Re: Welcome Meridian Porter

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Fri Mar 31, 2023 7:30 pm

That is why Echos are a 1 to 5 point flaw, a 1 point is mostly an annoyance a 5 point flaw will let anyone who look at you closely know you are supernatural, or it will be downright dangerous.

I see no problem with more than one player character having similar skills, unless something is a very combat oriented campaign where one player is made to feel they have nothing to bring to the table there is no problem, and this campaign is not very combat oriented.

Meridian do not need to be from Boston she can be if her player want her to be.

by Meridia Porter Fri Mar 31, 2023 7:37 pm

Nicole Bouchard wrote:- I semi-echo Warp here. Sometimes, having 'more people who can do the same thing' is good, or at least neutral. For example, having 'another' person with healing magick is an clear asset, while having another silversmith is perhaps not [esp as often we run 'split scenes']. My own personal concern was that Meridian might end up overlapping Nicole's own 'Streets' setup and thus be somewhat redundant - but now I see that's not an issue. Also, Mage is the game where two PCs can have the same Spheres but hugely different Rotes.

- I think I am being misunderstood - I was asking 'why does the character need to be from Boston?' What I've read suggests she'd be as strong a PC if she hailed from Chicago, or Detroit, or Seattle. What's more, if Meridian has no 'connections' to Boston, desires to not be noticed and has 'official problems' in the city... why the hell would she remain? This doesn't really add up to me [and will be the first question Nick would ask on hearing the story]. But don't get me wrong, I don't mind either way. Plus, I thought you may not like having to do the extra legwork of playing a Boston 'local'.

Not being from Boston honestly would be easier for a few things. But, I also don't think Meridian in her current state would be eager to flee Boston or move. She knows the streets and there's nothing waiting for her anywhere else. I'm not against the idea of connections, Newmidian will definitely have something somewhere, it's just that she wasn't conceived with that in mind originally.

I might make her from out of the area just to avoid being having to play up knowing Boston too much...

My only thought on the spheres being more rounded out is that we'll have different tools to go at things from and it will give Meridian her own stuff to bring to the table. Also her complete loner orphan thing really falls apart hard when I start peeling Arcane away from her.

by Warpmind Fri Mar 31, 2023 8:25 pm

Heh...

Y'know, Colin started out intended to be played as a Loner Demeanor. That didn't work out at all... Razz

Doesn't need an Arcane to work as an Orphan, though - just ask Colin. Wink

by Nicole Bouchard Fri Mar 31, 2023 8:42 pm

Yes... but Meridian's 'loner orphan' days are behind her, aren't they? They realistically need to be, otherwise there's nothing stopping such a character to fade into the mists and do sod all. Now, Great One can correct me if I'm reading things wrong, but generally Mage society works like this; you start by getting 'The Call', you can then effectively 'Refuse The Call' but sooner or later 'The Call Knows Where You Live' and if they're lucky the character survives that so they can regret their previous mistakes re: call refusal.

It's a bit of a cliche backstory, but also one which relatively works. Nothing like a big crash-up to spur a character into a completely different mindset etc - in this case, the realisation that being a loner wallflower is insufficent protection. Could also work to why she needed to 'leave' her home location pretty quickly.

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Sat Apr 01, 2023 10:08 am

Nothing wrong wkth a cliche that works, they have become common tropes for a reason.

by Nicole Bouchard Sat Apr 01, 2023 11:28 am

Yeah, and in many cases the cliche stems from at least partial fact; for example, kids in the state's care do disproportionately show up in numbers of what we in the UK call the 'juvenile delinquent' demographic [at least in the Anglosphere]. However, sometimes a trope shall become dated, obsolete or innacurate.

And I always recall the line of advice my first-ever ST gave me regarding char creation; 'You don't play characters who are content to remain on the fringe, spending their eternity mowing the lawn, watching TV and trying to avoid the eye of the Prince [this was VtM]. Your characters are the ones who are motivated to do more - for good, bad or neutral reasons.'

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Sat Apr 01, 2023 12:33 pm

Well true characters having motivation to act can certainly help get them involved. Now they do not have to be all out to change the world, but they should have some motivation for good or ill that drive them and make them want to act.

It is like in the D&D community when someone complain about the number of orphan characters with a tragic backstory, well the thing it well adjusted individuals who are happy where they are do not tend to want to risk their lives crawling around old ruins fighting monsters. I made a character like that, a happy, well adjusted character, she lasted one session then I just could not find a good reason for her to continue, she did not have a great drive to go out and adventure.

