'Sword of the Tides' project aims to include all players

A server-wide role playing project, open to anyone's participation no matter what level or faction, began Monday on the Shadow Council forums. The organizer, who plays a gnome with mysterious motivations called “Pennydrop,” says she has written what she hopes is an adventure/mystery storyline that can be played by anyone.

The storyline began with a puzzle that was distributed on the forums for players to solve. The puzzle offered a reward for the first person to solve it, and from there, more quests and events will slowly reveal the plot behind “Sword of the Tides.”

“Basically it's your standard archetypical adventure story -- there's trouble with the seas, this mysterious Pennydrop person needs adventurers to investigate, and rewards will be offered,” the organizer said in an in-game interview.

Pennydrop says the real goal behind her project is to include everyone who wants to participate.

“Having been on ShC for a long while now, and having been involved in a lot of role-playing, feeling ‘shut out’ or excluded is one of those complaints that comes up a lot,” Pennydrop said. “And it's not always something that people do intentionally. There (are) a number of factors that can cause new and old role-players alike to feel like they're on the outside looking in…so I kind of wanted to do an event that was advertised as both ‘big’ and ‘open’ from the very beginning, and try to plan things in such a way that anyone could get involved.”

In order to involve players on a large scale, Pennydrop says, she has planned several different ways for people to interact with the story. She has assistants in both the Horde and Alliance factions. Events will take place in-world which anyone can attend. If a player’s schedule means they can’t attend an event, there are puzzles and riddles to ponder. Players may also collect virtual items in-game for Pennydrop—something that can be done alone or in a group, at the player’s leisure.

Prizes include three rare turtle mounts, which will be given away during the course of the story.

Three players have already individually solved the first clue, a coded message. The first player to solve the cipher was “Heulwen,” who could not be reached at press time. She will be given a prize. The second player was “Juliard,” who says he spent four hours on and off working to solve the cipher.

“…I've always loved codes so I gave it a shot, and once I started working on it, I couldn't stop,” Juliard said in an in-game interview. “Got more intrigued once I read the further Tides details and saw the web site.”

Juliard, who has been role-playing for about 15 years, said this type of open storyline is his favorite way to play in the world. He enjoys reacting to events and seeing how others respond in kind.

And now that the first puzzle is solved, Pennydrop says an in-game event is on its way. An announcement will be made on the forums and on the Sword of Tides web site.

“It's always good to see someone start up some open RP that people are excited about!” Juliard's player said. “And, I can't wait for the next contest, so I can win!”

Who is Pennydrop?

“Pennydrop” made her first appearance last December when she mysteriously sent out a single gold coin to many characters of both factions during “Winter Veil,” the game’s gift-giving holiday in December. Why did she do it?

According to a poll taken last winter, the majority of players don't want to know about Pennydrop's in-character motivations—they enjoyed the mystery of her identity.

“My main concern at the time was whether people would actually like to associate a face and a backstory with the Pennydrop character, or whether they preferred the mystery,” Pennydrop said in an in-game interview. “And by far, everyone liked the mystery better, so I'm really going to play that up in the Sword of the Tides story.”

Players interested in participating should send their puzzle solutions to Pennydrop, either via an in-game message, an email to pennydrop@swordoftides.com, or via a private message to Pennydrop on Roleplayer's Haven. Players can also contact her assistants, Silvia on the Alliance side or Goldstein on the Horde side.

Pennydrop thanks the server of Shadow Council. “It's because of the experiences I've had here that I'm motivated to do this; we have a wonderful RP community on both the Alliance and Horde sides of the fence,” she said.

--L. Waymire

Cross-faction fiction site hits 100 registered users

World of Warcraft Fiction, a forum-based collection of art and stories by players from multiple role-playing servers, welcomed its 100th registered user at the end of last month.

According to owner Jean-Philippe Laliberté of Trois-Rivières, Quebec, WoW Fiction is a writer’s community with sections for art, Alliance stories, Horde stories, world lore, cross-faction stories, and character biographies. Since its creation last spring, it has expanded from a story archive to a writer’s community.

Cindy Davison of Peoria, Illinois—better known as Anicka of the Sentinels server—said in a chat interview that she started the first version of WoW Fiction last March or April as a way to archive character writing for her server.

“I started an ‘archive’ forum, because so much was being lost,” she said. “I love all the writing and hate to see anything gone and forgotten, or not able to be experienced.”

Following a proposal by Laliberté, the site moved from its old address to wowfiction.net last April, and opened to include writing and art from all servers.

Laliberté is known on Sentinels as Grimgash and Raehvin, and on Shadow Council as Deveran. He bought the domain name wowfiction.net and created the layout and banner by modifying some art owned by Blizzard Entertainment--the company that created World of Warcraft.

