#stepperp

More events in 2024, starting with Tsagaan Sar, the new year. More use of the Approving Seal and the Ankhai Tribe.

I also want to make better use of social media (like Tumblr here), the wider community and our website.

Plans for the Approving Seal

The Approving Seal is a Terncliff-themed cafe & charity and we just did our Starlight event with it. With the Approving Seal, we like to try and offer a more wholesome kind of RP and this year we want to use it for actual charity fundraisers for real-world charities.

We have a charity page set up for it for people to give their own donations to our selected charity (we'll have separate pages if we do a fundraiser for a different charity): https://www.justgiving.com/page/approving-seal

Plans for Wayfarers' Ger

On the Wayfarers' Ger side, I want to lean more & more heavily into the culture stuff, this seems to be the stuff people respond best to, which I am happy for because it's the part I care most about & want to dive deeper with.

As much as I would like to keep a fortnightly RP, we do find they get a variable turn out and I have mused on it & I know we've tried getting them working again, like in the early days, but my energy may be better placed in themed events with more attention to quality.

And I have a few ideas I am toying with for things we could do, including opening the floor for more people to get involved with contributing, because I realise I can sometimes do things on a bit of a whim.

Plans for General Steppe Stuff

I also found some of my "The Real Steppe" blog posts get some popularity and even got a mention in Mirkes Menagerie for my comments about magic on the steppe. So I want to put out more things like it & share them with the Wayfarers' Ger & general Steppe RP community. And I want to go back & spot-check my old blog posts to make sure they're to a standard I am happy with & that I triple-check any facts.

The motivation for triple-checking is that I have learned that not all sources on Mongolian culture are reliable. For example: UNSECO has information about tuulis and the practice but the information confuses different types of Mongolian storytelling & other sources seem to give similar info & frame it in totally the wrong way. And I have better sources who don't mind me asking questions.

Plans for the Ankhai Tribe

The Ankhai tribe is a custom tribe inspired by Tuvans, Mongolians and Siberians, who come from north of the tail mountains and the Dalvalan Grath. Like with how FFXIV approaches cultures, there is still artistic license, so not all ideas/customs are grounded in the real world, but include FFXIV-appropriate flair, to keep it within the realms of fantasy.

We spent some time introducing some of the characters into the general community & ran individual RP's & events to establish IC connections and working through the story arc that allows us to open up the tribe to more people to create their own characters. For 2024, I want to do smaller RP's & events where the tribe is a focus, with room to recruit people into the concept.

Closing Note

I realise I made it a long post. But the new year brings new opportunities and I am still passionate about the RP's we run and want to not neglect things I've started and instead not only keep doing what we do, but aim for something cooler. Plus, with my focus on visiting Mongolian in 2025, learning the language and spending time in groups relating to Mongolia, it's traditions & culture, I hope to work with you all to create greater RP experiences this year and clear out the crickets & cobwebs from both our Tumblr & Discord.

If I don't keep up my promise, hunt me down and slap me.

Peace and love,