Appeal for the character Bepem Mazelf, and a general complaint against the administrative team

An Appeal and Complaint Post From a Member of Aeria Roleplay, Venom OPS

My character, Bepem "Cog" Mazelf was based a character that I wanted to be intertwined with technology. My original ideas on how to formulate this backstory consisted of a strictly Dvergar approach. After consulting with Kain, he alerted me to a company one of his characters made, Simmons Co. This company provided a means to form Bepem's backstory, and provide him with his technological knowledge and his trusted companion. Relying on this backstory, I applied for him, and it was approved and met with nice words.

I played as Bepem for two weeks or so, developing relationships and making profit from his sales. All was good.
Around this time, he invented a mechanism to work with firearms. A spring driven needle-like pin would smack the end of a percussion cap (A brass cap filled with shock-sensitive primary explosive, used to start a small explosion), igniting the gunpowder within the cartridge and firing a rounded conical bullet. This invention proved to be a massive improvement in Aeria's standard wheel-lock and match-lock systems, as it allowed quicker reloads, and a more reliable weapon.

With this invention, Bepem went on to sell a few models of pistols using this mechanism, including a contract for sixteen of those pistols for the Surna Watch. With this contract, he gained attention from the Hearlands Crafts Guild, and eventually was promoted to the regional administrator of Surna. Bepem would then proceed to try to sell one of these pistols to a goblin named Suile, played by Rutabega. Upon revealing the function and design of the weapon, Rutabega alerts me that he does not believe that this weapon should be approved for the time period. I go on to discussing the Simmons Co. (A company that existed 100 years before our current rp) had already developed submachine guns, sniper rifles, and jet engines. Then I was told by Rutabega that Simmons Co was RETCONNED. It apparently never happened. This was false, as Kain and Pat compromised on the technology simply being lost, but still existed. With that stated, I was alerted by Rut that the issue lies not withing the feasibility of the mechanisms of the weapon working within modern Aeria, but rather that the current fantasy theme may be jepordized by the incorporation of this weapon. Once again, this comes off as unusual to me, considering that a century prior Aeria had jet propelled projectiles flying across the battlefield, fired from long range sniper rifles.

I was tired, and I retired to my sleep. The following day, I asked Rutabega the status of my needle-gun, to which I was told that "Keep it in the history books". Now, denying this simple weapon and mechanism is bad enough, as it completely eliminated the contracts he made with many people, and the major one he made with the watch. Because of that, he would have never gained attention from the Heartlands Crafts Guild, and never got his job. So with one simple retcon, my character is bumped a week back in rp. This alone sucks, but then I was informed "Simmons Co is being retconned too". With that, bepem's entire backstory completely gets demolished, destroyed by the decision of the administrative team. Now the obvious argument is, "Well, Simmons Co was out of place anyway, it wasn't right for Aeria rp.", and that'd be completely correct. The only problem with that, is that it should have been done prior to it being used as a fundamental structure for my character's backstory, recommended by Kain, the man who made Simmons Co. With this lack of proper management for the lore of Aeria, the administrative team completely nullified two key aspects to Bepem, rendering my character destroyed.

