Shenanigan based covenant [planning phase]

Alright: It sounds like a Shenanigan based covenant has enough support to give it a go. Anyone looking to see what this is about, I've maintained the original intro information below and we are still recruiting (and always will be likely). For those of you who have already showed interest, note the "to do" list below before I make a dedicated covenant thread


Hello all,
As some of you may recall, back in the day I organized and ran a covenant of for Peddlers. Due to a variety of factors, this covenant never really took off (primarily since we have an entire section to helping each other on the forum perhaps ). However, lately I've started missing one aspect of this covenant a great deal and think I wanna try it again, but with more focus.


If you dared to click the link above, you'll notice on the front page of that thread we have a recap of a covenant event. That's what I miss from the peddler days. I'm hoping that with the surge of new members since my last attempt, it may work out better than before.

Anyway, if you were around the forums then you may remember I tried a few events in which the goal was to invade and prank. Holidays and the like were the common goal of organized events.

Most recently, apart from the covenant itself, a few members took the lead and tried to organize a Christmas event. I don't recall any participation, but perhaps it didn't garner the correct support.

Anyway, what I'd like to know, is how many people would like to take part in such a covenant?

For a better idea of what to expect, the most successful event is linked here. I will take a look at this thread ASAP and make a short directory of highlights of that event so people have a better idea of what I'm talking about.



Directory for the linked event:
-Page 1- rules, costume suggestions, prank and game guide
-Page 2- official event propaganda here
-Page 3- first event story
member supports the concept with a costume picture
-Page 4- ongoing results of first attempts
-Page 5- ongoing attempts and results of event
-Page 6- Personal results of best invasions here. Detailed stories and video
-Page 7- Take some creative licensing with a Beastie Boys song
event ends



TO DO-
Name: Karma's Gremlins

Hierarchy:
GremKing = Leader and Grand Poobah
Speaker = Organizer of events, giver of gremlin reputation during events, possibly a fluid title
GremLore = still need a gremlin name but the writer of our story
Gremlins = able to bestow small rep tokens similar to gremlin rep, all parties have this title by default
GremLites = temporary gremlins able to participate in a single event, but cannot bestow gremrep, designated by the speaker for that event


Lore:
Loose or former association with Velka, offshoot of justice concept in game.
Affinity for KJ (looks and mischief wise) but not mandatory to use

Basic Tenets:
have fun
balance the cosmos, hurt those designate as enemies, have fun with everyone else

I would love to take part in such a covenant! Why, just yesterday I was was using the Cat Cov ring to invade people and run around with the Gold Hemmed Set and a Skull Lantern, beckoning people through the forest.
I even was so bold as to run around in le buff with naught but a sack on my head to entertain the hosts.
Sadly my fun was ended when a Red Phantom decided to end my life with his rather inappropriatly sized axe.

Get it on.

Lez do eet....

Four people? Let's roll!

First order of business:

Our name

skarekrow13 wrote:Four people? Let's roll!

First order of business:

Our name

- Lorderan Bardic Troope
- The Court of Jesters
- Tribunal of Troll

Hmmm.....what kind of flavor for the name?

Spicy

WhatDoesThePendantDo? wrote:Spicy

Spicy? Then how about...
- The Spice Merchants of the North
lol

Bhut jolokia?

or is that too spicy?

The Popcorn Pepper Salesmen of the Second Play

I have to join this covenant.

Let's see, we need a name that characterizes whimsy with a touch of malevolence.

Perhaps something with Gremlins.

Like great hollow gremlins (we sprung forth from one of the most mischievous areas)
or
Greatsword gremlins (that would limit equipment though to some extent)

Hmmmm....what other beings are known for mischief or pranks

edit: glad to have you Grin

http://www.sportsgrid.com/nba/those-goddamn-gremlins-wont-stop-messing-with-michael-beasley/

We have our covenant symbol.

Lol. If we can throw off basketball players then we can do it all. Gremlins does sound cool but hopefully we can tie it in game cleanly.

Alright, I edited the first post to include a new intro and a "to do" list at the end that includes "name," "hierarchy," "lore" that we might want to include, and "basic tenets" or rules to follow.

