Setting the Example

[Ghost]

Scarface:  
You hear a man shouting from the south:
"Who would dare to challenge me?"   
Crazed thug in the rinth.  If you needed him, you should just follow the challenging shoutings in the alleys.  Handling a PC-run gang, later getting into the Guild and trying to organize stuff.  Sad enough, being in the same position as he was, my PC was often elsewhere doing a different kind of crime stuff, so I did not have as much time with him as I wanted.  When I heard of his death, was the time my OC took the leadership in his hands totally, yet it was a very very disappointed moment.  I would throw away the leadership of any crime organisation to get him back.

Rocker:  
"Is that your fucking name boss?  I thought people are just dumb." "Boss, my wench is gonna remove my balls if I don't go now."
The man was awesome.  Spending time with him was total blast.  Even when being an underling, he has been an example for me, and I hoped he would last longer than he did, for I am sure I could set him as an example for myself for quite a while more.

Digger:  I just wish, I was not a newbie when interacting with him.  


Templar Haadith Oash:  "Seems we're one big happy fucking family now..."
Going from my interactions with him, he had a rather unusual mind.  His views and ideas were quite interesting and fun.  Sometimes, something could trigger his "mad" part and there starts the fun.  You really should have got him angry once, if not.. You missed a lot.

Lord Brion Oash:  "Seems like we need a new -favorite- templar."
After the first interaction with him, I was like "Wow!  This man is doing a real good job." And he was.  I wonder how his interactions with his underlings went, but Brion Oash was the man to stick around him, and enjoy the game for me.  I have had quite some interaction with him, and all of them were quite interesting.  Not to mention, once in a while findind out what he was interested in gave me a surprise and all.

Baladan Tenneshi:
Don't have much words.  Other than he rocked.  At his active time, I had little chance to actually interact with him, but even that was quite enjoyable.


There was someone from Borsail military I knew, I don't know if she is still alive, so better I don't give a name or go into detail.  But I should say, she was good at covering her intentions.  Not being, or lets say feeling sure of someone's intentions always gives me thrill.  She used to give me that kind of thrill.


Kudos to the players.

P.S:  I am sure I am forgetting some players, but well.. If I remember anyone I will try to stop by this thread again.

[Ghost]

Right, remembering people of note:

Serjeant Falka (later liutenant)
If for nothing else, she was the first character with such a psychological indepth I ever encountered.  She was quite extraordinary, especially if you like psychological stuff.

Sergeant Vanir from Byn:
A good military leader of note.  Although he was a half-elf, he had a good influence on the simple grunts.

Also although an NPC they were, played by Daigon and Nidhogg, Nierse and Sadie were two important characters of note that they set as example for me.

Kudos to them.

[Yang]

Takryn (Sartarkyn), Jen, Natasha, the other calico chick, can't remember precisely. This was ages ago, I barely remember, I must have been 14 or 15 years old (that's over ten years ago)... but I was there, playing Takryn's adopted daughter Cassie, a member of the family, and it had a profound effect on how I would play in the future.

Ana of Khomar had a similar impact at my beginnings... Khomar, there was a fun clan. Then there was Alkyone, who'd show up every once in a while. Clegane, of course, was mutually inspired to polish his RP by my style he has said, which later reversed itself so that I was much more impressed by his RP. We always went back and forth like this, for many characters over the years... and then he married my sister! (My sister was also a heavy influence on my play, as we lived together and often used to chat about the game.)

Goldy, Dar, Carrigan, Shade... these are guild leaders that really made an impact on my rogue PCs, and taught me how to be scary without having to act it out too much... that a reputation -could- be built by action rather than word... which really helped my effectiveness with rogues, bards and roguebards. And space vestric.

Forget I said anything about the space vestric.

Heh. Heh.

[Jakahri]

Adra (neat guy)
Durg (shows what an independant hunter can really do)
Blue Whirlwind (he started one of the largest, most far reaching plots I've ever been involved in)
A certain Tenneshi Sarge (you remember the good ole days )
Lone Moon (you know who you are)
Mektok (same as above)
Faithful Mali (incredible)
Faithful Ishadli (incredible)
Faithful Iluya (I don't know if I've ever seen another templar have as much far reaching power as her. Quite scary)
A certain Sarge in Kurac (she knows who she is)
Simon the Blue (sick guy)

All of these players brought others around them and helped push the possibilities of roleplay to its limits. That's something worth noting, I think.

[jstorrie]

Oh, Blue Whirlwind. He was a card.

[moab]

Danu and Sargax were the two who, to me, showed what it was to be a leader.  Both were organized yet mysterious, able to relate to their underlings but remain aloof.

Although I only played with both briefly I did manage to hook up with them through several characters (I guess everyone can say that about Sargax) they really gave Kurac it's mercantile flavor with a touch of that underworld mobster mentality.

If there were VIP awards, they both should get them.

Editing per Sarah's request:

Danu and Sargax both were great organizers and visionaries - able to share that vision with their underlings and organize them into a team that could accomplish that.

