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Population and RP direction questions
Background is Lusternia mostly, with a bit of Starmourn - I recently decided to retire though due to lack of interaction.
New player, started as Teradrim because the idea of a stone druid seemed interesting to me. Went over to Zealot and Templar as my vision of what I wanted the character to be changed. I haven't really played the game, mostly just logging in and then QQing when I find a lack of inspiration (entirely on my part).
I do not care for PVP, though I will of course hop up to defend in whatever manner I can manage if Gondor lights the beacons. And will have a decent influx of credits, so can light things up. But my questions are more centered around a couple of in-game stories and a larger question regarding RPing:
1. What are the actual RP feels of Bloodloch, Carnifex, Templars, Zealots, the Mage guilds and Archivists? By feels I mean, what does it feel to play a character in those orgs - why is your character UNIQUELY belong to that org.
1a) What makes Bloodloch more than 'Evil City that likes undeath'? What makes Carnifex more than 'evil knight'? The base help files are kind of bland, so I'm wondering if there's some other source of lore I can look at?
1b) What makes Templars and Zealots different in their RP? Physical, stamp out evil types? Zealots are also super new, so IS there guild RP for them or are they still in a development phase?
1c) Sciomancers and Archivists both seem interesting, but I am wondering how they differ in the niche they occupy - Spinesreach lore seems great, but wondering how one city supports two int-based knowledge collectors? Also, Archivists collect relics, but none of their abilities seem to be based around that - is that purely an in-game RP direction?
2. Are the two sides relatively balanced in terms of population? Spirit vs Shadow, that is. What about the orgs within, are Bloodloch and Spinesreach fairly equally populated? And finally, how often do players interact in non-combat means from different organizations?
3. The help scrolls mention a library system - which, if any, orgs actually make use of it? Does Spinesreach have a grand library hidden in the mountains???
4. The more meta question: how were you inspired for your original character concept? I've played a number of different RP games, HEAVILY into dnd, especially the current edition (fifth is so fantastic for dming!), and I feel my well running dry. I keep coming up with characters, and they keep feeling too shallow. Any recommendations for art/stories I could peruse to help inspire a uniquely Aetolian character would be super appreciated!
Thanks guys!
New player, started as Teradrim because the idea of a stone druid seemed interesting to me. Went over to Zealot and Templar as my vision of what I wanted the character to be changed. I haven't really played the game, mostly just logging in and then QQing when I find a lack of inspiration (entirely on my part).
I do not care for PVP, though I will of course hop up to defend in whatever manner I can manage if Gondor lights the beacons. And will have a decent influx of credits, so can light things up. But my questions are more centered around a couple of in-game stories and a larger question regarding RPing:
1. What are the actual RP feels of Bloodloch, Carnifex, Templars, Zealots, the Mage guilds and Archivists? By feels I mean, what does it feel to play a character in those orgs - why is your character UNIQUELY belong to that org.
1a) What makes Bloodloch more than 'Evil City that likes undeath'? What makes Carnifex more than 'evil knight'? The base help files are kind of bland, so I'm wondering if there's some other source of lore I can look at?
1b) What makes Templars and Zealots different in their RP? Physical, stamp out evil types? Zealots are also super new, so IS there guild RP for them or are they still in a development phase?
1c) Sciomancers and Archivists both seem interesting, but I am wondering how they differ in the niche they occupy - Spinesreach lore seems great, but wondering how one city supports two int-based knowledge collectors? Also, Archivists collect relics, but none of their abilities seem to be based around that - is that purely an in-game RP direction?
2. Are the two sides relatively balanced in terms of population? Spirit vs Shadow, that is. What about the orgs within, are Bloodloch and Spinesreach fairly equally populated? And finally, how often do players interact in non-combat means from different organizations?
3. The help scrolls mention a library system - which, if any, orgs actually make use of it? Does Spinesreach have a grand library hidden in the mountains???
4. The more meta question: how were you inspired for your original character concept? I've played a number of different RP games, HEAVILY into dnd, especially the current edition (fifth is so fantastic for dming!), and I feel my well running dry. I keep coming up with characters, and they keep feeling too shallow. Any recommendations for art/stories I could peruse to help inspire a uniquely Aetolian character would be super appreciated!
