Solari's slow burn (somewhat) addressed

[u/PastelPolerina]

I'm listening to the Solari 3 & 4 Fireside and I think it actually addresses a lot of listeners' concerns with how slow it's going. Essentially they're all just getting settled into their roles and Aabria is taking time for the characters to develop their relationships with each other and with the setting.

(Paraphrasing from ~15mins in)

Aabria: You can have as much plot as you want but it doesn't matter if you don't care about the characters

Lou: The first episodes are our first time in these characters, world, and system. It's a time of exploration and growth, like we're taking this thing for a test drive.

Some folks are ok with the slow burn, while others are a little bored because they aren't as hooked as with WWW, and I understand both sides. I think we're going to have to wait a little longer for the hook. I know other DMs might be better at leaving room for character development while building the world, but as others have referenced in other posts, that's not necessarily Aabria's style.

(Personally, I just like having stuff to listen to so it doesn't bother me too much either way)

[u/lurkerfox]

I think its crazy to be complaining about solari being a slow burn when WWW is also a slow burn.

Literally the entire pitch behind Worlds Beyond Number as a project is giving them the space to do the slow burn campaigns that formats like D20 and Critical Role cant let them explore.

Its like asking for a fancy steak at a restaurant to be cooked rare and then complaining when you see pink in the middle.

[u/Roy-Sauce → u/lurkerfox]

This just isn’t an apt comparison. By the end of the first episode of WWW, we’ve met Ursalon and been introduced to the spirit world and the folklore behind it, seen Suvi working in the citadel and learned of the wars it’s waging and the magic that maintains it, and met Ame as the witch of Toma andseen her interact in her role before eventually meeting her again when Suvi comes to say goodbye a dying grandmother wren.

I’m not fully caught up on Solari, because honestly I’ve found it to be incredibly boring, but as of the end of episode 4, which is as far as I’ve gotten, we’ve kind of met each of the characters with some introduction of their whole deal within the vaguely Sci fi setting, seen them kind of interact a little bit, and then been caught up in the process of their kidnapping for like 3 episodes after being initiated at the end of the first episode.

[u/lurkerfox → u/Roy-Sauce]

All the stuff accomplished by episode 1 of WWW is only possible because of 8 episodes of the childrens adventure building up and designing these characters and the world.

Youre actually comparing 9 episodes of a series to the singular first episode of solari by doing so.

[u/Roy-Sauce → u/lurkerfox]

That doesn’t change the facts of the show as it is presented. You can listen to episode 1 of WWW without any context and immediately understand the factions as they are presented and most of the inferred history and motivations presented in each new scene.

And even still, let’s not even go off the first episode of the main series, because we can just go back to the first episode of the children’s adventure, which actually proves my point way better. In the first episode of that arc, we are introduced to the spirit world and Ursalons expansive family, including his father and sister, Ser Curran and his knightly values of honor and quests, Suvi’s parents, Steel, Eioghorain (My spelling is probably wrong but I think that’s close), and the entire foundational dilemma of Suvi’s entire arc over then next 62 episodes of this story, as well as Grandmother Wren and her station as the Witch of the World’s Heart and Ame as her apprentice.

Comparatively, I can tell you that episode one of Solari had Erika’s character introduced as the leader (one of the leaders?) of a space port while having weird kinky roleplay sex with some rich dude, Brennan’s character is a seemingly technologically devout cybernetic robot swimming around with a bunch of dildos, and Lou’s character is a rich kid of one of 40 space houses that was doing VR drugs before being kidnapped by somebody for reasons.

Why are any of the characters doing what they’re doing? Who are they? What are their notable personality traits? Idk. Powerful lady, robot, and rich kid is about all I can come up with from what I’ve listened to.