*Burp* Copying Dune: Feedback Topic

[VySaika]

So we're one or two(depending on how slowly it goes) sessions away from the end of chapter three, and it's frankly long past time for one of these to be put up. It's pretty clear that we're losing energy in the game right now, and have been for a bit, so that's definately going to be a part of what I'm trying to get at the source of here. So onto the list of questions.

Also, Alex, I know you read this board, feel free to chime in with your thoughts as an observer(and for question one if there's a time that would better allow you to play).

Going to seperate these out into sections to help orginize my thoughts a bit better here.

Time/Flow Of Game

1) Time slot for the game. It's seems to be in a bad spot right now, would anyone like to suggest a better time/day to play? Again, Alex, feel free to chime in here as well if there's a time that would allow you to play. As you all know, I can make anything that's not a weekend or a tuesday fit.

2) Pacing. This game is pretty slow moving, with a focus on more in depth character work and conversations then action(at least so far). Is this working for you? Too slow? Good speed but want more fights? Somehow too fast?

3) Rolling. The game is also fairly light on the dice tossing. A bit of that is due to TriStat being fairly clunky at times and complicated rolls taking forever thus I avoid them, but it's also a style choice for the game. Is this working for you, or would you like to be able to throw dice at things a bit more often?

Mechanical Stuffs

4) Character mechanics. Do you like your character's abilities? Are you happy with what you can do, or do you want to change some stuff up now that you know your char and the game a bit more?

5) PP Gain. Also slow, due to the slow pacing. Is this making you feel as if you don't get rewarded often enough? Do I need to step the power gain and power levels up a bit?

Character/Plot Stuffs

6) Ker-PLOT. The game is largely turning into a mystery of sorts, with you trying to figure out what's really going on while mitigating what damage you can. Is this where you want to go with it? Are you enjoying this kind of plot? There's also alot of grey involved here and very little black/white to be had. Is that fun, or is the lack of clear villians to punch out kinda annoying?

7) Do the NPC tango. How are the NPCs working for you? Both your S.Link folks and the lesser NPCs like the owner of Dreamspeakers or the various teachers/students you only inteact with occasionally? And especially Shiro and Dami? I'd like to hear thoughts on anyone you think worth comment, especially the last two.

8) It's time to play Rate That GM! I know this is a hard question to answer, but how do you think I've been doing as a GM? Am I managing to keep you engaged in the game, and if not, where am I falling short? I know one of my own problems is a general lack of physical description of people, so is that noticable or a problem for the game? I've got a thick skin folks, so if I'm dropping the ball somewhere and not keeping you in the game, lemme know what the problem is.

9) Always gotta like yourself. Covered mechanics above, but that's hardly all that makes a character. Do you like your character from an RP standpoint? Do you enjoy playing them? If there's a problem with something, what can I do to help? Adding into this, Persona characters are not static as a rule. Do you think your character has grown or changed over time, and do you like how they have? Have I given your character enough opportunities to grow?

And as a branch out of 9, is there somewhere that you want to go with your character but need my help to set up? This is very much a character driven game, and while the In Game World doesn't revolve around you, the Metagame most certainly does. If there's something you're wanting to do or somwhere you want to go, let me know and we can work on setting it up.

And finally...

10) Anything I haven't mentioned here that you'd like to make note of? Any problems I've overlooked or things I've forgotten? Feedback isn't just about answering a few questions, so if there's anything you feel needs to be said that I didn't touch on above, by all means say it.

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Time/Flow Of Game

1) Time slot for the game. It's seems to be in a bad spot right now, would anyone like to suggest a better time/day to play? Again, Alex, feel free to chime in here as well if there's a time that would allow you to play. As you all know, I can make anything that's not a weekend or a tuesday fit.

If it's past 6:30PM my time and doesn't go over 12PM my time, I can arrange a place in my schedule as long as it's not a Wednesday (Wednesday, only past 7:30PM).

