Natalia

DAILY CRAFTING ATTEMPT #2

As soon as Dylan left, she removed the last of her own <> and followed the same, typical steps. Now that she had more materials, she was a little less hesitant on forging. Regardless, she still didn't want to put all the materials he gave her to waste. Let's do this. Clamoring of metal striking metal filled the building.

CD: 4

Item Quality: Bad

1=Epic fail +1XP

2-3=fails +1XP

4-6=bad Item +1XP

7-9=Good Item +2XP

10=Uncommon Item +3XP

11=Rare Item +5XP

12= Perfect Item +8XP

Setsuko respectfully bowed her head towards her helper. "You're probably the nicest player I've ever met." She said without a second doubt. There were few people she'd call friends, but none of them had ever been so generous before, aside from perhaps Mayonaka. "If you need anything, just send me a quick PM." A sincere upward curve of her lips was upon her face. "But I need to start getting to work. Feel free to stay as long as you'd like."

[OOC ~ I may or may not have beaten FFVII (all separate playthroughs) five times, so I'd like to believe I know my Final Fantasy). Anyways, I'm not sure exactly how the material exchange policy works, but just make sure you actually have those materials to give, and make a log of the fact that you gave them to me. Thanks a lot, btw. <3]

Upon receiving the customer's materials, Setsuko's eyes grew wide. "Seriously?" She skeptically asked before assuming he was being completely honest. "Alright, here's a deal. I currently have another order that I've been commissioned, so I can't work on yours right away." The teenager was clearly a little excited, judging by the fact that there was clear emotion within her voice, and she was speaking quicker than normal. "But you're free to take one of the items on display while you wait, and then I'll PM you when your weapon is done." That was the most she had ever spoken in a single breath in quite a long time.

With a slide of her fingers, her menu opened and she sent the generous person a friend request. "I'm Setsuko, by the way."

Setsuko took a look at the details of the blade her customer (someone she had seen before, but didn't know by name), and chuckled. Buster Sword, eh? You're clearly a fan of some mainstream games. "As long as they're smithing mats." She said as she looked back up at her customer. "If not, col is the only way you'll be able to pay, and it'll probably be on the higher-end due to the lack of materials I currently have." There was only one ingot left in her inventory.

[OOC ~ This is my reply to my current item that I just forged, not you yet Dylan. xD]

Before Setsuko was a one-handed straight sword that glimmered in the sunlight beaming through the window. She held it in her hand and gave it a slash through the air. Mm, it feels nice. Pretty fast too, though not really my style. As a rapier user, she had no use for it, but it would prove an item worth selling. She hung it up on the wall alongside the shield and rapier.

Item Name: Swift Blade

Item Type: One-Handed Straight Sword

Item Quality: Uncommon

Description: The swift blade is comfortable to use, allowing for better maneuvering for quicker attacks, giving the user a +1BD.

DAILY CRAFTING ATTEMPT #1

While she spoke to the customer, Setsuko began to forge a weapon. Opening her inventory and removing a single <>, she clamped it between the tongs and held it in the flames for a few minutes. This process is really tedious. She shook her head as she did it, and pulled it back out before hammering into, shaping it in the design of a blade.

CD: 10

Item Quality: Uncommon

1=Epic fail +1XP

2-3=fails +1XP

4-6=bad Item +1XP

7-9=Good Item +2XP

10=Uncommon Item +3XP

11=Rare Item +5XP

12= Perfect Item +8XP

Setsuko had been downstairs, preparing to attempt on Rebekah's custom order once again when a customer entered, asking about how much a weapon of perfect quality would cost. "Perfect quality weapons tend to go around one-thousand col to one-thousand-two-hundred-fifty col." She said bluntly. "Four or five forging materials would also suffice." Looking him over, he didn't seem like he'd have a lot of col, but materials, on the other hand, maybe.

But really now, those Mudkips are doing their job.... still would have preferred the Typhlosion, but whatever...

OH GOD.

OH GOD

OH GO-

OH G-

OH

O-

O

but what about Lickitung?!

*see above*

Anyways, I need ship advice: what couples on the site balance each other's strengths and weaknesses out? I want to read threads with those kind of ships. c:

Her determination, however, didn't pay off. Yet another <> materialized in front of her, utterly crushing her hopes for the day. To be fair, I did sort of rush these as soon as I got an order. It wasn't as if Rebekah expected the weapon today, did she? She shook her head. Nobody could expect a perfect weapon in a single day. Setsuko just hoped she'd be able to make one tomorrow, as she stepped back up the stairs into her room.

