Desnind Closure Announcement

[Nymph]

DESNIND CLOSURE

It is with some sadness that I am announcing that Desnind will be closed next season. Ent and I will be working to provide the city a new sparkle to try and lure characters to the Southern Region. We plan to reopen Desnind in Saun. To try and provide more flare to the Southern Region and Desnind, we believe that opening Augiery at the same time will provide enough intercity play to lure current and new characters to our wonderful forest. The current PCs in Desnind will be permitted to finish their plots and either move to another city or wait until the area is reopened in Saun. Current threads may be finished if they are from previous seasons or memories. Please do not continue to post threads without talking to myself or Ent first.

Both Ent and I are reaching out to the player base in hopes to get some input as to what our city needs to make it more interesting to players. Maybe it needs more darkness or antagonistic events; maybe it just needs other locations like Augiery and Niomyr. Maybe it doesn't need anything at all. We have left this announcement thread open to allow people to offer their suggestions. Please keep in mind not all suggestions will be implemented. Ent and I will take everything into consideration and do our very best to remodel Desnind into a player friendly location while adhering to the original idea.

We look forward to reopening the city in Saun and I look forward to sharing the Augiery Development with you in Saun as well.

[Mal]

The location of Desnind is tricky with it being so far away from everything, but I think there are more problems than that with Desnind.

There isn't much of an antagonizing element. Desnind having a constant struggle of some sort would interest me greatly, but at the moment Moseke is way too powerful and shelters everyone under her rule. There's no sense of danger, at all.

For me it's partly the naming conventions of the locations. I can't remember what anything is called because the Sev'ryn tongue isn't translated on the location names. These would make great flavor text, but the titles should all be explanatory. Many players will be intimidated over this as I was, I'm sure.

More interesting spirituality, and an update to the Sev'ryn would be wonderful. At the moment it's a pain in the arse to just make a Sev'ryn because you have to write out a bond story, and bond stories have to be moderated if you don't start with them. I think making the familiars easier to get with a progression path to making your familiars powerful enough to affect the physical world would make Sev'ryn more popular as a race. Also, encouraging interaction between familiars, and allowing Sev'ryn/anyone with a Blessing to see each other's familiars (and touch them with consent given by the Familiar that makes it tangible to that person briefly) instead of saying it's taboo to touch/interact with them.

By spirituality, I think that needs to be defined better. When a soul is more spiritual, in tune with its soul, is its intent more potent, etc? A spiritual character could maybe earn additional devotion towards their chosen Immortal, and Desnind could offer that spiritual font, something like a Fracture offering a magnification of Mortals' devotion, or as another example the Well of Eternity from Warcraft.

But really I think adding conflict, making the Sev'ryn more interesting, and making spirituality more interesting could all help. Spirits and their study could be a big hook in Desnind as well. Desnind could also have the only group of accessible Dreamwalkers capable of initiating PC's, which would be attractive to players like Arlo, Vega, and myself, as well as having NPC's to thread with in Dreams that are Dreamwalkers themselves, adding to the fun and the slog of actually raising Dreamwalking.

I'm planning for Mal to venture to Desnind at some point, likely from Saun onward. By that point his character should be very different, and he'll be more interested in these things.

[Nymph]

Mal. Thank you for your suggestions. Both Ent and I have read them and will take some of the things you have suggested into consideration. Myself and Plague are working on a familiar write-up to clarify a few gray-zone items. That will hopefully be out before or at the reopening of Desnind.

[Niv]

Aw man I was planning to come here why you do dis >__>

I agree with basically everything Mal said except about changing the Sev'ryn to make it easier to get their familiar cause last time I checked they weren't exactly an unpopular race (though I don't have any personal experience with playing a Sev'ryn so I could be wrong). I think the mistake is believing that you were making a city for Sev'ryn players, in my experience players don't typically play in their home cities. They want to go out and explore or learn about the lore as their foreign character does. For this reason it would also be cool if Magani was accessible to more than just tunawa since there aren't many tunawa and the ones that have been made haven't spent much time in Desnind. I mean whats cooler than a town build under a city of tiny plant people.

What usually draws me to places is how weird they are, and most importantly who is playing there. Other cities with a great traveling distance usually have an exchange program going on or someway to get players to that location quickly. No one really wants their character to be stuck on a boat for a large chunk of the season if they can help it, and so far I think exchange programs have been pretty successful.

Though Mal is likely very on the money with the fact that Desnind seems to peaceful. When people have shown interest in the Oi'ora they become disheartened by the races pacifism and I imagine the same is with Desnind. Conflict is typically want inspires people and attracts them to a place.

[Vega]

Heya

Not sure I've got a lot to add, here, but I do feel it's important to put perhaps a slightly different viewpoint forward.

I started Vega in Desnind and played her there for a season and a bit. If it wasn't that she is a traveler by nature, she'd be there still.

