Pokemon Umbral Discussion 36: Questions Are Overrated

[Astral Harmony]

Yeah, you can do that. Good lord, man, I should think you would be able to answer these yourself.

[Geminex]

Mind you, the entire "your standard thing" sets off mental alarms, but if your standards are more like guidelines rather than strict regulations, I'd be a bit more open to it.

They will be guidelines, but you'll (hopefully) be honor-bound to treat them at strict regulations. That's the entire point of the deal. I'm not giving up leadership for a chance to expound on my ideas of balance, which will then be treated as helpful suggestions but otherwise ignored. I want a guarantee that, even if I kept devoting as much time as I have to this RP, and read every post, considered every suggestion minutely, I would find nothing balance-wise to complain about.

Mind you, that'd be rather machiavellian and impossible to actually organize. So, once again, the idea is this:

I post a few rules regarding what's overpowered and what isn't. Not sure how I'll phrase it yet, but I'll probably use three main principles: How strongly it potentially changes Gameplay, How greatly it strengthens the character in quesition, compared to the rest (that is to say, how 'fair' it is), and finally, if it's an element that was already present in the games, how much the usage in the RP differs from usage in the games.

We'll discuss these rules before they're finalized, though obviously my willingness to compromise will be limited. Though of course, rules won't be set in stone. We can modify them if we need to.

Once everything's finalized, we all agree to abide by them, both passively (don't suggest overpowered shit) and actively (speak up against anyone else suggesting overpowered shit)

And finally, like I said. I won't have any way of binding you to these rules. You can interpret them in many different ways, twist my words howevermuch you like. But I'm hoping that even if you could get around the letter ("don't do this, don't do that)"you'll respect their spirit ("don't let people's desire to power up their characters screw this RP over").

You're a real ass, you know that? =P

Yes. Yes I do. And y'know what? Unless this deal goes through, this ass will remain firmly planted on the 'leader' chair. And, whelp, will you look at that, not only am I more than capable of tactically justifying a faceful of laser directed at Togekiss, I'd also be extremely enthusiastic about that sort of idea!

Seriously, if this falls flat because of you, I'll still be leader, and for a while I swear, I'd be chanelling motherfucking Charlotte all up in this bitch. ALL ABOARD THE FRUSTRATED MALICE EXPRESS! NEXT STOP: PAIN AND HUMILIATION!

Just tell me how he'll change emotionally. More cynical? More self-doubt? Tortured by his past? More of a chip on his shoulder? Less thereof? Wiser? More impulsive? Something along those lines, I don't need to know what happens. Though if you wanna/need to tell me, PM, I guess.

So? You're not Impact! If Rayleen decides that someone else is better suited than Impact for leadership, what's he gonna do, throw a tantrum?

No. He will go "Why are you choosing to limit our autonomy and reduce our effectiveness? I am the team's chosen leader! I have the support of Charlotte, Renny and Pierce!"
And y'know what? He totally would. Because, once again, unless this deal goes through, all our other deals remain active. Including the ones where Pierce and Renny prefer Impact as leader over anyone else.

So, will you have Impact put up with an idealist leader in exchange for balance?

The way you phrase it (in that the choice is either between Pierce being the leader or the status quo of Impact's leadership and an inbalanced RP)? Maybe.
The way it actually is (in that Charlotte is a perfectly viable option for leader, so the choice is between Pierce, the Status Quo, or that one character whose leadership is incidentally supported by myself and the fucking DM)? No. Fuck no.

Not to mention that there's other ways to bring back balance into this RP. Hesitate much longer and hey, perhaps I'll find a way. And then Impact remains leader and I'll have achieved my aims, and did I mention? This is a once-in-a-lifetime offer. You said it yourself, there's really not that much you can offer me. If I find another way (and hell, I can think of two off the top of my head), then this great opportunity to limit mine and Impact's Control over this RP? Gone. So your only chance would be a coup, and if you've reached that point you might as well resign yourselves.

