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At the moment, I'm just trying to keep up somehow with reading, please excuse the shortness of this post...

I'd sometimes just like to know a bit more about where we're headed. As for the rest, I just love a good story and this is not only good, it's excellent.

Looks like I opened up a big can of worms...

I'm glad Scayde could say what I didn't manage too, that it is no form of disrespect, I think I've been here a long time (I can remember my first post, but not when) but I still feel that it is all of yours, Gwal, Than, DW et al's work, and I envy you all for writing it.

People have noticed that my writing has improved, I hadn't noticed, but I still thank you all for it...

Originally posted by thantor3
merely a small subset of people who stayed a short while.

Like me!

@Nippy, your recent contributions have been fantastic, IMO Do you recall it was Nippy that rescued a bedraggled Ysh from the doorstep of the Keep and cared for her as she joined with the DF? (with Gwally's checking in of course ) I owe you my thanks *hug*

@Sleep - LMAO! It is a shame you stopped writing, I loved your character - he had dark promise

Originally posted by Yshania
@Sleep - LMAO! It is a shame you stopped writing, I loved your character - he had dark promise

He did indeed, who would have thought such a dispicable character could come from my cranium?

You know...Ive seriously thought of joining the DFs 3 times...but there has been 2 major things that have held me back...
1-the principle thing-TIME! Well while it may look like I have so much time on my hands with all the posting I do, Im really doing multiple things at once, and I dont have the time to read really long posts constantly. And to read all the old posts to keep up with the story...man I just cant do it.

2-I really dont like having some of my posts completely dependant on others posts, and having my character develop by others posts. My character development is created by one person...me! I mean, certainly others actions would act upon my character, but Ive seen some posts that say that another character doing something within the post. I mean if I want my character to walk down the path, I want to be the one that is in control of that given action.

But I really have a kickin' druid character that would represent my character. Quite independant and strong and morality based would be his main characteristics. But its all in my mind, as Love and Rockets would put it.

Regardless, if this is viewed as SPAM, go ahead and tell me, and I will delete this post on the spot.

@Tybaltus: not at all. You have a valid perspective and we appreciate your sharing it. I think you did a fine job of reinforcing one of the things that makes DF a community effort: interdependence. And truly, the experience of working within a group does involve giving up some control. This isn’t good or bad, just as chocolate is not inherently better than vanilla. But it does not suit everyone’s tastes. Have you considered starting your own story thread? Other authors, such as Aqua Chan, Chanak, and Aegis have done this and have seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps you could PM one or all of them about their experiences.

@Nippy: I get that you feel that the story belongs to the authors you listed, but have you ever checked that out with them? One of the reasons this thread was developed was to break through some preconceptions about “the way things are.” As I have said before, I don’t feel the story belongs to me, nor have I heard anyone else express that sentiment. I do think, though, that some people feel more of responsibility to see that things get done or have a strong viewpoint about the way the story unfolds. So things will go that way. In many cases, there is no one author or group of authors saying, “Ok, this is the way things will go.” Things just happen organically. In the case of the Abomination, there was a great deal more planning because of the amount of work that went into developing this storyline. In looking at this in hindsight, I can see where the constraints of this more structure plotline may have been difficult for some people to deal with. But, as Yshania mentioned, this arc will not go on forever and when it is ended it would be nice to take a break from a single structured plotline and just be spontaneous, as is often the case in DF. In summary, I am suggesting two things. First, that with some forethought and appropriate PM discussion, any one can participate in the direction of the narrative. And second, that the current plot constraints are only temporary, so please do not feel that this is the way things will be heading into the future.

@Mysteria: Hopefully, this thread will be a place where we can share more ideas in a public forum so that everyone will be more informed about where we are going. *hug*

@Sleep: Yes. You were exactly who I was talking about. (j/k)

@Than....Speaking for myself, I think the term "old guard" is one meant with respect and courtesy. respect for the time and effort that the people who have been here so long have put into this story, and courtesy in the snese that the current events in the story seem to me to be a culmination of a long times worth of writing and effort.

To me, this showdown with the abomination is a plotline that has been in the works since long before I joined. And as such, I feel it a matter of courtesy and respect to leave it for the most part in the hands of those who have been building to this point. Don't get me wrong here, I am not saying by any means that I feel shut out or not able to take certain creative liberties with events as they unfold. To me, it would just feel disrespectful to walk into the middle of something that has obviously been building for a long time prior to my joining and just start to impose myself to blatantly on it.

On the other side of the coin though, I have always felt that everyone is free to add and contribute to the story. Everyone has made that clear since I joined. As long as everyone else's feelings and ideas are taken into consideration, I have never felt restricted in any way. I do agree with the several posts so far that have stated that people need to read the story to make sure they are not posting something that would just disrupt the flow.

