@tsukune

Good to know the exams are almost over, and yeah, you've mentioned the job to me before. I'm totally not jealous of people who get payed to write. Considering how much work I do each day without payment, yeah... Lol.

Honestly, a long collaboration like that one's inevitable. This is an advanced role-play, meaning that really long posts are to be expected, and anyone who's got complaints about having a lot to read shouldn't be in advanced role-plays to begin with -- 'TL;DR' mentality doesn't exist for advanced writers, and I made this very clear in the interest check. Not saying you're complaining about it, but just pointing out that it's not surprising to get long posts. The biggest problem was the delays getting it started, which largely came down to my technology issues. Also, this collaboration evolved from just some group post until the post that closes a chapter, and the additional stuff that got added into it due to our discussion over Discord made it significantly longer too. Anyway, if you think this is long, just imagine how many pages a collaboration will be when a good portion of our group's part of it.

With the voting system:

You've pretty much just confirmed what I said. When you get technical about it, the murder mystery system involving freely deducing and investigating the culprit are actually far more classic than the idea of a voting system. What people don't seem to realize is that both systems would be happening at the same time, if the voting system was used at all.

Anyway, like you, I personally prefer real time deduction/investigation over using a voting system, but my attitude towards whether this system is used or not is pretty much exactly what I brought up with @aviendha already. We don't need to worry about people mixing IC drama with OOC drama, because this group's mostly civil and the rules have already stated I'll kill people who behave like this (and unlike people who die due to IC development, those who die for breaking OOC rules won't have the luxury of staying in play after death). While I can't see what goes on behind the scenes, so I don't know if there's bickering in our group OOC, any indicating that a character is attacking another character in the IC without IC development justifying it will be punished.

Really, my only concern for allowing the punishment of culprits - after a successful murder, since there's ways the murderer can die during their attempts - to be left entirely in the hands of the players is the concern that it makes things too easy for the protagonists. I've made no secret of the fact that Bonaparte brought you all here to have you die, so why would he create a scenario that he can't possibly win? All it'd take is for the whole cast to decide not to use initiative in dealing with the murderer(s) in their group, and the amount of people dying would be massively reduced or at least largely slowed down. The only thing that the voting system added was ensuring that the game actually moved forward without it being easy to survive. Thankfully, I've been developing plenty of other ways that the players could die, so the system isn't too important, but I still think this has been a concern we needed to all discuss.

Anyway, it's seeming pretty apparent that my opinion that we should remove this system (it's why I brought it up) is being validated by people's responses. You two (Tsu and aviendha) are both people who expressed preferring we not use this system to me either in PM or over Skype, but - like I mentioned in my last post - I wanted people to give their thoughts here directly so the whole group could see everything on the table. I didn't want to just post 'hey guys, I'm removing the voting system after it's been an established feature for months now', so having a discussion made more sense to me. It's meaningless if people don't contribute though.

@Ailyn Evensen

Don't beat yourself up, Amanda. At least you're contributing, and even if you didn't realize it you've actually made a rather good point. There's plenty of reasons to remove the voting system, but so far no one's chosen to - or been able to - provide a reason why it's a good idea to keep it. The closest thing to a good reason is my comments about not wanting it to be too easy for the players to survive, which I'm plotting multiple solutions for and I'm open to people's comments regarding. So, actually, you've contributed more than you think. Honestly, there's only so many things people can contribute anyway, and I'm mostly just looking for everyone's feelings about the system. My mind's been inclined to remove it for months now, and I'm just waiting for people's thoughts.

I think I rather not have a voting system as well. It feels rather natural rather than a reality TV show of "Survivor." But, to kind of replace this system, there needs to be some form of urgency and stress that will give characters something to think about when being around others. There needs to be something to set the tone for when we play in the mansion and to challenge each character's personalities and trust with each other.

Perhaps like in the 999 series, (I know. I keep referring to that game/story, but I believe it's a damn good novel game), people had some sort of urgency to complete a task like escaping a room, (solving puzzles to open the door). The story had an overall time limit like 9 hours to escape from the whole ship. It was with the upmost urgency that they escape the sinking ship within 9 hours or else everybody dies. They all try to escape, but certain circumstances / personas may alter the story line in some form or fashion.

