OOC Discussion for A Kingdom of Ashes (The Battle of the Alder's Forest, and Beyond)

[Laurel]

OK--since the thread appears to be dead (or dying) as we gird our real minds and fictional bodies for the great upcoming battle, I have a question for the future.
Before we get bent out of shape of getting ahead of ourselves, I'm not asking for concrete decisions. But I do want to get a general feel of what you want. If you should happen to win this battle, you'll be very near reaching your goal of freeing Oceanus. If you should happen to lose, there will likely be so few of the original populace left that there will be no point in attempting to win back the city, at all. As such, start thinking (and posting about the following:
Where do you want to see the campaign go, after this battle is fought? When I ask "where" I mean that in a literal sense (ie, we want to go to Caer Albion! We want to go to Sylvannus! We want to go back to Thanesport!) and in a more general sense--what tone do we (you?) want the game to take on after this (We want more diplomacy--embroil us in the political intrigue of the fast-collapsing falcon kingdom! We want to assassinate the king! We want more allies, let's get down to the business of gathering a real army! Let's search for some spirit blades!)?
How will the outcome of this battle effect the direction of the campaign?
What if we win, but Jaine dies? What if we lose and Jaine dies? What if we lose but Jaine lives? What if we win and the Black Orcs live, too? What if we win, and all that's left are Black Orcs? What if L'Aurel dies? Archon? Justice?
Xath? Kaereth? Arfin?
I am happy to answer questions from you on all counts, as I can try to characterize how I envision each mini-quest ending up, what movies or books you could compare it to, how long it would last, etc.
As I have noted before, I was essentially blindsided by the "Let's free Oceanus!" thing, and I would like to be a little bit better prepared, this time.
All of the above are just quick notes on my part--there are a great many more options than the ones we've listed above.
So, get thinking, and please post your thoughts. Now's not the time to horde in-character secrets (regarding heritage, teachers, emperors, and a host of other things you're still keeping private), especially if you want to have an effect on the direction of the campaign in the near future. So, let's get this stuff in the open air (ooc, at least) and make sure that we're all happy with what the game ahead will bring.

So we are still on this question?? I know Gerti and I submitted brief comments earlier.... not sure if those have changed though..... have to re-read.

 

[Laurel]

he asked we answered....

What if L'Aurel dies? Archon? Xath? Arfin?

If possible try to bring them back. I know Arfin put the stipulation of only if as himself basically. Was he the only one?

Justice? Kaereth?

Let them reach go the path the light has chosen and reach Nirvana....

Did Keaton vote for his dwarf? Hey, why not ask.... ?

 

[The_Universe]

So we are still on this question?? I know Gerti and I submitted brief comments earlier.... not sure if those have changed though..... have to re-read.

Yes. I believe we are still on this question (although you all can feel free to take the discussion in a different direction). I'm pretty sure we can't make any ultimate decision until the battle's outcome is known, anyway, but it can't hurt to think about it...

 

[The_Universe]

If possible try to bring them back. I know Arfin put the stipulation of only if as himself basically. Was he the only one?

Let them reach go the path the light has chosen and reach Nirvana....

Did Keaton vote for his dwarf? Hey, why not ask.... ?

I think this question has been answered. As for Keaton's character, I'll be controlling him from this point forward, so whether he lives or dies is now entirely in my hands. Neat character, though...

 

[Laurel]

I think this question has been answered. As for Keaton's character, I'll be controlling him from this point forward, so whether he lives or dies is now entirely in my hands. Neat character, though...

Yep it was answered... just wanted to put it down so we knew later and didn't forget... and in case anyone else wanted/had added 'yep only have my PC try to come back as the PC- same body and all.'
As for the dwarf

 

[Laurel]

I reserve the right to change these views at any time.

In Brief-
Personally now knowing all that is in One Oak (thank you JC), that it is the best destination for us should we fail. Why not?
If we succeed? Continue to Oceanus, and then on to One Oak?

Do we even know if Miagi was trying to bring master Ryoko to Hywrl, or was he just going there to speak with him and then....something?

I, as Kat, am of the opinion if an NPC dies 'eh, let 'em go' this in my opinion would include Jaine though. If Jaine goes buh-bye, we just become rebels to the king trying to take him and all his evil minions down.
Though I am just on this side of that opinion, as I am mostly 'eh, whatever'.

 

[AIM-54]

Do we even know if Miagi was trying to bring master Ryoko to Hywrl, or was he just going there to speak with him and then....something?

