IRC Game -- Gloria

[sparkletwist]

I will certainly try to make it as well!
Patricia seems the most interesting to me at this point, or maybe Bolivar. :)

[LD]

Thanks for the interest all!

That's enough people to play, but I can still take more if anyone else would like to join. The game would not conflict with Steerpike's game, so I'll move the date if it does.

I'll also give some thought on which scenario to do. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the status and my thoughts. :)

[Steerpike]

Since I'd mentioned Bioshock: Infinite earlier I wondered if you'd seen some of the recent videos, which certainly make it seem much less mindless, though there is plenty of violence as well, especially in the second half.

[LD]

Those new videos do make me feel a bit better about the game. I think I'll wait for the reviews. At least those videos imply that there is some backstory. I'm still skeptical, but the video was more enjoyable than the last.

[Superfluous Crow]

Hey, busy and far away at the moment, but just wanted to let you know that this thread reminded me that Gloria is pretty awesome.

EDIT: I, for one, am superexcited about Bioshock: Infinite. It looks amazing in so many ways. Yeah, it's action-heavy but it seems to be well-laced with story and plot as well. Just saw the E3 video. Your link seems to be broken Steerpike (the guy who posted it got banned or something).
EDIT2: I might actually be able to make it for this. I'm home and enjoying my christmas vacation from the 5th of december onwards. I'm just a little busy right around now because of the upcoming exam period.

[LD]

Hello, Bumping as a reminder that we are currently scheduled for a game on December 5th 7PM EST! Hopefully Steerpike, Sparkle and Xathan can still make it.

And Crow, you are more than welcome to join if the time works for you, especially since it will happen on Dec 5th!

Thanks for your nice comments on the setting. I have an adventure all typed up. The scenario will be "Tax Collection"

[ic]The citizens have risen up against taxation, after Gloria decided to collect taxation for a grand trade road to a neighboring city in order to act as an economic stimulus. The city needs people to collect taxes and you are the ones who responded to the call, even though you may feel that it is better for private industry to fund the roads, you need to swallow your pride and collect for this perhaps foolhardy venture.

Objectives:
1.Collect Taxes so that you get paid.
2.Subdue the Rebellion's leaders; or alternatively, side with them against taxation and find private sponsors for the road![/ic]

[SabrWolf]

Hello! I'd like to get involved in this game if I could. I'd like to take up the character Pavel, he's slimy and tricksy and sounds like he'd be a blast to play. I was hoping to be able to play the Labor Dispute scenario, but I'm getting in on this thread too late to get my vote cast (perhaps we can do that one next?).

Hoping that I can still get involved!

[Xathan]

Just to let you know I will should be there on the 5th - odds are that'll actually end up being a perfect time for me.

Quick question - are all of our character's stats pregenned, or just what's listed?

[Superfluous Crow]

I won't be able to join it turns out. I am somewhere far above Central Asia when you guys start playing. :/
If this lasts for more than a single session I could perhaps drop in later? My christmas vacation is godawfully (read: awesomely) long.

[LD]

SabrWolf- you are welcome to join. :)

If things work out well with this first session, then we might do Labor Dispute as a subsequent adventure. :)

Also, welcome to the CBG!

Crow- Ok. Thanks for the heads-up. As I mentioned to SabrWolf, we might be able to do a subsequent session if the first one turns out well.

Xathan- Did you have any ideas that you wanted to discuss regarding the character's abilities? The system is a little different from Steerpike or Sparkletwists' No-Stats Theatre games. The entire stats are what you see in this thread on the first page.

[SabrWolf]

Xathan and I were talking about his question (which was initially my question) earlier in the irc. I looked at the Gloria setting and system information you had posted (via the link you provided on the first page of this thread) and was slightly confused, since it looked like you would be including Stats (like Will, Str, Dex, etc). Also, the Virtues are alluded to in the Gloria thread, and you even started to define some of them in mechanical terms, but there are only three there.

So, the question I really have is: Are we going by Dictionary Definitions for the adjective form of the Virtues in order to utilize them in game? Or is there more information on the subject and I simply missed it in the Gloria thread?

[Steerpike]

Xue seems to be a literary aficionado.  What sort of tastes does he have?  Who are some of Gloria's more distinguished authors and what sort of works do they produce? Gloria's core values seem to be focused on things like work, utility, function, virtue, and justice rather than leisure, artistry, form, or pleasure; is this reflected in literature, or has the more aesthetic/"frivolous"/non-didactic side of literature earned it a dubious and/or suspect reputation as something fundamentally "useless"? Are some novels or plays regarded as subversive, and are there any forms of censorship for politically revolutionary literature?  Is literature predominantly in the Randian "romantic realist" tradition, presenting the world as the author believes it "could and should be"?  Or do we find dystopias and the literature of discontent i.e. social realism, satire etc?  What about transgressional literature i.e. erotica/pornography, obscene works, etc?  How about Horror/Gothicism?

