Continuous The Forum Court (Tirin v. Thunder: Concluded)

[Easy]

The defense accepts the case your honour. I'll do everything in my power to make sure my client is not guilty.

Tolvan do you have any opening statements?

ORDER. Court is now in session.

@Tirin @coolpool2

Defense and Prosecution may now present opening statements. Each side, having done so, may then proceed to: call witnesses, present arguments, and/or submit any evidence for or against the charges, or any briefs and statements quoted from an outside party, for or against the charges presented.

This trial will proceed until exactly one week has elapsed, or both sides have presented closing statements - whichever is shorter.

Proceed.

 

[coolpool2]

My client Tolvan has been accused of multiple campaigncide by Jeroth, but I must ask you all this. What campaigns has Tolvan directly killed? Can you really say that this is all his fault?

No. I believe that Tolvan has been wrongly accused. The tales of any wrongdoings have been exaggerated. Through this trial I will prove that Tolvan has not killed multiple campaigns, and that it was not his fault.

 

[Tirin]

Good people of Mach Entertainment, allow me to demonstrate to you that Tolvan is directly implicated in and thus partially responsible for the death of multiple RP campaigns, both on and off of the forums.

Exhibit A: this screenshot (the validity of which can be attested to by the defendant, his defense attorney, the accuser, and our honorable judge), in which Tolvan confesses to killing Golden Lore. The defendant later attempts to avoid blame, claiming that "it was already dying anyway" at that point; however, this is patently incorrect. Tolvan's final post in Golden Lore was on page 3, on the 12th of March. The last posts made in Golden Lore occurred one month later - April 12th. Throughout this timeframe, multiple attempts were made to contact Tolvan and keep him an active poster. He did not respond. While it was ultimately Req who pulled the plug on Golden Lore, no doubt Tolvan's inactivity was a major and almost certainly fatal wound.

Exhibit B: Judgement Day. Tolvan posted twice and never again; following his last post on January 10th, five posts were made, two by Riyant acting as the GM. Despite this, he again neglected posting and in doing so contributed to the death of Judgement Day.

Exhibit C: The Mach Grail War. While the in-character thread was never started, the OOC includes Tolvan gauging interest in an idea before ultimately discarding it under the flimsy premise that he needed more players - when, in reality, he was simply too lazy to play a few NPCs. While this does not fall under campaignicide, this creative abortion shows a clear disregard for the health and life of RPs everywhere, even his own.

Exhibit D: Fantasy Nations. Tolvan contributed a nation, Mythor, and two characters (Tolvan Osc'a'Dragil and Arnoth Helios) to Fantasy Nations, and posted in-character once; both characters and Mythor have now been removed. He even had the audacity to say it was time to rejoin Fantasy Nations after the move, when he had done effectively nothing but take up space in the world that was difficult-to-impossible to interact with. However, instead of contact or work with other players to devise plotlines, or do so himself, Tolvan opted to do precisely nothing. While he was unable to land a killing blow on Fantasy Nations owing to its remarkable resilience and the determined efforts of myself, the judge, and Stoney, the fact of the matter is that he tried to take the life of one of the most venerable and excellent RPs our community has ever seen.

Exhibit E: Enmity, an evil-aligned, Fifth Edition D&D Skype campaign run by Riyant, and played by myself, the judge, the accused, and W1LG3R. If I recall, Tolvan was often quiet and subdued during sessions owing to his roommates, and was also very difficult to get a hold of. Worse, when he died (entirely of his own fault) he left the game, opting not to re-roll or otherwise remain involved. As W1LG3R died around the same time and also left, the two combined to strike deep at Enmity, forcing it into a lengthy hibernation. As with Fantasy Nations, however, it survived.

With all of this evidence before them, I ask the jury to carefully consider the horrifying impact that Tolvan has had on the RP board of Mach Entertainment. This community has a long, colorful, and dignified history of roleplaying, and Tolvan's malicious and negligent actions not only taint that history, but threaten its future. As a roleplayer of many years, and successively an RP moderator on Urealms, Geek², and Mach, I implore - no, I beg - you all to convict this menace of his crimes against creativity and community, and put me and our remaining roleplayers at ease.

Barring any questions from the judge, jury, or defense, the prosecution rests.

 

[coolpool2]

I would have thought you'd get stronger points than this. Your honour and the jury, the prosecution is clearly biased. He is attempting to make Tolvan appear to be some horrific campaign killing monster, when this clearly is not the case. First, I would like to remind the prosecution that the defendant is charged with multiple cases of campaignicide. That is the focus of this case.