2) Pacing. This game is pretty slow moving, with a focus on more in depth character work and conversations then action(at least so far). Is this working for you? Too slow? Good speed but want more fights? Somehow too fast?

I like the pacing and don't mind slow-moving. I'm satisfied with the pacing as it stands.

3) Rolling. The game is also fairly light on the dice tossing. A bit of that is due to TriStat being fairly clunky at times and complicated rolls taking forever thus I avoid them, but it's also a style choice for the game. Is this working for you, or would you like to be able to throw dice at things a bit more often?

I'm not sure I enjoy the idea of being ruled by Nyarlathatbot further than I am, given my luck with rolls - and our collective luck, truth be told. >_> The low dice-rolling is fine for me, and it's used where it's appropriate.

Mechanical Stuffs

4) Character mechanics. Do you like your character's abilities? Are you happy with what you can do, or do you want to change some stuff up now that you know your char and the game a bit more?

So far, I like what my character does have. I'm more curious as to how I'll develop him mechanics-wise. Maybe the tracking abilities weren't so hot a choice, but a little flavor won't hurt.

5) PP Gain. Also slow, due to the slow pacing. Is this making you feel as if you don't get rewarded often enough? Do I need to step the power gain and power levels up a bit?

I'm not sure here. CP gain tends to just come in very punctual chunks, and while it feels low, the need to bump up those abilities as we're going is also low. If the game suddenly turns more combat-geared, a change may be necessary for us to keep up. But the way it's been balanced so far? The power level has been kept quite evenly, so it's fine. It's just not as psychologically satisfying in a hollow sense, but it's managed well.

Character/Plot Stuffs

6) Ker-PLOT. The game is largely turning into a mystery of sorts, with you trying to figure out what's really going on while mitigating what damage you can. Is this where you want to go with it? Are you enjoying this kind of plot? There's also alot of grey involved here and very little black/white to be had. Is that fun, or is the lack of clear villians to punch out kinda annoying?

I'm loving this direction. The lack of straight rarr i eat babies guys isn't a loss, really.

7) Do the NPC tango. How are the NPCs working for you? Both your S.Link folks and the lesser NPCs like the owner of Dreamspeakers or the various teachers/students you only inteact with occasionally? And especially Shiro and Dami? I'd like to hear thoughts on anyone you think worth comment, especially the last two.

The ones that get more contact with the party honestly become memorable rather easily. For instance, I have a clear feel on Shiro's personality, and am getting to -get- Dami's. Theresa and Alice, ditto, but far more strongly. 

8) It's time to play Rate That GM! I know this is a hard question to answer, but how do you think I've been doing as a GM? Am I managing to keep you engaged in the game, and if not, where am I falling short? I know one of my own problems is a general lack of physical description of people, so is that noticable or a problem for the game? I've got a thick skin folks, so if I'm dropping the ball somewhere and not keeping you in the game, lemme know what the problem is.

What sort of drops me off a bit is that I feel like I need a bit more tactile cues sometimes, since my informed perception is very poor - but it's manageable. Otherwise, you've been pulling up a world that's relatable and easy to engage into, which is fun.

9) Always gotta like yourself. Covered mechanics above, but that's hardly all that makes a character. Do you like your character from an RP standpoint? Do you enjoy playing them? If there's a problem with something, what can I do to help? Adding into this, Persona characters are not static as a rule. Do you think your character has grown or changed over time, and do you like how they have? Have I given your character enough opportunities to grow?

I'm not sure if I'm doing Nagare properly as of now. An aspect I began to enjoy is that he got into a cool groove with Mykasi (this was the biggest unexpected twist), but I'm not sure if this pleases the GM as much - and he's obviously not as surly as I intended at first. On the other hand, the thing doesn't feel unnatural as it goes, though I feel I slip up bad at times. I have to apologize for that. As for opportunities to grow - well, I have nothing to complain about. Alice and Theresa have been great to interact with S. Link-wise, for instance.

