The Cordorian Press

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clanogrady
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The Cordorian Press

Post by clanogrady » Sat May 12, 2018 11:39 am

Alright, need some input on the Press.

1. How much RP value do you think the Press has on Arelith? *and maybe a little of its history? I don't know much about it*

2. Methods to stay in the know about events that have happened or contact people for interviews? *I mean honestly, it would be great to have people actually pass things off to the press as well as the posting on a random public board in the game*

3. Any reporter types out there or opinionated people playing that want to contribute to the Cordor Press?

Thanks,

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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Baseili » Sat May 12, 2018 2:37 pm

The Press is an odd beast. Its too slow compared to the message boards, has no identification for any of its reporters making it hard to relay stories and its lack of consistant updates makes it impossible to use as a regular source of news. Coupled with no real incentive to relay news as opposed to an anonymous board post and its only availability being within Cordor makes it a practical non-entity.
Yet, I've watched people thoroughly enjoy themselves playing as a reporter and being interviewed so there is still some RP value to be had.

Perhaps if the Press was remade into a proper island wide organisation with its headquarters outside the settlements but an office in each? Maybe grant the reporters a badge that can be easily spotted, similar to the pirates or radiant hearts, so that people can come forward with news more easily? It'd also help if it was released on a regular schedule and each issue was self-contained, not the huge list of previous news we have now.

While it may never reach the usefuless of the boards, the Press could still have value as a collected source of news from each of the settlements and beyond.

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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Void » Sat May 12, 2018 2:49 pm

clanogrady wrote:
Sat May 12, 2018 11:39 am
Alright, need some input on the Press.

1. How much RP value do you think the Press has on Arelith? *and maybe a little of its history? I don't know much about it*
I remember a moment before EE conversion, when I bought the newspaper, read it, and it contained truckload of information regarding noble's (king's) engagement to a banite. Then there were pages of pages of information afterwards.

It felt cool.

Recently, however, when I tried to purchase newspapers, they were blank. That was disappointing.

Press felt a bit similar to finding an OLD message board with many writings on it. For example, with first messages left 30 IG years (3 irl years) ago. Where you stop, read, and get a glimpse of events you could not possibly witness yourself. It feels amazing.

A newspaper is something similar, I think. It provides informational noise that gives you a glimpse of parts of the world you did not participate in.

I would not want to play a reporter myself, though. It is simply not my kind of thing.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by MoreThanThree » Sat May 12, 2018 3:07 pm

TBH I always thought The Cordorian Press was more like a Ministry of Truth-thing than an actual source for information.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Queen Titania » Sat May 12, 2018 3:10 pm

The Press used to be something we kept up to date as DMs. There was one for each server, one for the Underdark, one for Cordor, and one for Surface, which I kept up called Felino's Gossip, which I still mean to at some point post those entries over to the Arelith Encylcopedia.

A very solid press is one that is active. It is a bit of work and a challenge, but the success is rewarding. As you work to form your base around you, you may find some struggle with finding those who wish to play as reporters. Once you do, the other part is maintaining them. Expect to have a small group, but it is all you need.

As a DM, I would actually have two reporting NPCs walk around and collect news. Interview people, and topics that were going around, reading the boards, and trying to get time with the people in the know. Very, very easy to do the same as a player. A character could pay their contacts for information, or even pay contacts to get information they weren't supposed to have, sharing "classified" stories. You could even report stories that aren't entirely true, or gossip.

So there's a lot of potential for it to be fun, but rather than expect players to go to you, go to the players, put in the work, and you will definitely find the rewards.