Regarding Exhibit A: You claim that the defendant's inactivity in Golden Lore was a key factor in why he dropped the rp. You also linked a screen shot where Tolvan claims to have killed the campaign (which I can confirm did happen). Tovlan is incorrect, he was not the reason the campaign died. That comment was likely just an offhand comment meant as a joke. While Tolvan was inactive for an untold reason, I do not believe this to be the reason why Requiem pulled the plug. If you look at the later parts of the golden lore OOC thread Requiem does not mention Tolvan when he talks about ending the campaign. In fact on page nine of golden lore OOC he says that he planned to move on without Tolvan, even going as far as saying that Tolvan may get killed off. Also on page ten Requiem states that he was "Not holding out for Tolvan," This shows that even if Tolvan was inactive forever, Requiem would have just killed him off and moved on. The defense, prosecution and Jeroth all know how the events of Golden Lore died. At the introduction of Requiem's GMPC Tirin, Easy, Jeroth, and I complained about it and Requiem's railroading. Easy and Tirin made multiple attempts to kill Requiem's GMPC all while discussing it in the Dungeons and Dragons skype conversation. The moment Golden Lore died was when Easy killed Requiem's GMPC. I do not blame Easy or Tirin for this campaign death, it is very likely that even if the GMPC had not died the campaign would have died later on. Nonetheless, while my client hindered the activity of Golden Lore he was not responsible for the campaign's death.

Regarding Exhibit B: Let's look at the post counts for each player shall we? Coolpool: 4 posts, Easy: 3 posts, Tolvan: 2 posts, Elliot: 2 posts. When this campaign died I was the only one making posts. Tolvan and Elliot had made the same amount of posts, and Easy stopping making posts after one more than them. Can you really say that it was his fault the campaign died? It was a collective fault of the players that Judgement Day was killed. Even if Tolvan had posted, Easy would have only posted if all the others did, but do you think Elliot would have posted? Elliot never posted again on the forums after that last post in Judgement day. Again, the defendant is not the one at fault here, if all players lose interest in a rp it is natural for it to die.

Regarding Exhibit C: This is irrelevant to the case. Tolvan cannot kill something which had not been started in the first place. Tolvan has not been charged with making threads for campaigns and not doing them.

Regarding Exhibit D: Tolvan did not fail to land a killing blow, he barely scratch the campaign. Tolvan has been charged with multiple campaignicide, but he did not kill the campaign nor try to kill it, his actions in Fantasy Nations has had little effect on it's health in the long run.

Regarding Exhibit E: Tolvan died, and then he left. That's all there is to it. There's nothing wrong with quitting a campaign once you die. It is not his fault that the campaign did not go on for a while. Since there were less people, it should have been easier to have sessions, as there were less people that need to align their schedules and less people to plan encounters for. Also not one time have I heard Jeroth, Easy, or Tirin complain that Tolvan and Wilger are not in the campaign anymore.

None of Tolvan's actions have shown any malice. He has committed a couple minor offenses, but has Tolvan actually killed multiple, or even one campaign? No. Tolvan is innocent, if you have any shred of common sense you should see that he has not killed any campaigns. He is just another role player, who likely was held back by something in his personal life.

 

[Tirin]

First, I would like to remind the prosecution that the defendant is charged with multiple cases of campaignicide. That is the focus of this case.

Do note that he may still be convicted of a single count of campaignicide.

Regarding Exhibit A: You claim that the defendant's inactivity in Golden Lore was a key factor in why he dropped the rp. You also linked a screen shot where Tolvan claims to have killed the campaign (which I can confirm did happen). Tovlan is incorrect, he was not the reason the campaign died. That comment was likely just an offhand comment meant as a joke. While Tolvan was inactive for an untold reason, I do not believe this to be the reason why Requiem pulled the plug. If you look at the later parts of the golden lore OOC thread Requiem does not mention Tolvan when he talks about ending the campaign. In fact on page nine of golden lore OOC he says that he planned to move on without Tolvan, even going as far as saying that Tolvan may get killed off. Also on page ten Requiem states that he was "Not holding out for Tolvan," This shows that even if Tolvan was inactive forever, Requiem would have just killed him off and moved on. The defense, prosecution and Jeroth all know how the events of Golden Lore died. At the introduction of Requiem's GMPC Tirin, Easy, Jeroth, and I complained about it and Requiem's railroading. Easy and Tirin made multiple attempts to kill Requiem's GMPC all while discussing it in the Dungeons and Dragons skype conversation. The moment Golden Lore died was when Easy killed Requiem's GMPC. I do not blame Easy or Tirin for this campaign death, it is very likely that even if the GMPC had not died the campaign would have died later on. Nonetheless, while my client hindered the activity of Golden Lore he was not responsible for the campaign's death.