They both added to the reality of Zalanthas by playing on the reality of the world around them rather than ignoring it.

They had human weakness and traits that made their planning, organizing and visions not the work of some great player behind the keyboard but of some dude sitting in the smoky tavern with you, working the next big angle.

Great leaders seem real by working within the environment, by having a knack of organization and have the skill to communicate their vision and produce buy-in.

[sarahjc]

Since we have 5 Fav PC lists now. I was hoping to have more of an indepth look into why you think those people are so great and what they provided you with, as opposed to just a list of names.

Bumping this to try and cool the name listing.

[bloodfromstone]

Templar Haadith Oash: "Seems we're one big happy fucking family now..."
Going from my interactions with him, he had a rather unusual mind. His views and ideas were quite interesting and fun. Sometimes, something could trigger his "mad" part and there starts the fun. You really should have got him angry once, if not.. You missed a lot.

No joke. He scared me shitless when I first started. My interaction with him ensured that my PCs have a proper fear of getting on a templar's bad side. Bravo, to whoever played Mr. Haadith.

[Larrath]

Kavinny Borsail was the first noble I've had a meaningful interaction with, and I did learn a good bit just from being around her; how nobles are, how some of them think, and how they're supposed to be treated.
Quaelus Borsail was also a learning experience, though it took a while until I was able to understand how he always spiced things up and tried to involve everyone around him.  I thought it was really annoying back in the day, but now I wish I was able to do that.
Ahyena also taught me a lot about the game, but it's harder to put into words.  I guess she just showed me another mentality, back when I was still very new and didn't really know how to act.
Yazuli, a Whiran, helped (really, really helped) me realize why people were actually afraid of magickers.
Lord Templar Kishime Fale showed me some fear in the early days, and also helped me understand that even if I don't have to worry about making templars enemies, I still want them to be on my side.
Shvahn Nenyuk showed me a little of how merchants should act, another learning experience.
The Faithful Ishaldi, Eunoli and the Jihaen (Rykon?) at the time who I sadly can't remember for helping me realize how weird it would be for a southerner to reside permanently in the North and vice versa, by taking my southerner for questioning, repeatedly.
Rairi of the Tor Scorpions, for showing me the difference between actual camaraderie and fake camaraderie.
Also a Tor mul: Karu-nah, who taught me that muls aren't part of a stress-free environment by frequently intimidating my character.
Jagdni, for teaching me that haggling is good.
Also, a nameless PC in Red Storm, clearly a Vivaduan, who had disgusting picturesque emotes.  I always like to think back about them when Vivaduans look too clean and pretty.
Quick, too, had me feeling very educated.

This is everyone I can think of that really taught me something I can put into words.

[jmordetsky]

I won't go into my favs, cuz we did that. People who taught me to play, because when I started I was an 00ber n00ber, hunting on foot, sleeping off major wounds on a dune etc.

Sgt. Yari in Borsail - Guided me to my through my first clan, and kept me busy enough that I didn't wander out hunting on foot.

Kishime - Taught me how cool working together to mature a plot/quests could be.

Sarahjc - Basically, until SarahJC took the time to "learn" how to play arm and teach me, I was just playing the same ninja raider over and over and over again. At some point I stopped power gaming and I used to emote and stuff, but Sarahjc was actually the one who when she started saying things like:

"You know, you're not supposed to fight a scrab until you have 3 hp, sleep in a village, get up and go finish killing it."

"You know, you didn't *have* to kill that n00b, you could have left him near dead with mercy."

"You know, you shouldn't hunt on foot."

Things of that nature. Basically I had be playing for 3 years on and off and she was playing for 2 months and had more Karma then I did, so I lent an ear, and learned the consensus rules of the game.

So the next time you want to scold a n00b, think of poor jmordetsky who was just clueless.

Quick - Which was recent, this player taught me how cool creating your own plots were, and that sometimes you can do cool stuff without any imm support.

Nidhogg - An all around good Imm and animated npc members of clans to make things happen and help things along.

Sanvean - Who I think generally has the patience to see past the 13yr old n00b who is spam stealing, putting up annoyed posts, and sending angry mail to the staff about being pkilled and see someone who might contribute to the game later.

Which some eventually do...

[Cenghiz]

Brion Oash kept things going, found things to do for his servants and he was always a good Rper.
Lord Templar Haadith Oash was very careful with his responses, he let other players get involved in his acts and he did that well..
Others are too close, that would be still IC. But heh, damnit.. Let me say Alaenu.

[Oxidised Lizard]

My first Sergeant ever, the halfie Vanir.

Was he around at the same time as Sergeant Rayarl or was he earlier?

Anyone know?

[Larrath]

Rayarl and Vanir were both Sergeants in the Byn at the same time, at least at one point.  Vanir probably made Sergeant a month or two after my join date.

I remember Vanir, and the rest of that T'zai Byn gang.  I was still a complete newbie who broke character more often than not, and he was quite helpful, occasionally answering questions and otherwise just showing me that things are better done ICly.

