Fastheld RP Seminar

An RP Seminar originally given on February 27, 2012 for those interested in apping a Fastheld alt. If there are any questions, please contact Katrin on game.

You say, "Okay then, I guess we can get started."

You say, "Well, thanks everyone for coming to the Fastheld RP Seminar."

You say, "As you could probably guess, the purpose of this particular seminar is to have people become more acquainted with the pocket universe of Palisade. tonight, as you might have questions, don't hesitate to bring them up and at the end, if we haven't answered any of your questions, you can ask them then."

You say, "So, to get us started, I'll once again introduce myself though most of you will already know me. I started playing on Chiaroscuro in 2003 and watched it transform quite a bit in that time. As I said with the last seminar, this is just one interpretation of events. You are always welcomed to your own but some of what we will be discussing tonight is also canon so that's not as flexible."

You say, "Now, do we have any general questions before we get started?"

You say, "The first thing we'll cover tonight is Fastheldian theme."

You say, "I will preface by saying that Chiaroscuro started as a low-fantasy MUSH way back in 2003. During its time, however, it slowly changed into high-fantasy, full of dragons and snake people. In our reset back to the beginning, we have also done a reset back to low-fantasy, especially in terms of the Shadow powers and Sunkissed however I think a lot will depend on us for if we would like it to stay in that low-fantasy setting." You say, "Because we are a player driven universe, we have the flexibility to see this place grow and develop as we would like it, within reason of course. However Fastheld is a rich culture built around the belief in two different... I hesitate to say entities. They were two different forces. Shadow and Light. As you could probably guess, the Shadow is bad and the Light is good. We exist in the year 624 ATA. ATA stands for After the Aegis with the Aegis being the huge wall that was raised by the Shadow Touched before they were banished to the lands outside of the realm."

Reode raise wing

I will get more into Shadow and Light in a bit but one thing that is important to remember is that in this particular universe, the people are typically very religious and believe in the Light as both a guiding force and their protection. To interpret the will of the Light is the Church of True Light which is pretty badass in my personal opinion. These are the people that range from quiet country priests to Shadowscourges who go out to destroy the Shadow Touched mages who will occasionally make an appearance.

You say, "Yes, Reode."

Reode says, "Wait lemme read derp"

Reode says, "Well when you get into shadow I wanna know why it was them who raised the wall"

Ayon Zahir says, "Because the game is full of hypocrites."

You say, "Because they realized just how freaking long it would take to build the wall. And so they struck a deal with the Shadow Touched to raise the wall before departing Fastheld."

You say, "I believe it was raised in three days."

Reode says, "Okie"

Ayon Zahir says, "See. Hypocriscy. Those bastards."

Ayon Zahir shuts up now.

Norran Lomasa says, "They also gave each Touched a mule filled with all the supplies it could carry, then sent them outside."

You say, "So yes, the founding fathers of Fastheld were a bunch of hypocrites. They're willing to use the Shadow when it suits them but overall, it's eeeeeeevil."

Norran Lomasa isn't kidding.

You say, "Norran is correct with that."

You say, "Fastheld itself is comprised of several different classes and it creates an intricate dance of how people will interact with each other. At the top is the Emperor of Fastheld, Talus Kahar XIV (14th? God I hate Roman Numerals...). He is the supreme ruler of the entire realm. He makes the decrees and oversees the general wellfare of the people. But he's just one dude so the first Emperor raised five other Houses outside of his own to assist in overseeing the people: Lomasa, Zahir, Nillu, Seamel and Mikin. I'll get into more detail about them a little bit later."

You say, "Beneath the nobility you have the Freelander class. They are the basic commoner class but it's also made up of several subclasses. You have Merchants, Vassals, Guildmembers... all of these people have their own standing and their own set of rights but they are all WAY below the nobility."

You say, "Any questions about Fastheld theme?"

You say, "Oldbies, did I miss anything super important?"

Norran Lomasa says, "Eh? I thought some of them didn't exist yet at first, like Seamel, who were only raised to prominence when the current emperor married his wife, who's a Seamel."

You say, "No, Seamel was always in existence."

Voreyn Zahir says, "they were always a house, just not as prominent."

Reode blink!

Reode did not know this

Reode says, "Can you elaborate on LESSENING"

Ayon Zahir giggles. "Vohzod."

You say, "Ah! Lessening."

Voreyn Zahir says, "let's use ayon as the demonstration dummy."

Norran Lomasa says, "That's what Rallus does to you if you beat him at cards."

Reode says, "Hahaha"

Fade cowers.

