Allllllllright...
Oh God, I find myself in another of these goddamn posts where I start it with an "Allllllllright..."Sorry I've been so hard to get a hold of at the worst possible time - just flew back last night (
obligatory 'and boy are my arms tired') and my daughter had her 2 week check-up for the stitches she had the other day, from when I spent a full day in Hospital with her (and wasn't that a fun side bottle-episode of our lives...) Anyone wondering, she's fine and it was one of the biggest "this could have been done so much easier in a video call" meetings I've ever had in my life.
To me, I feel no ownership over your characters. If you want to submit a sheet which is heavily inspired - Hell, a damn duplicate - of what you submitted to P.R.C.U I have no intention of rejecting any of those sheets purely on those grounds.
That said... I'm going to raise a few points.
1. Ju-V, assuming this is the chosen game going forward - exists in a different alternate world from P.R.C.U. Which means established in-game continuity... unless you for some reason seem intent on going in depth to recreate the story/history your characters had in the P.R.C.U game (which seems a Hell of a lot of trouble to go to, personally), it's non-canon.
That doesn't mean you can't play a character which was the same vision as you designed... just the events from post 1-one hundred and ninety-whatever aren't a factor.
What you bring in here, you bring in here. What happened there, happened in that world.
In other words, your character did not merely transfer over from P.R.C.U of that world... it's a whole other world. If your character's backstory in the CS suddenly shifts to "and then they transferred to the Ju-V program, from a strange and shadowy unnamed Canadian Academy school..." well, OK, but let's understand, there's no pre-existing relationships with other characters within Ju-V based on the events of P.R.C.U and let's not be shitty or snarky for shitty or snarky's sake. I get on pretty well with everyone I've spoken to here, and if you feel otherwise it's probably because neither of us have ever bothered to try talking to one another before. I'm a pretty easy-going guy. So if for no other reason than keeping me from addressing "So what exactly did he mean by that?" questions
... as Banjo would say
"Aww mate. Don't be that prick."2. Yes. That means I will continue with making Ju-V should there be demand for it.
BUT
I'd like to raise and draw more attention to the following quotes/points/comments, and hope people will go with me on this...
First:
-I've given it a lot of thought and I would like to continue with P.R.C.U. If it's dead, it's dead and people have moved and that's fine and that's my fault. However, I'd like to keep this going. Many of you have noted the amount of work put into the front end of the RP, and it's true. This is a passion project designed for the long haul. That said, as the past month has shown and knowing what I'm expecting in the fall, I can't possibly promise or guarantee a post every fourteen days. So if we move forward, it will be without the post deadline in place, it'll be suspended and people will be responsible to post in their own time.
-There will be times when I will be hands-off and have to leave you lot to almost sandbox, this will be especially true in November and December I would imagine. However, I have no idea what to expect when the baby comes, so I'm dealing with a lot of uncertainty. But what I want to communicate is that I'm not abandoning this project, however, it might not have a consistent or regular pace. It will likely be feast and famine and if that doesn't work for you, I completely understand.
This, to me, suggests an intent for the P.R.C.U game to continue
LONG TERM which to me fills a core demand for most of the issues at the time.
I acknowledge a doubling down on there being a time where there potentially being lengthier times between GM based posts...
BUT
The recognition of "times when I will be hands-off and have to leave you lot to almost sandbox" itself suggests that in these periods there will be less reliance on awaiting a GM post to further post, and the players ourselves driving the pace.
Which I would say, most would probably say has - if anything - been a strength of the game. Player-generated enthusiasm driving a high quality pace and momentum.
And that's even before we get to:
In other news, @Roman is officially coming aboard as Co-GM for P.R.C.U., to both give me accountability and in the event I am unable to post or push the plot, Roman and I will both have the plot details and the ability to drive things.
This means - to me at least - a few things.
1. When it
IS necessary for GM-based posts to further drive plot, there is a second person with more stable time to do so.
2. In my own experience, if for no other time than from the past few days working on this, Roman's presented himself as very much a stabilising presence. Especially compared with myself.
I may get excitable and... all over the place.
To me this addresses the main concerns I've heard pretty much across the board from the people I've spoken to. Maybe there's others beyond, but those've yet to be voiced to me.
So...
You might ask yourself, well, if that's the case then why:
2. Yes. That means I will continue with making Ju-V should there be demand for it.
Well, in my own words to
@Roman earlier to when I said I'd still be willing to run it parallel to P.R.C.U continuing - "I'd feel worse offering people a life raft, and then getting back on the ship".
I have this weird thing, where if I say I'm gonna do a thing. And people respond in a fashion after I make that statement... well, I feel obliged to do it.
I've attempted to make an argument to reason above as to why I think continuing with P.R.C.U is the way to go, if you're still of any mind to be involved with such a game. But there's one thing that can't account for, and that's hardened feelings and beliefs.
Maybe someone "feels" a certain way about Wraith, or maybe someone "believes" that the changes are too little, too late or some variant. There's little I can do to appeal to something like that.
But what I
CAN do is continue to do what I said I would, and provide a long term game of a similar setting which won't re-tread the exact same grounds, but would still allow them to play characters with some of the same player base should those people choose to join.
But a few reminders... This will not be PeeArrCeeYew: An Original Game brought to you by Non-Wraith as sold in ALDI Supermarkets. I'm not backsliding, regardless of what pressure I get put under. The same weird sense of principle I have that would have me running this game to the best of my abilities, is the exact same one which wouldn't allow me to do that.
I'm weird like that.
And if I feel it's getting too close anywhere I'm liable to Zag just off principle.
If I wind up with a handful of people choosing this game purely because they feel a certain way about Wraith, I would be disappointed, but I'd continue running the game.
But the obvious thing to point out...
If you're looking for a game which is like P.R.C.U...
With a player base of P.R.C.U...
With the incredible world-building setting of P.R.C.U...
And with the carefully constructed character interaction that we the players of P.R.C.U actually put the time and work into place...
I mean there's an obvious solution.
The infrastructure is all in place, and there's now a second in place to ensure it doesn't fall to neglect when life inevitably - and as a father, I feel qualified to say it is indeed inevitable - takes hold.
To address my own analogy, I never got off the ship in the first place. I'll still continue in both, should the demand for Ju-V still be there and it becomes its own thing. But I do hope as many of you stick around in P.R.C.U as possible. If for no other reason than I've been enjoying writing that stuff which is there with you lot - which is part of how this whole thread came into being in the first place.