That's the Spirit! Sept 1 Review Thread

[Ivanna]

Thank you everyone for all your hard work this weekend. We couldn't run this game without everyone's support, ideas, energy and enthusiasm.

And without further ado... Let's have it!

What did you like, what needs improvement, and what were your most exciting stories / moments / interactions.




As a reminder: we always take RP awards recommendations! Please email ralinwoodshapers@gmail.com if you wish to recommend someone for excellent / outstanding RP / role playing contributions!

[Java Aquari]

High holy hell what a crazy game~

Pros:
- Playing the Wendigo.
For record I honestly didnt enjoy killing players, not the kind of person I am. Was happy however to get the chance to play something completely new to Ralinwood =3

- What happened after the Wendigo.
Honestly being locked up like a monster did make me feel close to Haldora. The mask, the treatment, it was on par for how one SHOULD be treated when they have a monster inside them.

-Public Execution.
That whole thing was touching, I couldnt help but cry having so many people want to see me off (or die XP). Having my final goodbyes, funeral plans, good talks with people, it was a roller coaster of emotions and I loved it!~

- SPIRIT FIGHT!!
Holy fuck I was not prepared for that whole fight with the Wendigo Spirit. That whole thing was CRAZY!! Not even swinging damage but putting on a show! Having the whole town cheer me on to win, panicking when I was losing, the Male Savar jumping in just to give me enough time to help give the finishing damage to the Wendigo then everyone cheering when it was beaten. Getting life'd then everyone giving me comfort and a helping hand. I love you all for how awesome that was, I never enjoy taking the spotlight from anyone, but if I could put on a show I'll always be happy to!~ <3

- Fox-Fae spirit ritual.
Last minute thinking let me rip a spirit out of a Fae, holy shit what day!~

- Wendigo is gone...for now-
Having beaten the Wendigo spirit back only to have it try to claw its way back into my soul. Looking forward to where the roleplay takes Java. Will be become cursed again..or worse?...only plot knows~

Cons:
-Blessing of Roland.
Nothing against Oz, he played his part well and did it flawlessly. He put all my progress with Haldora nearly back to 0% like any good Light God following player should. Hated how it felt to have all that progress be thrown out simply because of a misunderstanding for how gods view others of their following getting blessings from other gods...but it only makes me more determined to up my costuming even more, my devotion even more and my roleplay for her.

-Not going to afters.
Sadly leaving Saturday night didn't give me much chance to speak with many. I am honestly touched with how many people looked out for me and cheered me on. In my 3-4 years of Larping that honestly was the most intense RPing I can remember. I love you all for how amazing that felt in game and out of game.

9.5/10. Cant wait to Mystic stuff up in Ralinwood again~

From: the Lantern of Haldora, Java Aquari <3

[Dr. Moran]

This event was a rollercoaster for me from start to finish. I went in expecting a pretty normal event but by far this ended up being the best roleplaying experience of my life. Huge thanks to the NPCs and Shapers, particularly Ange for her pro make-up, Ivanna, and Lucy. So here goes.
 
The good:

• I actually really liked the sleeper agent possession thing. While instructions were a bit unclear at times it was fun to try and figure out what an outsider looking at your characters memories would think. Led to hilarious RP when I and another possessed complained about our meat suits.
  
• Sassing certain divine entities which really shouldn’t have been sassed. Retrospect is one hell of a thing.
  
• Pancakes and Pandora. Campbell is a champ.
  
• The reverse robbery.
  
• Saturday fae shenanigans with Akiko and the two true fae. The PC reactions to all of us lunatic possessed people were great, getting tied to the tavern and finally convincing somebody to cut me loose only to have both arms fractured by a true fae was hilarious. The physical riposte on the single, half-hearted kick that followed still makes me laugh. Also I am very proud of my amazing escape roll to get away from Ange’s suddenly-not-a-fox true fae.
  
• TREASON PICNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC
  
• Malek throughout that whole thing. Poor guy just wanted a vacation and instead he finds one of his followers possessed, has to chase her across town for vital information, then she starts acting like Lilith.
  
