Concerning CoG
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Hey folks. Need your honest opinion and also ideas. Eventhough there's a bit of a down in players at the moment, I'm still surprised to be the only faction member. There are a few players that are getting involved in CoG but not a lot.
I'd like to know your opinion and view on the faction. What do you think its about, how you think PC ran projects are like or what they should be like. What do yo expect from the faction.
I'd also like ideas on how to make projects move forward other then the boring material hunt. Or how to make those shoping list an interesting event for players. (DM opinion wanted on this too since you guys decide or not if the projects are a success in the end)
I love this faction and it has some great goals. One of them is rather secret so, you only find out when you join the faction.
Thanks for the help and opinons in advance. I'm not much of an active leader, I'm more of a follower or a passive leader at best, so its hard for me to keep things rolling and everyone interested. Any help if keeping this faction alive and interesting is appreciated. Its a great faction once you get to know it.
- Loony
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Well the
! is great and the way your player can go to achieve there crazy Mechanical goals.
! The problem i have with all factions share the same basic idea for shopping list when a dm not involved (I don't have a problem with gather X item or take screenshot of X creature if you kill it) But without a dm there are only so many areas you can explore. It all find and great but you can only see the Swamps or the Haunted halls or Hullack etc so many times before it loses interest of just wandering around.
! I actually do like a faction with a rival faction as well so at least we have some PC conflicts when the Dms are not around.
! A more showcase of your items is always good now and then :)
! I think of more ideas. -
The thing is, there are more Dms around to respond to "/dm I'm heading with party of XXX into the YYY to look for ZZZ"
Take advantage of this what ever DM faction you're in. I know I've been doing this with the Mage Guild, the Sheriffs and the Red Harts when I can. Sadly a number of these requests have been when I have already been handling a quest for another party.
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1. I believe the CoG's neutral political stance does not make enough excitement and intrigue for players. I am well aware that the CoG is an adventuring faction, not a political one, but one can only do so much with exploring the Hullack or Bhersken Point on the 130th time. My CoG character tried to create controversy by dabbling in infernalism, Lyss worship and siding against Kilgrave. At the time, the faction did not take such a positive view on these things and my direction with them stalled.
2. I believe the "secret project" needs to be made public in order to create controversy and conflict with existing factions. And once that happens, I believe CoG will be forced to take an ethical side and fight for their projects and beliefs. This will create some motivation for faction members and their allies. I know CoG's secretive methods and ulterior motivations would raise more than a few eyebrows!
3. I believe new CoG projects should be done and made public much sooner than they currently are. New weapons, gear and trinkets should be easier to produce (as opposed to spending months having to find 100 celestial gems etc) before one item can be created. If new and unique projects could be rolled out for various good (and not so good) purposes, than more folks would utilize CoG's resources and inventiveness.
4. Touching on point #3, I think CoG would be open to creating perhaps a "super weapon" such a bomb that could be used against dragons, giants or even to blow a hole in the Underdark. Imagine if word spread that the Sheriffs were using CoG to build massive fire bomb devices to burn down the Hullack in one day! Druid, rangers, woodsfolk, lycans, elves etc would immediately become enemies of the Sheriffs and CoG, to the point of violence. Players need to think BIG.
5. Hint of Insanity needs to return to CoG and run more adventures. I always had a blast on his events. In fact, CoG needs serious DM love to help get their spark going.
I enjoyed CoG when I was a member, but I think the faction needs to start operating outside of its comfort zone and make public it's REAL motivations for being in Arabel. Suddenly, people will take notice and Arabel will have a new perspective.
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I feel CoG has great potential as a faction. Sadly, the players have been often in so different timezone that I have not managed to get ICly aware of the faction much.
I agree with Khamal that CoG should inspire conflict more in some way. For example building something massive that would inflict serious damage to some other faction, whether they realize it or not. This would force the other factions to take stronger relation to them, thus making those factions interact more and at the same time forcing / offering other PCs to take sides in the conflict.
Of course not all agree with the conflict bringing intrigue, but for me slight boost to that area for CoG would make it more interesting.
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1. I believe the CoG's neutral political stance does not make enough excitement and intrigue for players. I am well aware that the CoG is an adventuring faction, not a political one, but one can only do so much with exploring the Hullack or Bhersken Point on the 130th time. My CoG character tried to create controversy by dabbling in infernalism, Lyss worship and siding against Kilgrave. At the time, the faction did not take such a positive view on these things and my direction with them stalled.
I completly argee with this, That was one of my problems for my burn out it didn't even feel like a an exploration it was (Do this quest everyday for your 1% chance to get X item)
5. Hint of Insanity needs to return to CoG and run more adventures. I always had a blast on his events. In fact, CoG needs serious DM love to help get their spark going.
HOI Quests were inventive and had silly Fun humor in them.
I love COG i do but it needs to have more then a crazy Eberon flavor to it.