Now World of Darkness is not exactly the same but off course a character who do not want anything and is happy just sitting in their library studying and nothing else is not likely to actually do much in the story, either a drive to act have to come from the character themselves or from some outside force.

by Nicole Bouchard Sat Apr 01, 2023 1:15 pm

Well, you don't need a tragic backstory to become [let's call it] 'adventurous'. It's quite possible [for example] to grow up a happy, well adjusted person - but find simple economic needs mean they've got to go into this line of work. This little fact was one of the prime motivations for the conquest of the Americas etc by Europeans in RL - being spearheaded by younger sons of nobles [too far away to inherit anything decent] clearly 'on the make' alongside the occasional 'Impoverished Patrician' type hoping to pull their family's prospects around. Even a simple desire to escape a planned future - even if it is a relatively 'nice, dull and safe' one - can do the trick.

The latter one was in fact the main motivation for Luke Skywalker. The driods and Obi-Wan were more the excuse to leave, and the Imperial torching of the moisture farm a figarative 'burning of boats' than anything else.

by Warpmind Sat Apr 01, 2023 2:20 pm

Anja wrote:It is like in the D&D community when someone complain about the number of orphan characters with a tragic backstory, well the thing it well adjusted individuals who are happy where they are do not tend to want to risk their lives crawling around old ruins fighting monsters. I made a character like that, a happy, well adjusted character, she lasted one session then I just could not find a good reason for her to continue, she did not have a great drive to go out and adventure.

In fairness, she started out, began bonding with the party's fighter, and then said fighter got brain-drained by an intellect devourer on the first level. That's ridiculously traumatic for anyone involved...

by Meridia Porter Sat Apr 01, 2023 3:32 pm

Nicole Bouchard wrote:Yeah, and in many cases the cliche stems from at least partial fact; for example, kids in the state's care do disproportionately show up in numbers of what we in the UK call the 'juvenile delinquent' demographic [at least in the Anglosphere]. However, sometimes a trope shall become dated, obsolete or innacurate.

Yeah, though to be fair, I wasn't really building Meridian up to be exactly some street thug and her criminal record was more based on the fact that she didn't fit in with what was expected of her, hence why I went for Vagrancy/Loitering/Curfew violations over actually just making her some stereotypical gangster type. This is a pretty realistic/grounded/common occurence that it's less cliche and more just life.

I'm honestly kind of falling for the alternate version of Meridian I'm building. Would be interested on hearing if she fits a little more smoothly into place once she's done.

by Warpmind Sat Apr 01, 2023 4:56 pm

In the words of Procrustes, we'll make her fit.

...Okay, maybe not quite as harshly... Wink

by Nicole Bouchard Sat Apr 01, 2023 5:11 pm

Eh, I've never played a PC in the manner I originally drew them as [and that's even before any ST-related tweaking]. Nick's perhaps the closest 'to draft', but even then she's had a bit of change [if I remember right, she was originally an electrician with an atompunk spider familiar and about 20kg more muscle.]

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Sat Apr 01, 2023 5:43 pm

I did not mean that you need to have a tragic backstory, I meant that having something in your background that give you a reason to act, go on an adventure, take part of a story, the motivation could be anything, however the trope of an orphan looking for the person who killed their parent and similar backgrounds work.

Sure let us hear about your alternative version of your character. I think she works well as she is as well.

by Nicole Bouchard Sat Apr 01, 2023 5:56 pm

Or orphans in general... though for kids works, that's more a way to get rid of the 'responsible adults' so you can have adventures. In WoD, it's quite often more a tactic by a player suspicious that the ST shall immediately use them as leverage in a plotline... perhaps this should be told to all new players - 'This ST shall not use any listed friends and relatives as instant fodder to be killed, kidnapped, turned into a vampire or eaten for the purposes of involving the PC in a story'.

The original-Nick suffered from the classic 'technomancer issue', as in constantly requiring prep-time to produce gear etc, and the manner of play the ST had meant it simply didn't work very well [ie she was rarely allowed 'workshop time' and worse, they were very strict on the 'informed kit' attribute - if you were them, you'd have insisted on me listing the entire contents of Nick's rusksack before a mission etc].

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Sat Apr 01, 2023 6:17 pm

I have also seen many not have family for their characters to not have a bunch of NPCs they or the GM will have to flesh out. In my experience most players would love to get to play the hero to rescue a loved one, or to have the drama of a loved one in trouble so that is seldom a problem, coming up with personalities for an entire family however is.

by Meridia Porter Sat Apr 01, 2023 7:33 pm

Interest on thoughts on Alt Meridian. She probably needs some refinining but she's very out of the gates.

