Honey

[Hauwke]

I personally dont like the use of zalanthan terms in an Sdesc, but definately dont be using sky blue or obviously earthan colors and terms like that for just the reason someone mentioned before, its wierd to say skyblue IC.

I have no fucking clue what the hell Pech color is. Or Petoch, or anything like that. I can barely understand what Mauve is and its an earth color!

[solera]

Look them up. Buy a petoch fruit. Actually, I've almost forgot too. I like cunyati brown though I still have to look up the spelling so don't put it in a sdesc. Sand coloured or sandy is spread through the data base, and PCs, and I have to read further to find if its meant to be reddish, or earth brownish.

[Hauwke]

That is another one that is among the list I suppose.

[azuriolinist]

This chart might be helpful, too! The old image isn't available, anymore, but I think this was it?

As for s-desc keywords, I'll admit to having used both IC and OOC-related terms for mine. I think using either should be alright, as long as the color/thing being referred to is elaborated in the main description, which is absolutely perfect for clarifying this sort of thing. Personally, I try not to refer to others by their specific short desc. keywords, if possible.

[Samoa]

We used to use this:

http://web.archive.org/web/20011208073914/http://www.ci-n.com/~darklyn/armageddon/char.html

[Raptor_Dan]

Omg! I haven't read 'lisa says I have to title these' in forever! My next PC, I'm using every single Zalanthan color I can.

This page was a great resource for me. Is there anyway we can make it more available for newbies? Like maybe copy/pasting it somewhere, or stickying a thread with it?

[TheGoose]

...I think... one major issue is being overlooked here.

I've been playing about two months, and I didn't know that the sky was red ALL THE TIME. I knew that it was red SOME of the time. I thought this had more to do with the time of day than anything.

I hadn't even heard of honey in Zelanthas and, except for reading this thread, would have had no way of knowing it was green short of someone showing it to me in-game. I didn't know it came from kanks. Maybe it's mentioned in a help file somewhere? Who knows, man.

Though I'm ashamed to admit it, I've sort of given up on understanding the Zelanthan-only terms and words. There are too many, the explanations are spread all across the helpfiles and hidden in small, sticky pockets. It really just seems like a tenebrous trail of nonsense words that occasionally crop up, immune even to the considerable power of Google.

What would really help is a single, comprehensive help file, rather than an easy-to-miss thread on the forums, referenced in the game (preferably in the chargen area.)

(Edited for tone)

[WanderingOoze]

...I think... most of y'all have been playing this game so long that you're missing the obvious issues here.

I've been playing about two months, and I didn't know that the sky was red ALL THE TIME. I knew that it was red SOME of the time. I thought this had more to do with the time of day than anything.

I've never even HEARD of honey in Zelanthas, and except for reading this thread, would have had NO WAY AT ALL  of knowing it was green, short of someone showing it to me in-game. I didn't know it came from kanks. Maybe it's mentioned in a help file somewhere? Who knows, man.

I've given up on understanding the Zelanthan-only terms and words. There are too many, the explanations are spread all across the helpfiles and hidden in small, sticky pockets. How is anyone supposed to understand these nonsense words?

What y'all really need is a single file that explains this. Not some obscure thread on the forums. A help file, referenced in the game (preferably in the chargen area.) Referenced often. A comprehensive list. Otherwise? You should probably just accept that people aren't going to know what you 20 year vets are talking about.

I've been playing for a few years now and -still- find myself
not knowing wtf the Kanjel-eyed, numut-skinned, jallal-haired man -actually- looks like unless I read the mdesc, and they
have actually -further- described wtf these colors really look
like. Which isn't even a given, as some people in their mdescs
even go 'their hair is a deep shade of ripe kalans' . And yeah,
sometimes I don't have time to dredge up the color-files threads
to piece together what I'm seeing.

The Lord Templar asks, "Well, what did the criminal look like?"

The Slack-jawed Ooze says, "Um...I think he was a fruit tree of some sort, Lord Templar."

[Lizzie]

People will interpret things however they feel like interpreting it, even if you are meticulous about your meaning in an mdesc. To wit:

I played a melon-breasted woman. That was part of her sdesc. If you had bothered to actually read her mdesc, you'd discover her breasts were SHAPED like melons. Not that they were the size of melons. They were actually modest in size. But they were bulbous-shaped. Melon-shaped. She used to get shit from people all the time about the size of her boobs when in fact - there was nothing remarkable at all about their size, and her mdesc was very clear on that.

I also once played a character whose mdesc included a "gentle flare at her hips." Word got around that there was this chick with huge child-birthing hips hanging out at the bar. Why? Because I included the word "hips" in the mdesc and that's what people chose to latch on to.

The more obscure your reference, the less likely people will be to actually pay attention to it. Honey in Zalanthas used to come from kanks. There are no more kanks, and no living PC in the game would have been around before the kanks ceased to exist. Most PCs in the game can't read, so written descriptions would be lost on the vast majority of the populace. They'd have to rely on pictures, most of them ancient and primitively painted/drawn. It's very unlikely that any PC in the game would know a) that honey exists and b) that it's green.

As for plants - that's even tougher. The kalan-eyed man - are you saying his eyes are the COLOR of kalan fruits? Or the shape of kalan fruits? And if you mean the color of them, do you mean the outer rind, or the inner pulp (which is a very different color)?

I'm for clarity, personally. Even though - when I'm being clear, most people don't bother to read it anyway. At least I know I was clear, and that it was the fault of the reader for not, y'know, reading.

[chrisdcoulombe]

Great so my characters penis is green.

[SaraD]

If you wanna ruin your own immersion by clenching your anus every time you read a description, I'm more than glad to help make sure your asshole gets *ripped* like Arnie.

Edit: also, ridiculous necropost, but didn't even think about it till I posted, sorry XD

[TheGoose]

...I'm more than glad to help make sure your asshole gets *ripped* like Arnie.