Messages

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BM General Discussion / Re: Spying: Good or bad for the game?

« on: April 10, 2011, 08:29:53 PM »

A noble who become disaffected with the direction his realm takes due to the actions of an unassailable leadership or majority may feel justification in giving secrets to the realm's enemies.  To me, this is an example of legitimate spying that has a place in the game, and is along similar lines as rebellion.  A large part of this game is the role-playing, and this action as a result of a character's experiences may fit well with the emotional drama of the game.

I do not approve of making a new character in a realm for the purpose of spying.  This does cause trust problems for other people's new characters, and leads to a decrease of information flow and transparency, also interfering with the fun of the game for many players who aren't in the leadership cliques.  Despite being realistic and practically unpreventable, it hurts the game. 

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BM General Discussion / Re: Tops and Flops

« on: April 10, 2011, 07:51:42 PM »

Tops:
* I can play when I want and as much as I want.
* Complex negotiation and compromise.
* Continuous development.

Flops:
* Cliques that bar new players (to the game or realm) from having characters advance much.
* It is too difficult for an army to travel far (equipment/morale/gold).
* The election system should use score or approval voting.  The current elections result in too many cases of vote splitting.

And Bankers got totally nerfed!

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BM General Discussion / Re: Where did you draw your inspiration for your characters?

« on: April 10, 2011, 06:04:33 AM »

Each character was seeded by the father, then shaped by in-game events and a desire for some differentiation from the others.  In the beginning, before I knew much about how BM worked, I figured my family would focus on wealth.  Mercer is derived from "merchant," and striving for money and the Banker offices was the foundation for the first generation.  My characters are named alphabetically as they are created.

Archibald, the eldest, happened to begin play in a theocracy, and became very pious; ultimately a zealot and a martyr.
Bernard began in the slow, secular colonies, and to contrast with Archibald became an open-minded seeker of a variety of meaningful philosophies.
Charles, to contrast with the older two, began as a brash warrior, but evolved and matured into a diplomatic leader and legendary hero.
Darla, the illegitmate daughter, began as an adventurer and had to earn nobility the hard way.

Edward is the son of Archibald.  Furious about the circumstances of his father's fall and death, he roams the continents seeking only to fight.
Franklin is the son of Bernard.  Having grown up posh and traveling through many lands, he began adulthood as a trader and courtier.
Geoffrey is the son of Charles.  He lives in the shadow of his famous father's great achievements, and is on a quest of personal development to try to fill his father's shoes.

I do not draw from any resources for personality, preferring to let characters develop naturally from their upbringing and experiences.  I have enjoyed the Showtime series, the Tudors, though, and the novel Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel as examples of noble behavior. 

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

« on: April 10, 2011, 12:10:37 AM »

I played Charles Mercer, ruler of Mesh for six months at the end of the 3rd invasion, and I am amazed at some of what I am reading here. 

There was a very strong pride in the anti-daimon culture of Mesh among many of the characters in the realm.  Many of us saw it as everyone's duty to eradicate all of the daimons, and Mesh took a leadership role in that effort.  We did not use the daimon nests as an excuse to trespass in Enweil.  We legitimately wanted just to wipe out daimons, and were frustrated that so many other realms would not help, for whatever reasons they had.

Even when we picked a fight with Enweil to get the Blood Cult temples destroyed, it was only because of our hatred of daimons and belief that the Cult was affiliated with the daimons.  Many prominent members of Mesh were vocal in our council that we hoped to return to the old days of alliance with Enweil, and were sad that our old friend had strayed from our values.  Our hatred of daimons was so strong that we picked the fight with them that got us destroyed, and would never compromise for our survival.

I enjoyed reading Aelradir's post about his experience in Sint during this time.  I took a lot of flack for allying with Sint to strike Jobo's Mouth, and spent a large portion of my political capital.  I wanted a united human continent against non-humans, but many Meshians held hard grudges against Sint for several reasons.  I was disappointed when Sint joined the daimons in the 4th invasion because it justified the opposition against my decisions.  Charles was actually on his way to Sint to pick some fights when he was killed by a group of Undead, shortly after the destruction of Mesh.

I will try to keep reading this thread because it is neat to see the more open and honest thought processes behind such a long and interesting story.  I'll try to remember what I can from so long ago.