It's just a thought. I can't wait for the remaster of the series next month. Woo!

@MayLien@CrazyShadowy

First off, just figured I'd mention that it was a good collab guys. Henneth's a pimp, huh? I guess his 'Private CS' has been revealed earlier than expected.

Anyway, seems we've got another opinion in favour of removing the voting system. You don't need to worry about urgency/stress elements being missing, because I've got a lot of them planned and intend to add more as we go. I get the feeling you guys'll be sweating bullets when you realize some of the stuff I've got loaded up. The real concern was just about whether or not removing the voting system would make it too easy for your characters to survive, or make it less likely to have internal conflict in the group -- the latter is something Bonaparte would be aiming to create constantly.

I'll be heading out in the next few minutes to get my PC.

@Shoryu Magami

First off, while it can't be helped that IC collab posts can get rather long, just make sure every word is relevant to the plot and character development, and also without dragging down the pace unnecessarily. However, do understand that I seriously need TL;DR for OOC because I don't have so much time to go through long discussions back and forth between every single member here (there are like at least 10 of us here), when all I need is the final conclusion and move on.

Like I said, I have a job, I have other RPs to work on, I have other projects to do for my portfolio, I have a RL to live with my own family and friends - plus I need the basic necessities of food, rest and sleep too, lols. There's only so much time I have each day, so I'd appreciate everyone to get straight to main point and cut me all the long explanations (I'm not stupid, yo - English may not my native tongue, but that doesn't mean I need an explanation for every little thing >_< I'll ask the specific questions if there's something I don't understand), which can help to maximize the little time I have to get as much work done as possible efficiently.

TL;DR exists not because of advanced roleplaying. For my case, it exists to keep my sanity with my busy life. Please understand.

Regarding collab, I can work on it anytime (read: as and when I'm free/when I'm not busy with work), but there's nothing I can do until @Pudding writes something. She hasn't replied to my DM on Discord either, so I assume she's still busy with uni.

@tsukune

I don't believe I write anything - whether IC or OOC - that doesn't serve a purpose or have significance -- it's all adding depth/quality to something that'd be incomplete or lifeless without what I wrote. Whether the pace is interrupted is largely a matter of subjective preference, and I don't intend on changing the style of writing that I like just because someone has a problem with it -- plenty of people like what I do anyway. I'm not saying you're actually telling me to, but this is just a forewarning for anyone who gets the idea in their head to try and tell me how to write.

With the OOC, I try to make sure the important comments are given to people through a notification. It's borderline impossible to give a 'TL;DR' to the content that I write because it'd completely decay the details which make up the actual quality of what I'm saying or asking people to discuss, but so long as people respond to anything in the status updates that's relevant to them, there shouldn't really be any foreseeable problems. Details are vital when running an advanced role-play -- this is even more the case for a role-play with a lot of emphasis on realism. I don't type a lot because I think people're stupid -- I do it so we're thorough. Nevertheless, I do the best I can to keep things as simple as possible without the meaning being lost, which is why I usually say things like 'I need people to discuss X idea' and sometimes add bold if things're more urgent. Using the point format that I create for my status updates is the best way I can think of to give you guys updates and tell you what you need to give feedback on.

I do understand that you're busy, but what I don't like is when people get the idea that they're the only one who's busy. A lot of people involved in this are busy; in fact, for all intents and purposes I work a sixteen hour a day job due to my data management. I might not get 'payed' to do it, but anyone who disrespects how hard I'm working (again, not saying you are, since I'm just putting this out on the table) won't be tolerated -- no exception. That said, I do try to be understanding, but I need to take everyone into account here, including myself. We've all got stuff we need to do in and out of the role-play, and I need to make sure everyone in this group remains on the same page.

With the collaboration, I've been considering whether or not we're technically up, since we could enter the restaurant. At the very least, we should find out from Pudd if they'd like us to write an entry post so they can react to it, or if they'd prefer to skip that scene. I don't usually like skipping scenes unless we're all certain nothing would happen or be said, and without Pudd's input we don't know for sure.

