[Sayana] Notes, Organization, and the Lost and Found

by **Sayana** on November 14th, 2014, 8:18 pm

Rules:

Keep posts to a minimum here. This is mostly a place for me to store my ideas, a means to feel more organized, and a place to find all those pages that I've lost on this maze of a site. I don't mean to be anti-social, but I'd much prefer a PM than extra clutter to weave through.

Thanks
- Sayana

by **Sayana** on November 14th, 2014, 8:38 pm

List of Pages

Personal/Character Related :

OOC:

Rules :

Volunteering :

Thread/Experience Info :

Job/Expenses Related Info :

Important People with Regards to Threading :

Coding Help :

Other OOC Pages :

IC:

Master Lists :

Global Geography :

Syliras Locations and Lore :

Traveling :

Mizahar Music :

Mizahar Magic :

Mizahar Global Events :

Other :

World Plots :

Character Sheets of PC's That Sayana Has Met (Or Would Like To Meet) :

by **Sayana** on November 15th, 2014, 6:11 pm

Personal Goals

- Become a Grader: Check!

- Submit article(s) for the Wiki (and go through all the processes etc)
-- Dance Skill
-- Dance Styles
(Maybe they are a single article but they feel like two)

- Potentially ask to clean up all the prices at Syliras locations so that they reflect the master price list

- Submit NPC descriptions for Remi Aargon and Ser Kevith Aargon

- Submit locations for a bakery and a grain mill (names to be decided)

- Try my hand at guest storytelling? Only when I don't have a pile of threads of my own to do.

- Storyteller? Maybe, maybe not. I'm not sure if I have time for it or the experience.

- Start looking for people's skills in helping run Syliras. Eg. Garland loves to thread, is highly active, and is often looking for more treading partners --> Refer newbies to him so that in their excitement they can start threading right away.

by **Sayana** on November 28th, 2014, 11:32 pm

Your Grades Have Arrived

Character1

Skills:

Skill	EXP Earned
Skill 1	+1
Skill 2	+1
Skill 3	+1

Lores:

Lore 1
Lore 2
Lore 3
Lore 4

Comments :

Character2

Skills:

Skill	EXP Earned
Skill 1	+1
Skill 2	+1
Skill 3	+1

Lores:

Lore 1
Lore 2
Lore 3
Lore 4

Comments :

If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message.

Enjoy your grade.

Character1

Skills:

Skill	EXP
Skill 1	+1
Skill 2	+1
Skill 3	+1

Lores:

Lore 1
Lore 2
Lore 3
Lore 4

Shield Points:

Shield Points Earned	Reason
+0	Reason
+0	Reason

Total: +0 Shield Points

Comments :

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request in the grade request thread. However, make sure to keep the link so that the DS can review graded threads with ease.

If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message.

Enjoy.

by **Sayana** on November 29th, 2014, 4:53 pm

Songs and Music

So I was really intrigued when watching various ST's vlogs because it really showed the writer behind the character (because frankly I think I'm sometimes intimidated by STs because of intimidating avatars and a "we don't mess around" attitude).

However, I'm not yet ready to make a video (if I showed my face then I'd also want to show my dancing and my only useable mic is one with a cord so I can't get far enough away from my computer to show my dancing.... etc etc - yes they are all just excuses). So instead I thought I might share a favourite song of mine that often reminds me of roleplay stories. And by 'share' I mean for me to sing it and record it.

Lastly, I just want thank Shane Wallsly for introducing me to this quick easy audio site called Vocaroo - since I wouldn't have wanted to get a youtube account and upload something and get rid of the visuals etc. It was just far easier to do it this way (and also the reason why I actually did it).

And here it is:

Homeward Bound
Words and music by Marta Keen
Performed by Sayana (writer of Sayana)

Secondly, I performed/recorded a song that Autumn Wilde wrote:
Syliras City
Words by Autumn Wilde
Music and solos by Sayana
Performed by Sayana

Note: The above recording of "Syliras City" was the first recording so there are a couple of hitches in terms of lyrics but it went so well that I wanted to keep it. I also doubt I'd be able to reproduce the solos. Also, I didn't realize it was based off a song called "Paradise City" (since I hadn't heard the song before) so when I made up my interpretation of it, I only had Autumn's lyrics to go off of.