“I wanted to offer everyone a chance to have their stories read. To share their hobby with others around the gaming world that is Warcraft,” he said in a chat interview. “It is a community of great writers and role-players alike, and who does not like to share their passion with others?”

“Rabbly” of Shadow Council is one of the community’s active members. Rabbly’s alternate character “Saphrona” was the 100th user to register.

“The fact that it is multiple servers is nice, as I can read stories that I wouldn’t otherwise see on the Shadow Council forums,” Rabbly said in a letter to the Strider.

Rabbly likes the way WoW Fiction is organized, and the fact that there is a place for artwork. “Graphics have been a big part of my stories,” the player said.

WoW Fiction user Fiona Zimmer, who plays “Gerd” on Sentinels, said in an email that she watched WoW Fiction grow from being an archive site to a writer’s site.

“We needed a place where we could keep the stories we liked - especially Sentinels, which somehow got a reputation as this incredible haven for authors. Sentinels forums started with some incredible storytelling right from the birth of the server, and it drew in so many more of us, like moths to a candle.

“WoWfiction was a natural outgrowth of that need to preserve the best of our collective writings,” she said. “I honestly wish we’d had it earlier – we’ve lost so much good work already.”

Zimmer has written a one-act play, “The Tale of Jaina and Thrall,” which can be found in the Silvermoon Scrolls section of WoW Fiction, along with many other pieces of writing based in the Warcraft world.

“Tundrarunner” of Shadow Council is another one of 104 users.

“Wowfiction is a great resource to share role-play stories across different realms,” Tundrarunner wrote in an email. “Unlike rp-haven, which is a Shadow Council only forum, it’s nice to be able to reach out to other roleplayers who may not otherwise know about this little corner of the WoW universe.”

Tundrarunner says there isn’t as much feedback on the site as one would like, “although I’m just as guilty about not giving feedback as anyone else.”

“I support roleplay whenever I can,” Tundrarunner continued, “so I try to do my small part to help keep good WoW RP sites going whenever I can. It’s great to hear they’re being successful.”

Creator Cindy Davison has been writing for her characters since she and her husband played in EverQuest together. She says she is currently writing down a storyline that her character Anicka is experiencing.

“I’m really eager to read all the new stories and installments that people are posting,” she said.

Owner Jean-Philippe Laliberté enjoys writing, drawing, and creating mods for his favorite games. “I’ve always loved creating, digging into my imagination,” he said. “From modding, drawing to writing, it’s digging into my mind for something fun and original that really stimulates me.”

He hopes the site may someday expand to include blogs, a role-playing Wiki, and downloadable fiction. Suggestions for the site should be made on the suggestion forum.

“It’s important to mention that it’s really thanks to all members who contribute beautiful storylines and artwork daily that wowfiction.net is becoming what it is today,” he said.
--Lacey Waymire

Running a Successful Role-Playing Event: Defining Story Arcs

Aron Christensen has been role-playing for more than 18 years. He has been a storyteller for dozens of campaigns online, in table-top, and in live action role-playing games. In this special guest column, he advises on the elements that create a dynamic storytelling event players will enjoy and remember. Part One is "Defining Story Arcs."

The World of Warcraft is a wonderful medium for role-playing and Shadow Council has always had a strong community of role-players. Role-playing (RP) events allow players to add their own touch to the shared world and help tie the community together. But running a successful RP event isn’t easy. One of the things you can do to ensure you have a successful event is to define your story arc. I hope to give you some ideas about how to do that, and create enjoyable, exciting, and memorable events.

When you decide to run an event, you’re taking on a big job. You’re now the Game Master, Dungeon Master, Referee, or (my personal favorite) Storyteller. It’s your job to tell the story you’ve created with the help of your guild, friends, or random strangers who happen to be strolling by the location you’ve chosen.

The most common stumbling point I have seen in storylines is that there isn’t a plan. One might come up with a compelling idea for a story, say the death of a loved one, filled with drama and excitement. This loss might be a great catalyst for role-playing, but it’s not a plot. Everyone reacts to the grief and pain, but it doesn’t have anywhere to go.

I played a character who was a survivor from Andorhal and who was infected by the plague yet strangely immune. He was lots of fun to play, always coughing, frequently confused, and terribly afraid of anything reminiscent of the undead (and as that was around Halloween, it was great fun!). But I had no goal for the character. I hadn’t thought out how he might be cured, if I wanted him cured, or anything more than the original idea about being a carrier. It was terribly frustrating for the people I was playing with at the time because though they tried very hard (+5 health enchant on my bracers to bolster my constitution – great idea Arle!), nothing they did affected me. There was no plot to it, merely a situation to react to, which got so tiresome that not only the plot but the characters were abandoned.

When you decide to begin a plot, think about where it is going to begin, where it should end up, and what needs to happen between. Let’s use the example of the death of a loved one. We know where the story begins, but let’s look at where it is going. Maybe the character is intended to fall into despair and desperation, only to triumph over the grief and rise to new heights like an emotional hero’s cycle (which is a whole topic in and of itself, so another time perhaps).

