What is Going On?

[Holister]

I have been a long time gamer and a Lazlo Society member since 12/06. I have seen many great things happen there and some really great campaigns take place on the side. I don't know what has been happening over there lately though.

It seems all the life has been sucked out and replaced by a kindergarten class. I know that I have my moments more often than I should, but in my defense I am only following the flow. I know that isn't the best excuse, but its hard to try and swim upstream when "monkeys dressed like lifegaurds are constantly throwing you anvils".

I want to see the old Lazlo Society site again. Not the crap that has been going on over there as of late. Heck, I would even scrap my characters and start over new if that is what it would take to see the society restored to its former glory.

The one thing that gets my goat is the fact that it is a BTS site. Correct? So what is with the inclusion of other game characters. Seriously. Can we say "unbalanced campaign" folks. I see guys over there more fitted for a Heroes or Rifts campaign, or a Ninjas & Superspies setting taking over threads and campaigns because the run of the mill BTS characters can not stop them from doing so.

All the recent bickering and infighting doesn't help either. I know that I add to it and I take responsibility for my actions. I here by decree that I will no longer egg on or instigate further nonsense of that site. Some new guy called Sir Black convinced me and made me feel like a heel. So here I am appologizing for the error of my ways.

He had sevreal good points, many made alot of sense.

If this is a In Character site.....where is the gaming? Where are the game related topics and discussions? Where are the campaign naratives and NPC postings. For an IC site.....it isn't very IC anymore.

He made a good point and it got me thinking it shouldn't be too hard to fix this problem, especially with all the work done to the site. Might have to purge some waste material to restore the good stuff. But some times sacrafices must be made for the greater good..."The Greater Good."

Let me know what you all think.

[NMI]

{ I am Mordred aka A. Pendragon }

I would love to see the site return to what it once was. Would pruning all the posts and accounts work? Make people start from scratch? Possibly. I would rather not see it come to that.

[Natasha]

Lead by example.

[Jefffar]

There is defintely room for some IC conflict on the board, Mr. Hollister and myself (Ron) have proved it can work out decently.

It was mentioned that there needs to be an OoC board to let people in on what's actually story . . . well here it is. I thinkt hat needs to be advertised to the active posters so they realize where to go when they need to take it out of character to resolve.

[Garm]

I don't think a Hardware Weapons is too much for the BtS setting, I also don't believe that the characters are too much. After all these are supposed to be the best of the current hunters and some people who are the above average normals. Michael T is pretty powerful, but I don't use him to the maximum power levels often. I think Shadow and Natasha would be the only people on the Lazlo board who have seen him cut loose to his full abilities. Characters can be the most powerful being on the planet, and still not be over balancing to a game setting. It just takes a really good player to make this work well.

[Garm]

A friend mentioned that this could sound different than I intended. I am not trying to be a jerk in making the statement above, just wanting to point out that a good character can be just about anything.

[Holister]

I still think if its a BTS site....just keep it straight BTS then. This keeps it fair for everyone logging on to the site. And I like your idea Ron to use this as the OOC site so that the posters have a place to cme a post their character details and stuff. Good call man.

[Holister]

Sorry...but I whole heartadly disagree. As there are different forums here on the Pal boards for each individual game system, I believe that Lazlo should be kept strictly BTS this way ALL character's are playing in the same ball park.It is only fair.

[Natasha]

I see my character as an offshoot of arcanist.

[Holister]

Yeah, well Azrael hasn't posted since his disappearance many many months ago. I don't think he'll be complaining anytime soon.

[Natasha]

All our characters are from a BtS game we played in. I don't think they've deviated from the BtS theme or that much over powering. We got our asses kicked on a regular basis.

LazNat is a diabolist with some traditional spell magic tutelage under Michael T/garm.

LazloSasha is from Rifts game, an ecto-hunter, which I think isn't that much more powerful than Ghost Hunters. I think it's a great BtS class, too.

lather's character, Kolya, is an ordinary person (:lol:).

Viktoria's character, kalle (Katja Allegrova), is a Physical Psychic. She's never played in an RPG, yet.

[Jefffar]

Ron is a BTS character

Hannah is a Nightbane character

[Holister]

Ok...many fine agurments indeed.......but you can not change that simple BTS prime directive.....take an ordinary erson and through them into an horifying and un-ordinary situation. Pyschics and Arcanists give the characters in that particular setting a fighting chance without loosing sight of the primary objective.

Superpowered characters, no matter how "tuned down" is still powered and unbalances the game just by being there. If the player insists on running a "tuned down" super powere character, then why ot create a standard BTS character in the first place. Its hypocracy at its finest.

The BTS campaign setting is not about heroics, its about HORROR. Face it, the Lazlo site is anything but. I know the horror genre, I know what scares people. I have been running BTS campaigns since 1st edition since 1993. I know that other Palladium game settings are considered "source material" for BTS such as Boxed Nightmares and Mystic China. Even that one hit wonder System Failure has some degree of compatability.

