Starving Elf Seeks Reputable Employment

[proxie]

So I'm in the bar the other day, and an elf comes in.

Sits at the bar. Asks the population of the tavern where to find employment.

<Insert various jokes about target practice and elves and much racist snickering.>

And I can tell ooc'ly that this is a newbie, and ooc'ly, I feel very bad and wish I could ooc: sorry dude, try asking that question as a human, you'll get along better. IC'ly? Welp, the damned skinny asked a stupid question.

Upon reading the quickstart, it states that you'll have better luck as a human fighter type. But some folks for whatever reason, as a newbie, choose to disregard this.

Maybe they're thinking, "Oooh. Elf. Hey, I've seen Lord of the Rings. I shall make a Legolas and impress them with my sense of honor and uber archery skills."  Maybe they're thinking "I'm a roleplayer, I think I can start this game with something beyond human warrior."  Maybe they're thinking "Dude, nobody plays dwarves better than I do... and I've got a great idea for this beard."

For whatever reason, they've got this PC who is so uberly unhireable by respectable newbie friendly groups, if the Byn aren't in the area.

Now... onto the point part of my post.


Should there be some sort of an employment document, either attached to the Quickstart, the helpfiles, or Clan Board pages... somewhere...

With a brief (brief) summary of what tends to be easily hireable based on the area?  Perhaps if the clan imms feel like it, posting something more specific based on their clan.

Example:
House Fale:
Easily recognizable by their purple and green livery, House Fale is one of the noble houses in Allanak. Their focus tends to be less combat related, and they never leave their beloved city. With their love of fine wine, fine entertainment, and parties, people wishing to play in this House should probably be human and consider a class or subclass for service or political intrigue. A high tolerance for drinking is helpful but can be trained on the job.

Or:
Allanak Job Prospects:
In Allanak, the noble houses and the Templarate will hire guard types and servants, though most if not all require pureblood humans. Merchant houses based in Allanak are less strict, though most elves will not be hired due to their reputation as a race of thieves and swindlers.


Or something. I picked Fale because I used to know something about them and they're not currently playable. But, a blurb like that tells a person that a ranger, elf, dwarf, would probably not be a good match, and that there might not be too much work for a thug and grunt warrior, and that to be prepared for something with a bit more politics in the roleplay. (Obviously you can roleplay anything, but for a newbie, with a skill focused idea of how mudding should go, making a dwarf ranger and expecting to get hired on by Lord Fale would lead to disappointment. Or... given it's Fale.. well, let's just say, it probably would involve a silly costume and a wig.)

Ignoring my feeble attempt at posting an example, whaddaya think about this sort of thing? Should there be a FAQ employment_allanak/tuluk/luirs/etc to help our newbies? Is there one that I missed that could be given more prominance? I like newbies. They're yummy. I want to see more newbies live long enough to die in that mind-numbing rush of fear that makes you want to make a new pc right away just to get the adrenaline back.

Because I'm just sure that the player of that elf got frustrated and muttered about rude people for a while; hopefully he/she didn't give up though.

Proxie

[Cuusardo]

I think that this frustration is the result of people not reading the racial documentation and absorbing the fact that everybody is prejudiced against elves, and that getting a legitimate job as an elf is pretty much impossible.  If people would just follow the advice (It says in the login screen to read the documentation before making a character) that this problem would not happen.

[Anonymous]

I've always thought that it would be best if race/starting location choices were narrowed down to human and Tuluk or Allanak for a first time player, but that sort of limitation would probably turn people off.

Instead of adding notes into documentation that people may or may not be reading, I think that chargen should be updated to include some simple warning messages for a first time player who has opted for a more challenging role.

Code Select Expand

**You have chosen to play an elf as your first character, please note that elves do not have an easy life in the world of Zalanthas and are nothing like the typical high-fantasy elves from books and movies.  The elves of Zalanthas face distrust and hate from all races in the lands including members of their own race who belong to different tribes or gangs.**

Something like that.

Also, for comedy sakes:

Code Select Expand

**You have chosen to play in Red Storm with your first character, in the interest of efficiency your character is now dead having tried to steal something and then running to the alley's for safety.  You will now be returned to the start of the character generation process**

[Larrath]

The login screen also has the 'D' option, for documents, which brings up a link to the webpage.  I'd be surprised if more than two people ever went directly there after seeing that link.  I know that I just got frustrated and shrugged about it.

