Qi Discussion

[Kevala Katashi]

Okay, this is a topic that seems to keep a lot of people divided. Everyone has their own opinions on the matter, and due to bad past experiences on other boards, a lot of people seem to shy away from the idea of Qi. I myself am on the fence concerning the issue. I see it as both a great character development tool, and a unique and interesting way to develop board story lines. ( To a certain degree. ) On the flip side I can see how, if abused, it can become more of a hindrance than anything.

Now, I have been undecided on whether or not to implement Qi on this board, and I think that the best way to handle it is to offer up a few suggestions on how I would want it to work, and see what everyone has to say, as well as offer up any suggestions that you guys might have. So, here we go...:

• Qi would be limited to the body. Meaning there would be NO ranged Qi's. A lot of Qi's would be limited to touch.
  
  Example: Person A has a Qi that allows them to read a person's memories. So Person A would have to touch Person B in order for their Qi to be activated. Once the touch is severed, the affects end.
  
  
• There would be NO stat gains from Qi's. None what so ever. They should not be something that makes a person's strength multiply or makes them ten times faster than they originally were. No, they are instead something that is just for character development/growth.
  
  
• There would be a stat loss for using your Qi. Meaning that to activate your Qi it would take, for example -5 CHA in order to use it, and for each post after that, there would be a deduction. Once your CHA is used up, your Qi is used up and can no longer be used within that post.
  
  
• Before you are able to have a Qi, it would have to be approved by staff, and they will impose limits upon it to keep it from being OP. There are likely to be personal side effects to, one, because I don't think that it is logical to have something that puts such strain on the body without there being any side effects. Also, I think that if there are complications due to having a Qi, it better establishes its purpose....character development, making it something that the character has to adapt to, has to learn to work with, etc.

So, those are just a few of my ideas, but I really want to know what you guys think. Just post any comments or suggestions here, and we will take it from there.

Thanks <3

Sarah

[Cael Seran]

^ Also split on the matter, would be entirely fine without Qi. If we did ever employ it later on down the road or now I would say I agree with the presented suggestions. I would also employ probably something of a spirit quest for a character to go through to unlock their Qi. Something like BIG. Like the staff running it discusses an activity with the member as to what they like to happen, limitations on what they don't want occurring, etc etc. Also I like the idea of something move base would be cool (Techniques and the like).

[Legion]

I draw a hard line in the sand on qi. Cross it and i'm gone.

... just don't ask where the line is...

in all honestly i couldn't care less, so long as the qi isn't ranged, and very probably only directly effects the player.

[Foxhound]

>_>

I would have a very cruel penalty on Qi regardless what it does.

Oh? You wanna read memories!?

-1 to all stats.

Sure, I agree it can be a useful tool but I would rather people be reluctant to use such a skill instead of FLAMING ARMS every thread >_>. At least that's my opinion on it :3

EDIT: Permanently btw. You can have your cool little skill but using it will force you to pay DA PRICE FOR IT! :3

[Legion]

pay a price, such as an Obeisance? =P

[Foxhound]

Yush. I wasn't thinking in terms of DtB but yeah lol. I suppose that's right. ^_^

[Cael Seran]

Apr 28, 2012 11:43:36 GMT -6 Foxhound said:

>_>

I would have a very cruel penalty on Qi regardless what it does.

Oh? You wanna read memories!?

-1 to all stats.

^ Agreed, permanently on some but not all Qi's. Ie you have a fairly powerful one like you go berzerk it makes sense that you have permanent damage.

[Legion]

yeah, for example the qi i use on pat. Allows him to puppet his body with his mind, "will to fight", whatever. But whatever injury he's using that to overcome is generally exacerbated. For example, broken bone, that causing the broken bone to continual cut him where it's broken. Torn/cut muscle, ligament, etc; tear gets widened with increased use. Sure, provided he's conscious and alive he can fight but he's only hurting himself worse to do so.

[Cael Seran]

Mhmmm if I were to take into consideration the option used prior "Reading Memories" I'm not sure I would make it permanent but it would reduce your INT and WIS for the thread as well as incapacitate you for a time leaving you vulnerable.

[Legion]

yea i think reading memories would have to have some pretty serious ramifications, seeing as it's essentially metagaming. That's if it were allowed at all.

[Aryanna Katashi]

As somebody who has had a Qi of sorts that was exactly that "Reading Memories"...I can say that there is potential for permanent damage. Of course, my character Izzy was able to manipulate memories, meaning she could wipe them clean or create them if she wished, though typically she only ever read other people's memories in order to gain information. The side effects of this ( and keep in mind I am rather cruel when it comes to things such as this ) were:

• Every memory she took in, became her own. Meaning that if she read a person's mind, no matter how small or how large the memory, she could never forget what she saw. It was permanently implanted into her mind.
  
• During any memory she was reading, she felt the same things the person felt when living though it. For instance, one time she accidentally read the memory of a guy being blown up who was cursed with the inability to die. She felt every single bit of it, and was never able to forget it.
  
• The more memories she took in, the more of her own she began to lose. She would take in other peoples, and her brain, being like a computer of sorts, began to ran out of room, so it began to delete memories from her past.
  
• For awhile, she was unable to control it, only able to focus it upon her hands, but unable to touch a person flesh to flesh with them for risk of jumping into their head.
  
