Sunday, January 22, 2012

Wanted: Player

The onblog campaign has been gaining momentum again after our December hiatus, but as it happens one of the players has simply vanished.  There's no word at all, and we have no idea what happened - he had seemed very into the game, suggesting something nefarious.

Still, we all know the game ... and since four players make a better session than three, the time has come to start looking into finding another regular player for the game.  If said individual shows up later, then five is still manageable ... and five is better than three.

So ... if you are interested in exploring my world as a player, now is the time.

The criteria is fairly rigorous, I'm afraid.  The campaign is played on a blog, so the first thing a new player needs to have is an ability to express his or her self in the written word.  You should be someone who likes to write, and who is willing to do so on a regular basis.  You should have good grammar, and have the ability to be precise and to the point.  Saying all that needs to be said in the least number of words is a priority.

The game is entirely played between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  Notes pass back and forth sometimes in the evening, but the game is played during office hours, so you should have reasonable access to the internet at that time.  Most of have meetings, work, things we do, so game moments get suspended constantly and sometimes for whole days, but we'd want someone who could log on, check to see what's happening and offer an action to keep things going.  I really couldn't base an event around your character if it took three days to hear from you.  We play virtually every day, even if it's just a little bit.  Fanatics, therefore, are wanted.

You should be completely familiar with the nature and the style of the campaign, and I think you should be flexible about what rules you want to play by.  I'm not going to change rules in the game just to suit you, so if you depend on things like skills and feats, my world won't be for you.  It is highly modified AD&D, but the structure is basically still the old game from the late 70s.

It wouldn't hurt to know my blog, and to have learned by now that I'm not an asshole all the time.  A lot of people around the blogosphere seem to think I must be painted black, not gray, and are constantly surprised when I say gray, or even white things.

I would like to hear from you, either in the comments section or to my email at alexiss1@telus.net.  I must tell you I'll be more impressed if you write me in the comments section - how can you ask to play openly on the blog if you can't give me the reasons you'd play just as openly?

And I want to hear reasons.  Not just, "It will be fun!" - but honest reasons why you'd want to give it a crack, what kind of character you'd like to run, what you'd like ultimately to do with the character and how you think you'd interact with the present three players running.  Be specific and give examples.

I'll be open minded ... but the game online is a good one, so if I don't see a good fit, I won't take anyone.  The other players will be watching this post too, so if you ingratiate yourself with them, they'll have a lot of pull when it comes to convincing me to let you play.

Give it a try.  I won't eat you.

18 comments:

  1. I recommend it highly. A great way to kill a few minutes of downtime at work -- and to keep your mind buzzing for hours afterward. Plus, we're at a very good point to add someone new as we're about to embark on a new quest (I think). Come aboard while you can!

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  2. Hello

    I am interested in playing again, if deemed appropriate. I have played here before.
    I was pulled away from the game in 2010. Now getting back into my favorite past-times is possible and desirable for me. I can commit to posting often, more than just daily. I have more character ideas but would need to read more out of the present campaign to make a final choice. I am on the West Coast and expect I will post again at about noon EST on Monday, the 23rd. Thanks for your consideration.

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  3. Johnny,

    I just don't know. That Greek campaign was unpleasant; it is hard to run when the players do not invest - even offline, if the players don't actively run their characters, it's a very dead campaign. Some of the impetus has to come from there, and my experience with that campaign was that I was given nothing to run with. That campaign, and others, is the reason why I am so picky now ... when I didn't have a lot of expectations, I got very little in return for my effort.

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  4. @ Alexis:

    I'd very much like to try running in your game.

    I enjoy writing, and would like to try my hand at a play-by-post game; in the past I have run PBEM games, but I didn't feel my own enthusiasm was well-matched by other players. I believe running in your game will be challenging and good practice...both for my writing and for my own gaming.

    I am open to your alternate take on the AD&D game, and Germany/Europe during the height of Catholic/Protestant tensions sounds like one hell of a game.

    It's been many years since I played AD&D campaign, and I've an itch to try it again. I enjoy being "proactive" as a player (rather than sitting back and waiting for "adventure to happen") and relish the idea of doing so in your well-detailed world...though I admit the prospect is a bit intimidating!

