Grand Battle Planning and General Discussion Thread

So it occurs to me that we're not actually doing much battle discussion in this thread. And, since I've long been in favor of talking about battles more, I think I'll try to do something about that.

I'll start by tossing out some questions. I'll answer these myself when I've had some more time to think about it, but for the moment I just want to get the ball rolling.

What's your favorite thing that you wrote in a battle?

What are your favorite moments in battles, whether you're in them, hosting them, or just reading to see the crazy things other people are up to?

What was it that got you interested in joining a battle?

Who's your favorite of your own characters? Your favorite characters in general, both to work with or to read about? How about favorite NPCs?

What was your favorite round?

And for something a bit more in-depth, perhaps: Are there any rounds you've been in that you think you'd handle differently (as in, significantly changing the basic plot you went with) if you had to do them again? Or, is there a round in another battle that you would have particularly liked to use one of your characters in?

Feel free to suggest other questions, and say as much or as little as you want when answering.

My favourite round, as should be no surprise to anyone who actually wrote with me in it, was Genreshift. Godsworn is also pretty great, though I've not really been present enough to demonstrate my love for it.

I think personally the thing that makes a round good or not for me is how detailed a description is given of it. There are some rounds where the creator has clearly thought a lot about it and come up with something that they think is cool, but that doesn't necessarily translate that I will think it is cool. Or on the other hand there are rounds that are quite vague but in which I just can't find anything to work with. What I feel a round needs is the germ of an idea; something interesting but undeveloped.

I also feel that a good round works like an open sandbox for you to mess around and do whatever you want with, but certain rounds feel like the story is already mapped out (say through the imminent destruction of the environment or through a sparsity of options) and these just feel like a slog.

I think the more freedom you can give, the more room the writers have to develop the setting on their own (or not if they don't want to) then the better a round can be.

Rounds like Genreshift and Godsworn also have the distinction of having multiple different factions and a large location; giving every writer the chance to establish at least one thing they think is cool or interesting into the world, which wouldn't be possible in a smaller round.

In terms of rounds I wish I had done differently; All of IS. Even up to the most recent rounds all I can see is mistakes.

Rounds I'd like to have been a part of; Infinity Express, Vorlon Complex (maybe more these are just the ones that spring to mind).

Free Falling has always been one of my favorite round ideas, and also Showtime.

I've always thought there should be more rounds like Interplanetary Circus or Mnemonocyst Bearers (sidenote: weird coincidence that Teival and Keegan's previous round was a circus...) and ideas like New Battleopolis and The Misty Swamp (in GM) intrigue me a lot.

I haven't gotten around to reading all of those rounds yet, though, so for some I'm just going on the idea.

My favorite moment in any battle I've read would have to be Spender and Glere's dogfight in the Wax Colosseum in Epic Clash.

In terms of characters, I can't pick favorites, but there are several rejected profiles that I wish I could've seen in a battle (Especially Mr. Coconut, who probably would've been accepted if he'd been entered a season and a half later).

I'm a little too new to talk about my characters and the rounds they're in, so that's basically all I have to say at the moment.

What's your favorite thing that you wrote in a battle?

Geez, I dunno. I'd have to say pretty much everything that the High Pine Pack gets up to (5113). That, or the post I wrote near the end of Round 1 of 300kfat.

What are your favorite moments in battles, whether you're in them, hosting them, or just reading to see the crazy things other people are up to?

I can remember really liking the whole Glere vs Spender toy ship battle, I think. It was a bit silly, but there was also a certain amount invested in it that made it interesting to read. Moments like those just pop up every now and then in a GB.

I'm going to be a bit self-indulgent here and say that I liked the result of Warden coercing Ironjaw into destroying the Coach's warehouse. I know destroying the setting is a bit of a cliche in GBs, but it was actually effective in forcing a change of scenery where one was needed, imo.

What was it that got you interested in joining a battle?

At first I only read the first one because it was a part of the MSPAFA awards, but then I started liking the character dynamics. Seeing that there were like 200 other characters overwhelmed me a little, but I have long since gotten used to knowing each of the characters.

Who's your favorite of your own characters?

Most likely the Warden. He's just very me. Not in personality, but in the kind of character I'm likely to like. Dark, insane, tortured, yet still a chance for redemption later in the battle.