DAILY CRAFTING ATTEMPT #3

For her third and final time of the day, Setsuko withdrew an <>. Let's do this. She followed the steps she followed with every weapon, and did her best to forge something out of it. Each strike from her hammer was filled with her heart. I'm worth something; I can prove it.

CD: 4

Item Quality: Bad

1=Epic fail +1XP

2-3=fails +1XP

4-6=bad Item +1XP

7-9=Good Item +2XP

10=Uncommon Item +3XP

11=Rare Item +5XP

12= Perfect Item +8XP

The <> that materialized in front of her wasn't exactly a sight she was proud of. This shouldn't be too hard. I could make Frostbite, why am I having such a tough time making anything decent out of this? She shook her head. For the first time, she had a customer willing to come in and buy a high-quality weapon from her, if she could make it. If she kept screwing up, she wouldn't even have the materials left to forge the weapon requested from her.

DAILY ATTEMPTING #2

Determined to forge Rebekah's requested weapon, she removed a second <> from her inventory. She carefully heated the metal up within her forge for about a minute before moving it back to the anvil. C'mon. As with every metal she used before, she hammered on until it glowed.

CD: 5

Item Quality: Bad

1=Epic fail +1XP

2-3=fails +1XP

4-6=bad Item +1XP

7-9=Good Item +2XP

10=Uncommon Item +3XP

11=Rare Item +5XP

12= Perfect Item +8XP

Somehow, she wasn't too surprised when the <> turned into the <> she oh, so hated seeing. First attempt of the day was a failure. Well, that sucks. She shrugged at her lack of true effort. Hopefully, she would manage to be make something decent of the next weapon. After all, she did have her first customer.

[OOC ~ That dice roll, though.]

DAILY CRAFTING ATTEMPT #1

"Nice to meet you." Setsuko forced those words out. Being nice is sort of challenging. She watched as Rebekah left her shop before moving to the anvil behind her and carelessly burnt and hammered away at an iron ingot she removed from her inventory. I couldn't possibly see anything wrong with this!

CD: 1

Item Quality: Epic Fail

1=Epic fail +1XP

2-3=fails +1XP

4-6=bad Item +1XP

7-9=Good Item +2XP

10=Uncommon Item +3XP

11=Rare Item +5XP

12= Perfect Item +8XP

[OOC ~ EDITING OUT KAZUGAYA, AS HE HASN'T BEEN APPROVED]

Setsuko glanced over the slip handed over to her by the girl, before looking back up at her. "It's certainly possible." She said with an uncertainty, mostly uncertain she would have the luck to make such a fine weapon once again. "I wouldn't ask you to pay until I've made it. Just a name and I'll message you as soon as its done." With a faint smile, she nodded at the girl.

Skill points gained via RP of depth and WC.

I disagree with this. Even if leveling is still done by posts, if skill points are given based on depth and word count, you're still screwing over those who have a harder time writing those in-depth and detailed posts. It simply isn't fair, as it favors those with more experience in writing, and doesn't allow those with less experience to even really stand a chance in SAO; they will always be below the best.

...however given a board where you can post anything anywhere and it makes your sao character stronger just doesn't make sense.

I completely agree with this statement, but as I said earlier, a system in which GMs provide experience at the end of a thread could be extremely time consuming, unless it came down to just word count. Even then, is word count really a fair estimate? Everyone has their own style of roleplaying. Some people roleplay in first-person, some in third. Some people base most of their word count on the mindset of the characters, some people like to pay closer attention to the details of actions and movements they make.

In my opinion, it's a lot easier to write paragraphs and paragraphs of what your character's beliefs are, but writing actions can get challenging, especially when you're trying to keep them varied. So unless there's a way to accurately determine the quality of the post, rather than just word count, I don't believe anything can be changed fairly.

yet the vast majority of posts people rp either are from out of game posts or from rping with no actual game play.

Now, for this, I use a different argument. I'm just going to state that I believe solo roleplaying is a stupid concept. Sure, you're writing a character, you're developing a character, and maybe you're having fun, but I fail to believe that the majority of the people who SP threads are actually having fun. Perhaps I'm biased because I hate it, but there's also the fact that if you truly wanted to level quickly, solo roleplaying is the easiest way; you completely control the rate at which you post, which could be several posts an hour, or even more.

