Good evening, ladies and gents.
To start with, it looks like I have a bit of an apology to make for taking so long to get this announcement to you; apparently having an internet connection with the constitution of a seasick kitten is not at all conducive to releasing public service announcements on an online forum which is, by nature, online.
On the obligatory, artificially floodlit bright side, it does mean that I – in my infinite boredom – have had several days in which to repeatedly spell-check, proof-read, and otherwise incessantly tamper with this thread prior to its release. A disclaimer: there are jokes, and they are awful. Read on at your own risk.
Though, to be serious for a moment, I suppose I should explain what on earth this thread is all about. Since recently having taken up the role of Lore Coordinator, I have been consolidating some aims for the Department and for the server as a whole, and one of those aims is essentially explaining this mission plan to you, the community. This rough prospectus should give you an idea of what is going to be worked on, how I plan for the Department to operate in the near future, as well as (hopefully) answering questions regarding upcoming changes.
So, without further ado, the Lore Prospectus of Aims is as follows:
• Protection of content:
• Publication of content:
• Staff delegation:
• Player involvement:
• Cutting excess:
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In addition to this, I’m aware that lots of you probably have questions regarding more specific areas of lore – the magic system being the main thing that springs to mind. In the interests of keeping everyone up to date, a bit about this below.
On magic:
Most of you have realised by now that we’ve had a few Magi becoming occupied with real life events, and that the system seems to have become suspiciously quiet. You would be right to notice both of these things, and you would be equally right to wonder what on earth we plan to do about it.
Or rather, what we are already doing about it.
What we are currently working on is rewriting and rebalancing the magical disciplines under slightly changed names, and a new release of primary teachers (some staff, some players) with the aim of successfully producing a second generation of magic users capable of teaching.
Essentially: the old system with a new face, better levelling, more consistent rules, some new teachers, and a good dose of caffeine to set it properly in motion.
Hopefully this will take effect very soon, too – much of the writing has already been drafted within just a few weeks, and despite only getting to know a couple of the writers personally over that short amount of time, I can certainly attest to their ability.
-
So, with my first Lore Update complete, I hope this answers some of your questions and concerns, and I also hope that it explains the need for the more informative thread title. I was thoroughly tempted to go with “Lore and Order”, but – alas! Sense and Dignity did assail me, and I was sore defeated! That and I realised it had the potential to sound a wee bit Stalin, so I thought I should probably give it a miss.
Humour aside once again – I’d like to conclude this thread with a thank you for your patience. Hold on tight for the next couple of threads!
To start with, it looks like I have a bit of an apology to make for taking so long to get this announcement to you; apparently having an internet connection with the constitution of a seasick kitten is not at all conducive to releasing public service announcements on an online forum which is, by nature, online.
On the obligatory, artificially floodlit bright side, it does mean that I – in my infinite boredom – have had several days in which to repeatedly spell-check, proof-read, and otherwise incessantly tamper with this thread prior to its release. A disclaimer: there are jokes, and they are awful. Read on at your own risk.
Though, to be serious for a moment, I suppose I should explain what on earth this thread is all about. Since recently having taken up the role of Lore Coordinator, I have been consolidating some aims for the Department and for the server as a whole, and one of those aims is essentially explaining this mission plan to you, the community. This rough prospectus should give you an idea of what is going to be worked on, how I plan for the Department to operate in the near future, as well as (hopefully) answering questions regarding upcoming changes.
So, without further ado, the Lore Prospectus of Aims is as follows:
• Protection of content:
Lore content will be maintained and created to a high degree of quality, continuity, and originality, with no change being made without reasonable IC explanation to support it.
• Publication of content:
We will ensure the progressive and cohesive public release of all lore that is appropriate to be widely known OOC among the community. This will be undertaken in the interests of preventing metagaming, and retaining an engaging discovery process associated with learning certain aspects of lore in-character.
• Staff delegation:
Once the writing and publication process begins, tasks may be assigned to (willing!) nominees or volunteers at the Coordinator's request. It is possible that a deadline will accompany a writing task, and work will be subject to reviews, advice and edits as necessary. Other ongoing duties will continue to be assigned in a similar fashion.
• Player involvement:
Where appropriate, players will be approached for similar contributions as staff, potentially in the form of writing competitions or requests for writers or writing teams for specifically requested topics. In addition to this, players will regain the opportunity to interact with and contribute to the server lore through both IC research and OOC lore submissions in certain areas. Two respective threads will be released detailing what is and is not appropriate for each of these. (T0 be released soon, hold your horses!)
• Cutting excess:
We will take steps to reduce the amount of superfluous areas of lore which can be supplemented by real Earth entities, most notably flora and fauna. Otherwise, these entries can be overwhelming for new players, have no representation in-game, and see little roleplaying use.
-
In addition to this, I’m aware that lots of you probably have questions regarding more specific areas of lore – the magic system being the main thing that springs to mind. In the interests of keeping everyone up to date, a bit about this below.
On magic:
Most of you have realised by now that we’ve had a few Magi becoming occupied with real life events, and that the system seems to have become suspiciously quiet. You would be right to notice both of these things, and you would be equally right to wonder what on earth we plan to do about it.
Or rather, what we are already doing about it.
What we are currently working on is rewriting and rebalancing the magical disciplines under slightly changed names, and a new release of primary teachers (some staff, some players) with the aim of successfully producing a second generation of magic users capable of teaching.
Essentially: the old system with a new face, better levelling, more consistent rules, some new teachers, and a good dose of caffeine to set it properly in motion.
Hopefully this will take effect very soon, too – much of the writing has already been drafted within just a few weeks, and despite only getting to know a couple of the writers personally over that short amount of time, I can certainly attest to their ability.
-
So, with my first Lore Update complete, I hope this answers some of your questions and concerns, and I also hope that it explains the need for the more informative thread title. I was thoroughly tempted to go with “Lore and Order”, but – alas! Sense and Dignity did assail me, and I was sore defeated! That and I realised it had the potential to sound a wee bit Stalin, so I thought I should probably give it a miss.
Humour aside once again – I’d like to conclude this thread with a thank you for your patience. Hold on tight for the next couple of threads!
