House Oash and mages.. a plus or minus?

[Eyeball]

Since that day House Oash managed to crush CAM, it's really been the only official option for Gemmed mages. Maybe some can find some work on the sly, and yes, occasionally Templars will press them into service for a day, but House Oash is the only formal organization to admit the Gemmed.

It's a little funny how House Oash was annoyed that CAM was recruiting mages and reducing the selection available. This is because of the divisive effect it has on the tiny population of Gemmed itself. Oashi Gemmed have a strong tendency to be secretive and aloof from the rest of the Gemmed. They don't go out with unaffiliated mages (this might vary a little depending on who is leading them). They generally don't share in the Templar-sponsored activities. They have their own place outside of the temples, physically partitioning the Gemmed population.

The net effect is to fracture the Gemmed community and make the role even more isolating.

Someone else mentioned in a different thread how odd it seems too that Oash associates with mages yet suffers no knock to its reputation by doing so.

What about the positive side? What has Oash actually accomplished with its mages that the world knows about? What would you say in defense of maintaining this?

[Jihelu]

God I wish there were more options for Gemmed employement.

I said employment, I didn't say you had to like them and be their best fucking friend.

People used Elepehants for war and didn't start fucking and kissing them in public because of it.

Borsail? Maybe. I don't think it was a innate part of their documentation (There from the start) thing that they hated Mages, and more of a PC/NPC plot later on that they started hating it (I don't know for sure) so they /could/ change. Probably.

Other Houses might have their use for them.

If the God Damn Military is willing to use them for War why not the Merchant Houses as War Mages? Why is the House that does wine stuff more equipped with Battle Magic than the group who owns an outpost in the middle of the Known?

I think IC 3 or so Houses employ them?

[Veselka]

I honestly don't see why they aren't hirable by GMH, particularly in Allanak. They'd likely serve as double agents to the Templarate, but might be useful tools as crafters/hunters to the GMH.

[Synthesis]

Playing a magicker ain't supposed to be easy.

[Veselka]

Playing a magicker ain't supposed to be easy.

True dat.

[Eyeball]

Playing a magicker ain't supposed to be easy.

But IC should be separated from OOC. Are you in favor of playing a magicker to be OOCly miserable? That's what isolation is, in my opinion. An OOC deterrent.

[Synthesis]

Playing a magicker ain't supposed to be easy.

But IC should be separated from OOC. Are you in favor of playing a magicker to be OOCly miserable? That's what isolation is, in my opinion. An OOC deterrent.

I don't agree with your characterization of the way things are, first of all.

Second, playing an ungemmed magicker is immensely easier than it ever was.

Thirdly, playing a solo gemmed magicker is basically the same as playing an indie mundane, with I guess slightly less public joking-about.

Fourthly, House Oash is the only noble house I ever had a good time in, so YOU LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE.

[Eyeball]

> I don't agree with your characterization of the way things are, first of all.

Why not?

> Second, playing an ungemmed magicker is immensely easier than it ever was.

This isn't about the ungemmed.

> Thirdly, playing a solo gemmed magicker is basically the same as playing an indie mundane, with I guess slightly less public joking-about.

No, it isn't. Indie mundanes do not suffer the social stigma. Indie mundanes are that way by IC choice. They are free to join a number of clans when they change their minds. They can travel to Luir's without being pariahs there, and north of that without becoming criminal targets. They can speak with and associate with clan members and do business with them EDIT:  with a great deal more ease.

> Fourthly, House Oash is the only noble house I ever had a good time in, so YOU LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE.

This is is what I was asking about, really. What was your good time?

[Synthesis]

> I don't agree with your characterization of the way things are, first of all.

Why not?

> Second, playing an ungemmed magicker is immensely easier than it ever was.

This isn't about the ungemmed.

> Thirdly, playing a solo gemmed magicker is basically the same as playing an indie mundane, with I guess slightly less public joking-about.

No, it isn't. Indie mundanes do not suffer the social stigma. Indie mundanes are that way by IC choice. They are free to join a number of clans when they change their minds. They can travel to Luir's without being pariahs there, and north of that without becoming criminal targets. They can speak with and associate with clan members and do business with them.

