It seems like there's a whole bunch of abandoned tech lying around that people are periodically digging up, things are generally sort of renaissancey as far as I know, but yeah, its plausible that this could be an artifact-fueled city. I think that could work without taking too much of the Academy's territory, and if there was a mix of spellcasters and artificers it'd be an interesting potential ideological conflict within the city.

I kind of love the heart idea. I'd support that. What would Anjo sacrifice? I feel like there's gotta be something, for parallelism.

I'd imagine the tech level is sort of like Numenera. Where it's not really that advanced, but some individuals have some quirky things that they abuse the hell out of, even if they use it incorrectly. Like someone found a high-level computer and uses it as a personal heater because they don't know any better.

I've read The Hermit's Burden and Aloise Hartley sounds like a great fit for the set. Anybody else read it? Unfortunately I don't think there's a character page for Aloise, so this description will have to do for the story-adverse of you:
Aloise Hartley is a planeswalker specializing in artifice. She's also capable of flight, teleportation and healing spells. I strongly suspect she is primarily with a little . Aloise has a strong desire to help people, but is somewhat naive and lacks social skills.
All you M:EMbers out there are free to correct whatever I got wrong.

So anybody else have an opinion on whether Aloise should be in the set?

Here's her page: http://wiki.nogoblinsallowed.com/index. ... se_Hartley but yes, that's about a solid summary of her character, besides the fact that she doesn't so much specialize in artifice as she dabbles in just about anything that catches her attention.

There's a few other Aloise stories listed in her profile page. A Bet On Kindness probably has the single clearest explanation of her philosophy:

I've read to this entire thread just because Gruff was mentioned. If you're going to use Gruff, I'd be flattered, but it will mean that I'm going to keep a close eye on what happens to him.

At this point this entire project is too far along for me to develop an emotional investment in it, so I won't contribute much. But Keeper is right, someone needs to compile all the info into a new document, and preferably create a new thread with that so the conversation can finally move on. Three pages on unnecessary ideas like "suddenly ELDRAZI" bogs things down. (The reasons it's a bad idea are that A: it adds little to the setting, B: you should try to have the major players around for your plot -the Eldrazi are unavailable because of reasons- and C: if you have a good idea, you should exploit that for all its worth. Your good idea is a standstill plane and two powerful dragons. Work with just those elements as much as you can.)

I'm not sure how this whole thing is set up, but the next time you start an ambitious project like this you're going to want to put someone in charge of stuff like this. You need someone willing to say: "Let's move on." A good tactic I've employed is just compiling all the good information. It refocuses the discussion.

Also, at some point (maybe now?) you should probably split up the people involved in the flavor-side of things. Just designate a couple of people to each side of the world and let them run wild. Then bring the things together and find touchstones you can develop into a history. This will give each part of the world a distinct feel and if you do it right it will feel very natural. Alara is a good example of this sort of thing. Be sure to have your races down before splitting up, because having the same races (or at least similar races) will make sure the two halves (and the terminator?) have at least some things in common. This is something I feel I did wrong on Sertaria and it makes the different parts of that world feel unconnected (although that was the point, to some extent). Again, Alara is a good example of this. You have Aven on Bant and Kathari on Grixis, Leotau on Bant and Nacatl on Naya. It's touches like that which give your plane both a mechanical and flavorful coherence.

I volunteer to be on the flavour high council. Any other takers? I also don't really care which part of the world I end up focusing on.

I'm cool with flavor.

I don't mind helping out.

Alright then, the team is assembled. I guess that means we should like, vote on things or something.

What do you all think of what I wrote up for Maraka? I think it's neat, but I don't know if it jives too well with the set. I was wondering if it was worth keeping.
What sort of cultural background do you see us drawing for for the set? I was thinking Persian myself, but I'm hardly stuck on the idea.
Finally, the plane still needs a name.

Don't forget- all the important stuff is on the wiki!

I'm imagining a giant tower in Frostwynd called the Vea Stelladium. It's the Starstill equivalent of the Great Pyramids insofar as no-one knows exactly how such ancient peoples were able to construct it, but it's been around as long as anyone can remember. It sends out waves of magical energy and stuff, and may or may not be connected to the Starstill. See Thrumming Stone for an idea of what I'm getting at flavorfully.

@Parad: I'm okay with that. Without more detail though, I can't honestly say I'm super excited though.
Just what size is it? And how wide around? What does it's magic do?

Well it could be the home of this people I just invented in the blue and black threads called the Lequivari.

Honestly I'm just in the mood to come up with names. I was trying to think of a name for the plane when I came up with Vea Stelladium, but it sounded more like an ancient arcane home base of artifice than the plane itself.

So I'm saying its magic slowly turns you into an artifact creature.

Velnaria.

Random name for the plane: Lunanoir? I am leaning towards the icy side being more technologically advanced while the burning side is more based upon magical workings.

Just popping in to say hello again!

I'm glad you enjoyed The Hermit's Burden, TP.

Keeper's right that she doesn't specialize in artifice, per se, just that she dabbles in whatever catches her attention. Mostly, she's an explorer, and that includes seeing new things, meeting new people, and finding stuff to fiddle with!

And the quote Keeper linked outlines her philosophy and outlook on life very well - She refuses to be afraid of anything, whether or not it is dangerous. She is however, not stubborn or foolhardy, she just understands that fear inhibits personal growth and progress.

If you would like to put Aloise into the set, let me know! I can give pointers for the PW card, and may even be convinced to write a short story about her actions here.

Outside of that, however, I'll probably have little involvement. Feel free to ask me any questions here regarding Aloise, or send me a PM.

