[Twi]Chronicles of the Impaler: Crisis of Infinite Draculas OOC

[Cracklord]

Alucard did exactly this in 4, and again in eight. He merged with a plane, and then with a ship with a massive plane smashed into it. He even summoned mist around it then made it all but teleport.
This way, instead of dying in an explosion mercifully, the poor men get to try to escape what is essentially hell, or at least the darker class of Stephen King book.
It also keeps Alucard's power from spilling out into the rest of the battle and let everyone else have some conflict.

[Colesign]

I have no objection to your actions at all, Cracklord.

None at all.

[doliest]

Sorry, yesterday was really busy for me.

I don't suppose you can toss me a bone and tell me where C!Dracula is, Colesign?

[Colesign]

Oh, That's easy, Doliest (And Welcome Back, by the way).

Castlevania Dracula is currently on top of the Dracu-Blimp, riding it like a Mechanical Bull!!!!

This is Utter Fact!!!!

[Cracklord]

You're in the Throneroom tossing Hellfire around.

[Colesign]

Wow. I did not expect Seras Victoria to just up and kill the world's greatest Luchadore like that.

Well, enough posting for tonight: I think I'll catch some Zs.

[Draxx]

I'm going to ignore that. I'm sure you have some intention of a revelation in regards to his master, but their is precedent of transferring service, and anyway, because he automatically knows where and whom his master is, whether he's in danger, ect., it's not really feasible to keep said being out of the picture, while also missing one of the best aspects of the roleplaying.

Playing a servant without a master is missing one of the best aspects to the character. See, Vlad engaged in a battle of wills with his master is something I really want to do, and since Doliest isn't all that connected at the moment I figure he's the perfect target.

[Colesign]

Ah. I've seen Fate/Stay Night, but I guess I'm not familiar enough with the Cosmology.

In any case, Vlad's Master is in Chapelvania, on the top floor

Spoiler

Show

And He's Van Helsing.

[darkblade]

So is the real Anderson going to return with a 90s mullet?

[Colesign]

I'm afraid I have no choice in that matter, Darkblade.

[darkblade]

And for that matter who is Anderson-Boy's other clone parent?

The obvious counterpart to the Lex/Superman dynamic would be Alucard but the power difference tips the other way so that doesn't work.

[Colesign]

Hmmm...didn't think of that. Maxwell maybe? Or perhaps his gene sequence has been spiked with a bit of Helsing.

[Cracklord]

Wow. This really is turning into a farce, isn't it?

Anyway, since you are doing this to work out your DMing style, let me give you some advice. I know this is a comedy, so I won’t talk about breaking suspension of disbelief or whatever, you can figure that out yourself.
First up, don't just throw characters at us. Give them build up, give breathing room in between to let us actually play our characters, provide plenty on non-combat situations, and most important of all, let the players call the shots in regards to their characters. If you want a character alive and he gets hit, ask yourself how much you really need that character, rather then disregarding what they say. If they aren’t doing what you want and you can’t make a revelation, then wait for the right moment to come around again. If they want to do something that you don’t understand or know how to deal with, stand back and let them work it out themselves.
And most importantly, don’t start a sequence that progresses linearly. You are not trying to do that, your providing options. Let the players decide what to pursue, rather then hitting them with events and forcing them into certain ways of acting. The latter feels too much like rail-roading.

Hope that helps.

[Colesign]

Point taken, Cracklord: There is such a thing as too fast-paced. And as the saying goes: kill your darlings.

Let's see what I can do.

[industrious]

Where's the Count in all of this?

[Colesign]

Last I posted for him, he was in the courtyard counting things like gargoyles, pebbles, Jannisery hats, A group of men in trenchcoats hauling away 4 coffins, and birds nests.

And in response to Cracklord: It's a clumsy fix that I've implemented, but now there's time for people to discuss things, loot corpses, interrogate any surviving grunts, build weapons, and realize how much they hate each other.

[Cracklord]

Point taken, Cracklord: There is such a thing as too fast-paced. And as the saying goes: kill your darlings.

Let's see what I can do.

It's just advice. I'm not necessarily right.

Oh, and by the way, the views of Alucard do not neccesarily mirror my own. Particularly the racist ones.

[Colesign]

But I do agree that I was too worried about keeping people astounded, and less focused on getting people to tell a story.

[Cracklord]

Yeah, well sometimes you do need to hit them with something that knocks them out of their comfort zone. The thing is, doing nothing but that isn't fun. Doing nothing but sitting around having PC interaction isn't great either, sooner or later it needs something to shake things up. The two need a 'via media' (without the feminine conotations, perhaps).

[Colesign]

That's what I'm hoping to accomplish.

And there is one thing that I'm going to stand by on in this game: it's silly. Not slapstick silly liek Draxx was worried about: It's Hammy and Epic, but ultimately, not meant to be taken too seriously.

So Alucard's going to be feeling that brand of 'God must be crazy' for a bit.

Edit: Although....

I think I have a nice idea of how to restore story flexibility, promote characterization, explain exactly what the heck's going on, and justify all the weir **** going down (Especially the Legacy Andersons).

All that tomorrow.

[Cracklord]

It's a bit of an insult to the basic dignity of a character, or at least it would be if he wasn't literally completely unrecognizable. But it's about having fun, and I'm fine with giving it a go, though I don't known how much staying power this sort of comedy has. But that's not my concern. You're telling the story. As long as you don't let it get too out of control this should be fun.

[Colesign]

Fair enough.

But like I said above, I think I've got a dramatic explanation for all the silly goings on. And I think I've finally gotten the elements of a somewhat ragged plot sewn together into something compelling.

More on this tommorow.

[Draxx]

Interesting.

[Draxx]

And there is one thing that I'm going to stand by on in this game: it's silly. Not slapstick silly liek Draxx was worried about: It's Hammy and Epic, but ultimately, not meant to be taken too seriously.

Well I don't care. I'm going to take it seriously anyway, and play it all dead straight.

[Colesign]

That's perfectly fine. You Draculas (except for the Count) are straight men confronted with the Asburdity of Multi-dimensional Jibbery-Doo.

[Cracklord]

How long before it is tactful to begin summoning minions? Naturally Death and Orlock and all the rest of the Castelvanian crew, but I have a few of my own I'd like to bring to (un)life.

[Colesign]

You can summon as many minions as you think you can reasonably justify, Cracklord and Doliest. You'll need them for the battle to come.

Heck, Lancer-Vlad is already ahead of everyone else on that...

*Puts on Sunglasses*

Count.

[doliest]

...I think it would be a bit game breaking to summon Death into this. Even assuming it's not Endless!Death, Death is STILL 'That One Boss' for a reason.

Though....I might anyway...and am I correct in assuming Alucard is right next to Castlevania!Dracula?

[Cracklord]

I would hope you would assume that.

Dr Mcninja's most recent comic forced me to do it. I actually planned to have that Dracula join the line-up, but Chris Hastings himself now beat me to the punch. So instead, a throw-away refference.

[Colesign]

Now you're getting it!

And in a little bit, Van Helsing will explain just why so many alternate universe elements have wound up colliding.