For fun, an old sample:
Felino's Gossip: Volume 1, No. 8

NEW GREYHAMMER VILLAGE A WELCOME ADDITION TO THE ISLE
By Violet
Just past the peaceful farms of Burrowhome lies Greyhammer Village. Established by the half-orc Gragor, It lies in a tense setting, with orc attacks threatening the village on both sides. Despite its vulnerability to raids, the people seem content. They are a mixed group, welcoming any race to stay a while and listen to Halfling songs, Gnome jokes, sip Elven wine, and listen to Human politics. Its almost a symbol of hope in a midst of a storm that could come and create sorrow at any time, and many would be proud to keep that sorrow at bay. When asked about its present vision, Gragor says this "We got lotsa work left to do, but its looking good, eh?" But with the work that is done, in the face of great peril, visitors admire its serenity, while drinking fine wine at the inn and hailing the people of Greyhammer.

ATHKATLAN NOBLE ELIZA SUNRIDER VISITS CORDOR AMIDST CRIMINAL TURMOIL
By Felino, Editor-in-Chief
Athkatlan noble Eliza Sunrider, rumored to be related to a member of the Council of Six, has arrived for an extended stay in Cordor to negotiate new trade agreements between the several large Amnish businesses she represents and a many trade organizations headquartered inside the pax. Analysts, and our government sources, are hopeful that these deals will bring a much needed economic stimulus to the city.

In other news, teams of elite guardsmen were seen rushing into Lower Cordor from both the Merchant District and Upper Cordor in a frantic fury. When asked for comments, Sarah, the guard spokesperson gave a standard 'We do not comment on active investigations.' response. An inside source states that the cordor guard was mobolized to track down some supernatural threat.

When asked if this was connected to the recent string of murders, where victims were found with their faces frozen in terror and bodies stripped, the source merely said that there was no way to be sure.

TENSION AND CONFLICT BETWEEN CORDOR COUNCILLORS
By Prida
The Hottest bit of Cordor News Just In: Hewitt accused of trespassing by fellow councillor Darrian Terringale. We interviewed Hewitt Gearbit and Darrian's assistant Liira, for details. Darrian Terringale was unstable and unavailable for comment.

Their stories are similiar: Hewitt scried upon Darrian Terringale. Garl played a trick, and Hewitt, having only used the spell once before, found himself in Terringale's home on accident. Hewitt was greated by screaming and yelling. The Terringales were upset at his sudden presence. They demanded he leave. Hewitt tried to leave, but the door to leave was locked. They threatened to have him arrested, and Hewitt said that was a bad idea, and reached for his gift to try to appease them. Then he found himself turned to stone, Darrian's patience at his limit.
The matter is now in Guard hands, and its unknown at this time if Hewitt will be charged, but whispers say it will go to trial.

Terringale's assistant was adamant of Hewitt's guilt, even claiming Hewitt was a "Magical Spy and Would-be Assassin". She and Darrian Terringale sounded very irrational, likely marred by a recent assassination attempt. The men have not always been on the best of terms. Terringale has a reputation of ruthless merchanting, and bullying to get his way. "He made flustered attempts of appointing those in his employ to the Council." Hewitt comments. "When failed, he panicked and threatened to remove all his merchants from working, and to cancel the Stone Agreement with Burrowhome, which was made on behalf of the Council and the city.

Hewitt said Terringale's actions weren't in the interest of Cordor, but felt bad for his harsh words, and "And when hearing of his newborn child, I wished to deliver a gift." The Staff notes that Hewitt could have sent a messanger instead of scried to do this, but Darrian Terringale was by observation, extremely irrational and Hewitt's innocent is most certainly a possibility. Is Hewitt guilty or innocent? And is Darrian Terringale a fine councillor or irrational ruthless merchant whose sympathy only lies with friends and family? You decide!

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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Xerah » Sat May 12, 2018 4:35 pm

As I understand it the press an be controlled by the PC gov. I think it would be nice if it was independent from
the city as that the PCs couldn’t remove the ownership.