Anyway, I'd like to get some ideas from everyone who has shown interest already. I'd like to keep things relatively casual like the Peddlers but we should likely have some structure so make it "legit"

So my thoughts, thanks for the name suggestions NPCWhiteMage and keep them coming. They're not ruled out, I just want everyone to be able to weigh in if they want.

For our name, I do like the concept of Gremlins (since they prank but there's some evil thrown in) and think it could flesh out the covenant backstory which is nice. I scanned through the wiki quickly for anything I thought was associated with mischief etc. and the closest thing I could really feel good about was the spell Karmic Justice. The damage is less than WoG and unreliable so to me this spell always seems like a prank. HA HA, you're flat on the ground now!! Anyway, this could tie in lore-wise with the group being an offshoot of the concept of Karmic Justice as defined by the more cosmic definition. We're a rarely seen force that doles out balance. I know this could overlap with the Darkmoons if handled wrong but this also allows us to give gifts or have fun events where we try to have harmless pranks to those who are willing to play along. So name wise, something like Karma's Gremlins

For basic tenets, we wouldn't have much in the way of uniform or gear since they will change based on events and the like but we could have either a few preferred things or use gear/lore to decide who gets rewards or attacked. For instance, we could either prefer to keep Karmic Justice attuned for the sweet aura and psychology of it or reward anyone we see use it. We could, as a group, decide the masks are ugly and make an "attack on sight" rule. The two biggest rules will be to participate in events and tell stories about our pranks (like the BBQ)

For hierarchy I don't see a lot of ranks or goals honestly. What I'm thinking is two roles, all persons would be a "Gremlin" meaning designated to go out and bring balance through pranks. Then we could have a "Speaker" or similar role, who would be tasked with organizing events and planning and the like. We could make these lore extensions and the "Speaker" would have the official role of "calling" planning an event and "unleashing" organizing etc. during the event. The "Speaker" could actually change each event too if people want as it does not indicate leader. Of course if people prefer we could have a true leader as well

Continuing the loose hierarchy idea, I would like some covenant specific incentives similar to rep on the forum. The Speaker for an event would have an award for their choice for best story from an event, only given to one person per event. While Gremlins would have a smaller token (one or two per day, like the forum) that they could also give to stories they liked from events.

So, I'm guessing Faith builds then for this covenant?

How about..

"Super Happy Fun Time Party Group"? (lets have a random and non-canon name, though the karmic justice idea just for the hilarity would be cool)

The speaker idea sounds alright, to be honest I'd have to take a backseat role anyway, most likely be forum based as playtime is limited. I'd be happy to become speaker..

Though If we eventually turned this into video compilations and stuff... I wouldn't be able to do that I'm afraid

I really really like the idea of a Karma theme as well as the Gremlin theme, and I am all for Karma's Gremlins.

But the mention of Karma instatnly bring to mind the name Velka; but almost as two very different things. Velka punishes the guilty, but we don't punish, and instead force people to reap what they have sown....I think this has plenty of Lore possibilities, including (but not limited to) the idea that we would be creations of Velka, who had originally created us as extenstions of her judgement, but we really didn't develope a taste for the whole "punishment" thing, as it didn't really allow us to have fun, which is for what we aim. So we seperated ourselves from Velka and thus started to be the cruel sting of irony and biting whip of Karma.

Of course this is just an idea.

While I'm here, I wanted to touch on my idea for Heiarchy.

--> The GremKing = Leader of the covenant and primary authority
--> Karma's Voice (The Speaker) = Organizer of events and collector of Lore
--> Karma's Keeper (The Treasurer) = Holds onto all the Covenant's important items and keeps stock of what we have. (May not be needed but an idea nonetheless)
--> Gremlins (Basic Members) = The foot soldiers of the Covenant
--> (Was trying to think of an idea for an elite member...)
I'm tapped on ideas for now, but hey, it's still early.

I love the titles WhiteMage!

So it sounds like the Karma idea is a go most likely. Unless we get a better suggestion Karma's Gremlins is the current lead name it sounds.

Pendant, I don't think we need specific builds or concepts since I want this to be inclusive for anyone. We can even have honorary gremlins or "little gremlins" for events (help me with a good name WhiteMage, like gremlittles or something) that wouldn't have the option of bestowing the gremlin specific rep but could participate in an event. The idea is that we would just have affinity toward. If you wanna use KJ cool, but I don't want to impose strict limits (plus I'm not making any new builds myself).

