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Delsaurians: Lizzies Launching at Lightspeed

Hollander

Well-Known Member
With the Phod work done (for now), it’s time to look at the next batch of content that could use a review! It was proposed that the Delsaurians be the subject of the next review, so let’s take the proper steps.


Who Are The Delsaurian Writers?
Does anyone out there (aside from Wes) consider themselves a custodian or a stakeholder of the Delsaurian species? If so, please direct their attention to this thread, we want to make sure they all are as involved as they would like to be in the update effort.

First Meeting Goals
We’d run another Discord-based voice chat, with text-only folks having their words read for them like last time. The goal of the first meeting would be to read over the Delsaurians in brief, and to get an idea of where they’re at on the site. Is their article healthy and current? Is the species being played? What systems are they in, and are those articles good? What’s being done with the Delsaurians right now, and how can we encourage further energy to be directed their way? We’d then build consensus on What Should Be Done, and try to assign folks to take up that work.

Second Meeting Goals
Once the work is largely done on the WIP’s (if that’s what we decide to do), we’d hold a second meeting to talk about what was done, and show folks what was changed. If anything stands out as needing a rewrite, we can work it out then. A review meeting might seem redundant at first, but sometimes you really need a second or third pair of eyes to spot something that needs fixing!

What Can You Do?
Volunteer! There are all kinds of ways, big and small, that you can support the effort. If you’re interested in the Delsaurians, come to the meeting, even if you’re not sure what to say.


We won’t set the First Meeting yet until folks have the chance to weigh in a little. Then we’ll start looking at a date and time. I’ll use when2meeting again (not-mandatory) to help me find a time. Cheers, and thanks for your interest!
 
Here are a few of the elements we'll also look at, to decide whether revisions or updates need to be made. This does not mean we'll actually update all these articles, though we could discuss that possibility at this upcoming meeting.

Some Delsaurian sketches. Should they be included on the species page in some way?

The planet Delsauria page could use a look, and there's still a WIP Delsauria page floating out there.
Fit the Places template. Rumors, history notes. Native species. Link to Sandtrouncer?


Some Delsaurian-related items:

A creature native to Delsauria:
How can GM's use this creature? Does the article answer that?

The Delsaurian Dusk article is a little sparse. Can anyone out there draw a bottle of booze, or even a glass filled with a certain color? Maybe a task for AI.

A Delsaurian firearm:
"Guides that explain how something works in roleplay." could be useful here (quote from Andrew from a thread a while back)

A plot ran by Club which took place on Delsauria, which will be worth a look to get ideas about the planet, ecology, culture, etc.

It would also be worth it to look at Delsaurian characters of the past and present to see how they've shaped the species they're a member of. I'm thinking of the Delsaurian in the Strays, and there was a Nepleslian Senate character at one point I believe. I'm sure there are others.

If I'm missing anything, let me know. We'll likely set a meeting date and time later today (probably setting it for this Friday at 3pm Pacific, 6pm Eastern).
 
First Delsaurian Chat Friday, 09 February 2023, at 3:30pm PST (6:30pm EST)!

Below are the relevant deets and requests of participants of the meeting.

When Is it?
Friday, 09 February 2023, at 3:30pm PST (6:30pm EST)
If anyone can't make it, and would like a second meeting time, please let me know! We can easily run a second meeting.
We’ll talk over Voice 2 in Discord.

Can I Participate?
You bet! Anyone interested in helping out by reading the articles and offering feedback is welcome to join in. You don’t need to have already read anything beforehand (though that can help), and you are also welcome even if your feedback is positive and short.

Do I Need To Speak?
Nope, not unless you would like to! I'll be reading aloud typed messages in the Voice 2 Text Chat interface, to make sure your thoughts and words are heard.

Will A Record Be Kept If I Can’t Make It?
Yes. I’ll endeavor to keep notes of major points made during the discussion, though I may ask for a volunteer secretary if it gets to be too much for me. I will NOT be digitally recording any portion of the voice discussion though, for privacy reasons. An executive summary will be posted in this thread sometime after the meeting.

Who’s In Charge?
I’m hoping for a chill, fun discussion, but the stated goal is to focus on the Delsaurian species, and to decide what changes and updates should be worked on. I may gently redirect the conversation if we end up off-topic. Folks joining the talk should pursue the goal of the discussion, and be willing to hold side-talks later, or in the other voice channel.

No Webcams, Please
I’m asking that participants not use webcams, for a variety of reasons. Chief among them, we’ll be focusing on reading and talking, and I feel webcams can serve as a distraction from that work.

Easy On The Soundboards
I'd also ask that we not play too many distracting sound boards or other sound effects during the 'business' part of the meeting.

Questions?
Let me know! Looking forward to hearing you there, or seeing your feedback by text in a Discord thread during the call!
 
Executive Summary from today's Delsaurian Discussion!

NOTE! Summaries like this NEVER give the full picture. Inevitably, context and details are lost. Still, we wanted to do our best to give an impression of what was talked about. It was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who joined!



Talked about what unique elements the Delsaurians bring to the SARP ‘table’. Lizards, desert-dwellers, carry heat generators. Traders.

Wes shared their ancient IRL history; made in 6th grade with a friend, used triangular ship designs, were an ancient empire that fought with humans.