You say, "If you are a Shadow Touched mage or accused of Shadow Touch and you are "proven" guilty then you will likely suffer from Lessening. This is a very unpleasant and public form of punishment meant to prevent the Mage from being able to ever use his/her powers again. Your eyes are gouged out, tongue removed, and hands chopped off. They believed that you would need at least one of these things in order to cast a spell on someone. After this, you were thrown into a mine where you would be used for hard labor for the rest of your life. Now, how do you work without your hands or feet you might ask. Well! You can still crawl or be used as a guinea pig to make sure an area is safe. It's a very unpleasant life after you've been Lessened."

You say, "However, if a mage would be deemed too dangerous to keep alive as kind of a spectacle then you might just be outright killed."

Norran Lomasa says, "I always wondered what use someone was without hands in a mine."

You say, "Does that help you out, Reode?"

Reode says, "Yeah that's peachy Kat"

You say, "Okay! Now on to current events."

You say, "With the reset back to the original timeline, we have a whole new set of events that have happened recently. Last April, when Fastheld re-opened to the playerbase, the first thing that happened was the six House leaders were murdered in a plot by a group of unknown Shadow Mages. They remain at large today. In that time, the Emperor has brought new leaders in. The three PC Duchy are Sahna for House Nillu, Voreyn for House Zahir (wave for the peoples, Vory), and Dianna (me!) for House Lomasa."

Norran Lomasa says, "The last time they made me the Duke, and suffice to say, the game was shut down."

Norran Lomasa says, "Entirely my doing."

You say, "So we don't let him have power anymore."

Reode ahaha

Reode says, "All the girls are in charge"

Fade says, "We know this cause they all pussy out of fights."

Fade coughs.

You say, "That was the Brody action. Since then, we've also had other things afoot in Fastheld. One of the main things is a long term plot that actually extended much longer than I anticipated with the story revolving around a mage that has been terrorizing Fastheld. It's a fun plot and we're always looking for new people to join in on that one. It's a lot more complex than it initially seems and several people have distinct parts in it. The other is the growing conflict between Lomasa and Zahir. Tensions are running high between both Houses, especially after the abduction of the Lomasa Duchess by Zahir agents and a member of Zahir ending up dead after spending time in a Lomasa establishment. Unfortunately, Nillu has also been drawn in because the Thirsty Trout is in their lands."

You say, "And I will stab you, Fade."

Fade would deserve it.

You say, "One of the great things is that there is always something to do in Fastheld. We have both hardcore political events going on right now and then we will also have more lighthearted frivolous events like parties and jousts. And then things that are available for the more action oriented people. Like getting your ass kicked by an overgrown monkey."

You say, "Questions?"

Norran Lomasa says, "I'll take that as a 'maybe'."

You say, "Reode? Avalyne?"

You say, "Luri? Sunny?"

Avalyne Lomasa says, "sorry I am half here, had a late work call"

Reode IS THINKIN

Reode :I

You say, "THINK FASTER!"

Avalyne Lomasa says, "back in and reading over what I missed"

Norran Lomasa says, "And there's no shame in getting beat up by a munchkinbane. But there is pride in running away from one."

Reode says, "HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGHHH"

Fade has a question

You say, "Yes, Fade."

Fade says, "If a noble and a freelander both steal a sheep each, do they face the same penalties?"

You say, "No."

You say, "But I'll discuss that in the next part of the seminar."

Reode says, "Haha"

Fade nods.

You say, "Any more questions before I move on?"

Reode says, "What do most nobles do in their spare time and what would nobles NEVER do..."

You say, "I'll discuss that later on as well."

Reode says, "Like am I allowed to go effin fishing"

Norran Lomasa says, "Hard labor."

Reode says, "O ok"

Fade says, "Geez Reode"

Reode sux

Fade says, "Way to ask stupid questions."

Reode CRY

You say, "Any questions relating to the current events in Fastheld right now?"

Reode says, "UM"

Reode says, "hang on"

Fade says, "How can I get involved?!"

You say, "Stop sleeping with the Duchess and go exploring."

Reode says, "HOW CAN I BE EMPORER"

Fade says, "AUGH"

Fade says, "No promises."

Reode says, "Actually naw no question"

You say, "Okay!"

You say, "Anything for you, Avalyne?"

You say, "And welcome, Jen."

Avalyne Lomasa says, "I think I am good thus far, go on without me I will catch up"

Reode says, "What the eff"

You say, "Mrgh."

You say, "Okay, so the big question I'm sure all of you have is what kind of character should I make? I want to be active and I want to meet lots of people and be involved, so how is that going to be possible? A lot of that will depend on how proactive you're going to be."

You say, "And now I'll go in to the big Freelander versus Noble debate."

Fade grabs popcorn.

Reode sits in Fade's popcorn

Fade says, "YOU RUIN EVERYTHING REODE."

