome something to shut him up' it truly felt like 'Lets add gnome stuff because everyone can have fun, here wizwik/viv you can help'. I truly enjoyed the whole event but here are some highlights;
- In the first moments of seeing the toy soldiers they all start going after the Gnomes (Viv and Wizwik) and they didnt run which was nice XP
- Using my Racial Maintenance on something other then MY devices and in turn helped a lot of people un-toy themselves
- When the Yeti's wanted to eat gnomes, nearly EVERYONE got between me/viv and the Yeti's. That actually got me so close to tears with 'everyone really does care~' then when the yeti's were swiftly put down having others being like 'we got your back wizwik/viv' even more hard on not shedding tears <3
- Getting simple interactions with the NPC Gnomes was really nice and special to me, and the level of detail you did for your props was truly awesome.
- Helping free the trapped Gnomes was another huge plus
- The interactions with nearly everyone I had some time to sit down and talk with was truly amazing, you know who you are and you're really awesome =)
- Everything being clockwork related was a fucking blast XD
- Having people shouting 'WIZWIK!' for me to help them all the time was fun and made me really feel important
- Seeing that shield wall was scary to be in front of, in a good way XP
- Nothing felt cheep or unfair to fight
- Turning into a Toy was fun to roleplay walking like a robot XP
- Seeing the Dekclan duel, holy fucking shit!
- That wish Dragon, holy shit XD
All in all any kind of negatives were mainly either being cold or rain, so the event was so much fun. 11/10 would totally gnome again! XD
Wizwik Leonard Voltsmith, A 3' tall green haired gnome dressed like a tinker'er wearing a top hat, wielding a body spear, and lots of devices strapped to his body, with a small Ruby necklace with a 7 toothed gear carved into it.
OOG: Shane Miller
Email : Mitoiworks@hotmail.com
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First Highwinter event for me, and despite the weather I did enjoy it a lot.
Pros:
- It seemed like a lot of effort was put into the various mods, and there were a lot of creative effects.
- Free stuff! As a humble bush hobo I'm always glad of that.
- The costumes were excellent. Special shout out goes to that one gnome's glowing hand bracer thing and the dragon. The door was also great.
- The plot was cool, though I feel like I missed a few steps of it. However that's probably my fault soooo I'll just try to figure it out based on what other people are remembering.
Highlights:
- Getting to meet people I'd only met online! After a month of seeing Wizwik and Blank around in the chat and forums it was great to see them in person.
- Leon's cursed singing. I was nearly doubled over laughing so many times, though special mention goes to "it was a bad sneeze, I swears it".
- Lilith throwing a charm packet into a crowd because she was bored, and the no-sell reaction the poor woman's friends had when she wandered away from them to come sit with us.
- The sports commentary we did as Cora chased Magnar. "Oh shit she's fast." "There they go." "She's a better sprinter, but he might win at distance."
- Cora in general? She's so painfully adorable, I thought that Demi had prepared me for meeting her but instead watching them both together changed me fundamentally as a person. I'm pretty sure the two of them could team up and accomplish damn near anything just based on mind bending cuteness.
- Mintha's reaction to Carrion getting turned into a toy.
- Carrying the remaining toy-ed people to the next mod because their sad little toy-legs couldn't get them there fast enough and their heartfelt gratitude. It was just so funny and cute.
- The snowpeople and their painfully short lovestory. I'm heartbroken that the snow woman was attacked on sight and had to turn to the darkside with her snow husband.
- Seeing the shield wall in action, holy shit. Also the faces of those that were nearly trampled by their charge.
- The fire elf explaining in jolly song why Zaydesh is a race traitor.
- The Sock and everything surrounding it.
Cons:
- So my only con is one that I'm not sure actually has a solution, so if any players can help me I'd be glad of it. While I know all these events keep having both combat and puzzle based mods, it's super hard to figure out which one I'm getting myself into as a new player. As someone who's still very squishy and avoiding direct combat, I end up stuck hiding in the background of those ones, and I think I've missed every purely puzzle mod completely. Obviously the shapers can't warn us, but I'm not sure if anyone has tricks to help them figure out which it might be?
IG: A human man in a crow skull mask, grey stole, and black clerical vestments. Occasionally carries an iron or silver dagger, but more often seen without any visible weapons or amour to speak of.
OOG: Danny Heintz, he/him. Transmasc in progress, please disregard mine bræsts.
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