[LD]

Xathan and I were talking about his question (which was initially my question) earlier in the irc. I looked at the Gloria setting and system information you had posted (via the link you provided on the first page of this thread) and was slightly confused, since it looked like you would be including Stats (like Will, Str, Dex, etc). Also, the Virtues are alluded to in the Gloria thread, and you even started to define some of them in mechanical terms, but there are only three there.

So, the question I really have is: Are we going by Dictionary Definitions for the adjective form of the Virtues in order to utilize them in game? Or is there more information on the subject and I simply missed it in the Gloria thread?

Ah, ok. Now I understand your question better. I'm running Gloria in a "No Stats Theatre" way; we're not actually rolling any dice. The confusion may have originated from this: Gloria uses a unique system that I'm developing in the Gloria thread... this IRC game will be using a simpler adaptation of that system since I'm not certain that the system I'm developing is anywhere near complete on the one hand and I don't think it lends itself too well to a one-off (At least at this point) right now since it's based around acquiring and spending the Virtue points.

The virtues for purpose of the IRC game don't get into some of the superhuman ideas that are alluded to in the Gloria thread-I'm still trying to work out the balancing there. Those virtues were acquired based on getting points and 'leveling' up. Gloria's 'stats' were going to be self-contained in the virtues themselves. You'd gain points as you roleplayed and you would spend points doing awesome things. Here in the No Stats game, the 'stats'  are essentially your "knowledges"--these are your power-ups that are analogous to Sparkletwist's Asura or Steerpike's Sixguns' powerups for the players.

Would it help if I expanded on what the Knowledges let you do? I hope they are well-balanced... Generally they let you do anything you can within your imagination that they encompass.

There are some slight variations on the definitions of the virtues from the adjective definitions. Chastity also encompasses Cleanliness and "clean living" but a chaste person can be an intemperate person. They can be a complete drunkard, for example.

Let's also take Pavel, for example:
[ic=Pavel Example]Pavel Gershwin, 43
Private Investigator and Rescuer of Socialists
Lower-Middle Class
Reason
Virtues Held: Industry, Pluck, Luck
Virtues Lacking: Order, Sincerity, Tolerance
Knowledge: Interrogation, Intimidation, Propaganda
Weakness: Greed.

Name first and age.
Job description.
Social Class.
Reason v. Faith. Those with reason are practical and are the self-made women and the industrial workers and the people who work with hard assets. Those with faith trust in the market or trust in fate; they are the dreamers-the theorists, the people who work with ideas. Pavel doesn't have time for lollygagging chit chat and dreaming. He probably would hate it when people brainstorm pie-in-the-sky ideas; he's a man of action. Give him a six point plan for success and he'll take it, but bandy around ideas forever and he'll wander off and work out the problem himself.

He has industry- so he can work hard when he needs to and he produces a lot when he sets his mind to it.
He has pluck- so he's one of those get out there and do it guys; this is also the Beverly Hills' Cop Eddie Murphy Stat to some degree or the Horatio Alger stat. He doesn't give up and he keeps banging his head against the wall until the wall breaks.
He has luck- so things generally work in his best interest when he needs them to.

He lacks order- he doesn't ever know where he places things. He may start one sentence and finish another. He may wander off and get lost as something catches his eye.
He lacks Sincerity- he's a liar.
He lacks tolerance- He doesn't respect people who are slow or who do not agree with his views or who do not share his worldview.

Knowledges are straightforward- he knows about these things and he can produce these things.

e.g. he's good at producing advertising campaigns and he can spread lies with decided ease, he can work a crowd to believe something (if he has time)(Propaganda).

e.g. he's great at interrogation. He will get something out of you come hell or high water...interrogation applies if there is a situation where he is one on one with someone and/or in a position of power vis-a-vis someone else.

e.g. he's great at intimidation. If he sets 'the eye' on someone, then they might wilt if their weakness is industry- they will abandon their post or spill the beans so to say.

Weakness is greed. So if someone offers him a lot of money to do something, even if he disagrees with it or if he thinks it's a bad idea, he's probably going to take the money and do it.[/ic]

I did not expect people to get in combat, but that's a good point to address. I'll say that everyone has 3 "hits" that they can take. Sparkletwist- how were you planning on handling hit points for the characters? Could we have died in Asura?