Reode >8C

You say, "One of the things you may have noticed, especially based on the room right now, is that we are noble heavy. A lot of that is because when we reopened, all we did was bring back our favorite characters and that usually ended up being a noble. But a big question we all faced was do we want to continue with being noble-centric or should we encourage Freelanders to join? In the end, Fastheld is not Fastheld without Freelanders and even if they'll never be as popular, they're a very important part of the system."

You say, "We have been racking our brains going "How do we make Freelanders more enticing to app?" One of the things that we came up with was that Freelanders should be the only ones allowed to craft. Yes, we're going to get crafting implemented! (yay) Now that might seem harsh for you nobles who want to craft and build things but it makes sense both for giving Freelanders something that no one else can do but also in a thematic sense."

You say, "Wessrin has a hobby of making jewelry and may even have his own business one day. That's awesome. Nobles need something to do besides visiting the whorehouse. But Wessrin would lose respect with his fellow nobles if he were to be working in the shop everyday and using his own hands for the menial tasks. He would have vassals and employees that do that work for him. He's the front man, flashing pretty smiles and bringing in the business. But he's not the one making the jewelry in most cases."

You say, "Yes, I'm using your alt as an example, Reody."

Reode says, "THANKS"

Reode visits whorehouse ALLTIMES

You say, "However, this is not to say that he can't craft at all. If Dianna comes to him and commissions a piece of jewelry, she's important enough that he might want to make it himself. She's a Duchess after all and should be given every bit of respect or advantage as possible."

You say, "Questions on this?"

Fade says, "Many"

You say, "Okay, go for it."

Norran Lomasa says, "But if he doesn't build stuff every day, he'd be an incompetent boob and would just make Dianna a macaroni necklace."

Sunfire has a point to share but will wait until questions are finished

Fade says, "If nobles hold all the money, land and titles, without crafting, what insentive is there for freelanders to craft?"

You say, "Make money?"

You say, "Gain prestige?"

Fade says, "Which would be an automatic thing if they app'd noble :("

Norran Lomasa says, "They don't have ALL of the money, literally, they just have a lot."

Fade says, "More to the point, what noble could buy from a freelander with coded money, if /they/ can't craft"

You say, "It's a tricky situation because by default, nobles are going to be better than Freelanders."

You say, "We're still looking for other ways to make Freelanders more appealing to app."

Norran Lomasa says, "Hilariously, in the old days, nobles started with an absurd amount of money, and the few freelander smiths got ridiculously rich off of the newbie nobles commissioning expensive armor."

Norran Lomasa says, "We don't do that anymore, I think."

You say, "We're going to have the job system put in place as well, allowing for people to make money."

Fade says, "It strikes me that nobles should be able to craft business related items to waste their SP on. Or people related items. Tax related items. What-ever it is that keeps the rich rich, and the poor poor."

You say, "Oh, yes, they'll be able to do that."

You say, "But in terms of objects that would fall under necessities, they should be restricted primarily to Freelanders."

You say, "And this is still up in the air for if it will fly or not."

Fade nods.

Norran Lomasa says, "Our old crafting system had the problem that there was nothing to spend money on, except what the freelander crafters made. And they got very, very rich. Noble newbies started with 100k and rarely had more than that, but the big crafters had anything from 500k in the bank to 2 million."

You say, "Alainne was one rich woman because she was the only active leatherworker in Fastheld. She got allllll the business."

Norran Lomasa says, "And worked as fast as I RP'd."

Jennifer says, "That's probably due to there no modeling of continued passive, ongoing expensives. The cost of their living expenses for example."

You say, "We used to have a tax collector but that was a hard job to keep active."

Jennifer says, "Shadowrun had a way to handle that through Lifestyle packages, which costed a monthly allowance to maintain."

You say, "I'm not denying that there are going to be flaws in the system."

You say, "But one of the things that we should focus on, instead of the system that hasn't even been put in yet, is the question of Freelander versus noble."

Sunfire raises hand.

You say, "Yes, Sunny."

Norran Lomasa says, "We eventually had stock, purchasable properties you could buy with IC currency, when before you needed something like SP. Those helped with money draining."

You say, "Things like that are going to be way down the line, Jen, if ever. Though it is a very intriguing idea."

Jennifer says, "Its not the only system with the idea of Lifestyle packages, but its one of my favorite ones."

Sunfire would like to note that Freelanders have value to the nobility beyond crafting and gruntwork. Nobles are (and I'm hyperbolizing, but you get the idea) the celebrities of Fastheld. You can pin a noble pretty easily by the way they carry themselves, the way they talk, the fact that they can read and possess a generally higher-than-usual education. They stick out. Back when I played Chia, my alt Caprice and Vhramis were actually employed by the throne as special agents - eyes and ears for the Crown, because nobody would think twice about a couple of rangers wandering from town to town.