With that in mind, what about those who choose to party roleplay? Party roleplay requires a bit of waiting as each player posts and waits for the next. For some, that also means they need to focus on the actions of their party member, so they can react accordingly. Along with that, I believe you should keep a certain element of realism, especially when with party members. Sure, characters may react differently, but in SAO, realistically, not everyone will immediately want to go to the fields and hunt boar with each other. It simply isn't realistic. So yes, there's quite a bit of player interaction, rather than just pure gameplay and combat, but that's not a bad thing. Isn't an RP driven by character interaction? People who prefer to play with others shouldn't be punished for it.

lastly in a game there is a diminishing return of experience. you don't get the same amount of experience for killing a mob at level 3 than you do at level 10. in most game if you get 5 levels over an enemy you no longer are getting experience because the game knows this is not a challenge for you.

I agree with you here, it is bizarre having players at incredible levels when players are still searching for the tenth floor. Regardless, SAO didn't work like a normal MMORPG as it was. I don't remember the exact numbers, but I'm fairly certain Kirito was in his 40s when he met the Moonlit Black Cats, and in his 60s-70s at their demise. Floor 27 is where they were killed. Whether Kirito's strength was unrealistic or not, the fact is that he was that strong. The fact is there were players that strong in the anime, and it shouldn't be denied that there could be players that strong in our own SAORPG.

Just another little argument: we don't know how enemy levels worked in the anime either, which we aren't, but it was bothering me too. I fail to believe that the entirety of floor one is inhabited by level one mobs, and the same continues on. On floor seventy-five, Kirito was level 97. I'm just going to go on a limb and say the majority of players with them were probably in their eighties. Monsters will level up with you. Realistically, for all we know, the monsters on floor nine could be in their early/late twenties, maybe even earlier thirties. With no set enemy level system, it's left to imagination.

after all how could people threaten others in the Skype calls if they aren't 20 levels higher than the person they are threatening...

I disagree. People shouldn't lose their level simply because it is now deemed unrealistic for them to be so high. Those high-leveled players put a lot of effort into getting their level, regardless of WC and post quality. The elites deserve to stay the elites.

"I'm not about that quitting life." Natalia said, confident as ever. "Let's continue, our mission is not yet over, young one!" She harassed her partner, both in crime, and in love, mocking the fact that he was younger than her, even if it was only by a year or so. Still, age wasn't a problem to her.

"So, how far into the cavern must we travel?" Natalia asked before she began strolling in the direction of the caves. "Not too far, I hope. Not really a fan of damp, musky caves." Even if she had just sheathed her blade, she pulled it back out. They were going into a cave, after all; she needed to be prepared for anything.

Natalia couldn't help but smirk as Kiluia struck the ground with a massive strike. She knew he was fine, of course. "C'mon, Kiluia, you can do better than that." With those words, she replicated his actions. She kicked off the ground with mighty force and brought her hands together on the hilt of the sword. "Here you go!" She yelled a cheesy battle cry before plunging her blade into the skull of the dragon, as it seemed Kiluia had intended.

The dragon roared, and shook its head, knocking her back onto the ground, where she tumbled like Kiluia had prior. This time, however, the dragon roared for a little longer before bursting into a rainbow of polygons. Natalia twirled the hilt of her sword between her fingers before sheathing the blade once more, intentionally showing off. "Well, that was easy."

PLAYERS

Natalia: 8/15

Kiluia: 19/23

BD: 10

DMG: 1 (Hit) + 1 (OHSS: R1) + 2 (SUPAH CRITICAL!) = 4

ENEMIES

Dragon #1: -1/12 (DEAD)

Dragon #2: -1/12 (DEAD)

A customer!

Setsuko sat up in her bed, having been asleep before the voice awakened her. Without even changing out of her sleeping outfit, which consisted of a black t-shirt and a gray pair of sweat shorts extended just above her knee, the teenager slid down the stairs railing before casually brushing off her hair as if she hadn't been caught off-guard by the sudden ringing of her bell. "Of rare or perfect quality?" She repeated the question, just to double check with the girl who stood before her at the counter. "Anywhere from seven-hundred-fifty col to one-thousand col." Setsuko did her to sound somewhat friendly.