It would be cool having a biased newspaper. I’ve had a long term plan to eventually take over the paper on a future character but that point always held me back.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Dalenger » Sat May 12, 2018 4:40 pm

I used to play Dulcie Newdawn, who was a reporter for the Cordor Press. Before it was the Cordor Press, it was the Newdawn Chronicles, which I ran nearly exclusively (albeit it required heavy DM help, as is mentioned above). I LOVED it, easily my most favorite things I ever did on the server. When I first made Dulcie, I envisioned her as a Rita Skitter type character, tho eventually she evolved into an advocate for political freedom and, eventually, an advocate for the Harpers. But I was never able to finish her story arch before I stated school and had to stop playing video games for a bit.
1. How much RP value do you think the Press has on Arelith? *and maybe a little of its history? I don't know much about it*
I think there's a TON of RP to be had through the press. I loved it as it gave me an excuse to talk to literally anyone on the server, many of whom agreed to meeting with me. I remember once I was meeting with one of the Lawful Good Cordorian paladins, and had to excuse myself early from an interview as I had to make a meeting I had with a Chaotic Evil banite priest who was mortal enemies with the paladin... under normal circumstances, he would kill someone for openly working with that banite. But in the end, he simply said he would recommend I not show up late, for my own safety. It was a hell of a time. Working in the underdark was a bit more difficult, as obviously people are less likely to talk simply for the love of having their story told, but ultimately I was able to do some underdark stories in return for shedding their leaders in a good light.

However, if you do decide to be a reporter, know its not nearly as actiony as most RP paths. You will devote a TON of time to sending speedies and hoping people show up to interviews, sitting through really long and boring monologs by people as you try to pick out one or two sentences worthy of quoting, and of course, a ton of time writing. I would sometimes get online, interview people for an hour or two, then hop offline and write for an hour. It can sometimes be really boring, and very often I found myself lensing out of dungeons in order to try to make an interview. You won't level very quick. However, though Dulcie never made it past level 10, I sometimes felt like she was more powerful than any level 30 I've ever had. Hands down, its the most fun I've ever had on a RP server.
2. Methods to stay in the know about events that have happened or contact people for interviews? *I mean honestly, it would be great to have people actually pass things off to the press as well as the posting on a random public board in the game*
It really comes down to reading EVERYTHING you can. You'll spend a ton of time reading boards, eaves dropping for current events, and just asking around "what's new"? You'll be suprised what leads you'll find. And never feel afraid to run fluff pieces! Do a piece on how X is opening a new store, include a quote from him and maybe a political figure about economic growth. Bam, you've got a story. If things were REALLY slow, I would ever make up pieces based on preprogrammed things NPCs say. Don't be afraid to write about, well, just about anything. The best way of making people want to read the news is to make sure there's new stuff coming out all the time. Eventually the news will come to you... one of the last pieces I wrote before I permanently shelved the character was on a group of nercomancers in Cordor who approached me about writing a pieces about how they weren't all evil. Turns out they WERE all evil, but it was still a fun story. Heh.

As for writing the stories, it can be a bit intimidating at first, but isn't as hard as you think. My strategy was to get as many quotes from people as possible, and simply comment on what they had to say. Reading my old articles really helped to, as transitions are like 90% of my writing. If you're looking for examples of old newspapers (in fact, I tried to make them as public record as possible, so this could possibly even be considered IG information) send me a PM with your email address and I would love to share the google docs with you. Some of them are pretty fun reads.
3. Any reporter types out there or opinionated people playing that want to contribute to the Cordor Press?
I would love to help, alas, I cannot. School and stuff is way to busy right now. Call back in a couple years!
TBH I always thought The Cordorian Press was more like a Ministry of Truth-thing than an actual source for information.
It comes down to who's making it. It can go either way, and depends a lot on who wants to put in the work.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Tathkar Eisgrim » Sat May 12, 2018 8:41 pm

I would just like to simply add:

Whilst it is called 'The Cordor Press' there is a great deal of scope to explore how the office works, operates and what it covers. It can be as upmarket / downmarket / mainstream / niche as any proprietor wishes it to be.

ICly their will be hurdles and aid from the current encumbent Chancellory. OOCly, those same players are rooting for someone to make a success out of their Press RP and adding to the Cordor story.

clanogrady
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by clanogrady » Sat May 12, 2018 10:21 pm

*edited for correct info* The reason for the blank papers is apparently a bug.