• Me: “Wait. I heard something.”
  Wisp, in a complete monotone. “Hhhhelp.”
  Tel: “Well nevermind that then.”
  
• The mineshaft mod. I liked the thing with the boulders, it was a bit confusing at first but once we figured it out it was hilarious to see NPCs carrying these massive beach balls towards us at high speed.
  
• I have never cried so much at game, period. Thank you to everybody who was legitimately OOG worried about me and to those who sat around while I tried to string a sentence together without making gross crying noises.
  
• Seeing some old friends from last Hallows and remembering just how my spiral of bad choices started. Oh, how far we’ve come. Thank you both so much for doing that on short notice, it was amazing.
  
• *sees Cat in chains as an NPC* "Oh fuck I thought slavery was illegal here I need to go kill these people- wait no nevermind it's the Oarhouse."
  

The not so good:

• There was a bit of a lull Saturday afternoon but really I might just not have noticed mods going out because I was sitting in the tavern trying to figure out how to Lilith.
  
• There seemed to be a lot of miscommunications amongst shapers when it came to special mechanics like possession. Some were saying it ends on bleed, others on death count, that you could get double possessed for maximum possessive fun times, etc… I know this happens but it lead to a broken telephone chain of PCs trying to figure out which was right before it got clarified.
  

That’s about it, though, otherwise it was a really quality game and y’all broke my damned heart and then stomped on the pieces. But like. In a good way?

[Eris Crownsilver]

I'm glad I came to this game, and am excited for the next. Eris is 10/10 guys.

Pros :
- Rope mod. Dustin probably ran one of the best mechanical mods I've ever been on.
- Coming in and hanging out with Yoshi's Faceless.
- Bein all high elfy, yet being possessed most of the day with the order "Sow Discord" and trying not to be virgil o-o

Cons :
- Two mods that gathered town, had them all gear up to go walk for a while, and get told "The powers at be say no and you have no way of doing this lol bye losers." It's not the first time I've seen a town mod where 5 people where included and everyone else was sitting here, but this is the first one where noone succeeded and we had no way of knowing that. So I just left.
- Throwing Ice Cream isn't unbalanced damn it.

[NPC_Rio]

This was definitely one of my most memorable events of all time, and my favourite to date.

Things I enjoyed:
* Friday night, getting caught out by a sneaky pair of bandits, dragged off, and possessed. As someone who is in control of his PC's about as often as NPC's are, I felt trained and ready to accept this role.
* Being called a sketchy pirate by a bunch of folks who'd never met me before, upon first seeing me.
* Robbing folks, reverse robbing folks, and un-robbing folks!
* Loom shenanigans with Lilith and Ursel.
* Being possessed with Ursel-Lilith: Alex RP on point.
* Having my possession end via death count, and then continue to help possessed people anyways because honestly, fuck True Fae anyways.
* Jailbreak with Magnar. Wordless cooperation is a huge soft spot for me.
* Similarly, robbing Ursel's bow with Mason. We gave it back, don't worry.
* Getting to be Rain. Everyone's reactions were priceless, super glad I got the job.
* Rope-Cliff Mod! 10/10 Mechanics mod. Praise be to Dustin.
* Watching some excellent RP from Kyrem, Gnar, Abbat'age, and Oz. Nice God-Stuff, you guys!
* Finding a box with the symbol of Sverin on it in the woods, and immediately opening it.
* All of my NPC shift roles were awesome. The Ralinwood Shaper team is a joy to work with.
* Lilith's Return. I could not stop grinning the entire time, even after being paralyzed and carted off to be arrested. 11/10 would retire a PC again.

Cons:
* Missing actual-Rain as Rain.
* Missing the Magnora competition.
* Missing the Hell Gate. Learn me to toss Swampwalks around.

Weigh-in on Possession:
Yeah, the opposing instructions we got weren't great, but Shapers know that. I think most of the PC's knew what the Shapers were going for, ie act like ourselves a la Yeerks to allay suspicions until a True Fae showed up. It may have been annoying to get conflicting info at the start, but we all understood, in the end.