Your favorite characters in general, both to work with or to read about?

Um, I'd have to say my favorite character is the Convolution. It's such an oddball character, I can't not like it, yet Elpie does a very good job of writing for it too, to make sure it doesn't get too out of hand like some other oddball characters can.

In my own battles, though, I'd probably say Eriz from 300kfat. She's very down-to-earth, despite being in one of the more wacky battles, and she definitely gives the battle a much-needed realistic perspective.

How about favorite NPCs?

I think Grandmasters kinda count, so I would say the Cultivator, maybe. She is just so silly! :3

There's also the surplus of other NPC GB Contestants, like in IS or in DG9K.

What was your favorite round?

New Battleopolis, definitely. If I had to pick a round to represent grand battles as a whole, this would be it. The sheer number of cameo characters are one thing, but there's also the very fascinating setup of it being humans vs non-humans, with an unpredictable third party in the form of the Purple House. It kind of sets up the concept of Grand Battles being a mash-up of characters, ranging from serious to insane, taken to the extreme.

And for something a bit more in-depth, perhaps: Are there any rounds you've been in that you think you'd handle differently (as in, significantly changing the basic plot you went with) if you had to do them again? Or, is there a round in another battle that you would have particularly liked to use one of your characters in?

I haven't been in enough rounds to answer the first one properly, but if I was forced to answer, I would say maybe I kind of wish I had introduced more NPCs in Storage Park, other than what we had? I mean, the Artiste is wonderful but in the end it was pretty much all us vs him/her/it. Would have liked to see the other Grandmasters be brought in, as well!

And I have no idea what round would be best for my characters. I'd say Warden would kind of fit in Inferno Alpha, but then he would fit in too well, considering that round was part of my motivation.

Jean being in one of the "posh" rounds like the Sable Masque would have been quite the interesting shake-up, maybe.

Also, yes I definitely would have wanted to see the High Pine Pack in a canon grand battle or something that won't fizzle out nigh instantaneously, but oh well.

Oh gosh that was quite a bit of focus on 300kfat. I hope nobody minds.

So I said I'd take a shot at answering my own questions, and seeing as it's been nearly a week, now seems like a good time.

I actually had a hard time picking a favorite thing I've written; generally, I tend to like the ideas behind my posts more than the specific words I used. That said, I think I'd go with Arkal in the Amalgam as my overall favorite; I think what I particularly liked about it was just how improvised it was. I didn't really plan to address it, and then I was struck by the idea and I really wanted to go with it.

For related reasons, one of my favorite moments was the end of Battleopolis in GB1. I don't just mean my own posts there, but rather that I did a crazy thing, and Draykon and Aryo followed up on it really well. And it wasn't pre-planned at all! We just read the posts before ours and went and did things. Which isn't to say I dislike planning, just that I'm still pretty pleased with the fact that we did such a great sequence with no planning at all.

Other particularly good moments: Glere's death at the end of EC. Konka Rar getting thrown around by the Organizer in GB2. I could probably name a favorite moment from every S1-3 battle, but then we'd be here all day.

As for what got me interested - well, since I joined the very first battle, it's probably clear enough. I saw a thread and it looked interesting, so I signed up. Then after a few months there was another battle, and then everything started going crazy and within a year there were twelve.

My favorite character tends to fluctuate; I think it tends to be Arkal or Parsley most often, then there are times it's Cole, and sometimes it's Sirius. If I had to narrow it down, I'd probably go with Parsley though.

As for favorites to work with, I would probably have to say the Broderburgs and Gamehost Six for that. Jen and Xadrez in GBS2 are also great to work with, but the nature of the battle lately has meant that I haven't done that much with them in a while - most of what I've been doing has been Arkal on his own.

As for other characters... I'm pretty fond of the GBS3 cast as a whole, as well as the ISS2 cast. Of course, I picked out those casts, so I may be a bit biased.

That said, I didn't pick out the cast of VD, and I'm pretty fond of that group in general. Especially Harmon, Cascala, Cedric, and Phere, in no particular order. PF also has a strong cast, as does Gradual Massacre. I guess this is turning into more of a list of "favorite battles I'm not in or running", so I'll leave it at that for the moment.

For NPCs, I'm very fond of what Message became after I introduced him in GradMass. The various gods in Acidity City were also fun, I particularly liked Name.