You say, "Exactly."

Sunfire says, "Nobles have to try really, really hard to fit in with the lower class, just as a Freelander would have to really work to pretend to nobility."

Sunfire says, "so Freelanders fill a gap for them."

You say, "Freelanders certainly have their advantages in Fastheld and are an important part of how the realm existed. There are also many things that they can do that nobles couldn't. That makes for a great connection."

Fade gives a freelander a nice coat, good set of polished boots. Noble!

Sunfire can't add more than that, sorry, at work

You say, "<3 Sunny."

Jennifer says, "Though so far, this highlights the issue of trying to simulate a modern economy in a game, when you're explicitly counting each unit of currency. Personally, I think modern economy are best abstracted for gameplay. Sword and Socerccery setting can get away with explicit currency counting, because the economy is simpler, and the money is overall much smaller to deal with."

Sunfire pokes head in one last time to comment that - at that point? You're overthinking it.

Sunfire ducks out again

Fade says, "She'll be back."

You say, "Sunny makes a great point and I'm not trying to discount the importance of the Freelanders to just crafting but I know that a lot of people want something to do. Another point that I'd like to bring up when talking about Nobles versus Freelanders is how you play your noble or your freelander. They are miles apart from each other in many cases. I say many cases because there are always exceptions."

You say, "Nobles are the ruling class in Fastheld. They were raised to be the ruling class. So one thing that you have to remember is that they will look down on Freelanders. They will think they're better because in a lot of ways, they are. They have the knowledge, the skills and the money. So there better be one compelling story behind a noble being bffs with freelanders."

You say, "If your noble is spouting how there should be equality for all and how the system is unfair, well... I hate to tell you how to play your character but it's a little unrealistic. If you want a character that can be friends with the Freelanders? Make a Freelander."

Norran Lomasa says, "Like their house heads just not caring!"

Norran Lomasa says, "Which, they didn't."

You say, "I'll admit that my character Dianna had several freelander friends in her past life. But she also had IC reasons for her actions. And she still took the class division into consideration."

You say, "Now Norran (and watch his head explode from the praise) is a great example of nobility. He's nice and friendly but he can also be pretty haughty when there's a freelander in play."

Norran Lomasa says, "I will snark at the first opportunity about your dirty knees."

Norran Lomasa says, "And you will cry."

You say, "So does anyone have questions about nobles or freelanders?"

Norran Lomasa says, "I'll also do things like, if you're speaking to me, ask my guardsman why this fellow is speaking to me and tell him to tell it to go away. Well, I'm not quite that haughty, but I've always been waiting to try that out."

Norran Lomasa says, "Subtly make them know at every opportunity that you are better than them and could ruin your entire life!"

You say, "Exactly."

You say, "Any more comments about this?"

Fade still has his sheep quesiton

You say, "Ah yes. That one."

You say, "Well, I suppose it depends on who you stole the sheep from."

Norran Lomasa says, "Depends on who stole the sheep from who, and where you are."

Fade says, "But in general you would say that the noble would receive the less severe penalty?"

You say, "In most cases, I would venture to say that nobility would get a slap on the wrist whereas the freelander may face more serious charges. Because the system is flawed and the noble will probably have more connections and sway than a commoner."

Norran Lomasa says, "If, say, a Nillu stole from somebody, that somebody could only do so much because they'd have the entire house holding that Nillu's backs."

Norran Lomasa says, "They might receive harsher punishment if that Nillu steals from another noble and that noble's House can muscle out a compromise."

Fade nodnods.

Fade says, "I was just curious as to how far the division went, and crime seems to be a good example"

Norran Lomasa says, "Just about every township is in the territory of some other House, and unless that noble comitted that crime within their own House's territory then you've got a bit of a diplomatic mess." Norran Lomasa says, "If a Lomasa stole something from somebody in a Lomasa township, depending on the severity of the crime (A very big deal would probably involve the Duchess, while something petty would just involve the local guard Captain), they could just get a stern talking to or no punishment at all."

You say, "It was a good question, Fade."

Norran Lomasa says, "If Leaobin stole some dude's sheep in East Leg, Norran would decide what happened to him. And Norran would probably just give the dude his sheep back, and maybe get something out of Leaobin for making him deal with it."

Norran Lomasa says, "If Leaobin say, goddamned murdered somebody, Dianna would do something about it."

You say, "Bad Leaobin."

Reode says, "I knew he was shady"

You say, "Now! On to the question of which House should I go with? It's difficult to say and you could go the route I went when I first made Dianna of "Which name do I like the most?" and pay no attention whatsoever to the theme of that House... (I don't recommend it) or you could pick a House that actually calls to you in terms of their traits and qualities."

Norran Lomasa says, "Suffice to say, the answer is Lomasa."