More recently I participated in a plot as another character who had been infected by the plague. However, this time, and due to the efforts of another fantastic player who ran the event for me, we had defined an arc. A mad Forsaken group selected my character as one who was most suitable as a mate for Sylvanus. He was infected, so that he could be presented as a surprise gift (and kudos to Darsha for involving the Banshee Queen without having to god-mod). Undead agents tried to kill the people he loved because his love was keeping the plague from claiming his soul. From captured agents my character and his friends learned of the plot, tracked down its perpetrators and stopped them, climaxing in the seizure of a cure and the power of love to protect his soul. Much more successful, don’t you think?

As Storyteller you control the basic events: the death you inflict on your character, and the end goal of a fall and return, but the middle of this story is the part where others get to interact and add to the plot. Give the people you have included in your plot something to do. Perhaps they must talk the grieving character down from a ledge. Later, they might quest to find some momento from the lost loved one that will bring your character some closure. These middle events are what move the character from the beginning to the end goal. In the story arc I played in, the cause of the plague had to be discovered, my character had to be protected from death (from which he would rise Forsaken), the reason he was infected needed to be uncovered, the cure had to be researched, then the villains had to be stopped and the cure administered, all before reaching the end goal of saving my character's life. These events were the things that moved the plot forward from a plague-infected character to the end of the story arc.

Remember, it’s okay to tell your guild or friends what you want out of a story. If you really want your character to forsake the Light because of the loss, it’s going to frustrate you when everyone continually tries to win you back, no matter what and it’s going to frustrate them when nothing they do can change your mind. If everyone knows what the goal is, everyone can work toward it together, offering their own input and adding their own touch without derailing the plot. It is these events that will help you move your plot to a satisfying conclusion.

Make sure that you have an ending in mind. Long stories without any end in sight are the ones in the most danger of having people loose interest. I have met too many people with characters they never play because they are waiting for some story to finish and they have no idea when or how it will happen.

So, decide where your story will begin and where you would like it to end up, and plan out a few events in the middle to help move the story to a conclusion. Try it out and see what a difference it makes.

Events this week: Diamond unveiling

This week some unique role-playing events are open to Shadow Council players. The Strider talked to each of the organizers to see what they’re all about.

Unveiling of the “Blue Badger” (Updated)
When: 8 p.m. server time Thursday, July 19 (Updated)
Where: Ironforge Explorer’s League Museum
Organizer: Nicholai of the Meddlers

Thanks to this totally not fake newspaper article, Alliance characters know the valuable “Blue Badger” diamond will be unveiled at the museum in Ironforge Thursday evening.

Anyone is invited to attend and play into what Nicholai’s player calls “an evening of intrigue and tongue-in-cheek humor.”

From the organizer: “Who can steal the gem? Let's be honest - any self-respecting thief that read The Jeweler's Times and thought the Blue Badger was a real and priceless jewel without any sort of defense to speak of probably needs to hang up their lock picking tools. It's a fairly obvious trap.”

Carces Magister, the character organizing the event, is a scoundrel and jewelcrafter who dislikes being stolen from. After a very large crate of jewels was stolen from the Meddler’s shop, he decided to get even with the thief. “Not everyone gets even with a dagger in their hand, however,” Nicholai said.

The organizer said thieves are welcome to try to steal the gem, but he warns, “I very much doubt, however, that the thief in question will be entirely pleased with their prize...”

Opalissa DeLadrier’s Birthday Bash
When: 7 p.m. server time, Friday, July 13
Where: Stormwind Keep gardens
Organizer: Opalissa of the Meddlers

Dress is formal at this Alliance dance. No gifts are necessary, and anyone is invited.

“I decided that Opalissa's birthday and age would coincide with my own,” her player said about the event. Opalissa and her player both turn 26 this week.

Opalissa hosts parties in the World of Warcraft every few months, and used to host in-game parties every month. “It’s easier to do (parties) online than in real life, because there's no setup or anything for it,” her player said. “We just show up, do what we have to do, and that's it.”

Opalissa still needs volunteers to act as door announcers and guards. You can sign up to help out here, or contact Opalissa with an in-game letter. Volunteers will be paid.

The Laughing Zevrah (Recurring weekly)
When: 7 p.m. server time, Thursday, July 12
Where: The Laughing Zevrah Tavern, Ratchet
Organizer: Khabiba

The Laughing Zevrah is a player-run tavern, designed to be a roleplaying hot spot. According to the organizer, “It is open for anyone, including the occasional Alliance.”

Khabiba began running the tavern when Tundrarunner stopped. It has been a Horde-side roleplaying hot spot for Shadow Council players for nearly two years.
--L. Waymire