Reckonings: an Experiment in Peril

[DeepShadow of FoS]

I've been conducting the Reckonings experiment in epic-level play for a couple years now, but it is in danger of foundering due to vanishing players. Matthias said he'd be back, but that was a month ago, and even if he returns, the loss of Gurthoron and Fuzzball puts us back at three players, and one of those struggling to learn a new set of rules.

It may be time to cut losses and evaluate what we can of the experiment.

Nevertheless, I appreciate that many people were very involved in my storyline, and I feel it would be a disservice to leave the plot hanging like this. Should I wrap it up in a series of installments, playing all the characters and basically running the game myself? Should I let people ask questions about the things they were most interested in?

Is there a way to split the difference? Perhaps if we evaluate what we've done so far, we can come to a conclusion regarding the experiment, and then play the rest out in a more free-form manner, without being so restricted by the rules. I'm open to suggestions.

[Nathan of the FoS]

!@#$$@#!

Alas, I knew this day was coming. I would be really sorry to see Reckonings end on so inconclusive a note, but if people can't play I suppose there may be nothing for it.

It would be too bad to lose the interactive element of the game, but if there's no other way to go forward then I'd be very interested to see what you do with the characters, DS. In my experience it doesn't take much less time or attention to play a free-form game than one with rules strictly adhered to, so I don't think that will help much. I'd like to retain as much control of Peregrine's actions as is practical, but you may have to decide how much that is.

A lot would depend, for me, on how much we have left. I get the feeling we're really not that close, which means we have waaaayyy too far to go to play out the string.

I have about a zillion questions, but perhaps evaluation of the story so far should come first.

[Le Noir Faineant]

I am still here, and I would not want the game to end, if that's possible.

For me personally, the main problem was more the way of the game's presentation. All the steps forward and back in time, and the dividing of the game in several threads were a big problem for me so far, since I often lost the line of what was going on. - But that's just me. On the other board, things seem to have worked very nicely in that format, and I enjoyed reading the old threads.

Apart from that, the plot seemed very, very interesting, a perfect example of how high level gaming in RL should be, and I would want to go on. I didn't see any problems with the rules either, though at first, I felt very messy with my limited knowledge.

In any case, many thanks, DS! - It has been a lot of fun so far, and I hope we can continue somehow!

Yours,

Rafael

[DeepShadow of FoS]

For me personally, the main problem was more the way of the game's presentation. All the steps forward and back in time, and the dividing of the game in several threads were a big problem for me so far, since I often lost the line of what was going on. - But that's just me.

I think that would be the problem for anyone who joined this late, which is really the issue at stake. For all I know, that's equally a problem for people who've been gone a while, or who can't remember what happened two years ago.

For example, I'm currently writing a post that involves Red Skaldos, Kit, Ratling, and Duranc, among others. Out of curiosity, does anyone here feel like they need to be brought up to speed on these four? Especially Duranc, who was last involved well before our original Ciera player left?

[Nathan of the FoS]

For me personally, the main problem was more the way of the game's presentation. All the steps forward and back in time, and the dividing of the game in several threads were a big problem for me so far, since I often lost the line of what was going on. - But that's just me.

I think that would be the problem for anyone who joined this late, which is really the issue at stake. For all I know, that's equally a problem for people who've been gone a while, or who can't remember what happened two years ago.

For example, I'm currently writing a post that involves Red Skaldos, Kit, Ratling, and Duranc, among others. Out of curiosity, does anyone here feel like they need to be brought up to speed on these four? Especially Duranc, who was last involved well before our original Ciera player left?

Who the who? I remember Kit and Ratling, and Red Skaldos' name rings a bell, at least (was he a captain of marines?), but Duranc I've totally forgotten.

[MatthiasStormcrow]

I hate to say it but Real Life has caught up to me lately; it's certainly nothing to do with the game (although considering I'm the only player left who's been here since the beginning I can imagine it must get confusing at times for other people, given how much looking-up-of-old-stuff I've had to do at times) which I would love to continue, it's just a question of not having enough time to do everything and having to make some tough choices about what things get prioritized and what things get cut. So I just can't promise any real level of involvement for the foreseeable future. I don't want to say, "Well I'm not going to be able to play anymore so you guys should obviously stop the whole campaign" because I'm not a big mean selfish jerk (or I try not to be) but it might, indeed, be time to wrap things up. It has been...what, nearly three years? It's been a load of fun though, and a wild ride, no regrets here that's for sure.

I don't know how detailed a wrapping-up we'd want to get into, and like I said, I really won't have any time to contribute, but I would be interested in seeing, I dunno, maybe even just DeepShadow's purely OOC notes about what sorts of events were planned, what kind of resolution(s) if any might've been in the works. A kind of "director's commentary" perhaps.

