Furryfaire: A Change of Pace
So... a suggestion has been made to move the focus of Furryfaire from the Shirelands (that haven't been aptly named for years) to Siren's Cove. It's a big change in a lot of ways. I'm not sure what I think of it, overall, but some of the talking points that came up in discussion really confused me...
It's primarily Joshuite.
Wait. Is this supposed to be a selling point somehow? We already determined that a majority of the active playerbase seems to have conflicts with that religion. In fact, the headwiz up and decided something along the lines of "fine, if you guys don't like them, I'll move them" from the Shire to Tarantis. Now we're talking about putting the players into a Joshuite-heavy place again is the way to go? Uhh... that is totally backwards. As pointed out, the place isn't totally Joshuite, but still.
There are no Peace Keepers, and it's not ruled by archons...
Well, technically true. But I'm not sure why that's a good thing either. In fact, after the last big chaos in Siren's Cove, there should probably be something more akin to an FBI there which covertly keeps track on the goings on internally. Unbound by the "divinely enforced" police-like oaths of the PKs, any such group would very likely be even more dangerous to criminals. If the PKs rough someone up for information, they lose their blessings (theoretically). These guys could do whatever they can not be caught at to get to the bottom of things.
And the rules aren't exactly lightweights supernaturally. They may be toward the lower end of the options out there, but one wields a god-slaying sword revered as a goddess in her own right and the other... well, doesn't have much power on her own, but holds a lot of potential and is tied in with one of the most powerful and dangerous families in existence. To top that off, they both hold a number of divine blessings from their wedding day.
Trying to screw the city/nation over in any serious way would probably end badly for those making the attempt.
... so evil characters would be more viable.
Uhh... again: what? Consider that most players are talking about evil characters in the fantasy sense - not "I'm out for myself," but "I'm going to plot, scheme, kill, smuggle, and consort with dark powers to benefit myself." I'm almost at a loss to address how bad this seems to me...
First off, evil generally doesn't play well with anyone long-term. "Good guys" are opposition and other "bad guys" are competition. Evil characters are, by their very nature, going to be set up against the rest of the player base. Either they'll get smacked down (which the player probably won't take well) or they'll succeed (which would mean screwing over everyone else instead). This is something to encourage? It looks neat on paper, but when people try to do it... not so much.
Second, I don't see PKs as the big deterent to a criminal element. Rather, the Brotherhood's precognitive/clairavoyant powers have access to the answer to any question that comes up. Even among the PKs, it was those who basically broke the oaths that did the most damage to elements that might be considered "evil." And while the Brotherhood doesn't have a big presence in Siren's Cove, it's still going to be there. And there are still going to be the supernatural anti-criminal elements, they just won't be PKs in name.
If there's really a lot of desire to play evil characters, we're probably in a no-win situation anyway. Unless everyone's happy changing the setting to a corrupt city/nation where everyone is out for themselves, someone's going to end up unhappy - whether those who want to play evil or those who don't. I'd generally rather cater to the cooperative over the competitive.
It's a port city.
Sure. Like that matters. Heck, the Shirelands were given a port. Ship travel may have a certain romance, but even in the setting it's going the way of the dinosaur when portals are safer, faster, easier - and thusly cheaper.
It's close to the Northern Wilds.
While there is some potential for "monsters" there, it's not actually any closer than the Shire. Drachen's smack dab in the way, looking at a map.
It's going steampunk.
Sorta. More magepunk or something, as magic is tied to technological advancement. Moving toward Victorian era maybe, though one should note that typically includes a prominence of firearms over blades. In fact, there's a lot of implications to think through and decide on before making any change like this. It definitely amounts to a change of tone/genre. I'm not sure if that's really good or bad.
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All that aside, I do feel some changes need to happen if the place is going to carry on. Personally though, I'm far less concerned with the geopolitical setting than I am other elements. I don't see Siren's Cove as seriously better or worse than what we have now, I'm just boggled by the arguments some people are making for it.
It's primarily Joshuite.
