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Comments
In my ideal game each city would be on its own, but honestly, things just don't seem to be panning out that way. 1v3 simplifies down into 1v1 if two cities join together, and that kinda seems how things have split. I wish it could go to 1v3, or like, if only certain cities could challenge for lessers in certain places, with some central zones being capable of free-for-alls. Western Ithmia is central-ish, Siroccians, the highway, and maybe like Liruma/Aureliana.
I remember, involve me and I
learn.
-Benjamin Franklin
Because I'd really like to see a 'neutral' city. There is so much potential there. You could still have good or evil people live there, or people that truly were neutral. You know.. like a real city.
the way she tells me I'm hers and she is mine
open hand or closed fist would be fine
blood as rare and sweet as cherry wine
Spinesreach is supposed to be 'neutral' (or claimed to be by a lot of people, I don't know if that was the intent) but it is on the whole lumped right into the Bloodlochian Horde in the public eye. No lifer guild or Order will let you live there, and -most- people in Enorian aren't going to consider you anything but a bad guy if you're there either.
Then we have Duiran, which is maybe a 'neutral' place although still life based, but it's so specifically themed. I don't want to have to play a wilds/forestal/Dendara/whatever other catch they have just to have a more 'neutrally aligned' character that isn't automatically associated with being an evil blood sucker or whatever.
While I can't speak for this person, I imagine that being able to work in a more neutral setting with a smaller group of like-minded individuals would be preferable to being forced to either go to one of the two very defined, polarized options, go rogue or go darkside.
Another was when Enorian and Ashtan were allied, Loch declared war on Enorian and the northern alliance treaty existed, which Reach used to keep Ashtan -and- Duiran out of the war despite -them- joining on behalf of Bloodloch. We were still using Duiran supply lines, though, and when that was found out Duiran broke their alliance with us, Ashtan didn't really have anyone, and we got stomped again. Good politicking? Perhaps. But every time in the past neutrality has worked in such a way that Enorian always answered the call for Duiran but Duiran never repaid the favor (until tethering went in).
Message #17059 Sent By: Oleis Received On: 1/03/2014/17:24
"If it makes you feel better, just checking your artifact list threatens to crash my mudlet."
Message #17059 Sent By: Oleis Received On: 1/03/2014/17:24
"If it makes you feel better, just checking your artifact list threatens to crash my mudlet."
I'd love some suggestions though.
Is there more we can do? Yes. But I like the path we're on with the Festival of the Gods and the city, as a whole, has a rather nice vibe to it. Almost all of the vitriolic elements have either been expunged or shut up. The thing is, we can't ever lean too far one way or the other or internal strife will explode. I've had Daru telling me that Enorian is losing it's edge, we're not zealous enough. I've had Templars and Ascendril saying we're too zealous. Until something unites everyone for one purpose, it's a balancing act that quite frankly takes a lot of time and energy to maintain.
And, while I understand the Age of Dawn and everything, realistically, it's like the Biblical Rapture. The Revelation is a prophecy none of us will probably ever see, so it takes some serious faith to push it, so to speak, and while I'm not sure, I'd wager the bulk of our players could give two you know whats about mainstream religion, and so there's some natural kickback against it. When I first started playing, it was explained OOC to me that Enorian was 'supposed to be a cross between the Catholic Crusades and a Jihad against Undeath' but you can't play that way. It leads to strife, to damn near civil war, and to a weakening of an organization that already is outmanned almost 2 to 1 against our biggest competition.
Message #17059 Sent By: Oleis Received On: 1/03/2014/17:24
"If it makes you feel better, just checking your artifact list threatens to crash my mudlet."
Message #17059 Sent By: Oleis Received On: 1/03/2014/17:24
"If it makes you feel better, just checking your artifact list threatens to crash my mudlet."
Message #17059 Sent By: Oleis Received On: 1/03/2014/17:24
"If it makes you feel better, just checking your artifact list threatens to crash my mudlet."
But Vampires are kind of a big deal. They have all kinds of awesome flavor for RP and PK, and they're a -huge- draw to people, especially new players. If anything, the discussion was talking about how to draw people -away- from them.
I mean, Seir was a Defender and stuck out like a sore thumb in Spinesreach at the time but still did his own thing. He was a savage in a city and made it work. Now, he's a grizzled, sarcastic jackwagon that doesn't really live up to the "lofty" bearing of the Sentinels. His oath is there, but he's not too severe about it like he used to be. Granted, he's not opposed to dirtying his hands if he has to or going on a sociopathic murder spree if he has a lapse in his mental state of affairs.
Point is, your organization should really never define your character. I mean, if you want a good literary example, think of the Night's Watch in ASoIaF. Those lofty words in their oath, the ideals, the history, what they stand for. If they were in Aetolia, you'd probably expect each of them to resemble a grizzled Paladin. What are they in actuality? Most of them are thieves, rapists, murderers with their own gripes, poisons, and histories with a few dishonoured nobles or nobles who fought on the wrong side of a war amongst the leadership. It's a motley crew.
And yeah, Orgs shouldn't define your character, you should be an individual amongst that organization who perhaps embodies its spirit, but not necessarily always the avatar of it, unless for certain folks who you would directly correlate as such a thing IE. Ezalor-Strong Vampire who don't need no man, etcetera. There are a list of others, but I have not directly roleplayed with them enough to make the assumption they are what I think they are, consider someone like Valingar who I see as a PKer, but have never personally in depth RP'd with though I imagine he has some flavor behind his character, he seems to have a strong dynamic in Enorian.
Rambling, im tired. Sorry if this makes no sense.
Mostly, I was not really interested in doing a 1-dimensional hur hur evil role and that's not really how Moi is, she always thinks she's doing things for a GOOD reason, and I took the org along for the ride. They were all too newbish or afk ranting about class revamps to object. ^_^
Uhh, more on topic, neutrality is really hard to do in Aet. An org that is neutral will side with both darkies and lifers, and, while darkie RP can kinda be ok with the org helping out lifers for a spin, the minute the neutral org takes sides with darkies, lifer RP really can't be ok with that, as that means the "neutral" org has supported Undeath. The Undeath/Living outlook is too constricting to allow them to really be ok with that, and that's not a knock at lifers or anything, that's just the hand they have been dealt. It's one reason I really really really dislike how the game has shifted into that focus for the main conflict - it's absolutely intractable and that makes for a very stagnant and dull conflict scene. Lifers really can't change without abandoning their entire current concept, so these sides are ALWAYS going to be the same.
I remember when I was first playing the conflict seemed much more about shades of good/evil, territory and politics. Necromancers and forestals clashed over nature. Forestals and cities clashed over civilization. Syssin reviled Undead. Werewolves and Vampires hated each other. Vampires roamed around and were evil and Undead were a thing, sure, but there were lots of other things as well that drove stuff. Nowadays, with the tethers, we're pretty much all slotted into roles and multiclassing has mingled all of the orgs on each side. I can't say "Yo, Spinesreach is anti-Undeath" because like 1/3 of my citizens are multiclassed as vampires, and that's not touching on how that would leave us hung out to dry in PK conflicts.
Carnifex debated going anti-vampire for a bit, when we first clashed with the houses over our refusal to recognize blood rank in unknighted members. Every member voted to do it, but I decided not to go that far because oh, man, the drama. I kinda wonder what would happen if we declared the guild anti-vamp or, even crazier, anti-Undead. Like, would the admin step in and stop that? We're Bloodlochian, technically, so obviously we CAN'T be anti-Undead, but...what if we decided we wanted to be?
/joins Aarbrok in random ramblings...