Idea - :idea:
Maybe the 'D' option could be made into a brief menu of one-line summaries?

> D
a) the races
b) the guilds
c) the cities
d) misc. information

Races:
Humans - standard, regular people, employed by practically anyone
Elves - tall, arrogant folk with a passion for stealing.  Distrusted and rarely employed legitimately.
Half-elves - people that nobody likes.  Occasionally employed legitimately.
Dwarves - bald, obsessive folk.  No beards.

Guilds:
Warrior - beat stuff up
Ranger - masters of the outdoors
Assassin - indoors rangersy dude
Burglar - jack of all trades rogue
Pickpocket - guy that takes stuff
Merchant - crafter with special "suck-at-weapons" training.

Cities:
In Allanak, many makes a living mining obsidian or gathering salt from outside the walls.
In Tuluk, people chop trees in nearby groves.  Also, artists of all types can do rather well for themselves
In Red Storm, people sift the sands in search of spice.  <--- Don't make a PC there yet.
In Luir's, ehh, there's mudsex.

Misc. information:
You can't read, man, and there isn't a bulletin board there.  It's virtual.  Also, only a complete moron would spit in the face of anyone more important than them, because it spells certain death.


Just a rough draft, but it might work.  The fact is that the racial documentation is long, and it's buried a little deep in all those links as it is.  "Dwarves are all bald" is really something that should be put somewhere a lot more prominent, possibly even as a link in the main page with fifty spinning GIF arrows pointing at it.

[Bestatte]

I like CRW's idea. When someone picks ANYTHING other than Human for their very first character, they'd get a 2-sentence blub (since most people can't stand being forced to read stuff when they're new and would likely just ignore anything longer than that) about the race.

Then when they pick their starting location they'd get a 2-sentence description/warning, AND a prompt asking if they still want to go there. If not, then they go back to the Hall of Kings and can choose again.

If they pick wilderness-based skillsets (such as ranger) they get a prompt letting them know that. If they pick a city-based skillset (like burglar or house servant) they get a prompt letting them know that as well.

Just *something short and sweet* so that the new player can't say "but I didn't know, I didn't read the doc, I didn't find the helpfile, I didn't see the thread on the GDB!" when they totally fuck up and die in the first 20 minutes.

[Marauder Moe]

This little quick warning thing sounds like a good idea.  Would be nice, perhaps, if it appeared before you actually make the choice, though.  Like, upon picking elf as a race (and perhaps only if the account has a newbie flag) it'd flash that blurb about how everyone hates elves.

Until then, I think a lot of people should remember that many of us were ATTRACTED by the advertised harshness of Armageddon.  If an obviously new-player elf asks me about a job, I usually try and lay on the abuse.  Though, you can be informative through it.  For instance you could say "Feck off you stinkin' longneck!  No one is gonna give a walking clump of kank-shit like you a job except the damned shitcloak T'zai Byn!"

[Delirium]

In Luir's, ehh, there's mudsex.

In Luir's, you can gather raw materials from the nearby sands and hawk them in the desert market.

[EvilRoeSlade]

I think the only problem here is that people aren't able to find jobs for newbie elves.  If you can't find a job for a newbie elf then you don't deserve your role as a leader.  There isn't anything more to it than that.

[Maybe42or54]

And what if that newbie elf has 8 karma, is a sorcerer and is acting like a newbie to fool you?

Besides that, you could always tell them those long legs mean less strides to the salt flats or mines.

[EvilRoeSlade]

And what if that newbie elf has 8 karma, is a sorcerer and is acting like a newbie to fool you?

Then he doesn't deserve his karma, but it should at least be interesting to watch him do battle with the Highlord.

The elves of Zalanthas face distrust and hate from all races in the lands including members of their own race who belong to different tribes or gangs.

The hate part just isn't true.

[Anonymous]

The hate part just isn't true.

Oh god, you're right thank you for bringing up that point in a thread about elven RP.

[EvilRoeSlade]

Spare me oh great moderator.

[Anonymous]

Spare me oh great moderator.

I'm going to nitpick details in a post making an entirely different point and then cry nazi moderator when someone says something back too, ok?

[Anonymous]

Spare me oh great moderator.

I'm going to nitpick details in a post making an entirely different point and then cry nazi moderator when someone says something back too, ok?

Right, you do that.

[EvilRoeSlade]

Whoops.