Wait. Is this supposed to be a selling point somehow? We already determined that a majority of the active playerbase seems to have conflicts with that religion. In fact, the headwiz up and decided something along the lines of "fine, if you guys don't like them, I'll move them" from the Shire to Tarantis. Now we're talking about putting the players into a Joshuite-heavy place again is the way to go? Uhh... that is totally backwards. As pointed out, the place isn't totally Joshuite, but still.
There are no Peace Keepers, and it's not ruled by archons...
Well, technically true. But I'm not sure why that's a good thing either. In fact, after the last big chaos in Siren's Cove, there should probably be something more akin to an FBI there which covertly keeps track on the goings on internally. Unbound by the "divinely enforced" police-like oaths of the PKs, any such group would very likely be even more dangerous to criminals. If the PKs rough someone up for information, they lose their blessings (theoretically). These guys could do whatever they can not be caught at to get to the bottom of things.
And the rules aren't exactly lightweights supernaturally. They may be toward the lower end of the options out there, but one wields a god-slaying sword revered as a goddess in her own right and the other... well, doesn't have much power on her own, but holds a lot of potential and is tied in with one of the most powerful and dangerous families in existence. To top that off, they both hold a number of divine blessings from their wedding day.
Trying to screw the city/nation over in any serious way would probably end badly for those making the attempt.
... so evil characters would be more viable.
Uhh... again: what? Consider that most players are talking about evil characters in the fantasy sense - not "I'm out for myself," but "I'm going to plot, scheme, kill, smuggle, and consort with dark powers to benefit myself." I'm almost at a loss to address how bad this seems to me...
First off, evil generally doesn't play well with anyone long-term. "Good guys" are opposition and other "bad guys" are competition. Evil characters are, by their very nature, going to be set up against the rest of the player base. Either they'll get smacked down (which the player probably won't take well) or they'll succeed (which would mean screwing over everyone else instead). This is something to encourage? It looks neat on paper, but when people try to do it... not so much.
Second, I don't see PKs as the big deterent to a criminal element. Rather, the Brotherhood's precognitive/clairavoyant powers have access to the answer to any question that comes up. Even among the PKs, it was those who basically broke the oaths that did the most damage to elements that might be considered "evil." And while the Brotherhood doesn't have a big presence in Siren's Cove, it's still going to be there. And there are still going to be the supernatural anti-criminal elements, they just won't be PKs in name.
If there's really a lot of desire to play evil characters, we're probably in a no-win situation anyway. Unless everyone's happy changing the setting to a corrupt city/nation where everyone is out for themselves, someone's going to end up unhappy - whether those who want to play evil or those who don't. I'd generally rather cater to the cooperative over the competitive.
It's a port city.
Sure. Like that matters. Heck, the Shirelands were given a port. Ship travel may have a certain romance, but even in the setting it's going the way of the dinosaur when portals are safer, faster, easier - and thusly cheaper.
It's close to the Northern Wilds.
While there is some potential for "monsters" there, it's not actually any closer than the Shire. Drachen's smack dab in the way, looking at a map.
It's going steampunk.
Sorta. More magepunk or something, as magic is tied to technological advancement. Moving toward Victorian era maybe, though one should note that typically includes a prominence of firearms over blades. In fact, there's a lot of implications to think through and decide on before making any change like this. It definitely amounts to a change of tone/genre. I'm not sure if that's really good or bad.
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All that aside, I do feel some changes need to happen if the place is going to carry on. Personally though, I'm far less concerned with the geopolitical setting than I am other elements. I don't see Siren's Cove as seriously better or worse than what we have now, I'm just boggled by the arguments some people are making for it.
No Peacekeepers and evil is viable are the rallying points for the player base who are in favor of the move. Shire is stagnant and too wholesome. I think these yokels should just move on to a different muck or make a Aranous grid and be done with it.
ReplyDeleteSince she's not going to talk to you, I'll reply for her on this. * Aranous was a place filled with vice and corruption, ruled by a tyrant, and rife with undead, demons, infernalism, and necromancy. Honest, decent people had no place there, if they had any hope of seeing things like 'justice'. * The players in question want a balance between order and chaos, good and evil. They want both sides to have a chance to exist and act, without one absolutely crushing the other. So no, making Aranous (Cordona) an option isn't really a fix.
ReplyDelete