And fair enough. Charlotte's smarter than she looks...
But hell, that just makes it more fun.
And she's still neutral ground, so to speak. More so than Pierce, Renny or Impact, anyway. Indifference to non-murderous things pretty much means neutrality.
Also, and I didn't want to say this, but whatever: One of the conditions for this deal was that Impact's leadership isn't plot-necessary. It isn't as such. But there will be things going on, sidequest- and sequel- related things, and considering that Pierce is already to some degree suspicious of Impact, I do not think that these things would be as sucessful as if, say, Charlotte were leader. And these things aren't even nefarious. Well, ok, they are, but they're for a good cause. Trust me, limit Impact's success this RP? You'll be kicking yourself in the sequel. Kicking yourself.

[Dracorion]

Originally Posted by Geminex

Just tell me how he'll change emotionally. More cynical? More self-doubt? Tortured by his past? More of a chip on his shoulder? Less thereof? Wiser? More impulsive? Something along those lines, I don't need to know what happens. Though if you wanna/need to tell me, PM, I guess.

Wiser. I expect he'll be less cynical, toward teammates at least. Less of a chip on his shoulder, I guess? More self-doubt, but nothing crippling (I'm actually not sure about this one, we'll see how it goes). Pierce is always tortured by his past. He just doesn't usually let it get to him, y'know?

He'll also be a lot more stressed out. I mean, you try juggling dealing with your sister being kidnapped, an evil soul-eating mastermind manipulating you without your knowledge and pretending to actually be an ally, Elizabeth's wacky shenanigans, Aria's wacky shenanigans, herding a pack of kittens wielding nukes (y'know, if he gets the job), and asking a girl out.

But there won't be any outbursts. He just probably won't taunt enemies as much, maybe, and not enjoy fighting as much. That's not to say he'll turn into Grumpy McCrankyPants either.

And then there's the whole "channeling his inner ruthlessness without going completely overboard" balancing act. You can thank Enmakki for that, though hell, maybe you can have Impact give him some advice too, if he gets the job, y'know "in the interest of ensuring the competence of our new leader" or some crap like that. Mind you, he's still not going to kill anyone, but you don't see him glaring at a teammate when they make a kill right now, do you?.

I think that's it. But let's face it, chances are I've forgotten a couple, so I'll edit them into this post or do 'em in another post if you've already seen this post by the time I remember them.

Originally Posted by Geminex

The way you phrase it (in that the choice is either between Pierce being the leader or the status quo of Impact's leadership and an inbalanced RP)? Maybe.

Well I wasn't going to go and say the other option. Good God man, it's the principle of the thing! You don't help your enemies reach any kind of conclusion, even if they're already more than capable of figuring out for themselves in a matter of seconds anyway.

And shut up. I know you're going to say something like "trust me, you don't want me to be your enemy".

Originally Posted by Geminex

The way it actually is (in that Charlotte is a perfectly viable option for leader, so the choice is between Pierce, the Status Quo, or that one character whose leadership is incidentally supported by myself and the fucking DM)? No. Fuck no.

I'm fairly certain AB is at least half-joking about making Charlotte leader. It's not that he wouldn't do it. It's more like when I talk about killing Renny, or torturing Matthias.

Originally Posted by Geminex

Not to mention that there's other ways to bring back balance into this RP. Hesitate much longer and hey, perhaps I'll find a way. And then Impact remains leader and I'll have achieved my aims, and did I mention? This is a once-in-a-lifetime offer. You said it yourself, there's really not that much you can offer me. If I find another way (and hell, I can think of two off the top of my head), then this great opportunity to limit mine and Impact's Control over this RP? Gone. So your only chance would be a coup, and if you've reached that point you might as well resign yourselves.

Hey, some of us are totally into chaos.

