On a whim...

Alterers

The Who, What and Where.

The list

Posted by Rajara | 08.08.09

Alterations 101

Lecture by Tiesse and Abasha at Magna Mini Fest.

Hello, Estate Holders! As part of our OOC discussion series, Alterations 101 will begin shortly in the Private Grotto of Magma Falls. Please make your way there if you wish to participate. We will start within the next 15 minutes (a little later than our scheduled start time of 11pm EST). See you there!
The ground trembles and the sky suddenly arcs with lightning as fear shivers through your body like a winter storm raking at an autumn leaf. Before you a dark portal forms and out of it steps Tiesse who raises her arms, calming the ground and quieting the sky.

A heavy mist gathers in front of you, quickly solidifying into the form of Abasha.


You notice an odd, almost godly aura about Tiesse.

You see GameMaster Tiesse, Elite Snap Artist of Zoluren, a Human Cleric.
Tiesse has hazel eyes. Her amber hair is very long and wavy, and is worn arranged in a mohawk. She has smooth skin.
An obnoxious sparkling gem that creates all sorts of annoying room scroll rests on her forehead, just above her eyes.
Tiesse has transcended time.
She has a tattoo of three additional and unnecessary lines of text on her chest.
She is in good shape.

She is wearing a prismatic dreamsilk garter with fluttering white ribbons that trail down her thigh, a silksilk hat banded with a ribbon of sexysilk, a delicate red rosebud, a bag of tricks, a white cotton T-shirt printed with the words "I went to Simucon 2009 and all I got was this text T-shirt", a slender silver ring set with a multifaceted mystic topaz, apple bottom jeans and boots with the fur.


[Magma Falls, Private Grotto]
Curiously alien amongst the igneous enclave, a circular pool in the room's center provides an exotic contrast to the volcano's interior as well as ambient underwater lighting. Garlands of night-blooming lilies are suspended from the low curved ceiling, their blossoms lush and fragrant in the humid environment. Deep hollows are carved in the side walls, each filled with pillows and perfect for intimate encounters. You also see a question list, a hazy mist-filled opening and a colorful tent.
Also here: Pirate Waveshell, Theosophist Hashi, Aeromancer Zepentaria, Linessa, Fortuneteller Markivus, GameMaster Abasha, GameMaster Tiesse who is awesome, Initiate Ranger Nocturrnal, Karissa, Uthgaar, Alley Fighter Allye, Celephais, Rosebriar, Tradesman Sortny who is sitting, Valynn who is sitting, Sophister Shellwind who is sitting, Lady of the House Lanita, Feral Kiterina, Ranger Feydor, Kickboxer Cariosity, Surgeon Fratire, Sister Jaelia, Gemologist Trinean, G'nar Pethian Vansiil, Player Exiar, Nurse Stilva, Auctioneer Resero, Scout Mivoring, Temple Sentinel Liurilias, Diplomat Jairem, Wordsmith Modiarzi, Banshee Phii, Caiomhe, Beautician Iliani, Silence Sryne, Ranger Rzin, Court Advisor Wyndz, Booeki, Muse Eoworfinia, Ysselt, Juleanne, Hand of the Elements Stellerex, Mouth Breather Danoryiel.
Obvious exits: none.

Abasha exclaims, "Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Alterations 101, where we talk about, not surprisingly, alterations!"

Abasha asks, "First, I'll go over the basics of the basics... what IS an alteration?"

Abasha says, "An alteration is where a GMPC will do a bit of custom work for you, usually on a single item. You can find merchants like this at festivals like this one, or wandering the land, or sometimes in the bungalow in the seacaves. Sometimes, there's an announcement, sometimes you'll just stumble on them. Usually, an alterer will tell you what they will work with. Some only work on jewelry, some only work on weapons, and so on."

Abasha says, "Usually, in an alteration, we'll change the TAP, LOOK, and/or READ."

Abasha says, "The TAP holds the simple description of what the item is. The limit on this is 80 characters, including spaces. I personally consider this the most important part of the item by far, since it's what you show off when people look at you."

Abasha says, "In a tap, we usually describe what the item is, the color and/or material, and any major embellishments. An good example of a typical tap is: "a blue satin robe embroidered with the image of a pure white dove"."

Abasha says, "The LOOK holds a longer description of the item. This can just be something little, or it can go into lots of detail about the item. The limit for this is 511 characters, although I usually like to keep mine around 300 or less unless I've got a ton to say about a particular item."

Abasha says, "Here's an example of a LOOK: Trimmed at the sleeves with a thin white ribbon, the garment is cut to fall to floor-length when worn. Blending shades start nearly white near the neckline and gradually darken to a midnight blue near the bottom hem. A cabochon onyx is set into the bird's eye, polished to a lustrous shine."

Abasha says, "The READ we usually limit to around fifteen words. This is basically writing on the item itself, and is limited to the actual words that are written on the item. Here's an example of a read: "I wait for you in the dawn's light."

