Post by Tam on Jan 25, 2010 16:55:16 GMT -5
I hope it's okay if I post this here. >.> I didn't like the idea of it ending up tacked onto the end of the Knights' Castle thread and generally ignored after a few days. We needed a discussion thread for all the things we have to rebuild and organize.
Okay, so, at Shade's request, I've been thinking through the Knights' day-to-day agenda -- basically, what we actually do all day. Because it's all well and good to say "we train and fight things, or [insert persona's favourite pastime here]", but really, not only does that not explain how we're capable of running a kingdom in a just and orderly manner, but it also makes each one of our characters' lives sound really, really flat. I mean, really. They must be bored out of their minds.
So, I started with the assumed necessity of food. I'm toying with the idea of having one big common meal every evening -- knights can feel free to wander into the kitchens and bug the cooks until they can get a hold of some breakfast or lunch whenever it suits their schedules, but supper would be a more formal affair, in which each and every knight would be expected to show up at the same time and dine together. In addition to actually getting all the roleplayers into the same space so that we can eliminate the plot stragglers that always seem to crop up (...wait, or maybe that's just me...), we also can treat it as an opportunity for an open "meeting" where the King can make announcements, the Council can discuss political undertakings, and everyone can get their characters caught up.
I think there should also be a weekly meeting (maybe just the Council? I don't know), whether implied or eventually roleplayed, in which more serious matters are discussed. It would be longer and drier, with less feasting, and would probably be regarded as infinitely boring by almost everyone present -- so I'm not suggesting that we incorporate it into the roleplay, just that we be aware of its existence. Not sure which day this would happen on. But the Knights are supposed to be a ruling political force in the guildverse, and although we do have a king to give the final word on all our decisions, I think it was always meant that most of the kingdom's affairs be discussed democratically among the Knights.
So then, a knight's typical day, barring demonic insurgencies or mysterious armies appearing at our front gates, might look like...
6 a.m. Wake-up time.
6-7 a.m. Brekky time.
7 a.m.-12 p.m. "Training."
12-1 p.m. Lunch time.
1-6 p.m. "Training".
6 p.m. sharp. Common Supper in the Great Hall.
Evening: Free time yay.
As you may have noticed, ten hours of training is a heck of a lot for one day. I think allowing ourselves any more free time than just the evenings might make things a little too slack for members of what is supposed to be a supremely alert and disciplined order, but still... ten hours, man.
So another concept I was playing with is the idea of splitting up training into two types -- combat and vocational.
Combat is pretty straightforward. We have our younglings with wooden swords, hacking away at hapless straw dummies in the courtyard. Archery and target practice. Strength training, sparring matches, riding lessons, etc. Whatever sort of weapon your persona uses, this is practice time to hone their skills with it, as well as to practice any other discipline that would be useful to a knight in battle.
Vocational, on the other hand, would be more like job training. Castle Kestrel has more than just a military focus -- we have an infirmary, libraries, archives, kitchens, stables, and gardens. Most of our personas already have interests other than killing things, so pursuing a trade -- earning your keep around the Castle, really -- would give us something to do in Dunburrow's peaceful times. You could go and train to be a scribe, a carpenter, a cook, a healer -- whatever seems like a plausible task for your character to find in a castle.
So the idea would be 5 hours of combat training (remember, this doesn't have to be all physical exertion straight through -- even getting a two-hour lecture from an expert swordsman on how to hold your weapon would count), and 5 hours of vocational.
Yes, it's still a really long day. But we're knights; we're tough. And of course, our guild being what it is, I doubt we'll often encounter a day in which everything goes entirely according to schedule anyway. xD
Thoughts? Suggestions? Contributions? Insults? =D It's time to bring some life back into this guild. Come share your ideas.
Or you're all gonna be Royal Goatherds.
Okay, so, at Shade's request, I've been thinking through the Knights' day-to-day agenda -- basically, what we actually do all day. Because it's all well and good to say "we train and fight things, or [insert persona's favourite pastime here]", but really, not only does that not explain how we're capable of running a kingdom in a just and orderly manner, but it also makes each one of our characters' lives sound really, really flat. I mean, really. They must be bored out of their minds.
So, I started with the assumed necessity of food. I'm toying with the idea of having one big common meal every evening -- knights can feel free to wander into the kitchens and bug the cooks until they can get a hold of some breakfast or lunch whenever it suits their schedules, but supper would be a more formal affair, in which each and every knight would be expected to show up at the same time and dine together. In addition to actually getting all the roleplayers into the same space so that we can eliminate the plot stragglers that always seem to crop up (...wait, or maybe that's just me...), we also can treat it as an opportunity for an open "meeting" where the King can make announcements, the Council can discuss political undertakings, and everyone can get their characters caught up.
I think there should also be a weekly meeting (maybe just the Council? I don't know), whether implied or eventually roleplayed, in which more serious matters are discussed. It would be longer and drier, with less feasting, and would probably be regarded as infinitely boring by almost everyone present -- so I'm not suggesting that we incorporate it into the roleplay, just that we be aware of its existence. Not sure which day this would happen on. But the Knights are supposed to be a ruling political force in the guildverse, and although we do have a king to give the final word on all our decisions, I think it was always meant that most of the kingdom's affairs be discussed democratically among the Knights.
So then, a knight's typical day, barring demonic insurgencies or mysterious armies appearing at our front gates, might look like...
6 a.m. Wake-up time.
6-7 a.m. Brekky time.
7 a.m.-12 p.m. "Training."
12-1 p.m. Lunch time.
1-6 p.m. "Training".
6 p.m. sharp. Common Supper in the Great Hall.
Evening: Free time yay.
As you may have noticed, ten hours of training is a heck of a lot for one day. I think allowing ourselves any more free time than just the evenings might make things a little too slack for members of what is supposed to be a supremely alert and disciplined order, but still... ten hours, man.
So another concept I was playing with is the idea of splitting up training into two types -- combat and vocational.
Combat is pretty straightforward. We have our younglings with wooden swords, hacking away at hapless straw dummies in the courtyard. Archery and target practice. Strength training, sparring matches, riding lessons, etc. Whatever sort of weapon your persona uses, this is practice time to hone their skills with it, as well as to practice any other discipline that would be useful to a knight in battle.
Vocational, on the other hand, would be more like job training. Castle Kestrel has more than just a military focus -- we have an infirmary, libraries, archives, kitchens, stables, and gardens. Most of our personas already have interests other than killing things, so pursuing a trade -- earning your keep around the Castle, really -- would give us something to do in Dunburrow's peaceful times. You could go and train to be a scribe, a carpenter, a cook, a healer -- whatever seems like a plausible task for your character to find in a castle.
So the idea would be 5 hours of combat training (remember, this doesn't have to be all physical exertion straight through -- even getting a two-hour lecture from an expert swordsman on how to hold your weapon would count), and 5 hours of vocational.
Yes, it's still a really long day. But we're knights; we're tough. And of course, our guild being what it is, I doubt we'll often encounter a day in which everything goes entirely according to schedule anyway. xD
Thoughts? Suggestions? Contributions? Insults? =D It's time to bring some life back into this guild. Come share your ideas.
Or you're all gonna be Royal Goatherds.