Thanks guys!
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1c) Sciomancers and Archivists both seem interesting, but I am wondering how they differ in the niche they occupy - Spinesreach lore seems great, but wondering how one city supports two int-based knowledge collectors? Also, Archivists collect relics, but none of their abilities seem to be based around that - is that purely an in-game RP direction?
Sciomancers are more focused solely on Shadow, that is their domain. Archivists are about ALL THE THINGS. So, knowledge and relics. So, while our abilities don't focus on that much, it has a lot of potential and is definitely purely an in-game RP direction for the guild. Towards the other question, regarding two int-based, I'll admit that the Archivists right now do have more people than the Scios. That's not to say they aren't a good guild, or have good people, but we ended up with a bunch of newer players recently. But, you'll find quiet time from time to time in either and in the city. I often do as an East Coaster in the US.
2. Are the two sides relatively balanced in terms of population? Spirit vs Shadow, that is. What about the orgs within, are Bloodloch and Spinesreach fairly equally populated? And finally, how often do players interact in non-combat means from different organizations?
I can't speak towards Bloodloch. Spinesreach as a whole has a decent amount of RPers. I just spent all evening roleplaying with people, in fact. But, I can go days where it'll be fairly quiet. I think you'll find this anywhere.
4. The help scrolls mention a library system - which, if any, orgs actually make use of it? Does Spinesreach have a grand library hidden in the mountains???
Spinesreach does have a fairly large library, though it is likely in need of care. The biggest one, I think, is the Grand Library which is not related to any org. I'm trying to push to get the Archivists to a point where we have a fleshed out library, but it'll take time. Most orgs have some form of a library, though.
4. The more meta question: how were you inspired for your original character concept? I've played a number of different RP games, HEAVILY into dnd, especially the current edition (fifth is so fantastic for dming!), and I feel my well running dry. I keep coming up with characters, and they keep feeling too shallow. Any recommendations for art/stories I could peruse to help inspire a uniquely Aetolian character would be super appreciated!
I've played the game since the start, so I'm fortunate to know a lot of lore that I can use to get a character going. It's good to read event posts, area help files, and race help files to figure out if you can determine how your character fits in the current narrative. Where are they from? Are they tragic? A lot end up going with the slave background, because we come from a slaver's isle in the intro, but you don't -have- to do that.
For art, I recommend you look at the player character thread: https://forums.aetolia.com/discussion/100/drawings-of-aetolia. That'll be fun! Then there's our artisinals: https://www.aetolia.com/artisanal-november-2018/. Our races: https://www.aetolia.com/the-races-of-aetolia/. Hopefully that'll be helpful as a start.
1a) The two guilds in Bloodloch (Teradrim and Carnifex) each have goals that have little to do with "liking undead". The Carnifex, although they use knightly titles and call themselves knights, aren't what is typically expected. They abandoned any ideas of honor and chivalry in favor of fealty to each other and Strength. I was recently asked to describe them to the admin and what I said was, "Militaristic warrior brotherhood, on a quest for perfection we do not expect to achieve, but always push for. Our "overarching goal", as I would put it, is preparing Sapience to defend itself from all threats by making everyone stronger through strife and combat."
I think so? I exclusively play my Carnifex, Mjoll so I'm not sure what the rest of the games' *WHO lists look like, tbh. But we field pretty similar numbers in fights a lot of the time.
The Carnifex have 4 libraries
As for the Carnifex, they're very much a 'might makes right' kind of guild. They cull those they perceive as weak, and relish in slaughter and battle; typical blood knights. In D&D terms, think Oath of Vengeance or Oath of Conquest Paladins, only...yeah, evil. I could be wrong, but I've yet to see a Carnifex that tries to use their abilities in a 'good' way like only stealing the souls of criminals, rapists, or other 'bad' people or people who might've done something to deserve it. This is how I'd have played Phoenecia if I ever decided to take her to the Carnifex. I've played Templars a bunch in the past, and it's one of my favorite roles to play. Templars are duty-bound soldiers pledged to fight against Shadow and Undeath, but also make a big thing of protecting the innocent and being champions of good and justice. Every trope you can think of for the typical Paladin applies here.