Norran Lomasa says, "Saved you all about a half-hour. You're welcome."

Reode says, "Pfff"

Vernius Zahir picked based on theme and how I wanted to play the character.. Just so happned I liked the name too :P

You say, "I'm going to start with Lomasa. Hey, it's my House and I'm allowed to be biased! In my opinion, Lomasa is a great House, though I didn't know it at the time of creation (oops). They were known as the most jovial of the Houses and in general, they threw the parties and made the events fantastic. They were also known for being heavy on the art scene, helping bring new creations into being all the time. They also were known as excellent chefs."

You say, "Of course you weren't here when we were discussing Noble vs. Freelander."

Norran Lomasa says, "They're also big military types and imperial loyalists."

You say, "As one of the ONLY Freelanders."

Tullius Castus says, "Uh."

You say, "Kahar is of course the Imperial House but they were known as the steadfast House and usually very rational and thought things through. There politicians and warriors, scholars and hunters. But of all the Houses, they were usually the most respected. Now one of the cool quirks I love about Kahar is that they have the Kahar Curse. It's a Shadow ailment that got into the blood after the Emperor was poisoned by a Wildling. All male Kahars are afflicted with this curse and have some defect."

Norran Lomasa says, "Tullius Castus? More like Tardus Castus."

Tullius Castus says, "Tardus is short for retardus, actually, not late."

Norran Lomasa says, "Works either way."

Reode waves lil flag

You say, "Some examples in the past have been: infertility, severe headaches, club foot, potential for blindness."

You say, "Yes, Reode?"

Reode says, "nothin just cheerin"

Katrin laughs.

You say, "Seamel, as we mentioned earlier, is a House that wasn't really as well respected as the others. Many of the nobility wondered why they were even chosen way back when because they seemed so small time and country. But they rose up in the ranks, and they are known primarily for being excellent horsemen. They are also loyal and reliable."

Norran Lomasa says, "I'd say Kahars are the least-played out of all the noble Houses, bizarrely enough. I never really saw any."

You say, "You missed the heyday of the Kahars, I think."

Norran Lomasa says, "I don't count Vozhds."

Tullius Castus says, "lawl Markus's horse"

You say, "Mikin was in contrast to many of the other Houses because they are the zealots of Fastheld. They above all else believed in the Light and went to great lengths to ensure that the Shadow was stamped out. Example. If a Mikin mother gave birth to a Shadow Touched child? She would kill it. They're hardcore and intense. But Mikins are also known for their hatred and general rivalry with House Zahir."

Norran Lomasa says, "Were they? I just thought they all had sticks up their asses in general."

Vernius Zahir says, "Don't be hatin' on Zahir :("

Vernius Zahir chuckles.

You say, "Nillu is another steadfast House. They were the businessmen of Fastheld and made their wealth in mining the ores of the earth. But were generally well-liked but are shrewd when need be. In general, most Nillu liked to be left alone to focus on their money."

Norran Lomasa says, "The early Mikin/Zahir stuff was when Orell trampled Zolor's son and he didn't take it very well."

Tullius Castus says, "I think we should be very careful when we say mining and such - they do not get down and actually mine these ores themselves. That's what they have freelanders for. They supervise and run the mines. ;)"

You say, "Well, yes."

You say, "But they liked overseeing the mining."

You say, "Nillu have a thing for shiny objects."

Tullius Castus says, "Just like all the other 'trade-y' houses. They don't usually do the work themselves, they are known for running these businesses. I just say that because people get the wrong idea."

You say, "And of course, you have Zahir. I was hoping Voreyn would come back to talk about them. But Zahir is the House of deception and in many cases, the only thing you could count on with them is that they were probably going to lie to you or try to get something out of you. I say this with love, of course, because they are also probably one of the slyest and dangerous of the Houses."

Norran Lomasa says, "Yeah, we talked about that while you were all not here, maaan."

You say, "All of these Houses have their own upsides and downsides but each is great. If you ever have any questions about your House, don't hesitate to contact your House leader or just page me if you don't have a PC one."

Norran Lomasa says, "The Zahirs get their reputation from that time in the first years of Fastheld when ol' Goram betrayed the Emperor's Blades and conspired with a bunch of wildlings to murder all of them."

You say, "But they're still slippery little bastards."

You say, "Now, does anyone have any questions about any of the Houses right now?"

Vernius Zahir shakes his head.

You say, "Okay, moving on then."

You say, "What the hell is there to do in Fastheld? There's actually quite a lot that can be done. As we've been saying so far, there's going to be the crafting system as well as pieces of Dominion for our pleasure and entertainment. There's also different types of RP. You of course have your social RP for everyone to get involved with. Then you have political RP, military RP and adventure RP. We have multiple plots going now that could hopefully hook any or all of you in."

