[doug*platypus]

Thanks for opening this thread, Rimbaud. Your Avatar kicks @ss! Sorry, but that's the only way to describe it. The Clash. Cool.

I greatly enjoy the RPG forum, and in general the range of different forums (fora?) on the Downs is one of the things that keeps me interested.

I am involved in four, soon to be five RPGs at the moment. I can write fairly quickly (although of course the slower posts are usually the best) and I have been logged in quite a lot since joining. But still, it is possible that spreading myself out around so many different RPGs lowers their quality. I wonder if other people are in a similar boat. I often see posts about how people are short on time, and can't help but feel that being involved in more than two at once might be a mistake. Is there any way that more emphasis can be placed on choosing one or two RPGs, and sticking with them? The Kidnapped! RPG in Rohan, for instance, has been idle for quite some time, while its posters all seem distracted by other RPGs.

I haven't played an RPG through to completion yet, and I hope that all the ones I am in are actually finished! I think that the best antidote for a stalled game might be the appropriate Innkeeper PMing those involved. Just to make the Innkeeper's life even busier!!

On the subject of Inns, I agree that the divisions are a great idea. But placing the Inns in a definite geographical location causes some (very minor) problems. For instance, in a foolish attempt at consistency, my Dwarf bard travelled from his home in Erebor, to Rohan, read a notice about an RPG, and travelled all the way back to Dale to participate in it. I would like to see RPGs starting off from the Inns, as was done in this case, but that can become a bit tricky given the fact that they all exist in one particular (sometimes inconvenient) location. I can't think of a solution, but maybe someone that agrees with this sentiment is able to.

Assuming that the Inns do in fact need a physical location, the Shire as the novice forum is IMO kind of self-defeating. Almost without exception, newbie characters are Elves, Half-Elves, warriors or vampires, with piercing eyes, mysterious pasts, and sacks full of enchanted weaponry. Perhaps Lórien or Rivendell might be a better place to start RPGers off in. Dale would probably be my choice for the next level instead of Rohan, mainly because of its racial melting pot. Gondor and Elvenhome both seem very apt.

I hope that I have raised some worthwhile points, especially as this post turned out longer than I had intended. Keep up the good work, mods, and thank you to everyone participating in RPGs for the opportunity to practice writing in such a crazy format!