And as a branch out of 9, is there somewhere that you want to go with your character but need my help to set up? This is very much a character driven game, and while the In Game World doesn't revolve around you, the Metagame most certainly does. If there's something you're wanting to do or somwhere you want to go, let me know and we can work on setting it up.

One thing I still intend Nagare to work is the whole deal with Kasumi, but that will also depend on whether you feel you're comfortable with it or not. On CC, you mentioned you had problems envisioning how the relationship would pan out in-game, and I don't want to force it on you if you're not sure on whether you can make it work.

And finally...

10) Anything I haven't mentioned here that you'd like to make note of? Any problems I've overlooked or things I've forgotten? Feedback isn't just about answering a few questions, so if there's anything you feel needs to be said that I didn't touch on above, by all means say it.

We need a love relationship flowchart of the game for SCIEN- *Machinegunned.*

[VySaika]

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "tactile cues" for me? I think I've got a vague idea of what you mean, but I don't want to make any assumptions.

Also, the groove with Mike is perfectly fine from my angle. Not sure why you'd think it wasn't, unless you meant my -_-ing in #e. Don't take anything I say with a tilde or emoticons seriously ever, though. I'm often more amused  then annoyed even by things that seem to get to me in text. Internet does not convey tone of voice and all, and Tai can probably vouch for how much I rely on tone in person.

[Sierra]

1) Time slot for the game. It's seems to be in a bad spot right now, would anyone like to suggest a better time/day to play? Again, Alex, feel free to chime in here as well if there's a time that would allow you to play. As you all know, I can make anything that's not a weekend or a tuesday fit.

Not so much a problem for me, I think, if I'd just keep getting a nap before the game. I haven't been doing that since we switched to the earlier time, but I probably should. Even when tiredness isn't a problem, I am mentally very burned out after work. Hard to get in-character in that state of mind.

2) Pacing. This game is pretty slow moving, with a focus on more in depth character work and conversations then action(at least so far). Is this working for you? Too slow? Good speed but want more fights? Somehow too fast?

It does seem like we've spent a lot of recent sessions talking about doing things. I mean, talking is good, but there's only so much time for it. Doing stuff > talking about doing stuff. I think at this point I'd really like to do something more active like randomly exploring the open dream (or visiting the underworld).

3) Rolling. The game is also fairly light on the dice tossing. A bit of that is due to TriStat being fairly clunky at times and complicated rolls taking forever thus I avoid them, but it's also a style choice for the game. Is this working for you, or would you like to be able to throw dice at things a bit more often?

Eh. We roll when necessary. No need to make something happen just for the sake of rolling.

4) Character mechanics. Do you like your character's abilities? Are you happy with what you can do, or do you want to change some stuff up now that you know your char and the game a bit more?

Sure, no problems here.

5) PP Gain. Also slow, due to the slow pacing. Is this making you feel as if you don't get rewarded often enough? Do I need to step the power gain and power levels up a bit?

Ditto, no real strong feelings on this one.

6) Ker-PLOT. The game is largely turning into a mystery of sorts, with you trying to figure out what's really going on while mitigating what damage you can. Is this where you want to go with it? Are you enjoying this kind of plot? There's also alot of grey involved here and very little black/white to be had. Is that fun, or is the lack of clear villians to punch out kinda annoying?

Mystery is good. Figuring things out is good. I think we're pretty good here. And adversaries not turning out to be what we expect is never a bad thing. One thing we definitely don't need to borrow from P3 (and to a lesser extent P4) is the villains. Dreams are always very creative and I like seeing them (SIR CHEESINGTON).

7) Do the NPC tango. How are the NPCs working for you? Both your S.Link folks and the lesser NPCs like the owner of Dreamspeakers or the various teachers/students you only inteact with occasionally? And especially Shiro and Dami? I'd like to hear thoughts on anyone you think worth comment, especially the last two.