You say, "Anyone have questions on this?"

You say, "Avalyne? Reode? You're our newbies here."

You say, "Or Luria, since you're not sure what kind of character you want."

Reode shakes head

You say, "I'm going to turn it over to Tully for a second to talk about the military side of Fastheld."

You say, "Give my wrists a second to recover from all of the typing I've been doing."

Tullius Castus says, "If you don't know, I play Lucius Nepos, a bumbling idiot who happens to be in the Blades."

You say, "(He's really cute.")

Tullius Castus says, "The Emperor's Blades are the Imperial military. But, they make up only a small portion of Fastheld's actual fighting dudes." Fade sees Fastheld as a chance to get out all the fantasy/medieval RP from his system.

Tullius Castus says, "Generally, the Blades hover in between 5000-6000 guys and are a professional military composed of different trades, like infantry, cavalry, archer, medic and engineer. The latter is a kind of catchall for any craftsmen. They're organized in four different regiments posted to four different parts of Fastheld. Their job is to act as a standing military force and the backbone of any action that the Emperor requires done in the realm of force."

Tullius Castus says, "However, Fastheld is NOT a modern, centralized state. The Imperial government is fairly hands off as long as the bills are paid and order is kept and does not have a monopoly on force, nor does it want one. The vast majority of fighters in Fastheld aren't in the Emperor's Blades."

Tullius Castus says, "Each House has its own House Guard, and I imagine within that Guard there a variety of different units. They tend to vary in numbers as well, but again are about the same size as the Emperor's Blades EACH. Furthermore, the Merchant District has its own military, called the Guild Militia, which is almost double the size of the Blades at 8000-9000 dudes."

Tullius Castus has left the organization of these Guards and the Militia very vague so people in the Houses themselves can fill in the blanks as needed.

Reode handsteeple. At some point I wanna app a military person

Tullius Castus says, "So here's how jurisdiction works - the Emperor's Blades police the Imperial roadways which radiate out of Caryas Hill (the Palace), and the Shadow District as a whole. Beyond that they train as units and try to keep to soldiering, rather than policing."

Norran Lomasa says, "Blades man the Aegis and their authority only tends to lie on the Thoroughfare and in 'inbetween' areas along House territory. You're not going to see them patrolling East Leg or Light's Reach, for instance."

Tullius Castus says, "They also man the Aegis, like Norran says, which is a big thing for them."

Tullius Castus says, "Next up, the Imperial Navy (which is usually in the background honestly) patrols the rivers and ALSO puts a small contingent on the Wall. They've got a good relationship with the Blades, but they're pretty small in size."

Tullius Castus says, "Now to the meat - the House Guards and Guild Militia. They're responsable for the entirety of their territory - cities as well as ancillary and house maintained roads. They tend to be a mix between police and soldiers, and act as the former much more than the latter."

Tullius Castus says, "You'll figure that in an area the size of Maryland with a standing army of only 5-6000 and other forces that add up to no more than 40000, there's a lot of grey space. There is."

Tullius Castus says, "And a lot of bandit country. Most of Fastheld is wild and travelling on roads can be dangerous, especially the further one gets from civilization."

Tullius Castus says, "A lot of it is vague and fuzzy, which means it can be filled in when plots come to it."

Tullius Castus says, "The Shadow District itself is completely wild, and the Emperor's Blades regularly conduct punitive expeditions there. That's codeword for - we go in, kill a bunch of bandits, raid their supplies, burn down their houses and kill their followers, then leave."

You say, "We're working on actually expanding the grid so you have places to RP, as a side note..."

You say, "For getting mugged on the side of the road and all that fun stuff."

Tullius Castus says, "Neither the House Guards, Guild Militia nor Emperor's Blades have the manpower or organization to police all of Fastheld. But with an enterprising player and plot, who knows what could happen. :)" Fade wouldn't know anything about getting mugged on the side of the road.

Norran Lomasa says, "The Blades have a garrison right at the wall that surrounds the entirety of the Shadow District, but that's as far as they go for regular patrols aside from the aforementioned raids."

Tullius Castus says, "As a side note - generally the Emperor's Blades stay out of small scale House to House conflict unless it's a danger to the realm as a whole. They've got liasons with all of the Houses to help coordinate security, but that's about it."

Tullius Castus says, "Any questions?"

Vernius Zahir says, "Negatory."

You say, "Thanks, Tully."

Norran Lomasa says, "How about the Shadoscourges? Or is the Church a seperate subject?"

Parker shakes his head.

You say, "I'm getting to it, Norran."

Fade wants to hear about the church!

Norran Lomasa says, "Thus the second part!"

Fade says, "No one likes the shadowscourges"

Fade says, "They suck."