[SabrWolf]

Light Dragon - OK. I think I have a much better grip on how we'll be handling play for this game. I appreciate you taking the time to explain it so thoroughly! Very helpful.

[LD]

Xue seems to be a literary aficionado.  What sort of tastes does he have?  Who are some of Gloria's more distinguished authors and what sort of works do they produce? Gloria's core values seem to be focused on things like work, utility, function, virtue, and justice rather than leisure, artistry, form, or pleasure; is this reflected in literature, or has the more aesthetic/"frivolous"/non-didactic side of literature earned it a dubious and/or suspect reputation as something fundamentally "useless"? Are some novels or plays regarded as subversive, and are there any forms of censorship for politically revolutionary literature?  Is literature predominantly in the Randian "romantic realist" tradition, presenting the world as the author believes it "could and should be"?  Or do we find dystopias and the literature of discontent i.e. social realism, satire etc?  What about transgressional literature i.e. erotica/pornography, obscene works, etc?  How about Horror/Gothicism?

These are really good questions. I'll let you dream up some of the books and literary traditions and whatever you want Xue to read (though I have one suggestion below that he may be interested in), but here are my thoughts on a workable guideline:

REASON-based literature (almost all non-fiction).

1. Business literature. How to get ahead in business. Who Moved My Cheese-like books. "Seven Highly Effective Habits of Salespeople", "Stock Picking for Smarties!", "Smiling Money, with Evhyn Kranmer".

2. Children's literature reflects business literature in teaching the youth concepts about the world; like "Gwenny Appleseller", "

3. Economic History. Examines all aspects of history through economic analysis. (But no Marxist analysis! Although oddly, Hegelian cycles are discussed with a degree of rigour...they just tend to revert from Faith to Reason and from Capitalism to Libertarianism- Socialism is often ignored, although Denis Nostramadus Dideryon--a disfavored author--once suggested that Socialism could be included in the cycle and if it is included in the cycle, then that would explain the time of the Demons. According to his prognostications, which Xue may know about, the cycle of demonic and socialist rise should be returning soon. Denis has a small "cult" following of readers who devour all scraps of his writing and there is a rise in black market trade of his "Nostranomicon" and knock-off Gnostic Nostranomic scrolls reputed to be his "lost literature" and reputed to have been the last things he wrote before he "went mad". Denis spent the last years of his life in an asylum in Gloria, scrawling out sayings on whatever scraps he could find, after being tricked by his sister to admit that he was insane, which resulted in his self-committance. She inherited all his wealth and some say she perverted his works by editing into it a stream of virulent Anti-Libertarianism. Some say she would have excised his Socialist comments but that she decided against it when she realized that is what sold the books.

4. Inspirational Works and Comics. Instead of Chicken Soup for the Soul, they have Horatio Alger; Moneyman! and his sidekick Five a' Penny; Real True Stories of Wealth!; ShimmerProspector!

5. Advertising magazines. Gloria circulates magazines with coupons and other information on products. These are read diligently by folks searching for deals.

6. Textbooks (on economics, making money, entrepreneurialship)

FAITH-based literature
-This literature is less popular in Gloria, but it is more traditional. For thousands of years "faith" ruled along with a high sensibility of payment of some wealth to the poor or the less fortunate.

1. Historical literature (literature about what was, without relation to money).

2. Poetry (generally it concerns artful ways to talk about money and society. It does not delve much into social criticism. The poets are viewed with suspicion as many have become Socialists or have been labeled as such over the years. There is also an undercurrent of libertarian poets. Poets are generally revolutionaries and they cause problems-but their literature also excites the mind, so some of the best CEOs do stock some poetry as idea-generators.

3. Popular Fiction about Occupations (Gloria's genre-literature is genre in the sense that it concerns a particular occupation and the struggles of its members. The literature is often told in episodic format with moral lessons in every chapter- like Aesop's Fables or like a 1930s serial radio show.)
   - Detective Literature
   - Medical Literature (Rosi Lesion, the flesh seamstress mistress of Electronic Conductor Street)
   - Shimmer-Prospector Literature
   - Chef Literature
   - Florist Literature (discussing the extremes that florists go to to acquire the best flora)

4. Trash literature (This is adventure literature. Its reading is frowned upon as it gains nothing for the reader except excitement. But many read them as dirty secret pleasures- like SciFi in our world)
    - Guilliver-Travels like tales (Among the Socialists...) (Dealing with Floaters) (Sitting with Slakes) (Hijra Orgy!)

