I don't like the Zuma either. I didn't like them when I first heard about them and I still don't like them now. If I want to deal with Daimons, I'll go to Beluaterra. They add nothing to the Dwilight experience IMO. And the speech about "it's not going to be easy dealing with them" just puts me off more. I don't want to have to do a bunch of effort trying to understand something that's been - pardon the phrase - stuffed down my throat for no apparent reason. Again, if I want vague hints and spend my nights deciphering messages from Daimons, I'll go to Beluaterra.
To me, they're nothing but a giant sword of Damocles, precariously hanging over the heads of the Dwilight nobles, ready to fall on them the moment they slip up.
The fact that they have been on Dwilight since its creation kind of hints that they are meant to be there, and are probably VERY important to the vision of Dwilight as Tom saw it. Having had some dealing with the Zuma I can say they aren't just sitting around waiting to smash any nobles silly enough to cross them. A little common sense is required here, Tom didn't go to the effort of adding them to the game for such a trivial purpose, nor has the GM spent his time over YEARS if all he needed to do was click the travel button on his massive units every now and then.
The Zuma can be vague, but they aren't necessarily so. There is no need to spend hours deciphering stuff, but like all things, some players will happen upon the right path quickly ( either due to inspiration, luck or a perhaps they just have a different mindset/outlook) while others will take longer. It does appear to me that those characters that HAVE the preconceived idea about the Zuma being some unstoppable force that exist to threaten the realms of Dwilight, seem to have greater difficultly getting to the core of the Zuma purpose.
