Turning your PC into a NPC

[mansa]

Wouldn't it be cool...

If you could turn your PC into a NPC, and retire from playing it.  You would know your character continues to live out their life, doing whatever they do, filling a visible position within the game...

That would be soooo cool.

[Adiadochokinesis]

This happens from time to time.

[Marauder Moe]

Yeah, seen it happen.

I will never ask for it myself, though, because I've also seen the staff turn retired PCs into NPCs only to kill them in horribly gruesome ways.

[PerpetualPatriot]

Just change the ldesc of your precious PC to mimick that of other NPCs in the area, don typical NPC clothing, sign out and never sign back in!

[musashi]

Just change the ldesc of your precious PC to mimick that of other NPCs in the area, don typical NPC clothing, sign out and never sign back in!

This is also a good way to avoid PC law enforcement when they're chasing you, so long as they've never seen your sdesc before.

[Cutthroat]

Wouldn't it be cool...

If you could turn your PC into a NPC, and retire from playing it.  You would know your character continues to live out their life, doing whatever they do, filling a visible position within the game...

That would be soooo cool.

I think one staff member once mentioned a problem with allowing this. I think they said that the players of PCs turned NPCs would e-mail in to check on their old character and see how they were doing, and they would inevitably be disappointed that either nothing happened or something negative happened (i.e., their NPC character was killed off). I can't find that post now though. Anyway, because of that, staff stopped doing this in most cases. But it's certainly happened before.

[FantasyWriter]

I also remember reading about players complaining about them being "played wrong" when animated.

[jcljules]

If you have the honor of having your PC turned into an NPC, you shouldn't complain about them being played wrong.

[MarshallDFX]

I for one would love to be IG and witness my old NPC'ed character horribly maimed.

[PerpetualPatriot]

Just change the ldesc of your precious PC to mimick that of other NPCs in the area, don typical NPC clothing, sign out and never sign back in!

This is also a good way to avoid PC law enforcement when they're chasing you, so long as they've never seen your sdesc before.

Light dons on marble heads.

[UnderSeven]

I asked to have this done before and was told that staff don't tend to generally like rping other people's pcs.  I'm not really sure what this would add to the game anyway, if your pc 'lives on' thats neat, but possibly more relevant as submitted ic stories and such than an npc which may or may not actually get used.

[spicemustflow]

Corpse is technically an NPC.

[MarshallDFX]

Start PC.  Join a clan.  Play for a massively long time.  Have your PC turned into a clan NPC.  Wait for some time.  Apply to be noble/leader of said clan.  Bring your old PC as your guard, and animate.  Boom, you get to have two characters at once.

[Aaron Goulet]

Corpse is technically an NPC.

A corpse is technically a container.  Personally, I think they should be drink containers instead.

[mansa]

I think its more of the satisafaction of having a character that "wins" armageddon.

Having attempted to leave your mark on the world in a non-item creation way.

A way to promote more "gain vs loss" mentality of playing a game.


When someone is an npc, it feels good as a player to feel like you accomplished something.

Who cares if nobody plays it ever again.  You'll have a cool story to tell other people.

[HunterKiller]

I think its more of the satisafaction of having a character that "wins" armageddon.

Having attempted to leave your mark on the world in a non-item creation way.

I know what you mean. In my case it was helping set up clan documentation, language and helping shape future events with some added account privies I remember most fondly. It's especially sweet that the clan is still around. That notion of leaving your mark is pretty universal, imo. I think in more than just a few ways Arm parallels reality in chillingly close ways, at least after you scrap away the thin top layer to expose what's underneath.

- HK

[Morrolan]

Corpse is technically an NPC.

A corpse is technically a container.  Personally, I think they should be drink containers instead.

Oh, they have been.  They have been, indeed!

[Cavaticus]

Yeah, seen it happen.

Yup. We have done this.

I will never ask for it myself, though, because I've also seen the staff turn retired PCs into NPCs only to kill them in horribly gruesome ways.

I have personally done this.

[Marauder Moe]

Yeah, seen it happen.

Yup. We have done this.

I will never ask for it myself, though, because I've also seen the staff turn retired PCs into NPCs only to kill them in horribly gruesome ways.

I have personally done this.

I suspect we're remembering the same instance, heh.

[Tuannon]

Having played a few cornerstone type roles, I don't really like this idea. As it gives people an air of winning and losing. I don't want to have the carrot of "If I do really awesome with thsi role I will become a noble bodyguard forever" hanging just out of reach.

I would rather play a PC who does that stuff and ends up being in a whole heap of messy situations. It is far more enjoyable that way. Also, it is a painful thing for me to write about my roles and how they act and stuff. I suppose it's just a funny thing.

[hyzhenhok]

Getting turned into an NPC is the secret of immortality. As has been explored in our cultural traditions, however, immortality is not necessarily a good thing.

You still have needs, wants, and desires, still feel pain and hunger, etc, even though you can never die. Who envies the man who achieved immortality, only to spend eternity begging on Meleth's Circle? Or the frail cripple whose immortality only means an eternity of being repeatedly ganked by wannabe assassins and tough guys? Or the guard, who gets to spend an infinite number of years planted in one spot, saluting people and opening and closing a gate?

It's no wonder that the majority of the vNPC population is happy to remain v, so that they may virtually live out their lives and virtually die in peace. Life in Armageddon is harsh enough; if you make it eternal, you might as well be in Tartarus.