Mon Jul 16 15:00:15 2007

At 10 o'clock PM, Day of the Sun, 34th of the Month of the Grand Struggle
on the Theran calendar Mjothvitnir perished, never to return.

Race:	dwarf
Class:	paladin
Level:	48
Alignment:	Good
Ethos:	Orderly
Cabal:	TRIBUNAL, the Blood Tribunal
Age:	189
Hours:	208

Just got back to town. Reading through my role on the pbf. is it wrong that I look back and think "would have been really cool to have been able to imm and turn that into a real religion, that is a religion in cf I'd love to folow again"....which isn't really possible I guess, given the rules of past char knowledge...heh.

Please excuse the bit of self-back-patting there, it's been a long time since I've even thought of that role, and reading it again I liked it.

Anyway, reading through, I noticed one glaring example where the pbf cut one of my role addies short. It was an important one, where I tried to turn the nebulous motsognir religion into a fully fledged cf religion with three spheres. So I figure I'll post the remainder incase anyone is interested. pbf might have cut more out of other role addies, but as I said, it's been a long time since I've read the role so I only really noticed this one.





Role
Chapter 6

Dream 4: Campfire talk
Added Tue May 29 09:46:58 2007 at level 40:
**
ooc, I tried to think what Motsognir's religion would look like, if it was
more fleshed out like a real cf religion, which spheres he would have
and the like. This is my ic attempt at something like that.
**

Dream awareness starts slowly. Blackness, fading into a shifting red light that grows
from the smallest speck to a roaring fire in front of him. He is sitting on a log
inches from the flame, but fears no singe as there is no heat.

The trunks of massive trees crowd around. Rain starts. Heavy rain. Deluge. Silent,
everything silent.

*SMACK* The first sound, So loud it is painful. The sound of massive hands slapping
together with shattering force.

At the same exact instant, the falling waters part, as if shifted just far away to
miss the fire and Mjoth sitting at the fire. And the Massive Dwarf sitting at the
fire next to him, rubbing his hands in the non-heat of the fire.

Sound comes. Hear the thunder and see the lightning. Shock that in the lightning
flashes the trunks of the trees are shown to be stone pillars in a natural cave,
the ceiling far away and hidden behind the rain clouds.

STAY SILENT WHILE I INSTRUCT! The dwarf next to him commands before a wry smile splits
his face. The dwarf removes a crown from his head and tosses it into the fire.

A massive hand engulfs Mjoth's shoulder in a gesture of friendship, and words come to
him almost as if spoken, though the dwarf does not speak, just looks into the fire
with sadness and determination written large across his features.


Too long did I serve as King. I still tend to command when other approaches are more
appropriate.

You grow stronger, but so do the forces allied against Justice, myself, you, and your
chosen companions. With your new strength, you will be tested even more strenuously.
perhaps beyond your limits. I tell you this, so you will not expect your growing
strength to make life easier on you.

That realization has destroyed many who would have helped me in the past.

It is also time for you to have a deeper understanding.

No. Not Justice. I have given you my teachings on Justice.

But, I caution you. True Justice in itself is not this Mortal Law you have chosen.

Oh, I understand, you see a way that this Mortal Law can be a tool for True
Justice, and I agree that it oftentimes can be so. But many have grown to the
belief that they are the same, to their destruction.

Be mindful of the deeper lesson in what I have just said. No. I can tell that you
missed it entirely. I will enlighten. Which is the second lesson you must learn.

I told you that your choice to use Mortal Law as a tool is a viable one.

Your CHOICE!

Everyone has a choice. But not all choices are equal.

Yes. True Justice is what I serve. And it is what all who would be useful to me in
my service to Justice must hold sacred.

But. You are Mortals. You can not know natively everything about Justice, or how best
to serve it. Or even what is most Just in every situation.

This requires choice. And Judgment. Yes. Judgment. You must take what you know,
and what you have been taught, and reach a decision. You will be responsible for this
decision, but right or wrong, it is YOUR decision. And it is your duty to make
good decisions as often as possible.

