[OOC] The 1,000th Campfire

[Unko Talok]

Well, those rolls could have gone better, but I had fun writing, anyway! I hope I didn't massively overstep bounds in describing some of the monks' behaviors or thoughts...

[Wynamoinen]

Looks fine to me. Every individual NPC is different, of course, so I wouldn't want to see every NPC portrayed as a moustache-twirling villain (and you obviously did not do that, UT!). Building a story of how the vibes are off totally works, and is consistent with the scene I've set. But if the other PCs want to find kindness or sympathy, those are available as well.

[Wynamoinen]

Just a quick FYI to point out my signature update. From Dec 25 to Jan 3, I will be away from site. Holiday, and then a little tropical vacation, over both of which I'm going to go my best to avoid screens as much as possible.

If we've got enough posts for me to update by Saturday, I'll do my best to fit one in. But if not, my psoting will be on hiatus into the New Year. Either path is fine by me; I see that Strangemund also has a "slow holiday posting" flag on her signature as well. Do what you can, and don't stress a deadline from me.

[Lazer]

Before today the only live play I tried to watch was Critical Role, when they started on some new season with a different GM. I got about ten minutes in and nothing had happened yet, and there was still something like three hours of material ahead in just this video and I thought, 'nah, this isn't for me.' I'm not someone who can just put the audio on in the background and keep up with what's going on, multitasking like that is just impossible for me.

But I'm happy to support the stream, so I'm letting it play quietly while I work, even though I'm pretty sure I will have no idea what's going on.

[Wynamoinen]

OK, my vacation is starting later this evening, so my downtime on site has begun.

If anyone has more free time on site than they'd like in the holiday downtime, Lostcheerio and Fillyjonk and Bananabadger are doing a "non-canon open role play" event for about a month over here. They're inviting pretty much anyone to bring prety much any character they want to just show up and shoot it RP sh** for a few weeks.

[Strangemund]

Yeah, sorry for the sudden hiatus. Holidays took over a lot more than I expected, half due to the holidays themselves, the other half was dealing with family drama that was less than pleasant.

But I am back! I am working through what I owe, so I should have a post up before the week is up.

[Wynamoinen]

It's all good! I meant to make a post that I myself am just back in the saddle as of this morning. So as far as I'm concerned, I just turned the game's lights back on about three hours ago.

[Strangemund]

Woo!! Love it when my timing works out!!

[Wynamoinen]

OK, everybody, I think it's time for me to be the bearer of bad news. I don't believe this game is viable anymore. I think it's time to draw the curtains / shut off the lights / drag the game behind the shed and put it down. We've had three straight waves of posts with at least 4 week delays in between GM udates. That's three months of minimal activity. I don't believe that's a healthy game. That's not a game I can run. It's time to end the adventure.

As usual when a game ends, I don't blame anyone but myself. We are all busy, we all have important other life issues to take care of, and I respect that. I am also much more busy that usual, and will remain so for at least 5 more months. There are many things I could have done differently to shepherd the game. You're all surely sick of hearing me whine about pacing, and I apologize for any irritation I've caused.

Thanks for being part of the game! I hope you are all well. I've enjoyed playing with all of you. Due to the above issues, my presence on site has been a little reduced these last two or three months, but I'll remain around, and I'd be happy to find myself in a game with any of you again.

[Unko Talok]

Totally understand, Wyn. I'm sad to see it go, but absolutely relate to how busy life is. It was fun while it lasted! I hope I'll see y'all around the site now and again. At the moment, ruffdove's Starfinder game is the only one I'm in. And it's likely to remain the case for a while.

[Strangemund]

I have been where you stood as a GM before. It is always a tough call to pull the plug on a game, but in the end, you gotta do what works for you! I do feel like I owe an apology for my part in the slow pace-- last year had some real sluggish points for me-- so don't feel like the pacing was all your doing, Wyn! I'll shoulder my own fair of responsibility!

That said I had a KILLER time with the game! You taught me a lot on how to be a fun GM, which will stick with me forever, and there are so many cool scenes I got to write for The Great Feng Wu and with ya'll!

I really did enjoy each thread, for all their variety. The campfire intro was hysterical, the loss of The Great Feng Wu's fingers horrifying, and the relationships we interweaved with each other, the complicated, messy feelings was a real treat that I'll remember fondly forever!

And each of you guys were hell of a lot fun to write with! I truly hope we manage to cross paths again in another game! You are all fantastic writers, players, and Wyn, you are a hell of a GM!! CHEERS, MY DUDES!!

[rhaiber]

I'm very sad to see this game fall to the wayside.

@Wyn: You always create such amazingly immersive and engaging worlds. But beyond that, your skill as a GM encourages freedom and creativity in a way that brings out the best is your players.

@Everyone else: This game had some of the greatest writing and consistent quality posts of any game I've been a part of. To be honest, I often found myself intimidated by the quality of writing I saw here and it made me feel like I had to keep upping my game just to keep up with everyone else.

@Strangemund: I feel like I need to give special kudos to you. The love-hate relationship the developed between The Great Feng Wu and Li Ruiying, fueled by equal parts mutual respect and overpowering jealousy was one of the best inter-character relationships I've had the pleasure to be a part of. I've no idea where it might've eventually ended up, but I'm very happy I got to ride that crazy train with you while it lasted.

I hope I get the chance to work with all of you again soon.
Cheers!

[Lazer]

I'm sorry to see the game end, too, but can completely understand why it has to be done. I really enjoyed these characters and this story and I will remember it all very fondly.