(IR) IR Interlude Turn 4 - 5 (thread 4)

[Edena_of_Neith]

(sad look)

Disclaimer:

Your Moderator has been the instrument of many wicked plots against your various Powers.
However, his large operations are over now.
He is but a small player now, on the bigger scene.

However, he must handle that bigger scene.

He must make rulings on a gaggle of secret e-mails sent him.
He must rule on secret plots to turn Powers against each other.
He must rule on secret plots to assassinate the leaders of the Powers.
He must rule on secret plots to impersonate the Leaders of the Powers.
He must rule on secret weapons programs.
He must rule on secret alliances.
He must rule on the use of the Red Goo.

He has a busy job.

Your Moderator does what the e-mails tell him to do, and makes rulings on what the e-mails want him to do.
Your Moderator is not deliberately singling you out, or attempting to hit at you.

All of you out there have some determined and ruthless foes.
As determined and ruthless as anything gets.

If you see that ruthlessness and determination in the results of my posts, then you see the work of your fellow Powers, not the malevolence of your Moderator.

If you blame me for the misfortunes that are going to befall you during the Interlude, and especially during Turn 5, and become angry at me for what I am required to do, then I fear my job is going to become very difficult, and painful.

 

[Kalanyr]

Edena-As long as their ruthlessness doesn't involve them spontaneously developing 10th level magic or nukes or similar or other horrendous powers in excess of those two, I don't think anyone will blame you.

I am sending emisaries to the Eternal Empire of Toril,Fireland and the Tharquish Empire, (I am doing an alignment scan on each of the above too), those of good or neutral alignment I offer peace perhaps even alliance and aid if they are willing. The evil ones I tell that if they make no move against me or my allies I will not fry them alive, turn them into toads, forcibly change their alignment to Solar-Calibre Good or do anything similarly nasty.

 

[Darkness]

The Baklunish peoples and their allies will be careful in their research of the mysterious red goo. Thus, our red goo rating is 1.

BTW, Edena, I'll send you my PL template now. If you don't receive it soon, please tell me. (And also tell me if you've received it! )

- Darkness

 

[The Forsaken One]

Yeah edena plz confirm you got my large mail (and template)
and the 2 smaller ones I sent a few mins ago.

Else I typed almost 3 pages for jack you know who

See ya all tonight We'll be in for some grand action ala Terry

 

[Kalanyr]

Edena how long are you liable to be online? There are a few things I want to discuss with you via email if you have some time.

Also how did people get spies past 10th level mind scanning magic (or has everyone and their dog developed immunity to that too?)?

 

[Kalanyr]

Iggwilv will use 10th level magic to avoid the confusion effect if possible when looking for the secret base.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

(sad, exhausted look)

Would someone else like my job?

It's requirements are easy enough to meet.

4 hours per day, everyday.
Endless calculating, endless modifications of a novel sized list.
Endless hundreds of e-mails (stretching into the thousands.)
Endless replies to those e-mails.
Endless rearranging of the War Room.

But those are the minor requirements.

Haven't any of you wondered how I have been able to go on like this?
To go on, day after day, week after week?

Through the over 3,000 posts in the 3rd IR?

Well, you shall know my secret.

- - -

Fun.
I empathetically feel it when you are having fun.
Your fun creates pleasure for me, both physical and mental.
Your fun gives me energy and strength I would not otherwise have.

Fun is good.
Fun is powerful.
Fun brought together players from Australia, Indonesia, Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Finland, France, Austria, and other countries, as well as from many parts of the United States, in a common bonding that has lasted for over a full month.
Fun is a strong bond.

Unfortunately, for me, the reverse is true as well.
When you hurt, I hurt.
When you feel depressed or sad, I feel it.
Where your joy gives me strength and energy, your sadness and gloom makes me feel weak and drained.

As I feel now.

- - -

We have maintained the fun up til this point.
But now ... take a look into the future, folks.

There are fully 24 of you.
Most of you are in competition with each other for dominance of a world, or perhaps several worlds.
As the IR continues, one Power after another is going to get knocked out of play.

I know from long experience that this will be unpleasant for the player of the Power in question.
And then, will he go away and say: the IR was a great game! One of the best!
Or will he go away saying: The IR was ok, good while it lasted.
Or will he go away saying: The IR stank.

If I were to halt the IR now, I am betting most of you would walk away saying the IR was a great game, a really good time.
I am betting that if I continue, most of you will not say that when it is all over.

Losing hurts.
It is never pleasant.
I know people can be good sports about it, but it hurts inside, no matter how hard we try to deny that it hurts.
Tell me that I am wrong.
Tell me that you have not seen this pain in those who have lost characters or games.

And yet, many of you must lose if we continue the IR.
In a competitive game, it is inevitable that there are going to be victors, and the vanquished.

I cannot keep this from happening.
If I tried to, I would be interfering with the game.

- - -

Turn 5 is going to be messy.
By messy, I mean most of you are in for severe shocks.
Far worse than what o'Skoteinos and GnomeWorks just endured.
I'm talking about the Stunning News, dropped on your front porch.

And there will be chaos.
Nobody will know what is happening, who is doing what, or what is about to happen, unless they read things carefully - and then they probably won't know, since so many things are occuring secretly behind the scenes through e-mail.

There will be severe casualties, whole countries destroyed, perhaps whole Powers destroyed.

Now, in the last two days I have had two players waver, and they are obviously teetering on the brink of leaving the IR.
And that's from the mild Interlude.
The Interlude is the time of least stress, least demand, least confusion.

What am I to do?
I cannot always make it fun, nor answer all your questions, nor make sense out of the confusion all the time (I have a difficult enough time keeping it all clear in my own head.)
You ask me to arbitrate a game with nuclear weapons, 10th level magic, and interstellar war.
TSR never attempted such a thing, and they were a large gaming company.
I am one person.

I say to you this:

Stand strong, and roll with the blows of the IR.
Let the confusion wash over you, and let it pass on by.
Stay true to yourself, and stand tall in the IR, and never give in.
Resolve to crush all your foes, if it's the last thing you ever do.
Resolve to squash your foes like one squashes a bug.
And resolve that, if you cannot win, then at least you're not going down without taking everyone else with you.
And laugh.
Laughter is good.
Laughter, keeps you going when nothing else does.

 

[Darkness]

Edena, have you got my PL template and noted my red goo level (which is 1)?

 

[Maudlin]

Whoa, that's the 2nd time I've managed to totally miss the new thread

Anyway, the map has finally been updated. It's Oerth, but not as you know it.

As for Edena's comments... I know everyone wants to succeed and rise to unequaled power (I know I do). Fact is, most of you (probably me again ) aren't going to. Most of you are going to lose, in one way or another. Let's be graceful about it...

Edena has on several occasions doublebacked when he didn't think he was treating a player equitably, so we shouldn't accuse when we perceive an imbalance, I think. I'll pay more attention to that myself in the future..

 

[Darkness]

BTW, the list of players below the map could use an update, too, Maudlin!