In the past, Zealots were (and maybe still are) very faith-based, and came off as more 'fire and brimstone'. They've always struck me as more like Inquisitor types. They're also VERY much into the whole Light/Spirit RP where Templars have usually been far more moderate, though Enorian as a whole has slid into a more moderate mindset.
There's also another major difference in terms of abilities. Templars are weapon masters and can use a wide variety of arms. Zealots are pretty much limited to chains and fire abilities.
This is kind of a loaded question with no real good way to answer it. Population-wise, both Shadow and Spirit tend to be pretty balanced, though when it comes to PvP might, the balance of power shifts every so often. Up until recently, Shadow has dominated a lot, though in the past month or two, Spirit has been doing VERY well.
As far as guilds within each city goes, population varies wildly. I'm not going to pull any punches in saying that some guilds WILL be more active or more heavily populated than others. Some people just gravitate to certain themes more readily while other orgs will bleed members because of leadership or lack of activity.
When it comes to interaction, a majority of interaction will probably come from your guild, and then your city, and then the other allied city. Cross-tether RP doesn't happen terribly often with the exception of a few circumstances (eg. There's a crafter you want to hire with designs you like, but they're from an opposite tether city, or your favorite bar happens to be run by someone of the opposite tether). The big thing to keep in mind, though, is that while associations aren't supposed to be policed, getting too cozy with the other side, ESPECIALLY if you're playing on Spirit side, can land you in hot water and place you under increased scrutiny, or even get you punished or ejected from your orgs.
Literally every org has a library, and they're pretty extensive. Even some players have their own private libraries. There are also NPC libraries scattered around, some of them with books and lore specific to the area they're in.
When I first created Phoenecia, I was brand new to the game and had never roleplayed before. I initially started out with a fairly basic backstory that could fit in anywhere (studied abroad and decided to become x for whatever reason), and didn't flesh things out until much later after I had become more comfortable with the game (she was from a well-off merchant family that was new money, but decided to become a knight to help people after a caravan she was with was attacked).
Having played D&D and other tabletops for years now, and now actually doing some fiction writing of my own, I find that it helps to start small when it comes to creating characters, and then work your way from there. Start with a very basic concept like the kind of class you want to play and the ideals that might appeal to you most or might make an interesting character as well as goals.
You like the idea of playing a Templar because they get to wield ALL THE WEAPONS? Okay. Next you can decide on what their life was before becoming your player character. Are they a commoner? A noble? An orphan? Why did they decide to become a Templar? Was someone in their family a soldier? Are they trying to become strong to find a long-lost friend? Or are they trying to restore their honor or their family's? Are they looking to be a hero? Or are they just trying to do good in the world?
You can also think smaller on a more personal level for the character. What's most important to them? And who?
Keep in mind, characters are fluid, and their goals and motivations can change over time, so don't feel like you're locked in to anything.
Enorian is different depending on who you ask. The core value is to strive for an age where shadow and corruption are no more. Some take a martial stance to this, zealously wiping out foes, while others do a more 'bring the lost to the light' kind of approach. Templar themselves are multifaceted. I've always been more interested in the rp of conversion and redemption than being an overzealous knight, but there is room for both. (t's good because it creates inter city conflict, which can be just as interesting)
To me, the Templar are supposed to be moral paragons. They give their lives and time so that those who aren't strong enough to fight have someone they can turn to. A Templar is whatever the person seeking them out needs. Sometimes it means going into an unwinnable war, sometimes it means imparting values, sometimes it means building shelters. Templar are hope, and hope takes many forms. Templar are a more practical application of the values of Enorian, were as the Illuminai, where zealots are, are spiritual sorts.
Population as been touched on, so I'll skip to the library! The Templar have two!
