How do things stand?

[RRiplash]

I haven't played for something like two and a half years.  What obvious changes should I know about?

Also, Arm. Reborn was cancelled?  What's that all about?

[My 2 sids]

Citizens of Allanak!  House Nenyuk is pleased to advise that it has new additions to its rental market.  Enterprising souls will be happy to note that warehouse space is now available on a yearly basis.  These are hotly contested properties and will not be on the market long! If you are seeking a more substantial property for your business endeavours please talk to our representative.  You will find him located in Allanak's Bazaar, on the site of the old Ministry of Trade building.

[Maso]

It's pretty much the same game, except with some cool updates and a few tweaks here and there. Nothing major that would stop you from rolling up a character and jumping into play unhindered.

(do it)

[Eurynomos]

There are also warehouses in Tuluk. As far Armageddon Reborn, a search of the board will yield many results, including the Staff announcement and consequent player discussion.

[Ktavialt]

When you get 'expel' on your psionic skills... don't assume you're a mindbender.  Its presumed to be normal.

[RRiplash]

Thanks for the updates.

Turns out that my char is still alive.  The game tells me he has aged 22 years since I last logged on.  I don't remember anything about him.

[Maso]

That's hilarious! Don't store unless like...they are 90 or something...and just roll them in with amnesia or something. Haha! I wish I'd left a character alive when I left.

[RRiplash]

I haven't actually logged in with him yet and I was actually considering the amnesia idea.  It would give me a chance to find out some of the basic IC things I don't have a clue about.  You would be amazed how many hours I have played without speaking to another character.  I find it intimidating, since everyone seems to know so much more than me about how to play in the game world.

[Morrolan]

We don't know your character's situation or location, but

a) this is why the biography command would be awesome to use - being able to remember the things that happened some time ago
b) just read his background and go with it - send a request to staff to let them know what's up
c) amnesia/delusion would be pretty awesome - especially if you try not to tell anyone
d) read the history page! Were you around for this?:

1596 (Year 56 Age 21)
    An earthquake strikes the whole Known, being felt everywhere and by everyone. Then, a large shape crosses the sky and seems to settle over Suk-Krath, bringing complete darkness to the world. In the darkness, moisture falls from the air, and for a brief time, rain comes to the Known.

    As the darkness stretches on over days and into a week, the streets of the cities become dangerous. In Allanak, rioters set fire to buildings and lynch gemmed; in Tuluk, crime runs rampant. Nobles and templars for the most part remain huddled in safety.

[RRiplash]

You know what?  I think the last time I came back to the game, that stuff had just happened and a bunch of stuff was different.  I think that's why I still had a living character when I stopped playing.  I just wasn't up for rediscovering all the nooks and crannies.

[TheBadSeed]

I logged in with a character that had aged.. much more.. I suppose I could have brought him back, and rejoined my life, but I thought it was essential that I start back from the beginning and relearn.
I think I made the right choice.

[Maso]

You know what?  I think the last time I came back to the game, that stuff had just happened and a bunch of stuff was different.  I think that's why I still had a living character when I stopped playing.  I just wasn't up for rediscovering all the nooks and crannies.

My gawd! That's the best part of the game! When you still have stuff to explore and discover and every corner you turn it's like...Wow! Don't be put off by the learning curve or other players 'knowing more', the playerbase here is super understanding and supportive, don't be afraid to ask for help, don't worry about making a fool of yourself if you make a mistake, people will let it slide or use it as an opportunity to teach. If you just enjoy yourself all the stuff you need to 'learn' will just naturally fall into place.

Amnesiac old character...definitely a good way to learn!

[kayza]

Things sometimes stand on two legs.
In Arm sometimes things have six or more legs!
Tables have four.
Unless they have three to prevent wobbling.

I just had to! I am a child I know but I know others were thinking it.
-10 Board karma points.

EDITED: For affect!

[Shepard]

Don't forget that Zalanthas has found world peace.

[HavokBlue]

Don't forget that Zalanthas has found world peace.

I can't tell if this is a joke or cheeky commentary on the state of the game world.

[Shepard]

Don't forget that Zalanthas has found world peace.

I can't tell if this is a joke or cheeky commentary on the state of the game world.

Maybe a bit of both, plus a touch of truth.

