Messages

151

Feature Requests / Re: Limiting unjustified diplomatic actions

« on: June 08, 2011, 04:40:01 AM »

If anything there should be more, not less, reasons to suddenly go ape!@#$, especially in !@#$ries of differing religions.

After all, of what worth is a heathen's word?  If you jack your co-religionists there are lots (believe me) of in game consequences, otherwise meh, why would the common people care about foreign infidels?

152

Feature Requests / Re: Peer-judging messages: too involved

« on: June 07, 2011, 08:11:26 AM »

Depending on the court and the circumstances.  Just off the top of my head, there could be a simple "level of refinement" setting for a realm so people would know.  It's probably too much work though, but I waffle on the idea as in smaller continents everyone knows which realms are more or less "Dark Ages", but in big realms or those seperated by big gaps people might not know.

Ehn, probably still wouldn't work though, as some realms are really loose in some ways while being brutally repressive in others.  Maybe there could be a one-line of flavour that the ruler could make so people could grasp the realm "in a nutshell."

Just a riff on Indirik's point really.

153

Development / Re: New Player Retention

« on: June 07, 2011, 08:01:28 AM »

Well, I don't use IRC and I think I learned the game well enough.

That being said, I don't know that the mentor class really does what it was set out to do.  Really it would be better if everyone who was experienced could simply click "I'll help mentor this new player" when a new player is added.  Just make it a flag.  New players don't show up often enough that people are going to build a character around being a mentor (like they can around hero or infiltrator), but that doesn't mean that these players couldn't have a thing or two to teach.

So thusly, set the lessons people should know as flags.  Each player can choose one or more flags (say, one flag for every 5 family fame points, starting at 10 fame), and at the end the player ranks their competency in each field.

I know, hippy "It takes a village" stuff, but weak mentor rewards could then be gained by everyone, so they don't need to be strengthened and people would want to buy in and train new players.

154

BM General Discussion / Re: Numenism

« on: May 29, 2011, 07:41:23 AM »

It might not require much writing at all, just interpete things wildly differently and expound on how you know what they really mean.

Then you can have people point out that there is nothing in the text which supports these claims and you can claim they are outsiders who never really understood the greater meaning of the religion.

As long as you're an active talker, I don't know how much formal wikiwork is needed.  Often I think wikis can get in the way of a real good "Four Legs Good, Two Legs Better" moment.   If a religion isn't Orwellian, it's just not trying (as someone who's religion has people's arms torn out of their sockets "as a mercy and kindness to them")

155

BM General Discussion / Re: The Realm as a Team

« on: May 29, 2011, 07:32:00 AM »

Or, you know, like six groups of nobles.

I think the point being missed is that fun plans often don't need to be successful to be really interesting.  Okay, rebellions tend to suck for the losers, but a scheme to completely shaft a rival marshal's army can go awry and still be interesting.

156

BM General Discussion / Re: Favorite thing you have accomplished in-game?

« on: May 26, 2011, 05:26:27 AM »

Hey!  What about our brilliant military skills!

 

We get no respect.

157

BM General Discussion / Re: Expecting the wrong type of Roleplaying game

« on: May 24, 2011, 05:47:20 AM »

I actually think that's doing it backwards.

I've kind of accepted that the moment Ciann became ruler she became as much everyone else's character as my own.  The core themes and feel is still there but there are certian things that just had to change so everyone else could enjoy the game more.  It's sort of like anything else, if you want to play a ruler it should be expected that you'll work to make the game fun for everyone else, so that means going with their concepts as well as your own.

Being worshipped as a God is usually more fun for the worshippee then the worshipper.  Too much Hayek studied in school I guess, but my thinking while the top can try to inspire it needs to try to be something which everyone else enjoys, otherwise it's really just ego flogging, and that's why we have Dukes 

That may just be me, or maybe it's just the Far East, but we've got players who get asked what kind of stories they want to tell and they seem to enjoy telling them.  I can't think of a more then a handful of characters in the kingdom that I don't know something about and that isn't involved in some story if they've been there for more then a month.  Come to think of it, I should post that in the most proud forum because that's what I'm most proud of (though it's not a personal accomplishment by any stretch).