Originally Posted by Geminex

Also, and I didn't want to say this, but whatever: One of the conditions for this deal was that Impact's leadership isn't plot-necessary. It isn't as such. But there will be things going on, sidequest- and sequel- related things, and considering that Pierce is already to some degree suspicious of Impact, I do not think that these things would be as sucessful as if, say, Charlotte were leader. And these things aren't even nefarious. Well, ok, they are, but they're for a good cause. Trust me, limit Impact's success this RP? You'll be kicking yourself in the sequel. Kicking yourself.

Oh come on. You can't possibly expect us to take this seriously.

Whether or not you're right is something that will be seen when the time comes. You're not giving us a warning, because that means you'd have to actually give us something concrete. It's more like a cryptic jerk-ass hint.

And the proceedure for cryptic hints is keep on going as you normally would. Except you'll be keeping your eyes open for signs, of course, but not actively looking for them.

[Menarker]

Well, I just arrived safely, no thanks to Drac trying to jinx me. (Almost got stranded in a totally different location! Only sheer utter luck saved me!)

Looks like since AB oked the idea, my plan to eject Togekiss and focus the laser on Mio thus maximizing damage on bosses and minions alike is the best option.

[Dracorion]

...

You do realize AB said Devil's Drift would work on Miyo too, right?

We could laser her AND knock her the fuck out of the field, and we'd find out what happens to the Betas when they don't get their lullaby.

[Menarker]

Why laser her and then knock her out of the field? We wouldn't be able to capitalize on the high damage that she would get until she came back.

>_> Plus, you're still trying to knock out Togekiss with the damn laser...

[Dracorion]

Why yes, yes I am.

We wouldn't need to capitalize on the damage yet. It's not like she's going to heal herself while she's pulling herself out of the dilapidated remains of the building Lexhur knocked her into that she brought down.

And it's not like the enemies can heal her while she's ejected, either.

[Menarker]

Geez, at least if AB chose Impact or Pierce or someone else to dominate, at least there might be discussions or people actively trying to protest harming a team-mate... but NOO, he had to choose someone whom everyone else seems to want to knock out despite it being practically a saint with Serene Blessing and all. How twisted.

How about we try to decide how everyone else is going to attack what moves they have, since we're volleying back and forth here?

We did seem to accept Wilhelmina finishing off Toxicroak with Flying type bullet and Shannon and Moon doing Moonlight Disco on the 3 betas and on Moera...

BTW, pretty much off for the night since I got a big day tomorrow checking out the sights.

[Astral Harmony]

You know me, Goshujin-sama. You know that I like to bend over backwards on occasion just to keep the players happy. Why else would you get Lola? Why else could Pierce lay Shizuka and still have the possibility of hooking up with Chizuru? Why else would Impact be able to conquer the world? Why else would I let Charlotte get away with shooting someone? Why else would I give Matthias the ability to hack mechanical foes?

Well, maybe I should've asked if he was okay with it before I made it Porygon Z's Synchronicity Technique? To me, it just made sense. I mean, Porygon is made out of data like a Digimon or something, right? What's the best way to use electronic data in an awesome way?

Matthias could have all kinds of fun with that even between missions. Like if Impact was using a computer or something, in goes eMatthias and when someone walks by, up comes a bunch of popups for gay porn sites with high volume.

If Matthias was like that at all, he'd out-douche Pierce and Charlotte.

[Menarker]

Matt's Porygon's Sync Tech is A-OK in my book. Although, why stop there? He could replace all the assigned sound bits with some fake orgasm sound. Every time he double-click. Every time there is an pop-up or a prompt, everything he resets, load a file or anything like that, it'll cue that sound!

What I meant was that out of all the characters that could have been chosen for Domination, you chose the one that everyone WANTS to knock out, out of character wise. As if you disliked Togekiss for some reason too! Crazy, uh?

Anyhow, at best, I'll probably try to have Renny use both actions to try to convert Togekiss before Lexhur uses the laser and Devil's Drift on Mio... If it works, great. If not... well, the chances of the worst case happening is 25%... >_>