Serious, if you want the role of Speaker (at least for now) does that mean you want to organize an event already or wait until we have a Constitution or something worked out first?

Finally, I love the name "GremKing" so all we need now is to decide who is GremKing.

I've also updated post #1 to reflect the current leanings

I'll think of a name for sure! I'm at work at the moment and have a few cases to work on, but once I get those done, I will gladly come up with a few more ideas.

As for who is the GremKing, I think it would be a better idea to decide the GremKings responsibilities and expectations first. The last thing I want is to elect someone who disappears or whatnot.

However, that nonwithstanding, I would assume Skare would be the best GremKing since this was his brain child.

EDIT: Those cases were resolved faster than I expeceted, lol.

So for the GremLittles (Honorary Gremlins) I was thinking maybe....
GremLites,
Gremlings,
Grems (Just a short versoin of Gremlins),
Mogs (Maybe? Just to change things around.)
Gremmings (Like lemmings )
Hmmm....let me know if any strike you in the face with a hammer. If one does, then it hold true to its Gremlin origins and must be used!

I really like Gremlings and GremLites. I think Gremlings has a better ring to it (barely) but I'd be worried it isn't different enough from Gremlins to always be noticed. GremLites is my vote there.

I think for leadership responsibilities it would be just to have some sort of authority and final say over decisions. If something goes too far off the concept they would step in and veto. I also think promotion of the covenant and to be a spokesperson of course. Probably approval of events and supervision to some extent. I would be all for being GremKing but I also don't want everyone to think it has to be me either.


Also, I forgot to mention that I didn't add a title for a treasurer function since I don't foresee a need but I can say I'm impressed with your thoroughness.

skarekrow13 wrote:I really like Gremlings and GremLites. I think Gremlings has a better ring to it (barely) but I'd be worried it isn't different enough from Gremlins to always be noticed. GremLites is my vote there.

I think for leadership responsibilities it would be just to have some sort of authority and final say over decisions. If something goes too far off the concept they would step in and veto. I also think promotion of the covenant and to be a spokesperson of course. Probably approval of events and supervision to some extent. I would be all for being GremKing but I also don't want everyone to think it has to be me either.


Also, I forgot to mention that I didn't add a title for a treasurer function since I don't foresee a need but I can say I'm impressed with your thoroughness.

Why thank you. My nich in gaming is throughness (its why I play wizards and rogues in DnD ). I agree with your idea for the responsibilities for GremKing, and as this is more of a laid back (so to speak) Covenant, I can't think of anyother responsibilities to add.
Yeah, when I was making the names, while I like Gremlings alot, I thought it might get lost alongside the name Gremlins, so GremLites was my contingency. Good thing you liked it.

So lets see, we have covered a bit in quiet a few posts, unoffically mind you. Where are we at as per our "To Do" list?

Let's see:
We have a name and hierarchy. We could use a more gremtastic name for the Speaker role. Maybe something with the lingo, lengua, etc. derivative.

So Gremleng or GremLingo, maybe GremLoquor?

For the lore person, I currently have it as a title but once we establish lore do we want a person in charge of it specifically? Now that I think about it, we might not need it.

We could also use a name for the rep-like tokens given to peers. My idea is that we can either use a word, picture or both. If we like a story/video/picture someone posted about a Gremlin adventure we would each get one token per day.

Ex. If I like your video of an invasion I post your name with the word (and possible picture) we choose. The first post or two of an event would have a section to count the number of tokens each person got. At the end the person doing the Speaker's role would choose their favorite post from the event and give a special token out.

So we'd name for those:

Going with more latin additions to the word "Grem" maybe GremClamo (Gremlin Shout to applaud) for the peer to peer while the Speaker would give out the GremLibra (to indicate who they felt brought the most balance to the universe through their actions)

We also could flesh out more rules/tenets:
Since we're going off of a balance perspective we would want persons to harm and persons to help. I would say an affinity to those using Karmic Justice and Hammers. We can single out agreed upon ruffians (I pick on gankers a good deal in the forest so we can balance the odds or something like that with hosts who require help). Ultimately we wouldn't need a long list, just a few things to flesh out lore and backstory to make it more interesting. Most of our balancing I think will come from events.