More music.

I just did a recording of a song from the novel "Hawksong" by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. The lyrics are written by the author and the music/melody was created by me (and then performed by me). A bit of background behind the novel: it's a story about two groups of shapeshifters (one group that shifts into various birds, and the other who shifts into various snakes), and the two groups have been at war for generations. The story is about the two leaders trying to make peace between the two races.

Hawksong
Lyrics by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Music by Sayana
Performed by Sayana

And another song. This one was written by Ainyi in a music development thread (second song in her post). I'm still trying to get a strong sense of the melody for this one (since all the accidentals are throwing me off a bit) but I want it to sound creepy since it's a prayer song for Yshul the goddess of thieves. So I only did the first verse + chorus but here it is:

Prayer Song to Yshul
Lyrics by Ainyi (Second song in her post)
Music by Sayana
Performed by Sayana
(first verse + chorus)

by **Sayana** on December 4th, 2014, 5:17 am

Winter 514 Character Goals (potential threads):

13-17th Stay inside/home during the snowstorm and practice dancing, instruments, dagger. Fall ill near the end of the snowstorm.

19th Skip the snowball fight due to illness.

38-40th Pick a day to visit the Herald's Arms to watch the new fire dancing. Enjoy some of the Herald's Arms "amenities" afterwards.

Before the 50th Shop for home furnishings (furniture and brightly coloured fabric for decoration) and learn to cook (more lessons from Remi).

50th Host own winter party in spite of the White Swan's winter celebration.

92nd Potentially host another party (if the first one went well) for the new year.

Not date specific:

Anytime before job thread(s): Purchase a couple yards of dyed silk (for performing with), get a hip scarf with jingly coins, and if necessary mend/replace some of her current performing clothes.

Maybe compose a letter to her family (will need help since she can't write very well at all).

by **Sayana** on December 13th, 2014, 7:58 pm

Maps Maps Maps! I love maps

Anyways, I've just started a project of my own to combine as many maps of Mizahar together to make a single cohesive map. Not all regions have regional maps though, and I may try plotting out approximate positions to some of the places mentioned in the lore and linkmaps.

While I was working on this project I thought it might be cool to be able to provide characters with personalized maps for their travels. And so, I thought I'd put up an example for Sayana's travels (pre-creation travels in her case). Also, I had someone else take a liking for my maps so I made them one too.

Sayana's Map: First one
Phyolea's Map: Second one

by **Sayana** on December 14th, 2014, 5:54 am

Super super rough draft of Sylira - mostly just checking out some of the blocks I have and playing with mountain ranges and forests. By no means is this accurate or complete. I'm just squeeing about the pretty factor.

by **Sayana** on January 27th, 2015, 6:16 am

Notes/Thoughts on Delegation in Mizahar:

Due to the recent cry for help in terms of storytellers and other staff I've been thinking about the workload and the supporting staff that are being worn thin trying to accomplish this workload. There are a few ways to deal with this dilemma. The first, and most obvious way would be to gain more dedicated staff members. The second, would be to reduce the workload required by lessening the strictness of certain rules (eg. allowing more self-governance over jobs, income, moderated areas). And the third would be to delegate the workload more evenly amongst members who might have time to help in some ways but not in all the ways required of a ST.

The first is obvious, the second would probably reduce/eliminate certain aspects that Mizahar prides itself on, therefore I will address the third option. While it is stressed that to make a good ST it is important to create interesting and conflict ridden stories for PCs to struggle through, in practice there seems to be a lot of emphasis on development, maintenance/bookkeeping (managing wages etc), grading, and other "secondary" work. The role of graders is immensely useful and this is an excellent example of the delegation of work. Graders have their own separate requirements and their own guide for training new people and it works very well.