While Requiem's railroading and otherwise poor GMing was, no doubt, the largest factor in the death of Golden Lore, Tolvan's complete halt in inactivity hindered the campaign and strained the patience of all involved. In any case, it is supremely evident that, if he did not kill Golden Lore, he still wounded it gravely - perhaps even fatally, and his confession reflects that fact. If he were not serious about his confession, he would not bother defending himself for doing so; however, if you check the logs, you can see that he did.

Regarding Exhibit B: Let's look at the post counts for each player shall we? Coolpool: 4 posts, Easy: 3 posts, Tolvan: 2 posts, Elliot: 2 posts. When this campaign died I was the only one making posts. Tolvan and Elliot had made the same amount of posts, and Easy stopping making posts after one more than them. Can you really say that it was his fault the campaign died? It was a collective fault of the players that Judgement Day was killed. Even if Tolvan had posted, Easy would have only posted if all the others did, but do you think Elliot would have posted? Elliot never posted again on the forums after that last post in Judgement day. Again, the defendant is not the one at fault here, if all players lose interest in a rp it is natural for it to die.

Objection! Easy's being willing to post if other players did, as well as your own continued posting, indicates that not all players lost interest - he simply didn't want to RP with only one other player and the GM, especially with such a large loss in activity out of the gate. Regardless; if Tolvan and Elliot both ceased posting, the charge of campaignicide should rest on both of them, not on neither. As the court is proceeding with Tolvan's trial, we will ignore Elliot's hand in this for now, but you yourself admit that Tolvan played a part the death of Judgement Day.

Regarding Exhibit C: This is irrelevant to the case. Tolvan cannot kill something which had not been started in the first place. Tolvan has not been charged with making threads for campaigns and not doing them.

Exhibit C was not a charge, but an illustration of how Tolvan evidently does not hold RPs in high regard, even those of his own design.

Regarding Exhibit D: Tolvan did not fail to land a killing blow, he barely scratch the campaign. Tolvan has been charged with multiple campaignicide, but he did not kill the campaign nor try to kill it, his actions in Fantasy Nations has had little effect on it's health in the long run.

Tolvan's negligence toward Fantasy Nations had the potential to starve out the RP, but all others involved would not let that happen. Regardless, he certainly committed assault, and did so after clearly intending to play an active role in said RP.

Regarding Exhibit E: Tolvan died, and then he left. That's all there is to it. There's nothing wrong with quitting a campaign once you die. It is not his fault that the campaign did not go on for a while. Since there were less people, it should have been easier to have sessions, as there were less people that need to align their schedules and less people to plan encounters for. Also not one time have I heard Jeroth, Easy, or Tirin complain that Tolvan and Wilger are not in the campaign anymore.

When a campaign's player base is cut in half in the span of a day, it causes a serious strain on the DM and players. Further, Tolvan died due to breaking character, and although he was offered a chance at survival he refused to take even that, suggesting that he was fine with the effect that his absence would have on Enmity. Also, we don't complain about Tolvan or W1LG3R being gone specifically because we instead complain about lack of PCs in general. Since they both signed up to play, that's still complaining about 'em.

None of Tolvan's actions have shown any malice. He has committed a couple minor offenses, but has Tolvan actually killed multiple, or even one campaign? No. Tolvan is innocent, if you have any shred of common sense you should see that he has not killed any campaigns. He is just another role player, who likely was held back by something in his personal life.

Tolvan no doubt killed Judgement Day, has confessed to killing Golden Lore, and had a major negative impact on both Enmity and Fantasy Nations (though was unsuccessful in killing either owing to the determination and enjoyment of other parties involved in those games). The fact that he willfully ignored requests for him to post in RPs is proof that he willingly and knowingly contributed to the death of Judgement Day and Golden Lore, and that he was similarly willing to let Fantasy Nations die, and the lack of effort or care he puts into RPs he plays in demonstrate that he is a danger to any he becomes involved with.

 

[coolpool2]

I don't care if he made a "confession", the fact of the matter is that Requiem would have moved on without him. At most he was just an annoyance in golden lore, everything just moved on without him. It's not like he was integral to what was going on when he left. I read the skype logs and I think you're exaggerating. He wasn't defending himself, he just made a comment that it was dying anyways. I think if he was defending himself he would have made an actual defense.

This situation would be like if someone claims they killed a man by stabbing him three times with a knife, yet the victim had no knife wounds and died from burning.