As I recall and understand it, Miagi was going to serve as his protector. There was never any mention of bringing him to Hyrwl, which, IMO would only endanger him needlessly. Indeed, along those lines, it may be safer for Ryoko if we don't go to One Oak. I don't think that thought deters Kaereth's desire to go there, however.

 

[Laurel]

As I recall and understand it, Miagi was going to serve as his protector. There was never any mention of bringing him to Hyrwl, which, IMO would only endanger him needlessly. Indeed, along those lines, it may be safer for Ryoko if we don't go to One Oak. I don't think that thought deters Kaereth's desire to go there, however.

Thanks for the answers and as you said, it would make more sense for Miagi to not be running him around. But not everyone even the NPC's always do the smart or wise thing

It may endanger Ryoko if we go to One Oak, but he may know things we need to know. If we decide to not go there though...

Sylvanus is one destination that gets brought up each time, but so far as I and my character knows there is no one there to contact for support with money, arms, warriors, or information so not the choice destination. If I am wrong speak up.

Gatherin' a blade.... eh, always a possiblity. And we are now 12th level trying to keep it out of thier hands. Not my personal top choice, but hey we would get to fight and run around so OOC it gets the fun vote.

Edit: We just say forget the falcon kingdom and instead kidnap Master Ryoko back to his land.

 

[The_Universe]

What to do, what to do...

Good post Kat--gave me a couple of things to think about. But now, onto the comments...

Thanks for the answers and as you said, it would make more sense for Miagi to not be running him around. But not everyone even the NPC's always do the smart or wise thing

It may endanger Ryoko if we go to One Oak, but he may know things we need to know. If we decide to not go there though...

Edit: We just say forget the falcon kingdom and instead kidnap Master Ryoko back to his land.

If information is all you need, there's something to be said for writing letters. While there isn't an equivalent of the USPS in the Falcon Kingdom, there are messengers who can be hired for varying prices, depending on the degree of speed, security, and privacy that you might want. You could, relatively harmlessly, try to get a letter to Kaereth's master, and see what he could tell you. However, you're looking at a couple of weeks between responses with that option...

Presumably, there might be magical ways to speed the transmission of such messages, but doing so might require further use of those pesky blue mages...maybe even everyone's favorite blue mage--Arthur Cawys, bartender and black marketeer extraordinaire! Then again, it may not. You'd have to ask IC, for which we have a different thread.

Sylvanus is one destination that gets brought up each time, but so far as I and my character knows there is no one there to contact for support with money, arms, warriors, or information so not the choice destination. If I am wrong speak up.

You actually have several Sylvannus connections, should you choose to employ them. (1) Everyone's favorite broody Viscount is potentially the ruler of Sylvannus, as his parents and sister disappeared some months ago, shortly before he was set to hunt down that pasky rebellious Jaine Rilmore, and her Army of the Phoenix. (2) Everyone's favorite formerly-dwarven-but-now-elven bard was raised by elves in the vicinity of Sylvannus, and was born in the now abandoned halls of Karak Throll (AKA Dwarven Sylvannus). (3) When you set out from Thanesport, the orginal idea was that you would meet Jaine in Sylvannus. Clearly, she has some connections there, perhaps most notably one Darmoc the Smith, who was to be your contact in the city, before the crap was forcefully propelled toward the proverbial fan. (4) It's possible that at least one spiritblade is hidden in the area, with potential for at least 1 more, if there is a blade hidden in the wall (although it could be on the other side of the wall, as well...) Especially the one supposedly hidden with the Bluestar's blood. See previous reference about broody viscounts...

Just a few reasons I could come up with off the top of my head...Lots of adventuring potential in Sylvannus.

Gatherin' a blade.... eh, always a possiblity. And we are now 12th level trying to keep it out of thier hands. Not my personal top choice, but hey we would get to fight and run around so OOC it gets the fun vote.

There are a couple of ways to do this, all of which would be fun. You could go find one or more that are not yet in the possession of the bad guys (get past enemy lines + dungeon crawl + pursuit, probably), or try to get one that they already have (get past enemy lines + high fantasy espionage + James Bond + court intrigue) or do both--gotta catch 'em all, as they say at Wizards of the Coast...

All good ideas. I hope my comments help to clarify things...

 

[The_Universe]

Dangit--I killed the discussion, again! Somebody, please start it up, again!