Favorite round... wow, I've been in a lot of these. I'm actually going to split this up a bit.
Favorite round I was in: This is a close one between New Battleopolis and the current round of GBS2, though I will give the edge to New Battleopolis because Round Five: Round Six built on it so heavily.
Favorite round I came up with: The Battlefield, definitely. I really liked the concept, and all the players came up with neat ways to use it. Old Salem was another one I was fond of, definitely my favorite round concept in IS.
Favorite round aside from those: I'd say Sable Masque is up there, palace intrigue is fun. For similar reasons, I like the current round of PF, even aside from the cameo fun.
GrandCon is also worth mentioning.

Rounds I would have handled differently: I think I would liked to have gone for a different sort of payoff from breaking nature in Eternity Plateau. To be clear, I'd still go with breaking nature because that was a great direction for the round, but the stadium was more of a goofy idea than a thematically appropriate one.

Rounds I would have liked to be in: This is actually a tough one, not because there weren't great rounds but because it's hard to think of how one of my characters would have fit into them. I think the Cathedral of Glass in PC would be one of my top choices, though - the story was intriguing once the round got moving, and I think I would have liked being involved with that.

Favourite round I made was Endymion. Round 1 of that battle was also fun times
Favourite to write for would be the Battlefield, most anything in GBS2, Grandcon, and the last round of Epic Clash. Labyrinth Field also descended into anarchy.
Favourite that I've been in (a minor but notable difference I hope) is Godsworn Valley or the Place/Round Six.
Favourite round outside of those would be Acidity City (which also has my favourite death post), The Sable Masque, 0Genreshift, and setting-wise the Garden of Shades.

Favourite characters oh christ I have too many. I love characters. I would collect characters if there weren't objectionable undertones to that.
My favourite contestant of my own swings between Xadrez and Robin, but let's be clear I love all my children equally.
Gestalt's my overall favourite for co-writers' PCs, but Eryntse, John Smith, everyone in GBS3, Kracht, Nemeaus, Holly, and Sonora And Friends also deserve mentions.
Charges I am ostensibly fond of despite intermittently slaughtering include Whit, Kepral (I need more Kepral in my life), and Wardell.
Finally! PCs whose door I should never darken. Sarika. Tamerlane. John Smith. Ajota. Dr. Anarchy is my spirit animal.

NPCS! *cheerful screaming*
EVERYONE IN THE LAST ROUND OF GBII. Yes this includes Paris and Jessamine, if only from an aesthetic standpoint. Trenton Pollet. Joregensaard. The Ternanry Operatives; Null, Lone, Echo, and Trace from the Battlefield. Ursus Njordbludgeon. Zoo. Sarin and Richter.

Dudes who aren't so much mine but I've liked writing for are Fanthalion, Hector, GBII!Clara, the Strong Female Characters Squad at Grandcon, and the Geiram Guard.
My favourite Grandmaster of mine is the Atavist (because it was them or Composer), and my favourite outside my pool is the Organizer or the Apprentice.
Admired from Afar: The Acidity City pantheon, and COFCA et al (my chief inspiration for Parliament).

My favourite post I've written is usually the most recent one I've written that I reckoned passes scrutiny after reading it a few days later. So, my megapost in GBS2 I guess?

As a writer I tend to entrust plot-pushing and the enacting of major events to other players, because I have an inordinate fondness for feelings and other mushy shit.

Someone will probably mention a thing and I will scream and wail as to why I didn't add that to my list.

/me settles in with a pipe and smoking jacket
/me puts out jacket

What's your favorite thing that you wrote in a battle?

Probably Ashleys' death post. I always felt that was one of my defining moments as a battles writer, from the way I used to write posts to the way I do them now - The Ashleys were quite close to my heart, and having to write their long, drawn out death was an excellent way to cauterize the wounds in my heart and turn me into the soulless character torturer I am today. Up until then, I wrote badly. Afterwards, I still wrote badly, but hell, I knew what I was doing wrong.

Also I really liked drawing those gifs.

What are your favorite moments in battles, whether you're in them, hosting them, or just reading to see the crazy things other people are up to?

Kracht's First Time.

'nuff said.

