I probably have a few more hours before my drop is effective haha
Pretty much everything here and more. And I guess it is kind of on topic - I just want to also add in that the current 'event' (if you really want to consider it one) is extremely disappointing, and does nothing to address the issues/concerns brought up in the last HMD. It doubles down on them actually.
Cultist plot just hasn't been all that inspiring or easy for most characters to engage with unless they play a very specific character that's into those sorts of investigations...and likely some sort of a do-gooder too. The rest of us can be told what's happening as much as possible, but how personally are we actually affected by it?
We're told not to let strangers use our shrines - Would be an interesting plot point had there been some NPCs or something approaching gods (or even shinki) about this. But instead we only hear about it second hand The dolls seem to be involved with characters disappearing - It is some kind of stake? But it's so far out of the character's reach that it's hard to have any agency for. The only thing someone can do just hope their doll is never tampered with. It's a problem that may mess with a lot of characters, but either it's going to happen or it's not. So it feels like only shock value. The hunt for Votelli and Sotero - Some people care for these characters, some don't, some don't even know who they are or why they matter so much. I think that probably explains enough. Other Far Shore politics - See Votelli and Sotero
I could maybe come up with a few more if I thought long enough, but the over all Far Shore's story has felt pretty weak, despite having a lot of really good potential. That even if all of these systematic changes happen (which they definitely should), I just don't know if that is still going to be enough. I think the main questions that maybe should be asked more often is "Why should my character care?" "How can I make my character care?" and "What's motivating my character to keep performing their god/shinki duties?". ...If the answer is just because they were told to and there's no consequence, it's a problem.
+ One Million
Pretty much everything here and more. And I guess it is kind of on topic - I just want to also add in that the current 'event' (if you really want to consider it one) is extremely disappointing, and does nothing to address the issues/concerns brought up in the last HMD. It doubles down on them actually.
Cultist plot just hasn't been all that inspiring or easy for most characters to engage with unless they play a very specific character that's into those sorts of investigations...and likely some sort of a do-gooder too. The rest of us can be told what's happening as much as possible, but how personally are we actually affected by it?
We're told not to let strangers use our shrines - Would be an interesting plot point had there been some NPCs or something approaching gods (or even shinki) about this. But instead we only hear about it second hand
The dolls seem to be involved with characters disappearing - It is some kind of stake? But it's so far out of the character's reach that it's hard to have any agency for. The only thing someone can do just hope their doll is never tampered with. It's a problem that may mess with a lot of characters, but either it's going to happen or it's not. So it feels like only shock value.
The hunt for Votelli and Sotero - Some people care for these characters, some don't, some don't even know who they are or why they matter so much. I think that probably explains enough.
Other Far Shore politics - See Votelli and Sotero
I could maybe come up with a few more if I thought long enough, but the over all Far Shore's story has felt pretty weak, despite having a lot of really good potential. That even if all of these systematic changes happen (which they definitely should), I just don't know if that is still going to be enough. I think the main questions that maybe should be asked more often is "Why should my character care?" "How can I make my character care?" and "What's motivating my character to keep performing their god/shinki duties?". ...If the answer is just because they were told to and there's no consequence, it's a problem.