hotdog99

PLEDGED

4 hours ago, Bob Ross said:

I had an idea for a courier character back when things were a little more fresh and chaotic. And when silver had more value. Could still be resurrected.

One does/did exist. She was a part of the Caveat. She ended up AFK-ing most of the time she was logged in, because it was a desperate attempt to stay logged in in-case work was available but also too boring.

Even with this suggestion there still could be a market for literal couriers. I would hope to never see a NPC deliver a tangible package from player to player.

2 hours ago, Dascombe said:

Or I could just send an IC letter through the forums to the player's account?

May be my sole opinion but I think that's silly. There is only two ways to actually address that type of roleplay; be the one receiving that letter, or somehow know it exists and steal it.

How is that letter getting to the other person? Does anyone know you're writing it? If robbed, are you actually going to remember to present the fact you have it on you? Sending a letter over the forums is borderline powergaming in my eyes, which is why I suggested this.

• Set a new NPC in each major hub (Port of Thousand Names, Silver-Eye, Menhirs, Drustgarde, and Grom'Goshar).
• Have them be strictly neutral faction.
• Permit players to pay this NPC (3-5 silver?) to send a message (enter message in a textbox most likely) to another player.
• An "illusion/image" of the NPC will be spawned at the message's recipient.
• NPC relays the message, then disappears. The NPC will not mention who the message is from.
• Players can disable the ability to have messages sent to them.

What is the lore behind this?

A mage has managed to wrestle control of the Doldrums' ley lines enough to be able to project their self anywhere within the Doldrums for a previously visited area or those he can scry. He, however, cannot see more than what he's seen before, whether through experience or the person he scries. Given that fact, he has trained apprentices to lead his business that will fund his continued research. These apprentices share the same power to project themselves. They choose to project themselves rather than seep into minds to send messages because of the confirmed rumors of a wicked being doing just that. The mage and its apprentices' neutrality and secrecy (both in clients and techniques) is maintained to confidently offer their services.

What is the mechanical reason?

Not needing to physically travel to other places to send a message is a significant breach of one's ability to spy on others. Given that fact, the messenger physically appears and relays the message publicly in the range of /say. 

Their neutrality is to avoid factions from abusing the lore, and trying to lazily uncover the beginning of the way out of the Doldrums.

Given I have zero idea what the true lore of the Doldrums is, it can be changed to any degree to suit this suggestion.

Wish I had kept my character related to this. 😧

See ya, buddy.

You may be beary disappointed.

47 minutes ago, Nostra said:

I'm 99% there are good wmos of dwarven houses and fortresses that we can edit into the world. You'd have to pay through the dick though. 

Happily willing to. Slightly broad question, but what's an average cost we can expect to pay for a wmo of that nature?

ayyyy

I have a fondness for the normal-sized races. Given the inherent nature of most of the guilds currently in existence and IC events, you're either siding with the Horde or Alliance. There's little room for "neutrality" outside of Silver-Eye. I have two concepts in mind:

Dwarves

A neutral settlement (name still pending) specifically built by dwarves into the side of one of the mountains on Opej. It has the intent to utilize a carpus and/or world edit to expand itself in the future. Given its location and intended design, it will serve a safe hub for any merchants. Government will strictly be maintained by the founding dwarves until 1) Dwarven clans are developed, or 2) Another IC event that would see that concept undone.

or

Goblins

A group of goblins originating from Silver-Eye with the sole intent to capitalize on IC events to push a communistic agenda. As with real life communism, the concept is rife with corruption, despite its intended facade. Group will be called the Democratic Denizens of (the?) Doldrums. The goblins (and any other races that come aboard) will be situated mostly in Opej until IC events push them towards other isles.

The stone. Its power. Its fate. None could grasp it without greed. It could not be hidden. A home was given to it, instead. One, despite its vile nature, could not equal the vileness those of Opej'Nor spew. I regret my decision in that it now serves as the heart of a construct; a construct that can be demolished, destroyed, and salvaged from. They will take it.

Decisions. Choices. Failure. A crushing realization. They do not intend to make the hard choice. They too make one of greed. Bloodthirsty, vile. They have lied to my face. I will rectify that mistake.

Trust. Honesty. Loyalty. All that remains. The currency of life on these isles. So easily given, and so easily stolen. I have few I trust, though I have betrayed the trust they return me. Lies, deceit. Less they know, the safer they are. I fear they will not see that if these lies were exposed. But I must make the hard choices, so they do not feel what I do - nothing.

6 minutes ago, AlexV said:

Most of the people you see online daily.
 

No need to add more fuel to that fire.

