Golden Perch Discussion Thread

[piosenniel]

Food's arrived for Al

and hot tea for Elin

[Galadriel55]

What is it with onions?

[blantyr]

Sorry I missed Rowan coming out to look for Goldie. Weekend in real life. Busy. If anyone wants to connect with Goldie, I'd be pleased to connect. As I said earlier, there will be a little music in the air that might be chased after dark. She isn't making herself too hard to find, but you'd have to look.

[Tam Lin]

Hello!

A dusty Elf character from waaay waaaaaay back would like to visit the Perch again

I'll bring him in soon if that's alright with you all

Tavrobelion (Tavaro)

[Folwren]

Would love to have him back, Tam. Welcome back.

-- Folwren

[Mithalwen]

I remember Tavaro, would be good to see him back.

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Tam Lin

Hello!

A dusty Elf character from waaay waaaaaay back would like to visit the Perch again

I'll bring him in soon if that's alright with you all

Tavrobelion (Tavaro)

If you'd care to stumble into Goldie on your way to the inn...

[Envinyatar]

Originally Posted by blantyr

The Golden Perch seems to have flawed characters generating liberal amounts of angst.

What exactly do you mean by angst?

"Tolly", my character, was not designed to be an angsty fellow.

He has no neurotic fear, anxiety, guilt, remorse. He's not depressed. Nor has any semblance of deep and essentially philosophical anxiety about the world in general or personal freedom.

He's quite comfortable in his skin.

Is 'angst' a defined term in use in the Ambarquenta style of roleplaying?

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Envinyatar

Is 'angst' a defined term in use in the Ambarquenta style of roleplaying?

A quick scan of the 7.9 AQ release yielded no hits for angst. Let's just say that a few of the AQ group I've been playing with are too busy bunnying to spend a lot of time fretting the little unimportant stuff... like character development. There are different game styles, and within every group there are players that emphasize different stuff. A lot of the Golden Perch characters might well have trouble adjusting to a conflict driven game as much as or more so than Goldie's problems fitting in with the Perch crowd.

[blantyr]

Sorry if I'm rambling a bit. The following includes some spoilers. If you want to learn about Goldie by role playing with Goldie you might want to skip the following. If not...

The Ambarquenta game mechanics include a mechanism 'flaws'. I wanted Goldie to be physically perfect, so I avoided things like color blind, short of breath or vulnerable to sorcery. I wanted to imitate Tolkien's great ladies, so I avoided villainous character traits like berserk rage or selfishness. This left me with virtuous 'flaws' that require the character to behave in heroic fashion.

She is truthful. I overplay it. She will not only avoid lying herself, but will make it hard on anyone else trying to pull off subterfuge. This has made life hard on another PC in her other game who is into conspiracy theories. Fortunately, she is not the only truthful character in the other game.

She is chaste, with a one time option for monogamous. It occurs to me that many of Tolkien's ladies are this way, which might distinguish them from the classic Mary Sue stereotype.

She is Duty bound to Lindon, performing any task called upon by appropriate authorities. This too is overplayed. If the proper authorities in any land she is in calls for some task to be performed, she is apt to try to contribute. She is a singer, not a warrior, but she wants to be there when a song worthy situation occurs. She has heard far too many songs and wants to write some herself.

She will avoid conflict with any save servants of the Shadow. This is sometimes in conflict with the Duty to serve and the desire to be at song worthy events. Resolving this conflict is complicated, involving role playing discussions about issues and moderate amounts of angst. It also creates role playing opportunities with PCs in her other game who might be considered 'bunnies' here. When Goldie is around, it becomes harder to move directly from battle scene to battle scene without considering alternatives and doing some role playing.

As a personality quirk, she is inclined towards mirth. She will sometimes laugh at large hobbits and other beings or situations which others might take seriously. The Golden Perch seems to have flawed characters generating liberal amounts of angst. For a while she might attempt to be a good girl, but be aware that if you ask a question you'll get a true answer. "If you wish to develop a strong Voice, speak Truth always."

Now, the above personality traits were designed for a game with lots of external conflict. Goldie is supposed to generate some sparks while still allowing party unity. Goldie will likely throw up her share of sparks here too. Different sparks, but sparks still.

But for now, let's assume the Al was absolutely and totally right. She doesn't belong here. She does not have a right to walk in mortal lands. While Al didn't say so explicitly perhaps, she was in essence told to go away. She doesn't take Al all that seriously, but she is looking for an invitation before she would come back.

And, no, I don't think this is the only way one might possibly play an elf. Even among elves, she would be highly unusual. Still, it's how I'd like to play Goldie.