    I'd like to try playing an assassin, perhaps someone from Bavaria who came north looking for work and/or expecting the war to break out again. I've never had the opportunity to play an assassin, though the class has always fascinated my (as a younger man, I was turned off by the idea of "level limits;" now, the play is the more important thing and the idea of having a "top" to shoot for is appealing, too).

    I'm generally up by 6am PST and should have access to the internet for writing at least sometime every day, Monday through Friday.

    Thanks for the chance to apply!

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  5. Alexis,

    Your blog and game are highly insightful, encouraging, entertaining and enthralling.

    That said, being able to play along, after reading for so long and experiencing from the outside looking in, would be an honour.

    For my background in all thing D&D, I don't really have much. I played about 4-5 months in a 3.5 campaign as a Paladin, which was fun, but the way I played the character, was a little more towards the chaos end of Lawful, which was on the edge of getting me in trouble a lot... I think the roleplaying aspect of that was a little much for my first experience, but hey, I learned a little bit from it.

    In joining up with your merry little band, and looking over the classes that are present in your game world, Elven Ranger and Halfling Druid seem to speak the most to me. I have always had a penchant for most things melee(I think Legend of Zelda did this to me), and those 2 classes(and different races) seem to be the bit of diversity that could be used by the party.

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  6. I understand. In my brief time playing I remember trying to push my companion along, feeling a bit frustrated. Then things get interesting and I get removed. Such was real life. Sorry The Greek didn't work out. I will continue in the background. Thanks.

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  7. Alexis

    I should have known it would come to this. In all honesty I've regretted not applying to the first game, so I'll just lay out all the facts now.

    I would love to join your game. I would love to do it because I hunger to play in different games. I enjoy learning new systems and interacting with new GMs. I feel like I learn something from each one. Furthermore, I am very interested in trying your character generation system and getting to be part of your world. Finally, I've been looking for a game with committed excited players and GM, and am not getting it in my RPOL experience.

    Now for the honest assessment of my downsides. Most of my work is in the morning, 9-12 ish range, so my posting would be slower then, but possible. This seems to be the opposite of what you tend to play at. My AD&D experience isn't great, but fortunately with play by post if anything isn't clear (I've been able to follow everything so far in your game) I can look it up. Finally, while I have experience with writing cohesive text, sometimes in my excitement I trip over myself.

    If I were to play, I would want to play a Human Mage. I think I want to take up the challenge of throwing darts at enemies and surviving with small amounts of health. I also think that perhaps a little arcane energies might be a fun thing to add to the game for everyone involved. And let's be honest, a low HP mage is fun all around for jokes about splinters and the like. Fainting in foul weather and so on... Would be good to see if I fall unconscious to the weather system often.

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  8. Hi Alexis,
    I would also be interested in playing in your campaign. I'm a sporadic blogger, long-time D&D player, writer (mostly technical writing at this stage, unfortunately) and history buff. The time period setting for your game is definitely interesting to me, as is the idea of a "historical" D$D game.
    The online nature of the game and the daytime posting schedule are perfect for me. I have some flexibility during the day, but no time in the evenings, so that's good stuff.
    Obviously, for Old-School D&D, the character I pick will be hugely dependent on my rolled stats, but I like the idea of a Swedish half-elf Protestant cleric.
    He has seen too many of the violent abuses caused by the religious conflicts in the Holy Roman Empire, and has become somewhat troubled by the great suffering that he sees occurring around him.
    He has elected to travel south, with the idea of seeking out both important religious thinkers and common folk of as many religious persuasions as possible, with an idea of discussing the "underpinning of faith" and promoting discourse between religions.
    As such, a group of people that included a Roman Catholic priest and various foreigners would be of great interest to him. It would also be helpful for him to be able to travel freely, but with some protection.

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  9. Well!

    Alexis and Co, I would most certainly love playing in the campaign. There's no way I wouldn't want to be a part of it.

    I've been following along, trying to keep up with bits here and there, and I enjoy both the in-character moments and the out-of-character moments.

    It seems like a fun group, and better still, a fun campaign.

    My one and my only concern is the time. I work part-time, generally 20-30 hours weekly. Usually, this is early morning, perhaps 5am EST to Noon most days (leaving several hours to game, mind).

