Review: The Warden's Grace (Diabolos)
- VELP-One
- Apr 19, 2024
- 2 min read
Venue address : Diabolos Mists, Ward 26, Plot 53 Venue times: Thursdays, Fridays 7 pm. - 10 p.m. Venue Carrd: https://thewardensgrace.carrd.co
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Staff Interaction
We were not greeted immediately upon entry, but the small venue only appeared to have two staff currently working and was quite busy. A few minutes after entering, one of the staff emoted to me, calling out an apology and a promise to be with me in just a moment. Staff were clearly marked by yellow tags, and did not appear to have a specific uniform. My interaction with the staff member was pleasant, cohesively and immersively in-character, and showed great knowledge of the properties of gemstones. That was an extra delight, but the capstone for me was realizing the owner was roleplaying as a devotee of one of the Twelve.
Clarity of Services Offered
The venue was clearly a shop. I went in without reviewing the website as I wanted a blind experience. At no point was I informed there was a cafe element to the shop, which was a missed opportunity. Especially since the fig and prosciutto flatbread looked amazing.
Atmosphere
The shop was well-lit and the decor made it abundantly clear it was, indeed, a shop. The use of the gem and jewelry display cases to create sections in the shop set us up for little bubbles of roleplay and conversation, and two tills ensured that roleplay wouldn't be delayed by a lineup as people went to purchase their belongings.
Role-Play
The roleplay was immersive, with any OOC discussions being had either privately, or while using brackets. The theme was consistent and the staff bolstered the atmosphere through their roleplay.
Out-of-Game Elements
The venue's website is colourful and well laid-out, with text easy to read. I personally found the text a little small, but despite that I could read what was on the site. The site uses excellent AODA policies involving the colour of text and background. I really enjoyed the use of photos to represent jewelry collections, as well as the effort made by the designer to advise us where the photos were obtained.
There was no clarity if the prices listed on the cafe section are IC or OOC gil. It is clarified when discussing jewelry and actual IC items, but if I was only looking at the menu, I wouldn't know.
Venue Style
This is a SFW venue.
Pros
A great blend of pure roleplay and service-oriented in-game provision of real items. Even though I had to wait for service because of the busy nature of the venue, I felt welcomed and seen.
Cons
There's no indication that there is an IC cafe (or, I completely missed it). Reviewer Thoughts I love me a supporter of Blitzball. I would love to come back, especially since every member of staff I interacted with was engaging and willing to have excellent conversation. I am bummed out that I missed out on the cafe on this visit, though!
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