Anyways, whatever you decide, I'll still pop in from time to time to check up when I can...just won't be terribly often I'm afraid.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Who the who? I remember Kit and Ratling, and Red Skaldos' name rings a bell, at least (was he a captain of marines?), but Duranc I've totally forgotten.

See, that there's a problem. I have an unusually good memory for tiny details, and being in the DM's position only enhances that when it comes to games. I tossed in lots of little story-details at the beginning related to different characters, and some of them I've followed up on in the mean time, but the others were always very near in my mind. So I have a hard time remembering that all of you might need a bit more of a refresher of, say, why Tuvyn's presence at a confrontation with Kiraslee lends some pathos to the story.

Tuvyn--there's a good one. Anyone remember him?

[Nathan of the FoS]

Who the who? I remember Kit and Ratling, and Red Skaldos' name rings a bell, at least (was he a captain of marines?), but Duranc I've totally forgotten.

See, that there's a problem. I have an unusually good memory for tiny details, and being in the DM's position only enhances that when it comes to games. I tossed in lots of little story-details at the beginning related to different characters, and some of them I've followed up on in the mean time, but the others were always very near in my mind.

Well, ordinarily my memory for tiny details is pretty good, but since even I (now a card-carrying old timer) wasn't present from the beginning (and not having a character who originated with the others) means that I never got into the first part of the campaign except in broad outlines.

Tuvyn--there's a good one. Anyone remember him?

Nope.

[Nathan of the FoS]

That last actually brings up something I've been wondering about, and that will be an important part of any recap/rehash. It seems to me that I might have accidentally contributed to the slow death of the campaign by introducing a non-FR character. I've loved playing Peregrine, but I wonder if having him around distracted from the main thrust of the campaign (rescuing the royals) and slowed things down by a) giving DS a bunch of other plot-lines, b) forcing the split-screen thing, and c) possibly upstaging the other PCs.

That last would depend a lot on Mattias and LostVoices' feelings, but I wondered at times if Peregrine was more fun because he was a 100% Ravenloft character and got to have the fun of running around and interacting with famous people while the other PCs were stuck on a boat in the middle of a (canon-Ravenloft) wasteland.

[Le Noir Faineant]

If I may say that, even though Reckonings apparently has come to a point where it will have to be suspended, I would appreciate if we could continue playing together. - Maybe one can take a break and then restart with new motivation.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I remember Tuvyn! But maybe I don't count.

I've got the vague feeling I wrote something involving Duranc once but I don't remember who he is.

I certainly would be sad to see Reckonings go, but I agree that it's obviously getting harder and harder to proceed. I know I certainly haven't had time for much more than cheerleading in at least a year or two, nor in the foreseeable future. I don't really have much suggestions on how to wrap things up, but I think it's clear that if we continue as it is now, there's no way we'd reach any real conclusion for several more years.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Okay, so at the very least it's time to pause and evaluate the experiment. I'll start up the thread on the main forum, because I want everyone's input. As for what to do after that, I think I'll take the wheel and fast-forward through the storyline. At certain intervals I may reopen the game play mode if I feel a certain mini-experiment needs to be played out. Other than that, everyone is welcome to comment on the threats I introduce as to how they measure up against the epics, or to offer advice as to how I should play a particular scenario.

I know this isn't what everyone wants. My rule has always been the most fun for the most people, and I'm trying to hold to that here. Stick with us, everyone, there's still a lot more fun to be had!

[Lord Soth]

Wow, this is still going on? Damn, talk about dedication.

FYI, I was Saint Balin Cormaeril when the game first started. I ended up disappearing early on in the game. Don't remember exactly what happened, though, as it's been a while.

Anyway, unlike then, things're much more stable for me these days. So if you could use another player then I'd like to play again, whether as Balin or a new character.

[Le Noir Faineant]

If we continue, I'll be glad to take over Anders again!

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Wow, this is still going on? Damn, talk about dedication.

FYI, I was Saint Balin Cormaeril when the game first started. I ended up disappearing early on in the game. Don't remember exactly what happened, though, as it's been a while.

Anyway, unlike then, things're much more stable for me these days. So if you could use another player then I'd like to play again, whether as Balin or a new character.

Glad to see you again, Balin!

Yes, we kept it going as long as real life would let us. I always wondered, did a hurricane have anything to do with your disappearance? You were in that area IIRC and one went through around the time you vanished.

I don't know what's going to happen WRT revisiting the adventure. If I call the players back, you'll be first in line for Balin, though!

In the mean time, check up on the antics of your PC (he killed a DL!) and let us know what you think.