Tullius Castus says, "Oh yeah, one last thing"

Tullius Castus says, "The Blades have this thing called the 'Imperial General Staff'. Basically it's senior officers and their aides who go around doing random stuff in Fastheld. Officially their duties are running the Blades. Unofficially it's the only real place I encourage PCs to app, because it means we're not tied to one place alone."

Norran Lomasa says, "Otherwise, Hartnek would assign you to guard a specific tree in the Watchwood."

Norran Lomasa says, "Not very fun."

You say, "If you ever have questions on military stuff, go talk to Tullius."

Norran Lomasa says, "Or, say, an interdimensional time portal in Lightholder Crossroads."

Norran Lomasa says, "Not as fun as it sounds!"

You say, "Okay, so on to Shadow Touched versus Sunkissed!"

You say, "I'm going to apologize in advance for the wall of text I'm about to send your way... I started writing while Tully was talking. >.>"

You say, "Now we've come down to the dilemma of Shadow Touched versus Sunkissed. It's hard to say which is more interesting to play because like everything else, a lot will depend on the concept that you make. In general, people think that Shadow Touched have to be bad guys. Well... some of them will be *coughcoughSeventeencough* while others may be a little more forgiving and have nice qualities. Others may ask "Why the hell do I want a Shadow Touched character if I can't even show off the cool magic that I've got?!" It's a fair question but one of the greatest things I've always found about playing a Shadow Touched character well was the subtly of it.

The inner struggle of trying to be a normal Freelander just making money while hiding this dark secret or a noble who wants to actually succeed in life while not letting this Touch ruin them. Two of the greatest examples of this are in my opinion Sahna and Duhnen from the old Chiaroscuro. Both had noble characters in positions of power and I RPed with them for YEARS without knowing ICly or OOCly that they were Touched. It was a little embarrassing, admittedly. But being able to have that kind of backstory can really make an alt worth it, even though you do honestly run the risk of losing the alt if you're discovered by the wrong person.

Now the Sunkissed are a little different. It creates a whole different type of problem. You have these powers and most of the Kissed honestly go into the Church of True Light but not all of them. Some have chosen to hide those powers in fear of being used. Sunkissed were never actually all that popular until we got uber magical in the old Chia but in this Fastheld, the Sunkissed essentially exist as Psi-Negs. They can negate the powers of the Shadow Touched and hopefully make them powerless. It's a pretty cool and important skill to have.

But I do want to throw in that don't underestimate the good old fashioned vanilla characters who don't have any magical abilities at all. They exist and are awesome simply because of their wit or intellect or some special skill they've developed. Don't feel like if you want something interesting, you have to go with Sunkissed or Shadow Touched, but at the same time, don't be afraid to branch out and take one one of these types of characters because it really could be amazing and they could end up becoming your favorite alt. Just don't do something stupid like reveal your powers to an entire tavern full of people. Unless you plan on killing them all before they can spill the beans. But I don't recommend that approach..."

Norran Lomasa says, "JESUS"

You say, "I did apologize in advance!"

Norran Lomasa says, "Not enough!"

You say, "Once you're done reading, let me know if you have questions."

Fade ponders.

Fade says, "I heard that shadow touched can apply for multiple powers. Is this true?"

You say, "Now the Church of True Light is meant to be the guardian against the Shadow but like many great established organizations, it has its upsides and downsides. Many of the people are there to do good and because they believe in the Light but many others have also been corrupted by the power they possess. I always think of the Church from medieval times. They know just how much power they've got and are trying to keep it."

Fade also heard they must pick one.

You say, "I believe that in most cases it's a pick one."

You say, "But I think at the time, Wik was trying to ensure that we didn't flood the game with uber powerful mages."

You say, "If you had a very good reason why you had two, you could probably try apping for more."

You say, "But in the old Chia, it NEVER went over three."

You say, "Granted, our old Chia Shadow Touched was a little different."

Parker hand raises, "I may have missed this, but why did it get combined into OS to begin with?

You say, "And one thing from the old Chia was that people could gradually grow into more powers over time."

Fade says, "Right. I mean, I know of people who applied for one (under the old system?) and then later on developed another."

You say, "Yep."

Norran Lomasa says, "Our primary staff left and although we had a bunch of folks take over, it just didn't last."

You say, "Don't take me as the final word on this because that's really up to staff, but I don't see why you couldn't at least attempt to apply for another if you proved to be an active and responsible player."

Fade says, "Oh! Also. If Wess is a shadow mage, and uses like, mind control on all the prostitutes, does he get more evil the more he uses it?"

Norran Lomasa says, "There was actually no Chia at all for a long time after that, just OS, but Brody let folks time-rift their Chia alts into OS and eventually he opened the little side bit that turned into Chia again." Norran Lomasa says, "And thus OS became cross-over fanfiction."