Japanese names! So many Japanese names! Okay, that's just Cid having trouble sorting out foreign names. Anyway, I don't really have any specific comments here.

8) It's time to play Rate That GM! I know this is a hard question to answer, but how do you think I've been doing as a GM? Am I managing to keep you engaged in the game, and if not, where am I falling short? I know one of my own problems is a general lack of physical description of people, so is that noticable or a problem for the game? I've got a thick skin folks, so if I'm dropping the ball somewhere and not keeping you in the game, lemme know what the problem is.

Physical descriptions aren't as important for fiction writing as one might think. Ultimately, all that's important is that people remember the character, and a succinct but striking impression is much more effective for this than a wall of adjectives.

I am curious about the plot, there is strange stuff happening, mysteries to solve, etcetera, but I do feel significantly detached from the game these days. This isn't entirely something you've caused or can do something about; mostly it's a matter of momentum. Once that gets interrupted, it's extremely difficult for me to reconnect with something. This partly goes back to OK leaving and the ensuing hiatus, but I think we've missed a lot of sessions this year too (various people being sick and such, again not something easily controlled or that someone can be blamed for) and it throws me off. I have fallen out of rhythm with the game, basically. I'm not sure what can really be done about this; on reflection though, I think it has been more pronounced since we switched timeslots. Going to try crashing out for a couple hours right when I get home on Thursdays, see if it's just me being burned out after work.

9) Always gotta like yourself. Covered mechanics above, but that's hardly all that makes a character. Do you like your character from an RP standpoint? Do you enjoy playing them? If there's a problem with something, what can I do to help? Adding into this, Persona characters are not static as a rule. Do you think your character has grown or changed over time, and do you like how they have? Have I given your character enough opportunities to grow?

And as a branch out of 9, is there somewhere that you want to go with your character but need my help to set up? This is very much a character driven game, and while the In Game World doesn't revolve around you, the Metagame most certainly does. If there's something you're wanting to do or somwhere you want to go, let me know and we can work on setting it up.

This ties in with the above. Perhaps as a result of the staggered pacing (or not putting enough thought into things at chargen, or both), I am no longer sure what I meant to do with the character or where to take her. I have to assume this has been apparent from Hikari's relatively slim contribution to conversation in the last couple months. Again, not sure what, if anything, can be done about this. Maybe it is just work eating away the Cid's brain. Don't know.

10) Anything I haven't mentioned here that you'd like to make note of? Any problems I've overlooked or things I've forgotten? Feedback isn't just about answering a few questions, so if there's anything you feel needs to be said that I didn't touch on above, by all means say it.

Can't think of anything.

[VySaika]

Re: Time - Alright, unless Alex chimes in with a time that would let him play, let's keep it at 4:30PM PST/7:30 PM EST on Thursdays. Lets Cid catch a nap before the game, and Snow's been adjusting to the new job schedual better lately. Or would simply 4/7 be better? I'd like some actual stated preferances here, not just "whatever works". We're all a little too guilty of doing that, really.

Re: Pacing - There has been alot of talking lately. Largely because you decided to talk it out with Shiro and Dami instead of slug it out, but it does go further then that I'll grant. I've already got a bit of an idea for something a bit more active in the works, but alot of that does depend on what you guys as a team do. If you want to go take up Okuninushi(sp?) on his offer or go poking around in the Greater Dreamscape, just start it up IC and we'll make it happen~

Re: Japanese Names - Yeah, I have the same problem. Shoulda set this game state-side, but really couldn't for as-yet-unrevealed plot reasons. <_<;

Re: Detatchment - Yeah, it was getting noticable. Was hoping this was just you being tired, but I suppose no such luck. I can get the part about the staggered pacing being an issue, and that is primarily my fault. Online GMing is very stressful for me(though yes I am having fun before anyone suggests that I should just stop) and hard to do when I'm sick. I'm also really bad about sometimes just NEEDING a break from an established schedual to recharge. Seems we're a bit on the opposite side of that, now that I look at it. Still, I hope it can be worked out. I can do more Dune emulation and play GM Hero when I'm feeling cruddy on Thursdays at least. If I can GM while sick in person, I can make the effort online as well. Though periodic breaks in the action for "argh stomach" may crop up.