> Fourthly, House Oash is the only noble house I ever had a good time in, so YOU LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE.

This is is what I was asking about, really. What was your good time?

1.  Oashi gemmed don't only associate with themselves.  If they are currently, it's a current thing, not an always-has-been thing. There's no documentation I'm aware of that says they have to.  Personally, I rarely hung around the barracks, unless there was training going on.

2.  It's important to address the ungemmed, because it would be easy to explain the lack of gemmed moving-and-shaking is in part because the ungemmed gickers have it so much easier.

3.  I said basically the same, not exactly the same.  Most 'nakkis don't go to Luir's or Morin's.  And if you think you can just waltz around the North as a 'nakki and do whatever you like, you -may- have an unpleasant surprise, whether you're gemmed, ungemmed, or totally mundane.

4.  I think my funnest/funniest Oash gemmer was a guy who really was a total scumbag and didn't earn enough regular pay, so I'd jam on up to the grasslands and zorch Tulukis out in the happy hunting grounds for spending money.  I mean, it was really, really hilarious to descend out of nowhere and just BLAP BLAP BLAP.  I'd return to the Oash barracks covered from head to toe in blood, and the other gemmed Oashi would be sitting around playing cards, wondering what the hell.  Unfortunately, he died to the infamous North-West invisible mekillot.

[Brokkr]

The Northwest Invisible Mekillot is much rarer than the Southeast Invisible Mekillot due to geography and has to eat when it can.  Thank you for your contribution.

They can travel to Luir's without being pariahs there, and north of that without becoming criminal targets.

I would put forth the theory that playing a gemmed in the north, and thus a criminal/PK target can be more fun.  Until the Legions come for you.  Which may make it even more fun.

[Jihelu]

The Northwest Invisible Mekillot is much rarer than the Southeast Invisible Mekillot due to geography and has to eat when it can.  Thank you for your contribution.

They can travel to Luir's without being pariahs there, and north of that without becoming criminal targets.

I would put forth the theory that playing a gemmed in the north, and thus a criminal/PK target can be more fun.  Until the Legions come for you.  Which may make it even more fun.

Can't believe you're dooming those poor Tulukis to death by fire mage.


"4.  I think my funnest/funniest Oash gemmer was a guy who really was a total scumbag and didn't earn enough regular pay, so I'd jam on up to the grasslands and zorch Tulukis out in the happy hunting grounds for spending money.  I mean, it was really, really hilarious to descend out of nowhere and just BLAP BLAP BLAP.  I'd return to the Oash barracks covered from head to toe in blood, and the other gemmed Oashi would be sitting around playing cards, wondering what the hell.  Unfortunately, he died to the infamous North-West invisible mekillot"

That's the real alpha chad special.
Except the dying part, disappointed in you for that. Play a Rukkian next time damn.

[Obviousclanaccount]

Speaking as a current oash player:

Oash is a great place for gemmed, because it facilitates people to rp with, mundane and magickal, across multiple tiers of society (nobles > aides > hunters & crafters > criminals) in a way that does not feel contrived, or out of place. There is no illusion where you are not a second class citizen (if that), only that you are a commodity with performance-based value.

You are still gemmed and there are built-in things that reinforce and remind you of this, on top of a nuanced "in house" culture that has been maintained in a way that never lets you forget. It does so in a way that is inclusive, and feels natural. It upkeeps the gem experience, but does so in a way where you're able to be involved in things that would result in an independent gemmed being told to "piss off" and have the door of the fun bus slammed in their players face.

There is a very low number of gemmed and of those gemmed, a large portion of them seem to have a strong preference for skilling up in secret. It looks a lot like Oash has all the gemmed, but it's more that most independent gemmed are skilling up combat by day and magickal powers by night, until something eventually kills them before they've even been noticed.

Some work silently for Templars and that is their entire interactive experience. There are allowances for various styles of play, and all of them should remain available to accommodate player preference.

As ungemmed can enjoy many interactions and still have all the benefits of magick, you will never see a large gemmed population because passing on a gem lets you easily have your cake and eat it, too. It'll always look like Oash is hogging all the talent, because as soon as there is an opening in the clan for an elemental, it's usually almost immediately filled by someone.