What I loved about it
So, I'm going against the other two bits of feedback given and I have to say I loved that it was such a race-specific place. Vega is a half-Sev'ryn and she went there to find out about her Sev'ryn side. It's the whole concept of the city. I love that, I think it's important that we have some cities which are culturally diverse, but I love the Desnind vibe.

I loved the level of detail of things - the feel of the place and it's quirks and idiosyncrasies. Loved the festivals, loved the moderated adventure that Vega took part in and the moderated festival too. Those pc's who were there who were not Sev'ryn were obviously not and I liked that.

What I found hard
Sometimes, finding the locations on the link map was tricky, for sure - because of the lack of translation. Not so hard as to be off putting, and it echoed how hard Vega would have found it - so I liked that. But I'd have found it that hard, even if she was fluent in the lingo, so yeah, I see Mal's point there.

What could be done to improve it?
It's inaccessible. I agree very much with that - travel is a killer for it. It's the only city open in the south and it's a long way from anywhere. That means you've got to undertake all that travel to go there - which means you've got to really want to go there.

But in summary, I loved the place - please don't change the Sev'ryn-ness (I know, I know) of it, it's their home - and you know, there is conflict to be had for those who want it. Vega got into a fair share of scraps there, for sure. I love the concept and the reality of it, and I personally would urge the mods not to change it to make it more "conflicted" as a place - it is full of potential and I certainly had no problem in getting in to trouble there in all sorts of ways.

EDIT: I like the Dreamwalker thing Mal suggested too - that sounds fun - and the focus on spirituality would be cool. Maybe a faction of dreamwalkers of Moseke, or non-aligned to Jesine etc? I don't know - not in conflict with Jesine, far from it - but another dimension to the non-marked Dreamwalkers.

[Niv]

Yah I guess I need to back peddle a bit, While I think most people tend not to play in their home cities, I feel my point was mostly supposed to be for Magani. I really think that place should some how allow other races to play in there but it's not high priority.

I think the major things to focus on are the accessibility of the city and the location names.

Though, an emphasis on dream walking and on spirits would be wonderful if you have the time <3
Desnind does sound like a place where that kind of stuff would happen, and would give people all the more reason to visit or stay.

[Nymph]

Niv. Thank you for your input. As for Magani becoming open to other races, I do not believe that will happen any time soon; however, many Tunawa make their home within Desnind to offset that isolation. I do not have a location for that, but a job opportunity for taller races is available in Desnind. These "runners" work as a bus to shuttle Tunawa to and from Magani. These runners have the knowledge of where Magani is, making interactions possible. The larger races cannot enter the city for the sake that it can be very dangerous for Magani. No one wants it to get squashed by trampling feet. Please see below for further addressing some concerns.

Sorry for the abrupt closure, Niv. I think it was necessary at this time. Come in Saun!

Vega. Since this is an echoed concern from Mal, I will be changing it to suit those. I will not be removing the Xanthean names, but I will be adding more accessible translations, especially in the link map. That is the goal of this thread. To figure out how Ent and I can make the city more player friendly.

To All. As I stated in my original announcement, I will not be changing the original concept of Desnind. The original concept (before me) was to have a peaceful place for the Sev'ryn. Do not get me wrong, I agree that conflict would draw players to Desnind; we are striving to add this. The Cazav and Cikkaken relationship will hopefully add an element to that once we start getting players. Ent and I want to see inter-faction conflict between the two. We have plots prepared for firing once people start playing here. We have no released them because there would be no one to play at this time. Neither of us want to waste a plot to history. This is why we believe that opening up Augiery at the time we reopen Desnind will allow us intercity plotting. Augiery is an aggressive city and Desnind has a great many things to fear from the Shadows.

There is multiple mentions of the Familiars and Spirits that are related to Desnind and the Sev'ryn. I am in the process of working on a primer to further clarify the Familiar bond that the Sev'ryn have. Once this is out, we may be able to further pursue these ideas.

In regards to the Dreamwalking aspect, I would like to point you to the Tsabar. This is a branch that is designed to honor Jesine and help Sev'ryn decipher their dreams. Dreamwalking is highly valued. Additional factions may not be added to Desnind at this time, but I expect that Jesine and Dreamwalking will have a large role in Niomyr.

Keep the ideas coming everyone. This is giving us a lot to chew on and will hopefully allow us to create a better area for players.

[Niv]

I wasn't really thinking of the tunawa when I said that I was mostly thinking it was weird that its a subform only 2 people can write in. Though it's likely a hassle to change so its probably best to just leave it the way it is and focus on the other things. I can also see why allowing large people into the tunawa city would be a safety issue for the tinies so I'll just drop that suggestion.

I'll come in Saun after Faiths wedding, I gotta attend that


ohh those plots sound fun yah you should save those for when it opens, And I totally missed the Tsabar they sound cool. I'm likely going to partake in both things when I come back to Desnind.

Um maybe adding more Npc diversity or something, I really don't think the city needs much just an easier way to get there. I actually really liked the bartering thing desnind had going on and the environment is different then most of the other cities with their stone buildings and such. Its really just getting there and convincing others to take the trip with you that's a pain in the boot.