While I admit that Tolvan was one of the people who did not post in Judgement day, that doesn't change the fact that three quarters of the players didn't post. In the end Easy didn't want to play due to the circumstances and thus didn't post.

I think it's about time that we ask Tolvan about what happened and how he feels about this situation. We won't get much further without new evidence. The defense calls @Tolvan to testify about whether or not he has killed any campaigns and if he willingly contributed to the deaths of any.

 

[Easy]

@Tolvan

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, answering all relevant questions posed by either attorney fully and accurately, to the best of your ability, no matter how tangential the relevance and however self-incriminating the answer may be, or else accept, before all forumers previous, future, and current, that your own worth is no greater than that of a gay-ass, baby-ass, stupid-ass, worthless-ass Czech pride stinking bitch?

 

[Tirin]

Your Honor, this is evidently getting us nowhere. With your permission I would like to call the accuser, @Jeroth, to the stand.

 

[Easy]

@Jeroth

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, answering all relevant questions posed by either attorney fully and accurately, to the best of your ability, no matter how tangential the relevance and however self-incriminating the answer may be, or else accept, before all forumers previous, future, and current, that your own worth is no greater than that of a gay-ass, baby-ass, stupid-ass, worthless-ass Czech pride stinking bitch?

Attorneys may proceed as normal, if desired, while waiting on one or more witnesses.

 

[Easy]

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, answering all relevant questions posed by either attorney fully and accurately, to the best of your ability, no matter how tangential the relevance and however self-incriminating the answer may be, or else accept, before all forumers previous, future, and current, that your own worth is no greater than that of a gay-ass, baby-ass, stupid-ass, worthless-ass Czech pride stinking bitch?

The court is advised that failure to answer this query in the affirmative does not preclude witnesses from testifying or attorneys from operating. Failure to answer the presiding Justice's direct address, however, does, until such time as a worthy answer has been provided.

 

[Jeroth]

Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, answering all relevant questions posed by either attorney fully and accurately, to the best of your ability, no matter how tangential the relevance and however self-incriminating the answer may be, or else accept, before all forumers previous, future, and current, that your own worth is no greater than that of a gay-ass, baby-ass, stupid-ass, worthless-ass Czech pride stinking bitch?

I do.

 

[Tirin]

Riyant, as the GM of Judgement Day and Enmity, and a player in Golden Lore, I ask you this: are you of the opinion that Tolvan's inactivity and/or unwillingness to schedule has harmed (in the case of Enmity) or contributed to the death of (in the cases of Judgement Day and Golden Lore) these RPs? Please answer on a per-RP basis, so the jury is more capable of determining which crimes Tolvan is or is not guilty of.

 

[Jeroth]

As the GM of Judgement Day, I can safely say that Tolvan's inactivity did lead towards a downward spiral of posts from other players. While waiting for him to post, the RP withered away.

As the GM of Enmity: Vow of Vengeance, I can safely say that Tolvan's scheduling issues did, in fact, harm Enmity. Aside from that, when Tolvan playing his Drow Fighter, Nalrayn (I ask the court to forgive spelling), his untimely death along with Wilger's did lead to Enmity to be shelved due to a half-TPK.

As a player of Golden Lore, I would say that Tolvan's participation was very light. It did in fact hinder Golden Lore, while I do believe that Golden Lore destined to die begin with, it was akin to assisted suicide.

In all of these cases, the Shadow of Death follows @Tolvan

 

[Tirin]

Thank you for your testimony, Riyant. Your Honor, the prosecution has no more questions for the witness at this time.

 

[Easy]

Attorneys are reminded that the deadline for closing arguments is 23:36 EST this Friday.

 

[Chlegyr]

Got here a bit late. Still in time to witness a legal massacre though.

 

[Jeroth]

Attorneys are reminded that the deadline for closing arguments is 23:36 EST this Friday.

Guess it's over.

 

[Easy]

Guess it's over.

Confirmed. Any and all witness or attorney statements made between now and the deadline are to be ignored and also stricken from the record.

DELIBERATION HEREBY BEGINS.

All forumers in good standing are hereby authorized to cast vote with the format: Vote [GUILTY / NOT GUILTY] for the next seven days, to be concluded next Monday at 01:40 (a.m.) EST. Exceptions are: Myself, @Jeroth , @Tirin , @coolpool2 , @Tolvan .

 

[Tirin]

I hope only that the jury will make the right decision by punishing this man for his evident sins and refusal to admit to them.

 

[Colonel Thunder]

Am I eligible for voting?