Possible CRT setting changes

Given the types and numbers of supposed familiars who used to come into the Tavern with no sign of their supposed masters, and often the havoc caused I chose to allow them only if their master were present and then only if of reasonable size. Ditto regular animals. There used to be this mouse character that was played brilliantly; I loved interacting with that character. However, for every one like that there were more that were often nuiscances.

So, in the end it was an arbitrary choice made by me to limit chaos. Same reason I restricted fighting in the tavern. There is currently a place where all of those things can happen. I am unlikely to remove those restrictions although I will give it consideration. What is fun for some is irritating to others. I can't satisfy everyone unfortunately, and I still have to keep my own and the other Magi's sanity in mind.

As for the Garden, I don't really mind normal domestic type critters in the Garden. Of course if they are in the Garden then all the other critters people love are getting discriminated against according to various people. The Garden therefore, for the moment anyway, follows the same rules the Tavern does. That is likely to change some.

I want to be clear; there will still be restrictions on the Tavern. Some will be lightened, some done away with, some modified.

A part of me misses the Tavern as it was on Juxta...but not all of what it was. We don't have the personnel to handle that and that sort of free for all would require a lot of watching, as it did at the time. I'm cognizant of the fact that as soon as I reduce the restrictions on the place it may attract people who've been away and didn't like said restrictions so I feel pretty sure that it wouldn't stay the low numbers and fairly easy to monitor place it is at the moment if I simply removed all the restrictions.

Might be fun for some, but surely wouldn't be for others.

Thanks for the input.

Siani

Magi_Siani said:

*points at the word 'Possible' in the subject line*

As you wish:

Old Version:
2) Demons, Devils, and Outsiders in general must be disguised to some extent. Disguised is defined such that anyone looking at such a
character would see something recognizably humanoid in shape.

New Version:
2) Demons, Devils, and Outsiders in general must be disguised. Disguised is defined such that anyone looking at such a character would see a humanoid type.

Old Version:

4) Dragons and similar creatures must take a recognizably humanoid form or if in Dragon form be no larger than a large human while inside the Tavern. In the Garden and Clearing they are free to present as they like.

New Version:

4) Dragons and similar creatures must take human form while in the Tavern.

Old Version:

5) Were's take human or hybrid form in the tavern though they may partial shift in fits of anger and similar circumstance. Remaining in shifter form is likely to get one tossed in the river for being an animal...or due to fleas.

New Version:

5) Were's must take humanoid form in the Tavern.


I'm flexible.

Now. That having been said. I may make some arbitrary distinctions if I feel they work better, and for no better reason than because I think they work better or suit the place better. The entire society of some game worlds is 'racist', 'xenophobic', 'insert derogatory and inflammatory term of choice here'. Some might be more hostile to one sort than to others. I could allow dragon-born or half-dragons but not dragons. Where do I draw the line?

I could make it like it was on Juxta, yes? No. I won't; we all have to move on with various things. So before that becomes a big thing to clamor for, the Tavern will not go back to just how it was on Juxta, nor will it go back to Juxta.

I am considering easing restrictions, not getting rid of them entirely. At least at this stage. For one thing, if I were to totally drop the restrictions on the Tavern, and just so you folks know I have considered it, the other settings become redundant, except perhaps the TMP. And even that if I made the Tavern truly interdimensional, the which I have thought of.

Siani

Click to expand...

Rules 2, 4, and 5 need more work..All that previous remark says to Us is Ping-Pong. Simply caveting back to the old set is not good enough.. This set of rules and restrictions is great deal of what has troubled the CRT and ISRP ever since it left hasbro. We understand that it takes a phenominal amount of time, money, personel and effort to maintain a " free for all " situation.. this is neither desired nor required as way too many went too far over the top. However... attempting to compell many of the more popular types to such constraints is, beneath dignity... and part of the reason so many of the old players left.. We, gave Our Word.. and that's as good as Gold... Moving on... It is a respectable request to assert that peoples maintain proper decorum and setting.. and full disclosure in the rooms of the Clearing, Garden and ( at least it used to be) Sigil. is also acceptable and required for over all system nexus alignment and health of gaming structure.. It's like the old Arena was back in the days of Juxta --another place to go. The current status of a " Humans and Humanoids Only Club is unacceptable to all I know of good conscience from the olde days. Now.. for another matter>>>