[Delirium]

Meanwhile, I'm going to take offense to a nitpicking correction (that is nevertheless a prevalent misconception) and then I'm going to start bickering about it, and threaten to derail an otherwise mildly interesting thread.

Don't make me send you boys to the naughty corner.

Back on topic: A two-sentence blurb for newbie accounts would be nice, especially if it points them to some more detailed documentation. It will be completely their fault for not reading up if they don't take the time to follow that link.

[wizturbo]

I'm still in the strong opinion that newbie accounts should have only Allanak and Tuluk as starting choices, and only human as available races.  Then after that first character they get all the standard options.

The reasons for this are clear.  When i was a newbie I didn't read the docs completely, i just made a character description and applied.  I didn't read until i saw the game was cool, and if i played an elf or a dwarf who couldn't speak sirihish well right off the bat, i'd have left the game and been done with it.  The same is true if i made a character somewhere other then Allanak or Tuluk, i'd think the game was totally lame because there would be no one to interact with.

[Bogre]

Yeah, but there are also people who have played their first characters and haven't ever died with them. (Albeit, they might be very few). I don't think you should restrict a new players options, because it might tempt them to make a brown hair, blue-eyed human ranger who suicides against a mekillot so they could make that elven char they wanted to make.

[amoeba]

I'm still in the strong opinion that newbie accounts should have only Allanak and Tuluk as starting choices, and only human as available races.  Then after that first character they get all the standard options.

Getting new people into the game is hard enough. IMO people will be less likley to join the more limitations that are impossed.  Perhaps Allanak and Tuluk as limitations are resonable, but I think limiting the race to an option of one is pushing it a bit far.  Even newbies deserve choices.  A simple two line disclaimer seems resonable.

[Anonymous]

Getting new people into the game is hard enough. IMO people will be less likley to join the more limitations that are impossed.

[Akaramu]

Just send them to the rinth.

They'll either have a jolly good time, or die and make a human PC.  :twisted:

[Pantoufle]

I think the only problem here is that people aren't able to find jobs for newbie elves. If you can't find a job for a newbie elf then you don't deserve your role as a leader. There isn't anything more to it than that.

I think that's a bit much myself.

It's important to realize that the elf who chooses to gain "official" employment is not your average elf.  He or she is somewhat of a "freak of nature" amongst his elven peers.  He may stand tall and proud amongst his Merchant House (or whomever he has found to hire him) co-workers but rest assured when countering another elf he's a shameful display.  

In my opinion, there shouldn't be more jobs for elves, there should be more city/desert tribes for elves.  However much humans may discriminate against elves, there are just as many elves who discriminate against humans.  The question, in my mind, shouldn't be: why hire an elf?  The question should, instead, be, why would an elf want to be hired?

[Bestatte]

Heh maybe this will be the bullet that prevents me from ever getting a southern Templar role...

But if I was a southern templar, I think the only job I could come up with for an elf would be as entertainment in the arena. Preferably against a mekillot.

Can't blame the clan leaders for sticking to the docs. And the docs say CLEARLY that elves aren't generally hireable by human-run Houses and government positions. There are exceptions, but I can't imagine any Oash hiring an elf, and I would take issue to anyone who tries to tell me that I should.

[proxie]

Yack yack yack! Let me make myself perfectly clear!

In no way ever was I trying to say "Oh, poor elves... they're so put upon and discriminated upon. Clan leaders should break roleplay and find a job for the elves and dwarves of the world, despite their clan docs stating in big bold-faced size 28 font that such critters aren't hireable."

And no, limiting newbie choices wasn't my idea either... I agree with whoever it was that said that if we limit their possibilities, then people might not want to give it a try.

I like the idea of a two sentence blurb though, perhaps at character creation, informing pc's with less than 3 <insert low number here> PC's that the race they have chosen has some IC difficulties that may be frustrating to overcome. And perhaps even mentioning what those difficulties are... Dwarves that nobody can understand and elves that nobody human will hire because the IC opinion is that they're all thieves.

My main point... some sort of a FAQ about employment. Or a help job/employment/work helpfile in the game... They're already directed to the Byn, but what if the Byn aren't in the area this week, or the Byn don't have any PC leaders.

Discuss... try not to derail too heavily.

Proxie

[Cuusardo]

... there should be more city/desert tribes for elves.

I disagree.  There are already more than enough desert elf tribes, and people aren't even using the coded ones because a bunch of people playing desert elves want to make their own tribes.

City elves, MAYBE.  But I really don't think there need to be any more tribes.