Games like Heroes, Rifts {any of them}, Nightbane, Ninjas, they are non combatable unless the GM plans for a hero trouncing the bad guy scenario, then by all means go right ahead. Non humans should be out of the question altogether for the obvious reasons...well...maybe except werewolves and vampires {But only under the right circumstances}. My friend rolled up a straight by the book Nightspawn {back when it was known by that name}. The character defeated my well planned game in under 20 minutes. The time it took for him to roll up the character was nearly 5 hours.

But BTS is not about heroes trouncing bad guys. Its a game about mystery, suspence, horror, the ability for the common person to not just survive {though that is the biggest part}, but possibly out think and defeat the threat withou the use {or abuse} or gizmos, super powers, mega weapons, or hypocracy .

By allowing other game settings to intermingle with the traditions that BTS and Lazlo Society are based on, it lessens the purpose and true deffinition of the game. In layman's terms, its take the horror out of a horror genre based RPG.

Sorry for rambling.....but I feel strongly on this.

[Natasha]

BtS - indeed, horror - is different things for different people. Consider the difference between splatter and erotic horror (eh ). BtS is a very diverse setting with everything from part time construction workers peeking in the shadows to dedicated, hardcore investigators with deep pockets. LSorg is just one place that must accomodate all these styles. Or is it?

We've approached the site as a place to put ideas in the form of a story for others to steal.
Experimented on occasion with this or that but in the end, the best thing to do is throw out ideas. I don't follow the ongoing stories anymore. I want to write out the entire story and then post it; like Kolya and Ron did years ago at the compound. That's also because I just don't have time to keep up, but it's also because I think that's the best way to go.

[Jefffar]

Hannah is potentially potent or a potential non-factor in any situation. She is a Channeller OCC thus her abilities aren't really hers so much as borrowed from a greater power that can decide that it wants them back.

Of course this makes her very attractive to those who seek to tap this greater power for themselves - which sets up all sorts of potential plots.

[Holister]

Lets see....

Ben Holister is a classic BTS 1st Edition Ordinary Person. When I updated him, I kept him as an Ordinary Person but the 2nd edition skill system was nutty. So I stuck with 1st edition for good ol' Ben.

Carter...classic Arcanist because the Arcanist got screwed over in 2nd Edition.

Azrael was a comglomeration between me and my friend combining a elements of the more gothic horror elements of Ravenloft or Call of Chuthulu with BTS 2nd edition character creation. That fact that he is immortal was my idea because I was really into Highlander...

Tony...just a BTS 1st edition Victim Class character {again another aspect screwed over in 2nd edition}.

Stephen Crane .....Arcanist 1st edition but a bit more tech savy.

There was Morte.....alot better as the NPC villain in an actual sit down game...didn't work out at all as a IC on Lazlo....lesson learned DO NOT RUN VILLAINS!!!!! EVER!!!!!!!

There was the horrible mistake I allowed my friend Shawn to create GRIM. That poor diluded fool....lesson number 2....DO NOT RUN MONSTERS!!!!! EVER!!!!!

My point....good characters can be created with just a BTS and some imagination. {And some leniancy on behalf of a really good GM}.

[Holister]

Hannah is potentially potent or a potential non-factor in any situation. She is a Channeller OCC thus her abilities aren't really hers so much as borrowed from a greater power that can decide that it wants them back.

Of course this makes her very attractive to those who seek to tap this greater power for themselves - which sets up all sorts of potential plots.

That is the Molly character in a nut shell. Cept she is a Nephalynm instead of a Chaneller, but I like the sound of that.

[Natasha]

My point....good characters can be created with just a BTS and some imagination. {And some leniancy on behalf of a really good GM}.

Yea, that's why I play BtS

[Garm]

Well Michael T is a first edition arcanist, and at 11th level with a long history of creating and keeping storage talismans charged he can be over whelming. He does have a good selection of PF spells as his mentor is from that world. I try to keep him from being so over whelming that every one else would feel shadowed or that they have to amp thier characters up to fit into the story arc with him.

Crosshair MT is a Hardware Weapons with a secondary of Armor from second edition. He carries all customized weapons and wears class IV armor out of the first edition book with a ballistic gel lining that clots any bleeding. Not too over powering, his P.S is high at 27, but not so much that it can be over balancing. I think he works well in the games I have played and run him in.

Of course we can debate till the end of time and never come to an agreement that will please every one. I think that the characters are all good, and most need work. Heck I know Michael and Crosshair need work, I am trying to improve how they interact with the rest of the board. I also know that I need more practice typing in stories. I hate communicating over a computer. (Hence the low post count for all my accounts on various forums.)