Thank you to plot and PC's alike for my new favourite event. Can't wait to see you all again as someone new.

[Brondulf Elricson]

Wow I have some stuff to say, so sorry about the long ass post.

Pros

-Meeting some new faces and snowing the fresh Einher the ropes of town, both of them (your names escape me) were a blast to hang around and RP with.

-Discovering my brother's "ailment" and having to watch them go through all of that.

-The RP of getting in Desmond's face after he shit talked my brother.

-I ALMOST DIED AGAIN. This time I had to take the brunt of a spider attack and got dragged off. Why is this a pro? Because thankfully Abitosh (correct spelling?) come in to save me like a badass and I once again get a near death experience.

-Giant octopus fight with the new players. This new player mod was one of the best I've seen hands down. The monster felt believable and well designed, its abilities and strengths were very intuitive to learn and work around, and getting to thrust my sword through its mouth was one hell of a satisfying killing blow. As a bonus we were all able to make a good amount of coin of the loot!

-Vlad showed up saturday and like any good Jarl would he immediately worked to get all of us out to do something as one big Einher family, which lead too...

-Orogs (correct spelling) that we fought off. These guys are some of my favorite mosters around, and for the same reason as the octopus above. Their mechanics are very intuitive to understand and make the fight a hell of a lot more fun to engage with. If you get hit with a massive hit it was because you got reckless and didn't watch out.

-The first half of the saturday night mod was really fun. As a shield fighter at the front of the second group it was so fun to see the boulders emerge from the smoke and call them out to the people behind me while trying to not get hit myself... thank god for bolster.

-NPC camp coming up with a believable and natural to continue the sunday morning mod with out the vital Ramsey to help us out. I'm glad we were able to finish it.

-BEING ABLE TO FIGHT STUFF. It bugs me to no end when I can't do anything but run and hide from things I cant fight. Obviously this is a natural part of the game and I'm not saying that I want to me able to solo greater demons only 4 games in, but it feels good to be able to hurt the majority of the things this weekend and feel like I'm contributing something other than being a shield for someone else.

And the Biggest pro of all...

-After game some of you came up to me and complimented the RP is was doing with my Einher, even a few NPC's commented on my actions in a more positive way. I've always been struggling with the RP of my characters as often times they turn into brooding antisocial jerks. To hear that my RP is good even if by a minority of people feels so good that its hard to put into words, and I finally feel like I'm doing my RP right for the first time. I thank you all for the kind words!

Neutral

-I got robbed finally. Again its a part of the game and I accept that it was 100% avoidable but it still feels bad. I need to get a lock.


-Citadel is now a permanent force on the island. Seeing how they plan to exert their influence and what happens next will be exciting. Will they start taking our "undesirables" out of the picture or are some of us going to have to deal with it ourselves. 

Cons

-The only complaint I have concerns the saturday night mods last half. There was little in the way to do for anyone other than magic users to fuss over, and most of us just decided to leave when it was apparent nothing else was going to happen. Even having a few monsters come out of the wood works would have at least help a little with this. 

As a bonus note...

Throughout the game many people had used incorrect pronouns with my friend Will/IG brother Bjorn. while I don't fault anyone for the simple mistake, nor does my friend; it did feel a little awkward when people would refer to my BROTHER as a woman, despite that I would refer them them as a man. I ask that if anyone is ever confused to someones identity both in and out of game to please ask out of game, there is no harm in doing so.

TL;DR this was a fun as hell game with very few problems IMO

9.5/10 would make an enemy out of a high elf again.

[Zia Sashana]

I had a good time!  Although again I feel like I missed some things by having to leave early, I'm glad I at least got to see things through on Saturday night.

