@Lovejoy True, true, they could be different words. Honestly, there's a lot of gaps in my theory. For all I know, T'sarae or Muraad were the ones to make guns first, and they weren't exactly strong contenders in battle. And I always forget that the thing about fantasy worlds that aren't the present Earth could be speaking anything, but it's translated into whatever we read it in instead. It's a strange thing.

Hehhe, I love that particular concept. It's not English, don't call it that! *giggles*

@CollectorOfMyst Not sure about who developed ballistic weapons first. I'm thinking maybe Varya developed the technology after they conquered T'sarae (with their help). Muraad are basically like, shamanistic viking people, so they wouldn't have been involved in the invention of anything.

Wouldn't there have been such things before the clash of the Titans? Or did they need to be rediscovered? @Lovejoy

@shylarah Well, yes. The original Clash of the Titans was made in 1981, and had a movie remake in 2010. Guns were certainly made before then.

@shylarah Well, the progenitor civilization lived in a time when fire was a thing in the world, so all their technology was probably completely different.

Muradans invent fire!

Wait...

So...

We're fast approaching Chapter One and the start of the actual adventure, and I think it's time we had the uncomfortable conversation about what to do with Astraea @deathbringer, Rodion @drakey and Hassan @sisyphus. Their players have been awol for some time and I think it's fair that we should discuss how to handle these characters moving forward. Either we can continue as we've been doing and have them be featured as NPCs, or we can remove them from the ongoing adventure by having them not be able to take part in the mission, thus freeing things up a bit and making the story less crowded. I'm 100% fine with keeping them as NPCs that are controllable by everyone, but I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on this.

So yeah, what would you guys prefer?

having hassan around would be a good balancing force for stina now that I've made them good friends, but I could also easily make a plotline about dealing with him not being there, so no real preference.

I see no problem keeping them as NPCs- as we're heading off on our journey to the new continent, its not wise for the entire warband to venture off on their own each time- they'll need base camps, supply lines, and the people to protect them- as well as the ship that they arrive on, as that is their only way back. And who better to protect these key positions than a small detachment of Inquisitors from the warbands? Galahad as the warleader would probably find some value in keeping at least a few Inquisitors in reserve while the rest venture forth, especially in these hostile lands.

Hassan is very versatile in social situations, but while he is an Inquisitor, with all the training an Inquisitor has, he's not nearly as frontline a fighter as Viveca, Ziotea or Stina. Makes sense for him to stay behind and work with the non-Inquisitors and coordinate their efforts.

While Astraea is certainly a fighter, she also works very well as a healer, so having her in their base camp would make sense, to aid them with any injuries they may return with. She also doesn't work very well with others- particularly non-Lanostrans, or even other Lanostrans like Tatiana, and through their bickering while in Lanostre, I can see why Galahad might put her in the back, though it is a bit of a stretch.

Rodion is a scout. Scouts work best on their own or in small groups, where they leave the smallest footprint and aren't easily noticeable. Having him perform scouting duties would be a good way of keeping his character relevant, but 'out of scene' when the rest of our characters are doing stuff.

I'm in accord with the NPC route, though whatever works best to drive the plot forward is fine by me.

Keeping them on as NPCs would be our potential best bet, I think. The story has become integral enough that I don't know if we could feasibly leave them behind.

I would prefer NPCs, given the tight relationships we've formed for various characters.

Astraea as a healer is an important character to keep for her skills, if nothing else. Hassan's skills are interesting and he also brings some fun tension to the group, emotionally. Rodion is important to Ziotea's arc and emotional state, and I would prefer he be around. I am not adverse to helping play him. I don't know Hassan or Astraea well enough to do more than general stuff for them.

Okay! Seems like most of us are in favor of keeping them around as NPCs, so that's what we'll do.

As for the update, I had a surprisingly busy weekend so it's going to be pushed up to the next few days. I am also planning on having a Lanostre and Omestris update before the week is out.

Hmmm

Expect a post tonight! Er, hopefully.

Yo dudes, had one of those "Ugh fuck everything" days. Will try to have at least one update tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

@Lovejoy *hugs*

Hey friendos.

Going through a bit of writer's block. This Rodion post is kinda killing me, but I'll get through it. I'm going on a quick trip to Toronto tomorrow and will be back early next week, but I'll try my hardest to get as much writing done as I can. I also still plan on updating the Omestris and Lanostre storylines (which will be a lot easier to write) in quick succession. Hopefully I'll have that all done by next week.

@Lovejoy if you need help wiht Rodion, let me know. I think I can handle writing him a bit.

Although I'm gonna wanna use some IM service or a gdoc to actually do it.