    So yes, I will have days when my schedule is inconvenient. Sure, it may only be one or two days out of the week, but maybe that gets annoying eight weeks down the line.
    If that were to be the case, I would not be offended at removal or demotion to hireling.

    That said, I'm confident you won't want to. I can and will check in frequently, daily, and am more than happy to offer up some scheme to get things moving if they slow down. I can write clearly, make my point quickly, and am easy to get along with.

    If the schedule can be forgiven, I would be a focused player. I'm familiar with the modified AD&D used, and what I don't know, I'll learn quickly.

    I'm willing to read and research about the times and places we visit, and keep a dialogue open so that we're on the same page.

    I am not a cowardly player. Even as a mage, I've got no qualms with getting "stuck in" with everyone else. I don't showboat, and I don't muck around with my party's stuff.

    My ideal race/class is a Human Mage, because I like the notion of scrambling through the libraries of the Old World, thumbing for bits of forgotten lore, finding spells or magic items to seek out on behalf of my fellows and myself. It'd be neat to get ahold of something like the Horn of Roland in France or Mjolnir up in Jotunheim, to say nothing of what's waiting in Germany itself.

    That said, I can be whatever the party determines it needs. Andrej need a Paladin to further the aims of the church? Or another cutthroat Fighter to hold the line with Ahmet? Hell, even a Bard to sing of "Nine-Toes and the Anklet of Doom". Not to mention testing the class as you've redesigned it.

    Adventuring with Ahmet, Andrej, and Nine-Toes seems like it would be great fun. If any of them (or of course yourself, Alexis) have any questions whatsoever, they can contact me at Arduin14@yahoo.com.

    I look forward to the party's adventures, and hope to meet them on the road to fortune.

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  10. JB, Imon Fyre, Oddbit, Wickedmurph and Arduin,

    Gentlemen. I am overwhelmed by the response. I did not expect more than one this whole week. You have disarmed me, and put me to much thought and consideration today.

    First off, let me say that I respect you all, and that I don't see any specific characteristic that should exempt any of you. If I had more time, I would simply let one of you join the present party, and start a second party of four persons to run elsewhere. But sadly, I do not have the time I had when I did this sort of thing a couple of years ago.

    Secondly, since you have all responded by 5pm EST on the first day I had the post up, I shall consider the candidacy closed at present. More to come.

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  11. What I propose, if I gain everyone's assent, is a contest. I would prefer not to explain at this time what that would be, but I will say that it will be in a time-honored tradition, and that it provides an exactly equal chance for any person to be chosen. As I see it, should Silvius not return to the campaign within the next two weeks (say, Groundhog Day), then I have room for two of you. One to start immediately, and one to start as a possible alternate on the 3rd of February.

    I would like to know: does everyone accept being chosen by a FAIR and EQUAL contest. My one alternative, I think, is to choose by lottery, and I'd rather not do so. I would rather not choose by instinct at this point - I have no reason to believe any of you are better or worse than any other.

    If I get an assent from everyone, I will post rules to a contest, and we will begin tomorrow morning. In all, I shouldn't think it will take more than a little of everyone's time, and it should be managed rather quickly, if everyone puts themselves to it.

    What say you, gentlemen?

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  12. Why thanks, it's nice just to be considered.

    If only there were an easy way to run groups of 6+ online: the Blogger format is bound to get too crowded.

    Someone with programming skill, make it happen! :P

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  13. Oh, my goodness, posted at almost exactly the same time there.

    Such a contest certainly sounds interesting.

    Irritatingly enough, it falls on the one day when I've got a 9 hour shift from 8a-5p. If only you'd asked one day earlier, or one day later, I'd have had all the time in the world!

    Still, depending on the nature of such a contest, I could muddle something up easily, perhaps by proxy if need be.

    I'm in, even if it disqualifies me right off the bat. To the victor go the spoils.

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  14. Sure, why not. I assume it is not going to be a ten thousand word post in one day, if so, I'd consider conceding now.

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  15. I'm always game for a contest. Hopefully it will be something that allows me to use the large portion of my brain devoted to things like the street layout of Classical Greek cities...

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  16. @ Alexis:

    A contest sounds plenty fair; looking forward to it!
    : )

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  17. To be considered is a great honour, and a contest between the five of us to choose the 2 that will get to play in your game is more than fair.

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