I remember when I came back after a year of not playing, and I tried to join the Arm of the Dragon and was like "I can't wait to kill some Tuluki, I fucking hate them!" and was told in reponse "Uhhh, we are at peace with Tuluk" - and I was dumbfounded because I wasn't around for the world peace declaration. Though as far as I know, it is still in effect. So if you are coming in as a new character and haven't played recently - this IS a considerable change you should be aware of.

[Delirium]

Erm...

I remember "world peace" and it was far more like a cold war than peacetime.

[Marauder Moe]

Don't forget that Zalanthas has found world peace.

I can't tell if this is a joke or cheeky commentary on the state of the game world.

Maybe a bit of both, plus a touch of truth.

I remember when I came back after a year of not playing, and I tried to join the Arm of the Dragon and was like "I can't wait to kill some Tuluki, I fucking hate them!" and was told in reponse "Uhhh, we are at peace with Tuluk" - and I was dumbfounded because I wasn't around for the world peace declaration. Though as far as I know, it is still in effect. So if you are coming in as a new character and haven't played recently - this IS a considerable change you should be aware of.

Well the OP said he's only been gone like two and a half years.  I've been around ten years and with the exception of the Copper War and only like one or two other minor skirmishes, I don't believe there has been open combat between Allanaki and Tuluki soldiers.

Sure, spies are caught an executed.  Sometimes people from the other city are caught and executed for other reasons.  But for a very very long while, it's been exceedingly rare for soldiers of either city to notch their belts for having killed one from the other.

[Maso]

I'm not sure why either state worries about spies...

"Lord Templar...yes...I can confirm...the Faithful Lord -does- have tregil for his dinner...every night."

[BadSkeelz]

Have to know what's the best kind of meat to stuff the dwarf assassin in to.

[Eurynomos]

There are plenty of reasons for spies, plenty of intrigue, plenty of corruption, murder, and betrayal, all happening on Zalanthas.

There is no 'world peace'. There may be an accord between Allanak and Tuluk. Maybe not. Maybe that's something you were told, that wasn't universally true. Regardless, Staff isn't going to arbitrarily start a war between City States just to mix things up. We try to hold to a high realistic integrity. People who are movers and shakers do things, and we make the physical world react.

In the past RL year-ish, this happened:

c.1607 (Year 67 Age 21)
Over the period of a year, the Red Fangs clash with the Sun Runners. Vicious war begins between the two elven tribes. After bloody battles ranging from the steppes of the Tablelands to the sands of the Red Desert, the Red Fangs have been all but destroyed.

Just because you were not a part of it, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

If you don't think there's stuff going on behind the scenes, it will likely be difficult to convince you, even if you were to see all of the IG evidence. It's all around you!

[BleakOne]

Peace would be a very strong word for north-south relations. It's not all-out war, as such, but it's hardly near friendly.

Try waving around a Jade Cross in the Sun King's Sanctuary, see how well that goes for you. 

[Marauder Moe]

Personally, though, I think a peace treaty might be pretty cool.

Open embassies in both cities.  Have nobles traveling back and forth as emissaries.  Have the two empires try to work together towards some mutual goal.

Meanwhile, tensions run high in taverns as the two sides are brought together.  Espionage has a real purpose: figure out how the other side is plotting to screw you over and/or screw them over first.  The cost of insults/theft/spying/murder is lessened if done against uneasy allies as opposed to Houses from the same city, which sometimes have a tendency to smack down nobles who cause trouble.  As a result, such activities become more common.

In short, I think a formal treaty could actually increase conflict.

[Delirium]

In theory... I am worried that a large portion of PCs would just throw conflict out the window... and then complain that there is no conflict.

It'd have to be done very well, and there would have to be some movers and shakers to really set the tone.

[Marauder Moe]

If peace doesn't work out, that is if it works out too well, it can always just fall apart.

[Rhyden]

I am worried that a large portion of PCs would just throw conflict out the window... and then complain that there is no conflict.

Would that be much different than the current world atmosphere?

I agree with Shepard that there is a kind of world peace, or perhaps a cease fire would be a better term for it.

There is still conflict, sure, but it's on the micro scale between PCs (usually) as opposed to the macro scale between Tuluk & Allanak.