Overall, it looks like the voting system will be getting removed as I planned, unless someone gives me a good reason not to. I'm still contemplating the problems that could be created by the player characters not being as pressured to kill each other though.

In other news, I don't have my new computer yet. Issues came up, but we'll try again tomorrow.

I don't have any long winded arguments one way or the other regarding the voting system, I don't really have a preference.

You have always said the murder game is a secondary element of the story, not the primary element, so I trust you can write around the problems that come up if we're not as pressured to murder as you initially anticipated.

@Snagglepuss89

Pretty much. I've been planning to operate very much on an adaptive level, rather than a pre-planned level. Even a lot of the puzzles will be created as I go, to make things more engaging or interesting and to give the IC development more freedom. I figured I'd just get the 'bare bones' of the murder system organized first. There'll certainly be plenty of things threatening your lives even if none of you become killers, which is another reason I don't plan to force the murderer role on anyone and leave it all to IC development. Really, the role-play as a whole won't suffer too much from it -- the murder element might just be a bit less prevalent.

Anyway, I'm gonna head off to rest now. I should have my PC tomorrow, though it's uncertain if it'll be set up.

@Aewin@Pudding@Melo@Ailyn Evensen@Snagglepuss89@tsukune@Shadow007@Eidolen@MayLien@Heap241
@banjoanjo@CrazyShadowy@JaceBeleren@aviendha@Indra

Status update:

• Still waiting on Daniel's 'Private CS' to be finished. The next PM reminder I send to Indra is gonna be the last one, because these sorts of delays are gonna be a real problem if they become routine -- I've told people to remain active and responsive, and once we're all at the mansion these sorts of delays will be detrimental. If he doesn't work this delay issue out soon, I'll be opening his slot up to someone else or posting another character of my own to fill it.

• Unless someone gives me a reason not to, the voting system is now being removed (the opening post of the OOC will be edited in order to reflect this unless someone gives me a good reason not to do it), because there doesn't seem to be any favour for it and I personally think it can take some things from the role-play (which is why I brought it up). There's ways to compensate for any problems that could be created by removing it, generally speaking.

• The collaboration between me and Phantom is going very smoothly, meaning that we're waiting for the one between me, Tsu, and Pudd to get finished up. This should be the priority of the role-play at the present time.

• In the next update, I'll be explaining the specifics of how 'player NPCs' will work for those who're interested in them or need them for their characters in one form or another. I've already explained this privately to a few people, but I'll go into it in more detail.

In other news:

While I know I don't have to go through the acceptance process like everyone else does - and considering no one commented when I posted up Anna, there might not even be a point doing this - it's time to introduce the 'Public CS' of the new guy I recently brought into the IC.

@Aewin@Pudding@Melo@Ailyn Evensen@Snagglepuss89@tsukune@Shadow007@Eidolen@MayLien@Heap241
@banjoanjo@CrazyShadowy@JaceBeleren@aviendha@Indra

Status update:

• Still waiting on Daniel's 'Private CS' to be finished. PM reminder was sent, and they won't be able to get involved if this keeps up, because I really don't want these sort of delays causing the role-play to deteriorate.

• Since no one's commented, I'll be editing the OOC to remove the voting system now.

• Phantom and me have our collaboration to work on, but the one with Tsu and Pudd that ends the current chapter is now officially over. I'd like to give a shout out to both Tsu and Pudd, because you did a great job with that. Same goes for the collaborations we've done so far, Phantom, so you get a shout out too. You guys should expect a post coming from me soon that'll start the next chapter.

• The explanation of 'player NPCs' is being held back until the following update.

@Aewin@Pudding@Melo@Ailyn Evensen@Snagglepuss89@tsukune@Shadow007@Eidolen@MayLien@Heap241
@banjoanjo@CrazyShadowy@JaceBeleren@aviendha@Indra

Status update:

• Still waiting on Daniel's 'Private CS' to be finished. This'll be the last time I make a point about it here, and if there's no sort of indication that the delays are gonna end at that point then I'll be considering Daniel's character slot reopened (either for myself, one of you, or someone else who wants to join). Honestly, I've been more than patient enough.