In all seriousness though. I quite liked GC's shenaniganeries in general; particularly the bit where the Torturer steps in to create Cailrinn. Also I'd have to list Ix's post for Shrewdish Manor, Ix's post for Godsworn Valley...those are just posts that really spurred me to kick up my game and brought a lot of new ideas to the table. Maybe also the bit with the dead kings in that one thingo. (The Vague Unspecified?)

Ooh, I also loved writing Selverse irc logs.

What was it that got you interested in joining a battle?

Times dragged me here and then left me with you crazy folks. :p

Who's your favorite of your own characters?

Probably Sam. She's the closest to my heart out of all my characters. Her pain, her hurt, her trauma........................

Rachel comes a close second. She feels to me very much like a kid, mature but still a child in the way of things, with a very straight moral compass. Then all of a sudden she's been given more power than she can understand, than she can comprehend, and she's going into these berserk displays of power and she doesn't understand how or why. That's why she's afraid of herself.

Maybe Burgrar third. He's just silly.

Actually, maybe Melissa third. I just haven't written her in a while.

Or Cornflake. I never got to write him at all.

Your favorite characters in general, both to work with or to read about?

I'll never count Etiyr as mine. [color=#ffffff](Damn right you won't.)[/font]

Other favorite characters: Sonora is a dear, COFCA is still one of my favorite ones to write for, V'rmyn was always a pleasure to read...I am expressing a preference to characters of the blobby, amorphous type am I. AMP was also fun to read and write, though I'm still not doing well on beating the amorphous blob criterion. Eh, I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Slipping in a thousand Quantos references was also fun.

How about favorite NPCs?

Ohhhhhh boy. If I talked about my favorite NPCs it would be pretty clear they were practically PCs. Barry Barnes and that pet show owner in TV land were two of my favorites to write, especially as they succumbed to the corruptions of their channels. The Gagliardis were also especially fun for me to write! Those crazy Italians. And doing the mythology for the Godsworn Valley, now there was a show. Or will be. That post's not done yet.

What was your favorite round?

Godsworn Valley, straight up. Three lines in and I was all 'let's roll, mentlegen'.

And for something a bit more in-depth, perhaps: Are there any rounds you've been in that you think you'd handle differently (as in, significantly changing the basic plot you went with) if you had to do them again? Or, is there a round in another battle that you would have particularly liked to use one of your characters in?

Eta Carina.

Yeah.

Basically, anything that was not what I did.

Like fuck. Seriously.

And as for transplanting my characters, I'm not sure...I'd have liked to see how Grace Grey did on more battlefield locations, or at all, really.

What's your favorite thing that you wrote in a battle?

To pick a few: Gabe's deathpost, Kracht's deathpost, the Great-Deorgification of GC, and my first Zimmer post. If I wanted to choose one of them, I'd have to reread them, and... nah.

What are your favorite moments in battles, whether you're in them, hosting them, or just reading to see the crazy things other people are up to?

I think my favorite moment in a battle has to be Gestalt puppeteering the Sunset in Showtime!. Also the whole thing with Eureka and the crazy ghost train.

What was it that got you interested in joining a battle?

As I recall, I was distinctly uninterested in it, and then I got the idea for Jen and that damned me.

Who's your favorite of your own characters? Your favorite characters in general, both to work with or to read about? How about favorite NPCs?

Jen; to work with, Envoy, Six, Kracht, Gabe, Quantos, Tor; to read about, Syvex, Eureka, Vyrm'n, Maxwell Deakin, Gestalt, various others; Jorgensaard.

What was your favorite round?

That I wasn't in, Dimensional Speakeasy and the GradMass version of Misty Swamp. That I got to mess around in, New Battleopolis and Epigen.

Are there any rounds you've been in that you think you'd handle differently (as in, significantly changing the basic plot you went with) if you had to do them again?

Acidity City, for sure. In retrospect I apparently decided to do the exact opposite of what is supposed to make the Broderburgs interesting.

Or, is there a round in another battle that you would have particularly liked to use one of your characters in?

I can't think of a round offhand that wouldn't have been improved by 200mg of Scofflaw

hey im liveblogging gsb2 and ill probably finish that tmoz woo

battles are kind of objectively awful in universe you guys! what kind of horrors do you wish you could put your character into

surprise

Season 1 Word Counts, post by post.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0...sp=sharing

Added Season 2 to the above, and also streamlined it a little. Seasons 3, !, and ? should not take much longer to be up, what with being more recent.