It, Sure having an evil factions all nice and good, but if you never leave the sewers, or never promote evil openly nothing gets accomplished Think the COG need to do that to. "maybe not revealing the faction -Spoiler- but at least a few things and making a few enemies hell, Anti Mage guild because they rely on magic to much "Dumb wizard" is fine. -
Too many crazy, zany little people. Of course not everyone in C0G is, but there's only so much fun to be had talking to another halfing or gnome having a sugar rush while on a power trip. It is a great idea for a faction and yet I just can't take it seriously 90% of the time. At times it just comes off as an entirely silly faction - hopefully this won't be spoiler any longer - I remember a proposal made to Easthaven once by C0G that wasn't just bold, it was presumptuous to the extreme. I didn't expect any different of the faction at the time but at the same time, it would have been better if involving them did not include just dropping into a world of silly to accomodate them.
A good direction to try, I think, would be to pull away from so much project work and regent-harvesting and put more focus on aiming to get C0G products out there and a part of everyday life. Things like a trio of particularly bold C0G members claiming they will reach the top of the western stormhorns while wearing nothing but a Hotseat (incase of emergency) and using only licensed C0G merchandise; no magic, no fighting themselves, simply showing how even the most untalented person can do great and mighty things simply by investing in C0G ingenuity. Just make project bars fill up due to "public backing" when C0G members pull off stunts like this to show how effective their goods are rather than raiding Bhreskan Point so many dozens of times in search of yet another golem leg, or whatever else.
You could organise competitions even. There was meant to be a sort of Challange of Faith in Easthaven before, you could still attempt something similiar yourself: knight, wizard, priest, woodsman and someone heavily outfitted in C0G gear all facing a series of tasks to prove who is the best.
I always prefer doing something when I know what I'm after will be there at the end, be it a goblin army or a strange magical site or whatever. Shopping lists just get me down because there's nothing more depressing than wasting your time when already feeling guilty about how much you play CoA, and inevitably shopping lists value the end result more highly than how long or how you end up getting it.
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I always thought cog was handicapped by the fact everyone sees it as nothing serious and too gnomey/cartoony. I would never join the faction myself, for the single fact that I would be trying to outlaw/cull the use of magic and piss off the mage guild constantly. It would seem to me their goals should be harnessing the power of null magic zones making them portable for them to place anywhere. Therefore making people flock to them for their conventional magical needs- which would cause a typical monopoly of "magical" power.
But, meh, its fucking gnomes…
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I've loved my interatction with COGers and all of their players are supper cool OOC. that being said, perhaps its time to move on.
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The CoG still has potential, I think all it needs are a few more people in it with serious characters, so it dosnt keep getting goofier and goofier. If the factions still there once my current char is dead, I'll be joining up.
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I had a lot of positive interactions with Mibsybell of CoG on more than one of my characters. The reason for this was that yes, she was nuts, but she also always had a scheme going in which she tried to involve non-Cog members. She spoke to my Red Heart and a few other players about creating an air ship for transporting supplies, especially to cities that are hard to reach over under siege. She also tried to rent out some of the more powerful Gondsman, and tried to work out a deal with the Red Hart, the Heralds, and the City Guards.
And yes, she was a heck of a salesman.
Unfortunately, my interaction with other CoG members lately has only been offers to buy Arc Casters and Tea Pots, even when I have tried to engage them in plots. It's hard when you're the only on online in your TZ in your faction, I had this problem with Leona, but the only solution is to try and draw other folks into your quests and plots. The challenge is to come up with something other than a shopping list.
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Honestly? I find it one of the worst factions we have ever had on CoA.
The faction came out of nowhere, seems silly to the extreme to the outside world, and while most older players know ooc they have some form of alterier motive, I have never had a character even get close to optaining a hint of what that secret is.
I had the same problem with Deadlocks Nowhere faction. SO much potential, too much secretive, and to the outside world, silliness.
Sure, I am all for fun and giggles. I love it. I enjoy having the occasional side kick who can make me laugh both ic and ooc. But I have always avoided COG because it seemed too silly to fit in.
Finally, it seems forced. They havent "earned" their place, they have no history of note, and seem to be a project gone wrong.
I am sorry to be harsh, and this is in no way aimed at the roleplaying skills of others, because while you lot have been silly, you are the best of the best. But… COG imo just never had their place.
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The faction attracts gnomes and halflings, for whatever reason, probably due to the Gond reverence. And by association, gnomes and halflings are seen as "silly" and eccentric by the human peoples. This stereotype has been reinforced with several recent CoG characters.
I have always viewed the faction as being an "outsider", and one who is out of touch with Arabel politics and culture. The players have never seemed to integrate CoG's mission into the minds of a typical Arabellan. I have not seen CoG play much of a deciding role in any recent shakeup (other than the Lyss/ Tymora event - but even that was later covered up with very few knowing what actually happened…)
I reiterate that CoG needs to make some bold proclamations of its true mission and begin to start pulling people into helping it come to fruition. For the most part, only the faction members have ever pushed forward its plots due largely because it can't share it with anyone on the outside.
