Kat:
Today, we are meeting with our very own Ambrosia! Some of you know them as a DM, others as PC turned DM but did you also know they work behind the scenes as QA and Assist team? Well, now you do and we get to learn more about the person that wears ALL those hats on Avlis.
Welcome Amby!
(the crowd goes wild)
Before we start, I'd like to add a personal note. I am a huge fan, so I will try not to gush.
First question!
What brought you to Avlis?
Ambrosia:
A 1999 player-driven roleplay event on Everquest!
Kat:
That was unexpected! Do tell, if willing!
Ambrosia:
The changeover from 1999 to 2000 inspired a wide variety of speculation and quite a few theories, both conspiracy and otherwise. This was reflected in other games, including EverQuest, which had been my very first experience with any sort of online game. It was the weekend of that particular New Year’s when my character walked out of the front gate of the city of Qeynos and ran smack dab into a Knight, who stood on a rock speaking to a very large crowd about his in-character predictions about a particular plot-line. Nearly his entire guild was also present and they were all 'in-character' - a concept I had never heard about in a game before.
I stood there for several hours simply listening to/reading their interactions until I was too tired to stay awake, stunned at the depth of lore. The next morning, I went on a search for more information about this whole…roleplay… thing! Long story short, as I asked around over the next few years for games with that same experience, someone invited me to try out Avlis if I wanted a 'serious' roleplay server. They gave me the passwords to log in and I logged in!
(Completely oblivious at the time that I was to have applied to join and they shouldn't have shared the passwords with me! haha)
Kat:
That's such a fun introduction to roleplay!
What year did you come to Avlis?
Also, what characters do you play?
Ambrosia:
I joined Avlis in 2004 - Irony: I logged in super excited about the whole concept of minimal OOC chat, but was so intimidated by the whole idea of actually roleplaying, I actively avoided other Avlis Characters for a good three weeks. Turns out, there were quite a few invisible people running around who saw me avoiding people and assumed it was because my character was infected with The Spite, so they had no problems avoiding me too!
Kat:
Ugh, the Spite. I'd avoid you too.
(The Spite was a horrible disease in game during the early years that caused many embarrassing and gross side effects that we are all glad went away.)
Ambrosia:
The first character to actually say hello was the wemic, Mhog'ar. All he said was "Hello" - but it sent me into an absolute panic. I turned around in my chair and shouted at a nearby friend, "WHAT DO I SAY?!" to which the reply was, "Uh.. Say Hi.. back?"
It was truly my finest roleplay moment.
Kat:
We shared those early day jitters for sure!
What characters do you play now?
Ambrosia:
After a billion years with only ever playing a single character at a time, I branched out after I retired my last character, Auryna Ak'hanrye to NPC land. I now have about a half-dozen characters I bounce around between. I call them my mood ring. I've got a little bit of everything from Pirate who loves Dragons to a Dragon who murderizes Pirates. hehehe
Kat:
Ha, good thing we cannot meet ourselves in game! Dead dragon or dead pirate!
This one is a hard one!
Do you have a favorite roleplay moment? Two answers for you, as a player and DM.
Ambrosia:
There have been, without a doubt, more 'favorite' roleplay moments over the years than I can count. However, if I was to pick one via the power of emotions involved, there was one interaction with Darkfire's character Dameon back when he was the High Reaver of Maleki which always instantly comes to mind as to why I love Avlis. It was, hands down, the scariest non-death CvC experience I've ever experienced as a player and a fantastic example of how to play an evil character while being a good player.
My little low-level was simply walking up the road when she ran into Dameon walking the other direction. He got super pissed she was on 'his' side. He knocked her over, with an order to stay on that side of the road where this crazy druid, Tangleroot, sat. Tangleroot cast a vine spell which effectively held her in place. After 10 years of taunts (I, of course, mean minutes, hehe), they walked off with this mad cackle and left her "to become useful as food for insects".
Both players knew they could have easily killed my little nothing character; however, instead they gave her something to fear more than death. They also both (after the characters were long gone) sent messages player to player to welcome me to Avlis and, in Tangleroot's case, warn me not to actually go into the swarm of insects he had summoned unless I really did want her to die.
