Thoughts from a long time War Mill/RP Mill participant

Beyond Dominia: 3rd War Mill Planning Board: Thoughts from a long time War Mill/RP Mill participant

-->
By thrakkiss on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 09:09 pm:

Hmmm. I don't check this site very often, but the activity surrounding the new War Mill is all very interesting. I do hope we can put something together soon...I know I for one would like to participate again. I really don't play magic at all any more but I've always liked the setting, the creatures, the spells, the ambiance, if you will.

That being said here's a few suggestions I have to throw in the ring:

1) DON'T put too many limits on what people can and cannot do. Yes, "powertripping" can be irritating. But if you keep breathing down people's necks and dictating to them what they can and cannot write, then nobody will want to participate. Keep the mill as open-ended as possible.

2) Come up with a definite map, early on. And leave plenty of room for expansion. There was a great deal of confusion in the old War Mill and Role-playing Mill as to what was where. I'll draw y'all a map if you want.

3) Don't block the formation of guilds. Guilds generate controversy, encourage interaction, and generally make people very enthusiastic about the Mill. The entire reason I jumped into the War Mill years ago was the whole factionism spurred by the different guilds going to "war;" I felt like I could be part of something fun, y'know? Clamping down on guilds definately put a damper on the place.

4) All that being said, here's a few ideas I have for various places and things.

Capital city name - Center. Just Center. The idea being, it's a very functional name that has a good deal of enigma and explains quickly and clearly to newcomers just what it IS. Make it a vast and bustling metropolis, perhaps just a city to stand by itself.

World name - Terra, Modinia (anagram of Dominia), Shaharazad (eh? Think of it as a "link" to a location in the old Mills, and an allusion to a real cardd. Hell, maybe we could explain that everything that goes on here is another tale told by the actual Shaharazad, the girl in 1001 Nights who told endless stories to save herself from execution).

I recommend keeping "direct" magic references of places and people proper to a minimum. That is, no "Dakkon Blackblades" or "Volraths," but if somebody wants to cast a spell, "Drain Life," "Fireball," "Giant Growth," and so on, should be fine. People making references to stuff in the magic lexicon should be fine - say, "I once fought against the Phyrexians, see this peg leg here?"
It's just that if you have too many Proper noun references, things get confusing. We had a number of locations in the old Mills that were 'ported directly from Magic sets. Spells, creatures, ideas, fine, but let's try and keep ourselves and our world relatively new and different.

Also, I suggest that there be a powerful guild by the name of "Oor-Tael" in control of Center (or whatever we chose for a capital/central city) just to give the place a little more enigmatic history. Explain that the guild had a lost branch on a world called Phaema that simply got cut off from existance a long time ago, and which they have never been able to contact again. I think it'd be a great way to set up a "ruling class" of elite Wizards and Politicians.

Anyway, that's just some ideas from the top of my head. Email me if you want to talk about any of them: k***t@h***i.com

-John Brouillet
Once AKA Thrakkiss, Dark Warlord of the Meridian Wastes
The Walker in Darkness


By Elrohir (Elrohir) on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 09:23 pm:

Err...since Gandalf founded the guild in Phaema, wouldn't it be more appropriate if this new world had the lost branch, rather than the other way around? Not that I would want to have a branch here, because then I would be obliged to stick around and bitch about it, and I don't want to have to bitch about anything anymore.


By ETP on Tuesday, July 03, 2001 - 10:25 pm:

Thakriss, if you wanna be apart of the mill and would like the main city (currently called Spire, and the world is currently called Somnium.. but things can change) then start a post called "Guild of Oor-Tael, ruling guild of Spire" or something to that effect, and then tell us about it, and include your character.. who may or may not be the head of the guild. Then just start talking to the other people to get an idea of how your guild interacts.. The spot at the center of Spire is completely open, so you should take it while you have the chance.


By Elrohir (Elrohir) on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 09:19 am:

Umm...Thrakkiss is a War Mill/RPM elder. I'm fairly sure he knows what's going on. He's not a newbie by any means.


By ETP on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 10:29 am:

umm.. Elrohir.. so what? He doesnt have a character or a guild yet, and Im just inviting him in formally, and making sure he knows that he is welcome to just jump in. Furthermore, the fact that hes from the old mill shouldnt really lead to any sort of special treatment anyway. So hes a newbie to this planning mill, and so am i.
I wasnt trying to offend him by saying he was welcome to make a guild and call it the ruling guild of the major city.


By Elrohir (Elrohir) on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 10:36 am:

That's the point I was trying to make. He already knows. It's belittling for you to treat anybody, not just him, like he doesn't know *anything*. He knows about guilds. He knows how to introduce a character. He knows how to play a character. The only thing different for him or me or Shadow is the setting that's being created. We already know the ropes, having done it for years now. The world is new. We are not.


By Burn, the Keeper of the Flame (Fereno) on Wednesday, July 04, 2001 - 01:10 pm:

ok elro....try not to bite his head off....

im sure your map would look much better then my paintbrush attempts...but nothing is definate right now, hell Khalud-Khuzir might end up on the other side of the world(ok...i doubt that) or something, so, unless you really want to, we arent asking you to do any of the rough maps, but would love it if you did the "final" map(the one that puts things in permanent places). And id like to see a connection to phaema, even if elro stays around to bitch...id rather see him stay. And if this branch of Oor-Tael is away from th one on phaema, we can keep elro from going psycho on us cause they may not remember what its original intentions were, etc...


Add a Message


This is a public posting area. If you do not have an account, enter your full name into the "Username" box and leave the "Password" box empty. Your e-mail address is optional.
Username:  
Password:
E-mail: