My goodness! In the last few hours, people got more verbose than I do!
First of all, I love the idea of Swords and Sorcery!
Lem DeAngelo wrote:
5) Why did we move to RoH? The caller's tool is easier for calling multiple duels at once. Assumed we'd have more duels with a combo shift.
and
Lem DeAngelo wrote:
I really appreciate the offer, G. Pros and cons to both Thursday and Saturday in my opinion. Saturday allows more exposure on RDI, but loses the caller's tool. The caller's tool isn't a perfect solution for DoM duels because it doesn't score the foci modifiers. The extra 0.5 has to be manually input in the tool. The DZ round checker does score foci per round, so it can be helpful. DoM duels do require a little memorization to call due to the foci, so it can take a while to be comfortable calling matches.
Is it really easier to call Magic duels with the tool when Focus results need to be calculated by hand in some way? ( Focused moves unlike fancies and feints don't have a spiffy check box.) One of the reasons I'm asking is the last time I had a character dueling magic, the caller on duty expressed a discomfort and unfamiliarity with the Magic matrix. Someone else came in to call. I'm sympathetic to the first caller and grateful to the second. If the calling tool had the focus markers included, just about any caller should be able to plug the info in and run with it. ( And, yes, I know, the coder is no longer available to make that change.) If one has to stop what they are doing to calculate a score by hand anyway, is it truly easier in the long run?
Does Arbiter (sp?) allow for the Focused moves? If so, would it be a viable option for DoM callers instead of the calling tool?
Lem DeAngelo wrote:
I'm not sure about the mellow of magic? Magic being mellow is up to the player. When Lem duels magic, he is typically throwing fire and attempting to scorch the earth. Lem is meant to be a gentle soul outside the ring, but ready to destroy when he enters the ring.
I would call it a more cerebral ( magical talents tend to require mental focus) or, sometimes, more elegant form of combat, but when we have characters, including children, dropping boulders from the sky and getting into their opponents' heads to confound them, I think we need a better word than mellow to describe it. Perhaps, Aja means the setting of Twilight Isle, in and of itself, is a mellow/peaceful environment?
Harris wrote:
I think the concern here is that the only night Twilight Island is open appears to be moving toward being a DoF night. That DoM is being marginalized in favor of DoF. The numbers don't really lie about that. I think it's worrisome for DoM if the duels for the sport continue to trend downward, while DoF trends upward. People who potentially enjoy DoM and would like to show up to that setting and strictly enjoy DoM don't have that option. The other two sports do. Mondays for DoF in the Outback (since Wednesday is also a joint night) and Thursday/Saturday for DoS in the Arena.
The questions become, is that a viable complaint? Is there a large contingent of people, enough to be detrimental to the sport if they don't show up, that want the Isle to remain DoM only on Tuesdays? If this was happening with either of the other sports would it be so easily shrugged aside?
Harris, you summed this up in a nutshell. People who want to enjoy only DoS duels can have them on Thursday and Saturday. Only DoF - Outback on Mondays, but Twilight Isle does not presently have only DoM duels. Much like some people think of the RoH as the redheaded stepchild of the RDI, the DoM is sometimes relegated to last in line.
Jake wrote:
If it's about the setting...I don't see how the fact that other sports being played in the same venue is a problem. Does it fit the genre of the setting? Maybe not. Neither does DoF in Star's End, but that seems to be popular enough that Kheldar wants to do it on a recurring basis.
When I was hosting SEB back on AOL, they had an area that was sometimes set aside for boxing matches. Toby would probably have a fresher memory on that than I do. Pretty sure it was the area marked as the dance floor. Why wouldn't DoF fit into a place where bar brawls have been commonplace?
Scarlet Knight wrote:
I feel like a part of the opposing view (I don't want to put words in anyone's mouths, so please just correct me If I'm wrong) to the combo nights are the idea of exclusivity. Magic having its own shift certainly kept the setting rooted in the Isle's lore and premise. Maybe some people can help bring back the mystique of magic dueling by creating some new innovative rings that might just have a few heads turning.
I know I'd be a little jealous if say I saw two people dueling in an anti-gravity chamber for magic
. Well I hope some of this helped. It's nice to see this thread really bumping with positive responses.
-- Quick Edit: Another potential ring? The Dread Ship Lollipop off the coast!
Lily used/uses a few specialty rings for magic that were pretty popular: the clubhouse, a pool, and I forget what she called it but it was like dueling in some part of outer space. I'm not suggesting using her creations without her say so, but it is a good example of what can be done.
Maybe a ring that require duelists be influenced by a levitation spell while inside it would fit more with Twilight Isle than a Zero-G one?
The image of cookies or other food floating about a ring while Nappy's dueling in Zero G of some kind just cracks me up! I can see him snagging snacks while dueling!
I can't really picture the Dread Ship Lollipop as a single ring, but as a place to duel, yes! That was done a while back and was a night filled with fun! The Isle has a lagoon and a ring crafted to look like a ship could work!
Lastly, the Dris and Peaches combo is a fun one!