Let me know if I can do anything to, I dunno, make it more organized or whatever.

Hey all,

So I was rummaging through my old PC's files and I found this gem from 2010:

GBPodcastBuild

It's about an hour long and features some terrible podcast design choices, but aside from some volume normalization I've uploaded it pretty much untouched.

Anyone interested in a little bit of GB nostalgia feel free to take a listen to, and post any of your favorite quotes, if you're so inclined. (There might be some great CardsAgainstGB lines in there as well)

That was a heck of an experience.

Guess what nerd forgot his password and also what email I registered with?

I'm between drafts in The Novel so I'm at least gonna get a GBS2 post out in the next few weeks.

nice

You're going to tell us when Novel is published, right?

Totes

Started doing a theme roundup bc Sanzh was worried about duplicates but since I've got shitall to do at work here's some GROCSTATS! Dates are European formatted because come on. I'll keep updating this as we go along!

THEME CHRONOLOGY

Format: Theme (Host) - Date

THREAD ONE

FLIGHT (Elpie) – 18.12.2013
Light and darkness (Dragon Fogel) – 14.1.2014
Sirens (Schazer) – 21.1.2014
Command (Mirdini) – 28.1.2014
Cannons (Gatr) – 04.02.2014
Form (Ixcaliber) – 11.02.2014
Nightmares (Truegreen) – 18.02.2014
Boreal (SleepingOrange) – 26.02.2014
All-Stars 1 (Schazer) – 05.03.2014
Redundancy (Bigro) – 13.03.2014
Noise (Paranoia) – 25.03.2014
Illusion (Sanzh) – 02.04.2014
Brew (Schazer) – 09.04.2014
Set (Robust Laser) – 17.04.2014
Dinosaurs (Bigro) – 30.04.2014
Nanomachines (Romy) – 08.05.2014
Marx (Chwoka) – 17.05.2014
All Stars 2 (Dragon Fogel) – 24.05.2014
Suit (SleepingOrange) – 02.06.2014
Vice (Mirdini) – 12.06.2014
Trains (Dragon Fogel) – 19.06.2014
Exoskeletal (Romy) – 28.06.2014
Angle (Schazer) - 06.07.2014
SWAG (Dalmationer) – 14.07.2014
Postal (Mirdini) – 15.09.2014
Fire (Truegreen) – 23.09.2014
Naked (Bigro) – 01.10.2014
Stoic (Sai) – 08.10.2014
Halloween (Dragon Fogel) – 19.10.2014
Hot Pockets (amosmyn) – 04.11.2014

THREAD TWO

Crown (Schazer) – 29.05.2015
Product (Sai) – 09.06.2015
Failure (Dragon Fogel) – 16.07.2015
Bun (Solaris) – 25.07.2015
Greater Arcana (Romy) – 06.11.2015
Exacting (Sai) – 25.11.2015
Commute (Schazer) – 04.12.2015
Shame (Dragon Fogel) – 11.12.2015
Consumerism (Bigro) – 21.12.2015
Plane (Agen) – 01.02.2016
Harsh (Schazer) – 28.03.2016
Puzzle (Dragon Fogel) – 06.05.2016
Thrall (Sai) – 25.05.2016
Heaven (Colby) – 16.06.2016
Mirror (Agen) – 26.07.2016
Draconic (Pharmacy) – 13.03.2017
Metamorphosis (Pharmacy) – 21.03.2017
Party (Dragon Fogel) – 28.03.2017
Poptart (Pharmacy) – 05.04.2017
All Stars 3 (Mirdini) – 12.04.2017
Mask (Ixcaliber) – 24.04.2017
Island (Not The Author) – 07.05.2017
Invert (Schazer) – 17.05.2017
HARDCORE (Bigro) – 26.05.2017
Tangle (Akumu) – 04.06.2017
Sanguine (Sanzh) – 20.06.2017
Pirate (Mirdini) - 30.06.2017