NegInfinity wrote:
Sat May 12, 2018 2:49 pm
clanogrady wrote:
Sat May 12, 2018 11:39 am
Alright, need some input on the Press.

1. How much RP value do you think the Press has on Arelith? *and maybe a little of its history? I don't know much about it*
I remember a moment before EE conversion, when I bought the newspaper, read it, and it contained truckload of information regarding noble's (king's) engagement to a banite. Then there were pages of pages of information afterwards.

It felt cool.

Recently, however, when I tried to purchase newspapers, they were blank. That was disappointing.

Press felt a bit similar to finding an OLD message board with many writings on it. For example, with first messages left 30 IG years (3 irl years) ago. Where you stop, read, and get a glimpse of events you could not possibly witness yourself. It feels amazing.

A newspaper is something similar, I think. It provides informational noise that gives you a glimpse of parts of the world you did not participate in.

I would not want to play a reporter myself, though. It is simply not my kind of thing.

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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Zaravella » Sun May 13, 2018 2:42 am

I approached you IC about writing for the press because it could be better.... I havent yet submitted the first one because it may have some consequences. I realized maybe this is not something I want my character to pursue. Lol.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Zaravella » Sun May 13, 2018 2:43 am

I approached you IC about writing for the press because it could be better.... I havent yet submitted the first one because it may have some consequences. I realized maybe this is not something I want my character to pursue. Lol.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Durvayas » Sun May 13, 2018 12:27 pm

Baseili wrote:
Sat May 12, 2018 2:37 pm
The Press is an odd beast. Its too slow compared to the message boards, has no identification for any of its reporters making it hard to relay stories and its lack of consistant updates makes it impossible to use as a regular source of news. Coupled with no real incentive to relay news as opposed to an anonymous board post and its only availability being within Cordor makes it a practical non-entity.
Yet, I've watched people thoroughly enjoy themselves playing as a reporter and being interviewed so there is still some RP value to be had.

Perhaps if the Press was remade into a proper island wide organisation with its headquarters outside the settlements but an office in each? Maybe grant the reporters a badge that can be easily spotted, similar to the pirates or radiant hearts, so that people can come forward with news more easily? It'd also help if it was released on a regular schedule and each issue was self-contained, not the huge list of previous news we have now.

While it may never reach the usefuless of the boards, the Press could still have value as a collected source of news from each of the settlements and beyond.
I'm going to point out that this statement isn't exactly true. You can buy the cordor press in Andunor from Gelix the traveler. The kobold standing outside the spider's web. He also sells blank papersheets as the only paper vendor in Andunor. Playing in the UD, its fun to go on a raid, and then read what is basically a damage report later that week, or just get general news about what else is going on on the isle.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Baseili » Sun May 13, 2018 5:34 pm

I stand corrected, I've only ever seen the bugged version on the surface.

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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Huschpfusch » Sun May 13, 2018 5:43 pm

re 1, I loved the paper when I initially started playing Arelith in January! There was lots of information in it that was not on the main board. e.g. through the paper I learned of a certain character`s existance (and defeat). If it had not been for that one article I would have probably given up playing already.
So personaly I think the Press -can- have a really big RP value.

re 3, Why does it only have to be opinionated people and reporters doing action/political-articles? Why does Press not have funnies and riddles and to-be-continued-type short stories? There could be an archive of papers in the library then where ppl can read the issues they missed.
Because just like in real life: ppl do not read the paper for news anymore - they have TV and internet. Ppl on Arelith do not read the paper for news - they have mainboard and speedy messangers.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Seven Sons of Sin » Sun May 13, 2018 6:44 pm

It takes a lot of work and commitment to do effectively. I applaud characters and players who approach the newspaper with such vigor. Over the years, I've had some small scale commitment to the Press, but it's very hard to maintain focus and dedication when you'd rather be out adventuring.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Dalenger » Mon May 14, 2018 2:34 am

