The Appeal of Playing in Juxta

A few conversations have led me down this train of thought recently and I wanted to bring this out for a discussion; the purpose of which I don't quite know yet. Perhaps something will reveal itself.

Why would a character want to come to Juxta, especially with the hazards of the setting? What appeal does it have?

Maybe by brainstorming some of them we can open new doors to role-playing or expose weak spots. I don't know, but it's worth a shot.

Here's what has been suggested recently (please feel free to add to the list, or discuss anything of a related topic here):

-- The many portals make it prime for merchants and trade
-- The protection from deities' more extreme powers makes it a haven for those hiding from powerful wraths
-- It houses the Adept College and its vast knowledge, so might appeal to intellectuals.
-- Gourmet food from many worlds
-- -- Ability to hide not only from gods but other Laws. That's
common. The crime wasn't on Juxta, the Marshals have no link
to it.
-- Many portals gives many escape routes if needed. Not always
the wisest use, if you don't know where they end up.
-- Now more frequently the Emporium is the meeting place of
people who live on Juxta as well.
-- Good place to kill someone *snicker*
---- Magic using types have much greater access to components and things to study due to the massive variety of vendors and visitors at the marketplace
-- Presence of people from all worlds makes recruitment of skill sets, minions for societies etc potentially limitless
-- Potential to socialise with new and interesting folks from across the multiverse
-- Access to crafts people of great skill and knowledge from across the multiverse
-- Politically neutral ground where negotiations can take place
--The opportunity to learn about different people from far away worlds and distant times. After all, Juxta DOES meet all places and times. Very good for exploring history and cultures.

Along these lines, what would give Juxta more appeal to you as a player or character?

WizO_Adele
ISRP Area Lead

A thought-

I'm not trying to create trouble, or havoc here, but I have long wondered..

Part of Juxta's appeal to me, is indeed, the fact that one can bring in a character from any time or place.

And yet the setting is limited, to fantasy only. I think, that this hinders alot of what could be very good roleplaying possibilities. After all, if Juxta does indeed span all times, it woud be possible to play a character from a sci-fi/fantasy world..

I, at least, would welcome the more diverse setting. And I think that this might be more appealing, might.

Again, I'm not trying to start trouble or the like, but it has often been in my mind.

My View

I like this thread. It is an open-ended thread in that it asks us all our view on what makes Juxta appeal to each one of us.

Personally, I feel that the appeal of Juxta, like any other role-playing world or campaign, is that [as a player of a character] you are a "part" of something, and that you belong to this huge and marvelous thing, but yet are only a small "part" of it.

In this, it has a dual appeal. It is in our nature as humans that we possess a desire or strong urge to feel wanted, needed, cared for, loved - and it is this desire that often fuels us, guides us, and directs us to find a meaning, a purpose, outside and beyond the bounds, confines, or limits of our own lives, our own world... and inso doing, draws us towards the fantastical, the emotional, the spiritual, and the creative realms of our own being or soul, and into our imaginations, and beyond.

Unlike other campaigns or fantasty settings and worlds, however, Juxta captures our appeal in that it is unique. Every nuance that makes, shapes, and defines the world and setting, attracts us.

Ultimately, it is in our knowledge of our ability to change and alter the daily environment, the very essence of Juxta, that entertains us and keeps us coming back for more.

Hmm...

Personally I think the appeal of Juxta is similar to the reason of the appeal that Sigil held in Planescape tradition; variety and potential.

Interplanar junctions based around a city work well when it comes down to powerful individuals, it makes sense that such characters would be drawn there. Access to other realms, the chance to gain knowledge from worlds not of their own, and many other things in a similar vein all fit in with this.

As for the drawbacks... with some of what I've seen and heard in recent months, I don't know if the drawbacks are well known to most of the newer chat players. Deities popping up and retaining their power, others flying around without difficulty, looking up at a starlit sky, etc... Unfortunately, we can't make players read the background headers or click links to information sites, so that limits ways to fix that, but if the word got out a bit more heavily I think things would improve a bit.

Overall I think the setting is fine as it is, just not as well known to all of the players as it should be. That's my two cents at least.

I used to like the emporium a great deal. The availability of portals to all kinds of different realms made it possible to play characters from other settings such as Forgotten Realms or any of the Planes. That is also the reason that I stopped playing in the emporium. It seemed to me that more of the gods/dragons/demi-liches/super powerful vampires were showing up and interacting there than in the CRT. Most players don't bother reading the description of the place when they first come and when they get to talking to other players they quickly learn of Cheeta Chat(if they didn't already know about it) and never see the links to the various descriptions available. As it has been mentioned you would have folks flying around with no trouble or summoning large numbers of undead to do your bidding or other things of that nature. Not sure if it is still in effect but I remember there being a thing about elves not feeling comfortable there. I used to get razzed for rping that aspect quite a bit.

I was wondering if it would be possible to have a message shouted out giving out the addies for the descriptions of the CRT and Emporium now and then. I don't mean have the WizO's do it, they have enough on their hands as it is, but an automatic thing set up to go off like every hour or so. That might help with the folks using browsers that don't show the links for them to follow to retrieve this information.