 

If the only thing keeping players around is running around the jungle to find noticeboards the server failed. It's the storytelling that does that, not a grind.

 

At most, half of the people around are players that have been around for a good while.

Not stating that is. However, it would serve as a supplement to the overall storytelling. It's like getting good service at a restaurant that serves good food. Will you probably still go for the good food alone? Sure. But you would probably go more often if the service is great.

Mind you, if it wasn't clear these noticeboards are meant to add to the storytelling. They're not just some random gimmick things.

While I'm all for more guilds, this seems a slight bit too one dimensional. The other only trading guild branched out to be one that sailed in political waters. I suggest trying to branch further out in concept, or you might find yourself getting burnt out.

Hope it works! Would be good to see some well played gobbos.

11 hours ago, AlexV said:

Having arbitrary XP gains defeats the purpose of the XP cap and punishes players that played so far with a cap existing.

 

And again, bias is a thing.

While I admit the first point is something to keep in mind, frankly how many of those players have characters they still actively play?

And yes, bias is a thing, however blatant bias will crush the server before any player that's bloated with noticeboard-based XP.

Despite what I've said, I'm not admitting that a lack of a way to earn XP outside of logging in once a day = a low player count. Also, I am not saying the plan is foolproof, but it's at least something more reliable and not necessarily grindable (as we can implement a cap on how many of these noticeboards can be active at once).

12 hours ago, AlexV said:

Absolutely not. It's so easily abused. The XP cap exists for a reason, to ensure that older characters remain ahead and to LIMIT how much XP you can get a day. For GMs to give out XP arbitrarily defeats the purpose of the cap.

Also Keepers could be online during hours that favor some players and disadvantage others. Just no.

When you're trading a possible death to earn at most a day's worth of XP, I think the concept is fine.

Also, the only time Keeper availability comes into play with this idea is when they go and make the noticeboard. Even then, that doesn't matter, as players may not respond to the noticeboard in a meaningful way. For an example, the dwarven encampment noticeboard made by Kit; what she most likely intended was someone to take the diseased murderous monkey nearby, and test them for whatever was afflicting them. Instead, someone just outright killed the monkey.

My only concern is very random distribution of XP amounts and for what. Best way to avoid that? Have someone (like a person on the council) yay or nay concepts for these noticeboards along with how much XP is distributed and for what actions; we should reward people that push to expand on the roleplay.

3 hours ago, BobbyWitDatTool said:

It doesn't even have to be killing mobs. A cool thing would be if players were rewarded EXP for taking parts in events. It'd likely encourage people to contact Keepers about potential event ideas and things they can do for themselves, a group of people, their guild, etc. Events could be grouped by their difficulty: easy, challenging, hard, and XP would increase by each one. The difficulty could be the risk of death in the event, and the EXP could be allocated evenly to everyone participating. So if a hard event gave 500, and 2 people participated, they'd get a lot of EXP, but they also survived an encounter that likely should have ended in their deaths, so they earned it.

Issue with that is both a combination of event hopping and favoring players that stay on all day.

I do understand what you mean when you reference NWN. So, I recommend some smaller events that don't need huge administrative oversight. For an example, Keepers have made use of the noticeboards. They slightly hide them in the ground next to points of interest. If you reply to the scenario on the noticeboard in some fashion (i.e. being first or with the "right" answer), then the Keeper who made it could award you XP. Mind you, these noticeboards could and should have consequences from replying to them.

welcome welcome

The hunger. The desire. The forced choice. A dash to unleash blind ferocity. She watches. Animal by animal, vulnerable to vicious - slaughtered and mutilated. She feels no remorse, no empathy for his prey. Sanity crashes against him like the isle's waves. He feels rotten, disgusted.

Desperate for choice. Choice before the forced choice. The Huntsmen. To live peacefully through bloodshed. Humane, at least.

Cheer. Jolliness. Normality. It was what he was once before. He remembers. His heart gone, but his spirit persists. At least pretend to see smiles and hear laughter. Happiness in their faces, at least.

Castaway. Over time the realization that most were. Firm stares of disgust. A castaway in a familiar setting. Emotions ran through him; dread, angst, regret. All will eventually die, but few come to regret it.

Stares. Lambasted with his back turned. Honesty. Honesty washed ashore these isles in droves. In reality, appreciation came from it, though one wasn't keen on admitting that fact.

Cared for. Caressed with words. Distrust. Honesty came only in brutal forms in this savage land. Otherwise, deceit ran rampant. Deceit to rip apart hearts that were too delicate and willing to trust.

For his first days, the dead dwarf was a hermit. An eye desperate to see truth, and ears desperate to hear it. Secrets uncovered to only be buried into his frail heart.