Bankor

Hey folks! I haven't played this style of game before (PbP, but not for about ten years, and before was either freeform or trying to simulate a 3-5 person tabletop game). I had a fabulous time, so thank you all!

Like most , I will happily talk about my character, so ask away!

Our desert RP was fun. I do regret not seeing Aran again so he could get her real story rather than Ashla's "gentle" story she told in front of the VIP. Will you be bringing Aran back in the future?

Never got to meet Aran, but man I loved to read his stuff. All the puns.

Where do you see Aran going from here? And what inspired you for the character?

We did have the first thread, where Sabine still had a stick up hers, sad we didn't meet much after.

Did greatly enjoy Aran though, and happy to see you play

I had fun in our threads Aran.

More then I probably should of, thanks for the few we had.

A few at a time, more tomorrow! In order of quickest to most complicated answers:

Ashla Vyliis wrote:Our desert RP was fun. I do regret not seeing Aran again so he could get her real story rather than Ashla's "gentle" story she told in front of the VIP. Will you be bringing Aran back in the future?

Hey, there’s always day 13! Or Alderaan. Which answers the next question -- I think one of the strengths of ongoing campaigns is that you get to build on what you had before. I enjoyed exploring Aran, and think he’ll still be fun to grow and play with, especially since I will know more than 0 people and things, in and out of game!

Sabine Kelborn wrote:We did have the first thread, where Sabine still had a stick up hers, sad we didn't meet much after.

Did greatly enjoy Aran though, and happy to see you play

Thanks! I appreciated that first offer in the mess hall, it helped as a mental ice-breaker. Feel free to hit him up D13!

Zanebry Varliss wrote:I had fun in our threads Aran.

More then I probably should of, thanks for the few we had.

Aran learned a lot from Z. In seriousness, thanks for accepting the puppy-spy energy with wit and humor. It really helped make my game to have someone to bounce off of in that arena -- even if we weren’t in scenes, I was thinking, “what would Aran think about telling Z about this...”

Lyseil Panteer wrote:Never got to meet Aran, but man I loved to read his stuff. All the puns.

Where do you see Aran going from here?

He’s basically an over-enthusiastic rookie detective, and he met a mysterious femme fatale attached to a galaxy-spanning conspiracy! So he’s definitely going to continue whacky undercover shenanigans, with a focus on finding the Star Cabal. I don't know if he'll have made Knight by Alderaan -- he definitely doesn't seem to be on track to be recognized for his, um, maturity and judgment anytime soon. And unlike Anakin, he's neither whiny and demanding or the chosen one, so no special treatment.

And what inspired you for the character?

Haha. I want to dig up some of my chat logs with Niall before I answer this one, so, tomorrow...

Hello!

You've never done this before? I think you've done rather well here, hope to see you around? Also, what was his appeal to fringe characters?

Lyseil Panteer wrote:...what inspired you for the character?

tl;dr, while chatting with Niall's player, my random silly idea ("a cool jedi, like, a Miraluka wearing sunglasses") evolved through more goofy versions (a USO style performer of hoverboard tricks Padawan, with a long-suffering master) to slightly less goofy versions (an overenthusiastic undercover cop Padawan, with a long-suffering master, with a fondness for hoverboard tricks). I ended up adding a Fast and the Furious/Point Break style extreme sports/fast driving plus crime undercover operations to his backstory. I found the combination of intended earnest Jedi-ness let me engage in that good, good Star Wars vibe, the sort of stuff people rightly praise Tethys for this game. Meanwhile, his youth and (over) enthusiasm meant I never had to worry too much about putting my foot in it. Not being afraid to have your character be the butt of the joke is very liberating (... it's possible I apply this maxim to real life, also).

Looking through this, the puns (at least in their consistent, constant form) were a late addition, evolving from the obvious cop+sunglasses -->CSI connection, plus, you know, love of puns.

Below, find a peek behind the curtain, as Niall's player and I chat about my developing ideas...

[Some time in January]

ARAN:
I suppose I will have to refine my character concept for the forum game from "a jedi"
NIALL:
Yeah, more details are required
A:
a *cool* jedi
like, a miraluka wearing sunglasses
N:
That sounds great!
Do it
[Tethys] likes it
A:
Alright, that random tired thought is now a seed crystal. I'll sleep on it

[The next day]

N:
Okay
What if your Miralukan Jedi took off their sunglasses at dramatic moments
And underneath the sunglasses was a second pair of sunglasses?
A:
They have the actual little miraluka eyecover
N:
As long as there's still sunglasses somewhere
So you can take them off while walking away from a very slow explosion

[Late April]

N:
There's the [stats for Miralukans] he made

A:

Mirrorshades miralukan, cool skateboarding jedi
(agility 1, I will have to buy that up to invest in sweet hoverboard tricks*)
*unsure as of now whether I'm committed to that level of shtick

N:
ride a BMX

A:
Or jump boots!
"bmx bandit and Jedi master"

...

A:
I might take a Lightsaber spec from one of the aforementioned careers, and then performer from EotE, and having my long suffering master have sent me to the war zone to instill some seriousness. I thought I was going as a USO equivalent performer, actually needing to lightsaber things is a rude surprise
... I might make it less goofy than that, I guess the universe has been at war for ~10+ years?

N:
Heh, something like that
War's definitely a thing
I think Jedi involvement is mixed, though

A:
Maybe I'll turn it on its head, and the frivolous mirrorshades hoverboarder is actually a cover for a sentinel

N:
oho!
Sneaky!

A:
"what if point break, but with lightsabers"

N:
Can you fire a lightsaber up in the air yelling 'argh'?

A:
Shien gets saber throw, so, yes
This concept may win out by virtue of being less obviously goofy
While still goofy

So it's like Hot Fuzz meets Mitchell & Webb meets Star Wars meets CSI.

Teffa wrote:You've never done this before? I think you've done rather well here, hope to see you around?

Thanks! I've done things similar to this, but not quite like this, and not in a while. I will definitely be around, probably just for future Stars War, since that's the probably the only fiction that's holding my interest enough to have me sustain a game.

Also, what was his appeal to fringe characters?

Aran's Fast and the Furious/Point Break background meant he was very comfortable with the criminal/fringe element, in some ways more so than, say, Republic military. On a meta-level, although I didn't think of it as such when I was putting Aran together, it gave me a reason to seek out another 1/3 of the game for interactions!