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Sat Apr 01, 2023 7:36 pm

That could work. Is there any information you need by the way to finish up your character, we have to finalize the reason why she is at Horizon.

by Nicole Bouchard Sat Apr 01, 2023 7:56 pm

Only thing is that with an already-active Cult/Sanctum, this assumes she's already active in Boston, which then cycles back to the 'how do we get her to Horizon' question again. I suspect if this was 'normally', Meridian would simply move in while the others were in Horizon and there would be a meet/greet on their return. But obviously isn't an option in this case for RP reasons. Unless... those backgrounds are held 'in bank' until Meridian has the IC time to set them up?

by Meridia Porter Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:13 pm

We could go for the "witness to something bad" or she could have some urgent insight from the spirits that she has to share? I'm not completely sure on Horizon politics nearby, so not sure what the optimal way to do it would be.

I'd be happy to hold them in bank, but I just think getting her to Horizon and meeting with the Chantry will be awkward no matter what.

There's not really a character I can think of that wouldn't have some inherent awkwardness in some way, whether they're from Boston or a long-time Boston local.

by Tragedy Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:22 pm

Meridian Porter wrote:We could go for the "witness to something bad" or she could have some urgent insight from the spirits that she has to share? I'm not completely sure on Horizon politics nearby, so not sure what the optimal way to do it would be.

I'd be happy to hold them in bank, but I just think getting her to Horizon and meeting with the Chantry will be awkward no matter what.

There's not really a character I can think of that wouldn't have some inherent awkwardness in some way, whether they're from Boston or a long-time Boston local.

Anja and I were going over some things on that exact direction. It is possible that Meridian and Tragedy (nickname Tra (sounds like Tray)) were in the same chantry trying to get it established when the incident took place. We would be the only two survivors from that attack. If that peaks interest, I'll share the information we went over. It would certainly make things easier killing two birds with one stone so to speak.

by Meridia Porter Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:28 pm

Oh, hey! I literally do not notice new threads here somehow, sorry about that.

That would be a great way to have our characters have some sort of initial bond and both tie in to the horizon stuff.

Tragedy and Meridian also share a fair bit of other common ground and could do some shared magic together possibly so the chantry idea is great.

by Nicole Bouchard Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:41 pm

Try using https://chantrysteelhaven.forumotion.com/search?search_id=newposts

It's not normally this busy!

Anyway, from a purely personal POV which has no weight at all, having Meridian [or Tragedy, for that matter] be 'routed' to Boston via Horizon from a third locale is easier than finding a reason they have to be slingshot from Boston to Horizon to only go back to Boston in a few IC days. Off the top of my head... why not the 'Leliana opening'? Meridian is currently on Horizon inbetween 'parishes' [so to speak], hears about some of the nasty dealings [perhaps nudged by a senior Chorister] in Boston and decides she has to come along and 'help out'?

by Meridia Porter Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:51 pm

I'm happy with either way honestly. I do kinda like the failed/destroyed Chantry idea though.

by Nicole Bouchard Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:53 pm

Eh, could be both. Meridian's last Chantry 'fell', but she survived. Was shunted so some quiet locale for a bit to recover, but now she's been asked to talk to her Tradition seniors on Horizon regarding her 'next assignment'.

by Tragedy Sat Apr 01, 2023 10:09 pm

Nicole Bouchard wrote:Try using https://chantrysteelhaven.forumotion.com/search?search_id=newposts

It's not normally this busy!

Anyway, from a purely personal POV which has no weight at all, having Meridian [or Tragedy, for that matter] be 'routed' to Boston via Horizon from a third locale is easier than finding a reason they have to be slingshot from Boston to Horizon to only go back to Boston in a few IC days. Off the top of my head... why not the 'Leliana opening'? Meridian is currently on Horizon in between 'parishes' [so to speak], hears about some of the nasty dealings [perhaps nudged by a senior Chorister] in Boston and decides she has to come along and 'help out'?

Now that, I agree with. Maybe the incident occurs a day or two prior to the group's return. All chaos breaks loose when the Masters decide to use the group's chantry as a headquarters for their investigation. Meridian and Tragedy both have to testify and provide their account for what happened, since it is the group's chantry, they'd be allowed to be present for the interview/testimonies.

But I agree that we shouldn't be shipped to Horizon just to be shipped back to Boston.

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