I guess the way I look at it is that as a newer member, there is a period where you're just getting into the flow of things. Even if you have read most or all of the story, there are always things being wrked up behind the scenes that you really don't know about. During that time, I have looked at the old guard as sort of a mentor role. To me, it's a process of adapting my character in a way that will fit the story and the atmosphere rather than trying to force the story to adapt to my character. In this sense, you could say it's your baby. Does that mean I won't feel free to get more involved? no. but I believe it takes time. As new plotlines are opened up that may not be so deeply rooted in the threads past, I think people will feel more free to become more deeply involved. Besides, from a roleplaying standpoint, I agree with Aegis's statment, it wouldn't be that realistsic fro a character to come into a group and after only a couple days or so story time be very intimatly iinvolved in what is going on to the point that a character that has been here for quite awhile would.

As far as sectioning off goes, it just seems more natural to my thinking that my character, being new, would be more likely to form friendships first with other new characters such as Aegis, Mysty, etc. while integrating themsleves into the folow of the story. I think as the Abomination threat passes, then that will open up opportunities to explore friendships with the older members more deeply. It just appears to me that the older members would have more energy and emption put into the present situation since they have more personal motivations.

Of course, my character is a little paranoid about mages anyway, so that may explain why he has had more contact with say, Nippy than the more frightening to his view DW or something.

Bah. I just wrote a long post, but included too many images and now explorer has eaten it ... I should really type in word first ...

Basically, I like writing in here, find that there is not enough communication on what is planned and would like to introduce some of my own ideas more often but am unsure how far I can go ... That's the short version of it.

@Ned: Welcome back! I still want to stick my sword through your vampiric self ... it's drow steel now ...
*hug*

I agree that some kind of bullet point idea sharing regarding the general story arc is appropriate. We don't need to go into too much detail about our own char unless it involves others directly...after all the story should evolve in it's own thread without being spoiled too much here If your intentions do affect another, then I think PMs are appropriate. Just my humble opinion If an intended post affects the direction of the story, then here might be a good place to discuss the implications...

My stay was short but eventful. I enjoyed writing with you all immensely, but there came a point where I just didn't have time to do all the reading you zany authors put up every day, and I lost track of what was going on. Perhaps someday I shall return, bloodied and torn, just in time for the final battle. Could be interesting.

As for the moment, I enjoy writing a lot. What I would like though, is for the major players (you know who you are ) to set up a kind of story board of where the plot is going so the less expierenced writers like myself can have an idea of where the story is going when we make our posts.

thanks mysteria. are you sure you wanna get that close?

@Obsidian, I for one, hear what you are saying. A question, then: Do you intend to return? I ask this because we carry many characters...you once suggested we write your character out....

On that note, and referring back to your own post, the DF does require a level of commitment. Also, in general, a good way of determining where the story is going is by keeping up to date with the reading. I am all for discussing direction here, but it is a little much to constantly summarise for those who have not the time to read No offence intended.

<Edit> I see you have caught up already...

Obsidian, I am also somewhat confused....
What are your intentions? As Ysh says, The DF does require a level of commitment....
Also, perhaps you could have waited for reaction prior to posting.... since that way we could have planned a way to work you into back into the story. We are at a fairly critical point at the moment, and the sudden, unannounced, appearance of a former author is somewhat disruptive to the story's flow.

No offensive intended btw

by DW
We are at a fairly critical point at the moment, and the sudden, unannounced, appearance of a former author is somewhat disruptive to the story's flow

or two former authors.

@Mysteria: I agree that the lack of communication can be frustrating sometimes. Hopefully this new avenue will help with that somewhat. As Yshania pointed out, there is something of a fine balance as far as planning vs being spontaneous. Too much planning will stifle creativity while too much spontaneity will lead to a loss in focus and substance. And again, it is not like there is a ‘master plan’ at work that only a few people know about. Most of what is planned or suggested has already been posted. To wit:

*We are on the second wave of the battle with the rothe moving in. Next will be the suicide squads of drow, followed by the main drow force. Unclear if they will use the back entrance to the cavern to attack from behind. I also feel that the drow will retreat before losing too many of their main force and regroup to defend the actual Abomination, thus encouraging the Dark Flames to fall into the trap of attacking the pseudo-Abomination, but that is just my sense of things.

*If the action becomes too intense, or if they are attacked on two sides, the Dark Flames can collapse their front and retreat to the cavern to the east that is labeled “Shalimere” on the map.

* At some point (either as part of the battle or after the battle with the drow), the Abomination will need to be dealt with. The room with the pseudo-Abomination (the idea is that a large tentacle of piece of the Abomination has been extended into the room somehow, but the main creature is somewhere else in the tunnel complex) is trapped. No idea how or what will happen there.