• The part of the OOC's opening post devoted to explaining the rules of how characters can die was rewritten, since that's primarily where the voting system was explained. The voting system's now removed due to no one seemingly wanting to keep it in (I didn't care for it much myself). This was the changes in the OOC:
  
  

  Characters can (and most likely will) die at specific plot points, and can also die from other causes. The role-play was mildly inspired by an elimination game (though it's always been intended as a story at its core, not an elimination game), meaning that any of your characters are susceptible to dying during the story. The player characters can attempt to eliminate each other through the 'murder system' that's explained in a later rule, and they can also be eliminated through other events. Some of these events will only end up killing off the characters if they screw up somehow (or if I choose to kill you off for breaking the rules), while others will be actively trying to eliminate you. You'll still have plenty of time to interact and develop whatever kind of relationships you'd like with each other and NPCs, and it's important to keep in mind that the 'murder system' is just one of the secondary elements of this story as opposed to being the main element (IC development will play a large role in how focal it is). You shouldn't make an attempt to kill other characters without using the 'murder system' listed in a rule below this, because it'll prevent you from being able to kill anonymously. Players characters are allowed to attempt to kill NPCs, but do keep in mind that it might fail or backfire like any other murder. A plot element will allow dead characters to remain in the role-play, but they'll have certain limitations and gimmicks involved in that, and characters that get killed off because their players broke the rules are excluded from this opportunity -- don't think you can loophole the system. If you're not okay with the idea of your character dying though, or you're the type who'd take it personally when other players vote you off or the murderer player chooses to kill you, then this role-play isn't for you. Those who'll be immature or petty about who they choose during the voting - rather than let the IC alone be the deciding factor, as it should be - are also not welcome here.

• The next chapter has officially started now that I've posted its introduction. From this point onward, you should consider the 'non-obligatory' phase of the IC to be over, since very soon we'll all be grouped up at the estate and everyone will need to maintain decent activity.

• For all intents and purposes, the collaboration between myself and Phantom is the next post, with Sonya needing to react to Sven at least one more time (it might be more) so he can head off. Sonya's posting can happen before or after the collaboration, but things with Sven need to be finished up before anyone else reaches the escort point, so I'd prefer it happen soon. Tatiana will post once Itzal and Paula's next collaboration is done, and I'll be moving things forward with the escort point group soon. Aewin mentioned that Lucia is likely arriving in an hour or so, which means it's hard to say if her post comes before Sonya speaks to the people at the escort point (if she does this). I've also got someone coming to the escort point on my end, and it's uncertain if that'll be before or after Lucia arrives. Once it reaches 5:00 PM in the IC, things should start moving along much more actively in this thread.

• Regarding 'player NPCs', you basically post them up with the exact same 'Public CS' and 'Private CS' that the regular characters use, except the 'Wish' category is answered as 'N/A' (sure, they can have wishes, but they're not being promised one so it's irrelevant to them). You actually post both the 'Public CS' and the 'Private CS' over PM initially with these characters, instead of the 'Public CS' being posted into the OOC, but only if the NPC won't be introduced at the same time as the respective player character, because the 'Public CS' of the NPC is removed from PM and placed into the respective player character's post in the character tab as soon as the NPC is introduced within the IC.
  
  As for how you PM them to me, put both the 'Public CS' and the 'Private' CS into the same post (but keep them as separate hiders still), and send them to be in the PM thread that belongs to their respective player character. In other words, this is the one circumstance where you're allowed to reply to the post I gave you all revealing your cards (I'm now giving all the people who don't have a card yet a 'placeholder' post, that'll be empty until I settle on the final cards). The 'Private CS' will remain in this PM post, while the 'Public CS' will be transferred to the character tab once the NPC is revealed IC.
  
  You should get my okay about the NPC through another PM or some other IM method before posting them in the PM though, so we don't end up having denied characters in the PM threads. This is the only way that players are able to get access to using characters who aren't letter receivers. The reason this wasn't brought up in the rules is because 'player NPCs' weren't confirmed to exist until a couple of players actually pitched some good ideas for them to me, though I personally always had plans to use them myself -- they'd just have been included with the regular NPCs.

