"Sjikki Laa'raodne'tss"
by Bicce Cassadine

Preface

When you pass through the back alleys of Crossings, through broken bridges and archaic ruins, outside banks and greens filled with entrepreneurs testing the waters thriving bazaar economy, you would probably not see the hunched over elderly Gnome, covered in rags with even more lice than her thinning hair, as a rising figure in the previously-sparse fortunetelling business.

Actually, her name is Sjikki Laa'raodne'tss, and rather than being one of Trimbolt's radical followers, she only recently hobbled into our corner of the orb en route to her final destination at Aesry Surlaenis'a. She has been a soothsayer of the Fortune's Path traditions (and strangely enough, not of the Moon Mage Guild), born and raised, and is on a crusade to the Island of the Ocean's Call to meditate with the spirit of Carno -- a prominent Moon Mage figure who discovered the art of enchantment from the goddess Eluned near Her lake. Sjikki herself has only presented herself at few occasions during the recent festival to perform small bits of fortunetelling and of a seemingly lost art, only to be rediscovered and revitalized.
Through a heavy dialect and a bit of alchemical shamanism, Sjikki draws crowds wherever she performs. Each thorough prediction different, each outcome unique.

Interview

BC: Why would you spend all this time, effort, and money -- dollar and kronar -- into a character that not only cannot technically predict, but does not level or have any real social interaction? Basically, a character that is not intended from the get-go for fun.

SL: Personally, I have another character for that outlet when I need to or want to, but making a character that is thoroughly three-dimensional and actually being that character, or person, is truly fascinating to be in that mindset. More than that, I get to see other people's reactions to things that I never could with my other characters. With my main character, I could never be taken seriously or have the opportunity to be in a situation where people would whisper to me how amazingly creative I am; whereas with Sjikki, I see a whole other side of people's faces. It is truly the first time I can walk through Town Green and be recognized not for me, but for talent. I would proscribe for anyone who comes to DragonRealms to get away from it all, to sit down, create a secondary character for the sole purpose of roleplaying a completely different side of things because to me, that is more fun than anything, depending on how you do it. Comparatively though, it takes much less time to play a character who doesn't have a drive to advance rather than a character who bases a good deal of their player's time on hunting or scripting, and much more rewarding in the end.

BC: On average, how long does a usual prediction take?

SL: I'd say anywhere from ten to twenty minutes. I firmly believe that if I set it all into a script or macro, that random, inexplicably customizable connection between characters would be gone. When I reach into one of my bags for one of the 30 bottles for a person to drink as a sort of lubricant to the soul, I have no idea what the bottle will do. The labels are irrelevant, because the effect is always original and different from before. I mean, how weird would it be if I gave them sleeping potion and kept talking to them like I had given them the throat-bleeding potion? It all comes together for a spontaneous effect that I doubt would be there if it was premeditated.

BC: For aspects of like your dialect that must take a long time, how do you keep it up? Dialect is one of the best ways of expressing a character, but most players veer from it because of how time-consuming it is to think about how to transcribe a word into a certain tongue.

SL: It started out that way. I'd be responding to questions that were asked sometimes minutes before I had a chance for a rebuttal. But you get used to it, you'll find that there are some definite keys to minimize the time it takes, once you unlock that door.

BC: Something everyone marvels at when they see you is your wardrobe. It's absolutely perfect for your character, but it had to be expensive -- even though you play a character that's just beyond poverty.

SL: Actually, I bought it all at the recent festival for under 10 platinum. I needed things that were tattered and worn, but they also had to be a little shamanistic. But it's easy if you just look for the cheap stuff. Even stores like the Trader Shop, the wedding spot in Leth, even a few of Hara'jaal's clothing stores all sell clothing that could be mistaken for merchant clothes, but since people don't usually wear what they consider "common", not many people can testify to knowing them all.

BC: Do you think that helps? I mean, looking more like an NPC?

SL: I think so. No matter what people say, use whatever works to turn a few heads and flip a few coins.