[Taishyr]

Time/Flow Of Game

1) Time slot for the game. It's seems to be in a bad spot right now, would anyone like to suggest a better time/day to play? Again, Alex, feel free to chime in here as well if there's a time that would allow you to play. As you all know, I can make anything that's not a weekend or a tuesday fit.

Whatever works for anyone else, I'll make work one way or another.

2) Pacing. This game is pretty slow moving, with a focus on more in depth character work and conversations then action(at least so far). Is this working for you? Too slow? Good speed but want more fights? Somehow too fast?

It's fine for now at least. I'll probably cover this more in the latter section.

3) Rolling. The game is also fairly light on the dice tossing. A bit of that is due to TriStat being fairly clunky at times and complicated rolls taking forever thus I avoid them, but it's also a style choice for the game. Is this working for you, or would you like to be able to throw dice at things a bit more often?

No objection here.

Mechanical Stuffs

4) Character mechanics. Do you like your character's abilities? Are you happy with what you can do, or do you want to change some stuff up now that you know your char and the game a bit more?

Pretty happy. Need to use my "look at things to gauge them" ability more often, but otherwise sure.

5) PP Gain. Also slow, due to the slow pacing. Is this making you feel as if you don't get rewarded often enough? Do I need to step the power gain and power levels up a bit?

Nah, that's good enough.

Character/Plot Stuffs

6) Ker-PLOT. The game is largely turning into a mystery of sorts, with you trying to figure out what's really going on while mitigating what damage you can. Is this where you want to go with it? Are you enjoying this kind of plot? There's also alot of grey involved here and very little black/white to be had. Is that fun, or is the lack of clear villians to punch out kinda annoying?

I've no objections. Mike's hardly a white character himself, so.

7) Do the NPC tango. How are the NPCs working for you? Both your S.Link folks and the lesser NPCs like the owner of Dreamspeakers or the various teachers/students you only inteact with occasionally? And especially Shiro and Dami? I'd like to hear thoughts on anyone you think worth comment, especially the last two.

I'm generally enjoying the NPCs, yeah. Shiro's a bit of a question mark still (I get the mentality and how to predict him, and Mike's learning the same at about the same pace, but) stylewise, but everyone else is pretty well defined. (Shiro I initially read very much as just a "eh, fuck tradition, I'm here for what I want" so the, put bluntly, sociopath beatemup side still takes me off guard. Dami I can definitely see the transition for, Shiro's still a trip - makes sense, mind, don't get me wrong, but still a trip.

8) It's time to play Rate That GM! I know this is a hard question to answer, but how do you think I've been doing as a GM? Am I managing to keep you engaged in the game, and if not, where am I falling short? I know one of my own problems is a general lack of physical description of people, so is that noticable or a problem for the game? I've got a thick skin folks, so if I'm dropping the ball somewhere and not keeping you in the game, lemme know what the problem is.

I'm enjoying the game fine. The hiccups are annoying but -I'm- not consistent either so I can't fault you, and it's not annoying as in you're annoying but annoying as in "drat, wish we could play" annoying. This being said, a suggestion if you can't DM in the future:

you two (players), should we just do another Round Table chat like we did that one time? Gives character plot, we can have wacky hijinks in the dreams of one of us three if wanted, keeps at least some semblance of flow going. Might be a good idea to just get in the habit of doing these or something like these?

Similarly, if one person can't be here, might be cool to set up something that the two others can do while the third is busy/not around that's fun but not entirely yargh. I do have a suggestion here, actually... see 9b.