@tsukune @Pudding

I have to say.. That is probably one of the best collabs I've ever seen.

@Shoryu Magami

Would also like to say that you're one of the best if not THE best GM I've ever had to work with and I'm really looking forward to how things proceed.

I'll wait for the next couple posts then get some Tatiana action going. I'll work on writing her post in the meantime so there isn't too much delay from me for everyone else.

Would also like to say that you're one of the best if not THE best GM I've ever had to work with and I'm really looking forward to how things proceed.

You bet yer ass I am.

Honestly, in all seriousness, cheers for saying that -- I appreciate it. While it's true that I'm very passionate about the projects that I invest myself in (especially if I've connected them to GA, like this one), just knowing that you guys're enjoying this and excited about it makes all the work I put into it worthwhile.

I'd also like to partially credit Tsu for the conflict at the end of the chapter. While I was the one who decided to bring back the thugs from the opening of the chapter (I'd been looking for an excuse to use them again), Tsu was the one who initially suggested we give the collab some conflict, which got the ball rolling. I'd been wanting to have a 'villain' for chapter one pretty much the whole time (I had ideas like a small time mob boss, et cetera, which is what I somewhat used in this collab), but hadn't decided how to integrate them or who to throw them at (since not too many of the protagonists met up, it made it difficult to create the conflict I had in mind).

So yeah, while I did GM and orchestrate that conflict, Tsu motivated me to use it there in that specific collab. He suggested that there be some sort of drama in chapter one (apart from the psychological drama that Conrad got), and so I basically integrated something I wanted to do into that collab -- I'd been hoping to use a 'chapter one mob boss villain' for months now, like I said, because one of the reasons I allowed people to start role-playing even before getting to the estate was because I had some plot ideas - and subsequently some interesting revelations or hints - that could only be used during this phase, but not enough people got involved in the role-play yet to really make those ideas work, and I didn't want to make it obligatory since we were mostly just waiting for people to register. Even so, I did have the blueprints for some of that conflict in mind, which is why Leonard was attacked right from the start in his first post.

That's also the reason that collab became the closing post for the chapter, because otherwise I might've waited a bit longer until Leonard reached the escort point and then made the 'mob boss' attack there instead, depending on how long it took Leonard and the others to arrive. That final scene with Leonard at the end of the first chapter is vaguely something I wanted to use this whole time, so Tsu's input is what made me decide to adapt the collab between us and Pudd into the final post of the chapter, since not enough people were really getting involved in the role-play yet for it to warrant my other ideas.

Anyway, yeah, glad to know you've enjoyed the role-play so far, and I'll be looking forward to your response. It shouldn't take too long for my collab with Phantom to get finished.

@Shoryu Magami

Okay, I have half of it written, I just need details from the other post before it's done. =]

So, it won't be long (hopefully) after you post the collab that mine will be up.

Shomarin, Tsuke and I worked our toots off during that
Oooh the sleepless nights and Discord crashes.

@Heap241

If it'd help you out with writing, I can send you a basic gist of what this place would be like when you approach/enter it. I'm not entirely sure how vague your post is being about that, or if you've been planning to mention/comment about it at all. Since you're the next person to arrive, I don't mind letting you know this -- it won't be long now anyway.

Honestly, I appreciate that you take the time to have posts ready in advance where possible. I think more people should do that.

@Shoryu Magami

I would appreciate that actually, I like to put as much detail as I can into new locations and I don't want to just start making up details where there is some already. Do you mind PMing it over?

I only have so much time at one time to spend in the guild so if I can give myself the helpful hand of preparing posts when I can it stops too much delay. =]

@Heap241

I'm currently having something to eat, but once I've got a moment I'll PM it over to you. I'd say expect it in ten minutes.

Honestly, anything that avoids a role-play being needlessly held up is a good idea.

@Shoryu Magami

No rush mate! Eat your food, don't choke, chew and all that! I'm patient, I don't need the post to be done right now anyway.

@Heap241

I've sent the PM over. I'm not even sure why I brought up that I'm eating, since I can type between mouthfuls.

@Shoryu Magami

The purgatory line totally gave away that it IS Napoleon! I'm still sticking to that theory!