Pros:
-Taking a shot at being proactive, even if it failed
-Knowing what was going on and being able to tell other people.
-As always, getting to RP with various folks! Including trying to not let people get killed throwing themselves against the True Fae while possessed :V  And Alex playing Lilith in Ursel's body. Watching Moon (and Carrion half a step too late) go into the deadlands to save Java was a cool moment as well.
-NPC shift was fun, also as always - I'm glad I got to see Dustin's rope mod, even if it was from the other side
- Finally getting answers about farm things :D  Thanks guys :D

Cons:
-Saturday night mod was a bit if a let down in the end, and while I am completely okay with plans failing, I am a little bit disappointed that we weren't able to prevent the waste of time.  We went to the pavilions to talk to Emilio *specifically* to ask about getting access to that specific scroll when we needed it, hours before anything actually happened, and I am disappointed we weren't just told then that it had been stolen.  I'll try and deal with that in game, I guess.
-The crafting competition was a bit of a let down.  It felt rushed and a bit disorganized in game, and if it really just came down to the levels of skills you had.  I hardly even got to see what anyone else did for it!
-OOG chatter from various folks.  In game is not the time to be telling people about what is happening at other guilds, especially when you are taking to folks who may or may not realize that what you are saying is not in game knowledge, but stuff that happened with another character.  I need to get more confident at shutting that stuff down when I encounter it, maybe, and not just walking away.
-On a more personal note, a lot of the PCs Zia wanted/needed to talk to about stuff weren't around or available for various reasons :(
-Oh yes, also, if we are going to have NPCs who are crossplaying genders of various sorts, can we please not only do it to play for laughs/shock value by sending them out as as prostitutes.  This is the second event in a row.  It's not super cool.


Overall I had a great time, and am disappointed that I probably won't be able to make the next one :(

[Dan Finn]

*don't usually do this but* the town mods where the PCs gathered and ultimately could do nothing is because the items and mechanics you needed to complete those tasks were stolen, lost, ignored and killed. Believe me no one wanted you guys to succeed more then I did but there have to be consequences for in game actions. Piece of advice; you live in a prison colony watch your criminally inclined citizens with sticky fingers. They make your lives difficult.

[Eris Crownsilver]

@Dan
This is understandable. I get that. I just believe there are ways to enforce those punishments that would be less of an hour long null. Punishments that aren't simply road blocks. It's not the easiest thing to write don't get me wrong. You guys do good. Just nit picking <3

[Ostrozne]

IT'S NOT MY FAULT! (this seems to be a cross guild theme...)

Pros:
- The RP with the NPC's was, as always, good.
- Still love the Notice Board Insta-mod system, even though I missed them again. Damnit.
- FEAR RAMSEY, THE MIGHTY RAM (sorry, we broke the shit out of it)
- Smoke effects in the woods. I know it's a tad rough on the lungs, but I'll always love the atmosphere.
- CITADEL YAY!
- Actually needing to memorize Mass: Bless, more than once.
- The Conference of Light and Dark.
- The fun prayer group. No more Blesses without oaths sworn. Need to make those things have more significance.
- ( I think it was with Adam)
Citadal: We wish to discuss you leading...
Oz: I do not lead. That is the responsibility of this town and it's Wardens.
Citadel: This is not a discussion. You will lead...
Oz: You WILL obey the laws of this land. You are not absolute. I will assist, but the legally appointed folk of this town are the leaders. End of discussion.
Citadel: *grumpy stomping away*
(Some PC behind us) Ohhh daaaaaaamn.
- Oz being able to do jack shit about the hell portal and Lilith, and as a player, having that be somewhat satisfying.
- Being possessed Friday night. Campbell's reaction. "No wait, we have to do this differently".
-More petitioners for the Blood Red Rose. Need to make some more pages for the Good Guys club.
- The interaction with Java and the clashing of different beliefs and opinions. Hot damn that's some tasty drama.
- Actions of players resulting in mods that cannot be concluded/solved (in principal, cause and effect should be the cornerstone of ongoing larp storytelling)

Neutral:
-Being informed that Oz showing up to certain mods will very likely result in them being made substantially more difficult. A challenge for my character shouldn't be a death sentence for lower level characters. So on my porch I shall sit.

Cons:
- Actions of players resulting in mods that cannot be concluded/solved (in practice. It sucks, but is understandable). For those that thought it came down to four or five players being involved, I assure you - it wasn't the case. We were hanging around throwing ideas with our thumbs up our asses.