• After a long period of time and use, her mind began to confuse her own memories with those of others, creating moments where she would forget who she was and believe she was the other person.
  
• The memories ran through her head constantly like somebody put youtube on permanent loop in her brain. Even when she slept she would dream of them.

So I agree with there being potential for permanent damage and I agree that the penalty should be spread out over various stats. But I also agree that those stats should be determined upon what the Qi actually does and which stats it is most likely to affect.

[Kevala Katashi]

Going to leave this open for discussion for another 24 hours. After that I will make my decision based on everything that has been discussed here. So if you have anything to add to the matter, please try and get it in before I make my final choice. Either way I go, I will always be willing to listen to what you have to say on the matter, just right now is the more crucial time concerning this topic.

[Alistair Warden]

If its cool with everyone I'd like to request calling to an open vote. Basically say a yes or no to Qi. And if yes provide a limitation or lack thereof as well as a reasoning behind your choice either way you decide.

Mine is, No.

I think Qi is cool and all however I think on 1033 without Qi we were doing just fine without it, the induction of such was just a slippery slope that can fall out of control. However if the majority of people or Sarah decides to have it I would not think it wrong but would like some strong standards to be put on them.

[Kevala Katashi]

I agree with Ryan on this. I think that you guys should vote. I myself am of course staying impartial on the matter until everyone has had a chance to weigh in. I will however post what rules I would implement should we decide to allow Qi on this site, as well as what I view to be valid reasons for there not to be. I know that I posted some in the beginning, but after reading everyone's views on the matter, I have been able to clarify a few things in my own mind regarding the issue.

Do not take this as a sign that I have already made up my mind on the matter, because that is quite simply not the case. It is just that this topic is one of the main ones that has been weighing upon my mind since I created this site and I have put a lot of thought into the matter. I am simply posting this so that you are all able to make the most informed vote possible and so that there is no room, later down the road, for anyone to say that they did not have all the facts.

Should Qi Be Allowed.....[/i]

I have made the decision, that should the vote turn toward the allowance of Qi on this site, that there will be very firm, strict rules put into place that WILL be abided by unless you wish to receive a rather strict punishment.

• There will be NO ranged Qi. I have said this before, but I want it to be perfectly clear. Qi, by definition, is something that stems from the energy that flows through every individual. It is personal and not something that should be allowed to leave your body and travel over any distance. This means that most Qi's would be restricted to touch alone, or if you had something like a fire ability, you would not be able to throw fire at anyone. It would have to remain on your person at all times.
  
  
• There will be absolutely NO stat gains. This rule will never change. There is nothing about Qi, if you think about it, that should really boost a person's stats. It is something that draws from a person's energy, their essence. Therefore, it essentially is draining you every time you choose to use it.
  
  
• There will be a stat reduction for use of your Qi. This will not always be CHA, though I know that is the most likely source that people tend to turn to. No, it would be based off of what the most logical area would be to have your Qi drain from you. For example, if you have a Qi that gives you the ability to read memories ( since this seems to be the one we are using most as an example here ) it would be something that would drain from either your INT or your WIS. Possibly both. For every post you use it, it drains from those select stats and once they have run out, the Qi is done, this would also mean that you yourself would be extremely weakened for the remainder of the fight. So if you have a Qi that drains your CON, and you run out, you are instantly K.O'd. No if, ands, or buts about it.
  
  
• For every Qi, there will be a harsh set of physical effects that will be imposed upon your character. These are not just limited to when you use your Qi but as a lasting affect. You have a mental Qi, it is going to mess with your mind and possibly create permanent damage in some way. You have a physical Qi, it is going to put harsh strain on your body, possibly resulting in causing physical health problems over an extended period of time. These are things that will be determined by staff before you are ever allowed to use your Qi and you will have to post them in your bio along with the description of your Qi.
  
  
• In order to get your Qi, your character would have to go through a mini quest in which you would be given a choice of two or three options on how you wish to go about it. Basically though, it would boil down to you choosing between some extremely dangerous, strenuous battle where your character is broken down and pushed to his/her absolute limit in order to unlock it......or your character essentially becomes a lab rat and is put through a very painful experiment in which they are injected with a serum that will unlock their Qi, but at the same time cause them great amounts of pain in the process, possibly making them sick for awhile afterwards.

Reasons I Can Understand to Not Allow Qi[/u]

• For those of us that were on 1033, the original site, we all know how smoothly things ran without Qi. There was less fighting and complaining to staff about fight threads, or abuse of power.
  
  
• It keeps everything on a seemingly more even playing field. Sadly, in the RP word, especially the XIN RP world, things will never be entirely even and fair, no matter how much I may try to make it so on this board. But I understand that some feel the use of Qi would create a massive imbalance.
  
  
• As Ryan said, it is a slippery slope to mess around with, and though I am confident that under the right conditions it would be possible to keep a good balance on things, there is still always going to be that risk of things getting out of hand.

So, now I am leaving it up to you guys. I know that this is a lot to read, and I apologize for that, but I have given you all the information that I possibly can so that you will be able to make a clear, informed, and competent decision on the matter. I trust you guys will be responsible in your decisions here.

I am going to go ahead and set the cut off time for this to be 11:00 P.M Central Standard Time today at which time I will post my decision on the matter.

Thanks Guys <333 [/font]

[Foxhound]

No.