5. Ancient Myths and Legends
-This includes the myths and legends of the Floaters, Etterati, and the Slake.
-This also includes that ancient myths and legends of the world's creation and the time of the demons' ascendance.

6. Subversive literature  (These may be confiscated).
    - Socialist Manifestos (they love to write), Libertarian tracts (usually written in scrawls, barely able to make out the words-barely able to follow the thoughts as they jump around on a hodgepodge of frankenstein pages in a potpourii of colour and slapdashery).

A Word on Leisure
There is space for leisure, as the consumer-artist Maxine character above demonstrates, but you are right that leisure is generally frowned upon. However, some less scrupulous members of Gloria's elite actually promote leisure of the lower classes so that they can sell them more products. Without leisure time, there would be less of an economy because people would not have time to read books. Generally even 'leisure' books contain economic morals or advice in them, so that people don't have to be embarrassed that they are relaxing. The books are considered part of one's lifelong education, not as good as reading a textbook, but they still have value by analogy and by stimulating the brain to invent new ideas.

" Is literature predominantly in the Randian "romantic realist" tradition, presenting the world as the author believes it "could and should be"?  Or do we find dystopias and the literature of discontent i.e. social realism, satire etc?  What about transgressional literature i.e. erotica/pornography, obscene works, etc?  How about Horror/Gothicism?"

Randian Realism
Amusingly the Randian Realism is more of a FAITH type of literature, more traditional. The REASON type literature, which is in vogue, is of how the world is and how to get ahead. It's like reading a history book or the Wall Street Journal (non-Opinion pages) rather than watching the US networks FOX or MSNBC news on television. With the exception of the Inspirational Faith works, randian realism is faith literature. Atlas Shrugged would fit in category FAITH3:Popular occupations- Entrepreneur as it tells an inspirational story of a man in a non-realistic world where socialists have taken over and where the nasty consequences of that fact are elucidated. If Atlas shrugged was done in a REASON:Inspirational fashion, it would be set in the world of Gloria and it would tell the story of someone who really suffered those things and who overcame adversity.

Art v. Literature
Art for arts sake is valued more than books for books sake, since art can be looked at and admired and it can cause people to buy things that they otherwise would not buy. ConsumerArtistry is big bucks. Thus, being an author is very low on the totem pole of desirable jobs in Gloria. To marry an author is to starve, many mothers tell their children. But to marry a propagandist is to grow rich. (That demonstrates the difference between FAITH and REASON authors).

Social Realism and Satire... I don't think there is social realism per se, that would drag too much into the Socialist-literature. Satire does exist. Along the lines of "An American Carol" starring Leslie Nielson, it's crude and it's highly racist against Socialists and non-patriotic Glorians. Satire against the social order also exists, but it's mostly poking fun at old money Glorians who inherit and are lazy against new money Glorians who don't have the family connections that the old ones do. It also pokes fun at people who donate to the poor and at the poorer Glorians. The poor generally take this in good spirit because they realize that only the truly poor will stay poor and that hard work is rewarded.

Obscene works... Only socialism and laziness are considered obscene, though a few ConsumerArtists have sought to satirize these taboo topics. "Sloth" is an avant-garde piece about a Slake. It is 1000 pages and there are seven words. "I .... moved .... and ...... ate  ..... a ..... food .... slept." spread throughout the pages. It did not sell well, although it is present in the libraries of those who study the Slake creatures in an attempt to sell to them--the Slake do not purchase much, however. There is only a taboo against sexuality among certain people. Some of REASON are against it because it is an urge that can lead people to spend too much money. Some of FAITH are against it because it takes one away from the self and makes one a slave to something other than oneself. Generally though in Gloria, if it can be sold, no one would forbid it--although it could be frowned upon.

Horror/gothic-literature... not much. Horror exists but is not popular. Horror generally is of the sense that--"Mr. X. lost all his money by gambling. Now Mr. X is poor and will die alone on the streets." That's what passes for horror- no cosmic creatures, just shimmers of fear and concerns of society at large reflected in the popular literature. There is no horror genre, but children are told "fare-y tales" (so called because they can be told in the time it takes for a rickshaw cab fare to take one a few blocks) about what not to do- like "Small Olaf and the Poor Investment" and "Fat Pietr and the Compounding Problem" (he spent all his money on food instead of investing it, which then led to health problems), etc.

Gothic-literature does not exist. People of Gloria always tend to look on the brighter side of life. Socialists write Gothic-literature in their lands, and libertarians have been known to write almost anything, but Gloria Residents do not like Gothic Literature with its decay.