Allen/Garm/you get the idea.

[Holister]

That is why Azrael has not been used since. I recognized him as being over the top for this type of genre game. All characters produced by me are now are "human" and 6th level or less. The pot has been put away, thank you kettle.

[Holister]

That was funny......real funny.

[Natasha]

It comes down to preparing and planning and finishing the story before posting it.

[Holister]

Alright, so what i'm hearing from Holister is this: anyone who isn't playing a Bts character on the Lazlo site needs to take a hike.

********.

Holister I like you bud, but you're starting to sound like a "Rules Police" and I simply despise those kinds of players. They have no imagination, and no sense of fun. Now that doesn't mean I won't game with them, but if they go too far, I'll call them on it. Like i'm doing right now.

You're whining, again, about the loss of that Bts feel to the Lazlo boards. I do believe we had this discussion a few months ago, and I think we all agreed that we were all responsible, in some way or another, for that happening. Now, like before, you're discussing pruning posts to try and correct that. Ok, but what happens when someone new starts up a thread that isn't "pure" Bts? Are you going to PM them and say, "Sorry, we can't let you post that, it's not in keeping with what we want on the site." Oh, and who decides what is, and isn't, "pure" Bts.

Well there goes the fun, and more then likely quite a few posters. That kind of elitist crap ruins the day for everyone, not to mention will turn the Society page into a stale old fossil within a year.

As you can see, I feel very strongly that too much policing will simply ruin it for everyone. Oh, and Holister, it spelled Hypocrisy.

See how annoying that is.

Last time I checked, I have freedom of speech and this forum allows us to speak our minds. Everything I have said I stand by fully, but is my OPINION. So don't try and pick a fight.

I am not "rules police" but why play a game you aren't going abide by anyway. I agree with Petite Elfgirl, the boards are always going to be plagued by those players who insist on wrighting their rules and doing whatever they please, and restricting player access due to this will limit the imagination let loose on the boards. BUT if players constantly are allowed to play characters outside the box, what happens to those players who do play within it, and are constantly getting bullied, pushed around, and outshined by the others.

Plus if another player comes along new to the boards with an even more powerful character the prior "super powered " players are the first to complain about it and try to oust that guy just because their character was outdone. Its ridiculous, and laughable at times. Some people think they can rule the forums and have it in their head that other player must do what their told or they are not welcome. And I am not speaking about the admins like Pendragon who have the real power, just those on powertrips who think they are better than everyone else beacuse their character can hurl a Buick, has 1000 guys under his command, claims to be 50th level with 100 for every stat. Not cool.

In all fairness, it is a game, after all is said and done, that is the point. Its ok to bend the rules, but to completely toss those rules out the window in favor "might makes right" just isn't acceptable in my eyes.

How others see it, is how others see it. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on the matter. As this is the internet, and The LAzlo Society welcomes everyone, only the players can choose who and what happens in their threads and inevitably across the boards.

Thank You

PS: It is spelled HYPOCRACY....Get a dictionary!

[Jefffar]

Good story telling can mesh characters of widely disparate power levels. Some of our strongest and weakest characters were a part of the rescue that got Hannah sprung from the Dreamstream - when we finally get the story told I hope all come off as having beein in distinct danger and all come off as usefull to the success of the adventure - because that is what was intended.

[Holister]

I hope it works out that way....I assume there is good communication between everyone involved so that is does work out that way. Not that joe 1 & 2 did their part and took a licking but prevailed regarldless while super joe 3 says how he trounced all the bad guys, rescues everyone, and barely got a scratch.

So I also ssume their is much along the way of final editing before a unified "group" posting of an adventure is done with all parties adding their proper two cents worth so a cool story is told by all?

[Jefffar]

Well, I'd say in thsi case Super Joe 3 takes the worst licking because evil dude knows who he is, what he is capable of and decides to unload his heaviest artillery on him first.

There was much back and forthing

[Natasha]

It comes down to preparing and planning and finishing the story before posting it.

I think I'm more guilty of that than anyone.

You have no idea how many I've gotten myself into

[Natasha]

Meh. Just do your own thing, invite a few folks that of like mind to join if you like.

And if you finish and post your story, there's noway anybody can spoil it (except you, of course).

[Natasha]

What is it and what are you suggestions for fixing it?

[Holister]

Yes..... What do you think needs to be fixed? Was it something previous mentioned in this topic, or something new that you feel needs to be addressed? Feel free to speak your mind here.

[Sir Neil]

I still think if its a BTS site....just keep it straight BTS then.

Mystic China is a part of BTS -- remember the excerpt from Victor's Splintered Souls and Broken Auras?

But Willie Long is a plain old BTS2 Genius/Natural.

[Sir Neil]

If "regularly" means "on the weekends when I have intenet access and not writer's block," then it's a firm "more or less".