So, Easter is coming up, we would make a declaration (via the Speaker role, hence the speaking) that Lordran has become unbalanced and requires something to bring it back. Then we announce our strategy, aka pranks and games to do during invasions and the rest is just the fun part.

skarekrow13 wrote:Let's see:
We could use a more gremtastic name for the Speaker role. Maybe something with the lingo, lengua, etc. derivative.

So Gremleng or GremLingo, maybe GremLoquor?

Hmmm....some other names I've come up with are:
--> GremSay
--> Arch Gremlin

Of course this isn't to say I don't like your ideas, just a few more to mull over.

skarekrow13 wrote:For the lore person, I currently have it as a title but once we establish lore do we want a person in charge of it specifically? Now that I think about it, we might not need it.

I would say it would just be a collective responsibility maintained by the GremKing and Speaker: everyone can add suggestions to the lore, but they have to be approved by the GremKing and/or Speaker (Though the King gets final say, or maybe casts ties to a vote?)

skarekrow13 wrote:We could also use a name for the rep-like tokens given to peers. My idea is that we can either use a word, picture or both. If we like a story/video/picture someone posted about a Gremlin adventure we would each get one token per day.

Ex. If I like your video of an invasion I post your name with the word (and possible picture) we choose. The first post or two of an event would have a section to count the number of tokens each person got. At the end the person doing the Speaker's role would choose their favorite post from the event and give a special token out.

So we'd name for those:

Going with more latin additions to the word "Grem" maybe GremClamo (Gremlin Shout to applaud) for the peer to peer while the Speaker would give out the GremLibra (to indicate who they felt brought the most balance to the universe through their actions)

We could do something similar to a titlular system.
I.E. SerTukLyn Gremlin NPCWhiteMage has had 3 Awards
Ser - Being an award from the Speaker
Tuk - Being a peer award for a video
Lyn - Being a peer award for a story
This is just an idea, and honestly now that I've written it out, I see that it does have its flaws, and would never heavy work and refinment. I'll admit that when I think of Gremlins I think of Goblins a la MTG, DnD, Tolkien, and WoW, so I have this rough idea of mischief machines but with a vauge sense or civility, though rather Chaotic and Strange.

skarekrow13 wrote:We also could flesh out more rules/tenets:
Since we're going off of a balance perspective we would want persons to harm and persons to help. I would say an affinity to those using Karmic Justice and Hammers. We can single out agreed upon ruffians (I pick on gankers a good deal in the forest so we can balance the odds or something like that with hosts who require help). Ultimately we wouldn't need a long list, just a few things to flesh out lore and backstory to make it more interesting. Most of our balancing I think will come from events.

I don't have much of anything to add here at the moment since I'm still working on ideas, but I'll happily edit later with anything I can think of...

skarekrow13 wrote:So, Easter is coming up, we would make a declaration (via the Speaker role, hence the speaking) that Lordran has become unbalanced and requires something to bring it back. Then we announce our strategy, aka pranks and games to do during invasions and the rest is just the fun part.

[SilentWingsXIII has invaded]
*Stays at a distance and watched player*
*Player starts doing rude / unsportsmanship things*
*Drops a and runs away*
I think the idea of dropping a dungpie in someones world is far to hilarious

Maybe we could "give" items rather than names or rep like applause. Maybe the speaker passes a ceremonial hammer. Peers can give other small hand tools for mischief


Hoping some of the others chime in too. Although we have a great start

skarekrow13 wrote:Maybe we could "give" items rather than names or rep like applause. Maybe the speaker passes a ceremonial hammer. Peers can give other small hand tools for mischief


Hoping some of the others chime in too. Although we have a great start

As an in-game item? (I would assume anyway) I would say the Speaker would use a fancy hammer (Sanctus?) and the GremKing could use a Fancy (But different hammer) (Smaugh's?)
This, sadly, is where my ideas begin to fall short. I'm all for setting up events, names, ideas, but when it comes to rewards, items, and costumes I'm out of my league. The most creative I have been with Dark Souls is wearing the Gold Hemmed set and running around in the forest with a Skull Lantern being a mysterious figure in the distance. >_>

So for now, I think I will take a step down from my creative soap box, and let a few other members take a step up and take a few swings at the old idea-a-tron.