Godmoding, and Powergaming and the like have always been an issue here.. and you know.. I've been here almost as long as you have My Dear... We have seen it.. Most folk simply don't have a real clue how to play a character in such Elite classes.. even for the lower end tennants.. and frankly. it's partially due to a lack of study. Here is one rule I have seen broken over and over again in this case-study.

The First Rule Of Divinity>>

Do too much.. and one creates dissension.
Do too little, and one generates apathy.
So the best thing to do is just the right amount, of just the right thing, in just the right way, at just the right time and place so to appear as having done absolutely nothing at all.

All who know Us and have properly RP'd over the years know Who We are and what's the game plan.. Including where the bear sits, and that though he's high powered, he's not a Divine.. sort of somewhere between.. as is his positioning between of all things.. This One has been here almost as long as you have, My dear... as you are well aware.. That date iof arrival was February 16th, 1996 Both of us have seen pratically every major event.. and then some... All these years and so few have actually understood the puzzle.. Have to love it. Agreement on interdimensional is not met with either affirmation or satisfaction.. Trans to a degree, but not inter... Perhaps a touch of Dimensional Trancendentalism would not be remiss. And Yes Trel, and the rest of Us... The Roads has long been known as the central meeting place for almost all tennants and activity in ISRP.. that is partially due to its particular design in the first placem and that it still bears a few peaches. There are three of Us now.. to assist with this current migration in " Olde Worlde Style " and more possibly available.. My's will contact them.. In initial remarks, We will be glad to reopen the Seal of the Travelling that was placed long ago on the tavern floor, just a few days before the destruction/loss of Juxta and the untying of the causal knot that shifted the CRT to its current location... You were there Siani.. ( The Day Of The Seal Of The Pearls Of Sarcastis ) to be exact. To leave the place as a " Free For All " would be anarchy once more and untennable as well as unconscionable.. Keeping it so restricted smacks of a bit of Aryan fascism. The middle path is best... Buddha says, " The Phoenix can fly, but only when its feathers are grown. "

Ideas are available and minor groundwork laid already. If changing the setting again will correct the imbalance here? then so be it.. But the more popular classes have to be at least reasonably accomodated... I'm glad you have finally made move on this situation.. as it is one of the sorest points in many peoples eyes, especially Mine..

Food Fights can be a lot of fun, but folks still have to obey the " Let's Cool It Or You Get Rivered Laws " I have smacked many a person with a lovely cream pie and I know Raj remembers the hailstorm of cashews that buried him almost up to his neck. one day.

We are not as much a " teller " of stories in words, more in action and deed, known as " Story-Showing " This is a definitely missing part in such a chat and was a great joy to provide. Many players have come over the years asking why We won't play.. Now you know... yet another set of reasons.

For example.. One might require folks to have a " Travelling Pass " so to speak.. and if they screw up to much, have it revoked.. fun, quick, and easy.


In the mean time... Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to you all.

Namaste.

* bows politely.. melting away in a haze of multicoloured lights and sublime gold *

Some things to nitpick and some suggestions.

1) I see this more of a setting base rule for native characters and the limits of their technological achievements. But due to the nature of the Crossroads Tavern being an extra-dimensional tavern (due to the high number of portals and most of the player base seems to play characters that are not native to the setting), why couldn’t characters have more advanced weaponry? If it’s a setting moderator’s choice of saying “I don’t like guns in my fantasy, so please don’t introduce guns into the setting.” Disallow it completely.

