Natural 20

From MTG Salvation Wiki

Image courtesy of Alacar Leoricar

Natural 20 is a clan on MTG Salvation that is centered around the discussion of roleplaying games of all varieties- tabletop, console, and forum.

It is not uncommon to find discussions on the merits of various game titles, new releases, character "builds" and concepts for popular tabletop forums, and other related topics.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Formation 2 Clan Policies and Rules 3 Clan History And Information 4 Threadlisting

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

Natural 20 was founded in August, 2006 by the brother and sister member pair, Photon Eater and Mamelon, and Photon Eater's boyfriend, ethersphere. The clan was created after these three and several other members would find themselves having numerous gaming discussions in the overclan, Magic Coffeehouse. Seeing no other place for roleplayers on the site (despite the site's large and active Colosseum subforum), they created the clan to make a place for gamers to come in and talk.

The Clan maintains a slow but steady level of activity. Although not required, conversations tend to be more or less on topic at all times, with the primary dialogue between friends and members pertaining to a previously proposed topic that is typically game-related.

In addition to conversations, there have been occasional contests varying from card creation contests to contests on the creation of the best character backstory. Also, the clan has heavy ties to The Colosseum through the World Project: The Pen and Paper Inn, which was created when several members of Natural 20 (most notably Photon Eater, ethersphere, and Alacar Leoricar) worked together with The Colosseum moderator Nai to create a subforum where people could play forum-based D&D campaigns of varying levels of difficulty and playstyle.

[edit] Clan Policies and Rules

1. This should go without saying, but no flaming/trolling, or otherwise being a butthead to members of this clan, or any other (We absolutely will not tolerate badmouthing other clans in Natural 20!)

2. Be open to different gaming ideas. Gamers are notorious for being set in their ways when it comes to how they think a game should run, so please understand that not everyone wants the same thing out of their experience.

3. Just as a general statement, please do not post material from any game system unless you are absolutely sure that information is available through an Open Gaming License.

4. Please keep an active membership. If you become inactive, we cannot assure that your status as an active member will remain untouched.

5. When requesting membership, you may either PM me, or just post a response in the thread proper. It may take me some time to add you, depending on how available I can be. Anyone is welcome to become a member, so long as they have an interest in gaming- be it in tabletop games, console RPGs, or whatever!

6. When requesting friendship, all you need to do is ask. We're open to anyone being a friend, so long as you are willing to talk about gaming and want to contribute to the discussions.

7. Do not post links to Dark Dungeon. We've all already seen it, and it's just not that funny anymore, thanks.

[edit] Clan History And Information

• Pre-August, 2006: Notable members of Natural 20 have recurring gaming conversation in the Magic Coffeehouse, and in various threads within the Entertainment subforum.
• August 8th, 2006: Natural 20's first thread is posted.
• August, 2006: The first contest was held. Members were to submit a character backstory, and a vote was held to determine the winner. The winning entry was Photon Eater's backstory for his character Rose Giltrane, a female assassin.
• October, 2006: The second contest was held. Members were asked to design a set of cards around one of their RPG characters. The contest was much more involved than the previous contest, taking several weeks and inspiring more than one heated debate. Ultimately, the winning member was Mamelon, with the cards Portia, Argent Champion, Rising Umbrage, and Divine Grace, a trio of cards designed around her paladin, Portia de Medici.
• Fall 2006: Notable member Yukora requested a termination of membership in order to join another clan. He retains a friendship status in the clan.
• January, 2006: One of the original 6 founding members, Mr. Stuff, requested a termination of membership. He retains a friendship status.
• January, 16th, 2006: Natural 20 Wiki goes online. Photon Eater makes like... a million and a half minor edits in the span of two hours or so.

General Information:

The Dragon Quest vs. Final Fantasy Controversy- As is common in communities of gamers, there tends to be a perpetual divide between members on some interests, the most notable being a differing of opinions on the quality and validity of two oft-compared RPG franchises, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Once produced by rival developers, both series are now produced by the same company due to a merger in April 2003. Although usually fairly civil, it is not uncommon for the members to debate over the two series, with both sides trying very passionately to make a point so irrefutable for their favored title that the other side submits. It is unlikely that this will ever happen, but on occasion, it does lead to some rather heated discussion- even fights- which can make for some uncomfortable periods for newer members and friends. As previously stated, these arguments maintain a level of civilty at all times- no warnings or infractions have ever been handed out during these arguments, but it is worth noting that spending time in Natural 20 runs the risk of subjecting oneself to some admittedly fanboyish squabbling.

Membership Info:

Founders-

• Photon Eater
• ethersphere
• Mamelon

Leader/Clan Representative-

• Photon Eater

Members- Members of Natural 20 are given race and class levels like characters in Dungeons and Dragons. Levels are awarded randomly, usually at the beginning of a new thread. These distinctions mean absolutely nothing- they are merely an amusing embellishment.

