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RPG hypersigel narrative project

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19:01 / 29.05.03

There's been some lost momentum, I think. Part of my own loss of momentum had to do with caution, but also a disconnectedness--it seemed really cool, but I felt my own contributions were not adding enough to the "togetherness" of the characters. So I'm adding a series of "blips" in the unwritten chapters, as others have done, but designed to bring specific characters together in combinations... does that make sense? Discuss?

08:30 / 30.05.03

I'm back from holiday, it has been pretty quiet hasn't it-partially due to people being shy about changing the story and partially IRL commitments I suspect.
I think it's a good idea to write in extra descriptions as we get the time, and to propel the story a bit. I think a group of nine is unwieldy to write for so I'll be adding an excuse to split into smaller groups. That'll mean faster pacing and less waiting for people to post, and paralell storylines hopefully...

Nietzsch E. Coyote

09:53 / 30.05.03

Yeah I think that works.

09:13 / 02.06.03

The problem with having loads of authors is that most people aren't into it enough to contribute more than a little- there has to be an elegant way to allow characters to recede into the background.
Elseware had the idea of writing yourself out of the story when you leave, rewriting it so your character was never there, but that relies on the person doing something active, most people just drift away.
Any ideas?

16:23 / 02.06.03

Just thought I should mention that I haven't lost interest; I'm still trying to write myself in, nevermind out.

I'm kinda waiting for Koyne's response to Nail on the Party page, since it involves the Museum and that's pretty much his baby, so I didn't want to improv something that might interfere with his character's background.

10:13 / 03.06.03

Actually, I'd say *do* things which interefere. If someone really hates it they can modify it or even undo it, but the interference patterns between the characters are what's making it interesting.

Remember all changes are logged so people can go back to previous revisions if someone hates what you do.

12:07 / 03.06.03

Hear hear, meddle first and ask questions later

16:51 / 03.06.03

FatherDog, everything in Koyne's background is wide open for anyone to mess with, except for Ixchel & Tashmetu, who are part of another project I'm intermittantly working on--and even then, if you had a really cool idea I'd probably want to see it. As far as the Secret Museum goes, FD is as much an insider as Koyne is. Take it wherever you want. If something doesn't work out we can always retcon it.

*

20:19 / 03.06.03

Sorry about my fading into the background and my absence-- I've been sitting in hospital with my grandmother who is doing better now, thank her own tenacious lifeforce. (I wonder why I feel compelled to offer reasons for my disappearance, even true ones-- this isn't remedial invisibles school. Or if it is, nobody's clued me in yet.)

Anyway, I will overcome my reluctance to alter the plot. It's a reluctance I have in real life as well-- it's hard to alter the plot of reality if you've a fear of being responsible for any changes.

Qalyn, I really like the idea of the Secret Museum. Is there room for Carrick to get involved with it?

03:16 / 04.06.03

Well... here's the setup of the Secret Museum. Like the prison without walls, it's only a state of mind. I actually thought it was kind of a farcical thing where anyone who claims to be a part of it is a part of it, and everyone else has to take them at face value because you never know. Koyne actually makes his living as a sort of antiques dealer.

So the short answer is, sure. You could be a scholar, maybe. You were interested in Middle Eastern antiquity, weren't you? Maybe you're secretly involved with the "Bring the Thunder" crowd*. As for meddling with the plot, Quantum is nominally in charge of the plot and has practically ordered us to meddle with it.

I think splitting off into smaller groups is a good idea, Quantum, but it needs a hook as much as us all working together does. Not sure what that should be, maybe where one group confronts Tepeth and the other looks "behind" her... or there's dissention w/in the group. I mean, we've no particular reason to hang together at this point (and I mention that as an opportunity, not a flaw).

Also, I think it would help if we all did a little public "backgrounding". Maybe this is another item for the Grimoire, but it's important to establish a compelling motive in these kinds of plotty stories. One of the reasons there are so many cop shows is that cops have a built-in motivation to look for trouble, and I think this is why the Museum, which is really almost jokey, seems interesting here--it provides a built-in reason to go meddling in ancient conspiracies and all that. Anyone's welcome to use it, obviously, but you might also find more satisfaction if you develop your own motivations. They don't have to be institutions like the Museum (or law enforcement or whatever), they can be more personal. Give everyone else someting to react to outside of the main "thread," and the "show, don't tell" rule applies here.

*I pretty much think this name sucks, by the way. I was punchy when I came up with it by skimming through an Urdu-English dictionary looking for cool-sounding names. If anyone wants to alter or delete it, I'm with you.

08:58 / 04.06.03

The plan is for Nail to recon the lair of the bad guy if and when it's found, with help from the more martial characters (any of you who like sneaking around at night on secret missions) while the other characters do their thing, research or subplot, whatever. Remember Tepeth is just the 'Face' for the villainous enemy group, her boss has yet to appear...

Also to explain- I am running two characters, Nail and Sibyl, as the magical side of the project involves my understanding of dichotomies and the male/female anima/animus divide. She is intuitive, he is rational(ish), she is a dreamer, he is practical etc. If either of them start to seem stereotypical or hackneyed somebody tell me, as it's not always easy to write a character embodying archetypal concepts with depth and humanity.

