Questions about Eclipse

[Korangar]

Lately I've been hearing about an event called Eclipse. I know very little about it, except that it took place approximately a year ago and has left a bad taste in alot of people's mouths.

I would like to hear about this event.

What the story arc was.
How it progressed.
What happened at the end.
Why people are feeling sensitive about the matter.
What happened to cause the sensitivity.

For the sake of the server, if its easier to PM me with the information rather than dredging it up in a thread, I'm ok with that.

[Xaraphyne]

Ummm... Well, a lot of "epic" RP plots have left a "bad taste" in some people's mouths, mostly because they didn't get what they wanted out of it and/or it swept on without them. It happens.

As for what it was about, I actually worked on a TNG Wiki page awhile back: http://wiki.wow-tng.org/index.php/Eclipse It's incomplete towards the end as there was a lot of material I wasn't there for that I wanted to do justice to, but the basic ideas are there, as well as links to the actual threads that were here on TNG.

[Rand_Shea]

Eclipse was a storyline created by Theira and Rannoc that centered around two Sin'Dorei whom had, I believe, been raised away from normal civilization and came to abhor it and the order of Blood Knights when they were introduced and aware of it. As such, they sought a way to destroy the Blood Knights and attempted to reform the way Silvermoon was by finding and using the power of a Wolf Spirit (a mother Worgen if I remember correctly) named Accalia... who twisted and used one of them and their followers to essentially pave her way into Azeroth where she could wreak havoc.

Part of the storyline revolved around indivduals who were 'marked' or cursed as hunters and some as prey. If in contact with a Blood Knight, the mark would cause insanity and for the individual to essentially try and suck the mana and life out of anyone who had it. It also only affected Blood Elves... other races were, as far as I know, immune.

As for why people are sensitive about it... quite a few thought it got too big and became a contest for who could write the most dramatic character sob-story and that took away from the original plot entirely. There was also an issue where Theira and Rannoc handed over control of the storyline for others to continue it if they wanted to, and the people who did take it over were said to have tried to write out or alienated people who wanted to participate still in favor of only including the people that they approved and liked.

There was also an issue of a few written scenes that were frowned upon by people as being too violent and explicit, and seemingly condoning acts and ways of thinking that were considered bizarre, twisted, and had no useful purpose in the story itself... Rannoc and Theira were among those who didn't like them at all, and the contention over the scenes lead to OOC fighting that dissolved quite a few friendships to where involved parties still do not speak to one another.

Trying to be as objective as possible with all that... I was involved with it but have pretty much made the decision to mostly ignore that any of it happened due to my own personal preference. In my opinion it simply got too big and too cluttered, and it was a poor decision to try and rectify that by handing it over to people who chose to make it something that only the "elite" could participate in (of which I, again, was one). If it were to be restarted and redone, I'd like to see it happen and would probably like to participate, but not if it is handled the same way as the last time.

[Naheal]

Ummm... Well, a lot of "epic" RP plots have left a "bad taste" in some people's mouths, mostly because they didn't get what they wanted out of it and/or it swept on without them. It happens.

As for what it was about, I actually worked on a TNG Wiki page awhile back: http://wiki.wow-tng.org/index.php/Eclipse It's incomplete towards the end as there was a lot of material I wasn't there for that I wanted to do justice to, but the basic ideas are there, as well as links to the actual threads that were here on TNG.

Speaking of which, I really need to try to PM you a bit more on the story itself.

[Xaraphyne]

Speaking of which, I really need to try to PM you a bit more on the story itself.

Please do! I'd still like a lot of details about what happened in Brill too...

Also, if anyone wants a second opinion on what elitism there was in the Eclipse plot, or anger over the direction of the plot, or the content of the plot, feel free to PM me. I don't wanna start a flame war here, but so it's known, other opinions do exist.

[Elek Quentin]

I am not sure about any widespread issues of people not speaking to one another, or the major disruption of friends, there certainly were disagreements in the end and a lot of issues that arose from lack of communication and bad timing.

While Videlle and I were left do as we would with a continuance of the story, her and my plans were to work together for awhile to lay out the details of the events that were to have happened between where the original thread ended, and where the next was supposed to begin. There was never any decision or even thought by her or myself to pick and choose who would be 'good enough' to play along.

Our intentions were to develop the major plotline of the new episode together before people got involved. We wanted to ensure that we could provide a story that had a concrete and solid foundation before opening up the new bits to others. Our belief was that if we had allowed too much detail too soon, or direct counter-action at the very onset of our writings, that someone would project themselves into a way that would have obviously and entirely disrupted the entire concept. The idea here was that if someone did this, there wouldn't be a story to tell anymore. Besides, if someone rode in and killed either of the worgen early... the whole premise would have ended right there. We didn't want that.

Her and I were nearing a point where we were ready to introduce the wanting players and had spoken together about several of which to write jointly about the dream or vision or whatever triggering scenario that would start them on their way. This is why we requested that people drop us a line.

We had wished to design and portray the worgen characters as not exactly as "evil", but more along the lines as a desperate people who would go to any end to ensure their own survival. They killed because the chaos, the fear, and the suffering sustained them... not because they were hungry for blood or just simply enjoyed a slaughter. In essence, the fear in those around them, fed them. It was their food. It was their nourishment. Without it, they would literally starve and die. We had hoped that in the end of the story, at least one or two of the main players would realize this, and interject the question and wonder of right and wrong. Mainly... would it be 'right' to kill off a sentient creature that solely only wishes for its people to survive.

There is no question that the writings were more upon the graphic side. In all honesty, I did tone each and every one of them down before posting. We knew it would be questionable, that not everyone would agree, but decided on the course out of a desire to clearly convey that the worgen had no qualm, worry or second thoughts about the actions they took or the lives they silenced. I had even cut out all of the graphic bits from one particular post, and placed the unedited one into the Adult forum. We figured that our players were mature individuals, and that only those interested in the bloody details would even bother to go and read them. We had not anticipated the fallout and are regretful that things did not turn out the way he had envisioned.

The part about bad timing was that it came around the time of the breakup of the Cartel Enforcers. Videlle had taken this very hard and took extended breaks from WoW. This, coupled with the confusion and questions that arose from the new plot, ended up only worsening the matter. In the end, we had both decided to drop the storyline, and everyone went along their way.

[Naheal]

Please do! I'd still like a lot of details about what happened in Brill too...

Also, if anyone wants a second opinion on what elitism there was in the Eclipse plot, or anger over the direction of the plot, or the content of the plot, feel free to PM me. I don't wanna start a flame war here, but so it's known, other opinions do exist.

I'll do it as time allows. I've got work and a book that I'm writing on the side, so I really don't have a whole lot of time to do much other then just play.

[Swerto]

Videlle went to Moonguard

I'm still crying inside.

I want my emo buddy back.

I'm down to ONE... ONE!


I NEED MORE EMO

[Korangar]

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I'm not sure all of my curiosity has subsided, but I've learned enough to get a rough idea of what happened.

I still see different perspectives regarding the topic so I hope people can continue to discuss this in a civilized manner as they have so far.

[Naheal]

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I'm not sure all of my curiosity has subsided, but I've learned enough to get a rough idea of what happened.

I still see different perspectives regarding the topic so I hope people can continue to discuss this in a civilized manner as they have so far.

Ask away. I'll try to give as impartial of an answer as I can.