9) Always gotta like yourself. Covered mechanics above, but that's hardly all that makes a character. Do you like your character from an RP standpoint? Do you enjoy playing them? If there's a problem with something, what can I do to help? Adding into this, Persona characters are not static as a rule. Do you think your character has grown or changed over time, and do you like how they have? Have I given your character enough opportunities to grow?

Okay. Shortly? Yes and no.

Yes, I like Mike, he amuses me, I hope he amuses you all. But no, he's annoying me because... well, okay. Bluntly? He became the leader! That wasn't supposed to happen! <_<

In more seriousness, though, I've been feeling like I've been stifling Nagare and -especially- Hikari with Mike and his personality. In part, I'm thinking once Dami / Shiro issue is resolved initially, I want to fall back some from the leadership role I've stepped into somehow, give Hikari a chance to shine more especially but also Nagare. See 10) some. So Mike falling back just a bit would be appreciated some (maybe with the interplay between Dami/Shiro/Nagare/Hikari, this'll come up?).


And as a branch out of 9, is there somewhere that you want to go with your character but need my help to set up? This is very much a character driven game, and while the In Game World doesn't revolve around you, the Metagame most certainly does. If there's something you're wanting to do or somwhere you want to go, let me know and we can work on setting it up.

I wanna go explore the Greater Dreamscape! I think Hikari's gonna suggest it ingame. And for when only two people are around, a brief excursion in (with the third being busy with schoolwork, we -are- students/teachers after all) could be a fun oneshot, especially if we're dedicating ourselves to exploring the Dreamscape some.

And finally...

10) Anything I haven't mentioned here that you'd like to make note of? Any problems I've overlooked or things I've forgotten? Feedback isn't just about answering a few questions, so if there's anything you feel needs to be said that I didn't touch on above, by all means say it.

First, this is more me poking Cid/Snow.
1) Would you agree that I've at least been the group leader, if not perhaps overly dominant?
2) Would you be willing to speak up more if I became, as Teddie puts it to Yosuke, "comic relief" a bit more? >_> This will likely require you two to be willing to do the "action" lines (*Hikari nods and heads off to the next room! or whatever) so that Gate knows when to go, I've been doing them since I know he prefers having those and I've been in leader mode. That cool?

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Could you elaborate on what you mean by "tactile cues" for me? I think I've got a vague idea of what you mean, but I don't want to make any assumptions.

I have poor spatial senses, so vague descriptions sometimes leave me really lost. I often don't have much of a sense on how a space sprawls or how close or far we are from something at times, which sometimes ends up in me doing awesome things like travelling in timespace to open a door, like it happened a couple sessions ago. This is pretty much a problem of mine due to limited 3D perception. I blame the Genesis.

[VySaika]

May as well just use the same topic, so here's another couple questions for all of you after the recent little arc.

1) So now that you've been in the Greater Dreamscape a bit more, what are your thoughts on it? Is it bringing the right mix of wonder, danger and pure 'what' that it needs to?

2) Powers, Factions, Arcana, etc. Are you having trouble following or keeping up with any of this stuff? It shouldn't be super easy to understand as the Dream is a complex place, but it shouldn't be overly confusing either.

3) Anything you saw in the Dream that you particularly want to follow up on? Places you want to check out further, people you want to talk to?

[Taishyr]

1) It's fun, yes. I'd say it brings all three of those, definitely.

2) Not really? Still have a few questions but those are meant to be left unanswered right now, I think.

3) Want to get back to Awl's at some point just to see how we get along (or not), also wanna see the food court/zoo.

[VySaika]

Since this works as well as anything for a random info topic, here's what you need to know about surviving in Yomi.

First off, your Personas are there...but you can't summon them. What this means, is that you have all of your persona's passive abilities(Boosted stats, superstrength, armors, enhanced senses, etc) but none of thier active abilities(attacks, illusions, Slane's Dew, fog, etc.). And the Way to Tir Tairnigir has been established as an Active ability, unfortunately.

The Golden Lightblade and Carved Canoe still work normally.

Nagare's DEVIL cards...well, you'll have to try them to see.

