Voicechat Notes - 29 October

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Zombilicious
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Voicechat Notes - 29 October

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Q: My official weekly Iarel question: Iarel is credited with teaching the Occult. Does this include sorcery? What does she think of sorcery, or what do the Faewyr (and other cultures) think she thinks of it? What about the various Afflictions, particularly nether touched?
A: So, Sorcery is generally viewed as troublesome. You won't find many interpretations that involve Iarel liking Sorcery, though she's not specifically anti-Sorcery either. Sorcery is considered creepy, unnatural, etc. She doesn't have a strong connection with it, though. It's a spooky, 'avoid if you can' thing. Afflictions, for the most part, aren't great things; Iarel is the creator of mankind (either the whole or partial), so a lot of people see the Afflictions as a corruption of mankind and changing what Iarel created, which is veering off of her intentions.

Q: How do the Khaldeans feel about Iarel, seeing as they are anti-occult?
A: They still acknowledge and seek knowledge from Iarel, with her reputation for creating/having a hand in creating Humanity, as well as her knowledge of human biology. She's not a taboo or anything; she's probably got a better seat in Khaldea than in Nuum! If they were focused on the Occult Side, worshippers, then they would definitely be viewed as weird.

Q: Can we have scale helmets, gloves, boots, and gorgets be a thing?
A: Yeah, they'll be added in eventually! Fellborn has been bugging Rias about it too.

Q: Will some of the new weapons shown at these NPC shops like warmauls be player-craftable eventually?
A: Probably. There might be a couple that are kept unique for merchants, but he doesn't feel the need to do any of that so far.

Q: There are some things that players would like to do that would seem to make sense in-universe but aren't represented by mechanics and represent at least an attempt to fiddle with the plot. e.g. Investigating treatments for the resen. unguents, extracts, or "smoking out" the cultists by filling the catacombs with campfires.

Should we message the gm team about these just to notify/ask for gm-interaction? If so, how? Would asking for something like "emberberry extract" or "emberberry unguent", even if they have literally no mechanical use at the time of implementation, be something to post on the bboard?

A: Probably the best way to go about that is to roleplay it consistently; make sure it's a known thing about the character! They don't want to do things like closing down hunting grounds entirely, for instance removing the cultists. When it comes to working on cures, make sure your character is RPing it a lot and thinking it a lot and making it known to the public that they're looking it to it; it may or may not come to fruition, but it is worth the shot to see if it would affect things.

Q: Would it be okay to ask for items relevant to that rp even with no function? Like experimental unguents even if they do nothing mechanically? Or should we just like, label a jar.
A: He doesn't want to give out props to people all the time, so encouraging RP would be valuable. Label the item, RP it out, etc.

Q: There are some hints of the afterlife in the various help files, but could we get an overview of afterlife beliefs for each culture? Again, I play Faewyr, but I imagine others would be just as interested in the other cultures. I read mention of Undm deciding which afterlife you go to for Faewyr, but not what those afterlives are, for example. Does contracting one of the various Afflictions (resen, nethertouched, etc) affect one's expected afterlife?
A: Yes. But he has to start getting things in a format for it; it's related somewhat to the extra Immortals information that he wants to get out there, which includes overhauling the Immortals page which he really wants to do but he wants to do a lot of stuff. Rias is a busy beaver noodle.

Q: Do worshippers of the Gaea give any credence to the belief in named Immortals? Are these other powers considered facets of the Gaea, or are they largely irrelevant?
A: Fasa Perspective, they definitely see the Gaea as separate and then you have the named Immortals; they also believe in various Primal Powers in addition to the Gaea, but feel they're all connected to the Gaea. The named Immortals exist as well but are separate.

Q: The old Fasa wiki page mentions something called the Vael, which is as far as I can make out is a spirit associated with all things celestial. Is that a thing here? Is there a spirit of the sky?
A: The Vael is a specific class of Immortal (Vandin, Bogvaskr, etc.) that is different than the Gaea, with human-facing characteristics, and then there are things like Malfant/Aranas who are different than the Vael classification (tied to the nether, primarily). The Vael are beings they can communicate more naturally with/identify better with because they are human-understandable, unlike the Gaea and the Primal Powers.

Q: Does Ivial have coastal regions, or are they a landlocked country? If they have coastal territories, how does their Navy Situation look? Is there a unified Royal Navy, does each territory that's coastal have it's own navy, something else entirely different?
A: They have plenty of coasts! They also have a naval power; it's decent based on Ivial being a large, populated place, but the Viali aren't known for their seamanship or naval prowess. It's still important because they do have a coast. Some nations/duchies/etc may have their own separate navy, but there is just a Viali Royal Navy type situation (not the real name). They do send some of them off to help enforce the Quarantine, also. They also get to have opinions on other naval nations and have worry over Faewyr! There are some Faewyr clans that love raiding.

Q: With Caer Ioan involving afflictions as a major part of their current advertisement, how far away are afflictions implementation-wise? There was some talk on chat about the plan having changed over time, so what is the current design goal for them? Are they something to be strictly avoided and inevitably lead to character loss? Are they something some characters might want to pursue (as a certain NPC implies)? Does it differ depending on the affliction?
A: It definitely differs. The one that is most likely to be sought out is Nether-tainted/touched, it is still going to have negatives; they may have positives, but they will definitely have negatives, which will become worse as it settles into your character. Part of it will involve finding ways to manage it and keep it in check. Rias will never just take your character away, there will be a clear OOC message saying 'If you don't handle this, you risk losing your character.' so there will be options.

A2: The others, he's still wringing his fingers over whether he wants to introduce them or not. They damage/affect the mind a lot more, which is harder to police; Rias could tell people the Resen is telling them to do X, but it doesn't mean the player will, which becomes difficult. These afflictions take away player agency, which is hard to pull off/execute for players. So Maybe? Maybe-Probably to some degree, because he likes to see us suffer and give us RP avenues.

Q: Would being Undying affect your ability to just come back from infestation-related death/loss of control?
A: If you're Undying and you die, you come back with your Afflictions still intact, lucky you!

Q: Will it be possible for future nethertouched characters to wield iron or ferrous weapons if said weapon's handle is non-ferrous? For example, an iron spear, with a wooden haft? Or an iron sword with a bronze handle?
A: No, it's a thing where proximity effects nether as well. He doesn't want finagly stuff like "polehammer, iron at the edge, technically X" sort of thing. If the major component is iron, they can't use it.

Q: Are we going to see variations of crossbows? We currently seem to have basic hand-drawn style variations in terms of damage vs longbows/roundtime, can we expect versions with a pull strength equivalent to heavy Genoese style and arbalests? I realize a current perk with the crossbow is the fact you can reload early, and carry, but in terms of load/fire weapons, how do you imagine this will be better compared to firearms?
A: He would like to have some different types of crossbows! They'd just have to be interesting enough, of course; there's the ever-popular crossbow pistol, which might be a thing at some point. He doesn't want things that are more powerful (he doesn't think), because he doesn't want dependable one-shot wonders, even if it takes a long time; those things are not great. Differentiating them from guns, he doesn't know; he likes more and more the pneumatic angle and the idea that Prism gave about canister pressure with more successive shots that get weaker and weaker. So firearms (he got pedantic here and changed it to guns), it'll be more rapid, but lose power each time you fire.

Q: So, lots of Tol Rhun questions this week. We know Amon-Rhun is all Shackled up, and he doesn't still "lead" the country. What kind of Government system do they have then? Is it a Central Monarchy type thing, or a bunch of Sorcerer Lords ruling over fiefs?
A: In Tol Rhun, it's very much a monarchy. It's all about your lineage/connection to Rhun himself, seeing as he has the power of the Gods and everything. There's a singular ruler who delegates, for sure; there's primarily one large, central population with smaller outlying areas. Most of Tol Rhun is condensed into one singular spot, surrounding a nice big tower (because of course, as you do when you have the power of the Gods). There are lots of different Houses in the big city, and outlying villages and towns and stuff, and disputing claims, and relation stuff that all boils down to "I AM THE CLOSER DESCENDANT OF RHUN, RESPECT ME, ARGH!" Everyone wants to be on top, obviously. There's lots of in-fighting and backstabbing and stuff.

Q: Also, lots of the Gods have "Spheres" of Influence. Amon-Rhun is listed as an Immortal...but, he doesn't seem to represent anything besides "Ascension Using Sorcery". Is that his thing?
A: When it comes to the Ascended Immortals, they don't necessarily have a Sphere; they aren't on the same scale as the other Immortals, because they aren't at that point in their Immortality. They have their Thing, sure; his Thing is obviously using Sorcery to Ascend, but he's not widely considered outside of Tol Rhun. Kebyet is about dance and manipulation (Rias claimed this was negative, but let's face it, girls gonna get that bread in this day and age). They don't have the same Cosmic Sphere.

Q: My character being druidically inclined, I've imagined primal forces being a sort of 'sense' granted to someone that forms the bond. Being given that ability to perceive (in their many forms) the forces primal. I may be thinking it pretty different but, how might a druid explain what these bonds are to those without that sense?
A: It'd be hard to describe, really, so he's having trouble figuring out how to voice it. A lot of people might explain it as feeling a pull from a lot of different forces. He'll be able to explain it better once it's on the wiki.

Q: Are the Faewyr on their own little island? Why did they expand to make Aetgard, to escape something, for more resources, to explore?
A: They're on their own continent, Tyr-Gwyrd; it's like Australia, an island continent. Tyr-Gwyrd is the continent itself, there are the Twelve Realms, which are different kingdoms upon the continent. Tyr-Gwyrd is pronounced, officially, "tear-weird".

Q: Why did they leave to settle Aetgard?
A: There are various theories on that! Some say it was just exploration, the most common explanation is that there was a Faewyr raider who had a lot of power, and they were getting so powerful that they caused worry among the Twelve Realms on the mainland and weren't welcome anymore, so they went somewhere else and found a new continent and there's Aetgard.

Q: If someone traced sorcery back to its origins, would it actually lead back to Tol Rhun, or have sorcerors been a part of all cultures.
A: The earliest, most concrete stuff points to Tol Rhun, but plenty of people believe it was around before then. Even the Rhuidim say "Okay, Rhun got the book, and it was the secret to the Gods' power, and it was Sorcery but the Gods have been around so Sorcery was a thing that just wasn't commonly observed by humans." So they say they pioneered it, basically.

Q: We had discussed custom items being made by players via a special command when they have applicable skills. Is this still planned, and if so, do you see it replacing NPC merchants? Is that a concern?
A: It's still going to be a thing; it'll probably involve only doing so many and taking time to apply them. It will likely affect the value of NPC merchants, but NPC merchants will be able to have you get your stuff done immediately, whereas players will involve finding someone who has a slot open for it.

Q: If growing weed is going to be a thing, or something similar to weed, how would drugs hinder combat, or would it depend on the different types of plant?
A: He doesn't know.

Q: A lot of the Druid abilities are tied to specific places; are there abilities that will roam eventually? Attached to NPCs or roaming mobs, for instance?
A: He could see it being that way. He likes that idea. Definitely a possibility.

Q: Would it be possible to steal random stuff? Socks. Anything. ANYTHING?!
A: That'd be fun, yes.

Q: Will nethertouched be coming with Caer Ioan, or a bit further down the priority list?
A: Probably not at the direct release of Car Loan, but it'll follow fairly soon after, yes. It's a big part of their Thing.

Q: It feels dirty, but I'm curious of there is any policy or rule about falsely signing posts on the in-game boards as someone you are not.
A: He doesn't like the idea of people doing that, because it'll catch on and then the post boards become useless. DRAMA. EUGH. But as of now, there is no policy aside from "Rias does not like it."

Q: Will we be able to wear light armour underneath plate? Like how people would wear gambesons under plate in real life?
A: No, plates will be built on top of those in the first place.

Q: How will access/citizenship in Caer Ioan start out as? I heard from someone it might be done through RP, would that be something that we need to consider?
A: To start out for Phase 1/release, it will be roleplay in; part of that will be testing the waters to see how factions work. As long as it seems like it's working, it could become easier/automatic to get in. There will be less of an "A three, be there or you can't get in!", but instead he'll find a way for your character to make it known and talk to an NPC/be contacted by an NPC.

Q: Someone was saying the people of Shadgard have a strong sense of self-preservation because of -fear-, is that accurate?
A: That's pretty fair to say about anyone who has a sense of self-preservation. Shadgard isn't a place that's based on fear-based hate, though some people do exist that are that way in Shadgard; they'll exist in Caer Ioan as well. You will find people in Shadgard who ostracize things out of fear, most definitely. Neither is based around this, however, and it's not a primary focus.
:verungnr_tentacles: :vodr_trident:
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