Shataina

Why Not?

Hi. I'm Shataina. I am finally putting my real name on my page, much good as it will do you; it is Lydia Laurenson. A lot of people call me Taina in online contexts.

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Contents

• Actual Content
• News
• Comments
• References

[#Content]

It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

Shataina/Artifacts
Artifacts.

Shataina/Characters
These are my player characters. Completed sheets include fiction, history, explanations, and statistics. Most are appropriate as low-power NPCs.

Shataina/Creatures
These are my more interesting non-player characters and creature types: demons, DeathLords, new races, etc. Completed sheets include descriptions, sometimes fiction, and (rarely) statistics.

Shataina/CutForWordCount
A few minor things I liked that were cut from "Exalted" supplements I've worked on, because there wasn't enough word count left to include them.

Shataina/Favourites
I resisted making a page to list my Wiki favorites for a long time, but it's been pointed out that it's actually useful for getting people to look at neglected pages that could otherwise be buried in the mass.

Shataina/HouseRules
I changed the stuff I really hated. Includes new Appearance rules, Sorcery rules, demon-summoning rules, and my unexpectedly well-known ManseCreation system.

Shataina/Lexicon
A listing of the entries that LadyShataina wrote for the LexiconOfElderDays; a quotation from the Lady on the project; more details.

Shataina/NexusProject
A listing of the entries I've written for the NexusProject; more details.

Shataina/RandomContent
A list of random Wiki content I've created that doesn't fit under any of my other indices.

Shataina/VirtueFlaws
Virtue Flaws.

[#News]

Fun Calendarry Thing

5.19.08: If you're concerned about Lexicon references in Dreams of the First Age, then you should read what I wrote about them on my About Me page.

1.28.08: I'm wrapping up my stint as an RPG freelancer this month. I love Exalted, and working on it was an honor and a privilege, but writing RPGs no longer meshes with my life goals. I will be at GenCon '08, but my next big dream is to go overseas late this year (maybe with the Peace Corps), and I'm not sure what the future holds after that. Thank you to everyone who's sent me good wishes over the years; it means a great deal to me.

12.21.06: Created theShataina/CutForWordCount section for material I worked on that didn't make it to print. Now working on "Oadenol's Codex". Was interviewed by an Israeli fan site moderator. Am learning the Dvorak keyset, and currently suck at typing.

3.21.06: I wrote a review of Exalted 2 for Gamegrene.com. On the off chance that you haven't already seen the book for yourself, I think it's the best review ever. :)

10.26.05: I am in Atlanta right now, but won't be here past the end of November. I have contributed little to this site in the intervening time.

[#Comments]

It's Comments

Wecome to the Wiki. I've always enjoyed your comments on the WW forums.. Girl gamers unite! ;) --dissolvegirl

<grin> Thanks. And yeah, absolutely -- there aren't nearly enough of us.

~ Shataina

Agreed! Both that there aren't nearly enough girls role playing (though there are four in my current group! ^_^) and that I too enjoy your comments on the WW forums, dragonladyflame. Welcome indeed! -- BrokenShade

wow, four? That's pretty rare. I've played in a few one-nighters that had three, but I think that's the closest I've gotten. I remember I played in one with four PCs, all of whom were female, which blew the mind of the ST for some reason ... he was like, "a troupe of chicks going on a dungeon crawl?"

Rock on.

~ Shataina

One of my RL gamergirl friends made some stuff on a cafepress shop you might like http://www.cafeshops.com/magicmissile --Malikai

Ha ha, that's awesome. I don't know if I personally would ever buy any of that stuff, but it's definitely amusing to look at.

~ Shataina

I plan on buying a couple of things from her when I get the funds, More people should. I don't think anyone has yet -- Malikai

You should tell your friend that I'd buy one of the Gamer Girl camisoles if they came in black. Especially if the lettering was dark red instead of green. (Mmm ... red and black ... mmm.)

~ Shataina

I passed the message along to her, I'll keep you posted -- Malikai

... Well she got back to me, apparently the color choices are restricted by what cafepress will produce and they will only screen print on white or something called "ash" (looks like light Grey to me). She also says that even getting them to do the Grey is a bitch - Malikai

Oh. That sucks. Le sigh. Well, thanks for checking :)

~ Shataina

Falcon - Here's a thought from James you might appreciate. Deathlords have all Solar and Abyssal charms, right? So, Mask of Winters uses Husband-Seducing Demon's Dance...

Yeah, and I bet he stacks it with Irresistable Succubus Style and observes the fun.

:P I don't think the Deathlords are, uh ... defeatable? Maybe the word I'm actually looking for is "touchable"? Or "anythingable"? As written, anyway. Blah. I'm so bored with them. Who cares about something that flat-out wins all the time?

You should tell James for me that I've never met anyone who could minmax quite like him.  ;)

~ Shataina

Shataina, have you ever considered moseying over to WBM and writing a chapter? I know you're itching for your Lexicon fix, and it might be a fun diversion in a different style. --Dissolvegirl

I actually considered WBM a bit when I noticed its existence, and read the chapters and everything ... it's an interesting project, certainly, but the thing is that it takes soooo much more mental investment than the Lexicon. I'm already writing my senior thesis, etc, and the Lexicon is just a fun diversion that takes basically none of my mental energy, but WBM is a lot more complicated.