[VySaika]

So. Yomi.

I was in contact with Snow through most of this, so I know he enjoyed the arc for as much as it messed up his character. But what about the other two? I'll throw a couple of feedback style questions here. EDIT: A reread makes it sound like I don't want Snow to answer these. Derpa hey. No, you answer too~

1) Fighting the terrain and the sleep deprivation/hunger, especially with Nagare fading in and out of seeming alive was pretty tense. Or at least tense was what I hoped it was. Instead of soul-crushing for players and character alike, which is what I'm afraid it may have been. What did you think of it? Good tension building, or just mind-numbing? Or somewhere in between?

2) Yomi itself. The world of grey. The faceless, but not hostile, dead. What kind of feeling did the setting get across? Ominous? Creepy? Just dull?

3) I was planning on saying something about combat here, but you lucked out and it never happened. So ignore this.

4) Overall, did it feel like an appropriate challange to be taken, if you'll pardon the pun, dead seriously?

5) For after next session, Okuninushi's boon, worth the trial?

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

1) Honestly? I was perfectly fine with non-euclidean mountain. =D

Seriously, it was quite interesting to deal with a tension coming less from "rarr random battles" and more from our own resource limitations. It could've turned soul-crushing if it went any longer than it did, but I feel the pace was just right - and there were -some- sort of safety havens in a sense, albeit entirely incomplete. Basically, felt different than any of the risks we faced, and that was pretty cool by itself.

2) I know my opinion will not match anyone else's here, but it actually managed to feel welcoming as far as Nagare's context goes. Rather than ominous or straight creepy, though, it just felt... subtly unsettling. Like it's downright clear there's a barrier between the living and the dead, and the crossing leads to an uncomfortable stomach knot. There's just a natural dissonance between the visitors and the atmosphere itself.

4) I think the results sorta speak for themselves. In spite of no actual battles, we made (even with a fair deal of lucking out) it with stacked penalties across the board, essentially one PC down and a lot of crying! It was definitely -hard-, and in a way I honestly didn't expect, which is cool. I think the way it panned out fits fine, and there was the feeling we could -really- die at any moment, which managed to be present all the time.

5) We'll find out~

[Taishyr]

1) See Snow except with a bit more mountain frustration because that was seriously throwing me off. Not your fault, fault of medium.

2) Creepy with edges of ominous for the Nagare Is Turning JapaneseUndead sections, so it worked fine.

3) NEVER! okay

4) Hell yes.

5) Sorry this isn't any longer, I may/will elaborate with a bit more time

[Sierra]

1. Depends. Way down? That was tedious. Struggling against static obstacles for the bulk of a session isn't a recipe for excitement, and recurring confusion over geography only muddled things further. So I was only vaguely attentive throughout that part, broken briefly when Mike fell down and got stalked by zombie goast (which kind of set the tone for failure rolls to come, there was a persistent chorus of "Join ussssss" lurking behind all those bad rolls, I can't help but suspect).

Village stuff/way back up was much more fun, especially since I really wasn't sure near the end that all of us were going to make it out. By that point it felt more like the land in general struggling to keep us there rather than just inconveniently-angled rocks. Village had that sort of totally-welcoming-and-making reasonable-requests-even-though-it's-obviously-passive-entrapment-but-you-can't-really-afford-to-say-no kind of insidiousness going on, which was cool.

2. It was appropriately unearthly. The aimlessness of some mythologies' afterlives is a strange thing.

3. What you say!!

4. Yes.

5. Depends on whether he can do anything for us or not, though I would hope the answer to that is "Yes" since he's a god and all. Really, the most valuable thing anyone can give us right now is information, so that's what I plan to ask for.

[VySaika]

Way down the mountain, I admit I was half zonked myself there and just trying to keep things moving...and having little success. Part of the feel I was going for was that even things like basic terrain was less freindly. All in all, that part was kinda blrg, yes. Glad the next parts seemed to have made up for it.