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

Although she didn't turn back to face Steel as she spoke, she still said: "Setsuko." When the friend request popped up in front of her as she was walking, her hand drifted towards the 'O' and gently tapped it before continuing on her way. Among the thousands of players within the game, she could only call three of them friends, as of yet. You're more of acquaintance than anything, but despite your ignorance, I'd like to spend a bit more time with you in the future; it's fun calling you an idiot. That was too mushy for her to say aloud, but it was definitely in her thoughts.

It wasn't long after Mayonaka and Setsuko had taken off that they had found themselves surrounded by the luscious green fields. Wow, it really is beautiful out here. Never before had she really taken the time to enjoy the environment around her, but recently, she'd been beginning to leave her shell behind. Beginning, at least; there was still a long way to go. "It's nice outside today, isn't it?" Setsuko said with the positive tone one could assume she even had.

There was a sounder of boar grazing in the fields not too far from the duo. Their red, blaring eyes had always haunted Setsuko; they just seemed too menacing, especially for such a low-leveled, simple creature. Regardless of their appearance, the pigs weren't much of a challenge. "Shall we?" Setsuko said as her hand drifted to the hilt of blade, which she slowly slid out of its sheath, unveiling a certain cold within the air that she knew was present, but immune to herself, as the wielder of the blade. I've come to love that sound. She thought, referring the sound of the unsheathing blade.

Immediately after her unsheathing, she blitzed towards one of the pigs and caught it off guard, thrusting her rapier through its stomach and ripping it back out in a single swift motion. An obnoxious squeal was released from the pig before it turned on its hind feet and faced her, tusks ready for battle.

PLAYERS

Setsuko: 15/15

Mayonaka: 25/25

BD: 6 + 2 (Swift Vambraces; doesn't count towards critical)

DMG: 1 (Hit) + 1 (OHR: R1) + 2 (Frostbite +2 DMG) = 4

ENEMIES

Boar #1: 1/5

Boar #2: 5/5

Boar #3: 5/5

I like leveling up by posting but there are some things wrong with it.

One liners are forbidden but it still makes me fell bad when I right a paragraph and take a long time to level up; then a new player does two liners and levels past me!

That's what I see as well. I feel like leveling by posts encourages shorter, less-detailed posts. As someone mentioned above, however, for the extremely high-leveled players, it also reveals their dedication.

To be completely honest, though, unless there were GMs that were willing to dedicate the time to evaluate and give experience based on post quality, the current system is probably best.

EDIT: Looking at it from another perspective, you'd also have to take into account the fact that not everybody is as skilled in writing as others may be. There are quite a few fantastic writers on the site, but at the same time, there are also those who may struggle with finer details. By changing the system to quality over quantity, those with less writing experience will have a harder time.

[OOC ~ Yay, a hit! Now if only I had my new equipment when we started this..]

Wow, that was impressive. She thought as she watched Zelrius predict the boss' movements and successfully dodge, while countering the attack himself. Setsuko followed Zelrius into combat, thrusting her rapier towards the abdomen of the bee once more. He knows how little I can actually do to this thing; I hope he didn't expect too much.

PLAYERS

Setsuko: 11/13

Zelrius: 57/61

BD: 7

DMG: 1 (Hit) + 1 (OHR: R1) = 2

ENEMIES

Wasp: 13/30

When the glowing ceased, a pair of glimmering vambraces were before her. They were gloved up until the fingers, where her bare skin was revealed; the rest, however, was metallic in nature. After all, she was a blacksmith, not a tailor. Setsuko put them on, using the item menu, over course, and tightened her fists. She felt strange, with them covering her a portion of her arm usually left unclothed, but she'd force herself to grow accustomed to them. Curious, she inspected them to find they were called <>. Not as flashy as my blade, but they'll do.

Item: Swift Vambraces

Quality: Rare

Shop: The Frozen Blacksmith

Description: Nothing too special, these light vambraces make the user's attacks feel swifter, allowing them to react quicker to enemy movements (+2 Accuracy).

Setsuko yawned as she lifted her torso from the anvil, which she had somehow fallen asleep on over the course of the night. Well, this is awkward. Checking her clock, she found that she was able to craft again, and, as such, drew an <> from her inventory. From there, she followed the same steps as usual, ending with her hammering, and the item glowing.

CD: 11

Item Quality: Rare

1=Epic fail +1XP

2-3=fails +1XP

4-6=bad Item +1XP

7-9=Good Item +2XP

10=Uncommon Item +3XP

11=Rare Item +5XP

12= Perfect Item +8XP