8) Again, this is an odd choice but of setting preference or game edition preference. I personally don’t see why not a person can’t play a free-willed mechanical construct that’s trying to interact and mimic humanoid society when there’s a stone golem serving me beer. “Oh, its because the people are xenophobic.” Fine, the War forge only comes to visit the tavern and doesn’t go out into Ford Keep or whatever reason. Due to the strangeness or exotic nature of the CRT (and the years of exposure to it), I’ve imagined if the people are so paranoid they wouldn’t go near it anyways (unless someone decides to play a native and that’s a whole other story). Again, this can easily be applied to many exotic but are now becoming common PC races then the standard (Gnome, Elf, Half-Elf, etc).

11) My argument is the same with #1. Is technological advancement limited due to setting (i.e native characters?) or “Oh, all the foreign characters not of this world just happens to have the same technology advancement as ours and none of them are more advanced then us. Except for gnomes, they seem to invented steampunk…”

Everyone pretty much knows, the two rooms that carters to the most ppl are TMP (on a good day) and CRT. As much as it won’t sound good, the other rooms are redundant. They’re suggested settings for ppl to play in. If they’re not seeing a lot of use, drop them. They become suggested settings, but are now freeform rooms like the CARP DM and AHOY rooms, leaving you with more freeform rooms.

Make the CRT into an extra-dimensional setting. It was already slightly based on the World Serpent Inn idea (a common idea used in many fantasy and sci-fi literature, and the last episode of Quantum Leap). The CRT is its own plane with access to many different places with mysterious storefronts. When local authority try to insert their “authority”, the storefront changes to a new location on that world. This way, you don’t need to deal with xenophobia with NPC villagers or townsfolk that players never interact with unless by hearsay of their character’s activities. But what about Sigil? Play Sigil in the DM rooms. Its just another suggested setting. But we’re going to need more moderators to watch for stuff… Recruit volunteers and assign the room moderators of those redundant settings to the CRT and the DM rooms.

This suggested format is more of a method to bring things back to being more Freeform. This will probably appeal to both old school gamers and new blood who are more familiar with the new material (4th Edition), or with people that just love to role play and want to play their original characters with no idea what D&D is about.

Another suggestion to bring in new blood, how about En World have a link on their front page to ISRP's front page. One of the main reasons ISRP of old saw alot of traffic is because ppl would go to the old TSR site and see the community page, noticing a chat option. Go in, talk about whatever and notice "oh! a Role playing option.." I know this may not be possible with En World supporting their own chat option or the fact ppl that want their stuff advertise needs to pay for their advertisements. But it would be nice to inquire to see if its possible. Or we can continue to be obscured, found only in the bottom of the En world forums and only be known thru word of mouth. But thats off topic.

- Toxicsyn

Thanks for the input! As I say, nothing is set in stone at this point. I'm still entertaining all sorts of notions.

Ahhh. Alright. That makes a lot of sense.

Well said Raj... ty
The key fits the lock, but has yet to open the door.

Namaste...

Q.

Raj..you're a gem at times. Thank you.

More ideas coming soon guys. Patience please.

Siani

I've had some very good input, here and in the Nexus as well.

I do wish to make it clear that I am listening to the ideas people are giving me, that I understand the fond memories of the (wide variety) of golden years versions of the Tavern from days of yore, and that I am going to attempt to make the place more inclusive and perhaps more fun for more folk.

That being said.

I can't satisfy everyone, that's a given. I may not use someone's favorite notion or idea, or any of them, or I may pick and choose and modify, or use some whole cloth. Whenever I do use something someone has suggested I'll say so; credit where credit is due. Whatever I finally end up doing it will be because in the end after all the thought and input I've come to think that will be the way that will work best from all points. I don't have just the patrons to consider.

New Magi are hard to find, hard to train. Uping our numbers is slow and difficult at best so that solution isn't as easy as it seems, regardless of what folk might think.

The Tavern won't be what it was on the old forums, the original AOL site, or on Juxta either. There's no going back. It might be broadly similar in some ways, but it won't be the same.

There will be some restrictions in place, although fewer and of different sort for the most part. Nope, can't say more than that yet.

I'm not likely to make the entire Tavern interdimensional. I'll leave it to your imaginations to sort out what that might mean. I am likely to move it from Ford Keep in some way, possibly from Greyhawk entirely, but we'll see.