For this,

****Here is where the pbf cut off this role addy. The rest follows****



role + For this, a cultivation of your skills to use your inner Judgment to choose the
role + right path is needed. It is a muscle that must be exercised, toned.
role +
role + But. You are Mortal. And you will make mistakes. This is where my second lesson comes
role + in.
role +
role + Yes. You must choose. You must Judge. But do not forget that you do not live in a Void.
role +
role + There are many Gods and Forces that will be willing to guide you for good or ill.
role +
role + When your Mortal knowledge and Judgment are lacking, look to the Revelating spark in
role + your soul. Your intuition. The sudden burst of strange and new knowledge. This is how
role + I can help you. This is how you can work to bypass your mortal fallibility.
role +
role + But, again, it is not easy to hear my promptings, my revelations. I will not shout
role + them to you but rather whisper to your inner being.
role +
role + To hear them you must always be at peace with yourself and in constant readiness for
role + the spark.
role + ***
role + His last words come very slow. It is obvious that he is tired and his words sound as
role + if they come from a great distance within him.
role +
role + His animation fades and he becomes more and more like a stone statue of a great
role + dwarf slumbering while sitting up.
role +
role + And then even this begins to fade, and Mjoth realizes that he can not remember when
role + the campfire, the columns, or the rain and lightning faded but he knows they have
role + been gone for some time.
role +
role + He thinks to himself "Rest well, Lord. Work awaits you when you awaken."
role +
role + And he feels himself drop off into the blackness of normal sleep.
role +
role +

so, as I hope you can see, I was going for justice/judgement/revelation, as well as trying to open the door for the possibility that people other than tribunals could follow this religion. Well, I hope I made it obvious.


Was I planning or hoping to imm and make this a religion? nope. I wasn't planning so far ahead, never crossed my mind. I just remember the fun I had in Velk's religion where people totally devoted to the faith could be drastically politically different, to the point of bloodshed sometimes. That was great, so when I thought Mjoth should have a full religion, that's kind of what I was going for.

****
as one last aside. most of these role addies were typed right into zmud, not into a text editor and edited. That was a huge mistake on my part. I tend to type stream of consciousness, using *WAY* too many commas as my mental processes try to include the pauses that are happening in my head when I form sentences. I've known this has been a failing of mine since professional writing at devry, and reading through this role I can't help but wince at the hundreds of unnecessary commas. Next time I'll try to be better.

What you Description says about you?

You had a description that was two paragraphs in length and an equal number of sentences.

I'm a HUGE reader of descriptions. I can often tell who it is I'm fighting, their ability, and to a large extent if I even want to talk to them.

Your RP was great, I mean top notch, but your description really left a lot to be desired. Had we not both been Magistrates, I might not have bothered to interact beyond a PK attempt. Your description said to me. I just don't care.


There is a handy help file for Description help and I wish more people would read and try to adhere to it.

Make another great character soon!

I liked my desc. I got more than one compliment about it, Ic'ly and ooc.

I've been playing for around 10 years now. It sure is hard to keep descs fresh, at least for me.

Sure, I could have gone with the helpfile and done desc #7859037594038475 that was

He is 4 foot 2 inches tall like every other dwarf. He has brown hair like almost every other dwarf. His eyes are brown like amost every other dwarf. He is hairy like almost every other dwarf. His complexion is ruddy like almost every other dwarf. He has a big nose like almost every other dwarf. He has a big bushy beardlike every other dwarf. He is stocky like every other dwarf. He is dressed like a paladin.



But, I don't know, I get tired of writing those descriptions. I try to mix it up with some of what *I* think is vivid imagery that would help put a picture in someones mind.

Some people said I succeeded. You obviously thought just the opposite.

Ahh well. Can't please everyone.

It just didn't make sense.

Still a great character.

The flaw was that it conveyed the big picture poorly, only depicting a few details. It was well written, original and inspiring, but do note it's fairly serious flaw. That's how you can make up even better one next time.

For grins, I checked your description on the PBF. I like the imagery, but it was two run-on sentences - one per paragraph. I had a hard time wading through, and had to read it a couple of times to really feel what you were trying to say.

Not trying to pile on...it just seemed like you were open to suggestions for improvement. Break those sentences up, and you've got yourself a winner :)

Why did Mjoth auto? Because I'm a stupid git.

I, like many who are into computer games, am slightly OCD in some respects.