Tiesse flirts with Abasha. Abasha smiles demurely, giving Tiesse her full attention.

Abasha says to Tiesse, "You hush, I'm a hopeless romantic."

Tiesse says, "I'm a night owl, baby."

Abasha says, "It's usually a good idea to have your idea written out BEFORE your turn comes up, with one or two backup ideas in case the alterer can't work on what you have. They probably won't kill you if you don't, but you're more likely to get what you want that way."

Celephais says, "It also keeps the rest of us from having to wait nine years."

Tiesse says, "Or kick you out for not being prepared."

Abasha says, "That too."

Abasha says, "And that too."

Abasha says, "Or punt you to the back of the line."

Tiesse says, "Or point and laugh."

Tiesse mutters something into the air about Snidley.

Abasha says, "If you're stuck on designing, think first of a TAP. Then try to picture the item in your mind's eye. Is it large? Bulky? Does it have pockets? What about embroidery, or unusual dying or trimming? For jewelry, what gems does it have, and what do the settings look like? Think about it, and the creativity will start coming to you."

Abasha says, "Someone's yelling at me in all caps to say please have your rare materials ready and not in a vault or on another character."

Abasha ducks her head.

Tiesse says, "Yes, basically, you can't go wrong if you're prepared."

Abasha says, "Well, you can, but you're less likely to."

Abasha grins at Tiesse.

Tiesse says, "It at least shows you're willing to put in as much time as we are when doing your alteration."

Tiesse says, "Well yes."

Abasha says, "If you're stuck on designing, think first of a TAP. Then try to picture the item in your mind's eye. Is it large? Bulky? Does it have pockets? What about embroidery, or unusual dying? For jewelry, what gems does it have, and what do the settings look like? Think about it, and the creativity will start coming to you."

Abasha says, "Another thing you can do is plop your idea into google image search... for example, putting in 'filigree gold ring' turns up all sorts of lovely pictures that you can use to start describing a filigree gold ring."

Tiesse nods in agreement.

Tiesse says, "I highly recommend doing that for weapons."

Abasha says, "I also really like to browse online fashion shows."

Tiesse says, "It's also helpful if you want to use gems in your items."

Tiesse says, "Knowing the difference between faceted and cabochon, princess and brilliant cut, that sort of thing."

Abasha says, "The outfits in fashion shows are totally impractical in real life and often crazy, which makes them perfect for DR."

Abasha coughs.

Tiesse snickers.


Abasha says, "If you're REALLY stressed for an idea, you can try including snippets about your god or an avatar's god, your guild, or even your race. It can do wonders for sprucing it up a bit."

Tiesse nods.

Abasha says, "Finally, remember that you don't always *have* to make a novel of an alteration... sometimes, a simple silver ring is just a simple silver ring, and perfectly fine that way."

Abasha says, "Now, I'm going to go over some things I see a lot in alterations that we can't do. Most of you know our alteration rules already, and they're on the play.net website, so I'll go with things we see a lot of requests for but can't do."

Abasha says, "Alteration guide here: ttp://www.play.net/dr/info/alteration.asp."

Abasha says, "It's long but it's got lots of useful info."

Abasha says, "We usually can't change what the item fundamentally is, especially in LTBs -- A gown can't become a cloak, a shirt can't become pants, and a ring can't become a bracelet, not even if you're taking it from a Gor'Tog and giving it to a Gnome."

Abasha says, "If it's really similar, like if you want it to become a pack instead of a backpack, we *might* be able to do it, but no promises."

Abasha says, "Another thing we see a lot of is an item described as it's being worn, and ONLY as being worn. While a gown that says something like "the neckline traces the curves of her skin" may look awesome on you, but it takes a rather... ugly connotation if a guy puts it on, or it's lying on the ground, or even if it's sitting in a vault."

Abasha says, "Likewise, we have to keep in mind that unless it's coded otherwise, any race and both genders can put the item on."

Abasha says, "To get around this, using the words 'cut to', 'designed to', 'made to', etc. can be a godsend."

Abasha says, "Finally, we can't force emotion. This is to say... We can't say things like 'The image of the spider fills you with terror'. One person may think 'awesome', one person may actually be terrified, one person may be indifferent."

Abasha says, "Someone just said 'murderous rage at the sight of spiders'."

Abasha grins at Rowena.

Abasha asks Tiesse, "Okay, what'd I miss in terms of things we can't do?"

Tiesse says, "One thing we see A LOT with LTB scrolls is people wanting a particular title used in their item."

Abasha says, "Oh yes, titles."

Abasha grins.

Abasha says, "Guys, we'll take questions after we get through us talking."

Tiesse says, "A locksmith's toolbelt, a calvaryman's slurbow, those all exist."

Tiesse says, "The general rule with titles is that it either needs to be on the approved titles list..."

Tiesse says, "Which is a link off that alteration guide Abasha pasted previously..."

Tiesse says, "Or it needs to be a title you've actually earned."

Tiesse says, "Moreover, it needs to make sense."