CoG still has the reputation of being all about golems and teapots. I have seen the faction from the inside as a member and I know there are so many interesting directions it can go if only a truly bold player(s) is brave enough to join Loony (Ruby Sandneedle) in making it happen.
Between inception to final product, the Iced Tea devices took MONTHS to realize. By the time it finally came around, no one noticed because the characters involved from the beginning were all gone. Who is going to want to get involved in making a Hullack Bomb when Iced Tea was such a chore to get off the ground?
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(other than the Lyss/ Tymora event - but even that was later covered up with very few knowing what actually happened…)
"I honestly wished when this was going on, we were being Forced by Sheriffs, PDs, all others to pick a side i personally as a character wanted to take a side and help the PD but it felt so blocked i always hate it that we wanted to compared to the Kest brothers"
We got a giant factory cool golems, Explosions, Let's use em, Let's have a couple serious characters in there. other then merchants and crazy silly gnomes stereotype.
[waits for Wab beating dead horse image]
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Mrm.
Well, people. I think CoG is needing some thoughts comming from sources non-DnD.
I have no real idea what is this secret project, but I have had interation with them since they started, and even before with CRP.
Anyway, I think some serious and very interesting things were done with CoG, and even the crazyest character had moments of dept.
Of course, many of them are easy to giggle and stuff, but you do not understand how scary it is. Truelly. I'll not name you, you know who you are. I really hope you still vremember Reno.
But, the neutrality of CoG is not their weakness. It is actually their greatest source of conflict and problems.
Like when one of their members sold their weaponry to the Orcan Army that attacked Thunderholme.
They deal with a different source of power, that is so realated to our real lifes we sometimes get blind by its perspective. The danger of technology and how easily it can be spread. And in a medieval setting, how strange is tu use a source you never know exactly how it works. (Even people with UMD know a tiny bit about magic)
Also, about outside sources to CoG inspiration could be Mage: The Ascension (Technocracy, Sons of Aether), Mage: the Awakening (Free Council), Changeling: The Dreaming (Nockers, Goblins)
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I am personally working on a new concept for the CoG. So try and keep it alive till then Loony!
And I'll give you lots o' hugs n' kisses.
watsurnumber?
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Thank you everyone for your opinions and ideas. Makes a few things clear.
no more silliness. More seriousness about the faction. Please folks, dont lets this stop you from joining. Anyway is just me now. Bring in your serious character!
get the projects out there more so people can get interested. Think I've a few ideas how. Might also leak more about one of our secret project. Get rumors started.
start some conflict. Tried to get hostile with the mage guild a while back but it lead nowhere. And oddly enough, druids dont hate us with a passion. There was one who had the guts to but now he's gone…
I'd like to clear up a few confusion also. CoG isnt all gnomes and Gond. If you walk in the open to public section of the Factory, you'll see we got human workers. Our chief inventor is a half-elf. Our finance guy is a gold dwarf. And in the first team of CoGers, there was a half orc. And he was a barbarian/sorcerer of all things. Brondo was fun. He was sort of our guinea pig to >_>. Since then, we've had a human PC, a dwarf one and a few gnomes. And Ruby's a halfling. Oh we had a Jinx too. You know those gnomish tieflings?
As for deity, mostly its Gond and Oghma but also any god of knowledge or creation. Some possibilities include Gond, Oghma, Milil, Deneir, Lathander could work since he'S all for new ideas and sutff. Waukeen for the merchant side of things. Shaundakul could work if we got for building travel equipment and big things like the skyship. Tempus to an extend for the creation of weapons of war. For dwarves we got Dugmaren Brightmantle, Moradin, Dumathoin probably. No idea for elves though. For halflings, Cyrrallalee might work not entirely sure though. Mulhorand might go for Thoth or maaaaybe Geb. I'm sure you can think of a few more gods that would fit.
If you think you can bring news ways to CoG, dont hesitate. Come in and help make things change and become even better. There is a lot of potential, I'd hate to see it go away.
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no more silliness. More seriousness about the faction.
It's sort of hard to take it serious when you call them teapots…
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This is from my perspective as a player, not a DM.
I loved the flavour and RP of the CoG faction, but always wished there was way more tension with the Mage's Guild, Druids, and probably most Clerics, and was a bit disappointed that I didn't see much from all sides. Some, but not much.
Maybe this anti-magic vibe could be more explicit from CoGgers and vice versa from Mage's Guild? Maybe we need to script a little portable anti-magic zone for CoGgers to really piss off Mages? I don't know. Open to suggestions!
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It would seem to me their goals should be harnessing the power of null magic zones making them portable for them to place anywhere. Therefore making people flock to them for their conventional magical needs- which would cause a typical monopoly of "magical" power.
This is a great suggestion, since CoG seems like Magic for Dummies. If they could stop all real magic with making arabel a No magic zone. Then their "magic" will be the only magic.