158

BM General Discussion / Re: Expecting the wrong type of Roleplaying game

« on: May 24, 2011, 02:57:17 AM »

I gotta say, I disagree about rulers having having no "power" in an RP and theme sense.   While they lack actionable power, they control the bully pulpit so to speak.  Realms tend to quickly start to resemble their councils in a lot of ways, and praising or letting slide certain behaviour can really help establish a core RP mechanic, and RP leads to conflicts for reasons other then "winning".

If two or three players put the effort in and one is a ruler, the ball gets rolling pretty quickly.  I don't have a lot of experience compared to most, but as long as there is some general compact between the rulers of a continent that action is perferable to inaction, I don't see any reason why a continent should ever be lacking in intrigue and war.  It's right there in the guide to being a ruler, if you make mistakes your problem and not the regular players, people will be much more willing to play "lively" characters and start trouble.

159

BM General Discussion / Re: Favorite thing you have accomplished in-game?

« on: May 24, 2011, 02:47:33 AM »

If there is one thing Arcachon is known for it's characters having an all consuming passion which robs them of reason.

That's kind of our bag, especially when it contributes to the whole Island being a half-savage madhouse.

160

Beluaterra / Re: What did we lose? What did we gain? 4th Inv aftermath

« on: May 19, 2011, 07:49:02 AM »

Or the blood cult.  Really hoping for them to make a presence there.

Solips is qualified, he just doesn't have any real interest in ruling or doing much of anything beyond his attempts to achieve immortality/break through existance/create the philosopher's stone.  I actually have no idea why anyone lets him be Duke, or why they made him a Duke in the first place.  It's not like he made his drug addiction a secret, and his only claim to fame was trying to kill two realm-mates during the fourth invasion, obstensibly because they were...

I'm not really sure.  I know it made sense to him at the time.  When you have to actually enjoin your sole Duke to not murder ambassadors or members of his own realm on a "hunch" you might want to have a new Duke.

Nothoi is actually closest to 1300s Florence, which was outwardly free and liberal but inwardly couldn't get its !@#$ together to save its life.

161

BM General Discussion / Re: Worth an OOC ban?

« on: May 18, 2011, 07:43:57 AM »

Well, Jenred has control of his realm.  To my count that makes him the only Northern ruler who can make that claim.

James, Jospeh, and Ciann have lots of theoretical power (oaky, Joseph doesn't even have theoretical power) but actually wielding it is problematic.  To steal the line from yes Prime Minister "I fought my whole life to have the power of the Prime Minister only to discover that once I'm the Prime Minister I don't have any power!"

162

BM General Discussion / Re: Worth an OOC ban?

« on: May 18, 2011, 07:05:14 AM »

Deposing judges, or even getting them to obey, is actually harder then you might think.

Maybe that's just us.  I'd say something, but as the route from disobedient judge to despot is a well travelled one in Arcachon I'll instead wipe a proud tear knowing that when Ciann gets offed or deposed whomever takes her place (if there's still an Arcachon) is probably going to be a lunatic.  A different kind of lunatic, but still down with the madness and the fear and the torture.

163

BM General Discussion / Re: Numenism

« on: May 18, 2011, 07:02:06 AM »

Take craploads of liberties with it.  Become a heretic who recieved his insights third hand.

164

BM General Discussion / Re: Favorite thing you have accomplished in-game?

« on: May 18, 2011, 06:59:58 AM »

If you wanna scheme OOC, I am totally down with having an illegal guild in Arcachon that Ciann's scribes keep her completely in the dark about.  If V starts up in Arcachon, I'll make one of her advisors a secret supporter so I can justify her not meddling (she's a meddler, that's what she does).

Well, if you need anything skewed a little bit to get the ball rolling just let me know because more things=more stories=more awesome

165

Beluaterra / Re: What did we lose? What did we gain? 4th Inv aftermath

« on: May 18, 2011, 06:49:56 AM »

Probably until Solips gets himself killed or deported.

Then it's either Schrezer, Kraft, or Reston and only Kraft is really likely to keep it a madhouse.