Raz wrote: They're like little lizard bros. Kind of akin to the disgusting Rixxikor except less nasty but rather cool and chill. Influenced by the Nepleslian empire they're part of, they're basically "I just wanted to grill" personified.

We read this line in their history: “This means that the normal elitist society mentality doesn't fit them, with most of their people respecting those who work the hardest and ensure everyone makes money, rather than simply the richest or the best at speaking.”

Wes did not recognize this content, and it was theorized that Legix wrote it. We debated this aspect of Delsaurian culture and capitalism.

Wes shared a piece of Delsaurian art that we’ll try to get up on the page.

We talked some more about Delsaurian history, how they were defeated and forced back to their planet.

Rax wrote: They seem like they should have a very gritty post-apocalyptic or cyberpunk flavored economic theory. Where they just barter stuff. Everyone's working but they aren't doing it with much forethought about what comes next. They're focused on the moment and living well. Oldest version of their article available says "Historically, the Delsaurians were a major power and became an early enemy of humans but were defeated by them in a devestating war." So this tracks.

Wes NOTES -- Delsaurians were invented by me and my friend Galen in 6th grade -- Previously they were a major threat to Nepleslia/Uesureya -- They were defeated and took a long time to recover -- Unique triangle shaped ships -- Tough species -- Colonization to other places (Koenic, etc)

In discussing why Delsaurians weren’t terribly popular, it was discussed that there is a general lack of Nep players right now, and perhaps players in general. The Delsaurians seem ‘trapped in Nepleslia’. We discussed the possibility of bringing them into Yamatai, a recurring theme in the call.

Wes likened them to Krogans. Hollander did not see the similarities. Yuuki pointed out that they make good booze (the Delsaurians).

Raz: Re: not being played. Off what Wes was saying, Nepleslia has a recent push for so-called "mutants." So the SARP Originals™ like Delsaurians get no attention due to mutants having been revised to be a catch-all that the current GMs refer players to before Delsaurians.

@Wes I had the same problem with Weremole. He never finished a paid for Kudhacari.

We talked about the Cool-dhacari (haha) for a bit.

Discussed a desire to continue to establish the Delsaurians in the Koenic system, which the lizard Qel’Norans used to rule. Resurgence going to Koenic at some point.

Raz: It's probably important to make Koenic depicted as being acclimated to Delsaurian physiology. As I recall, their ships are all warm and humid like a lizard terrarium.

In discussing how to get more people to play Delsaurians, Wes proposed: --We need badass characters who are examples of Delsaurian awesomeness

Hollander posited that maybe people don’t want to play Delsaurians because, for some, traits like Short and Stocky aren’t as preferred as Tall and Strong. Yuuki said “Remember the Shukaren Daur are short and people love playing them”. Raz said “I've always felt the Delsaurians are actually huge despite their art. "Stocky" doesn't mean 3ft tall.”

Wide Putin was posted.

We discussed their max height, Hollander realized he’d missed some text in Physiology that they could be up to 7 damn feet tall.

We talked about updating the Nepleslian Imperium main page to accommodate Delsaurians. Ended up deciding something like ‘aliens’ instead. Talked about Skully, and getting his input.

Talked about the importance of the triangle and its iconography.

Do Delsaurians have a senator in Nepleslia? Would they in Yamatai?

Talked about the Koenic system being Yamataian or not. Wes has plans ultimately, so we’ll keep things vague about Koenic. Extensive talk about systems being within Yamatai territory but not being members, and how systems become members.

Talked about the Delsaurian Pillow, no one was terribly interested in updating the article.

Are Delsaurians fremen? (dune reference)

Wes and group discussed the importance of a Character Creation Guide. He volunteered to create it.

Air Admiral joined and we brought them up to speed.

Hollander asked for final thoughts and emphasis. Raz said “Make sure you make them chill bros”. Hollander was hesitant, but agreed.

We then talked about which articles to update next. Hollander suggested the I’ee and the Azoreans. The Mishu were brought up. Hollander was hesitant, “The Mishu are a tall order”. The Hidden Sun Clan were also brought up. Ultimately the Mishu were considered the most important to update.

Reiterated the importance of the upcoming International Relations Conference. Do folks have plots? Do we have a planning thread?

Also, decided that Delsaurians should NOT be extreme capitalists like Kuvexians.

Hollander will update the Nepleslia member species page, Delsaurian Dusk, the main Delsaurian page, and he'll team up with Wes on figuring out their ancient history.
 
Updates: For future readers of this thread and for record keeping, we arranged some questions that are asked in the Questions subforum, to clarify important historical landmarks for the Delsaurian timeline. You can find that question thread here:


Delsaurian Dusk update is mostly done. The species page is pretty decent, maybe halfway done? The Nepleslia articles got their (very minor) updates and corrections.
 
Thanks again to everyone who participated in the Delsaurian update work! Our Delsaurian questions were answered, and the WIP was approved here, so I made the changes live! The Delsaurians are now updated. You can see the finalized Delsaurian page here.

Again, much appreciation to the folks who were able to attend the Delsaurian Species Spotlight, we've been having some great times running those. I'm looking forward to the next one, which will cover the Vordachibeans... Cheers!
 
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