Huschpfusch wrote:
Sun May 13, 2018 5:43 pm

re 3, Why does it only have to be opinionated people and reporters doing action/political-articles? Why does Press not have funnies and riddles and to-be-continued-type short stories?
I actually did this! Back when I was in charge of the Newdawn Chronicles, the Cordor Press' predecessor, I had an ongoing story running. Alas, no one really liked it, so I stopped writing it.
=The Ongoing Adventures of Jake Mandrake= by Dulcie Newdawn
~In the days succeeding the The black Curse of Necromancery~
In the days of Arelith’s youth, the island gave birth to a simple boy, turned sword-druid by the unnatural slaughter of his parents during his adolescence. Jake Mandrake, in Cordor’s greatest hour of need, proved to be the hero whose quick wit and unwavering rectitude was needed to save the island from a great necromancer. Thus our hero became a legend of the land! However, a life of celebrity did not suit our humble druid. Seeking new adventure, Jake sold all his possessions save his mighty longsword Holy Revenger, chartered a ship, and sailed for the great port city of Waterdeep in the east. And so our story begins...
...aboard the humble merchant barque, Sun’s Return. Finding himself quite out of his natural element, Jake manages little small talk with the ship’s crew. Tumbling in the ever turbulent waters of the Trackless Sea, Sun’s Return shifts uncertainly beneath Jake’s legs, landing him quite often on his rump and eventually aboard his bunk. “Perhaps dawn will bring with it calmer seas,” Jake reasons silently before heading to rest.
Next: An unwelcomed awakening. Be sure to pick up next week’s installment of The Ongoing Adventures of Jake Mandrake!
Despite Jake’s hopes, the next morning’s seas did not prove better than the preceding day’s. However, dawn’s first light did not arrive alone: for during the night, the Sun’s Return’s aft lanterns had attracted the attention of a longship bearing the blackened colors of piracy. Awoken by the crew’s scurrying and captain’s sharp orders, Jake works his way to the deck. “Full mast! Point ‘er close-hauled!” The captain attempts to maneuver his craft to outrun the pirates, but all aboard know that such a simple craft has little chance to outrun the oar-driven longship. Hoping to barter for their lives, the crew strikes colors, drops sail, and pulls the ship’s cargo to the deck. His sea-sickness long since forgotten, Jake straps on the Holy Revenger and wonders if there might not be an alternative solution.
Next: Fight, flee, or ...? Find out in the next installment of The Ongoing Adventures of Jake Mandrake!
It was a lot of fun, but didn't ever pick up steam.
Huschpfusch wrote: There could be an archive of papers in the library then where ppl can read the issues they missed.
I also had an archive of old articles. There's probably still a few copies of the Newdawn Chronicles floating around, I know some people stockpiled them. As for the Cordor Press, I always moved the old articles to the board outside the news room. But that would have been, like, nearly 2 years ago now, so who knows if that board is still there. Feel free to PM me if you want old copies of news.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Huschpfusch » Tue May 15, 2018 2:38 pm

Dalenger wrote:
Mon May 14, 2018 2:34 am
Feel free to PM me if you want old copies of news.
There should be a PM now in your inbox regarding the matter of aquiring old copies.

(*mumbling to self* and there I was thinking my ideas were superduper original, only to be proven different by a vateran. Again. I am starting to see a pattern here.)
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by Dalenger » Wed May 16, 2018 4:55 am

Huschpfusch wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 2:38 pm
and there I was thinking my ideas were superduper original
Do it anyway! I was hardly the first one to think about putting short stories in newspapers. I even tried for a couple of issues to get people to write in Letters to the Editor, but no one ever too me up on it. There's all sorts of stuff I either didn't do or didn't succeed in doing that you could blow out of the water.
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Re: The Cordorian Press

Post by CragOrion » Mon May 21, 2018 7:34 pm

The only thing limiting you is your own imagination

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