*The Dark Flames will need to then find the real Abomination and take it on. There was a suggestion from Gwally that the Abomination could somehow find its way to the surface and in doing so destroy the old keep (very symbolic) which I think is a great idea and would get us out of the tunnels.

*As far as the Shadow Master is concerned, there are vague suggestions of his ties to Moander and what he plans to do.

*As I envision it, Lolth has her own plans. This is from a recent PM – whether it happens or not depends on the way the story evolves:

The Shadow Master is unaware of Lolth’s plans. He thinks that she wants to take the Abomination as her avatar, but she is completely manipulating him here. Her actual plan was forshadowed in a previous post, where we see her plotting with her yochlols. The priest they captured (“His filthy robes sported a purple circle, outlined with an inner ring of black that had a single black rimmed, violet-on-mauve eye in the center of the circle.”) was a priest of Ghaunadaur (pronounced “GONE-ah-door”), also known as “The Elder Elemental God”, “The Elder Eye”, “Gormauth Souldrinker” or “That Which Lurks.” Basically the drow god of the disenfranchised as well as slimes, jellies, oozes, slugs, and other crawling things. This priest was “infected” with a potent slime that will actually begin to transform the Abomination (once it consumes him) into something akin to Ghaunadaur’s avatar. The end result forwards many of Lolth’s aims. It undermines the SM while misleading him to think Lolth was ever his ally – how could he have ever doubted her? It creates large amounts of chaos and confusion. It alarms Lolth’s followers and churns up a witch hunt against the followers of Ghaunadaur. Finally, it serves as another “test” for her priestesses. Lolth will not stand in the way of the Abomination being eliminated. In fact, she is perfectly glad to see it destroyed – the more dramatically the better.

That is as much as I know….

As far as your ideas, feel free to share them here or if you are uncertain how they will be received, run them by one of the other author’s first. I will often do that. I am usually told to increase the dosage of my medications.

@Obsidian: if you only plan to stay for a short while due to time constraints, please let us know. Perhaps we could devise a dramatic battle scene where your character makes the ultimate sacrifice…. only to be transported to Vivien’s Master’s house as a reward.

@ Ned: yeah, but you made us beg you. Hrummph.

I have been thinking ... that Shalimar's amulet may develop another power.....
My char will find she has levelled subsequent to the Cambion's death...and she will discover that the amulet has been impacted by her levelling...... with its restorative spell amplified so that it includes granting the entire party all the benefits of eight hours rest.

This will allow all the spell casters more liberty in how they approach the more minor minions prior to the encounter with the abomination, yet negate any need to rest.

Another possibility is for my char. to find a Wish scroll on the Cambion's body.

Thoughts?

Cheese anyone?

Seriously, it may be an idea, I'm happy whatever happens, I'm not affected badly by spellcasting, so it is whatever everyone else wants who casts spells, and whatever everyone else decides.

Originally posted by dragon wench
I have been thinking ... that Shalimar's amulet may develop another power.....
My char will find she has levelled subsequent to the Cambion's death...and she will discover that the amulet has been impacted by her levelling...... with its restorative spell amplified so that it includes granting the entire party all the benefits of eight hours rest.

This will allow all the spell casters more liberty in how they approach the more minor minions prior to the encounter with the abomination, yet negate any need to rest.

Another possibility is for my char. to find a Wish scroll on the Cambion's body.

Thoughts?

Shalimare's Tear Amulet confers gifts to Tashara...one of those powers, The Winds of Elysium, fits the bill, so to speak.

The healing/restorative wind is reminiscent of the same winds that surrounded Shalimare's manifestation in the tunnels just prior to the battle. This power could be expanded once, perhaps....for a one-time use. Those are my thoughts, anyway.

I have thought about the remnants of the cambions left upon the cavern floor...what is left of the Demon Knights is malignantly evil. Unless any of the Dark Flames are evil, they will want to keep their distance from the Demon Knight armor, and their massive Doomblades...unless...

The black plate armor, etched with glowing runes of power, has an insiduous power of its own. It is quite possible that one of the DFs, curious...and perhaps toying with the thought of exploring evil, as it were...touches the Demon Knight armor.

This armor, devoid of the cambion that wore it, is hungry to connect with another being...it would magically alter it's dimensions to be worn by whomever touched it...and offer the temptation of dark powers. The Doomblade, the massive two-handed blade of the Abyss, would call out to the one who touched the armor.

Oh my. This is quite a seductive idea...

No put it away! Bad Chanak! No more seductive thoughts.

On second hand... It is quite devious, I like the idea, but who would be foolish enough to do it?

*Looks at Bloodstalker swilling a canteen*