As for my favorite roleplay experience as a DM? I get to see a lot of really awesome private moments between characters that a lot of players don't get to witness; however, my current all-time, still blows my mind, roleplay moment as a DM was the event in which I got to witness the very public culmination of 30+ character's efforts in their combat against the Red Star Erratic of Pollution, plus, inside of that event, the very personal yet equally public transformation of the character Sceluscio Potementia, as he underwent ceremorphosis and died while transforming into an illithid. Every player in that event should win awards for how they played their character. That night was truly astounding to DM.
Kat:
I love that terrifying encounter with Dameon and Tangles! What a great welcome.
And you know that event, the Erratic, has to be on many PCs favorite now. That Sceluscio-Illithid end was absolutely a shock.
Speaking of shocking, do you have a moment, as a DM and/or PC, where you said Oh Shit, what have I/we done?
Ambrosia:
Yes.
There's been more than a few moments over the years; however, one of the most recent was during the Red Star Plot when Plethora's character Deo, who is about as beloved as our Head DM, died for a while. When I plot-killed her, I turned away from my computer to say to Lucidic, "Welp. I'm going to DM hell now." -- oh man, people were soo upset. I'm impressed my inbox survived the explosion.
(Deo's back to being fine, by the way! Dru'el wouldn't let her stay dead, not to worry! Hahaha)
Kat:
Killing the boss is never a good idea (except when it is!)
What are you most proud of, Avlis wise?
Ambrosia:
I'm most proud of how much of a community we have with our player base. For the most part, everyone seems to go out of their way to welcome new people, answer questions, get people information, and include people in groups and plots. The community feel here on Avlis is rare and, I believe, is one of our strongest 'selling' points as to why people stick around for years.
Kat:
I totally agree with that. If it were not for the people, I am sure we would not have players who have spent over a decade here.
These next two questions can be harder! Let's start with your favorite NPC.
Ambrosia:
My favorite NPC is one I hope more players will get to meet going forward with the new set-up we have with the Academy of Mortal Magic: The Archmage of the Red Order of the Flame, Artorius Illurien. As a Senior Diviner as well as Master Fatespinner, he's gotten up to some hijinks over the years, one of which has his perception of time basically stuck three days in the future, all the time. This can lead to some very funny situations, like a recent vote in the High Mage Council which he made several days in advance of the issue actually being put to vote by the council, leaving his assistants trying to figure out what the vote was actually for! The other entertaining fact about him is that he's so calm and collected people assume he's a follower of Andrinor, but he's not. He's a follower of Forian, and I'm endlessly entertained by the methodical way he causes chaos.
Kat:
I love Artorius! I hope everyone gets a chance to meet him soon, if they have not.
The next one is harder for most, your favorite PC!
Ambrosia:
I can only pick one? Gah.
As a storyteller, I draw inspiration from so many of our wonderful players, you're right - it's hard to pick only one. I've been influenced and inspired by so many characters over the years; however, one character in particular taught me the difference between puppeting a character and ~becoming~ that character, and that was Rali'vinee Ish'tarestacia. I met Rali decades ago with my very first Avlis character, shortly after Rali was created, nearly as she walked out of the start tent on her first day, and already she came across as 'alive'. Her character had such depth of personality, I'd forget I was communicating with another player. I genuinely believed I had to help teach this young drangonari how to speak common, figure out how to help her trust me enough to eat, and figure out her language so we could talk. Watching Rali 'grow up' over many real life years, make friends, charm villains, and grow as a bard from shy of the stage to a most-in-demand-headliner...was like watching a real live person grow up from teen to adulthood. Roleplaying with Rali was truly an astounding experience.
Kat:
Rali was an absolutely wonderful character. Maybe she will see this and come back!
Where do you draw inspiration for your PCs? Same question for events.
Ambrosia:
Handily, it's the same answer for both: from our player base. I've yet to create a character who hasn't been inspired by or influenced by another player or one of their characters. Auryna, for example, was actually created by Moonyju as part of her character, Jalya Ak'hanrye's backstory. A billion years ago when I had to retire my first character, she offered to let me create Auryna as a player character. I was deeply honored and taking care of Auryna for the last 15 years for Jalya is one of the reasons AJ's an NPC and not just 'killed off' like I've done with others.
For Events, you got to witness the morphing of one such entirely driven player event recently: The Red Star Erratic of Pollution. It was easily the climax of the chain of lead-up events for me, and I think for many players. Nearly 35 people were online at the time of the final event and every single one of them had done something in advance to prep for the event. I look back on how it grew and morphed because of the players with a sense of satisfied pride for those characters - not bad for something which I had intended originally as a one-off McGuffin.