Abasha says, "Http://www.play.net/dr/info/profoccitem.asp."

Tiesse says, "Like saying you have a smoke's vest doesn't make sense."

Abasha says, "Those are 'free game' titles."

Tiesse says, "Saying you have a barmaid's tip pouch does."

Tiesse says, "I've been asked about thief pretend titles... I'll double check about that."

Tiesse says, "I would tend to learn towards yes."

Tiesse says, "Custom titles can be used, but again, the item has to make sense."

Tiesse says, "Like I'll make myself some elite snap artist's snapping gloves and describe them accurately."

Abasha says, "Couple more things..."

Abasha says, "Light and gems. We can't make gems 'glow' or 'pulsate' or 'wiggle' etc."

Abasha says, "We can make them scintillating, shining, etc."

Tiesse says, "Fiery is a technical gem term, btw."

Abasha says, "Basically.... if the room isn't actually "so dark you can't see a thing", it's basically assumed that you can see it. That old rule about having to specify 'in the available light' has gone away."

Abasha says, "And I've run out of things to talk about now."

Abasha ducks her head.

Abasha says, "You guys are going to force me to talk about rare materials, aren't you."

Tiesse says, "I've just a few more things to say."

Abasha says, "Http://sites.google.com/site/dragonrealmsweddings/Home/rare-materials-as-of-71508."

Abasha says, "That URL lies."

Abasha says, "It's as of 8/6/09."

Tiesse says, "Okay, a brief overview of tattoo alterations, since we just had a session."

Abasha exclaims, "Ok Tiesse can talk, that means I don't have to!"

Tiesse says, "Okay, tattoos."

Tiesse says, "When you are writing up your potential custom tattoo, there are some thing you need to keep in mind."

Tiesse says, "Your tattoo cannot move on its own."

Tiesse says, "There's only one tattooer who can do that, and his name is Inky."

Tiesse says, "They are magical and exceedingly rare."

Tiesse says, "Tattoos in general are rare. The ones that alterers can do are the ones that can cover multiple body parts, but they cannot appear to move."

Tiesse says, "Not atmospherically, but the way they are written, yes."

Tiesse says, "All tattoos will either begin with the following:."

Tiesse has a tattoo of blah blah blah.
Tiesse has a tattoo on her hand of blah blah blah.

Tiesse says, "The first version will always need an end point on your body."

Tiesse says, "The second will not."

Tiesse says, "So you can figure out how you want to word your tattoo based on that."

Tiesse says, "The first version is more prevalent."

Tiesse says, "If you want any racial phrases or anything like that, just make sure you have a translation handy."

Tiesse says, "That goes for alterations in general, too."

Abasha says, "Oh yeah... we can't do sigils."

Abasha ducks her head.

Tiesse says, "Okay, moving on... a few style tips when you're writing your alterations."

Tiesse says, "One of the main things that we try to avoid in alterations is repetition."

Tiesse says, "And if you're not writing with that in mind, it can sometimes mean that the same words are used over and over and over and over."

Tiesse says, "In one alteration."

Tiesse says, "This is why, in my original announcement, I said to have your thesaurus handy."

Tiesse says, "Thesaurus.com is really convenient."

Tiesse says, "Or, if you have a paperback version, keep it near you when you're trying to figure out ideas."

Abasha says, "Yeah... stuff like The greatcloak is blue. The blue greatcloak has a silver clasp. The greatcloak's inner lining is made of moonsilk.... That just gets tiring to read."

Tiesse nods.

Tiesse says, "Yes, so there's a few facets to the repetition."

Tiesse says, "One is using the same words."

Tiesse says, "Another is starting your sentences with the same words."

Abasha says, "The, and A are big offenders."

Tiesse says, "And a third is using the same sentence structure repeatedly."

Tiesse says, "And a personal pet peeve of mine is passive voice."

Tiesse says, "But I usually calm my twitch and let it slide if the item is technically correct."

Abasha says, "I change it."

Abasha ducks her head.

Tiesse says, "Is am are was were be being bin."

Tiesse says, "Been rather."

Abasha says, "Has been."

Tiesse says, "Has have had do did does can could shall should will would may might must ought."

Tiesse says, "All helping verbs."

Tiesse says, "Also, using possessive instead of "of."

Tiesse says, "Saying the greatcloak's collar vs. the collar of the greatcloak."

Tiesse says, "Also."

Tiesse says, "Keep in mind that the words you use in the TAP will be visible up when you SHOW the item to someone."

Tiesse says, "So that's why we try not to use the same words in the TAP as in the first sentence of the LOOK."

Tiesse says, "Purely to eliminate repetition."

Tiesse says, "Sometimes, it's unavoidable."

Tiesse says, "Like if you only have a one sentence LOOK."

Tiesse says, "But most often, we try to avoid it."

Tiesse says, "Okay."

Tiesse asks, "Is Listia here?"

Tiesse says, "No."

Tiesse wipes her forehead.

Tiesse says, "No offense, Listia."

Posted by Rajara | 08.08.09