Evaluation
Some of you have indirectly or directly asked for an evaluation of the first session so well, here you have it. I will review the session and point out what I think about the scenario as well as your1 efforts.
To begin with the first session went a little astray. This is due to the fact that everything didn’t really go as planned and that you as usual took the easy way out from hard situations. This was all alright but then most of you started to act weird or not at all. But well, after a brief discussion I managed to help you correct this a little and the second session put you back on track, so to speak.
But in all, how was this first time, actually? Hmm, let me think…
In the beginning you all seemed full of expectation, and well frankly I was too. I mean this was THE first session since I came back from Japan so it’s no wonder that we actually looked forward to it. Not to mention that I had really built up something really special compared to what you are used to.
So the beginning when all arrived at the manor and how Agus watched from the shadows all seemed pretty good to me. But from there it went as it went. A plan is never perfect, and as all plans they only work until they are started.
I myself didn’t do everything exactly as I planned in the beginning, with the Guild greeting you at the carriage, as planned; instead I let you see the Guardsmen from the Guild watching you as you unloaded the carriage. I made several choices to change my scenario than from my original script, due to your actions. Flexible as I am and flexible as my scenario was I just had points in my scenario that I could include here and there so no set order was needed.
In the beginning of the session you all tired to act as you thought you should but here I fond some strange things for those in the house. Even though you’ve been travelling for about two weeks in the cold you didn’t seemed tired. I tried to point this out quite much but the only reaction I got on this was something like; I go to my room and throw myself on the bed. Well, that is an improvement from before and a rather easy one. A carriage is cold, it’s not like a car, and sitting in a carriage isn’t comfortable either. I’ve tried to point this out several times during earlier session for those in the carriage but even so no additional description was made.
This is fine, actually, but I just wanted to point that out that you should use opportunities like that to fill in some extra description of how your character react and feel after such a long trip on that thing. It doesn’t even take much too actually improve and give a better impression instead of letting me fill in. For an example; I jump down from the front and stretch my arms and let out a loud whiny sigh.
Just a comment there, a word there, a reaction there can make things so trivial as this be more alive and for all of us, who don’t have a real picture in front of us, your small description helps our imagination to see this in front of us and in that way create a more live perspective of everything around us. Also things as bad mood, maybe faulty thinking and stupidity can make your character seem different after a tiresome trip like this.
I do not think any more examples are needed, and also know that this is only constructive criticism. You can improve by thinking a little about this, even though it’s understandable why you don’t all the time. Sometimes just describe everything is very tiresome and describe too much may even take away the whole situation and make it boring. Though it all depends on how you describe; your tone of voice, your energy behind the words…
Even though all of this can be lost on somebody that had a bad day or really isn’t in the mood.
Second thing is your interaction with other characters as well as with other players, in-game. You still act a little stiff and need to loosen up a little and try to act out your character. This, of course, without taking too long or you will slow everyone down. Taking too much time for a simple answer or a decision will slow down the pace of the session and ultimately slow down everyone in the session if not something will bring back the pace to normal.
Third thing, based on the second, is TO act without being asked “What do you do?” and “How do you do it?”. To make things more spontaneous as little questions as possible back and forth over the table will bring everything more to life during interaction and social movement of any kind. And be ready to make mistakes and to one way or another just go on with it. You may improvise that there is a pudding on the table and say that you take a slice from the delightful pudding you saw on the table. I may say that the thing you thought were a pudding, actually just were a greasy chocolate pie. Or even say that it isn’t a pudding and replace it with the proper thing. Do not be afraid of trying to give yourself something to do by doing this, so act even if you haven’t been asked what you do.
Okay, some of you still have a bit to go to really come into your character again, but still some decisions that are more important should be thought through. But even so, this is the first session so mistakes can still be corrected and you’ll learn a little about your character, and learn how to play it as time goes.
Nobody and nothing is invincible. Everyone can be defeated, but even so, you need to learn that in any world where you have grown up, you learn to fear and respect things in a certain way. You as player fear and respect things here in our world in our way and therefore have a hard time to see why anyone would follow stupid rules that clearly are unfair and unjust to the people as what, a democracy? Even though some in Nianze may be smarter in-game than you and me some thoughts take time for a species to develop if they ever think in that pattern. Then again, with legends and stories about how things makes you evil and how your soul will be eaten and you will rot away if you don’t behave, even the mightiest will have to do things like respect the law in a country even though it brings a lot of anger to him.
This you need to understand, if you have grown up in a cruel unfair world as Yurin, things you will respect authority even though you have a battleship. Even authority respect authority when it comes to that point when they need to consider things. If the world didn’t have rules2 then the world would have been I complete chaos. The world was in complete chaos once, and therefore many have been raised in a certain manner. No one, not even one country, is without laws anymore. Exile was, but exile was just considered a big garbage dump with some rights as a country due to their expertise. So my tip here is try to see the world from the worlds own perspective.
Apart from this, I think that it went okay this first session. Now we just hope that we all can try our best to improve and play. And remember, if you are feeling tired or anything we better stop and play another day instead of just trying to go on just because we think that we should do so… that will only end up in more mistakes. So don’t be afraid to say that you want to stop the session and maybe continue another day instead.
Best regards,
Herid Fel
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