I tend to pick up a pastime and hit it hard for a certain length of time. Usually until something else comes to the fore.

I can usually focus on two things at a time, which I hit fanatically.

Sometimes, I'm lucky enough to have rl work as one of those two things, heh.

When I started Mjoth, it was Cf and Disc golf. About mid way through Mjoth's life, it was cf and work. Towards the end of mjoth's life, it was work and movies.

To be fair, I did really try to stick out mjoth. maybe the last 15 hours or so were a struggle. But then I was given a stack of dvd's, most of them movies I had not seen before (quite a feat, to find that many without going back 50 years)

That was the death of Mjoth, although I never made a conscious decision to not play him, sitting down at a computer to play while I was awake just never really came up as an idea in my head.

Loved this char.

But boy did he not turn out anything like he was supposed to.

I was sitting there, wanting a cf char. Never really had a successful paladin since virtues went in, so I was leaning towards paladin.

But, I know I don't remotely have any sort of pk chops past mid 20's or so. With any class.

So I was thinking, what kind of char would it be possible to play that would never *HAVE* to die.

And I came up with a dwarf shield pally trib. With the right kind of role, this character would never have to die, ever.


So I set out to make that "right" kind of role.


I failed miserably. Thank god.

I seem emotionally incapable of playing the kind of character who just doesn't scrap it up no matter the odds. But I really didn't mind.


Sure, in the late 40's, after spending a few days getting enough eq to solo rank, it sucked to have to play Mjoth at a time when I knew he would be facing druids with hunt, in their terrain. But those were the hours I had available to me to play, and I wanted to play, so it happened, and Mjoth just would not have held back. So lost his "kit" a number of times.


I want to thank anyone and everyone who was willing to listen to Mjoth spew out about his religion. Including the imms.

I knew it was going to be a had road for Mjoth, in terms of empowerment and lvling and pk and such, but the role was fun for me despite that, and the immteraction I got was fun.

Although, I have to admit. There was one, near the end, with Ysal. I think Mjoth reacted how Mjoth would have reacted to the thing, but I get the feeling that Ysal was trying to get me the player or mjoth to do or say something....I was just confused by the whole thing.

Maybe if my time had not dropped off, other things might have happened to clear it up, I don't know.



I've played my share of roles that have really good, intricate, well crafted reasons for wanting *YOU* dead...but no real desire or need to convey those reasons. I was tired of that. So that is something I tried to fix with this role. Trying to make sure I was always interacting with people beyond the lvl of "co wrath". I think I was somewhat successful, and thank's Ginga for mentioning it. that sure gives me big warm fuzzies that someone else noticed what I was trying to do.



Imms. If it's not too much to ask? I never did get the role contest reward. A shift of main playtimes I think is the main culprit. but I sure am curious as to what it might have been. Would it be possible to find out?

You have no idea how many pk's I'd get into, where I would think it would be REALLY close and I would think to myself *wow, I wonder if that role reward would have made a difference!.

Hehe. Probably not, but it was fun to think about.


Dont' have much more time. I'd ramble on more about specific pc's, both friends and foes, but my roomate has his 30'th birthday party today, and we are going to play kickball with a bunch of friends (so he can feel young again now that he is *OLD*) and I have to get going.

I'd get the premium, so people can read the role if they wanted to have a clue what the hell Mjoth was talking about when he rambled on about Motsognir.

But unfortunately, work hasn't been one of the things I've been focusing on lately. My discretionary funds are limited, and might have to wait a while before I am able to purchase one.

Yeah, you did drop off the face of Thera. I really enjoyed watching you, and I really enjoyed my interactions with you. I'm pretty sure I threw the first empowerment at you, and a few more echos and XP for your role updates. Always well thought out, always interesting. Playing an empowerment character for a made-up God is always difficult, and often frustrating, so I'm glad you enjoyed yourself as much as you did.

Kastellyn the Devourer of Magic, Lord of Legends

*** Email me your testimonials or two-line blurbs. Help our marketing efforts! ***

One word: Enigmatic.

That is what a paladin should be damn it. Charisma oozing from their damn pores. With you mild manner and pure belief power - I was ashamed I didn't have a character you could convert now and then. That was awesome roleplay. I hope your work lets up so you can play soon, you're the kinda player I want to play with.

