Armageddon MUD General Discussion Board

Quote from: Kol on Today at 11:07:59 AM

How the hell do you not find the Drizzt series good enough to recommend? I do so every time someone asks me about a fantasy series worth reading. By Far one of the greatest and well written series ever, and if it encourages someone to get into P&P, even better.

I recommend it every time someone wants to learn about writing good sword combat scenes.  As for personal enjoyment... Catti-Brie annoyed the heck out of me and I don't even remember why. Maybe because I had a crush on Drizzt, who knows... I loved the earlier books though. Also <3 Entreri.

I also recommend the War of the Spider Queen (also by Salvatore) whenever someone wants to read a great Fantasy with evil protagonists. Speaking of which... has anyone here read it? I'd think that well-written evil protagonists are something most any Armer can appreciate.

I have! Love any book by Salvatore, but out of any Character he's written about, Jarlaxle is by far my favourite, more so than Drizzt. He may be a self-serving bastard, but he does it with style, and in a manner you can relate to most the time.

Another high school friend, this time my super crush from ages 15-17, died from a heroin overdose just today. That makes 4 or so in the past 12-18 months. Fucking bananas.

Don't do H.

A. How does this work in arm? Do you personally ever have to bother differentiating between how much coin you can earn and should, or do you find the script smooth enough for you not to bother with that?

Most clans drastically under-pay their members.  That said, this can be explained in a few ways, such as you're getting paid in food, a bed, and safety, and/or that you're only getting coded money for time spent logged in, and you get more "virtual" salary for doing virtual work which you then spend on virtual luxuries.

If you are a savvy and industrious hunter, grebber, and/or crafter, you can indeed generate excessive amounts of coin.  I would say most well-RPed characters like that either voluntarily curtail their efforts, or at least find excuses to spread that money around through bribes, gifts, and plot-generating endeavors.

B. If your particular circumstances mean you have to keep this distinction in mind, what is the value for money you use?

I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but I've estimated the value of an obsidian coin to be about $0.25-0.50 in terms of American buying power.

How much do you perceive is a realistic income per IC year for say a 1. Usual Commoner 2. Successful indie merchant or crafter 3. Nobl and GMHer?

Hard to say.  Clans seem to pay the average worker around 900 coins/year.  An indie hunter/grebber/crafter can easily make 10000 a year.  I suspect nobles and GMH probably get a yearly stipend around 3000-5000, but it's been a while since I did any noble's accounting. 

The economy of Arm is usually an intense discussion. Like many aspects of the game, documentation and setting have a range of interpretations (but we should all be trying to support and express documentation). I'm happy to share my perspective, but my intent is not to tell anyone how to play their character. The foundation of everything, for everyone, is hopefully 'what does you character think/feel/do about x, y, and z?'.

A. Short answer: I try to find a way to include natural IC motivations to address any disparity. I try to build a concept of how a given character will approach money (or what it can buy) and then stick to that target in both acquiring and potentially saving. Some will get only enough to get by and spend it as soon as possible. Others will try to get as much as possible and hoard it without spending any. Regardless of this, I try to maintain a fairly constant reaction to the 'value' of money based on a core concept. One suggestion is the cost of a skin of water, one of the most necessary resources in Zalanthas. So every interaction with money gets run through an internal formula of 'how does this value to water?' This formula does not work for a character that has had relatively unlimited access to water for their whole life, you have to find something that works for each character.

B. Short answer: Based on the character's background. 1. Commoners: enough to get by. 2. Enough to have money on hand to buy things on the spur of the moment. 3. Enough money on hand to throw it at things.  There can be a lot of variation in what a character can realistically make and spend, but it is usually balanced by the cost of living and lifestyle. Commoners might just get by with basic food and water, possibly a place to live if you have ways to cut down on other expenses. A nice home, quality food, expensive drinks, fashionable clothing, and other luxury expenses are a good way to sink money in higher economic brackets. Also, keep in mind GMH and nobles are really not anywhere near the same 'tier' or 'class'. A GMHer exists to make money, a noble exists to spend it (broad generalization, other concepts exist and are perfectly valid). It is also entirely possible (though difficult) to get by and have a character never earn or spend a single coin... and even to become wealthy!

Some of the things you're asking about vary greatly from place to place. The best answers to these questions are have your character act true to their concept and to watch what other people do.

I spent an hour chopping wood the other day and now I wanna do it again. My entire upper body is sore.