BC: And my last question would be: What's the most rewarding aspect of all the effort?

SL: The fact that I can weasel a good twenty platinum tip.

Techniques

Dialect -- Possibly one of the most annoying characteristics to do, and to read, dialect is always a good asset to a player. Most people have a Love it/Hate it relationship when it comes to this, but as long as it fits your character and is mildly legible, you can't go wrong. The main concern people have with dialect is either how people can't understand you or it simply takes too long. The trick to it all is being consistent and keeping up a pattern and, like any language, you're more likely to pick it up as time goes on and you use it all the more. And, like Sjikki said, there are always ways to cheat. For example, Sjikki uses one of the more popular ways of speaking -- poverty. In other words, speaking like you barely know the language. Her trick is to speak consistently horribly in Common, but switch for the occasional phrase or spur-of-the-moment quote in her race's home language, Gorbesh. Being that in recent GameMaster statistics, Gorbesh-speaking races take up less than 2% of the population, it's much harder for her to work that, but yet it does in the end. For races like Humans and Elves, who together make up almost half of the DragonRealms player consensus, this is much, much easier, especially with the addition of the Moon Mage spell Voices and the hope that someday multiple languages will be taught or learned.

Fortunetelling -- As most people know, fortunetelling has always been a popular roleplaying technique, usually added to a Moon Mage's built-in predicting abilities. But it isn't limited to the predict verb, and it doesn't have to be limited to Moon Mages. One of the most surprising things about Sjikki was that she was a Cleric, and for all her monetary tips and use of predicting bones, she has never actually given a skill-aiding prediction to her clients yet gets tipped insane amounts -- proving that it is all in the roleplaying. Some of the important parts to point out in Sjikki's technique is how she involves the other characters by not turning it into a script, and always leaving that unknown variable that you need to be spontaneous. Most fortunetellers in DragonRealms either script/macro their basic predictions or only use the "fancy" ones at contests or events. The problem with scripts is that they take out that factor, and make it nearly impossible to do roleplaying predictions on a regular basis, and so an obvious tip would be to macro three or four of the long-winded "important" parts and keep a pattern of certain tactics that you use to do the rest of the freehand predictions.

Props -- All characters need props. Whether we're just talking clothes, the trademark item, or just quintessential fluff, they're all needed for the added effect. With Sjikki in particular, although her clothing is fitted and hand-picked for her character, the real fun is in her hidden props that aid her for whenever. Her clothing directly effects her demeanor and turns more than just a few heads her way with peaked curiousity, and her trademark item was a gnarled croisar, but for her predictions, she has well over a hundred specialty items that others would consider useless fluff. Vials that have no purpose, mirrors that do nothing, mortars that go unused... they all fit together for a certain effect, and for a cheap price.

Game Mechanics -- For a good portion of players, game mechanics are always a little invisible barrier. Well, more like a hurtle. Usually, if we think an item doesn't have any nifty verbs, it can't do anything nifty, and I know it looks like a cliche, but ACT-ions are always a good way to go if you do it in a sensible way. The important thing to remember when you're using action emotes like Sjikki did, is to think like a GameMaster programming that verb: Would that item be able to do that? Would you be able to do that? Is it within context of DragonRealms and the situation? For instance, Sjikki usually uses a bit of naphtha in her fortunetelling, and in actions uses it with a little bit of oil or with a spark to make a little fire or a small burst of sparks -- that's using it logically and realistically, and it's a definite to get noticed. Another way to use emotes is with the most used verb of all, SAY. Quite often, Sjikki will say something with an action. A good way to do this is to put a <,"> at the start of where you want to put an action and then pick up what you were saying with another <,">. They're always an easy thing to get around and make a very nice effect.

When all's said and done, all the techniques and tricks Sjikki uses all leads back to creativity, and as a credit to all the people I hope to be getting in touch with for a roleplaying profile in Waerd Aev's future, it's that kind of creativity that gives DragonRealms it's drive.

For more information behind Sjikki, head over to https://www.geocities.com/rpcolumn