I might get involved at some stage, but right now, it's just way too much mental complexity for my life. I think this is probably why so many more people do the Lexicon than WBM, actually ... much, much less energy is required, and it also seems to me like it's a lot more freeform, with fewer expectations to weigh one down.

Thank you so much for the thought, though! :)

~ Shataina

I think the Lexicon is a lot more mental labor than WBM, actually. The fact accumulation is all tied together and stuff. Stuff. - willows

That's interesting. I guess our brains work differently :)

For me, all I have to do for a Lexicon entry is look through the past entries for a few minutes to find a tie-in, and then find an idea (this is the hard part) and take like a maximum of half an hour to write the entry, which can be basically anything as long as it fits whatever constraints were placed on it by previous entries (and for most phantoms, there are only like, 1 or 2 entries that cite it, so there's generally a lot of freedom).

For WBM, though, I'd have to keep track of the plot, the characterization, and all the varying elements of writing a story. I'm already doing a lot of creative writing for my thesis, and it's hard enough writing it even though I already have a plot (and, by the way, I totally suck at plotting). Plus, for WBM, there are generally a lot more previous things that you can't contradict (although there have certainly been phantoms that were super-defined ... those are the exception, though, and people complain about them). And it has to be longer ....

<shrug> I like the idea of WBM, but, as I believe Ikselam has said about the Lexicon, there's something about the format that kinda leaves me cold. :)

~ Shataina

After some consideration, I've also realized that I'd have a hard time dealing with characters that aren't totally mine, if you know what I mean. :)

~ Shataina

Heya 'Taina. I broke down and went to check out your fantasy survey. I was about two seconds into composing my answer to the first question, when I realized that, to answer it, I'd have to go into comp rel, psych, a bit of soc and maybe some linguistics too, and it'd probably take something on the order of a couple hundred pages to get it all down. Then I noticed the "why do people like fantasy" question, and I knew that, hey-presto, I've got yet another thesis idea just in case I accidentally make it to grad school. So, long story short, thanks for another thesis, but you can't have it for your survey. If you're trying to wring some meaning out of any of this, look no further: LIBRARIES WITH ONE-SHELF FANTASY SECTIONS SHOULD BE BURNED!!!!</b> after you take all the books out of them. Also, librarians who can't tell the difference between a book about Norse mythology and a book whose title includes one or more of the following words should not be rescued from the flames: "Olympus" "Zeus" "Greek" "Roman" "Apollo" etc. - SMK

You're welcome for the thesis idea, I guess, although I may be forced to sulk since you didn't take my survey. <sulk>

As for your library, you have my most sincere apologies. Did I ever tell you about the library I went to at which they didn't bother separating fantasy, science fiction or horror from other fiction? Mysteries got their own section, oh yes, but not fantasy. Fantasy isn't worthy. Ugh.

You should lock the librarian in a room filled with Classics curricula and not let them out until they're educated enough to serve in that capacity. :P

~ Shataina

Your stuff, by the way, is incredibly wonderful. - Morpheus

Because you're not biased at all :)

But, of course, thank you.

~ Shataina

PS: I cast fireball.

No humiliation intended! I just thought it was funny. - Miedvied

<laugh> S'okay. I was just amusing myself with that comment. :) The mistake will not be made again.
~ Shataina

Hey, do you mind using hard paragraph breaks (blank lines) instead of <br>s? I find the jammed-together, unindented paragraphs really difficult to read): - willows

<dramatic sigh> I suppoooose. But you'll owe me for it!
~ Shataina

Fair enough! - w

I blame you. Both of you.
~*~Braydz~*~

Someone just hopped into WoDIRC and asked a quick question, who I can only assume was you, and since I'm up late and I have nothing better to do bu t look up obscure rules in books, the answer is: yes, they can. Terrestrial Circle only, though. 7 BP or 12 XP for the charm, and per spell. - LeumasWhite

Thanks! Yeah, it was me. Apparently more people were paying attention than I thought and I just didn't stick around long enough :grin:.
~ S.

Yes, yes, I'm getting ready to run a 2nd edition Exalted game.
I don't suppose you'd be able to make it to Ann Arbor every other Sunday afternoon/evening, would you? Because I'd love to have you. I also can't wait to tell my players that I'm thick as thieves with the character in the "Death of Obsidian Butterfly" illustration. *grin*
Anyway I will take your suggestion to heart, though first order of business is buying the core.

Hugs & Essence,
~*~Braydz~*~

gabriel.carlson@gmail.com

Clearly you haven't actually READ my page.

But that's ok, I forgive you.

~*~Braydz~*~

Sorry to hear that you're leaving the Exalted world, but I can't fault you your reasons. I do hope that you'll continue to post here on the wiki from time to time; it will be a far less interesting place without you. :) - FrivYeti

[#References]

Reference-Type Things

* The philosophy major bit is my favourite quote ever from Maddox's site. He may be a raging assmonkey, but he sure is hilarious.

Here are my favourite RPG-related links these days (well, aside from this site, of course):

Gamegrene.com -- Check this site out, if for no other reason than the fact that I very occasionally write for them.

A fabulously hilarious, vicious review of the awful game FATAL -- If you want to read this, keep this quotation from the site in mind: [T]his review should only be read if you're mature enough to handle extreme vulgarity, but immature enough to find it funny.

SomethingAwful.com's review of the "Book of Erotic Fantasy" -- Funny, and much shorter than the above FATAL review. Only to be read if you can deal with SomethingAwful mocking gamers like they mock everyone else.