Kat:
I take full responsibility for ruining your McGuffin.
What would you say your most defining moment on Avlis is, what really solidified your being here?
Ambrosia:
That's easy.
A PM from Plethora inviting me back to Avlis. It sat in her outbox for over a year, un-read, still ever hopeful I'd eventually wander back to the Avlis boards and see her message. She was right. I did, and when I read her message, I sat there, stunned that she even remembered who I was after having been gone from Avlis for nearly 7 years. I accepted the moment I read her PM, delighted to see the community I had once been forced to leave was alive, well, and still telling amazing stories. I returned and haven't looked back. Long live the Queen!
Kat:
That is so sweet! I have PMs in my outbox addressed to old players asking them to come back, too. Maybe it will work one day!
How are you, the player, most similar and dissimilar to your main character(s)?
Ambrosia:
My characters tend to all be extraverts on some level and I am most decidedly not. They love to travel, I love to stay home, they love adventure, and I love to write. I do find ways for all of my characters, even the evil ones, to have reasons as to why they'll include nearly anyone in their group, because I personally don't want to leave people out who want to be included - mostly because I'm usually the one left out of things in real life and I hate the way that feels. All of my characters have reasons why they'll stand up to bullies, and none of them would ever harm a child. My characters tend to have loads of friends, or, at least, minions, and I have very few. Very few of my characters like to read (not even the wizard), but I'm nearly a book-a-day sometimes (or more if you count baby books! haha!). I have some characters who help me try out things I wouldn't ever do in real life and others who are very comfortable being parts of my quirky personality. I like the blend.
Kat:
I would never have guessed you were an introvert! I will stand beside you against bullies any time.
One thing you would like to see happen on Avlis in the next few years?
Ambrosia:
Speaking entirely as a player here - I'd really love it if we could somehow transform the CTS system to the point where animal companions would be viable party members again. I'd absolutely love more animals and other critters in game too, with applicable new habitats.
Kat:
CTS is so amazing, making it even cooler would be fantastic.
A character type you’ve wanted to play but never have? Why?
Ambrosia:
I've always wanted to play a fortune-teller character like Seer Ruv or Brisind. The reason why I'm so fascinated by those characters is the same reason why I don't have one: I have zero real life knowledge of things like tarot cards. If you can be in love with an inanimate object, I will happily say I'm absolutely in love with your deck. It's real magic and nobody can convince me otherwise.
Kat:
My deck is real and magic!
I know the answer to this but others may not. What keeps you busy outside of Avlis?
Ambrosia:
Once upon a time this girl played this game called Avlis and she met this boy who also played Avlis. Their characters barely tolerated each other, but their players fell totally in love. One day, the boy asked the girl to move in with him and she moved half-way across the country to say yes. They even got married and, a few years later, had a baby boy of their own, who was welcomed with a "finally! took you long enough!" by his big sister. The end. Hehe.
I also love to read and write. I sometimes even remember to publish random things on my blog https://www.atthetipofthequill.com/ though most of my writing lands on Avlis' forums (all of our readers are registered and visit often, right? )
Kat:
Judging by your DM-ing and PCs, I will look forward to reading your blog, too! Our readers should definitely be reading all the great IC posts on the forums.
What is one thing that people would never guess about you?
Ambrosia:
Outside of Avlis, people are surprised by just how passionate I am for our online community. When I've tried to talk about Avlis in real life, it's usually dismissed as "oh, that's a neat game you play" and I'm like… "um... no..., well, yes, but… no... it's... complicated." The Avlis community comprises nearly all of my closest friends. Avlis is, in many ways, my family. I don't think most people in my life (outside of Lucidic) get how important Avlis and our players are to me. What would surprise our Avlissians? Humm.... maybe it might be the fact I've never actually played tabletop D&D.
Kat:
I can sense your passion and I agree, Avlis has become more than just a game to so many of us!
My ridiculous last question... Random music shuffle (5 songs) or the last thing you watched on YouTube.
Ambrosia:
Ha! That's a super dangerous question to ask a mum. My last YouTube video was GoNoodle's 'Peanut Butter in a Cup' song. Other songs often on repeat are fan-favorites 'The Duck Song' by Bryant Oden, as well as 'Diggy Diggy Hole' - You're welcome!
Kat:
At least it was not Baby Shark…doo doo doo doo doo doo.
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