I've tried on a number of occasions to involve non-Oash gemmed in the various things we've had going on, or as foot in the door opportunities to start earning some associate-like status for when an opportunity to join opens, or simply to earn enough trust points to be included in some of the cool things that Oash does. The response is an almost universal "NO THANKS!", so I'm not really sure where you're getting the idea that Oash is responsible for dividing the gemmed.

People are perfectly capable of dividing, segregating and isolating themselves all on their own, without attempting to eight ball one of the better gem experiences available because of it.

And, without pressing too deeply into IC, there are consequences for everyone in Oash for being associated with the gemmed, but it tends to happen at the upper echelons of pc power, where people are able to make those critiques without it being an immediate death sentence. There are plenty of critiques from the societies dregs as well, though they're usually kept behind closed doors, because Oash represents one of the pinnacle powers in Allanak society.

There is a lot I could, or would like to say on the matter, but there is no way to do it without violating rules. I may have already.

Oash is good for the game, and has been one of the best experiences with the game I've had.

[Eyeball]

I'm not really sure where you're getting the idea that Oash is responsible for dividing the gemmed.

It's simple. If Oash didn't absorb gemmed, if it didn't exist, the general (EDIT: by which I mean unaffiliated) gemmed community would be larger.

Oash is good for the game, and has been one of the best experiences with the game I've had.

I don't know about the former, since it seems more or less like a subgame that doesn't touch much else in the world (from an outsider's viewpoint). Although the same can be said about some of the other clans (looking at desert elves here). But the latter is what I was asking about. Two people at least have sworn here that the Oashi gemmed experience is just high heaven. If there were only a bunch of "mehs", there might be a case for changing some things.

[Lizzie]

Actually Eyeball, Oash is often neck-deep in all kinds of things. You're just playing characters that don't have the opportunity to know about Oash's participation in them.

Gemmed in Oash is a spotty thing. It really depends on the noble and his/her aide. Sometimes the Oash gemmed have tons of stuff to do, interesting projects and plotlines to get involved in. And sometimes the only thing to do for a couple of RL weeks at a time is spam-cast in the temples and sex up the local non-Oash krathi. It's sort of like how it is in any clan really.

[Obviousclanaccount]

I'm not really sure where you're getting the idea that Oash is responsible for dividing the gemmed.

It's simple. If Oash didn't absorb gemmed, if it didn't exist, the general gemmed community would be larger.

The gemmed community is the same size; some are in Oash, some are working abroad for Templars and some are independent and in pursuit of their own ends, whatever those might be. If something has lowered the gemmed population, it would be the ease of being a secret magicker.

And I don't think that, in itself, is a problem, either.

Oash is good for the game, and has been one of the best experiences with the game I've had.

I don't know about the former, since it seems more or less like a subgame that doesn't touch much else in the world (from an outsider's viewpoint). Although the same can be said about some of the other clans (looking at desert elves here). But the latter is what I was asking about. Two people at least have sworn here that the Oashi gemmed experience is just high heaven. If there were only a bunch of "mehs", there might be a case for changing some things.

This 'subgame' deficit you imagine is actually a clan firing on all cylinders.

Active leadership, active clan staff and active players is usually a good recipe for everyone having something to do.

[Inks]

Although Oash is usually adversarial or seperate to spheres I play in, I have always had plenty of fun interactions with members. I like their concept and the Clan's execution over the years.

[Marauder Moe]

Having had gemmed PCs both #GoTeamOash and #Resist, I think the house is absolutely vital for creating plots/drama/intrigue within the elementalists' quarter.

[rinthrat]

I've never played in Oash, so it may or may not be great.

It does seem to split up the gemmed playerbase. I've played a couple of non-human gemmed and while there were plenty of gemmed in Oash, they were rarely anywhere I could reach them, and seemed to suck the majority of the gemmed PCs I could have interacted with out of the elementalist's quarter.

Why doesn't Oash have some sort of compound inside the elemntalist's quarter, to keep those pesky 'gicks away from the respectable employees, unless someone specifically seeks them out? Something with a public gathering area out front? I think that would fix part of that issue.