Best Of

Torrent said:

My questions are what is the most stressful thing about being a god in Achaea? What has been one of your most stressful times? Also what in your opinion is the best way that the player base can help you out?

By far the most stressful thing to me is when players fixate on looking for OOC causes or solutions to their problems, instead of roleplay avenues. I have seen an endless amount of people claim that this god hates them, that god has favourites, that they're being metagamed because they lost, and so on. The reality is that most gods have no strong opinions on any players from an OOC perspective, and if they do, they will remove themselves from situations where it would become a problem. In character, Divine often do have favourites, but players tend to guess these completely wrong by blowing small compliments or constructive criticism out of proportion.

The same goes for interacting with other players. Conflict is often reduced to a purely OOC concept, with people assuming opposing players must be using OOC means to get ahead even when there is no evidence for it or, worse, when we know for a fact they are organising IC because we can see it.

The other side of this is that organising your in-character projects through Google documents or Discord means that you are leaving a lot of people out by default, and it makes it a lot less likely that gods/denizens/volunteers can interact with you in the process.

Adrik said:

For any god that wishes to participate..

What singular event in Achaean history would you want to change? How would you change it?

Somewhat keeping to my role, I would rather deal with bad things from the past than try to change them or dwell on them!

For some other questions,

If you hadn't chosen your current god, and all roles were open, who would you have picked?

By the time I was ready to pick, my other two candidates were Lorielan and Ourania.

Eoka said:

To address the opposite end of @Thaisen's question: What is the best part of your role as a Divine? Have any moments in particular stuck out to you as special, in a positive way?

I absolutely love when players are creative and eager with the way they interact with the world. I would rather have people that blow minor events out of proportion than the jaded sort that brushes everything off as 'it doesn't matter anyway'. Being ready and willing to roll with whatever comes your way, good or bad, goes a long way to making the world feel more interesting and less like just another game.

@Oceana said:

Are there any common reasons why Gods would disappear? I imagine there are all sorts of personal reasons, but if there are also game-related reasons, is there anything players can do to avoid the loss? Or rather, what are the things players should not do if they want to keep their Gods alive and kicking/zapping?

Almost all of the time, it's simply other aspects of life taking priority.

@Kaios said:

Could be answered by any of you, but what are you expecting players to get out of God interactions? What is your goal during those interactions yourself? Using Aurora as an example, the majority of the time Aurora has interacted with Targossas since I've been around has mostly just been to punish someone or complain about something we did that she dislikes or kill someone for asking her a question, the list goes on. Of course, this is only what I see from the perspective of outside looking in but if the goal is not to add things that contribute positively, or provide interest or intrigue... then what is the goal? I can say with all honesty that if my interactions with any Divine were to be limited to getting killed or insulted by them only, I don't think it would matter to me whether or not they were active.

Due to how long Aurora and Deucalion had been gone, it's safe to say that Targossas was used to being without a patron, especially one who held them accountable for their actions - no matter whether those actions were seen to be positive or negative. 

This may sound harsh, but if the only interactions you're party to are negative ones, then I promise you that it brings me no pleasure to have them. In fact, my consumption of tea and toblerones dramatically increases. It is simply the case that Targossas has sworn to defend and protect Creation, and if they are putting personal agendas above that responsibility then they will certainly know of Aurora's disapproval.

Generally speaking, this approach applies to any theocracy. We have the privilege of having clout behind what we say, but we also have the burden of condemning those who do not take the responsibility of their charge seriously. 

@Atalkez said:

@Aurora How difficult was it to decide to take the role, knowing the history of the previous volunteer and unfortunately the most recent news? Similar to a previous question, were you given some/a lot/no notes to give you an idea of how to get into it?

I won't lie, it was incredibly difficult. The team were so, so supportive, and it was that which allowed me to feel confident in my decision. I'm lucky in that I have all of the notes for Aurora that were ever made, but even now I'm still researching for anything from the very first iteration of the role. I think I always will be.

Without going into too much detail, I knew Lindsey incredibly well. She was such a bright spark in my life, and I miss her terribly. It felt like a betrayal to log in as Aurora, afterward. But, you know what? She'd want me to embrace every single thing in my life with all that I have. So, here I am! 

@Archaeon said:

how to get into Rory RP:

Step 1: Smack Atalkez around

I will make you bathe, if you're not careful.