Yhorian

>you're the kinda player I want to play with.


As someone who plays this game to rp more than anything else, I think that is the best compliment I could ever have been given.

Thank you.

(you can't take it back now that you know it was me! hehehe)

We don't always see eye to eye ooc, but this character was great in my eyes.

Lived the code, and not in a weasely way, and very interesting and well rp'd to boot. In my opinion, the best paladin I have seen since Ulthur.

Good luck with that, sounds unpleasant. I'll be glad to meet another incarnation as well done as this one!

Yhorian

I was the one who started your empowerment off, and maybe one more of the good stuff up to mid twenties, then someone off gave you the full.

>Although, I have to admit. There was one, near the end, with
>Ysal. I think Mjoth reacted how Mjoth would have reacted to
>the thing, but I get the feeling that Ysal was trying to get
>me the player or mjoth to do or say something....I was just
>confused by the whole thing.
>Maybe if my time had not dropped off, other things might have
>happened to clear it up, I don't know.

Damn skippy!

>Imms. If it's not too much to ask? I never did get the role
>contest reward. A shift of main playtimes I think is the main
>culprit. but I sure am curious as to what it might have been.
>Would it be possible to find out?
I'll have to look that up, but it was some cool ####e.

Motsognir was a name I recognized, but just couldn't put my finger on where I had seen it until recently.

So major kudos for the char and the concept, major boos for being a complete twat and letting this char auto!!! Ysal would probably jam tha toe o' her boot up yer fat arse.
I'm glad you had fun playing him, and glad you enjoyed all the fun stuff I threw your way, keeping you skulking in the bowels of the earth and having heartbeats come out of the ground and what not.

Were you Odrirg? (There's a reason for me asking :P)

Let's see.

Dwarf rp? check.

tribunal? check.

placed in a role contest? check.

role basically means no ganging? check.

Auto-deleted early before really being able to take advantage of role and rp goodness? check.

Yeah, all the signs were there. heh.

That, and because Pro seems so annoyed that sometimes I use *THIS* kind of typing, I put a few of those in my goodbye thread, just in case anyone was watching and noticing.

To be honest, I never really expect anyone to connect a character with me, mostly because I just don't play characters all that important or world shaking, so I never expect anyone to care. Surprised anyone asked.

I wasn't going to come clean until/unless someone got the pbf. Or I had enough income to take care of it myself. But neither seems to be happening anytime soon. (starting a new company with a friend, while fulfilling, is taking just about 100% of my funds currently, no clue when we will start turning a profit. He's rich though, so we can afford another 14 months before we turn a profit. heh.)


As for the names. In my spare time about 2 years ago, I was reading some old books on norse history and religion, and came across the fact that Tokien had stolen all of his dwarf names right from norse mythology. So I, ever thinking ahead to some future cf project, jotted down a few of the names that Tolkien hadn't used, as well as their basic backstories to use in a future dwarf role if I ever played a dwarf again.

That's where I got Motsognir, Mjothvitnir, and Aurvang. As well as some others I believe that would probably have made it into my role in the future, had I not auto-deleted. Once again, I had probably 2/3rds of my role not yet input, waiting for in game stuff to occur that I could use to modify and personalize my role.



On a side note, I get my pdga number, and my doctor finds out I'm playing disc golf and goes ape-####. He even used the F word, along with a few more colorful sweet nothings in a nice 15 minute harangue that left me feeling more than a little sheepish. the short of it is, I'm now waiting on two special-order-made-to-fit knee braces before I play again, each one about 1200 bucks. Ouch.

So, I should have time in the next few days to actually have a proper goodby post. not that anyone remembers, as it's been a really long time since mjoth was around, but I remember that while playing there were a few characters I had planned on talking about and mentioning in a goodby. So I'll try to get around to that.

nt

So wtf?! You were like, the most enigmatic paladin I'd met in ages.

This makes me pretty sad. Most of my interactions with Tribunal involve telling them to eff off, or to please warrant the guy that just bashed me down infront of them, but you went out of your way to interact with your religion. What was you god called again? I want to roll up a second-coming follower :P

Yhorian

Iwa going to roll another follower too.

This was a great paladin.