As for making Rasani, it's a bit of a mix. I was always taught as a kid that if you have the means to help, then you also have a duty to. Playing a Templar just made sense. When I made her, I had a very basic idea, I've found Aetolia has a great way of giving your character depth naturally!
It also has a lot to do with race. I'm fortunate in that Trolls have some beefy (lol) lore, other races suffer in that department, while others have an endless stream of possibilities.
Background: I've played in all the cities over the years, although I haven't played in all of them heavily, I've been in all four of them in various characters in the last couple of years, but have the most recent and lengthy familiarity with Enorian & Duiran.
1. - Of those guilds, I've only been a member of Illuminai(Zealots), Ascendril & Templar. As a side note, I wouldn't put TOO much stock into "combat techniques of the classes" to tell you what the RP-feel of the guilds are like. Many people in guilds never/rarely even utilize their guild class after novicehood.
1a) When I spent a stint in Bloodloch about a year ago, I would say what I noticed being unique about Bloodloch from a citizen point of view was that they were the most easy going of the cities. The characters were the most accepting and welcoming of questionable personalities and ideologies and they weren't concerned with your personal morality. All the other cities have been to some extent.
1b) Zealots are a class within the Illuminai, so if we're talking about the guild RP differences, there is quite a lot. Templar are more military/boyscout in feel whereas Illuminai are more priesty/religious. Not just in concept, but in play.
2. Short answer: yes. Longer answer: it varies. Since one of Enorian's big RP things is "bring people away from Shadow!" this means that there is a lot of shifting of population between the sides overall, so sometimes one side or the other tends to be more populous but overall they are fairly equal.
3. Pretty much every org has a library and every city also has libraries. If you're in a city PATH FIND LIBRARY will lead you to the city's main library room and from there you can wander around to various wings.
4. My ORIGINAL character concept was "my friend plays this game, I'll whip something up and run with it and see if I like it". I had zero clue what I was doing, came up with an ad-hoc backstory to try to justify not having a clue about anything when I had an IC interview for some progression task and then ran with it. Since then, I've found that I have the most personal "clicking" success when I pick up existing characters' previously NPC family members (Zaila, for example, was the child of a few established characters). I've found this works well for me because I am an RPer and not a combatant/basher and it not only gives me some solid RP connctions (through the family members/their relations) but also gives me people to bounce backstory ideas off of and other character personalities to draw mine from (as most children are to some extend the product of their upbringing/parents)
I have started my career as a PKer/Raider ((surprise)) in Achaea running up some pretty legit kill counts and being a slight bit griefy, raiding for hours on end. I played in Lusternia as a 1st generation member of one of the founding Hallifax families and also as a Guild Champion in Glomdoring. and then I found myself here in Aetolia and fell in love with the rich RP culture and community. I absolutely love it here and no matter where I go and what I try, I find myself back. I will do my best to answer the following questions and hopefully give some insight.
1. What are the actual RP feels of Bloodloch, Carnifex, Templars, Zealots, the Mage guilds and Archivists? By feels I mean, what does it feel to play a character in those orgs - why is your character UNIQUELY belong to that org.
I am a leader of a mage guild, we are bit unconventional in the scope of the City we reside in, and being an information/knowledge based guild provides us unique opportunities to explore. We have developed our progression to be more open-ended and provide our members the opportunity to explore and incorporate their specific player needs by taking a course plan that they develop. We have a motto that permits us freedoms to create a character outside the mold, "Nothing above question, everything under doubt" and I feel that alongside the perspective our education plan affords gives some liberties to develop organically and really mature your personal story arc alongside the others the Guild represents.
I cant speak too much on the other guilds, but the Sciomancers are pretty much the counter to the Ascendril, we fight to prevent Shadow from being utilized on the prime material plane, as its nature is inherently harmful and historically has made for some bad times. That being said the Ascendril have had their fair share of blunders, and ripped enough holes in the planes that any Sciomancer can just retort, NO YOU at us, but we have a decent rivalry that can respectfully agree to disagree which I absolutely love of the Sciomancers.
2. Are the two sides relatively balanced in terms of population? Spirit vs Shadow, that is. What about the orgs within, are Bloodloch and Spinesreach fairly equally populated? And finally, how often do players interact in non-combat means from different organizations?
