Mage - The Spiral [OoC]

[Fanog]

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry that my updates have been so sporadic the last few days. Even now, I didn't have time to do everyone.

I've had a quite hectic week at the lab, getting near graduated and trying to figure out what to do next. It's difficult finding the peace of mind to write Mage updates. I'll try to keep everyone going on a dayly basis. I really like all of your character, but I must say (again, I think) that I hadn't expected things to be this tough to play out.

I hope that things here will normalize somewhat over the next week (or two), sorry for the delays...

Fanog

 

[loxmyth]

Hey Fanog,

I realize it can be tough to spread yourself so thin, so don't worry about it... feel free to get your RL stuff in order first, if that's what you need to do.

Also, I should note that I'll be on vacation from July 28th to August 8th. If need be, you can put me on auto-pilot then.

 

[Fanog]

Keia,

feel free to embellish a bit on the return trip, try and let me know what Leo would think about this specific exercise. Assume that he can make it back without incident, that should help keep the amount of posts involved in the trip low.

Kuro,

please post your intent for the evening and the next day. Just paint it in broad strokes and I'll fill in the details during my update.

Everyone,

If you ever feel a bit lost, or unsure what's expected of you, please don't hesitate to ask, either here or in-character. Many things are intended for me to get a feel for your character, and which direction he would go. Because of this, I'm sometimes 'fishing' for some answer. I realize that this might be unclear sometime, just ask when things are unclear. When everyone has had his moment of awakening, I'll get everyone together as soon as possible. It's just that this initial 'training' is pretty important for what the character will be able to do later, and how he will perceive things.

Fanog

 

[loxmyth]

And here is where I need help. I assume my character is now becoming Awakened; are there any specifics that he needs to experience? I guess that Jason's paradigm is going to be animistic, where he'll start to see spirits in every object? I'd like to be as consistent as possible, but don't have access to the actual rule books for Mage.

 

[Fanog]

Yes, you are now in the process of Awakening.

The rules on spirits are pretty free-form. The concept of Spirits is detailed in them, as well as how you can interact with them. However, the nature of these spirits, and what these actually represent, is pretty vague and open to the individual.

While it may seem now that these spirits are only present in earthly objects, you will find out that this is actually only a part of what they are. Spirits live in their own world, which is called the Umbra. The Umbra borders our world, and through this border (called the Gauntlet by some), some spirits can interact with our world. Many do so by inhabiting objects, but there are also free-roaming spirits, or those who join with a specific person. Spirits could even be the souls of deceased humans, both those who have passed on or those who are still with us on earth. As you see, the concept of spirits is pretty vague, and the rules can govern all of them. The important part is that your interaction with spirits will change along with your beliefs on what they are.

So, even though there are spirits of humans, you will not be able to interact with them, simply because you don not perceive the concept of spirits as such. Instead they will be (roughly) appearing as creatures of their own, monsters as they have appeared in myth and works of art. The efreeti from your dream is an example of such.

Over the course of what will happen, you will learn to know several of the near-infinite amount of spirits. Yuor muse might become as central one, as will the efreeti, probably.

If this is all a bit unclear, I could write up an additional post detailed how things will look from Jason's point of view. However, I'm a little hesitant to do this. The catch is that the concept of 'the spirit world' changes dependent on who is looking. Because of that, I'd like you to have as much control as possible over what's going in. It's safe to assume that Jason can now look into the Umbra, and can see several spirits nearby. His muse is probably present, and the Efreeti might be as well. I hope this gives you some leads. Please give me a sign if you're unsure, and I'll write up a short IC post, to help you on your way.

Fanog

 

[Fanog]

Whew, long IC updates.

A little OOC update about myself: The work on my thesis is finally starting to come into gear. Not making progress was definately frustrating. I'm also beginning to have an inkling of an idea of what I'd like to be doing in a few months time. Nothing definate yet, but at least I've got some serious options. Not knowing what I would like to do was kind of gnawing at me as well. That's the problem with having too much different interests.

That said, I've just returned from a splendid vacation, even though it was only for a week. Lots of inspiration and fresh energy. With that, I would like to express the hope that this long update I made for everyone is a signal that the game can pick up some speed again. I think you're all doing great, it seems like everyone's storyline is shaping up quite nicely, and I definately like how everyone's putting in their own ideas on how all of this is 'supposed' to become.

Also, it seems like Mickerus has run into trouble. I've sent him an email to ask how he's doing.

That's about it, I think. Thanks everyone for your continued interest in the game, and for the way you're shaping it.

Fanog

 

[Keia]

Fanog,

Leo plans to avoid a fight at the present to learn a little about his opponent. If the man does attack, Leo will stay on the defensive - using his newly learned abilities to move faster than normal using normal exertion.

Although Leo is a fighter/warrior by nature, he's not a dummy and doesn't want to fight a foe until he learns more about them. Nor does he want to reveal much about himself to a potential enemy.

Keia

 

[Fanog]

Keia,

you're not necessarily in combat yet, but I'll explain a few things so you know how much to post. I'll take things slow at first, almost down to individual maneuvers (which gives plenty of time for talking ).

Some basic information: In the Mage system, dodging is not passive, but active. This means that it takes up (part of) an action. You can try to do offense and defense at the same time, switching focus between them on a sliding scale.

Let me know how much info you'd like on the combat system. My personal preference would be to keep it light. In that case, just post description, and I'll pour in into 'actions'. Adding intentions as you did is greatly appreciated, helps me keep a picture of what you're going to do.

Fanog

 

[Keia]

Fanog,

Leo is actively dodging for all of his actions. He is looking to put normal effort into his dodges and/or blocks in the same manner that he jogged and testing if he gets double or triple the output.

Leo is here to learn, not to fight so he's perfectly willing to allow the man the offensive.

Keia

 

[Keia]

Just checking . . .

Keia