You say, "That is actually something that existed, Fade. It was said that the more someone used their Shadow powers, the darker they could become."

Norran Lomasa says, "Rallus will tell you it happens anyway, though."

Fade says, "And that was an OOC thing, so it would be up to Wess as a player to decide how evil he became"

Fade says, "?"

Katrin nods. Or if he'll even become evil.

Norran Lomasa says, "Palisade is actually a planet in Otherspace. But we're surrounded by ancient death stars so nobody @#$he with us."

Fade nods.

You say, "As I understood it, it was like using drugs. The more you used it, the more you craved it, but some people are able to keep a hold of who they are while others just completely succumb."

Fade says, "Now /that/ makes more sense"

Fade says, "I had another question about shadow touched vs sunkissed"

You say, "Go for it."

Fade says, "I was told at one point a sunkissed could sense a shadow mage just by being in the room with them"

Fade says, "And at another, the shadow mage had to use an ability"

You say, "I know the Shadow mages have an ability to detect other mages if the mage uses their power."

You say, "I'm honestly not certain on the first one, Fade."

Norran Lomasa says, "Wik and I were talking about whether Sunkissed should get to use Psi Sense, but that's a big deal."

Fade says, "That would be an interesting mechanic. The Church employing ethersensers or what not"

You say, "What'd you guys decide on?"

You say, "Norran here has one of the only active Sunkissed so I'll leave that to him."

Norran Lomasa says, "Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to pick out a Shadow mage. They'd just be able to tell whether someone used magic or not."

Norran Lomasa says, "And they couldn't tell who that someone was, or exactly where it happened."

Fade says, "So how /do/ I prove that Wess is telepathically manipulating all the prostitutes with my sunkissed?"

Fade says, "Or church goer"

Katrin whaps Fade.

Norran Lomasa says, "It'd have to be something obvious, or you'd use your negation and see if that did anything."

You say, "Okay, we good on Shadow Touched versus Sunkissed?"

Fade nodnods.

You say, "Last thing I'd like to discuss is nobles. Again. What they can or can't do. Or better, what they should or shouldn't do."

You say, "As I've been harping all night, nobles live by a certain code, and that's one of the things I would like to see continue. Nobles are nobility for a reason, so I will say that if I ever found one of my Lomasas working with his hands a lot or running his own business that he made stuff in, Dianna might be forced to throw him out of the House. As a noble, you are expected to behave in a certain way. You are to be respectful to other nobles and maintain a certain look. I know it's vague but what you can get away with will really depend on your House head.

You'd want to be careful how chummy you got with Freelanders, especially in public, and especially if they are the opposite sex. *coughDiannacough* With all of these great benefits does come a certain level of responsibility. Each noble has a very high loyalty to their House. They usually want to make sure they they are doing whatever they can to see that the House has honor and is better than everyone else."

Norran Lomasa says, "Mostly just amputated limbs and mace-to-face ratios."

Fade swoons.

Norran Lomasa says, "Shadowscourges are also the Church Military, where Shadowbanes are sort of like intelligence and inquisitors. Scourges have authority over all Shadow-related stuff, and they hunt down the mages. Not all of them are Sunkissed, but some are."

Fade says, "So do you have any inquisitors?"

Norran Lomasa says, "Not yet. No Banes."

Fade makes one.

Fade says, "Could you talk a little more about the Church?"

Norran Lomasa says, "I believe Rallus is the only Scourge, there may have been another but I haven't seen them around."

Fade says, "And not just the kind of ranks, but the kind of mentality"

You say, "http://www.jointhesaga.com/oswiki/index.php?title=Church_of_True_Light"

Norran Lomasa says, "Ho-ho! If you have any specific questions, ask me. If I can't help you, ask Wik."

Norran Lomasa says, "He posted a bunch of stuff on the forums about them awhile ago when we were talking about it."

Fade says, "Ah yes, that'll do me"

You say, "Alrighty then, munchkins. Do we have any final questions?"

Tullius Castus HIGHLY suggests you read all of the info on the Wiki for different things. :)

Fade sniffs.

Norran Lomasa says, "Nevermind, it didn't."

Norran Lomasa says, "It's actually right."

Tullius Castus posted stuff on there that wasn't included in what I said here. You say, "We're still working on our Fastheld Guide and we'll continue adding to it as we can."

You say, "And Voreyn and Reode have been working on importing a lot of the old information over from the old wiki."

Tullius Castus suggests starting here: http://www.jointhesaga.com/oswiki/index.php?title=Fastheld_Military for military stuffs.

You say, "Alrighty then! Go forth, lovelies and make a Fastheld alt if you don't already have one."

You say, "And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop me a page or @mail and I'll be glad to help."