I feel it is a rather even split, having played on both sides over the years, it ebbs and flows...but right now, pretty fair match
4. The help scrolls mention a library system - which, if any, orgs actually make use of it? Does Spinesreach have a grand library hidden in the mountains???
Every org tends to have a library, some more expansive, some more organized....I have a three story library in my underwater guildhall, I feel the information based guilds hoard more historical documentation and keep things that and more information based for a purpose, where some just hoard every book, so if you want to know how to midwife a grecht egg, and incubate it...or eat it, they might have that knowledge for you somewhere....is it important (subjective)
4. The more meta question: how were you inspired for your original character concept? I've played a number of different RP games, HEAVILY into dnd, especially the current edition (fifth is so fantastic for dming!), and I feel my well running dry. I keep coming up with characters, and they keep feeling too shallow. Any recommendations for art/stories I could peruse to help inspire a uniquely Aetolian character would be super appreciated!
No one played Grook, I wanted to be just a jolly happy frog. Of course with the historical ramification of what happened to the Grook homeland as well as some of the personal demons that he has, it is afforded me the opportunity to have some interesting relationships. Oonagh has a dark side, he wishes above all else for revenge in some things for what happened to his people, he would never outright say it but there is a pain in him that is deep seeded, to the point he has had discussions with the Goddess of Malevolence over it. Overall though he cares about all people, he wants to inspire, and learn, and support. Gaining insight from friends and enemies and trust. Hes maintained I hope pretty solidly, I get good responses from people I interact with and I hope I inspire similar response in my interactions for that to be carried forward.
i don't know that i can answer *all* of these, but let me take a whack at a couple of them.
1. What are the actual RP feels of Bloodloch, Carnifex, Templars, Zealots, the Mage guilds and Archivists? By feels I mean, what does it feel to play a character in those orgs - why is your character UNIQUELY belong to that org.
1a) What makes Bloodloch more than 'Evil City that likes undeath'? [...] The base help files are kind of bland, so I'm wondering if there's some other source of lore I can look at?
in terms of player history, it's true that Bloodloch has pretty long been the city of Vampires and Undead, but that (a) wasn't always the case from a lore perspective and (b) is in the midst of some (very long-lasting) growing pains. we've got gasp living citizens! it makes for an interesting dynamic - all three groups are trying to figure out how to work together in this new age of 'equality'. i think a lot of my character's conflict in the city stems from this, as she's a semi-prominent (or at least... generally known) living citizen. she can't imagine going elsewhere, though - it's the ancestral home of her much-beloved (although now-defunct) guild, the Indorani, whose ideals she believes are foundational to the city. if i had to describe Bloodloch's main themes, i probably wouldn't use the words 'evil' or 'undeath' at all. we're committed to ourselves, to our own strengths and desires - undeath and what other orgs call 'evil' are simply means to those ends. where other cities (including spinesreach) have a more abstract or outwardly-focused ideal, ours is just, well, us. we exist on our own terms, for ourselves, and we tolerate all others to the extent that they feed our desires in some way.
4. The more meta question: how were you inspired for your original character concept?
i didn't know anything about MUDs, much less Aetolia, when i made my character. basically, i just kinda looked at the website and fell in love with the bug people. everything about Vyxsis was initially informed by that race choice, as well as my desire (at the time) to play a good-leaning neutral character. and uh... yeah, i literally just ran with bug-lady-in-a-forest until i ended up where i am today... the last gm of the ebilest guild ever bwahahahahaha >:3c
1c) Sciomancers and Archivists both seem interesting, but I am wondering how they differ in the niche they occupy - Spinesreach lore seems great, but wondering how one city supports two int-based knowledge collectors? Also, Archivists collect relics, but none of their abilities seem to be based around that - is that purely an in-game RP direction?