I also think Moe has a great idea here. Creating embassies would be pretty cool, lead to many possible plots, and if it failed, then maybe there would be another war. Seems win-win to me.

[RRiplash]

Diplomatic packet delivery missions would become a thing.  As well as diplomatic packet interceptions.

[Patuk]

'No mister jihaen, I don't know where your runner went; I assure you my soldiers are more professional than that. It must have been Gith. Ahem. Yes.'

[Reiloth]

Ask yourself:
Is it safe for a Southern Noble to travel to Tuluk? To stay there? Why or why not?
Is it safe for a Northern Noble to travel to Allanak? To stay there? Why or why not?
Can soldiers, from Allanak or Tuluk, display colors of their station and rank when abroad? Why or why not?

After that, consider if there is 'world peace', or even a 'cease fire'. Sounds like more of a Cold War to me.

The Cold War, often dated from 1947–1991, was a sustained state of political and military tension between the powers of the Western world, led by the United States and its NATO allies, and the communist world, led by the Soviet Union, its satellite states and allies.

I like the tension between Tuluk and Allanak, and it definitely doesn't seem happy-go-lucky-let's-be-buddies to me, even on the surface. All out war is kind of boring to me, as a player. I played through the Copper Wars, and it's easy to look back on it with incredible fondness, but it was a spam-fest murder-ville. Sometimes it was fun, most times it was lame and incredibly difficult to figure out what the hell was going on. It felt way too H&S to me -- I almost would have preferred the Game of Thrones Gloss Over, to most of it, with a final battle like the Battle of Blackwater to finish it up. But, I also admit, i'm probably the vocal minority on that one.

[Cind]

For some reason, when I'm playing nakis or rinthis, I can't really hate or despise the other side. Am I alone in this? I would only change one thing about conflict in Zalanthas, and that would be to give some real reason for tension between rinthis and nakis. Not crazy huge but something I could latch onto.

[RogueGunslinger]

I don't really feel it from ya'll. But I turn the hate up to 11 on those dirty little fuckers.

[RRiplash]

For some reason, when I'm playing nakis or rinthis, I can't really hate or despise the other side. Am I alone in this? I would only change one thing about conflict in Zalanthas, and that would be to give some real reason for tension between rinthis and nakis. Not crazy huge but something I could latch onto.

Then just give them a reason to hate you.

[Maso]

For some reason, when I'm playing nakis or rinthis, I can't really hate or despise the other side. Am I alone in this? I would only change one thing about conflict in Zalanthas, and that would be to give some real reason for tension between rinthis and nakis. Not crazy huge but something I could latch onto.

The labyrinth is technically still part of Allanak, a rinther is still an Allanaki, at least more so than a Red Stormer or a Tuluki...so how much friction should there be? Rinthi's might dislike southsiders because they live in nicer houses, eat better food, have more money and get them arrested...and southsiders would dislike rinthi's because they rob them and smell bad and cause trouble...But there's also mutual benefit to be had from tentative alliances between characters and organizations in the two parts of the city...so...

The more poignant divides in the city are racial, and I prefer the 'rinth when there are east/west turf wars.

[solera]

For some reason, when I'm playing nakis or rinthis, I can't really hate or despise the other side. Am I alone in this? I would only change one thing about conflict in Zalanthas, and that would be to give some real reason for tension between rinthis and nakis. Not crazy huge but something I could latch onto.

The labyrinth is technically still part of Allanak, a rinther is still an Allanaki, at least more so than a Red Stormer or a Tuluki...so how much friction should there be? Rinthi's might dislike southsiders because they live in nicer houses, eat better food, have more money and get them arrested...and southsiders would dislike rinthi's because they rob them and smell bad and cause trouble...But there's also mutual benefit to be had from tentative alliances between characters and organizations in the two parts of the city...so...

The more poignant divides in the city are racial, and I prefer the 'rinth when there are east/west turf wars.

Rinth vs Southside human

As I see it, to a 'nakki, the 'rinther in general is just another scumbag spawned in a nest of thieves and cutthroats, just some other you're fairly indifferent to. Little hate involved.
To the 'rinther, Southside is another country, a ready source of wealth if you have the skill to exploit it, and to stay out of the clutches of the filthy stinking Arm.
And on another level....well, there is stability enough to enable each side to milk the other.