• Photon Eater, Level 14 Human(?) Bard, and Leader/Clan Rep of Natural 20. (Alignment: Double Secret Chaotic Evil)
• Mamelon, 24nd Level Ardent with 40 Outsider hit-dice (Domains: Gender, Magical Potions, Chicken Nuggets, Owning in Debate)
• Ethersphere, Level 14 Human Rogue, and Resident Console RPG expert (+20 inherent bonus to Knowledge: Gaming checks)
• Dragonstar, Level 14 Human Druid, Tried 12 times on counts of dracocide, acquitted each time (Entirely possible he is not a fan of Draconomicon)
• Omna15, Level 6 Human Druid (Animal Companion: 4HD Dire Boyfriend, "Arguas2617")
• void nothing, Level 13 Drow Ranger (Twin Scimitar not included)
• Psychoburner, Level 13 Half-Dragon Sorcerer (Specializing in Invisibility spells, and other such spells that cause him to disappear from sight for extended periods of time.)
• Phantom Ronan, Level 13 Dwarven Samurai (Don't ask. It sounded good from a metagame standpoint)
• Alacar Leoricar, level 12 Half-elf Wizard (I know, what a shock)
• kevinliu2333, level 12 Human Favored Soul of Lolithia (SEEK NOT LOLITHIA! SHE IS IN HER TOMB! Cross genre FTW!)
• Bizkit Overlord, level 11 Human Paladin (Not a real overlord)
• Metathran Elite, Level 10 Human Cleric of whatever (Master Newb)

Regular Friends- Natural 20 makes a distinct between active and inactive friends. Active friendship status is not granted, it is given when a friend spends considerable time in the clan. As with normal friends, regular friends also recieve a humorous title.

• Shaharazad, crazy old guy outside the church who spouts off end of the world prophecies that are frighteningly relevant to the adventures of the party
• grappler12, shady innkeeper that steals your money while you sleep.
• Sliver Underlord, guy who always walks in front of that one door you need to get into and won't move so you need to spend the next few minutes running in a circle until he finally gets out of the way.
• KoolKoal, random encounter
• Joyd, nefarious town cake-stomper
• wamyc, tutorial dungeon
• Mr. Stuff, former cleric of Astroboy

Friends- Natural 20 grants friends of the clan a humorous title that is typically either an in-joke among members of the gaming community, or an allusion to some convention within the gaming universe.

• Priest, chaplain of the village church
• Umgenni Kemo, owner of the Fancy Unicorn Inn and Tavern
• Nan, Guy who wanders around the village and randomly gives out oddly pertinent information to random travelers.
• Nemcon, Pack of dangerous kobolds lurking just outside the village
• SapphireTri, save point
• Faerie Lord, obligatory elven fletcher
• Bad Luck, Town Weapon Shop owner
• Glamdring the Banhammer, Myrlynd's Spoon
• Faust, drunken bard passed out in the filth near the stables
• Wrath of Dog, randomly overpowered town guard that only exists for when your DM needs to lay the pain on that one really annoying guy in your playgroup who is always causing trouble.
• Arguas2617, animal companion
• Janus, optional boss hiding in well
• Shino Tenshi, talking broom
• Crimson Avatar, mysterious girl selling flowers.
• Danbanzero, man selling magic carpets in the market square
• BuzzDX, town militia solder that is easily outperformed by a teenager with wild hair and a sword.
• StormBlind, a mysterious well.
• Yukora, tombstone with a comical message from the programmers on it.
• Tangerine Tulip, trees
• Twinkee, min-maxer
• Nai, wealth-by-level guidelines
• Tuatha, witch living in the forest
• Sephiroth Owa, 16 gold pieces.
• Blane Firehand, some sort of hobbit, or maybe a gnome, I can't really tell them apart.

[edit] Threadlisting

Natural 20 changes threads roughly every 500 posts, or 2 months, whichever comes first.

• It Looks Like We Rolled a [Natural 20]
• [Natural 20] appeared. Command?
• You Make Me Feel Like a [Natural 20]
• Get Out of Here, Marcie! You're [Natural 20]!
• Pseudo[Natural 20]- Now with tentacles!

Explanation of Thread Titles: Some of the Natural 20 thread titles make jokes that refer to various gaming conventions that other non-gaming members of the site may not appreciate. Following is an explanation of each of the clan's thread titles, for the "gaming impaired."

• Thread 1 (It Looks Like We Rolled a Natural 20)- A fairly intuitive title that references the clan's name. A Natural 20 is a term within many tabletop roleplaying games that means to roll a 20 on a 20 sided die. A Natural 20 is usually very good, as it means the maximum degree of success one can achieve with a single action.
• Thread 2 (Natural 20 appeared. Command?)- A reference to the early installments of the NES RPG franchise, Dragon Quest. In the early Dragon Quest titles, when an enemy character would be encountered, it would be introduced in a nearly identical fashion.
• Thread 3 (You Make Me Feel Like a Natural 20)- Thread title chosen by Mamelon. The song is a reference to the 1967 single by American soul singer, Aretha Franklin.
• Thread 4 (Get Out of Here, Marcie! You're Natural 20)- The thread is a reference to a line from a publication by Christian publicist Jack Chick titled Dark Dungeons. Dark Dungeons was released in the early 80's as a piece of anti-D&D propaganda, and is commonly mocked by gamers the world over today. The line refers to the point in the tract in which Blackleaf, the character of a female gamer named Marcie, is killed during the game. When Marcie begs her dungeon master and fellow players to save her character, she is cast out of the group quite dramatically by the character Miss Frost, who shouts the line "Get out of here, Marcie- You're DEAD! You don't exist anymore!" at Marcie. Scenes from this comic were used in the Natural 20 recruiting comic made by Photon Eater. The comic has a permanent place on the clan's front page.
• Thread 5 (PseudoNatural 20- Now with tentacles!)- The thread is a reference to the pseudonatural creature template from the books Complete Arcane and Epic Level Handbook. The Pseudonatural creature template grants a creature features of a dweller of the Far Realms, creating a monster with a Lovecraftian appearance.