As I said before, if you see me in the Nexus or even in the Tavern, feel free to PM or have a chat with me on your ideas. Constructive ideas please, thanks.

There's a lot of work involved in this so it won't happen terribly fast. I am, however, working on it rather intensely. Stay tuned.

Siani

I do like the postulation of moving the tavern and surrounding locations to an Island group.. that would efficiently expand in a secluded format.. The terrain and even provide amusing bits concerning a change of scene for those who would otherwise be dumped in the " River " HAHAHAH Going over and dumping them in the ocean.. while we all watch them do a " Backfield In Motion " as any of several choices of monsters come after them. Now that's worthy of more poetry like the day of " The Swim Of Tim The Terrible ". All the same.. it would definitely permit more freedom without being rediculous like the " Anything Goes " of Hasbro... It is not like those days did not have their charm, but it became nauseating after a while.. I am keeping a few folks abreast of this situation.. We all have hopes of an outcome tht will provide a proper location once again, with mopre moderation... to tell the stories of Olde.. We miss that very much. There could also be some sort of linking to associate the changes so that folks would have a portal in greyhawk, should they require a more specific setting.. A Default landing spot when signing in.. for example.. something more than the Lounge...

Reigning it in

All right. I know people are excited...so am I. But I have to put the brakes on a bit here because this is not going to be a fast change; it takes a very great deal of work to do and time..and I don't get paid for this so it gets put in wherever a bit of free time happens along.

Firstly; please be patient. I have NOT relaxed the Tavern setting rules as of yet. That WILL NOT happen until the changes actually go into effect. So please do not push; all that does is slow the process down as I have to spend more time dealing with people trying to push the rules instead of making the needed changes. It also tends to make me thing I should not relax things as much as I'd originally planned. The best way you folks can help is to exert peer pressure on those who are getting carried away; I don't want to have to start pulling logs and getting harsh but I will if I am forced. I do not have to be present to issue warnings, no Magi does.

I have been more relaxed lately, true. I have not been eyeballing descriptions to detect violations. Mostly I look at descriptions if someone gets my attention in some (usually negative) way, either via RP or more usually because they are being disruptive of the setting or outrageous in some way; mass magic..which doesn't work in the tavern...fireballs and such..which are forbidden and fighting are good examples.

If you get my attention, I will look. If it violates the current setting rules, I will speak to you. If it continues, you may be warned or kicked from the room. Please do not push it.

Remember folks, the Magi decide what is, or is not, Room Disruption according to our rules. Their decisions on the matter are final for the room. If you have a disagreement you may discuss it in a short manner on site via PM, but when the Magi present makes a decision that is it. The procedure after that is to bring it up to myself and/or Gabriel via EMAIL. Magi judgment, as much as some may not like it, is and always will be a part of how this site is moderated. That's just how it is.

Patience will get you far more than pushing. You've waited this long, you can wait a bit longer. Numbers of people, constant actions meant to influence or push things will only slow it all down.

Respect the setting as it is and await the changes that are coming.

I will note here though, that the CRT will NOT be a free for all zone. At the moment PART of it will most likely allow a larger variety of character types and sizes but a PART of it may still be restricted to more or less humanoid types with outside rooms being open to pretty much anyone..or thing..as long as it doesn't violate the CoC.

The CRT will PROBABLY, have a magical function that automatically resizes folk to fit into its confines...similar to the Plastered Pegasus, for which idea I thank Imreis and company. So no, you won't be so huge you push that roof off..that's room disruption via setting disruption and so not going to be allowed.

The CRT won't be available for destruction in storylines. Period. Neither can it be made into a disco or psychedelic lair of any sort. See the comment on disruption. The setting is invulnerable to these sorts of things, mainly to preserve my sanity and keep complaints from people to a minimum.

It is good to see so many old faces. Welcome back to you folks. It does not do any good, however, to push things. As I say, it only slows them down as I am forced to do moderation work instead of modification work.

So let's be patient if you please.

Thank you.

Magi Siani