I would very much like to put Aloise in the set. I think we should start a bonus round to put here in the set, I'll just need Parad's authority to do it.
I was thinking maybe each ability could interact with a different card type. I know Aloise is , but if she were to get a one or two color card, which colors would she be?

Given how often he's missing, I suggest PO nominate a vice-chairman to the project or something.

Alright, for reference, this is the card that I designed for Aloise when I submitted her to the M:EM:


Of course, the card had no bearing on her being voted in so the point is moot, but it gives us insight into the sort of abilities Aloise should have. Namely, anything that can be flavorfully tied to exploration - of course, given the nature of the set, there is no reason we can't move to something that focuses on another aspect of her character, for instance, if we wanted to play up her interaction with the separate factions as they collaborate on the moon project...



(Keep in mind I'm just spitballing ideas, these are by no means final drafts or must-haves)

The above card is group-huggy and encourages enormous (creature based) board states, while strategically discouraging combat. This represents her willingness to work with anyone or anything towards a common goal.

Or, if the moon project is getting scrapped, and you'd rather have her show people that they should not let their fear of the dragons rule their lives, you could have something like this...



This would focus more on her willingness to protect (her first +1) and encourage (her second +1) others. The static ability is simply oozing flavor, and her ultimate would represent her final triumph over fear.

ALL THAT BEING SAID (I know I'm rather long winded occasionally), you have asked what colors Aloise would be if she were only two. I believe I can answer that questions, but it may not be... adequate.

See, when I was first conceptualizing Aloise, I was not really looking to make a Bant 'walker. I believe, originally, I wanted her to be White and Green. Unfortunately, things got sort of... out of hand during the beginning stages of character creation, and I became enamored with the idea of a fearless, innocent, light-in-the-darkness character that not only is incapable of passing by someone in need but has the boundless curiosity necessary to notice when someone is. After much though, I came to the conclusion that the character I was creating was Blue as well, but just to be sure, I ran Aloise through my head in each dual-color combination.

White/Blue was far too dispassionate for someone like Aloise. She's not a Red character by any means, but she has to get her love of exploration and the outside from somewhere.

White/Green failed to encompass her inquisitive mind - here, she becomes more like Ajani and less like the bubbly, optimistic young woman we know her to be. Without Blue, she loses the progressive drive that pushes her to find new things and meet new people.

Blue/Green is just... not Aloise. At her core, Aloise is a very, very, White-aligned walker. If you lose White, you lose her central belief system and selfless willingness to befriend and help anyone she meets.

So, individually, none of those color combinations really worked for me flavorfully.

Here's my question for you, then, TP: Does Aloise have to be two colors? If so - Why? IF we were to choose two colors, I would probably go with White/Green, but I'm not certain that's a good idea. I would rather, after all, that Aloise not be molded to the needs of the set - she's a planeswalker, after all. She has adventures and a life independent of this world.

Lastly, (I promise, I'm almost through T_T) I would like to make sure that Aloise is not, um, misused. She is a character very near and dear, not only to my heart, but to the majority of the EM. I am requesting that I be given the opportunity to veto any decisions regarding Aloise, and to have the final say in the card that eventually makes it into the set. I SINCERELY doubt there will be any problems - you friendly folk down here at YMTC are better at design than I, after all - but given the subject, I'd really prefer to keep track of the proceedings.

If that's not possible, then I'm sure we can work something out! I'm not going to shoot down any ideas without an explanation, and most certainly not without a suggestion. She's just important to us over at the Expanded Multiverse, and since she is my character, that makes her my responsibility.

Sorry for rambling! And thank you for taking the time to read what I have to say.

The two colour thing came from looking at her card on the wiki and realizing that it would be very hard to cast outside of a multicolour set. We can always justify a 2 colour walker the same way WOTC does did Sarkhan the Mad or Sorin, Lord of Innistrad. The card represents Aloise's goal and mindset coming to the plane.
I don't see any problem with you having veto power.

So, TP, you seem to sort of be guiding flavor development. I think that Yxoque's suggestion that we divide into two teams and just... produce material en mass rather than waiting around for approval of each individual piece. I'm in, and it looks like you've got your other people, so... how do you want to divide things up?

We need to pin down the base creature types before dividing things up. I vote:

Characteristics:
G: Elves (plus small Treefolk, plants, saprolings, usual beasts)
W: Kithkin (plus some birds, elementals, maybe spirits?)
U: Vedalken (bleed white) (plus small elementals)
B: Zombies/Skeletons (plus... ugh, I don't know, what's good for small black filler creatures?)
R: Viashino (bleed green and black) (plus small elementals, maybe jackals, other random desert animals)
Midrange:
G: Treefolk and Yeti
W: Loxodons
U: Elementals? (plus Haints)
B: ???
R: Ogres (plus elementals, Haints)
Iconics:
G: Elder Land Wurms (plus antlions)
W: Angels
U: Sphinxes
B: Demons (plus antlions and sandwurms)
R: Phoenixes??

This gives us a wide range of sapient races: Humans, Kithkin, Vedalken, Viashino at characteristic tier, Loxodons, Treefolk, Yetis, and Ogres at midrange, and Elder Land Wurms (maybe), Angels, Sphinxes, and Demons at iconic tier. With these in place the individual teams can consider A. whether each race is present on their side and B. how those races exist on either side of the planet, how many subtribes there are, &c.

We also have this range of Planeswalkers currently:

Aloise Hartley in GWU
Gruff in R

Do we want a third Planeswalker native to Starstill?


Also, I think what you wrote for Makara is good, TP, but I think maybe we want to specify that out of the band of life circling the globe which is named Makara, the Makara Forest itself isn't the whole thing. That allows us to do a bit more with that region than we could otherwise.