As has already been mentioned by Agothaxl, there are some differences in direction between the Sciomancers and Archivists, with the Mages being a mix between knowledge gatherers and fighters, rather than focusing on one aspect. Sciomancers aim to control Shadows in order to use them for power as well as protection. Fully aware of its dangerous nature, they consider it a necessity in case there are larger threats, sort of as a better to know and control the beast than to shun it ideology. This is not to say that the Sciomancer guild demands that you always use Mage skills. Their focus on control and strengthening the city is a general aspect that you are expected to apply no matter what you work on. With that said, knowledge and understanding of Shadow, its nature and connections to the Prime Material Plane, and how it affects things around it are focus areas for research within the guild, while leaving the rest to the Archivists.
3. The help scrolls mention a library system - which, if any, orgs actually make use of it? Does Spinesreach have a grand library hidden in the mountains???
Spinesreach has a HUGE library, with plenty of sections (including hidden record rooms), and I believe all guilds have their own library (most, if not all in plural), and it is possible to add written works to it without problem!
4. The more meta question: how were you inspired for your original character concept?
My character was not quite made to be a mage, and it was something she more or less stumbled into, but has made it work anyway, which just goes to show that you can make your character into anything you want and then just go with the flow, follow the story.
I wanted to try playing a character on the Shadow side of the game, and made an alt just for fun. She ended up being far more fun than I expected her to be. Anyway, I chose a guild first, learned some about it, and then decided to make a character who grew up idolizing an NPC from that particular guild. This has later been added to, where I have tossed in some small facts from her childhood (tormenting guards with snowballs along with the orphans and other kids in the city; trying to climb the outside of the outer wall; burying a "treasure" in a field that has now been lost due to reconstruction, and so on). It all makes the character a bit more realistic, no matter what race you pick, and it doesn't have to be unique, life-changing events that build up your character.
There are so many things to choose from, as you can essentially become whatever you want in this game. I would recommend making a throw-away character and get to reading up on various races and locations, asking questions about specific things you want clarified, and then making your character of choice. As an example, Xorani (lizard people) range from geckos and crocodiles to dragon-like and everything in between. They come from the desert or the swamp, stumbling into the city, or walking in with a purpose. Just add small things, and add to it as you go.
So, I want to clarify that Zealot is a class that belongs to the Illuminai guild, which also houses the Luminary class. Zealots aren't a guild in themselves. The Zealot skills did have a revamp a while ago so the skills are new but the guild they belong to isn't.
In terms of the RP feel of the guild, I have to say you can have some flexibility with it. There are different types of personalities in the guild, from those who are more of the Zealot types and just hate shadow and want to destroy it completely, to those who are more about offering redemption and converting.
I've never actually played a Templar so I can't be certain, but this is how I have viewed the difference in the guilds. The Illuminai guild is based on a faith ideal and basically priests of fire. The Templars are more of a structured military organization. So, whereas the Templars are more focused on producing knights and combat leaders that will fight 'evil,' the Illuminai are focused more on the faith, drawing people closer to the Light through words as well as actions.
Spirit and Shadow is pretty balanced for the most part I'd say. How much interaction you have with outside orgs depends on how you play and what orgs you join, some are more open to cross-roleplay than others. I play Illuminai and I interact with opposite orgs at times because of the idea of redemption and conversion - that however is strongly discouraged when you first join. It's something you work into. But that's the beauty of a roleplay game, you can sort of decide what you want to play and watch your character grow.
I think everyone else has done well answering the other questions so I'll skip to the end part now.
My character idea was formed on an Illuminai concept, I wanted to create a 'priestess' type character who would be forgiving but also fierce, in her own way. She was originally a bookworm, shy, quiet, clumsy. As @Kalinaar mentioned, adding a few flaws can really make your characters more interesting and fun to play. I decided what I wanted her to look like, the personality, and a few traits that I thought might add some fun and flavor (like blue flame, ashes, etc.). Then I came up with a basic idea for her past that helped play into her role as an Illuminai and just let her grow through roleplay and interaction with others. I think the main thing is being creative, having fun with it, and not being afraid to add a few quirks. And I think it helps if you are willing to make changes or go with the flow a little in terms of where your character ends up and how they grow organically.
I hope you find your stride with a character you can delve into and stick with us!