Some regions/cities have threads set aside just for development from PCs. However, what is missing is direction. It is wonderful when players get interested in specific areas of the lore and want to expand them, but many players would probably like to help but don't know how and in which area. If regions had lists of certain city lores/locations that needed to be expanded/written/rewritten then it would be easier for PCs to know where to help and the STs would gain the benefit of the most relevant lores being written rather than something random that they don't necessarily care about. In addition, if the items on the list had an indication of its priority to the ST and any preliminary thoughts the ST had on the subject (or if certain items should only be developed by the ST), then PCs could focus their efforts better.

One downside of delegation is that it requires more organization and coordination of people. Additionally, PCs may not produce the quality of work that the ST is looking for, or might have completely different ideas. However, I've always believed that writing the rough draft is the hardest and once you've got something written you can always tweak it later.

I also believe that mere bookkeeping is not something that should take up a ST's time. Yes it's important for someone to check job threads and make sure all the numbers match up, but this is a task for someone who is detail-oriented and meticulous, not someone who is creative with their plots and shows leadership within their domain. Other bookkeeping work includes deleting grade requests once they have been completed or updating shield points (Syliras only). Also, if PCs are aware that they should look out for typos/errors in the lore then they should be messaging the bookkeeper with these minor edits.

One problem with having a separate role of a bookkeeper is that someone might abuse their powers, however, similarly a ST could abuse their powers. It might also be difficult to find someone who enjoys meticulous updating, but those people still exist and might prefer to contribute in a smaller yet more frequent way.

Similarly, guest moderators could be advertised more as a potential position either permanently or as a one shot here and there for a PC. If we develop people's skill in moderating threads in an enjoyable and exciting way then perhaps guest moderators could learn moderate more substantial threads too and relieve the ST of some of the modded threads they have reserved.

Other areas could include the creation of graphics or the "go to" person for newbies with questions. Not all of these roles must be filled by different people, but might have the option to be filled by different people if someone only wants to be responsible in a small way.

In conclusion, delegation at its best harnesses people's skills and interests and streamlines them to create the most benefit to Mizahar. Without proper direction, much of the work is not appreciated and people are not motivated to help again. Without sufficient breakdown of the work, each job seems to overwhelming for the individual volunteer. Delegation has succeeded in areas like the grading program and the process of world development but there are several other areas in which this could extend to.

by **Sayana** on January 27th, 2015, 4:41 pm

My Thoughts on Grading - Grades for New Players vs Experienced Players

Grades are usually welcomed whole-heartedly by players, however, grades that seem unfair can greatly lower the morale of players and particularly new players. The whole CS development is filled with challenges for new players as they strive to learn the lore and make interesting yet acceptable characters. Often they are asked to make changes or face other criticism of their CS but usually at this point they are excited enough about joining a new roleplay site to overcome these hurdles.

Once the new players start roleplaying their excitement continues and then they wait patiently for their threads to be graded. At this point, I believe that the morale of a new player can be greatly influenced by the first grades that they receive. This is their first major feedback in the game and it is also a form of reward for their hard work. A skimpy limited grade may feel unfair. And at this point in the game, a new player is unlikely to have to confidence to question the grader. On the other hand, a lavish grade would be great incentive for a new player to continue playing.

Now, why don't we always give out lavish grades? If lavish grades are applied to all players then the significance and hard work involved in getting these skills would soon become meaningless. For more experienced players, they have been playing for a while and have received numerous grades. They know they are doing well and they enjoy roleplaying in Mizahar, therefore the affect of a grade on their overall morale is vastly reduced.

Now is it fair to give new players an advantage of gaining better grades than experienced players? Based solely on player experience, no this is not fair. However, the experience system has incorporated a very important element to the grading system. Experience points gained at novice levels require less demonstration and competence of a particular skill compared to experience points gained at competent, expert or master. Therefore, we should utilize this to more openly hand out experience points to new players at novice level skills, and be more particular and restrictive for players at expert and master level skills. Experienced players should be challenged to gain those higher level skills while new players should feel rewarded and motivated to stay and play in Mizahar.