Talkin to the guards

[Dakkon Black]

Its  hard to be a leader of a clan. You can't be there all the time and when you are you spend your time replacing all the dead recruits. Most people in an IC sense would have to go state thier intentions to a receptionist for the house. In Zal this is usually a guard. So if Joe wants a job nowadays in Zal he'd have to sit around a Bar?? and wait for someone to notice that he has a bone studded backpack, therefore realizing hes a nob and asking if he wants a job. Now as much as it could happen IC its really kinda cheesy. Therefore my suggestion goes as follows:  

Should guards have the ability to be a board??

*disclaimer* No names are real, Salarr is just my example, should pertain to anyhouse.

Eg.

Joe says: Excuse me Mr. Salarri guard, I was wondering if I can get a job

<prompt> Write Green haired man looking for job with Salarr

On Detal around midday a green haired man named Joe was here asking for a position as a guard.

~

Now I realize there are the boards in the bars but its also really hard to explain why the talk of the town is about Joe who's looking for a job.

If not perhaps with the NPC talk commands.

Eg.  Go to the gates of a house

<prompt> talk guard jobs

Guard says: Looking fer a job eh? Yous best go an find Lady Bambam or Sargeant Fredhead.

The house imms could change the names when the time comes or, in the case of a lack of PC's say something to that manner, which ooc you'd understand meant if you want in you'll have to email that imm.

Just an Idea to give a better communications network, whick IC should be in place anyways.

[crymerci]

The following is, of course, just my opinion.

1) If there is a current active PC leader for a certain clan, you can find that out within 1 IC week just by chatting a bit at bars. Bars are IMO an entirely valid meeting/gathering place. In many past and present cultures on Earth, similar places have held similar roles: the european pub, the old west saloon, coffee houses, tea houses, the list goes on and on.

2)If you're having that much trouble finding the PC leader/recruiter of a clan, that doesn't bode well for when payday rolls around or you need orders on what to do. So why would you want to join a clan that's that hard to communicate with?

[Dakkon Black]

This doesnt have to be only for recruitment. Would it not make sense for a guard to be a medium for conversation?? Yes IC it does make sense to meet someone in a bar who'll give you a job but why cant you go to the gates and tell the guard that the Lords underpants are in from Luirs. Anything like that. I think it would speed the process of the game by a huge amount since you wouldnt have to wait for a player to be on in order to convey a message. AND you wouldnt have to start a jaw dropping rumour around town using the bar's Boards. It just seems that IC guards at the gates should have some ability to relay a message to a superior. Thus giving more opportunity for plot creation and completion.

[Dan]

The guard has feelings and motivations too. Mayby it isn't in his best interest to be the medium between you and the employer? Mayby he wants to keep his job as the gate guard, and he doesn't want to take the chance at your stealing his job away becuase you can stay awake longer and watch the gates better. Mayby he just doesn't like the way you look or act, he doesn't and never should -have- to pass along word to the employer about some scum who came looking for a job. No offense to your character

[kareoke]

Even so its an idea for a medium. The idea bieng that chars get a message to a house at anytime. Frankly this would solve a huge amount of issues for us that are playing on off hours and tie in the IC community by a whole leap. It doesnt have to be the guard that relays the message, the point is that someone at the house would in a perfect wourld be there ALL the time to answer the door. Just because in reality we dont have the Pbase doesnt mean that there should be no way to walk to a gate and talk to someone. I think its a brilliant idea and a great way to help keep storylines running. But then again im just a noob

And Dakons right, when I go looking for a job I show up at the employers door with a resume, I dont sit at the bar.

[halfbreed]

While it would be easy enough to shoot down this idea by finding any of 10000 IC reasons why bar-sitting is fine, or why telling a guard might not be a reliable way of getting messages across, we should also consider the merits of this idea.  Or something like it.

IMHO, it is seriously one of the biggest problems that crops up in the game:  Disparate Playing Times.

It is entirely plausible and realistic that people can leave messages, whether it be for admittance into a clan, or asking about your pay, or inquiring if anybody has seen so-and-so around recently... whatever it may be.

Leaving a message via a guard or houseservant would be a nice way to get in contact with others.  You already see people (Imms and Players alike) using the GDB clan boards or IC clan boards to facilitate the same sort of communication, but that doesn't help out others who don't belong to a clan who really want to communicate with others in that clan, but who may not have matching playtimes.  Is it realistic to say a person who plays 3 RL hours a day at the wrong times can't ever reach an important personage in House X?

I think guards/servants who relay messages, or simply an IC board (like the ones in the taverns) but one that is set outside each clan hall for the same purpose, (where people would have to craft stories about how they communicated with the gate guards, let's say) would be very handy indeed.

[Lazloth]

You know, I really like the idea of the scripted-NPC recruiter/guard/etc.  Not every clan has a generic "Recruitment Office" sanctioned outside of their main compound, but some sort of NPC is generally standing around.  Once you're a member of a given clan, there are vehicles to pass word; the OOC-and-IC emails and forum posts are perfectly valid, in my opinion; moreover some organizations have message boards publically accessible.

This would be a fairly trival script and could purge itself weekly.  Dakkon, you should draft this up and email the mud account if you haven't already.

[RideTheDivide]

I like this idea too.  However I think it would have to be a special type of board with these rules:

- Anyone can write to it
- Only House members - or possibly only leaders - can read from it.

[Lazloth]

I like this idea too.  However I think it would have to be a special type of board with these rules:

- Anyone can write to it
- Only House members - or possibly only leaders - can read from it.

Why make it a board?  I thought the idea of talk scripts would've been nifty.  More boards in the game, I'm not too keen on.