PROFILES SUBMITTED

Dragon Fogel – 48
Schazer – 38
Solaris – 29
Agen – 25
Ixcaliber – 24
Bigro – 23
Pharmacy – 16
Truegreen – 13
Gatr – 13
Mirdini – 12
Dalm - 8
Romy – 7
Sai - 6
Gnauga – 5
!? – 5
SleepingOrange – 4
Loather – 4
SupahKiven – 3
Icanhasdonut – 3
ICan’tGiveCredit – 3
Chwoka – 3(?)
Robust Laser – 2
Elpie – 2
Colby - 2
Jacquerel – 2
Reyweld – 2
Seedy – 2
Palamedes – 1
Breadproduct - 1
MaxieSatan - 1
Lankie - 1
Vancho1 – 1
Amosmyn – 1
Sanzh – 1
Benedict – 1
Akumu – 1
TimeothyHour - 1
One - 1

LONGEST PROFILE SUBMISSION STREAK (Hosting weeks count for continuing the streak, but not for the total)

1. Dragon Fogel – 48, Flight -> Sanguine (Host for 8 Weeks) [PARTICIPATED IN ALL ROUNDS TO DATE]
2. Solaris – 21, Command -> SWAG
3. Agen – 16, Mirror -> Sanguine (Host for 1 Week)
4. Schazer – 10, Draconic -> Sanguine (Host for 1 Week)
5. Pharmacy – 9, Mirror -> Sanguine (Host for 3 Weeks)

And here's all the themes without the extra stuff for ease-of-use, just copy-paste and word search the below text to find out if what you're thinking of has come up (will continue to be updated):

FLIGHT, Light and darkness, Sirens, Command, Cannons, Form, Nightmares, Boreal, All-Stars 1, Redundancy, Noise, Illusion, Brew, Set, Dinosaurs, Nanomachines, Marx, All Stars 2, Suit, Vice, Trains, Exoskeletal, Angle, SWAG, Postal, Fire, Naked, Stoic, Halloween, Hot Pockets, Crown, Product, Failure, Bun, Greater Arcana, Exacting, Commute, Shame, Consumerism, Plane, Harsh, Puzzle, Thrall, Heaven, Mirror, Draconic, Metamorphosis, Party, Poptart, All Stars 3, Mask, Island, Invert, HARDCORE, Tangle, Sanguine, Pirate

Hey folks 'sup.

Checked in on this forum after... a long time... decided to catch up on a few battles and threads and whatnot.

It looks like the Grand Battles are pretty much dead, as is this thread lol. But, in checking, I also see that all of my characters are in a pretty good position to be killed off, if they haven't already.

I... kind of feel like doing that. I don't know that I will actually do it, but, would anyone object?

Well past the era when it would have been really useful here's a document for easy access to formatting tags.

I'd like to make an argument why you should read my novella length Intense Struggle post.

Last year out of nowhere over the course of a couple of weeks I came to realize that my mum who I thought had been supportive of me since my transition had been harbouring significant anti-trans sentiments this entire time and never saw me as anything other than my agab.

In the month or so after that bob got eagle time tentatively up and running and I saw an opportunity to resume work on an Intense Struggle post I had started years ago. The basic conceit of the post is a complete rewrite of Aph's character through key moments of the battle and I thought I was almost done with the post until I decided I wanted some interstitial scenes to connect these pieces together.

In this interstitial sections I envisioned a rewritten backstory for Aph. Here she was being guided, trained to kill the Monitor (the host of IS) by an ever-present but never visible entity called The Ghost. As I wrote this post and it got longer and longer, something of my own life bled in there. I wrote about her loneliness, I wrote about her desire to live up to the expectations of her absent parent and her desire to be something else. I wrote about her desire to be seen, to be acknowledged for the person that she is.

In the post Enyo (her chosen name) gains some measure of understanding, some measure of compromise from her parental figure. In real life my mum has never used the correct pronouns for me, has never stood up for me when someone has misgendered me, has straight up told me that she believes I will always be male. Though I never intended to soften the character of the Ghost I couldn't help but offer Enyo some grace where I have had none.

This post is probably the best post, or at least my favourite post, I have ever written for Grand Battles and I doubt anybody will ever actually read it (due to the sheer length of the post and also the fact that it's so deep into the oldest unfinished grand battle). But that's okay. To a certain extent this post was only ever for me; an opportunity to indulge myself, give her a foxie friend, give her mask, give her a slice of battenberg and a creme egg and whatever the fuck else I felt like imprinting onto her at any given moment.