Downtown Khazan: Ice Cold Utopia

[Sharpandpointies]

Going to need to go back when I can see such things, and check Guy1's posts with Tiger. Pity I can't access that kind of scan at work.

i would like to clarify that i didn't say anything really bad about it. it was actually pretty good. i would've probably said more but "Detroit" is a fandom i know nothing about. i just said it needed a bit of work. and i went about it as nicely as i could. she just blew up at me and wouldn't give me a chance to say much of anything before saying leave me alone.

edit: it also doesn't help things that people blowing up at me like that is a pet peeve of mine.

I would tend to agree with everyone regarding this issue - and I mean with everyone, because it could be any number of things. I've run into this over the years, and have worked out how to handle things.

[Person] I would like you to look at this and tell me what you think.

[Me, assuming I'm amenable] Okay. Do you want a full critique, or do you want me to just say if I liked it or not?

[Person] Oh, I want a full critique.

[Me] Okay, for clarity that means I'm going to be as hard on it as I would on my own writing. There will be serious criticism. I don't want to deal with anger if it comes back looking like I bled all over it [red pen]. Are you still okay with that? You would not be the first to get offended after ASKING for me to go into detail, which is why I am making this clear.

[Person] Oh, I would never!

[Me] You would also not be the first to tell me that.

What I normally get is 'No, just give me a general idea of your thoughts', at which point they get back some variation of 'I liked it' or 'It wasn't for me' or whatever. If they then persist in looking for details, I go broken record on them and repeat the above.

If they say 'yes', I do go into detail but keep things very impersonal and bland.

[master of read]

i will take you guys' advice into consideration. but i'm gonna give her a week.

[Iron_Twister]

best match on the main card: cesaro/black. brilliant match.

best match on the pre-show: neese/wonderbread.

Good to know.

I'm getting back in my writing game and trying to fix my own issues with my grammar and storytelling...Thankfully, I spent enough time with a group to learn not to get overly defensive. But yeah, I can kind of see why people can get emotional when they receive critique they're not looking for.

Nowadays, I'm more annoyed people throw pop culture reference jokes at my stuff and call it a review.

[Sharpandpointies]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI6Tj_PDJko&t=10s

In Anima terms, what difficulty would you place Zhuge Liang's playing of the guhzheng instrument when executing the empty fort tactic?

All he really needed to do was to keep his composure and not miss a note. I'd ask for a solid composure roll - very difficult, or perhaps absurd if he had no escape route (certain death if this fails). Music skill roll would depend on the complexity of the piece. That's it.

It's not like he controlled his enemies with the playing, or made them think anything other than 'this guy isn't worried'. He basically outfoxed them, used Sunzi/The Art of War against them. 'Make yourself appear weak where you are strong, and strong where you are weak'. 'If you know yourself and your enemy, you will have victory', and they knew 'this guy is by nature cautious'. Knowing those things, the enemy general looks at this apparently empty city and this super-cautious general sitting outside it playing music, seemingly unconcerned by the army on his doorstep (and a couple of bloody street sweepers continuing to do their work outside the open gates!), and the enemy general -- quite logically -- thinks 'he's trying to draw me in, this is a set-up'.

If this was NPC's versus NPC's, I might call for a contested Tactics roll. If it was a PC showing up like this, I might ask for a Notice roll if the musical General bungled his Composure roll, and tell them 'he's sweating' or something. If the NPC's showed up, I'd make the Notice roll for them if the player bungled their Composure or Music roll, and then try to work out what they would do based on the results.

But mostly this is trickery, and there are less 'hard rules' in Anima for that. Which I like. ^_^

[Sharpandpointies]

i will take you guys' advice into consideration. but i'm gonna give her a week.

Probably a good plan.

Did she ask for a critique, or just 'Did you like it?'

[master of read]

Probably a good plan.

Did she ask for a critique, or just 'Did you like it?'

a critque. she knew i knew nothing of "detriot" outside of a basic premise, so i just looked at it from a technical POV.

[Sharpandpointies]

Oof.

Hopefully things smooth out between the two of you.

[master of read]

Oof.

Hopefully things smooth out between the two of you.

if anything, it got me wanting to look into the game more. and i told her that.

[Sharpandpointies]

I see you've put Underbelly back up for consideration, Nik!

[Nik Hasta]

I see you've put Underbelly back up for consideration, Nik!

I have. I'm going to have a bit of free time over the next month or thereabouts so figured it should be taken out for a go. New system has been stress tested, the setting has been tweaked in ways that you'll have to find out about. I think it'll be a fun time!

Come and DO CRIMES with me everyone!

[Sharpandpointies]

Pretty cool.

What's the posting schedule?

[Beadle]

Man... first day back in work after a week and a half off, and I really cannot stay awake.

[Nik Hasta]

Pretty cool.

What's the posting schedule?

My aim as GM is to, at minimum, post weekly. For more complex sequences, posting would increase but we're going for a steady and considered pace.

[Sharpandpointies]

The Way of the House Husband once again produces a winner. ^_^

[Lord Falcon]

All he really needed to do was to keep his composure and not miss a note. I'd ask for a solid composure roll - very difficult, or perhaps absurd if he had no escape route (certain death if this fails). Music skill roll would depend on the complexity of the piece. That's it.

It's not like he controlled his enemies with the playing, or made them think anything other than 'this guy isn't worried'. He basically outfoxed them, used Sunzi/The Art of War against them. 'Make yourself appear weak where you are strong, and strong where you are weak'. 'If you know yourself and your enemy, you will have victory', and they knew 'this guy is by nature cautious'. Knowing those things, the enemy general looks at this apparently empty city and this super-cautious general sitting outside it playing music, seemingly unconcerned by the army on his doorstep (and a couple of bloody street sweepers continuing to do their work outside the open gates!), and the enemy general -- quite logically -- thinks 'he's trying to draw me in, this is a set-up'.

If this was NPC's versus NPC's, I might call for a contested Tactics roll. If it was a PC showing up like this, I might ask for a Notice roll if the musical General bungled his Composure roll, and tell them 'he's sweating' or something. If the NPC's showed up, I'd make the Notice roll for them if the player bungled their Composure or Music roll, and then try to work out what they would do based on the results.

But mostly this is trickery, and there are less 'hard rules' in Anima for that. Which I like. ^_^

Sounds right to me, Sharp!

Revisiting Three Kingdoms nowadays, I've gotten a different appreciation for the characters and their motivations.

Cao Cao ends up being the ruler I root for the most. He's ruthless and deceptive, proud and driven. He highly values capable generals but is limited in his vision of how to win their loyalty. By the time the most famous period of the Three Kingdoms novel rolls around he is the logical choice for peace in China.

Liu Bei becomes a much more fascinating character when you interpret his virtuousness as a mix of his true beliefs and a deliberate political weapon. He frames his fight as one for the people of China, yet never is Cao Cao ever portrayed as someone cruel to commoners.

And Zhuge Liang should know this. Which gives his decision to become Liu Bei's strategist added depth as to what it says about Zhuge Liang's values. Because without the "fight for the people" angle, what Liu Bei is left with is his claim to restore the Han dynasty and the confucian sense of loyalty that evokes in Chinese culture. And Zhuge Liang is willing to tear himself away from his quiet life to give all his energies to a near-hopeless cause, all because there is finally a Han throne claimant who is reasonably worthy.