[buzz]

Lord Htanyal the Red, who mentored my templar many years ago.  Working under him I not only learned a lot of things about being in a leadership role, in an IC sense, but also got a handle on how to make things interesting for the players of PCs who you lead.  There is a difference.  (He also did me the favor of dying, thus opening up the opportunity for Lord Garrick the Blue to become Lord Garrick the Red.)

Htanyal would always have something going on, and he would find an excuse to involve someone, anyone, who was around, just to give them something to do.  I saw a lot of things he could do just as easily as solo RP that he made more interesting for himself (and for other people) instead by just having someone tag along.

[Morrolan]

I already answered, but I wanted to add Sergeant Mona (Byn), who I had the pleasure to work both under and with (with different characters).  She had the ability to bring characters back to the gritty realities of being IC in Zalanthas, with her ascerbic wit.

Examples might be too IC, but again, many thanks to her and her player!

Morrolan

[jstorrie]

Mona and Bela were definitely very fun to play with, and the Bynner that I played with them was the first character I really, really got into. It would have been a shame to go through an event as big as the mantis attack on Tuluk (and subsequent retaking of Luir's) with a shallow character; I can thank them for making sure I didn't. The entire northern Byn crew at this time was good, really, and one of my favourite playing experiences.

[Red Ranger]

Katarin Darkmoon was the leader PC that showed me that Armageddon could be more than just walking out into the desert to fight mobs.  Prior to my PC meeting her, all my characters would hack and slash, and in that precise order.  It was Katarin, a servant of Fale destined to be a Falesit in later in life, who involved my little n00b PC in her intrigues and gave me IC responsibilities and goals beyond just killing stuff and accruing 'sid off the loot of dead NPCs.  In the process, that character introduced me to the world of PC politics and plotting, and to the possibility of IC success through RP.  I've been hopelessly addicted to the game through all the following years.

[LauraMars]

Way back in the day there was a dreadlocked pc who really uh, killed my first character in the labyrinth.  So I left this game and forgot about it for two years.  But I still think fondly back upon that dreadlocked pc and try to be that scary and mean to everyone I come across.  If it's in character.  But I try not to die, as the dreadlocked pc also died, with me, in the labyrinth.

Just because I don't remember his name does not mean he didn't influence my leadership ability.  Yes, I can lead people to the labyrinth and kill them now.  Thank you, dreadlocked pc.

[Rhyden]

I've only had a few clan leaders. Only two of them struck me as 'great' and they were the ones that helped me out when I was just starting out. The two past Salarr leaders left an impact on me because their characters handled their clan in an IC and OOC way that was awesome for everyone. If there wasn't much going on at the time, they'd make what was going on for the entire clan. The two characters I have in mind weren't overly 'heroic' as some people may invision a perfect leader. They were more mudane and had flaws that made their characters stand out.

Also, kudos to all leaders that ever were or are of the T'zai Byn. I truly think some of the best leaders in Armageddon have been in the Byn. Whether handling newer players, looking out for contracts and keeping the more experienced players busy, it just seems like Byn leaders do it all. Having not experieced many clans, I'm sure other ones have had exceptional leaders as well.

[amoeba]

Most of the names I couldn't mention because many still live or are just too recent.  many others I never knew the name of.  I do remember the first 'real rp'  encounter I had when I started playing the mud.  I remember applying on a whim because I was curious about the place, and starting in Tuluk.  It was quite late at night, and there were few characters, just the usual tavern bench warmers.  After milling about getting supplied for an hour or two, I wandered out the gates, didn't get very far until I ran across a delf.  I forget the interaction, but it was brief and I ran back towards the gates, then the delf wayed me and proceeded to belittle and insult my character.  I remember being scared and pissed at the same time, I really wanted to find and humiliate that guy.  Then it struck me that I had never felt that way with any other game that I played. I was feeling real emotions.  Without that simple encounter, I'm not sure I would have stayed.

Most of the people that have influenced me over the years, don't show on the list, but that doesn't mean they haven't had a strong influence on my play, one way or the other.  Even nobodies influnce others, I want to speak up for them.  One nameless kuraci mul probably has had as much influence on my character development as most others combined.  It was always a joy to play with him.  What stuck with me, is how consistaint to character he was, How he could paint a real person with simple, subtle movement. (mostly, sometimes not subtle at all)  It felt like it was real, not a potrayal.  And how he worked on keeping people involved at some level or another.  

In all you don't have to be a superstar to do well and set an example.  Just be true to what you do and be as true as possible to character, while at the same time remembering that this is a group effort.

[Dan]

Bela has been showing up a lot lately... was a lot of fun playing with her. I remember when my character and Bela got in trouble for being too... close? Heh.

As far as learning from someone to take on a leadership role... the names should go unnamed, even though it was a year ago or so there are still people alive who know them, or the character I learned from them with. Thanks you guys.

I would have to say that I went through a lot of trial and error with taking on my own leadership abilities and have learned over time it takes a lot more than just being able to keep those following you "busy".