I am going to put in some story nodes, plot events that can act as a skeleton to hang the story on. This will involve some railroading in a sense, as future events will be written, but remember it's not set in stone. If I write a meeting in the safe house in chapter 6 and it gets destroyed in chapter three, no worries. The joys of editing mean we all keep free will, hurrah! Do what thou wilt and don't be shy

*

12:53 / 04.06.03

Okay, Qalyn, here's an idea. One of my professors at my college is a member of the Secret Museum and has scouted me for an apprenticeship, if there is such a thing, so I've actually been doing some work for them without knowing I was doing it. My thesis was on Greek, Egyptian, and Sumerian necromancy, with a slight detour into Sumerian demon bowls out of interest and the Prof's persuasion. However, since I'm now out of contact with my would-be mentor, I'm on my own and might well end up going in entirely different directions.

Bring the Thunder can always be code for something else. Perhaps it's Urdu rhyming slang for "the group that has more magic than anybody and is going to bring about the end of the world and immanentize the eschaton before anyone else so NYAH". At any rate, if you stumbled upon it and felt drawn to it at one point, especially if you were in an altered state, there may well be a reason for it.

04:06 / 09.06.03

This Saturday, the 14th, I'm heading over to the UK for a two week vacation, so it's likely that I won't be able to add anything new over that period. Since FD's appearance in the main storyline appears slated for Chapter 4, this shouldn't present significant difficulty, but I thought I'd give you folks a heads up in case anyone tried to write more backstory that involved FD's actions.

I'll be in London on the 15th and 16th, and the 20th and 21st, and Ayr, Scotland from the 21st through the 28th, if anyone over that way would like to get together and talk over a couple of pints with an ugly American.

I may be attending A Majestic Event on the 20th, as well.

Nietzsch E. Coyote

21:21 / 09.06.03

My character is supposed to be good at breaking into stuff so He should go with Nail.

04:55 / 10.06.03

The concept behind my charecter is to kick major ass, he should go with anyone who thinks they are going to see some aggression.

Nietzsch E. Coyote

11:27 / 10.06.03

good you can protect my character.

18:52 / 18.06.03

Wow, I finally checked this out. What a great idea! I need to get caught up on the story and then make my startling debut. Too cool!

*bump*

21:15 / 18.06.03

Oops, reading through this thread it sounds like this project is a little more exclusive than I thought. I'll try to create a character and submit it to the wiki, then maybe ya'all could find an insertion point. I though it was more open-ended. And I don't need to be part of the original questing group - perhaps an ancillary character, or simply just another author who could write part of the narrative of the group.

21:18 / 18.06.03

Hear hear, meddle first and ask questions later

Or is this carte blanche to start inflicting my will on the narrative? Confusion is starting to impinge on my excitement & interest. Please advise...

21:57 / 18.06.03

Ok, so while fleshing out a character idea, I'd like to take on the preliminary task of fleshing out the narrative a bit here & there. Basic expositions on things that have only been touched upon so far, like the journey to Ash's warehouse or a deeper description of the warehouse itself.

22:26 / 18.06.03

I don't see any problems with this. You have to expect people to float in and out of a project like this, after all. Fleshing details is a good way to get started on it. As for characters, I think a good rule is to start with a writeup, and then we'll wrangle around on where you can actually show up. If you've got the enthusiam to help keep it alive, I'm all for it

10:08 / 19.06.03

Throw as much description as you like at it, remember if anything is too out of whack it'll just get changed

better to have too much than not enough.
I reckon the story is too predictable at the moment, random characters with sniper rifles are just right!

11:01 / 25.06.03

I'm going to start taking a firmer hand in the story and messing about with people's characters etc. just tell me if you want me to stop or to leave your character alone- reason being to tighten it up and weave some disparate threads together.
Thelemocracy!

11:50 / 26.06.03

You'll have to do the recon etc. without Nail, as he has died...

18:21 / 26.06.03

It's gonna be fun trying to tie the story segments together. Although the order can always be changed. Or we could even create an "orphens" page for parts of the story which didn't fit in their current place and need a new home!

If people could either describe or mail me what they spray on Ash's wall (in green or black) I'll add it to the image. Tags are important to Ash.

A seperate suggestion; anybody with an artistic bent could add illustrations...

*

15:50 / 28.06.03

Grr. My computer dies just as things are getting really heavy. Wonder if that's a sign?

Give me a day or two to catch up, if that's okay and won't slow things down too much for everyone else. This is a really impactful part of the story; I hope it fits in with the working in a creative and beneficial way.

09:03 / 01.07.03

I think a 'Parallel worlds' node for orphaned story segments would be cool

15:07 / 01.07.03

I've added quite a bit to the story to try and link some threads. Feel free to add or adapt any of it.

I don't have a specific plan for Deborah, so feel free to treat her as an NPC and add colour, back story, whatever.

It should be noted that Deborah and Chesney are names deliberately similar to Geborah and Chesed.

I feel that chapter four should have another thread occuring simultaneously with it. Possibly the SOS going to the auction, although unless someone does something major, I think the crown just went off the market for the time being.

ps.

If you do a line of stars ************* it now inserts a pretty divide.

16:13 / 04.07.03

Add or change something!

I want to know what happens next!

or add/refine/redefine the past!

16:15 / 04.07.03

ps. To those just tuning in. The sigil starts here and may be edited by anybody in anyway.

16:31 / 04.07.03

Sorry, Elseware, I've been busy on other projects. Will look in tonight.

*

00:06 / 06.07.03

The apparently anonymous posting tonight was from me. See what you think.

13:39 / 09.07.03

Anyone can join in at any time, the easiest starting point is
The Party. Think of a character, write them in, have them act out the magical workings you'd love to do. Or invest them with undesirable character traits and kill them off

03:13 / 15.07.03

*delurks, wanders in quietly under FatherDog and Cusm's noses...*

Some bit of synchronicity in the universe tells me with the both of you in on this, I have to get involved somehow.

11:10 / 15.07.03

Write yourself in!

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