What i'm asking is for the administrative team to reconsider their actions, as it has unintentionally(Or possibly intentionally) destroyed a well developed and successful character. Along with that, we have another key problem that gets raised, if Aeria's lore is unable to coexist with these advancements, then what will happen to it. Well, it will fail. Not just from these advancements, but from Aeria's theme being unable to adapt and change according to rp. A roleplay's theme should be able to change according to the many community members that play within it. These changes shape the roleplay, forming a unique experience that makes one theme separate from another theme. However, it is clear that if Aeria was perfectly fine with such extreme technological advancements like jets and WWI-WWII era weaponry, that it should be able to accept a simple spring driven firing mechanism. The reason for the theme's inability to change is not rooted in logic, but in hypocrisy. Kain, the administrator that fabricated the Simmons Co technology would have no qualms with his weapons being lore, yet the incorporation of significantly weaker weapons makes him uneasy. Yet at the same exact time, he fabricates grenades and other much more complex items while a needle-gun is seen as being far out of the world's reach. On top of that, he raised the issue of the pistol causing balance issues, while he posted his character's equipment, consisting of weapons that could fire flames, increase sharpness, and his assortment of over fifty assorted grenades. Of course he could argue that he won't use them, or that he will use them properly, but the second something happens ingame that goes against his desires, he would take haste in seeing that he could resolve them through his character's significant prowess int weaponry. This isn't Kain's only overpowered character, as Cole Simmons created Simmons Co from scratch, which was already a controversial company, and its usage of jets and other significantly powered technology further plunged it into that situation. Alogn with Cole, Kain's character Kain Redwell managed to harness the power of a god, as well as learning how to make life from scratch, and his magical prowess allowed him to use magic without weaving (The sole thing that makes Aeria's magic unique to other fantasy rp's). With that knowledge, Kain Redwell proceeded to make a series of obsidian (Physically manifested magic) Golems, called numbers, which where used to separate the god's influence from the world, being capable of absorbing a god's energy and even a god itself. With that, his characters single-handedly change Aeria's lore and theme heavily.

When a admin like that, with characters with such power, has significant difficulties with allowing a simple firearm to be approved, due to "Balancing and theme issues", that is called hypocrisy, a trait that should in no way whatsoever be displayed by a proper administrator.

So as an overview, I would like to state three admins' affects on my character Bepem Mazelf's death:

* Kain, head administrator of Aeria, offered the Simmons Co lore as a basis to formulate my character's backstory. I used this as my character's structure, forming a sturdy understanding in technology and of other machinery. Now due to certain circumstances in the rp, the administrative team did not wish for Simmons Co tech to become widespread, as it would remove the fantasy feel from Aeriia. As a compromise, Kain decided to have Simmons Co liquidated during its war against an opposing faction. Now as a normal war progresses, enemy technology gets recovered and reverse engineered, which of course happened in this event. However, Kain would have all of this technology, and all the date on it simply disappear, as part of his and Pat's compromise to let it become the "Lost Technology" of Aeria. As Simmons Co got retconned, my character's backstory would proceed to fail due the the fact that I had based my character on an admins recommendation, thus this failure is a direct fault of this.

*Pat. Lead of Aeria lore, agreed and compromised with Kain, allowing a misfit bit of lore to be incorporated into Aeria. This should have been foreseen as a mistake, as according to the administrative team , "Technology and Aeria need to progress very slowly together". Due to Pat, this lore existed until it was brought up again by Kain, and then myself, which it was met by simply retconning all of it. Because of this, Pat partially shares the blame for my character's failed backstory.

*Rutabega, and administrator on Aeria, saw faults in the incorporation of the needle mechanism for Bepem's weaponry. Rather than this being looked into in depth, seeing that removing this item would demolish fundamental events that occurred due to it, he simply puts it on hold until further notice. The next day, it is retconned. Along with this, he has a say and contributes heavily in Simmons Co being retconned as well. With that, he manages to remove large chunks from Bepem's history, and recent activities, leaving Bepem in a completely useless and unusual state, rendering him void.

So on a final note, I simply wish to display my disappointment in the administrative team's inability to identify faulty lore, and eliminate it before it significantly affects other characters and the course of the rp. Along with that, it obviously shows some problems with the current administrative team's leadership, and notably Kain's hypocritical and condescending approaches to administration and roleplaying.
With that, I hope that my appeal for Bepem sees some results, and that my critique of the administrative team prompts some actions on their side, and on the community side.

Tryhard Posts : 602 Join date : 2012-02-06

We were never okay with this level of tech existing in the setting. If any of us had known that Simmons Co. had such things as "jet engines, automatic weapons and sniper rifles", we would have flipped a shit. Simmons Co., Kain Redwell, and all of that was done without our express approval, behind our backs, simply because it would have been flat-out denied otherwise. For the sake of preserving the plot and setting, we agreed to these compromises, because Kain Redwell and Cole Simmons had become so integrated into it. We also set out to ensure it would never happen again.

Reading your post, I am angered, not by you, but by the complete lack of communication between the admin staff. First Kain tells you it's okay and green lights you, then Root tells you the entire Simmons Co. was retconned (something that was never discussed or agreed upon) and that the guns aren't okay. I don't know what to say to this, I really don't.

