Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Gather ye round brothers and sisters,

In keeping with the new Mentor NPC system, I have created a page where any Mentors associated with Etzos will be cataloged.
At the present time, being both a new system and new page, there is but one NPC there.

Now, I will be depending on any of you that create an NPC for playing in Etzos to let me know.
I would love to be able to say honestly that I am on top of all PSF entries.
But this would be a lie on a par with anything Vuda has ever said.

I have never made it my policy to see who has what alts.
Nor do I ever get on Discord,
So there's a very real possibility that I will cause some discomfort to some of you.
If that does not happen until word of this reaches distant OOC chat forums, that will be too bad.
But if it hits home right here in Etzos, then I will be very disappointed...

Merces/Sky was banned, and got the longest ban any player ever returned from.
His return was NOT an arbitrary decision we staff made out of some lack of concern over his PREVIOUS behavior.
Far from it, and I greatly resent the implication that this is the case.
No, we got a number of pleas and requests to reconsider it on the basis of great change in his attitude and behavior.
I have seen nothing but verification of this change.

Now it seems that any foul claim that a hostile mind can come up with is being tossed out there to make anyone that doesn't join the witch hunt be tagged as some sort of collaborator with him.

This includes me then, and again I GREATLY resent it.
There is no basis for most of the truly vile things now being said.
These were never allegations with the original ban, and I'd like to see the malicious whistle-blower offer some proof before going off this way.
Too much to ask? Sure, the internet culture has completely turned to a "guilty-until-proven-innocent-and no-one wants-to-hear-what-the-guilty-person-has-to-say-anyway-so-he-just-stays-guilty-and-we-don't-have-to-hear-that-we-might-be-wrong." culture.
Should we actually be proud of that?

I believe in second chances, and after many banned months we gave Sky his.
If you should really screw up, wouldn't you want one? Or are you absolutely convinced that you'll never make a mistake?
Yeah, you just go ahead and tell yourself that.

No one asked us or approached us about any of it, but they seem content to up and leave en masse with no confirmation of anything.
Is this really how we want to be? Maybe you'll change your mind and want to come back. Should we give you a second chance if you do?

Well, it was all the way back on June 3rd that I said the following:

"So, in hopes of preventing further attrition, I will resort to the historically proven approach of crass bribery.
There will be some new exhibits coming to the museum. Hidden surprises will be...well....hidden...among them, which will be accidentally disturbed to reveal clues to "scavenger hunt"-like quests to find items of significance.

I'm not sure at this point how I am going to handle this. I don't to want to saddle myself with a dozen individual modded threads; nor some exhaustive multi-party global-esque monstrosity spanning the whole of central Idalos. I suspect it will be along the line of contacting me via PM with a proposal, which I will then crush benea -....uhh...I mean, work with you to achieve an agreeable compromise. "

(You'll see it way at the bottom)
You may also recall that I only progressed the seasonal calendar through the end of Ymiden, stating:

"Trial 3: I will get to this soon enough. The hints I dropped in the OOC forum will occur in Saun."

Well, you will no longer find that remark there, because I am finishing the Saun calendar even now. You may all be among those that did NOT give up your trinkets to head Curator Tabard. You may use whatever means you wish to decipher clues about hidden stuff. You may be part of a group that has discovered they all possess "part" of a single clue, or you may go solo.

Eliza Soule, as the new employee at the museum, you may figure as largely in all this as you choose.

Ugh....
I am so sorry, folks.
RL has been slapping me around lately.
All my moderator malice and mod bomb capability is having no effect on it.

I have only made 4 actual modded-thread posts in the last TWELVE days!
A number of opinion/input posts on stuff being developed, a few detailed PMs, and some "Creating the World" entry approvals and organizing.
But still, I am stricken with guilt over how little direct interaction for which I have been able to find the time.

I promise you all, I have not abandoned you.
Kas, I know I've owed you a "Curious Mind" response for like three weeks now.
I hope that my PM responses have given everyone the info they need to press forward with their plots.
If not, or if anyone is beginning to worry that I've lost track of some arrangement with them, please PM me.
I probably have.

Not to worry Malt,this effectively takes all the guilt I've been feeling about not having replied to you away

On a more serious note, I doubt anyone could fault you for putting RL stuff first, which is as it should be.

Well,
There IS definitely ONE thing I have lost considerable track of.
And while I could default to saying it's all up to you guys to be on top of this stuff, that would be kind of chickenshit of me.

I am speaking, of course, about the language bonus given to players who are consistently active over a sufficient period of time to be able to have reasonably picked up the local language to some extent. It is the last feature mentioned in The Language Guide in the wiki.

So let's all give a big round of appreciative applause to Yanahalqah for having PMed me to ask about this.
And furthermore, to do it with courtesy!

So, here we go:

Gangui - I'm sorry to have let this slide this long, you are definitely "Conversational" by now.
Doran - I'm sorry, but you were here Ashan 717 thru Zi'da 717. You need 1 more cycle's residency for "Conversational".
Neronin - Even with those occasional hiatuses (or is it "hiati"?) you have qualified for "Conversational".
Finn O'Connor - You hit it perfectly before leaving for Rharne. Ashan to Ashan; "Conversational" for you.
Kovic - Like Neronin, you demonstrate that I do not require unbroken streaks of activity.
You must have at least two arcs' worth, even with the gaps.
Navyri - So close. From Saun 717 to turning up in Almund in Ymiden of 718 - Still, "Broken" for you.
Come back and put in just one more season.
Rocan - If you're still playing, you are at "Broken".
Oberan - No doubt about it! "Conversational" for you!
Robin Stark - You just managed to complete a cycle - Saun - Vhalar 717. "Broken" for you.
Ellen'wyn - You endured a couple cycles here. You're "Broken".
Patrick - You spent Zi'da 717 through Cylus and into Ashan 718. definitely good enough for "Broken".
Ryder - Zi'da 717 through Saun 718. You already have "Broken". You'll need another cycle's worth to get "Conversational".
Kasoria - Dude, you have been so incredibly active, I thought you must have been here for a full arc.
But alas, just one more season to go to change that delightful "Broken" into a smoother, more threatening, "Conversational".
Adruria - Cylus, Ashan and Ymiden are more than enough for "Broken".
Quio - Too big a gap of inactivity in that arc to give you "Conversational", but you're definitely good for "Broken".
Yndira - Ashan and Ymiden are two halves of different cycles, but I'm okay with that. "Broken" for you.

There were many others, but they either didn't play more than a season, are retired, didn't finish any and turn them in, or already had Ith'ession at the level they'd have been awarded for playing here.

I feel pretty accomplished about getting to cuss more in Ith'ession now.

Get back to work Finn! *slaps with flat of blade*

Can we get an academy in Etzos? It's totally not because it would be cool if Nightshade got a diploma but I don't wanna leave Etzos.