This is exactly the response I want, trying to expose these faults and find ways to fix it. These mistakes sparked all from communications issues, and Kain even said that he had rped every single thing he mentioned to me. Obviously he did this alone, as it would have been denied otherwise. It is unfortunate that my character had to die to reveal this fault, but at least it is thrown out here for the other admins to see.

This covers one aspect of my post, but I would especially appreciate that as a community we find a way to fix these major holes in his story caused by these issues, and hopefully find a way to incorporate the technology that he invented, as it is very much capable in the lore and has its own sets of faults and counters.

Tryhard Posts : 602 Join date : 2012-02-06

Venom OPS wrote:: This covers one aspect of my post, but I would especially appreciate that as a community we find a way to fix these major holes in his story caused by these issues, and hopefully find a way to incorporate the technology that he invented, as it is very much capable in the lore and has its own sets of faults and counters.

I don't see any reason he can't still be an inventor. Pat's idea of the Dvergar is as follows: They were genius inventors, and created some crazy-advanced tech, but something happened that erased most of their progress. Bepem might be trying to get back some of that former glory.

But we just don't want any advanced weapons technology creeping into the setting. Part of it is for the sake of balance. If these new guns start spreading, suddenly we'll see more and more gunmen and not having a gun will be a hindrance. It's also about the atmosphere of the RP. We understand that it's not about who has the coolest rifle or the strongest sword-arm, but there different kinds of fantasy, some where there are machines and advanced weaponry everywhere, others where swords and arrows are all you've got. We sit comfortably in between, and would rather it not tilt too far in either direction as the result of one character's actions.

With all of that being said, my idea is that Bepem remains an inventor, but rather than weapons, his focus is elsewhere. Automatons, perhaps. Or even simple locomotives.

In all honesty, I can't take the administrative team seriously when they mention balance until the issues with all of Kain's lore, and characters are completely resolved. They all display significant changes in lore made by one man, and go against what the players are told is impossible, 'One man can't heavily influence something that easily".

Scrub Posts : 31 Join date : 2012-08-21

Let me begin with a formal apology that the administration was not able to deal with this in a satisfactory manner. Let me also apologize for the conflict of communication between the members of the staff, and also, for my absence today; it seems I was the cause of this misunderstanding, but I could not address your concerns as they arose.

Normally, when there is a lore conflict, before the decision to remove something arises, we first try to approach a compromise. I find it strange that there was no attempt to compromise. Furthermore, this decision was made without my involvement. Now, I feel I can trust those who were involved to make the right decision, but to jeopardize a character over this is obviously not the right decision, as it feels very one-sided.

We have discussed this issue and have arrived at a reasonable solution, and I will be speaking with you regarding the matter as soon as I am able to get in touch with you. Additionally, this has brought to our attention that the technology lore is not clearly available, but is seeing widespread use sooner than our expectations. The writing of that lore was prioritized after Race lore, as we are rushing to complete that right now. But, to prevent this problem from arising again, we will focus on producing a Technology thread to address the state of technology across various cultures.

With all of that said, I want to say that the immediate reaction to undo the existence of Bepem's guns was hasty, unfair, and undermined you as a roleplayer and contributor of content. But the notion that the needle-point guns should not be available has merit. Therefore, whenever I speak with you, we will be working toward a compromise to preserve the concept of the gun without leaping forward too many steps in technology; though, I will still give you a chance to defend your reasons for keeping the technology as well as talk to me about your roleplay that most contributes to those reasons..

As a closing note, I want to advise you to please keep personal attacks to a minimum. Neither the administration, nor the community is conspiring to undo your works, and it is only common sense to approach your concerns respectfully if you intend on having the courtesy reciprocated. This is not the first time the community has appeared to jump against a single idea without first carefully inspecting it, and then deciding what the best solution would be. I am embarrassed to have seen this have happen again.

I take full responsibility for the events that transpired, and I assure you that the situation will be rectified shortly.

Tryhard Posts : 602 Join date : 2012-02-06

Complaint addressed, problem resolved.

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